Hand-Mouth Coordination

Louis has discovered he has limited control of his hands. He's decided to use this new power to put his hands in his mouth. It appears that he prefers his thumb or the side of his index finger, but really any part of the hand will do. When he struggles to bring his hand to his mouth he attempts to move his whole body to locate his hand.

Baby Hair

We're happy to report that Louis's hair is growing back.

2 Months Old

Just days before Louis turned two months old, Grandma Lorraine came through town to spend a few more days visiting Louis and his parents. She is pictured in front of the Christmas tree. It's a baby tree this year -- Lorraine is sitting on the ground so that the tree will fit in the shot.

Spa Time

Louis really does love bath time. He doesn't get excited and squeal (yet). Instead, he is very calm and still and presumably focused on the pleasant sensation of sitting in warm water. The first and last two pictures are the best depiction of this. He keeps his arms to his side, legs still, and looks around. Because he is so in awe of bath time (or "spa time" as we prefer to call it), it's become a favorite time for his parents and is quickly becoming part of his nighttime ritual.

New York, New York: Thanksgiving 2011

We traveled to New York City for the Thanksgiving Holiday and visited with Brian, Laurie, Lisa, Aunt Cynth, Mel and Katie.

Brian and Laurie got a hotel room on 7th Avenue so we could watch the Macy’s Day Parade without having to wait with the millions (literally) of people who gathered on the street starting in the chilly, early hours of the morning.

The highlight of the parade was watching Katie on television when the Rockettes performed in front of Macy’s. Katie is the first from right in red (photo credit: Scott Ronyak).

Here’s the whole group (minus Katie) on Thanksgiving Day in the lobby of the Hotel Wellington.

After a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, we attended the “Rockettes and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.” Radio City Music Hall is beautiful and impressively large, seating almost 6,000 people (photos credit: Lisa and Laurie). Louis had such a nice time with the baby sitters, Laurie and Cynth, that he didn't miss us at all.

The next morning we got up early to see the views from the Top of the Rock and on the way out we saw the almost complete tree in Rockefeller Plaza. Since it was Black Friday we did some shopping at a temporary Christmas market in Union Square.

We drove home on Saturday, after stopping in New Jersey to visit Christian, Meredith, and Moira.

Six Weeks

Recently Louis has been making some new sounds. Below is a short clip of my favorite.


Louis is particularly chatty in the mornings. This minute long clip is a good example.


Finally, this minute long video is of Louis kicking and punching.

Benjamin Button

Over the past two weeks, Louis has been losing the hair on the top of his head, but not on the sides or back of his head. This has the visual effect of a receding hairline and slightly detracts from his cuteness. Baby books and websites assure me this is normal. However, I have pictures of his cousins from 2009 when Evelyn (top) and Norah (bottom) were 6 weeks old, almost the same age as Louis. Evelyn has all her hair and Norah has tons of hair!

Play Date

Christian, Meredith and Moira visited from New Jersey this weekend, and Louis had his first play date. Moira and Louis got along swimmingly. Moira was very active and made very cute sounds. Louis pretty much just lay on his back, kicked his legs and grunted. All in all, it was a great play date.

One Month Check-up

Louis had his 1-month check-up today and the doctor said everything looked good. He weighs 10 lbs and 4 oz, which is just above the 50th percentile. (Yeah, Louis!)

Back Time

Louis is often content to lie on the floor where he will kick his legs and pump his arms for half an hour or more. In this clip he shows off his energy and also he has hiccups.

Tummy Time

Louis is slowly getting better at lifting his head up during tummy time. When that fails he turns his attention to licking the blanket and, of course, grunting.

AV Club

We got a new video camera this weekend and this is the test run, filmed early this morning. At the end you can hear Louis grunt which he does throughout the day and night.

Game Day

Louis likes to watch the Browns games, though he's been disappointed with their quality of play the past couple of weeks. He's all suited up and ready to go in week 10 against the Rams. Go Browns!








(left) Colt drops backs to pass... (right) Touchdown Browns!!

Bath Time

We’ve bathed Louis a few times in the evening and even though he can be fussy during that time of day, he doesn’t seem to mind bath time too much.

Hospital Stay and Family Visitors

 

We spent two nights in the hospital.  We were visited by Grandparents Laurie, Dean, and Lorraine.  Our visitors brought us gifts, flowers, and food.  When they weren’t around we ordered food from the hospital cafeteria including our first meal post-delivery: an omelet for Ashley and a hot dog for Matt.

 

 

A few days later, Emily and Evelyn drove to town from Dayton.  Evelyn liked seeing “tiny baby Louis” which she illustrated with her thumb and index finger as in the photo below.

 

The following weekend, Brian, Laurie and Katie visited.  Louis let everyone hold him.

Happy Birthday

Louis was born on October 16, 2011, at 8:36 am, one day before his due date. He weighed 8 lbs and was 20.5 inches long. He was bright pink from the start. These photos are from shortly after birth, before we transferred from the labor and delivery room to our recovery room.