I Smell Poop

11:00 p.m: A whispered conversation between CJ and I last night (with Collin between us)...

Me: I smell poop. Do you smell poop?
CJ: I don't smell poop. When's the last time he pooped?
Me: A day or two ago, so he's due for a big one.
CJ: My nose is stuffed. I can't smell anything.
Me: His butt is facing you...stick your finger in his diaper.
CJ: OK
Me: Well?
CJ: No poop.

Home Sweet Home

We arrived home late Wednesday night after a great flight. Collin was fantastic. There were several babies on the plane and he was by far the most quiet. All in all, we're still fairly exhausted. Collin is having a lot of trouble readjusting to the house and our "normal" routine. Both nights he has landed back in the bed with us. Once he is in the bed he is OUT like a light and doesn't stir for the next 8 hours (unless we try to move him into his crib, of course). Why can't he do this in his own bed? I figure we'll give him another couple of nights to adjust. What then? I don't know. Thus far, I've been adamantly opposed to the cry it out method, but he seems to be gaining in tenacity. I'm not so sure anymore. I also tried to give him some applesauce today and it was a definite NO on his part. I'm not sure if he was just not hungry or didn't like the taste. We'll try again tomorrow. He might be a vegetable man because thus far, it's a no go on the fruits!

Can't wait to see the babysitters

CJ and I were remarking today how we could not have asked for better "behavior" from Collin on this trip. I mean, sure, he did have his moments (like yesterday, when I could swear that he purposely spilled my large smoothy all over the back seat of our rental car) of crankiness, but we were dragging the poor thing all over the state of California. He's really adjusted well to life on the road. It seemed like most people thought we were a little nuts for trying this trip with a 6 month old to begin with. I must admit that I can't wait to see our "babysitters" (Aunt Amanda and The Hens) as soon as we get home though. Since Collin has been born we have (luckily) had a lot of help with his care and we've been able to get things done or just take a breather whenever needed. These last 2 weeks there have been no breaks and I can't lie, it has been tough. I get the feeling we are really in for an adjustment when we get home because of how much more mobile he is now, compared to just 2 weeks ago. He is literally into everything. I turned my head yesterday and he managed to squirm halfway across the floor of our hotel room and get his head into the garbage can. He had a Ghirardelli chocolate wrapper in his mouth. Anyway, I'm just saying that I can't wait to have half an hour to open our mail and maybe another hour to get to the gym. Ahh, the little pleasures!

Day 14

We've made it to just about the end of our trip. One more day in San Fran and then we head for home. Disappointingly we found out today that trips over to Alcatraz are sold out thru Thursday, so that won't be happening this time around. Instead we drove around town today on our own and visited some of the different neighborhoods of the city. San Francisco is a very diverse place which makes it interesting. We spent some time tracking down the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill. I just started reading the book by the same name and it's an enchanting story. CJ actually did spot several of them flying down Lombard Street while I was off looking elsewhere. This evening we're off for dinner in Chinatown. I'll be blogging more in the days to come, probably starting with the topic of the pros and cons to blogging. CJ and I have been discussing some concerns in regard to the whole thing. I'd be interested in hearing feedback from other moms that blog about the details of their families.

The Many Faces of Collin

I have to say, this kid really hams it up for the camera.

San Francisco Treat!

We've arrived in San Fran and have been shocked to discover that a heat wave has been going on here as well. It topped out at 98 degrees and felt even hotter. We pretty much decided to hole up in the room for the night and get a fresh start tomorrow. Collin continues to do pretty well. I was mentioning to CJ that I feel like this whole trip has been kind of a good learning experience for Collin. It seems like he's becoming a bit more adaptable and better able to "roll with the punches". Just the same, it will be good to get home on Wednesday and start getting him back on a real routine. Our priority is going to be addressing sleep issues and making sure he gets a lot more practice with solid foods. I must admit that after almost 7 months the breastfeeding is starting to wear me down.
Our plan for the next few days is to see the city in a leisurely fashion and just enjoy what's left of the trip. Pretty soon we'll be back in good old Jersey.

We're still here!

We've moved on from Santa Barbara and are now in Monterey. We decided on taking Rt. 101 as opposed to the Pacific Coast Highway to save time. It still took us close to 5 hours with stops to get here. I must stay that Collin did very well on the drive! We were originally booked at a Travel Lodge for Monterey, but it was a total DUMP, so we jumped ship to a little historic hotel n downtown. The funniest thing is that there is some kind of huge motorcycle race here this weekend and there are literally hundreds of bikers here. Last night was an awful night's sleep with all of the vroom vroom going on down mainstreet (right outside our window)! Other than that, Monterey has been fun. The aquarium here is awesome and we spent today exploring Carmel and Point Lobos (very cool). Tomorrow, we're off on the last leg of our trip to San Francisco. We feel like we've been gone a year!

