Saturday, February 25, 2012
The Holidays
Ok, we're playing a little catch up. We realized that we have neglected the blog for a few months now ... oops! So, here it goes. We spent the Thanksgiving holiday with Sara's family in Longview, Washington. Auntie Lala came from New York, and we got to see Gee Gee (Great Grandma Patton), Great Aunt Katie, Great Uncle Richard, Cousin Aidan, Great Uncle John, Carol, Grandma, and Grandpa). It was beautiful in Washington. We had fantastic food and celebrated Grandma Joni's 60th Birthday! In December, Connor visited Santa and participated in his school's Christmas pageant where he was dressed as a hippopotomus and danced to "I Want a Hippopotomus for Christmas" on stage for all of the parents. Then we spent Christmas in San Diego at Nana and Papa's and Connor saw the entire Mean's clan (including his cousin's RJ and Clementine) as well as many of the Enoch's family! We spent "Second Christmas" in Lake Forest wtih Lara, Grandma, Grandpa, and Gee Gee (Great Grandma Izu). Connor got 2 teeth over the holidays. We rang in New Year's Eve in Santa Barbara with Chris, Jill, Lara, Kelly and Luke, while Connor spent time with Grandma, Granpa and Great Aunt Cheryl in Thousand Oaks. We celebrated New Years day with the Izu family partaking in the traditional Ozoni Soup for lunch as well as Lollipop Chicken and Finger Jello.
More Connor Firsts
Well, as seems to be pretty consistent in the life of a newborn, the last few weeks have provided more firsts. Connor got to experience his first Halloween, which I think Mom and Dad were more excited about than he was, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Connor looked absolutely adorable in his Winnie the Pooh costume. We got lots of great photos and Connor go to go say hello to a few of the neighbors. I'm sure next year Connor will get to do a little trick or treating, but this seemed like a pretty good indoctrination.
Connor also got to experience his first UCLA tailgate, and annual tradition for the Means household for the past 6 years or so. Connor had a great time tailgating, got to see all sorts of friends and both sets of grandparents, and even managed to sneak in a nap before the game. UCLA played one of its better games of the season, so Connor even got to witness a UCLA victory.
As far as development goes, Connor has started rolling over with some consistency in the last week or two, although at the moment he is like Zoolander in that he can only go one direction. He typically rolls from his back, over his right shoulder, and on to his belly. Once on his belly he's gotten pretty good at playing with toys, but still seems baffled by the idea that he could possibly use his arms to prop his chest up and potentially roll back over. We've also started working with him on sitting up and his stomach and back muscles have started to get stronger. That doesn't mean that every so often he doesn't completely topple over sideways, but he seems to at least be moving closer to being able to sit up by himself. He's also been introduced to a bunch of new foods in the last few weeks, and we still haven't found many things that he doesn't eagerly gobble up. He's tried yams, carrots, squash and apples and loved them all.
The highlight of the past few weeks was a trip to New York for a wedding and to visit Aunt Lara. We were definitely a little nervous about the cross country flight with an infant, as we've all been on flights with a crying baby. Connor decided to stress Mom and Dad out by crying hysterically while we boarded our plane in LAX, and Sara and I gave each other a look of "Oh no, what have we done??", but after a little food and the plane taking off Connor was an angel. I'm not going to say that the flight wasn't stressful, but we definitely didn't ruin everyone else's flight. Once we arrived we headed to the apartment we had rented and discovered when we got there that the owner had forgotten about the crib request. Needless to say there were a few minutes of panic before we went in to Macgyver mode and managed to make up a bed for Connor in the closet. We managed to spend a good chunk of time with Lara, and she was a great baby sitter on Saturday night while we went to the wedding. Connor got to take a long walk through Central Park, he got to ride in a few NYC taxi cabs, and he even took a few rides on the Subway. The flight home was about as eventful as the flight out, and Sara and I couldn't have felt any luckier when we landed at LAX.
We are now getting ourselves ready for the holidays, with a quick trip to Longview, WA for Thanksgiving, and then we'll get to introduce Connor to Christmas music, decorations, smells, and later in the month, presents.
