Things we've learned...

Maria and I have been parents for over a month now, and it has been an incredible learning curve. The concept of "you're never ready" really rings home as I think of the countless times that we looked at each other and asked, "What do you think we should do?" Are we holding her too much? Why is she crying? Was that a real smile, or just gas? Which bottle is better for her? When should we start reading her books? How long is it acceptable for her to sleep in our room? Is there a gameplan for her becoming a genius? Is there something we can do to make her love us even more? Is her poop the right color? Why hasn't she pooped? Why do we talk so much about poop?

So many questions....surely qualified parents don't ask so many questions?

But alas, we have had the pleasure and joy to hear from so many friends and families around us that the questions are okay. They have assured us that parents never stop asking questions. Apparently the journey of parenting is not the process of reaching a definite conclusion of being a "perfect confident parent." Instead, it's learning to appreciate the journey, and to fall more and more in love with your children as you do your best to figure it out (and of course try not to do too much damage to your kids along the way). So, here we stand, remarkably unprepared to answer the millions of questions we seem to be asking ourselves. Yet, each day Kinley wakes up, ready to eat, ready to poop, and very much alive in spite of her parents unpreparedness. Surely, her God and ours is a gracious one. He's lovingly protecting all three of us.

So we are embracing the journey, loving Kinley more each day, and learning as we go. Speaking of learning, here's a quick list of a few things we've learned so far:

1. Bottles always need to be cleaned. Always. It never stops. They are like Laundry 2.0.
2. Bath time is enjoyable for Kinley for 2 minutes and 23 seconds. She is convinced that any more than that is the equivalent of pure torture.
3. Poop defies physics. It finds ways to explode all over the place...even up a baby's chest. It's like an amazing science experiment.
4. The 3:30 am feeding is miserable when you wake up, but precious once your baby girl finally falls asleep in your arms.
5. Kinley hates small/cute pacifiers, but she loves huge/obnoxious green ones that she got addicted to at the hospital.
6. It is possible for a baby to poop three times within 4 minutes. Of course, it happens promptly after her diaper is changed each time.
7. When your daughter makes eye contact with you and focuses on your face it lights you up in ways you can't explain.
8. Weight gain is a simple way for parents to feel like they are succeeding. You should have seen us when Kinley passed the 7 lb barrier. It was like we just won the NBA championship.
9. Whether you have a good voice or not, if you think it will help your baby fall asleep, you will sing to them. Poor Kinley...my rendition of "Winnie the Pooh" is not pleasant.
10. We have the most beautiful daughter in the world....really, we do.

See....we told you. :-) Keep us in your prayers. We've learned a few things, but we've got a long way to go. We are still so amazed that God chose us to raise this little girl....our Kinley.

-- Scott