Honky Tonk Bedonkadonk

Here's Betty sporting a Bummis Super Brite diaper wrap with a Chinese prefold inside. We have been using our stash of cloth diapers about half the time. Now that she's getting a bit bigger we hope to use cloth exclusively, but she is prone to diaper rash so we'll see (you can't use diaper rash ointment on cloth diapers because it makes them less absorbent). It's also hard to get clothes over the giant cloth diaper butt. There is one advantage to cloth however: the giant butt gives her some counterweight when trying to roll over. Betty rolled over once already when she was less than a week old, but that may have been a fluke. Tonight she almost did it for real. She was trying so hard and almost had it a couple times!

Party Trash

Tonight Betty went to a party. As with every other outing she slept through the entire event--woke up in the car on the way home. That's her friend Daniel on the right. He could give Betty some lessons on how to party.

Happiest Baby on the Block

Sunday night is bath night. Betty likes the bath--it's the toweling off, diapering, and dressing afterward that she hates. Soon after this photo was taken she started protesting and didn't stop til we brought out the big guns--the 5 S's of the Happiest Baby on the Block (thanks Elizabeth and Reed). It really does work.

Gleaming the Cube

Today Betty is 3 weeks old! Before we could leave on our Saturday outing we had to let out the straps on the car seat harness--she's getting bigger! We got fresh doughnuts and went to the park where it turns out there are no walking trails. So we sat under a picnic shelter and watched some kids skateboard. I now understand why my mom never allowed me to have a skateboard. Betty also will not be allowed to have a skateboard.

Mad at the World

Lest this blog give the impression that life is always idyllic in the Nowlin household...as you can see here, Betty gets pretty cranky in the afternoons.

La Penseuse

So much to think about when just about every experience is a new experience. Today: Shel Silverstein poems.

Monkey See

Betty played on her Baby Einstein floor mat today for the first time and she really seemed to notice things: the dangling stuffed birds, the blinking sun playing classical music, and, in the mirror, herself!

Day Trippers

Today our friends Erin and Darby came up from Chapel Hill. We put Betty in one of her cute outfits for the occasion. As with her Farmville outings, however, she decided to sleep through most of the fun.

Mini Me

Though it's still too early to tell, I think Betty is going to look like Steele. I laughed and laughed when I went to get her this morning--see the little cowlick? Her daddy has the exact same cowlick in his hair most mornings too.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all Dads and Soon-to-be-Dads!

Girl Talk

Today Betty is 2 weeks old! We went for a ride this morning with plans to get doughnuts from the Mennonite grocery store and walk in the park, but the grocer and family were on vacation and it was too hot for the park. So we took a brief spin around the farmer's market and came home. Betty slept most of the day--but we had some quality time together this afternoon chatting about this and that. Betty filled me in on world events and laughed politely at my jokes.

Little Monkey

This photo may help explain why we call Betty "little monkey."

Splish Splash

Betty's first tub bath!

Gas Face

There are basically three methods of burping a baby, according to the baby books. The first is the old over the shoulder move that everyone knows. Another is the over the knee move, which Steele likes but I find awkward with a floppy newborn. And then there is this: sitting up in the lap, hand under the jaw. It makes for some funny faces.

Funny Faces

Posting early today because it's supposed to rain and our internet doesn't work in the rain.

Betty makes a lot of funny faces, like this one, especially when it's time to eat.

In Repose

Why, yes, Betty does spend a lot of time naked. It's hot in our house for one thing, she's got diaper rash for another, and she has a habit of pee peeing when we change her diaper, so she frequently runs out of shirts.

National Enquirer

Here's an outtake from the pics we took for the birth announcement (coming soon to a mailbox near you). Betty looks like a disgraced celebrity dodging the papparazzi.

The Daily Betty

With family and friends spread far and wide, we turn to blogging to keep everyone up to date on Betty's activities. It's already been a week and we can tell that she's growing up fast: in the way she looks at things, in the way her little umbilical stump is drying out, in the way she kicks her legs and raises her head--she even rolled over already. Every day brings something new, and so we're going to post one photo each day so family and friends can watch her grow and change.

-----

Today Betty is one week old. She celebrated by enjoying some Naked Time while Daddy sang Cole Porter tunes.