NSJ

After a really hard goodbye we loaded up the car and headed north (Nicholas’ first car trip). We made it through a immigrant checkpoint (Nicholas’ first brush with the border patrol), through most of LA (Nicholas’ first trip to LA), and we are stuck somewhere in LA in horrible stopped traffic right now (Nicholas’ first traffic jam). There is a big fire up ahead (Nicholas’ first fire) and there are helicopters all over the sky (Nicholas already “saw” a helicopter at the hospital). Hoover watches over him as he sleeps.

This was going to be a great picture of me and my Jotspot t-shirt but Jul and Nicholas got in the way.

Mary’s friend Mark came by and gave Nicholas his first concert. We, of course, had already played him some U2 but his first live song was Black Limousine (Patty Griffen).

Mary’s sister Anne has been by her side every moment of this delivery. She slept on the hardwood floor the first night and wakes up with Mary and Nicholas at 2am when he decides to test out his new lungs. She has been the eyes and ears of the operation, making sure the hospital takes care of Mary. We haven’t talked in detail, but I’m assuming she comes with the baby.

The Thompsons have graciously let us stay with them on our trips down to San Diego. I can’t tell you how nice it is to come home to a house instead of a hotel room at the end of a day.

We came back home last night to a decked out room. (As if putting us up in their house, feeding us, helping us find our way around, supporting us emotionally, and generally taking care of us was not enough.) There were balloons, flowers, more flowers, (did I mention flowers?), and baby outfits. The blue outfit is a Rancho Santa Fe original and has tassels along the edges which of course means I’m going to need to get the kid some cowboy boots. Jon’s Aunt Chris had come by the hospital and reminded us that Halloween was coming up. This was not something Jul and I were tracking. The Thompsons had anticipated this, and in honor of our vegetarian Mary, Nicholas will be a pea. Now where is that Anne Geddes women?

Having a baby on your lap is not all that different from the persistent laptop on my lap, although I’m still searching for the off switch. I’m pretty sure Nicholas has super powers — here he is moving faster than a camera shutter. I’m happy to say Mary is feeling better after the c-section and is resting comfortably. After watching a nurse do it one thousand times we have learned how to make a baby burrito. My first attempts looked a lot more like a toga, but fortunately the baby comes with a “feedback mechanism” which includes “screaming loudly” when you don’t do the burrito right. Nicholas is not shy about sharing his concerns. He can move fairly seamlessly between your standard cry, the quivering lip red face scream, and the short bursting “WAAAH’s”. I’m pretty sure he is using a variant of Morse code encrypted in some way. I’ll let you know if I make any progress.

Nicholas Scott Johnston was born at 11:37pm on September 26th. He was 7 pounds, 10 ounces and is 21 inches long.

More photos are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/happyinwater/sets/72157594301695034