Trip to the Zoo

Daddy, Grandma Michelle, and Stephie went to the zoo today and met a very friendly ape! I think he perhaps thought that Stephie was his monkey-baby. Anyone see a resemblance?

Mary comes to visit

Stephie has been so lucky to have so many wonderful visitors as of late! Mary H. was in town last night for her job with America's Second Harvest. We got to have dinner together and then took a lovely walk up to the Loop for Ben & Jerry's free cone day. Stephie behaved like an angel for once!

No more harness!

Stephie got the official word that it's ok to stop wearing her harness! She and Mommy are very excited to be able to play dress-up again with all of her cute little clothes!

Botanical gardens...part 2

Stephie and Daddy met Ian, Stefanie, and Sophie at the botanical gardens for a beautiful morning walk.

Val and Kyle come to play!

Stephie got to meet Val and Kyle last night! The Colorado Kershaws were in town to look for a house in Rolla today in preparation for their upcoming move in August. Stephie showed off her screaming skills on a walk through the park. On a related note, Mommy's books tell her that crying and fussiness peak at 6 weeks old. Guess what today is...6 weeks exactly! Here's hoping....

Jewel Box Part 2

We walked up to the Jewel Box again this morning hoping that Stephie would replicate that adorable smile that she gave Grandma Julie earlier in the week. Instead, we got this face:

Oh well, at least the flowers were pretty!

Crazy hair

Maybe Mommy has been watching too much late-night Food Network lately, but does anyone else think that Stephie's hair looks shockingly like Alton Brown's? He's the host of one of Mommy's favorite shows, Good Eats. Maybe Stephie could visit the show as Alton's twin!

Brie-O-Meter...take 2

Stephie is now approximately 2/3 of a Brie. What a big girl!

Botanical gardens

Stephie took a trip to the botanical gardens today to see the tulips in top form. She also surprised Grandma Julie with what might very well have been Stephie's first true smile! Grandpa John even had time to capture it on camera.

Super Chunk!

We weighed Stephie today; she is now a whopping 9 pounds 13 ounces!!! She has gained 21 ounces in the past 9 days, earning her the official title of Super Chunk. This is especially noteworthy as she has now officially surpassed her namesake's birth weight, which was 9 pounds 11 ounces. Poor Grandma Julie! Stephie is proud to be following in her Aunt Stephanie's footsteps...

Stephie goes to therapy

Stephie visited Grandma Michele at the office today! Hopefully this will be the only reason that she goes to therapy in the future; Mommy and Daddy are going to try really hard not to mess her up too badly!

The Jewel Box

The Jewel Box is in peak form with the beautiful tulips blooming everywhere. Grandma Julie, Stephie, and Brie enjoyed a nice (though extremely warm!) through the park this afternoon.

A visit to Grandma's house

Stephie had a big day out today. Grandma Julie and Grandpa John took her out to Grandma Lois's house, and Grandma Michelle came to visit there too. What a lucky baby!

A beautiful day in the park!

We are loving the beautiful spring weather! Yesterday we took a walk with Andrea, Ian, Stefanie, Sophie, Bentley, and Brie. We were quite the parade!

Stephie's new bib

We finally wizened up and started using a bib on Stephie due to some increasingly common spit-up issues. We got this one from Rita and Lionel; Stephie's mommy loves to pronounce it with a British accent... 'ello, I'm new here!

Just a lazy weekend day in the Moore household...

We had a very quiet day at home today which consisted of lots of exciting things like laundry, folding diapers, and dishes! Ah, the joys of life with baby! As you can tell from the pictures, Stephie helped out a great deal by sleeping for most of the day. Should be an interesting night tonight...

Worst. Baby Pictures. EVER.

Don't say you weren't warned...as promised, the photos from last week's portrait attempt (emphasis on the ATTEMPT!)

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First day back at work

While Stephie's poor mommy headed back to work for the first time (don't feel too bad for me; it was only for a few hours!), Stephie had a great time at home hanging out with Grandma Michelle and Aunt Mindy.

There were bottles to be had...

And some quality time with Grandma and Brie...

And finally some extra cool shades! A huge THANK YOU to Michelle and Mindy for taking such good care of Stephie!

Attack of the sumo baby

Stephie has decided she wants to be a sumo wrestler when she grows up. In accordance with her new goal, she has accumulated 3 fat rolls on each thigh and at least 4 chins. Go Stephie!

1 month old today!

It's hard to believe that my beautiful baby girl is already a month old! This has definitely been the most amazing month of my life. I am so thankful that Stephie is doing so well and getting to be such a big girl. She is much more alert lately and actually makes eye contact (at least with Daddy; she prefers to ignore Mommy and stare at the lights instead...Mommy is just the milk maid). She is also much more directed with her hand movements and likes to clasp them together in front of her face (her favorite pose when Mommy is trying to take pictures). Happy 1 month birthday, Stephie!

Everyone loves an Illini girl

Stephie enjoyed her newest book, a gift from Aunt Jenny, on the University of Illinois. Go Illini! This coincided nicely with Daddy doing lots of research into how to set up Stephie's 529 plan, now that we officially have her social security number. Hey, a girl's gotta think ahead...

***Hip update***

We got great news today at the orthopedic appointment. Stephie's hip ultrasound is now essentially normal! She will need to wear the harness for two more weeks full-time just to be cautious, but assuming the ultrasound is still normal two weeks from now, we are officially done dealing with it! Yay! Stephie expressed her usual enthusiasm by staring at the lights in the exam room and then pooping in her diaper, while Mommy was a little more vocal about her happiness at hearing the good news!

Visit to Mommy's work

We stopped by the west county dermatology office so that Stephie could meet some of Mommy's co-workers and favorite nurses. Everyone loved meeting Stephanie!

Stephie loves Idol

Stephie enjoyed a brief nap during American Idol last night while lying on Daddy's chest. Don't be deceived; the nap was only a brief respite from her usual 5-11pm trip to the all-you-can-eat, all-night buffet.

Stephie's visit to GFA

Stephie had a great time meeting everyone at Grandpa Don's work today. She was very awake and alert; I think she was especially impressed with the huge machines!