Did you go out on Saturday afternoon? Did you find the hail, sleet, and snow (yes, SNOW) depressing? It was a cold and wintry day for sure. I went out to Target to buy supplies, and when I left the house it was raining hard, and 40º. When I got out of Target, it was hailing and 37º. It turned to sleet on the drive home, and when I pulled into the driveway, it sure looked like it was snowing, and 35º. I mean, come on, we're halfway through May!

I do remember once, when I was a kid, in the late 70's when it really snowed in May. It snowed like hell and left a half a foot or so on the ground. Of course, I was a kid, so it was probably more like 3 inches.

Thank God for Florida. Here I come. Next week.

Well, I had another night of crying last night. This was definately worse than last night. She cried and cried. I took her upstairs, and finally, I just put her in the crib and sat next to her. By that time, she had tired herself out, and soon fell asleep, although I had to pick her up and rock her to bed. Tonight she cried alot too, but Kara did the bedtime honors, and it went a little better. I think she's all worked up because Kara has gotten into the habit of putting her to sleep, and she's not used to me doing it. I won't take it personally.

I tried to feed her some mushed banana today. It didn't go over too well. She doesn't know how to suck stuff off a spoon yet, but she likes to grab the spoon. She also likes to spit the banana out all over her chin. I gave up after about 5 spoonfuls. Later, Kara tells me that I should have diluted it with water. I'll have to try that tomorrow.

What a night last night. Katherine was something. When we settled down from dinner, bathtime, etc. around 8:30ish, she fell asleep. It was not a great time for a nap, but she sometimes takes a little snooze in the evening like that, for a half-hour or so, and still goes to bed at a decent hour. I was holding her, so I let her sleep for about thirty minutes, and then I gently woke her up. She was very calm, composed, and content, and I gave her to Kara. Then, at about 10 PM, she went absolutely nuts. She was squirming so hard that Kara had to put her on her play mat on the floor. I have never seen her so wound up. She was grunting and screaming, not in anger or sadness, but just really excited about moving around and experiencing things. She does this thing where she lies on her back, and then pushes herself forward, but digs her head into the floor, and arches her back, and completely balances on her two feet and the top of her head, with her stomach way up in the air.

She rolled over, and it was the first time I'd actually seen it. Since I first reported experiencing the rollover second hand, I've seen a lot more second hand ones, particularly when she's in the crib playing. She rolls over, but most of the time, she doesn't roll back, and she gets frustrated being on her stomach, and starts crying. Last night, she rolled back onto her back from her stomach on her own, which was great.

Then I put her in her jumper, and she jumped and jumped. Finally, I took her out because Kara and I were worried she'd get over stimulated, and bedtime would be difficult. It was starting to get on, though. So I just held her, and then she totally melted down. It's almost like she's trying to play us, or getting spoiled. So I just held her and comforted her while she wailed and wailed. It's kinda funny, because we had a lot of windows open, and I kept thinking, God, the neighbors must be getting an earful. But they've all had kids, so they know what the deal is.

Anyway, finally, I decided I'd take her upstairs and either give her to Kara or try to put her down. She quieted down as soon as I stood, and I was able to get her to sleep by rocking her up in the nursery. It took a long, long time. It was 10 past 11 by the time she was down. But, she stayed down all night. And I mean all night. No noises, no waking no nothing until I got up (late) at 7:30 or so. She was awake in the crib, but not making any noise. Kara was up too, so I brought her in and gave her to Kara. (heh, heh). I think this is only the second night where she's gone down, slept noiselessly through the whole night, and then woken up at a decent hour.

Long time, no talk.

Mother's day went OK. I talked to my Grandmother, whom I haven't spoken to in awhile. She lives in Michigan. I saw my other Grandmother in her nursing home on Saturday for her birthday party. She's 93!

At home, though, I tried to treat Kara extra special. I made her a special breakfast with home-made blackberry syrup, and pizza for dinner.

It was a melancholy mother's day though. Both Kara and I miss our mothers. Kara's mom died when she was very young, and she grew up as a motherless daughter, taking care of her younger brothers and sisters. My mom died just a few years ago, after a sudden and terrible illness. And we both miss them. Since this is Kara's first year being a mom, there was hope and happiness in the air, but not enough, really, to compensate for the feelings of loss we both have. Looking at Kara and Katherine made me feel both sad and happy at the same time, but, to be truthful, mostly sad, because Katherine won't know either grandmother, and that's a terrible loss.

Still, a new generation moves forward, and we'll try to honor our legacy the best way we know how. And that's to be good parents to Katherine.