Talkative [when I use the camera flash, it looks like she has more hair!]
Cheeky. [isn’t it crazy how big a difference the camera angle and position make—her cheeks look so juicy in this one!]
Distressed
Very distressed
Pacified. [we got Rose her first pacifier (aka binky) this week, and she’s about 50/50 for love/hate it right now]
Energetic
Amazed
Happy!?
Rose and I spend lots of time in my recliner. Tonight I was just holding her, basking in her cuteness, and I decided to go overboard with the camera. Can you believe she made all of these faces within 10 minutes?
Now for some motion:
I finally took a little video showcasing Jay’s drinking abilities, sans-sippy cup. There’s something about babies that makes me want to take a million pictures, and something about toddlers that makes me want to take a million videos! I think the older kids get, the harder it is to capture their cuteness in a mere pictures, so I resort to recording.
But babies are fun to watch in videos too! Rose seems pretty strong for a 3 week old baby girl, wouldn’t you say?
Can you tell I’m in Mommy-heaven? Yes, some days I feel distressed, and most days I feel sleepy, but most of all I feel happy and so blessed to be The Mom of these two sweet ones. I love my little cuties!
Jay and Rose are pretty much the smartest, cutest, sweetest kids ever on this whole planet. There’s my biased-mother statement. NOW, here’s some proof so you can agree with me:
Jay randomly has gotten good at using a spoon lately. He also is getting pretty good at drinking out of a normal cup (no lid!). We think he learned how to drink from a big boy cup from nursery at church (or, as he calls it, zzoojry). They give the kids little Dixie cups with a drop of water during snack time. I still haven’t gotten a video of Jay drinking…
…but here’s Rose in action! She can sneeze like a million times in a row. I think it’s quite cute.
My two little sweetfaces. Jay is so tall! Rose always loses her feet in the legs of her footie PJs.
Jay loves Rose more and more every day. When I put her in the bathroom while I shower, (to protect her from Jay’s love), Jay hovers anxiously outside the bathroom door saying “baby! baby! baby!” and he’s so relieved to find that she’s still there when I open the door. Sometimes he even gives her a little kiss on the head. I wish I could be quick enough to get a picture of that!
Last night, Jay realized that I’ve been using a cool fleece Twister blanket as a curtain in his window. I guess he was chilly! (those other 3 blankets weren’t doing the trick) Little problem solver.
This may not count as a skill, but Rose has the sweetest little fuzzy ears ever! It’s hard to see in this picture, but there are long soft little baby hairs on her ear’s edge. Her ears are little apricots.
This picture is a few weeks old (see my prego-belly?) but Jay is also learning how to swing like a big boy. Every now and then he still forgets to hold on, and he falls off. But he’s learning! The other day we stopped at the park after a walk, and he ran over and gave the swing a big push. He didn’t move out of the way in time, though, and it swung back and knocked him to the ground! It was an America’s Funniest Home Videos moment. (too bad I didn’t have my camera!)
[I’ll keep this picture small since I donate a portion of my good looks, my abs, and my youthful glow to each child I bear]—here’s what I look like these days: about 2 1/2 weeks un-pregnant. Jeff told me the other day: “you’re looking quite deflated today!” I’ll take that as a compliment. Well, my skills right now include providing Rose with milk-a-plenty, and, as Jeff put it, deflating little by little. Necessity is also requiring me to get better about sacrificing my afternoon free time and taking a nap while Jay does. I am also a pretty accomplished one-handed typer now—this whole post was done one-handed while a hungry Rose was eating. [by the way, I love using her name as a noun]
As for Jeff, I already dedicated a whole post to his fantastic fatherly skills.
And now for one last video of Jay. (it’s 3 weeks old—note my large belly).
After all of this, I’m sure you agree that we White Things have some serious SKILLS!
Yes, I made these big beauties. I have been wanting cinnamon rolls for MONTHS now, and I finally got up my courage to make them this week. Can you believe that I make bread 2-3 times a week, but I’ve never ever made cinnamon rolls before? So, I called my Mom for inspiration. Good news: they were easier to make than I thought they would be!
