Happy Halloween!

Less than two weeks old, and already a hot tamale.

To Suck or Not to Suck...That Is The Question

Cons:
1. The eventual agony of trying to get her to quit sometime before high school.
2. The bucktooth-hillbilly look is unlikely to come back in style. We'll need to start a savings account just for her messed up teeth.
3. Don't even get me started on the nipple confusion debate.

Pros:
1. Listen.....she's quiet.

Done. We suck.

Of Cats and Babies

A lot of people have asked us how the cats are reacting to Ellie. I think this picture says it all.

For the record, Brian and Ellie were there first, and Sophie squeezed herself into that ridiculous position.

Seriously though, both Sophie and Topaz seem to be doing well. If Topaz finds himself in the same room as a crying baby, he'll just sigh dramatically and sulk away. Sophie seems more interested in helping, and sniffs the baby every chance she gets.

I think I'm taking it hardest. I haven't had a cat on my lap in almost ten days, and I'm going into withdrawal.

First Bath!

We're not sure Eleanor appreciated it, but it's nice to have a baby that doesn't smell of sour milk.

Too Tired for Words

A couple of pictures, just because.












And because Brian points out there's hardly ever any pictures of me.



















Ellie's asleep now and I'm going to follow her lead...

Special Delivery

Ellie got her first piece of mail today!

A "Welcome to the World" card from her friend Zoe in Colorado. Thanks, Zoe! We miss you and your folks so much!

On another note, we took a half hour nap today with Ellie asleep in ANOTHER ROOM. This may seem minor, but is one small step on the learning curve that eventually lets her spend her junior year studying french literature at the Sorbonne.

Unsurprisingly to all the experienced parents out there, mom, dad, and baby survived our brief separation. Now, back to holding her in my arms while we watch Law & Order.

The Importance of Exercise

Brian works his guns with the newly popular baby-hoisting regimen...

...and then promptly passes out.

Bikini Ready

Little Eleanor's belly button fell off tonight. It's like she's all grown up. Sunrise, sunset...

Thank god I was home to make sure the stub ended up in the trash and not enshrined in a glass case on the bookshelf. Brian's a bit sentimental.

Tests, Tests, Tests...

Ellie just got back from "acing" her first pediatrician visit. Taken with the 9 on her Agpar test, she has established a standard of testing excellence. We expect nothing less than perfection on her SATs. Harvard is on notice.

A Yawn, Followed by 60 Seconds of Hiccups...

Note: I didn't realize how much of an evil-genius-humpback-vibe she's got going on in this video. We promise someday we'll get you some clothes that fit, baby.

The Birth Story

So, this picture was taken of me and my friend Sara on Monday night, October 19th. I was twelve days out from my due date and incredibly envious of Sara, who was due the next day and had already been to the hospital with early labor pains.

Of course, less than twelve hours later Ellie had been born, and now six days later Sara is still waiting for her son to make his appearance. She's going to kill me.

We had Sara and her husband Andre over for dinner Monday night, and then went to bed around 10. I woke up at 3am, and my water promptly broke. Since we knew Ellie had been breech for the last several weeks we finished packing our bag and walked to the hospital. It was incredibly surreal walking through our neighborhood at 3:30 in the morning, knowing our whole universe was about to change. The stars were out, and it was a beautiful night.

Once we got to the hospital the doctors confirmed Ellie was still obstinately wrong-side-up and scheduled us for a c-section right away. I got to completely skip labor! (Yet another reason Sara wants to kill me.)

We were in the hospital less than 4 hours before I found myself in surgery and Ellie was born at 8:25am. Kenny Loggins was playing in the operating room. I don't know why that amuses me so much.

We spent two days in the hospital before being released back into the world with a squalling infant. Seriously, you should hear this girl wail. The staff at the hospital wouldn't keep her in the nursery because she cried so much she kept the other babies awake. No kidding. They wheeled her back to our room after twenty minutes. Like we knew how to make her stop!

She's calmed down a lot as we've all gotten to know each other, and hopefully we're only keeping the neighbors awake half the night...

Welcome!

So the idea behind this blog is to have someplace to post pictures and videos of little Ellie for all her family and friends who live too far away to come over for dinner. We hope to post at least once a week, so feel free to yell at us if we're slacking.

Today's installment? Baby's first field trip! That's right, folks.

We left the house.

Brian put Ellie in her carrier (thanks, Sri!) and we walked the few blocks to a local pub, where we sat in the garden and enjoyed the fall weather with a pint of Guinness. It felt incredible to be showered, dressed, and out of the house.

Overall, we've been doing really well adjusting to life at home, and can't wait for you all to come visit!

And then there was this...

Eleanor "Ellie" Lois
October 20, 2009
8:25am
5 pounds, 12 ounces
17-1/4 inches