Tummy Time, pt. 2

This past weekend, we had another tummy time session. MK likes to be on her belly, at least after her initial shock of going down like that. This time Aggie wanted to join her with the whole laying on your belly thing:

Rubber Ducky, You're the One

Aside from the occassional trouble falling asleep, Mary Kate is a pretty content baby. All of that changes when she gets a bath, whereupon she goes beyond screaming and approaches the threshold of wailing. This might be because she hates being naked and exposed, which Jenny and I sincerely hope will last well into high school and college years and on to her wedding day. Most likely, she just gets really really cold, so Jenny got the idea to actually fill up her baby tub and immerse her in warm water, rather than do the sponge bath thing. Mary Kate likes this much better, which means she backed up to uncomfortable sniffling instead of yelling:



When she comes out of her nice warm bath, she is inevitably blasted with another draft of cold air, which brings on another bout of crying. So we wrap her in a soft fluffy towel and head for the changing table to install a diaper and pajamas (or "jammys" as I am told they are called until the child reaches puberty). Fortunately, any crying that takes place at that point can be erased by Daddy's little finger, which acts as a natural pacifier (Thank you, Baby Owner's Manual, p. 55):



Maybe by our fourth child, we'll have this down to a science. By the way, the Baby Owner's Manual has been my salvation more than once, and I recommend it to any new parent, especially new Dads.

"Tummy Time"

Yesterday, we began Phase 1 of tummy training - teaching MK to enjoy laying on her stomach. We think it went pretty well, which means she didn't scream when Jenny put her down that way.



Actually, we think she might have enjoyed it. Her tummy session led to a long nap on Daddy's chest later that afternoon (as you might be able to tell from the picture, Daddy was napping too)-



As I have said, her favorite thing to do thus far is to sleep. Our favorite thing for her to do (other than sleep, of course) is to wake up so we can watch her stretch.

Thank You, Jordan Family

So who are the Jordan's?? In short, very close to a perfect family, though they would scoff at that notion (which adds to our admiration of them). Jenny babysat for Justin & Elizabeth while in high school, and their three kids have always been very special to us - their two oldest, Rebecca and Hannah, were junior bridesmaids at our wedding. Last year Justin & Elizabeth got a surprise - a fourth baby, Sarah Kate. We think it's great that they have a baby so close in age to ours. Elizabeth stopped by with the kids yesterday to bring us a meal:



Mary Kate, meet Sarah Kate!



Last night was also Aunt Madelyn's homecoming dance for Collins Hill High School. So I took time-out from watching the Dawgs hand it to Tennessee to go snap some pictures of her and her boyfriend Scott:




Finally, for the Mary Kate picture of the day, I grabbed a shot of her in long sleeves, since it was below 70 degrees outside:



Look at that face...it's as if she is saying "I promise I was still this cute when I had Mommy and Daddy up at 3 this morning!!"

Typical Day for Mary Kate

If there were such a thing as Newborn Olympics, I think our little girl would have a great shot at the gold medal for the Newborn Triathlon - eating, sleeping, and pooping. She's very accomplished at all three, and produces with regularity. I noticed yesterday that her routine for each day seems to revolve around three "seats":

First, she wakes up and goes to the Bouncy Seat (thank you, Aunt Jennifer):



Then at some point we go for our "outing of the day", and she moves to the Car Seat:



Finally, sometime mid-evening, she settles for an hour or so in her swing:



Then, maybe some visitors. Like last night, Granddaddy, Grandmama, and Aunt Madelyn (not pictured) stopped by:



Rough life...

Fashion Show

Yesterday, Jenny thought it would be fun to try some of her baby clothes on Mary Kate to see how she would look. Results:



As you can tell, the baby was enthralled. Actually, she kind of has that "Look, I know I'm cute, even if I just lay here" face on. This is actually the baby version of twiddling thumbs:



In other news, Aggie has done exceptionally well around the baby. Occassionally she will steal a lick on the face when our backs are turned, but most of the time she just licks Mary Kate's toes and moves on (I told her this was OK). Also, whenever the baby cries, Aggie will slowly walk up and look at her with a concerned face, as if just checking on her. A few nights ago while the baby slept, Aggie jumped into Jenny's lap for some lovin' (like old times). Jenny commented on how good she had done around the baby, how she listens to us, how she doesn't play with the baby's things, blah blah blah. Aggie looked incredulously at me and said "And you're surprised by this?? I'm deeply hurt..."

Thank You, Jeff & Sandy Dunbar

So who is Jeff Dunbar?? In short, he's the man. We met Jeff and his gracious wife Sandy through Perimeter Church. Jeff and Sandy have meant a great deal to Jenny and me since we have known them. They mentored us over a period of six to eight months, and they were some of the first people we told about being pregnant with Mary Kate. We know that their prayers, along with the prayers of many family members and friends, carried us through this pregnancy to the point where we can now hold our daughter and rejoice over the gift that she is to us. Sandy works in nurse administration at Gwinnett Medical Center, so she was one of the first visitors we had - she wept as she held our daughter and prayed over her. Jeff stopped by earlier this week to hold our daughter and pray a blessing over her as well.



