The Ladies who Brunch

Amanda, Lydia and Emily took some time away from the boys for brunch and shopping on Sunday. We had a truly lovely time.

Here is a pictue we charmed our waiter into taking.


And here is one Lydia took herself.

While we were gone, Brit and Guthrie slept, and played, and watched the History channel. It was a very good day for everyone.

Mr. Serious and his Monkey

This monkey is Guthrie's favorite toy so far. It was the first toy we noticed him swinging at on his gym mat, and now it is the toy he consistently grabs when on his mat. And yet, consistent with his nature so far, he's very serious even when he has his favorite toy firmly in hand. He's just checking it all out..... 

A Professional Opinion

So, Guthrie and Emily accompanied Lydia on a visit to the pediatrician recently. Our regular doc is out (we LOVE Dr. Tache) because she just had a baby (her second) so we saw one of her colleagues. The nurse who led us to the room took one look at Guthrie and said, "Wow. He really is a pretty baby." Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a professional. A child care expert who sees dozens and dozens of babies a day. Who are we to argue with her opinion? Surely, there are few in a better position to speak authoritatively on the subject. And this was a completely unsolicited opinion. Guthrie was just minding his own business, in his stroller, while his sister got a little check up. Lydia, by the way, is totally fine, and still perfect. As always, the doctor was impressed with her precociousness, intelligence and general good health. Although we miss Dr. Tache when she is gone, we do enjoy the opportunity to impress new doctors.

He's Home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brit had been in the door about 20 minutes before Ginger found his way to his favorite lap. He wasn't wasting any time in letting Brit know he was missed.




And, in the interest of full disclosure, Ginger had to wait his turn, since Guthrie and Lydia were taking their turn in said lap as well. We're all so glad Brit is home. The tour went well, and we love Stickpony, but we're glad to have him home.

I Only Have Eyes for

Here are Guthrie and his Great-Grandmother, Gigi. Clearly, they're quite fond of each other. 

We LOVE Gan

So, Brit is touring the Midwest this week, and Emily started back at work on Monday. Brit's mom, Susan, has been kind enough to spend the week with Emily, Lydia and Guthrie. Mostly Guthrie. They spend all day playing and hanging out. They're both very good company.







Susan has taught Guthrie several new games, and he is cooing with a great deal more enthusiasm. It is obvious that he is thriving from the love and attention she lavishes on her grandchildren.

Kiss Me!

Guthrie celebrated Valentine's day by posing in the little hat Aunt Katie gave him for Christmas. Of course, it just barely fits on his cute, big ol' melon, so you can just barely see, but it says "kiss me" - we don't really need to be prompted, though. Brit's mom is staying with us while Brit is on the road, and between her, and mommy, Guthrie is getting constant kisses. (Emily started back at work on Monday. More later on that.....) 

The Cousins at the Lake House

As part of a belated birthday celebration for "Aunt Emily" we spent the weekend at the Lake Travis Lake House which Brit's family has been kind enough to share with us. Brit is in Minneapolis playing Rock and Roll, so it was just Emily, Lydia and Guthrie representing the Leuba Jones Consortium. Aunt Katie (Emily's sister), Luke and Rachel (Emily's nephew and niece) and Grandma and Pappy (Emily's parents, Chuck and Diane) were all there. We had a very, very nice weekend together.

Emily's parents, Emily, and the cousins

Guthrie and his Aunt Katie.

It was a very cold weekend - for Central Texas, anyway. Here, Lydia and her cousin Rachel brave the cold for some quality time together on the balcony swing.

Three generations in matching pajamas. We have a good time.

Walkies

Here is a picture Lydia took of Guthrie and I after an evening walk on a rare cold evening. Not too cold, though. I am wearing shorts.
Guthrie and I have also taken several 4+ mile walks around town lake, but we don't bring the camera on those long walks..... 

