Baby Burrito

Wesley is particularly fond of his dad (he gets that from me). When he's fussy or crying I can try to soothe him but if I just give him over to Warren he'll calm right down. One of the reasons for this may be because Warren is so good at burrito-ing him. I know this sounds odd, but burrito-ing a baby is serious business.

You may have heard of baby burrito-ing under a different name: swaddling. Before Wesley was born Warren and I were taught how to swaddle an infant, which is supposed to help if they're fussy. If there would've been a class specifically for swaddling I would've been given an F. Seriously, I just can't get this thing right. Warren says I don't do it tight enough, but I swaddle Wesley until I wonder if his extremities are going to lose circulation and five minutes later he kicks out of it. Warren, on the other hand, has the swaddling thing down like a pro (I think he secretly practices when I'm not watching). He folds the blanket corner a certain way, then wraps from the right, then the bottom, then the left, and the end result is what we think looks like a burrito. Warren is so exceptional at burrito-ing that Wesley will sleep for hours and hours in his cozy blanket. When I've had a short night's rest and bedtime has finally arrived again, I can't describe my depth of thankfulness for my husband's skill of burrito-ing. 

And to think: I've been married to him for fifteen months and still haven't unearthed all of his hidden talents.

What's in a name?

When Warren and I were engaged we liked to talk about what we would someday name our kids. We both love family names and wanted to name each of our children significantly after someone in our family. I knew that Warren had been very close to his grandpa Larreau before he died, but one day when we were talking about him I was surprised and completely thrilled to find out that Grandpa Larreau's name was Wesley! Wesley has always been one of my very favorite names. Before we were even married Warren and I knew someday if we had a son we would name him Wesley.

When we found out we were having a boy we also knew that we wanted our son's first name to start with the letter O. Grandpa Larreau's first name was actually Otis, and his middle name Wesley, although he went by his middle name. When Warren was born, Mom and Dad J. wanted to give him the O.W. initials. Therefore, Warren's name is Onesimus Warren. We were so excited to name our little guy with the O.W. initials after Warren, along with naming him Wesley after Grandpa. We easily decided on Owen Wesley.

The only problem we now have is deciding whether to call our little man by his first name, or the traditional "W" middle name! Warren and I both love the name Owen so much we want it to get used. But, Wesley is one of our favorite names and is after Grandpa, so we don't want it to just be his middle name. Finally, after he was born we came up with a solution to this problem:

Sometimes we call him Owen.

Sometimes we call him Wesley!

 We love how both names fit different aspects of his personality and can't wait to see how he grows into them even more the older he gets. 

A name is one thing that will be with our son forever. I hope he has an incredible impact on someone's life the way his Grandpa Wes had on Warren's. I hope he grows into a man of character, integrity and uncommon kindness like his dad. What a privilege to let our son carry on tradition and family heritage with the name

 Owen Wesley Jennings.

 

He's here!

We're completely thrilled to announce the arrival of

Owen Wesley Jennings
Born on July 6th, 2012
Weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces
and 20 3/4 inches long

He's perfect and we're so very blessed!

Baby Mine

Photos by Lacey Wilkie, In the Blink of an Eye Photography

The toddler and his aunt

Yesterday Warren and I babysat Everett and Josalea. Warren was working colts in the barn so I abandoned all hopes of being an ideal babysitter who keeps the children clean and took them out with me to the arena. Josalea crawled around  and giggled as she poured fistfulls of sand on her lap. Everett sat beside me on a stool asking questions as we watched Warren train.


"Aunt Avery, why's the horse going in a circle?"


"Is that horse being naughty? Why's she bucking?"


"What's Uncle Warren doing?"


"Aunt Avery, why'd Uncle Warren say he wants that side? Which side is Uncle Warren's?"


"What color's that horse?"


"Why does that horse have to run in a circle like that?"


"What's it mean that she took her lead? What's a lead?"


"Aunt Avery, is Uncle Warren gonna ride that naughty horse?"


"Is Uncle Warren trainin' that horse?"


After a half hour of non-stop questions Everett crawled off the stool and went to the corner where Warren keeps all of the tack. I was paying little attention to him as I watched Warren work until I felt a rope going over my head and around my shoulders. Everett's entire face was engulfed in a grin as he kept the other end of the rope and headed toward the middle of the arena where Warren had been lunging.


"What are you doing?" I asked him.


He was perfectly delighted with himself. "I'm trainin' you!"


Who would've known that those sparkling two-year-old eyes and contagious giggle would be all it took to get this 35-week-pregnant aunt to pretend she's a "naughty horse" with a rope around her neck and sand covering every inch of clothing?


And I thought the kids were supposed to be the dirty ones.

One year...

I'm gonna be here for you, baby

I'll be a man of my word;

Speak the language in a voice that you have never heard.

I wanna sleep with you forever

And I wanna die in your arms

In a cabin by a meadow where the wild bees swarm.

And I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you

And I'll earn your trust making memories of us.

I wanna honor your mother

I wanna learn from your pa

I wanna steal your attention like a bad outlaw.

I wanna stand out in a crowd for you,

A man among men

I wanna make your world better than its ever been.

And I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you

I'll earn your trust making memories of us.

Yeah, I'm gonna love you

Like nobody loves you!

  

And I'll win your trust

Making memories of us.

Thanks, God