Joseph's First Flu

Letters to Joseph-February Addendum
Feb 26
Dear Joseph,

First off, I should mention that at the time of your flu that I'm about to tell you about, you couldn't sit up on your own...this photo is just to demonstrate how grumpy you were. Not intolerably grumpy, just expectedly slighltly grumpy. But now, since you are feeling so much better, you are happy go lucky and can sit up for a long time by yourself...you must feel a renewed vigor! So...
In February, you got your first real fever. You had a touch of the flu. It all started when we were at Alex and Brianna’s wedding. We were having all kinds of fun dancing around with you, when we began to realize that you were shaking a little. This FREAKED us out and then we realized that you had the chills and were getting a fever. So I sat down and nursed you…this was a trick because I had a formal dress on, and then you threw up on that dress. Your Dad says I panicked a little at this point, but really I just wanted to take you home right that minute. So we got into the Mercedes (I mention this because it is nice and shakey since it’s old and it puts you right to sleep) and I sat in the back with you and held your hand until we got home.
You had a fever all the next day and I think I took your temperature every 15 minutes…I know I’m a freak. We put a cool cloth on your forehead and your fever was at about 100-101 degrees. It did get up to 101.5 at which point I called the consulting nurse. She said that I shouldn’t give you baby Tylenol until it got to 102, but I ignored her and gave it to you anyway. You felt better and we almost all better by the next day. THEN, your Dad got the flu from you…HE had a 102 temp for 2 days and had it much worse than you. I felt like friggin Florence Nightengale around here for a while there!
Here’s to the Spring and some warmer weather!
Love, Mom

Letters to Joseph-February Part Two

February 25, 2007

Dear Joseph:

This week has been so fun because you have still have been consistently flipping over from your back to your front and then from your back to your front! You play and play in your crib and under your gym. AND, this very week you started sitting on your own. We have to get you started, but you all of a sudden have so much balance. You also are standing in your crib with your hands on the railings. Full disclosure here…you are so mobile that once this week, I left you on the bed, and just as I was coming back, I heard, kerplunk!...not too loud, but I knew you’d fallen off the bed. FORTUNATELY, you fell onto Liam’s bed, so it broke your fall and you only cried for a minute. I hope you don’t read over these letters thinking, sheesh, my mom dropped me a lot!...but I’m putting these things down so that when your baby falls off the bed, and you ask me if that ever happened to you, I can tell you exactly that it did happen and when! And, no, I haven’t dropped you on your head. You also have discovered your ‘bits’ as your Dad calls them…it makes you laugh. You belly laugh a lot and smile freely at everyone you meet. I also discovered that you love ice. It’s a little dangerous to give you an actual piece of ice because you could choke, so I put it in this sort of contraption that’s meant for kids to eat fruit though, it’s kind of a netted pouch with a handle. It must feel good on your gums and that must mean that you’re going to cut teeth soon. Now, this is another thing that will embarrass you when you are older, but you will discover when you become a father, that every little thing that your children do, is of the utmost interest…including poop. And when it comes to poop, you don’t do it much. Ever since you were about 2 months old, you have only pooped about once a week. Now, this makes for easier parenting…but has brought some worry. Your dear Dr. Danielson keeps telling us that it’s normal. OK! Fine. We have started to put you down to sleep as much as we can and I sing and hum to you…sometimes I sing Tu La Loo Ra Loo Ral, and sometimes Stake Awake, from Mary Poppins. Last week, I had a meeting at St. Marks, and your Grandpa Steve took you on a long walk all around Capitol Hill. He took you to the Conservatory, to Broadway, and just around the neighborhoods. It was a beautiful sunny day and he was delighted with how interested in everything you were. He loves you so much. Your Dad wants me to put that you are just such a happy little joyous boy and he loves you more than anything ever! As do I…you bring a new kind of marvelous peace, excitement, and joy to our lives.

Love, Mom

Letters to Joseph-February Part One

Dear Joseph:

February 2007

February 19, 2007
Hi Sweet Baby…today is February 19th and today you started rolling over by yourself consistently. Right now you are under your ‘gym’ and I set you there on your back and you rolled right over and started playing with your train. You used to get a little hung up on your arm, but now you’ve got it figured out! Today, while trying to get you to sit by yourself, because you like to stand better, I set your hands on the side your crib and you stood there holding yourself up!

We just back from our first overnight trip to the Cabin with you. We got there Saturday early afternoon and we put you in the backpack and I walked you down ‘below’…that’s what we call the lower pasture. You were fascinated by all of the trees and leaves and light. Liam rollicked all around us and you just had so much fun!

Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Norm were up at the Cabin too, and they loved watching you love the Cabin!

You are also making so many new sounds…ahhhhh, eeeee, owwwaahhh!

We snuggled you in the rocking chair by the wood stove and I nursed you all wrapped up in my shawl. Before it got rainy and windy, we sat around the campfire outside of the Airstream. The trees were blowing in the wind and the sun was just setting. I knew this was one of the most sweet moments of life right then.

On Sunday, you played on a quilt on the floor while I made egg soufflé on the wood stove. What a relaxing fun weekend.

Letters to Joseph-January

Dear Joseph:

January 2007

One of your favorite things to do now is have your pants and/or diapers taken off and to grab your feet and put them in your mouth! In fact, pretty much anything you can get your hands on goes into your mouth. You grab my hair, my necklace, my fingers…and put them in your mouth! You are also quite the drooler. Grandma Joyce made you 3 bibs to control the drool, but you soak them right through…I guess this means teeth soon! You like to lie under your ‘gym’ and pull on the toys hanging over your head. You also have started to like to have ‘tummy time’ on a blanket on the floor…usually for about 5 minutes. I can even prop you up a little and you sit for a few seconds on your own.

This month I’ve started working on several different projects and it’s been a bit of a trial to get in a groove with that. You’ve come to a lot of meetings with me and you’ve been pretty content, but as you get more and more active, it’s harder to bring you along, besides, no one pays attention to what I’m saying because they are staring at YOU. I work one day on the Homeless Place of Remembrance and four hours for Mithun. Even though it’s not much, it’s hard to squeeze it in. You are beginning to go and stay with Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Norm more often and they love it!

Now, I must tell you about the week we had from heck. It first started with you getting your second round of shots…it went OK, but it was just stressful, so it put me ill at ease…I think that’s why, when visiting Aunt Malia and Cousin Henry for lunch, we tumbled down their porch stairs! We were OK, Cousin Henry was concerned though, because we had taken quite a spill. I skinned my knee and you tumbled into the yard while strapped into your car seat…the handle was up which was good because it functioned like a ‘roll bar’ and you were only startled. Then we both got colds. This was on the heels of you being dropped by your dear friend Indi…I should mention that this was NOT her fault…she was so excited to see you that she wanted to hold you. She took you from your Dad and then tripped over some boxes…you both went down, clunk, but the boxes broke your fall. Again, you weren’t hurt, only startled and we nursed and you were fine.

Later that week, your Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Norm had a bad car accident…they were ALSO ok which was really a miracle, because they were hit by a semi-truck! We rushed up to the emergency room to see them in Everett…you were totally calm. Grandpa Steve happened to be over when we got the call, and he just walked you around the ER. That was your first trip to the hospital…most babies can’t say that. I must admit, my patience with the events of this month has been thin…I can honestly say though, that I haven’t yet lost patience with you…you are really typically content and pleasant in every way. I’m sure it will happen eventually, but you are the calming element to this month! Sometimes when I’m really stressed out, we just take a bath…you love to float in the warm water and we have time to relax. You feel so comfortable in the water, that sometimes when I hold you lightly on your stomach and you float, you dip your face in…which makes you cough and snort. This might make a baby cry, but you don’t and you haven’t stopped doing it yet.

The crazy weather of this winter continued this month…two pretty big snow storms! One blanketed our house and made us miss a pediatrician’s appointment, and with the other one, we were at a meeting and had to hurry home in the snow. You fell asleep for the trip home, but we were going up a hill, and we got stuck with a van with bald tires in front of us. I was not my usual sunny self to him as he almost hit us…I just didn’t want him to bonk us and wake you up!

Looking back over the month, and believe me, this is the version that I’m trying to put a positive spin on…there’s much more grown-up drama that I’m trying to gloss over…it’s been a crazy one. I’m ready for warmer weather and fewer accidents and storms! All the same, cue music, when I look into your eyes or watch you sleep, I feel safe and happy. I breathe in your sweet scent and nuzzle your little ‘sciff’ of hair and all is well.

Letters to Joseph-December

Dear Joseph:

December 2006

Your First Christmas!
We have had so much fun this month doing all sorts of Christmas things. One of the first things we did was to take you up to the Cabin and get our Christmas Tree. This was our first trip with you to the Cabin and we went with Gretchen and Andre Champoux. It was a pretty cold day, so we went right in to Uncle Clyde’s cabin and built a fire in the stove. I sat with you on the rocking chair and nursed you. Then we cooked lunch and you snoozed in the Moby wrap. We finally went to cut down our tree and you slept right through the whole thing.

When we got home and put the tree up though…you LOVED it. You stare at the lights and are transfixed.

This month you are totally grasping toys and starting to grab for our food a little. I want to put off feeding you solid food for as long as possible though…here’s why:
1. This creates more work for me.
2. I like the idea that all of your makeup has come directly from me to this point. As soon as you get food from other sources, you will become directly connected to the food chain. As it is right now, I’m your link to the food chain and I love that intimacy. I am savoring it because I know soon you will become more independent.

You also have started to ‘vocalize’…this means goo goo and gaa gaa. You stick out your little upper lip and make lots of sounds. Your Dad and I repeat them and we all laugh, including you…that’s another thing you are doing a lot of…laughing heartily!

My original plan was that come January, I would go back to work at Mithun almost full time. As that time inches nearer, we have decided that it will be too difficult to have other people take care of you while I pine for you at work. The new plan is that I’ll work from home some fewer hours per week and go back to work when you are one year of age. I am so grateful and blessed to have this time with you and I intend to savor every minute of every day.

This has been a crazy weather winter so far…we had an amazing wind storm that was the strongest in ten years. Now I know you love wind, but easy! Lot of trees fell in our neighborhood and the power went out all over Seattle. We held you tight in bed with us and we stayed warm.

More Christmas stuff…We brought you to see Santa where Grandpa Steve works…Swanson’s Nursery. Santa decided to make an appearance in his sleigh and you sat in his lap and he wondered when you might be wishing for a tennis racket? We told him maybe next year. They also have Santa’s Reindeer at Swanson’s and you stared at them and thought they were pretty cool too.

On Christmas morning, we got up and went out to the Christmas Tree…Santa had come and brought you presents!!! He brought you:
A Sock Monkey
A Wooden Train
Some Animal Figures (Polar Bear, Cow, White Tiger, Elephant)
A Walking Elephant that clicks down a ramp
Some Bath Toys (A Giraffe and Elephant that float with little giraffes and elephants on their backs)
Some Clothes (I KNOW….booorrring), but as a Keene, “it wouldn’t be Christmas without clothes”
Wooden Block Fruit
And a few other things….

After we had our own little Christmas Morning, the rest of the family came over and we opened presents with them. Your Auntie Ali and Uncle Oogie sent you a Polar Bear outfit and you wore that and jumped in your Johnny Jump Up which you still love.

It was magical to have you with us on Christmas Morning, and even though this is all new to you and you don’t quite understand yet…you bring all of the brightness and joy to this holiday now and forever.

New Year's Resolutions

I'm publishing this list in part, because I don't want to forget about it...also, it seems like if I share it with you...I'll be more likely to follow through! This year is all about quality of life, simplicity, and frugality. The latter is the price I'm gladly paying for being able to spend time with Joseph, but sometimes it might mean that I have to decline on fun things that cost alot of dollars. Be assured, this is not a life long goal, I'll never be frugal to the core.

Money/Home

1. Be CHEAP this year.
2. Grow Food/Can Food
3. Go to Farmer’s Markets
4. Buy Organic wherever possible (I know it's not cheap to do so, but this is important because we dont' want nasties going into Scrumptious' body)
5. Eat wisely
6. Cook at Home
7. Sew and Knit for us and gifts wherever possible
8. Use materials you already have or buy used items
9. Get rid of stuff and have yard sale
10. Airstream!

Personal/Professional

1. Publish a Zine 4 times this year (book fodder) I know this is a new idea coming from me...but just wait and see
2. Exercise every day (even a walk with Joseph)
3. Sort through mags and make idea binder (getting rid of mags along way)
4. Use the Library alot
   

Family

1. Be kind and calm
2. Show love with abandon
3. Enjoy every day with Joseph
4. Keep journaling for Joseph
5. Limited Movies/TV…no TV in front of Joseph (and knit or sew or project during a movie)
6. Eat dinner at the table

Knitting-Current Projects

These are my current projects...the two skein photo is a little scarf for Joseph...requested by Clay. It's a wool/bamboo yarn which is super soft and I'm just doing a simple garter stitch. Half will be orange and half will be blue and there will be a little slit in the middle of the blue so the orange half can slip through. The hat project is for my massage therapist's baby Raena. Tami and Paco are the parents and they were in our birth class...this yarn is super soft and it's such a pale pink that I had to make something cute out of it. I'm going to hang a little felted red heart from the tip for valentines day.

My Knitting Projects-First Sweater!

Heather inspired me by posting her knitting projects...so I'm copying her. This is the back and front of the little boy's sweater that I made for little baby Weston Reynolds. It's a boat neck and when I tried it on Joseph, the neck seamed a little flimsy, so I added Sock Monkey print closures and buttons. I must note that I taught myself how to sew the seams with the diagrams on the pattern and they are SO good, pat on the back to me.

Letters to Joseph-November Part Two

Nov 28

Last week was your first Thanksgiving and we dressed you up in a button up white shirt and vest just like your Dad. Auntie Allison and Uncle Eugene came to visit all week long and we went all over the place! We visited REI, the Antique Mall (that seems to be your favorite haunt these days), the Kingfish Café, the Seattle Art Museum, the butterfly exhibit at the Pacific Science Center, the Hi Life restaurant, and lots more. We also hung out at Auntie Heather's neighborhood coffee shop (Auntie Heather of your favorite Heather Feather Sweater). You thought the lighting there was very interesting. Your Auntie Allie carried you to all of these places in the Baby Bjorn…we couldn’t rip you from her arms, not that we wanted to, you can't thwart love like that…she loves you SO much! She sings a song called ‘I Love Joseph All the Time’. Now that she’s back in New York, she misses you all to bits and she tells me that when she sees your picture on her computer screen that she wants to eat it up!

A couple of days ago we had a snow storm which is of course your first snow…it was very cold so we stayed inside and looked at it out of the window. We missed your 2 month well child check because it was too snowy to drive, so we went today instead. Dr. Danielson says you are doing SO well. He was very impressed with your head control, and when I told him that you’ve turned over from your back to your front twice (your Grandma Joyce was here and we witnessed your first roll, and you rolled over for Dad this morning), he told me that usually babies don’t do that until 4 months old. You weigh 13 lbs 2 oz now…4 lbs more than when you were born!...and you grew 2” also. He did tell me that I need to practice setting you down to be by yourself a little. He said, “Well, you can’t hold him 24 hours a day”…but the thing is that we DO. We just love the way it feels to hold you while you sleep…you are so peaceful and your face can only be described as angelic. But now, if we set you down, you wake up after 15 minutes. SO, I suppose that he’s right, but we’ll take it slow because I absolutely can’t stand it when you cry.

I admitted to Dr. Danielson that we’d had a little ‘accident’ or two…now, I only mention these because some day when you have a baby, I want you to know that it’s only human to experience this…so I’m told, but when it happens, it feels like the end of the world. I should also request that you NOT hold these incidents against us some day…come on, we’re being honest here. The first one happed when I was taking you out of the bath…I slipped a little on the bathroom floor and I pressed you into the infant bath a little with my thumbs into your armpits. I think my face of surprise scared you more than anything. I was so scared that I’d crushed something in your little body. Of course I’d called the nurse to tell her…she laughed and said you’d be fine. The next one was pretty minor. We’d just gotten your bouncy seat (which you aren’t very interested in right now) and you and I were lying on the bed. I wanted to put you in it so you could see what I was doing so I went into the living room to get it…when I picked it up from behind, I thought it was a little heavy, but I didn’t look inside. I brought it into the bedroom and set it on one side of the bed and started to walk around to where you were. But you started SHREIKING! I ran to you and I’d set the edge of it down on your arm…this wouldn’t have mattered but that the GIRL CAT was sitting inside and was weighing it down on top of you. Once again, you weren’t injured. THEN, there was one more that was my fault (we’ll get to your Dad next)…I had you all wrapped up in the baby sling and we went downstairs to do laundry…I reached for some clothes and felt you slip out of the bottom! I had one arm around you already and my instinct was to squeeze to catch you…I did that, but I think I felt your little body swing out. It happened so fast and you didn’t actually fall, but I think I might have caught you by the neck (EEK!!!). This time I was almost hysterical when I called the nurse…again they laughed and said you’d be fine. In retrospect, I think maybe I squeezed your shoulders when you were slipping. Well, I guess your Dad’s accident was less his fault than my accidents…all that happened was that he was carrying you and you banged your head into his glasses…but I never drew blood during my accidents and with this one you got a little scrape. Here’s to no more accidents…don’t be rolling off the bed or anything please. Dr. Danielson says this is all normal and that we should expect more of them…we’ll do our best to keep them to a minimum though!

Anyway, I digress…so then you had to have FOUR shots at the doctor’s office. I was so worried because I knew it would hurt you and that we would both cry. But the nurse gave them to you so fast that you barely knew what was happening. I’d waited for a while to feed you so that you would be really hungry, so I fed you right after the shots and you felt better. Now you have Daffy Duck band aids on your legs. You seem to be sleeping a little extra today…you’re laid across my lap as I type this. Your Dad is in Portland tonight, so it’s just you and me.

