Thanks a lot Grandpa Jones!

The following are some excerpts of a few emails exchanged between my parents and I last week. I was writing to update them about Autumn's two month appointment...

From me on December 22nd, 9:31am
Hi guys,
...I don't think I told mom that the pediatrician said she has some eczema on the side of her face. She seems to think that's something she'll battle for a while (if not forever), and asked if anyone in our families has it. I'm not really worried -- it's a tiny little spot and it seemed to me just like some slight irritation from rubbing her face, but whatever...

From my mom, 9:38am (note: I was not seeking a response to the eczema comment, as I figured I would have known if anyone in my immediate family was blessed with it).
Hey,
It's in your Father's genes, but he says he doesn't have it bad, I never knew it but he says it's on his butt.


And my dad's response, 9:58am
So you have to take the good with the bad.  Yes, I've had a lifelong case of mild eczema on my butt.  So the bad part is that my little granddaughter may have my butt disease on her face.  I do agree that it's probably no big deal, but that's easy for me to say since no one gazes at my butt--obviously Mom doesn't.  The good news is is that my genes obviously contributed to her being advanced. So you're welcome. 

There you go, Autumn. You've got Grandpa Jones to thank for the butt disease on your face. I still think you're really cute though.

How to calm an Autumn

Welp, that didn't last long. Autumn's post-shot sleepiness wore off at exactly 9pm last night, which happens to be her bedtime -- not to mention one of Brian and I's favorite times of the day. Just like a switch went off in her tiny brain, she was right back to her squirmy, curious, noisy and active little self. Nothing was gonna get in the way of this girl and her nighttime hyperactivity. Nothing, that is, until as a last resort, Brian put her tummy-down in the Boppy, facing the TV and Christmas tree. Magic! Peace, love and a silent night ensued at the Boyd's. For thirty glorious minutes.


This morning, same story. Sorry Autumn, but 6:30am just doesn't cut it for a wake up call anymore. We know you can do better than that. But since nothing would calm the wild beast this morning, I finally dragged myself out of bed to see if changing her diaper would do the trick. At this point my hopes for another bit of sleep had already been shattered, so I was happy to let her smile at me, squirm and holler on the changing table for a few minutes...which turned into ten minutes and seemed as if it could go on forever. So onto her belly she went, and bam! Our sweet, angelic and calm baby instantly returned. Here's hoping this trick doesn't wear off as quickly as those shots did!

p.s. Yes, our Christmas tree lights do stop about 3/4 of the way up the tree. Doesn't everyone forget that if you remove one light the whole strand goes out from time to time?

Two month stats

Recouping from those terrible shots!

I warn you, this post will not be interesting, funny or anything of the sort. I just need to include it for our own memory's sake. Autumn's two-month check-up was today since we were in California when she actually hit the two month mark. So, at 10 weeks old, she weighed in at 11 pounds 10 ounces (35th percentile) and was 23 3/4 inches long (70-80th percentile). We had noticed she seemed to be getting extremely long without really filling out her clothes as much as expected. Her weight percentile has dropped a little at each of her last few visits, so we're hoping that starts to level off and creep up eventually. Unfortunately my hunch is that it won't happen until we start supplementing with formula, or even switching completely.

Back to Autumn's appointment. She got three shots today and was diagnosed with eczema (really?). As we speak she is sleeping on my lap, which she has been doing some variation of for most of the day. Not sure if she's bummed about her complexion or in pain from the shots. Poor girl. The pediatrician also said she noticed Autumn was holding her hands together at midline (which I think is something she does most of the time now). Big deal right? I certainly had never noticed or cared what she had been doing with her hands, but supposedly this is quite an advanced "skill" for her age. Alright then. I guess it makes up for the fact that she has not rolled over once since we've been back from California. Not even close. Thanks for the false alarm little one.

Well, that should do for this Monday night update. Back to watching my fantasy football hopes and dreams die a slow, freezing cold death as my kicker becomes an icicle in some outdoor stadium in Minnesota.

Two months and one California adventure

Please pardon the delay for Autumn's two month update -- I'm reporting live from Shaver Lake, California, where we've been quite busy over the past few days. And by busy I mean lazy. Almost sloth-like, actually. In fact, yesterday's highlights included changing Autumn into a few different outfits for various photoshoots, happy hour  in the hot tub, a fabulous dinner prepared by my dad (followed fondly by a communal episode of meat sweats), and a viewing session of some classic Jones Family home videos (which could be a whole blog entry in itself - we won't go there now).

Brian, Autumn and I embarked on our first real trip as a family last Saturday. Everything went surprisingly smoothly. So much so that I actually obtained zero quality blog material from the trip. Well, unless you count the blind guy who's guide dog barfed a pile of grass on the floor of the gate area. Being blind, he obviously couldn't see it, and didn't realize was there for the hour he sat behind us. 

Four Generations

Once in Fresno we immediately headed to In-N-Out, where we indulged in our first meal of the week that resulted in meat sweats (gross huh?), and then on to visit my 94-year-old grandmother, who is recovering from a fractured pelvis in a rehab center. The pictures pretty much say it all, but in case you aren't that quick, she was beside herself with happiness. I can actually say that I have never seen my grandmother so happy and content. Our discomfort (from the Animal Style cheeseburgers that were wreaking havoc on our systems) was quickly forgotten as we all enjoyed Nana's moments with Autumn.

The following day, since my parents no longer have a house in Fresno, my mom's dear friend Karen hosted an open house so that we could visit with family and friends, and they could meet Autumn. It was a very busy afternoon, but such a fun opportunity to see everyone -- something that has become very hard to do when there's no longer a "home" in your hometown. We also, finally, had a chance to meet my grandmother's renowned friend Lloyd. Lloyd is 85, and he drives (God help us) over to my grandmother's every Sunday. They drink a bottle of wine and play Rumikub. According to Nana, Lloyd "has been married for about 25 years. His wife is fat, but she knows about me." There you have it ladies -- you can still be the "other woman" at 94. In all seriousness though, Lloyd has been wonderful company and great friend to my Nana over the past few years...and he wore a jacket with a map of the world to the party on Sunday. It doesn't get any better than that.

Gotta love Lloyd

Riley and Whitney

Autumn and "Auntie Karen" -- wonderful host and another of Autumn's personal shoppers

Us with both Ivanas. Friends for 23 or so years, and The Littles got to meet at two and eight months

But enough about us. Autumn turned two months on Sunday, the day of the open house. She has been quite busy being a baby since the one-month update. While things like eating, sleeping, and blowing through diapers (literally) still occupy most of her time, she has also made some legitimate gains. My favorite still has to be the smiles. She started smiling around six weeks, right on time as the books say. And since then she has become increasingly interactive. The smiles now are accompanied by lots of vocal expressions, like coos and happy yells). Her latest obsession is her play mat, which is basically just a mat that she lays on with a mobile and other toys that hang in her face. It doesn't change, ever, but every time she lays on it you'd think she was visitng Disneyland for the first time. If only Brian could be that easily amused.

Autumn also officially outgrew all over her newborn clothes, and is almost too long for her 0-3 month ones. Thankfully, I'm still able to squeeze her into the Michael Jackson pants that Brian loves so much. I am also very happy to report that she is starting to get the sleeping thing down. While we still don't have a set bedtime, it seems like we usually put her down between 7 and 9pm, and I can count on her to sleep until 2-4am. Up for the day between 6:30-8. Thank you, Autumn.

Quite possibly the most exciting update in Autumn's world is that she started rolling over, from front to back, the day before her two-month birthday. It was the afternoon that we got into California, and we were all convinced it was a mistake the first time she did it. So, we put her back on her stomach and she off she went. And then again. Then she decided that rolling over sucks, and started crying. Still not convinced that this was real and true new skill, we tried again the next evening. Same deal, except this time she was over it after the first try. I think she's done it once more this week, so I won't say she's totally got it down just yet, but we'll work on it. We're hoping she'll be skiing by February.

Well, the three of us are back to Denver tomorrow. We thought we were supposed to be here until Saturday, but for the second time this year, I booked our flight for the wrong day. At least some things stay the same.




And a final, parting shot...Happy Holidays everyone! Love the Boyds -- and one angry Christmas baby.

Baby Invasion!

Two years ago on this weekend, Brian and I were having lunch at the Stein Erickson lodge in Deer Valley (Park City) with our friends Adam and Dani Raper. It wouldn't be lunch with the Rapers if it didn't start with bloody mary's and "accidentally" end up with more than one or two bottles of chardonnay. This also happened to be the Celebrity SkiFest event, and Heidi and Spencer were sitting at a table about five feet away from us.

Last year on this weekend the great Jenny Cole, a friend of mine since early elementary school, came to visit. The weekend included games (as any well-spent time with Jenny Cole does), riding the cow statues on the 16th street mall, the Tilted Kilt!, and a healthy dose of Dark n' Stormies.

Jenny visits Denver!

Neither of these weekends included any mention of babies.

My point here is that as recent as a year ago, I could count the number of our "friends with kids" on one hand (I think two fingers to be exact). I had a couple of friends who were pregnant, but I'm pretty sure I made excuses for them like, "well they've been together since they were twelve". When we found out I was pregnant in late January (less than two months after Jenny's visit), I was secretly hoping that at least one or two of my other friends would follow suit soon. Little did I know that my friend Holly had beat us to it by a few weeks, and soon to follow would be a true explosion of friend-related pregnancies. Though at least one of them was a bit of a "surprise" to put it nicely, we are so happy for each of these friends, and for ourselves, to have company on this adventure. We're already dreaming of houseboating trips or camping trips with the crew of kids who will be about the same age. Not quite the same as celebrity watching over chardonnay in Park City, or Dark n' Stormy-induced cow riding in downtown Denver, but a different kind of fun to look forward to for sure!

So, just in case you still don't believe how much things have changed since this weekend two (or one) year ago -- the following friends of ours are either pregnant right now or have already had a baby. And these are only the people we actually see at least once a year!

Ivana & Jake had little Ivana last March

 Heather and future boyfriend Sam!

Lisa & Brian had Noah last April
Jen & Ben had Blake on Labor Day
Nikki & Duane had their second, Dax, in early September
Marc & Julene had their second girl, Sydney, in September
Holly & Rob had Abigail September 13th
Jen & Josh are due in early January
Dani & Adam are due with a little boy in late January -- yep, that Dani & Adam!
Heather & Jeremy are due with Sam in early February
Erika & Ben are expecting a little girl dolphin in April
Maggie & Ryan are due with a little mocha girl in April (or May?)
Kelly & Mark are hoping they are expecting a girl in May
Alison & Sam are expecting in May

Not to be Captain Obvious or anything, but man what a difference a year makes!

And...just in case you needed a reminder of how awesome with think Autumn is, a couple recent pics:

I love being naked! Dad hopes it's just a phase.