Who says it's naptime?

Really, Ma, I just want to go outside...




The bedtime routines are slightly more established...

The "last resort" option is the vacuum, but that wouldn't make such a cute pic. Maybe a video, next time...

The Second Day at Work means...

Conference time! Tuesday, Jim and I were required to attend a daylong conference on "Stewardship" with the rest of the staff. We brought Kaden along. He's quite the social butterfly... stared at anyone who looked at him, and was smiling at a few of our coworkers (who he's seen a few times already!). We timed it out, so that as the keynote started, he'd have his 2nd breakfast and then nap. Eating- not a problem. Sleeping? With all these new people around to smile at him? Not so much! He was, thankfully, really quiet... it seemed like he was just taking it all in. Jim was able to get him to sleep during the break (!), so we slipped him into the MobyWrap and off I went to the first workshop.

The babe, God bless him, slept through the entire workshop AND the first part of Mass. I was fairly worried when he woke up during the homily, as he's used to being changed and fed right after his morning nap. But he rolled with the punches, looking around and then hanging with a coworker for a while. Other than the occassional "aah!" he again was quiet!

Lunch comes, and he's grinning and laughing and having a good ole' time with everyone. He continues this *through* the second keynote, so we took an outside stroll (thank God this particular parish has beautiful grounds, including flowers, palm trees and a fountain!). When it's time for the second and last workshop of the day, Jim is trying to get Kaden down for his afternoon nap... only now the boy won't have any part of it! We consider ditching this last part and heading home early, then decide that Jim will do the strolling/get him to sleep while I attend one and fill him in later.

You know what's coming, right? Because most of you already HAVE kids and have been through this 'plan-a-day-with-an-infant' thing. Not so much us, the new parents, who tend to take our good luck and push it past the breaking point EVERY time. Short story: I went to the workshop, Jim got Kade to sleep but he woke up waaay too earlier, and was cranky and crying for the rest of the day!

So the third day of work? We called off. Just kidding! We actually had planned to take today off, as our crazy hours add up on the other days this week. But we do have a conference we need to attend on Saturday, so we're thinking we'll ditch the 'first-football-game' experience for Kaden at my alma mater on Friday and lay low for a few days. And actually leave early if he's fussy next time!

Three Months Means... back to work

Yup. Today was it. First day back in the office. I'm not sure what I expected, and the day was... fine. I managed to answer most emails, delegate a few tasks, return a few calls, catch up with half my coworkers and eat brownie cake. It all felt comfortable... and at the same time, very unfamiliar. I couldn't remember which keys went to which door, or where I kept certain files, or why I had made certain decisions about the programs' calendars. And the whole time I had a distinct feeling that I was supposed to be somewhere else. Of course, everyone who saw me wanted to know where was the baby and how was he doing: so mostly I talked about him all day long anyway!

If I'm back at work, it means three months has passed, and ---- wait! Where's the 3 months picture, you ask? Funny you should mention it...

First, I should tell you that photos are getting slightly harder. While he can't crawl away yet, he still seems pretty active:

Then, you should know that he LOVES sitting upright, and will often strain and grunt his way into a semi-up sitting position. So when he's propped up, he likes to check out what's happening.

What he was staring at so intently?

The TV.

I'd be more upset about it, but it was college football... so I figure it must be genetic.

Finally, know that Kaden IS happier (and chattier) with each passing day. Not that you can tell, because the smile disappears whenever the camera comes out. Should make for interesting holiday photos, eh?

Happy THREE months, baby boy! Here's to a zillion more!

Invitations, Car Seats and Poo

I can't believe I forgot to include this on the Baptism post. Where is my my brain lately?

A few weeks ago, we sent out dual-purpose postcards. The front was an artistic birth announcement, and the address side had an invitation to the baptism. Even though we knew most out of area folks wouldn't be able to come, we just wanted folks to know so they could pray :) It's always nice when our far-off relatives keep us in the loop too! I designed the front of the card, inspired by this website: http://wordle.net/ We were pretty happy with the postcard idea, and mailed out over 100.

Then we found out that not all of them went through! They didn't get returned to us, either. Basically, if you know us in real life, you SHOULD have received a postcard. If not, please email me and we'll get one out to you asap! kn_jenkins (at) hotmail (dot) com. Put the symbols in for @ and . - the way I spelled it hopefully stops spam!

Car seat update-- Kaden's not crying ALL the time in the seat anymore- yeah! We added some extra padding under his seat and also one of the mirrors for him to see himself (and me to see him- thanks Nana). He seems to like the car teddy bear too. Basically, as long as he's not too tired or hungry or gassy, he'll be okay for at least a 15 minute drive. His gas is also improving slowly too. Today we saw the chiropractor, who recommended baby acidolophus. I'm sure I didn't spell it right, but it's the stuff in yogurt- the good bugs in your gut. Hopefully that will help even more! Today, he actually fell asleep in the car as we were running errands - woo hoo!

A friend of mine once posted a funny haiku about diapers that I often think about as I stand over Kade on the changing table. Yesterday, however, I had an opposite theory with a similar result! Last week, I did that whole "weigh yourself while holding the baby and then while NOT holding the baby to see what HE weighs while ignoring the other depressingly large number" thing. And Kaden was 12 pounds! Wow! And since the next size of diapers start at 12 lbs, and since they were the only diapers left on the shelf, I figured wow- another milestone! Slapped on the thing, Carefully wrapped up the babe and went on my merry way.

