Tucker has moved!

Tucker and his family have moved to Singapore! Tucker's mom is Singapore's fresh new family photographer specializing in maternity, child, and family lifestyle photography. If you are interested in finding a Singapore family photographer please visit my web-site here @ Singapore Family Photographer

Tucker has something to say...

I had a heart attack

My heart stopped. My stomach wrenched. I ran. I RAN to Tucker's room.

My worst nightmare, was it coming true?

Well, no, it wasn't. But for a few seconds I thought it might be and in the few seconds it took me to gasp and run to Tucker's room I made Brian feel the exact same way.

So what happened? Again, nothing, nothing happened. Except ...

Tucker has learned to roll over and sleep on his stomach. After three nights of this routine I am easing into accepting it. Belly sleeping seems to have become his preferred modus operandi. I know, I know, "babies used to always sleep on their stomachs", but not these days and not my baby.

Monday morning was the first such incident. I was going about my normal getting ready for work routine which happens to include checking the video monitor to see if my little one is stirring. This Monday morning there was no stir. Tucker was face down in his crib. Here is when I panicked and RAN to him. Still dark this early fall morning I flipped on his bedroom light and dashed to his crib side where he lay still. With my heart no longer beating, I called on my lungs... "TUCKER!"

That is when panic turned to relief and then to... oops. Not quite understanding the fuss, in an instant Tucker was dazed, yet up and in full-arm-extension-upward-dog-position. "I'm up! I'm up!", he seemed to be saying as he anxiously looked around for the fire or oncoming train.

As much as we take pride in all of his milestones (which he seems to be reaching at a feverish rate) they mean both independence and choice, at least in regards to which way he sleeps. We can spend all night flipping him back on his back or we can accept that he found a position that might help him sleep longer through the night.

We already spend all night now watching him on the his monitor to make sure when he does flip over that he does know to turn his head to the side and continues to do so through the night. From the angle of the baby monitor, he undoubtedly looks as though he is face-planted-deathly-still in his crib. In reality he is comfortable slumbering away. A lesson to take away when using a baby monitor or trying to get some sleep...

We are back!

I have managed to let a month slip by without a note about Tucker. How did that happen? It is actually surprising I had been so consistent in my documentary of Tucker's days and nights. So, when September hit us with his four month vaccinations, his first cold (!), a sinus infection for me, work, a family weekend, and a wedding (in which I was the photographer) I let blogging slip, concentrating my spare energy and time on Tucker and filling gaps with sleep and related responsibilities. Here we are a month later all happy, healthy, and ready to pick back up with our "normal" lives.

With a four month birthday on August 22, 2009 and a demandingly healthy appetite, Tucker was reaching the maximum capacity of his clothes, pushing the limits of what "fits". Weighing in at 16 pounds 13 oz and 26 inches long, Tucker had stamped his ticket into the big little boy clothes. Yes, my four month old son (now 5 months!) had graduated into NINE MONTH old sleepers. So, here come the cliche... They grow up so fast.

We like to lay Tucker down at night in onesie sleepers. Carters makes wonderfully cuddly fleece fitted onesies, thanks to Jill and Ben for gifting us with the one Tucker is pictured in here!

As a side, the velour ones are my personal favorites due to their ability to turn Tucker into the ultimate snuggler, but apparently they are not as popular with the onesie makers and much harder to come by. Regardless, the footed onesies are perfect for the non-swaddling sleeper and so they have become Tucker's nightly dressing. I guess when Tucker was no longer able to straighten his legs in the majority of his clothes, we realized he needed some new clothes. When we saw he could no longer assume anything but he fetal position we decided we should buy him some new clothes. When he popped the snaps on his onesie and ended up bottomless with leggings floated up half-shirt style, I decided to go out and buy him some clothes.

As quickly as he was outgrowing his clothes, Tucker seemed to be outgrowing his toys. More appropriately, Tucker seemed to be growing into a whole new set of toys, yearning for new mental challenges and explorations. With Tucker nestled in the baby Bjorn one Friday evening, Tucker and I explored the endless racks of clothes and toys (before he fell asleep) at our local Babies R Us and the adjacent Target. Retail therapy accomplished, Tucker and I hunted down mom's favorite new sleepers (for Tucker) and a set of new toys all of which are his favorite. The same weekend Tucker's grandparents were out on a similar venture, finding him this crazy contraption for entertainment away from his house.


We can already see his head growing from the extra synapses firing...

rollover minutes

Between work and the nanny drama I've missed the opportunity to capture the details of Tucker's recent milestones. I've missed some of those milestones too (as well as missing him immensely in general). He has been moving a mile a minute and growing up even faster, despite my best attempts to snuggle him into babyhood forever.

A week ago I would have written about his increased vocabulary, his goos, gaas, and even a garoo here and there. I would have made note of his recent love of toys, countless time spent exploring them, shaking them, add even throwing them. Oh, and the chewing! I would have mention him chewing on his toys, chewing on his fingers, sometimes even trying to chew on both fists at once! Remarkable! Yes, we think my little baby Tucker might even be starting to teeth. I went to work for a few weeks and he grew up (I guess that lost snuggle time allowed him to slip into a growth spurt).

The now big news is... the rollover. Actually, he rolled over a week ago too, but I missed it. Then I missed it again. And again. But with a vacation day on Monday and an opportunity for a quick photo shoot, there it was. I propped him on his belly for some cute tummy time photos and he did it. "Mommy! Look!", Plop. And suddenly Tucker was belly up again.

the baby nanny drama, part ii

The Nanny #3 Story - The Drunk Nanny
Round three of of finding a nanny actually brought an overall more qualified set of candidates. Two had education in early child development, one had day care experience, and one was a mother (the best experience you can get). We actually felt good about four different candidates, but each had their flaws. Candidate 1 had little flexibility in her schedule. So babysitting or overtime was out of the question. Candidate 2 seemed out of our price point. Candidate 3 wanted to bring her own child, and Candidate 4 seemed a bit immature. In the end it was the immature Candidate 4 that was our Nanny #3 choice.

Like I said, Nanny #3 seemed a bit immature showing up with a big blue piece of bubble gum, which would by the end of the interview have turned her entire mouth blue. Despite her immaturity, she had a year of experience with a baby younger than Tucker (when she started) and according to her references she was always on time, worked wonders with an autistic child, and even taught the baby how to fall asleep on his own. We loved what she had to say about the positive demeanor she tries to take with the child, exactly the philosophy I prescribe to. Like the idea that when a child takes a tumble, if you act like nothing happened, the child thinks nothing of it. However, if you gasp and ask, "are you okay?!", tears are immediately shed.

We had initially decided to bring two candidates out for trial days. As luck would have it one of them took another position. Since we had already scheduled Candidate #4 to come out on Wednesday, we kept the date with the intention of hiring her that evening.

At 12:06 AM on Wednesday, a mere nine hours before Nanny #3 was to start we received this:

"Hey I'm sorry it's so late, I need to actually do some errends tommarrow. I deffinitly want to come and start thus procces right away. Would it be too much to ask if Thursday is better? Thanks again : ) can't wait to see that adorable little Tucker again"

Sigh...


The Nanny #4 Story - The Nanny?
Another round of interviews followed. With little success in contacting the other two candidates from the previous round, we interviewed only three more candidates. We tried to interview four, but one simply kept rescheduling regardless of how valid her reasons were or were not. While we loved the energy one young grandmother and thought she would be a wonderful influence, we went with a young mother with both relevant nanny and life experience. She seems reliable, kind, and completely qualified. I hate to get too overly excited about her, but this one does seem to be both a wonderful caretaker for Tucker and it seems as though she might stick. She's only been out here twice and won't start for another week, but for now she is a breath of fresh air.

Here is to hoping, again...

the baby nanny drama

With a face like Tucker's you might wonder why it could possibly be hard to find a nanny. Well, I can't say for sure why, but I can testify to the near impossibility of finding a nanny. I'm guessing the trouble has something to do with unreliable, unmotivated, and in-compassionate people. That is just a guess.

The Nanny #1 Story - The Super Nanny
We hired Tucker's first nanny to start three weeks ago. Despite being in her early twenties, Nanny #1 had a resume and references that read something like you might expect of Super Nanny. She even had the knowledge and know how to convince that she was legit. She actually taught us a thing or two during her interview. So, we hired her.

So, what happened to Super Nanny #1? She came, she saw, she quit. She lasted 4 days. Actually, I think she quit on the second day, but was nice enough to help out for the remaining days. I confess that she definitely had a legitimate reason to quit. The trusting person in me believes her story wholeheartedly, but I wonder if that is a little (or a lot) naive. Apparently, her aunt died in her sleep, leaving behind a now single husband and four kids, one of which is six weeks old. The reliable person Nanny #1 is, she jumped to their aid, as she certainly should. Her story break my heart. A six week old baby lost without its mother, searching for her warmth but finding only an unfamiliar bottle, and refusing it. So, one week into my return to work and we were without a nanny.

