Too honest?

Okay, this is a bit random- I know.

I was browsing CNN's website and noticed an article about Barak Obama admitting that he drank alcohol and experimented with drugs in high school. Mit Romney is quoted in the article as having said that "...we're probably wisest not to talk about our own indiscretions in great detail..."

Uh... does anyone else think this is really obnoxious and disheartening? Our leaders believe they shouldn't be too honest with us because we might notice they aren't perfect... where does that leave us? As a society of imperfect people who are all afraid to admit that they've made mistakes, I guess.

I would personally like to applaud Barak Obama for recognizing that honesty is the best policy. No one ever learned from mistakes they wouldn't admit.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving was a quiet affair this year. No traveling, except to Franklin for the afternoon. In years past my family spent Thanksgiving with family- imagine at least 20 grandkids and 12-15 aunts and Uncles, two to four Grandparents (sometimes they weren't mine) and other various guests. Plus a table of more food than we could possibly consume. Pretty Standard American Fare.

This year Josh and I slept in and relaxed with Jonah. We had a fire and some leftovers from the fridge for lunch- then off to Franklin around three to see family and eat smoked turkey and cranberry salad.

Yesterday we got a tree and I decorated it while Jonah watched. We're not doing a lot of decorating this year, but it's really nice to come into the house and smell the tree. It doesn't feel like it should be time for Christmas this year, but it seems to be here anyway. I've given my Mother my Christmas list but there isn't anything on there that I am super-excited about. I guess I already got my big present this year- all 9 pounds of him is sitting next to me right ow, trying to be patient with his hiccups and focused on keeping his pacifier in his mouth. A tall order for a tiny one.

Josh and I have been taking things quietly the last few days, and I have a feeling we will continue to do so this season. I've complained for a long time about the constant change in my life- my desire for consistency and predictability- but I've decided that it's not going to ever be predictable, so we ought to enjoy the quiet moments where we get them.

Chara

Laura's blog

Sadly, Laura's blog has been down for a few days.

Happily, it is back up at a new domain address.

Here's the address:
http://www.johnandlaurawilson.blogspot.com/

Celebrating one month

When Jonah turned one week old Josh and I celebrated- nothing fancy, just and evening alone with our little tiny baby and a little sparkling cider. what can I say? We're wild.

Jonah turned one month old today. We went to Target and bought him a hat and mittens and a Christmas stocking... and we left him at home.

It's funny because I was looking a the mittens we put on him int he hospital to keep him from scratching his face and they seemed really tiny. When did we think these were big on him? And suddenly he doesn't look quite like an old man anymore. He's all round and roly-poly. He likes to stare at himself in the mirror and hates having his feet covered and has a cute little way of smiling at you when he's asleep that makes you think that maybe he knows that he's got us wrapped around his itty-bitty fingers.

Giving birth was a really surreal experience, and maybe it's just the sleep deprivation, but the last month seems just as surreal. I'm listening to my husband talk to Jonah on the baby monitor at the moment and I never thought Josh would ever talk like that. It's a side of him that I've never expected. He's amazingly gentle and sweet. He's peeking in on Monkey every two or three minutes to try to get him to go to sleep. Both my boys are so cute!

I also never expected to be this insane about anything. I worry constantly about the silliest things. I'm way more emotional than I was even in middle school . I am getting (at best) 6 hours of sleep a day and always tired- but happier than I've been in a very long time. It's a different kind of happiness.

If this is how the first month is, I'm wondering what else lay in store?

Gratuitous cuteness

Okay- I have no point in posting at all- just wanted to share some photos of Monkey awake and clean- mostly.

Big beds, French's mustard and the power of Oxyclean

Last night my tiny little baby slept in his crib. The crib is huge, comparatively. But he took it well. No more sleeping at the end of Mommy and Daddy's bed so that every whimper and strange gurgle wakes them up and throws them to the end of their bed to peek into the bassinet. Now they listen silently to the monitor (turned up WAY to loud) for some sign that Jonah is in need of something- anything- or that he might cry. Three and a half weeks is still very small, though he is plumping up quite a bit.

It's amazing that someone so small can poop so much. The really amazing thing is that all of Jonah's poop looks exactly like French's mustard- you know, the squat little bottle with the red flag on it? Also unsurprisingly, it is pretty difficult to get the stuff out. Shout is no match for my baby's poop. But it's amazing how Jonah can surprise me even now.

This morning I was trying to change his diaper and in the three seconds between the time that I slipped his old diaper out from under him and the new one back under him he pooped all over the changing table. Yellow mustard everywhere. So I took off the cover and tried to cover him up (to prevent a fountain) while I got the nasty cover into the dirty clothes. Then I took his onesie off of him- the back looked like he had been slathered in mustard.

As soon as I got the onesie into the laundry bag I found myself watching as he peed on a small stuffed dog that has been perched on the edge of his changing table for a week or more now, without any other incidents. Appropriately he was peeing right on it's crotch. I was so (shocked? appalled? defeated?) that I waited until he was done and then cleaned up, and put the last disposable diaper on him.

Laura made a bunch of cloth diapers that she is lending s for the time being. We've been using the many disposables that we were given, or the preemie diapers that we had to buy because the cloth ones were still too big. But here we are approaching the end of those excuses and about to embark on the interesting trip of cloth. So how am I going to ever get all the mustard out of Laura's beautiful cloth diapers?

That's what I was wondering. I ran the one that we had used through the wash twice to get the poop out and I was thinking that it was not possible for me to wash everything twice. And then I remembered what a friend once told us long before we even thought about kids.
"Oxyclean will clean everything- make it your friend when you have children because you'll need it." and so I have.

In the words of a beautiful musical "It got the mustard out!"

Jonah

So, there was a lot of turmoil caused by naming my child. Josh and I had picked a name years ago- just after we got married- and it seemed fine until I was actually pregnant. Suddenly the name Noah annoyed me and I couldn't seem to get the itch out. So about the time we decided to change our OBGYN I decided we had to change the name. This caused a few issues since someone had already told Haydn (my 4 YO niece) that we would be having baby Noah. but we got that straightened out eventually.

So why Jonah?

Well, the most honest answer is that I like the sound of it. It's not a name I've heard a million times and it has a good story behind it. I guess that's the simple answer.

Also, it's got a great connection to a pivotal point in the Hero's Journey. There is a time that the hero finds himself in the belly of the whale (get the Jonah connection?) which is a time when the hero is secluded and must confront his subconscious self. It is this point in the journey that the hero is prepared for the important task ahead of him. It is a time of complete rebirth, both mentally and in some ways physically.

I guess my hope is that Jonah will be the kind of person who can do great things because he is prepared for them. A pretty big task for Josh and me.

Josh and I have decided to make changes in our lives- a shift in priorities- to make Jonah and whatever brothers or sisters he might have in the future the focus. I'll explain all that more later. In the mean time we just accept that we've been entrusted with the most perfect little gift. I'm not sure how you are supposed to look at a child that you've given birth to and want anything less than the most healthy, loving, choices for them. It makes me very glad that I made the birth choices that I made. He came into this world as naturally as possible and I am hoping that we can continue to give him all the good things that God put on this earth, and teach him to be the kind of person that God would have him to be.

Felting

I've been interested in felting for a while now. I continually see really cute hats and purses that are made of old wool sweaters that someone cut up, sewed together and then felted. They're always really snuggly and they look so warm. However, I've never tried felting anything.

Laura made Jonah a sea monster rattle that she felted and it's really cute. It makes me want to try felting more than I already did. I would post a picture but it's almost time for Jonah to eat and it might take more time than I have to take one and upload it just now- I promise to do it later!

Another thing that makes me want to try felting even more is this website. This woman was featured in Cottage Living, a magazine my husband picked up the other day. She makes the most awesome quilts out of old wool sweaters that she puts together and felts. I took a peek at her website and if anyone is buying handmade for Christmas I would love this one!

Um- Just kidding, Laura.

Lesson learned...

There is a bit of construction going on in my house- the addition of a new shower, which I am sure I will be enjoying tremendously- but this isn't great for small babies and really tired moms.
So I took Jonah over to my parent's house in Franklin.

This is the first time I had driven since I gave birth and certainly the first time I'd driven with Jonah in the car. Usually I am in the back seat with him when we go somewhere, but I was driving, so I couldn't see him and I was nervous anyway. It took me close to 30 minutes to get to Franklin in the middle of the day- usually a 20 minute drive. I drove 65 on the interstate, which isn't really all that unreasonable since there's been construction and the speed limit has been changed to 60. I was still being passed like crazy. The guy eating the taco in the van behind me was not amused at my speed, but I didn't feel bad because I was in the right lane. I was kind of glad when he and his taco passed me after 6 miles.

It was a nice quiet afternoon. Jonah slept and my Mom and I talked. Around 4:00 I fed Jonah and changed him and got ready to go home. I was holding him when I felt something warm and wet. Jonah's mustardy poo had come out the back of his diaper. His last diaper. Normally my Mom keeps diapers and things for emergencies, but she didn't have any that would fit Jonah. They were all size 4. He's been wearing preemies.

So I cleaned him up- and ran out of wipes. We managed to fold up one of Haydn's size 4 diapers and get him covered. He didn't even pee in it on the way home.

The moral of the story?
Don't go out without way more diapers and wipes than you think you need.

So Romantic

This morning Josh and I were laying in bed. Jonah was asleep- snoring. It had been a long night and we were both pretty tired, but it was about 8:30 and the sun was up.

I looked over at Josh and asked him if he needed to call his Dad. They had a plan to run some errands early this morning.

"I don't want to leave just yet. I don't want to leave you and Jonah."

My heart melted a bit.

"I like you." and it melted a little more.

He leaned over to my forehead and licked me.

"And I lick you!"

How could you not fall completely in love with this weirdo?