The Baby Whisperer

We received a visit Saturday from the Baby Whisperer a.k.a. Oompah Murphy. You see, when Freeman and Jenny were still trying to figure out which way was up (back when Hamilton was a couple of weeks old), Oompah would simply hold Hamilton and the little one would be in a trance. Freeman watched his style very carefully and has been emulating it ever since (and Hamilton is very thankful).

Oompah has used this technique of baby massage since Hamilton was just a couple of weeks old--it still works!

Hamilton in rapt attention of his Oompah.

Yes, that's Hamilton holding his own bottle (with one finger nonetheless)! Note the cool flipped-up collar.

Little Hamilton . . . A Jazzman At Heart?

Team Whitney continued the project of introducing Hamilton to the big world of good music tonight by attending the first night of the Chicago Jazz Fest, featuring legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins. For those keeping score, Hamilton showed total indifference to B. B. King. He slept through most of Stevie Wonder, waking up just in time to cry and scream through "I Was Made To Love Her," leading to an early departure from the show. It has not been looking good so far. The blues did not get his attention. Soul music met a worse fate. What would our little man make of jazz under the summer sky?


We're glad to say that he dug it the most. By that we mean, he did not scream or fall asleep and seemed to have an okay time watching the crowd, playing with his folks, and knowing he was out past his bed time.

So, could it be--our little boy . . . is a jazzman?







And yes, that is his favorite shirt.

New Tricks

Back to Central IL

You may notice that the background in this family photo looks little like the city of Chicago. That's because we've made our way back down to Central Illinois for some family, friends, and fun!


We were so happy to see Ryan and Tricia (honorary Uncle and Aunt) and enjoy a yummy lunch at Incredibly Delicious (yes, that's the name of the restaurant).





Here's Hamilton with Uncle Ryan at the restaurant. Little One was going through his first cold ever, so he looks a little out of it. He was kind enough, however, to leave a little present on Ryan's shirt.





Then Hamilton got to show Aunt Tabby all of his new tricks!







First cousin once removed Katie (we still have to come up with the abbreviation for that one) showed Hamilton around Uncle John's house.










She also taught him all about "The Rules," including #131: Don't eat the decorations. Hamilton will have no problem with that--his hands are much tastier than any flowers!











Whew!





Hamilton got to have so much fun with Uncle John. I wonder where Sharif got his Uncle-ing style???





And, of course, lots of loving from Grammy and Granddad--but you'll see more of that in the next post!

Happy Birthday, Uncle William and Cousin Paloma!

Today, we traveled to Aurora to visit Freeman's brother, William, and his beautiful (and growing) family. It was a special day for two reasons: we celebrated William's birthday and met our new niece, Paloma Joy, for the first time. The bonus was that Grammy and Grandad were there, too!

Hamilton's showing Grandad his new trick--grabbing for fingers!

The older Aurora cousins (Joshua, Saraina, and Kadin) showing Hamilton some love. As Saraina put it, "I like him." (and she later confirmed that, yes, she liked him more than Texas Cake--now that's love!)

This picture is to document two things about Hamilton. 1) He has gotten pretty good at neck control. 2) He loves checking out what people are doing--he can't wait to be a part of it all.

The birthday boy getting some help opening presents.

Our sweet niece, Paloma, with her Grammy on her one month birthday.

To Lombard!

We've been out to Lombard to visit Oompah, Taita, Sharif, Amira, AbdelRahman, and Mariam many times in the last couple of months...trips that have been underreported on the blog mainly because Jenny keeps forgetting the camera! Last Saturday, Freeman reminded her as they were in the elevator and you get to benefit from that--with some more pictures!!! We visited a French Market (somewhere between a Farmer's Market and an Art Fair) in Wheaton where Hamilton enjoyed the sights and sounds from his perch in the sling...but Jenny forgot the camera in the car (oops!). However, she found it once they returned to the car and just in time to capture Aunt Mariam giving Hamilton his bottle. Uncle Sharif enjoys carrying his nephew and doesn't mind the slug trail that inevitably ends up on his shoulder. He also enjoys goofy poses.

I don't think Hamilton knows that Sharif is joking.

Hamilton still seems a little nervous and, if you look closely, you can see his trademark drool.

This picture is actually from an earlier trip, taken on Uncle Abd's cell phone. After all the loving, Hamilton gets some rest.