forty weeks

catch up!

2011-05-09T02:09:00.004-04:00

So I was going to post Mother's Day pictures when I realized that I never posted CHRISTMAS pictures. So lets catch up!

We lived across the street from an outdoor mall where it SNOWS on cue everynight while I'm dreaming of a White Christmas plays. Yeah, It made me cry.

Magic Mountain, BABY!

2010-11-07T23:42:00.003-05:00

This kid loves roller coasters! He points to the biggest, baddest ones and says "next time we come, I will be big enough..."

Six flags is awesome because they let him on rides (with an adult) that other parks won't let him near.

The log flume is his favorite. It terrifies me because I'm afraid he'll go dumping out of the log on one of the BIG drops. He loves it. I don't have proof since we all ride together and the park's pictures are insanely overpriced, so you'll just have to take my word for it, this kid is a bad@ss.

He's never seen this cartoon in his life but he loves being hugged by giant fuzzy people. Go figure.

It's a flying cage. Don't ask me.

Daddy won me a cape by wielding a sledgehammer.
This is how you fly!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T00:15:00.003-04:00

Joshua Tree National Park

2010-10-28T00:13:00.003-04:00

Best. Campsite. Ever.
Spider, Shmider.
OK, that freaked me out.
Rocks!
More Rocks!

Really Cool Rocks!
Little boys love rocks.

Two!

2010-08-06T00:19:00.001-04:00

Father's Day 2010

2010-06-20T23:52:00.008-04:00

Father's Day 2010
A Harbor Tour and a trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific

MERRY!!!

2008-12-25T23:37:00.003-05:00

Baby's first laughs

2008-11-07T00:01:00.004-05:00

Learning the joys of peek-a-boo.

One Month Old!

2008-09-05T23:46:00.007-04:00

The birthday boy in the outfit that Randall wore home from the hospital.

What's this? A giant ham?

Get in my belly, giant ham!

Yikes, This ham is way too big for me.

Maybe we should just be friends.

Four Funny Baby Fotos

2008-09-04T00:16:00.003-04:00

Catching Up

2008-09-02T00:00:00.000-04:00

A random collection of photos from week 2

Multitasking Mama

6 days old and sick of the camera

1 week birthday - family self-portrait

9 days

what it looks like in there

also happy in the car seat

Labor Day

2008-08-31T23:16:00.009-04:00

Labor Day?

Didn't I already live through labor day once this month?

I finally downloaded the pictures in honor of the holiday

and here are the ones that are approved for all audiences.

minus 11hrs 13min

minus 3hrs 4min

minus 10min

3 seconds

11 seconds

10 minutes

24 minutes

41 minutes

42 minutes

What do you suppose I am thinking about here?

Saturday - My birthday!

2008-08-13T23:13:00.008-04:00

Saturday - Day four

My birthday seemed like the perfect day to get out of the house for the first time.

But first, a quick sponge bath. He loved the water, even on his face! I hope he does this well once actual soap and soaking are involved.

We loaded baby into the sling and took him for his very first look at the outside world.

Motorcycles, ambulances, big trucks: no problem. He was asleep before we hit the sidewalk and nothing phased him.
We walked around for about a half hour before I pooped out.

Randall went to work and I set up the lightcube on the bed to take some pictures.
A perfect day!

Day Two Summary

2008-08-08T13:14:00.004-04:00

Day two came and went.
Baby slept pretty well, we did not.
We also did not accomplish anything.
We seemed to fall into a black hole.

Finally, at around 8pm, we got up to eat dinner and watch a movie. This meal and EVERY meal that we've had since the baby was born has been provided gratis by our friends at Little D Eatery. I would be having cereal 5 times a day if it wasn't for these guys, so I have to give a shout out!

The midwife came by at around 10 (she really gets our schedule) and prounounced the baby to be "perfect in every way."
This is perfect baby snoozing on the couch between us during the movie. I made this shirt and several others by photoshopping some fun images and printing them onto iron-on-transfer paper.

So, yeah, 2 days ago I was bragging about making a whole baby, today I'm bragging about my crafty t-shirts. Tomorrow???

I made this!

2008-08-06T22:06:00.005-04:00

33 hours of labor.
3 1/2 hours of pushing.
Born at 7:53 pm on August 5.
8 lbs, 7 oz.
21 inches long.
37 cm head full of long wavy brown hair.
1 min APGAR: 10.
5 min APGAR: unable to asses, because baby was latched on and chowing down.
Since birth, he has been alert and fascinated with any new sounds or new things that cross his visual field. At 2 minutes old, he was pulling his head off my chest to see where Daddy's voice was coming from. I believe we have this on video, but it involves nipplage, so you'll never see it.
He has yet to cry for more than 30 seconds, except for the first diaper application which was, apparently, much more traumatic for him than the birth.
He slept from 11:20 last night until 5 this morning, then from 6am to 11am, then from 11:45am until 4:45pm. A little redemption for yesterday I suppose (the midwife says this won't happen again until he's 16)

And now for the pictures!

This is Mama's first picture. Taken with my phone, while he was on my chest at a couple of minutes old. I was amazed at how clean he was (except for his hair), and how huge. If I weren't so tired, I'd edit out my pasty legs, but, you know...

A happy awake picture.

A sweet sleeping picture taken at 24 hours old.

And now we all go back to bed. Any bets on what we get this time? 2 hours? 3?

painfully transparent pregnancy dreams.

2008-08-04T21:30:00.001-04:00

Its 2008. What to do when your water's broke but you're waiting for labor to really kick in? Update the blog, duh. So while you're waiting for the news, here are a couple of ridiculous pregnancy dreams.

The Lady- "I was really hungry and I made this roast chicken for dinner- but for some reason it was in a glass bottle, like a ship in a bottle and I just thought, 'Man, How the heck am I ever going to get this chicken out of this bottle without getting glass all over the place'"

The Gentleman- "We had the baby and it went alright except it turned out to be a kitten instead of a baby, and I thought 'Well, its a really cute baby, but I was hoping for a person' Also, I wondered if it was too young to treat for fleas..."

That concludes painfully transparent pregnancy dreams. Here's a photograph of Melissa coping with labor.

40 weeks TODAY!

2008-08-01T21:26:00.005-04:00

First: Check out my maters!

I had planted seedlings in the spring, but they died while I was in the hospital with dad. Then, while cruising the neighborhood's online classifieds (Park Slope Parents) I saw that someone was moving and giving away mature tomato plants. When we went to get them, we found a lovely family with a 1 year old boy. They sold us a bumbo seat for 5 bucks and a pile of very cool fancy brand clothes.

One of Randall's regular customers also gave us a bag of really awesome used clothes and a crazy environmentally responsible cardboard bassinet. My mom took us shopping for clothes when we were in the STL and Randall's aunt bought us a bag also, so we are set for clothes until 9 months, which is awesome!

I was hating the baby shopping after my first trip to BabiesRus, but once I turned it into an online search for bargains, it actually became fun. We decided that anything that could be hosed down on the porch or thrown into the washing machine could be purchased used. Our neighborhood is full of people with a whole lot more money than us who just want this stuff out of their house. So we've scored almost everything we need for free or cheap.

Our best deal was a super-modern nurseryworks crib for FREE! When we picked it up just 2 blocks over, the owner actually offered to come to our house and assemble it for us. We declined, but promised to call if we had trouble. I looked up the owners manual on line when we got home and that's when we saw that it was a $1000 crib. Who pays that for a crib? Well apparently these insanely friendly people did, so good for us. We don't even NEED a crib yet (which is why we haven't gotten around to buying a mattress) but we'll be happy to have it in 6 months or so when Jethro outgrows his Amby Hammock (used - $80. with all the accessories available)

Here is one last picture. Taken yesterday at the Brooklyn Flea. Not too ladylike, huh? It was a hundred degrees in the shade, in my defense. I suppose I'm in labor now. My water broke this morning at 11am while I was bent over trying to get the vacuume cleaner under the couch and things seem to be moving along. The contractions are six minutes apart now so I suppose I should do something. Gonna' be a looooooong night...

Giving the Swingle its due (from randall)

2008-08-01T00:30:00.010-04:00

So, the other day when I posted about our fabulous relaxed day out in Brooklyn, I mentioned that we had been to our favorite dessert spot, Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pie. All well and good and I recommend you all go there if you're ever in Brooklyn. The wife, however, felt I did not exercise enough care in describing the actual object of adoration itself, the greatest afternoon snack ever, the SWINGLE. So let me attempt to do justice to its majesty.
Imagine, if you will, the most perfect key lime pie ever in a four inch tart format. It is bursting with freshness, tart yet creamy, invigorating but decadent at the same time, and cradled lovingly in the most perfectly perfect nutty, buttery graham crust imaginable. One bite of the pie itself and you find yourself lazily drunk on Florida sunshine.
Now imagine, if you will, that this tarty miracle is all sealed up in a thick hard shell of high octane dark chocolate. "Interesting", you're thinking. "But Randall, I'm not quite sure if that flavor combination works."
Imagine that it works. Imagine that it works in the most amazing way possible. Imagine that the rich dark chocolate is almost just a little too much on a hot Brooklyn day, but that then your senses are rescued by that pert key limyness, which allows you to go for another bite of chocolate, and start the glorious cycle over again. And now, for the coup de grace...
Imagine that this miracle is on a stick!!!
On a stick.
Wow.

And now, here's a picture of a pregnant lady.

(See; pregnant lady has swingle. Pregnant lady is happy. Q.E.D.)

p.s. in a note at the counter about raising prices due to the rising cost of premium dairy products, Steve concludes, "integrity without compromise" Yes, this will be the baby's first tattoo.

p.p.s when we went around the corner to sit on the pier and eat the subject of this post, we saw Steve and a pal sitting down and enjoying some ice cold coronas in the middle of the workday.

p.p.p.s. it may not have actually been Steve, it could have been some dudes from the glassblowing workshop next door. But since this is a baby blog for friends and family, journalistic integrity is not, I feel, paramount.

Baby loves brooklyn. (Daddy and Mommy miss San Francisco)

2008-07-30T00:01:00.007-04:00

So today, in need of groceries and in celebration of my having gone to Steve and Sarah's wedding in Half Moon Bay without the wife's having gone into (not even technically) early labor, we cruised around the BK in the Corolla. (Not exactly the same as riding down the PCH in a convertible mustang, but still) First we were bummed to find out our favorite lunch spot is closed on Tuesdays. We rallied though, and walked around the corner to this joint, which we've been talking about hitting for about a year and a half now.

Turns out it was worth the wait. Melissa proclaimed to all who would hear that its the best cue she's had in New York, and the sauce, she says, is a lot like Alford's (Yo, is Kennett in the house, What?)

After a successful pre babypocalypse grocery trip we hit pier 41 for our favorite dessert, and sat with with a lovely view of the Verrazano Narrows, fantasizing about a baby to be born with a strange taste for pork butt and Key Limes...

39 weeks

2008-07-29T00:27:00.007-04:00

One picture from Monday (39 weeks exactly) and one from 10 days ago. Can you tell which is which? No, it's not the only shirt that still fits, just a coincidence.