I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

Some days, Studly is just hard to hang with. I do everything I can think of to calm him down, and he still is upset. Babies only have a few basic needs, right?

A week ago, the only way I could calm him down was standing with him outside. Mr. Graff says we have a "granola" child. He came home right as I decided to camp outside and made us dinner while I entertained the boy on the lawn.

I gave Raeford to Mr. Graff and he fell right asleep!

I'm so glad when daddy comes home.

Everybody Loves Babies

When we go to the nursing home to visit a friend, Studly captures the attention of everyone there. A little old man with no teeth passed by and said, "Oh, look at the baby!" That's the most awesome part of having a baby, particularly a new baby. Babies make strangers into friends--even people I would normally not be inclined to like.

I don't like the MVA, but I had to get a Maryland driver's license, so off to the MVA Studly and I went. The lady at the first counter was rude and I fumed away, muttering and sputtering at the ridiculous government bureacracy. My picture gets taken at another counter, but, of course, it's another wait to get to that counter. By the time I get up to the next counter, guess who is behind it? Oh, it's the lady from the first counter. My luck.

Fortunately, I am holding Studly. Holding him calms me down. (Nursing also calms me down. Once, I woke up with a nightmare and grabbed Studly just so I could nurse him and fall back asleep.) Well, she's there and I'm there and Studly is playing on my lap. She looks right at Studly and starts cooing and entertaining him! She talks all about her four kids and gives some excellent parenting advice, too.

All of a sudden, I like her.

And that's just what babies do. Studly helped me like her when I was not disposed to because she liked my him. Babies are special, mine certainly is!

A Poem to Love

World, O world, of muddled men,

Seek the Peace of God again:

In the humble faith that kneels,

In the hallowed Word that heals;

In the courage of a tree,

In the rocks integrity;

In the hill that holds the sky,

The star you pull your heart up by;

In the laughter of a child,

Altogether undefiled;

In the hope that answers doubt,

Love that drives the darkness out.

Frantic, frightened, foolish men

Take God by the hand again.

--Joseph Anslander

Rainy Days & Growth Spurts

Maryland likes to be particularly wet. It finally makes sense when I read about D.C. being built on a swamp. When we moved here, Mr. Graff kept commenting on how green everything was--it's so green because of all the rain! Coming from our desert home in Utah, everything does seem exceptionally green!

Studly and I like to go adventuring in the mornings in the stroller. We usually go on about a three mile walk, and generally this works out great. Sometimes, though, it likes to rain on us.

One adventurous day, we were about halfway through our walk when it started to sprinkle. Studly was upset because he could not see (I had not yet figured out how get the stroller upright) so I was carrying him and pushing the stroller. Ordinarily, this is a funny enough spectacle. Why have a stroller when the baby just wants to be held? One neighbor lady looked at the pair of us and commented, "That just don't look right".

On this occasion, though, not only was I holding Studly and pushing the stroller, but the sprinkling clouds decided to pour on us. Studly howled at this point, so I tried nursing to comfort him. We were a sight. We moved slowly from one tree to another. Rain streamed down on us and I realized that it was not going to abate anytime soon and needed a new plan, so I marched out from under a tree, still nursing Studly and pushing the stroller and hoping to get home soon.

Ten steps later, totally drenched, we had a miracle! Spotting us on the sidewalk, a nice lady and her elementary-school-aged daughter stopped and offered us a ride. I gently threw Studly into the back of her car and put our stroller in her trunk. As she drove us home, she talked nicely about having a baby and nursing and how she was going over to help her friend who had just had a baby and needed a break. What a sweet lady!

Being a parent is just like that for me sometimes. I'm cruising along thinking I'm prepared and then a rainstorm comes. I run out of ideas and then ... someone offers just the right kind of help. It's my own special miracle. I'm so glad that there was someone to help me then and during other unanticipated rainstorms. I'm grateful for good people and hope I do pay it forward.

This memory comes to me because of the current overcast skies and constant drizzle. Studly and I are nice and warm inside listening to the soft sounds of falling rain. We're not out walking, and that's alright. Today, Studly has only been interested in eating, cuddling, and sleeping--he must be in another growth spurt. Growth spurts are good for a rainy days.

Family Portraits!

For our first anniversary, we celebrated by taking family portraits! We went to a Sears portrait studio on a Friday after Mr. Graff got off of work. As the photographer positioned us to take portraits, Raeford started to grunt and got all red in the face! The photographer kindly waited for Raeford to finish his business and then took our portraits. You'll notice that Raeford looks rather happy to have a squishy in his pants...

I'm rather excited about beginning this tradition because we get to add a picture to our rather barren looking apartment walls. Last week, we also put up a photo of our engagment and another from our wedding, so we get to add this one, too! Our apartment is slowly feeling like home. I miss our last apartment, but this one has seen lots of changes for our family and that's exciting, too.

We're putting down roots, which feels good; I'm glad to start family traditions.

To take a gander at my cute, little family, click here.

Adventures in Baltimore

The original plan was to go to the Free Maryland Science Center Museum day, but that did not qutie work out the way that it was intended. Instead, we walked around the harbor and played a splash park. Here are some of the pictures!

Raeford can be expressive.

I love his socks...

The splash park water rose and fell with the music played at noon. It was awesome!

Grinning at Mom

Tummy Time

Trying to get Raeford to like tummy time is a Herculean effort. I make sure to put him down when he is calm and happy only to have to pick him up and comfort him a short while later. It's frustrating for both of us.

Lately, though, I've noticed that he is holding up his head better. My efforts are paying off! He also waits

about two minutes before becoming completely flustered and starting to fuss. Those two minutes make all the difference to me!

Sometimes it's hard for me to watch him struggle, but I know that struggling is the only way that he will get stronger and more independent-- and that is far more important for him to get stronger than for me to feel bad that he is having to make a lot of effort. Seems like a metaphor for my life...