Two posts in one day?!?!

Yes, sportsfans, two posts in one day! After JP woke up from his nap in his own room, I finally finished a project that lyzz and I have been working on for a while. Inspired by Grandad and Sharon's house in Kansas City, we put up a huge picture wall in the loft upstairs. Now we just need pictures of people!!!

A quick update

... blogging is HARD :). We're trying to update this place more often, but there's just a whole lot going on. Here's a quick one. We've had requests for more pictures, so that's what we'll do today. The first picture comes along with a pretty cool milestone - JP's first nap in his own bedroom!

Next comes a picture that Lyzz also posted on facebook. I wanted to repost it here because it's basically awesome. He was chillin on my lap a few nights ago, and was just in a great mood. Daddy time is the best.

Next is our latest installment of everyone's favorite on-going series ... THE FACES OF JP.

Right now, he's figuring out where Snoop Dog and Dre are hangin' out later. West side!

Here, he's telling you that you bore him. I'm pretty sure his next words were "say something funny."

But he's not really that arrogant. He was just playin' around. To make it up to us, he ended with the "look how adorable I am" pose, and I must agree - he's basically adorable.

All our love.

Life settles ...

... into a routine so fast, it catches you by surprise even when you're watching out for it. Lyzz and I have been so deliberate and so clear about our desire to stop and smell the roses, to take in everything about our son and his journey, to really enjoy every day. I look up, and in 24 hours my son will be a month old. It was 30 days ago that Lyzz came into my study at 12:30 am to tell me that it was time, and 29 days since I held him in my arms for the first time. Already a month, and I can't believe it.

We just finished giving JP his bath. That's the routine - 830 bath. We don't use too much soap, because that can dry out his skin. Heck, we don't even necessarily use too much water. Mostly its a reason to get him naked and let him cry a little bit to (hopefully) get tired, and ready for bed. It's also a chance for mom and dad to spend some quality time with the kiddo. Before the bath, at least when we can swing it, we watch the West Wing. Why the West Wing? Well, we'd started season 1 when Lyzz was pregnant, and now we're emotionally invested in the storyline. And since JP isn't old enough to be spoiled by TV yet, his parents continue to be. And before that, dinner. Tonight Lyzz made chili.

The chili isn't important, but the routine is. I finish up at work, and go not only to relieve Lyzz of the little bundle of joy, but to get my own one-on-one time with my son. Lyzz takes a break, and then one of us at some point tracks, hunts, kills and prepares dinner. We eat, watch a little TV, bathtime, swaddle, last feeding, and hopefully to bed. I look back, and realize we've done fundamentally that for the last 5 or 6 work nights. Like a family.

And you know what? We ARE taking it all in. Every day, I know that I stop and for 15 or 30 solid seconds, I just watch JP. He's just recently started focusing in on voices. He may not know my name, but he knows someone is talking to him, and I'm convinced that he knows Lyzz or my voice, and knows that those two voices are more important than the other noises he hears. We watch. We experience. The routine doesn't get in the way of that - it enhances it. We sort of let life slide into the background (it'll take care of itself), just long enough to take a mental snapshot of how wonderful that very life is, and why it's so wonderful. If you're wondering, he'll be one month old on Wednesday :).

All our love to everyone. We've enjoyed every single visit, phone call, facebook message and gift, and we can never thank you enough.

Fortunate

Let me start off by recognizing just how awesome my hubby is and how great his entries have been to date. I am lucky to have such wonderful and adoring husband and just love that he has taken to publicly declaring his love for his family on this blog. Thank you, Joshua.

The last few weeks I have come to appreciate all that I have in my life. As people offer their advice as Josh and I embark on this crazy adventure called parenthood, one piece has stood out for me more than the rest. Don’t blink, because it all goes by so fast. Boy howdy…I can’t even believe this kid has gained 2+ pounds in only 3 weeks. So I want to express the fact that I am not taking any of this for granted.

I don’t take for granted that I have a beautiful, healthy, thriving baby boy. Many, and some that I know personally, do not have this blessing and I have never stopped being thankful for his health.

I don’t take for granted that I have an adoring, compassionate, aware, loving, thoughtful, generous, doting, empathetic husband who is doing everything in his power to take care of and provide for his family. I don’t know how single moms do it, because I have the best teammate a girl could ask for. If he could do more, he would. I had a friend mention to me that her husband “doesn’t really like infants” but now that their daughter is 3 he’s really starting to spend more time with her…WHAT?! I should really thank her because it wasn’t until she made this little throw away comment that I realized just how fortunate I am to have a husband that wants to be involved in every little minute detail of JP’s life to date. He’s amazing with JP. He’s a natural. And he is enjoying this whole process right along side me. And what’s more, he’s there for me when my emotions/hormones get the best of me and I get overwhelmed. He’s my rock.

I don’t take for granted that I have health insurance. And fantastic health insurance at that. Having JP in a state of the art hospital with all the best-trained doctors and nurses, even the machine that goes “PING!!” didn’t put us into debt and won’t ruin us financially. We have the means to take him to regular Doctor’s appointments and keep him as healthy as we are able.

I don’t take for granted the intricate and vast network of family and friends that care about Josh, JP and me. We are not in this alone. I’m grateful for the village that is helping to raise our son.

And finally, I don’t take for granted every single moment that I get to spend with this little guy. Life is so very fragile. That’s something that I have learned first hand at work. Things can change in an instant and we often have very little say in the matter. Every burp, every cry, every gas-induced grin, every painful breastfeeding latch, every open-eyed zombie-like nap this kid takes is a blessing in which I am so eternally grateful to partake. I don’t take this time for granted. I know it will pass in the blink of an eye and be replaced with something equally amazing and awe-inspiring.

Boy, am I fortunate.

So many firsts ...

I think most people that know us know that we're going to breastfeed JP as long as is feasible. We're targeting to go well more than a year, and we have an excellent example to follow in Le and Guy, with Mary Mae. But to do that, we have to figure out the breast pumping thing, because Lyzz goes back to work January 1st (maybe the 2nd :)). So tonight, Lyzz produced 2oz of milk via the pump, and presented it to me in a bottle when I got home from softball.

Ya'll - I fed my kid tonight. You want to talk about an awesome feeling. It was the most incredible boring old 2oz of milk you've ever seen. Just a huge step for JP, for me, and for Lyzz.

One other update. JP is 8lbs 3oz today. That's right - another full pound in the last week. That's some GOOD milk!

Mothers are incredible

When I was young, I knew that my mom was awesome. She made sure I had a good lunch, she drove me to baseball practice, and she took me to fun things like movies and stuff. When I got into my teenage years, I began to understand more about the role moms play in the life of a young man. She was my steady counsel when I had questions. She continued to make sure that I had a good lunch. She understood that I couldn't always articulate what the heck it was my hormone-addled brain was trying to say, and she patiently waited while I got it out. I also saw what it took for a woman to skillfully blend having a career with being a mother. When I went off to college, I realized that my mom, in addition to being all those things I knew already, was also one of the smartest women I'd ever met. It also hit me like a brick how many things my mom had given up for my childhood, and how she's done so willingly and without regret. I thought, at this point, that I sort of knew the scope of being a mother, as I'd experienced it (albeit from one specific perspective) my whole life.

Turns out, I'd missed out (well, more like forgotten) a CRUCIAL part of a woman as a mother, and that's the fantastic dedication, patience, fortitude, emotional stability, and selfless nature that it takes to care for a newborn. Lyzz is simply incredible, ya'll. For everyone out there who's reading that's been through what we're going through now, I'm not telling you anything you don't know. But this is all new to me. JP nurses ALL THE TIME, and Lyzz is his sole source of nourishment. He literally cannot exist without Lyzz. I didn't comprehend the pressure that responsibility brings with it until now. And my wife is handling this with the (apparent) ease of a natural; it's like she was born to do this.

Mom (ALL moms) - thank you.
Lyzz - you're awesome.

So much has happened in the last week. It feels like just yesterday that we brought home this little bundle, and he's already gaining weight, opening his eyes and engaging with the world, and hating bath time. That's pretty much the trifecta for a 3-week old. Oh, don't forget gas. He's got plenty of that :).

