Happy Baby!

Have I mentioned lately how happy Neve always is? She wakes up every morning with a smile on her face. It's amazing. Lately, she's also been getting into moods where she'll just giggle and laugh at a certain song or sentence or joke. While we were in Florida, Grandma had her cracking up by saying "You need to go to SLEEP" in her best baby voice. Tonight, Beth got Neve to laugh pretty hard at Peek-A-Boo. Here's a video...

And pretty much any time I want (just by singing a verse from "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Humpty Dumpty") I can get this...

Or this...

Or this...

OK, I can't take credit for that one. That was all Great Grandpa!

Have a great night!

Merry Christmas from Santa Neve!

Christmas Eve Neve

Neve's first experience with a Christmas tree...

Enjoying a banana...

Neve's First Christmas Eve's Eve On a Beach!?!

Have a great Christmas Everybody!

Slacker

And just like that, it's been 2 weeks since my last blog. Wow. Time flies. Especially during the holidays. Especially with a baby! And besides taking care of the little one and my properties, I've been shooting some portrait sessions. I'm working on a website for my photography and hopefully will have it up soon. If anybody needs any photography done, contact me. I'll link up to my website as soon as I get it done.

I received an email from my Mother-in-Law entitled "Slacker" this morning, so I thought it'd be a good day to get back to it. Since it's still the holiday season, I won't be able to write much. But I'll try to post as many pictures as I can. That way, hopefully I can avoid flak from the Mother-in-Law :)

Here's a few pictures of our visit with Santa earlier this month...

What a face from Neve in this one...

Neve was diggin' Santa...

Especially his beard...

Neve's been lucky to be able to visit her Great Grandfather...

Great Grandpa Dick is Neve's last surviving Great Grandfather. She is blessed and does have all 4 Great Grandmother's around to spoil her!

Have a great day!

This blog is officially dedicated to my FAVORITE Mother-In-Law.

Happy St. Nick's Day!

Neve,

Happy First St. Nick's Day! We left your favorite thing out for you...

Ok, well your second favorite thing... We couldn't really fit Mom's boob in your shoe. Don't worry, we won't leave it out all night.

Neve's fashion over the weekend...

Have a great night!

Three Men and a Baby

I went to lunch today with my dad and uncle. Our server got a kick out of that. Three Men and a Baby.

Poor Neve.

Yet despite having to hang out with a bunch of guys, Neve was smiley as usual. Even when she's stubborn with her smiles, all it takes is a little singing. Her new favorite song is "Tootie Fruity," with a little daddy twist on it. I think I was singing that for Neve in this picture...

Neve's feet were also cooperating today when they posed for a picture we sent to mommy...

Have a great weekend!

12 pounds 9 3/4 ounces of Baby

Neve had her 4 month check up today. She got a couple of shots, but was a trooper. She weighed in at 12 pounds 9 3/4 ounces and measured at 25 inches. For her age, that's 26th percentile in weight and 76th percentile in height. Guess it's time to bulk her up a bit. More sweet potatoes maybe?

Neve enjoyed her 4 month birthday yesterday with some activity time on her new favorite things. The table we attached to the bumbo...

Ollie wishing a Happy 4 Month Birthday...

We finally got the bouncy swing out. Neve is loving it (despite the nonchalant look in this next photo)...

Neve doesn't quite have the full grasp of the swing yet, though. She likes the taste of the swing more than the bounce. And somehow her arm ends up down by her leg...

And here are some shenanigans from today. If you look closely in this first one, there's an elusive eye booger that I just could not get out all day. Of course, it only took Mommy about 5 minutes to dig it out once she got home...

I'm not sure if Neve is laughing with me...

Or at me...

Or just trying to give me the Loser sign...

Why is the loser sign so close to the sign language for Daddy anyway???

Well, that's it. Peace out...

Have a great night!

Perfect Moment

I just had a perfect moment.

Neve had been sleeping on Beth while we were watching a movie. Beth asked if I wanted some cuddle time. So we very carefully and slowly exchanged little Nevie. I got a few moments of sleeping beauty on my chest and then some time with her slowly waking up with a huge grin just for me.

I was fully immersed in that moment.

Which is more rare than I'd like. It was perfect. It was joy. Realizing that I had some small part in creating this beautiful, smiling baby girl. But it was also sad. I tried to stay present as long as I could, but the moment was fleeting and I could not hold on forever. My mind started drifting to how incredibly fast Neve is growing and changing and how soon it won't be the same. I know there will still be other perfect moments, but they just don't seem to last long enough.

Sometimes I feel like I take too many pictures of Neve. So some days (like today) I try to put down my camera and take a break. I did not take a single picture of Neve today. Sometimes I get so caught up trying to catch the moment that I'm not actually as present as I should be. But I guess the pictures may be one small way for me to hold on to some part of those prefect moments.

And I also have to think about friends and family and Grandpas and Grandmothers and Aunts and Uncles and Mommy when she's at work. For those who get even less of those perfect moments with Neve. And for me... for when Neve is too big to sleep on my chest. So, here's a couple of pictures for us...

Have a great night!

Pocahontas

I'm thankful for...

...my little sweet potato!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Little Sweet Potato

Nevie will get her 2nd taste of food tomorrow at Thanksgiving. We're planning on letting Neve try some sweet potatoes. I thought it would be her first taste of food, but I forgot about this video from about a month ago when we were at Black Bear Bakery...

It's hard to tell whether Neve is even enjoying the watermelon, but I am excited to see how she'll respond to sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are one of Beth and my favorite foods. I'm sure she'll learn to like them whether she wants to or not. Kind of like me and vegan food.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Speedy Gonzales

I can't believe how fast things are happening with Neve. Just about a week or so ago I was a little surprised that Neve wasn't using her hands that much. She wouldn't even touch the bottle when I fed her. So last week I started trying to put her hands on the bottle at every feeding. Well, when I fed her today she could almost hold the bottle the entire feeding by herself. Granted, she has a weird one closed fist, one open hand grip... but it seems to work for her...

She's also just been more interactive overall. She watches me constantly as I go around the room. And she's finally starting to pay some attention to Ollie. Which is especially overdue considering how much attention Ollie pays to her.

It's been a lot of fun watching her discover the small things.

When she's not grabbing at something with her newfound hands, her fingers are sure to be found in her mouth...

I can't wait to see what surprises this week brings!

Have a great night!

Stinky Stinky Stinky

Here's a video I took of Neve yesterday. "Stinky" has been her new favorite word. Well, that and pizza.

Have a great night!

Elvis

I was just going through some pictures from yesterday and this is the photo I should have used for Elvis Neve!

She's even got the attitude and everything!

Impersonations

Here are a couple of Neve's best impersonations from today. Can you guess who they are before scrolling down?

Impersonation #1

HINT #1: It's the crazy hair...

HINT #2: "You can't handle the truth!"

Impersonation #2

HINT #1: Check out that collar...

HINT #2: "You aint nothin' but a hound dog!"

Have a great night!

Jailbird

Neve had her jailbird outfit on today...

..hopefully I have plenty of time before she wants to break free of me!

Neve and I went to a little grocery store down the street from us to pick up some food for dinner. Neve was getting a little tired while we were shopping; it was defnitely time for a nap. But when we left the store, a clerk held open the door for us and told Neve how cute she was and right on cue, Neve gave her the biggest smile (which she actually does quite a bit in public when people talk to her...she's a little ham). Not 5 seconds later, though, we got in the car and Neve gave ME the biggest yell. Not a cry, but a very distinct yell. I have to admit I was a little jealous at the smile the clerk had just received.

So, we hurried home for a nap and to make a 'sausage' bake and some blackberry cobbler...

My wife is a vegan, which can be challenging sometimes when we go out to certain restaurants. But it's crazy how you can turn most "normal" recipes into vegan recipes. Fake meat is available for almost any kind of meat. Soy, almond, rice and coconut milks can all be substitutes for dairy milk. And Smart Balance Light is awesome, I can't believe it's vegan (or not butter!). This is coming from the mouth of a newbie, but I think I'm getting the hang of vegan cooking just a little.

Doesn't mean I won't enjoy a nice steak every once in awhile when I go out...


Have a great night!