Our first family Christmas!

Today was a busy day for Torin! After giving Mommy and Daddy their Christmas gifts at midnight (a book about Metropolis and Martina McBride concert tickets, respectively), he went to bed; slept a sound, solid nine hours; and then woke up happy. He ate, put on his "My First Christmas" outfit, and went to his grandparents' house, where he proceeded to eat and sleep and eat and sleep throughout the day and evening. All that attention wore him out!

My little Pookie made out like a bandit, as they say, when it comes to gifts. He got an ExerSaucer, his "first cell phone," some blocks, and lots of teething toys. Of course, he can't use many of these things yet, but he gets closer and closer each day. He's growing like you wouldn't believe.

But Mommy and Daddy had the best present of all this year: Torin himself. It has been such a joy to finally spend Christmas as our own little family. In the coming years, Christmas will only get more magical, and I can't wait to see it all through the eyes of our precious boy.

The happy family.

The greatest gift anyone could ever receive.

We just had a moment.

Pookie and I. We had what I hope was not a one-sided "bonding" moment. I lay him down in his swing to calm him down. I turned on the swing's music and mobile, and sat nearby, waiting for him to doze off. We listened to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and the mechanics of the swing as it carried him left, then right, then left, then right...

Even with the spinning lights and the mini-menagerie of the mobile over his head, he wanted to stare at me. And so there we were, staring into each other's eyes. Pookie's eyelids would start to fall, and then he would open them again at once so he could keep staring at his mommy.

I got teary-eyed as I shared this moment with my son. I thought about how I went all out on gifts for him on his very first Christmas. And Santa is bringing him his ExerSaucer and a few other goodies. I know he's too young to understand it all now, but I want him to look back and know that his first Christmas was very special. And I hope to be able to go all out for him every Christmas.

But for tonight, just for tonight, I wanted nothing more than to look at my precious baby boy and capture his gaze and send him off to sleep in comfort and security. May the first thing he learns be that his mommy loves him more than anything in the universe.

Reach out and touch someone.

Torin has started reaching toward my face and touching me when he's lying on the changing table. And I have fallen in love with him even more.

Hit me with your best shot.

We had our two-month shots today. I say "we" because it hurt me every bit as much as it hurt Torin. He was very good though--he cried for only a couple of minutes afterward! Here he is on the table in the doctor's office, just after we finished all the vaccinations:

I've been worried that because Torin has been so colicky and fussy all day every day (until the past few days, when we switched formulas again), he has perhaps fallen behind on his developmental milestones. The doctor assured me that this is not the case, and that we have a perfectly normal and healthy Pookie on our hands.

Whew! I'm glad this appointment is behind us now. No more shots for at least a couple more months.

Happy Two Months!

So two months have already passed since Torin's birth.

Two. whole. months.

In that time, we've dealt with jaundice, a cold, lots of colic, a few smiles and laughs, some coos, dozens upon dozens of dirty diapers, and countless kisses.

I love my little Pookie Bear like I could have never imagined.

Seasons Greetings!