Happy Holidays

I think Santa spooked Tristan; he wouldn't stop wailing from 4:20 - 5:45 this morning...precisely when old saint nick was supposed to deliver.
Dont forget to check our web album of the little guy @ http://picasaweb.google.com/seth.jan/tristanandrewtownsend

Honey Crisp.

Delicious.

'nuff said.

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, we are all finally over being sick. First Jan with her head cold, then Tristan with congestion and then Seth with a mild cold. All in all we fared pretty well, considering. Tristan's sleep schedule was all outta whack when he was sick, and that meant that mommy and daddy didnt get much sleep for about a week. He was waking up all snotty so we would have to go in and suck baby goo from his nose. poor little guy! But he is doing much better and is looking forward to a big ham thanksgiving dinner at our friends', Bhavna and John. I just finished making the Townsend traditional sticky buns. Jan is working on some green beans, a corn side and pumpkin cream pie. We are also bringing over some wonderful beer:

• Bruery Autumn Maple (beer brewed with maple syrup and yams!)

and some home brew:

• belgian ale brewed with cherries from a friends yard and some
• IPA brewed with hops from our yard.

Should be a fun afternoon!

Took this video last night. Jan was out running some errands and Tristan was being extra vocal, so i had to grab it on tape. He is starting to take after his mom in this sense!! Enjoy your holidays!

Halloween Fun

Halloween night - Tristan was begging to go out trick or treating, but his only special request was milk. Can you see the empty bag (and disappointment on his face?!) Unfortunately, we came home with nada. He was upset, cried, and then fell asleep by 8. Typical night, really. We handed out candy to the neighborhood kids until 8, and then the lights went out. Too much noise and excitement for us and Dublin by then - and we were wanting some peace and quiet. We didn't even get a chance to carve up the old pumpkin -- maybe next year.

He couldn't decide between an owl, a giraffe, a hedgehog, or a jailbird, so we let him be all of them. Cast your vote for the favorite! He is taking suggestions for next year already, and will be scrapping the milk in favor of Butterfingers and gum - so you better be ready!

Tummy Time!

Not much time for bloggin' these days, but here is a fun video of our little creation. He is growin so fast; he even had his first spoonful of rice cereal today!! Hand-eye coordination neurotransmitters are starting to fire as he is workin on grabbin things and moving them to his mouth; although sometimes its his eye, nose or cheek. He is sitting in his Bumbo chair; his little neck is strong as all get out. We cant believe we have kept him alive for 18 weeks and counting! He is our world!!

Our Four-legged furry son #1.

Sorry Dublin has felt so left out lately, so we had to post this. We took this clip pre-Tristan, when dubs was our only son...

Pumpkins!!

We had a great time at the Pumpkin Patch down the road from us last week. We picked out a super juicy orange veggie that was just about the same size as the munchkin. He even got his own tiny little one. The farm had all kinds of produce and i even grabbed some western slope peaches, one of which we discovered had a family of earwigs living in it. Jan wasnt too happy. The weather was nice and we had just enough daylight after work to make the short trip. Tristan was a champ right up to the end.

We need to give credit to our great friend Bhavna for making his adorable sweater and beanie; he loves it!! It is the most thoughtful gift we have received; Thank you!

Lately our guy is really starting to fight going down. he and we know that he's super tired, but for some reason crying is easier than actually falling asleep. but that's okay, we are adjusting. He is really working on his hand-eye coordination. Every now and then, while he is in his crib, we will hear this scraaaatch, scraaatch; he is just laying there staring at the crib bumper and pawing at it. So cute!! He also discovered how to blow bubbles and flap his lips, so his squeeking and squawking have toned down a bit.

Tristan's First Prost!

Well, he definitely takes after his father here, there's no doubt about that! No, we did not put him up to it..... he just reached out and took a sip. Hey, the little man has good taste in beer already! And pretty strong for his wee-little size too! It was a last minute decision, but I felt the need to again prove we too can have fun (i.e. LEAVE THE HOUSE) on a Friday night, so the 3 of us headed 30 seconds down the street to our new neighborhood BBQ - Kaddy Shack - for a sampler plate of ribs, chicken, sausage, brisket, and the best darn cornbread we've ever had. It was a perfect outing for Tristan, as he was getting a little fidgety after 45 minutes or so, which is just about the time the country music came on loud and large - yee haw! Perfect setting for an overtired baby. We were pretty happy with a "night out" all 3 of us. Needless to say, Dublin held down the fort while we stepped out - but not without a few groans and moans. Maybe next time we'll drag him along too for some good old fashioned family fun on the patio!

3 Months Old: Smiles & Squeals

Here we are, just over 3 months with this little guy, and we're all still alive, somehow. In all honesty, September has not been a great month for us, but we are now seeing some changes (for the better) with Tristan, like a whole lot more smiling, interacting, and as of two days ago, tons of squealing- which we just love! Seems he has really discovered his voice, and the squealing has replaced the crying, upon waking up in the morning, as well as when the little squirt is bored, wants to play, or be held. Although somewhat ear piercing at times, it still beats the wailing and tears!

His weight gain is right on schedule, and he's fitting into just about everything now hanging in his closet - which is fun - but this age too will pass quickly, and we'll be buying larger clothes before we know it. How is it that the days can be so long, and yet still feels like a month ago that we brought him home from the hospital? We look at his tiny newborn onesies against him now and realize how small they actually are, and how tiny he used to be. Makes me a little sad when I think about how quickly time flies.

The upside to getting older: he is falling into a more predictable schedule, in terms of naps throughout the day. We know how important it is to get him to nap periodically, before he gets overtired, because that is when disaster strikes! This past weekend tested BOTH our levels of patience, me on Saturday, and Seth on Sunday. A very, very difficult weekend for us both, but we are still learning a lot, and doing the best we can. Thank goodness for our sense of teamwork - I can't imagine doing it any other way.

Sunday Brunch, for 3 please...

We decided to skip making breakfast this morning and head out to Huckleberry in old town Louisville. So we waited until the bugaboo was all juiced up (or milked up), content and settled and then plopped him in his carseat and headed out. He did really well. He was asleep in his seat in no time. Its totally hit or miss with this guy and the car seat. He either settles in quickly or instantly freaks out and wont chill out for about 20 minutes. But today was a good day for being out and about. He even sat through the 20 minute wait with out as much as a peep. But he could smell our breakfast and as soon as our drinks arrived he started to get a little fussy. Once he was freed of him mini cell, he was happy to be at our level and able to check out the scene. His hair is a total magnet and he loved the attention he was getting from just about everyone that walked by. "what do you put in his hair", "wow, looks like the static fairy paid a visit" and "oh, that hair" are comments that we are getting used to hearing...We took turns occupying him through our berry crepes and salmon scrambler. Delicious!

Mom has had a rough couple of nights because we like to hang out together and it gets late quick...he will go down about 9 and we are up till 11 or 12 and then she has to get up at 3 and 5 and 7/8. i try to occupy him after his 7am food session so she can grab some more z's. We usually spend some time on the changing table gettin' dressed, workin on our kicks and smiling and cooing at each other. its good daddy-time! then we do down stairs and read a book or two and play on our mat gym. he loves the crinkly wings on our dragonfly and such. his eyes bug out (no pun intended) and he shakes almost violently with excitement...you can almost see the adrenaline rush to through his body; its so adorable.

What a lazy 3 day weekend...at least for Seth! Word of the day is Sesamoiditis. Sounds a lot worse than it actually is. Basically there are two bones under the ball of your big toe that float in ligaments. Those ligaments can get inflamed and irritated; its very painful even to the touch. Because i have broken my big toe on several occasions and it never really healed correctly, I was uber prone to developing this. I am going to meet with the doctor this week after meeting with his PA last week. I will probably be getting a boot of some sort to allow me to walk without putting pressure on that joint. The outside of my foot and shin are super sore from walking all queer, compensating for this. It really sucks.

So I have been sitting on the couch, with my foot elevated; icing it frequently. Poor jan has had to run errands, work around the house and do most of the up and down the stairs with Jr. Not exactly how we planned to spend our holiday weekend! But daddy got a ton of good quality time with Tristan, mommy and Dublin. We read lots of books, played on our floor mat gym, talked about current issues (or whatever infants talk about, he was a little hard to understand), and even ruined an outfit due to a blow out.

Where does the time go?

A good friend of mine, Caia, said that when you have a kiddo the days are long but the years are short. I am starting to realize exactly what that means. Our little guy has been with us 10 weeks today. Is that possible?? He is now coo-ing and babbling in his own language. He loves to hang out on the changing table after a freshie was just donned. Kicking and coo-ing...Oh to be without a care in the world. Just cry when you are hungry, poop while you are eating and then fall asleep to repeat all over again. Well maybe the pooping while eating thing would be a bit odd.

Tristan was kind enough to give us about an hour or so on Monday for us to cook up a nice dinner for our 9th anniversary. We were able to actually sit together, enjoy our food and a bottle of wine. Perfect.

Tomorrow I start track (velodrome) racing lessons. Boulder now how an indoor track, so now daddy has a once a week date with his bike...although i can barely walk right now becuase i have some serious pain in my foot, so its off to the orthopedist tomorrow to see whats up. hopefully i can wear a cycling shoe by 7pm!

5.5 hours!

Wow, our little man slept for around 6 hours last night. Jan awoke at 430 and thought that she had totally missed something!! Tristan is sure throwin' us curve-balls every day/night. We had our 2 month pediatrician appointment today. Dr. Kamon was happy about his progress. about 50th percentile for height and weight. She also stuck him with a couple vaccines today and he really took it like a man. We were both really surprised at his reaction...Obvious initial wailing, but after about a minute he was totally fine.9 weeks. Thats how long we have kept a totally dependent human alive; its pretty amazing.

I was telling Jan tonight about my epiphany. I can be a pretty selfish and absorbed person. On Saturday I was literally feeling like my insides were tying themselves up in knots; I felt I really needed some "seth" time. I was super anxious and had a lot of nervous energy. Tristan was cyring in his swing and I could feel my blood pressure rising. I pulled him out of the swing and layed him on the couch and started singing to him. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey..." And then I finally realized it. It was like a huge wave came over me and all my anxiety and bad energy just dissipated. It was amazing. I was really disappointed in myself for not instantly becoming immune to his crying from the start. It was a hard transition. I kept thinking, "you are terrible, his cries frustrate you...that isn't normal for a parent." I always was thinking "What am i doing wrong, why is he crying". As a male, we are constantly trying to solve situations and if we cant...FAILURE. But with this little guy, there isnt always an answer or it might not be obvious. So one thing I learned is not to be so hard on myself. I may not be able to get him to stop cyring, and that is OKAY. Maybe a hand-off to mom is in order, or maybe he has an upset tummy. But realizing that was a huge step in the learning process. And he is just so damn cute!

Time is just slipping away...

And our little munchkin is plumping up like a little pot roast. All you FB'ers, you can check this blog at bigabv.blogspot.com there is a link on my INFO tab. Remember you can see more pics by clicking on the link on the right (Seth and Jan's Web Album). I cant believe that Tristan will be 8 weeks on Wednesday. Its an amazing transformation from a arm flailing bowl of jello to a semi-morpheus infant who can now smile and rub his eyes when he's gettin tuckered out. He is now pushing 11 pounds and his has totally outgrown most of his little outfits that we bought coming out of the gate. We have discovered many more of his favorite positions and learned that he may not be too keen on the favorite of last week. He loves to kick and flail on the changing table after he is all cleaned up and i sometimes find myself watching him there for close to 15 minutes. Arms saluting me and his little legs are trying to kick start that imaginary moto. His eyes will bug out and he will fit in a smile here and there...it just melts your heart.

He has now met all of four of his grandparents. My mom arrived the end of July and brought her friend Richard. Grammy instantly fell in love with her 3rd grandson and i think that little Tristan misses her sweet gentle touch. My dad and his new wife Lisa followed a few days after my Mom and Richard left and were kind enough to bring Dublin a few playmates. They refer to their little white dogs as a Canadian Terror Cell, but they were more akin to Canadian Antagonists.

About a week after the four Townsends left, Jan's parents arrived. Rich, Jan's dad, is unstoppable. He saw me mowing the lawn and immediately went into the garage and started edging the yard. A few hours later, he had cut beautifully straight lines along every edge of the yard.

A feat that i haven't attempted all season. The next evening we were

sitting on the front porch and he looks at me and says "Hey,

how about I trim up this bush?" Next thing I know, there are leaves and limbs flying like a scene from Edward Scissorhands; then he recruited Bonnie in on the fun. It was like having Smith and Smith Landscape Architects working on the yard.

They earned a few pints of homebrew for that job!! Sometime I'll tell you about him and our washing machine.

Tristan's best friend

Well, we think we know why he's so drawn to Mr. Lion (do you see the resemblance?)! Tristan is now almost 6 weeks old - so hard to believe! We are still trying to figure out what makes this little guy tick - sometimes with success, sometimes without, but ALWAYS at 4 am it seems! What's a little surprising is that I think our level of patience is increasing, rather than the other way around. At first, it was very frustrating not knowing what to do with him at all. Now, I think we know that sometimes we will never know exactly what to do with him when he cries, but just hold him and love him the best we can. And if that doesn't work, then another meal is usually the answer! But he is doing just great, gaining plenty of weight (he was 8 lbs 14 oz one week ago), and filling out much quicker than we expected . He is getting a little more interactive with the arms flailing and legs kicking around, and some days we even get a 2 second smile that just melts your heart (whether he meant it or not). We are hanging in there with the exhaustion....naps never felt so good!!

Happy ONE MONTH Birthday, Tristan!

Well, we somehow made it through the first 30 days taking care of this baby - he is still alive and kicking! Is it learned skill, a little luck, maybe both? We've never really been challenged like this before, but I think we have both handled things quite well, overall. At least we feel proud of ourselves, a little, whether or not we are doing things right. After all, his only demands include eating all day long, keeping a clean and dry bottom, and falling asleep in our arms several times a day. Doesn't seem so hard, but keeping him happy through all these things is what tests your patience, as 6 am suddenly becomes 2 pm, and you wonder how that could be possible, sitting in your spit-up soaked PJ's thinking about what to eat for dinner. It is more work than we ever imagined, but we can still somehow say with unwavering certainty, it is all worth it.

He is well into the 7lb range (maybe close to 8 now), just starting to outgrow some of his "newborn" outfits, but still a little too small for most 0-3 month clothes we have, so yes, he is sprouting, but he's still a little squirt! We like it that way, but are looking forward to the day when he can hold his own head up, find entertainment in silly faces and simple toys, and communicate his issues with us, just a little bit better. We are still waiting to see how he develops - will he look more like mom or dad? We've heard both so far - but still haven't come to a hard conclusion on who we think he takes after most, just yet. We don't know who submitted a request for the wild hair - but we just love it, and hope it doesn't fall out too quickly, like people have predicted. We'll take him however he comes - he's our little Junebug, Monkey Man, Bugaboo, Peanut. He's a keeper!

Hiccups, spit-up and farts

Who knew that infants were sooo raunchy!!  Tristan had a day full of involuntary muscle spasms; diaphragmatic, tracheal and rectal...the hiccups are cute as hell and are fun to watch in a voyeuristic sense.  The spit up draws an empathetic reaction because we realize that he just nursed for a half hour only to heave it back at ya.  He did that most of yesterday, but we were reassured today that these things happen; they just have bad upper GI days.  Now on to the gaseous emanations.  Nothing short of hilarious.  I think Jan has the best story, although i have one that comes close.

She had just finished feeding him and he was just chilling on his back, laying on her legs and looking at her.  He was rustling about and just enjoying his satiated self.  Arms and legs flailing pretty much uncontrollably a this point in his life.  His eyes would dart between her face and the ceiling fan (which he loves to watch).  When all of a sudden he put his arms up in "victory" and his knees bent, brow furrowed and frrrrrrrrp.  I was in the garage and i could hear her busting up.  I arrived only to witness the aftermath of her just about ready tear up in laughter.

Mine comes, once again, shortly after completing a middle of the night feeding session.  Now normally he will let loose while feeding, but it accompanies a nice crap...But i had just changed him and was moving him over to his crib to swaddle him up and put him back to bed.  When i lifted him up and over the crib rail, i contorted him ever so and it must have been just enough for the gas bubbles to escape.  because at the moment that his legs started bending towards his tummy, out comes this billowing brrraaap.  Just like a bunch of college dudes sitting around the campfire, this 7 pound human produced all the volume and seismic activity of his 160 pound inebriated brethren.  It was quite surprising!!

Dont forget to check the Web Album (link on the top right) for more pictures!

I have no idea what the sound at the end of this clip is...Ill have to send it in for analysis!

Long Days and Longer Nights...

Well i think we are getting into a routine, albeit a little backwards.  Tristan loves to sleep during the day and party all night!!  We try to keep him awake when the sun is out, but its pretty challenging.  His morning starts around 6 am when he wakes up and is excited to show us his diaper monster.  We usually try to feed him first because he almost always births a twin monster while eating....oh to be an infant!  Eat, sleep and poop for the next 16 hours or so and then around midnight/1 am he is awake and hungry.  We feed and feed and he usually doesn't want to go down until about 230.  Then he is up around 330 until 430...We are trying to break him of this habit by keeping him awake for more of the day and doing a quick feed/change during the night and minimize stimulation.  We will have to wait and see if our little man can adjust to this.  But with a face like that, it really doesnt matter...because he's our little guy!!

Eat, Sleep, Poop...and repeat

Happy 4th of July! We spent the day much the same as the others this week. Today was pretty good. Tristan stuck to a schedule of eat, sleep, poop, while Seth managed to clean up the back yard (Dublin tore apart his nice yard work when the side gate to his potty area was left open by the lawn guys, while we were away at the hospital). He even had time to enjoy a beer with our neighbor out on our patio --  a little adult interaction goes a long way, with so many new adjustments and demands of our time. Tristan has no problem sleeping, as you can see here. Once he is out, he's out. Too bad this doesn't happen so easily during the night. Getting up at 3:30 am last night was almost unbearable. At least we each got to nap today for about an hour - which felt sooo great. Unfortunately, that doesn't keep us going strong until 1 or 2 am when he goes down with us for "the night," but every little bit helps. 

Tomorrow will mark one week since we've been home from the hospital (and 10 days since Tristan was born), so we have made it through our first week at home successfully, with only a bit of crankiness during the wee hours. Our wonderful neighbors have helped out so much by bringing food to us this week - thank you!!! Yesterday I planned to go to a breast feeding club at the hospital for tips and advice, but unfortunately after we packed up our things and got moving (half an hour late), we were told the class was canceled. bummer - I was really looking forward to grilling the lactation consultants on many things. I'll have to wait until next week. It was great to get out the house, anyway, and run some errands with our little guy.  He slept most of the time, but was really well behaved even when he was somewhat awake. We're getting better at learning how much he needs to eat to be happy. Hopefully he'll be back up to his birth weight before too long! 

Sleep, sleep...We need sleep!

This "schedule" thing is not easy.  The only thing to rely on is that anything goes...We were blessed with around 5 hours of sleep the first 2 nights we got back home, but our little guy decided that wasn't working for him.  So now its like 2-3 hours at a time and we are trying to ween him off getting most of his shut eye during the daylight hours.  We will see how that goes.  Yesterday we had our first appt. with Dr. Kamon.  Tristan is back up a hefty 6#7oz, which is not as plump as she would like to see.  She recommended that we nurse for no more than a half hour (to save Jan) and then give him pumped milk.  Jan was starting to feel like a machine with the 1 hour nursing sessions.  Tristan likes to fall asleep shortly after starting his feed session. 

Jan and I went to lunch with him and he just chilled the entire time.  It was great!

Yesterday we also gave him his first bath.  He didn't seen any more cranky than normal, so we don't think he disliked it.  He may have been getting a little cold until jan remembered that you can put a warm wash cloth over his chest.  His hair was so frizzy after coming out of the bath, it was hilarious.  I think he looks so punk rock with the straight long hair in the back and the frizz up top.  Might be time to break out those old Rollins and Dead Kennedy's CDs??

He is still cute as ever and despite all the pooping and crying; we love him beyond imagination!!  Dublin, on the other hand, is probably tired of being kept up all day and night!!

Home at Last

Tuesday morning, June 30, 6am. Tristan's tummy is full, and he was ready for a little daddy time. He has quite an appetite -- surprises us more each day with how much he can put away, so I imagine he'll be busting into the 7 lb. range very soon. I know everyone says that every stage is "fun" but I'm not ready to see this kiddo get any bigger just yet. Eating, sleeping and pooping is about all he is capable of right now, but what fun it is to just hold him and snuggle. It won't last long, I'm sure. So far the days are long and nights pretty short, but no complaints to speak of. Can't wait to share him with friends and family before too long!

 

Coming home with a baby was surreal, but nice to be back in our own house again. Dublin was ecstatic to see us, and could hardly settle down, with so much to smell! So far he's been just fine around Tristan, but when the crying starts up,  he gets very anxious, and I think is still confused by what is going on, and where the strange sounds are coming from. He'll get used to it eventually..... we hope. We are trying our best to be patient and understanding with him too, and I think we've done a pretty good job so far. Lots of kongs and bully sticks might just do the trick! Seth managed to get him out for a run this morning, so that should help with his energy level for today, if only for a few hours. We're still unpacking a bit and getting settled in, but for now, it's just me and my boys - and I'm loving it.  

We left Boulder Foothills Community Hospital on Sunday around 2pm - what a strange feeling walking in there middle of the night early Wed. morning around 2am, and finally leaving 5 days later with our baby boy! We will miss all the doctors and nurses here - everyone was fabulous, to say the least, but our pediatrician is based here as well, so we'll be back often enough.  What felt like a long ride home provided time for thoughts of how amazing this whole experience has been since Sept. 2008 - how much we've learned, grown as a couple, anticipated his birth, and now we finally get to enjoy our new family. It's awesome!! 

Keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times during the coaster ride!

There is a new ride in town...the Emotional Roller Coaster. Last night and this morning were quite rough. But once again the Lactation Consultant came to the rescue. Lots of great new information and "devices" to ease the pain. So far so good. The important thing is that Tristan is getting what he needs in terms of nutrition. Mom's condition is getting better hour by hour and she is such a trooper; I am so proud of her persistance in light of the pain she is enduring to provide for her son. She is going to rock this mom thing. She had her cesarian staples removed today, which was another small trauma, but the incision itself looks extremely healthy and is healing quickly. While Tristan was down and we were eating lunch, we threw in the Happiest Baby on the Block and learned all about the 5 S's. Great advice.

Tomorrow we will be evicted from this lovely Foothills Hospital Spa and Garden Retreat. I know we will miss having such a great team of nurses and consultants on staff, but as many billions of parent who have come before us have succeeded, so will we.

Lactation Consultants are worth their weight in GOLD!

Wow, its Friday already...at least i think it is. Nursing has continuted to be quite challenging for both mommy and baby; but we are slowly getting the hang of this new process. The lactation consultants on staff here have been an absolute saving grace. Actually all of the nurses and staff have been nothing short of amazing. We couldnt be happier in our choice of hospitals. Our nurses yesterday actually pulled Tristan out of the room on a couple of occasions to allow Jan and I to get some muuuuuuch needed rest. Only an hour or two at a time; but that has been pretty much the only sleep we have had since arriving. We are scheduled to make full use of the 4 nights available to c-section mothers so we will probably return home on Sunday. I dont know if we are dreading that or looking forward to it. It will be nice to get back home and start settling in (and Im sure Dublin is anxious for us to return even though he is in great hands...Thanks Kris, Gina, Jeff and Pam!!) but we definitely have our eye on a couple of nurses that we would love to have "on-staff" back at the casa. If money wasnt an object we would absolutely bring home today's lactation consultant. Ill spare the details, but she was great with Janis. Check the web album for additional pictures.

Happy Birth Day Tristan!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that Jan and I headed to the hospital around 1:45 am this morning. She was having severe bouts of lower back pain and wasnt feeling anything that we considered "contractions" when we arrived she was dialated to 6cm. Her back pain was severe and we started the epideural around 4am. Her contractions did not normalize and Tristan reacted adversly to Pitosin. We knew, due to the pattern of the contractions and her lower back pain, that he was face out and would present several issues during extended labor so we decided to have him extracated via primary cesarian. He emerged head first from Jan's belly at 11:21 am this morning. Mom is healing and feeling fine now. Tristan has had a little trouble latching on at first, but he has started to get the routine down. Daddy has changed 2 diapers already and cant wait to be a pro without getting crap all over the place. I have been able to spend a lot of time with our little guy since mommy is busy resting. He loves to rock in the rocker; too bad it doesnt creak like the one i remember. I could rant on and on about how cute and adorable this tiny human is, but what parent doesnt....
Enjoy the pictures in our PicasaWeb Album, ill try to update with additional pics often, so check back once in a while.

Just finished prepping for tomorrows dinner of a kriek based compote for grilled salmon.  So i get to reap the rewards a bit early and get to drink the leftover Lips of Faith Dark Kriek.  Not quite as sour as i would have liked, but a tasty New Belgium brand.  We were supposed to awaken to over 12" of whitey today, but instead it rained/sleeted/hailed all night long.  Actually about 48 hours worth.  Nice for the grass...

It allowed us to work on the baby room a bit more.  We were able to get the closet "doors" up.  Actually we have the type of closet that has two sliding doors; those are long gone!  Jan sewed up some curtains and i suggested sewing button holes in the top to attach to the wall with some painted drawer pulls.  It turned out pretty nice.

Dad called and reported that his fundraiser was very successful.  He has a shit ton of hospital bills from his heart attack and his community really banded together to support him.  Stacey's boyfriend, Brian, cooked up like 125 steaks for the dinner (there's a new job dude!!).  They raised some nice cash to offset his debt.  Glad to hear that...

Baby Room

Well its been over a month and i just wanted to give a very quick update.  Everything is going fine.  Our bun in the oven has been reaaaally active.  its amazing to feel him squirming around in there.  Jan has had a few nights where she was awoken by excruciating leg cramps, but i think we solved that with supplementing her diet with extra potassium (bananas) and allowing for a few minutes to stretch prior to killing the lights.

We enjoyed a snowed in Sunday last weekend while painting some pictures for the baby room.  check out the web album to see them.  They took a lot longer to create than we ever would have imagined.  i almost felt that the 40 bucks to purchase one just might have been worth it, but in the end im happy that i was able to contribute to the room in more than a utilitarian way.

We also had Ollie over for the long weekend while Kris and Gina were visiting family.  We couldn't get them out on Sunday, so we instituted Dog Popcorn Dancing.  check the album...it was too funny!

Where did the weekend go?

I left work a bit early on Friday to meet Jan at the Boulder Women's Care for one of our regularly scheduled appointments.  There is a team of doctor's that we see, and they want us to meet each one because you cant plan who will actually be on staff when you go in for delivery.  His little heart was fluttering away around 150 bpm.  Yesterday we drove down to Cherry Creek to look at fabric for the baby room; Jan is going to make a window treatment and we ended up going with a cool color scheme with a fun design...we will post pics once we get the treatment sewed and on the wall.  We were excited to grab a burger and a pint at the Cherry Cricket but because there was a special St. Paddy's day event going on they were not seating customers...bummer.  We settled for Goodtime's fast food and it was a total let down for me.  Beef is not on our list of things we eat often, so i was really looking for a tasty hearty burger washed down with a nice craft pint...anyways life goes on!

Awoke early this morning to get in a ride with John and Troy up in Lyons at Heil Ranch.  Our plan was to ride up Heil to Wild Turkey and then ride Picture Rock out and back.  Troy had to jet a little early and rode until his SS chain derailed twice on PR and John and I pushed on.  It turned into quite a ride; we got back to the sube 3.5 hours later!  After the ride, John and I met his fiancé Bhahvna at her old house to pick up her crib.  She was kind enough to let us borrow it until our boy out grows it.  Its still sitting in our office in pieces until I finish painting the nursery.  I put the first coat on it today and this new eco-friendly paint (no VOCs) is a little bit harder to work with.  It dries in about 20 minutes in the CO air and seems a bit thicker which makes it harder to apply.  Unfortunately we are painting over lemon yellow (i cant believe we survived that since we moved in 7 years ago!!) and I will need to apply a second coat sometime this week.  We are really happy with the first coat and cant wait to see the color without any light areas.

While we were decompressing this evening, dublin decided to break out his chew toy.  We love watching him problem solve this thing as you can see in the video; he rolls onto his back and grabs it with his paws.  Its hilarious!! 

2lbs 8oz and 1 bean

Thats what Tim instructed me to infuse into his ChocoRaspy Porter.  2lbs of frozen organic raspberries, 8 oz of wonderful raw chocolate and 1 split vanilla bean.  This picture is, of course, pre-transfer of the beer.  The beer smelled wonderful, a rich roasty character with a mellow hint of chocolate; its flavor was a little sweet because fermentation hadn't quite wrapped up yet...but it has a lot of character already and would have been a terrific porter in its own right.

So the weekend wasn't as much of a bust as i thought it would be; since our Fruita trip was nixed.  I got in another great ride on Sunday.  Parked  near the skate park on 30th and Arapaho and rode the Creek Path to the end, up the Link trail to Betasso for a few loops and then back to the car.  it was gorgeous!  i think it was in the mid 50's the entire time...

Quick stop to refuel at Bldg A for a half pint of Cask Hog Heaven.  Sitting on their patio in the sun reminded me how much i love spring and the warmer weather.  But the day was only half over!  When i got home, Jan was still at the Denver Bead Show, so i decided i would knock out the closet in Jr's room.  Check the before and after pictures on our Picassa Album (link on the right).  It was pretty easy to install the track system and the beauty of it is, is that you can change it up any time!  Next comes paint.

So we made the call yesterday to kill our Fruita trip.  Troy, Kris, John and I were pretty bummed but since the forecast was calling for crap with a 70% chance of shit we decided to hang tight until a bright sun shiny day (or three).   My cell rang at 8am this morning and i was much too lazy to answer, but i thank Troy for getting me out of bed to get some french toast and bacon going.  After breakfast, Kris and I decide that we should hit Hall Ranch before whitey was scheduled to arrive.  Jan was heading into Denver to shop the semi annual Denver Bead Show, so it was good timing.  We packed up the car, stopped in Longmont to grab his buddy Shannon and we were parked at OBs in no time.  We hit the road and ran into Troy heading back into town after finishing his am loop on Hall.  Bike Polo fest in Lyons??

We continued on and up the front side.  It was nice and quiet; i think we ran into only about 2-3 on their way down.  Trail is bone dry and its amazing how much it changes in between rides.  I felt pretty fit and it was nice to be riding the 29er and be on the dirt.  So much of my chamois time is spent  commuting on the SS or sitting in a spin class at work.  It was nice to be challenged technically once again.  It started to get a bit chilly on the loop and the flakes just started to fly as we descended.  Post ride Gordons was well deserved and friggen hit the spot!

  

Mommy's Home!

Jan returned today after spending time in Phoenix with her best friend. Dublin was pretty excited to have the whole family unit intact once again. Janis brought home a "little" gift from Amy, which is ironic, since she was out there for Amy's birthday. Amy has a cute little boy, Evan, who has blessed us with giant duffelbag of hand-me-downs! We sorted it all out and have piles of cute little boy clothes starting with premie onsies all the way up to 24 month overalls. THANK YOU AMY, NATE AND EVAN!!!

I just got off the phone with Janis; she is in Phoenix visiting her best friend Amy.  She was out there as a surprise for Amy's 35th birthday.  So anyways i was brewing most of the day with my riding/work buddy Tim and didnt have time to call her.  Her phone was giving her issues with service, and i wasn't able to get through earlier.  I figured she was busy living it up; it was getting late.  But she finally called, and she had some news.  She felt some kicking!  we were slightly concerned that our little guy has been less than "active" so far, but the doc assured us that was perfectly normal.  But i keep thinking, how can a child related to us not be totally restless and claustrophobic in there!!  Anyways, it was a reassurance and now i cant wait for her to come home to feel it for myself.  Although it will probably be a week or so before the movement is noticeable by external observers.  I dont have an interesting picture, but i included one of her new designs that she made for Valentine's Day and thought it was appropriate for this post...

Its for Real!!

Well, as most of you would say; its about time. Seems like all the kool kids have done it. its new territory for us, but i feel like its all been done before. We will probably be heavily reliant on many of you for random trivia answers.

We are:

• expecting
  
• pregnant


• with child


• carrying
  
• preggers
  
• knocked up
  
• cookin a bun in the oven

It all happened pretty much on the first "try". Even though there wasnt really any "trying". So we returned from our trip to asia in mid august and felt ready to start working on the family. We dropped the birth control like a bad habit and decided to just let nature take over. We didnt look at any dates or time any attempts. We didnt want to set ourselves up for failure and I was travelling a lot for a project at work. But apparently it came together perfectly on our first available window...sometime mid september.

Jan actually had a problem reading the pregnancy test and chocked up the lateness to her body adjusting from coming off the birth control for the first time since??? But when she visited her doctor for a routine exam, she was completely floored at the news. She totally caught be off guard one night at dinner. I was beside myself, i didnt even know how to react...was it possible? Apparently it was.

Our due date is late June and we couldnt be more excited! Because Jan will be 35 for the delivery, we opted to wait to tell friends and family until we had recieved all our triploid screening and super ultrasound testing. Our delivery team is expecting a healthy baby boy. We let family know only a week or so ago and it was really hard to keep the secret. Especially since Lori, Paul and the girls were out here for Thanksgiving and we couldnt "celebrate" this news with them. We are slowly announcing news to our friends and extended family as we talk to or bump into them. We arent really outward about it...yet!