When You Can't Sleep, Go to Central Park

Norah and I took a walk in Central Park the other day. Mostly I wanted to take pictures of trees and do some general strolling in hopes that the wee one would zonk. I only got a half hour of nap out of her, but look at this haul of tree pictures:

This one has a couple in it hugging, so you know that it's good.

Oh yeah. This tree was a tree.

These are leaves. And some branches. Two main branches, really.

This one features a person with a dog and a biker. I won't tell you how many times I tried to take a picture with a pedestrian or biker perfectly spaced between trees on that back path. But the title might be 'Photo #7'.


This obelisk is 'Cleopatra's Needle,' given by Egypt as a gift to New York City and brought to us by Commodore William Vanderbilt. But that's just the short of it. Check out this interesting article about it. Norah just got ticked that she had to sit around. And so commences an eternal family dynamic: the dad reading about historical stuff while the kids get bored.

While the mommy's away...

The daddy will play, and the baby will cry. Or something like that. I tried to get a rapid series of pictures where Norah breaks down. Can you believe that we really just keep showing pictures of Norah and nothing else? I promise the next post will be something different.

1. I'm not sure I'm happy.

2. I'm deciding right now whether to let you know how I feel.

3. Now I'm going to let you know about said unhappiness.

4. I'm unhappy.

5. I'll give you a freebie by not screaming, but I am actually really ticked. Fix it!

Mr. Mom

Today is my first day back at work. I'm a little heartbroken. The last 3 months have been truly wonderful. Getting to be with my girl all day, watching her grow and change, learn to smile and laugh, and even going through the battles of naps, sickness, and just learning to understand and know her better. It has been the greatest time. And to have Nathan around too. I know that most new moms don't get to have their husband around like I have, and I am truly grateful. And even though Nathan has been really busy, juggling many different projects, and working a lot, he has been around, and just him being there, us all together, has been amazing. Truly magical.

But today I got up, and for the first time in 3 months the first thing I did was take a shower. I got ready for work, and after getting to spend a wonderful 30 minutes with Norah, I left. The last time I went to work I was 9 months pregnant. (I forgot how much easier the commute is when it isn't 95 degrees, and I'm not carrying around an extra 30 pounds.) I have to admit it is sort of fun to be back. I do really like my job, and given the current state of the economy and seeing so many friends trying to find jobs right now, I'm very grateful for it. That said, I miss my girl like crazy, and I am resisting the urge to call home every ten minutes. Baby steps to 5 o' clock (a mantra I picked up from "What About Bob").

I am reassured to know that Norah is well taken care of, home with her dad who loves her every bit as much as I do. Thanks honey!

More pictures of Norah

To add to the beautiful photos that Rachel took, here are a few more that another talented friend, Kathryn Whiting, took of Norah. This was about two weeks ago, so Norah at 9 weeks. Thanks Kathryn!

Norah might one day be mad at me for posting this next one, but I couldn't resist:

(Nathan says she has my bum... uhhhhh... thanks?)

Rachel Thurston takes pictures of us

Our talented friend Rachel Thurston came to New York two weeks after Norah was born. She took these photographs of Norah and us with film, then uploaded them for our enjoyment. We'd like to share her work with you. Thanks Rachel!

Where's the Beef?

Sorry for our hiatus on blogging. I guess we've been busy. Norah went through a rough patch where she thought that napping is for losers. That changed in dramatic fashion when she fell asleep one evening at 5:00 and, after two night-feedings, decided to prolong waking up until 8:00am the following day. For those of you scoring at home, that's 15 hours. Since then she's been napping all over the place.


Here she is dozing out on the action with Monica, Jeremy, and Sam (oh by the way, we're in Utah). I'm expecting at least one cheeky (ha) comment on this post.

This is a poor attempt to get her cry face. Just imagine a good infant cry on high volume. However, with this new stage of her growth we are pleased to report that she is definitely more alert (see below).


She has also started smiling in abundance, particularly when she decides to pull out 'the cutes'. See the following items, Exhibits A, B, & C.

Exhibit A. Stop it. Actually, keep going.

Exhibit B. Establishing eye contact.

Exhibit C. Look what I can do: Here's my Papa Scott impersonation.

Meanwhile, Norah and Lily have had some playtime, and it's pretty apparent that they are going to be best buds. This picture doesn't show it, but when left to their own devices, Lily really likes to lunge to grab at her cousin.


Okay, I can read the signs: time to wind this blog post down. Anyway, she's beefing up and adding chins and other rolls daily. We'll try to keep you posted on a more consistent basis.

US Open 2008

Nathan and I have been to the US Open together (and with various friends and family members) the past 5 years. It is one of the greatest perks of living in NYC, and one of my favorite things to do all year. This year we had tickets again and decided to take Norah, our at-the-time 6-week old baby. Baby at a tennis match? Let's just say that if you heard a baby crying while Serena Williams was trying to serve on the Labor Day evening game it was most likely our baby. Sorry Serena. Norah did well on the way out there, and was great and quiet as we settled into our seats, but by the second set she was a basket case. Nathan was awesome and let me stay and watch the second (and final set) while he walked around the concourse with Norah. This photo (courtesy of Matt & Melany Simpson) is the only evidence that we actually made it to the US Open this year.

Never a Dull Moment

This is some video footage I took of Norah a couple of weeks ago. One of her favorite things to do is to lay on our bed and shake her arms and legs. I'm still not sure if she knows they are a part of her own body yet.

There's a real climax in the footage that you don't want to miss.

(You only need to watch the first 50 seconds)

7 weeks old

Here is a nice full body shot at 7 weeks. At her 6 week appointment Norah weighed in at 10 lbs. exactly. I can't believe how much bigger she has gotten in just 6 weeks!

Norah, 7 weeks

Norah, 1 week

My first plane ride

Norah's first plane ride. Luckily for everyone this is what she did most of the way:

West Coast Tour, Part II

After an awesome 2 weeks with family and friends in Utah, we flew up to Seattle for a week at Riverbend with Nathan's family.

Nathan's parents were in heaven with all their kids and two grandkids there:

We were in heaven too, I mean look at this place:

(quite a contrast to the view out our window in New York. I mean there was fresh air, a thriving eco-system... we even saw wildlife! A whole family of racoons are living in the tree next to the house.)

Nathan and Norah out on the deck enjoying the view


Norah had some good bonding time with cousin Sam

(my daughter has become a pacifier addict... more on that later)

Croquet happened:

chess happened:

And a lot of sitting around and relaxing happened:

It was so great, just look at this happy girl: