Well, it looks like Danny will be teething over Christmas. HOORAY! :::can you sense my sarcasm?::: I know he's young, but I definitely think he's teething. Let's review his symptoms (I know you're excited). Excessive drooling, crankiness, the CONSTANT need to chew on everything (this isn't regular "baby puts everything in his mouth" activity... this is a really constant and driving need to GNAW really hard on things... especially mom's fingers) crying when there's nothing in his mouth, loss of appetite (nursing sessions last about 2-3 minutes before he gives up)grabbing his ear, red bumpy gums, etc, etc, etc.
Unfortunately, he's not old enough to hold a toy or teething ring well enough to get a good "gnaw-on" so it looks like mom's fingers are going to have to do the trick. Anybody got any other advice!?
Daniel just had his 4 month appointment! He is a very LONG 27 3/4 inches long! That puts him in the 95% for height and the 50% for weight. Doctor says he's long and lean, and doing fantastically well!
I stole this off one of my friends' blogs... but I found it extremely touching, because I often feel like I can't keep up with the mess in my house.... and that I should be able to since I'm only working 24 hours per week. Anyway, this is from a poem entitled "Song For A Fifth Child"...
Song for a Fifth Child
Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth empty the dustpan, poison the moth, hang out the washing and butter the bread, sew on a button and make up a bed. Where is the mother whose house is so shocking? She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue (lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo). Dishes are waiting and bills are past due (pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo). The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew and out in the yard there a hullabaloo but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo. Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue? (lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow, for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow. So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep. I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
What fun! Santa has delivered some special pictures and videos of Danny. I especially love the first video where Rebekah is playing with Danny and in the middle he stops to look at the television! I guess being 4 months old makes one prone to distractability!
Here's a cute pic of Jay and I on our special night out! We went to the KMNL office Christmas bash. Had a great time. Jay sure was the life of the party! I wish I'd gotten video evidence, but he was tearing it up on the dancefloor. It was nice to get some time by ourselves to let loose!
Saturday December 13th, we went to Ryan Handley's for his 1st birthday! I remember when he was born. 5-odd pounds, and so tiny! It was fun to see him cruising around and being so interactive with everybody. My sister Rebekah was with us. I think she enjoyed seeing all the little babies. I was just looking around thinking about how my life has changed so drastically in such a few short years. 5 years ago, I was going out to the bars with Stacey, Katie, and Steph. Now we are all married and either have kids or are pregnant! Time flies!
Smile Ryan! Its your birthday!
Jason and Steph practice parenting. Annette offers advice...
Christopher enjoying himself...
Rebekah and Danny watch the birthday festivities.
Steph and Ryan Mmmm..... card!
Poor Danny was so tired and not used to so many people! Jay was such a good Dad and provided a good comfortable place to catch a nap! Danny holds on for dear life...
This one is mine!
The best part of the party was putting party hats on such small children and then sitting them at a table like adults.... cracked me up!
Ever seen a 4 month old in a party hat? I didn't think so!
Meyer 9 survivors...
Meyer 9 survivors plus those who have abandoned us! The gang's all here!
Sadly, this is the best picture I got of Ryan eating his birthday cake! I'm a terrible photographer!
Hooray for Christmas! You've gotta love it. Family, friends, presents... cookies. Even better though is a baby in a santa hat. How could you not smile?
Things are great around here. Danny is getting WAY better at taking his naps. Now we just have to work on the nighttime sleep! When I'm home, he usually wakes up twice at night.. which isn't so bad, I guess. The frustrating part is that when I'm gone at work, he sleeps all night! On Saturday night, he slept from 6pm until 5am! What gives!?
Other news... Daniel is obsessed... I mean OBSESSED with two things... his feet... and sitting up. The first thing he does in the morning is grab his feet... and he doesn't really let go until he's asleep again! Also, he refuses to sit back and RELAX.... he loves to sit forward and look all around. He even holds himself up when he's in his bouncy seat. Check out this video to see what I'm talking about!
Sorry I haven't posted in so long! We've had a busy two weeks. We went up to New Jersey for Thanksgiving. I really enjoyed the visit. There's something so nice about taking my son home. I am really thankful that I have such a wonderful family! Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving!
Also, in other news, my sister Rebekah got engaged to her boyfriend Jason! I'm really excited. Jason is such a nice guy. I'm happy for my little sister! I get to be the "matron" of honor. I don't know if I like being called a "matron"... it sounds so... well.... matronly!
It occurred to me recently that Danny will never be this small again. I haven't even been a mom for four months, and I'm already worried about how fast my son is growing. I was talking to my sister the other day, and I was telling her how I can record so much about Danny with photographs and videos... but I'll never be able to record the way he smells or how soft his baby skin is, or how it feels to hold his wriggly body close to me. I'm afraid that even if I write these experiences down, that I will never be able to do justice the sweet memories that we have created over the last 3 months. Last night, for example, I was nursing Danny in his room. The room was really dark, and I could hardly see anything. I was rocking him and singing a lullaby. All of a sudden, I felt this little hand reach up out of the dark to caress my face while I was singing to him. He kept his hand up there on my face for a good 15 minutes. He was feeling my mouth move while I was singing. I've never been a very sentimental person, but I hope I never lose that memory. I know I shouldn't dwell so much on the possibility of losing memories... but if we keep making such wonderful memories at this rate... there soon won't be room in my head for any more!
