leaving my mark

my tiny handprint captured forever

tonight, although i should have already been in bed, mommy and daddy decided they didn't want to wait any longer. they wanted to actually finish a project...one for which they needed me. lula and mo gave us a really cute tin ornament. when you open it, there is a place for my handprint. the problem was that it required mixing of plaster as well as my cooperation to actually make the print. daddy mixed the plaster and filled the tin, and mommy held me and tried to open my hand to make the print. i was very uncooperative, though. the minute i felt the ooey, gooey plaster, i made a fist and quickly jerked my hand away, taking a little plaster with me each time.

mommy cleaning all the plaster off my hand

after trying to hold me in several different positions, all to no avail, they finally decided to lay me on my playmat and let me fall asleep, hoping i would relax enough to let them do what they wanted. after several more failed attempts, mommy was smart enough to call lula (who has done a few of these with my cousins) for advice..."let the plaster set up a bit," she said. so they did. after more than ten unsuccessful attempts, i finally did it. i left my mark. thanks lula and mo - we can't wait to see it hang from our tree this year!

grillin' with the neighbors

i went with mommy and daddy to our neighbors house to have a bbq this afternoon. our neighbors, jarod and beth, live right across the street and they had a baby girl about a week before i was born. it was so much fun for mommy and beth to be pregnant at the same time. their baby's name is eliana (eli for short) and i got to spend some time with her outside of our stroller (mommy and beth take us for walks during the week). they cooked some yummy food on the grill, but eliana and i had our usual...breast milk. i had so much fun. i'm glad that mommy and daddy have great neighbors. i'm looking forward to growing up with eliana across the street and having play dates together.

beth and eliana

hello, my name is owen

me and my new friend, eliana

A Long Word from Daddy...

As I sit here typing this, Kelly is sleeping and Owen is on her chest. It is perhaps the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Life-changing events like the birth of your first child makes you reflect back on your life and how far God has brought you. I still can't believe that God brought me a wife that is the most wonderful woman I have ever met. She still makes me smile when I see her and I cannot imagine going through this life without her by my side. She is without a doubt a beautiful woman and a gift that God has blessed me with.

Now i sit here years later and feel fortunate enough to have her by my side with a new addition...Owen. It all makes me scared when I think about what God has entrusted me with: to provide for and protect my wife and son. Yet, I feel like life has prepared me for this moment. I also know that I cannot lead them without God leading me. If you ever get a chance, listen closely to the lyrics of the song "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real. It describes my prayer for my family.

I also know that in addition to my own parents, my wife and my child, God has also blessed me with an amazing extended family. My in-laws are truly a blessing and my sister-in-law, her husband and their awesome children (5 of them!) are people that I love having in my life. Speaking of the 5 kiddos, they have taught me so much about being a father and much like my own son, Owen, I would do just about anything for them. I love them and always will. Through my wife, I also have two terrific grandmothers who are the rocks of the family. Grandmothers (and great-grandmothers...aka "Greats") are perhaps God's greatest gift to any family.

And of course, there is Owen. I still marvel at the fact that God has entrusted his life to Kelly and me. I am going to raise him in such a way that he will always know God as the source of his daddy's strength and remind him of how blessed he is to be surrounded by a family that loves him. God is so good. i love Owen so much and he hasn't done anything yet. Wow! He's my son. I can imagine God saying that about me when he brought me in the world. Now, I will love my own son in much the same way that God loves me.

I guess the point of this message is that I am truly blessed and don't feel that I deserve any of it from God. But He is gracious enough and loves me enough to bless my life despite all my faults. That, in my opinion, is what makes God so great. To all my family, thank you for loving me. Please know that you are all an important part of Owen's life. I want him to grow in love with you all just like I have. To Kelly and Owen, I promise to lead you with God's strength and to love each of you with all the love that God has placed in my heart. I feel like the luckiest person in the world. Thank you, God!

what a cutie patootie!

today we got to see the photos from my photography session last friday. although the pictures are not edited yet, mommy and daddy still think they are pretty cute. i don't remember being in any of the poses or wearing the hats. i guess a warm room and a belly full of milk will do that to a boy. anyway, i hope you enjoy a sample of my pictures. if you think these are precious, wait until lora gets them edited. not that i'm not cute as a button already, but a little touch up never hurt anybody. here's a peek at what mommy and daddy are getting. thank you lora and precious poses photography. you sure know how to make a boy look his best.

chillin' at the mall with ryker

mommy and I went to the mall to have lunch with mommy's friend, jess, and her son, ryker. mommy and jess took bradley birthing classes together for 10 weeks. oh yeah, daddy and jess's husband, ryan, were there, too. this was the first time mommy and jess have seen each other since giving birth to us boys. it was so cool to see ryker. he is about a month older than me and just as cute. they say he'll grow up to be a linebacker...daddy says he'll teach me all about that someday. mommy and jess were the fast and the furious driving our strollers around the mall. it was so much fun to spend time with them. we can't wait to do it again.

jess and ryker

my new buddy, ryker

i'm a model, you know what i mean...

...and i do my little turn on the catwalk (i don't know what any of that means, but mommy says that many of you will already be humming the tune that goes with it).

sporting my lil' joey diaper at home

today was a big day. at my newborn photo session last week, lora (the photographer) made mommy and daddy a proposition. she was hired to do some promotion shots and a video for rumparooz, a major cloth diaper brand based here in colorado. lora thought that i was so cute and would make a good model for the new "lil' joey" diapers made especially for newborns. so, today was my first official day as a baby model! mommy took me to the studio this morning where lora took lots of pictures of me in the diapers. they kept changing my diaper and i couldn't figure out why - i hadn't even gone potty yet! i guess they wanted to get me in different colors. i even wore a purple one! the still photos will be used on the rumparooz website, as well as other retailer websites.

plus, lora also took some video of me that she will work into the promo video they are shooting for the website. it's being put to a new song by uncle jim (he is actually the guitarist for jimmy buffet, but also does children's stuff on the side).

mommy was so proud that a professional thought i was cute enough to be a model, especially for a great cloth diaper...the ones that she intends on switching me to soon anyway! and we got some free lil' joeys out of the deal, too. so fun! i can't wait to look back on the photos someday and tell all my friends about my modeling debut. now, i am just like my gampa - i am a baby model and he won a baby photo contest! yeah us, gampa!

as if that wasn't enough excitement, i also had some visitors come see me this afternoon. three ladies from my mommy's work wanted to come over and meet me for the first time, as well as bring lunch to mommy. it was great to meet you donna, christie, and hannah. thanks for being so gentle with me and letting me sleep the whole time. and the chinese food was yummy...it added a little kick to mommy's milk tonight and i didn't want to stop nursing! yum, i can already tell i'm gonna like spicy food just like my daddy!

A Word from Mommy...

Bedtime was full of tears tonight. No, not Owen's...mine. I brought him upstairs, put him in his sweet sleeping gown, and turned on this wonderful cd gampa gave us called "Sleep Sound in Jesus". I then sat with Owen in the rocker and began to read to him. I barely got through the first line of "On the Night You Were Born" and the tears began to flow. I cried all through that book and the next, "You Are My I Love You". The love I feel for this little one falling asleep in my arms, knowing I carried him and gave birth to him, is sometimes just so overwhelming. Yes, I am a post-pregnancy-hormones-raging woman, but I am also a mom in love. Amazing...wonderful...blessed.

Thank you, Lord, for this gift.

daddy's favorite outfit

all i need is a pair of crocs and my outfit would be complete!

one of my daddy's favorite outfits to wear himself is a pair of cargo shorts and a nice polo, which is so colorado! so that is the first outfit he bought for me all on his own. don't i look handsome and sporty...a total colorado native! having extra pockets on my shorts is nice, now if i only had enough hand control to store my paci in it.

trip to the baby gap

today mommy, daddy and i had our first trip together. well, it was the first trip where daddy had to push me in the stroller. we went to the baby gap store at southlands mall. i'm sure both mommy and daddy would have liked to have stayed longer, but i started to get really hungry and had an accident in my diaper :) so mommy nursed me in the car and daddy decided that it was time to go. i guess the days of spending hours and hours at the mall are gone for now. especially since i'm not quite used to long hours away from the comforts of home. daddy even decided that it would be easier to go through a starbucks drive-thru instead of parking and going in. one more sign that life as they know it has changed. but i'm sure they will be the first ones to tell you that they wouldn't trade if for anything in the world.

by the way, daddy decided to not buy anything at the baby gap store. since he is the analytical and financial one in the family, he decided to wait until i get a little bigger and go on a shopping trip then. that's my daddy, the thinking one.

A Word from Mommy...

...well, a few words actually. I am sitting here at the computer as my amazing husband puts our little man to sleep and beds him down for the night. He then brings in the monitor to me and we both listen intently as Owen coos with every breath, even in his deep slumber. I think it is the sweetest sound I've ever heard and could listen to it all day long. I can't imagine - almost can't remember - life without Owen.

Happy three-week-old birthday, our dear little one...

say cheese!

today i experienced my first photo shoot. i guess mommy and daddy think i'm pretty cute and wanted to capture my tinyness. so they scheduled a newborn photo session for me with precious poses photography studio here in denver. my photographer was lora swinson. she was great...gentle, warm, loving, patient, and talented.

at first, i kept wiggling and squirming because i was wide awake. so i nursed a bit and lora turned up the heat really high. it wasn't long before i went limp and stayed asleep during most of the session. apparently, she put me in all kinds of cute poses and set-ups from resting on a nubby blanket in a wooden crate to balancing on my tummy atop a stack of towels. i hear she also adorned me with a variety of cute and fun knitted hats - the pics mommy is most excited about.

all i know is that one minute i was filling my tummy with yummy milk, and two hours later i was in the car on the way home. i guess most of the action occurred while i was fast asleep. oh well, i guess it was for the best...i don't think i would have been as cooperative if i was wide awake. check back in a few weeks to see the photos. i'm kind of interested myself to see exactly what they did to me.

i'm official...

...at least according to the u.s. postal service. today, i received my first official mail. seriously...it was actually addressed to me!! mommy's dear friend from albuquerque, josala, sent me a "welcome to the world" package. it was filled with some neat things - a super cute bugs romper, the "i love you through and through" book, a sentimental picture frame with a pic of me and dad already in it, and toys for the bath. josala has a soft spot for boys since she has three of her own. thanks josala! i already love you and i haven't even met you yet! i know mommy is really hoping you'll make it to denver soon.

my slideshow w/music

This slideshow design made with Smilebox

bouncin' around

today, i got to try out my bouncy seat for the first time. i don't quite have the hang of how to work it yet, so mommy and daddy have to bounce it by hand for me. but i really like sitting in it, especially when daddy makes it vibrate. someday i'll be big enough (& coordinated enough) to make it bounce myself.

my first bath

last night, grammie helped mommy and daddy give me my first official bath at home. i didn't much like not having anything on, and so i cried through most of bath time. i am sure i will come to like it more someday...but for now, boy do i need my paci!!

off to the pediatrician

mommy and grammie took me for my first pediatrician appointment today. it was just a two-day follow-up to check my weight and my coloring. mommy was so excited when the nurse weighed me and i was 7 lbs. 3 oz. - already almost back to my birth weight. the doctor said that meant daddy no longer needed to give me supplemental formula and mommy no longer needed to pump. yeah, her milk is in and i am gaining like a champ!

gampa and grammie

completely relaxed in gampa's arms

making a memory of grammie

gampa and grammie (mommy's parents) came into town the first night mommy was in labor since my arrival was obviously imminent (even though i waited another three days!). gampa stayed until the wednesday after i was born, and grammie stayed two weeks. it was comforting to have other loving family with whom i got to cuddle those first few days in the hospital. and i know mommy and daddy really appreciated having them around for love and support through those difficult days. i can't wait to grow up and spend more time with them. gampa and i can go fishing, play with water guns, eat lots of junk food, and take care of people together. grammie will read me lots of books, give me lots of hugs, and teach me to be a good helper. thanks gampa and grammie for already loving me so much!

my birth story

at peace in daddy's hands

my parents and I had a crazy birth experience. both my mom and dad were dedicated to having a totally natural birth. they even took bradley classes to prepare best for the big day!

the original birth plan was to labor and deliver at mountain midwifery birth center in denver, colorado, where we live. but after 44 hours of prodromal labor at home and 12 hours of active labor at the birth center (where my mom stayed at 7 cm for over 6 hours), my parents and the midwife decided it was in my best interest to be transferred to swedish hospital where my mom could have an epidural and get some rest, allowing her body to recover and hopefully progress. this was a very tough decision for my parents because it was not the way they wanted me to enter the world. my mom had done an amazing job enduring what she had so far and dad was such a great coach for her (he would have made dr. bradley so proud!), but it was time for us to relax a little in order to still have the best chance for a vaginal birth and not go for an emergency c-section.

thank you dr. godina...you're awesome!

unfortunately, due to my position (i was sunny side up - my back was to her back), labor was very painful for my mom. the doctor who stepped in for us at the hospital, dr. godina (a wonderful, patient, and funny man), also determined i was asynclitic - basically, i was coming out a little crooked...there was no way my head would fit through mommy's pelvis if i wasn't straight on. so the nurses began having her lay in different positions to see if i would turn. mom tried pushing for 3 hours, and even let the doctor try the vacuum in the hopes that I would turn just enough to slide out. but nothing worked. what can i say, i’m stubborn!

our first family photo

so, with lots of tears and sad hearts, my mom ended up needing a c-section. it was not the calm, peaceful environment my parents were hoping for, but in the end, we still ended up with “healthy momma, healthy baby”...all that we truly wanted. and my dad was awesome - he never left me alone. he went everywhere i went after i was born, and then was able to take me to see mommy in recovery where i nursed for the first time. after all that, everything was better when i got to snuggle with mommy and daddy afterwards in our room!

during our three days in the hospital, i had to go to the nursery every few hours to get my vitals checked by the nurses. daddy always went with me so I was never alone. when mommy was feeling better, both of them started going everywhere with me. with all the strange faces i saw throughout the day, it was comforting to know that either mommy, daddy, or both, were always by my side. i have a feeling they always will be. they are the best!

so although it wasn't the birth experience mommy and daddy anticipated, we are all very grateful to aubrey and tiffany, the midwife and nurse at the birth center, as well as dr. godina and all the wonderful nurses (mary, lori, ivy, nancy, and mary jo) we came to know and trust at the hospital. our experience was long, sad, and heartwrenching, but at the same time, amazing and rewarding, too. thanks to everyone for making my entrance into the world such a success!