Bryson the Artist

Busy Summer...

From our trip to North Carolina... good times!

More Pictures From Krista

Krista had some additional pictures on her camera... including a rare picture of me with Mr. B, and another picture of the two of us. I'll say it again Krista- when are you moving to Colorado? :-)

Old Friends

I wouldn't call us "old" quite yet, but we have known each other for a very long time. Since First Grade Orientation Day to be exact. I won't add up just how many years that is!

Krista was here in Colorado last weekend, and Capn' Rob snapped a few photos. I think my eyes definitely show how little sleep I get. As in they aren't fully open. The joys of being a Mommy!

Krista got to meet Bryson and Rob, and we caught up on hashing and rehashing all the old time stories we could possibly dredge up. When you find yourself laughing about black naugahyde and shag carpet, I guess maybe we are old. Nah! (I have no idea how to spell naugahyde... and it seems the spell checker is confused too.)

I think Krista got some better pictures with her camera... we'll have to get her into blogging next so she can post them. Then we need to convince her to move here! Colorful Colorado has a certain draw... we'll see if she caught the Boulder Valley Curse. Krista, are you reading this? I'll help you unpack. ;-)

Recent Pictures

Uncle Bob, You'll Be Missed

Our dear Uncle Bob passed away unexpectedly, from a head injury, last month. I wanted to write about him before posting anything else, and every time I started, the pain was too fresh. I realize though, it will hurt for some time to come. So here goes...

Above are pictures of Uncle Bob with Bryson, taken last Thanksgiving. The first one he was singing the "Wonder Dog" Theme song-- Bryson loved it. The second I took after coming home from the mall with Aunt Sally. Uncle Bob was Bryson's very first babysitter. Uncle Bob also made sure he received his first instruction on how to use the TV remote control (an essential lesson for any boy). These pictures will always be very special to us.

Uncle Bob brought only positive energy and happiness into the world. Although I am normally quite verbose in these matters, my ability to write more is still too charged with the pain of our loss. We will miss you Uncle Bob and we loved you very much.

Bryson's Night Out

Thanks to our friends Chontel, Gordon and Kateri- Rob and I had a night out to dinner last Friday (Rob was honored at a work event!). What could have been stressful for us, ended up being fun... Bryson just LOVES Kateri!! As you can see from the pictures he had lots of fun. :-) He can't take his eyes off pretty Kateri!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures...

Here are a few recent pictures from the North Carolina trip. Enjoy!

Turn Signals

So Rob and I have this long standing joke about turn signals. I, true to my OCD-like nature, use them religiously. He uses them like a race car driver (read--> very seldom). I tease him about it, and he teases me.

During the trip to North Carolina I drove from Charlotte to Beaver Dam and noticed a trend. Maybe it's the NASCAR influence, but turn signals were few and far between and driving on the highway had more to do with the Vulcan mind meld than any outward "signals".

Of course I had to bring this up to Rob. Now I understand his driving style. The punch line came on our way back to the Charlotte Airport. A State Trooper pulled in front of us on the highway and, you guessed it, DIDN'T SIGNAL. I am now silent on the topic... turn signals are for the weak!

Happy Friday!

Things I Didn't Realize I Didn't Know

We're back from beautiful Shelby, North Carolina and just as soon as possible we'll have photos uploaded to share. Needless to say, Bryson got lots of attention from his family and it was hard to leave all the love. :-)

And just because I need a comedic break from my "OMG-I'm-Never-taking-Vacation-Again" Day... here's what I didn't even realize I didn't know:

1. Pimento Cheese is a really popular sandwich
2. "Butt Bone" is a cut of meat offered for sale at local grocery stores in Shelby
3. You can get AWESOME Pad Thai at Joe's Place in downtown Shelby
4. Shelby is also known as the "Livermush Capitol of the World"

(Check out the links! What did we do before Google??)

I was completely lacking in that good ol' adventuresome spirit and did not try the pimento cheese, Livermush, or Butt Bone (we're still not sure how you use a Butt Bone). But I can tell ya that if we were still in Shelby I'd be going back for more of that Pad Thai!

I must be hungry...

The Six Million Dollar Dog and His Twin Sister

It seems like this blog is all about Bryson lately (and can you blame us?). Yet we don't want to neglect the first "babies" in the family... so here's a recent picture of Sampson and Sadie. Sampson still has some weakness in his back legs, but seems to be entirely recovered from his back surgery last summer.

Here's a random thought--> why do some infant's pants have pockets?

Happy Valentine's Day!!

It's "Me" and "Mini-Me"

Aren't they cute??

Talk to the Hand!

Who needs toys when the hand is so much more interesting?? Dad, of course, added a very funny voice and Bryson was mesmerized. There's something to be said for the simple things in life.

It's been wicked cold here this week. Now that we're supposed to warm up (the local news called our 30 degree weather this morning "mild"), the wind has picked up. If you listen to the wind on our top floor, where we sleep, it sounds like we'll wake up in Oz. Needless to say Rob and I are VERY, VERY ready for spring!

Happy Friday!!!!

Dad's Post

Only now, after months or years of reading the posted blogs from Heidi and all the pics of Bryson, I've decided it's time to join in. I have finally made the leap into blogville and hopefully it will provide some meaninglessful chatter for the masses.

I love being a dad and learning the importance of pee shields during diaper changes and blow out maintenance procedures. Bryson is a handful and keeping him smiling keeps me smiling. Sometimes I wonder how we could be so lucky.

I've taught Bryson the man rules of the house including remote control management, sport channel locks, and lifting the seat. He also knows how to use my computers and is watching my hands as I type this blog entry. I think he likes his own pics and he likes to correct my spelling. Between to two of us, we keep mom from losing her mind and her smile.

More Cute Bryson Pictures

Bryson is such a smiley baby we just love to take his picture. He recently got a new Jumparoo and that's given him even more reasons to smile (he LOVES that blue frog)! You can also see that, though he's growing very fast, Dad's baseball caps are a bit big for him.

Mom's still working on getting used to daycare, but Bryson is all acclimated. He is always smiling and enjoying the other kids when I get there. It was 5 degrees (yes, you read that correctly!) when I picked him up today... and he kept smiling.

AND, next month will bring Bryson's very first plane trip when we travel to NC to meet the whole Humphries clan. Let's hope the other passengers on the plane get to see the smiley Bryson! :-)

New Things

Yesterday, during a visit with his little friend Logan, Bryson tried out an Exersaucer for the very first time! The first picture is his typical "What is that silver thing you're pointing at me??" look. The second picture we actually see his delight with the new toy, and a look that says "Please buy me one of these things as soon as possible!"

I couldn't resist posting these... he is just so CUTE!

Sleep

You could probably tell I was tired yesterday. Just when we begin to think we'll be tired forever, BRYSON SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! Yeah Bryson!!! We are so excited this morning... :-)

Life Changes

Yep... that's an understatement! Just when I had maternity leave down, now I'm back at work and Bryson's in daycare.

And here I am today attempting to concentrate on "work stuff" and analytical concepts, all while struggling with sleep deprivation that only a newborn can cause. I mean, I had a hard time reading for hours at the laptop when I was sleeping at night.

So here's a digression that has nothing to do with statistical process control, continuous improvement, or program management concepts:

1. One thing I can't believe: Rob and I watched Beerfest (yep, you read that right) TWICE. And it got funnier the second time. And I'm actually admitting this on the blog.

2. A funny pet moment that flitted by so quickly it's not on film: Both Nickey and Sadie attempted to use the boy's bouncy chair as a pet bed. Although Nickey fit until I tossed her out, tell me what that dog was thinking when I caught her with one paw hovering over the chair--> "I know I weigh fifty odd pounds, but the faux-fleece covering on this itsy bitsy chair is just soooo inviting!"

3. Another thing I can't believe has happened twice since the birth of Cute Boy: I got carded. Maybe there is something to taking eight weeks off work and spending so much time cuddling with the most adorable baby in the world.

4. My latest soapbox: Just because I work from home does NOT mean we get to save all this money on daycare. If babies had an on/off button maybe it'd work. We might also be sleeping through the night.

So yes, life changes.

"Cheerful" Baby Bryson

Yes... we made it. Okay- Heidi made it. Bryson started daycare last Thursday and I am officially back at work. Aside from a typical, frantic food-meltdown on the first day (they called me at 2:30 to come get him), he seemed to enjoy his social time out in the world. They gave us a sheet at the end of each day with how much he ate, how much he slept, and what his disposition was. Bryson was labeled "cheerful". When you look at this picture it's easy to see that side-- the "give-me-food-NOW" side is a bit different. ;-)

We also managed to buy out the children's section of the bookstore this weekend (yep- he likes to read already!). And he was up much of last night so Rob and I are thinking it's about nap time now... for US.

My first full work week starts tomorrow. :-) Yeehaw!

It's a New Year Already

Happy New Year!!

The time vacuum is still in full effect, although I am back to work and little Bryson is at his second day of daycare today. I also noticed that Laurel added a bunch of very cute Bryson pictures to her blog, but I had to add a couple too. (Thanks Laurel-- you take such great photos!)

The elusive smile is tough to catch (he likes to concentrate hard, furrow his brows, and study the camera as soon as he sees it), but Rob managed one with his phone. The other picture is bathtime when Bryson first discovered the very cute baby in the mirror.

Rob and I are loving parenthood, and Bryson usually wakes up only once during the night. I understand we're lucky there, so we try to ignore the tired feelings. Bryson's first Christmas was a WHITE one... an unpredicted snow storm for Denver when they put our chances of a snowy Christmas at 12%! It was a great year to be home and snuggled in our own beds-- we just can't wait for Bryson to be old enough to open his own presents. How fun that will be! As it was, Nickel Cat indulged in her ribbon fetish and made off with any box small enough for her to carry. Thus, we spent some time searching for a few smaller gifts under the couch etc. Then she played with the boxes (why is it that cats just LOVE cardboard??).

Happy New Year to all... we'll see what major life change(s) Rob and I can dream up for 2008! ;-)