He Fixed It

I decided to make the most ridiculous cookies for a Spooky Dinner to celebrate my mom’s birthday (she’s a Halloween baby). A simple sugar cookie it seemed with orange, yellow and white becoming a super festive candy corn. Cute, right? Well, yes. But my dough looked nothing like the dough in the picture and it clung to my hands like melted gum. I should not bake after 9 p.m. It’s not good for anyone.

So what did my husband do – even after he had tried to convince me that cute food was not good food, and I wouldn't listen? He patiently took the dough added heaps of flour to the counter top and fixed the situation. All while I stood there ready to cry. He just fixed it. He fixes things.

The candy corn debacle was an end to a frustrating day. You see, I tried to have a photography session with Nixon all by myself. Don’t laugh. Our household is a little too cheap to bring in the professionals every few weeks, but Nixon is nearing four months and oh, so cute, and… long story short, I wanted pictures badly, but it wouldn’t work to buy them.

So I did what any resourceful woman would do – I set up backdrops throughout the house while Nixon was sleeping. I looked for pictures I liked online, I got a cute outfit ready, I found good lighting. I was prepared. All for naught. It was a disaster from the beginning. Nixon didn’t smile or even look at the camera. I am not a professional and the pictures proved it. It was rough. I had such a vision!

Sad little guy. Mean mommy.

He'll always smile for dad.

In came Tyler. We tried again on Sunday with his help. He was so calm and patient and brought out the best smiles in Nixon. We got pictures that will last forever. And I realized one more time why I married him. He fixes things. And he does it without anger or annoyance, even when I’m at my worst. He always has.

Nixon hit and passed up 18 pounds a few weeks ago. He grows and grows and nobody knows where his girth came from. We love the rolls, the smiles and the chatterbox he’s becoming. More on that another day.

Not So Fast

Last night I burned myself on a pan I was using to sauté red potatoes for dinner (love those). I was hurrying and I burned it pretty bad. It throbbed all night long and made it difficult to hold my baby.  It made me think of the last time I was hurrying too fast and hurt myself – the stairs on my way to the 20-week ultrasound. My knees will bear the scars forever as a reminder to slow the heck down.

Today I’ve been thinking about whether I’ve hurried too fast through Nixon’s first three months. It’s a problem for me, but I’m happy to say for once I think I’ve taken the pace just fine. Granted the first month was a bit of a blur, but otherwise I remember the moments.

He’s no longer a newborn. He’s a real baby. He’s done so well, grown so much. He weighs more than 16 lbs. for heaven’s sake! I don’t think he’s changed very much, but then I look back at his pictures or watch his videos and realize he no longer cries like an infant and he doesn’t grunt all day long anymore. (I am so happy for him. Neither of us loved the grunting.) And I’m so glad I’ve experienced life with him.

Right now the typical day for us consists of:

Eating. Every three hours.

Playing. 30-60 minutes afterwards, typically on the floor. Lots of giggles, lots of smiles. He loves it when we blow on his neck or kiss his cheeks. That gets him every time. He also loves squats with Tyler. When he’s having a hard evening, that’s our go-to. I sing a lot and tell stories, which typically get a smile. He talks back some days too. Right now he’s trying hard to roll over – he’s getting a little frustrated. I think he’ll do it any day.

Sleeping. In the morning he sleeps right up until the next feeding. His naptime gets shorter as the day goes on. Sometimes I try to rest too. Other days I clean, prep dinner, write, etc. I always have something going on.

Bedtime. A bath, a blow dry and he’s ready to eat and settle in for the night. Bedtime starts at 9 p.m. and he typically sleeps until 6-7 a.m. Two nights in a row last week he slept until 8 am.

Did I mention we totally love him?!

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