6 weeks

six weeks is one of those magic milestones in the life of a baby (& parent!). shepherd zuri turned 6 weeks old at 3:46 this morning. his coos & smiles are becoming more frequent, & last night he even giggled in my ear. his sleeping/waking/eating patterns are beginning to emerge, too, & life is seeming a little less chaotic around here. we're getting out regularly--daily walks with heron in the stroller + shepherd in the ergo for now, & being a mother to two young children is mostly becoming manageable (though certainly not easy!). we're getting to know his personality & some of his individual preferences (how he likes to sleep, be held, what he needs when he is sad, what foods i need to cut out of my diet to keep him happy, etc.). and, though 3 months is an even bigger marker for this, little shepherd now seems a bit more human than he did when we first met him. i am completely & utterly in love with this little creature. here are some pictures of the handsome little guy, taken yesterday.

beachward bound

saturday was a warm, sunny day in portland. we decided it was a good day for a trip to the ocean (an hour and a half away), since the forecast there was for similar weather. we packed up the beach quilt & kite, & heron clung to her bucket, rake, & shovel in the car, with great anticipation.

but the storm clouds rolled in early, & just as we pulled up to cannon beach the cold rain began. but this couldn't stop us. we hobbled the rocky shore at ecola state park. shepherd & i perched bundled & ergo-ed, nursing beside a tiny wind shelter josh assembled for us; he + heron collecting driftwood & stones. and oh, it was beautiful, & i made a memory, tucked away beneath that log, heron & josh frolicking, if soggily, and shepherd so warm & close to me--so content with my family on the shores of the gray, violent pacific.

(this photo does not do justice to the frigidity of this scene)

after 30 minutes in the chilly damp we de-camped & drove into town. stroller-walked through shops for shell trinkets & decorative bird eggs. dined on pizza & coke, then fudge & coffee. we were living it up.

it was our first vacation as a family of four, and it was perfect.

hello, spring

: heron, 22 months :

: shepherd, 5 weeks :

shepherd's seattle shower

we've been so overwhelmed by the kindness of friends + family! we have been loaned & given everything we've needed for shepherd. clothes of every size keep appearing, we've been loaned a carseat & given money to buy a super-duper double stroller. at the shower we were given the infant insert for our baby carrier so i can wear shepherd hands-free & still attend to heron. we were also given cloth diaper covers & weeks of paid for diaper service (on top of my mom's generous gift of 3 months of diaper service!) thank you SO much, friends! we've been blessed by your generosity!

here are some photos of last weekend's baby shower for shepherd in seattle, hosted by my sisters-in-law & mother-in-law. thanks, garrels women!

: the shepherd zuri game :

: teal & alli with shepherd :

: beka & sierra :

: abby :

: sara's mom sue & her dashing grandson asher :

: three friends with baby boys! :

(me + shepherd (1 month), sara + asher (3 months), gala + caspar (10 months))

hannah wikes wobots

josh brought out two of his childhood toys for the bent boys when they were here, a robot & "snake eyes" from the g.i. joe saga. heron seemed to get quite attached to the robot in particular, but we had to take it away from her when she continued to play with it dangerously close to shepherd's face. she was upset by this, so when she cried we told her that snake eyes was a robot, too (yeah, this is called lying, i suppose). this answer satisfied her, & now snake eyes is her favorite toy. but he is always getting injured ("huwt"), apparently, in her pretend play, so she brings him to me, saying, "wobot, huwt. kiss wobot!" then i have to kiss snake eyes wherever he's hurt, which today she said, multiple times, was his bum. this is what heron is into these days: coloring, playing house, playing legos ("pay yedos!"), obsessing about whether she, shepherd, or any of her various toys just went poopoo & need a diaper change, & kissing owies. in heron's world, wobots go poopoo & get booboos, too!