Four months

I have a feeling our little guy is going to be quite the busybody. He is constantly on the move, even if it's in one place. Don't dare try to cradle him like a baby, hold him too tight, or "confine" him to a car seat, bouncy seat....any kind of seat. He is already scooting on the floor, and he "runs" in place when you hold him up. Bryan and I are convinced he would take off if he could only balance.

My days are spent in constant entertaining mode. Little guy doesn't like to be left alone, not for a second. If I must do something without him (meaning him sitting next to me) I am at least narrating the joys of folding laundry and cooking dinner. What used to take minutes (household tasks for example) now takes hours, and what used to take hours (getting ready, exercise, long and hot showers...) now takes minutes.

Not much like his laid-back parents, he is either in ecstatic laughter and smiles, or full-out frustration and tears (which usually seems to be just boredom or confinement). This makes for pretty tiring days, but extremely fun moments. Will he be a passionate soul?

All of this has pretty much been the case since birth, but it is so interesting to see more and more personality come out each month. I don't know what any of this means, and what it all will develop into, but I look forward to seeing who this little guy will become. I wouldn't change a thing. I thank the Lord daily, in amazement, that the Lord gave him to us.

He loves him

I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen Bryan teary. Yesterday when he came home from work Charlie reached for him. This was one of those times.

Charlie's first Auburn game


A lazy morning

and baby makes Three

Number one was spent in a Penske, moving across the country. Number two was celebrated in L.A. with an unknown pregnancy. Number three, although not so exciting, was a blessing in disguise. At first I was bummed that our air conditioning went out during the Southern heat wave, on our anniversary; but then I realized we could pack up and go to my parents home - pool, walking trails, workout room, and best of all, babysitters! Charlie wasn't the only one spoiled.

A glimpse of our babysitters

Pop (aka Big Charlie, but we think Pop will stick)

GG

Lacey couldn't wait to put boots on (Jamie's retired boots)

checking them out

shoes to fill

Old door

How will I ever blog about anything else? He is just too much fun.

It's

just

so

difficult!

success!

Charlie has been trying since birth to get his fingers - any or all - into his mouth. Finally this week we are having consistent success. Congrats little man!

Future top model?

While I'm on a blogging frenzy, I'll just post this because it's cute. I'm not very good at creating sweet, posed pictures, so the ones that end up here are more like outtakes. I had him sitting up, but he is only 3 months old......

He's a talker

These aren't just silly pictures of Charlie sticking out his tongue, this is actually the way he "talks". It is so fun to watch him (seemingly?) try so hard to form words as he twists and contorts his mouth, all the time his tongue right in the middle of it all. A video would do it better justice (I'll work on that). I could listen to his stories all day.

Wondering Eyes

We call them Charlie eyes.



It's rare that he is caught without them. Wide with wonder, they are constantly exploring and discoving something new.

There is that peculiar thing called a ceiling fan, the light beaming through the blinds, and street lights that pass overhead, creatures that bark, big trees and the sun above, new people that don't quite look, sound or even smell like mom or dad....... and this strange machine that they always put in my face to capture these eyes.

I wish I could see the world through them as he does. Sometimes I do get a glimpse.

Fifty-nine years

Happy Anniversary Gurney and Grandaddy


They met as kids, decades ago, as they both lived in the tiny town of Inglenook Alabama. Little Betty Joe Robinson spotted the charismatic James Weldon twirling his batton in front of his girlfriends house, trying to impress her of course.

Although the image is instilled in her mind today, at the time she wasn't impressed. Little did she know that only 8 years later she would marry this "lad" (as my Grandaddy might say).

They were only engaged 3 months because he says "she absolutely flipped over me". Although she describes it as simply a case of opposites attracting. She was always quiet and shy, and he was known for never meeting a stranger. They had a simple wedding at the home of her parents on July 31, 1948. Two years later they had a little girl, Donita, and four years after that came my mom, Gina Kay.

They have led a fascinating life that I hope to record here, so hopefully this story will grow. For now, I'll just address the story everyone wants to know - "why does your grandfather curl his mustache?". It seems like such an obvious question, it's the first thing everyone notices when meeting him. But I have honestly never given it much thought because it is just so, I don't know, Grandaddy. It just fits. He has always marched to his own beat. Only today did I ask him the reason he decided to sport this style. I guess he wasn't born with it.

When he was head of the art department at Loveman's some 30 years ago, he bought print materials from a man in New Orleans. The guy had a (Creole?) mustache that stuck straight out to the sides. When asked how he accomplished such a feat he told Grandaddy that he had to use a mustache wax that could only be found in Paris. Later, this man gave him a tube as a gift. Grandaddy, being the unabashed character that he is, tried it himself only to find that his mustache naturally wanted to curl. So he went with it. And he is still going with it. I wonder if it would even go straight? I'll never forget the mornings my brother, cousins, and I would sit at his bathroom door and watch him sculpt his 'stache.

I love how unique my Grandaddy is.

