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Maternity & Parenting Center

2 months today

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I can’t get over the fact that Micah is 2 months old today. We have been through so much already, and I’m amazed by how much he is growing and changing. Here is a general update on Micah at 2 months:

  • Breastfeeding is finally going well! He is latching without a nipple shield, nursing efficiently and able to get what he needs from me without formula or even bottle supplements of breast milk. I’m even able to get in a pumping session every day and now have a bit of a stockpile of breast milk!
  • He has graduated this week from the newborn size diaper to a size 1. What a road . . . we started out and the preemie diapers were big on him!
  • Micah is officially able to wear the 0-3 month size clothing. He hasn’t outgrown the newborn size yet, but that looks like it will happen in the next 2 weeks. I can’t believe that the preemie clothes were huge on him when we first brought him home, and now he is wearing those “giant” 0-3 month outfits.
  • Micah is holding his head up and can even roll over!
  • He has started showing an interest in toys/objects. He is fascinated by the mobile and his playmat, and he now smiles at me and notices when I leave the room. He also recognizes me – he calms down when he sees me or I pick him up. He also is recognizing some of the songs I sing . . . “You are my Sunshine” immediately quiets him down now.
  • Micah sleeps through the night! He is officially sleeping at least 9 hours at night (I hope I don’t regret posting that)!
  • We are starting to develop routines . . . for napping, nighttime sleeping, etc. I am actually liking the predictability right now – it is nice to know that I can go out and do something during certain times of the day.
  • We’ve met some wonderful people through our Baby & Me class, and it looks like we have a playgroup forming!
  • Micah now enjoys bathtime, and he doesn’t shriek bloody murder when we change his diaper.
  • Micah can sit quietly awake and not need to be held.
  • He is starting to exhibit his personality, and has definite likes/dislikes. I think I have one stubborn little boy!

So . . . happy 2-month birthday, my little Valentine.

Today’s 2 month photos

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Today we went to the Picture People to take 2 month photos of Micah. I have to say, I’m a big fan! This experience was so much better than Sears Portrait Studio. So . . . here they are:



Click here to see other photos from this photo session.

It isn’t an accident

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Micah is definitely rolling over. His Grammy came over to visit tonight, and he rolled over about 4 or 5 times just to show off for her! We managed to capture it on video:

I can’t believe my big boy! Sleeping through the night, sleeping in his crib, rolling over . . . I just can’t believe what will happen next!

Micah’s Daddy tried to capture the moment on video last night . . . instead he got some really adorable shots of Micah fussing and then sucking on his paci. Enjoy!

Roll Over!

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Micah rolled over again last night! We’re still not sure if it is accidental or on purpose, but he has rolled from front to back about 4 or 5 times, and from back to front 2 times!

Once again, he fell asleep in his crib . . . or, more accurately, he fell asleep on his mommy in his room while we sat in the glider, and then was moved into his crib to spend the night. While I miss having Micah around with us until 2:00 in the morning and sleeping in our room, I also am enjoying the time for us.

We can’t believe how much he is growing. I weighed him yesterday at the breastfeeding support group, and he weighed 9 lbs!! We just bought size 1 diapers, and this week I am going to see how the 0-3 months size clothing fits.

Forgot to post this!

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I should have posted this a long time ago. Just before Micah was born, I was getting very frustrated with all the contractions that were not leading to labor. I spoke to my friend Tami, and told her I was planning to hire her husband (an attorney) to evict Micah, because I was fed up with the ongoing war between Frank and Micah, and I thought Micah was ready to come out and join us and put me out of my misery. Here is what I received about 7 hours before my water broke:

CIVIL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

COUNTY OF QUEENS: HOUSING PART

————————————————————–X

JESSICA BRODEY

Petitioner-Landlord, Index No.: _____________

-against-

JOHN DOE,

NOTICE OF PETITION

(holdover)

Respondent-Tenant,

John Doe, refers to that infant child who is

currently using and occupying the uterus of

Petitioner named herein and who is in possession

of such uterus for which the license of

Respondent-Tenant has been revoked by

Petitioner despite his use and occupy of the subject

Premises and subsequent use, in whole or in part, of

all appurtenant organs, tissues, and

other anatomical and physiological appurtenances

thereto and herein described.

