Faces

One thing I can always count on so far from Liam is a good laugh everyday. He makes more funny faces in a day than I can count. Some of my favorites are his 'mad face' when he is crying. It is so sweet, I have a bad feeling that he's going to get what he wants in life (only from his Mom, of course). I also like it when he laughs, and doesn't even realize he's laughing. The very best thing about having my new schedule of only working 3 days a week and having Courtney and Liam there everyday is the amount of face time that I get with the whole family more often than I deserve. Face time is a long lost value in our culture. We are so good at instantly mass communicating now that genuine, personal interaction is undervalued and overwhelmed by technology. That is one of the reasons I've started blogging (other than the obvious desire to listen to myself talk). But I hope it will cut down on my "have to check my email" attitude so I can spend that time talking to family, friends and especially God, who to my knowledge doesn't have a cell phone or email account. I hope we don't fall into this trap of not spending quality time with people because we don't have to in order to get the necessary information to get us through the day. Remember before cell phones when if someone wasn't home to left a message on an answering machine and were happy to be called back two days later. And then people got mobile and we could expect to be called back within a half of a day. Now that isn't good enough and we send a text message and know that we are going to get an immediate response and if we don't, we just don't know what we'll do with ourselves. Don't get me wrong, I'm a texter and the technology in place is wonderful for many reasons, emergencies are a great example. But people had to make a lot more executive decisions before we could get so much instant 360 degree feedback on every thought. Let's get back to decision making. I'm going to make the decision to stop writing this and go hang out with Courtney and Liam. I'm interested in a good conversation and a good laugh. Cheers,

Right Where it Belongs

So much is changing in our lives everyday. We've gone from looking at life in terms of 6 or 12 months to every single moment is important. Liam does something new everyday. Today he took his first bottle, without hesitation. That got Courtney excited for obvious reasons. Our new favorite hobby is to just sit and watch and try to make sure we don't miss anything. One of my favorite things to think about are his little hands. Actually, his hands seem quite big to me for his age, but relative to ours, they're small. Anyway, when one of us is holding him or feeding him and he lays his hand on of our hands, it feels like there is such a love transferring from one to the other. There is a total reliance of one hand to the other. As if, for this moment, that is exactly where his hands belong. We know it won't always be that way, so we have to cherish it while it lasts. So far so good.

Sweet Emotions

As I write...my sweet, handsome man lies on my chest just as he is in this picture with his Daddy. Feeling his tiny, warm body on my mine and listening to his whispers of breath is the most precious gift. Having Liam come into our lives has changed our lives so much already and it's wonderful. Literally, my body is not big enough to contain all of the emotions I feel on minute by minute basis. There is an entirely new human being on this earth that is half the man I love and adore and half myself. I just can't comprehend it at times. The love I have for him is unlike anything I could have imagined. Of course I knew I would absolutely adore him and want to eat him up, but there is almost an aching feeling that goes along with the depth of the love I feel for him. I've never been able to stare at someone so long and not grow weary of it. It's amazing to know that I have a son. It's the greatest feeling. Then, to top off those emotions...the love I feel for my husband now has changed as well. Well, there's an addition I should say instead of change. All of the love and adoration I had for him before are still present. However, now there's an entirely new layer. Watching him stare at Liam as he holds him or to see him JUMP at the opportunity to change his diaper just to be involved makes me love him in a whole different way. I knew he would be a great father just because of the wonderful man and husband he already is, but I don't think I quite expected him to enjoy it as much as it appears he does. I can tell he just gushes for Liam. And that makes me fall in love with him even more. So, like I said....my body just isn't big enough to contain all of the emotions I feel as a new mom. Most would call all of this hormones. :) I just like to think of them as sweet emotions.

3 Way Kisses

The new addition to our family brought us a new activity - 3 way kisses. It's so fun to lean in and feel the lips of my wife and usually the ear, cheek or something else of my son. It's like the love triangle that God intended to occur. It is so bizarre to be so happy considering the lack of sleep and the fact that we get peed and pooped on so often. I must say that I have had it very easy thus far. Courtney is doing 80%+ of the work in addition to recovering. She is doing very well and is absolutely an outstanding mom. It has only made me admire her more as a person. Several of people have asked what it is like, the whole process from the labor to the birth to becoming a father. All I can say is that I think everyone's experience is so personal and unique that it doesn't matter what anyone tells you, you cannot be properly prepared for it. I was prepared to be the dad that passes on cutting the cord, then passes out on the floor. I was prepared for yelling, people everywhere and pretty much chaos in general. It was nothing like that; it was very controlled, calm and peaceful (I'm sure Courtney may have a different set of adjectives). I found myself not at all acting like I thought I would. One feeling I remember is guilt for being able to feel so normal physically while Courtney felt so (I'm not even go to try and fill in a word here). I also feel very blessed that our process went as smoothly as it did as I know that not everyone's does. The two things that everyone has been right about is that (1) you don't sleep much at all and (2) the unconditional love you feel for this new person is unbelievable and also cannot be described from a father to someone that isn't a father. That is why I think prayer for strength, discernment and selflessness as the man going into this is important for all the dads. Other than that, don't take my advice, because your experience will surely be different.

William Paul "Liam" has Arrived!

We are very happy and blessed to welcome William Paul "Liam" DeLozier into the world on September 24, 2007 at 6:13am. Even though he was 4 weeks early, he was a healthy tall, skinny boy at 6 lbs 14 oz and 20 inches long! I've decided that I have the strongest wife in the history of the world. She was brave and strong and is already getting nominations for "Mom of the Year" (from Liam). I've tried to upload a few pictures and hope that this is the place where you can read updates, see the newest pics and share your comments with Liam. Here is the first bunch, enjoy and check back often!

Us...on a blog site?

Hmmm...This is new and different. Once I started designing our .mac site, and never finished. Another time we started a myspace page, only because you have to have one to look for other people and because Courtney's high school reunion was planned almost entirely through it. So why would I think we would follow through with a blog spot. I'm not sure I do think we will, but I'm willing to try. What a great way to update people in a culture where time is valuable and spare time is hard to come by. Look at what email, cell phones and Facebook have done to an ancient human requirement - solitude. We spend all of our time working, sleeping and instantly mass communicating. We don't have enough time for a relationship with ourselves and our families. That is what I hope to achieve through this. Maybe I can spend less time addicted to my email and spend that valuable time hanging out with Courtney and Mr. Liam when he joins us, God willing, in October. What will I commit to? Nothing. But I will make an attempt to write something once a month or so. And maybe Courtney will write some things occasionally also. I hope no one will judge my grammar and I hope people give a crap. If you meet those requirements, enjoy!