Boston’s Freedom Trail

Ok so this title is a little misleading, as less than half of these pictures are from our trip to Boston.  But there you have it.

This picture was taken on June 19th at around 11PM after I got home from work. I printed a copy the next morning to give to my boss to take back to show off to everyone at the office. Jeez… you’d think I was proud or summat

June 20, 2008

June 22, 2008

June 29, 2008 – These pix were taken after his first trip to church. The girls holding him are his aunts Stephanie and Melissa. In the picture with Stephanie you can vaguely see a caricature of a very pregnant Diana I did for her as a Mother’s Day Gift.

July 1, 2008 – Playing with the boy

July 3, 2008

July 13, 2008 – His first real bath

July 15, 2008 – A very tasty oreo cheesecake that Diana made and I helped her eat… and the other two are of a certain adorable little boy

July 17, 2008 – Ok here are the ones from Boston.  The first one was taken in the courtyard between Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market.  After that we went on a walking tour of the Freedom Trail so we saw a bunch of old historic sites including Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, the old State House (in front of which the Boston Massacre occured and President Washington later addressed the city), the Old North Church (where Paul Revere hung the signal lamps), and several other cool places… we didn’t really take any pictures of those.  But I’ve seen em and there are plenty of pictures to be had at websites all over the net!  The next several pictures were taken at a public fountain/pool that was on the way to the USS Constitution, which happens to be the oldest commissioned warship in the world, still afloat on her own.  We stopped by and played in the water cause it was quite hot out. It was very refreshing and soon all the little kids were thoroughly soaked (except Buckley who thought the water was too cool for his liking).

The last three are of us while waiting for a tour to start at the Constitution. FYI Amanda is the little one crouching on the thinger at the fountain.  Christie is the one striking a pose.  And in the pic of the three girls holding Buckley they are Michelle, Christie, and Stephanie.

July 20, 2008 – Buck asleep on his Boppy – which is not designed to be a pillow, but is meant to be wrapped around mother’s middle while she is feeding to help prop up the baby to a more convenient chest-level.  He seems to like hanging out in it though.

July 23, 2008 – Diana and Buckley

Some more of the little guy we love so much

These were taken on Father’s Day 6/15/08. What a Father’s Day Gift! They say that babies can’t smile on purpose at this young age, but instead are just figuring out how to use their facial muscles along with the rest. While that may be so, it makes you wonder when he puts on a serene, beaming smile just after being told how adorable he is and kissed on his beautiful cheeks. If the doctors are wrong (don’t tell anyone I even brought up that possibility) just on the off-chance that they change their minds a few years from now, it might be said that he smiled for the first time on Father’s Day.

These pictures were taken on Tuesday 6/17/08. He’s such an adorable little character. He really likes cuddling with his mother after eating. It’s so cute when he’s done. He lets go, pulls himself away, presses his lips together so there’s no mistake that he’s done, then lays his head on her chest and is fast asleep within minutes.

And finally these pictures were taken this morning 6/18/08, while he was still asleep. Last night, he would wake up whenever we tried putting him in the bassinet, so we just laid him between us in bed and both snuggled him. Except for waking a few times for quick feedings, he slept through the night!

We’ll post some more videos soon.

Buckley’s Birth

On Sat., 14 June 2008, at 5:24 AM, Buckley Daniel Harty was born. Buckley is his first name for at least three reasons:

• It is his paternal grammie’s maiden name
• we have a handful of friends named Buck or Buckley, and they are all cool people in their own right
• we just really like the name, since it’s unusual but not totally made-up and random

Daniel, likewise was given for three reasons:

• He is named after Diana’s brother Daniel (who alternatively goes by Dan or Danny depending on who you ask)
• Daniel the Biblical prophet and exemplar of faith and courage
• the name means “God is my Judge”

Buck weighed 8 lbs and 7 ounces and was 20″ long (thereabouts).  Though the pictures don’t show it, I caught him making a face that shows that he has two dimples.  He doesn’t have any birthmarks that we’ve noticed as yet.  Keep in mind that most of these pictures were taken in the first few minutes after he was pushed cold, scared, and screaming into this world. He’s usually very calm and only cries when he feels a grave injustice is being done to him (such as when someone attempts to steal the diaper he has just managed to make his own, or un-swaddles him leaving him exposed to the biting cold). He is an adorable, very calm little guy most of the time. Now, on the second day, he is much more alert and will sit contentedly making little cooing noises with his big gray eyes opened tentatively when the lights are low.