The Wait Made Bareable With Art

The day after Christmas (reminder, this was Caitlin's true due date), we headed down to walk Max out of her body in Chicago and at the Art Institute of Chicago. I was pretty excited to see the new modern wing of the museum.

First, we had some required bean shots to do. Lynn had never been to the bean, nor downtown I believe.

Classy lookin' dudes and dudettes.

It was a pretty cold snowy day, perfect for snapping some great shots the cloudy architecture in Chicago - including the Sears (er, um Willis) Tower.

Caitlin and Fam - strong, majestic, snowy.

Inside the modern wing, we got down to it. Despite her pregnancy, Caitlin was intent on observing herself some art.

I really liked this painting. I can't remember who did it, but he was criticized for being to "normal" with his portraits...but I liked how he uses muted, 2D backgrounds to bring added depth to his portraits.

This one was the worst piece of art in the entire building. Yes, this guy able to hand draw some very nice letters. But seriously? Even though this is Halloween of my birth year, I was still not impressed.

This might have been my favorite in the modern wing. I loved the city scape made evident through abstract lines, colors and streaks. The energy of a city is clear, as is the scope and sprawl. You can almost imagine the buildings that would exist in this city.

Breaks were taken, don't worry.

And gift shops were checked out.

Amazing piece of art? You decide. This is a shot I took with my camera of the Sears Tower. No Photoshop in this biotch.

Whats up with the neon light art that is so popular right now? I have seen like three exhibits like this lately. It made for some great photography though. I got in trouble for taking pictures of this. Apparently it is okay take pictures of anything except the special exhibits. My bad.

After art, we found art in the form of food. We went to DMK Burger for what is a fantastic burger. I got the one that has bacon, a fried egg with runny yolk, pepper jack cheese. Oh man. The yolk was dripping down my neck.

After this day it was just a waiting game for Max to come. As you know, he came and with a vengeance! Thanks Jeff, Judes and Lynn for making the weight for Max so fun.

Sleepin' Around The Hospital

Needless to say, once Max finally came to terms with the fact that he was no longer in the womb and that he was going to have to live his own life, he decided it was time to get some rest. And rest he did. That birth canal must have really taken something out of him because he was tuckered for a few days. We wheeled him up to the third floor where we would spend the next two day learning to care for his preciousness.

He was warmly welcomed by nurse Jackie and the other Evanston Hospital crew. They were great and helped us learn so much.

Occasionally between massive yawns and naps, we would get a half hour with Max wide awake and super curious about the world. I cannot get enough of every goobery face he makes.

This is definitely one of my favorite pictures taken of Max thus far. Later I will allow you to compare a picture of me to this picture so you can determine whether there is any likeness. What do you think? Does Max take after Jeff Daddy Mack?

Caitlin enjoyed free food while were there at the hospital, and it wasn't half bad. Particularly, we enjoyed a couple's dinner on the last night at the hospital. Cheesecake? Shrimp scampi? This can't be hospital food.

If you have experienced or heard anything about having a new baby, then you know all about the struggles of helping the baby learn to breastfeed. While we did have to give him a bottle of Caitlin once or twice, we were fortunate that Max was a quick learner and things are going well. Based on his diapers...he is getting fed. A lot.

The rest of the time? Loving him. Adoring him. Awkwardly staring at him. No wonder he didn't want to open his eyes too much. Would you if I was staring down at you like that?

I slept well in the hospital. We were given a corner room with a great view of the Baha'i temple out the window. We didn't get too much noisy foot traffic outside our door.

So much to adore.

Precious little eyes.

Then it was time to take him home. I was so excited to get out of the hospital...I was going a little stir crazy. The outfit we had brought to bring him home in was warm, but huge. He fits in only the smallest of outfits right now. I love his look here, like "seriously dad? You are going to photo this? I'm gonna 'drop' that camera as soon as I can walk."

We cut off his I.D. tags and confirmed that yes, he was ours.

And then we were ready to roll. I have had nightmares about driving a newborn home in a car, but I did not crash and we made it safe and sound. We love having him home and can't wait to introduce him to you all when you visit us! Thanks for all your support and kind comments!

Gifting Gone Overboard? Never!

When I pulled the Baby Jesus ornament from our advent calendar, I knew it could only mean one thing - it was Christmas Day! Technically I was supposed to pull it on the 24th, but I forgot. Don't be mad.
I placed Jesus appropriately at the top of the tree and turned to see the bounty of presents before me. What would be in these beautiful boxes? Well, about 70% of them I already knew - but the other 30%! WHAT would be inside!!!??
I was really proud of us this year. We stayed in our apartment, so we tried to make it as festive and fun as possible. These are our felt Christmas trees. Each year we are going to let the kids cut out felt designs and pin them to the tree to decorate them. Obviously this won't take place for a few years, but this is the plan. And then the present opening was ON! I played master of ceremonies and started handing out gifts. I require that we watch each gift be opened - its a house rule. Lynn got this amazing sweater that he was obsessed with. Jeff got Superbad and Flight of the Concords seasons. Lucky!
My mom got me this pimped out CK coat which will make me the envy of all my future coworkers. I have to look hot at work - its the secret of making it in business. Another secret is putting out...but I don't plan on utilizing that tactic - so I'll stick with just being hot.More presents for Lynn? Wow. Lucky. He got books and heart monitors - all his dreams were coming true in one single Christmas.

