30 days

Today Ethan is one month old. I can't believe it has gone by so fast. We have managed to maintain somewhat of a normal life, despite some of the naysayers out there. Apparently Ethan (with the help of his mother) was able to figure out how to post on the blog while I was at work the other day. This week he made his second trip to the grocery store. Eventually maybe the new baby thing will wear off. Shopping takes twice as long as it should because everybody wants to see him. We can't help it if our baby is cuter than everyone else's. Get over it. This weekend we are excited for him to meet the rest of the Hitt family. Sarah's wedding is this weekend, and it is sure to be a blast. Tomorrow night we are going with some friends to a dinner theater presentation of Sweeney Todd. Mom and Dad are going to watch Ethan while we watch people get murdered on stage. It's all in good fun though. We saw Sweeney Todd on Broadway a few years ago, and it was awesome. By the way, this picture is not of anything in particular. I was just looking at some pictures that I hadn't seen yet and thought it was cute. I'm so thankful for digital photography. I can't imagine how much film we would be buying.

"Throw up your rock fist"

Thank you Oma! I had a great time in San Antonio, and so did my parents! I had many firsts this weekend, my first road trip, my first hotel, my first babysitter...my first travel of many many more, say Mom and Dad. I didn't mind being in my car seat, mostly I slept. I get that from my Mom, put me in a car that is moving, and I'm out. When I was hungry, Mom pumped in the front seat (even in rush hour traffic, but Mom didn't mind because she says that is the best food she can give me) and handed the bottle to Oma who fed me. And I got to see my Auntie Lindsey and Uncle Ryan before they go on a cruise, whatever that is. Then my parents went to see the band TOOL while I stayed with Oma in the hotel on the Riverwalk. I can't wait until I am old enough to go with them, TOOL is one of my favorite bands! Mom played their albums a lot in the car when we went back and forth to some place she called work.

The next day before coming home we went to a quilt shop for Mom, and then to Babies R Us, a store just for me. I guess there were no stores for Dad, maybe he'll show me one later. I think I'll try to get some rest before this busy weekend. I'm going to a wedding, and will meet more family. I am excited to meet my Aunt Callie, everyone tells me I am going to love her especially when I get older.

Thanks again Oma, I love you!

field testing

Yesterday we got out to run a few errands. We ate lunch at Abuelo's. Ethan pretty much slept the whole time, which is amazing to me. That place is loud, and the table of cackling women next to us didn't help. He opened his eyes a few times, but I think he was just trying to get to the queso. It was his first trip to a restaurant, and things went extremely well. We went by Granny's house to visit for a few minutes. After getting him fed and changed, we headed back into town for his first trip to HEB. It took longer than your average shopping trip since everyone had to see the baby. Once again though, everything went smoothly. We got a whole basket full of groceries and were in there well over an hour. I'm sure all of these trips won't be as successful, but Ethan seems to be as easy going as his father. I think he's ready to be a world traveler. We'll see how he does in San Antonio next week.

A Letter

Dear Huggies,

I would like to write a letter to let you tell you how wonderful your products are. Notice I said I would like to. Unfortunately, I think your products are terrible. We have tried two different styles of your diapers, and neither one of them are acceptable. Right off the bat I would like to clarify that we are using these diapers to contain messes. If that is not the intended use of your product, I sincerely apologize. I feel that feedback is an important part of the consumer relationship, and my mother taught me to always tell the truth. She also said if I don't have anything nice to say, not to say it. On second thought, that was from some kid's movie. I do realize that babies come in all shapes and sizes, so I guess that it is possible that I have a weird shaped kid. I seriously doubt that's the problem, since anyone can look at him and tell he is perfect. I don't want to end this letter on a negative note, so I will say this. One good thing about your diapers is that I didn't spend any money on them; they were all received as gifts. Also, I really enjoy the Mickey Mouse characters on the front, even if they are smiling at me in an "I told you so" kind of way. I hope you can use the information contained in this letter to make a better product in the future. Until then, I will be giving my money to Pampers.

Sincerely,
Brian Murray

Two Weeks

It has been two weeks since our baby Ethan was born. It's actually been 15 days, but who's counting. We had another appointment with the pediatrician today. He now weighs 8 pounds and 14 ounces. That means that he has gained 10 ounces in 7 days. I guess he's a hearty eater, just like the rest of the family. They did take some blood to run some tests. Ethan was not thrilled with that whole process. We don't have to go back until September.

We had a busy weekend. There was a lot of family here for my cousin Sarah's bridal shower. Ethan was happy to meet some of his cousins. We also made our first trip out to run a few errands. I thought he did pretty well the whole day. I don't know if I'm ready for all of those strange people trying to catch a glimpse of the baby though. You would think they had never seen one. They probably haven't seen one as good looking as Ethan, but still. Now that I think about it, I think I read somewhere that we shouldn't have him out in public for the first four weeks. Forget everything you just read.

He has been sleeping pretty well most nights, which means we have been sleeping well. Ok, so Tiffany is the one losing the most sleep. She doesn't seem to mind though, and I do help with whatever I can around here. I know there are a lot of you out there who think we have no idea what we are doing. Maybe that's true, but we are figuring it out just like everyone else does. I promise there are worse parents out there.

By the way, I showed Tiffany how to post on the blog. Maybe that will increase the amount of activity around here. Maybe it won't.

Family Portrait

This was taken on the fourth of July. Even with all of the fireworks outside, Ethan was sacked out. I guess he couldn't handle all of the excitement. Maybe he drank too much.

It has been almost six days since baby Ethan was born. For anyone who cares, I was in the delivery room the whole time and I didn't pass out or anything. I am not generally freaked out by blood as long as it isn't mine. I haven't had much time for blogging, but I wanted to get a couple of pictures up. Everyone in the house is asleep right now, and maybe they will stay that way long enough for me to get this done. Thanks to my mom and technology, most of you have already seen some pictures. I tried to pick ones that nobody has seen yet. I think I already have nearly a hundred pictures, and at least ninety of them are good. Also, Tiffany's sister took some while we were in the delivery room. I haven't seen them, but I will share them when I get them if they are worth sharing. There are also a couple of pictures on my Facebook page, if you're into that sort of thing. So far Ethan seems to be a pretty happy baby. His mother might disagree with me, but we haven't had too many incidents that involve excessive crying or screaming. I have only been peed on twice. I know there's a trick there somewhere. Last night I put together a swing. This proved to be almost as much trouble as the Pack and Play that I built last week. Let me tell you something about these Graco people. If you have kids, you probably own some of this stuff. They may have great products, but their instruction manuals suck! I am usually pretty good at putting things together, but I admit that these things took longer than they should have. I'm thinking maybe the IKEA people need to help them out a little. We did not bother to go watch the fireworks last night, which turned out to be a smart move. They got cancelled for some reason. Luckily, there were tons of people all around us that had their own. I could see everything from our front yard. Living outside of the city limits is great! I feel like I am rambling. It has been a busy week, but we are already starting to figure some things out. Both Tiffany and the baby are doing well. The first appointment with the pediatrician is on Tuesday. I will keep everyone updated as often as I can.