Warning: Do Not Operate Heavy Machinery...

...if you are under 7 months old.
Parental supervision advised.



NNW

Why wear pants...

...when you've got legs like these to show off??

The rest of these pictures are from our photo-booth effect series that we got the other day using the camera timer and the kitchen window frame.

This kid loves the camera.

Although he's disappointed with me that I won't let him put the camera in his mouth.

Along with everything else these days. He'll have to settle for my fingers.

Or when desperate, his own.

I love this last picture because, and only I would notice this, I'm smiling the kind of goofy smile that I make when I am can't-hide-it-happy.

There's a picture of me on our wedding day (not in digital format, unfortunately) as I'm walking towards Nate where I've got that same lower-lip-down-a-bit-more-because-I-just-can't-get-my-mouth-big-enough kind of smile.

*Sigh*

NNW

March Wrap Up

"Too bad I wasn't born with twelve fingers on each hand. I'm sure I could fit them in there, with enough training."

Mommy thoughts: Raising a baby is like growing out a short hair cut. Each time you think you've figured out how to best manage the current stage, the next stage is upon you, forcing you to figure out a new bag of tricks.

This is not to say I have always managed each stage of either this haircut or my son in the best way possible. But you know what I mean.

I feel acutely aware these days of the spring season that will, by god, start feeling more like spring. Any day now. Right? As you may recall, I am a fan of seasons. It has also occurred to me that raising a baby is like adapting our daily life to the changing seasons. I have so enjoyed the past five and a half month "season" for what it has been: intensive time focused on the basics of eating, sleeping, and connecting with each other. And now I feel myself looking ahead to the next season, the with new skills to master and discoveries to make. It's like we're entering the season of taking the blinders off and looking around at this big world outside our quaint, shrinking house. And feeling confident enough to particpate in it.

A few specifics of recent and upcoming changes:

The area rug is on order, which will expand Webber's 3x5 foot padded-blanket world that we move from spot to spot on these hardwood floors. All the better to roll over with, my dear.

His mastered front-to-back roll-over has been very cute. The impending back-to-front roll-over has caused me to move "Babyproof The House" up to the top of the To Do List.

I can see that the routine of placing Webber in his bouncy seat while I take an occassional shower is not going to last much longer. His hands, and a rattle that I have been able to slip over his wrist, just don't provide the shock and awe that they once did. What I will replace this arrangement with, I'm not sure. I'm sure we'll stumble upon something.

I've been reading up in preparation of starting Webber on solid foods at his 6 month birthday. Part of me is trying not to take it personally that he will require fuel other than Mommy Juice for the rest of his life. The rest of me, quite frankly, is getting over it. The payoff for me is a little more freedom and equality in the parenting equation. The payoff for you all will mean seeing classic messy-baby-face pictures of him in a high-chair, as opposed to buried-baby-face hidden in his mother's busom. Sorry we haven't been very free with those. They're primarily for me to refer back to in future years, to sigh fondly over as I recall the days when I had a busom for anyone to be buried in.

There will come a day that he outgrows the Baby Bjorn. This day is going to be a very, very sad day for me. The Bjorn has made so many exciting and fulfilling things possible for this new mom and baby to experience together: grocery shopping, picking up around the house, snowshoeing, and sleeping (okay, maybe just one at a time on there). I guess the outgrowing is a good thing. Something tells me I think I would be a lot less productive at the grocery shopping with a fourteen year-old boy strapped to me.

On that note, bring on the next season.

And maybe once a season, I'll take the time to write something other than photo captions. In the meantime, enjoy this modest mommy blog.

NNW

March Scenes, Part II

Yes, we've still been alive and we've got pictures and videos to prove it.

Happy St.Patrick's Day!

Happy Easter! (Okay, so those are teddy bear ears. Close enough.)

What good would Webber's future time and money be spent on therapy if it did not involve blaming his mother for dressing him in animal outfits for holiday pictures? It's probably for the best that the dog/bunny ears were too floppy to show up properly in this picture.

Comparing The Boy to The Daddy at the same age. I swear Webber really does make that face several times a day. We just couldn't capture it on camera.

Also for your enjoyment, the video links below taken by Mommy several, and I mean several, weeks ago. They lived in the video camera for a few weeks before Daddy put them on YouTube. Then they lived there, unvisited by the masses, for some time until now that Mommy is finally sharing them with you all.

This first one is of Webber's Happy Morning Time in a rare happy tummy time stretch. Narrated by Mommy.

This one is of Webber's Happy Post-Nap Time. Also narrated by Mommy. No, I am not thinking about how videos like this will sound on YouTube. I just do whatever makes my son smile. And if singing the Alphabet song or making up other songs I go, then so be it.

Milestones: turning over from front to back, grabbing whatever is in arm's reach, from yogurt to oatmeal, and squealing/laughing/talking. The best sound ever.

Holy Less-Than-a-Month-Until-Starting-Solid-Foods, Batman.

Now THAT should make for some good picture and video taking.

NNW

5+ months!

March Scenes

"How many more days till the season starts?"

Who needs to go outside when you can just look through windows...

This picture is for anyone else has ever wondered what 4-month-old boy version of me would look like.
And finally, "Could I get a little more stimulation around here?!?"

Uncle Seth, this was a hypothetical question. Resist your urge to comment via public blog.

NNW
4 and a half months

February Chillin'

Just a few new pictures to make up for the drought, and tide you over until the next time...

But first: Today's weigh-in: 15 lbs, 11.5 oz. Approx 65th percentile. Go Mom's milk!

Chillin' with Aunt Punchy. Webber is evading my efforts to capture his new adorable hobby of thumb-sucking.

Chillin' with Grammy S. Looks like I interrupted a moment.

Chillin' with Aunt Leigh. Don't know what they were just doing to get his cheeks so red...

Really chillin' with Mommy. Our first and only (so far) snow shoeing outing. Really, he is not chillin'. We keep each other nice and warm.

Chillin' at Daddy's office. The visit to see Daddy's co-workers went much better than the visit to see Mommy's co-workers. He was very UN-chillin' there. Will just have to try, try again.

Does it get any cuter than this? Father and son chillin' in the recliner.

Chillin' in the sling, for old times' sake.

Chillin' on the chair. This one's a little fuzzy but another classic picture for fill-in-your-own-caption ideas. Have fun!

NNW
4 plus months
No, I couldn't tell you exactly how many days or weeks old he is :)

More Medium Man pics

Fun with hats. This is for when he whips up a Baker's Dozen donuts for me. That are iced in the same color as the Bumbo he sits on.
This is our little Purple-Domed Pope-in-Practice.
Since the Patriot's didn't come through for him this season, he's getting ready for the Red Sox. Cool-Kid-style.
Speaking of Cool-Kid-Style, this onesie, a gift from Aunt Kara, cracks me up.

The only thing better than a picture of Webber wearing it is...

... with his Cool Kid sunglasses, thanks to Brian, Sara and Brennan. These caption possibilities are endless. I'll let you insert your own.
And finally, "Do I have anything on my face?"
NNW

February Greetings

No, I didn't remember to say Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit this morning for good luck. So if this month sucks, at least it's a short one.

Last weekend I spent 24 hours away from The Boy, at an old-fashioned Girl Time weekend at Aunt Punchy's with 7 of us total. The primary objectives of these get togethers are, in no particular order: Eating, Crafting, Laughing, Crying, Relaxing. This time for me, it also meant Pumping, what with my boobs programmed to continuously churn out the "Mommy Juice," as Nate calls Webber's food. They require regular emptying, be it by baby or machine. This definitely cut into the usual objectives, but I'm not complaining. It was a successful first overnight away from Webber, in that he and Daddy did just fine together, as I knew they would. And I got to make a necklace and earrings, which involved hours of sitting in one place using two hands.

For those of you who recall my affection for Heath Ledger, I'm sure you will not be surprised that I'm in mourning over his recent passing. This Girl Time also included a tribute to Heath, complete with watching A Knight's Tale, and eating Heath candy bars.

And now, to address the real purpose of your checking in to this blog, here are some recent pictures of the little man.
I was telling my little brother Alex that I call Webber "Little Man" a lot. I also call him "Big Man" with almost the same frequency. Alex told me that I should call him "Medium Man."

Without further ado...

Loving the naked time!
Preparing for takeoff...
Come fly the Friendly Baby Skies
Make that the Drooling Baby Skies
Or should we say, the Pooping Baby Skies
Webber checking out Daddy's beer fermenter. For use in the very distant future, of course.
What a happy baby!
We also made the trek down to Portland to see my friend Stephanie so that we could do some friend and fellow-mommy catch up. She also treated us to a photo session of our Medium Man. She worked her magic by turning one of his unfortunate fussy moods into some real gems.
He does not always like travelling, and I was not looking forward to those stretches where he wasn't tired enough to sleep in the car seat, and not entertained enough by the highway view, and would cry in protest. I did all that I could to make sure the trip went smoothly, including packing everything up the night before, and even loading the diaper bag into the car.

Lesson of the month: A diaper bag in a car overnight in Maine in January turns the wipes into a block of ice.

NNW
3 and a half months or thereabouts

Less walks means more pictures

Once again, my forehead is in the way of an otherwise adorable picture...
Yes, this bathtime picture has been cropped to protect the innocent.
His new favorite state of being: in his Jumperoo! Even though it's more like a Dangle-roo, since his feet have a couple inches to go before they touch the ground, even on the lowest setting.
And for the finale of these latest pictures, his future's so bright, he's gotta wear shades.
NNW
THREE MONTHS and change
where has the time gone

A week in the life...

This week's Patriot's game wear. The hat was a bit tight the last time - so I promised him I wouldn't squeeze it onto his noggin again.
We thought the sink might be less awkward to handle our little (growing) man than his baby tub. There is no easy way to handle a bathing baby.

Taking advantage of mild temperatures and cleared sidewalks... before the latest storm.

Webber usually doesn't weather a daytime nap transfer to another surface - usually sleeps on me after nursing, or in the Bjorn during a walk outside, or around the house. Not only did I capture this rare successful daytime put down, but he's in the cradle that Baby Nate used, with Nate's childhood red ball nearby. That he still likes to toss around when he's doing some of his best thinking.

And finally... "Who are you... and what have you done with my feet?"
NNW
12 and a half weeks