Party Time!

Tonight we went to a party at our friends Jaymi and Rob's house. Ciaran got to meet his friends Aidan and Rylee. He loved them! After the introductions he feel asleep for awhile, but woke up pretty cranky and we had to leave. It was fun seeing everyone while we were there though.

Family Dinner

After the beach we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. Ritchie and Shannon were there too.

Uncle Ritchie is a natural!

Ciaran's telling them that he wants lots of cousins!

Loves Grandpa!

Beach Baby

Ciaran's Uncle Shaughn is involved with a non-profit that helps clean up beaches (www.seafoamproject.org). Ciaran and I went to the beach to help and so he could meet his Aunt Kelleigh and Uncle Shaughn. Ciaran's first act of voluntarism was a success even though he didn't like actually cleaning the beach. He felt he could better serve the cause at the booth by drawing people in with his cuteness.

So very bright.

Signing up.

"This guy kinda looks like me. I think I like him!"

Telling Uncle Shaughn all about his life.

Looking out at the ocean.

Meetups

Ciaran met his Auntie Shannon:

And his best friends Heather, Audrey and Candace:

And his Uncle Danny:

Moving To Cali

What you can't see in this picture is the fact that we had two huge suitcases, five carry-ons, the stroller, and the car seat. The plane ride went pretty smoothly despite G-ma running off with Ciaran and all the carry-ons and then trying to give him away to random strangers, Ciaran throwing up all over G-ma, and me leaving my passport, credit card, and phone on the plane after we disembarked. Ciaran got to meet his Great-Aunt Barbara when she picked us up at the airport. Ciaran was great on the trip but I don't think I could have done it on my own. So thankful to have had the extra set of hands.

Three Months Old

Two Months

Three Months

Grandma's First December Visit

This weekend Grandma Chambers came to visit. She watched Ciaran so I could watch Andrew defend his thesis and helped us pack up the apartment. We had a lot of fun and will see her again in just 9 days when she comes to fly us back down to California.

Hanging Out

"Mom! I don't have any pants on!"

"Hmmm, I smell french toast!"

Ciaran Wears a Jaunty Cap

Grandma and I went to the spa for a few hours on Saturday. Ciaran wasn't too happy about this arrangement and gave Andrew a pretty hard time. I think he was jealous that he didn't get to go. Despite the reported screaming fits, we came home to an adorably dressed little boy who was in a pretty good mood.

"Don't ever leave me again!!"
(notice he still has both his socks and his pants on)

Daddy and Baby both wear jaunty caps
(minus a sock, but at least he still has pants on)

I think we may have caught a smile :)
(And we lost the pants. Maybe he has both his socks back on. You don't know)

Master of Science

Andrew defended his thesis and it was accepted. He is officially a Master of Civil Engineering with a specialty in Transportation. He just has two classes to finish and he will be completely done. One week left before we can start our journey towards a more normal life and Andrew can start his journey towards getting some sleep! Here is Ciaran and Andrew right after he found out his defense was a success.

We are so proud of him!

Two Eyed, No Horn, Pooping Purple People Eater

Ciaran has thrush (boo!) and one of the treatments for thrush is basically a dye that turns everything it touches purple. He has to get it swabbed in his mouth every other day. It kind of makes him look like a goth after a long night. We think it is hilarious, but we do feel a little bad about laughing at him so much.

"What purple people? I didn't see any purple people."

Food Coma

Smile!

I am having a really hard time catching a smile on camera. Ciaran smiles all the time except when I try to take his picture. Andrew thought he would help me get one. Just pretend Andrew's hands aren't there, and that is exactly what Ciaran looks like when he smiles (almost).

Happy Thanksgiving

Ciaran's first Thanksgiving. I thought we were just going to have frozen pizza, but Andrew manged to throw together a yummy feast of Tofurky, stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash soup. It was goooood!!!!!!!!!!

Doctor! Doctor!

When I said yesterday that I couldn't wait to go to the doctor I didn't mean for Ciaran to get sick just so we could go early. I guess he really wanted to see how much he weighed right away because he was a puke factory this morning. Turns out he is fine, but we did get to go to the doctor and find out what he weighs. 10 pounds, 9 ounces. And that was after purging his breakfast! Go Fatty!

Ciaran doesn't get to get dressed up cute very often. He usually is in pajamas because they cover his feet. Since his feet are so little his socks fall off, it's the only way to keep his toesies warm. So we used the occasion of going to the doctor to put this cute outfit on him. He is a rockstar!

Carry Me Away!

We got a new baby carrier a few weeks ago. It is so cool. It's called a mei tai carrier. The website we got it from lets you pick your fabric design and your strap colors. They even make them reversible so Andrew and I each got to pick a fabric we liked. Tonight Andrew took Ciaran to a meeting at the Grad School office and used the carrier for the first time.

This is the design he chose.

It holds him in the perfect position for kisses.

I took him for a walk the other day. We walked all the way to the bank . . . before we realized it was Veteran's day.

My side is actually a big pocket although I can't really use it since I tie the straps right in the middle. When he's bigger I'll tie them under his bum and use the pocket. Isn't it pretty?

2 Months Old!

One Month

Two Months (no screaming! Such a big boy)

He's definitely getting bigger. He has his two month doctors appointment on Thursday and I can't wait to see how much he weighs. He has almost completely grown out of his newborn clothes, although we keep dressing him in them because we are in denial. Time is going by too fast!