Jenny and I hope that every young couple like us has the chance at some point to develop a relationship with a couple like the Dunbar's, who live such an exemplary life and yearn to pour themselves into young people. Hopefully we'll be that way when our kids are all out of the house...

Burrito Baby

Some immutable facts of life: God's love never changes, winter must fade into spring, and I freakin' love Moe's. Never heard of Moe's? Well, get ready to live...best burritos on planet Earth. Period.

What does this have to do with our baby? Well, her favorite thing to do so far is to sleep, and her favorite way to do that is for her Daddy to wrap her up as tight as possible:







On another note, has anyone heard that you are supposed to ask babies what God said to them right before he sent them down to earth? When I asked Mary Kate, she said that He said many things, and one of them was "Go Dawgs!"

Sleeping Beauty

For those of you waiting on pictures of the baby, I'm having issues with blogspot. Not to worry- I've taken over 200 pictures, most of which will be on the site ASAP.

Mary Kate has arrived!!

Mary Kate was born at 1:42 am on Tuesday, September 27th, 2005. She weighed 6lbs 1oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. Both Jenny and the baby are doing great. They hope to be home sometime Wednesday, so look for more pictures toward the end of the week.
Love, Aunt Jennifer

Tour De Nursery

The nursery is complete! Well, it still needs a baby, but we might be closer to that than we think. Here goes the closest thing to a virtual tour that I can do.

Standing in the doorway, you can see the crib, the wall hanging, and the bookshelves:



Then the window, with the rocker and basket of baby toys (disinfected, washed five times each) on the floor:



Then, a shot of the rocker with the bean bag ottoman-thingy at the foot, and the corner of the squishy floormat that fronts the changing table:



Next, the changing table! Plenty of storage, and from the same nursery set as the crib:



Finally, the dresser was in Jenny's nursery when she was a baby. She actually refinished and painted the drawers the sage color to match the rest of this room. Notice Box#0000000001 of Huggies to the lower right:



As I said, all it needs now is a baby, and we will pick our date to be induced on Friday of this week. It sure does take a load off to have the room ready - while I was shooting the pictures Aggie walked in and told me that she approves of the place:



16 days and counting until the due date...

Christmas Comes Early for Brian

I must be doing something right in life. Why, you might ask? Three days, three great barbecue places, that's why! It all started Thursday when I had to cover a hearing in federal court in Newnan, Georgia. That's right, Newnan. I'm not sure what pops into your head when I mention the name of that town, but in my mind the word "Newnan" means only one thing:



The best in Georgia. Case closed. Click here to be as close to the action as possible.

The very next day, Friday, Jenny and I made a trip with my mother up to Chattanooga to pick up a last-minute gift for Jenny's shower on Saturday. Great town, Chattanooga.

HISTORY NERD NOTE: Know why it's called Chattanooga? That was the Cherokee Indian word for Lookout Mountain, which overlooks the city.

Anyway, mountain or no mountain, one thing always jumps out at me from the cityscape of that fine town: Sticky Fingers. You know, there's something to be said for a BBQ joint that passes out hand towels when you walk in the door. Not a paper napkin in the house. A thing of beauty. Tremendous ribs.

The VERY NEXT DAY, Saturday in Rome, while Jenny and the women go to the baby shower and the Dawgs take care of business in Athens against the lowly LA-Monroe Indians, I hit the target range with my father-in-law and Matt Stewart, a good friend from college. On the way, just like three boys from the south, we made time for lunch:



Just reading the marquis should let everyone know that this is a classic joint. Not to mention the fact that I can't go into the place without running into an old high school buddy. I might be ready to crown this place the best in Floyd County, especially since Two Feet's in Cave Spring closed down (moment of silence).

So it's Sunday now, and it looks like my barbecue streak will come to a close. Three days wasn't bad though. Who knows, maybe I'll get a wild hair and drive down to Dreamland tonight for the best ribs in the solar system....oh wait, we're saving money because a baby is coming.....more on that later....

Aggie Joins the Cause

It seems these days that Jenny and I do something every night to get ready for Mary Kate's arrival. Whether small or large, there is always some item to check off of some invisible list. I guess Aggie notices this, because recently she walked up and asked us if she could get her hair cut short, so we wouldn't need to worry about her grooming when the baby comes. Since she had begun to resemble a little hippie dog, we said OK:



As you can see, I took these pictures with a bright flash as she was in her dark, warm, cozy crate TRYING to go to sleep, while at the same time resisting her primal urge to spring forth, decimate my camera, and maul my face. Thankfully, she is much to sweet to do any of that, and just settled for pretending to be asleep:



22 days until the due date and counting.....

Forecast: Showers!

