Waking Up

Peter's post-nap stretching routine:

Peter Waking from Tom Martin on Vimeo.

Two Weeks Today is Peter Clay

Oh, my little son, can it be 2 weeks already since you popped wide-eyed out of my womb and completely changed our lives? It's been a crazy, tough, beautiful two weeks. It recently occurred to us that we don't tend to send or post pictures of Peter crying/grimacing/scowling/red-faced screaming bloody murder. Along the same lines, I find I'm less inclined to write of lack of sleep, baby blues, various sorenesses, and cabin fever. Truly, life since Peter was added to us has been a big adjustment, and has had me daily crying out to the Lord for help. But that's a good place to be and, as I read this morning in Isaiah 33, "The LORD...will be the stability of your times." Amen. He is our stability, the rock on which the foundation of our lives is laid (which is part of the inspiration for Peter's name, but more on that in an upcoming post.)  Anyway, here's to real life and the God who is our stability. 

But, on the other hand, life with Peter is also ridiculously sweet. We so love our little boy and wouldn't trade this season for anything. We also happen to think he's the cutest thing we ever did see. I'm sure all parents feel that way, but...

(Can't resist taking shots of him sleeping. It's habit-forming.)

Enjoying some lap time:

Talking to Grandaddy on speaker phone (what else is a grandson to do when his arms are swaddled to his sides?!) 

A couple things we've been doing to get moving lately: Walks and yard work. Well, technically Peter slept through the yard work and Mommy mostly watched while Daddy planted some new grass in our wee little yard for Peter to play in next year. 

Oh, and one more thing: Here's Peter at his first visit to our pediatrician:

He's a bit skinny here (6lbs, 6oz), but we're happy to report to those who've inquired that as of his second weigh-in at Dr. Niu's today, he's a chunky 7lbs, 4oz. Way to pack on the pound, son!

The Frog Man

Some naptime amphibianism:

Birth Photo Recap

Don't worry--no photos of the actual birth here. This is one of those posts I started a while ago, but just getting around to finishing. Here's a little photo recap of the days surrounding Peter's birth:

Sunday, September 9: One of the last shots of our boy before his grand entrance into the world.

I'd had a couple contractions that morning, but they subsided. So it being a lovely day and seemingly our last chance, we went for a hike at Sugarloaf Mountain Sunday afternoon. The contractions started again at Sugarloaf, intensified on the way home, and while eating dinner got pretty regular.

Here I am after a night of contractions. Turns out the dining room chair is my favorite laboring device.

We went to the hospital, and not much photography went on for the next 6 hours, except of my double and quadruple-peak contractions.

And then, after an intense and exciting obstetrical episode:

Meeting some more of his new family:

Tom talking to his mom:                                           Peter and I waiting to be cleared for discharge:

Packaged up to depart the hospital:                                 Arriving at his new home:

One Week

Hard to believe our Peter is a week old already! Happy one-week Birthday, son! We are completely ruined. We have loved getting to know you and care for you, and can't get enough of your sweet face.

What a week of extraordinary grace! God has answered our many prayers for Peter's birth so far beyond our expectation, and has given us the most amazing gift in this little guy.

And since I've been otherwise distracted from posting pictures of our boy (not that there's been any impediment to taking a few [billion] pictures of him), I figured this little landmark is a good time to put up a bunch for his family afar. I'll try to be better about posting from here on out; for now, here are a few more cute shots for the Peter Clay Martin Fan Club out there:


Modeling his new turtle and goldfish swaddle blankets:

                                                 

Typical post-nursing posture:    

Tom, the baby whisperer, using Dr. Harvey Karp's baby calming techniques:

And making amends after the trauma of diaper changing. 

The burping ritual:                                                                          Karate Peter:

And my two favorite guys napping together:

Peter Clay Martin

September 10, 2012, 6:01pm
6lbs, 14oz; 20.5"

Welcome to the world, son!

September 6th

Well here we are at 40 weeks...with nothing really to report. We'll see how much more time the boy will allow. But in the mean time, I'm trying to crank through house projects like organizing the garage,  hanging pictures, painting, and a slew of other to-dos like...

Also, I've had the chance to meet Tom for lunch on a few occasions--a tradition we'd like to carry on after the boy is here. Of course, he's a little easier to take out now, so we'll see how that goes. Here he is going under cover in Daddy's lab:

(Can't wait until he's big enough for his own lab coat and goggles.)


Everyone keeps telling us to live it up and have as many date nights as possible while we still can. We just had what may be our last one for a while. I've really missed raw sushi, but Niwano Hana's cooked rolls aren't too shabby. Son, what does a dragon say?

What else have we been doing? Well, we went to the County Fair, complete with our traditional ferris wheel ride, Italian sausage, and (not pictured) the amazing deep-fried Oreos. Best in show.

We do want our boy to have a well-rounded palate, after all.

And since we find we have very few shots of us together, especially late-pregnancy shots, we asked our friend Don to snap some "full-term" photos for us this weekend.

Aww--I love you so much, sweetie. Thanks for all you've done to support me throughout this pregnancy, and for your excitement and love for your new little family. You're going to be such a wonderful dad, and I'm so grateful I get to do this life alongside you as long as God allows.