First Christmas and Green Blankie

LP came before her due date, but she came right on time. So many prayers were answered with this delivery. For G's sake we had prayed that LP would be small. And of course with the pre-term concerns we had prayed that she not come to early. LP was right on time. In time for Christmas, in time for taxes.

Great Grandma D is wonderful. She came to visit from Corpus Christi and said she wasn't going to leave until LP arrived. Maybe we will tell her that LP's twin is still in the oven so she will have to stay longer. The joy that she has had for our LP is infectiously wonderful.
Dec 25, 2007


Christmas has come and gone. This year the Christmas green and red were overcome by mucho mucho mucho mucho pink. Mountains of pink.

Dad was teaching LP the bend and snap from "Legally Blond". You can see from the hand gestures that LP just about has it.
Dec 26, 2007

LP to daddy anyway, looks like her blonde cousin, Cousin So. Except Cousin So. doesn't have a little twig sticking out of her belly button.
Dec 26, 2007

Peanut eats every three hours. Momma is tired but adjusting. Daddy loves peanuts green blankie. It is so soft an its from Target. Which segways to...

Don't register at Target for your baby shower. There new policy stinks. If you don't have a receipt - no return, no exchange. They will allow you to return up to $40.00 worth of merchandise per year, but no one item can be more than $20.00.

We received three green blankies, a really expensive thermometer that isn't accurate, several duplicate outfits, most without receipts. At the very least we were hoping to turn some of these items into daipers. The girl at the return counter suggested we just ask people for receipts. Seems pretty rude to me, maybe I am wrong.

The experience left a sour flavor for the gift registry experience (particularly with Target).

So we will be looking for an opportunity to give the items to a mother or agency that can use them. So for those who generously gave us items that were duplicated, thank you and we are sorry. We didn't know that Target had established such an inconsiderate policy.

Sun Bathing

The little nut was looking a little yellow; we were instructed to work on her tan a bit. We laid her in our front room where the afternoon sun was pouring in. The mutton bars in the window created some nice dramatic shadows.

Apparently LP likes the idea of working out with free weights. As soon as she hit the floor she started doing her bench press. Lets see counting the bar and the four 0 Lb. plates, she is lifting a whopping 0 Lbs. Thats pretty good. She's almost lifting her weight.
Dec 24, 2007

We have never really kept our gym very clean. LP immediately began scratching behind her ears. Fleas, maybe athletes ear. I am certain we have it all, so maybe both.
Dec 24, 2007

Check out the 8 pack on this girl. LP is working the cables doing some back spread and lat work. You should here her grunt it out. The whole gym know when LP is work'n it.
Dec 24, 2007

Now as a reward for having such a good workout her trainer kissed her sweaty forehead. We have yet to ask if her response was bashfulness or survival from his breath. S thinks the legs say it all.
Dec 24, 2007

First Days at Home

Its been a slow recovery process from the drama. G, was awake for 48 hours straight and hasn't slept for more than 3 hours at a stretch since.

We have had a slow caravan of visitors. There energy and support has helped us adjust to the new one.

Great Grandpa GW came for a visit. It would appear that he has had experience holding children in his past.
Dec 21, 2007

This is S's favorite picture thus far. LP seems so helpless, and she just looks like a tiny person sitt'n on the dock of the bay. There is something so pathetic yet endearing.

Dec 21, 2007


It seems LP is quite alert more so than we were expecting. She hasn't asked to drive the car or anything, but she does look around quite a bit. We have noticed that LP stares at G's hairline.

Grandpa P and Grandma G are both excited about LP. They fight about who gets to hold her. Grandma G usually wins probably because she has more of a hairline (jab jab) like mommas.
Dec 22, 2007

Moments in Cuteness

I was concerned about looking to sappy with all the pictures posted and then realized sappiness is unavoidable. Peanut is changing every day. I quipped to G that our little girl is growing up so fast.

My back is feeling the strain as Peanut is rapidly wrapping me around her finger.

The theme for the following images will be peanut laying on something.

 
Peanut under her future chew toys


 
Peanut on her bank account


 
Peanut nice and snug in her new boppy bouncer.


