Nighttime Conversation

As I mentioned before, Jeremiah talks in his sleep. Sometimes it's incoherent and sometimes he actually carries on conversations. I usually talk to him when he addresses me because his responses are pretty funny.

So, awhile back, Jeremiah was talking in his sleep. It was a very short conversation. Here's how it went:

Jeremiah: How do you like the panties I bought for you?

Sarah: Very much. Wherever did you get them from?

Jeremiah: From the Distribution Center, silly! Where else would I have gotten them?

Ha! I couldn't help but laugh at that one.

The Perils of Black and White

I was watching Confessions of a Shopaholic last night and at one point, the main character goes to a fancy dinner wearing a black and white dress that ends up looking a little too similar to the dresses that the waitresses are wearing. As a result, she gets mistaken for a waitress...hilarity and hijinks ensue.

It reminded me of a time when my family and I were hunting for a place to go to dinner (this was years ago). We went to check out the Lone Star Steakhouse. My mom asked me to go in and find out how long the wait was. I just happened to be wearing black pants and a simple white buttoned up shirt. The wait was too long for us, so I started heading out. As I was leaving, I courteously opened the door for some people who were entering. I held the door and stood still while they entered. One of the girls who was entering asked "Do you know where I could get a menu?" I had happened to see where they were, so I answered "You can get one at the hostess desk." Then I simply walked away. This girl looked so shocked and even offended that I walked out the door without supplying her with a menu. It was only then that I realized that all of their servers, hostesses, etc. were wearing white tops and black pants. She mistook me for a door greeter or hostess!

I laughed to myself as it dawned on me what had happened. I felt bad for the shocked girl who had no idea why she was being shunned by one of Lone Star's "employees." Hopefully, she figured it out once she got inside. I would hate to be the cause of an establishment losing a customer!

At any rate, that was the last time I ever wore a white top with only black pants. I now pair white tops with tan or gray bottoms.

That experience was my sole experience as an employee in the food service industry!

Evolution of a Beard, Part 2: Like Father, Like Son

Awhile ago, I posted pictures of Jeremiah shaving his beard in stages. Peter loves to watch daddy shave.

Peter is usually clean shaven himself. But every now and then...the beard comes out. Peter's beard is of the baby food variety. I find that the darker the baby food, the more Peter likes to play with it and the more it gets all over the place. He really has very little desire to play with his apple baby food. But break out the prunes and play time begins! His baby food tray gets covered in artistic baby food creations only when he gets dark baby food. These pictures are of Peter's prune beards. I don't think we'll be serving prunes again for quite awhile (because of the playing in the dark food factor and the fact that it makes his diapers a whole lot less fun to change too).

But no matter the color of the baby food, Peter loves to get a spoonful of food in his mouth and then he will instantly put one of his hands in his mouth to swish around the food and suck on his fingers while he eats at the same time.



Here are the early stages of the beard.



As you can see, that sweet little hand goes right into his mouth as soon as the food is in there (sometimes, his hand makes it to his mouth before the baby food does! Then, he'll look very surprised that there isn't any yummy food to swish around in his mouth with his fingers).



I think this expression is because I told a semi-funny joke and Peter was giving me a courtesy laugh.



This is Peter's "dictator pose." He's not really a dictator, but he always looks like he's addressing a large crowd of people from a balcony somewhere when he does this.



What a cute prune whiskered boy!

Barometer Update...

Well, I have to say that some of my people watching theories have been altered a little. In my last blog, I stated that my baby helped to reveal three stages of parental readiness in people who did not yet have children. A few people who appeared to be in group one (the group that appeared to be disgusted by children and who had no plans to have any), have softened considerably due to repeated exposure to my baby boy and they are now smiley and cute around him too. It's possible that they may have quickly moved to group two (the group that wants kids, but not yet). Or, they may have been exhibiting a confusing response because they are shy around babies they don't know. I'm that way. If I don't know the baby (or the parents of the baby very well), I tend to keep my distance. I probably looked like I didn't want to have kids to certain people. Jeremiah is the exact opposite. He'll approach babies in the grocery store and faun over how cute they are. He probably looked super baby hungry even before he was ready to be a dad.

Well, it just goes to show you that appearances can be deceiving and sometimes further observation is necessary before reporting on your findings!

Parental Readiness Barometer

Above is a picture of my little barometer.




Above is a picture displaying a mood of my baby that forces an individual's parental readiness to display itself.


I love to study human nature. I find that you can learn a lot about people by watching their reactions to situations. Some scenarios for people watching are no-brainers, but some come unexpectedly.

One example of a no-brainer people watching scenario was when I was waiting for someone at the mall one time. I selected a bench and sat down to wait. This particular bench happened to be right next to a jewelry store. During the course of my wait, I got to examine three very different types of couples. Couple number one consisted of a young man and a young woman. The young woman was ecstatic and kept happily pointing at some rather large diamond rings. The young man had the most obviously scared deer-in-the-headlights expression I have ever seen. The young lady was completely oblivious to the anxiety she was causing her significant other. Couple number two consisted of a mid-twenties couple where the guy was doing the pointing and gesturing and the girl, though looking very pleased, also looked very demure and shy. They seemed very much in love, and they had a very different type of relationship than the first couple. Couple number three was in their thirties and they were definitely on the same page. They were both happily looking at rings and pointing excitedly. They were both very outgoing. It was quite fun for me to sit and wait and watch these three very different couples.

Another people watching experience (less expected this time) came to me while I was in college on a Valentine's Day. I was not dating anyone. My very sweet friend, Alyssa, who was happily dating her future husband decided to get me a pretty little Valentine's flower. I'm not sure if she was doing it simply to be a good friend or because when you're in a happy relationship, you tend to wish that everyone was too and since I wasn't, the flower was meant as a source of comfort to me. I got to see some very interesting examples of human nature as I carried that flower around campus that day. Example number one: the guys who forgot it was Valentine's Day. As I was walking around, a number of guys would glance at my flower without really seeing it and then they would do a double take as their eyes widened in horror as they realized that it was Valentine's Day and they had forgotten...now what would they get their special someone as a gift and how would they cover the fact that they forgot? Example number two: girls who love flowers. A number of girls would look at the flower I was holding and brighten up because it was obvious that they simply loved to look at flowers and other pretty things. Example number three: jealous girls. I was probably the most surprised to see a number of girls give me some genuinely snotty and jealous looks. It was as if they were saying "How come she has a special someone who is giving her flowers on Valentine's Day and I don't? I'm cuter than she is!" I wanted to say in my defense "But I'm not dating anyone right now and we're both cute!"

Now, my most recent people watching experiences have been granted to me by my very special little guy, Peter. I love to watch people without children interact with him. It is definitely a barometer of how ready they are to be a parent. This is especially true when Peter is cranky or crying. Example number one: the veiled withdrawal. No one has been blatant in shrinking away from my son, but I have definitely seen people who hide a look of fear and/or disgust on their faces when some of the grittier aspects of parenthood are seen (such as a crying baby, spitting up, changing diapers, etc.). Those people are definitely NOT ready to take the steps towards parenthood. You can see deep in their eyes that they can't understand why you have decided to change your life so much by bringing a baby into it. Example number two: those who love children and want to have them...but not yet. These people love to play with my little guy, and you can just feel that they want it at some point, but they are more than happy to hand him back to you. They might even still be a little afraid of some things like changing diapers or getting spit up on (but when you're a mom, it's different. Somehow, you don't care as much as you thought you would when you get peed on or spit up on by your child). But you sense that this group of people will brave the spit up when their time is right. I was a member of this group, myself, up until the age of 25. Example number three: those who are ready for and yearn to have babies. This is the most heartbreaking example to watch. Especially when they can't have babies yet (whether because they aren't married yet, they aren't dating someone seriously enough to lead to marriage, or even worse, because they are having trouble having babies). Again, I've been a member of this group too (from the age of 25 until I got pregnant at 29).

