Picture overload

A post of this length is only created when I've exhausted any other entertainment by finishing the book I am currently reading, watching Micheal Jackson's life story for the fifth time on every channel, and checking each person's blog every hour hoping for an update. I somehow ended up accompanying Ben to a small town two hours out of Bloomington, MN (where we are living for the summer) to sit in a hotel room all day with Blaine and Gus, unable to leave due to Gus' knotty nature of destroying things when feeling abandoned. Since this is obviously not going to work for the rest of summer (I'd probably shoot myself after a few more days... either that or Gus would hang himself), I'll be flying to San Diego on Monday to finish out the summer with my family there. While this is difficult because Ben will be staying here to finish working, I'm excited to be around my family and have some help with Blaine (and Ben's excited to start getting some sleep again). Here are some pictures of the past few weeks.

I'm aware that this post is a picture overload... but I'm extremely indecisive and cannot figure out which pictures are the best.

A few pictures of our 4th of July. We spent the evening with friends at a BBQ and watching our own fireworks.

Ben spent the entire fireworks show covering Blaine's ears from the loud noise.

Gus hung out with Daniel for the fireworks.

All the guys in the office playing football after the BBQ.


Blaine best friend, Maddy.


Blaine has become much more alert in the past few weeks, making numerous facial expressions and cooing noises. I've had so much fun getting him to smile at me and look at different toys.

Blaine has started smiling and I've been working my hardest to get a picture. This is only a half smile, but the best picture I've gotten so far.

He was making the best facial expressions while sitting in his bouncer so I sat there taking pictures and filming. Only afterwards did I realize he was filling his drawers and had pooped all over the seat.

Aunt Nanny came to visit last weekend.

Two week old pictures

I know I just barely posted pictures, but I just got these today and I love them, so I had to show a few. Our friend, Megan, took these pictures of Blaine when he was two weeks, and she did an amazing job! You can see her work at www.meganpapworth.typepad.com.

This is why I have not returned your phone calls...

I have found since my little Blainer came into the world, that I have time for nothing...literally. No one warned me that having a newborn was this hard and time-consuming. I like to reminisce on the "good ol' days" when I could spend more than thirty seconds rinsing off in the shower before running out to make sure my baby was still breathing, and I could sleep for ten hours a night and still take a three hour nap during the day. Yes, I took those luxuries for granted; for now I spend every second of my day and night feeding, soothing, and changing diapers. I laughed out loud the other day when I read an article in a parenting magazine that talked about the large decision that must take place when your baby is napping: should I nap as well, eat, shower, exercise, or get ready. Regardless of the loss of my coveted free time, I love this little boy and can't imagine life without him. I have to admit that I have joined the ranks of conceded mothers in thinking that I personally have the cutest child. I apologize to all other mothers out there, but really...have you ever seen a cuter baby?...





Even his mad face is cute.



And here's one for my neglected first child. He has done exceptionally well with his hairless brother. I found him the other night lying on my bed with his foot on my pillow. Needless to say, he has to find some way to get attention in this household.

Blaine Timothy Mack

More Pictures!

In Light of our Son...By Ben, #1 Dad

So I was stoked to have this guy, untill Jess went into labor, then I started having the weight of the world on me, not that I was having the labor, that I was responsible to provide for and protect my little family. It's a feeling that can leave one feeling quite inadequate. I guess you just ask God to help you rise up.

Jessica did such a good job through the whole thing. I always heard about girls screaming and yelling (at their husbands mostly), but she was sooo mellow through the whole thing, and I really appreciate her for it!


So since Jessica is still in the hospital 24 hours after our nameless son was born, I thought I would post some pics, so as to avoid emailing them over and over. Some of these are 2 seconds after him coming out, some are later. You could probably tell the difference. We thank God for the safety of Mom and Son.

I want to go home!

Last night it was acid indigestion and heart burn from the flaming hot Cheetos Ben forced me to eat in hopes that it would help me go into labor. Tonight it's this:

You're not alone if you have no idea what this is. I didn't. But it's a nasty, disgusting tick; the one I found implanted on Gus yesterday. The experience was a traumatic one, one that has kept me tossing and turning all night at the thought of more of those creatures lurking around. Living almost exclusively on the west coast, I have never had to worry about ticks, let alone come in contact with one. So you can imagine my surprise (or utter disgust) when I thought I was pulling something from a plant out of Gus' fur only to find that the plant object had eight moving legs. I literally had to look up what the creature was on Google in order to identify the parasite. Ever since, that's all I can think about. I'm freaked out that every itch on my body is my very own parasite sucking on my blood. I've gone over Gus' fur a dozen times and spent over an hour brushing him to ensure that I had eliminated all ticks or other small animals. Considering my horrific experience, it is no surprise that I have been tossing and turning all night with visions of ticks dancing in my head. It's almost as if they are taunting me, knowing that I have an obsessive-compulsive mind that cannot rest when I'm worried about something; and the ticks have won. It is now 5:15am and I am still awake, destined to be ornery for another day due to lack of sleep.