Little Saige is over 2 months old now.  Hard to believe it's been 11 or so weeks since Kylie and I have, oh, I dunno... been to the movies, gone outta town, slept in... Life certainly looks a little different around Casa de Nicolosi, but we wouldn't change a thing (most days).   Saige is changing so fast and starting to develop a little more personality, which is to say she's finally realizing how funny I am.  'Bout time. For a while there I was gettin' a little concerned when she wasn't even cracking a smile at some of my best material.  First I thought maybe she had a hearing problem because clearly I should've at least got a smirk out of her. Then, for a second, it crossed my mind that maybe my humor is more of a sophisticated variety better suited for adults, but Kylie rarely laughs at my brand of funny either, so that couldn't be it.  Finally, I had to come to grips with the possibility that maybe the person who thinks I'm most funny is, well, me.  And only me.  ....... Nahhhhh. That's not it.  I was baffled. But then, one day not too long ago, Saige busted out her first big ol' [intentional] smile at me, and all was right in the world.  Now I just can't wait to hear her little laugh for the first time. When I do, I'll be putty in her tiny hands. Here's just a couple recent images of sweet Saige at (around) 2 months old.

My new favorite thing to see.

Saige and I on my first Father's Day. I look tired. Oh wait, that's because Saige woke me up from 2-4am to celebrate early.

Saige has already learned the I'm-done-with-the-camera-thing sign.

I couldn't get this to happen in another 1000 years if I tried.  The timing is awe. some.  I could watch this and laugh all day long.

This past Friday Saige turned 6 weeks old, and she's already changed so much.  It's funny because I find myself torn between wanting her to get to the next stage where she can [intentionally] smile, interact with us, is more aware and can, most importantly, sleep through the night, and at the same time I want her to stay just like she is right now because every day she changes just a little bit more and this precious newborn time is slipping away.  Slow down little girl. This weeks lesson?  What worked last week is in no way a means to predict what will work this week.  The week before I thought we were settling into a nice little groove.  Saige was doing well with a schedule we were trying to establish, she was eating well, and I'm not gonna lie... I was awesome at getting her down to sleep at night before I went to bed.  I was half-expecting the UPS guy to deliver our Parents of the Year plaque any day. Last week? Not so much. I think Saige was going through a little growth spurt over the last couple days (seriously I think her face was getting more chubby between naps), so any schedule we thought we had her on - much like her loaded diapers - went in the can.  The only thing that was predictable last week was that nothing would be predictable... except Saige not wanting to sleep.  If my hair wasn't starting to get a little thinner on top, I would've tried to pull some of it out.  Today was a good day, though, so maybe we're getting back on track... or not.  Who knows. Either way, I'm just trying to enjoy this crazy ride knowing that it'll fly by, and one day I'll actually wish I could give anything to go back to these first few weeks. Here's a couple images from our little girl's 2nd month.

Kylie's 1st Mother's Day!

My mom (a.k.a. "Nonni" which is apparently Italian for "grandmother") with Saige on Mother's Day.

Today I captured her first documented smile.  I wish I could say I caused her to do this, but honestly I think a telephone pole coulda been standing in front of her and gotten the same look... she was just cycling through a bunch of expressions in her repertoire, and I was fortunate enough to have my camera in my hand when this one came around.  Then again, what do I know?  Maybe she was thinkin' about the look on my face she was about to see as she was unloadin' a big 'ol pile of lunch in her diaper.

Skype video chat session with Kylie's mom & dad this afternoon. She's a Mac girl already.

And here's a few more images from the archives... you know, when Sage was young.  Right after Saige was born, I handed one of the nurses my D3 camera and hoped for the best as I was cutting the umbilical cord.  I'd say the nurse did great!  (sorry if this grosses you out)

Here's a few images from when Kylie's parents (a.k.a. "Grandfather Garry" and "Grammy") got to the hospital after a long drive from Indiana and saw baby Saige for the first time.

