Tonight I swaddled Doc and was rocking him to sleep. I told him that it was okay for him to fall asleep and that I would take care of him forever. He smiled from behind his pacifier and nodded his head.

Worn from the day

After a rough Thursday, today was back to Doc's usual smiles and plenty of talking. This morning before we went out, we played with his new toys (notice the hefty grip on crinkle frog prince) and wandered outside. Doc and Dogdog had a staring contest (Doc won; he always does). We spent the rest of the day grocery shopping and running errands with Grandma S. He really loves the mall, which is a little worrisome, but he was also pretty into Little Tiger Toys on Railroad. After tubby time and mid-evening nacks, he finally crashed out. How long can I dress him in stripy bodysuits?

Before waking up this morning

New stuff and things

We went toy shopping yesterday. Doc picked out some good stuff at Yeager's. His favorite so far is the Skwish; he likes the noise and seems to be completely mesmerized by it when you rotate it in the air for him. He also got a new Aden + Anais bath towel and washcloth set. And G reminded me to add that he weighed 12 pounds 7 ounces with his clothes on. He's getting to be kind of a bruiser.

My baby looks good in gray

We tried out our alligator pool

We bought Doc an inflatable pool that looks like an alligator. I filled it for him this weekend but it wasn't quite warm enough. He liked being naked outside but he got pretty mad when I brought him into the water. Maybe in another month.

My baby the inch worm

When he lays on his belly now he pushes his way across the blanket. Eventually his arms get tucked way underneath him and I have to reset him before he goes for more.

After a rough day with a rumbly belly, he has a moment of relief so he can be his sweet self. He is absolutely wonderful. Caring for him is very draining, but it's worth every moment. I really do love him more everyday. I remember Maddy saying the same thing after she had Maribel. It didn't really make sense until I had one of my own. How, if you love your child more everyday, do you ever let them go?

Tubby time

Bath time is the best time of day.

He's very talkative

He usually talks a lot now during his happy hour after he eats. The camera is really distracting for him now so I had to record at an odd angle so he wouldn't pay attention to it. I'm above him making crazy faces and doing jazz hands to keep him talking.

Washington apple snob

I only really eat apples in the Fall. They're so good in season that it doesn't seem worth it to waste my time on something that has lost all of its flavor and crispness when they're out of season. I'm excited for the apples on the end tree at mom's house. I'll have to introduce Doc to John and Dori at the orchard when they open, too. Honeycrisp cider is wonderful.

July garden

The snap peas are delicious. Click on the picture to see everything up close.

Nap time

He fell asleep in cousin Maribel's swing. It took a while but he finally gave in.

6 weeks... 6 months... all taste do same

Six weeks and six months are like the same thing for us. Doc is wearing 0-3 on top and 3-6 pants and socks but his two month birthday isn't until August 3. I started pulling out his 3-6 month outfits and found that half of it was already snug on him. He has extra long legs and monkey arms like his mom.

I'm crazy for him at six weeks but I already miss the newborn

He's getting more expressive everyday. Each morning when I pick him up I notice a difference in his size (even though I've been holding him half the night), but today I looked at his face and saw a grown kid.

Hang out time

Push ups

He rolled over this afternoon from his belly to his back. It happened twice in a row but he wouldn't do it again once I started recording the video. He made it look easy. In this video he looks mad, but he's just trying to be a tough guy.

He's very animated

I blog now

Maintaining a blog seems to be the common thing for moms to do these days. It's proven to be pretty entertaining for me. Since I have 6-12 hours a day with Doc attached to my front side, sharing pictures of him in a blog format has become the thing I do to pass the time.

Besides writing my own posts, I like to look at other peoples' photos. This makes me feel a little creepy since I don't know most of the people I read about and I don't ever leave comments (this is technically called 'lurking'). The blogs I enjoy (listed in the column on the right) consist of a flower shop, what started as wedding inspiration, cousin Emily's photos and stories, recipes from what G calls the smitten kitten, and some design stuff. The other pages on the list consist mostly of stylish European babies in sweaters laying next to their Sophie giraffes. I may be a little creepy, but I think I really just want my own backyard, trips to the beach, and access to baby clothes without "Little Cutie" embroidered on the front. I'm kind of living in my dreams via others' photos. So for now I'll share my real life here at 'Greg and Meagan dot blogspot dot com' and I'll continue to laugh every time I say blogspot.

There's Sophie in the background.

He's too advanced for baby talk

He recognizes touch and responds accordingly. He really enjoys head and shoulders, knees and toes. And he seemed to enjoy the sloppy salmon. He listens very intently when I tell him new things. We count up and down to 10 on my fingers and do new letters of the alphabet each day. Too much repetition makes him bored. We need some Your Baby Can Read videos.

Sweet peas at Grandma's house

I don't find them particularly attractive but the smell is my absolute favorite of all flowers. They're crazy tangled (I have a problem with planting too many seeds), but I keep picking them and they keep replenishing. I wish we could share some with Baby Bel.

Bideo bideo

He's trying to be a muscle pounder or just a bruiser like aunt Maddy

He likes late night topless photo shoots

It's been much too hot upstairs the last few days so to avoid getting too hot, he's been sleeping without clothes (diaper and swaddly only).

Long awaited Daddy time

We got lucky

We like to talk about who Doc will be in the future. He's definitely going to be taller than Greg and I (like 6 feet). He already has huge hands and feet for a newborn. His long fingers could be used for playing an instrument; I like to think this instrument might be an upright bass. He may be the athletic type, though, and use those long fingers for gripping a basketball. Greg would prefer if he were a professional golfer. We like to think that he'll be incredibly handsome and intelligent and also be one of the cool kids without even trying.

These are all superficial things, though. Because he is healthy, we have the luxury of dreaming up scenarios like this for his future. We don't need to worry about healthcare or special developmental training. He has the proper number of fingers and toes and is progressing mentally as he should be. It's fun to think about the superficial things, but I can't help but feel very fortunate that we have such a wonderful healthy baby.

Even more wooden toys

Soopsori is a Korean company that makes wooden toys finished with linseed oil. I would really like to find the block sets from a U.S. retailer. For more immediate use, the rattle set is very nice (available from Emmo Home).

More wooden toys

These are nice for practicing spatial reasoning. The puzzles are from http://www.kidonyc.com/home/ and the huge rainbow stacker is from The Wooden Wagon.

Future playtime

These rocking sheep are from Danish Crafts and are available at Smallable.

I don't really like stuffed animals unless they are something special. Being handmade usually gives them that extra appeal. The pointy eared girl is by Evangelione. She's from Malaysia and she claims to be a rabbit in her Etsy profile.

This is Antlered Atticus from Loopydolls on Etsy. They have looped hands for hanging on to things. I also really like Silvano the Deerboy, Blinker, and Chester the Softest.

Tummy time

Happy Birthday Doc!

He's one month old and he likes to kick, stretch, and kick