Up to now, Jack’s fashion has consisted of various kinds of onesies.  But today we went to our first wedding with Jack and so he got his first opportunity to move out of the onesie. Anne dressed Jack in some khaki shorts and short sleeved knit shirt. He looked just like how daddy likes to dress. I took this picture after we put him in his car carrier. He is looking more and more like a little boy.

When Jack wakes up from a nap and opens his eyes, if he doesn’t immediately see mom or dad he goes into a very intense scream that says, “Why have you forgotten me! Why have I been left alone?” When we pick him up, his face goes into that expression that says, “Why did you abandon me? Don’t you love me?”

While his looks are sad, we can’t help but laugh. As his parents, we know he wasn’t even close to being left alone or abandoned. In fact, we were probably sitting just a few feet away but from his perspective we could have been 3 states away.

I couldn’t help think about Psalm 13. David starts out by writing, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?”

It’s amazing how we laugh at the absurdity of a baby who thinks he’s been abandoned just because he doesn’t see you within 5 seconds of waking up, and yet how quickly do we think God has forgotten us because we go through a difficult season.

It’s humbling to see how clearly our children reflect our own relationship with God.

We have been typically putting Jack to bed around 8pm. Not only are we trying to set a schedule but it is also when he begins to get sleepy. But last night that sleepiness didn’t want to come. He was crying and crying when we set him down. And when we picked him up his eyes were wide awake. 8 turned into 9 which into 10 and our son was full of energy. We weren’t really sure why. He was definitely deviating from his normal nighttime mood. We looked at his schedule and nothing had really been different.

And then Anne realized that a shake from Arby’s that she had late in the afternoon probably contained caffeine. Maybe this was Jack experiencing caffeine for the first time. So we took turns quietly rocking Jack into a state of sleepiness–a state he wasn’t easily giving in to. But eventually the caffeine wore off as his parents got worn out. 

Both Jack and his parents were ready for bed. Check Arby’s shakes off the list. (at least for now)

If there was one day that you would think I wouldn’t miss a blog entry it would be April 21, 2009 –- my first father’s day. And yet for faithful readers of this blog you might have noticed that Sunday the blog remained un-updated.

So only two days late here is my first Father’s Day post.

My day started early as we got up at 5 am so we could be out the door by 5:45. We were headed out for a brief day trip to Kentucky. As I groggily walked into the bathroom there was a fun gift bag waiting for me. It was a wonderful card and present from the woman who gave me the gift of fatherhood. And then Anne said that Jack also had something for me. So I went into the dark nursery and found a present waiting in the crib. Lying beside my sleepy son was another gift bag with a fun card and a present.

It was only 5:20 am and I had already been showered with great father’s day gifts from my wife and son.

And while it was great experiencing my first father’s day, my favorite father’s day gift happens every morning when I get to sneak into the nursery, stare at my son and experience the amazing joy of seeing a little boy who will one day call me dad.

For the past few weeks, Anne has been working with Jack on his leg strength. They have a game they play where Anne grabs Jack’s hands and helps him stand-up on her. While it might look like Anne is just pulling him up, Jack has actually gotten to the point where he is literally pulling himself up. While she gives him balance, he is the one standing up and then sitting when he is done. Check out the video.

In the early weeks of Jack’s life, he was going to the doctor every few weeks. During these visits he was being weighed and we were being regularly updated on his weight gain. But now that his doctor visits are spread out more, we don’t have a regular gauge on his weight. So Anne purchased a scale today so we can track our little boy’s growth.

This afternoon we weighed Jack for the first time at home. I started out by stepping on the scale alone. My weight came in at 205.5. And then I picked up Jack and stepped back on. Our total weight was 218.5. Using a highly complicated mathematic formula we were able to calculate that Jack now weighs 13 pounds.

Way to go, Jack, you are well on your way to catching daddy.