5 months y'all

Five merry months! Bex turned the big old five months this weekend. He is still rolling over only one direction, and has only been able to get back on his back a few times, but is well on his way. He will stay on his belly and kick and kick his legs but can't get anywhere yet so he inevitably rolls over and seems very proud of himself. He is talking up a storm and puts EVERYTHING in his mouth, in fact the nanny said that Bex took another baby's hand and put it directly into his mouth (good boy!) He is starting to get interested in what we are eating so solid food is in the near future. We went to the vet this weekend and got Beast some kitty Xanax for the plane trip to Connecticut. Topher also decided to go out to New Haven once more by himself to get the apartment ready for our arrival (a mattress, towels, kitty litter, etc) and be there for the delivery of all his lab reagents. One other thing is that there are TWO jobs that I am applying for in Connecticut. Both smaller universities in the area where I would do mostly teaching but also some research. I am not really ready to apply for jobs but considering how geologically restricted I am, I feel that I better apply for every option. Here are a few shots of the boy. Notice the close encounter of the camouflaged beast.

Connect-I-Cut

I just realized that I never posted pics from our trip out east (I love saying that). They will be at the bottom and will include our new apartment (the top floor of that giagantor house) in the best neighborhood in New Haven, pics from the beach which is only about a twenty minute drive from New Haven, and Yale. The move is quickly becoming very real with scheduling of the movers, who are coming on the December 27th. We are booking our ONE-WAY tickets "out east" for January 3rd or 4th. Crazy. I'm clearly preparing for this by packing in every opportunity to see family. LA for Thanksgiving, my parents and Kory in early December here in SF, AK for Christmas and then an unexpected trip to Maui for Bex and I in March (with a 17 hour flight back to CT). Yikes!

Bumpkin Pumpkin!!

This weekend we went to our friends house to carve pumpkins. Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. California is fabulous during this time of year because you can go to a pumpkin patch and pick your pumpkin from where it grows. Here is a picture of Bex at his very first pumpkin patch and then a picture of our pumpkins. Let the voting for best pumpkin carving begin...

Auntie Mo-love comes to visit.

I had the best weekend ever! One of my best friends came to visit San Francisco this weekend and we had a faboosh time. It was full of quality Bex time, sunny days, and a few mimosas. While Moriah was here, Bex was also a huge show off and did quite a few new and exciting things (usually while Moriah was filming... he's such a ham!) He can now grab his fabric ball with one hand in the air and wave it around (like he just doesn't care). He can also grab his feet and managed to get one in each hand. Here are a few pics of our adventures.

Red Hawt

When Bex was born my lab got me a wonderful gift. The lab usually goes with a zoo membership or a gift certificate to Baby R Us or something fairly generic for a baby gift. Not for me! The lab got me (well, Bex really) two wonderful costumes. Below is Bex trying on his chile pepper outfit, which he looks quite fetching in. The other costume is an AMAZING lion outfit with paws that go over his shoes and a fabulous shaggy mane. He will have to grow into that one, but for this Halloween: Chile Pepper! Despite his scowl, he loved it (I'm just sure of it).

Sushi?

The last few nights have been some of the hardest with the little PITA. He has been waking me up every 2-3 hours to eat. He has been ravenous and even a bit fussy (which is very unlike Bex). We googled this (I seriously don't know how people parented before google) and it sounds like Bex was having his three month growth spurt, and this behavior supposedly only lasts a few days. Low and behold last night we took him out to sushi (see below) and he was back to his perfect little self. He slept from 9pm to 8am with only two feedings. He's a good boy!

Busy days ahead

I'm still waiting for my motivation at work to kick back in. Part of it is that every time that I get things ready at work, I have to stop and pump (Repeat: three times a day). I also have a rotation student working with me this quarter, making it even more impossible to get anything done. The good news is that it *seems* as though my paper was accepted for publication. Here is what the email says:

“I have the final materials for your paper and am just waiting to get some information from our production staff about schedules for next issues, so should be able to finish the processing of those materials soon.”

Never once does the email say the word ACCEPTED... but it all sounds very positive. That would be a huge step in the right direction. Additionally, Topher and I booked our flight to New Haven at the beginning of October where we will both be giving talks. Bex's first of many trans-american flights. Also we have Topher's mom visiting this weekend and then one of my besties, Moriah is coming to visit in October too! Yahoo!

Here is a pic of Bex and Toph soaking in his vitamin D at the park across the street from our house. Note his fabulous outfit compliments of Carlos n Betsy.

3 Months and counting...

Bex turned three months old today!! It is funny because sometimes it feels like he just arrived in our family, and other days it feels like he has always been around. We are all doing well and he is adjusting to the nanny just fine, although he has picked up a bit of a habit. He prefers to sleep in someone's arms. It is amazing because he will be out like a light and the second you put him down he gets fussy and then the second you pick him back up- out like a light again. I can't blame him! Below are some pics of Bex's first wedding and his amazing outfit with suspenders and bow-tie!

Grandpa Ron

Grandpa Ron was is town for a meeting and managed to spend a night at our place. Bex was very excited to see him and they got to spend a lot of quality time together. Bex is getting used to spending time with people other than us- he started with his nanny last week. She is wonderful and Bex seems to really like her. She calls him el guapo, and who can argue with that.

Photoshoot

We had quite the fun-filled labor day weekend with picnics in the park, dinner with friends, and Bex's first wedding. Although we do have pics of those events, Bex and I just discovered the photobooth program on the new laptop...

Bear Sighting

This is our last day of part-time work. Our nanny, Elizabeth, starts on Tuesday. She will be with Bex at our house four days a week, so Topher and I will still split Mondays. In some ways I'm excited to get back to work but other times I'm sad that I won't get to spend as much time with Bex. We are taking advantage of our days together and getting outside quite a bit as it has been gorgeous SF summer weather still. We have a jam-packed weekend full of BBQs and Bex's first wedding. Pics of his lovely outfit soon. To keep your eyes satisfied here is a pic of Bex at the SF Botanical Gardens.

