Are we there yet?

This move is going on forever!! Here's the timeline:
Wednesday: Grandparents arrive. Start packing in earnest.
Friday: Pick up rental truck. Movers arrive to help load the truck.
Saturday: Drive down to Portland
Sunday & Monday: Unpack. Buy new furniture
Tuesday: Drive back to Seattle. Drop grandparents off at airport. Clean the previous house. Host a fantastic housewarming party!
Wednesday: Finish cleaning the house, return house keys, drive back to Portland.

I sure am ready to be done with this move! I think we've done a fantastic job. And we are indebted to grandma and grandpa for the time they have given us, caring for Dustin and helping to pack and unpack. As you can see from the photo, we're all feeling pretty exhausted!

Dustin is starting to sit forward in his car seat and baby swing. He does not want to be a lounging infant any longer!

His drooling has magnified, and grandma suggested he wear a bib full time, to save the clothes from being all wet. He also has developed a small rash on his neck, probably from the constant moisture.

He prefers falling asleep on his side, and then rolling to his belly for sleeping. He still has fairly weak arms, and doesn't lift himself up when he's playing on his belly. He has incredibly strong legs, so he tries to move by plowing his face into the ground, and lifting up his bottom like a runner on the blocks at the beginning of a race. We're trying to show him the fantastic utility of arms for crawling, but he wants to be a bipedal crawler.

For the past couple of days, he's been waking up twice during the night for feedings. He continues to have many (about 5) short naps each day.

Grandma and Grandpa's last day

A post from Grandma Jean:

Dustin and I had a great day today! We went for a long walk to Trader Joe's, where it was very disappointing in the store. We thought it would be like Trader Jack's in Hawaii, with much better merchandise. We didn't even see Santa Claus there. We did see some colored lights. Then, after Dustin had a long nap, we went shopping, and got Dustin a new exer-saucer. Daddy was vexed that we were bringing another big toy into the new house. At the hardware store Dustin entered a drawing to win the largest Christmas stocking, filled with all kinds of toys and goodies. I'm sure he'll win! Then we went out to dinner. Monday night in Portland is not a good night for dining ... we had to stop at six restaurants before finding one that was open, and worked for us. I'm very sad that tomorrow I'll have to leave. Life is going to be very boring. But it won't be long, and we'll meet again in Wisconsin.

Love,
Grandma Jean

Moving Into the Crib

Last night was the first night that Dustin slept his crib. We figured since we moved and Dustin would need to get used to a new location, we would trying having him sleep his own bed. It is setup in our room still, but we figure it is a small step towards Dustin moving into his own room.



We found that it was harder to put him to sleep, because we're used to laying down with him and letting him hold our hand until he fell asleep. When he is in the crib, you have to awkwardly lean over the crib, which quickly leads to back pain. He did seem to sleep better, but not much.

We have adjusted the crib a little this morning to allow you (when you visit) to sit in a chair next to it, and to allow Mom to more easily bring Dusting into the bed for feedings.

Exhausted!

Today was a day full of packing. Everyone is a little frazzled.

Grandma Jean and Grandpa J. W. were here visiting to help us out. Jean and J. W. took care of Dustin all day long. They went for a walk to the library in the rain. It was a funny site. Soaking wet in their rain jackets, with a poncho draped over the stroller, they looked like a perfect homeless couple hauling a cart full of cans and bottles. Except they had a baby, instead of recyclables!

Dustin was somewhat fussy all day. We think his tummy is still somewhat upset from the rotavirus vaccination on Monday.

Shots :(

After a great night of sleep, I thought today was going to be a great day. It started out as a great day hanging out with Mom and Dad. I was able to eat as much as I wanted and hang out in front of the window looking at trees. I do love looking outside, but I love it even more when I able to go for walks.

The day started to go down hill as Mom was getting ready for work. I must have been out of sync, because when I was waking up from my mid-morning nap, I could hear the whir of the pump. I started to tell her I was hungry, before too much of the milk was gone, but I was a little late. I did manage to get enough milk, but just barely enough.

The day started to look up again as Dad put on the mobi wrap, which always means that we are going for a walk. I figure that this was going to be pretty good timing, because Dad normally goes for about a 30 minute walk, which would be right about the time I could use some more milk. But little did I know he was walking to the doctors office for my next round of shots.

I was on my best behavior, but I was really starting to get hungry. They were running a little behind and just when I thought I couldn't wait any longer, the nurse came in. He first gave me the Rota-virus, which is an oral dose. The sweetness managed to take the edge off my hunger, but I wanted to get home. Next was the DTap, which is a really painful shot in the leg. Let's just say I couldn't take anymore and Dad quickly whisked me away.

The walk back home was quite enjoyable. I was feeling so wiped out that I fell asleep before we got home, and I woke up in Mom and Dad's bed feeling like I hadn't eaten in days. Dad brought me my normal 4 ounces, but I told him I needed another 2. I think I could of had another 4, but I didn't want to feel too full.

