The Burg.

Every summer we make a trip to the tiny town of Trumansburg in New York State where I grew up. This is the fifth year that Michael has gone and the first year for Bennett! It is always wonderful to escape the Texas heat for a week and spend some time at "home". My parent's home where I grew up is in the middle of the woods on five acres with a pond, lovely view towards Cayuga Lake, and plenty of lush green grass and trees. It is such a peaceful setting and I am so relaxed there. Michael enjoys our trips there too, and Bennett certainly enjoyed his first visit!

We flew in on the 4th of July, a Wednesday. We brought our niece Abigail with us and had a long travel day, being dropped off at the airport by my sister around 5:30 am. We flew from Austin to Houston to Newark to Ithaca and got in around 4:00 pm, when my mom picked us up. Overall it was a good travel day and we were very impressed with Bennett as a flyer (but not surprised, since he is such an easy going guy in general). Our biggest issue revolved around poop and spit up. Bennett spit up all over his pajamas that I had left him in for the first leg of travel since it was so early when we left home, so there goes outfit number one. He dozed on the first flight, then slept almost the whole second flight. As we were landing, I realized that runny poop was dripping onto my shirt as I held Bennett in my lap. We dealt with a big poopsplosion and outfit change with the changing pad draped across my lap and Michael's lap and Abby holding a bag up for dirty wipes while turning away with the most disgusted look on her face! Outfit number two was now ruined and stuffed into an airplane barf bag. Next we grabbed some food at the Newark airport while waiting for our last flight. Michael took Bennett to change him and called me on the phone from the bathroom a few minutes later, asking if I had any more outfits as once again he had poop up the back. Since I had packed two clean ones in the diaper bag, at this point we were out of clean ones so we had to put him back in his yucky spit up footie jammies. Our tiny third plane into Ithaca did not seem to be air conditioned or have any air flowing and it was SO hot. We unsnapped Bennett's pajamas almost completely and rolled up his sleeves but he was still way overdressed (as was I, since the only back up clothing item I had for myself in the diaper bag was a sweater, so I was wearing a nursing tank and sweater with jeans. not so comfy! Thankfully that was a quick flight). I learned that while traveling by air with checked baggage, you can never pack too many extra outfits for yourself and baby in the diaper bag!

at the Austin airport bright and early, ready to fly!

 On that third tiny flight, we hit some turbulence coming down and Bennett LAUGHED for the first time! It was easily the most adorable thing I have ever seen. Overall, a great travel day minus the poop situation. For some reason the whole time we were in NY, any time Bennett pooped it was explosive and went right up the back (and smelled like vinegar. What the heck is that about? Maybe due to his lingering cold/congestion?). We never have this "up the back" problem with cloth diapers because of their awesome elastic at the front and back, but we were traveling with disposables. Fortunately we had laundry access at my parent's house and were able to get everything washed right away.

The first night we ate dinner at home on the back deck and enjoyed some time outside, but it was hot. The temps were in the 90's and with no A/C, sleeping was a bit rough. Fortunately that was the worst of the heat while we were there though there were a few other hot days. On Thursday, Michael and I took Bennett to visit my Grandma Joan. She is at a rehab facility working on recovering some of her strength after being sick. She has a private, air conditioned room and we enjoyed chatting with her for a while before she had to go to PT. Bennett took to her right away and gave his Great Gram some big smiles!

Bennett also met his Grandpa Ben for the first time this trip. Unfortunately we neglected to get some good pictures of them so this is the best we did. Grandpa Ben is not terribly into babies, so he only held Bennett a handful of times but did seem to enjoy watching him play and having him around in general. I am sure he will be much more into grandfatherhood once Bennett can hold and throw a ball and wear a baseball glove.

I feel like Bennett changed so much this particular week. He was really alert and interactive the whole trip and seemed to love taking in the new surroundings. He really is just the sweetest little guy and is so easy going and good natured, even while traveling. He slept pretty well in the pack and play my mom got for the babes, but was still up once or twice a night to nurse has he has been lately. Figuring out what jammies to put him in was tough, since the nights started out quite warm and ended up fairly chilly by the time the air cooled down (again, no A/C, just open windows and fans, which I personally love.)

My Dad has a new scooter/motorcycle type thing that he likes to bop around on, so both Abby and I were treated to a ride while there. Her face says it all...that's the same way I felt when starting out too. The first mile was a little terrifying but then the ride became very enjoyable, at least for me. When we asked Abby what she thought of her ride, she said, "I was scared!"

Of course we had to visit my family's restaurant, the Glenwood Pines (twice!). Bennett's not quite old enough for the vintage bowling game and Sunset Riders arcade game but I can't wait to introduce him to the games in summers to come. I blew through plenty of quarters (straight from the cash register!) on those back in the day.

We discovered that Bennett loves a good, long hammock nap just like his mama. This became our go-to nap spot when we were at the house. We'd rock him a bit and then rest an umbrella over him if it was sunny, and it was perfect! There were also many car naps while cruising around town.

Sadly, my parents had to put our old dog, Cassie the Sheltie, to sleep a week or two before our trip to NY. She was 14 and had been having health issues for a while so we knew this was coming, but we were bummed to have missed seeing her one last time. My parents surprised us all by getting a new puppy fairly quickly, which they definitely needed to do. Since then they have been able to talk about Cassie and remember her fondly while enjoying this new playful little lady, Maddie. She is a trip. She loves to "wallow in the mud" of the pond, as my dad calls it, and she has settled right in to her new home. Michael enjoyed gently placing her in the water off the dog to make her swim and get cleaned off from time to time. She is very into shoes and leaves and is incredibly playful.

Maddie really loved Bennett and was especially fond of pawing at his face, stealing his toys and running off with them, and sleeping on his playmat. She is just two weeks younger than Bennett and I think they will be great friends when they're a little bigger!

On Saturday morning, Bennett, Michael, and I went to the Ithaca Farmer's Market, which is amazing. On the way there a torrential downpour began. We considered scrapping the market plans but really wanted to try to make it work. The parking situation is crazy so Michael dropped us then ended up finding a great spot. The market is covered but the rain was blowing in quite a bit, so Michael stood in a sort of dry place with an umbrella and kept Bennett as dry as possible. The little man just looked around, taking in all the chaos while getting a nice little drizzle on his little blond head. When it calmed down a bit we were able to wander and we purchased some locally raised pork chops and sausage to grill. We also grabbed some food and Bennett took a nap on my shoulder. We probably would have stayed longer and bought more and done some wine tastings had the weather been better.  Next year!

Later on Saturday afternoon after regrouping and drying off, we went to my cousin Danielle's high school graduation party which was held at the home of my other cousin Corey and his wife Alana (formerly my Grandpa's house, now Corey's). They have a great pool, garage, and yard and just the perfect house for parties. Danielle was in her element with all the attention : ) We got to see some other extended family members there and had a great time. Bennett had another poop blowout and took a good long nap on my shoulder again while I visited with folks, and we ate some tasty picnic food and cake and had some cold adult beverages. Forgot to get a pic with the graduate...oops! Congrats to Danielle. (And Ray and Wendy, for getting her out of the house. Ha!)

On Sunday, we took Bennett to the Presbyterian church that I grew up attending and he was baptized by Pastor Cheryl. Our sweet boy fell asleep on my shoulder midway through the service and was crashed when I handed him to the Pastor. He woke up briefly when she put the water on his head, but he seemed to love it since it was hot in the church and the water was cool. He did not make a peep. He then proceeded to fall right back to sleep in Daddy's arms! He was awake and sociable during the coffee hour after the service and gave Pastor Cheryl some big grins. Everyone was very impressed with him and said he might be the first baby baptized there who didn't cry! My dad even came to church (very rare) and my Uncle Kenny joined us as well. It was really lovely. I had purchased this cute little white romper on etsy for the baptism. Originally I tried the 3 month size but it was too small. I exchanged it for the six month size, which was too big! We rigged it up with safety pins and no one seemed to notice that it didn't fit perfectly. Bennett still looked adorable, if you ask me.

On Sunday afternoon we went for a hike at Taughannock Park, which is a mile from the house and is the location of the tallest waterfull in the US east of the Mississippi. 215 feet! There's never much water in the summer but it's still a lovely spot. Usually Michael and I hike the upper trail around the gorge but this year we decided to do the lower trail at the bottom that's a bit easier and is stroller friendly. My mom tagged along and pushed the stroller part of the way and we had a nice time chatting with her on the walk. This was the first time we really used the Bjorn, too. Once Bennett got sleepy we moved him to the stroller (that my mom got to keep in NY for the grandbabies), where he had a bumpy nice nap.

just a trickle...it's more impressive when it's really flowing

After our hike we wandered across the street to the lake side of the park, where we got some ice cream and showed Bennett the marina where we used to keep our boat when we weren't at our cottage.

Later that night, the three of us headed one lake west and had dinner at the Stonecat Cafe, a nice little local spot overlooking Seneca Lake. It was a beautiful night and a delicious dinner. Bennett especially liked our waitress and her raspy voice elicited some big smiles.

On Monday, what we thought would be our last full day in the burg, we went back to the lake and visited my best childhood friend, Kris, at her cottage. Somehow it had been at least five years since we have seen each other and it was great to catch up. Kris is wonderful with babies and seemed to enjoy meeting Bennett, and he liked her too! She's really the only childhood/high school friend that I keep up with and I hope that we never lose touch.

I promise he's not grumpy...just doesn't consistently smile for photos yet and those bushy eyebrows give him a very serious look!

Later that day my mom and I took Bennett to visit his GiGi again and get a shot of four generations together! Bennett was a bit distracted by the nightly news...

Bennett turned 14 weeks during this trip so we missed our weekly shot of him in his crib with his elephant and blocks and had to improvise a bit...don't you love the faded floral bedspread that's leftover from my childhood?

Other NY activities included the consumption of NY style pizza, chicken BBQ, ice cream nearly every day, spiedies and salt potatoes, and Ithaca Bakery bagels. My dad and Michael also picked up a Weber grill (at Michael's suggestion) to replace the crappy old one that was there, so Michael used that a few times to cook for all of us.

On Tuesday morning, we went and visited our childhood babysitter/daycare provider, Jodi, and her husband Mike. Jodi recently took a tumble and broke her pelvis so she was laid up but loved meeting and holding Bennett. Jodi's two sons don't have kids, so she will be like a third Grandma for our kids : )

The pictures stop there, but the trip sure didn't. We were scheduled to fly out of Ithaca Tuesday afternoon (just me, Michael, and Bennett this time since Abby stayed for a few extra days). My mom dropped us at the tiny airport and I was immediately surprised to see a line at the ticketing counter. Michael glanced up at the arrival and departure board and realized that our flight to Newark was showing as "cancelled". Turns out there was smoke in the elevator in an air traffic control tower there so they had to shut things down for a bit to figure out what was going on (but never did). Our flight was rescheduled for 10 the next morning so my mom turned right around and came back for us. It's a lot of work to get packed up and ready to travel with a baby so that was not fun to do twice but we didn't mind an extra night with the fam. The one unfortunate thing that happened as a result of our change was that Michael dropped his laptop on my parent's slate kitchen floor the following morning when getting ready to leave for real and the glass shattered and the computer would not turn on. We later found out that the hard drive was destroyed and IF the data is retrievable it will cost $1900 to get it back. This includes ALL of Bennett's photos so far plus many more and a ton of documents and other info that would really suck to lose permanently. Neither Michael nor I have ever had any type of system to back data up with but that changes now after this experience. Pictures really can be priceless.

Bennett was such a good traveler and we had a really great time on this trip. I miss this place so much and will always struggle with being so far from it. Can't wait to go back again next summer. Hard to imagine that we will have a walker (and runner?) on our hands at that point! So. much. fun.

Bennett's nursery

One of the most fun parts of my pregnancy was planning Bennett's nursery. We have a small, three bedroom home and had used what is now the nursery as an office. Michael also used the office closet for his clothing since I have the (smallish) master closet filled up all on my own. When we started getting the nursery ready, we moved Michael's desk and clothes into the guest room, which is now completely crammed but very multi-functional. Michael feels pretty shafted that he gets the least space in the house, but he takes up plenty of room elsewhere with cookbooks and kitchen equipment!

I picked out Bennett's bedding first, then we bought his furniture at Burlington Baby Depot. I already had the bookshelf and wanted to be able to use it so chose cherry colored furniture to match that. We got a dresser that can also serve as a changing table with a pad on top and can be used well into the future without the changing pad. I ordered the glider and ottoman from some random Walmart type store in the midwest and got free shipping. I definitely bargain hunted for everything and we were able to do the whole nursery relatively inexpensively, at least compared to what some people spend on nurseries. Michael was assigned the task of painting the nursery, putting together the furniture, and installing new blinds, curtains, and shelves. Hank-dog supervised.

We went with light aqua colored walls and somewhat of an elephant theme with the bedding and accessories. I didn't want to be too matchy matchy so mixed and matched other things. I ordered some prints from etsy and got some cheap picture frames at Ikea. Overall, I love the way the room turned out and though it's small, it's a perfect room for our little guy at the moment. We are planning on moving to a bigger home within the next few months and it will be very bittersweet, knowing that this was our first home as a couple and Bennett's first home ever. We can certainly recreate his nursery in the next house (in what I hope will be a bigger room with more floor space to play), but I'll miss rocking Bennett in the same place that I have rocked him in since we brought him home. So many precious moments have been spent in this room already. I also spent a lot of time in the nursery getting things ready for baby and just rocking in the chair while pregnant and have very fond memories of those times, as well.

no mattress yet in this photo, and we aren't using these adorable bumpers right now. maybe eventually when the SIDS risk goes down...

My sister made us this awesome book sling (after Bennett and I picked out the fabric) as we are quickly running out of room for books, even with a bookcase and the magazine holder style book rack behind the door.

I have always had a slight obsession with children's books and had plenty even before being pregnant, and my obsession may be a problem eventually as the books overtake the room! We have been reading with Bennett from day one and he already loves to be read to and to look at the pictures, except after bath/before bed when he usually gets soooo impatient to nurse and can't waste a minute looking at a book! Some nights he will allow one book read quickly, other nights I just read to him while nursing. We're working on that....

I really love how the nursery turned out and I think that Bennett does, too!

Month one

Buddy Boy, as I am writing this a few months late, it's hard to recall all the nitty gritty details of the first month and I totally regret not doing this sooner. Month one was such a month of firsts for you!

first flowers (from Daddy's boss)



first KU game/March Madness!



first sponge bath! so relaxed...

first trip to the pediatrician

first tummy time (Hank loves you so much!)

first stroller walk to Aunt Kyle's with Mom and Dad

first Bluebonnet photo shoot (for your birth announcement)

first family Bluebonnet shot

You are and have been such a calm yet alert baby from day one. You are so observant and mellow and we are so blessed with your great disposition. Those first few weeks at home were not without struggles, though, as I am sure is the norm. I was pretty hormonal and weepy and very sleep deprived (to be expected) and Daddy was a bit taken aback by my bipolar-ness, but overall we functioned quite well as a team. Daddy took off a week and a half from work and you and I loved having him around. Grammie Debbie was also still in town and once Daddy went back to work she came over each day to let me try to take a nap. In the beginning, you would take super long naps while being held or laying on someone's warm chest and would wake right up if put down, and Grammie was very content to snuggle you while surfing the internet for a few hours. I learned that having a perfectly clean, picked up house is not a priority anymore and focused solely on you, my sweet babe. You were a marathon nurser that first month or two and would easily nurse for an hour or more (usually just on one side, but milk would still be flowing!), making it hard to get much else done. I did start pumping once a day around 3 weeks to build up a freezer stash and let Daddy feed you an occasional bottle, which you took very easily. We had a few huge spit-ups here and there but fortunately this was not much of an issue at all. You slept in our room in a mini Arm's Reach co-sleeper and would not cry but rather grunt upon waking and wanting to eat (every 2-3 hours). Getting you back to sleep was not easy at first and you required lots of rocking, swaying, shushing, etc. You didn't like to be swaddled very much and you would spend so much time and energy trying to wiggle out of it that I think it was keeping you awake more than helping you sleep. From the start you have been SUPER gassy (the noise of your toots rivals that of any grown man), grunty, and overall a very noisy baby, despite the fact that you rarely ever cry. You love to make a noise that sounds like a bleating goat!

We met your pediatrician, Dr. Kimberly Albert, for the first time at your 5 day visit, since you only saw the neonatalogist in the hospital. We LOVE her! She is also your cousin Sophie's pediatrician and she is very practical, easy to talk to, and down to earth. She was so impressed with you at your first visit. You were wide awake and just looked around, taking it all in. Dr. Albert commented that you behaved more like a one month old than a 5 day old and told us to start doing tummy time. We were happy to learn that you were back up to your birth weight of 8 lb 11 ounces at that first visit! Breastfeeding clearly has gone extremely well from the very start.

You went back to see Dr. Albert again when you were two weeks old and by that time you weighed 9 pounds, 6 ounces and were growing like a weed. They stuck your heel for your second newborn screen that day and unfortunately we had to go back to have it done a third time a few days later because that second sample wasn't good enough. You took it like a champ both times, though and barely made a peep.

Your umbilical cord stump stayed put for a solid three weeks and was hanging on by a thread for days until it finally got stuck to your onesie one day and fell off. It was pretty funky, yet Daddy suggested that we keep it. I vetoed that idea. We did sponge baths those first three weeks of course and you loved them! You would be so calm and relaxed and especially loved it when Daddy held you over the sink all swaddled up to have your hair washed. Finally once your cord fell off we could start tub baths and you loved those, too.

blurry from the steamy bathroom (Mommy made it steamy to keep you warm)

Also when you were 3 weeks old, Daddy came down with a bad cold. He didn't hold you for two whole days when he was feeling bad to keep from getting you sick, and that was really hard for him to do! He missed snuggling with you so much. Unfortunately, I caught the cold and then you caught it from me, anyway. You were very congested and your nose sounded so rattly but you tolerated it very well. Mommy secretly enjoyed seeing how much snot I could suction out of your nose and surprisingly, you seemed to enjoy it, too!

Physically, you were definitely at the top of the growth charts still but not at all chunky yet. Your hair was spikey and dirty blonde and your eyes were dark blue. You fit in newborn sized clothes for a few short weeks.

We managed to get you out and about a few times this month. At just 11 days old, we took you to Easter brunch at the UT Club where you and Sophie met the Easter bunny! You slept while the grown-ups pigged out.

 Exactly on your three week birthday, Mommy and Daddy had our first anniversary! We celebrated a very eventful first year of marriage by (reluctantly) leaving you at our house in the good hands of your Grandma Debbie, Aunt Kyle, and cousin Sophie while went out to dinner at a wine bar. We sat outside on the patio and had some wine, cheese, and yummy food, and mostly talked about you and how thankful we are for you and how great you are! Mommy's wine tasted soooo good but I refrained from having more than one glass for you, bud : ) By the time we got home, you were just about ready to nurse again after you had worked up a big appetite by playing with your cousin Sophie on the floor. Mostly she rolled around and tried to grab you while you laid there and looked around, I think.

not the most flattering photo of either of you kids...

A few days later, we took you to a park for the first time for Sophie's "book party". You LOVED being outside and were so content to look around and feel the breeze on your face, and to sleep of course!

passed out at the park

The very next day, Grandma Debbie left to drive back to NY state. This was pretty hard for Mommy. Being so far away from our family on the east coast is terribly difficult, and having you has made it feel even worse as I want you to know them well and for them to know you. Fortunately, Aunt Kyle and her family live a half a mile away right now and we get to see them all the time!

 You will get to meet everyone else in New York this summer and will see Grammie Debbie and Grandpa Ben a lot when they come with us to Jamaica in November to babysit you a bit while Mommy and Daddy go to a wedding. I am sure Grammie Debbie will be making as many trips to Texas as she can to see you and Sophie-Pea!



On your four week birthday, Uncle Robby arrived in town for a visit on his way to play baseball in Colorado for the summer. At this point, you were pretty much still just eating, sleeping, pooping, and peeing, so you weren't terribly interactive with him. He did hold you a bit and thought you were pretty cute. He also babysat both you and Sophie one morning while Mommy went to the dentist. I showed him how to change a diaper before leaving because he had never changed one before. He didn't have to change you because you just slept in the swing the whole time, but he did have to change Sophie's blow-out! Uncle Robby can't wait to get you your first baseball glove and to play catch with you.

What a first month we had with you little man! Our hearts have never been as full as they have been since meeting you and we love you so, so much.