St. Francis

This is St. Francis. Not really, but a stuffed-doll replica of St. Francis. It was given to Sean by our dear friends Paul and Gretchen Reetz, who donated enough money to some Catholic charity soley to get the stuffed St. Francis for Sean. They are great friends.

Cody and I have long had a number of special Franciscans in our lives. Our favorite professor and priest at NDLS-- Fr. Coughlin (in fact, this St. Francis was almost named Fr. Coughlin); Brother Dismas, Cody's old roommate in Charleston, now a missionary in Honduras; Fr. Sean O'Brien, a longtime friend of the Galloways in N.Y; and even Fr. Aubrey at St. Mary's mission church in Anderson. We love the Franciscans and their love for the poor and special spiritual charisms. Although, we didn't really like Franco Zeffirelli's Brother Sun Sister Moon about St. Francis. Too little historical fact and too much John Denver singing in a field of flowers.

Anyway, what is really special about stuffed-St. Francis is that lately Sean has loved falling asleep staring at him and St. Francis watches over Sean as he sleeps. They are becomming fast friends. Who knows, maybe we'll have another special Franciscan in our lives one day!

Sean Brendan '08...

...well, maybe 2048. Wouldn't it be great to be the First Mother?

Unrelated, Sean gave me the best birthday present this morning by sleeping from 10:30p.m. to alsmost 6 a.m.! It was amazing!

Thanks to Susie and Ryan for the presidential onesie!

Heard around the House...

Erin: I think we have the cutest son ever made. Maybe Jesus was cuter.
Cody: Nah.

Look Who's Smiling!

Sean started smiling back at us this week... here are a few shots we captured, although its much better in real life :).

He smiles when we kiss him on the cheek (sometimes), at light (sometimes), when we poke his nose (sometimes) or rub his belly (sometimes). Its not too consistent yet, but we're working on it.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Aunt Denise moved from Holland, MI to Waco, TX this past weekend to work on her PhD in English Literature at Baylor (she's smart). Sean wanted to make sure she got there OK.

Lunch Break

Cody came home for lunch today and had some QT with baby :)

Its Working!

Breastfeeding is a lot harder than I expected, but so worth it. The benefits to Sean and me outweigh the sacrifices of breastfeeding. Plus, I was so encouraged when I started seeing Sean develop little fat rolls! After all the hard work of both of us learning how to nurse, its really working!

A Night Out for the Whole Family

Here we are at Kristen Heineck's (now Kristen Word) wedding last weekend. Cody, Sean and I coordinated our outfits. I had been thinking about what to wear to this wedding for about a week now that I have to consider breastfeeding, a new body-shape and a recovering incision. About an hour before we left I still had no idea what I would wear when my super-husband pulled out a little surprise....

Months ago when I was pretty round with sean inside of me Cody and I were walking down King Street and I saw all the pretty new spring dresses in the window at Ann Taylor (my fav store). I mentioned that I couldn't wait until I could wear a nice Ann Taylor dress with an actual waistline again! Well last week after work Cody braved Ann Taylor by himself and picked out a dress for me in the right size and everything! It was beautiful-- with a cute little waist and even a wrap-around style that is nursing-friendly (even though we ended up bringing a bottle!). I felt really pretty at the wedding, which was a wondeful feeling after living in PJ's for a few weeks now! What a man!

Big Man

This is Sean outgrowing the the bassinet he slept in his first month. Can you believe how much he's grown since we brought him home!?

Watch Out Michael Phelps!

Sean and I have really enjoyed watching the Olympics this week. I think his hopes of being an olympic gymnast are shot, based on the size of his parents. But, Sean has been planning his attack on Michael Phelps' record for the 2028 Olympics. Look at the size of his hands and feet-- he can do it! The only snag is Sean doesn't actually like water yet.

Reading with Dad...

Favorite father and son activity :)

Holy Baby, Batman!

A lot of times when I nurse Sean or lay him down in his crib he reaches up and grabs my Miraculous Medal (given to me by Grandma Martha shortly before she died). I love seeing this, especially because we asked the Blessed Mother for her intercession immediately after we found out i was pregnant and throughout the pregnancy. We definitely felt her protection throughout as we miraculously experienced no problems in the face of a potentially threatening condition.

Sean also loves hearing the Rosary... sometimes it is the only thing that will put him to sleep! He gets very calm and peaceful when we are at church (especially when the music plays). All of this reminds me of just how sweet and innocent he is, and I pray that he stays that way for a very long time.

Babysitter

Last Friday Cody and I went on our first date post-baby. This is something I wouldn't have necessarily thought of doing so soon, but my boss, Peter Shahid and his wife Mary have been insisting for, oh, about 8 months, that exactly one month after the baby is born we go on a date and leave the baby with them for the evening. So, just shy of Sean's one-month birthday Cody and I went out to dinner (we went to High Cotton on East Bay, which was a gift from the Senior Groebers... it was wonderful--we highly recommend) and then for a sunset walk along the battery.

We dropped Sean off at the Shahids before dinner and Peter, Mary, their daughter Julia (pictured with SBG above), their son Pete, and Peter's mother, Mrs. Shahid, all babysat him for the night. Mrs. Shahid (who was the first person to tell me our baby was boy, "because he's giving you so much trouble") fed him a bottle and he loved it. Julia held Sean on the couch, Pete offered to be his future NBA agent, and Mary had a very hard time giving him back to us after dinner as he slept soundly on her.

The Shahids have been just wonderful to us since we moved down here a year ago. Cody worked for Peter before law school, and Peter employed both me and cody for months before cody moved to the Public Defender. I will be going back to work for Peter in September and feel great about it... it is a wonderful office and he gives me loads of hands-on learning experiences. The Shahids are a great family who value their faith and each other, which makes me feel that much better about going back to work.

Potential Fan

I think he wants to go to the Michigan game this year!

Guess Who's Sleeping in His Own Crib??

Outdoor Baby

Sean and I spent his "awake time" outside in our front yard yesterday. He loves the warm air--being outside is the only time he is peacefully naked. Usually he hates being naked (he's very modest). Can you tell the last picture was taken right after he ate? He's getting bigger!