cousins

it all started out well...

easter 2009

yay!  we made it to eugene, where we were invited to our sister in law's parents' house for an easter egg hunt & lunch.  thanks for inviting us - we had a great time!

easter 2009

we changed z back into some comfier clothes after the "photo shoot."  we didn't want him to sully his fancy easter outfit on the ride to eugene.  in these pics daddy is talking to grammy while trying to keep various objects away from zane.  his reaching and grabbing skills have really gotten better.  all hot liquids must be kept far away now!

easter 2009

here are some pics of me & z opening up his easter basket contents.  z did not get to eat his easter bunny.  his parents ate it, & it was great - milk chocolate bernard callebaut bunny (albeit a hollow one...)!

mooommmmm!

why won't you listen to me??!!!  i still do not like avocado!  i've never liked it!  i will not eat it!  not in a house, not with a mouse...

our little blazer

here are some pics from a recent fashion show.  zane was modeling his new blazers onesie.  this was way back during my spring break.  click on the middle pic and see the long stream of drool in mid-fall... he was ready for a nap by the last pic.  such a cutie!  

7 months old!

our little cutie is seven months old today on my first mother's day.  this is actually a photo from 5 days ago.  if you click on it, you can sort of see his first two teeth.  he got the second tooth a week and a day after the first.  he's quite the giggly little fellow these days.  it's so fun to play with him!  he loves swinging in the baby swings at the park, loves bubbles, is having fun chewing on a new puzzle he just got...  we just had to raise the level of his exersaucer.  every now and then he graces us with a nap longer than an hour.  he doesn't absolutely need to sleep every 90 min  now, but usually can.  he's begun waking up at 5am (or a little before), wanting to play, & then going back to sleep for 1.5 hours before being up for normal.  it's driving mommy batty!  anyway, i've been spending most of my free time this weekend updating z's baby book.  thank goodness i've been blogging, because otherwise i wouldn't have had a record of anything!  i need to get back to pumping (need the hands now), so i'll post more pics & details about my mother's day weekend later...

Happy Mommy's Day!

Hey Everyone! Z here. It's Mother's Day, and I just wanted the whole world to know that I have the best mommy! SHE'S ALSO DELICIOUS!

baby ducks

it's baby duck season!!!!

     

i was trying to catch a picture of z's new tooth peaking through, but never caught a decent picture.  i did catch these cute ones, though.  baby feet are so precious, aren't they?

so... i'm a bit of a crazy mommy.  we've been trying EC - "elimination communication."  i'm not trying to potty train z, but just am trying to cut down on poopy & wet diapers.  we got him a toilet seat & a little potty.  i place him on his potty immediately when he wakes up from naps, & he usually will pee.  when i get really lucky, i sometimes catch poops.  sometimes he'll give clues that he needs to go after being up for awhile, and i'll make some "catches."  often not.  anyway, along the same subject... i've noticed that he's a lot more mobile when he doesn't have the huge bulky cloth diapers on.  he loves playing with his feet when not diapered, so i've let him go diaperless a little bit (if he's already pooped for the day).  i was in fred meyer late one friday night, and was walking by the baby section, so i picked up the smallest size underwear they had.  they're spiderman undies that glow in the dark.  i figured if i was letting him play diaperless, at least undies would catch a stream of pee, instead of it going absolutely everywhere, and would make it easier for him to play while diaperless.  he still needs to work on his tummy time & flipping/turning....

zane has grown out of his old car seat, and so we no longer have the luxury of rocking & swinging him to sleep in his infant car seat when out in public.  i've found that he'll fall asleep against me in my mei-tai, though, so i'm happy we've found a solution.  he barely fits in the baby bjorn...  here he is, completely passed out on his mommy.  we kept him up way past his bedtime this past weekend...

first tooth!!!

zane got his first tooth this week!  he's handling it like a champ.  we've tried some more foods - butternut squash - yay, apple sauce - nay, pears - nay (although he'll drink pear juice).  i don't plan on feeding him lots of juice, but he's had a bit of a problem with getting "bound up," and juice is supposed to help.  my students' recital was this past weekend, so i'm glad to have that behind me.  they're always a lot of extra time & work.  this week is really light teaching wise, and the weather is beautiful, so i'm enjoying life!  i had some friends over for lunch today.  it was great to catch up.  it's always a big effort to get ready to host things, but definitely worth it.  z & i have gone on a few walks (he always falls asleep).   

6 month birthday

happy 6 month birthday, z!  yay!  we haven't killed you yet!  you're still alive.  and we feel happy & blessed to call you our son.  the time, for mommy at least, has gone very slowly, but there have been things to enjoy & appreciate with each stage.  (not to mention the challenges, but...)  our beautiful 6 month old is peeing & using the potty (when we put him there in time).  he likes sweet potatoes, oatmeal, green beans, and i think his favorite is bananas.  mommy is still pumping, but just 3-4 times a day.  she is still lacking sleep, but not quite as bad as a month ago.  no teeth yet.  z is sleeping fairly well, although it could always be better.  and he seems to have nightmares.  he'll start screaming for 1-2 minutes, usually around 9-10pm, only to have it stop as abruptly as it started.  mommy got a night out tonight with a friend, while friend's boyfriend had a playdate with daddy.  mommy went to everett street bistro - pretty good, at least great manhattans!  - and ended with voodoo doughnuts for everyone.  not a big fan of the triple chocolate penetration, but liked the portland creme thing, the ducky one, and the elvis one.  tomorrow brings 6 straight hours of piano rehearsals.  oh dear.  

GQ Z

The other day, our little panda was being quite interactive with the camera, so we held an impromptu little photo shoot.   He's definitely turning into quite a dashing young man...

swimming & seats

During the first weekend of spring break, we travelled to Bend for Z's cousin J's first birthday party.    While Z didn't actually get to go to the party (because cousin J got sick), the weekend did give us a chance to introduce Z to the swimming pool.    He was a bit tentative at first, but ended up really enjoying the pool, so we're looking forward to taking him to swim classes soon.

Here he is in his first moments in the pool:

In addition to being enough of a "big boy" to try swimming, we also decided that Z has become too big for his infant car seat.   So, right after getting back into town from Bend, we purchased a new, larger car seat for him.    Of course, now that he's not in the infant seat anymore, it's also time for him to start using the stroller in the normal fashion.    Fortunately, it looks like he still has a little bit of room to grow before the stroller is too small:

March Pictures - baby's first foods

So, for the last couple of weeks, we've started to introduce Z to "solid" foods and formula. It's a couple weeks before he's 6 months old, and he's big enough that he's "advanced" for his age and can handle them a little earlier. It has been a relief to have something to supplement his diet, since he's a hungry little guy and it was really stressing his mommy out to have to keep up with his demand.
So, here are a couple pictures documenting our first attempts at feeding him.
The first we tried was avocado - after a couple days trying avocado, it became clear that he just doesn't like it.



The next food we tried was banana, and we've had a lot more success with that. He definitely likes banana. Here he is with banana all over his face:

And our most recent introduction into his diet is oatmeal...he seems to be liking the oatmeal so far too....but, of course, it's not any less messy than the other foods...

5 months.

our little mothra is 5 months old now.  he had two more vaccinations on wednesday, and weighed in at 18 lbs, 2.5 ounces.  he's not a small guy.  clothes that are 9-12 months are the most comfortable on him, at least for pants.  i rarely dress him in anything but sleepers these days because pants really cut into his pudgy middle.  he's quite the little sausage!  he eats like crazy, and still doesn't like to suck very hard -  he likes a strong flow.  this means that he only half empties my breasts when breast feeding, and so i have to pump pretty much after every f#^&(ing feeding, AND i have to wake up every night and pump, separate from any time i have to get up and feed him, just to keep enough milk on hand for when i'm teaching.  on nights where j is on baby duty, it's certainly manageable.  but when i'm on duty, this means an extra waking.  and pumping is not quick.  it can take over a half hour to completely empty the breast.  and if i don't empty everything out, i won't produce as much.  so, it's 5:58am, and i'm finishing this night's pumping.  z has begun waking up earlier to eat.  he used to fuss around 3, and go back to sleep without us getting up, and then wake up at 5 or 6 to eat.  now he cried around midnight or 1, requiring us to actually get up & re-pacify him or re-swaddle him, then wakes up again at 3 needing a serious feeding.  perhaps it's switching to daylight savings time.  dunno.  anyway, i'm sick of the new schedule and my pumping.  some people are telling me to give up and start with formula, others are saying stick with the nursing, it won't last forever, that it's something you just have to endure.  some people say we're feeding him too much - he's so fat, and instead of feeding him, we should find other ways to pacify him.  others say if he's hungry, he should be fed.  i really don't know who to listen to, but i'm exhausted.  my breasts are sore.  my fingers and thumbs are getting cramps from so much compression while pumping.  i'm sick of these extra baby pounds, but being up a million times a night takes a lot of energy, and i'm too tired to exercise (and i barely have any extra time to exercise with all this stupid pumping), because i have to bear this lack of sleep without any caffeine because it affects z.  so i still can't eat any CHOCOLATE, and i can't eat things with onions, garlic, beans, broccoli, etc. during the week, i have to nap whenever z naps just to get through a day of teaching.  spring break is coming up - not this week, but the following week.  we're going to bend this coming weekend for our nephew's first birthday, and it will be our first time staying in a hotel.  aside from introducing z to swimming for the first time, i'm dreading it.  how will he sleep in a pack n' play?  will he wake up every hour?  last time we checked, he didn't like to sleep with us.  how will i pump in the middle of the night without waking him or j up?  will the refrigerator be large enough to store all the milk?  will the sink be large enough in which to wash all the pumping parts?  should i start formula?  i'm trying to wait until april 10, his six month birthday, but i'm sick of pumping.  i'm barely keeping up with him.  just when i think i'm getting ahead, he wakes up an extra time and eats a ton, and i see my bottles lined up in the refrigerator have disappeared.  feels like a kick in the gut.   

And some more pictures from February

Z using Vinny for a pillow - they're about equal in weight now...

Here's a picture of the beef wellington (and scallops wellington) with balsamic roasted vegetables  that j made for valentine's day dinner

Z after getting lotion on his scalp, and before getting a bath....he might not be quite old enough yet to truly appreciate the punk movement...

And here's Z in his high-chair, wishing he was having some of our blueberry pancakes for breakfast:

long overdue pictures

So, we've been bad about getting recent pictures up here on the blog.   Partially that is because our camera was broken for a while, but mostly it is because little Z has been keeping us busy 110% of the time.    It turns out that being parents actually consumes a lot of your time...who knew?!

These first 3 are from a super bowl party that we went to at the home offices of B.S. International.

And this one is at grandma&grandpa's house: