Photo Migration

We just about maxed out our space on Picasa, so we're migrating our photos to Flickr, where we have unlimited space. Please reset your bookmarks, favorites, etc and now visit our Flickr page to see all our photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdpapefamily/

We're still working on getting them organized into the most usable format, so let us know if you have questions or feedback!

Day Care Love

I love, love, love Conor's daycare. Thank goodness, because it makes my life a whole lot easier. I'd hate to be uncomfortable about where my child was spending a chunk of his day each day. I only work 20 hours per week -- 5 hours, 4 afternoons per week. Nevertheless, it's still very important to us that whoever is caring for Conor during this time gives him the same attention, care, and love that we would give him. I chose a home daycare very close to my work. There are 3 full time and 1 part time staff and up to 10 kids at any one time (though I don't think there have ever actually been 10 since Conor's been there).

Conor's daycare closes for the summer. They just reopened last week, and I think every single afternoon since last Tuesday, I've come home saying, "I love them!" They clearly pay so much attention to Conor and are attuned to all of his needs. They notice when he's tired, even if it doesn't align with my perfect schedule. I know that may not seem like a big deal, but believe it or not, many people do not correctly interpret a baby's signals and end up thinking they're hungry when they're really tired or that they're tired when they're really bored. Every morning when I drop him off, they ask all the right questions to make sure they have all the information they need to take the best care of him for the rest of the afternoon. They have all the greatest toys and are more than happy to share them with us. Late last week, they noticed that Conor loves their music table. He's trying very hard to pull himself up on it, as it's just the right height. I mentioned that the only thing we have at home that is the right height for him to try to pull up to standing is the bathtub. One of the women immediately said that she has the same music table in her basement collecting dust. (Her son is 3 and no longer uses it.) She is brining it in for us to bring home, so that Conor has one to play with in both places. And we still have the exersaucer that the sent home with us months ago! In addition, they take Conor outside every day that it's nice enough, so he gets lots of fresh air. And of course, he gets to interact with all the big kids, who he absolutely adores. Naturally, they adore him in return.

Since they've opened back up this year, they've started giving out "report cards" at the end of each day. Our daily report tells us what Conor ate and when, when he napped, and what activities he did during the day. We love getting all this detail on his day! It's especially nice for Mike, who isn't there at pick-up to hear the narrative report from them through conversation. It helps him feel like he still has some connection to Conor's day.

Today, my moment of love came when they asked me if I would mind if they moved Conor's crib into the guest bedroom. They've noticed that he's easily awakened. If the younger babies cry, the phone rings, the doorbell sounds, you name it -- he wakes up and can't get back to sleep. They feel bad on the days when something interrupts his sleep, and he ends up cranky and exhausted by the time I pick him up. Therefore, they thought it might help him if they let him nap in a room upstairs by himself with the shades drawn. I just about kissed them when they asked if I would mind. Would I mind?! Would I mind him being well rested? Would I mind him having the perfect napping conditions? Does the sun rise every morning? I love that they're willing to do absolutely anything to give Conor the very best.

So, let me shout it from the mountain tops -- I'm in love!!

And we're back

I could shower you will all the reasons why it's been a whole 3 1/2 months since I've posted. I could get down on my knees and beg your forgiveness. I could profess that it will never happen again. But, suffice it to say, juggling life with an infant, a busy job, and a house to keep up is no easy task! That said, I'm back and will try my darndest to make sure my next post is not 3 1/2 months from now. And the person I really need to ask forgiveness from is Conor. To make up for the poor chronicling of the past 3 1/2 months of his life, I'll do my best to recount all the excitement now.

When I last posted, Conor was 4 months old. Since then....

Conor began eating solids. You can see his first meal ever to the right -- some nice tasty rice cereal. At first, you have to make the cereal so liquidy that it's like feeding them soup -- not very easy. It took him a little while to take to eating solids. However, one day, he simply decided he liked eating solids, and he's been a chowhound since then. He now eats bananas, apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, plums, prunes, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, and peas, all in pureed form of course. We're making all of our own babyfood - or I should say, Mike is making all of our babyfood. Not only does it save a lot of money, but you know exactly what you're getting. Our freezer stays packed full of frozen babyfood. Conor's absolute favorite is peaches, and he was lucky enough to get a whole bundle of fresh peaches off of Grammy and Grampy's peach trees this summer.

Conor took his first vacation! Only July 4, we drove up to Alden Camps in Maine for the annual Pape family retreat. Conor got right into the Alden Camps mindset and spent nearly his entire time there eating and sleeping. He was a fabulous little traveler. He slept wonderfully in his portable crib

and tolerated the intrusions into his normal daily schedule. It was such a relaxing week, and Conor enjoyed getting to spend time with Grammy, Grampy, Aunt Jenny and Uncle John, Uncle Robby and Aunt Amy, and Auntie Chrissy. Of course, he used his great charm and smile to make everyone else there fall in love with him as well! He also got to dip his toes in East Pond for the first time, though the water was very chilly -- much too chilly for his 90 degree tastes! He did, however, enjoy his first boat ride on Grampy's boat!

Conor learned to roll over from his back to his tummy on July 13 at 5 1/2 months old.

Conor took his first plane ride when he and I traveled down to Nashville in July to visit Mimi, Popi, Uncle Jimmy, and Aunt Leah. He was an absolute first-class traveler. He was very quiet and happy on the flights, smiling at all the travelers around us and working his charm. He didn't have any issues at all with take-off or landing, which I was so thankful for! We had a great time in Nashville, and Conor learned that any time with Uncle Jimmy is a fun time!

While in Nashville, Conor celebrated his 6 month birthday. His form of celebration for the day? Learning how to sit all by himself!

Because he can sit up like a big boy now, Conor now gets to sit up in the bathtub. He loves playing with all of his toys in the tub, but the most entertaining activity of all is trying to stand up in the tub and climb out, something that Mommy and Daddy don't enjoy too much!

We worked Conor out of the swaddling blanket during the early part of August, and about a week before he turned 7 months old, he learned how to sleep through the night. He now goes to sleep around 6:45 PM each night and sleeps until 6:45 AM the next morning without a peep. It's so nice to actually get a full night's worth of sleep again! I still haven't quite relearned how to sleep through the night myself, but at least when I wake up, I can just roll over and go back to sleep.

Most recently, Conor learned to say "mama." Ok, it has no meaning when he says it. It's more of a babble of the syllable "ma" over and over again. He doesn't say it to get my attention or to show affection, and it probably doesn't count as a first word. But, still, he's saying "mama!" (Mike says this video makes it look like I'm withholding food until he performs. I swear, this was after eating! He just wants to get out of his highchair, but I had to catch his first "mama" on video first!)

And so I think that gets us pretty much up-to-date. It's pretty hard to cover all the excitement of 3 1/2 months with this little guy in one small post, but hopefully this shares just a taste of all that's been going on!

Dad's Corner: Making Daddy Proud

There are times in every Dad's life when his son will make him proud.  Like each time we went to the ultrasound and the nurse showed us his wawawoo because it was so "noticeable".  Or when he hits his first home run, scores his first goal, or captures his first rook (whatever he's into).  Or when he dates his first super model, Victoria's Secret or Giorgio Armani (whatever he's into).  Today, however, was the first day anyone has made Conor laugh!  And that anyone was me.  It took several raspberries, but eventually he cracked, and it was such a good feeling to hear that sound.  I've been trying all kinds of jokes (have you heard the one about the interrupting cow?), but it seems he's more into the physical humor.  We think he's ticklish now too.  Unfortunately for him, I love to tease and harass, so now begins the endless tickling and raspberries to satisfy my own need to hear his laughter.

The 4 month check-up

While Conor technically won't be 4 months old until Friday, we had his check-up with the doctor today.  He again hated the shots, but other than that, everything was great.  He weighed 14 lbs, 12 oz, which is the 50th percentile.  He's had a big growth spurt in terms of length.  He's gone from the 13th percentile to the 50th, measuring  in at 25 inches.  His head has also gone through a bit of a growth spurt, moving from the 31st percentile to the 60th, at 14.75 inches.  It's amazing to think that he's more than doubled his size since he was born.  It's almost hard to even remember how tiny he was just four short months ago!

We also checked in about his development.  To help with his sleeping, Dr. Hyde suggested moving his crib into his nursery.  She said he'll probably sleep better, and I won't be tempted to get up with every little noise he makes.  So, Mike's planning to tackle that project this weekend.   The crib doesn't fit through the doorway, so there's some dissembling and reassembling involved.  Should be interesting!  The other big thing on the horizon is solids.  Dr. Hyde said to watch for signs that he's ready to start eating solids.  The two biggest signs are him watching us eat with interest and new night wakings because he's hungry.  It feels weird to think  about feeding him real food.  It adds another whole new layer to parenting.  So  far, feeding him has been so easy.  I can feed him anywhere, anytime.  Soon, we'll have to begin thinking about preparing food, bringing food with us when we are on the go, and all sorts of other things that don't ever even cross our minds now!

All in all, it was a good check up, and our little boy is growing right on track!

Evidence of the bath time rolling efforts

Check out all the waves and splashes he's creating with all that effort to face plant into the water!

Keep on rollin'

Conor has been rolling from his tummy to his back for quite a while now.  Most recently, he's decided that he really would like to be able to roll from his back to his tummy as well.  Therefore, he's begun vigorous attemps to throw himself over onto his tummy any time we lay him down on his back.  This includes when he is in the bath (as Mike explained in his Dad's Corner), when he's on his changing table, or when he's simply lying on the floor.  He's putting in tremendous effort and has so far figured out how to get himself onto his side but hasn't yet made it from his side onto his tummy.  It's bound to happen before long, though!

Rockin' the new shades

Note: Photo taken with my *new* camera!!  No more being unable to capture the most precious moments when my camera decides to go on the fritz!

Mike: Unfortunately, I got home too late to tell Danielle she had them on so tight his lower lids were smooshed up to his forehead.  Fashion can be painful.

Danielle:  :-(  Indeed... I won't be putting them on when he's facing away from me and I can't see his face anymore.  But alas, he tolerated my incompetence and came through without any permanent scarring!

Dad's Corner: Baby Malfunction

Where have I been, you ask?  Taking care of a baby of course!  All of this breast feeding, bottle feeding, diaper changing, bathing, rocking, playing, pacifying, etc., leaves little time for blog posting.  Breast feeding, you say?  Stop interrupting, I say.  Yes, but after Conor choked on my chest hair, we decided to let Danielle do all of the breast feeding.  She has less hair and more breast.

It's been a lot of fun so far.  We couldn't have asked for a better baby than Conor.  He has been relatively easy to take care of.  He rarely cries for no reason and is easy to calm down.  He eats very well and poops even better.  The period we are in right now is a lot of fun because he smiles all of the time, looks at us, and reacts to my antics.  He's more than happy to carry on a conversation with anyone in his own little language too.

The reason for the title "Baby Malfunction" is because today was the first time I've noticed him do something out of the ordinary.  We try to give Conor a bath every night.  He's only soaped up every third night, but to keep in a routine, he gets in his little tub each night.  He's usually very active and squirmy, but pretty much stuck in one spot.  He likes to try and swim and splash and eat his hands.  Tonight though, he stopped, flung his head back so he was looking back and to the left, arched his back and tried desparately to roll over.  Even though it was strange, I assumed he would stop after a second of trying, but he kept on going, trying with all his might to fling himself over.  I reached behind his head to try and straighten him out, but he kept trying.  Danielle pushed him down from the front and he luckily stopped and lay flat again.  Two seconds later, he flings himself again, with just as much gusto as the last time.  That was it for me.  I got his towel and his bath time was over.  This was the first time he tried to do something he shouldn't have been doing and it was unexpected too.  It was a baby malfunction.  I think he needs an upgrade.

Conor's words of wisdom: "Upgrade?  How about I format your boot sector, thrash your swap, and segfault your kernel!  Nerd smackdown!"

The sleep saga

As with any baby, our greatest challenge with Conor is getting him to learn to sleep.  I'm just so thankful that I'm only working part time and don't go into work until 11:00am.  If I had to be in at 7:00am, I have no idea how I'd survive.  I'd be chronically sleep deprived because I would have to wake up at 4:00am in order to get myself and Conor ready and out of the house on time to go by daycare first and then make it to work.  

Conor goes to bed around 7:00pm each night.  We've reached the point where on Conor's best nights, he sleeps until 2:00 - 2:30am, at which point he eats, and then again until about 5:30am, when he eats again.  He then goes back to sleep until about 6:30 - 7:00am.  This has happened a small handful of times.  On his good nights, he does the same thing but also wakes about two more times during the night not to eat but because he wants his pacifier.  Because he doesn't yet have the manual dexterity to pick up his pacifier and put it in his mouth (and even if he did, his hands are locked inside his swaddler), this means I have to get up and pop his pacifier into his mouth and then he quickly drifts right back to sleep.  On his not-so-good nights, he's up more often, sometimes up to 7 or 8 times a night, eating three times rather than two and waking for his pacifier multiple times.  These nights are not much fun, but to be honest, it doesn't really bother me that much either.  (I guess just another one of those things that seems terrible pre-mommyhood, but once you become a mommy just goes hand-in-hand with the job.)   Thankfully, no matter how many times he wakes up, he always goes back to sleep very easily.  I never pick him up out of his crib unless it's time to eat.  All it takes is 2 seconds to pop the pacifier in his mouth, and he's usually good.

I'd say that now, most nights are good nights, but it's not really all that consistent yet.  Three nights ago was a not-so-good night.  The next night was one of his best, only waking twice, and then last night was a good night, waking up four times - twice to eat and twice for his pacifier.  

We're hoping that the not-so-good nights fade away and the best nights increase.  He's definitely better rested on the days after nights that he's woken up less, and I want to do what I can to help him get the best night's sleep he can.  They say that around four months you can begin sleep training.  The book I've been reading says that you should only go to them when it's time to eat.  At the other times, if you go to them, you're interfering with their ability to learn how to soothe themselves back to sleep.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.  Supposedly, after a few nights of us not going to him except when it's time to eat, he'll learn not to wake up at the other times.  I'm not sure, though.  The thought of not going to him when he's crying is scary.  It goes against human nature.  So, right now it's just in the thinking stages.  We'll see.  

As for his daytime sleep, he's doing great with his naps.  He takes a solid 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hour nap each morning at home.  This is his best nap of the day, and he's always so happy and rested afterwards.  The way I know he's awake is because I can hear him talking to the animals on the bumper in his crib.  Too cute!  :-)  He then usually takes about a 1 - 1 1/2 hour nap in the early afternoon (longer at home usually, less long at daycare).  Then in the mid-afternoon, he takes about a 45 minute - 1 hour nap.  Sometimes, if this nap is early, he'll need another short nap in the early evening.  However, on most days he's up from the time we leave daycare until bedtime, so we get in some good playtime in the evenings.  

Overall, I know we're incredibly lucky.  As I read my sleep book, there are all these stories of babies even older than him who cry much of the night and parents who spend the night walking, rocking, bouncing, and dancing to pacify their babies.  Even though Conor isn't one of those star babies who sleeps through the night yet, I know we've got it good.  Funny how waking up 4 times a night is now "having it good!"  

The Jumperoo: Conor's new favorite toy

You truly can't appreciate how funny it is to watch him jump around without a video... Hopefully coming soon!

Mimi and Popi come for a visit

Last weekend, Mom and Dad came to visit.  They flew in late Friday night (Mike went to pick them up.  Conor and I didn't see them until Saturday morning.) and returned home Monday afternoon.  Dad had not seen Conor since he was one week old, and Mom had not seen him since he was two weeks old.  Therefore, they were quite appropriately in awe of all the ways that he's grown and changed in the past three months.  He's gone from being a curled up, sleepy little ball who barely opens his eyes, to a bouncing, chatty, smiley little boy.  We had a great weekend together, and Conor had a blast hanging out with Mimi and Popi.

"I changed him on Friday!"

In the first two days of Conor's life, I think Mike changed almost all of his diapers.  He was an immediate diaper changing pro.  Conor rewarded him by pooping and peeing on him with nearly every diaper change.  Perhaps because of that, it didn't take very long at all for Mike to become less than excited about changing diapers.  As a result, he has changed probably about 10 diapers total from the time Conor was two weeks old until now.  (No, I'm really not exaggerating.) (Mike: Yes you are.  I've changed him waaay more than that.)  And, truly, I'm not complaining.  I don't mind changing diapers in the least.  It's one of those things that might seem gross/unappealing/repulsive pre-motherhood, but once you become a Mommy, it's just part of the package deal.  In fact, it's a good time to interact with your baby and have a little play time together.  So it truly doesn't bother me that I'm the designated diaper changer in our family.  

That said, I simply had to share this story because the absurdity is absolutely laughable.  Yesterday (Sunday), I passed Conor off to Mike and said his diaper needed to be changed.  Mike looked at me in all seriousness and said, with awe on his face, "But I changed him on Friday!" (Mike: I was joking!  And, by the way missy, who ended up changing him?  Me!)  I immediately burst out laughing and asked him to think about what he was saying.  His first reaction was, "Well, I only change him once a week!" though as he said this, a smile spread across his face.  He couldn't help but laugh at himself as well.  He knew he'd just dug himself into a hole and was better off just not talking any more!  

All I have to say is thank goodness I'm the diaper changer in the family, or the poor kid would be miserable, languishing in a scary-full diaper for days on end!  

Mommy Nightmares

I had my first two mommy nightmares last night.  Both were about being separated from Conor.  I think I'm a bit anxious about going back to work (again) tomorrow after having this past week to revel in being a full-time mom again!  In the first dream, I suddenly heard Conor's cries and realized I didn't know where he was.  After listening frantically, I realized he was outside.  I had left him in his carseat next to the car, apparently forgetting to bring him inside after a trip out.  In the meantime, rains of epic proportions had arrived and there was now a veritable sea surrounding our house, complete with waves.  As thunder boomed and lightning flashed, I swam out to him, watching his little face get engulfed by the rapidly rising water.  I grabbed the carseat and somehow managed to hold it just above the water and swim back toward the house.  In the second dream, I was touring some sort of compound, like a rich person's plantation, with many buildings all around.  I kept looking at the clock, knowing I needed to leave by 4:15 to get Conor from daycare.  At 4:15, I snuck out even though the tour wasn't finished.  Unfortunately, all of the buildings looked alike and all of the many parking lots looked alike.  Therefore, I couldn't find my car!  I frantically (yes, again, frantically) raced around the compound trying to find my car.  Finally, I found a help desk, and the woman gave me a gold bar to take to a lot, which she assured me would have my car.  I glanced up at the clock and realized it was 4:45.  I was going to be very late, and my anxiety rose.  I didn't have time to make sense of what she was telling me, so I asked what to do with the gold bar when I got to the lot.  She said once I found my car, to throw it in the grass.  I'm not sure whether I ever found my car.

My anxiety is rising just thinking back on the nightmares now!!  Hopefully returning to work (again) tomorrow will not be nearly as stressful as either of those scenarios!  And hopefully no more Mommy nightmares...

3 months

Conor is 3-months-old today.  It's amazing how much he's developed and grown over the past three months.  Mike commented yesterday, "He really seems like a human now."  And it's true.  He interacts, he smiles, he looks for us in a room, and he responds to our voices.  He only rarely screams as if the world is ending nowadays.  Those terror cries are no longer a given every time we have to change his diaper, dress him, bathe him, or do any of the other necessary evils (as he would have called him a few months ago).  He really only now cries moments each day - only to let us know it's time to eat or he's getting tired.  He has a real interest in toys now.  He loves playing in his bouncer chair, where he's able to hit the toys on the toy bar to make the lights and music turn on.  He also enjoys his activity mat, where he can also bat at the toys.  Each morning, he grins from ear to ear under his mobile while is turns round and round playing music as Mommy makes the bed.  His schedule is regulating and he's finally beginning to learn how to sleep.  He now goes to bed at 7:00pm and usually wakes up 2 times to eat and once for his pacifier.  He's then up for the day sometime between 6:45 and 7:00am.  This earlier bedtime means Daddy gets less time with him at night (he makes it home just in time for bath and story time), but he gets some quality time with him in the morning, Conor's best time of day.  

As for physical growth, we don't see the doctor this month, so it's hard to say for sure.  However, I did weigh myself without him and myself with him several times today and pretty reliably had him weighing in at 14 lbs.  As you can see in the photos below from bathtime tonight, he's definitely got those rolls of baby fat.  He's gaining control over his body now and has a particular interest in his hands.  He sometimes just stares at them, and they're now often in his mouth.  While he hasn't yet figured out how to suck his fingers, he enjoys licking his fist and trying to suck it.  That usually only lasts a few seconds before he realizes a fist is not a fully satisfying sucking mechanism.  

All in all, we're pretty amazed by all the past three months have brought.  We're making progress ourselves as well.  This past weekend, we finally had the time and mental attention necessary to watch the first movie we've watched in at least three months!  (We watched Burn after Reading, which we would not recommend.  Pretty pointless movie.)

Yoga

Throughout my maternity leave, Conor and I attended Mom and baby yoga each Wednesday.  It was a great way to fit in a bit of relaxation into the week and was a great way for us to have some time to play and cuddle together.  In addition, it gave us a way to connect with other moms and babies.  Many people ask what Mom and baby yoga is.  Basically, it's similar to regular yoga, except you include the baby in many of the poses, such as holding the baby above your head when you do half moon pose or laying the baby on your tummy as you do crunches.  The biggest difference is that it's not a quiet experience; there are lots of baby noises from giggling to crying.  At times, I've had to breastfeed Conor while practicing.  While that may seem awkward to traditional yoga practicers, it's actual a perfectly relaxing experience.  Now that I'm back at work, I'm hoping to find another class that we can attend on Mondays.  

This week, I decided to show Mike some of the things we've done in yoga.  Conor enjoys the "flying baby" pose.

The big transition

The time has come.  I am no longer a full-time mom.  Of course, I suppose I am still a full-time mom.  I mean, the job of being a mom never really ends.  But on top of being a full-time mom, I'm now also a part-time Dean of Educational Partnerships.  Yes, I've returned to work.  I ever-so-thankful to work under someone who is understanding of family needs and agreed to allow me to cut my schedule to 20 hours per week.  I'm working Tuesday through Friday, 11am - 4pm.  This allows me to have long weekends and to have my mornings with Conor.  While I'm at work, Conor spends time at daycare.  I chose a family daycare 7 minutes from my school.  It's run by three women.  The owner is a very maternal, caring grandmother who still has spunk and energy to run around with a bunch of toddlers.  She has two full-time assistants who who have a combined 7 children of their own.  They currently have nine children and can have up to 10 total at any one time.  Most of the children (six of them) are between the ages of 1 and 3, which makes for a good amount of noise.  Conor is still getting used to that.  Thankfully, he was happy both times I dropped him off so far.  It would be much harder to leave him if he were crying.  After I left the first day, he began crying and cried for a while, even while taking his bottle.  However, after a nap, he woke up happier and had a good afternoon.  The second day was better.  He's struggling to nap well with all the noise, but he'll get used to it in time.  Leaving him at day care is one of the most difficult things I've done, but day two was about 100 times easier than day one, so I know it will only get easier with time.  And it is great to be back at work.  If only I could be at work and with Conor at the same time.  (My boss is very understanding, but not that understanding!)  And so, we both survived our first two days of work and day care.  Now, I have a week of vacation.  (It's school vacation week.)  Next week, back to the grind...

Conor's first Easter

Conor celebrated his first holiday with the Ribeiro clan in South Dartmouth at Aunt Sandy's house.  He was all decked out for the affair in a dashing seersucker and sweater-vest ensemble.

I think all agreed that he was the most handsome man at the party.  He was in great spirits for the day and was happy to be passed around and cuddled by everyone.  (Almost everyone... Uncle Robby still wouldn't hold him no matter how much he promised he wouldn't jump out of his arms or throw up on him.  Even Auntie Chrissy took a turn for a few minutes until a small whimper escaped through his lips!)  

Conor is enjoying learning about all of his family members.  Amazed by the full head of hair on Uncle Dave's head, he even tested it out to see whether it was real.  (It is.)   

He got quite a kick out of the entertainment that Grampy provided and was mesmerized by Daddy's juggling.  

All in all, he was a great sport and had a fabulous day!

While the Easter bunny did not find his way to our house this year (no jelly beans allowed, yet!), Conor was showered with gifts from plenty of others.  Before Easter even hit, he received all sorts of cute gifts from Aunt Dee and Uncle Dan and Auntie Nicole, GG and Papa, and Mimi and Popi.  Mimi even made Conor an adorable romper that he cannot wait to sport this summer when he visits her in the hot Tennessee weather.  Boy, that Mimi is talented! (I forgot to put the matching hat on him for his photo shoot... Yes, there's a matching hat!)

On Easter day, Conor was spoiled even further, receiving Easter bounty from Grammy and Grampy, Aunt Jenny, Great-Grandma and Papa, Aunt Carol and Uncle Jeff, and Aunt Sandy and Uncle Steve.  While he slept through the opening of most of these gifts, he assures me that he loves them all.  You can see that he's now the proud owner of many stuffed animals larger than he is!  

Conor wants to thank all of his oh-so-generous family members for all the gifts.  

Conor's first Easter was a great one!  We hope you all had a holiday just as blessed as ours.  

Bath time update

Conor has fully gotten over his distaste for the bath.  Bathtime is now an enjoyable nightly ritual.  As soon as his hits the warm water, he goes into full vegetation mode, lounging and enjoying the relaxation.  In fact, his new thing is that he gets so relaxed in the tub that not only does he pee in the water but he's taken to also pooping in the water!  It's really rather disgusting, but he hasn't seemed to grasp that concept yet.  It also makes for a complicated process of trying to keep him clean by either scooping the poop or replacing the water (or just trying to wash him quick enough to prevent the pooping, which is not often successful).  Even despite this, we much prefer the happy pooping in the water to the screaming that used to characterize bath time.  Now, rather than screaming in the bath, Conor has taken to screaming when we take him out.  We've begun popping his towel in the dryer while he's in the bath to help ease the transition from the warm water to the cold air.  So far, that seems to be helping some.  As you can see in the photos below, Conor was as happy as a clam when he got out of the bath last night.  He let out a few small cries and then realized that the towel was nice and cozy warm so he cuddled into it and enjoyed the warmth!  Perhaps we'll soon have completely cry-free bathing!

Smile!

Conor has been smiling for a while now, but they've been so quick and fleeting that I've had trouble catching them on film.  (My cause is also not assisted by my aging, faltering camera, which seems to always tweak out at the most inopportune times.)  Yet, as he ages, Conor is smiling much, much more often, and the smiles are more prolonged and pronounced.  Finally, I've managed to capture the smile on camera!  In fact, we've caught it on camera a couple of times.  Here's one of my favorites.  You can enjoy others in the Picasa photo gallery.

The 2 month stats

Conor on his 2-month birthday

Yesterday, we had Conor's two month appointment.  First off, let me say that getting shots is no fun!  I'm sure it's even less fun for Conor, as his screams let anyone within a mile's distance know.  Despite the pain and tears, we made it through our first round of immunizations and are well on our way to a future free of polio, diptheria, tetanus, pertussis, pneumonia, rotovirus, and a few other nasty diseases.  Conor was a trooper through all three shots and one oral vaccine.  We also got all of his updated measurements.  He weighed in at 12 lbs even, which puts him in the 53rd percentile for weight.  It seems that while he's nice and plump, he's on the short side.  His length was 22 inches, which places him in the 13th percentile.  They said they actually don't really pay a whole lot of attention to the length measurement since it's very unscientific.  Whereas weight is measured on a scale, and therefore pretty accurate, length is measured by placing the baby down on a piece of paper and then marking where their head and feet are with a pen.  Needless to say, when the baby is thrashing around and screaming, as Conor was, it makes it pretty difficult to get  a good measurement.  In any case, he has some growing to do to get on the track to beat his tall daddy someday.    Finally, his head measured 15.5 inches, putting him in the 31st percentile.  Other than that, his development seems right on track.  She said he looks fabulous, and we'd have to agree!  

As for the sleeping issues we've been facing lately, she said that the most important things are to have a consistent bedtime routine (which we do) and to put him down to sleep drowsy but awake (which we do).  As long as we're doing those things, she said his sleep will even out and regulate itself in time.  Some babies just take longer than others, and he seems to be one of those who takes a bit longer.  And in fact, the last two nights have been better.  Each night, Conor slept 2 to 3 hours at a stretch rather than 30 to 60 minutes.  So perhaps we're on the road to more restful nights!  We're keeping our fingers crossed!  

Birth Announcement 2

The Landmark also published Conor's birth announcement this past week on March 19.  It's visible online here: http://www.thelandmark.com/news/2009/0319/people/092.html

Did anyone manage to get a print version that could be saved for us?

Birth Announcement

Conor's birth announcement appeared in The Foxboro Reporter this past Thursday, March 12, 2009.

A close-up of the write-up: 

Videos

Videos will be hosted on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/dotzenlabs. The first three are embedded below!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Today, the high was 50 degrees, and we took advantage by taking a walk around the neighborhood.  We've taken Conor out for a walk on pretty much any day when the high is above 40.  However, he's always slept when we've gone for walks.  (He almost without failure falls asleep within 60 seconds on being put in his carrier.)  This is so reliable that Mike even said that eventually we'd take him for a walk when he was 3-years-old, and he'd love it so much that he'd ask why we'd never taken him for a walk before, not realizing that we'd taken him on hundreds of walks already.  However, all of that changed today!  Today, he was very much awake for our walk!  He took in his surroundings, checking out the trees, the sky, Mommy and Daddy, and when he wiggled the right way, the inside of his hat.  He very much enjoyed the walk, and we're looking forward to many more this week, as the weather is supposed to stay nice and warm throughout the week.

The Many Faces of Conor

I have to admit that I could spend all day just sitting and staring at Conor's face.  He has become so expressive, and it's so much fun to watch all of the faces that he makes and wonder what he's thinking as he makes them.  The other day, I sat with him with a camera trained on him for a while, capturing as many of the faces as I could.  Below is a sample.

He's smiling much more now - nice, big, full smiles.  This is the best he'd let me capture on camera, though it doesn't show the full smile.  Of course, whenever I took the camera away, that's when he would flash his best, most charming smile!

I think it's absolutely hilarious that he can raise one eyebrow so deftly.  I don't have that ability, so I wonder if he'll hang on to it or if it's one of those things that fades away as they grow older.  I hope he hangs on to it because it's absolutely adorable!

Photo Albums

We can't fit all of our photos in just the one album, so I'm splitting up the albums based on Conor's age. If you go here now: http://picasaweb.google.com/dotzenlabs, you will see "Conor: 2nd Month" with the new photos. I will keep adding photos and albums to this page.

Coming Soon: Videos!

Conor is 6-weeks-old!

What a big boy!  Growing up so fast!