Merry Christmas All

It's my first Christmas. I am not sure what that means, but everyone seems to be rushing around. They are buying lots of things, and wrapping them in colorful paper. I hope that someone gets me some holiday milk. That's all that I really need this year, maybe some bigger diapers too.

Mama took me shopping nearly every day this week. She put me in the Baby Björn facing outward so I could help with the shopping. I have been on my best behavior, apparently that's a good thing for Santa. Papa has a week-long vacation from work, yay. It will be like when we first started out. Everyone home, every day. Both parents, me and Zadie, the brown dog. Happy Holidays to everyone, may it be a safe one.

I'm all thumbs

I've been searching for them. They've eluded me for more than three months. But now they're mine. I have finally discovered my thumbs. It just happened yesterday morning. I had been sucking my hands, the knuckles, my index finger, sometimes even the palm. Who knew how enjoyable my thumbs would be? They are always closeby, warm, and just the right size. Dare I say that I love my thumbs? I guess time will tell, but for now they are some of my favorite things. Ahhh.

Warm and comfy

Sometimes when we go outside, we have to wear big clothes. Mama purchased a fuzzy hat and matching mittens to protect me from the elements. Occasionally it gets cold in Northern California - not Montréal cold - but cold by our standards. Here I am with Papa at a charity event staged by some friends for the leukemia and lymphoma society. The event was held at a mock western town, complete with barbeque, saloon and gambling. Papa has his big clothes on too. I was so comfy in my hat and mittens that I fell asleep.

Three months already

This past week I turned three months old. A quarter of a year! Hard to believe. Mama and Papa still marvel about how they are Parents. I hear them. They shouldn't be so concerned, they are both doing just fine.

Notable changes - Mama and Papa measured me for length, but it seems my height has not changed since the two month update. Personally, I think it's due to measurement error. On the other hand, Mama had a girlfriend weigh me with an accurate scale - since our kitchen scale is now woefully underrated. I am definitely over 15lbs. Considering that I started at 7lbs 6oz just a few short months ago, that's better than a 100% return on investment. No solid food yet, but I've been watching Papa eat his cereal in the morning. Mmmmmm.

I am also improving my manual dexterity. Still haven't worked out sucking my thumb, but the backs of my hands are close enough. I can tightly grasp objects like my washcloth or burp towel. I also like to pet my stuffed animals or pretend that I am hiding something in between my hands. TeeHee.

Boing-boing

Add one more item to the circuit gym. The usual workout circuit contains the activity mat, swing, and vibrating chair. Add one bouncy chair to the mix. They are also called doorway jumpers or baby bungees. If you are not familiar with these, it's essentially a spring loaded chair which is suspended by a doorway jamb. My legs are free to poke out of the bottom of the chair and I can bounce freely in my, er, en-lightened state. Yippie. It's like walking on the moon without the spacesuit. Boing-boing.

Good night, sleep tight...

As I've said before, I have been sleeping longer through the night but less during the day. Papa caught me napping here. You can tell it's a daytime nap because I have not been swaddled. That's ok, sometimes it's nice to stretch out like in the picture.

As of today it has been nine days straight that I've gotten a full night of uninterrupted sleep. That's from 11:30pm or so until 7:00am when Mama comes to get me. Eventually I'll drop the 10:30 feeding, aka the "big easy", and sleep right through from 7pm to 7am. I am so considerate of my parents' sleep needs.

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.