Nila's First Christmas

Luckily for Nila, she won't remember this Christmas.

Not to say it was bad; it wasn't, but she didn't get to experience the traditions she would have been a part of at home. 

Sure, we had a tree (we even put it up the second week of December just like Grandma Tammy would have), but our tree was artificial and a little on the Charlie Brown side. You can see a little bit of the tree in the picture above. 

That's the office cook, by the way. Her name is Draxshan and she wanted a picture with Nila by whit is, I'm sure, the only Christmas tree she's seen up close. (Well, except for the foot-tall tree we keep in our office year round...)

We had a great Christmas Eve dinner (I made a turkey, but burned the cookies) like we would have back home, but without our wonderful family and we had a nice Christmas breakfast at a local hotel.

It was nice, but it wasn't home. 

Lucky for us, Christmas comes every year!

TaDa indeed

Early this week I put Nila down for a few minutes of tummy time, something she normally hates. This time though, she looked over at me and grinned... I should have known we were in for a crazy week.



The next day during some tummy time she lifted her head up on her arms and had a good ook around. The next morning she rolled from her back to her side. Later in the week, while on her tummy again, she pushed up on her arms again... then surprised us all and rolled over to her back!! I think (judging by the look on her face) that she was as surprised as we were!) Then this evening she proved that it wasn't a fluke and did it again! Good for her!



I told you she was getting bored...

Ladies and Gentleman!

And, no sooner was I writing that last post, than Nila began waking slowing, passing gas (both normal occurances) and...

rolled over!

TaDa!!

You asked for it.

Here are some pictures we took of Nila this week. The first is from an office Christmas party. I know it's small, but...at least it's something. She had a good time, but I think it was a little much. There were a lot of people there and by the end of the evening I think she was really tired.

The second picture, well...I think it's one of her best. I snapped it the other day to show you how she's been grubbing on her fingers lately! Even now as I type this, she's fallen half asleep with them in her mouth. Who needs a pacifier when you have fingers? No, we're not worried she's going to have a malformed palette or anything like that. It's normal. And, see the ceiling fan - she LOVES ceiling fans! She just stares at them and laughs! I think it's like a mobile to her.

Which brings up a point. The toys here are kind of not "approved by the American Pediatric Academy..." if you know what I mean. If any of you "Nila" readers out there are going to send packages in January, would you pop in some 4 month/5 month old appropriate toys for Nila? I think she might be bored. I mean, she DOES look pretty thrilled in that picture, playing with the fan and all, doesn't she?! But... some variety now and then would be good! hahaha...

ps. we have a really good picture of Nila with our cook that we'll post soon, I promise...Peace!

Not Nila, but...

...hilarious

From a Kurdish Photographer

From the IQ with Love

From Nicole to Nicole

Hi Aunt Brandi...

Just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you and that I miss you. I hope you're having a good time with all of your friends at home without me there to hang out with. One of our friends here got me this cool butt shaking seat toy thing - I kind of love it - it has a blue elephant that hangs down from this bar at the top and I can even touch the elephant now and grab it sometimes! You would be so impressed, I'm sure. Mom and I were chilling out under the covers the other morning (literally) and she told me that she kind of misses you. She showed our friends here the picture of you two "moons" and they said it was a very good picture. I think that you would like it here (for a few days). Let me know if you're going to come visit and I'll find a blankie for you!

Love,

Nila

Nila in Dubai

Here are some pics we took in Dubai. I know it's a few weeks ago, but they're pretty cute, nonetheless.

Slow pics,

I tried to post these pics here but blogger was too slow because the pictures too big. SO click here and scroll to the bottom for a five recent pics of the star of this show. These were taken on the way into Iraq. She's still so cute, right!? More coming very soon of her on Thanksgiving Day in her cute Thanksgiving dress (the brown courdoroy one!)...

Alive and Well

I know we haven't updated this blog for awhile, but Nila is doing very well. She seems to be very happy.

She's started cooing and chatting which is very funny.

We bought her a kangaroo -style baby carrier thing at the Chicco store in the bazaar and I carried her all around town. Everyone stared at us. Hard.

i wonder if they would be surprised to learn that we bought the contraption in their very own bazaar?

Sorry

I am sorry for the dearth of posts here, but I promise more news as we settle in!

Nila is doing well. She's healthy and happy. She's been pretty smiley over the last few days - and it isn't gas.

Halloween

The Many Faces of Nila

See more here.

I wanted to post more here, but I had technical difficulties...

Circa 1965

These are the pictures that were taken when we applied for Nila's passport. The one above was clearly unusable, but we like it for its artistic value.

The pics below make it look like our baby is an immigrant. They look like we all snuck over the border and got arrested, but, before they deported us, they took our pictures. They took our pictures in 1965.




So, those were the rejects. This one was the one we put on the passport. Doesn't she look great?

California Girl

The Fans Demanded It

(this first photo was taken in celebration of the fact that Nila had outgrown this outfit. She's not too chubby for it, of course, but too long). Now that I look at it, she doesn't seem to be celebrating it, but we were.

Popular in California

Nila is having a pretty great time in California. Here are just two reasons why:

1) Angie and I have discovered that Nila loves to sleep on our chests, but that's hard to accommodate when we're trying to, you know, do pretty much anything, so Angie started wrapping her in a sling-like thing and I have started just zipping her up in my jacket. She's there right now like a little kangaroo.

2) She makes friends everywhere. See Angie's blog for more detail, but old ladies just adore Nila!

We promise pictures at some point. Stay strong.

I'm Ready For My Close Up!

The starlets in Hollywood ain't got nothin' on this girl! (or the comedians on the strip for that matter!) This afternoon, she stuck out her tongue and said, "PHLHBBBB!!!!" to Bob, I kid you not! Nila doens't really "play" on this mat yet, but I thought I'd let her lay on it and just look around at the shapes and animals on it. She did for a few minutes and seemed to like it...and then seemed freaked out by the entire experience. In the first picture, I think she has Bob's nose, don't you? And, I had to fix the red eye in that picture, so if you think she looks a little possessed, she's not! It's just some poor photoshopping on my part! Enjoy!

Best Pictures Ever!

Nila is Sleepy

Angie has been taking phone videos again, but I have to be honest that this is the only "good" one. 

We took one earlier of Nila doing some crunches, but, when Angie came over with the phone cam, I assumed it was for a picture instead of a video. So that was just a video of Nila silently sleeping without motion or action. 

At least she's yawning in this one.

We Have a Winner

In the most recent everybodylovesnila poll, Aunt Brandi was selected as the person on whom you'd most like Nila to poop. 60% of all voters chose her. No one else was even close.

We've passed those results on to Nila, so we all hope she'll take your suggestion and "runs" with it.

There's no poll this week, but I'll let you know when a new one pops up.

My Baby Don't Mess Around...

A nurse came by the apartment this afternoon to check up on Nila and I, and while she was here she checked Nila's weight. Baby gets it done! FIVE POUNDS SIX OZS!!! (up from 4.14 last Monday). Woo hoo!!

So It Happened

This afternoon my daughter pooped on me. 

I knew it would happen eventually, but it was still unpleasant. There was a large "floom" sound and then an unusual warmth on my stomach. 

I blame Angie for faulty diapering.

This begs this question, though, who's next? You can vote on your favorite(s) on the right. I'm not saying Nila will listen to you, but she might.

I will personally be voting for Angie.

Some Facts...

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Nila Nicole Meeker!

1. It takes a lobster approximately 7 years to grow to be Nila Nicole Meeker!
2. Nila Nicole Meeker can sleep with one eye open.
3. Nila Nicole Meekerology is the study of Nila Nicole Meeker.
4. If you drop Nila Nicole Meeker from the top of the Empire State Building, she will be falling fast enough to kill before reaching the ground!
5. Three seagulls flying overhead are a warning that Nila Nicole Meeker is near.
6. If you break Nila Nicole Meeker, you will get seven years of bad luck!
7. Nila Nicole Meeker can give birth ten days after being born, and is born pregnant.
8. Fifty-two percent of Americans drink Nila Nicole Meeker.
9. India tested its first nuclear Nila Nicole Meeker in 1974!
10. The Nila Nicole Meeker-fighting market in the Philippines is huge - several thousand Nila Nicole Meeker-fights take place there every day.

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

Oh the drama. As if sleeping was really that much work! She was really sleeping with her hands over her eyes like this yesterday. Look at her nice hair do, too! She had just had a bath...

This must have been taken last week some time because I think she has twice as much hair now!

Another cell phone shot from the hospital.

NOT staged at all.

Nila was rocking out today after news from the pediatrician that she gained four ounces and doesn't have to go back until her one month birthday!

 She's officially at 4.14 oz! I personally am a little disappointed that she is a Britney fan, but who knows, maybe that's one of those things she'll grow out of. Like meconium. Yeah. Britney = meconium. That sounds about right.

[Edit: It's low quality because it's from a cell phone. Be sure to turn the volume up for full effect and also check out the (now working) video two posts below.]

Middle Name Poll Results and New Poll

Below are the results of the Middle name poll. Polling continued after the birth  and even though Rose made a comeback, Nicole remained the winner. In fact, Nicole and Rose were the only two names that garnered more than a single vote. Good thing Nicole was the winner.

Nicole 42%

Rose 35%

Brandi 07%

Claire 07%

Kate 07%

Everlyse 00%

Jeanette 00%

Rosemary 00%

I have posted a second poll now.  Please vote and feel free to comment here as you like.

This poll is all about breastfeeding. Nila's taken to it like a pro now that the milk has started flowing. She eats somewhere between 8 and 49 times each day, but the real question is this: When should she be weaned?

It seems everyone has an opinion, so what's yours?

My First Video

So the video below is just a bunch of pictures set to music. It's just a simple video, but it's a good way to see all of the pictures on my computer so far.

In other news, Angie has posted her story about the labor (OMG TMI, BTW). You can read it at her blog.

I'm planning to add a new survey, too. You've still been voting on the middle name - even though we already picked Nicole, nerds. I guess this means you likey the survey, so I'll add another.

I am pleased to see that Nicole is still winning the name race since it's birth-certificate-official already.

Check Me Out

Nila Nicole

Nila is here and we've chosen a middle name as you can see from the title! Look for more info here in the next couple of days.

You Decide 2007

You'll notice that we're looking for your input on the Nila's middle name. We've posted the poll on the right.

Pick the name you like best and we'll post the results in a week. But, be advised, we reserve the right to pick whatever name we want!

Countdown to B-Day

The debut of baby Nila is still a few days away. You can see the ticker on the right until the due date (September 8th).

With parents like this, I think we all know she'll be the Cutest. Baby. Ever.