Sully Swims!

Okay, so he doesn't really swim. But it's pretty fun to get into the water with him.

Here he is playing in the water with dad. Our doctor says swim lessons are great, cheaper and better than a fence around the pool.

Sorry for the long delay between posts (last May!), but life has been really busy for us. We've been adjusting to life in Woodland and Jon's new Monday through Friday gig.

Dad goes to Alaska - Letters from home - Day 4

Email number four from the boy.  This one is short... but so sweet!

P.S.  We are headed out for our first family camping trip this weekend. Hence, there is definitely promise for excellent pictures and stories to be posted next week! 

Hi Dad,

Today is Wednesday, but Mom was really tired last night, so we didn’t get to write before we went to bed. Well, actually, I fell asleep on her while I was nursing, and stayed there pretty much all night long.  

Stosh and Melinda came over last night and we played Scrabble.  This was my big word for the game... In honor of you.

We miss you lots, Dad.  I hope the fishing is getting better, but I am sure you are having a good time.

Will write more tonight.  Maybe something interesting will happen today that I can write about tonight. You never know with Grandma around.  She’s awesome!

Lots of love and hugs,

Sully and Mom 

Dad goes to Alaska - Letters from home - Day 3

Email number three from Sully while I was in Alaska.  What  a kid!

Dear Dad,

Big news... I finally got up the courage to profess my love for Lola, the Lobster.  I told her in 2 languages that she was Lovely.  I feel so free now... we can move on with our relationship and really get to know each other.  Women are so hard to understand.  How do you do it, Dad?  I think she’s happy, but it’s hard to tell.  I mean, look at the photo of her in my lap in the swing.  She’s smiling, we’re laughing and counting to five in English and Spanish.  It was a good time.  Then I wanted to listen to my duck play symphony music (see other photo), and I think Lola got jealous.  How can I make her understand that the duck is just a duck... just friends... and that I really only have eyes for her?  Oh, I wish you were here to help me with this.  I hope it doesn’t go sour before Saturday!

Check out my tummy time picture.  I got this sweet new wrist rattle today at Whole Foods!  Other than the score on the rattle, the trip to Whole Foods was largely unexciting.  It’s groceries.  Really.  What is there for me to get excited about?  I can’t eat any of the stuff that Mom buys anyway.  I pulled a good one while we were there... you would have been proud.  Mom left Grandma in the foofy-soap aisle to browse, with me, while she went to get some buttermilk.  As soon as Mom was out of sight, I started screaming, held my breath, made my face turn all red... it was quite an attention-getter!  By the time Mom got back with the buttermilk, Grandma was almost in a lather, and there were about five people staring at me wondering what was wrong.  It was great!  I was fine... just needed to make sure everyone was paying attention. 

Red dog says to tell you hello.  Mom took a picture of her today.  She had a bath yesterday, so she doesn’t stink half as bad as she did before.  Wesley came over today and took her for a walk.  Mom was glad of that, because since Mom tried to rip her toe off, it has been hard for her to walk a lot.  That means she couldn’t take Selkie for a walk, and you know how she is if she doesn’t get her exercise.  Oh, and she threw up on the carpet.  That made Mom swear. 

Mom misses you a lot.  I think I saw her crying a little bit today, but she didn’t want me to see.  She muttered something about how it was going to be a long week, and how she is counting the days until you get back.  I don’t know why she is counting them.  You come back on Saturday, and she could just look at a calendar to see how many more days it is.  Oh these women... Dad, being the only guy in the house is hard!

Well, Mom needs to shower, so I guess I will wrap this up.  I haven’t been sleeping all night since you’ve been gone.  I’m practicing getting up at 3 and 4 am to go fishing, just in case you want to go when you get back.  That way I will be ready.

We hope you are catching lots of fish and having a good time.  Miss you lots.  Can’t wait to see you on Saturday!

Lots of love and big hugs,

Sully and Mom (and Selkie)   

Dad goes to Alaska - Letters from home - Day 2

Here is the second in the series of emails that Sully sent me while I was in Alaska.

Dear Dad,

Mom is pretty tired tonight, so I think I will have to keep this short.  She had a long day at work.  Matter of fact, she didn’t even get home until almost 6:00pm.  I missed her a lot while she was at work, but me and Grandma had a good day.  We played with Lola (remember, she’s the cute lobster... I still haven’t professed my love... I have to work up to that), and we watched the fan, and we sang and talked a lot.  Grandma pays lots of attention to me.  I like that.

I heard you caught a fish today.  That’s good, because if your new hat came home smelling like skunk, it might make me cry!  I sure hope you are taking lots of pictures so I can see all the fish you catch.

Today there are only three pictures attached.  One needed cropping (the tummy time one), but Mom was too tired to do it, so she just put it in “as is”.  But check out my reach!  I’m practically standing up!  The other one I took of myself (ok, I didn’t, but it looks like it, doesn’t it?).  And the last one is of me sleeping on Grandma’s lap.  That’s one of my new favorite things to do.  I get real fussy near bedtime, and Grandma totally falls for the “I need a little pre-bedtime nap” cry, so she holds me and rocks me, and I get a little nap in before I have to take my bath and have dinner.  You know, I don’t really need the nap, but Grandma really likes to hold me, so I figure I owe her that 30 minutes of holding-Sully-bliss for all the poopy diapers she changes. 

Let’s see... What else did we do today?  Um... We had Mexican for dinner.  I was super good during dinner. I smiled and played with my cow the whole time.  Ahhh, the ladies at the Mexican restaurant love me.  I’m hot, what can I say?

Well, Mom is about to crash, so I better wrap this up.  Tomorrow should be a big day.  I hear we are going grocery shopping.  We’ll try to work in some more pictures tomorrow, and maybe Mom can do a better job with editing.

We miss you a lot, Dad.  

Love and big hugs,

Sully and Mom 

Dad goes to Alaska - Letters from home - Day 1

While I was away in Alaska last week, Sully learned to email.  Every night, he would email me with an update of his day's activities.  He would also attach pictures, because he insisted that Mom take pictures every day so that I wouldn't forget what he looked like, or miss anything important.  I'm positive the child is gifted.

Here is the first day's email:

Hi Dad,

You’ve only been gone since this morning, but we miss you a lot already.  Mom cried in the car after she dropped you off at the airport, because she held it as long as she could... She didn’t want you to see her cry while you were leaving for your trip.  Other than that little bit of a rough start to our day, it’s been really good.

Grandma came today, so we had to go to the airport twice.  That wasn’t my favorite, because the elevator at the airport was broken, so Mom had to carry me in my stroller up and down the stairs.  She’s strong as an ox, Dad.  If I were you, I’d be careful.  She could beat you up!  I mean, I know she wouldn’t, but she could.  Scary strong, I tell ya.

After we picked Grandma up, we went to Cheesecake Factory for lunch.  Not really all that exciting for me, but the ladies seemed to enjoy it.  Then we went to Babies R Us.  Ugh.  Thankfully, Grandma stayed in the car with me while Mom went in to get what she needed.  She got a couple things for my stroller, so now I don’t have to sit on a blanket.  That’s pretty sweet.  Will you take me for a ride when you get home?  You’ll like what she’s done with it.  She also got a sunshade for the car window, some other crap, and... best of all... she got me a new toy and a new book.  The attached pictures show me and Grandma with my new toy, Lola the Lobster.  She counts to five in English and Spanish.  She’s red... and I think she’s kinda pretty.  Maybe she’ll be my girlfriend.  I don’t know... I’m kinda shy to ask her, but I will keep you posted on how that’s going, ok?  The book is a cool book about things on a farm, and it has stuff I can touch.  I like that.  You can see my new book in one of the pictures too.   

The other pictures are:

-of me and Grandma getting re-acquainted.  Boy, I’ve missed her.  She’s soft, and sweet, and she smells like a Grandma.  (That’s a good smell, by the way.)    

-of me stretching my arms over my head when I was waking up from a nap.  Again, something I do all the time.  She muttered something about how she knows that you think that’s “so cute” while she was taking the picture.  I mean, really... I take a crap and she thinks it’s cute.  I sure do have it good. 

-of me sucking on my finger.  Mom thought that was really cute, so she took a picture of it.  I don’t know why she was so impressed.  I mean, I do it all the time.  But whatever makes her happy, and keeps her from crying cause you’re not here.  Women.  Sheesh. 

