All Gus-sied Up

At Gus's one month appointment this week,
he weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces and was 21 inches long.
That's 2 ounces bigger and 1 inch shorter than Max when he was born.
I love my peanut baby.

15 weeks

Today Blake told me I have 15 weeks left in San Francisco.
As I typed that, I could feel the piece of my heart starting to break off...

Our first picture by the Golden Gate Bridge, February 2003

Cold Turkey

So, I was too busy making sure I had every little thing for Baby Gus on the trip to Monterey, that I forgot probably the biggest thing for Jack--his paci. After Blake refused to stop and buy one, I thought for sure Blake was in store for the longest night of his life (our "room" was two rooms in one--Blake, Max and Jack in one room, me and Baby Gus in the other). But apparently it wasn't a big deal. And when we got home we put away the pacis before Jack could even see them and it still wasn't a big deal.

And there you have it. Cold turkey. Jack no longer has a paci. Now maybe his teeth will start moving back from their sticking straight out position and when he says "yes" it won't sound so much like "yeth." But he is still my baby.
I love this last picture. Jack was willing to share his blankets with Gus, but not his paci. :)

Monterey

Blake had Friday off school, so he took us on our first weekend getaway as a family of 5. I know some people think we're crazy, but our family really, really does better when we're doing something. So we were off to Monterey for our three day-two night vacation and Gus's first stay in a hotel. We had planned to go to the aquarium one day and then the beach and around town the other two days, but our hotel had a deal at the aquarium--two days for one--so we spent all our time there.

Movies for the car...check.
We made it with only one emergency stop at In-N-Out
Watching the penguin feeding
A "KODAK spot" in a clam shell
Finding Nemo
The touch pool. Except Jack thought it was the lick pool.
Explore.
Watching the tide come in over the glass wall.
Butterfly Town, except all the butterflies were gone...
Walking on the pier.
Our yummy fish dinner.
Gus's first night in a hotel.
Our continental breakfast--I love those little waffle makers.
Jellies
Gus was really at the aquarium with us. He was even awake sometimes, too.

Rollerblading

When we first moved to San Francisco we decided to explore Golden Gate Park via rollerblades. Super cool, right? We often rollerbladed along Provo River on Sunday night as newlyweds and I guess we wanted to continue the tradition. Blake assured me that Golden Gate Park was basically flat and that we'd end up at the ocean to watch the sunset. Well, Golden Gate Park is PRETTY flat, but the area we were in did not have smooth sidewalks. I remember people laughing at me for walking on the grass, going down the hills (small inclines) sideways and even once on my bottom. Hey--better than falling, I say.
We did make it to the beach to watch the sunset and also as a bonus there was someone doing sand art. San Francisco is so cool--and so are rollerbladers! :)

March 2003

About Jack

With all the change going on in this house, it seems the biggest change is Jack. I can't believe it was only three weeks ago that we had Jack sleeping in our room in the pack-n-play while the carpets were being cleaned in his room; and now my itty bitty Gus sleeps in that same pack-n-play that I can't imagine Jack ever fitting in to.
Seriously, the two days I was in the hospital, Jack must have gained at least 20 pounds. When I got home I thought it would be much easier to pick him up since I didn't have a super big belly, but I was wrong. He was so heavy. And I can't decide if his extra weight ended up in that big belly or those big cheeks.
I had no idea how Jack would react to the new baby, but besides being a little clingy to his blankey and paci while Nanny and Grandma were here, he seems to have adjusted very smoothly. He loves Gus. There's no one who pokes, pats, and kisses Gus more than Jack. He even shares his beloved blankey with Gus and I cannot count how many times a day I hear him say in his sweetest baby voice, "Ohhhh, Baby Gus. You are soooo coot!" Gus is so, so lucky to have Jack as his brother.

Happy...errr....President's Day!

Since we were sick in our jammies all day yesterday, we got all dressed up in our red for, uh, President's Day today. But Valentine's Day wasn't a total bust--we had a super yummy fish dinner and I even managed to make these jell-o hearts from the Friend. Everyone liked them, except Max, who said they were yuck.
I sure love all my boys on President's Day, Valentine's Day, and every other day of the year!

Gus's Second Week

During Gus's second week, he spent more time all bundled up and in his carseat on the go as we try to figure out the new norm for our family.
Having three kids is hard. There are way too many needs to be met and schedules to accommodate. But when I have nice little helpers it definitely makes things easier. And I'm sure Gus enjoyed his nice smooth ride (ahem...NOT smooth) to the park--Max pushed him the entire way (with Jack helping at times) and he was dead asleep when we got there.
I have learned one very, very important thing about Gus this week--he likes his alone time. Sometimes he'll cry and cry and cry and there is nothing I can do to soothe him. I found that he really loves to just lay on the changing table and be left alone. I'm so glad I found this out sooner rather than later.
Happy Second Week, Gus! I just love this little face that I constantly have staring up at me!

Asilomar 2006

Last weekend was Jack's first trip to Asilomar, but definitely not Max and Blake's. And I've been too! We went in February 2006 for Blake's 3rd year retreat. And actually, originally Max and I were going to have a weekend alone at home and Blake rode down with friends. When Blake got there it turned out he had been assigned his very own room with no roommate and asked if Max and I wanted to drive down and join him. So we did.
This beach hasn't changed much in 4 years...
And Blake still took pictures of the deer...
But the rest of our weekend in 2006 was not nearly as exciting as last weekend. Blake had to be at presentations all day and I was stuck in my teeny tiny room, with a gassy 2-month old baby, and absolutely nothing for entertainment besides listening to the conversation from the room next door through the paper-thin walls. Seriously. Blake even photo-documented the activity.
So I wasn't too upset when I didn't get to go on the Asilomar 2010 trip. But Blake was smart to bring the DVD player. :) Thanks for the fun times Asilomar!

Taming the Beast

Max's thick, wiry hair is getting very, very long. It needs to be cut, but Max and Blake both say, "LET IT GROW!" So, grow it has. The best part about it is the awesome morning hair Max sports--most of the time it lasts longer than just throughout the morning. It takes more than a little water and gel to get this beast to lay down.
But that's okay, he comes by it honestly...

On my own...

Wish me luck.

Asilomar

To help ease the Nanny-Grandma detox period and to be a sweet, sweet husband, after dropping Grandma off at the airport yesterday, Blake took Max and Jack down to Asilomar, near Monterey, for a school retreat and weekend getaway. These are the pics that came home on the camera--
Have I mentioned that I really, really love Blake? I do. A lot.