Penelope's 1st Birthday!

Penelope had her first birthday party this past weekend and it was a great time. The gloomy weather took a break for the afternoon just for her and the sun came out to shine on this special occasion. We were joined by family and friends to celebrate our wonderful little girl who has brought so much joy to all of us over this past year. Plus, it was a nice time for us to have a drink and congratulate ourselves for making it through a sometimes trying first year. Granted, Jennifer deserves most of the praise and thanks for her devotion and raising of little P. I love you Jenn...you do a wonderful job with P.

Here is a little video of P digging into her birthday cupcakes. She doesn't quite go all demolition derby on them, but she certainly ends up making quite a mess in a very measured, almost thoughtful way.

Crawling*

*more like a movement that is akin to crawling, but with a distinctive Penelope twist to it.

The crawling comes near the end of the video, but I included just some of her being cute, which is what she does best. Well, eating, sleeping and pooping are close contenders, but cuteness is the only thing most people see.

I'm off to San Diego tomorrow for work as is my custom these days. I have been on loan to another engineering firm for the past two months and it requires me to travel, either to San Diego or San Francisco, each week for at least a day or two. Mostly, I'm up in San Francisco as that is where the main office is, but I also go down to San Diego if they have the need. The traveling has been pretty brutal and has put a lot of strain on our family. We have kind of settled into the situation, but it still kind of sucks and I'm not sure when it will end. Jenn really depends on me at night to give her a break and I miss out on being with her and P. Also, including the hours I spend traveling, I am logging 50-55 hours a week for work and that is burning me out quickly...gonna have to make a change in the situation soon.

Anyway, back to P. She is moving around a lot these days and getting into all sorts of stuff. We are quickly finding out things we need to baby-proof in the very near future. Anything she can get to, she will grab and pull on -- she already pulled out some board games, tugged on some power cords and got a picture or two. She still prefers to stand and move around by holding on to things, and she has become quite good at stepping. Does she ever move fast, too!

Here is your gratuitous Penelope picture of the day...

"I'm not so sure about this guy..."

Standing

Well, I've been trying to capture it for a couple of days now, but I've just been unlucky and/or unprepared. What am I trying to capture? Well, Penelope can now pull herself to standing and I've been trying to get video of the event. It's pretty fun to watch and she is so happy when she stands herself up. Someday I will catch it and then ya'll will get to see it.

Still no crawling nor any interest in doing so. She loves to roll, stand, and bounce, but that is about it. If we put her on her stomach she'll just stay there or end up rolling over. We've tried to coax her with toys, but she'll just lean over to grab the toy and if it's too far away she'll lose interest. Oh well, it will happen sometime.

Update: Finally! Here it is...

Dead-Beat Blogging Dad

I'm back. Actually, I was never gone. Still, if it weren't for the pictures that Jenn posts, you would think I up and disappeared. However, that is not the case and I am returning to blogging on our little site here for the fun and amusement of everyone. This is particularly true for our little P as we can look back on all our old posts when she is older and embarrass her relentlessly.

Blogging...it's the new photo album.

For anyone who has been keeping tabs, I fell off the blogging wagon a while ago and have only made appearances here and there. I would say I have been extremely busy (which is true), but who isn't? I would say I've been traveling out of town for work for a couple of days each week (which is true), but that is what wifi and laptops are for. I would say...oh well, I've just been a slacker.

My mom once asked why I don't blog more often and I said something stupid like "I don't have the time" or "I'm so busy" or "I can't think of anything to say" and she responded: "It's not like you have to write a novel." So in that spirit, I'm going to concentrate on making my posts short and sweet (sweet = P), unlike the one I am currently writing, which is tragically all about me.

Jenn already covered this past weekend's activities and P's introduction to her future husband new playmate, so I don't have an awful lot to add. I will say it was great to see all of our friends and to watch another set of parents in action with a baby so close to ours in age. Let's just say it was reassuring.

Cheers.

Smiles!

Update: The video embed stopped working for some reason so I have embedded it again. Hopefully this one will stick. Also, we've added a photostream link to our flickr account with all of our pictures of Ellie. If you click on any of the photos, flickr will open in a new window so you can see the full size pictures.

Hey everyone! Little Ellie is starting to smile, but they are usually only fleeting moments and hard to catch on camera. However, last week at the doctor's (9lbs-3oz, 23.5"), she literally had a smiling fit and I managed to catch it in a little movie with my camera. I haven't tried to embed a video before, so if this works you should see it below.

She is really doing great and developing so much every day. It is kind of hard to keep up with all of the changes, the new facial expressions, the little sounds she makes. Being at work all day and then coming home at night, these changes are really apparent. Like everyone says, they grow up so fast. Anyway, enjoy the video!

Please welcome...

Update: For additional baby pics, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/djmayer/collections/ to see them all!

...Penelope Marie Mayer. Our lovely daughter was born on Wednesday, December 12 at 12:53am after a long and exhausting labor (24 hours!). She weighed in at 6 pounds, 13.4 ounces and measures 20 inches in length. Jenn was an absolute champ and went natural all the way...she was truly amazing. Here are some pics below and more will be posted later. I must sleep -- have to be back at the hospital in 4 hours and I've been up for nearly 25 straight. Nothing compared to mama, but I'm still beat.

Our small, little angel

Cozy and asleep

Happy mom, dad and baby

So, so close...

Holy moly, are we ever close. Below are some of the the more up-to-date belly shots and you can tell that the time is nearing.

Jenn is constantly telling me how big she feels and how tight her belly seems. Although, it's not that it seems tight, but it really is tight. The baby is becoming so big that there doesn't seem to be any room left at all. Touch anyplace on her belly and it is like a rock. This is definitely causing her some discomfort, particularly when the little troublemaker decides to move around and change position.

Well, I think we have pretty much everything in the house in order (except for the master bath...still working on it) and the baby's room is definitely ready. I still have a little bit of yard work that I also need to complete so I don't have to think about it for a while, but the majority is done. Jenn went on a rampage around the house, cleaning and organizing everything. I helped (I swear!), but she really did the lions-share and kicked butt. That is about all she can do for the time being...just running the vacuum tires her out.

I have been trying to wrap up as much of my projects at work as possible before the baby comes so I don't have to dump too much on my co-workers. Still, I have let them know that the baby could be here any day and I am just waiting for the call from Jennifer and I'm out of there. I'm planning to stay at home for the majority of December, probably around 3 weeks depending on when the baby actually is born. I'm really looking forward to that time with Jenn and the new kid; it will of course be tiring and maybe stressful, but it will still be a vacation. Going back to work after that will be interesting -- I'm kind of worried I will have trouble focusing, thinking instead of how I'd like to be home with Jenn and the baby. I guess this will be when the old adage "work smarter, not harder" really comes into play since I'll need/want to come home early every day. Actually, Jenn had a very good idea...one night a week will be my work late night when I can stay as long as I need to. Hopefully, I won't have to utilize that night often, but it will be there if I need it.

Well, the suitcase is ready, the goody bag is packed, the car seat is strapped in, contact list is in my phone and food is in the freezer. We are ready to go. Come on baby!

Baby Shower Fun

Click here to see all the pics....

Well, we had our first baby shower a couple weeks ago, and by "we" I mean Jenn, and I just showed up at the end. So it goes.

I had started this post soon after the shower, but I didn't manage to finish and it ended up gathering dust in the draft queue. And since I haven't posted in a while I figured I should finish what I started.

While Jenn was at the shower, I was otherwise occupied at the Campbell Octoberfest, accompanied by Steve, Dan, Chris, Mike and Sayre (Jenn's step-father, brother, my brother, our friend and Dan's friend, respectively). We walked around, and well, drank beer. It was very crowded and the way they set up the beer stations was a little annoying and made it a slow process in obtaining beer. You had to stand in one line to buy tickets and then proceed to a second line to actually buy the beer. Add to that, there were only 5 beer stations so the lines were out of control. Still, the beer and the company was good so we had a fun time.

The shower was fun for Jenn and we received some wonderful gifts from our friends and family. It was especially nice to see some of our friends that we haven't seen for some time (that's you, Hosannah, Janis and Kirsten). Thanks again to everyone for your support and love. =)

So now, here are some gratuitous belly shots (cover the children's eyes!)...

Whoo-wee, a couple more weeks and she's gonna pop. Oh yeah, we're getting down to the wire now and it almost seems like we are ready. We just finished up our birthing class through the clinic this past week and wow, do we ever know a lot about the labor and delivery process. I dare you to ask me to describe what happens during the transition period.

I'm not sure we need to know everything we learned, including seemingly all of the possible contingencies, but it feels good to know what to expect. We're also close to finishing up our hypno-birthing course, which has been great. The relaxation methods will be a huge help for Jenn (and even for me) when labor starts through the delivery process. I just need to remember to help her stay calm and give her the proper prompts to guide her.

Then we get to be parents. OMG...

Actually, I'm not quite as worried about that as I was before. At this point, I am just excited to meet the kid (bit, nugget, chitlin, take your pick) so I can talk to he/she directly, rather than through Jenn's belly. I'm sure the reality of being a parent will come crashing down on me as soon as we bring our child home and we are woken in the wee hours of the night, but that's cool. I'm looking forward to it, regardless.

The room is pretty much finished; we still have some decorating to do, but that will be an ongoing project. My mom is over this weekend to help out with refinishing the dresser -- a quick sand and a paint job. She'll be back for Thanksgiving and we'll do some painting of some animals on the walls out of a cute children's book. As for the bathroom, that is still unfinished and haunting me every day. I did get some work done on the tiling this past weekend, but there is still a good bit to do in the shower. I'm hoping to get through a lot of it this weekend with the help of Dan and Mike (Kennedy), but I doubt we'll finish. Ever after that, I still have to take care of the vanity countertop, the sink, faucet, sink plumbing, medicine cabinet, light fixture, cabinet finishing, and various bathroom accessories. Oy, so much work still to do.

Wow, it is getting late and I need to get to bed. Before I go, here's a gratuitous dog pic...

I'm this cute...

Behold the Belly

Finally, the belly shots!

We'll be doing weekly shots and posting them here until the baby is born so you can all see the progress.

I had to get this photo in, especially with this shirt that Jenn gave me for father's day. I admit it, I am responsible!

The Long Lost Dad

Sorry about the absence from the blog here, but, as usual, I've been fairly busy. Between work and home, I wonder how I will ever keep up when the baby comes. From what my friends and workmates have told me, they also had the same fear. The consensus seems to be that, like everything else, you just do what you need to do.

In the post below, Jenn related our unplanned trip to the hospital and what that entailed. I wanted to wait until she said something before I chimed in on that evening as I think it was her story to tell. As for me, I was also frightened, but I had the feeling that nothing was really wrong. Everything up until that point indicated that the baby was healthy, developing normally and that we couldn't hope for a better pregnancy. With those thoughts in mind, I just couldn't bring myself to believe that, suddenly, something was amiss. However, I wasn't fully convinced until the moment the nurse applied the fetal monitor to Jenn's belly and we heard that now familiar fast-beating heart. I knew then everything was alright.

One thing in particular that was not alright about that evening (besides the general scare of being at the ER) was how I felt I was treated by the attending nurse. By the time we left the hospital it was around midnight, we were exhausted and I didn't think much about it. I mentioned it to Jenn on the way home, but didn't really start thinking about it till the next day. Now, I was extremely happy about the way Jenn was cared for and treated while we were there, so I have no complaints in that area. However, I felt I could have been an inatimate object for all the attention that I was paid during our nearly two-and-a-half hours we were in the room. In that whole time the nurse spoke directly to me twice -- once to say something I can't remember and the other time to tell me there is a remote control for the tv on the bedside table.

Justifiable or not, this irked me. As if I was just going to sit back, relax and watch the tube while my wife was laying not two feet from me worrying about the health of our baby. Jenn was, rightfully, the focus of attention that evening and like I said, I was very happy with her treatment. But at the same time, I would like to believe that my presence serves some purpose and I want to be involved during the pregnancy. Unfortunately, the nurse did not even include me in any of the conversations she had with Jenn while we were there.

I don't know...maybe it was just that particular nurse, or maybe she wasn't really trying to exclude me, or maybe that is standard procedure and it really bugs me because I want to be involved and even though I'm not pregnant, I am still a part of this event. Anyway, sorry about the mini-rant...I'm just hoping that night was not indicative of our future visits. Hope I'm not being a prat.

I finally started reading "The Expectant Father", which was loaned to me by Tracy's brother, Dan. I'm a little late starting into it, but I had to finish reading Harry Potter! The book is great so far, although it is going over many of the things Jenn has already been through, but it is still very informative. I was a bit hesitant to start reading these parenting books, mainly because it would make me realize how much I don't know and then I would freak out and feel like I need to ready every parenting book I could get my hands on. That is the classic engineer in me -- I need to know exactly how to do everything. I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I'm just going to have to wing a lot of stuff from here on out!

Oh, and how cool is it to feel the baby kicking mama's belly?! Such a trip.

A Trip for the Ages

Wow, what a ride. We just returned yesterday from our "vacation" to San Diego to attend the wedding of our good friends Lucas and Cyndi. Actually, we returned from Santa Cruz where my cousin Alison was married, but we couldn't actually differentiate the two locales because we were so tired from driving. We left San Diego at 7:15am on Sunday morning and made it to Santa Cruz at 2:20pm, in time for the wedding at 3:00pm. Impressive, no?

While we had a wonderful time at both, it seems the traveling has really taken a toll on Jenn who woke up this morning with some serious back pain. She had been noticing increased aches in her back recently, but the time in the car and general fatigue has really aggravated her psyiatic (sp?) nerve. She phoned the doctor this morning and was told that this was totally normal, although it still sucks. Hopefully, it won't be chronic during the rest of the pregnancy.

It seems we are trying to make ourselves sick of traveling what with all of the trips we have been taking recently. I suppose it is good that we do these things while we can, but we sure are tired at the moment. We still plan to travel as much as we can (afford) even after the baby is born -- we want to expose the baby to traveling so hopefully he/she will get used to it.

Keyword = hopefully.

Anyway, I'll have to elaborate more on our recent travels and our upcoming ultrasound later. Work calls and I need to keep my job!

Late Night Musings

Well, it's late Thursday night, I've been meaning to post for a couple of days, and now that I am sitting in front of the computer, I can't quite think of what to write about.

Figures.

Jenn had somewhat of a bad day, feeling particularly icky, slightly dizzy and really sniffly. She is definitely ready for that magical second trimester that she keeps hearing about. Said trimester officially begins Saturday morning, so there is this somewhat wishful, but half-serious expectation that she will wake up that morning feeling like a million bucks. We can hope.

I'm ready for her to feel better, but not because she has been a drag or anything. I just feel guilty because I haven't had to deal with any of the crap she is going through. Hmmm, that sounds a little bit selfish...I want her to feel better so I can feel better.

I did go through a bout of sympathy heartburn this past week. I had it for three days in a row and it seemingly sprang up out of nowhere. I figure it was out of sympathy because I have had heartburn a total of three times in my life up until then, so what else could it be. Right?

I've been really surprised by people being surprised that we are not going to find out the gender of our baby till he/she is born. Whenever I tell them that, they just look at me with this look of "are you crazy?" Well, no, not really. Nowadays, when asked the question "do you know what you are going to have", I say "a human." Someone recently imparted that wise-ass retort to me, but I can't remember who at the moment. Whoever you are, a big thanks...I love the look people give me when I say that.

Some have even commented on how brave we are to not find out the gender until Jenn gives birth. Brave? Maybe for having a child in the first place, but for not knowing whether it will be a boy or girl? I guess it just doesn't really matter to me one way or another -- I'm just excited to find out when the time comes.

Oh, our kid will play baseball. Boy, girl, doesn't matter. Unless he/she doesn't want to. Then subtle forms of coercion will have to be employed. We're not baseball fanatics, I swear...we just really, really like it. =)

Enough rambling for one evening. Off to bed so my sleepy mind can rest.

Peace.

General Thoughts

I kind of feel like it hasn't really hit me yet.

I guess I was expecting a certain level of anxiousness, a quickening of the heart when I think about being a dad, a parent. I have definitely felt the excitement and joy, especially when we heard The little dude's™ heartbeat the other day. Still, I have been unusually calm, even for me, when thinking about being a parent.

Maybe I really am ready. Maybe the dogs really are the training wheels we always joked they were. Maybe the fear just hasn't had the chance to seep up through the layer of happiness that has coated me like a sweet glaze.

Ready or not, this is happening and I couldn't be happier.