Cyanne learns the hard truth...

about the prices of real estate in Santa Barbara.

Tom is sharing his favorite hobby with Cyanne... perusing the local house listings.
Each Sunday, Tom immerses himself in the real estate section of the paper, naively hoping that each week maybe, just maybe, the median home price will have dropped by $500K or so...

This was last Sunday... she's such a good student.
"Daddy, that one is only on an acre and I really prefer Spanish colonial architecture..."

Happy 5 Months Cyanne!

Cyanne is 5 months old today!!

And what an amazing 5 months it has been...
It seems like just yesterday that I was taking her photo on her 4 month marker and posting those photos.
As always.... time flies.


Thanks to Nanna Blabey for a very cute outfit! The duck feet rattle!
And Tom would I'm sure like me to put in a disclaimer that the reason her face looks greasy is because I had just put on pretty thick face cream - Cyanne is subjected to much lotion-ing by her Mommy... her skin looks dry! =)

Experiencing "Springtime"

Some of our fruit trees have decided that it's springtime and they are just bursting with blossoms.


The peach tree in particular is just beautiful.

Since Cyanne was suited up in a nice pink outfit,
we decided to see if we could capture her hanging out amidst the blossoms.
The next two are some entertaining faces. She makes the best faces.

Sleeping

So, I know this is just a tease for us and by writing this I'll likely jinx us - but last night Cyanne slept from 9:30 PM - 5:30AM!
Very very exciting!
(Tom did do a 'dreamfeed' at 10 PM ish)

That means that I didn't have to wake up at all during the night!

I took Cyanne to a PEP (mom & baby) meeting last night at a restaurant and she was thrilled looking at all of the other babies, tv, and lights and was a perfectly behaved baby while we were there. I was very proud =). So she was up past her usual bedtime as we got home a little after 8:30. I keep trying to figure out what we did differently yesterday in the hopes of repeating her sleeping success.
We also fed her more yesterday... hmmm...

It just felt so nice not having woken up during the night - and waking up 30-15 min. before my alarm is scheduled to go off is okay by me. =)

Good little girl...

Now we just hope it happens again!

Happy Valentine's Day!! (aka Dogs & Chcolate Don't Mix...)

Happy Valentine's Day!!
So... it's just noon here and it has been quite an interesting day thus far.
First off though, I'd just like to say that things have changed quite a bit from Valentine's past. Before, the big decision for the day would be what nice restaurant Tom & I would go to for dinner... Also, perhaps, what I would get him as a gift. Perhaps, what kind of flowers he'd hopefully get for me. Well, things have changed!
I doubt we'll even make it out for dinner at all! Though we might just try and take Cyanne out for her first Valentine's Day dinner. We shall see...

But - the interesting part of the day was this:
I always order Tom a box of chocolate for each holiday from Burdick's - our favorite store in Cambridge... (my Dad is also a beneficiary, these days) So, I ordered his usual lb. assortment as well as a 1/2 lb. order of lemon peel dipped in dark chocolate. As well as a little chocolate cake for 2. This morning, while I was feeding Cyanne, I hear the FedEx truck stop at our driveway then drive away so I think to myself - okay... I need to go get the box before Tom gets back from work.
But... as things always are these days - I'm feeding her, shushing... trying to get her to take a nap, looking at my work email... trying to get some stuff done for work - and then Cyanne wakes up from her brief nap. So, I think - let's take a fun little trip outside to get Daddy's chocolate.
Well... Lucky got to it first.
As we all know - chocolate and dogs are a bad bad combination.

So first I proceed to yell at him - I'm sure the neighbors could hear me saying 'bad dog' over and over... then I realized i'm still holding the baby - so I lay her down on one of the seats in the car - and inspected the damage.
Lucky ate the ENTIRE pound of chocolate... plus the ENTIRE box of chocolate dipped fruit.
(as an aside, this was a VERY expensive dog treat for those of you who know this store!!!?!!!)
At least he hadn't reached the cake which had a corner of the box gnawed off... It is currently, safely in our refrigerator.
After my annoyance/anger wore off, I then realized that it was likely a bad thing he ate the chocolate. So in Cyanne and I went to call the vet...
30 minutes later, we're at the vet and Lucky gets his stomach pumped!!...

