Two Weeks...

Sooo...
Today marks the last day of my (much) welcome time off of work, getting used to the idea of "children" instead of "child," helping Chelsea as much as possible, and fitting in a bit of gaming or reading here or there (OK, a lot).
It has been the most beautiful experience.  Jack now calls for me by name in the morning, instead of just wailing until somebody shows up.  He sat in my chair and pretended to write in my plan book for twenty minutes.  Julia sleeps on my chest and then suddenly wakes up, eyes wide as saucers, INTENTLY studying me and usually ending up with a smile.
I'm looking forward to the rest of this deal.  I know it will get harder, I know work will complicate things, I know the world doesn't need any more help on population...but these are my favorite people in the world, and I'm filled with the love of a father simply by walking around the apartment and seeing them.
Hope you enjoy the photos beneath, few in number but representative of the past two weeks.

I (Fall) To Pieces

Hi, everyone!  Ah, what a wonderful season of life this has been.  Fall remains my favorite time of the year, and this one has proved more memorable than many, filled with family, fun, and frivolity (to quote Alec Baldwin as Charles Nelson Reilly).
Of course, foremost on the minds of those in our household is the imminent arrival of Julia, our darling little girl whom we already love and adore.  Every ring of my cell phone at work makes my heart stop a beat, as I check the ID, answer, and say, "YES?"  Unfortunately it usually means Chelsea forgot when my lunch ends and wanted to say hi, but one of these days it'll be something more...
In the meantime, we're realizing more and more why we wanted another child, as Jack is absolutely beautiful, creating a sphere of joy as he runs around.  It sounds strange, but he's starting to look older somehow, his face taking on more character and expression every day as he discovers the world around him.
We have recently had a visit from Rocky (Chelsea's brother) with his wife Diana and their children Emma and Lily, been to an Eve-fest birthday party, enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with the aforementioned Fehskens in Baltimore, and bought a lovely tree and decorated it in our home.  Below find some of these memories--we're so happy to share them with you, and hopefully by the next time I post, we'll have even more love to share.

Hi everyone!
We've been offline for quite a while, due to a combination of technical difficulties and familial obligations. Thankfully, both have been resolved and enjoyed.

First, our camera broke! I unceremoniously dropped it immediately upon exiting the car on our way to visit Ted and Erin in Towson. There was no excuse. So for weeks we subsisted upon a manual lens that the aforementioned relatives graciously lent. It worked, but the ease of use was gone, so we got lazy and didn't take many pictures.

Chelsea, in her infinite practicality, has obtained us a new automatic lens, so anticipate many new photos soon.

Family-wise, I enjoyed a bachelor party for Jazz that is now engraved upon our fraternal minds and a few digital images as well. After that, we made our way to New York for the matrimonial bonding of Josh and Brittany; a beautiful time that I've uploaded to Facebook.

So for now, to get back into the swing of things, I've uploaded a precious video to me; Jack talking and enjoying a conversation with me while he's in the bathtub. Links are provided below. God I love this boy.

Click here for the Youtube link.

Click here for the Vimeo link.

Putting a frame around life.

Howdy everyone! About a month ago we met with a friend of mine from school, Tyler Rieth. Tyler is a music teacher and a great guy, and is also starting his own photography business. As a way to build his portfolio, he said he'd do a photo shoot with Jack for pretty much nothing! Since we've never done professional pictures with the boy, we jumped at the chance.

So on June 30th, we drove about 10 minutes to Harford Glen, a beautiful nature preserve that my school uses sometimes as a location for science field trips. It has wooden bridges over wetlands and creeks, lovely trees and long paths for walking.

There we spent a few hours posing the boy, who was VERY patient! If you look at the color photos, you can see his pink, rosy cheeks--that's because it was over 80 degrees outside and he was in the sun most of the time! (With plenty of shade breaks and bottles of water).

So--hope you enjoy. These are the ones we loved the most--we received over 40 great photos. If anybody in the Maryland area would like a great local photographer, ask me for Tyler's contact info.

It's a Girl!

Yeah, so, Chelsea and I went to the baby doctor today to get the sonogram and heeeey it's a GIRL! What makes this pretty neat is that 2 nights ago we did the "wedding ring" trick, where you suspend the husband's wedding ring by a string above the womb. Supposedly, if it moves with the motion of a pendulum, it's a boy, and circular motion means a girl. It worked perfectly for Jack--we have a video of that, too. Well, you'll see in this video as well that there must be some truth to the old wives' tales, because almost like it's being drawn by a polarized magnet, the ring goes crazy. Enjoy.