 
Peanut encased in her car chair. She loves her car seat, and car rides.

The Peanut Show

The three videos below are of Peanuts first bath and examination.
What a confusing time for her.
First you take me out of water, now your putting me back in.
People, please, work with me here.

Press the universally recognized right facing arrow known as the play button and the movie will start.

Peanut is working on her tan in the incubator.


Peanut is getting her first salon treatment. I am sure a pedicure will be on next years Christmas list.


I was enjoying capturing the moment when some mean ol' nurse asked if my camera was a video camera. Video must not allowed in the nursery. I discretely switched to still photo.

After I cut the cord (that was so cool), the baby nurse attached some type of sensor or trip wire to Peanuts UC stump that would trigger the 'code pink' alarms if Peanut got near the stairs or elevators. We showed them what was up. We sneaked out through the windows and got a Starbucks. She likes the double espresso mixed with a half an half maciatto with extra caramel.

The First Grand Finale

It is with great joy that I type this entry, just a few days before Christmas. My sweet muse for this chronicle is laying next to me on the couch. I can hear her breathing, her little chest moving in and out. Every so often her arms and legs splay catching my eye, again. Every moment on this entry is a moment of distraction from her. So I will type quickly. Try to keep up.

(G) S, this one doesn't feel like the others... What time is it?
(S) 11:30, What's it feel like 1 to 10?
(G) It's a six.
(S) Well that is different
(G) Arrrrrrrghhhhhh (thats a moan, case I spelt it wrong)... hee hee hee hoo | hee hee hee hoo
Call the hospital, see if we should come in.
(Hospital) We will be expecting you.
(S) Show time

(S) Lets see... G's bag, Peanuts bag, oh and camera, cuz Aunt K would absolutely flip her lid if we forgot pictures. Oh sweetie lets get one last picture so we can remember how big you got. No we won't ever show it to anyone. Let me help you into the car, no wait... plastic bag on the car seat. Ok now.

(G) Do we have everything?
(S) No
(G) What did we forget?
(S) I Don't know
(G) Wait for the garage door to close

Turn down the volume on the headlights, flip the high beams on the radio... focus man. Should I call 911 and get the escort to the hospital. It would be kind of fun chasing the cop rather than the other way around.

Sweetie you wait here. I will get our stuff together and after your contraction we will walk in.

Five contractions later...
Can we help you?
Yes, two to check in please; do you have a room with a view?
The blank look on her face would indicate she missed the joke.
----------

If you want to hear the labor story, talk to G, as she experienced it. It really is hers to tell, I was but a witness. Though I would like to say that Matthew 24 now has an expanded understanding.

It was a splendid event. I was going to say that I got to help, but perhaps the mid wife was just accommodating. The environment was peaceful. The cast of players were so calm and supportive. They seemed as excited about seeing Peanut as we were. Their hearts were full of love for G, Peanut, and myself . G couldn't have had a better supporting cast.

I took my eye off the crown to make eye contact with G, blinked, and bam there she was, in all of her purple with white frosting glory. The purple goes away right, I don't want people thinking we gave birth to a hickey or Barney for that matter. She instantly began to gently cry, no swat, from the birthing canal straight atop mother. And the countdown to a graduation car has begun. Nephew S., do you think we should get her a Hummer?

The impact of what occurred won't hit me for a time. D told me that Peanut is the most important thing I will ever attempt in life. With all of my theological & philosophical reasonings, I would have to say I agree. This little bundle of poo and funny faces has captured me. I have seen my father, mother, myself, G, and nephew S in her. And believe it or not, I am taking credit for the hair.

So enough with the words. I know you are just here for the pictures.

Peanut five minutes after birth.

It was so nice of the baby nurse to put papers down for her to lay on. It looks as if she is trying to land the knock out upper cut.

Peanut One hour and five minutes after birth.

Wow... 6 lbs. & 15 oz. It's all in the hair.

Lets see... this recipe calls for 7 lbs. of Peanut. (Pretty Punny huh?)

Peanut one hour and seven minutes after birth

This incubator was awesome, adults call them tanning beds.
While she was tanning, the nurse checked her bones, soft spot, palette, nostrils, and the works. All was well. I was to sleepy to be worried.




