Welcome to our little space of the web.
After buying a cute little mill house in Five Points, renovating it and thinking we would never live anywhere else we decided to move. To a rancher. A pink rancher. So not us. But, it will be, with time, elbow grease and good contractors! From the first time we walked in the front door we knew we were home. The new house is right around the corner from my parent's house where I grew up. We are so excited for Matthew and Charlotte to grow up here, riding bikes, going to the pool, playing in the woods... my childhood was filled with freedom and wonder allowed by a safe neighborhood that I could explore and make my place in the world. I am thrilled we can give that to our children.
These days our blog is filled with the adventures of Mateo and Charlotte...mixed in with a few home projects and recipes. But mostly the kids take front and center. Join us on the adventure!
17.2.12
5.2.12
The Freshman Father
Ok. So Becky gave me the keys to 'our' blog and asked that I share a little on my perspective of all the goings-on of freshman parenthood. The past nineteen days since the birth of RM has been... different. It felt like it all happened yesterday, and it feels like it all happened years ago. It feels like both all at the same time. There will never be another day of our lives where Matthew won't be a part of it in some way. And whether one liked the thought of that or not? Well, that's just the way its going to be. Personally, I am thrilled to have this little boy in our lives when he has been at the center of so many prayers. And now here he is, on loan from God for our love and caretaking. I better raise him right!
The doctors caught this little thunderbolt of babyness who looks like me and looks like her. He melts your heart when he sleeps, enraptures you when he's alert and makes you wince when he bawls. But as far as I'm concerned, he's almost 42 weeks old. I've watched him grow up already. Birth is just a significant milestone of a journey that began at conception, accelerated by a 'blue plus' on a plastic stick, and made indelibly awkward by terms like 'mucus plug.' But RM has been a part of it since the beginning. The first book I read to Matthew was back in October: the Lorax by Dr. Seuss. He spent his first Christmas in Charlotte with his Uncle Whit, Aunt Erin and Cousin Abby. Most of the time he was unimpressed by these events and often decided it was a better use of his time to stomp his mother's kidneys and play with the many knobs and switches that controls Mommy's hormones.
The day Matthew was born began with a thunderstorm. Because it was a scheduled ceasarean, my Outlook calendar was casually blocked off with a day-long event that said "Matthew's Birth." I dressed well. It was a special day. Our friends Steve and Jane Hampton joined us at the maternity ward for a final prayer. Len and Louise joined us during preparation. Becky was wheeled into the OR and I was made to wait pacing in the hallway just outside donning the blue garbs. I had the fleeting thought that I wished I were Hawkeye Pierce (the Donald Sutherland one) from MASH, and I were doing the surgery. It happened all too quickly to get nervous. Prayer helped as it always does.
We requested our friend Lindsay Perry be one of our nurses. It was so awesome to have her there. "Are you ready?" she asked. I walked into the OR and it was cold. I know Becky mentioned it in a previous post, but it felt like a gameshow set with lights and people. Although no one was clapping, there was a lot of activity going on. I had a keen sense of a major attraction going on behind a blue curtain where Matthew's was being rudely jerked out of Rebecca's body. I made small talk with Becky to try and keep her mind off the fact she was opened up, but she seemed confused or annoyed with me breaking her concentration (that happens often). It was not gentle. It looked like they just fought a catfish out of the pond before tossing him over to the examination table. He had the color of a pale fish, and resembled something like an alien. And boy was he pissed!
And so here he is. He is unbelievably cute. There have been so many adjustments. His nursery has become a depot. Our house has become a cave. I hope it doesn't stay this way, but it could. I've already experienced some significant changes in myself. This morning I shared with Becky that I've had all these new emotional pathways awakened. Now I know what its like to have and love a child. My experience with that sensation is still quite new and will probably never stop evolving. But suddenly those movie subplots centered on the relationships between parents and children become something more clear and understandable. They have new color and pathos like I could never imagine or experience before. Life has become re-polarized and it will forever be seen in a different light. This is Matthew's world. This is every child's world now. Its not about me anymore. And if our relationship to Matthew goes wrong, then there will always be something that is 'wrong' about our lives. Why heck, I'm going back and watching all of Wes Anderson's films.
So if you ask me how I feel about fatherhood, this is all I could tell you right now. It really is special, and it continues to bring me closer to Matthew, to my wife and, most importantly, closer to the God that gave breathe to us all. I have nothing but gratitude in my heart for each day that has passed since Matthew was first sparked to life.
The doctors caught this little thunderbolt of babyness who looks like me and looks like her. He melts your heart when he sleeps, enraptures you when he's alert and makes you wince when he bawls. But as far as I'm concerned, he's almost 42 weeks old. I've watched him grow up already. Birth is just a significant milestone of a journey that began at conception, accelerated by a 'blue plus' on a plastic stick, and made indelibly awkward by terms like 'mucus plug.' But RM has been a part of it since the beginning. The first book I read to Matthew was back in October: the Lorax by Dr. Seuss. He spent his first Christmas in Charlotte with his Uncle Whit, Aunt Erin and Cousin Abby. Most of the time he was unimpressed by these events and often decided it was a better use of his time to stomp his mother's kidneys and play with the many knobs and switches that controls Mommy's hormones.
The day Matthew was born began with a thunderstorm. Because it was a scheduled ceasarean, my Outlook calendar was casually blocked off with a day-long event that said "Matthew's Birth." I dressed well. It was a special day. Our friends Steve and Jane Hampton joined us at the maternity ward for a final prayer. Len and Louise joined us during preparation. Becky was wheeled into the OR and I was made to wait pacing in the hallway just outside donning the blue garbs. I had the fleeting thought that I wished I were Hawkeye Pierce (the Donald Sutherland one) from MASH, and I were doing the surgery. It happened all too quickly to get nervous. Prayer helped as it always does.
We requested our friend Lindsay Perry be one of our nurses. It was so awesome to have her there. "Are you ready?" she asked. I walked into the OR and it was cold. I know Becky mentioned it in a previous post, but it felt like a gameshow set with lights and people. Although no one was clapping, there was a lot of activity going on. I had a keen sense of a major attraction going on behind a blue curtain where Matthew's was being rudely jerked out of Rebecca's body. I made small talk with Becky to try and keep her mind off the fact she was opened up, but she seemed confused or annoyed with me breaking her concentration (that happens often). It was not gentle. It looked like they just fought a catfish out of the pond before tossing him over to the examination table. He had the color of a pale fish, and resembled something like an alien. And boy was he pissed!
And so here he is. He is unbelievably cute. There have been so many adjustments. His nursery has become a depot. Our house has become a cave. I hope it doesn't stay this way, but it could. I've already experienced some significant changes in myself. This morning I shared with Becky that I've had all these new emotional pathways awakened. Now I know what its like to have and love a child. My experience with that sensation is still quite new and will probably never stop evolving. But suddenly those movie subplots centered on the relationships between parents and children become something more clear and understandable. They have new color and pathos like I could never imagine or experience before. Life has become re-polarized and it will forever be seen in a different light. This is Matthew's world. This is every child's world now. Its not about me anymore. And if our relationship to Matthew goes wrong, then there will always be something that is 'wrong' about our lives. Why heck, I'm going back and watching all of Wes Anderson's films.
So if you ask me how I feel about fatherhood, this is all I could tell you right now. It really is special, and it continues to bring me closer to Matthew, to my wife and, most importantly, closer to the God that gave breathe to us all. I have nothing but gratitude in my heart for each day that has passed since Matthew was first sparked to life.
4.2.12
Visit from Uncle Norm!
Our good friend Norm made it home this weekend and finally got to meet baby Matthew. The guys had a great time hanging out on the sofa, watching movies and eating Terry's Pizza!
2.2.12
Photo Card
Snowflake Baby Boy Baby Announcements
Shutterfly has cute baby announcements and Valentine's Day cards.
View the entire collection of cards.
31.1.12
2 Weeks Old
I cannot believe it's been two weeks since Robert Matthew came into this world. Time is just going by way too fast. Everyone has told me this and I believe it. And I so want to be able to just slow down and cherish this time, but things are just moving too fast. Every day seems to run into the next and before I know it, he'll be going off to college.
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| 2 Weeks Old! |
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| Daddy's hands |
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| All stretched out... |
30.1.12
Only an accountant...
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