Ryan's First Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year. Celebrating with Ryan for the first time was really special. We started on Christmas eve to give him some practice with the wrapping paper. He got the hang of it (sort of).


On Christmas morning, all decked out in his holiday PJ's, Ryan led us all in some Christmas carols playing his new piano.


Here, he displays his true calling - showing off his Rock Hands while getting the hang of his drum.

This Ryan's soon-to-be-Aunt Nicole. They had met a few time before but this was the first time there was a camera around. Like I've told most of you, if you hold the kid, chances are you'll end up on the blog.

After a nap, we dressed Ryan in his real holiday outfit and gave him his new walker.


Shhhhh, don't tell anyone that he's too young to drive.

Four Generations of Zolandz Men

Being able to take these pictures made the weekend so special for me. The oldest generation, the youngest generation, and couple in between.....

Great-grandpa, Grandpa, Father and Son....

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

...and we've already had a memorable holiday. For Lisa and me, we made it back to New Jersey for the first time in a year. For Ryan, it was his first trip to where his dad grew up. I turned 30, but thankfully, very few people at my parent's house seemed to notice because they were too excited to meet Ryan for the first time. Everyone who came over are among the most loyal blog readers I have - so thank you all - for the welcome home, for your excitement over our son, and for being a part of his very first Christmas.

Here is my cousin Phyllis helping Ryan with one of his new toys....



My mom's sister, Jane, was thrilled to meet him too. We thought we'd get to see her a few weeks ago, but the weather had other plans....


My dad's sister Mary Ann spent equal amounts of time holding Ryan, and reminiscing about the days when her son's were that small....

I can't wait to see you all again soon.

Giving Solids a Try

Ryan's taken a huge interest in all of our food lately so we thought we'd make a run at some solid food. The banana was definitely a big hit. I am not sure if more of it ended up in his mouth, on his face or all over his outfit but he really did enjoy it.

Christmas comes Early

We got a great gift today - a membership to the Friends of the National Zoo. You can tell from earlier posts that animals are one of our favorite things. It looks like its being passed along to Ryan. the membership came with an adorable stuffed Panda. Ryan took to it right away :)

My Generation

Today was a really special day. For the first time, my brother and I were together as fathers, our children first met as cousins and the entire collection of the Zolandz family got together.

This is Ryan with his cousin Anna. She was born in April. We all think that there is definitely a family resemblance between them.

Both kids were a little sleepy having just woken up from naps but they got along really well. Ryan is a bit of an antagonist, but Anna kept him in line.

My brother's older daughter, Catherine, is excited to be the Big Cousin. She can't wait to be in charge.

Overall, Mike and I couldn't be happier with the families that we have. Poor Ryan, I am not sure he knows what he's in for being surrounded by all those women.

Never one to pass up being held, Ryan had no problem with Uncle Mike carrying him around.

Four months old

The little guy turned 4 months old today. At this point, his favorite hobbies are the jumperoo, sucking onhis fingers, lying on his stomach and back....and the most recent addition - playing with his feet.

New Clothes, New Toys

The Rainforest Jumperoo was waiting for us when we got here. It has since become one of Ryan's favorite pastimes. He spins and jumps and plays on all the different sides of it.

He also got this furry puppy dog coat. I suppose it's too keep him warm in the cold. It has matching pants too but we haven't tried out the entire outfit yet.

Happy Holidays

One week into his time in Virgina, Ryan has already worn his first pair of shoes, been in his first snow storm and been to his first real shopping mall. In another big first, he met the man in the red suit today. Lisa and I bought the package of photos that screams "first time parent" (plenty of wallet sized photos to go around).

We hope that everyone is having a happy, healthy holiday season.

Kelly and Ryan Get Together

It was great to see Courteney and Jim after such a long time. Our kids seemed to get along well too.

Ryan was clearly impressed with Kelly's crawling skills. Not to mention her ability to remove all the contents of a diaper bag in under a minute.

"My, Kelly, what a lovely shirt you're wearing."

A couple of happy kids meeting for the first time.

The First Uncle

It was fun for both Ryan and Tom to get to meet each other after we arrived. Being around a baby isn't exactly an everday experience for him, but he's definitely getting the hang of it.

A Hectic (but fun) First Weekend

Well, we made it through our first weekend back in VA. Ryan met all sorts of new people, and reconnected with some old ones. He got to spend time with all 4 grandparents, meet his Aunt Nicole and Uncle Tom and even make a new baby friend. Courteney and Jim came over today so Ryan and Kelly could get to know each other. Lisa and I were amazed with Kelly - it really made us look forward to all that's to come with Ryan.

This is the awesome studio apartment/nursery that Lisa's parents set up for us in their house. It is far and away better than anything we had in Emeryville.