Rory's first Christmas Tree

We went and cut down Rory's first Christmas tree last week. We all took turns cutting (although Rory seems to be sleeping in his photo with the saw). We got a perfect sized tree for the space we have and we had a lovely time decorating. He enjoys the lights moving around on the tree.
Hope everyone else is in the holiday spirit too.

Lounging...

Although he probably doesn't functionally need a bathrobe, we thought we should put it on him at least for a photo shoot. He's so cute after a bath. He's all clean and smells nice and he's usually in a very good mood and showing off his smiles. Check out the leg rolls. Now he's officially a Pigeon baby.

He started daycare this week and I think its going well. He loves watching the other kids doing various activities and the people there are wonderful. Its really great energy and I know he's well cared for there. Its just so hard to be away from him all day.

Back to work...

I can't believe it has been 12 weeks already. I am back to work this week and I think I'm sort of in a state of disbelief. The past couple weeks leading up to yesterday, which was my first day back, were really hard. It was hard not to think about leaving him for several hours a day, but it also gave me the perspective to realize how lucky I am to have this little boy in my life and to appreciate the time I had with him during those last few weeks. I think the anticipation of going back to work was much worse than the reality of it. It is certainly sad and I miss him terribly while I'm here, but its also nice to know that he's being so well cared for even without me around. He's at home with Mama Bev this week and next week he'll start daycare. We stopped into his classroom on Monday just to say hello, meet the teacher, and let him see the room and he seemed to enjoy it. It makes us feel a little better about leaving him at daycare seeing how interested and excited he is to watch other kids play. I think he's ready for some interactions beyond what I alone can provide him (at least, that's what I'm telling myself to get through the next couple weeks).

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Walks in the Pram

So, although the photos do not show it, he actually likes the Pram very much. Our friend Kate loaned us this old school style Emmaljunga stroller which has been great for getting him to sleep on our walks. He usually gets sad for only a minute or so and then he either falls asleep or starts smiling at everything around him. In these pics we happened to catch him in that sad minute, but they are still wicked cute, so I thought I'd share. I love how his face does such a perfect frown when he's sad. Not that I like to see him sad, but it is adorable nonetheless.

The Big Apple

Rory took his first trip to the big city last weekend to visit with Ma, Mike, Lisa and Tara. We had a fun time that included lots of firsts. He went on his first subway ride, his first nap in a NYC bar (we're not irresponsible parents, really...it was a quick drink to meet up with friends early in the night), his first diaper change on a park bench, and most excitingly, he found his toes for the first time. He came very close to getting them into his mouth, but couldn't quite reach. He did a great job handling the excitement and bright lights that surrounded him. Its so nice to know that he adjusts to that kind of change fairly well. He was not quite as good at dealing with the long drive home, but who really enjoys a 7 hour ride in traffic?! You can't blame the boy. Here's a few photos. We're getting more and more smiles every day too, so look for those in upcoming photos.

2 months old!!!

His 2 month birthday was yesterday and he was all smiles. Our friends Meghan, Allison and Wolfie came over and brought us dinner and an early birthday pie for my upcoming birthday (I'm a bit older than 2 months). Rory very much enjoyed their visit and sat on Wolfie's lap and told her some big happy stories. We finally caught him smiling big on video so we could post it. His eyes just light up when you talk to him. Its amazing to watch. Also of note in the night, apparently I am too old and out of shape to even blow out 1 candle, which was all that was on my birthday pie and it took 2 tries to blow it out successfully. The photo is of us all laughing at my lack of lung power. Enjoy the video to hold people over until the next time you all get to see him in person.

Halloween

So, Rory's first Halloween was a success. He dressed as a pirate and had a blast. His favorite part was eating all that candy (oh wait, maybe that's my favorite part...a bit of projection there). Actually, we didn't even collect any candy. We did go out and walk around with our friends Chris and her daughter Eli and some of their friends. Eli is 3 and was loving being a butterfly. Its so fun to watch older kids get SO excited about something and then to think about Rory being that big and that old and running from house to house singing and holding hands with one of his friends on Halloweens to come. I explained to him while we walked around that this was Nana Pigeon's second favorite holiday and that dressing up and having fun was very important and that I'm sure she was loving his costume. Bev had him in the Bjorn carrier so he could face front and walk around with us and he was absoluetly mesmorized by the whole event. Their neighborhood is perfect for trick or treating, with lots of participation, fully decorated houses and kids walking the streets in droves, so he had plenty to look at. He was awake and wide eyed the entire time. Very cute. He had several Halloween outfits to choose from, so he wore many of the other orange onesies and shirts the week leading up to the big day and then his pirate costume won out over the monkey. We'll have to dress him as a monkey on some other random day just for the photo shoot. For now, here are some pirate photos. I hope everyone else had a wonderful Halloween.

