by rustedrobot | Jun 25, 2007 | Babies, Sarcasm
Maynard, MA (AP) – On a beautiful late Saturday morning in New England, as a gentle breeze flowed through the small town of Maynard, Massachusetts, 3-week old Zachary Copetas accomplished the first of what his father hopes will be many milestones and accomplishments – he pooped on someone. Generally, Pampers do a fine job of keeping certain contents where they’re meant to be, but on occasion even the best of diapers cannot withhold such projectile. And on this Saturday, young Zachary’s eyes started to squint, his face turned that special shade of red, his colon undoubtedly tightened and then, not unlike Mount St. Helens, there was activity. The victim, you ask? None other than corporate big-shot Rob MacLeod, co-founder and President of major Boston corporation Neoscape, whose right leg will forever be enshrined as the first human body part that Zachary shat on. Congratulations, Rob!
Both the shitter and shitee appeared non-plussed in the press conference afterwards. MacLeod, undoubtedly having plenty of experience being shit on as a ten-year business mogel, shrugged it off and said “it’s no big deal.”
Zachary took a much more bashful approach. When asked about the event, he stayed ever-so-silent and used sign language to say “hey, it doesn’t matter if you own a business in the big city or mop floors for a living, if I want to shit on you, I’m gonna shit on you.” He then farted loudly and fell asleep, with a faint smile crossing his face.
by rustedrobot | Jun 15, 2007 | Babies
The lack of sleep, of course, was expected. We’re probably getting 3-4 hours per night, maybe 5 and none of it is continuous. And yes, it’s all worth it. What I didn’t expect were the weird dreams that come with lack of sleep. For example, there was the dream I had about the brother of a friend of mine. I’ve never in my life met the brother. In this dream, I am good friends with Jennifer Aniston. We share secrets. We talk a lot. We get together for dinners and chat. She tells me that she just hooked up with a college freshman and when I ask his name, it’s my friend’s brother. That’s all.
Then there’s the dream where I’m walking down a dark road at night, but it’s sort of like walking the hallway in school days. People occasionally pass by and I say hello. Suddenly, a group of doctors rushes by me with someone on a stretcher and it’s a boss of mine from ’95-98. I’m then told to go to the bar he owns in Detroit (he doesn’t own a bar in Detroit in real life). When I get there, I find myself in a spitting contest. Not spitting length, spitting accuracy – it’s a lot like basketball. We’re just trying to hit targets. My old boss has some kind of stroke, the medical definition is one I’ve never heard of.
Here’s the funniest one and I’m still not entirely sure if it was a dream or reality, as this was during the first two nights at home with the babies, when we were getting about an hour’s worth of sleep each night. I woke up in the bed and I looked at a pillow on the floor and it was breathing. Just pulsating back and forth, taking breaths. I thought “that’s odd” and when I looked around the room, everything was breathing. The bed, the dressers, the walls……everything.
I got laughed at for that one…..
by rustedrobot | Jun 11, 2007 | Babies
The absence here for a week shouldn’t be too much of a mystery, really. We welcomed Nathan Taylor Copetas (5lbs-15oz) and Zachary Dean Copetas (6lb-14oz) into the world at Newton -Wellesley hospital last Monday, June 4th, at 3:54 and 3:55pm.
For months and months I wondered how I would react in the delivery room setting. Occasionally, I stressed. I mean, I sure as hell didn’t want to be that guy who faints or throws up or whatever. Big events like these always make me a little nervous. The funny thing is that it shouldn’t. I’ve done relatively large presentations for work and despite my confidence that I know what I’m talking about, I still get that feeling in the pit of my stomach beforehand. This was that. Forty times over.
But last Monday arrived and a strange calmness came over me when Steph came upstairs and non-chalantly uttered “my water just broke.”
Let me tell you something right now – Steph has some kind of magic power to make me feel less nervous for any event, even comforted. In the heat of any moment, she just never seems to waver and seeing that makes me calm.
Of course, we were both a little nervous, not knowing what was ahead that day, but for the rest of our lives. But in we went and I was surprised and proud of myself for being so calm. I couldn’t believe it, really. It allowed me to really focus on her, which is what I’m there for.
What an experience! To hear that initial cry, well, that was easily one of the most special moments I will ever experience. Then Nathan came into view and I just fell in love. And I got to do it all over again when Zachary came just a minute later. What a wonderful moment.
So after four days sleeping on a horrific cot in the hospital, we came home on Friday and have been run ragged by these guys. But every minute is so worth it when I see them. They are the cutest things EVER! Each of them have this cute little whimper sound they make when they’re sleeping that always just warms my heart.
I cannot wait to get to know them better. More photos here.
by rustedrobot | Jun 1, 2007 | Babies
I have made a vow that this blog will NOT turn into a baby shrine once the twins are born. So don’t expect daily pictures or amusing cute things that the babies did. Oh, I won’t be able to help it now and then, but by and large my blog will still be my blog. I’m way too narcissistic to dedicate a blog to something or someone else anyway! It remains to be seen if I will be able to keep up the pace of posting once they arrive (any day now), but we’ll see. Much like everything else baby-related, we won’t know until they’re home and we’re deep in it. Pregnancy is kind of funny. For Steph’s sake, often times I wish it lasted only nine weeks instead of nine months. She’s been nauseous just about the whole time, along with the discomfort of carrying two. And us men, whose approach is traditionally to “just fix it,” have to stand by and watch helplessly. Other than try to comfort with words, there’s largely nothing we can do. I don’t like that feeling of helplessness.
