sunny days. time to play.

One of our greatest pleasures as a family is our Saturday "constitutional" around Lady Bird Lake. Richard and I did our fair share of walking the hike and bike trail before baby boy joined us, but we enjoy it even more now that he is with us. Despite the snow earlier in the week, we were out in force and so was the sunshine and the warm breeze.
Jack is sporting the last of his winter wardrobe before it gets too hot. I had to go through his closet the other day and remove (almost) all of the 0-3 month clothes. I was supposed to make a save pile and a toss pile, but I didn't find anything of significance to part with. Instead, I sat on the floor of his closet, picking up one sweater and then another, arranging them and holding them close again.

It reminded me of when I took high school physics. At the end of the course, I had all these notes I barely understood and no intention of going into any profession that required more than basic addition. Still, I held onto my notes. What if I needed to figure the trajectory of the sun while on the trail? Calculate the trajectory of a rogue bird? I finally threw away those notes five years later, when Richard came to visit our family home for the first time. They went into the trash in a dusty heap.

My hope is that someday we'll have another baby. Whether he (or she) will be able to wear some of Jack's newborn clothes--the green argyle sweater, the teddy bear vest, the monogrammed overalls--remains to be seen. Even if the stars align and we have another little boy who wears the same sizes in the same seasons, he won't need everything I've saved.

But it's just so hard to let go.

sleeping sweeties

we're dreaming...

Two days ago, we were sweating in our sweaters. It was a still seventy degrees. Then that funny thing happened that sometimes happens here in Central Texas. The sky goes grey and fluffy and we wake up, ready to go about our routines, and realize that there are big fat snow flakes falling in our backyard.

Today, Jack and I did just that. I raced to get us both dressed so that we could take a picture before the sun came out and our wintery white vision was gone.

As you can see, it was tough to take a picture of the two of us that did justice not only to our exquisite mother/son beauty, but also to the white stuff. Basically, it looks like I have a bad case of dandriff and Jack is disgusted, but tolerant of me--what with that whole giving him life thing. In reality, I think he was a little bit miserable. The flakes were absolutely huge and when they fell on his face, he blinked and shuddered and gave me the evil eye.

Eventually, mean mommy took him back in, but I had to get proof that he had really seen snow. What with the global warming and the general lack of frozen precip here in the heart of the lonestar state, it could be a while before he has another opportunity.

We made our way to my office carefully and we had a chance to see the snow fall and melt a couple more times that afternoon. Jack particularly enjoyed watching the squirrels from my office window. Then, when we thought there was break between fronts, we headed home to do a little bit of snuggling while we waited for Daddy to get home.

After all, like surprise snow, the number of days that Jack will voluntarily snuggle with me are limited too!

play that funky music, white boy.

Nanny the Great!

My mom always says that Nanny has a special relationship with every one of her grandchildren--that each of us would swear up and down that she really does like us best. She's right. (Except that I really am Nanny's favorite.)

Nanny has been "raising" grandchildren and now great-grandchildren for more than thirty-five years. All told, she has three boys and three girls. She's got at least three that are mechanical and at least three who could currently care less. (That's me and the two great grandbabies.) She's got three in Dallas and three that are a little bit farther flung. Ahem...she's only got one brown-eyed girl. (I told you I was the special one!)

Our time together--Nanny, Jack, and me--was an absolute treasure. Jack took to Nanny the way all her grands and greats do. He smiled and flirted and cooed and wooed her, determined that he would be her favorite, too. We laughed and cuddled and dressed him up. We ate and told stories and escaped for a couple of adventures. It was vintage Nanny time and Jack fit right in.

love the one(s) you're with...

I've never had two men in my life before. I never had to juggle dates and times or remember which chit-chat I had already shared. Generally speaking, my guiding principle has always been: feel free to date this guy if you are absolutely sure that you have already fallen giddy in-love with him.

This Valentine's Day, I had two guys for the first time. It required a flexible schedule and some small (tiny baby) talk to keep the little one happy. But my principles are still intact. No doubt about it. I'm crazy in love.

stab me once, shame on you.

12 lbs. 6 oz. and 23.75 inches
50th percentile for weight
70th percentile for height

As Daddy said, this boy is "one long, tall drink of milk."

Jack had his two month well-baby check yesterday. Daddy met us at the doctor's office, which was a great help as it seems to be cold and rainy every time we go. First, he was weighed and measured. The nurse did a double-take when she realized that little-bitsy had grown four inches in the last six weeks. Not so little-bitsy anymore! She was so unsure of it that she measured him again and came up with the same number. No wonder our boy has been wanting lots to eat and lots of sleep.

Jack jumped off of his old growth curve (5th percentile for weight, 10th percentile for height) and onto a longer, plumper one. We couldn't be more pleased as we think he is where he needs to be after a shaky start. While Jack is solid, he still has room for a few more thigh rolls.

Then it was time for four immunizations--two shots in each thigh. Daddy held his arms and tried to comfort him while the nurse worked super quickly. This mommy really appreciated it as Jack let out this piercing scream that definitely meant pain and surprise. When she was finished, the nurse told me that I could pick him up and he was just precious. He buried his face in my neck and snuffled for a minute and then stopped crying all together. Brave boy! Every once in a while, there is nothing like a mommy hug.

Jack and I stayed home from work today because I thought he might feel pretty crummy. He hasn't shown any signs of fever, though, and I haven't noticed any extra fussiness. He's been pretty tired today and that's okay with me. We've had a couple of nice cuddly naps together. If this is the worst of it, I might have to have him immunized more often. Just kidding. Don't tell Jack I said that!

two-riffic months

Dear Jack,
Two months! Man, it flies by. Sometimes, I think I can literally see you growing in my arms. Now that I know you've gained four inches in the last six weeks, I know I was right.

We're starting to settle into a routine as a family. Actually, we were getting the hang of things and then I went back to work and you and Daddy and I are still working on finding equilibrium. The balance between work and play has always been hard for both of us, but I promise that we're working on it. (See what I mean: working on play. ack!) I wish I could say that once we get the hang of this, it will be steady-as-you-go easy and that we'll know what we're doing and we'll never forget your diaper bag or show up late to a meeting or come home with work to be finished. Our life together (before you and with you) has been an awesome adventure so far, but adventures aren't adventures without twists and turns and I think we'll all have our fair share of those. Besides, no boy who grows as fast as you do can be that adverse to change!

On that note, you are wearing size 1 diapers. You outgrew the newborn diapers at about five and a half weeks. It probably would have been sooner if you hadn't lost a little bit of weight in your first week--and if your mother had noticed that the newborn size was starting to look like a speedo on you.

This month you are sleeping for longer periods. You go to bed between seven and eight every night and then you get up again at about 11 and then again at 4 or 5. You still take at least three naps each day, but when you are awake, you are more alert every day. Whether eating or sleeping, you go from zero to sixty in four seconds. That is, you are perfectly content and then, well, you aren't. You are learning how to fall asleep on your own. You aren't learning that YOU MUST TRY TO BURP AT THE END OF EVERY MEAL. Instead, you scream as soon as the milk is taken away and only once you've let out at least one whopper of a burp and been given a pacifier do you really calm down. We go through this between seven and eight times a day.

This month, you and I went to San Antonio four times. What a star traveller you are!! I hope this means you'll eventually be up for a trans-Atlantic flight. Let me just say that while there are many, many disadvantages to having half of your family in another country (like missing them all the time) there are some perks when they live in Europe and not, oh I don't know, Kentucky. Just remember that it takes as long to get to Kentucky in a car as it does to get to London in a plane. And there are no potty breaks in the car. Or opportunities to eat anything. Not with your Grandaddy.


You have adapted wonderfully to going to work with me. We usually stay for about six hours and you nap and eat and play. You also get loved on by all of my coworkers and any visitors who happen to stop by. You are far more popular than I am. At the end of the day, after all that attention, you are wiped out--and so is your mother. While it isn't ideal to be back to work so soon, I find it easier to make this transition when you are no more than a few feet away. I'm just not ready to give you over yet.

In the last couple of weeks, you are doing some social smiling. You are super sneaky and it is hard for me to catch it on film; actually, it is nearly impossible. Once you get a little bit better at it, I am determined to capture it as your smiles melt me. And you are a pretty laid-back little guy, so I think we may just find that you are smiling all the time soon.

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a mother and I have wondered whose mother I would be. (When I was a little girl, I would pretend that I was being interviewed about my life story. I had a million fantasies about what it would be like to grow up.) Now, I know. I am Jack Stafford's mommy and I can't imagine it any other way.

Thanks for letting me begin to know you.
Love you always and always,
Mommy

imitation is the highest form of flattery...

Baby boy does his best impression of Uncle Theo: