the rosenpool: we have a winner!

So, we've been getting a number of questions about who won the Rosenpool, and we're proud to say that the winner is: Kenny's Aunt Carol! Aunt Carol was within 33 minutes of Kenny's birth, and nearly had the weight too! Her gift will be on its way shortly, and once it has been sent we can reveal that as well...

"you look hungry...you should eat"

Overboard and I tried out two different feeding styles the other day to see which one would work best with the Spud. While Overboard used a newborn bottle, I tried out a small tube connected to a bottle, which was taped to my finger. By placing my finger and the tube in Kenny's mouth, I could try to stimulate the roof of his mouth and get him to start sucking away. He liked to suck for a few seconds, then stop, look at me, then take a few more. This was all on Sunday or Monday, and since then, he's gotten much better about his eating, and uses the bottle like a champ. As for Mommy and her breast pump adventures, well that's a post for another time...

kenny's first visitors!

On Monday, Kenny got his first official visit when "Uncle Shoes" and "Auntie Heather" came to see him. Heather is a natural and had fun admiring our handsome man, while Shoes kept whispering "Lawrence, Kansas" and "Go, Jayhawks!" in Kenny's ear. Overboard and I loved having the visitors, even if Kenny opted to sleep the whole time.

i'm not biased or anything, but what a handsome boy!

Just two pictures from yesterday for everyone to enjoy!

today's news: attention hound decries lack of attention

Glenview canine wonders where local fan base has disappeared to.

Poor Sadie is in for quite the shock in a few days when Mommy and Kenny come home. I'm doing what I can to prepare her, by bringing home some of Kenny's blankets and whatnot to smell, but she's been giving me a puzzled look. I think she's on to me, to be honest, and we may be looking at a similar situation to when we moved to Chicago and she was informed that she would no longer be allowed to sleep in the bed. Yeah, that took a bit of getting used to. Poor puppy was thoroughly confused the first time she hopped up into the bed with Overboard and I, only to be immediately tossed back onto the floor. Hopefully, the adjustment to no longer being the baby in the house won't be as traumatic, but time will tell.

I can't blame her for being a bit tweaked out though. Think of it this way: Two nights ago, Overboard and I woke up in the middle of the night, excitedly grabbed a packed suitcase and slipped off into the evening. I can only imagine what horrible thoughts were careening through the puppy's head at that point..."Well, they finally did it. They just up and left. Sure hope they left the biscuits where I can reach them."

the doctor is in!

Remember that last post? Yeah, apparently it set something into motion...

Kenneth Matthew Rolnick (aka "The Baby Formerly Known As Dr. Rosenberg, aka "Lil Kenny") was born at 1:45pm on Sunday, May 28, 2006, weighing in at 6 lbs, 7 oz, and 19 inches in length. He has a full head of thick dark hair and a very "Evenkeel" temperament (so far). Mommy and baby are doing fine, but recuperating from everything, while Daddy tries to figure out exactly what to do now.

Kenny is named after his maternal grandfather, Kenneth Lipman, and his paternal great-grandfather, Melvin Blye.

More pictures will be coming soon, as well as an official announcement! Also, check out the "KennyMail!" You can now email Kenny a "welcome to the world" message. Now while he may take a bit to get back to you, he's very excited to smash any and all keys on Daddy's computer...

nine months later, but still no doctor

"He's still in there," says Overboard. Well, duh. But then again, who's gonna argue with a pregnant lady? Not me, that's for damn sure.

So, today is the due date, but the good doctor is apparently in no hurry to make his grand entrance. Now, I'm cool with that, and personally I hope he comes out when he's good and ready, but I would have appreciated a heads up, since this is the only weekend that the Braves are playing the Cubs in Chicago. I'm just sayin'.

Of course, for anyone who entered the Rosenpool and was betting on an early entrance, sorry, you lose. To those who are "still alive," don't forget that there is a grand prize still up for grabs.

Today was a beautiful day here in the 'burbs, and after hanging out a bit around the homestead, Overboard and I went with the Brandts to one of the neighborhood pools. I'm continually impressed with the quality of the Glenview Park District, and Overboard and I kept smiling at each other with an, "I can't wait till we can take Dr. Rosenberg swimming" look. Definitely getting excited, but again, he'll let us know when he's ready to come on out. Of course, if he waits too long, well, we may give him a little nudge...

so beautiful, so cute, so deadly...

The beautiful punim pictured above belongs to Ava, AJ & Victoria's baby girl. The Brandt clan was at Overboard's birthday party on Sunday, and Ava had a lot of fun eating fruit and other sticky things, and watching Sadie dodge her and hunt for fallen food scraps. Unfortunately, Ava is fighting off a cold, and she not only got her mommy and daddy sick, but seemed to have nabbed Overboard and Evenkeel as well. Of course, this is just something else to look forward to as parenthood nears: the germ factories that children become.

One of the big things I've noticed over the years, as my friends and family have kids, is that when the kid gets sick, so do the parents. And may I just point out that kids get sick ALL OF THE TIME. I'm not the world's best patient, so I'm not exactly looking forward to the inevitable germ warfare. Of course, I will say that I am now a firm believer in flu shots, as this is the first time I've been sick since last fall.

Both Overboard and I stayed home from work today, and we have spent the majority of the day either sleeping or sniffling. While it's nice to get to spend extra time together during the week, this isn't exactly what I had in mind. Oh well. Get used to it now, right?

The ingenious thing about kids being such incredible germ factories is that you can't be mad at them. Who would have thought that "booger patrol" could be so cute?

overboard's larry bird birthday!

Dr. Overboard turned 33 on Monday, and to celebrate, we had a BBQ at the house on Sunday night. Much grilling was done, and the piece de la resistance was the special Larry Bird birthday cake created for the event. As a little girl growing up outside of Boston, Overboard's dad used to take her to the "Gah-din" to see games, where she could watch her favorite hick from French Lick. Even though it was suggested at Reggie-palooza that an alternate cake would have been entertaining ("Sorry, they were all out of Larry Bird, so I had to get a Robert Parrish"), I stuck with the original game plan. Smart move.

Also, I'm pleased to announce that the cake in question was deemed "Yum Delish" by the birthday girl, and scored many points from the crowd. Sadly, the cake was unavailable for comment, and couldn't quite be dunked (but it had a helluva three point shot).

dr. rosenberg's daddy is a champion!

The Phantoms Post-Championship Photo Session

Evenkeel scores the game-winner vs. the Eagles during Game 1 of the tournament

We here at the Rosenblog are proud to report that Evenkeel's hockey team played in a tournament in town this past weekend and emerged victorious! Playing five games in three days, the Phantoms went 4-1 (including the championship game), and Evenkeel helped the cause with four goals and four assists (to finish 3rd in the team in scoring, and 7th overall in the tournament -- his fellow linemates finished in the two spaces ahead of him).

Although exceptionally tiring, the tournament was a blast, and Dr. Rosenberg was kind enough not to arrive in the middle of things and cause his daddy to show up in the ER in full gear. Come to think of it, the ER folks should really be thanking him, as nothing smells quite as nice as a hockey locker room, and that's what Evenkeel would have smelled like.

Overboard summed up things nicely, when she commented that, "Nothing says, 'I'm a champion' like a small piece of gold painted plastic." Indeed.

it was a reggie-palooza!

(from left to right) "Shoes," Evenkeel, R. Newton, Esq., Mr. Wieland

Last weekend, our good friend, Reggie, graduated from law school. The weekend before that, he and his wife held "Reggie-palooza," a 3-day celebration of all things Reggie. Overboard and I were able to attend the Saturday night event, where the back room of a bar in the city had been taken over by the Reggie faithful. We had a lot of fun, and Overboard, Dr. Rosenberg and I all enjoyed the hot wings with equal gusto and squirminess.

With Reggie getting his degree, and about to embark upon a career with the Chicago DA's office after passing the bar, the good doctor has a plethora of attorneys in his life should he ever find himself in need of advice or litigation. Hopefully, we'll be able to avoid such situations, but it's good to know we've got plenty of places to turn just in case...

week 38: dr. rosenberg fattens up and bides his time

Two weeks to go. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the good doctor's arrival is indeed imminent, and we're pretty excited about it. We can't wait to meet the little guy and get to know him.

According to our trusty baby sources, the good doctor has reached "full term" and can make his entrance at any given moment. All of his internal organs are developed, his hair may or may not be in place, and he's pretty much spending his time pudging up and wondering why things are getting so crowded all of the sudden.

Overboard is doing really well, and is still working and moving around without any major issues. Her exclamations of, "Wow, he's really moving!" are growing more frequent, but her sleep patterns haven't been too terrible over the past two weeks. While she's definitely got a bit of the third trimester fatigue, on the whole, she's managed to avoid most every pregnancy woe you might expect (which is nice).

We've got all of the good doctor's things ready for when he arrives, and Overboard has a few cute outfits picked out for when he comes home. They're packed in with her clothes, which sit in a rolling bag in Rosenberg's room. When the call comes, we grab the "hospital bag" and head out the door...

In the meantime, I'm trying to put together a few mix CDs for everyone to listen to at the hospital. Once they're organized properly, I'll post the track listings. I've been having a good time with it, picking out fun songs like, "I Shall Be Released" and "Here Comes Your Man." Good stuff. Music to deliver to, I suppose. I may be on to something here...

"what are you going to name the bay-beee?"

Overboard and I have been dealing with inquisitive folks since the first day we decided to tell everyone we were expecting. As should be pretty obvious, since you're reading this on the Rosenblog, we've definitely been accommodating and forthcoming with the baby information. Pregnant? Told ya. Gender? Told ya. Name? Not gonna tell ya just yet.

Yes, the one surprise we've held onto thus far is Dr. Rosenberg's real name (no, we won't keep calling him "doctor" after he's arrived). Although Overboard and I came to a decision on the name a while back, we're not tellin' you nothin' until the doctor is "in."

With the sheer volume of name requests we get, it's gotten old saying, "Well, the one thing we're keeping secret is the name." Instead, I've decided to start telling people that we've sold the boy's naming rights, and to tell anyone would violate the contract. Yes, little "Chipotle" would be so disappointed if we blew the deal for him now. Besides, with the cost of raising a kid these days, the extra naming rights money will come in handy for orthodonture, camp and college. Furthermore, being the savvy ex-music biz guy, I made sure that the deal was only good for 10 years -- after that, it's time to re-up or bring in a new corporate sponsor...