You know where this is headed because of the post title. But you're sticking around for details, right? Okay, so there I am, looking up "Montessori" infant ideas (seriously), bouncing Kaden on my leg like a horsey ride, when I hear him toot. Just as I'm about to say "good job, buddy" I FEEL LIQUID RUNNING DOWN MY LEG! Yeah, that's typed in caps because that was my reaction too! So what does this mom do? Put my hand on my thigh to CATCH the liquid poo, because my first thought was "I don't want to clean this off the carpet." (Sometimes I'm sure I'm getting the Worse-Mom-of-the-Week award.).

When he stops (thankfully before my hand overflows), I kinda half hug him to me and make a break for the changing table. I figure washing my shirt will be easier than trying to clean a trail from the dining room to the bedroom! When I put him down on the table, he looks up at me all innocent-angel like. To which I mutter, don't act all innocent with me buddy- I know it was you. And then- it cracks me up that he responds to cues so appropriately- he starts laughing. At me and my dirty shirt, I'm sure. When I call his father to get some sympathy (and maybe a foot rub later), Jimdad also starts laughing.

The funniest part? The diaper had NO POO in it, except the streaky get away trail. Seriously! So here's my bad diaper haiku:

If the next size dipes
are for twelve to eighteen pounds,
don't rush growing up.

Baptism!

One incredible liturgy, some partying and a day to recover... ta-da! Kaden's baptized!



At the very beginning of Mass, there's a neat welcome ritual where the priest prays for Kaden, and during the entire prayer, the babe staring at our pastor intently. Then, just as Fr Stan says "this Sign of the Cross will claim you for Christ" (I may be paraphrasing, but that's the gist of it), Kaden breaks out into a HUGE grin! He kept smiling as we (parents & godparents) also traced the cross on his forehead.



Kaden was remarkably well-behaved during the Mass. A few squawks here and there, but no major fussing. Though his vigorous kicking did untie his shoes, he didn't manage to kick them off.



And yes, he did cry when Fr Stan poured the water over his forehead. But he stopped after being toweled off and held upright!




There were so many cool things about the day, I'm not sure I can really convey how moved Jim and I were. Let me start by saying our parish community is AWESOME! We had a bunch of people who were excited to see the little one baptized- a few folks even went to church 2x that weekend because they had to be at another mass (for ministry or an intention) but wanted to see Kaden too. Fr. Stan is great at welcoming our friends visiting from other churches. Oh, and his homily! Earlier in the week, Jim had joked that as the father of the child-to-be-baptized, didn't that mean he had to approve the homily? or maybe he should just write it out for the pastor? So Fr Stan starts his homily by TELLING THE ENTIRE CHURCH this... then continues to say something along these lines: "Jim, you've already been preaching by the loving way you care for Kristi and your new son. Keep on homilizing, buddy." All the various parts of the ceremony- the welcome, the prayers of protection from evil, the sprinkling rite, the anointing, the prayers over the parents- all of them were moving in different ways, and Jim and I each found ourselves with tears in our eyes at least once!



The Church also provided Coffee & Donuts free of charge that day, so everyone could go and visit with us in the parish hall. Our family added a cake (thanks Publix) and fruit salad (thanks Steve), so it was a really festive time- even without the balloons I forgot to put up! So many people came over to say hello and congratulations and hold/bless/touch Kaden. He was a good sport, too, lasting about a half hour before falling asleep again!



Later in the day, we had a family friend bbq at a local park. It was a great time, though a little hot. By the time we got the camera out, I had taken Kaden out of his cute onesie to try to keep him cool! We also misted him down a few times, and SOME folks put ice down my shirt! I have no idea why...

Thanks for your prayers for our baby! May he grow into a faithful man with a strong and gentle heart!

Road Trip!

Hey everyone! Just got back from a very pleasant visit with some family friends a few hours away. They usually live in MD, so it was nice to catch them 'in-state'. A relaxed visit, friendly and hospitable folks, good coffee and meatballs- just a really great time! The car ride was not so pleasant, though, as Kaden still has issues with his car seat. We did pull over 3-4 times, thereby turning a normally 2.5-3 hr trip into a 4+ hr trip -- EACH WAY. Yet there was still a very-not-fair amount of fussing, crying and screaming from our normally easy going boy. Enough so that I'm wondering if we shouldn't be saving for future therapy sessions he'll need to combat an unnatural fear of cars and parking lots! (I'm sure there's a fun term for that, but I'm too tired to google the definition.)

However, when not actually on the road, K-baby is becoming more and more fun to be with. He laughs and giggles and coos... and gives us funny looks and serious stares. He's feeling heavier, though I know I can't complain since he only recently passed some relatives' birth weights!

Tomorrow we have an intentionally light day planned so Kaden can get all settled in before our vistors arrive. We've got some out of state family visiting (yea!) for his baptism (double yea!). I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, and am SURE to post cute pics soon :)

Smart Guy!

Too tired from meeting a freelance deadline to write a 'real' post - so you'll have to settle for a photo instead!