Newborn days, Iphone snippets, and what "they" say.

They say "these days" will go by so fast.

 Maybe...

Every baby is different, and we are learning about ours.

Right now, we are deep in the trenches of life with a newborn. Endless nights, long stretches of daytime, a little mouth attached to my breast, and the constant feeling of sleepiness that hazes over everything.

There are moments like this one.



I think I'm still hormonal because I want to cry when I see this. Was it really nine and a half years ago that I had Jordan? Was it that long ago that he was a tiny baby attached to machines?

And now he's a big, big brother.

When I look at Theo, I see Jordan all over again - the Jordan I thought we were going to have before all hell broke loose. That sounds odd, doesn't it?  It's not like saying it's a second chance.  Obviously we got a second chance with Jordan when he had a heart transplant. 

Looking at Theo is liking looking at a duplicate of what Jordan looked like when he was born.  It's a weird deja vu/parallel universe of what normal would have been like minus the heart issues.

Getting out and about with the baby - a stop at Jeff's office and art gallery.



They say you have to stop and smell the roses sometimes.  I caught a glimpse of the amazing photography exhibit at ACE and I had to step in.  Good thing Theo was sleeping.  This was coming on the tale end of our first morning walking in town.  Although I've been using the stroller regularly for walks in our neighborhood, I havent ventured yet into the shops along Front St. just yet.  Today was the day.

Theo did ok. Fussing a bit when the stroller stopped moving, which became a minor problem as I was checking out at the register.  But not a big deal.  It's definitely easier having gone through this before.  You don't get as fazed by the minor crying or worry so much what other people think. 



"They" love to say newborns sleep all the time.  Some certainly do.  Yet all too often, Theo fights it.  Which is why I have resorted to wearing the infamous black chador of despair, a/k/a the moby wrap.  Yards and yards of fabric envelope my midsectiona and chest - all for the purpose of instantly putting the baby into a deep sleep. 



Food coma. 

The boy is attached to my breast whenever he is not sleeping.  I can't keep up with him, and I've resorted to supplementing with both formula and expressed milk I've been pumping.  Never had this problem with Jordan or Mina, but not much else I can do when I see him crying after a full feeding.  I also like being able to share the feeding duty with Jeff, who gives him a bottle before bedtime.



Fighting sleep!



The wee twilight hours between night and day.  Little guy is always by my side in the nursery.  I'm reminded of the time it took to set it up and feel pleased that it's decorated to my taste.  To Jeff's credit, leaving the guest bed in there was a good idea.  Theo and I are camped out on it all night.

Sleep training will begin in a few weeks when he's developmentally ready.  I'm a big fan of Marc Weissbluth's "Healthy Sleep Habits" book, and used it successfully for both Jordan and Mina.  It saved our lives, and I am hoping his research will work with Theo. 

"They" say moms should nap when the baby does, which I try, but the lack of sleep at night is making my brain really fuzzy.  Not good.  They also don't have any advice for what to do when you try to sleep but your mind is racing, thinking about all the other things you have to do, or your ears are on high alert as you wait for the baby to start crying again because you've had the nerve to put him in his crib.

I don't know why he hates the crib, or the bassinet, or the baby swing, or the standing rocker.  I'm guessing it's because I'm not laying next to him with my breast in his mouth.  Jeff has suggested designing a baby product  - a synthetic breast that keeps the baby company during nap time. 

Don't steal our idea.  If I ever get some sleep I might start designing it.

The Hounds of Hell in Bermuda. Halloween 2013

Cujo, they are not. However, they do their best. 



Twins!



This might be the best picture of Oscar I have ever taken.



Before heading out with Jeff and the rest of the kiddie crew.



Our fierce watchdog, awaiting the brave souls who dare ring our bell.

It is never to early to put your kids to work!

Can I just tell you how much joy this image brings me?



All those hours of driving him back and forth to gymnastics practice, paying for private lessons, sitting through hours on the benches waiting and watching, forcing him to practice his strength routine at home during the summer (push-ups and dips people!!)

And this is the pay off. 

The boy is now strong enough to carry full baskets of laundry up and down stairs. 

Yes!!!

I'm working on teaching them the proper Gap folding techniques, but that can wait.  For now, I have my little minions handling the stairs.  They've also learned one of the most important lessons in life.  I'm going to share it with you.

"Never go upstairs or downstairs without something in your hand."

It's key.

Happy pics on a rainy day.

It's been such a dreary week here in Bermuda.

The rain seems relentless. Summer is definitely over. I started to feel depressed, then I remembered Jordan yesterday.



This is him coming out of the house in the morning for school drop off.

It's pouring out, his jacket is askew, he can't find his umbrella. But all he does is look up and start singing.  How can you not love this kind of energy?  I grabbed my phone for a pic in between laughing from the car.

He was singing the 8's multiplication times table from "School House Rocks."

Remember those on a Saturday morning?

In the spirit of further happy pics, here's what we've been up to.



Uncle Osman came to visit Bermuda!  Oh Mina.  You kill me. 



He took some lovely family pic of us together - a rare thing indeed.  The view from St. George's coastline, just across from Fort Catherine. P.S, don't go to the fort on a Sunday and expect to get in.



He got us out to the beach a couple more times while he was here. Bermuda weather managed to pull it together for his trip enough to enjoy and extended summer day on the beach.   Ahh... Tucker's.  It will probably be awhile before I see you again.

My favorite Halloween pictures, BDA 2011

Jordan and Mina both had parties at school on Halloween. I was determined to make an appearance at both, and help out with at least one. Mina and I pose at our cupcake decorating table.

And then I sprinted upstairs to Jordan's classroom to check in. Together we made a creepy spider, dangling from a stick.

Mina's approach to decorating - the "more is more" philosophy.

Yes, Jordan is a bird. But what kind of bird? When asked what he was going to be for Halloween, Jordan promptly replied, "a Kiskadee!" That elicited some looks back in the states, but here in BDA, everyone loved it! If you know what Kiskadee sounds like, you'll understand why I thought this was the perfect bird for my guy. If you don't know, feel free to look at Jordan's favorite website.

Mina asked to be a witch. But not any witch, mind you. She wanted to be a "pretty witch." Here she is posing, "like the girl on the box, mommy!!"

One of the best shots - Let the Mad Rumpus Begin!! Thanks Josh and Oneka for letting us join you! We had so much fun!

I love Halloween!!

Almost wordless Wednesday

Bird watching love.

weekend recap

After being out of commission for so long, it felt good having such a nice weekend.

Friday (which in my mind kick starts the weekend) began with wacky hair day at camp. Easy enough.

That evening, we went out for dinner at Blackbeard's Hideout in St. Georges. I'm smiling, but it was in spite of the food. Sorry. I wasn't very happy, and I'm usually pretty forgiving about pub fare. It's a pretty view of Achilles Bay, and I really wanted to love it, especially since it's so close to home. Alas, it was not meant to be. Maybe they were having a bad night. But I'll never understand how food can come out bad when you've only got a three tables of people to serve.

I'm a little more relaxed about bedtimes in the summer. When we got home, instead of rushing about to take baths and start the bedtime routine, we just hung out on the deck and watched the sunset.

And took the last pictures of Jordan before his big haircut. Ignore the shrek foot there on the banister.

Jordan is quite prolific these days. After his haircut on Saturday, he felt the need to document the experience. These are his diary notes which he posted on my living room wall.

They read:

"I got the worst hair cut today. Hot water in my hair. It was burning to the chair."

It's a good thing I document everything too. I took a camera pic to mark what reality actually looked like. Clearly, this child is being tortured.

Saturday night, and back on the deck.

On Sunday, we were all about hitting the beach.

Short hair comes in handy now. Especially given the scheduled activities...

riding the waves...

striking a pose...

burying daddy...

playing some frisbee...

feeding the birds...

techie-techie-ing ...

and of course...nap time.

Yay summer!

Showing signs of life again.

It's been a long two weeks.



"BUNNY POWER!!!!!!" She shouted.



Her eye is starting to look normal again.





And, apart from desperately needing a haircut, this one's looking better too.



I kind of like the shaggy hair though. I wish mine were that thick.

It came from Mars!!!

Oscar had hernia surgery today. Don't laugh (as I initially did when the vet told us he needed surgery). Apparently some dogs develop hernias, or are born with hernias that don't correct themselves. Or the vet needed to make payments on the snazzy little BMW his wife pulled up in this morning. Whatever.

For the record, I actually did ask the vet what on earth could Oscar possibly have done to develop a hernia, considering his major form of exercise consists of jumping on the couch in open defiance of my "no dogs on couch rule." See above for his answer.

Oscar had hernia surgery today because, as I like to remind Jeff, he is a member of our family and we love him. And if he needs life saving surgery, or as the vet claims he does, we will help him. Unless he bites us. In which case, he is on his own.



Oscar wears the cone of shame.

We took advantage of the fact that Oscar was under anesthesia to get a two-for-one special and have him micro chipped as well. It's not because we just felt like blowing extra cash (my initial impression of people who choose to get their dogs microchipped). It's actually to comply with pet importation requirements imposed by Bermuda. If we want to bring the dog over, he has to be microchipped. I don't fully understand why. But, as they say.. ours is not to question why.. ours is but to do or die. Or something like that.

BTW, if anyone is considering career options - being a vet in Englewood, NJ is a very lucrative profession. Consider it for your children. I will.

edited to add:

While on the subject of children, Jordan and Mina were fascinted by Oscar and his cone of shame. Jordan was also interested in Oscar's bandages (site of his iv tube) and this turned into a lovely lesson in empathy wherein I explained that Oscar was not feeling so good right now because he had been under anesthesia.

Jordan: what did it taste like? (Apparently, pediatric anesthesia patients have a choice of anesthesia options. Jordan told me his was cherry when he went under last week.)

me: Oscar's was dog-food flavored.

Mina: What does that taste like?

Me: Um... it tastes like chicken and rice. Just like daddy cooks for Oscar.

Mina: yummy!

Celebrating the end.

This week we found out that Jeff's work permit was approved for Bermuda. We celebrated his last day of work on Friday. Jordan overheard us talking about going out to eat, and decided that the more the merrier. So an invitation for two, became a dinner for four.



He suggested Donna's Pizza, but we upgraded to Rosa Mexicana. We're so adventurous like that.

We were looking forward to this all day. And a promise is a promise.



Even if you wind up getting food poisoning at lunchtime from bad sushi in the work cafeteria .

Poor Jeff.

Is that the worst "last day of work" story ever? But he rallied on and joined us for dinner.



Because seriously, how could you pass this up?



Miss Mina looked a tad bit hesitant at first. And yes, she does wear a full tiara out to dinner.. or lunch.. or whatever the occasion may be. That's her equivalent of a string of matched pearls. Classic. Timeless. Goes with everything. Suitable for all events.



But then she decided to dig right in. That's my kinda girl.



Jordan gives the food a big thumbs, and arms up. Goal!



Me - before I ate. Look at my sad empty plate there, and lonely water glass.



Me - after. Happy, Happy.



The food works miracles. Jeff took a few bites of rice and instantly felt better. Who knew chain-store Mexican food had such restorative powers?

My last day of work is approaching too. Jeff leaves for Bermuda soon, while the rest of us wait for our paperwork to be approved. House to pack, schools to enroll in, and a house to find. Deep breath. Deep breath.