What a Happy Boy

Our little guy is just full of fun lately. He smiles and interacts more, and is just so darn fun that his dad and I don't get much done :o). Thanks to Randy who has helped me get a few more naps in, I have caught up a little on my sleep, although I'm still kind of in a fog. Seasoned parents tell me that it never fully goes away . . . but I can always hope. When other parents of children this age say that their child is sleeping through the night, I'm not exactly sure what that means. Is that eight hours? Seven, six? Right now we are getting about five hours, between midnight and 5 a.m. For that stretch he will stay in his cradle, but usually by the time the sun is up at 6:30 or seven, he doesn't want to be in his bed anymore. Wes is such a cuddly little guy, and will always take naps with me. His weight isn't concerning me much anymore, and he rarely if ever needs a supplemental bottle. I think the big difference is that he isn't spitting up like he used to. He has officially grown into his three month clothes--I measured him the other day and he was a little over 22 inches long. He has scooted himself over from his tummy to his back a few times, but he really isn't a fan of tummy time. He has somehow learned to scoot himself around on his back while he's in his cradle--I put him down to sleep in one place and I find him a few hours later in another. I don't really know how the kid does it :o). We are working on transitioning him to his own room to hopefully get his sleep schedule more down pat (as in sleeping in his bed from 9 pm to midnight, instead of in his swing or on mommy's lap) so we have been buying the rest of the furniture we put off purchasing while I was on bed rest and couldn't shop, since we knew we wouldn't need it anyway for a few months. I'll post pictures when everything is set up.

A little Daddy time

Cute little critter

Happy and ready to take Daddy to school this morning

Another Movie for the Grandmothers

Here is Wesley playing with his monkey. You must indulge the first time mom in love with her baby: I am completely aware that many of these videos are completely boring to anyone not the mother/father/grandparent of this baby. But we think he's awesome.

For those of you not as obsessed with my baby, there will be more non-Wesley posts to come. I have about a million books to review, as well as a UNICEF fundraiser to tell everyone about. So bear with me!

Babies Make Things Shorter

I've been writing more poetry since I got pregnant. I haven't suddenly become more abstract or sentimental, but I do have less time. So . . . novel writing has become short moments while feeding the baby or while he's napping, and brainstorming has turned to verse.

Here are a few that I've been working on recently. There is music that accompanies the lullaby--ask Randy and he'll sing it for you. That being said, I may have to tweak some of the verse to make the music fit. The last selection is something I actually wrote a while ago in a poetry class, but I ran across it the other day and it made me smile. Feel free to add any (constructive) criticism, as I am not part of any writing groups at the moment and could use any feedback available. (That means you, Krystal!)


Bavarian Winter

Looking back now
I see two people standing there
holding hands in the rain.
It's hard to know now
whether we were coming, going
meeting once more to try again
or parting

I only remember a vague uneasiness
a chill in the street lamp, settling over
the pavement and me and you--

But your hands were warm
like the last long evenings of summer
or the times when we laughed
over all the stupid games we played
in the kitchen, over steaming pots
and pasta

I don't remember how or when
things changed
Just the seasons of wind and ice
and too late springs
the long lazy summers apart
but still we waited.

Holding hands on other streets
in other mists
Your hands warming mine
Laughter caught in the damp air
around our faces

Wesley's Song

hands so small
eyes so bright
you hold my heart
as I hold you tight

I would protect you
from every harm
cuddle you close
through every storm

So sleep my love, till
with the dawn above
the sun will shine through
the warmth of my love

Small awkward smiles
rain down on me
The sweetest rewards
are given for free

Darkness will come
but you need not fear
I will be there
to dry every tear

So sleep my love, till
with the dawn above
the sun will shine through
the warmth of my love


My Sexy Little German Man

"Bring a little German home with you,"
He said, with a wry smile
And eyes that laughed at his own jest
The over-used joke between us was not so funny
Anymore, but merely one more way to say
I love you.
I pictured comical hats and lederhosen
On a miniature man
Waiting on some cobblestone boulevard
Hip jutted out, eyes scanning the street
Like some elfin hooker, looking for a date
With me.
When I came home that night, I forgot
To bring the German--
What I brought instead was half-Italian,
One quarter Irish, an eighth French
And all mine.

Growing Up, Growing Out

Our little guy just keeps growing and delighting us with each new stage. His latest tricks: rolling over, and smiling/giggling at monkey noises. The monkey that Mandy gave him before he was born makes one he finds particularly funny, as does his daddy's imitation of it.



Here are some more pictures per both Grandmas' requests:

This was the outfit that Randy was blessed in as a baby.

Tonight, just out of the tub.

Sleeping with Mr. Monkey.

Kicking away on Aunt Jody's blanket.

Wes is Two Months Old!

Here is our little guy on his 2 month birthday. He's not breaking any records on the growth charts, but we finally have him putting on some weight after some stressful trips to the pediatrician. He brings so much joy and happiness to our little family. He still has a little bird cry, or rather, squawk, and he is starting to be more vocal. He is more and more alert all the time, and Randy especially is enjoying interacting with his boy. He is right on the edge of smiling at things we do . . . right now the smiles we get are either from gas or in his sleep.

I'm still not getting any sleep, because at seven and a half pounds, Wes still needs to feed every three hours in order to catch up some of that chub he needs. Randy is really great to help out in the afternoons/evenings and let me catch an extra nap whenever possible. We have started working out together which is fun. We've got to get in shape so we can keep up with this little guy once he gets a little bigger!

Cute Little Critter

Today Randy took his last final for the semester, and we all let out a huge sigh of relief. There was a lot of catch up to be done as the semester came to a close, because of an adorable little distraction that kind of interrupted things about a month ago. Plus nobody has been getting very much sleep around here ever since. We are looking forward to our vacation starting this Sunday. It is well deserved: Randy did so well this semester, and got really good grades in some pretty tough classes (accounting, music history). What a hard worker!

The Baby Bump My Friends Never Saw Thanks to the Joys of Bed Rest

Today was a long, tiring day. Wes wasn't feeling that great--so I was rocking, and rocking, and singing, and rocking, and feeding every other time that I wasn't rocking and singing. Which got me to thinking. As hard as moments like this can be--that little screech just breaks your heart--I wouldn't trade it for the world. And I certainly wouldn't go back to a few months ago . . .

Many of my friends never saw my baby bump, so I have some photographic evidence for them that I really was pregnant (no, we didn't pick him up from the cute baby store). So here you go.

This one was taken in September, when I was aproaching seven months.

And here I am in all my glory, about a week before giving birth. Please refrain from the "wide load" jokes: no I did not beep when I backed up.

All I can say is holding the baby like this is infinitely better.