that baby

Inspired by Christie and Amber, whose blogs I'm too tired to hyperlink to, I have been inspired to use those few moments of downtime I get during the day to play with the camera. I've taken lots and lots of bad photos--shadowy, out-of-focus. Here are some I like. Check out the nursing blister!

Two weeks!

Three weeks, taken with our new 50 mm lens

Three weeks and one day!

Darlin' and Granddaddy

Anneke and Ben got to spend some quality time with Darlin' and Granddaddy last week when they came to visit. March is not the ideal month for a visit to the PNW. We barely ventured outside at all, but there were some nice walks to the playground and up and down Hawthorne. Anneke was spoiled beyond belief and in a manner appropriate to the grandparent-grandchild relationship. She has not stopped demanding popsicles at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Every time I turned around I found piles of neatly folded clothes, as if my house were inhabited by a helpful laundry sprite, but no, it was my mom. If you receive a birth announcement from us, you can thank her for that, too, because where in the world am I going to find the time to sit down and address envelopes, or even stick on labels? It was a lovely visit and a nice way to ease into Life with Newborn AND three-year-old.

Rank: amateur

Sigh...the top photo could have been so clever and cute were Anneke not such a...wiggly three-year-old. Or maybe were I quicker on the camera settings. Love how the generic Grape Nuts are in focus, though. Sleeping newborns are much easier to photograph.

The beginning of a beautiful friendship

So much to blog about! But will have to wait until later. For now, I'll say that Anneke is an amazing big sister, and we're one happy, tired family.

Home

We are home. It is so much nicer to be home with a crying newborn than
at the hospital.

More pictures will be forthcoming after the sun comes up.

Pictures from Ben's Birthday

All is well here. People have been demanding more pictures so here they are. Diane deserves credit for bringing in the compact flash cards that we forgot to take with us on mad rush out of the house Monday morning. Thanks to her, our fancy camera was able to earn some of its keep.

Benjamin Maurits John born March 7th, 2011

Last night, just after Sunday the 6th became Monday the 7th, Caroline wrote a blog entry celebrating Anneke's birth three years ago. I suspect shortly after hitting "Post," she came upstairs and told me that she just started having honest contractions. Two hours later we called for backup from Diane who came to stay with Anneke. I gathered our bags and packed the car while Caroline labored in bed and in the bath, tracking contractions on her iPhone (yes, of course there is an app for that). As we pulled up to the hospital Caroline declared "There is no shame in an epidural!" I agreed. Alas, there was no time such niceties. The first exam from the resident OB determined the head was in the birth canal. Fifteen minutes and three pushes later our new son was born, within three hours of Anneke's exact three year birth date and time. Our family's future of sharing one birthday between two children looms ahead of us.

I am so proud of Caroline and my new son. Anneke's first words to her new baby brother were "Hi Ben!" Our happy family has grown by one, and it is just now starting to feel less surreal. I look forward to being home as a family again.

-Dad