Baby: Photos Trickle In

There has been unprecedented demand for photographs of Stillman Burnett, and he has asked me to communicate to his public that his people are experiencing some technical difficulties. Until these issues are resolved, he asks that you content yourselves with this image of him doing what he does best.

The Globe: A Stroll for Madmen

Brother North pointed me toward this crazy video of a reeling hike along a treacherous, crumbling pathway built into high cliffs in Spain.

Watch it first, then let me know if you'll be joining us for the excursion.

Baby: My Child Sucks!

Young Stillman has only a few passions in life, and foremost among them is sucking. He can suck anything, and will. Human nipple? Loves it. His own fist? Please -- he was sucking that before he was even born. Rubber nipple? Bring it on, any brand you like. 50 times a day. A hundred. The lad could draw milk out of a sparkplug.

He has a similar zeal for burping. We're all, "Maybe we should burp him now that he's eaten," and he immediately lets one rip. On Sunday we took to whispering the word "burp," but he quickly got wise to that and so yesterday we began spelling it, but he's already figured that out, too. In fact, I've just noticed that each time I type the word "burp," an airy, gurgly sound comes from the next room.

Yes, I'm proud of my boy. He only does a few things, but he does them well.

Don't even get me started on the pooping. Oh, yes, I'm sure your child was an excellent pooper, yadda yadda whatever whatever. But I also know a champ when I see one.

Photos of all this to come in a day or so, once work catch-up slows to manageable.

Baby: Stillman Meets his Family

Grandpa and Grandma and Aunt Chrissy Burnett were here today, so Stillman got the chance to meet some family members. Unfortunately, certain of the photos still won't upload, so I can't show Stillman's close-up or his portrait with Aunt Chrissy.

But here he is with Grandpa . . . 

. . . with Grandma . . . 

. . . and with immediate family:

Baby: Baby!

So maybe there is something to this nesting idea after all.

Sophia went into labor on her due date, at around 10:00 p.m. After a grueling, complicated 15-hour labor, the doctors performed a C-section and lifted out our new son, Stillman Joseph Burnett, 8 lbs 4.5 ounces, 20 inches in length, full head of black hair. Sophia is doing just fine, and absolutely amazed me with her strength and endurance during all those hours of pain.

I'm writing this from the hospital, and the wireless signal is too weak to allow me to upload photos. We're headed home tomorrow morning, and I'll put some up. I'll also collect my thoughts so that I have something to say besides, "It was really something." Right now I'm still pretty overwhelmed by the power of the experience.

Baby: No Baby

So much for nesting.

What Were They Thinking: God-Awful Sign

Apparently one of our local churches hired an ad agency whose motto is, "Anything to sell a product; bad taste is our specialty!"

You know it's bad when even I'm offended: