Friday Smile

Someone else is happy it's Friday!

(Mother's note: I rolled up his sleeves because they really are too long when he's not being propped up-- I promise!)

Failure of Daytime TV

I don't have anything baby-related to report today so I feel compelled to comment on the other thing that takes up much of my time: watching daytime television. I was so disappointed yesterday when Larry the Cable Guy appeared on Rachael Ray's show and proceeded to trot out the EXACT same jokes that he used on Ellen's show last week. Come on! Do they think we don't pay attention??

And from the bizarre files, I flipped past Jerry Springer a little bit ago and found the following show title at the bottom of the screen: "Pregnant Gals and a Mime." WHAT? I watched for about a minute while a woman told a guy that he wasn't the father of her baby and during the whole conversation, there was a mime miming in the background. I am utterly speechless...and I'm not even a mime.

We Have Smiles!

Brooks started shooting us some smiles over the weekend which is just so fun. You can see that the pig in the family is especially skilled at eliciting some baby joy! (Really-- that's joy. So this isn't the BEST pic for a smile but come on...how cute is the human/porcine interaction??)

Sweet Sleep...A Note from Brooks

My Grammie thinks that I look pitiful in this picture, but my mom wanted to show the wonders of my new "toy". My sweet friend, Molly, loaned me this swing since she's done with it and wow it's great! They put me in it a little while ago and I fell asleep super quickly. Do you like my gorilla feet?

No, Not Coffee...

...but another of Seattle's Best: Annie Kate! Anne trekked eastward for a work conference and was able to sneak in a visit with Mr. Brooks yesterday afternoon. We were all so happy that the visit worked out, especially Grammie who got to share her belated-birthday Indian food dinner spread with AKH! And since Sheils and I went on a Wegmans adventure with Christy and Laura on Saturday morning, I was able to serve Anne our favorite "melty mint" sweet treats from our high school days in Corning.

(As you can see from the picture below, Brooks is getting a bit weary of the paparazzi that have been hounding him so he's turned a bit camera-shy!!)

Angel Baby?

So we realized yesterday how much the SleepSack with infant swaddle attachment (especially in this color) makes Brooks look like an angel with wings! Unfortunately, he did not live up to this designation with his sleeping last night but we'll keep him anyway.

Do You See What I See?

As you can see from Grammie (Sheils) modeling the latest in ocular fashion, she brings all kinds of fun when she comes to visit. Making everything more fun is the fact that school WAS cancelled today so we're a party of 4 lounging around being lazy. It's great! Happy Friday, everyone! (PS-- Brooks slept 7 hours last night! Whoo-hoo!)

Afternoon Visit

I got a call earlier today from Polly who was in the area in between meetings and offered to bring over lunch and hang out with us. Polly was one of Brooks's first visitors in the hospital (and brought him the outfit he's wearing here!) but we didn't take a picture of her while she was there so we had to make up for it today! Thanks for the visit, PollPur! Brooks had so much fun that he conked out on my shoulder and didn't stir when I laid him on his tummy on the mat:

Happy Birthdays All Around!

Huge birthday shout-outs to two loyal readers, Karen B and Grammie! While Karen undoubtedly will get her birthday snuggles from little Judah, Grammie is going to be able to get hers from Brooks since she arrives this afternoon for a visit! Hooray!

Not really much else going on. We're keeping our fingers crossed for the winter weather event arriving late tonight to cancel school tomorrow so Seth can have another 3-day weekend! We need a 4th person for bridge; Sheils, Brooks, and I can't play on our own! :-)

Why Don't You Hold Me Like This, Mumsie?

I've had no trouble admitting through this whole process that I know nothing about les enfants. Thank goodness I have experienced friends like Gen to show me good ways to hold Brooks as pictured below. I tried this pose later and got some good belches out of the little guy as a bonus!

(The "Mumsie" thing is part of my master plan to get Brooks to speak in a British accent. Not sure it's taking root yet!) :-)

Must've been the Whiskey

(just kidding)

Brooks slept in two 4-hour stretches last night which was quite enjoyable for us all. Seth put him down around 11 and then after waking at 3 and eating some chow, Brooks went back to sleep until 7:45 this morning. Who knows if this is just a random occurrence or the start of a pattern, but we'll sure take it any way we get it.

Nothing too crazy going on here these past few days. Monday was a holiday for Seth so we enjoyed another lazy "weekend" day at home. Yesterday, Gen and Jen came over with Ethan and Molly, respectively, to play with us (okay, with me mostly)! I don't think our house has ever had so much infantile activity in it. I have to say that this event might have made me feel the most like a mother out of anything the past 5 weeks! Too fun!

