WAAAAAA!!!!!

There comes a time when newborns wake up.

Ours has awoken and has commenced the art of wailing. Really: He cries, it seems, every time he is awake.

The unfortunate thing is that he's not the only one.

This morning, Richie was doing his work in one room (go, go, go, finish that Ph.D.) while Bethany practiced her new, and very difficult, hobby: How to Give Two Children Attention at One Time When Their Needs are Mutually Exclusive.

So while trying to nurse Zeke (Zeke choking, milk spraying everywhere, Zeke gulping down air bubbles, Zeke wailing in pain), Luke was begging to play toys: "Mama! Play! Toys! Mama! Play! Toys!" Over and over again.

While Zeke was screaming (he seems to have digestive troubles like his brother did... sigh) and Luke was calling out for Mommy to play, Bethany was driven crazy by the thought of having no way to meet her children's needs.

So she joined in the fun and burst into tears.

Then Luke turned sad, too, and his speech suddenly changed: "Mama? Mama? MAMA!!!" Feeling left out, he burst into tears, too.

There they were, a puddle of salty sobs: Zeke crying because his tummy hurt; Bethany crying because she's sleep-deprived, hormone-undeprived, still less than two weeks out from major abdominal surgery, and overwhelmed; and Luke crying because... well, because Mommy was crying.

So the crying mommy toted her two crying sons out to where Richie was working.

Richie admits the three were quite the scene.

He provided necessary relief to Bethany, and all was calm.

(Until tomorrow.)


You wouldn't think someone this cute would, in the next moment, scream at the top of his lungs. (We do realize that this is just a season, and never are we resentful or regretful of our little Zeke. He is precious! And when his tummy seems well, he is such an easy little fellow.)


It is mighty fun to pull out all of Luke's old clothes. (Babies only get to wear them for such a teeny bit of time!) Zeke looks just as charming in them, we think.


Now we have two great big intimidating bears!


The weather in Davis has been incredible, so we force Luke outside each day. He hates to part from his beloved pile of toys; but once we actually manage to bribe him to go outside, he's in heaven. Either that, or he's a really good faker.


On Thursday, Zeke entered the Sutter West Pediatrics Office for his first checkup. We had to primp him first. His bath made his hair look awfully cute.


See?


Before the appointment, all dressed up and ready to go!


Zeke's one-week checkup family photo op (minus Luke. Sorry, Luke.) Dr. O reports that Zeke looks marvelous, and he has gained weight like a champ. (Is it because air bubbles from choking on Mommy's much-too-forcefully-projected-milk weigh a lot?)


Post-doctor-visit: feeling embarrassed. All that attention!


"Look at my pinky trick!"


The end of a long, tiring day. Is there anything sweeter?


Our itty bitty blue burrito bundle of boy. (Try saying that 5 times fast.) (It's not actually as hard as it looks.)


Poppy could finally hold Ezekiel when he was 8 days old. He was sick with a cold before that, and (thank you, Poppy) refrained from cuddling with his new little grandson.


Luke finally got to hold Zeke, too! Oh, he is sooo tender with the little fellow and loves to stroke his hair, rub his face gently next to Zeke's, kiss him, hold his hand. (Usually he is tender. Now and then he will surprise us with eyeball pokes, attempts at head stomps, pinch-Zeke's-finger-as-hard-as-he-can tricks, etc.)


"WOW."


Milk coma.


Now for documentation of a Saturday morning adventure. For Luke's 2nd birthday, Daddy and Mommy bought him a set of 10 passes to ride on the Amtrak train from Davis to Sacramento. Clearly, this is serious business.


Not so serious for Sarah. Lounge-in-luxury time.


Love the fake smiles. (They came home and reported that they really did have fun.)


Downtown Sac: machines. Heaven.


Sweet shot of Luke with his Ra-Ra.


Choo choo! Coming home!


Shiloh and Sam planned far ahead and bought Bethany this wonderful Moby wrap for her birthday, almost 4 months before Baby. It is wonderful! To think: You can cuddle with your baby, see his every facial expression and hand twitch, and yet have two hands free to do things like... like... (What has she been doing lately, anyway? A lot of nothing. Just how she'd have it.)


