Week Six

As of this past Monday, Joshua is 6 weeks old. The days just seem to fly by.

We received this beautiful blanket from friends Pete, Cathy and Jacob from Florida. I haven't seen something like it before and love it. The blanket is so super soft too!




On Tuesday I had my follow up post partum appointment in San Francisco. So, we made it a family affair. First we went to Kaiser for the appt. While there, we got to see Auntie Joyce and Auntie Alla. That was a fun treat. From there, we proceeded to Auntie Jillian's house for a very nice lunch. We had a good day in the city and look forward to doing it again soon.

In Joyce's treatment room.








Joshua refused to take a morning nap as everything was so new and interesting. Here the melt down is starting. :)



On Wednesday, Joshua developed a new skill of being able to intermittently grab the rings hanging from his activity center. He was fascinated by this for about 15 minutes which is a really long time in his world.

On Thursday Joshua and I ventured to Walnut Creek to have lunch at California Pizza Kitchen with Daddy. Here is his all star outfit from Auntie Kellie and Uncle Dave. So fun that it actually fits now.

Daddy is running a sweet 16 contest for the NCAA College Basketball Tournament. Joshua got to participate too. Daddy spread all 16 teams on the bed and would pick up Joshua and set him back down on the bed. Where he pointed with his hands or feet was considered his pick. That team would then be removed and it would start again.

See, here he is clearly picking Villanova. Daddy was really excited and it was funny to watch Joshua. At one point, he managed to get his sock off and landed it on a team so that became the pick for that round. We shall see how he did soon.

Sunny days

The weather has been really nice the past two days and we have taken advantage of it. Yesterday, Dave and I put Joshua in the Baby Bjorn and headed out to take a nice walk around the neighborhood and down the way. It was very nice. Today, I took Joshua with me and dropped my car off to get an oil change while Joshua and I took a nice walk through Orinda and the kid friendly park. There were tons of Mom's, nannies and kids all over the play structures. I had not been there before and know that as he gets a little older, Joshua will love it there. I am including a couple of pictures on this post just for fun.

Todd stopped by last night for a "work night." He helped Dave with some items around the house such as some information on the pool. He was rewarded with pizza and beer. Here he is getting a little practice with Joshua in anticipation of the birth of his and Melissa's twins in June.

Here is Joshua's outfit today. He does love his daddy and the monkeys on the outfit are appropriate as he was a monkey last night keeping his parents awake often throughout the night. Just when you think he is starting to figure out night and day, he reverts back. Oh well, he will figure it out at some point. I have been working harder today to keep him up for periods of time. It can be quite the challenge, but I hope it will pay off a little bit tonight.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Today was spent hanging out at home. Joshua experienced his activity gym for the first time from Auntie Laurel and Uncle Chris. As you can tell, he loved it.

The mirror was a big hit.

Checking out the flash on the camera.

A St. Patrick's Day family picture. Daddy is making corned beef and cabbage for dinner. Yum!

Joshua telling Daddy a secret.

I thought I would include a couple of pictures from Alla's visit yesterday. She looks so natural that you can tell she is a Mom.

Alla brought me my first sushi (raw that is) since before my pregnancy. So good!

Joshua with his monkey blanket in his pack n play.

A Relaxing weekend with the family

The weekend started on Friday afternoon with a visit to Dad's office to say "Hi" to a few people who had been wanting to meet Joshua. Needless to say, he was a big hit. He was awake and pretty content for most of the visit, really enjoying his pacifier while relaxing in his stroller. The rest of the weekend has been pretty low key.

Daddy and Joshua with his "cute boy" polo and pant hand-me-downs from cousin Gates.

Baby Joshua was out cold at the coffee house. Too bad he wasn't this exhausted at 3:00am this morning. :) Thanks to Daddy, I got to skip the 2 o'clock hour feeding and slept through it instead until the early morning feeding a few hours later. Very nice!

Even double fisting it couldn't wake the monkey.

Dave and I enjoyed our Saturday coffee and did our crossword puzzle. This has been a tradition of ours since early on in our relationship. It is nice to continue it now. The only difference is that we couldn't manage to get out of the house until after 2pm. Oh well, it was just as fun in the afternoon as in the morning. :)

Life is good with my passa and my toy from Madeline, Auntie Joyce and Uncle Jeff.

Many wonderful visitors

Over the past month, we have been fortunate to have many people stop by to visit and meet Joshua. I thought it would be fun to have one post with many of the visitors. Unfortunately, I missed a few visitors with the camera. Bummer. Thank you to everyone for all the generous and wonderful presents and meals. We have truly appreciated each one and having you all around. We count ourselves and Joshua very lucky to have such wonderful friends and family!

Auntie Joyce and Auntie Alla came to the hospital to visit.

Auntie Rebecca and Uncle Kevin came to the hospital as well.

Auntie Megan

Tutu and G.G.

Auntie Laurel and Uncle Chris came to our home and brought us a yummy Hawaiian dinner.

