Story Time

Julia walked into the living room at her parents house in Rochester this afternoon and found us engaged in story time.  However, I had grown tired of Stanley's books (and there were not any of them within reach at the time) so I read to him from the book I just started reading.

Just don't tell your mom if you go on any adventures like this, Stanley.

That book is Endurance, the story of Ernest Shackleton's adventures on his attempted trans-Antarctic expedition in 1915.  Not really a children's book, but he seemed to enjoy it.  Actually, he was probably more enamored with the nice black and white picture of a frozen sail boat on the cover as I read to him.  We had a grand old time reading about some very salty old adventures.

Babysitter

Stanley just survived his first official stay with a babysitter other than grandparents and uncles.  Although, to be fair, she (the sitter) certainly has more experience with children than either Julia or I.  She has 10 younger brothers and sisters, the youngest of which is 20 months old.  He seemed to enjoy it and was smiling at us when we arrived back at the house and gave a nice smile to the babysitter when she left. 

Julia had watched the sitter when she was 20 and there were only 5 children in the house.  Strange how things cycle back around like this.  I hope our future sitter experiences go so smoothly.

In the other room

I just finished blogging and I heard from my dad in the next room over "I really like this picture". 

I walked in to find my dad and mom, both on opposite sides of the room, reading our updated blog. We originally did this to keep people informed, but I guess it has taken on new form. 

Do you like this picture? :-)

Julia and Stanley

Until recently I did not think Stanley looked at all like me. I was counting his toes shape as one of the few traits we have in common. However, as I was putting the Christmas ornaments on my parents tree, I noticed this ornament of me at three months.

There might be some similarity.

Playing with the Grandparents

Stanley has been having a great time with his grandparents here in Rochester.  Just today he figured out that Papa Doug's tie looks pretty nice and, in fact, tastes pretty great as well.  Stanley is spreading his drool all over the house.  It seems to be flowing pretty freely here in New York.

Mmmmmm... blue...

Then, this afternoon Julia and I went out to run a few errands while Stanley stayed with Lolo.  We got home and the two of them were asleep on the couch.  Apparently Stanley would only stay asleep while she was sitting with him, so she decided to just snuggle up with him and take a nap of her own. 

Looks nice down there!

Picture Update

We know everyone loves pictures and we have been a bit lazy with the updates, so here are some photos from the last few days.

Great Aunt Carol greeted us when we arrived in Rochester.  It was a bit of a "tug-of-war" between these two as to who was going to do all the "work" and take care of Stanley over dinner.

Stanley fell asleep on Papa Doug's lap for about an hour.  This was probably the longest he has sat in one position in several years.

Christmas colors and bright crinkly paper everywhere!

More Wings

We flew to Rochester, NY for Christmas this year.  Stanley was a great little flyer and we only had two diaper blowouts (one on each flight) on the way here.  Both times they were at the end of the flight and Julia had to usher our little guy off the plane wrapped in a cloth diaper while I wrangled all the luggage down the jet-bridge and into the airport.  He was fairly calm and mostly interested in looking around during the flights.

He's very excited to fly, if you couldn't tell.

He got another set of wings from the nice flight attendants on the San Francisco to Chicago flight.  We put them on his Freddie Firefly toy so that he would watch over them.  I think Freddie now has about 8 sets of wings including his own.  It was a long day of flying, and Stanley has about 10k miles under his onesie, but we are glad to be on the ground for a bit.  Hopefully the trip back goes as smoothly.

More Brutal Winter...

Today Stanley and I went out walking and to do a little shopping.  We walked out of the house in hats and a coat because, well, it's December.  About three blocks from the house the coat and hats went in the backpack since it turned out to be about 65 degrees and sunny out.  Another harsh San Francisco winter's day. 

You could sled in this park, if it were winter... wait a minute!

3 month old smiling Stanley

Stanley turned three months yesterday. Grandma Lolo always use to say that she loves when babies are three months old. So true. Stanley is so much fun right now!

