Happy New Year

In the Belesiotis family, it is a tradition for each member to hold an old coin in his or her hand at the stroke of midnight to bring good luck for the new year. Christ and I had a wild night of lounging in bed watching a movie with Niko and thought it would be funny to pose him with this large coin of Christ's (we really should get out more). Niko stayed up with us to ring in the new year, and Christ snuck into Talia's room to place a coin in her hand as she slept. We have been pretty lucky in 2008 and are eager to see what 2009 brings our way!

One Month Old

Here are some favorite pictures of our big boy at one month old (already). Where does the time go? He is developing the signature chubby cheeks that I claim as one trait directly from me (as most of the other traits are more obviously Belesiotis). Some of you may not believe that this is true, but just ask my mother about my cheeks and she will verify that they were once some of the chubbiest in town. They used to push my glasses up when I smiled. I know, Christ is a lucky man!

Auntie Cake

Aunt Caitlin took some time to read to all three nieces this Christmas season and it was a precious moment seeing them all cozied up together for a brief moment (before busy Talia bustled off to do something else). The book of choice was The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss, and Caitlin's rendition left us all wishing we had stars just like thars.

Christmas Morning

Talia received a lot of presents on Christmas morning despite many threats that her behavior might sway Santa. Santa must not have been watching as closely at times as he should have. Perhaps he was feeling forgiving towards a little girl who has had to endure a number of adjustments to life as she knew it this year!

Two Weeks

Here is Niko displaying just some of his many facial expressions. At just two weeks of age, he is already showing great modeling potential. In the first picture he held up two fingers to demonstrate his twoweekedness. Talia always gets excited when he does this. The other day he even flicked me off while feeding. He may play it off as an involuntary motion, but I think there may be more control behind it than he lets on. Let's hope he doesn't turn out like Stewie!

Santa Pictures

Talia was a trooper and once again boldly sat on Santa's lap without a fuss (until she tried to pull his beard and was scolded a bit). Niko also followed his sister's lead and showed no fear (perhaps because he slept through the whole ordeal). We hope for many more pictures as pleasant as these in future years!

Geese Galore

This is a rare occasion when Talia has actually been allowed out this winter as temperatures were a little more tolerable. The real reason for this outing is the spectacle behind her (although we let Talia believe she is the focus of all pictures). Christ was amazed by all of the geese gathered on our pond and had to run out in the snow to get a picture. Niko and I smartly observed from inside, but Talia blindly followed her fearless leader into the cold wilderness. Someday she will learn.

First Real Bath

Niko's first real bath was a lot more enjoyable for him than the previous sponge baths he had been tolerating. He still screamed upon getting naked but quickly changed his tune upon entering the warm water. His expression seems to say "Oooh, this is nice. I could get used to this."

Rough Life

Christ is once again taking on all of the tough duties a father of a newborn must attend to. He is such a trooper and does not complain at all when required to nap with Niko. He did express to me in the hospital that his back was hurting a little after cleaning the bathroom and I completely emphasized with everything he and his body have had to go through in the past few days, not to mention the past 8 months. Hang in there Christ, maybe you will recover some day!

First Bath

We were a few seconds into the bath before I realized that we took pictures of Talia's first bath, sending Christ running for the camera. We don't want to have a bitter second child! Christ and I both know all about that! We appreciate that we need to take as many pictures of Niko as we did of Talia, and that is a lot. We might as well just glue the camera to our hands. Niko enjoyed his bath just about as much as Talia did way back when. I love the last picture as I feel it perfectly captures his true emotions about the situation.

Just the Two of Us

Talia is not shy about presenting herself in front of the camera, and she actually let Niko share some of the spotlight during her first time holding him. We shall see how long that lasts. For now she is still delighted with having Niko around, although she is giving Christ and I a run for our money and testing every limit. Someone was a little spoiled for the past few days and will have to get used to things being back to "normal." Although in her world things will never be the same again! Let's hope Niko can keep up!

Going Home

You forget how small they look in the carrier for the first time, and check out the size of that pacifier! Niko has not attatched to his pacifer yet, unlike Talia for whom it was love at first suck, but he will attempt to keep it in his mouth from time to time.