Babies be crazy

Pre-bath (you may notice I've gain 3 lbs in my cheeks and chins alone)

Post-bath (not quite the relaxing experience I was hoping for)

We are 7 weeks in and at times it feels like Odin and I are really figuring each other out, but at other times it still feels like I still have no idea what my little guy needs. His overall mood is definitely improving and I receive more smiles everyday, but I'm still on edge a bit when I take him out, knowing that a meltdown could suddenly appear without warning. I had a chance to talk to my best pal Lydia about this and she told me about a blog she had recently read where a mom had developed a mantra for whenever she just couldn't figure her new baby out - 'Babies be crazy'. I loved it and I'm now saying it often to myself when Odie won't sleep/stop crying/settle down. Well, babies be crazy, so I shouldn't get myself too worked up about things.  It turns out the actual blog post said 'babies be babies' which I like, but not nearly as much as 'babies be crazy', so I'm sticking with that one!

We had a wonderful family Thanksgiving weekend and I was especially impressed with my superstar husband who cooked an entire turkey dinner for 11 people on his own! What  a guy. Everyone loved it, especially my mom who does not like cooking. She thinks she has hit the jackpot for every future holiday dinner...finally a family member who can cook and actually enjoys it!

The best part of the dinner was having everyone say what they were thankful for. My 11 year old niece decided she should emcee the event, and after she read her thanksgiving speech, she introduced us all and invited us to share what we were were giving thanks for this year. I had many reasons to be particularly thankful this year - Alan's great cooking, my parents for being so generous in letting us stay at their house for 2 whole months, being in Fredericton and getting to spend so much time with family and most of all my two healthy, wonderful little boys. When Caleb's turn came around he jumped up and said 'My name is Caleb Austin Jeffries and I'm thankful for my good guy/bad guy detector (see below) and for my baby brother'.  The order of his priorities were clear.

Caleb has been 'inventing' up a storm these days. He heads into my dad's workshop and the two of them work away on making Caleb's 'designs' come to life. He has also reached a major milestone this week - riding a bike without training wheels. He is so proud as he whizzes my us. I can't believe how quickly he is growing up.

Good guy/Bad guy detector complete with fingerprinting, DNA testing (hair sample), camera and lie detector

Learning some tricks from cousin Malcolm over Thanksgiving weekend

Why hello there aunt Mary!

Catch me if you can!

Learning rhythm with the best piano teacher ever

Sleeping in...a glimpse of about 13 years in my future!

The greatest reward

First smiles at 5 weeks old

10 lbs of joy!

For being so little, newborns sure are a lot of work! It is a 24 hour job where you devote all of your self, time and energy to making this tiny person adjust to being in the world. I don't have much memory of Cale's first few weeks, but Odin seems to be a bit fussier than I remember Cale ever being. For the first 4 weeks of his life Odin whined and cried if he was not sleeping, sucking (still only on someone's finger - no soothers for this guy), bouncing or walking.  He hates getting his diaper changed and screams at the top of his lungs during bath time. I wouldn't say he is colicky, but we were constantly pulling out all of our tricks in an attempt to keep him happy and calm. As my dear friend Amy said, 'He is cute, but he still seems a bit shell-shocked'. It was so true! Odin seemed very unsure of the world, and after months of being in the womb, I can completely empathize with that. 

This week, however, it feels like we've turned a bit of a corner. One week can make a big difference, and Odin is now much more alert and has longer stretches of being relaxed and content. Today we received the greatest reward for all of our hard work - he greeted us with his first real smiles. It is truly the best moment as a new parent. A small but beautiful and powerful sign of recognition for all that we've given him. I know that he is going to be just fine and I'll happily continue to give him everything I've got, as long as he keeps being so darn adorable!

Drunken sailor smile

Another treat this week - Odin wore his Tom Brady jersey and the Patriots had their best game of the season. Coincidence? I think not!