Two Babies

For two years, Jackie Jones was our only baby. He taught us a lot about taking care of something or someone. Like John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus, Jack prepared us for Gavin. We learned what it meant to have someone depending on us, someone who needed us to put his needs above our own wants. We were home at a certain time so he could eat or play or poop. We realized that all the hassle was worth it when he snuggled up and gave us that goofy look that tells us that he loves us more than anything else in the world, except maybe his blue and green footballs. Jack was the perfect preparation for a baby who would enter the world screaming, refuse to eat, go through three different types of formula before we could find one that works, and sleep no more than an hour at a time. Just like Jack, Gavin was and is a lot of hassle, and there's times when I know my resources are depleted beyond anything experienced to date. But it's still all worth it when that little guy smiles up at me, or looks across the room at his dad and starts laughing.

There's just one hitch in this little bible story, our John the Baptist thinks he's the Messiah. There's no stepping aside graciously. No claims of unworthiness to tie the sandal of the Chosen One. Instead, Jack seems to think the only good thing to come out of Gavin's arrival is the proliferation of rattle toys. To demonstrate Jack's boldness, let me tell you that the other day Gavin was wearing these cute little socks that have rattles sewn to the ends. He'd been kicking rather vigorously in his swing, and the sock on one of his feet was dangling a bit. Jack very nonchalantly walked by, gently sniffed the sock, and when he walked away, Gavin had one bare foot! The little rattle sock had to be rescued.

When I returned home from school the other day, Dustin had the following evidence of poor Jackie's refusal to accept a secondary position: Jack had climbed onto Gavin's little sleeping bed and fallen asleep. Now, who can look at such a face and convince him that he's not our baby, too?