This city is the stuff of legends and its no doubt been a great place to spend Bjorn’s first Christmas.  Only in San Diego can you spend your first Christmas and go to the beach three times and have your parents recklessly put your feet in the Pacific Ocean two of those times.  Yes, I too was surprised and Bjorn’s cajones…he didn’t flinch and he seemed to really love the sand beneath his toes.  All good signs of things to come when we go to the beach “for real” in the summertime.

Curious steps at Swami's

Good thing Bjorn started eating like his life depended on it because his chunky little thighs now give him insulation in the cold ocean water.

Thunder Thighs and his father, Jack Spratt

Good thing we got a hat to keep the heat in on one end of his body from his genderless friend (for now) Hubaker.

Today is our last day in town and we don’t really know how we’re going to spend it, although another walk on the beach might be in the cards.  Its just been beautiful sunny days that hover around 60 degrees.  We drove up to see our friends Leslie, Taylor and Calvin the other day and it was ridiculously clear out to sea that you could see the sun setting over Catalina Island to the west and the snow-covered San Bernardino Mountains to the East.  So beautiful.

Bjorn’s first “playdate” with Calvin was a success.  Since they were only 3 weeks apart, I used this opportunity to peer pressure Bjorn into doing all the things that Calvin has discovered, like ab crunches and a ridiculous dance move that involves throwing both of his hands down and stomping (love this).  Calvin has a giant (!!!) dog named Hobbes that is also very intriguing.  I’ll bet if he walks that dog down to the schoolyard no one will mess with him.  However, what those kids don’t know is that they’d be worse off in a room with a one-eyed chihuahua.  Hobbes is truly just a sweet gentle giant.

So, that’s my stream of consciousness San Diego visit.  Sorry if this entry makes no sense at all.  That’s what I get for having tons to update and not really doing it consistently.  I realize I haven’t even touched on Christmas or family-get-togethers, yet….and maybe I’ll get to that when we’re back in the frozen tundra of Ann Arbor.  But for now, this is what I’ve got and I’m sticking to it.

I turned 30 on Saturday.

I got my first period in over a year on Saturday.

Some presents you wish you could exchange for something else but this didn’t come with a receipt. On the bright side…I can’t really think of how to end this sentence on a positive note.

I have been failing so much at keeping this blog lively the past couple of weeks.  Part of me thinks that things I used to think were novelties are now mundane in the sense that I still love when Bjorn smiles but I don’t need to share it every time he gives me a cheshire grin.

Here are a couple sweet photos over the past couple of weeks.  He’s getting so big!  No, really…for those of you who have been following my nursing/formula saga, you’ll see he has essentially doubled in size because I’ve caved and started feeding him mostly formula as he just never really took to nursing.  If we lived in a time without formula–this kid would be S.O.L.  But, giving into the feeding has been probably one of my better decisions as a parent.  He’s happy–oh so happy–and I think he may just have been very very hungry the first three months of his life.  Oh, Bjorn…I”m so sorry.

Anyway–here’s my little plumpy.

Bjorn embracing his exhibitionist tendencies and streaking in front of the Christmas Tree.

Bjorn liked this hat so much that his cousin Geddy let him borrow in Denver that he "accidentally" brought it back to Ann Arbor with him.

Paternity test not necessary. Loves me my Jensen Boys.

I’ll probably get in trouble for “launching” these without prior approval from Lars, but I really felt like we hadn’t shared photos in such a long while that I’m risking it all.

In other news, my mom is currently in town and we’re eating like kings and definitely enjoying the benefits of a third set of hands around the house to hold Bjorn.  She, along with Grandma Joan, have been lovely in taking care of Bjorn during my first couple of weeks back at work.  The transition has been a lot less painful than I thought.  My work schedule of three days a week is truly ideal at this time so I’m not complaining.  I’m getting adult conversation and responsibilities but I still get to spend the majority of my time with Dr. Poopsie (aka, Bjorn) and experience all the little things he learns how to do every single day.

We also have been spending time with his teachers at his daycare, Gretchen’s House.  We love love love it, which makes putting him in daycare not something to dread but something that we know Bjorn will enjoy.  His family group teacher is named Brittany and she’s sweet as can be and held Bjorn the entire time for our first visit there.  She must have drawn the short straw with regards to names of kids in her family group, though, because Bjorn’s “classmates” are Neva and Yasmen…a little on the unconventional side but at least they won’t be able to tease each other when they realize they can tease.  Sounds like trouble to me.

Onward to San Diego on Monday for Bjorny to meet his Laver relatives and to dip his feet in the Pacific Ocean (if only for a nanosecond).

I think using the term “pretty fly” means you are, in general, a giant poser. This seems appropriate for this post about the new class I am taking at the gym. Hip Hop Aerobics. That’s right. Not just any aerobics class…hip hop. A girl in my mom’s group joined the class and said she had a lot of fun and that I should do it with her. Because I have no dignity and/or sanity and saw this an excellent opportunity to experience something I could blog about, I did it.

It was a lot of fun but I won’t lie–I was definitely the girl in the class with the LEAST amount of rhythm. I looked at Stephanie during the class and asked her “hey, do you remember that show ‘the weakest link’? because I am living that right now”. It was fun, though and it definitely works up a sweat. Don’t expect any photo-links to blogs about my hip hop class. I mean, maybe if you paid me like five dollars I might be open to it.

The way the class works is that the teacher comes up with a routine every four weeks or so. So you’re essentially learning a hip hop dance. Its pretty amazing how long it takes to learn approximately 20 seconds worth of a dance routine–but they’re not working with back-up Michael Jackson dancers, here. Whenever the teacher asks if there are any questions, part of me just wants to ask her to dance for us because she’s sooo good. I’ll just watch and burn calories through proximity. Or something like that.

I have been so “bah humbug” this holiday season.  Last night I made the boys go with me down to “Midnight Madness” in downtown Ann Arbor where all the stores stay open until midnight (hence the name).  We didn’t stay until midnight but I was hoping the festive atmosphere would put me in the spirit.

Well..something gave me the bug because, as I sit here and type this, our tree is up and decorated and the the Christmas lights are on and hte stockings strung.   We even had Peppermint Joe-Joe’s tonight (TJ’s answer to Oreos), we were so freaking festive.

Here. I’ll prove it.

Bjorn's First Christmas Tree

How can you not go all-out when you first have a baby?  I mean, its their FIRST CHRISTMAS and they will totally remember it and thank you for it when they’re 20.  If you don’t go balls to the wall, you better start saving for therapy, my friends.

We’ve returned from our trip out West to visit family in both Seattle and Denver.  It was the baby circuit tour of 2009 where we were reintroduced to Bjorn’s cousins Mats (Seattle), Ryder (Denver) and Quinn (Denver).  However, there were three NEW babies that we got to meet; all born within eight months if you can believe that.  Mats has a little sister, Anikka;  Ryder has a little brother, Geddy; and Quinn has a little brother Nolan.  One day I will draw a family tree to help everyone keep it all straight…and it will have many many branches to emphasize the size of our growing family.  However, there is no way I can draw a tree to emphasize just how gosh darn cute all of Bjorn’s little cousins are.

We have posted a couple of photos from our trip out west (including a few from Ann Arbor) here:

Our trip started on November 20th with a 5 hour flight to Seattle.   Bjorn was a total fearless flyer and even though the plane had a pesky “hydraulic leak” that kept us at DTW for an extra two hours, he handled traveling with finesse and pizazz.  We ended up at Erik & Jen’s house at around 1am…kind of crashed…but try teaching a baby about time changes and know that our first day in Seattle was a little rough for me (not for Bjorn).

We took in a lot of football (boo to Michigan for losing to OSU….AGAIN!); a little bit of hiking and lots of playing with the cousins.  Jen and I were able to sneak away to a really cool place called “inSpa” where we got pedicures in the freezing weather…but ou know what, it was totally worth it.  Sitting quietly in a chair with your feet soaking in warm water with a People magazine.  Heaven.  I also got over to the University District and Green Lake area for a nice walk around the lake and lunch near the University.  Seattle is such a lovely and dreary town.

We jetted off to Denver on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving thinking that the airport would be packed.  It was not (although our flight was).  Our only mishap flying happened en route to Denver when we landed and taxi’d for approximately 8 light years.  Zomg just get us to our gate.  Also–we booked our car with National because the University of Michigan has a set corporate rate with them that facutly and staff can use—this makes us “Emerald Club” members.  Snappy, right?  So we got off and picked out our car only to realize once we got to the hotel that IT HAD NO POWER LOCKS.  This would be the low-point in our trip.  Don’t ever get a car without power locks if you are constantly trying to get an infant in a cumbersome carseat in and out of the back seat.  In fact, just don’t ever get a car without power locks period dot.  WE ARE EMERALD CLUB, DAMMIT.  I DEMAND POWER LOCKS.

Okay, time to be jealous because we had the most amazing Thanksgiving dinner prepared by Kristen’s husband Bentley who is a professional chef.  My second “ZOMG” of this post belongs to Thanksgiving dinner because it was effing amazing.  All the standards but taken up about a zillion notches.  So good.  How Kristen is not 500 pounds amazes me.

To work off Thanksgiving dinner, we went on a hike on Friday with my Uncle Rich up the Flagstaff Trail to a summit in the Flat Irons.  You will be surprised (proud?) to know that I carried Bjorn the entire way up in the Baby Bjorn.  It took us way longer than I think we would have pre-baby but, dammit, I made it.  I made Lars carry him down because I don’t trust my agility coming down the mountain.   Rich took us out to lunch at the Chataquau Lodge at the base of the trail after we descended.  Because we are geniuses, we decided to go into Boulder on the last day of their home football season and Colorado Buffs were facing the Nebraska Cornhuskers just a few miles away.  We planned our departure mid 4th quarter because, as many of you know, the last place you want to be with a 4 month old is in traffic on a rural freeway.

Saturday saw us visiting our adorable cousins Quinn & Nolan in Highlands Ranch.  Nolan confirmed it for us–the second baby is quite possibly the most easy-going baby there is.  Anikka, Geddy and Nolan were all easy peasy…at least to our eyes.  Meanwhile we feel like we are always on pins and needles waiting for Bjorn to lose it, but he was on his best bright-eyed behavior!

…and now we are back in Ann Arbor.  I start work on Monday (boo) but then we are off to San Diego for another cross-country venture on December 21st.  This kid is racking up the frequent flyer miles like nobody’s business.

Bjorn went to his four month appointment this morning and here are the stats:

Weight:  12 lbs, 13 oz

Height:  24.5 inches

Head Circumference:  42.3 cm

Apparently this is all normal and good and I’ll just have to take their word on it.  He was in a particularly happy mood on the doctor’s examining table while we waited for our Nurse Practitioner to come in and examine him so I took a movie.  I have entitled it the esoteric and Oscar-worthy “Pre-Shots”.

Pre-Shots from Megan Jensen on Vimeo.

He was NOT this happy after the shots but is now resting peacefully in his little carseat all bundled up.  What a little peanut.

I’m currently debating whether or not to get a Christmas tree.  Part of me is like “Its Bjorn’s first Christmas–he HAS to have a Christmas tree!” and part of me is “Bjorn is going to be five months old with no measurable memory and the house is always a mess and do I really need to bring a giant shedding tree into the mix?”.  I’m leaning towards the former because I’m both an idiot and a sentimentalist and we’re going to want those photos, dammit.  Now, I just have to convince Lars.

Also, is there anything better than Pfefferneusse (whoa I spelled that right on the first try!) cookies?  No, there is not.  Saw them at TJ’s and couldn’t resist.  They are my holiday splurge–much better than a peppermint mocha at Caribou Coffee–or at least that is what I keep telling myself.  PS–They also have those fantastic chocolate balls that are orange flavored and you hit them on the table and they break into orange pieces (wow–what a fantastic description, megan).  Oh, the holiday season.

Okay, so I knew to expect hair loss after the birth of Bjorn. Most every pregnant woman I knew who went through it all before me warned me of this fantastic phenomenon. I’ll be honest, I truly wasn’t that worried about losing my hair–because I have a lot of it. No, really…no worries about going bald here. These past few weeks have given me cause for concern, though. I am shedding like you would not believe. Or maybe you would–but either way, my hair is EVERYWHERE. A slight breeze blows enough hair for an American Girl doll’s wig off my scalp. After every shower I have to unclog the bath tub drain because we might all drown if I were to let it go. Poor Bjorny–he gets the worst of it…there is usually always a hair or eight million stuck on his clothing, in his mouth, on his binky. He doesn’t complain–I have explained to him that I will be shedding for an indefinite amount of time and rationalizing with a four month year old just seems appropriate.

Speaking of four month year olds–can you believe he’s four months old?!? Cuter and more lovable by the moment.

I’ll post soon (with photos!) of our trip to Seattle and Denver. Know that Bjorn was a fearless flyer and is gearing up for his second cross country trip in less than three weeks. Lars notes “Bjorn has been on five airplane rides at the age of four months; I went on my first plane ride in high school”. Its just the way Bjorn rolls.