Christmas 2012

Ryan singing Jingle Bells (Dec 23rd).  The entire family was sick at the time…and you can hear it in Ryan's voice.



Yet another video of Connor doing absolutely nothing (Dec 23rd, 9 weeks old)...



Here is Ryan on Christmas morning…








We had been talking about it for a long time, so on Christmas Day with nothing better to do, we finally buzzed Ryan's hair. Ryan was still terrified by the clippers, so we allowed him to cut Uncle J's hair first. When it came to Ryan's turn, we needed to bribe him with M&Ms every 30 seconds to keep him happy…

Happy 2 month Birthday!

At Connor's 2 month pediatrician appointment, his stats were:
11 lb. 15 oz. (50th percentile)
23.75" tall (80th percentile)
15.3" head circumference (50th percentile)

(For comparison, Ryan's weight at this age was 13 lbs 9 oz)

Some general observations about Connor:

• In the daytime, he eats about 3.5 oz every 3 hours. At night, he'll sleep 5 to 6 hrs straight, then fall back into his 3-hour routine.
• He coos and smiles often.  (It's been difficult to capture on camera because he is hypnotized by the camera and goes into a blank stare)
• At 5 weeks old, he started pooping only once every 8 days.  We were very concerned at first, but apparently that's not uncommon.  Our pediatrician says we should consider ourselves lucky.
• He's still very congested.  Did you notice all the snorting in the recently posted videos?

Connor videos

Connor at 9 days old…


Connor at 3-4 weeks old…


Connor at 7 weeks old…

Christmas prep

Christmas portraits…


We attended our annual Santa Brunch at the club. Ryan is more afraid of Santa than ever. Last year we were at least able to get Santa and a terrified Ryan in the same frame. This year Ryan wouldn't get within 50 ft of Santa (so we don't have any Santa photos). Here's Ryan watching the puppet show…


This is the first year we've gotten a Christmas tree. Ryan had a great time decorating it...

Baking holiday cookies for Ryan's teachers (Ryan loves to bake)…

Goodbye old blog template...

We've had a nice run of 3 years with "Brooke and Van +1", but now it's time for an update.

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving brought us a few out of town visitors. My brother came to stay with us and met Connor for the first time.


Building gingerbread houses with the family…


Brooke's grandparents came to visit for Thanksgiving. Here's Brooke's grandma with Connor...


In school Ryan learned the "Turkey Dinner" song which describes a "yummy, yummy drumstick". Here's Ryan acting out the song…

Happy 1 Month Birthday Connor!

 -----UPDATE 11/19/2012------------------------------

At today’s pediatrician appointment, Connor’s stats were:
10 lb. 5 oz. (75th percentile)
22.5” tall (90th percentile)
14.6” head circumference (50th percentile)

Just for our records…
his weight at birth was 8 lb 5.5 oz,
at 2-days old, he was 7 lb 14 oz,
at 5-days old, he was 8 lb 0.5 oz,
at 14-days old he was 8 lb 13 oz

Here are some other general observations about Connor:

• He eats every 2 to 2.5 hours in the day and 3 to 3.5 hours at night. 
• Starting last week (about 3 weeks old), he entered into a fussy phase and cries for no apparent reason. Before this phase, he was perfect, crying only when he was hungry or had a wet diaper. 
• He drinks approx. 25 oz of breast milk per day. 
• He hates pacifiers. He’ll immediately spits it out whenever we try to give him one. 
• He seems very alert and aware of his surroundings. He’ll track you with his eyes and is already reaching for toys hanging overhead. 
• He’s usually very congested and snores a lot.

Ryan's progress report

Ryan had his school portraits. (Had we remembered that it was picture day, we would have at least tried harder to tame the hair)...



Ryan's self portrait…


Ryan is tracing & writing his name...


Ryan's current favorite songs:
- Dinosaurs A through Z
- Bruce Springsteen's My Home Town

Connor's first month

November 11th (24 days old)








November 3rd (15 days old)


November 1st (13 days old)

Halloween

We took Ryan to the pumpkin patch a couple of weeks before Connor arrived...




Brooke's parents took Ryan to a kid's halloween event and look what the waiter was wearing!


Ryan with Connor in his first Halloween costume (he's a banana)

This was the first year Ryan really seemed to enjoy trick-or-treating. He kept wanting to go to more houses. Not only did he love trick-or-treating, he loved answering the door and passing out candy. Everytime he answered the door he would always sneak an additional piece of candy into his own bucket.