Christmas in Oregon--Days 1-5

Hello loyal readers,

We made it back from 9 days in my hometown of Portland, Oregon and it was a great trip! First of all, Eleanor travelled like a champ. She never cried, just watched all the people in the airports (five of them, in total) like a true Sociologist. She slept and played quietly, unlike all the other kids on the plane. We were very proud parents! Once in Portland, Eleanor met her Uncle Tony:

who discovered that babies aren't so bad when they are your niece, even when they do pull on one's beard. She giggled every time she saw him, so the feeling was mutual.

On day 1, Nora met Wendy's best friend Ruth and her kids Eva and Noah after some morning shopping and lunch with Uncle Anthony. On Friday, the family visited Wendy's Grandma Jean (namesake and maternal Grandmother) and Aunt Lisa who informed us that Eleanor in French (Aunt Lisa is fluent in French and has traveled the world extensively) is El-E-uh-nor, which we thought was just beautiful. After that, we met up with Wendy's high school friend Meg and her partner Kelly and their baby Quincy; and Wendy's college friends Molly & Mike and their son Tygan. It was a big day of visiting for all.

That is Geoff with Quincy, who decided Geoff was pretty neat.

On Day 3, Geoff and Wendy left Nora Bean with Grandma and headed an hour away to the Spirit Mountain Resort & Casino in Grand Ronde, Oregon. A dry casino, we promptly headed to the local spirits shop to get provisions for an all grown-ups holiday! We spent Saturday - Monday there and relaxed, ate well, drank well, and gambled a lot. No real winning to speak of, except Wendy sat down at a 25 cent machine and on the second bet, won 900 quarters. That allowed us to recoup about $200 of the $700 spent in machines and on tables. It was a wonderful time. While we were gone, Eleanor and Grandma attended a wedding and had loads of fun on walks, shopping, singing, and being introduced to all of Grandma's friends.

Back in Portland on Christmas Eve (Day 5 of trip), we did some final shopping, wrapping of all presents, then headed back to Grandma Jean's house for a Vuksich Family Christmas Eve, just like we used to have. Sidebar: When visiting a few days prior, Wendy asked if there would be any gathering of the Vuksiches (Grandma's maiden name, by the way). The answer was no, but we returned from our vacation with the news that we would gather! This was very special to Wendy given that she grew up going to this side of the family's house on Christmas Eve every year of her childhood and early adulthood. There Eleanor met Wendy's aunts Ginny, Tara (& hubby Ray), and Lisa; cousins Cameron (& wife Angie, kids Elijah & Isabelle), Nicole (& boyfriend Dan), Stanley, and Rudy. Wendy spent the whole night marveling at how grown up her cousins were (she kept asking, "How old are you?" followed by a genuinely shocked "No way"). Unfortunately, no pictures were taken as Mama forgot the camera (seriously, the diaper bag is enough of a hassle and I usually forget that....). It was a very fun night and Geoff was so gracious seeing everyone again, Eleanor was charming and we were able to take a picture of four generations (which hopefully Wendy's Mama will send her) that included Wendy's grandmother, mother, and daughter.

And, while away, our friends Patrick and Beth Long welcomed a baby boy into their family, whom they named Trevor Mason Long. Congratulations to Mommy, Daddy, and big sister Lauren! Stay tuned for Christmas in Oregon--Days 6-9 tomorrow!

Some more pictures

Playing with Lambie.


Playing with Mom.



In a cute outfit from Ben and Jodi. mmmmmm hand . . .


Another Christmas outfit.

Heading to Portland

Wow it has been almost two weeks since a post?!? Bad, lazy, parents . . .

Tomorrow we are off to Portland for Christmas it should be fun, although just thinking about the plane trip with Eleanor wears me out. Here are some pictures to get you through our absence from the blog.


WHO DEY!?!? (apparently everyone)


Nora in her Christmas dress.






Nora playing with Elmo and the gang.

Braggin 'bout our Nora Bean

Look at our smart girl! Here she is holding her bottle by herself! She is only 4 1/2 months old and already she is impressing us almost daily with a new skill.




Geoff and I have a great routine going with Eleanor Kate. We play after work/school, eat dinner, then have a bath and fall asleep on Mom or Dad. The transfer from arms to pack'n'play then takes place--more successful than not resulting in a few hours of quiet time for us parents. Here is Daddy moving baby to said pack'n'play until we are ready for bed a few hours later.




And here is our girl in a shirt that says "Princess" that Nora received from Grandma's friend Dot (Thanks Dot!). It is awfully cute on her!

So, updates from Eleanor's world include learning how to growl, hold her own bottle, sitting in a high chair, playing in her exer-saucer, and standing for longer periods of time. Growling comes from Dad or Mookie, not sure which, but she will just start growling and if you answer her back, she smiles really wide. It is a sweet thing that has me convinced she will start talking soon. Also, standing up! She doesn't buckle her knees like a lot of kiddos, so we think she'll be walking by 8-9 months too! Obviously a brilliant child! Call me crazy, but Mensa may be calling soon. Seriously, we are just having fun with our little Nora Bean. Her smiles melt our hearts and just wait until you get your Christmas picture, it is something else!

4 Month Doc Visit

Eleanor is now over 4 months old! We went to the doctor for her 4 month visit this past Monday.
We knew she was growing and were anxious to see how big our girl had gotten. Turns out she had been growing a lot. She weighed in at 17.25 pounds in the 97+ percentile (or as our nurse said "Off the charts"), so it is good that her height/length is over 25 inches and in the 95th percentile. Her head size is also in the 95th percentile. So she is a big happy, healthy, baby. We are still awaiting Coach Foster's call.


The bad news is that she needed more vaccinations which involved 4 more shots. Getting her shots at 2 months was difficult, but this time was more painful for Mom and Dad. During the whole time in the exam room she was smiling at everyone and at herself in the mirror. So when she got the shots and starting screaming and crying in my arms, it broke our hearts. We felt like we betrayed her. Of course by the time we got home she was over the ordeal. Wish we could have forgotten it that easy.



Nora is really starting to focus on things and is grabbing her toys with both hands. This leads to her putting everything from her phone to her bunny to her lamb in her mouth. All part of growing up.

Another Baby Girl!

Congratulations to David and Jessie Frymyer on the birth of their baby girl, Madeline Nicole. Pictures of their beautiful girl can be found on their blog. If we can offer any advice, not that we know what the hell we are doing yet, we would be glad to help.

In other news it appears Nora is getting over her bout with her first illness (roseola we think). She has been under the weather for a few days with a high fever. Today her temperature seems normal and she has been a bit feisty which is just how we like her.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Happy 5th!

To celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary, Geoff and I flew to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on $50 round trip tickets (Thanks SkyBus!), then drove the 185 miles to Key West. It was a beautiful drive surrounded by water and 80 degree sunshine! We rented a mid size car, but ended up with an Expedition. Have you seen these beasts? It was an enormous car, but very luxurious and we had fun with the elevated view it provided on our drive.


This is where we stayed...Chelsea House, just 3 blocks from Duvall Street, the main strip of Key West. It was a very quaint place with a great set of patios and a heated pool. We met loads of nice people at the place, including two of the nicest older gentlemen from New York who made us Gin & Tonics and advised us to enjoy Eleanor because time flies and soon your kids are 25 and travelling with their girlfriends (whom, we also met).


Our sightseeing consisted of visiting the Southernmost Point of the Continental USA. Go us! We usually spend our vacations drinking in the local color rather than seeing sights, so this was an achievement.


And this trip would not have been possible if my Mama didn't come from Oregon and take exceptional care of our girl Nora. Grandma had loads of fun with her grandbaby. They took walks and shopped and sang and read books and whenever I checked in on them, they both seemed perfectly happy. Thanks Mama!


We just had a great time drinking like we were teenagers, walking all over Key West to find Eleanor Street (which, despite being on our map, we never did find walking or driving the next day), swimming, eating great seafood, watching the huge Veterans Day parade, and shopping.

