Gettin' Lucky in Kentucky

Walt got lucky this weekend.  For the second weekend in a row, he's been introduced to plenty of new friends and family members.  Here are a few pictures from the trip.  One is of Walt being rocked by Gram in front of the famous Crouch library.  The next is of Walt and his great, great uncle, Mancil.  He's never met a great, great uncle before.   Uncle Mancil seemed to have a special knack for calming the unusually fussy Walt, too.

Check back soon for a new album of more pictures of Walt with his Kentucky family.

Tomorrow, Walt gets to meet a lot of Memphis friends at a party in his honor.  We'll have pictures of that also.

Fingers and Proposals

As you can see from this almost identical to another already posted picture, Walt has become quite proficient at finding his fingers.  We think this a clear indication that he will score somewhere above the 90th percentile on the SAT.  He's particularly good at sticking his finger or fingers in his mouth when he's a little excited.  It calms him down rather nicely.  What a little genius!

Speaking of geniuses.  I set up Walt's port-a-crib in the Crouches' living room yesterday evening after we arrived.  For those of you who don't know what a port-a-crib is, it's a combination crib and playpen that breaks down into a bag the size of a deck of cards.  They are designed by people much smarter than me for assembly by people much, much smarter than me.  Despite the odds against me, I got it done.  But as I was setting it up, I looked around and realized that I was in the same room where I sat some eight years ago and timidly requested Ginger's parents' permission to marry her.  WOW.  And there I was setting up a crib for our baby to sleep during his first visit to Murray.   I'm glad they said 'yes'.  I can't wait for the next eight years.  Who knows what other memories await . . .

Playtime . . . or not

Well, we tried to have a little tummy time yesterday and play with the new stuffed blocks a friend gave us last week, but someone conked out a little early.  Evie, on the other hand, is always ready to play.  Those of you who have had the misfortune of stopping by our house sometime over the past several weeks have encountered a puppy who is simply frantic for somebody to tug on her scarf (her very favorite toy), throw her bone, or just plain let her lick them.  We apologize to all of you who have been attacked by our overly-affectionate puppy.  She's just not adjusting well to losing our undivided attention.  We keep telling her that she'll be a big fan of Walt's when he gets old enough to start tossing Cheerios out of his high chair, but she's not big on patience.  For now, I'm pretty sure she just sees him as the competition.  Poor puppy.

Baby Fat

Isn't baby fat beautiful?  I was feeding Walt yesterday and looked down at those fat little legs and was just amazed at how much he's grown!  In others ways, too, I can tell that our little baby is growing up.  He can find his fingers to suck on more often than not now.  He's slept more than five straight hours two out of the past three nights (yippee!).  And the best thing is that I think I just got a real smile from him!

I feel as though I'm growing up as a mommy too.  I'm getting much braver about taking him out by myself.  In the past week he's been to a Boys & Girls Club board meeting, out to lunch with a friend and her 10-week old little girl (his first date?), out shopping with another friend yesterday, and to my prayer group last night.   He's been very good during all of his outings.

As exciting as it is to watch Walt grow, it also makes me a little sad because, for one thing, it means my maternity leave is almost half over, but mainly because I know he'll never be this little again.  These really are such precious days and I thank the Lord for them everyday!

Roadie

This photo pretty much sums up Walt's weekend.  He was the center of attention everywhere he went.  He got a lot of hugs and a lot of kisses.  I'd say his first road trip was a success.

There is a new photo album with additional pictures from the trip.  It's on the left side of the page.

Skeptical Walt

Okay, maybe we're reading too much into the facial expressions of a one-month old, but this is the look he has on his face a lot, and it seems to say, "Are you people sure you know what you're doing here?"  (The answer to that, of course, is no.)

Walt made his first contribution to civic life yesterday when he attended the Boys & Girls Club board meeting with Mommy.  He didn't have too much to add to the discussion, but was at least quiet the whole time, for which Mommy was grateful.

Bjorns and Birthdays

We tried out the Baby Bjorn last night.  We thought it looked kind of funny, so we took this picture.  It looks like a headless baby, but have no fear, Walt was in there and so was his head.  He actually likes it.  Ginger went for a walk with him in it today, and he fell asleep.  He must like it.

