familyvalues

Rocking Owen to sleep just now for his morning nap, I was briefly overwhelmed, while holding him as he drifted off to sleep, and I marvelled at his little face, at how welcomed this boy was.

News of Audrey's pregnancy was greeted with nearly unanimous joy, Owen's birth was celebrated by at least tens, if not hundreds of people, and he continues to be adored by family members and dear friends of whom I simply don't think to number.

He's just a baby, but I do not take for granted your support, our loved ones' support. In some (many?) families like ours, extended relatives shun us or at least think we're too weird to really trust, and there is no strong social group or community. Owen was born into a giant puddle of love. He was born into strong community, into a great tangle of arms that will keep him safe and sound. We might be the core of that tangle, but that tangle supports us too.

I hope I've expressed my thanks to you adequately. I'm not sure it's possible to express it completely.

Mary reads Freight Train to Owen, a photo by caseyzero on Flickr.

Mary reads Freight Train to Owen

Now here's a little book review:

I first read Freight Train, by Donald Crews, in the early 80s, when I was first working with infants and toddlers. I have it memorized, of course. The illustrations are old-school airbrushing, and just perfect, simple and colorful and bright without being simplistic. Donald Crews illustrates motion perfectly, night perfectly. I have never known a child who disliked this book, I've known a lot who have enjoyed it, and even more who have adored it.

It is Owen's first-ever favorite book. He's now 7 1/2 months old, and he'll bring me Freight Train and sit on the ground in front of it, or ask to get into my lap. I read it once, or (so far) up to five times in a row with him. Three times in a row is about average. He turns the pages as I finish a line, and I watch his eyes scan left to right*.

If you are stuck on a baby shower or new baby or first birthday book, go find the board book version of Freight Train. For kids who aren't eating or mauling their books anymore, look for the hardbound paper-page copy, if you're pretty sure they don't own it yet.

I've got lots of ideas for Best Picture Books Ever, feel free to ask. That is the best first picture book ever, but there are a lot more out there to follow up with.

*Literacy takes awhile to develop, and is a continual and gradual process. It moves from nomming on board books to sitting with them to turning pages and scanning in the right direction; when I worked with quite a lot of kids who had recently immigrated to the US from Israel, it was fascinating to watch them figure out that some books scanned left to right, and some right to left, and which those were.

Trimester 3 officially started yesterday. I know babies who are alive and doing well who were born days or weeks younger than our little wiggler is now, in development. (In fact, my own mother and aunt were, in the twenties, and managed to survive -- amazing.) He has a good chance of surviving were he born now -- we just prefer he incubate a tad longer.

He has a name, and though some of you know it, we'll keep it offline until he's born. (And we have a name for in case the doctor was wrong about his boyness.)

We are spending the holidays in the continual process of blending families. I get to meet Audrey's grandma at some point over this period, and Audrey is coming up to my inlaws for Christmas, and maybe Casey's mom will get to meet Audrey's grandma.

The only shower that is definitely planned feels like it's coming up fast just because this is such a busy time of year. It's not so much "we do this, then that, then N more weeks" as "this then that then whoa we're right on the doorstep."

And we are so not ready. I need to block the hole where the mice are getting in, and clean out the cupboards, declutter them, and refill them. I need to get more sleep so I'm ready. I'm not panicking at all, it just seems like this is my last available moment to get anything done.

I have a blog post in mind about the goodness people have shown us, like the complete stranger in a parenting group on facebook who proactively let me know that our entire family would be welcome at her queer-parents playgroup locally (though we're an alternative family, at least one of us is astonishingly straight), and the family members who have gone out of their way to let us know that they don't see family as a DNA thing, and that they consider both the baby and Audrey as family.

It seems like I might want to take some of the time I have left before the baby comes for useful blogging. *Adds that to the to-do list.*