Premises: Jessica Brodey

Uterus of Petitioner

—————————————————————X

To the Respondent above-named and described, in possession of the Premises hereinafter described or claiming possession thereof:

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a hearing at which you must appear will be held at the Civil Court of the City of New York, County of Queens located at 89-17 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, New York 11435 on ___________________ at 9:30 am in the forenoon of that day, on the annexed Petition of Jessica Brodey dated December ___, 2008 which prays for a final judgment of eviction and revocation of any license to occupy the premises, awarding Petitioner possession of Premises described as follows: all organs of Petitioner including, but not limited the uterus as demanded in the Petition, which you must answer. Your answer may set forth any defense or counterclaim against Petitioner, unless such defense or counterclaim is precluded by law or by prior agreement of the parties. Demand also is made for a judgment against you for the sum of at least One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars And No Cents ($1,500.00) for the attorneys’ fees of Petitioner.

TAKE NOTICE also that if you fail to immediately vacate the uterus of Petitioner, even if you interpose and establish any defense that you may have to the allegations of the Petition, you may be precluded from asserting such defense or the claim on which it is based in any other action or proceeding, your failure to answer and appear may result in a final judgment by default for the Petitioner against you for the relief demanded in the Petition.

TAKE NOTICE that this Court has personal jurisdiction over the parties mentioned herein because counsel for Petitioner lives in the City of New York, Borough of Queens, State of New York, and is happy for the Petitioner.

TAKE NOTICE also that under Section 745 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, you may be required by this Court to make a deposit of use and occupancy, or a payment of use and occupancy to the Petitioner, upon your second request for an adjournment or if the proceeding is not settled or a final determination has not been made by this Court within thirty (30) days of the first Court appearance. Failure to comply with an initial deposit or payment order may result in the entry of a final judgment against you without a trial. Failure to make subsequent required deposits or payments may result in an immediate trial on this issues raised in your Answer.

Dated: December 13, 2008

Queens, New York

__________________________

Clerk of the Civil Court

__________________________

Adam Brown, Esq.

Attorney for Petitioner

IMPORTANT TO TENANT: If you are dependent on a person in the military service of the United States or the State of New York, advise the Clerk of the Court immediately in order to protect your rights.

CIVIL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

COUNTY OF QUEENS: HOUSING PART

————————————————————–X

JESSICA BRODEY ,

Petitioner-Landlord, Index No.: _____________

-against-

JOHN DOE,

NOTICE OF PETITION

(holdover)

Respondent-Tenant,

John Doe, refers to that infant child who is

currently using and occupying the uterus of

Petitioner named herein and who is in possession

of such uterus for which the license of

Respondent-Tenant has been revoked by

Petitioner despite his use and occupy of the subject

Premises and subsequent use, in whole or in part, of

all appurtenant organs, tissues, and

other anatomical and physiological appurtenances

thereto and herein described.

Premises: Jessica Brodey

Uterus of Petitioner

—————————————————————X

THE PETITION OF JESSICA BRODEY , owner and landlord of the Premises shows that:

1. The undersigned is the sole owner of the Premises.

2. Petitioner is married to Elliott Harkavy.

3. On or about March 2008, Petitioner and Elliott Harkavy conceived the Respondent in this matter.

4. Since this time, the Respondent has used and occupied the uterus of Petitioner by, among other acts, attaching himself to the wall of Petitioner’s uterus, developing bodily organs, bone, skin, and other tissue necessary and proper to the development of a human body.

5. Upon information and belief, Respondent understood and agreed that he may use and occupy the premises for a period of nine (9) contiguous months and that at or about the end of such nine month period, depending on the comfort level of Petitioner, Respondent should vacate the premises.

6. Upon information and belief, the vacatur of Respondent was to occur by either natural or artificial means.

7. Regardless of the method of vacatur, Respondent and Petitioner agreed that Respondent’s license to use and occupy the premises was to be revoked at our about the ninth month of use and occupancy or at or about the time that Petitioner could no longer tolerate Respondent’s use and occupancy.

