welcome to the world, little one
today i met a brand new person. he is so precious. a beautiful string bean with his daddy's nose. i can't seem to remember a more magical moment than when i touched the palm of his tiny tiny hand with my contrastingly gigantic index finger and he clutched it in that way that babies clutch.

i used to think that we were drawn to babies and all-things-baby because we wanted some key member of the opposite sex to make some coy smile at us as we together envisioned our future in a little slide-show. ...the wedding will have a lemon cake and a swing band, and then we'll start trying to have babies and registering for baby stuff at target together... i know that has been the case for me.

but not now. seeing baby lucas today for the first time made me realize that there's no social implication or flirtation that can match the wonder of a brand new piece of life. a brand new human. hearing about the birth story (and watching mom and dad feed off of each other's excitement and finish each others' sentences!)... watching mom touch the baby's cheek... watching dad see the baby yawn, instinctively reach for the camera but stop as he just enjoyed his baby's developing personality with both eyes... helping put little mittens on the tiny hands (the mittens were too big, so they were outlawed)... it was all nothing short of miraculous. i started to envision luc as a 8 year old, or as a teenager. then it'd be normal. then it'd be understandable that this person was real. but today, a tiny, pink, wrinkly newborn just seemed beyond reality.

babies aren't just cute and dribbly and hiccupy and adorable. they're magnificent and full of wonder and awe.