First Easter=First Counsin=First Cold

Soooooooooo, what do you think baby Willy got for his first-ever Easter? Do you think he got a visit from the Easter Bunny? (If you think this, you are wrong). Do you think he got a cute basket full of goodies to commemorate this, his first holiday? (Again, if you think this then you are sadly once again wrong). But if you do think that he got his first visit from his ever-loving (and I mean LOVING) cousin Beth who then proceeded to give him his first ever cold, then you would be right. Thus, the equation: first Easter=meeting your first first cousin, Beth (who you loved)=getting your first little cold and regressing to waking up every few hours at night because you can't breathe out of your cute button nose and crying most of the day. Happy Easter, Willy; hopefully, next year we'll just invite the Easter Bunny.....

Beth looooooooooved her some baby Willy, saying things like, "I'm dying to meet baby Willy!" and asking me every two seconds, "When is Will going to wake up? When is Will going to wake up?" Some other of my favorite Beth-isms from the weekend: When I told her that I didn't have a lullaby CD for Will, this was her response, "Jessy, you are a bad mama." When talking to her dad on the phone who, sadly, couldn't come, she said, "We left you an Easter treat in the fridge, but you can't open it until tomorrow; it's a card and chocolates!" That Beth is a character.

I'm not sure what Will thought of all this lovin'.

This is my favorite shot...look at his face!

So sweet. Oh, that Beth is a doll.

A nice close-up in his cute outfit that my nice friend Megan sent (thanks, Megs! I LOOOVE it)!

Happy Easter! Thanks Amy and Beth for coming. We really did love your visit (I loved it even more than the Easter Bunny visit since Amy cooked and cleaned for us, making us yummy homemade bread, and a dream of an Easter dinner that I didn't cook one thing for or do one dish. I don't think the Easter bunny would have done all that). Can't wait to see you again soon.

We HEART Granny!

Josh's mom (Granny) came a few weeks ago, but alas, it is just now that I am finding the time to post about it. Who knew babies were so much work?

As always, we had fun with Granny and in an effort to sum up her visit, I have opted to list the oh-so-many reasons that we heart Granny.....especially when she visits.

We heart Granny....

1. Because she loves to laugh. She has the greatest laugh and is always ready to have a grand time. We know baby Will will love her laugh just like her other grandkids do.

2. Because she cooks TASTY roast for us. Yummy, yummy in my tummy. We don't know how she does it (actually we do, because she has shown me countless times, but it NEVER tastes like hers when I attempt it), but she always makes the best roast AND she makes enough to feed ten small armies, so we have plenty left over.

3. Because she makes us stuff, like the DARLING baby blanket she made for baby Will (see picture below--it does not do the blanket justice) and the much-needed hand-knit dish rags. That Granny is very handy!



4. Because when she comes, Jane comes, too. And baby Will loved him his Aunt Jane. Too bad I have no photos to document the event (shocking!). But we loved having Jane come and visit. Can't wait to see her again soon!

5. Because she spoils us rotten, with trips to BJ's for diapers and supplies, shopping for some much-needed nursing tops, dinners out, etc., etc.

6. Because she loved her some baby Will, holding him, singing to him and even sleeping with him for a while one night when he was fussy.

7. Finally, we heart our Granny because she is plain crazy and I mean crazy in a good way. She loves maps (she went to Walmart and bought us only a map because, apparently, none of ours were sufficient); she loves to travel and only pack one to two outfits, regardless of the duration of the trip, yet she brings two suitcases full of her special pillows; she loves to sleep in extra late; she thinks it much more prudent to buy movies than rent them and then give them away (we watched/got Mr. and Mrs. Smith this trip!). We could go on and on about Granny's neurotic ways, but mostly, she is just crazy about her kids and grandkids and that's why we love her. Thanks for coming, Granny and hopefully, you'll come again soon...I need more movies.

One MONTH Older & Wiser Too!

Look at my nice hair-do. Thanks to my cowlick, my hair is constantly standing up, like Alf-Alfa's.
I am sooo close to smiling (since my b-day I have smiled--HOORAY!)
Wrapped in swaddling clothes.
After my walk with Dada. I fell fast asleep. It looks cold, but really it was finally above 50 degrees that day.
More swaddling. I sure am stinkin' cute!

Happy One-Month B-day, Baby Willy (last Thursday, that is. I'm a little slow in getting this post out, but the pictures were all taken on his b-day). You are one month older and you just may be one month wiser but one thing's for sure: your parents are definitely wiser, wiser as to what your likes and dislikes are. So, in honor of your big day, your loving mama will now list a few of your favorite things as well as a few of your unfavorite things (yes, that is a word).

Here are a few of your favorite things:

1. Rocking in your great-grandpa's rocking chair with Dada.
2. Being swaddled snug as a bug (thanks to the help of the miracle blanket, without which you would NEVER stay swaddled since you are like Houdini and can get out of any swaddling).
3. Being sung to--your favorite song is "You are My Sunshine" and the theme song from the movie "The Man from Snowy River" which your dada has been singing to you since you were in utero (that movie is, sad to say, one of your dada's favorite).
4. The Baby Bjorn: you especially like walks with Dada all wrapped up in his jacket and you really like vacuuming with Mama whilst in the Baby Bjorn.
5. Sleeping. Like your mama, you heart sleeping. Too bad it is quite the task to get you to sleep!
6. Of course, you like eating! Who doesn't?

Here are a few of your unfavorite things:

1. When the dog bites; when the bee stings; when I'm feeling sad (ha, ha).
2. Getting your diaper/clothes changed. (According to the Baby Whisperer, all you need to do is talk your baby through this process and then VOILA! your child will no longer wail whilst being changed and/or clothed. Well, she is so not right. I tried, saying things like, "Now we will change your diaper. Now I am going to wipe your bummy", etc., etc., etc. This is what I got in response from Willy: "WAAAAAAAAAAAA!! WAAAAAAAAAAA!!").
3. Getting bathed. Hopefully, you will enjoy this soon because some days it just isn't worth the hassle and boy, are you starting to smell. Maybe for your second month b-day you'll get a bath:)
4. Passing gas. Argh! It hurts you so, so much and it wakes you up at night and at nap times. You writhe in pain and cry, cry, cry and it makes your mama so, so sad because she does NOT know how to help you. Plus, some days it makes your mama CRAZY because she needs sleep, too, you know.
5. Trips to Babies 'R Us. As some of you may be aware, I am a little paranoid about talking my child out in public for several reasons. First, it's dang cold here still. Second, it is still flu season and I have no desire for my baby to get sick. Third, I'm a bit baffled by all baby contraptions and quite frankly, they scare me; I still maintain that the most difficult part of having a baby is figuring out all the gadgets--I am just no good with my hands. Finally, I have this fear of little Will screaming the entire time we are out and that I will be unable to console him. Well, finally I ventured out, taking the little guy to Babies 'R Us for some much-needed supplies. And just as I feared, he screamed the ENTIRE time!!! (And just as I feared, I had troubles with said baby contraptions. His stinkin' car seat wouldn't fit in the slot on the shopping cart. Argh). Maybe next time will go better, that is if there is a next time.


Oh, Will, how we love you, with all your likes and dislikes. We can't imagine our lives without you, though we vaguely do recall days where we slept, showered, did our hair, had a clean house, and actually left the house (hopefully, I'll get over this fear soon). Happy B-day, Buster Brown!

When You're Born Two Weeks Early.....

This is what your nursery looks like:

Yes, Will's room is a VERITABLE mess! I guess we were just not prepared for him to come early, even though we had 9 MONTHS to prepare--somehow it still caught us off guard. And somehow, almost one month after his birth, it still looks like this. I guess the feeding, changing, clothing and general care of the child take precedence to the organizing of his room. Hopefully soon it will look like the DARLING nursery that I had envisioned (take a gander at the sailboat/beach pictures....I made those, people! Yes, those are my nifty art creations. I am pleased as punch with how they turned out and I am sure you are, too). Also, NOTICE THE ABSENCE OF A CRIB. Indeed, it is still in the making; hence, the next photo. When you're born two weeks early and you're crib STILL isn't done, then this is where you sleep:
That's right, folks. This is what we now refer to as Baby Willy's room: the master closet. And since he wanted NO part in sleeping in his port-a-crib, he gets to sleep in his carseat. You may wonder, "Where is the baby?" Well, if you look closely, you can see him in there, all bundled and swaddled tight as can be. He LOVES to sleep all bound up and HATES it when one of his arms breaks free (Mama hates it too, since he wakes up when he breaks loose from his swaddling). Poor Will, relegated to sleeping in our closet with my shoes. At least now I can honestly say that the closet houses my two most precious possessions: my shoes and my baby (not in that order, of course!). At lease you're in good, expensive and excessive company Will.