Geez, Mom, I just want to SLEEP!

Mom is turning out to be a photo head and takes many more pictures than Dad (this could be that Dad sometimes takes terrible pictures....).

But come on, Mom, let poor Sage sleep in peace!

Yeah, mom! Ok.....I love you, but come on!

Sage Meets The Relatives (online)

Sage had a busy day today.

He finally met Gramma and Grampa and performed a bit, and was trudged out during sleep to meet his Auntie Jen and Cousin Ethan (altho he was sleeping for that).

Here is Gramma and Grampa's first look at (a moving) Sage. Yup, they seem happy!

And here is Auntie Jen and Cousin Ethan!
(Jen, you are welcome for not keeping the 'bedhead' picture!)

And we must be saving the best for last (hehe), since Sage still has yet to say HI to J.E.B. and Wendy, but that will come soon enough!


So, even though we are half a world away, we are trying our best to make it feel as if we are closer. Thankfully, the modern and easy technology makes this possible and we are happy to make the time for it.

Soon - we hope - we can all meet in person!

Some More Random Sage Shots

Here are some more pics of Sage. At this rate, I assume by his first birthday, we will have thousands of pictures of him and everyone will be sick of him....right?

I dunno, but from our point of view, more is better!



Could it be a smile or gas?



Probably both....



Look OUT! Clod hoppers on the loose!




Here, mom tries to get a giggle....



...and it seems to work....



...but then again, he does have Daddy's stomach (and gas)....



Cleanliness is important (especially in the summer here) and cuteness is vital!



Also, healthy lungs are good...




Hey, are you paying attention? I'm talkin' to YOU!

Who Does He Look Like?

We have been going through the tallies and the counts are in....

So far we believe the following:

Sage's head = Mom's (small) head
Sage's eyes = Mom's (big) eyes
Sage's nose = Dad's (terribly large) honker
Sage's mouth = Dad's (full) mouth
Sage's ears = Dad's (Angelovich??) ears
Sage's cheeks = have no idea....
Sage's hands and feet = Dad's (frog like) appendeges

Sage's farting = EXACTLY like Dad's
Sage's sleeping = VERY CLOSE to Dad's
Sage's peeing in large arcs (when we try to change him) = No comment...

Course, these may change as he grows, so we will continue to keep tabs on things...

With that, tho, here are some pics of his hands and feet. When I first saw his feet (keep in mind I no nothing of babies), I thought - geez, they look big for a little guy!







So now we wait and see what Sage will really look like! We can't wait!

Celebrating a Time When We can Finally Enjoy WIne....

The pregnancy is over, the birth went well and Sage is up to averaging between 3-5 hours between feeding breaks (which is a big step!). So even though mom is breast feeding, we decided to celebrate with a little wine. This was a common occurrence before we even knew of Sage and we thought it ironic that we just bought a case of wine at a great bargain just before we found out we were going to be parents.

At that time, I kindly mentioned to Jo that "I" could drink it - so it would not go to waste, but Jo reminded me that wine gets better as it ages, so I was to be out of luck for 10-11 months as well as Jo.

But no more!

Here are some pictures to celebrate the occasion.


Here's to Sage and drinking wine again!



What? You want some too?



Hmmmmmmm......



Guess he could not take his alcohol.......


Of course we know that Sage will taste a little bit since he is breast feeding, but that was also the point as well! And a little bit of wine for everyone is good for health anyway. We do have to watch what mom eats, for sure!

Yet, this was a good time for a celebration.

Some Random Sage Shots

Just some random Sage shots. We have taken hundreds of pictures and it is only the second week! Are all new parents this crazy? (course having a digital camera does come in handy indeed)....


The Wide Awake Sage



The Sleepy Sage



The Full-of-Wonderment Sage



The Long Leggy Sage



The Bruce-Lee-Kung-Fu-Master Sage




The Stop-Talking-Pictures-of-Me! Sage



The Supposedly-Content-and-Tied-Up-Like-A-Gift Sage



The Clean-Yet-Unsure-If-Baths-Are-Fun Sage



The Clean-Yet-Heavily-Leaning-Towards-Not-Fun-At-All Sage



The I-Love-Daddy-But-Not-His-Chesthair Sage

Well, There are so many kinds of Sage! Which one do you like?

Reading with Dad

If it one thing that I will love to do, it will be reading stories to him (and making them up - or better - playing role playing stores with him). I truly can not wait.

That is why whenever someone asks what we need, I seriously and honestly say I don't really know (what new parent really knows?), but I do mention that I am trying to build a huge library for him, so any books or games or art stuff is what we would 'like' not really need.

Anyway, I wanted to get off on the right foot, so we started reading the other night. Of course, it was The Knights of the Round Table!








Afterwards we discussed the finer points of Merlin and how magic works.....



God, I am loving this!

Sage's First Bath

The title is not exactly accurate since Sage was bathed almost everyday in the hospital, but this is the first one BY DADDY, so it is the most important one (imho).

Boy, was I a scared baby! But I think we both did alright....


This is Dad giving Sage a pep talk before we go for a dunk...



Oh, does not seem to like that!



That's a wee bit better...



Dad! I give up! Get me outta here!



Nope, not until we clean your legs and Willie....



...and your butt. There we go - we are done!



Ok, you can rest now! (and so can Daddy!)

The First Week

Whew!

We are making it through our first week with Sage, and I think we are doing great.

We are nervous, frazzled, happy, frustrated, exhausted and yet totally alert, and I think that is par for the course (as our friends and family who are parents can confirm). We are learning as we go and we both seem to have a knack for this - course this may just be the information we have absorbed (since we are older) or that we are just easier to get used to things now.

Course, as my sister told me very clearly, when your kid develops a pattern or a rhythm, it will soon change and then you have to start all over again (to get into a groove). We shall see.

Here are some pics of Sage's first few days with us. We had to rush and get a new camera, since our other one broke, so now we also have a brand new camera to take pictures of a brand new baby...


Here he is relaxing and sleeping in his sleeping box....




Oh! Mommy woke him up and took a good one! I am not sure if this was a yawn or a whistle....



I am so happy he likes his sleeping box. He looks content! Do you know why? Since he is already a board game geek. Daddy tried to use our crib bed for him to sleep with us, but it was too big to sleep the 3 of us on the bed together, so we had to look for alternatives. Mommy suggested a picture frame with a blanket over it, but when we tried, that was also too big. Then we thought about it for a bit and it dawned on us: what do I have in abundance that a baby could sleep in? Yes, a board game box! I quickly looked through my 100 games to find a suitable box and took out the pieces and board. There ya go! A perfect bed for a soon-to-be gamer geek - just like his dad! We are so happy, and it looks like he is too!

(by the way, the game box is from the game Hotel. When he gets older, we will change to my Descent board game box which is even bigger!)



Here is his 'serious' look - I think he is seriously pooping...



Sage seems to like Daddy's burping position and almost without fail, he stops crying when I hold him like this. We do know that he is like Daddy and has lots of gas though, so Mommy is continuously rolling her eyes whenever Sage burps or farts and Daddy looks so proud....



Ok, have to go back to checking in on Mommy and Sage....More to come later.

The First Night

We made it through our first night with Sage and thankfully, it was not as bad as we thought. Not that good - as all new parents know - but not that bad.

I have told myself that I just have to revert back to the time when I used to go to sleep at 4 or 5 am, sleep til noon and then start my day. I used to love to work (and play) late at night and also see the sunrise. In fact, I have often wondered if it would be possible to stay up indefinately - just image how much stuff you could do - but I do love sleep as well, so there is that conundrum.

I have heard the Leonardo DaVinci slept 15 minutes of every hour, so that he could stay up all day as well (if you add up 15 min x 24 = 8 hours of sleep) and indeed doing that perhaps made him see things ahead of his time....



....but I imagine I will start to look like this soon enough if Sage keeps having his way of eating every 2 hours. I am tired, but Mom is super exhausted and I have to say, I respect her (and all mothers) much more, now knowing what the experience is like.

So, from the books that I have read and the people that I have talked to, this situation of sleep deprivation will last awhile, so I am off to take a cat nap.

Happy Siesta!

Jeff, Jo and Sage

Sage's New Home

We brought Sage home today right after lunch (and his lunch feeding) and we are officially "parents."

I say officially now, since during the stay in the hospital, having a kid seemed cool and exciting, but we were still too frazzled I think to fully comprehend the enormity of something so small....and plus the fact that if we had any problems, a nurse would come and help.

All in all, it seemed like a stay in a strange hotel for 6 days and while not relaxing so much, was not that stressful (for me at least - granted, Jo's situation was a LOT more intense....and draining, not only physically, but mentally. But she is a tough cookie and is going through it like a pro).

BUT NOW WE ARE ON OUR OWN - or so it seems....and that is hammering home the point that we have a heck of a responsibility now.

Sage made the transition well and he got his first glimpse at Taiwan life as we walked to the car and drove home. Then he ended up at these weird people's home and has been enjoying our bedroom's ambiance ever since. I mean, it is nice and cool (but not too cool - for all you worry warts out there), 'romantic' lighting and a 24 hour milk dispensing machine almost right beside him (well, that machine might not agree or like the fact, but that is the truth).

We have a lot to learn and we are looking forward to learning, loving and living with Sage now....

.....as parents!



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Oh, and Happy 4th of July to all of you in the States! We had our own little celebration here....