February 14, 2008

• Little Lothario Posts a Personal Ad

  Jack has a special message today:

  

  (design courtesy of Johnny O'Neal)

  SHB (Single Halfie Baby) looking for SFB (Single Female Baby) between the ages of one month to one year. Enjoys long walks to the park, pureed fruit, Cheerios and spa treatments (i.e., foot lickings from the family dog). If interested, please respond by tossing objects from crib or high chair for the 1000th time.

  ******

  Hope you all are having a great Valentine's Day! We took that picture of Jack last week and noted that it looked as though he were trying to wink at the ladies, so Johnny turned it into a little Valentine's Day e-card (ahh, to be a grad student!).

  Johnny and I just realized that today is our tenth (!) Valentine's Day together! We first celebrated it in 1999, when he made me a little card and hand-drawn flip book and got me a bouquet of flowers. I don't remember what I got him (sadly, Johnny's gifts always seem to be more meaningful than mine! I'm just not that creative in the gift-giving arena). We've never been that big into Valentine's Day because it seems so contrived to spend extra money in mid-February just because. However, as you know, we're big romantics, so we always do exchange cards and at least enjoy a wonderful meal at home together, which is what we'll be doing this year. Last night I made brownies with a cream cheese filling, so tonight we'll enjoy those! (I figure for Valentine's Day, I can fall off the wagon a little bit, especially since I recently reached my pre-baby weight, yay!) And, anyway, to steal a line from Jody, every day is Valentine's Day.

  This morning I met Johnny and Jack at the pediatrician's office for Jack's seven-month appointment. Jack's stats are:

  Weight: 18 pounds, 12 ounces (50th - 75th percentile)
  Height: 27.5 inches (75th percentile)
  Head circumference: 45.5 cm

  His percentiles haven't changed; I saw on the growth chart that he's sticking perfectly to the curve and stabilizing now, which makes sense because he didn't gain as much weight from the last appointment as he usually does. Anyway, he's a big boy!

  After the appointment, as we headed toward our separate cars (me back to work; Johnny and Jack back home), I handed Johnny his Valentine's Day card. When I got into my car, I saw that when Johnny arrived in the parking lot, he'd sneakily unlocked my car and put something in the passenger's seat! It was a card and a handmade bouquet of "roses" made from Hershey's Kisses. The "buds" are two Kisses placed flat side to flat side, and wrapped in red cellophane. Then there's a bendy green wire that cinches the cellophane together and forms the "stem." Johnny had wrapped 12 of these "roses" in some pink paper to make a bouquet. It was so sweet (literally, ha!).

  OK, Johnny protests that all these crafts -- the Valentine's Day e-card and the chocolate bouquet -- make him sound like a pansy. He insists that I tell you that there was a booth at UCLA where people (mostly husbands and boyfriends scrambling for a last-minute gift) could make the Kisses bouquets. So it wasn't completely his idea. Now he's going back to building furniture with power tools and some wood that he chopped by hand.

  Anyway, I couldn't ask for better Valentines -- I have my wonderful, sweet husband who, despite his busy school schedule, always does more than his share of the household and babycare chores so that I have less to do when I get home; my jolly, beautiful baby boy who is the light of my life; a wonderful, supportive family; and my marvelous friends, including you guys! Thank you for making every day a joy!

  • 2:48 pm
  • 20 Comments