The one where I get all dressed up for Uncle David and Aunt Ashley's Engagement Dinner (Aliza)

First trip to a bar at 7 weeks.  Here's hoping the next trip to a bar is when she is much older!  I failed to get any photos at the actual party because Aliza (who was up way past her bedtime) hovered between excitement and meltdown and my goal was to keep the excitement going as long as possible.    It was a great opportunity for her to wear one of the many dresses that friends have given us for her though.

Congratulations David and Ashley!!!

The one where mom dresses me up too much (Aliza)

Pretty happy

Skeptical

Enough already!

The one with my animal friends (Aliza)

The One Where We Have a Party

It's been almost three weeks to the day since we first had Aliza and it's been a fun, exhausting, happy trip. We made Kerry's parents house in central PA the base camp for the remainder of our leave, coming down to Virginia only when we have business there. But Aliza--or "Birdie" as we've nicknamed her because of her frequent chirps--is a demanding, full time job. Not that we didn't understand what raising a newborn would entail, mind you, but some things people tell you about newborns don't really solidify until you experience them (which is true for most things in life, not just babies). First, you're tired all the time, as evidence from the below:

This was taken approximately 20 mins after the party I'm about to describe ended.

I always secretly hated parents that complained about being tired, and while it's not as bad as I think most make it out to be, it's just...different. Days are structured into 3-4 hour segments now, no longer 16 hours on, eight off, like before. Second, you are always cleaning something: cloths, bottles, the baby, etc...That's pretty much all of your free time, which seems ridiculous but it is, in fact, the truth. Finally, you have a lot of downtime, but ironically, not any time to actually do anything. None of these observations are necessarily original but at least give you an idea that, much to my chagrin, we are becoming stereotypical first-time parents.


But enough about that. On Saturday, May 19, my mom threw us a wonderful book shower for Aliza at the house in Virginia. We drove down that morning--our first road trip with Birdie--and it was a beautiful day for a party. We invited close friends and family that we haven't really seen in the year since we have been gone, and it was great to catch up. Here are some photos:

Yes, that is one giant cupcake 

The theme of the party was books and all the guests were invited to bring gifts of their favorite childrens' books for Aliza. We got some great ones, including some that we hadn't seen since Kerry and I were kids ourselves. It was a great idea for a shower and we are excited to start reading to our little girl now that we have the tools to do it.  


So, despite our first road trip almost wiping us out, it was a great success. We are now about to embark on our second road trip, destination Ocean City, NJ. We'll see how exhausting a relaxing weekend at the beach can be.

The One Where Our Baby Girl is Born

On Friday, May 4th 2012, we welcomed our first child, Aliza Rae Cook, into the world. She weighed 7lbs, 1 oz, and measured 20.5 inches; both her and Kerry are completely healthy. 


I imagine that the blog will undergo and bit of a change in direction now that we've added a new member to the family, but I doubt very much that this change will alienate our loyal readership. We are simply overjoyed that she is here and look forward to documenting her first year of life. 


In the meantime, here are the first of what I am confident will be many photos of the new girl; hope you enjoy her as much as we do:

Getting to know mom 

Getting to know dad 

Getting her first bath.




















Getting worn out.

The One Where I Head Back Home for the Baby (Andy)

Tonight I fly back to be reunited with Kerry and get ready for the arrival of our daughter. It's been a little strange to have been remote to the pregnancy these past few weeks, particularly activities related to helping coordinate all the things involved with the birth (hospital visits, emergency bags, etc...). I know I have a lot of catching up to do so hopefully the baby cooperates and lets me get up to speed before she decides to come out. Wish me luck!

The One Where Mosby and I Have Easter Lunch (Andy)

Happy Easter! 

It's been over two weeks since Kerry left Kenya to go back for the baby, which means I've been spending almost all of my time either working or hanging out with Mosby. I always have these lofty ambitions for projects every time Kerry goes out of town: build something, write more songs, do a lot of reading. I never actually seem to accomplish any of this (I'm not entirely sure why) and these few weeks flying solo have been no exception.

So I found myself with a surprise four day vacation this past Easter weekend. Easter is a big deal in Kenya and they get both Good Friday and the Monday following Easter as Federal holidays, which means by proxy, the US Embassy gets that vacation time, too. Most everyone in my neighborhood took advantage of the long weekend except me. Since my main focus these days is getting home before the baby is born, I chose not to stray to far from base camp. 

But, that's no reason to be anti-social. A colleague and his wife were having some people over for lunch on Easter Sunday and were kind enough to invite Mosby and I, and I readily excepted on our behalf. There was some apprehension on my part in bring Mosby along because the house we were going to had four dogs currently living there and I wasn't sure how the Mo' would do. But I thought it would be good for him to socialize with dogs from another neighborhood.

As some of our readers may recall, Mosby isn't a huge fan of riding in the car. I always believed it was just a problem with motion sickness but I found out on Sunday the real reason: he's just terrified of the experience. And why shouldn't he be, I ask, given his understanding of what the car does. His first experience in it was when we picked him up from the village and took him away from his family (note: while I doubt he would argue, if he could, that the move was anything but positive, it still was a rather traumatic experience). Other trips include going to the vet for various probes, prodings, and snips. 

Since he would not get into the car voluntarily, I picked him up and put him in the passenger seat next to me. He maintained the same awkward sitting position most of the ride until we had to make a detour onto a dirt road, at which time he jumped across me and pinned himself between me and the drivers side door. We arrived at our destination a few minutes later and the resident dogs began circling our car, snapping Mosby to attention and beginning his series of growls and barks. 

The next ten minutes were slightly tense; a lot of barking, a few snaps and lunges, and some hasty retreats. Mosby settled down once he was able to get a sniff around the perimeter and then once all the food came out. An uneasy truce manifested itself over the dog community for the rest of the time, violated only once over an argument over a bone, but then quickly reinstated.  

Because I was constantly watching Mosby to ensure he didn't do anything stupid, I couldn't fully enjoy myself at lunch, but had a great time nonetheless. However, despite being Easter, it still felt like just another day standing between me and home. But until then, I've decided to take on another project: getting Mosby comfortable with the car. I'll let you know how I do.