10 Years of Adam

Eight is great

This kid turned eight years old today! The picture on the left is from our attempt at a one month photo shoot. He wasn't that excited about the preemie outfit I bought on eBay. I'm glad I kept it for comparison. I hope I don't have any grandsons who are small enough for it.

This year's big birthday gift was a WiiU. He is enjoying playing Super Mario Maker. We gave it to him a few days ago when we were snowed in. He is planning to have a party with his friends at BounceU on Sunday. I guess this birthday is brought to you by the letter "u".

three months... and one day

Adam,

I haven't got things together this month. I've been writing you a letter on your birthdays, and I don't want you to think I've forgotten. You still bring joy into our lives more and more.

Probably the best thing you've done for your Mom and I is your nighttime sleep consistency. We can be pretty confident that by about 9:00 p.m., you're going to be sacked out for a while. You even gave us an eight hour stretch a couple of times. Keep up the good work!

Interesting for us, you're still a car seat sleeper. Each night, we bundle you up in your favorite blanket and set you down for a good night's recline. I don't know whether it's the reflux or the security of being snuggled in, but the seat is where you're living these days... at night at least. We don't even have to go anywhere... if you're in the seat, that's it. If it makes for a happy baby and happy parents, we're going to keep it up. I just hope you're grown out of it by the time you go to college.

During the day, you're a great kid, eating and playing, but usually not napping. Mommy and you have gone to the YMCA several times recently, and you're meeting new friends and getting new experiences all the time. Maybe you just don't want to miss anything, and that's why you don't want to nap. We hope that in the future months you'll learn to enjoy naps. Maybe as you grow closer to thirteen pounds from your current 12.6, your tummy will be able to hold more food, and you won't be as hungry as often.

There was that one time... you slept in your crib for a nap. But, even if you don't get the napping thing down, we'll still love you, because that's what we do. You can't make us love you less, because you're ours. We're your Mom and Dad, and we want you to grow up to be strong and wise and pure.

Love,

Us

happy one month!

Adam, it's amazing to think you've been here for a month. In some ways, it feels like that crazy Sunday was just a few days ago, but when I factor in the time it has taken to change 223 diapers, it feels like a month, at least. The time that we have spent has been in two- to three-hour spurts, and a lot of it was crying or feeding, but it's been quality time.

You've been a positive disruptive force in our family, blowing apart our couple-centered life, teaching us self-sacrifice, and keeping us on our toes twenty-four hours a day. Your mom and I are functioning on less sleep and less exercise, but we kind of have a groove going. I think I'm to the point now where I can let you sleep and not be continually checking to see if you're breathing. And every time you look up with your little blue eyes with a gas-induced grin, it's totally worth the effort.

I'm so glad that you've been able to meet both sets of grandparents since my Mom and Dad zipped in last weekend. All four of your grandparents think you're a very special little boy. And, before you're two months old, you're going to get to meet a bunch more of your family at Easter.

So, reflecting on your snowy one-month birthday, I continue to be convinced that the challenges that we have faced have helped each of the three of us learn to love each other more. God is continually blessing us with you.

Thanks for being our favorite boy!

Love, Mom and Dad

last friday's paper

...had Adam's birth announcement in it, and depending on what part of Davidson county you were in (it was in the "Davidson A.M." section,) he was the "cover baby!" All of the Davidson A.M. sections had his picture in the births section.

Strangely though, he's not in their online birth listing at all. It may be because his announcement was as a caption to the picture, and not in the "normal" listing of births.

In case you're googling through and wondering, "how do I get my baby in the paper??" Here's the deets. Their website isn't overly helpful.

Davidson A.M. would like to run photographs of newborns whose families live in Davidson County.
Please e-mail baby pictures to csmith {at} tennessean.com; we’ll run them on a first-come, first-served basis with this feature.
We need the baby’s name, the parents’ name, where the family lives (which part of Davidson County with ZIP code), birth date and if the child has any siblings. All photos must be e-mailed in.

about my first day on the outside

So it's been eight-and-a-half months, and now that I'm out, I can finally tell my side of the story. Thanks for bringing the computer to the hospital, Dad. The keys are a bit far apart, but I think I can manage.

4:10 a.m. Sunday

- I've about had it in here. The bluetooth reception is horrible and everything I use has to be waterproof. I think I've finally found a way out. The first step is getting rid of a bit of this ammniotic fluid. That'll let her know I'm on the way. I don't want to make it too obvious... don't want to freak her out... so I'll just let a little out.

8:30 a.m. Sunday

- I guess that wasn't enough to convince her. They're still going to this "church" place I hear about once or twice a week. I hear I'm going to like it there.

10:20 a.m. Sunday

- Okay, the walls are starting to really push in now. They've done this before though, and nothing happened. Mom was supposed to keep something called "babies" this morning, but she just told her friend she's not going to do it. Mom's talking to that guy again and he's going to take us back to the house.

11:00 a.m. Sunday

- We're back at the house. The walls of this place are pushing in like crazy... it's like every two minutes. They've never been like this before. Whoa... what's that... hey... MAN I'm getting squished. What... we're getting back into the car?

11:30 a.m. Sunday

- I recognize the "bzzzz" sound of the car, but it's really more of a "BZZZZ" this time. Mom's calling the mean lady that pokes and prods on me, but she's not "on call," whatever that means, so her other mean lady friend is coming to meet us.

12:09 p.m. Sunday

- Okay, I've had enough of this. I'm ready to find out what's next. There seems to be a complete opening here that didn't used to be here. I wonder what happens if I try to stick my head out of it?

12:39 p.m. Sunday

- OUCH! This is tight quarters. Now it looks like I don't have a choice. The mean lady is unwrapping something loose from around my neck... it's all alive and stuff. Whoa! It's bright! Holy cow! I can move my arms!

12:40 p.m. Sunday

- So that's what Mom looks like. And this guy with the fuzzy face... he must be my Dad. He's the only guy in here. Everyone else in here, I've never heard before. Or seen, obviously. They're all wearing pretty masks and rubbing all over me with towels. I guess I'd better say something now. Mom wants me to talk louder, so I do. It sure is nice to be on her outside instead of on her inside.

12:41 p.m. Sunday

- Whoa, what did Dad just do? Now there's this plastic clip on my tummy where I was hooked in to Mom before.

12:50 p.m. Sunday

- Hey, where did Mom go? This lady just took me over to a table and she's stretching me out. Oh, hey, there's Dad. He looks like he loves me a lot.

1:00 p.m. Sunday

- The lady stretched me out and measured me every which way. I know I'm supposed to be a good boy, so I was very quiet. Even when she stuck me with that pointy thing in the leg... I was still quiet. She said it was the first time she ever didn't have a baby cry when she did that. I'm a brave boy!

3:00 p.m. Sunday

- It's gotten a lot quieter in here. I'm all clean and sitting with Mom and Dad and Miss Susie. I think I need to catch a quick nap, and it turns into an hour.

5:00 p.m. Sunday

- Mom and Miss Susie are going to a new room, and Dad and I are going to the "Nursery." When we get there, there are other babies there, but none of them are as smart as me. I brought my Dad! The lady who gave me a bath put a special bracelet on my arm and my foot, and she put some special radio on my leg with an ace bandage. She says that the radio is to make sure that I don't go wandering off by myself without my Mom and Dad, and the bracelet is to make sure that I go with my Mom and Dad, and not someone else's Mom and Dad. I already miss my Mom, so it was good that we went right to the room to be with her.

5:30 p.m. Sunday

- Mom and Dad and I are resting in the room. It's been a long day already. I found out that I have something on my fingers that is pokey, and it makes little lines on my face that are called "scratches." Mom makes sure that I'm bundled so that doesn't happen again. She tells Dad to get some "socks" from "home." It's way too much new stuff for me to get all at once. I rest a little, and they start talking about me to people in little boxes that light up.

6:15 p.m. Sunday

- Two new people come to our room: Papa and Yia Yia. They're Mom's Mama and Daddy. They tell me that they are "proud" of me.

7:30 p.m. Sunday

- More people! It looks like a Mommy and a Daddy and little people. Mom calls them "girls." One of them sits up on the couch and Yia Yia puts me in her lap. She is so gentle, and she sings very pretty to me - my favorite song, "Away in a Manger." I think I like girls (for now.)

8:00 p.m. Sunday

- Daddy leave for this "home" place, and the girls stay and play a little longer before they have to go home. Then Daddy comes back and Papa and Yia Yia have to go "home." Everyone's coming and going.

9:00 p.m. Sunday

- Finally, it's me and Mom and Dad. Oh, and those ladies that had the masks on. They keep coming every now and then. They are called "nurses." Most of the time, they just talk to Mom and Dad about my diapers and when I eat. They're really nice.

9:52 p.m. Sunday

- I really am pooped after this long day, so I sack out. I think Mom and Dad got a nap in too. Mom is really tired, but she's still got a lot of energy. Dad is doing great. They think I'm going to sleep for a while, but I think I'll get them up around midnight. :D

All in all, I like it being on the outside better than the inside. I get to see Dad, and I get to see Mom instead of just grunting around in the dark.

I still wonder what "home" is?

(hat tip to Julie Lankford for inspiring this post with her family emails!)

turning 37 and aretha franklin

I believe in lifelong learning. I also believe that there are certain things that are revealed or taught to you at different stages of your life because you are ready to learn them.

I turn 37 today, and, thanks to closed captions on a commercial as I was surfing channels, I now know that the fourth line of the chorus of "Respect" is "take care to T.C.B." I did not know that before I turned 37. I did not pursue that information - it was revealed to me.

I'd love to know the significance of this. Maybe I'll find out when I'm 38?

happy birthday, tim!

Give him props on his wife's blog...