My colleagues at the Texas Department of Agriculture are awesome.  They rolled with the punches when I was on bed rest for months; they didn't get antsy when I took my full three months of maternity leave, and they welcomed me back with open arms.  Good stuff.

Yesterday afternoon, they had a baby shower/welcome Jack party in the office.  It was fantastic.  It also featured queso, my favorite cheesy treat, courtesy of Jess.  She stoically made it in her office and therefore, blogged about it because that's fantastic.  Read about that here:  Jess's Office Queso

Here's a picture of Jack charming the diapers off of everyone in my office.  He wore his "I Need a Vacation" onesie for the occasion:

More pictures to come.  There were a lot of camera phones out yesterday!

Hope this finds you well,

Heather

Back at the Pool

Last weekend, Jack visited his grandparents in Houston.  Durel and I obligingly packed up the truck with Pablo, Lucy, and half of the contents of our home to make this trip possible.

While in Houston, Jack enjoyed lounging by the pool, as on previous visits.  Ever vigilant about sun exposure, he wore sunscreen and his favorite hat.

Summer is definitely on its way to Texas! 

Hope this finds you well,

Heather

Thumbs are Yummy

This is a universal truth.  I sucked my thumb until I was...five-ish, as I recall.

I remember someone asking me once what my thumb tasted like.  Without taking it out of my mouth, I said, "Vanilla."  As I wrestle with my addiction to Starbucks skinny vanilla lattes, I can see that I am at least consistent with my flavor profile. 

I'll ask Jack what his thumb tastes like someday.  For now, I will take pictures of him sucking it.

Happy Mother's Day

This morning, Durel surprised me with two of my most favorite things:  a blue hydrangea plant and a Starbucks latte.  I am a lucky woman!

Seriously, though, happy mother's day.  I am so lucky to be celebrating my first with a husband like Durel and a cutie pie like Jack.  I am a proud member of this club, with a newfound respect and camaraderie for its members.

Hope this finds you well,

Heather

Counting Sheep, and Hours of Sleep

Jack is down to one middle of the night feeding these days.  It's pretty consistently at 2 AM.  This means that both Jack and I are sleeping pretty well through the night.

Also, as witnessed above, sometimes fits of excessive cuteness result in impromptu napping in the bouncy chair.

Regardless, sleep is good.

Hope this finds you well,

Heather

Jack Likes to Keep Austin Weird

Every April in Austin, there is a festival called Eeyore's Birthday Party.  As I understand it, it was started in the 60's by some folks at UT to celebrate spring.  I'm not sure what they did at the first few decades of Eeyore's.  Its modern incarnation involves lots of costumes, open-air marijuana smoking (for some, not all), drum circles, beer drinking, food consumption, and the occasional May pole or sack race (for the kids, of course).  It's great fun.

For many moons, we've been determined to continue our annual attendance at Eeyore's, and wondered if having a two month old might slow us down.  As it turned out, it slowed us down a bit, but didn't hinder us at all! 

Happy family:

Example of the joie de vivre on display at Eeyore's:

Example of how that joie de vivre also involves funny non-sequitors:

Festival Parenting:  The Next Frontier:

We learned a few things that day.  First, we learned that our Kelty baby carrier totally rocks.  Jack was happy to be carried around the festival like a papoose on Durel's chest.  Victory is ours.  Second, we learned that Jack is destined to be a thumb-sucker.  He snuck that in for a while during the festival.  Third, we learned that we are all-terrain parents, and that Jack is an adaptable kid, who will happily nurse under a tree while in a tie dyed onesie at a hippie festival.

Awesome.

Hope this finds you well,
Heather