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February 29, 2004
12 weeks old!
To celebrate, we went to a movie! We sat in the back and Gus didn't make a peep! I don't think people even knew he was there.
Look at this guy...
Gus met Arthur on Thursday
This is the best...I found a building in Oak Park that pretty much sums up a big chunk of my work day...the Oak Park Pumping Station! (please note I was wearing a black and white-striped shirt...no special effects were used in the taking of this photo.)
Posted by janna at 08:37 AM
February 27, 2004
Things I love about Gus
I love how while eating he makes the sweetest humming noises.
I love how he now grabs chunks of his hair with his growing hands.
I love how he will stop what he's doing and turn toward John's voice.
I love how long his eyelashes are.
I love how he tries to karate-chop my hands away from his nose while I'm suctioning snot out (the motor skills!).
I love how he gets lint between his fingers.
I love that he only has about an inch of growing room in his 3-6 month clothes.
I love how his eyes are getting lighter blue.
I love that he'll be 12 weeks tomorrow.
I love that he'll fall asleep when I rub his head, just like his Papa.
Oh, there's so much more...
Posted by janna at 06:18 PM
February 25, 2004
Tuesday's with Kye
We were lucky enough to have another Tuesday with Kye last night.
Posted by janna at 07:10 AM
February 24, 2004
Visit with Granny Janice
We ventured out to Palatine on Sunday, such a treat for Granny and Gus to see one another. Granny has the privilage of saying she elicited the first giggle from Gus!
he's so long...
We visited Abby and Michelle yesterday. Gus is exactly one month younger, but now looks to be almost as long as Abby and has a bigger head and hands...so wild.
Off to daycare and work...both of which are going really well.
Hey, does anyone have advice on how to take care of a baby cold?
Posted by janna at 06:54 AM | Comments (2)
February 22, 2004
Emily has arrived
The third baby on our block has arrived, Emily Hope! We now have Abby, who is almost four months old, Gus, who is 11 weeks, and now Emily. She is beautiful... I couldn't get over how tiny she was. She was basically the same size Gus was when he was born...she was 7 lbs and 19 in. Look at them now!
Posted by janna at 08:10 AM
February 20, 2004
Bathtime
Posted by janna at 06:38 AM
February 19, 2004
Gustav 2004 Tour: Iowa
Last weekend was the first of many stops on the Gustav 2004 Tour, perhaps coming to a city near you?
First stop: Council Bluffs, IA (first time across state borders!)
Mode of transportation: Plane (a first!)
Travel is taken to another level when you have a baby...I knew it would, but it was still amazing to experience. Never before has a checklist become so very vital. When we were checking in (gone are the days of carrying on luggage), the woman at the counter asked where we were moving to. The amazing thing is that we didn't overpack too much. Perhaps that's subjective. Anyhoo...
Gus was wonderful throughout, a real sport. Babies bring out the oohs and awws in people, particularly when the father is carrying the baby. A woman behind us in line for ice cream suddenly thrust her hand at Gustav's belly and started playing coochie coo with Gus...and with John. Even though I was standing right there, I was brushed aside and my guys were fawned over (I'm being slightly melodramatic to make this an interesting read, but it did happen!).
When we were at the gate, waiting to board, we suddenly realized that we have at least five more years of pre-boarding, which is fantastic, particularly on Southwest Airlines.
Since the flight was an hour, Gus followed a schedule of eating 20 minutes on the way up, sleeping for 20 minutes, and eating 20 minutes on the way down.
We had such a relaxing time at my Mom's house. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy being a grandma and gave Gus lots and lots of love. We slept in and lazed about Saturday morning until it was almost time for the shower our neighbor Sue threw. The shower basically consisted of seeing friends we haven't seen in ages, eating a lot, passing Gus around as much as he would tolerate, and opening incredibly thoughtful gifts (I feel I should mention that thank yous for these and many gifts Gus has received are on their way, we really appreciate everyone's generosity!) While the shindig was over at four-ish, we stayed at Sue's until midnight, cooking dinner, napping in her fabulous chair and watching a movie. It was great!
Sunday was more parading of Gus and seeing friends. I never get to see everyone I want, the weekend's fly by when we're there. Monday was my Mom's work parade of Gus...overall, he was showered with love and welcomes. Grandma was so cute, directly introducing people to Gus. He just loves her, especially when she signs.
Now we're back at it. Yesterday was probably the best day back at work for me, even though our morning was slightly hectic (we're working on that). Tuesday was truly like a Monday for us...running around in the morning, sterilizing bottles, packing bags....then gettingto work and realizing I had forgotten vital components of my pump (total panic attack there...but a former pumper at work saved the day by walking home to get the parts for me to borrow), then I chipped a filling on a crouton, so now i'm eating on one side of my cheek...it became comical eventually. John had his own hecticness, too, but by Tuesday night things were beginning to calm and last night was even better. We even got a walk in with Zeppo!
Lots o' pictures.
At the airport
Some unwanted love from Meesha, my Mom's dog
Peek-a...
boo...
Gustav with Grandma Shirley
Gus at the shower
Gus fell in love with a blondie...the biggest smiles ever! He loved Sarah...Gus has never offered up so many smiles to a new person as he did with Sarah. He's quite the charmer!
Gus with Jack, Missy and Pete's new baby...so adorable! They were the same size when they were born! Gus is about seven weeks older.
Gus with Sue and Kyle
Couch time
He's just growing...
Posted by janna at 06:30 AM
February 10, 2004
Just stating the obvious, but...
My mom is a Grandma! It's not like today was the first time I realized it, but today was the first time it really sunk in. Even today it hit me that I'm a Mom, which is strange to realize at work, where I used to be, well, NOT a Mom. Identity-altering in such a good way. With only two days of working in the bag, I'm starting to really appreciate all my Mom had to do to raise me from age two by herself. Wonderwoman! Thankfully I was such an angelic child...
I'm liking my train rides to and from work. I knit today, a lot, and just let my mind wander. I was so excited to go pick up Gustav...when I held him, he looked at me with such smiling eyes and a slight grin, so heart-melting, it's amazing. Christy, the woman who runs the daycare, said that yesterday when Gustav woke up, he looked around and when he didn't recognize anyone or the place, he just cried and cried. But today, as I was putting Gus in his car seat, Christy said something and Gus turned his head to look at her. I was so happy he seemed drawn to her. I'm feeling really good about this arrangement. And boy is he taking to the bottle... he ate three times while there, 4 oz. each. I'm breaking even, let's hope that remains.
Here is Gus and I tonight, glad to be home together.
We're getting excited for our trip to Iowa this Friday...Gustav's first flight!
Gus and his pal, Al...this is one toy that Zeppo longs to take, but she's been so good and mostly stares at it a lot and tries to be close to it. I'm so proud of her, she's so smart...
Posted by janna at 09:47 PM | Comments (1)
February 09, 2004
We're home!
It certainly looks like Gustav's first day at daycare was more traumatic for me than it was for him. When I came to pick him up, he was smiling and snuggly. Gus ate really well with the bottles, 11 ounces all together for the day. He also took a three-hour nap then a one-hour nap, so good! I only called once, in the morning, and then urged John to call in the pm so i wouldn't appear too overbearing... smile.
The morning went very well, although it started an hour earlier than planned (how much can we really plan these days?) Gus was up at 4:30 to eat and since the alarm was set for 5:30, there really wasn't time to catch extra sleep. We needed the time, too...there's nothing worse than a hectic morning, so the time was appreciated. Gus actually went to sleep around 9:30 (amazing!) but was up at 11:30, 3, and 4:30. Not too bad!
John and Gus dropped me off at the train right before 7:30, then John took Gus to daycare. John said he didn't want to leave, so in order to linger he described everything we had packed for Gus...so those are diapers, that's his milk, etc. Too cute.
I enjoyed my train ride, about an hour total each way. I think it will be good for catching up on reading, knitting or random work...or sleep. It was great to see everyone at work, I'm lucky to work with a lot of great people. When I first got to my desk, I thought, what am I going to do today? It didn't take long to get back into the groove and have a list of tasks. The biggest challenge of today was figuring out when to pump and being paranoid that I wouldn't pump enough (you know, the whole 'he's going to starve' syndrome). Even with that struggle, the pumping sessions were a success. No one walked in on me (the sight is enough to startle those unfamiliar) and it looks like I pumped what he ate today, exactly. Phew...
All in all, today was very positive. I think we'll be going to bed a bit earlier tonight. It was so wild to be at work, thinking, I'm a mom, but I'm still me...
Posted by janna at 07:07 PM | Comments (1)
February 07, 2004
Two months old!
He's a little boy!
When Gus grunts and jabbers, I can hear his voice maturing...he sounds more like a little boy! His cries are becoming easier to translate and I do think he has a grunting vocabulary of sorts. When I sign with him, he really follows the hands, trying to figure out what I'm doing. The smiles...particularly after he has eaten, if you put Gus face to face with you and smile and talk to him, he just busts out these huge, squinty grins, where his tongue appears to be suspended in midair in his mouth. It's the best.
Gustav still enjoys tummy time and is able to move his head from side to side. He jabbers a lot when on his belly, and kicks his legs. He is starting to make the moves to turn over, he just needs to figure out where his arms should go. He is able to turn from his back to his side at times, too. But when he's mellow, he's mellow...he still loves to stare at the ceiling and lights, and once you try to move him away from something he's starting at, he'll keep his eye on it and move his head accordingly. He's very good at moving his head and eyes to find us when he hears us talk, especially John. Gus loves the Papa, and I always tell John that he is like a sedative to Gus. Gus just chills out in his arms, it's beautiful.
John and I tried to practice our morning schedule this week since I'm going back to work on Monday (I plan on bringing some tissue with me on the train!). There are a lot of logistics to work out, and our goal is to make the morning peaceful and not frantic. Possible, no? I've only been away from Gus for two hours at a time so, in essence, I'm going cold turkey on Monday. Wish me luck!
Here are some pics of Gus this past week...
A visit with Gus' friend Abby, this is the model pose
They look like they were caught!
Thursday morning practice session...
During belly time...
Posted by janna at 09:23 AM
February 04, 2004
Big Boy!
I took Gus to his 2-month check-up this morning. As a reminder...
birth = 7 lbs 2 oz, 19.5 inches
one month = 8 lbs 8 oz, 22 inches
two months = (drum roll, please) 11 lbs 5 oz, 23.25 inches!
wow wow wow.
I knew he was growing, but my guess of his weight was off by a pound! Gus also had three shots today but was much easier to soothe after. Before the shot time, Gus was in such a happy and alert mood. He was jabbering more than he ever has (aaaaahhhh seems to be the favorite right now), and just looked around and entertained himself. His eye contact is excellent, and if you try to turn his head away from something he will struggle to keep his eye on whatever is the object of choice at the moment. The doc said he looks good! The only issue we're having right now is a little nose stuffiness which is pretty typical for this time of year.
Last night we got a five-hour stretch of sleep from Gustav, amazing. He wakes up so happy, definitely a morning guy. You know how there are some people who just can't talk in the morning, and others are instantly talkative? Luckily all three of us are currently in the latter camp!
This past weekend Gus met some more friends...
My childhood friend, Jenny, holding Gus. I've known Jenny since first grade, lived a couple of blocks from each other (our parents still do) and now we're not so terribly far from each other here, so great.
We had dinner with Maddie and Ben, such a treat for all of us.
Here's Gus in the cutest hat knit for him by Melissa...
The boys had a hard day on Monday
Gus with his new toy from Grandma Shirley
Gus and I today (with our double chins!)
He's all gums for now...
Posted by janna at 12:56 PM | Comments (2)