Fern and mom

Fern and mom
Originally uploaded by grahampc. Along with the nice shots of Ken & Jewel, I tried to get some photos with mom this morning -- it felt like we hadn't posted any!

I added them to the same "Sunday" slide show.

sleepy Sunday morning!

We had a nice sleepy Sunday morning, thanks to brunch brought over and prepared by Uncle Ken and Auntie Jewel. (We really are getting spoiled!)

Here's the slideshow.

sleeping beauties

sleeping beauties
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

OK, one last entry for this evening: another picture of sleeping Fern (and Kristin) from this morning. Fern's dreaming she's supergirl! Or a ski jumper! Or conducting an orchestra! Or playing some ragin' drums at the rock-'n'-roll show!

Another Valentine's Day

Another Valentine's Day
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

You may remember this outfit (a gift from Ellen!) from Valentine's Day, but I had a special request to post this particular photo by grandma Linda. What a face, huh?

P.S. Sorry about the blog-rush; just clearing out the backlog!

stealing Graham's glasses

stealing Graham's glasses
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

During a fussy burp session yesterday, Fern managed to grab my glasses off my head. Accident, perhaps? Probably --- she shouldn't be able to coordinate her movements that well yet. But still, I wonder.

Morning sleep with daddy

Morning sleep with daddy
Originally uploaded by grahampc. Just a cute morning photo, napping on daddy.

Our former roommate Laurel came by soon afterwards with a yummy roasted chicken from the farmer's market. What with eating lunch and various feeds and such, though, we forgot to take a picture! Sorry, Laurel -- and thanks for the food!

a new pant suit

a new pant suit
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

I know, everyone's going to accuse us of trying to turn her into a tomboy -- pants on a girl?!?! -- but we just couldn't resist this cute outfit from Joan.

Alamo Square outing

We celebrated Fern's three-week birthday today with a walk up the block to Alamo Square, home of the "painted ladies" (the seven pretty Victorians in the background).

As a native San Franciscan, Fern of course ignored the world-famous scenery. "That's for tourists," she grunted. (Well, that's what it sounded like to us, anyway!)

Posted from my phone again... sorry about the quality...

Cousin Susan brings us dinner!

Susan comes to visitCousin Susan visited this evening bearing yummy pot roast, and Fern was again pretty cooperative and friendly, if possibly (as you can see in the photo!) a little boggled by all the attention!

I got three nice pictures of the visit -- out of about 30 taken -- thank goodness for digital cameras!

the eye color debate

eye color debate
Originally uploaded by grahampc. Kristin's been saying lately that she thinks Fern's eyes are getting more hazel, while I think they're actually trending to blue... what do you think?

If you're really want a close-up, here's a link to the full-sized photo -- not recommended for those of you using slow Internet connections!

baby acupuncture

baby acupuncture
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

Not really! Please don't call the authorities!

Today, we went to see Carol, Kristin's acupunturist. Carol's helped Kristin since before the pregnancy; she's had some good practical tips on dealing with the various aches and pains of pregnancy, labor, and post-partum.

And no, Fern did not undergo any needling! (We'll wait a while for that, thank you!) Carol did have a number of tips on baby massage, however, some of which we'd already discovered. Kristin has found that gentle stroking of the forehead can calm Fern down enough to start eating, and I rub her feet on the changing table to relax her; Carol recommended both of those and more.

It was such a nice day up here that an outing was also a nice change; we're definitely missing getting out of the house!

a family portrait

Another family portraitAlso by request, here's a family portrait; it seems that I've been so busy taking pictures, I haven't managed to hand the camera (or phone camera) over to anyone else very often!

Fern photo albums

From the "asleep" seriesSome folks have asked how to see all the Fern photos we've posted so far. Here's that link. New pictures are added to the beginning.

Since I'm "tagging" photos as we go along, you can also see several other "custom" shows by using these links to see Fern...

• with Kristin


• with Graham


• with Kristin and Graham


• with Grandma Joan


• with Grandma Linda


• with Grandpa Jack & Grandma Anne


• with Grandpa Alan & Grandma Lola/Laura


• Bath Time


• Expressions


• Asleep

As I continue to add these albums, I'll post links over on the right side there, under "Photo Albums"...

