1. We miss our families. He is changing so much in this first year that it is hard to keep up with him. But we are very thankful for Skype and visits! It still breaks my heart when he reaches for my parents' faces on the computer but at least he's hearing their voices and seeing their faces....things that would not have been possible two decades ago. I've become a cheerleader for technology but seriously...live 2500 miles away from family and you'll understand!
2. While we miss our families so much and nothing replaces them...we're very happy he is a Virginian by birth. :) I've been told his name is very strong...presidential even...so he is in good company with the likes of Washington, Jefferson, Monroe, Madison, Harrison, Tyler, Taylor, and Lee (not a president but a very fine Virginian). And while we want him to experience the "real" mountains of the West and the desert and sunsets and all that our dear West affords....we are also very happy that he will get to traipse about Civil War battlefields, swamps, the Blue Ridge Mountains, with easy access to D.C., VABeach, and the Outer Banks. Pluses and minuses either way. :)
3. Things are done "Jeffery's Way". While we have done our best to have a "have baby, will travel" attitude and make him fit into our family and not the other way around....there are some things you just do not mess with....like afternoon naps. Come 2:30, he will let you know he's had enough and either you cooperate and put him down or he becomes a baby monster. :) While he now tolerates tummy time, he still refuses to crawl, though he becomes quickly frustrated that his toys are out of reach and does not like the idea of having to work to get them. (Sounds like his momma.) If he is hungry, he expects to be fed immediately and does not think it acceptable that he has to wait to be put down in his chair. And if he has had his solid food but has to wait for his bottle to warm up....forget it!
4. Ideals and hopes that I had going into becoming a momma....have now been introduced to reality. Ideal: cloth diapers. Reality: the upfront cost just seemed too expensive at the time. And...the convenience factor of disposables and the fact that I hate doing laundry once a week as it is decided that issue. Ideal: nurse him for a year. Reality: the kid was just never really interested and from the beginning would only nurse for about 10 minutes a time. He weaned himself at the end of January. Ideal: never put him down in front of the TV so I could get something done. Reality: yep! That too is by the wayside. I had to get ready for church the other morning and he was not being happy...so I put him in his exer-saucer, turned on Baby Mozart, and he was happy! Ideal: read to him every night. Reality: We need to work on this but there are some nights where even a short board book seems like it will just serve to give him a second wind. The only ideal that has become a reality is that I sing to him all the time....and he loves it!!! Phew! He has his "good morning" song, his "naptime/bedtime song" and then lots and lots of songs in between.
5. He LOVES his crib. And he LOVES to sleep!!! Phew! With his parents really valuing their sleep, he loves his sleep too. He naps for 3-4 hours in the afternoon and then sleeps for 10-12 hours at night. And even when he does wake up, most of the time, he is content to just play in his crib for a while.
6. I gave birth to the child but he is his daddy's boy. Everyone says he is Dave's "mini-me" which makes me laugh. And you should see the child light up, his feet start to violently kick, and hear his infectious laugh when daddy comes home. Dave LOVES to wind this child up right as I'm trying to put him down to sleep. :) And Jeffery's best belly laughs only come for daddy. I think Jeffery's favorite time of the day is in the morning, when we hear him wake up and his daddy goes in to sing his "good morning song" and get him up for the day!
7. EVERYTHING goes into this boy's mouth. My hair, my shirt, his shirt, his toys, the cats' tails, his car seat straps, his socks, daddy's socks, blankets, etc. It all ends up in his mouth at some point. But that's okay. He's a boy!! And a baby!! Knock on wood but except for his bouts with teething...he hasn't been sick. I think this is in large part to the fact that he has been surrounded since birth by pets with all their dander and such, has been passed around from person to person, and his parents aren't overly concerned about germs and the such.
8. We would be lost....absolutely LOST....without the host of babysitters and support team that we have here. We are so blessed to have "created" a family of our own here and are even more blessed that they adore this little boy. It is so wonderful to leave him with people who love him so much. Our eternal and profound and continued thanks go to: "Uncle" Adam and "Aunt" Kate (and Lucy), Queenie (aka Harlean), Sarah and Rob, Ginger and Ava, the Lagarde family, Amber, UR Students Laura, Kate, Danielle and Whitney, and everyone else who has been a part of this little boy's life for the past 9 months.
9. I gave birth to a boy. Yes...I've known this for sometime now but every day, he feels the need to remind me. Other ideals that have since met reality are cuddle time and rocking him to sleep and him putting his head on my shoulder and falling asleep. NOT THIS BOY. He constantly has one arm on my shoulder, keeping him at arm's length from me. If you try to cuddle, he protests as you are obstructing his view. And falling asleep on people? HA! Good luck with that! He is also a clown and loves to be entertained and entertain (much like his daddy) and now that he has learned about "peek-a-boo"...will wear you out! :)
10. Jeffery Thomas is going to be his own person. Again...something else I already knew but am reminded of every day. I say he's going to have red hair and the next day it looks blond. We are rooting for him to be a great soccer player for some English Premier League team and makes lots of money which he'll then give some to us...but really...he's a blank slate. And that is what is soooo wonderful about little people. It is just our job to not squash him or trample his spirit. He could be a pianist or musician or engineer or teacher or astronaut or soccer player or priest or race car driver.....the possibility is endless at this point. Whatever he ends up being....he'll be Jeffery Thomas....with hopefully red hair. :)
11. We knew life would forever change once Jeffery was born and we knew that we would love him. What we didn't know was how much our life would change and just how much we would love him. He is such a happy little boy (we are very spoiled) and so good and he just lights up our house and our lives.
12. He isn't my little infant anymore. Dave and I found ourselves completely absorbed the other day by our iphoto library of Jeffery and we can't believe how little he was just 9 months ago. Every week seems to bring a new change...some newly learned skill or development...that it is hard to keep up with him. Every time I pack away clothes he has grown out of...I cry a little because this year just seems to be going by too fast. Much too fast. I wasn't expecting that.
13. Jeffery is a baby ambassador. This child has never met a stranger (much like his Grandpa Jeff). True...he did go through that "no men" stage for a couple weeks but before and after that...he smiles at everyone and has no qualms about going into their arms...where he is usually more still than he is in my arms. Go figure! He will test out toys for little babies yet to be born (like he is doing in the picture below for Baby Katherine (in her nursery) who our friends Sarah and Rob are having in June). He makes random people at the grocery store or post office smile and start making eyes at him. He has acquired a harem of college girls in Dave's choir. He is the model baby! ;)
14. In just a matter of months, he'll be turning 1 year old. I'm not ready for this. Not ready at all. He is though. You can already tell that aside from not wanting to crawl yet, he is just itching to be a big boy. Daddy is ready too. It is his momma that is wanting him to slow down...just a little! :)
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