High Maintenance

So, today I had a few questions for my trusty baby books. Through reading, I discovered that my dearest Luke is considered a "high maintenance" baby. I must say that I agree. He is PRECIOUS and this is not a bad thing - it's just how he is. He is rather demanding and needs LOTS of constant attention. He is not an easy napper and has extreme amounts of stomach/gas/colic/heartburn issues. Poor baby. I am basically down to a chicken, water, toast, banana diet... (Well, I should be at least... easier written than done!)

Anyways... I turned to the section where the authors (doctors) offer suggestions to soothe and calm your crying baby. After listing the basic answers that all parents with newborns know at this stage in the game, they then state, "see page XXX for high maintenance babies." I thought hmmm... little Luke may qualify. And, sure enough, he does. They don't offer any other advice other than basically - hang in there and answer their demands. So, this is what we shall do... :)

One of the things we do everyday is like "stations" - switching from activity to activity focusing on keeping him busy... preventing crying. In this adorable photo on Mr. Giraffe, we are discovering Luke in the mirror. Precious reflection I must say.

Please note his onsie... " I love rock crawling with my daddy!" It's just a matter of time where car/truck modifications becomes a station. :)

Acknowledgement is precious!

Yesterday I thought that Luke actually acknowledged and responded to my presence and my voice with a slight smile... An actual recognition of me NOT a gas or indigestion reaction. It made my heart skip a little joyful beat but I still was not 100% sure. Well, today it happened again - actually a few times. I did not realize how much that little response was going to make a difference. The past 5 weeks we have been loving on the little guy like crazy, reading to him, talking to him - just letting him know we are here. (Everyone has been so great - grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends - just so many voices surrounding him.) Well, after an emotional evening last night with the little guy and a much needed break where my sweet friends and help were able to calm the little man for a bit, today is awesome so far! Both Luke and I awoke well rested and in a mood to greet a happy day. The little man showed his smile and it melted my heart. I wish I caught it on camera but I know the smiles are here to stay.

Some may glaze over this and wonder why is she making a big deal of this... a few months ago I might have secretly thought the same thing. I can tell you that after so much effort and no thanks or even the slightest acknowledgement of my existence in return, any type of recognition or acknowledgement is precious and very welcomed. I know many seasoned parents are thinking... get ready - the teenage years are the worst. ( I think of my selfish self during this time where it was so much effort and little thanks from me.) But I guess for now, I will try to take each day as it comes and look for the little responses and changes that make all the difficult times take a back seat and melt away.

Starters, skid plates, torque...

Today I had Auto 201 lesson by professor Ben. I say 201 because I passed 101 and 102 during engagement and 1st year of marriage. I more about rear differentials than many men and I can even drive Ben's rock crawler - which has more gear shifters in one console than Dale Earnhart's car... (I think.)

Today I was shopping for a few things and when I got back into the Jetta it would not start. All the electronics were working so I knew it wasn't the battery. I popped the hood to make sure there were not any loose wires and that looked good. The gas gauge light was on but it JUST popped on as I was driving so I knew I had ~ 50 miles or so... and I was going less than 1. So, I proceeded to walk home and call Ben. Ben came right over and picked me up. (Thankfully my mom was watching little Luke.) We went over and apparently my skid plate was completely off but this was not the reason for the car not starting. Ben pops the hood, looks around for a bit and declares that the solenoid is out (or something like that.) So, he jacked up the car and basically hot wired the solenoid thing and got the car home. (I drove the french fry dually home which Ben found amusing and took pictures of me driving off. I didn't look any other driver in the eye - I am sure they were shocked to see a girl driving this... white, vegetable oil converter, diesel, noisy, dirty, dually but missing the dually tires, Dodge truck. )

Anyways... We get home and Ben proceeds to take the starter out of the Jetta and comes in to give me a educational lesson about what a starter looks like and how it works. Then he showed me the part that was broken and explained how he was going to take apart and replace the part. Wow! Thank gosh that I have a hubbie who knows cars.

I hope one day I get to go on a trivia show like "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" or a show like that and they ask me what is a rear diff or what is a solenoid. I would shock America and my hubby would be so proud!

Upon recommendation from many dear friends, Ben and I watched the DVD, "Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Karp. This pediatrician discovered a method that apparently soothes all babies by utilizing the 5 "S's" - swaddle, sushing, side/stomach swaying, sucking and swinging/jiggling. I must say it has made an instant difference in the calming abilities in us and further, most importantly, Luke! My dearest is doing a great job calming our little one here - his cranky time is always cocktail hour/dinner time every night. This has made an instant difference.

It is pretty amazing thinking about blogging/life pre-baby. Now I cannot seem to find as many fun things to blog about sans-Luke. I love to blog about him but I also don't want to lose sight with the real world - as it keeps on turning! I have always been such a busy body - filling my calendar daily - which is great fun! I must say that having a newborn has both simplified and complicated my life - all in a good way. Simplified - meaning that I stay at home majority of the week. My main goal is to truly tend to my family - all their needs. Not that I didn't care for or tend to Ben's needs before - but now it is different. Also, I don't just easily pop in the car to run to Chick-Fil-A then Michael's then fill up the car and run in for a DP then stop into DSW to browse the shoes. NO more! It is one planned errand at a time - for now. I wait to do grocery shopping. I really strategize my errands and needed outings. It is a luxury to have time to write thank you notes and return emails - and to SLEEP! Life is simplified yet all those things make it more complicated at the same time. I am getting close to the point of ancy-ness to start filling my calendar and spending more time out socially again but I know it will be different - and that's quite ok! It is still fabulous.

The Littlest Tool Man

My boys - relaxin after a hard Monday!

I absolutely adore and love my husband so much. He is such a great father. Tonight we have had a nice evening as a family. Luke needed a change of scenery so we went for a long walk with he in his Snugli. Then Ben finished a stir fry dinner that I had started and served me while I was tending to the little man. Afterwards, Ben was entertaining Luke by nothing other than... Formula 1 car sounds! And, surprise surprise, Luke was entranced. The things we do to calm down a little one and prevent the crying bouts.

Luke, Trips and Military Service

This past weekend, the entire Ben Tanner family went to Austin and Fredericksburg. Our best friends, Annie and Dave, live in Austin and we had a great visit with them and our other great friends Spencer and Brittany. Luke slept most of the visit and he was such a sweet sweet little boy. Annie is about to deliver her little Avery - to whom Luke is betrothed. :)

After Austin, we drove to the ranch in Fredericksburg to meet our fabulous friends Elizabeth and Taylor (and dear little Bitsy) for a weekend at Cuatro Estrellas and a photo shoot for little Luke. It was a gorgeous weekend and we had a great time. We did not do our research as to how to best take newborn photos - meaning our timing was off a bit. I guess he needed to be in a deep sleep to take the best photos but we tried. I will post some once they are ready to be shared! :) E Guess Photography is busy at work. We did find out that little Luke loves riding in the "Bad Boys" and exploring on the bumpy vehicles... hmm - taking after his dad already?

It was a fun Halloween weekend!

We did take a few pictures for my brother, Joe, who is deploying this Friday for Afghanistan. He is a 1st Lt. in the Marines - artillery officer. I am so proud of him and also a bit sad to see him go. This is truly his calling and he has wanted to serve this country ever since I can remember. He is so dedicated to what he does and I know he is ready to fulfill his service duty. We will miss him tremendously though. He returns in June. Here are some pictures we sent to him before he leaves.