Holding You

Dear Sprout,

You like to nurse -- all of the time. While other babies nurse for 30 minutes and are done for about three hours, you nurse for three hours and are done for 30 minutes! (slight exaggeration) Sometimes I get discouraged because I never complete the mental checklist I prepare for myself at the start of each day. However, I can't help but notice that when you are not in my arms I long to hold you. Perhaps it's because we shared a body for nine months. Before you, I was a true busybody; Staying still was not one of my characteristics. Now, for the first time in my life, I must be stationary. I look down at you and there you are loving being close to your mommy. I smile because I also love having you close to me. As your mom, I try to do what is best for you. Maybe, in your own little way, you know what is best for me, too.

Love always,
Mommy

Three Cheers

Today Sprout is three months old! Really, he is more like a year old; I carried him inside of me for nine months and I've held him in my arms for these past three months. My husband and I have been blessed with Sprout for almost our entire marriage. In fact, day one of Sprout was estimated to be day ten of our days as man and wife. Some well-meaning people have said that it would have been better to have spent a year together getting to know each other before becoming parents. While that may be the case for some, Sprout added such depth to our relationship. Andrew went to every check-up with me. He listened to me when I read him excerpts from multiple baby books and he told me when to put the literature down and trust God. Andrew read Sprout stories, sang to him, and prayed aloud for him. I know my little guy recognized a gentle voice and knew exactly whom his daddy was as soon as he was born.

Now that Sprout is here, he enjoys playing horsey and airplane with his old man. When he is in his car seat, a place he doesn't particularly like, he is soothed by a CD that Andrew made just for him. Each night at bedtime, Sprout falls fast asleep in his daddy's arms. I confess that this new mom does not have everything together. The house is not as clean as I would like it to be, dinner is unpredictable, and sometimes my son is the only one who has all of his basic needs met. I am competitive with myself and I would like to feel like everyday is an A-plus day. However, even when I have a day that does not even come remotely close to making the grade, Andrew can put everything into perspective for me. We're a family, we love each other, we have been very blessed -- who cares if our overcooked chicken dinner would best be described as chicken jerky?!

Thank you, Andrew, for everything. We love you so much! Three cheers for you! Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray!

Last Night

Last night you were awake after your usual bedtime. I was in bed and you were sitting on my stomach. You kept looking into my eyes and giving me these enormous smiles -- smiles that say, "You are the best person in the whole world!" I smiled right back at you, but I had a bittersweet feeling in my heart. There you were overjoyed with your mommy ... I wish I was as great as you think I am. You see Sprout, mommies want the very best for their children. I have such high hopes for you. I want you to grow up to be a man characterized by his honesty, integrity, loyalty, and dignity. I want you to always think about others. I want you to be a man of faith who has the courage to always do what is right and just. I know that you are going to look up to me and I fall short of what I want for you. I promise that I am going to try to make today better than my yesterdays. I am going to work very hard to embody the traits that I want for you. However, remember that I (along with all people) will disappoint you. God is the only one who will never let you down. It is my prayer that you will get to know Him at an early age. You can always look up to your heavenly Father; He will always lead you down the right path.

culinary expertise, please!

Three months from this coming Friday will be a very special day. Baby Sprout will be six months old and I, Anna, will become gourmet baby food maker extraordinaire! I am so excited! I have decided to purchase the Beaba Babycook to help me with this endeavor. This little machine steams, purees, and defrosts! It can do anything and it will pay for itself. I found an amazing website (http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/) that gives you age-appropriate recipes for your child and I want to try each and every one!


Andrew and I want our baby to eat nutritiously from the get-go. Furthermore, when Sprout graduates from baby food, we want him to continue to eat well. I don't want him to go from healthy meals to meals laced with preservatives. This means that I need to learn how to cook NOW. Yes, Andrew and I need to change our eating habits before we pass them on to our little guy.



