Where, Oh Where, Does the Time Go?

Please accept my apologies for not posting in such a long time (19 days). I'd like to say it's because we've been so busy with activities and accomplishments. Sadly, no such luck. Although every night we go to bed, exhausted and drained, it seems as if we've done nothing of significance. Take today for example. Bode woke up at 0500, a good hour considering he went to bed at 2300 (6 hours of continuous sleep). He's done this before, which is a good thing, although it's not yet a consistent habit. Ashley fed him, and the three of us promptly went back to sleep. Well, Bode went back to sleep. Ashley and I remained in that daze between sleep and wakefulness, debating whether we should get up but not quite summoning the motivation. Neither of us really knew how tired we'd be once we had a kid. In fact, when we sleep, we dream of sleeping.

Three restless hours passed. Even Auburn was feeling lazy, just sitting on her bed licking her paws. Eventually Bode woke back up and wanted to feed. Once this was done, we had to scamper because Ashley has been going to a 0915 aerobics class the past two weeks. The docs gave her the go-ahead to get back to exercising and she's working her tail off trying to take off that baby weight (her tail is where most of it currently resides). Bode has been going with her. While she does kick-boxing, he has a strict workout regime of sleep and more sleep. Bode is still in that phase where even the shortest of car rides knocks him out. To date, I don't think the gym day-care employees have seen his eyes open, and he's been there seven times. After we worked out, we came home and cleaned up taking advantage of the peace and quiet resulting from the soporific car ride. Around 1130, it was again time to feed, both Bode and then ourselves. After lunch, I really don't know what we did for an hour. Bode was fussy so a lot of that time was appeasing him. He'd cry and whail, and then gurgle and coo. Just when we thought he was fine, another wave would hit. I then volunteered to watch him so Ashley could run to the store. She's just returned and is again feeding the little man. So, we've been awake for 9+ hours today and all we've done is 1) gone to the gym; 2) showered; 3) run an errand and 4) fed and changed Bode a number of times. Not exactly a superlative list of accolades, huh? But, that being said, we certainly are enjoying our time with the little man.

Bode is doing great. His favorite time seems to be in the mornings. He makes all sorts of noises (vocal and other), and he'll smile a lot, especially at Ashley. I think Bode still sees me as a guy that hangs out with the milk lady. He's had a number of baths and seems to like it (except when Daddy made the water too hot). His head still flops around like an untethered buoy, but he is able to hold it up for a few seconds every now and then. I started going in regularly the second week of January, so Ashley has been taking care of Bode solo. My Mom did come out for a visit and Bode seemed to enjoy the extra attention.

We got him into the daycare facility next to my office, and he'll start that the second week of February when Ashley goes back to work. We've introduced one bottle feeding a day, which he took to without complaint. Ashley is both excited and dreading returning to work. I know she misses talking with adults during the day. However, since 28 November, she hasn't been away from Bode for more than two hours. To ease the transition, she plans on first working half days for a week, and then back full time.

I will try to post more often--pictures especially because I know most of you don't want to read my idiotic banter. I did get the following shot of Bode this morning. He was smiling right before this, but my pitiful abilities with the camera were not fast enough to catch it.
Pleasant MLK Day (a federal holiday for you non-government workers),