Scrapbooking, wine, and Davey Crockett in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara has been a highlight of the trip so far. Collin, knock on wood, seems to be quite well adjusted to the travel routine. Last night was a bit of a mini-milestone because he actually slept the whole night (9-5:30) in his own crib. I guess we're finally wearing him out with all of this activity. Not to mention, he seems to be very lovey dovey with me lately. Poor CJ feels a bit left out I think!

Today was another busy, but laid back (sort of) type of day. I found a scrapbooking store called Santa Barbara Scrapbooks (www.SBscrapbooks.com). Holy Crapper! We have nothing like in NJ that I know of and it is a scrapper heaven. Not to mention it was hilarious to watch Collin's reaction when the store pug kept coming over to sniff his feet dangling out of the stroller! I can only hope that some day Collin will appreciate the mania that is going into creating this scrapbook!

Afterwords we took a drive up to wine country via some desert country. The area's wine industry has really been booking for the last several years and I was eager to check it out. The drive up into the mountains entails going through some pretty desert-like areas and about half way there CJ realized we were just about out of gas. Again, holy crapper! It was reading about 100 degrees and if we ran out of gas we could have had a bit of a situation on our hands. Luckily there was a campground we passed that actually sold gas...60 bucks to fill the tank. We arrived in a little town called Los Olivios, which reminded me of the Old West, except it had about a dozen or so wine tasting places. I chickened out of trying any though because I felt like such a novice! Off we drove to Fess Parker's (aka Davey Crokett) vinyard where I became a bit braver and actually tasted a couple. We left with 2 bottles of Riesling and a coon skin cap for my brother Gary. Tomorrow, we're leaving at the crack of dawn for Monterey. This will be our big driving day of the trip.

Destination Santa Barbara!

Tuesday morning we headed out of LA and onto the Pacific Coast Highway. Next stop...Santa Barbara. On the way we stopped in Santa Monica again for some quick shopping at the 3rd Street Promenade. I didn't buy anything, but quickly discovered that none of the stores would let you use their bathroom...even Barnes and Noble! It seemed like this was a away to keep the many homeless people around the area from using the facilities. I say even homeless people need to pee too! Anyway, then it was off to Malibu for lunch at Duke's and a yummy Lava Flow (don't ask me what's in it, but I discovered them at Duke's in Hawaii on our honeymoon. Once we were back on the road Santa Barbara was not so far away and I have to say that we fell in love with it right away. It's gorgeous and our little inn is quite comfortable. I have to admit that it was a relief to get out of LA, if not for the time we spent with friends, I probably could have skipped it all together.

Once we checked in at the inn, we quickly drove up to see the Santa Barbara Mission. Collin put on quite a display of bellowing just in time to enter the church. I think he liked the sound of his voice echoing. Boy, does traveling with a young baby change your experience! We've received plenty of the "stink eye" from people. Oh well, babies are people too. We have however, become quite adept at picking the most raucous place available to have dinner because it really does drown out any noise Collin's making. Last night we went to a local sea food place called Brophy Brothers right on the marina. Great food and VERY loud. Collin promptly fell asleep!

Hooray for Hollywood!

Yesterday was spent cruising around Hollywood with Uncle Darren as a tour guide. We had another great day. First stop of the day was at the LeBrea Tar Pits. This was actually high up on my list of things to see in LA. It was pretty fascinating to see the palentological work going on there. They've excavated hundreds of complete animal skeletons there dating back to pre ice age. Very cool Collin had a pretty substantial poopy diaper here that I needed to change (because, yet again, the mens room had no changing table). Next on our tour was lunch at the Farmers Market. This was something we really enjoyed, but wouldn't have picked without Darren. Tons of great food to pick from. We, of course, went with Mexican again. Collin was pretty much passed out for this part of the day. I think the daytime heat is actually inducing more naps out of him. After this we did a driving tour down Rodeo Drive (the same exact stores that are in the Short Hills Mall) and Beverly Hills. Not a single star sighting though (CJ thinks I'm star struck, but I'm actually only interested in 2 people: Harrison Ford and Jennifer Garner). Darren was treated to a true Collin scream fest for about 15 minutes during this part of the drive. I think the poor kid was just protesting the car seat again. Next up was Hollywood Blvd and the walk of stars. We found Harrison's hand/foot prints, but no luck on his star. Collin was pretty bemused by everything going on. Our last stop was up to the Griffth Park Observatory, but unfortunately it was closed for renovations. All in all it was a packed and fun day.

Wa-Hoo For Uncle Darren!

Yesterday was a fun day here in LA. We spent the morning taking a drive further up the coast to check out Malibu, but couldn't get out of the car for the lack of a parking spot. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about with these Cali. beaches. They are certainly beautiful (and some are very different, like La Jolla...my favorite so far), but they have their down sides (lack of parking being a big one). Must be my Jersey bias talking, but I think our beaches and shore towns have them beat....at least for us non-surfer, non-athletic types.

Collin is starting to voice his displeasure at being cooped up in the car so much, not that I can blame him. This may not bode well for the rest of thr trip, since the longer jaunts are still ahead of us. The traffic here is absolutely horrendous. It can be even more anxiety producing with a wailing baby in the car. Did I mention that it costs about 56 bucks to fill the tank of our Jeep Laredo? This comes as a bit of a shock for a family of Honda drivers.

We spent the afternoon and evening with CJ's long-time best friend, Darren. Darren has lived out here for the past 5 years working on his music career. What a relief to be with someone who knows where they are going! Darren suggested The Getty Center as an afternoon activity. It was fabulous! With a location up in the mountains, we were able to see incredible vistas of the city below. The gardens were beautiful and Collin was practically building a harem of women who stopped to ooh and aah over him by the time we left. As I said to Darren, it was our first taste of "culture" the whole trip so far. The evening was spent at a pizza place in Hermosa Beach where the noises of a little league baseball team drowned out Collin's screeches. Today will be another day spent with Uncle Darren touring around LA.

City of Angels

After much ado on Friday night, we finally made it to LA around 10:00pm. Earlier in the evening we had a lovely dinner with friends in Laguna Hills, but then managed to get quite lost on our way to Manhatten Beach. We're staying at a Residence Inn with a pretty good sized mini-suite, but feels a bit cramped after San Diego. Still plenty of room for Collin to roll around.

We spent yesterday on the beach. Collin had a great time and a nice long under the umbrella nap. It was HOT! Lots of surfers. CJ did some bodysurfing himself. Dinner was at a local brewery and Collin was not pleased. Oh well. More to come on LA...we'll be spending tme with CJ's best friend Darren the next couple of days.

Pool Time!

Collin has been doing pretty well thus far on our trip. I think the time change has been tough on the little guy and we are definitely wearing him out. He's actually been falling into somewhat of a napping pattern the last fews days. I think I've realized that he actually needs to cry for 3 or 4 minutes to settle into his nap right now. It just seems to be a routine I've observed.

We had him in the pool for the first time a couple of days ago and he LOVED it. He was grunting like a mad man (a sure sign he likes something) and splashing up a storm. Everyone at the pool commented on how cute he was in his little swim trunks. Collin has also acheived a couple of physical milestones the last couple of days. He can now assume the plank position, kind of like a push-up, and he has made his way onto all fours a couple of times. It seems like a switch just got turned in his brain and all of the sudden he can do these things. He is pretty stinking proud of himself! As far as sleep goes, he's improoved from the first night, but still struggling with the new crib (minus any bumpers). All in all, we can't complain!

San Diego Part 2

We've really loved our time in San Diego and definitely plan on returning someday. It's a great place for kids with tons to do. I'm actually a little sad to be heading to LA this afternoon. We've seen quite a bit the last few days and Collin has been pretty adaptable to the whole adventure. We've spent some time at the Children's Pool beach in La Jolla (watched a sea gull pluck not one, but two sandwiches off someone's beach blanket) and watched the seals bask in the sun there. We've also taken a drive up to Cabrillo Point, visited Old Town and taken a peek at Coronado. The only bust has been Sea World, which I would not recommend if you're traveling with a very young child during the heat of summer. We packed it in after a couple of hours. Even with the heat aside, I was disappointed with the number and quality of attractions and the too few show times. I did, however, have free beer. I didn't realize the park was owned by Anheuser-Busch and the whole place is one big beer advertisement! Check out my next post for Collin developments of the last few days.

Tantrums at dinner time?

OK...CJ is out picking up a few things we need and, God bless him, he took Collin with him. While I have the chance I thought I would post a quick thought on Collin's meal time tantrums. When I say meal-time, I mean mine and CJ's meal-time. First of all, I'm not sure if Collin can even through a tantrum at 6 months old, but his behavior in these instances sure seems like it. He really seems to hate when we sit down to eat, be it at home or out somewhere. Usually we eat in shifts....one gets to eat, while the other placates Collin. His screeches are unbelievable. He works himself up into an impressive frenzy! It's not as though he's hungry himself and we're tormenting him by eating in front of him. We've also started solids and have been feeding him his cereal while we eat...to include him in our dinner routine. Just another little tyrannical behavior we're dealing with. Of course, the instant one of us gives in and picks him up, the smile he gives us would light up a room! What a little stincker!

Lions and Tigers and Bears!

Just a quick post and a few pics from the San Diego Zoo...

Collin did pretty well today, despite a pretty bumpy night for everyone. We managed about 5 hours at the zoo and saw most of the highlights. The zoo was one of the things I really wanted to see and it was amazing! Our favorites were probably the hippos, giraffes, polar bears, and of course the pandas.

