Welcome to the world, Chloe

I mentioned in one of my recent posts that I had a baby on the way. Well, she's here and I would like to introduce you to Chloe May Lewis:

She was born on February 2, 2012. Groundhog's Day! Which is also my mother's birthday. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 13 oz. and was 19 1/2 in. long. I can't even begin to describe what it's like to become a father. Now I know I've already been trying to be a father-figure to my stepson Gabe for the past three years and in some ways I've already felt like a dad, but watching my daughter being born was indescribable. I feel like I was instantly changed. I guess it just feels more official now, and I hope I can be even more of a father-figure now to both Chloe and Gabe. I feel so much more connected to my new family.

We didn't know if our baby was going to be a boy or girl until she was born. The last ultrasound we had was supposed to reveal the gender, but she was in a position that prevented us from knowing. At first we wanted to know if the baby was going to be a boy or a girl, but when we couldn't find out, it became fun knowing it was going to be a surprise.

It seems so funny, but I could just spend a whole day just holding her and looking at her, watching all the funny faces she makes. I never understood before when people would say "Couldn't you just eat her up?" until I had one of my own. My friend Jesse gave me a book called "The Expectant Father" by Armin A. Brott. That is an awesome name by the way. In the book there is a section on unconditional love. In it he says:

Sooner or later every writer tries to take a crack at trying to describe love. And for the most part, they fall short. But there's a line in Maurice Sendak's classic children's book 'Where the Wild Things Are' that captures the feeling of loving one's own child exactly: 'Please don't go—we'll eat you up—we love you so.' As crazy as it may sound, that's precisely what my love for my daughters feels like to me. Whether we're playing, reading a book, telling each other about our days, or I'm just gazing at their smooth, peaceful faces as they sleep, all of a sudden I'll be overcome with the desire to pick them up, mush them into tiny balls, and pop them in my mouth.

I don't know about mushing my daughter into a tiny ball and putting her in my mouth, but I understand now why people use the phrase "Couldn't you just eat her up?" I do get the urge to gnaw on her from time to time. In fact my wife made the observation that her toes look like tic tacs. So we've been calling them her tic-tac-toes.

So this brings us up to date on where I am in life. I still have so many things to share about the last couple of years that I was away from this blog. My wedding, our honeymoon in Jamaica and a few jobs that I've had over the past couple years as well. So look for more of my "Work, work, work" editions of this blog. Here's a few more pictures of Chloe to wrap up this post. Enjoy!

. Newborn photography, my new hobby.