First Halloween!

Amanda's camera ran out of batteries on Saturday when they were in their costumes, so hopefully they can suit up again tonight and get some good ones. However, here is Veronica as the world's cutest banana to tide you over.



Anyone that is familiar with Amanda's mad banana love (her banana tattoo, her banana parties, her rage when Gwen Stefani's "this shit is bananas" chant took over the airwaves) will not be surprised by the costume choice. And although I wanted her to go as Fay Wray, she actually went as a banana tree... as she did, in fact, grow said banana. Cute!



This is me with V, engaged in one of my favorite activities - trying to nibble on her. Look at her taunt me with those long, precious legs! What a nibble tease.



Here's Veronica with one of her best friends and regular visitors, Sarah Bosco, who also KNIT her this amazing little hat! Too cute for words, not that I won't keep throwing words at it...



For real, look at it! She did such a good job, I love that the little ears are white inside. Plus, (although Amanda will hate me for mentioning this because they've been having small nursing trauma and she's worried V is gaining too much weight too quickly)... I love the Winston Churchill look she's been sporting lately! Those cheeks and that second chin are my favorite things to nibble on!



So like any girl who wants to deflect attention from her chubby face, Veronica will now entice you with the slender perfection that is her foot. Chomp chomp, yum! They look so sweet and pristine next to Shivon's rad ink here, too.



I'm putting this picture in for posterity because Amanda's totally perfected a new burping technique; she bounces V like a bottle of soda pop, and then plops her forward to tap on her back. Amanda also demonstrated this technique at a little Mom Gang she got jumped in on yesterday, what a star.



And now for the unending cuteness to see you through your day... could you just inappropriately squeal in the workplace with the adorableness of it all?! Kathleen put her in this little get-up and then hid her body under a blanket to surprise Amanda with, for a shock of preciousness.

Trick or treat!
Drea

The Visitors

As we approach Halloween, I'm keeping with the spooky theme... but that's not the only reason for the title of today's post. It's also because it's time to do a little catch-up with all of the people who have been visiting Veronica!



That's V with her friend Erin... look how comfy her little nakey body is! Veronica's, not Erin's. Ahem.



Here she is with Carlos, all chill and sleeping and whatevs. She feels safe wherever, can you imagine that feeling??



Margarette is rightly holding V up to these gorgeous flowers because they are so lovely (like V) and smell pretty (like V... sometimes).



I love when the demeanor of the holder inspires a similar facial reaction in Veronica - look how much energy Erica brings with her! They are both transfixed with each other, so cool.



This picture with Gene is rad because he looks both super comfy and protective and then also strangely worried like he thinks he might drop her. Come on, man! You have the world's mightiest forearms, she's never been safer!



You'll note a recurring theme to these pics which is Veronica Loves to Sleep. On People. (Well, she loves to sleep and people can't resist holding her, so it works out nicely!) That one is her and her friend Monica.



Of course, she has her moments of Squirm and Drain* (anyone?)... anyway, although she's typically the World's Most Perfect Baby, she is growing and expressing and right now that often takes the form of some frustrating (for her) talky-cries. As a girl who loves her verbiage, I truly feel her pain.... long story short, don't hold Peyton responsible for the face Veronica is pulling above!



You can tell here, in her picture with Susan, that our weather is fluctuating a bit - however, it's been crazy warm lately, which is probably better for the baby than cold. Or maybe that's just my (Minnesota-born-and-raised) bias... I hate the cold!



This is Shantalle, Amanda's doula, and her little boy Sage with Veronica - so many fun future boyfriend options!

Drea

* Squirm and Drain = dorky pun for Sturm und Drang (the conventional translation is "Storm and Stress"), the name of a movement in German literature taking place in the late 1760s, in which extremes of emotion were given free expression in response to the confines of rationalism imposed by the Enlightenment and associated aesthetic movements.

Bringing the nerd since 1976!

Ladies Who Lunch

Amanda and Veronica had their first big solo outing today! (This picture is from last week, but now you can just imagine them in a restaurant, can you not?!) It's exciting to think of our two girls hitting the town together... although it's also funny to think of a few weeks ago when they went out with Kathleen, and Amanda needed to take Veronica back to the car and partially ran her down the street (carrying her in her arms, shading her face) without her stroller... so basically, she looked like a total baby thief.



Think today went much smoother, thankfully. (Not as funny, but smoother.) Now I know that all anyone in the whole entire world wants to see right now is pictures of Veronica at Halloween (it's true - the entire world wants it!) but I don't have them yet, so you need to chill the hell out. However, I can tide you over with some seasonally appropriate images of horror: the official Pick Line 2007 shots, of Amanda's thread-to-her-heart that was taken out last week.



Boooo! Oooooh, scary... this went all the way To Her Heart, people! I only want my heart touched when it's an extended Hallmark commercial doing sweeps, you know?



Here's a last one of the little Princess Smushage in her car seat to cleanse your ocular palate.



Kiss the face! Kiss the face!

Drea

The Icks

Let's start with the cuteness, I think this photo rivals any Renaissance mother-and-child painting I've ever seen. It's such a classic, Veronica will always have it in a frame near her and someday she'll take it to her dorm room where she and her friends will marvel over how tiny they once were (and how Veronica's tattooed mom is CLEARLY so much cooler than their pleated-khaki-pant wearing mothers, no offense to Those Who Love Pleats or Gidget).



And for some good news: Amanda got her pick line out! That was the gnarly but health-helping tube that went through her arm, threaded her body and ended at her heart. We never took any better pictures of it (partially because Saucy, one of our main photographers, is skeezed out by all things needle related), but here's one for reference.



So it's out and that's great, although Amanda's found out she has to have surgery on the wrist that troubled her during pregnancy - she's going to wait for a little while, though. And continuing with the health-and-wellness theme of this posting is the news that our sweet Veronica has her first cold, with some sniffles and troubling lung noises. Was inevitable, I suppose, but it's hard for Team Gore to hear - oh, the things that are out of our hands!



I think once she kicks that and all the nursing issues get sorted, all will be settled. Or she'll be in kindergarten. We'll see how long it lasts! Amanda also was alone with the baby for the first time last week (lucky girl), when Amber was at work and Kathleen went home to check on her house (hope the fires stay away from Home Base, mama!). All went well, we're happy to report.



I'm so happy Halloween is almost here because I got a preview of Veronica's costume a few weeks ago and I promise you will all squeal like you've never squealed before!

Drea

One Month Old!

Yesterday was the one month birthday of Veronica (going by the 21st; her Four Weeks of Life was on Friday). Either way, can you believe it's been that long? To remind you of that day, here are some pictures (from Stacy Millmeister and Chet Cort) of V's First Day of Life, in keeping with the vernacular!



That first pic is to tide you over with the cuteness... it was a looooong day for those of us lucky enough to be there, clamboring outside the nursery window in expectation as if Meshach Taylor was playing Hollywood and creating some amazing display. (Bonus points if you got the Mannequin reference, unless you're Rodney because I already know you'll get it).



And then she was born! So Chet got to wheel the Veronica goodness out, and Amanda got to stay in surgery, watching a group of strangers give puzzled looks to the insides of her body that were now on the outside. And then try and shove said insides back... in.



After many, many annoying hours, they finally put Amanda back together and then brought together mama and baby! It's like post-modern Goldilocks with those two; they fit just right.



Then auntie Amber and grandma Kathleen came in to admire, and Team Gore had all its components in place for the very first time. It's like "Wonder Twins, activate!", but without the magical rings. Or, um, powers. That you KNOW about, anyway...



So that was it! The day Veronica was born! "I'm Veronica Stanley Gore from Silverlake, California! Arrigato!"