Keeping it personal

Bex received his very first personalized item this afternoon. Look at the most wonderful hat (and model) made by his aunt Jane. He is really posing for this pic! Thanks aunt Jane!

Girl Talk

Recently Bex has been mistaken for a girl quite a few times. We think that it has to do with the appearance of long lashes. He must get these from his father (why do the guys always get the great lashes?!?) He has been called rose bud and beautiful girl. I can assure everyone that he is definitely a boy, with boy-like characteristics. First off he is sweaty... very, very sweaty. While burping him he has also started turning directly into my face before belching. He is also wakes himself up in the night by passing gas. He is definitely a boy! Here are a few pics of him looking very masculine ;)

Creeeeepy

Happy day everyone. We just got back from Bex's first road trip. We drove down to Monterey to spend an evening with Topher's dad, meaning that Bex has now had the honor of meeting each and every one of his immediate family members (lucky boy!) We then woke up bright and early and headed down to Ventura to hang with friends at the beach. Bex did great on the road and although he didn't love the beach and ocean like his dad, he did love walking up and down the beach in the ergo. We got back on Sunday night and Beast was so so thrilled to see us. We are back in SF for awhile and both start work full-time after labor day so we are savoring the days off with the boy. Below is a creepy picture of Bex with Duke's realistic newborn doll. It was amazing how much they looked alike back before Bex started really packing on the poundage.

Two Months

Bex had his three month doctor appointment on Friday. He weighed in at 12 pounds 5 ounces and is two feet long. He officially out grew beast (not in fierceness though). He also had to get lots of vaccines. He had to drink down the rotovirus vaccine and then had three shots in the thighs. He took them like a champ, although he did let out a terrible high-pitched scream. He only cried for about thirty seconds before calming down. We left the doctor expecting a fever later that night, but low and behold, keeping with his perfect baby status, he did not seem to have any adverse reaction to the immunizations (besides the need for lots of cuddling). Here are the pics from week one, month one, and now month two.

Bex Upstaged

I was taking Bex for a walk this morning and we stopped to get a pastry and a cup of coffee. Bex was sleeping in the stroller, as usual, exactly as pictured above. The woman in front of me in line saw that I had a stroller and peeked in to get a glimpse, of Bex, I assumed. But instead, she looked up at me and said, "That is a beautiful blanket, is it handknitted?". I said yes, that his Aunt Kory had knitted the blanket for him, and she said, "Wow, that is wonderful work for such a young knitter." No mention or acknowledgement of the baby under the blanket- I could have been walking a sack of flour as far as she was concerned. Bravo, Kory.

Mr. Smiley

Bex is officially starting to smile. It isn't always in response to anything but it is happening. I'm convinced that he smiles when he makes eye contact with me, but then he just ends up pooping. He still gets very serious sometimes, as shown below with Mr. Elephante (compliments from Auntie Emma from Chile).

Suck It

Today was mom and Bex day. We had a very exciting day that included a long walk, delicious pastries, a visit from friends, and last but not least: a pacifier photo shoot. At my baby shower, my friends created a pacifier necklace for me and I have been so pumped for Bex to be old enough to try them out. I think he looks fabulous!

We took Bex to Alaska last week to visit his grandparents, aunt lia, and cousins Huck and Duke. We had a great time and Bex seemed to have no problem with the travel. He slept almost the entire flight both ways and was generally pretty mellow. We took Bex down the Kenai peninsula on one day to see Seward and we also took him to Whittier. I went fishing one day with Lani's dad and uncle adn caught a couple pretty big salmon. Lots of quality time at the house and relaxing in the jacuzzi. It was especially nice being able to hand Bex off so Lani and I could soak in peace together.

Back to work

Lani went back to work today so Bex and I spent our first day together- just the two of us. Except for a brief bottle feeding crisis (turns out Bex isnt a huge fan of spoiled milk), everything went pretty smoothly. We went for a long walk on the embarcadero and generally took it pretty easy. Lani will be home with the boy tomorrow while I go to work, and the plan is to alternate days during the month of August. We will have daycare 4 days a week during September and then 5 days a week starting in October. I have to admit that I am excited to get back to lab but I am sure that I will miss the boy during the day, as Lani said she did today.

Little Ron Swanson

Bex is a very restless sleeper. Here is a video of him sleeping. Turn up the volume to hear his little squeaks... I hope that this works!

Sir Cheeks-A-Lot

We have cheeks folks! Here is Bex at one week and one month for comparison. His cheeks are definitely coming in. We are headed for Alaska to visit the family tomorrow and we are crossing our fingers for easy-cry-free-flying. We both feel that we have lucked out with Bex because he is literally on day 6 of NO crying. My friend described him as a "trick baby" (one that tricks you into having another baby). Don't worry we aren't falling for it!

xo,

lani

ps. Bex has a full on skullet too (you know, bald on top of the head, long in the back). I haven't been able to capture the full effect on film yet. Something for everyone to look forward to.

Bex's first road trip

We took Bex on a little vacation earlier this week to beautiful Mendocino. The drive seemed a little longer than we remembered, mostly because our Subaru station wagon is much smaller on the inside than it looks on the outside. Once we got there though, everything was wonderful. Lani got a facial, Topher got a massage, and Bex got some quality time in his vibrating chair. Bliss for all. We ate some good food and went to the beach, although, as always, it was a little foggy and cold up there. Had an ocean view from our room and spent a bit of time on the porch reading books. We even saw a whale and managed to watch the women's world cup victory over France. USA! USA!