A few weeks back some friends who live across the street told us they had a baby "exer-saucer" in their attic that they'd be happy to pass on to us since their kids have long since grown out of it. Edward has used one at daycare a couple of times and he's been working hard to stand up when we're holding him so we thought that might be a nice step up from his playmat for entertainment. Plus, we think he might be getting another ear infection (or the last one didn't fully go away) because he's been fussy at night--waking up whenever we try to lay him down. The doctor said that when babies have ear infections the pressure is greater when they're laying down so that would be consistent with his pattern the last couple of days. What better time for some upright entertainment? Looks like a good decision so far!

We'll have to call the doctor in the morning and go in for an ear check. I hope we can get this knocked down. I really hate seeing him in pain and I've heard horror stories about the endless ear infection--ugh!

Other than that, we had a nice visit with the extended Kenyon family yesterday in Des Moines at John's cousin's 40th birthday party. It was great to see everyone and for them to be able to meet Edward in person after following his news and photos on this blog. We had some car trouble on the way home--in our NEW car no less. Just when I was thinking it was so nice not to have to worry about breakdowns since we made the decision to upgrade to a station wagon. We think it might be a fuel injection problem, but of course our combined knowledge of the inner workings of the automobile would be a lot shorter than our average blog post so we really don't know what's wrong with it. We managed to limp home though and we'll take it in tomorrow for a diagnosis. Ed and the car then can mend together.

After a weekend of travel and a busy week, we finally had time to get some "official" six-month photos of Edward tonight. He was pretty smiley and very patient with us, so we got some good shots. Unfortunately, the excitment of seeing him smile for the camera obviously made me shake, because the best shot was a little blurry. If you don't blow it up too big, however, it looks pretty good.

This is a better shot in terms of focus, though I like his expression better on the first one. Either way, it's amazing to see how big he's getting and how much better he is at sitting up. He's obviously propped against the couch here, but he doesn't slide around as much as he did a couple of months ago, or even just last month.

We have been told that there is no such thing as too much Edward, so here are a couple more from our marathon photo session this evening. Ed was quite a trouper, and put up with that annoying flash for much longer than I expected. He's not a fan of that, often trading his smile for a stern look by the time the shutter clicks. Tonight, however, he seemed willing to cooperate, and we caught some good grins.

As you can see from this photo, he is getting good at standing up, with a little help, of course. (OK, you can't really see that here, but trust me). His legs are getting strong, though, so it sure doesn't seem like it will be very long before he's sitting up, standing and walking. There is a lot of baby-proofing to be done at the Kenyon household before he gets too mobile, however, so while we'll love it when he's able to run around and play, we'll enjoy his lack of mobility while it lasts.

We had a busy weekend with the whole Geraghty Gang in Evanston--19 of us now! Gram had ice cream cones for celebrating Edward's six-month birthday. Of course, he could not partake directly (in fact he was asleep when we busted out the ice cream Sunday afternoon) but he did seem to enjoy his next nursing session immensely! Here's a six-month picture. I'm hoping to get one sometime this week in a similar position to his previous "month" pictures so it will be easy to compare how much he's grown. His cousin Colleen spent the whole weekend reminding him that he was a "chubber"--a term of endearment in our family. She had lots of love to share with him. He will miss her and all his cousins!

Oh, the weekend also included Edward's first hotel stay (too many Geraghtys for one house!) John and I are VERY glad he has his own room to sleep in at home. He is quite a noisy sleeper. We've known that he twists himself around at night because he's never in the same position we put him down in by the time we get him up in the morning. But we were unaware of his tendency to lift both his legs and thump them down on the bed simultaneously. He stays asleep through these aerobics. We did not. We did apparently sleep through a monster of a thunderstorm Sunday night into Monday morning though.

In the excitement of the ear infection news, I forgot to mention that Edward weighed in at 17 pounds this morning. Needless to say, he is a hearty eater! All that good food plus milk plus medicine should add up to a quick recovery. He's asleep now--I hope he'll last through the night. We all need it!

Poor Edward has his first ear infection. He's had a cough and congestion for the last two weeks, but seemed to be weathering it fine until last night. He woke up coughing at 2:30 (after going to bed around 7:45) ate a little and seemed to fall asleep, but when I put him back to bed he just cried and cried. We tried this pattern a couple of times--holding, falling asleep, back to bed, crying, holding--until it was clear he would not sleep in his bed. This is highly unusual for Edward in the wee hours. He usually sleeps through the night, and, if not, just has a little snack and goes right back to sleep.

So I held him upright sitting in our big soft chair for a little while, but that didn't last long. We tried him in his carseat on the floor in our bedroom, but that only worked for about 15 minutes. Finally, he fell asleep on my shoulder as I walked around patting him and stayed asleep as I stopped patting, stopped walking, then carefully and smoothly transitioned to lying down on the couch with him resting on top of me. That's how we passed the time from about 4:30 to 6 this morning. In that short time I had two bad dreams about having a sick child including one with an intensive care setting and lots of respiratory equipment.

I called the doctor as soon as they opened at 8 and got to take him in a little after 9. After removing what seemed like a pound of ear wax (!) the resident and then the doctor agreed that the left ear was infected and should be treated with antibiotics. They said that pressure in the infected ear could cause pain when lying down so that explains why Edward couldn't go back to sleep. The pressure also can trigger the coughing reflex, making the existing viral cough a little worse. So I guess it all fits together. Edward did not like the ear exam, by the way. He was happily playing with his toes and blowing raspberries until they stuck that probe in there. No wonder.

He fell asleep in the car on the way to pick up the prescription and has been sleeping in the carseat ever since (obviously, I brought the seat into the house when we got home!) As soon as he wakes up we'll start the medicine and then it's twice a day for the next 10 days. Hope he likes it--or at least tolerates it!

In other Edward news, he rolled over on Wednesday evening. Demonstrating what may be a lifelong independent streak (if he's anything like his father) he waited until I stepped out of the room for a moment to perform this latest trick. He was about 3/4 of the way over, which is as far as he'd gotten before, always getting hung up on the shoulder. I stepped into the kitchen to grab a plate of food from the microwave and when I came back he was all the way on his belly. He does not particularly enjoy tummy time (I mean, really, what's the point if you can't reach your feet?) and has not repeated this maneuver. Once he figures out how to go front to back look out--no more setting him down in one place and finding him there after a quick trip to the kitchen or bathroom!

Edward had a big weekend with another new discovery: He learned how to blow spit bubbles. Though he claims he played no role in this, Edward did suddenly figure this out while playing with his Grandpa. We'll let you be the judge.

First, there was some playtime...










And then this:
























It was part of a good weekend during which Edward got the chance to visit with his great-grandparents in Chariton, and spend the night with Grandpa and Grandma Kenyon in Des Moines. He also got the chance to visit his friends Julia and Lydia (while we visited our friends Blair and Mary).

For those wanting to see Ed's bubble-blowing skills in action, here is some video (warning, this is not for the squeamish):

Edward is sleeping off his dinner of peas and cereal so I have time for a blog update. It's really amazing how fast the days fly by. I was talking to a coworker about how I spend my afternoons and saying that I'm SO SO lucky to have been allowed to move to part-time hours because afternoons are when I accomplish basic necessities of life like laundry, dishes, cleaning, groceries, etc. She said, "Well, you got all that stuff done before when you were working until 5 every day, why couldn't you do it after 5 now?" It's totally different. Practically every minute Edward is awake there is some task related to him that needs tending to. I guess if I had to work until 5, I'd just be getting less sleep--staying up later to get done all the things necessary to keep the household functioning.

Lucky for all of us, this is not an issue. We even had time for a few days to play with Gram and PopPop in Evanston over the weekend. John was attending a conference in Little Rock, and I was a little nervous about being a single parent for three days. So we decided to head for Evanston and, while we were at it, squeeze in a morning in Milwaukee to meet our new niece/cousin Katherine and, of course, to play with her sister Maggie and check up on the bleary-eyed parents. They are all doing well. Here's my dad with three of his eight grandchildren.

Maggie doesn't seem too bothered by the new little person who has invaded her territory. In fact she mostly ignored Katherine and focused on Edward. She was fascinated by him, and he returned the favor. He watched her constantly and when she stopped moving (only momentarily) to kneel down next to him, he reached out to touch her (no doubt disappointed that he couldn't figure a way to involve his mouth in the exploration.) Maggie squealed with glee, "He touched my knees!!" Very cute.

Gram and PopPop also have a swing set in the yard, complete with a baby swing that was all cleaned up after the long hard winter. Of course Edward had to check it out. He didn't seem to care one way or the other about it, but the five adults standing around watching him got a big kick out of it. (In addition to my parents and me, my sisters Nora and Bridget were also in Evanston for the weekend.)

Edward does seem to like being outside though. He stares up at the trees and watches bunnies and squirrels in the yard. Today I had him out on his blanket and he was very happy rolling around (not over, just around!) He even inched his was to the edge of the blanket and started pulling at the grass. He liked rubbing his feet back and forth in it too, and I preferred that to grabbing with his hands since it was harder (though still not impossible) to get grass to his mouth that way. I don't think he actually ate any! Here's an outside picture from Sunday.

It was a big weekend here in the Kenyon household because Edward discovered his feet. He's always had them, of course, but they didn't do him much good. This weekend, however, he started playing with them, raising his legs into the air while on his back to get better access to them, and using the positions afforded by his new high chair to get at them.

As you can see from the photo, he's also quite happy about this development. He's been very smiley for quite a while, but it has been hard to catch the moment with our digital camera. I read a story in the Wall Street Journal on Friday about this, and we're not alone. To keep camera prices low, they sacrifice processing speed, which means a lag of as much as 2 seconds between the time you press the shutter and the time the photo is taken. So, We've missed quite a few of Ed's smiles because he notices the camera and replaces his smile with a stoic stare by the time the picture takes.

Today, however, was so smiley that it didn't matter. I was so excited to capture this one that I cheered loud enough to startle him; a moment later, the smiles started again. I was so eager to catch more of this, that I rattled off several shots (after the built-in time lag, of course). I then switched to video mode to catch some of his foot-playing. Enjoy.

Every baby's birth is a miracle as we all know. Apparently though, something about the Geraghty family brings out more than just your average garden-variety miracles.

Edward's cousin Katherine Claire was born at a healthy 7 lbs. in Milwaukee last night by emergency C-section. My sister, in her 39th week of a healthy pregnancy, had extremely high blood pressure at her check-up yesterday afternoon and so was admitted to be evaluated to determine whether they would induce labor or do a C-section. Without making public too much of Ann's personal information, suffice it to say that after several hours of monitoring her doctors decided a C-section was urgently needed so she was rushed to surgery under general anesthetic. Both Ann and Katherine came through like champions, and the doctors' urgency turned out to be justified. Katherine had a knot in her umbilical cord and was laying in such a way that contractions were causing her head to press on the cord.

We count our blessings every day, and today Katherine is at the top of the list! In fact, she might take up the first five spots or so.

