Cousins Cousins Everywhere!

Over the past few weeks, Will has enjoyed getting to know his crazy cousins, Eli (7), Ezra (5), and Elena (4 months). Eli and Ezra are so good with him, and love to give him non stop kisses. They have had a lot of practice with their baby sister, Elena. Eli tends to call him Little Will, and Ezra likes to call him Willy Billy, or Will the Pill. Elena is fascinated by him only when he has a bottle or a "doddy" (paci) in his mouth. She always looks at him like she's trying to figure out a way to steal them. It's so cute. I love that we are so close to both of our families and Will gets to grow up with his cousins. What a blessing.

Since I am posting about all the cousins on my side, I wanted to say that my Mom has been lucky enough to have seen all four of these beautiful babies being born into this world. Not many people can say that, and according to her (and my Dad), there is nothing in the world more precious than their grandchildren.

I just thought that was pretty special, and wanted to share.


Eli loving on Will


Ezra and Will staring at each other.


My mom, Elena (4 months), Will (1 week), and me.


The crazy cousins, otherwise known as the loves of my life (next to Ben and Will of course)

Rub a Dub Dub, Life is Grand in the Tub!

Who's that good looking guy in the mirror? (Photo edited for public viewing)

Okay, so bath time is one of my favorite activities of the day with Will. Of course the first few weeks, we were only giving him sponge baths, and he wasn't too thrilled with those, as he would get cold immediately after he was rubbed down. So, as soon as the umbilical cord fell off, we were super pumped to be able to have him take a bath in his baby tub.

He absolutely loved it. He sat in his little bath hammock and watched himself in the mirror as he was cleaned. He had a look on his face like, "It doesn't get any better than this. I'm laying back in warm water, Mom is rubbing me down with a warm cloth, and Dad is rubbing my head just to keep me calm. I'm living the dream, and I smell good too."

His not so favorite part of bath time is the lotion at the end, because he gets cold. Other than that, bath time is a hit in our house!


Ahh, this is the life.

Tummy Time!

It's our new favorite time of the day! We still like bedtime, and we'll never pass on dinnertime or lunchtime. Don't get me wrong, I love having him lay in my arms during feeding time, and who doesn't enjoy being close to their baby during nap time. It's close to playtime, but for a four week old's parents, it's the best time!

Tummy time, or as I like to call it "As good as it gets to wrestling around on the floor time" brings the biggest smile to both mine and Krissy's faces. We get Little Bubba (Krissy's been calling him this recently) on to his Boppy in the middle of the floor, and ever so gently turn him from his back to his front. Will loves it! He streches his little body (now more than 7.5 lbs), pushes with his feet into a crawling position, and works out his neck muscles. The best is the little grunts he makes as he attempts to do a push up. While in Lafayette, Lulu even tried helping him out. Kind of like a momma bird tending to her chick in the nest.

Here are some of recent tummy time shots.


Will trying to escape his Boppy. Yes, those are socks on his hands.


Will looks like he's laughing as Lulu does her best tummy time impression.


Tummy time has its perks, like having your thumb easily accessible to suck on.

The Sounds of Silence

I've got Ozzy blaring out of the stereo (my comfort music), but the condo still seems so quiet. The whole place feels very stale.

Krissy and Bean went back to Lafayette yesterday to visit with family friends from Anniston, AL, which leaves me away from my little guy for the first time. :( With a new-born in the house, time seems to fly by! There's always something to do, there's always someone to care for, there's always action and interaction. "Hey, can you clean those bottles, and fill some more up?" "I'm going to do a load of laundry, can you grab Will's burp cloths from the other room?" "Shush shush, every thing's alright Little Man, Daddy's coming with your bottle." "Ben, how long does it take to warm up a bottle?!?!"

I miss my Bean, and I miss my Darlin'. I can't wait to see them tomorrow! They are my life. They bring an incredible purpose to my being on this planet. It's crazy how quickly life's priorities change. Three weeks ago, things seemed so difficult, but with Will's arrival, everything just seems easier and clearer. I'm here to be the best Dad and husband I can be.

You're my religion, you're my reason to live
You are the heaven in my hell
We've been together for a long long time
And I just can't live without you
No matter what you do, I'm here for you.

- Ozzy Osbourne "Here For You"

We've said it before, and I'll say it again, we are very lucky to have found some great friends in Alexandria. We had friends who were there when we needed them (and still are) in Asheville, and we've been blessed to have found some equally fantastic people here. Thanks Byrds for inviting me over for some delicious "American" Enchiladas!

I always have to leave you with a new photo of Will, so here's a shot focusing on his tiny little feet.


Ten perfect little toes

Sweet Dreams

Will does the cutest things when he sleeps. Some times he'll make a cooing sound, or if he has a pacifier in his mouth, he'll suck on it while sleeping, but the cutest thing by far are his "sleeping smiles." I like to think that he's dreaming about his Daddy, but in all honesty, he's probably dreaming about Krissy.

Will's "sleeping smiles" happen very quickly, and I was lucky to photograph one of these rare occurrences when I got home from work yesterday.


The famous "sleeping smile"

The Pierce Boys

Four generations of Pierce men, 1925, 1953, 1982, and 2009.

Sorry it has taken us so long to update. As you can understand, our lack of postings is due to our new priority in life, and is definitely not a reflection on a lack of things happening with us. In fact, we have tons of new stories to share about our new life with Will, which hopefully we will find time to post.

This past weekend we were lucky to have my Grandpa Ed come down from Michigan to meet his first great grandchild. It was both a joyous and somber occasion. As some of you may know, my Grandma Jo passed away last August, and it's been tough on him and the family. You could tell that she was on his mind as he was meeting Will. My Grandpa was so sweet with Will, even though he felt a little uncertain about the whole holding him thing, and was proud to finally have a new addition to the family.

For me in particular, this event was also difficult, because of my own memories about my Grandma. She wanted so much for me and Krissy to have a child. She was the biggest proponent of the idea. The news of our pregnancy was also the last thing I told her before she passed. Even as sick as she had gotten, she found the strength to sound so excited about the fact that she would be a great-grandma. I really feel that she is one of Will's guardian angels.

Even with all of the reality of the situation, we really had a great visit, full of stories and laughs, some good pizza and a nice hike in the woods.

Heaven Sent

Ben and I have been loving Will! He is such a good little boy (except at night when he thinks it's play time). We have done a great job sharing duties, one of us will change diapers or manage bottles, while the other takes care of late feedings or helps with cleaning. We have really become a great team together! Luckily Ben's work has allowed him to take paternity leave to let us transition into being the best parents we can be, and my Mom has spent several days in Alexandria to teach us the ropes. It's taken some time, but we're getting a hang of this parent thing. It still feels so surreal that he's finally here!

We are looking forward to Saturday, when Ben's Grandpa will be in town. Will is his first great-grandchild, and when he gets here, we'll have four generations of Pierce men under one roof!

Until next time, here is a photo Ben took of Will. I'd seen these types of photos taken of other babies, and wanted to try it ourselves. Next time, we'll make sure he is good and tired before the shoot.


A cranky boy from Heaven


Sweet boy loves his paci