Welcome cousin Will!

Will Luke McDonald was born Wednesday, August 16, 2006 exactly 5 weeks afer Oran. Will weighed in at 7 pounds 8 ounces and was 21 inches long at birth. What a beautiful baby! Congrats Aunt Becca and Uncle Mark! Welcome Will!

I'm nearly six weeks old!

And it makes me wanna dance, dance, dance- in my little yellow suit!

With Mommy and Daddy...

Oran likes to: get soothed at night, be burped and go out to a cafe.

Playing in the Crib

One of Oran's favorite places to play is in the crib. (He currently sleeps next to our bed in a co-sleeper.) At 5 1/2 weeks play mainly consists of watching the mobile, listening to the music it plays and grabbing the soft toys that are around him. And, beginning to smile!

Auntie Kristin Visits

Auntie Kristin visited this past weekend from Newport, RI. Oran had a great time getting to know his Aunt, who is also a Cancer and also was born in the year of the Dog. When Kristin was here we walked around Park Slope, and had a picnic in Prospect Park...we can't wait for her next visit!

I'm Bigger Than...

An egg...
An apple...
An egg carton...
A loaf of bread...
Not quite as big as Sophie the cat!

Our Trip to the Park

As some of you may know I have been a bit confined because of the C-Section. I am not supposed to lift anything and so haven't been able to take Oran out much...That all changed this week. Our friends Nora, Britt and Phoebe sent us a wonderful new sling/wrap that allowed me to take Oran out to the park! Here he is! He is so comfortable being carried this way that he falls right to sleep- next time we'll have to wake him up to smell the flowers...

Will Luke MacDonald

Oran's newest cousin is due to be born in one week's time, next Saturday, Augest 29th in Seattle. You can find updates about this new member of the family at "Will's Wiggle" http://willmc.blogspot.com/

We can't wait to meet you Will!

Oran is 1 month old

Oran reached the ripe old age of one month (4weeks) this week. In one month he has completely transformed our lives and we couldn't be happier with him. Here are some of Oran's accomplishments to date- He has ridden the subway several times, been to prospect and central parks, visited his daddy at work, and both slept and been awake for 4-hour stretches in the middle of the night...

1 Month Doctor Visit

Our good friend Sam helped take us to Oran's 1-month well-baby checkup on Monday Aug. 7th. In one month Oran has grown 1 1/4 inches going from 20 inches at birth to 21 1/4 inches and gone from 6 pounds 11 ounces at birth to a wopping 7 pounds. We are very excited about this because he did loose wieght for the first couple of weeks...And, the doctor has confirmed that Oran is still a perfect baby! We love her...

Grampie Stanley on Way to Greece

This week Grampie came to visit on route to Greece. He will be studying Greek music with celebrated musician Ross Daly on Crete. Oran enjoyed another chance to hear Grampie play guitar and the opportunity to go into the city and out to dinner. We were all relieved that Grampie's travel plans weren't affected by all the heightened airport security and that he arrived safely in Athens on route to Crete on Thursday!

Sagan and Finn Hartley

These are Oran's Atlanta cousins, Sagan Hartley (4 1/2 years) and Finn Hartley (15 months). Here is what they were up to the day he was born:

"Here's what we were doing when you were first born.
Sagan 4 1/2 years - making "zoner soup" (the 'gredients' are 1 zone bar, sliced; 1 grape; rice; cheerios; water; milk;paprika and salt)
Finn 14 months - making cheerio soup
July 13, 2006 8am"

Sagan also gave Oran his first official nickname: Rock 'n Roll Radio!

Like Father Like Son

In this picture Oran is wearing the outfit that Jason wore home from the hospital when he was a baby. Papa Lew, Jason's father, Oran's grandfather gave this cute little outfit to him. And, it fits Oran perfectly!

Also in the picture is the Humpty Dumpty doll that Jason loved as a baby and called Baby.

Oran's Third Week Home

We were all very sad to say goodbye to Grannie Kip this week. It was very special to have her in Brooklyn for Oran's first two weeks home. And, Grannie Kip needed to get back to the northwest for the immanent arrival of her second grandson Will- due August 19th.

We were very excited to be joined by Grandmama Lucy at the beginning of the week. Grandmama was a great help all week- helping get me and Oran into the city to the doctors- helping me and Jason get some much needed sleep as well- And, withstanding this heat wave with us!

It is very moving to see Oran bond with his grandparents...

Oran was weighed in at the doctors on Wednesday, Aug. 2nd. I had been worried about the amount of weight he had lost postpartum and the speed at which he was gaining it back...It was huge relief that he was up to 6 pounds, 8 ounces (just 3 ounces shy of his birth weight)- and up 8 ounces from his last weigh in, gaining at least 1 ounce a day...

This week Oran has continued to delight us. After nursing his mouth often curves up into a smile. He still loves to kick his legs, lift his head, and arch his back. By the middle of the week he started to be awake a lot more- and his wide open eyes could track Grandmama's fingers back and forth as well as a bright rattle.

At the end of the week we were joined by Grandpa Phil and Katie and Skipper. We had a great time, going out to dinner, enjoying time at the house together, and we even had a chance to go to a movie- Katie strolled Oran outside the BAM movie theater while Skipper, Jason and I watched Scoop, Woody Allen's latest...Thanks so much, Aunt Katie!

Sasheem visits

It's nice to meet you Sasheem!