Planes, cousins and grandparents

What a neat adventure Julien and I had this past week. We took his first plane ride down to Ashland on Tuesday, consequently his aunt Jenny's due date.








Here's grandpa Conrad cuddling Julien Conrad.


Julien's oldest cousin, Karan, holding him along with uncle Koeby, cousins Bodhi and Bjorn.







Aunt Shaeny cuddling with cousin Gavin.







Grandpa Conrad with Grandma Holly making goats milk feta cheese with milk from their goats.


While we all escaped the heat at the reservoir Julien decided it would be the perfect place for an afternoon nap.











Happy, happy day! This was my favorite, having an alfresco Greek dinner on blankets in the back yard by the garden with the sprinklers on and the wind blowing. I've never been to Italy but this is how I would imagine it (except with lots of wine and tomatoes).






Aunt Caelin patiently following cousin Gavin who has become an extremely quick crawler, even in the tall grass.







How cute is this...grandpa Conrad holding 12 month old Gavin and 2 1/2 month old Julien.






Fiona has had quite a bit of experience; she is waiting on the arrival of her newest brother any day. Still the only girl cousin, someone will need to remedy that sometime soon...






Julien fell asleep on aunt Jenny's pregnant belly...he's saying hurry up little cousin, once you get here I won't be the youngest anymore. These two will only be 3 months apart, once he decides to make his appearance, he is already 6 days late!

He's a chunker

We went to our two month "well baby" check up, Julien now weighs 13 lbs 15.4 ounces and he is 23 inches long! He is a big guy. This is all good though according to the doc, since he is breastfed. I can't get over the fact that he's almost twice his birth weight. Julien is definitely filling out, he even has fat rolls at his wrists! Our pediatrician also said that he is pretty ahead of schedule as far as rolling over and muscle development, and that we are going to have to baby-proof the house sooner rather than later. I can't believe we're already talking about his mobility...he's an infant. *Note the appropriate shirt daddy's friend Michael Nuckles sent, Julien agrees.

Happy birthday cousin Gavin...we can't believe you are one already!

Auntie Annika just got abck form Brazil and got to hang out
with the little one for a few days, he was a big fan of her.We decided it would be just fine if she dismissed all her ambitious academic plans and became our live-in nanny for free. Right Annika?


















Julien got to go on an outing with 5-month old Ada and her mom. Ada was also in utero during her mom and I's prenatal yoga class and water aerobics class. We took a long walk at Columbia park and enjoyed a temperate Portland day.














Uncle Tony took the train out from Texas and taught Julien his first bit of math through osmosis. He read a nap time story that Julien rather enjoyed, a fascinating article out of the latest National Geographic about blue holes in the Bahamas. Julien seemed fascinated and watched Tony with intrigue during his entire visit.















Jules also had a short but sweet visit with Auntie Emily and uncle Aaron who just got back form Japan. He showed them his powerful lungs and they told us a little about their awesome adventures. We were given a neat little creation by Emily on a loom (her first attempt I believe) and a sweet picture made with cloth from old kimonos worn by Japanese ladies. Arigatō Emily and Aaron.







Look at how sweet our little boy is...he is bringing mom a sprig of lavender. Just like his dad.

Why didn't anyone tell me?

I have moments where my heart is so full it's abounding with love for our son. Moments where I can't believe he's here and he's ours. I feel like I might explode with joy and happiness for this little guy... It's pretty great.



Sometimes he's angelic.



Sometimes serious and thoughtful.



And sometimes inquisitive...



I have to give a shout out to my sister Shaeny and brother Torrey who turned 22 on Saturday the 10th. I was thinking about birthdays, which really have new meaning to me now, and how I was there for their birth. It's an extremely vivid memory which I can recall in great detail, probably much more vividly than my mom. Daniel and I happened to sit outside on the front porch that evening (gotta love NW summer nights) after Julien had fallen asleep and talked about the birth...it was only a few months ago yet it feels like a world away.




Julien has been really into sucking on his hand as of late. I always wondered how kids became thumb-suckers, which I'm not sure he will be, apparently it's a self-soothing method. He get's like half his hand in his mouth at a time!




So, one of our afternoon activities is "tummy time". I bring out the awesome quilt grandma Couch made for him, lay him on his back and coo, talk to him, smile, take pictures and just adore him. Then he gets a few minutes on his stomach to strengthen his back and neck muscles. He has been pushing up on his arms, holding up his head and looking around. AND he recently realized he could roll himself over onto his back. I know, I know... every baby goes through this but I guess when it's your own everything he does seems amazing.



This past Sunday we went to our neighborhood block party. Let me just say--we have the BEST neighbors (mostly). I think we would both agree we would love to buy a house here if the opportunity arose. This photo is in the driveway of Tom and Mary's house, Mary is holding Julien in the middle. Julien was Mr. mellow and let anyone hold him. I know it's a while until they start getting anxious about strangers, but it's really nice to hand him off once and a while and let everyone adore him.


When our neighbor, Ava, was asked what she wanted face-painted on her, she said she wanted to be Daniel. AAahaha! She looks great--except, I think--she has a little too much hair.

We made it through the first two months!

At Julien's two week check up he was 10 pounds already! The boy knows how to eat.

We decided to start taking his picture on the eighth of every month, to put his growth in perspective and...we thought it would be cool. Here are month one and two:



One of our first outings was a fancy dinner for Kimary's birthday when Julien was three weeks old. I was pretty nervous! But I know we could always just leave. He ended up being super mellow and hung out in the sling. I did have my first attempt at breast feeding in public under a shawl, that was challenging.



We recently discovered a collection of food carts near our house in North Portland at the intersection of Greely and Killingsworth. There is an amazing breakfast taco cart called "Brown Chicken Brown Cow" who's owner happens to be from Austin. I was excited for the tacos but secretly I was hoping this would convince Daniel he will learn to love Portland.





The other weekend the weather finally started turning nice. So we had a lovely picnic at Kenton park during the "North Portland Parkways" where 8 miles of road are closed to cars and everyone emerges from their houses to walk/ride/skate through the neighborhood. Julien was a happy little camper in his front Bjorn-type carrier. For some reason he's being very choosy with his baby wearing apparatus. Samba-the-neglected got to come too.






July arrived and the first couple of days we were wearing pants and hoodies! This has been the coldest and rainiest June and July on the books for Portland--we all really wanted some sun--and we got it. This last week we have had a heatwave, setting new record highs! What a crazy jump. Julien is slightly confused but handling the heat like a champ.

Kimary, Christy, Julien and I went to cool off at the beach on Sauvie island. Julien's first beach adventure. It's amazing how everything takes a lot more planning, time, forethought and flexibility. I was having a hard time with the wind and sand together, and trying to keep the sun off of Julien...it was a challenge and not so relaxing. But I'm glad we went.















Today I discovered another thing I love about Portland. At the Kennedy School on NE 33rd, in their $3 theater they have "mommy matinees". It was 100 degrees outside and all I wanted was for Julien and I to be able to go someplace air conditioned. I was nervous about taking him to a movie but they advertised that at the mommy matinee babies can fuss and cry and...it's okay! It was fantastically cool, and Julien was, by far, not the noisiest baby there. The movie, "Date Night" was over the top and cheesy but, that really didn't matter. We were cool.

The birth and family

I can't believe it's only been eight short weeks since Julien was in my belly.

It seems fitting somehow to start a blog about Julien on his two month birthday. I am hoping that since many of our family and friends don't live in the same city as us those who read this will be able to peek into his quickly evolving life. And even if you are a Portlander, we all get busy and "they grow up so fast".

Well, these last two months have been a little bit of a blur, but everyone says that's to be expected. The most fitting comparison I have heard is that the days go very slowly as the weeks fly by.


Right after I hit my due date of May 2nd, I found out I was going to be induced. This process lasted a bit longer than anticipated (five days) but ended with a very healthy baby and mommy. With as little medical intervention as we could manage and no pain medication Julien Conrad Couch was born after about 7 hours of labor and about half an hour of pushing. My dad Conrad was there the four days prior to the birth, my mom Holly, Daniel and Kimary were all their leading up to and during Juien's arrival.


Right from the very beginning Julien knew exactly where to go for food. It amazed me that moments after he arrived we placed him on my chest and he started rooting. Eyes closed and barely a few minutes old he found it and latched on.



Julien was born on May 8th 2010 at 3am sharp. He weighed around 8 pounds, measured 21 inches long with a 14.25 inch circumference head.

We arrived home on mother's day, one week after being admitted. We all were exhausted but feeling a little bit more human once again. I have never felt so relieved to be in the comfort of my own home.

For the first week after Julien was born my mom was here to help, and it was so needed. I ended up coming home from the hospital with a chest cold. What a combination with a brand new baby, I was the one who needed to be taken care of. I was sad to see Holly leave but she had taken almost two weeks (more than expected) off to help out, and she had to get back to finish out the school year.

Amazing dould, friend, and now truly a part of our family, auntie Kimary.

Mama Couch was so excited to fly out from Texas to see her first little grand-baby.

He did a lot of this.


His giant, aunt Andrea, who will teach him lot's of important things.


Julien and daddy being rockers.


Namesake, grandpa Conrad. Julien rather enjoyed the guitar.


Very pregnant aunt Jenny and uncle Koeby paid a visit. Julien got to hang out on mama's belly and got kicked a few times by his new cousin who will only be a few months younger than him. There are definitely summer trips to be had for the country cousin and the city cousin.

The superman hold, taught by aunt Jenny, is a lifesaver for Daniel.


One of his first "real" smiles. What a GREAT reward after the sleepless nights and screaming fits that can drive a mother batty. But this just makes it all good.


A very happy mama!

I can't even begin to express my gratitude and amazement for all the meals brought over for us during those first several, trying weeks. As I was healing and we were (are) getting adjusted to having Julien in our life, that helped SO much. Beyond that, seeing so many of our friends who have stopped by to play bocce, hang out, hold Julien, share a meal...it reminds me that life is not over when you have a kid but that it just takes a little more work and the support and the understanding of your friends. Julien is a lucky man to have such good people who care about him.

Already pushing himself up on his arms and holding his head at a little over 1 month old.

Wearing the sweater (yes, a sweater in JUNE) his auntie Lindsey knitted for him.

Aunt Caelin, uncle Dan and Cousin Gavin also made the trip all the way from Ashland in late March. It was wonderful to see them all and feel so loved and supported. I can't believe that Gavin will be 1 this month! He is ridiculously adorable and very mobile, crawling and investigating things as well as pulling himself up to stand. It makes me realize how soon that will be Julien and to appreciate every day of his baby-ness.