avery

What this blog needs – what we all need – is more pictures of my baby girl.

There.

Avery hates a diaper change.  With the passion of 13 little storms.  I think we’ve had a happy change three times since we came home.  We have a list of stuff to try, and we’ve had some moderate successes.  The Temptations’ “My Girl” proved a surprising success, but only once.  A warmer wipe sometimes works, sometimes no.  We’re going to try a blow dryer for the sound and the warm, drying breeze.  Today’s side project was stringing up the peppermint candy lights, to give Avery something interesting to look at while we clean up aisle 2.  The jury’s still out on that one.  At least it’s pretty, and the light’s not so bright for late-night changes.  I added a dimmer to get my nerd in there.

Speaking of workin’ the nerd, I signed up with Twitter (@adriantaverner) just so I could Tweet my girl from space.  True story.  But because the Kickstarter project is called SkyCube, my first space tweet will have to be “We are the Borg.  You will be assimilated.”  Because that’s how that has to go.  No question.  You don’t think that will cause a general panic, do you?  If you are also a twitterer – twerp? – then come follow me and I will follow you.  Is no one else aware of the irony there?  That two people following each other cannot possibly get anywhere?

Probably don’t even need a Twitter account for SkyCube.  Fine.  I will just twerp from Earth anyway.  Twerp is the word, isn’t it?

Avery had her first play date today!  I say that because there were two babies in a room that previously had only one baby.  That’s really it.  There may have been some eye contact.  Mostly it was two babies chiefly concerned with sleep and food.  But Jenah came over to visit with little Josephine (we know Jenah and her husband Thomas from our Bradley prenatal classes – very nice folk).  Marjorie got to chat with a fellow new mom (same due date!), and we learned how to wrap that super long and terrifically useful baby wrap thing.  Moby!  Jenah knows LIC and Astoria well, and we are looking forward to checking out their studio in the shadow of Silvercup.  Oh there will be more hanging out.

Coming up this Sunday at a swanky lounge in Brooklyn is the fundy for You Are Not Special, the short film our little production company has been working on with our partners for the past few months.  It’s got loads of heart, and if I may be so bold, chicks will dig it.  We’re pretty excited.  The party will have bands, comedians, all the cast and crew, and the first official look at the film.  You are invited!  Please come!  Will yours truly be there?  He really should be.  It’s going to be a fabulous night.  But we shall see.  His beloved wife and the mother of his child (wow) is not supposed to be lifting anything heavier than a baby for a full four more weeks.  She needs the extra hands.  If something drops to the floor, it stays there until Adrian gets to it.  So I don’t know.

You know, I don’t think of myself as baby crazy.  I feel pretty grounded.  Pretty centered.  But I do not think a thought without prefacing it with Avery.  I have been told of this phenomenon, but I… I didn’t get it.  I was ready, certainly.  Completely open to the experience, whatever it might turn out to be, but the guy who lived here before Avery Peppermint showed up is not quite the same guy that lives here now.  Same dreams, same drives, same lofty goals… but now… purpose.  It’s no longer “change the world” so much as “change the world For Her”.

I used to joke that I dreaded ever having a daughter for fear she’s wrap me around her finger.  “Daddy, my pony is tired.  Buy me a new one.”  When Marjorie and I were told, way back at our second ultrasound appointment, that we were having a girl, I admittedly had a moment of mentally shaking my fist at the universe (in fun, mind you – I was still thrilled).

But now that she’s here, that wrapping that I feared has manifested in a way I utterly did not expect.  It’s not “I can’t deny you anything”.  It’s more “I am going to do everything for you.”  Does that distinction make sense?  Together with her mom, I am going to build her a world of safety, security, awareness and knowledge.  I will do everything in my power to empower her.  She’ll have the freedom to discover and a safe haven at her back.

I could go on, but no need to get manifesto-ish on you.  It seems to all be in there, in the heart.  Burning that same long burn I have with Marjorie.

Avery looks right at you now, if you don’t move around too quickly.  She and I had a good long hang-out while mum was in the shower.  We made ourselves comfortable in the recliner.  I leaned her back against my legs so she could sit straight, and we hung out.  Not sure what we talked about.  Diapers and rage.  Doesn’t matter.  We were happy just to watch each other’s face.  A little bit of Martin Blank.  Today I really felt like she was appreciating me, at least as much as she was appreciating the warm chest to snooze against.  Every day, new discoveries.  Another thing I had heard but didn’t fully understand.

I am so ridiculously lucky to be able to work from home (mostly).  I don’t want to miss any of this.  Actually, it’s 1:30am.  I should go to bed and miss a few hours of it.

Hugs & kisses.

She looks so serious in there! And cozy! Like, dude, I am so seriously cozy in here. You should try this. Bunny, if I could, I would. Count on it. I still scheme for ways (and the lifestyle) to justify a hammock. In the meantime, let’s reserve Mum’s carrying efforts for you.

So! Today we officially said “see you soon” to Gramma. She didn’t want to go. We were in no hurry to let her leave, either. Travel safely, Judy! Everybody’s looking forward to Christmas, when Avery takes her first plane ride to meet the rest of the family. I figure by then she’ll be carrying her own luggage, so no big deal, right?

After Judy left and Avery went down, our new mum & dad sat down on the couch side by side for the first time in two weeks. I asked Marjorie how she was liking being a mom so far. Tears burst from her eyes, and she said, “I love it.” A bit strong whilst watching Star Wars, perhaps, but I think this lady has found the centre of her universe. She’s such an incredible mom, too. I found a hundred new reasons to love her. What a family. We just need some pictures on the walls and we’ll have a real family home. Just in time for Thanksgiving.

Now… what to do about this occasional faint miasma of cigarette smoke. Don’t know where it’s coming from. A neighbour. The windows are closed but I suppose the AC units do bridge the walls. I mean, I wouldn’t have thought they’d allow the smoke in. They don’t noticeably let in the smell of tar from the construction site across the street. No smoke in the hallway. I’m at a bit of a loss. I guess I will just have to find the smoker and “eliminate the problem.” I mean kill him. I mean enquire with the building if there’s anything they might be able to do for us. Gotta protect those brand new little lungs. Apparently air purifiers won’t do it.

Seriously, who in their right mind smokes these days? What a disgusting, self-destructive, selfish thing to do. Stupid. Just stupid.

End rant. Yoda would not approve of such negative energy. Approve, he would not.

What a productive day! Finished (again) a mix, hammered out the details of the Chaos Complex Entertainment operating agreement, sorted out the old Verizon account, changed some diapers, entertained some baby, cleaned a kitchen, and sat on the couch with my wife for nearly a whole hour before she fell asleep. That’s a good day, people.

Tomorrow – yikes, I should get to bed – tomorrow morning I meet the fellas online to poke at our feature script. It’s really fun, but it’s long. Studios, I kid you not, have been known to receive a script, heft it, and discard it without reading Word One simply because it weighed two pages too much. In our case, we’re cruising around 150 pages. A feature script is typically 120. So… we’re going to see if anything can be chipped out. This won’t be our first attempt. It’s just so damned fun! Are you looking for the next Boondock Saints underground phenomenon? Here it is.

Ok then, time for bed. But yay for posting a third day in a row. Yay me. Thank you, life.

Wait. Chaos meets Wednesday. So tomorrow is another day. Goodnight everybody!