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!

I'm A Simpson

After reading Sarah's Blog, I had to Simpsonize myself...

I kind of look like my uncle Jim.

five weeks old

just a few quick photos of miss eleanor, who is a fabulous five weeks old now. here she is in her tie-dyed onesie, which we picked up at the farmer's market. i think every baby needs one--it's a nice antidote to all of the pastel clothes in her closet. she's on her new flannel jungle animal blanket, made by aunt joyce. it's nice and big--perfect for tummy time on the floor!

on sunday we ventured out to the dog park despite the hot and humid weather. with most attention focused on eleanor now, we figured that oscar was definitely owed some good sniff, chase and explore time in the company of a few fellow canines. i tried to get some shots of him frolicking with other dogs, but they'd all scoot out of the frame before i could get any taken. we probably stayed for only 20 minutes, but all of us were ready to get out of the sun at that point. oscar knows that he gets to sit in front of the AC floor vents on the way home, so he's usually happy to get going after a bit of running about. rob has nory in the ergo baby carrier here, which has basically guarantees a long nap as long as she's in it. note the cute sun hat--a gift from henry (and aunt betsy and uncle pete).


life is good when you're a sleeping, sprawled-out five week-old. her companion here is jeero the uglydoll. rob is really hoping that this becomes the lovie that eleanor takes with her everywhere when she's a little older. samantha has assured us that she will probably be most enamored of the doll/stuffed animal we like the least, but we hope that jeero will at least get to be a member of her entourage.


in rob and carrie news, last night we went out on our first date since eleanor was born. thanks to my mom's generous offer to babysit, we enjoyed dinner at oyama, a local japanese place, and saw the latest harry potter movie. i left the house with a bit of hesitation, even though i knew she was in wonderfully capable hands, but then we enjoyed a lovely evening out. i even had my first beer since i found out i was pregnant. huzzah!

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.