(I wrote this last week and beat around the bush adding photos. I tried adding video of his rolling over, but I can’t?!)

Yesterday marked a couple of big milestones for Jonah! First off, I was making the bed with Jonah on it. (For a full tutorial, you can email me. Happy to demonstrate. It’s a talent.) He thought it was pretty fun, especially the “parachuting” of the top sheet over him. I finished and plopped him on top of the beautifully made bed. (I’m still patting myself on the back.) I grabbed a foot and rolled him to his tummy.

He flipped back over!

I did it again.

He flipped over again!

I called Janet in to show her! I grabbed the camera, flipped him, and he just laid on his tummy. Poop. Give him a minute.

…

On his back. Flip to tummy. He thinks about it, and then he ROLLS OVER to the OTHER side! Color us impressed by this feat of strength and maturity. He was pretty thrilled.

Fast forward to the evening time. At Jonah’s four month check up, his doc prompted us to feed him something before six months, so as to avoid aversion. We’ve been mulling it over, and what with his rabid hunger, we decided to go for some avocado. Since Grandpa Stu and Maymie got into town yesterday, we thought it was a great day for a first few bites.

Verdict: he loved it. He’s not quite sure how to keep it in his mouth, but what he did keep in there, he savored and swallowed. What didn’t stay in his mouth came squirting out like from a piping bag. It matters not! We’re thrilled, and we think he is too. 🙂

So there you have it. The kid we thought might not roll over for a couple of months surprised us, so we, in turn, surprised him! Jonah, I see your milestone, and I raise you an avocado! (or a very small part of one)

He’s spending the day with Maymie and Grandpa Stu today while Janet and I are at work and school. Sweet boy. We can’t wait to get home to see him.

Dear Jonah,

You turned four months old last weekend. I can’t believe how fast these four months have flown. You are such a bright and joyous child, and your kind and sweet personality becomes clearereach day.

Right now you’re in the living room, playing alone on your play mat. I can hear your keys jingling and rattles rattling as you bat and kick with your strong arms and legs. I love that you can play quietly by yourself for long stretches of time while Mommy and I get tasks done around the house or have a quiet moment to ourselves.

You started giggling last week. Not consistently, but you practice and are quite amused most of the time. You smile always, unless you’re upset, and your smile is broad and infectious. I still suspect you’ll have at least one dimple.

I’m getting ready to go back to school for fall semester, and Mommy just took a new job to work weekends. This new schedule will be very different for all of us, and it’s likely that it’ll take some getting used to. Just know that we’re doing it all for you, little one. We love you so and want you home with us as much as possible, for as long as possible. We hope this new world for you helps your flexibility and laid-back attitude flourish.

Life is getting easier and harder, all at the same time. No matter the difficulty or ease, every day is richer now that you’re here.

All my love,
Mama

Today was Janet’s first day back at work after her twelve week maternity leave. I hadn’t given it much thought until this past weekend, and it made me pretty sad. “Sad” isn’t particularly elegant, but that’s exactly how I felt: sad. Like the kind of sad you feel when your childhood cat dies or at the end of summer camp; like your heart might burst. I dove into my sadness, and realized that I was sad for the following reasons:

* If I was in her shoes, I would be grief-stricken to leave Jonah all day. I’m just not ready. I need to soak him up more. And while her maternity leave is hers and not mine, until this point, we’ve shared this experience. I can’t help but imagine myself in her very tiny shoes, marching back to work after the most interesting and love-filled twelve weeks of my life, and the very thought of it weakens me to tears.

* I’m going to miss her! How often do you get to spend all day, every day with your spouse and your new baby for like, ten straight weeks? Hardly ever. Maybe never. And we might never get to do this again. We were lucky to have the opportunity, and I’m grateful for it, but I’ve gotten used to having her around all the time to joke, chat, bicker, laugh, and gawk in amazement with.

* This monumental first chapter with Jonah is over. I’m not good at goodbyes. It’s like he’s supposed to be grown up enough now to go through the weekdays without his engorged birth mother. All of that makes me miss the sweetness of yesterday, even though yesterday is STILL TODAY! There was no magical flip of a switch to make him mature enough, sturdy enough, or strong enough to manage without her for 10 hours a day! I call bullshit on this arbitrary timeframe.

* Finally, I can’t help but feel a little intimidated of being alone, all day, with Mr. Baby. I know what I’m doing with him, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being with him, but I don’t get a break. I don’t get to toddle off to Ace or the grocery store on a whim. Everywhere I go, he must go with me! Which means I have to be prepared, I have to lug his heft, and (most importantly) he has to be in the mood (AKA – cooperation station). 

This last one slapped me in the face on this, my first day of stay at home mama-ing. I left the house completely prepared for an excursion EXCEPT I forgot the most important thing: a bottle. And it was the stroke of three hours since his last feeding. What a dumb-dumb! I cut my trip short, but not before he whined all over the paper store while I bought some note cards. “How old is he?” asked the clerk. I wanted to tell her he was old enough for me to have remembered a bottle, but instead I just smiled and said, “Twelve weeks. Isn’t he the sweetest?” through gritted teeth, while I shoved a pacifier in his moaning gullet. Long story short: It was a long ride home. It was a long walk into the house. It was a long 3 minutes to prepare and heat his partially-frozen breast milk delight. 

I know it’ll be fine. I’m already looking forward to tomorrow and what we might do together. But that doesn’t diminish the fact that I wish Janet was going to be home with me. We’re such a good team! Ah well. Change is a bitch. 

Our vacation to Florida’s Gulf Coast was, in a nutshell, awesome. Beaching with a baby is so different than beaching with just the two of us. We spent much less time on the sand and in the sun and much more time inside, relaxing and reading. We also took time for a couple of fun excursions in the area; once to the aquarium in Tampa and once to Clearwater for day beer-drinking and World Cup-viewing followed by crab legs. (I LOVE CRAB.)

Here’re a few pics from the week:

Janet and Jonah in the super hot beach cabana.

Jonah napping in the sauna – I mean cabana.

We moved him out into the breeze.

End of the day smiles.

In the pool!

Morning hang out/dance party.

Dipping his toes int the ocean. (AKA – having his sea bath.)

The look on Jonah’s face is priceless. This fabulous painting was in our rental. We loved it so much that we contemplated ripping it off the wall and strapping it to the roof of the station wagon for a trip to Decatur. We resisted. It was tough to do the right thing, though…

Family pic in front of the piece de resistance.

We had such a great time! For a first beach vacation, we were very pleased with ourselves. Can’t wait ’til the next adventure.

We were so thrilled to have Stephanie and Demi stay with us over last weekend! Demi is about 6 weeks-ish older than Jonah, so it was so fun to see what we have to look forward to. She’s so smiley and interactive. And STRONG! She and Stephanie were a welcome treat after our long road trip home.

Here are Janet and Steph with Jonah and Demi – all together for the first time ever!

We hung out, relaxed, talked about babies, and just enjoyed each other’s company. Janet and Steph took a couple of walks together with the babies. Here they are before their second walk:

Steph and Demi at brunch on Sunday morning at Folk Art. Delicious!

Sweet Demory Anne!

It was a great visit, and we can’t wait for many, many more just like it! xoxo

It’s been far too long since I posted anything on here. So for now, I will simply post a few photos of all that has happened in the last month. 

Jonah met Janet’s cousin Matthew. They were fast friends. 🙂 

Jonah met Janet’s cousin Andrew. They too were fast friends. Those Thompson men have a special way with the babies. 🙂 

Jonah thought Andrew’s wife Kyle was pretty neat. And fancy. (Me too, Jonah.)

This is a terrible picture of Aunt Rebecca holding Jonah for the first time. I’m sorry it’s awful.

Another awful picture (courtesy of moi) of Campbell with Jonah. That big baby head is Lucy’s! She’s one now, and she walks! 

Here she is walking and getting into things in our un-baby-proofed house! 

More to come soon on how Jonah has changed, how we’ve changed, and how life has changed. Basically, everything is always changing. Stay tuned. 

Jonah’s met quite a few important folks over the last couple of days. It’s been pretty busy around here, and he’s been charming the pants off of everyone who comes over!

He met Alice last night. She was pretty funny about the whole thing. She was equal parts embarrassed and apathetic in a very 4-year old sort of way. When she walked in with Sarah and Lea, Sarah asked if she wanted to hold Jonah. Alice said, “Mommy! I’m not that interested!” HA! She was very sweet to Jonah and even posed for a couple of pictures. Here’s one I snapped:

Today, Jonah met Robyn! She swung by after taking her mom to the airport, and she brought us eggplant parmesan! Here’s a sweet picture of Robyn, Jonah, and Janet:

This evening, Blair and Mindy came by and also brought food. This whole have a baby, get fed by all your friends thing is AWESOME.

After all his visitors, I gave Mr. Baby a bath. His umbilical cord has almost fallen off, plus we’re having his newborn photos taken tomorrow, so I thought it was a good time to get fresh and clean. Janet took a snooze, and I got a lovely bath drawn. It started out alright. He tolerated it and maybe even liked it. A little. Not a lot.

Then he hated it. He hated me. He hated everything.

And he peed. In his bathwater. I continued to bathe him in his peepee water. I am disgusting.

He screamed like it was waterboarding, I finished up as quickly as I could, and it took him 10 minutes to calm the f*ck down. I rocked him, and he clutched my chest and breathed like he’d just run a marathon. Good grief. We’ve gotta work on his willingness to not scream during everyday activities.

I snapped this pic before wrapping him up and cuddling him.

He smells great, and his hair is so soft! It was worth it.