At any rate... until they come up with technology that will record the way a baby smells and feels, we'll have to settle with photos! If I didn't send you these pictures this week, here they are:
Well, I went back to work last week. Pththththth! That's what I have to say about that! I really wish I could stay home. But I have to do my part to contribute to the good 'ol family finances, so off I went! I'm doing night shift... 24 hours per week. Its pretty manageable really, thanks to my mother in law, who will be watching Daniel once a week whilst I sleep. Jay and Daniel did really well alone together. Not that I doubted they would... of course, Danny slept all the way until 6 in the morning while I was gone... that little booger! I had my first experience on a hospital breast pump this week too... WOAH... is all I will say. I'm really lucky that they are so pro-breastfeeding at work. There is a locked room with five curtained off areas. Each area has its own breastpump (you bring your own attachments), table and chair. There is also a refrigerator and sink. Its really great, and one of the only things I was happy about with regards to going back to work!
Here are our latest pics!
After his bath... I love this smiley picture... he's just so cute!
Little Buddha sure is getting chubby!
I forgot to add this last week... Danny and I went to visit our friends Katie and Christopher. Christopher is standing up now! How exciting!
On Friday, Kitsie and Granddad took us out to dinner and to see a show called Celtic Thunder. Bridget and her boyfriend Darko came down from Boston. This was my "not-work-related" night away from Daniel. Mrs. Bradshaw babysat him... according to her, it went very well! Here we are eating dinner at the Owl Bar... Jay's favorite haunt from his law school days:
Here's a video of the show we went to see... it was really good.. the singing was amazing. One of the kids singing was only 12 years old!
Then Saturday night, we stopped by Jay's cousin Michele's 30th birthday party... Happy Birthday Michele!
Today Danny and I met with our friends Lisa and Korbin. Lisa got this fabric for us... we only paid $5 each! You can use it as a Moby wrap, which is definitely the most comfortable way to carry a baby!
It was cold outside, so I tried to put a hat on Danny... do you think it fits?
Most exciting of all, Daniel has started grabbing his toys, which is so fun to watch! He started doing it at the beginning of last week, and did it repeatedly all week!
We sure had fun this week! Halloween is a big deal in this family. We usually try to go with some kind of theme. This year we went over to Mandy and John Bowen's party.. it sure was fun! Check out our costumes!
Here's a Halloween reenactment of 1987's Wrestlemania III... Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant. Danny referees the match!
Hulk Hogan tries to bribe the referee... "you DO want to eat tonight, dontcha, kid?"
Whew! This week was so busy! Let's see. First of all, Daniel had his 2 month doctor's appointment. He is now 12 pounds 12 ounces and 25 inches long! Woo wee! That's one large baby! Doctor says he's right on target though, and to continue doing what we've been doing. Daniel also had to endure four vaccinations during this visit. I give people shots all day, and I always said I would always remain nonplussed when it came time for my child to receive shots. After all, since I've given about a million injections to other people, why would it bother me? Well, I'm here to say I was wrong. I had tears in my eyes while I watched him get stabbed over and over. ::sniff:: Poor Danny! The world can be such a cruel place!
Its starting to get cold outside! Jay, Danny and I went for our usual walk around the parkway (3.5 miles)this weekend, but we had to bundle Danny up this time! I'm not looking forward to winter, since we'll have to stop our daily walks. :(
Even though it was cold, it was sunny outside!
Another picture of Danny in some of his warm autumn attire.
Every other week, Daniel and I go to a breastfeeding support group in Annapolis. Its sponsored by Arundel Medical Center. The lactation consultant who helped us out so much in the beginning told me about it, and it has since become one of my favorite activities! Its fun to meet other moms in the area. Daniel is very quiet and observant during these meetings. He watches and listens to all the other babies! This week was a Halloween party. Everyone brought their babies dressed up in costume. It was really adorable.
Daniel went to the meeting as a pirate. Like his "Surrender the Booby" bib? We were at a breastfeeding support group, after all!
What's next? We're heading up to Hagerstown this weekend to hang out with Drew and Victoria Lobely (Jay's friends from law school). Can't wait to see them and their two little ones! I'll be sure to post pictures next week!
Next week is my last week of maternity leave. I am so SO upset about having to go back to work. Its not that I dont like my job (Heeeeyy Meyer 9! Shout out!) but... well.... who would want to go to work when you could stay home?
Danny and Mommy love to go for walks in our neighborhood... especially now that the leaves are changing colors. We are lucky enough to live in a place that's great for walking. Daniele Farrisi knit this orange sweater for Daniel. Its perfect for the cool October mornings!
Bath Time!
Daniel loves his robe and slippers from Aunt Rebekah! A Weekend With Friends...
This weekend we spent time with our friends Tammy, Mike and Max. Here we are.. all spiffed up and waiting for our guests to arrive...
We love having Dad home on the weekends. Wish he could be home all the time!
Tammy and Mike have a son named Max. He's two years old... it was cute to watch him interact with Danny.
Here, Max tries to share his HotWheels truck with Danny! Such a nice boy!
Kitsie brought chocolate cupcakes for everyone, but nobody enjoyed them as much as Max! Evolution of a Smile...
The following are a bunch of shots of Daniel learning to smile. I know there are a lot of them, but they're just so darn cute!
Daniel is already reading! He's so advanced!(I borrowed this idea from someone I used to work with... its hillarious though, isn't it?)
Thanks for visiting our site. While things are still hectic, I'm basically using this as a place to post pictures of our family, although I'm hoping to blog more soon!
Daniel William Cleary was born on 8.19.08 at 0545. He was 7.6lbs and 21 inches long. Mom and Dad are ecstatic to welcome him to our family!
