Liliana Week 8

Hello there, how are ya? I’d like to take a minute to talk with you about my visit, with my travel companions, Gabe & Joanna. I could start by telling you about all the things we did here. Like visiting the Locks, or staying up playing Scattergories & what “elusive bus” means. I could tell ya jokes that you wouldn’t get, cause ya weren’t here, like “elusive bus”. Or about great pizza in Seattle (that’s right… I said it, in Seattle!) Maybe we could talk about pork chops & its importance. Or I could share with you how wonderful our family dinners were over pasta, sausage, salad bread & laughter. I could write about our visit to Pikes Place, & our walks around town. And sure I could thank Ian, Marita, Mike, Rachael & Logan for puttin us up in their great new home, feeding us & showin us around.

Or perhaps you’d like to know a about the newest member here, Liliana. Well, look, we could get into how incredibly beautiful she is, which is true. Or how sweet she gets, true too. Or maybe ya were hoping to read about how awesome it is to hear her gurgle, & coo & giggle & wriggle around in our arms. Or how bout those strange, adorable, funny faces she makes when she’s sleeping & awake; all true. Maybe you’re hoping to hear about how that she’s so small that she fits right in between your hand and bi-cep, or how she can look at you so seriously & it still melts your heart.
Well sure, I could talk about that all day, but me, I’d like to talk about something else, I’d like to talk about…me. Ok, so I ain’t one of them fancy pediatricians, but I know a thing or two about babies. I mean I saw “3 men & a baby”. So I expect a few things; cute, sure, small, ok, bald, perhaps. But what I never expected was this…

This child cried… that’s right, I mean really, really cried, like a good ol’ fashion, I’m a baby & I got somethin’ to cry about cry… ONCE! If ya count those 15 minutes on the last night right before she was about to be fed & then to bed. That’s right, ONCE! 1 time in all our 5 days here. Who’s ever heard of such a thing? Oh & when she wasn’t crying, which was always, she was doin’ all that other jazz I wrote about above. Unbelievable! I mean here I come, all the way across the country to make sure that my best friends were having a helluva time with their new baby girl & what do I find? Sweetness, the most, bestest, sweetest baby I’d ever seen! Didn’t seem real to me I tell ya! And to make matters worse, Liliana’s cousin, young Logan is… The happiest 10 month old in the universe. Nothing could make this kid unhappy. Bonk his head on the floor “Yeah”, really hungry for food “Whoopee!”, time to go to sleep “Hurrah!”, play with mommy & daddy “Weee” (ok, well that one makes some sense). All I saw was Logan walkin about, arms stretched proudly to the sky, grin from ear to ear, making the happiest sounds. Everything was always fun with him. Especially his adoration of his baby cousin. You remember her, Liliana, the completely content one.

I mean what’s going on in this world where people as caring & loving as Ian & Marita have such support & love from people like Mike & Rachael & Logan… and not 1 day of tears. Not even a half hour of them. I thought babies cry! What’s the point of calling someone a “crybaby” any more if Liliana’s around to contradict it!

Anyway, as you can probably tell by now, I’m thoroughly distraught. A perfectly good trip, ruined by happy babies who only know to laugh, sleep, play & never cry. I believe it’s time we started taking a closer look at these parents who are caring for these kids to see what exactly what it is they are doing here.

I’ll tell ya, it was a “helluva’ trip we were havin’, huh!” and it was fantastic.

Thanks & love ya lots, Jakes, Gabe & Joanna.

Liliana Week 7

Uncle Dan, here - guest blogging after visiting Seattle, in the interests of bringing a little objectivity to this site, lest anyone think Ian and Marita are being less than impartial in their unfailing adoration of Liliana.

So, objectively speaking... she's totally amazing. And how shall we define amazing? Well, amazing in that she managed to sleep like a rock through three separate restaurants, the Washington State Democratic caucuses, and the entirety of a screening of Pootie Tang (for which I seriously envy her). Amazing in that I got to witness her inaugural wearing of pants, if only because some judicious padding ensured that said pants would stay on (and some judicious pooping ensured that said pants were a short-lived experience). Amazing in that she managed to spit-up with impeccable comic timing all weekend. And especially amazing when she smiles. Not just because it's a beautiful smile, but because her typical waking hours seem like a never-ending restivestate, clawing and fidgeting for better comprehension, or endlessly trying to discover her comfort-zone. I realize this is all normal behavior, but when she breaks character in the middle of all that,with one of those expressions of unbridled glee that only babies can pull off... I trust you've all seen the pictures. I'll testify hereand now that they don't do her justice. And that's a completely objective observation, of course.

Overall, a splendid weekend: everyone paid a visit to Liliana's new pediatrician, who seems to be a big hit. And Lily herself appears happily preoccupied with the assortment of vibrating chairs that populate the house. Ian and Marita are doing a fabulous job, with some able assists from Rachel, Mike and Logan. One cautionary note: rhyming Liliana's name with "banana," no matter how unintentional, appears to be a bit of a touchy subject in the household (correct pronunciation rhymes with "Obama"). But for now, I don't think she minds so much.

Watching Baby: Weeks 5 & 6

Our little Liliana is growing each day. She is truly a pleasure. She is still sleeping well and doesn't cry very often--though, honestly, her parents still don't really like hearing her cry at all. It is such an amazing thing to see the developmental growth of such a little girl. She is no longer wearing her newborn disposable daipers. She fits into her small FuzziBunz washable daipers, although we do have to cross it over to button it tighter around the waist. She's been growing, but she is still a skinny little thing. Even though the FuzziBunz help her fill out her clothes she is actually quickly growing out of her newborn outfits! We love that Liliana is even more awake and aware of things day by day. She has been focusing not only on black, red, and white, but all bright colors on her play mats, toys, and general surroundings. Our favorite, of course, is when she focuses on our faces. It is simply mesmerizing to have your daughter staring back at you--especially when you smile down at her and she smiles back! Yes, Liliana has learned to return our smiles. It brings us the most incredible happiness. We have tried to capture the smiles on camera, but none seem to capture the true thing. This picture at least captures her enthusiasm. You will all just have to visit us to experience her personality in the flesh. We think it might just melt your heart--it melts our everyday, multiple times over. Can you tell we love being parents?