SOS

Rolling blackouts are the worst. Last year when we experienced this temporary loss of energy, it was simply an inconvenient hour with no AC or TV. But this year, no energy = no working freezer = 2 months of breast milk slowly defrosting before our eyes = SOS!

I’ve been working slowly but surely on getting a supply of pumped milk ready for my return to work next week, and I finally have a decent amount stocked up. The loss of all that milk would be DEVASTATING! Hours of pumping and days of nutrition for Kyle down the drain! (In case you didn’t know – once breast milk is defrosted, it can’t be re-frozen and must be refrigerated and consumed within 24 hours.)

I was at my dad’s house (only about 2 miles from home) during the blackout, and his house wasn’t affected. Luckily my quick-thinking husband was home, transferred the milk to a cooler and jetted it over to my dad’s freezer. But when I say “jet,” I really mean drive in slow as molasses traffic because every single street light between our house and dad’s house was out. Thank goodness he made it over with the milk still frozen. We piled the bags in my dad’s freezer and headed back home, only to find that our power was back on and we needed to bring my milk back home.

Good times!

sun & sucks

Today, Kyle took his first dip in a pool at our friend Mackenzie's house. He played it cool, but I could tell he liked the water on his toes! And he looked super cute in his swim gear. Mommy was a little paranoid about the sun on his white boy baby skin so we only stayed in for a minute. Just long enough to prep him for a nice long nap after lunch.

Later in the day while we were celebrating cousin Jacob's 2nd birthday, I caught him sucking his thumb for the first time! He's been a big fan of the finger suck for a while, but this was his first actual thumb suck:

Since it's Jacob's 2nd birthday today, I was going through old(ish - I mean, he's only 2) pictures and found this one from last 4th of July when he was only 6 days old! Cute to compare Jacob and Kyle wearing the same auntie onesie :)

Jacob (left), 6 days old; Kyle 2 weeks old
size NB onesie

Happy birthday Jacob! Auntie Kika, Uncle B & cousin Kyle love you!!

Jakey with his Auntie on June 28, 2011

4 months

Kyle, you are 4 months old! 

You are my little sidekick. I love spending every day with you and seeing your sweet smile! Here is an update on what 4 months has brought us:

• We went to your 4 month check up yesterday. You weigh 16 lbs, 8 oz! We talked to the doc about your sensitive skin and he recommended we change detergent and use a good lotion. So yesterday mommy re-washed all of your clothes and put away all your NB - 3 mo outfits. We were so lucky to have so many hand-me-downs from your cousin Jacob and friend Logan that some of the stuff you only wore once or twice! All these cute clothes and jammies are going into storage for now...

• You are grabbing everything in sight, including mommy's necklace and hair at all times. You love to hold onto your links or toys, especially in the car. Some favorites are your monkey, Sophie the Giraffe and your crinkly books. But your favorite thing to grab seems to be your pacifier strap!
• You don't have your paci in your mouth all the time, but when you do want it you like to take it out and try and put it back in. You've been successful a handful of times!
• Last night, we stopped swaddling your arms to sleep at night. I think you were waking up in the middle of the night because you were PO'd that you couldn't move your arms! Night 1 of no swaddle was a success: you slept 9-3, nursed and went right back to sleep until 8. Yay!
• It's pretty easy for mommy to make you laugh. You laugh at me when I talk or sing to you, or make funny sounds. You even laugh at me when I say "shhhhh" when I'm trying to put you to sleep! What's up with that?
• We started music class last week through the city recreation program and you LOVED IT! We sat in a circle with 7 other moms/babies and you were just staring at the other babies and smiling. We learned a couple new songs and did some sign language, and you got to hold onto the bells and drums and shake away! We can't wait for next week's class.
• You still love to be outside, so we go for lots of walks in the stroller or Bjorn or take a blanket and lay in the park so you can stare at the trees.
• You still hate tummy time and have shown no interest in rolling from your tummy to your back since your miraculous roll-overs at only 3 weeks old. You almost roll from your back to your tummy, though. We'll keep working at it!
• You can *almost* sit up by yourself. You love to sit up with my help, and sit up in your bouncy seat and Bumbo almost all day.
• You're still not the best napper, but you're getting better. You'll nap for about 1-2 hours in the swing in the morning, 2 hours after you wake up. Then you'll nap again in the afternoon but give mommy a hard time about it. Of course you love to fall asleep while nursing or in the car, but always wake up as soon as we get in the house.
• You are LOUD! You love to scream/squeal like a dolphin and make funny sounds. They crack us up!
• You had your first cold, but it was very minor. Just a runny nose for a day or so and a little congestion, but you're better now. We are dreading you getting any sicker than that! Let's stay healthy all year, ok?

my angel boy!

barenaked.

So I've mentioned before that Brian and I are really into traditions. Another one of my favorites is that every time the Barenaked Ladies are in town we must see them. We were trying to remember how many BNL shows we've been to, and I believe it's 8 - well, now 9 with last night's concert at The Greek Theatre.

When Brian and I first started dating in 2001 we were having lunch at EJ Malloys in Long Beach and the beer girls were handing out a BNL cassette tape of one of their singles. We popped it in my cassette player in my 1988 Nissan Sentra for the drive home and we really liked it! We started listening to more and more of their music, so for our 2 year date-a-versary I surprised Brian with 2 tickets to their concert at The Wiltern in LA on Nov. 20, 2003 - our 1st of many concerts together.

I remember having so. much. fun. with Brian. Maybe one of our best dates ever. BNL is such a fun band to watch, and The Wiltern is my #1 fave concert venue. We also had the best seats of all time - front row, very center of the 2nd floor terrace. Perfect view, small venue. I was sold.

We had so much fun that every time BNL comes to town we make it a point to see their show. We've seen them at a bunch of different So Cal venues and always have a blast. Last night we continued this tradition by attending the BNL concert at The Greek. This was our first concert post-Kyle and a much-needed date night! Mammie stayed home with the baby and we made the drive to LA to drink a couple of beers and watch our favorite band perform. We're both exhausted today, but it was so worth it. As a bonus, we discovered that we really like Ben Folds Five, who also performed. I'll be buying some new (old) music today!

June 23, 2013

flashback - so excited to see our 2nd BNL show on Dec. 13, 2005
(Santa Monica Civic Theatre)

I also need to post Kyle's 4 month update and take a new picture, since our big boy turned 4 months yesterday!! I'm going to wait until after our 4-month check up with Dr. Wong on Wednesday so I have all his updated stats :) Coming soon!

PS - if you've never been to The Greek I highly recommend it. It's in LA next to the Griffith Observatory and is one of my top venues to see a show. Parking is stacked ($15), but it's very organized. The venue itself is awesome - outdoor, small to medium size and every seat is good. They have lots of benches/grassy areas to tailgate beforehand where no one bothers you, and inside there are multiple places to buy drinks and food with lines that are never too long. And the bathrooms are amazing - there are almost more stalls in the HUGE women's room than there are women at the concert! Bonus!

no swaddle for you!

Today Kyle showed me that he wasn't in the mood to be swaddled. He woke up from his nap and pulled both arms out, no problem. And when I went to check on him he started laughing at me!

look mom, both hands!