New Years Eve...It Ain't What It Used To Be....

Nope, it ain't what it used to be.... As in, I was ready to fall asleep by 8:00pm! We have Lindsay, Jon, Riggs, Dad & Carolyn in SF for New Years this year. It has been GREAT! On New Years Eve, we have just two traditions. One is resolutions and the other are OYSTER SHOOTERS! They are absolutely disgusting...we cringe every year...we always say we can't do it again...and here we are!

Oyster Shooters:

Note that Carolyn asks, "is this vodka?" at the end, as if she has never done one before!!!

Here are some pics of the fun activities we've been doing in SF this week:


Grandpa hanging with Cal


Cruisin' in Pac Heights


Lovin' on the cutest little boy!


Riggs' first time in a swing! He was...confused


...so we put BOTH boys in the swing!


After a walking tour of Pacific Heights Mansions, we took a breather on the steps for a pic

It has been awesome to be a tourist in my own city and to get to know San Francisco better and better! There are FREE walking tours from SF City Guides. We did the Pac Heights one and one for Chinatown so far! I think I've found my outings for the rest of maternity leave....

As is tradition, we all wrote our New Years Resolutions to present to the family. Dave mentioned (and I agree) that this is his favorite tradition. We all look forward to this time of year because Dad gives us our resolutions from the previous year and then we go around individually and "present" what we accomplished (there are no rules...you can glaze over all of the things you didn't accomplish!),then share what we'd like to do in the next year. Again, there are no rules, but we tend to break the goals into various categories. Here are some of mine for 2010:

Body:

• Get to pre-pregnancy weight of 145 lbs by July 1, 2010!
  
• Complete La Jolla Half Marathon in April 2010

Love/Family:

• Visit CT & Charleston at least once each
  
• Join one Mom’s Group to connect with other new mommies

Work

• Find a fulfilling way to pursue a career AND balance "mommyhood"!
  
• Redo Brooke Bryand Photography website with new portfolio pieces
  
• Start BLOG for Brooke Bryand Photography

So there you have it! Keep me accountable to rock out in 2010. The weight goal kicks off on Monday with a 50 DAY CHALLENGE with my "personal trainer" (i.e. DAVE!). He loves workouts by Ross Boxing and I know it is going to KICK MY BOOTIE!!! I am ready to start fitting into non-maternity jeans again, so goodbye pints of Ben & Jerry's (I'll still eat the goods...just won't eat the entire container! Ha ha!), hello ME!

Visit from Santa in San Diego

Santa was very good to us this year!!! As if he knew it was Christmas, Cal woke up at 5:00am (okay, so he always wakes up at 4:00 or 5:00am right now), so we waited until 7:00am and decided it was time to wake Daddy up too:



Riggs, Lindsay & Jon spent the night at Mom's house too, so Riggs had the Pack'N'Play (he can crawl...Cal is still a lump of adorable sugar). So we did it the old fashioned way...in one of mom's drawers!



Cal and Riggs were of course adorable...we decided Cal needed a little accessory:

Cal's bow accessory


Riggs enjoying some Daddy Time

We also took a long walk along La Jolla's waterfront to show Cal & Riggs the seals as well as where their mommies trained for their sprint triathlon (which feels like a lifetime ago):



Mama Dianne made a kick-a$$ Christmas dinner...everything to the Nines as usual!




Family Photo in front of Mom's Christmas Tree

The next day, Mom, Lindsay and I took the babies and were at Anthropologie at 7:00AM!!! Wow. We shopped/strolled for several hours and enjoyed ourselves, but left as soon as the real crowds came in - PHEW!


Lindsay and I goofing off at the mall's photo booth

We went to Stone Brewery for lunch and enjoyed learning what life is like taking two babies to a restaurant and attempting to avoid the stares. Lindsay & Jon did a LOT of walking around/bouncing/stroller-ing to make sure Riggs stayed entertained. Cal...well...he slept.

