A New Year

It is officially 2007. We are officially parents. We have a Bean. There are many mornings where we say "we are parents!" with awe and wonder, as if we didn't know it already...kind of like we said "we are married" for more than a year after the fact. As for ourselves, there aren't many clues when looking at us that we have morphed into parents (save the baby debris that litters the house).

Gillian, aka "The Bean", is a joy. She is innocence and beauty and purity in one tiny, perfect package. She is a blank slate. That is a terrifying realization...having a child that is a blank slate, and praying that you won't ruin it by being you (x 2 of us). She delights in the simple things, especially The Boobie, clean diapers, warmth (but not too warm), bath time, Mommy Monster, Pappa (any variant of Him), and things one dangles above her head (which she finds hilarious). She started smiling last week, and we have been hearing the random coo for the past few days. These developments are quite welcome as they make her more of a person than the non-reactionary newborn, by sheer nature, is.

So, we begin our New Year with a "for-the-rest-of-your-life" journey. As parents. Parents to The Bean, who has quickly become the center of our universe.