One year ago, we never knew...

One year ago this weekend, we found out about Autumn's existence.

One year ago we never knew...

That we'd feel thankful for being woken up at 7am (as opposed to 5 or 6) on weekends.

That we would start setting the DVR to tape "Sunday Morning" every week. Don't old people watch that?

That we could really be okay with going out in public with trace amounts of barf, or sometimes poop, on our clothes.

That it could take an average of four hours to watch a two hour movie...and that we'd just be happy with getting to watch the whole thing.

That, often times, we'd really start to see our dog as, "just a dog".
That we wouldn't mind pink being the predominant color in our house.

That it could take thirty minutes to prepare for a trip to Costco.
That we would make such a good team, if we don't say so ourselves.

That it would be possible to have ZERO days of skiing under my belt by late January.

That Brian would become a two-cups-a-day coffee drinker.

That happy hour would really only last one hour.
That two grown adults could second guess themselves about anything as much as we do now.
That doing the dishes could ever be considered, "taking a break".
That we'd ever argue about who can come up with the better outfit.
That something so small could be so much work...and so worthwhile at the same time.



One year ago we never knew that it would be possible to love something so much.

A milestone...

...caught on video! Autumn rolled over from back to tummy today, about five times! We caught the third trial on video, which is a total miracle in itself because we usually don't think about grabbing the Flip Video cam until about twenty minutes after Autumn starts doing something cool. By that time she's totally over it, and we get video footage of Brian cussing and/or calling himself an (F***ing) idiot. Seriously.

The nonchalance of it all (note paci in mouth) makes me wonder if she hasn't been doing this for Mrs. Rachel all week. I did ask her to lie to me about any milestones reached in my absence, so if this is the case, Mrs. Rachel has done well.

So, here we go. Three-and-a-half months old.

Now we'll work on sitting in the Bumbo seat. She's terrible at this, though she doesn't mind her own version of "sitting up". She'll sit like this as long as we let her. Whatever makes you happy, kid.

Three

Three months, for each of us, in categories:

ACTIVITY AND NEW SKILLS

Autumn: So, just in case anyone has ever wondered, my one-subject study has confirmed that fetal activity in the womb absolutely predicts a child’s activity level during the first months of life. My doctor referred to Autumn as a “highly active” baby while I was pregnant, starting many of his sentences with, “active babies typically…” or “that’s very normal for babies who move all the time.”  I remember wondering if we would ever get a quiet moment once Autumn was born, or if we were destined to be on-the-go forever. In the past month, we can probably count Autumn’s wakeful, still hours on three fingers. Not daily still hours, but total…over the past month. The kid likes to move --  flailing, kicking, grabbing things, hitting things, bouncing on our laps, attempting to stand up, attempting to roll over from her back to belly, you get the idea. Last week we set up her Jumparoo since we were at a loss for what else we could do entertain her. While she still has a good 2-3 inches to grow before her feet touch the ground, we were able to rig it by putting a box under her feet. Best. Idea. Ever.  See video below, which conveys about a one minute glimpse of how Autumn can entertain herself for up to twenty minutes.

She’s also still babbling away, especially when she has an audience to talk to. I recently learned at an autism conference that children who have been diagnosed with autism usually did not babble much or focus on faces as infants. I’m pretty sure we can cross that potential disability off the list.

p.s. I started this entry a few days ago, and in that amount of time, Autumn has learned to spin the toys on her Jumparoo and to fully grab onto toys in a purposeful way. She is also rolling over from front to back more consistently. Yay her.

Gimme that bird!

Emily:

Well, I started back at work on January third, which was quite a rude awakening. Getting up in the middle of the night (which only happens once, thankfully) is a whole new ball game when you actually have to be presentable, alert, and on the road by 7:30am or earlier. My activity level has unfortunately had to change due to this new schedule. Work is tiring and busy, and so is home. While on maternity leave I had been getting back into running, very slowly. Twice a week for 2-3 miles. That slowly. Now that’s all gone to hell. I keep saying I’ll go to the gym one of these days before picking Autumn up from daycare, but really I hate the gym, and I love Autumn – so why on earth would I ever do that?

But, Autumn isn’t the only one learning new things.  Never in my life would I have imagined that I’d some day find myself pumping in my car when it’s three degrees outside, in a shower stall of a YMCA gym, or in a storage closet at work. Such are the adventures of a mom who works in different schools or places every day, and who just isn’t ready for her kid to eat formula quite yet.

