taking the baby show on the road

i go back to work on next monday and, with all that i have to do to prepare adam to go to school daily and prepare myself for going back to work (exactly which clothes still fit me... since all i've been wearing for the past three months is sweat pants and spit up...), it's hard to even find the time to make this blog post! whoa, that was a long sentence-- an example of the breathlessness in life i experience these days. but here goes...

last monday i headed to my parents' house in sc. i'd packed for days in advance and my car was loaded with adam's accoutrement, shower gifts, a bassinet and other baby odds and ends for courtney, and one solitary bag for me, mommy. you could have taken just one glance at my car and seen that taking care of myself has recently taken a backseat in my own life-- one bag, people! one!

anyhow...

we stopped twice along the way for diaper changes and feedings. in case anyone ever needs a place to stop and feed a baby, i totally recommend mcdonald's. here's why: they're well lit, they ALWAYS have one of those diaper change stations in the restrooms, there is one at almost every exit, they're full of people so they feel more safe and, most importantly, a screaming child is par for the course there so they don't care if adam loses his cool temporarily. plus, did you know they have "gourmet" coffee now? i am not even kidding, at one mcdonald's i got a coffee and sat in a recliner watching cnn on the flat screen mounted over the fireplace as i fed adam. not kidding. we made it there safely in just about 9 hours-- the trip normally takes 7...

being at my parents house was great. they love adam to pieces and now that he's more reactive and smiley, it was fun to see him grin at them and see them try their darndest to make him smile and giggle. my dad's faces and noises made me laugh more than adam! he slept like a dream at night, like usual- 7pm to 7am. and our rookie run in the pack n play went well. i wrestled with it packing it up the first time, but figured it out in a snap.

our next stop on the baby tour was my brother's house, about an hour and a half from my parents' house. his tv is the size of a small house and mesmerized the baby. i'm not fond of him being a tv addict at the ripe ol' age of three months, but the colors and sounds were so interesting to him! my bro and i went to lunch and took the baby and he was an angel, sleeping most of the time we were there. that evening, he and his girlfriend cooked me dinner and we played cards-- such a nice visit!

then we moved on down the road to charleston, my perfect place. we stayed with my best friend, courtney, who is expecting in january. it was so great to see her pregnant, growing her little bundle, and to spend more time with her sweetie, john, and see her baby nursery all decorated. the blue was the exact same color we painted adam's room, and i honestly think he thought we'd come home... he was so peaced out that one day he slept in till 7:45! when i woke up and saw the time, i was sure he'd died in his pack n play. but no. snoozing away... thank God!

jobeth and i threw a baby shower for courtney on saturday at jobeth's house. another amazing and special part of this trip was getting to spend so much time with jobeth. it always seems when i go to charleston there are a million things to do, places to go, people to see. though this was also a very busy weekend, jobeth and i got to spend a couple hours together preparing for the shower and were also able to go out together alone saturday night and just chat. it was so so so refreshing being around her. i respect her and love her so much and her friendship is a treasure to me.

sunday, almost to my exhaustion max, adam and i packed up again and headed back to my parents' house for one more night. and monday morning, i packed us into the car to head back to dc. we'd given courtney her gifts and our bassinet, so i'd freed up some room in the car, but we'd added another passenger..... otis! our new puppy! he was an amazing traveler, laying on the front passenger seat the entire way home. during our mcdonald's pit stops i put him out on the grass and he did his business there, not in my car. a major plus. he's been an excellent puppy since coming home, only chewing on his toys and hasn't had one single potty accident in the house! we really love him!

this is my last week on maternity leave and, though i am eager to get back to real life-- a schedule, adult interactions, nice clothes, etc-- i am far more sad than i expected to not be spending my days with adam. i feel sure most mothers feel this way, but i am so sad and feel like i am going to totally miss his LIFE! :( i was able to coordinate a compressed work week schedule with my boss, giving me a four-day work week, but i still wish there was a way to be with adam AND have my normal life back every day. alas, i'll be at work four days per week and adam will be at his "school" on the base where daddy works. when you boil life down, it always comes back to a little give and a little take, right? they never write about the mommy growing pains in the books, but man are they there.......

speaking of the little chubster (he's at least 16 lbs now), he met his 12-week milestone in charleston and continues to amaze us daily. his smiles and half-giggles have me working all day for more. if people could only see the stupid faces and hear the noises we make all day trying to get that smile to spread across his face again and again. he is rolling from his belly to his back in his crib sometimes, though i have never seen him do it in person. also, he is talking and babbling more, and is far more interactive. he grabs with hands, typically using his right hand more than his left, and loves looking at books as i read him the stories and point out the photos. every week is more and more fun. he is AMAZED by our christmas tree; the lights are his favorite thing to gaze at, besides mommy's face, of course. (haha) also, for about four weeks, adam has been sleeping through the night-- for twelve hours straight. for some reason, probably b/c i have never really been around or taken care of babies, i thought this was fairly normal. but the more moms i talk to, the more i am learning we have luck on our side. adam goes to bed every night at 7pm and sleeps until 6-7am. you'd think this would have us getting loads of sleep too, but no. longer night sleeping means shorter daytime naps and more baby-entertaining during the day. 7pm starts cleaning, laundry, making tomorrow's lunch, dinner, shopping, etc. we're not perfect, but we're still learning. we appreciate everyone's patience with us... adam for being patient as we learn his wants and needs, our parents for all the advice we've asked for and the advice we didn't ask for but begrudgingly ended up using after all :), and our friends for making sure we're hanging in there, babysitting here and there, calling back when we forget or don't have the time or are too exhausted to pick up the phone and overlooking the everlasting spit up spot on my shoulder or occasional crying in the background. :)

here are some recent pictures:

adam and our new pup, otis, hanging out. you can't see it but they're both staring at the christmas tree.

adam loves scooting on his tummy, and "swims" on the floor. he moves his legs like a frog. he sleeps on his belly (we know, we know, don't worry, he's fine...), and every single day i go in to find him turned and in a corner. somehow, someway, he's a man on the move.

my mom told me that when i was adam's age she would lay me on the bed and bounce me and i would laugh and laugh. so, we thought we'd test this on adam. he didn't smile or giggle at the bouncing, just our silly faces and our "weeeeeee" sounds.

this pouty face is too cute to not post here. right before a cry or when he's sad, he puckers up his face and pokes out his bottom lip. too precious! i can't tell you how many photos we've taken of adam crying-- it's so cute that it's honestly hard to take seriously.

day after thanksgiving, at eric's parents' house.

bath!

aunt andrea got us this super cute hat! it will be perfect for the SNOW forecasted this friday... ugh.

i love to stare at my daddy and smile at him more than anyone else!

happy boy on the bed!

he's thinking: you guys are soooo goofy!