Baby cheek

Today I woke up to banging outside.  They are building a new house behind us in the tiniest lot ever.  Sure, we too have a "skinny" house (as we call it), but at least we have a bit of a front yard, and a small, but decent sized backyard.  This house will only have enough room in the backyard for the tiny slab of concrete that we call our patio, if they even provide the patio space.  So I am a bit short on my sleep for the day.

I spent part of the afternoon helping Lisa, new mommy, sort through clothes they received for Essex, their new baby.  I was extremely happy to help and pleasantly surprised that Lisa asked for help, as she, like most Virgos do not like to ask for help.  I like being a new Auntie.  :)   Essex was being a bit fussy today, but he has much be fussy about.  Many many changes in his life--new parents, new surroundings, new time zone (three hour difference), new teeth arriving.  Lisa said from the beginning, that he is a pretty good baby, but does not like change.  I met Essex for the first time on Monday night when we had the absolute privilege to pick them all up from the airport.  He was in fairly good spirits considering it was the middle of the night for him--11pm here, 2am on the east coast.  I probably would have been more cranky than him. 

So to distract Essex, Lisa has resorted a few times to putting in the DVD of "Baby Van Gogh".  She demonstrated how when he is inconsolably fussy, that he quiets right down with his eyes glued to the TV.  It was pretty amazing, but of course she is not very keen about this.  It is one of the ways the previous caregiver entertained him.  I am sure they will be able to wean him from that once he is a bit more adjusted.

After a few minutes of quiet with the TV on, I started to play with him to distract him, then Lisa turned it off.  To keep him quiet, I suggested we go on a walk.  She thought it was a great idea since he loves the stroller and being outside.  By this time, Kronda had ridden over on her bike after finishing her JAVA final exam.  The three of us headed out for a quick stroll in the neighborhood.  Around the corner, we ran into Lisa's neighbors who have a few kids so we chatted with them.  Of course, we ran into someone Kronda knew.  Well, actually she knew both of us.  She works at REI and recognized us both because we are there so much.  It was a lovely afternoon and I cannot wait to get some more baby cheek soon.