Nineteen days, nineteen pictures. I only put a few of them in as thumbnails, out of sympathy for people with slow connections and uncertainty about how many pictures anyone besides my mother would really want to see. My camera is making me a little crazy lately and so the picture quality is not outstanding. But the baby cuteness is, so I'm posting them anyway.
This one is from a few hours before my labor started. I am standing on the toilet, cleaning the blind slats with my trusty toothbrush. (I haven't touched that toothbrush since.)
The next morning I washed the meconium out of her soft, soft hair. I don't know if it will be red, but I think it will be curly.
Dad needed a little help with the Times crossword and she was happy to oblige.
Before I crashed on Christmas afternoon, the grandparents took the first picture of all seven of us. (I do not really expect pictures of all seven of us to get much better from here.)
Here she is a week old, helping me bake a clementine cake for her oldest brother's birthday. The birthday boy pronounced it good.
The next day was New Year's Eve, and we celebrated with a batch of chocolate fondue.
She is so new-looking in this one on the right: you can still see the broken blood vessel in her left eye from the birth squeeze, and the peeling new baby skin on her neck.
In this one I am multitasking: nursing the baby, knitting her a hat, and reading St. George and the Dragon to the two younger boys (Pete is wearing part of Joe's old dragon costume).
Here I needed to see if the hat fit. (It didn't. Ripped it back to before the decreases and added more length.) This is not a good picture, but I get a cozy feeling from it even though the top of my head is missing -- the Gladly females in their handknit sweaters. It makes me feel all Proverbs-thirty-one-ly. (That is totally a word.)
The boys want to make sure she doesn't get lonely. Sometimes Pete leaves her a friend
to keep her company. Joe thought maybe she'd like to try out his sword. Marty was busy reading, but he made sure she had a hand to hold. She doesn't have to worry much about being lonely, though.
Grandma came to visit for Epiphany and was treated to a big baby smile. It's very blurry, because those early smiles are hard to catch, but it warms my heart anyway.
One of my college roommates, who used to lend me her clothes back then, sent me a big fun box of baby things. I love the stripes.
And one more: here's my
mom's eye view.
sigh. that was a fabulous photo montage. you have a lovely family!
Posted by: ann | January 11, 2009 at 08:58 PM
What a wonderful glimpse into your family! I love the helpful, loving, big-brother shots the most.
Posted by: Amy F | January 11, 2009 at 09:36 PM
she is so lovely and it's a great pic of you all too. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: elly | January 12, 2009 at 05:20 AM
Thanks for that! What a beautiful family, and she is just perfect.
Posted by: Erin | January 12, 2009 at 06:22 AM
Thanks for sharing the pictures -- they are all wonderful. Love the big brothers. And the stripes. Your ability to multi-task is truly astounding.
Posted by: mary | January 12, 2009 at 09:30 AM
How fun are the photos! Thanks for sharing (and, since I have been tardy with commenting -- thanks for sharing the birth story and all the post-partum anecdotes)!
Posted by: Sarah in Ottawa | January 12, 2009 at 12:32 PM
What beautiful photos. I loved the Gladly female one. It reminds me of when my almost-3 yr old daughter (our youngest after two boys) climbs into my lap and says "Mama, let's read together--just the girls. We're the girls!" I am over the moon about my boys... but how I love times with "just the girls." Enjoy!
Posted by: Laura | January 12, 2009 at 07:53 PM
Wonderful, wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing.
Posted by: Sara | January 12, 2009 at 09:14 PM
Clementine cake, huh? Is that the Nigella Lawson recipe?
Posted by: Ariella | January 13, 2009 at 01:14 PM