Peanuts hairy abundance
The cone has corrected itself. G says it would be wonderful if she kept the curls.
S wants to shave her head so they can be twins.

Strongest woMAN competition
S picked out the ribbons all by himself. The ribbons were to put a smile on mommas face. It worked. Hmm? If two ribbons makes momma smile, I wonder what fifty would have done.
By the way, they use KY jelly to secure the ribbons. It seems KY is the duct tape of the medical industry.




Momma is beautiful





Daddy begins the 'wrapped around' process

Unblemished

A Letter of Hope to my Family

How it Started

This all sort of hit me about six months ago. I don’t remember details only that I was listening to a sermon. It was Pastor B. It turns out Pastor B. is the uncle of the guy I nearly got in a fight with in high school who recently moved to town. He has even more recently moved to Oklahoma and been re-baptized by his uncle.

The crux of the sermon addressed the state of the dead, what happens to the living and the dead at Jesus’ return, and what does it mean to be made new. The part that profoundly struck me was the ‘made new’ discussion. The following is my digested version of Pastor B’s computer metaphor:

The Message

Like computers, we daily come face to face with viruses. These viruses get written on the hard drives of our lives; causing anywhere from a mild annoyance like making the desktop colors fuchsia and pink to making the computer flat out useless, as in 9000 pop ups windows in 15 seconds.

There are really only three viable ways to get the viruses off the system: (for the computer geeks; it’s a metaphor, go with it.)

The first is with an anti-virus program. Often inadequate if critical system files have been infected. The anti-virus solution sees the files as cancerous and lops them off, rendering your system useless.

Secondly, you could return the system to a known clean state at some previous point in time (assuming there is a backup to return to), meaning any recent infections would no longer exist. The system, while clean of any recent infections could still be infected with unknown viruses that were resident in the backup. The problem in the solution is that anything written to the hard drive between when the backup was created and now is lost.

Thirdly…REBOOT, REFORMAT, REINSTALL, OUCH!

Here is where it starts to get good. Pastor B. described the books of heaven as a computer in heaven recording our every action and thought. And of course my space on the drive is riddled with good files, infected files, and everything in between.

Now, how you interpret this will largely depend on your view of God. You may see this transcript of your life as big brother in the sky collecting evidence for judgment or preferably you view it as a splendid journal created to mark the journey your life has taken, highlighting the experiences that developed your character; the events and decisions that make us who we are.

And now for the best part... Jesus is the ultimate computer guy. He has offered to cleanse our hard drives and he doesn’t charge $100 for tune-up/clean-up. At his coming, in the blink of an eye (1 Corinthians 15), He takes the hard drives that are offered to Him; with every deed and thought recorded, meticulously repairing each file to its rightful form; with His blood that He shed, he covers our every viral characteristic. He doesn’t just hide the virus; the viruses are overwritten and replaced with his perfect character. Our characters and experiences are maintained. The once viruses that separated us from Christ have been transformed into strengths that draw us closer to Christ. And with great pleasure and pride He hands back the once corrupted now incorruptible drive. We will have arrived to the destination God intended for us; far better for the wear.

The Purpose of IT ALL

I am about to be a father. I didn’t realize how much I desired to be. Thank you Jesus. The journey has been spiritually fruitful, emotionally assuring, and… eye opening. A rush of hopes and dreams, anticipation, fear, meaning, clarity… and she isn’t here yet.

‘Lil Peanut’ is God’s gift to us. Perhaps even a talent (Matthew 25).

She will reveal herself a fragile, unblemished blank canvas with each one of us marking, scratching, smudging, shaping, and molding her with our characters. She will forever be impacted by the texture and pattern that is us.

If you will participate in Peanuts life (that is a request, not a condition), how do you want your life to impact hers? Which mark on the Peanut canvas will be yours? For better she will inherit the brilliance that God has given this family, for worse she will discover and assimilate those things we chose to spend time hiding rather than pruning out of our lives.

I will guard Peanut with my life, but of greater consequence is the guarding of her character. I intend to give her every opportunity to see and choose Christ. At times I may fail showing the real Christ, but it is not my intent.

For Peanut, will you show her the same?

Chapter 7 - Worrying 101

G, wasn't feeling good - uncomfortably full or a cramp. Prayer... Drifting off to sleep. S, The discomfort won't go away... Google, Phone... come in we will be expecting you. Go. 2:30 AM Red light - do I run it or wait? No red light camera, Go. Just try to relax it will be ok. Red light camera, slow down. Lets get you into a room, could you put on this gown. Nice cheeks honey. Here's a shot in the arm. Your not dialated, let's monitor you for a couple of hours. 'Amistad' looked like it was a good movie for 3AM. You can go home. 9AM - They've started again, every two minutes...Prayer. Dialated, thin cervix. Worry. We need to keep Peanut in for at least another 4 weeks. Worry. Heres another shot to help the babies lungs to develop in case she comes early. Worry. We will have to monitor you for 24 hours. Lots of worry, have to tell our families. Prayer chain... Really bad food. More shots. Useful Information. A little less worry. Visits from the Pastor. You can go home. Comfort. Some stabilization. Peace. Adapting. Prayers of thanks. Mild concern. Discipline. Bedrest. Oh man, laundry, groceries, mail, trash... It's different.

Your life will never be the same they said.
Does this mean we can skip lamaze?

The beautiful G will not be available for pictures as bed-rest bed-head has sapped her enthusiasm for the spotlight.

So instead, check out this awesome little bug discovered while S was in mans universally understood office (paper work jokes not included). From head to toe it was about 1/4 inch long.

Chapter 6 - Great Moments in Lamaze

We have never been through this before. The changes, her moods, her physical abilities, the way she responds to me. It's all different now. Its the first time for the both of us, but it's not the same experience.

Our new-age hippy granola shoeless a little to sensuously moaning doula/lamaze instructor did say something profound. It's the birth of a baby, but it is also the birth of a mother. I will add father to that.

It's easy to forget that I will soon be a father. The first reminder of the day is that woman plus one upon arrival from work. I suppose I could pretend my belly is carrying...

We and that other couple are the hoary heads of the group. It really feels like a daytime tv program. A group of women with a captive audience cackling away about horror stories of child delivery (support groups are so wonderful). A group of guys wondering if we can turn the game on. Any game, Please!. Even male syncrhonized swimming!

Oh and Susie, the one with gestational diabetes is drinking the slurpee because her blood sugar is low. This is Mike's and his fiance Jen's first baby. He has said they are going natural. Jen just hopes it will be easy.

Juan, his girlfriend and her mother are attending... well for his girlfriend. He comes from a family of ten children and he has seen it all before. Juan, buy your parents a tv or teach them macrame'. Just keep them away from the bedroom.

Ooh! an object lesson. Ok a clear pitcher of water. The orange liquid is the bodies natural release of endorphins to combat pain. The purple liquid is synthetic pain killers, better known as the epidural.

Ok, pour the purple epidural into the clear pitcher of water. Hey look, purple water. Woudn't have seen that one coming. Now pour the orange endorphins into the pitcher. Whoa! Miniscule darker purple water. What a fabulous object lesson. I have no idea what it means, but I will never forget it.

Did you know that the greatest preventative measure for tearing is....... nutrition.
Like the other contestants you might be surprised to know that its not massage with a special magical lotion potion. Folks thats probably what got you into this pickle in the first place.

If You are concerned as we are, you might wonder what foods contain the anti-tearing nutrition. And the answer:

"Doula - You should try to eat foods in their most natural form. Not like you have to be a vegetarian or anything. Well, you can pretty much eat whatever you want."

Just plain brilliant. G, could you bring Bessy the cow over here. I am going to eat some cow butt in it's natural form.

Tanya stated her concerns about family members wanting to be present during the delivery.

Doula - Did you need your family there when you made the baby? Then do you need them there when the baby is born? Oh and by the way as a Doula, I will coach you and the father at the delivery of the baby

Hmm? I don't remember you there that evening; if you are at the birth of my baby I want a signed contract stating you are not allowed to moan.


G at about 30-31 weeks.

Chapter 5 - The Boring Season

Between the announcement and the arrival, what is there to share? 'G' is growing. 'S' is growing. It's a roller coaster of excitement at the peaks and bewilderment in the valleys. But in general it has been a gradual realization that a third member is joining, tipping the balance, elbowing her way into our storage/guest room.

For now, Peanut is just a throbbing lump in G's belly. Oh, by the way, G is all belly. Apparently women love to hear that. Maybe I will tell G she is all belly come February.

We find ourselves wondering what she will look like. Hoping she gets the best of each of us. But does that mean a second child would get the worst of us? I often picture a chubby little funny walk'n big eyed bow wearing ornery giggler staring up at me reaching for my hand, pulling me away from my work to rescue Bernie Bear from behind the couch, or maybe to show me some lint.

Enjoyable thoughts indeed. But first that little stinker will put us through some less enticing/just different phases; according to that book I scanned. I suppose it's best that I keep my expectations reasonable.

We got another pink oufit, we got our first set of diapers (the kind that protect the tender belly button. The diapers look like the panel that momma wears right now on the front of her trousers.

Could someone please explain the pink blue thing. If I were green, yellow, orange, purple, red, I would have developed an exlusion complex by now. Is there a surplus of pink and blue? Do pink and blue just have better lobbyists at the capitol?


G at about 30-31 weeks.

Chapter 4 - Can You Feel the Beat

This is probably the 3rd or 4th time that we have gotten to hear Lil' Peanut's heart beat. It never gets old. It is however, the first time we remembered to take some technology with us to record it.

It took awhile to find the heart beat. It makes you hold your breath... utter that quick silent prayer... Dear God, please let everything be ok.

Apparently, our little girl likes to play hide n' go seek. Her favorite hiding place would appear to be behind the placenta.

The mid wife, smeared the sonogram goop on the end of what I am calling the baby mic. She then smears the baby mic on G's Lil' Peanut shell and starts smearing the mic around til she can find a heart beat. I always half expect to hear a little child giggling in contentment. I have yet to determine if the goop is cold or not. G's face hasn't given away any clues.

The heart beat is revealed about 23 seconds into the exam... whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Chapter 3 - Family Genes

Probably the most frequently asked questions we are asked have been, "do you know if it is a boy or a girl?" and "What's her name?" No surprises there. Well, we know that it is a girl, but we remain prayerfully patient as to the name.

As the expecting parents our questions tend to be on the what will she look side of things. We devised a strategy to arrive at several possible outcomes of our Lil Peanut. We are going to take the best facial features from our immediate family creating a composite outcome. We are quite confident that our baby will be in the top 1% of the worlds beautiful, the elite if you will. We are sure you will agree as the following images will illustrate the caliber of DNA we are operating with.


The short forehead with horse like face is an extraordinary feature. "Why are you wearing your face so long" may not be the best way to console our Lil Peanut. Thanks a bunch Grandma C and Great Grandpa GW.

The beaver teeth may prove to be invaluable when opening our favorite brand of olives. Thanks for that, nephew S.


We are hoping that Lil Peanut will get momma G's and Niece S's umm....

- cheek capacity for storing food in the winter.
- we are particularly fond of the lowered ear right next to the mouth. Perhaps she will be able to hear herself crying better decreasing the overall volume.
- maximized eyelid space is a must as Lil Peanut is very inexperienced with eye shadow. This will be a great opportunity for her to stay within the lines.



Nothing expresses beauty like the whites of eyes and heavily forested eyebrows. Other than that, we are doing all we can to eliminate this characters genetic influence.

Get over yourselves, every family has at least one of these goof balls. If you don't know who the goof ball is in your family, then it's probably you.


Nephew S... Thank you Thank you Thank you. We were worried about Lil Peanut sticking her head where it doesn't belong. Like between stair rails, or the rails of her crib. At least now we know that if she ever gets stuck, it will be feet first. Silly broccoli head. It appears nephew S. has great ear control. Can you send morse code messages with that floppy thing.



Is super suction a characteristic of beauty? Lil Peanut will never lose her pacifier.

I wonder if I could use that to clean my golf balls?








Aunt K, what an amazingly long middle finger you have. Hmm... how could little peanut use that. Hey, wait a minute.

Maybe this family has two goof balls to filter out of the gene pool;-)




So what will she look like....? Just like her ol' man of course.
Poor peanut... she is going to have such a struggle with vanity.

Chapter 2 - Bellies

Here is the lovely G at the twenty weeks milestone. There is no hiding it anymore. That little 'extra' bump now resembles more of a smuggled wok than the half eaten cantelope.

This is probably the last week that these jeans will.... um... fasten. I wonder could they make waste extenders that zip into place. Just keep adding ever extending triangular patches to the button and fly of the pant. And of course you could have messages printed on the patch, like '22 weeks along' or 'would you let me know if I forgot to zip'. Might be on to something here.

If you stare at G's.... umm... torso as if it were one of those 3d posters a tropical frog begins to appear.

Ahh this all still very exciting. Occasionally there are reports of possible Lil Peanut bumpings. Actual bumping havn't been confirmed. They might be confused with digestion, gas, or hunger.

Momma G is more beautiful than ever. She appears to be accepting the bodily changes with grace and a spirit of discovery.



Here is S at 20 weeks. The doctors are concerned. He appears to be around 32 weeks along. Suspicions of twins have not been discounted. Gas, indigestion and hunger have all been confirmed. Do not stare at S's torso as it has a gravity all its... oops to late...

you will make me a 4 layer frozen treat... make the buddha a 4 layer frozen treat... resistance is futile.

Just for the record, S was pushing his stomach out. There is no way he is more than 28 weeks along.

Chapter 1 - Sonogram

We are normal people excited about the prospect of becoming parents. We are scared, excited, worried, loving. It seems those are the normal emotions. The entire life of the child rushs in, in an instance. First kiss, bruised knee, wet bed, shaving, leaving home, getting married. It's overwhelming... Reality hits... one day at a time.

We have known for awhile of our pregnancy. How do you introduce a future grandchild to the world. Gender unknown, therefore name unknown. 'Lil Peanut' will do. 'Mother you are going to be a grandmother'; it ranks right up there with 'I'm getting married'. It's one of the most joyful experiences that man can participate.

Lil Peanut has been the topic of many conversations, particularily the prayerful ones. Boy, girl, doesn't matter. Healthy, are all the digits there.

The long awaited for sonogram day arrived. Our first look into Lil Peanuts world. What a treat. Moments of amazing recognition followed by alien obscurity.

Lil Peanut is tucked into a bob-sled like cocoon. Looking down, Lil Peanut is resting on its back. The digits of the right hand are clearly visible in the top middle of the frame. The left hand is the white hotspot on the bottom and left side of the picture. And finally, one of the knees is the left most hotspot.

Lil Peanut is chilling on her back. Just like her ol man. The head is on the right and the spinal column is the bottom sweeping hotspot. Her facial profile is a bit obscured by the left hand. After all the measurements (Yes! it's a she) have her weighing in at 10-11 oz. Approximately 3-1/2" long. She is so tiny. To tiny for momma to feel.

Lil Peanut's head is still on the right. The black dot above the spine is the heart. LP's hand is still blocking her profile. It looks like she is gripping the handle bars of her mountain bike. Below and to the right of her hand is a developing eye (black with a white highlight).

Lil Peanuts head is now in the top left corner with the back of her right hand pressing against her forehead. If you follow her hand, wrist to forearm you can view a portion of the umbilical cord crossing her arm. The UC looks like a little turd but the technology is limited and messes things up. The pictures looked great in real time. The snap shots just don't do it justice.

She looks like a teddy bear in this picture. Eyes, nose, mouth, and the hand against the forehead are clearly discernible. The umbilical cord can be clearly seen wrapping around the left arm. It looks like she is wearing a one-button blazer with a high collar.

Really don't like this picture. She looks quite alien. She has moved her hand to her mouth.

G was concerned about twins and asked if more than one could be seen. The operator said nope their is only one and at the same time Lil' Peanut stuck out her index finger as if to say, Nope! Just one mommy. Either that or she heard me talking about the Broncos and knew who she would be root'n for.