Decoy Baby

                                             Decoy baby at the Battle in Seattle 12/08
                                             Decoy baby jumperooed himself to sleep 05/09

Before Grayson.....lets call it BG, Steve and I would go out and about and do the regular old activitites that married people without  kids do.  We would eat long lunches (while sitting down), go out for fancy  dinners (after 4pm), attend sporting events (showing up just minutes before they started with only our wallets and our keys not eight thousand pieces of baby related equipment).  You get the picture.  We enjoyed our lifestyle and had great times.  As my good old ticker (the biological one) got a tickin,  and Steve and I started to seriously discuss starting a family, we both had some fears about how our lives were likely to change with a kiddo (in reality, we had not a clue!)  While I had some idea about what the whole parenting dealio included (I was a nanny and all), Steve did not.  Initially, he envisoned a demanding, screaming, crying baby that would alter everything forever!!!  I on the other hand wanted to give Steve a little more positive of a view point.  I know, I know, since when did I become Miss Polly Positive???

Enter the Decoy baby........The Decoy baby is a special breed.  Highly rare but oh so appealing.  I think Decoy Baby is probably single handedly responsible for convincing people all over the world that parenthood is a great idea.  The beauty of Decoy baby is that if you look hard enough (through your rose covered glasses of course), you are likely to find him or her in all kinds of places.  For example, you probably have seen Decoy baby at the grocery store sitting in the cart and looking lovingly at her parent pushing her through the aisles.  Decoy baby can also be sighted at the restraunt sleeping contentedly in the baby carrier while mom and dad enjoy a leisurely lunch or dinner (with wine even!)  Our favorite sighting (and the one that got Steve totally on board with the parenting thing) happened at a basketball game.  You see, every year we attend the Battle in Seattle.  We fly to Seattle, watch the Gonzaga Bulldogs play and then hang out with all Steve's college friends.  It is quite fun.  A couple of years ago, we hit paydirt in the Decoy baby sighting department.  We saw the most adorable Decoy baby ever.  He was dolled up in all his Gonzaga gear and bouncing contently with a big toothless grin in the Baby Bjorn.  At that moment, Steve turned to me and smiled.  We both knew it was time to be parents.  We even remarked, see having a baby won't really change our lifestyle.

Now if you have been reading my other posts (and of course you have, right?), you would know that our initial baby order got a little mixed up and that the model of newborn that arrived at the hospital was not of the Decoy baby brand.  However, I am now happy to report that the order has been corrected and that we have our very own little Decoy child.

At this time, Grayson fits the Decoy baby description to a tee.  He is happy all day long with very minor deviations resulting from hunger and fatigue (I am pretty grumpy when I am hungry and tired, so I get it!)  He laughs, he flirts, he looks darn cute and he can entertain himself for a good long time (while I flat iron my hair and paint my toes).  When he has his moments, he has them privately.  These days, it is very rare for him to have any type of non-Decoy babyish behavior in public.  We hear things all the time like, "He is just such a happy baby!" "Does he ever cry?" and "You guys are so lucky!"  In response, (especially to the couples with no kids), we devilishly respond that he is a great baby and that we are very, very lucky.  In those circumstances we often omit the fact that the first four months were HARD,HARD,HARD.

Grayson is now such a good Decoy baby that he has got Steve and I drinking the Kool Aid too.  He is the kind of kiddo that makes us think we should have several more (okay, I think several, Steve thinks one more).  Now, I have lots of friends with two who tell me that if the birth order had been reversed and the second child born first that they never would have had another.  But, that's not going to happen to us, right?

If I have learned anything being a mama thus far it is that things can change in an instant.  One second your  baby will be sleeping through the night and the next you are back to bouncing and rocking and crying it out.  Monday, your baby loves avocados and Tuesday he is pushing them out of his mouth with the force of a small volcano. So in all honestly, I do get that we should not ever, ever, for even one single second take Grayson's Decoy baby status for granted. I should enjoy every moment of this bliss, and I am.  I should also get Steve to sign the paperwork agreeing to try for another child signed and notarized immediately!  Because who knows when Decoy baby is going to decide to leave the building.  XOXOXOXOXOX K