other smooty pictures of our man. i mean seriously!

that face!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love how he smiles so hard his whole face gets all squished and his eyes disappear. Oh love!!

the weises meet ben!

Love at first sight! :)

I love everyone peering down at this little person :)

Toni punting, looking good :)

The weather was absurdly beautiful. Those clouds! And that's Ben shaded under that blanket on Elizabeth :)

Sometimes I got to hold him too :) p.s. this is my life: rocking and nursing Ben on our bed. So excited to live somewhere with a couch! Heavens!

Serious face :)

Yay for family! So fun to show him off. So glad he is so loved.

5 weeks old

super ben to the rescue!!!

he feels extra big and chunky this week.....

...especially when compared to this sweet 2-week old picture of him! dear, lovely dude.

This week, Ben has begun to smile more and more, and responds so much to us - he especially loves singing and rocking, and sucking on Toni's pinkie finger to calm down and go to sleep. Toni and I tend to sing to him mostly in French - what is it about French lullabies that are so lovely? My favourite is 'Souviens-toi,' a hymn from the LDS French hymnbook. Sadly, it's only in the French version, and was written by this lovely Parisian couple in the branch I attended back in 2005. I copied the words below - they are so, so lovely, and represent a conversation a parent has with their child ("do you remember, my child?") about heaven, where the child was not too long ago, and if they remember it, and if they can tell us all about it here... 

Souviens-toi, mon enfant: Tes parents divins

Te serraient dans leurs bras, ce temps n’est pas loin.

Aujourd’hui, tu es là, présent merveilleux,

Ton regard brille encore du reflet des cieux.

Parle-moi, mon enfant, de ces lieux bénis

Car pour toi est léger le voile d’oubli.

Souviens-toi, mon enfant des bois, des cités.

Pouvons-nous ici bas les imaginer?

Et le ciel jusqu’au soir, est-il rose ou gris?

Le soleil attend-il la neige ou la pluie?

Conte-moi, mon enfant, la couleur des prés

Et le chant des oiseaux d’un monde oublié.

Souviens-toi, mon enfant: A l’aube des temps,

Nous étions des amis jouant dans le vent.

Puis un jour, dans la joie nous avons choisi

D’accepter du Seigneur le grand plan de vie.

Ce soir là, mon enfant, nous avons promis

Par l’amour, par la foi, d’être réunis.

The last lines are also lovely - "One day, we chose to accept God's eternal plan. On that evening, my child, we promised that through love, through faith, we would be reunited."

Gosh it makes me cry. But truly! These babes are direct from heaven. They are perfect, and so wonderful. I remember a conversation with Leslie I had when we came back from Mozambique ten years ago, where we worked with a lot of abused children at the Colegio Infantil. Their stories were excruciating, and Leslie said that these dear children must return to heaven every night in their sleep - they must have that grace to get through the terrible circumstances they are forced into on earth. I loved that - it's so beautiful, and I think it must be true. Anyone watching a newborn baby sleep would believe it :) Seeing how they talk and smile and dream and laugh while dozing off :) Precious little ones! I still can't believe we have one of our own. How did we get so lucky? What could we ever do to deserve such a blessing?

4 weeks old today!

dear baby

It's incredible how quickly this first month of Ben has passed. He slotted himself into our lives so naturally, immediately bringing us such indescribable joy that has only increased as each day has gone on. He's utterly spoiled us with his sweet, calm manner. He's made our transition to parenthood so easy and beautiful, we just couldn't be more amazed or grateful at his perfect presence! This last week he has really started to respond to us, which is even more lovely. If he's woken up or startled or upset, he calms immediately when picked up by us, and returns to his mellow contentment, resting his head on our shoulders and gazing round at the world. 

Is there anything better in the world than that? Than picking up your dear baby and feeling them melt in comfort? Ah! Ben, we love you so.

Out and about with Benjamin

Springtime in Oxford is superb - wildflowers! Blossoming trees! Ducklings, goslings, lamb-lings all over! Green green green! It's fantastic, and we've been trying to show it off to Ben as much as possible. We live just opposite from Christ Church Meadow, a glorious field surrounded by the Isis tributary of the Thames, and studded with the dreaming spires in the distance. Popping Ben into one of our various baby-wearing devices and strutting out into the fields for walks is something we dreamed of the last 9 months - and we take daily advantage of the beauty, now that our man is officially here!

Sometimes pastries are involved too. (p.s. the patissier of this establishment guessed that Ben was 2 months old! Ah! 2 weeks, not months! :)

(I have the most handsome husband ever.)

This is basically the driveway to our block of flats - we're home in 45 seconds from this photo. GAH! Let's not talk about the fact that we're moving away in just 2 months, k?

....And a last solo shot of Ben, because: seriously. Seriously, this dude is perfection. Everyday we love him more and more. (I didn't know that was possible?)

More Ben! (note: he is swaddled most all of the day, but we like to seize the non-swaddled moments for full-body shots :)

First week with Benjamin

You guys, we so lucked out with this baby. He is perfection and we love him to pieces. I would write more, but I would just gush. Every night before we go to bed I cry a little out of joy and gratitude. I've never had so many happy tears! ah, Ben. How happy you have made Toni and me....