Halloween

Delaney's first Halloween! I found this great costume that was perfect for her since she is our little Bird. She wore it to daycare on Friday the 30th and the evening of the 31st. She enjoyed seeing all the people out trick or treating and they seemed to enjoy her too.

On October 28th she had her 4 month check-up. She is 13.5 pounds (60%) and nearly 26 inches long (90%). Once again, she was a super trooper with her 4 shots. They didn't even notice any signs of pain at day care that day.

The end of October also brought visits from family. She got to see both Grandmas and her Great Aunt Sue and Uncle Bob. They all really enjoyed her smiles and squawks. She is a "chatty Kathy" lately.

Recent Photos

Here are some recent photos

The Time of My Life

As predicted, once I returned to work, the website wouldn't get updated as often. Since the last entry, Delaney has taken another road trip, started Day Care, and has begun chatting up a storm. Over Labor Day weekend, we drove to Ponca City, Oklahoma (home of Grandma Mary’s family) for the Butt Family reunion. The weather was wonderful and the trip smooth and it was great seeing everyone.

Delaney’s first day of Day Care was September 9. As we suspected, she did great. The teachers report that she is a good eater and sleeper. She loves sitting and watching the other kids play and also likes lying on the floor with toys above her. One day, when she first started chatting, I arrived to pick her up and she was lying on the floor in a change of clothes that were not hers (extra from Day Care) and making a bunch of noise. I had to look twice to confirm she was my child. She “talks” the most in the morning before we leave for the day. Her noises are very cute and funny making us laugh before we head to work. Good way to start the day.

I attached a picture most people have seen by now because it is our current favorite. Most evenings I pick out Delaney’s clothes for the next day. On this particular night, I picked out the shirt that has the most famous Patrick Swayze quote from Dirty Dancing. The next morning, after we dressed her in the shirt, we learned that Patrick Swayze passed away from Pancreatic Cancer. The timing was a little spooky.

2 Month Dr. Visit

Delaney had her 2 month check up today. She is now 11 pounds, 8 ounces and 24 inches long. Today was the 4 shot day. I asked Greg to meet me at the appointment for emotional backup - more for me than Delaney I think. She did great. Cried a little with the first two shots and then a lot with the other two but she settled down after about 5 minutes and slept for quite a way. She was just a bit cranky the rest of the day.

The last 4 out of 5 nights she has slept through the night. First night it happened, she scared us a little but she is making up for the missed feeding during the day. She is also enjoying her hands a lot lately often sticking her fingers so far in her mouth she gags herself. We can see that she is gaining more control of her motions and moving more purposefully lately. Recently we started imitating activities like sticking our tongue to have her do it as well. We just hope she doesn't start sticking it out at strangers.

Delaney starts Day Care in about a week. We found a center about 5 minutes from our house. I visited twice, Greg once, and we like what we see. The teachers seem very experienced and to love their jobs. There is a great mix of kids and a very nice facility.

Another Road Trip

Delaney went on another road trip - much shorter one this time. In the middle of August she and I drove north to Rockford and Wisconsin. She got to visit with Grandparents, Great Grandpa, her Aunt Sherri and Uncle Dave and many more. One day she was passed between several relatives with camera flashes going crazy - she did great. I attached a few of the pictures and a video of her and Great Grandpa John.

4 Generations















Grandpa Keith
















Delaney and Eric (my second cousin)

















Delaney and Great-Grandpa

Week of Firsts

The week of 8/2/09 brought Delaney a bunch of firsts: zoo, road trip, and pool party.

Greg and I love the St. Louis Zoo and we hope Delaney will feel the same so we started her early. Last Sunday was a beautiful day and perfect for strolling in the zoo. Delaney slept most of the time but that is ok because we got pictures to document our trip.

Greg's grandfather, Leo Plank, passed away last Saturday so the family piled in a rented van and drove the 14 hours to Liberty, Pennsylvania. The crew included 6 adults, 1 pre-teen, and 2 infants. Both the trip there and back went very smooth. The babies slept the majority of the time. Although we rather not have traveled for Grandpa's funeral, it was nice to introduce the babies to the family. Below is a picture of Tommy "driving" the van.

Delaney also attended her first pool party this week. She had a swimsuit to take a dip but mom decided the water was too cold. She enjoyed hanging with the girls poolside.

5 weeks

It is only Wednesday and Delaney has had a busy week. Monday she participated in her second girl's night and got her pictures taken. Tuesday she had a short but nice visit with Grandma Mary and took a trip to the doctor and to Target. Today, she visited a Day Care Center, went to lunch with the work girls who passed her around the table, and visited the Dentist with mom. She was great at every stop.

Good news at the one month Doctor check up. She is now 9 pounds and 6 ounces. She gained 26 ounces over 21 days. First two weeks were rough, she just wanted to sleep, but then it is as if a switch flipped and she turned into an eating and growing machine. Her slow start just continues the idea that she just wasn't ready to join the outside world... but she is definitely ready now, enjoying all her new experiences.

Both Greg and I have seen smiles this week. She can't do them on command yet but they are definitely more than "just gas." I thought I was going to melt the other day when she smiled at me, I smiled back, she smiled back and so on. It was the best feeling in the world. Hopefully, these smiles will show up in pictures and video soon.

We have been working on development activities during play time. The cats either want to join in or watch while we work with Delaney on the floor. I have attached videos of some of our time together.

4 weeks

We have survived a month!!! Getting more sleep each day and starting to really enjoy our little girl who is growing so fast. She has moved into the bigger diaper and started to grow out of some of her clothes. Don't know her weight yet, Dr. Appt is next week. She loves staring into our eyes and can follow objects really well. She just also started pushing off with her legs when we lift her off the swing.

We have yet to establish a bed time routine that works well. That is probably the hardest part right now. Nearly every night for the last two weeks Ms. Delaney has been very cranky for a while between 6:00 and 8:00 at night. Usually she is just tired and wants to sleep but then eats at 9:00 and wants to stay awake. I need to work on her getting better quality naps during the day, this might help.

The cats are getting more used to her but can tell she is the cause of them getting less attention. Both of them love to hang out with us in her room. Rigby loves to sleep in her crib. At first, this freaked us out and we chased her out but then realized that it was a lost cause. We just now make sure the cats aren't in the room with her alone or stuck in there with the door closed.

The pictures below include Greg trying to get Delaney to sleep for the night. So cute! Then there is Delaney posing in her cute pink pants. I have more than one because I can't decide which one I like best. She makes the funniest faces. I also have the cats watching her from the stairs. Notice how Rigby (on the left) doesn't look happy. She has taken the loss of Greg's full attention pretty hard. Shilo just looks clueless like usual. The videos are of Delaney waking in the morning. She cracks me up with her noises and stretching routine. She definitely has her mom's lack of enthusiasm about waking in the morning.