my baby is cute

even though he's now super covered in horrible eczema that makes me sad and makes him scream just a little bit.

and he's 4 weeks old! how crazy is that??

as of last week, i am now able to put him down for some naps and in order to do things like eat and go to the bathroom. it was getting a little ridiculous, i admit, but it was hard to do anything but stare at him and cry for those first couple weeks. cuz he's the world's cutest baby, according to everyone in this house. and apparently everyone at work, school, seminary, etc. gets to hear all about his royal adorableness pretty much every day. i can't blame them--every time the nurse would come into my room at the hospital during the night (you know, every 30 minutes. ahem.), i would drunkenly exclaim, "isn't he just the cutest baby? he's so precious!" even though i knew i was embarrassing myself and that there are only so many times the same 3 people can adequately gush in a 12-hour period. i couldn't help myself.

here are some phabulous phone photos. sorry for the delay that would make me really mad if it were you with your baby. whoops, hypocrisy! once i regrow a brain and figure out how to get them off my phone all speedy, i'll put more up.

he was super smiley for that first week. look how tiny! awwww.

i miss his fro!! he's still quite hairy, according to those first meeting him, but he looks positively bald to me now compared to when he was a newborn monkey/werewolf. no joke, those were the hairiest shoulders i've ever seen. it made nick feel a little wimpy.

i have about 100 more of these. they're buddies. and we're all perpetually exhausted.

this was the windiest day i've ever experienced, and even though he may not look it, he stinkin' loved it.

he's pretty apathetic about tubbies so far. but this is one kid who loves having his diaper changed. so he can projectile poop all over. naw, that was just 3 times. but they were impressive and have left us in fear every time since.

this is definitely nick's kid. i think my mouth might have snuck in there, but that face is pure morrill boy.

...which is fortunate, because otherwise nobody would believe that this baby came out of my albino family. multiple strangers have haltingly inquired as to whether or not his dad is, um, white? and we love it.

thanks for the delicious blankie, grandma lois! (and stellar snail onesie, morguini. it may or may not be the only thing he wore for a few days... in a row...)

from last week, i believe, because he kept that stinking umbilical cord stump for 3 whole weeks. ew. but i love how he sleeps. he is quite the acrobat (and a noisy one, at that--i had no idea babies could grunt and scream so much while completely passed out).

again, more recent pics to follow. shortly. probably. but right now i'm being summoned not-very-patiently by his highness the gruntmaster. so ta-ta!

(as for the "birth story," the short version is this: 14 hours of back labor in various parking lots and at home, 5 in the ER, and 1 in my labor/delivery room all led to a whopping dilation of 3 cm, so we brought in the epidural man, and i almost kissed him, because after 20 hours [+ a couple months, but hey] i was a little, um, out of it... i was at a 10 an hour and a half later, and he popped right out, and i cried hysterically for about 30 minutes and look terrified and terrifying in all my pictures. it's not pretty. but i was smitten, and i guess me smitten is just not pretty. it was pretty much the coolest thing i've ever experienced. and nick was amazing. so there.)