happy father's day!

today we celebrated ethan as the best dad ever, at least thats what i think and i am fairly sure naomi will one day feel the same way :) thats one thing i knew about ethan long before we dated, he would make a great father and the almost month that naomi has been with us has only further convinced me of that fact. he's so gentle and loving, he is so willing to serve and always encouraging. he is strong in hard times and always ready to laugh. he's a wonderful father and a fabulous husband.

we spent the morning as we usually do on sunday, sleeping in and eating coffee cake at isles. it was a perfect sunny day, so we lingered outside for a while. i had dreamed up a scheme for a family picnic/grill-out to celebrate ethan's first father's day. so after church, we headed off to lake harriet and naomi and i made ourselves at home on the blanket as ethan fired up the grill. naomi really enjoyed the fresh air and wriggled about learning what these new sights and smells were. she even graced us with a smile that i managed to capture on camera, something that we seem to miss every time she does it. i was pretty proud of myself! ethan did a great job of mastering the grill, we had yummy chicken tonight. and ethan sure enjoyed the strawberry rhubarb pie i made for him. all in all it was a great family day.

playdate

naomi enjoyed her first playdate yesterday. our friends ryan & kayla korpi had a little girl about a month before us and this was the girls first chance to get to know each other. kayla and i placed naomi and allison next to each other on a blanket so they could discover one another. it was so fun to watch them wriggle around not quite aware that there was another baby there, and then to watch as allison looked inquisitively at naomi. i really enjoyed the mommy time with kayla. its so encouraging to have someone who is going through the same things as you are.

happy june birthdays & graduations!!!

on sunday there was a family gathering to honor ethan's cousin Jo's graduation and to celebrate the birthdays of both his uncle dick and grandma doris. it was fun to see everyone again and for them to meet naomi. she was quite a hit! here are some pics of her with the rellies and one of the birthday girl herself!

with great grandma doris

with grandma gini

with great aunt nancy

birthday girl!!

guess how much i weigh now????

we were absolutely delighted to discover at naomi's check-up on tuesday that she has reached the grand weight of 8lbs 4oz!!! so very exciting. ethan and i figured out that means she is gaining about an ounce and a half EVERY day!!! i guess we weren't imagining things when we said that she looks bigger every time we look at her as she wakes from slumber in the morning...

bathtime!!!

naomi had her first real bath today! milestone in the life of a newborn and also in the life of the new parents! its one of those things, like cutting baby fingernails, that you sort of put off for fear of it going badly. we shouldn't have worried, naomi was a natural. though she hiccoughed the whole way through, she seemed to take to water quite well, and looked around inquisitively trying to figure out what was going on.

isles

we have a tradition, ethan and i. since the late fall of 2005, we have been going almost every sunday morning to isles bun and coffee in uptown for our breakfast. this all started when my friend mandi became a sunday morning baker at isles, we went to visit and fell in love with the place, not to mention the great cinnamon rolls and other baked goods. as time passed we discovered our favorite was the coffeecake which is topped with seasonal fruits. we became regulars and the staff knew to grab two pieces of coffeecake as soon as we walked in the front door. we were excited to share this miller tradition with naomi, so yesterday was her first of many trips to isles, as we affectionately call the place. we felt like celebrities when we walked in and all the staff oohed and ahhed over what was once danielle's bump! they even refused to let us pay for our treats! and sure enough, mandi was there, having baked since the wee hours of the morning, she came over and chatted with us as we ate strawberry mango coffeecake and gushed over naomi. here are some pictures you can enjoy and if any of you come to visit us in minneapolis, we'll be sure to take you to isles on sunday morning!