Earlier I was typing with you sleeping in your car seat (this is my new attempt to set you down, it lasted about 15 minutes) and you started crying. I brought out a stuffed doll that your Grandma Joyce gave you…we just christened it ‘Magical Happy Fairy Doll from France’…this doll gives you all kinds of love and sings the Magical Happy Fairy Doll from France song which entails a lot of kissing you and jumping around. You were pretty fascinated I must say…this is the first toy I’ve gotten you into (your Dad plays with you with stuffed bowling pin animals that he’s named Lewis and Darby…one is a monkey and one a giraffe). You looked and looked at me and then Magical Happy Fairy Doll…it really made you interested and you stopped crying. You have the brightest most curious eyes and the way you head bobs around, taking it all in is pretty amazing.

You are developing in all sorts of ways…this morning I tried out the Johnny Jump Up on you. My Mom and Dad used to go camping with me and hang me from tree branches in the Johnny Jump Up…so when I saw a vintage one on EBay a few years ago, I bought it right away. It’s yellow with a red kangaroo on it. Grandma Joyce thinks you might be a little to young for it, but I watch you like a hawk as always (yes, another ploy to set you down). I’ve tried bouncy seats and battery powered swings to get you to settle down by yourself, but so far the Johnny Jump Up has been the best. I think you like it because when you move your legs, you’re affecting your own movement as opposed to being passive in something that’s jiggling you or swinging you. Liam the Dog comes up and gives you wet kissed because you’re right at his level when you’re in it.

What a fun month…on to Christmas!

Love, Mom

Letters to Joseph-November Part One

Dear Joseph:

November 6

November is upon us already. I know everyone keeps telling me that I should savor your babyhood because it goes by so fast…I can’t believe how true that is. Next month, if not before, you’ll be grasping toys!

It’s a rainy rainy week and you have a runny nose, so we’re hibernating a little. We just walked under the skylights in our bedroom and you looked and looked at them and listened to the rain falling on them. You also gaze at the hanging paper sun lantern that I thought I might try to use as a focal point during your birth. Sometimes you like to be all bundled up and bounced near the black and white photographs of your Dad’s side of the family. You stare at them like you know them. This makes your Dad very happy.

Last week we went to Grandpa Steve’s house on his day to take care of Cousin Henry. It’s so beautiful in his studio since it’s so high up above Ravenna Boulevard which is lined with Horse Chestnut trees. The bay of windows in the front of the studio look right into those trees which are all yellow and orange right now. Your Grandma Joyce and I brought you up there to visit and there was such a warm glow about the whole event. Your Grandpa sat you and Henry on his lap while he rocked you in your Great Great Grandfather Hot’s old wooden rocking chair. Grandpa Steve read you boys a book about an Angus dog and a duck by Marjorie Flack. You are oh so loved.

On Saturday, I decided that I needed to have a haircut…so your Dad took you to the Antique Mall and strolled you around. He tried to give you a bottle, but we think you didn’t like it because it was too cold. We also think that this made you mad, because your poor Dad called me during the haircut sounding desperate and I could hear you crying in the background. He brought you in and I held you and you calmed right down. Sometimes I think you just need to be with me to feel content. Soon you’ll learn to let your Dad comfort you and sometime even after that, you’ll learn to make yourself content.

Letters to Joseph-October

Dear Joseph…

I’m writing this letter to tell you about your second month…October.

Your Dad stayed home with us until you were three weeks old, then he had to go back to work and it was just you and me during the days. We started forming a routine as much as we could.

You usually would wake up around 7am and your Dad would take you out of bed and spend an hour with you so that he wouldn’t miss you so badly while he was at work and so I could have a little time to myself to stretch out in bed or sleep on my stomach which I haven’t been able to do for so long. Then you would come back to bed and we would sleep for another hour or so. Then we would wake up and you would nurse for a while.

One thing about me that you know by now is that I need to have a shower every day in order to feel human. At first, I thought that I would take a shower before your Dad left for work, but since you are getting me up every two to three hours at night, I decided that I needed the sleep instead. Luckily for me and happily for you…you like water! So, every morning, I run a bath for you in your baby tub which sits at the bottom of the regular tub, then I point the shower head way down and take a shower while you are happily splashing in your tub. You don’t even mind the flecks of water that get on you. You just move your arms and legs in the water like it’s no big deal. I shower, (I’ve learned to keep my eyes open while I’m shampooing my hair so I can watch you carefully every second), and then I wash you with your baby wash since your little neck can get a little stinky.

After we are finished washing, I put you in your bouncy seat while I blow dry my hair…you like the sound of it and I blow dry you a little too. This usually keeps you content until it’s time for me to dress you…you usually cry when this time comes. I like to dress you in clothes that are a little more grown up…I don’t like you to leave the house in PJ’s like a lot of other babies.

I try to get us out of the house every day. The first day after your Dad went back to work, we went to Mom and Baby Yoga and for a long walk in Lincoln Park. You loved the sound of the waves on the beach and the wind in your face. We also started going to ‘First Weeks’ which is a discussion group for people with little babies. Even though you were only three weeks old, you were so big and grown up compared to the other babies. I know I’m biased, but it seems like you are way ahead of the typical ages for certain things…for example, you were already holding your head up by yourself at three weeks, standing on my lap, and you are just so alert and bright eyed. You do sleep a lot still, but when you’re sleeping, you just look like a little boy, the other babies look like sleepy babies. Finally, you are starting to make moves to roll over! Slow down on that one!

In the past few weeks, you have been smiling at us. That has been absolutely wonderful. You also mimic our facial expressions…especially when we stick our tongue out at you. At five weeks you started to bubble and drool a little…this makes me think that maybe you might get your teeth a little early…no rush on that! Your hair fell out around three weeks old, but it’s starting to grow back in now that you are seven weeks old. Most babies have grey blue eyes when they are born, but everyone keeps telling up that if your eyes were going to be brown or dark, they would be showing signs by now. So, amazingly, even though your Dad has green eyes and I have brown, you look like you’re going to have blue eyes. Your Great Grandpa Bob had blue eyes, but he’s the only one on my side of the family that I can think of who did. On your Dad’s side, we can’t think of anyone who has blue eyes…so you are very special.

We’ve had some fun outings this month on the weekends with Dad too. On the first weekend, we went to Barritt Reynolds 7th birthday party…the theme was Flower Fairy Tea Party, so I dressed you up like a ‘Leaf Elf’. I sewed cut-out leaves on your hat and onesie and you wore lime green pants and felt shoes. The girls fawned over you in their fairy outfits while I painted flowers on all the little girl’s cheeks. The next weekend went sailing with Chris and Emily Russell on their beautiful boat. I held you in the sling and, ever the water baby, you were perfectly content. Your Uncle Craig and Cousin Corey came to visit us one weekend and we went out to eat, to an exhibit on human anatomy, and walking in the park. We had so much fun and your Cousin loved to hold you.

For Halloween, you dressed up as a Bouncer at your Uncle Chris’ Bar, The Mean Eyed Cat. You wore your black Mean Eyed Cat onesie, a red bandana around your head, and upon your Auntie Allison’s recommendation, we painted an ‘I heart Mom’ tattoo on your arm. Your Dad and I dressed up like Cowboys who had been in a fight with each other and you broke it up. Halloween night was the first time that you took a bottle from your Dad. You did it on the first try!

Time is going by so quickly…I can’t believe that you are already seven weeks old. You are bringing us so much joy as each day passes.

Visit the E Rain Site for Joseph's Photos

Here is the link to the site so you can see all the Joseph cuteness!

http://www.erainimages.com/custom/2190/

user name: 2190
password: keene

Handsome Josey!

We got the E Rain photos! I'm going to post the website and password soon, but she posted Joseph's images with my maternity shots, and since some of those, oh let's face it, MOST of them, are not for all audiences, I'm asking her to separate the photos.
But WOW! We couldn't be happier with them...SO many wonderful gorgeous brilliant shots!

Letters to Joseph-September...Comforting You and Getting you to Sleep

You are a very happy baby, but like most, you need a lot of interaction when you are awake to keep you satisfied. You particularly like to be bounced on one knee, a bit of a cliché, but you settle down every time. Even as I write this, I’m bouncing you and you are smiling. We bounce you while we knock our heel on the ground and sing 1-2-3-4-DOWN went McGinney! Your Great Great Grandfather Hot used to say ‘Down went McGinney!’ when one of the kids would take a spill, so that is where it came from. Your Grandpa Steve mentioned the other day that it’s actually ‘McGinty’, but ‘McGinney’ has stuck like glue, so that tradition will have to adapt.

At night when it’s time to go to sleep, we swaddle you up tight, because you tend to like to flail your arms around, and we turn on your favorite song, Midnight Moonlight, and sing and dance all around the dark bedroom with you. The song is about five minutes long and you are almost always asleep by the end of it. I think you like the banjo. In fact, you’ve always liked music. When you were in my belly, you started jumping all around when you heard music, particularly live music.

“If you ever feel lonesome, and you’re down in San Antone…Just beg, steal, or borrow two nickels or a dime…Call me on the phone.

I’ll meet you at Alamo Mission, and we will say our prayers.

The Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mother will heal us, as we kneel there.

In the Midnight, in the Moonlight, in the Midnight Midnight Moonlight.

If you ever feel sorrow, for the deeds you have done, no hope for tomorrow, in the setting of the sun.

