Growth update and a first!

We had our 4 month check up today and we are proud to say:
Weight: 14 pounds 4 ounces--41st percentile
Height: 24 3/4 inches--49th percentile
Go Zack!!

Zack also had his second round of immunizations (yes, we believe in immunizing our child, if you don't, that is your thing, but please keep your comments to yourself) and he did great! He cried a little bit but was back to his happy hungry self shortly there after!

Tonight we had a first...Zack ate rice cereal for dinner with his bottle! He loved it and scarfed it down! He had an 8 ounce bottle (1 tsp rice cereal for every 2 ounces of formula) and then fell soundly to sleep (not in his crib, but that's another story for later!)...and we have officially switched over to 100% formula feeding. My body just couldn't keep up with the Little Porker's nutritional demands! It is kind of sad because BF is such a bonding experience between a Mother and her child, but at the same time, Zack is becoming a big boy and this is just one of the many steps in growing up/letting go ... again, sniff sniff, sob sob!!!! :-( I now realize why people start trying for #2 so soon...you just miss that little infant of yours!

Vacation Pics

Wanted to add a few more pics of our vacation to Scottsdale. We ended up having a really great time, and laughed alot about how life has changed for us. Our days were spent tag teaming who stayed in with the baby while the other went to the gym and/ sat outside in the sun/ took a trip down the lazy river. In the afternoons, we could all hang out on the balcony and read, relax, listen to music etc, as it was shaded. Every night we hit the complimentary happy hour for mommys 2 glasses of chard and daddys 2 pints of beer. Zack was a pro at hanging out in his stroller for that hour and a half while we watched the sunset and listened to the bag-piper....I think that was my favorite time of day. The resort is beautiful at night and the weather is really nice once the sun sets. We can't wait to go back when Zack is 4 so he can go play in the kids club. The kids appeared to be having a GREAT time, playing in the water park, waterballoon contests, egg tossing contests etc.

Zack slept in the Westin supplied crib, not quite the Heavenly Bed that Mom and Dad slept in, but comfy enough to do the trick...I don't want to jinx it, but he did very well and we are looking forward to his first night in the crib tonight...wish us luck!

Oh, and I had an amazing birthday! I worked out, was pampered at the spa, hung by the pool with a frozen vodka lemonade (while Jeff and Zack hung out on the balcony just above, it was quite funny!!), and after Z went to sleep we had an amazing filet and lobster dinner with gorgonzola mac n cheese and a bottle of Cakebread Cab...delish!!!!

The view from our balcony

Sunset over the golfcourse at happy hour
Z on the balcony in his favorite chair. He has gotten quite stubborn lately and wants to hold his own bottle but doesn't do so well so Jeff put the pillow there to assistMet up with Skip, an old friend from high school. He didn't win the award for most awkward...in fact he did quite well
An old friend from Atlanta, Misty at her house in Phoenix

Misty made me the BEST home made birthday cake I have ever tasted (sorry Mom)...we celebrated with them on Saturday afternoon poolside with beer back chickens on the grill...yummy!!!!
Jason (Misty's hubby) trying to teach Z the difference between his bottle and a beer can

Hello from Scottsdale, AZ

We are on our first family vacation and it took all of maybe an hour before we realized that perhaps Scottsdale and 105 degree weather was a bad idea for Zack. The resort is great and we got upgraded to essentially a studio apartment right by the pool. However, the highlights of the Westin Kierland are the golf course and the pools, but we don't have clubs and Zack isn't quite the sun worshiper his parents are (yet). We took him to the pool, but had to find seats in the shade, sitting in the water was too bright (even with new sunglasses and a hat on), and worst of all, Mom was too overprotective and wouldn't let Zack ride on the Lazy River...Boo!

So we need to figure out how to vacation without laying out at the pool beer in hand all day trying to see who can get the better tan. The saloon here has shufflepuck, which was fun. We went for a walk to grab lunch today. We alternated who sat on the patio tanning while the other played with Zack in the room. Needless to say, we're grasping at straws for what to do without overheating the little guy. We got brochures for the botanical gardens, zoo, American Indian museum, and Frank Lloyd Wrights home, so I figure over the next few days we'll hit a couple of them. The woman also recommended a bunch of malls, so I hid that info from Jess just to be safe.

Anyway, here are some pics.

Sometimes it's just too hot to wear clothes.
Zack's jail...I mean crib
"Shine...we've got a shine problem here. Someone get this kid some powder."
Why is Mommy still taking pictures of me?
Seriously, I have to wear all this crap just to go outside?!?!

The latest happenings with the West Coast Goslin's

Just thought I should post for our few loyal fans, as it has been a week! :-)

We had a fabulous quiet weekend! It was our first weekend without guests in about a month...we have loved having the company, but it was nice to have our house to ourselves. We thought we were in for a nice, lazy relaxing weekend, but who are we talking about here people...we don't sit still! We got a wii on Friday...and boy is that thing dangerous...we've owned it for 3 days and I think we are officially addicted! We didn't leave the house at all on Saturday...we played tennis, golf, bowling, yoga, hula hoop, running, etc...you name it, we played it. Then suddenly it was 8pm and we realized we had nothing prepared for dinner ...hahaha! So our Sat. night din din consisted of take out burritos and a bottle of cheap red wine...classy!

Today, in our never ending quest for warmth and sunshine, we left the city and went out to the 'burbs for The Bay Area BBQ Cook Off...the food was amazing and the weather was just how we like it...HOT! To continue the classy theme, we immersed ourselves in the suburban CA BBQ lovin' culture...jean shorts, cut off shorts, Nascar hats, 24oz beers etc. I was definitely overdressed in the below dress and flip flops...hahahaha!

Dale is getting a little more comfortable around Zack...today he held him for a whole 4 minutes! Good job Dale!

Zack's latest: Zack is just growing up so fast! We stare at him and just can't believe he is already almost 4 months old. It is for sure the fastest 4 months of our lives. Tonight Jeff and I were reminiscing about middle of the night wake ups, nursing every 2 hours, and all of the napping Zack used to do. It seems so long ago!
These days our little guy eats about every 3 hours during the day, hates napping, but luckily for us sleeps through the night most of the time (from 7 or 8pm to 5:30 or 6am). It is amazing how rested I feel after 5-6 hours of sleep in a row!!! We'll see if these good sleep patterns continue when we start crib training him next week.

What else? Oh, the talking and cooing and giggling is just amazing and melts our hearts. He is so silly, and curious and just really animated these days. He likes to grab for anything and everything, and if he can hold onto it, it goes straight into his mouth. He loves watching the dogs and laughing when they come close to him. He is definitely a chatter box like his Mommy!

Yes, the sun and the moon revolve around little Zack in our household and we think that's just fine! Motherhood is all that everyone said it would be and more...and everyone is right, you can't really explain it until you are in it. Suddenly the things that used to be so important to us just aren't as important anymore. It sounds cheesy but life has more meaning for us now. I have become much more mellow, and much more flexible in my day to day life as a Mom. Not sure how I got off on that tangent, but it's true. Life is really great for us right now and we feel really lucky to have you all as a part of it!

Life is good--almost 3.5 months old

Uncle Gary and Aunt Laura came to visit this weekend. We are so glad they could make it out here to meet Zack...they have spent the last 3 months living in Germany and I am sure they are really excited to get home and get back to their normal lives.

We had another weekend of San Francisco fun! Zack is such an awesome baby and just loves being out and about! Saturday we went to Napa (yes folks, Zack's 3rd time!). It was the perfect day to get out of the city as it was cold and foggy here, but sunny and 80s out there. We went to Cosentino, Rutherford Hill, and Sullivan and had an excellent time!

Gary and Zack before Napa

Family photo at Cosentino--and yes, I chopped off my hair! I now have the full "Mom look"

Z enjoying his bottle while we enjoy our wine

Father and Son enjoying a burger at Taylor's--poor Zack is soaked!

