Cinco de Mayo -- Tagged Tres Times

Of course I should blog about the good stuff -- but the "real" stuff should be in here too, right?! I had lunch with an old friend yesterday (on the 5th) and she said she reads a couple of other mother's blogs -- and that she was intimidated early in her duties of motherhood b/c there was only good stuff on there... they seemed to be doing things perfectly. I don't know if I've blogged about the downs as well as the ups. We by no means are doing it all right -- but we're having fun trying! I've told Mercer over and over, "We're new at this, please be patient with us!" He seems to understand.

So - on that note - let me admit that I was tagged not once... not twice... but THREE times yesterday! I gave Mercer a baby massage with some massage oil and a "Gentle Baby" essential oil that our friend Carla gave us mixed into it. Afterwards, I had him wrapped in a towel (and an extra cloth around his lower half) so that the oils would have time to soak in. At the same time, I attacked the cradle cap issue on the top of his head by rubbing olive oil into his head. Apparently, both made him extremely relaxed -- as he pee-ed all over me -- missing somehow that cloth I had around his waist!

Later, I gave him a bath and again wrapped him in a towel. Before I could get him dressed - as I was carrying him - he tagged me again. But that was actually the 3rd time of the day. The first happened that morning when he was sleeping.... and it was basically a diaper over-run. But - it's worth it, honestly! Todd's been feeding him around 11 (+/-) and then swaddle and put him in the cradle. Mercer is sleeping until 2:30 or 4:00 or 5:00 am -- at which time I go get him / bring him to bed. He continues to sleep and as of late has been beginning to wail that he wants breakfast around 6 / 6:30 / or 7. It's been GREAT! He's getting a ton of sleep and we're getting more as well.

There's an attachment parenting book I've been trying to read -- and there's a line in there that I love: (paraphrased) "The best place for your baby to sleep is where the WHOLE family gets the most rest." They're talking about how a lot of people criticize bringing a baby to bed -- how in this culture a baby must sleep by themselves in the crib, but in other cultures around the world, they never would've thought of doing such a thing! It's interesting.

Too much ramble... not enough pictures!

On Friday, we had lunch with a friend, Katy, who was the structural engineer on one of my past projects. She had her second child, Gage, a few weeks before Mercer ( 02/04/08 ). She & I probably only get together once or twice a year, for she's on the other side of Atlanta from us, but we found a place to meet mid-way and catch up. This will undoubtedly be interesting to watch the two "Feb 08" babies as they grow.

I thought that we were going to meet a couple of other Feb 08 babies on Saturday -- who live on our street -- but that has been post-poned due to schedule issues. Instead, we (drove) to the square to check out opening day of the Farmer's Market. We only had time to buy a couple of tomato plants before getting rained on and ducking into a restaurant for breakfast. There was also a craft fair on the square, but b/c of the rain, we decided to go back the next day. Sunday, we walked to the square and checked out the vendor's wares. Mercer was the Parks & Rec "mascot" hanging out in their tent for awhile (with his honorary "Georgia Grandma Joan") who needed a little bit of baby love. The thing that we enjoy about our square: Community. We ran into SO many people we knew (neighbors, former neighbors, former co-workers, current co-workers, etc).

Monday, Mercer and I met Allison, a former classmate from high-school who I also went to churh with. She brought her son, John David, who is 2 1/2 years old. We had not yet met him for it's been over 3 years since we've seen her. She lives about an hour away from where we live -- and we, too, met somewhere in between in order to get together. They brought Mercer a picture that they both made. So sweet! The photo came out pretty dark, however, I think you can see how cute it is.

Otherwise, we enjoyed beautiful weather Sunday, working in the garden a little bit (Mercer spent some time in a new "tent" that we got for him Saturday), and working on painting the nursery.