Some recent photos from the end of summer

Starting September 1, Michael began working in the intensive care unit. Our months spent in the unit are our hardest, both from a mental/emotional standpoint as well as in regards to time. Adelina and I have had to keep ourselves busy while he is away and here are some of the highlights:

My sister Rebecca came into town Labor Day weekend for a quick visit. We mostly just hung around the house, but on Saturday night we drove into Philadelphia to try Bobby's Burger Palace (as in Bobby Flay). We all had a very delicious burger and Adelina was so well behaved. She spent the entire time looking at the light fixtures and staring at the college boys seated next to us. We joked she was eavesdropping (like her mother is known to do).

On Labor Day, I flew home with Rebecca to Tampa. She helped me get through the airport and onto the plane with Adelina and all our gear. We had a great flight and Adelina did super on the flight-hardly any fussing and slept for the majority of the time (my prayers were very much answered). We arrived safely in Tampa and are now spending two weeks in Tampa with my family for both help, as well as the company.

This past Friday afternoon we took the baby for her first trip to the beach. We dipped her toes in the water and the sand and let the gulf breeze blow through her long(er) hair. I can't say she was thrilled to be there, but she also didn't act like she hated it. I think deep down she knows she comes from Florida blood. I can't wait until we can take her back when she can splash and play in the water on her own. I forgot how much I love the gulf coast, the water is so warm and blue and the sand so soft. I didn't want to leave.

Adelina in the jump-a-roo

Before Adelina was born I bought a swing from a yard sale. Every baby likes to swing or so we heard, but Adelina is apparently not "every baby". Not only did she not really dig the swing, it was broken and only swings at a speed that averages 60 mph (something I didn't know when I purchased it), so not the ideal safe baby item.

We retired the baby swing to the basement and last week found a jump-a-roo on Craigslist for $10. Adelina is not quite big enough for it, but she really loves to be in it. When we hold her, she is always wanting to stand up and jump around, so this toy is perfect for her.

Here is a short video of her in her jump-a-roo:

More of the bath

When Adelina had her first "real" bath, Mike took a video of the whole event. This video is about 10 minutes long and exceeds blogger's limit for video data, therefore unless we edit out some of the footage we cannot post it here.

So last night I asked Mike to take a second video of the little girl in the tub. I love watching her facial expressions as I pour the water over her. She seems to really enjoy her baths and an evening bath has really helped us with getting her into bed (and asleep) before midnight.

Enjoy the video, but ignore the bather-I ran on the treadmill earlier in the evening and had not yet made it to my own bath, hence the sweaty hair and no makeup face.

Adelina's 6 week Birthday

Today Adelina is 6 weeks old! I am not sure how time went by so quickly, but already our little baby is no longer the little newborn. She is now a ten pound girl who smiles, can sit up with support and who can just about crawl (she tries so hard whenever she is on her stomach).

To celebrate the day, we drove to Philadelphia and visited a few of our favorite places. We stopped and got lunch at Tommy Guns BBQ (best we have tasted this side of the Mason Dixon) and took our BBQ and fixins' to Wissahickon Park for a picnic. It was not quite as leisurely as in the past; coordinating two adults eating with two curious dogs and one hungry and curious baby is no easy task. After eating, we walked along the trail. The girls obviously loved it and Adelina took the whole thing in before eventually falling asleep. On our way home we stopped by Marcianos (an Italian bakery by our old house) and picked up some breads and a tomato pie.

All in all it was a great day. It was nice to be outside and to be out as a family.

Here is a quick video taken from our walk:

Adelina's Trick

Today Mike was holding Adelina and trying to keep her entertained during her waking hours. He was sticking his tongue out at her and after a couple of times doing this Adelina starting sticking her tongue out back at him. They did this a couple of times before we got the good idea to try to catch it on camera.

Here is our best attempt to capture it. Unfortunately our girl was beginning to tire and so the trick is not as good as it was in the beginning, but it is a cute video nonetheless.

At least someone is using it

One of my colleagues from work gave Adelina a vibrating bouncy chair as a shower gift. Adelina has probably spent a total of 15 minutes in this chair (not consecutively), she just is not a fan of it yet. Yesterday, I happened to look over at the chair and found that unlike Adelina, Sam is a fan of the chair.

A Quick Comparison

Daddy

Mommy

Baby