One day when my little guy is too big to sit on my lap, I want to be able to remember these sweet days when he fit in my arms. And I really want to be able to remember the little parts of his personality and routine...since I'm sleep-deprived still, I will write some things down for future-me. You're welcome to listen in. :)
Shepard learned to share. It all started when we had our three-day snow-ice storm. On day two he developed a lovely chesty cough. By Friday of that week, he had a full-blown head cold with a low-grade fever. We spent the weekend trying to make him better...and then Mr. Nasty Cold decided to attack the usually-well immune systems of Daddy and me. It was inevitable with all the drool and sneezing. I'm hopeful that all of this mucus will help us build our immunity, but I'm on week #2 of the funk and am desperate to evict the mucus from my head. Shepard bounced back more quickly, but a quick glance of the noses in his daycare room reminds me that this might be the first of many germ-sharing opportunities. Sigh. One interesting thing has been that the first few days of his cold he would meet any attempts to wipe his runny nose with a squawk and a holler. Then I noticed him watching me as I was blowing and wiping my own nose with the tissue. After watching me a few times, he hardly notices a good nose wipe. Coincidence? I don't think so. I think it helped him understand why I kept coming at him with the white thing.
When we get home in the evenings, Shepard is generally tuckered out. I'm not sure if they have him running marathons all day? They assure me that he does nap. He is a good sleeper in general.
When we get home, he gets to sit and watch the fish tank for a few minutes while I put on a t-shirt. Don't want sweet potatoes on my work clothes. We say hello to Jerod/Daddy and may have a few minutes to play. Very few. He's usually already rubbing his eyes, so we get started on evening dinner. He gobbles up his puree like a wee bird. Meanwhile, the bottle is heating and I start to gather our nighttime stuff. Boppy pillow, burp cloth, pacifier, sleeper...and if it's a bath night...towel, washcloth, tub filled up and the splash zone is ready. Shepard checks himself out in the mirror and smiles and looks at me. I think he's really starting to understand the concept of "mirror."
Whew! Often, Daddy comes in during pajama time and gets some laughs by gnawing on Shepard's tummy with his goatee. Shepard is never still unless he's asleep, so getting jammies on is a challenge. If being a wiggle worm/kicker were a sport, Shepard would take all the medals. A funny aside: sometimes Shepard can be pretty fussy about getting his shirt on. I think it's because his little hands are momentarily taken out of range for grabbing stuff. So, this morning, Daddy thought it might be a good idea for Shepard to see HIM putting on his t-shirt. Kind of along the lines of the tissue thing. Maybe if he saw it in action, he'd understand it. We'll see if it works.
One of the best (and worst) parts of my day is when we settle into the glider and take the evening bottle. It's the best because I get a guaranteed 30 minutes of holding and gazing. The worst because I know he's about to go to sleep and I won't get any smiles, coos or laughs. It's just at 6 pm, and Shepard is sucking down his bottle. He really likes to twirl the hair that has recently grown right at the top of his head while he eats. If not that, then he grabs the burp cloth and rubs his forehead and eyes with it as the eyelids start to get heavy. By the time he's finished and we burp, his little head is drooping. Some nights he gets a short second wind and decides to play with my chin, mouth, nose and engage in some hair-pulling. He is all about exploring other people's faces these days. He typically drifts off within a few minutes as I sing him some songs and say a quick prayer. We're heading toward about 6:45 at this point...and we usually don't get another peep until about 4 - 5 am. And we get up around 6:15 am and start all over again when he wakes up "talking."
Such a sweet kid. I think we'll keep him.
What a sweet shot of Shepard's and Daddy's hands together. Saturday morning snuggles are the best!
