Reflections on The 4th of July Holiday

Well, the holiday weekend just passed, and it was a strange weekend indeed.

First, it was rainy, overcast and relatively cool here in Miami (but humid as ever)...Dave and I were marveling last night that our temperatures were cooler than DC, NY and PA by nearly 30 degrees!

Second, we had our first "it's just you, me and the kid" experience, as Tutu (Kathy's preferred Grandma name) left us on Sunday, July 4th.

Third, it is hard to believe that last year, we spent the 4th in Colorado, visiting Kelly and Erin and their families and then Dave and I spent a glorious week in Steamboat Springs. My, life can change radically in 365 days.

Finally, Dave and I still can't get over the fact that if Winston had stuck to his appointed delivery date, he would still be inside me for nearly one more week. All in all, we are thrilled he made his appearance a bit ahead of schedule.

We actually had a fairly active weekend. Kirk visited us on Thursday as did Cecilia (they helped ring in my 35th birthday!). Tutu cooked up a wonderful meal for the bday as well followed by a glorious flourless chocolate cake - yum. We had a wonderful dinner at Modesto and Cecilia's home on Friday night, and then dinner out on Saturday night with Wendy at no-name harbor on Key Biscayne at Bill Baggs State Park.

Michelle, Andy and Lili came over for dinner on Sunday evening to officially celebrate the 4th. Lili was present for Winston's 8 pm feeding...she wanted to know she could feed the baby too (I explained that you can only feed a baby with your breasts after you have a baby, but that she could read the baby a book). She was intrigued, and I think read him 3-4 books in an hour. She will be an excellent big sister and mama's helper when the time comes!

We put Winston's new swing together yesterday and I think he is much more comfortable in it than in his car seat. Dave and I think the swinging mechanism is a bit treacherous at this stage but it should be fun for him as he gets older. In this picture he is hanging out with daddy in the kitchen...hopefully he got his father's knack for cooking and not his mama's.

Other than that, our days are filled with the cycles of Winston care...feed, change diaper, cuddle, sleep, sooth, and repeat. Throw in a walk around the neighborhood, a book reading, and maybe a bath, and that about tells the whole story.

We are trying to record Winston's face as he goes through the "range of emotions" after eating -- we'll post a video once we have YouTube figured out...this will be one memory I don't want to ever lose.