Slinky was not keen on being displaced as the man of the house when Brian started spending time with me, but Brian was able to win him over by taking over daily feedings.  “Oh, this is the man that feeds me!” he would think.  Eventually he let Brian manhandle him and play “kitty on the ceiling.”  Later in his life, Slinky had a prescription filled under the name “Slinky Judd” – we joked that he also done some exotic dancing under that name.  We took it as proof that he had truly adopted Brian as part of his family.

During his middle age, Slinky lived in Newburyport and earned his keep by catching several mice – one he consumed, the others kept to present to us as trophies.  He would drool when excited, whether that was about meeting someone new, getting scritches under his chin, or just being petted while resting on one of our shoulders.  He especially loved the blue wing-back recliners, sitting on top of them to have a view of the whole room.  He had to be satisfied with this view, after he’d climbed one of the exposed beams one day and we found him at eye level, which caused us to cover the posts with bubble wrap to prevent him from scratching them to pieces.  He also liked to intimidate the squirrels in the back yard, staring at them through the french doors in the fireplace room (and scratching the screens, necessitating a change to plexiglass on the lower panel).

Slinky was lactose intolerant but loved butter. We would leave a covered butter dish out on the counter, and come back to find the lid askew. Finally Brian asked me why I couldn’t put the lid on straight.  I told him that I always straightened it, and had been wondering why he couldn’t keep the butter dish covered properly.  We looked at each other, and then looked at Slinky, who was not-so-innocently licking his lips and paws.  From then on, the butter dish was kept out of reach of the kitty.

When we moved to Chelmsford, Slinky made himself at home, sleeping in various bedrooms but most often being found on that same blue wing-backed chair.  His new nemesis was the chipmunk who would come up on the deck to partake in the grease from the grill – Slinky would scowl from safely behind the sliding glass doors.  Slinky found a new favorite spot, sitting in the open window in the sun room on a warm breezy day, letting the curtains billow behind him.  He was patient and hospitable in welcoming Isaac and recently Ezra to the household.  He was always gentle and patient, never minding the antics of the boys, and stepping gingerly over the legos that now littered the floor.  Isaac’s first word was “kT” (kitty).  Slinky even allowed Ezra to grab a tuft of fur to learn about “fuzzy” and “soft” things.  Over the years Slinky’s fur became more gray and his black stripes were barely visible. As he grew older he became like many old men, picky about his food and where he did his “business” but also more welcoming of new people.  Instead of hiding during parties, Slinky would come out to find the person who least liked cats (especially if they were wearing a dark outfit that would show off his shedding fuzzy furr), hop up on their lap, and attempt to make a new friend.

This past year, he also grew to love people food.  He would sneak into the dining room and brazenly jump up on the table after we’d eaten, especially while we were upstairs getting Isaac ready for school or bedtime, to drink some milk from Isaac’s cereal bowl, lick a platter of hamburger juice, or nibble on some cheese.

Though we don’t exactly know the cause of death, Slinky had not been eating and had gotten more lethargic the last few days.  I took him to the vet today to see if there was anything we could do.  His temperature was low and she had trouble getting a blood sample. She gave him some IV fluids to try to perk him up. His breathing was labored when we got home and he didn’t want to come out of his carrier.  He passed away this afternoon sitting in a sunbeam next to his favorite blanket, with Brian and I nearby.  We are comforted to know that he received extra brushing, petting, a treat, and a finger-full of butter in his last days.

Arrangements are still being considered, but for now Slinky is curled up in a soft towel in a cozy cardboard box.  He always did love exploring a new box.  He came into my life in a box, and now is ready to depart in one.  Rest in peace little furry friend.

A gallery of photos can be found here.

Water:  We opened the pool at the beginning of May, and all 3 of us really enjoyed the water thanks to the heater we put in this year.  Isaac started out enjoying floating on his back, but now he really likes the front crawl, both on land and water.  He loves the water, at bath time or pool time.  We’re trying to teach him to blow bubbles and not swallow water.  We hosted a Memorial Day party again this year, and had almost as many kids as adults.  Most weekends you can find us having a few friends over to splash around and cool off.  Isaac and Brian did their first swim class at the Y today, and learned some songs and games to play.  Isaac seemed to have a great time even though the water is a bit colder there than at home.

