Smiles!

When Genevieve first came into the world, she cried a lot.  Not surprising as she was a newborn, and that's what newborns do.  But as she grew older and began to temper slightly, Hannah and I waited in joyful hope for the best thing in the world to new parents: the smile.  We read books to find out when we might expect this small miracle, and kept our fingers crossed.  As the weeks progressed, we waited and waited, but all that seemed to look back at us were scowls and grimaces.  We began to lose hope.  

No matter how well her needs were met, no matter how much she was cuddled, swaddled, kissed, hugged, sung to, spoken to, fed, burped, carried, rocked, or left to nap, her only response was this:

But just as we had given up hope, when we thought all was lost, it happened!  She let forth the most beautiful thing we'd ever seen!  Our little girl has the most gorgeous and infectious smile ever, and I glow each and every time she does it.  Below are a couple photos of her smiling, I hope you enjoy!

A harmless, yet shameless little plug

Not long ago, our little Genevieve was treated to her very first photo session.  It's not like we don't have enough photos of the little monkey, actually quite the contrary.  We have hundreds of candid shots we've snapped over the past few months.  Many of which I've posted here, and on Facebook.  But we wanted some professional looking photos we could send to family, and feel confident about putting up on the wall in the house.  Sadly, neither Hannah nor I feel qualified or would even know where to begin.

Enter our good friends Daniel and Galina Nisley.  Daniel is an accomplished amateur photographer who does some wonderful work.  After a quick phone call, plans were made for a Saturday morning session at our home.  How much more perfect could it get?  Well, as luck would have it, we got a much later start that morning than we would have liked, and Genevieve was not in the greatest of moods.  Two of the things she deplores most in her little world are getting out of the bath, and changing outfits.  Not only was she getting a hurried bath that morning, but would receive several outfit changes as we paraded her through all of the clothing picked out for the event.  Needless to say, she was not a happy camper.

As the session began, I was simply astounded by Dan's patient and calm demeanor.  It had a definite effect on Genevieve, and she began to calm down.  He brought out her beauty and personality in his shots, and we couldn't be happier with the finished results!

Below is just a sample of the shots he took.  If you like what you see, I urge you to visit his Flickr page, or contact him on his Facebook page, both are included below.

Thanks Dan!  We are absolutely in love with these photos!

Dan's Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danisley

Dan's Facebook profile:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000853444256

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Up until I became a father, St. Patty's Day was just another excuse to wear green and drink stout.  Now it would appear that the holiday is just another excuse to dress your little one up in green cuteness.  Thanks to Hannah's mother, we did just that!  While I did enjoy a pint of Murphy's in honor of the day, the highlight came when my daughter donned the outfit below.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!

My little leprechaun!

Fightin' Irish!

Nothing says lucky like a 4-leaf clover on the butt!

Grandma Penn's Visit

This past week, we were fortunate to receive a week-long visit from Hannah's mother, Teresa Penn.  She came out to spend some quality time with us and the baby.  OK, she really only came to see the baby, but I like to think she enjoyed our company too!

In all fairness, we were completely spoiled, and so was our baby girl.  Hannah and I have long suspected that her mother is actually bionic, and therefore capable of super-human abilities.  I think we may be on to something.  For almost the entire 9 days she spent with us, she made a completely different meal for dinner from scratch, complete with dessert!  A brief menu follows below:

Meatloaf
Twice baked potatoes with cheddar cheese & bacon
Salad
Apple Tart

Sirloin Steaks
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Chocolate pound cake with vanilla ice cream & chocolate ganache

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Salad
Chocolate cheesecake with strawberries and strawberry syrup

I don't think I need to go on.  In addition to cooking, she watched after Genevieve while Hannah and I were at work (bathing, feeding, changing nappies, etc.), and kept the house relatively immaculate, all the while managing to still put out fires with the family business back home.  We went to bed at roughly midnight to 1 AM every night, and by the time I got up to be at work at 7 AM, she was already up and at 'em!  One morning we awoke to a home cooked breakfast at 6 AM.  I tell you, she was incredible!

One of the things I appreciated the most were the daily photos of Genevieve in various outfits that she would send me while I was at work.  I think she may have changed her outfit 3 times a day, but it was totally worth it.  I began to look forward to receiving these adorable pictures throughout the day.  It helped pacify me while I counted down the hours until I could go home.  I also began to imagine Grandma Penn putting Genevieve through the paces like a real model shoot: "Now give me adorable, adorable.  Now show me love, show me love!  Now fierce! Yes, Yes, Yes, and I'm spent!" All in all, I cannot express my gratitude sufficiently for all my mother-in-law did while she was here.  I truly hope she knows how much she's loved and appreciated!

The following photos are a sampling of what I received throughout the day.  Enjoy!

Taking a bow 

Baby's first Valentine's Day

"Show me pensive!" 

Leopard is all the rage this Winter!

Starting to get tired.

This bear is a memento of Hannah's late Grandfather

This is the dress that Hannah wore when her parents brought her home from the hospital.

Not much juice left...

Sleepy...

And she's spent!

Play Time

There are many things I cannot wait to share with my daughter: cooking, the game of baseball, the Beatles, opera, and much more.  I can't wait to start reading to her at night, and for her to actually understand the stories.  But one of the things I'm looking forward to the most is playtime!  This is such a special time in a child's life, and I really hope I can be included as much as she'll let me.  However, I think I may have started a little prematurely.

Below are two videos that were taken while I was "playing" with Genevieve.  The first was inspired by an outfit that was given to us by Mike Walter, a colleague from work.  It had a bumblebee on the butt, and got me thinking.    The second is just pure fun.  Let's just say she was a good sport.

Flight of the bumblebee:

Muppet Dance:

Adorableness

OK, I know it's not a word, but how else can you describe my little girl?  She's absolutely adorable!  It truly doesn't matter how many nights she keeps her mother and I up, or how many dirty nappies I will change, or how many times she'll scream in my ear.  It only takes one look to melt me into a useless puddle of goo.  I love her more than I can say.  For this post, I am just including some really cute photos.  Enjoy!

Sitting in her Bumbo Chair

Out and about with Momma

OK, really?  Need I say more???

Yeah, she knows she's cute!

Asleep at church, who knew?

Patriotic napping

She's all set for the Kentucky Derby!

Ack!!  To much cuteness!!

Funny Faces

It has been said many times since Genevieve was born, that she favors her father with regard to looks.  While we find this to be quite true, we believe the resemblance stops there.  In the attitude department, she is definitely Hannah's daughter.   She stares very intently at things, appearing to try and figure out what they are.  She shows a genuine curiosity for everything in her little world, and is quite serious with her gaze.  Many times, she fusses when she is laid down because she wants to sit up to take in her surroundings.

However, we're not sure who she favors when she makes specific faces.  Now I know that during these first few formative months, the muscles in the face and neuro-pathways in the brain are just figuring out how to converse with each other.  So it's understandable that some interesting faces will occur.  That's all well and good, but some of the faces she makes are just priceless.  I'm sure I'll have to remove this before she starts dating, but these are too good not to share.  Enjoy!

"What are you looking at?"

"And I'm supposed to be entertained by this because..."

"Who said you could take my picture?" 

Please, no photos from this angle!" 

"Seriously, quit with the paparazzi!"

A la Jerry Lewis!