A Word from Mommy...

Well, tomorrow's the big day...our first airplane ride! It's amazing to me how not simple it is to travel now. I'm one of those that likes to just throw a bunch of stuff in a bag and go. No more! I started making my packing list over a week ago and actually getting stuff out on Tuesday! And I don't think I've traveled with this much luggage since I went to England and Scotland for 10 days in college! Nonetheless, we're so excited to go and have the rest of our family and friends meet the little man, have him see all the balloons for the first time, and see how he does on a plane. Still, please pray for us...we're gonna need it!

look what i found?

i've been searching and searching and i think i finally found it...my thumb. at least for now. we'll see if it's just a brief discovery or a long-term habit. mommy and daddy have mixed feelings. the way i see it, if my food source is portable thanks to mommy, perhaps my paci should be as well.

tuesday is daddy day

daddy works from home every other tuesday so that mommy can go into the office for a few hours. on the other tuesday's, daddy is off. so i get to spend some quality time with him and try my best to not bother him when he is working. mommy thinks it's funny how daddy brings all things baby upstairs on the days he works. it helps him keep me busy. he does take a break from time to time and plays with me, which i love.

daddy's office setup at home

keeping daddy company

part 1 of my office

part 2 of my office - the rest of the arsenal

my mid-day coffee break with daddy...

natural born striker

daddy's helping me prepare for world cup 2030.

 

maybe it will be in south africa again and we'll all hear the vuvuzelas playing for me! i can already hear them playing the vuvuzelas and cheering as i kick the ball.

i can taste it already

my new friend, levi...
i was eyeing his paci - it's bigger than mine!

today, mommy and i went to meet a new friend of mine. levi was born in march so he's older than me, but we still hung out together. me and mommy and levi and his mommy, shannon, all met for lunch in cherry creek and then went to a baby food making class. i was the only one there that didn't get to try all the yummy foods, but mommy promises the day is coming when i will. they had millet, pureed sweet potatoes, and fresh applesauce. yummy!

off to work i go

today was another one of mommy's office days. this time, though, i got to go with her. although i didn't sleep nearly as well today as i have been - there was just too much new stuff to look at - it was a lot of fun because there were really nice women there that were all very excited to see me.

miss marilyn made a special trip just to see me

miss christie had been waiting for me all morning

i could tell miss barbara has held lots of babies

A Word from Mommy...

This has been a rough week. Not for Owen. Not for James. But for me. I spent Monday preparing myself and my heart for Tuesday. And Tuesday was heartbreaking. The rest of the week was spent making up for Tuesday.

Yep, I started back to work. Well, actually, I started back last week, but this was the first week that I actually spent a day AT work. See, I am working a flexible part-time schedule - 10 hours/week in the office and 10 hours at home. And on Tuesday morning, my first day away from Owen, my heart ached as I kissed him goodbye. It was the first day in almost 9 weeks that I was going to be apart from him for more than a couple hours. I spent the whole drive to work in tears.

Fortunately for us, James also works at a wonderful place that allows him a flexible work schedule, too. He can work from home for one day one week, and have the same day off the next week. That means that James now either works from home or is off every Tuesday, which allows him to take care of Owen while I spend that same day AT work.

So although I was relieved that James was home...and I had full confidence that Owen was being extremely well-cared-for and loved...and Owen did come see me for lunch (something we'll do every week for nursing purposes and to minimize how much I pump!)...nevertheless, my heart still broke. The tears still ran. And the need for 4:30 to come quickly was overwhelming!

It amazed me just how much I missed him...just how much I ached for him. In that one day, I saw just how much I have come to need him, not just be needed by him. Driving into the garage that evening never felt so sweet!

more fun in the 'hood

waiting for the parade to begin

this evening, we went with beth and my friend eliana from across the street to a high school homecoming parade in our neighborhood. we had tried to go yesterday, but the parade was cancelled due to rain. there was lots to see. everything from marching bands, singers, and students in funny costumes. some of the floats were throwing out candy...even daddy ran into the street with all the little kids to get some. it was so much fun spending time with beth and eliana. we got to enjoy the outdoors and support the local high school in the process.

my friend eliana from across the street

beth and eliana

mommy and me watching the parade

chillin' with daddy

hey guys, meet the next great quarterback

a visitor just for me

me, ellen and mommy

mommy's high school friend and college roommate, ellen, came to see me today. she came bearing gifts and specifically to see me...i like having visitors especially when the purpose for their visit is me. ellen brought me a very warm and cozy sleeper suit and a set of bibs. those will come in handy during my drool spells. oh yeah, she also brought fresh roasted green chile for mommy and daddy. ellen promises to baby sit me when i get a little older. we had a good time and shared lots of stories.

a boy and his denim

this morning i had some good playtime with mommy and daddy. they put in my first pair of jeans to see how i would look. they were very impressed. however, i was not. i glimpsed "3-6 months" on the tag just before they pulled them up. what's up with that guys? i'm only two months old and you're showing everyone how i already fill out these jeans! way to boost my self-esteem. now i just feel short and chunky (notice how much they're rolled!). mommy says it's all because of my diaper. that's what i'm going with.

