Happy Thanksgiving

Sorry I haven't posted in almost a week, I was entertaining. Granny Martha and PopPop Bob were visiting this week and there has been a flurry of activity in the house. There was lots of cooking, hikes on the coast, and leisurely strolls through the neighborhood. Thank you to the grandparents for the treats, my parents surely appreciated it. The first picture is of GrannyM holding me in front of the house. I am looking for Mama bacause I have become very attached to her. The second picture is when I found Mama and decided to clutch tightly onto her shirt so I wouldn't lose her again.

Actual Thanksgiving dinner was shared with the family of our friends Anna and Edward. Anna's brother and sister-in-law have a baby boy about my age so I was able to spend some time with another small person. Dinner smelled fantastic but I have no idea how it tasted, maybe next year. There were both traditional and non-traditional foods on the table; a giant bacon-basted turkey, sourdough stuffing, a literal mountain of mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole (which Papa had a second serving), and cranberry sauce. Additional menu items included savory ravioli, four-cheese macaroni, green beans with shallots, and gravy (or grefi if happen to speak Welsh like Edward). Did I mention there was so much gravy I counted at least three serving boats on the table? A good time was had by all, we have so much to be thankful for. I slept all the way home in the car.

Buddies

Here I am with my bear again. The first time I appeared with bear was when I was only one month old and he was much more startling (07-Oct). Today we are just hanging out, being buddies on the couch. I am trying to imitate his facial expression of blissful wonder. I have a feeling that we are going to be good friends and grow old together.

As the weeks pass by, I find I can interact better with my surroundings. For instance, this week I discovered my hands. They've always been there, but I didn't have the fine motor skills to position them effectively. Usually I would just hit myself in the head or scratch my face, but this week I placed them in my mouth. I haven't found my thumb yet, but the back of my hand and index finger are adequate surrogates for my pacifier. slurp-slurp-slurp. They are comforting to me, sort of like bear. Life is good.

Akira namesake

So my middle name is Akira. I am not sure why my parents chose the particular name. It has both Japanese and Scottish roots. In Scotland it is usually a female's name and means anchor. In Japan, Akira is used for either gender. 日 is one of many Japanese Kanji characters used to represent my name. The meaning varies depending on how it is written and its context, but my name was chosen for "brightness" or "morning light." Apparently I was enamored of the sunlight entering the window of the delivery room in the minutes after I was born. I still enjoy looking at lights; we babies do that. I stare constantly at the table lamps in the living room where Mama and Papa entertain me. I love the blinky lights on my swing and activity center which coordinate with the music. Outdoor light is still my favorite though.

Mama takes me on strolls down to the post office or runs along the beach during the daytime. On the weekends Papa carries me in the BabyBjörn (see entry 30-Oct). If I am lucky Mama will hike alongside and I get to watch her. There is so much to see in the World I sometimes forget to nap. It's a surprise I sleep at all.

Two-month checkup

Today Mama took me to see the pediatrician. There was good and bad news.

First the good. I have made considerable gains in height and weight since last time. I am now 24.5" long (95th percentile), my weight is 13lbs 3oz (75-90%), and head circumference is 40.2 cm (50%). All on breastmilk. Strong work Mama, more than ample production.

Then the bad. I didn't realize I was going to receive five different immunizations, each a separate shot. Ouchy. If you look closely at the picture, my thighs are riddled with injection sites. The five shots were; IPV (inactivated polio virus), Dtap (diptheria, tetanus, pertussis), Hep B (hepatitis B), Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), and PCV7 (pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, 7-valent). Even though I got a Peanuts® bandaid for each injection, they still hurt going in. Wah. They made me sleepy too, I was pretty much checked out this afternoon. Maybe I'll get up tonight after my parents have gone to bed. Payback time.

Icthyphobia

Uncomfortable around fish? Strictly speaking, icthyphobia refers to an unfounded fear of fish. Mama doesn't like to eat fish, while Papa loves it. I am not sure if I'll like seafood, right now I only know Mama's milk. Anything else is simply not milk - I'll have to wait for a few months before trying solid foods. Papa is secretly introducing me to new foods in order to expand my taste palette.

Meet Mr. Crab. The crab sitting next to me is still alive and looking for a fight. Papa's friend John invited him to harvest some fresh Dungeness for the season opener this weekend. Papa enjoys fishing the Northern California coast, he's also caught King salmon, Albacore, Lingcod, and various rockfish from John's boat. That's a lot of fish to eat considering Mama doesn't like it. Maybe I'll help Papa eat the fish someday. Just not today... tomorrow doesn't look good either.

Stylin' hairdo

Mama thought my hair was getting a little long in the back. It was starting to look like a mullet - you remember the hairstyle epitomized by Billy Ray Cyrus and the WWF? Basically it's a two tiered haircut, shorter on top and sides, long down the nape of the neck. Definitely a fashion faux pas. This is Mama's answer - a reverse mullet. Very short in the back, leaving the top and sides alone. Papa was at work when this happened. It was quite the crime scene when he got home; hair on the couch and new hair clippers on the side table. No worries, I can't see the back of my head.

Itsy-bitsy?

Here I am on the activity center again. This time I am spying on a spider. Last time it was the oddly colored chicken, now it is a spider/lady bug straight out of Alice-in-Wonderland. Regardless, I am becoming more aware of my surroundings and better at holding my head up. As a caveat, I am also spending more time awake during the day. It's a trade off, I sleep longer during the nighttime but my daytime naps are becoming shorter. Mama seems to be happy about the longer nights but daytime play leaves little for her personal time.

My first halloween

Just a short update on my first Halloween. Mama and Papa decided to have a scary face contest. Papa won.

BabyBjörn happiness

This is a view of me riding in the BabyBjörn. It's a baby carrier that straps onto the front of my parent's chest to allow for close contact and hands free operation. Since I can't really hold my head steady yet, I am facing inward. Someday when I am able to hold my head up, I'll face outward to see the World. Mama and Papa have taken me on some pretty neat coastal hikes with the BabyBjörn, the first hike was so long that my forehead was rubbed raw. Because of that incident, I now have a green burp cloth in front of me for forehead protection. Thank goodness. Nobody likes babies with "owies" on their foreheads.

The age I am

As much as I love being the age I am - seven weeks old, I think Papa wants me to be a little older. He's been trying to put me in a chair that doesn't quite fit. In this sequence you can see that the rocking chair is too big; I can perch upright for a few seconds, but my posture degenerates quickly into a reclining position. I think I'm going to wail if I am left this way for much longer. I've heard Papa talk about how he wants me to remain forever young, but then he does things like this. Watch it Papa - I can't be both small and big at the same time. I am the age I am, which is just fine.