birth announcements

In the wake of Garrett's birth, nearly two and a half years ago, we were so busy packing up, moving to, and getting settled in Brooklyn that we never sent out a formal birth announcement. This is something I have always regretted. So I told myself that with the next baby I'd be more on top of things.

A few months before Caleb was born, my friend Ashley moved back to Brooklyn after a year-and-a-half hiatus to finish school. While she was away she honed in on her awesome design skills and opened up an Etsy shop called Nouveau Designs. What could be more perfect than having a graphic designer land right in your lap in time for the birth of a child for whom you desperately wanted to send out birth announcements? I'll tell you what: Nothing, except for maybe the announcement she put together for Caleb:


I know! Awesome, right? The design was a back-and-forth collaborative effort, and I LOVE what she ultimately came up with. I mean, if you're gonna give birth to a baby in Brooklyn, New York, you might as well capitalize on that fact when creating his announcement. And see that lit up window? That's ours. Because we're up in the middle of the night taking care of our sweet baby.

I wish I could have mailed an announcement to each of you, but after copies were sent out to family, my supply had been whittled down considerably. But I'm happy that I can share it with you via that fabulous instrument known as the internet. For those who didn't find a copy in your mailbox, this is the photograph that accompanied the announcement (he was about two weeks old when this picture was taken):


I might not be able to undo the past, but with Ashley's help I was able to retroactively put together a birth announcement for Garrett. I love how it turned out, and how, like Caleb's design fit his birthplace, so too did Garrett's. Muncie, Indiana is home to the Academy of Model Aeronautics which Blake and I liked to visit -- especially when people from all over the country would come to the airfields to fly their planes during the annual competitions.


We only ordered enough of these to keep for ourselves, but it really makes me wish that I'd thought to hire Ashley in the fall of 2007 when we were both new to Brooklyn.

If any of you are in the market for birth announcements (or cards or invitations...her darling advent calendars sell like hotcakes), I highly recommend Ashley and her work. Seriously, go check out her stuff.

the first steps in what will likely be a long journey

I've been concerned for quite some time now about an ever more apparent speech development delay in Garrett. While his vocabulary is slowly expanding, at nearly 2 1/2 years old he can only say a small handful of words that are understandable to those who don't live with him, and he is not yet putting simple sentences together, as most children his age are. He speaks almost constantly and with incredible voice inflections, but what he says mostly sounds like babbling. When I compare him to his peers, he talks now like they were talking a year ago.

The problem does not appear to stem from his hearing, as he understands and carries out basic instructions from me. He seems, too, to be able to answer simple questions that I ask him, even though I often have no idea of the specifics of his replies. It seems more to me to be a "wiring" issue: he hears fine, but somewhere between his brain and his mouth things get scrambled and the words he produces do not come out as he necessarily intended them to. In fact, after some conversations with my mother-in-law, I am even more convinced that this is where the trouble stems from. Blake had similar speech delays when he was very young, and consequently went through many years of speech therapy.

Earlier today I took Garrett in to see his pediatrician to hopefully begin the process of helping his speech develop as it should. The doctor referred us to the city's Early Intervention program, which is available for children up through age 2. He gave me their phone number, and once we got home, I called to get the ball rolling. Unfortunately, though, no one was in (likely because of the Thanksgiving holiday) so I probably won't be able to get a hold of anyone until early next week.

Before I left the office I was warned that, if after the initial evaluation Garrett's speech was deemed not too horribly delayed, we might be denied the free services EI provides. I'm hoping, though, that given my own observations of Garrett in combination with the family history of speech problems, he will qualify for speech therapy sessions. Besides, the doctor also told me that it's much easier to present a case for further speech therapy to the school board (who succeed the folks at EI once a child turns 3) if I have official in-hand proof from Early Intervention that my child's therapy should not yet be terminated.

I've been warned by several people that working with "the system" often proves to be an uphill battle, but for the sake of my son, I plan to do whatever I can to get him help. So here we go. And maybe, hopefully, it will be sooner rather than later that I will be able to understand what the heck Garrett is always talking about.

in the spirit of thanksgiving

I imagine that a lot of you have already seen this particular Mormon Message, but I really like this one, not only for the message of gratitude it conveys, but also (and maybe especially) because it was filmed at Times Square and features New Yorkers (and a few tourists, but, according to E. B. White, when they're here, they're New Yorkers, too).