Little Saige is just over 3 weeks old now, and while I in no way claim to have this whole parenting thing figured out, I have learned a few things so far. Here are 10 of those things in no particular order (except #1): 10. Paternity leave = weight gain. And it's worse than pregnancy weight gain for dads because after the baby'e born, every other day friends and family are bringin' killer dishes over to the house for dinner. It's like bein' on a cruise ship where all you do is eat... without the cheesy entertainment shows. 9.  The dog - once your cherished companion and surrogate baby - is now, well, a dog.  Actually, Mia's been taking the whole baby thing in stride and has done really well. In fact, she may be even sweeter now than she was before as she tries to garner a little attention away from Saige, which makes it even more sad that she's now this man's 3rd best friend behind mom and baby. 8.  Previously mundane or even tedious tasks are now like vacation.  Don't get me wrong, being a first time parent is amazing, and I wouldn't trade it for anything, but let's face it, after changing 15 diapers a day and staring at a mostly sleeping (and if not sleeping, mostly crying) baby for 3 weeks, a trip to the grocery store makes me feel like I just won the lottery.  7.  3 hours is the new 8 hours.  Everything you knew about time continuums gets thrown out the window, and your life becomes a series of compartmentalized 3 hour cycles. 6.  The house you once knew goes MIA.  Things like diaper caddies, baby swings, and burp cloths replace things like coffee table books, vintage storage chests and vases as decorative objects around the house.  Colorful, squeaky, fuzzy things have multiplied like a wet Gremlin, and pink stuff has spread like a fungus.  It's mind-boggling how someone so small requires so. much. stuff. 5.  Nobody's really got this newborn stuff all figured out.  If there's one thing I've learned from all these baby books, it's that they all contradict each other sooner or later.  There are strategies du jour out there that lotsa people are tryin' to put in a book and sell to us newborn parents.  4.  Your wardrobe gets frozen in time... at least temporarily.  Let's face it, for the first few weeks when you're sitting around the house all day taking care of a baby and barely surviving your self, the need to look publicly presentable falls way down on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs chart somewhere below the need to scrub bathroom tile grout with a toothbrush.  In fact, and sadly my wife can vouch for this, every day for the past 3 weeks I've alternated wearing 2 pairs of khaki cargo shorts.  I think I even heard Kylie call me "khaki" the other day. 3.  It's surprising how easily you'll - at least once - be tempted to make ridiculous, unrealistic sacrifices just to get the baby to go to sleep.  For me, that moment came one day last week at about 2:30 in the morning.  I'd been trying for 90 minutes to get Saige to go back to sleep after her last feeding, but all she did was cry. I'd gone through the progressions of all her typical reasons for crying - hunger, diaper, gas, burping, too hot/cold, too much visual stimulation, too much Diet Coke (just kidding on that last one) - but nothing soothed her.  She was cranky.  I was cranky.  And I think it was at that moment that I asked God if he'd make Saige go to sleep if I promised to give up watching SportsCenter on Saturdays during college football season.  I can't be sure because I was still a bit foggy from the sleep deprivation, but I think I may have offered to give up sight in my left eye just to sweeten the deal.  2.  The Cosby Show is still freakin' hilarious.  Okay, this one might just be specific to me and my wife.  Kylie has our DVR set to record every Cosby episode that ever aired in syndication, and admittedly I ridiculed her for this... at first.  Then, every time she would feed Saige, she would play one of those episodes. I joked that it kinda became like a Pavlov's dogs thing... anytime Saige heard the Cosby theme song, she would start making a suckling motion with her mouth becuase she knew it was dinner time.  Anyway, the more episodes I sat through, the less I made fun of Kylie.  I'd forgotten how hilarious Bill Cosby is... truly a comedic genius.  I find myself nearly laughing out loud at his deliveries and mannerisms on that show, and I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed it back in the day. 1.  My wife is amazing.  Seriously.  I joke about how much work it is having a newborn around the house, but honestly I have it easy compared to her.  She works so much harder than I do and never rarely complains.  She's been a fantastic mom to Saige, and I am blessed with more than I deserve to have her as my wife. And just for fun, here's a few more images from the past several days...

A close-up of Kylie's Easter basket this year.

The Easter bunny made a stop at our house this year.

Thanks, Carla, for the adorable hat!!

There's just something about Saige's face I think is so adorable when she's pouting.

Have a few more photos to post, but here's just a couple I took today of my 2 favorite girls. Seeing these two together brings me more joy than I can describe in a few sentences. I love to see the bond grow between them each day. BTW, pretty sure it was while I was taking these photographs that the dog helped her self to a chewy treat in Saige's recently detached umbilical cord that was temporarily sitting on the ottoman. Nice.  I can see how she'd be confused... it did look a litle like a Beggin' Strip. These images were both taken with Kylie standing near a window where light was spilling into the living room.  I placed a 4'x6' silver reflector left of the frame to provide a little reflected fill light. The grain was added in post processing in this first image.

In this next image, I overlayed one of the textures I photographed in my trip to Paris last year.