Great relatives come to visit

(Note: These posts are from Sharyn. Dan reluctantly shared the password with me when I threatened to poison his food if he did not cooperate. I apologize for the lack of quotes and long narratives, but clearly you can see who has more time on their hands... and at least my posts are timely).

This past weekend Livia was visited by great-grandma Dotty, great-grandpa Sonny, and great-aunt Elyse. Cousin Jordan also came by while he was in town and he is great as well. It was so nice having my family meet Livia, and just spending time together with relatives who live in all different places. What a treat to have everyone here at once. We talked in the living room, went for walks on the trail behind our house, and ate some good meals (well, mostly good meals with the exception of the dish that gave Dan food poisoning).

More great relatives...

You can really see the family resemblance in this photo below.

Here we have four generations of women-- too bad my mother was missing from the photo...

Great-grandma Dotty really enjoyed watching Livia talk to herself in the mirror.

Livia's Favorite Things... and a Milestone!

It is time for an update to Livia's favorite things. We are saying goodbye to the supplemental nursing system, colostrum, enfamil, fenugreek, the lost umbilical cord, and even the left hand (these days she likes both hands). New to the list are mirrors, smiling, breastmilk in a bottle, the swing, and the Shhhhhhhh tape. She loves to look in the crib mirror and "talk" to the baby that she sees (even if she doesn't realize who the baby is). The Shhhhhhh tape is a real classic, created by Dan. It consists of 20 minutes of Dan yelling "SHHHHHHHHH" into a tape recorder. Livia loves to hear this when she needs to relax. When the shhhhh tape is not within reach, we also have a teddy bear that plays a recording from the womb. She likes this almost as much as the shhhhhhh tape. Dan may have found his calling as an entrepreneur with the shhhhh tape-- please let us know if anyone would like a copy.

One of the only constants in Livia's life is tummy time. Tummy time is now one of Cassidy's favorite things as well, and she doesn't even need a fancy play mat.


The photo below looks kind of boring, but it actually represents a real milestone. This was supposed to be tummy time, but Livia decided that she'd rather be on her back so she rolled over (she had been trying to do this for a couple of days). I didn't catch it on videotape, but this is what she looked like afterwards. She hasn't done it again yet, but it's still pretty good for 6 1/2 weeks!

Livia is one month old

Okay, so I know it's been awhile since the last post. Sorry about that, but life has been jam packed with activity as it is guaranteed to be everyone once in a while. I'll keep doing my best to post as much as I can as the weeks go by. Before I forget to mention, we are paying attention to the polls, but we keep forgetting to have someone take a picture of Sharyn and I with the baby. Also, more tummy time photos to come. As for Al and Tipper Gore - well that will have to wait a little...but you never know.

Livia is now over 1 month old. She continues to grow and develop new talents - such as playing the piano. In all seriousness, she can see people a little further away at this point and she is now just starting to sleep more hours during the night. On average I would say she goes about 3 hours before needing to feed. Sometimes she goes 2 others she goes 4 and maybe even just a bit longer. When she is in the mood she eats like a grizzly bear who has just found his meal for the night after waking from hibernation. She pulls in so much air she continues to hiccup for awhile after the feeding. This, of course, doesn't sit too well with her, but it makes for some funny moments watching such a little being hiccup.

Over the past weeks we have had a ton of visitors, with more to come in the next coming weeks. Sharyn and I regret that we forgot to take pictures on Thanksgiving...which would have been great because we went over my friend Claire's house for dinner and celebrated the holiday with her family. It was the perfect way to break Livia into the Thanksgiving spirit. Pictures of Claire are posted a couple of spots below. I'm trying to publish these posts in chronological order, we'll see if I figured this out.

Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and that you enjoy the posts below.

Grandpa Ron and Nonna Teri

Grandparents Ron and Teri came in from NJ to see Livia a couple of weeks ago. In fact they came in over Teri's birthday which was great for everyone because we can always use a reason to celebrate. As you can see by the cake pictured, we made sure to eat right for her special day. Livia loved meeting her Grandparents and Grandpa and Nonna seemed to feel quite at home with her. Aside from helping us out in the house and celebrating with cake, we also took Livia out for her first meal at Neomonde. It was a huge success; Livia slept through the whole meal.

The best part of the weekend for me was watching Dad and Teri hold and feed Livia. This is the first time they were over our house, relaxing in our living room, and holding our baby. After years of passing the time relaxing in their living room, eating their food, and being taken care of by them, it was finally our chance to return the favor. After spending time with our baby, helping us fix our closet, get lunch/dinner in order, and going shopping at Home Depot, our place suddenly felt more like home than ever. Happy Birthday Teri and thanks to you both for everything!

Grandpa Ron and Nonna Teri with Livia (2)

Grandpa Ron Feeding Livia

Okay, these feeding shots were taken at a weird angle and could not be rotated by my software...so turn your computer monitor on it's side if you must, but hopefully you can get the gist of the videos.

First up, Grandpa Ron feeding Livia. Although Livia is crying when Grandpa Ron was trying to feed her, this had nothing to do with Grandpa Ron. Livia had a very cranky spell around this time and sometimes she was just inconsolable. Grandpa Ron handled it all in stride.

Teri Feeding Livia

Teri feeding Livia. She was a natural at this from the first moment on...