The Nanny #2 Story - The Super Expensive Nanny
As luck would have it, the day I returned from work I learned of a great blessing which had been handed to me. The unpaid leave of absence I had decided to take at the end of my maternity leave resulted in a "change of status" thereby granting me the right to change my company benefits enrollment. What does this really mean? It means I could enroll in the Dependent Care Spending Account (DCSA). $5,000 I could allocate to untaxed dollars to pay for Tucker's nanny. The result? We were now able to afford our Nanny #1, #1 Pick that I didn't mention earlier.

During our first round of nanny interviews we fell in love with one candidate (that was problem #1). We were very excited to extend her an offer, but she turned us down on grounds of not enough money. Consequently, we went with the equally qualified, but not quite as happy Nanny #1 that we could afford. However, with the extra tax free savings from the DCSA we were now able to afford our #1 Pick. Almost seems as if our bad luck with the first nanny was a blessing, especially when on her last day with us Brian found her watching soaps with Tucker professing they "help keep him quiet". Wonderful. The weekend after Nanny #1 quit, we hired Nanny #2, to start the following Friday. With an accepted job offer and excitement all around, Brian and I settled back into our routine until Thursday's landslide.

Thursday morning, the day before Nanny #2 was to start, I was able to work from home to help Brian juggle Tucker and work (no easy feat, especially when you distaste ignoring your child for one moment). I was quietly sipping my morning coffee when the bomb dropped. Not a phone call, but an e-mail...

"I regret to tell you that I am not going to accept the position as nanny for your son. I do apologize and hope I have not inconvienced you. My current place of employment has offered me more money and more hours to stay. However if you are ever in need of a babysitter on the weekends I would love to help you out. I hope you can understand this difficult decision I've had to make.

Thank you,"
Nanny #2

Ouch. To be continued ...

Working at Work Mom (WAWM)

This week marked my return to work and both the furthest and the longest I've been away from Tucker. I had not heard back from that coveted work at home assignment I interviewed for and have been commuting to the city since Tuesday for a subjectively better position. As luck would have it the manager of the work at home assignment contacted me today to see if I was still available. Nice. My fate was already decided.

I shed some tears my first day back, a lot of tears the week before, but for the most part I've been a trooper. Tucker has been too. Tuesday was a struggle with some gas (Tucker, not me), not napping for the nanny, and the unforeseen stench from the granite installation that forced nanny and Tuck to his grandma's house. Wednesday was a bit better. By Thursday Tucker had three meals and three good naps on schedule! And now we are in search of a new nanny -- there is another post for you.

Brian set me up with a wireless card allowing me an extra hour a day of work (or writing ...) on the train ride. So, here I am traveling at 50 or so miles per hour and blogging. The nice thing about commuting from Naperville is that there is a zero-stop train straight from Chicago, cutting down on both the motion sickness and time away.

Not wanting to leave my baby, I can't say that I am all smiles. As you could imagine, it is a bit hard to smile at all. However, I said I was being a trooper about it and I am looking on the bright side. That being said, this the bright side:

• Focused quality time with Tucker when I am home!
• Forced personal time on the train for extra work, blogging, or surfing!
• Requisite daily showers.
• Minimized spit up coverage and outfit changes.
• Helps promote Tucker onto a sleeping and eating schedule.
• Great excuse to splurge on a daily (decaf) latte.
• The Chai Tea latte at Rom (that I couldn't have while I was pregnant)
• Seeing work buddies, most of whom have also had kids in the past year or two.
• Get to use my Argo Tea frequent buyer cards.
• Opportunity to see and appreciate the great city of Chicago!
• A paycheck.

naked at 3 months

We celebrated Tucker's 3 month birthday yesterday. By celebrate I mean we deviated from the "typical" day in which I go to work, come home, play, bathe Tuck, and let Brian put Tuck to bed. No, today was a special day.

The routine started out no different than normal (as normal as it gets the second day in). I woke up at 6:10 and performed my get ready routine followed by feeding, cuddling, and playing with Tucker and letting Brian change Tucker into his day clothes while I did the same. You have to understand that Tucker is irresistibly cute in the morning, one astonishingly happy baby. This morning was no exception, but with a twist. A half naked twist, with baby and dad both opting to go topless. Any mother would understand, and single women out there too, there is just something touching about a baby and his dad, add in the natural beauty of this skin to skin moment, and well, it is just breathtaking. It is a moment that commands you to stop, take notice, and record it in the (baby) books. And that is how we started Tucker's 3 month birthday. Topless Dad and Tuck and mom insisting on a birthday suit photo shoot.

Once clothed, we fastened the birthday boy into his car seat headed for the train station. As luck would have it this day the morning radio politely informed us that the 7:24 train, which I had heard rumbling through town while taking my last restroom break at home had mechanical problems resulting in not a single person from Naperville getting onto one of the busiest trains into the city. I knew what it meant, the already packed 7:44 train would be even busier, making it impossible to get a seat or even standing room. There would be no work and no blogging on that train, so what did we do? We skipped it. Yes, I said it, we SKIPPED IT. The split decision was made to abandon the plans of the catching the train we had all work so diligently to make. We diverted instead to the Starbucks for a much better plan: 1 grande latte + 1 tall decaf latte + 1 hot apple fritter and some chat time with Tucker. A nice family morning for Tucker's birthday.

Of course, I caught the 8:00 train and went to work, but this was a truly wonderful day regardless. One of those days you wish you would have if you weren't so busy living life. We stepped back and appreciated the roses a bit. Happy Birthday Tucker, we love you!

stress

One of the recent topics on momversation.com resonated with the current conflicts of my life as a new mother. Here it comes. My descent into life as a working mother. Seven work days and counting ...




With the circumcision situation, umbilical cord malfunction, and two month vaccinations behind us, the thought and process of returning to work has elevated my stress level to say, well, a place I'd rather it not be. I should be enjoying my last week and a half of maternity leave, not stressing about its end. And so it goes ...

A deadening sensation sets in each time I think of not being Tucker's primary care giver during the day. I just gave life to this amazing young man and now I am abandoning him to the best, yet affordable, person we can find. My womb hurts.

If not me, who to subsequently raise my son?

I visited a daycare yesterday (I had to at least perform my due diligence of this somewhat affordable option). It made me want to cry. No, it made me want to weep.

There was this odor. Not just an odor of everything doused in spit up. But an old sweaty, mildew in the carpet odor. The kind of odor that makes you glad you are wearing shoes and won't let you put your poor kid down for a moment. It was THAT odor and I immediately wanted to leave.

Then I saw the cribs. Ten sad cribs. Ten sad, white, aluminum cribs. They looked like something in an insane asylum, only who puts babies in an insane asylum? Was this Baby Interrupted? At any moment was Angelina Jolie going to come running around the corner to scream at me? No, this was not the place for my child. Not this daycare.

I'm not completely against daycare. I'm sure there are some good, non-stinky, completely sane ones and I do love the idea of the structure and expertise they give your child. However, dropping an infant off in a strange place just with people you don't know does not sit well with me. Here comes that deadening feeling again...

Not that leaving my child at home with a stranger makes me feel any better. Here is where we are lucky. God bless my lucky stars on this one lucky. Brian works from home, providing a sense of relief, a security blanket of sorts allowing us to comfortably build a relationship with a nanny under Brian's supervision or backup, whichever it may be. Tucker doesn't need a June Cleaver or Mary Poppins as a nanny because he has someone even better there, his daddy.

And here is hoping for my own luck. I work as a consultant for a big company, so I periodically have to interview to find an assignment to apply my expertise to. I had an interview yesterday for a job assignment. If, cross my fingers, if I get this job assignment I'll be able to work from home as well, keeping a well tuned ear on Tucker, feeding him during the day instead of pumping in some unforeseen place, and always within range to snuggle him close if my separation anxiety insists.

Now cross your fingers that we can also afford the nanny.

the baby bidet, aka "the butt bath"

...and how to wash your baby's bum


My own mother will love this post. She has a general feeling that most of the baby handling tactics she employed as a mother are either outdated or atrocious. I'm here to tell her differently and soothe that slightly uncomfortable feeling she suppresses each time she Tucker sits. This particular tactic, which we like to call the "butt bath" (love the alliteration, or is that assonance?), was passed down from her own mother as well.

There comes a time in every mother's life where the inevitable sets in. Yes, I mean diaper rash. The red, swollen, puffy, rash that attacks the teeniest of the bums. Ointments help, but they only go so far. Conquering diaper rash begins with stopping the culprit...

We bring our delicate little babies home from the hospital and think diaper wipes (yes, butt wipes) are the key to a clean tushy. While they do help in the cleanliness arena and boy are they convenient, they one of several sure fire ways to all but give your babe "the rash" (in addition to just plain not changing your poor babies diaper or having a diaper that doesn't whisk away the soil well).

The baby bible, WhatToExpect, recommends using cotton balls and water. Yeah right, I thought, there was no way that water and a little cotton ball would sufficient clean off my baby's tushy (yes, I have high cleanliness standards). Surprisingly, I have become a cotton ball convert, yet there are times when no amount of cotton balls nor wipes are sufficient. I mean poo up the back or even worse, poo up the front. Gooey poo stuck in the baby fat folds and crevices where poo should not go. By the way, I'm not sure how this phenomenon happens, at times I think Tucker's pee and poo channels are switched. Nevertheless, this is when you must have a good enough heart to full on bath your baby and rinse the misfit poo away. Even better, or in a time crunch, give him the butt bath.


The pictures tell the story. Warm the water to the desired temperature and go. Initially, finding the correct hold may be tricky. Getting from the changing table to the sink without getting poopy on yourself or the changing table is key. The recommended approach is as follows:

1. Undress the bottom half.
   (use a wipe or cloth to protect the changing table if necessary)
   
2. Tuck the top half or onesie (if still clean) under the armpits.
3. Carry your baby to the sink with two hands while holding up the shirt under under each armpit.
4. As you approach the sink, roll the baby onto the inside of your forearm for support, such that you can hold the baby with one arm and use the other for washing.
5. For added support, rest the arm holding the baby on the sink basin.
6. Wash that baby bum!
   

You will need firm, precise one hand holding of the baby to master this technique. The butt bath works best if you can manipulate your kid directly under the water stream. Otherwise, some degree of water diversion and rubbing is in order. In a poo up the front situation or just to freshen up a bit, a front bath may be in order as well.


The result is a clean, happy baby, with zero wipe-detergent, cotton, pee or poo residue and you are on your way to preventing diaper rash or nipping in the, well, butt. Just make sure you have a good handle on your baby, the right water temperature, and a handy towel when attempting. Then just follow the sure fire techniques for air-drying (or hair-drying) you baby's bum.

As a baby testament, Tucker is all smiles after a good morning, or afternoon, poo and his subsequent butt bath. He enjoys the attention to detail on his bottom half, the closeness to mom, and that fresh out of the womb feeling. Butt bath time for Tucker is like a relaxing game, so relaxing that from time to time you will find him standing up during his front bath and casually relieving himself in the warm shower stream.

This is why I became a mother and a photographer.

These pictures speak for themselves. The absolute glee and emotion that runs through Tucker as he watches his mobile is completely indescribable. Notice how he kicks his blanket off in all the excitement. This is exactly the reason why I wanted to become a photographer, to capture moments like these and instill their memories for a lifetime. I couldn't narrow down the pictures any better than I could attempt to explain his raw enthusiasm. See his wonderment for yourselves. Try not to smile :)

After fifteen or so ecstatic minutes in his crib eye chasing his mobile around, Tucker came and laid down with me in our bed. Together we stared up at Brian's and my mobile.

welcome to the family!

We're working on some enticing new blog posts, but in the meantime we wanted to say a big happy birthday and welcome to this world to Tucker's little cousin Kaitlyn Annabelle Ranft born on Saturday, June 27, 2009. We'll get the correct spelling of her name soon...

mom's club

I managed to get de-spitup-ed and all fancied up for a Naperville mom's group ladies' event last night at the Frank Gironda salon in Naperville. I was pampered with free spa gifts and treatments but not before we snapped a respectable picture of me and Tucker. When you are the photographer in the family you tend to get left out of photos...

the funny thing about ads

Well, so someone read my post about having ads on my blog as I actually got my first hits on the ads (thank you blog reader!). Google provides me statistics on the number of blog page hits I have and the number of clicks on the ads. They don't tell me who is visiting my site or which ads are being clicked. Worries aside, your deartucker viewing is still completely anonymous (unless you choose to leave a comment, of course)!

So, someone clicked on my ads, which is funny as this blog is about Tucker, us, being a mom, and you know, baby stuff. With my recent post about his infant-vaccinations though, Google must have thought my blog was about completely something else. I'd tell you what that is, but if I put it in writing, the ads will stick. This is how it works, Google "crawls" my web-site at some time during the week, possibly multiple times. Based on the content of my blog, Google picks related ads. Since this crawling action does not take place nightly, relevant ads (such as for Blood Cord donation, or the Stokke Explorer) may not be back for a few days. In the meantime, please enjoy these ads that are more appropriate for a Doogie Howser related blog.

Having now written two posts on these ads though, I wonder what the next round of ads will be?

Let's try to nip this in the bud: infant, infant, infant, infant, boppie, boppie, boppie, boppie, newborn, newborn, newborn, newborn, stroller, stroller, stroller, stroller.

Happy Friday to All!

chatty cathy

I'm watching Tucker, you, having a complete dialog with "the other baby" in the mirror of your my My Little Lamb Swing. Cooing, laughing, calling, then near crying. All with animated arms and face. Pure, unbounded, joy. We need a video camera.

This leads me to one of my hopes of having a child... Other than complete life fulfillment, I'm hoping beyond all hope that having a child will bring back to my life some of the creativity and imagination I've lost over the course of my lifetime. You know the artistic fun side one has before they spend tens years working in corporate America? Yeah, I'm hoping to rediscover that part of myself, enhance it, and apply it to my life, my writing, and my photography.

Here's to children and all the wonderment they bring to our lives!

why the ads?

I've started running ads on this blog. Why? Well, one for complete experimental reasons. Two, to generate any sort of funding that I can. Funding for the camera equipment and the disk space to document Tucker's life. Maybe even funding for his college tuition... Here's hoping!

The number of hits on the site are good, but low for generating money, about 100 people this week, but no real action on the ads. We'll see if I can grow Superman's fan base ;)

superman!

The dreaded day had arrived. Vaccinations.

Thanks to Jenny McCarthy and one Supreme Court verdict, I was terrified to take you to the doctor. I had done my research. I read up on the side effects. I heard the testimonies on vaccinations and autism. I wasn't happy with what we had to do.

Is the risk of my child catching Tetanus, Diptheria or Pertussis seriously greater than the chances of these side effects from the TDaP vaccination? Simply running a fever and just being upset by the vaccinations is torture enough for a parent. And the autism scare, what if two days from now my child, my wonderful, happy, breath of fresh (and poopy) air child is suddenly non-responsive? How could I live with what I had done to my child? Knowing who he was and his personality that resulted from something the world told me I needed to do. How could I live with that loss?

At one month visit you needed only a single shot, Hepatitis B. You slept the entire day afterward. You can't tell me that wasn't a side effect. I asked the pediatrician that day about what concerns we should have over the vaccination. He responded by saying, "Who are you, the one that keeps everyone away from your child?". We didn't switch practices after that remark, but we certainly jumped to a new doctor within the practice. Am I not to have a say in my child's immunization schedule? Would I be a good mother if I didn't question what gets pumped into my baby?

Nevertheless, I let wisdom or influence or fear of the I told you so lead us back to the pediatrician, armed with your superman onesie and apprehension. Friendly advice told us the vaccines hurt us worse than it would hurt you, but I can't really say that was true. While you were the true angel you are throughout the visit, the shots (2 of them) clearly hurt. The nurse was quick to administer them, but you were quicker to turn so red I truly thought your eyes would have popped out of your head had you not had them closed so tightly. The bandaides could not have been put on quick enough for me to grab you into my arms and assure you all would be okay.

Like the brave boy you are, you settled quickly and managed to fall fast asleep against my chest, as if the short but extreme trauma had sent you into complete exhaustion. Even in your slumber, you clung to me, which was deeply heartwarming despite the situation which initiated it. Unable to let you go, the three of us sidled up to each other in the backseat of the car, thanking God we made it through the experience thus far. The next few days will not be without anxiety though. The watch for side effects begins.

In honor of our traumatic experience, you and I turned the occasion into a sick day... While your dad had to work, he did generously rented us a movie from the Red Box, the new release of Confessions of a Shopaholic. We spent the afternoon in our pajamas, cuddled up with boppy and blankie on the couch creating the warmth and coziness to keep me believing that you know how much you are loved and cared for.

Current Stats on 6/23/2009, 2 months:
Weight: 13 pounds, 6 ounces (95% percentile)
Height: 25 inches (95% percentile)
Head: 15 3/4 inches (75% percentile)

happy 2 month birthday!

We celebrated with a walk in the stifling 80 degree weather (we're completely un-acclimated from the Texas weather we used to tolerate). You were abnormally fussy in the evening until a large bottle of milk sent you to sleep. You made up for the mild display by sleeping nearly five hours consecutively. We're not sure where that came from, but we appreciated that birthday present nevertheless!

happy father's day!

With all great intentions for father's day, Tucker and I accidentally took a long nap while Brian mowed the lawn and slaved on the bathroom tile. Happy Father's Day.