Archive for July, 2005

James and I were walking around the neighborhood this evening with his Mammaw, and we decided to walk down a new street that just opened up and look at the new houses. James got tired of riding in his wagon and wanted to get down and walk, but since there weren't any sidewalks yet, we had to have a heart-to-heart:

• JAY: Okay, James, this is a street, and it's okay to walk with Daddy this time, but normally streets are a no-no. Right? We do not go in the street. But this isn't a real street, so it's okay. Okay?
• JAMES: Okay. Why not?
• JAY: Well, because there aren't any cars. It's okay because there aren't any cars.
• JAMES: [pointing at a utility truck the builders left behind] That's a car!
• JAY: Um, yes. Right. That's a car. Good job. But there aren't any moving cars, so it's okay. Okay?
• JAMES: Okay.

Remember, this is a conversation with a not-quite two-year-old. But wait, it gets better. At least ten minutes later, some people up the street who were looking over their half-constructed house get in their car and pull out of the driveway up in front of us.

• JAMES: That car's moving, Daddy! I see it.

At this point, Mammaw was snickering and mumbling something about serving me right, and I just sighed and agreed that it was in fact a moving car, so it must be a real street, and he rode on my shoulders until we got back to the sidewalk.

Eliza, 2005

James, 2003

I mentioned the other day that newborn Eliza resembled newborn James more than a little bit. They have similar head shapes, skin color, hair, and facial features. Here are some pictures for comparison.

Eliza, 2005

James, 2003

In these pictures in the car seat coming home from the hospital, you can tell how much tinier Eliza is than James was! (The photos were taken at slightly different angles, so you can't compare them directly, but I think I've resized and cropped them so that the area around their heads should be roughly proportional.)

Finally home

Family portrait

Mammaw and James

Big brother

We're home! Actually, we've been home for a while, but too busy to get this written. Lauren spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights in the hospital, and we came home Thursday at lunch with a glowing bill of health for baby and Mama. Eliza has been sleeping well at night, for three and four hours at a stretch. Lauren was having a little bit of trouble getting her to work hard enough at nursing to keep herself fed, but after a couple of small feedings with an eyedropper to prime the pump yesterday, that seems to be working much better today.

My Mom drove up from Jackson, Mississippi, Friday afternoon to visit for a week, and James has been having great fun playing with his Mammaw. He's doing pretty good with the disruption to his normal life so far, but he's starting to realize that Mama isn't spending as much time with him as she used to. He cornered Lauren while she was nursing Eliza this morning and insisted that it was time to "Put her down! Put her on table!"

I look like my big brother

All cleaned up

Head full of hair

Mama holds me at last

I'm a big brother!

Please welcome Eliza Grace Parker, born yesterday evening at 7:07 PM on July 12, 2005, and weighing in at 5 pounds 12-1/2 ounces and 21 inches.

We got to the hospital yesterday afternoon about 5:00 PM, after dropping James off at the Mayos'. Lauren's contractions were right around five minutes apart when we got there, about an hour later they put her on an IV and the epidural, and about another hour later they told her to push five or six times and, poof! There was a baby.

I caught all kinds of flack when James was born from telling folks that it was a really easy delivery. "Yeah, easy for you!" hostile women would snort, rolling their eyes. Um, no. Even as an observer, I can tell the difference between poof-there's-a-baby and the crazy sweaty screaming marathons they show on the Discovery Channel. So anyway, we're now two for two on the absurdly easy deliveries. We might ought to stop while we're so far ahead of the game.

Eliza was a little chilly, which isn't uncommon for a baby her size, so she had to spend several hours last night basking under a heat lamp to get her body temperature to stay up where it should be. She's about a pound and a half smaller than James was… but an inch longer, so we're expecting an impressive basketball career.

She was nursing and cranking out wet diapers like a pro last night, and spent the rest of the time sleeping like a… well, a baby. I slept reasonably well on the chair/cot/rock contraption they have for dads, and Lauren managed to get an hour or two of sleep in between nurses' visits and feeding Eliza. She's feeling good this morning, though, and thinks she will probably sleep better tonight. We're expecting to spend one more night there, and come home tomorrow.

It's amazing how much Eliza looks like James did when he was born. They've got similar facial features and the same head full of dark hair. James was more impressed by the toys in the waiting room than with the baby, but he did take a break from the cars and lizards to come visit his sister and tell me that her feet were dirty. (They were still black from the footprint ink.) He also liked his "I'm a Big Brother" button the hospital gave him.

There are some pictures in our photo gallery, and I'm sure there will be more coming soon!

There's a baby in there

I woke up with contractions this morning. They are pretty regular, coming every 10 to 15 minutes. They are not exactly painful, just uncomfortable. Right now I am trying to get the house in order just in case I get to go to the hospital sometime soon! Maybe it will be today!

Yesterday morning at church, James was greeting everyone as they walked through the door. "Hi, I'm one!" he would say. (Most people ask "How are you?" after they say hello, and James thinks they are asking "How old are you?", so now he just goes ahead and tells them.) A nice older lady came up to James and asked to shake his hand. He didn't quite understand, but after some coaxing he grabbed her hand and they shook. Then she tried to let go, but James still had her hand. "Are you going to keep me?" she asked. James, still holding her hand, looked up at her, walked a little closer, and proceeded to kick her in the shins. She backed up in surprise, while I grabbed James and everybody around us broke out laughing as we realized that he heard "kick", not keep, and thought it was a request.

We went down to the riverfront to watch the fireworks Monday night. James was very impressed… yesterday it rained all day, and everytime the thunder boomed in the distance he would exclaim "Fi'works!"