Pay Attention to your Mother

After a busy day out in Berkeley, Ryan was spending some quality time on Lisa's lap.  It is so fascinating to see how he looks at her, the faces he makes, and how well he's holding his head up these days.

LIttle Photographer

Thanks to the New Jersey Grandparents, Ryan is a step closer to taking up one of his Dad's hobbies.  He got his first camera in the mail yesterday.  

I Don't Want to go Shopping

Clearly, Ryan was not thrilled about going to the store with Mommy. But when Lisa showed me the pictures, the outfit was just too cute to leave out.

Interesting "Toys"

I am pretty sure i didn't have anything like this when I was a kid (right Mom?). These little guys help make Ryan aware of his hands and feet. Looks like they're doing they're job so far.

Making Faces

Just a couple picture of Ryan showing off a few of his funny looks.

Seven Weeks and Counting

Ryan celebrated turning 7 weeks old with a nice nap today. Mommy got these pics shortly after he woke up. He's really making a new friend in the apartment too.

Smile and Wave

We are pretty sure that Ryan is starting to smile these days. The big problem is catching it on camera. Both Lisa and I have given it a shot and these are the closest we could get.

Getting Bigger

We're still two weeks away from Ryan's next official weigh-in (and shots) but he's definitely starting to fill out. The chubby baby cheeks have arrived and the rolls are forming on the arms an legs.

More Pictures Available

All of the pictures on the blog are my favorites from everything we've taken of Ryan. I've received enough requests from people to see more of them and those wacky grandparents wanted an easy way to order prints. So.....I've set up a second webpage. This one will have all of our pictures of Ryan, plus others from taken here in CA and around the world. The site will be a work in progress as well as a get around to uploading more stuff.

check us out at our other home on the web zolandzfamily.smugmug.com

Ryan's Gaining an Aunt

Lisa, Ryan and I want to extend our congratulations to Lisa's brother Tom and his now-fiancee Nicole. They got engaged on Saturday. They are looking forward to a wedding in 2008 and we are looking forward to welcoming Nicole into the family. We can't wait for Ryan to meet them and are really excited that he is going to have another Aunt!! Congrats guys, we love you both.

Color Coordinated

I don't think any little boy's wardrobe is complete without his first pair of OshKosh B'Gosh overalls. Lisa does a great job of keeping him looking good for his days outside. I especially like the matching "shoes". I haven't mentioned this to her yet, but the fact that the outfit is Red and Blue is a great touch :) Thanks, dear.

Larger Than Life

That's really the only way to describe this picture of Ryan. You may recognize this as a cropped version of a picture earlier in the blog. The only difference is that this one is printed at 35 x 45 inches. I'm glad to see that my camera can handle the enlargement :) We got a new photo printer at work and needed to run a couple test prints. Sometimes being the supervisor has its benefits.

Six Weeks Old

The little guy is six weeks old today. It is so amazing watching him grow and change. His face is becoming more expressive. He's started reaching for toys, staring at our faces....all of the things that make children so amazing. I am also having a ton of fun with my new(ish) camera. Today I decided to play with a remote triggered flash. Hope you all enjoy them.

All Warapped Up

Lisa's new Moby wrap has became the preferred mode of transportation for Ryan. He fits in nice and snug, can take a nap, look up at Mommy or check out his surroundings.

Discovering Toys

We've realized that Ryan is still a little young to completely get the hang of tummy time. He'll squirm around for a bit, hold his head up for a while, but doesn't really enjoy it. But, when we put him on his back he immediately started checking out the toys above him. The butterfly lights up and plays music - just enough excitement to captivate a 6 week old.

Looking for Mommy

After changing into pajamas, Ryan just needs one more little meal before bedtime.

Relaxing

I really wonder what's going through his head at times like these.

We just got him a new chair. I am not sure what its intended purpose is, but we use it to allow mom and dad to actually eat dinner together.

