Smiles everyone, smiles!

Truman gave us his first non-gas-related smile last week. It's so true what all the parents say—it DOES make a difference. Here he is lounging on his fabulous monkey quilt from "Aunt" Leslie Rose and modeling a cool tee from Kenan and Lane. (I should credit Sue for the photo. Paul and I are so camera-challenged, we'd never think to keep snapping away until we actually got a pic of him smiling. Ah, the beauty of digital photography.)

Sue's Visit (aka Hail Storm '08)

Sue arrived last week from NYC to meet Truman. Paul and I were practically on the runway to greet her, that's how excited we were to see her and benefit from her expertise as mom to MPM. She definitely had the touch with Truman.


On Wednesday, Sue chaperoned Alison and Truman at Target. It was the first time Truman really ventured out in public. He had a minor meltdown (which felt major to his mother), but Sue saved the day and whisked him off to Ladies' Clothing so Alison could choose a baby sling in peace. (But I swear the management was piping his screaming over the PA system. And that all the other babies were sleeping peacefully in their mothers' arms.) Anyway, Sue declared the trip a success because only one of us cried (Alison was sobbing on the inside, though) and we actually bought stuff. Hooray.



Austin endured its third hail storm of the year, a byproduct of a tornado that just grazed the city limits. It was truly frightening, with large hail raining down just after midnight as Alison, Truman and Sue huddled in the first-floor hallway and Paul took care of Luther in the back room. The house received minimal damage, but Sue's rental car? Well, that's another story. Our neighborhood was hit pretty hard, hard enough to make the local news. But Sue was miffed that no one showed up to profile HER story, so we include this photo as evidence that she qualifies as a Storm Victim. (By the way, the rental car company took care of everything although it looks as if they'll have to total the car.)

All in all, we think Sue was ready to head back to NYC at the end of the week. Thanks, MPM and Mrs. Murray, for letting us have her for a few days!

Mother's Day

Alison's first Mother's Day was a little rough (no naps for Truman), but one bright spot in addition to the flowers and card from Truman (plus the pedicure gift certificate from Paul!) was a visit from former NJ neighbor Sally. She offered us some parenting tips and generally paid homage to Truman. Thanks, Sally!

One Month!

So we're a little late with this one. Truman turned one month on May 7. He's looking a little proud of himself, don't you think?

Busy, busy

We've had lots of visitors since last week. Here are a few highlights:


Brian Peters brought us lunch from Uncle Billy's, where he's top brewer (note the tee-shirt. Does it come in a newborn size?). He's also a father of two, so he offered plenty of advice.



Grandmommy and Granddad on the front end of their first night babysitting gig with Truman. They're pros!



Not the best photo of us, but it is what it is: Two new, sleep-deprived parents and their tyrannical newborn, right before they ditch him for Alison's first margarita in nearly a year. (Check out T's sporty sneaker sox, a present from cousin Phoebe. She's always up on the latest trends.)


I love this photo. Truman's so serious. Did he know we were about to head out to dinner without him?



Aimee brought dinner and her nannying skills on Monday.



Laila (prenatal yoga buddy) and five-week-old Callum came over for a playdate. Laila's a second-time mother, so she had lots of helpful tips about daytime naps (Truman's nemesis). Note how he's fighting sleep in this pic.

Truman Up Close

A few solo portraits of Truman in action (such as it is at this stage):




Here he's wiped out after a feeding. He loves his monkey blanket (thanks, Steph!).


Does he love the swing as much as we do? Hard to tell right now, but thank god for Fisher Price's Rainforest swing. In fact, we're worried that we're using it so much that he's starting to look like the monkey on the pillow.

Inquiring Minds....

....want to know how Luther and Truman are adjusting to one another. Truman's only recently started to "see" Luther, despite the professionals' claim that babies' first images are of black and white objects. Luther doesn't know what to make of Truman although he likes to sleep next to his Moses basket when Truman's bunking with Paul in the back room. As some of you know, we had to put our other dog, Gaia, to sleep right before Truman was born, so Luther's endured a lot of change in a short amount of time. So, we're trying to cut him some slack these days.

Sweet Gaia. She would have liked Truman. R.I.P.