Living in Transylvania!

In case you're not familiar with North Carolina, Brevard happens to be in Transylvania County - that's not a joke, early settlers apparently thought the Western North Carolina Mountains with their dark deciduous forests and lingering evening fog resembled the Romanian backcountry where Count Dracula lived...

Anyways, for a little town filled with friendly faces, Halloween is serious business. Last weekend Brevard's Halloween Fest took place amid a blue sky and mild temperatures - we went - as ourselves - last year we dressed up and even ran the midnight 5 K - this year we just showed up with Gus in tow. But we had a great time sauntering around our lovely little town (which also is the proud home of a toy store of epic proportions, currently is inhabited by some truly spooky monsters hovering over the town square).

Cousin Eddy!

Yesterday we received wonderful news. My sister-in-law, Leah, and her husband, Andy, will have a boy!
His name is going to be Edward Mitchell, which I just love because it means Gus and Eddy get to be the two little boys with the cool old-fashion names...Cousin Eddy (yep, it's a movie reference) is expected to arrive in March and we are overjoyed along with his parents.

Gus can't wait to meet his little cuz.

My spooky cute babyboy!

The cute little pumpkin on the left is the work of Granna, who sent it to Gus (on the right) in time for Halloween. It sits on his crib and he loves staring at it first thing in the morning...

The present is worthy of a photo op...Gus loved romping with his little orange friend on his belly and held still for at least one second sitting up.

He is spooky cute isn't he?

A shot of sweetness...

Like father like son? Whenever I come up on a moment like this I want to stand and marvel and I want to run and get the camera, this time the latter won, oftentimes I just stand and marvel...my life is full of sweetness these days.

Roll Tide!

Since Gus is half-Alabamian, he has to have a College Football allegiance - it's the laaaaw around here. So this weekend he sported his colors - and dare I say, though as Mommie I'm likely partial - he looks fetching in them.

And even though he didn't watch (he slept) he is a very effective new mascot for the Crimson Tide. They pounded Tennessee. I reckon every new little fan counts.

1-Month-Check-Up

Gus now weighs a proud 9 lbs and 14 oz. (50 percentile)
He is 21 1/2 inches long (79 percentile)

And he has received the first of a long list of shots ... he only cried briefly ... his Mom is still cringing.

Mommie & Me

I'm only posting this picture by popular demand ... I admit I hog the camera and have not really explained its inner workings to my husband...as a result most of my posts involve pictures of my two favorite guys - sans the most important woman in their lives...

So here is the proof - I'm still alive (albeit sleep deprived and it shows) and I have mastered holding my infant son and his ever so bobbely head...I no longer hold my breath whenever I put him through complicated processes...like baths and nail clipping sessions ...and I spend hours trying to imagine what Gus thinks as we spend time together ... here is a selection of Gus' deep thoughts:

About Mommie ...

She likes to kiss me, she does it a lot...I don't really like it...at least I don't like to show that I like it.
She totes me all over town, because she enjoys getting out and because she says she needs the excercise...but I know the truth...she is just showing me off...she looks in every window for our reflection and she loves it.
She acts surprised and pleased about my dirty diapers...but I know that can't last.
She talks about cutting off her hair, because I like to get my tiny hands tangled in it...but she will wait because during our last bath together I looked cute holding on to her braid while she washed me.
She sometimes nods off while we "share" a late night dinner...thankfully we sit in a large chair and her head bobbs back up when it hits her chin. It looks funny from where I am.

About Daddy
He kisses me too...stubbly kisses...I crunch up my face when he does it...it makes him laugh.
He plays the guitar and the banjo for me...I like it and I try to look his way when he does it.
He and I are great napping buddies...we both sleep with our mouths open.
When Mommie is too tired to burp me any longer in the middle of the night, he comes and walks with me. I like it. Sometimes I hold out for him. Mommie doesn't know this.
He calls me Fussy-Gussie when I am uncomfortable or want to start a conversation... or when I cry for no reason. I don't do this very often.

About Life
I like it so far. Save for the hiccups, hepatitis shots, wet diapers and giving footprints.

The women in my life ...

This past weekend Gus met two more women who, without question, will have great influence on his life - his aunt Leah and his Great-Grand-Meme ...

Check out how taken he is with his aunt and how relaxed he feels with his family's matriarch...

Also look at the adorable footwear he is wearing in the picture with Leah - those are slip-proof and water-proof (I'm not making this up) crib moccassins from Teva ... a lovely and oh-so-fun gift from our dear friends Theresa and Ricky Lotspeich ... we are stylish because our friends are...

