Spending Time with Grandma

My mom arrived last Thursday in time to spend both Mother's Day and my birthday with us. What a special treat. The last time she was here, Maceo was just about 2 months old. Needless to say, he has changed a ton since then and she has loved being able to spend time with him now that he is blossoming into a super active, engaging and busy baby.

Grandma is the baby whisperer when it comes to baby food. While Maceo was pretty interested form the start, she has coached him into being a remarkably neat and efficient eater. From the moment she puts his bib on, he seems to know the program. She taps the spoon on the edge of the little bowl and he pops his mouth open like a little bird ready for the next bite. This little synchronized dance goes on from the first bite to the last. He has gone from boring rice cereal to seemingly tasty oat cereal and bananas. The oat cereal seems to be his favorite. If we used no discretion, I think he would eat until his tummy ruptured. I hope that when my mom leaves he will still maintain his fabulous skills in the eating department, although I fear that it has more to do with her being a skilled food conductor.

It has been wonderful to have another set of hands to help out during the day, especially since the broken washing machine saga continues (files that under COMPLAINING). Even without the obvious help with daily household chores, spending time with a baby and another person is a treat because often you don't get to observe as much when you are the primary care taker. So with Grandma holding him, reading to him, feeding him and generally keeping him happy, I have had the chance to study him and really see the ways that he is learning and growing.

Another very fun task that we accomplished was making a bunch of new summer pants for Maceo. Despite my proud post earlier about the "Jambo Pants", my mom guided me through a bit more sophisticated sewing process that rendered a much more professional product. While I initially resisted the ironing of seams and meticulous pinning, I was convinced of those extra steps in the the final product. Once we perfected our pattern, we turned the operation into a Ford Motor Companies inspired assembly line and did the cutting, ironing and pinning in shifts making the process MUCH faster. I don't have any photos of the little guy in the new and improved pants for this post, but no doubt they will be regularly featured in future posts as he has enough pants to wear a different version every day for a couple weeks.

The photos that accompany this post were taken at the Forest Hills Cemetery during an afternoon stroll. Despite being very enamoured of Craig's fancy camera, I truly have no idea how to use it and managed to change a bunch of settings (accidentally) which I fear screwed up the light. However, there are still some nice shots of Maceo and Grandma that are a testimony to the bond they have been developing.