And, while we were gone, big things were happening! Geoff's dad proposed to his girlfriend Charlotte. They have been together for only a brief time, but both seem very happy. We are meeting Charlotte's older daughter this Thanksgiving and hope to meet her younger daughter soon. We don't know what this means for Dad's living arrangements as Charlotte currently lives 65 miles away, but hope they don't go too far from us! Whatever happens, we are hoping to get to know Charlotte and her family as time goes on. Congratulations Dad!

Mookie Boy

It has been a while since we mentioned Mookie and we have gotten several questions about him so this post is all about him . . . well how he interacts with Eleanor anyway. From the beginning Mookie knew to be calm and gentle with Nora. If she cries or fuses he shows concern and gives he a light lick if he can reach her. With his high energy he does annoy Wendy and me on occasion following us around, but it is hard to blame him and he isn't getting the attention/walks he is used to. I've been trying to get in a better routine of giving him walks which is good for all of us.

One thing Mookie has started doing is checking out Nora's toys after she is done with them. As you can see in the picture, he has enjoyed the boppy with me (no milk for him though, and Nora's Hippo plaything. In the evening when everyone is winding down he likes to curl up with everyone on the couch.

Off to FLA in less than two days! We will give an update when we get back.

Busy Bees

Hi everyone! We have been very busy these past few days. Eleanor is wonderful, but her Daddy is fighting a cold and her Mama is frantic because we are leaving in a few days for Florida. Friday is Geoff & my 5th wedding anniversary. We decided that we should celebrate that fact by taking a trip to Florida, so we asked Grandma to come and watch Eleanor and off we'll be going Saturday evening. The plan is to fly to Ft. Lauderdale and drive the 3 hours or so south to Key West. We'll be there until late Tuesday evening. It is averaging 80 there and about 40 here, so we couldn't be happier about heading south.

I stole this picture of our girl off the Lynaugh's website because even though we have plenty of pictures of Nora, I can't seem to find time at home to post them. So, here she is showing off how strong her neck has gotten (due to lots of tummy time on Dad) in her sweet Bengals cheerleader outfit.

Monday we priced new windows for the house, last night we were going to a basketball game, but bagged out; tonight Nora is headed to grandpa's house and Mom & Dad are seeing They Might Be Giants. And tomorrow, Nora's grandma gets here for a week long visit! Nora is very excited about her grandma coming! So, more pictures coming soon, we promise! Until then, Take Care everyone!

Happy Halloween

For Eleanor's first Halloween, she was a chicken! Her Daddy picked out this outfit and her grandpa bought it for her. Mama dressed her up for school today and she was the belle of the ball. The bigger kids had a party, but Miss Regina & Miss Jennie told us no one thought to invite the babies. Next year, we'll definitely have to host a party for the babies.





Here is Nora with her teacher, Miss Regina...


And for our one trick or treat stop, Nora saw Grandpa who was very proud of his little chick!

Musings from Proud Dad

Nora as the thinker

If nothing else raising a child causes one to think about life. As I’ve watched other children in my life grow up I always focused on their physical development. I would notice them growing bigger, learning to walk, and watching them play (and swim). Seeing Eleanor start to recognize and really react to us it really occurred to me the vast amount of development that happens in the first few years of life and as she becomes an adult in society. I guess the totality of what Wendy and I get to witness has become apparent the last few weeks.

As Eleanor grows up she will not only learn to walk, talk, write, etc, but she will also develop a consciousness of her own. She will ask all the big questions about why we are here and her place in the world. Nora will have a chance to look at the stars in wonder. She will form opinions about everything from art and music to politics. For a geeky sociologist to be able to observe her proceed in all areas of life is an amazing privilege. To realize that I have a prominent role in the development of her self is truly humbling. I guess I’m saying I like this dad gig.

Mom's List

This one is for parents everywhere! What a riot!

Update on Nora: She grasped a crayon yesterday and her teacher told us that she is very good at grasping and holding the crayon (a developmental milestone) with her right hand, but dropped the crayon every time she gave it to her in her left hand. Looks like Dad will have to give up on his dream of a kid going to the major leagues as a left handed pitcher!

Click on the link or cut and paste the link in the address bar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ati3k32-NXI

Cute Girl

Here are some recent pictures of our girl Nora

First Day of School

On Monday, Eleanor started school! As one of the charter students of the very first Goddard School in a downtown location, our girl is one of eight babies in the infant room. Not all the babies have started coming to school yet, so we only have met 3 of the other babies. But, get this: all of the other 6 kids are boys! They include Calvin, Nathaniel, and twins brothers Oscar & Max. Below is a picture of us right after we arrived. I see Eleanor thinking, "What is this place, Daddy?"

And, here is Daddy giving a kiss and cuddle while Mom frantically tries to put Nora's first and last name on everything we brought. Sidebar: Mama thought she was very smart labeling the sheets, blankets, and bottles with EKG when she was told that everything, even diapers, must have first and last name labels and no, initials just won't do. Ah, well, at least we'll know if she comes home wearing a diaper labeled Calvin that she may need a few more of her own diapers at school. And below, we took Eleanor's picture with her teachers. They said it was their first class picture!

That is Miss Jennie on the left and Miss Regina on the right. I will try and take some better pictures of the room because it is sweet. Eleanor seems to like these little baby chairs that allow her to recline some and look around the room. After 3 days at school, she has been exhausted every night coming home and instead of falling asleep at 9:30 - 10:00 pm, she has been nodding off closer to 8:00!

And so, at 12 weeks of age, our girl has started down the long path of her formal education. We are excited about what she will do and learn at school and we adore picking her up in the late afternoons. Her smile after a long day of work is the best thing Geoff and I have ever seen. We enjoy every one and love every minute! I think Nora is going to like school. Her note from the teacher today said: "Nora enjoyed some floor time with the boys!" That's my girl!

Lovebug

My mom has called me lovebug as long as I can remember and actually still does every now and again. Without meaning to, it has become one of the nicknames that both Geoff & I call our girl. It rolls off the tongue so effortlessly, it seems like she was always supposed to be called lovebug. I adore this picture of Nora because she is starting to smile. Every time she grins, it melts my heart. Plus, a cute hat helps that *wow* factor (we actually got this hat from two people: our friend Danyll and Grandpa's friend Brenda. For those of you not from around here, that is a Buckeye on the hat).


And in this picture, our girl is supporting her favorite college football team, Ohio State, in a onesie from Ed & Evelyn Erlanger. Recently, OSU played the Washington Huskies in a game Geoff & I were actually planning on going to in Seattle until we found out our little Buckeye was on her way. The Buckeyes beat the Huskies in that game and this is now Eleanor's favorite outfit.


Peeking out from behind her bouncy chair toys, which she is just starting to pay attention to, Nora wonders why I am taking so many pictures. This outfit was given to us by our friend Elaine and it says, "I pulled an all-nighter." HA! Cracked me up when I saw it as Elaine and I pulled a lot of all nighters in our days of graduate school in Portland. Plus, its a good luck shirt too given that since we got it, Eleanor has taken to falling asleep around 9:00 pm and slept through the night to 5:00 am. This actually started the night before I returned to work, thank god. Proof positive our Eleanor is a very smart girl.

So, lovebug is asleep and I am feeling like a RockStar Mom. We are exhausted every night, but loving our time with Nora as she discovers new things. I completely relish the reports of how she did during the day as well as our own night-time rituals. Walks in the stroller are more fun as we describe surroundings and watch her fall asleep over the bumpy roads. Most recently, I can hold her on my shoulder without her tumbling over. Finally, what I really love is picturing her at various stages and ages of her life ahead. I smile, looking forward to each one, while completely loving this present time. She is growing so big so fast and it is the most fun I have ever had. Thanks for the fun lovebug, Mama

Duckie Hat and Other Cute Outfits

We have received some many cute outfits it is a challenge to get pictures of all of them. Here she is chillin' in her robe and duckie hat after a bath (she's not too sure about the hat yet). The hat and phone rattle were given to us by Michelle a fellow student from our Akron days. The last picture is an adorable outfit given to us by one of Wendy's co-workers, Caroleen. Thanks so much everyone.