A visit to the Lab

Mom brought Ryan to the lab for the first time this afternoon. I am not sure if we have a future Criminalist on our hand since he slept through most of it but still had a good time. It was nice to see him during the day instead of just after work. Thanks Mom!

Trying the Crib

We finally decided to give Ryan a chance to take a nap in his crib. It didn't last as long as Mom would have liked, but he still seemed to enjoy it.

Check Out the Poll

Depending on the light, angle, etc., Ryan's hair takes on quite a few different colors. Of course, it may all fall out and all bets are off, but I want to see what all of you think. Check out the poll on the left and let us know what color you think he'll end up with. Feel free to look back on other pictures of him and your general knowledge of me, Lisa and genetics.

A Trip to the Street Fair

Every year, the towns of Berkeley and Albany close of a big street and have a street fair/concert event called Solano Stroll (it's Solano Avenue that gets closed). We took Ryan up there this afternoon to cruise around in the stroller or the sling. Clearly, the festivities weren't all that exciting for him.

Welcome to football season

In honor of the first full day of the NFL season, I wanted to get Ryan all set to watch the Cowboys. Normally, Lisa doesn't like me to post pictures of Ryan upset, but given her hatred for all things sports related (I love you, honey) she gladly snapped this photo. In my defense, Ryan hadn't eaten in a few hours. Hopefully, he'll learn to love the star soon enough.

A Quick Happy Birthday

Before we get back to our regularly scheduled posting, I wanted to wish a very happy birthday to Ryan's Grandma Zolandz. Hope you had a great one, Mom.

This Post Has Nothing to do With Ryan

I went to work on Friday and when I got home, I realized that Lisa had done a magic trick while I was gone. She has done this before, and its one of her best tricks. We call it the Incredible shrinking dog - meet the new skinny Igor.


I also wanted to introduce you all to the last member of our family. As the oldest sibling, she hasn't adjusted to having a new baby brother. That's why I don't have any pictures of her with the baby. I think she also got a little annoyed at my mom :) Please meet our vocal, tempermental, queen of the house, siamese mix, Mieko.

New statistics

We took Ryan to the doctor for a weigh in today. In just two weeks he has put on a pound and a half. He was a hefty 10 lbs. 4 oz. and up half and inch to 21.

Mommy's Glider

Everyone who has tried out the glider absolutely loves it. I think Grandpa Parmentier may even buy one for himself. It looks like Ryan is no exception.

He's already trying to figure out how to get it to rock back and forth :)

It looks like something else caught his attention.

Ryan is beginning to settle in for his career as a professional lounger. After all, it is football season.

A couple more

Ryan has been such a joy to photograph. I had never done much shooting with people involved so the learning curve has been a bit steep. But when you catch a look like this is all worth it.

We have had the pleasure of having family stay with us for most of Ryan's life so far. All of the grandparents were so helpful. Having said that :) we now have the second bedroom cleared out and we were able to show Ryan his crib for the first time. He's not sleeping there yet, but he's definitely trying to make himself at home.

Four weeks already

It's been 4 weeks now since we all welcomed Ryan Alexander. This kid just continues to amaze me every day. I think he's starting to catch on to me sticking the camera in front of his face all the time. Here he is giving me a look that pretty much says "I'm on to you".

As for the sweatshirt, summer in Emeryville doesn't exactly mean "warm". It was a nice crisp 60-ish degrees as we set out for a walk before dinner.

Imitation

I am not sure which one of us made this face first

Three Generations

With my dad here for the past few days I had to get a picture of 3 generations of Zolandz men.  Next time I make it back to Jersey we'll need to add my grandfather to get all 4.

More New Friends

Ryan got to meet his first Penn alums today.  David and Jennifer came over to meet him.  They all got along great, David wiped up Ryan's spit up like a seasoned pro and was amazed at the "intestinal fortitude" of a 3 week old.  

I really enjoyed having one of the 415 guys meet my son.  We're all growing up.  Hopefully, there will be more of the next generation of 415 for Ryan to play with in the next few years.