Okay, are you ready for a photo explosion? It's hard not to take photos of this little guy all of the time. He's so unbelievably precious! He's soft, sweet, cuddly, and full of love. I can't even put into words how quickly my heart melted for this little one. He is such a sweet little baby. He appears to be mellow and laid back so far. At just two weeks, he's already gone for a few five hour stretches in the middle of the night. Sometimes I wake him up just to make sure he's okay. He really only cries when you change him or get him naked, but then he screams as if life itself is over. He makes the funniest faces, no doubt a result of gas or something of that nature, but he is absolutely delightful! Sometimes it's hard for me to put him down even after I've been holding him all day. I'm probably going to regret that I've spoiled him later, but for now I just enjoy all the soft snuggles and sweet coos that make him so absolutely dear. I've had a prayer of gratitude in my heart for this precious spirit that has come to bless our home.
So here he is, Mr. Alexander Earl Calderwood, two weeks in photos!
All of these were taken at the hospital
Big sisters were very excited to meet him!
He had visits from Nana and Papa, and Grandma C came out the day after he was born to help with the girls and keep life at home in order. but of course she got to love on her little grandson too, the first Calderwood grandson for them (seeing as Shaun is their only son, I guess that makes sense).
Nana and Papa came by regularly Alex's first week home, but tried to be careful not to invade Grandma's time with her East Coast grandchildren. They are in love with him just like the rest of us!
Amelia especially enjoys being a big helper. She will run and get me clothes for the baby, or hold him when he is awake. I think she thought he might not sleep so much, but she still seems to be enjoying this new little one in our home. Ella will occasionally come and give him kisses. She likes him but I have a feeling she will want to be around him more when he can wrestle and play with her.
Grandma was a big help all week. She not only took care of the girls, getting them to preschool and school every morning, but she cooked every evening, helped with laundry if I needed it, cleaned my floors, deep cleaned some things, and even was my personal florist, helping me with a few arrangements before she left. We were sad to see her leave, but grateful for the time she was with us (about ten days).
Shaun's sister, Heidi, also came last Friday for two nights. She and Pat were headed to North Carolina Sunday morning to do a little family history work before flying back to Utah at the end of the week. The girls had a lot of fun with Aunt Heidi, who channelled her inner preschool teacher and was all sorts of fun playing with the girls. Amelia was so sad when she left, even though she kept calling her Aunt Stephanie. Stinker.
We've had other visitors too. Emily and Ryan came over, and my friend, Kim Catalano, stopped by last week after work. We also had visits at the hospital from Kim Bridges, Pat and Al Wray, and my friend Carol from work. Now we have church friends bringing meals by this week, and Lexie has been helping with Amelia. To be honest I feel a little spoiled. All of this support has made this transition relatively painless so far, although I am still tired from late night feedings, and if I go long enough without taking my pain meds I remember that indeed I was cut in half and I start to feel it, but every day I feel a little more and more like myself.
I have lofty goals of being able to get myself back into running and all sorts of good things before going back to work. I'm not sure if that's too ambitious, but I think it's nice to have something to work towards. Little man and I went on our first walk yesterday and it was beautiful! I'm hoping we can get walks in a few times a week.
So there you have it, our first couple of weeks with Alex in our lives have been pretty good I'd say, considering all of the changes I have not only experienced individually, but the changes our family is undergoing too as a result. We are grateful indeed for all of the support we have received from family and friends. And we are grateful to Heavenly Father for entrusting us with the care of another one of his special spirits. We are triple blessed!
