Lee's First Christmas, Part III

We wrapped up the holidays at Papa Bill's house, and had a wonderful day.  Lee's second cousin, Patrick, was there, and we got to laugh at how different they are, even though they are only two weeks apart.  We enjoyed a great meal, and relaxed in front of ESPN on the new hi-def TV (that was especially relaxing for the guys).

  

Lee's First Christmas, Part II

Lee had another great day in Acworth with the Wilkes clan when we returned home from Memphis.  Aunt Lin-Lin had the inside scoop on these blocks, and Lee does love playing them.

Aunt Lin-Lin made two books for Lee that Mommy really loves!  (I know Lee will, too. :) )

Couldn't resist including this one of Aunt Lala and Brant in the crib upstairs.

My sister-in-law, Lauren, got engaged over the Christmas holidays!!!  We are all so happy for them, and can't wait for Pat (Uncle Pat-Pat) to be an official member of the family in 2009.  We love you both!

Lee's First Christmas, Part I

Since we are always fascinated by Lee, we found Christmas morning to be especially fun.  Two things were cute:

1.  We brought Lee in and set him down on the floor, and he immediately picked up one of his new toys and started playing with it.  Okay, he was putting it in his mouth, but same thing, right?

2.  When I opened his gifts, he would sit in my lap and help tear away the paper.  This was nice fore the gift givers to see, since he appeared to be excited about all of his presents.

The Presentation of the Toys

Christmas came early for Lee when we went to meet his cousins from Maryland for the first time.  Logan and Clara were very excited about meeting "Babilee".  They brought many of their toys from younger years to share with him.  It was so cute to watch them bring each toy to Lee.  His little brain had hardly had time to register a new toy when one of them arrived to remove that toy and show him another one.  When they had exhausted the toys they brought, they began rummaging through the toys at Toddy's house, looking for any offering that was remotely age-appropriate.  Summers and holidays are certainly going to be fun with this bunch!!

Who ya rootin' for? M-S-U!

Ok, so I am not going to teach Lee to call it Memphis State, but here are some cute pics of him watching his first Memphis State basketball game with dad.  He is sitting up so tall and becoming a little guy!  The Tigers lost to Georgetown in overtime, but he will still be their biggest Atlanta fan.

  

I succumbed to the box

Last week, I tried my hand at making homemade (organic, of course) rice cereal for Lee's first food.  I either did not follow the recipe correctly, or rice is just too sticky, or I used the wrong grain, but it was clearly beyond Lee's first-time eating abilities.  While he seemed to enjoy the taste of the cereal, and playing with the cereal, he did not actually enjoy eating the cereal.  This week, I gave in, bought a box of flakes, and he is taking it nicely.  He strangely does not have a huge appetite yet, but he takes a killer nap after lunch!

And, fear not; I am not totally discouraged with my baby food-making attempt.  Next week, I will be trying my hand at applesauce and some veggies.  We should get some more fun pictures from those!

The Dance of the Porcupine

I was reading yesterday about how porcupines hurt even each other with their quills, except for a short time before mating season.  During this time, they "may touch paws and even walk on their hind feet in the so-called 'dance of the porcupines'.  Only God could have thought up two porcupines fox-trotting paw-to-paw, where no one but they and he will ever see."

I am thankful today for the special moments that God seems to have created for just Lee and me.  I have tried to capture these moments on film, so others can experience them and so I will not forget, but it seems impossible to do.  When he sees I am going to share him with another, he stops and looks at me so seriously.  "Why are you doing that, Mom?"  Reading about the porcupines and thinking about God's enjoyment of their dancing made me realize that He may have created these times for me to enjoy when I am feeling discouraged with my new job.  They are to remind me that I would have missed this completely had I not taken this scary step out of the corporate world into the unknown world of Mothering.

The Buccinator

My sister Elise is studying anatomy this semester, and has informed me that the cheek muscles, known as the buccinator muscles, are especially strong in breast-fed babies.  As anyone who has been reading our blog can attest, we have a baby with some well-developed buccinators!  In fact, I have begun calling Lee "The Buccinator".  Said with the inflection of Arnold Schwarzenegger, his tag line is "I'll. eat. that."

38 Days

"...I have calmed and quieted myself..."  Psalm 131:2a

After many long weeks of sleep training for Lee (and myself), I think it is finally safe to say Lee takes naps.  If you had told me back then how long it would take, I may not have done it.  Isn't it often that way when we are challenged to discipline ourselves?  But now, I have a little boy who is happy to play and smiles at me when he wakes.  Thank you, Lord.  We are having a lot of fun these days!

The spitting image of my Papa Bill

Walkie, No Laughie

So far, Lee does not like to smile for the camera unless he has been tricked into it.  Check this one out...He was literally screaming before we started filming!

Dedicated

This past Sunday, we were part of a dedication service at Buckhead Church.  We dedicated Lee to the Lord and promised to raise him to (hopefully) love the Lord.  We hope he will one day become a Christian, and we will do what we can to help that happen.

  

The day was filled with festivities, beginning with church (Waumba Land for Lee) and Lee's first brunch at J. Christopher's.  Not sure why, but Lee slept through the brunch!  (He did have his own brunch before we left the church...)

  

Lee made it to the big screen!  He was very attentive during the dedication message.

Of course, Lee had the largest family contingent.

With the godparents, Brenton and Annie

Family photo

It's been a long day - I'm ready for a nap!!

Unfolding

A little guy with his own personality is unfolding.

I love watching.

Starting to Sit

More evidence that our days of unattended Lee are drawing to a close.  Where is the Pack-N-Play?!

Rolling Over, Part 2

Our camera is been broken for the past few weeks.  Until we get a new one, I am teaching myself how to upload videos to the blog, so we can keep posting about Lee.  This video answers the question posed in "Rolling Over!":  Was Lee's rolling over an accident?  Well, I don't know about the roll on Oct 21, but by this past weekend, he could be coaxed into doing it pretty consistently.  I think I tried to Skype everyone we knew Saturday morning, to show them his new trick!

Nap Time?

For the past month, Lee and I have been teaching ourselves to enjoy his nap time. I say it has been a training for both of us, because I think that - ultimately - the training has been for me. The first two weeks, I was selfishly wanting to get things done around the house, but I was unsure about my feelings regarding the "crying it out" technique. (I am still convinced that Lee could sense my hesitation.) After our four-month visit to the pediatrician, we started over, and stuck out a long week together.

What this sleep training has shown me is that I am already having to decide what kind of parent I will be (I thought the hard stuff came later?). Recently, a friend mentioned to me that he has often been led astray simply by choosing to take the path of least resistance. Boy, would I have liked to be taking the path of least resistance with nap time the past few weeks! But this will not necessarily teach Lee what he needs to learn, so I now know I will have to guard against the temptation to put off Lee's lessons until later just to make things easier on myself.

Apparently, God has a few things to teach me as I travel down this road of becoming a parent.

Am I the most enormous baby you ever saw?

'Nuff said.

Road Trip to Chapel Hill

This weekend, the entire Harris clan made our way to Chapel Hill for Elise's Tri-Delt Parents Weekend (ok, Chloe and I are not parents, but practically!). Lee made the trek, as well, and was the hit of the show wherever he went!

SHOTGUN!!!

Watching UGA vs. LSU with Daddy (but supporting the home team, UNC)

At my first brunch with Uncle Jason

I think I'll have...the menu!