We had pictures taken a week ago by a local professional photographer who's trying to build out her pictures-of-newborns business, and she brought over the proofs for us to look at today. One of the pictures she took was, very literally, the best picture I've ever seen. It made Lyzz cry. When we get copies, I'll be sure to post one (like you'll be able to avoid seeing it, in this digital age). The finished pictures are just going to be fantastic. Grandparents, start your checkbooks!!!

I leave you with my favorite on-going feature - THE MANY FACES OF JP.

Today ... he ministered to millions in india and throughout the world. He spread god's word, and worked in his humble stead for life. He is - mother theresa. (as lyzz says - wow, no pressure).

He's HUGE!

Well, not really. But we did get some awesome news from the doctor today. Not only is JP back to his birth weight (the normal 2-week milestone), he's actually surpassed his birth weight by more than a pound! He was 6-5 at birth, and he weighed in at 7-8 today. That's some good milk!

We're really starting to settle in to a routine. JP goes to bed much easier when he's had a bath, so we do that every night at 830. Mom and Dad end up enjoying a little bit of quiet time, and then hitting the sack right afterwards. We're almost through the second season of The West Wing, which we have been watching as we eat dinner (and sometimes as JP eats dinner). He's still up every 2-3 hours throughout the night, but we're dealing with it. It helps mom in the afternoon to grab a quick nap once Josh can break free of work. We even had lunch as a family today, out in public.

Here's something I've been waiting to do. I'd like to introduce you to the many faces of JP ... (insert dramatic movie-guy voice here).

We start with a little boy who's pretty chill ...

But you know and I know that doesn't last long ... very soon he demands your attention. He's dramatic, he's glamorous! And he's tired of dealing with the common folk.

These are not the droids you're looking for.

To complete the series tonight, I'll borrow Lyzz's line ... do you happen to have an Opera House I can haunt?

As parents ...

I'm coming to realize that there are several layers of awesome involved in having a child. There are those obvious, external layers - he's freakin' adorable, he smells good, and we sure have some proud grandparents. But as Lyzz and I start to come out of our newborn tunnel vision, some deeper layers are becoming clear to me. James Philip has only strengthened the bond between my wife and me. I've been lucky enough to marry a woman who doesn't hold it against me that I can't breastfeed, and who isn't afraid to ask for help when she needs it. A woman who knows that a down payment of an extra hour of sleep goes for miles and miles, and I'll do anything to repay that kindness. A woman who acknowledges that I'm working my butt off to pull my weight as we figure out this new life. A woman who has doubts, fears, and uncertainty about what this kid means for the rest of our lives, but who also trusts me enough to open up and talk about those doubts, fears and uncertainties with me instead of bottling them up inside. I have the same doubts, fears and uncertainties, and she helps me deal with those, as I hopefully help her. That open and honest communication gives me great peace of mind that our union is a strong one, and that JP just serves to highlight that strength.  I'm overjoyed to have him with us, not just because I feel more complete now than I did two weeks ago (I do), but because he's proven to Lyzz and I that our family is just that.

Forgive the ramblings ... we just had a really good evening, all three of us.

JP's first bath

I don't think we scarred him for life, but given his response to his first bath we very well might have. This was last Monday night (I think), but I wanted to post it as a separate post so people could see it. As an aside, some videos will be via YouTube, and some will be directly on here (blogger). When I tried to upload this video to blogger, the upload failed. I'm betting the file was too big. Regardless - enjoy!

JP's First Bath

A day in the life of an 8-day old ...

What does one's day involve when one is 8 days old? (or 7, or 9 for that matter) Well, it involves visits from people who want to see the kiddo and make sure mom and dad are doing ok. On Tuesday, we had a visit from the crew at Station 6 (lyzz's station when she's in operations). Here's the whole gang.

 A few days later, Nana and Poppy stopped back by and brought Josh's grandpa Donelson with them. It's very cool to see four generations of Donelson men in one place.

 Josh's Grandmother Runte also stopped by, along with Aunt Judy and Mike. These are some really cool pictures, with four generations of the Runte family (sorry for the red-eye, no time to correct the photo).

Then, on Saturday, we had to get ready for the Longhorns game. JP really doesn't have a choice in this matter, but he was game!

Lastly, sometimes you hear someone say (or type) something that just makes you crazy. When you hear (or read) that, give them a dose of JP's facepalm!

More later, much love to everyone.