Baby It's Cold Outside

The weather is getting colder. which we love for a variety of reasons. Among them is winter fashion. We love our hats and scarves and jackets. Baby winter fashion is no exception. It's actually even better because besides being warm it is so soft and fluffy.

All bundled up and so cuddly.

Fall Colors

Ciaran loves to look at the colorful leaves outside our windows. Going outside to see them is another story. He does not like to leave the apartment these days, but I'm glad he at least gets to experience nature from afar. The fall leaves are so beautiful here right now. I'm going to miss them once winter comes. Hopefully we get some snow!!

Admiring the beauty

He is in awe!

Music to our ears

Andrew's been teaching Ciaran to sing. He seems to have his dad's ear for music, since I can't hold a tune to save my life. He loves to listen to Andrew sing the oldies. His favorite song is Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World". Here is a video of the two of them practicing their scales:

Grandma's Monthly Visit

Grandma Chambers visited Ciaran past weekend. She came in on Friday night and we headed out to dinner. It was cold out so we put Ciaran in his warmest outfit. We didn't realize right away how perfect it was for the day before Halloween!

Saturday Mom and Grandma went for to the spa leaving Ciaran and Andrew home alone. They had so much fun. Well, Ciaran slept the whole time but Andrew had so much fun playing Beatles Rock Band.

Saturday was also Halloween. Here is a picture of Ciaran in his actual Halloween outfit:

That night Grandma watched Ciaran while Andrew and I went out to dinner. It was great to get away and I think I did pretty well for leaving him for the first time. Here is a picture of us saying goodbye before we left.

When we got home we found a quiet baby and a happy grandma. Seems like they did just fine without us.

Sunday the plan was to get Ciaran his first professional photos. We dressed him up in his finest and set off to the only photo place we could find in Corvallis: Kmart. Between Ciaran being in a bad mood and the photo lady being really bad at taking pictures, it didn't go so well. So we didn't end up with any good pictures and decided to try again when he is a little older and we can go to a better place. I do wish we would have taken pictures of him all dressed up on our own though. He looked so cute!

Monday we said goodbye to Grandma, but it's okay she'll be back next month.

Newsflash!!

Ciaran T Bernath did not cry during his bath tonight!!!

This is big!

He also has only cried for 9 out of his 10 diaper changes in the past few days.

And, he slept so well last night. Only woke up for a few minutes around 5am to eat and then went right back to sleep.

Good Times!!

Don't wake the baby!

There is nothing more adorable than a sleeping baby, but a baby that is just waking up is pretty cute too. You know, the few moments before they realize they aren't comfy and cozy in dreamland and start screaming. Here is a video of Ciaran thinking about waking up. Lucky for me, he decided he wanted to sleep some more.

Shalom!

All I ever wanted was a Jewish baby!
Now I have one thanks to Uncle Shaughn.

The card may lead you to believe that Jesus Christ sent Ciaran the yamulke, but that just wouldn't make any sense now would it?

He is so excited and can't wait until he grows his peyot!

Superbaby!!!

Here's more video of Ciaran doing Tummy Time. He did much better today. I realize that video after video of him doing Tummy Time may be boring for some people, but it isn't for us. You'll just have to suffer until he learns more tricks.

And of course, once I turn the camera off, he starts to roll over. Luckily I have fast hands and caught most of it.

Now, without further delay, I present to you.... Ciaran's first roll over!!!!
(CHEERS!!! APPLAUSE!!!)

According to Babycenter.com: "Your baby may be able to kick himself over, from his tummy to his back, as early as age 2 to 3 months." I take this as evidence that Ciaran is a superbaby since he is only 5 weeks and already rolling over. I predict he'll be walking by six months, and flying by age 2. I'd better start babyproofing the apartment.

And just because I'm sure you haven't had enough yet, here is a picture of Ciaran looking adorable:

Tummy Time Take Two

I feel like I complain a lot about Ciaran crying and what not. Really, I like he is a great kid and it could be a lot worse. We've just had a difficult week. On the bright side, he has definitely become more alert and spends more time just looking around and taking things in. It's fun to watch him look at things like the autumn leaves blowing on the trees through the window and at us making silly faces at him. We have to be careful about where we position him in the living room because the kid loves looking at the TV and the computer screen. His brain is too little to rot it with TV just yet. I think it might be a struggle once he's older.

We tried tummy time again today and he did much better. Here is video of him being the happy baby that he usually is...

Big Fat Fail

Today we were supposed to go to Portland to meet up with some friends from TO, Seth & Michelle. I don't really want to talk too much about what happened as I'm not sure that it won't trigger some traumatizing flashbacks. Basically, we made it just outside Portland before Andrew and I surrendered. We endured hours of screaming baby on the way there and the way back. Nothing would soothe him for longer then 10 minutes. It was a nightmare, but I'm proud to say that we survived! We will not be attempting any car rides for quite awhile.

One Month Old!

Ciaran is one month old today!!!! Shall we compare...

Three Days Old

One Month Old

Bathtime...

is not something Ciaran loves. I'm not quite sure what Ciaran loves right now aside from eating. He definitely loves to eat. Besides bathing, his other current hates are: dirty diapers, diaper changes, clothing changes, and car rides. Here is some video of Ciaran hating his bath...

And here's the clean boy...