Bath time, revisited

In our brief recap yesterday, we forgot to mention that Gwendolyn's attitude toward bath time has taken a significant turn for the better. Compare today's photos and brief (16 second) video to the photos taken during her first bath in early January. (Again, our apologies for the sideways presentation of the video.)

You've come a long way, baby... Hopefully this means we'll have an eager little swimmer on our hands.

Catching up with Gwen

We realize we've been a little lazy in the blogging department lately... To get you caught up, here's a bit of an update on happenings from the past week or so:

• We definitely have a little talker on our hands! Gwendolyn is becoming more and more vocal, adding new sounds to her repertoire by the day. We happily get plenty of cooing, squealing, ooh's and ahh's, particularly after she has woken up from a good long nap. An added bonus: her talking is always combined with lots and lots of smiling. (By the way, is there anything better than having your baby wake up, see your face, and break into a huge, toothless grin? No, we didn't think so...)
  
• Getting a hold on things: Gwendolyn has started to reach for and grasp objects. She has a favourite toy that she sometimes holds while sitting in her shaky chair; Dad has also found her hanging on tightly to his sleeve during a diaper change, and Mom discovered her pulling on her bracelet during a recent feed.
• Our little one keeps growing. Dad did a very unscientific weigh-in last evening and discovered that Gwendolyn has topped 13 pounds (5,897 grams). We'll get a more accurate reading this afternoon when we visit the drop-in clinic at our local community centre.
  
• All this growing sadly means that a number of our favourite outfits are now too small for her and have to be retired. Never fear, though: she's got lots of cute new outfits to replace them, such as the terrific sleeper you see her wearing in the photo above.
  
• Finally, here are a few new nicknames to add to the list: Honey Bear (Dad's new favourite), Bubbles (Mom's new favourite; Gwen's become a bit of a drooler, and she often looks like she's frothing at the mouth), Little Monkey and, oddly enough, Pickles (Dad again; he can certainly pick 'em, eh?).
  

Gwendolyn and Mama

We can't believe it's been a week since we last posted! Here are Gwendolyn and Mom having some quality time after Gwen got home from her walk with Dad.

Zzzzzzzzz

Gwendolyn is quite a good little sleeper, and often naps at the end of her nursing sessions.

Now you know why Felicity and Kevin find it hard to get anything done -- who wouldn't want to spend an hour or so each morning looking at this beautiful face?

Have You Hugged Your Midwife Today?

Gwendolyn and Felicity made a quick stop at our midwives' office to snap a photo -- technical difficulties at our final visit meant we didn't get one then. Here is Erin, one member of our two-midwife team holding Gwendolyn whom she hadn't seen since Gwen was only a couple of days old.

We cannot say enough about the incredibly positive experience we had in midwifery care. From the nice long appointments (30 to 45 minutes), to the numerous in-home postpartum visits and expert breastfeeding guidance and coaching....it was all just great, and made all the more so by the fact that our midwives, Erin and Courtney, are both totally cool women. We were very sorry to see our time in their care come to an end.

Just Because

This is a "just because" post -- just because we have a ton of great photos of Gwendolyn that we're dying to share. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Gwendolyn (with a little help from her Dad) wishes you all a very happy Valentine's Day!

Two months and counting...

Amazing, but true -- this past Monday marked Gwendolyn's two month birthday! The photo you see above was taken when she was just hours old. Yes, it's the same baby you see in the (56 second) video clip below: a recent bit of morning conversation with Mom and Dad.

More Visitors for Gwendolyn

Roderica and her two girls Kate and Zoe visited with Gwendolyn and Felicity this weekend. Gwen was quite the little hostess, going so far as to deign to let Rod hold her without fussing!

The Ronaghans are definitely receiving visitors these days so please do call -- our attention gets consumed with caring for Gwendolyn and we don't think to issue invitations. So don't be shy; we'd love to see you.

Gwen meets more of her extended family

This past Saturday, we enjoyed a wonderful visit with Felicity's aunt and uncle, Anthony and Barbara, who were on a sojourn out west from their home in Ontario.

Gwendolyn turned on the charm, of course, and successfully recruited two more members to her growing fan club.

We can't forget the lovely dinner Barbara cooked for us, with fresh ingredients collected earlier in the day from Granville Island Market. What a treat!

Tale of the Tape: Update

We're happy to report that Gwendolyn continues to grow. She was 5270 grams (11 pounds, 10 ounces) at her weigh-in last Wednesday, which is about a pound more than two weeks ago. She's feeding very well these days -- "like a champ," as Mom loves to say!

Here's Gwen, showing off her strong legs by doing a happy little dance on Mom's lap. Notice her fancy cords and pretty pink sweater -- thanks, Tonya and Mike!

Productive Uses of Down Time

Yeah, Mom knows she should be sleeping when Gwendolyn sleeps, but lately (touch wood) we Ronaghans are getting a solid 6 or so hours a night (in a row!). So Felicity has found some other naptime diversions. Quilt production is way down, obviously, but this project -- assembled in 1-hour increments as Gwendolyn enjoyed some Daddy-Daughter time -- is just about done, and Felicity is really happy that her beloved hobby won't need to be abandoned entirely.

Tummy Time!

We're amazed at how quickly Gwendolyn is changing and developing. Tummy time used to be "Face Plant + Annoyed Crying time" and still is for the most part, but lately we've noticed she can raise her head so her nose easily clears the ground. Next up: turning her head side to side. We're getting close!

Out and about on a Sunday afternoon

We christened Gwendolyn's stroller yesterday with a walk to the South Granville neighbourhood. Here's a photo of Dad and Gwen taking a wee rest at Choklit Park, and one of our little angel sleeping soundly in the stroller.

It was nice to get out as a family and enjoy the fresh, crisp air. We think Gwen enjoyed the outing as well -- at least the first half. She woke up hungry about half way through and wasn't shy about letting us know all the way home!

Namaste

Gwendolyn received this super-cute yoga outfit from our friends Karen and Bruce. We think this colour looks great on her and it's a nice departure from the usual sea of pink. (But we still love her in pink.)

While Gwen isn't a yoga master just yet, she is definitely adding moves to her repetoire, including some full-body stretches and lots of leg and arm lifts. She is even doing her version of baby pushups during the "tummy times" we've added to her daily regimen.

Class of 20??

This past weekend, Gwendolyn accompanied Mom and Dad to their prenatal class reunion. It was great fun to trade parenting stories and "ooh" and "ahh" over everyone's beautiful babes.

Here's a group photo of Gwen (far left) and her peers, complete with the "domino effect" you'd expect when trying to line up a bunch of wobbly necked little ones... All except for the bright young lady at the far right, who seems to be asking "What's this all about, then?"