New mommy mixer

Brandt's first pun

I took my first lunch break all week (I know, shame on me...all work and no play blah blah blah) and visited the WomensCare Center's new mommy mixer for the first time. I was worried that 10 weeks (whoa--almost 11 weeks now. Where does the time go?) made me not "new" enough, but there were tons of babies of all ages there. And it was much more packed than I thought it would be--there were probably 50 babies there. I guess they had all sent their husbands to wait in line for their new iPhones. Or would it be even *more* crowded on a normal Friday? I hate to think.

I had to leave to get back to work after the hour of Q&A and therefore missed the socializing part, but next week I'll either arrive late or stay long so I can see how Brandt measures up against the other babies his age. Two seats to our left was another 10 week-old, but apparently Brandt's eight-day early arrival (and over a pound lighter from the get go) made comparing not worthwhile. But I tossed him on the scale and learned he now weighs 11.07 pounds (5.02 kilograms). That's heavier than Lyle and Bettie! Chunkalicious!

Attack of the 50-foot baby

Fee-fi-fo-fum

This is Attack of the 50-foot Baby, our favorite game for the last few weeks. He loves walking up Dan's chest and now it seems more for the sake of walking and less about getting closer to the window blinds. I'm not gonna say the love affair is over, but he's finally more into us than those damned blinds--yippee! (I think Dan was starting to get a bit jealous)

T50FB takes a breather before his next attack on the villagers

And today (or rather, yesterday) marks the end of daily posts--sorry! Work is keeping us too busy to keep the posts interesting so they'll get more sporadic, but more meaty.

Knuckle sandwich

Tasty!

Brandt started gaining control of his crazy arms over the past week and the only thing he wants to do is eat his paw. He's got a ways to go in the dexterity department, though--he's still smacking himself (and me!) in the face quite a bit. Amazingly, still no bruises considering how strongly he flails and connects.

Day 70: Trees, please

Come hobbits come. Real quickly. I found it, I did. The way through the marshes.

We finally made it up to Mt. Charleston to see what all the fuss is about. As promised, it was less than an hour away and was indeed 30 degrees cooler than home (105 at home and 75-85 around the mountain).

It was certainly nice to be outdoors without melting, but I have to say I was a bit disappointed--I expected it to be more wilderness-y. Yeah, there were trees, but I expected *more* trees. We drove through two campsites and both were super barren :( However, there's still more mountain to explore so maybe we'll find a good campsite yet.

I have to admit that the Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort (yeah, who knew--skiing in Las Vegas! With real [groomed] snow!) was nice and treeful, and the Bristlecone trail there was great. I've got my eye on one additional trail so we'll head back soon and bring the dogs.

Day 69: Shuffle up and deal

Wassup, WSOP?

We braved the Strip and headed to the Rio so we could check out the view from their rooftop Voodoo Lounge this afternoon. Little did I know the World Series of Poker is on and taking place at the Rio. The place wasn't overly crowded, but all the tables around us in the cafe for dinner were filled with players rushing through their one hour dinner breaks. After dinner we headed to the convention center to see the tournament. Brandt broke his first law: he breezed right on past the "No one under 21 allowed" sign. The place was packed and we walked right past Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Marcel "The Flying Dutchman" Luske.

Day 68: Greasy monkey

I've got a slippery head

My fears that Brandt would grow up a little lizard child, comfortable living in the desert have been allayed--his scalp has been a bit dry and flakey lately. I read that mineral oil is the proper treatment for cradle cap (which fortunately this is not) so I've been smearing him with Burt's Bees Baby Bee Apricot Baby Oil. But duh--there's no mineral oil in the baby bee stuff! But it's still doing the trick quite well. In fact, before heading over to Jeff and Ashley's last weekend to meet up with Dan and show Brandt off to all the San Diego people for the first time, Dan gave me strict instructions on which outfit he was to wear ("and don't put him in it until you arrive so it doesn't get spit up on it in the car") and "dont' forget to oil his head."

Day 67: Bubble blower

Help, I'm trapped in a sling

I've been trying to capture Brandt blowing bubbles for a week now, but it's just not happening. Dan's happy about that because he doesn't share my opinion that the bubble blowing is adorable. But this picture is definitely adorable and was taken right *after* some bubble blowing. It's also after a big sneeze as you can tell from the watery eyes.

