One Month Old!

 Master Richard is one month old.  Its really flown.  His check-up went really well.  He hasn't hit any of the one month milestones yet, but he isn't supposed to, either, on account of his premature arrival in this world.

  He weighs six pounds, 4 ounces and is 18" long.  He gained a full pound in 10 days which is fabulous.  He eats special preemie formula which is higher in calories than regular formula.  (And horrifically expensive to boot.)

  He's still generally content to snooze his days away, though as he gets older he has longer periods of alertness.

Bowling

While we were in Southern California, we did a group bowling excursion with Auntie Erika, Andrea and the cousins.  It was a great time.  The boys (and even adults) benefited from the bumpers, though Erika was quite indignant about using them.  Anthony and Erik used a nifty ramp thing, which enabled their balls to hit a whopping 2 mph by the time they got to the pins.

A week or so later we passed the bowling alley and Anthony asked if we could do "that rolling thing" again.

The Drive Home

 After 17 days in the hospital, baby Richard was finally ready to come home.  Anthony and I flew back down the day before.  Thursday morning we dropped Anthony at preschool with his cousin and headed off to the hospital.  We were finally discharged a little after 1:00.  We had a quiet afternoon before picking Anthony up so he could meet his brother in person.

  The drive home was really quite uneventful.  Richard is a much better car traveler than Anthony, who was pretty horrid from day 1 and hasn't improved much since.  We stopped every 2-3 hours so the baby could eat and Anthony could stretch his legs.  Everyone gawped at the teeny human and several people commented on how good I looked to have a baby so young.  (I just respond, "Thank you.")

Disneyland!!!

 When we were in Southern California we ditched the baby and took big brother to Disneyland for his first time.  It was an amazing day, really truly full of magic.

  The pictures don't do it justice, but Anthony was thrilled to meet the princesses.  He still talks about how Ariel told him, "You can swim with me any time."  We were there on a Monday so there weren't really any crowds.  We walked on Small World, had a 3 minute wait for Dumbo and a 15 min wait for the Autopia cards.  We were able to ride the Matterhorn twice.  It was Anthony's first grown-up roller coaster and he loved it.

  Other highlights included seeing Mary Poppins and Burt singing in front of the castle, meeting the Mad Hatter and the refurbished Star Tours.  (Anthony didn't really understand how cool Star Tours was, but Bob and I sure did.)

  Anthony is still asking when we can go back to Disneyland.  He's also still asking about Hawaii, too.

A Great Big Brother

 Anthony LOVES Baby Richard.  Its a bit of a relief, historically he's been over the top jealous when I flirted with other babies.

  He's had his moments, shouting, "Look at me" as he misbehaves in an obvious attempt to get more attention.  But, he's more than made up for it in his love for the baby.

  We're still working on how to appropriately love the baby.  We don't need to fill the bassinett with toys, especially a 4-D cell flashlight, for example.

Baby Richard is Here!

 Its hard catching up, what can I say.

 It was a bit of a whirlwind.  On Dec. 21 we found out about the possibility of a baby.  There was all sorts of confusion about due dates, it was complete chaos.  Meanwhile, we were off enjoying the holidays and got back from Colorado at 10:30 pm on December 30th.

  I slept through the first three phone calls that M. was having the baby via emergency C-section.  Really, though.  There was nothing I could do at 2:30 that I couldn't do at 4:30.  I got on a plane to LA, Bob and Anthony drove.  There was still all sorts of chaos, but on Jan. 1 Bob and I finally got to meet the baby.  He was born at 33 weeks and had quite some time to fatten up in the NICU.

  After a week and a half, I took Anthony back home and left Bob with the baby.  We came back a week later, just in time for discharge.

Christmas Morning!

 Evidently I got a little behind on the blog.  Catching up is less than fun.  I did want to share the picture of Anthony in his elf jammies.

  Santa (and various Grandparents) were entirely too generous.  Some of his favorite gifts include a set of Magnatiles and a scooter.

  And yes, that is Anthony's healthy breakfast completely untouched while he ate a chocolate Santa for breakfast.