These pics were taken by Troy Wayrynen, a professional freelance photographer. The one with Johanna on the cart is similar to one I posted a fews days ago. This one looks better!



This is my desk at work. For the record, I did NOT put the Seahawks poster up - it was there for the book fair.

When she finally gets to sleep, she's gone!


She doesn't always smile. This time she didn't want to be changed.


During book fair night at work. She is sitting on a book cart. If you notice on the left of the picture, Troy Wayrynen, a professional photographer and a parent at my school, snapped a bunch of pics of Johanna as well. If I get any, I'll post them.

Still waiting for the pics from the Paternity Leave Survival Party.

The post from the 29th finally was able to be published. I kept getting errors when I tried, then I just plain forgot for a week or so. Sorry.

Only two week left of my leave, and I am constantly asked if I'm ready to go back to work. I have so much other stuff on my mind that I hardly think about it. I'm also asked what we'll do for daycare once I'm back. For now, she'll be shuttled to Portland to my mom's for a few days a week. After Christmas, I might be tired of driving round trip to Portland twice each day, who knows. Either that, or I'll listen to a whole lot of books on tape!

The following pics are from my sister's 33rd birthday party.

We were sitting around the living room, and I decided to play with the self-timer on the camera. This is the only one that came out.

Johanna gets her first cooking lesson as she helps mom make corn bread.

So it's been 10 days. Sue me.

Since then, Johanna has done the following:

- Met Scotty, Amanda, and her son Christian at a taco feed hosted by Phyllis (Scotty and I tied at 10 tacos!). No pics!
- Entertained the teachers at Daddy's school durin Daddy's "Paternity Leave Survival Party" - with a Superman theme. We received many cool things - lots of diapers, board books, gift cards, etc., even some Pittsburg Steeler stuff for Dad. (waiting for pics!)
- Saw Grandma Helene twice!
- She has started to smile at everyone when she first hears their voice. It's a good feeling when she rssponds like that.

I've been enjoying the hot weather (70s all week!) by taking Johanna on walks through the neighborhood. I've met a lot of neighbors this way, mainly retirees who ask about the baby and want to talk about their own kids. I tried to take a picture of what we look like walking around, but it didn't work out too well. But still, there's me and there's Johanna in her Baby Bjorn.

It's been 5 days since I entered anything. We are doing some experimenting with nipple (for the bottle) sizes, to see which ones she likes best. Johanna has outgrown the #1 nipples, and we tried #3s. She seems to drink too quickly with that size and chokes, then cries, then not fun. I'll keep you posted, as I'm sure you're all waiting with baited breath to find out which nipple she prefers.

On another note, we took Johanna to Barnes and Noble tonight for the opening party for Lemony Snicket's last book, creatively entitled, The End. She won an "extra small" t-shirt, pictured below. Her first contest, first win. Tomorrow I'll take her with me to get a lottery ticket....

Grandpa Dale Geldreich came up with Grandma Kareen all the way from Sacramento to see Johanna.

Grandma Kareen Geldreich



Grandma Kareen

With grandpa Fred at his house in Portland.

Another tough day of paternity leave. Sheryl woke me up at 5:30, and I had to get out of bed to get Cedar ready for school. Once we dropped her off, Johanna had a small bottle and slept until noon. In a show of solidarity, I slept with her on the couch, she was sprawled out on my stomach. I needed the rest as my back had hurt so much, I hadn't slept until 1 am the night before. The rest of the afternoon was spent reading, walking around the neighbor, drinking bottles, that kind of thing. Johanna was great until we waited in line at Felida to pick up Cedar.

From then on until around 4, Johanna cried. I tried to burp her for the better part of an hour, alternating that with trying to sing to her, distract her, giving her some more bottle, etc. She FINALLY burped 3 times, then fell to sleep again on my chest like nothing had happened. We were still there on the couch when Sheryl came home.

I don't know how many more days of this I can take (actually I do - 7 1/2 weeks!), and I will be sure to enjoy each one.

A few pics Sheryl took trying to catch a smile.

Thursday.

Another wonderful day of paternity leave. After I dropped Cedar off at school, I sat on the bed with my laptop while Johanna slept. I fed her a bottle and we lay flat on our backs playing with the elephant mobile that Auntie Cari had purchased for her. It sits about 2 feet over the bed, just below the pillows, in the middle. (Johanna sleeps in the middle of our bed.) After that we drove over to Judy's house for lunch. We ended up going for a walk and staying until 2:30, when it was time to pick up Cedar from school.

I'm noticing some routines: She likes to sleep most of the morning. If she's cranky, it's sure to me in the late afternoon. Putting her in the Baby Bjorn may not make her happy at first, but it is sure to put her to sleep. She cries getting into the car seat, until she's carried out the door, then she is just fine. Daddy has about a 50/50 chance of getting her to burp when he thinks she needs to. If you say almost anything in the right voice, she'll smile. She loves being held on her back in my arms, staring at the bright kitchen lights; sometimes it's the only thing that will calm her down. Inversely, sitting down with her when she's being held like that will make her cry.

I have some video of her I'll try to put on here. It's some cute smiles, which are hard to get a still of because they are still rare and don't last too long - yet!

Another wonderful day of paternity leave. After I dropped Cedar off at school, I sat on the bed with my laptop while Johanna slept. I fed her a bottle and we lay flat on our backs playing with the elephant mobile that Auntie Cari had purchased for her. It sits about 2 feet over the bed, just below the pillows, in the middle. (Johanna sleeps in the middle of our bed.) After that we drove over to Judy's house for lunch. We ended up going for a walk and staying until 2:30, when it was time to pick up Cedar from school.

I'm noticing some routines: She likes to sleep most of the morning. If she's cranky, it's sure to me in the late afternoon. Putting her in the Baby Bjorn may not make her happy at first, but it is sure to put her to sleep. She cries getting into the car seat, until she's carried out the door, then she is just fine. Daddy has about a 50/50 chance of getting her to burp when he thinks she needs to. If you say almost anything in the right voice, she'll smile. She loves being held on her back in my arms, staring at the bright kitchen lights; sometimes it's the only thing that will calm her down. Inversely, sitting down with her when she's being held like that will make her cry.

I have some video of her I'll try to put on here. It's some cute smiles, which are hard to get a still of because they are still rare and don't last too long - yet!

One of the points of this blog was not just to show off my wonderful new baby, but to celebrate the community of people she was born into. The two pics above demonstrate that pretty well. My mother has not only babysat for us and given me plenty of advice, but she has purchased diapers, clothes, formula, toys, music, and anything else baby related. Osha Cronk has been a good friend, helping with little things like holding Johanna while I go to the bathroom during church and generally loving the little girl; her husband Shawn has been in my Bible study group and is a true brother. I also received a free massage from Eric Beggs (highly recommended!) today. People at work ask about the baby before they ask how I'm doing, and they are disappointed if I pick up Cedar without Johanna. (For the record, I don't leave Johanna at home. She's with Sheryl on those occasions!)

So once again, thank you to all who have been a part of her life!

As you can see it's four days since the last post and no new pics, but we did have a checkup! Johanna is now officially 57.5 cm (or 22.6 inches for us non-metric users). She weighs 11 lbs, 9 1/2 ozs. and is otherwise in perfect health.

Since Wednesday Johanna has been to grandma's house, saw Judy and Nancy for lunch, went walking twice in her Baby Bjorn, and spent a lot of time napping with mom and dad. She is starting to smile more, "talk" more, and is tracking objects with her eyes. I am amazed at how much she has changed in these two months, and as I think about the changes ahead, I'm already thinking that she's growing too fast!

Since so many people liked the last black and white, I decided to try to take the same shot with color, b/w, and sepia tone. For some strange reason Johanna didn't sit perfectly still between flashes, so they're not all EXACTLY the same shot, but close enough. E-mail me to vote on which one is best!

Week 2 of my leave, and we're settling into a pattern - Johanna cries, daddy scrambles to get a bottle. Not quite. The pattern is that Sheryl takes Johanna on Mondays and Wednesdays, Daddy keeps her at home for the rest.

Tonight Johanna was introduced to the Kennedy School Librarians, a group of school librarians that meet once a month for dinner at McMenamin's Kennedy School to catch up, gripe, and otherwise discuss library stuff that no one else in our lives would fully understand. Casey brought Tristan, and if I had had my camera, seeing him hold her would have been a great picture. Johanna was perfect, as usual: she cuddled against my chest, drank her bottle, and, best of all, fell asleep in her carrier while Daddy ate dinner, only to wake up and entertain everyone again afterwards. Casey gave Johanna a pink jumpsuit that will have to wait a few months.

Johanna spent most of the day in the Baby Bjorn, attached to my sister Sue.

Saturday was a busy day for Johanna, so Sunday we took it easy.

Saturday she went with Sue, Grandma, Nana (Great Grandma), and me to Hood River to buy pears. Later, she went to Chris' football game (they won, 26-0). Sue insisted on carrying Johanna in the Baby Bjorn (donated by Tonia B.) everywhere we went. Johanna seemed to like it; although we had tried her out in it at home, this was her first "all day" experience in one. I am curious to try it with her myself.

I am also realizing how much wishful thinking I employ in my trip preparation. "She eat 2 hours ago, and we'll only be gone for an hour" has back-fired on me quite a bit, and I'm still not used to having baby in one arm with diaper bag in the other. I've made several trips back to the car in the last few days.

Ain't she cute???

Johanna survived the first week of Daddy's leave. Mommy took her to Portland two days. She also had breakfast with Sean, visited Grandma twice, and spent a lot of time napping with daddy.

Day 2 had its share of fun. Johanna slept from 9 pm to 7 am with only a brief feeding at midnight. She then cried from 8:30-10:00, when we both fell asleep on the couch. I can still hear the crying, and it's no fun knowing you've done everything you think you can do - feed, change, burp, walk around, etc. and nothing works. She seems to like to lie on my arm in what the hospital called the "football hold." She relaxes if I walk around, esp. in bright light with her in that position. It also helps that I talk to her... Rumor has it I was the same way as a baby - lots of crying, lots of walking around.

We went to Felida 3 times today. Other than that, we stayed home and napped. She didn't particularly like the Charlie Chaplin movie I rented from Netflix - she slept right through it.

This week's social agenda is filling up fast: Lunch with Judy and Cindy Wednesday, a visit to Grandma's Thursday night and Friday, and a TBA lunch with Phyllis.

On a final note, I can't carry Johanna in the football hold with my right arm anymore - I seem to have strained by elbow! I'm pretty sure that's what did it because my left arm is starting to hurt the same way.

1st day of paternity leave. Easy-cheesy.

(Sheryl had the baby all day!)

Relaxing on mom's legs at the lake on Labor Day.

With her big sister. Cedar's getting pretty confident carrying her around. If only I could get her to change a diaper!

I was trying different settings on my camera. I like how this black and white turned out.

A morning feeding while at Melanie's. What could be better? Receiving breakfast in bed while enjoying a view of the lake. She's got it made!

With mom at the lake. Cedar took this picture.

It's been over a week since I've posted anything on here. I've been lazy, really, but at work I've been scrambling to get a new tech situated, a new clerk trained, and the library ready for a new librarian while I'm gone. I know things will be in good hands.

Labor Day we spent at a local lake, wondering what happened to summer, and me dizzy from helping watch two kids, a baby, and an over-sized puppy that didn't understand why he had to be leashed up. He will be a challenge if baby and I are the only ones home all day....

Johanna has started to smile in the last weeks, mainly at Sheryl, but sometimes at me. She has already mastered keeping her head up, although she will flop from time to time. I'm still working on the chess skills, as en passant has her confused.

We also went to see Melanie up at the Lake named after the person whom our State is named after. She lives in a 50's era lake house surrounded by over-sized modern houses. It's almost funny to see the contrasts. Johanna did get to go with daddy to a bookstore - one of daddy's favorite places to go!

Tomorrow officially starts my paternity leave, and it'll be easy - Mondays will be my "day off" as Sheryl will take Johanna with her. I will take Cedar to school then be FREE for 6 hours! Tuesday through Friday I'll have Johanna during the day until I pick up Cedar at school. I'm looking forward to it.

Sorry, no pics today. We did a lot of running around town:

Johanna, Mommy, and Cedar drove down to the Farmer's Market where Daddy was hanging out with some friends who host a Christian booth. Daddy had ridden his bike down there. We also saw one of the teachers whom Daddy works with. Then we went to the city to see the Art in the Pearl exhibits. Daddy heard more comments about how cute Johanna was than how good the art was (although I did like two of the artists!). It's amazing how people would just walk up to us and say, "can I see your baby? How old is she? She's so good (she slept most of the time). She's soooo cuuuute." Then we went on an after-dinner hike down the creek trail. It was just light enough to get our feet wet and turn around again.

Now Johanna is wearing nothing but a diaper as she lies with her head on daddy's leg. It is very hot in our house!

Another example of her amazing growth: She has outgrown her first Bumkins!

A common site in our house - daddy holding Johanna on the chaise with his laptop in reach!
Just hanging out at home on Friday.

Exciting news! Johanna was weighed at 10 lbs., 8 oz. (with clothes and diapers on). People keep asking how big she's getting - there it is.

After hanging out all day with mommy on Thursday, Johanna made an appearance at my school's Ice Cream Social. Everyone oohed and aahed, and I wish I had pictures of Kindergartner Brandon who couldn't stay more than a foot away from her. It was cute watching him, although I had to remove his finger from her face a few times. Many people said how cute she is and they understand why Daddy is staying home for a while.

After that we went and visited Judy, who is recovering from surgery. She was very glad to see Johanna and Cedar. We stayed for about an hour, talking about work and watching football.

Friday was another first - after wasting away the morning watching TV with a tired Daddy and Cedar, we took out the baby jogger for the first time. Things were good until we were at the 3/4 mile marker on the way back to the car. Johanna woke up. Daddy, thinking he was playing the clock right, hadn't packed an extra bottle, so I spent the entire time holding her (while pushing the jogger with one hand), singing, or sometimes ignoring her as she yelled the entire time. Of course, once we got to the car and decided to head home instead of the library, she fell asleep again! Good thing Daddy has so much patience!

We eventually made it to the public library. They won't give her a card yet, but Daddy did hear a nice speech about reading to kids and the importance of it from the desk clerk. She's one of the few who work at that branch that don't that I run the library at an elementary school! I was tempted to interrupt and tell her that, but she seemed so proud of the fact she had started another child on the reading track! We did get a nifty carrying bag with 2 board books inside.