Gratefully, I was able to conceive easily. However, I have had a number of good friends who have had difficulties in that area and it just makes your heart ache to see them wait so long for something they want so much. I can understand how hard it is to wait for righteous desires. I didn't get married until I was 28, so I did have to go through the pain of being single for quite awhile. I'm not going to lie, it was hard. Some of the loneliest moments of my life came while I was single. I was engaged at 26 and my fiance got cold feet and broke it off. Being engaged and thinking about building a family and then having the rug pulled out from under my feet was one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through. In my darkest hours, I thought I would be single and childless forever. Peter came only a few months before I turned 30. Now, if you'd asked me earlier if I wanted to be having kids this late, I would have said no way. My mom had all of her kids by the time she was 28 (the same age I got married at). I definitely wanted to be done by this time. But the Lord had other plans in store for me.

Now, after having my sweet baby Peter, I can honestly tell you that this is what life is all about. So, to the first group of people who withdraw at the sight of my baby, I would tell you that you don't know what you're missing and you'd better shape up before you miss out. To the second group of people who want kids, but aren't ready yet, I would tell you to enjoy this time in your life, learn as much as you can and become the person you want to be so that you can be the best parent you can be. To the third group of people who want children, but can't have them yet, I would tell you to continue to have faith. I know that your righteous desires will be fulfilled in the Lord's time and when it happens, you will know why you had to wait and also that it was worth the wait. Even to those who are having trouble conceiving, I have seen miracles happen in the form of in vitro, conception when it was thought impossible, and adoption. So, don't give up hope.

I never knew I would get such a window into an individual's parental readiness through my own son. Human nature definitely is fascinating! And I sure love my little barometer!

Peter: Sixth Month

Above: This guy loves to play in boxes. I padded it with some blankets to make it softer for him.

Above: This guy is in his element!

Above: He loves to suck on his lower lip.

Above: This is a leftover flower from Laurie's wedding. I don't know what it is...but I love it!

Above: Nammy is a sucker for this guy. I mean, look, she gave him her watch to suck on!

Above: Nammy loves this guy.

Above: I was trying to get artistic and fit everyone in the same shot.

Above: Watching some shows with daddy.

Above: I love that chin!

Above: I love that smile!

Above: I love those eyes!

Above: I love that boy!

Above: What a cutie.

Above: He just makes me happy.

Above: He is ready to crawl...but he isn't quite there yet.

Above; He loves to suck on his lower lip.

Above: He loves to rock back and forth on his hands and knees. He will be crawling before I know it.

Above: This guy loves his binky. Look at those chubby legs!

Above: Peter loves his Mimi.

Above: Eating is a very messy thing, but look at how cute he is when he does it!

Above: Peter loves to get in the exersaucer.

Above: Peter having some epic battles with a box of tissue. I'm not exactly sure what he expects or wants that box to do...but I will tell you this, that box isn't doing it.

Above: Peter loves his Aunt Emily! Emily is my exercise buddy and comes up quite frequently to exercise with me and hang out afterward.

Above: This guy loves to snuggle. Isn't he cute?

Above: This guy has the special talent of turning graham crackers into the strongest adhesive ever.

Above: Hanging out with Dad.

Above: Hanging out with Mom.

Above: Hanging out with Aunt Emily.

Above: Getting a new hairdo with Nammy.

Above: I love his sweet face.

Above: Best buds.

Above: Getting a kick out of Daddy's fake mustache.

Above: I don't remember why we drew this mustache on Jeremiah though...besides, he can grow a crazy bushy mustache that puts this one to shame.

Above: He can't quite crawl yet...but he can scoot, and you had better believe he is getting into all sorts of mischief! I'm in for it!

Above: Peter loves to sit in a laundry basket snuggled in some blankets.

Above: Look at that double chin! This guy eats well!

Above: Just sitting on Dad.

Above: Look at those squishy legs!

Above: What a handsome, sweet guy. I sure love him.