Adoring the new little one.


The end of a day, soooo happy to be in bed. We have come to the conclusion--to our great surprise (pre-parenthood, we hated the idea of having a baby in bed with us)--that sleeping with a new little baby beside you is just about the sweetest feeling in the entire world. It is magical. New life! Such cuteness!


"Umm... Mom... I don't think I want to hold him anymore! He's CRYING!" (So Luke communicates by leaning further and further back until he crashes his back onto the floor.)


So curious! (Or getting ready for a jab?)


Lest we post only the flattering pictures...


"Hmmm... Which flavor milk shall I choose today, Madam?"


To her great sadness, Grammy hasn't gotten as much cuddle time with Zeke as she did with Luke. Here she seizes an opportunity to hold the new little man. And whyever doesn't she get as much cuddle time as she did with Luke? Because that same Luke is now begging her for...

"TOYS!!!"


Even Poppy succumbs to Luke's incessant request for...

"TOYS."


Auntie Robin took a work break to come meet her new little Grand-Nephew. We love that she brought the Big Brother a present: a tube full of toy frogs. You will never know the wonder of a pile of fake frogs. Let Luke show you sometime. There is an infinite number of games you can play. Count on a two-year-old to think of them. They are all riveting, too, as you can imagine.


For the most part, Luke has adjusted well to the baby; but he does crave extra attention. One evening he told Poppy he wanted to be a baby. So out came the pacifier and tight cuddles. He loved it. (Ironic, since a pacifier never actually pleased him when he was a baby. Funny how that works.)


Now okay with being a Big Boy. "Workman" overalls, "FOOTBALL!", and "Vroom vroom!" All set to go.


Party time! Zeke Jan. 8. Luke Jan. 10. Richie Jan. 11. Poppy Jan. 16. Poppy's special request for dinner: gnocchi. His grandma emigrated to the U.S. from Italy and started an Italian restaurant, and we are fortunate to have learned how to make her gnocchi. Grammy made the dough, and Bethany rolled each noodle. Zeke was a huge help. (Droop, droop.)


The night of Poppy's birthday, Uncle Richard and Aunt Robin came over (special requests of Poppy, too--not just the noodles), and Uncle Richard got to meet his new little Zeke!


Auntie Robin with Siena, Uncle Richard with Zeke... Too bad Luke and Alexander aren't balancing on top of Richard and Robin's heads.


[twinkle, twinkle]


[moon, moon] Luke's a big fan of hiding--still--and loves hiding behind couch cushions--still--and loves to be naked--still--some things never change.


Sunday we ventured to church! Bethany was sure to color-coordinate with the swaddle blanket of her 10-day-old sweet potato. Like it matters.


Before church: Mama with her Boys! (poke, poke) Luke is far too mature to color-coordinate with Mom.


Richie has been amazing at balancing all the stuff on his plate right now. Luke loves--LOVES--when Daddy takes a break to play basketball with him. "BA BA BAT!!!" (That's "basketball" in Lukey-lingo.)


Blurry, but it captures the true, unbridled excitement of BA BA BAT. To enhance the excitement, Poppy and Grammy brought home a Little Tikes basketball hoop, which has now entertained Luke for hours. He is HILARIOUS. He shouts, "DUP DOT!" which means, "JUMP SHOT!" then takes a shot (usually misses), runs around the driveway in a circle, then fetches the ball to do it all over again.


Showing off.


Beautiful Grammy with her handsome boys (poke, poke, cuddle, cuddle).


(Poke, poke.)


Droop!


Who needs toys when you can play in a box? (Richie later made that box into an official boat, steering wheel and fishing reel included. Pictures next time. Bethany awoke at 7 AM to find the men hard at work boating.)


Num.


"Peek-a-boo! I'm trying to show off my forearm. Is anyone looking?!?"


"Peek-a-boo! I'm trying to show off that I just went poo-poo in my new potty. Is anyone looking?!? On second thought, please don't! I'm really embarrassed! I hope Mom doesn't show this picture to anyone!"

Sorry, Luke, but with the tears your mama shed today, she's got to end the blog with a picture that makes her laugh.