Master of the house

Again, another Seinfeld reference, or for those more cultured than me, a nod to Les Mis. As Aunt Dwyn put on her card to our little guy, he truly is master of the house, which the other three of us (yes, we can't forget Lincoln...although sometimes we do!) are learning to adjust to.   He has been a little rockstar during his 9 days of life, eating like a champ, sleeping most of the time and providing us with many reasons to laugh. He passed his first MD appointment last week with flying colors, having already regained most of his weight (was already back up to 8lbs 1oz) and demonstrating great physical capabilities, including his startle reflex, forceful kicks (now Jonathan gets to experience what I did for those last few months!), hearing, and surprisingly loud toots and burps that would make any mom proud :)

Both of us have been christened, as the doctor put it, during diaper changes and a professional photo shoot (5 times total in 4 hours). We have yet to learn how to utilize the washcloth as a barrier. Luckily, he can't produce enough force to hit our faces (yet!) but he has sprayed himself and even made a backwards arc onto the wall and behind the changing table.  We are amazed that something so small can produce so much _________ (fill in the blank with any bodily function or noise).  But on the other hand, we are amazed that he can also produce so much LOVE for him after only 9 days. We can't imagine how much that love for him is going to grow throughout the years.  

Jackson has had many visitors this week, including Grandmother Beth and Granddad Byrne (he finally woke up for one of their visits!)...

... Grammy McKay (look at his eyes...he loved looking at her)

 ...and Pop Pop McKay. They, and other friends around us, have been so helpful with providing meals, walking Lincoln, cleaning our home and offering to come and sit with us so we can sleep or write blog posts using 2 hands :)

On Sunday Oct 30th, we ventured out for our first family walk because I was going stir crazy in the house. We loaded Jackson into the BOB (love it!) with his blanket from Aunt Janis and the weather shield to keep him out of the chilly October breeze in Norfolk.  We were quite the scene meandering through the neighborhood...4 adults (1 playing paparazi the whole time), 2 dogs (1 with giant sticks) and a baby jogger in which you can't see the baby!

And here we are, having survived 1 week as parents. Whew! We are taking 1 day at a time, treasuring each of his new fascial expressions, cooing noises and ability to focus more and more each day on our voices and faces. We also realize that the sleepless nights, multiple outfit changes in 1 day and fits of crying will pass (or will at least change forms as he gets older) and we continue to appreciate your thoughts and prayers for our growing boy.