Four months old

My baby is four months today!   I can't believe he's already four months/ only four months. 

He's becoming so interested in the world around him.  He wants everything in his mouth and can look out the window for a long time.

He has an itchy head from cradle cap.  It's the most darling thing to see him feebly scratch his head with his fingers he can only sort of control, and his hands that only barely reach the top of his head.

   

He would rather stand than sit.  He recently discovered his toes plays with them when he's on his back.  He turns to his side a lot but hasn't mastered turning over yet. 

We love him so much.  It's exciting to see what new things he has started to do every day.  (Except for teeth.  I'm not excited about the teething thing, and I think it's just around the corner.)

PS I made this too

 Made from this pattern with fabric from Fancy Tiger.

(Hello Fall!  Hello boots!)

Needles Clacking

I can smell the cool air coming! Fall invigorates my knitting lust.  I have several projects to report.  You already saw the blue vest and green tri peak hat I made for Jack.  I also posted about the forest green meathead hat.  But here's an action shot. 

I think I also talked about these sweaters I knit while in GJ. Here they are finished. It's too warm to wear them yet.

I made a knit hat from the "Aviatrix" pattern.  I used some soft, stretchy yarn from my stash, and didn't know its weight or brand.  Even though I made the 0-3 month size and small needles, it knit up huge!  It must be bulkier weight than I guessed.  The hat fits me perfectly. 

I remade the hat in cashmerino aran for Jack in a manly orangey red.  Smaller yarn weight and small needles, so it fits!  These photos are from before I blocked it.  I still need to get a button.  I'll have to post more photos when it's cool enough for me to force the finished hat on his head.

Finally, I have a sweater started for myself.  I ordered some great yarn from Knit Picks and already knit through the first skein.  This photo is from the start - it's about 4 inches longer than shown here. 

I also have my lacy rainbow shawl kicking around, and the argyle sweater for Jack.  It's probably too big for him this winter, so I slowed down my work on it.  Plus I have 6 skeins of blue heather yarn I spun on my wheel that needs to be knit into a cardigan.  So much to do!  Good thing the good TV shows are back on air for me to knit along.

Emptying the camera

Here are some photos I've had knocking around.

The three of us together!

Kristin, Jenni, and Coral came to visit.  We put them down for tummy time together. 

It did not go well.

But we got some nice group photos afterward.  (Thank you Ben!)

Play Day with Jack!

Ben and I were both off of work today.  Aside from a TON of errands and the five poopy diapers this morning (he usually only poops every other day - so thanks for the plums, Ida!), we had lots of time to give Jack love and attention.

Galloping - an easy game for me to play and a nice alternative to the wretched tummy time. 

Galloping Jack from Rachel Mason on Vimeo.

Rocket - Ben makes better sound effects than me.  His rides also last longer than mine.

Rocket Jack from Rachel Mason on Vimeo.

Jumper - Still too young to enjoy the jumper.  He used it just to do some freestyle standing, which was mildly entertaining for him.  (The sheepskin serves as an impromptu floor pad because carpet tacks poke through on the threshold.)

Standing in his Jumper from Rachel Mason on Vimeo.

Wrist Rattles - Grandma Betty sent over rattles that attach to his arms and legs.  He immediately wanted it in his mouth, but couldn't quite figure out the physics that it would require.

Wrist Rattle Jack from Rachel Mason on Vimeo.

Sock rattles - Not wanting to overwhelm him, we did hands and feet separately.  This was close to his bedtime, so his play was not very enthusiastic, but he got a good handle on reaching for these bugs.

Sock Rattles Jack from Rachel Mason on Vimeo.

(If you are counting outfit changes due to various fluids today, the answer is SIX for Jack plus two for me and Ben each)

PS: Ben wants the world to know that we got an awesome new modem called a Deugaster or something, and it gets 25 megabitso thingies speed.  Apparently this is hella fast and he immediately called his boyfriends to brag.  They were duly impressed.

A weekend with the Grands

My folks came out for the weekend and we ate it up!  No, seriously.  There was a lot of food.  Damascus Middle Eastern, Goodtimes, Walnut Pizzeria, Sweet Action, Yianni's Greek, Blue Sky Cafe, and Cafe Rio.  Between the eating we did some shopping - Amanda got some drama costumes, mom and I loaded up on craft projects, hit the Apple store, and I got a new luscious leather purse.  It makes me feel like a grown-up!

The highlight of the trip was seeing the Tutankhamun exhibit at the Denver Art Museum.  Ben and I have been listening to a lecture series about Egypt's history.  It's been a fascinating story to hear while we drive.  We were excited to see all the artifacts we had been reading about. 

Most of my pictures are my parents playing with their grandson.  Enjoy!

Sultry Han

Can I share with you my favorite thing about work? The floor of our
HD unit uses Star Wars characters to ID their med carts. Whenever I
pass by this pouty picture of Han Solo I feel warm fuzzies.

Roll over!

When we got home from the grocery store Jack was asleep in his carseat. I don't like leaving him in there, so I picked him up knowing that he would likely wake up from the 8 minute nap. I laid him on the living room floor and let him play while I put groceries away and checked email. I noticed he was quiet. 

 Huh.  That's not how I put him down.  

He seemed pleased with himself when I flipped him over.

Ready to try again! 

It's coldie! (in the words of Zaley)

Dang yo, it's actually cold!  And I'm feeling it because I'm not pregnant - woo!  I love a day where I can put on my flannel pants and sweat shirt, and dress my kiddo in footie pajamas.  A kid who has learned to turn on his side and squirm all over, so blankets don't keep him warm because he'll end up 180 degrees from where you put him down, sucking on one corner of the blanket, and kicking the crib with fury because it makes a loud noise.  Yeah, that's what I found 20 minutes after he was supposed to be down for a nap.  So now we're taking pictures.

I did NOT get called in again last night, let the angels sing.  I didn't mind working late, with overtime and holiday AND callback pay stacked, I think earned September's mortgage payment in one day! But enough was enough and I'm grateful for a relatively full night's sleep. 

Enough work talk.  More pictures!  Saturday we went to the Botanic Gardens and then lunch at Steve's Snappin' Dogs.  Both were a pleasure.

Find more pictures from the gardens on Ben's flickr site here. 

We went to Cafe Rio for dinner and Sweet Action for dessert (Earl Grey for Ben, Raspberry Chip for me and Brian.)  Brian jokingly offered Jack some ice cream and got a delightful response.  Poor kid is so teased!  [Let the record show that I'm firmly against giving Jack anything but breastmilk at this point.  Please don't feed my baby other things.]


Yes please! from Rachel Mason on Vimeo.

Sunday I put Jack in the sweater vest I knit before he was born.   Good thing I tried - I almost missed the window of fit time!

More pictures here. 

These smiles didn't last.  During church he dissolved into a puddle of crankiness that kept me out of the whole meeting and made me bolt for the car as soon as the closing prayer amen-ed.  I think he was reacting to being dragged all over Denver the day before.  Oh well, it was worth it.  Sunday his Grandparents Mason came for a short visit, along with Ben's aunt Jean.  They marveled at how fast he's growing.  I couldn't agree more.

Irony

It's Labor Day and I worked from 6 am to 9 pm.  I hope I don't get called in again tonight.

Typical Day Home

I'm obsessed with acquiring one of these hats for Jack.  A crafter in Grand Junction sells them at Kairos and online at Etsy.  I can't wait for Jack to be old enough to wear capes and funny hats.  Heck, I'll settle for cold weather so I can bundle him in knitwear from head to toe!

Today was a mellow day off.  We went to the lactation support group for a weight check.  He's 15 pounds 5 ounces, which is 85th percentile.  Down a little bit but still nothing to sneeze at.  I made a listless trip to Target while he slept in the carseat/shopping cart.  I was looking for more clothes by The Little Seed but it seems that Denver has sold out already!  Too bad.  I became a fan after seeing how well the colors stayed bright after washing.  Most baby clothes fade very fast.  Also, I found out the company was started by Punky Brewster!  Gotta love it.

At home we played, he napped, I knit and watched Pushing Daisies.  Then I made chicken teriyaki for dinner.  Ben came home, we ate and put Jack back to bed.  I sent Ben out for ice cream so we can have dessert while we watch Burn Notice.  I hope we can finish an episode before Jack wakes up again.

3 months old

Jack turned three months old on Saturday.  I worked a long day and didn't get around to posting until now.  What's to say?  He's a chunk of a guy and we love him to bits!  I think we lucked out an awesome baby.  We tried to take some photos Saturday night while he was asleep, but we woke him up with our whispering and camera clicking.

Here are some videos I took today for your enjoyment.


Pat a cake with free toes from Rachel Mason on Vimeo.



In the Kitchen on a Bouncer from Rachel Mason on Vimeo.

A lesson on fingers

Jack (aka McLashes above) learned something very important about hands that he needs to tell you.

Not ONLY can you wave them around and pound your mom in the chest while you eat. . .

But . . .

 You have a hole in your face that your hand fits into . . .

 . . . and then you can suck on your fingers!

Startlingly delicious!

Go ahead, try it.  It's apparently pretty great.

Oh, that's right! I'm a nurse!

I went back to work today - and what a day it was!  It was supposed to be a day of class/orientation to catch me up from missing the summer and be sure I knew my stuff.  Last night, the recorded message of our daily schedule told me that instead I would go to one of our hospitals and work with a nurse there, getting familiar with some of the new policies, then go to our main hospital to go over missed material from mid-day on.  I was called at 4:45 am to ask if I could go straight to the main hospital instead.  One of our morning staff got called in and was already in the ICU since 3 am.  Sure, no prob.  When I got there at 6 am, lo, our third person had called in sick.  So it was just me and one other nurse to run a room full of patients at our craziest facility!  So much for easing into it! 

