It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Week

This has been such a crazy week! Last weekend was pretty quiet, as I hoped/expected. Ridley and I spent most of the weekend at home, but Sunday evening the three of us went out to Stillwater to see my dad and Diane. Diane made delicious lettuce wraps, eggrolls and cream cheese puffs for dinner. I don't think my personal trainer (aka our wii fit) was very happy with me after eating that meal! But it was so delicious!

Our true crazy week of adventures started Monday. Now, let me preface this by stating that the area I am currently working in at the bank is so busy they authorized us to work overtime both last week and this upcoming week. So I went in at 7:00 every morning last week (I usually begin at 7:45). Of course this happens at a week that begins with below zero temperatures, which is just thrilling since my car has decided it doesn't like to do some fairly basic things when it's that cold out. Like run. 

Since I'd had similar issues the last time it was belowe zero, I took it in and there was nothing that they could find wrong with it. Good news: I didn't have to pay for expensive repairs. Bad news: no idea what happened with the car. Maybe it's just that my extreme distaste for cold and winter have rubbed off on it. 

This was my last "half day Tuesday," so Diane, Ridley and I all went to see Josh at work and have lunch. Mmmm.....pizza! Then Ridley and I came home and had a very nice afternoon and evening. Ridley started a new trend of going to bed between 9:15 - 9:30 Tuesday night as well! 

We took some time in the afternoon to take silly pictures using the funny effects on the computer too:

Wednesday not only did I go to work early, but I stayed late as well, which gave us a limited evening time. But we still finished the errands we needed to, and even got Ridley to bed on time!

Then Thursday things got really interesting. Josh was feeling quite ill and poor Ridley didn't seem to be feeling like himself either, so I left work mid-morning to go home and take care of my family. Ridley spent the day going back and forth between sleeping and screaming (not crying, screaming). Josh did the same. 

Just kidding. 

I checked Ridley's temperature many times throughout the day, and he never had a fever, but in the evening I saw him starting to grab at one of his ears, which can be a pretty tell-tale sign of an ear infection. So I left sick-Josh at home and Leann and I brought Ridley up to the pediatrican's office, where he smiled and giggled and acted like his normals self for the first time since right after I'd come home from work that morning. Figures. Silly baby. 

The doctor checked him out and he does not have an ear infection. He did, however, have a blocked tear duct that had gotten a little irritated, so she gave us some antibiotic drops to help with that. And Ridley now weighs 12 pounds, 8 ounces. At his last appointment, which was four weeks ago, he weighed 10 pounds, 11 ounces. And you thought we were kidding about those growth spurts ;)

And now it's Friday. We've reached the end of our crazy mad week. Ridley was completely back to acting like his normal self today. We have some errands to run tomorrow and we're debating watching the ads and the half-time show on Sunday, but otherwise looking forward to a quiet weekend. 

Well, as quiet as it can be with a nearly three-month-old baby and two crazy, silly cats. 

Busy busy busy

Now that I am back at work we're always so busy!

Recent hightlights from Ridley include staring at his feet while sitting on dad's lap:

Outgrowing his purple hat that he used to wear anytime he went outside. He also switched to size 2 diapers and is now wearing 3-6 month size clothes:

He has also started to grab at and reach for things like my hands and his nuk. And if I put a toy in his hand he usually holds it for a bit. 

This past week, he got to see both his little friends. Monday night we went over to my friend Stefany's for dinner, so he got to play with Laila. She was very happy to see him and showed off her ability to sit up on her own! (Laila is six months old today!) Then last night Josh cooked dinner and we ate with cousin Caitie, Nick and Inez (who is 13 months). 

Now Ridley and I are looking forward to a quiet weekend before a busy week of work next week.

Growth Spurt

Getting through my first week back at work was not as difficult as I had worried it might be. Though I missed my little guy like crazy, it was nice having a more routine schedule. Cross-training kept me busy at work, and since I'm training in an area that has a high case volume, I should be staying busy for a while now. I don't mind it - it helps the time pass quickly. 

It was actually harder to deal with the practical aspects of going back to work than the emotional ones. I was prepared to deal with missing Ridley; I didn't think about the fact that suddenly I would only have a few hours to do the things I had grown accustomed to having all day to do. Dishes, showering, eating, and cleaning were manageable tasks while I was on leave. It's a lot harder to get it all done in a few hours after work. 

Our other obstacle last week was that Ridley hit a growth spurt. At the time, we were unsure if it was a growth spurt or if he was feeling unwell: he spent Thursday doing pretty much nothing other than sleeping and eating and being crabby in between. This weekend, Josh and I both noticed a distinct change in the way his diapers and clothes fit, though. I'm realizing that he'll be growing out of his 0-3 month clothes within the next few weeks. (Of course that makes sense since he'll be 3 months at the beginning of February and ready to try out his new 3-6 month clothes!

Ridley's strength is growing along with his size. His head and neck control is amazing, and he nearly rolled from back to front yesterday! And it wasn't the first time he'd tried. 

After being back at work for the week, I really appreciated the weekend! 

We spent Saturday afternoon at Como Conservatory with my dad, Diane and Char. It was wonderful and warm!

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, and Back to Work I Go

Well, maternity leave is over, and I don't think nine weeks have ever gone by so quickly! I loved being home with Ridley and the cats, and was pretty anxious about going back to work. But after two days of being back, I'm feeling a lot better. It's nice having a routine, and it's good to see a lot of my co-workers again. I'm also getting cross-trained in another area of our department, so I have something new to learn, which I like. 

The weekend before going back to work, Ridley and I spent some time out in Stillwater on Saturday afternoon. I wanted to see Robin again before he headed back to DC, and we also wanted to visit Diane, who is home recovering from hand surgery. We figured a visit from her favorite little guy would help her feel better! Jeff and Diane recently got a cat, so we got to meet Lola for the first time. She makes Gilmour and Tweak look enormous. 

On Sunday, Josh and I were going to see the CSI exhibit at the Science Museum, but it was all sold out, so we ended up coming back to our place to play some board games and Mario Kart Wii instead. 

I am not a video game person, but I really enjoy having a Wii. And I love Mario Kart, which I did not expect. It's just so much fun!

In addition to Monday being my first day back at work, it was also Ridley's two month birthday. He's getting so big and it's so amazing to watch him grow and discover new things. The other day he was playing in the bouncy chair (his favorite thing ever), and he started trying to roll over. He wasn't successful, but it was so fascinating to watch him try to coordinate all his little muscles together. 

Doctor, Doctor, Give Me the News

Ridley had his two-month well-baby check today!

Height: 22.5 inches

Weight: 10 pounds 11 ounces

Head Circumference: 15.25 centimeters

He is in the 25th percentile for size in all three areas, so he's actually on the small side for his age. 

This was his first appointment with Dr. Sackett, who was Josh's pediatrician growing up. I thought she was just wonderful. We've been lucky - this is the fourth pediatrician Ridley has seen and I've liked all of them! The other three were at Lakeview/Stillwater Medical Group, so Dr. Sackett will be his regular pediatrician from here out. 

He got his first round of immunizations today - three shots in his legs (two in the right, one in the left), and an oral vaccine for rotavirus. He screamed when they poked him, but he quieted down quickly afterward. They put band-aids over the puncture spots (bugs bunny ones!), and they use standard size band-aids, which look enormous on his little thighs.

They said as a result of the vaccines, he might run a low-grade fever for the day (treatable with tylenol), but there's been no sign of it. So far anyway, and I've been checking his temperature periodically. As Martha Stewart would say: it's a good thing. 

But Dr. Sackett said he looks absolutely great and is perfectly healthy. 

So, yes, dad, your little grandson is still perfect in every way. 

It's Gonna Be a Happy New Year

New Year's Eve Day was a good day for us all. Josh got to sleep in pretty late while Ridley and I hung out with the kitties and updated the blog. Shortly before Josh got up, Tweak decided to mount a fierce arial attack on the Christmas tree, so we decided to take it down. It didn't take too long, actually, seeing as Tweak had already removed all the ornaments from the bottom half of the tree. 

After lunch, Josh took the kittens and headed out to his parents' house to start Ridley's laundry and meet a couple friends to see a movie. Ridley and I elected to stay home instead so that my mom and Bilhenry could stop by and we could see them again before they headed back to Milwaukee. Ridley was in a much happier mood than he had been the other times he'd gotten to see them in the preceding days. Grandma Kathy even got to read him part of his Christmas book! 

After Ridley ate some dinner, he and I headed out to Josh's parents' house for their New Year's Eve party. We hung out for a couple hours, but then Ridley got cranky, and met a new level of Ridley crankiness, so he and headed home (where he calmed down immediately upon walking in the door). We brought in the new year with smiles and a little spit-up and were both in bed by 12:15. 

New Year's Day was Happy Baby Day! After a good night's sleep , Ridley woke up happy and smiley and barely fussed the whole day!

Josh, Ridley and I all headed out to the Mall of America to meet Jake, Beth, John, and John's friend Ellen for lunch. 

The host apparently thought Ridley needed crayons and a kid's menu, but he wasn't interested in them. So Jake, Beth and John colored the pictures instead.

After lunch, the others went to play mini-golf at Moose Mountain (they all said it was over-priced and boring, and recommend not wasting your money on it), and Ridley and I went to get his diaper changed and then do some clothes shopping. Things we learned along the way:

• The department store bathrooms have way nicer changing tables than the mall ones. Not only are they bigger, but they're cushioned too!
• It is far, far easier to take the elevator at the back of Sears than to use the ones in the mall itself. 
• Even though most of H&M may be packed with people, the baby section may still be pleasantly empty. 
• Baby clothes stores do not have stroller-friendly layouts. 
• Months of searching can pay off. My nearly six-month search for a plain grey, infant-size baby hooded sweatshirt finally paid off. Not only did I find the cutest grey sweatshirt (it's from a line of clothes that had a sled-dog theme, so the hood has little ears on it!), but it was on sale for 60 percent off. And it's a 3-6 month size, so it should fit Ridley in about a month or so!