A Cerney Periodical

It goes without saying but still must be said: my sister Melinda is a much better photographer than either Holly or me or both of us combined. Not that two people trying to operate one camera has ever helped anything. With better equipment and a better eye, you end up with better pictures, and so Holly and I found ourselves standing back with our camera packed away most of Thanksgiving, while Melinda documented everything. In lieu of just stealing more and more pictures off her blog, (yeah, that picture to the left is hers) I figured I'd just send you there (if you haven't already been) so you can see the whole post. It's all awesome stuff. Thanks Melinda! CLICK HERE for Thanksgiving Adventures 

Brock loves to laugh. Currently the things most likely to get him giggling are bouncing him on a ball, making him fly, playing with his feet, or making lots of "B" sounds (the "bird is the word" song drives him wild). Here's a couple examples from our difficult-to-video gentleman...

Brock has very recently become interested in toys. As half of a pair of humans that were previously his only form of entertainment, this comes with a healthy dose of both delight and relief. Find a particularly interesting toy, and Brock may be capable of playing with himself for literally tens of seconds in a row, allowing us the freedom to do things we never dreamed were possible, like getting a glass of water or using the bathroom.  Oh, and i should mention that he's also adorable while playing, so it's just a joy to watch. Brock has also found his feet and has a great time wrangling them over and over and going into one of our favorite and quite appropriately-named yoga poses: happy baby pose.  His biggest and baddest current toy is the excersaucer you see above. (thanks so much jef and jen) He's pretty comfy in it now, and his time until frustrated breakdown keeps growing longer and longer. Below are a video and some pictures from his very first time inside..

What a fantastic looking family! Here's a quick blast of photos, with more to come later...This Thanksgiving we had the pleasure of going to Seattle to stay with my (matt talkin' here) sister Melinda and her wonderful family. My mom (the one who looks like my other sister) and dad also traveled out from Omaha to revel in the wonder of all the grandkids together under one roof. In addition to being fabulous hosts, Melinda and Mark sprang for some great professional photos, which you can now enjoy here at your leisure. Thanks Melinda and Mark! Mark, Madeline, Melinda, and Max Brock Attack! Cute Cousins!! We can't say enough how much fun we had playing with everyone and seeing everyone play with Brock. Another Thanksgiving with so much to be thankful for. We also got to visit some long-time friends that have also settled into the pacific northwest. Here's our friends Candy and Charlie meeting Brock in Port Townsend. They also fed us the most am

Brock is not generally a very consistent dude. He has good days and bad days, perfect nights and hellacious ones, with little rhyme or reason. Yep, he's a baby. But one of the things I can count on and look forward to are our man-mornings. Holly is an amazing supermom that tackles nearly all the overnight terror, and in return Brock and I get up real early and take the party upstairs while she sleeps in. It's that magic hour or two before work that i can nearly always count on Brock to be happy, attentive, interactive, and just very obviously elated to be alive and at the very center of his daddy's attention. So we'll just sing and dance, or read some books, or Brock will tell me a very long story about i'm-not-sure-what (i still haven't quite figured out his language.) This morning he was especially giggly, and was thoroughly enjoying his first listen to my butchering of "We Want the Funk" when i realized it had been a while since our last post, and

We're not sure if this counts as sitting or just creative limb-folding, but it's adorable.  Hasn't shaved since he was born. 

Brock went to a baby shower and met cougar hottie Nova... she is 3 weeks older than him So serious!! He seems like a very good listener...

Just a lazy Monday afternoon, playing tigers and forest prey.   Holly has finished (for now) Brock's room. He's still sleeping downstairs for now, but soon he will be up here for good. Check it out.... The rocking chair will go here in the corner where the boxes are... but for now it lives downstairs. and lastly, here's a follow-up on Brock's distrust of cameras during smile-time. 

Yes, the title was a disclaimer.  Our costumes are in reference to one of Matt and I's favorite cult films, Total Recall.  Brock is Kuato , and Matt his human host.  That left me with the only memorable female character in the film who appears in a mammary-ally memorable cameo .  Please forgive us.  I am very much hoping the image doesn't make it to Facebook.  oi oi oi. Not sure if this was Brock and Matt's dream costume for me or nightmare costume.  Sometimes it is a fine line. As a side note, when we committed to our costumes I randomly searched the interwebs for "three boob chest prop" and by George there it was for $9.99 + shipping and handling.  Oh, dear dear interwebs, where would be with out you.

As readers of this blog already know, Brock recently invested in a tuxedo so he could attend a wedding. Unfortunately, Brock's insatiable milk lust has left it a little harder to get into than in those carefree party days of yesterweek. Upon realizing that he would soon grow out of it, he fought off growing regrets of his vain investment the only way he knew how: by demanding a photo shoot!  Friends were invited... camera effects were tried out.... and Brock declared that a good time had been had by all. 

Brock is getting more and more smiley every single day. Most of the time we just sit and giggle with him ourselves, but we have remembered to pull out the camera a couple times. He's still a little suspicious of it at first. Here's a couple of his better moments where he forgets he's on film.  Brock is an avid stander if you help his balance. He demands his standing time with pathetic yet adorable whimpers.  Bonus Video: Here's an old one from when Brock was only 2 weeks old, snoring away on mommy. 

As Brock celebrated his 2 month birthday, we celebrated our 2 year anniversary.  We have made it an annual event (so far) to visit the area we were wed at on the first weekend of October for fall fun.  This was our first trip away with little guy and all in all, it went very well.  He slept snugly in his swing and we in our suite... (we were forced into the upgrade when we divulged that we had a 2-month old).  Such a grand trip, with the two grandest gentlemen! amongst the grapes at Lemon Creek Winery yay!  a wee smile!  (and a renegade lock of hair) Wine paring at Gravity Vinyard... paired with Brock snoozing was the most complimentary match of the day let post-brock-feed indulgence begin! Brock notes the milky character of the grapes Apple picking at Tree-mendous farms... a beautiful post-rain afternoon "mommy and daddy, does green milk taste as good?" The apple of my eye! Brock is 23 inches!  It is difficult to tell.

Brock made his debut at our friend's Foster and Natalie's wedding.  You can see he dressed for the occasion.  He was very good and saved plenty of energy for the dance floor.  Matt and Brock stole the show cutting a rug... I am sure some guests might have worried about Brock's well being during some of their more daring moves but I had total confidence in the traction of Matt's Converses.  

Boys night was last week as I made my first get away to see the new Trap Door show.  I came home to find the little guy attached to a bottle!  A wondrous first, and I can smell a few whiffs of freedom. As an update... taking the bottle is really hard!!