Two month stats...

Aaron weighed in at a whopping 11 lbs, 8 oz (50th percentile), measured 23.5 inches in length (75th percentile), and has a head circumference of 15 inches (25th percentile, but a perfect hat size, I think :-)

It was an emotional visit with Dr. Rupal this afternoon. We were scheduled to get the first of Aaron's immunizations (seven doses in total), but I just couldn't do it. I've been reading too much material that correlates increasing autism, auto-immune disorders, and developmental delays with the current immunization schedule. Dr. Rupal was so gracious to answer my questions, and she's willing to look over the materials I printed out for her and talk more about it at next month's checkup. But I'm still not sure that someone who's part of the medical establishment will be able to sift all of the rhetoric and get to the truth. The thing I'm learning about parenting is that I am the only one who can really get to the truth of it all, whether it's about vaccines or breastfeeding or sleep issues or... or... or... So Mike and I are going to do some more reading, seek more counsel from those we trust and respect, and pray like crazy. I feel the heavy weight of responsibility for this tiny and perfect baby, but I do know that Aaron belongs first to God, who loves him even more than I do. Whatever decision we make, we know that we are in His care, and my heart finds peace in that.

2nd and 10...

Aaron is two months old already. He's changed so much this past month - from a little blob of baby to a smiley, giggling, very aware little boy. It's amazing to watch bits of his personality peek out. We fall in love a little more every day. This week will bring his two month checkup, so we'll post his new stats later in the week. But pray for us - his first series of shots will come with this appointment.

Happy Thanksgiving

We know what we're thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend... a growing and healthy baby boy!

Visitors!

Aaron's been busy visiting with lots of his new friends. Here's the who's who...

Friends Lou and Ann came for a visit, and Uncle Louie introduced Aaron to the great Chicago tradition of Bears football. Aaron can't quite say Urlacher yet, but he seems to be a good luck charm for the Bears - they won!

Grandpa Lloyd came for a visit, too...

Rebo came from California, so we headed downtown for some shopping on the Magnificent Mile - our favorite stop was the Hershey store (even though Aaron slept through the whole thing). And Aaron loves pizza! We had dinner at the famous Gino's East. Yum!!!

Finally, we met up with two of the couples who had taken the Bradley childbirth class with us. Three crying babies in the same room was quite an adventure, but we were so happy to meet these new little blessings.

A visit to the office...

Aaron and I stopped in this afternoon to visit my coworkers at the photography studio. Everyone was so excited to meet our cutie-pie... and of course take a few snaps of him.

We continue to settle into this new lifestyle parenting has brought. Our big weekend excitement? Walkin' to the mailbox on Friday night (and, no, that's not the name of some cool new band that played downtown). But while we aren't catching any exciting rock shows or dining out at any fancy restaurants, the smiles and coos we get from Aaron are all the entertainment we need for now. He's definitely becoming more interactive - a great reward for all the hard work we've been putting in at diaper changes and midnight feedings.