"Cole Slaw" (Uncle Chris) and "Cod Fish" (Cousin Jax) came for their summer vacation and spent some quality time with our boy who they now call "B Dodge." During an overnight diaper changing/feeding session while Brighton was crying Jax woke up and said, "He's making me nervous!" Jax is going to be a great cousin and I'm sure he will show my son how to rock out to Queen, play lightsabers, and do "flip ups" (his very own unique exercise move).

Another nickname Brighton earned during the Dodds Boys' visit is "Gee" (hard G) because when the boy is REALLY hungry his cries sound like "Um Gee, Um Gee" while his face gets red and scrunchy, what Chris calls his "angry raisin" face.

We've been a little behind on our blogging these days...Brighton has been enjoying spending time meeting new family members on Cape Cod and even managed to dip some toes into the frigid Atlantic! Our little boy is almost 12 lbs now and has grown about 2 inches since birth.

If Only We Lived in Norway

Call me bitter, but if Jen, Brighton and I were Norwegian, not only would we have the joy of speaking either Bokmal or Nynorsk (that's right, 2 official languages), enjoying the classical music of Edvard Greig, and the vast fjords, oh the endless fjords!, but I would only be in the middle of my mandatory 6 weeks of paid paternity leave (I had to look all that up, because I knew exactly nothing about Norway). Pause and re-read that last sentence...actually, save yourself some time and just read the last point. That's right folks, in addition to a kick ass horned-helmet-fur-boot-wearing-plundering-and-pillaging Viking heritage, the Norwegians have some equally kick ass parental leave. That 6 weeks is required. Viking men are allowed 10 1/2 paid months off. I won't drone on, look it up yourself. The US is right on par with beautiful Lesotho and Swaziland in offering no paid leave for parents. Dynamite.

Yes, I'm bitter and angry and mostly sad, because tomorrow I am going back to work to spend my day at a desk instead of spending time with this kid. I've had a lot of people tell me what they think the hardest part of being a new parent is; lack of sleep, the lifestyle adjustments, the crying, and so on. I know I'm new to this, but I think the hardest part about being a parent is knowing I'm not going to see him all day tomorrow. Changing his diaper is a snap. Not being around all day to change it, that's hard.

Now, let's end on a happy note. The cord finally fell off, so it was time for his first full on bath. Enjoy.

Week 1 Re-cap

Brighton received these flowers in honor of passing through the canal. Unlike him, they looked much better the day they arrived.









An obvious look of dispeasure when we put him in the car seat for the first time. Turns out he should have trusted our judgement, because the car seat is one of his favorite things. Something tells me this won't be the last time he doesn't take our word for it.







And finally, how about a hiccup video (stick around for the sneeze at the end)?

Alright already, I'm here!

Hello everyone! Are you going to stop hassling me and my mom and dad about taking my sweet time? Good, so here's the skinny. I made my mom sit in a hospital bed for 54 hours of labor, and I popped out a healthy 9 lbs 2 ozs on Thursday the 26th at 7:56 am. And for the NBA scouts, I'm 20 inches.

Mom and dad are adjusting to life +1 so that's why they have taken a week to update the blog. I'm not really sure what the problem is, a nipple here and dirty diaper there, nothing major. So I'll stay on top of them to keep everyone updated, but in the meantime, who wants to watch a 45 second video of me stretching?

“I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them.” -E.V. Lucas

Much like his father taking 6 years to finish a 4 year degree, Brighton is destined to take 41 weeks to complete 40 weeks in utero. On the bright side, look how well it served me to stay a little longer in my womb that was Muncie, Indiana.

So in the meantime we have settled into a routine of eating, napping, and walking, all in the aim of coaxing the little guy out. Until that day arrives (which for those of you keeping score at home will be Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. whether he likes it or not), mum and dad are just enjoying the relaxation.

"Punctuality is the art of guessing how late the other fellow is going to be"

Brighton seems content enough to stay where he is for the time being. The due date is now 24 hours in the past and we sit and wait...and eat chinese food and italian food and spicy food and wash it down with castor oil while we take walks and do squats and massage ankles and do accupressure and try out any and every other unsolicited piece of labor-inducing advice. As we were leaving the hospital today a woman stared and stared at us. Finally asking, "Are you in labor?"

"Yes, that's why we're walking away from the hospital."

We'll keep you posted.