Connor also got to experience his first UCLA tailgate, and annual tradition for the Means household for the past 6 years or so. Connor had a great time tailgating, got to see all sorts of friends and both sets of grandparents, and even managed to sneak in a nap before the game. UCLA played one of its better games of the season, so Connor even got to witness a UCLA victory.
As far as development goes, Connor has started rolling over with some consistency in the last week or two, although at the moment he is like Zoolander in that he can only go one direction. He typically rolls from his back, over his right shoulder, and on to his belly. Once on his belly he's gotten pretty good at playing with toys, but still seems baffled by the idea that he could possibly use his arms to prop his chest up and potentially roll back over. We've also started working with him on sitting up and his stomach and back muscles have started to get stronger. That doesn't mean that every so often he doesn't completely topple over sideways, but he seems to at least be moving closer to being able to sit up by himself. He's also been introduced to a bunch of new foods in the last few weeks, and we still haven't found many things that he doesn't eagerly gobble up. He's tried yams, carrots, squash and apples and loved them all.
The highlight of the past few weeks was a trip to New York for a wedding and to visit Aunt Lara. We were definitely a little nervous about the cross country flight with an infant, as we've all been on flights with a crying baby. Connor decided to stress Mom and Dad out by crying hysterically while we boarded our plane in LAX, and Sara and I gave each other a look of "Oh no, what have we done??", but after a little food and the plane taking off Connor was an angel. I'm not going to say that the flight wasn't stressful, but we definitely didn't ruin everyone else's flight. Once we arrived we headed to the apartment we had rented and discovered when we got there that the owner had forgotten about the crib request. Needless to say there were a few minutes of panic before we went in to Macgyver mode and managed to make up a bed for Connor in the closet. We managed to spend a good chunk of time with Lara, and she was a great baby sitter on Saturday night while we went to the wedding. Connor got to take a long walk through Central Park, he got to ride in a few NYC taxi cabs, and he even took a few rides on the Subway. The flight home was about as eventful as the flight out, and Sara and I couldn't have felt any luckier when we landed at LAX.
We are now getting ourselves ready for the holidays, with a quick trip to Longview, WA for Thanksgiving, and then we'll get to introduce Connor to Christmas music, decorations, smells, and later in the month, presents.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Where Has the Time Gone???
Okay, so my efforts at keeping the blog up to date have slowly gotten away from me. It turns out with family and work and still attempting to have a social life that there isn't a whole lot of time still available for things like blogging. But with a renewed dedication, and by sacrificing a little sleep, here we go again.
The last month with Connor has been great. He's become so much more active and aware, started laughing (Sara and I are now convinced that we're hilarious), is smiling all the time and is able stay awake for big chunks of time without getting too fussy. He recognizes us when we walk up to him, which makes picking him up from daycare awesome, can grab and play with toys, although is still as likely to smack himself in the cheek as he is to place said toy in his mouth, loves jumping in his "jumperoo" and has even graduated to rice cereal and riding in his stroller without the infant carrier.
It is amazing how fast all of this goes. We cannot believe that he is 4.5 months old already, that Sara has been back to work for almost 8 weeks, and that we've survived the first part of his life and he is now sleeping through the night consistently from 8pm to 7am. Parenthood is so incredibly humbling, with myriad moments where Sara and I talk about various options and hope that we make the right decisions without ever actually knowing (and then there are of course the moments where you make a decision that is very quickly discovered to be wrong, typically discovering said errors with very loud volume).
Over the past month or so we made our way out to Palm Springs for the annual golf tournament where Connor made his inaugural voyage into the pool (he liked the pool temperature much better in Palm Springs than he did in Paso Robles), went to an Angels game with Kim and Fredy, watched our first UCLA football game with T, Brittney, Ryan and Anees, enjoyed our first Charger game, went to Thousand Oaks to spend time with the Izu clan, went to Ben and Bridget McCormick's 1st birthday party, hung out with Tony, Odyssey and Harper and generally just enjoyed ourselves. We still seem to manage to fill our weekends by catching up with friends, occasionally allowing ourselves a quiet day to recharge the batteries. Connor has been on a great schedule throughout which makes it easier to plan and keep him happy.
