Reading and laughing

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents." -Emilie Buchwald

... and grandparents! Here is Gigi reading with Graeme, although he seems more interested in eating the book than listening to the words.

He is growing and changing so much that he seems like a different little boy every time I go to pick him up out of his crib. I can't even keep track of the milestones. Just a couple of days ago, he started grabbing his toes... goodbye, cute baby socks. He loves to pull up to a standing position while holding our hands and has the most infectious laugh. Or maybe he's laughing because his mom sounds like a weirdo.

Photo blog

Not much time to type. Photos are cuter anyway.

A Walk in the Woods...

Soaring at the beach... (I did not add any effects to these photos! Awesome job, iPhone 4! Yes, I know my phone is old, but clearly it still works just fine.)

Grouchy at the beach...

Stylin' in mommy's sunglasses...

Beautiful sunset.

Baby Rock Star

Graeme was a ridiculously good sport while I snapped his photo a million times. He could have a career in baby modeling if I wouldn't be such a stage mom. His little mohawk has become so wispy it's hard to see in the photos, but it sure was easy to spike up just by spraying hairspray on my hands.

 

Love the baby bum in these jeans!

Uh oh, we're losing some clothes! I was almost able to catch him mid-squirm to capture "My Mummy Rocks" and the axe-wielding mummy. Too adorable!

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins

Graeme's first pumpkin!

Love the baby-sized pumpkin that Grandpa Coach and Soosie got for him! We tried for a few family photos and got a few good ones! This was also his first time ever wearing shoes. Thanks to his Gigi for the dapper new outfit!

Thankful for Thirty

My original idea for this post was to list 30 things I'm thankful for. I don't think I'll make it that far, but it's the thought that counts, right? Besides, sometimes well-intentioned thankfulness posts on social media can turn into a brag-fests. This is just a quick reflection on my experience as a new mom and turning the big 3-0.

I'm thankful for my sweet husband who picked up a "delicious and non-nutritious" (his words) breakfast and brought it back home for me this morning. Biscuitville tastes even more delicious when your child wakes you up at the ass crack of dawn.

I'm thankful for mom friends, new and old. I have several long-time friends who already crossed the threshold into motherhood who have been incredibly supportive, from lending me maternity clothes to throwing baby showers and giving breastfeeding advice. You made me feel special and kept me sane. I wish I had helped you more in those first months with your little ones. My fellow new mom friends at Women's Hospital are amazing, too. Commiserating about sleepless nights and nipple pain really helps me feel less like a crazy hobo who hasn't showered in a couple of days. And they surprised me at our Baby and Me class with treats today! It just so happened that today's session was about nutrition, though. The instructor came to give me a handout but I had already picked one up at the door. I pointed to it and she said "Oh, I didn't see it there underneath that GIANT cookie." Save the guilt trip, lady. Wait until you see the even MORE giant cupcake I'm going to eat later. And I'm not even sorry.

I'm thankful for my parents for giving birth to me and taking care of me. There is just no way to know how much your parents sacrificed and cared for you until you are in their shoes. I get it now.

I'm thankful for Graeme's health. Figuring out to raise a semi-normal child is so difficult, I can't imagine how it would feel to be worried about a serious illness as well. At least once a week, Trent and I give each other a meaningful, wide-eyeballed glare and say, "man, this is really hard." And yes, we might also be inclined to add "that's what she said."

I'm thankful for Graeme's naps. They allow me a little (sometimes tiny) amount of time each day to something like a real grown-up, like eat lunch with two hands or type this post. Plus, they give me some time to miss him and forget just how adorable he is. Then when I pick up him again later, the cuteness overload helps me overlook some of the not so cute things he might do. I mean, I'm very glad that my life is completely different than it was a year ago, but I think it's healthy for moms to acknowledge a little bit of resentment. It's okay to miss your former life of going out to movies or not muffin-topping your way out of every nice pair of pants you own.

I'm thankful to be a stay-at-home mom. Sure, it has its drawbacks. We're poor. Living on two teacher salaries in our state is crazy. Living on one is certifiably insane. Plus, everyone says you'll miss adult interaction if you stay home, but I worked with children all day anyway! And now, I can pee whenever I want. Yes, teacher friends - be jealous.

Graeme at about 3 weeks old

Play date

Graeme had a great time at our play date with Mallory and Anna Claire. He loved being around such beautiful ladies that he just had to show off his mad skills. Drumroll please... He rolled over from back to front! Apparently, he rolled over for Trent last night on our bed while I was teaching piano lessons. (I thought being a stay-at-home mom was supposed to guarantee that you won't miss the milestones! What the heck?!) Still, we figured the squishy bed helped him cheat a little so it didn't quite count. Today, it was definitely legit on the floor! So proud of my strong boy!

Who needs sleep?

Two nights ago, Graeme slept through the night for the first time. I know what you're thinking. "Good job, Graeme!" Sure, I was thankful for eight uninterrupted hours, but all that sleep came at a price. I'm not even talking about the pain I felt when I woke up. (Breastfeeding moms know what I mean.) This lovely eight-hour stretch was preceded by the car ride of terror.

Let me start by saying that Graeme has never been much of a crier. I mean, he cries frequently, but we can almost always calm him down within a matter of minutes. Even through his peak crying time when they warned us about the "PURPLE" crying, he wasn't that bad. With that said, he chose Saturday night to try it out. No matter what we did, he screamed bloody murder. I sat in the back seat with him, I sang to him, I held his hands still so he wouldn't smack himself in the face... finally, we turned up a staticky radio station full blast and that sort of worked. That was after a full hour of the screaming, though, and Trent and I were pretty ready to jump out of the windows of the car at that point.

After a normal Sunday with no extended car trips, never have I ever been so grateful to hear Graeme's voice at 4:00am. Any other night, I might have sighed, waited a few minutes to see if he'd go back to sleep, then trudged out of bed to feed him. Now I have a new appreciation for that nighttime feeding. It's actually quite peaceful and snuggly. And we didn't have to endure the wrath of a three-month-old. Sleep is great, but perspective is a beautiful thing.

BTW, I have lots of older photos that I never posted on Facebook that I will continue to use for a while. The photo from my first post was when Graeme was only about 2 weeks old. Here, he is about one month. More recent photos to come.