Yesterday, Jack and I joined my parents for a lovely lunch at a French bistro that recently opened near their house.  It is so French, in fact, that they had no soup du jour.  Why?  Because they are closing next week for one of their several trips back to France to relax, refresh, and dream up new menu ideas.


You had me at bonjour.


Anyway, as I enjoyed my seared salmon with tapenade butter (served on a slate tile for extra presentation points), Granddad and Jacques hung out in their delightfully French surroundings.

La vie est belle.


à votre santé,
Proper Paige

Taking a Moment

Yesterday was a crazy and hectic day.  In the midst of it, I had a sudden moment of quiet peace.  I was glad for it.

In the vein of the lovely "unstyled life" entries on one of my favorite blogs, Pancakes and French Fries, here is a snapshot from that moment.

Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hope this finds you well,
Heather

Jack Goes to Dinner

Last night, both Durel and I were spent.  Long days of being busy professionals had taken their toll on us, and we just needed Mexican food to make it right.  We convened our family meeting at Guero's, one of our favorite restaurants in Austin.

Jack wasn't entirely sure he approved of the plan to dine out.  As we watched, horrified, he fussed, fussed, and fussed some more.  I know that we were both thinking the same thing:

Are we destined to eat at home for the next 3 years?  The next 10 years?  We should leave.  We can't leave!  We already ordered!  What should we do?

Enter:  Heather.  No, not my alter ego.  The best server, ever.  Heather is the proud mom of a teenager, and so misses the cute and wordless bald baby fussiness that we were finding a bit perplexing.  In order to help us enjoy a few chips with some pico and a few sips of our respective beverages, Heather taught Jack a little lesson about waiting tables.

He learned with rapt attention about printing out checks.

And so, this is how you do it, Jack.  See?

And with that life lesson learned, Jack was then happier with life in the restaurant, at least for long enough to let his hungry parents eat.

What?  It's totally my bedtime, you know.

So, thanks, Heather.  And thanks, Guero's.  We needed that.

Hope this finds you well,

Heather

Tubes = Volume.

Fall of 2010 was a bit of a haze for Durel and I.  It was a happy one, filled with work and play and fun with Little Dude, but it was also full of ear infections.

Before having a baby, I always wondered what the "deal" was with all of these baby ear infections that you hear about.  Well, I've now learned in spades.

Rather than getting technical (which is not my forte with medical things), I'll leave it at this:  Babies' ears are not fully developed yet, in a way that can cause fluid to linger in their Eustachian tubes and get infected when they have a cold, etc.  Some babies are more prone to ear infections from this, and one remedy is to have small (tiny, really) tubes inserted to help the fluid drain.  Tubes = draining = no fluid hanging around to get infected.

And, as we learned, tubes = even happier babies that share their joy at EVEN GREATER VOLUMES.

Photo courtesy of babysitter extraordinaire, Megan.

Ah, life is good (and loud).

Hope this finds you well,
Heather

Jack's Way or the Highway. Sometimes, Both.

This weekend, Durel and I had the rare pleasure of a date night.  We were heading out to a lovely dinner with my parents to celebrate my mom's birthday (Yay, Mom!) and cleverly bookended the reservation with pre-dinner drinks and post-dinner drinks.  (This makes us sound like lushes.  Oh, well.)

Our good friend, Megan, graciously offered to hang out with Jack while we were out.  She was our hero for offering, but she became even more of a hero when (1) she gave up a Saturday night for this; (2) Jack was bawling and snotty when we left; and (3) she didn't seem fazed.  Yes, she really rocks.

We realized that we just had to leave.  If we stayed, the crying wouldn't stop.  Forgive me for saying it this way, but Jack is like our dogs -- he's figured out when we're leaving, and if he's not going with, it stresses him out.  Pablo and Lucy are the same way.  So, we bolted, with a casual word to Megan over our shoulders as we head out the door:  "Oh, he likes being outside..."

As we settled in for our first drink, at the new W Hotel, we received this picture from the intrepid Megan:

Yes, you will do just fine.  Keep walking, woman.  I will give you my laser-like stare while I suck my thumb.
Dinner follows this, right??

Hope this finds you well.
Heather

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Don't look now, but I think there's a baby on my back.

Wordless Wednesday

Grammies are the Best

Aren't they?  Jack thinks so.

Hope this finds you well.
Heather

Crackers for Crackers

For the Love of Carbs, He's My Son

I blame my love of carbs on being Irish.  I'm not sure that my heritage is entirely to blame, but I figure that since my ancestors loved potatoes and poetry in equal parts, they can carry the load on this.

I was pleasantly surprised when Jack's (excellent) teachers at daycare (we call it school) informed me sheepishly the other day that they had given him crackers.  He seemed hungry, they explained, and we had previously discussed how it's high time to introduce self-feeding and textures into the baby food mix.

I reassured them that was 100% fine with me, and they were relieved.  They continued with enthusiasm, then, to tell me that the crackers were Saltines, and that Jack really liked them.

I just smiled.  He IS my son, I thought with pride.

Of course, we went straight home and ate more Saltines.

Ooh, what is this?

Ah, very good.   My favorite!  Saltines!

Cracker-eating victory is mine!

Hope this finds you well (and with plenty of crackers),
Heather

Jack's Baptism

In what can only be described as "real, grown-up parenting," Durel and I decided to have Jack baptized at our church.  Gone are the days of yore, when 9 AM on Sunday morning was for sleeping off the previous night's transgressions before waking for a leisurely brunch. 

You know what?  That's great with me.  I prefer this.  It rocks.

Uncle Dustin and Aunt Geri did us the honor of agreeing to be Jack's godparents.  We have long known that Jack would have a special bond with them, but this just enhances that bond.  Good stuff.

The service was lovely; a total of 4 babies were baptized.  Jack was first.  Durel, Dustin, Geri and I did a good job of speaking in unison, reading our lines correctly from the Book of Common Prayer, not crying (Geri and I were at risk of this), and generally behaving well in public on this momentous occasion.

Jack also did a good job.  He didn't cry, puke, or have a massive diaper blow-out.  He did make his presence known, though.  I think we're dealing with quite a personality here.  (Not a newsflash; just an update.)  He "talked" during the service with explosively loud "DADADADA's."  He flipped over backward in Durel's arms and watched the sermon upside down, making everyone giggle.  When the water was applied to his head, he looked at her with a priceless expression of, "What are you doing??"  All in all, Jack was in the house, and everybody knew it.

All of Jack's grandparents were in attendance for the special day.  It was truly a wonderful day and a good time was had by all.

After all the excitement of church, Jack took a pro-style nap when we got home.  As a result, he missed his Baptism Brunch, for which I had gone to Martha Stewart levels of preparation.

The menu:

• fruit salad
• savory mini-scones
• sausage balls (my nod to the fact that I have birthed a Texan)
• Paula Deen's crock pot macaroni and cheese (shut the front door; it's amazing) (leave out the eggs, by the way)
• cake
• mimosas
• coffee

It was great.  Have I said that ten times yet?  I am delighted with how it went.  Grown-up parenting is pretty stinking fun.

Hope this finds you well,

Heather

Flashback: Visit from Delaware!

When Aunt Jenny and Uncle James came to visit over the summer, a good time was had by all.  

Aunt Jenny loves Baby Jack!

Jenny sees something interesting to the left.  Jack sees a ceiling fan.

Did you see my helicopter suit, Aunt Jenny?

Durel enjoying watermelon at the Fredericksburg Crawfish Festival.
Summertime, and the livin is easy...

Mudbugs 101:  James and Durel suck the heads.

Happy times!

I am NOT ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.

Bad boys.  What you gonna do?

Visits from family are the best, aren't they?

Hope this finds you well.

Heather

Baby's First Christmas

Santa suit + thumb = good stuff.

More pictures to come!

Hope this finds you well,
Heather

The Family That Eats Together...

The family that eats together, stays together.  At least, that's what Pablo has decided.

Pablo put two and two together last night.  As in, he realized that not all of the delicious food Jack is eating makes it to his mouth.  It does, however, make it to his high chair.

Carrots and saltines?  How delicious!

I definitely didn't stop him.  In my opinion, that's all good.  I'm not sure he could believe his luck, though.  When I approached him to take another picture of his after-dinner snack, he bolted.

Oh, crap.  I knew this was too good to be true.  I'd better get down.

More on the Chronicles of Pablo as they continue...

Hope this finds you well.
Heather (and Pablo)

Wordless Wednesday: Avocado

Schatzi and the Wailers: Rock on, Baby

I took this picture over the Christmas holiday, while Ms. Schatzi from Albuquerque was staying with her cousins, Pablo and Lucy.  As you can see, Jack is entranced with his doggie friends being outside.

Durel saw this picture and said, "If the dogs had an album, this would be the cover."

Indeed.  You saw it here first -- the album cover for Schatzi and the Wailers' first release, Rock on, Baby.

Hope this finds you well.  And here's to a kick-ass 2011.
Heather