Overall, Sara and I could not be happier with this expansion of our family and we are enjoying every minute of it. Below is a sampling of photos of the little guy from the last month or so.
The last month with Connor has been great. He's become so much more active and aware, started laughing (Sara and I are now convinced that we're hilarious), is smiling all the time and is able stay awake for big chunks of time without getting too fussy. He recognizes us when we walk up to him, which makes picking him up from daycare awesome, can grab and play with toys, although is still as likely to smack himself in the cheek as he is to place said toy in his mouth, loves jumping in his "jumperoo" and has even graduated to rice cereal and riding in his stroller without the infant carrier.
It is amazing how fast all of this goes. We cannot believe that he is 4.5 months old already, that Sara has been back to work for almost 8 weeks, and that we've survived the first part of his life and he is now sleeping through the night consistently from 8pm to 7am. Parenthood is so incredibly humbling, with myriad moments where Sara and I talk about various options and hope that we make the right decisions without ever actually knowing (and then there are of course the moments where you make a decision that is very quickly discovered to be wrong, typically discovering said errors with very loud volume).
Over the past month or so we made our way out to Palm Springs for the annual golf tournament where Connor made his inaugural voyage into the pool (he liked the pool temperature much better in Palm Springs than he did in Paso Robles), went to an Angels game with Kim and Fredy, watched our first UCLA football game with T, Brittney, Ryan and Anees, enjoyed our first Charger game, went to Thousand Oaks to spend time with the Izu clan, went to Ben and Bridget McCormick's 1st birthday party, hung out with Tony, Odyssey and Harper and generally just enjoyed ourselves. We still seem to manage to fill our weekends by catching up with friends, occasionally allowing ourselves a quiet day to recharge the batteries. Connor has been on a great schedule throughout which makes it easier to plan and keep him happy.
Overall, Sara and I could not be happier with this expansion of our family and we are enjoying every minute of it. Below is a sampling of photos of the little guy from the last month or so.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Connor's 3 Months Old
Well, where does the time go. It turns out that as Connor has gotten older, become more alert, more active and generally more fun, Sara and I have far less time for things like exercise, dinner, relaxing and last but not least blogging (or at least that's what I'm telling myself, because it certainly couldn't be laziness or procrastination). The last month has been great though, as Connor has transitioned to a very aware little boy, Sara has gone back to work, Connor has met lots of new friends at day care, and Sara and I have realized how short 24 hours really is.
Along with all the stuff at home we managed to make a quick trip down to San Diego to visit Nana and Papa and go to Connor's first Padres game. We actually had gone to a Dodgers vs Phillies game in LA about a week earlier with Sara's office, but we decided that this game would be the true start to Connor's fandom. He got decked out in his Padres gear (adorable socks included) and we headed down to Petco Park. We got downtown about 45 minutes before the game and let Connor take a little nap and then have a quick bite to eat before heading into the stadium. We got in after the first inning, in which the Padres had scored 4 runs already (for those of you who know the Padres, we assumed we had missed the entire offensive output of the evening at this point). Connor was an expert baseball fan, with Papa teaching him all the intricacies of fielding grounders and throwing a curveball, and the Padres decided to show off, winning the game 14-1. Connor was an absolute angel, allowing us to stay for the whole remainder of the game, and even managed to make a few friends with the people sitting around us. Along with the game Connor also managed to see Great Gammer, Aunt Erin, Kris and Steve, John and Nancy, and Amanda and Jeremy. As you all know, Sara and I don't generally like to leave any spare time in our relaxing weekends.
Along with the trip to San Diego we snuck in a few quiet weekends around the house. We even managed to get another night out on the town, celebrating T's birthday while Grandma and Grandpa watched Connor for the evening. It was great to be out with friends, and everyone at home loved their time together.
