first haircut

Before. . . .

After!

chatfield botanical gardens

For those of you who enjoy using your sat nav devices... you're welcome

Here are a couple links to our latest successful Delta IV launch and its payload.
For those of you that have never heard of it, "Spaceflight Now" is the hands down best source of space news on the internet. Only "Aviation Week and Space Technology" has better sources.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d349/
http://spaceflightnow.com/delta/d349/remotes/

As always there were many hurdles to overcome before we could get this bird off the ground. Our team is full of highly motivated and resourceful individuals and it's a pleasure working with each and every one of them.

Next up: Two Delta IV Heavy Launches in a row. The heavy is basically three boosters strapped together and is significantly more difficult to get right. I'll post more info about these in the not too distant future.

jumperoo

We could leave Chris all day in the jumperoo and he'd be happy. He just jump, jump, jumps, and spins the wheel and plays with the hanging toys.

cheese curl

Chris had his first success with eating cheese curls today! Most of them ended up next to him in the high chair, but he actually got some in his mouth and ate them.

revised expectations

As my year as a stay at home mom draws to an end, I find myself thinking about what I expected this year to be like and what my experiences have been. For one thing, I expected Chris to be physically doing a lot more by one year. I expected to see him roll, sit, crawl, pull up, cruise, walk, and say his first words. All we have gotten to are the first two. I know he will eventually master those skills within the next several months, but I might not be the first one to see them. It will probably happen at daycare. I'm disappointed that I won't be there to see it first. Sure, I'll probably see it the second time he does it. Lots of people have babies in daycare, and they all face that situation. It's just not what I expected. I used to read "What to Expect the First Year" every month to see what new things Chris might do that month. I have stopped reading it because he doesn't do the things he's supposed to.

not homeless

We have finally found a place to live. I found a nice 3 bedroom rental house in Highlands Ranch. I visited it, and we placed our application and just signed the lease. Our move in date is July 15.

a work day

speech therapy

Today Chris had a speech therapy evaluation. I made the appointment because Chris still isn't babbling yet. He makes consonant sounds including b, g, and d, but he doesn't string them together repetitively. The speech therapist went through an extensive questionnaire with me about the sounds Chris makes and how he interacts with people and how he plays. It turns out he does have a delay in his speech and language development. For example, I'm not sure he even knows his name. He certainly doesn't know the names of objects or toys (doesn't look at a ball when I say ball). Also, he doesn't make any gestures yet, such as lifting his arms to be picked up, or pointing at things. The speech therapist said we're doing all the right things talking to him throughout the day and reading him books. However, she did have several recommendations to help him learn language. They also did hearing tests on him, and he hears fine. He just doesn't understand or communicate much yet. The speech therapist described it to me as being similar to visiting a foreign country. You hear all the sounds, but you don't know what they mean. You don't know where words start and end, and don't know the syntax. She also said that just because Chris is behind in his language and speech right now, it doesn't mean he is always going to be behind. She also said that a language delay does not reflect his intelligence. He scored best in the play section, and she said that is most reflective of cognition. So, despite Chris's motor difficulties and his language delay, I still don't think he's a slow baby!

the rental market

We're having a hard time trying to find a house to rent in Highlands Ranch. There are very few houses for rent. Here's a little visual aid- a map of Highlands Ranch rentals, then for sale properties, then foreclosures. We figure that there are so few rentals despite people wanting to sell their homes because they're still living in them.

observations

Yesterday at PT, I asked Mike when he thought Chris will walk. He thinks at age 15 to 18 months. 15 months is the upper limit of the normal range for walking. No one has a crystal ball, but Mike is a pediatric physical therapist and has seen lots of kids with motor delays. He also commented that Chris is a thoughtful baby and seems like a little scientist.

Chris had a follow up appointment today with his pediatrician. He is pretty much back to normal. He is not wheezing any more and his oxygen saturation is good. We saw his regular doctor today, so I also updated her with his progress in PT. She said not to worry, and that Chris seems very bright. She also said that she walked at 18 months and turned out fine.

outdoors

gearing up

A lot of things will be happening in July. I will go back to work full-time. Chris will go to daycare full-time. I'm in a wedding July 3 in Oregon. And Doug will have to travel for work some time during the month. Our lease for this house is also up at the end of July. However, it would be a lot more convenient to move next month while I'm still home.

At one year, Chris will be old enough for the 12-15 month toddler room, but one of the requirements for that room is that the baby must be walking, and Chris isn't there. Not even close. The babies in that room also need to be on table food, and Chris is still on baby food purees. He's not too good at chewing (gumming) yet either. So, he will go to the infant room until he masters those skills. I'm okay with the infant room. I went back to the daycare to pick up some paperwork and tour the infant room, and I liked it better than I did before. There are mats on the floor, and lots of age appropriate toys. The teachers in the room seemed nice. Chris will also have a little friend in the infant room. There is a resident in my program who has two kids at the daycare, and one of her kids is in the infant room.

hospital stay for bronchiolitis

So. . . Chris has had a rough week. He got a cold a week ago. I figured, I'm a doctor, it's a cold, and I can handle it at home. Then this Tuesday night, his breathing got a lot worse. I heard Chris making noise on the monitor, and when I picked him up, he was breathing really fast. It was as if he was panting. I checked his respiratory rate, and it was 100 breaths per minute. That's really, really fast. A kid his age should breathe 50 times per minute or less. So, we took him into the ER, where he got breathing treatments. He was much better after the nebs, but was still breathing hard, so he was admitted. We spent yesterday in the hospital, and came home today. He is now doing just fine. There was no pneumonia- just bronchiolitis. Now he has home oxygen at night until he's completely better, but he doesn't need it during the day. We also now have a nebulizer machine.

mother's day

Yesterday I enjoyed my first mother's day. Probably the best start to a day ever- Doug let me sleep in until 9am. We just hung out at home all day. Chris is recovering from a cold, and now Doug and I have it. For dinner, we got takeout from the local Italian place. This time next year, Chris will be almost two and he will be a walking, talking little person!

feeling better

Chris was back to his usual self today. His nose is still a little stuffed up, but he was his normal, happy, active self. We went and looked at a couple of house rentals in Highlands Ranch. They were ok, not exactly what we're looking for. It's tough because now they're renting houses that are available in June, and we're looking for July. I want to have this set up now. Landlords don't want their houses sitting empty for a month. We probably won't find a place for a few weeks. It's hard to wait, though, not knowing where you're going to be living in two months.

another cold

Chris has gotten another cold. Last night he felt warm to the touch, and he had his first fever of 100.6. He is mostly just congested and sleeping alot today.

finger foods

The last few days I have been giving Chris finger foods. He hasn't been having any success getting the food to his mouth. He has, however, gotten puffs into all of the creases of his high chair and onto the floor. And then, today, while I was feeding him dinner, I went to answer the door. It was the cable guy, trying to sell us a land line. I was at the door for maybe a minute. When I came back, Chris had pulled his bowl of baby lasagna into his lap and his left arm and face were covered in it. I finished feeding my messy son, and then he needed an immediate bath and I had to wash the high chair cover. Whew!