The Great Outdoors

Eleanor celebrated her first Fourth of July in this star-emblazoned onesie. While not strictly red, white, and blue, we think it was satisfactory.


She got to spend a nice long afternoon with Grandpa Dave on Wednesday before he had to return to Chicago. He's a natural... he must've held a little girl before.

A present from Grandma Kathie to complete the outfit was her new SmartWool socks. We have to say... these are one of our favorite baby items.

Here is a nice picture that we got of her in a onesie that was given to her by "aunt" Julie. Unfortunately right after the picture she had a large spit up that required laundering but at least we snapped this gem.

Yesterday we finally broke out of our cabin-feveredness and headed outside to walk Oscar and use our new stroller. Eleanor got quite excited about leaving the house as you can see below. While she appears startled, it's probably more a function of the flash than anything else.

As you can see, both Mom and baby enjoyed the walk around the neighborhood. It appears that walks might be good for settling Eleanor down and putting her to sleep. Hmmm... only time will tell.


In other happenings, I have to return to work on Monday which i'm dreading. I've gotten so used to being home with Carrie and the baby that it's really hard for me to think about being away. I wish we had a better paternity leave but we don't. Oh well, I guess the rest of our outstanding benefit package will have to make up for it. I've been enjoying laying around the house, holding the baby and reading the 6th Harry Potter book. I figure I need to knock it out in the next couple of weeks so i'll be ready for the Deathly Hallows later this month. Anyone else annoyed by everyone calling it the "Deathly Hollows?"

One Week Ago Today...

Guess who's ONE WEEK OLD today?!

Google Reader

Do y'all know about Google Reader? It's awesome... you can subscribe to blogs, etc... and it tells you when they're updated all in one place so you can keep up to date, etc... without having to constantly check. I like it... give it a try: Google Reader

OH YEAH - you have to have LIVE FEED turned on in your SETTINGS to allow your blog to be subscribed to. I would recommend turning it on for your blog so people (family/friends) can subscribe to it. I know ours works.

Neo-Natal, Oscar Returns, Face Time

The last couple of days have brought a lot more developments, fun times and great photo opportunities. It appears that our daughter already likes to ponder things... as you can see in the next couple of photos. Whether she's worrying about things (like her mother) or seeking answers to life's mysteries still remains to be seen. Perhaps she's just envisioning colors and shapes... hmmm.


We have started to get her onto a blanket on the living room floor to get her some "belly time" and work on her neck muscles. She seems to take this quite well. Here she's posing for us during one of these routines:

One of the fun things about a new baby is wearing all of the clothes that relatives and friends have given you over the past few months for the first time. Here we have today's installment... enough said.

Also today, Eleanor got her first visit from her soon-to-be best friend around the house Oscar. He's been sleeping over at Grandma Sue's house for the past week or so. He was quite curious at first but went back into normal mode after maybe 5 minutes. We gave Sue a baby blanket from the hospital to break him in and get him used to the smells. Perhaps it worked?

Eleanor is also getting quite used to the Papa San chair that Grandma Sue gave her. She settles in quite nicely and goes to sleep (sometimes for hours) right away.

Today she got her first ride in the car (except for the one from the hospital but that doesn't count) to the Pediatrician. As most babys do, she cashed out in the car.

At the doctor she got weighed... she was at her birth weight today. After 5 days she's gained it back. Holy cow... they shoot for 2 weeks I guess so what has this little girl been eating? Or should I say, how MUCH? We were quite pleased to hear this news... it means she's eating well and is very healthy.


Let me just say for the record that Carrie and I could not be happier. Our little girl appears to be in the best of health and is quickly learning to eat mom's milk and sleep very well. She has a great demeanor and will often just sit calmly for hours at a time and take in her surroundings. She hasn't cried more than a combined 60 minutes since she was born and for this we are extremely grateful. She's quite a wonderful little package and we thank everyone for their calls of support and kind words the past few days. Let's see what the future has in store... it's very exciting!