Who turned up the volume???

Over the long weekend, Sage experienced his first Thanksgiving. Really, it wasn't much of an experience for him, just a chance to visit with relatives he'd never met before and get reaquainted with others. Meeting Aunt Keisha seemed to be a highlight of his weekend as he smiled, laughed and cooed everytime he caught a glimpse of her! Everyone else certainly enjoyed spending time with Sage though.

Sage also had his first professional photographs taken. That was quite the ordeal! At the time we were scheduled to start (11:00am), Sage had just been fed and changed and was smiling away. But, the photographer was late and by the time she set everything up, Sage was ready to take a nap. He screamed almost the whole time! Luckily, out of the dozens of shots taken, there were several where Sage wasn't screaming - not smiling, but not screaming. Stay tuned for pictures...

Mom and Dad learned the real lesson over the long weekend though: a break in the routine equals a crabby baby. Because Sage's naps were disrupted by being passed around by his adoring family, he quickly grew quite fussy! In years past, we wondered why Jon and Sarah or Adam and Melissa would leave holiday gatherings early to be home for their babies' bedtimes. We thought it couldn't be that difficult to get the baby to sleep somewhere else or to break routine. Well, we were wrong - it's extrememly difficult to get a baby to sleep somewhere else especially when he's over tired. What's worse than getting him to sleep though are all the after-effects that the break in routine causes. It's like the loss of a nap magically compounded over the weekend to a very unhappy, very tired little guy by Sunday. I wouldn't be surprised if he sleeps all day today since he's in the comfort of his own home and won't be disturbed!

Also over the long weekend, Sage discovered his voice. He has begun to babble, coo, and make interesting sounds. It's almost like he carries on a conversation with his cute little sounds. It's been lots of fun "talking" with him and enjoying his new found voice. Although, there is a downside to Sage discovering his voice - the volume on his cries has been turned WAY up! Gone are the days when Sage would cry and Jared and I would think, "that's not such a bad cry." Also, he can go from smiling to screaming in one second or less. Guess that's life with a baby!