Time Keeps on Slipping, Slipping, Slipping...

Into the future...
Orion has his two-month check up with the pediatrician today! Technically he's about 2 months and a week old now. I can't believe that it's already been so long since he was born, and at the same time I look back and realize how much we've done in that time, especially in the month of July. This may be obvious from the fact that I haven't written much here in the past few weeks.
At the beginning of the month we had the beach week with Russell's family, which was fun if slightly frustrating since it took Orion a few days to acclimate to the new surroundings and we couldn't really spend that much time on the beach due to the heat. It was good to see the fam, though, so it certainly had its good points as well.
Shortly after that we headed to Colorado for a week. This was a big event for us and the little man, since it was his first (3) flights on a plane, his first time in a very different climate (high, dry, and hot) and his first time visiting my family. Not only that, but we also went to three nights of String Cheese Incident at the Red Rocks amphitheatre with Orion in his Ergo carrier (which I absolutely love, and he does too; he tends to sleep comfortably in it knowing he's close to mommy or daddy). I was amazed by how well he did on the plane - for the first two legs of the trip there and the (blessedly) single flight on the way home, he primarily just slept. I nursed him on take-off and landing to help his ears adjust and keep him calm. We hardly heard an noise out of him, to the point that people around us didn't even realize we had a baby. He seemed to enjoy having me as a captive audience and took advantage of the snuggle time. Even navigating the airports wasn't too hard, since he snuggles into the Ergo quite happily and Russell is such a dependable partner when it come to teamwork and baby support.
Even so, it still took Mr. Baby a day or two to acclimate to the climate and altitude, so he was a little fussy and over-fed somewhat during the start of the trip. This, of course, led to more than the usual amount of puking. I am used to this, but for some reason still didn't pack enough shirts, and necessitated doing laundry on a daily basis. At least we gave ourselves a break and used disposable diapers while we were there, as it just would have been too much bulk to carry all the cloth ones out there and I would've spent even more time dealing with cleaning and upkeeping them. As it was I barely had time for everything we did do!
Although we were so pumped about the shows, it did limit the time we had to visit and do other things with the fam. We crammed in as much as we could, though. Mom was awesome and got me in for a haircut while she was getting hers done; I just wanted to shorten it a bit and re-layer it. It's a simpler cut than I had before, but pony-tail friendly and easier to deal with, a boon at the moment since Orion is getting grabby. We also went to Kohls and picked up a few pairs of capri/pants and shorts that actually fit me. We managed to make it to the farmer's market and spend a bit of time on Pearl St. one day, though Orion was fussy and cut that trip a bit short. It was also HOT out there, anyway. Russell got a rain/wind jacket in preparation for his upcoming hike, and we got two of the folding hiking chairs that are basically just two padded squares attached on one side with straps to hold the back up while your own weight supplies the support. They turned out to be priceless at the Red Rocks and I'm sure we're going to get a lot more use out of them. They also have net bags on the backs, which became wonderfully useful going in and out of the venue and allowed us to ditch one whole backpack. Not to mention how much easier it was for me to nurse him with the added benefit of back support...
We got breakfast at the Huckleberry one day, too, which I can honestly say is one of my favorite restaurants in America. The food is awesome (I had latkes with applesauce and sour cream - all hand made there, yum!) and they even make their own chai. It's got a kick to it and is really spicy. Real OJ, great baked goods, and is walking distance from my mom's house. How great is that?
On the Monday after the shows and the day before we left, my brother Adam took Russell on a big hike over Pawnee Pass. Russell took a bunch of pictures and it was a truly beautiful hike. I'm glad they got to get out on the mountain and spend some time together. I figured they'd get along famously, and it allowed Russell to get out into the mountains in a way that I'm not all that capable of. They had fun and were gone all day... But when they finally came home we even did a little birthday cake and gifts session for Russell, whose birthday was yesterday.
Most importantly, we got to visit with my varied family. We stayed with my mom and her partner David in the beautiful house that he's done a ton of work on. My fabulous aunt Holly also came out from Connecticut, so Orion got to me her for the first time, too. My brother and his girlfriend Liz were around, and we even got to see David's daughter Alex one night. Several other folks came by at different points to say hi and visit with the baby.
So it was a big trip and we had a great time visiting and running around. Though I miss everyone and the dry climate there, it's good to be back home.
Of course we're now going to Wilmington for the night this weekend to visit with Missy and Katrina, but that's just how it goes! Got to get a little beach time in before I go back to work in a few weeks...
Yesterday was also Russell's 24th birthday, and we did a little celebrating at Weaver St. with some friends and family. We're going to dinner with his dad tonight, and have plans for a birthday dinner with his mom sometime in the next week as well, so the celebrating continues!