Well, it is getting late so I better get to bed.  Mom has to work tomorrow.  I’m staying with Grandma tomorrow.  Hopefully she will play with Lola the Lobster with me.  Whoa.  I gotta quit thinking about that Lola, or else I won’t be able to sleep!  

We hope you are having an awesome time in Alaska, and that you are catching lots of fish.  We also hope someone is taking lots of pictures of you while you are gone, pictures with all your fish, and with all your cool new Fish Pond stuff.

Will write more tomorrow.  Headed to bed now in my new larger swaddle suit (another thing mom got at Babies R Us).  Lots more room.  Now I can stretch my feet out.  It’s good.

Night night, Dad.

Love you... the most!

Sully and Mom  

Goodbye winter

A couple of weeks ago we loaded up the Volvo and headed to the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River for a hike.  We took our friend Wendy, her dog Ingo, our dog Selkie, and of course we bundled up the little guy and took him too.  Note his SWEET outdoor wear in the photo above.  Fleece suit courtesy of his Auntie Kellie, Patagonia fleece hat and booties courtesy of his Uncle Anson.  Oh, and the AWESOME Kelty carrier from the Heaveners... which has come in handy from everything to snowy hikes (pictured here) to doing the dishes when Sully needed to be held but the dishes also needed to be done (read: the kitchen was starting to smell bad).  There wasn't a ton of snow, except on the road, which made for a bumpy ride. Wendy sat in the back with Sully, and described the look on his face as we went bumpety-bump over the potholes and snow as a look of "sheer terror".  We think that might have been a slight exaggeration, but he can be pretty dramatic sometimes, so maybe not.

 

We took turns carrying the little guy... he gets heavy these days. Last time he was at the doctor, he weighed in at a whopping 11 pounds!  

He enjoyed the hike, as far as we could tell, as did the rest of us. Probably the last of the snow, at least the last that we will see. Now we are hoping for some warmer weather, and maybe even some sunshine!  C'mon spring!

Two hospitals, a virus, and seven stitches. But don't worry... Mom's ok.

It's been a busy few days.  

It started on Friday (yes, the 13th) evening at California Pizza Kitchen, where Sully demonstrated his prowess in the Olympic event of projectile vomiting.  His distance was about four feet, and the volume was impressive as well.

As there was no fever, and it appeared he was otherwise okay, the doctor didn't think it was an emergency.  She instead offered some ideas on making his belly more comfortable.  Among them, a bottle of chamomile tea and a bath seemed to work best.

Day two brought another single Olympic training exercise, as did day three, both times as impressive as the first (he's gold medal material, we tell ya). Our doctor is really great about getting us in on short notice, so we saw her late on Monday evening.  She suspected that Sully had a virus and asked us to go the hospital sometime during the night to have some blood drawn.  We decided to go after Jon's soccer game (because, as is our MO, we were already late for the game).

Apparently, Jon didn't want to waste a trip to the hospital (he is really learning to multitask), so he managed to catch an elbow and open a rather nasty gash on his nose.  Again, I offered to stitch it up for free... again, he declined.

About 11:00 pm, we headed to the hospital closest to us, Valley Medical Center, to get Sully's blood drawn.  Hitting a vein in a pudgy, squirmy, sick two month old is a little like stabbing fishing line in bacon grease.  There were big tears and a trembling lip.  Sad, but so darn cute.  (For full view of "the lip", see the Sad Sully post earlier in the month.)  

After the blood draw, we walked to the ER to get some stitches for Jon.  The ER was packed, standing room only, looked like something out of a NYPD Blue meets ER syndicate.  Just think g-h-e-t-t-o.  (Really, I thought I was in New York City!) We decided to head up to Overlake Hospital, about 15 minutes away, in Bellevue.  It was a good decision, we were in and out of there in about an hour.

After all the trauma, dad still found time the next day to tidy up the house.  He's sweet like that.  I caught him and Sully doing a little vacuuming...

The cleaning must have worn Sully out; he slept for five hours in a stretch last night... in his crib!  Oh how I love my boys.

JSB times three

Many folks have asked if Sully is a "junior", since he has the same initials as his dad.  But what most people don't know is that he also has the same initials as his dad's dad.  We wanted to honor Sully's grandpa, and his dad, by naming him with a name that shares the initials JSB, but like his dad, by giving him a middle name that allowed him some individuality.  Hence, grandpa is Jon Servi Bial, dad is Jon Steven Bial and Sully is Jon Sullivan Bial.  JSB times three. Three generations of wonderful, loving, beautiful boys.  What a blessing.

Sleepy time

Shhhhh.... the baby is sleeping.  Is there anything more peaceful, more precious, or more adorable than a sleeping baby? 

Maybe when they fall asleep in your arms... that's pretty awesome.

Or when you get to cuddle with them in the wee hours of the morning, listening to their peaceful breathing, occasionally sharing a sleepy smile...

We are incredibly thankful to have been given such an amazing gift. First, we found each other, and didn't think that much could top the happiness that we shared together.  Now, we have Sully, and find a new bit of wonder and joy with him each and every day.  God is indeed good, and we have living proof of it.

Out and about in Seattle with Papa

We got to see a lot of things around Seattle while Papa was here visiting. We didn't want him to get bored!
Sully attended his first sports event with his Papa. UW vs Seattle U... It was a complete blowout, UW beat the pants off of Seattle U.This is largely owed, we are sure, to Sully's loud cheering from the nosebleed section of the arena.

We also visited the Museum of Flight, and toured the vintage Air Force One that's on display there. You can't see his hands under the blanket (it was coooold outside!), but Sully is giving you the Nixon peace symbol that was characteristically given every time Nixon boarded the craft. Wait... Sully says, "Nixon who?"

Sully really enjoyed hanging out with Papa each evening after a day on the town. We think Papa enjoyed hanging out with Sully too.

Sad Sully

Nana Judy had to stay in Nashville while Papa Ron came to visit.Sully was sad that he wouldn't get to meet her, but then we got even worse news not long after Papa arrived... Nana had fallen on the steps outside their house and broken her ankle! Poor Nana! She had to have surgery on Wednesday to fix her leg. The photo above is Sully's reaction when he heard the news.

Sully heard that Nana was wearing UGG boots when she fell. He recommends sturdier shoes next time, maybe something stylish yet supportive like these sweet boots from Baby Gap. (Thanks again, Noah, for the awesome footwear.) Sully says to tell Nana that when she gets her cast off, she can borrow his boots. He will probably have outgrown them by then.

Get well soon Nana!

Papa Ron comes to Seattle

Papa Ron came last Tuesday from Nashville to meet Sully.

Papa Ron is a coach, so Sully wore his sportiest Nike outfit to meet him at the airport.  (Thanks, Noah, for the hand-me-down!)

Auntie B

Sully's Auntie B had to leave before everyone else got there, but got to spend some time with the little guy on Friday night and Saturday morning.

Sully also got to meet his cousin Piper.  She was such a good helper, and had fun feeding and holding Sully.

Sunday

Just thought we'd post a few pictures from the Sunday after the shower.  These folks stayed for the post-shower slumber party, and Grandpa Jon cooked a yummy breakfast to send everyone off.  

Sully takes a shower

Sully had a party last Saturday.  He wanted to say thanks and show you some photos.

He also wanted to point out how it was his looks that carried some of the shots.  Arrogant little guy, wonder where he gets it?

More pictures are available here:

Bath time

Today (Friday) was the first time we could give Sully a real bath.  It took both of us to do it properly, so the only photos are after the event.  He seemed to enjoy it.  Well, ok, maybe not enjoy, but he didn't scream the whole time.  This is definite progress from the sponge baths.

He celebrated being clean by peeing all over the bathroom.

Check out the hair. 

I've tried to tell him to pace himself.  At the rate he is growing and producing hair, he may peak too soon and end up short and bald by age 13!

Have kid, will travel...

We decided to show Grandma a little of downtown Seattle.  We started with shooters at Elliot's Oyster Bar, bought some fruit at Pike Place Market and then ended at the wonderful Chocolate Box.  Sully did fine, but Grandma got a little worn out!

It was a fantastic day for being out.

The market is full of characters.

The beautiful Kris Ann (and Sully too!)

A dog photo in honor of the Trisler's new pup Townsend.

I snapped this right before we headed home.