A Trip to the Grove

Yesterday was John's last day off before starting a new job so we thought we'd make the most of it. Apparently "making the most" of a free day in Los Angeles includes going to a mall. But not any mall, the Grove. I don't even think it counts as a mall. More like an outdoor extravaganza filled with a dancing fountain, a trolley, and an outdoor farmer's market. Sadly, Mario Lopez and "Extra" were on hiatus so we didn't get to see them filming on Main Street. All John really wanted was to say what's up to Slater.

Anyways, Jack's nap was cut short as we drove down there so most of the trip he sat in his stroller with a wide-eyed tiredness. Which was fine with me. Sedate is good in public!

We got to eat at our favorite establishment in the farmer's market and man, have I missed those Loteria tacos. Delicious.

And as long as we were there and it was 80 degress (as if I needed an excuse), I decided to follow that up with my favorite ice cream from the Bennett's Ice Cream stand - Fancy Nancy (coffee ice cream with banana and chocolate). Of course, I devoured it before I could take a picture. Classic Lisa, if I do say so myself.

After that we headed through the mall to the fountain so Jack could check it out. I figured he would like it as it combined two of his favorite things, music and water. John dutifully pushed the stroller along with the many many other parents and their kids. Our stroller may not have cost 900 bucks like some of the others, but it still did the job.

I think Jack was intrigued by the fountain but there certainly wasn't any gleeful gasps or anything. But again, he was exhausted.

After a lovely afternoon we packed it in and strapped the little guy in the car seat. Before I could get through the second round of the current camp song on rotation, he was passed out. Good job Jackie!

Feet!

Someone has found his feet. And, though he may not look it, he is super pleased about this new discovery. So far he hasn't been able to able put them in his mouth but he does have some seriously non-flexible parents.

Brunching at leisure

The past four months have been filled with take-out meals and what I can prepare in ten minutes with one hand. I think I've actually sat down in a real restaurant (real = waiters) two times since the little guy's been a part of this world. But all that is changing. Slowly. Today he actually let his dad and mom go to a restaurant, sit down, order brunch, and eat the whole thing at a normal pace. Of course, there were a few variables that had to have been in play for it to work. First, outdoor seating. A must since Jack loves looking around at everything. Two, fast fast service. I think our meal was at our table about 5 minutes after we ordered. But three, and most importantly, his new stroller! Well, not new as it's been sitting in the corner of our living room for five months. But new to him. We finally put him in his forward facing stroller and ditched the infant car seat one. I know it's a little early because he doesn't weigh that much (or is it? wait, am I supposed to read the directions?) but he loves it. Not surprising since he loves the Baby Bjorn because he can face out. So he smiled the whole time in his new ride and we got to have a very pleasant brunch. (which included the best pumpkin pancakes you will ever eat.) Thanks Jack!

First but not the last

Jack was practicing sitting up on the couch last night and he looked so cute. zthen we heard the telltale poop sound. No big deal. But then I say something pooling on the couch cushion next to him. Yes, he sprung a leak with some very runny poop. Good thing I had this miracle product called "Kid and Pet Stain Remover". "Guaranteed to remove all urine and feces stains." Indeed.

June 25th

Yesterday was our 6th wedding anniversary. Yes, this post is non-Jack related. Although, he certainly wouldn't be here without our six years of marriage. I'd like to say it seems like yesterday but, in most ways, it seems like a lifetime ago. Even though I still remember our wedding day really well. Best Wedding Ever. :) Happy Anniversary husband!

Today Jack is...18 weeks old.

18 weeks sounds old to me in some ways. But he's really only a bit over 4 months which I have to keep reminding myself is tiny. So it's okay that he can't sleep at all at night. It's okay that he can only be awake for 90 minutes at a time during the day. Even though it means we can't do much or go anywhere. Which is kind of a bummer. Because this week we ventured out to another baby park gathering with some moms and it was kind of fun. Less awkward than before and everyone was nice. Most of the babies were laying on a blanket and being happy and playing with toys. But the little guy alternated between needing a nap and refusing to take one, breastfeeding, and being cranky. Not his best showing. I mean, I'm not saying he was an embarrassment to me but...I expect better.

