Saturday, February 27, 2010

Like Father Like Son

Jaysa and I made fun of Baby Ben's toes, especially how his big toes seemed to be twice as big as his other toes. So Daddy Mike had to whip off his socks and claim paternity. As you can see, Ben got his toes from his daddy.

I have heard that nature ensures that fathers can find their babies by making the baby look like the father for the first year or so. Obviously even if Ben is upside down in a hole, Mike will be the first man to run over and pull him out.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

How To Take A Picture


Back when I was trying to take a good picture of myself, I tried to show Bill it was the camera that took bad pictures and not myself that was the problem. He seemed skeptical, so I shot a couple of shots of him to prove my point.



Damn, why does the camera take good pictures of him, but not of me? I'll have to work on this.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The New Arrival

After an all-nighter and 3 hours of pushing with no progress, the doctor encouraged Jaysa and Mike to have a C-section. Mike and the baby were sent to the nursery where I was able to get the first picture of Baby Ben through the nursery window.


Here's some shots from today after he's been able to gussy up a little and get a feel for all the new faces staring at him. He's 7 pounds 12 oz with the longest big toes ever. Of course he's adorable.


Grandma Nancy held his feet while I snapped some shots of those toes. He balled them up before we got a good shot, but his big toe is twice as big as his other toes on each foot.


Mom, Dad, and Baby are all doing well. Sister Dee is staying with friends and has quite a surprise when she gets home.


Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Baby Watch Day 11...Last Day

Jaysa's laptop died yesterday, so that's why you haven't heard from me. We're at the hospital. They say a picture is worth a 1000 words, so here's a fortune of them... Jaysa is looking perky in the first, but then it goes downhill. The last is the clock showing the time they gave her the epidural. More to come. To quote Jaysa when Mike asked her how it was, she said "Birth...with the constant feeling you want to pee and poop and the contractions kicking in? Is this the best mother nature can do?"





















Sunday, February 14, 2010

Valentine's Day or Waiting Day 9

So even though his wife is 9 days overdue and pees every 10 minutes, Mike is still the romantic who smuggled home a bouquet of flowers last night and hid them in the closet until this morning when he surprised his lovely wife with them.

He even asked her to "...be my valentine again?" It was very heartwarming to witness.

This old lady was wishing I could have a do-over with Bill. Years ago he sent me a beautiful box of long-stemmed red roses, but I soon taught him to not waste money on flowers. Maybe I should not have killed his romantic streak so throughly. It sure was nice to witness this 11-year tradition with Jay and Mike.

Meanwhile, we're on day number 9 of the waiting for baby game. And, when I say "we" of course I mean poor Jaysa is doing the suffering while Mike and I are enjoying watching her waddle around.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Calendar Girls


Somehow the dogs in this family are better dressed than the humans. Here's Dee sporting her Christmas gear and looking really happy about having to wear it. In fact, if you could read her mind I think it would be x-rated.

Next up is Bailey girl sporting next month's Easter outfit. Once again, happiness does not ooze from her dismal face. Unlike Dee, who only thinks bad thoughts of her humans, Bailey probably gave many four letter huffs to her slave Jaimee.

While the girls chose holiday gear, Mr. Wrigley obviously prefers a more laid back approach to life. From the photo below, it appears he's ready for vacation. Of course, he deserves it after the year he's had watching over his new baby girl.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Tale Of Two Lilys

This is the year our family gained two new members, both named Lily. They kind of resemble each other in a happy-go-lucky, always smiling way. Baby Lily came first, although Doggy Lily is older.

They both have big grins and lots of pretty white teeth, and sometimes they stick their tongues out. They also tend to crawl around on all fours, but this similarity might be ending soon as Baby Lily is learning to walk and get around pretty well.

Unfortunately for Baby Lily's family, she's at that stage where she likes to be the center of attention and can't understand why anyone would want to ignore her and play video games. Doggy Lily already has the maturity of motherhood and is more of an equal to the adults in her family, therefore she takes a more sit back and wait attitude. Doggy Lily was adopted by Jenny after she had a litter of puppies. Lily must have felt really mistreated when she had to watch all her little ones being given away and then end up being given away herself when her original family couldn't keep her.

Jaimee also adores her Baby Lily, although the word "mistreated" could never be applied to Baby Lily. As you can see, she is the princess of her castle and her lowly subjects are no longer safe from her grasping clutch.

You don't have to worry about Doggy Lily either. She has settled in and is part of the family now. Her mother, father and brothers all adore her, and she will never have to fear losing her new family as she has become their princess too... and is working on becoming the queen!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Who's Your Daddy?

Ben, today is your due date and the first thing you'll see is the face of your Daddy. I was thinking you may wonder who he is. Well, first of all we have to discuss your Mama. Mama likes to take it easy and eat chips. She always has and always will. That's why your Mama was smart enough to pick your Daddy for her husband. You see, your Daddy is the active one who will make sure you get your share of the adventures in life. He does that for your Mama and everyone he comes in contact with, and he will do that for you.

Your Daddy is not one to sit around and play bongo drums and explore his navel. Nope, that's not him.

He's the one that gets everyone up and dancing by leading the conga line!

He knew someday you would join his life, and he knew he had to prepare as best he could. So here are some of the things he's done to prepare for you.

He's learned to talk baby talk...





He's explored the ocean to make sure it's a safe place to take you (and obviously he's checked his goods along the way to make sure he was protecting them as best he could for your conception)...


He's practiced being the disciplinarian by keeping the younger family siblings in line...





He's practiced being a cowboy so he'll be able to tell you stories of cattle drives and nights beneath the stars until your old enough for him to take you along...


He's wined and dined the older siblings, not so much because he enjoyed it, but so he can be on the lookout in the years to come for family members who might try to be a bad influence on you when you're in your late teens



He's put on a few pounds during the pregnancy so your Mama didn't have to. It was a sacrifice, but someone had to keep the bad stuff out of the kitchen!


No man wants to be the only male at a baby shower, but he was a champ. He joined in and pretended that he'd rather be there than out playing a round of golf with your Grandfather. I even heard him try to guess the answer to a game or two, now that took real courage with all the women calling out their answers as loud as possible.



He's almost worn a path in the carpet practicing pushing your stroller, so I hope you get here soon.




You can't ask for a better father. He's all prepared as you can see...




...and Ben, you'd better hurry because poor Dee can't take much more of this!



Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Remember When?


Remember when eating was such a joy? And, remember when cleaning up was even more fun?