Zach Dotsey

As good as Milly was yesterday, she decided to make up for it today.  Then again, I thought she was making up yesterday for the day before that, so who knows?  She was up a little early, didn’t finish her bottle and was fussy enough, despite that I tried several things to make her happy, that I was able to put her down for her nap just a little before 9:30.  She usually goes down closer to 10.

Work seems to slowly be getting back to how it was before a week or two ago.  That’s good in that I get to make money, but it would also be nice not to feel stressed out for having plans at 6:00.

Plans at 6:00 were going to Port City Community Church for a meeting about Grow Zone, the children’s ministry that Amanda and I both volunteer at.  There are some big changes coming up that they wanted to announce, first and foremost among them was that everyone who helps out in the rooms is going to be moved to doing it every week.  I can see why that’s a good idea, as it gives the kids more stability and the chance to build better relationships with them and their parents, but it gives me a lot to think about.  I also volunteer on the production team once a month, plus hardly a month goes by when Amanda and I don’t either have someone in town for the weekend or we’re out of town ourselves.  We’ll just have to pray about it and see where we’re lead.

Kirsten came over early to watch Milly while we went to the meeting and Barry came to pick her up at about 7:30, just a few minutes before Joel, Mia and Felix came over for small group, bearing a birthday cake.  I don’t know what it is, but I don’t think I’ve had more birthday cake for any other birthday in my life.  Anyway, they were the only other couple who could make it tonight, so we ate cake, chatted and breezed through our discussion.  We’ve only got one chapter left in our study on Romans.

Zach Dotsey

Amanda had an industrious day today.  She got a good bit of laundry put up and picked up upstairs a lot then started catching up on some scrapbooking.  (That sentence had a lot of “up” in it.)

Meanwhile, I worked pretty much straight on until 8:00.  I took a break to help feed Milly and put her to bed then worked until 10:00.

On the subject of Milly eating, she managed to twist of the the Bumbo tonight, which is where we sit her to feed her once she’s finished her bottle.  All I heard was the smack of her hitting the floor, but Amanda said she was leaning out so much that her face was really near to the floor so she didn’t actully fall much at all.  She cried a little but then we stuck some food in her mouth and that seemed to make it better.  I told Amanda that was not a good precedent to set: food will make it all better.

Amanda moved Milly to the highchair after that, but she hasn’t been in it very much and was really distracted by things as interesting as the straps holding her in.  Amanda’s mom, Karen, arrived at our house just as we were finishing getting Milly ready for bed.  Karen went on and on about how her grandbaby just keeps getting prettier and prettier.  Milly gave her some nice big smiles.

In good news for the day, Coach David Cutcliffe gave the University of Tennessee an ultimatum yesterday, saying they needed to go ahead and hire him in the next 24 hours or it was off.  I think his reasoning for this was that it’s a big recruiting weekend, and with the head coaching position up in the air like it was he’d miss out on some recruits if he ended up staying at Duke.  But then this morning he withdrew his name from consideration, to the adulation of many Blue Devil fans.  I think it’s a great move for him and it definitely benefits Duke.

In sadder news, Jason’s mom, Margie, took Sophie to the vet today to have her put down.  Jason told me that his mom said the shadows of the trees they were passing while in the car gave Sophie seizures and it sounded like the vet agreed it was time.  I could tell he was a little choked up.  It made me sad too, not just because I could empathize with him but because I remember when they got Sophie.  They’ve had that dog for half our lives.

We’re going to eat at Cracker Barrel in the morning, as we often do when Karen comes to town.  We called Michael to let him know and after some cajoling (because 10:00 is too early) he said that he and Jenn would be coming too.

Zach Dotsey

Milly turned seven months old today.  She celebrated by having a pretty fussy day.  I don’t know if she was tired or what, but I ended up putting her down just a little bit earlier than usual for her morning nap and when she got cranky this evening she fussed the whole time we put her down for her nap until we decided that there wasn’t enough time for her to fall asleep and be worthwhile before her dinner.  In fact, she was good for a little bit after we got her up, but she was so fussy that we ended up feeding her about ten minutes early.

It’s not like she was bad all day though.  She had some fun and sweet times too.

I met a client we’ve had for a year or so today.  He was having some email trouble and we were having a hard time taking care of it over the phone, so I just went over to help him out.  We have so many clients, even here in Wilmington, that I’ve never actually met, and it’s good to put a face to a name sometimes.

