Yes, yes I know. I've failed greatly in the blogging world. How could I? Seriously, Everyone already knows by now who would possibly be remotely interested in reading this blog, that my husband Al and I have been blessed with the birth of our first child, Everett Yung-Su Un!
He has been a total joy in our lives, and sometimes Al and I wonder why we didn't have a baby sooner. We also already have hopes to someday add another to our family. I think we have been surprised at how much we love being parents and how much joy Everett can bring us. God is so good. Well I know it will be impossible to catch up on the past 11 weeks in one post. But I will just hit a very few highlights that Everett has encountered so far in his 11 weeks here in our family.
First was a visit from Grammy and Grandpa Gross. They actually showed up right on time, the very day I went into labor which was a day before Everett was born. Unfortunately the only picture I have of both of them in the same picture with Everett is this one. I blame the sleepless nights for not making sure I had a better one before they left after 3 weeks!
I couldn't have asked for a better more relaxed first 3 weeks. My mother was her typical self-less worker bee self (even while dealing with her own very painful back troubles), which left me only to love, feed, and love my new sweet baby.
Next we had a visit from Halmoni and Hapa (Al's parents). We had a great time sharing our joy with them. They taught us some great stretches to help Everett feel good, and we recorded the infamous San Tokie song sung by Halmoni, so as to be able to sing it to him ourselves once they left. I need to practice this more:
It was sad and a little scary when Halmoni and Hapa left because then it meant we were on our own! But because we have such wonderful friends, we still felt supported. Barbara Kelly was kind enough to recruit some fellow church families to bring us dinners for the next couple weeks. So again I didn't have to go grocery shopping or wonder what to make for dinner. I have to tell you, it made me realize how much time that part of your life can consume, and it helped to make Everett's first two months with a relaxed mommy, something he probably will have a much harder time coming by since I tend to be a worry-wart.
At Everett's 1 month birthday, he went to his first MLB game, it was the Nats, thanks to daddies perks at his company, we scored some tickets and went with our neighbors.
We had a wonderful 4th of July with my sister and her family. They brought enough food to feed a small army (so we could freeze meals and save them). Her kids stayed the night at our place and had a ball with sparklers and sleeping in their cousins nursery. (Mom, I'll have to send you the pics I got through e-mail, due to the "privacy agreement", wink-wink).
Next on milestone events Everett has already experienced was his first plane ride! July 22nd we flew down to New Orleans to clean up an empty rental condo, visit with our friends, and help out the struggling economy trying to recover with the oil spill. Everett was a trooper, and slept well in a new place.
Here he is, sleeping like, well, a baby, on his first plane ride:
Here we are at the Creole Creamery (of the Food Network fame) after mommy tried beet, beer, and chocolate ginger flavored ice creams, among others. I may have to do a whole separate post of that little visit, and I'm wearing one of my support the area purchases, the pelican tee):
And finally since Mommy was so excited to see any kind of pro football, a picture of Everett watching his first NFL game ( albeit, pre-season and the stinkin Cowboys, but what can you do, when you are desperate). Here he is sitting with our friend David, a complete Texan and Cowboys fan:
Since my laptop battery is about to go dead, and I'm sitting outside the closed library and Everett appears to be slowing waking up (and therefore hungry very soon) I suppose I should sing off now. I do have to say it feels good to get some of this stuff finally recorded in cyberspace, even if it is pathetically late and far from all-encompassing.
With all the drool and hints of more crankiness I think our poor Honey is cutting his first teeth. This past week Everett has been drooling much more than usual, he's even been choking on it sometimes because he isn't used to it either. He also has been trying to stuff anything into his mouth possible, which has proven pretty difficult since he is just now grabbing for things and figuring out how to hold on and pull things to his mouth. Last night he screamed "bloody murder" when we put him down for what is typically his longest sleep. Today when he was a-typically screeching I was able to take a few quick peeks into his mouth and found two tiny little white bumps emerging on both sides in the middle of his bottom gums. I look online about teething symptoms in infants and sure enough that is where the first teeth typically emerge. I tried using my finger to massage his gums and give him counter pressure. It worked while I was doing it but then when I stopped he cried more than before I had massaged them. I think it made him concentrate on the pain more, or having the absence of the pain for a while made it seem worse when it came back. Anyway, I don't know how long it takes for teeth to grow and him to no longer be teething, but I hope he continues to handle the pain. He is definitely not a complainer, so I know he must be experiencing some pain to be the slightest bit fussier than usual.