Brian:

New Years fun with Abigail

Brian’s activity level has also tanked over the past month, much to his (and Wally’s) dismay. Brian had to quit his beloved boot camp , and joined 24 Hour Fitness instead. He tries to go on his lunch break a couple times per week, which means Wally doesn’t get to go on his lunch break walks. Sad, sad times. However, Brian has acquired a new work client, so we'll count that under the “new skills” category. He now works for a big outdoor gear company and a company that sells extravagant vacation packages. I’m hoping the discounts on the latter start rolling in soon – and that grandma and grandpa Boyd are ready for some longer-term babysitting gigs. 

Just watchin' TV

SLEEP

Autumn: Things seem to be going well for Autumn in this category. She still sleeps wherever she wants, and as much as she needs. Must be nice. 

Sleepy burrito

Emily: Actually, I don’t have a ton to complain about in this category. Autumn only gets up once per night these days, anywhere between 3:30 and 5:30am. So I get a 6-7 hour stretch, and then another hour or so before work. And in fact, she slept all the way until 6:30 last weekend, so I’m hoping this is a sign that sleeping through the night is just around the corner.

Brian: He doesn’t deserve a spot in this category. Brian sleeps with earplugs, so he wakes up when he needs to pee or when I violently shake him around 6:30am, so he can take a shower before the beast awakens. Must be nice.

EATING

Autumn: I don’t know what to say about this. When I was home with her, Autumn was eating every two hours during the day, almost to the minute. It was tiring. Last week my mom came out to take care of her while I got used to being back at work. She took a bottle ever 2-3 hours too. Well, she’s now been at daycare for the past three days and has only taken two bottles each day. Hmmm. She's eating about 4-5 ounces per bottle, and barfs up at least 2-3 of those ounces half the time.

Fun new mobile

Emily: I win. I am still eating like it’s going out of style. I seriously can’t help it. Sometimes it still impresses me that I am capable of eating twice as much as Brian at every meal, but it’s also starting to gross me out a little. Take yesterday, for instance. I met up with my co-worker Jennifer at Heidi’s deli. Since I brought my lunch, and ate it on the way (sandwich, orange, string cheese and carrots), I was just going to have some coffee while she ate lunch. Well, let’s just leave it at, don’t we all need to eat two lunches before noon sometimes?

Brian: Poor guy. His sensitive stomach doesn’t stand a chance in this relationship these days. That’s probably all you want to know.

CLOTHES

Autumn: This category makes me sad. We’re already starting to pack away some of her 0-3 month clothes! She is still swimming in the 3-6 months for the most part, but her 0-3 onesies are getting too short. She’s also in size 2 diapers. On a positive note, she will soon fit into her new, trendy wardrobe her Aunt Kellie bought her for Christmas. Skinny jeans here she comes!

Showin' off some of "cousin" Madeline's cute hand-me-downs

Emily: Fortunately I am not growing out of my clothes. I somehow managed to get my non-maternity clothes back into my regular wardrobe within a couple of weeks of having Autumn, though at this rate (see Eating above) I should probably breastfeed this kid until she’s 18 or I’ll need to start shopping in those men’s Big & Tall stores.

Brian: I bought him a new sweater from the Gap and some sweet snowboard pants that have some really cool removable liner pants. He loves them and he’s wearing them right now. Happy guy.

OTHER ADVENTURES

Autumn: Last week, Autumn spent her days with her Nana Gerre, who came out here to help us with the transition back to work. I’m not really sure what they did all day, but by the time I would get home from work, dinner was made (sometimes two dinners, one to freeze) and the house and Autumn were clean. My mom also seemed to have showered each day. Impressive.

 But alas, Autumn started full-time at Mrs. Rachel’s daycare this week. Mrs. Rachel is slightly loony, but endearing in her own, bubbly way. Autumn seems to like her, and she really seems to like Autumn, so we’re all pleased with this situation. Autumn also seems to enjoy her two new friends – Remy is an 18-month old little girl who seems to be named after a rat in a recent Disney movie, and Axel is a giant beast who is two weeks older than Autumn. He usually has a knitted Viking hat on (horns and all) when I pick Autumn up. I think his parents put it on him to compensate for his adorable dimples that make him look slightly wimpy.

Emily: Between when I first started this entry and today, I actually went to the gym. For 28 minutes, or three miles on the treadmill. Does this count?  Oh, and we also got to go to a Broncos game a while back (thanks Kel and Dave!) Not that anybody cares about the Broncos anymore, but we’ll take what we can get.

Brian : He went snowboarding a couple weeks ago, and will be going to Salt Lake for work next week. Dad’s big adventure, coming soon! 

Til next time…