How the Ol' Broad Celebrated

In honor of Emily's birthday, we went to Zilker park on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. On Saturday it was Brit, Emily, Lydia and Guthrie, and we walked along Town Lake and fed some geese. We didn't stay long; the park was crowded, and we were all very hungry.
(Plus, Brit was bummed out about the fire at his practice space - although all of Stickpony's stuff is A-Okay.)
On Sunday, Lydia, Emily and Guthrie picked up our friend Roxy and she spent the day at the park with us. We walked along Town Lake, fed ducks, played on the playground and rode the train. It was a delightful, long, fun-filled afternoon.
Here, the girls enjoy the collective wisdom of the philosopher's rock sculpture.

We fed the ducks from Neff point. The specs in the water below are some of the ducks and coots that enjoyed our largesse. We even had a couple grackles swoop down and grab some bread out of the air.


This was not Guthrie's first ride on the Zilker Zephyr. It was his third. He was only a couple weeks old on his first ride. He slept through the whole thing. He also slept through his second ride a few weeks later. Today, however, he stayed awake, and even blew some bubbles. Lydia and Roxy rode in front of us. They were incredibly good company. One of them took this picture.
(As a sidebar, Guthrie has slept through many firsts. He slept through is first picture with Santa. He slept through an entire trip to a Christmas tree farm to cut down a tree - the hayride, the tree-cutting, the pine cone painting. All of it.)

You'll notice that Guthrie is wearing a little shirt with a football on it. Today is SuperBowl Sunday. And although the rest of the family does not follow sports, who knows, maybe Guthrie will. So, just is case, he's dressed for football.

And finally, this is what it would possibly look like if Lydia and Roxy were the two cutest hobos in the world.

Another kind of Birthday

Today was Emily's birthday, and we all celebrated with dinner at Curra's North. Okay, Emily isn't in the picture, but you can still tell that we're having a good time.

Three Days Old

This is Guthrie on November 26th, just a little after midnight. Literally sleeping like a baby.

Birth Day

We started this blog when Guthrie was two months old, so we hadn't posted any photos from his arrival. Now seems like as good a time as any to change that.

Here, Brit and Guthrie get to know each other shortly after his birth. (We didn't take any photos in the delivery room - we were all much too busy.)

Guthrie was born at 3:23 on November 23, the day after Thanksgiving, after 24 hours of labor. We spent that evening at the hospital for observation, and were dressed and ready to go when the doctors came to check on us the following morning, Thanksgiving. We all felt we had so much to be thankful for, and Brit, Lydia and Emily wanted to get Guthrie home, and get on with it. We've been having a very lovely time ever since.

Here, Brit supervises while Lydia holds her new brother for the first time. Obviously, it was love at first sight all around.








Guthrie's full name, Gerald, is taken from Brit's dad. Of course, we all know him as Buddy, (or Grumps) so there is a tradition of the Geralds in the family going by their nicknames. Here, Grumps and Guthrie meet for the first time. It's hard to tell from the picture, but I think Buddy likes him.



The earlier photo is the first time Lydia held Guthrie. But she met him for the first time in this photo. The look of wonder on her face is mirrored in how I feel when I see her with him now. She's an amazing big sister. Brit's sister Amanda is supervising. As always, she is an incredible support for all of us.












Here, Guthrie meets his maternal grandparents. Emily took the photo. Grandma looks on in awe at her new grandson, while Pappy smiles approvingly at the daughter who presented him. Guthrie was very much welcomed into the world.

Guthrie's Great-grandmother, Brit's grandmothother, welcomes her newest family member on Thanksgiving day, moments after we came home from the hospital.

Mmm, mmm Good.

Young Mr. Guthrie has become a thumb sucker in the past couple weeks, and he's getting very good at it. Here, he demonstrates that he's just as good at using the left hand as the right. At night, in his little basinette next to our bed, it often sounds as though he's smuggled in a pork chop. We hear him just smacking away on his fingers before he drifts off to sleep.
Babies who can self-soothe tend to sleep better, and we don't have to worry about losing, washing or stocking pacifiers. Woo Hoo!