Jack sleeps 2xs during the day. Each time he is down for exactly 30 minutes. I swear Rolex could set their watches by him.
That means that 2xs a day, I have exactly 30 minutes to do whatever it is that I need to do sans bebe.
Today was a special treat. Roberto and company are here working on the house (painting the decks, fixing a leak, etc.) They needed some assistance on what to do with the lovely LARGE piece of furniture on the second story back deck. At the same time, Sandra has arrived to clean the house - GOD LOVE HER! She's been unable to come for a while so her appearance is timely and welcomed. The two dogs are also underfoot. And then there's the Master of the house, who is loveable as ever but has quite the inquisitive mind.
We also have to coordinate what room to be in so that Sandra can clean and not have us underfoot. At any moment another contractor is showing up soon to give us an estimate on putting down field stone on the front steps.
So, where I thought my last job required a highly sophisticated level of multi-tasking, it was a piece of cake by comparison. We are at the stage where Jack needs to be on the ground exploring and learning about his environment. On the other hand, there are times when he needs to be out of harm's way (e.g., 5-6 different adults and 2 dogs moving about with sharp implements and cleaning materials...)
You can only put your child in so many child restraining devices (high chair, exer-saucer, crib) before things start to melt down. And inevitably, if he notices you are vulnerable, he's going to surprise you with a second and entirely unexpected morning poop.
Speaking of morning poops (come on, it's a baby blog of course there are going to be poop stories), Jack has this neat new trick on the changing table. I saw something like it in Cirque Du Soleil. You put him down on his back and he immediately corkscrews the top half of his body so that he top half is facing down...and the bottom half is struggling to follow. Not so easy to take off, clean up remains and rediaper with the Squirming Wonder using his remarkably developed muscles.
The other day I thought "TRIUMPH, I have him diapered." I began resuiting him in his onesie, track pants and socks, and thought -- better check and make sure everything is aligned, tightly secured, etc. (We've had some unpleasant escaping poop situations and have taken our friend Anita's advice - diapers can't be too tight on a baby!). Lo and behold, I recheck the diaper and I have given him a Brazilian thong diaper. Interesting but highly ineffective. I am double and triple checking everything these days!
Off to enjoy the last 21 minutes of freedom until 4 ish this afternoon.
More pics later.
among the many lovely hand-me-downs that our good friends Anita and Mark have given us. The body of it fits just right. I think, though, that the hood may already be a little small. Those French babies must be major pinheads, because Jack's always in the 25th percentile for head size, and look at how the hood pushes his cheeks forward. It's like a push-up bra for his face.
This is the temple. It's a very cool building, but we've never been inside. We've both started the novel but have not had a lot of time to read lately!
There are two Sphinxes (is that the plural of sphinx?). Jack did not seem overwhelmed by them.
We will let you know if we figure out what the lost symbol is. Jack thinks it is the Cheerio.
Note the sneaky brown dog in the background.
This is my namesake. He's the youngest and has the heart of a lion. He's a gambler, a fighter, and has a heart the size of Mt. McKinley. He's also a goof when he wants to be. Underestimate him at your own peril.
This is Anna. Apparently, she scored in the highest 2% in the world on some third grade math test. She really likes art and reading, though. She was so sweet with Jack. She is built like Allison Felix and we all hold out hope that she will carry on Jelly Bean Grandpa's legacy.
Jeff is snuffling with Jack. Snuffling involves burying your face into the many folds of Jack's neck and blowing bubbles. He seems to like it...at least that is what we think the peals of laughter indicate. Mary Ann...seen it all before!
We were teaching Mary Ann the classic political picture-taking technique of "down and out." (Lead with your chin...down and out...hides the chin-neck effectively!). She's really quite beautiful.
