Bouyant Baby!

So....another first for Sydney on Memorial Day weekend. She had her first ever swimming experience. We took her to the kiddy pool at the Y. Another surreal moment for me, since I remember going to that exact pool when I was little!

Following this new adventure, we came to one conclusion...she loved the pool! She did not complain once, and she happily splashed with her hands and feet. Sometimes, in her exuberance she splashed so hard she soaked her own face and was confused why she was splashed. While it was a great adventure, we did notice some mysterious bubbles eminating from her posterior...hmm :) But, fortunately, we were able to disembark the pool area before she grew scales and a fin!

In other Sydney news, she has been able to sit up for longer periods of time, unassisted. In a matter of just a few weeks, she is getting extremely stable, and doesn't tip over much anymore. This has also made it easier when she sits at the table with us for dinner, as she supports herself in her chair much better.

On a different note....while Sydney has also been rolling from front to back for some time, on May 17th she started rolling from back to front. This is another milestone, and one that means she'll be interested in crawling soon. Oh, the challenges that will bring to her parents!!!

Also, she has started actually eating solid foods. In the past few days she has started consuming more food than she spits out. The first several times of introducing solid foods to her, she basically would push it back out with her tongue...or even better, make a raspberry sound and have it spray all over, usually accompanied with a big grin! The solids, at this point, are rice cereal and a form of oatmeal cereal...not too bad. I'm just not looking forward to the strained carrots or peas or all of those other vegetables. I can't wait to blend up a Big Mac for her!!!...only kidding :) As excited as we are, the one down side to the whole thing is found in her diaper. I'll save you the adjectives this week, but next week I'll consider if fair game!!!

This is a recent picture of Sydney with her mom and good-lookn' grandpa!

Have a nice weekend everybody!!!

A Square That Comes Full Circle

The title isn't meant to be some metaphor for some deeper meaning, but really is a literal translation. On my birthday (me being Sydney's Dad) I got a mysterious package from my older brother Nathan. I opened it, pulled out the contents, and heard Karen say, "what...is...that???" with a puzzled look on her face. With it's tattered coloring and faded red checkerboxes in the middle, she thought it was an old tablecloth. I could only smile and say "my baby blanket!" It was very amazing to see it again.

The blanket, which my mother had gotten for Nathan when he was a baby, got handed down to me when I was born. As we grew older and the need for it declined, it was still a center-piece of tug of war competitions, and also during random pillow fights it acted as a nice whip...where you could really snap your opponent and leave some nice welts. Needless to say, the blanket got handed down again to Destani and Alex, my neices. My nephews may have also enjoyed some of it.

Sydney, while she enjoys a few of her own already, will add this to her experience. It's amazing to think that this blanket is on it's fourth decade. So, quite literally, this little square has come full circle. I hope Sydney will enjoy it as much as the rest of us have.

And thank you everyone for the birthday wishes, it helps ease the pain of accepting another year :) On a similar note (of birthdays), we just wanted to say that Richard will be missed. He shared the same birthday as me (Joe), and he is in our hearts. He brought smiles to everyone he talked to, and his warmth will always be with us. Richard also taught me how to roast coffee...the true art of love...and it will always be treasured and with me.

Have a great and safe longggggg weekend everyone!

Questions of the Universe

Human beings tend to ask some BIG questions in their lives. Who am I? How did we all get here? How was the universe created? Why is the sky blue? Why would someone have wanted to create spandex? Some are more complex than others, but certainly it highlights an underlying feature of human beings…our innate curiosity.

So, one thing I’ve noticed is that our questions change as we become parents. No longer are those perplexing questions that boggle the mind topics of discussion, but instead we find new mysterious questions that we had never thought to ask before the birth of a child. “If my child only drinks white milk, why do they have colored poop?” It makes no logical sense…(really, shouldn’t it be white?). On the same line of thinking, why does it not smell? Also, “what in the world is the 5-10 second silent period from your child when they are obviously ready to cry?” Is it the calm before the storm? Are they simply opening their air intake to collect oxygen required for the big scream to come?...I'm just not sure. And what is a teletubby? I do not know the answers to these things. I am just another father wandering down a new philosophical path that my child has now placed before me.

Enough about the metaphysical universe, and onto a less surreal plain plane …Sydney has had a great week. She continues to gear up for solid foods. At this point, she pretty much pushes most of her rice cereal out of her mouth with her tongue. But, it’s a work in progress.

She continues to get better and better at sitting up. We still provide some ‘bumper’ coverage so that she doesn’t just topple over, but that need is becoming less and less. Her overall strength is very good, and her coordination of her hands and arms are steadily increasing (although at times she does a particular motion with her arms that I can only describe as flapping). Perhaps she’s part parrot.
She is also talking just as much as ever (a trait earned from her mother). She is now less about squeaks and high-pitch sounds and more about trying to more closely mimic us. Having said that, some of her recent mumblings eerily sound like someone who has been kidnapped and duct-taped. There are a few words we 'think' we've heard, but they were probably just random sounds that were close, and not really intentional. I know she has not had her first 'real' word, because that first word will be ja..va! We practice than one everyday!

