Meet my Cousin Lindsay!

My cousin Lindsay arrived yesterday.  She was born exactly one month after me on Nov. 14th at 9:33pm.  Aunt Beth went into labor at home and almost didn't make it to the hospital.  Uncle Jay drove about 100 miles per hour and got to the hospital just in time to park the car and get to the room as Lindsay was making her appearance. Here she is just minutes old since mommy rushed to the hospital to meet her niece as soon as she was born.

Mommy and Aunt Beth with cousin Lindsay.  Hard to believe it was just one month ago that mommy was here at the same hospital.  Time sure does go by fast... 

Lindsay was 6 pounds 1 ounce at birth and 20 inches long (just a little smaller that Sydney is now at 1 month old--Sydney is ready to start sharing her clothes if Lindsay needs anything!)

Aunt Beth, Uncle Jay and Lindsay (Cousin Zachary was at home) at the hospital.  Everyone is doing well and we are so excited to welcome the newest member of our growing family.

Here is a picture of my mommy with her niece Lindsay.  Welcome to the world baby Lindsay!  We love you!!!

 

One month old!

Where has the time gone?!  Sydney is already one month old.  We just had our check up yesterday with the doctor and she is 6 pounds 13 ounces and according to the doctor and nurse practitioner--she is "perfect"!  (We already knew that but it is nice to hear from the medical team that they think so too!)

And so it begins...the scrapbooking challenge to create, record and document all aspects of Sydney's life.  Mommy loves to scrapbook so here I've created a sign which I will update every month.

Here is proof that Sydney does sleep in the afternoon (something she hasn't done in the past several days).  

Tummy time!  Sydney does really well (for a few minutes) on her tummy and here she is enjoying looking at herself in the mirror.  Most of the time Sydney just prefers to be held (which is OK by Mommy) but every once in awhile she will hang out on her activity mat and look at some of her toys.

Sydney and Daddy

Sydney and Mommy

Mommy and Daddy had a date night and went to Warner Theater in Washington DC to see Joel McHale (of E! The Soup-Jill's favorite show!).  This was our first big night out and Sydney enjoyed hanging out with Nanny for a couple of hours.

Friends and Family

All the pictures are in random order as mommy still has not figured out how to move things around.  But the fact that she is able to download at all is quite impressive considering in college mommy "broke email" and caused all kinds of computer problems.

Aunt Beth, Uncle Jay and Cousin Zachary have been so fantastic.  They come to visit often.  My new Cousin Lindsay is going to arrive any day now (Beth is just about 40 weeks pregnant) and I can't wait to meet my new cousin.  We're going to be best friends and will share clothes and toys.  

Adam, Jess and my friend Sophia (who just turned 2 and has a great vocabulary--hope she teaches me some things) came to visit when we first got home from the hospital.  

Here are the 4 generations:  Sydney (just a few days old), mommy, grandma and Granny!

Isn't this adorable?!  Mommy and Aunt Beth wanted a picture and since we couldn't be together on Halloween, we had a dress up day.  Zachary is the CUTEST little monkey and loves hanging out with his new baby cousin.  He better get used to the idea of a baby at his baby sister is going to be born any day now.  

Zach is going to be a great big brother and older cousin for Sydney to look up to.  He has a great sense of humor and is very adorable.  

This was taken at our first Pediatrician visit.  Yes, mommy is that crazy lady that tries to take pictures everywhere.  Dr. Potter is in the middle and Jane (on the right) is the baby aide that helped out during my first week at home.

Josh and Ashley came to meet me when I first got home.  I was on my best behavior and tried not to put any pressure on them to have kids....

Mommy couldn't believe that her friend Robyn came all the way from California to meet me!  Her husband had a work trip and she tagged along.  We had a great time hanging out and even took her to Great Beginnings for shopping!  Thank you Robyn--it was so fun to meet you and Mommy really appreciated the visit.

Great Grandma Juliet and Great Uncle Neil came to meet me.  Juliet knitted me a fun pair of booties and a matching sweater for me and mommy.  Can't wait until it fits!

