The Life of a Firstborn

Those of us who are firstborns know that it’s true: we have more pictures in our photo albums than our younger siblings. If the fact that we have two hundred pictures before we’re a year old while they have ten isn’t obvious enough for us, our younger siblings are quick to point that fact out. Even after decades. It’s a sore point of family conversations about being the middle or youngest child versus the oldest. My siblings don’t let me live it down – as if I was the one holding the camera and taking “selfies” (before the word even came into existence).

Today I’m not sure how that balances out. For today we carry cameras with us nearly 24/7 thanks to smart phones. Today I capture nearly every moment of Emry’s life with the phone in my pocket. She has two hundred pictures (or more!) and she’s just three months old. Not to mention short video clips of her just being cute. I guess if we have a second child I’ll find out how quick I am to pull out my phone, but I imagine it will break almost even. Convenience makes it easy.

But what isn’t easy is getting those pictures printed. Ed can post them on Facebook. I put them on this blog. And it’s easy to text them to any adoring grandparent, aunt or uncle the moment they’re taken. Nearly everyone “important” gets to see her newest cute gesture. And while I have getting some of these hundreds of pictures printed for a scrapbook or album in the back of my head, I don’t rush them off to Shutterfly the next week. Storing them on my phone is the 21^st Century equivalent of my mom’s pile of film canisters in need of development on her desk. Very back burner.

But I realized a couple of weeks ago that I need to be better about printing pictures. For neither grandmother has a smart phone. Grandma Sturm could look at Grandpa Sturm’s phone. And Grandma Camus gets to see her every month or less. But when my mom pointed out she has no pictures of Emry in the house or to take to her friend’s, I realized I had failed in this area of being a new mother. So, Emry and I went to Target and got a few printed for the short haul. Meanwhile, I need to look through the hundreds of images on my laptop and see if I should get any of them printed. Which will only take an hour or so…

Sometimes I actually miss film.

No, we’re not smelling something bad…she does this when she’s tired and ready to fall asleep.

My little personal trainer. This look is from after we got home from our run and says, “Why have we stopped? I said ten miles, not four!”

Bible Stories

I can’t remember when my dad started reading to me from my favorite Bible story book The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes by Kenneth Taylor. It seems like it was always a part of my life. Nor can I remember how many times we read the book from cover to cover. Enough that it is now taped together and falling apart at the seams. Enough that I nearly had it memorized word by word. Enough that I can spot its beautiful illustrations a mile away.

Now Emry and I read one of those stories every morning. Emry gazes at the picture, usually smiling and chatting while I read the short story to her. And I remember what I thought of those stories when I was three or four years old. For instance:

Why did Samson break off that door and carry it up the mountain?

Lot got his name because he was greedy and wanted “a lot”.

Wouldn’t it be fun to be a king like Josiah or Joash when I was just a kid?

And what’s it like to ride in a basket down a wall like the apostle Paul?

I’m not even sure this book is in print any longer. If it is, they have no doubt “modernized” the art from its classical pictures to more comical illustrations. They’ve probably left out lots of the stories, too. For there are some adults (the writers of Sunday schools curriculums shamefully included) who feel that children should not be reading stories like Joshua and the walls of Jericho or David and Goliath because they are violent. They teach children that killing is okay and who knows but these kids might go out and try to kill someone with a slingshot. If a child could even loose a stone more than one foot from a slingshot I would be impressed. And I never go the idea that it was okay to kill anyone (except in war) from reading Bible stories, even as an impressionable toddler. But if you are one of these adults, don’t read The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes.

Yes, the stories in this book are very short versions of the long chapters of Scripture, but they are short versions that don’t hide the truth. Just yesterday we read how King Saul wanted to kill David, which was a bad thing. And when David had the opportunity to kill King Saul, he refused to do so and told his friend not to do it either. David did this because he obeyed God. So, yes, my three month old learned about hatred, and murder, and doing bad things right along with forgiveness, obedience and doing what is right. Because that is what the Bible teaches and that is what life is about.

One day, perhaps, Emry will be able to tell me all the stories in her book. She’ll be able to answer the short questions before I even ask them. I just hope, most of all, that these stories will lay the groundwork for her understanding of the truth of God’s Word. That Samson carries doors around because he was somewhere he shouldn’t have been and yet God’s promises are always yea and amen. That Lot was very greedy and he faced the consequences of that greed. That God saved the apostle Paul from many dangers so the Word of God could go forth in Asia. And that God’s Word is True, Living and everything we need to see us through life.

Three Months

Today Emry is 3 months old! She is growing fast – weighing nearly ten pounds! Her hair continues to grow and she loves to “talk”. She has laughed a few times – a funny, deep laugh for such a little girl. She has learned to grasp and play with a couple of her toys. She tries to roll over, but she doesn’t get any further than her side. She has little habits already. When she’s tired, she puts her ring and middle fingers of her right hand in her mouth and either puts her left arm up and over her eyes or uses it to rub her hair. She eats well, sleeps well (8 hours at night!) and loves to stretch and wiggle while Mama does her exercise videos. Even when she’s cranky, she’s a joy!

3 months old!

Now we can hold Sock Monkey and keep a closer eye on him…

Weekend of the Fourth

For the 4^th of July weekend, we had visitors here in Pittsburgh. My parents, sisters Sally, Grace and Jenny and brother Caleb all came for a few days. It was busy, and loud, and fun. We ate well, played in the pool at the hotel and went to see the fireworks from Mt. Washington. A good way to enjoy Emry’s first Independence Day!

Uncle Caleb and Emry

Aunt Grace and Emry

Emry and “Quantico” our Marine bear from Uncle Caleb

 Emry with Papa waiting for the fireworks to begin.

 Emry with Mama – our first time in a pool!

Independence Day

“I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.

“You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. – I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. – Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust God We shall not.”

                                    John Adams to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776