Family pictures time, everybody!

Thanks for coming by, Mom & Dad. Here are some of the pics that actually came out. My favorite is the last one where both Dad and Joseph check out for a second.

Usurper!

6:00 a.m.: whines and growls. The Boy is awake.

I drag myself out of bed, pick him up out of his cradle, and take him to the diaper changing station. He's not as cheery as he was yesterday morning. No, he just wanted that diaper off NOW, and oh, by-the-way, did you notice I've got my entire FIST in my mouth because I'm starving to DEATH?

We've got an emergency situation here. Explosion imminent.

With the diaper changed I take him back to the bedroom and ask Judie, who's as groggy as a Dartmouth boy on a Saturday morning, "A naturel, or bottle?"

"Hrngh."

Bottle it is.

I lay him down next to mommy on my side of the bed. He's arching his back and diverting all power to the vocal cords, but I think he's beginning to understand that the fastest way for me to get him a bottle is with two hands. So, he holds back for a moment.

My plan is to give him a quick injection of noms, burp him, and catch another couple of hours of sleep before my first move today. I make the bottle double-time and head back to the bedroom and...

What's this?

The little man is laid out in his little starfish sleeping position. He's like a cartoon coyote splatted on the canyon floor. Out. As in comatose. On MY side of the bed.

Well played, little one. Well played...

For the sake of comparison...

I'm amazed at how fast this kid is growing and changing. Take a look at a picture from Day 1:



Now look at Day 75. Just look, I tell you:



Next week: College graduation pictures.

It's time for another episode of "Who's the Cutest Baby in the World!"

As there are no other eligible contestants, Joseph Gordon, the reigning WTCBITW champion, will have no trouble defending his title.

Here he is in his favorite spot in the house, his changing table. Feeling fresh and clean, he flashed a few smiles which, I've found, are harder to capture on film than the Loch Ness Monster (which is totally real, by the way).

My apologies for the blurriness. He emitted a burst of cute rays which messed with the camera's charge-coupled device.

Busted.

Here's Jude's second note. In my defense, I AM almost totally oblivious to what's going on at night. As Lord Protector of, and Provider for, the Realm, I am ashamed of this, but I've always liked to think that if someone did break in, some atavistic part of me would sense it and rise, Achilles-like, fiercely to the occasion. The following story, I think, bears this out.

+++

Joseph has almost learned to sleep consistently through the night (if
you consider 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. a full night). But very often he still
wakes at 2 a.m. for a snack and since I'm packing the food, it's no
surprise that the night shift falls to mom.

Chris must feel guilty about not helping, though, because he is
constantly saying that he doesn't even hear Joseph when he cries.
Until last night, I believed him.

What changed? At 2 a.m. as I reached for a burp cloth on the
nightstand, an eight-legged critter had gotten there first. Calmly, I
laid Joseph on the bed and whispered to Joseph in a voice so soft I almost
couldn't hear myself, "Hang on, we've got a spider situation."

At that, Chris who appeared to have been deep in dreamland, sprang to
a sitting position. His hair was wild and his eyes squinted as they
darted from the sheets to the wall to the ceiling looking for the
"spider."

Meanwhile, I picked up the cloth and disposed of Daddy's greatest
phobia -- Itsy Bitsy Spider -- all awhile shaking my head and
thinking, "You are so busted."

+++

Midnight Memoirs from Mommy

Here's an unexpected treat: Judie blogs! She's written two posts (I'll post the second right after this). I wonder, though, how she managed to do this. All I ever hear is how busy Joseph keeps her, and how she can't put him down for one second because he's so needy all of a sudden. But she has time for a post? Hmm. Seems like time that could best be spent making me sandwiches. ;-)

(Note: we joke like that.)

Anyway, here's what she asked to be posted to the blog:

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Sometimes the best pictures are never taken but remain in the mind of
the beholder. Such was the image I saw a few days ago in the dim, hazy
bedroom light at dawn.

Joseph had been awake nearly the whole night and I was beyond
exhausted. When he woke again at 6:30 a.m., my darling husband took
over so I could sleep.

"Hey, little buddy," I heard Chris say softly as he picked Joseph up
out of his cradle and left the room to change Joseph's diaper. That was the
last thing I remember until I opened my eyes again after several short
dreams.

This is when I saw it; the image that will forever be framed in my
imagination. Chris was standing over the bathroom sink face full of
shaving cream, carving smooth lines with a razor in one hand while the
other arm supported a wide-eyed baby boy who looked over his daddy's
shoulder.

Too exhausted to fetch a camera, I closed my eyes and committed the
vision to memory.

+++

Note from Chris: Of course, as a guy, I'm going to read this as an artful entreaty to get up and help more! Duly noted, honey. Duly noted.

Joseph loves Lamp

So, my boy has a friend. His name is Lamp. Lamp stands next to the couch in the living room, and he and Joseph will carry on lengthy conversations together. Sometimes Lamp says something funny, and Joseph will laugh while staring at his skinny friend.

Judie says that babies are fascinated by the contrast between black and white. I hope this is the case, because I'm not sure what to do with this unexpected eventuality.

Trying to run REALLY FAST!

Just wait until he goes vertical...

Helping mommy with laundry