This week has been warm so we've logged some hours on the pool lounge chair. Jack seems to enjoy it quite a bit.

He also continues to enjoy Superbaby (who wouldn't?) so we're milking it as much as possible.

And now, more pics from this week!

The boys modeling the heather grey t-shirt trend

Smiling while listening to Louie Armstrong

#1 Draft Pick

Yesterday was the NBA draft which is always a big day for John. This year John was happy to have his son participate in the excitement. And I think the little guy truly enjoyed it.

4 Month Doctor's Visit

Another doctor's appointment, another 4 vaccines. He took them fairly well I have to say. He grew a normal amount and the doctor was happy with his progress. Here are his stats:

Weight - 13 pounds, 7 ounces
Height - 25 inches

I didn't get the percentiles this time but I think weight's around 35 or 40th and height is around 70th. The vaccines really are the greatest things for his naps because he sleeps like a log after them. Daddy took care of him all afternoon and then he awoke and was ready to party. In fact, he was moving so fact I couldn't get a picture in focus.

Meltdowns

I will admit that I am one of those people that is constantly afraid their baby is going to make a scene with a public meltdown. I assume this is something that fades with experienced moms who have more than one kid. But whenever I go anywhere with Jack, I fear a meltdown. He rarely has one, partially because they are rare for him and partially because I don't test the waters too often.

Lately, the past week or two, Jack has been pretty damn cranky during the day. Always seeming tired, easy to cry, etc. I know it's because he's sleeping like crap during the night and therefore isn't well rested and happy during the day. I'll post more on that later. But this past week I really needed to go to the mall to get a wedding present so I decided to risk taking Jack out. We make outings every day to Starbucks, the grocery store, etc. and he is usually great. Super excited to see everyone and everything. I figured the mall would be even more exciting with more to look at. As we walked into Macy's he started cooing which is always a good sign. We took the escalator down to the Home department, started walking around and BAM, without warning, crying and screaming. And not just the whiny cry. For some reason he went into the high-pitched "I'm in pain" cry. He wasn't but I am sure he was just trying to make his mom look like she was abusing him to the many many eyes that turned to face us. I tried to calm him but it didn't work so I beelined to the nearest exit which emptied into the mall. I figured we could just stroll around and he would look at things and mellow. Wrong again. Even louder crying and bratty teenagers staring at me. I have to say that this was all quite a change from the usual gooing and ga-ga'ing I get from strangers for my cute kid. No, these were stares of pity and eye rolling, depending on the age group. I fought to find an exit to the outside because the one thing that always works for the little guy is outdoors. He loves it. We made our way outside, my post-partum out of shape legs walking as fast as I could. Of course, as luck would have it, the outside didn't calm him for a second. It was just his time to have a meltdown and he would be damned if his mom would stop him. Stubbornness. His is so strong it's admirable. So I did the only thing I felt like doing, walked the mile back to the car in the mall parking garage, put him in the car seat, and drove him home with him crying the whole time.

So, a meltdown. Not terrible because there were escape routes. But for the next few nights I have had nightmares about flying with him. We will be doing that very soon. Trapped on a plane for 6 hours with no bouncing ball, no pool fountains, no trees to distract him. I'm thinking about just taking three Dramamine and passing out and hoping that John does his best.

First Father's Day

We thoroughly enjoyed our first father's day though it was fairly uneventful. The little guy has been fairly fussy lately so it was just about managing his moods all day. Though John and Jack got some good pool time on the warm day.

The dynamic duo also got to practice Jack's new move which I like to call "Superbaby". His head and core muscle strength is amazing. He can hold his body super straight for a really long time.