The ocean is howling for things that might have been, and that last good morning sunrise will be the brightest you’ve ever seen.

In the Midnight, in the Moonlight, in the Midnight Midnight Moonlight.”

Letters to Joseph-September...The First Days

When things settled down a little, we got into a groove of taking care of you. You slept a lot in the beginning, and we watched you sleep a lot. You also nursed constantly…I felt so happy that I was nourishing you so well. It’s typical for newborn babies to lose a little weight in the beginning week of their life…you gained almost a pound. We knew you were strong and healthy.

Your very first outing was the Tuesday after you were born. It was voting day and we took you to the polls with us. Your Dad carried you in the front pack as we walked through the neighborhood. The weather was still warm and summery. You slept for most of the time, but we were proud that you were exercising your democratic rights with us.

We spent the days of your first weeks relaxing with you at home. We napped when you napped. We watched movies, talked to friends and family on the phone, looked at all of the photos that were being taken of you, and just enjoyed you. We went out a few times for errands and to visit Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Norm.

Suzy, your midwife, and the same midwife who helped deliver Uncle Asa and Cousin Henry, came back to give us a checkup at one week. This time they had to prick your heel again for more routine tests. This time you really didn’t like it and you cried so hard that I began to cry too. I can’t stand it when you are in pain.

When you were two weeks old, your Uncle Chris and his girlfriend Camille came to visit you from Austin, Texas. We all went out to pick them up from the airport so they could meet you as soon as they could. We came down the escalator and they beamed at how wonderful you are. I think your Uncle Chris has a very special place in his heart for you since your Dad is his twin brother.

We came back to our house and they showered you with cool gifts…a Mean Eyed Cat onesie (that’s your Uncle’s bar in Austin) that Camille sewed for you, a cool orange stuffed cat and matching bib, a Johnny Cash onesie that you are wearing as I write this (you’re asleep on my lap), and a sling for me to carry you around in.

Then we went down to the beach and walked around and hung out with you. We had lots of fun all weekend and we took you to restaurants and lots of places and you were so happy. You did have your first meltdown while we were at the grocery store…we tried everything to console you, but you weren’t having it. Your tear ducts started working and you actually had tears running down your cheeks. This was no fun for me, because when you are crying like this, everyone molecule in my body feels like it’s crying too. We finally got you happy and you fell asleep while we all sat around the fire bowl outside on the deck (you probably know by now how much your Dad loves to sit around the fire). Dana and Kai came over too and we had cake since it was Dana’s birthday.

Letters to Joseph-September...Naming You

We wanted to wait until we had some time alone with you before we decided on your name. We had several choices picked out...all really lovely names. You’ll ask me in the years to come why we named you Joseph Ladd so I want you to know the story. If you have times in your life when you don’t like it, I’ll understand because I felt the same way about my name. I even went by my middle name ‘Jane’ for several years to try to be a little more mainstream. It didn’t stick because it wasn’t me. Everyone expected us to choose a really unusual name for you since your Dad and I have fairly unusual names. Besides the fact that I truly believe that you just are Joseph, I was drawn to the idea that though this name is not necessarily unusual, you are, so your life will be and an unusual name does not ensure an unusual life.

The morning after our first night with you...we all woke up together. We stayed in bed snuggling and your Dad looked over at me and said...I think he's Joseph Ladd. I smiled and agreed, feeling a warmth over the realization. I called my darling friend Allison in New York and told her first. She couldn’t be at your birth like my other close people, so I wanted to share your name with her before anyone else.

Thirty years ago, when my brother, your Uncle Asa was born, I wanted Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Steve to name him Joseph. I was in pre-school at the time at Sun Bow School. There was a boy there who I thought was very nice. I remember that he was very polite, kind, and genuine, qualities not often found, or at least easily noticed, in a 4 year old boy. I hoped my new brother would be like him. As it turned out, I was allowed to choose my new brother's middle name, hence, Asa Joseph. Later, my most beloved dog became Seamus Joseph. Something about the strong simplicity of it sounds like music to me. I have no idea where the original Joseph in my life ended up, but this name has threaded its way through my life so strongly, that I shouldn't be surprised that you are Joseph.

In the weeks following your birth, sometimes people called you Joe or Joey. I must say that I didn’t name you those names …you just don’t seem like a Joe or Joey to us. If you decide someday that one of them suits you, it’s up to you, but the nickname that seems to be sticking these days is Josey. There’s a Western movie with Clint Eastwood called “The Outlaw Josey Wales”. We like Josey because it’s fun and unusual and it suits you. “Josey Ladd and Dakota Jane”…we’re a formidable pair!

Letters to Joseph-September...The First Night

During the first night of your life, we made a little area in the middle of us in bed for you to sleep on. Your Dad and I scooted as far to the edges of the bed as we could to make sure you had enough room, but quickly I began to realize that I needed to hold you at night too. From then on, you’ve slept in the crook of my arm, with my other arm around the bottoms of your feet. This way I can sense you stirring and needing to nurse and I can feel your little baby breath in my face. That first night, you woke up several times, and at one point you woke up and began to stare at me. We stared at each other and studied each other’s face. I felt connected to something so big and important looking into your eyes. Then I started to worry about you…I didn’t want to go back to sleep even though you had drifted off. The thought that something might happen to you or that you might experience pain, that night or at anytime in your life, scared me more than anything before. I began to realize that it will be a lifelong challenge to keep my worry about you at bay. I will do my best to keep that from hindering your experiences…I want you to fully experience life.

Letters to Joseph-September...The First Moments of Your Life

The first thing I noticed about you was how confidently you began to nurse. Here you are, seconds old, and you latch right on to me as if you’ve done it a thousand times. I knew that we would be fine because you clearly already had the nursing skills, it was just a matter of you teaching me how. I held your little body, with your buttery skin, and I just couldn’t wait to get you and your Dad alone so we could look at every little aspect of you. You had the chubbiest cheeks I’ve ever seen when you were born, they are a little more reasonable now, but we all commented on how much you looked like your Dad when he was born, the minute you were born. You have the softest skin and hair ever. You smelled so good to me and I held you and held you.

Nursing you is one of the best things ever. You are such a good eater and the minute you begin to nurse, we both relax and melt into the moment. One of my favorite things is when you hold my side with your little hand that is on the downward side. It feels like you are supporting me or escorting me to the dance floor. I feel your soft hand and we are connected even more. Sometimes when you fall asleep immediately after starting to nurse, I blow softly in your face to get you to keep suckling. Now, when you are sleeping, we blow in your face and your little lower lip and jaw start moving as if you are dreaming about nursing. I hope that when you feel the wind on your face, you associate it with the contentment of being nourished and that you have everything you need.

We also noticed your strong back and long long fingers and toes. One of the first things your Grandpa Steve said was that you have the fingers of a musician. There are a lot of musicians in your family, with the exception of me, at least at this point in my life, but you’ll have lots of teachers if you decide to play an instrument.

Though you look like your Dad so much right now, (I have the narcissistic and slightly selfish hope that some of my features will come out eventually), you do have one truly Keene trait and that is the notch in your ear that we all have. That’s another thing that Grandpa Steve noticed.

After everyone left, we napped and stared at you in our sun drenched room. It was so unbelievable to us that you were here with us, that we had created you, and that we could love something so fast and so deeply. I must admit that I immediately felt so protective over you in those first days, that it was almost uncomfortable. Any little sniffle or sneeze from you and I would feel like the world was collapsing. I remember calling my Mom and asking her if she felt like I did when I was first born. I asked her if the feeling of loving you so much that it hurt would subside over time. Of course I’ll always love you, and we are talking about the most incredible kind of love ever, but I hope it doesn’t hurt like it did in the beginning, because I might go crazy if it did.

Letters to Joseph

During this first few weeks of Joseph's life, I started to realize that I had better start keeping a journal or some of the gems of his baby-hood might not get related to him. I decided that I would create this journal in the form of letters to Joseph so that he can read them whenever he wants and know a little bit about how special and magical this time was. The following entries are those letters to Joseph.

September 2006
Dearest Joseph…
I began to realize in the days after you were born that you were going to bloom and evolve so quickly, that I had better start keeping a journal, or some of the details of your growing up might get lost. I remember asking my Mom about things that I did when I was little, and loving to hear her stories about my ‘firsts’. Even now, particularly as I’m learning how to take care of you, I’m asking her questions about how she comforted me, when I first smiled, etc…in order to understand you better. I hope that when you read this someday, you will know how much I love you and love every second of raising you. Even as we are just beginning this journey together, I am so excited, and yes a little daunted, at the prospect of helping you to become who you are meant to be…really to help you along the way to becoming who you want to be and to know yourself, since that is so very important in being happy.

Joseph Sports his Knit Gear on the Ferry Boat

Joseph is so lucky to have so many talented and generous people in his life! His wonderful sweater that he wears almost every day was knitted just especially for him by our dear Heather. We call it his Heather Feather Sweater. His sporty little multi-colored hat was created by lovely Jamie...long time family friend. His kewl sling was given to him by his Uncle Chris and Camille...and by the way, what you can't see in this picture, but what you will see in one of his upcoming posts, is the Mean Eyed Cat onesie that Camille MADE for him out of a baby doll tee...SO nice!