When I was pregnant, I had an eye-opening experience. I decided I did not want to consume MSG; Little did I know that basically every pre-made food has MSG in it! Yes -- lots of soups, stuffings, and frozen meals are culprits! (Note: yeast extract is basically the same thing as MSG. I did some research on the subject) If I were president, one of the first things I would do would be to mandate every MSG containing food to have a warning on its label (this only second to making sure that every vehicle has a "How's My Driving" number on its back). Let's be realistic here ... I am not saying that I will never cook with preservatives, but I want such an occasion to be the exception rather than the rule.



I need help! Cooking is not my gift and it does not come naturally. I want some simple recipes that I can make for my family. If you are reading this, can you help me with my quest? Do you have a recipe for me?



It is only fair that I give you a recipe, too. This is a cobbler recipe from my culinary-gifted mother-in-law :-). I just made it (with blueberries) last night! It is super simple and fantastically delicious!



Fruit Cobbler

1. Heat your oven at 350 and melt a stick of butter in your dish (use a pie dish or an 8x8ish sized dish)
2. Mix together one cup of milk, one cup of flour, and one cup of sugar.
3. Pour flour mixture over melted butter. No mixing is necessary.
4. Pour fruit of choice on top of everything. Do not mix together.
5. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
6. Enjoy :-)

Camping

Today is a big day for our family -- for today is the day that we bought our first tent. It is a Coleman Laurel Creek 6-Person Tent, to be exact. You may wonder why a family of three needs such a large tent. Andrew and I could easily pack everything we need in a single backpack ... on the other hand, Sprout's necessities take up the entire cargo space of Andrew's Chevy truck. Also, we plan on bringing our poodle Shimmer on our future adventures. Therefore, a 6-person tent is what we need indeed!

Although Sprouty is a mere 12 weeks in age, he has already been on three camping and/or hiking excursions. As we expected, he loves the great outdoors. I carry him in my green Sleepy-Wrap baby wearing device and he takes everything in as snug as a bug in a rug. Andrew documents our outings with his trusty camera.

Since I am staying home with our little one, Andrew and I have to think carefully about our finances. Travelling that requires hotel stays is not in our budget. However, now we have a tent! Prime mountain land comes at a premium, but not for us! Perhaps we have the desire to have waterfront property with a Spruce-filled backdrop -- within ten minutes our tent will be pitched and there you have it! Should we have the desire to be in the midst of sand dunes and wild horses the next weekend ... no problemo! No matter where we decide to go, we'll always have a place to stay.

Whenever we have the opportunity to go hiking, the scenery makes my imagination go wild. Sometimes I imagine that Andrew is an English settler and I am an Indian princess who happens to fall in love with him. Since our people do not understand or approve of our love, we must venture into the untamed forest together to make a life for ourselves. Other times I like to think that we are Bohemian tree huggers on a mission to save all things that are green. We have renamed ourselves -- Andrew is Juniper, I am Clover, and Sprout is still Sprout. As we step deeper into the woods and further away from our conventional lives, we can be anyone -- at least in the recesses of my mind. :-)

confession

Confession: Right now I should be cleaning our house. You, my little love, are asleep – opportunity knocks and cloudy windows are calling my name. However, in my defense, you fell asleep in my arms. Instead of putting you down, I continued to sit criss-cross legged holding you. You make the most adorable faces when you sleep. The analytical part of me said to put you down but my heart urged me to enjoy the moment in time … and the winner was: MY HEART! Yay!!!!!!!!!!! It was a wonderful decision as you can bring me immense joy even when you are in dreamland. I finally put you down on the bed next to me. I promise I will clean the house but right now I just want to jot down some of the infinite number of things that I love about you…………

1. I love your bright eyes. It should be noted that you entered the world this way … literally. Your daddy said you were looking around even before you were completely delivered. When the nurse placed you in my arms in your baby-burrito swaddle, you gazed right at me nonstop. It touched me because it was clear that you knew exactly who I was. I knew that even though we were physically separated that we would always have a connection. I digress… Anyway, the nurses nick-named you “Bright Eyes” because you were so alert all of the time. You continue to look at everything with sheer amazement. I think the world would be a better place if we all gave things our full attention like you do.