Bath Time

Brooks has been enjoying his bath time quite a bit. Sometimes he's a bit fussy when first put in the warm water, but a good pee always makes him feel much better!! :-)

"Walk" Around the Neighborhood, Take Two

We decided yesterday that it was time to put the Baby Bjorn to use so we bundled up Brooks for another outdoor adventure.

Getting ready to go:

Am I really going to ride around in this crazy thing?

Can't turn back now:

ooooh, I actually kinda like this...zzzzzzz:

How can he be my Son?

He is just way too long and lean to belong to me. Guess Seth's genes won out here, which is definitely a good thing! Brooks turned 1 month old yesterday and to celebrate, we went to the pediatrician. I'm happy to report that, after our intial starvation and weight loss issues (his, not mine...man, that would be nice if I had those problems), he's been gaining weight like crazy. Because of the significant drop at the beginning, however, his current weight (8 lbs 14 oz) only puts him in the 25th percentile. But check this out-- his length/height is in the 90th percentile! So basically, he's just one long beanpole.

It was good to hear that his remaining peeliness is perfectly normal, and I got some tips on ways to try and clear it up. As you can kind of see in the picture below, he woke up the other day with some baby acne ("babacne"?) so he hasn't quite made it fully into the supple newborn skin thing. But he sure is cute!

Hear Me Calling...What am I Saying?

At 4 AM when I was feeding and then rocking Brooks back to sleep, I determined it was an appropriate time to break into some songs. (Let's face it-- I was never selected for all-county choir so I have to be careful where I throw my voice around!) So I started with the Moore family favorites: "I'm Looking Over a 4-Leaf Clover" and "I'm in Love with You, Honey." After that, I moved into a selection of Camp Longhorn favorites, although I avoided "They Built the Ship Titanic" (too depressing) and "I Know a Weenie Man" (too upbeat). Once those were exhausted, however, I racked my brain and ended up with the medley of songs famous to all Zetas (the Baylor ones, at least)....except that I got stumped with a portion of the lyrics. All you Theta Omicrons out there: WHAT comes after "I hear the call of Zeta"?????

I'm curious as to what songs you all might recommend for singing to wee babes. I know a certain birthday girl out there would mention family favorite "You are my Sunshine." (Happy Birthday, Paula!) If anyone has suggestions, please post them!

Since it's Valentine's Day, I will leave you with a pic of those who share my house and my heart. (I can't say "the people" since one of them is clearly porcine.) Happy Valentine's Day!

A Great Idea!

Not much going on the world of Brooks today so instead, I'll give a shout-out to the end of the writer's strike. Since I happen to know a certain LA-based screenwriter pretty well, I'm hoping that the resolution of the strike will result in a upcoming pilot centered around "Pemily Menton" and her crime-fighting infant partner, "Snooks." Doesn't that sound like something you'd love to watch?

Opa's Visit and an Oceanic Adventure (NOT on Flight 815)

Opa flew into Baltimore this morning on the way out of the country on a business trip so he arranged it so he could have some quality Brooks time in between flights. Since today is Maryland's primary (Potomac, Chesapeake, or "Crab Cake" primary as described by assorted outlets) and most voting places are inside school buildings, Seth had the day off. So it worked out perfectly to have a fun day hanging out at home.

After Seth and Opa left to go to the airport, Brooks enjoyed some tummy time on his Ocean Adventure playmat. (See how we're trying to get him into Biology right from the start?) Following in the tradition of Baboo not crying at things that other babies find distasteful (heel pricks, rectal thermometers), he didn't put up a fuss at all to be on his stomach!

TOGA TOGA

I am so old on this Feb 11th birthday that we decided to have a Roman Reenactment party to celebrate the era of my birth. Brooks (who, yes, figured out how to scratch his face) was very excited for his costume.

Weekend Recap

I think Brooks won over his PawPaw this weekend with snuggles. The little one really is a laid-back, mellow kind of guy so he's easy to love...if you overlook the gas! He's just a regular Kim Fields (get it...Tootie?) or Vladimir Pootin'. Ah, I crack myself up.

Anyway, Grand Big Daddy treated us to 2 yummy dinners that, because of le bebe, had to be takeout. There is nothing like a 3-course Italian spread from Macaroni Grill overtaking one's kitchen table to feel like life is pretty good!

This afternoon, Kerry, Travis, and Owen stopped by with a tasty dinner spread of their own. Just as some other parents of children under 1 year old before them, they mentioned not being able to remember when Owen was as little as Baboo. It is really amazing to think how fast babies change. The baby formerly known as Genghis entertained us with his precious smiles. I have been loving Baboo's just-before-going-to-sleep, likely gas-induced smiles but I can't wait until we see real ones like Owen treated us to today!

Family Resemblance?

Grand Big Daddy (AKA PawPaw) arrived last night for a fun weekend! He plans to get in as much Brooks snuggle time as possible while he's here and has already proven to be a source of entertainment for his grandson. I'm sure that by the time he leaves, Brooks will be an expert on all things Astros and Texas Tech! (We'll have to work on erasing the latter!)

L M N O Q R S

Where's the P? Well, let me tell you-- we've got the pee right here! Picture it...Sicily..1925. (oh wait! This isn't The Golden Girls. Sorry.) So picture this instead: Brooks, already wearing the 2nd outfit of the day, goes down on the floor for some stretching time where he shows off how much he loves to wave his arms above his head:

20 minutes later, Brooks has some more floor time (this time demonstrating his frog-man legs), but looks a little different:

And I kid you not-- just a few minutes later he was wearing a completely different clothes and blanket combo. We're so proud of his bladder output.

When Brooks wasn't wetting himself, he was sleeping soundly and actually missed the entire visit from his friend Ethan and mom, Gen. It is SO fun to see a 4-month old in all his cuddly glory. We can't wait for Brooks to be as filled-out cute as this guy!

Couch Snuggles are the Best

Day 2 of alone time with Brooks seemed to go just as smoothly as it did on Monday. Seth got home relatively early after track practice which allowed me to escape for a bit to run errands. We each independently had come up with the conclusion that if I were going to be out and about, then I should definitely pick up some take-out from Sushi King. So I am happy to report that after 10 months, I have returned to my great love, the Volcano Roll. Of course, take-out is never as good as eating in so Baboo needs to hurry up and get to a point where we can go to restaurants! Darn January babies and cold/flu season!

After I got back, we ended up having some quality snuggle time on the couch. In case you're wondering, I did actually take a shower yesterday but the whole hair/makeup thing never happened. Ah, motherhood!

As is my tradition, I fell asleep around 9:30 PM on said couch and my attempts to record House while I snoozed failed me since the DVD was full and the recording stopped. Sigh. Speaking of new TV episodes, I haven't watched the news yet today (but surely will watch it at 4, 5, and 6 PM this evening!) so don't know if there's been an update on the writers' strike. I'm thinking good thoughts, Geoff!

Non-Manic Monday

Yesterday was my first full day home alone with little Baboo. I am happy to report that it not only flew by but also was relatively calm. Brooks did a great job of napping all throughout the day so I could, at times, eat lunch, shower, rest, etc. And of course, I have a schedule of television shows planned out to watch at each hour of the day to keep me entertained if necessary-- and we don't even have cable! I have never watched so much local news!

I guess the great napping during the day has its drawbacks, though. The pattern seems to be that Seth gets home and then Brooks decides to be fussy. (Or maybe it's just the Seth Effect. Who knows?) Actually, I don't even know if fussy is the right word but he generally isn't so interested in closing his eyes. I generally take a nap somewhere in the 9 pm range so that I can handle the late night and overnight sessions. Brooks took his sweet time falling asleep last night--it was after 2 AM--but then did his regular 3 hour sleeping stint. Ah, the joys of scientific exploration: will today be like yesterday?

Walk Around the Block

It warmed up yesterday so we decided we'd try a little walk through the neighborhood. Brooks started out nice and quiet but then apparently decided he wasn't too excited about this adventure. So we'll have to try it again sometime and see if he's a bit more agreeable.



Shortly after our outdoor spin, we were visited by Tom and Amy bearing yummy Italian food. Brooks had already conked out so they demonstrated their baby know-how with a couch pillow. (And perhaps their know-how needs work....there's supposed to be MILK in the bottle, guys!)

Thank You, Auntie Lindsay!

What a treat it was to have Lindsay visit us for a few days! She fed, burped, changed, and loved on Brooks...and cleaned up after us as well. It is so wonderful to have such a special friend. Only such a friend could get excited about being here for the following firsts:

1. Umbilical cord falling off

2. Projectile spit-up (onto Linds's cheek. oops.)

3. Wearing real pants so he can show off the cute shirt Christy made for him:

WHAT???

Only Chad cared enough about me to guess what I was pondering? See if I ever ponder again.

Don't Break the Baby!

Gabe and Helen tore themselves away from playing Rock Band on the Xbox 360 to come over and bring food last night. They didn't want to hold Baboo until he gets a bit more stable and sturdy, though. Perhaps we would've been offended but the 3 giant goblets of chocolate mousse they brought with them erased any trace of ill will.

What is Brooks Pondering?

Enter your guesses in the comments section! Winner gets the cruise that no one won from the Baboo Birth Poll since the little guy came SO late!!!