I love New Yorkers. They may be a little rough and aggressive around the edges, but that's really only a front for how kind and helpful most of them naturally are. They point you in the right direction when you're lost, they give you the long version of their opinions, and they help you get your stroller up the subway stairs. Today I am particularly grateful for the lovely Jewish woman who helped me get mine back up to street level yesterday when I took the boys to meet Blake in the city yesterday afternoon. It's people like her who help me overcome the fear I've recently developed of straying too far from home on my own with Garrett and Caleb.

Though my relationship with this city is often of the "love-hate" variety, I really am grateful that I get to live here. New York City is one of a kind. The opportunities here are endless; there is always something to see and do. We didn't line the streets this morning to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, opting instead to watch it on TV, but even so, as I watched the broadcast, I was overwhelmed by thoughts of, I live here! How awesome is that?! The lifestyle has taken some adjustment, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that there are an awful lot of things about this place that someday, when our time here is up, I will miss terribly.

I am grateful for my home here in Brooklyn, for the quirks and character of this old building. I'm grateful that I get to spend Thanksgiving in it and that I get to cook a simple feast in a kitchen which, though small, is bigger than the closet-sized kitchens a lot of apartments in this city have.

But most of all, this Thanksgiving I am grateful for Blake, Garrett, and Caleb, the boys with whom today I will be dining. They are my world, and I would be nothing without them.

photogenic

A couple of weeks ago, Blake's old co-worker, Andrea, was back in town visiting from her new home in Berlin, and while she was here she took photographs of Garrett and Caleb. I think that, given the simultaneously uncooperative nature of both boys (which is why there are no photos of them together), they turned out pretty great. I am a lucky mother to have two such darling children.

for caleb at three months

Dear Caleb,

Today you are three months old and, during this week of Thanksgiving, I want to tell you some of the reasons why I am so thankful for you.

I am thankful that you are growing strong. You have outgrown your 0-3 month wardrobe in favor of the adorable outfits in the 3-6 month size. I am thankful that you are overall a healthy baby boy, especially so now that you are being treated for reflux. As I watch you suck on your fingers in an effort to self-soothe, I realize that you are starting to emerge from those dark and difficult newborn days, and consequently life for both of us is becoming more pleasant.

I am thankful that you are now sharing a room with your brother. You occasionally disturb each other during the night, which is to be expected, and which I presume will continue so long as you are roommates, but overall you have made the transition from the cradle in my room to the crib in your room pretty successfully. I am thankful that, for a child of your age, you sleep well through the night, only waking once to eat (and occasionally once or twice more, for which you require a little bit of help to fall back asleep). I am thankful, too, that you are inching your way closer to settling into a more predictable daytime routine.

I am thankful for your smiles, which you dole out so frequently. I am especially tickled by the contented grins you give me when I put you into a clean diaper. I am so happy to have discovered that you can laugh, and I am thrilled that you are ticklish. I love your coos and the conversations we have when you are especially giddy.

I am thankful for your developing personality. I am thankful that you are YOU and not a clone, both in physical appearance and in temperament, of your older brother. I love you, my sweet Caleb, and I am so thankful that you are mine.

Love,
Mama

an important day

My parents and Blake's parents were married on the same day one year apart. It's kind of spooky if you think about it too long. So we won't. Instead we'll just wish them both a very

Happy Anniversary

to Dave and Nancy,
established November 21, 1979
(Whoa! 30 years!)

and to Gary and Joyce,
established November 21, 1978

sunny days

If you have spent any time recently tuned into either PBS or Google's homepage, you probably know that this month Sesame Street is celebrating its 40th birthday. The Brooklyn Public Library system is observing the anniversary, and Garrett and I have joined in on the fun.

On Monday we stopped by our local branch to sign Garrett up for his very own (and very first) limited edition Elmo library card. With it we checked out the classic book The Monster at the End of this Book.


On Wednesday, after Story Time, we stopped by a display of Sesame Street DVDs in the children's department and picked up a couple of Sesame Street: Old School DVDs. Watching them with Garrett only convinces me further that the Sesame Street I grew up watching was far better than the Sesame Street he watches today.

And today my friend Emily and I took our children up to the Central Branch of the Brooklyn Library to see their Sesame Street: A Celebration of 40 Years of Life on the Street exhibit. It was pretty cool, in part because of the pleasant childhood memories the memorabilia evoked as we browsed the displays, but mostly because there were actual muppets showcased in the foyers -- Grover, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie, Prairie Dawn, among others.

It might lead to a Sesame Street overdose, but maybe later Garrett and I will sit down and watch some classic clips. Some things, I think, are worth the risk.

same same

Garrett likes to do whatever Caleb is doing. For example, when it's time to feed Caleb, Garrett is suddenly (and ravenously) hungry. When I'm snapping a few photos of Caleb, Garrett jumps into the shot and says "Cheeeeese!" And when I lay a blanket down on the floor so Caleb can have a bit of tummy time, Garrett gets into position to do the very same. He even grabs himself one of Caleb's baby toys.

Two nights ago, we introduced yet another thing that Garrett and Caleb can do together: sleep in the same bedroom. Garrett reached the point a few weeks ago where he slept better in the bottom bunk bed than he did in the crib, so we officially kicked him into big boyhood by raising the crib mattress and washing the crib bedding in preparation for his younger brother to use.

The crib may now have been ready for Caleb, but I wasn't quite ready to send him packing. There were a few things I wanted to accomplish before making the big move. One, we needed to do something about the difficulties we'd been encountering with Garrett's ability to settle down and go to sleep at bedtime; and two, if Caleb was going to be farther away from me during the night, I wanted him to have reached the point where he wasn't waking up every three hours to eat.

At about the same time that Garrett mastered the bottom bunk, I was working to master the art of Caleb's feeding schedule. A couple of bigger bottles spaced differently throughout the day later, and I magically had him down to a bedtime bottle around 8:00 and one nighttime feeding around 3:30.

So now that Caleb and I were sleeping much better, it was time to help Garrett do the same. I turned to the experts for help tackling this beast, namely the famed Dr. Richard Ferber and his classic book Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems. After reading about sleep cycles, circadian rhythms, and sleep phases, I realized that Garrett is an excellent sleeper. The problem lay with his bedtime, which was scheduled during his "forbidden zone for sleep." We shifted his bedtime from 8:00 (when he simply was not capable of sleeping) to closer to 9:00 (the time when, on a typical night, he was actually falling asleep) and voila! No more struggles at bedtime. He now falls asleep almost instantly and sleeps soundly through the night until he wakes naturally at 7:00.

Over the weekend, Blake and I realized that we wanted to reclaim our bedroom. Our first attempt to let Garrett and Caleb sleep together in the same room, on Sunday night, was about as unsuccessful as they come. But by Monday afternoon naptime, I was ready to try again. My strategy has been to put Caleb down first and then, once he was deeply asleep, it would be Garrett's turn to be tucked in. So far it has worked like a charm. It's been a bit of a juggling act on my part, trying to balance the times both boys get sleepy, but after two successful nights and three successful afternoon naps, I am just about ready to rechristen Garrett's Room as the Boy's Room.

Now whenever I tell Garrett to please be quiet because I'm going to put Caleb down, he first whispers to me to "Shhhh...quiet!" and then gathers up his blankets and climbs on his bed so that he can once again do the same thing Caleb is doing.

UPDATE:
Just because they are now sharing a room doesn't mean everything is peachy perfect. I wrote the above during this afternoon's nap. A few minutes ago I heard Garrett wake up; Caleb was still asleep. I stepped into the room to find the crib like this:


Can you find Caleb? Because he's in there, buried beneath all of the blankets and plush toys Garrett kindly decided to pile on top of -- err, I mean, share with him. (Yes, I unsmothered the baby, and no, to my great pleasure and surprise, he did not wake up.)

untitled, number 2

Garrett has recently blossomed into a little artist. This is his most recent creation. I call it Untitled, Number 2.

Untitled, Number 2 (2009) by Garrett

Notice the insightful intertwining of crayon, chalk, and masking tape, his carefully chosen mediums:

Detail of Untitled, Number 2

When I look at Garrett's abstract drawings, I am reminded of Jackson Pollock's work:

Autumn Rhythm, Number 30 (1950) by Jackson Pollock

Now, please don't take what I just said to mean that I believe that Jackson Pollock has the artistic skills of a two-year-old. Because he most certainly doesn't. But I'm not going to stop my two-year-old from imitating a master. Which is why, on a trip to Ikea over the weekend, we picked up an easel for Garrett.

He loves it.

up way past his bedtime

Last night we rented Up. It was the first time any of us had seen it and we decided to make an evening of it. And Garrett, because we had a pretty strong hunch that he would enjoy the movie as well, was invited to stay up late and watch it, too.

We hurried through dinner, changed into our pajamas, gathered up our favorite blankets, and dimmed the lights. By a quarter after eight we were assuming our most comfortable positions on the couch (Garrett's being reclined upright with his arms behind his blond little head). As I looked at Garrett, entranced by the glow of the opening scenes, I couldn't help but feel like I was breaking some unwritten, yet very important, rule of the necessity to always strictly enforce early toddler bedtimes. But I brushed them aside -- it was the weekend after all, and Garrett, who understands slapstick humor and was laughing at all the right times, was clearly enjoying himself. We were all enjoying ourselves.

I smiled (and, I'll admit, cried, too) through the tender portrayal of Carl and Ellie's life together. Garrett got excited whenever he saw balloons ("Da ba-oon! Da ba-oon!" he'd say, pointing to the screen every few minutes or so). I'm not sure what Blake's favorite part was, but he, like the rest of us, did a healthy amount of laughing. I was surprised that Garrett stayed awake and practically on the edge of his seat for the entire film, and he was surprised that we wouldn't let him watch it twice in a row.

What a great movie! (I think Pixar topped even themselves -- this one is my new favorite.) And what a great evening! It was fun to rent a movie we all, even Garrett (especially Garrett), could enjoy. I'm not going to let my two-year-old go to bed at 10:30 on a regular basis, but the next time I do, I think we'll make popcorn.

indoorsy

Sometimes we are "outdoorsy," but this week, since we've been sick, we've been "indoorsy." Aside from watching lots and lots of movies, here's a sampling of how we've spent our time.

We've colored on the walls.



We've done a bit of cooking.

Caleb has done a lot of smiling, most likely because he's the only one of us who hasn't caught this stomach bug. (Isn't that grin the cutest thing ever?)

And after we finish playing, we've cleaned up our messes (and sung the "Clean Up Song" while we did).

We're all mostly feeling better today, and in honor of that I was thinking that maybe we'd be at least a little outdoorsy and venture down to the library to trade in our stack of books for some new ones. But, to coin the phrase, the weather outside is frightful, so we're sticking it indoors a little while longer. Maybe after naptime we'll build a fort on the bunk bed. Or maybe, since Garrett's such a good little chef, we'll make some S'mores Bars to eat while we watch our shows tonight. In case you want to make some, too (and, trust me, you'll want to make some, too), here's the recipe:

S'mores Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 6 sheets of graham crackers)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 1.5 oz milk chocolate bars
1 cup marshmallow cream

Set oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 inch pan with non-stick spray.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, graham crackers, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Beat until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Press half the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Place the chocolate on top of the dough, breaking it up to make it fit. Spread marshmallow cream over the top of the chocolate. Gently press the other half of the dough on top of the marshmallow cream.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes and cut into squares.

another one bites the dust

There is never a good time to get sick, but the moment that Blake started exhibiting symptoms of the stomach bug Garrett had was particularly unfortunate. I had spent most of yesterday afternoon prepping the boys to be left with an evening babysitter so that Blake and I could go out on the first date we've been able to escape on in almost a year. A co-worker of his had given him Knicks tickets -- for a game against the Utah Jazz -- and we had plans to catch a bite to eat at his favorite city barbecue joint before heading up to Madison Square Garden to watch the game.

I left the boys at home in excellent hands, enjoyed a train ride into the city without them, and waited on a bench in the park near his office for Blake to join me. As he approached, I could tell something wasn't quite right, and sure enough, it wasn't. The queasy feeling in Blake's stomach got the better of him near a garbage can between his office and the park. By the time he reached me, he was feeling slightly better, but we decided to alter our plans a bit and play the rest of the evening by ear. Instead of barbecue, we opted for soup and sandwiches. Halfway through dinner, though, it was clear that Blake wouldn't last much longer, so instead of heading to the game, we headed home. I'm happy to report that we all survived that bumpy and miserably slow train ride home, though perhaps in Blake's case, only just. I'm pretty sure that last night's attempt ranks as one our worst dates ever. Blake agrees.

