Babies Are the Best

many moons have passed since my last photographic post. i hereby atone by posting three pictures at once. this first one is a testament to cali's new role: big sister, protector, pillow.



today, for the first time in her life, hannah found her thumb. she's sucked on her fingers, her entire hand, my cheek, and anything else within reach, for a while now. but it seems to me a significant step that she is coordinated enough to find her thumb and single it out. plus, it's about the cutest thing i've ever seen.



last but not least, i can't claim ownership of this one, but he's definitely too cute to really be jesse's ... so i don't know. here's jacob at the pumpkin patch in his halloween costume. i showed hannah the picture and she almost fainted, he's so cute. tigger happens to be her favorite. i think he knew that when he asked for the costume.

Coward

i wish that my first non-Hannah related blog entry in a while wasn't on such a negative topic, but i thought i'd fill you in on the events of the past week.

on tuesday, somebody broke into my mom's house and took some cash. she reported it to the police, but regardless of what they're able to do about it, there's really nothing that can help with the feelings of vulnerability and violation that somebody being in her house create. the good news, i told her, is that whoever did it got what they wanted and wouldn't be back.

wrong. on friday, she got home from work and found that her house had been cleaned out of TVs, stereos, her computer and printer, digital camera, a few bottles of cheap wine (what the fuck?) and a couple other things. she was, of course, hysterical. ginny and joe and jim went over there, and were there with the cops when we showed up friday evening. it looked like somebody had come in through the back, opened the garage, backed in a car, and loaded it up.

i guess i was in "we will protect this house" mode when we went over to spend friday night with her. i had visions of going door to door in the neighborhood and getting in peoples' faces, because really, how could nobody have seen a car backing into the garage in the middle of the day? but obviously, the best thing we could do was just to be there for mom, and help her through it ... stay with her overnight so she could try to sleep.

we spent all day saturday doing what we could to make the house more secure. not that anything short of armed sentries could really keep someone out, but what else are we going to do?

i guess i'm not really angry anymore, though. i really think i just feel sorry for whoever is in such a spot in their life that they need to steal a couple hundred dollars worth of crap from an old lady (sorry, mom, the "old lady" is really just for effect). what drug has a hold of you that you'd need to drop to this level? how diminished is your manhood that you would sneak around like a bitch in somebody else's house to get a few bucks rather than earn something for yourself?

so, in summary: come over to my house next time, you little coward. i have a surprise for you. that is, if my attack pug doesn't get to you first.

West Side

'nuf said.

Sleeping One Off

a few keg-stands and a beer bong later, hannah had had enough.

Rubber Duckie, You're the One

since Hannah's cord stubbie fell off earlier this week, we decided that today was the day for her first bath. to protect her future modesty, i will not be posting any pictures. she was so cute, though. not a fuss out of her. it wasn't as scary as i thought it would be either. i just filled the tub with scalding hot water, held her about two feet above it, and dropped her in. splash ... clean baby.

Sleepy Monkey

aunt annette came over last night to take some baby pictures ... so of course Hannah slept the whole time. i think these are still pretty cute. not that i'm biased or anything.

What a Girl

sorry if this one's a little dark ... but can you see the little sleepy smile?



i wish i could tell you she's giving me a kiss. more accurately, though, she's trying to nurse from my cheek.

Tummy Time

today Hannah had some tummy time on her new blanket that Aunt Elise made for her. she's much stronger than we thought she'd be at this point ... can lift her head up and turn it to either side. most importantly, she doesn't get fussy when we put her on her front. girl likes a challenge.

"Love Is In The Air ..."

last time we saw Carson he was Hannah's size. check him out now ...

Today's Photo

Um, hello? Remember your other daughter?

Picture of the Day

i'm not biased or anything, but isn't this the prettiest sleeping baby you've ever seen?

Welcome to Earth, Little One

i'm sure you knew this already ... but here it is officially. Hannah was born early friday morning after a really long and uncertain day and night. she weighed 8 lbs 11 oz, and was 21 inches long. and, in case you were wondering, she's the most beautiful thing EVER.

there are a lot of stories i could tell and eventually will about kimmy's labor, the birth, our time at the hospital, and her first night at home. for right now, though, we're going on no sleep and pretty much have a stress hangover from last night. all that aside, life has never been more perfect.

before i start posting pictures, i just need to tell you that kimmy is my hero. she is the toughest, most selfless, brave, beautiful woman in the world. i sort of knew that before ... but the last few days have made it hit me like a wall.

so, here are some pictures ...


My first picture.


Wait, you mean we made this?


Unreal.


Settling in.


Asleep at last.