Fall Fun

Yesterday we went downtown to the arch for a photo-shoot of sorts. There is a nice park by the arch with trees and grass, and the Fall colors are cool. We went at the end of the day when the light is low and lights up the colors on the trees.

Tomorrow I (Ryan) get to watch Dylan because our babysitter canceled. I'm glad that my first reaction was excited to get to spend some time with him rather than annoyed that it will cut into the work I planned to do.

Someone today told us we are good parents because we didn't micromanage Dylan and were comfortable with other people being competent to hold him, give him a bottle, etc. Thanks! New parents need compliments!

Halloween Party

Dylan went to his first halloween party yesterday. We went to hang out with our Kangaroo Kids group for the afternoon for a costume party with the babies. All in all there were 20 babies at one point and 19 mommies (one girl has twins)! Dylan went as a peapod and I went as a farmer-girl. In the pictures he is wearing only pumpkin hat because he gets too hot in his costume (and quite fussy too). We had a good time visiting with our friends. And wouldn't you know, amongst all the chaos, Dylan even took a nap!

Gerber baby

In this new favorite picture of ours he was looking at a wall sconce in the living room - go figure. He also likes to read the warning label inside his car seat. The next Ralph Nader? Wonder what is going on in that head of his.

He actually let us bundle him up and put him into his crib without screaming tonight...he went to sleep like a little boy and not an infant! But it is still only 9:30 and the night is young - he'll probably wake up before long.

He watches us when we leave the room now and smiles when he sees us re-emerge. We like to think he is recognizing us at this early age. Either way, he is so precious! Don't grow up Dylan!

Winkle

My turn. Just thought I'd post this picture of the little guy. It is from yesterday. We let him gnash on this toy, called a "winkle", for a few minutes. I think it tasted good to him. -R

warning label

Dylan's latest: smiling and cooing at the warning label in the inside of his carseat yesterday while riding in the car. It looked like he was trying to read it, then he smiled really big and let out a squeal of delight! He cracked me up.

growing ever so lightly

I took Dylan to the babysitter this morning and got quite sad about it. He cries less and less these days as I think he can entertain himself better. He rode in the car and played with his hands and his little firefly toy and didn't cry the whole way. I almost wished he would have cried for some reason. I think I am sad about his growing ever so lightly every day, and now we both have to leave him for 8 hours of the day. If he did the same thing he used to do (cry in the car every time), at least I could say that I haven't missed him changing. I was playing baby classical music for him in the car, and I think it helped keep him calm, but it depressed me because it was mellow. Plus it is kind of dreary out today-blah. But my family is such a treasure!

I'm writing the manuscript of my paper full-time right now, and should have it submitted within a month. Defense is scheduled for January 20th. Moving in February.

Well, off to the library, as the sounds of lab make it hard to concentrate.
-Ryan

First week back

So this week was my first week back to work. I'm thankful that it is only 3 days a week, but overwhelmed with the whole thing (to say the least). Ryan is very supportive I must say. And Teri (Ryan's mom) was here for this first week and was SUPER helpful and supportive of us all. Dylan just loved her and I appreciated her being sensitive to his need for some structure and keeping track of his naps/feedings for me to help when he goes off to daycare (sniff) this coming Monday.
Well on a different note: Ryan has set the date for his thesis defense. January 20th. I'm so proud of him and all his hard work. He really has been pushing himself to get through the past few months since Dylan was born. I know it has been hard for him, especially with all my stressing about going back to work and balancing being a dad with his work in the lab. I know now how hard it must have been to leave each morning those first few weeks when I was post-partum and Dylan was so little and new. Luckily my mom was here to help me out and reassure Ryan that we'd be alright while he was off at lab. Boy, aren't moms the best? I'm so thankful for having such wonderfully supportive and loving moms. And I'm seeing their love in a whole new light now that I'm a mom myself. Gosh, that sounds wierd to actually say it: I'm a mom.
Better get to bed now. Dylan is sleeping and I don't know how long of this window of sleep I have left to enjoy (never know with these little ones).

Says Ryan

I think blogging is kind of silly, but I'm doing it so I guess that makes me silly. Are a bunch of people really going to read my stream-of-consciousness thoughts on a day-to-day basis? My family is full of intelligent, busy people, but maybe they will. Anyway, I'm at lab right now doing a tritiated palmitate labeling experiment so I can see if a PAT-dead version of DHHC-CRD #2 is able to palmitoylate RGS7 family binding protein (R7BP). OK, I've just guaranteed that no one will ever read this blog again!

Give me another chance? OK. I thought I'd comment on being a father, as Briana made the headline of our blog about how our lives haven't been the same since Dylan was born. Being a dad is awesome, exciting, and wonderful. I can't wait to see what new trick Dylan has picked up when I come home each day, or what milestone he will have passed. Yes, our lives haven't been the same since, and that is a good thing! Our marriage has been challenged like it never has before, but we are up to the challenge. Just have to remember that our marriage comes first, because it was here before Dylan was here and it will be here after he is gone from our home. In the meantime, the stronger our marriage is, the better our family will be.

A Dylan update: he is extraordinarily cute! He splashes me when he takes his bath, he reaches and smacks his little tiger toy, and he has a heart-melting smile. More to come.

Maiden Blog

I've never had the desire to blog before. But recently I have wanted to find a more regular way to share what is going on in our lives with family and friends since we live so far away from some of them. Today seems like as good a day as any other. So here I am. Enjoy!

Dylan is nearly 3 months old now. Tomorrow I start back to work again, thankfully only part-time. I'm dreading going back to work and having to leave him each morning. Ryan's mom is coming into town for a few days to help us this first week, which we are very thankful for. I've got a few bottles of milk stored up in the fridge and freezer, but still wish I had more. Isn't it strange how one's measure of self-worth can change? You'd be surprised if you only knew how much I actually base on the volume of milk I can gather and store these days. Times sure do change, don't they?

Dylan is starting to reach for things now. He stays awake longer and longer before needing a nap (however, he fights taking his naps and we've had to make deliberate efforts to implement nap-time during the day) and is smiling and cooing more and more. Our parents-as-teachers educator came over the other day and pointed out that he is localizing to voices already (a milestone usually not achieved until 4 months) and has great muscle tone for his age. We are working on getting him to vocalize more, since he is less advanced in that area right now. He coos when he sees his tiger-head toy on his changing table, and likes his bouncer, but doesn't "talk" to us too much yet. We'll keep you posted though.