six weeks old

eleanor is now six weeks old and this has been a pretty eventful week for her. she has started smiling intentionally--responding to the sound of our voices and seeing our faces. my heart skips a beat every time the corners of her little mouth turn up and especially when she shows off a big toothless grin. last night she slept a solid 7 hours, from 11:00pm till 6:00am. she was also a hungry fussbudget in the evening, so perhaps she was just gearing up for the long snooze. we put her on the postal scale (in a blanket-lined cardboard box--have to get a photo of that next time) yesterday and she's up to 11 and a half pounds now.
this past weekend, eleanor made her first trip to chicago with me and my mom. unfortunately, we didn't go just for a visit, but to attend my great aunt harriet's wake and funeral. she met her great grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins on my mom's side of the family as well as her auntie julie who was able to stop by my parents' condo on sunday.
when we got back to iowa city on monday, rob's uncle tom and his daughters, emily and alex, who were in town from salt lake city, came over for a visit. we had a great time hanging out and the girls showed us "the landlord", a hilarious online video.

they also brought eleanor this spiffy cap, which just so happens to match her onesie (also a gift from tom, emily and alex) perfectly. note the good grip on that keyring--within the past week she's started holding onto objects really well and grasping toys with minimal assistance.
yesterday this new gadget--a fisher-price rainforest swing--arrived in the mail. we seem to be slowly losing the battle to remain baby-gadget-free. oh well. we're just happy that it doesn't need batteries. the swing is a gift from my uncle tom and aunt marg and eleanor really enjoyed her first ride, especially the rotating mobile that features a toucan, a monkey and a tree frog. we have some video, but haven't been able to get it uploaded through youtube yet. stay tuned for short clips in future posts!