Grandpa Mark

Just quick posting pics...need sleep, but know lotsa people check out for pics and such on Mondays...

Had a SUPER weekend with Grandpa Mark. (Sorry so blurry, but...) Here is Grandpa meeting Summer Friday morning!



After that we went out golfing. Had a nice time, after we ditched these two guys that were not so fun to play with. We both had some good shots and some bad shots. I got one birdie on the day on a tough par three, so that's pretty good. Grandpa got off the tee much better than I did on just about every tee box! For playing only once a year, give or take, he still has it! So, here he is holding her Earlier today (Sunday)...



And here they are a bit closer, she loved playing with him.



Summer ate pretty messily, so we had to change her clothes before this last picture was taken...from just a few hours ago. Grandpa got to say goodbye by holding her until she finally fell asleep. He then went and put her down, we watched a bit of TV and chatted until he had to get to the airport.



Hope you had a great trip, Papa! I know we had fun!! Will write more later...g'nite!

Summer gettin' her groove on...

Updated the pic of Jess holding Summer...Jess told me to post it. Check it...

Daddy's a geek...

Hi Summer, just a super quick post...I saw on the google sidebar this link for adding our blog to a map...so, you'll see that on the right side-bar now. There are a lot in our neighborhood, and it will only increase. Don't worry, I only used our zip-code, it's not actually where we live...

For the rest of you, this shows about where we live (which is in our profile, anyway) and other bloggers nearby. I think the BBQ Junkie is kinda cool!

Happy Birthday (3 Months) Summer!!!

Hi Summer...so, you're 3 months old today...

My how you've changed. It has been an exciting time for us. Every day is new.

You have grown from 7lbs 11oz, to (we're guessing) 13+lbs...You're almost twice your birth-weight! Amazing! And you seem so tall now! You fill up the crib width-wise, you fill up the changing table and when I see Mommy holding you and you stretch from her chin to her waist I am just floored!

Even your clothes are starting to not fit. The newborn/0-3 month stuff is not going to work much longer if at all. Some DON'T fit, and others are getting really tight. We're dressing you mostly in 3-6 month clothing already. Some is lose and some fit great... Amazing...again with that word, but it's true. It's sad to think you won't be wearing your cute little pink kitty onsie anymore. I really thought that was one of the cutest outfits you wore. We figured out we need more pants for you, so Mommy saved the day and hit a GapKids sale and got you lots of pants as part of outfits for super cheap! Good job Jess!

You've also gotten so strong. Standing, arching your back, nearly sitting up, pulling on toys and even pressing the buttons on your activity center. It's great. Don't grow up too fast! We try not to push you, but you always seem so bored with everything so we show you as much as we can and you just keep taking it all in. You keep touching, feeling, pulling, speaking your vowels... Mommy also got you those feely books. You love those! Just like you love petting the kitties; when we put your hand to these things (books and cats) you always open your hand and touch the things with your fingers.

You've started daycare and everyone there seems absolutely smitten with you! You sure get your way. We give in too easily we think, at times...but you can't talk, so we try to entertain, we don't want you screaming/crying for no reason. We feel we should interact with you and keep you learning and growing, right? When you start talking we keep telling ourselves we'll have to not give in so much...we'll have to see how that works out. ;-)

Now we are waiting for the next big thing...for your teeth to start coming in. That should be soon. But before that, you get to meet grandpa, Mark. He is showing up Thursday while you are sleeping. You'll meet him for a moment Friday morning, as we'll bring you to daycare. Then you'll get to hang out with him after we get back from golf for the rest of the weekend. You'll like him; he has a beard you can pull. :-D

So, that's it, Summer, you're 3 months old today. Time has flown up ‘til this point, I wish I had more pictures sometime...we have hundreds and it doesn't seem like enough. They just don't seem to capture how much you've really changed. Mommy and Daddy love you and look forward to the next three months! Happy Birthday!

3 Months Tomorrow!

Wow, can you believe it, Summer is almost three months old. Now we've decided we'll probably not be counting the weeks anymore...like when people ask...now we'll just answer, she's 3 months old. Like yesterday when this old lady at Bagel Nosh kept saying how cute she was. The cutest baby she had ever seen. Hmmmm...wonder if she'd ever had any of her own. People just tend to say nice things. But she was dressed up pretty cute...She was dressed up as if she is a big kid now!!


And she can stand up, almost, on her own....she just doesn't have the balance to stay up!


We also just like lying Summer around to look at things, such as this lamp, she was in our laps and kept turning her head that way. She loves the pretty colors, so we lay her down and let her just look at it for a while.


Then later, she was crying and I was walking her around and saw the kitties lounging, so I figured Summer would like that, too.


Jess went out with her gal pals on Saturday night and went dancing. Erika spent the night and we finally got a picture of the two of them hanging out!


Yoli was going to go out, but couldn't make it, she got hung up at work. But she did bring over a gift for Summer from our friends' Teri and Jeff. It was a Bobby with an over-hang. We put both Boppies together and that helped Summer sit up on her own and then she was able to play with the hanging rings.


Yoli got a couple of good pictures of Summer, too, and so did Erika, I think. I think Yoli got a picture of her with Summer...I hope. We're still missing that. Shoot. Hopefully Yoli can send us one, or she'll just have to visit again.

Summer was a little more cranky today. She's down now, though, so I have to get this post up and get to bed! She'll be up sometime around 4-6AM... She's been better, nose a little runny, but no fever or anything, so she seems healthy as can be. She just likes to get her way! :-) Good night

TV Watching...

Hmmm...

So, should Summer be watching TV? Or is the question: CAN SHE SEE the TV? From a website:

Three Months: Distance vision begins to develop. You may notice your baby staring at you from halfway across the room or examining objects that are several feet away.

Four Months: Distance vision develops fully. Your baby will test his newfound gift by staring at a distant television screen or looking out the window. His response to color is greater, too, as he begins to decipher a full range of colors and shades.

So, she's about 3 months now... I've always read about ADD and the TV's influence on creating that problem...from another website:

As a kiddie viddie baby sits "mesmerized", neural paths are not being created. This is crucial brain development that stops by age three.

and:

No reliable research has been done on how television viewing affects children younger than 2, Dr. Hogan said. But the academy based its recommendations for such children on knowledge of what babies need for proper brain development - notably, close-up interaction with older people - and the commonsense notion that, if they are watching television, babies are not getting those other essential stimuli.

So, what do we do now that she can see?? Is she looking at me, or the TV?


Here, she is for SURE watching TV:


So, yeah, she can definitely see the TV. About if we're going to let her watch ANY TV...We have the Baby Einstein DVDs, and I have let her "watch" golf and poker with me a few times. Those seem slow and we postulate the fast cuts from some shows and commercials are the bad part. Up 'til now she only saw colors and lights, just like on her swing. But now that she can see, we'll have to be more careful to avert her eyes. We figure moderation is key.

As mentioned on the linked websites, some people have TVs in the baby's room, etc. That is not going to happen with us. We've already discussed her TV habits and she can have a radio in her room, but TV watching is a family endeavor. Video games will also be a family room activity...I'll be teaching her and playing with her. No GTA for her...

So, as getting in the car today after work, there was a Sublime song on KROQ that has explicit lyrics. Some beeped out, some considered OK for radio, but not in my mind. Not for Summer...so, I'll be programming the radio for Radio Disney (AM 1110). :-)

So, the coughing never seemed to materialize into anything. Maybe a hairball from the kitties? Maybe allergies, maybe she was only a tiny bit sick and is already OK? She never seemed to be in pain or anything, just coughed a bit and had a runny nose that one morning. She's back to good.

Jess mentioned we need to get some more video of her. So, when I got home, before letting her pass out (she tends to crash after all the stimuli of daycare) I got her playing a little in the activity center, but she started crying, due to being tired. I then held her and rocked her and she passed out. She's down now. She's so adorable when she's sleeping. Adorable when awake, too, of course...I'm sure you know what I mean, if you've been reading this blog at all...she's the greatest! :-)

Oops, while typing all this (It takes some time, ya know) Jess came home and Summer woke up...Jess is walking her...maybe will feed her, but she seems to be falling back asleep a little...nope, now I hear Summer pulling some hard swigs off her bottle. And now that I'm actually finishing up....Jess is putting her in the crib and playing the mobile a few times. See ya when ya wake up in about an hour, Summer!

First Week of Daycare is Over

Well Summer had a good first week of Daycare. She scratched herself on the face a little bit, I KNEW I had to work on trimming her nails...so I finally did that Thursday. She is already looking better. I'll have to be sure to keep up on that.

Sadly, on Friday Summer coughed once or twice, Saturday a few more times. Sunday, she was a coughing machine. She didn't have a fever, but the cough is worrisome. We'll see how she does at daycare today and how she's feeling tonight. Jess said she saw Summer's nose running a little when she dropped her off at daycare this morning. :-( We knew she was at the most risk being at daycare with lots of kids, but it's still sad. It will make her have a stronger immune system, right?! :-) Maybe it's just allergies or something else, too. We'll be keeping an eye on her.

Anyway, all last week Summer was exhausted after coming home from daycare and slept through the night pretty good. This weekend we kept her up and played with her as much as possible. She is still so amazing. Learning and paying attention to so much.

Anyway, have to put up some pics from the weekend. First up is Mommy holding Summer in another newly wearing outfit. When Jess came down, for some reason Summer looked like a little gangster/hoodlum with that cap on her head, I busted up laughing. Whadaya think?





As said, Summer loves to play, here she is with Mommy playing with some of her ducks on a tray...





Yesterday while watching the football games Summer rested with Mommy and Hamlet.



