Movie Star Mack - Take 2

Trying to embed video....seeing if this works....sadly the only way to test run something is to actually do it....so you are subject to my learning curve....enjoy...

still testing....I dont think this will work... nope...trying again...

OMG!!!! I got it to work...so fun...this is much easier....ENJOY!!! 

Movie Star Mack...

Ok....so I now have a new video camera and I am playing with getting video into here.  I now share my first production called "Baby Mack in his Jumper"...albeit a bit crude and not too much excitement.  But now he is getting a bit older.  Had I tried this any earlier you would have been subjected to movies titled "Baby Mack Breathes In and Out" or "Baby Maverick - A Blinking Story"  It is best for everyone that I waited until now.

So, I have become a fan of watching my little man jumping around...I hope you enjoy it too...

Trying this for the first time....

"Baby Mack in his Jumper"

OK...so apparently I can only link to YouTube or I have to upload the video here too to imbed it in the post....as my day is drawing to a close...I will try that again tomorrow....sigh... this blogging thing should be easier to share media....

Also...some more stills below from a blog I started a few days ago...apparently if I start it...that is the day it goes back to....so even though I published a brief note it pushed the new entry with photos down lower in the que....so....scroll on down for the stills....

A new record....woo hoo!!!

Mack slept 8 Hours straight last night.  Yes, I was awake twice checking on him before he finally awoke....Yes, I did check he was still breathing....Yes, I was cursing myself for being awake when my opportunity for the longest stretch of sleep since his birth was slipping away by my "waiting" for him to wake up to feed.  I also hold no illusion that he will repeat this feat any time soon...but it was nice to know he "could" go that long....hopefully it won't be too much longer before that becomes a habit for him....

Wacky, Tacky, Sad.....yet True...

Ok...so I am now realizing that my brain has been completely rewired by the little person who owns all the blue clothes and the multiple brands pacifiers (of which he takes NONE!!!) around here.  I realize this because I have purchased yet another ridiculously priced baby toy to yet further clutter my living room.  

This thing does not exactly go with the couch.  In fact, it does not go with anything...nor do any of the other items currently creating the obstacle course that is my living room.  My beautiful house I meticulously decorated to the nth degree looks like Babies R Us exploded in it...and none of it matches my decor....heck...they dont even match each other.  The latest purchase looks a big like a flying saucer.  It plays music, lights up and has lots of toys and places to hang other toys.  In short, it is so tacky that a year ago I never would have allowed it in my house, nor would I have allowed any of the other tacky baby stuff.  But here it sits, with all of the other tacky toys, in my living room.

And Mack does love it.  He jumps and plays and watches TV...sometimes he gets going so hard he startles himself...which cracks me up every time.   It is reminiscent of a Riverdance-ish Irish Jig...very cute...video to follow once I figure out how to get the video onto here...its pretty funny...

By the way I wouldn't trade any of this experience for anything...tacky toys and all...

The Booger Ball - aka Dear Mack - For Your Own Good

 Dear Mack,

I originally intended these to be monthly only letters, however we need a mid month touch base moment.  It is time for you and I to have our first little chat about the concept of things I will be doing for your own good.  I am sure all parents at some point say "I am doing this for your own good", and I am also pretty sure that there has not been a child in the history of the world who really believed it.  But now that I have landed on the other side of the parent/child wall, I am here to tell you that it is, in fact, true.  Some of the things that you detest the most are the very things I am doing in my attempts to be a responsible parent.  It has to be, because I am sure as heck not doing it 

for the fun.

The best example from this is our now ongoing battle against snot.  Yes, snot.  You caught your first cold this month and I am also certain you have allergies, though they wont test you or do anything about it for the first year or two.  I had been dreading this time.  I stared at the nose thingy in fear from our first day in the hospital as I was not sure exactly how to use it.  I asked the doctor to please show me.  He did.  I prayed you would learn to blow and be 3 or 4 without ever having a cold or getting sick so I would not have to touch the thing.  

We went to the doctor for well baby checks which I am planning to lobby to have the office sterilized before we arrive.  I glared at other sick children in the waiting room willing their germs to stay out of our nasal passages and shot dirty looks at old ladies in the grocery store who coughed in your direction.  And in the end, you caught a cold from....me.  Or if not a cold, then both of our allergies kicked in at the exact same time.  We were a sorry snotty pair.   However, I think of the 2 of us, I had it better, for the simple reason that I can blow my own nose.  You can't.  And while that may seem like a small thing...it also meant you couldn't breathe.  So I had to do something you hate and get out the nasal aspirator - aka...the booger ball and the saline spray.  

This device allows the snot to be sucked out of your nose...assuming you let me get anywhere near your little pea sized nostrils.  The nasal spray promised a gentle loosening of the mucous to provide easier removal.  It is not gentle no matter what the package says.  You very quickly discovered your hatred of this process and you are also very smart, so you figured out if you thrash your head from side to side it would be really hard for me to catch you and your moving target of a nose.  And during the day it was hard.  At night, it was impossible.

So as you slept, I tossed and turned and listened intently for you to keep breathing as you slept next to me wheezing and snorting and sputtering.  At the point I realized you had no unclogged airwaves left, I would get you up and stealthily reach for the booger ball.  When you regained enough consciousness and realized what was happening, your would start the flailing and thrashing.  I'd give it a couple of good shots trying to strike a balance between getting the stupid thing far enough up your nose to do any good, but not so far as to damage your sinuses and you would scream and cry and cough and act generally pathetic.  If things went badly, then I would miss your nose and have to start the whole process over again.  If they went well, then I'd have the privilege of emptying the snot out of the booger ball onto a convenient surface such as my nightgown or sheets, since I always managed to not have anything else handy to shoot the snot out onto.  I am telling you to illustrate that I am not in this for the glamour.  I am in this for your own good.  So please cut me some slack....

Love,

Mommy

Keeping my Big Mouth shut...

So, as I feared...last night was only 4.5 hr first stretch and then (2) 2.5 hour follow ups....sigh....I knew it was too good to be true.  

You know, if you could figure out how to bottle up a straight 8-10 hrs of sleep and sell it at Wal-Mart, I bet you would make a bajillion dollars.   It is a shame that does not exist for new mommies.  However, if you find 10 hours of straight sleep lying around, you know where to send it. 

 

Sleep experiments continue... week 1 vs week 10

Not to Jinx myself or anything....

But Mack has slept 7+ hours a night for the last 4 nights.  Then back down for 1.5-2 more, then in for a sleep/cuddle with me for another 1.5-2.  I am starting to get more sleep than before I had him, though I am much more tired than I ever was before.  I am sure I have jinxed myself into a rough night tonight!  

Little Maverick - 10 weeks

Trust me, he has his non-happy moments, but how can you not resist this little face?

He was 10 weeks on Monday when these photos were taken...I just love him to pieces...

More Cousin Fun!!!

A few more pics from the weekend meeting his new cousins!  It was great fun....

Beach Fun - NO School!!!

A few photos of the girls hanging on the beach on their visit to LA.  Having your feet in the Pacific Ocean is better than school ANYDAY!!!

Twister

Still fun after all these years.....a few photos from the cousin visit to LA...and game day

Dear Mack - Month Two

Dear Mack-a-doodle,

On Friday, you were two months old. You celebrated this milestone with a trip to Paradise Cove in Malibu for a beach day and a stroller tour through a local farmers market accompanied by myself and your Aunt Jen and cousins Bailey, Ashton, Beaux and Bella who came all the way from Texas (and got to miss 2 days of school) to meet you.  It was a fabulous time and you seemed to enjoy it too.

Some factoids of the month for those keeping track: 

- You weigh 11 lbs, 4 oz and are 23" long and growing well

- You now love the bath (see more info below)

- You are starting to not like the car seat and are very vocal in your disapproval of being in it.

- You have taken your first nap in your crib and several since then and even slept in there for a few nights for a while until your tired momma took you back to bed with her.

- Sleep experiments are underway - results are mixed

- You are very loved!!!

- You are starting to smile more though we still have to work for it.

