brown goat
the life of city dwellers with a healthy obsession with natureloving a child
i’m a sucker for all things sark, so, naturally, i LOVE this poster. my favorite: “if they’re crabby, put them in water.”
life’s blissful moments
i just recently read the most inspiring editorial at cooks illustrated and i can’t stop thinking about those personal scenarios that make your life, at least for a fleeting moment, absolutely perfect. it has really made me wonder what my own list of bliss would be composed of. here’s what i came up with after only a few days of thinking, so, this list is, of course, not exhaustive.
returning to our “nice” hotel after an exhausting and thrilling, action-packed day at disney world carrying my new dumbo stuffed animal and finding chocolate mints on my pillow.
spending the entire summer day at granny and pawpaw’s pool. searching for pennies on the pool bottom, playing categories, eating ham sandwiches and charles chip potato chips from the big tin can, calling dad at the office and telling him to come meet us there for dinner so that we could swim longer.
my first visit to seaside. a long july weekend vacation with the wernicke family. we swam in the ocean, made delicious dinners, explored all the back alleys and sidewalks (by ourselves!), and drove our own golf cart (which, to middle schoolers, felt like our personal little car). it was the most delightful town i had ever visited. might still be.
watching my dad breakdown lying on top of my parent’s bed the morning after pawpaw died. the tremendous sadness that surrounded the event also shed light on the incomprehensible love shared by my family. i knew then just how lucky i was to have the family i have.
that one day each fall at davidson that all the bright yellow leaves of the ginkgo tree decide to fall into one big yellow pile on the ground.
walking home to our beacon hill apartment, elena riding piggy back on david, after ice skating (elena between david’s legs) in the boston public garden. stopping into the charles street market to pick up dinner. elena requesting sushi with “acrincado” (avocado) and edamame. picturing how much fun the future holds, knowing that the family david and i would one day create would be the best thing in the world. and, so far, it’s been nothing but unimaginable happiness.
entering the church, escorted by my dad, and looking up to see all the lovely faces as i start to walk down the aisle to the sound of black mountain by cast iron filter to join the man of my dreams.
early morning (or late night) february 26th, 2008. again, it was one of the most serious and heartbreaking moments of my life, yet also one of the most perfect. i was reminded on this night how devoted my family is to each other. this event also helped me to fully comprehend, then appreciate, david’s tremendous greatness.
taking a van cab home from a fall wedding. dancing in the living room until sunrise the next day.
hearing jack’s first cries as he was being pulled out of my belly and turning to look at david who was sobbing audibly, the tears streaming down his face in total elation.
jack’s first night in the world. staying awake the whole night, lying in the hospital bed, just holding and staring at my baby boy and trying to wrap my head around the endless love that filled my heart.
i survived
i returned to work this week. it is difficult to know that my “maternity leave” chapter with jack is over and, of course, i desperately miss his gummy smile, his laugh, his smell…the top of his head, the nape of his neck – that “newborn scent” that is so utterly sweet. i hear that it’ll start to disappear after 3 months. i guess that’s the time when the freshness fades and the world sets in, but i’m holding on to it as long as it’ll stick around…
but, it has been a good week. i like using my brain for things other than “baby” and i welcome diverse adult conversation. plus, i think the routine will do us all good- jack now has a bedtime and he slept for 10 hours last night (i actually had to wake him up this morning) and i shower daily (we are all thankful for this)! it’s the drive home that kills me- i feel like it can’t go fast enough to get me home to my sweet, little monchichi. to nibble his little cheeks and inhale his sweet aroma… the drive and the absurd number of bottle and pump parts that require a daily scrub…
for now, i’m happy to be a working mommy. just crossing my fingers that the fairies appear soon to do all the house chores!
dear jack,
the last time i wrote you a letter was when you turned six weeks old… unsurprisingly, a lot of things have happened since then! first of all, HAPPY THREE MONTHS (thirteen weeks)! even as a type that out, i am in disbelief…it can’t be that you are already out of the “fourth trimester” and the time has come for me to return to work! i wish i could just close my eyes and freeze time for a while…maybe we can somehow make this weekend last longer than two days…
you are the happiest baby! i, admittedly, was so worried when we took you for your first set of vaccinations at six and a half weeks and i had to say no when your doctor asked us if you had started smiling. now, you smile all the time and sometimes even laugh out loud at your funny parents! the smiles started over the christmas holiday, but they have gotten more frequent and more purposeful over the last three weeks. it melts our hearts EVERY time! and, you are talking up a storm! lots of sounds and for long periods of time like you are just trying so hard to tell us about something.
over christmas, you officially outgrew all of your newborn clothing (except for a few pairs of pants) and have graduated to the 0-3 month size. it seems like your little legs are not quite ready to move up so you have lots of shirt options and not too many pants to choose from yet.
it makes mommy very happy to report that you are a champion nighttime sleeper! starting at six weeks old when we realized that you still needed nighttime swaddling and we ordered you a miracle blanket, you have been happy to get all wrapped up, listen to your waterfall noise, and drift right off to sleep in your crib without a peep. EVERY single night! and, beginning at ten weeks, you legitimately sleep through the whole night (seven to nine hours nightly). we are so thankful and so impressed! and, you wake up so happy- often talking to your balls hanging above your crib and when we come in to say good morning, you give us a huge smile!
you are absolutely loving your baths (and mommy looks forward to them too), you’ve had your first babysitters (your very first was mia, popi, and aunt laura when mommy went out to lunch with kristin in florida), you still love your walks in the stroller, you have started chewing on your teething toys and, consequently, drooling all over your clothes!, your colon seems to be all better since mommy eliminated all dairy and soy, and you continue to love going, going, going wherever we decide to take you (we have only had to abort our mission once when you had trouble settling down on our way to trader joe’s).
there has also been a very serious event that has taken lots of our attention and energy this week. your nonna had surgery on her brain to cut out a tumor and is now working really hard to feel better again. she is having lots of trouble using her right arm and right leg, but there are so many great therapists at rehab, where she is staying, that are helping her to get stronger. she has pictures of you and flowers from you in her room there and i know that is making her feel happy and motivated to work hard so she can leave there and play with you again.
you are therapy for us all. without you, i would have had to work really hard this past week to find goodness each day, but simply coming home to you each night made me smile and helped to wash the hard stuff away. i love you so much little man.
xxooo, mommy
christmas on the coast, part one
even though this is quite delayed, we had too much fun not to share more from our holidays in florida. we had two christmases (the luck of having both families in the same city!) and then some post-christmas/new years time, so i will share in three posts since there are so many pictures!
jack and i spent the first week at my parents house while david stayed in atlanta busily working on finishing his PhD experiments. jack loved cuddling up with his cozy nonna:
we were in florida for a long enough break this year, that we were able to take part in some long-standing family traditions, like day long christmas cookie baking where jack met lots of new relatives and big doggies (pictured below- his “favorite” great aunt debbie (self-titled), second cousins laurin and allison, and his great granny (her first great grandchild!)) and saw santa riding through the neighborhood on a firetruck (this is how we do santa in the gulfcoast):
christmas eve and christmas day are tradition-rich…my parents host my dad’s side of the family on christmas eve starting the day with cinnamon rolls, bacon, and sausage balls and ending with a delicious dinner of shrimp and chicken creole. then, after a christmas morning filled with present opening, we join about 40 relatives on my mom’s side of the family to celebrate long into christmas night.
pictured below is jack meeting his aunt lynne and great mamaw:
jack having fun with great aunt diane and pops:
sleeping peacefully in aunt jessica’s arms after a full day of excitement:
christmas morning kisses from pops and big sister sadie:
another annual christmas tradition is bowling with my mom’s side of the family on december 26th followed by a huge beer and gumbo party.
stephanie with cousin brian at the bowling alley:
baby jack being lulled to sleep by great aunt debbie in the gutter lounge! yes, my baby fell asleep inside a bowling alley bar…classy, i know… i think his little outfit fits the part- he looks like a “party college boy”- sweater, undershirt, and khaki cords
more holiday pictures to come…
tomato soup and grilled cheese
i have been thinking about a delicious bowl of creamy tomato basil soup paired with a gooey sharp cheddar grilled cheese sandwich for days now…probably because i am on a no dairy, no soy diet, since baby jack is intolerant to those things, and restrictions always create cravings, but, boy, that combo sure sounds yummy! my secret to a scrumptious grilled cheese…press fresh sage leaves into the bread when grilling. try it…it’s delicious!