Since today is Walt's one month birthday, we're unveiling the latest photo album.  (Check the left side of the page under the Photo Album section.)   On the fifteenth of each month we'll post a new picture showing how much our little man has grown.  You can already see differences in just one month.  Enjoy.

Tearin' It Up

Walt's last thirty-six hours have been full of firsts.  Yesterday, he went to church.  He skipped out on half of Sunday school, but he listened intently to the sermon and even took a few notes.  Actually, he slept through church and grunted through Sunday school, but then again, that describes a good number of old men at church, too.   Unlike the old men, he endured quite a few ooohs and aaaahs from the old ladies he met.

Today, I came home early from work, and Ginger and I took Walt on his first stroll around the neighborhood.  He liked it a lot.  We always know he likes something if he sleeps through it.   After the third bump, he was out like a light and stayed that way for the duration of the two plus mile walk.  By the way, Evie enjoyed getting out of the house, too.  She is currently sleeping off her part of the walk on the back of her favorite chair.

As if that wasn't enough, Walt also went to his first "sit down" restaurant after his stroll.  We just kept on strolling  and went around the corner to the local Mexican restaurant for dinner.  Tacos and quesadillas were delicious, and Walt behaved himself the entire time.  A true socialite if ever there was one.  Stay tuned; Mom and Walt are planning their first shopping trip later this week.  And don't forget the much anticipated first road trip this weekend.  Nana and Putty, here we come . . .

A Visit From Nana and Putty

With Beth and Kate's joint 30th birthday party last night, Josh and I knew we had to find some capable babysitters for young Walt.  Fortunately, we knew of two excellent babysitters who were willing to drive all the way from Nashville just so we could go out for a couple of hours!    Putty brought his new videocamera and after he and Josh figured it out, he put it to good use on you'll never guess who.  So, in summary, Nana and Putty had a nice visit with Walt and we got to go eat Soulburgers and cheesecake with our buds at Earnestine & Hazel's.  Everyone was happy.

Tonight, Josh and I are having our traditional Valentine's meal (yes, we know it's early, but hey, it's Saturday) of filet mignon with truffled mushroom ragout and goat cheese mashed potatoes . . . yummy!  While we worked on dinner, Walt occupied himself by swinging in the laundry room (the kitchen is just too bright).  Again, everyone was happy.

Snoozin'

Apparently his night of no sleep also made Walt tired because he slept like an angel last night and then all day today.  Here are pictures of him sleeping in the bathroom (the hairdryer put him out like a light, so I used the opportunity to straighten up a bit while he snoozed in the loo) and then on Mommy's legs while she watched TV.  Looks like he's having a nice dream, huh?

Sweetpea

This is one of the many sleepers generously donated by the McAfee family.  Walt's wardrobe would be about one-fourth the size it is without the hand-me-downs from Nicholas.  Walt sends his thanks!

The "sweetpea" moniker was not exactly fitting last night.  Our normal routine of oh, actually SLEEPING at night, was replaced by Walt's nightowl act.  Josh was up with him until almost 2:00 a.m. and then I took over and Walt and I both fell asleep with me holding him in the glider around 3:00.  Josh came and woke me up about 4:30 and I was finally able to put him down without him waking up screaming five minutes later.  Mommy and Daddy were not amused.  (He is still cute, though.)

Oh, and sorry about the lack of a post yesterday.  Not only was it a rough night, it had already been a rough day.  Today was much better, thanks for asking.

Big Walt

Well, apparently our eating troubles are over.  We took Walt to be
weighed today, and he came in at a naked weight of 9lbs 7oz.  If you
are scoring at home, that is 1lb  5oz more than eight days ago at his
pediatrician's office.  Still no match for his cousin Collier who
weighs something like 82lbs and is three months old.  Remember, you can
check him out at his weblog link on the left side of this page.

We have to admit, the above picture is not an incredibly honest
depiction of the poor kid, but it makes him look fat, and that was the
point.

Sleep Update

Okay, so I have no real reason to post today other than the fact that if I don't, we get nasty calls and emails!  You people are relentless!  Just kidding . . . we're very flattered that you like looking at our baby.  We sure do. 

I'm knocking on every wooden thing I can find right now, but I'll have to say, we've put together a string of several nights in a row of pretty decent sleeping.  Not what I would have considered even marginal sleeping in my old life, mind you, but good in comparison to the first couple of weeks.  Once we get him down for the night (the tricky part), he'll usually sleep for at least three hours in his crib before waking up for his next feeding, and will then go right back to sleep with no crying.  Last night, he actually went to bed at 10:00 p.m. and slept until 2:30 a.m!  I  had a hard time going back to sleep after that -- I think my body thought that was all it was getting.  Anyway, I'm sure I've now set myself up for a night of screaming.  I'll let you know.

Super (Sleepy) Sunday

Despite all of the hype, Walt just couldn't stay awake for the first half of his first Super Bowl.  I think he would have rooted for the Patriots, since the Titans weren't in it.  Gram did put on his Titans socks for him this morning in the spirit of the day.  He kicked them off pretty quickly. 

Walt's dad is having a little difficulty staying awake, too.  That's the reason for the short post.

By the way, I hope I don't get a call from the Super Bowl's lawyers for actually using the words "Super Bowl" without permission.  I think technically I'm only allowed to say "the big game."   Oh well.  I'll let you know if I hear from them.

A Visit From Gram and Grandaddy

Walt has some visitors this weekend . . . Gram and Grandaddy!  It's too bad no one likes the kid, huh?  Of course, Evie is used to getting a lot of attention from Gram, so she's not such a big fan of her attention to Walt.

Cutie Pie

Nothing too exciting going on in Walt's World today.  He seems to be a bit sleepy.  It's after 1:00 and he has slept through his scheduled 12:30 feeding, but the doc said to never wake a sleeping baby, so I don't.  He also slept from 2:00 until almost 6:30 this morning.  Mommy is a big fan of those long sleeping stretches in the middle of the night -- even if they don't actually start until 2:00 a.m. 

This is one of my favorite outfits of Walt's.  He does not seem to share my tastes, though, because so far (and I'm just waiting for it to happen today) every single time I put it on him he manages to either have a leaky diaper or pees on it during a diaper change.  Dad is not a big fan of it either and I think he has told Walt to sabotage it.  Great -- they're already ganging up on me.

First Bath

As you know from the previous post, Walt lost his umbillical cord yesterday, so that means . . . first real bath!!  Mommy was pretty excited about it.  Walt, not so much.  He didn't scream the whole time, just most of the time.   We think he'll grow to love it, though. 

Josh and I also learned a little lesson about bathtime.  You'll notice that we gave Walt his bath in the kitchen sink, and at the end closest to the camera is our dish rack.  Some of you might remember from a post a few days ago that we discovered that Walt does indeed have a good "arc" to his pee stream.  Well, I'll leave the rest to your imagination.  Let's just say we had to rewash the dinner dishes. 

Walt did seem to enjoy the post-bath lotion rubdown . . .

Bellybutton!

Sometime prior to his 1:30 a.m. changing and feeding this morning Walt was initiated into the wonderful world of bellybuttons!  Yes, Mommy went to change his diaper, only to discover that the little umbillical cord was floating around in baby's pajamas.  Here, Walt proudly displays his newly revealed badge of honor. 

For those of you keeping track, Walt (and therefore I) had a great sleeping night last night.  He slept all night in his crib, getting up only twice to eat, and each time going straight back to sleep with no crying!  We've paid the price in poor naps today (he's just now finishing up his first real nap at 4:30 p.m.), but it was all worth it. 

And finally, yes, it is Bonus Picture Wednesday!!! 

Tummy Time!

Wouldn't you just kill to know what's going on in the minds of these two?  Here's my guess . . .

Walt:  Why have they put me on my tummy like this?  I can't even lift my head.
Evie:  I want to lick him.
Walt:  This sure is a nice quilt, though.  I'll have to thank Gram when she comes to visit this weekend.
Evie:  Sure would be nice to lick him.
Walt:  Wonder what Mommy and I are going to do tonight?  I sure do love hanging out with her at 2:30 a.m.
Evie:  Like one little lick is going to hurt anything.
Walt:  Why is that black and white thing looking at me like that?  Mommy!!!