Exersaucer!

Originally uploaded by troelby.

Hi everyone, sorry it’s been so long since the last post. Life has been pretty busy around here lately. Reed is thriving, growing up so big way too fast. He’s unofficially 16 pounds now, is waking at most once a night and often sleeps all the way through. He’s making lots of new noises, exploring his vocal range. He loves to hear us sing (”You Are my Sunshine,” “Baby Beluga,” “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”), and loves to bounce and dance around with Dad.

For about a month now he’s really enjoyed standing up with a little help. He smiles really big and even stomps his foot sometimes. This has even led to some air-banjo hoedowns that have ended with the whole family, Reed included, belly laughing.

We got out the Exersaucerâ„¢ (thanks, Marggie!) a few weeks ago and although he has to hold onto a nearby giraffe or monkey for balance, he’s really enjoying interacting with all the little toys attached to it. What great fun! More pics of Reed in the Exersaucer can be seen here.

All in all, Reed is just a wonderful kid. Really fun to be around, an easy smile with just about everyone, and a patient, inquisitive little guy. We just can’t get enough of him, especially when he wakes up from a nap and is all soft and cuddly.

Sage is enjoying classes very much, teaching her favorite authors, and is often heard exclaiming how she knows she’s found the career for her. How wonderful is that?
On a less positive note, though, her recovery has not been easy and she has limited mobility because of it. She’s still experiencing postoperative pain related to nerve damage during the surgery, but we have a great team of caregivers now in the area, and she’s going in this week to the Pain Clinic at Rush University Medical Center to start treatment of it. Luckily we’re in a place that has good resources like this.

Ben is managing to get a few hours work in a week and has a couple of great clients he’s working with. He even had an agency approach him about a job as creative director, but turned them down because the timing isn’t right, for many reasons.

We’ve seen quite a bit of our Chicago friends in the past few weeks for the occasional dinner, party, or baptism, and we’ve continued to see our familes on a regular basis, which is just great. The grandparents make monthly visits, so Reed’s getting to know them well.

Ben found that there’s a “mountain” bike trail head just 2 miles from our house. It follows the Des Plaines river north and he can go from our place to the Kennedy expressway and back. It’s about 20 miles round trip and although not too challenging, it’s good to get out and blow the stink off.

Well, that’s the update. Hope all is well with everyone. Feel free to comment on this post, just click the link below.

Oh, and as always, there are new pictures on Flickr. Check them out here.

All the best and lots of love from Ben, Sage and Reed (Team Troelby).