I Cry

I’ve never been one to cry during movies. Books yes, movies no. (I don’t know why this is.)

But then I got married…
And then I had a baby…

Suddenly it’s like the emotional flood gates have been opened and with their newfound freedom my tears have a mind of their own. (And this is what I get for sharing my heart.)

Not long after we were married, I made Mike watch The Notebook (edited) with me. I had seen it before during my single life and just remembered thinking something like, “Aww, cute story!” There were no tears. The end. But this time, I blubbered. (And poor Mike never knew it was all his fault.)

I figured it was probably a fluke. But then along came Daven.

While Mike was up on campus the other night I figured I’d curl up with a movie to pass the time—that was my first mistake. I ran to our local library (free rentals anyone?) and chose Charly, which I had not seen since my freshman year of high school. Second mistake. I plopped down to feed Daven and started the tape rolling. Third mistake.


Towards the end of the movie I was wiping my tears out of Daven’s hair and hoping I wasn’t crushing him cause I was squeezing him so much. Mike came home to catch the last few minutes and my disheveled self. We decided we’re never gonna watch this one again.

Dress Up

Cuddly bear suit courtesy of his Grandma Jackson.

Even though it's still huge, he looked pretty dang cute.

And humored me just long enough for a picture.

Lullaby Craziness

If you know my family, you know we're all a little obsessed with kids songs (Veggie Tales and the like are big hits!). I have vivid childhood memories of dancing around our living room to songs like "See Me Run" and "Sally the Camel." Honestly I think Mom has a song for just about anything...

But when it comes to lullabies, as in soothing rock-the-baby-to-sleep music, I think of my Daddy. Not only does Dad have a beautiful tenor voice, but he's also composed several lullabies himself. His voice often plays in my head when I sing to Daven.

The funny thing is, sometimes I can't remember all the words to these songs that used to be so familiar (Placenta Brain continued?). It's a wee bit frustrating now that I want to use them again. The songs that have come back often include hand actions or just left a strong impression on my childhood self.

For example, I raised rabbits as a child and I guess that's why this song scared me a bit . . .

In a cottage in a wood

A little old man by the window stood.

He saw a little rabbit hopping by

Knocking at each door.

"Help me, help me, Sir!" he said

"Or that farmer will shoot me dead!" (Dad always edited this line...)

"Come little rabbit, come with me,

Happy we will always be."

Yea. Traumatizing. There's another one about a rabbit getting turned into a "goon". We won't even go there.

Celestial Captivation

There is something so captivating about a baby. I can hold him and just stare, entirely unaware of the hours passing. And then I’m left wondering what’s provoking the wide array of expressions that pass so quickly over his lil’ face. Expressions like this one . . .

Leave me with the feeling that he’s seeing something (or someone) I'm not. And then he pops out something like this . . .

And I'm convinced.
Yup. There are angels among us—and I’m gonna sit back and enjoy their work.