Fashion Show

Gunner has received so many great gifts from family and friends, especially clothes. He is growing so fast though, I am afraid he won't be able to wear them all. I have not yet resorted to playing dress up with him, but here are a few pictures of him wearing some various outfits, just in case he can only wear them once.

 

He has many more to show off. You'll have to wait for the next fashion show to see the pics.

Where's the poop?

For the past week or so, Gunner's digestive systems seems to have slowed down. He goes a few days without a dirty diaper at all! We asked Dr. Nash about it at his 2-month appointment and she said that it was completely normal for babies his age to go several days without a poopy diaper.

We recently introduced some formula into Gunner's diet, so that also could have contributed to the change in BM frequency. It is sort of worrying Jim and me, but I suppose we should be happy that we don't have to wipe up as much poop as we used to!

It wasn't me, it was daddy!

He does still have a lot of farts, and boy he sure does take after his daddy in that department, because they are pretty stinky!

Old Settlers

Every year around Labor Day, there is a celebration in downtown Olathe called Old Settlers. It consists of carnival rides, a parade, antique auto show, arts & crafts, and, more importantly, food. Lots and lots of food that you can only get at carnivals and Renaissance Faires.

Apparently it's been a tradition since 1898. I don't know what the purpose or history is of this Old Settlers, but Jim introduced me to it a couple years back. He said I had to go for a Grange Pup, which is sort of like a corn dog, but with pancake batter instead of corn batter. And yes, it is delicious!

So of course we go back every year, if only for the Grange Pups, Walking Tacos, Funnel Cake and Hawaiian Ice. Ok, so we don't eat all of that, but it is still fun to walk around with your Grange Pup and then toy with the idea of getting a Funnel Cake and maybe a giant turkey leg or corn on the cob.

We also can't leave without getting some swag from Farmers Insurance, or whatever company is giving away coozies. I am a sucker for a free coozie.

We brought Gunner along this year for his very first Old Settlers. I don't think he enjoyed it quite as much as we did. He can't eat the food, he's too young for rides and -- let's face it -- he has no need for swag such as coozies and chip clips.

But we had fun anyway! Maybe next year he will have more fun and stay awake long enough to take in some of the festivities.

Those Grange Pups are calling!

Gunner had so much fun that he couldn't stay awake.

Bath Time

A few weeks back Gunner had his first bath. He seemed to like it very much. He looked a little confused at first, but then relaxed and enjoyed the warm water and being scrubbed by mommy and daddy.

He likes the water sprinkling on his head from the little turtle bath toy. And we gently scrub him down with a froggy washcloth.

Afterward, he is so soft and smells so sweet!

"Where are you going with that froggy?"

All clean! Happy baby!

Waking to the sound of life

(This is a column Jim wrote for the Star/Olathe News after Gunner was born.)

I woke up a week or so ago to some thunder and lightning. It was off in the distance, but you could tell that something was coming.

I rolled over and hit the snooze button. There was no way I could handle this one by jumping right out of bed. I needed to sleep on it with about 10 more minutes of sleep.

I mean, what can prepare you for that first day of junior high better than a few extra minutes of sleep?

Directly in my rear-view mirror was the innocence, and free-spirited days of my youth. Those long days at the swimming pool with no worries. I was taking a right turn off of Easy Street and heading onto the first divided highway of my life.

Then, just a couple of days later, there I was, hearing that alarm again. This time, I was knee deep in my senior year of high school, having the time of my life. I couldn’t wait to get out of bed. There’s no way life could get any better than this. Carefree days with my best friends. We were seniors. We ruled the school, like all seniors, right? It was perfect.

The next morning the sun was shining bright. It was warm, but not one of those sweltering mornings that make you wanna turn right around and stay inside all day. It was a perfect spring morning.

And there I was, cap in hand, with a black graduation gown draped over my right arm. I was just a couple of hours from college graduation. Those carefree days seemed so long ago. I was an adult. I was ready to tackle anything the world had to offer. Bring it on.

Less than a week ago, I woke to an overcast sky and a slight mist. Nothing too bad, just enough to notice. It just kept raining. And just when you thought it would stop, it would pick up just a little bit. It seemed like it had been raining for days. Nothing ever changed. I was on my way to work, but nothing could spoil my day. I was about to cover the football state championship game — again. Who wouldn’t love this job? I was being paid to watch sports and then write about it. Awesome.

A few days later, I woke up with one of the most calming, but weird, feelings I’ve ever had. In a few hours I was going to be married. Married. It was surreal. The most beautiful woman in the world was about to say “I do.” She was going to be my wife. What an amazing feeling. I had it all.

So many brilliant, amazing moments in my life seemed to fly by in a blink of an eye. I go to bed one night and seem to wake up years later.

Then, I woke up yesterday. Suddenly. Abruptly. A light came on and Aisha shook me awake. “It’s time.”

The next few minutes or so were a blur. We loaded the car and were off to the hospital. Yep. That time.

Everything was getting very real. My wife was about to deliver our first child. The hours drifted away slowly and sometimes painfully. Then, in the middle of the afternoon, that gorgeous woman gave birth to the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen. He was perfect. All of a sudden, everything I had ever experienced in my life seemed trivial. As my sons life began so did mine, so did Aisha’s. We stopped being husband and wife and became a family.

The flood of emotions that washed over me when I first laid eyes on Gunner James was overwhelming. Too overwhelming for words.

Yesterday, I woke up as a man and went to sleep as a father.

Now, I never want to go to sleep again. I don’t want to miss a second of this.

Day/Night Confusion

Gunner sleeps really well during the day. In fact, that is practically all he does, besides eat and request diaper changes. So in the middle of the night, he seems to think this is play time. Jim and I have had a few sleepless nights trying to get him to sleep after feeding. One of the reasons is that he isn't consistent on where he likes to sleep. Sometimes it's his crib, sometimes a newborn rocker, sometimes it's his swing.

It seems like G has a little bit of day/night confusion. Dr. Nash's suggestion was to keep him awake during the day for at least 15 minutes after he feeds. So we've been trying to do little sponge baths or tummy time after each feeding during the day.

But keeping him awake is easier said than done. He is still pretty young so toys sometimes don't really hold his interest. Here is what happened when I tried to keep him awake with a toy the other day.

What, you think you can keep me awake? Good one.

He fell right asleep with a little smile on his face (or gas in his tummy). So much for keeping him awake! But it was so darn cute I had to give up.

But he's getting better. Last night he went to sleep after each of his feedings and we (read: mommy) was able to sleep in 2-3 hour spans. Which I'll gladly take!

Gruntin' Gunner

Gunner has been quite noisy at times when he is sleeping. We are pretty sure it is the gas in his tummy that makes him grunt and squirm so much. It is very cute, unless it is as 2 a.m.

Bianca also found this out one of the times he was napping during her visit, she was rubbing his feet and he grunted really adamantly, as if to say "Stop it. Get away from me!" She wasn't offended though.

As Jimmy puts it, Gunner is a "noisy get to sleeper." Here is a video of him grunting during one of his naps. You'll have to endure about 20 seconds of a perfect little angel sleeping before the grunting and spit bubbles begin.

New Nursery Decor

While Tante Bianca was here, she thought that Gunner's room could use a little decor. I don't really have the knack for decorating, so I gladly accepted her help. She found some really cute decals at Babies R Us.

They look really cute! Now if I can just get some of Gunner's photos printed and framed ...