Month Three

Hello Everyone! Sorry we've been MIA, the computer went back in again, but it should now be fully operational! Keep your fingers crossed! We've been pretty busy since Halloween. Riley went to the Doctor on November 8th to get his first set of shots. He did really well, I expected lot more wailing out of him. At that time he weighed 13 lbs 2 oz and was 24 1/2 inches long. That put him in the 75% percentile for both weight and height. He is growing along great. The doctor didn't think his birthmark would grow anymore, and we haven't noticed it getting any bigger for the last couple weeks. His night time fussiness is getting better as well. Hopefully as the weeks go on it will occur less frequently. He still isn't sleeping through the night, but more often then not he skips the 1 am feeding which I am grateful for. I am going to start consulting the book get your baby to sleep 12 hours by 12 weeks. Some of our friends have had success with this teaching. Brendan reminds me that we can't force him to sleep through the night, but I'm going to try my best! I can't believe that he is already 14 weeks today, time has gone in warp speed since his birth. That also means I only have 4 weeks until I must return to the "working" world. I have really come to enjoy everyday being a Saturday. Fortunately for us Brendan's sister McKenna will be moving to Portland from St. Paul to take care of Riley and Wilson! We are very lucky to have family watching him during the day! It does make returning to work a bit more bearable.
We went home this year for Thanksgiving and to celebrate my Grandpas 95th birthday. It was great seeing family and friends for a couple days. Its so fun to watch the Grandparents with Riley, they are so in love with little man! He did awesome on both flights he just slept or cooed at the other passengers. Just in the last two weeks he seems to have made a transition from helpless newborn to engaging infant! He smiles and laughs a ton and now loves to suck on his thumb. He is constantly trying to sit up when he's in his chair. Its so much easier now that we don't have to worry about his neck and head control he has no problems holding it up on his own. We think he will be rolling over soon, he likes to practise by throwing his legs up and over to the side, then he gets stuck. Its pretty fun to watch.

Here are some pictures from the past month.....Enjoy!

There's a new Sheriff in Town.......

Brendan and I had a great time dressing up Riley as a Sheriff for Halloween and taking pictures. He was a great sport about it, and I must say looked pretty handsome! Kate was in town for her yearly visit, it was great seeing her and introducing her to Riley and Wilson! We did get to enjoy a night out on the town and Riley stayed home with a babysitter for the first time! He slept the entire night. I'm sure it was pretty boring for the sitter, but it made us feel a bit more at ease leaving him.

Riley has another Dr. Appt next week. I can't wait to see how much he weighs now. I'm guessing somewhere in the 13 lbs range. Most of his weight is in his adorable cheeks! He is kicking and cooing and smiling all morning long which just melts the heart! Its great watching him and just seeing things click in his head! He still has his melt downs at 7pm every night. Brendan and I just power through it, although some nights can be exhausting at least we know there is an end in sight.

The next couple weeks we are going to concentrate on removing the 1am feeding from our lives. I am very ready to start sleeping at least 5 hours straight. Hopefully Riley will jump on board.

Cheers!

The Flynns

The Hand Discovery

Riley found his hand this week, and figured out that it fits in his mouth. Now if he can only get it to stay there! He gets more alert everyday and is smiling a ton, especially after feeding time!
He went to his first pumpkin party this week and won for best pumpkin with use of stencil. Its been a bit rainy here so we haven't gone out as much as we would like to, hopefully we'll get a couple more nice days before the real rainy season sets in.
This week we are going to go have lunch with Brendan and show the little guy off to his coworkers.

Here is some video of Riley from this morning, since I failed at taking any new pictures of him this week.

Riley's First Beer Fest

Well, at least his first one outside the belly! We had a great weekend getaway to Hood River to celebrate our 3 year anniversary and to partake in the 4th Annual Hops festival. Which showcased a variety of fresh hopped ales from 20 or so different breweries. Needless to say, we had a great time.
Riley must love staying in hotels, because he gave us our first night of 6 hours straight of sleep! I couldn't think of a better anniversary present!
He is doing excellent, growing everyday. He is holding his head up by himself for longer periods of time, he's cooing and smiling all morning long. We've gotten a lot of laughs out of him, I think he's going to be a talker when he gets older.

7pm has become the witching hour in the Flynn household. After all the daytime excitement he unwinds by crying for about an hour straight before he gets so exhausted he conks out. We've turned the book "Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Karp, who is an expert in calming colicky babies. So far I think that you just have to wait it out. Sure his techniques help stop the crying for maybe 5-10 minutes out of the hour, but nothing really puts an end to it all together. We just hold him and bounce around the room waiting for him to cry himself to sleep. I figure he's just a true Flynn and doesn't want the party to end, so he fights having to go to sleep! I read that colic peaks at 6 weeks (he's just today 7 weeks) and has usually ended by 12 weeks. So at least we are starting on the downside of the bell curve, that's encouraging!

That's about all that's going on in the Flynn house. Here are some pictures of the Hood River outing.

Back in Action

I know its been a couple weeks without new pictures. Our computer was out of commission for bit, but now we are back in action.
We've been very busy with family and friends in town. Casey and Mike came out to meet their new grandson and my very dear friend Jinan and her husband Kevin came out to celebrate Jinans 30th birthday and to meet the boys as well.
Riley had his first visit to the Oregon coast, loved it so much he slept right through it! The weather at the beach was remarkable, a treat for this time of year. We all had a great time walking the beach, eating out, and shopping the strip at Cannon Beach. It was great having the Flynns here and sad to see them go. I know it was hard for them to leave without taking Riley with them.
Shana and I had our first night out on the town since the boys birth. I have to say going out just isn't the same as it used to be. The idea of taking care of a newborn hungover is just not at all appealing.

Video of the little guy requested by Christy Sweany.....

3 weeks Old & So much going on!

It has been a busy week in the life of Riley. Here's a recap of all his activities last week:

His First friend was born-----Our dear friends Shana and Jon welcomed a healthy baby boy, just two weeks after Riley. We all thought that the Daby Baby would be Riley's girlfriend, but Wilson decided its best that they are just good buddies. I'm sure these two will get into their fair share of trouble together.

His Aunt and Uncle came to meet him from Minnesota. I think they also wanted to see what life was really like with a newborn, being that they will be having two in January! We are looking forward to the arrival of Riley's first cousins! We had a great time getting out and about Portland, and just hanging at home.

His First Sunday of Football-- Brendan was trying to teach him the rules of the game, but he had a hard time staying awake. Already a Vikes fan, and apparently their good luck charm. Now I just need to teach him the fight song and we'll be set!

Friends stopped in to meet the little one and to bring Mom & Dad dinner! We are so lucky to have such a wonderful group of friends to help us make the transition into parenthood easier!

And our moral support from down under......

Yesterday was his first Doctors Appointment. The Dr was impressed with how much he has grown. He now weighs 9 lb 2oz and is 21in long. A full inch since birth! He is developing a strawberry on his head, just like I had as a newborn. It will more than likely grow until his 1st birthday and then start to fade.

That was about it for last week. This week Brendan had to return to work, which was a bummer for all of us. I know he wishes he could be a stay at home dad for awhile. Next week Grandma and Grandpa Flynn come to visit. I know they can hardly wait to get out here and meet their first grandchild.