Garden: The garden has been a success again this year. We had a good crop of peas that we managed to get in early enough to harvest before our July trip to the midwest.  We have had a lot of salad greens, kale, and a good number of haricot verts. Our tomatoes and peppers are starting to fruit and the herbs are really taking off.  Our fennel looks like it’s about ready to harvest too.  The only disappointment has been spinach – we just can’t get it to grow, or else we have a small critter who loves to chomp it off as soon as it gets a few leaves.  We put in another round of lettuce, chard, and kale to have through the fall.  Most of the time we garden when Isaac is napping, but sometimes he is content to play in the grass while I’m weeding or picking vegetables. (and yes, sometimes “playing in the grass” = eating the grass)

Travel: Somehow this year’s trip to visit our family seemed even more rushed than usual.  Maybe it’s because Brian’s mom and grandma are getting ready to move, or because we’re sensitive to Isaac having down time between meeting so many new people, or maybe we’re just getting older.  But we had a wonderful time seeing family, and realized how hard it is for them to be so far away.  Some of the highlights for Isaac were showing off his eating and crawling skills, playing with puppies, swinging with James, seeing grandparents and great-grandmothers, some of our oldest and youngest family members, and learning that beards aren’t actually that scary.  The hardest parts were sleeping in so many new places and spending lots of time in the car.  But we all were good road trippers overall.

Work: I have a new job as of June, in the same company, but a different position.  The good news is that it’s more self-paced and doesn’t have sales and funding goals.  The bad news is that it’s self-paced and I have some bad habits to break!  July has been a bit better with coming in early, leaving at a reasonable time, and getting in a few more workouts during the week.  I have visited most of the sites where my software engineering team works, and I’m learning a lot about the breadth of our company’s capabilities.  It’s been an adjustment to get used to a different culture, a different boss and a different set of co-workers after being in Burlington for almost 10 years.   But I’m confident this is a good move for me and I look forward to getting settled and making real progress.

 Exercise: Brian competed in his first race since Isaac was born, and literally made a splash at the Wildcat Sprint Triathlon in Lowell last weekend.  He saw a flyer for the race at the Y when he joined, and decided that it was time to baseline his fitness.  It turns out that he had a terrific race, placing 3rd in his division! Woohoo!  

Other than that, the weeks seem to go fast.  Between trying to get a reasonable amount of sleep (sometimes interrupted by 3am feeding, sometimes not), keeping healthy food around to eat, chasing an active baby and having a little down time to feel like a normal adult, life is busy and fun.  We’ll try to do better about blogging as the summer days fly by in August.

What’s a baseball?

Then the phone rang and it was Mr. Dunn offering us his extra ticket to opening day.

I said hold my calls. I’m reading!

We said we’d love to go, had a quick breakfast, packed the car and then we were off for Isaac’s first trip to Fenway. The Sox won and the weather was gorgeous. Isaac managed to nap on my lap during the 2nd and 3rd innings and we took a feeding/diaper break in the 5th and 6th but were back in time to watch the 7th through 9th.

So many new things

On Tuesday we had a relatively quiet day at home. We built a fort on the couch and played a nice game of peek-a-boo. If you can’t see the video below in the email/blog you can click HERE to see it.

On Wednesday we were at home playing on the couch when one of our friends noted we had a lot of photos if Isaac sitting in a corner.

What a cute surfer outfit

We decided to fix that by showing the camera one of our new tricks.

Hanging out with daddy

Isaac has been easily finishing 9 ounces bottles for about the past two weeks and has started expressing an interest in what Su and I are putting in our mouths. We’ve given him some tastes of food on our finger so on Thursday we tried some oatmeal with a spoon. Results were mixed. Most of the oatmeal went out. Some stayed down. The stewed raisins went over the best.

Oatmeal time

Nope!

You said this would taste good

I’ll just chew on the spoon instead

On Friday Susan was off of work and both of us had dentist appointments so we loaded up the car and took Isaac to meet our favorite dentist/triathlete. After the dentist we stopped in Newburyport to buy some fresh produce from Tendercrop Farm and to have lunch at Agave. When we got home Isaac and I spent some time hanging out on the couch playing with our feet. Then Isaac discovered Slinky.

Hmm, this looks more interesting than pulling off my sock

I’ll pull on the cat instead

Isaac is apparently very literal as he took the title of this book to be instructions for what to do with it.

Does it or does it not say “Chomp Chomp?”

Topping off our big week was Susan’s first Sox game this year and Isaac’s second. The weather was chillier than opening day but still quite pleasant for April. We bought Isaac his first little Red Sox cap and headed to our seats. We discovered the usher who works closest to our seats has the exact same birthday as Isaac. She was very happy to make goo-goo eyes at him and take this picture for us.

The Sox are 2-0 when I go to their games. Draft me!”

Saturday evening Susan and Isaac went to the Fortunetide Ball so Susan could catch up with old friends and introduce them to Isaac.

By Sunday morning we could only eat breakfast and check our seedlings which have started to sprout before passing out for a nap in the middle of playing. First Isaac pulled down his playmat and pulled it on top of him to snuggle with. The rest of the day hopefully should hold some yard work and hopefully a run although naps may win out as the preferred activity.

Seedlings have started well”

Play time or nap time?”

This trip would also mark Isaac’s first plane flight. We booked early and got one the few direct flights from Boston to Charleston. On Friday, the day before we were to leave, we got a foot of snow in Chelmsford. I cleaned up the driveway enough so Su could go into work, and immediately set to doing the laundry, packing, and cleaning that needed to be done before we left. The snow continued to fall…

Su got home from work early and took her afternoon telecons at her deck in the dining room. I kept cleaning and doing laundry and the snow continued to fall. I decided to take a short nap while Su finished her phone calls and wake up to clean the driveway one last time when the snow stopped.

I woke up and was greeted by a message on my phone; our flights had been cancelled. No worries, they had rebooked us they said. So I got on the computer and checked our new itinerary. Instead of a direct flight at 10am we now had a flight on Sunday morning (a day later) at 6am (a terrible time) with a connection in JFK (a terrible airport) and the connection was only 45 minutes long (yeah… try taking a 4 month old across JFK at 6am to make a short connection). This was not going to work so I called Delta. After waiting on hold for 45 minutes they transferred me to an operator who promptly hung up. At this point I was becoming rather irate. I called back, waited 45 more minutes, and discovered my options were to wait until Monday or Tuesday, take the crappy 6am on Sunday, or to flying Sunday at a better time but have 2 connections. So Su and I huddled and did the only reasonable thing we could think of; we got a refund on our plane tickets and decided to drive the 1000 miles!

I went outside relieved to have made plan, cleaned off the driveway, came back in, had dinner, and finished packing. We were in bed by 11pm and planned to leave the following morning sometime after 7.

The drive ended up taking 18 hours (for a 15 hour drive). Isaac did great again. A few more stops to feed than our last roadtrip but by far the biggest delays were NYC traffic, Washington DC traffic, and a backup in Virginia caused by the setting sun. We rolled into the beach house about 3:15am (would have been 2:15 except for DST) and went the bed happy, warm, and safe.

Isaac got to travel through 7 new states and Brian got 2 new states (the Carolinas). Susan had been to all of them previously. Brian has now been to 47 of the 50 states (Alabama, Mississippi, and West Virginia) and Isaac has been to 12 states. Not bad for only 4 months old!

Susan practiced using our new camera taking state line shots as we traveled. Brian took the final shot going into South Carolina. I was a little tired by South Carolina and the shot looks nothing like a state line marker. Oh well!

New state for Isaac

New York smells funny

Maybe New Jersey will smell better

Wow, what a big bridge

An even bigger bridge

Wait, where’d Delaware go?!

The setting sun is about to irritate Isaac

New state for Brian and Isaac

Yes, that says South Carolina

Sunday was a slow day around the house as we got acquainted with the area. We walked down to the beach and explored before heading back to the house for naps and a nice dinner out. The rest of the week will likely include a plantation visit, a trip to Fort Sumter, exploring downtown Charleston, and definitely more beach time. More pictures later!

Ready for the beach

Beach time with Daddy

Not to be thwarted and since we had several inches of fresh snow on top of the base from the previous storm, we decided to see what it was like cross country skiing with Isaac.

Sunday morning we woke up and seeing the snow falling decided to get bundled up and head over to the ski center. One way to take a small child in the snow is to use a pulk. The ski center rents them so we decided to try it out.

Note, neither Susan nor myself are good skiers. We manage pretty well on flat terrain but add some gentle rolling hills in and there’s likely to be a fall or two. Since I have a bit better balance than Su we decided I would pull the pulk first.

Isaac bundled up in the pulk

Yah mule!

We skied about 1/4 of a mile and decided to stop and check on Isaac. Since he’s so young he’s a tad small for the pulk so we had to pack him in with blankets to get the harness tight enough on him. It’s turns out we didn’t have to worry as he fell asleep shortly into the journey. We also didn’t have to worry about the temperature either. By the time we stopped he was already steaming up the plastic window that keeps the elements out.

Doing just fine in here

We did a loop around one of the fields and since things were going well decided to ski over to the cow barn before looping back to the ski center. As we neared the center Susan took a turn pulling and I got to ski “sled free” for the first time that day. As we both discovered, pulling a baby in a sled is harder than it looks. I was so much faster when set free and Susan ended up doing a little huffing and puffing as she pulled Isaac uo to the ski barn.

Faster, Mommy, Faster

Below are two videos we shot testing out the new camera. Shooting with a new camera, in snow, with gloves/cold hands is certainly a challenge but the basic point across. I keep looking back while skiing to make sure I haven’t dragged the pulk into a lantern post. We were on a trail that can be lit for nighttime skiing and I was not sure whether or not I’d run Isaac into a pole. Better safe than sorry.

We had a lot of fun although I’m not sure if we’ll get enough snow again this year to re-open the ski area. We are thinking of taking short weekend trip to Vermont in a few weeks in search of one last hurrah before Spring.

Two months old

The second week of January marked Susan’s return to full time work and my start as a full time father in addition to general homemaker. Everyone survived the abrupt changes this new phase marked and now that we’re a month in, things have settled into a happy (if tiring) semi-routine. Of course we’d always welcome more time together as a family but the bills don’t pay themselves and dinner doesn’t cook itself!

The middle of the month was marked by our friend Jeff’s 40th birthday. He rented a castle in southern New Hampshire and invited many of his friends to join him for the weekend for games, food, watching football, etc. Isaac made an appearance Saturday night to be doted on by friends before heading home with Susan.

The following week brought Isaac’s 2 month pediatrician appointment and his first shots. Of course he did well while I got sick after he got his shots. I thought he was supposed to have the compromised immune system after immunizations… He is still in the 99th percentile for height and dropped back to the mid 60s for weight. He is a tall, slim boy.

Isaac also has increased mobility. He hasn’t rolled over yet despite trying, but by pushing with his legs and waving his arms he manages to scoot around when he needs to. We’ve found him wedged into the corner of his crib several times and I was very surprised one time when I returned to check on him on the playmat and found the following…

How’d I get over here?

The end of the month brought a return to our “to do” list of things to fix/modify/decorate around the house. Last year we put new floors and carpet in all the upstairs bedroom and managed to paint all of the bedrooms except our master. The previous owners had a striped, green wall with floral trim motif that was a bit cool and busy for our tastes. Here’s the bedroom before:

Master bedroom before we bought it

We chose a warmer yellow/tan earth tone to compliment the new wood floors and our comforter cover. Susan (and Isaac) did the priming and first coats while Brian did all the taping and final coats.

Susan priming the walls

Isaac helping out

We still have some things to do like finishing the registers, getting a headboard for the bed, valances, and adding some art to the bare wall but already it feels like a warmer, more comfortable space.

A much warmer color

Walls are done

This weekend I felt I had been cooped up long enough and despite the cold weather put together the jogging stroller to take Isaac out for a spin. As usual when strapped in to a moving object Isaac calmed down and stared at the scenery while Susan and I jogged the neighborhood. He held his head up really well for three months old and I’m hoping it warms up and melts the bike path so I can start running with Isaac.

Time to run with daddy

Finally, here’s a picture of Isaac on his last day as a two month old. This is probably the last time he’ll get to wear his Mickey onesie as he’s outgrown his newborn wardrobe.

Three months old!

It’s clear that he can see farther away and we think he’s seeing more colors.  He loves faces too – now he will smile when you make faces at him.  He continues to be an easy and happy baby.

Isaac has gotten to meet lots of new people, including several good friends and family members from out of town.  Carolyn took the train up from Boston after her conference so she could have dinner with us and meet Isaac.  After a busy Stitch-n-Bitch, we wound down at Dan’s house where Isaac got to meet G who was visiting from Montreal.

Then Uncle Woody visited us from Fishers.  He was a huge help, from cooking and helping with laundry to tackling our handyman list (including helping to fix our gas fireplace and installing a ceiling fan!), to feeding Isaac and changing his diapers.  We look forward to seeing him again in just over a week!

Note from Brian: Su wrote this just before we left for Christmas and it’s been waiting for me to upload the photos. Oops! It’s been a busy few weeks but now that we’re home and settled back in it’s time to get back on the blog wagon.

In the mean time, here are some reflections on our first three weeks with Isaac Allan Judd.

– he’s a good eater!  It  is so helpful to have a baby who wants to breastfeed.  He will now root, using his whole body to lunge and army crawl along to get into a good position.  If he’s on Brian’s chest waiting for me to get ready to feed him, he’ll scooch down  looking for a good place to latch.  Usually he ends up sucking on Brian’s arm just below his sleeve, but any part of his hand will also do.

– as a result of being such a good eater, Isaac is doing great in the weight department.  He was born 7 lbs 8.3 oz, and normally babies lose up to 10% of their body weight in the first week, then take another week or two to recover.  Isaac was 3379 grams (7 lb 7.2 oz) when he was dismissed from the hospital after 38 hours, and was up to 7 lbs 14 oz on his 5th day when we went to see the pediatrician.  By his 13 day checkup, he weighed 9 lbs 3.5 oz.  It seems that he’s getting bigger every day!

– Isaac lost his cord stump at one week.  This means we can now button his onesies, whereas before we had to keep them open to make sure the cord got good air circulation.  Now he can wear all those cute outfits we’ve been given!

– We like going for walks.  We’ve walked around the neighborhood, in the forest, and on the bike path.  There are interesting sounds and smells to experience; even when Isaac is bundled up in his carrier he always seems to need a nap after we walk.

– Isaac can turn his head from one side to the other during “tummy time” and he seemed to follow my finger to turn his head.

– Naps are important.  For everyone.  Sleeping starts whenever Isaac goes to sleep after 9pm and continues as much as possible until 6:30am, or whenever he decides to do a morning cluster feed.  Usually Isaac will sleep for 2-3 hour stretches, so we get at least 6 hours of sleep each night, and a nap during the day.  We survived our first middle of the night cluster feed from 1 – 3am.  Having a smiling little face who is clearly content to have a full tummy and dry diaper does wonders to offset the feeling of tiredness.

– Slinky seems to be handling the new arrival pretty well.  He tries to get in some lap time when he can, and doesn’t seem too concerned if he’s sharing with Isaac, even if the little guy squirms and cries a bit.

– Grandma and Grandpa Woodmansee came to visit, and we’re pretty sure they were immediately smitten with the little guy.  He liked being held and learning new voices and faces.  We went out for our first restaurant meal with Isaac.  He was quiet through the whole meal, and just decided to wake up at the end to make sure we got our check quickly.

– Grandma Judd is visiting for Thanksgiving.  She is teaching Isaac about football (go Lions!) and makes a really good play mat when she’s reclined on the couch.

– We’re really liking cloth diapers.  We have just enough to enable us to wash them every other day.  The sprayer Brian installed on the toilet to hose away the solids works great.  And we’re both becoming experts at diapering.  Already we are folding down the back a little less, and we’ve let the covers out a few snaps as well.  Plus the bright covers are fun – this one has earned Isaac the nickname “snortin’ tartan.”

– Isaac is pretty good at self-soothing. He has found his thumb (at least once!) though any part of his hand works well enough.

In terms of my recovery, it’s going well.  I spent the first 5 days in bed, as per our midwife’s strong recommendation, which seems to have been great advice.  I only wandered downstairs a few hours a day, usually for dinner and a walk to the mailbox.  After that we moved down to the sun room, so Isaac naps in his pack and play (when a grandparent isn’t around to hold him!) and we have my “nest” set  up on the love seat.  I was able to walk a mile within a week, did a short jog a few days ago, and felt like myself today for 2.8 miles in the woods.  I’m back within 5 lbs of my pre-pregnancy weight, though it’s definitely been re-distributed a bit.

In summary, we’re settling into parenthood and enjoying our time together immensely!

Ken and Leslie at Fenway

On Tuesday we all went to Maudslay State Park for some exercise. Despite our different paths and speeds, we managed to end up at the car at the same time. Then it was off to work for me, and up to the mountains for Ken, Leslie and Brian to check out a waterfall and take a hike. Brian said “we’re going up there!” and Leslie thought he was kidding!

We're going up there!

Ken cools off at the falls

Ken and Leslie hiking

On Wednesday Ken and Brian went for a bike ride, then we all went to the afternoon Sox game. We were excited to have box seats close to the field.

Box seat view

Thursday was a relatively quiet day. Ken went mountain biking at Maudslay while the rest of us caught up on work.

Ken and his sporty blue bike

Susan and Ken, ready to run!

This run is gonna be fun!

We had one more surprise on Friday – surfing! My buddy Brian Hone agreed to take Ken out to catch some waves.

BHone and Ken off to catch some waves

Ken surfs NH

Ken finishes the ride - victory!

After that it was time to do laundry, pack, have lunch at the Grog and play more Apples to Apples before saying goodbye. Slinky is particularly sad – he’s wandering the guest room wondering where those nice people went who gave him such wonderful scritches and let him sleep in their bed.