rockstar parenting tips

its been a whirlwind week. we've spent the bulk of our time locked tight in our hotel room, and we are both getting cabin fever. tegan so far seems immune - her routine consists of 3-4oz bottle, diaper change, 3-4hrs of sleep, repeat. we've gotten to know her pretty well though and she is a really sweet, really alert little girl.

we, and the pediatrician she saw on friday, have noticed that she seems to be looking at things - not just throwing her eyes around. we've caught her studying patterns on the wall, and she is quick to lock into a stare with us when we're talking to her. we are pretty stoked about this and it makes it a lot of fun to talk to her when she is awake.

parenting a newborn in texas is tough - lots of things to fret about! this morning our chief worry is fluoride: up until now we've been using tap water for the bottle, but after reading a book this morning we are concerned about its fluoride content. so, we are waiting a call back from the doctor's office.

last night we thought we'd try a little dinner out. we've been eating frozen dinners and drive through all week and wanted to sit down at the cracker barrel next door. we got a seat and were having a good time until we saw the cigarette smoke wafting towards us in billowing blue clouds. panic immediately, and we asked to be moved to the other end of the restaurant. once we sat down there we noticed about a dozen kids running around - all their mouths and noses right at Tegan's carseat level. we promptly got our dinner boxed up and headed back across the parking lot to the hotel. it looks like we're back to frozen dinners and drive through!

this girl is pretty amazing. she is sleeping on a little "snuggle nest" between our pillows at night. its a blessing because we get to watch and listen to her sleep, and when she is awake she looks at us. its also a bit of a curse - every fit and start she makes while sleeping startles us, and the other night i woke up and couldn't see or hear her breathing and flew into a full on panic - hit the lightswitch and stuck my face right up close to hers. of course she was fine and just sleeping, but it freaked me out.

what else to share... she's a really good eater. just like her dad right? she eats between 3 and 4oz at a time now, and usually just needs one good burp and very little spitup. we're stoked about that - makes cleanup easy! she also does this really cute thing when we burp her - she is usually so milk drunk that she sort've just slumps right over the burp rag and dozes. we love it!

legally - we aren't quite sure where things are. we hope that the paperwork was filed with the state of texas last thursday or friday and that it will be done by the end of this week. we are pretty sure that we'll be here through memorial day weekend though, which is a huge bummer: we really wanted to go to the LBGs first birthday party!

if anybody wants to do some skyping, shoot me an email. its been a great way to break some of the humdrum of hotel living.