Attorney Work Product

Just the boys

Mike took care of Alex alone today while I ran our first child, Tucker, to the vet. They played, had a diaper change, and got dressed. Of course, Alex sensed my return and started screaming just before I walked back in the door. But other than that, success. Go daddy!

180°

Alex has been rolling from tummy to side or back to side for some time now, but today he pulled his first full 180. I put him down on his tummy on his play mat, and within five minutes he had rolled over onto his back. I guess that polka dotted arch was just too cool to resist.

Runner Up

We ended up doing two photo sessions for 11 weeks, because we couldn't get a great shot in the morning. The one I settled on was from the afternoon, but this was the runner up from the first session.

Quilty Goodness

What more is there to say? Alex was the lucky recipient of Aunt Keri's first attempt at making an entire quilt. It now graces a place of honor on the rocking chair in his bedroom, and we rock in it every night. Great job Aunt Keri!

Cousins

Alex's cousin Sean came to visit on Tuesday, and they've been having a good time. Sean is showing what a big boy he is by picking out Alex's clothes, helping to calm him down in the car, and insisting on pushing his carriage as much as possible.

On Wednesday, Sean and Alex both took their first rides on the Metro. We took that train to the the Air and Space Museum, where we saw a lot of neat airplanes and rocket ships. We also watched a great IMAX movie about the Space Station, which was in 3-D. Sean expecially loved the scene where the astronauts threw an orange at the camera and it looked like it hit his glasses! Alex slept through the movie. After the museum, we decided to hop on the carousel, where Alex promptly fell asleep.

On Thursday, we went to the Natural History museum, and we saw two IMAX movies there (one about dinosaurs, and one about bugs). Alex slept through the dinos, but he was wide awake and watching the screen for the bugs. Too bad they don't have baby-sized 3-D glasses!
We also went to the American History Museum for a little while before heading back to Ballston on the Metro. We had a nice sushi dinner, and s'mores for dessert.

Friday we went to our local community pool, where Alex took his first swim. He was quite the hit! He loved swimming with Sean.

After the pool, we went home to make dinner, and Sean built a fort for him and Alex to play in. Sean did a very good job of entertaining Alex while the two mommies made dinner.

Four Generations

Counter-clockwise starting with the great grandma: Tootsie Nani, her Son Dennis, his daughter Dineen, and her son Alex.

The Blackout of 03

Alex experienced his first major news event this week -- THE BLACKOUT OF '03. We were actually in New York City when the lights went out. We didn't realize the magnitude at first. I was trying to find parking at 4-ish when the lights went out, but we didn't think much of it. Then we went for a walk in Central Park, hoping to make it to the zoo (it was closed),
and started noticing a large number of people walking. Then we started overhearing conversations about the black out. We finished our walk and went to the car and it took us almost 2 hours to get out of Manhattan. It was JAMMED! No lights, people directing traffic to try to stop gridlock. Insane. Thank God, Nana was able to get Alex to sleep, and he stayed asleep until we got home. And thank God, we got out of Manhattan (lucked out and was able to get onto the Midtown Tunnel) while it was still daylight. Watching the news this morning, it seems many people never made it out of the city at all last night! We're so glad we drove instead of taking the train, or we would have been totally stranded.

That said, we had a lovely candlelight dinner, and a good story out of it!

How far Mommy has come!

Not that long ago, I didn't know what Baby Beluga meant. Now, I not only own the CD, but I learned most of the words as we were driving to New York. He was pretty much an angel on the drive, by the way -- we only made two stops and were here by 2:30.

AlexTour2003

Alex and I will be in NY this weekend -- if you haven't already received an e-mail from me inviting you to come meet him on Saturday afternoon, and you should have, please e-mail me and I will correct the oversight and give you the details.

Two Months

Alex was two months old today! We threw caution to the wind and decided he has enough head control to face forward in the Bjorn, even though it's supposed to be another month, at least, before he's old enough. He loved being able to look around! He helped me make dinner for an impromptu (decided at 5:30 to have people over at 7!) dinner party. I wish I got a picture -- I put our big apron over both of us!

Michael and I have decided we have to stop saying, even in jest, "you're not supposed to be able to do that yet!" Our new line is, "You're exceeding expeectations again!" Much more positive.

Thank God for digital!

I have to burn through 40+ photos to get one or two good ones of this little guy. He's squirmy, and I am not that good of a photographer. Here's is a "What? You're taking another picture?" look.

If you want to see the 40 "failures," you can check them out at Ofoto.

Hallmark Moment

The Scene: Me on the couch, with Alex sitting up and being cute in my lap. Mike kneels before me with an adoring look in his eyes. Says he: "I love my little family. Group Hug." Mike then leans in for the hug. And Alex proceeds to barf all over both of us.

Ah, the joys of parenthood.

Goofy Grin

My little one has been smiling for a few weeks now -- I can't believe I didn't mention it earlier. It's a real heart melter. Here's a few pix of the goofy grin I love so much. He has his Daddy's smile, including an adorable dimple on his left cheek. That one melts my heart too.

L-R: Goofy grin, July 18th *** Happy Playing, 8 weeks *** Shy smile, 8 weeks

Bottle

After all of my worrying and stalling, Alex took is first bottle today without fanfare. I loaded it up with 3 ounces of expressed breastmilk, and he really only ate half of it (so the other half ended up in the trash, boo hoo). Still, Daddy was able to give it to him with no problem at all; he latched on fine and drank away. He even reached up a hand and held on to the bottle. That part really got to me -- all I could think was "NO! He's only supposed to reach up and touch me, not a piece of plastic!" I was genuinely sad to do it, but I was afraid if I waited much longer, he wouldn't take it when I go back to work. Now, we'll just do one every other day or so to keep in practice. This also means I will be able to use my birthday present.

Scootch Boy

Today I placed Alex in his crib and turned on the mobile. When I came back just two minutes later, he had scootched himself horizontal, and about six inches away from where he started. When I looked carefully, I realized he had repositioned himself so his head was right below the mobile -- he was getting himself a better view, and was obviously happy with his work, cooing away. And I marveled at how smart my little one is already.

Church

We went to church for the first time with Alex today (and also for the first time since they started construction on our parish -- services were held in the elementary school gym). He was alert but quiet when we got there, then ate for a while, then slept the rest of the time in my arms. He then proceeded to sleep through after-church brunch at I-HOPa, and a little shopping, too.