Oh, wow!

What a week!

Nina is recovering from an ear infection, and Dawning graduated from nursing school!

As Nina likes to say, "Oh, wow!" (see video below)

Around the sun... ONCE!

Dear blog readers,

As you may know, Nina turns ONE YEAR OLD today!

She made it all the way around the sun... one time!

Of course, she couldn't have done it without your love and support.

We, her parents, would have liked to have thrown her a giant bash, and to have invited you all. For a variety of reasons, it was just not possible.

We may attempt such a bash in her honor this summer - stay tuned!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NINA!

Love to you all,

Brian & Dawning

PS: In case you hadn't guessed, these photos were taken in April, 2010 and April, 2011.

Will the real Nina Zinn please stand up?

I think this video pretty much speaks for itself.

Cue the music from '2001: A Space Odyssey'.

Clapping and Splashing

Nana Jones bought Nina this little walker - we call it the "Boo-Boo-Mobile." Nina can really travel around in it (and get into all kinds of trouble)! She still loves to scoot on the floor, too... ALMOST crawling (more like dragging herself and wriggling all over).

Nina is also learning to do new things with her hands. Her babysitter, Martiza, taught her how to clap, and just the other day she discovered the joy of splashing in the tub (see video).

Ready to Crawl?

Here's a treat: little Boo Boo, just chillin' on the bed, giggling and being cute... then pushes herself up on all fours! Not yet crawling, but so close!

Learning new things every day!

Blog readers! Long time no post. A thousand pardons.

The good news is that our little Boo Boo is doing really well. It seems like she's learning new things every day. Try to give her a bottle, and she grabs it with both hands!

She can't quite crawl yet, but she gets around. She scoots, rolls over, and even pushes herself backwards. In the first video below, you can see she's got some serious strength in her little body.
In the second video, she's learning to make a silly sound with her lips. At the very beginning and end of the clip she's nailing it!

Enjoy!

Who's a Boo Boo?

WARNING: This is a very silly video. We got home late (meaning 10pm) from a friend's birthday party, and Nina was in a mood to laugh. Dawning got her going, and Daddy pressed 'record'.

Mommy's silly words, Nina's laughter, and and a serious case of hat-head make for quality entertainment.

Who needs television?

Kicking and squealing

Another hilarious video.

Nina kicking and squealing.

Amazing to see how tall she's getting!

Enjoy.

On strike!

Last week Nina started a bottle strike - she just flat-out refused to take a bottle, and would only eat from the boob. Try to give her a bottle, and she screams, kicks, and spits. Needless to say, it's been a huge pain in the you-know-what.

So, after yesterday's visit to the doctor, we decided to try solid foods. This video shows Nina eating solid food (rice cereal + breast milk) FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. As you can see, she did REALLY well - she figured out how to open her mouth and slurp that food off of that spoon!

This is a very exciting development, for a lot of reasons. The least of which is our new day care situation (she's going two days a week so that mommy can work). Last week Nina screamed and cried (and slept) the whole time - refusing to eat. Hopefully, now that she can be spoon-fed, she'll have a better time (of course, she'll still get most of her calories from breast-feeding).

Oh yeah, and the doctor reports that Nina is growing and developing wonderfully. She's 14 pounds, 3 ounces and 23 inches tall!

Nina finds her voice!

Hey blog readers. We have here some super-cute pictures of Nina. One with her mommy, the other with her cousin Ryan. As you can see, her little face is already quite expressive.

Stay tuned, 'cause our next post will feature pics of Nina with her grandmothers.

At the bottom, we present a video of Nina "talking" to mommy. Yes, little Nina is starting to find her voice.

Enjoy!

Nina in Ohio

We had a great trip to Cleveland (actually, Twinsburg) Ohio this weekend. Nina got to meet her grandpa Jones and his wife, Cenellia!

She's getting more alert and aware every day. Everyone got a kick out of her cute face and little antics. Several friends and neighbors stopped by to see Nina (it turns out she has a pretty serious fan base in the Twinsburg area).

Next stop for the little traveler is Portland (in November) to see the other side of her family!

This last photo her is from a few weeks ago, but it's just so cute I have to post it!

Reaching and Grabbing!

Another first for Nina!

Yesterday, for the first time in her life, Nina was looking at something, then reached and grabbed it!

In this case, it was a sock-puppet doll that we laid down next to her in her little crib. She studied it's face for a long time, then slowly, and with a lot of flailing around, sent one of those little hands over to its face. After a few tries, she actually grabbed onto one of the puppet's eyes. Go Nina!

Below, we have a video that we think you'll find hilarious. It's Nina, sitting in her little automated swing (although it's not switched on). Once again, she's a girl of a 1,000 faces! You're going to want to crank up the volume on your computer for this one - her little noises (and one little noise toward the end, in particular) are hilarious.