The other big adjustment that has happened in our lives recently is that Sara's maternity leave came to an end, meaning she headed back to work and Connor headed to daycare. As we progressed through the pregnancy this was something that we realized we needed to focus on, and after visiting a few locations we decided on Beach Babies, a daycare facility in Redondo Beach, about 10 minutes from our house. Sara was going back to work 3 days a week, which meant that Connor got to hang out with his friends for those same 3 days. The transition was a little harder on Mom than it was on Connor, but they both managed it well and daycare has worked out really well thus far (I'm saying this a whole week into it, maybe get back to me in 3 months). Sara typically drops him off at their facility at 7:30, and then I pick him up on my way home from work, somewhere between 3:00 and 3:30. It seems that his day there typically involves some singing, some play mat with friends, and of course some painting (we've got his painting of a boat up on our fridge...I'm saying it's abstract). Here at the Means house we're going to try and convince Mom to write a guest blog about how going back to work has treated her, so we shall see.
It is truly amazing to see all the development that Connor has gone through in the past 3 months. He is now incredibly alert while he's awake, has started grabbing at toys (and necklaces and hair and...), is sleeping from 11pm to 6:30am (cross fingers, knock on wood), can support his own head when you carry him around, and a myriad other things that I can't write or put into words especially well. We are having so much fun with the little guy and cannot wait to see what's next.
Along with all the stuff at home we managed to make a quick trip down to San Diego to visit Nana and Papa and go to Connor's first Padres game. We actually had gone to a Dodgers vs Phillies game in LA about a week earlier with Sara's office, but we decided that this game would be the true start to Connor's fandom. He got decked out in his Padres gear (adorable socks included) and we headed down to Petco Park. We got downtown about 45 minutes before the game and let Connor take a little nap and then have a quick bite to eat before heading into the stadium. We got in after the first inning, in which the Padres had scored 4 runs already (for those of you who know the Padres, we assumed we had missed the entire offensive output of the evening at this point). Connor was an expert baseball fan, with Papa teaching him all the intricacies of fielding grounders and throwing a curveball, and the Padres decided to show off, winning the game 14-1. Connor was an absolute angel, allowing us to stay for the whole remainder of the game, and even managed to make a few friends with the people sitting around us. Along with the game Connor also managed to see Great Gammer, Aunt Erin, Kris and Steve, John and Nancy, and Amanda and Jeremy. As you all know, Sara and I don't generally like to leave any spare time in our relaxing weekends.
Along with the trip to San Diego we snuck in a few quiet weekends around the house. We even managed to get another night out on the town, celebrating T's birthday while Grandma and Grandpa watched Connor for the evening. It was great to be out with friends, and everyone at home loved their time together.
The other big adjustment that has happened in our lives recently is that Sara's maternity leave came to an end, meaning she headed back to work and Connor headed to daycare. As we progressed through the pregnancy this was something that we realized we needed to focus on, and after visiting a few locations we decided on Beach Babies, a daycare facility in Redondo Beach, about 10 minutes from our house. Sara was going back to work 3 days a week, which meant that Connor got to hang out with his friends for those same 3 days. The transition was a little harder on Mom than it was on Connor, but they both managed it well and daycare has worked out really well thus far (I'm saying this a whole week into it, maybe get back to me in 3 months). Sara typically drops him off at their facility at 7:30, and then I pick him up on my way home from work, somewhere between 3:00 and 3:30. It seems that his day there typically involves some singing, some play mat with friends, and of course some painting (we've got his painting of a boat up on our fridge...I'm saying it's abstract). Here at the Means house we're going to try and convince Mom to write a guest blog about how going back to work has treated her, so we shall see.
It is truly amazing to see all the development that Connor has gone through in the past 3 months. He is now incredibly alert while he's awake, has started grabbing at toys (and necklaces and hair and...), is sleeping from 11pm to 6:30am (cross fingers, knock on wood), can support his own head when you carry him around, and a myriad other things that I can't write or put into words especially well. We are having so much fun with the little guy and cannot wait to see what's next.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
A Little Catching Up To Do
Well, I'm now paying for the lack of blogging over the past couple of weeks, as I try to remember everything that is happened. All this with a brain surviving on minimal sleep and days blurring together, so without further adieu, I give you the bullet pointed, probably out of order and with many things forgotten.
- On Thursday July 21st, Nana Means and Diane Pascall (aka DeeDee, my Godmother who earned her nickname when I was unable to pronounce Diane as a toddler) came up for the day for a visit. My mom had minor Connor withdrawls and figured she could solve them with a quick trip up the 405. The two of them had a great visit with Connor and he was on his best behavior for the majority of the day. Connor even slept in DeeDee's arms throughout our whole dinner.
- On Friday July 22nd Connor got to go to the pediatrician for his 2 month check up. Little did he know this also meant he got to receive his first round of shots. He weighed in at a robust 13lb 7oz and was 23in long. It's now making lots of sense why those 0-3 month clothes are getting so snug...it's because he's as big as a 4 month old. The shots went about as well as could have been expected. He took the first two in his left thigh with only minor irritation, but the third one in his right thigh, as the nurse predicted, sent him into a bit of a fit. Dad was of course left with the lovely job of holding him while the shots were administered, allowing Mom to sweep in when it was all over and rescue him from the evil people who caused him pain. He calmed down relatively quickly and ended up falling asleep. When he woke up he was really uncomfortable, probably one of the hardest things Sara and I have had to watch him go through, but a little infant tylenol and some more sleep seemed to be just the right prescription. Sara and I took advantage of the sleepy boy and headed to Buffalo Fire Department, a local burger joint, to celebrate another successful week.
- On Saturday July 23rd the family headed down to Huntington Beach in the evening to hang out with T and Brittney. We ended up having to mess with his schedule a little bit based on timing, but figured that we would be able to make it work (yes, this is foreshadowing). After Connor was a little fussy when we got there we decided to throw him in the stroller and head to a pizza place across the street from their house. The stroller was successful in quieting him down, but when the movement stopped so did the quiet. At this point we decided to go with a different tactic, and see if hunger was the issue. The bottle didn't seem to interest him a whole lot, so we then moved on to the infant carrier and the pacifier in attempts to calm him down. This was moderately successful, and at least allowed us to scarf down some pizza before heading back to T & Brittney's house. The remainder of the evening was spotted with bouts of crying. Despite all of this, I think we all managed to enjoy ourselves and T and Brittney didn't even kick us out of the house. Note to self though, don't screw with the baby schedule. Wowza
- On Tuesday July 26th Bart and Joni came up to our house for the afternoon. Bart had a meeting in Downtown LA and figured he might be able to swing on by to see his grandson. We have a great evening playing bridge, eating some delicious steaks and passing Connor from one set of arms to the next.
- On Thursday July 28th Lara came in to town for work from New York. After she finished up her day at the office she headed to our house to spend the night and see her nephew. We didn't think we would be able to see Lara again until November, so it was great that we got to spend some time together and that she was able to spend some time with Connor. We all managed to go on a walk together before enjoying dinner and then a little Mahjong.
- On Friday July 29th Sara and Connor and I packed up the car and hit the road for Paso Robles. My Mom's side of the family had rented a house for the week for a little family reunion. Connor was as good as we could have hoped for in the car. He slept for the first portion of the car ride until we arrived at Lake Cachuma, a little North of Santa Barbara. We got him some food and hung out outside the car for a little while before getting back on the road. He settled right back in and didn't make a peep until we pulled into the driveway of the rental house. Over the weekend Connor was able to meet Shelton and Mary, Bob and Sharyn, Jamie, Molly, Megan, Manny, Jenny, Noah, Shea and Eddie, along with being reacquainted with Nana and Papa. The house had a pool and a pool table, along with a huge backyard. The weekend was spent relaxing, playing in the pool, playing pool, playing games in the yard, and last but certainly not least, consuming way too much delicious food. Connor was amazingly well behaved the entire weekend. He didn't protest being passed from person to person, slept when he was supposed to sleep, ate when he was supposed to eat, and was super smiley most of every day. He even managed to sleep from 11pm to 6:30am the last night we were there, only the third time he had slept through the night. On Monday morning we managed to stuff all of Connor's gear back in the car and head South. The car ride home was no more eventful than the care ride up, and we made it home before LA traffic. Overall it was a great weekend of catching up and we felt really lucky that Connor was so well behaved.
Now, the tricky part, trying to determine which pictures to post. Here are a few, and I might have to dedicate a later post to just trying to catch up on the camera roll.
- On Thursday July 21st, Nana Means and Diane Pascall (aka DeeDee, my Godmother who earned her nickname when I was unable to pronounce Diane as a toddler) came up for the day for a visit. My mom had minor Connor withdrawls and figured she could solve them with a quick trip up the 405. The two of them had a great visit with Connor and he was on his best behavior for the majority of the day. Connor even slept in DeeDee's arms throughout our whole dinner.
- On Friday July 22nd Connor got to go to the pediatrician for his 2 month check up. Little did he know this also meant he got to receive his first round of shots. He weighed in at a robust 13lb 7oz and was 23in long. It's now making lots of sense why those 0-3 month clothes are getting so snug...it's because he's as big as a 4 month old. The shots went about as well as could have been expected. He took the first two in his left thigh with only minor irritation, but the third one in his right thigh, as the nurse predicted, sent him into a bit of a fit. Dad was of course left with the lovely job of holding him while the shots were administered, allowing Mom to sweep in when it was all over and rescue him from the evil people who caused him pain. He calmed down relatively quickly and ended up falling asleep. When he woke up he was really uncomfortable, probably one of the hardest things Sara and I have had to watch him go through, but a little infant tylenol and some more sleep seemed to be just the right prescription. Sara and I took advantage of the sleepy boy and headed to Buffalo Fire Department, a local burger joint, to celebrate another successful week.
- On Saturday July 23rd the family headed down to Huntington Beach in the evening to hang out with T and Brittney. We ended up having to mess with his schedule a little bit based on timing, but figured that we would be able to make it work (yes, this is foreshadowing). After Connor was a little fussy when we got there we decided to throw him in the stroller and head to a pizza place across the street from their house. The stroller was successful in quieting him down, but when the movement stopped so did the quiet. At this point we decided to go with a different tactic, and see if hunger was the issue. The bottle didn't seem to interest him a whole lot, so we then moved on to the infant carrier and the pacifier in attempts to calm him down. This was moderately successful, and at least allowed us to scarf down some pizza before heading back to T & Brittney's house. The remainder of the evening was spotted with bouts of crying. Despite all of this, I think we all managed to enjoy ourselves and T and Brittney didn't even kick us out of the house. Note to self though, don't screw with the baby schedule. Wowza
- On Tuesday July 26th Bart and Joni came up to our house for the afternoon. Bart had a meeting in Downtown LA and figured he might be able to swing on by to see his grandson. We have a great evening playing bridge, eating some delicious steaks and passing Connor from one set of arms to the next.
- On Thursday July 28th Lara came in to town for work from New York. After she finished up her day at the office she headed to our house to spend the night and see her nephew. We didn't think we would be able to see Lara again until November, so it was great that we got to spend some time together and that she was able to spend some time with Connor. We all managed to go on a walk together before enjoying dinner and then a little Mahjong.
- On Friday July 29th Sara and Connor and I packed up the car and hit the road for Paso Robles. My Mom's side of the family had rented a house for the week for a little family reunion. Connor was as good as we could have hoped for in the car. He slept for the first portion of the car ride until we arrived at Lake Cachuma, a little North of Santa Barbara. We got him some food and hung out outside the car for a little while before getting back on the road. He settled right back in and didn't make a peep until we pulled into the driveway of the rental house. Over the weekend Connor was able to meet Shelton and Mary, Bob and Sharyn, Jamie, Molly, Megan, Manny, Jenny, Noah, Shea and Eddie, along with being reacquainted with Nana and Papa. The house had a pool and a pool table, along with a huge backyard. The weekend was spent relaxing, playing in the pool, playing pool, playing games in the yard, and last but certainly not least, consuming way too much delicious food. Connor was amazingly well behaved the entire weekend. He didn't protest being passed from person to person, slept when he was supposed to sleep, ate when he was supposed to eat, and was super smiley most of every day. He even managed to sleep from 11pm to 6:30am the last night we were there, only the third time he had slept through the night. On Monday morning we managed to stuff all of Connor's gear back in the car and head South. The car ride home was no more eventful than the care ride up, and we made it home before LA traffic. Overall it was a great weekend of catching up and we felt really lucky that Connor was so well behaved.
Now, the tricky part, trying to determine which pictures to post. Here are a few, and I might have to dedicate a later post to just trying to catch up on the camera roll.
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