Saturday, September 18

More pictures

I don't have a clever title for this one but I've got more pictures. Selma and I have been hitting up all the local trails lately and running laps.Jersey, shorts and a water bottle is all you need to rage for a couple hours.
At home JJ and I are practicing being similar.
And he's found some short track socks like Looney and Cyn.
He likes to chill on his blankets sometimes.
And get baths.
Turbo approves.
Warm and squishy baby.
Momma love.
Sleepy.
Pacifier and pants, quite a big day.
I like to go in the car, not so much getting strapped in.
Dueling bottles!
That's all for now!

Thursday, September 16

Three weeks in

They say you don't get a lot of sleep as a new parent but I don't necessarily agree. Maybe I just have a good baby and a rockstar wife. Sure you don't get to crash out for 8 straight hours but we've been generally getting to bed at a reasonable hour and JJ will sleep until at least 7am. Subtract a little time for feeding and diaper changes and you still get a decent amount of rest. Plus it's easy to justify naps though I usually dedicate those to Momma as I don't have to feed JJ every night and get extra breaks. Of course I could have just jinxed the whole thing and it will all go south tonight...

In other news JJ likes his bath time. We've been giving him a little bath every other night now and he seems pretty pleased about it. Mom is the washer and I'm the holder. Little babies are slippery but no incidents yet ;)
Turbo is once again very interested in what's going on at bath time despite the fact that he doesn't like baths.
We're slowly learning which things are nice to have lots of and which aren't as critical. Laundry is a necessity every other day so certain items you only need a few while others it's nice to have a stash. Little onesies, even just the plain white ones, are one of the things I'm glad we have a lot of.
JJ likes to sleep in funny positions :) We generally just swaddle his body and legs now but he'll break out of that if he wants to.
I love getting to spend time with him. I had some training for the new job today and it was strange to be away from Marni and JJ all day. I'll be working at least part time after we get back from an upcoming trip to St.Louis to see more family and slowly getting towards working most days. The flexibility of subbing will really help on those days when JJ isn't feeling well and when Marni is sick I can probably even cover her classroom now!
I don't think JJ is smiling on purpose yet but the accidental ones are pretty cute!
He also likes to see if he can eat Turbo's fur. Good thing since it will be all over him for a long time to come.
Training is still going well. Monday I got in a good ride on the Selma for a while in the afternoon that was mostly dirt and some good rolling climbs. Tuesday I got into the BRC for a good session and last night I got out to the flatirons for the first time since JJ's arrival. I took a new climber for his first multipitch trad route and he seemed pretty psyched to get out. I ran into Stefan soloing the face, or he caught us rather and it was fun to catch up about each other's newborns for the first time. Tonight I cranked out about 75 minutes of good mountain biking on the Selma again with a small set of technical intervals in the middle and a bunch of 30 second hill sprints. Almost every ride I'm getting more psyched about 2011 and plenty of ideas are running through my head about training events as well as the yet to be unveiled "big ride". I've got about another week to ramp up the training in September before taking it easier while on our road trip. Perhaps while I'm gone I'll start putting together a bit of a plan for October. The desert is starting to beckon and fatty wants to see White Rim...

Sunday, September 12

I grow!

I kept thinking that I updated the blog but today I realized I only updated the Facebook pictures. A lot happens in a few days of baby time! Little guy likes his mini baths and today we'll give him a real one for the first time.
Turbo makes sure to keep a close eye on him.
He's been a lot more awake now that he's growing. A few days of a little less sleep during his growth spurt but the last two nights he's back to doing pretty well. Plus he's sleeping in his crib for some of his day time naps.
He makes lot of cute faces.
And Turbo is getting more used to him. He still checks on all crying activity.
Marni is doing great and starting to feel better. She's taken Turbo and JJ for a couple walks when I've been out of the house.
On Thursday JJ had his first doctor's appointment. Mostly he liked it except for the whole getting naked and weighed part. Burrr!
He's growing great though, from his low point of 7lbs 2oz to 8lbs 9.5oz in a week! Other than his height he's a pretty average sized baby at this point. The doc said he looked perfect and there were no concerns. He doesn't have to go back until his 8 week appointment where he definitely won't like getting a bunch of shots.
Lucky for me he likes to nap a lot.
And since he's doing so well growing I'm going to get to start feeding him a bottle once a day, that way mom can be a little more free. He ate 3.5 oz today no problem and got the hang of the low flow bottle pretty fast.
He really checks you out while you feed him.
He's quickly out growing his smallest outfits and he got upgraded to the next size diaper pretty fast. Soon we'll start to transition him to his cloth diaper system so we can stop throwing away so many diapers every day.
We're slowly learning how to get him back to sleep at night as quickly as possible after eating and when he likes to nap during the day. Right now the naps are great for Marni to get her grad school homework done (yay online classes) and I'm usually trying to get the latest pictures posted. I'll be substitute teaching for Marni's school district this year so very soon I'll be gone at least some of the week days. We're darn lucky to have had all this wonderful time together to transition from pregnancy to birth to having the little guy be part of our daily lives without too much else to worry about. We're even planning a road trip to St.Louis in a couple weeks to attend a friend's wedding and show off JJ to his Aunt Jessie, great grandparents and other family. At the very least driving to St.Louis with a newborn will be interesting. ;)

The reintroduction to regular training for me is going well. I'm taking September as a month to build consistency and not worry much about anything else. I've been riding almost every day and even had to take an easy recovery ride day yesterday. Thursday night I hit up Buff Creek with Brett and a friend of his and it was awesome night riding on the Selma. I have a feeling that will become quite a bit more common now. Friday I spent my first longer day away from Marni and JJ and went to Vedauwoo with Chad. We came home in the early afternoon but not before getting spanked by some sweet offwidths (Right Parallel Space, Handjacker and Lower Progressive were the highlights) and also getting to meet Scarpelli himself. Things are going well, more to come I"m sure.

Monday, September 6

The swing

A week or so at home now and we're getting into a routine. Little JJ is a pretty good sleeper for a newborn and most nights we get at least one ~4 hr stretch. Of course he always wakes up when I try to get pictures of him in his bassinet. He says he does his best thinking in there. Once he's sleeping a little longer we'll move him into his crib.
During the day we've enjoyed hanging out. JJ likes to practice his baby shark imitation.
I've been getting back into riding more regularly with Marni's help. My summer 2011 project is slowly becoming a reality and I want to be in top form when the time comes. Being a dad does help with motivation for sure. I love being out on the bike or out climbing but it's been a little more focused time wise so I can get back to my little boy.
Today I spent a couple hours out on the Selma working on the hills and pushing in the wind. From the high points you could see the fire that is just to the west of Boulder. It's pretty massive and I hope they can get it under control soon.
The Selma is such a sweet bike. I have to say it's the nicest mountain bike I've ever owned. Mine weighs in right around ~20lbs at the moment and with my impending return to work, maybe I can lighten it up this year. I'm positive 16lbs is doable though I'll probably be shooting more for 18.5 lbs with a completely bomber endurance build.
I'm starting to hear rumblings about Fall and it's got to be true. The shadows are coming earlier now and the light is beginning to find that late day warmth. Something about the angle of the sun makes for such pretty light in fall and winter.
Happy to be out pedaling and starting to feel stronger. I've got a way to go to get my volume in the right place but the speed is there lurking just below the surface.
I'm lucky to have such an exceptional training ground near my house. I've got several dirt and road loops right out my front door with rolling hills and great scenery that aren't too effected by the weather. And with a little more time there are multiple 3k+ foot climbs just a few more miles away. I'll be that much more grateful to get my workouts done and get home to JJ this year.
It feels good to get back into a routine and back to blogging too. Lots more exciting stuff to come.

Sunday, September 5

First Outings and Grandma Judy

JJ says..."I was thinking on Friday that I should do something exciting today."
I thought about it while I made Mom put on my awesome shirt.
Dad told me it was a good idea.
So we got in the car and went to go pick up Grandma Judy from the airport. Then we went to Starbucks. I like second hand whipped cream!
When we got home Grandma Judy was real nice and good at holding me.
Mom liked to show me off.
So did Dad.
Even Turbo was very happy.
I got tired so I had to rest for a while after my great idea.
Then later we went to Proto's and I was a great boy again. I decided to sleep while everyone ate pizza. Really I knew this would lead to second hand pizza. I like second hand pizza!
Everyone always has those flashy things out. Dad calls them a camera. Here are my little fingers.
And also my little Rhino feet.
I like when people hold me, it makes me sleepy. Speaking of which, I'm getting pretty sleepy right n...