Happy Birthday, Little Man!

Monday was Jackson's 2 month birthday. I don't usually celebrate such landmarks. In fact, I sometimes forget the yearly birthdays of family members, let alone friends. But Monday was one remarkable day.

It started with a visit to the pediatrician. Jackson's gone from his birth weight of 6 lb, 4 oz to 10 lb, 8 oz. That takes him from the 10th percentile to the 25th. We have a good eater. His "height" (if you still call it that while they're still vertical) went from 18.5" to 22". He's stayed in the 10th percentile, but the pediatrician said she's not worried about his height considering his parental height. And she was impressed with his developmental landmarks. He can hold his head up quite well and has turned over from belly to back 5 times. We swear the little sounds that come out when he smiles are signs of laughter. Ian and I are convinced that he is (in the words of the proud mama of Zane and Audrey) quite "advanced."

After the pediatrician, Jackson and I went to visit our friend McCall, who is expecting one of Jackson's future girlfriends any day now. It was fun to compare pregnancy notes and to hear that baby Harper does a lot of the same things Jackson did when he was in my womb. I'll have to blog about that some other time.

Then that evening, Jackson slept from midnight to 7:00 AM. That means Ian got 7 hours of sleep. Me, I woke up at 5:00 AM expecting to feed him. Instead I was elated that he didn't need to be fed, and bummed that I had wasted a possible 7 hour stretch of sleep by getting up. FYI, I think he was teasing us that night. He's since gone back to waking up at 4:00 AM and resisting going back to sleep.

Overall, I'm absolutely amazed at how fast babies develop. Just over 2 months ago, he existed in a waterly world, with an umbilical lifeline to feed him 24/7. Now he knows when he's hungry and knows how to alert us of the fact. He can interact with us after living almost 5 times as long quite happily in isolation. Since he's no longer the eating, sleeping, pooping creature that he was when he was first born, I am amazed at how he's becoming a little person. And I am amazed at the signs he demonstrates of what kind of person he will be. It's utterly fascinating to me that this little person came from one cell that I contributed and one cell that Ian contributed. All testifying to the amazing abilities of the Creator!

Clarice

I'm Popeye

Just like his Eyre cousins, Jackson has a blocked tear duct, resulting in the worst eye poop imaginable. We have to clean his eyes every couple of hours. He also has long eyelashes, which trap the eye poop and paste his poor little eye shut. But it sure has a cute result, doesn't it?


Clarice

First Pair of Pants

Jackson's outgrowing his newborn sleepers. So we washed some of the pants we had received at his baby shower (thanks, Aunt Sharon and Aunt Helen and anyone else I may have forgotten!!). Apparently, there are waistline issues when you have to pull pants over diapers. We thought this was rather entertaining. He looks like a little old man with his bald head and his pants pulled up so high.


Clarice

Easter Thoughts

I was reading Hebrews chapter 12 yesterday and stopped to consider verse 4, "You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin" (NASB). Have I ever struggled so hard to defeat sin in my life that I bled? Not even close! In fact, I can’t imagine that it would be possible for me to stress that much, although it is medically possible to sweat blood under extreme circumstances. Did the author of Hebrews have first hand knowledge of striving against sin to the point of bleeding? What could this mean?

Then I remembered a passage where Jesus bled. I re-read Luke 22:39-46, where Jesus prayed before His crucifixion, asking God to “remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done” (verse 42). Verse 44 says; "And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down to the ground." I always thought Jesus sweated blood because He was not looking forward to receiving God’s wrath for my sin and all the sins of all the people of the world. That, to me, was a stressful enough circumstance for a person to sweat blood and I’m sure that was part of it. But, the context of the passage is Jesus warning His disciples to pray against temptation. Reminds me of 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.”

The connection I made between Hebrews 12:2 and Luke 22:44 is that Jesus was also praying against His own temptation. The temptation to quit the calling the Father had given Him - to suffer and die for us that we might have access to His righteousness and therefore His heaven, among many other blessings. In verse 43 an angel strengthens Him. He could have asked God to send angels to save him from the coming death, but this would have been sin to Him – disobeying His Father. Out of his love for us He strove against this sin to the point of shedding blood. What greater temptation than to skip out on experiencing the wrath of God for the sins of the world, but He resisted for our sake! Fortunately, we don’t have to deal with the temptation that Jesus faced – we would not be able to endure it.

Jesus took God’s justice on Himself out of mercy for us (Isaiah 53:6). Amazing Love!

Ian

Thank you, Paloma Race!!

I forgot to blog about our adventure last weekend. I had read on my friend Amy's Xanga blog that there was a drive-in theater in Los Angeles that played first run movies. Last weekend, I was quite stir-crazy. After a lifetime occupied by school and work and ten years engaged in the incredibly dynamic community of people at Mosaic, I've been feeling housebound since my maternity leave began. Sure, I've been to work a few times to catch up on some can't-miss meetings, to church, and to people's homes. But we hadn't really done anything date-like since before the baby was born. OK, we did go to the movies one time while Ian's parents were here, but since the live-in grandparental assistance has left and we've been on our own as parents, we haven't done anything fun together.

So last weekend, we packed up the baby, popped some corn, threw a 2-liter bottle of Coke in the car and headed to the City of Industry. We picked up some burgers and parked the car to watch "Inside Man."

OK, so it wasn't a picture perfect date. Jackson got fussy partway through the movie and earned himself a "snack" to quiet him so we could hear the dialogue. Then he leaked through his diaper onto Ian's sweater and earned a messy diaper change in the driver's seat of our cramped Beetle. But it was sooooooo nice to be doing things that people do when they're not in the fog of caring for a newborn. And going to the drive-in was rather nostalgic. Last time I did that, I was in the back seat of my parents' Lincoln Continental with my brother, both of us wearing footies pajamas, watching a Bruce Lee movie. I think we'll be going back to the drive-in again. I highly recommend the experience. Only $7 per person for a double-feature. Can't beat that!!! You can even bring your own food without the shame of having to sneak it in inside a large purse.

Vineland Drive-in
626-961-9262
443 North Vineland Avenue
City of Industry, California

Classic Drive-in that was expanded to 4 screens,
with an overall capacity for over 1500 cars, which
still draws fantastic crowds on most weekends,
as the Los Angeles area's nearest operating Drive-in.
Open year-round, with 4 sets of double features,
and audio provided by FM stereo radio broadcast.
Admission: $7.00 (ages 12&UP); ages 11&under free.

Clarice

"Is he adopted?"

Some of my friends and family have been teasing me about my "little white kid."


I will admit that Jackson looks more like Ian than he does me, with the light hair and blue eyes.


Here's the infant evidence.


I don't mind the joking at all. I mean...he does look like a white kid. To me he doesn't have strong Chinese features. But last Sunday, I got thrown for a loop. Ian was sick so Jackson and I went to church without him. We were sitting out in the courtyard after service enjoying the sun and conversations with people I had never met before who suddenly got friendly when they saw my little cutie. Sandra was holding Jackson...Sandra, my fair-haired, fair-skinned friend...when a woman came by to look at Jackson. She said he was cute, then asked Sandra if he was her first. She looked aghast for a moment, then pointed her thumb in my direction. I replied for her that Jackson was my first. The woman looked at me for a moment, then asked, "Is he adopted?" I wasn't sure exactly what she was thinking. I saw her scan my face and my belly, so I quickly replied, "Yeah, he got all my husband's genes, then sucked all the extra weight off me." I'm guessing she either thought he was too fair to be mine or I was too skinny to have given birth 5 weeks prior. I really don't know. For the record, I'm happy Jackson looks like Ian. A boy should look like his daddy. I'm just baffled that the laws of genetics didn't play out. Oh, well. I guess things don't always go the way they teach it to you in science classes.

Clarice

Our son, the lima bean

Silent for over a week. Wasn't sure quite how to top Ian's last post. Can't top it. Happy not to try to top it. Elated that my husband has committed to fathering in such a way. Makes mothering much easier. So how about something completely different...

Ian's been talking about how Jackson looks like a lima bean. I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about. Was he referring to color? To shape? To texture? Finally, he explained that there was a Veggie Tales movie about Jonah where the Ninevites, who were (apparently) fish-slappers (I don't know what that means), were portrayed by a special cast of lima beans. So here's the photographic evidence.




I'm somewhat convinced, although reluctantly. What do you think? Jackson the fish-slapping Ninevite lima bean?

Clarice (the lima bean's mama)

Dear Jackson

Dear Jackson,

My son, I am your father. I conceived you in love with your mom and I witnessed your growth in her tummy. You brought us so much joy then as you do now, kicking and squirming and hiccuping. When you decided to leave the warmth of your cocoon I caught your head and cradled you. I witnessed your first breath and scream and tremblingly handed you to your mom, the woman who so lovingly cared for you in her womb and brought you into this world with much strain and pain.

My son, I am your provider. I will sacrifice my own needs to meet yours. I provide you with my name, which is my reputation, and I pledge to live above reproach and continue to become conformed into the image of Jesus so that you will see God in our home and desire to be like Him, too. I will hold our family together by placing God at the head and loving and serving your mom that our marriage may be strong to support you. I will pass on the wisdom that my father gave me. I will lead our family to impact the world for Christ and I dream that you will one day become a spiritual leader for you own family so that every generation to follow will seek God’s Kingdom first over all.

My son, I am your protector. As an infant you are fragile and needy. One day I may be fragile and needy and I hope you will take care of me. I will protect you from harm and from the pressures of this world. I will teach you how to think and to digest everything that goes in your eyes and ears and filter out the lies of this world using the Truth of God’s Word. I will protect my marriage so that you will seek the same and will avoid the pain of unhealthy relationships.

My son, I am your priest. I will daily intercede for you to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I pray for your relationships, your education, your future wife and children and your opportunities to serve others with good works to the glory of God. I will pray with you that you may learn how to talk with your Creator. I pray that you will fear the Lord your God at an early age and that, with childlike faith and the intellect God has given you, you will become confident in the truth of God’s Word and share it joyfully.

My son, I am your prophet. I will teach you the difference between right and wrong and how to live with a clean conscience. I will teach you the Scriptures that you may know God’s love letter to you and I will teach you how to hear the Spirit of the Lord when he speaks that you may follow Him all the days of your life.

My son, I am your professor. I will teach you the wonders of this marvelous world that we live in. I will teach you to work hard, to play hard, to honor the sanctity of sex, to seek purity and integrity and to lead a life of selflessness and generosity, that you will not hoard your blessings but share them. We will explore the universe together and discover the wonders of science and math and art together. My fridge will display all your creations. And you will teach me again and again, through the mind of a curious, innocent, imaginative and loving child, how marvelous is our God and the world He has created.

My son, I am your pal. There will be times when my job is that of a disciplining parent, but there will be times when we can be best friends. We will go camping together, I will be at many of your ball games and I will teach you to ride a motorcycle and fly an RC glider. I will treasure the memories of the times I spend with you that we may always share and remember the life God has given us together.

As God has adopted me into His family and loved me before I was capable of loving him, I too love you before you are able to love me. While I may disappoint God at times, although He chooses to only see the best of His Son Jesus in me, and I know that you will disappoint me at times, I choose to love you unconditionally for as long as I live. You are my family and I cannot stop loving you and seeking the best for you. You are my son!

Love, Dad