There are more ways to search for tags; you can click around the photo site for them, if you feel comfortable!

new delivery photos

I've scanned and posted a number of photos that Joan took in the hospital. The quality is not so great because of my rough scanning; if you'd like better prints, Joan may have the negatives!

Here's the full "delivery" photo album.

Visit from Sandra

Visit from Sandra

Kristin's colleague Sandra came to visit today, and Fern was quite cooperative!

File Under: Sandra

Related Photos: Sandra

pajama game!

pajama game!
Originally uploaded by grahampc. Just a cute and quick shot of Fern in her pajamas! (It's the middle of the day, too --- what a lazy girl!)

almost asleep

Our greatest tool for witching hour so far has been a walk in this sling, a hand-me-down from Beth and Steve... worth its weight in gold! Thanks, guys!

bath day three!

bath day three!

Bath day isn't so fun! but at least I get my new toy sea lion!

faces!

We think that Fern's face is changing significantly, even in the past two weeks. (She's certainly growing more expressive!) I put a little "faces" series album up; let us know what you think!

Deb & Erica come to visit

Deb & Erica come to visit
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

We had another nice visit last night from Deb & Erica, who brought lasagna and cheer. Atypically for evening, Fern was sleepy enough to put up with some loving from her aunties! I posted a few more photos of their visit.

food from our friends!

I just wanted to take a minute to express our appreciation to all of you who signed up with Kelley's meals-on-wheels for the new parents! We're really touched by your delicious efforts, and it's great to be able to see you all, too!

Here we are last Thursday, about to enjoy a sumptuous roast chicken with vegetables brought in by Eileen(who unfortunately couldn't stay to eat with us because Bob's not feeling well and she didn't want to risk spreading the bug). It was delicious, as were last week's meals from Jessica & George and Kelley & Phil! Not to mention spontaneous meals from Deb & Erica & Ken & Jewel & Jon & Jane... and meals to come from them and many others!

A special thanks again to Kelley for organzing this glorious month of meals!

weekend visitors!

We had several nice visits this weekend. Kristin's childhood friend Rekha came by on Saturday for a visit; Fern was sleepy but cuddly! Here are the photos we got of them together.

Sunday morning, Jon & Jane, our good friends from San Carlos, brought us bagels & cheer! They unfortunately couldn't see Fern earlier owing to some flu in the family. They also, it should be noted, donated their crib (now too little for their big boys Justin & Jason) to the cause, too! Here they are with Fern. (Can't you tell that morning is one of her best times?)

Finally, Uncle Ken & Aunt Jewel brought us some yummy pizza on Sunday night, just about when we were wondering what to do for dinner! Fern was a little fussy, unfortunately, so no photos this time... Trust me, you wouldn't want them! Here are all our photos of Ken & Jewel... seems like we need to get some better ones!

what color are her eyes?

We've had a lot of speculation on Fern's eye color to be. Dr. Goodman says to expect it to settle down by 6 weeks or so. At the moment, the best way to describe it is slate-grey, but Kristin and I both have brown eyes (mine tinged to hazel, really), so we're expecting something in that range, eventually!

day sleeper

Fern, as predicted, is pretty much a nocturnal creature. I've been taking cute sleeping pictures of her all day... what an angel! Until nighttime, that is, when she's got the energy (and lungs) of a marathon runner!

I've made another slide show called Fern Asleep; it's part of the Fern's First Month set that I'm continually updating.

first pediatrics appointment

A nice shot of Fern recovering with grandma Linda, after the adventure of her first pediatrics appointment. We met with Dr. Goodman this morning, whom we can only describe as fantastic. He's gentle, extremely skilled, and, best of all, realistic: he suggested Schapps as a colic remedy -- for the parents! On a less tongue-in-cheek note, he also had some great ideas about colic, including having Kristin drink fennel tea to help Fern's digestion; our friend Ann, Emma's mom, had reported success with the very same thing. Dr. Goodman reminds me of my own pediatrician, Dr. Fricker (except, of course, without the chain smoking... it's a different age!), whom I always loved.

