Visits and Visitors

So much has happened since the last time I blogged. I will apologize this once, but I know how monotonous having an apology at the beginning of each blog could get, so I'm going to apologize for any lapses in time between blogs all in one shot right now. Not having internet and having lots of visitors makes it harder to keep up with all the pictures and videos for all of you, but know that it is always at the forefront of my mind. I want nothing more than to let all of you see how cute our kid is ;) We'll start this blog with what you all came to see -- pictures of our little boy. Jed is probably over 11 lbs. now and getting larger by the day. He also happens to be losing some of his baby hair. It's pretty funny because he's losing it all in the front, so he's got a receding hair line long before his daddy does. If you can't tell, just go back and look at some of his earlier pictures and compare. I don't think it's changed how handsome he is, though. He also seems to be gaining cheeks as he's losing hair. So, without further ado, our son:

The picture above is his 'poop face'. I know that's not a very nice name for such a cute expression, but it's the truth. This is exactly what he does when he's trying to poop. Notice, too, his Fire Chief onesie. Uncle Jeff would be proud.

This is the 'milk drunk' face. Jed has an amazing appetite -- which he proved by gaining 22 oz. in 2 weeks. I think that's pretty much a record :)

And this face would be the 'Mom, would you stop it with all the flashing bulbs and snapping lenses?' face. He's just going to have to get used to it.

Here is proof that our son can not only eat, but sleep. When he's out, he's out. If I want to wake him, I can try something like this: picking him up and twisting him back and forth. Still, it might not work. As I have often said, this child was built for comfort.

And here's proof of Jed being built for comfort. I just love to hold him on my chest and wait for him to fall asleep. This is Chris' favorite position as well. He has also experienced the joy of feeding him for the first few times this past week. I left him alone for an afternoon while I worked at the winery. What fun to get out of the house, but I was aching until I could get back and get Jed in my arms again. I didn't realize how much I would miss him.

My sister, Caroline, and her daughter, Naomi, came to visit for a week -- one of the reasons that his blog has taken so long to get here. Hopefully, these adorable pictures and videos will make it worth the wait. Naomi has been excited to meet her two baby boy cousins (mine and my sister, Valerie's, boy Joshua). She calls them 'my babies'. It just melted my heart any time that Naomi would come up to me with her two little hands outstretched and ask "Can I hold my baby?" She was also a constant source of entertainment for the three of us as Caroline helped with Jed and with some of the housework as well. What a great sister!

Below is a picture from Jed's first hiking trip. We went to Pomona Natural Bridge and had quite a time trying to walk up and down and around all the broken trees from the storm. A lot of the walking trails down here are still off limits from all the crazy wind and turmoil around here.

Finally, I'll leave you with a couple of videos. The first is Naomi with Jed just having some fun cousin time. The second is of Naomi and I singing the song I wrote for Jed on the day he was born. I've taught it to her, but she was kind of shy with the camera. Later that same day, she was singing it to herself as we drove in the car. Enjoy!!!