Real smiles!

Just over the past few days, Vanessa has been treating us to her first real smiles! Last night, on Nana's birthday, she gave her Nana a smile in response to a kiss on the cheek. It's so exciting to have a smiling daughter!

Evenings out with friends

Vanessa at her first game of Settlers of Catan, over at Dean's place. (I didn't mean to leave Dean out of this picture.) Vanessa handled the late night rather well, I'd say, although she needed to dance and bounce a lot.

I think John must be teasing Vanessa about how much she likes to bounce.

Over at Sara B.'s place, Vanessa gets a hug from Sara's mom. It's handy to have a pediatric nurse as a friend!

Vanessa goes to school

Vanessa in Mrs. Carpenter's hands (the most reliable and important hands to be in at Whitman Middle!)

Vanessa was very awake for our visit to Peggy's room. She was very happy to spend some time in the arms of such a practiced mom and exciting science teacher.

New bride Leslie gets a sneak peek at parenthood.

Beverly said that her teenage kids wanted her to read aloud the books she bought for Vanessa. Who can blame them? Children's literature is some pretty good stuff!

Another new bride Robyn was the first at Whitman to hold Vanessa.

Beverly is expecting to hold her own little girl in a few months!

Two grandmas napping

Vanessa just has that effect on people sometimes! Sleepy babies are so cozy.

Kalena and John visit

Uncle John watches Vanessa do her new trick of clasping her hands together. John has a bunch of nieces and nephews (including new twins!), so he has lots of experience with babies.

Aunt Kalena holds Vanessa while Vanessa practices her "Go Team!" salute. Kalena took time from her busy first-year teacher schedule to see her new niece!

Grampa makes sure that Vanessa knows that "M" stands for Michigan.

Daddy practices feeding Vanessa on the bottle on Friday. On Saturday, Vanessa stayed home while Mommy went to work. Vanessa did a good job with the bottle, and she was sleeping happily when Mommy came home.

Vanessa and Mommy snuggle at bedtime.

Getting bigger

So Vanessa went for another round of shots today and she weighed 9 lbs 8 ozs. Guess all those late night feedings are paying dividends...

Hail to the Redskins!

Vanessa and daddy get ready to watch Vanessa's first Redskins game vs. the Jaguars.

Vanessa wasn't quite sure what to make of the outfit however...

Rainbows and friends

Vanessa had her first trip to Nana's house this weekend. We went to Baby's R Us and did some shopping. Here are some pictures from this weekend.

Vanessa's first rainbow! Granted, she had trouble seeing it with her eyes closed.


Vanessa's first trip to Tippy's Tacos.
Lisa had fun playing with Vanessa. Vanessa was awake again for quite a while, and Lisa did a great job of keeping her entertained.


Don't you think Vanessa is so adorable when she yawns? Rachel clearly knows how to make Vanessa feel cozy.


The Cahill's came over to Nana's house to take a peek at Vanessa. Here, Owen inspects the new baby. "Hi baby!" he said. Also pictured here are Owen's mom and dad (Lisa and Justin), and aunt Natalie.


Vanessa in Lisa's arms.