As Steve posted yesterday, on his three month birthday, Stanley rolled over in front of his two proud parents. We were quite excited. It is amazing how far we have come in just 3 short months. Only two months ago, we were pleased at 3 hours of sleep, proud when our son pooped, and grateful for a burp. Now, we look for his smile, love when he grabs our hands, smile as he interacts with us, enjoy watching him learn something new everyday, and hold him while he tries to 'walk' (we will need to get this on video sometime).

 It is wonderful to smile at him and get a big glowing smile back.

He is also very inquisitive. He loves to look at what we do, where we go and more. About a week ago, I learned to wear him facing out in the Moby; he was not quite ready and I had to hold his head up after a few minutes while I was walking. As of 2 days ago, he loves to face out and he has lots of control of his neck pressing his head against me. He looks from side to side at all the new and interesting things. Plus, as Grandma Lolo noticed while chatting, he holds his head up enough so that his big cheeks don't need to rest on his shoulders anymore.

My jacket is somewhat closed around him to help Steve and I look like better parents. It was 'cold' out this afternoon--mid 50s. As we walked in the above outfit, we passed kids ranging from a few months to 5 years old. All of them were decked out in THICK hats, multiple coats, down bunting on the stollers. And, two of the kids in buntings had blankets over the buntings. One of the kids in a carrier had an outfit so thick he could not bend his legs at all. We felt like lousy parents, but at the same time, Stanley hates to be hot and seemed happy as a clam in his thin cotton hat, socks over his hands and long-sleeve onsie.

Stanley enjoys talking with us too. Once in a while, he still opens his mouth as if to force something out and nothing comes out. However, often when we are changing him, he makes lots of cooing noises and enjoys when we smile at him.

At three months, Stanley loves:
- Tummy time (amazing and a new things as of 3 days ago)
- Looking around in the moby
- Smiling
- Sucking his fists and fingers
- Drooling
- Sleeping in the carriers or stroller
- Grabbing things like our hands with his hands
- Looking at himself in the mirror. When he smiles, the other baby smiles back. Amazing :-)
- 'Baby Boo' and 'Where is the Green Sheep' books
- Look at the christmas lights
- Sleeping in his crib swaddled

Stanley dislikes:
- Being hot
- The car, but honestly we haven't tried it in over a week
- Taking naps during the day unless it is in the carrier
- Waking up

Stanley can:
- Go to sleep in any carrier as long as it is outside
- Roll over
- Sleep 6 hours in a row (some nights), normally it is around a 4.5 hours
- Hold his head up and look from side to side
- Stand up on his legs as long we hold him for balance

I can't wait for what the next few days have in store for us, let alone the next month.

Rolly-Polly!

We didn't get it on video, and he refused to do it again, but tonight when we put Stanley on his Space Station mat for some more tummy time he picked his head up, bobbled a little bit, and then ROLLED OVER!  We were amazed and Stanley seemed very amused.  It may have been merely a one-off, but hey, you gotta start somewhere...

More Tummy-time Mommy

Stanley excelled today quite a bit. He spent about 15 minutes in tummy time...happy. Amazing.

He figured out how to push down with his arms while holding up his head. It made a big difference. He was happy to look around and see what the world was like on the ground. He even started to try to get his knees under him. You can see it in the below video.

The complex task of pushing down with arms and pulling up a head.

In addition, Stanley has been excelling at holding items and putting them in his mouth. He particularly loves his dad's napkin rings. I doubt Steve will have a napkin ring for a year or so.

Roll?

On Wednesday, Stanley and I went to yoga. At one point, I put him on his tummy on my yoga mat. I turned around to grab the changing things and heard something. I turned back to find that Stanley was on his back on the wood floor. I have no idea if I put him a bit off kilter, but somehow he got to his back. Before we get to excited though, I have yet to see any tries on rolling again.

Flounder as the Nanny

Geoff flew into town to babysit Stanley yesterday while both Steve and I were at work. When I got home, Geoff mentioned "You can't get any work done with a little baby." Turns out Stanley was really in a bad mood in the morning barely letting Uncle Flounder even go to the bathroom.

At one point, they went on a walk to the far away coffee shop, but only made it to Ritual. At the Ritual coffee they asked if it was his child. When Geoff said he was just the uncle, the barista made a special drink for Geoff--not too hot. We are guessing the barista figured he didn't want Geoff spilling it on someone else's baby.

When I got home though, both the uncle and baby were quite happy.

Graduation

Stanley is really graduating out of things...
- Today we weighed him and he is 14 lbs 9 oz.
         (Gasp, No wonder my back has been bothering me if I carry him for a long while. )
- Size 2 diapers hopefully arrive today.
          We only have ~10 more of size 1, so they better come soon. And hopefully we will reduce the number of blow-outs we are having.
- We also ventured out today to get his birth certificate.
          It seems cool to both Steve and me that he can say he was born in San Fran. Now is is time for the passport! France, Switzerland, England, Japan here we come.
- He has been cooing lots. I'll take a video of it soon.

Grabbing

Stanley is really grabbing these last two days. Last night while hanging out as a family, he decided to grab with both hands. He has been grabbing and holding his pacifier, but can't figure out how to get the appropriate side into his mouth. Take a look...

toy or pacifier for my mouth? Well, probably just my fist

The door frame

Over the last few weeks, Stanley is keenly aware of himself passing through the plane of the front door. He can be giving us endless grief, even if we have him in a carrier. But, as soon as you walk through the plane of the door, everything changes. The crying stops, the cooing starts and by 20 steps later he is asleep.

Is that Florida?

Last weekend, I slept while my mom and Steve watched football. The SF 49ers were playing. My mom commented on how the game was being played in the perfect weather and wasn't that amazing for December. Steve assumed she knew that it was being played in SF--a few miles away. We had spent the morning out in shorts and t-shirts. A bit later my mom asked, "where is this game being played?" She guessed Florida.

No mom, this is SF in the winter. Perfect weather.

Well, this weekend we took advantage of it again. Take a look for those of you living in the snow. Come visit!

And today, at Union Square we passed a taxi driver who was on the phone. In a very CA accent he said "I'm standing outside a hotel, smoking a cigarette in 65 degrees." Both Steve and I quickly commented that the person on the other end was probably in a cold weather place.

At Ocean Beach

Christmas colored cactus

Did we swap kids?

Today Stanley and I went to lunch with April and Andrew. In a real turn of events, Stanley slept through the entire lunch while Andrew was awake and looking around. A few weeks ago, Andrew was the sleeper and I had the screamer. 

This afternoon Stanley woke up and we are hanging out together for a quiet Friday afternoon. 

Grabbing

I just noticed this this morning.  Stanley appears to be on the verge of recognizing that his hands are, in fact, attached to him and can, if properly instructed, perform useful tasks like grabbing things and bringing them closer to him (so he can put them in his mouth, of course).  Check it out.  The world just got a whole lot more interesting, I'm sure.

This looks tasty...

Adventure

I am home today taking care of Stanley while Julia is off at work.  It has been a pretty nice day so far.  We slept in a bit and then headed out on an adventure.  We first walked down Valencia street (actually, I walked and Stanley slept) to get some coffee.  It was quite chilly when we left the house so I had to keep Stanley bundled up in the moby.

Coffee and a doughnut for dad.

After our coffee break, we hopped on BART and headed to the Ferry Building to walk around and try to do some Christmas shopping.  We didn't have much luck in that regard, but the weather warmed up a little while we were there and it was nice to be out and about.  We jumped back on BART and headed home to get both of us some lunch. 

Ferry Bulding with the brutal December weather we get in San Francisco.

