Baby's First Christmas 2007: The Big Day

Adrienne's first Christmas finally arrived. It included a lot of red outfits, gifts, family, driving, crying, pooping, tummy time--the usual stuff. Here's the abbreviated rundown ("abbreviated" because we always forget to take pictures of everything).




It started with her parents waking her up early--mainly as preemptive payback for the coming years where she'll do the same to us (warning: silly parental commentary on tape).



Then it was time for presents. We think that the Squishy Turtle book might become Adrienne's first favorite toy. She's really digging it.



All cute and ready to go.



We'll skip past the part where we were with the West Coast family and Adrienne didn't want to be held by anyone except her mom or dad. (She'll learn to snap out of that quickly if she knows what's good for her gift-getting future.) So let's just get to some tummy time at grandma's place.

It went pretty well…

…for a little bit.

Tummy Time

Combine some much needed tummy time, a cell phone camera and a mom who's willing to get in there for the shot and, whammo, instant cuteness.

Girl on Film: Laughter

This video shows you two things: 1) the fourth time we got Adrienne to honestly laugh and 2) the silly lengths parents will go to make their kid giggle. This is just the beginning. Prepare for years and years of us acting silly to get a smile out of her.

We're Just Saying...

Are we really saying that our beautiful, little angel looks like Nien Nunb, a fishy native from the planet Sullust and pinch hitter co-pilot for the Millennium Falcon in Return of the Jedi?

Well, maybe a little bit. She's still way cuter, though.

Girl on Film: Snoring

Turn up the volume. No, that isn't some old guy (or dad) (or mom) off camera sawing logs. Those are the sweet sounds of our little angel after a delicious milky dinner.

Baby's First Christmas 2007: More Hat Attempts

More attempts at capturing some magical moments. As you can see, Adrienne was losing patience with us.

Baby's First Christmas 2007: Hat Attempt #1

This is our first attempt at getting a picture of Adrienne in a Christmas-y hat from her grandmother. A success? You be the judge.

Adrienne of the Trees

As part of the whole Baby's First Christmas Celebration 2007, Adrienne went to her first Christmas tree lot. Ok, it was the Target parking lot, but there was magic found in the crowds, guys looking for a tip because they helped you carry a tree 30 feet, and the staticy holiday tunes pumping through the speakers.

Gallery of Gratuitous Cuteness: Toes, Fists

Adrienne is discovering her hands (by putting them in her mouth) and feet (by kicking everything possible). So what better way to honor said appendages than with a couple of cute photos?



Okay, this is just a close-up. But you try to resist posting this cuteness on the Internet.


Baby said knock you out!


There's nothing more adorable than a baby in stripy pajamas...


...or is there?

Tales from the Hood

We're finally getting around to downloading some of the bazillion Adrienne photos from our camera into the computer (where they naturally go onto the Internet). Found more of Adrienne rocking her hoodie at the craft fair the other week.


Trying to see a piece of the action...


Listening very, very closely to her mom...


Giving us her serious face...


Then a smile...

Then wondering where her hoodie went (and weighing the other concerns of the world, obviously).

Thanksgiving Recap

Sadly, no, we didn't dress Adrienne up in an Amish/pilgrimy get-up for Thanksgiving. We don't need a holiday to do that (sorry Adrienne, you just can't control your hands enough to stop us--yet). So in honor of her first turkey day, we just had to post this picture. This is the kind of thing the Internet is for anyway.

The real Thanksgiving was a trip to see the West Coast Grandma and Great Grandma. We ate, we drank, we fell asleep--some of us more than others. Adrienne had a blast with WC Grandma and then used her as a pillow. She'll do that.

Welcoming Cousin Samantha

Adrienne's cousin Samantha Tabolsky was born on November 15, weighing in at just over 5 lbs. When we went to visit we just had to do a side-by-side comparison. Don't be fooled, under that red and white blanket is all baby.

Baby Checkup, Part Deux

Adrienne had her two-month checkup and all of mommy's milk is really doing the trick. Here are the stats:

AT BIRTH:
Weight: 9 lbs., 5 oz.
Length: 20.25 inches

AT TWO WEEKS:
Weight: 10 lbs., 2 oz.
Length: 22 inches

AT TWO MONTHS:
Weight: 13 lbs.
Length: 23.625 inches

Our brave girl even had to get shots--and sport her first band-aid.

Adventures with Adrienne's Aunts

Adrienne's aunts, Sue and Ellen, made the trip out west for a whirlwind long weekend of baby time, baby showers, shopping and hanging out. Some pics from the visit…

Out and about: Adrienne was on her best behavior (usually) by sleeping.


Three sisters and a baby.


The aunts smile while Adrienne gives her first high fashion face.


Even though it took some time for Adrienne to warm up to Ellen, she eventually got one of the biggest smiles from Adrienne yet.

Gallery of Gratuitous Cuteness: Baby Close-Ups

This is what happens when Maura gets bored and starts playing around with the digital camera's settings: a yummy gallery of black and whites, sepia tone shots and other random baby close-ups.

The Latest Fashion Accessory: Babies

Sure, it's something the Swedes figured out a long time ago, but carrying around a baby, arms-free, is a fresh delight for all new parents. It's like seeing the sun rise for the first time.

We took our baby carrier for a test run in a controlled environment (aka the living room and the kitchen) before venturing outside. Things you can do with a baby on your chest:



Um, wave to your wife as she takes a picture. (Hey, you've gotta start somewhere.)



Let daddy have a refreshing beverage from his bottle.



Have the little one fall asleep without your arms falling asleep.



Get in some pre-baby-type recreation--all without exposing her to the video violence taking place on the TV.

Halloween at E!

Adrienne and Maura made their way over to E! for its annual Halloween kids' day thing. Getting there is an event in itself, so we consider that a pretty big deal. We hung with friends, ate candy and tried to not have Adrienne overheat in her chili pepper outfit. Only thing we forgot: Taking lots of pictures. We'll have to work on that. Some we remembered include...


All dressed and ready to go!



Maura, Mayrav and Adrienne (during the nap she decided to take in the middle of all the commotion--the pictures really don't do the kid-overload insanity justice.)



Mayrav, Adrienne and her son, Zev the Wookiee.



Another picture of Zev, just because it's so stinkin' cute it demands to be shared on the Internet.

Halloween Preview!

Due to popular demand (okay, one request), here's a preview of Adrienne's Halloween debut outfit. The photo was taken during a test run to make sure we're all cool with it. And from the look on her face, she's ready to rock it--we think. You'll have to wait until after the big day for the whole enchilada (and no, she's not going as an enchilada).

Fun with Hair!

Is this a growth spurt? A baby toupee? Not quite.

During a relaxing Saturday brunch with Sherri and Rebecca, Adrienne got all up in Rebecca's hair for a little fashion show/gaze into your hair follicle future sort of thing.

See how she works it as a red head...

We Have Visitors!

Oh, the grand plans you have when the baby arrives. We thought that we'd take pictures of every visitor who drops in and says hello to Adrienne and post them on this here blog.

And then we forgot to take pictures of more than half of them.

However, we dug some up, extracted them from the digital camera and, well, here you go...



Uncle and Godfather Jeff. Can you see the family resemblance?



Carrie, getting all up close and personal before Adrienne gets too jammy.



Mark and Jenna, who have Grant running around at home and another bun in the oven (Jenna's oven, not Mark's).



Jeremy, doing his best impersonation of Adrienne's tongue.



Declan Kallberg, who knows how to take an adorable picture and clearly excels and moving his hands rather quickly.