6 months...Part 2!

Sleeping: We still haven’t mastered what seems to be the mark of successful parenting—sleeping through the night. The second question I get when someone sees Ben after “How old?” is “Is he sleeping through the night?” When I say that he isn’t sleeping through the night yet everyone seems very enthusiastic about giving their advice on the matter. (My thoughts on this could fill another blog post.) He started giving us five hours at a time right before we moved but once we arrived in Fredonia we were up every two to three hours again. We had some very sleepy days and nights but slowly he has started to sleep for longer stretches. A few nights ago he slept for over six hours and both Andrew and I checked on him to make sure he was okay. He sleeps on his tummy now which seems more comfortable but is occasionally problematic because he will wake himself up bumping into the crib rails. (We removed the bumper because it has been so warm!) As he falls asleep it is fun to listen to him squirm and make sweet little baby noises. He snuggles into his mattress with his pacifier either in his mouth or in his hand with him arm tucked under his chin. It is truly one of the sweetest things to see in the world. He typically takes a morning and an afternoon nap. His day starts around 7 or 7:30 unless I wake him up earlier.

Eating: Ben still nurses “on-demand.” He gets really excited about the prospect of a meal and will grab at my shirt with a big smile on his face when he wants to eat. About two weeks into his fifth month he started wanting to eat every two hours. (We were solidly on a three/three and a half hour schedule.) This need to eat, combined with frequent night waking and getting the stare down from my baby at meal times led me to give solids a shot. I wanted to breastfeed exclusively until 6 months, but my big kid thought otherwise. Our first taste of solid food was banana and rice cereal. Rather than spitting it out and making a mess Ben dive bombed the spoon and let me shovel it right in. Ever since his first bite, we haven’t looked back. He eats one solid meal per day and so far he likes peaches, bananas and rice cereal. He does not like applesauce and baby food pears. I prepare all of his food at the moment and we are feeding him a local/organic diet. Instead of a high chair, on the recommendation of several friends we purchased a fisher price booster seat which Ben loves to sit in. The booster seat and baby bjorn soft bib have made the solid switch a breeze.

Diapering: With solids in the system, the moment of cloth diapering that I dreaded arrived: stinky solid poop. For those of you that don’t cloth diaper, breast milk poop simply dissolves in the wash so no dunking or swishing in the toilet is necessary. Solid food poop however means another step in the diapering process. We have found two things to make this transition easier: a diaper sprayer for the toilet and bumkins flushable liners for on the go. Our local hardware store helped me with the diaper sprayer (which is simply a sprayer that attaches to the water line on the toilet so I can spray off the diapers.) The flushable liners sit on top of the cloth diapers so I can simply peel them off my boy and put them in the toilet. The mess is minimal! For long trips we are using 7^th Generation disposables because they keep Ben’s bum rash free.

Everyday Ben becomes more a little boy and less of a little baby. It is a blessing to watch him grow and grow and grow. Andrew and I both love every second of parenthood as we embrace all the changes Ben has brought. He is the sweetest baby and we feel honored to be his parents.

Six Months Part 1

Ben has drooled on this earth for six entire months! It is incredible to think that in just six more months he will be an entire ear old. The past six months have flown by and it is such a joy to watch Ben grow and change. Ben moved three days into his fifth month of life from the country roads of West Virginia to the grape orchards of Fredonia, New York. He will always be a mountaineer and wore a WV onesie to commemorate the move. It took a little while for Ben to settle into his new life. His nursery is a different color, we had to leave the giraffe above his crib behind and his room is at least three times as big. Every day he looks around with his bright blue eyes as he embraces his new surroundings.

Stats:

Weight: (unofficial) 18.5 lbs.

Height: (unofficial) 27 inches

*we don’t go to the doctor for another two weeks due to the move and change in pediatricians so these stats are a rough estimate.

Teeth: 0

Clothing size: 6-9 months, mostly 9 months—clothes that are just six months make our darling boy look a little like a stuffed sausage.

Motor development: Ben touches his fingers together individually, grabs blocks, balls, toys, the dogs, people, etc. with both hands. He also grabs things with his feet and loves to chill out on his changing table in the happy baby pose. His hands are of great interest and he has started opening and closing his fingers in what looks like a baby wave. He scratches everything with both of his hands to feel different textures. As he is falling asleep you can hear him scratching the sheets. He has also started to nod his head. It almost looks like he is saying “What’s up?” Ben is a roller! At four months he rolled from tummy to back but now we have mastered both directions. What started out on July 2^nd as surprise roll from his back to his tummy turned into a new favorite activity. (Andrew thought he would never roll again after the first time because I was so excited.) A week or so after his first roll he did it again while I had the camera out and we have a six minute video of watching him try and finally succeed. Ever since that incredible effort, Ben hasn’t looked back as he rolls through life. The second you put him on his back on the floor he flips right to his tummy to hold his head up high. While on his tummy he “supermans,” has mastered the “updog” and digs his feet into the ground. We have even witnessed a few backwards crawls. He is working so hard to figure out how to move forward that we expect to see him scooting around soon. He has also lost his “startle reflex” and no longer jumps when I open his wipes.

Language development: Ben laughs, giggles, grunts, moans, and uses several sounds. He often wakes up saying “ha-ha-ha” and likes to give great shrieks when he sees himself in the mirror. He continues to say “ah” and loves to blow bubbles and raspberries with and without his fingers in his mouth.

Loves: Ben loves life. He is such a peaceful, easygoing, giggly boy and we are truly blessed to have him. He loves to look around at the world around his with his bright blue eyes. He loves to go on walks/runs in the BOB and is totally relaxed as he looks around. He also loves his baby carrier and we have started carrying him on our back.

Both the stroller and the baby carrier put him to sleep if we are out long enough. Moving to Fredonia has greatly increased the amount of time we walk around outside as we walk to the hardware store, grandmom and granddad’s house, the hardware store, daddy’s office, the farmer’s market, the playground, and did I mention the hardware store for house supplies?

In the house he loves talking to himself in front of a mirror, playing with his toys, bouncing his bouncy seat and jumping in his jumperoo. He enjoys splashing around in the tub and in the pool. His eyes light up when he is talked to and he loves listening to books whether they are baby books, Bill Bryson, Harry Potter or Bar Exam review books. In his crib he still enjoys his mobile made by Aunt Joanna. He is increasingly interested in the dogs and if they are nearby he reaches out his chubby little arms to grab them. Chopper has had his tail pulled at least once and Tessa has felt his firm grip on her fur. The dogs are tolerating his interest in them and are finding it harder and harder to resist giving him a lick. He likes his pacifier but isn’t dependent on it. He also likes frozen teething toys, wet washcloths, and toys that make music. He loves the baby swing at the playground and looks completely at peace in it.

To be continued…

In Six Years...

Andrew and I have raced over 1,000 miles combined on the bike and on foot.

Jaynie and I at a 50k, Andrew's bike on the way to a race.

We have adopted three dogs and experienced the loss of one.

Chopper, Tessa, and Stella (may she be running around in doggie heaven)

We have embraced America's Test Kitchen and tried hundreds of new recipes together.

We have watched every episode of 30 Rock, twice.

We have dubbed Friday night pizza night and have tried deep dish, grilled and thin crust.

We have moved from Dunkirk to Hamburg to Deerfoot to West Virginia and now back to Fredonia.

We worked at the best place in the world, Deerfoot, together.

We have watched two siblings get married.

We have earned three graduate degrees (two Master's for me, one J.D. for Andrew).

We have celebrated Thanksgiving in three different states.

We have read hundreds of books and have shared a love for popcorn mysteries.

We have joined a church and led a small group.

We have shared a love of big breakfasts.

We have figured out how to love each other even when we aren't very happy with one another.

We have learned how to be parents to the cutest baby ever.

Happy Anniversary!

Saying Goodbye

A couple of nights ago while Andrew and I were feeling sad about moving he said, "When we moved here we were just a couple, now we are a family." In so many ways that statement is true. We are moving back to Western New York with so much more than we came with to Morgantown. Two dogs, a baby, furniture and hearts that are full of love for the friends we have made.

Three years ago, Andrew's parents drove a moving truck to Morgantown and we met them after a glorious summer at Deerfoot. They helped us unload the truck, took us out to lunch and said good-bye. We were totally alone. We didn't even know where a Wal-mart was to buy a shower curtain. Andrew didn't know how to get to the law school and I didn't know how to get to work. We felt very lost and very uncertain about what the next three years would bring.

Three years ago, we left our home in New York to start a new life together in an unfamiliar place and we were committed to making it our new home. We were determined to make friends, get involved in a church, find people to bike with (Andrew--not me), and to be happy with our new strange home.

As a place, Morgantown is not my favorite. I hate the traffic, the thousands of students, the poorly paved roads, and the hills are exhausting during long runs. The people of Morgantown however, are individuals that I will always cherish as they've embraced Andrew and I and made us part of their lives.

As we started our life here we started checking things off our list. Andrew found people to ride both mountain and road bikes with. We went to bike races together and slowly unfamiliar faces became friendly meetings around town. We found a church together that we grew to love and through that church we made dear friends. We started a small group that we have grown close to over the past two and half years through weekly dinners and weeknight workouts. We laughed and cried with those same small group friends as we've all experienced loss and joy in our lives together. I found a job that I love and through that job friends that I will never forget. Friends that helped me grow as a teacher and a person. Friends that gave me advice through my pregnancy and who have shared in my joy of becoming a mom.

Now it is time for us to say good-bye and it is impossible to do. My first round of good-byes started when school ended and tonight we had another farewell that is causing tears to run down my cheeks. It is only going to get worse. One of the hardest parts of this good-bye is that we are moving our family. Our close friends here prayed for us as we tried to get pregnant, prayed for us as I was pregnant, were at the hospital right after he was born, and have watched Ben grow over the past five months. It saddens me to know that they won't see him every week and that we won't see them every week. It is hard for me to leave knowing I have friends who will have babies and I won't be here to watch them grow.

With all of this sadness, there is great joy however and we are excited about our move. We look forward to Ben growing up near his grandparents and other relatives. We are excited about living closer to friends from college. We hope to embrace our new life in Fredonia with the same determination that we had when we moved to Morgantown. Our determination to truly live in Morgantown is what is making it so hard to leave. We will miss you Aaron, Amy, Ryan, Carly, Rylee, Adam, Stephanie, Breena, Jeremiah, Chris, Julie, Megan, Jen, Jesse, Brittany, Rob, Gunnar, Betsy, J.R., Sarah, Justin, Rhonda, Kellie...the list could go on. Thank you so much for being there and for being a part of our lives.

Five months? Really?

How is it that Ben is five months old? Wasn't I just pregnant yesterday? Is it really June 23rd? It doesn't seem real that the "little" guy who arrived in January is rapidly growing into a big boy!

To start us off, some stats:

Ben weighs in at just over 17 and half pounds unofficially on our scale and his chubbiness is endearing. He has nearly doubled his birth weight! Those meeting Ben for the first time often ask if he is talking/sitting up/playing soccer/eating steak because they assume that our chunk of a child is much much older.

Look at that sleepy chunky child

Height: ? if anyone knows of a good way to measure a squirmy infant let me know, if not, we'll wait for his 6 month check up for that! Evidence that he is growing? When I hold him to nurse his legs stretch all the way across my body.

Developmental Milestones: Rolls over with increasing consistency from belly to back and gets on his side from back to belly, can grab toys and transfer them from hand to hand, will sit up unassisted for a few moments with his hands on the floor, chats and giggles all of the time, looks when we say his name (most of the time), tries to stand on his legs, holds his head up high when he is on his tummy and grabs his feet. He also squirms everywhere! The days of Ben sitting placidly in my lap while I ate are over as he is constantly looking around and trying to see what else it out there.

I love my toys!

Highlights from the month:

Ben's first weekend as a fourth month old baby was spent travelling. We had two weddings in one weekend--a friend from college and a cousin of Andrew's both tied the knot. We enjoyed seeing college friends and family as we showed off our new addition.

Family Picture at Nick and Katie's wedding

Ben showing Mark just how fun being a daddy will be!

The remainder of the month of May was spent with Andrew studying hard for the bar and watching Ben while I finished up working. It was a busy couple of weeks, but we made it through. Once the students were gone, my principal allowed me to bring Ben to work with me which was wonderful. We said our first round of good-bye's to friends at Westwood Middle School and I cried with the realization that our time in Morgantown really was ending.

The first weekend in June I ran a half marathon with my faithful running friend from NY, Jaynie. It was amazing and I loved having Ben at the finish line (although walking up the huge hill to our house was a bit tiring after running 13 miles.)

Ben and I also took our first solo road trip to visit two of my roommates from college, Holly and Erin. It was his first time meeting them both and we had a great time playing with Holly's little guy Daniel. He met Erin's parents who were very excited about the babies and the prospect of matching outfits for the boys for future reunions. Ben traveled pretty well and napped most of the way there and back. He did have to run through the drive-thru on the way down for a snack, but isn't that often part of a road trip?

In addition to travelling, Ben also went swimming for the first time this month. We discovered that when your child is at least 40% body fat, they float really well! He appears to like the water and he enjoys it so much that it puts him to sleep. Thanks to a friend's recommendation we found adorable reusable swim diapers at Walmart for him to wear in the pool. He looks like he is wearing a little speedo under his swim trunks.

Five minutes after this picture Ben was totally asleep!

Over the last month it has been a joy to watch Ben grow and change. He lights up when he sees his parents and is interactive with other people. He laughs and smiles at other babies and charms everyone he meets. He is very interested in his dogs and they are in him. Tessa tries hard to stealthily sneak a lick whenever we aren't looking.

Ben has expanded his toy repertoire. Not only does he enjoy the coziness of his vibrating chair but he continues to chill out in his bumbo--although unless he starts to thin out his days in his bumbo are numbered--we have to pull it off his thighs to get him out!


A good friend let us borrow her exersaucer during apartment packing time so that we didn't have to buy one and move it. He enjoys "standing" although it is hard work holding up his muscular physique and he tires quickly! He's figured out that if he kicks his legs in his vibrating chair it bounces and he loves to grab the animals that hang in front of his face. He loves toys that light up and make music. His new favorite teething toy is a nuby bug teething necklace. He loops it around his arm and shoves it in his mouth. When it is hot out he enjoys sucking on cold teethers. He loves his play mat and can kick himself in a circle.

One of the highlights this month for Andrew and I as parents is longer nights of sleep and more consistent naps. Once I stopped working Ben started sleeping again (most of the time) for 5 hour stretches. He often puts himself to sleep for both naps and nighttime. He falls asleep on his side snuggling a little blanket (which I remove when he is totally out because I'm paranoid.) Right before he falls asleep he happily tests out his full range of words before giving us one good scream to let us know it isn't exactly what he wants. Last week, after I tired of being a human pacifier, I thought I'd give the paci one more shot and it worked! Ben pulls it in and out of his mouth and seems to enjoy sucking away on it. He wakes up in the morning laughing and talking to himself and gives us a great big smile when it is time to get him out of his crib.

As another month of Ben's life has passed, Andrew and I are continually amazed at how much we love our little man. He is such a joy and we look forward to what next month will bring.

Hard Stuff is Supposed to be Hard

I am an adventure geek. I love following stories of racing. I love racers.

At my core, I'm a way overcompetitive kid that wants to win at everything. I am a decent athlete, but I've never been so natural that anything upper level has been easy - I flamed out of college soccer, and am a decidedly mid-pack mountain bike racer and runner.

I just typed that I'm fine with that, but, really, I'm not. I want to be fast, I want to be skinny, I want to dominate. Low goals, I know.

In pursuit of these goals, I have done intervals, turned myself inside out on group rides and practice races, and out-sprinted guys and gals for 10th place. I don't screw around.

In light of this, it probably isn't terribly surprising that videos like this drive me crazy.



Geoff Roes is a total badass. He's won a ton of 100 milers, and last year broke the course record at Western States 100 - one of the most competitive 100 milers in the world.

He says he doesn't really "train" like us mere mortals, he just goes out and runs, every day, up and down mountains.

I wish I could be this Zen. Reasonably decent performances, for me, require effort. I don't always want to run. I don't always want to go out and run for hours. I don't want to get down with Fran, or Tabatas, or go out and practice perfect form on corners on my mountain bike.

And I have a hard time believing that even the most "Zen" of elites never have bad days. Athletic performance is way more like digging a ditch than it is like meditation - and I wish these faux-zen athletes would just admit it.

Hard things are hard, no matter how much you enjoy the end goal. You might love the effort, you might appreciate the process to the fullest extent possible, but that doesn't make pinning your heart rate at 189 for 5 minutes going up a hill "fun" like eating pizza is fun.

I think that elites like Geoff who claim to not care about competitiveness on a day to day level are willfully ignorant of their true state: They care so much about the end result that the day to day slog becomes pleasurable.

Short walks with the Ornery Dogs

Since being a cyclist isn't expensive or time consuming enough in and of itself, I've decided I need another equipment intensive hobby.

After shopping around a bit, I decided on photography. Now nerdiness abounds.

I've actually wanted a DSLR for quite a while. My sister and her husband helped stoke this fire by getting a canon a couple of years ago. This past summer I bought a Canon S90 point and shoot, and preceded to take 2700+ pictures in 5 months.

The fire was even more stoked.

Shelley and I got together and cooked up the cutest baby in the history of babies.

The fire was raging.

So, as a combination Graduation, Fathers Day, Birthday, Anniversary, Christmas, Valentines Day, Easter, Anniversary, Birthday, and Christmas present, Shelley encouraged me to get a DSLR.

So I did.

Who needs presents on holidays, anyways?

So now, in addition to being a dorky guy that walks around in stretchy shorts and clicky shoes, I'm a dorky guy that walks around with a big camera hanging off of my neck. I've begun to delve into the strange, dark, and uber-nerdy world of photography forums.

Most importantly, though, I've been taking scads and scads of pictures. Are you ready to see some pictures? I sure hope so, because they are a-coming.