6 weeks old!

Dear Chuy,

Today, you are 6 weeks and 1 day old - can you believe it? Thanks to my C-Section, I get to hang out with you at home for a couple more weeks, which is awesome, because I can't wrap my head around having to drop you off at day care yet... so, for now, it's you and me during the day!

You've had a busy week this week... your new fancy swing arrived...
...and you love it.

I had decided long ago, before you were ever a twinkle in my eye, that when we had a baby, we wouldn't be 'those people' that keep large baby gear in their living room... that our house would be relatively unchanged and we'd keep all that crap outta here...

... but then I saw your buddy Clover in her swing... and she loved it... and it suddenly seemed perfectly normal that people with babies have baby gear in their living rooms... and that there's nothing wrong with that... I mean, you need a place to relax too, right?

You, Daddy and I also went to a dinner party this past week - we had fun and some of your buddies were there...
We all loved that your outfit matched the ladies and that it wasn't planned!

The biggest news this week was that your creepy umbilical stump finally fell off - revealing a super cute baby belly button and making it possible for Daddy and I to give you a real bath... in the sink... with soap and water!
I just love this pic of you watching Daddy giving you a bath - so sweet...

So, that's what you were up to this week!

Oh, and by the way, why is it whenever you and Clover get together you always try to take her shirt off?
Fresh...

Love,
Mommy

Five Weeks!

Dear Chuy,

Happy five week birthday!

I think you might be having a growth spurt this week and here why...

First up, there was the sleeping through the entire night on Sunday night.

Once we got over the shock and horror of neither one of us waking to feed or change you in the night and the fact that you were merely sleeping and not dead, we have been curious as to why this might have happened.

I know I shouldn't look this gift horse in it's mouth, but you shouldn't be sleeping through the night for a long while...

Turns out, it was a fluke and you're back to your regularly scheduled program.

Next was your schedule yesterday - which included three activities... scream, eat, sleep... in that order... repeated every two hours on the dot as though you can tell time. No time for tummy time, no time for Wee See, no patience for Jacque, nada... scream, eat, sleep, repeat.

The few times your eyes were open yesterday, you looked to your side at what seemed to be nothing, which made me decide that there's something wrong with your eyes - you're not looking at my face - you're supposed to be looking at my face this week... and smiling... there were no smiles at my house yesterday.

Today, things are different again - more sleep than scream or eat, although you are still waking up for your meals... because you are your mother's son... but the few minutes when you were awake today, you looked me right square in the eye... and smiled...



Thank you, I will stop trolling the internet for possible diseases, injuries, etc. that could be impairing your vision or social skills... you're fine and I'm crazy.

Love,
Mommy

Wee See

So, a couple weeks ago, a buddy of mine mentioned Wee See on his Facebook status...



What is Wee See? Well, according to their website...

Part art installation, part pacifier, Wee See is a collection of black-and-white animations built from basic shapes to delight both child and parent. As vision develops slowly over the first months of life, Wee See provides surfaces of bold, well-defined artwork to engage your baby’s curious mind and bring the screen to vibrant life.

With great sensitivity to the delicate nature of the audience, Wee See’s animations move methodically slow and maintain an extraordinary simplicity yet remain endlessly inventive.

With both DVDs containing an original score by Tim DeLaughter, each moment has extra meaning. The same level of playfulness and care at the heart of the imagery also shines through in the music.

Yes, Tim DeLaughter - of Tripping Daisy and most recently Polyphonic Spree fame.

Even though I'm not a fan of Tripping Daisy, I've always enjoyed me some Polyphonic Spree and thought that Chuy might like to have some DVDs that are geared towards him - but in a peaceful, thoughtfully artful way... not an annoying purple dinosaur or adults dressed up like kids dancing around kind of way (I know, I know, that will come... but for now, I get to pick the viewing pleasure...)

So, I ordered them.

I think Chuy is a fan...

On this particular day, he had been a complete Fussy Gus all morning.

Thankfully, I remembered that we had just received the DVDs, so, I popped one in...

Magic...

Peaceful engaged child - he watched the whole thing start to finish - not bad for a newborn...

Granted, my boy loves the TV just like his parents, but he speaks a particular version of pterodactyl when viewing Wee See...

It's a little hard on my adult eyes as it is all black and white, but the music is actually quite nice, so, if I have something I'd like to get accomplished (like typing this blog), it's the perfect entertainer that we can both enjoy!

One Month Old!

Dear Chuy,

Happy one month birthday! I can't believe it's been an entire month since they ripped you from my uterus after 20 hours of labor.

It seems like only yesterday I was moaning and groaning about being so incredibly pregnant... I thought for sure you were never coming out of my body - that I would be pregnant forever with a giant man sized baby... thankfully, that's not the case!

You've acquired all sorts of new skills and tricks... you can hold your head up for a super long time, you've discovered the tv (and you yell at it just like your father) - I'm not exactly sure what your beef is with Brooke Shields, but you certainly told her a thing or two while she was speaking at Michael Jackson's funeral today...

You are generally more aware than ever before - Jacque the Peacock is suddenly interesting, the cool rainforest aquarium in your crib is even more riveting, and you've been enjoying relaxing on the quilt that your Bachan made for you while watching your Wee See DVD...

I wish it wasn't over 100 degrees outside everyday - I'm sure you would really dig hanging out in our backyard or taking a walk in your stroller, but we'd both die of heat stroke, and the whole point of this entire adventure is to keep you alive, so, guess we'll be waiting a few months for that walk...

I can't believe that my maternity leave is half way over... I'm very saddened by the fact that in four more short weeks, I have to take you to day care... and leave you there... all day... every day... it's so weird and too much for my tender new mom brain to handle, so, for now, I'm trying not to think about it.

Happy one month birthday, son - your daddy and I love you!

Love,
Mommy

IN MEL WE TRVST

There comes a time in every baby's life when they get to listen to their very first record!

This day is actually a bigger deal for daddies..this daddy in particular...especially when the baby is less than 4 weeks old.

So, the kid can't really appreciate what you've painstakingly chosen from your vinyl collection, but that's not what's important.

What is important is finding a decent mix of composed music, catchy singalongs, and high-larious dialog for fathers and sons.

That's why I went with Mel “It’s good to be the king” Brooks' HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART I.

It met all the criteria...

1. Composed music: Brooksfilms "housecomposer", John Morris does his usual bang up job scoring the film.

2. Catchy singalongs:


3. And last, but certainly not least, High-larious dialog:


Ok, so Chuy slept through most of it...but it's never to early to start brainwashing the little guy at an early age, right?