I love this pic of Riggs...it was from another brewery we went to and Jon was just messing around, holding Riggs up high. So cute!


Fantastic Christmas!!! We loved every moment.

Family Guy: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!

One of our favorite shows is "Family Guy". We saw a commercial today with a clip from Family Guy that seems SO familiar (when we were kids) and, sadly, I think karma is about to be a bi#ch for all of us new parents in just a short time!



Our friend Tim is a new dad and was saying that he thinks of this episode of an old TV show ("Dinosaur"?) where the baby calls the dad "not-the-mama". The premise is that, no matter how great the dad is and no matter that the baby can SAY the word "daddy"...he father is always called "not-the-mama". Ever since he brought it up, I can't keep it out of my mind! So cute.



We are enjoying parenthood, and as I type this at 1:00 in the morning after feeding Cal and putting him back to sleep, I am reminded to really enjoy this brief, brief time with him...he is so sweet and tiny - I even was able to Bjorn him for our Day-After-Christmas shopping today...heaven!

Santa Baby

Cal and Riggs went to see SANTA yesterday!!! Lindsay and I grew up going to Marshall Fields in Chicago and seeing Santa was a VERY big deal. We wore our Christmas outfits (in order to impress Santa and hope he'll bring us our favorite gifts) and were mesmerized by the Winter Wonderland where Santa "worked". Since this was my first year going since we were kids, I expected a similar experience for Cal and Riggs. We went online and discovered that Santa was at Macy's in San Diego and Lindsay and I (gasp) trudged to the mall on Christmas Eve for their first pictures! Well, times have changed. At least this Santa HQ is nothing like when we were kids. Instead of a Winter Wonderland of moving elves, snow, giant presents, etc...Santa lives in...a hut. Just Santa, a bench and a photographer. Hmph. Alas, we got the kids all psyched up (okay, so we got all psyched up) for our visit. Photos were $25/each (!!!!), but the good news is they let you take your own, so I went Paparazzi Crazy during the 3 minute visit.


We were the 10th people in line...ready to go at 8:30am for the 9:00am opening!


Ready for Santa!


Flying like the reindeer

Riggs, typically a super-smiley baby, was so confused by Santa that he just kept staring at him (instead of the camera). Cal was, well...a 5 week old...i.e. a sack'o'potatoes (but an adorable sack'o'potatoes!).





Cal did seem to like his moment alone to shine:



Hilarious experience!!! Well worth the $25 for entertainment value alone. Lindsay and I had a great time at the mall regardless and I'm so grateful we got to share this Christmas experience! Thank you Grandma Bryand for the adorable outfit and Kitty for the super-cute "Santa Baby" hats!

I did shoot a quick video (13 seconds) of the experience to demonstrate the chaos...and this is while they are just 1 month and 7 months!!! I can't imagine when they are 2 or 3.



This morning we woke up at 5:15am (oy) to feed Riggs & Cal, then spent the morning enjoying champagne (our family tradition), opening gifts and awaiting "The Christmas Story" to start over on 24-hour repeat (Dave & Jon's request...Lindsay & I have made it through life without actually SEEING this movie and they claim it's a cardinal sin).

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

CAL...ifornia

Many people have asked about the origin of Cal's name. He was indeed named for this Great State in which we live! Moving to California in 2002 completely changed our lives. We became more physically active, more mentally engaged and more positive about life overall. We have been fortunate to meet incredible people here and have been inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit that is alive and well. Because of this move, our lives are richer and we find ourselves enjoying life to the fullest! We've learned a lot about ourselves and we hope Cal becomes a man that has the best of these traits in him and helps bring out the best in others. I know, a bit serious for a blog post, but we are passionate about it!

Cal also has significance as he shares part of my grandfather's name, Kalman Kolconay (people called him Kal). I never met my g-father, but love hearing stories about him. One thing that our family always cracks up about is the pronunciation of "Kolconay". Anyone reading this blog that has known me for more than 5 years would say, "kol-KON-y". However, ask my cousin John in Chicago and it's undoubtedly "KOL-son-ay". And my g-father, Kal, went with "kal-SONE-y". My Dad describes the root of the discrepancy from trying to fit into their Italian neighborhood in Chicago...the thought being their Czech last name would blend in much easier if it sounded Italian...and it stuck (sort of...thus, the discrepancy!) That family story is what I think about when I think of Kal Kolconay.

Cal's middle name, Rearden, is a character from Dave's favorite book...Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I must admit that I have only made it halfway through the book (dude....it's loooong!), but completely love the spirit of Hank Rearden through and through.

Cal is smiling more and more and we're excited for his first airplane ride on Wednesday! We are heading to San Diego for Riggs' and Cal's first Christmas!


Cal and Daddy after his bath last night. Thanks to Auntie Meggie & Uncle Marco for the great onesie! It says, "I don't understand girls" if you can't see it in the pic.

What a Difference a Month Makes...

Last month this time, we took this photo at 6:30am on California Street:


Two days later, we were here!:


Cal Rearden Bryand was born on Saturday, November 14th at 2:18pm. He weighed 7lbs, 14oz and was 18 inches long.

The labor experience was actually - gasp - awesome! I should rephrase...the labor experience once I got the drugs was awesome! It was so much different than either of us expected. Our vast experience included seeing TV shows and movies where the woman in labor is screaming at the nurses, sweating, cursing, blaming her husband, and general chaos ensuing. Instead, I started labor at home around 4:00am, when I thought I had a stomach ache. Then...it hit me. The pain jumped from "hmm...that feels a bit uncomfortable" to "holy F...there is an alien trying to escape my stomach and the beast ain't happy." Needless to say, I then woke Dave up and we realized this was indeed labor and started timing contractions! I was already about 5 mins apart, so we called the hospital and they told us to come on in. We walked around there for 45 mins until the pain was unbearable and I resembled a banshee wailing as I gripped the hospital walls and asked for the 10,000th time when I could get the epidural. I couldn't manage to sit through a contraction so they could get an IV in me, so they gave me a pre-epidural drug (can't remember what it's called, but I later told Dave I wanted to write the inventors of it a thank you note). Needless to say, the drugs were a lifesaver and from then on (about 9:00am), it was smooth sailing! My mom came to the hospital and the three of us hung out as the contractions came and went...me not feeling a thing, but loving hanging out with Dave and Mom as we watched the monitor. Next thing we knew, the nurse said it was time to push and it was just a few pushes after that when the doctor came in to pull Cal out! All in all, I had about 10 hours of labor, but only 5 of them were painful and both Dave and I thought the experience was amazing!


Fresh into the world...


Sound sleepers in the hospital

We were in the hospital for two days and then grateful to come home to our own space. Cal seems to take after his mommy in that he is narcoleptic (we have had 3 stretches at night of 5 hours of sleep straight...go ahead...be jealous!) and he is a solid eater. Breastfeeding has been the biggest learning curve, but we're finally getting the hang of it and things are coming along. I changed the 2nd diaper of my life (Meg forced me to change Dino once...which was an awkward experience to say the least and I think Dino still holds a grudge because it took me about 20 mins to do it). Dave did all the diapers for the first 5 days (bless that man). Before Cal was born, we did a parenting class called the McMoyler Method (amazing, amazing, amazing...if you've got a bun in the oven and live in SF, you must take this class). In that class, the instructor is very clear that the mom's job in the first two weeks is to feed the baby. The dad's job is...everything else. And she means everything. Changing the baby, feeding the baby, feeding the mama, getting mama pillows, and on and on. We took this to heart and Dave was my saving grace as Cal & I worked on learning to breastfeed (dude...it's not as easy as it looks...at least not for us) and I learned to try and keep my hormones in check (also not as easy as it may seem!).

Cal turns ONE MONTH OLD today! Life has obviously changed dramatically. Bedtime is as close to 8pm as possible for me (okay, so maybe that isn't such a huge change!) and staying in has a whole new meaning.

Here are a few pics we've snapped over the last month:


Cal and Daddy his first days home


Our smiley guy...is that a DIMPLE we see?


Proud Nana and her grandsons


Sisters bonding in a whole new way


Grandma & Grandpa Bryand checking out their grandson!

I snapped a couple of him yesterday...at a month old. His cheeks are chubbier (so cute!), he makes eye contact and he gives us many more smiles (and NO, it's not gaaaaas! at least not all the time...or that's what we tell ourselves).


Oh yeah...and his lungs work. Really, really well.


So that is the update! We have been loving every moment of getting to know Cal. He is a JOY and such a good baby! Now...who wants to babysit???

"Motown Madness" = Motown Sadness

First of all, no baby yet. Due date is a mere 2 days away and it doesn't seem Baby Bryand has moved an inch. In the meantime, Mom is here and we're taking advantage of freedom while we can!

Growing up, we had four types of music in our household: 1) Classical (Dad), 2) Beach Music (Mom), 3) Jazz (Compromise) and 4) Motown (Mom). As I think I've mentioned, Lindsay and I grew up not on "The Wizard of Oz", but on "The Wiz"...the version with Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. Sure, we have seen the original our fair share, but the go-to VHS tape (taped off television of course) was The Wiz. So imagine my delight when my beloved Goldstar (half-price tickets to various activities in SF and other major cities...tours, shows, restaurants, etc.) highlighted a show called MOTOWN MADNESS in SF?!?!?! It was described as a musical that would take the audience through the ages of Motown. I could hardly click "PURCHASE!" "PURCHASE!" "PURCHASE!" fast enough. Dave agreed to give it a shot, so we got 3 tickets for Dave, Mom and me.

That was 2 months ago. Last Saturday, the day arrived to see the show and we went down to Fisherman's Wharf (which Dave won't let me live down as that should have been our first clue that this would be a total dud...Fish Wharf is the #1 tourist destination in SF...so sad as it is AWFUL...but I digress). We got our tickets at will call and were pleasantly surprised to see we were FRONT ROW! Well, then we entered the theater and saw that our compadres were all of 40 people (in a theater of about 250 or so) that spanned the sophistication plane from "I HEART SAN FRANCISCO" shirts to Fanny Packs to stark white Air Force Ones (not the cool kind either). Dave gave me "the look" and immediately asked for a free pass to get a cocktail to help him through the next 90 minutes. Mom joined him and we spent the next 45 minutes smiling politely at the performers on stage (who kept making real eye contact, which is rather creepy when you're in an audience and just want to be incognito). There was one singer that was certainly the highlight of the performance and we could listen to her all afternoon. Other than that, there were cheap costumes (which is kind of kitch, but just didn't work for us) and moderate vocals at best. Needless to say, at the intermission, we bolted. We felt a tad guilty, wondering if the performers would notice that 10% of the audience disappeared, but at the same time, as Dave pointed out, we didn't want to use up any of our last moments pre-parenthood doing anything but be happy doing what WE wanted!

Mom and I took a moment to pose outside of the theater. The plus side is that we got to listen to our favorite music...the downside is that Mom & I may have been able to karaoke better than them (which is scary since I have only done karaoke once...wasted at a wedding and if I have any true friends, they'll never let me do that again).



So, we came home and decided we were grateful to have some time back in our day to just relax at home. All was not lost - Mom got to see Fisherman's Wharf and got to get GREAT people-watching in during our walk to/from the car (mostly consisting of, "Y'all! Do you see that man over there? His fanny is hanging out of his pants!" and "Brooke! Look at that woman's dress! I think she is a pros-ti-tute!" (drawn out with Southern accent).

Fortunately, Dave and Mom did forgive me for my misjudgment of the performance. Mom and I are going to see MJ's "This Is It" movie tomorrow afternoon and hopefully that will help us get our music fix!

Baby news to follow soon (???), but all is well here on the homefront.