Today Edward is five months old. He has lots of new tricks, but his favorite is jamming his hands in his mouth as far as they can go, sometimes to the point of gagging himself. He loves the taste/texture of his own hands and will happily suck and slurp away for, well, not hours given his attention span, but many minutes. He also is grabbing things like toys and parental hands/fingers or whatever happens to come within arm's reach. If he can manage, he will work to get these things in his mouth as well. A couple of times he's gotten so slobbery that I've actually checked for teeth, but nothing yet.

He still stops smiling the second he sees the camera so those who want to witness this heart-melting phenomenon will have to visit in person. He also giggles sometimes.

Now he's eating one new food each week by spoon. This week was green beans. Who knows what culinary treat awaits next week. We've gotten into a pretty good pattern where he'll eat either right before or right after John and I have dinner. He stays in his high chair while we eat so he can see what we're doing and join in the conversation. He doesn't really know about waiting for his turn to speak though. He just has so much to say and it's all so exciting he just can't wait. It's fun to think up responses that make it seem like he actually said something we understood.

He sleeps well--usually making it from about 8 p.m. to about 6 a.m. These are not iron-clad though, as he sometimes decides around 2 a.m. that a little snack will be just the thing to get him through the rest of the night. It doesn't take long and then we're both back to bed within 20-30 minutes. He also has a tendency to fall asleep in the car, no matter how short the trip--even just the 10 minutes it takes to get home from daycare. When this happens I usually just leave him in his seat to sleep, rather than waking him up to transfer to the crib.

These OshKosh overalls got rave reviews at school today. Yesterday's shorts romper was also a hit until it did not provide enough of a barrier when he decided to poop for the first time since Sunday. His poor teacher picked him up to snuggle without realizing what he'd been up to. Luckily she had a spare pair of jeans in her car. Ed, of course, always has spare clothes there for just such an event as this one.

Poop and all, it's been a great five months, and we can't wait for what lies ahead.

I've been wanting a picture of Edward in this purple chair at daycare for a couple of weeks now. Not wanting to be too disruptive to the classroom, I've refrained from hosting my own personal photo session, but I've had the camera in my bag just in case the right opportunity arose. This morning, there it was. There was an extra teacher in the room and all the babies were calm. So when I took him out of his carseat I grabbed the chair and my camera and took a few quick shots before I left for work. The teachers agreed that this image is definitely a keeper. They love him in the chair as much as I do. I don't know why I find it so hilarious, but it just cracks me up whenever I come in to pick him up and he's just sitting there observing the world. We often say Edward looks like an old man with his serious expression and his pants hiked up to his chest, so maybe this is the "old man baby version" of the La-Z-Boy.

Over the weekend we had Edward out at a street festival. We brought along the all-important sun hat in case he decided he wanted out of the stroller with its protective canopy. He stayed put so he didn't need it, but we tried it on at home anyway to see how he'd react. Definitely something we need to know since he will basically need to wear a hat from now until October. Poor little bald head! He seemed to like it--or at least he didn't thrash about trying to get it off his head. Perhaps the early training with his ever-present penguin hat and the "parade of hats" that kept him warm is paying dividends.

We tried spoon feeding with Edward for the first time last night, and the results were surprisingly good. While he surely ended with more on his face and bib than in his mouth, it wasn't nearly as messy as I had feared. We started with a mix of rice cereal and breast milk (much more of the latter than the former). At first, he wasn't overjoyed with the whole thing, refusing to swallow much of what we gave him.


As it went on, and we all started to get the hang of things, he began reaching his hand out as if to help guide the spoon, and actually opened his mouth to eagerly welcome this new food source. Given Edward's track record with eating (in short, he likes it quite a bit), we knew he would be willing to work at it. He actually took to it more readily than he did the bottle.


These days, the bottle is no trouble for him. As you can see here, he's confident (perhaps overly so) in his abilities to take things into his own hands. We're not quite there yet, but compared to the screaming fits that accompanied our first attempts with the bottle, this is significant progress.


For those wanting to see more of the action, here is some video of this momentous occasion.

Edward weighed in at 14 lbs. 12 oz. at his four-month check-up yesterday. That's the 50th percentile for weight. Pretty good for a little guy who started out in about the 3rd percentile because of being born early. His length is up to 24 1/4 inches, which is the 25th percentile. All in all an excellent report. The doctor said she had "nothing but compliments" for John and me, that we're doing well and helping Edward to thrive.

The next big step will be introducing some rice cereal. We haven't been to the store yet to buy any, but will give it a try sometime soon. The instructions are to try it when he's hungry and when we have plenty of time. I think we also will need to plan a post-meal bath! Edward is already a messy eater, slurping and drooling his milk. Cereal will be a new horizon--possibly video-worthy, though I'm not sure we'll have enough hands for the feeding and the camera work. We'll see.

We asked about sunscreen, now that it's staying warm and we expect to spend more time outside. Usually they don't recommend sunscreen for babies under six months old, but she looked at John and me, looked back at Edward and said, "Oh yeah, he'll need protection so go ahead and use sunscreen." Also hats and light cotton layers. Unfortunately for Edward, pigment is not among our genetic gifts to him.

He screamed through his shots again but this time I was better prepared. I had him wearing a little shorts romper so I didn't have to get him dressed after the shots and I had asked if I could stay in the examining room long enough to feed him afterward. Nursing calmed him down and he ended up sleeping most of the rest of the afternoon. He slept a lot at daycare today and this afternoon at home. This was good for me because I've picked up a cold and wasn't feeling terribly energetic today. We both had good naps this afternoon.

He was very alert when John got home from work and they had a nice "chat" with Edward making lots of babbling sounds and John answering back with what he guessed were the appropriate responses to what Edward might be saying.

Not much time or energy for photo sessions lately, but we'll try to get some new ones posted by this weekend.

Thanks to everyone who supported Team Kenyon in this year's March of Dimes WalkAmerica, remembering Will and celebrating Edward. Our Iowa City walk was this morning and we had 14 loyal walkers on our team, despite a persistent drizzle. Edward decided to stay at the park in his cozy stroller with Gram and PopPop who report that he slept through the whole thing while they pushed him around and around the picnic shelter. The rest of us navigated the puddles and completed the six mile route in a little more than two hours. (We're not convinced it is a full six miles, but we'll take credit for it anyway!)

Some sad news though. The University of Iowa student who leads the UI Collegiate Council March of Dimes group (the group that dedicated last year's walk to Will) lost a nephew this month due to complications of his premature birth in November, twelve weeks too soon. He was five months old. His twin sister is home and doing well. Our hearts go out to her whole family. We are so familiar with that emotional roller coaster and the joy and sorrow of loving a new baby while still longing for the lost one.

This is why we walk. This is why we are so grateful for those who walked with us, those who sponsored our walk, and those who support us each day.

Edward has really started to enjoy playing with the toys hanging from his playmat, so we thought we would add to what has become a series of playmat-related videos. Mary shot the first part earlier this week, and I shot the second part tonight. Enjoy.

Edward is four months old today. We couldn't manage a 4-month shot with a smile. Our camera takes a second or two between when you push the button and when the picture actually snaps, and that's long enough to go from smiling to vacant stare. We'll have to practice longer smiles!

He's able to hold his head pretty steady on his own these days and is learning to sit up. Obviously it will be a while yet before he can do that on his own, but all we've got is time. He also is going to town batting at the toys that hang down from his playmat. Sometimes it seems to me that he's swinging his arm hard enough to roll himself over, but not quite. He doesn't have much incentive for that since he hates being on his tummy. His usual reaction is to spit up within minutes of being placed face down. That is, unless he's sleeping. Then he's very comfy laying tummy-to-tummy with John--a new favorite weekend activity. I'm guessing this will be employed to on Saturday afternoon after the March of Dimes WalkAmerica. Thanks again to everyone who is planning to walk with us and/or has sponsored our walk. John and I have raised more than $600--fantastic!!

Thanks to everyone who inquired about our well-being after Thursday's storm. It wasn't until Friday evening when we went downtown to get something to eat and to see some of the damage that we realized just how close the storm came to us. Mature trees had been ripped from the ground just four or five blocks away. That's a little close for comfort. We had no damage, not even any more branches off our trees than usual. As further evidence of how well that night went vs. what could have been, here was Ed's reaction after we came out of the basement:

We went to Des Moines for Easter and had the chance to see Ed's grandparents, great-grandparents and several other family members. He also had the chance to meet his new second cousin, Bailey, who shared some quality time with Ed on his blanket:

Ed got into the spirit of the holiday as well:

Happy Easter

Iowa City is in the news this morning after tornadoes ripped through last night. The Kenyons were unscathed, but others around here were not so lucky. The church with no roof that they're showing on national news is just a block from Edward's daycare. Though the daycare building was not damaged it is closed today in cooperation with the call to keep people away from downtown. The University of Iowa canceled classes for the first time in all the years I've been connected to it--almost 15 now!

Even though university classes were canceled, staff were supposed to report to work. However, with Edward's daycare closed and my office in the heart of the downtown destruction, I opted to stay home today, with the endorsement of my boss. It sounds like the best thing will be to stay out of the way and let the clean up crews do their work.

We were huddled in our basement for about an hour starting around 8:30 last night as the sirens blared and radio reports alerted us to possible funnel cloud sightings. The power went out before 9 p.m. and stayed out until about 4:30 this morning. Twice I thought I heard the "freight train" sound associated with tornadoes, but as if it were a few miles away. Turns out, it was only blocks from us. A sorority house was destroyed about eight blocks from here, trees were uprooted and roofs blown off. However, our neighborhood appears to have escaped damage. There's some insulation in our alley, and small branches down from trees. I imaging we'd see leaves down if it were a few weeks from now, but the trees are only just starting to bud.

Edward slept through the whole ordeal. We strapped him into his carseat when we went to the basement, figuring that would be a cozy and secure place for him. Once the lights went out I just rocked the seat a bit and soon enough he was snoring. I sort of wished I'd changed him before that happened, but as it turned out he mostly slept through a diaper change once the danger had passed and went right back to a sound sleep in his crib. That meant he missed his final meal of the evening though, so he was up around 5:30 this morning complaining of an empty stomach.

I've lived in the Midwest all my life and this is really the closest I've ever come to the path of a tornado. I'll be happy to wait another 32 years for my next encounter!

It was face painting day at school today. And note the short sleeves--another 70-plus degree day in Iowa!

This is what Edward was supposed to wear for his first "school picture day" today. (Feel free to laugh...this seems to be the universal reaction to the notion of a school picture for a three-and-a-half month old!) Note that I say "supposed to wear." I considered not having him wear it when I learned the forecast called for 70 degrees and sunny today. A turtleneck and flannel overalls seemed a bit excessive. But it's such a cute outfit I couldn't resist and figured he could change when we got home at noon. He didn't even make it to 7:15 in this. John was holding him while I went to finish getting dressed for work. I never put my work clothes on until right before we're leaving, knowing Edward's propensity for liquid gifts, including this morning when he peed on me while I was changing him. But no problem...I was still wearing my t-shirt.

