Jack is Here!

Dear Scarlett,
On July 27 at 11:09pm, your cousin Jack Theodore was born. I know this for a fact, because I was there, at the foot of the bed, watching him arrive. It was an unbelievable experience to attend a birth, and though my role was so obviously different from the one I played the day you were born, it all felt connected. To have had a baby, and then to watch someone you love have a baby, is like finally hearing the complete version of a great story. I knew what I knew, and now I know more. And it may sound false, but it was much harder to watch your Aunt Lizzie be in pain than it was to go through pain myself. Or maybe it just seems that way because of the distance between me and my own labor.

Jack did not make it easy for Liz. I think this is because he saw very little compelling reason to leave his comfortable existence. He didn't yet know that we were waiting for him, that his room is full of stuffed animals, that he has a dog. These are things worth coming out for. And Liz worked so hard to bring him into the world. When she did, his big eyes were wide open, looking at all of us. He looked just like Uncle Rob, and Dad says that this is so Uncle Rob wouldn't eat him. We can talk about that later.

Jack is now three days old and he is starting to look more like his own person. He has insanely chubby cheeks, dark hair, and--your favorite part--a cord. "Baby Jack has a cord!" you announce multiple times a day. When you first got a glimpse of it, you told us poop was coming out of his belly button. You were amazed that such a thing would be possible, and wanted more than just a quick look. Once we explained what was going on, you were no less amazed, and it has now gone into your file of all things Jack. Other things in the file: "Jack cried and cried." "Jack does not like to be naked." I should mention for posterity that Jack does not cry very much at all, but you were witness to a diaper change that made him angry.

You like to hold Jack and sing to him, and you've been very gentle and loving. When Liz asked you who his mommy was, you went silent with the sheer weirdness of the question. You still think that the creature we called Spud is in Liz's belly. But you do understand that Jack lives with Liz and Rob and Rigby, so it will just be a matter of time before the other pertinent details fall into place. For now, we are all just enjoying the world with Jack in it. It's a happy, happy place.

Love,
Mom