First Day of School

Today, having reached the prime academic age of 2.7 years old, Liam matriculated at the Southminster School.  For three days a week, he will socialize, sing, nap, pray, eat glue, and do his best not to get overly excited and piss his pants.

 
In preparation for his first day of class Rachel packed him a backpack, a lunch box, a nap mat, water containers, a placemat, a change of clothes, a blanket, love notes, and all of the assorted sundries necessary for one to succeed in the world from the hours of 9am – 2pm. Unfortunately she forgot a chalkboard so rather than holding up a perfectly crafted sign to commemorate the event, she had him hold up a blank sheet of paper on to which I Photoshopped the words above.

Good luck, we love you, and never stop smiling.   

9 Month Old Lives Simple, Happy Life

At nine months old, the toothless young man pictured below spends the majority of his day hiding in tents and getting tackled by his brother. 

The following video captures a heated game of arm flapping and peek-a-boo that ends with his brother declaring an immediate intention to poop.

Unrelated to anything above, this next one is all about Liam landing a child-sized catfish on his new Ironman rod and reel.
 

If you have 43 seconds and a desire to watch the world's greatest, standard definition, vertically filmed fishing video, turn up the volume, press play and enjoy the ride.

8 Month Flyweight Champ

Despite being in the 85th percentile for height and sufficiently aged to eat vegetables, J has only managed to attain a total weight of 16 pounds. His physique is not unlike that of a pixie stick.

And since people love videos of children, here he is pushing a cart while dressed like a football.

7 Month Man About Town

Jackson is now 7 months old. Put him on the ground and he scoots around with purpose and determination. He’s like a young, wild-haired, soldier on a mission to lick shoes. Here he is in picture form. Happy, content, and all around nice guy.

His older brother is now just shy of two and half and does things that qualify him as an actual person. He makes interesting conversation, sing songs, tells jokes, takes swimming lessons, does gymnastics, and uses a toilet with regularity. When I get home from work he tells me he loves me and often makes a point of complimenting my glasses. I feel special until I hear him tell a stick or a receipt that it too is beautiful.

 As shown above, Liam is also a caring brother and a practicing physician. 

6 Months of Blue-Steel

As a fair-skinned boy of six months and 14 pounds, Jackson spends his day rolling on the floor, sitting up, and cruising around the kitchen in a cart.

When not drooling, sleeping, or yelling for attention, he is taking selfies and putting dangerous objects in his mouth.  

His go-to pose reminds me of a confused old man on a windy day.  

5 Months: Happy as a Rolling Clam

Jackson's fifth month of life was similar to his fourth with slightly more athletic tumbling routines.  Notable events included moving into his own room and eating assorted purees.  

When not getting photographed by himself, Jackson drools on his mother's face and hangs out with his brother.

The kid is living the dream. 

4 Months: The Moon is Awake, So I'm Awake

One month ago I wrote about Jackson giving up on sleep.  Other than developing the ability to rollover, not much has changed since then.  The kid celebrates each evening with dramatic calls for attention disguised as cries for help and quickly shifts between emotions without pause or reason.

To give some visual perspective, the three pictures below were taken a few seconds before and after the first.

He is a complicated young man filled with love, piss and vinegar. 

Jackson's Baptism

Last weekend our family came together to celebrate Jackson's Baptism at St. Angela Merici Catholic Church.  Here are some of the highlights:

Jackson wore white.

He was splashed with Chrism and watered over the font.

Ate his hand during the ceremony.

Waved to his many guests

Seemed happy enough to be liberated from sin. 

A very special thanks to Roxanne and Phil for being Godparents to both of our children.  No matter how poorly Rachel and I parent, we trust you will never let Liam or Jackson go astray.  

3 Months: No Sleep Till Brooklyn

Jackson is in the 25th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. A mere 12 pounds of human with blonde hair, blue eyes and long phalanges that make his feet look like fists.

Three evenings ago he became nocturnal so if you want to Skype with us, 2am will probably work best.    

A Multi-Child Status Update

The younger boy is amazing.  He is a generally happy little man that does nothing more noteworthy than smile, sleep and occasionally get surprised by the sight of his feet. 

The older boy is running, working on his alphabet, and horsetrading turd deposits for jelly beans.

A large majority of my parenting day is spent comparing the two children and deciding which one I like better.  

Liam is Two Years Old

Liam celebrated his second birthday with friends, family and all things Bubble Guppies.  

 

42 guests, including the Guerra family of New Braunfels, were entertained by a face painting balloon-animalist named Jingles, a small bounce-house, a recently assembled swing-set, and 100 pounds of sand.

 

The smorgasbord consisted of candy, heavily child-fingered vegetable trays, and pizza.

The crowd sang a heartfelt rendition of Happy Birthday and Liam enjoyed himself thoroughly.  

I didn't take any of my own pictures or videos so if you have something worthwhile, please send it along.  Failure to do so will limit Liam's memory of the event to the four relatively nondescript photos above.    

Two Months: Vying For Favoritism

Jackson smiles, sleeps, and remains quiet for extended stretches of time.  He is a kind, happy young man of few words and minimal action.

His passions include staring at his brother from the comfort of a swing and lightly touching objects that dangle.    

Images of Happy Children and a Cat

It has been an incredibly long time since the previous post which means I’ll be leaning on jpegs rather than words to convey the happenings.  In no particular order:

They had three Christmas celebrations

Liam got a bike of sorts

Kip became overly protective

Jackson smiled

Liam smiled

We all lived happily ever after.

I'm the David Foster Wallace of picture books.

One Month Onesie Wearer

To celebrate Jackson's first month of life, Rachel and I strapped him into a gently used one-piece, laid him on a blanket and waited for him to smile.  Below is the result.

To date the child has proven himself to be mild mannered, quiet and generally well liked. 

Short, Blonde and Handsome

Since I'm pretty sure I can't post something about one child without posting about the other, here is a picture of Jackson.  At four weeks old he is just moving out of newborn clothes.  He is entertained by the simple act of swinging, he doesn't complain about much, and occasionally smiles when flatulent.

His most notable talent is arcing urine over his head during the few second transition between diapers. 

Kissing the Cat

Knowing the child to be a tiny but generous treat monger, the cat is remarkably tolerant of his advances.  

My favorite part of this thirty second video is the final five seconds.  In those brief moments the cat stops what he is doing, stares at the camera, and uses his large round eyes to blame me for all of the ills that have befallen him. 

These Are My People

A giant, a little person, elephant shoes, and a hand hold.

Jackson is now just shy of three weeks old. He sleeps well, eats regularly, and doesn’t do anything particularly untoward. As a parent of multiple children, I've decided to let the eldest take over my responsibilities whenever possible. He seems to be doing a fine job.

Jackson's Newborn Pictures

Thanks to Bri Sullivan of Cherry Street Photography (the same person responsible for the maternity pictures), Jackson's one week-old likeness is beautifully captured for posterity.  Some of the images are below, others can be found on the photographer's blog.

The remainder of the collection is similarly focused on classy nudes and knit swaddles.

Brotherly Love

I, who have no sisters or brothers, look with some degree of innocent envy on those who may be said to be born to friends. ~James Boswell

Someday in the relatively near future when the kids are fighting over video games or imaginary friends, I will put this 27 second video on loop and remind them of the time they adored each other.

Welcome to the Family

At 12:32 PM on November 6th, Jackson Thomas Swanburg entered our lives. He is a beautifully blonde, 7 pound 9 ounce, 20.75 inch, baby boy.

If years have passed and you’re now old enough to read this, Jackson, know that you are so impossibly loved. You always have been and always will be.