Five Weeks!

Dear Q,
You are five weeks old and getting so big!  Yesterday at your weekly weigh-in we learned that you are now 8 pounds, 7 ounces.  You are getting so chubby!  Rolls are beginning to appear all over your little body.  I am thrilled that you have finally surpassed your birth weight, but at the same time alarmed that you are growing so fast. Although I am looking forward to watching you progress, part of me wants you to stay little forever.  Slow down, baby girl!

In the past week or so, you are beginning to make more eye contact than ever before and your neck muscles are strong enough to hold up your head.  Still searching for your thumb, you lick and suck on all your fingers like you just ate an entire bucket of fried chicken - it's adorable.  

Bath time is no longer torture for you.  You are also beginning to sleep for longer stretches.  Last night you slept from midnight to 4 a.m.  You make the middle of the night feedings tolerable by being extra sweet and cuddly - and by smiling out of the corner of your mouth when your tummy is full.  I can't wait until you give us a real full smile, which the books say we can expect any day now.

Update! I began writing this on Wednesday, but it is now Friday, November 30 - the day you gave me a perfect, beautiful gummy smile for the very first time.  It was pretty much the cutest thing in the entire world. 

Mischief says: "There is now a "follow by email" feature on the right hand column.  If you sign up, you will be notified every time there is new post on my blog!" 

Scenes From An Autumn Walk

Dear Quinn,

Here we are taking advantage of a rare 60 degree November afternoon to take a stroll to the grocery store - and all the things we pass along the way. 

All bundled up- and ready to go!

Gravestones from the 1700s at Old Pine Street Church...

Cobblestone Streets...

Fabric Row...

South Street...

Horse and Carriages...

Queen Village Houses...

Mosaics by Isaiah Zagar...

Society Hill...

I can't wait until the weather starts to warm up and you are old enough to enjoy the neighborhood where you live.  There are so many things your daddy and I want to show you - and so many places we want to take you.  I love you so much, my little urban baby!

Q's First (Second and Third) Thanksgiving

Dear Quinn,

When you woke us up on Thanksgiving morning your daddy leaned over and asked, "What are you thankful for?"  Immediately my eyes swelled with tears.  We have so much to be grateful for this year.  You're here, you're healthy - and you have a wonderful family that loves you.  Having you has made us realize just how many awesome people we have in our lives.  We have gotten so much love and so many well wishes from so many people.  We are truly, truly blessed. 

All the cards you received!

 In fact, we were so full of gratitude this year that we celebrated Thanksgiving three times!  Once when your Aunt Jo and Uncle Chris were home from Florida, again on Thanksgiving day and again the following Sunday.

I won't record the story of what happened at the table on Early Thanksgiving.  I'm sure your Aunt and Uncles will tease you about it in years to come.  Let's just say that we all had a good laugh - and Mommy learned an important lesson about not only packing an extra outfit for you, but one for her as well.  

On actual Thanksgiving we had a peaceful and delicious turkey dinner at your Grammy and Pop-pop's house.  Unfortunately, I was too busy eating and enjoying myself to take photos - but I did take one of you in the adorable outfit you wore:

Here you are at Mom-mom and Pop Daddy's house a few days later:

Uncle Mike

Meeting cousin Chris

Thank you for being the best baby ever and bringing so much happiness to our lives - and thank you to everyone who has shared in our joy and supported us throughout this year.  Happy Thanksgiving, Quinn!  We love you so much!

Baby's First Bath

Dear Quinn,
Below is a photographic story of your very first bath.  It took place on Thanksgiving Day, 2012 - almost one month after your birth.  Don't worry - your father and I had been regularly sponge bathing you, but as first time parents we were a little nervous about dunking you in actual water.

Since we were going to have a turkey dinner at your Grammy's that night, we decided it was finally time to give you a proper bath so that you would be fresh and clean for your visit. 

You'll be happy to know that these are stills captured from a video.  In the interest of you becoming President someday, I won't post it for the world to see.  Plus your Daddy doesn't want any nudie videos of you on the Internet - ever, so pictures it is.  

Here we go:

Taking the plunge!

I don't know about this...

I hate it!

Okay, this isn't so bad

One butt shot - I couldn't resist

 All clean!

I survived!

Ready for Thanksgiving Dinner at Grammy and Pop-pop's house!

Four Weeks!

Dear Quinn,
You are four weeks old today - a whole month!  Happy birthday, Mischief!

You had your one month check up today.  After a slow start, you are finally starting to gain some weight.  You are now 7 pounds, 10 ounces - very close to where you were at birth.  You are in the 20th percentile for weight and the 73rd percentile for height.  The doctor described you as "long and lean."  Some day you are going to be very thankful for this, but for now we are working hard to fatten you up. 

You nurse every two hours around the clock, and for the past couple of days have been getting a small supplement at every other feeding.  It's working!  Your belly is getting rounder and your little cheeks are beginning to fill out.

I wasn't thrilled about giving you the supplement at first, but it's been a blessing in disguise. Now your daddy can join in on the fun, and he loves giving you your bottle when he gets home from work.

First bottle feeding

Teehee...I'm so funny!

As the days go by you are changing so fast.  You are learning to lock eyes with whoever is holding you. You can now lift your head and roll onto your side - even the doctor was surprised by how strong you are.  We like to think that you already have a great sense of humor - timing your poops for the split second your father picks you up, or when one of us mentions that you haven't had a dirty diaper in a while.  You make us laugh every single day.

I love being a mommy!

We are so proud and lucky to be your parents.  You are such a good baby and it's been so amazing to watch you grow.  I'm looking forward to seeing what the next month brings and the many new milestones we'll get to celebrate with you.  We love you so much, baby girl!

 Four Week Photo Shoot!

Not very cooperative!