Getting to know Avery Jack

Everyone always asks you what your baby is like, "you know, what kind of personality does he have," they'll clarify, and I never know how to respond.

In trying to enjoy kids for who they are, I try not to put anything on them. Yes, he can be fussy, but I don't think that necessarily means he's going to be impatient and demanding for the rest of his life. Plus, I'm too close to him to really be able to distinguish him from other babies. I don't know other babies. I know my baby, and to me, he's a joyful baby.

 

Eight- and nine-month-olds can be pretty clingy to mom, so we're a little like magnets right now. I try to not always have him within a one-foot radius of me, but he's certainly much happier without me near if I'm just not in the house. (This is good for Ian, who says -- teething, notwithstanding -- he's pretty fun to hang around with alone when Julian and I go out.)

It's nice when people comment about what an all-star parent you are, because deep down inside, you know you are, too. Parents who are doing the juggle take on superhuman strengths that are hard to imagine when you're not required to have them. Even when Julian was 2 or 3, I remember looking at moms with babies that are Avery's age and thinking, "How in the hell do you do that?"

I tell you, it ain't easy. At times, you'll find yourself feeding the baby while feeding yourself and your inbox. And you don't even think it's of note until your husband says, "I gotta take a picture of this."

Babies are a lot happier in the summer, I'd say, than in winter, when their little hands and feet are so cold all the time.

Plus, naked baby time is a lot more fun than being in footed Onesies all the time.

It's nice when people come and visit us because it's hard to pack up everyone and have a good time at someone else's house. Both the boys enjoy being in new places, but it takes some planning to make sure everyone's as comfortable as they would be at home.

Plus, you get to hold and kiss the baby as much as you want.

Avery loves taking baths. Much more than Julian, but J is getting better about it. 

Music is a good way to keep his attention.

 

Happy baby, I say.

After what seemed like many months of teething, Avery's first two bottom teeth poked through in the past week and a half. At first, he was a little snaggle tooth, but the other tooth started to come in, too. It'll be nice when this phase is over, but when their first birthday looms on the horizon, you try to hold on to the baby days because you know they'll be gone as soon as they came.