Peter Clay Martin: His Name

Several people have asked about Peter's name: Is it a family name? How did we come up with it? Where did "Clay" come from?

In short, we named him this because we like both the name and its meaning. 

His name reflects our many prayers for him according to God's Word: In "Peter" (like the Greek "stone" or "rock"), that he would be built on the Rock (that is, Christ and his Word), unshakeable (Luke 6:48), that he would in turn be a building stone, used by God in his Church (Matthew 5:18). And “Clay” reflects that we commit him to our mighty God and His shaping hands (Isaiah 64:8), and pray that his humble life would be a vessel for showing God’s glory, his surpassing power, to a world that desperately needs to see it (2 Corinthians 4:6-7).

And "Martin" because...he's a Martin!! :)

October Second

Two years ago today I married my best friend, my love, my co-adventurer in this life.  It wouldn't have seemed possible then, but I love him so much more today.  Thomas David Martin, you completely have my heart. Thank you for the best two years of my life!

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: