3 month picture

3 month picture
Originally uploaded by navratil

Dictated by Claire:
"I like to laugh with Pete when somebody says BOO! And we had a rattle worm and we laughed when you [Debbie] said BOO! And it was so funny."

Napping

Napping
Originally uploaded by navratil

Will ya look at those eyelashes?

Pete has had some trouble with sleep lately. Saturday night/Sunday morning, he got croup... probably from Claire, who'd had it a little over a week prior to this weekend. That night, he slept with us in the bed most of the time, and I nursed him to sleep anytime he woke up coughing his little head off. But we woke at 5:30 and couldn't get back to sleep that way, so then he sat in his bouncy seat in the family room while I slept on the couch out there.

Sunday night/Monday morning, we slept in his bouncy seat in the crib. That seemed to work until around 4, and then he moved into the bed with us again. Joe stayed home with him Monday, during which he alternately slept in the swing, the bouncy seat, or Joe's arms.

Monday night, he slept in the swing or my arms part of the night, but did get some time on his back. Last night, he was in the swing until 9ish, then on his back in the crib until 2 (with a brief nursing break in the middle there), and then he was nursing/in my arms until my alarm went off at 5:30.

Poor guy. The congestion is terrible, and I'm not sure when it's going to pass, but all we can do is keep him upright until it works its way through... and then battle getting him back to sleeping in the crib regularly.

Chomping on the hand

Chomping on the hand
Originally uploaded by navratil

Another hand-chomping day at home.

Go Tribe!

Go Tribe!
Originally uploaded by navratil

We were all watching the play-offs, holding our collective breath, hoping for a trip to the World Series. Bummer. Well, there's always next year...

Tasty fingers

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Originally uploaded by navratil

Pete is solidly in the teething stage now. We had our doubts about it before, though the funny sharp ridge was just a figment of our imaginations. But he's been drooling and chomping on anything within reach... and his reach and grip are better, so watch out!

Although he'll bite on anything room temperature or warmer (no cooled teething rings for him!), he does have a tendency to chomp on his fingers at just about any time. They are his ride-in-the-carseat, relax-in-the-stroller, sleep-in-the-crib, enjoy-the-playmat, chill-in-our-laps teething toy of choice. Which is fine. Until we have to wean him from his naturally-attached binkies.

Debbie sucked her thumb until she was in the 5th grade. How long do you think it'll take Pete?

First hike

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Originally uploaded by navratil

This past weekend, the Bay Area Ridge Trail group sponsored an event not far from our place. It could be a 20-mile bike ride, a 20-mile hike, an 8-mile hike, or some length of horseback riding I didn't catch. Or a one-mile "family hike." Since it was Claire's and Debbie's first hike in a long while and Pete's first hike period, we opted for the family hike. Although we didn't even make it the whole way (the first half mile was full of lots of exploring) due to time constraints, Pete did really well on the hike. We're hoping to be able to take him on more so that the entire family can get out to nature again.

Laughing

Pete's really into laughing now-a-days, and Claire seems to be the best motivator for this. Joe got this movie on his still camera. Sorry for the shakiness - a hazard when the camera man laughs and the subject moves up and down because of it.

Latest Family Photo

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Originally uploaded by navratil

Thought we'd share the latest family photo with y'all.

On the bridge

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Originally uploaded by navratil

This picture was taken on our walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. While we had checked the distance and weather to make sure it would be okay for Claire, we neglected to think of the traffic noise and how it would impact our littlest ears.

Pete started crying -- from both noise and probably hunger -- almost as soon as we stepped onto the bridge proper; so I ended up carrying him pretty much the entire way across, even after he eventually fell asleep (several attempts to put him back in the stroller -- even after he'd been sound asleep -- failed miserably).

I'm guessing the tongue in this picture should've been a tip-off that he was definitely hungry. Whoops.

Didja hear the one about...?

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Originally uploaded by navratil

Big Sister is watching

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Originally uploaded by navratil

Claire is a great big sister to Pete. She's very willing to help us by watching him, throwing away diapers, playing with him when he's fussy, reading him stories, and even cleaning up when he spits up. He's lucky to have her, and so are we.

Really, he's that tasty

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Originally uploaded by navratil

In this picture, Adelle is demonstrating the typical reaction one has when seeing Pete's body parts. This would be the "juicy fat thigh," as Wendy calls it.

Notice, of course, that Pete is more or less relaxed, and almost asleep, during this tipping/eating maneuver. Poor thing is so used to it now.

Givin' 'em away like candy

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Originally uploaded by navratil

Yup, Pete continues to be a happy baby. The woman who owns his daycare, Maria, marvels at how happy he is. Aside from when he's hungry or scared, Pete is open-eyed, curious, excited, and happy.

Bigtime happy. Smiling almost all the time, and you can even bring him back from the scared-cry by smiling at him. He'll stop, think about it for a minute, and then smile back at you like a cheshire cat with amnesia. "What? I was crying a minute ago? Why? Well, I don't remember, and you don't know. So let's get back to smiling, okay?"

Hanging out

Hanging out
Originally uploaded by navratil

Pete came with me to school a few times while I finished unpacking my boxes. These toys are hanging from teething rings from the keyboard shelf of one of the student workstations.

The JCU romper? A hand-me-down from Sam. Thanks, Mom!

Happy Happy

Happy Happy
Originally uploaded by navratil

I know it's blurry, but it's such a happy picture! Taken while he was leaving against the steering wheel waiting for Joe to show at the train station.

On the tip of his tongue

On the tip of his tongue
Originally uploaded by navratil

Claire loves it when we trust her with Pete for a bit. You can see in this picture that he's propped up on the Boppy (light blue with white clouds) on her bed (pink and other bright colored butterflies) against the wall (purple and orange blocks).

Doesn't he look like he's going to tell you a funny story, once he remembers it?

Big Sister and Pete

Big Sister and Pete
Originally uploaded by navratil

Ahhh. So much to say.

So, I saw in Scrapbooks Etc.'s "Baby" special edition a cool two-page layout called "The Incredible Shrinking Bunny" or something like that. Basically, it was 12 photos of the baby, each of the months after his birth until one year, next to a favorite stuff animal. I thought it was cool and clever... and ripe for the stealing.

So I posed Pete in the glider, in the hopes of getting him to sit up, and put this "inchworm" toy (from my friend Becky when Claire was born) next to him for the picture. I took a few. Claire was on hand to make faces at Pete behind the camera and catch the worm if he kicked it off the chair.

However, she wanted to get in the picture, too, and kept edging her way in on the sides. With Pete getting so much camera time lately, I understood, and asked her if she'd wait just two more pictures of Pete, and then she could join in. She did, very patiently.

Although I got good pictures of Pete and his size, which was my intention, this is my favorite picture from the "shoot."

[Btw, the hat? From the "St. Patrick's Day Parade" she had at pre-school. We just unearthed it in the garage, and she insisted on wearing it all day.]

Having fun at playtime

Having fun at playtime
Originally uploaded by navratil

Pete likes having some playtime on the mat around 9:30 or 10 every morning and again in the afternoon. He has a great time looking at himself in the mirror, flailing his arms and pumping his legs, and kicking or hitting the animals hanging on the cross bars.

He has also begun smiling in earnest. He'll smile at you if you smile at him. He also smiles at Claire's silly faces. Most of all, he gets a kick out of "playing tongue," as Claire puts it, which means he sticks out his tongue, you stick out yours, and then he rewards you with a smile... and sticks out his tongue again.

Protection

Protection
Originally uploaded by navratil

Consider this the unicorn chaser for that last one.

Photo credit: Susan Klarich

When he cries...

When he cries...
Originally uploaded by navratil

"He looks like an angel when he's sleeping
There's a little piece of heaven where he lies
He looks like an angel when he's sleeping
But he looks like Charles Bronson when he cries."
- John Gorka

Baseball fan in training

We've been to two San Jose Giants games with Pete so far. He appears to like the roar of the crowd, but not the feel of the breeze at night. Even slept through Fireworks Night last Thursday!

Awake and asleep

We like Pete when he sleeps and when he's awake and happy. Here's a few photos of him in both states.

First family photo

First family photo
Originally uploaded by navratil

Well, here you go. This photo could use some cropping, but it's our first photo as a complete family since Pete's birth. Thanks, Ghedie!

Navrus of Borg

Navrus of Borg
Originally uploaded by navratil

So, on Flickr I added the fairly generic (overly obvious) followup "You will be assimilated." It just occurred to me that it might be more interesting to give the backstory for this photo.

This was Pete's first ECG. He's obviously a happy camper, no? Turns out an ECG for a newborn is pretty much the same as an ECG for an adult: A bunch of sticky leads, a bunch of wires, sit there for a couple seconds, and you've got your results. Of course, everything is new and weird and discomfiting at nine days old, so he wasn't nearly as calm as you or I would likely be.

So there we are, Debbie and I and a nurse, trying to keep Pete calm enough to get a valid reading (that doesn't have page-wide slashes where he was screaming), and Debbie and I naturally are joking about having to get a picture of Pete and his amazing technicolor leadcoat. Eventually (after three attempts, I think), the nurse gets a good reading, and starts to take the leads off.

"Oh.. darn," Debbie comments.

"You didn't..." I start.

"Did you want a picture of him wired up?" the nurse asks.

"Wah!" Pete continues.

"Er. Yes, please" Debbie responds.

So the nurse, indulging the silly parents, hooks Pete all the way back up, Pete continues to be unhappy -- effectively at our request, now -- we take a few pictures, and that's that.

Yeah, we're great parents, why do you ask?

Arrr!

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Originally uploaded by navratil

Pete's been having an issue of some kind with his right left eye.

Until it clears up, he's Pirate Pete. Arrr!

(Of course, I think he looks kinda like Dean Stockwell, but I might be alone there.)

Announcement Photo?

Announcement Photo?
Originally uploaded by navratil

So we're thinking of using this picture (with perhaps a little editing) as the announcement photo, since we were out of the hospital before the Your First Photo people could overcharge us. Whaddya think?

Home Sweet Home

Mom, Dad, and Baby are all home and doing fine.

And soon to be sleeping.

Three minutes old

Mom & baby

Franks Four and Five

Welcome Pete!

Posting on behalf of Joe --

Pete is here and doing splendidly.

Born at 5:03pm
10 pounds, 14 ounces (much smaller than the last one)
22.5" long

Mom and baby are doing very well.

In a word, not yet

Yes, I know it's two words. That's what passes for humor on two hours of sleep in a chair that's comfortable in neither the "chair" nor "bed" states.

So, no, Pete hasn't decided to grace us with his presence yet. Pictures will be here once he gets over his stage fright.

Mom's doing fine, baby seems to be doing fine. We had a small scare early this morning, but everyone's been fine since about 7:30am.