8. To date, Respondent has engaged in conduct that has included, but has not been limited to:

a. Causing Petitioner to vomit incessantly;

b. Causing constant nausea;

c. Sleeplessness and irritability;

d. Irregular eating;

e. Loss of work and consortium; and

f. Such other and further conduct that amounts to nuisance.

9. Respondent holds over and continues in possession of Premises without Petitioner-Landlord’s permission.

10. The Premises occupied by Respondent-Tenant and/or Undertenant is not subject to rent control as defined and described by the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). The Premises is a two-family home.

8. The Premises is not a “multiple dwelling.”

9. Petitioner requests final judgment: awarding possession of the Premises to the Petitioner-landlord; and issuance of a warrant to remove Respondent from possession.

10. Petitioner lacks information or notice of any address where Respondent/s reside or are employed or have a place of business or principal office in the State of New York, other than the address of the Premises sought to be recovered.

11. At least thirty (30) days before the expiration of said term the Respondent tenant/s were served in the manner provided for by law with a verbal warning, that the landlord elected to terminate said tenancy and that unless the tenant removed from said Premises on the day on which said term expired, the landlord would commence summary proceedings under the statute to remove said tenant therefrom.

WHEREFORE, Petitioner requests final judgment awarding possession of the Premises to the Petitioner landlord; issuance of a warrant to remove Respondents from possession of the Premises; a judgment for the fair value of use and occupancy of the Premises after October 20, 2005; a judgment of at least One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars And No Cents ($1,500.00) for the attorneys’ fees of Petitioner; and the costs and disbursements of this proceeding.

Dated: December 11, 2008

New York, New York

_____________________________

Adam Brown, Esq.

Counsel for Petitioner

100 Lafayette Street

Suite 401

New York, New York

(212) 226-0350

*******

A big Thank-You to Adam for helping evict my little Micah.

Another Milestone

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Last night, Micah slept in his crib for the first time! Not only that, he slept for 10 hours. We are hoping to replicate that tonight. Getting him to go to sleep was a bit more challenging tonight, and he was extremely over-tired (since he was apparently not in the mood to nap today). We have started a bedtime “routine” but he still won’t fall asleep on his own in the crib. We have to get him to fall asleep and then move him into the crib. Tonight, after 1 hour and many failed attempts to transfer him from the glider to the crib, I finally brought the secure sleeper into our bed, and sat with him on my chest, then gradually moved him to the sleeper. Once he was down, we moved the sleeper to his crib. Probably not ideal, but not bad for a 2 month old baby.

Even better . . . I seem to finally be getting ahead on the stored breast milk – we actually have several bottles of pumped milk stored. If he keeps going to bed relatively early and sleeping through the night, I should be able to pump an extra 4-5 ounces to store everyday!

It all passes so quickly

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I am sitting here amazed at how quickly this is all going. Micah is now 8 weeks old, and he is about 9 lbs. He does a really good job of holding up his head, and this week he sort of “woke up” – he is really alert a lot of the day, and he seems to be developing more personality. I am so excited to watch him grow into his own person and really get to know him, yet I’m already missing some of the little things about him and I do not want to see those things disappear completely. So, I thought I’d make a list of all the things I adore about him now (and over the past 8 weeks).

