oh, life lately

My two month old baby is precious. He is the young love of my life. The first month was so completely magical, yes, but it was also a whirlwind- very overwhelming, sleepless, and intense. The waters have calmed this second month. He is sleeping so well, usually six to seven hours a night. The days of rocking him endlessly are few and far between. He even likes his swing. He almost always falls asleep in his bassinet on his own. He is breastfeeding like the champion of all champions. We are really getting the hang of it. It's not such an all-encompassing-stop-everything-else-you-are-doing-prepare-for-at-least-an-hour-affair now, it is just kind of a sweet, enjoyable little experience I get to share with my baby eight times a day (at least, Mary says). He loves his little Occy (pacifier dragon). His personality has quadrupled within the past month. He is smiling, laughing, grinning, playing, kissing, talking (baby talk, ya know), and cuddling. My heart belongs to that 11 pound 11.5 ounce babe.

nothing like kisses from mama

I am also feeling so much more like myself. I feel like I am getting my body back and am not just the most awkward, pained, subcutaneous creature on earth anymore. I have been exercising, getting dolled up, getting out of the house, oh it's divine. I even wore my cigarette jeans last night! The joy that filled my bosom when they fit was insurmountable.

We just had the best weekend ever. I finally got Dan to myself so we brought the aero bed into the living room and watched movies, had dance parties, made homemade pizza, talked, cuddled, all the good stuff. I'm pretty sure Dan did not get off that bed for approximately six hours on Friday. He needed some R&R. :)

Now that he is two months old we are do have to avoid crowds like the plague anymore. We still avoid them, but boy is it nice to be able to take him to the store! We celebrated Valentine's Day again last night and went out dinner, compliments of Grandma and Grandpa James and Jude. (They got together and decided we needed a night out and arranged it.) We put in our name at Longhorn Steakhouse and since it was supposed to be an hour wait we walked all around the shops at Midtown Village and pushed Jude around in his little pram. It was freezing cold and raining. We didn't mind. Jude was a trooper as he was harshly exposed to the elements between stores. Whenever he is suddenly cold he takes a huge gasp  like he is catching his breath. It is hilarious. Dinner was the most fun ever. We were starving, so bread, water, chicken tortillas roll-ups (our free entree), and two delicious steaks complete with mashed potatoes (of course), sweet potatoes, and salads was the most delicious meal we could have ever dreamed of. Although I wouldn't have minded a little taste of my neighbor's Chocolate Stampede (AMAZING). I was a little nervous when Jude got hungry but I donned my nursing cover and all was well. Our very flamboyant waiter and other father-of-two server were very sweet and made me feel at ease.

We also went to church today. Jude's first time. It was so nice to be there together as a family. I'm a proud mama. He was awake for the first two hours laying contently in his pram, slept for almost one, and then got hungry about ten minutes before church got out. What a good boy.

In sacrament meeting Dan looked over at me and with a sweet smile said, "I've waited for this for so long... sitting in church with my little boy." I will say, looking over seeing my gorgeous husband sweetly cradling our swaddled up sleeping baby was one of those moments where everything makes sense, life is perfect, and nothing matters but the love we have in our little family. The love we have, centered on Christ, is all we need in life. With that we are strong enough to venture our way through the world and be stronger in the end.

Life has been a little crazy. Dan has hardly had five minutes to relax up until yesterday. He has been out of town for the past two weekends, leaving me a lone woman in the wilderness. My shotgun skills are now up-to-date (just in case), I learned that I may not leave the lights on in the car for ten measly minutes while I feed my unhappy, bawling baby or it will die twenty minutes out of town in the back corner of a dark parking lot where the semi drivers sleep and I must trek into the gas station to ask a complete stranger to help me (don't ward a family from the ward just happened to be there), I got caught up on the Bachelor (my guilty pleasure), and ate instant mashed potatoes for every meal. Dan was at MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) in Montgomery. Yes, for the Navy. The Navy?! The Navy. We are pursuing the Health Professions Scholarship in the Navy and the Air Force (shh, don't tell our recruiters). Dan was put up in the fanciest hotel (potential Officer treatment), woken up at a sunshiney 4:00 AM, and had to waddle on his knees in his underwear for a crowd, obtain a urine sample with his five closest strangers while standing on a line of tape and being carefully watched, and other fun things. Oh, the things we do. We also sent in our official acceptance to VCOM!

Life is the biggest adventure. We love it.