Justin and Lisa Hauenstein came over for dinner tonight.  It’s been since a little after Milly was born since we’ve spent any real time with just then, except for when we were all over at the Boscljons’ a little bit back, and it was really good to catch up with them.  They’re expecting a baby, Ayden Matthew, on May 8, a day before Amanda’s birthday.  That’ll be a great Mother’s Day present for Lisa.

After dinner, and after Milly went to bed, Justin checked out Wii Fit for a few minutes, but we spent more of our time playing Beatles Rock Band.  Amanda sang while Justin and I switched back and forth between guitar and drums.  Lisa, being very pregnant and all, didn’t have the energy.

My Xbox 360 is going green again, which isn’t a good thing in this case.  It means the video card is about to go out again.

Anyway, the Hauensteins left around 9:30 I think and Amanda and I watched an episode of Community before she went to bed.

On a different note, I talked to my friend Jason Revill today.  Their big dog, Maggie, went missing a few days ago.  They don’t know if their neighbor might have something to do with it or if someone just picked her up or if she’s just gone or what.  To boot, Sophie, their little dog, is not doing well.  Jason said they’re thinking they’ll put her down next week.  I remember when they first got her.  Jason said they’ve never not had a dog (I remember Norman and Winston before Sophie and Maggie) and Andy, Jason’s dad, doesn’t think he wants to go through getting another one and losing it again.  I really feel for them.

Zach Dotsey

The first number is how many points Duke beat Boston College by tonight.  The second is how many points Carolina lost to Clemson by tonight.  That right there makes for a good night.  I particularly liked when Andy Katz was trying to interview Trevor Booker of Clemson after the game, but Booker couldn’t hear his questions because the court had been rushed (it’s been a long time since Clemson last beat Carolina) and the crowd was too loud.

Amanda stayed at work a little late to make up for some time lost a couple days ago.  The internet was out at work on, Monday, I think it was, and she wasn’t able to really do anything so she was told she could leave early and make it up later.  So she did that today.  She brought home some Little Caesar’s for lunch.

Amy and Eli Warkentien came over today to play with Amanda and Milly.  I moved myself to the office and the girls played on the Wii after the kiddies went down for naps.

I think tonight was the first time Amanda gave Milly a bath in the tub.  I find it much easier than the sink.  Milly’s so cute in her little baby tub in the big tub.

On a negative note, a large earthquake hit Haiti yesterday, pretty much destroying the capital, Port-Au-Prince.  Up to 100,000 people are feared dead.  That’s just a staggering number.  And given the infrastructure, it’s going to be difficult to get support and aid really going.  I’m praying for all the people there, those who have lost their lives, loved ones and all the things they own.

Zach Dotsey

It took me a while to get around to it, but I did get a little work done today.  I was able to work on one of the two items I wanted to make progress on, so that’s not too bad.

But you don’t care about what I did at work today, do you?  You want to hear about Milly’s first Christmas Eve.

Amanda went out and bought a few stocking stuffers, did some laundry and packed for our visits.  I gave Milly a bath in the baby tub inside the tub and she seemed to really enjoy it.  When I first put her in she was kicking her leg around a bit like she was enjoying watching the splashes.  There’s a plastic monkey on a cord attached to the baby tub that she always sucks on.  I call it her sea monkey, and she had fun with that, too.  She was almost laughing some.  She’s much easier to bathe now that she can sit up straight and stand up with support.  I can also pour water right down her head and over her face without it making her fuss.  That’s something that will help her, growing up at the beach and all.

We packed up the car with presents and such, basically everything we’d need for the weekend sans dogs, and headed on to the 3:00 service at Port City Community Church.  I invited my brother, Adam, to go along, but he was going to be at a showing of Avatar during that time.

The church service was nice.  It was packed, of course.  They didn’t have any of the children’s services today so there were a lot of kids in the main auditorium.  It was the first time Milly had been to grown up church since she’s been old enough to go to Grow Zone.  When she was smaller she would sleep through the loud music then fuss during the message.  Now she paid close attention to the music, I think because she liked all the lights and the big video screens, and the napped during the talking.  It wasn’t really a sermon, more like a remembrance of the meaning of Christmas and an explanation of how Communion fit into it.  All in all it was a very nice service.  All three services tonight were broadcast live on the internet too.  I think they’ve done that with a few services up to now, but tonight was the first one where they really got the word out I think.

