Voyager's Thoughts

Friday, June 1, 2012

Pippin at 7 Weeks

We have started packing up clothes now that Ronan has gotten so big. To get this onesie on, I had to fight with the snap buttons. The sleeves are too short and the whole thing is stretched tight across the belly:

On to the next size!

New Paleontology Hall at the Houston Museum of Natural Science

As members to this museum, we got a sneak peek at the new Hall of Paleontology at the HMNS. And it was AWESOME! It was pretty dark (excellent mood lighting), so unfortunately the photos aren't the best quality...

Looking at trilobite fossils from the Precambrian section:

Jas' favorite reptile:

Getting sleepy :)

The huge jaws belong to a Megalodon

Nick reading the placard with his boys :)

So, this is a giant sloth. It looks like it's over ten feet tall. I think it looks like the cave troll from LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring

I'd also like to thank the HMNS for responding so quickly and thoughtfully to what could have been a horrible situation. We had been having a great time when our visit was cut short due to a security guard kicking me out for "attempted breastfeeding." Seriously. I was covered up, had a nursing cover and everything. I can joke about it now, but I was really upset at the time. However, I made inquiries about HMNS policies and everyone I talked to didn't understand why security made us leave. I later received a phone call from one of the directors apologizing for the incident and to inform me that the guard had been written up and the entire security team reminded that breastfeeding is allowed in all parts of the museum. I'm so glad that I can visit a place I love without others making me feel like I'm doing something wrong. It's a museum of NATURAL science after all.

Belly Pics :)

Of the baby's: someone's belly just can't contain itself...

And now he's falling over. Time for a rescue!

Friday, May 25, 2012

Flip Side

Because we love capturing those "special" moments, it often seems like our kids do nothing but play, smile, and dirty their diapers with rainbows. So here's what it looks like when Pip's not so happy:

So that's another thing this kid's good at: crying :)

Ronan at Six Weeks

Pippin's first six weeks have run its course a lot faster than James' first six weeks. By this time, we were leaving UC Davis' NICU (only to go to Stanford a week later). Six weeks in the NICU goes by so much slower than life at home!

So, for updates, here we have Pip demonstrating how he holds his head up and steady:

Pip & James playing together. Pippin often smiles and "talks" with his brother. He coos and gurgles at him in a conversation-like manner.

And here you can see how much he's grown. Pippin turned six weeks on Wednesday, but on Monday I had him weighed...and guess who is just shy of 12 lbs?!?

Also, little Ronan is an excellent sleeper. At night, he always sleeps for a minimum of six hours (generally midnight to 6am). Last week, he once slept from 8:30pm until 6:10am.

So Nick and I have fun hanging out with Pippin (ok, I'm usually nursing him and we play games or watch something during the feedings) and then we all go to bed. Also, after Pip's 6am feeding, he goes back to sleep for another few hours, which means that we get to go back to sleep until James wakes us up. It's a nice schedule :)

And in the morning, we put Pippin in his crib (right now he's still in the cradle in our room) while Nick and I work on getting out of bed and then getting ready for the day. But we can hear James and Pippin talking to each other. James baby-talks to his little brother and Pip makes a variety of noises with intent. It's pretty cute!

Team Blanket Fort

A few nights ago, James ushered us into his room to show us his new sleeping arrangement:

So we let him sleep on the floor for the night and he did pretty well. The next night we decided to take it up a notch. We built a fort out of sheets and blankets nearly encompassing his entire room. James decorated with clothes pins :)