Steven and Dani and Livia

Making a special guest appearance at our house a couple of weeks ago was Steven and Dani Temares. Steven and Dani happened to be in NC for a soccer tournament with a couple of friends and right before departing for the airport they stopped in to meet Livia and see our house. Livia looked so small next to Dani and even smaller next to Steven. Cassidy and Dani became best friends rather quickly. Before we knew it though, Steven was giving Livia a kiss goodbye and Cassidy was giving Dani a lick goodbye and they were heading for the airport. We're looking forward for the rest of the Temares family to meet Livia sometime very soon!

Mom and Howie Meet livia for the first time

My mother, (Grandma Mari) and step-father (Grandpa Howie), came in for a weekend visit and got to meet Livia for the first time. I'm not sure who cried more, Livia or my mother, each for different reasons of course.

On a more serious note, it is amazing watching those you love and who you've known your whole life holding your baby. There's something about the excitement in the air, the anticipation being satiated, and the cycle of life being renewed again that brings an even deeper depth of meaning to a new born. During the toughest part of the first month, when the baby is crying for apparantly no reason, when your eyelids are closing for lack of sleep, when your life has just been turned upside down, it is these moments that bring you back to yourself and remind you that the hard times are temporary, that you too once cried extemporaneously, and that there was no place safer than your parents arms to find comfort again. Comfort is having your parents with you when you hadn't realized that you needed them the most. That is the lesson we have learned again and again over the past month.

Howie Feeding Livia

Howie feeding Livia. Pay special attention to the very last second of the video and be sure to turn your speakers way up!! If you are unsure of what the sound is, use your imagination...yes, it has to do with Livia, and yes, that is how it sounds.

Mom Feeding Livia

Mom Feeding Livia - Livia looked so alert in this video and Grandma Mari could not be any happier. I think Howie is talking to Cassidy in the background, but it could be that he is talking to Sharyn. We'll have to figure this out.

Corrie and Claire Stop in For a Visit

These pictures are of Corrie and Claire, great friends who were part of my family at UNC Chapel Hill. Livia seemed very comfortable with them, in fact, for the first couple of minutes it appeared that Livia was purposefully smiling at them. There is no way to know if Livia really likes them, or if she had gas, but Sharyn and I like to believe that she has a strong affection for good friends of the family. We'll just have to ask her when she gets older. In the meantime, Claire and Corrie got to meet my mother and Howie and stayed for a couple of hours, sitting on our porch, eating veggies/dip/crackers/cheese, drinking Iced Tea, swinging on the balcony swing with the baby, and sharing stories about life in general. Somehow I think we became more southern than we realized y'all, but we are not complaining. Now somebody cut the lights caus I'm fixin to git me some BarBQ - shor nuff.

You feel completely comfortable entrusting your baby to grandparents for long periods, which is why most flee to Florida. ~Dave Barry

Livia is now 3 weeks old and doesn't look a day older than 1/26th of a year. She is now eating 2.5 oz per feeding (most times) and is sleeping through the night at about 3 - 4 hour clips. Unlike her parents, Livia's day/night confusion is mostly gone, and Sharyn is no longer having delusions of Livia lying next to her in the bed when she wakes up (Sharyn''s been having this waking-state nightmare for a couple of weeks now). This is unfortunate because I was about to put a stuffed animal next to Sharyn while she was sleeping to see if she would pick it up and try to nurse it after getting up. My research into the unconscious thoughts of my wife will have to postponed.

This past weekend was marked with more guest appearances. Grandparents David and Marilyn dropped by for another visit on their way down to Florida. As before they showed Livia a ton of love. They even watched her for us while Sharyn and I went out for our first dinner together since Livia was born. Despite drinks and a good meal, all we could talk about was our newborn - a common theme among many first time parents' first time out to dinner. I wonder what happens with a second child...do you still worry as much over dinner? Probably not..but feel free to comment and let us know. Thanks again to Marilyn and David for all they've done. We hope they are able to get some good R&R down in sunny Florida.

To know the way ahead, ask those coming back. ~Chinese Proverb

Charlie, my friend from Duke, stopped in to visit Livia as well. Aside from Marilyn and David, Charlie has been a great source of food for us over the past couple of weeks. Whether it is Hummus, Baba ganoush, Kale, Kraut, or just a bagel for breakfast, Charlie makes a mean meal. We thank him tremendously for his generosity and great recipes. As a secondary beneficiary to these meals Livia seemed to say Thank You to Charlie by lying quietly for at least an hour while he held her. It's amazing to think what different things a baby means to different people...Watching Charlie it was evident that he was thinking about his own kids being that small...I guess from the beginning we all have an impact on people. I can only close this thought by saying that Livia pooped on me the other night...

"Friends are born, not made." ~Henry Adams

Karen and Paul also stopped by with their beautiful and smart 2 year old daughter Ellie. For the record, Karen and Paul were a large part of the reason we moved down to Carrboro, NC. They were there for us when we moved in, helped us get acclimated to the area, and were even there to take pictures and videos of Cassidy when we adopted her. They've since moved out of state, but came in for a brief visit this past weekend. As you can see Cassidy remembers Paul fondly, and gave him the signature greeting that only a hyperactive dog on crack could give...then she calmed down (sort of..). Unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries or else I could have taken more shots....Either way, it was great seeing them. Thanks for stopping by to see Cassidy (and Livia).

Peace in the head, peace in the stomach. ~Jean-Bertrand Aristide

Tummy Time is one of Livia's favorite things. She can now lift her head and turn her face 180 degrees (from side to side). I hear at puberty this can increase to a full 360 degrees. We have plenty of time until then though. For now, all of us (including Cassidy) enjoy watching Livia as she exercising her neck and head. It occurs to me that this is the only time in your life that anyone will applaud you just for waking up and nodding... What a cruel trick that we remember none of these moments!