December at Home

For those of you whom we haven't talked to recently, we had a really rough month in December. At the beginning of the month, I broke my foot after being hit by a car while bicycling. Given the situation, I'm thankful that nothing worse happened. But I've been stuck on crutches ever since. Obviously it's been rough on Tara as well, since my ability to contribute around the house and take care of Niels has been limited. We've managed to get by, and did make it out to St. Louis for Christmas with Tara's whole clan. But the blogging has suffered to say the least.

Niels hasn't seemed to particularly notice the difference, mind you. But he is noticing a lot of other things. He has been looking longingly at our food as we eat lately to be sure; expect some action photos of his first attempts at eating in the near future. He's also been working hard at sitting and standing. The concept of balance eludes him yet, but we are nice enough to keep propping him back up.

I'll write another post about our trip to St. Louis shortly. Also, my brother Stewart just started a family blog as well if you want to look-see: http://stewartburns.blogspot.com/.

I might be couch-bound, but my throwin' bones still work.


Our buddy Chris helped out. Here he is providing a lap for sleeping.


He's figured out that fingers taste good.


As, apparently, do giant bees.


A new toy sheep for xmas from Pops. Soft and fuzzy and a bell inside!

Xmas Quickie

We're in lovely St Louis, and to make up for not posting for the past few hectic weeks, I'm throwing up some Niels + Cousin Maile pictures from the last few days. We'll have some more Christmasy pictures to post later.

Bigger than a Turkey

At some point I realized that Niels weighed more than the turkey I cooked for Thanksgiving. Not that this is really that amazing, but I was amused nonetheless.

We drove down to Santa Monica to spend the holiday with my brother and his kids, Carissa and Sophia. He's just moved into a sleek modern place near the beach, so it was pretty plush. Anywhere where we can roll a stroller out the front door to some place interesting is good with me.

We showed up there Wednesday. The girls were completely enamored with Niels. We cooked up a proper dinner on Thursday, and spent the rest of the long weekend relaxing.

Playing with the cousins


All the boys


Sophia was so excited to hold him


Meeting Great-Grandmother


Zipping along the beach


Yeay, beach!


Tasty!


Good night

Back to the Grind

Well, the news of the week is that I've started a new job in the analytics group of a software company. Despite having emerged victorious after weeks of pavement-pounding in these tough times, I'm pretty sorry to see these months of getting to stay home with Tara and Niels coming to a close.

Our schedule right now is for me to wake up with him, let Tara get more sleep (to make up for late night feedings), and get some quality time with the boy for an hour or two before I trundle off. Still, I'm already missing our daily stroller/lunch outings.

Seeing Dad off to work


Almost turning over


Trying to eat his new friend

When did November show up?

Being in California, I've only recently had to give up on thinking it was still summer. But the arrival of November and the rains have really sealed the deal. So our lazy summer of quiet family time is over.

Every time I post, the only thing I want to say is that Niels has gotten bigger and aware...so not much more to say about that. On to the pictures

Mom won't be able to breathe if you get any bigger


Fun times


Mmmm ... tasty thumb


Between the knees


Rainy day

3 Months In

We've made it through three months, and are doing great as a family. We're getting a routine down (we bathed him 3o minutes ago, and Tara is putting him to bed now) and I'm still home (by which I mean still unemployed) with Tara and Niels so it's downright bucolic. Well, usually.

He's getting to the point where, when he is in the right mood, he absolutely loves to play and be tossed around. See below. This lasts for about five minutes, until he gets overstimulated, melts down, and needs to chill out in his vibrating chair. But what's the point of being a father if you can't wind up a kid?

Woo hoo


Look at me!


Bath time


Bed time

Smiles

Bit by bit (and ounce by ounce), Niels becomes less newborn and more little boy...obviously there's a long way to go, but his face is changing a bit and we are finally getting smiles out of him more often. It's a bit odd though, quite often his smiles transition immediately to screaming; I think he finds engaging with the world to be a disappointing experience.

What, you think I'm going to smile for that camera?


Ooooh, that ceiling is fascinating


Whee, fat cheeks!


Bouncing in the lap is good too


Yee-ha


Relaxing after excitement in a vibrating chair


There must be something interesting to look at over there


Seeing the world

Now with 25% more baby!

We went to the doctor for a checkup again today. Another four weeks, and almost another three pounds for Niels...so he's added a quarter of himself and is over 14 lbs at two months.

Time keeps rolling along and the extended California summer is waning, but we've been getting better about taking field trips. Last Saturday we had a lovely expedition to Oakland for a chicken and waffle brunch followed by visiting friends in the suburbs.

On Wednesday, we decided to ditch town for the day, down to Half Moon Bay. It was later pointed out to us that almost the entire day consisted of feeding, alternating between baby and parents. As soon as we got to the town, we went for tea, then we fed Niels in a parking lot. Next we grabbed coffee and cake and took a long walk around town. Then it was off to lunch, where we dwadled afterwards to feed him again. On to a post-prandial stroll around the harbor for a while. Then we had a leisurely beer before driving home. And let me tell you, was the boy starving by the time we got back.

Walking


Not walking


Slinging


Hello


Goodbye

Live from St. Louis

Last weekend (okay, we're a touch late posting), we took the first big family trip out to St. Louis. We were there to attend a memorial service for Tara's grandmother, who passed away just a few days after Niels, her third great-grandchild, was born.

The airplane trip started out poorly, with details I shan't go into here, but Niels settled in well and slept the whole way once we got in the air. Once in St. Louis, he was a perfect little angel--we think the humidity made him a bit dopey. And he got to meet all sorts of new relatives.

At the ol' homestead


Grandpa and Uncle JoeB


Aunt Heather and Uncle Pete


The exciting Zoo Train


Nap time

Also, while we were there, Tara pulled out her old baby pictures. I was pretty amazed how much baby Tara looks like baby Niels...much more so than she looks like adult Tara.

Newly born and almost as much hair as Niels


With her jawline obscured, I would've thought this was Niels


Tara with her Mom and Deirdre