She's gettin' big now

Baby butt...
Look at the size of those feet - ack!



She's not smiling because she's happy to see you - she just has to fart. Well, that's what the baby book says...



Mmmm...Daddy's shirt sure tastes yummy...

Ain't She Cunnin'

All together now...awhhhh...



She has been thrusting her fist into the air all day mumbling, "Baby Power" over and over.

Venturing into the World

Well we have arrived back at the hotel with Miss Althea in tow...she rides great in the car and for that we are truly thankful : ) Happy travelers will make the road trip to the Alamo much easier - can you hear the theme music to Davey Crockett? (King of the Wild Frontier)

We know that all parents think that their child changes minute by minute but I swear she looks so different today than she did yesterday. Her head has bounced back to a nice round shape and she has great color in her cheeks.

And Auntie Lisa, we put her new SmartWool socks on her - she could be a model for the company, ready for the tag line? "You're never too young to be Smart" - think they'd buy it?

Once we grab photos from the camera we will upload those...

The Bundle of Joy Arrives!

Baby Althea was born this morning (May 29th) at 10:19 a.m. She weighed in at 7lbs 9.5oz and is a whopping 19.25" long/tall. Miss Althea and her mom are doing fine - so are we : )


Matt, Chris and lil' Althea Rose

"Deep In The Heart Of Texas"

No baby yet.

We have arrived in Texas - man is it hot here! The mud in my blood is really interfering with the cooling process.

The flight was great - we cashed in some serious credit card miles and sat in first class - whoohoo! It was a direct flight into Dallas/Fort Worth and only took about four hours - imagine half way across the country in the time it would take us to drive to Houlton from Portland.

Last night we went to the Rangers/Red Sox game and watched our beloved Sox kick some Texas butt. We purchased some last minute tickets and sat in the upper deck behind home plate - what a fabulous view of the field! It was shocking to us to see the throngs of Red Sox fans at the stadium - in full regalia. And the cheers that went up for our Sox from the crowd were unreal.

Overwhelmed

But in a good way...
Last week there were two baby showers for us, one from the lovely folks that I work with at CRES and the other from the Portland History Mafia. We are totally overwhelmed with the outpouring of generosity from our friends and co-workers.
Thanks to these folks Althea will be one stylish newborn Red Sox fan - you didn't think she would cheer for any other baseball team, did you? She has more Sox gear than Jimmy Falon in "Fever Pitch" - only it is all wicked tiny and really cute - she'll look awesome at her July Fenway debut.
And the handmade items we have been blessed with are simply unbelievable. There are now two gorgeous quilts (both garden themed), appliqued onsies (Althea themed) and a sweet purple crocheted afghan.
Her library is growing daily from "Barnyard Dance" to "Chicka Chicka BOOM BOOM" to "Winnie the Pooh" and everything in between.
There is far too much to mention every gift by name but please know that I thought of each of you as I folded her clothes and tucked them in her dresser, set her bath items in the drawer of the changing table, dressed her crib and placed her books neatly on a shelf - Matt and I are really lucky to have such wonderful, caring and generous people in our lives.

Is that the cutest crib set or what? The painting hanging above her crib is a watercolor of the Vancouver flower market, painted by Matt's mom.

Auntie Lisa strikes again! Love this great little baby containment area - the wooden reach toys and the super cool squeaky things are awesome - if we can just keep Cooper out of it!

My students are the best!

One of my fifth graders, Ben, stitched this quilt for Althea. He told me that he pieced it together on our last snow day and has been working each night on the batting and the backing. The quilt is beautiful and will be a treasured part of Althea's childhood.