a belated wish

Happy Father's Day to the best man I know:

I'm so happy he's my baby daddy.

And lots of love to my Daddy and my Mitch.  Thank you for loving me no matter what.

Ten Months

Considering it's officially June, and the boy is now closer to 11 months, I should probably get this 10 month post posted.

Double digits. I can't believe it.  Is it selfish that I'm sad?  It's bitter-sweet- so fun to watch him grow big, and so sad that he's not my bitty baby anymore...

Things I want to remember about this past month:

The Burt Reynolds pose.  He twists around his feet for comfort- sometimes when he's hungry and sometimes when he's tired.  He also tugs at his sideburns when he's dozing off to sleep.  He has become the world's craziest nurser- he stands up/crawls/or faces me head on while eating, and never for more than 11 seconds at a time.  He just does not want to sit down- he pulls up on everything, even my legs.  He's crusing all around the house and crawling all over- we called him "Danger Baby."  For a couple of weeks, I could mezmerize him with a nighly, post-tubby baby massage.  He will walk if we hold his hands.  Like every baby at this age, he's a magnet for anything he's not supposed to touch- cords, vases, dog bowls (someone was pissed when he tipped over his 118 lbs. dog's water bowl which is actually the size of a painter's bucket), pantry items. Just when you think you have everything baby-proofed...He's not very interested in his toys these days.  We've moved away from purees and on to more and more people food- aside from the pinch of plain steal-cut oatmeal I gave him about five months ago that he thought was poison, I'm not sure there's anything he doesn't like.  He especially loves the smoothies we make in the mornings.  He's trying his damnest to be BFFs with Tar and Amelia. He's won Tar over with his spilled food, but Amelia is threatened.  He wears mostly 12-18 month clothing, and weighs 23.7 lbs.  He is so very, very vocal- yayaya, dadadada, gagagaga.  He's started making a face and a sound simultaneously- we call it the "ooouuuoohh" face.  It's not "ooouuuoohh," like "ooh, that's cool."  It's more like "ooouuuoohh, no you di'int." (Did you know that's the proper spelling of di'int?  I cross referenced Urban Dictionary to be sure.)  He still only two teeth, but we're pretty sure the top four are coming in as well.  He freakin' LOVES cheese- can't shovel it in his mouth quickly enough- he is his mother's son.  He's starting to get more interested in books (be still, this former English teacher's beating heart!) but mostly just the front and back covers.He will stand for a few seconds at a time by himself; he learned quickly how to fall on his butt.  I saw a brand new, 4-day-old baby and I longed for another. I know. Already. I'm out of my mind.

I wish I could record every single thing he does so I don't forget...

Jack Wyatt, you are the very best thing that ever happened to me and your papa.  We love you more than all the stars in the sky.  Wanna know a secret...we watch videos of you after you go to bed because we miss you- how nerdy is that? 

xoxoxo

One of these things is not like the others...

We went back to Cali (a while ago)

It's been well over a month and I'm just now finding time to mention our trip to San Diego.  Here it is in a nutshell:


D tried to prove that we could travel just a quickly as we did pre- JW:

(He failed.)

We watched Father Dave and the beautiful Kirsten get married in Orange County.


Chels and Taylor watched tv and ate gross pizza while JW slept in the pack-n-play in our hotel bathroom baby-sat Baby J.


Chels told me she didn't think my spray tan worked.  What a buzzkill for a Seattleite. 


We enjoyed a perfect 75 degree Easter with my family. 


JW met his Poppy for the first time.  After three daughters and six grand-daughters, Poppy was happy to hang out with a boy:

We took a "generations pic":

JW finally cut his first tooth and found some relief with cucumbers and Honey Baked Ham. 



We enjoyed more perfect weather and questioned why we ever left.


Maddy Moo cracked up at Jack's toots:

(JW: It wasn't me, I swear.)

And gave him lots of cuddles:

The boy also spent some QT with Grannie Annie and loved all of her funny faces.

We clung on to our youth with a lunch at Fred's.  You know you're old when you bring your baby into a restaurant-by-day/bar-by-night that stores the highchairs (of which the waiter didn't even know existed) in the DJ booth. 

Jack tried his first margarita.  Don't worry, it was a virgin.

We explored Old Town and experimented with the Ergo as a back carrier:

And then some magic happened...we were transported back to 1984.  Can you see her?  It's Daryl Hannah from the rom-com of all rom-coms, "Splash."

We captured, perhaps, the cutest picture to ever exist:

D and JW engaged in some father-son bonding time:

 

After his three-day poop strike, JW decided to take care of business five minutes before the plane took off.  Have you ever seen what the baby changing stations look like in a plane?  Did you know they exist?  They might as well not. 

We had a perfect ending to our trip with the world's most positive woman who, when asked if she preferred to have the window seat over the aisle seat, replied, "oh no, if I die, I want to be here."


Thanks to Mama, Mitch, and Maddy-Moo for letting us take over the "ouse."  xoxoxo

All he's missing is Loni.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce my son...

...Mr. Burt Reynolds. 

Lesson learned

No amount of baby cuteness can excuse...

...an ill-fitting one piece.

Nine Months

Weight- 22 lbs. 12 oz. (90%)

Height- 29.1 in. (75%)

Head Circumference- 18.3 (75-90%)

Dear Monster Baby,

You've now been a part of the outside world as long as you lived in my belly.  You've changed so much in this past month- you might as well be a teenager. 

Over the past four weeks, you've transitioned into a full-fledged army crawler:

Papa and I are still trying to figure out how to rearrange the furniture so you can't play with those tempting lamp cords.  You've moved out of your infant car seat and into a big boy seat- my arms are thankful!  You still eat just about anything we give you- Cheerios are now on my list of "baby must-haves." You don't make us feed them to you anymore either- you like picking them up one by one.  They don't always make it into your mouth, but Tar doesn't mind. 

You have a tooth and a half (the other one is bound to pop through any day now)!  We thought you were getting teeth five months ago.  And four months ago.  And three months ago...you get the idea. Luckily you haven't used this tooth for any shenanigans like biting while nursing.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you don't try this...

Did I mention how huge you are?  You're wearing 12-18 month clothing and I still can't find socks to fit your adorable cankles. 

You broke my heart a little bit when you said "dadada"before "mama."  I got over it when I saw Papa's face absolutely light up.  The open-mouthed kisses you give me when I walk through the door after work help make up for it, too. 

Your favorite toy is a spatula- we call him Sticky. Genius, I know.  You also love the little orange vaccuum we use on the hardwood floors- I think you'd help me if you could.  Gramma's pushing hard for you to be the next Carlos Santana; she even bought you an age-inappropriate guitar.  You're just days away from playing your first chords!

("Please, please- no autographs- I'm with my family.")

You've also shown your talent in the acrobatics category, as exhibited in your crib:

 This is how it usually starts...

...then there's a complete upside-down turn...

 ...and sometimes we just see a butt.

You continue to sleep well (save our trip to San Diego- I blame the teeth!), and Sunday Afternoon Family Naps (yes, they're a so important that they fall into the proper noun category) are a favorite in our household.  I never, never, never want to get out of bed in the morning because your snuggling skills are second to none.

On St. Patty's Day, Papa taught you how to get in touch with your Irish roots:

We made another trip to San Diego- more on this in a future post...

The hardest part of this month was being away from you over night for the first time (again, more on this in a future post).  You and Papa had a blast, and Whistler and 22 of my girlfriends treated me well, but it was tough. 

Jack Wyatt, I don't think there are enough ways to say I love you.  Sometimes I think I might give you too many kisses, and I often have to hold myself back from squeezing you too tight.  You make my day, every day, and I never knew I could have so much fun with someone who poops his pants.  You are the only person for whom I will sing silly, made-up songs out loud; I guess that's because you're the only one who will tolerate my atrocious voice.  You are my favorite part of each day, and your Papa and I are so proud to be your parents.  I love you, love you, love you, lovebug. 

xoxo, 

Mama