RJ's First Halloween

RJ is one lucky boy. He actually got to have TWO Halloween costumes, thanks to our good friends at Target and UPS. Delivered in 3-5 days, yeah right! The tracking said that the costume spent two days in Oakland (~45 miles away from us) before going out for delivery! So on Monday night, on the eve of RJ's Halloween parade at school, Lance stopped at a costume store and picked up a chili pepper.

Even though it was not our first choice of costumes, it apparently was the, "best costume in the class". According to Teacher Amanda, it was apparently a big hit among the many campus departments visited by his Infant/Toddler class.

Then finally on Halloween, his "real" costume arrived, just in time for Trick or Treating. He was a Dronkey. If you're saying, "A what??? he's a drunk? huh?" then clearly you didn't pay attention when you were helping Lance get his bonus by watching Shrek the Third last May. A Dronkey is the offspring of Dragon and Donkey, who fell in love during the first Shrek and apparently had babies by the time Shrek the Third rolled around. He was taken Trick or Treating by Silent Bob and Momma, who wore Shrek ears but didn't dress up because she had a killer cold and didn't have the energy to.

He even held his own little bag that his teachers at school made him.

And he got a good amount of loot even though we took him to only a few of our neighbors.
For the rest of the Halloween pictures, click here or on any of the pictures in the blog.

Second Credit...

The next movie is set for release Nov 2. I think you'd have to not read magazines (Time, Forbes), newspapers (NY Times, Washington Post), watch tv (the office, 30 rock, chuck, etc.), drive (billboards), go to the movies (cutouts), eat out (McDonalds), or shop (cereal, etc.) if you didn't know that already.

Anyway, today was the friends and family screening so RJ got to see his first movie. He was awake for the entire movie, only spending part of it eating. Even as he was eating, he would unlatch and crane his little neck to see the action on the big screen. And then, he'd realize that he was still hungry and latch back on again. When he was done eating, he sat on Cheryl's lap and watched intently as all the brightly colored characters interacted on the big screen. He particularly enjoyed the credits, which featured a little bee buzzing around and of course his daddy's name.

For those of you interested in the things I do at work since I usually can't talk about it, there are some videos online that give you a bit of the behind the scenes. Since this is all on the web anyway I'll just point you to the right places.

Seinfeld did a series of what they're calling TV Juniors. If you watch the one called "Eat Sleep Drink Animation" you can see my department's building in the background -- "Riverside". That's in Glendale however so I only go there a few times a year.

There is also a new Dreamworks Animation website. The reason I'm telling you this is not only to subject you to flash, but if you click on "Studio" and then "A Day in the Life" you can watch some humorous videos of the various departments and get a glimpse of the cube farms where I work. I work very closely with the "Completion", "Character Technical Director", "Animation", and "Department Technical Director" departments.

Oh, and RJ and I both have converse shoes now. Mine are a company purchase as a shout out to the converse-like shoes worn by Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld's bee character in the movie), and RJ's are brown.

Knock Knock...

RJ has a new first! He can now laugh out loud. We're just not entirely sure what he finds funny.

His first laugh was in response to me saying, "...and Momma got nothing done..", when I was picking him up at school. (I went to breakfast with a friend that day.) I don't remember what elicited the second time, but I was trying to recreate the laugh for Lance, so it's possible that the same phrase worked again. Then the third time, I simply asked him to laugh and he obliged with a small laugh for the video camera:



More recently, he spit up on my shoulder - missing the burp rag and his bib entirely, and then laughed at me all covered in spit up.

So who knows what babies find funny? We can't wait to hear him laugh again!

RJ's Four Month Update

On Friday, October 19, 2007, RJ crossed 4 months. On his 4 month birthday, he weighed in at 10 lbs., 13 ounces. He's still gaining about an ounce a day on average. His doctor, who we saw on Tuesday was happy with his gain. He's still just under the chart for his age (about the 5th percentile), but he's at the 25th percentile for his height (24.5 inches) and head circumference (41 cm). And when we were at the doctor, RJ was a real trooper about getting his four immunization shots. Thankfully, the nurse was really fast; I think she was done in under 30 seconds. He of course cried, but only briefly.



According to "What to Expect the First Year" by the end of the 4th month RJ should be able to:

* lift head up 90 degrees - check
* laugh out loud - check
* follow an object in an arc about 6 inces above the face for 180 degrees - check

and may be able to:

* hold head steady when upright - check
* on stomach, raise chest - check
* roll over - check
* grasp a rattle - check
* reach for an object - check
* squeal in delight - check
* keep head level with body when pulled to sitting - check
* turn in the direction of a voice - check
* say ah-goo or similar vowel consonant combinations - check
* bear some weight on legs when held upright - check
* turn in the direction of a voice - check
* sit without support - not yet
* object if you try to take a toy away - check

RJ has really started to play with his toys. He can even hold the balls briefly - and they're hard to hold! He really examines them - both with his eyes and with his mouth. I love watching how intensely he examines the toys. It's amazing to watch him explore the world. As you can see in the video, he also watches when one of us or the cats moves around. It's a lot easier for him to play now that he's easily propped into a sitting position. He really likes sitting and works really hard at it sometimes. If he slouches over, he will try to get back up. It probably won't be long before he can sit all by himself.



Also, as you saw in a previous post, RJ has also hit a new vocal milestone. He still coos and gurgles, but he now laughs from time to time too. It is the most adorable sound I've ever heard! In another few months he'll really start babbling.

More pictures and videos from this month.

Pumpkin Maze

This weekend we took RJ to the Dell'Osso Family Farm Annual Pumpkin Maze. At the farm they have a number of neat seasonal attractions. The highlight was the massive Corn Maze. It really is a piece of art that you can wander around in, Labyrinth style. They even have 4 bridges to climb up so you can get more of an aerial view of the maze.



There was also a Haunted House - it was a little loud, and dark, and a little startling at times, but not really scary. And of course who wouldn't enjoy the pumpkin blaster? For the uninitiated, it's an air canon that allows you to shoot mini pumpkins at various seasonal targets. It's a lot of fun to watch the pumpkin guts fly.


And of course there are pumpkins that are way bigger than our son. We let him inspect his first pumpkin. He seemed quite interested in looking at the big round orange things!

Onesie up...

A few weekends ago we went to one of the central valley's finest towns -- Modesto, CA. Some of Modesto's claims to fame include worst air quality in the country, highest car theft per capita, home of Scott Peterson, and birth place of George Lucas.

To learn more about our destination we popped American Graffiti in the dvd player. This early Lucas treat was set in Modesto and even makes reference to Turlock High (as in Turlock, 14 miles south of Modesto where Cheryl works).


Anyway, we went to Modesto for "California's Largest Garage Sale". The sale had been advertised on the radio for weeks. Since RJ started busting out of his clothes, we decided it was time to expand his wardrobe. Modesto was a bust, and the "largest" claim was clearly overblown.

This is one of those things that seems obvious, but babies will outgrow their clothes before wearing them out. That makes yard sales an easy way to pick up otherwise expensive clothes for as little as a quarter per item. I set up a little RSS feed to search craigslist for any garage sales in the surrounding towns that have baby items. We spent the past few weekends stopping at these garage sales and did rather well--especially once we started targeting better neighborhoods than Modesto.

For example, this weekend we spent $40 on all the stuff pictured. We got a big Madagascar Alex play mat to fit with our nursery theme. We picked up 9 barely used Gap Kids socks -- our favorite brand. We picked up a jean jacket, an arizona fleece jacket, 2 button down gap kids shirts, a bunch of nighties, a brand new winter bunting with the tag still on it ($28 retail), a brand new pair of converse shoes never worn ($24 retail), a pair of sandals that were worn maybe once, and a bunch more.

Last weekend we were in Tracy and Livermore where for $30 we picked up a bunch of bibs, hats, a few pair of jeans, a few nighties with their tags still on, overalls, blue hoodie (the San Francisco essential), nighties, etc.

Not only can you find clothes, you can also find lead-free toys. A quick run through the dishwasher or sink with soapy water makes them play worthy. In fact, at one yard sale in Livermore after taking a look at RJ and his charming smile the woman just told us to take whatever he wanted. Can't complain about free toys.

Back to School

Some of you may already be aware, but I started taking computer science classes to work toward a Masters degree last year. Not only do I get to take these free thanks to Cheryl being a professor, but enrollment put my federal loans into automatic deferment.

Last winter semester I took two CS classes in addition to our birthing class. Combined with my 50 hour work week and 2+ hours commuting each day it was a bit much. I took it a little easier in the spring semester by taking Drawing 101 (which you may be surprised to learn doesn't count toward my degree).