Somehow, when I put my familiar, bleach-stained scrubs on my muscle memory took over and I was a nurse again.  I strung machines and assessed my patients.  Right away I stuck needles in a guy who had infiltrated his fistula yesterday during a stick - and mine worked!  I gave medications, I troubleshooted poor access flows, I managed fluid volume with saline and meds.  It was kind of amazing.  All these things I hadn't thought about in months came flooding back. 

It was a crazy day and we didn't get a third person in the room until 9.  I ran out as soon as possible to pump.  Pumping is the worst part of returning to work.  I really dreaded it.  It wasn't so bad.  I managed to get three sessions in.  I spilled about 6 ounces :-(  but it wasn't too messy and I tried not to cry.  (Ha! crying over spilt milk.)  I was on my feet for all but 60 minutes today.  Boy am I glad to have tomorrow off.  And hurrah!  They gave us a teleconference number so I can call-in instead of attending a staff meeting in person.  I MUCH prefer to attend with Jack in my lap. 

Speaking of Jack, he's been asleep since 5 pm so I haven't been able to hold him yet.  It sounds like he had a very nice day with his Dad.  He doesn't want to go back to work tomorrow :-)  I'm so so happy with our Jack-watching arrangement.  I can't wait for him to wake up so I can feed him and cuddle with him.  

At least she can dog-paddle

Jem HATES water. But this was such a nice warm pool! Maybe she'll change her mind?


Jem swims in air from Rachel Mason on Vimeo.

Jack is 11 weeks old

A little Jack update for you.  He's 11 weeks old already!  He coos almost non-stop when he's awake and is still trying hard to laugh, but hasn't figured it out yet.  He still fits size 3-6 month clothes, thank goodness!  But most of his socks are too small.  He still naps for most of the day, staying awake for 45-90 minutes at a time on average.

He got a fancy new bouncer chair that he loves so far.  The bounces are reactions to his kicks.  Although he doesn't understand that, he can get is going nicely.  There's a nice wooden toy rack that attaches to the front.  I was thrilled to see that he immediately started reaching for it! 


Jack's Chair from Rachel Mason on Vimeo.

Grand Junction Getaway

We're back in Denver after a long vacation at my parents home.  Many came to visit, we swam almost every day, and I made over a dozen batches of gelato.  Great trip, yes?  I'm uploading all my photos (minus a nudie shot of Jack) to flickr.  It's so hard to skim down to my favorites for this post but I'll try!

I brought some Fancy Tiger fabric to make bibs for Jack.  Only succeeded in making one.  It'll be an ongoing project.

Grandpa snoozing with the baby.

Miranda and Zaley came to play!  Z wanted to hold Jack.  She did so with mixed results.  I love Jack's face here, he's like "Whoa, going down!"

Natasha reclaims her rightful property - Amanda's lap.

So sleepy :-)

Brian helps Zaley reach another level on the mini-trampoline.

Lovely timing.

Grandma and Jack.  I love bold, clean lines for baby clothes! This one reminds me of the ninja turtles.

Toss her in!

Even me and Jack!

Baby toes get pruney too.

He has a swimsuit, but going naked is easier.

Yarn shopping on Main Street for the moms, a Giant Frog for Zaley.

When I got my mom a yarn winder and swift as a gift, you know I was scheming to use it myself.

Don't you love fast knit baby clothes in bulky yarns?  Don't you love the glam rock style this evokes?

Cat is still jealous . . .

We all get lunch when we go out.

Grandma Betty so happy to be back in Colorado.

Jack's looking a tad gangsta in the other sweater I knit this trip.  Maybe it will fit better next year.

Whoa.  There are NO pictures of me making gelato.  How did that happen?  I made the gelato to stock pile for Andy's reception next weekend.  Mom has a DeLonghi gelato maker and it's all kinds of rad.  Here's a list of what I made:

• Nutella with hazelnuts
• milk chocolate
• dark chocolate
• chili chocolate
• mint chip (still my favorite)
• apricot vanilla x2
• raspberry
• vanilla bean x2
• cantaloupe
• lemon
• cherry vanilla

So so good. 

Like I said above, many people came to visit while I was there.  It went something like this:

• Me (+ Jack) and Amanda came
• Miranda and Zaley came
• Nate, Ben and Brian came
• Ben left
• Amanda, Brian, and Nate left
• Miranda and Zaley left
• Amanda came
• Amanda left
• Ben and Betty came
• Ben and Rachel (+Jack) left

A little confusing, yes?

The last Saturday Ben and I went to see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.  Of course I loved it.  How could I not?  Edgar Wright + Michael Cera + Jason Schwartzman mixed with a funny script, crazy production style, and video game flavor.  I can't wait to see it again, and then buy to watch at home over and over.

We took the scenic route home to avoid traffic.  Eh, I don't recommend doing that.  Happily we did all our laundry before leaving, so the post-trip mess isn't as bad as it could be.  Today I'm working on bills, organizing my return to work, stocking our kitchen, and of course keeping Jack happy :-)  It's raining outside and the animals are hiding in the basement.  A very quiet day back in Denver.