Day 266: His First Halloween

Atom's first Halloween! Atom was so excited. He tried his costume on four or five times before feeling completely comfortable with it. He went as a pumpkin of course even though he was a little concerned he might look a little to Kool-Aid man-ish but he pulled it off in the end. Besides no one has seen the Kool-Aid man since he crashed through the wrong wall one too many times.

Atom knew this was his first major holiday, outside the womb, and he wanted everything to go just right. He adjusted and re-adjusted his pumpkin top hat. He made sure all of the candy was in the bowl and that it was placed just right by the front door. Atom even added a few new strategically placed decorations to show that he was fully embracing the holiday but with his own sense of style.

The day went flawlessly. A day full of a short lived attempt at a nap, one seriously upside down smile, and two very huge smiles on his parents face.

Day 260: Introducing Atom -- Chicago Style -- A few more favorite moments...

Day 260: Introducing Atom -- Chicago Style

We just got back from Chicago a few days ago. Atom finally got to meet the rest of his family. It was incredibly touching to see him interacting with everyone. Here's a few of my favorite moments out of a plethora of favorite moments.

Day 260: Posturing

Atom has perfect posture. All babies his age seems too. It is a pretty amazing thing to see. His balance is comparable to an elephant on a tight rope. His body is typically jerking in all different directions. It is only a matter of time before he falls flat on his face. But amongst all of his uncertainty, he maintains perfect posture.

I wonder if poor posture is something that just naturally over takes people over time. The weight of life slowly and methodically takes our shoulders and guides them forward. It is a rare thing to see a very old person with perfect posture. Why is that? Medical issues aside...is it because they spent too many hours agonizing about the mortgage, worrying about their calorie intake, or wondering if they are a good person?

I like to believe babies have perfect posture because they haven't yet discovered worrying. Life for a baby is open and full of possibilities. Every time I see Atom sitting (and it is rare to see him on the floor not sitting these days) with perfect posture deep inside I hope worry doesn't exist yet for him and I hope it never will.

Day 252: Sleepless in Jersey

The days of 80 degrees and nights of 70 are long gone and so it seems are Atom's sleeping habits. He has never been one for ultra consistent sleep habits but some where over the deep blue Pacific Atom's sleep switch shorted out. 

He started out like many babies and had a rough first three or so months of life. Sleep, eat, poop then repeat. All day and ALL NIGHT. Around 4 months he took mercy on us and started sleeping through the night. No consistent nap cycle during the day, he liked to keep it fluid in case something cool was happening, but 8 or 9 hours at night became the norm. We were elated. We were suddenly refreshed. We were cocky.

We knew the nap thing was in need of repair but at least a full nights sleep meant we could probably eventually out smart him with our faculties refreshed nightly. So we planned and planned and planned again about how we were going to now tackle this nap issue. I mean we had conquered the night sleeping thing, right? In fact what was the rush? "Let's celebrate our anniversary in Maui and then knock napping out of the park!"

Atom slept and slept on the flights to and fro from the 808 state in some kind of Lasker Trap that was clearly over our heads because we bought it.

Now we would give anything for 6 hours of uninterrupted nocturnal bliss. Atom has lost that sleeping feeling and seems almost worst when it comes to naps. Maybe the fun in the sun was too much for him to process. Who knows? Maybe our trip to Chicago will flip the sleep switch back. Isn't that part of the parenting wisdom? When in doubt pray for a miracle and then take the credit?

• this post is from last week, it just never got posted due to lack of sleep.

Day 242: To Maui and Back!

We're back. Roughly 12,000 miles of air travel, a long last visit with Jill, 40 diapers, 2 little swimmers, a rented car seat, a rented pack and play, one checked bag, 4 carry-on bags, 3 jars of baby food (lots of breast feeding), the road to Hana, a botanical garden, an angry face, a goodbye wave, sitting from a crawl, standing up with aid, Lahaina, sunset feedings, babysitting by Nanna, rainbow mornings and too many smiles to count.