Blake stayed home from work today (the dreaded prospect of another train ride was his deciding factor), and it has been up to me to keep him comfortable and Caleb (and myself) from getting sick as well. So far the bug seems to only be a 24 hour one, but until it runs its course, I think we'll all be laying low.

sometimes they're sweetest just before they toss their cookies

Garrett was uncharacteristically good on our trip home from church yesterday. He held my hand and didn't dawdle or whine as we walked to the bus stop. He let me change a near-blowout diaper while we waited for the bus with very little complaint. When the bus arrived (literally seconds after I threw the dirty diaper into the trash), he boarded cooperatively, sat down obediently, and immediately cuddled against me and fell asleep. He slept the whole ride home, willingly walked the last few blocks to our building, and, once in the door, asked to be tucked into his bed so he could finish his nap, which I was more than happy to do. Once Blake got home after wrapping up his after church ward clerk duties, I was in the process of telling him how good and sweet his son had been when ---

Suddenly there was a panicked scream from Garrett's room. Blake rushed in and found Garrett sitting in a pool of vomit. We rushed him to the bathtub, got him calmed down and cleaned up and into a warm pair of pajamas when ---

He threw up again, all over both himself and his father.

We changed his clothes once more and got him a drink of water when ---

You guessed it. Which is why I moved my trip to the laundromat up a day to this morning.

He did have some nasty diapers, but though he felt a little warm, he didn't have a fever. Except for during those moments of projectile vomiting, his personality remained intact, so I wasn't too worried. Even so, I still had to call my mom to find out how to care for a child with a stomach bug -- what do I feed, or not feed, him, and so on -- as this was the first time I'd had to deal with an illness of this nature. When I have fed him, I've kept him on the BRAT diet and have been encouraging him to drink clear liquids (and I probably will continue doing so throughout the rest of today at least), and this morning he seems to be mostly fine. He's not yet completely himself, so we're spending the day in recovery-mode. But the fact that he's acting like nothing ever happened is comforting since, as I learned yesterday, sometimes he's his sweetest just before it all comes shooting back up.

all lined up

Garrett has entered that charming toddler phase where he can no longer resist the impulse to line everything up. A quick walk around the apartment on any given day and you will see the following:


Sometimes he outdoes even himself by lining and stacking.

good things

Martha's got 'em, and I do, too.

1. Hot Mint Malt. We tried this hot chocolate recipe Sunday night and oh my it was divine.

6 York Peppermint Patties
5 cups milk
1/2 cup chocolate malted milk powder
1 tsp vanilla
whipped cream

In crock pot, combine mint patties with milk, malted milk powder, and vanilla. Heat on low for 2 hours. Beat with electric mixer until frothy. Pour into cups; top with whipped cream. Melt because of the sheer goodness of this winter weather drink.

2. This guy. Thanks to my dad who clued me into this viral video. Be sure to watch the whole thing -- the awesomeness only increases. And if you like this one, here's another.

3. Help for my hands. I finally got in to see a doctor about my painfully dry hands and wrists. Turns out I have eczema, which, yeah -- not a good thing. But the fact that I was sent home with a prescription to treat it definitely is.

4. The Yankee's 27th World Series win. Okay, so I'm not much of a baseball fan, but my current address makes me a New Yorker, so -- Go Team!

5. Free photo shoots. Blake's old co-worker turned professional photographer, Andrea, is in town from Berlin. She's working to beef up the portraits of children in her portfolio and volunteered to take pictures of my boys. The photo shoot was this morning and was just about as successful as I could reasonably expect. We got some darling shots of both boys individually, but when it came time to take pictures of them together, things kind of fell apart: as soon as Garrett was in a cooperative mood, Caleb started crying; once Caleb's tears were calmed, Garrett lost interest in sitting still. C'est la vie. I'll share highlights when we get the picture files from Andrea in a few weeks.

6. Brooklyn buddies. I belong to a fantastic circle of friends here. I can always count on these fine ladies for good conversation, empathy, and to rescue me from rotten days. The other night most of us were able to get together for ice cream. The reason for the gathering was actually a sad one as one of our group is moving upstate later this week. But we nonetheless managed to have a great time talking and laughing about this and that.

from left: Martha, Emily, Kelly, June, Ashley, me, and Melanie

7. NBC's Thursday night line-up. Community, The Office, and 30 Rock -- what could be more hilarious? Parks and Recreation was sadly disappointing, which is why I wash the dinner dishes during that half hour. If I could get ABC to air Modern Family on Thursday's between 8:30 and 9:00, I'd be in some sort of personal TV viewing heaven.

What good things are you loving today?

the seventh five

I have finished the Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

31. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith
32. Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith
33. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith
34. The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith
35. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith


And I'm not sure what else to say about them that I haven't said already. Except to maybe say again that they were more than worth the time it took to work my way through every book. Seriously. Go read them and find out for yourself.

The final book, Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, had one passage that I thought was worth sharing. At this particular point in the story, Mma Ramotswe has just been pondering what she hopes Clovis Andersen, author of Principles of Private Detection, would include in an updated edition of his book.

"But where was he, this Clovis Andersen, who knew so much about private detection? Somewhere in America, she imagined, because he sometimes mentioned famous cases in American cities that sounded so exotic to her ears that she wondered whether they really could exist. Where was this place called Muncie, Indiana? Or Odgen, Utah? Or, most intriguing of all, this town called Mobile, Alabama? Did that town move from place to place, as the name suggested? What happened there? Would they have heard of red bush tea, she wondered. Would they have heard of Gaborone?"

And you wonder why I loved these books. Ha!

reflux, take two

The last several days have been particularly difficult for me. Added to a growing pile of minor problems and annoyances was the blatantly obvious fact that Caleb's crying had escalated. I didn't think it was possible for a baby to scream and cry more than he already did, but over the weekend I was proven oh so very wrong. Consequently I have not been sleeping much, and when I am able to nod off, my rest has been fitful.

Yesterday I just couldn't take it any more, and, assuming the culprit was the reflux he was diagnosed with (but not yet treated for) at his appointment last week, I took him to the doctor. Caleb put on quite a show as he was being examined, so there was little question that something was hurting him. It might be reflux, it might not. But for now that is what we are going to treat. The doctor prescribed an antacid, gave us some formula thickened with rice starch to try, and told me to bring him back if things don't improve in the next few days.

We haven't tried the formula yet (I'm a little nervous to get him hooked on something I'm not sure I'd be able to afford), but he's had three doses of the antacid and already it seems to be working. I know we're not out of the water yet, but can I just tell you how much nicer it is to have a baby who spends his down time smiling instead of screaming?

Acid reflux is harder than I thought to recognize. When Garrett was diagnosed with and treated for reflux at 3 1/2 months, I told myself that with my subsequent children, I'd be on the lookout for similar symptoms so that they could be dealt with sooner. Unfortunately Caleb's symptoms, though somewhat similar, were also different than Garrett's. For example, unlike his brother, Caleb has had no trouble whatsoever with eating. I thought that a baby with reflux would always writhe in pain as he ate. Not so apparently. Caleb inhales his food, though I have noticed recently that he hadn't been as content once he was finished and full. That probably was a sign I should have taken into consideration. I'm not sure I should have put up with Caleb's crying for quite so long as I did, but at the same time, it is rather difficult to know when the crying means reflux or if it's something as simple as an ultra sensitive, colicky baby. So for the future, I thought I'd compile a short list of symptoms I've noticed in both Garrett and Caleb that ultimately led to a diagnosis of reflux:

• lots and lots of crying
• spitting up (though this isn't always as obvious -- Garrett had "silent reflux," which meant that the food was coming back up, just not up far enough to come out of his mouth)
• difficulty eating
• discontent and fussiness after feeding
• lots and lots of crying
• constantly wanting to be held, rocked, bounced, and "sh"ed
• more crying
• and screaming
• occasional gasps for breath or the sound of the baby choking on air. I'm assuming this is the sound of food coming back up the esophagus.
• crying
• crying
• crying

Of course, I'm told that reflux peaks by around 4 months of age, so it might not be something that can be caught and stopped at a very early age. (Or maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better after the guilt trip the doctor's tone sent me on for not bringing Caleb in sooner.)

These have been dark, dark days, my friends, and I hope they're just about over. I'm looking forward to actually being able to enjoy this sweet baby I brought into the world.

the obligatory halloween photos

Garrett helped to carve the pumpkin by doing his best to not touch the pumpkin guts.

But afterward he was more than willing to help blow out the jack o' lantern's candle.


Blake as Roger with two of his 101 Dalmations.



The two puppies. Garrett was super fascinated by his new black nose.


Trick or treating!