Whew...survived the first week!

We were released from the hospital Monday, March 2nd around 6pm and finally got to bring our beautiful baby home. We can't stop staring at him. Like most parents we are convinced that he is the cutest baby we've ever seen! And he is such a good baby! He's not much of a crier yet which we appreciate...he just grunts to let us know he needs help.

The first night went pretty well...Jonah ate every two hours and went right back to sleep! I was so excited! But then for a few nights he didn't want to sleep after his 4pm feeding...his eyes were wide open and he just wanted to play! This wasn't too surprising because he was always kicking around 3-4am when he was in the womb. But it was a little rough. For the last few days it seems like his sleep/wake cycle is on track, but the poor little guy has been having a lot of digestive problems. He's been groaning and straining whenever we lay him on his back. And we don't want to lay him on his stomach, so last night Ryan ended up holding him while he studied until 4am and then I took him until 8am. We had an appointment with our pediatrician today and she gave us some good suggestions. I'm going to try eliminating some gas-causing foods from my diet and we got a little tummy medicine for him. We've also had him nap in his car seat today and that position seems to work a lot better for him. I'll let you know how it works out!

The next two weeks are going to be crazy for us because Ryan has several quizzes and finals. It's just so hard for Ryan to focus because all he wants to do is play with Jonah! (And respond to all the recent comments on his blog.)

We feel so lucky to live close to both of our families. Ryan's parents came up Tuesday and Wednesday to help, and help they did! They cooked, cleaned, did laundry, and in their "spare time" they held and played with Jonah. =) Thank you Jill and Randy! And my Mom was here for almost a week (just left today) and she spoiled us with amazing meals, a clean kitchen, clean clothes, and open arms to take Jonah in the wee morning hours when we are just too exhausted to rock him back to sleep.


All in all, we are loving our new role as parents. We are tired but we know that these first few weeks are always hard. Jonah brings us many more smiles than tears! And he's just so darn cute that it's impossible to be mad at him (for long. =0)

Jonah's Epic Adventure!

This is a video we put together today. It covers the time leading up to Jonah's birth and it has some clips from the rest of the day. Its about 10 minutes long so it might take a little while to load. This is another one that looks great fullscreen. Hope you enjoy it!

Jonah Ribeira, born 9:59am on Feb 28th!!

Our son came this morning, after a very quick labor.  He is healthy and happy.  He's eating well and has been sleeping most of the day.  We are so happy to finally get to meet him and we're excited to get to know his personality over the coming days.  We thought we'd provide some videos for those who won't get to see him for a while.  They're small but be sure to click the "full screen" button in the bottom right corner of each video. They look great! And there's a photo album after the videos.

And then check out our Facebook Photo Album!

The Fact of My Ignorance

My husband, Ryan, has started a blog! Not the public diary kind mind you, but the kind where he can discuss politics, philosophy, religion and other of life’s more weighty matters. Ryan spends a great deal of his free time researching these topics and I think you will find his posts both informative and thought provoking. Here's a link to his introduction: The Fact of My Ignorance. I hope that you will read his blog often and that you will feel comfortable commenting. It's a great place to discuss themes that we don't normally dig into on our "mommy blogs."

Photo Tag!

Stacy tagged me over a week ago but better late than never, right? Here's how it works:

1) Go to your picture folder, or wherever you store your photos on your computer
2) Go to the sixth folder and pick the sixth picture
3) Post it on your blog and tell the story that goes along with the picture
4) Tag three friends to do the same thing

Stacy tagged me and I'm tagging Julie Ogden, Christina Bess, and Sarah Chilton.

I'm glad that this was lucky photo #6 in album #6 so that Ryan finally gets some face time! Ryan was posing in the kitchen of our first Wymount apartment on my birthday in 2006. He took me that afternoon to see an exhibit at the Springville Art Museum. =) I love my husband!

Watch My Belly Grow

So here's my first attempt at a slide show!

Artistic Ventures

For those of you who don't know, I absolutely love art and am trying to make it as a full-time artist. A couple of months ago I was contacted by a former BYU professor who is also the artistic director for Covenant Communications about doing a painting for a Mother's Day Book. Above is the painting that will be published later this year.

When Ryan and I first moved to Sacramento in July for him to begin Medical School at UC Davis, I went around to different galleries hoping to find a staff position. I talked to the owner of Smith Gallery Midtown and showed him my website www.gaylynnart.com. He wasn't looking for an employee but offered me gallery space to display my work and free studio space to paint. It was a great opportunity that lasted two months and I made some great connections. In August I did this painting of Sister Johnson and put it up in the gallery which led to two portrait commissions.


Here is a picture of my current studio space. It is conveniently located in my kitchen so I am close to everything I need for sustenance. =)



Below are the two portrait commissions that I finished in time for Christmas. For some reason the first image is really desaturated. The real painting is more vibrant.



A couple of months ago I was also invited to participate in a mural wall project to help beautify midtown. A wall was divided into several shapes and over 50 artists were invited to donate some time to paint a section of the wall. I decided to paint a little girl in green.