Jack & John's Morning Coffee

Yes, that is coffee in Jack's cup.  Heavily weighed down with milk, but coffee just the same.  The kid has drunk cold, black, day-old coffee that was left over in the carafe.  He's making up for my dislike of coffee I guess.

It was Spring Break this week.  Jack was dressed in costume every single day.  He was either Buzz Lightyear or Spiderman.  You  really have to swallow your pride when you are dragging you child out of Target while he's screaming, "Money!  Money!  Get some money for my toy!!", dressed as Buzz of course.  

I also heard myself say, "You don't shoot webs at your mother!" to Jack this week.  I really am a mom!

But, I find myself wishing I could freeze Jack as this exact age for while.  He's so weird & so funny.  He hasn't developed the social self-consciousness yet (as evidenced by the public outings in costume & the web flinging at strangers).  He thinks I'm so cool & I know that won't last for much longer.  And the kid smothers me with hugs & kisses all day long.  

No Sugar Coating Here!

I was watching a mom & her 4 kids at the playground today.  She kept directing them to pose while she took pictures.  She obviously wanted to get a sweet picture of her cute kids, not a photo of her son hitting her daughter because she was stealing his chips while the baby is crying in the background.  I wanted to tell her that the latter photo was much more interesting than the one she was trying to manufacture. It's much better to just tell the truth without the sugar than to convince yourself of a reality that doesn't really exist.

So, here at Peek-a-boo, I'm not going to sugar coat our existence with a new baby.

We love Annie.  Love her to pieces.  Her smiles melt my heart.  I'm eagerly anticipating that first laugh.  But, truth be told, we're not having a whole lot of fun.

Annie cries a lot.  A LOT.  If you knew Jack as a baby, that's how much she cries, especially when she eats.  She cries more after she eats than before when she's hungry- just like Jacko.  Annie won't take a nap unless we hold her.  Not a real nap anyway.  A 20 minute nap, but nothing substantial.  This means no break during the day at all.  And, when she's awake, you have to pay intense, direct attention to little Miss Annie.

We're tired.  We're cranky.  My house feels really, really dirty.  My son is watching way too much television.  I've cooked very few meals since the baby came home.  John & I have spent almost zero time together.

But, all that aside, we love this little girl.  I savor those sweet smiles so I can remember them when she's screaming her head off.  I reassure myself by looking at photos of Jack as a baby- I need to remind myself that this time passes & we're left with a fun, fun girl.  Then, we'll have another one & start all over.  Surely baby #3 is the easy one, right?

3 Months Old!

Sweet Annie K is 3 months old today!

Beautiful Girl

Jack's Most & Least Favorite Person in the World

This is Jack & Ava Belle (beautiful photo taken by Emily, not me!).  Jack asks to play with Ava Belle a lot & they usually end up fighting like brother & sister, except, apparently when they dress as princesses.  

My hunch is that this photo will be displayed at their future wedding...

Sweetness

We've had a bit of a rough day at our house.  A mama that feels sick, a daddy that is on deadline, a baby that's acting like, well, a baby, and a little boy that is realizing more & more that things have changed for good in his world.

But, I love this picture.  Especially Jack's cute face.  When I look at it what I see is baby Jack in the chair & big Jack in the red shirt.  It's amazing how much Annie looks like Jack as a baby.