Xmas Smiles

Chasing Lights

Well, Floyd wrote a song for the season, and recorded it with his friend Carter Butler for the GREAT SUFJAN STEVENS XMAS SWAP competition. While they didn't win the competition, they were one of the favorite 35 out of over 600 submissions. Currently Sufjan's record label (Asthmatic Kitty) is streaming the song on their website on their AKradio player. However, if you don't want to navigate to the website and upload the player, Floyd is allowing anyone who wants the song to DOWNLOAD IT FOR FREE at his myspace page as a Holiday Blessing to you and yours. The song is called "Chasing Lights". Enjoy and be well.

here's some links:
William F. Gibbs --- come download "Chasing Lights", it's already a holiday favorite in our home. Merry Christmas!

puppy playdates... and girl talk

Well, it turns out puppies need playdates more than babies. (I suppose playdates are really for moms to catch up on gossip anyway.) But JH the third has been feeling a little neglected. After all, he has been hard at work protecting yet another member of the family, and exercising greater loyalty beside the bouncy seat by day and cribside by night. So off we went to the Plyler House for JH to get some free time in the yard with Nellie while momma here got to have coffee AND lunch with very little interuption.
RM was kind enough to take a nap.

But woke up for lunch to show off his latest tricks: smiling and standing (virtually unassisted - he's so advanced).


Also check out the new-mommy-do I am sporting these days... turns out it is much nicer to have shorter hair again and Locks of Love is grateful for the 12 inch donation.

Did we mention this was all about the dogs? See how nice it is to sit in the sun?

2.5 months...

RM is 2.5 months now... he's a whopping 14 lbs, 12 ozs.

He loves a bouncy seat (which is riding lower to the ground now)

hanging out with dad after the yard work was done on Saturday...

And drumroll please, this new little trick has attributed to his new sleeping through the night habit. Lets hear a hurrah for 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep!

adventures for me...

there are some basic skills i have acquired in the last two months that can only be gained from experience. No one tells you how to "Aspirate" your child's nasal passages, but it must be done to dislodge stubborn boogers and help them breathe. No one teaches you how to take your child's temperature rectally, but it is the most accurate way, and must be done as well. I just think nurses should tell parents these things so they don't have to learn by taking their child to the doctor unneccessarily as sometimes happens. Fortunately, i have Sister #1, Sister #2, and Sister #3 to lean on for advice in these simple tasks.

One recently acquired skill however, was not learned from these professional mommmies. They would never have gone to the mall to do Christmas shopping with only three spare diapers. But i did. And while nursing my child in the ladies' lounge at Belk, he naturally blew out a diaper. After the first change you think i would have learned. He blew out another one. AND ANOTHER ONE. So i had used up all of our diapers (and yes, they were all quite full), so the only thing left to cover his little rear was the burp cloth i had been using... a "cloth diaper" if you will. Unfortunately, i did not have these handy instructions, but i think i did an okay job of it in the pinch i was in. But even after scurrying to the car and home as quickly as possible, he was in hysterics again because he had completely soaked through this one too by the time we got home.

The moral of this story should be, always have at least four diapers in your diaper bag. But my moral is NEVER entertain the idea of using cloth diapers, no matter how environmentally friendly someone thinks they might be. There is no wicking moisture away from the body... and really, they don't work. Just keep filling up the landfills with pampers. Your sanity as a mother depends on it.


ps - i had a full unopened box of pampers in the car... realized much too late.

Happy Thanksgiving!

we had a wonderful thanksgiving in the mountains... Had the meal with twenty-five people we don't really know, watched several ladies pass our baby around the room, sat on the couch and watched football, fried a couple birds, drank wine, went for a hike, and took part in the annual christmas tree hunt.

Highlights of the weekend? Floyd sleepwalking... into his parents room... demanding his father "Scoot over" ... and crawling in bed with them.

Lowlights of the weekend? Floyd sleepwalking... without a stitch of clothing on.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is my husband. I'm at least glad to say that his sleepwalking habits seem to only manifest about once every ten years.

cooking again.

when i gave birth seven weeks ago, i literally thought, how do people do this? Meaning - have a child and find time to do anything else ever again. I started a running list in my head of things that would definitely have to be eliminated indefinitely from my daily routine: drying my hair, making the bed, cleaning the house, COOKING, etc.
Well, i know all of you professional mothers are smiling. I am just happy because i am doing all of these things, sometimes with more ease than i ever did before :)
Here's me cooking a meal during the "fussy" time of day. He's sacked out. NICE.

happy nap

of course, once i post about getting lots of sleep, i have two not-so-good nights in a row. pray this trend doesn't continue tonight :)

Here's RM grinning on our bed while getting a nap this morning.

more sleep for me please!

i am pleased to announce that our boy has started going 6 hours between feedings most nights... okay, so actually, he's had a growth spurt the last two days and wanted to eat every 2 hours all day and all night, but for the last week, i feed him at 11pm and he'll go until 4:30 or 5am! I realize this may be small potatoes for my six week old when some babies start going all night at four weeks (I'll let them remain nameless to protect their mothers from the wrath of sleep deprived other mothers). But, we're pretty happy about it in our house!
Oh, and did i mention he loves his crib now? When he's sleepy he just wants to be thrown in there and left alone... well, alone with his pacifier.

Uncle Wheeeeeel! ... Nephew Olice!

Olice and Will have this really weird little game they play. Whenever O sees W, he says, "Uncle Wheeeel!" (yes, he already has that much Kountry in his prounciation). W one day just started responding with "Nephew Olice!" So now, even when W is not around, if we talk about him, Olice plays the game all by himself. He'll say Uncle Wheel, pause for a minute and then yell: "Nephew Olice!" It's pretty hilarious.
Here's the O-man visiting this week and wearing Uncle Wheel's hat. He loves it.

the proof is in... the basement

just so you all know, we now have heat. Real heat, not the space heater kind that still left the tile floor like ice in the morning. woo hoo! sometimes after RM is asleep, Will and I go downstairs to sit and watch the new furnace cycle on and off. We're trying to get our money's worth... you know, utilities budget, entertainment budget, etc.

get me some heat up in here!

we're not trying to freeze our newborn child, but the furnace is on its last legs, and must be inspected Wednesday. Trouble is, it's supposed to dip below 40 tonight... so Red is getting his very own little heater in his room until the furnace is back in commission. Just to be sure he's warm though, this is how he'll dress indoors until then. (ps - send up a prayer that our home warranty will cover our 37 year old furnace!)

RMG is one month old

as you can see, Red has put on some incredible weight, and he is primarily carrying it in his cheeks.

this is the most peaceful he gets... prefers sleeping with one of us on the daybed rather than in his crib all alone... we are REALLY not trying to promote this.

our little bean all tuckered out from another long night keeping mom on her toes...

happy birthday momma...

after a very long night as a new mother, and just a few hours after officially turning 26, my son decided to give me a very cute birthday surprise. Not only peeing everywhere from the perch of his changing pad, but when i picked him up to clean it off and give the diaper change a second go, he decided to pee all down the front of me.

I love it. As you can see from this picture, at three weeks and 26 years respectively, he is definitely getting the better of me.

Disclaimer: The ensemble worn in this picture is the result of sleepless nights, and blind pajama decisions at 3am when i am cold. Please give me a break. I'm exhausted.

second week of life

here's a day in the life of a two week old, or at least for RMG's second week of life.

red marshall

our son arrived sept. 28, 2007 at 10:21pm. He weighed in at 7lbs, 2oz and measured 21 inches long. we really, really like him... so much so that we've almost forgotten to share him with you all because we've been enjoying him - and he does keep us busy.

right now he's working real hard at his tenth day of life - napping before his second lunch so i better go rest too. Here are a few shots of his first week for you to enjoy. Hopefully i can share lake pictures too soon. (We took him to meet his six older cousins this weekend - it was complete mayhem! he loved it.)

