Playmates

Penn isn't the only miracle on the block. In fact, he's the youngest of a mini baby boom. While I was pregnant, two families from church were also expecting their first child. So Penn has playmates in Graham Carpenter, four weeks his senior, and Mollee McClain, the seven-week-older woman.

Here is Penn's first meeting with Graham, in utero:

Here they are, meeting face to face, when Penn's about a week old. Graham's like, "That baby doesn't even open his eyes."

About 3 weeks later, they hung out again, alert and decked out with their favorite pacifiers. Graham's football onesie attests to the probability that he will be good at sports. His dad is a football coach after all. Penn's onesie just spells trouble.

Last weekend, we ran into little Mollee, who was also in her stroller getting rested up for Rhythm and Roots. She's the oldest, and possibly the smallest of the babies, a petite princess, even though she was the biggest of the babies at birth.

Penn's First Road Race

Here's to a healthy family. Brandon ran his first 5K in 30 minutes, which is 5 minutes faster than he had been running it. I walked the 2 mile race with my friend and neighbor Alison, who has been kicking my butt walking the past few weeks. We ended up finishing together at about 27 minutes. I mean, the last mile, I said to heck with dignity, and got my arms pumping like a mall walker. Penn snuggled close and slept through the whole thing, the little trooper. It was our first race as a family, and felt great to start the day outside together.

1 Month

So far, so good. We love you little guy.

Sweet P

My boy is sweet. He's impossible not to hold, love, and hope the best for.

(Thanks Aunt Stephanie for my Charlie Brown onesies!)

3 Week Photo Shoot

A Growing Lad

At 2 weeks and 6 days, Penn weighed 11 pounds and measured 23 inches. The doctor said he's a strong baby. So, even though a quarter of my day is spent feeding the ravenous little guy, it's well worth it.

He seems to have a laid back demeanor, and is happiest when he's lying on his Daddy's chest or being held. He'll go to anyone, mostly because he's asleep. He sleeps 3-4 hours at a time at night, which is great, and spends more and more daytime hours awake, just quietly looking around...even though right now, he's asleep. He holds his head up for several seconds, and bobs his head when he's lying on his tummy. That's about it. We'll try and teach him some tricks soon. Speaking of tricks...we're hoping to teach Steele how to change diapers.