Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!! We tried to find turkey-flavored formula, but had to settle for the everyday stuff... :) Our little Turkey celebrated her First Thanksgiving at her Grandma and Grandpa Downing's house in Pendleton and the food was yummy as always! This is a wonderful thing about being born in the fall - lots of 'First Holidays' come right away. Thank you to God-Nana Judy for the spiffy bib! Doesn't she get cuter every day?

As far as 'Firsts' go, Elizabeth's baptism is set for Sunday, December 7th at 1pm. We'd love to have any of you join us for this once-in-a-lifetime special event, so please feel free to call or e-mail for the details if you'd like to come.

Meeting my Extended Family

As each day goes by, Elizabeth has the chance to meet more friends and family and we're so grateful that so many people are interested in getting to know her. Last weekend, her Great Aunt Lisa and Great Uncle Mike came down from Wisconsin to visit and we had a great time! And on Monday, she got to meet her Great-Grammy in Pendleton. That 40 min drive was our farthest journey from home since Elizabeth was born! Its amazing how your world shrinks with a little one...

Elizabeth's First Feast Day!

Today, Nov 17th, is Elizabeth's Feast Day - the feast day for St. Elizabeth of Hungary, her patron saint. While she hasn't quite grasped the significance of the day yet, we're confident she'll grow to appreciate the tradition... (Mom is a huge fan of feast days as was Elizabeth's Great-Grandpa Joe!) She spent her first feast day by blessing her parents and grandparents with an extra 30 minute nap - though we're still praying for the intercession of the patron saint of sleeping babies to bless her excessively since she still isn't much for sleeping. :)

Other recent firsts: Elizabeth had her first real bath in the tub last night now that her belly button is healed. And major news flash - at 3.5 weeks old, we've graduated from premie diapers to newborn. That's our big girl!

Things we've learned about Elizabeth

Well, we are learning about each other every day... and every day gets a little bit easier. Here are a few things we've learned about Elizabeth thus far:

1. They may say you're supposed to sleep on your back, but she'd so much rather be on her side!
2. She sucks on a pacifier so hard, her lips actually turn blue
3. She has the amazing sense to only dirty a freshly changed diaper. Who could possibly go in an old or wet one? :)
4. She really doesn't need much sleep - despite the fact that her parents really do
5. She loves tummy time!
6. Her stomach is like a four-hour alarm clock...
7. We can't wait until her smiles are real - cause they are so darn cute already...

Please keep in touch! We enjoy hearing updates from the outside world (which has now become everything outside our home!!) :)

First Halloween and Other Updates

Well, Elizabeth enjoyed her first Halloween...ok, maybe she didn't realize it was Halloween but she did get dressed up for it anyway. This was also the first night after leaving the hospital where mom, daddy and Lady Elizabeth spent a night together without any other company in the house. Grandma/Grandpa Van Lone have been staying with us to assist with the late nights and mom/daddy are extremely grateful for the help!!

Elizabeth is definitely the center of attention...whether it was during her first photo shoot with AC's tennis friend Liz Kaye or the first visit from Christie and John Wright or meeting her god-father, Matt Bitar and his wife and son, Danielle and Mikey...and of course during her first visit with god-nanna Judy Wihebrink.

See new photos via the following link (scroll to the bottom of the page to see the latest photos):

http://picasaweb.google.com/jdowning782/ElizabethMaryDowning?authkey=VDS6wu9cqxA#

We did go the doc again today and Libby has returned to her birth weight of 6.8 lbs, so she definitely enjoying her meals...no matter if they're at 3:00 pm or 3:00 am. Everything seems to be progressing just as it should, which is great news!!

Thank you for the continued calls/emails/prayers. We're truly blessed with great friends/family.