Micaiah's Homecoming

After a 5 day stay in NICU, Micaiah is finally home! This morning Jessica and I were overjoyed when we arrived at the hospital and were able to sign release papers, load him up, and take him home. It feels so much better to let him sleep free from wires and on a bed, instead of in his glass box. We thank God for the helpful nurses and wonderful doctor that watched over him and cared for him during his stay; they were truly a blessing. We also thank all of you who have been praying for us and Micaiah. Your support has been an encouragement to us and means a lot. God bless you all and enjoy some more pictures. (I have a feeling his life will be well recorded).

Micaiah's Tanning Bed

Well, we are now on day 4 of Micaiah's stay in NICU and so far so good. The doctor put Micaiah on some UV treatment because his bilirubin levels were still elevated, which is a sign of jaundice. So I couldn't help but take some photos of him in his little tanning bed and cool Ninja Turtle-esc shades. I think he looks pretty cool myself. All of Micaiah levels (other than the bilirubin) are normalized, so if all goes well today we should be bringing home our little boy tomorrow. Thank you all again for your continued prayers and I will have yet another post when he has his homecoming.

NICU

At around 3 a.m. the morning after Micaiah's birth, he was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the hospital. He had some irregular breathing and was turning a little purple. This is his second day in NICU and so far his color is good and his breathing in becoming more normal. They said he had some fluid in his lungs that his body didn't absorb as quickly as they would have liked, but after a few days his body should take care of it. They also have him on antibiotics and are doing a blood culture to see if there is any bacterial growth. They leave the culture over a 72 hr. period (which ends Mon.). The first 24 hr. result came back clean, so he seems to be doing good.

They allow us to hold him every 3 hours. This last visit we took some photos to share with you all. His cone head is looking more normal and his face doesn't look like yoda anymore. Thank you for all your prayers and support. We know God is in control so we aren't worried, we're just anxious to have our baby boy home.

Micaiah Jacob Mariano

On July 25, 2008, after about 20 hours of labor and 13 hours in the hospital, around 8:24 p.m. Micaiah Jacob was born. He came out as a beautiful baby boy weighing 8 lbs. 1 oz. and measuring 21 in. We are overjoyed to have him in the real world now and look forward to many years of growth and learning and sharing fun experiences with you all. Keep us in your prayers and heres a sneak peek of what the little booger looks like.

Secret Shoot

Yesterday we were blessed to attend the wedding of two of our good friends, Trever & Brooke Hoehne. Their wedding was one of the best weddings we have been to. It took place at a quaint vineyard in the Temecula wine country. We had an awesome time and pray blessing upon both Trever & Brooke as they step out into their new lives as husband and wife. Congrats!!!

During the beginning of the reception Jessica and I were able to sneak away for a bit to shoot some photos of ourselves. All it took was a picnic basket and the xB as a tripod, some manual focus, and a timer and presto, beautiful pictures! Jessica is due today so we will let everyone know when our first child arrives.

Coming Soon!

Well, as some of you may know by now, Jessica is pregnant. In fact she is due this month! Crazy how fast time flies. It feels like we just found out a couple months ago and now here we are. She is due on July 24 but the doctor said it could happen at anytime. Keep us in your prayers as we prepare to take care of a new life. For those of you who are wondering: It's a boy. We're naming him Micaiah Jacob. And yes, he will be the cutest baby on earth. Check back in for the update on his birth and some cool pics. God Bless.

NEW LENS!!

A few weeks back we bought a new piece for our growing glass collection. Our choice was the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens. Great lens, sensitivity, bokeh, and reaction. We used it first to capture a few shots of Eddie & Shannon's wedding. Being the fastest lens in our collection, we have had to get use to controlling the focus because of its extremely shallow depth of field. All in all we have been very happy with our choice and look forward to using it to its full potential. Check back in to see some more shots from it.