This BLOG has Moved

We have moved over to posterous ... it makes KT's life easier to be able to email short videos and photos with little text tidbits (posterous does a great job of auto formatting emails into posts)!!!  While we had been sending out regular emails to our immediate family, other family and friends kept asking for new photos and such ... finally we should be able to at least keep the blog updated regularly w/ lots of photos & videos and occasional posts about our adventures in returning to land!!!  The posterous blog has its own email and/or rss subscription - so sign up there if you want to get regular updates.

Cheers,
Chris, KT & Jake
http://myles-crew.posterous.com/
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That's what I have to say about That!

Mom and Dad have been very excited this past week, as I have been more and more vocal. Personally I don't see what the big deal is, but it really cracks them up, and hey I figure I should throw them a bone or two considering all the work the do to try and keep me fat and happy! Now, if you aren't related to me, you might think two minutes is a bit long for just baby talk, so feel free to hit the stop button anytime, but I figured all those relatives back home, who I have yet to meet, might get a kick out of this.

Jake "talking", 2 months old. from SV Billabong on Vimeo.

Am I the cutest thing ever or what? Can't you just wait to meet me???
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Internet Mom

Some might say that I'm bordering on a Type A personality, or they (aka Chris) might say I can be just a bit anal (I call it organized). And to help me in my anal-ness, 'er organization, is the internet. The Google search engine is my best friend. I use it for everything, there is nothing I won't research. How I ever lived without Google search I don't know. After these last six month with internet (and Google) I'm not sure how I survived our five years "unconnected". Of course there is a downside to having all this information at my finger tips - it can be too much information, and I don't doubt that I have wasted many hours of my life over-researching things, with no real gain to my over all well being!

Jake is no exception to my internet obsession. If anything he as only stoked the fire. I can Google every hiccup, every cry, every snort, smile, blink, and ... well you get the picture. On one hand this is a huge benefit to me. Still far away from friends and family, with no one to easily call and ask some of those first time motherhood question to, Google has become my lifeline. On the other hand I get carried away, and I know it. I mean do I really need to Google about his bowel movements? And there is WAY too much information out there ... it can take days just to sort through all the crap (wink, wink) that comes up on the search. There is also a thing as "too much information" ... for every good piece of information there is bound to be hundreds of crap pieces, and for every opinion that recommends method A there will be an opposing opinion that recommends something entirely different. So, I can't really win, I'm bound to just be more confused after a days worth of researching, but still I can't stop myself ... as part of my Type-A personality I want to be the perfect mother, and I'm convinced that somewhere out there in Google land there is advice that will help me. (Hey, before anyone starts to think I'm off my rocker, I am exaggerating just a bit here folks).

As of late I have been spending my time on the internet trying to figure out how I can get more sleep ... which of course means how I can entice Jake to sleep more. I realize that with infants come the sleepless nights, but I am also one of those rare breeds that requires, desperately needs, a good 10 hours of sleep in order to function ... so you can imagine that I am barely running on two cylinders since Jake has come into my life. Still I was managing pretty well ... until a couple of weeks ago, when Jake decided that napping was overrated and he now fights sleep to the point of pure exhaustion (and crankiness). My little angel who used to nap in 2-3 hour stretches (during which I would also do a bit of napping) now barely lasts 30-45 minutes at any one time (and it takes about that long to get him 'down'). So, what do I do, call Google of course. And what do I find? Well, I'll let Jake's Grandpa Dave tell you:

When I got to Turkey I watched as KT set up a CD player to play Mozart for Jake while he was in his little chair. KT spent some time telling me how "studies" have shown Mozart songs help in brain development, and over all well being of the child. She had researched this thoroughly and I was impressed.

In fact there is no end to the studies available on the Internet. So many that I have watched KT spend hours researching Jake's every action or inaction. Watching all this has made me very happy none of it existed when I was raising the kids.

Today I came into the living room and KT was setting up the CD player. Less than four weeks from Mozart, the player was playing, are you ready, hairdryer noise. It seems the kids have not been getting enough sleep. The "studies" indicate Jake is not sleeping enough during the day so he is awake at night more than, well, more than KT and Chris would like. KT noticed that when she vacuumed the house Jake went to sleep right away and when the vacuum stopped he woke up. She could not find vacuum noises that she could download for free (that's my daughter) but she could find hairdryer noise, so Jake is being bombarded with hairdryer sounds so he will sleep.

Mozart and brain development will have to wait, there are priorities in life.

So, you must be wondering ... does it work? Yes and No. First I found that Jake prefers pure white noise or dishwasher sounds over the hair dryer (even writing that sounds ridiculously funny to me). It helps him fall asleep, but unfortunately does not keep him asleep, and so his naps are still ridiculously short and I am still Google-ing away!

Grandpa Dave just departed to return home. I was quite worried how this would further effect my sleep, as we were doing a 5/6am hand-off to Grandpa Dave every morning while I crawled back into bed for a blissful 2-3 undisturbed hours. Thankfully Chris and I have worked out a plan that involves Chris removing Jake from our bed around 6 am (after his feeding and when he starts to get all fidgety), and Chris then takes the next feeding. No, Chris has not magical found a way to produce milk, I am pumping, and it is the best decision ever made ... that extra couple of hours is pure bliss! My dad, Grandpa Dave, wrote a funny blurb about his mornings with Jake in one of his emails home:

Since I am an early riser I have been getting early morning time with Jake. KT finishes feeding him about 6:00 or so then staggers out to the porch where I am drinking my coffee and passes him off. She goes back to bed and I try to keep Jake happy until he’s hungry again. What is really an interesting sight is how KT and Chris can look so beat up at 6:00 am and Jake looks so refreshed. It would seem that every two hours at watch on the boat is easier than doing every two with Jake. Its great being a grandpa, sleep through the whole night, every night.

I’ve been trying to pass on some good tips to Jake. Like “honey coated cheerios are better than plain” and “why West coast teams don’t get a fair shake in the sports writers polls” and “why my generation’s bail out is really going to be his generation’s bail faster”. Jake pays attention to every presentation, but I am sure he’s just being polite. Sometimes polite is all you need.

Well, I'll keep you posted if I discover any sleep miracles for my little bundle of joy ... in the meantime here are a mix of photos from Jake's first eight weeks of life.

BlurbBits for this Entry w/Location

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Wrapping Up

We have said goodbye to Billabong. I never thought I'd be sentimental about a boat, but there is no doubt that I'll miss the 'ol girl. She is a great boat, but more importantly she allowed Chris and I to see parts of the world that would've otherwise gone unexplored. Aboard Billabong we learned more abut ourselves and each other in 5-1/2 years then we probably could have in twice that time. But still I can't seem to shed a tear. Actually that is not entirely true, when we first received the offer on her (and I was still quite pregnant ... aka emotional) I woke up one morning and pretty much sobbed, yep uncontrollable sobs. It wasn't so much for Billabong (sorry Billabong), but rather for the end of an unbelievable journey, and end of a lifestyle that I had grown to love. I had thought that as we moved our belongings off Billabong I would be emotional, that it would be hard. It hasn't been though. Actually the whole things feels a bit unreal, like perhaps it hasn't hit yet. Chris seems just as unattached as I do. My guess is that three months from now it will hit us both, and for me it will be a very emotional moment.

The new owners, Bill and Caroline, are terrific. They are the perfect match for Billabong, and I find myself surprised that I care so much about the match. I suppose it is because I've watched as Chris has poured his time and energy (and yes, even some of his heart) into Billabong, perfecting this and sprucing up that, such that I am thrilled to have Billabong transferred to a couple who appreciates all of this work and who acknowledges its value.

Saturday, August 1, we had a little ceremony ...
well ceremony might be a strong word, but we struck the colors (translation = took down our American Flag) while Bill & Caroline raised the Australian flag. We also strung together all of the flags from the 25 countries we had visited and hoisted them up the mast for a photo op. It seems amazing that we have visited so many countries, however when I look at a world map I realize that we have still seen so little! This ceremony of sorts seemed to make the transfer official. It feels a bit odd to step aboard Billabong and no longer be her Admiral (as Chris calls me). It didn't really hit me that she was no longer "my" boat until just the other day when, after finishing a little maneuvering practice with Bill & Caroline, they served us lunch ... food and entertaining visitors was always a big thing for me aboard Billabong, and this was the first time that it was I being served rather than scurrying around doing the serving. A very strange feeling!

My dad, aka Grandpa Dave, mentions that perhaps Chris and I are not as emotional as we could be because of Jake ... Jake, as he says, is our new Billabong. He is probably pretty close to the mark. Here is his "five cents worth":

Today we went to Billabong to take some pictures and to strike Old Glory so that Bill and Caroline could raise the flag of Australia. It was a sort of ceremonial Change of Command.

First Chris ran up the courtesy flags from all the Nations they had visited in their trip. It was a very impressive string of flags. Then Chris struck the Stars and Stripes, handed it to me and I folded her and put her away for the Myles family. She will always bring great memories and I think good fortune.

I expected the turning over of Billabong to be considerably more emotional and maybe even a little difficult for KT and Chris. I kept looking for signs of loss, but I have not seen any. Then during our brief ceremony something became very clear to me. Jake is the active ingredient to the change here. In an emotional sense Jake has replaced Billabong. Chris and KT now have a different boat to sail.

Jake was here before Billabong had to leave. He needs the attention of the crew every bit as much, maybe more than Billabong. This has made leaving Billabong seem a natural step. Jake has brought a new challenge; family.

So, while I am sure the kids will shed some tears and miss the lovely Billabong, Jake has brought some pretty strong winds of change for this crew and has given them no time to morn.

I am reminded of the comic strip Peanuts and how Lucy would set up a Psychologist Stand (like a Lemon Aide stand). The sign said 5 cents. So, that’s my 5 cents worth.

Repeat of photos from above link, in case you missed them!

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The American Male

Jake is one month old tomorrow! I knew time would fly, but this is ridiculous ... who knew it could go this fast (well, other parents I suppose). I was just looking at a photo of Jake from the hospital and it amazes me how much he has changed in such a short time. And it's not just his appearance- his focus, attention and "skills" have all grown exponentially. Of course that also means he demands more attention from Mom & Dad - he no longer just sleeps away the day, but prefers to explore & interact (while in our arms of course).

He is not the only one demanding our time. We've been busy moving off the 'ol Billabong. We are officially homeless and no longer Billabong's captain/admiral. It hasn't really hit either of us yet, but I'm sure one day we will wake up and be in shock that we are now land-lubbers!

Because of all this activity in our lives this will be a short post ... but we wanted an excuse to post some more photos of Jake (from Weeks 2 and 3) and to publish this Guest post, "The American Male" by Jake's Grandpa Dave:

Thursday, July 16, 2009

I am witnessing a miracle. Jake Dylan Myles has a full time job. He eats, poops and sleeps. It’ a grind. He also must discover things, things like his own hand passing by his line of sight.

I am in awe watching KT. She provides everything Jake needs. She is in tune with him. They are for now in his life as connected as they were when he was in her womb. It is beautiful. It is incredible but it is not the miracle I address here.

While the mother is the provider of all needs the father is, well, somewhat left out or so I thought. But I am witnessing the development of the American male psyche. I am seeing firsthand how it is we are what we are. How we get from “he’s so cute and adorable” to “your gross”, “not here”, “do you have to”, “where are your manners” et al. let me explain.

While the mom is busy providing all things needed the dad is left with the by-products. This is the only area he can work. And he makes the best of it. He plants the seeds of the American male psyche. It works like this. Jake farts, dad jumps up and rushes to his son. He carefully lifts one arm and moves it up and down in the arm pump motion while singing praises like “you da man” similar excitement and encouragement are shown when he pees in his own face or poops a particularly messy diaper or belches load enough to be heard in the next flat.

Chris is beautiful man, he is on this stuff. The day will come when Jake will be able to empty a room with one noxious loud release and stand alone in the center of the room and pound his chest in triumph.

He will be one of us. He will be An American Male.

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Dad on Jake's arrival

Wow.. I don't really have any other way to describe it. Sure I've had plenty of time to think about it, but you just can't describe the feeling until you've been there!!

We knew that Jake's arrival was going to be different. We are in a foreign country with just a few friends who are hours away. Of course our 5+ year trip prepared us and we are very used to being alone, reliant only on each other for support and comfort. As we walked to the hospital for our C-section appointment(the universal "we" is in effect here), our main concern was communication. We just shrugged our shoulders and said "we'll see soon enough".

We realized things might be a little different in Turkey when we first asked if I could be in the room for the C-section, I guess that isn't a common thing. We got prepped upstairs and the nurse asked (more like motioned) for the babies first clothes (uh oh another difference). I followed KT out of the room as she was wheeled away, down the elevator, through the keypadded ER door and into the ward. I followed blindly down the hall when all of the sudden there was a shout, "hey hey, what are YOU doing here" as KT was wheeled around the corner. I didn't even have a chance to say good bye, good luck or anything!!

They told me to wait outside and about five minutes later a nurse came out and said "Kelly Kelly". I followed her back though the security door and put on my scrubs and cap and waited and waited for someone to come back and get me. When someone finally did he said "problem, you no come" and disappeared. As I was having a heart attack the anesthesiologist (we met early) said, "she can still feel pain, we need to do more. You wait here". Well by then I was wearing a groove into the floor with all my pacing. FINALLY an older woman came out another door and starts babbling in Turkish.. "bebek, bebek" while kissing her finger tips and pinching her cheeks. "Engligh, English?" I'm dying here people.. what is happening? Then she points down the hall to one of those plastic bubble baby boxes rolling around the corner and smiles "bebek" and points to me .. Holy @$#% he's here.. that's my son!! Is he ok? Why is he in that thing? Where's my wife? Is She OK? I went running over to see him, but he was all bundled up in this big green canvas cloth. The nurse opened the window, moved the cloth and there he was.. my son. With tears running down my face I introduced myself and he opened his eyes. He was here and he was alive!!

Sure I've some memorable moments in my life, but this is most amazing thing I've ever been a part of, intellectually and emotionally. I am constantly amazed about how he was made, yeah yeah .. I know.. two minutes of fun last fall, thanks guys! It's fascinating to think about what had to happen correctly in order for Jake to be here (cell splitting, build a finger here, toe there). The process simply boggles my mind. I can stare at this little guy for hours, while he's sleeping even.. just to watch him BE it is simply amazing (if you know me you know I can't sit still ever). Sometimes in the middle of the night I wake up just to watch him breathe. Wow, what's it going to be like when he can actually do sometime or even talk. Everything seems to be more emotional now, and I'm not the one going through the hormone changes. I get teary eyed over TV commercials now.. and they are in Turkish!!

To all of you parents who tried to explain this whole thing to me.. I finally get it!

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My First Week

It's been a crazy week and I don't even know where to begin, so I guess I'll start from right at the beginning.. no not THAT beginning.. the day I entered the world:

I know in my previous post I gave some "highlights" on my arrival, but I still can't get over the shock of it all ... the whole thing just baffles me. There I am floating around in my nice liquid cushioned, temperature, light and noise controlled cocoon (mom) just like I have been for the last 260+ plus days. This light appears at my feet (butt actually) and whammo someone reaches in a grabs me and pulls me towards the light. Well obviously I started screaming, it was bright, loud, cold, everyone had masks on and oh yeah .. I've never actually breathed air before. My only pointer was "breathe" and a spank, not exactly an appropriate level of training in my book. Let's see how you'd enjoy breathing liquid without any tips or pointers!! So there they are, poking and prodding me.. when all of the sudden they reach down and cut the tube to my food supply. Hello!!.. What's the plan here, don't I need that? I'm looking around for someone, anyone who will look after me. My mom is out cold and my dad is no where to be seen.. this is totally NOT what I was expecting!!

Well needless to say I start screaming, which only brought on more poking and prodding. I got weighed, wiped down, they checked fingers and toes, my bits (I would have started there), and then they wrap me up in a diaper, clothes, a hat and gloves. I'm just getting used to the freedom of these limb things and already they're gone. They check my height, my head size and blow air at my face. Do you realize all the changes I'm going through.. in the span of like two minutes? My parents keep complaining that I didn't come with a manual. At least they can read up on it, watch a video .. I get nothing!! Come on people, how about a little heads up?

I think I finally passed out because I woke up to the sound of a familiar voice "Hi Jake, I'm your dad". I was in this plastic cocoon and when I open my eyes I saw this guy standing over me with tears running down his face. He seemed a little clueless, some lady was jabbering away at him, but they didn't seem to be understanding each other. Dad kept saying 'English, English?". He kept staring at me as we moved us to our room and again the clueless man didn't understand. Finally they took me out of my bubble and wrapped me in a bath towel, I guess my dad forgot a blanket. He picked me up and cradled me with this look of wonder in his eyes, sort of a now what? stare as we were left alone together.

Finally I met mom, she got rolled in on a big bed!! She seemed really out of it and was obviously still in a lot of pain. She looked at me through hazy eyes and said something like "I've got eighteen years to get even". Lots of crazy women came in giggling, squeezing my cheeks, and pinching me all over. What is it with all this touching stuff?.. I'm used to a nice belly buffer - leave me alone. Then a nurse comes in waves her hands, points at me, then to mom and says "baby eat". Well I was used to this simple "goes into, goes out" tube that I had for a while. Now I've got mom and dad trying to figure out what to do and coming up with "a plan". Mom's cradling me and waving something at me, while dad is trying to look in, open my lips and jam my head forward at just the right time. This thing looks like it's going to block all of my air, so I start to scream. I hear words of encouragement like "come on Jake suck".. Do these people realize I just learned how to breathe a couple of hours ago? That's a pretty big step. Kind of a "check ..I'm done for the day" effort in my book. They've got four hands and they still can't seem to get it right. Finally I get "latched on".. personally I think the tube was easier. I was thinking.. these parent things, can you upgrade or trade them in.. how exactly does this work?

Well obviously if it goes in, it has to come back out. I'm trying to tell dad that he needs to change me (by screaming). Dad's bouncing me up and down while mom (the smart one) says, "Why don't you check his diaper?". Dad, trying to put off the inevitable, says "He hasn't really eaten anything yet, how can he poop?". Well I showed him.. if you haven't seen the video you have to.. my mom is so sneaky!! He's running around trying to get everything ready and he's so clueless. I guess the meconium stuff is kind of sticky, kind of like tar.. oh well, not my problem hee hee. I would have laughed a little harder but I was sitting in my own poop. You try it.. kind of takes the funny edge off of things doesn't it?

note: I guess this video caused a little bit of a ruckus in the Roddick household.. something about front to back vs back to front. I can assure you my dad handled it quite well.. there is no front or back with Meconium, it's more like from the outside in or wax on wax off. Trust me, I felt very fresh and clean afterwards.

Now I'm hungry so I start crying again, my parents both look at me as if I'm "saying" the exact same thing. First a diaper check, then they lay me down to sleep and finally I get my food source. Come on you guys listen up, it looks like we're going to have to work on that one for a while! Next my dad tries to get me ready for bed.. what a nightmare that was. Dad tries to put a long sleeved sleepy bag/dress on me. Well I've got no control over my head or arms so stuff is just flopping everywhere. Dad has this look of horror on his face like I'm going to shatter into a million pieces any second. He's taking his time and gets it stuck on my head while trying to stuff both of my wet noodle arms into these small long tubes. As I screamed in horror at the delay, he looked like he was going to cry, seriously.. I've got to toughen up this guy!!

We finally got to go home to our flat. It was nice to be able to relax with mom and dad without the threat of the giggling pinchy nurses waking me up all night. Mom's milk finally came in.. I don't know who I have to thank for that, but I was a little nervous for a while there and my jaw was killing me. I thought I was going to have to suck that hard forever; it's kind of like sucking molasses through a coffee stirrer (in case you can't remember). Well, as the input changed, so did the output and I had a new weapon at my disposal.. the randomly targeting pee stream.

The first time it happened was with mom and she started screaming.. honey help, oh oh, quick, hurry, bring a towel!! Once again, it was funny to watch these clueless people try and figure me out. From what I observed, changing my diaper just got a whole lot more difficult. My dad, always the engineer, was trying to figure out the best plan of attack. Give it up buddy. Two hands, two holes and one diaper to finagle into place, it just can't be done! Well I got a shock one morning when the pee stream got me. There it was, pointing straight up when whammo, I got it right in the kisser. Note to self, I've got to learn to get a little more control of that thing.

The other interesting change was on the other end. Something must have happened because dad yelled.. "ugggh it looks like yellow cottage cheese". Well I can assure you this, who ever designed diapers was not sitting in one while they developed it!! Come on, it's practically designed to force stuff where it isn't meant to go. Maybe when I grow up I'll be an engineer too, because this sucks!!

Dad's been on the internet, trying to get ready for the "real world" he says. He's been coming up with clever ways to keep me entertained while still having access to both hands. Some work well, while others don't (photos coming soon). Mom also suggested he talk to me more, so now I'm stuck listening to him babble on about Javascript, APIs, social networks and Google.. someone please get this man a job!!

We spent the week adjusting to each other but overall I think things are going pretty well. I sleep pretty good and I'm generally very happy, although I don't think mom and dad understand that yet!! I guess the name of the game with this control thing is to keep them guessing..

Special thanks to my dad, he translated all this from a bunch of goos, gas and grunts.
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