nora's early days

Nora's first few days at home were a big haze of happiness.

When we came home from the hospital we were greeted by this sign that Jimmy and Angie made.

After mom sorted through the six boxes of girl clothes given to me by a friend, we tried lots of them on her and then took pictures in each one.  Samples:

At just four days old she went on her first outing to Mass.  She behaved perfecctly the whole time (aka: sleeping) unlike at least one brother.

Her brothers picked out a pink flamingo as her present (They assume that will be her favorite color).

Then they insisted that she sleep with it.

We dug out some of mom's old stuffed animals and washed them so that they could meet their proud new owner.  She obviously loves them already.

Mom and Dad spent a lot of time just staring at her.

And Mom attempted many photo shoots to capture her many expressions.

She had an overwhelming amount of brother love.  

Jimmy woke up the day after she was born and came in to find her immediately.  He laid in bed with us for about an hour just smiling at her while she slept. He still does this on a regular basis.  He tells me how much he loves her all the time and how she is the cutest baby in the whole world.  Little does he know he is being the cutest in the whole world every time he says it.  

Does this freak you out?...

What age of child should be allowed to hold a newborn?  I suppose it is based on trust and experience and lack of being very clumsy.  He really is very good at holding her and I do trust him, but he is clumsy like his mom.  I don't really want him walking around with her.  But he is very good and gentle at getting her out of her swing and holding her while sitting on the floor.  As she gets heavier I see this getting not quite as easy to do, but for now he is so proud of himself when he takes care of her.  Gus is the same way and always assures me that he will take care of her while I am gone.  Of course, to him that means getting in her face and touching her cheeks instead of just letting her sit happily while I go to the bathroom.  Gus loves holding her as well, but it rarely lasts for more than a minute before he says, "I'm done!" and pretty much lets go.  He is not so good in the trust department.  Still he is adjusting pretty well and does love her a lot so I have no complaints.  

Nana came to meet her new granddaughter when she was just a week old. 

She was happy to see some other guys as well and they were excited for all the fun they knew was in store.

So the point is: This little bug is very loved.

Get ready for the blog to have lots of Nora overloads.  That is just how it is gonna be.