This Jenkins family is growing!

Who would've guessed that this only son of an only son would double the odds of spreading the Jenkins name by doubling his brood? But John's done it! And the only son of the first party (that would be Barry, the proud Papa) seems to be as proud as ever. And of course Nana is, too. Here she has the very demanding job of keeping this little brood from squirming out of the photograph while Papa and Father are very busy beaming with pride. But the Fathers' jobs are tough, too. After all, being proud of your growing family can be a very full-time job.

Techie-Geek-in-Training

As some of you know, I teach computer classes at Lanier Technical College in Oakwood, north of Atlanta. My wonderful friends and colleagues at Lanier planned a surprise shower shortly before Leigh's arrival and showered us generously with gifts and well-wishes. One of these fine gifts was a t-shirt featuring Tux, the Linux Penguin. And those of you out there who are *really* into computers know that Tux symbolizes hard-core, serious computer geek-dom...an aspiration that takes years of training and many, many late nights of computer hacking. So in honor of the end of my maternity leave and return to teaching at Lanier Tech tomorrow, Leigh is sporting our t-shirt in a promise to learn as much about computers as he can between now and, well, whenever. Who knows? Maybe he'll be the next Bill Gates or better yet, Linus Torvalds. If you're curious about Tux, visit http://www.sjbaker.org/tux and be prepared to read some serious "geek-speak". Thank you, Mohammed, for the shirt!

Happy Birthday, Brenna!

Today Brenna is four years old! As a second-time Mom, I tend to compare all the things that Leigh does to what Brenna did when she was much younger. Did she smile at 3 weeks old or 4 weeks old? Did she like the same music or toys that he likes? Does the broccoli I eat (since I am breastfeeding) give him a tummyache like it did her? I do this in hopes of detecting some pattern or answer to how to help him (and me!) with any problems that pop up, but it's usually futile. There is no doubt that they are brother-&-sister in all that they have in common, but they are definitely different kids with different temperments. In my quest to remember those little things about Brenna as a baby, I found video of Brenna's baby days when she was a little over one year old. Watch Bren explore the camera or watch Bren boogie on down! (Windows Media Player required - Get it here)

Happy Independence Day!

This year we celebrated Independence Day at Grandma Kirkhart's house in Athens (GA). The whole family got together at noon for lunch...hamburgers & hotdogs grilled by my brother Denny and Uncle Tommy...and pot luck yummies from the rest of the family gourmets. There were many, many kids of all ages playing and having fun, including the newest little family member making his debut at his first of our famous family gatherings - our John Leigh. We set some sort of family record with three pregnant Mommies-to-be at Grandma's party back at Christmas-time: me carrying Leigh, my sister-in-law Traci pregnant with Megan Jaci and cousin Leslie expecting a little boy who's name is still in negotiations. This time we were down to two expectant Mommies and one very tired Brenna-and-Leigh-Mommy. Grandmama (she's Mom to me) had her hands full with food prep, but made sure to get some quality time with Leigh here.

Brenna announces Leigh's birth

We sent out birth announcements yesterday, which is quite a magical feat since Leigh is only 8 weeks old and somehow Mommy found time to make, address and mail so many announcements. Brenna was a huge help and the project was lots of fun (and we used lots of glue!) I have only gotten one phone call so far about a faux-pas. Apparently I wrote a note of thanks and included it in the announcement for Anjie and James, only to write Jennifer and Nelson's address on the envelope under Anjie's name. So Anjie, I've got your replacement announcement on the way. And Jennifer, if you get another announcement correctly addressed to you, please check to see if I mistakenly left my brain in the envelope, too. I'll need that back (smile!) See more of Brenna & Leigh's first portrait >>

Bathtime is fun!

Leigh didn't always like bathtime. During his very first bath, just minutes after being born, he screamed angrily (and loudly!) about being subjected to such humiliation. His opinion about bathtime wasn't much better upon coming home. However after about 4 weeks bathtime seemed to be more fun, with smiles and giggles coming more frequently. Now that Leigh is 6 weeks old, we have to admit that he's outgrown his first bath setup: A bath cushion and the little plastic tub from the hospital. So Daddy will have to get the boy a larger tub! See more Bathtime pictures >>

The late, late, late show

Life with a baby in the house usually means late nights, early mornings and everything in between. However, Leigh is a really easy baby and even lets Mom & Dad watch television together at night. All that he requires is a nice, soft place to snooze and an occasional pat on the back or tummy to remind him that he's not alone. Here you see that Mommy's almost gone to sleep, too, watching too much late-night TV.