Big Smiles...

We just thought we'd show off some new photos of Rory showing off his big smiles. Its so adorable that we find ourselves spending a lot of time trying to get him to keep that smile on his face. Hopefully these will also bring a smile to your faces.

Santa Fe Trip

Our first big trip with the little man went well. We traveled to Santa Fe for a week. Our first travel day was a bit crazy considering we had no idea how he would do traveling, but we got up at 2:30am, and packed up the car, caught a 3:15am bus to Boston, then a 7am flight to Albequerque, with a layover in Denver and then a 1 hour shuttle to Santa Fe. Quite a first trip. The bus ride went fine, but then of course we got held up in Boston. They got us loaded onto the plane, then had us sit on the runway for a bit then turned us around and went back to the terminal and we sat for another 3 hours at Logan while they tried to fix the plane. Rory handled it fairly well, and I think we did as well.


There was a rocking chair at the terminal, so I was able to sit with him and feed him comfortably.


Us snuggling on the first flight. He slept through most of it and the pressure changes didn't seem to bother him at all.


Us after the second flight. Notice the wardrobe change for both me and him. There were several spit up, throw up and diaper messes throughout the week, but nothing we couldn't handle.


Rory and Mama Bev in Albequerque after a full day of travel. This is just after we found out that not only were we hours later than expected due to the delay in Boston, but they had also lost our baggage and Rory's car seat. ARGGGHH!! They had a replacement carseat for him to use, but that part infuriated me. How do you lose a baby's carseat?! They delivered both the carseat and our bags to us in Santa Fe at 6am the next morning, so it wasn't a huge deal, and we found out when we got back that the airline actually gave us both $250 towards another flight as compensation for the delay, so I suppose that makes it all worth it.


The trip to Santa Fe was spurred by a work function that Bev organized for her company and the room we stayed in was beautiful. This is Rory enjoying the space of a king size bed the night we arrived.


He found his smiles during the week we were out there. He now smiles really big and shows off his dimple in direct response to us making silly faces and voices at him. In particular, he loves to talk about what's going on in his diaper. I also noticed him giggling in his sleep for the first time this week, which was SO cute.


Christine, one of Bev's coworkers, has a little girl who is 4.5 months old. Her and Rory are basically the same weight. He is 6 weeks old. What a big guy!! This is his first experience in a restaurant and he did really well, sleeping through most of it.


Big stretches after a long day in the sling.


After 4 days of intense meetings and talks that Bev was part of organizing, she needed an early night of rest. I thought it was photo-worthy.


All rested up and on vacation for a couple days after her work, Bev carried Rory for his first hike, a 3.5 mile trek through a canyon and up a mountain at Tent Rocks. The scenery was beautiful.


Cool cactus shot (Bev can take credit for this one).


The three of us at the top enjoying the view. Everybody we passed gave Bev props for bringing the little man up the whole way. You would think we'd trade off to be fair, but sadly, I'm so out of shape right now I don't think I could've carried anything more than myself and the camera.


Bev's famous rock star pose reserved only for the tops of mountains and the finish lines of races. Of course, in a race she doesn't have a 12lb baby strapped to the front of her.


More beautiful scenery...


These are the formations for which Tent Rocks is named. The hard rock at the tops of each one holds strong while water and wind erodes away the softer rock causing crazy formations like these. It was amazing to see. Rory slept through the entire thing.


The trail cut through the rock canyon, getting a bit tight in some spots.


Mr. Rory after the day of hiking and a good amount of milk. He's a very happy boy.


Rory hanging out by himself on the ledge of an overlook in White Rocks, NM. (okay, he wasn't really by himself and he wasn't that close to the edge, but we got a kick out of ourselves trying to make it look that way).


Bandelier National Monument in Frijoles River Canyon.


Ladders lead to caves carved out of the soft rock forming the canyon walls. It is thought that the cave homes were reserved for the upper crust of society.


Bev and Rory peer out of one cave home.


Inside the cave used for weaving. There were posts in the ceiling for setting up a loom and holes on the floor for keeping the thread straight. Chills ran up and down the back of our legs in this cave - we felt such a presence in there.


Looking down on the main settlement area from the cliff houses.


Happy to be home. That about sums up the feeling for all of us. It was a great trip, but its always so nice to be home after a week away. We're very proud of the way he handled himself.