Parents' Night Out

So Jerry and I have our first official overnight babysitter tonight: Judy. She works with me, and is much more than a babysitter. She's a good friend and as close to a Dallas-based grandma as Wilder has. She adores him, I'm pretty sure, and few people bring a smile to Wilder's face like she does.

Anyway, what this means for us of course is a night out with friends (though sadly it's a goodbye party for four of them that we're headed to) followed by a night at one of Dallas' cool boutique hotels, the Belmont, which is a Dilbeck-designed mid century modern little joint with a swanky bar and funky little rooms. I'm hoping we can somehow cram dinner, party, drink at bar and dip in pool all into this one tiny night. I'm sure that's unrealistic, but a temporarily kidless girl can dream, right?

I'm also planning to sleep in, but something tells me I'll pop out of bed at 7:15 a.m., saying, "Honey, let's go get Peanut. I miss him," while picturing this in my head:

Bathtime

Clearly I'm going for a b&w series here. Our nightly baths always make for good photos because the kiddo's so damn happy when he's in the tub. Or any water for that matter. I could put him in a gutter puddle and he'd happily splash around while all manner of detritus backed up against his back side. Anyway, I couldn't pick just one:

Coffeehound

This is but one in a series of photos in which Wilder was trying DESPERATELY to get a drop of coffee out of my empty cup. Maybe I should have cut back during the pregnancy ...

Blair Witch Baby?

Swingtime

I tried to take a bunch of cool black and white photos of Wilder swinging in our front yard, and some of them turned out OK. But none of them do I like better than this one of Jer showing me a ripe cherry tomato from our garden with the kiddo swinging in the background, checking out what Papa's got in his hand. Though it looks like he's just sitting there, the swing was actually in motion, and I just love the way it turned out. And, for those of you who know him well, you can see he's got his signature kicked back posture: right ankle crossed over left. What's amazing is he was doing that in his ultrasound at 20-something weeks, and to this day if you see Wilder just sitting there, he's got his ankles crossed.

As an aside, this is the first year Jerry and I have been able to grow things in our garden, mostly because we moved its location from the shaded patch of crappy soil in our back yard to some cedar boxes we built on the side of the house in our driveway, where we control and soil content and the sun shines brightly a good portion of the day. I'm thinking we can still do better, but for us, a few ripened tomatoes are a victory over the Texas climate.

And, back to Wilder, the women at daycare tell me they have a little competition going on which baby will walk next. Wilder's up, with the general feeling being it'll happen by September 1st. We'll see ... I asked if they're usually right, and they tell me they are. So I guess we should be prepared for the scrambling to begin here soon.

Love to all,

kJ&W

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Thanks and love to all,
Kris

Naptime

We of course love Wilder in all his forms. But there's something about a sleeping baby that's just so compelling, and not just because he's not demanding a bottle, a diaper change or for someone to put the kitty in front of him -- stat! -- so that the tempting furry tail can be yanked on and sticky palms can be made into furry ones. Like just about everything Wilder (and all babies, I guess)does in life, he just sleeps with so much commitment. So in the moment. Not a care in the world. His face becomes one big expression of Zen.

And then, of course, there is that peace and quiet thing. : )

The Kid at his first hotel on this trip. Little did he know how many different places we'd expect to sleep in over the next seven days. Mwahahaha! 

Wilder didn't always like riding in the car ... 

... but not to worry, he had the indominatable Blue to keep him company.  

Peanut plays in the pool at Grandma's. We were out there almost every day for a bit and he loved it. The sun and chlorine also made for some nice long naps.  

Mmmm, fudgesicle. 

Grandma Teri fixes Wilder's lovely curls, apparently inspiring a psychopath-like glare. (Seriously, I think the hairplay just vegged him out, but that look is hilarious.) 

Wilder tries to figure out this whole life-vest, moving-fast, wind-in-my-face lake experience.  

Jerry on the lake 

Cuddling with mama on the lake. Nice pot belly Wilder! (And thanks for camoflauging mama's!) 

Having duck with Grand-dad, Dad and Uncle Mark at Ty's house.  

Spiffed up and looking devilishly handsome at Uncle Ty's party. 

This photo will go down as one of my father/son favorites. Look how handsome both my guys are!  

Kiddo gets his splash on. 

The next four pics were taken at Jer's sister Leigh and Trent's wedding reception, which was beautiful and so much fun. This one shows Wilder and Aunt Cati at sunset.  

Wilder loves his Grandma!  

The beautiful bride Leigh and her nephew (who took quite a shine to her). The twinkling lights in the background were floating candles in the pool. 

Final party pic. Four generations: Papa, Teri, Jerry and Wilder.  

Wilder on a Cracker Barrell rocking chair. Something we didn't know prior to this moment: Wilder rocks (rawks!) like he'll never get the chance to rock again.  

About an hour before we get home, Wilder finally decides a lifetime in the car isn't so bad afterall. AND bonus! He decides to show off his first yoga move.