A New View

This morning I watched a documentary called Escape from Suburbia. It's a very enlightening film on energy and how we will need to approach the future. The saying "the future is now" takes on new meaning for me. This film came out a little while ago and in just a short period of time, some of its predictions are now true. They weren't so much predictions as they were hypotheses. It hypothesised that the price of gas was going to be $3.50 a gallon and never get cheaper. The price of oil would rise and rise and never fall again. It's all happening.

Maybe because I have a child, or maybe because Earth Day was a couple of weeks ago, I have been thinking about what I can do to reduce my energy consumption and help heal the environment. It's not that I haven't thought or done anything about it before, but the urgency is greater now more than ever. The issue has hit home, literally. Who can afford gas at these prices? It's insane. It almost doesn't make sense to own a car. Unfortunately, Baltimore is not the mass transit capital of the world. Far from it. Currently, the Light Rail has less than half its normal amount of trains running. Bad timing? To say the least.

I know there's many things I can do and whatever steps I take will make a difference. But it's about time our government stepped up and helped create a sustainable society. Stop building roads and start building better mass transit. Maryland is in need of better solutions, especially since BRAC is bringing so many people to the state within the next five years.

One of the solutions I want to mention is buying locally produced goods. Get your vegetables at the farmer's market. It's a lot of fun, the vegetables are less expensive and it's environmentally friendly. Check out the Waverly Farmer's market on Barclay and 32nd Streets on Saturday and the Baltimore Farmer's Market downtown under 83 on Sundays.

Jacob Update: Jacob is doing great! He's approximately 12 pounds and growing! He smiles all the time. He's a bit of a night owl ... most of his wakefulness occurs in the late afternoon through 10 or 11 p.m.! He does great with tummy time and holds his head up a lot. He's working on turning himself over, but hasn't made it yet.

TTFN, as Tigger would say.

Smiles and Giggles

Requests for videos haven't gone unnoticed. It does require some time with technology and time with 2 hands is rare. However, today we captured a moment with Jacob in the papasan, enjoying a few smiles. I think he sees himself in the mirror and has a little smiling game.



In this video, I sound a little silly trying to get smiles from Jacob, but he's still a cutie.

Life at home with Jacob is awesome! He's growing so quickly. His arms and legs are getting nice and plump. He makes all kinds of new noises everyday. He loves his noise-making stuffed animals and rattles. He's full of grins and sweetness.

There isn't much time that Jacob spends out of my arms. He sleeps in my arms or on my chest most of the day. When he's awake we play games with his rattles and smile at each other.

He's started drooling which is a precursor to teething. It's cute for now.

I'm acutely aware that this time with him is short and I intend to enjoy every moment.

The weather is beautiful. Time to go for walks and drink iced lattes. Enjoy.