Being resourceful in a time of great need

**Thanks to Donna for this!!!

JACK-o-lanterns

Click on the picture to see the slideshow with captions

From Halloween 08

Jack's first attempt at cereal went like this:

Interested.

Trying it.


Drooling it out.

Rinse and repeat. All things considered, I'd say it was a successful first big person feeding.

It's never too early..

..to vote.

Date Night Revised...

Now that we are three, this is what date night looks like:

It sort of resembles a date in that there are wine and candles.. But clearly it is not so romantic considering the plastic salad container, the cheese in a bag, and oh yeah: A BABY!

p.s. Dear company who made the baby seat,

It seems that there are giraffes eating my baby's brain. Oh. And, NICE. TURTLE. PLACEMENT.

4 Months

Dear Jack B'Hat,

Yesterday you turned 4 months old. The reason I didn't write this yesterday is because we were way busy yesterday. First of all, your Pawpaw and Sugar are visiting. That in itself is a parade complete with marching, glitter, baton twirling, and sparklers! In fact, as Daddy and I were leaving to go have martinis and sushi (the date time we get when Pawpaw is here), I was a little jealous as, on our way out the door, I heard her tell you that you could do anything you want. You could even have chocolate for dinner! And yes, I do realize that you can't, in fact, have chocolate yet, but store up those promises, kid, and you'll be having chocolate and ice cream and all things lovely and sweet year round.

Also, this was the Texas/OU week-end in the metroplex. It is the football game of the year here in Texas. Even fans who do not support either team eagerly watch the game just so that they know to talk about that "weird fumbly OU touch down" or "the bad calls" while standing around the work water cooler. For the actual fans, this event is an invitation to descend upon the metroplex and gorge themselves on food, football, and beer - as much as a human body can take, in fact. Really, it's best for the residents to sort of hunker down and hope our emergency supplies don't run out. That's what we did. We watched the game, and then we watched the Texas Tech game, then there was British soccer, followed by FC Dallas soccer, and then a Stars game.

We were busy.

But enough of excuses. We did what people should do on their birthday. We hung out together in our pajamas most of the day, and enjoyed each other's company. We celebrated the fact that we were all together and safe and happy. And there was guacamole!

But once again, and ever and always, you are well loved, Baby. We celebrate you everyday!

Love,
Momma

Family

Last night I was feeling kind of low, and was "sort of sleeping" all night. I couldn't find a comfortable spot and my mind was running crazy. I kept listening for any sign of Jack over the monitor, wondering if he was dreaming, and if so, what about. He's been having some night terrors lately, where he screams like someone's just pinched him in his sleep. He's also been very restless lately, waking up several times a night, not really wanting to eat, not really sleepy. We've been at a loss about it.

Around 4:00 am, I heard Jack stir. Rich got up to check on him and fed him half of a bottle. I listened to the goings on in Jack's room over the monitor, as I do every night when it's Rich's shift, to know that yes, the baby's eating; OK now he's burping; that's a diaper change; he's back down.. etc. When Rich put Jack down to see if he would sleep any more, Jack was restless.

I tiptoed into his room to see what was going on. He lay there wide-eyed, blinking at me. I picked him up and carried him into our room, into our bed between us. And Jack grinned at me hugely as he snuggled in.

Most nights, I rock Jack and sing to him right before he goes to bed. A lot of times, as he listens he grins at me and melts my heart. Reflexively I grin back. It's wonderfully soothing to both of us.

As I mentioned, I wasn't having a very good night last night, and as soon as we were settled, we began our nightly routine. Only this time Jack was singing a sweet lullabye to me. As he sang his little baby sounds, he kept raising his eyebrows like I do when I sing to him. He made me grin, and he grinned back. And we fell asleep soundly for an hour, until my alarm reminded me that I have other responsibilities too.

But I sometimes forget that being a momma is not just about me taking care of Baby Jack. We are a family now. As much as he needs me, I need him. That, I've found, is one of the loveliest things of all.

Momma's trying too hard

OK. First of all, count the number of toys in the picture.
I think you can find a zebra, a drum (a plastic bowl and wooden spoon), a rattle, a boppy, and a bumbo seat. But what you don't see is the plush monkey, Deiter (...touch him); some plastic letter rings, specifically "L," "B" and "J"; an entire rain forest jungle gym, complete with giraffe (??), music, and blinking lights; and a momma in a high pitched baby voice whining, "Hi Baby Jack. Do you want to play? Are you having some fun? Fun, Baby Jack? Yesh you are! Yesh you are! Right Baby Jack? Yesh! OOOH! I love you!"

The sum of all of that equals this:

I didn't think I'd see this level of disgust until his teenage years. Wait, is he pretending to throw something at me?

And then came:

Isn't playtime fun? "Yesh it is, Baby Jack! Yesh it is!"

OR

Momma's annoying.. "Yesh I am, Baby Jack! Yesh I am!"