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.