Thanks to Great Grandpa Pagels for taking the pictures used for this post. He snapped a few great shots (as usual) while we were visiting on Mother's Day, so I just had to use them!

Have a great week! Oh, and Sydney is 5 months old on May 15th!!! The time goes so quick! Just don't grow too quickly Baby Ruth, we want to enjoy all of the moments :)

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Knowing that Mother’s Day was approaching, Sydney asked me to relay some thoughts she had about the occasion. So, after careful listening, and some even more careful deciphering, I believe I captured some of the thoughts she wanted to express.

To Karen…A note from your daughter…
Mama…thank you for always being there for me. You have supported me when I couldn’t support my own head, wiped the drool from my mouth, and fed me when I needed it. You’ve always looked out after my butt, and also cleaned it. You are so kind to me, even when I am beat red screaming at the top of my lungs…you just smile at me and soothe me. I know since I am new that the ‘title’ of ‘Mom’ might still seem weird, but I can tell you that you’ve earned it. So, thanks for being such a great Mom.

You have always pushed me, not only literally through my birth, but also in my social development and physical growth. I love you more than my bouncer, swing, and jumper combined! Happy first Mother’s Day!!!

To my grandmothers (Donna and Gloria) and my great grandma (Carol), thanks for giving me the opportunity to exist by having your own children! And to my Ya-Ya (Sherri) and my MorMor (Terrie), thanks for everything that you do.

(pictured: Grandma Gloria and Nana Donna when I was one week old)

To all of the other new mothers out there…keep it up!!! We can be a challenge at times, but you’re doing a great job!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Lions and Tigers and Sydney, Oh My!!!

Ok, actually there were no lions, but there was Sydney and tigers for sure! Sydney got her first taste of zoo life. I know what you’re thinking…isn’t her home already like a zoo. With three parrots and two cats, it can sometimes seem like that. But this was her first chance to experience non-domesticated animals, excluding her dad of course. But since both of Sydney’s parents enjoy wildlife, this was a great first exposure to some new and interesting animals for her.

While I’m sure Sydney spent some of her time wondering what in the world some of those creatures were on the other side of the glass, my guess is they were wondering the very same thing about her. They probably have not seen another creature drool so much…except for the hyenas!

Sydney’s jaunt to Pt. Defiance Zoo was for fun, but was made out of convenience since Sydney’s dad was playing in a soccer tournament in the area. But being down south also gave her the opportunity to visit with Aunt Suni and her family :)

This Sunday, May 3rd, also found TWO new firsts for Sydney. She began to intentionally laugh. Not one of those situations where someone tells a bad joke and you feel obligated to laugh, but repetitive joyous laughing (personally, I think it was directed at her mama's singing, but don't tell Karen I said that). The other BIG news for the day, ...eating solid food for the first time. Well, it looked very runny to me, but it was rice cereal saturated in breast milk.

Sydney was also very happy that she got to spend some time with her cousins this weekend. Since three of them live in Oregon, it is a rare treat that she gets to visit with them!

In an earlier event, Sydney also got to spend some time with her friend Maggie. In addition to their quality time together, Sydney watched as Maggie’s mom Lili decimated the competition and became the Queen of Apples to Apples. Although humbled by the experience (Sydney’s dad only cried twice) it was a fun event :)

Have a great week everyone!!!

A Shock to the System

My original commitment to Karen about this blog would be that I do one post a week. But due to a recent event, I felt inclined to write this additional one, since it is of some importance.

So, it happened…On the evening of April 30th and morning of May 1st, Sydney decided to sleep through the whole night, and while in her crib. She went to bed around 8:30pm, and didn’t get up until after 6:00am. In fact, Karen had to wake her up to feed her. We will not question what mysterious elements were at work. Perhaps the planets were aligned just right, perhaps she just had a long day, perhaps the chloroform was the right dosage…too many questions, but none need to be answered as we will just take this rare gift and run with it. Maybe this is the start of a new pattern, or maybe this is just one rare glimmer that we can remember with happiness…and reflect back on the glorious morning of May 1st.

Although she slept for a long period, I’m not sure it was the same for her parents. I believe some sleeplessness was attributed to some shock to the body. Internal systems couldn’t understand the trauma of not being woken up every couple hours (or minutes), and as a result probably created restlessness. As new parents, this makes sense. Your bodies become finely tuned instruments, heightening awareness of surroundings, and intensifying all senses. Tapping into these extra sensory resources is almost catlike. Fortunately, we have yet to be inclined to drink out of the toilet, hack up hairballs, or use the litter box! Ok, well I can only speak for myself on this one……Karen???