I got to talking with an older woman who was sitting next to us before the service.  She took an interest in Milly and was holding her when the music started.  She seemed to really enjoy holding Milly, and Milly seemed to really enjoy playing with her gold watch, so I let her stay there until we all stood up.  Her oldest son is in Iraq, so I told her I’d pray for him tonight.

After church we picked the dogs up then headed to Beulaville to Amanda’s grandparents house.  I sat in the back with Milly on the way there so she could eat and when I saw a sign for Chinquapin I got in Milly’s face and said it and she laughed.  I kept doing it until she stopped laughing as hard, which took longer than I would have expected.  I like saying “Chinquapin.”  I say it as I imagine the locals would: Cheenka-pee-in.  Whatever- Milly likes the way I say it.

The Frazelles were already there and the Mercers arrived a little while after we got there.  Milly was, as usual, the star of the show.  Everybody got their time in playing with her before we put her down for a nap and ate a breakfast dinner.

She’s really working on getting up on her hands and knees, by the way.  I wouldn’t be surprised if she is crawling, at least a little, by the time we get back to Wilmington.

Milly got to open her very first Christmas present ever.  It was her first wrapped present, for that matter.  It was from the Frazelles and it was a copy of Where the Wild Things Are.  She got clothes from her great-grandparents.  Everyone else opened their presents after her.  I got a couple long sleeved graphic tees from Express (can’t go wrong with that for me) from the Frazelles and a button up shirt and jeans from Peggy and Earl.

Amanda and I realized that it was past 8:30 and therefore well past Milly’s bedtime so we took off.  We thought, as late as it was and as prone as she (like most babies) is to falling asleep in the car, that she would nod off, but she spent most of  the trip to Amanda’s parents’ house talking and making noises.  Once we got to the house and set up the pack & play Karen bought she went down pretty quick.

The pack & play, I might add, isn’t just for Milly.  It’s an investment in the future as we figure on having at least one more kid and one day Michael will probably have a few of his own.  Even though those things fold up pretty well, they do take up a good bit of space when traveling, so the fact that my mother-in-law bought one to keep at their house is much appreciated.

After everything settled down Phil went to bed and the rest of us, Amanda, Karen, Michael and I, played Wits & Wages, which Amanda picked up today while she was out as a present to both of us.  I continued my winning streak that started at Ben and Jessica Lambeth’s when they introduced the game to us for two games, but then Karen won one and Amanda won the two after that.  Undefeated no longer.  Oh well.

It’s now about time for Santa to be here, I suppose.  I’m looking forward to Milly playing with wrapping paper and trying to eat ribbon tomorrow.

Zach Dotsey

Per Andra’s Facebook:

update on josh: while he may look really bad he’s in good humor and basically himself as far as attitude goes the break was worse than they thought it would be, broken in2 places where is attaches to the skull and the cheek bone was crushed so they had to reconstruct it. he has a total of 3 small titanium plates and he should heal good as new with only a tiny scar at his eyebrow. thanks again for the prayers!

Right now I’m watching the Final Four game from 1991 between Duke and UNLV.  It was on ESPN Classic yesterday so I set the DVR to record it.  It’s a great story.  UNLV had defeated Duke in the championship the previous year with a record championship game margin of victory.  UNLV was undefeated in 1991 and were thought to be unstoppable.  Of course, Duke avenged the previous year’s loss then went on to beat a Roy Williams coached Kansas team in the final game for their first ever NCAA championship.

Nick picked me up this morning and drove me to church where I ran the mobile floor camera for the morning services.  Amanda came to the 11:00 service and sat with Michael and Jenn, who also came today.  Seth was there too.

Milly was a little fussy throughout a good portion of the day, which I attribute to daylight savings time, since we’re doing everything an hour later today according to her internal clock.  (One good reason to get rid of DST- it confuses babies.)  Amanda said Milly woke up at about 7:30 (which was 8:30 to her), but Amanda got her to go back to sleep for another 20 minutes or so before getting her up and feeding her.

After we got back from church Milly and I took a decent nap while Amanda decided to clean up and rearrange the living room.  I woke up in time to help make some decisions and move some things around.  We’ve got a lot more space in the living room now, and we freed up some space in the dining room as well.  After we finished that we watched a bit of TV.

I was really irritated that my cough showed no signs of going away, but it’s lessened in intensity and frequency by this evening.  I’d considered going to a doctor about it, but if it continues to get better tomorrow I’ll just let it go.

Zach Dotsey
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Amanda went to Old Navy again this morning, this time to actually take advantage of a discount.  Milly and I just hung out.  She was a bit fussy throughout a good portion of the day and she never really took much of a nap.  Shortly after Amanda got home her parents arrived and we all headed downtown to meet Michael and Jenn for brunch.  The place they wanted to eat had a forty minute wait, however, and Michael had to be at work around that time so we went to Front Street Brewery instead and had lunch.  And thus came about Milly’s first trip to Front Street Brewery, as well as the first time she sat in a high chair at a restaurant.

After lunch Amanda, her parents, Milly and I (Michael and Jenn had already left)walked over to Killwin’s for some ice cream.  We walked to the riverfront for a minute or two then took off back home to do not much of anything for a bit.  When they left they took their pressure washer with them.  We’ve had it for quite a while and I never got around to using it.  My own fault.

We tried jumping my car again.  I had returned the jumper cables I previously bought and got some heavier duty ones, but these were apparently not enough either.  Bonnie came over from across the street to see if she could help, but ultimately said we could use her jumper cables, which are really heavy duty, tomorrow.

After that we dressed Milly up in her kitty cat Halloween costume, which was obviously very cute.  Unfortunately though, it’s a very thick costume and it was about 80 degrees outside, so we took off the top part of it before we left to drop her off at Anna and Barry’s.  We did put it back on once we got there though, before we went and knocked on the door.

We hung out at the Frazelles’ for a bit.  They all seemed really excited to be watching Milly tonight.  Kirsten had plans to go out (although she apparently stayed in to watch after Milly), Hannah was having some friends over and Anna and Barry were planning on just hanging out.

When we left there we stopped by Starbucks to get some food and drink then Amanda had a costume idea.  We weren’t really planning on going out as anything, but based on what we were wearing I said that she could be stripes (because she was wearing a shirt with a bunch of stripes) and I could be a tape (because I was wearing a shirt with a picture of a cassette tape).  She said something about The White Stripes then came up with the idea of getting some black t-shirts and putting a white piece of tape across them and going as The White Stripes.  I thought that was a very clever idea.

We showed up at the Konny’s right at 8:00 and learned how to play Mafia.  I won’t go into explaining it too much, but we had a really fun time with it.  One to two people in the group are picked to play the Mafia and have to discretely take other people out, then everyone else has to guess who’s in the Mafia.  In the first game I was the first victim, which Blake, my murderer, apologized for later.  A couple games later, Amanda accused me of being Mafia, even though I wasn’t.  Her reasoning was that I was doing a lot more accusing that game, which is true, but it was the first game where I had feelings about who was in the Mafia.  I was right, too.

We left there a little after 11:00 to go pick up Milly.  Hannah and her friends were watching the end of The Blair Witch Project, which I hadn’t seen in a while, so I watched that.  Anna and Barry told us that Milly had been great, which is good.  Anna talked to me about getting Hannah and Kirsten to start coming over on Mondays to watch Milly while I work, which would be awesome.  I mean, I really love having all that time with Milly, but it would hopefully keep me from needing to work all hours into the night to get things done as often.

Milly was in a great mood on the way home.  Usually she falls asleep pretty fast in the cars eat, but she babbled happily on from Wrightsville all the way back to the house.  She seemed wide awake when we put her down, but she went right to bed again without any fuss.

Duke beat Virginia 28-17 in football today, the first time in 20 years that Duke has had three consecutive ACC wins.  Pretty awesome.

Overall today was a pretty good day for us, but it wasn’t as good for the Sawyers, my baby sister’s family.  Andra had posted on Facebook that Josh had been headbutted while played in a rec league soccer game today and from what was posted I thought he just had a concussion.  My mom called later though and told me that Josh’s face had been broken.  I talked to Andra later on and I can’t remember exactly what happened, but basically a guy ran into Josh then walked off laughing about it.  Basically, it seems to have been on purpose.  In a REC LEAGUE GAME, which ultimately doesn’t mean anything, this guy had some issue so he headbutted my brother-in-law and broke bones in his face.  Andra said that Josh basically doesn’t have a left cheekbone right now.  He’ll be undergoing surgery in the morning.  Everything should be fine, except things are already tough for them, they’ll have a pretty big deductible to pay plus Josh, who is self-employed, will be out of work for a while.  Keep them in your prayers.

Zach Dotsey