Day 66: Vita D

Show me fruity.

So I read the other day that all breastfed babies need to take a Vitamin D supplement. My ass! Further research has revealed that normal everyday sun exposure is a fine source of Vitamin D. Of course I've been too wimpy to go outside much so Brandt isn't getting normal sun exposure--until now. 4.3 minutes per day is not proving to be too bad. No rickets for us! And doesn't he look like a little America's Next Top Model contestant posing for his life?

Now show me fierce.

In these fashion shots, Brandt is sporting Imse Vimse (Swedish for Itsy Bitsy) swim diapers, size newborn in pattern "Blue Fish" paired with a sun hat from last month's visiting stylist, Aunt Renae. The towel is vintage: it's Uncle Alex's from when he was little.

Day 65: Smiles on demand

Yippee!

Made to order smiles are finally here! Brandt has to be in an amenable mood, but I can now coax a smile out of him with just a few smiles, funny faces, and crazy noises.

Day 64: Doggie doctor part 2

Hello kind sir, may I talk to you about canine urinary incontinence?

Back to the vet for Lyle's recheck today. I left Brandt in his car seat so he could check out the other doggie patients and the two house cats who run rampant all over the clinic. I can't tell if Lyle and Bettie register with Brandt yet, but Dan claims he notices Brandt checking out Bettie every once in a while. I can tell you what he didn't notice: Lyle's yelps as they trimmed his nails in the back room.

Day 63: Back on the road

Bye bye balcony

Brandt's first trip home to San Diego went by way too quickly :( and it almost went by even quicker--Friday night I told Dan I wanted to hit the road at 6am to avoid traffic! As it was, we left at a more reasonable hour and stopped a whole bunch of times to keep Brandt as happy as possible. Next time I think we'll give flying a try.

Day 62: Brandt's first friend

Brandt and Sam

This afternoon we went to Jeff and Ashley's and got to see Sam for the first time--he's so cute! He's almost five months old so Brandt looks smaller than ever next to him. We put them side-by-side on the couch for a hand holding picture and the dog-mama in me couldn't help but worry they were going to growl at each other. Fortunately, they got along just fine and wiggled around contentedly for a few minutes of picture taking.

Day 61: Worst car ride ever

All tuckered out

We took the day off to head home to San Diego for our anniversary (what a difference a year makes!), but due to a late start we hit major traffic. The normally 4.5 hour drive (based on my previous pre-baby trips with no traffic and one quick gas/dog walk stop) took 8 hours and poor Brandt was having none of it. It was so bad that if we hadn't been facing Friday-afternoon-into-Vegas traffic the other direction, I would have called it quits and turned around! But we finally arrived and after a couple hours of decompressing from the trauma of the drive, Brandt crashed out. Poor little guy :(

Day 60: Laundry day

Whites, colors, and babies

Brandt wanted to give Dan an early father's day present by doing his laundry. But how does one carry a load of laundry and a baby at the same time? Simple: all in one pile! He was in the middle of enjoying some nakey butt time and I figured it wouldn't hurt if he peed on the dirty laundry (he didn't) so we carried the basket from the bedroom to the laundry room with a pitstop for photos.

Day 58: How old is your baby?

Both babies

Brandt and I took Lyle to the vet this afternoon. The vet asked how old my baby was and I said "thirteen years" before realizing he meant the baby in the sling, not the baby on the exam table. Oops! And here I thought I was neglecting my first "babies" since Brandt arrived.

Day 57: Lunch break

Zzzzz

Things are going to get a little less interesting on weekdays as working kinda cuts into the sticking-the-baby-
in-funny-poses-and-taking-pictures time. Here is us on our lunch break. Brandt snoozed peacefully on his waterproof pad while I made lunch. Even without the vibratation turned on he slept for a couple hours, taking care to flop over occasionally so he wouldn't get a stiff neck--such a smartie!

Day 56: Lazy Sunday

Action!

We haven't spent much time figuring out the camcorder yet, but Dan took a bunch of Brandt video tonight. Brandt smiled up a storm for him and did some laughing (or possibly just grunting) as well. Nothing worth posting just yet, but we'll keep at it.

Day 55: First trip to The Strip

Ciao!

We had planned to check out the Guggenheim in the Venetian (and this before knowing it was designed by Rem Koolhaas), but it's closed for an installation! Instead we visited the Peter Lik gallery in the Grand Canal Shoppes for some culture. That gallery was awesome--there are tons of small side rooms containing couches which were perfect for nursing. Oh, and the photos were nice, too. Then we had a drink along the canal and watched the gondolas go by for a while.

Lions and tigers and dolphins, oh my!

Next we braved the heat and crossed the street to the Mirage for the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. As luck would have it, a baby dolphin was born last night! They don't know if it's a baby boy or girl yet because the mama won't let anyone close enough to see. However, I can tell he's a boy because after swimming a few laps with his mother and auntie, he tried to break away and swim on ahead. Typical boy! Brandt woke up when we hit the Secret Garden and really seemed taken by the animals. The alpacas were his favorite, but he checked out the lions, tigers, and snow leopard, too. The animals seemed happy enough, but it was a little disconcerting how the tigers paced back and forth along the enclosure eyeing us hungrily.

Day 54: First international visitors

Yet again, at the bar

Brandt got to meet his first dutchies today. Deirdre and Arjen are in the US visiting her family. Unfortunatey I had to be a wiseass and set Dan's beer glass in front of me for the photo, blocking Brandt from view. But he was pretty tucked down inside the sling snoozing away so you're not missing much.

Day 53: Big head

What up? I'm trying to have some naked alone time here!

Brandt has outgrown his birthkit hats and fits into some bigger ones now--woo hoo! I started getting a little worried because we've been seeing and hearing about so many babies with enormous heads. He's still too small for his lovely sunhats with brims, but it's just a matter of time.

Day 52: Anywhere you can sleep I can sleep better

Zzzzzz

I set Brandt down on the boppy for one minute while I visited the bathroom and he fell right asleep. Too cute!

Day 51: Baby blue eyes

When infant eyes are smiling

It's impossible to tell from previous pictures, but Brandt has cute blue eyes so far. We'll have to wait another seven months to see if they'll stay blue, but there's a 25% chance of it, I guess.

Of course we'll be happy no matter what color the mouse's eyes end up, but it'd be cool if he got my mom's eyes.

Day 50: Year of the Fire Pig

Year of the Pig onesie, painted by Madi

Until just looking it up, I thought Brandt was born in the super duper auspicious Year of the Golden Pig, but it turns out 2007 is just a super auspicious Year of the Fire Pig--still pretty good.

"Active, outgoing and extroverted, Fire Pigs breathe new life into everything they do. These Pigs are vivid, motivated individuals who cannot be deterred from a goal once they have set it. They are emotional and passionate about their loved ones, their occupations and their objectives. They are bold and vivacious, unafraid to take risks despite the consequences. Don't doublecross a Fire Pig--they have the ability to be quite abrasive when things don't turn out as they planned."

Day 49: Rock paper scissors

Paschimottanasana

We read today that The Rock and his wife just split up. And just two weeks after we saw him! Granted we saw him out with a bunch of huge dudes, not his wife. Here's Brandt doing a little yoga to set things right in his universe.

Day 48: No poker face here

Fold, Papa, fold!

A bunch of dudes were in town from San Diego and Chicago so Dan hosted a poker tournament Saturday afternoon. Brandt sat in for one hand, but couldn't convincingly bluff a King/eight off-suit. We'll get him enrolled in a pee wee poker league soon so he can work on his game.

Dan didn't get a tournament bracelet made since this was just a satellite event, so I gave winner Peter Dean my Milk Band. I haven't been using it so at least now it's serving some purpose. I hope he wears it often--it's pink!

Global mouse

We spent most of the day out of the house to avoid the mayhem. We did some shopping and got Brandt's passport picture taken and I think it's pretty good for a baby mugshot. And it was on the house! I don't know if that's normal Kinkos procedure, but the kid said he couldn't charge for a baby. Woo hoo.

Day 47: Are you ready for some football?

I got it, I got it!

Aunt Renae brought Brandt a million awesome baby gifts last week. Our favorite is the Washington Redskins romper. I haven't checked his length lately, but he's too tall for some of his 0-3 onesies already so I don't want to miss an opportunity to wear this, even if it is a bit baggy at the moment.

The football is from Marko and Becky and is stamped with Brandt's birth stats--it's so cool! We're still discussing whether or not my precious little mouse will play football or not (guess my side of the argument).