Lovin' and Learnin'

A few of the many things I love about my son:
His laughter, which surprises me each time. The sound of it is like nothing else!
The way he moves his hands on my side and chest when he eats
Him talking to me, "cooing"
Narrating everything to him as he seriously studies what is going on
How his tiny ear makes an imprint on my chest when he falls asleep there
Him smiling up at me when I'm changing his diaper (especially in the car, on my lap when I'm not expecting it, in hurry to get going-so cute!)
How getting to know him and having him in our lives somehow keeps getting better and better

What I am learning:
To appreciate my mom even more
That I will sacrifice anything so that he doesn't have to
To take it slow and be present because he's not going to be small for long
He really is watching and listening to everything we say and do, (even at this young age. And he can feel what we're feeling, I am certain!)
There are a million ways to parent and very few of them are "wrong," just different

I ROCK FOR DOC

We got a very special delivery this morning-a one of a kind treasure from our friend Rex.

Rex is one of those great people that always makes you laugh. We know him from church and I got to know him during our tours in Italy and Israel. In Rome, he started sneaking rocks into my backpack at the coliseum. He'd ask, "Is your backpack getting heavy?" He kept sneaking those rocks in the whole trip! I would get back to the hotel in the evening and find them! In fact, he asked me today if my backpack was still getting heavy. Another good memory was when he and I were both museumed-out and opted out of seeing the Dead Sea scrolls he told me about his younger years outside the museum.
He's also a big UT Longhorn. I remember he would always tease my Dad about being an Aggie and tell Aggie jokes at church. Today he said, "You may think this is strange, but John helped me make this. When I was done he said, 'You did a good job.'" Dad would definitely have loved this. Mom was here and she boo-hooed. Rex even found a 12th man sticker for the rocking train. He said he had to wear rubber gloves while painting, "this maroon paint will contaminate me!" When I texted Brant a picture, he wrote, "Wow! That's impressive! Did he actually paint it Aggie maroon? In his own house??!!!"
He said he started this project as soon as he found out I was pregnant. I have been overwhelmed by the continuous generosity of our friends. I am especially touched by gifts made with such love, by a friend's own hands. Rex does so much for our church and is a busy man, yet he took a lot of time to create something special for Jeffrey.
I ROCK FOR DOC is the BEST part!!!
Thank you to Rex, a very special friend!

"The happiest people I know are people who don’t even think about being happy. They just think about being good neighbors, good people. And then happiness sort of sneaks in the back window while they are busy doing good." Rabbi Harold Kushner

Church Goin' Baby

We are finally out of our cocooning phase and are joining crowds since Jeffrey's had his vaccinations. He is a Go Baby! He loves to be out and see people, listening and studying everything around. We had a busy week that included Lainey's piano recital, visiting my school, a luncheon with coworkers, hamburgers at a friends house, shopping and church! It was so good to be back at church with people that care about us so much and loved seeing Jeffrey, whom they have prayed for!

Harriet: "You tied the knot well, Mike!"



Mike tying our knot 3-17-07, 6 years (almost to the date) before our beautiful son was born!

Some wonderful friends at church
Rex: "He's got long fingers, perfect for hook 'em horns!"

I loved his special outfit he wore today. Thank you Alice and Nance!!! Precious!

Daddy thought it was too frilly for a boy after he changed his diaper, he said, "Men should never wear anything that buttons in the back. That's a rule." Ha ha ha!

 

More pictures from this week:

 

 

Go Spurs Go!

The Hopkins and Gigi came over to watch the Spurs game Sunday. We made popcorn and took turns holding Jeffrey. We went to Chris Madrid's for a burger Saturday. Other than that, our week consisted of walks in the park or neighborhood in the morning and one outing a day. Jeffrey loves to be out and about. So far we've taken him to a Kentucky Derby party and a couples wedding shower and he LOVED both parties. He looks around studying everything and seems to like the noise and energy!

Brant has noticed Jeffrey really likes to be around men. Brant thinks he likes their facial hair and that he knows he is one of them!

Listening to Lainey sing

Laughing with Uncle Mark

Some other pictures from this week, Jeffrey's 9th week!

 

 

2 Months Just Flew By!

Jeffrey Lee was 2 months old this past Saturday. He gave me a wonderful Mother's Day gift of 6 hours sleep Saturday night! Today, he got his 2 month vaccines and took 'em like a champ! (Although Scooby Doo band aids are cute and fun, they may hurt worse coming off than the actual shot!) We're working on enjoying tummy time and neck stretches so he doesn't have a flat head. Hopefully he'll be holding it up on his own in the next couple of months so this will not be an issue! We are slowly getting into a routine. Bedtime is our favorite time of day-calm, low lights, low voices, stories and lights out. Jeffrey is great about getting in his crib drowsy and putting himself to sleep at night. Naps during the day are trickier! His personality and curiosity are really beginning to show. This is going to be fun!


Brant calls him Squeaks (he's very squeaky) and I sometimes call him Boo-kah for some reason.  

He usually enjoys bath time, but we've gotta be quick! It gets cold fast!

 

Daddy's bed time stories

Mama's bed time stories

9 lbs. 6 oz.

 

"You is kind, you is smart, you is beautiful!"

 

You've Come a Long Way, Baby!

A look back...
Week 3: Upon Brant coming home from work one day: "I've gone from 'oh yeah, we can do this' to survival mode." I'm one of those people who needs and actually makes sure I get 8 hours of sleep a night, so this is really tough.
Week 6: People tell you "get your rest now," and you understand about the crying and the middle of the night feedings and lack of sleep. I just didn't realize I would feel like a POW with my form of torture being sleep deprivation! Amazingly as I lie in bed and think I can't do it anymore, Jeffrey begins to cry and I get a whoosh of renewal to tackle the job once again. Choosing to exclusively breast feed is definitely what we want to do for him, but this means I am the only one who can help him the majority of the time. I know it will be worth it in the future.
Week 8: Ahh, he's been sleeping a whole lot better since we got him on Zantac last week. I really didn't want to put him on any meds, but I SHOULD HAVE GONE IN SOONER! That first six weeks was crazy. What was I thinking that we could tough this out! I know their little digestive systems are immature and will hopefully be good by 4 months, but that was rough! Life in the Burris home is getting better and better. Jeffrey still has trouble sleeping during the day, but sleeps 4-6 hour stretches at night.


***I was originally going to title this post "Sleeping Like a Baby?" but as I kept coming back to it, the sleep kept getting better. I hope I don't jinx us by saying that! I may be revisiting to add to it! Ha!

A Happy Mother's Day

This Mother's Day I have everything I have ever wanted. We had a great day that started out with a wonderful breakfast Brant made and a smiling baby boy. Brant gave me a sweet card and wrote a beautiful poem about our family, (that of course made me cry because being a mother isn't easy and it's so nice to be appreciated!) He also wanted to make plaster imprints of Jeffrey's feet and hands for me, but we haven't had time to do it today, (but what a great idea he had to commemorate my first Mother's Day!) We went to see Brant's family and celebrate this day with Jeffrey's special grandmother, Gram and great-grandmother, Lolly. My Mom is on a fantastic European vacation with her college roommate and I am missing her! I can't wait to "hug her neck" on Tuesday when she gets home!
Happy Mother's Day to all and to all a goodnight!

 

 

I am so thankful to be Jeffrey's mother.