"Auntie" Karen came to meet me.  She made the most incredible picture for my room which I love.  She does amazing computer work and created this personalized picture which was so creative:  Thank you--we all love it!!!

Hanging out with Grandpa at the hospital.  He has helped out so much around the house.  We kept him busy with projects and he did a nice job putting things together and fixing things.  

Aunt Lisa and Cousin Rebecca also came to meet me.  I've got some family members close by and others that live far away in New York and California and I hope I get to meet everyone real soon.

Here's a cute picture of me and Grandma.  

I'm so lucky to have all 4 grandparents.  They all take such good care of me and love me unconditionally.  They've been absolutely wonderful and have helped make these first few weeks a lot easier for mommy and daddy.  

I love you Grandpa and Nanny (Jason's parents) and Grandma and Poppie (Jill's parents).  You are the BEST!

Picture time!

Here I am in Grandma's arms deep in thought...

My mommy loves to torture me with pictures and has taken lots of different poses.  I like to show her whose in control and even though I am smiling more and more, she is not able to capture it on film.  

Going for a ride in the car.  I love the car seat and usually fall right asleep as soon as the car starts moving.  I already love to shop just like my daddy and have been the mall, out to eat, and a few of the baby stores.  We're trying to enjoy getting out as much as possible while the weather is still nice.

Nanny and mommy picked out some fun hair ribbons and bows for me at Nordstroms(aren't I cute!).  I love getting my hair washed and fingernails manicured...100% girl!  I have a bigger wardrobe than mommy and daddy and love getting dressed up.

Mommy loves to scrapbook but hasn't had time to do too much.  She made this sign before I was born and just filled in the date (somehow we couldn't find the time to take week 1 & 2 pictures but are ready for week number 4 which is tomorrow!)

This is the official picture from the birth announcement (which hopefully everyone got in the mail).  It's one of mommy's favorites and was one of the first times that I showed off my smile.

Here was a great one from the hospital (taken October 14th-just a few hours old).   It is amazing to look back and see the changes.  Somehow time is just flying by and this little girl just keeps growing and growing.

Sydney's Room

This quick video was taken with the digital camera to show off Sydney's room which is the best room in our house. If this works I am sure more videos of Sydney will follow....

Election Day

Today is Tuesday November 4th and I am 3 weeks old!  Things are going well and Nanny is here helping to take care of me (and letting mommy rest a little).  I may look peaceful here but I like to stay awake most of the night and will cry if I'm not held.  Maybe one day I'll actually get on a schedule.....

Here I am hanging out with Mommy.  I am alert and cooing and the smiles just melt her heart. But I don't like smiling for the camera (gotta show my parents I am in control here)...My clothes are still too big on me but I am growing bigger every day.  Somehow the time is passing so fast and I'm changing all the time. Mommy is going to post some more pictures later and introduce you to the rest of the family and friends (we love visitors and are so glad many people have come to meet our little girl).
Today is election day: I have to wait until 2028 to vote in the Presidential elections...mommy sent in her absentee ballot before I was born and Daddy went to the polls at 6am this morning.  2008 has been a year filled with changes and it'll be interesting to see what happens with todays elections. I got this outfit and thought it would be perfect to wear today--happy voting! 

Happy Halloween!!!

Our 17 day old baby girl celebrated her first Halloween and when we saw this costume, we knew we didn't have a choice-we were going to torture her and dress her up as a tootsie roll.  Ever since Mommy was little, her nickname had been "Toots" which she hated!  Poppie now refers to Sydney as "Tootsie Too" or just "2" and mommy has accepted that the nickname is here to stay...  

Daddy came home from work a little early so he could attend the parade and Halloween celebration in our neighborhood.  Several hundred people gathered at the clubhouse for the parade of costumes.  We're biased but we thought our little tootsie roll was the cutest one there!  It was a perfect day for trick-or-treating and in a couple of years we can't wait to really enjoy this holiday.  A holiday dedicated to chocolate is a great one!

Here we are at the Fallsgrove parade and Halloween party.  Happy Halloween everyone!!!