On the other hand, having nine months to get myself ready for this mentally has been a godsend. I made some thin references to this early on in the pregnancy, but it should be said that there were moments early on when I was pretty freaked out. When you have a kid at 23 or 25, there’s probably a little bit of blissful ignorance about what’s coming. In your mid-thirties, you’re a little more seasoned, a little more aware of the implications and that can be scary. Awfully exciting, too, but scary. But having the time to read, learn and comprehend what’s coming has been an immense help for me. I suspect those of you who are already parents will say something along the lines of “you are never ready for what’s coming,” but I feel I’ve done as thorough and as good a job as I possibly could have. It’s a pretty heavy thing when all you’ve known for 36 years will become a passing phase and you’re on the cusp of a whole new, unexpected phase. Bring it on.
That said, the nesting process has been stunning! Don’t even ask me what prompted me to clean out the basement a couple of weekends ago, then borrow my in-laws shop-vac and completely vacuum the basement as well – ceilings and all. Just don’t ask. Just know that you can eat off the floor of that basement now! Both Steph and I have been throwing away all unneeded and unwanted stuff, cleaning out closets, creating space in rooms, blah blah blah. I mean, you should have seen some of the trash volume we had out on the curb over the past weeks. My neighbor said it best one morning when he jokingly looked over and said “you having a yard sale or something?”
Hey, how about a song? One of my favorite bands of this decade has undoubtedly been Spoon. They’ll have a new album out soon, so I’ve been listening to some of my favorite old Spoon songs to get psyched up. I love this band. Try on “The Fitted Shirt,” won’t you? I love the lyrics.
Spoon, “The Fitted Shirt
[audio:fitted.mp3]
When I Was Still Growing Up
And Dad Head Off To Work
He Put Coat And Tie On
Over Fitted Shirt
Nothing Else Will Fit Right
Or Seems So Directly Applied
Than Fitted Shirt Hung On Me
Fitted Shirt Alright
I Long For The Days
They Used To Say
Ma’am And Yes Sir
For Now I’m Going To Find
Buttons For My
Dad’s Old Used Shirt
Fitted Shirt
Fitted Shirt
Been Looking So Long Now
And No One’s Seen And No One Heard
But When I Go Out Tonight
I’m Going To Put On A Fitted Shirt
One Day It’ll Take
And They’ll Start To Make
Shirts That Fit Right
Til Then I Suppose
I Still Got Dad’s Clothes
And That’s Alright
Fitted Shirt
Fitted Shirt
by rustedrobot | May 8, 2007 | Babies
So, recently I was made aware of a phenomenon that I had never even knew existed. That phenomenon is called a diaper cake. Now, we’ll tackle what a diaper cake actually is in just a minute. First, let me say this upfront: the words “diaper” and “cake” ought NOT to ever be uttered in the same sentence, nor should both of those words be used together to describe something you eat. Granted, it is not really a cake. You don’t eat it unless you have severe mental problems.
That said, a diaper cake is, apparently, a gaggle of diapers with various accoutrements, made to look like a cake. In our case, pictured here, we get the added benefit of what is, effectively, two diaper cakes. Each diaper has a flower in it, and the theme of the diaper cake is “two peas in a pod.” This was given to Steph by her co-workers, who went above and beyond the call of duty to celebrate her pregnancy. Obviously.
Diaper Cake. Thoughtful, appreciated, but strange. And hey, we’ll take the free diapers. There’s about 24 of them there, which will be enough for one day.
So guys and gals, how many of you have ever even heard of this thing? I sure haven’t.
by rustedrobot | Mar 1, 2007 | Babies
Those of you with children know all too well about the preparation involved to get the house and rooms ready. We are no different. Our preparation is starting to ramp up, which means we have to find other places to put stuff. A lot of this was addressed when we had one of those pull-down stairway things installed to access our attic. Previously, we could only access the attic through a small hole that people like Nicole Richie could get through, but not the average human and you certainly couldn’t fit much through the small access hole. Now that we have the pull down, we have a lot of space up there to utilize, and utilize we will.
Thankfully, we’ve gotten rid of some old furniture as well, donating to a local good-will type place. It doesn’t have to ALL be work, though. Much like the babies themselves, we have to stop now and then and try to enjoy things. That said, I’ve been practicing some old standards on the guitar. Things like “Plop Plop, Fizz Fizz, Oh What A Relief It Is!” Okay, I’m kidding about that one. So far I’ve learned how to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “Old McDonald.” These are, by no means, difficult to learn. But I figure that any weapon I can utilize to keep their rapt attention or get them to sleep is a benefit for all of us. Aside from the fact that it makes me feel a little like Mr. Rogers, it’s still a good thing to have in my back pocket. My friend Dan occasionally employs use of a ukulele with his 1 year-old son. Does that work ok, Dan-o? Maybe I’ll get one, or pick up a banjo – something I’ve always wanted to learn how to play.
