We've been delinquent

So here is a single image to tide you over until more time to blog appears:

August 25, 2012

Leaving Maine: Photo Dump

This coming Saturday we will leave our rental on 13 Hildreth Rd in Harpswell, ME, for a weeklong Heersink Family reunion (albeit a limited edition version featuring only the Ben & Sue Heersink branch) in Newburyport. So it's time for a photo dump!

Since I last posted, we received a new camera from my aunt Andrea: the totally awesome Sony RX100. Thanks Andrea! Here's the last picture taken with the Nikon Coolpix:

Clockwise from left: Fiona, Jeremy, Deirdre, Bridget, Sue, Tesla

Not terrible, by any means, though in order to take the picture without the flash, the shutter slowed to the point that I look like a blur. There's a foggy haze over Fiona's face, and the rafters seem warped and curved by the distortion of the lens.

From now on, not all the pictures will be museum quality, but here's one of the first I took with the new camera:

I just love this picture!

Here's one of our last strolls with the Rosemary's Baby carriage:

Here's the pic we'll probably use for the birth announcement (and I will probably try to make a painting from it too):

O hai!

In other news, I got a molar extracted yesterday after a valiant week-long struggle with intense maxillofacial pain:

Whatever! Moving on....

At long last, here are two adorable pictures of Tesla wearing the adorable bunny hat knitted by her aunt Amanda:

Here are some Tesla toes:

We had a visit today from some dear friends:

Eliza, Nathan, Rachel

And finally, here are two adorable pictures of our nuclear family:

Yay!

Stop Hitting Yourself!

Tesla can get very violent with her own self when she gets fussy. Usually this takes the form of raking her teeny tiny fingernails across her tiny fragile face. The doctor said it's normal and not to worry too much — baby faces heal fast.

Today while I was changing her, she started screaming like I've never heard her scream — like I had put her down on some thumbtacks or something. As I tried to figure out what was wrong, I looked at her head. No fingers in her eyes, and all eyes still intact and in their sockets.

She was pulling her own hair.

While reaching out, routinely, for something to grab, she had gotten a teeny tiny fistful of hair and started pulling. The pain made her tighten every muscle in her body, including the relevant fist-making muscles in the hand. I took me a few seconds to figure out how to get her to let go without damaging either her head or her hand. When I did, she drifted instantly into a contented slumber.

Babies, am I right?

I Have Hidden My Baby...

I have hidden my baby
somewhere on my person.
You are free to look anywhere for it.
I will think little of you
if you do not find it.

Tesla Making Faces

Not much more to this video than a 10-day-old baby making faces. Before we turned on the camera, she ran through a huge succession of expressions, like a master actor demonstrating her craft. We only caught a fraction of her repertoire.

Bridget says I should dub a version with silly voices. Perhaps I shall. But until then:

Two videos

Here are two videos from the first 10 days of Tesla's life.

The first is long, and you don't need to watch all of it to get the point:

Don't Wake the Baby, Can't Wake the Baby

And here is the first of a series demonstrating the effect of sleep deprivation on Broomfields:

Welcome to Centering

Back home (at the rented house)

We were discharged from the hospital yesterday afternoon, and returned to the house in Harpswell, where Bridget's mom Sue, My mother Pam, and my stepfather Mike are around to make sure we remember to eat, bathe, and change our clothes. Of course, they will also share their child-rearing experience, and — when we ask for it —their advice. But ONLY when we ask for it — right, everybody?

Okay, so before we left the hospital, we took some more pictures:

Bridget and Tesla

An unplanned wardrobe color convergence (thanks for the shirt, Sue!)

 Then, we took pictures at the house:

Baby's first home-bath

After you become a father, food no longer seems impressive

Megan and David brought Sophia, Antonia, and Christianna to gaze upon their youngest cousin

Sleeping babies make me sleepy. Also, look at my temples: GREY HAIRS. It begins.

Tesla has adorable froggy legs. She likes to sleep on your chest with her arms stretched out and encompassing you. If you move too much she will tighten her grip on you. She smells like a fresh new baby. We can't wait for you to meet her.