The "new" normal

I've caught on to the thought that nothing will ever be "normal" again as we move toward a "new" normal. Gus is settling into a routine and amazing us with subtle changes every day. Here are some of my "new" normal discoveries:

New normal highlights:

A deep throaty burb - nothing delights me more and relieves Gus better than the sweet sound of air escaping from his milk-full tummy - especially at 2 a.m. I get giddy just thinking about it.

The sight of my baby boy, happily swatting his arms and pumping his legs in his crib for no reason other than that he can ... I just stand and stare in awe...

Gus snapping his eyes shut when I pucker my lips and move in for a kiss...it may just be a fluke or a reflex move...but to me it's our first responsive game that we play and I will never tire of it.

Kissing his little roll at the back of his neck, it's my happy place.

The sight of a pile of freshly washed diapers - even though the dirty pile always seems bigger.

Watching him shriek at a ray of sunlight - he doesn't like to cry but he does like to shriek when he gets excited...

Seeing Gus and Jacob cuddle together - it's magical and I can't resist joining in.

Waking up at 2 a.m. to my son's polite call for late-night food and realizing that I got 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep. It makes me want to hug the world!

Gus "head-banging" like a teen-aged Metallica fan...his trademark sign for hunger...

Passing a mirror or window and seeing my son's legs dangle to my waist - make me almost certain that he will outgrow me by the time he hits kindergarten. "Gus, down here, your mother is talking to you!"

Taking a noontime nap with Gus slumbering next to me. Sweet dreams!

We are so blessed with this sweet, brave new soul.

A lazy Sunday with my guys

At three weeks and two days, Gus spent a Sunday doing not much of anything other than what he does any other day - nap, eat, coo, poop & pee - but in between all those routine activities, he found time to cuddle with Dad in bed and take a bath...I love how our little son is such a brave soul...as you can see from his expression he isn't totally sold on the immersion in warm water, but instead of just crying he gives it a go...and he actually liked it...he was clean for almost 10 minutes before he thought it fit to fill a diaper, Mommie had just put on him...but he smells sweet to us all the time.

First Commandment

Gus went to church for the first time this weekend. We opted for the nursing room (interesting experience to watch the sermon on TV in a small cozy room with a scented candle, comfy couches and a box of kleenex on the table - singing alone is a bit weird, and I half expected the 1-800 numbers to start flashing at the bottom, so I could write my check and send it to...) while Daddy and our friends Mitch and Amy went to the "life" version of the service...

Gus' very first sermon was on the first commandment "Thou shalt not worship any other God before me" preached by Josiah Bankcroft...I thought it a fitting start to Gus' spiritual learnings...very simple, very basic admonition, but so hard to keep in today's world with all its temptations...

Afterwards, we got lots of well wishes and compliments for our adorable little son...who did not cry through his first visit to church, but did spend some time eating instead of listening...

Visitors welcome Gus

We continue to have lots of smiling faces appear at our door to share the joy of our new addition with us. This weekend our friends Mitch and Amy came to stay with us...we had a great time with them (they are awesome visitors for families with babies...they even cooks meals...I highly recommend inviting them).

Also my teacher-friend (from my gig last year as a teaching assistant) Jenni stopped by to say hi to Gus...after all she's been part of this pregnancy from Day 1 and was a tireless cheerleader for me through the yacky first trimester to the last day of the school year when we hit the 7-month mark...if Gus plays his card right (and goes to public school) he might end up with Mrs. Stewart in 5th grade...which will be good and bad for him...she and Mommie keep no secrets from each other...

And Auntie Sara is making her mark on Gus' early life, by stopping by whenever she can to hold and coo to him, while Mommie enjoys having two hands (what a concept!) to do whatever can't be done with one. We love her for that...

CEB

Gus will start his first job tomorrow...

Don't feel to bad for him and the fact that at the tender age of 19 days our little one has to go to work...once there, he can sleep, poop, eat...do all the things he normally does, even when he is not on the clock...he can do all these things in his very own office...in fact he has a sign on the door that reads: "Augustus 'Gus' J. Dinkins, Chief Executive Baby"

His addition to our little branch office here in Brevard, is already spawning funny bogus interoffice memos and inspires us all to call "meetings" "feedings" etc.

I'm very blessed with employers who are allowing me to return to work WITH BABY...so three times a week in the afternoons, Gus will accompany me to work and give me the necessary supervision to make sure Mommie brings home a paycheck once in a while...