Proof of yumminess. Sadly, these cinnamon rolls weren’t perfect. They weren’t gooey enough for me. So, I coated them in a heavenly glaze, and it helped with the dryness. We shared the love with a few family members, because sadly, 2 1/2 people can’t eat 20 cinnamon rolls before they get stale. Even if they were slightly dry, who can resist a warm bread-y sweet treat?
…not Rose! (indirectly, of course)…
…definitely not Jay!
Jay wasn’t satisfied with the few bites we gave him of our cinnamon rolls. So, he took matters into his own hands: when I left the room, he climbed up on his box and gouged himself out a treat. I’m just glad that the pan had cooled off by then! I couldn’t bring myself to scold him for his resourcefulness! (even if he didn’t eat his dinner that night…)
Warmmmmmm cinnammmmmmmmon rolls and hot chocolate = perfect cold day treat. mmmmmmm
We have named this baby-hold “the Claw.” Jeff is the master of it because he is always so warm that when he holds Rose in the Claw, it’s only a matter of minutes till she succumbs to the coziness and drops off to sleep.
Every time I see Jeff walking around with Rose in the Claw, I can’t help laughing at Rose’s tranquil facial expression and her little “paws” dangling out.
Clawing it up at the computer. (yes we still have that sweet partially purple desk!) Jeff is such a good Daddy. Jay always hangs out with him when he’s home. They’re buddies, but Jay is pretty good about sharing Dada with Rose every now and then.
It’s time for the classic family baby picture comparison extravaganza! I’ll let you draw your own conclusions of who looks like who. Get excited. Here we go:
Rose
Jay
Rose
Jay
Sunday Shaina
**We don't have any pictures of Jeff at this age, sadly.**
We were just two buddies on the same track team when one day Jeff asked me on a Valentine’s date!
He took me to the fancy Tuscany Italian Restaurant in Lexington, VA for some yummy alfredo pasta…
…and he’s been chasing after me ever since! …ha ha… [confession: in this picture, Jeff is about to lap me for the…7th or 8th time in the 10k race, but I like to think I’m winning!]
Valentine’s Day 2007: We were at SVU living in our almost 200 square foot “Pad” and finishing our undergrad degrees. We celebrated the day of love with a heart cookie (baked in a friend’s oven since we had only a hot plate in the Pad).
Valentine’s Day 2008: We were in the middle of our 100 day trip across Europe. On the 14th, we were on an all-night train traveling from southern France to fair Verona, Italy so we could go to the theater. We didn’t really do anything in particular to celebrate on Valentine’s Day that year. But going to Italy counts as a celebration in my book!
Valentine’s Day 2009: We were living in the attic of the gift shop at the historic Boone Home in Defiance, MO. We went on our date to the Arch in St. Louis! [we’re inside it at the top of the arch in this picture]
Valentine’s Day 2010: Jay was 9 months old, and we were living in College Place near Walla Walla, WA. Jeff was working on his M.A.T. while I worked on my MOM.
To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we re-lived our first date and made alfredo pasta for dinner at home (after Jay was in bed). Dessert was a big, fresh cookie with ice cream melting on top. Favorite. Then we had our own little dance in the living room. It was a 1-song dance, since we aren’t big on dancing. Then we watched Peter Pan.
Valentine’s Day 2011: We’re living in Grandview, WA in a HOUSE, Jay is almost 2, and Rose is 1 week old! We had a family dinner with our “traditional” alfredo noodles (the sauce was the best we’ve ever made, thanks to Julia Child). Then we put Jay to bed and ate a two-person sized warm cookie with ice cream melting on top, just like last year. YUM. We watched a Netflix episode of the best Superman show ever: The Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (from the mid 1990’s with Dean Cain and Terri Hatcher). By then, Rose was fed and sleeping, so her tired mommy went straight to bed too.