Auntie Joyce came by the house and brought a great Burmese lunch and dinner.

Auntie Alyson came by with her son Gabriel who is 5 months old (born October 9th)

Gabriel and Joshua hanging out on the couch. Ok, not really, but we had to get a picture of the boys together just for fun!

Auntie Jillian came over for a visit. Jillian treated me to a Mediterranean lunch and Joshua joined us. It was really fun to get out of the house for a little field trip.

Joshua William McEwen - The First Month

As all of you know by now, Joshua William McEwen came into the world on February 9, 2009. I apologize for the snail speed at which I have gotten pictures up onto this blog. I plan on updating every few days with new pictures as I am able. Dave and I are really enjoying Joshua and count ourselves lucky that he is a very good baby. We are adapting to the sleep deprivation and learning how to minimize the effects. :) For those who have gotten a chance to visit, we enjoyed seeing each of you. For those of you yet to meet Joshua, we look forward to introducing him to you soon. We are very prejudice, but think he is quite the charmer. :)

This is the board in our room in Labor and Delivery. We checked into the hospital around 11 - 11:30pm on February 8th. Megan came around 12:30am and stayed with us through the whole thing leaving at 5 pm on the 9th. Megan was unbelievably helpful during labor as she, Dave and myself became a well functioning team during contractions and pushing. Thank you to our wonderful and giving friend! I know Auntie Megan will always have a very special place in Joshua's life.

Dave, Megan and I did a crossword puzzle (in between some snoozing) during the hours of labor and waiting. Notice the appropriate title of the crossword puzzle.

Joshua a short period of time after his birth.

Getting ready to head home. Dave and I purchased his going home outfit in Rome, Italy from a very sweet older couple in a tiny store who spoke very little English. Notice how he kind of swims in the outfit even though it is for newborns. He was very little.

Tutu and G.G. came to escort Joshua, Dave and I home. They stayed with us for three weeks. They were incredible helpful. We never had to think about meals, grocery shopping or much else. They hung art on the wall and did multiple other tasks around the house. They would also watch and hold Joshua so that I could get a shower or take a nap. We loved having them here for the first part of Joshua's life. THANK YOU!!


Just as many babies are, Joshua was born with some jaundice. What it meant for him and us, was that the first four mornings he was home, we had to take him to the lab to get his heel pricked for blood draw and then an hour later would see the Pediatrician. Finally on Sunday following his birth, we got the ok to stop the daily visits as his levels started to come down. This pose is him sitting in front of a space heater under our skylight to get the natural light on his body. Joshua loves his arm up and this is a pose you will find him in frequently.

Joshua got a Gator hat from his Daddy and sports it often.

This is during his first sponge bath at home. He didn't love the washing of the body part, but likes his hair being washed.


Hanging out in his turtle outfit at about 2 weeks old.

On Friday, February 27th, Joshua's official due date (ha, ha), Tutu and G.G. kept Joshua for a couple of hours (in between feedings) so that Dave and I could run and have dinner out on our own courtesy of Dave's company. Everyone was happy!

"It's been a hard day and I need a pacifier."


Hanging out in his swing.

About to take Tutu and G.G. to the airport. This picture is taken in Joshua's room. The quilt behind us was made by Carol Crain. The Crains are wonderful family friends that I have know since I was very little. We are grateful for the beautiful quilt.

Joshua's first bath in his baby bath tub. Thank you to Auntie Marla and Uncle Eric for the bathtub as well as so much of the baby items we have. It has been so helpful to have all the fun stuff from them (things they used with our nephew Gates). It is unbelievable how much they sent and how useful everything has been.

Chillin' with Dad. This is his hospital coming home outfit. At almost one month old, it finally fits well.

Joshua was up to 6 lbs 11 oz and 21 inches long at his 2.5 week visit to the Pediatrician. We can definitely tell he is finally developing some baby fat as his legs are getting far less twig like. :)

Just plain being cute.


Joshua is very interactive in the morning. He loves to play with Daddy on the bed and try to bite his nose.

On Sunday the 8th, we went up the road to Briones regional park and took an approximately 2 mile walk. It was wonderful to get out and experience some fresh air on a beautiful sunny day. We had had about 2-3 weeks of rain before this and were very grateful for a reprieve from the much needed rain. Sunshine is wonderful!

Family photo during the walk.

Joshua loved being tucked in close to Daddy's chest.

Story time

Joshua's first bottle. He gets one a day, generally at night, which has been wonderful to allow me to get an extra chunk of sleep. Besides, Dad and Joshua both seem to enjoy the time together.

This was my "one month" birthday present from Dad. It is a book light and a book called "The Geography of Bliss." This is so I can read a little in the middle of the night during a feeding without having to put on a big light and majorly disturb Joshua. Very sweet. Daddy got Joshua a book called "No, no, no little turtles" for Joshua's one month birthday present.

Tummy time was spent following and starring at his little rattle dog.

Happy One month birthday, Joshua!!