rite of passage

It has been observed that there are two kinds of ladies in this world... the ones who have gotten the blue box, and the ones who haven't. That's right... the iconical blue box from Tiffany & Co. has arrived on Tiz's crib-step. It's a moment many women wait a lifetime for. Tiz hasn't been around a month yet, and she's already graduated. Clearly, she is destined for greatness.


These utensils were a gift from Dave and Theresa Jaeger. Nice.

rude awakening

My apologies to all of you devoted fans-of-Tiz. Going back to work full-time this week was a rude awakening for both me and the little lady. She's been wondering where her doting Dad has run off to, and I've been wondering why I didn't arrange for a longer paternity leave. At any rate, blogging time has been severely reduced. I will try to be better.



I call this shot, "Wake us for Dinner". Aaahhh... those were the days.

Tiz the cat

sundays with Tiz

Here's our Sunday portrait... Tiz caught in action stirring her bolognese sauce. She'd been simmering it all day and it was ready just in time for dinner. The sauce was superb.

happy birthday, Matt

We are celebrating my 35th birthday this weekend with a multi-day extravaganza planned and co-ordinated by Tiz and her Mom. Arriving home from work on Saturday I was greeted with a glass of earthshatteringly good '93 Tattinger and crostinis of marinated, roasted feta and salty tapenade. I nibbled on these tasty amuse bouche with my feet kicked up in the glide rocker while feeding Tiz her bottle with my free hand.



After polishing off the bottle of bubbles, we proceeded to the dining room for a salad of mache, crisp apples and monchego cheese followed by grilled veal chops on truffled polenta with carmelized shallots and oven-burst tomatoes. A bottle of Rosenblum Petite Sirah - my birthday gift from Richard - complimented the meal and even worked pretty well with the steamed chocolate cake on cabernet-caramel sauce we had for dessert.

I'll tell you what... these girls know how to treat their man!


The celebrating continued this morning with blueberry pancakes for breakfast. I also got to try out some cool birthday gifts. Kim's sister, Carol made this great quilted French Press Cozy to keep my morning brew warm, and her husband, Nathan, roasted me up a batch of his famous home-roasted coffee beans. What a treat!

new uniform

Janet Catlow came by today to visit Tiz and bring this beautiful outfit and cap she knitted. The yarn is cashmere, and Kim has commissioned one for herself as well.

uncle richard

Tiz enjoyed a visit from Uncle Richard today. He concluded that she's perfect.

blue eyes

This photo is super over-exposed, but it is the first shot that really shows Tiz's eye color. They're darker blue than mine or Kim's and really cool looking... I hope they keep the hue.

brother from another mother

Here's an update on Grey Ellensohn, Candice and Chris' son. He's doing well, too. Last posting for today without Tiz in it, I promise.

endless summer

If Tiz isn't sure what to think about the snow, I lack any uncertainty. Since I'm a waterman at heart, I dread the plague of winter. Even though I know that this snow won't stick and it'll warm up in a few days, it's a sign of what's soon to come. Looks like Lucy isn't too happy about it either. Sorry for posting a photo sans Tiz, but this was too good to pass up.

snow-garden gnome

We've got a theme going with these photos where Tiz is peeking in from the corner of the frame with some exotic landscape or point of interest in the background. We call it 'garden gnome style', a la the film Amalie. I think we're going to run with it.

first snow

Tiz woke up this morning to her first snow. We went out for the photo op, and she made funny faces as the flakes melted on her cheeks and nose. I don't think she was terribly impressed.

strollin'

Behold... the Ferrari of strollers... the Bugaboo Frog.

When she found out we were finally hooking her up with a little grandbaby, my Mom offered to buy us the stroller. The bugaboo caught our eye right away. It boasts stylish Euro-engineering, rides easily over most any obstacle on its pneumatic tires, turns on a dime, and instead of the cheesey fabrics most strollers are upholstered in, it's boldly robed in blaze orange cordura. We've already put some serious miles on her, and she performs like a dream. Unfortunately, after a visit to Babies r' Us, Dad noticed that the Frog cost over twice as much as any stroller they had on the floor. Oops... But don't worry Dad, it's only money and besides, you're never too young to learn that expensive gifts are the true measure of love!

that's my girl

field trip

We've had perfect autumn weather this week and we've been walking every day. Tiz seems to like the fresh air and the exercise is helping Kim regain her strength. Tired of the park on our block, this afternoon we took a field trip to Herrick Lake. Tiz worked on her tan and I showed her how to read the wind on the water to decide what size sail to rig. She got it right away.

here's one for granny

My mom get's testy if there isn't a new picture of Tiz every day or two, so here she is picking out her jack-o-lantern.

Spoiled

Today was my last official day of paternity leave, and I am not happy about it. I am seriously getting used to the Mr. Mom lifestyle. We hang out. We take walks. We have a beer at lunch. We watch windsurfing videos while Tizzy has her bottle. It's going to be rough going back to work on Monday.

happy birthday, Tiz

Tiz is one week old today. We gave her a bath and opened a bottle of Vueve Clicquot. She slept through her party, but she smelled great!

Tizzy and Mom

Here's a nice shot of Tiz with her Mom. Kim is a little camera shy, and since she's the better photographer and usually takes the pics, you rarely see her in the frame. Enjoy.

uncommon bond

This is really unbelievable. About a year and a half ago, this girl named Candice called looking for someone to do some catering for her work. We began a professional relationship and eventually became friends, Kim and I and she and her husband, Chris going to dinner once in a while and hanging out. In March, Candice called to place a catering order and told me the good news... she was pregnant. "No kidding..." I replied, "So is Kim!" Candice asked who Kim's doctor was, and when we realized they both went to the same practice, the questions began flying. When's she due... where's she delivering... are you going to find out the gender? Turned out she and Kim were due within 2 weeks of each other, so as the weeks went by we all learned about the process together, spending hours on the phone and around dinner tables getting used to the idea of becoming parents. In the end, as unbelievable as it should have been, no one was very surprised when the doctor called both Kim and Candice into the hospital on the same day. Candice and Chris' son, Greyson James Ellensohn, was born on September 27th, 2006... just a few hours before Tizzy Kay.

Dave's Flower

We bought Kim's Dad, Dave a rose bush for Father's Day and this rose bloomed on Tizzy's birthday, so he picked it and brought it over. Sweet.

Tiz the frog after her first bath

turn on your heartlight

This look inspired some Neil Diamond-esque serenading around bedtime. Tizzy on her billy lights.

Heading Home... and a newsflash

Here's a newsflash for you... newborns are a lot of work! Tizzy's blog has been sorely neglected since we got home, so here's an update while she catches a nap. We've covered a lot of ground in the last few days. We made it home safe and sound, surviving the nail-biting first drive in the car. Tiz was diagnosed with jaundice that was severe enough for the doctor to prescribe billy lights, which were delivered to our house on Sunday evening. When we put them on she looks a lot like ET, which inspired our first teasings of her (needless to say, she was not amused). She went on her first adventure, which was a trip to the doctor to get a blood test. And, of course, we had her first bath. All-in-all, its been a very exciting week.