We got some new measurements at the hospital, too. Most significant is that Fern now weighs 9 pounds 10 ounces, which means that she regained her birth weight and then some; Dr. Goodman was thrilled by that! Her head now measures 14.5 inches, too, which means either it grew two and a half inches in the past two weeks or else they didn't measure it too well in the hospital. (We're leaning toward the latter explanation!)

the witching hour

As I write this with one thumb on my trusty phone, I am carrying Fern up and down and singing, humming, burping, stroking, anything I can think of to calm down our poor discontented soul. For the past three nights, she's gone through a disconsolate evening hour. All her needs are met, but she's just not happy. It's apparently quite common; our friend Ann (she of three-month old Emma fame) calls it the "witching hour."

Our various baby books describe this as normal, and some link it to gassiness (aren't you glad you asked?), although some also theorize that it's an immature nervous system dealing with all the new stimuli being born brings. We also note in our reading that some babies can't be consoled for hours, so we're actually not too distressed to get off with a few minutes of pacing, humming, and rocking.

Someone once defined silence as "the sound you hear when the baby stops crying." I don't think I really appreciated that until now! So there's the silver lining!

whom does she look like, part 2

Fern's "official" hospital picture

The unavoidable debate over which parts of Fern look most like whom continues unabated. We finally dug out some baby pictures of ourselves in order to compare, and we found, basically, that there's no way to tell. (The photo at right, by the way, is Fern's "official" hospital photo, for which we couldn't get much of a smile. At least they posed her with her fellow Charlotte's Web character Wilbur!)

Kristin as a baby

So here's Kristin as a baby; not the clearest picture, as you can see, but at least it shows all the hair she had when she was born! There's also something in the nose... but maybe that's an optical illusion?

Graham as a baby

And here's Graham as a baby. I think my nose is much narrower, but the general consensus is that Fern's nose comes from my side. Any opinions of your own? Feel free to post!


So all we can agree on is that we both contributed to Fern's hair!
Here's a slide show of the baby pictures at their full sizes; you can decide for yourselves!

Valentine's Day outfit

Valentine's Day outfit
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

A closer shot of that Valentine's day suit.

One son, one daughter

One son, one daughter
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

Graham's mom arrived today to help out with our second week. Here's another "three-generation" photo showing Fern in her new Valentine's Day suit from Ellen!

a long day

So all that and I didn't even mention that I had to dismantle the garbage disposal today, that we managed to have three explosions at the changing table (meaning we're out of pads), and we got our first taste of what overstimulation can do to our poor girl... and I'm sure there's more, even! It's been a long day, and so we're all down for a well-deserved rest!

our first stroll!

sharing the burden

Today was our first outing in the stroller! We'd originally had high hopes to make it all the way to the zoo, but decided that might be a little ambitious and opted for the Panhandle of Golden Gate Park instead. Deb & Erica came over and we waited a couple of hours for Fern to finish nursing (she seems to do that sometimes) and fall asleep. Then it was off to the streets in our fun car-seat-compatible stroller!

anybody home?

Horrors. Graham, naturally, locked the house keys inside, and since he'd done the same thing just last week, the spare was not in its usual hiding place. Note the panicked look on Graham's face: we called around our spare-key-holders, and luckily found Alex & Jo Anne were still home, if only just; they were on their way out!

up the hill

So our jaunt in the park became a dash up to our friends' flat, which, as you can see, gave Fern a taste for a key feature of her San Francisco birthplace: hills! We made it there, though, and retrieved the set of spares. A warning to those of you who live within two or three miles of us, though: we may be sending you a set of spare keys soon!

There are a few more photos of the outing here.

Kelley and Phil come for a visit!

Kelley visiting
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

We also got a visit from Kelley and Phil today! For those of you who don't know, they're the friends of ours who have nobly organized the food visits, marshalling our local friends into twice-weekly drop-offs of meals, taking a huge load off!