We Made It!

Greetings from San Diego! We've all arrived in one piece and are raring (relatively) to go on our first full day. Actually getting to the airport was probably the most stressful part of the day...about 20 minutes after we hit the road I realized we forgot the stroller and we needed to head back. That 40 minute detour made things a little too tight for my liking.

The flight went just about as well as can be expected when travelling with a 6-month old. Collin nursed for about half the flight in total and the rest of the time was just a superhuman effort to keep him entertained. Pretty exhausting! Despite bringing several new toys for him, Collin decided that he liked ripping up and eating the Continental Magazine as his favorite activity.

Our hotel is a Best Western and who knew this chain could have such charm? We're right on a marina and they upgraded our room to a suite with a view because the one we booked was not available. The extra room with Collin is great. Unfortunately the crib they provide is a little on the dingy/institutional side, so Collin didn't make in there too long last night. We'll give it another shot tonight.

California Here We Come!

We leave tomorrow for 16 day trip to California. It's our second trip with Collin and we're definitely better prepared then we were for Boston a month ago. That trip was only 4 nights, but it felt like an eternity. I guess we just didn't realize how tough it could be to travel with a screeching infant. We attempted to eat out each night and every night had to leave. Collin would squirm and cry the minute we sat down somewhere. This time around we understand the need for total flexibility and a more go with the flow attitude....not to mention a much earlier vacation bedtime then we're used to!

That being said we do have quite a road trip planned! We bought Collin his own seat so we will have a whole row to ourselves on the plane. We're also bringing a few new toys to, hopefully, keep him occupied during the flight. Just the last several days Collin has really been stretching his vocal chords by babbling at the TOP of his lungs. Today, he blew razzberries for 20 minutes straight, which sounded like baby farts. This kind of behavior should make for an interesting flight.

We land in San Diego and will be driving up the coast.... LA, Santa Barbara, Morro Bay, and San Francisco. I'll be trying to blog our trip as much as possible, so check back for new entries.

Sweet Dreams?

We went for Collin's 6 month check-up this week and he is doing beautifully. He's up to 19lbs and 27 inches. Thankfully, all seems pretty well. Our 1 big issue is Collin's continuing sleep issues. Don't get me wrong, it's not nearly as bad as it could be. Collin usually goes down between 8:00 and 9:00...and may wake up once or twice for a feed. It's normally just once. Here are the problems....I need to nurse him to sleep every night, his one feeding is always at 4:00 am, he is usually up for good by 6:00 am, and he will not nap consistently during the day.

Our pedi. is saying that these are some real problems and we owe it to Collin to "sleep train" him now or regret it later. Just for the record, I really like this doctor and she herself has 3 kids under 6. She has definitely been there. She says its ok to let him cry it out at night. And she says we need to take the bumpers out of his crip. The last 2 times we did that he got different limbs STUCK between the crib slats! She also said that nursing him down each night is probably another no-no because he will become too dependent on it.

I honestly don't think I can go the CIO route, but I must admit we're getting desperate. Waking up at 4:00 every morning is starting to wear me down! Since we are leaving for California in 2 days, now is not the time to shake things up, but I think that a day of reckoning is approaching.

Aunt Amanda

My cousin Amanda is Collin's godmother. The picture above shows them together when he was about 8 weeks old. We also have her help us out a few hours a week with childcare. Amanda didn't have alot of experience with babies before Collin was born, but she did have quite a bit with penguins. I figured they must be equally as hard as babies. Well, Amanda has done beautifully with the transition. She has a bubbly personality and Collin just lights up when he sees her. In fact, I get the distinct impression that he prefers her company to ours! I am actually starting to hold her responsible for the fact that Collin will rarely nap anywhere but on someones lap. As you can see from the picture above, he gets quite comfortable!

Pet peeve of the day....Stuck between a hummer and an expedition

If you know me then you know that driving has never been my favorite thing in the world. Since having Collin, being on the road takes on a whole new dimension. I really notice all of the crazy drivers when he is in the car with me. Even more so, I feel especially dwarfed by all of the huge SUVs on the road. Who really, truly needs to have a hummer as a personal driving vehicle? I drive a 4 door civic. I love my civic and plan on driving it as long as humanly possible. When I came out of the gym today my trusty honda was stuck between a hummer and an expedition. I just about needed a flag man to back out of my spot safely! So my pet peeve of the day...having to deal with all those unnecessary giant vehicles.

The first post!

This is a classic Collin face of disgruntlement. His expressions are truly priceless. On this particular occassion we were introducing him to rice cereal for the first time. Being a breast-fed only baby until about 6 months...he was not overly impressed! But, he is starting to get the hang of it now. We feel like Collin has such a strong little personality...when he is happy he is VERY HAPPY and the same extreme applies when he's pissed off!