love at first sight

...and more every day since then.

a day in the life

A summary, in photographs, of Henry's Thursday...

Five

Hour

Nap.

Catching

Up

With

Old

Friends.

Okay, now raise your hand if you agree that he's the cutest kid ever.

in progress...

I am soooo illiterate when it comes to figuring out how in the world to re-do my blog! Ugh! Bear with me as I change my layout, change my title, and try to give my blog a much-needed makeover.

growing like a weed

Here's the latest on our two-month-old Baby Henry...

• At his well-check on Monday he was 11 pounds, 9 ounces and 23 1/4 inches long. That puts him in the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height.
• He smiles all the time now and makes all sorts of coos. His favorite time to talk is when he's on his changing table.
• He still loves his bath time and loves to be naked.
• He pushes his head up a little bit but usually ends up getting distracted by trying to suck on his hands.
• He can track a rattle with his eyes from side to side and loves the sound it makes.
• Once in awhile he finds his thumb, but usually prefers a binky.
• He is a great eater and sleeper.
• It seems he is growing out of that fussy time in the evenings...though it may come back at some point :)
• He hates, hates, hates riding in the car and can scream for a looooong time. He proved it to me when he screamed from the parking lot of Jordan Creek all the way to our driveway.
• His feet are stinky!! Even immediately after his bath.
• One of his favorite pastimes is hanging out in his sling with Mommy during the day or Daddy during the evening.

You know your marriage has reached a new level of comfort when...

First, I must clarify by saying that this post is in NO WAY a criticism of my hubby. I love him to pieces and am in awe of his selfless ways and servant heart. Just wanted to put that out there...

Dameon has always been the best at being able to put his feelings into words. He doesn't hesitate to show affection toward me and makes me feel beautiful all the time. In the beginning of our relationship, he would often hug me or hold my hand in public. (He still does but it was new to me back then.) This made me feel SO good! He has also always been good at giving me compliments...whether it's about my appearance or my cooking.

The other day, upon completion of my...ahem...pumping session, a new kind of "compliment" was born.

"Wow! You're really producing a lot today!"

Ha! Man, I just had to laugh.

the day my realization hit me like a ton of bricks

I had just succeeded in getting Henry to doze off to sleep in his sling after about 20 minutes of swaying, bouncing, and lullabies. He was cranky that day, which is atypical for him. I had already toiled away the first five hours of my day trying to catch up on laundry and catch up on sleep, all while entertaining a newborn in between. Suddenly I was almost taken back by the condition my house was in. I couldn't even find a space on the table to set the bowl of ramen noodles I was going to attempt to eat with the baby attached to my chest. Now, keep in mind that I am in no way a neat freak or great housekeeper. I struggle quite often with laziness when it comes to cleaning and even sometimes basic picking up after myself. So, it takes a pretty high level of clutter to really get under my skin. But this was just beyond. I grabbed my camera and snapped the above photos with the purpose of memorializing what our home should never look like again. The mess was really starting to stress me out. And then Baby Henry shifted a little and grunted in his sleep. I looked at him, snoozing right under my chin and I was so very thankful for him. It felt like, right then and there, I loved him more than I had ever loved him before. And I remembered a post I had read awhile back on a blog that I regularly follow. The mother was talking about treasuring the time when her children were small because it was so very fleeting. She talked about how, when she was old, she would so painfully miss these moments when her babies were small and needed her so much. And I realized how much that now applied to my own life.

My life - the life I'm living right now - the life that leaves me un-showered with frizzy/spit-up caked hair. The life that causes bags under my eyes, a house that looks like a tornado ripped through, and a relentless ache in my upper back on the side where I most often hold Henry. This is the life that I will dream of returning to in 20 years when Henry is in college and I only see him on random weekends and holiday breaks. When he finds time in between classes to shoot me a quick email or maybe a text; when he loads up his trunk and heads back to his "life"; when he wears cologne and meets his future wife...I will long to turn back the clock, even if just for an hour, to this life I'm living right now. To watch his tiny 11-pound self drift off to sleep in my arms. To pace the floors with him (and Daddy, of course) from the hours of 7 - 10 p.m. while we work through his "fussy time". To feel his tiny fingers brushing my skin while I nurse him. To smell his baby hair right after his bath. I'll wish for this time. I'll long for it.

So I'm going to embrace the piled-up laundry, the caked-with-dried-spaghetti dishes, the throbbing back, and the all-day-pajamas look I'm beginning to perfect. Because this life I'm living right now is my dream.

Oh man...remember when I used to be able to think of funny things to blog about? Now I just ooze with sap!! :)

happy (belated) valentine's day

I need you now and forever

So stay right here with me

Don't ever leave

Love was kept from me like a secret

And I swore that I was through

Until you

who knew

Dear Henry,

Who knew that watching you fall asleep on my chest could make my heart physically ache with love for you?

Who knew that seeing your sweet, toothless smile would make the rest of the world (messy house, and all) fade away?

Who knew that holding your hand and kissing your little fingers would make my heart swell with thanksgiving?

Who knew that praying over you every night while you nurse would reveal so much to me about the love that our Savior has for His children?

Who knew that carrying you, giving birth to you, and learning to be your mommy would give my life new purpose?

Who knew that bringing you into our family would make your daddy and I love each other more fiercely than before?

I dreamed of you many times before I knew your face. And you know what? You are more.

You are a miracle, Sweet Boy. A most precious gift.

Just Call Him SUPER DAD!

Not that I ever had my doubts, but I have been so amazed and so thankful for the way Dameon has taken on this whole new dad thing like such a natural! Prior to Henry's birth, he really hadn't spent much time around a newborn baby and had only partially changed one diaper...

(This past summer we watched our nieces for a couple days while their parents were on vacation. While at the pool, I had to help the older one take a shower which left Dameon to figure out how to diaper and dress the two-year-old. Yep, left him high and ....well, you know. It wasn't until the next diaper change that I realized he had put her diaper on backward. When I asked him about it he said, "Yeah, she was telling me how to do it but how am I supposed to know the front from the back?")

ANYWAY...because I had a c-section and my recovery was a little more involved, Dameon really had to take the reigns in the hospital. We wanted Henry to room in with us as much as possible which meant lots of burping, lots of diaper changes, and lots of hands-on experience for this first-time daddy. I remember him having to ask the nurse to teach him how to change a diaper because I was pretty much useless at first. I think the thing that has impressed me the most is how much he doesn't shy away or get stressed out when Henry is fussy. Seriously! One of Dameon's favorite things to do is tote Henry around in his Kangaroo Korner sling. We each have one and love them!! And, of course, our sweet boy loves that closeness with his dad. Henry is so blessed to have such an amazing and doting daddy and I can't wait for them to bond over Lincoln Logs, Legos, and projects in the garage :) Henry loves his daddy and was very responsive to his voice and touch even when he was in my belly. It's so cool to sit back and watch them together. I think there's something extra special about the love between a daddy and his little boy.

And I think Dameon is surprised to realize how much he loves this "new baby" phase. Pretty sure I've heard the phrase, "by the time our 10th one comes along," escape this Super Dad's lips more than once in the past six weeks. Duggar, who?