What can I say? True love conquers all.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Blended Family
There are all types of blended families out there. Ours is a blended football family.
What can I say? True love conquers all.
What can I say? True love conquers all.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Life as a 6 month old
I've got to admit, life as a 6 month old is pretty sweet.
It is full of fun and games, like swimming (splashing) in your own pool:
Being pushed on the swings:
And sliding down the slide:
Pretty much the only downside of turning 6 months old is the shots:
And for all those stats lovers out there (besides me?): the big 6 month stats are 17 pounds, 8 ounces and 26.5 inches long. That's 50th percentile again folks. His head was creeping up there beyond the 50th percentile mark, but that's just to make room for all of those brains.
It is full of fun and games, like swimming (splashing) in your own pool:
Being pushed on the swings:
And sliding down the slide:
Pretty much the only downside of turning 6 months old is the shots:
And for all those stats lovers out there (besides me?): the big 6 month stats are 17 pounds, 8 ounces and 26.5 inches long. That's 50th percentile again folks. His head was creeping up there beyond the 50th percentile mark, but that's just to make room for all of those brains.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
August? What was that?
Are we shocked at my lack of blog posting for the month of August? Probably not! Zane turned 5 months in August and spent the rest of the month growing like a weed and learning new things left and right. When I took his 5 month pictures on August 4th we still had to prop him up to sit and he was still just having his first tastes of rice cereal.
the 5 month onesie shot (monkey onesie made by my godmother, Michelle)
By the end of the month he was scarfing down bananas, sweet potatoes, apples and peas and loving them all:
And laying down? Being propped up with pillows and boppies and other nonsense? Nonsense! We have a sitter on our hands. And it doesn't look like he will stay sitting for very long. He's already trying to crawl over our legs and lunge himself forward. Thumbs up for sitting!
Of course the biggest thing that happened in August (and the reason for my lack of blogging) was that we bought our first house. We closed on July 31 and spent a few weeks painting, adding a pergo floor to my office and putting up crown molding in our bedroom. I promise, I will have pics of all that as soon as we finish unpacking. But for now, say goodbye to your first house Zane:
And say hello to the house where you will take your first steps, learn to ride your first bike, wait for the bus for kindergarten, build a tree fort and snowmen, and who knows, maybe even learn to drive a car:
the 5 month onesie shot (monkey onesie made by my godmother, Michelle)
By the end of the month he was scarfing down bananas, sweet potatoes, apples and peas and loving them all:
And laying down? Being propped up with pillows and boppies and other nonsense? Nonsense! We have a sitter on our hands. And it doesn't look like he will stay sitting for very long. He's already trying to crawl over our legs and lunge himself forward. Thumbs up for sitting!
Of course the biggest thing that happened in August (and the reason for my lack of blogging) was that we bought our first house. We closed on July 31 and spent a few weeks painting, adding a pergo floor to my office and putting up crown molding in our bedroom. I promise, I will have pics of all that as soon as we finish unpacking. But for now, say goodbye to your first house Zane:
And say hello to the house where you will take your first steps, learn to ride your first bike, wait for the bus for kindergarten, build a tree fort and snowmen, and who knows, maybe even learn to drive a car:
Saturday, August 22, 2009
A tail of two kitties
When M and I first moved in together, back in 2005, we decided that it was time for a new roommate. One of the furry variety. My mom knew someone who had some cats (understatement) who needed a good home, so we went to see if we might want to take one home. And we did. Two.
Kramer and Wendy were two fluffy, crazy, lovable, smush-faced persians. Wendy was a bit skittish at first, and spent a lot of time in hiding. Kramer immediately followed us around like a puppy. We didn't know much about persians when we took them home. Only that they had a lot of fur. A LOT. OF FUR. and loved people. In no time flat, Wendy made her way out of hiding and we discovered a lot more about our new furry kids. Including the fact that dear sweet Kramer had a host of health problems. It started with seizures, which we opted not to treat with medication as that could alter his sweet and loving personality and also shorten his life span. So instead, whenever he would have a seizure (usually in the middle of the night, while sleeping by our feet) I would hold him as gently and firmly as I could to keep him from hurting himself. M once said that he knew after watching me with Kramer that I would be a good mom. God forbid I ever have to hold anyone else while having a seizure ever again.
We had a few good years with Kramer and eventually things took a turn for the worst. He was on heart medications (which, since this post is quickly becoming a downer you might remember that in a flight-induced fog after a trip to Seattle I took myself instead of giving to the cat. That made for an interesting call to poison control!) and our fabulous vet went above and beyond doing all the research she could on his condition. In the end, he suffered a blockage in his heart that cut off all blood flow to his lower half and we knew it was time to end his suffering. It was the saddest night of our lives together, yet pulling us through was the fact that a little life, more precious than we could ever imagine was busy growing from kumquat to plum-sized.
We thought Wendy would be sad without Kramer. And while she definitely looked for him, she seemed to like the position of only child. While she had it anyway. When Zane arrived, we wondered how she would react. But, like a protective big sister she would sit outside his door when he cried or rub her head on his feet when I fed him.
On our moving day, a day we were looking forward to for months, Wendy died quickly and what we hope was painlessly in the basement of our new house. After watching Kramer suffer, we were thankful for the small favor that we don't think Wendy was in pain. We think it was just her time. And it was probably God's way of reminding us that life is fragile and to be thankful for every moment that you have with the people (and yes, even animals) that you love.
We'll miss those two crazy fur balls.
Kramer and Wendy were two fluffy, crazy, lovable, smush-faced persians. Wendy was a bit skittish at first, and spent a lot of time in hiding. Kramer immediately followed us around like a puppy. We didn't know much about persians when we took them home. Only that they had a lot of fur. A LOT. OF FUR. and loved people. In no time flat, Wendy made her way out of hiding and we discovered a lot more about our new furry kids. Including the fact that dear sweet Kramer had a host of health problems. It started with seizures, which we opted not to treat with medication as that could alter his sweet and loving personality and also shorten his life span. So instead, whenever he would have a seizure (usually in the middle of the night, while sleeping by our feet) I would hold him as gently and firmly as I could to keep him from hurting himself. M once said that he knew after watching me with Kramer that I would be a good mom. God forbid I ever have to hold anyone else while having a seizure ever again.
We had a few good years with Kramer and eventually things took a turn for the worst. He was on heart medications (which, since this post is quickly becoming a downer you might remember that in a flight-induced fog after a trip to Seattle I took myself instead of giving to the cat. That made for an interesting call to poison control!) and our fabulous vet went above and beyond doing all the research she could on his condition. In the end, he suffered a blockage in his heart that cut off all blood flow to his lower half and we knew it was time to end his suffering. It was the saddest night of our lives together, yet pulling us through was the fact that a little life, more precious than we could ever imagine was busy growing from kumquat to plum-sized.
We thought Wendy would be sad without Kramer. And while she definitely looked for him, she seemed to like the position of only child. While she had it anyway. When Zane arrived, we wondered how she would react. But, like a protective big sister she would sit outside his door when he cried or rub her head on his feet when I fed him.
On our moving day, a day we were looking forward to for months, Wendy died quickly and what we hope was painlessly in the basement of our new house. After watching Kramer suffer, we were thankful for the small favor that we don't think Wendy was in pain. We think it was just her time. And it was probably God's way of reminding us that life is fragile and to be thankful for every moment that you have with the people (and yes, even animals) that you love.
We'll miss those two crazy fur balls.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
July. A recap.
Didn't I finish out June saying that I would be a better blogger in July? I guess not! Let's see, what has been going on this month?
Z started out this month with a 4 month appointment. He was 15 pounds and 25 inches. Straight down the middle: he is in the 50th percentile for height, weight, and head. (((our little average baby)))). he had to get some shots. But he was a trooper.
Z went on his first roadtrip! We drove 4 and a half hours to Corning, NY to visit our friends Stacy and Dan and their adorable and fun 1 year old twins, Ryan and Maggie. Zane was in awe of all their cool toys and he came home with a bunch of them that they had outgrown.
Ryan and Maggie eating breakfast. Pretty much the only way to guarantee a shot of the two of them since they are so busy crawling all over the place. And I hear Maggie took her first unassisted steps a few days later. I'm not surprised, she was so close!
Thanks Ryan and Maggie, I love my new exersaucer!
Z did amazing in the car - for about 3 hours. That seems to be his limit at the moment. But all in all, a sucessful first trip (it totally helps when visiting people with kids for a first trip - as it is our truck was loaded down and we didn't even have the pack and play, stroller, or swing in the car). This also made room in our car for all the wine we brought back. I mean, we did go up for the finger lakes wine festival afterall ;)
As for Zane, he's pretty much just loving life. Spending time with grammy and Alice while Mommy works, and growing bigger and learning more tricks every day. On Friday, July 24th Z rolled from back to front for the first time! And I totally missed it of course. I was working on the computer and he was playing away happily on his back on the blanket next to me. I look down and thought "oh, how happy he sounds" then did a double take and thought "WAIT. Did I put him on his belly?" Nope! He got there all on his own! He's been trying again since then and pretty soon he will be rolling all over the place.
He had his first big dip in the pool. I wish I had taken my camera. I was holding him in the big pool. We started out just sitting on the first step and before I knew it I was walking around in the water and Z was laying back in my arms, hands behind his head, like he was doing a backfloat. His dad the fish was so proud!
Another big first was he had his first taste of rice cereal last night. He didn't eat a whole lot, but he was certainly very interested in it and was having fun playing with the new textures and licking his fingers. Can't wait to try a new food next week. Next up are bananas, avocados and sweet potatoes. These should all be much yummier than brown rice!
So, that, my friends, is July in a nutshell. I can't believe the end of the month is almost here. We are planning to close on our house on Friday, which probably means blogging in August won't be any better. Please forgive me Zane. I promise, we'll find other ways to remind you how much fun you had during your first summer.
Z started out this month with a 4 month appointment. He was 15 pounds and 25 inches. Straight down the middle: he is in the 50th percentile for height, weight, and head. (((our little average baby)))). he had to get some shots. But he was a trooper.
Z went on his first roadtrip! We drove 4 and a half hours to Corning, NY to visit our friends Stacy and Dan and their adorable and fun 1 year old twins, Ryan and Maggie. Zane was in awe of all their cool toys and he came home with a bunch of them that they had outgrown.
Ryan and Maggie eating breakfast. Pretty much the only way to guarantee a shot of the two of them since they are so busy crawling all over the place. And I hear Maggie took her first unassisted steps a few days later. I'm not surprised, she was so close!
Thanks Ryan and Maggie, I love my new exersaucer!
Z did amazing in the car - for about 3 hours. That seems to be his limit at the moment. But all in all, a sucessful first trip (it totally helps when visiting people with kids for a first trip - as it is our truck was loaded down and we didn't even have the pack and play, stroller, or swing in the car). This also made room in our car for all the wine we brought back. I mean, we did go up for the finger lakes wine festival afterall ;)
As for Zane, he's pretty much just loving life. Spending time with grammy and Alice while Mommy works, and growing bigger and learning more tricks every day. On Friday, July 24th Z rolled from back to front for the first time! And I totally missed it of course. I was working on the computer and he was playing away happily on his back on the blanket next to me. I look down and thought "oh, how happy he sounds" then did a double take and thought "WAIT. Did I put him on his belly?" Nope! He got there all on his own! He's been trying again since then and pretty soon he will be rolling all over the place.
He had his first big dip in the pool. I wish I had taken my camera. I was holding him in the big pool. We started out just sitting on the first step and before I knew it I was walking around in the water and Z was laying back in my arms, hands behind his head, like he was doing a backfloat. His dad the fish was so proud!
Another big first was he had his first taste of rice cereal last night. He didn't eat a whole lot, but he was certainly very interested in it and was having fun playing with the new textures and licking his fingers. Can't wait to try a new food next week. Next up are bananas, avocados and sweet potatoes. These should all be much yummier than brown rice!
