Will at 2 months

Will had his 2 month checkup this week (although in the interest of full disclosure, this picture is from 2 weeks ago). He currently weighs 12 pounds, 8 ounces and is 24 inches long, 75th and 90th percentile respectively. This domination will continue for maybe a couple of months before he returns to the bottom of the charts where Jack currently resides.

For those of you keeping score, Jack was over 13 pounds at his 2 month checkup. Score one for Jack.

Other stats worth mentioning:

Will started sleeping about 7 to 8 hours at night, from 10 or 11 until 6 or 7. Score one for mom.

Will also has refused to take a bottle for the last week. Shoot me now. I'll see all of you again in a year...

Old friends...

Last week, we made a whirlwind (and I mean whirlwind) trip up to Washington to see two of my very favorite people (my college roommate and my big (sorority) sister) who both live in California but were attending the same wedding in D.C. Because we all have small children and live on opposite coasts, we hardly get to see each other. At this point I would sooner poke my eyes out than take my children on a transcontinental flight. Sarah and Dave managed to do it but only after lots of drugs. For everyone involved. As we say in the south, bless their hearts... Sarah told me that when the plane landed in D.C., they made their older daughter Eva (who just turned two) apologize to everyone on board. Anyway, when I heard they were coming east, I jumped at the chance, even if it meant 6 hours in the car roundtrip.

It was marvelous to see Sarah and Dave and Liz and Dan (who were sans child for the first time!) and it was a real treat to meet Sarah's girls. Jack stayed with with Mimi and Pops in Richmond for the morning (have I mentioned how much I love my in-laws?) so he didn't have the chance to meet his future girlfriend Eva but it was clear that they will be fast friends one day. One day when they are old enough to get on a plane and watch TV quietly like good children...

One sidenote. We picked up Jack in Richmond and he was so worn out from his awesome morning with Mimi and Pops that he fell asleep, mid-sentence, on the way home. I love the arms behind the head.

You know you're the mother of a two year old boy...

---when you find yourself all alone in your car saying things like "Look - a fire truck!"

Second child syndrome

Last week I went to my doctor for my six week post-partum appointment. It's an appointment I have looked forward to both times. It's such a personal relationship, apart from the obvious reasons of course. When you're pregnant, you see your doctor as much as you see your spouse practically. And she's the other person in the delivery room when your child is born. You get so used to seeing her all the time, it's weird to go six weeks without having an appointment. Even Jack misses going to the doctor. As we passed the hospital complex the other day, he said "Mommy go see Dr. Terry and hear baby's heartbeat." Anyway, it's fun to go in again and bring the baby to meet everyone and to have the baby's picture taken with the doctor.

On to the funny story. Will wakes up while I'm sitting in the exam room waiting for the doctor, so I decide to nurse him briefly. Two gulps in, Will has a total blowout. The poop shot straight up the back of his diaper and got all over his outfit and, consequently, me. Everywhere. There I am running around the room half-naked grabbing various paper products to contain and clean up this colossal mess. I do have diapers and wipes in my bag but do I have another outfit for him? Nah. Why would I? I did happen to have a blanket to swaddle him in so at least he wasn't naked. Fortunately it was 70 degrees outside that day or Child Protective Services would have taken him away before I could get to the car.

Second child syndrome...poor kid will be lucky to make it through adolescence. Shockingly I was not in any great rush to photograph this moment of terrible parenting but here is another example of what happens to latter born children.



Notice how he has slid off the edge of his bouncy seat. And instead of immediately remedying the situation, his parents pull out the camera and laugh at their lack of supervision. Do you ever feel like you're a character from Seinfeld? We do.

So if you happen to go to my doctor's office, look up on the bulletin board where they keep the pictures of all the babies she's delivered this year. Mine is the one without clothes on...

Miles of smiles

Will smiled for the first time over the weekend. For those of you without kids, for the first 2 or 3 months, babies smile only involuntarily. Typically, it's because they have gas. Around 8 weeks, babies have their first "social smiles" as they're called. You can tell the difference because when babies smile involuntary, it is with their mouths only. When they smile for real, they smile with their whole face. It's like pornography - you know it when you see it.

This past Saturday morning, we were sitting in bed, watching Curious George and reading the paper. Jack was in his usual position - lying on his stomach, chin in his hands, staring at Will and speaking to him in his high pitched squeal. Will looked up and smiled with his whole face. How cool is it that Will's first smile was for big brother? I will treasure that moment forever.

And today, Will smiled at me for the first time. It was the one ray of light in an otherwise cloudy parental day.

Ron Varnadoe strikes again

The previous owner of our house was a "handy" guy. We thought this was a bonus at first. He made lots of improvements to the house, including installing an in-ground sprinkler system. If you've seen our yard, you would know it is ridiculous that the system has approximately 14 sprinkler heads . Nonetheless, we're lazy enough to really appreciate it. Anyway, since moving in, we've found that Ron wasn't quite as good as he thought he was. As my contractor put it, he's the most dangerous type of guy - he knows enough to actually do some complicated things but not enough to do them correctly. Consequently, there have been several instances where we've had a problem that turned out to be more costly than it should have been because of Ron. For example, there are several holes in the walls of our finished attic because Ron hid the intake valve of the radiators behind drywall. And every year we have some part of the sprinkler system malfunction.

Just this last week, Billy attempted to replace the spray hose in the kitchen sink. To be fair, Billy should not have been playing plumber. But what he did should not have caused eight different leaks under the sink. When our contractor came to fix the problem, he ended up having to replace all the valves, gaskets and pipes as well as the faucet itself. Ron Varnadoe strikes again...

Our family photographer

Ever since we had Jack, I have been slightly OCD about taking pictures. I wish I could capture every moment, every feeling, every expression of Jack and Will's childhood because I am already starting to forget things. Fortunately, we have a great digital SLR (thank you Buster!) that I love and carry with me everywhere. Hence the myriad monthly pictures (and yes I know I have yet to send out Will's pictures).

Billy is often annoyed because I am too often memorializing a moment instead of just being in it. To that end, I decided that we should have a family photographer, like the First Family.

Enter Kelly Willette. She is not only an incredibly talented children's photographer but also an all around fabulous person. If you are ever in Virginia, please have her photograph your kids. You won't regret it. She has an unbelievable ability to capture every aspect of a child's personality. It's uncanny. Her website is www.willettedesigns.com. If I had all the money in the world I would have Kelly photograph my children once a week...sigh.

Before Will's arrival, we signed up for Kelly's "baby plan." So we have her every three months until Will turns one! My own personal family photographer...

Baby Will

When Will went to the doc for his 2 week checkup, he was already 8 pounds, 11 oz (well above his birth weight) and 24 inches (an inch and half taller than at birth). Since then he has continued to grow like a weed. Having not been back to the doctor recently, I can't give you precise measurements. I just gauge by how many outfits he has already outgrown.

Temperamentally, he is much like Jack, if not a little more mellow. The biggest kicker is that at 5 weeks, he has started sleeping 6+ hours straight at night (from 11 or 12 to 6). For those keeping score, that's two weeks' ahead of Jack. Score one for the Deuce...