worth 1,000 words

Jack's first finger food (rice cakes or as Paul calls them, polystyrene chips):



Jack fast asleep in my arms:



Why I still haven't managed to capture a "neutral expression" for Jack's passport photo:

little drummer boy

I mentioned in my ultra-soppy 6 month birthday post that Jack likes to see if things rattle. Give him anything and he'll crease his little brow and shake the object several times. If it rattles, foot kicking and arm waving ensues. If it doesn't, it gets shaken periodically just to make sure. Along with this shaking experiment has also been the discovery that if you strike an object against a hard surface or another object, it makes an interesting loud noise. For example, Jack's dummy when struck upon the Winnie the Pooh musical lighty up thingy on the side of his cot makes a really loud bang. Incidentally, it's particularly loud at 6.00 in the morning and gets progressively louder as the banging continues. Also, whenever Jack sits near a table, he slaps his hand on the surface in a "Where's! My! Food!" kind of rhythm.

Lord help me if he ever figures out how to get into the pots and pans cupboard.

nibbles

So I made an exciting discovery at Tesco today: organic, no sugar added fruity yoghurts by a company called Mums 4. "Whoopie", I hear you all say. The reason why I am excited by this product is due to the fact that I've found very few pre-packaged baby foods that don't contain added sugar and are organic. Granted, I almost always make Jack's food myself but there are times when I need something ready made (like when we're out and about). The smallest pots of plain yoghurt I can find are still a bit too large for Jack's meals, so I tend to use about 2/3 of the pot between two meals and chuck the rest because you can't keep open yoghurts hanging around for long. The Mum 4 pots are the perfect size and most importantly, Jack loves them. We give them four thumbs up (two large, two small).

I never used to care that much about the food I ate, just as long as it tasted good. Now that I have a baby to feed, I am far more concerned about what's in our food and where it comes from. Maybe this has something to do with failing at breastfeeding and wanting to make up for it somehow, but it also has a lot to do with being fed up with the junk food marketed at children - and my love of good food. It makes me smile when Jack gobbles down a bowlful of vegetable risotto, lentils or minestrone made with homemade chicken stock, or ratatouille. I love knowing that I can feed him well, and that he seems to be enjoying it. I cannot wait until he's old enough to learn about cooking, and join in when we make our meals.

I honestly don't expect Jack to eat nothing but sugar free organic food for the rest of his life (nor will I throw a hissy fit at other mothers if he happens to down an entire pack of Cheezy Wotsits at a children's birthday party, for example) but I do want to ensure that his first foods are the healthiest possible. Hopefully it will help counteract the pizza and beer years that will come when he leaves home.

i'm it

Mark tagged me on this meme, and not having the imagination to come up with an interesting post today on my own, I shall respond to this instead.

5 CDs in your Player
CDs are like SO last year. Plus, I'm a cheapskate so I tend to get most of my music through friends in that newfangled mp3 format. Let's see...here are five recent(ish) albums on my iPod:

1. Lemon Jelly "'64-'95"
   
2. Snow Patrol "Final Straw"
   
3. Kaiser Chiefs "Employment"
   
4. Athlete "Tourist"
   
5. Fatboy Slim "Palookaville"

5 Movies You've watched Recently
This implies that we've actually a) been able to get out to the cinema without the baby and b) have time to watch a film. Here's a list of the one film we've seen in the cinema since Jack's birth and the rest have been on DVD or television:

1. Revenge of the Sith (our one outing to the cinema!)
   
2. LOTR: Return of the King
   
3. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (This was the first time I'd ever seen it, and I've never read the book. No, seriously.)
   
4. Matrix Revolutions (second attempt, managed to fall asleep again before it ended)
   
5. and um...we've got around 4 films on Sky+ that we keep meaning to watch. Does that count?

5 Nice Things That Happened To You Lately

1. Mom and Dad coming to visit.
   
2. Jack's naming day.
   
3. I still managed to lose 2 lbs. last week, even though I stuffed my face with cakes on Sunday.
   
4. We bought a new car. When I say "we", I mean "Paul", and when I say "car", I mean "MPV" (which is most certainly not a minivan nor a station wagon, thank you very much).
   
5. All of our lunch dates - we're so popular, doncha know.

5 MP3s on your playlist
First five songs on the iPod's "Assorted" list:

1. Outkast "Hey Ya!"
   
2. Fatboy Slim "Slash Dot Com"
   
3. Snow Patrol "Run"
   
4. Lemon Jelly "'79 AKA The Shouty Track"
   
5. Kaiser Cheifs "Everyday I Love You Less and Less"

5 Friends You're Passing This To
Anyone who reads this is more than welcome to take part. :)

name calling

I think I was just as nervous as I was on our wedding day; maybe even more so. I paced around the hotel, making sure I hadn't forgotten anything (which is pretty much a given these days) and watching our guests arrive. Being the ultra hip family that we are (*cough*), I set up my iPod to play the introductory and closing music. As everyone found their seats, Lemon Jelly's "A Tune for Jack" played - which was probably only recognised by roughly four people, but everyone thought it was a lovely little ditty. The celebrant (or "the nice lady from the registry office" as I like to call her) said some opening words and asked us to step forward with Jack and state his name. We had decided to include an explanation about how we came up with Jack's name, which Paul delivered beautifully, emotionally. We read our promises to Jack, and Jack's supporting adults and grandparents also made promises to him. "Godfather" Russ and "Godmother" Gail each read a poem, and Heather played a gorgeous rendition of "Summertime" on the violin while we signed the certificate. As the ceremony came to an end, my trusty iPod played a song called "Crayon" by Manitoba (note the CanCon I managed to sneak in there).

It poured rain all day Friday and Saturday wasn't terribly wonderful either, but the sun shone brightly on us on Sunday. Jack fell asleep in his stroller and we parked him next to his mountain of presents, while we nibbled on dainty sandwiches and a decadently wonderful selection of cakes and scones. Jack was, unsurprisingly, the star of the show and happily snuggled into the arms of whoever wanted a cuddle.

Despite the odd looks we got when we said we were having a naming ceremony and the 40 times we heard "Do you realise how hard it is to find a 'Naming Day' card?!", everyone agreed that it was lovely ceremony. I'm so pleased that we had a special day in honour of Jack, and it fills me with pride to know that so many people love our little boy too.

(For more info about naming ceremonies, see http://www.civilceremonies.co.uk/naming.htm)

halfway there

I love how you always smile every time I look at you.
I love your high-pitched squeals and giggles.
I love the faces you make when you try new foods.
I love how you smell.
I love your monkey toes.
I love your fluffy, spiky hair.
I love how you nuzzle me and rest your head on my heart when you're tired.
I love your big sparkly eyes.
I love the determined look on your face whenever you pick something up to see if it rattles.
I love when you curl your legs and feet around my arm when I rub your belly, trying to settle you during the night.
I love playing "Who's That Baby in the Mirror?" with you.
I love making up songs about you and singing them to you, and when my silly songs make you smile.
I love it when you try to catch the trickles of running water as I squeeze the sponge when I bathe you.
I love your in-depth and lengthy conversations with the living room ceiling.
I love waking up to your gurgles and babbles in the morning.
I love it when you fall asleep on me.
I love it when you blow raspberries, even when you've got a mouthful of peas.
I love your sumo wrestler legs.
I love your lobster boy grip.
I love how you make everyone smile.
I love you more than I ever thought my heart was capable.

Happy 6 month birthday, Jack Jack.

Click here to see a slideshow of Jack's first six months on this planet.

other mothers

Kristin went in to be induced yesterday, so please send her lots of happy labour vibes. When I hear the word "induction", my heart sinks slightly. My first thought is usually "Is it necessary?" and then "I hope it doesn't end in a c-section". It's so difficult for me to be objective about inductions because of my experience, but obviously they all don't end up pear-shaped. Still, I worry and I hope none of my friends (virtual or otherwise) ever have to endure a bad birth experience.

Funny how motherhood makes you feel so strongly about...well...pretty much everything. I've never been so opinionated in my life, nor have I ever been so willing to inflict my opinions on others. Again, this is very likely why I never attend mother/baby groups. I'm either worried about how someone else is going to perceive something I'm doing, or I find myself blurting out unsolicited baby advice. I tend to do this about food and dieting too, so maybe I'm just opinionated in general. I really should practice the art of nodding and smiling.

Mom and Dad have arrived safely, and have bestowed huge amounts of attention and presents on their grandson. Hopefully the weather will be kind for our family BBQ tomorrow and the naming ceremony on Sunday. If I'm not back here by Monday, it means I've eaten my weight in cakes and scones and I'm lying under a table at the hotel.