That's not to say that Judes' dreams weren't coming true as well. She got this fly new Coach bag - a real one not from Chinatown.

Max also was a huge recipient of presents this year, even though he wasn't even born yet at the time. This blanket is super precious and was handmade by Kristin. It will keep him warm in our drafty apartment, even though Lynn worked so hard to try and take care of the many drafts. And clothes! He loves them all. I am excited to put him in his Penguin Brand onesie complete with precious pocket because I love their clothes. I have a nearly matching shirt that I can wear so we can be twinners! Thanks Aunt Ashley!

Oh, that wasn't all. Let's not forget cute books and this "here comes trouble" outfit that is likely going to be very accurate.

This gift is a Max and Caitlin gift. While walking around campus this fall, I started to see lots of fashionable women wearing sweaters that had built in zippers. They looked really cool - but were the zippers functional? I though, "wouldn't it be amazing if the zippers actually opened and then Caitlin could breast feed without taking off her sweater? Then she could wear it anywhere fashionably and still have functionality!" The Butler got busy designing and making a sweater that would do just that. This has buttons on the top and bottom so you can actually make the sweater open up however you want. Its awesome and Caitlin loves it. Homemade gifts are the best!

More gifts for me??? I GOT DJ HERO! My mom tricked me because I asked for DJ Hero for graduation and she said she would never give me that game. Nice work.

Michael gave Caitlin this cute jewelry holder that now sits on our dresser. He also gave her a cute necklace for the new home.

Stephoin got me four t-shirt from New York - one of which says "Happy Holidays" with a little skull wearing a Santa hat on it. I wore it proudly the rest of the day and will probably start wearing it again in October. For anyone who says Halloween is not part of the holiday season, you have my permission to punch that person right in the crotch.

Devoin and Shell gave us matching bike helmets. Now that we are parents, we are not allowed to die and leave Max parentless apparently. I agree. He is too cute to go orphan.

There were many more gifts, too many to discuss here - but thank you to anyone who hooked us up!!! This is the aftermath.

We later took a walk to the water and took a picture. Doesn't Lynn look like he loves the cold Chicago weather??? Trick question, he doesn't.

Jeff and I started working our mad skills at DJ Hero. I'm kind of a natural, I'll be honest.

And to top it off, we had family bonding time. Caitlin and I video chatted with the rest of the family having fun in Boise. Shell and Devoin kicked it in Kentucky. Although we were all separated, we felt their love through gifting and talk. Christmas - I love you.

Okay, more on Max to come.

Goals to the Max!

Today we had a serious conversation with Max and asked him to set some year-one resolutions. Here is the list he came up with:

MAX 2010 GOALS
1. Give good suck
2. Learn to crawl
3. Start college fund and trick people into contributing to it
4. Sleep through the night
5. Smile for a reason other than passing gas
6. Make 5 good friends

M, A, X - MAX!

Well, it is done. After going into labor on Tuesday at 8pm, Caitlin finally delivered precious Baby Max at 10:01am this morning (Thursday, 12/31). She went straight into solid contractions about 5 minutes apart, so around 1am Wednesday morning we called the hospital and they had us come in. After laboring until 6pm on Wednesday and only dilated a centimeter...they made us go home. While that was a little bit disheartening, it ended up helping propel Caitlin into a more progressive labor so that when she about passed out Wednesday night at midnight from exhaustion and we returned to the hospital, she was at a 4 from a 3. She was able to continue from there without being induced and was at 10cm by 6am. Four hours later of pushing, Max came tumbling out. All the things people say about the magic of childbirth are true...including the blood.Here he is about 10:10. His coloration and response was fantastic, and his little cry was so cute.

I called them grandpa hands when I first saw them because they were so wrinkly, but they are so soft and strong. He was blocking the nurses with some swift punches within seconds of birth.

Grandpa Lynn and Grandma Judy popped in to say hello to their new grandson. He showed them the love.

Max was 7lbs, 0 ounces. He hasn't been measure as of yet, but he appeared really long and skinny. Kind of like his dad. There is no clear answer to the color of his hair. Sometimes it looks brown, sometimes blond, sometimes reddish. All are possible.

Caitlin is not starring in any public photos yet, but she is doing fantastic. I'm so proud of her and love her so much for not only the sacrifices she made over the last two days, but over the last 10 months. She is such an amazing trooper. She is in love with her new baby boy. Who wouldn't be? Its MAX - M, A, X...MAX!

Baby Are You Down Down Down Down Down?

Why Max has not come to me, I cannot say. There is always that chance that I have offended him and he is delaying his delivery as punishment. Could it be that he smells my gas, even in the womb? That would keep anyone from coming out.

Either way, still no signs of my precious baby boy...