I took the summer off to adjust with RJ. My course this semester is Data Communications and Networking and taught entirely online. That should give me the flexibility of schedule that I need. While it is not as much fun as drawing, I am also taking a Screen Writing class through work, playing flag football and street hockey.

You may not hear from me again until December.

RJ's Three Month Update

On Wednesday, September 19, RJ turned 3 months old. Unfortunately, it has taken me almost a month to compile the pictures and video from Month 3 to blog about it so imagine the rest of this post to be from a month ago.

In Month 3 we went to Hollywood, Napa Valley and the Lodi Grape Festival, and RJ has had his first babysitter and started school. More importantly he's gaining more weight. He's still small for his age (he's still catching up from the surgery setback), but he's gaining steadily on average of about an ounce a day.

Here's a chart of his daily growth up through his 3 month birthday (where he was 9 lbs and 4 oz) . We started weighing him almost every day since mid-August.
In his third month, he's also started doing some pretty neat stuff.

He has gotten consistently better at holding his head up and he has been rolling over! He first did this about a month ago, but it's really only been consistent recently. I actually was lucky enough to catch his first roll on video, completely by accident. It can be argued that he wasn't fully on his tummy in the video, but since then we have definitely witnessed bona fide rolling over without the help of not being fully situated on his tummy.

We have also discovered the fun of playing "superman", which is good for fostering neck strength. We'll keep playing this game until he inevitably spits up all over me. (He has quite the talent for spitting up.)

Over this last month RJ has been interacting more and more with his toys since his motor control has increased and he has figured out how his hands work. He likes to "talk" to Blue Dog and Lion and he likes to hold onto monkey's ears and feel monkey's knit texture. We also play with the blocks that GG Ho! Ho! gave him. I stack them and RJ knocks them over! This started by accident, like most activities in the second substage of the Sensorimotor Period of development (Piaget, 1966). In this stage, infants typically engage in behaviors by accident or due to a reflex, but then are able to repeat the action through somewhat voluntary means.

We still can't get over what a great baby we have. He has his fussy periods (and even fussy days from time to time), but he really is a pretty happy baby. He's also a very active baby who is alert a great amount of the time. Our biggest challenge is getting him to sleep, but at least he figured out the day vs. night distinction this month. His sleep is concentrated more at night than during the day. We're also still working on getting him scheduled - our mornings are at least getting better - he usually wakes up right around the time we're ready for him - 6:15. But there are days when he's up earlier or we have to wake him up at 6:15 so we can get out the door!

For more pictures and video from Month 3, just click on any of the pictures.

Adventures of a Working Mom: RJ's First Day of School

Well, I'm not crazy about my new station in life as a "working mom". I much preferred being a "stay at home mom" this summer. Life was a lot less hectic, and I got more sleep, and well it's a lot more fun to play with RJ than planning and delivering lectures and attending faculty committee meetings and writing my review portfolio (more on that later).

The First Week of Classes

Classes started on 9/5. However, the Child Development Center, where RJ will spend his mornings while Momma is in class, didn't open until 9/10, which added a whole new level of complexity to my first week back since I had RJ a lot more than I normally will and hence didn't really get a good start because I was basically getting the bare minimum done and not getting ahead at all. Lance took Tuesday and Friday off and watched RJ while I was in meetings and class, between which I breastfed. Then Erika watched RJ for a few hours on Wednesday and Thursday when I was in class. It was hard to fit feedings in around all those beginning of the semester faculty meetings, especially since RJ usually takes about 40 minutes - 1 hour to eat (mostly because he likes to nurse). Last week we were not on a schedule at all, so he would be ready to eat when I wasn't or wouldn't be ready when I was. I really prefer feeding on demand, but it's a little too hard with having a real world schedule.

The Schedule

So this week we're trying to establish the following schedule, and so far, RJ has been fairly cooperative.

5am - Cheryl wakes up, pumps, showers, and gets dressed and ready for the day and runs around packing up any of RJ's stuff that she forgot to the night before. Lance either sleeps if RJ is asleep, or keeps RJ distracted until it's time for feeding.
6:15 - Lance changes RJ's diaper and gets him dressed for the day.
6:30 - Cheryl attempts to eat a bowl of cereal while feeding RJ
7/7:15 - Cheryl and RJ leave
8ish - Cheryl drops RJ off at the CDC
8:30 - Cheryl pumps
9:30 - RJ drinks 4 ounces of previously frozen boobie milk at school
10:30 (MWF) Cheryl pumps
11:10 (TR) Cheryl pumps
12:30 - Cheryl picks up RJ and feeds him
1:30 (TR) Cheryl takes RJ home
1:30 (MF) Erika watches RJ
2:00 (W) Erika watches RJ
3:30 - Cheryl feeds RJ or if she has meetings, Erika feeds RJ 4 ounces of frozen boobie milk and Cheryl pumps between meetings
4:00 (W) Erika leaves
4:30/5 - (MF) Erika leaves
5 - Cheryl and RJ leave school
6:30pm - 5am RJ is fed on demand - but we try to feed him one last time before bed at about 10/10:30 - he usually likes to eat every two hours after his 6:30 feed until he goes to sleep. Once he's asleep I only feed him when he wakes up - which is still variable - or 6:30am if he wakes up between 5 and 6:30.

This schedule seems to be working so far. It's not perfect, but it does minimize how much I have to pump in order to keep RJ exclusively breastfed like he is at the moment and I'm not away from him all day long. (It's hard enough not being with him in the mornings and MWF afternoons!)

Keep the boobie milk flowing!

Why don't I pump more and see RJ less during the day(and hence get more done)? The first reason is that fresh breastmilk is better than frozen, so if I can feed directly, I will. The second reason is that RJ's saliva actually tells my breasts what he needs most, so the milk is dynamic to meet his ever changing needs. The third reason is that RJ is better at getting his fill from my breasts than the breast pump. We've determined that RJ eats about 4 ounces a feed, but in a pumping session, I usually only get 3 ounces at best, but I'm getting better. So I've determined that I need to pump twice in the morning when he's at school, eating once, to replenish the supply. This also means that I do get a little surplus in case he goes through a growth spurt and needs two feeds or more than 4 ounces at a feed at school (I give them 8 ounces of frozen milk every morning).

The CSU Stanislaus Child Development Center ("The CDC")

The CDC is a great place for young children. It's run by the Child Development Program that I teach in, and one of my colleagues is the director of the center in addition to her workload as a professor (she does have a reduced course load to allow time for running the CDC). It is one of a kind in that all of the teachers are students working on their degrees. In fact, along with their paid "internships" as teachers, their CDC experience is also a course, where their assignments are their weekly lesson plans and the state-required assessments of the children. The positions are very competitive, so I know that RJ has top notch care. In his classroom there is at least a 3:10 teacher:child ratio maintained at all times. The school also serves as a lab for the university. Many courses (including mine) require observations of the children from the observation booth (which parents also have access to). And some lab courses require that students enter the classroom and work with the children, performing assessments or experiments to aid in their understanding of child development. These students, along with students earning fieldwork credit increase the ratio even further.
RJ is the youngest in his infant/toddler class, with the next youngest being 9 mos. old and the oldest are 2 years old.


RJ's First Day of School

RJ had his first day of school on Monday. He seems to really like school and he has responded well to his teachers, who all adore him. This picture is of RJ on his very first day with Krishawn, his head teacher on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. He behaved very well, and even gave Krishawn a spit-free day (we have them from time to time - but they're not common, especially when he sucks down a bottle!). He even managed to come home in the same outfit he started out in, despite the fact that he did not give Krishawn a poo-free day.
He was happy when I picked him up and Krishawn told us that he really enjoyed watching all the other children play and enjoyed falling asleep in the snugli on their walk. It certainly won't be long until he's playing right with the other children, and he will learn so much from them! The other children are all very interested in their littlest playmate and seem to be playing very nicely with him when he's accessible. All in all, I think RJ will really enjoy being at the CDC, and I will tolerate being at work and look forward to being a stay-at-home-mom again next summer!

Labor Day Wine Tour

Labor Day was a fun adult day. Our friends Izzy & Jaime, who we haven't seen since we left Boston, were in the area, and they organized a limo tour of Napa Valley where we (us, them, and another couple they know from grad school) tasted at 5 wineries in 5 hours. So, we brought my breast pump, a slew of RJ's frozen boobie milk, and our trusty babysitter, Erika. We went in the limo and RJ had a nice relaxing day with Erika at the Embassy Suites, where Izzy was able to check in early.

It was worth all that pumping I did on top of feeding RJ directly - the wine was fantastic and we had a fantastic time. Remember that for approximately the last year I've been pregnant or breastfeeding. So, I have no tolerance whatsoever. And Mumm Vineyards, our first stop, was generous in their tastings of mostly sparkling wine. And we hadn't eaten lunch yet. And we thought it was a good idea to crack open the complementary bottle of Korbel that came with the limo on the way there. Needless to say, I felt a little tipsy throughout the day!

We also sampled wines at .....V. Sattui, Freemark Abbey, Chimney Rock, and Signorello. That's five more of the 111 wineries that do public tastings down.

Once we were finished with the tour, we were reunited with our little cutie, I joined Izzy & Jaime in a dip in the hotel pool, we drank more wine from the hotel's open bar, and then drove around Napa looking for a sushi restaurant, but couldn't find it and ended up at a Mexican restaurant instead.

Amy & Luke's Wedding Photography

Recently, Amy & Luke's Photographer posted their proofs online. There are a few cute pictures of RJ and even a family portrait of the three of us. And there are a bazillion gorgeous pictures of the bride and groom of course!

There are 505 pictures. But, if you are RJ-centric, he's in photos 95, 96 (p. 4), 166 (p.7), 235 - 237 (p.10). He's also in all the family and some of the wedding party shots. Click here for the album.

Enjoy!

RJ Goes to Hollywood

Lance had to fly down to the Glendale DreamWorks Studio to meet with some people for his current project and since he could choose the day, and we've never spent any time in Southern California, Lance booked RJ and I a cheap flight to Burbank, and we flew down the Friday before labor day, just in time for Lance's first morning meeting. An added bonus was that our flights weren't even close to being full, so RJ got his own seat for free instead of being a lap infant, so he got his first window seat.

While Lance was working hard, RJ and I were hardly working as we spent the morning at Griffith Park, which is home to Mt. Lee, which is best known as the land which boasts the Hollywood sign. We found a quiet, shady area and RJ discovered grass for the first time. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy watching the leaves gently rustle against the sky and even tracked a distant airplane flying across the sky! He also enjoyed grabbing the grass with his tiny little fists. I was hoping to spot my idol, Lauren Graham, since she is known to walk her dog in Griffith Park, but the 90+ morning temps probably kept her away, or she was in one of the other 4209 acres of the park. Once we were bored of grass, we met Daddy for lunch at DreamWorks and then checked into the hotel in Hollywood.

Once Lance was done working, we decided to spend the weekend focusing on Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Among the highlights were that in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater, RJ got to see how much he needs to grow to match the Governator's shoe size.

We also walked RJ down the Walk of Fame where he got to visit the stars of Mister Rogers, Dr. Suess, among some others that Momma liked (i.e. John Lennon). We had dinner at Farmer's Market, (which for you East Coasters, is a bit like Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall area with all the food vendors and shops) and lunch at Pink's (the hot dog stand of the stars). Unfortunately, due to the heat wave (100+ degree days!), we didn't do a whole lot of walking. Instead, we drove around the sights in the rental car. We went up Mulholland Drive to see the view then drove down Melrose and into Beverly Hills, where we drove down Rodeo Drive. Then we hit the Sunset Strip before heading to Burbank where we sat in a cafe until heading to the airport.

RJ also got to eat at some interesting places. He of course got to eat in the hotel room, but also got to eat at DreamWorks, Farmers Market, and various places in the car, such as Griffith Park, in the airport/airplane, and as pictured here, behind the Beverly Hills sign in Beverly Gardens Park.

This isn't as much as we normally would see in a trip, but considering we had an 11 week old with us who needed to breastfeed frequently (he was going through a growth spurt at the time as well!) and 100 degree heat, I don't think we did too bad! If you click on any of the pictures here, you'll be linked to the whole Hollywood album.

California Hippie Mom

I definitely fit right in here in the bay area. My lease on the CR-V was nearing its end and I wouldn't be able to keep it under mileage this semester since my commute is so far. So, yesterday Lance, RJ, and I went to our local Honda dealer to see what kind of deal I could get on a Civic. I liked Lance's Civic and it would be better on gas than the CR-V, it's a really good little car known to last, and we can afford to buy one and still save up more for a house. So, the only sticking point was color - since I refuse to get an ugly non-color like black, white, gray, silver, or that beige metallic that is mysteriously popular these days. Whatever happened to nice bright car colors?

