A mostly naked kid on a play mat

Dude, there is so much to look at here.

Go go Gadget arms!




Some quality tummy time, working on those head lifts.

And we're all tuckered out.

Christening and Baptism

This past weekend on Sunday April 26th, Liam was baptized at Sheil Catholic Center on Northwestern's campus. There was a mass at 11 a.m. followed by a private Christening ceremony at noon, presided over by Father Tom Franzman. The day started out pouring buckets of rain, but by the time the ceremony was over a nice sun had settled in. It was sort of sweet actually, because during the ceremony the baptismal font was located directly under the church's large domed skylight, so nice natural sunlight bathed little Liam's face.

He made hardly a peep through the entire ceremony, at times seeming to sleep through it even. He blinked his eyes a little when the water was poured three times over his head, but not a fuss to be heard.

Afterwards we all headed to the south end of campus for a little lunch reception in the Sociology department. Natasha and I had set things up that morning, including a big half sheet cake congratulating Liam on his baptism, some tasty fresh fruit, and a giant vat of homemade chicken salad to feed an army. It was wonderful to celebrate such a big moment in such a little life with so many of our loved ones. Those who could not make it in person were certainly there in spirit.

All decked out in his little white satin tux from Grandma Schultz. No girlie baptismal gown for you kiddo!

Grandpa Schultz checks out the little man.

Terry holds Liam while he receives the "gown" with symbols of Christianity on it.

Liam receives balsam scented oil to anoint his head.

A second kind of oil, also blessed by the Archbishop, anoints his chest.

Ahh he's all peaced out as a newly minted child of God.

Happy parents.

With Grandma McDonnell and Pop.

With Grandma and Grandpa Schultz, and Aunt Robyn (Godmother)

With Nana Brenda and Grandpa Rick.

Qatar visit

As many of you know, Terry and I just got back from a visit to Doha, Qatar, which is a really stunning city with tons to do. We were there looking into a job opportunity for Terry that might take us there for one or two years. I have to say that after adjusting to living in Ghana where there is only cold water, intermittent electricity, heat but no air conditioning etc, I was totally floored by how modern Doha was, stuffed with amenities.

We got in a little after 11 p.m. local time and on the ride from the airport to the hotel we drove along Doha's cornice, which is a long park that runs along the coastline, remarkably similar to Chicago's winding lakeside park. Despite the late hour, the park was full of pedestrians enjoying the late night breeze, walking with no fear at all for their safety. We later learn that Qatar has an incredibly low crime rate, because crime is punished severely. People feel so safe that students can regularly leave their laptops out and walk away for an hour or more and return to find the laptop still waiting for them. You could never try that trick on Evanston's campus.

There is tons to say about the trip, but the baby is going to wake any minute now, so I'll let the photos do the talking.

We arrive into our awesome hotel room late, and promptly crash into bed.


Arabic tea service set out in the stunning lobby of the hotel.

The view up the open air center of the hotel.

Traditional Qatari fishing boats, suped up versions of which are now kept as pleasure or party boats. Flying the Qatar flag.

A view of the newly built commercial district. Notice of course the wave runners.

A closer view lets you see the cranes on top of all the buildings. Everything is newly built.

The sparkling new commercial sky scrapers up close look very much like something from SimCity 3000


Terry at Souq Waqif (old market), a market space where you can buy everything from hand made rugs to falcons to cloth and spices, remodeled to look exactly as it did in the 1950s. Supposed to attract tourists, but its no tourist trap. You are more likely to see men in traditional Qatari dress enjoying coffee and a view of the city from on top a breezy rooftop cafe.

A view of the spectacular sports stadium and torch tower that Qatar built when it hosted the Asian Games.

At McDonalds in the Villagio mall, modeled after some imagined quaint Italian village, complete with a painted sky for a ceiling. Besides a McDonalds and a gondola, it has an indoor ice skating rink, a Starbucks, a Carrfour (french Walmart), H&M, Cold Stone Creamery, Hagen Dazs, and 31 flavors, in addition to a ton of European boutiques. Hardship post? I think not.

Terry and I beside the river in the mall where you can take gondola rides.

On the last day while Terry took important meetings, I found myself enjoying a perfect 82 degree day at the poolside, sipping blended tropical juices and reading a detective novel while the breeze off the Gulf blew through the palms. Sigh.

Those are just my photos. If you want to really be wowed, spend a little time browsing the photo gallery available here. They have pictures of the Ritz where we stayed that really show it off, pictures of Education City where Terry would teach, and cultural sites and sights around the country.

Easter in Racine

We drove up to Racine to celebrate Easter with my folks. It was Liam's first big overnight trip, so it was also our first experiment with seeing how he would sleep on the road, in a new place, in his Pack N Play rather than his little crib. Mixed results. And by mixed I more or less mean total meltdown no sleeping disaster. Apparently we are really attached to our little room and our little cribbie.

Liam's Easter outfit can only be described as totally dapper, thanks to his fancy polo shirt outfit from Uncle Dusin. If only he had little baby deck shoes he'd be set.

The only sad thing is that he has barely begun to wear his cute little polo outfit (which says it is for 3 months) and our little pork pie already looks like he was poured into it. Check out how his muscle shirt sleeves stretch over those meaty arms.

He tolerated (barely) my desire to pose him with an Easter egg, and then make him pretend to be the Easter bunny.

Thought for the Day

The nurse at the Pediatrician's office told us not to be surprised because (and I quote) "He's going to sleep through the night [after his immunization]". HA! Down at 9, up at 12, up at 2, up at 4:15. You show that nurse kid! You didn't become a fatso so fast for nothing, you know all about eating round the clock.

And the thought for the day at this charming hour: you can never be rich enough, beautiful enough, or have enough binkies strewn about every corner of your house.

Nothing like not being able to find a binkie in the dead of the night. Thank goodness the kid is such a champion self-soother already.

2 month wellbaby visit

I spent some time last night, withe the baby asleep on my lap, looking over the March of Dimes NICU Family Support website. I wanted some info on what it was like parenting a preemie infant. I remember when we were in the NICU somewhere in the middle of those interminable 16 days it began to feel as though it would never end, that he would go to high school and still be in the NICU. Lately I've started feeling that way about the extended "sack o potatoes" phase. Like maybe my kid will never smile a real smile at me, never coo happily.

So there I was, looking through the section where people post their own stories. And right away I was crying. The first title I saw was "RIP Hadley twins: forever our boys" and I couldn't even bear to click it. I clicked on another titled "Message of hope" only to find it was written by a 13 year old boy who had been born severely premature. He struggled his whole life with developmental goals, both physical and cognitive. He had life long breathing problems. But it was so upbeat. When it came time to select a high school he chose a regular HS rather than a special needs program, and he tries every day to keep up and fit in. Something about the earnest hopefulness was heart breaking: that a kid with such a good spirit should have so many challenges at so tender an age.

Emotionally sodden from my foray into family stories, I looked at the "parent to parent" message boards, still searching for some practical examples of what it is like to parent a preemie into infancy.

I went in feeling a little sorry for myself that I have spent almost ten weeks with a sack of potatoes, envious of those parents who get social smiles at 4 weeks, and sleeping at 8 weeks. Instead I found myself profoundly grateful. On the parent to parent boards I read a section about length of NICU stay. There were people whose children where in the NICU for months. Four months, seven months, nine months even. One woman reported her child had been in the NICU for 170 days, so you can bet that even as days wore into months, she still counted each and every day in her heart. Another woman said that even a year later, she still carried so much sadness in her heart about the time her son had spent in the NICU and she wondered whether she would ever feel better.

So there I was crying on the couch, reporting to Terry all these people and the long long times their babies spent in the NICU. And all I could say is, "We are so so lucky."

And today at the pediatrician's office we got quantified evidence of how lucky we are indeed.

At his last visit for his one month checkup, Liam weighed 8lb3oz, which put him in the 5th percentile for his age (birth) group. He was 21 inches, which put him in the 10th percentile for his length by age group. Both of these measures were joys to us when we heard them at one month, for he was born with his length in the 3rd percentile, and his weight was not on the chart, even though he was big for a preemie.

Today at his second month checkup our little guy weighed 12 lbs and was 22.75 inches long. That puts him in the 50-75th percentile and 50th percentile respectively. I was so profoundly grateful for how blessed and lucky we have been. The pediatrician assures us that his cognitive milestones will catch up eventually as well. That he will, indeed, start smiling sooner or later. But until then it is wonderful comfort to know that all those round the clock feedings, and all that time holding him, giving him kangaroo care, is all paying off in good healthy weight gain. I know some parents view these percentiles as something to compete about, and I hope no one sees my reporting of them here in that light. For me it was not about him competing with some kid around the block. It was about desperately seeking whatever signs we could find that he was really truly going to be okay, that his early start to life wasn't going to set before him endless obstacles. And a little number like 50% is incredibly comforting to keep those fears at bay. Because I really don't want to be the woman who has to report one year later that I am still sad about his early birth. I want to move on, always forward, grateful for what blessings we have, and coping with what challenges we get.

The Many Faces of Liam (8 weeks)