Festivus

Here's the best of my many attempts to capture little Mad with our decorated Christmas tree (I'm holding her in my arms, which is what makes it so difficult...) We are excited to host my parents (Opa and Nana/Babka) for the holidays this year--I'm sure her first Christmas will be plenty memorable for all of us, even though it probably won't be for her!

Serenaded by Daddy

Daddy took an opportunity the other night to play a song for Madeleine, who used his guitar case for a bassinet! Quite cute. Daddy loves playing songs for her, and she seems to really like it also.


The light coming in the window yesterday was just lovely, and I took the opportunity to take some shots of my new favorite subject--here's one of the best of the bunch.

Happy Birthday!

That's right, our little Madeleine is now officially one month old!

We aren't doing anything to really celebrate, of course; we'll save that for the big 12-month festivities (cake is sort of wasted on her at this point anyway).

Here she is, in all her cutely glory, posing for her one-month portrait!

Ready for an Outing

Here we are getting ready for a quick trip outside. Our neighbor was kind enough to loan us her baby carrier (her 3 kids have just outgrown it), and we used it this morning to take the dogs for a walk. The hat made the trip even more fun!

And here we are engaging in our most typical activity, relaxing! She loves to sleep on our stomachs, with her arms draped over us in an adorable little "hug."

First Thanksgiving

Yesterday was Madeleine's very first thanksgiving, and although her first turkey will have to wait until next year, we were both thankful that she chose to sleep through it this time (this of course meant a warm and uninterupted meal for her weary parents).

We decided to stay home this year and celebrate with just the three of us, since venturing out is still a bit daunting for us... We grilled a turkey breast and made all the fixings; the best part of course was being with each other, something we are thankful for every day (for obvious reasons).

3 Weeks Old

Well actually, she isn't technically 3 weeks old until tomorrow, but since most of you are in the states and won't read this until it's tomorrow here, I figured I could fudge a little.

Madeleine had her first well-baby check-up yesterday, and we were happy to learn that she has already gained 1.75 pounds! She is at exactly the 50th percentile for her age for weight and for length (we unfortunately missed her length because we were changing a diaper when she told us that one). More importantly, this kid has already learned how to relaaaaax (see picture above for more on this :)

Today she sucked her thumb for the first time! Unfortunately, she wouldn't indulge her mother to wait until I dug the camera out, and stopped moments before the flash went off. Instead, here she is as a vision in pink, sleeping in her favorite vibrating chair (thanks again to Uncle Tristan and Aunt Shizuka for the Papasan!)

Bye bye Nanna/Babka!

Madeleine is enjoying time with her Nanna/Babka (there's still some debate about what Grandma Morse will be called! Luckily she has about 10 mos. to a year before little Madeleine starts talking, so there's still plenty of time to decide... although not much time before her cousin Enzo starts to talk!)

She arrived a few days before Madeleine did, and stayed until Monday, when we had to say our goodbyes :(. But she'll be back again at Christmas to see us all again!