Tour de Michigan

Last weekend we took on the Tour de Michigan, which meant 16 hours in the car (what with all the rain & the stops to nurse).

Why 16 hours in the car is worth it:
1. Great Grandma Bee
2. The Veryser cuteness
2. A splashy bath
3. Getting to hang with the college kids






And Jett did awesome in the car. Road trip, anyone?

With a name like that....

When we introduce a new person to Jett (no, not Chet, Jett, like Jeff, but with Ts) we almost always get a positive response to his name. (Except yesterday, when the pharmacist told me not to worry, Jett would like me anyway). Then people start imagining what he's going to be, because he'll certainly be something, with a name like Jett. People have suggested that he'll be a rock star, a football player, or at least he'll be very speedy (you know, like a jet). No one says realestate broker. But it could happen. You never know.

Like Father Like Son

Everyone says...



That Jett looks like Charlie.



But I don't know.



I don't see any resemblance.



Do you?

Three Months New

Three months ago Charlie said we should skip the hospital valet service and get that free parking space around the corner. Three months ago Charlie listened to me and paid for the valet.



Two months and 30 days ago the nurses wanted to take Jett to the nursery so we could sleep through the night, but we couldn’t stand to have Jett that far away from us.



Two months and 27 days ago, we brought Jett home.



Two months and 23 days ago he still had jaundice.



Eleven weeks ago we gave Jett his first bath.



Ten weeks ago he used a pacifier for the first time, and held it in his mouth with his hand.



Eight weeks ago Jett met his cousins Megan and Owen. Seven weeks ago Jett drank from a bottle (from Charlie) for the first time. He grabbed my hair for the first time. He started patting my back while I nursed him.



Five weeks ago he noticed the activity bar on his bouncy seat and looked at the mobile on his swing.



Two weeks ago Jett started talking to us in his Jett-language.

Today we fell in love with our baby for the 90th day in a row. Today Jett turned three months old.



Happy birthday, Jett.

The GBPs

It’s fall. Most of our Sundays, for the next 263 weeks or so, will involve football in some way or another.

When the Packers play, Charlie is a stand-up-sit-down-pace-around-the-room-call-your-dad-to-talk-strategy-throw-your-hat-at-the-tv-sort of fan. He has the gear: the Packers t-shirt, the Packers hat, and the Packers obnoxiously big plastic cups, which are sold at Lambeau Field. He even bought me a Packers hat. But I’m just the wife. Think of the son.


Considering Jett’s young age, his room is a modest Packer shrine containing two Packer Christmas tree ornaments, a small model of Lambeau field, a Packers pennant, and a professional photo of a certain quarterback. (This is one reason why I chose a neutral color for the walls).

Yes, Charlie is trying to pass this legacy down to Jett. He just signed Jett up for Packer tickets...which should show up in about thirty years. (How's that for thinking ahead)? I can just picture it.... The first story Jett writes in 5th grade will star Brett Favre. He’ll grow up thinking that the colors green and gold are appropriate for casual Fridays. He’ll secretly salute all of those fans bold enough to wear a big block of foam cheese on their head. Someday he will purchase green and gold face paint.

I don’t mind this stuff, and I kind of enjoy football Sundays. When watching football is the only item on your to-do list, your day is entirely accomplishable.

And today was one of those entirely accomplishable days. It was Jett’s Inaugural Packer Game. It was The Day Charlie Watches the Packers With His Son.

The Packers lost, but I would say that Charlie won, wouldn't you?

Jett and Ellie

What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life
- to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories.
~George Eliot

Everyone Needs...

a warm welcome.

First Day Down, Lots More to Go

This is how we looked when I left for work this morning, and it's just about how we looked when I got home too. It was a good day. We did it!

Going Back to Work

On Tuesday I go back to work for the first time since Jett was born. I've never been away from him for more than 3 hours, and on Tuesday we will be apart for 10. I know he'll be in the loving arms of his Grandma Katie, and that makes this a little easier. But I still picture Jett missing me and me not being there to comfort him. Those of you who have done this before know how it feels. Those of you who don't know the kind of sad this is, imagine seeing a puppy get kicked. That's the kind of sad I'm talking about.

But let's dial down the sad-o-meter.

I'm keeping in mind that Charlie and I weighed the pros and cons and decided that we would both keep working - or at least give it a very determined try. Millions of women don't have that choice. I'm grateful that I do.

I also sought the advice of friends who have successfully navigated this transition, and this is what they had to say:

"Trust is not about being there all the time. Trust is about always coming back. Whether you do it now or when he's five, he will eventually have to go through this separation. That's a life lesson. You can't protect him from that lesson. And believe me, it's going to be much easier on him to do it now, than to do it when he's older."

"One of the greatest things you can do to build a child's sense of security is to let them know that there are a lot of people in this world that they can rely on."

"I think it was harder on me than on my baby. I think kids are very adaptable especially at such a young age."

"Sometimes it's really nice to talk about something other than your child (children). As much as we love them and talk about them and think about them, it's a nice break sometimes to think about and talk about something else. I think it is actually harder on us than on them."

I just hope it's all true.

Reason Number 3,412 Why We Love Jett

He sleeps in on the weekend.



If we pull him in to bed with us and let him sleep on our chest, he'll sleep for another hour or two. And he wakes up full of smiles. It's the best time of the day.