Multitasking Aunt

You have to admit this is pretty impressive. I mean, I can drink a beer while holding Sawyer, but that's about the extent of my multitasking repertoire. Here's aunt Lindsey - the maker of the bunny cap - taking care of business.

 (Well, I can do it with wine too. Well rounded, huh?)

Lucero - All Sewn Up

Little Bunny

Here are few shots from Sawyer last Easter Sunday.  The catchy cap was made by Sawyer's aunt Lindsey. Darn cute, if you ask me, although it took Sawyer some getting used to before she was comfortable with the latest fashions....

Dr. Dog - The Rabbit, the Bat, and the R

My Mom & Sawyer

My mother was here this weekend.  She was a trooper Friday and Saturday. I took the midnight to 1 am shift, then she took the rest. Toni, for once, got to sleep.  Or, at least she tried. Saturday night, the neighbors dog was barking. It was around 1 am. 2 am rolls around and Toni couldn't take it anymore.  She called the neighbor - who's a cop, by the way - and let her know, nicely, that she'd love to get some sleep. The neighbor was on duty and was surprised the dog was outside. Turns out her sister had her boyfriend over and they decided for some alone time. Yeah, not much of a story. It was good to have mom here, though.

Johnny Cash - Send a Picture of Mother (Live at Folsom Prison)

Lucero - Mom

Brothers

Couple photos of Sawyer's brothers.  Ain't nobody gonna be messing with her......

BlackJack

Ike

J.J. Cale - Don't Cry Sister

New Camera!

Now we're talking.  I received a new Canon DSLR for my birthday this week.  It's really crazy how much better the photos are.

Who Does Sawyer Look Like?

Ok, the great debate....who does Sawyer favor the most.  I'll let friends and family be the judge.

I'll go first.  I think I'm 3 days old in this photo.  Never since have I had as much hair.

Baby Cam

Next up is the mother of child, Mrs. Toni Glover (Ms. Rodd at the time).

Baby Toni

Now, for extra credit; which Office character does Tonia resemble in this photo?  (Sorry, Tonia)

(Answer: Jim)

My Morning Jacket - Look At You

Big Day Out

Sawyer got a taste of sports earlier in the week with Toni and Grandma Russo.  They went to Coach Tonia's soccer game.  Tonia, you might want to look into ways to drive attendance.

See The World

Sawyer is starting to focus.  Not great, mind you, but she's definitely aware that there's a world outside of peeing, pooping and burping. She's already more intelligent than some people I know.

Gomez - See The World

The Mississippi Grandparents

We had the pleasure of hosting the Mississippi grandparents a week or so ago.  (I know they're not going to like being called Mississippians, but I'm the writer of this sucker).   Here are some photos from the Sawyer-Sam-Debbie session......

In this one, Sam challenged Sawyer to a sleep-off....Sam's pulling ahead.

Debbie seems wide-awake.  Sawyer, not so much.  Take note, Sam.

(Oddly enough, this was an easy post to match to.  If you do a "mississippi" search in my iTunes library, you get a lot of songs.  Muddy Waters, R.L. Burnside, and others from the Delta pop up. Sawyer's going to be exposed to some music....definitely.)


Mavis Staples - Down in Mississippi
Bob Dylan - Mississippi

Blog Neglect, not Bottle Neglect

Keeping these things current is much more taxing than I would have expected.  So, I'll try for some multiple posts to make up for it.  It's really quantity over quality, right?

Uh oh, she's enjoying the bottle as much as her papa.  Double-fisting.....impressive.

Lucero - Kiss The Bottle

Weird Ears

When Sawyer was born I did the normal father stuff - immediately count the fingers, count the toes, give a cursory look over the rest of her to make sure she didn't have anything extra or was missing anything.  She checked out.  It wasn't until a week or so that I noticed that her ears were a little odd.  They weren't symmetrical.  Hardly a big deal, especially with a girl, unless she decides to go with the Sinead O'Connor look. Anyway, one had looked like it was folded, then ironed. The other; kind of pointy.  Here's the folded -ironed one.

I don't even think I ever mentioned noticing this until the other day when Toni was leaning over the sink while we were in the kitchen.  Her hair happened to be pulled back behind her ear - aha! the culprit. Here's essentially what I saw;

Maybe I'll take a photo of the Spock-like pointy ones on the left side of my two girls' heads later.

The Waterboys - And A Bang On The Ear

Photo Contest

Ok, who do you think takes better photos? Here's one I took.....

Here's one Toni took.....

Read this one quick because it might have to get pulled; Toni seems a little put off. I thought it was funny, but maybe it's the wine.

(And, for the record, this blog posts things in Pacific time - I'm not enjoying wine at work.)

Tom Waits - Old Shoes (And Picture Postcards)

Date Night

Too early?

So, Toni's been craving sushi and we really feel that Sawyer has started to blossom as a young woman. The amount of maturity she has been showing over the past couple of weeks has convinced us that she's old enough to watch the house for us while we're out for the night.

But, to be on the safe side, we've told Ike that he's in charge. We think they'll do just fine....

(By the way, is she flashing gang signs? Maybe we need to move to the suburbs.)

Bob Marley - Baby We Got a Date

Wake Up!

It's a rare thing to get a picture of Sawyer with her eyes open. Maybe I should start pulling the camera out around 3 am - she seems to be wide awake around that time. We, however, aren't cognizant enough nor in the picture taking mood at that hour. Here's a couple I was able to grab yesterday afternoon. We'll try to get more over the weekend. I'll take more if Toni allows me to buy that great Canon DSLR. So, family, if you want more shots you'll need to talk to the powers that be.

