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.

we are family.

little boy blue

At this time of year, the earth begins to warm, the skies open with gentle rains, wildflowers turn highways into pointillist masterpieces, and across Texas--families pull off onto the shoulder of the road and hall their kids into the grass for photographs. Who am I to mess with tradition?

Worse, I woke Jack from a nap for this adventure into the weeds. He was dazed and confused at first and then a little bit incredulous. There were a few smiles, but he was very uncertain about the hat. I, on the other had, felt sure that it was adorable. Richard said he looked like an aging Englishman with questionable taste and pasty skin who decided to vacation on the Riviera this year. I told him that Jack looked nothing of the sort. Socks and sandals were NOT a part of this carefully crafted bluebonnet outfit.

Still, we were only out in the unremitting sunshine for about fifteen minutes before we started to worry that our English rose was getting to, well, rosy.

We'll be back next year to try again, though I am already wondering where to go so that he can't wander onto the road. By that time, I doubt only the flowers will be wild.

up to the highest height

Austin Kite Festival 2010

My grandfather learned to fly kites when he was a kid. He used to write his address on little parachutes made of tissue paper. He expertly sent them up the kite's line and then shook it until they dropped and were caught by the wind and carried to far-flung places. Sometimes a stranger would write to him and tell him that his parachute had been found.

Maybe these early experiences with kites contributed to his lifelong passion for flight and an unquenchable wanderlust that made him curious about all of those far-flung places and the people to be found there.

This year, we wandered past the Austin Kite festival. I hope next year we'll be back with our own kite. I want Jack to learn how to fly. I want to hold anchor for all of those connections that might just float away. I want us all to remember our own wanderlust, to remember our wonder.

hurry bibi, many thanks sincerely...

we're so looking forward to your return to Austin! We promise we won't spill kool-aid on your new carpets or anything. just get back here fast!

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.

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.

imitation is the highest form of flattery...

Baby boy does his best impression of Uncle Theo:

the first six weeks