(P.S. The YouTube video is the only one working right now; I'll upload the Vimeo one within a day, so check back!).

Click HERE to watch it on YouTube!

Jack at Joanne's

Most of you that read this blog have been around Jack and understand just what a force of nature we're dealing with here. He is all boy, all the time. I don't have to worry about exercising because I run more chasing after Jack than I ever did before fatherhood. That being said, your experiences have mostly been confined to Jack in a living room or something. I present below exactly 2 minutes' sample of what it's like taking Jack to the store when he's not strapped into a cart.

For YouTube version, click HERE!

For Vimeo version, click HERE!

The boys are back in town

Hello! It's been a while since we were able to put some new joy up here, but there's been so much going on that it's hard to find a minute sometimes. Enough fake apologies. I'm going to overdo it this time with 2 videos. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

To succinctly state: I am supremely blessed. God continues to form this family with an astounding reverberative amplification of the deep love I feel for these two blondies. Chelsea and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this past Thursday, and man it just keeps getting better. As far as Jack goes (like the double meaning?), he has recently begun pushing 2 new teeth out, dealing with seasonal allergies (sorry for the genes, bud) and walking like a determined baby orangutan. He will NOT hold your hand while doing this; he's got it, thanks. He's also getting over his distaste for grass; at first, it was all pavement, all the time, and while that is still his preferred surface, he's branching out, just in time for summer.

Enough. Find below links and love from us to you.

Video 1

Click HERE for Youtube version

Click HERE for Vimeo version

Video 2

Click HERE for Youtube version

Click HERE for Vimeo version

I'm A-Thinkin' And A-Wonderin' And A-Walkin' Down The Road

As some of you have heard, Jack pretty much just decided to start walking about two weeks ago. First he was taking 3 steps at a time. The next day, 5. Then he was up to 7 two days later. Then at the doctor's office three days later it was 12 steps in a row. And now, well, he's just doing it.

This suddenly makes real a large number of previously hypothetical situations. Almost every single parent we've told has said something to the effect of, "Now you're in for it!" But I'm finding that phrase to have almost absolutely no meaning; the same was said to us with Jack's first tooth, the first time he turned over, when he started crawling, and solid foods. I'm to the point now where any progress is good progress, and if I have to catch this kid trying to tackle a set of stairs, well, then I'll be there.

Glad to say he's over his sickness as well. He's sleeping soundly, playing loudly, and continuing to be the apple and the orange in both my eyes. Below find 2 links, suitable to your video-viewing preference.

For Youtube users: click HERE!

For Vimeo preferrers: click HERE!

Jack's First Birthday!

Well, it finally came! We celebrated Jack's first birthday on Saturday, March 19th (despite the fact that he was born on the 21st). It was truly splendid, as many many friends showed up to wish him the best. Church friends, school friends, aunts, uncles, and grandmas were there. As you can see, he especially enjoyed the cake and the new rocket ship.

Where else from here? Well, he's already walking three steps at a time, so we expect that to continue. His mobility is a scary thing, but it's got to happen. He got his 1-year checkup and everything looks good. So all we can say is happy birthday Jack, we love you, and we look forward to many more years together.

Roses are red, violets are blue, and time is beginning to crawl.

Hello again! Writing this on a Saturday that began way too early. Jack is passed out in his swing, Chelsea is cutting invitations for Matthew and Isabel's wedding, and I'm listening to Oh! Mercy and catching up on the little things. It's been a fun few weeks, with days off of school due to ice, rain, or whatever, and days that felt like they lasted an eternity, more than making up for the time off.

Jack is right on the cusp of many things right now. He can walk, more or less, as long as he has one hand on something for support. A few days ago he stood for a full twenty seconds alone as Chelsea watched; when he turned and realized he wasn't leaning on her anymore, plop! Down he went. But I'm guessing those stretches will get longer as his chubby little legs start to do their job.

He's also talking a mile a minute. We're starting to recognize certain sounds; when hungry, he yells "Ba ba ba ba baaaa!!!" Whenever he sees me or plays with a guitar while I'm gone, it's "Dad dad dad." And when he's annoyed, it's "Ma ma moooom!"

Uh oh, sounds like he's waking up. I'll post these pictures and be off. Enjoy!