One Month Birthday - January 30th

Ridiculously, criminally cute.

Kiss My Grits

The shrimp and cheesy grits at Big Jones, 5347 N. Clark Street. Not pictured: fresh out of the oven, complimentary cornbread worthy of at least one awkward moan per bite.

Lily survived her first outing to one of our favorite restaurants (yay, we can go back!), and we left happy and content, our bellies full of wine and down home southern cooking. Perhaps Lily was so well behaved because she's a future foodie like her parents. More likely, we just got really lucky. As long as she saves her meltdowns for McDonald's, we're cool.

Chest Appeal

Various photos of Lily on chests, both big and small:

Bernie demonstrates the two handed 'back booty' hold. One hand held on the square of the back, the other supporting the baby buttocks. A traditional hold favored by grandfathers and traditionalists.

Here is the father (until DNA tests prove otherwise) doing the old 'scared to move the sleeping baby off the chest for fear of waking them before the game is over' pose. Classic new dad!

Ron prefers the 'front facing cradle' hold. While providing less stability, it provides for a better view of the baby, and allows for quick transfers back to the parents in the event of a meltdown.

Susan chooses to support Lily with a hand to the back, while simultaneously using the arm of the couch to support her hand. This hold was made popular with the invention of the couch in the late 1980's and still remains relevant to this day.

Lastly, Katy demonstrates the tender motherly embrace, favored by 9 out of 10 babies in a recent nationwide study. Babies...so predictable!

Lily's First Photo Shoot

Hi everyone!  Lily is two weeks old and Ben and I have done a lot of learning over that period of time...and it's sure to continue.  So far, I've come to the following conclusions:

• Lily does NOT like pacifiers.
• She does, however, like taking walks outside (weather permitting), including walks to the grocery store and to Subway.
• I am lucky to get a shower in the morning and scarf down a sad Lean Cuisine every day around 1:30pm or later for lunch.
• Baby smiles are adorable and melt your heart...even if they are just gas-induced at this young age.  A mother can pretend.
• The Boppy pillow thingy is my best friend...since it is apparently the only place that little Lily will sleep.
• My lack of sleep part isn't so bad...it's the random, non-stop, unsolvable crying jags that sometime occur which are the hardest part.

Bella Baby Photography took Lily's newborn pictures the morning after she was born in the hospital.  If I do say so myself, she is pretty adorable.  Here's a sample of what they took:

And my personal fave:

Check out all of Lily's first photo shoot here.

Winter of Lily

It's been a little over a week since Lil Lily burst on the scene and changed our lives forever, and it's been a whirlwind week filled with naps, poopy diapers, 2am feedings, heartbreaking smiles (even if they are gas induced), bright eyes, chubby cheeks and oversized onesies.

Our sleep patterns have been irregular at best, horrifying at worst, but for the most part, she's been fairly considerate when it comes to letting Mom and Dad get some sleep at night. She's a big fan of sleeping in her 'boppy', whether it's in her bassinet or in our bed...not a big fan of laying flat. She also likes sleeping in her swing and essentially demands to be held vertically as opposed to cradle-style, which she has already deemed 'overrated'. Her neck is exceptionally strong not nearly as floppy as most babies and she already has more muscly arms than either of her parents.

Lily Bryn is not shy to tell us when she's hungry and we've already gone through more diapers in one week than some third world countries do in a year (Right or wrong, I'm just assuming most babies in third world countries go nude). Grandma and Grandpa Petersen have been taking up residency a few blocks away at the Heart O' Chicago and have already been smitten by our little cupid, and rightfully so. Thus begins the parade of grandparents to The Hacienda over the next few weeks, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, myrrh and blankies.

I'm getting used to this 'not-working, sleeping-til-eleven-on-account-of-the-baby' routine. Even though the days aren't filled with anything noteworthy in the traditional sense, I cherish every moment I get to spend at home with the little one. I never imagined that being a parent could be so gratifying, and I look forward to all of the challenges and rewards that lie ahead. Every 3am bout of fussiness, every stinky diaper, every ear splitting wail is offset tenfold by one wayward hiccup, a loving stare or a sleepy-eyed coo. Little Lily is here to stay and we're loving every minute of it.

