And Baby Makes Three

Tomorrow we have two dates of note. First, our baby will be 20 weeks old. Second, tomorrow will mark our seventh wedding anniversary. Yes, only seven years ago on the hottest day in recorded North Carolina history, Sprout Daddy and Sprout Mama exchanged their "I do's" under an old oak tree at Fearrington.

How lucky we have been. In seven years, we have been able to build a life of great sweetness, and I feel so grateful for all that we have together. There is not one moment that I would take back. What would I have without Aaron and now without my little baby?

Brunch with Bradley Babies (19 weeks, 6 days)

I've posted a few times about how much I enjoyed the Bradley childbirth classes we took, even if we did not get to try a natural birth. A lot of enjoying the class had to do with getting to know the other parents-to-be in the class. The moms and babies have been getting together once a week since the babies were born. Since I have gone back to work, though, I have not been able to keep up with the group, and it something that I miss. The dads also hadn't gotten a chance to see the babies.

We invited everyone for a potluck brunch two Sundays ago. We had a great time, and they were perfect guests: they left food!


It was great to see everyone and especially the babies who have grown so much since the last time I saw them two months ago.

The food was yummy -- I made waffles and everyone brought something good. (On a side note, the event was also a good kick in the butt to catch up on cleaning the house and I finally got to use the Brockware farm dishes my grandmother gave me last year.)

Zeke got share some of his toys, but seemed to get a little shy! I hope that we get to do it again --it was just so nice to see everyone.

I had to show photos of the babies because they were so cute. We didn't end up getting a group shot of the babies as we could never seem to coordinate who was going to be awake, fussing, nursing or sleeping!

From the top, we have Patrick who loves standing...Ewan who was such a ham for the camera...Parker who we didn't get enough photos of and who dug the swing...Pendleton who is the oldest and the only girl...and my baby Zeke with his thumb in his mouth.

Did You Know? (19 weeks, 2 days)

Here is something I was emailed recently:

"Researchers have observed that babies of 5 to 12 months open their mouths wider on the right side when babbling, but wider on the left side when smiling. The difference suggests that babbling is the first step toward language, rather than just playing with sounds, because it engages the left side of the brain where language is generally controlled. (Since neural pathways crossover from one side of the brain to the opposite side of the body, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body.) The fact that infant smiling is wider on the left side of the mouth is interesting too because it is consistent with the idea that the right side of the brain controls emotion."

Here is a picture of my baby. Note the wider smile on the left side of his mouth.


We just loved his crooked little smile, but now we can brag that it is developmentally appropriate and evidence of his language/socioemotional skills. Cute AND smart!

Some Sprout Updates (19 weeks)

Sprout is doing pretty well these days. As you can see from the photos, he has gotten bigger. He is at least 15 pounds and maybe 26 inches long. He seems to be this tall skinny thing -- nothing at all like I expected! I expected that my baby would probably reach the size limit on his carseat because of his weight, not his height! His little toes -- when he isn't holding them and trying to bring them up to his mouth -- are starting dangle outside of his carseat. He is still rolling onto his side a lot and even rolled onto his tummy again today. Sprout Daddy is calling this the first roll, because he thought I "helped" Zeke the first time. Zeke is also much more interested in his toys, primarily I assume for the thrill of having new things to put in his mouth.

His sleeping has been a little erratic recently with a few nights in a row where he will sleep 7 hours followed by a couple of nights of waking every 3 hours. We are still swaddling him before all of his naps and bedtimes. It is the parents of Sprout that aren't sleeping much these days as we have both been trying to work at night. Poor Aaron really only has a chance to work at night so that he can focus on Zeke during the day. We are both pooped and hoping to get back to a more humane schedule in the next week. Zeke has also been tolerating a little bit of dairy in my diet recently. My apologies to the dairy council, though, he still doesn't like when I eat cheese or ice cream. I had both yesterday (it was heavenly) and the poor guy seemed pretty uncomfortable last night and today. As a result, we were also pretty uncomfortable. So, I remain on dairy restriction. Look at him standing (with some help, of course)!

Aaron's New Baby (1 week, 2 days)

It's the 2006 Toyota Prius. We got it last Friday after waiting a month and a half, and it's the new daddy mobile. Pretty cool. I know my car -- that dinged up Civic Hybrid -- is four years old, but I didn't expect that the technology in it would seem so antiquated. This daddy mobile has a back up camera, touch screen, smart key system, place to plug in the satellite radio and a button for ignition. I still haven't gotten used to not having to take my key out to open the door and start it. I've only gotten to drive it twice now, but I'm sure it's great to drive. Zeke will probably drive it as often as I do.

And, I learned what happens around here when something is no longer useful after 12 years...it gets towed away and written off as a tax deduction for NPR. I guess I better keep pulling my weight around here.

Babies on the Block*

As noted by one of my neighbors last weekend, the breeders have taken over the block. I think I mentioned in a post a few months ago that we have new babies all over the neighborhood. Well, their ranks have been multiplying, and we are planning a takeover of our quiet cul-de-sac. In mid May, our neighbors two doors down had a son, Kal-el. (Yes, like Nicholas Cage's son and Superman). Then this week, our neighbors across the way had a baby girl Maisie. (Don't you love the name?) Another one of our neighbors is having a baby in early October.

Last Saturday some neighbors put together a surprise shower for Maisie's parents, Deb and Michael. At the shower, Deb predicted that the baby would be born within the next 72 hours. She didn't even need that much time as Maisie was born the very next day. We went to visit for a few moments this week, and Maisie was just perfect. I don't think I remember Zeke being little like that at all! This is a photo of Michael doing some cramming to get ready for fatherhood as we made him carry Zeke around for the first part of the party. Pretty much a natural and what a trooper. No surprise, but Zeke drooled profusely on him. (It's one thing when it's your kid, but another when it's the neighbors'.) I'm so thrilled for them, but a little disappointed, too, as Deb said she would babysit for us. We had been planning on doing it when our lives settled down a little (we've been feeling pretty busy), but I think we might have missed our chance. Not sure if they are up for babysitting Zeke right now.


I'm excited that there will be so many children Zeke's age in the neighborhood. I think all of the parents are envisioning kids being able to ride bikes around...Kal-el's dad has even suggested getting a hockey or basketball team together. I don't know what that would entail, but maybe Zeke will get to find out.

* Okay, I really wanted to call this entry "New Kids on the Block" but it did seem moderately insufferable. Still, I giggled at myself enough that I still had to mention it. Once day, Zeke is going to have to face the fact that his mother is such a misfit with terrible taste that the first concern she ever went to was a 1988 NKOTB concert at a club for teenagers. Egh. My running excuse for this terribly sad fact is that my friend Wendy took me, but as I am blessed with free will, I'm sure that does nothing to redeem me.

Quite the Little Devil (18 weeks, 5 days)

Yes, Sprout is now four months old. He is just growing and learning and becoming himself more each day. I'm not ready for him to grow up at all, though it is exciting to see it happen. It's just that it happens so fast. I was just joking that Zeke was four months old, and we would be getting him ready to send to college any day.

So, imagine my surprise when we got a package the next day from our alma mater. Our alumni association sent us a certicate of "congratulations" saying that they were looking forward to getting our money...ahem....getting his application in 18 years. He got a certificate, a hand signed card and this bib that says "Little Duke Blue Devil". Zeke loved it so much he drooled all over it. I thought it was pretty cool and then I realized that so much money went to Duke for our educations, that the alumni association should be able to throw a little something our way. We will make sure Zeke wears it at least once in front of all of our neighbors who are Tarheels. And, if we give Zeke nothing else, at least he has the opportunity to be a "legacy" student at Duke.

Can you imagine, though? Zeke will be eighteen in 2024 and (presumably) would be in the class of 2028! I can't imagine that. He is just so precious to me now. (And, who knows if he will be at 18?) I just can't imagine him not being the way he is now and not having those little laughs and little moments where he sees something new. Ah, I guess this is being a parent.

Super Baby!

Sprout and Sprout Daddy

Daddy and Baby time on Aaron's first Father's Day.



The first time Sprout wore his "Sundance's Kid" romper.

Mr. Busy Baby (16 Weeks, 3 Days)

Woooo....Mr. Baby has been terribly busy recently. No wonder we are all so tired! Here's what the little Sprout has been doing:

* He has been able to bring his hands to his mouth to entertain and soothe himself for awhile, but this past week he actually found his thumb. We have a thumbsucker! Goodbye pacifier!

* Zeke knows how to laugh! Last night we had a 10 minute exchange with me making funny sounds and Zeke laughing at me. Ooh, I could just eat him up, he is so sweet.

* Zeke can entertain himself by making that motorboat/raspberry sound. This may be the only time I am entertained by baby going "phhttttt" at me.

* BIG NEWS: The baby can roll onto his side and has been doing that for a little while. Last night, he rolled onto his stomach and then held up his head. He also has been pushing himself off the floor gym recently. While exciting, I sorta dread him moving around on his own. Before I know it, he'll be running. Ack!