2. I love how you smile in your sleep. Many people say that infant smiles are nothing but a response to gas. Baby Sprout, I refuse to believe that. Your little grin is one of complete joy and bliss. In the Bible, it talks about how God knits babies together in their mothers’ wombs. When I was pregnant I would think about this verse and it brought me great comfort to know that you were so close to God. Because of this, I can’t help but think that when you smile in your sleep you are somehow connecting with your loving creator.

3. I love your “turtle face.” When you want to eat, you purse your lips together (like you are about to blow a kiss) and stretch out your neck. Daddy says you look like a little turtle when you do this – you really do! It is so cute and it is one of things that make you uniquely you!

4. I love that you give your mommy kisses. I admit that sometimes I have to kiss you right on your little lips. You are so cute and I cannot help myself! Therefore, I blame it all on you and your adorableness. In response you make a little clicking noise and you give me your own little kiss right back.

5. I love your voice. You make the cutest little sounds I have ever heard. Sometimes you gently coo like a dove. Your favorite words are “gaaa” and “arg.” Then there are other times when you talk as loud as you can. Sometimes you’ll even startle yourself! Your favorite loud word is “aweaweaweawe” (4 syllables). When you talk to someone, your face is so expressive. You know exactly what you are saying. Also, when it is your turn to listen you show your intense interest with your highly mobile eyebrows and forehead.

6. I love your smile! Man, do I love your smile! Your daddy and I will talk to you and then all of the sudden you give us this fantastic toothless grin. Your entire face lights up. All at once you cause us to change our conversation with you to one that is characterized by high-pitched baby language. We can’t help ourselves!

7. I love the joy you bring. Even though you are still a newborn, you have brought so much happiness to so many people. Somehow holding you makes the day just a bit brighter.

8. I love YOU! I love every single thing about you! You are a wonderful creation and we are thankful for you being just the way you are. J

Okay, now to do the laundry…………..

Hold Your Head Up High

Dear Sprout,

You are almost two months old now! You amaze me with all of the new things that you can do. Your little pursed lips can break into a bigger-than-life grin, you are now fluent in baby language, and you can hold your little head up for an extended period of time. I can’t believe that I am folding up and storing tiny clothes that you have outgrown already. My “little sunshine” is growing faster that I would have ever imagined.

I love sitting you up on my lap and watching you hold up your little head with a perplexed look of accomplishment on your itty-bitty face. I imagine that you are thinking, “I am a big man. I can hold up my head just like daddy. Me and him are like two peas in a pod.” Afterwards, I place your tummy against my chest and enjoy holding you in my arms. You continue to hold up your head as long as you can. Whenever the need arises, you rest your little head against my cheek. Bliss.

I once was with your daddy when he had to have a difficult discussion with someone else. Sadly, the person that he was talking to said a lot bad things using bad words. Many men would have responded to such a situation by acting just like the antagonist. However, your daddy did not. He said everything that he needed to say in a very gentlemanly manner. I was very sad that your daddy had to be in that position to begin with – but I was so proud that he acted with dignity and integrity despite the circumstances. He held his head up high.

Sadly, when you get older you will have your feelings hurt. There will be people who disappoint you with their words and their actions. I am sure that there will be instances where you will want to respond in a similar fashion. You may even want to hurt, embarrass, and humiliate such people so they can know what it feels like. Do not. Clean aptly chosen words are far more powerful than impromptu obscenities. Acting in a self-respecting manner even when in difficult conditions will have more of an impact than you can ever imagine.

Right now you do not have to worry about such things. You are too little to understand unkind words. However, it is my prayer that Mommy and Daddy will teach you the correct way to respond by example. As you grow, we will help you as much as we can when you do not know what to do. We expect that when you are old enough to act on your own that you will keep your head held high. Never forget that you are to be a light in the world. God will give you direction and guidance … and mommy will have a cheek for you to lean your precious little head on whenever the need arises.

Love always,

Mommy