For those of you wondering what I’ve been doing at Linden Lab, now I can tell you.
Hazel has reached the developmental milestone Rob and I are calling “Spookyfish”. For those of you who don’t watch South Park - one of the characters, Stan, gets this pet goldfish which turns out to be evil and kills people. No - that’s not Hazel’s new trick 
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The Weekend - Sept 9th and 10th
We rented a car for the weekend to see some things we couldn’t get to easily by walking or public transportation. Saturday we went north and crossed the Golden Gate bridge into Sausasilto before heading south to check out west San Francisco. On the way over to the bridge we drove by Ghiradelli square where the annual chocolate festival was going on but had to miss out on the party. Oh rats! (more…)
Monday Sept 4th
So we made it down here uneventfully and even lucked out and were able to take Hazel’s car seat on the plane even tho’ we didn’t pay for an extra seat - it wasn’t a full flight! She slept until right before landing and Rob was able to calm her down enough that she fell asleep again before we were on the ground. The only bad part of the flight was the kid in front of me spilling his sippy cup of apple juice into our diaper bag that was under his seat. Thankfully I’d tried something new this trip and packed things in ziplock bags to make it easier to organize and the only thing that got soaked was a bill I’d tucked in there last minute. (more…)
As of this week, I’m no longer a freelance developer. Who wants to run their own billing department? Certainly not me. I had a hard enough time filling out expense reports…doing my IRS Form 2210 again this last quarter kinda sealed the deal for me.
I have a new full-time job, working for Linden Lab, the makers of Second Life. My job will be some parts developer relations, and some parts program management (at first, working with the development team on security-related stuff). I really liked working for Philip Rosedale (Linden’s CEO) back when he was at Real, so it was cool to get the opportunity to do that again. Now that he’s got his own company, he’s implemented a pretty radical style of management which he recently published on the Second Life blog as “The Tao of Linden“.
So, the whole family is down here in San Francisco while I meet everyone at the office, and get enough of a Kool-Aid(tm) injection to last me for a while as I work remotely from Seattle. Margaret has been eager for me to get this posted so that she can post some of the family-related stuff, so I’ll let her explain tomorrow what she and Hazel have been doing while I’ve been at work.
Early (waaaaay too early) this morning Hazel rolled over on her own for the first time. She was in her crib, fussing, hungry and kicking and managed to lever herself over to her stomach. I put her on her back and she did it again. We haven’t tried it with a happy, non-fussy baby but I’m sure that’s going to happen soon.
I find this definition of Rolly Polly very amusing.
Hazel continues to gain weight tho’ at a slightly slower pace since we stopped the butter injection treatments. Last week was her 2 month checkup and a round of shots. Oh that was fun - 2 shots in each leg. Good thing she didn’t see the size of the needles before she got stuck or she probably would have screamed more.
Hazel has also discovered television!
Our friend, Duane Nakamura, gave us a copy of Baby Einstein’s Baby Mozart DVD which is basically synthesized music with what Rob calls “Toy Porn” - shots of wind up and motorized toys and puppets and the “mysterious lady hand” playing with stacking toys. Amazingly it just captivated Hazel’s attention! So despite the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics I set the Tivo up to record a few other shows to see what interests her. So far Zoboomafoo is on the top of the list. We’ve also watched some Sesame Street but Mr. Rogers is a bit slow for her taste.
Hazel is also getting really good at the “pout and scream” routine. I think she was born knowing how to make the ‘pouty face’ - the one face I don’t think we have a picture of yet. I think she’s testing Mom to see how long it takes to get picked up - not long at all.
We went out on a walk around Alki point and to the library the other day - our first outing without Daddy - who’s off in Boston. We may have to go for a walk today around the neighborhood while the weather isn’t freakishly hot as it is everywhere else.
Daddy gets back tomorrow evening YAY!
Hazel got through her first plane ride just fine. Actually, we were more worried about us than her. Anyway, we managed to make it to five states: Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and a token drive over to Indiana so that we could say we were there. Lots of pictures taken by all, especially at my brother’s wedding, which was the occasion for the trip.
Things keep rolling along here in the Lanphier house. I miss having the grandparents around to help with stuff like dishes and laundry - may just have to hire a maid. It’s odd to find myself thinking that because when the idea first came up a few years ago I was adamantly opposed to having someone else come in to help with cleaning. Now I’m considering it might be worth paying for… the whole Time is Money thing.
The one biggest worry I’ve had is the whole weight issue. How much does she weigh? Is she getting enough to eat? Well, according to the doctor she’s doing fine. She’s a whole 8 pounds as of today and has been gaining on average a little over an ounce a day. That’s the standard “weight goal” for a growing baby. Yay! She’s also getting really good at standing, with help (eeeeK!) and holding her head up. And screaming - yeah - screaming “Bloooody Murrrr-der!!!” is one of her well developed talents. Shoving a boob or a bottle in her mouth usually fixes that.
Finally updated the photo gallery with some new photos. http://photos.robla.net/gallery/v/2006/
The Grandparents (MargL’s mom and Rob’s parents) have arrived and quickly got to work cleaning and sorting and building things. Aunt Dawn and Uncle Mike brought by some fixin’s for sandwiches and salads so we didn’t have to cook (yay!). Not that I’ve avoided cooking - day before yesterday I had a craving for STEAK and the weather was cooperating so I did BBQ. It was a good sign that Hazel was unconcerned that Mom smelled like charred beef when she came in (yeah, all you vegetarians go ahead and cringe.)
Tomorrow is another weigh-in and we see just how fat and happy the baby is with all the good feeding, love and attention that she’s been getting. If she hasn’t gained enough weight we’ll have to start the injections of melted butter… http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=pd_sl_aw_tops-1_kitchen_7241953_2/102-2734194-0907304?search-alias=kitchen&keywords=flavor%20injector
We got to check out of the hospital yesterday and head home. Everyone is doing well…Margaret and Hazel are sleeping, and this is the first time I’ve mustered the energy to get back in front of the computer since being home. Some more details below the fold…
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Quick note: Hazel Mae Lanphier was born late last night. Mom and baby are fine…gotta run back to hospital, but took a sec to upload a couple of photos: http://photos.robla.net/gallery/v/2006/
As folks who know us may have heard, my lovely wife (pictured) and I are about to become parents. Not that it’s really sunk in or anything, but I imagine it will some time this week, as, well, we’re due and the doctors aren’t too keen on the idea of letting the baby just chill until she’s good and ready..
Baby FAQ:
- Do you know if it’ll be a boy or a girl?
It’s a girl, unless of course modern science has totally failed in its predictive powers.
- Have you got a name yet?
We’ve got a list, but we haven’t decided and we’re not telling. We figure if the gender isn’t going to be a surprise for anyone, you’ll just have to wait to see what we have in store.
- Has Margaret had/done X (where X is some horrible pregnancy related thing that lots of mothers-to-be have)?
No, knock on wood/vaneer/whatever, this has been a remarkably trouble-free pregnancy. Either that, or Margaret is really doing a good job covering. Or maybe I’m an idiot (more likely than her “covering” per se). But as far as my admittedly limited guy-insight on the subject can see, there hasn’t been many problems.
So there you have it. Watch this space…I’ll try to post the update here when there’s more than just a bump.
