I'm 30

Nathan: Man, I'm turning 29 soon.
Me: I turn 30 this August
Nathan: Whoa, you'll be 30! Man....well, you're going to be a dad so your life is already over dude!


I had hoped to do a triathalon for my birthday, but due to pool problems it became a duathalon and after tepid interest it was canceled. Not having planned anything as a backup, I decided to do a half marathon. I also figured that I could pull 13 miles out of my butt without risking injury or becoming totally useless to Laura and Freddy for a week.

The first four weeks of Freddy have not been exactly conducive to any kind of regular training schedule, so this was kind of a cipher. I woke up at 4:30am, drank a bunch of water, stretched, and stepped out the door at exactly 5:00am. I drank way too much water, tripped over a hole in the sidewalk in the first two blocks but after the first two miles life was a little easier.

I am unapologetic about my musical choices, the cheesier the better. New this year were tracks by Mr. Bizmark-E, Cee-Lo and The Dropkick Murphy's. I ended up getting the exact same time as last year: One hour, forty-nine minutes. I was kinda pissed about it, my mother's comment was, "I really like how you thought that you would be better a year later."

Next available half marathon in St. Louis I intend to crush.

The Late and Early Shift

Since neither of my breasts lactate, I've been trying to help Laura out as best I can. What's worked so far is to have her go to sleep early and I stay up with the lil' guy so she can get the first couple hours of sleep. Laura takes over until the early morning and then I have him from the early a.m on.

This has worked out pretty well, and to my great relief, I've discovered that Freddy shares my interest in this year's Tour De France. While I let out a series of expletives when I found out about Ricardo Ricco's doping scandal, Freddy was so upset he crapped his pants.

I need to start reading more to Freddy. At this point, it's all about hearing the sound of my voice, so I can be selfish in choosing the reading materials. My last attempt at reading to him, I pulled "The Commitments" by Roddy Doyle off the shelf. The book is one of my favorites, but reading it out loud is difficult if you can't pull off a decent South Dublin accent (which I can't). I've been looking for an excuse to crack open my Shakespeare, this just might be it.

Shout Out To Val

Laura's mom came to town to help out when the baby was born. Among other talents she's an amazing cook and since she got here before Freddy arrived, I was finally able to put on the sympathy weight that the books describe. As Laura and I have been trying to set up a routine for our lives, she's made it that much easier helping us around the house, giving advice, basically keeping the place from becoming an absolute sty. Really, I would advise anyone thinking about having kids of their own to first consider having Valerie Cass as a mother-in-law!

More Baby Pics

I've not been very good about photographing everything, luckily my friend Rich is, enjoy:

Freddy Robbins

Frank Edward Robbins VI
Henceforth to be known as Freddy Robbins

Stats:
Born: Tuesday, July 8th 6:58 PM
Weight: 6lbs 8oz
Labor: 3:30 am to 6:58

The pictures you all want to see:

And Wait S'More

No updates lately because there's not much to update really. The little dude was due on the 1st, it's the 6th now and if he doesn't come out, he's getting evicted on the 9th with an induction. Laura has done lots of walking, has eaten plenty of spicy food and had her mother grind her fingers into pressure points in hopes of starting labor contractions. For my part I've been shaking a rattle between Laura's legs in the hope of coaxing him out to play. Nothing doing.

The Waiting Game

The due date is either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on how you look at it, and it seems highly unlikely that the baby will come either on that date or before it.

I'm not working right now, Laura's mother will be coming to town next week and if the baby doesn't oblige us with it's presense I anticipate a Beckett like scenario of the three of us waiting around for the fourth to come.

On the plus side, Laura and I opted to get a smaller house in a more central area rather than a larger one in say....a flood plaine, so we are high and dry. I've considered volunteering and sandbagging around these towns but the idea of being three hours away from Laura is completely untenable.

I picked up this picture of the flood of '08 which I feel underlines what I feel are the two greatest features of my fellow Missourians: unrelenting fealty to our loved ones in the face of tragedy and our unflinching support of Anheuser Busch products. God Bless

Old Man Ribber

I went on a bike ride yesterday morning to the river to see the carnage firsthand. It has been an amazingly wet spring and summer, but aside from a little water in my basement, I have been immune from the great flood of '08. Here's some pics of downtown:

As you can see, the bridge is about 8 feet away from having the water whack it on the sides.

Yup, those are streetsigns

And of course, the obligatory shot of the staircase to nowhere: