lunch with grandma and pappy

the other excursion we did when my parents were here was go out to lunch. we went to a little place in del mar that ryan and i love. it is on the main drag with an outside patio and great view of the street and ocean. and they have a killer french toast.

we don't go out with sullivan a lot because it is such an ordeal, especially now that he is eating solid food. now we have to bring: jar food, finger food, a spoon, a bowl, a bib and a sippy cup in addition to the usual stuff. and it is always a juggling act of getting him fed and us eating before our food gets cold. luckily, pappy took over feeding so i could eat and did a much better job than i was doing. thanks dad!

dog beach with grandma and pappy

my parents recently came out to visit for a long weekend. we didn't do anything terribly exciting; i figured that they really just wanted to spend time with sullivan, so we could have spent two days in a windowless room and as long as sullivan was present and there was bathroom access, no one would have minded. we did do a few things though, one of which was take blue dog to the beach.

the past two or three months blue has not been himself. he gets spooked at the slightest sharp noise and turns into a shivering, cowering mess when we go for walks near the baseball field. i don't know how or when these fears developed, but i feel terribly guilty about it because i am sure it has to do with something we did, or something that happened when we weren't around. some of it has to do with the fourth of july this past year, but it seems to run deeper than that.

anyway, blue LOVES dog beach. the water, the other dogs, the people, the running...it is all his favorite things in one place. we had not been in a while, so i was wondering if blue would still love it or if he would dissolve into a shaking little puppy velcro-ed to my legs.

blue loved it. he chased his kong down the beach and swam into the waves when ryan threw it into the water. he ran around with other dogs and went up to people with his tail wagging and tongue lolling out of his mouth. my dad said it was so great to see 'the old blue,' the blue we know, the blue that is friendly and fearless and carefree. blue was so happy, and it made me really happy to see him at ease in his element.

sully seemed to enjoy himself as well. he always likes going new places and looking at new things, and he loves being out side and feeling the wind on his face. every time a breeze came along he squinted and lit up with a big, gummy smile.

he chewed on the string of that hoodie until it was sopping. blech.

i was trying to capture blue in action, and i was imaging a shot with him mid-stride, all stretched out with all four paws off the ground. i didn't quite get that, but this is kind of a cool picture too, and i think it looks like he is smiling.

an original 'iris' to add to the collection

sullivan's cousin iris (or, second cousin? i'm not really sure what the exact relation is, but 'cousin' will suffice) sent sullivan some pretty impressive art. as ryan says, 'her art has really come along!' iris will be 5 in august. as i am sure we will also experience with sullivan, it is crazy to have seen her as this teeny tiny baby, and then see her now, this beautiful little girl with likes and dislikes and a fondness for art. life trods along in a perfectly predictable and linear way, but the fact that it does this at all is so miraculous and profound to me. like, sullivan was born and now he's crawling, and soon he'll be walking AND talking! i hear you saying, um, yes dear, that is what happens. that is what babies DO. but to witness these things first hand, to actually see him learning and exploring and understanding, is so crazy.

nursing as an olympic sport

i don't know that these photos really do it justice, but nursing sullivan has reached a whole new level of difficulty. he is so squirmy and bendy; i almost feel like i am trying to cradle a big, motorized slinky. these photos are from today at the restaurant. the squirmy-ness was exacerbated by my having to use the nursing cover--i think it gets a little hot and stuffy in there.



here, he is trying to escape the cover. notice how his leg is in the crook of my arm. i pinned it there, because if i don't......

it ends up on my shoulder, or kicking up and down between my shoulder and my elbow. he has also grabbed hold of the cover, inadvertently flashing diners innocently eating their salads and clam chowder.

ahh, it looks like i won and he is finally resigned to eating. don't i look kind of smug? wait for it...

sully was just lulling me into submission. i should have seen it coming!

breakfast can be SO exhausting

we woke up at our normal time, around 6 a.m., and ryan took sully to eat breakfast while i slept a little longer. when finally got up about 45 minutes later and made my way to the kitchen, this is what i found:

who knows why he was so tired this early in the morning, but he took a nice little nap in his high chair. ryan says he fell asleep between bites of yogurt. ♥

jailbird

back when sullivan was first born, if i had to go to the bathroom, get the mail, etc., i could put him down in the pack and play, or his crib, or strapped into his swing and not have to worry about where i might find him or what he might be doing when i returned.

gone are the days of the sleepy, floppy little newborn. now we have entered the era of the mobile, inquisitive baby. the below photos are what i came upon after having been in the bathroom for, literally 20 seconds.

i guess it is time to lower the mattress in his crib.

he knows how to work it

sullivan wanted to model his 767 shirt, and instead of just sitting and grinning like he normally does, decided to mix it up a little. i think it looks like he is singing some guns n roses.

there's my happy baby!

and i had to get a picture of him in his sunglasses. they didn't stay on for too long; he is getting into that phase where he isn't into things on his head, no matter how much i distract him.

♥

ryan has been a little stressed with work this week, so it was great to see him relax a little and smile while spending some quality time with his baby.