Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Nana teaches Cody "up" & "ba"







Wow how time flies when you go back to work! I can't believe my last post was October 8th. Everything has been going so super well and we've been soooooooo lucky that John aka Pops was able to stay and watch Cody for two weeks and now Nana aka my mom has been here for also two weeks. John and Cody had a great time talking economic theory, singing, walking and cooking. He took excellent notes about Cody's pretty predictable schedule and a funny narrative that aided in the smooth hand-off to my mom. John left on a red eye on Friday night and my mom arrived Saturday morning. Even though my mom packed light, she managed to bring the east coast weather with her! Sunday was rainy but we made the best of it. She helped me make over 5 dozen yummy oatmeal raisin cookies for my students (and some for us) and a great baked ziti dinner. Then she too was on her own with Cody, following the schedule, going on nice long walks to Whole Foods, Trader Joes, the mall and CVS. As John wrote, he'll sleep as long as you can walk. I had some late nights with Parent Teacher Conferences, but Friday I got a half day. So even though it was rainy, we drove to Half Moon Bay and got a family of pumpkins for Cody's first Halloween. Mom bought him a Halloween outfit for every day of the week plus two costumes that you'll see soon here: a monster and skeleton. Saturday morning Greg and I finally went back to Planet Granite and did some rock climbing. We actually weren't as bad as we thought considering we'd taken 8 months off. It was great to be back, I ended up going back later for a really hard yoga class. I have only three lbs to go to be back at my BC (Before Cody) weight. Nursing is the best exercise. It allows me to eat constantly and continue to shed the weight. Yay! Unfortunately that night, the Phillies were eliminated from the World Series. Tonight, Wednesday, the Giants won their first game of the World Series and Matt P. and Bree came over to see Cody. Sunday mom and I went to Grace Cathedral for mass. It's a giant Cathedral right in the heart of San Fran that Barb and I went to when I was pregnant. It was really nice, Cody loved the music. Then in the pouring rain we went to the Ferry Building for lunch and onto Lullaby Lane the nice baby store to buy the woombie in mega baby size. Mom had suggested we try a sleep sack instead of the swaddle contraption known as the woombie so we did Saturday, but Cody woke often. Maybe it was his four month growth spurt so maybe his missed his woombie, either way the mega baby size is back in action and he has been sleep good. He still wakes just once during the night around 3 to feed. Thankfully Monday it was back to the sunshine, but also back to work. Tuesday was his 4 month appointment and shots. He did great. He's 17lbs 8 oz! He's now in the 75% for height, but 95% for weight! This weekend is the final transition: Nana leaves and Aunt Rita and Uncle Tom arrive. We're going up to Napa and come home Sunday for Halloween. It's supposed to rain some more, but it'll still be fun I'm sure. Having John and then my mom here while going back to work has been amazing. Its a hard transition, but knowing Cody is so happy and loved here at home as been the best gift ever. We'll be sad when family leaves but we'll only have to wait another couple of weeks for more people we love to come; Brooke and Mike will be spending Thanksgiving with us. So let the good times continue and Go Giants!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Cody's Naming Ceremony




So it's official, Cody is named! We had a beautiful naming ceremony for him last Saturday October 2nd on top of Wildcat Peak at the Rotary Peace Grove in Tilden Regional Park in the Berkeley Hills. I love this place. There's something really special about it and I'm happy we brought Cody up to one of its highest points to have his ceremony. Barb, Grammy, helped to perform the beautiful ceremony with me. I had read about naming ceremonies online and put together a little script. We'll continue this ceremony with all of family and friends over the next year until everyone that wants to gets to say something special to him and "honor him" just like we did. I filmed it and will eventually make a little movie for him. This first portion consisted of different blessings and words from the heart, plus a nice champagne toast in his honor. Afterward, we hiked back down the 2 mile trail and went out for a nice lunch in Berkeley. Then Greg and I continued the celebration by going out, our first night out alone since BC (before Cody.) We went to a wine bar and a nice dinner in San Carlos while Barb and John, Grammy and Pops, babysat the Codsters. Then on Sunday we laid low since I was about to start my first week back at work. Barb, Cody and I went to the Japanese Tea Garden in San Mateo and did some work while the boys went to our neighborhood dive bar to watch the Eagles. So the first week of work went really well overall. The kids and lessons have been great, the pumping okay. I love being able to provide for him but its hard to do at work with the limited time. I go to bed pretty early but Cody is still doing his same good sleep routine. I nurse him around 8, he goes into his crib around 8:30 and sleeps until around 3, then a quick night time feed, and sleeps again to around 7. John and Cody have been having fun during the day, going on walks, prepping dinner, and doing lots of playing. We're so lucky to have family during this transition back to work. Its so nice to be able to leave him at home, with family, when I leave for work in the morning. OMG. I forgot to mention that last Saturday, on his special day, he did something else really special: he rolled over! Today is Saturday and we just got back from a little picnic in the park with two other new families. Its so nice out. We're going back out in an hour. Greg got me into a friend's soccer game. It's been awhile, I hope I can hang.