So, my Mack, as the second month of your life draws to a close and the third begins, I would like to officially concede that I have absolutely no idea what you're going to do from moment to moment, much less day to day. Motherhood, I am finding out, is one giant guessing game. And you just love to keep things interesting. Because you see, a few days after your performance in "Mack Sleeps Through a Long and Tiring Excursion with Aunt Lori and Uncle Dean" you treated me to the world debut of "Mack Screams for Half and Hour for No Apparent Reason on a Random Sunday Evening While Hacking." As with your diaper changing drama performances, you were stunning. At least I was certainly stunned.  Aunt Jen later diagnosed your behavior as ticked off baby that does not want to get out of the bath because you love it so much.  She was right.  Your inconsolable cry was that of your very first temper tantrums from being taken out of the bath you now love.  You were just plain MAD!!!

Another time, you spent a whole 48 hours being so unbelievably cute I could hardly stand it.  On top of that, one night you slept for EIGHT whole hours, which meant that I got the longest stretch of sleep I've had since your birth. You haven't done it again since.  But that, too, fits in with my new theory that mothering you is going to be a lot like playing charades...in the dark.  Maybe when you start verbalizing in words we'll be able to work out a more reliable system of communication, but in the meantime, I think I'm just going to have to roll with it and know that some days will be good, and some will just be really, really hard, and there may not be any good reason for that.  I promise to work at being ok with that plan.

You see, this Motherhood business is going to be a tad bit challenging for me, because if I love anything in this life, it is order and a plan.  I love to know what to expect. I love to know why and when I should expect it. I am the kind of person who makes little lists of things to do every day and takes great pleasure in ticking the boxes off, one by one. Thus, it makes me feel totally incompetent that when it comes to you, my lists with the pretty boxes and planning ahead are mostly completely useless. I think you know this one some level, and you are laughing a maniacal little baby laugh at night plotting how to spend the next day in another completely random way unlike any of the days before just to see if I can keep up.

You had your first smile this month though they are currently fleeting ...I cried - It was sooo sweet....although making me cry is not that hard to do these days when it comes to you....I simply find you the most fascinating thing and I spend even the hardest times reminding myself to savor every moment of your life (even the fussy ones) and reminding myself often, that you can't stay awake or cry forever....although you have given it a good
try on several occasions.  I salute your efforts on that front.  Your cousins were very instrumental in capturing some of these elusive smiles on film. (or digital - whatever...)

You met your Uncle Dean, Aunt Lori and Cousin Austin for the first time as well this month as they arrived early in the month on their white horse to save me from utter exhaustion and so I could tend to long overdue doctor, dental and nail appointments (hey, a girl has to keep her nails done!).  They were a true godsend.  I am trying to convince your Uncle Dean to come be your nanny as he has quite the touch when it comes to you.

One of my favorite things about their time here was seeing how your Uncle Dean really wanted to hang out with you.  I did not think he would be so excited about a baby not his own.  After all, he is one of "those" guys.  He drives trucks, drinks beer and hunts deer.  He is one of those manly men. And he was putty in your hands.  Baby-talking, face making, catering to your every whim putty.  He put together your 4th swing and talked me into a new playgym that we are trying out.  It was super adorable to see them all with you and having them here gave mommy a much needed break.

For the majority of this month between your Uncle Dean and Aunt Lori, your Aunt Jen and your harem of cousins - Bailey, Ashton, Beaux, & Bella, you were pretty much held, adored, and spoiled rotten for most of the month. I spent plenty of time wondering how you would react when you were left home with just boring old me for entertainment, but I mostly really enjoyed seeing you get to know the people I love.

We celebrated St Pattys Day and Easter with me dressing you up in corny cute outfits which I am sure you will hate someday, but as you cannot yet express your disagreement from such endeavors, I win....for now.

We heard stories how your photo is cherished in the Jenkins home and carried around in a blanket as Chloe and Ella have taken quite a fancy to you.  Your cousin Bella made you a special decorated cookie on the family Spring Break Vacation and was most dismayed when she had found it eaten.  Aunt Jen has promised Bella that she will make you cookies when you are old enough to eat them.  Hold her to that...she bakes a really good cookie!  Your fan mail continues to grow as we are blessed with very special family and friends who keep us in their thoughts and prayers as we journey through our unpredictable days.

Just so you know, I absolutely adore the bursts of chaos and unpredictability you've brought into my world. I'm finding that waking up every day and finding out what is going on with you is much more fun than anything I would come up with on my own, even if I never know what to expect on any given day. I hope you are having fun, too.

Love,
Mommy