The Swarrell Life

I just came back to work after almost a week off. Now I have the holiday blues. I guess you could also call it the holiday blahs. That's how I feel after most vacations: blah. We had a great time this last weekend with my sister-in-law's family in McCall, Idaho. There was between 30-40 people for the weekend; we all stayed at a church camp facility, which means there was plenty of room for everyone. We all had our own rooms, mostly, and even though Autumn and I were not directly related, we were made to feel right at home. What a relaxing time! After being there from Wednesday to Sunday, we drove the slick and nasty roads to Boise and stayed with my dad for a night. It was great because we were able to drop Trinity off and go to dinner by ourselves. It was great for all involved. But now I am home, which is nice except for the blahs. On that note, Autumn's BFF Beth sent out this picture of her boys the other day. I'll just let you enjoy the picture without further descr...

I am a lucky guy, my wife lets me sleep for about 6 hours! Considering how much sleep she is getting, I think that is pretty generous. I take the late shift, feeding at about 8pm and 11pm or so. Momma gets the rest of the night. I guess that's okay, since I am back at work now. We'll have to work it out again when Autumn goes back to work, which is approaching very fast. I'll miss seeing this at lunch: That girl sure is growing like crazy. I wish that we had an appointment soon, so we could see how much weight she gained. At the last appointment she had gained about 21 ounces in 12 days. I think she's getting enough to eat! I have said all along that she eats and sleeps like me! We are off to McCall, Idaho for Christmas. It should be a lot of fun, since we'll be spending it with my sister-in-law's family, which numbers about 40-50 for the weekend. We are staying at a church camp facility, which is kind of weird for a family event, but the setting couldn't be...

I told this was coming! We have more video for all you Trinity fans out there! There is nothing really special about this video, except that she is pretty darn cute in general! I have a few more pictures in a new album, it is linked at the top of the right hand column. I know that the blog posts are not too frequent, I will try and be better about that. It helps me too because I get caught up in my day and forget that I need to be enjoying every little moment with my daughter. She will be gone before I know it, so I better pay attention. For those of you wondering, I received an A and an A- in my classes this quarter. I think that's pretty good. I'm not bragging or anything, I'm just sayin'...

You just have to love all the firsts when you have a child. First breathe, first cry, first smile, first poopy diaper...the list goes on and on. Well, we're the same here as most other places, we like to document the heck out of it and post it on the web. Poor kid, she doesn't stand a chance. My mom was here for the week, it was really great to have her here. Not only did she help out around here, but she was able to get in some good grandma time too! She was able to give Trinity her first bath, which we captured on video: Also, she rolled over for the first time! Maybe it was a fluke, but man this kid is on the move! I already can't keep up with her! Here is the video for the rollover:

We bottle fed for the first time tonight! It was very easy, Trinity took to it like a fish to water. She is a pretty serious over-achiever. But really it is good because I can take now the late evening feeding so that Autumn can get more than two hours' sleep in a row. It was a little bit empowering to be able to satisfy the baby in this way. Before I could only look helplessly on as Autumn took care of it. Now I can do it to! So here she is in all her diapered glory! She lost her umbilical cord a couple of days ago, so we have been meaning to document this momentous occasion. What better time than when her belly is full to bursting? Check that tummy out! It is a little exagerated by the angle of the camera, but all for good effect! What a cutie! Finally, tonight I bring you a picture of what babies and mommies all have in common: they want to sleep!

This video is ridiculously funny! Thanks to the Daily Dish for this one!

I guess it has been almost a week since I last posted. This is just a quick one to let both my readers know that I am still alive. Autumn and I just had our first meal alone in a couple of weeks, it was a very nice lunch together while my mom watched Trinity. I am only now starting to realize how much I enjoy time with my wife, since we have so little of it together. My mom is down for the week to help us out and to get some good grandma time in, so Autumn has a little freedom, which is nice for her. We'll have to figure out how to get more of that for her in the coming weeks. I miss my wife and I miss my daughter now that I am back at work. My time home was really good. Parenthood makes time go faster. Yikes! Here is a picture of our little baby girl during some tummy time...good stuff! Also, I included a picture with Auntie Beth, since I heard that she was feeling left out. Cheers!

Really the title of this post doesn't mean anything at all. I am just trying to be clever at 10:00pm. It's not working for me either. But maybe it will make you wonder what the heck I put in my coffee this late at night. So many people I know can't drink coffee past noon or they will be up all night. Not me. I can drink a pot of the stuff and still sack out in about 30 seconds flat. But I imagine that my time is coming. Oh the horror. My dad and stepmom stopped by on their way through to Seattle this morning. They needed their grandbaby fix. It was really nice to see them, I am thrilled and touched by the enthusiasm of my parents towards the birth of our daughter. It is the first grandchild, so I can see why it is such a big deal for them. At 34 years old, I am the youngest and I just got around to procreating. I wonder if they had written the whole thing off. Nevertheless, here we are and my daughter has three of the best sets of grandparents that a child could ask for. Pe...

Here we are again at about 10:30 and I am still looking to gain some momentum while doing my homework. My wife and daughter are asleep. The dog is asleep. Why am I not asleep? Well, I have to finish my homework. I don't care if it is good at this point, I just want to finish it. Whether I get a B or and A is irrelevant at this point. They both get me through to the next round. Speaking of the next round, I posted more pics of our daughter today, just a few. Here is my favorite:

At what point do I get to stop worrying if my daughter is still breathing? Here I am at 10:30 at night, which feels like 2am, doing homework (and blogging) and I stop every few minutes to make sure Trinity is still breathing. She is a swaddled up and comfortable in her chair. Autumn is asleep for just over another half an hour, when I will wake her up for the late-evening feeding. I am trying to gain some intellectual momentum, but I keep stopping to see if my daughter is still alive. Is this normal? At what point can I stop worrying that she has ceased breathing? Will I ever relax as a parent? Should I? I guess I am more of a worrier than I like to let on. The irony is that I can sleep right through her active sleeping, which involves murmurs and a little fussing. I hear this is a gift that many men have. Women don't have it. I guess that's for the best, since someone should wake when the baby cries. In the mean time I am sitting here guzzling coffee in an effort to stay awake...