Christening

This past Sunday we had Teddy Christened at Lynn and Pete's church in Pleasantville. It was a beautiful day (almost 60 degrees) and we were surrounded by wonderful friends.

With the grandparents


With Teddy's Godmother, Hilary, and his stand-in Godfather, Patrick. Ryan was on the west coast and couldn't make it.


With Father John

A Wonderful Christmas!

Santa Baby!


Totally surrounded by presents. The Retro Rocket is from Mommy!


With Grammy and all of the cousins.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

Baby's first Nor'easter was a big one, but very beautiful!

Some Photos from the Week

Sebastian has become the coolest dog on the block by purchasing a pair of Ray Ban aviators.

We went to a wild holiday party at our neighbor's house on Saturday night. This is my favorite picture from the evening. Apparently, too much beer encourages the residents on Edson Street to arm wrestle each other.

A picture from Mommy's first day at work. I couldn't wait to get my hands on Teddy when I got home. Please note that I now have very short hair. I cut it off on Friday for Locks of Love.

Michael and baby by our Christmas tree.

I Survived!

Thanks to my wonderful husband who answered the phone everytime I called and my amazing co-workers who were at my office door when I arrived this morning with hugs and flowers, I survived my first day back at work. A few tears at the beginning of the day quickly led to a lot of smiling and checking of e-mail (575 unread messages, yikes!). Tomorrow my Mom takes over baby duty...and, before we know it, the weekend will be here!

Rolling Over

With all of this excitement about going back to work tomorrow, I totally forgot to mention that Teddy rolled over for the first time this morning. He was getting some tummy time and just rolled right over onto his back. He was actually on the play mat and rolled into the side of it so it technically wasn't a full roll, but I think it still counts. Yay, Teddy Bear!

Mommy's last day of maternity leave

Wow, the past 15 weeks has just flown. In just over sixteen and a half hours I will be back at work full time.

I feel truly blessed to have had so much time to spend with Teddy. I have to admit, though, that these past few days have been truly difficult. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my job and the people I work with, but I feel like I will be returning to work without a pretty significant piece of myself.

I guess that's what it means to be a Mom. What a wonderful, powerful, and scary thing!

Ice Storm

A big storm hit the lake late last week. We didn't realize the extent of the damage until my parents opted to stay with us Friday night instead of risking another windy night at their house. When they went back home Saturday morning, they met up with the National Guard who was assisting with the clean up efforts. Michael and his brother-in-law, Patrick, went up to their place during the day to prepare the house for another week without electricity. Here are a few amazing pictures that Michael took of the ice.

I'm Standing!

Nudie

Teddy was hanging out on Friday morning in nothing but a diaper and argyle socks. He is already turning out to be a classy baby!

Ted and the City

We had a wonderful weekend in New York City. We went to see "White Christmas" on Broadway while Teddy hung out with Grammy, Pop and Aunt Tracy. We saw friends in the city on Friday evening and spent time with new friends on Saturday and Sunday. Here are a few highlights from the weekend!


Teddy's First Subway Ride, December 5th


All bundled up to see Central Park for the first time


At dinner with Jess

Our favorite picture!

Seriously, how cute is this kid?!?!

Go Giants!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mini-Me Music

Teddy and I went to a music class at the Longmeadow Recreation Department today. We had such a great time and Teddy was totally captivated by the musician and his guitar. We sang "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Baby Beluga," among other songs, but those were his favorites. We can't want to go back again next week!

Without Baby

Michael and I went to a wedding on Cape Cod this weekend without baby Teddy. Michael's Mom stayed with him (and Sebastian and Monty and Gennie) at our house while we had a great time at Aly and Joe's wedding. We both survived being without our little one for 27 hours. This is a good sign for when I go back to work on Decemeber 17th.

Mommy and Me

Since I'm always taking the pictures, I never get to be in them. Here is a rare picture of Mommy and baby.

More Family...Holy Cow!

All of the cousins on the Russell side. I can't believe we got everyone to sit still long enough for a photo. We really do have some super cute kids in our family.

To Grandmother's House We Go

Nanny Grannan, Teddy and I went to Butler, Pennsylvania last week to surprise my 89-year old Grandmother. We had so much fun and I wish we could have stayed longer.


Four generations of family members!


Playing hide-and-go-seek with cousins, Susan and Rachel.

Trick or Treat with Teddy and Daddy

No wonder we didn't get many trick-or-treaters! Would you want candy from this man?

Halloween at Trinity

Teddy and I visited Trinity for the Admissions Office Halloween Party. We had a WONDERFUL time and it was so great to see all of my friends from work. Here are a few of my favorite photos!

2-Month Doctor Visit

Teddy went to the doctor on Thursday, October 30th for his 2-month visit. Here are his stats:

Height: 25.25 inches (95th percentile)
Weight: 13 pounds 7 ounces (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 40.2 centimeters

He had three shots and one vaccine that he had to drink. None of it went down well, but Teddy is such a trooper and we both survived. We go back to the doctor at 4-months, at the beginning of January.

We have come so far...

Hello Teddy fans! I'm so sorry the blog hasn't been updated in a while. We took a trip to Butler, PA this past week to visit my 89 year old Grandmother. We were off the grid for a while, but we have lots of updating to do soon. Until then, we are doing great!

Happy Halloween!

Teddy's Fairy Godmother

Aunt Hilary was in town this past weekend too, all the way from Colorado! We had too much fun catching up and Teddy loved spending time with his Godmother.

"Sip and See" goes "Sip and Hold"

My Mom hosted a few friends over to her house on Saturday afternoon to see baby Teddy. Here are a few of my favorite pictures. Enjoy!


Teddy with Gloria.


Teddy with Mary Ellen, aka "M.E.A."

Finger Eleven

Teddy had his extra digit removed yesterday. I didn't watch the procedure but he was pretty upset when they brought him out to me. He has a few stitches on his left pinky and a bandage around the finger. He will get his stitches removed on Monday, November 3rd. Teddy is doing great and is excited to have ten fingers like everyone else!

Head of the Charles

We went to the Head of the Charles in Boston this past weekend. We spent Friday night with our good friends, Emrick and John, at their amazing condo in Cambridge. We also ran into the Wallace family who were manning the Loomis booth at Reunion Village.

We had breakfast with Michael's friend from high school, Foster Brown. The boys hadn't seen each other since high school. We had so much fun!

I Want To Be Like Daddy!

My mother-in-law saved a few of Michael's outfits from when he was a baby. This one is my favorite. The print is little green mushrooms. Too cute!

Clearly Teddy is a much bigger baby than Michael ever was.

Ten Fingers and Ten Toes...I don't think so!

When Teddy was born, the first thing I did was to count his fingers and his toes. When counting his fingers, I got to number ten and there was still another finger left to count. Yes, that's right! Teddy has eleven fingers. It's actually a condition called polydactyly. It is really common - 1 in every 500 babies born has an extra digit.

The extra finger extends off his left pinky finger and doesn't have a bone. We are having the finger removed this coming Tuesday morning, although I am sad to see it go!

Here is a picture of the extra digit.

Update

Hello everyone! Teddy is growing and changing every day. He is starting to follow us with his eyes and his head, to smile when he sees us (I just love it!), to make vowel sounds, and to reach for objects in front of him. So totally exciting!

This is a picture of Teddy in his Teddy Bear outfit. Do you think he likes it?

A Star Is Born!

Check out this video of Teddy playing with Mommy.

It's Looking Like Fall!

Nikki St. Amand asked me to take pictures of the changing fall colors in New England and Baby Edward. I did her one better and took a picture of both!

New pictures!

Cuddling with Linda


With Nanny Grannan


Rocking the Big E with Daddy

1-Month Doctor Visit

Teddy had his 1-month check-up yesterday afternoon. Here are his newest stats:

Length = 24 inches (off the charts!)
Weight = 12.8 pounds (95th%)
Head = I didn't get the measurement but he is in the 50th% - guess he didn't get Mom's big old Irish head
Feet = the doctor said, "Man, this kid has huge feet!"

Anyone who has spoken to me lately will know that breastfeeding hasn't been going well. My body hasn't been making enough milk so we have been supplementing with formula. We got another hit yesterday when several bloody diapers revealed that Teddy has a milk/soy allergy. We are feeding him special formula and no longer breastfeeding. He should grow out of it in a year or so since Michael and I don't have any allergies. We are just happy to have figured out what was wrong!

Happy Birthday, Edward!

Football Sunday: The Steelers in Style

The Murray's sent some fabulous Steeler's gear and we just couldn't watch the game without looking the part. Next week...Teddy takes on the Giants (Daddy's favorite team!)

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

It's Mary Ann Clifford! Mary Ann was Shana's boss at Wash U Law and was recruiting on the East Coast so she stopped by to meet Teddy. It was great to see her!

Pimp my pram!

Michael's grandmother gave his Mom this pram when her first child was born. Luckily, they hung onto it and Shana found it in the garage a few months ago. Pete was kind enough to clean it up so Teddy could use it. Here he is in his first ride...we are thinking of adding flames to make it more manly! Just kidding!

Amanda Strikes Again!

Amanda Harris of Orchard Cove Photography (orchardcovephotography.com) came by to take a few pictures of Teddy. Here is a little teaser of her amazing work. More to come when my computer isn't so slow!

New Pictures!

Teddy in his fancy Ralph Lauren sweat suit. Thanks, Grammy!


In his party clothes for Shana's Birthday!


Teddy and Grammy Lynn


Who does baby love best?