Calvin Lyle Jellings

During my last trimester, a very good friend of mine gave me some of the best advice I could receive before having a baby:

"When he comes, don't be in too much of a rush to share it or to be the perfect mom. Find little moments alone with him to smell his hair, whisper secrets, and touch his skin. You'll love it."

So for the past 5 weeks, I have done exactly that.

But alas, I know how much the little guy is loved. So here he is, mi chiquito gordito, through the ages (of the last 5 weeks).

The first Official family portrait:

Daddy's little guy:

In the nursery at the hospital:

"first whole day as a little person"

Outfit for his church debut:

Perfect timing:

I will have to wait for another post to talk about the actual delivery, but I must say that the myriad of emotions I have felft in the past month have ranged from divine highs of love, joy, and happiness to profound lows of insecurities, inadequacies, and frustrations.

And yet, at the end of day, throughout it all, I could not be more grateful to my Heavenly Father. In my most difficult moments, I think of the amazing women I have met in my life whose only desire in their life is to be a mother. When I find myself frustrated or complaining, I think of the fact that those same women would love to be in the physical pain I'm in or have endless nights deprived of sleep...because it finally meant that they were mothers.

I am imperfect; and having a child has definitely reinforced that notion. But the best part is...he continues to love me (in his own little way) unconditionally; he doesn't care that I have bad breath when I whisper secrets to him at 3 o'clock in the morning. He'll still want me to hold him when I smell like urine, spit-up, or poop (or all 3). He 'smiles' at me when I need it the most-almost as if he knew. He has the patience of his father, and even better, looks just like him.

So many emotions in such a small amount of time. What a life this will be. I couldn't be more excited =).