It's hard to believe that Ethan's already a whole month old!! We are are both thriving, although he is getting WAY more sleep than I am. I haven't pulled this many all-nighters since college! And I just can't seem to make myself nap when he does unless I am completely wiped - I have too many things I want to do. He gained 6 oz. in his first week (which is fairly considerable if you are only 8 lbs to start with!) and the doctor measured him at 22 inches. He's a BIG BOY and getting bigger all the time. Our less-than-accurate-scale puts him at about 11 pounds currently. I should get the "official" weight when we go to the doctor's next week. He has grown into his feet more, but still has large hands. Other noteworthy events for the first month include a fairly serious case of infant acne (which has mostly cleared up), losing ALL the hair on the top of his head (making him look like a little old man from the front), and the beginnings of the cutest little smile!! I am having a great time getting to know my little guy. I am sure he would say the same about me, if he could only talk :)

Because I didn't think that the first month of life would be exciting enough with just Christmas, New Year's and 15 people to entertain at the house, I decided to join my parents on their yearly vacation - this year to Key West. Mom, Dad, Sheila, Ethan (2.5 weeks at the time) and I left the house VERY early to catch our 6:00 am flight to Miami, connecting to Key West. Luckily for us (and for everyone else on the plane) Ethan was a stellar traveler and slept just about the whole time. We were met in Key West by Aunt Carol and Granddad and we all spent a very enjoyable week seeing the sights and enjoying the weather and the company. Sheila and I rented a car the last day and drove up the keys to see the seven mile bridge.

The only near-disaster happened when I ran out of diapers in the airport on the trip home. And for those of you that haven't noticed, they don't sell them in the duty free shop! We all kept a lookout for new mother types with babies Ethan's size so I could beg for diapers, but strangely, there were no other 2 week old babies traveling. Go figure!. We finally got a couple of diapers two sizes too big from a saint of a mother passing through and I worked a miracle on the plane with safety pins. It all turned out okay, but I will never get caught short again!

It's strange for me to think that a month ago I didn't know anything about babies. Nothing like trial by fire to bring you up to speed!! I have gotten a ton of advice, some good, some not so good. Regardless, there are some things you just can't learn from someone else. Here are some things that no one could have told me:

1) Life will never be the same. Really.
2) Babies really do smell great
3) Love of head rubbing is definitely genetic
4) Some outfits, while REALLY cute, are just not worth the hassle
5) You can NEVER have too many spare diapers (see story above)
6) Sometimes babies just cry
7) I am way more patient than I ever could have imagined
8) Burping is not just for entertainment - it was once a very important part of life
9) I only know half to words to most of the songs I want to sing, but the babies don't know the difference
10) Did I mention that life will never be the same?

Happy new year to all!