1 month old James Russell Ashby

James is 1 month old today! Where does the time go?

His current stats:
Weight- 11lbs 1oz
Length- 22inches
Head- 16inches

He can hold his head up very well.
He eats every 1.5 hours (hungry little man).
He sleeps with mommy and refuses to sleep anywhere else, we hope to break this habit ASAP but it doesn't look good since he screams bloody murder until he gets his way.
He smiles at mommy and daddy and giggled for the first time yesterday when mama gave him an Eskimo kiss.
He has deep blue eyes and a little turned up nose.
His cute scowl tells you exactly what he is thinking.
He has the biggest hands I've ever seen on a little.
He has the most perfect pointy little chin.
He has a cute dimple in the middle of his left cheek.
He has his daddy's big lips.
He "talks" a lot, usually in grunts and sighs.
He breathes very loudly which keeps mommy up at night.
He will occasionally allow mommy to put him in the swing, and for about 20 minutes a day he will play by himself in his crib; other than that he requires mom (or dad if dad isn't at school) to hold him all day and all night.
After about a week of fussiness and worries of colic, he has turned a corner and does not seem to have tummy troubles, hallelujah. It was SOO sad to see him in pain and not be able to do anything about it.
He has tiny little ears.
He loves his daddy, and anytime daddy holds him to his chest he has to look up right into his eyes. You've never seen anything sweeter.
His once tiny legs (which earned him the nickname little) have become quite chunky, just like the rest of him.
He can take his binky out and put it back in again, putting his large hands to good use.
He likes to bounce on the yoga ball and rock in the glider.
He has a "zero to ten" personality. He will be perfectly content one minute and completely lose it the next; just like his mama ;)
He HATES getting his diaper changed although he doesn't throw quite the temper tantrums he used to he does however make frustrated grunting noises the entire time he is being changed.
He loves bath time.
He likes his baby carrier, but only in short intervals.
If you try to give him a binky and he doesn't want it, he clamps his mouth shut and flares his nostrils, it's SOO darling.

I love my little man, he's the best thing to happen to me and Sam. Happy one month baby boy!!

Big hands I know you're the one

I ask you, have you ever seen a newborn with bigger hands than this?

Tough and yet not so tough

Having our new baby boy James in the house is amazing. He's so sweet, and cute, and I just cuddle him all day and all night long. He's so fun to have around and somehow I don't really remember what life was like before he came along. Sam and I are both smitten with this little guy. I take 100 photos of him every day because he seems to change so fast, I want to remember every look, every face, every stage.
Right now I am trying to figure out how to do normal things with a baby. I didn't leave my house for 2 weeks straight. I pretty much sat home and held my little day and night. I realized I needed to go to the market today so I ventured all the way to Safeway (which is directly across the street from where we live) and within 5 minutes of being at the market, James was screaming bloody murder. So much for errands. Is it normal to be scared to leave the house? I've been reassured by all of my friends and sister that this is a temporary thing and in a few weeks James will be much more tolerable of outings. I'm hopeful.
Meanwhile he has the cutest lips I've ever seen:

Sometimes

James screams and I think it's really cute...