*We just ordered a disc of photos from Lily's first photo shoot, taken at the hospital the morning after, taken by Bella Baby. These should be posted in the next week or so. They bring new meaning to the term 'adorable'.

Katy and Lily chillin' on the couch.

Grandpa Harry and Grandma Cindy with Baby L.

Proud Papa

Lily's 4th wall, revealed.

Ben's Breakfast Nook: Fluffy French Toast

In an effort to win the coveted 'World's Best Dad' title (a vote more closely guarded than the Papal Vote), I am determined to master the art of Sunday Breakfast. While Katy is adept at the more bourgeois breakfast (Eggs Benedict, Quiche Lorraine), I will tackle the peasant breakfast. As a service to the reader, I will omit the recipes that end in failure, which I imagine will outnumber the successes. On the heels of our ongoing Pancake Wars, I give you the perfect French Toast recipe.

Ben's Fluffy French Toast

Ingredients

1/2 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 pinch salt
3 eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp sugar
12 slices Texas Toast (for God's sake, don't use regular bread)

Instructions: Measure flour into bowl. Whisk in milk slowly. Whisk in the salt, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla and sugar until smooth. Heat a lightly oiled griddle (I recommend this one...a sound investment to be sure) on medium heat. Soak break slices in the mixture and cook until golden brown (about 2 minutes or so) on each side. Serve with REAL maple syrup and butter.

Enjoy and thank me later.

Introducing Little Lily Handfelt

Vitals

Name: Lily Bryn Handfelt
Nicknames: Lil, Lily Beans, Lilehammer, Hammer
Birthday: December 30th, 2009 - 9:23PM
Birthplace: Illinois Masonic Hospital, Chicago, IL
Height: 20"
Weight: 6lb, 2 oz
Eyecolor: Blue, for now
Hair Color: Blackish brown
Hair Style: Mullet
Sign: Capricorn
Likes: Sleeping, drinking breastmilk, pooping, putting her clenched fists in front of her face, being held vertically, making cute hybrid grunting/sighing noises, staring at things, farmer's markets.
Dislikes: Dirty diapers, being woken up, rude people, getting shots, being quiet at night, our upstairs neighbors.
Her favorite feature: Her cheeks, eyes and lips
Her least favorite feature: Her hairy back
Favorite song: Dad's improv version of "Lily's Got a Boat" (this is an assumption by Dad).
Favorite color: Whatever one is the most slimming.
Hobbies: Competitive yawning, getting kisses from Mom and Dad, advanced yoga.

Bio: Little Lily came into this world late on Wednesday, a deceptively small yet adorable little sprite with a penchant for classic baby shenanigans. After being admitted to the hospital around 7am for the induction process, Lily's mother Katy began having serious contractions around 3pm, with "go time" beginning around 8:45pm, and lasting a little over a half hour. Thanks to the wonders of modern medicine, 'go time' was relatively painless, although the same can't be said for the hours preceding it, sans medicine. Lily's mother was brave, her father a nervous wreck.

Lily's birth was immediately followed by the tears of a humbled father and the comforting embrace of a awestruck and somewhat dazed mother. After enduring an uncomfortable but not uncommon process wherein all the gunk was suctioned from her tiny lungs, her vitals checked out splendidly and she spent her first night in the Windy City with her parents and her favorite nurse, Seli.

Lily currently resides on Olive Street in Chicago, living with her parents and a cat named Carmella. She sleeps in a bedside bassinet (for now) and dirties an average of 7 diapers a day. Much of her free time is spent napping, looking cute and feeding on the teet of life. Her attention span is short, almost babyish, and she can't yet work a keyboard or use a proper toilet. She is tiny, beautiful and completely and utterly perfect.

Photos:

New Year's Day: A milk hangover.

"Why is my head disproportionate to my body?"

Sleepytime.

The proud parents.