Poor guy. So perhaps my yelling and nasty looks at him combined with having his stomach pumped & being given vomit inducing drugs will make him think twice before chewing on a package that arrives at our house. (he has done this before... I've lost a J Crew sweater to a few dog chewed holes in the past... ) The vet said he should be fine...

So... he's still there - Tom's on his way to get him now - but so far, has been a rather eventful Valentine's day so far...

On a better note:
Here are some photos of Cyanne in her Valentine's Day outfit - she not sure what she thinks of it all =)...
1) Hmmm... Wow, this is exciting, sort of... At least I get to wear a fun outfit!

Hm... Well, this doesn't seem too exciting to me. Rather ho-hum, I'd say... I'd say 'been there, done that' but I haven't!...


Well, maybe this could be fun. Hey, wait, you're still taking photos of me!?! I am not going to smile, so you can just quit trying to make me!
Cyanne wants to wish you all a very happy, festive, and fun Valentine's Day.
She's sending you all big, wet, slobbery, gummy kisses =)...

Tom was good! He opted for some of my favorites instead of the traditional roses... =) Though he did bring home a bunch of red tulips earlier in the week. Has been a good week for flowers around here!

One last shot of Cyanne playing on her activity mat - she's definitely starting to reach for all of the things dangling down...

Cyanne Turns 4 Months Old!

Here are a few shots we took on January 26th when Cyanne turned four months old.




To give you a little perspective on her size -
this is the rocking chair in our living room (from Tom's grandfather).
We'll try & take photos of her each month in this chair to see how she changes in size =).

Tom's TV set-up for Cyanne

So, this was back in January.
Tom noticed Cyanne's tendency to watch TV while we did... And yes, we know this makes us bad parents for letting her watch it - but hey, it's colorful... and she won't remember. This is what we tell ourselves - but I digress.
This was Tom's set-up for Cyanne... =)
She looks super thrilled, no?

Watching the local evening news... =)
You can see the top of her head/socks.

The profile shot - propped up on the Boppy in the rocking chair.
And don't worry - we've never done this again.
I just thought it was very entertaining and hence the photos to document it.

More photos & some of my favorite things =)...

Here are more shots from when Anna & Jay were here...
Some of my favorite things:
1) Lunch at the Beachside with Tom & Jay

2) My sleeping baby & a very tasty margarita

3) Tom feeding Cyanne (which means I am not! =))

4) Cyanne's fun expressions - this is her thinker expression staring off into the distance... Oh...

5) Anna having fun with her niece and coming to visit us! =)

6) Anna - still talking with Cyanne - and providing a little sun protection... =)

Aunt Anna & Jay M. Visit & meet Cyanne!

We were lucky enough to have a visit from both Tom's sister Anna and our friend Jay Morrison the same weekend! Anna flew from Texas to see her niece for the first time while Jay drove down from SF where he was having interviews (we secretly hope he gets the position at SF and not any of those much less fun E. Coast VA's... but then we are biased...).

It was wonderful having them here - wonderful that they got to meet Cyanne and wonderful for us not only to have their excellent company but also to have their hands to hold, help, and at times diaper and feed Cyanne!
As we have come to learn, help in any amount, at any time, is very very welcome and wonderful!
Here are a few photos from the weekend.
We went down to the harbor - it was a beautiful weekend. The USS Ronald Reagan was in town... there's a shot of it in the distance in one of the shots of Cyanne below.
Here ya go:

Mission Roll-Over: Accomplished!

We have roll-over!!

Cyanne rolled over for the first time on Wednesday the 9th of January! Tom was privileged to be the first one to see it. I was in the kitchen - I am sure washing bottles... - and I hear "she did it! She rolled over!" So I run out to the pack n' play where she was having some "tummy time" and alas... she decided just then that she'd had enough and started to cry. There would be no more rolling that evening.
So then on the 10th, after Anna had arrived (will be more posting on that in a bit) - we set out to see if she would do it again... and she did... several times!
Here are the photos - as best I could capture it - Cyanne's action shots rolling over!

She was very happy with herself... but was rather surprised upon finding herself on her back.
She has rolled both right to left and left to right quite a few times now! We were amused because she seems to use the weight of her still large seeming head to give her a little momentum to get the roll started. It seems to work!

Ah, the beginning of mobility... an entirely new phase.

Cyanne & Mr. Octopus

So... This is Cyanne's favorite toy.
She just stares and stares at this musical octopus we have.
So, since she seemed to like him so much, I decided they could be face to face for a little while while she was hanging out in her swing the other morning.
Here are the shots of their stare-down...

She's having a moment of unease with Mr. Octopus.
"What are you doing staring at me while i'm in my swing?!?"
or
"Get off my feet!"

Cyanne isn't quite sure what she thinks...
She knows she likes looking at him - but remains slightly wary.



If any of you have any suggestions for a name for Mr. Octopus, we'd love to hear 'em.
I have a feeling he's going to be hanging out for a while!

4 Month Pediatrician Visit

Cyanne had her 4 months wellness visit yesterday with the Pediatrician.
Here are the most recent stats:

Weight: 13 lb, 14 oz.
Height: 24 1/4"
Head: 41 3/4

Cyanne did well during the entire visit. She was a trooper.
She was sporting the toga look for a while as she was naked and just had a yellow blanket (anne - the yellow one you sent with the turquoise stitching...) wrapped around her very Greek-like. =)

Anyway, we peppered the ped. with questions about her fussiness and strong dislike of the bottle... He didn't have any real suggestions or answers but basically said she'd grow out of it and if she fought the bottle over and over, eventually hunger and thirst would win out and she'd cave.
So, we shall see. He also said we could start solids but it is a little earlier than I wanted to do it but depending on how she does these next few weeks, Cyanne may just be eating some rice/oatmeal cereal...! Perhaps she's just not a fan of the bottle and will prefer a spoon.

She got her 2nd round of shots - and boy, was she a good sport! She didn't even cry for the 1st three... apparently the last one really stings - so that's when we got the shocked face, red cheeks, and loud cry. Poor girl... She also did really well taking down the Tylenol and rotavirus (which apparently is super bitter) in a dropper.
She did very well!
And as Tom likes to point out, I am more stressed out/worried about it/upset by it than she...

The ped. was very pleased w/her growth - she's now in the 50% for both height and weight.
Way to catch up after being a premie Cyanne! =)
She grew over 3 inches in 2 months! No wonder the clothes we've been having her wear are all seeming too short!

Tom and I then, deciding to capitalize on her drowsiness/vaccination hangover - decided to go out to dinner, thinking she'd sleep the meal away.
We went to our standby - The Beachside - and she did pretty well. About half way through - when we happened to be talking about her - we heard this weak cry... So she then joined us for the rest of dinner, which was okay. She got tons of compliments when we were changing in the bathroom - she was cooed, smiled, and poked at by numerous ladies. I, of course, had her in the most gender-neutral outfit possible so she got a lot of "wow, he? she? is soooo cute!"...
I felt bad though - this one lady came up and smiled at her and said " you are just the cutest baby!!!" and Cyanne looked at her and immediately started to cry. The woman quickly turned and left!

So... that was our exciting day yesterday.
The next appt. is set for April 11th! It seems so far away but then again, I remember thinking that February 1st seemed quite far in the future as well.

Will post more photos soon! I have them - they just need to be uploaded.
Stay tuned for most photos!