The American Dream: Football, Family, and Pulled Pork

We had a wonderful time hosting our family, and by hosting I mean unlocking our apartment so Hosana, Tebby and MIL (Aunt Cathy Cron) could whip into a cleaning and cooking fury. After a great lunch, we walked over to the Blair football game. Harrison came down to represent current Blair to all the Blair alumni in attendance. We also made an attempt at some family photos- Matt, Lisa, and Emmet did well (Matt's trucker Pton hat can be masked by a Santa hat sticker) but Finn had an attack of the hissy fits. Looks like someone doesn't like to share his lens time. It was great to have some many family members together on a beautiful fall day- we had family in from North Jersey, Connecticut, Idaho, North Carolina, and South Jersey. What a great way to welcome Cecilia into the fold.

Grandparent Bliss

Three grandchildren under one roof. Life is good.

Dorm Dinner

Ever wonder if you could have had a dinner party in a dorm room? Well, we did that last night. Mr. Bracken was a force of nature in the kitchen and we all had a fantastic meal. It's not clear whether or not Kristen filed a restraining order on any of the members of the inquisition, but it would have been warranted.

Thursday is the New Friday

Like most college students I know, things kick off for the Finnster on Thursday night. On Fridays he skips school and stays home with Mimi and Pop Pop. Tonight we have extra special guests, Finn's godfather Kevin Bracken and his "lady friend" Kristen are visiting from Sun Valley, Idaho. On Saturday the Bracken/Reavey army comes storming into town to celebrate the the Blair vs. Lawrenceville football game. This will be a blue-bloodbath of course, and I expect many a torn Brooks Brothers shirts and Nantucket Reds when these two rough and tumble boarding schools fight it out on the gridiron.

In anticipation of an east coast weekend blow out, Kristen and Kevin took Finn on his first beer run to a package store and bar somewhere in Lawrence. I'm not sure the patrons, many of whom appeared to be dodging palimony and child support payments, appreciated a photo op right there in front of the Franzia display. In fairness, one smoky-voiced patroness offered Finn a Slim Jim. In true New Jersey style, Finn walked outside and promptly fell over. A sign of times to come.

Defeat the Huns!

Today we had a family outing over at the Hun School to see the mighty Blair Academy Bucs defeat Hun 24-6. It was great seeing Harrison even if just for a moment. Finn took the time to ruin a family photo; perhaps he was upset that he didn't get the memo about apple green being the official family color for the occasion.

Three Pictures of Sibling Love and One Teeming with Jealousy

Thomas the Train: Railway of Lies

Finn was fired up to take Mimi to the train. He was expecting the whole Thomas the Train experience, talking steam engines, chipper conductors in top hats, and bucolic farms. Instead, Finn got the sleek, cold, faceless trains of NJ Transit. I was o.k with the cold slap of reality as i've never really liked Thomas the Train. It's the same damn story line every time...Thomas misunderstands directions, gets in a pickle, but it is all resolved in the end. It's like a wholesome cartoon version of Three's Company. And why does an island as small as Sodor have such an extensive train network...that is insane. There are fewer trains on the island of Manhattan. A train is the most efficient way to move bales of hay five miles for birthing pigs? No one has a truck?

After the train stop Finn and I went to the village bakery to pick up a baguette and a cookie for his troubles. Carrying all that bread was hard work. Good thing his cookie was the size of a manhole cover.

I am in LOVE!!!

So I didn't expect much for Cecilia's first BC game. By the end of the season I was hoping for a nascent wing flap or an eagle cry, but here she was as a five day old craning her neck to see the game from the kitchen table. My heart is bursting with pride and love. Go Eagles!

Surrender the Pink

Bryant Park Fashion Week moved south to Main Street; Dianne Spatafore came for a visit bearing a whole season worth of clothes! So many great girly girl outfits, some with a pinch of hipster style. She even took care of dinner. Dianne's mom makes the best meatballs and sauce, we had it last when Finn was born. It's good enough it makes you want to go all Duggar family on the scene and have 19 kids. Its that good.

Another interesting development with our visitors; Finn is "present drafting" off Cecilia's birth. He got a very cool book from Dianne. I love books and toys from Europe, nothing gets Disney-fied. Train station? Yes, there are pan handlers there. On another town scene some guy wrecked his bike and his hands are bloody. There are even toddlers wandering through kitchens unattended. Europeans keeping it real.

The Beginning of the Victorian Era

It's a dark anvil of anxiety lurking in the back of every father's mind; when will my daughter discover places like Victoria's Secret? I have to admit that even given my current residency in New Jersey, the home state to TV classics such as The Jersey Shore, Housewives of NJ, and countless episodes of My Sweet Sixteen and Teen Mom, I still didn't expect such a scandalous thing to arrive like a bag of sickly pink poison on day four of Cecilia's life. But in walked Joe and Aimee [redacted], bag in hand, encouraging Cecilia to do some wicked body shots and runs some tables at Atlantic City. And to think that Aimee teaches second grade? Yes, while we are waiting for Superman to save our schools, the classes are actually being taught by the evil temptress Faora.