  • Micah makes these cute squeaky noises when he is sleeping or curled up on me. I melt each time I hear the sounds.
  • He has this way of turning his head almost at a right angle to his body and looking up at me while I’m holding him on my chest. He then totally scrunches up his entire face (sometimes turning bright red in the process) and stretches. I just want to kiss him to death when he does that! The whole thing is so adorable that I just want to eat him up.
  • He kicks his feet when he is restless in the secure sleeper, and it makes him slide down. The whole swaddle sort of moves. He does it when he is frustrated, too, if he is hungry and he is in a hurry to latch.
  • When I was first breastfeeding him, he liked me to play with his feet. He would actually lift his foot towards my hand so I would play with it. Now, he likes to reach up and pull on my hair.
  • Micah snorts . . . in his sleep, while he is eating, and sometimes just from the acid reflux. The snort is cute – almost sounds like he is clearing his throat.
  • He was about 5 lbs (just under) when we brought him home . . . and I was amazed by how tiny he was. I could fit him from head to bottom from just above my ribs to just below my navel. My hands and arms dwarfed him! He had no extra fat on his body – you could see his ribs and he had these chicken legs. I could hold him on my chest and barely feel him there. I could easily hold him with one arm/hand. He would burrow so tightly into me, and I loved having him that close and so small. The preemie outfits were huge on him, and we had to fold the preemie diapers over to keep him from having a plumber’s crack showing. Now, he is still small, but he is a typical newborn – his face is getting big and round, his thighs have filled out, and today we tried on size 1 diapers for the first time, and I’m thinking of seeing if the size 0-3 clothing is still huge.
  • I love how he hugs me . . . when I hold him on my chest, he stretches his arms out wide and grabs on to my upper arms. It feels like he is giving me a big giant hug, and it gets me all teary.
  • He just loves to curl his legs under him and lay on my chest in the fetal position – he looks like such a munchkin all scrunched up like that, and yet he is oh-so-comfy!
  • I love when he gets startled for no reason (especially when he is asleep) – his whole body jumps and he throws his arms out wide and opens all of his fingers up while kicking out his legs.
  • I love how he reaches out and grabs a handful of my hair or my locket neclace and hangs on tight. I also love how he puts his hands in his own hair and grips a handful of that while he is nursing or sleeping.
  • I love how he holds his hands up by his face like he is saying “Oh my Gawd”(insert thick New York Jewish grandmother accent here).
  • Sometimes, he gets this very worried expression on his face . . . usually when he is hungry. It almost looks like he is concerned someone will forget to feed him!
  • I love how he sucks his pacifier – he looks a lot like Maggie on the Simpsons . . . making loud noises as the pacifier bounces up and down in his mouth.
  • Sometimes, he fights to latch – pushes me away, hits the breast, arches away because he is SOO hungry and anxious to get on that he just makes it all take longer!
  • I also love the chicken head bob when he is trying to latch or is hungry. I keep expecting him to start clucking.
  • I love watching him rub his face when he is tired.
  • When he is about to get upset, his whole face turns purple and he sticks his lower lip out . . . and then the wailing begins. I sometimes want to laugh because he looks so cute as he is about to explode.
  • He snores! He makes this adorable snoring noise . . . much cuter than both his Daddy and the dog.
  • He smiles in his sleep – it just makes me laugh! I hope he is having wonderful dreams.
  • He sometimes smiles after farting or pooping . . . cute when he does it, not so cute when his Daddy does the same thing.
  • He gets hiccups all the time. His whole body shakes and they are so loud and scare him!
  • He has such crazy hair that stands on end – the crazier it is, the more I love it. Sometimes, he looks like either an old man or a doll with all the hair.
  • Sometimes, I swear he listens to me. He looks at me, he seems to calm down when he hears my horrible singing voice, and he knows it is me. He’ll follow me with his eyes, and I love that he focuses on me.
  • His tongue is always sticking out. This has been a huge challenge for breastfeeding, but it is cute when he is sitting and sleeping to see his tongue hanging out just a bit.
  • I don’t understand how he manages to pee OUT the top of his diaper.
  • I’m amazed that such a little boy can make such big poopy messes – how does one boy manage to explode that much poop out of his diaper EVERY day?

I’m sure there are so many more . . . but I just didn’t want to forget these things.

What a week!

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Thought I’d start off sharing some additional pictures from our Florida trip . . . including our visit with his Great Aunt Ellen & Great Uncle Stu. Check out the first picture – when he does this I keep thinking someone has just shouted “stick ’em up” or “you’re under arrest!”


Okay . . . back to our regularly scheduled program. This has been a crazy week so far – a really good week, but definitely crazy. On Monday I went to my 6 week checkup. All is going well – I’ve healed nicely, but it seems I have a yeast infection on my nipples. No wonder breastfeeding has been so uncomfortable!! I was given a prescription for “Newman’s Nipple Cream” to try and fix everything.

Right after my appointment, I went to my first Baby & Me class! There were about 10 women in the class, and I think it seems like a really good group. We all just sat around to talk, then we went out to Panera afterwards to grab some lunch. It was nice for me to get out and about and feel like me again.

On Tuesday, I was worried that Micah might also have thrush since I had an infection, so I took him to the doctor. Turns out, he was just fine. We did get to weigh him again . . . and he weighed a whopping 8 lbs 10 ounces!!!! I talked to the doctor about whether Micah has reflux, and he thought it was a definite possibility. He gave us some different formula (which I didn’t think would matter since we hardly ever give him formula). We decided to table the discussion on Zantac because Micah had not been crying from the reflux. Naturally, we left the doctor’s office, and when we got home, Micah began to cry. And pretty much shrieked for over 8 hours. Nothing made him feel better. He was hiccuping, making choking and wheezing sounds, crying when he spit up . . . I was sure it was the reflux. I tried calling the doctor about 3 hours in, and he had left for the day. The other pediatrician wouldn’t prescribe Zantac since Micah was not her patient (seriously?) and when I pushed about what to do, she first told me to let him cry until the next day. I pushed some more, and she suggested children’s Maalox. I sent my Dad out to get it . . . only to learn that children’s Maalox only comes in pill form. I called the doctor back, and she said “Oops, I meant Mylanta.” I then sent Elliot out to look for Mylanta . . . and again, we learned it is not available in liquid. At 8:00 pm, I called the after-hours number . . . and got the same rotten doctor!! She finally gave in, and after giving me some attitude, she called in the Zantac. All I can say is it made a HUGE difference. Micah is doing really well on it!

On Wednesday, Micah was feeling so great that we went out ALL day. We went to the baby store to get gifts for a friend of mine who just had a baby (also named Micah), and then off to Target. After the errands, I went to the breastfeeding support group. Following the support group, two of us then went out for coffee. In the middle of all this, I got a call that one of my friends (whose grandmother had just died) was having Shiva that night. For those of you who do not know, Shiva is a Jewish custom to support the family members of a person who has recently died. Everyone goes to the house, brings food, and is there for a short prayer ceremony that enables them to mourn. The custom is designed to ensure that those in mourning do not have to mourn alone. Anyway, Elliot & I decided to go there, so I took Micah to my parents’ house on our way over. We made it home about 10:00 pm – I was out with Micah for 12 hours!!

Thursday was another adventure. I woke up in the morning and took Micah back to Target because I had mistakenly bought the wrong bottle. We then went to pick up Elliot, and we went to the bris for my friend’s baby Micah. We spent the afternoon there, then came home. Elliot & I decided we were long overdue for a date night, so my parents came over to babysit. We went out for a few hours to see a one-man comedy show – My Mother is Italian, My Father is Jewish, and I’m Still in Therapy – at the Bethesda Theatre. It was a lot of fun, and so nice to get out just the two of us.

Today we spent the day with Aunt Jen and cousins Paige and Peyton. It was another good day, although Micah seems to cry at the beginning of every car trip (which breaks my heart). I even had time to take a business call before we left! Micah has been so much more alert and awake this week. We’ve had time to play on the playmat (actually, both my babies were playing together):




and run some errands, too! I can’t believe how big Micah is getting. He is having some cranky periods now (very new for me) and he has some fussiness and hours when all he wants is for mommy to hold him. We’re working on getting the hang of the new routine.

Here are a few other fun pictures from this week:


And Micah wants to send out a big “hello” and a huge hug & kiss to his Poppy Ira and his Grammy . . . both of whom always make sure to read this blog and keep such close tabs on him! Thank you.

Bad Hair Day

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It turns out that Micah is having a bad hair day. Actually, it seems he is always having a bad hair day. No matter what I do, his hair always seems slightly greasy and stands on end. The look is actually quite adorable on a 7 week old, but at some point, I would think we’d prefer his hair to behave. It turns out, there IS a solution to Micah’s bad hair days . . . we just need to move to Orlando. Yes, I said it. We stepped off the plane in Orlando, and within minutes, Micah’s hair began behaving. The greasy look disappeared, his hair got a bit fluffy, and those wild spiky pieces settled nicely in place.

