Yay for Yard Sales!

This morning our little family headed to Pittsburgh's Point Breeze neighborhood over for its annual neighborhood yard sale.  Having hit the baby-supply-jackpot last spring at a similar event in our own corner of the 'Burgh, we figured it might be worthwhile to check out this one as well.  And, boy, we weren't wrong!  Among this morning's catches:

A small stash of baby boy's clothes.  We found fewer of these types of items than we had hoped to fin, but we still managed to come home with a decent selection pieces to use through Jonah's next 6 to 9 months.  Best part:  most of these we picked up for just 25 cents a pop!

Books: several Doctor Seuss, a few Sandra Boyton, and others.  Can always use more books.

A fancy cradle swing.  We'd been avoiding buying one of these, mostly because it seemed counterproductive in terms of our maintaining an attachment style of parenting.  However, after spending an entire month of weekdays alone at home with Jonah, I finally decided that I could use at least a little time each day without a baby in my arms--a desire the merits of which, unfortunately, I have had absolutely no success convincing Jonah.  That said, we have several friends and neighbors who have sworn by the swing as a baby-approved means of transitioning from the security of Mom's arms to generally more independent locales.  And for $10 (!) at a yard sale, we're willing to give it a try.  Hopefully, Jonah will enjoy a little swing time each day--just enough so that Mom can, say, start dinner in the evening, before Daddy gets home and without having to suffer through Baby's heart-breakingly ceaseless cries.

And then, finally, the yard sale pièce de résistance:

We found this porch swing, in pretty much perfect condition, at our first stop for $5!  Honestly, I can hardly believe it.  We'd been looking at porch swings at places like Home Depot and Lowes, where they seem to start at about $120 and quickly run up to over $500!  So we're pretty thrilled about this find.  Looking forward to getting some use out of it this fall.

1st Road Trip!

Big news from over the weekend!  Jonah just enjoyed his first road trip!

We geared up for this trip (a work-related trip back to our old stomping grounds in central New York) with no small amount of trepidation.  How would Jonah handle so many hours in the car?  Where would we stop, and how should we schedule our time in each place?  Should we continue to use cloth diapers on the road, or would it be worthwhile to switch to disposables for a short duration?  How much should we pack in the way of baby clothes?  Entertainment?  The big stroller or the small?  So many uncertainties.  Maybe Mom and Baby should just stay home, we wondered.

In the end, though, car packed with what seemed like half of Jonah's belongings (plus one small bag for Mom and Dad), we hit the road.  And here's the good news:  Jonah was fabulous.  He slept through most of the car ride, only fussing occasionally for diaper changes and feedings.  We did our best to stop when and where we could, sometimes in places of Jonah's choosing, sometimes our own.  No major disasters.  No major emotional crises or backlash, thank goodness.

Jonah, snug in his car seat, ready to go!

First time behind the wheel
(taking a break at a rest stop).

Along the way, we took advantage of a few particularly convenient resting points, where Jonah finally made the acquaintance of several more veteran members of his family: aunts, uncles, cousins, and, perhaps most notably, his great grandma:

Great Grandma gave us a place to
stay overnight (and also made a cake
to help us celebrate Dad's birthday).

At our destination, Dad had to spend most of his time working, but Jonah and I got to enjoy the company of a few old friends.  We spent a wonderful, sunny afternoon lazing about our the yard of our dear friends, Nate, Jen, and their adorable little spitfire, Cora.  Jonah spent much of that time napping, while Mom enjoyed the view of the farms and hills behind the house.

Nate, Jen, and Cora let us laze about
their charming home and yard
with beautiful scenic views.

The last leg of our trip was, of course, the return home.  It was a pleasure to make a few stops again.  We enjoyed breakfast with Papa and Uncle Steve, a mid-morning break with our favorite Auntie Katie Dear and Uncle Kevin (at whose home Jonah practiced his ever more frequent smile), and stopped for a quick brunch/lunch with an old friend at yummy Betty's (where a quiet, pleasant Jonah seemed to receive a lot of admiring attention from our servers and neighboring diners).

At the cafe with Papa and Uncle Steve.

Jonah practice's smiling at his aunt and uncle's home.

Daddy sporting Jonah in the sling
while we wait for our table at Betty's.

All in all it was a great trip.  In fact, our only regret might be that we didn't take more photos!

Much thanks goes to our friends, John and Annie, who hosted us at our destination (and who didn't complain an iota when Jonah had a rough night!).  To Nate and Jen, in particular among many other things for letting us use their laundry facilities to wash our cloth diapers.  And, of course, to the long list of other friends, aunts, uncles, and cousins who met us and fed us along the way.  Love you guys!

Five Weeks

It's a beautiful, blue-sky day today--warmer outside than in--so Jonah and I are writing this post from our front porch this afternoon.  Jonah's head is resting on my shoulder (he's asleep), and the sound of his breath laps into my nearby ear like waves onto a beach.  It's a sound just as relaxing as that metaphor suggests.

These precious moments aside, Jonah's been putting us through a couple of rough nights lately.  Though once his cries were a sure sign of a wet diaper, in just the past few days they seem to have adopted a whole new (and often confusing) gamut of meanings.  In the evening--and, unfortunately for Bryan and me, long through recent nights--they seem to have come to mean, "I'm exhausted but I refuse to fall asleep."  It feels to us like nothing short of interminable patience--the will, for instance, to pace the floor with him in our arms for two hours per go--can pacify him at such times.  (And patience sometimes threatens to run thin when one is drawing on only a few hours of restless sleep oneself.)  But we're plodding through.  I read somewhere that weeks 6-8 are the fussiest for most babies, so I'm crossing my fingers that this is just a phase that will ease up in about two weeks time.  Experienced moms and dads out there, we welcome any encouragement or advice!

In other news, we had a surprise visit this week from Jonah's Uncle Brad! Yay!  Here's a picture capturing the event (where you can see Jonah's entering his aforementioned cranky period for that particular night):

We were so glad to see you, Uncle Brad!  Very much looking forward to visiting you and Aunt Lori in the not-so-distant future.

Daddy Time!

Since Bryan went back to work a few weeks ago, "Daddy Time" has become a pretty critical part of our evening. Here's a sample of what Daddy and Baby do during their shared evening:

Have heart-to-hearts.

Play together.  (This rattle by Haba
has been a big hit, by the way.)

Nap.

Bath time!

Splish splash, Jonah's taking a bath!

Bath time is one of Jonah most favorite times of day.  As soon as he gets his toes in that warm water, he's kicking and smiling and cooing up a storm.  We love it.