One down, two to go. We realized last night that it is entirely possible that Jenny could have this baby before her final two showers. Wouldn't that be something? It could be, like, Mary Kate's "zero" birthday party........anyway, as my Greek professor in college used to say, it's possible, but not probable. At any rate, the shower was a great time for Jenny and everyone else. Many thanks to the Klempner's for throwing such a great party! Jenny and I also had a fun weekend with two of Jenny's friends from college, Leslie & Brianna (including Aggie & Brianna's son Caden; Leslie's son Caleb didn't make the picture):



I'm glad that Jenny had such a great time with Leslie and Brianna, who are both moms with little babies and could pass along tons of wisdom to her. Saturday night carried a strange vibe through the Bojo house...three women in deep conversation, two baby boys laying around and doing their thing, and Texas/Ohio State on the flat screen. You like diversity? Look no further.

Saturday will be round two of shower season, this time in Rome at my Aunt Janice's house. We also have another doctor appointment on Friday with Dr. Lance "the man" Wiist...Jenny goes once a week now until the baby comes, which means we could show up, Wiist could check her out, and we could get the "So, do you want to have the baby today" talk. Okay, so not very probable, but for some reason I constantly feel like I'm in the tunnel before a championship football game, ready to run out onto the field and do battle. I translate my adrenaline into many miles of running (still getting ready for that Atlanta Half Marathon). We are very excited...and covet everybody's prayers...one final picture with Jenny & Brianna, this time Aggie smiles for the camera (yep, that's a smile):

Baby Progress

36 weeks today! How time flies....here's the 36 week shot:



In other news, we are approaching shower season, where we will most certainly add to our ever-expanding collection of baby gear. Most of it came from my sister, who hooked us UP with some of her old stuff. The stroller and car seat are great, along with the baby-sling-hands-free-carry-your-kid-around-on-your-hip thingy. As you can see, we've already tested it, and it works like a charm:



And, the nursery is a changing table away from being complete. Oh yeah, it needs a baby too, but she will show up soon enough. Mom, here's the rocker you gave us - Jenny & I stripped & sanded it, and then painted it a sage color. It's perfect for the room!



We have a shower this weekend, next weekend, and the week after in my law office. It's cool to relive those feelings we experienced going into wedding showers, but in a different, perhaps more mature way. I mainly look forward to Jenny getting to see so many women who all care about her, have had and continue to have some significant positive impact on her life, and wish her well with the baby. Speaking of those women, we have two coming to stay at our house this weekend, both of whom are bringing small babies. Trial run, having babies in the house? We'll see...

Question & Answer...

QUESTION: You're in downtown Atlanta with three other lawyers from your firm, you have all just been sworn in to practice before the Georgia Supreme Court & Court of Appeals, you have a mountain of work back at the office, swearing in took much less time than you thought, so what do you do?

ANSWER: Visit the Coca-Cola Museum!!!

Meet the Prestons!

On the way back from Savannah on Sunday, Jenny and I had the privilege of stopping in Dublin, GA to visit Keith & Brianna Preston, our friends from college. Keith is a youth pastor in Dublin, and Brianna stays home with their son Caden. Brianna and Jenny were roommates in college, and she's the kind of friend I'm glad my wife has. Here's a shot of Jenny & Brianna:



And their son Caden:



Keith and I were apparently too ugly to make it into any pictures...

Savannah 2005

In one last getaway before the baby comes, Jenny and I hit the road for a few days in Savannah, Georgia. We usually take this kind of trip around our anniversary every year, but wanted to do it earlier this year since our bundle of joy would render this year's trip impossible. Before we go any further, James Edward Oglethorpe, who founded the state of Georgia, said to tell everyone "hello":



The trip was fantastic. We generally took it easy, walked down to River Street, took a breezy trolley tour of the city, and took in some history. Since I just finished the biography of George Washington "His Excellency" by Joseph Ellis, I was floored when I realized that the bones of Nathanael Greene were two blocks from our hotel:



HISTORY NERD NOTE: Greene was a general in the Continental Army, whom most historians consider to have been the brains behind Washington's military success against the British.

We stayed at the Marshall House, a bed & breakfast in the historic district that was converted from an old warehouse. It was voted the top B&B in Savannah for 2005 - we highly recommend it.

The part of our trip that made our mothers the most jealous was eating at Paula Deen's restaurant "Lady & Sons" on Saturday night. Haven't heard of Paula Deen? Don't worry, neither had I, but apparently she's some big shot on the Food Network who specializes in Southern cuisine (translation: cook everything, EVERYTHING, in butter, and lots of it). One thing I now know - the lady can flat out cook. Fried chicken, pot roast, black-eyed peas, green beans, collards, lima beans, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, peach cobbler, and of course, sweet tea - everything a growing Southern boy needs. I will run a LONG way to pay for the feast I had in that place. PLEASE go there if you make it to Savannah. You won't be sorry. Here's a shot of me & Jenny in the restaurant:



What a great trip. Now we can focus on getting the baby here, which isn't too far away! Thirty-five weeks & counting...and on that note, here is Jenny's thirty-five week photo, taken in front of the fireplace in our room at the Marshall House: