Grandpa's Visit

My father came to Riverside for a meeting for the next couple of days. He took us out to dinner tonight at Red Robin. It was a very nice meal and a great evening spent with my dad just chatting and catching up with everything that has been going on in our lives. Of course Brendan loved seeing his Grandpa; and Grandpa is of course as proud as ever!

Bald Baby

Just as with most babies, Brendan has lost his hair. Everytime I would un-wrap him from his blanket I would find more hair that had fallen out. Now all he has left of his hair from birth was the "old-man" ring around the back of his head and one small patch of hair on top, we call it his comb-over. I love this picture of my baby but all I see is his bald head! It is growing back now, it is lighter than before, but it is there!

Grown-ups

I knew it would happen sooner or later, but it is not something you can't prepare for - feeling grown-up. As Scott, Brendan and I have fallen into a morning routine, I began to notice how different our lives had become.

When Scott and I found out we were pregnant, we were determined for it not to change who we were. We still wanted to be able to go places and do things; our son would just join us on our adventures. But having a child changes you no matter how much you try to stay the same. For Scott, having a new job (which he absolutely loves!) has changed our lives as well. The other morning, as we were getting ready to start our day, I stood in the doorway of our bedroom with a cup of coffee in my hands watch my husband, looking very professional in his shirt and tie, saying good-bye to Brendan. At that moment, it hit me: We are getting old! Here we are in our grown-up outfits, drinking coffee before work, with a baby to care for. We had changed without even expecting it and without much effort. Suddenly, I had a picture in my head of my own father in his business suit saying goodbye to us growing up before he left for work.

I'm not saying this is a bad thing, growing-up, it is just hard. We are no longer the newlyweds fresh out of college talking about our dreams and our future; we are living our future. We are not just playing house in our parents clothes pretending to be grown-up, we are the grown-ups here. It made me realize that we can not sit and discuss what our future is going to hold and what we plan to do "when we grow-up" instead, we have to live each day to the fullest, making the most of today because it is our future. We have chosen our careers and we must continue on to become all we were designed to be. If we continue to "plan" our future, the present will slip past and we may soon find ourselves stuck in a rut with our lives passing by. Already it seems as though our baby is growing so fast, we want to really LIVE through it all.

Speaking of growing-up, here is a picture of my baby yesterday morning:

Back to Work

This last week was my first week back to work full time, it was also Scott's first full week with students. To be honest, it has been somewhat nice to get back into the swing of things and to get into a routine. After being off work for 9 1/2 weeks (I really can't believe it was that long) it is nice to have structure back into our lives again. An average morning, and by average I mean a morning in which Brendan cooperates, we start the day at about 5:00 - 5:30. By 7:00 we leave the house, all bathed, fed, with coffee in hand and a lunch packed. I am actually very proud of us that we are able to work together to get it all done. It is getting easier now that Brendan is sleeping more. For the past couple of weeks he only gets up once in the middle of the night. It sounds silly but this cartoon I saw the other day is true!
Work for me has been busy but I really must say I am glad to be back. When I first found out I was pregnant, there was never a question in my mind if I would return to work or not, as much as I would love to stay home with my baby, we need the income and I really enjoy my job. It is getting easier every morning as Scott and I form a routine that works for us!

Pretty Baby

When I was pregnant I knew that I would think that my baby was cute and love him no matter what, but I truly believe he is simply beautiful! I just stare at him all the time. My sister laughs at me because just out of the blue I will tell her "he is so pretty!" and "Isn't he the most beautiful baby ever?"

I really thought that I would not be one of those parents that asked the loaded question, but I do find myself, every once in a while, asking if the person thinks Brendan is adorable. Of course everyone has agreed with me, who would really tell a new mother that her baby was ugly. You may not agree with me but I think that my baby is the prettiest baby EVER!

Since the day he was born I knew that I was in trouble. This little thing that I had carried around for OVER nine months was finally in my arms and I never wanted to put him down. Even this morning, 7 weeks old, I picked him up when he was falling asleep, he snuggled into my chest and I thought for a brief moment "what if I just stayed home from work and held my baby all day?" But instead, I loaded him into his car seat, and drove him to daycare. My heart hurts every time I drop him off. He is just so wonderful, I never want to leave him.

Well-Baby check up

It is hard to believe that my baby is now 7 weeks old! This morning we went to the doctor for the 6 week check up. Brendan is doing well! Very healthy. He is now 11 pounds 6 ounces (that's 3 pounds 11 ounces more than when he was born). His height is now 23 1/2 inches long. and the best news is the doctor says he is very strong and can hold his head up extremely well for a 7 week old! Okay, I know that I am just bragging on my baby, but here are some more recent photos for those of you who have been waiting!