For those of you who are interested, here's a little background on his name: Floyd's grandfather had two brothers, Red and James Marshall. W.F. "Red" Gibbs is floyd's great uncle, and namesake... the original W.F. Gibbs... but has been called Red for his entire 93 years of life. James Marshall passed away five years ago, and was greatly admired by my floyd. So there you have it.

ps - yes, his hair is red.

Drapes are up! Just waiting on the rocker!

they are coming!

that's right... the Colorado Gang are coming to South Carolina. Back to their roots, some for the first time (C-love and Scuppernog). For others, Like G-money and JG especially, this flying thing is becoming old hat. And I'm sure D-struction will have some extra special tricks up his sleeve too, but we'll be praying they are more cute than destructive...

I haven't seen my oldest sister since last November. That's right... almost a full year. And Tootie was here in May, but it seems like a long time ago too. Most importantly is the fact that this is the first time the entire Baker clan has been together since Nanni & Reid were married. That's 2.5 years ago, and at the time there was only G-money in the cousin crew... since then the-O-man, D-struction, JG, Georgia Weez, and C-love have all joined him. And baby Gibbs & Scuppernog are not far behind.

We're pretty excited... i love my family, and i'm hoping we have lots of fun together. And maybe even an actual DELIVERY while they're here too, wouldn't that be awesome?!?

a taste of things to come...

Nursery update... You might remember my posting about our nursery a couple of months ago. I was kind of proud because we had a crib already, even if it was full of junk. But the room has come a long way from junk room/music room/guest room to house a nursery primarily, but also serve other functions as well. I will post more images later next week, but here are a couple of details. The drapes are going up tomorrow and the mini blinds coming DOWN, and our rocking chair will be done on Wednesday... hurrah! More about the face lift to come, but here's some of the details...

The view when you walk in the door now (again, still a work in progress)
The table by the rocker with Floyd's baby picture, and his silver baby rattle, comb, toothbrush, teething ring, etc.

A little bucket of toys and special stuffed animals

One of my favorites, Mr. Frog, who is currently hanging on the closet door... he's cute.
And the closet! Lots of organizing and laundry has been done already to make this happen :)

a couple of bump shots...

well i realize i've been neglecting to post the belly... honestly we've gotten a little preocuppied with getting the house ready for this new little human being, and the belly seems like old news to Evelyn & Floyd... but just for good measure, here is the 35 or 36 week image (i can't remember when exactly we took it... oops). Also, below that is the today image... i don't know if there is much of a difference. It's all the same to me now, and hopefully we'll get one last final one in a couple weeks before this kid pops out.

A little chi-chi here, a little baby there...

Evelyn & Floyd have an amazing neighbor and friend, Karen. Her home is like a sanctuary to all who enter, and her friendship too provides great respite. It's like she has this spiritual gift to create an oasis of relaxation. Anyway, when she throws a party, it is always chi-chi, even if it is a baby shower. Sponge cake, fellowship halls and punch step aside - romantic tea lights, palm frans, and cordials for conversation are welcome here.

We opened many generous and thoughtful gifts from friends


It was cool enough to socialize on the porch without sweating!


Friends lingered for hours after dinner and dessert


Grandparents-to-be (the Gibbs) talk with a more seasoned "Pops" as he cuddles the current youngest member of the Baker grands (Georgia)


The party may be over but of course we're all still hanging out

Our sweet nephew Olice is TWO!

The icing ran a little after nancy and i worked so hard, but they still look delicious! Olice's favorite colors: yellow, orange, and blue.

Olice digging into his cupcake...

Olice with his Uncle Will... (or "Uncle Wheeeeeel!")

Reading a favorite library book with his Nana

Getting a little help from Mommy to open the presents

Helping Daddy assemble the new John Deere barn ("Here's the hay dad.")

Baby Georgia partied for a little while too.