Ryder likes the sound of the vacuum cleaner very much (and we don't even have a Dyson).

He does not, however, like the sound of J-Kwon -- no matter that the lyrics to "Tipsy" could be classified as educational due to the counting and spelling.

Oh yeah, and he likes his doggie.

So much to be thankful for ...

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.

Three weeks, two days old

It was a good weekend.

In elementary school, each six weeks when report cards came out, mine usually had a check next to the behavior "Talks at Inappropriate Times."

If I were to receive a report card today, I'd more likely have a check next to "Talks about Inappropriate Things." I blame this on having gone through labor; I'm not sure that's entirely fair though.

My in-laws are getting a mouthful this weekend.

Delivering a baby -- that experience really made me feel like a woman.

Using a breast pump -- that experience really made me feel like a cow.

As a result of yesterday's jaunt to the breastfeeding boutique, I learned I've been wearing a bra that's a size too small. I still have difficulty believing I'm a D cup.

My body is a constant source of amazement these days.

Again, I've been meaning to post ...

It seems that when I find time to get on the computer, I start by catching up on everyone else's web sites. By the time that's done and I'm ready to post, I'm distracted by baby Ryder or by one of the animals or by pure anxiety. If baby hasn't distracted me, I'm wondering WHY he hasn't distracted me, so I usually go check on him (if he's napping) and thus distract myself. So that's that.

And I have a lot of anxiety. Having a baby will do that to you ... I mean, I NEVER knew there was so much I could worry about, but loving something this much has resulted in constant worry.

He's getting BIG. At his last pediatrician visit, he weighed nearly eight whole pounds. :) I need to post pictures, but we've not downloaded the ones from the digital camera yet. (B's been having some computer issues, and we've been a bit busy.)

Brian went back to work this week after being home the past two. It was so nice having him at home, and I dreaded his return nearly as much as he did. But it's been OK. My mother is helping this week, coming over each day at lunch time, which is affording me the opportunity to do things like brush my teeth and, occasionally, shave my legs.

I lost an additional 7 lbs. during the past week. I gather it's a result of nursing; I'm not complaining. I even wore a pair of pre-pregnancy jeans today for the very first time.

I'm rambling randomly now, and I've got a hungry baby to attend to, so I'm going to have to end abruptly.

But one last thing ... I'm watching a lot of television and noticing commercials more and more. I'm just curious if the Lamisil commercial is as disturbing to anyone else as it is to me. Seriously, it's the most disgusting animation I've ever witnessed. Digger the Dermatophyte frightens me.

Oh yeah ... We saw Alfie this weekend. I meant to post about it. Perhaps I will later ...

It's love.

You should read this.

He's so cool

I've been meaning to post for about the last 24 hours. It's like that ... I mean to do a lot of things like take a shower or brush my teeth. These things get done eventually, it's just usually a while after I MEAN to do them.

Ryder was a week old yesterday. He's so amazing and sometimes I can't believe he's ours. How lucky are we to have this adorable baby boy? Knowing he's half me, half Brian ... it's awesome.

And also, my brain hasn't been working that well lately, so I'll apologize for my lack of words. I've been meaning to post, but afraid I'm not quite able for this very reason.

So I'll tell you a few everyday occurrences that are making me really happy:
1) Wearing my narrow KEDS slip-ons that actually FIT my feet again
2) Sliding my wedding ring on and off my finger. Now it's on, now it's off, now it's on ... and WOW, it's like it's new all over again
3) Watching the time pass by and realizing that I've not had to make my way to the ladies room in over an hour

I thought I'd really enjoy sleeping on my stomach again, but that's not been as elating as I'd hoped, for now I have these amazingly large, hard breasts, and sleeping on them isn't all that comfortable. I'd tell you more about that, and about other after-pregnancy bodily functions, but there's a great web site that already did that called Dooce. And to state the obvious, I can't compete.

Labor was as bad as the stories you hear about it. They're all true. And though he couldn't really help me through it physically, my husband was a fantastic coach who couldn't have been more supportive emotionally. As a bonus, and to further prove his thoughtfulness, he gave me a pair of diamond and opal earrings and a matching necklace afterward. You see, opal is the birth stone for October. It's the birth stone of our baby boy.

Since I didn't post on election day, I thought I'd share the picture below of father and son anxiously watching the poll results.

Here he is!