3 weeks and counting

Here's the little man still basking in his new-found spatial freedom. Much better than mommy's ribs and hips and organs. And floating upside down in water. Isn't gestation/birth the craziest thing? He already has a few "personality" quirks. Some are pretty hard to catch on film: he has a nerve twitch in his left leg that gets it going just like Thumper on Bambi, he has a pretty amazing pucker-up-for-the-kiss-of-your-life face he inevitably only makes in the darkest hours of the night when I'm too lazy to get the camera, and he wiggles his right arm ferociously enough to get it out of the swaddle for 90% of naps, and sometimes even out of his clothes! (see below) Other than that, we're happy with his personality staying mellowly asleep 22 of the 24 hours of the day.
This next picture shows an exercise we developed to improve grip strength and hand-eye coordination. Unfortunately, James is taking a while to learn not to drop the phone on his face. Just kidding. I really just wanted to show James' relative size. He looks like a porker, but he's really still pretty tiny. I'm amazed at how small those little guys are every time I do laundry (every day anymore) and look at how itty-bitty those clothes are that house all those organs, bones, and spirit.

Since James arrived, we've been spoiled by visits from Grandma Corky (thanks for all the yummies , the crack-of-dawn Scotty babysitting, and the housekeeping Corrine!) and Aunt Katie (thanks for the excuse to make and buy yummies, the crack-of-dawn Scotty babysitting, and all the help Katie!). We miss them. It's always great to have family come.
Scotty's dealing with having to share his master and commander position much better than we imagined, but we still have some very interesting moments at home these days. I've decided we'll all survive though. I now officially stand in awe of all parents in the world who successfully and lovingly raise more than 2 children. I feel maxed! But I can also see how doubling the family doubles the fun.

Quotable Scotty quotes of the week:

"Hey mom, did she take away your boobs?" while watching a bosomy vocalist on sesame street. I think he's a little more boob-oriented than normal lately because of the never-ending nursing of a newborn, but I still haven't the slightest idea what he meant.

ogre-alls = overalls
gobbles = goggles
(still our favorite, may he never learn to say it correctly) pliget = piglet

The Planets Aligned

I think we’ll be shaking our heads for years about how smoothly everything went with James’ arrival when we were sure so much would go wrong. That boy is living a charmed life so far! I didn’t have to have an amniocentesis, be induced, or have a c-section, I had just the right doctors and *hands down* the best labor and delivery nurse in the world, James ate like a pig right out of my belly, our fabulous friends have taken great care of Scotty, Jeremy ended up missing very little at school, and Jer’s mom will come just in time for Jer to go back to his busy schedule on Monday. Aside from the bruising on James' face and now a bit of jaundice, everything is going smoothly in his short 4 days here, too. We feel very blessed.



Here's James' first tubatub. My favorite is the butt shot.

We came home from the hospital Friday and are happily settling into our 4 person family way of life. What we miss about the hospital: Scotty's secret hide-out, 24 hr room service, our queen-sized memory foam bed, the overnight nursery, the baby tub sink, and our room's massive window with a great view of the early spring green. Since we've been home, Scott has been a big helper: he plays fetch for me while I’m tied down with feedings (Jer does too – I’ve been keeping them both busy!) and he loves to do anything involving baby James. The pictures we've taken since we've been here are all like the ones below: James doing what he does best (sleeping!). He wakes up to eat every 2 1/2 hours or so, then goes right back to sleep. I'm sure he'll wake up someday, but in the meantime we're not complaining. Maybe the magic touch is his "bedroom" -- our closet? Ah, apartment living...


Scotty isn't quite sure what to think of being supplanted (James literally means "the supplanter!), but more often than not he seems to like the added company.
Thanks so much to all our friends and families who have brought us yummy food, flowers, and cute stuff for the baby, watched Scott, visited, emailed, and called. We feel very loved! Having a baby is a great way to get attention!

We’ll post more soon.