But it was a great day and a celebration of one of the best dads I know. John has been amazing with Jack and it's so fun to watch. It's nice to see his eyes light up when he gets home from work and sees Jack. And it's adorable to watch Jack respond with glee. The little guy's favorite daddy/son activity is probably when my perfectly indie rock husband puts on his favorite record, turns it up really loud, and dances around with him. I am so grateful to have a husband who is so interested in participating in every aspect of parenthood. And one who has helped keep me sane through all the sleepless nights and hours of crying. Sometimes, in these early months, Jack will only take solace and be soothed by me which I know is hard on my husband who is always volunteering to help me. What he doesn't realize is, even though he can't take the kid off my hands all the time, he is helping me more than he knows by just being by my side and soothing me in the middle of the night when I'm done soothing Jack.

4 Months Old!

Four months old and the kid keeps getting more and more expressive. Amazing. This month's little photo shoot contained so many faces and expressions that I had trouble narrowing them down. I could have posted 20 but here's my favorites.

And because his 4-month birthday fell on father's day, some bonus pics of daddy and son.

Today Jack is...17 weeks old.

On the eve of the little guy's 4 month birthday, he is still having lots of cute moments and a few fussy ones. This post will have to be brief because I'm exhausted and need to go to bed. That's right folks, we're talking about sleep again. For some reason, Jack decided to slide downhill this week where his sleep is concerned. Whereas we used to get an initial 4 hours then maybe 2 1/2. We now get only two hours at a time and then he's up to eat. This has made for a fairly cranky mommy the past couple of days but we're all surviving. He does take naps well during the day but he still likes it when I hold him. And by "likes" I mean that's the only way he'll nap. But that's okay. He looks like an angel when he sleeps.

He still loves his drool bubbles and I think I captured that activity pretty well this week.

The new thing that Jack has learned to do with his body is arch his back and lift his back and butt off the ground. He does it laying on the changing table, on the sofa, and he'll do it as he slinks down the couch from a sitting position. Here he is in action.

And now, more pics from this week!

Like Father, Like Son

Jack seemed really taken with the beer aisle in the grocery store this weekend. We'll see how this progresses...

California Baby

Jack loves his baths but for a good deal of the time he's in there, he's always distracted by one thing - California Baby. The soap/shampoo we use for him sits on the edge of the tub where he can see it. The brand is California Baby (a local organic thing we got as a gift) and the front of the bottle looks like this:

Ever since he saw that little girl, it's been love at first sight. He can't take his eyes off of her most of the time. Hopefully one day he'll find a girl his own age just as pretty.

Staring intently at the California Baby

What a difference 4 weeks makes

This past weekend we went down to San Diego again. Four weeks after our disastrous car trip that ended in a one way train ticket back to LA. But the little guy had been doing so much better in the car so I had high hopes. Turns out he killed it. Just nailed the car ride down. Two hours without a single cry. He slept for about 30 minutes but the rest of the time we just played in the back seat and sang songs. It was heavenly. Oh, and he took a pacifier.

We had a great time in San Diego though, sadly, I didn't document most of it. I went to a baby shower on Saturday where I stupidly took not a single picture of the mommy-to-be Nikki, nor none of my friends, but I did take a photo of the giant dinosaur made out of diapers.

John watched Jack during that time (about 3 1/2 hours) and it was the longest I'd been away from him. I'd like to say I missed him (ok, I did a little) but it sure was amazing to eat a meal with two hands and at my leisure. I met back up with John and Jack afterwards and found this scene.

Dads and their babies. Pretty cute. We hung out with my family at night and didn't take a single picture. But I got to see my cute nephew and very pregnant sister-in-law so it was fun.

The next day I had another baby shower and, because this time I was juggling Jack, didn't get to take many pictures. But here are a few that I grabbed on my phone.

Guest of honor with her cute son Simon.

Taryn and Jack...their first meeting.

Jack getting a lot of attention from the other kids.

Soft focus pic courtesy of Stacey. Thanks for the filter.

The drive back to LA was not as smooth as the first, only because we hit traffic and a two hour drive took almost three and a half. We had to stop half way to feed him because he was going ballistic. And then about 20 minutes from home he freaked out again. But again, he slept a little! No complaints here. He's an angel.