His wife is the perfect complement for him. He, the dreamer, and she, the realist. I love that Gurney (named this because my oldest cousin couldn't say "Granny") has always spoken honestly with me. She always seeks to do what is right, no matter how hard it might be. I'll never forget the time I took a case of makeup from their home when I was little. It wasn't something she used, and I'm sure she could have just let her grandaughter have it, but the truth was that I took it without asking (I even stuck it under my shirt!). She came to our house near tears to tell my mom what I had done. I'll never forget the shame I felt when apoligizing, but I'll especially never forget the look in her eye and the grace that abounded when she said, "I forgive you". It wasn't about the makeup anymore. Her unconditional love for me and everyone that she is around continues to flood my heart.

I sat down to write about many other things, and now can't believe I just wrote about a mustache and makeup, but I hope to return and fill in the blanks. There is much more to say about two of my favorite people in the world. I love you both!

He melts me

I hope he always looks to his dad the way he is here.


Sweet bedhead.

Happy Birthday Bryan

Today Bryan turns 30, and I thought I'd take a minute to wish him a very happy day!

I recently wrote about one of Bryan's talents - "computer stuff" (as we technically challenged refer to it). But we who know Bryan well know that he is quite multi-faceted. There is so much that I love about him.

I love that he is adventurous enough to pick up and move to the other side of the world, or the other side of the country not only for personal growth and exposure to new things, but also just for the fun of it.



I love the way he loves others. He is not quick to judge.
I love that he often engages a homeless person in a conversation rather than ignoring him.
I love that we are always nearly the last people to leave church because he says "wait, let me go talk to so and so".
I love the way he looks at his son, and the way his son looks at him.

I love that he doesn't mind if I'm a mess and in my pj's when he comes home.
I love watching his hands move when he plays the piano. I love that he loves music.
I love that he is an adventurous eater and is willing to eat anything I throw at him.
I love that he knows me better than anyone else and still likes me.
I love that his son looks like him.
I love our little life we lived together in CA, as well as the one we are making in Birmingham AL.

I love that, as a friend put it, he is quick to "see through the junk" and easily get to the bottom line of things.
I love that he doesn't care much about what others think of him.
I love that he is as calm and cool as they come.
I love that he is quick to forgive.

I love that he loves my friends almost as much as I do.
I love that he is willing to open his heart and life to anyone who takes the time to listen.
I love that he desires to know the hearts of others.


I love watching him enjoy good coffee and good beer
I am grateful for how he cleans the kitchen almost every night.
I am grateful for the naps he lets me take, and the diapers he changes.

I love how he not only loves Charlie and I, but really likes us too.
I love the picture of Christ to me he is.

I love Bryan Davis.

bright eyes

A lazy Saturday morning at almost 11 weeks.

Sleep

I miss it.

It has now been almost 10 weeks since I have had more than 2 1/2 hours of sleep at a time. This morning Bryan took the babe while I took a nap and I actually dreamed about......sleep.

Charlie doesn't take all the blame though. He has had a few 9-3 stretches, but B and I find it hard to jump in bed as soon as he goes down. We finally have a little time to ourselves. Case in point, it is after 11 pm and I am writing about sleep rather than enjoying it!

Drool Monster

He has many nicknames, but this is the latest.

An outdoor nap

Two things that Charlie loves. Sleep and the outdoors. And Mom loves a happy Charlie.

Overwhelmed

Whew. I now know what others have meant when they have said that the first few weeks of parenthood is spent in survival mode. Of all the books I have read and moms I have been around, nothing fully prepared me for this new phase of life. My world, as well as my heart, has been turned inside out. I thought I knew exhaustion. I thought I knew responsibility. I thought i knew love......

After all the countless nights that I thought I couldn't even sit up to feed Charlie again, after the many hours that I have bounced, rocked, and tried my best to console an unconsolable child, after crying tears of helplessness of my own, nothing could make me love my little one an ounce less. And to think that Christ sees me this same way? Even during the first few weeks as Charlie was clueless that Bryan and I even existed, I couldn't get enough of him. I didn't care that he didn't respond to any of my hugs and kisses. He still made my heart melt. And now as he looks at me and gives me that flirty smile of his......I don't have the words! Is this how Christ feels when we turn our gaze to Him?

B and I could sit and stare at our little guy for days and marvel at his newest "feats" - things that anyone other than a parent would think so small. Bryan called me in his room yesterday to show me how C had rolled over for the first time. Does the Lord get this excited about my own little feats? The things that myself or others see as a drop in the ocean?

Through all the work and stripping of self that being a parent has brought, I am most overwhelmed with this new found love. Love for my son, love for my husband now as a father, and love for the Lord who has so graciously loved me. I can't help it. And to think, He can't help it either?

Time flies

Happy one month little guy.

Trip to the Beach

We were not sure if we had gone crazy, or if we were in desperate need of a change of atmosphere when we decided to pack up and head to the beach last week. Maybe it was a little of both, but it was wonderful. Our routine did not change (feeding, diapering, catching an hour or two of sleep, repeating) but it was nice nonetheless. We only saw the beach a couple of times after dinner, but we lived on the balcony. Charlie seemed to love the warm breeze and sound of the ocean. Thanks to my parents and brother and sis in law for letting us use their place!

One Week

He left the hospital at 5 lbs., 9 oz but only 4 days later he was up to 6.1. He has a ferocious appetite!


He did not get these legs from me!



He has his daddy's feet.