Simply titling this post “the end” seemed like a downer, so I’ve added “happily ever after” to liven it up a bit. The month of May was good to the Baxter family and as it ends I find that it was a very busy month giving me lots to write about. I held true to my promise to “try harder” this month and get more blog posts up, and by my count I came away with 6–a great improvement over last month’s 3.
We took a spring vacation to WI this month. We’ve actually been in WI in May 3 out of the last 4 years and it is a nice time to visit. I am reminded that I have become all too happy living in the dry desert climate of Utah and am not afraid to be vocal about my displeasure with the WI humidity during my visits. I am thankful that my parents have had central air for several years now, but getting them to turn it on still proves tricky.
Baby Will was an excellent traveller! This is the first time that we did a layover with a connecting flight to Madison and it went pretty smoothly. I think it was actually easier for Will than for his motion-sick mother. On the way back I took 2 motion sick pills instead of one, and it greatly improved the situation. Will mostly slept through all of our take-offs and landings so his ears must not have bothered him too much. During the flight we gave him a bottle when he woke up from his naps and even breastfed a couple times. We got really lucky that during both of the longer flight legs between Minneapolis and Salt Lake the back row of the plane was empty so we had a seat between us that Will could sleep on. Unfortunately on the way back we had a flight attendant who had apparently appointed herself to singlehandedly enforce all FAA regulations, so we had to wake our sleeping baby to hold him during takeoff and landing in addition to hearing her tell every passenger coming to use the rear restroom that the “fasten seat belt sign is still on, just so you’re aware”. The passengers all gave her weird looks and several asked “do I need to sit down, or can I use the restroom?”.
Our actual time in WI was great. The day after we arrived my parents had a picnic, and everyone got to meet little Will. I also got to catch up with several friends from high school along with their children. I was surprised by the number of friends/neighbors/family who again brought little gifts for Will. I have never been any good at sending baby gifts to my friends and it reminds me of what great friends I have that give gifts out of the pleasure of giving irregardless of my less than perfect gift giving history. For our visit, my mom borrowed baby items from our close neighbor Karen who had grandkids of her own that come for weekend visits. 
Will probably didn’t even miss home since he had a swing, bouncy seat, play mat, and crib all set up for his arrival. We actually alternated between 2 cribs while we visited. We used a pack’n’play downstairs for his naps, and upstairs we used a wooden crib built by William’s great-great-grandpa…wrap your mind around that if you will. 🙂 He didn’t sleep the 8 hour nights he does here at home, however he never slept much less than a 6 hour stretch for us, which with all the travel we considered pretty darn good. It was again excellent to visit, but great to be home. A special thanks to cousin Ashley who always watches our house, takes care of Kiki, and this time also transported us to/from the airport.
The day after arriving home was the annual Baxter family reunion at the grandparents’ ranch. It was a smaller than usual crowd this year–some years they’ve had upwards of 100 people at the reunion. The weather was beautiful, 66 and sunny. Will was well behaved and we timed the 1 1/2 hour drive with his naps to make it easier on everyone. Great food, great company. I think this is the 5th or 6th reunion I’ve attended and they are always a good time.
This week marks my last week of maternity leave. For better or worse I am headed back to work next week. I DO really miss it. I enjoy my job, and the people I work with. I’m not sure that I’m cut out to stay at home and make baby talk just yet. It is nice to know that I financially have the option if I change my mind some day, but for now I want to go back to work.
Yesterday Will had his 2-month check-up. It was a little past 2 months because we figured it was better to NOT get all of his immunizations right before traveling to WI. At birth Will was 8lb 9oz, 21.5″ long, and had a head circumference of 14″. He is now 12lb 15oz, 24.5″ long, and has a head circumference of 16.1″. He’s certainly growing! These numbers place him at the 66th, 87th, and 64th percentiles respectively. 
The doctor commented that he’s very strong and that he’s a few weeks ahead in the cooing and vocalizations department. Now what mother doesn’t like to hear that their baby is ahead! The doctor sat Will on his butt on the table and made some faces at him and Will knitted his eyebrows and gave him the most intense look! I wish I could have gotten a picture. His immunizations went really well. It was hard to see him cry like that (I almost teared up myself), but right after the shots I fed him and he seemed to forget all about it. We gave him one dose of baby Tylenol last night (he probably had a gas bubble, but I wasn’t risking it!), and he slept 8 hours as usual. This morning he pretty much seems to be his normal self. What a trooper!
Over the past couple weeks Will has continued to perfect his new skills. Just in the time we were in WI he became more interactive, more smiley, and really started enjoying the playmat. He seems to be able to do more things with his hands, and this morning my mother noticed him grabbing at the toys hanging from his playmat while we talked on Skype. 
He also is a full-fledged thumb sucker. If we put him in his crib for a nap he finds his thumb and puts himself right to sleep. He does the same at night. It is SO nice compared to the early days of standing beside the crib with a bottle in hand trying to settle him. He is working on his vocal skills and we thought we got close to hearing a little giggle the other day. It is amazing to continue to see him change each week.
Out in the yard we have discovered a bit of a skunk problem (see skunk related post HERE). See skunk related video HERE. The garden continues to do well and the flowers exploded while we were in on our trip. Due to our warm dry winter the snapdragons seem happier than they’ve ever been. They tend to come back each year, but depending on how cold it gets they sometimes are a bit stunted. The roses also look great. 
My flowerbed full of perennials has really gotten going and I’m reminded how nice low maintenance perennials can be. I even have a couple potted flowers that I have managed to keep alive–with the dry Utah weather potted plants are difficult to keep moist and hanging planters are almost impossible unless planted with drought resistant choices. We started to eat peas and lettuce from our garden this week and the tomatoes are flowering. Jason attempted sweet corn this year and although we only had about 50% come up, he replanted before our vacation and that is all coming up now as well. If the skunks leave it alone I am hopeful we will have sweetcorn this fall.
Whew! That was a lot. I think that’s a summary of the month from here. Take Care Everyone!
S.~