These are a few of our favorite things

• When after fighting sleep by crying for a while, he gives a sigh of defeat and we know that he's on his way to sleeping.
• The way he grips your finger as if to say "don't ever let go".
• When it's 2 or 3 in the morning and you're completely exhausted and he looks at you and smiles.
• He just discovered that he enjoys his fingers in his mouth. He'll be fussy for you, but you can put him down and he'll calm himself down just by sucking his thumb. (and other fingers)

• When he's happy, he smiles and throws his arms down almost saying "hands down you're the best."
• He will look left and right, back and forth almost compulsively for minutes on end. It's almost as if he sees 2 things, one on each side, that he wants to look at and doesn't want to miss the other thing while he's looking at the one.
• While sleeping in a beanie the above mentioned behavior results in the beanie coming down over his eyes all the way down to his nose, and sometimes he sleeps that way.
• He will mainly sleep in the following position: flat on his back, legs bent, arms back behind him flat. Almost like the police have said "freeze" and that's the way he decided to sleep.
• He has recently developed some dance steps, while standing he has trouble balancing and keeping his legs straight all the time, so goes up and down and all around in his own way.
• He may have the cutest little pouty face in all the land. If he uses that when he's 3 and asks to have something, it's going to be very tough to say no.
• He loves the outdoors, whenever we take him out for a walk he just calms down and takes it all in.
• His eyes get so big when he's excited and it usually followed by THE cutest smile ever. If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing this smile, you are missing out!! Sorry there isn't a picture, we haven't been able to capture a full smile just yet because we are too busy enjoying every second of them.
• He has taken to sticking out his tongue so much so that he is now known as "Mommy's Little Lizard"

2 Months Already!

Joel had his 2 month Doctor's appointment where they measured and weighed him and the doctor is quite pleased with his progress.

Since his first cry we have heard many different unhappy noises from him and are getting quite good at determining what each of them mean. But after he got 3 more immunization shots at his Doctor's appointment we got to hear a new one. This one is similar to the "not happy where I'm at" cry but mixed with "just hold me" and what we're calling "I hurt and I don't know why." As if all of his cries aren't heartbreaking enough this one cuts right to our core. It is sad to watch our precious child so unhappy when we can't explain to him that why he is upset is to try and ensure his health in the future. The good thing is that the pain is temporary.

He has been smiling for a couple of weeks now and can hold his head up on his own for a few minutes at a time. He is starting to "talk" using "Ooooh's" and "Ugglah's" it is very cute. He just rolled onto his side last night, so we've got to keep an extra special watch on him now. His eyes focus on things all over the place so it's fun to have staring contests.

Two months into this side of the journey of parenthood and it is tremendously rewarding. We both have felt a sense of the profound meaning of our lives. Our monetary jobs cannot compete with the joy found in the job of raising our child.

Here are some pictures:

Halloween Harvest Time

Happy Halloween everyone! This is Joel's first "Holiday" and we had a lot of fun dressing him in his Jack-O-Lantern (thanks Jen!) and skulls outfits. We got our pumpkin at the Strawberry Farms Pumpkin Patch this year and Jessica impressed us all with her Pumpkin carving skills. Pretty good for the first time, eh? Of course we took pics to share, so here they are.

He sleeps fine, thanks for asking

The first question we get asked from almost everyone we meet, "how is he sleeping". We think that we are fortunate to get as many consecutive hours at a time as we do. Joel is 6 weeks old now, and he's holding his head up for extended periods at a time, smiling and talking a bit. Throughout my life I have heard that parents don't prefer one child over another. I now understand how that works. I have loved Jessica as much as I know how, and I do not love her any less after Joel has been born. In fact I love her more because I witnessed what she went through. But it is like I actually grew a new heart in which to love Joel. Now I have 2 hearts, and I don't love one more than the other, they are equally amazing and very dear to my heart. We as parents are doing quite well. Jessica has gotten the all clear to resume her workout routine and seeks to get into tip top shape. I have gained a number of extra pounds due in part to the number of people who have helped us out with delicious meals. We have had professional photos taken of the three of us, as well as a session with the whole Johnson, Johnson and Kerns families for Lynette's Birthday. Here is a new slideshow which can let you in on our life the past month. Enjoy.

3 Weeks Later

We've finished our 2 week doctor appointment and he's growing bigger and heavier and the doctor says that he's healthy. Here are a some observations about our new lives after 3 weeks. First, why are some of the tenderest moments between a mother and child so inappropriate to take pictures of in our society. Second, I would like a moment to talk about Real Men. I have heard that Real Men don't cry, Real Men get on their knees and pray, Real Men don't wear purple unless they're royalty. I would like to propose that Real Men change DIRTY diapers at ungodly hours in the morning. Third, now that I've personally witnessed the miracle of childbirth I am more in awe of our Creator and his plan, and have tremendously more respect for Mothers around the world. Fourth, I've now realized that I won't break a baby, and I can get used to changing diapers. Fifth, I thoroughly enjoy hanging out with my son and my wife. If we could find a way to not work and both stay at home, it would be fantastic. Sixth, I know that every parent loves to brag about their children, but I believe that we have the cutest Baby EVER. Seventh, the Diaper Genie needs to be about 3 times its regular size, I feel like I change that thing every day. Eighth, Only through the grace of God can a single teenage mother survive even one day, let alone raise a well-adjusted youngster. The demands of a newborn's attention don't allow for much down time to relax or even take care of yourself.

Here are a couple of pictures from our friends and family that came to visit.

More Precious Moments

We are 5 days into this new adventure and we're having a great time. Of course there is the lack of sleep to deal with, but the precious moments make it all worth it. We've been to the doctor and we were told that he's doing fine. Thanks to everyone for all of the support that you have provided. With all of our friends and family around in the digital age, we keep getting new pictures, therefore we've had to create another slideshow as well as include Mark's favorite picture. Enjoy.

You are my Joy

Joel Aaron Kerns

9-3-2009, 2:37 pm

5 lb 15 oz

18 in

Mother and Baby are very healthy.

Here are some first glimpses of our new family: