Hey all!
It’s been almost 11 weeks now since our little boy joined our happy family and things are going very well. Hadrian is now close to 14 lbs and about 60 cm long. He’s been very alert lately and likes very much to be entertained. Fortunately, he also likes being around people and isn’t scared to be held by others; he just loves the attention! He’s smiling a lot now and laughs when we talk or play with him. He’s still quite good when we go out too. Just this week he went to his first sign-along! He really seemed to enjoy the songs and gestures. We’re thinking of bringing him to the swimming pool soon, hopefully he has his father’s genes for the water!
We recently received our professional photos of little Hadrian that were taken back when he was only 2 weeks old. I’ve included a few here for your enjoyment!
It’s been almost 11 weeks now since our little boy joined our happy family and things are going very well. Hadrian is now close to 14 lbs and about 60 cm long. He’s been very alert lately and likes very much to be entertained. Fortunately, he also likes being around people and isn’t scared to be held by others; he just loves the attention! He’s smiling a lot now and laughs when we talk or play with him. He’s still quite good when we go out too. Just this week he went to his first sign-along! He really seemed to enjoy the songs and gestures. We’re thinking of bringing him to the swimming pool soon, hopefully he has his father’s genes for the water!
We recently received our professional photos of little Hadrian that were taken back when he was only 2 weeks old. I’ve included a few here for your enjoyment!
Debby is still doing very well, and her and baby are well into a routine now. We recently introduced a pacifier to him, which he takes with mixed results. It’s actually quite funny some times; he hasn’t really figured out how to suck on it and kind of chews it instead! We also started giving him a bottle as of late. So far, he’s not liking it too much. He usually fusses for a while until he settles down and finally starts to drink from it. On two occasions now I’ve stayed home alone with the baby while Debby went out for a bit. The first time she left us alone together he started crying about 2 minutes after she left the house and he went on for almost an hour until he finally settled down and went to sleep! The second time started off similarly. I decided to try to give him a bottle in case he was hungry and that seemed to tick him off even more! I swear, he can smell the milk from his mom and he instantly knows when his food source isn’t around!!! Anyway, he’s slowly getting used to the idea of taking the bottle, which is good because eventually we’d like to be able to go out and leave him with the grandparents!
My good buddy Dan (a.k.a. Galazzo, a.k.a. Big G) visited us a couple of weekends ago and we had a great time reminiscing about our lost youth! These are things we do now that we have kids and are getting older!!!
OK, I thought this would be a good time tell you about some interesting facts concerning the day our little Hadrian was born. On July 20th:
1871 – British Columbia joined the Canadian confederation.
1903 – The Ford Motor Company shipped its first car.
1969 – Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon followed right behind by Buzz Aldrin, after Apollo 11 successfully became the first manned mission to land on the moon.
1976 – The Viking 1 lander successfully landed on Mars. It was the first attempt by the Americans to land an unmanned spacecraft on the red planet.
1976 – Hank Aaron hit his 755th and final career home run. After breaking Babe Ruth’s 39-year-old record, his own career home record would stand for another 33 years until Barry Bonds surpassed it in 2007.
Well, hope you enjoyed those fun facts! For those of you who would like a little more interesting trivia regarding July 20th, stay tuned for my special note at the end. So baby and family are doing well and we’re all very happy (and yes, still sleepy too!) Here are a few more recent photos of Hadrian for you to enjoy!
Danny, Debby and Hadrian.
P.S. Here below is that special note I mentioned. Read on!
Since you can all remember my story about the origins of Hadrian’s name, you know that I’m somewhat of an ancient history enthusiast. Well, in keeping with that topic, there is some interesting facts about the day on which Hadrian was born.
According to most commonly recognized sources, on July 20, 356 BC, a Macedonian Greek, son of King Philip II was born. The boy was named Alexander III of Macedon, but is better know as Alexander the Great. On the night of his birth, a Greek named Herostratus infamously burnt down the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is said that Artemis, the goddess of childbirth, was too busy attending the birth of Alexander to save her temple. Alexander the Great is considered one of the most successful military leaders of all time and is presumed undefeated in battle. During his reign, he had conquered most of the then known world.
Before imparting my next historical tidbit to you, I must first give you some background information. According to the ancient Egyptians, their year began the day that the brilliant star Sirius, know to them as Sothis, could be seen on the eastern horizon before the rising of the sun. This day corresponds to July 20th in our calendar. Due to a series of complexities in the ancient Egyptian calendar, the coincidence of this “New Year's Day” and the rising of Sothis occurred only once every 1460 years. This period is known as the Sothic cycle. Thanks to the writings of Roman historian Censorinus, we know that the ancient Egyptian New Year's Day and the rising of Sothis coincided in the year 139 AD. OK, so how is this relevant, other than the fact that July 20th was the ancient Egyptians’ New Year’s Day? Well, based on this Sothic cycle, July 20, 1262 BC was suggested as the embarkation date of Jason and Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece. Jason is considered one of the oldest and most important figures in ancient Greek mythology and the quest of the Argonauts is know throughout the world.
Finally, on July 20th, 2007, the following was reported. Archaeologists had partially dug up a 2nd-century bath complex believed to be part of the vast, luxurious residence of a wealthy Roman. The complex is believed to be part of a multiple-story villa that belonged to a man called Quintus Servilius Pudens who was friends with Emperor Hadrian. I thought this was an interesting coincidence seeing as our Hadrian was partly named in honor of the Roman Emperor!
