'I missed you for 29 years...'

Nathan has really kept this blog going the last couple of weeks. It turns out that when he has time away from work and research that he likes to blog... or he is just an extremely proud papa. Probably the latter. Either way, I'm glad you've all been able to enjoy his witty commentary and pictures of little Nell.

Today is my 29th birthday. Needless to say that with the arrival of Norah and all that led up to and came after that, this birthday really snuck up on me. And all I can really think to say about turning 29 (or as I'm sure I'll refer to it all year... almost 30) is that with the birth of our girl, I am SURE the best years of my life are just beginning.

One Week Update

Now that Norah has gone from being days old to a whole new category of a week old, we feel it's time to celebrate. After all, she only gets a small handful of these graduations before she's stuck with years like the rest of us. Let's see what's happening.

"Does this make me look fat?"

Eleanor has been to her first doctor's appointment, and she's starting to fill out to 6.6 lbs, which is something like 6 lbs, 9ish ounces. This is good, because she's adding on weight due to breast-feeding (there. I said it) and we haven't had to use formula yet. Little did I know babies lose weight in the first few days after birth, but then gain it back after mothers lactate. So soon this outfit will fit her perfectly. For now, we like to call her svelte.


Here we see that the hair is coming in as a mullet. She has mostly strawberry blond hair, so the color here in this picture can be deceiving. Then again, baby hair in general can be deceiving. 'Never go round trustin' baby hair,' says I. But as the famous Coachmen sing so well, 'You can always trust a mullet.'


Speaking of music, here's a photo of Norah and me singing in harmony. I took the soprano part while Norah sang bass. We might have been working out a new arrangement of 'Til There Was You.

Here are some firsts for Norah:

1. pee-on-my-parents when they try to bathe me.
2. manicure.
3. 4.5 hour nap (a record!)
4. established communication - I've worked out an easy sign with my parents when our feeding arrangement is not working (vigorous headshake and cry sends the message loud and clear. They get me now)

Good times.

More a Norah

So apparently Norah is taking the whole 'I was born in New York' thing more literally than anticipated. She's said 'Eastsiiide' when I took this. Smart cookie. Not only is she an East-coast child, but more specifically, she is an Upper Eastsider. By the way, to quell the rumors, that's not an odd growth coming out the side of her head. Just Sarah Jane's foot.

Speaking of feet, check these beauties out.


And while we're at it, here's a full body shot.

So at this point, I think we've exhausted all the looks she has. Like Zoolander, we'll wait until she can turn left before we bring you more photos. That or when she has a growth spurt and looks entirely different.

Norah is here!

Well, I can't give a rundown on how it all happened, but here's an attempt nonetheless. Norah was born Friday, July 18th at 1:23am.


Here's Norah asleep at the hospital. It was hard to get an action shot of her rollerskating or climbing the walls what with her cat-like quickness and all. Those nurses are smart to give all newborns the gender-neutral blankets. Or maybe not. Here's Norah with her friend John Henry, and both are feeling confident sporting both blue and pink. Can you spot Norah?


Nikki and Cam had their baby John Henry the same day we did. This is probably the only way to improve on the day your child is born--have one of your best friends have a kid down the hall a few hours later. Crazy fun. With that level of stars-alignment happening, I'm not even going to bother trying to play matchmaker. Something bigger than me is handling the coordination for these two quite nicely, thank you.


Okay, so in this picture I think Norah looks like Sarah Jane for the most part, but that's just because they both like to sport the white do-rag. Does she have my eyes? Only time will tell.

Here's Norah ready for her first trip out on the town.

We bring you nothing but the most up-to-date news here on this blog. While most of our posts contradict that, here's an action photo of Norah being lowered into her new bed for the first time. A keen eye will notice Amy's excellent crib bumper and Cathy's amazing quilt-work. I love my in-laws, and they make really great stuff.

That's Norah on the right.

And now it's time to commence teaching her the first of her many languages. That's me reading The Fellowship of the Ring to get her started on Elvish.

Leading up to the big delivery...

I love this footage. The first video is of the morning Sarah Jane started feeling contractions. The second is us on the way to the hospital (for the first time).




I'm trying my best to withhold comment on the Restoration Hardware bit. Just move along, folks.



This was still during the time when it was fun. The second trip to the hospital was not recorded, nor was it fun. Poor Sarah Jane. Bless all women.

Wrapped Up

So with D-Day (due date) only 10 days away I decided it was time to learn how to use the Moby Wrap that has been sitting in its packaging in our apartment for 2 months. Since I have too much girth about the waist these days Nathan had to be the demo guinea pig, and since we don't have an actual baby yet we had to use a stand in... thanks again Paul for the little monster, it worked well.

The 'Hug Hold':

The 'Cradle Hold':

Can you tell Nathan was becoming less and less amused by this activity? Thanks honey for indulging me :)... the father of my child ladies and gentlemen.

Now who can I get to teach me how to use a breast pump because that thing looks seriously confusing. Yikes!

The Belly

Here it is folks, the 36 1/2 weeks belly shot.

We had our 36 week ultrasound today and baby girl (yes, confirmed again, it is indeed a girl) is hefting up nicely. Already 6 1/2 lbs! I was barely bigger than that when I was born, she must have her dad's genes. We're grateful to know she is growing and doing well, but her mother is hoping she'll decide to come before she gets too big :).