fab five!

who's your baby?

I am constantly amazed that this big guy (the one is the dark blue) is my little baby cousin, Garrett. You know, the guy who is a sophomore in high school, a competent driver, a star on the football field, and a lady killer to boot. Don't get me wrong. All of these were predictable outcomes when we were staring into his little baby face not so long ago. It's just that I didn't think much about how he really would grow up (and up and up and up) and be holding my baby (like a football) someday.









I think that Jack is a lucky boy to have such a good role model in Garrett. Who else is going to teach Jack the rules of American football? Or how to throw a girl in the air (and catch her) while he's dancing. I'm not kidding...G's got some major tricks up his sleeve. Not only is Garrett funny and outgoing, athletic and smart, but he sure is good to his mother too.

life of the party.

This weekend, we made our first trip up to Dallas to visit the family. While it was a bit of a whirlwind (thanks Aunt Judy for staying up late to let us in at night) we had a great time and were glad to get to share in Zoey-girl's second birthday.


While the cousins weren't exactly immediate best buds, I think they'll grow to appreciate one another more and more every time we're together. By next year, I predict they will be partners in crime.
Now Jack has met most of the members of my family. Next up we'll tackle the British relations. (But as he cried from Waco to William Cannon, we'll need to work on his travel skills because Abergavenny is a whole lot further away.)

i'm the king of the swingers.

As the party was winding down, we stole away to the swings. These buckets looked like they were perfect for a first attempt at swinging (on a real swingset. we all know how the first real attempt at swinging went. ahem.)

Jack tolerated this quite a bit better. If he hadn't been exhausted, he might have even enjoyed himself. I enjoyed seeing my big boy looking so little in the swing. Time flies and I know soon so will he. In the meantime, Daddy and I are trying to enjoy this time when he prefers just a bit of gentle rocking.

mommy's little baby loves suppertime, sort of...

Here are an obnoxious number of pictures of Jack's
first attempt at solid food:

these are the cheeks that milk built.

first food: rice cerealthere is more to life than milk? i'm intrigued.

sceptical

dubious
disgusted
resigned
resolute
revolutionary

I tried to make it to six months without solids, but after more than a week of sleep regression (with J-baby waking up every hour and a half to eat), something had to change. Jack took his first few bites with skeptism. I think, though, that he has the Stafford appetite and willingness to try new things. By the end of his first meal, he was reaching for the spoon.

All the books tell you to watch for food allergies, and as I am a sufferer (strawberries, some yellow dyes, shark meat--long story for another time), I wanted to be vigilant about this. Jack ate a couple of "bites" and then started to sneeze and sneeze and sneeze. At first, I thought that it might be an allergy, albeit an odd one as mine present with hives. Then I realized it was just his way to efficiently get rid of the offending substance. Hilarious.

We haven't seen his sleep get significantly better just yet. I think that is because his schedule (and the number of ounces of milk he drinks at a time) are the same as they were three months ago. And he is about three times bigger.

I guess that with balancing the job and Jack, I sort of let what was working work until it didn't. We'll get sweetie baby sorted out before long. Once Daddy finishes school for the summer, we plan to get him eating in a way that makes more sense for a six-month-old. AND we'll get him sleeping in his own bed. In his own lovely little room. Maybe even through the whole night.

A girl can dream.

a bathtub full of baby

My mom was sure that Jack would be able to bathe in her bathroom sink on our recent visit. Jack, on the other hand, felt that it was all a little bit undignified. The rather cramped bath ended abruptly when he pulled at the faucet and got a surprise spray of cold water. (We're really learning a lot of lessons about what we need to keep out of little man's reach now.)

Tears before bedtime, indeed.

ducky, you're the one...

you make bathtime lots of fun.
oh, i'm awfully fond of you.