one month old

our girl eleanor ruby turned one month old yesterday. in turns i feel like time is flying and that she can't possibly only be 30 days old. this week she slept for her longest overnight stretch yet--five and a half hours! this feat has yet to be replicated, but we're definitely looking forward to it. she also bravely look her first few bottles of milk this week. we're trying to get her ready for when i go back to work, and though she ate very reluctantly at the first few attempts, she's getting the hang of it. admittedly, well-timed bottles made my thursday trip to the hair salon and last night's restaurant dinner a bit easier (for me, at least--not necessarily the person giving the bottle!). we will always attest that she is the cutest baby in the world, but it's true that eleanor has been losing her hair on top (like papa, as some [not me, mind you!] have pointed out) and has a touch of baby acne at the moment. i'm interested to see how her hair will grow back--based on rob's and my blond young years, i suspect it'll be lighter. here she is in action on the living room floor with tucker the turtle and a pinwheel toy that makes a pleasant click-clack sound. the dress--her first "big girl"/non-onesie or sleeper outfit--is a gift from sarah and orion. unfortunately, you can't see the embroidered mermaid princess detail at the hem. it's been a busy few weeks with lot of visits from friends and family. samantha, sarah and i spent a lovely long weekend catching up and doting on the baby. i hadn't seen the two of them together since our wedding almost two years ago and it was wonderful to sit and chat and knit and have meals together and revisit a few old local haunts. jackie stopped back through iowa city to see samantha and we got this group shot.

on monday, brandy, mike and jack ventured east from des moines to iowa city. eleanor and i went to lunch with them as well as sarah and o. nory was a trooper and cashed out almost the entire time, so i was able to eat my atlas buffalo chicken burrito with both hands.

jack is getting bigger and bigger by the day (okay, i don't see him every day, but just a few weeks ago during their last visit he seemed smaller!) and had some fun crawling around at our house. check him out, along with brandy's other doings, at earth mamaspace. as you can see, oscar has been relishing the additional attention from guests that we've had a hard time giving since eleanor was born. he's always quick to find someone willing to invite him up on the couch and perhaps indulge him in a belly scratch.

this weekend, my grandma, aunt chris and cousins michael, sarah and matthew drove down from libertyville to meet their new great-granddaughter/grand-niece/cousin, respectively. we had breakfast at bruegger's this morning--matthew gave a cheer for chocolate milk. yesterday at the ronalds st. house, he spotted a little diamond-shaped prism that was discovered when the kitchen cabinets were pulled out. it probably once hung in the window above the sink. we told him he could have it and it never left his hands. he had fun "reading" the menu through it and spinning it like a top.

here are chris and sarah with eleanor. the little one was a bit of a show-off yesterday and this morning--hardly fussing or crying at all. we were even able to take a swing through the IC farmer's market (where we ran into grammie jean).

here's michael with the baby and my parents in the background. those beautiful gladiolas were a farmer's market gift from my aunt and grandma.

sarah was a great baby-holder, with grandma looking on. eleanor appears to be in a "no photos, please" mood.