At one month...

You are one month old! And to celebrate, mommy and daddy bought a new family car. We have joined minivan nation and I'm just waiting for one of you to start playing soccer so that I can truly earn the title of "soccer mom."

At a month old, you have figured out the difference between night and day. You can hold your head steady on your shoulders and lift it 45 degrees when on your belly. You track objects with your eyes as they go by... and you may have smiled for the first time today. (Although the smile was aimed at the t.v. and so I am not going to count it; your first smile should be for mommy!) You have also now met all your grandparents. Pop Pop (Vic) and Grammy Candy came for a long weekend and had fun playing with Eli and bounce-bounce-bouncing you. That, in fact, seems to be your true love. You are the literal "bouncing baby boy."

The most reliable way to stop your crying (and man, can you cry!), is to bounce you on the big blue ball. Pop pop and Grammy were champs at the bounce and I thank them for all the help. It can be exhausting, as this picture attests!

The most wonderful part is that you are beginning to spend more time awake and enjoying your toys. You have discovered the happy musical star on your exercise gym and have made good friends with a singing fish and a soothing giraffe. I am enjoying watching you discover your world.

Visitors and checkups

Sebastian had his two-week well baby check up on Friday, June 11. He weighed in at 9 lbs, measured 21 inches and was dubbed healthy and growing. He's in the 50th percentile for height and weight and head size. And he handled the visit like a true champ. Big boy!

And here are some pics from our latest visitors...




The toy bear you see with Sebastian was a gift from Grandma, Grandpa, and Eli. Eli chose the bear, warmed his heart, helped stuff him, and picked out his pj's. We think that the bear's name might be "Oatmeal" to go with Eli's toy Zebra, Flapjack, but we'll wait for Sebastian to give final confirmation of the name. Stay tuned...

We'll leave you with pictures of the boys... at rest and at play...


(All the boys...)

A special thanks

We've had a number of visitors - good friends and loving family members - who have come to meet Sebastian and spend time with Eli, but a special note of thanks needs to go out to Grandma Jaye. She stayed with us for over 3 weeks, arriving two weeks before Seb was born. She helped mow the lawn, clean the stove, re-organize the closet, iron, sew, provide moral support, and with a whole host of other chores. Eli loved all the time he spent with Grandma, and she was one of the first to meet Sebastian. I can't thank you enough, mom! I'm not sure I could have done it all without you.

We miss you already and look forward to the next time we get to hang out.

"Right into his heart"

Eli introduces his little brother to the world in their first feature film!

Introducing Sebastian Nicholas Delnore!

Eli is proud to be a big brother... and we're the proudest parents in the world. Here are some pictures of Seb's first days! Note the proud granddad Sam! Gramma J was also on hand for the birth (and she was invaluable to mom and dad as they prepared and in the first week and a half after you were born)!

D-Day

Though I was officially "full term" and could have you at any time as of May 7th, you still had not begun to make your appearance by your official due date (May 25th). So, after checking to see if any progress had been made unbeknown to me (it had not), my doctor recommended that we schedule your delivery for first thing in the morning on May 28th by c-section.

The day before your delivery, your dad and I went out to lunch together (yummy, spicy Thai food) and saw a movie (a really bad one that does not need to be immortalized in this blog). But you still showed now signs of coming out on your own.

So I woke up before the sun on Friday, May 28th and gathered my things for the hospital. You were born a little after 8 am and came out SCREAMING MAD. I guess you wanted to stay inside Mommy for awhile longer. But we are happy to have you with us now.

Your daddy got to make the big announcement for which we had been waiting nine long months... "We have a little boy!"

Welcome to the world, Sebastian Nicholas Delnore.