Laura and Gary giving Zack a bottle at Sullivan--it was gorgeous there--and yes, Zack is in outfit #2 Jeff and Zack on the swing at Sullivan

Today we had gorgeous summer weather in the city so of course we went outside to enjoy the day! Gary and Laura went to the Giants/Dodgers game (notice stadium in the background) while Jeff, Zachary and I took a nice long walk and then relaxed in the park...a perfect summerday!

Jeff and Zack in the park--in the one shady spot we could find

Zack hanging out on his blankey--a smileand a close up

A quick note regarding bedtime using Jeff's "The Goslin Method"...it didn't work so well tonight! There was a little fussiness and crying tonight. That's okay...we'll try again tomorrow! I don't want to say it out loud to jynx us, but if Zack's only cying and crankiness is when we try to put him to sleep at night, we aren't doing so bad!!!

Sheer Genious!

Alright, so Jess has been giving me hell for not blogging in forever. I really didn't have any great stories to tell that she wasn't though. Now I've got one. We've talked to everyone about how Zack refuses to go to sleep and that we dread bedtime. We've argued over whether to let him "Cry It Out" or coddle him, but nothing seemed to work on our little social butterfly. I know it really upset Jess, because we were trying to get him in a routine and she has been so patient with him (beyond what either of us thought was possible), but nothing worked.

Last night Jess went to the spa for a massage and facial and when she got home she was ticked off that Zack was still awake. His bed time is 8pm and it was 7:40pm, which I pointed out. I was scolded because "his bedtime routine takes at least an hour." I protested that we were just relaxing and I'd put him to sleep. Lil' guy was down and out for the count within 10 minutes, which includes changing him and getting him ready for bed.

I was totally psyched and ready to trademark "The Goslin Method." Jess told me not to get ahead of myself thinking it was just a fluke. Then tonight after a great day up in Napa, The Goslin Method worked again! Seriously, I think I need to quit my job and write a book on this. Who would have ever thunk that ESPN, formula, and Dad were the perfect combo to get this little guy to sleep.

Now it just has to last and I need to find a publisher to give me a fat advance on the book. Send us any leads on that one.

My Girlfriend

Mom took me to see my girlfriend Sydney today. She is 2 weeks older then me and sits up a little bit better than I do, but we had lots of fun. Mom doesn't take pictures fast enough though...she was too slow to catch a single smile! Here we are hanging out on the couch in our "big kid pose".

Tummy Time

Mommy makes me do Tummy Time and I hate it!

We start off doing really well and then little by little lay down and roll over....oh well!

We'll try again tomorrow!

So Lucky!!!

So I have officially declared Jeff and I the luckiest people in the world!
We got into Daycare!!!!
Yay!!!! We applied way back in November and were told that we probably wouldn't get in as there is a very long wait list and they give priority to siblings yadda yadda yadda...then I called back in June just to confirm that we were still on the waitlist and to let them know Zack's birth date etc....the woman in charge told me once again not to get my hopes up, that there is very high demand for infant child care in the city bla bla bla...but low and behold, today she called and said they had an unexpected opening because one of their families is moving so they have one spot open. They wanted a baby born in April (mind you Zack is April 30th, so we JUST made it). She offered us the spot, and asked me to please let her know by Monday as there were 11 other families waiting for the spot after us!!! Can you believe it?! We are celebrating tonight! Do you know how much money that will save us every month...not to mention the benefits to Zack for being in an organized care situation...He will get to meet other children, practice socialization, participate in constructive activities for his development, and will be prepared for pre-school.

Of couse the ideal situation would be for me or Jeff, or one of our family members to care for Zack, but since that isn't an option, we are trting to get excited for this one. Of course I know the cons of a day care as well, but I have talked myself into thinking this is a good thing for us to try, at least for a few months, especially since we have money going into a flexible spending account for child care that we would lose if we hired an illegal nanny. I know it will be a pain in the butt to get out of the house every morning, and it will be tough to pick him up by 5:50 every afternoon, and he has the potential to get sick more often etc etc but we are so lucky to have gotten in that

we just need to take the opportunity and roll with it. There are, afterall disadvantages to having a nanny as well.