Anyway, while I was getting dressed, I heard "Bleh" followed immediately by "Woah!" The former, as you might guess, was Edward, and the latter, of course, was John. Edward had spit up on his own shoulder. No problem...he has two red shirts so we changed to the second one. Then I said, "Hey, we should probably take his picture at home in case he doesn't make it all the way to picture time in this outfit." Then we took this picture. Then I sat down to try to feed him one more time before leaving, since he'd decided 5 a.m. was a good time to wake up today. While we were getting settled, another "Bleh" spewed forth, this time landing on the sleeve of his shirt, the front of his overalls, my shirt sleeve and my pants leg.

So then we both had to change. So much for the 5 a.m. wake up call giving us plenty of time for a leisurely morning. Luckily, I had ironed four shirts yesterday having "rediscovered" them in my closet. Two were shirts I honestly had forgotten that I owned because they were new last year and I only got to wear them a few times before they were no longer size appropriate.

I think the spit up is because he's been falling asleep while eating and then I can't get him to burp afterward. I hesitate to wake him just to burp, but it may come to that. He's napping now after eating (and burping!) when we got home from school. When he wakes up, we're headed out with the stroller to enjoy that 70-degree sunshine. Welcome spring!!

On Friday afternoon Edward was acting fussy, wiggling around, stretching his legs and arching his back. After trying all the usual calming methods, it finally occurred to me to change his clothes. Perhaps the outfit was just too tight. Eureka! The end of the 0-3 month era was upon us. He graduated to the 3-6 month size and was much more comfortable. Lucky for him, he has almost as many choices in this size as he did in the last, none of which were purchased by his parents. Truly, there was never a baby more lavished with gifts than Edward Kenyon!

I got a storage container for the outgrown clothes and ran across his penguin hat as I was putting things away. We thought we'd take one last picture of this piece of his early life just to show how far he's come.

Many people have been asking about how he's sleeping. I've hesitated to post anything about his overnight sleep patterns on the blog, because in the past this has been the surest way to ensure that he abandoned whatever pattern of behavior I was describing. He never seems to do it twice the same way, but for the most part I think it's safe to say that Edward is sleeping through the night. He can go six to eight hours at a stretch, so depending on what time he falls asleep for the night, I sometimes get away without a middle of the night feeding. For instance, if he gets changed and fed around 9 p.m. he will then sleep until sometime between 5 and 6 a.m. On a work day, this is a good time for me to get up and start the day. On a weekend, not so much, but we can adapt. However, if he falls asleep earlier than 9 p.m. then he sometimes wakes up hungry around 4 a.m. or so. When this happens I usually try to grab one last hour of sleep after feeding him and before the dreaded alarm clock. Sometimes I think it's not worth it, as it's so hard to get back up after that hour. But I know that every hour counts so I should take them where I can get them. And really, I'm in no position to complain given that I get seven- to eight-hour blocks of sleep somewhat regularly.

I posted Sunday about March of Dimes and by Tuesday afternoon I'd met my fundraising goal of $250--amazing! John also has now registered as a Team Kenyon walker and set a fundraising goal. Since we've met our first goal, we'll see how much we can add. It's a little confusing that he has to have his own page, but that's just how it's set up online. Each walker has his/her own page even if walking with a team like ours. Some teams set collective goals, but since our team is still assembling as we determine who will be able to come to the walk, we'll just be happy to get together on April 29 and celebrate whatever amount we're able to contribute to the important work of the March of Dimes.

As you see from his pictures and video, Edward is strong and healthy. However it is important to remember that his birth, like Will's, was premature. Of course there is an incredible difference between being born five weeks early and being born 15 and a half weeks early. In our case, it's a difference of life and death.

But it only strengthens our resolve to support the work of the March of Dimes, including joining WalkAmerica in Iowa City on Saturday, April 29. We have created a website for Team Kenyon and invite you to join us in whatever way you can--physically (by walking with us or in your own hometown), financially (by making an online pledge toward our fundraising goal) or morally (by encouraging us to get up and get moving in preparation for the 10K walk.)

Clicking on the Team Kenyon link above will take you to our team website where, if you scroll to the bottom, you'll find links to donate and/or to register to walk with us or in your local WalkAmerica event.

We have always been lucky to be surrounded by loving and supportive family and friends, but never has that circle been more vital than in the last year and a half. We can never thank everyone enough for all that you've done and continue to do for us. Participating in WalkAmerica is a way for us to share these blessings.

Today is Edward's three-month birthday, and so we document another month of Ed's life (and eating) with a photo. To compare, here he is at one month and at two months.




I also tried another video, this time taking advantage of better light and the gizmos that came with our new computer. Enjoy, as Edward wakes up from a nice birthday nap.

John and Edward can't believe Duke lost! Too bad John picked them in his bracket. I'm still alive in mine, though I lose points as I had Duke in the Final Four. Oh well...

We're received some good-natured ribbing from people about our St. Patrick's Day photo of Edward, the suggestion being that if given the choice, he probably wouldn't have opted for a shot that showed off so much of his chubby legs. Duly noted. To compensate, here's a photo with which no one could argue. It's my favorite thus far, in no small part because it captures a happy moment between my two favorite people.

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2006!

I went back to work today and Edward started daycare. I think we both did OK. It was hard to leave him, but John and I feel that the daycare is a loving and stimulating environment for him and that makes us comfortable. We have friends who have been taking their daughter there since last fall so Edward even has a friend in the room with him and we can check up on each others' kids when we're there.

My supervisors agreed to let me work part time for the next year, 20 hours per week. For now it will be 8 a.m. to noon daily and we'll see how/if that works. I am lucky to have such flexible and cooperative coworkers and doubly lucky that the university provides benefits to part time workers. The key is health insurance--with John working for a small start-up it would be way too expensive to handle on our own!

It was weird to be back. I'd forgotten all my passwords and some of the function of my work computer (a Mac--we have a PC at home) but it slowly came back to me. I already have two projects to work on before the end of the week, so there won't be any problem staying busy!

Edward did fine at daycare, his teachers reported. The only problem is that he doesn't sleep well in a crib during the day, which is weird because he sleeps fine there at night. But daytime he sleeps best in his carseat, bouncy chair, or being held. The daycare has a policy that babies must sleep in cribs-for SIDS protection. So every time he fell asleep today in his bouncy chair, or in his teacher's arms after eating, they put him in the crib where he only lasted 15-20 minutes before waking up and wanting out. We may sign a waiver and get his doctor to write a note saying it's OK for him to sleep in his carseat. We'll have to see how things go for the next few days. He basically fell asleep before I even got him to the car and stayed asleep after we got home until about 2:30. He might have slept longer, but I heard some gastrointestinal production and decided to take him out to change him. Then he realized he hadn't eaten since 11 a.m. and totally chowed down.

All in all, a good day. We hope for many more like it!

Here is an experiment that will help us to share more video of Edward. Just click on the arrow in the middle of the box below, and it'll play a video of Edward playing on his playmat tonight.

Edward slept through the night last night--10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.! I am trying not to get too excited until he demonstrates that he can repeat this trick, but it was quite a treat to get that much sleep all at once. Actually, I must admit I got up to check on him at about 4 a.m.

Perhaps he was just exhausted from a busy weekend. On Saturday he was baptized and we were lucky to have many family members with us to celebrate. My sister Nora and brother Joe are his godparents and both were able to be here, traveling from Michigan and Tennessee, respectively. Also my sister Ann and her husband and daughter came from Milwaukee. And of course all four grandparents wouldn't miss Ed's big day. Our group gathered Saturday morning at the church for the sacrament. Edward slept through the whole event, including having water poured over his head. He also slept most of the afternoon as he was passed from one adoring relative to another. We have plenty of pictures to document the day though. We'll have to fill him in later.

We've had a busy week since the last update. I felt like Edward was still having eating/stomach problems and discomfort on Thursday so we went back to the doctor where they suggested he might have a touch of reflux. However, they did not feel it was serious enough to medicate given that he didn't have the primary symptom, which is weight loss or lack of weight gain. He had gained another three ounces since his Tuesday appt! They recommended holding him more upright for eating and then for 30 minutes afterward. That seems to be working as he has much less spit up now and seems to be more comfortable.

But before I get too confident that I have him figured out, I must remind myself that I left notes for Edward's first non-family babysitter Monday night that claimed that "evening is his most predictable time." He almost always eats around 6, has some awake time then sleeps a bit and wakes up to eat between 9 and 10 for his final pre-bedtime meal. John and I had separate obligations so he was home feeding Ed when the babysitter arrived (the daughter of a friend, neighbor and coworker) and I was expecting to be home by 8:30 or so. We didn't think she'd have to feed him, but left a bottle just in case. Well, he apparently got hungry early and was screaming when I got home at 8:40. I'm not sure how long he'd been this way. She said "just a little while" but definitely was not eager to linger. I hope we didn't scare her away! He ate, calmed down and went to bed.

But then last night (Tuesday) he had a similar evening pattern. I went to visit a friend in the hospital and then a quick trip to the mall for some clothes for going back to work next week. I called John on my way home at 8:30 and Ed was screaming again and had been for most of the time I was away, John reported. He wasn't burping after eating, which probably led to his discomfort, but John tried every position and tons of back patting and rubbing and still Ed would not burp. It's so hard when he's uncomfortable and you can't do anything to fix it! I fed him when I got home and after about five minutes sat him up and he let out two shockingly loud burps. Sometimes when Ed burps it actually startles me, even though I'm sitting there patting him and should be expecting it!

So we hope this is not a new pattern of evening fussiness and discomfort. That would be bad for all of us, but especially Ed. We'll see. We just need to stop expecting any two days to be alike!

He had very little fussiness and was in excellent spirits for our weekend trip to Evanston to visit family and friends. He slept the whole time in the car both ways. We stopped at about the three-hour point each way to feed him (and ourselves) and he woke right up, ate, got changed and went back to sleep once the car got going again. What a great traveler! Friday night he got to meet three grand-aunts and -uncles, four of my first cousins, and one of his first cousins. He'd already met his Aunt Ann, who was also there. That's a lot of family!

Then on Saturday, the moment we thought might never happen--he got to meet my Grandma Ganey. She has been in a nursing home for a while now following a stroke, and in December there was good reason to believe she would not live to see 2006. But she rallied and though she is still approaching the end of her life, she has been waiting patiently to meet Edward, having had his picture posted next to her bed since he was born. It was a great visit! We didn't know what to expect from her or from Ed, but both were at the top of their games. He was awake long enough for her to see his eyes and his animation but then also asleep and still enough that she could hold him for quite a long time in her lap. She can't speak very well, but kept waving us away saying she'd babysit him. At one point while he was awake, I opened his suit so she could touch his foot and see his fat little leg. She loved that but then she got worried that he'd get cold so she had me button him back up. As if anyone could get cold there! Now we have pictures and memories to cherish forever.

When we got home we had the greatest surprise waiting for us--my sister Bridget came home from school for the weekend! She didn't tell anyone she was coming and it took waking up at the crack of dawn and then I think three van/bus connections and a train to get her there. We were all floored but so excited to see her.

In the afternoon many of our Chicago-area friends and friends of my parents came to meet Edward, which was a lot of fun. Of course we wished we had more time to catch up with everyone, but babies and long conversations don't mix very well, so we'll just have to save that for the next trip. Gram and PopPop are eager babysitters so we'll have opportunities to go out with those friends when we visit again. Actually, they babysat that night while John and I went to a movie. We hadn't been since Christmas Eve when we unknowingly went on our final pre-parenthood date to lunch and a matinee (Good Night and Good Luck.) This time we saw Capote, which was excellent, though quiet enough at points that I had to fight my nodding head and drooping eyes. There's just no such thing as enough sleep when you're caring for an infant I guess!

Good report from today's two-month check up. Edward is up to the 20th percentile in weight (pretty good considering he started in the 6th!) His official two-month weight is 10.5 lbs. This is lower than his ER weight from Saturday night, but there they weighed him in his clothes and, more significantly, his diaper, which can get quite heavy.

Also, he's still not up to his full pre-sickness eating habits so he probably hasn't gained his usual amount of weight the last few days. Each day he's had one or two episodes of spitting/throwing up so we've been limiting his intake by giving him his milk in a bottle. This means the whole feeding process takes longer for me since I have to pump milk after he eats to keep the supply going, but it's worth it to be able to ease him back up to full feeding. The doctor said this was expected after having a stomach virus because his digestive system needs time to recover. Sometimes when food hits it just isn't getting digested so then it comes back up later. He should be fine in another few days.

He had three shots at this appointment and I can report that he will not be eager for more. He really wailed and actually held his breath for what seemed like forever but was probably just a few seconds. After all this he slept most of the afternoon and I hope he'll sleep more tonight. He can have Tylenol if it seems like he needs it.

On Friday I thought I was going to post an exuberant message about how Edward slept through the night for the first time--10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. As the day wore on though, it became clear that any celebration was probably premature. It's more likely that he stored up on sleep as a way of fighting a little virus he picked up. He slept most of the morning as well, but by noon on Friday I was on the phone to the doctor to ask what to do about a two-month old who is throwing up.

The answer turned out to be replacing his breastmilk diet with an electrolyte solution until he could keep the clear liquid down. Half an ounce every half an hour at first and then gradually increasing as he tolerated it. I called John at work and asked him to go get the drink and come home. He made record time between the office and home with a stop at Walgreens in between to pick up a four-pack of Gerber LiquiLytes. I am so glad John worked so hard to get him to take a bottle. I'm not sure what we would have done if he didn't know how to drink this way. We measured out half an ounce using the syringe that was once Edward's main food delivery method and he sucked it right down. It came back shortly after that, but gradually he was able to tolerate this and we increased the dose through the evening to two ounces. A quick call back to the 24-hour nurse line led to the advice to let him sleep until he woke up on his own through the night. He ended up waking about every three hours for a little more LiquiLyte drink.

Saturday we thought he was tolerating that well enough to alternate between breastfeeding and LiquiLyte each time, but limit the breastfeeding to about 5 minutes so he wouldn't overwhelm his delicate tummy. Well, that sort of worked, but by evening he was retching again and I decided to call back for more nurse advice. When I got through she said that given his age and the fact that this had continued well past 24 hours we should take him to see the doctor. We don't have any Urgent Care sites here, so that meant a trip to the ER. Luckily it was only about 8:30 p.m. when we got there--well before the rowdy late-night college crowd trickles in with various injuries. It did not take long to see the doctor and once we did he listened to all we'd been doing, checked Edward from head to toe and determined that we just needed to continue with the LiquiLytes overnight and then if he tolerated that resume breastfeeding today. Kind of a lot of hassle just to be told to keep doing what you're doing, but it was reassuring. Edward did great through the waiting and the poking and prodding. Of course he was declared adorable by several new people.

Oh, he also got weighed, so on his two-month birthday and three days in advance of his official two-month checkup, which is on Tuesday, I can report that he weighed in 11 lbs. 5 oz. We knew those cheeks and chins must be adding up to something substantial!

So today he's still a little droopy and crabby, happiest when being held, which we are happy to oblige. He's eating pretty well. I might have overdone it at his last feed--need to remember to stop him at about 10-15 minutes. He's still not fully better, but definitely on the road to recovery.

I was surprised at how sad I was watching him be sick on Friday. Even when he was just sleeping, I could tell it was a "sick sleep" and I just felt so bad at not being able to wave a magic wand to make him feel better. It brought back a lot of the same emotion I felt watching Will in the hospital day after day and feeling helpless. On the other hand, since he obviously had to get sick at some point in his young life, I must admit I'm relieved it happened before I went back to work leaving him in day care. Thinking about polluting his little system with the germs of half a dozen other little kids just compounds the guilt. This way I've seen that even safe at home with me the little buggers can get through.

As mentioned in the last post, Edward and I have not left the house much lately. We did manage an excursion to the grocery store today though and it led to a startling discovery--he has outgrown the penguin hat! Luckily a new hat arrived today in the mail, representing a second generation of cousin clothes-swapping. My cousin B in Seattle sent a whole box of stuff her son has outgrown, including this sweet dino-hat. My aunt used to send me boxes of B's clothes when we were kids, and I always thought her things were SO cool. Once there was a winter jacket with zip off sleeves so you could wear it as a vest or a jacket--wow! Well, it was the 80s after all.

We're feeling a bit cabin feverish here in Iowa. Tuesday was magnificent--63 degrees and sunny. Edward and I took a long walk to get the remaining ingredients for our Valentine's dinner and then since he was still sleeping in the stroller when we got home I took off my sweatshirt (yes, it was THAT warm) and went to work untangling my Christmas lights from the bushes out front. It should be noted that these lights have not been lit since early January, but I always wait for a decent day to take them down. No sense standing out in the cold. This was way more than a decent day for light removal. I got all six strings off the two bushes and Edward was still sleeping, so I grabbed my book and sat on the stoop reading until he woke up to eat.

My back was a little sore that day, but I figured it was just a factor of too much sitting around and thought the walk would do me good. I guess it was more than just inactivity because Wednesday and Thursday I could hardly move. Severe tightness in my lower back made life pretty darn uncomfortable. Ibuprofen and heatwraps got me through, but just barely. So obviously we didn't go anywhere those two days. Thursday we also had a winter storm that brought little snow, but was followed by arctic air that froze the snow into something resembling white concrete. Friday and Saturday saw highs in the single digits. Now I know why they say Eskimos have 500 words for snow. I've never seen anything like this. I didn't actually experience it until Saturday, my first venture out of the house, when I went out to see if my car would start. It did and I ran it for a while to warm up so I could chip the "concrete snow" off.

Based on this experience I am happy to report that Lands End does not lie when it claims its Hooded Sport Squall Jacket will keep you warm even in -10 degree weather. I got this in November to replace a Lands End jacket with a broken zipper (what a great company--products guaranteed for life!) but didn't wear it until January (for obvious reasons!) and really hadn't tested it in true Iowa winter weather until yesterday. It took almost half an hour to clear off my car even after it had warmed for 15-20 minutes and I was not cold.

Edward, meanwhile, has been inside since Tuesday afternoon. I don't think he cares too much. He definitely likes being warm. Here's a cozy pre-bedtime image. He hasn't been sleeping in a hat for a few weeks now because we thought that might be contributing to some skin blemishes, but this weekend it was definitely cold enough for a sleeping cap.

In other exciting news, John hooked up our new computer this weekend. Our old one was chugging along at dial-up speed despite our high-speed connection. We were just asking for too much from a five-year-old machine. Installing iTunes last year about this time was the final nail in the coffin, but we pushed it through the summer and fall. Our plan was that the new computer would be our Christmas present for each other, but we got a much better present in Edward. His arrival moved computer shopping a little lower on the priority list. What a difference though--no more going to the kitchen to make a snack while waiting for a program to start up or for pictures to download.

Maybe that will lead to more pictures posted here, but no promises. This computer is great, but it does not have a feature that adds hours to the day!

Our friends B & M welcomed their second child last week and we could not be happier for them. It will be great to have kids the same age...at least until they get to the "cootie" stage (their baby is a girl, their second daughter.) But it was funny that one of their first comments was "I forgot how much they sleep!" They are of course accustomed to the schedule of their two-and-a-half year old. Sometimes I still can't believe how much Edward sleeps, though I know it's contributing to his healthy growth. A couple of times recently he has gone slightly more than five hours overnight. The first time I woke in a panic thinking I'd missed his call. But no, he was still sleeping. Oh to have that consistently...or maybe even six or seven hours? Dare to dream!

This photo is from a Saturday nap. It was his first time in a pants outfit rather than a one-piece footie sleeper. We thought it was endlessly entertaining that his pants had to be pulled up "old man style" almost to his arm pits. When you don't have a waist it's tough to wear them any other way! You'll also note that despite the last post bemoaning his refusal of the pacifier, he's sucking away here. We found a pacifier of the same brand as the bottle and thought it was worth a try. He doesn't take it immediately, but sometimes if we hold it there for a bit and let him work it around with his tongue he'll take it and start sucking.

He also sleeps well in this carrier generously on loan from our friends J & S. S swears by the BabyBjorn, saying both their kids practically lived in it! It's very cozy and leaves my hands free while he sleeps all snug and close.

We're finding that it takes a lot more time to meet the basic needs of three people rather than just two. John downloaded pictures from the camera last night and there were 40 new ones since our last download. Guess it had been awhile. We're not so far down the "crazy parents" track to think that posting all 40 would be appropriate, but here are a few to make up for lost time. They give an idea of what Edward has been up to in the last few weeks.

His first trip to see Grandma and Grandpa Kenyon in Des Moines was a success. We made it there and back with no major melt-downs--by any of us! The timing didn't quite work as we'd planned--travel seemed to make him hungrier than usual so he spent a lot of his time there eating. Not very sociable.

Last Wednesday he went with me to my six-week postpartum check-up where we learned that Dr. Kennedy is leaving general OB practice to head a specialized clinic at University Hospitals. We're trying to be happy for her, but it's hard to think about going to another doctor. I never understood why some people were willing to pay a much higher insurance premium in order to have unrestricted choice of doctors. Now I know about being attached to a doctor. Small consolation in knowing that she'll still be around and able to consult with whichever of her colleagues draws the short straw and winds up with my case.

That same day Ed met his Uncle PJ for the first time--fresh off the plane from Phoenix via Chicago. We even ordered up a 50-degree February day just so he wouldn't feel too much of a shock to the system.

Then on Friday Aunt Nora came back for her second check in. Edward has changed a lot since she last saw him the day after he was born. She noted "serious cheekage and chinage" in this photo.




No doubt that will continue to be the case as he learns to eat from a bottle. He did not take to it right away, but patience and perseverance on John's part have made this part of their daily routine.

When he can't get the bottle or "the real thing" he will often settle for a finger to suck on, though he consistently rejects the pacifier. Here he's decided that after Mom and Dad got to pig out at a Superbowl party he should be able to do the same and is waiting for me to get the hint.

We have heard the complaints about the lack of new Edward pictures on the blog, but not until Edward himself staked out a position in front of the computer hoping a new photo of himself would magically appear did we realize something needed to be done. So, we hope to get some new pictures of Ed up soon. He's doing well, eating like crazy and sleeping like he should.