About A Boy

Until April 26th, only one boy has ever had my heart. And now there are two. One is 6'4, tall, dark and handsome. The second, had my heart while he was only 9.5 lbs and 20.25 inches long. It was love at first sight - or even better - love at first breath.

Keaton came a week early (for which I'm so thankful - see 9.5 lbs above) at 4:31 AM, April 26th. My heart melted and somehow grew all at the same time. You know that question you have in your mind as a parent of one - wondering how it could be possible to love another child just as much as your first? Yup, what they say is true. It just happens. You know the minute you hear or see that little one that instead of splitting, your heart will expand. "And the Grinch's heart grew three sizes that day." That's how it's been falling in love with my husband, my daughter and now my son - more love than I would ever think my heart would be capable of holding. God's design for our physical hearts is one of beauty and resilience, but the abilities of the intangible heart blow my mind.

He looks so much like his big sister did when she was born with two exceptions. His hair has a strawberry blond tint and his skin seems to be more fair. His eyes are blue right now, but we will see which color they land on over the next couple of weeks. This kid has some hands and feet! The nurses kept commenting on his feet and one even made an extra footprint for us because she said she thought we would want to have it. Footie pajamas are out of the question unless we cut holes for the toes.

We were in newborn clothes for a day or two when we got home, but then I realized they weren't fitting him. I then did the same thing with three month clothing. And then I finally woke up to realize my infant looked like a body builder who wears shirts a size smaller than necessary. At eight weeks he is wearing six month clothing and it's snug. At this rate, will probably be in six-nine months tomorrow.

Keats is the sweetest thing. This little guy seems to be laid back. I'm pretty sure it's in his nature, but then again he has to be with a 20 month old big sister "showing him the ropes". He's also a snuggler. So fun! He stops crying the moment you hold him. He smiles all the time and holds his head up very well. You know, I would call his smile more of a grin. It's so cute! He rolled over from tummy to back the today, but I'm unsure if it was a fluke. He is also such a grunter. By this I mean he's rarely quiet, even when sleeping and makes grunting noises constantly. You would think he was climbing Mount Everest or competing in an Iron Man event.

He slept six straight hours last night. Good morning! It really was. Getting several consecutive hours of sleep is such a game changer. We will see if he keeps it up.

I have a feeling the picture above may be a good example of their relationship. Claire loves him so much and Keats loves her enough to take hair in the face. There is something about watching your kids love each other that makes your heart swell. She calls him "Keat-Keat" and asks for him first thing in the morning. She pats her little hand beside her to indicate that she wants Keat-Keat to sit next to her. This could be on the changing table, high chair or in the bathtub. Needless to say, Keat-Keat is not always able to comply with his big sister's demands. We've also found out that infants are not big fans of pretzels by a similar scenario. Claire "helps" burp and feed her little brother at times. The latter brings to mind the phrase "force feeding", but it's still sweet. Claire embraces the idea of sharing is caring and piles all of her favorite stuffed animals and pillows on her brother. She also has an ear out for her brother's cries at all times. He will be napping and she'll run up to me saying "Baby crying". I'll say "Baby Keaton is sleeping." and literally a second later there he goes. Baby crying. I'm not sure if she's in tune with him or he's in tune with her.

This little guy is precious and is so loved. And then there were two...