Jason is a month old today, and I have to say that it has been a real learning experience.  I am finding out new things about him, as well as myself, every day.  Here's a smattering of things I've learned about Jason:

Jason is rather unreasonable. For example, having a dirty diaper makes him very upset. However, attempting to change his diaper usually makes him even more upset.  About the only thing that will calm him down after a diaper change is eating, which can be a little tricky because he seems to have inherited his bowel timing from his father and usually poops during or after every meal.

Jason makes the most adorable noises in his sleep. He coos and grunts and peeps and chirps. Sometimes it sounds like he's having very intense dreams, though Juliette and I wonder whether he's had enough experiences yet to really dream in a way that's recognizable to us. At first, his sleep noises had us worried that he might be uncomfortable or upset, or that he might wake up too soon, but as we've gotten to know him better we've become a bit less apprehensive.

Jason has very little control over his limbs. When he's upset—which sometimes seems like most of the time that he's awake—he flails his arms and legs, clawing at his face and, if he happens to be in my lap, stomping on my genitals. (He's very strong, by the way. Sometimes after a few well-placed kicks from him, I wonder whether I'll be able to give him a little brother or sister.) Even when he's not upset, though, he still jerks around from time to time. Sometimes he puts his fingers in his eyes. Oddly, it doesn't seem to bother him much when his fingers are deep underneath his eyelids. No, what bothers him is when I take his fingers out of his eyes. It's like he's saying, "DAAAaaad! Can't you see I put that there for a reason?"

He makes the cutest faces. There's the one where he's content and just looking around the room, staring wide-eyed at everything. He also sometimes curls his lip like a tiny Elvis impersonator. I think the most adorable face he ever makes is the one right before he starts to scream—it's such a sad face that I literally can't help but say "Awwww." I've often wanted to try getting a picture of that face, but I've always figured that I probably should be comforting him instead of trying to capture the look he gets when he's about to be really upset.

Jason has a very unfortunate predilection toward waiting until his diaper is off before peeing. We've tried to be watchful and cover him before it happens, but, I swear, the kid is like some kind of ninja when it comes to peeing. Oftentimes I will get the new diaper on and be congratulating myself on avoiding a diaperless pee when I will realize that his shirt or the pad under him is wet. And this will be despite the fact that I was watching the entire time. (He hates having a wet shirt, but, of course, not quite as much as he hates having his shirt changed.) I've tried to think of ways he can put this talent to good use later in life, but so far I haven't come up with anything.

On a related note, I have learned that an infant is capable of producing a truly astonishing amount of poop. What's more, Jason can poop so powerfully that drops will fly off the changing table and halfway across the room before hitting the ground. The time that happened I was actually impressed enough that I didn't even really mind cleaning up the carpet.

The more time passes the more I think that he must be the most beautiful baby ever. Juliette and I have seen a whole lot of other babies since Jason was born, and not one has been as cute as he is. Actually, that very phenomenon has made me wonder a bit whether he's actually as cute as we think he is, since I'm sure those other parents think the same thing about their own kids, some of whom I'm pretty sure I'd find odd-looking even if I weren't a parent. It doesn't really matter in the end, of course, but I do find it kind of interesting to think about.

The main thing I'm learning, though, is that there's always something new to learn. He's growing and changing so fast that it seems like I barely have time to get used to something before it's different again. I do find myself looking forward to him growing up a bit—I really can't wait until he starts smiling and laughing, and it'll also be nice when I can sleep more than a few hours in a row—but I'm also finding myself a little sad that he actually is growing up. And that's something else I'm learning: I never knew before how true it is that time seems to fly when you have a child, but it really is going fast, and I really have to step back and enjoy this time while it lasts.