Welcome baby Maddox!

I am overjoyed to congratulate my sister Melissa and her husband Bryce on the birth of their baby boy Samuel Maddox. The precious, 7 & 1/2 pound boy will go by the name Maddox. He is as close to perfect as they come.
It took some time for congratulations to be in order. This was no ordinary childbirth adventure. In fact, it seems that in the first 8+ hours following the birth of Maddox there were very few smiles.
After a rather smooth, uneventful induction and an active labor of 10 hours, my sister very bravely pushed - without pain meds - for 30 short minutes. Though I regret to say I missed the labor, I hear that she was a trooper.
Maddox came into this world holding his elbows bent outward beside his head, causing great damage to his strong mommy. She immediately had to be put under general anesthesia for surgery as she had lost half of her blood supply. I saw her as they wheeled her by on her way to the operating room.
She was in shock. We all were when we heard the news. Over the course of 3 hours, friends and family waiting in the third floor waiting room heard nothing from the surgeons. No one was spoke about the arrival of a healthy baby boy. We just waited quietly in a state of worry and confusion.
How could such a happy time feel so sad? I couldn't get thoughts out of my head about the pain my sister must have felt. I still can't.
Around 1 AM the doctor invited immediate family to visit with Melissa. At last she was stable. She is still on the mend, but very tired and very weak. She spent the entire first 24 hours of baby Maddox's life in surgery and the ICU.
Many of us have only seen baby Maddox through the nursery window. We haven't seen him being held in my sister's arms. But we can all rest in comfort now knowing that she and her family are on the way to recovery and are now back in the maternity ward. She has been able to hold and nurse that precious baby.
Her already beautiful family has grown in number from three to four. I couldn't be happier for them, and I'm glad that we are now at a place where we can smile big cheesy grins and we can congratulate their ears off.
Welcome to the world baby Maddox! You sure made an entrance.

Samuel Maddox. Born September 27, 2010 at 6:16 pm.

7 pounds, 8 ounces. 20 inches long.

Proud papa showing off baby Maddox through the nursery window

Didi (Bryce's mom) holding big sister Madeline as they look at Daddy and baby Maddox through the nursery window

The grandmothers fought their way into the nursery to hold baby Maddox. This was before Melissa was able to hold him herself. Thank God for family.

And then we were walking...

My handsome 1-year-old son Caleb decided that today was as good a day as any to take his first steps. The location he chose was Wine Authorities, where hubby and I go taste wine as often as we can.
Caleb was busy playing at the lego station with hubby as I was sipping wine at the tasting table. I glanced over at the two of them and hubby had a look of disbelief on his face. He said, "This boy just walked for the first time."
So naturally, we turned the video camera on and forced Caleb to do it over and over and over. It only makes sense that Caleb's first steps took place at my second home, the wine store.

Tricky transportation

The following video depicts Caleb realizing that crawling across rocky pavement hurts the legs. He has learned to adjust his crawl for painful situations such as these. Enjoy!

Photo of the Day

A daddy and son moment

Mami Nora's

During a discussion about my semi-recent infatuation with plantains, a friend of mine suggested I go to Mami Nora's Peruvian Rotisserie in North Durham. The restaurant is almost 2 years old and is literally a whole in the wall. These "best kept secret" kinds of places are often the finest around. Mami Nora's is no different.

They serve whole chicken, 1/2 chicken, and 1/4 chicken portions served with two sides. I ordered black beans and tostones (savory fried plantains). Hubby and I ordered yucca fries for Caleb, though he much preferred my juicy chicken.

Mami Nora's chicken is cooked over all-wood charcoal and marinated with special herbs and spices. It is beyond delicious, and such a good value.

Caleb couldn't get enough chicken, and neither could we. We'll be back to Mami Nora's soon.

Flash mob with a cause

I made a visit to Southpoint Mall last weekend because I read in the newspaper that there was going to be a Flash Mob. I'd never seen one in person, only in YouTube videos from Europe, so I was excited to go.

It began at 7:30 sharp outside of Firebirds. A few girls in white shirts were standing clustered by the fountain. It was obvious that this wasn't going to be a huge surprise for passersby. Most people had come with purpose to view the flash mob. There were no less than 6 camera crews on site to witness the event.

Then the small group of girls began to dance to "Don't Stop Believing."

The group slowly grew as it was joined by even more dancers.

Nearing the end of the performance people started parading by with balloons.

It was nice to see that this was a United Way volunteer-sponsonered event. Not that the crowd learned anything new about the work of the United Way. But we all walked away knowing just how many people support the agency.

It was a feel-good way to spend 15 minutes of a Friday night.

A slice of heaven

I've always wanted to take of picture of the sky when you can actually see the beams of sunlight bursting forth from behind the clouds. To me, that is the quintessential picture of heaven.
This morning shortly after sunrise I got my lucky chance. The clouds were perfect, the sky was perfect, and my camera was just within reach. I stepped outside with my son, placed his cute one-year-old self neatly in a pile on the grass and took aim with my camera. Perfect sky moments such as these are fleeting. Fortunately I got the shot.

Then I looked down at my feet and found my own little flesh and blood slice of heaven tapping at my feet.

So he got his picture taken as well.

That's what I call a successful morning before heading off to work.

Gaga for Gummisavers

Once upon a time I had a free moment to myself - actually it was a few Saturdays ago - so I decided to waste a lot of time staging a photo shoot made purely of candy. My sister works for Wrigley's and occasionally has free samples that are expired. I beg her for these, and sometimes, just sometimes, I get some candy. It is awesome.
With the latest box of expired Gummisavers she so generously gave to me I decided to shape them into a piece of art worthy of a photo shoot.
I know. I'm insane. And had a lot of time on my hands. But look at the beautiful results!

Thank you to my sister. Her expired GummiSavers never go to waste in my capable hands and/or mouth.

A long awaited hike

Hiking is one of my all-time favorite activities, and I am sad to report that I haven't been in forever. So it was much to my surprise when hubby came home from working his early Saturday morning shift (4 am-11 am) to announce that today might be a great day to hike. The skies were slightly overcast and the weather was cooler than usual. I agreed immediately and we hit the road. The Duke Forest trails are the most convenient to our house - so we headed in that direction. This was Caleb's very first hike!

We found a nice shaded, creek-side spot to place a blanket and we settled down with Caleb's toys spread out for play and two cold beers in hubby's and my hand.

Caleb enjoyed being in nature, though he really wanted to eat the dirt and leaves. And he had his eyes on our beers. We had to convince him that Ritz crackers were the only thing on the menu.

He was pretty upset about the whole thing (possibly because he is now one and decided that now he is old enough to have opinions), which required we let him play with hubby's wallet. Caleb spent most of his time in the forest playing with credit and debit cards.

A cool, end-of-summer rain shower let us know that it was time to make our departure from Duke Forest. With the arrival of fall, the cooler weather will be perfect for more hiking.

Lessons in Parenting

Now that it has been a week or more since my baby boy turned one, I thought I’d share my Top 10 things I learned during my first year as a parent. Please take them with a grain of salt, as I am still a first-time mommy.

1. Don’t stress about milestones.
Unless your pediatrician alerts you to a problem, don’t stress if your baby hasn’t reached a milestone yet. The moment you think he’ll never do something, just blink and he’ll have far surpassed your expectations.

2. Sing and dance with your baby every chance you get.
Some day soon they’ll be old enough to know better than to listen or play along. But when they are this young, your crusty old voice sounds like an orchestra.

3. Be grateful if you are able to breastfeed.
Some mothers don’t have this option, and some simply can’t keep up their supply. Thank God every day that he gives you the ability to produce milk and nurture that relationship with your baby.

4. Let other people dress your baby.
People love to buy baby clothes and people love to donate hand-me-downs. Accept these generous gifts with a big fat thank you and save your money.

5. Find your way to cope with stressful baby moments early.
I remember listening to Darius Rucker’s “It won’t be like this for long” almost every morning during the first 2 months of Caleb’s life. Darius was right. Everything changes so fast.

6. Let your baby get dirty.
That’s why they invented bubble baths. P.S. – My hubby taught me this one. I would have never believed it otherwise.

7. It is okay to piss off your baby.
In moments when you need to clip his fingernails, suction boogies from his nose, or give him medicine, he will kick, scream, and cry. Let him. He will survive. In fact, he’ll even forget about the “torture” of it in about 5 seconds.

8. Ask for help.
No one knows you need help unless you ask. Hubby and I utilized free childcare as much as we could that first year. We are eternally grateful to those who donated their precious time to watch baby Caleb.

9. Read to your baby every single day.
Science proves that a young child’s brain development progresses faster from age 0 – 5 than at any other stage in life. Read to them from day one, even when it seems they are ignoring you.

10. Share your baby with others.
Don’t let yourself be the only person your baby sees. He needs interaction from others. Plus, babies put smiles on the faces of those with whom you share him.

I didn’t include the most obvious things, like learn to listen to your baby’s cues, or wash your hands often. I included the things that took me by surprise as a new parent. Despite how far my delusional self might think I’ve come as a mommy, I still accept how very clueless I really am. I realize that not knowing it all has allowed me to become more flexible, more humble, and a parent who loves learning to be a parent.

Museum-goers

Thank you Jeni and Lily, who invited Caleb and I on a morning visit to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham this past Saturday. We had so much fun and were amazed at how much the museum has to offer.
This is Caleb's look of amazement!

No, but he really did try to reach out and touch the butterflies in the Butterfly House at the museum. Just one of the many exciting exhibits to see there.

They also have a farmyard, a dinosaur trail, a mini-zoo, a fossil-dig zone, multiple age-appropriate play areas, a noise room, and much, much more.

Caleb and Lily are still to young for many of the exhibits, like the fossil dig. Some of the older kids play in that zone, using shovels taller than themselves very liberally. No one wants an accidental shovel to the face on a Saturday morning. But maybe one day...

We spent about 3 hours at the museum and didn't even cover half the ground. I see many more visits in the future. Thank you again, Jeni, for a wonderful Saturday.

A quiet downtown

Hubby and I spent a lovely, cool-ish afternoon exploring downtown Durham. We both agree that we don't go downtown enough, and this was the perfect weekend to do it.
Downtown was quiet because of the holiday weekend. It was traffic-free and made for easy walking.