Partyin', Partyin' YEAH!

Dylan officially turned one month old on September 17.  It seems like it's been one big birth celebration as we continue to take him out and about to meet friends and family.  A couple weekends back we took him out to the Mason's house for his first West Seattle party.  The usual suspects were in attendance (Zorins, Sterns, Reynauds) and we were also joined by Camille and Daffy, the Dowdens, Uncle Elliot, and my mom who was in town getting her Dylan fix for the weekend.

As usual, the food was mediocre, the wine was corked, the conversation was vapid, and the sunset over the Sound was underwhelming.  Dylan still managed to have a good time and is looking forward to many future gatherings with that special group of people.

Later that week, Dylan got to meet Sally and David (Papa).  Papa was an obstetrician, and has handled thousands of babies during his lifetime.  Dylan was instantly at ease in his hands, although I think he might have just been hypnotized by the vibrant colors and pattern of Papa's trademark Facconable shirt.

The party kept rolling that weekend when we headed over to Hood Canal for Zac and Jess' wedding at Alderbrook Resort.  We took the ferry over to Bremerton and stopped off at Mary and Jim's for a quick visit before heading to the wedding.  This was Dylan's first big social event, and we were interested to see how he would handle himself.  To say he exceeded expectations would be an understatement.  He slept through the ceremony, the cocktail hour, dinner, the beginning of the dance party, and the entire ride home.  There was a nurse practitioner sitting at our table was amazed by his performance.  The beauty of the whole thing was that it allowed us to enjoy a beautiful wedding at a stunning location.  Congratulations to the Liens!

We're looking forward to our trip to Twisp next weekend where Dylan will meet his great grandparents and the rest of the Reynauds.  He's mostly looking forward to stripping down and running wild in the Methow with his cousin Marcel.

I'll leave you with one last photo of Dylan and his new friend Jack the jackal (thanks Shannon!).

Heavy D

It's amazing how quickly Dylan's first three weeks have flown by.  Darin and I are really enjoying the learning process of being new parents, and I can honestly say that I didn't realize how much time I could spend just staring at this little guy, totally captivated by every little facial tick, yawn, sneeze, stretch, or grunt.  I think Darin's mom holds the record for longest consecutive time of staring at him without blinking at 3 hours.

Auntie Brie flew into town a few days after he was born and has been staying with us ever since. Being able to pass Dylan off into her welcoming arms, even for a few hours at a time, has been a lifesaver for us as we adjust to our new schedule.  She's even been helping out with diaper duty!

Every day brings a series of 'firsts' for Dylan, and a few for Darin and me.  He's great in the car and loves the fresh air when we take him out for walks. We've made field trips to farmers markets, Mission Beach at Darin's folks', the Museum of Glass, the Sculpture Park, and a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island to name a few.

After a lengthy discussion, we decided to have him circumsized.  He was less excited about that outing than the others mentioned above.  Here's a picture of him before he headed in for a little 'trim'...

Other early observations about the little man include the following:

• He's hungry - all the time (almost immediately gained his birth weight back and was already up to 9 lbs. when he was less than two weeks old)
• When he's fussy, it's either because he's hungry or soiled - he rarely cries for any other reason
• He doesn't mind getting his picture taken...a lot
• His eyes are blue and his hair is light brown (we'll be shocked if this lasts)
• He loves to cuddle and sleeps best lying on someone's chest
• He has a strong neck and dominates tummy time
• He is already reading at a 4th grade level

It's been great to introduce him to family and friends and we're excited to take this show on the road in the next couple of months to go out and meet his great grandparents.  Hopefully he'll still fit in the car seat at that point.

Now, it's time for a nap.