And here's Mommy and Nina on an Amtrak train! They left NYC this morning headed for Vermont for the NICU reunion!

Sadly, Daddy had to stay behind to finish up some projects - last chance before the end of summer!

Stay tuned, blog readers!

Nina at 30,000 feet

We're back in NYC after a week in the smokey mountains of North Carolina!

Nina, it turns out, is a GREAT traveller (like her mom). She slept and nursed on the plane, and didn't seem bothered by take-off, landing, changes in air pressure, or any of it. Actually, the worst part for her was car rides - being strapped into that car seat!

Needless to say, it was great to get out of the city for a week. Everyone needed a little fresh air, and some much-needed rest.

22 inches tall!

Hey there, blog readers!

So, we went to the doctor yesterday, and it's all good news: Nina is 9 pounds, 11 ounces - she gained exactly two pounds since our last visit one month ago!

And she's about 22 inches long!

Not only that, but something has really clicked between her eyes and her brain - the girl loves to make and hold eye contact (seen in picture 1 here).

The other day we took a lovely trip upstate to visit with some of Nina's NY family. In this picture you see Nina being held by her GREAT-grandmother! Amazing!

Finally, we show you one of Nina's new favorite things: smiling. Yes folks, when the tummy is full, and the gas has passed, and the mood is right, this girl really likes to throw some smiles around.

Tomorrow, we're off to spend a week with friends in North Carolina.

Stay tuned!

She's growing!

Blog readers!

It's been a long time, but know that little Boo Boo is doing wonderfully.

She's growing!

First, she's up another diaper size!

Second, she's holding her head up longer and longer these days - she LOVES to be held facing outward so she can look all around.

And here's some good news for her parents: she has gotten in the habit of sleeping at night! For several nights in a row, she's only gotten up twice to eat. Last night she only got up once!

Stay tuned...

Alert and awake

Nina continues to get bigger! We'll know her precise weight this Friday when we visit the doctor, but Mommy and Daddy have a bet about how much over 7 pounds she is now.

Regardless, there is no doubt that the girl is growing! She continues to be an eating (and pooping) machine.

Lately she has longer 'awake and alert' spells. Her new favorite thing is to stare at things in her environment. Below we have a little video of her doing just that.

Nina gets plenty of stimulation. She has great music to listen to, books that Mommy and Daddy read to her, daily walks in the neighborhood, and more and more visitors coming by to meet her.

She's a busy girl, but she still spends most of her time eating or napping.

Daddy's Day!

Today is Daddy's first Father's day! Yay!

It started with homemade blueberry pancakes with raspberry jam (yum!), and continued with reading the Sunday NY Times, cuddling with little Boo Boo (see an index of all of her nicknames below), and watching the World Cup.

Around mid-day, we gave Nina a bath. In this video, you can see how chubby she's getting!

Nina's nicknames (currently) include:

Ninaz, Little Sweetie, Sweetiekins, Boo Boo, Stinky, Hungry, Monkey, and Love Bug

The Many Faces of Nina

Nina got to meet her Nana yesterday! Nana held her for a long time, and they got to know each other.

Nina is getting bigger and stronger by the day. She nursed yesterday in the evening for almost two and a half hours straight!

Mommy and Daddy are still unpacking (it ain't easy!), and we REALLY appreciate the help we've gotten from friends who have come by to bring us groceries, cook us meals, help put up shelves and unpack boxes. WE LOVE YOU!

Finally, we leave you with a hilarious video perhaps best titled, "The Many Faces of Nina." She's just waking up from a nap, and has a minor case of the hiccups. Enjoy!

This girl likes to eat

Nina saw her pediatrician on Friday. He said she's doing great!

Today she saw the opthamologist. He says her eyes are fully mature, and show no sign of retinopathy.

Yay!

This afternoon the visiting nurse stopped by.

She wrapped Nina up in a blanket to weigh her (she used a scale with a hook that went through the knot).

Cute, huh?

Turns out Nina is about 6 pounds, 10 ounces!

She gained almost a pound in one week!

Actually, it's not surprising given how much this little girl likes to eat!

Settling in...

Blog readers!

Nina, Mommy, and Daddy are settling into their new digs.

We're receiving the occasional visitor (see little Q there kissing Nina's foot), and working on getting some sleep.

You can see the boxes piled up in the background... it's gonna be a while before we're able to completely unpack.

But we love the new apartment! It's MUCH cleaner and nicer than our old place. We have brand new bamboo floors, lots more sunlight, and access to the roof!

Nina is an eating machine. In this video, she's doing her pre-eating squirm routine.