Unfortunately, Kelley was so good at getting people to sign up, she locked herself out of the calendar! We couldn't have that, so she and Phil cam over tonight with way-yummy butternut squash soup and salad! A few photos of Kelley have also been added to the Fern's admirers slideshow. (Poor Phil was feeling sneezy from the cat so didn't get to hold Fern! :( Guess they'll have to come back soon!

more admirers!

IMG_0310
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

We also had two visits from some of Fern's admirers today. Deb and Erica came by in the afternoon with lemon tart (yum!) for a visit and a walk (more on that later). They'd already met Fern in the hospital when they came to bring cheer (and coffee for Graham!), but hadn't hardly gotten to talk to her then, because she'd been pretty groggy! I've added some photos to the Fern's admirers slideshow.

bath day

bath day
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

Today was quite a busy day (a little too busy, as you'll find out later...). We started out with Fern's full bath; we're still on sponge baths because the stump of her umbilical cord hasn't fallen off yet. Here's a highlight, with a few more bath photos (including her first hair wash, last week) at this link; click here.

falling asleep video

I've finally been able to get some of the various video clips we've taken published in a way that Macs and PCs should both be able to see. I'm working my way up, but to start, I found this cute video of falling asleep from when Fern was just 9 days old.

I'm going to post these videos under the date where they would belong (keeping things in order, as much as possible), but I'll link them all to the home page, too.


This little button (an arrow pointing to the right) is "Play".

Fern feet!

Fern feet!
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

That's a foot, all right! We're wondering if she'll grow into it, like a puppy...

family portrait

IMG_0256_edited-3
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

Strangely enough (and mostly because you can't get the camera out of Graham's hands for long), we don't really have a "family" portrait yet! So here's one: Graham, Fern, and Kristin at home!

Ordering pictures

Fern looks a little dubious
about her first bath.A few people have asked us about how to order prints of the pictures we've been sending out. There are a couple of possibilities:

The easiest way is to go to the picture at flickr.com (our photo site). Note: You'll have to create a (free) account at flickr.com to order this way. There's a link above each single photo that says "Order Prints." You can get to flickr in a couple of ways. You can choose any of the "slide shows" I've posted, then double-click on the photos you want. Or, in the posts of single high-res photos (like this one), you can click the link in the photo's caption to get to the photo page.

If you're the kind of person who likes to print photos at home, you can also download the "full size" picture from the flickr.com Web site. Just choose the button over each photo that says "all sizes," then choose "original size."

Finally, also for you do-it-yourselfers, I will (eventually) be posting archive files of all the photos (including the ones I've not posted), so you can go to any photo Web site (or Walgreens!) you want.

Of course, if any of this boggles you or you're having trouble, let us know and I'll be happy to order prints for you!

Oooh, that feels good!

Oooh, that feels good!
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

Fern got her hair washed for the first time yesterday!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while; I'll try to catch up today, so stay tuned!

Fern's admirers slide show

Uncle Greg
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

I'm starting to collect some of the best photos of Fern with her friends and relations; here, for example, is Uncle Greg just after Fern's delivery. Some of these you've seen before, but I wanted to collect them into one place. Here's the link to the show!

some photo highlights posted!

Now that we're home, I'm finally able to publish some of our "real" pictures, instead of the ones off the camera (although I have to say, those have been looking OK). Still, it's good to be collecting these: the phone photos sure left a lot out! (Such as grandma Linda, pictured here, whom I somehow managed not to get on the phone at all!) I put a short slideshow up at a photo site; click this.

going home!

Kristin's healing is progressing really well, so we're going home today! We've had some final exams (all passed with flying colors) and consultations, packed up our things (thanks to our generous visitors, we've got more healthy hospital snacks with us now than we came here with!), and are just waiting for some paperwork before we head out the door!

Pictured is Fern's travelling outfit, and mom's, too. Fern's about to see the place that she's been hearing for months, and it'll be clean and stocked with food, even, thanks to grandma Joan!

naked girl!

Well, almost naked... (I wonder how many spam checkers will remove this message with a title like that?)

This is another photo-by-request. Seems like everyone's got a favorite pose!