Now we are just hanging out at home.  We will probably head out again this afternoon on another short walk to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.  It has been a very pleasant late fall and early winter here.  I'm sure we will pay the price with lots of wind and rain later on, but it is nice while it lasts. 

Back at home.

Tummy Time

Stanley has always hated tummy time. He has gotten much better at lifting his head during it, but he still hates it and starts to cry.

Today, he figured out a new method to get out of his tummy time sessions. Both times I put him on his tummy today, he quickly vomited and then rubbed his head and hands in it. This photo is blurry, but if you can tell, it contains vomit on his nose, chin, playmat and his hands.

Growing

I guess when you grow at almost 1oz per day, it must hurt. Stanley's legs have been really going a mile a minute. They fly in and out and he gets very cranky when this happens. Also, his cry has changed sounds. It is a different cry than when he is hungry or gassy. Since we figured his legs are hurting him, we tried light massage on them. It seems to be doing the trick. He calms down immediately.

Don't get use to this Stanley, I'm not going to be massaging your legs forever.

Little Duckies

Stanley is on the left, Zuri on the right
This was not planned. 

Stanley sill out weighs her by a long shot, but she has him in length. Today we went to get Stanley's belly button looked at. Here are his stats:
Weight: 14lbs 2oz
Heigh: 23 1/2"

Holiday Cards

Taking holiday card pictures with an infant is not as easy as it looks when you see cute family photos. We still are trying. Here are a few tries.

Missing you Lolo

Lolo went home to Rochester last night to be with Papa Doug. We miss her. Stanley is missing his comfy sleeping pillow and walking partner.

2.5 months

In the last two weeks, Stanley has gone through an amazing transformation. Life for all of us is so much easier with him now. He has gone from a fussy little newborn to a very inquisitive, smiley, active little baby. He loves to look at anything and everything. In general, he will look at things for a few minutes and then move onto something else. But, for one dinner, he sat in his chair and watched the kitchen and me cook up an entire meal--granted it was just pasta, but is it a very big improvement. His fussy time in the evening is barely existent in the evening and he is sleeping much more soundly when he sleeps at night. 

Lolo realized that he absolutely loves to look at the Christmas tree.

Stanley Can:
- Almost grab items, but he does not seem to know he is doing it yet.
- Hold up his head almost completely. Though the bobble head comes back once in a while
- Wring his hands together as if he is plotting something very bad.
- Drink milk too fast and then make himself sick
- Stare at items for a while especially dad's napkin rings
- Follow items with both his eyes and his head
-Smile when smiled too 

Stanley Loves:
- His passifier when he wants it. Otherwise, he gags, a very effective way of having us take it out
- Loves his swing. It is a good thing we did not give this back. He LOVES his swing
- Nuzzeling into people's neck
- Sleeping swaddled
- The moby
- Sophia the giraffe
- His play station
- The Christmas tree

Stanley does not like:
- Riding in cars!
- Hot places
- Riding in cars!
- Being hungry
- Riding in cars!

Here are a few more photos from the past few days.

We got our tree in the Whole Foods parking lot this past weekend and walked it back by hand. I hope Stanley does not always think trees grow from parking lots as tied up bunches of green.

Nanny Supreme

Our Nanny Lolo is amazing. She has Stanley pegged. "He is fussing for one second and will go to sleep the next" (He did it) "He is hungry" (Yup) "He will calm down laying on my legs" (Works like a charm)

When I came home from work, Stanley was quite content with Lolo despite their clashing outfits.

And, even better, when I am home, Lolo, Stanley and I get to go on little adventures. We went to the deYoung museum yesterday afternoon. And, afterwords, Stanley got to have similar luck as he did the last time we were in Golden Gate Park (when he saw a hawk eat a squirrel). This time we got very close to a beautiful bird.

It isn't quite eating my hair as it looks in the picture, but it sure is close.

Again, he slept through it, but someday maybe he will notice the beautiful wildlife in the middle of the city.