happy 2 month birthday!

i officially turned 2 months old today. can you believe it? mommy and daddy decided that it would be fun to do something for each month through my first year. last time it was cake, today it was a picnic at the park. i'm not sure if the picnic was to celebrate or to make amends for what they put me through at the pediatrician's office. regardless, it was so much fun. they let me sleep in the nice breeze under the shade of a giant tree while they had lunch. i loved being outside. we all then took a brief walk when daddy decided that it would be fun to go across the street and get some ice cream. overall, it was a good day (minus the shot). i'm only 2 months old and i've grown so much...at least that is what mommy and daddy say.

  

milk, it does a body good!

me and the doc...i wish the appt
would have ended with him

breastmilk, that is. at least that's what the pediatrician told us today. yep, i had my two month visit this morning. we met with dr. rubin...an airwalk-wearin', joke-crackin', wisdom-sharin' kind of guy. i really liked him. here are my stats for today:

• Weight: 12 lbs. 14 oz (75th percentile)...holy cow mom, those things are loaded!
• Height: 23 1/4 in (70th percentile)...at this rate, i'll be taller than both mommy and daddy!
• Head circumference: 16 in (70th percentile)...i'm proud to be taking after my gampa!

so i gained almost 5 pounds in 6 weeks. a total champ and a total chunk! overall, the doc said i was normal and in perfect health!

of course, i then found out he was only buttering me up because then the bomb was dropped. "what's coming?" i asked. i didn't have to wait very long to find out. ashley seemed nice at first. she even complemented the kangas on my diaper.

yuck...this so wasn't breastmilk!

something just poked me

holy cow...something just impaled my leg!

you gotta be kidding me...you brought me here for this?

i don't think i like ashley anymore. as we left the pediatrician, i overheard daddy telling mommy it was a good thing i only got one shot today instead of three...something about an alternative schedule. i sure would hate to know what a regular schedule is!

my daddy

i love my daddy. i love staring at him. i love when he kisses me. i love when he holds me in his arms and walks really fast around the house making car sounds to help me go to sleep. i love that he gets excited to see me when he comes home. i love when he makes funny kissing sounds on my belly. i love that he makes diaper changing fun. i love that i get to call him "daddy". i love that he calls me his "little buddy". i love that he sings to me even when he doesn't know the words. i love that he reads me stories at bedtime. i love his heart for God. i love when he prays with me and mommy. i love that God gave him to me as my daddy.

tummy time

today was a different kind of tummy time since mommy decided to put me in the boppy instead of on the playmat. at first i didn't quite know what to make of it all. but soon enough, i was moving all over the place and having fun.

a full day

today was a very busy day. mommy started back to work today. she will be working 10 hours from home and putting in 10 hours at the office each week. for this week, she is only doing her at-home hours. so while i slept in my bouncy seat, she spent a couple hours catching up on her multitude of email...after 8 weeks of being off, she still isn't through all of her email!

my birth class buddy, elijah

after she was done, we left to go and meet another mommy from birth class, sarah. it was fun for mommy to see sarah again after so long, but even more fun was to meet her son, elijah. he was born three days after me. we both slept for a good part of the time. we all just hung out on a picnic blanket in the park and enjoyed the late morning breeze. and although mommy had her camera with her, she totally forgot to take pictures of us (she forgets things like that a lot...daddy is much more reliable for taking pictures!). but to the right is a picture from elijah's shutterfly site. you can see more photos of elijah by clicking on the link to his site down under "a few babies i follow..." in the sidebar.

then, mommy had to make one more stop on the way home - her work. she hadn't yet brought me into her office to meet everyone, so today was the day since she had to stop and pick up some work anyway. it was fun to see all of mommies co-workers. i especially loved swaying with miss phyllis. she is soft and warm and gentle. i fell asleep for a while in her arms...almost as wonderful as mommy. again, mommy didn't take any pictures (come on mom, get with it...do you want to remember all these things or not?!). we finally arrived back home late in the afternoon.

we were both so tired (mommy had been up since 5:30) that we laid on the couch and took a wonderful long nap. we were sleeping so hard we never heard dad come home!

my modeling debut

so mommy and daddy got so busy with all our recent visitors that they totally forgot to put up a few pics from my recent modeling photo session for the 'lil joey cloth diapers by rumparooz. i've been telling them they need to make them available...after all, i'm sure my fans are waiting! here are just a few of my favorites.

classic white...it goes under anything!

daddy was a little worried about me in lavendar,
but it goes well with my skin

i'm sure i was pondering something important

my true model pose...don't you think it'll get me picked up
by some other big wigs!

i'll make sure to let you know when they show up on the rumparooz website, as well as the promo video that i'll be in. so keep checkin' back.