Later night, Zachary, a friend from my PEPS group, stopped by to play while his parents went to dinner. I was feeling so drained from the shots, I barely got any time to play with him. I think I zonked out around 7pm. I wish I could have played more, but that wasn't the finally kicker. Again, I woke up to the whir of Mom's pump. I was too tired to complain, so I just ate as much as I could be for falling asleep for the night.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Friendsgiving

Our good friends Caitlin and Nate hosted Friendsgiving at our house last night, which makes this the second pre-Thanksgiving dinner that Dustin has had. The first was at the godparent's house (Hasan and Laura).

He managed to get a 3 hour nap with Mom just before the party started, so he was in top form. Smiling and interacting with all the guests at the party, and was held by some new people, which we will add to the holding Dustin album soon.

Everyone was amazed by Dustin's incredible balancing while standing on Dad's hand. It is hard to explain, so we will let this video suffice.

sleeping, rolling, reading

Last night Dustin slept for a 6+ hour stretch! He was down from about 10pm to 4:30am. I got to bed by 11pm, so I was feeling pretty good after such a nice stretch. Then he slept from 5-7am. We got up to poop, talk, and eat a bit, and he slept again from 8-9:30am. He's been mellow all day. I presume its from the nice sleep.

He is now a voracious roller. When I lay him down to sleep on his back, he puts his legs up vertically, and then they fall one way or the other, resulting in a 90-degree roll. That's the preferred position to fall asleep, but by the time he wakes up, he's invariably on his belly. I think he sleeps most of the night on his belly, until he inches his way over to a crack, and then fusses and wakes up. He does all sorts of acrobatics in bed. It might be time for the real crib soon.

He also rolls like crazy when he's playing on a mat. Sometimes this frustrates him, because he can't roll back onto his back. But this evening he hung out on his mat for over a half hour, just eating blankets and staring at his toys, and talking to the walls.

The picture shows Dad reading our new book to Dustin. He was very into it for about 10 pages, and that was it.

4-month birthday!

Uh-Oh.

I've never been a traditionalist. I don't send birthday cards. I stay home on New Year's Eve. It takes me months to write a thank-you card. I try to keep up with the hubbub of holidays and customs and pleasantries, but nearly every greeting I send out has the word "belated" in it somewhere.

So here we are, at Dustin's four-month birthday! 1/3 of a year old. He has grown so much ... from 9 lb 2 oz, to 17 lb 3 oz. Writing out those weights brings to mind ordering meat from the deli counter. He's changed so much: he's become more aware of the world around him, and more interactive with it. In particular, his sticky little hands have become more interactive with my hair, glasses, mouth and nose. It's fun to see him explore his world, but it can get messy!

We didn't take any pictures of him today. I didn't send out any cute announcements to my family (which helps them remember his birthday!) But we'll acknowledge it here, and while the little tyke is sleeping upstairs, I'll pretend to lift an imaginary glass of champagne, and toast to the next third of a year!

Happy Birthday, buddy!

First Post

Well mom and dad both posted, I guess that I should put in my 2 cents.

Today was great! Dad took me to see Mom at work, and I was able grab a little snack and then take nap in her arms. Dad then drove us home, where I realized that my four month shots were really starting to get to me. Dad says that I slept 3 hours in his arms, and in the middle of it I started to cry, but without waking. I don't remember any of it, so I must have still been sleeping.

I will let Dad explain more!

Growth, Stages, Changes

I'm so happy that we're starting this blog! Dustin has been growing and changing so fast. In my head, I cannot imagine him any bigger, smaller, or different than he is at this moment. However, just 3 days ago I woke up in the morning to look at him, and I noticed that he was chubbier than he was the day before. Over the next few days the chubbiness wore off, presumably because he lengthened out again. It's this zig-zag, catch-up game of growing! Length, width, and girth don't all increase in unison!

So here are the current stats about Dustin:
- He loves to grab! He's starting to hold on to things.
- After grabbing, the object is starting to drift to his mouth.
- He likes trying to bite my knuckles off. This doesn't hurt. I'll explain below.
- He's been drooling more. But I bet it will increase even more.
- Rolling Over! Back time "turns" into tummy time in a jiffy!! This then results in fussing and digging his head into the blanket, and making a nice footprint of saliva and spit-up to mark his territory
- Lots of cooing, talking, and smiling.
- Jeff can really get him laughing! I heard a guffaw. It was incredible.

OK - about the knuckle biting! When he wants to suck on my knuckle, he grabs my hand with his fists, and brings it towards his mouth. Once he has a good suction, he pulls the knuckle away from his mouth, like uncorking a bottle of champagne. Then he brings it back to his mouth, and repeats. I sure am happy he doesn't have any teeth.

The picture above is from October 11, 2011, when D first started grabbing for the cookie monster on the swing set. Cool beans!

Welcome

Welcome to the wonderful world of Dustin. He is currently 4 months old, but growing fast. That is why we are starting this blog, so we can look back and remember all the interesting things that happened.

Now, sharing with the family was right up there too, but this blog is more to describe the events that we think that are interesting, and hope that the family and random stranger like too.