At last! After 9 months baking in Lea’s oven, our son made his debut appearance July 4, 2014 (his due date) at 1:50 in the afternoon. He shares his birthday with the likes of Calvin Coolidge (US President), Louis Armstrong (Jazz Musician), and Uncle Sam (Personification of the World’s Greatest Nation).  Known aliases include Ben, Benny, Benji Bear, Benasaurus, El Bendito, Benihana Steakhouse, #firecrackerbaby, and so on.  Measuring 7 lbs 8 oz and 21.5″ long, he’s long and lean like his daddy, but with the blue eyes and early facial features of his momma.

This past week has been the best of our lives.  My mind is filled with cliches about what it means to be a parent that I never understood until now.  I guess that’s why everyone keeps referring to it as a club.  My heart has doubled in size to make room for all the love that I have for this little man, and all the fears I had of changing dirty diapers and losing sleep have simply morphed into a state of new normal.

I can only dream of what the rest of our lives as a family will be like, but I look forward to capturing as much of it here as possible.  Here’s a snapshot of week one…