On our own...gulp...

My mom left tonight. Brad and I are officially on our own w/ Baby Ben. We have been doing most of his care the last few days w/ mom doing mercy diaper changes occasionally and feeding us regularly. That's the part I'll miss...homemade food, the 'dish fairy' loading and unloading the dishwasher, and reassurance that we are doing things 'right'. The thought of getting up, feeding Ben, changing him, getting myself showered and dressed, making breakfast, straightening the house for first family pictures at noon (an old coworker of Brad's is coming up from Louisville to photograph us in our home) and making sure the nursery is picture ready seems a little daunting right now. I'm sure we will be fine but it was nice having mom as a back up. I'm very glad she was able to spend this week w/ us...especially since we don't live close enough for daily or even weekly visits.

This week has gone well over all and our confidence as new parents is increasing a little....not much but a little. I only cried once over the baby this week and that was because I used a new thermometer to take his temp and it said 103.1 !! It turned out to be a defective thermometer because every time I took his temp (and mine) I got a different number....I threw it away to avoid future scares but the thought of him being ill or hurt is just too much for me! I love him tremendously!!

About the pic......My older bro, Chad, was supposed to pick up my mom yesterday however just before they walked out the door Lilly, my 5 yr old niece, fell sliding around in dress shoes in their kitchen and had to be taken to the hospital for stitches in her chin. So today my younger bro, Justin, drove up w/ Colton, my nephew, to take mom home.....here is Colton holding Ben. He really likes his cousin, showing him his boots and checking out Ben's tiny hands.

Well-suited for fatherhood....

Confession: Henry, our dog, is quite the pampered pooch. While he stays in a kennel during the day, it is located in our living room and has an excellent view of the giant TV. What's more, Brad has taken to tuning that TV to the Animal Planet during the day while we are at work so Henry won't be 'lonely'. One day this week while Brad was taking Henry for his daily devotional, Henry bolted and would not come back to him despite calling and chasing. Twenty minutes later, dog scruff in hand, they returned home. Brad's swift and merciless punishment for Henry: no Animal Planet that day. Obviously, Brad takes the negative reinforcement method over corporal punishment. Way to rule with an iron-fist Hon', our children are sure to fear and obey you. LOL! He will be putty in their hands.

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise.

-- F. Scott Fitzgerald.