Happy 1 Month Birthday! (Updated)

Like the "100% Adorable" shirt, I plan on making monthly shirts using iron-on t-shirt transfers...

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Updated 08-10-2009
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Traditionally in Chinese culture, the new mother and child are supposed to stay in bed for the first month. At the end of that month, there is a large celebration where all family members shower the baby with gifts (usually cash or gold). Luckily for us we're free to pick and choose only the Chinese customs that we like. We didn't observe the one month in bed rule, but we couldn't pass up the banquet and gifts. For Ryan's birthday, we held a banquet in LA for about 25 family members (a majority of my close relatives is in Seattle and could not attend).

Here are some photos from his birthday.

My grandparents (dad's side) with Ryan.

The traditional red eggs. I didn't really know the significance, so I had to Google it: http://chinesefood.about.com/od/foodfestivals/tp/foodsymbolism.htm ....

Brooke, Brooke's mom, and my aunt at the banquet...

I've thought it for a long time, but after seeing more of my extended family, I'm even more certain I'll never have a daughter. Over the last 3 generations, the ratio of boys to girls in my dad's side of the family is around 5:1. This pictures says it all....

Unfortunately, Ryan's 1 month birthday meant the departure of his grandma. This is her hold Ryan on her final day in Santa Barbara....

Videos

Here are a few videos from Ryan's first 3 weeks. Make sure you click on "View HQ video" for a larger image....

July 5th (6 days old)....


July 15th (16 days old)....


July 19th (20 days old)....

A Dutch Treat!

Last night we had the pleasure of having our dessert delivered to us straight from Holland.
A gift arrived for Ryan and there were Stroopwafels for his Mom and Dad!
Dank je wel Susan!

We had our stroopwafels with some coffee after dinner, in a mug with orange on it in honor of the Netherlands.

Ryan (3 weeks)

It's amazing how a child that sleeps 20 hours per day can be so time-consuming. You'd think I'd be able to get 8 hours of sleep with a child that sleeps so much, but I'm lucky to get 6 hours and Brooke barely gets 4 hours.

Ryan was born 7 lbs 10 oz. After 2 days, his weight was down to 7 lbs 1 oz, which is normal. At his first pediatrician visit 7 days after he was born, his weight was back up to 7 lbs 12 oz. At 2 weeks old, he weighed 9 lbs!

We've been giving Ryan daily sun exposure to help alleviate his case of jaundice...and it seems to have helped. It wasn't obvious to me at the time, but looking back at the early photos, he was clearly yellow.

Taken July 5th (6 days old).....

July 8th (9 days old).....

July 10th (11 days old).....

July 12th (13 days old). Ryan likes to sleep like daddy: hands up, elbows out....

July 13th (2 weeks old).....

July 18th (19 days old).....

July 21st (~3 weeks old)...

His first "real" bath. We had to wait until his umbilical cord stump fell off before we could fully submerge his body in water....

Ryan Pic

Just a picture of my baby. Can't help it, I'm a proud mamma.....

Ryan: The 1st Week

Sorry for not updating more frequently. Let's just say that caring for a child is much more time consuming than we had planned. Brooke will give her story of the delivery when she get's a chance.

For now, here are a few more photos (and a few more on the Picasa Web Album)