James V. Rice Cereal

James has been chewing on his hands almost non-stop this week. His face and hands are sopping wet probably 90% of the time he is awake. So, since he already had his 4-month birthday, and babies are ok to start solids between 4-6 months, we decided that it may be time to see what he thinks of a little baby cereal in his diet-

Here's how it went down:

In one corner- a tablespoon of rice cereal warmed up with a bit of momma's milk mixed in. Soupy-sloppy style.

And in the other corner, our hero, James- armed with protective bib-gear and seated in the bumbo.

Curious.
Disturbed.

Got it!

Frustration!!! (Couldn't tell here if he was mad because he wanted more or if he was just mad.)

Pensive moment.

Can I eat both the fingers and the food?
Sorry Mom, I choose fingers.
Are you seriously still trying?
Yeah. Ok. I guess it tastes good.
Mmm. Quite good.
Wait a minute...
Does this mean it's over?

Fall Fashions!

Happy Fall! There is officially snow on the mountains and the leaves have been gorgeous orange! (nod to Grandpa Woods)

James is getting longer and bigger. At 15 weeks, 14 lbs 14 oz and 26 3/4 inches long. (We're so lucky Uncle John lets us come in and see him anytime!)

James's onesies are showing way too much of his baby love handles and he is down to one sleeper that actually fits him, so I figured it was time to break into the box of 6 month clothes.

And what a treasure trove! SO MANY SLEEPERS THAT FIT!!! And, we found lots of cold weather gear. So, here are a few pictures. (Note- the blue snowsuit is a hand-me-down from our little friend Rigby, and the blanket/fashion runway was quilted by Anna's Aunt Julie)

Happy Halloween!!!!

Developments of the 2-3 month old.

One of the best things about James when he was between 2-3 months was that he started trying to make sounds. We would have little talking sessions every day where I would say, "ooooo" and he would watch carefully and then make a little noise of his own. This video captures a little of this action. Make sure the volume is up because he makes an incredibly cute but quiet noise.

This movie features something James suddenly started doing a few weeks ago- making a spitting/buzzing noise. OK, OK it may not be the most exciting thing, but it is still amazing to see him suddenly figure out something new he can do.

He is on a neat play mat my aunt Erika gave him and he loves to reach for the two animals on either side, and his talking and buzzing is reserved for the monkey in the middle. He looks him straight in the eye and tells him how it is. (This next movie is kind of long, and it's all pretty similar... so feel free to only watch the first 30 seconds!!)

And now for the best part- James finally had his first outburst of laughter and we caught that night on tape! That evening- October 1, I had the opportunity to participate in our stake's talent show. I wore my beautiful red Chinese qipao and sang a cool song I learned while studying at Middlebury. Grandma Taylor attended, but ended up walking the halls of the church trying to console James who had completely lost it. It was one if his worst crying fits EVER!! When we finally got home, James decided he was in a better mood- in fact, he started to giggle!! Pretty weird, huh? Check it out:

In other great news, James rolled over from tummy to back for the first time last week on October 14th. We were in Grandma Taylor's living room, and he was having tummy time on the red, white and blue quilt Grandma Mary Bosen made when he just rolled over! It looked like an accident and he has only done it a few other times, so we're sure to see him do it more and more.

Go James!

3 week old James catching some rays

Here is a video of James around the day we moved to Utah. We were at Wildwood for a family get-together and memorial in honor of my grandpa Richard Taylor. My mom, sister Liz and I were present during this video I believe.


Here's another two videos from the same day. You can see his face better and get an idea of his baby skills at this point. He would look at me but had trouble following objects as they moved around. He didn't have coordination (or awareness, really,) of his hands yet either. Smiles were still pretty rare at this point too. It is really fun to see him so young, innocent and aware/awake. OH and don't forget that tongue of his!

James Goes Mobile

In this episode James begins to discovers how cool fish are.

Smiles, kicks, and little noises. The best our little boy has to offer.

James smiles!

This week James has been spending a lot more time awake and alert. In the morning he likes to lay in his crib and look around, kick his legs (still reminds me of the pain inflicted when he was in me!!) and make cute little gurgles.

When I went to say hello after eating breakfast (the crib is right next to our kitchen table!) he started to smile at me. It wasn't the first time he smiled- the first time was when he was about a month old, but it didn't happen very often. Now that he is awake more often, we are graced by these magical little bursts of happiness.

I'm not sure how it came about but ever since he was born we've been singing Baby Beluga to James. This was my sister Emily's song when she was a baby, so we really have no right to claim it for James... but apparently it makes him smile, so we're sticking with it! I only wish Emily was here to sing it with me, and to sing "You Are My Sunshine" duets with me too. I'll never forget the car ride with Emily when we sang that to James and he stopped crying and was just mesmerized.

Great-grandma Taylor got the first giggle about a week ago when she said, "Are you hap-py?" to James and he burst out with one of the nicest smiles ever. He almost laughed at her too, and since then he has been testing the laughing waters. We can't wait until he bursts out in a full-blown baby giggle!!!

World Cup Fanaticos

Garrick and I really enjoy sporting events, especially of the worldwide flavor. We loved the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and this year we've had the chance to watch quite a bit of 2010 Fifa World Cup Soccer. ABC only broadcasts games on the weekends, but we quickly figured out that Univision broadcasts 2 games a day! One starting around 7am and the other around 11am. We've been spending our mornings on labor watch (I'm due this week!!) and doing other random tasks while watching the games.

I managed to get the desk packed up today and Garrick made some fabulous 6-pepper salsa for the week while we watched Brazil cream Chile!!! What a fun game! We are both (but Garrick especially) improving our Spanish vocabulary thanks to Univision. And he can do a pretty good impression of the announcers...

We are both the kind of people that love making lists/charts/graphs, so we thought it very appropriate to make our own World Cup bracket for the fridge! I colored the little flags and we can move them around with magnets.

In other events for the day, our Bishop's Mitre cactus just blossomed for the upteenth time this season. We think it actually has some kind of fruit growing on it now... Amazing!! Today was hands-down the most beautiful display of blossoms. Here are some photographs (the date on the pictures is wrong:)

Baby Belly Week 39

Here it is- My figure in Week 39!

37 Week Ultrasound

At my week 36 appointment, Judy the midwife said my belly size was a bit small, and she estimated James to be about 5 pounds. I was given the option of getting an ultrasound to check up on his growth (she said it wasn't totally necessary because I was only a centimeter or two small and he could just be using up his space very effectively.) I decided "why not!? Let's have one last peek at James before he comes!!!"
We were amazed to find out that he is indeed curled up well, because the ultrasound technician estimated his weight at about 7 POUNDS 4 OZ!!! I still have people telling me that I look so small to them, and I still don't feel like I had imagined I would at this point. It's really hard to believe I have a creature bigger than Jasmine (the chihuahua) inside me!
Apparently 7 pounds is a perfectly normal weight for his age, and his spine, leg bones, stomach, bladder and head all looked great. We weren't able to do a confirmation check of his boy-ness because he was quite curled up, but we don't mind.
Here are some pictures from the event:

His profile- you can see his lips are all squished up by his nose. He's really packed in there!
This one is a little hard to decipher- it is looking straight at his face. The little whitish hill in the middle of the picture is his fat cheek, and you can see his eyes, nose, mouth and forehead as well.

A personal favorite- looking up his nose! I'm really not sure how she got this shot, but it sure is interesting! The big dark rectangle is his mouth and the triangle above that is his nose.
We were blessed to find out that James is head-down and spine-up, so if he stays that way it might mean a less painful birthing experience for me because his spine won't be pressing on mine. Meanwhile, he still just loves to stretch his feet out near my hip and step on a certain nerve- OH BOY does it pinch!!! Sometimes I'll just be sitting quietly and then gasp out loud from the surprising shock of him stretching, and then he'll step off the nerve and immediately the pain will be gone. The ultrasound technician did say we should expect a long baby- I feel a little bad for him, he just wants to stretch his legs!!
As for my measuring small, she said it was due to the amniotic fluid volume decreasing, which is very normal at the end of pregnancy and actually helps the baby come down by letting him feel the pull of gravity a little more than he would when surrounded by liquid.

At my 37 week appointment (the day after the ultrasound) my belly was just the right size (I really think he gained some weight within that week) and James' heartbeat was around 125bpm. Definitely down from the 160+ bpm it was when he was just a wee shrimp. Amazing!

