Week 14: Wading, Women and Wardrobe

Week 14 started out with a bang! On Friday night we went out to dinner with a very special visitor from Seattle, Jen (of Buck and Jen). And we got to see Jen's friends Heather and Justin and their little girl, Harper! Well, Harper is a few months older than you...and was verrrrrrrrrrry interested in you.

At first you seemed okay with Harper...in that you pretty much ignored her. But she only grew more and more interested with (and the kid at the table behind us).But, she was a persistent little lady...and found the outer limits of your baby bubble. Then you deployed your best defensive stink eye. Or is that an "I'm scared" look!

Yeah. That's definitely a 'scared' look. Either way, we will have to hang out with Heather, Justin and Harper more often! And beg Jen and Buck to visit from Seattle more often!

And guess what? On Friday night YOU SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!! We put you to bed at around 9 and you slept until 8:30 am!!

On Saturday morning we went to hang out with Josh and went to the bird store to check out a Mccaw parrot. You got to see all the beautiful birds hopping around and chirping while. You were pretty much amazed by all the activity, noise and color in that store.

The bird looked like this. Josh and Amy may name her "Roscoe"
Then on Saturday night we had a BBQ with your Aunts and Uncles, but you slept through the whole thing! Another great night's sleep for Aidan!

Another cool part of being 14 weeks old is that you got a whole new wardrobe! Well, not new. But we were finally able to crack open the storage box of clothes for 3 - 6 month old babies because your 0-3 month supply was too small!

Finally you were able to wear the Yellow Submarine onesie that Aunt Sham got for you before you were born!!
Well, you can smile about it, Mr. Serious!

To lighten the mood, we had a little daddy and me time. And we got some good smiles out of you!


What a handsome boy in your Yellow Submarine shirt!

And, since you're 14 weeks old, you have to do your exercises too! You and Mommy did more and more tummy time too! And you got so good at holding your head up and even practiced standing on your tippy toes!



That's right-- that's a new play mat! We saw it on a friend's blog and decided that we were tired of letting you play on the floor on a pile of blankets and yoga mats. So we headed off to Buy Buy Baby and got you this cool multicolored mat, which will also be a puzzle for you to put together once you get older. But for now, it just makes Tummy Time that much more fun (and more successful).

As if Tummy Time weren't fun enough already, we decided that - since it was such a hot weekend, and since we were already getting invitations to go swimming and people's pools- that we had to test the waters...literally.

So I blew up the old inflatable pool and we suited you up and hoped for the best.
We looked the part...now to do the old toe test.

One toe in the water...pretty good...Let's try two feet in the water! Hmmm...still considering it...
But not hating it. So, that gave me the courage to try a little more:

Not too bad, this pool thing...Not too bad at all!

Up above the waist and we're still a thumbs up! Now for the whole submerge!
Success! You LOVED swimming! You and I swam in the pool for a good 30 minutes...splashing and floating and letting it all hang out!






You absolutely loved Swimming time!

In fact, you loved it so much that before dumping out the water the next day, we went for another swim, which went over just as well! (Except that you peed all over your swimsuit and threw up in the pool-- but, hey, we're still figuring this whole thing out!)

And the rest of the week was a success too! You slept through the night two more times, had dinner with Mimi and Pops and again with Nanneh and Baba.

You got to wear a whole lot more big boy outfits and play with some new big boy toys that we unearthed from storage for you, including the one-man-band Turtle you love and the Eric Carle froggy!

Sorry that you kind of blend in there!

and...tomorrow... you're taking your very first road trip all the way down to Houston, TX to see your Uncles, Aunts and Cousins!

We'll definitely have some stories to tell for week 15! But, for now, it's bath time on a Thursday night! Oh, by the way, you also are taking big boy baths...no more hammock in the bath tub! What a monumental week!

A Shirt Thing

We've been having a blast getting to know you better and trying to learn what you want and when you want it. We even tried giving your Nanneh the night off last night, after all, she's not gonna live with us forever, and your Mom and I are going to have to work out a system to feed you and sleep at the same time.

It actually worked pretty well. Your Mom has perfected something that neither Nanneh nor I have managed to do yet: she laid you down in your bassinet and you stayed asleep! That was key to the night working. But, you were still up for food every two hours, so the night was a little rough for all of us.

Also, you and I seem to have a shirt thing going on.

First of all, today is St. Patty's day so, us both being pretty green gung-ho, we both wore green shirts (you wore a whole green outfit). This really isn't a coincidence: I picked out your outfit!

As you can see, you took the news pretty hard that we're not Irish. Once they told me, I didn't react to well either:

But, that's okay. At least we look good in Green!

On to our next shirt adventure! The other day when I was working at home and holding you, I noted that your legs were cold. So, being a super genius, I slipped you into my sweatshirt, and there you stayed, snug as a bug in a rug (I hate that saying, but use it anyway). This is gonna be our new thing: since that day, you've hung out in my sweatshirt another time and even took a nap on my chest in the sweatshirt too!



For the record, that is the same sweatshirt that your mother graced with her lunch on the way back from Maine. Don't worry, we washed it.

But speaking of gracing one with their lunch, that brings us to our last shirt-venture for the day. A few nights ago after your Mom had just fed you a delightful dinner consisting of breast milk with a side of breast milk, you were just chilling on my chest, and I was patting and rubbing your back. Then, without warning, BARFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

I was momentarily taken aback, but kept my cool. I called for your Nanneh to come help.

Just as she arrived: BARFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Double barfsies all over Daddy's shirt! Totally awesome! Seeing as how you were face down on my chest when this happened, you yourself were covered: you had milk in your eyes and hair and face. But you weren't too upset.

Neither was I, to tell you the truth.

Here are the steps to clean up from such a mess:

1) Have Nanneh and Mommy take you and clean you up

2) Take 2 pictures of yourself doing thumbs up with throw up all over yourself (for the record)




3) Take a shower with shirt still on, cleaning you and shirt.

4) Dry off

5) Continue holding Aidan now that he's all cleaned up.


But don't worry, for the massive amount of throw up that you created on my shirt, you haven't lost a single pound.

In fact, your Mommy and Nanneh took you to the Doctor today and she weighed you: You're now up to 8 POUNDS! Dr. Accordino said you're gaining 1 ounce a day! That's something to be proud of...if you're a baby.

But if that were me making that kind of progress, soon enough I wouldn't be able to fit into any of my shirts at all!

Oh, and here's a nice and completely unrelated picture of you and your Mommy hanging around outside! The weather's getting nicer and nicer, so expect more of this!

The Purty Dozen

You're 38 weeks and 2 days along!

Do you know what that means you have in common with this?

And this?

And this?

And this?

That's right: a dozen.

You are twelve days away from your due date, and that number '12' never sounded so 'purty!'

We are still in awe that you will be here in 12 days (or fewer (or in all actuality, in 19 days)).

Your Mom and I keep saying goofy things to eachother like,

"You're a Mom"

"You're a Dad"

"I'm going to have a son"

"I'm hungry"

Okay, so the last one wasn't really related, but you get the idea. We're just still pretty flabbergasted that in a dozen days or so you will be here to change our lives forever! In a dozen days (or so) we are going to embark on the next biggest adveture of our lives!

We've really got the place looking good for you. This weekend we rearranged some furniture and moved your cradle into our bedroom, organized the cupboard in your bathroom, put batteries in your swing, loaded the labor playlist onto both Ipods and packed them and the ipod docker into our hospital bag, cleared off my camera's memory cards, picked out, bought and washed the outfit we're going to bring you home in and thought about putting your pack and play together.

Why didn't we actually put your pack and play together? Well, you gotta leave us something to do in the remaining 12 days!

Clearly You're Nuts!

We're officially 33 weeks pregnant as of this weekend, and the time is just flying. To celebrate your 33rd week of development, we really kicked the shopping into high gear. This weekend we went to:

• 2 different Babies 'R' Us Locations
• The same Super Target twice (on two separate days (both for baby related returns/purchases))
• A NEW Buy Buy Baby location

I know, I know. It sounds riveting, and all this baby shopping sounds like it would be enough to castrate the most testosterone-filled manly man. You might even think that a man would have to be nuts to withstand this amount of baby shopping and perusing and returning and coupon clipping. But, despite the hives that I still get in Babies R Us (now proven to be hive-worthy in multiple locations!), it's always a great adventure going baby shopping with your mom. And, after all, you're my baby too! So, heck yeah, you'll find me in Buy Buy Baby or the baby aisle in Target without batting an eyelash. But, seriously, Babies R Us- even though I like your coupons (which I then use at Buy Buy Baby) and your clearance items- your stores are probably very close to what H-E-double hockey sticks might be like. So, no, you don't have to be nuts to go baby shopping- in fact, I kind of like it. Plus, then I can talk about the nipples and breast pump adapters we got and freak out our less baby-ready friends and family.

Speaking of going nuts, though, in week 33-34 of your development, your testicles are making their way down from your abdomen to their final destination: your scrotum. I had mine in my abdomen once; but Six Flags closed that roller coaster down after several complaints.

But seriously, though, I think a Mazel Tov is in order! Not only are your testicles descending faster than the ball in Times Square on New Years Eve (yes, I'm questioning if this simile is appropriate for you to read), but you are also growing very quickly too. From here on out, you will be gaining about a half a pound a week! Compared to the fact that your Mom is gaining 1 pound a week, your growth is no small peanuts!

And, considering that your Mimi and Pops are taking your Mother and Me to Texas de Brazil (all you can eat meat!) tonight, I may gain a half a pound or more too! Clearly the nut doesn't fall too far from the tree!

Boy, oh Boy!

It feels really cool to know your gender for sure! First, off, I just changed the text on the blog's banner from "watch as baby grows from a red line on a pee stick to a baby boy or girl" to "watch as baby grows from a red line on a pee stick to a baby boy!"




This is also great, because now we know the cool clothes we've been registering for and buying you (and receiving as gifts) don't need to be returned!



I got you a totally awesome t-shirt (for when you're one year old) featuring Darth Vader (seen here playing bass and floating above the band):




Your mom got you a retro Ghostbusters t-shirt that looks like this:

And your Auntie Sham got you the coolest Beatles onesie:

If they made that Yellow Submarine onesie in adult sizes (and if society would allow a grown man to walk around in a legless unitard) I would totally get a matching one!

So, even though we don't know if you'll like Ghostbusters, Star Wars and the Beatles (and you won't be exposed to two out of three of those until you're at least three), we've decided to impose our cultural likes and dislikes upon you! Enjoy!

But, you'll be oppressed by our pop culture tastes in style, my son! And, if, when you get older you want to ditch Star Wars, Ghostbusters and the Beatles for Star Trek, Ghost Hunters and The Rolling Stones, we'll be there to take you shopping!

14 Week Fireworks!

Mimi, Pops, your Mom, you and I just returned from a trip to Maine last night. We got to see and hang out with tons of family, including your Uncle Taff, Aunt April, and your Cousins Addison and Autumn. Taff and I even went baby clothes shopping at the Maine Mall; I'm pretty sure we looked like quite an odd couple to be visiting Baby Gap together in Maine. But, it was totally worth it. I bought you some really hip clothes (which have buttoned-up bottoms (something Pops will probably be envious of)) AND a really cool Darth Vader t-shirt which you can wear in March of 2011. Talk about planning ahead!

So, we were in Maine on your 14th week conception day celebration! As mentioned above, I celebrated by buying you clothes!

You and your Mom chose to celebrate with some FIREWORKS! A real outpouring of excitement!

So, Southwest Airlines is cool and all, but they're not the most direct way to travel. Your Mom stomached the ~10-hour journey up to Maine. And on the way back she did just fine on the drive from Maine to Manchester, New Hampshire. The flight from Manchester to Baltimore was decent too. By the time we flew from Baltimore to St. Louis, Missouri, though, your mom was starting to feel a little unwell. During the flight from St. Louis to Dallas, she seemed like she was going to make it: pale, eyes shut, feeling pretty ill and holding on to the seat in front of her for dear life.

Then they announced that we had begun our initial descent into Dallas. I could see patchwork ground out the window. I could also feel that the ride had gotten substantially bumpier. Your Mom hadn't said a word in about 15 minutes; then she made her move and deftly reached for the barf bag tucked in the back of her seat. She put it to her mouth and...and....WHAT A SAVE!

She breathed heavily into the bag, letting it inflate and deflate with her breaths; but crisis was averted.

Or so I thought.

Moments later, the bag made its way back to your Mom's face. The crunch of the landing gear coming out of the bottom of the plane seemed to be the only sound I heard. I looked at your Mom, and she looked at the back of her eyelids; eyes tightly close. This was it. The grand finale. The fireworks!

I held her hair and exchanged the first bag for the second, the second for the third. She recycled her Starbucks Banana Strawberry Milkshake and Bagel sandwich.

Your Mom had quite a record going! 14 weeks and 2 days of pregnancy without vomiting. But, on that flight to Dallas, the record was wiped clean. My sweatshirt had to be wiped clean as well. The man in the aisle seat of our row, unfortunately, did not say "goodbye" to us as he left.

This just goes to prove that when your Mom does something, she does it big. And anyway, as your Mom said soon afterwards, "At Least you'll have something for the blog."

So, in utero, you've been to Massachusettes, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine! And, I believe it's safe to say this will mark the end of your in utero inter-state adventures.

But, the fireworks were all for you, young man!

Here's what we know so far: you are 14 weeks old, you don't like flying, and you already have some pretty cool clothes to wear; I am down one sweatshirt; and your mother is feeling MUCH better now.

Happy 14th week!