Well, after a brief hiatus to enjoy my son's first few weeks at home, I have started working and painting again. Canon sat in his bouncer, arms flailing and legs flying, as I laid the above painting out and I had a great time creating this piece. In the next few weeks I'll be sketching out some work that integrates my passion for sailboats in more "static" positions (i.e. moorings, anchorages, docks, etc.)
The website has been updated and I have cleaned up the layout a bit, so feel free to peruse the work when you get a chance at www.dupuisian.com
Thanks for visiting and have a great week.

Canon's Arrival

Sunday evening directly after the historic win of the Super Bowl by the New Orleans Saints, Whitney and I whispered to her 40 week pregnant belly "O.K. Canon, you can come out now." We both laughed at the thought of him actually listening to us and figured if he listened as well as his Father did, then he wouldn't have paid much attention to our whispering. As luck and fate would have it, and as I believe with the Lord's perfect planning, Whitney began true labor contractions exactly one hour after the game. I mean, it makes sense, Canon is short for canonized, which is how persons of faith become Saints in the Catholic church, therefore meaning the Saints were meant to win. After the game, some of our family members drove from their post-game parties straight to the hospital (with designated drivers, of course).


Twenty-two hours later, on the eve of February 8, 2010 at 9:01p.m., Canon made his debut into the world. He was 6lbs. 12 oz. and 20 1/4" long. Whitney and I both stared in amazement of this little person that would change our life forever.


I would easily consider my wife a hero after that long of a jaunt with labor. The birth nurses and doctor nicknamed Canon "molasses" simply because he took his sweet time coming out into the world. An hour after he was born, his hospital room was filled to capacity with family and friends, all flashing their cameras at this new, perfect person.



Having had Canon at home now for ten days, I know that Whitney and I are lucky. He is such a happy baby and only cries when he is hungry. Yes, He does sleep quite a bit right now, but we've noticed a few things that seem to suggest he is strong, secure, and comfortable. For instance, he will hold his grip on your finger for long periods of time without releasing tension, he smiles at both of us all the time (most of it is due to gas, I'm sure), he can almost hold himself up in a sitting position, and he has almost successfully rolled over on his tummy a few times now. Needless to say, we have been blessed with such a wonderful, good-natured child.



Something that needs mentioning: A plan that was hatched while Whitney was at work, before Canon's arrival, by her co-workers is now in effect. This plan was for each co-worker to schedule and deliver any meal once a day to our house so that neither Whitney nor I would have to cook meals and, therefore, give us more time to spend with Canon. I have to say, it has been a remarkable gesture of kindness and, considering H2 Performance Consulting (http://www.h2pc.com/) has roughly 14 people here in Pensacola, we haven't had to cook dinner since Canon got home from the hospital. Our most sincere thanks to Mark and the rest of the group at H2!

Stay tuned for more baby adventures with Canon and his new parents!

Before and After

As promised, here are the before and after pictures of our baby Canon's room. When we purchased the house, this bedroom had brown shag carpet, dingy and dirty baseboards, and a sort of peach with bullet-holes theme to it. After patching up all the holes and ripping up the carpet, we essentially had a clean slate to work with.


So here we are. 39 weeks pregnant and the room is finally completed! The glider and ottoman made it back to our house with new slipcovers in a fun, funky pattern. The roman shade was installed in the window, and in true nautical fashion, we used a marine grade cleat to tie down the lines from the window shade.


Baby Changing Area complete with sketchy, nautical-related fabric............


Now, all we have to do is patiently wait for his arrival. I'm thinking we should probably enjoy what free time we have remaining and relax. We hope Canon enjoys his little nautical playground as much as we do and when he's old enough, we'll start sailing real sailboats!


Enjoy everyone and have a great week!

Canon's Baby Shower

Well, Whitney's Baby Shower went off without a hitch (many thanks to my Mother and Sister for the incredible decorations). Being the only guy there, I simply took on the roll of staff and made people drinks, shot some pictures, and became invisible.
Canon received so many great gifts and it will take us a good deal of time to get it organized in his nursery, and that's a wonderful thing! The food was delicious and fun. The cake, from Specialty Bakery and Party Shoppe (www.aspecialtybakery.com) was creative and tasted great.


Some of the gifts included: a set of bathtime rubber ducks, a bouncer with vibrating seat, a pair of K-Swiss tennis shoes, a set of custom made diaper bags (thanks Carol), an easyrider baby carrier, and monogrammed burp clothes with our favorite SEC teams (me - The Fighting Tigers of LSU, her - The Alabama Crimson Tide).


Thanks to everyone for making this such a fun event and for making these new parent's lives slightly easier with some of these gifts.

Now, we just need to find a place for this stuff.......................

Sailboat Nursery

So.......since my last post, which was friggin' Memorial Day, some things have transpired that have changed my life. Right after Memorial Day, Whitney and I found out we were El Pregnanto (I'm working on my Spanish). Needless to say, it is a very exciting time for me and have tried to read and absorb as much information regarding babies and parenting as I can. When we found out we were having a little boy, who we are naming Canon Michael Dupuis, I instinctively
set about sketching a theme for our little guy's room.

Given that I am the Dad, they're are many non-pregnant related tasks that need to be completed before D-day. One of these tasks that I have been most excited about, besides our actual child, has been the nursery.Whitney and I both agreed that a sailboat theme (primarily because I love sailboats) would be the way to go, so we set about trying to find accessories, paint schemes, and knick-knacks that would make his nursery one of a kind. Since the day we learned we were having a baby, I knew that I wanted to paint them something special. Canon got his painting (above) installed last night after I had worked on it these past few weeks and hope he enjoys it throughout his life. I'm especially glad that we hung it high enough that he can't spit up or worse, on it.......

These pictures represent the almost finished product and I will be posting all the finished pictures soon. Canon's estimated arrival date is set for February 7th of 2010 and we both can't wait. There have been no shortage of Baby Showers and gifts from family and friends and it means a lot to the both us. Thanks.

Look for a new post soon where we show the before and after pics of the baby's room. Have a great day.