And at other times she sat up and watched the games with me and Cheeto.



OK, that's it, not much to say. No changes, she's still getting LONGER and HEAVIER every day, it seems like. Let's hope her cough goes away and she doesn't feel too bad. Get well Summer!

1st Day of Daycare

Well, yesterday was Summer's first day at daycare!

As the provider said, it will be cool to see Summer grow into that high-chair. :-)



Here she is sleeping in the crib:



And lastly to prove she wasn't sleeping the WHOLE day, here she is smiling on a chair:



Jess dropped her off in the morning and I picked her up around 5PM. She was sleeping in a little bouncy chair, with toys hanging above her head. Jess and I have to assume she was well entertained, as when I got Summer home she slept and slept and slept. I let her sleep on me for 2 hours, then she woke up, Jess fed her and put her down again around 7. We woke her up at 10, she ate and fell asleep and stayed down until the usual 5AM. That's when I got up and fed her and walked around for about an hour before she fell back asleep and I have my time to get ready and go to work.

Thanks go out to our day-care provider, for taking care of Summer and taking these wonderful pictures. Seems like Summer's going to be just fine!!! :-)

Happy Labor Day Everyone!!

So, it's Labor Day Weekend and Mommy and Daddy both left the house Saturday...without Summer. Summer had her first non-family baby-sitter. Kind of like a mini practice for day-care starting tomorrow. Our friend Robyn baby-sat for about three hours while Mommy went shopping and Daddy was playing golf. Thanks Robyn! You're super!!! Summer was a little princess. Played with Robyn for 20 minutes or so, then fell asleep for about an hour, woke up, played and ate, and then Daddy came home. Good job Summer, we're proud of you!!!!

The next morning I took this picture before we went out on some errands. Our latest thing is putting Summer in her Leap Frog Activity Center. She can't quite stand up, but she can play and watch while leaning forward.



Then we dressed Summer up for the day, as we needed to go check out a hard-drive to back up our system (most everything is on DVD, but a hard-drive back-up will be easier to recover with, etc...). Anyway, the model we wanted wasn't there, so we went on to our next place...OSH, to get some flowers for the back patio. Well, anyway, here's Summer...I had to change my shirt so we could match. :-)



Now today we plan on going to Toys R Us to hit the sales and get a few more needed things. Always running...hope to have a nice dinner for the holiday, though.

Summer has been much better the last few days. She watches Baby Einstein for about 20 minutes, loves to listen to us read or do "the itzy bitzy spider..." and other things. She is "walking" when we hold her hands/body, she lifts her legs and falls forward. She is so curious, it's amazing to watch everyday. She is sleeping better and better. About 20-60 minutes during the day, then up for an hour or 2. But at night we've gotten her to bed around 10 PM and she sleeps 6-8 hours. It's been very nice.

OK, that's it for the day. Happy Labor Day! More after day-care!

Erick's First Day Alone

Hi, first day I have taken care of Summer all day, while Jess went back to work. To go with the last post, here is another pic taken just an hour or so ago showing her interest in things. This toy is for the stroller, so I can't leave it on the crib, but I put it up to see if she'd reach/check it out...she sure did!!!



I took Summer to meet her day-care provider and drop off diapers, clothes and paperwork. Everything went well and she fell asleep there. Then I drove to work, she slept in the car and woke up when I was carrying her inside. She met everyone and was a perfect angel for about 45 minutes, then I got outta there. When I stopped at a traffic light a few blocks from home, she woke up and started crying. Got her home, fed her, entertained her and then she fell asleep for a little while.

Overall she's been super good. She's down again after about a 2:20 feeding. So, I'm gonna go to bed, start up my movie again and see if I can stay awake for it. Mommy will be home in 2.5 hours or thereabouts. Yay!!! I'm sure she missed Summer dearly, I've emailed Mommy a few pictures and updates and we've talked on the phone a couple of times. She's being swamped at work... :-(

OK, that's all I had to say for now.

Attention!

So, I had mentioned how Summer is paying more attention to her surroundings. Well here she is. She intently watches the fish mobile on her swing.



Jess just read and tried this the other day...and it works! Summer reaches out and touches/plays with her toys. Definitely looks at them a lot and keeps her interest.



This last pic, just shows Cheeto hanging around Summer. He checks her and her toys out. If you notice you'll see a toy mouse...that is Cheeto's and the other kitties'.



Anyway, I was up tonight printing out some pics for Jess to bring to work tomorrow. Her first day back. So, I figured that I would put up a few more pics of Summer...we take so many. We have just over 400 on the PC. A lot of "duplicates" of the same scene, trying to get a good shot, but I've deleted 30 or so already that were blurry or whatever. Also, this is my 39th post already, in 10 weeks and a few days. I only have 39 posts total in the tykebreneman blog, which was spread out over 6 months. I guess the changes and pictures come by a lot quicker after the baby is born! ;-) OK, gonna go take a nap now. Good night!