3 Weeks with Ezzy

We've had three weeks with our little man and he's already changed so much. He's getting stronger and chubbier everyday. He's also becoming more alert and I think he's starting to recognize mommy and daddy's voices. He's spending a little more time each day awake and happy to just look around and take in his world. We've started seeing some real smiles (that aren't related to gas and bowel movements).

We try to take pictures of all of his silly facial expressions, but they pass so fast that it's hard to capture on camera. Or they come out blurry or shadowy. Not nearly as cute as the real thing. If I could capture everything in perfect lighting as soon as it happens, these are the things I wouldn't want to forget:

His half grins and devious smiles while he sleeps. Scowling at me while he nurses like a grumpy old man. His eyes shifting back and forth like a paranoid little milk fiend guarding his stash. Shaking my boob back and forth in his mouth like a Rottweiler that just got ahold of a t-bone. Pecking at my chest like a woodpecker when he's hungry (or at the chest of whoever happens to be holding him). His first smiles when Daddy rough houses with him (See Daddy/Ezzy monkey video here). His wide-eyed expression as Daddy zooms him around the house like a jet plane. The little grunts and murmurs he makes when he's eating or sleeping. How tiny and snuggly he is. Raising his eyebrows with such a serious, concerned expression. His fake little cries (not to be confused with the real, window-shattering cries which are not as cute).

And these are the things I've heard other parents say about life with a newborn, but couldn't really comprehend until I had Ezzy:

• He eats ALL the time. Seriously. Sometimes he just wants to eat for five hours straight, only taking minor breaks to nap while still attached to my boob.
• He poops a LOT. And it's really loud and really smelly.
• The majority of the time that he isn't eating, he's sleeping. If he's not sleeping, then he's probably fussing and in need of a nap.
• Breast feeding hurts at first. Thankfully we didn't have any real issues, but I could see why people give up and switch to formula. 
• Showering is a luxury. As is eating with two hands. 
• Getting out of the house is completely dependent on Ezzy's mood. He sets the schedule, and we just follow it.
• It's impossible to complete more than one or two chores on an average day. Even though babies nap a lot, nap time is significantly reduced when you put them in their own bed. Some days I'll get lucky and Ezra sleeps for a few hours by himself. Other days he screams the second I set him down. Whatever chores I do manage to complete are usually done in five or ten minute increments. 
• There's no such thing as a routine at this point. Ezzy's needs vary daily, and I just go with it.
• It really is all worth it. Joe and I are so in love with Ezra and so content with life.