my sassy girl

Jalen officially has a babysitter, albeit a part-time one. This is a big deal for us. Trying to figure out child care causes great stress, apprehension and financial anxiety. Daycare will have its place in Jalen's future, but it's our decision not to put him in one yet. Jalen still spends a day each with his two grandmothers and my cousin has generously offered her days off to care for Jalen the rest of the week. Melissa, currently in grad school, is studying to be a pediatric nurse practitioner. (Cool or what?) It helps, of course, that she adores Jalen and he has taken to her well. Children can often become attached to their nannies or babysitters over time. We have yet to see how long Melissa can commit to this job, but however long it may be, we feel that we've made a good choice.

who's your mommy

Jalen LOVES his mother. The enthusiasm that he greets Eumi with is unparalleled. It's that unbreakable bond that exists between a mother and her baby. I probably spend more time and do more things with Jalen, but I just don't get the same flair from him when he greets me. Often, when Eumi comes home, she is received with smiles, laughs and maybe even some ecstatic jumping if he's held standing. Jalen greets me with more of a stunned look followed by grunts and moans. I know that he's excited to see me. But if I could translate his reactions, then with Eumi it's 'Yaaay! Mommy's home!' and with me it's 'Dude! What are you waiting for, pick me up already!' Well, I know that this sounds a bit like an envious rant but more than anything, I find it endearingly funny. I'm just happy that Jalen accepts me. It just goes to show that a father has to work extra hard to gain his child's adoration.

who's driving?

One day, having lent out our stroller, I was confronted with the prospect of going to Home Depot and holding Jalen in my arms the whole time. While pushing a dirty shopping cart with one hand and struggling to hold a heavy, writhing baby in the other arm, I couldn't help but fantasize about having a stroller with me. Ironically, at checkout, the cashier (a lady probably my mother's age) told me how impressed she was that I was actually holding my baby and that it's a shame how nowadays most babies are confined to a stroller. Another older lady in line seemed to agree with her. I joked with them about my arm falling off but never revealed my desire for a stroller. Looking deeper into it than I needed to, I couldn't help but think how much raising children has changed from our parents' generation. They had only a portion of the baby gadgets that we do today--did they even have car seats? And imagine the wealth of baby information accessible to us not only in books but the internet. It's like learning to drive with a manual in front of us as opposed to learning to drive in the dark with no lights on. Nowadays babies are born with instructions and have more things than they really need. We are a generation of parents obsessed with baby information and products. Jalen is obviously the driving force behind our obsession but we've definitely learned to ease up. I have much respect for our parents' generation though--walking down the street, holding their babies with eyes closed and no stroller.

divided attention

This natural pose of Jalen flashing me some bad attitude occurred right after lunch. I spent a couple of minutes lecturing Jalen that eating time is not play time because he was attempting to grab the spoon and bite it. Well, I don't know if I could legitimately call it a lecture since he can't understand a word that I'm saying. But his body language here (which really did happen spontaneously and naturally) makes me feel as though he understood my disapproval. Babies kill me. Their actions and expressions often make them seem more mature than they are. I sometimes have to remind myself that Jalen is still just a baby. But yes, we do cherish every moment of it, and yes, we do laugh a lot.

buddha's delight

Constant stimulation--that about sums up Jalen these past few days. He's a really good baby that rarely complains but this 25-pound slithering machine can be a handful. He was very cute, at first, in his determination to crawl and I eagerly anticipated the moment he would begin. But now I wish that it would have taken him a bit longer. His developing curiosity and awareness of things around him, coupled with his ability to get to those things can be, and is, an exhausting combination. Also, Jalen has eight teeth now, so his sole purpose in life at this point is to put whatever he can get his hands on into his mouth so he can gnaw on it. This goes hand in hand with his love of food, for now one of the few things that he continues to sit still for.