I wanted a red one, but they didn't have one, and we walked around the whole lot, new and pre-owned to find some semblance of a color. There was a denim blue one, but it wasn't the right trim. And then, while perusing the certified pre-owned lot, I saw the cute little 2006 opal blue hybrid that only had about 3000 miles on it. I wasn't planning on buying a hybrid, since they are considerably more expensive and the tax write-off and gas savings aren't usually worth the extra money. But, the environmental hippie in me basically started drooling - so we went to run the numbers, just to see. Shortly after starting this process, RJ decided that he had enough of car shopping and he was hungry. So, the hippie mom in me kicked in and I breastfed him right there while making the deal. We actually got a pretty good deal. I cleared out my CR-V right there and drove my happy hippie-mobile right off the lot, same day!

RJ even had his turn at the wheel!



Lance and I now have His and Hers Civics, which makes our garage really cute.

Like Mother, Like daughter

The kitchen is a dangerous place. After all, it is the room where you use fire every day (if you have a gas stove like us at least). It also is the place where many sharp implements are found; including one fantastic tool called a V-slicer (also known as a mandolin by some manufacturers), which makes cooking dishes like scalloped or au gratin potatoes a hell of a lot easier.

The V-slicer also has a wonderful safety feature called the food holder that pierces and holds the potato (or whatever you're slicing). This works great, but not when you're starting to slice an oblong vegetable like a carrot or a large russet potato. So, what you do instead is slice the potato not quite halfway, very carefully of course and then put the holder on for the rest of the potato.

However if you're anything like my mother or I, you're doing this while:
1.) rushing to get the potatoes in the oven
2.) trying to hold a conversation with someone (usually a guest in your home)
3.) pretending that you don't have a klutzy bone in your body

And then you delay dinner further by cutting a large chunk of your thumb (Mom) or pinky finger (me) off and needing to wrap the damaged appendage in about 100 ft of gauze and surgical tape. Yep, we're both missing chunks of our fingers from the same accident a few months apart from one another. Thankfully, no stitches were required for either of us despite losing a sizeable chunk of skin.









It was really only a matter of time until I lost part of a finger though - Gramma Ho! Ho! is also missing part of her finger due to a cactus-induced infection when she was younger. So, Amy, you better watch your fingers - this seems to be genetic!!!

I'm two months old, smiling, and conversations with Blue Dog

RJ sleeps his fair share of the average for his age which is around 16.5 hours. Some days it is less, other days more, but so far not more than four or five hours consecutively. But what does he do in the time that he's awake (and not eating)?

He has his mobile with the interesting zebra. He seems to enjoy swinging in his, well, swing that Grandma D got him which also has a mobile that has bouncing leaves.

At this stage there are two things RJ is working on:

- language/social development
- motor control

So, to that end some things that we do to foster his development are:

- provide a running commentary on what we're doing.
- ask questions such as; "Who's the best football team around?" then give RJ a chance to coo and then say, "yes, that's right, the Steelers!"
- read aloud, right now RJ is learning about character animation and developmental psychology in addition to the wacky world of Dr. Suess and other children's book authors
- sing; Lance claims that "The Humpty Dance" seems to be a favorite so far followed by my made-up "Go to sleep little RJ go to sleep" song

It seems to be working. RJ is two months old and he's doing more cool stuff by the day. My personal favorites are his cooing and the smiling, which he's been doing for that last couple of weeks. I finally captured these on the camera to share.And for those of you who are thinking, but hey, I can't HEAR him coo in this images, click on the smiley picture below and you'll be linked to more pictures of RJ and a video of him cooing. One other thing that he's been doing is not only "talking" and smiling at people like momma and daddy, but also to his toys that have faces. For example, he had quite the conversation with Blue Dog while I was folding his laundry the other day and even reached out to touch Blue Dog (on purpose)! This is the first time I've noticed an actual controlled reach for something other than my nipples (yes, he finds it necessary to grab and squeeze them prior to eating), so kudos to Aunt Amy and Uncle Luke for picking the toy that he specifically reached for. Of course my picture only got his touching Blue Dog, and not all the cute expressions and exclamations, but I'll be better about snapping pictures next time. He also enjoys "talking" to Stuffed Monkey and the rainforest creatures on his bouncer and swing and play mat.

Happy Anniversary to Us

Four years ago last week, we got married on a pretty sunny day in Buffalo. We celebrated by leaving our cutie pie with a babysitter and going out for some yummy sushi. We went to Kawa Sushi in Livermore, which was as yummy as the first time we went for my birthday last year. They make a fantastic caterpillar roll!

