Colden's A Star!

Even though we've probably filled up most of our computer's hard drive with pictures of Colden, we thought it would be fun to have some professional pictures taken of him.  We found a local husband and wife team who goes to people's homes to photograph newborns.  Let the photo shoot begin!

Just by adding a few backdrops, some lights and a couple of props - our living room was magically transformed into a studio.  All we had to do was provide an adorable baby...no problem!

Colden was sleeping when the photographers arrived, so we decided to start him off in the classic "baby sleeping naked" pose.  Here we started him off under a blanket to make sure that he was toasty warm and wouldn't wake up.  He is also lying on a heating pad.

 

Both Josie and Frankie supervised from behind the set.

Here Frankie is showing Colden how he should pose for this picture.  :-)

 Enter Mike.  This is about the time that Colden decided to go to the bathroom (hehehe).  This is also the time when Colden woke up.

With Colden awake, we switched to the family shots and the "mommy and son" shots.  Notice Josie and Frankie are still trying to help behind the scenes.

It was so much fun doing the photo shoot in our house.  We will be meeting with the photographers in 2 weeks to review the proofs.  We are so excited and can't wait to see how they came out! 

Heads Up!

It's amazing to watch Colden change from one day to the next:  a new noise, a new facial expression, a new accomplishment.  This week?  Colden can now lift his head for an extended period of time.  By "extended period of time", I mean a minute or two.  But that's definitely a step up from the uncontrollable "bobble-head" that he had only the week before.

Using the Boppy pillow for support, Colden uses his arms to push his body up (baby version of a push-up)

Work it, little man - work it!  Notice the intense look of concentration on his face.  This is hard work!

Good job!

He actually loved being in this position and stayed propped up on the Boppy pillow for several minutes.  Hopefully tummy-time will go just as smoothly.

Bath time

Thank goodness you are only supposed to bathe a newborn every 2-3 days, because if we had to do this every night...

Heater? Check!

(After all, we don't want Colden to be cold while he's taking a bath.  Don't mind us sweating through our clothes in the 75+ degree sauna - the sacrifices we make for our children)

Two towels, two washclothes, a diaper...check!

A dressing/undressing staging area? Check!

 A tub within a tub...baby shampoo...a rubber ducky that tells you if the water is too hot.  Check!  Check!  and CHECK!

Finally - ready for a bath!
But Colden's idea of a bath is: bathe...pee...repeat.
As you can see here, he actually slept through his first bath.  He was awake during his second bath and was perfectly content during his 'spa treatment session'.  This boy loves his bath-time!

What he doesn't love is when bath-time is over!

Colden's Brit Milah

Colden's brit milah (bris) was held at our house on Friday, April 9th - when he was 8 days old (counting the day he was born as "Day #1").  It was truly a special day for us and it was wonderful to be able to share it with our family and friends.

 An hour before the bris, I gave Colden a dose of baby Tylenol.  Although honestly, I think I needed the drugs more than he did to make it through the day!

During the ceremony, the mohel gave Colden a cotton swab dipped in Manischewitz wine.  Boy did he LOVE it!  Even after he sucked the cotton swab dry, Colden was reluctant to let the mohel take it out of his mouth to re-dip it.  Once again, I think I needed the alcohol more than Colden did!

As you can tell by the red, swollen eyes...we both had a hard time making it through the ceremony.  The mohel did a wonderful job trying to distract us by telling jokes and stories and by giving us passages to read.  It worked on the guests, not the parents.  Although I have to admit, while I cried before the ceremony and during the ceremony...Colden only cried for about 30 seconds.  Then he was fine.  I've often heard that a bris is harder on the parents than it is on the child.  It's true.

During the ceremony, Colden received his hebrew name:  Pinchas Gavriel (Pinchas was my grandfather Paul's hebrew name).  Pinchas is written in hebrew on the kippah that Colden is wearing.

The brit milah is complete.

Mazel tov, Colden!

We're Home!

We left the hospital on Sunday, April 4th with our 2-day old son and were greeted at home by Nanny, Grandpa Howard and our other "kiddos", Josie and Frankie.

After removing our identity bracelets and officially leaving the hospital behind us...

...we introduced Colden to our cat (Frankie) and our dog (Josie).  They did a great job inspecting everything:

Car seat?  Check!

And ever since...

...Josie has never...

...left...

...Colden's side.  

(this is me trying to update the blog with both Colden and Josie in my lap - so if you are ever wondering why it takes me so long to update the blog - just remember this picture!)

Frankie on the other hand, has had a harder time adjusting and took a couple of days before he would even venture close to Colden.  This picture is of Colden working on his tan by the front door - doctor's orders.  He started developing a little jaundice and the doctor told us to strip him down to his diaper and let him soak up the rays through the window.  He loves it.  Luckily his jaundice is completely under control (he checked out fine at his 1-week doctor's appointment).

Of course, after working on his tan, Colden had to work on his pose for GQ Magazine.  Watch out ladies!

The day we came home from the hospital was 80+ degrees with Carolina blue skies.  We took advantage of the beautiful day by taking a walk around the neighborhood.  

We gave Colden his first sponge bath on Tuesday (April 6th).  He wasn't a huge fan of the bath

But he didn't mind getting his hair combed...

...or being held afterward

The first week with our little man has been a dream!  He is such a happy, healthy baby.  We're all adjusting nicely and are starting to settle into a "routine".  Even the animals have learned the number one rule...

 

When Colden sleeps...

YOU sleep!

It's A Boy!!

Mike and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Colden Gabriel Karl, formerly known as "Tike".

Colden was born on his due date, April 2nd, 2010. (Less than 5% of babies born in the US every year are born on their actual due date). We're curious to see if he will always be this punctual. :-)

Colden Gabriel is named after my two late grandfathers; "Colden" is after my maternal grandfather, Paul (through translation), and Gabriel is after my paternal grandfather, Gershon.

But, who are we kidding - I know you are only reading this part to get to what you've really been waiting for...pictures! So, here they are:

Contractions started at around 11:45pm on April 1st. Mike wheeled me into the maternity ward around 1:45am on April 2nd, when my contractions were about 4 minutes apart. As you can see by the smiles on our faces, the contractions weren't that bad...yet.

At 9:12am, we heard the most beautiful words in the world, "It's a boy"!

Our first family picture.

I couldn't resist the fun cone-head hat that the ladies at the local nursing home knitted for him.

Colden was born a healthy 7 pounds 8 ounces and left the hospital weighing 7 pounds even. We luckily had no problem getting him to breastfeed and he thankfully eats like a champ - about every 2 to 4 hours. If you are wondering how we can tell when he's hungry...

...he makes himself pretty clear by sucking on his fingers.

** During our 2-day stay at the hospital, we had family come to visit:

Saba ("grandpa" in hebrew) - my dad

Nanny - my mom

Grandpa - Howard

Uncle Gil and Aunt Merri

** Not only was it great to have family spend time with us in the hospital, but it was also a lot of fun experiencing some of the "firsts" together:

No, I'm not crying - I'm laughing. At what, you ask?...

...at Mike attempting to change his first diaper. (Sorry Mike, but this was too great not to share)

**As much "fun" as we had in the hospital, we were more than anxious to get home.