(picture via cup of joe)
back from our long holiday.
goodbye ohs, hello tens?!!
sorry for the lengthy absence. i hope everyone’s new year is off to a refreshing and fun start and that your holidays were merry and bright. we had so much fun celebrating the holidays in florida…two and a half weeks filled with love from family and friends! i haven’t been away from my place of residence for that long since my college days…
jack certainly changed a lot over the holiday season. i think he weighs close to eleven pounds now! he finally outgrew his newborn diapers and his newborn clothing, which i hesitantly packed up in a blue-for-boy bin and placed in the attic, and he is now sporting his zero to three month wardrobe and looking as cute as ever! he is a champion nighttime sleeper- going to bed without any fuss and sleeping for pretty long stretches at a time (always waking only one time during the night to eat). he smiles all the time! our new favorite thing is going in to get him in the morning and be greeted by a wide-eyed and smiling jack!
jack met so many new relatives in florida and was spoiled by all the cuddling and holding! all the extra hands created a preference for being held most of the day, especially when tired. i know we can’t hold him forever, so i have to admit that i treasure the moments now despite the fact that it makes it nearly impossible to do much more than read or type when i am by myself.
in two thousand and ten, i hope to write a lot of food posts and dish up a lot of fun baby talk! cheers to a fun and happy new year!
accomplishments
what a day i had yesterday! i bet your list of daily accomplishments can’t even come close to mine???!!!
1. showered WITHOUT another adult being at home to watch jack
2. started packing for our holiday travel to florida…little babies sure need A LOT of stuff
3. drove in the car for the first time- just me and jack…another activity that i have been avoiding solo…
4. survived jack’s first set of vaccinations…not too scarred
5. made it out the door with a clean shirt (no pee or spit-up!) and even a touch of make-up on my face
6. swept the floor and started some laundry
7. stopped at target and tackled our errand list
boy…the small things that can really make you feel like you are on top of the world! anyone else have a productive day?…i didn’t think so.
reindogs, trains, and flowers
yesterday, we did our first festive event of the 2009 holiday season…we went to the atlanta botanical gardens for the reindog parade and holiday train display! we had so much fun! the weather was perfect for the occasion- chilly and gray- and jack loved strolling around outside.
here are a few of the dogs that entered into the parade and contest:
there was even a cindy lou! this family with their two dachshunds won first place.
the dogs, below, were our favorites! their gingerbread outfits were adorable!
(love the tutu and leg warmers for the gingerbread woman costume!)
and here’s the train display:
(i love train displays…they remind me of our train set that ran under our christmas tree when i was little)
after a fun and festive holiday outing and lunch, we came home and snuggled on the couch and watched our first holiday movie of the year, the family stone, while drinking homemade eggnog lattes. this is the most wonderful time of the year!
(jack wearing his “santa’s favorite” outfit with santa claus feet- a gift from nonna and pops)
dear jack,
we have had another fun week marked with milestones and more “firsts”…
you have outgrown your first clothing-this is both exciting and bittersweet to your mommy. exciting because you will soon be able to wear all your adorable 0-3 month clothing and because you are growing; bittersweet because…well, you are growing! soon, there will be no more teeny, tiny baby jack!
(photo of the first outfit jack grew out of. it was the only outfit we had that “fit” him when he came home from the hospital.)
another growing milestone for the week is that you are no longer being swaddled. we just took the liberty to stop swaddling you last weekend after realizing that you were keeping yourself awake trying to break free. now, you use your sleep sacks to keep you warm and cuddly and they are equally adorable!
(photo of jack all swaddled up and cuddly in his crib lying in his sleeping wedge, which he also no longer uses.)
this week, you were quite the party animal–attending your first two birthday parties! both parties were surprise 30th birthdays (one for aunt karen and the other for stefen) at restaurants, caramba cafe and surin, and you were amazing- slept through them both without a peep, much to the party guests’ dismay!
(photo of jack in his “party animal” outfit. snuggled up in his teddy bear fleece puts him right to sleep for nights out on the town!)
sadly, we suffered through our first florida football loss this week. but, on a much happier note, we have really gotten into quite a nice, predictable routine…you are eating 7 times a day and, much to mommy’s liking, only one of those times happens in the middle of the night! we go through our day taking walks, swinging, sleeping in your rocker, snuggling on the couch or in mommy and daddy’s bed, nursing, and going on outings. daddy is now putting you to bed at night after mommy feeds you…and it seems that both of you enjoy that quiet bonding time with each other.
happy six weeks, jack! i love you,
mommy
