Sad Baby

Normally, I do my best to make Jam Master B smile for his photos. I love that big toothless grin he has. But, it does mean that sometimes I neglect some of his other expressions, which I want to capture and remember just as well. Sooooo, when he started having a meltdown the other day, instead of trying to console and comfort him, like a good mom would, I thrust him at his dad, to hold him while I memorialized this baby tragedy. The little tiny baby tears are so sad it is almost impossible to stand by and just take a photo, but they are also so darn cute and endearing in their own sad little way, that it was worth it to get the pictures. Just so you don't think I am totally heartless, this is what he looked like shortly after these pics were taken:

Aeroplane

Part of our little Palm Springs adventure was Benjamin's first flight. It actually went pretty well. We had an empty seat next to us, which rocked, and he was a happy guy the whole way. the people behind us actually complimented him on the way out, for being such an excellent baby. His second flight however, not quite so good. I mean, it wasn't terrible, but no one congratulated us on an excellent baby. He was just a teensy bit grumpy, and not embarrassed to express that. There was much nursing. One thing I did learn, is that while the hooter hider is very effective when everyone around you is seated, if you are seated, and everyone else is walking past you, like say in a plane aisle, they can see straight down it. Woo-hoo! Free show for all the other passengers! So I hope everyone enjoyed it.

Pool guys

So I am totally lazy, and tired of being harrassed by my impatient reader, so I am posting something, even if it is not very substantive. Here are the boys, playing in the pool in Palm Springs. Ahhhh...... the pool. Much fun was had by all. More posting will come later, I swear.

Grass! Belly! Cookie! Grapefruit!

Here is an excellent vacation photo, and an exciting first for Benjamin! This is Benjamin's first barefoot in the grass! It seems sad that he had to be five months old to learn about grass, but thats what happens to babies born in November in Seattle. Theres not much outdoorsyness possible. But look how much fun he is having, and how his little belly sticks out. I just want to reach into the picture and zerbert it! His lovely Aunt Cookie is ever so thoughtfully helping him stand up. He is good and strong for standing, with those sturdy little thighs, but woah boy, the balance is just not there yet. He is a wobbler. But he seemed to enjoy the grass, and we had a lovely shady tree to sit under. And pick grapefruit from. Which was more of a highlight for me than for Jammy.

and so it begins

A small detour from vacation photos, and then we will get back to them tomorrow. A couple of years ago, I remember my friend Heidi being worried about missing her son Miles' first steps because she was at work. And I thought, oh come one, its not like those are the only steps he'll ever take, suck it up. You'll see some other steps. Of course I also remember thinking she was over reacting because she cried from being stressed out about finding child care. (And we all know how that worked out for me. Or maybe you don't. Envision tears, both copious and squirty. Many of them.) Ok, so time to bite my tongue, big time, sorry Heidi! See the photo of the small man in the red and blue stripes, busily devouring his rhino? He looks like a little guy, right? WRONG! Marnie the fabulous nanny took him to the aquarium today, which is great, but makes me sad for all kinds of reasons. First off, I have now missed the first zoo trip and the first aquarium trip. Secondly, I had no idea he was big enough to be interested at all. But he loved it! She said he thought the sea otters were hilarious, and was all excited when they would come by, and was laughing and alert and awake the whole time. He has slept through both zoo trips, so I really don't feel like I missed out much there. But who knew he would even notice anything at the aquarium?? He is so big and grown up! He goes on field trips while I am at work!! I have already started missing out on his big firsts, and I have been back to work for just over 2 months. Sad.

Swingers

So one thing we did in Palm Springs was introduce Mr. Benjababy to the swing set. And by we, I mean Loren. I was otherwise occupied. (See photo from last nights post for further details.) And it seemed to go pretty well to begin with, judging by the happy smiley photo number 1. Photo number 2 begins to get a little suspicious, Photo number 3 I think is a realization of being up high off the ground by himself, and photo 4 is the final meltdown. I hope someday to learn how to organize the photos into an orderly lay out, until then they will be haphazard. Photo 5 is not Benjamin at all, as you will notice. No, it is Annie, performing a science experiment about static electricity and hair. Thanks Annie!

Peps revisited

Well, it finally happened. We had our very last peps meeting last night, and it was kinda sad. I am so not ready to be done with it. Which is actually ok, because we are going to carry on with meeting, just without the volunteers and programs and things. I just hope it does keep going, and doesn't just sort of lose momentum peter out. But that is not the point here. The point is that we took a photo on the very first night, and then again last night. I think there are 12 weeks of meetings, so its about 3 months. I actually thought there would be a bigger difference in the babies in that time. You can see Ardavan grew a bunch more hair (light blue outfit in photo 1, navy pants and stripey shirt in photo 2). And Anya and Benjamin are showing off by grabbing their feet in the second photo, where they didn't even know they had feet in the first photo. Amelia woke up for the second photo (pink stripes photo 1, light green pants photo 2) and Liam stopped crying (yellow pants photo 1, brown shirt photo 2), but I think that was just timing. Anyway, thats Benjamin's little Peps posse.

lazy bones

Hi! Remember me? I used to write a blog here! If you are wondering why it has been so long since I have posted, it is because I am basically a lazy and idle person, who has much difficulty actually accomplishing anything. (See photo below, of me in my natural habitat.) But many posts will be forthcoming soon, I swear. Don't give up! Keep reading the blog! You never know, YOU may be featured in it next time! Wouldn't that be exciting?