HOME:

ORLANDO:

I thought it was just a fluke or a coincidence . . . until we returned home, and his hair returned to “Bad hair day” status. Apparently, Micah’s hair would like to move to Florida.

So, when we relocate to Florida, and the inevitable question is posed . . . “So, why did you move to Florida?” . . . I’ll just have to respond with the truth . . . “My son was having a bad hair day.”

The Traveling Gnome

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Have you ever seen those commercials with the traveling gnome? The one that is taken all over the world and people snap vacation photos of the gnome, as if it had a clue that it was on vacation? Well, we officially made Micah our traveling gnome last night. Our traveling sleeping gnome.

Last night for dinner, Micah, Mommy, Daddy and Grammy went to downtown Disney. We ate dinner at Fulton’s Crab House and then wandered around to see the sights. We went in and out of a few art stores, then off to Lego Land. Micah posed for quite a few pictures . . . sound asleep and oblivious. We took a photo of him with the Loch Ness Monster:

And we took a shot of Micah with a Lego bull dog (sorry Uncle Jeremy . . . you missed out)!

After taking on the Loch Ness Monster, Micah was feeling a bit adventuresome, so in we went to the Disney store. Micah felt like trying on some hats . . . or at least, Micah’s Daddy felt like taking pictures of him in a bazillion different hats:

Since Micah was having so much fun, Daddy and Grammy decided to join in on the fun:

On the way out, we stopped off for some candy apples:

Micah appears to be enjoying his trip to Disney from the pictures . . . although I’m not sure he has opened his eyes at any of the sights!

All in all, we’re doing well. We’re still having some feeding challenges, and I’m feeling a bit out of sorts because I don’t have the scale here to tell me how things are going. He is latching really well, but I’m not sure he is getting enough off the breast each feeding. Sometimes he seems to do really well, and others . . . . not so much. He also sometimes does seem really hungry and the breast does not satisfy him, so we do need to supplement with pumped breast milk at least a few times during the day. Some days, we run out of pumped breast milk, so then we also need to supplement with formula, but we’ve only had to give him about 1-2 ounces max when this happens.

I do think we might be dealing with a case of acid reflux. He does appear to be developing hunger cues! He has been waking up and crying when he is hungry, which is nice for a change. Of course, last night, we couldn’t get him to wake up to eat for almost 7 hours. I fed him at 5:00, and he slept through his 8:00 feeding completely. I got him to wake up and nurse for about 5 minutes at 10:00, and then he finally took a more normal feed at 12:00. He zonked out after that and didn’t wake up until almost 6:00 this morning. I fed him then, and he dozed a bit and was ready to eat again at 8:00 am. He was again kind of sleepy for the 11:00 feeding, but he did get hungry again around 1:00. He woke up, I nursed him on one side for about 10 minutes, and then he fell into an unconscious stupor. I decided to pump to leave more milk for my mom, and wouldn’t you know it, he woke up while I was pumping, shrieking for milk!! We ended up feeding him everything in a bottle, and back to sleep he went.

Our latest feeding challenge is a bit of acid reflux. Micah is not a cranky or crying baby, but he does appear to be refluxing too much – he sometimes does it while he is eating and it causes him to choke. He has been making these odd grunting/wheezing/congested noises for about a week, and I’m fairly certain it is reflux. We definitely cannot lay him flat after eating or he is very uncomfortable (and starts spitting up a bit too much). The grunting/wheezing/congested noises seem to happen most after feedings. I think he’ll probably need some Zantac, but I do not think the doctor will prescribe it over the phone. I should probably call and talk to them tomorrow – the earliest I could go in would be on Monday.

Well, I’m off to do more conference stuff, and tonight we are going to take the traveling Micah gnome around Disney for more pictures. This afternoon, Micah has been working hard as Daddy’s best receptionist . . . poolside:

Friday night we plan to drive to Sarasota/Long Boat Key to visit Elliot’s aunt and uncle. Wish us luck on our presentations and meetings!