As of the start of the 37th week, babies are considered "full term," so if he decides to come out any time soon, we are ready! The birth-day bag is packed, the car seat is installed, and his drawers are full of all the things he could ever need as a newborn (we hope.) We are so grateful for the help our friends and family have given at baby showers.

And now... the waiting game begins. You can do it, James! You're a champ!

Happy Easter!

First of all, a nice picture taken in February by Auntie Isabel. Thanks!


I am about one week away from my third trimester! Which means I'm about 27 weeks (give or take a few days... but I'm allowed to round a little, right?) So, I'm pretty excited to meet our James, can you tell?
Here's the latest baby belly picture:

Not too bad, eh? Only 3 months to go!

James is growing SO FAST!! He can sure kick up a storm on all four corners of my belly (and sometimes all 4 at the same time!) He is head down right now, and I think I actually feel his arms moving more often than his legs (let's hope it stays that way for my ribs' sake...)

The funniest thing is that he gets hiccups so often! About every other day I notice this little rhythmic thumping in one spot. The hiccup speed is really quick, but the bout of hiccups goes on for several minutes! It was pretty distracting trying to listen to Garrick play his Schnittke piece at his Master's recital with James hiccoughing the whole time!
I think I feel him jumping at loud noises every now and then, but it's pretty hard to tell if it is a coincidence or him really reacting to the outside world.

The past 4 weeks have brought a lot of changes- he is really making leaps and bounds in his growth. I am starting to have a few practice contractions every now and then, and my ribs and pelvic bone are being "adjusted" to accommodate him by a hormone called relaxin (kind of painful, especially at the end of the day!)

Recently, Liz gave me the cutest little onesie for James- since he is the year of the tiger, she found here. I'm so excited, because it depicts the Chinese folk art version of a tiger. I have a small collection of these tigers that I got during my trips there, and I think they are extremely cute and unique.

Garrick's mom just finished the first baby quilt for James. It is a mini replica of the quilt she made for me as an engagement present- an astronomy quilt complete with stars, nebulas and supernovas, and a backing with tons of planets on it. We promised her we would someday go stargazing with the quilts to keep us warm. I wish I could post a picture of it, hopefully we'll get one up sometime soon.

Also, Garrick is officially done with his Masters recital. He played Brahms' Sonata in F major, Boccherini Sonata in A major, and the Schnittke Sonata with his dad on piano and mom turning pages. All who attended can attest that the performance was a spectacular success. Even James was enjoying himself the whole time.

I have also begun giving Chinese lessons to a new family in our ward. It has been fun so far, and I hope to learn a lot from the experience. The kids really amaze me with their pronunciation and curiosity about how the language works.

In other news, much to our disappointment, we found out Yale is not going to work out this time. We're working on the next plans, with more developments to follow!

And, as a last note, here are some pictures of our annual Easter Bunny cake! Complete with pear slices for ears, coconut fur and grass, and jelly bean bunny "droppings" (thanks to Garrick's dad: "I always thought of those as rabbit droppings..." gross. yet stuck in our mind forever.)

The 5 Month/22 Week Bump

Here I am with a bun in the 5 month oven. Thanks to Auntie Isabel Peterson for taking the picture and doing my dishes that day!!!

The Bump

Well, as you might have noticed from the last post, our camera has some issues. It got smooshed a little bit, and we can only see half of the now fuzzy screen. Nevertheless, we try our best to take pictures when we can, so here we go.

This is the 4-month bump (taken sometime in January, don't believe the date it says.) Sure, it may look huge, but please note my bad posture...

I'm almost 6 months pregnant now, and people are still asking me, "where is your baby hiding??" I blame it on what I am wearing when they ask me and how much I've eaten. The ultrasound tech definitely approved that he is growing right on schedule, so it's not the kiddo's fault! Once Garrick gets home from New York, I'll get him to snap one of me now.

CELLO UPDATE!
Speaking of the East Coast, his audition at Yale transpired these past few days, and reportedly went well. Now we just have to wait and find out what the school decides (and who knows, maybe we won't know until April??) Also, the Utah Symphony just invited him to come and audition in May for the Assistant Principal Cello position, so there's a lot of time to get ready for that one! Good job, Garrick!!

Pretzels

The day after we had our first ultrasound, I was at Philharmonic Orchestra rehearsal until about 9:30pm. I came home to Garrick on the floor in his PJ's with a bag of pretzels, and saw this on the floor:




Yes, that's right. Garrick painstakingly chewed the pretzels into letters to form our names. It's little things like this that make me love him so much.

Baby Boy!

We had our first look at James Alexander yesterday, about halfway through my 20th week. We arrived at the doctor's office and were asked to come back right away (what a relief, we had been so jittery and unable to concentrate ALL DAY!)

The ultrasound tech took us through nearly every side of James- from the top of his head to see his brain, to the front of his face to see his eye sockets (which was a little creepy actually...) down to the bottom of his foot and inside his chest to see his little heart beating nice and steadily. He looks healthy and strong and estimated to be about 11 oz. right now (and somewhere in between the size of a large mango/small cantaloupe.)

He was sitting in a breech position with his feet down and his head up near my belly button, but not to worry, it's still very early so he has plenty of time and room to move to a more desirable position...

For almost 10 minutes the tech scanned him from top to bottom, but he managed to curl himself up just right so we couldn't see what we were most anticipating! After much encouragement and a little gentle prodding, we got him to expose just enough to see what we needed!! Although it took a while, there was no question it was James!




Another highlight of the event was seeing him move his arm up towards his face- it looked like he was trying to suck his thumb, and he even stuck out his finger and wrapped it over his nose. Garrick and I were both thumbsuckers, so it was pretty funny to see.



Unless the ultrasound technology is distorting his face, we think he's got my nose! I was a little disappointed, because I was hoping to see how Garrick's nose would have turned out if it hadn't been so maltreated by fate. We can still hope though!

Many may be aware of our personal preference for a girl, but not to worry- as soon as we were able to see him healthy (and pretty cute too ;) we felt such peace and happiness at the thought of just getting to meet him!

It was really fun telling our parents- my mom and dad had a bet going and I guess my mom won the prize, because she voted boy (sorry Dad!) We wanted to do something fun and kinda cheesy for Garrick's parents, because when we told them about the baby in the first place, it was rather abrupt and there were no bells or whistles in sight. We had some cupcakes left over from a fun Valentine's/Chinese New Year party, and we injected one cupcake with pink frosting and one with blue, and then frosted the top so the contents were undetectable. After we found out it was a boy, we grabbed the blue one, and had Garrick's mom take a big bite out of it, exposing the blue frosting!!! Charlie got to be there, and we had Alex on the phone from NYC singing for joy not long afterward.

It is now nearly the end of day one for me to be able to walk around knowing who's living in me, and it really is more fun to know it's James giving me little kicks. We don't anticipate getting another ultrasound unless there is some emergency, because it's been a very low-risk pregnancy so far. So hopefully the next time we see James, he'll be in our arms!!!

A few more pictures- sorry they're kind of upside-down.

The Baby, Version 3.0

We just had our 3rd official baby-checkup at the Birth Center. I'm healthy and the baby is growing swimmingly, so we're very grateful to be so blessed in that respect. We did get to hear the heartbeat, which is always a lot of fun. It is a little slower than it was 8 weeks ago, which is to be expected. Click here for a sound file.

The first time we heard the heartbeat, we remembered its speed by linking it with the Russian Dance from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker (one of my favorites as a kid- I dubbed it the spinning song) One of the Midwives said we should play that when the baby is born... I think it might be a little too exciting though...

Ultrasound pictures/sex of the baby hopefully to be posted by the end of next week!! We don't have an appointment yet, but they're setting it up for next week. We have no idea what to expect as far as what it is- we'd love a girl, but we won't be disappointed with a boy either. Tentative, but probably firm names are James Alexander if it's a boy, and Lily (middle name still undetermined) if it's a girl.

The first entry

It's a new year, and 2010 more than past years is sure to bring several drastic changes to our family. First of all, we are expecting a baby due June 3oth, the month of my birth. Second, we will both be graduating from the University of Arizona. Garrick with his masters in cello performance, and I with my bachelors in Linguistics, and minor in Chinese language. Third, in the late summer of this year, we're planning on moving our 2 celli, baby and various other possessions (minus the cactus garden) out of Tucson to some as-of-yet undetermined location.
I decided to start this blog so that Garrick and I can keep a family journal of events and other interesting tidbits pertaining to our family life throughout this year. Despite our awkward feelings towards the words "blog" and "commitment," I hope we can keep this up!