PHOTOS
It’s been so long since my last post that I don’t know where to start so let’s start where I left off a few weeks ago with the photo shoot. Jay and Nathan were generous enough to give us the entire CD of photos taken that day – 127 pictures!! Some are good, some are not so good (crying baby) and some are great! I’ve posted a few of my favorites here. You can also check out their website at
http://jaywitkowski.com/ where Teri and I are the featured photos on the homepage! Wow I feel like a celebrity.

MAYME’S VISIT
My Mother aka Mayme just left this morning after a weeklong visit. We were so glad to have her since I made a distressing phone call to her a last week begging her to come and help me. She was of course all too happy to come. She held her grandson and I held on to her. I truly believe that nothing and no one can prepare you for motherhood - in particular I’m referring to the sleep deprivation and the shockwaves that sends through the rest of your daily life. Here’s a good example, twice now I’ve stood at the fridge to get water, holding my cup up to the dispenser without ever pressing the button to make water come out. Only after a minute or so do I realize that nothing is happening! Therefore it’s nice for people like Mayme and Aunt Irene to lend a helping hand so that Teri and I can regroup and recharge a bit.
In truth, Mayme came to Dallas for two other reasons besides saving me. She had a cousin family reunion on Saturday and then needed to go to Llano to attend to the building of her new house. The cousin reunion was thrown on Saturday by Wally and Susan Windom who have a beautiful house and swimming pool. This is my Grandmother’s side of the family - she had 4 sisters and 1 brother who then had their kids who then had us. The year I was born there were 6 other children born too: Brandon, Clint, Kayla, Shea, Stephanie, and Clay. It was really fun to see everyone and I got to show Vin off a bit.

THE ROAD TRIP
On Sunday Vin, Mayme and I loaded up for the 3 ½ hour trip to Llano. (Notice here that Teri did not go and got to have a whole Sunday to hang out at the pool and swim.) Now, the 3 ½ hour trip turned into about 4 ½ or 5 hours by the time we changed diapers and stopped to shop along the way.
The Llano house is coming right along. The frame is up, the roof is almost complete, and the windows are in. It’s amazing how fast a house can go up! Llano is a really neat town with cute shops and restaurants with lakes and rivers nearby. The house sits on some acreage with trees and rocks for the kids to play on. They are also building a “bunk house” for extra room and of course Terry, or Buttsy as he’s known in Llano, will have a barn. All around they’re doing a great job on the house designs and we can’t wait to go and visit!

WHAT WE LEARNED
Vin is a trooper for sure! He did pretty good on the way down there but hours on end in a car seat is not easy for any baby plus it was over 100 degrees. He had a melt down on Sunday night but then fared pretty well on Monday on the ride back. This trip was kind of a test run to see how we would do considering we had a Savannah trip planned for my sister’s baby shower in two weeks. Notice the “had” in the last sentence. Here is why we are no longer going to Savannah:
· There is no rocking chair or swing in a hotel room
· Carting a breast pump on the plane
· Washing breast pump parts and bottles in a hotel sink (gross!)
· Hot Savannah weather
· Public meltdown’s at restaurants etc.
· The flight itself
· And last but not least…The physical and mental health of Vin and his Mommies.
Perhaps in the future we can take a trip but not this one – no way no how!

UPDATE ON VIN AT 2 ½ MONTHS
He is growing like a weed! He had a Dr. visit last Monday and weighed 11 lbs 15.5 ozs. Then we went back on Wednesday and he weight 12 lbs. 4 ozs. That’s 4 ½ ounces in two days! What a cute little chub he is! We’ve learned that he hates tummy time and therefore has a flat head and while his Dr. once remarked that he had a perfectly proportioned body, I don’t think that’s true anymore. He has a BIG head – thank God he was a little early! He’s becoming more and more alert everyday and can recognize people and voices in a room. Vin is also discovering his own hands and is almost, just almost ,finding his thumb to suck.