So, that, my friends, is July in a nutshell. I can't believe the end of the month is almost here. We are planning to close on our house on Friday, which probably means blogging in August won't be any better. Please forgive me Zane. I promise, we'll find other ways to remind you how much fun you had during your first summer.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Zane. Meet Wendy.
Last night, after 4 months of Wendy trying to rub herself up to Zane to get him to pet her, he FINALLY noticed her. He was playing with Dad and all of a sudden Wendy ran past and he was fixated. She came up to check him out and at first there was a bit of a stare-off:
Zane reached out to touch the furry thing:
And she LOVED it!
BFFs for sure. At least until he learns to grab handfuls of fur.
Zane reached out to touch the furry thing:
And she LOVED it!
BFFs for sure. At least until he learns to grab handfuls of fur.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Happy Birthday America (and Zane too)...
Zane turned the big 4-months on July 4th. His homemade onesie photo parade is interrupted with this store-purchased shirt to celebrate the big day.
Zane truly is Mr. Independent. At 4 months he is starting to really discover toys. He loves to shove them in his mouth best of all. He's pretty much sleeping through the night on his own and has finally embraced tummy time as something that is fun (he finally realized that it's a great way to check out the world) and is no longer satisfied with just chewing on his hands - feet are yummy too.
We had a great long weekend. Friday we went to Lancaster for First Friday to check out our son, the baby model. He participated in a mini photo shoot with our fabulous wedding photographers Joel and Rita Wiebner (if you know anything about me you know how much I talk about how much I love these guys!). We're saving our pennies for a big family photo shoot for the three of us, but in the meantime I jumped at the chance to participate in this new mini photo shoot that they started doing. Each month they have a theme and then the photos are hung in their gallery for all of the adoring public to see during First Friday. The theme this month was a local food eating contest. Since Z is too little to actually eat anything they posed him in and around a bunch of fruit. Fitting since when you are pregnant they tell you how big your baby is growing in fruit terms. Early on just a little blueberry all the way up that watermelon. Here are M and Z checking out Z's best shot:
We had a great 4th of July - we celebrated with the Donahue clan and Z got to take a test run in their exersaucer (isn't it great to have friends with older kids?). He loved it and I think it's time to get him one of his very own (especially since he seems to be getting bored with his play gym as of late - laying down is SO 3 months old, ma!)
Most of all, the long weekend was spent enjoying time with our growing son. It amazes us how fast he is growing and changing and we are trying to cherish each moment as best as we can.
Zane truly is Mr. Independent. At 4 months he is starting to really discover toys. He loves to shove them in his mouth best of all. He's pretty much sleeping through the night on his own and has finally embraced tummy time as something that is fun (he finally realized that it's a great way to check out the world) and is no longer satisfied with just chewing on his hands - feet are yummy too.
We had a great long weekend. Friday we went to Lancaster for First Friday to check out our son, the baby model. He participated in a mini photo shoot with our fabulous wedding photographers Joel and Rita Wiebner (if you know anything about me you know how much I talk about how much I love these guys!). We're saving our pennies for a big family photo shoot for the three of us, but in the meantime I jumped at the chance to participate in this new mini photo shoot that they started doing. Each month they have a theme and then the photos are hung in their gallery for all of the adoring public to see during First Friday. The theme this month was a local food eating contest. Since Z is too little to actually eat anything they posed him in and around a bunch of fruit. Fitting since when you are pregnant they tell you how big your baby is growing in fruit terms. Early on just a little blueberry all the way up that watermelon. Here are M and Z checking out Z's best shot:
We had a great 4th of July - we celebrated with the Donahue clan and Z got to take a test run in their exersaucer (isn't it great to have friends with older kids?). He loved it and I think it's time to get him one of his very own (especially since he seems to be getting bored with his play gym as of late - laying down is SO 3 months old, ma!)
Most of all, the long weekend was spent enjoying time with our growing son. It amazes us how fast he is growing and changing and we are trying to cherish each moment as best as we can.
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