I'm a dad

So can I just say how perfect this little girl is? She is fantastic.

Being a father is crazy. Unlike anything I've experienced before and anything I could have imagined. This girl has totally gotten me wrapped around her hand (her finger isn't big enough yet) and her mother even more so. She's been great. She sleeps a lot and right now only wakes up two or three times at night. Becky has been a champ even though she has had some crazy afterbirth pains. It has been a huge help to have her mother here; she is an amazing woman. Life has been fantastic.

So it is difficult getting back into the swing of things. I am having the hardest time desiring to be productive again. Going back to work was tough but doable, but school has just lost almost all appeal. I'm slowly getting back into it, but I'm afraid I didn't top the charts on the three midterms I had this week. Oh well. I'm working on it and I'm getting there.

Anyway. Just wanted more of a chance to show off my beautiful daughter. It's okay to be jealous.

Our new addition

Well, as many of you may know, we have recently had a new addition to our wonderful family! Meet Chloe Elizabeth:





She is beautiful. Born Jan. 19, 2011; 6 lbs 12 oz and 20 inches long. She has completely won the heart of her mother and me.

Anyway. We have brought her home and she has been doing wonderfully! Eating well (all the time) and she is sleeping a lot at night. Becky is exhausted of course but is holding up like a champ. She's a fighter. And I'm doing whatever I can to help. So, just letting you know that we are now in possession of the most beautiful girl under 22. Be jealous :)

And sorry the cutest picture is upside down. I really don't know how to fix it.

First 5 minutes

As the baby gets closer to coming you can feel the energy level in our home going up. It bounces back and forth between anxiety, nervousness, excitement, fear, wonder, etc. We cant wait for our baby girl to join our family!

Ever since we found out we were having a baby, and even more since finding out we're having a girl I've had random moments of serious reflection on what this will mean for us as individuals and as a couple. I've done a lot of thinking about what kind of songs we'll sing for her and I've made an effort to write to her in a journal and talk to her. But what strikes me most are the songs.

Jameson and I have been wanting to have the classic songs like childrens hymns. But also some more unique ones. Granted, the song I am going to share with you isn't all that unique. But it is the one that touches me the most right now. This is more... a song for Jameson and Chloe. But that is what makes is special to me. Because I've been putting a lot of thought into how I want her first few minutes of life to go. I know a lot of it is beyond my control and there are things that could happen to change it. But the most exciting thing for me, honestly, is picturing me handing the baby to him saying "Congratulations, you're a Daddy!"

Deep Thoughts

I figured I would give you all the absolute pleasure of gaining some insight into my brain. Here are some thoughts that I've had at various points of the day. Be careful, as you're starting into uncharted territory.

-I should blog more.

-You know, you were a lot funnier last time I came to your class.

-Come to think of it, shotguns would be incredibly inefficient weapons of war.

-This is anti-cellulite lotion!?

-Tuna!? Why do I always get disgusting things all over me whenever I come to this store? Why can't they shatter a case of vanilla or something?

-Oops, I definitely should have bought the caffeine.

-4 hours until I have to wake up and counting. Just makes me all warm inside.

-Nathan Fillion started out in a soap opera!?

-I would rather have it cold than snowy. Sigh.

-Flight of the Conchords has made me laugh for like 75% of the time. That's a lot of LPM's (laughs per minute).

-I bet all these people think I'm crazy because I've just been laughing this whole time.

-I wonder if other people have conversations in their heads like this.

Well, there you go. There is a reason that they don't make movies out of my life let's just say. And now you'll all never ask what I'm thinking again!

Dragging feet

Really quick. Becky was just lamenting the fact that nothing has changed with the pregnancy yet and asked, "WHY does she have to drag her feet?"

I said, "She gets it from her mom."

"And her dad!"

"What?"

"Neither of us have done dishes." (pout)

Fit...ness...?

So we got a Wii Fit for Christmas. And let me tell you one thing: fantastic. I had always thought they were kind of...different before I got one, but I am actually really enjoying it. Did you know you can make a profile for your pet? Yeah I'm not certain why either. But you most definitely can.

So we booted it up for the first time and I was doing my first body test and everything and it turns out my posture sucks which came as no surprise to me. I naturally put almost all of my weight on my left leg. It's actually slightly...shorter? I think shorter. Maybe longer. Than my other leg. We think it's because my babysitter may or may not have pretty much run over my leg when I was a baby. I can tell you that story later if you want. Better yet, ask my parents. I don't think it's too big of a story though.

So. My posture is awful. So I did that body test and everything and it gave me my Wii Fit age: 34. What? So it tests my balance and I lose eleven years of my life. Anyway. It's been a really fun thing to do, and I have been faithfully doing yoga and other stuff for 30 minutes a day and so far I've lost one to three pounds. I can't really remember exactly what but it's somewhere in that range. Pretty cool huh?

School has started. I have finally gotten a schedule that I am loving so far. Who knows, maybe I'll hate it in a month. But all of my classes are on Tuesday and Thursday, with one night class on Wednesday. I have to wake up early Tuesday and Thursday...like 7:45 early. Which means between two and three and a half hours of sleep those nights which makes some classes fun, but it's good. I have the weekend to do all of my homework (and it takes about that long to do it all too). I'm taking five 300 level Psych classes this semester - Intro to Social Psych, Personality, Child Psychopathology, Cognition, and LDS Perspectives and Psychology. So we'll see how it all works out!

The pregnancy is coming along nicely. Becky's having a rough time and only sleeping about three hours at a time so she's up most of the night, but she's a fighter. She's making it through. Soon we'll be looking back at pregnancy instead of staring it in the face.

I hope you all are having a fantastic day!

Repenting

Most of my blogs lately have been rather negative. Consider this next sentence my public apology:

I'm sorry I've been complaining about the bad things of pregnancy instead of talking up the positive.

There. I said it. Not to mention, there are good things too. It is fun to grab Jameson's hand really quickly and push it on my belly so he can feel her move too. It is fun to feel her move. It is fun to sing to her at night. It is fun to arrange her room. It is fun to guess when she'll come. It is fun to take pictures and have people say I'm cute pregnant.

Honestly, there are good things to it. And I shouldn't complain like I have. Especially to Jameson. You'd think I was being asked to do something horrible. But really, what better calling could I have than to bring this baby into the world? And I consider myself incredibly blessed to have such a sweet, understanding man by my side constantly supporting me and trying to make me more comfortable. He truly is an amazing man and I could not have asked for a more wonderful life partner.

Thank you Jameson for putting up with my whining. Thank you for cuddling with me in your sleep because some sixth sense of yours knows I'm crying. Thank you for putting me down for naps and singing to me. Thank you for helping me with dishes and singing while you do them :) Thank you for letting me unload on you. Thank you for loving me through this. I never could have gotten through this pregnancy without you. And thank you for trusting me enough to be the mother of your child(ren).

Dear friend, I miss you.

It has been a while since sleep and I kept good company. I've always been told that sleep leaves once you start having children. I think this statement needs to be revised to something like: sleep leaves once you become pregnant. Yup. That about covers it.

I haven't slept more than 3 hours at a time since last Thursday. Not that there are those that have it worse or are sicker or having a harder time, etc. But for me, that is really difficult. I wouldn't be surprised if this sore throat I have is a mono-flare up. Oh heaven help this little girl.

Last night however there was a turn of events. I decided to try a bath. To this point I have tried herbal teas, tv shows, reading, lying in bed, music, white noise of a humidifier... yeah. I've rounded the bases. I started to get sleepy in the tub and put my book down. Next thing I know, I wake up because my head is craned and I'm still in the tub. So I JUMP up, dry off and launch into my bed hoping that sleep will stay with me. I was just snuggling down into my bed when I remembered something.

I have 3 chicken breasts thawing in the sink from the dinner I never made. Oops. So, I begrudgingly book it to the kitchen, take care of it the first way I can think of and hop back into bed. 3 hours later, I woke up. But, they were a SOLID 3 hours :) Then Jameson got home a bit later and I was able to sleep all over again for 3 hours.

Sleep, you made elude me most of the time, but I appreciate our brief reunion last night.