JAB blab

I am impressed with those folks out there that have cut TV out of their lives, and thus, reduced their child’s exposure to its narcotic qualities and (even worse in my opinion) targeted advertising. Once, in one of our many moves, we got rid of cable and opted just for DVDs. With the beautiful trend towards releasing TV series on DVD we didn’t miss out on much and, in fact, I think we may have incresed our TV consumption as a result. Eventually, we caved and went back to cable when the new HBO season kicked in, unable to wait for the next DVD release. That’s when we discovered the beauty of Tivo. Gone are the days of surfing aimlessly for something to watch. With Tivo there’s always something in the cue worth watching. Gone, also, are those pesky TV commercials. I never watch anything live anymore.

We talk about getting rid of cable again and going back to the DVDs but there is always something that keeps us hanging on. Currently it is the food network. Kieran and Jack watch a lot of Alton Brown’s Good Eats in the early morning when they let me sleep. For those that haven’t seen it, it’s a cooking show in which the host explains the science behind the cooking. I think it is uber-geeky, but K likes it (part of the reason he is the far superior chef in the family) and Jack digs the music.

Before Jack was born, I worried a little about over exposure to the TV but that has gone by the wayside. For one, we actually don’t watch that much TV (especially when Jack is awake); two, Sesame Street rocks; and three, I can already tell the computer is far more appealing to the little tyke. Both K and I do spend a lot of time on the (three!) computers in the house and there is always one in near proximity. Initially I think Jack was drawn to the computer because his pictures are plastered all over them…on the desktop, as screen savers, etc. Now, however, he is showing signs of actually wanting to interact with the computer. This is part of the document he created earlier:

L;kzzsw.2s’/’2L;kzzsw.2s’/’2fpm2./wn magghj zs0078 c h   , 89  fx zzehj kdkdkdsk kx./c.’cvmcd,v

I just know this is something very important, say a cure for cancer or the secret to time travel. We just can’t decipher it because genious Jack has written it in code. He wants to be able to implement his ideas himself down the line. You know, when he can talk and walk and all that. Kieran previously posted about wanting to pass on some of his geek qualities to Jack. This is surely evidence of his potential, don’t you think?

Now, those temper tantrums, that’s all me baby. Drama, drama, drama!

Thanks to Auntie Amber for the fabulous Mr. Fabulous outfit:

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Jack has taken it to an all new level in attempt to show off his rotund baby belly six pack:

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And for all you Jack addicts out there, if you have not already figured it out, there’s a host of more fabulous pictures in the muchado april folder as well.

Warning: potentially sappy sentiment below.

So at some point in our relationship (I think it was on a really good vacation), K and I came up with the word “fluv” which is derived from love but means love in that really happy, floaty, intoxicating kind of way. Do you know that of which I speak? I hope so…and if not, I hope you encounter it someday…and soon. 

Anyhow, I would just like to report that I fluv when Jack laughs. When a baby laughs it is so genuine; it sounds like pure joy to me. It is the most fluverly sound in the world. I think I could die now…I don’t want to, but I could, cuz I feel fluv like I have never felt fluv before. 

Because Jack is a portly little fella (and because I complain about not getting much sleep at night), we have been getting the “cereal suggestion” from a lot of different folks for quite some time now. There are a couple of different schools of thought on this. Some believe that a full tummy helps a baby sleep through the night and to get a full tummy you need cereal, while others kind of think that is bunk. Generally speaking, for nutritional reasons, there seems no need to start a healthy eating baby on cereal until about six months as far as I can tell.

Originally, we were holding out for the six month marker. Then Jack started presenting signs like he was ready to move onto solids and I started thinking “what if that whole sleep thing worked out, wouldn’t that be the cat’s meow?” So about two weeks ago I started giving him very liquidy rice cereal. Some nights he seemed to dig it; other nights he could have cared less, but I had heard this was a learning process so I soldiered on. 

“And the sleep thing?” you ask with baited breath. Well, it has been terrible these past couple of weeks. I was chalking this up to his cold, but it occurred to K-Dog Super Daddy this morning that perhaps (given Jack’s already established ummmm “delicate” system) the opposite of the desired affect was happening. Hmmmmmm. You mean that like-clockwork 11 pm screaming two hour fit followed by a gi-normous poop may not be normal? Super Mommy is willing to entertain that notion. Cereal hiatus it is. I’ll report back on the status in a couple of days. In the interim, here’s a picture to tide you cereal lovers over…    

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Isn’t my sis cute as can be?!?!?! Look Jack–it’s Baby G in utero!

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I really enjoy this blogging thang. In fact, I enjoy it so much I am constantly thinking about it. It is kind of like when I used to listen to music with headphones…I always thought of the music as my personal little soundtrack (a la Ally McBeal). I would pretend like my life was one big movie. And of course in my fantasty world that movie was award winning and SO worth watching. In reality my life is neither extraordinary or even very unique. Despite this, I am having a lot of fun cataloguing the small details of my daily existence…and at the very least, I know my mom enjoys it (at least the stuff about Jack!). 

Part of this, I’m sure, comes from watching Jack find such pleasure in the smallest things…the leaves blowing on the tree outside the window, a smile from his Daddy when he comes in the room, The Itsy Bitsy Spider song…and to see just how amazing seemingly easy tasks are really such HUGE accomplishments. Ever consider what kind of complex motor skills it requires to pick up an object with one hand and transfer it to another?  I hadn’t, until I had a baby and watched him struggle, succeed, and celebrate this acheivement with gusto. It reminds me that we really are amazing creatures…and we haven’t even gotten to talking.

Another part is the fact when I read blogs they seem so honest and from the heart versus, let’s say, magazine articles.  Blogging is rough and unpolished (just look at my grammar for proof of that), but it’s real. I never really got into reading magazines. If you could find a real article after weeding through the masses amount of ads, they always seemed so canned and to have a hidden agenda. I like that blogs are anecdotal. In this modern world where we move really fast and are very spread apart geographically, a sense of community is hard to establish. Blogs seem to bridge that gap a little. I’m talking specifically about “life blogs” here but I think it translates to other types as well, really.

Anyhoo, all this is to say, that even though I started this as a means to disseminate information on Jack to my close relatives and far away friends, it has grown into more than just a project for me. I hope all you friends in the “puh-cuter” (as pint size Taylor M calls the computer) are enjoying as well.

Dear Jack, 

Thank you SO much for the two hour nap this morning. Mommy enjoyed it as much as you…maybe even more. Mommy also wanted to say that she is sorry she miscalculated that second nap and took you on an overly long walk. It was just so beautiful out; I couldn’t help myself. I think you enjoyed it up until that last little bit, and overall you were pretty accomodating considering how tired your were. Mommy is a little confused because you fall asleep in the stroller for Auntie Cassie. She must have a special kind of gentle push, cuz you won’t do it for me.

Mommy would also like to apologze for your semi-ghetto ride. I know your stroller is not up to par with all the other fabo strollers that your friends have. And now, to make matters worse, Mommy went and bought that sunshade that makes it look like your stroller sprouted a big navy sun bonnet more appropriate for a fat lady. It’s so not cool, but at least you can open your eyes when it is sunny out.

All right, I have to go now. You are calling me!

XXOO
Mommy

last of the theatre reviews for those interested:

San Jose Mercury
East Bay Express

Oh! And the most exciting tidbit is that I think I get to meet (and dine with!) Craig Lucas, the playwright.

Shiso Mama babysat for us on Saturday night…a thousand thank you’s to her! Anyhow, she blogged about her adventures, Jack’s feet, and the beauty of our cable.

PS Shiso Mama, you can man handle his feet any time. Oh, and thanks for being so polite with the kind phrase “I had to help him back to sleep a couple of times.” We know you could have said, “I had to wrestle the screaming infant that is Jack back into a fitful slumber on a number of occasions.”   

Is 7 pm an apropriate bed time for me? I am seriously considering it after a very rough night last night.

Sorry for the recent “radio silence.” Every spare computer minute has gone to trying to meet my deadline today for a study guide.