New Tricks

We call Renna "velcro baby" because of her great fondness for being held ALL of the time. We carry her around in the Baby Bjorn carrier much of the day because of her strong objections to being put down. Carrying our 13.5 lb babe around leaves us with aching backs so we are eagerly trying to get her used to her bouncy seat, the swing, the carseat... anything!

Here she is in her bouncy seat, asleep in her car seat & sacked out in our bed. All very RARE moments!!! We are enjoying the spring and the chance to take her for walks & hikes. She loves being outside. We're thrilled that she has started smiling at us!

Grandma's 2nd Visit

Grandma came to visit in February. We were all very happy to have her here and she was amazed at how little baby Renna had grown since her last visit at week 3 of her life. Grandma has a great knack for cuddling with Renna and putting her to sleep. She helped us get organized, putting away all of the little baby clothes and making room for bigger sizes! Renna's grandmothers and aunts keep her looking pretty in lots of cute clothes.

This last picture is Renna with Shawn at our favorite bakery. Shawn, Amy & Sal joined us for breakfast on Sue's last morning in town. Shawn sure has the "touch" with Renna. As you can see, she's very relaxed with him! He's a "baby charmer."

Family Photo

Here's a family photo from back in February. We're playing "catch up" on the blog! And here's Daddy giving Renna a bath. As you can see Renna still has no problems with eating!

Four Generations of Russells

Renna met her great grandparents (Grammy & Grampa Jim) recently (Katie's Dad's parents). Grammy loved cuddling with Renna and didn't even want to put her down to eat dinner. Renna was named after Grammy's mother who was named Elsie Irene but was called Renna. Renna was also named to honor Scott's dad. Following a Jewish tradition we chose an "R" name in rememberance of his dad whose name was Robert.

Bears lose! Bears lose!

Well, Renna had her Bears gear on for Super Bowl 41.

She took the loss well, but she definitely thinks that Lovie should have benched Grossman mid-season during the slump and gone with Griese.

That little girl. Quite the football fan. She really got into it.

Well, there's always next year.

11 Pounds & 5 Ounces!!! (By Katie)

When we brought Renna home nine weeks ago she weighed about 4 lbs, 12 oz. Today we went for her 2 month check up and found that she has grown to weigh 11 lbs, 5 oz. The girl can eat! She is in the 75th percentile for weight -- and that's among babies born at term. If we put her up against the premies she'd be off the charts! She's in the 50th percentile for height so for now she's a chub. She eats about every two hours or so still. She has about 4 chins (great for catching and storing milk in) and we can no longer see her knees for the pudge on her legs. We are very pleased of course that she's growing so well! She's got gorgeous blue eyes and a pretty calm disposition. She's a noisy little thing -- she has a repertoire of grunts, squeaks, squawks and snorts. We're waiting for the "cooing" and smiling to start as the books on babies tell us it soon will. I am thrilled that the pediatrician lifted our restrictions and we can now take Renna out in public. After a month on bedrest and 2 months home with her I'm really excited about getting out.

Renna's First Road Trip (by Katie)

We took Renna to Atlanta the weekend of Feb 9-11 and she did very well on her first road trip! We went so that Scott could go to a gallery opening where his good friend Arny's sculpture was being exhibited. We got to see my sister Emily and her boyfriend Tim, as well as lots of friends -- Ruth, Arny & Stephanie, Lisa & Trish, and Tana & Kathy. We all survived the car ride just fine. We think that Renna was a little bit confused by having so many people around admiring her since all she has known is the quiet of our house with just a few folks around (usually just mom and dad!). I was so glad to get out into the world and see so many great friends!