Picture Book…….
Pictures of your mama
Taken by your papa….
A long time ago…
Picure book….
When you just a baby
Those days when you were happy…
Picture book…… picture book…
-The Kinks
For those of you just joining us:
2007 was a big year for Matt and Emily. Around the beginning of February, their lives were turned upside down when Emily discovered she was unexpectedly pregnant, due to a breach in judgment, thanks to a somewhat alcohol-soaked New Years Eve party at Frank's house.
This catalyst helped bring out Matt and Emily's true feelings for one another- and resulted in their marriage on March 31st. Emily was reassigned to teach and travel full-time, Matt got a new partner, the outspoken, and aggressive but ultimately endearing Mari Matsunaga, who has a penchant for swearing and wearing couture clothing. Matt has even begun to repair his relationship with his father and younger brother Chris.
In July, Matt and Mari successfully negotiated a critical crisis, which earned them the prestigious Director's Award, the highest honor an agent can receive.
And, finally, on October 1st, at 7:41 am, Emily gave birth to their son Matthew Caleb Flannery.
Step away from the Bassinet Drabble
"Matt- what are you doing? You've been sitting there for 15 minutes" Emily walked into the bedroom, bathrobe on, wet hair wrapped in a towel turban.
"Just watching him"
"He's sleeping"
"I know- but he's just so da cute. I wanna pick him up and play with him"
"Matt….. no…"
"Look at him- how can you not want to pick him up?"
"I know….. he is the cutest…. but ….Matt-he's SLEEPING. You do not wake up a sleeping baby."
"He'll be up any minute now- he knows when you get out of the shower- he senses when food is nearby"
"MATT- STEP AWAY FROM THE BABY AND NOBODY WILL GET HURT"
Survival Tactics
Tuesday, October 9th, 2007, 3:30pm, The Flannery residence.
"Yuck- for someone who just eats one thing it's amazing you can mess up 15 diapers a day" Matt said to his son, shaking his head, adroitly velcroing a clean one on the baby's thin lower half. "And these bad boys are EXPENSIVE- good thing you're a tax break" Matthew Caleb looked at his father, furrowing his tiny eyebrows together, his forehead wrinkling as he tried to focus his week old eyes on the source of the now familiar low, soothing voice. This somewhat perplexed expression was one of the things Matt and Emily found particularly funny, after only having him in the lives for 8 days.
Emily enjoyed watching Matt talking to Caleb which was what they were currently calling him. From the first time Matt had held him, he talked to the baby as if the child could answer him, telling him about everything and nothing. Emily knew Matt was simply following his gut, talking to people is what he did all day. The low timbre of Matt's voice seemed to be calming; often Caleb would turn his head, listening.
Snapping the baby's onesie (until recently the word "onesie had never been part of Matt's vocabulary) he smiled down at Caleb, never tiring of looking at this miraculous little being. "Yes- I'm talking to you buddy.. yes… I am…" he tickled the bottom of Caleb's pink foot.
The sound of his phone chirping on his belt interrupted this one-sided conversation. Although he was supposed to be on a 2-week paternity leave, Matt had kept his phone close-by; the calls of friends and family had been frequent, (Ellen Lehman in particular).
"Frank" the name in the window read.
Matt picked the baby up deftly with one hand, answering the phone with the other, as if he had been doing this for years, not days.
"Hey Daddy-O" Frank drawled into the phone. "How's your vacation??? Whatcha doin?"
Matt could hear distant sounds of gunshot in the background.
"Vacation my a- I've been busy…I'm his personal pit crew- keeping the kid in running order takes effort" Matt replied as he took Caleb into the living room, glancing at the clock. Emily was napping in their room- she tried to snatch bits of sleep when she could, particularly during these first two weeks while Matt was home. After 7 days, she was physically recovering, but was tired- not getting more than three hours of uninterrupted sleep at a time was rough. Matt was being wonderfully helpful, but, he still wasn't "Mom." It amazed her that 80 of her day was spent doing something baby-related. Plus, it was exhausting being the sole source of nourishment for a demanding little person. But she reminded herself, that was what was best for him, particularly while she was on leave. Emily was thankful Matt was home, and actually glad that her mother was coming to stay for a week when he returned to work.
"Ha- Lehman's putting you to work- good for her" Frank laughed loudly into the phone.
"No way- I'm HANDS ON dude" Matt held the phone against his ear "unlike you- lazy bard."
"Whatever man" Frank changed the subject. Matt chuckled to himself. Although Frank was a great dad, Matt distinctly remembered Frank's ex-wife Grace complaining he wasn't always the best at "kid maintenance" i.e., diaper changes, baths, etc.
Truthfully, Matt was utterly captivated with their child and couldn't seem to get enough of him. As brand-new parents, he and Emily were perfectly content to sit around watching him, weather he was doing anything or not.
"So what's up?" he asked Frank as he sank onto the couch, leaning against the pillows, holding Caleb on his chest.
"Hey- is this a good night for Mari and I to stop by? We could pick up some dinner for you guys- and we've got something for you."
"Oh yeah?" Matt raised an eyebrow. Frank and Mari had been among those who had come to the hospital the very day Caleb had been born, bringing gifts then.
"Yeah- you'll see."
"Ok…" Matt was slightly suspicious- but, he was anxious to see Frank, and he certainly wasn't going to turn down dinner being brought by- especially when Mari was involved- she had a more discerning palate than Frank.
Caleb stretched, pulling his knees under him, trying to lift his head on a very wobbly neck. He succeeded in turning his head the other way, letting out a squeaking sound right into the phone as he did so.
"Um- See you about six then-" Frank said.
"Ok" Matt nodded, glancing back at the clock, suddenly feeling like he could use a nap himself.
"Hey Matt?"
"Huh?"
"Quit pinching the kid."
5:55 pm
"Hey- it's Mini-Matt" Frank smiled as he squatted down, smiling at Caleb who was lying propped up in a bouncy seat. He really was a cute kid the HRT thought. "How's it goin?" he turned to look at Matt who was standing next to him.
"You know- he has it so good- all he does is eat, sleep and look at tits about 10 times a day" Matt shook his head, a smirk turning up one corner of his mouth.
"Oh man- lucky" Frank looked back at Caleb. "Enjoy it while you can buddy" he whispered "You won't be able to get away with that later."
6:45 pm
"Gift for you darling- this is from all of your friends in the office" Mari said with a somewhat devious smile- as she placed a large blue gift bag on the table in front of Matt.
Matt, Frank and Mari were sitting inthe dining room, the remnants of the take-out Italian still in the center of the table.
Three minutes after Emily had sat down, Mini-Matt (as Frank was calling him) had started to protest. Emily had looked up bleakly, closing her eyes a moment. For a newborn, Caleb had proven to be fairly reasonable so far, but, it never failed; dinner time was "fussy" time. Emily could enjoy a leisurely breakfast or lunch, but since the day they brought him home from the hospital, Matt and Emily had been treated to a squalling child the minute they sat down. This was about as relaxing as eating dinner sitting next to a running police siren. As much as they tried to soothe (or even ignore him) it didn't work. It was as if Caleb had figured out everyone else was eating EXCEPT him, and in Matthew Caleb-land this was unacceptable.
"That was delicious Frank- Thanks so much for bringing it over" Emily said, as she had shoved a final bite of lasagna into her mouth and stood up quickly. "Duty calls" she nodded towards the other room where Caleb was getting louder and louder.
"No problem" Frank had smiled back. It was interesting, observing Emily as a new mother. In her he saw a jumbled mix of maternal calmness, elation and the somewhat daunting realization that she was another person's entire world. He remembered seeing the same thing in Grace after their daughter was born. Sure- women supposedly were programmed to have maternal instincts. He definitely agreed with this. But, most of actually becoming a parent was trial and error. Emily was feeling her way through the new parent game: one you could only learn by doing, no matter which parent you were, and not a particularly easy game at that.
Emily had smiled gratefully at Frank and walked into the living room. "What's all the hubbub sweetie? Mari's going to start thinking we're starving you" she said, as Mari, who had been rocking him, gently handed the now red-faced baby over to Emily. For as exasperating as these cranky moments were, Emily could feel a layer of tension melt away the minute she held him. She loved to feel him in her arms, the way he nestled against her chest, the feel of his soft hair under her chin. Rubbing his back slowly she gone to their room to nurse him, Emily was modest and wasn't about to suddenly start stripping for an audience other than Matt.
Now, Matt, a slightly suspicious look on his face glanced from Mari to Frank. "Kristin and Amy (fellow agents) reminded me that Emily got a few extra gifts before your wedding, we didn't want you to feel left out" Frank said, grinning. "We were gonna give this to you before – but Emily went and had him early- screwed up our plans."
"Ok…." Matt took a sip of red wine and pushed the glass away, tentatively pulling the tissue paper out of the bag. He was fairly certain this wasn't another outfit or stuffed animal for Matthew Caleb.
"Oh…..no……" Matt started to laugh as he looked in the bag and started pulling items out. They all had post-its with notes from each person.
"It's your survival kit!" Mari said gleefully, falling into her chair.
A 40-count pack of earplugs from Binder, "You're gonna need these"
A Lotto card from Temple "College Fund starter kit"
A bottle of VAT 69 Scotch and a package of Benadryl from Kristin and Amy, "These work great for getting back to sleep FAST. AND WE MEAN FAST. For best results use together."
From Lia, an 3-D computer-generated diagram and instructions on how to properly diaper & swaddle a baby "includes step by step directions for Dummies"
Two lbs of powerfully strong Cuban coffee from Cheryl "I need you awake at the office".
From Mari, a blue-bound journal with the words "Instruction Manual" written in cursive script on the front page. Apparently, she had had been gathering advice from everyone at the office. Shaking his head and smiling, Matt read a few pages of tips including such good suggestions as "Don't ask Emily what she's been doing all day- most likely 80 of it was taking care of your kid" or "use extreme caution when changing boy diapers- remember- they can and WILL pee on the wall or you" or "when in doubt call your mother-in-law as scary as that sounds."
And, at the very bottom of the bag: A stack of "adult" magazines and a bottle of baby oil complete with a note: "Emily's going to be out of commission for about 5 more weeks – have fun- try not to hurt yourself- and whatever you do- don't leave these on the coffee table when Ellen visits. Love, Frank and Duff.
Matt felt his face turn red as he keeled over with laughter. There were no friends to compare with his "Cop" friends, that was for sure.