Arcade Fire - Wake Up

Rough Night

Last night was a tough one for all concerned. I'm thankful that it was a Saturday night. We assume it's constipation and/or gas, since she could be calmed lying on her stomach - only if we were holding her. Well, we knew what we were in for. Needless to say, the photo below was not from last night.

Lucero - Tonight Ain't Gonna Be Good

Funny Story

At least I think it's funny. Two nights ago was a pretty rough night. I finally got Sawyer to relax and put her down around 3 am. I'm sleeping upstairs and Toni's downstairs. She still needs to take it easy and climbing up the stairs a few times a day is against doctor's orders - even though I know she's probably not abiding while I'm gone during the day.

Anyway, 6 am rolls around and I wake up to sounds coming from the baby monitor. Now, Sawyer is 8 days old at this time and her vocabulary is limited to screams, cries and grunts. Even so, what I'm hearing from the monitor sounds very pronounced. Don't get me wrong, these weren't standard vocabulary words - more like "da da" and the like. However, they had a clear start and stop - she was trying to talk!

"Holy smokes, my baby's a genius", I'm thinking. I wake up immediately and go down the stairs. Toni's awake and in the living room. I said "Toni, you're not going to believe this, but Sawyer is trying to talk". She laughed at me and said that she was sound asleep. I went into the nursery and, sure enough, she was sleeping like a _____. (can't use the cliche here)

Turns out she might be a genius, but the indicators haven't shown themselves yet. Apparently, our baby monitor is on the same frequency as the parents across the street that have a 6 month old child.

I'll keep everyone apprised of future Einstein-like moments from the daughter and/or Moron-like moments from the father.

Morphine - You Speak My Language

Sawyer Doing What She Does Best

While she's pretty good at pooping and peeing, sleeping is a skill she's mastered...

She even sleeps in style. Check out the color coordination.

Uh oh, this is pretty close to thumbsucking. Where's the pacifier?

We actually don't know what color her eyes are.

R.E.M. - Daysleeper

Belle & Sebastian - Sleep The Clock Around

Grandparents

Here are some shots of grandmothers and a grandfather. Rumor has it that the Mississippi grandparents will be here next month.

Bill Withers - Grandma's Hands (Live)

1st Doctor's Appointment

We've got to go see Sawyer's doctor this morning. Nothing to worry about; it's the standard 1st week's visit. Toni's not allowed to drive yet, so I'll be working from home before we take off. She's still nocturnal, but has gotten a little better every night. By the way, I misspoke (typed) the other day when I said Ike was over Sawyer being in the house. He's still fascinated and incredibly protective. He has to know where she is and that she's all right at all times. He wouldn't even eat this morning until he saw that she was sleeping sound.

The Avett Brothers - Go To Sleep

Father Shots

Toni said that I needed to post a pic of me with Sawyer. Here are a couple.....

Paul Simon - Father and Daughter

It Takes A Village....

After a couple days, we've come to the conclusion that we have a nocturnal child on our hands. Also, while I'm quite taken with my swaddling ability, we're thinking that this girl is much more comfortable with her arms waving all over the place during sleep.

On a separate note, the dogs are quite curious. Ike's already over it, but BlackJack is totally confused.

Taken By Trees - Sweet Child O' Mine

For Dylan & Sadie

This post is for Dylan and Sadie. I heard that Dylan said that Sawyer was cute...."just like me". Hilarious.

Bringing My Babies Back Home

Today's the day. Toni and Sawyer are coming home. The hospital staff was great, but 5 days is 4 and a half too many. Sawyer had to undergo a car seat test yesterday. They hook her up to check her heart-rate and oxygen levels for 90 minutes while sitting in the car seat we had. Of course, the nurse made me go out in the morning to buy another one, since the straps on the one we had was a little too big for her. Did we mention this girl is tiny? $100+ later Sawyer passed with flying colors. I have a sinking feeling that this girl is going to be expensive.

Railroad Earth - Bringin' My Baby Back Home

Welcome Sawyer

Well, she's here. And boy, that little girl kicked Toni's butt. 30 hours of labor followed by an emergency c-section. Toni is wiped out. Here's a solo shot of Sawyer and one with her and her doting mom. I think everyone will be surprised that Toni went the whole ordeal without proclaiming my deficiencies as a man and husband. She must be softening up.

My Valentine

Toni's not feeling too romantic today. For good reason, and I completely understand. She has, however, agreed to the first photo of the belly. Drumroll please.......

The Animals - We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place

Ultrasound Annotated

Here's the annotated version. You're kind of staring up her nostrils at this angle.

Ultrasound

This might be the first ultrasound photo I can actually make out a little. Toni was concerned that she was going to look too much like me. Nice. Well, I think the nose is looking a little Russo, so she shouldn't worry too much. That, and the fact that she's coming out with a mane of hair according to the doc.

Uncle Tupelo - I Wish My Baby Was Born

About Things

Looks like we might be having this little girl a little earlier than expected. High blood pressure will likely be the culprit. Sam, this one's on you.

I installed the car seat....twice. Didn't know it had the "latch system", which is supposed to be great, according to the newish dads I work with. I knew that damn car was more like a minivan than an SUV. No self-respecting truck would have a latch baby seat system integrated in it. I guarantee Toni's tough Jeep doesn't have it. Why am I the one driving this thing? Anyway, not sure it's in right. Might have to try it again after the great snowstorm in Atlanta is through.

Josh Ritter - Snow Is Gone

This Better Not Be Toni

I think I might have to ban iPhones and Crackberries from the delivery room. I could totally see Toni being this chick. You guys? It would be all too much for me......

Gomez - All Too Much