My other baby

Poor Maisy gets so neglected in the blog. Who am I kidding, she gets neglected everywhere. In my defense, the blog is actually all about Benjamin, so it makes sense she is not well represented here. I have no defense for the other neglect. HOWEVER, while we were in Palm Springs, Maisy went to Doggie Club Med (DCM) with Scott and Josie. The fabulous Josie of course sent photo documentation of all the DCM fun. (I am so spoiled with my dog and baby watchers all being so photographically inclined.) Anyway, take a look at how much fun the hound was having while we were in CA. And I hear she got to sleep on the couch some too. I'm sure she was terribly disappointed that she had to come back home.

Holiday mini break weekend

Well, we are back. Hmpf. 4 days of sunshine was NOT ENOUGH. It was so fantabulous to be in Palm Springs, with the sun, and the pool, and really pure genius to bring along 7 baby sitters and one excellent mother's helper (thanks Madelyn!). I never wanted to leave. But we are back now, in the rain, and the cold, and the dreary dreary Seattle November, or so it would seem. As an antidote to all the gloom, I will be posting a daily sunny vacation photo every day for the next week or so, or until I run out of photos, or until I feel inspired to maybe take some more pictures. This picture happens to be the only one I have at work, so I am starting with it. (yes, I am posting at work. I'll most likely get fired immediately. In which case I am so moving somewhere warmer. So there.) Anyway, here we have me and Jammy on the shady part of the patio, in order to protect his lily white baby complexion. It was quite the triumph that he stayed lily white, as I was petrified of flying home with a cranky sunburned baby. But it all worked out just fine, between the shade, the sunblock and the spf 50 outfits.

Hat Boy or the Many Faces of Benjamin, part 2

The second part of our photo shoot on Sunday was all about the sun hat Benjamin inherited from Henry. (thanks Henry!) I'd like to see anyone else pull off shirtless and this hat with this kind of confidence. He was in such a great mood, he was making all kinds of funny faces for the camera. Trouble is, these are only the happy faces, so we are really missing out on the grumpy and demanding aspect of his personality. Somehow when he is screaming, or even just singing the blues, I never seem to remember to take his photo. I guess I will forget all the grouchy times and just remember him as a happy little guy. Which is probably ok.

Which way to the beach?

We are headed to Palm Springs on Thursday morning, to spend 4 days sitting by the pool in the sunshine. I can hardly wait! Now, admittedly this might not be the smartest plan, since a) people under 6 months old are not allowed to use sunblock and b) to quote the pediatrician at the hospital when he was born, Benito is a very white white boy. However, since vitamin d is essential to his mother's mental health, we are going anyway. As it turns out, the clever folks in the baby fashion industry have figured out a way to capitalize on the no sunblock rule (are they in cahoots with the pediatricians? Its very possible). They have invented infant rashguards. Instead of protecting your skin from the rocks and coral when you crash your surfboard, the main purpose of the infant rashguard is to protect your delicate baby skin from the harsh rays of the sun. Ahhh, sun. The fabric is spf 50 apparently. Regular old cotton tshirts are spf negative 2, or something like that. So anyway, we ventured out to the willage on Sunday, and in decision making crises mode purchased not one but three rashguards, and a stylin swim diaper speedo deal. Along with the fine collection of sun hats that the boy already owned, and his tiny swimtrunks (thanks Grandma Pat!), it was just calling out for a baby fashion show. In lieu of a run way (and the ability to walk) we settled for a fashion photography shoot. Since we are actually only keeping one rashguard, feel free to vote for your favorite.

More stuff I want to remember about the boy

Now that the Benbino is a little bigger (almost 5 months old!), he does a few more tricks:

• He giggles when you tickle him. Its almost a chuckle really. Marnie says he laughs more than any kid she has ever taken care of.


• If I dial the phone when he is nursing he whips his head around to see what that cool beeping is


• He can almost roll over from his back to his stomach, but he gets stuck on his side


• if we are watching tv, and he is facing away from it, he will crane his neck to try to watch, even if it has to be upside down, or to watch the reflection of the tv in the window.


• he drools and chews on his fists all the time. It gets his clothes soggy all over.


• yesterday for the first time, I saw him touch the soles of his feet together. It was very yoga-esque.


• he has some little patches of dry skin on his belly, and he loves it when I put lotion on him


• When I leave the room he looks around to see where I went


• If I call and he can hear my voice on the phone or on speaker phone he gets the furrowed brow and looks around for me.


• he is starting to watch us eat. He was very intent on Loren's noodles last night.


• He can grab toys and put them in his mouth now. He put both hands on his bottle and almost got in his mouth the other day.


• He grabs onto my hair and my necklaces very tightly. He has quite the strong grip.


• He is making all kinds of cool new sounds now. Its kind of like he is playing with his voice on purpose.


• He loves to stand and to bounce. You have to help him balance of course, but he has super strong chubby little legs.


• he is getting interested in the other babies at peps now. They lay around and stare at each other with these very big eyes. He might accidentally grab on to another baby's arm or hand, but he doesn't do it on purpose yet.


• he kind of wiggles when he is on his belly, like he is getting reved up to crawl. I really want him to stay stationary for as long as possible. He is just going to be such a big kid when he crawls, I don't think I can handle it yet.


• He is getting more and more little pants and overalls outfits and fewer one piece infant ensembles with feet. He looks much more grown up in his little jeans or khakis. Sometimes I have to put his yellow hooded ducky sweatshirt, or his puppy shoes on with those outfits, so he doesn't look too big. The tennis shoes and grey hooded sweatshirt with his jeans make him look like he should be carrying a backpack and riding his bike to class.

Cheers! and a great big yawn

Clearly, I have been too busy to post anything for almost this whole week. Very sad. And today, all I have is a stolen photo (see Aunt Cookie's blog for more funny pics). But this picture does crack me up. We are a pair of lushes, or so it seems.

In new news, Jammy is on the verge of having a mirror breakthrough. Loren was holding him in front of the mirror this morning, and they were chatting away, and Jammy had a total lightbulb moment, where this flash of "what the hell?!?" realization crossed his face. He then kept looking back and forth at Dad right next to him, Dad in the mirror. Dad right next to him, Dad in the mirror. And on and on. I don't think he has it totally figured out yet, but he knows something funny is going on with that other baby in the mirror. We also had another near roll over this morning, but no go. He also may have had his first contagious yawn. He yawns all the time, and it is totally contagious to me, but it doesn't work the other way. You can get 2 inches away from him, and give a great big sleepy yawn and stretch right in his face, and he is totally unphased. But this morning, Loren yawned, and then Benito yawned right afterwards. Coincidence? Could be. But I prefer to think that he is just getting smarter and smarter. All this yawn talk is making me yawn at my desk as I type. Without even seeing anyone else yawning. How about you all out there? Are you yawning yet?

Surprise!

It was my birthday this weekend, and it was SO MUCH FUN!! I don’t have photos or time to do it justice, but I will give the quick overview. Also, it’s a little off-topic, as it is not really Jamcentric, so bear with me. Or wait until tomorrow, when I will doubtless post something much more Baby Jammy appropriate. Saturday morning, Judith and I had plans for girly high maintenance-ness at U Village. Because of the tragic closure of a la Francaise, we went to Specialties for our chocolate croissants, which is just not the same. Anyway, we are sitting at Specialties enjoying our breakfast treats (its not a la Francaise, but it is still pretty darn tasty), and I looked out the window and thought, geez that looks like Hillary. And Kate. And it was!! Hillary flew in from MT to surprise me! YAY!! Much shrieking and amazement ensued. And then Maija came too, which was great. So we had manis and pedis and brow waxes etc., and Judith and Hillary and I went to Atlas to have breakfast for lunch, which was also great. Mmmm, I love breakfast! Then Hillary and I went home, and vegged for a while, and then went to Title 9 to buy new sports bras (pregnancy and nursing really does a number on your chest). And then she wanted to go to Rosita’s for virgin strawberry margaritas, but not dinner, because she wanted to get Thai food for dinner. And I thought, well geez, isn’t she high maintenance, but since she is pregnant, I will humor her. So then we got home, and there was a surprise party! I was totally surprised, having always been pretty vocal about no surprise parties please. But this was just a small dinner party (so don’t feel bad if you weren’t invited!) with my best girlfriends, and Jammy and my new friend’s Wenmei and Zachary. Oh and they were all allowed to bring boys along with them too. So that was really fun, and involved 2 kinds of dessert, so obviously I was happy about that, and I had 2 glasses of wine, so Jammy was probably all drunk and things. Sunday was my actual birthday, and we went to my parent’s house for the traditional strawberry waffle breakfast, complete with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Mmmmm, this weekend was clearly all about food. And I got a hilarious card from Henry, which I would scan and include here if I were organized, and many lovely gifts. We will be finding out what “Wine Gums” (famous from much British chick lit but very mysterious) are in Palm Springs next week, and I will be trying out all kinds of festive springy fashion. What else happened on Sunday…. We went to REI, I got my hair cut, and then we had an Ocean’s 11 and 13 marathon on the couch, with Pagliacci’s and birthday brownies. It was all very good. Many many thanks to all who participated! You rock! Thirty was a very memorable birthday.