sweet baby james

i realize that i have an infant son and like two pictures of him, but the thing is, i'm ALWAYS holding him, and if he's not nursing or sleeping, he's pretty much crying. not exactly a formula for great baby pics. yesterday, i did get a good crying shot, complete with down-turned lip and quivering chin (oh, the quivering chin!), but even if i wanted to post it i couldn't. our internet and computer situation is less-than-optimal. we have two hand-me-down computers--a PC that refuses to go online but stores our photos, and a Mac that barely goes online. it's letting me type this, but it's only partially reading the page and deleted my post the last time i wrote it. so, no picture posting in the immediate future...

shall i just tell you about the baby?

he is getting BIG. at three weeks james weighs almost 11 lbs, a milestone itty bitty dylan didn't reach for months. of course, he's still a wee little newborn, but he's so much bigger than he was at birth. he's a good nurser, evidenced by his chubby cheeks and double chin;)

james is STRONG. he was actually born with the thick, muscular thighs i never thought existed on babies. his strong legs make diapering a little bit of a challenge!

and speaking of diapering, we tried out the cloth diapers i got on ebay, and it turns out, they weren't such a great find after all. they were listed to fit an 8-20 lbs babe, but they are already too small. they must have sent me size newborn instead, and as james doesn't have scrawny newborn legs, they're unusable. boooo. we have usable covers and prefolds, but i was really looking forward to having little fitted diapers for him.

james is a good sleeper. he only wakes twice a night, so we're actually feeling pretty well rested, which is a huge praise. the downside is that he's sleeping with us now, and we'd really like to get him into his own bed. i hope that once he has more wakeful time and begins to establish more regular sleep patterns, we'll be able to get him to sleep on his own in his cradle or pack 'n play for longer stretches. but in the meantime, it IS nice to snuggle with my sweet baby:)

well, james is actually contently awake in my arms, which hasn't happened much, so i should go enjoy. of course, dylan is having a tantrum. you can't win 'em all!

a lively sense of your presence

"dylan, i've got a song for you," he said, strumming his guitar.

May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

--"Forever Young," Bob Dylan

our internet has been down, so i'm just now posting pictures from last weekend, when my parents, sister bethany, and her boyfriend came out to visit and meet the baby. we had such a nice time together and were blessed with unseasonably beautiful weather.

we took james to church together for the first time, and our priest asked us to come forward so they could pray for our family. it was so meaningful that i wanted to record it here:

Dear friends, the birth of child is a joyous and solemn occasion in the life of a family. It is also an occasion for rejoicing n the Christian community. I bid you, therefore, to join Jim and Suzannah in giving thanks to Almighty God our heavenly Father, the Lord of all life, for the gift of James to be their son, and with Dylan, for a new brother.

Let us pray.

O God, you have taught us through your blessed Son that whoever received a little child in the name of Christ receives Christ himself: We give you thanks for the blessing you have bestowed upon this family in giving them a child. Confirm their joy by a lively sense of your presence with them, and give them calm strength and patient wisdom as they seek to bring this child to love all that is true and noble, just and pure, lovable and gracious, excellent and admirable, following the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

when we were three

i took this photo of dylan and jim in the yard the afternoon before james was born and we became a family of four.

more wordless wednesday: 5 min for mom and momdot

trick or treat

kids in animal ears = one of my favorite things
it is nearly impossible to capture a real smile on this child, but at least this beats the wide-open, mouth agape that we often get when we request a smile!

that tail!

we took dylan out for her first trick-or-treating, and i was so glad not to miss it. the business district in our town hands out candy to kids, and it was such a festive atmosphere. dylan really enjoyed herself and was such a polite trick-or-treater. then we met up with friends, and jim took dylan up another street while james and i hung out. he did not wear a costume; he just slept in the sling the whole time. maybe next year he'll be a kangaroo--it's actually size 6-12 months!

first week on earth

dylan is a fantastic big sister. her first words in the morning are usually "see baby james" followed by "kiss head," "kiss ear," or "kiss nose." (i'm not sure where she got the idea to kiss his ears, but it's pretty adorable.) the other day jim got her up and brought her into bed with us. she snuggled up close to the baby and said "cuddle it now." yesterday, i was changing dylan's diaper and james was hanging out on the bed cooing and making gurgly baby noises that dylan interpreted as sneezes: "God bless you, baby! God bless you!"

i think he looks like his uncle josh here.

if someone can take a not-unattractive picture of my whole face, i would be more than happy to post it;) until then, you'll have to make due with this, (mom).

we're all doing well around here--resting/(not resting), playing, reading, hanging out, enjoying family time, praying against sickness, and eating the meals generously provided to us. it's been a good first week.

welcome baby james!

james edward paul, III made his debut early thursday morning. he was born at 4:04 on october 22, weighing in at 8 lbs, 7 oz. we're both doing well, and we came home yesterday afternoon.

dylan is adjusting so far like a champ, jim and i are trying to catch up on rest, james is nursing well and sleeping fairly well, and all we're thankful that jim's parents have been here, especially to give dylan lots of extra attention.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created." James 1: 17-18

clothesline magic

this baby is due in four days, and my house has never been so clean, between the steam mopping, dusting, organizing, and mountains of laundry washed, folded, and put away.

i'd had a small load of baby clothes that i wanted to sun on the clothesline, but it seemed like most of september and october had been cloudy. finally, this week, figuring i was running out of time, i soaked them overnight in oxygen cleaner and hoped for a sunny day in the morning.

i got my sunny day, but it was also 23 degrees. in october. but i was undeterred: this child was not going to wear clothes with old spit-up stains! i put on my boots, hat, and scarf, and took my small load out to the frosty clothesline.

it paid off! most everything was good-as-new by afternoon, and the two items that weren't quite had a least faded significantly.

sunning out stains on the clothesline is an easy, green laundry tip that definitely works for me.