PS I have to admit I needed Google to come up with a female villain from Superman. Wow, the comic world is teeming with craziness. Put down the comics, my friends, wash your ink stained hands, and join the rest of humanity living outside of your parents basement. And, Aimee and Joe gave us some awesome girly gifts and a insane apple pie. So, belated thanks after questioning your morality and ethical decision making, and making suggestions that you attempted to endanger the welfare of a child. In fairness, you should have known this was a likely outcome when you agreed to pose for the picture. Now, back to our regular programming.

Captive

Home

We've had a wonderful evening at home. My sister Colleen came to meet Cecilia and we got to pick up Finn from school, which includes a beautiful walk through Lawrenceville's glorious campus. Hosana (my mother in law. it's a long story but yes, I do take credit for authoring this perfect name) made a pot roast and some incredible squash with cranberries from our farm share (self-absorbed bloggers care about the slow food movement, don't you?). The whole house smelled like home cooking, and our rooms were filled with laughter. Finn was so tickled to see his sister in his house. It was one of those moments when you feel like a bit of a blessed impostor for being the father/husband in a scene as pure as this one. The evening ended with Finn inviting Cecilia to her first story time. Here's to hoping there are many more days ahead as full as this one.

The Dunnes are Sprung!

Today we were officially released (i.e. kicked out by the staff with help from insurance companies) from the hospital and free to take our baby home! While we waited for various paperwork to be completed, we did take some "one arm wonder" shots with C-Pyne (her auto tune rap album will be dropping in time for the holidays; she spitz da truth on the mic). It's always a challenge to get my Macy's Day Parade balloon size head in the frame with Molly, so I was presently surprised to find that we were also able to successfully squeeze our seven pounds of pink fury in the frame as well.

Our neighbor Anya works at the hospital, and she stopped by to greet us as we took Cecilia outside for the first time. She also took a classic "new parent" shot of us as we loaded up for Lawrenceville. Yes, folks, Cecilia Pyne's first car ride was in a vintage PT Cruiser, which can be seen crouching like a muscular taupe panther in the left side of the shot. Yeah that's how we roll.

PS- hospitals, more specifically hospital staff and administration, don't appreciate the following areas of humor regardless of the objective quality of said humor:

• baby switching/snatching


• post partum depression jokes


• references to stealing pain medications and/or prescription pads


• hazy paternity record keeping


• being tipped like bell hops


• handing doctors catcher's mitts and telling them to "go get 'em."


• citing anti-uterian bias (i've trademarked that term)


• checking eagleaction during delivery (although, a lull is a lull regardless of the action)

Blooming Flowers

Hello friends. I had a very cool moment with Cecilia today. When I was holding her (Molly was selfishly in the shower leaving me to care for both myself and the baby) I walked near this beautiful flower arrangement the good people from my office sent to the hospital. Cecilia turned towards the flowers and as I brought her closer I saw her "smell the roses" for the first time in her life. Of course, being the reborn blogger that I am, I pulled Molly's phone out of my pocket and snapped a picture. What a wonderful world we live in; I am so excited for Cecilia to discover all the amazing things around her.

For all the cognitive biologists reading the blog, don't ruin this moment by telling me that Cecilia is unable to process smell at this stage of her development. I saw it, and I am practically certain I saw her mouth the words "long stem is a nice touch, but peonies really capture my heart." I'm now off to listen to the song "Butterfly Kisses"...

Eyes Wide Open

The good news is that Cecilia now has her eyes wide open. The bad news is that it is a shade past midnight and she is giving strong signs that she is just getting started. All said, this is pretty amazing!

Oh,Brother!

Finn came by again to say hello to his sister (he met her last night). Pop Pop and Mimi (precious names I know but Finn actually came up with them. He found calling them Mr. and Mrs. Bracken a bit too cold and formal) have been all-star Finn watchers and even worked on Finn's pronunciation of his sister's name. Surprisingly, Finn pronounciation of "Cecilia" sounds more like "Competition." He did give her five minutes of love and then spent the rest of the time encouraging adults to sit on the floor with him. Mind you, we are still in some sort of a delivery room, and as such the adults weren't eager to sit down. Bleach can only do so much.

