the end of April

So these last two weeks have been quite full. G had a milestone birthday, we took our first plane flight as a family, we hung out in my hometown. Fiona had a milestone birthday too... two months!

We are really starting to click as a family unit. I hope I don't jinx it by saying we are getting into a rhythm of sorts - mama duties, papa duties, baby duties. Okay, so mama duties involve feeding and papa duties involve diapers and baby duties involve lots and lots of smiles - but we all play our part, right?

Here is the way every week should start - a nap with papa and baby:


And a walk on the beach:


And birthday party for G, complete with oysters, ribs, crabs, artichokes and cake... and a cute baby!








And then a trip to California, where we hung out with some family there... (the only pictures I can find are of Fi and her great-grandma!)



And finally, she and her aunt J shared a birthday (we're pretty sure it's the only time that will ever happen) and granted, J's was measured in years and Fi's was measured in months... still milestones!! Here she is on her two-month birthday!





And now the month of May is coming... time just keeps moving forward. Fantastic, isn't it?

E.

week six!

So this was a week of big adventures. We went to Breitenbush Hot Springs - spent the night in Portland first with some friends, then hit the hot springs (mom and dad got some well-earned massages!) and Fiona had her first soak!


She's a wiggler, a squirmer, a snuggler. She has figured out how to smile - and gives the most radiant smiles ever.




And here's one of those smiles....



And because she was so ridiculously cute in the shower this morning.... here is our "little bean":

Second Sunday Brunch is this weekend (and yes, it's not the Second Sunday, I know...) and more importantly, Fiona's first brunch. Although not her first party - she went with me to E & A's "Welcome the Baby Chicks!" party and R & K's Engagement Party... she is a social butterfly! She is well on her way to capturing the hearts of many a Seattleite.

In other family news, G's bill was killed in the House of Representatives. Mean House!! Damn you Reps! It means he has to start over again. Yuck.

more of the week four and five photos

So here are some more photos, from the other camera while the sisters were here.

Look at all that hair!


J and I figured out that we could just lie her down and let her look out the window...




And did I mention my sisters and I organized my craft room?? Look at this amazing-ness...


Then we stopped by the Dimonds house for a visit - S played guitar for Fiona, she loved it. Every time he stopped playing her eyes would pop open - he would start again and she would doze off - very sweet!

Such a sweet life we have!

five weeks and counting

So it's been a little hectic around here (but really, when is it not hectic around here?). The good news is that the sun is shining in Seattle and we have one very healthy baby in our house. G has no current plans to travel back East, which makes me very happy. And there are chocolate chip cookies in the oven. Yeehaw!

So what has been going on for the last two weeks? F gained another pound. She is getting bigger and stronger every day. Her personality is starting to show - I am so excited to meet her. Her aunts came for a visit - J came for a week and K came for a long weekend. Here are the pictures to prove it:






They helped me clean and organize my house - pictures of the newly created craft room to come - even the curtains were hung! Good times were had all around. We managed to get out of the house too - we went to one of our favorite burrito joints, Gordito's:


And we went shopping for a new baby carrier, one that fits G:



And we took naps...


And I got some time with F too...


Big thanks to K for providing the above photos... my camera cable has yet to resurface, I am sure it is in it's proper place (a labeled drawer, even?). If only I could remember where that is...

three weeks already!

It's hard to believe she is already three weeks old - but life keeps moving forward, spring is here, everything is in motion. Flowers are pushing up and out, the crocuses and daffodils are blooming. And so the babe grows. I trim her nails (sure proof that growth is happening) and notice that her hair is getting longer (it's a dark blond/light brown, although almost red in some light) and the long pieces are starting to curl. Her eyes are slowly changing to a brown/hazel color. It's harder to notice the overall growing though - she certainly feels bigger/heavier, but looks the same. It doesn't help that I look at her every two to four hours - hard to see change over such short intervals.

She loves to take showers. She still impersonates squeak toys and seagulls, although only during her puppy dreams. She likes to look out the window while nursing, at the trees in the backyard. When we change her diaper she is mesmerized by the Nikki McClure print hanging over the table. She turns into a howler monkey every once in a while - something isn't right in her universe, although we rarely figure out what it is... we play with sleep, trying to find the balance between total exhaustion, her 4am "awake time" and our REM state... She has had lots of visitors, most recently her grandma and her great-grandma, and her cousin and great-aunt.

Fiona and her grandma and her great-grandma:


Fiona and her great-grandma:


Fiona and her great-aunt:


Life is amazing, and watching hers open up and develop and become is pretty fantastic.

in memoriam

G's euology, from this morning -

"I remember the eerie twilight call of the pheasant, the mist that unfurled in the valley with the rising sun.

I remember the squeal of the new born piglet, the bleating of woolly lamb, the whinny of the galloping horses and the taste of raw honey in the comb,

I remember the awe of births, the green glimmer of elodea from the pond, the joy of watching it all grow, and the reverence you had for life even in the slaughter.

I remember the magic glimmer of foxfire from the sweat lodge thatch while watered poured over the steaming rocks.

I remember the inspiration of your sophists ways, your attempts to seek the better path, the way you lived in the possibility, even probability, that a miracle would indeed match your efforts.

I remember your lofty goals for society, your desire to find a sustainable balance and in the creative chaos that shapes our well made plans.

You opened my eyes to a way of being that I will never forget, a way I hope to pass down to future Whitesides."

From my brother in law, D:
GMWIII held a strong belief that a soul making the journey from this world to the next is greatly helped on its way when the loved ones left behind keep a conscious vigil for about three days. In respect for that belief, we would ask you to please take some time to hold him in the light, and maintain him somewhere in your thoughts throughout these days.

I wish his spirit safe passage to the other side. He will be truly missed.

day 18

So sorry to all that it has been a week without pictures! This week has certainly been full. Last week G's sister A visited, then we had Fiona's second doctor's visit... she gained a pound and a half in nine days! (This girl is certainly one of the family, a hearty eater! She was in the 50th percentile for weight at birth, but is now in the 75th percentile... that's my girl!)


Then G's father's passing became imminent - so G hopped on a plane back East on Thursday. Friday evening, GIII passed away. March is a month of birth and death, a constant reminder that there are supernatural forces at work, that change is the most reliable constant, and that love truly holds the universe together. So tell your loved ones that you love them - it's something that can't be said enough.

And finally, some more photos of my newest love - my little grunting milk monster that she is:




Yep, we've got sunshine this morning. It's going to be a beautiful day. Big hugs to all!!

Love,
E.