As much as I love our little boy, and kept seeing his little face in my head, it was very nice to get a break and get through a whole meal together with Lance with no interruptions or eating in shifts! We plan on continuing the celebration when we treat ourselves to a Napa wine tour in a limo on Labor Day when Izzy and Jaime come to town.

RJ seems to like his babysitter, Erika, who is one of my former students and currently a research assistant of mine. When we came home, he was smiling and cooing with her, which is a great sign since she'll be watching RJ when we're on the wine tour also.

RJ's First Family Visits and Clogged Milk Ducts

When RJ and I were in Buffalo, RJ got the opportunity to meet his relatives for the first time.







He even went to his first bar; 'Ponies' in Middleport.

In addition to the wedding, Lance and I also rented a car and drove down to Pittsburgh from Buffalo to take RJ to meet members of his family and our friends Carl and Lisa. It was a whirlwind trip, but well worth it for us to show off our cute little boy some more.

It was also on this leg of our trip that I discovered the agony that is a clogged milk duct. Although given my feeding behavior, it's not surprising that this happened. I fed RJ regularly AND pumped after almost every feed for a week - so my milk supply was up. Then at the wedding, I pumped, but not as often or for as long as I probably should have. Then I slept that night and obviously didn't get up every three hours to pump. Then when I did get back to RJ, I didn't pump after feeding him AND I fed him pumped breast milk from a bottle when we were on the road because he drinks a bottle faster than the breast (and didn't pump because we were in the car). So I had all this milk coming in and it wasn't all getting out. So, our first night in Pittsburgh, my one breast decided that it had enough of this and started getting lumpy and sore - the symptoms of a clogged duct. My shower the next morning and massaging it helped, but didn't unclog it, and so I dealt with the pain all day long, which was only temporarily relieved while I was nursing. Then at the end of the day we got to a store to get some Advil and we got back to Lance's Aunt and Uncle's house, where I discovered the joy that is a heating pad. By morning the clog was a memory, and my breast was not lumpy and sore anymore. And of course, now I know what to do if this happens again.

RJ's First Wedding (Amy & Luke's Wedding)

On July 28, RJ attended his first wedding - his Aunt Amy's. Not only did RJ attend, but he was also part of the wedding party along with his mommy, who was the matron of honor, and his daddy, who was a groomsman. His official title was "baby groomsman". This is a completely made-up role that basically meant that Grammie Carola made RJ a cute little red and white outfit (Amy's wedding color was red) and involved my cousin Sarah, the Jr. Bridesmaid pulling a decorated red wagon with RJ and his car seat down the aisle. Made-up or not, this had to be the cutest thing ever, particularly because he was an angel and slept through the whole ordeal - even when Sarah had to go off-roading with the wagon to get him to his nanny. This really only reiterates the fact that RJ really is a very chill little baby.
RJ also discovered what planning a wedding was like - particularly the three days in a row of shopping and errands with my mom, sister, and I. Like any good member of the male species, RJ slept through his visits to various stores and rides in the car. As angelic as he was during this wedding planning, I would like to point out that while he was great with all our running around, it was not free as RJ was pretty awake (and fussy) at night. We were taking shifts taking care of RJ between feeds at night to help with my general sleep deprivation and ability to function. This basically meant that I would feed him every three hours, but when he was done eating, he'd go to either Grammie or Aunt Amy for burping, diaper change, and getting to sleep. We did this because otherwise, I'd only get an hour of sleep or so every three hours by the time he would go down, and would be useless the rest of the day. RJ particularly liked to be awake (and fussy) during Aunt Amy's 12-3 shift. This was fitting in a way because he *might* have been paying her back for having to go shopping all day long. : ) This led to Amy's wanting to burn the onesie he wore one of those sleepless nights, which said, "Party in my Crib, 2am". I think it got easier as we got more settled though.

The wedding itself was a lot of fun. My mom set up a nanny (her friend's daughter, who is a professional nanny) for RJ from noon until midnight. This allowed Lance and I to actually participate in the wedding and the requisite primping for it and to enjoy the reception, while still having RJ around. The nanny took care of RJ right at the wedding and reception, which was really nice because we could scoop him up and show him off when we wanted to, and also take him back when we wanted to have some time to ourselves. This allowed us to dance for the first time in quite a while. The reception was a lot of fun - the music was great and both families really got into it! Even though the Bride and Groom typically start off the dancing for the evening, at this reception, Luke's niece and nephew, Gracie (flower girl) and August (ring bearer) started dancing during dinner, providing some fantastic dinner entertainment. Gramma Ho!Ho! joined in on the "locomotion" and my Uncle Bob even got so into dancing that he ended up on the floor. I'm sure he was sore the next day, but at the time he got right back up and continued dancing! Amy and Luke seemed to really enjoy their time on the dance floor as well.



Another plus was that I was able to enjoy the top shelf bar at the wedding - my first drinks since September! This was very exciting and I was thrilled that I amassed enough pumped breast milk for the whole wedding and night after.

And lastly, since we had booked an extra room at a B&B down the street in case anyone needed it, and no one did, Lance and I got our first full night sleep together since RJ was born. My mom wanted to watch RJ overnight, since it was her last night with him for a while, there was plenty of pumped breast milk, and we were not about to argue with getting a full night sleep! So Grammie Carola left the wedding with RJ and we traveled the one minute down the road to our night of good sleep! The B&B was unique in that it was also a llama farm. So when we got up in the morning, we were shown through the llama barn and got to see the llamas up close.

All in all, we had a terrific time and wish Amy and Luke the best in their marriage!

RJ's First Airplane Rides

Exactly one week after scaring the bejesus out of us with his surgery, RJ and I embarked on what would be his first airplane ride. Most people are still relaxing and cuddling at home with their little bundles of joy when they are 4 weeks old - and most people who have spent the last week in Children's Hospital are definitely still relaxing at home. I instead was carrying my little recovering bundle of joy and pounds of his baby paraphernalia through airport security and getting very bored with the, "how old is your baby?" "oh my! why are you traveling?" "he's so tiny, what does he weigh?" and "what's his? her? name?" questions from everyone from the TSA security people that make you take off your shoes to the random person sitting three rows up on the plane. Now I know that RJ is absolutely adorable and it's only natural that he attracts the attention of everyone, but dealing with the attention for 9 hours gets old fast.

I was incredibly nervous about flying with RJ by myself not only because I didn't want to be that person on the plane with the inconsolable screaming kid, but also because I worried that he would start vomiting again or that he'd having painful ear popping (after all, my ears ALWAYS clog and pop during decent). Luckily RJ was an angel and he didn't even spit up! He actually slept for the most part when he wasn't eating. He even fell asleep in the middle of our takeoff!

So, what did we learn about traveling with a baby?

1.) Babies require lots of crap. For a two week stint, we checked 3 suitcases and a pack-n-play, carried on one monster sized diaper bag, which also housed my laptop, a large backpack, my purse, and the snugli. Then we gate checked the stroller, and the carseat with its base.

2.) Babies under the age of 2 can ride on your lap in the airplane at no extra charge - you just have to call the airline ahead of time to add the lap infant to your booked seat.

3.) If you think airport security is a pain in the ass already, just try and hand the nice TSA guy your folded up stroller while holding the baby and balancing the laptop, outside of it's nice backpack home, all while trying to take off your shoes while you have a line of people behind you.

4.) Despite the tight security that we all now enjoy, it's remarkably easy to get a lap infant through the security checkpoint for domestic flights. No birth certificate is required, so I could've been carrying anyone's baby. That's a scary thought.

5.) Trying to feed a baby under a blanket is a complete pain the ass. While I didn't get any complaints when the blanket repeatedly fell off, it's good to know (after the fact) that federal law protects breastfeeding, with or without the blanket in all 50 states. I plan on just whipping out the boob next time. Anyone who is uncomfortable with seeing my nipple for 30 seconds or seeing sideboob when my kid eats can suck it.

6.) There is a really no perfect place to sit with a lap infant while flying coach. The aisle is good when you have to get up to change the baby or pee, and it's even better if no one else in the row needs to get up. However, the window is better for breastfeeding because you're less exposed and you don't have to worry about your arm or the baby's head getting smacked by the drink cart. Sitting at the back of plane is also not ideal because that's where all the people waiting for the bathroom hang out and lean into your row when they try to pass one another going in opposite directions. Sometimes these people are completely oblivious that they're taking up valuable space from the baby and sometimes they try to sneak a peak at a boob while passing by.

7.) Everyone LOVES babies - every flight attendant stopped by my seat to see the "tiny little baby" and I got at least 5 offers to hold RJ if I needed to pee. I however, really wasn't comfortable with this and choose to pee while holding RJ in the snugli. It really isn't any more difficult than peeing while having a big pregnant belly! The return flight with Lance was clearly a lot easier since I could pee by myself.