It was great fun having everyone together, and it was a real treat to hang out with Finny. We also had some fun visitors today from the orange and black army. Kathleen Deignan (my boss) stopped by on her way home. She gave a very impressive genetics lecture about babies and eye color. It involved big Bs and little bs and recessive genes, generation skipping double helix genomes, etc. The end result seemed to be that it is genetically impossible for me to be Cecilia's father (biologically. Again, for tax reasons I will be claiming her as a dependent). It was an awkward conversation to have in front of the Brackens, but then the kicker was that Molly cannot genetically be her father's daughter, so that kind of equalized things. At least that is how I understood KD's lecture. I guess you just can't take the New Jersey out of the girl. And now I have a daughter with a NJ birth certificate, oh brother indeed.

Sleeping Beauty

I have to hurry here....the hospital is now rationing my access to the internet. Damn you, Obamacare!! I can't tell if this restriction applies to everyone or just me. One of you little sensi-pots out there probably called and complained about my posts. I can't help it if I hit the jackpot and married a woman who births a large-headed baby and then hours later makes sure I have a toasty blanket covering me while I sleep (that, by the way, actually happened. So blame her for my sleep cocoon, you haters).

Here are some pictures of Cecilia; since her initial look around, she has closed her eyes in an attempt to block out the ugliness of this world. Or maybe she hates beige Formica-- there is a lot of that here. Apparently prying open your daughter's eyes for a photo op is "taboo parental behavior" yet they poke and prod her in hope of protecting her against diseases which sound like they were lifted from a Jane Austen novel. Should she really be vaccinated against getting "the vapors"? OK I have to run, Molly's mac and cheese lunch just came in and I am feeling a bit peckish.

Love from cell block 8!

PS what is UP with her feet? They look like hell and she hasn't even walked on them yet. Would it kill her to get some lotion and some pumice stone action on those dogs?

No Need To Worry

While none have expressed it directly, I can only imagine the concern you have about my comfort here in the hospital. Please rest your weary heads, as I've made due with the little which has been given to me. I've settled in on a nice pull out chair which looks just like those fancy beds featured in British Airways ads for transatlantic flights. I had forgotten after Finn's birth how much I love this cosmopolitan feature.

I do admit that all the nurses, none of whom look like the flight attendants of my mind's eye and lack a lilting British accent, have made it difficult to maintain my mental narrative of my flight to our sheep ranch in New Zealand (you remember the red barn in the meadow from our Christmas card photo last year, right? I was seated on the hood our our vintage Land Rover, and Molly and I were having a good hearted laugh over a glass of Cab from our vineyard).

I did get to sleep through the night, but I do see on the whiteboard references to many night feedings. I do hope those went well. Cecilia seems happy and warm and I will take some pictures today. Molly is being very hospitable to all the nurses and other people coming into our room. She often apologizes for my "nesting" so I think I need to get up and do something around the room; maybe something with the baby.

My phone is dead, so sadly I've not checked email (let the record show that Molly predicted this when I passed on grabbing the charger on our way out the door.) In the interim, please feel free to leave me messages on Eagleaction.com. I post under the name MattRyanholdsmyheartlikeababydove@.

Warm regards to all!

Arrival!

We are so happy to announce that Cecilia Pyne Dunne joined the outside world at 7:05pm today. She weighed in at 7 pounds and 14 ounces and has quite a full head of black hair. Molly and Cecilia are doing great. I'm pretty sure Cecilia will want to watch the fourth quarter of Monday Night Football once she gets back from her spa treatment with the nurses down the hall. Many thanks to all the well wishers, good thoughts and prayers. We are beyond thrilled.

A note about her names; Cecilia is my grandmother's first name and Molly's grandmother's middle name. It runs in both families and we are happy to keep the tradition going. May our daughter have the spirit of adventure and intelligence of those women who went before her. As for her middle name, Pyne is the name of both the courtyard where Molly and I got engaged and where we held the reception following our wedding. As for the last name, well that just kind of got tagged on as an afterthought. We think it generates tax deduction benefits.

PS- holy gray hair! Is that the dad or the grand dad?! I hope that picture is a optical distortion due to some sort of special UV germ killing lightbulbs they use in the delivery rooms.

Mountain Ranges of Pain

So if you are going to make an insightful comment drawing a comparison between the contractions graph thing and the Tetons mountain range (a place both Molly and I love by the way. I am sure she caught this subtle reference to a previous vacation early in our relationship), it is best to make that astute observation at a "mountain valley" and not at a "summit."

This post would like to thank our corporate partners Dell Computers for this product placement.

Have to run, apparently I have to make the hot packs. And why do I have insurance? Although the ice cream cart is a nice benefit.

OK one last thought....someone should make Princeton-themed hospital gowns. What better time than to assert your Princeton affiliation than when you are naked and surrounded by doctors? It's just like Reunions.

Ice Chips or Ice Cream?

Um, hi. Can you keep your contractions-based gasps to a minimum so I can enjoy my ice cream? thanks.