(Do you love how those syllables perfect match my pageant introduction, Team Gore? Do you???) So glad Veronica's been born, and that we're one month safely in... can't wait to see what happens in the months and years to come!

Drea

Sleepy Friday

Okay, I wanted the title to rhyme with "Freaky Friday" (mostly because I love that movie), but "Sleepy Friday" is as good as I could do. However, I have some perfect sleepy-ish pics of Veronica to illustrate the point!



Too good, right? They set this little rocker up in the front yard, so she can be outside and getting her earth-girl on, but still protected from the sun. (By the way, I re-read that as "set this little rocker up" like Veronica is the little rocker, which is rather apt when you think of her mama... also, I can see a lot of Amanda in her little face above!)



As you can see here, with Veronica being so wee and perfect and the rocker being so low, the foliage at her eyeline probably appears to her like she's in a jungle! Or maybe that's just me; I kind of like the idea of her thinking the world in her direct vicinity is exotic and all encompassing...



Kathleen told us when she was first born (and not just V but all babies have this), her eyesight was pretty much the exact distance from her face to boobs when feeding. It's been fun watching her respond to visual stimuli that's a little further away (visual stimuli?! I sound like the Science Guy but without the qualifications!)... anyway, now when you hold her on your knees it seems like she's looking at you, and unless your knees are reeeeeeaaallly tall, than it means she's seeing more than a boob's length.



Don't you just look at her and want to scoop her up? I know, I know. I'm like Godzilla and Veronica is this tiny version of Tokyo, I just invade her peaceful moments, pick her up and smoosh her with monster-like kisses.



Monster kisses, monster kisses! Come on, right?! My apologies to Baby V (and my girl Amanda and the rest of Team Gore), as I've been overcome with sniffles and therefore keeping my distance this week... which sucks. I hope to terrorize you all again soon!

Drea

World Is Her Oyster

As previously mentioned, Veronica is slowly getting out and about more (typically courtesy of wheelie devices and/or her mama). Here's a picture of the Great Silverlake Walk from this weekend, with Amanda and Ernie.



Although Amanda is totally PUNK ROCK, her upper arm wrap here is actually a gift from Rodney, it protects the gnarly shunt that weaves through her veins. We'll get a closer pic of that later on, so everyone can glory in the House/ER/Quincy M.E. medicalness of it, although you can see it a bit better here on their outing to the grocery store.



I think it's cool, that integration of the perfect homey bubble that is currently in place at Willoughby Manor and the unexplored expanse of the Real World, which will all open up to Veronica. Apparently some Bad Word of a stranger came up to Amanda to ask how old V was, and then declared that she was "far too young" to be out. Well, a) that Bad Word is lucky I wasn't there to remind her where to keep her opinions and b) there's no time like the present to teach a baby about the importance of exotic herbs and spices.



As mentioned yesterday, The Dave King came this weekend and I finally got this picture uploaded, which is too good... he said since he was really in town to visit Amanda, then it was Amanda he wanted to hold like a baby. Excellent. God knows the rest of us just shove Amanda to the side in a rush to see V. I mean, I've practically taken her out at the knees before.



And here is a great picture of my FAVORITE new development with Team Gore: the protective instincts of Chester. After initially wondering what was up with the sleeping bump in the living room that got everyone so excited, each day he becomes more protective of Veronica. When Amanda changes her, Chester nuzzles in right at their feet and now he's always aware of where she is and likes to sleep near her. Love it!



Snuggly all over the place...

Drea

American Gladiator

Sorry for the delay in posts, but it will be worth your wait when you see the cuteness contained within! Veronica is growing like a weed (an adorable, kissable weed) and her neck muscles could put Arnold Schwarzenegger to shame. (Actually, I can think of a multitude of things that should introduce a little shame to Arnold, but I'll leave that out of this.)



She's a champion! She's a gladiator! Along with all this strength is a belly that's nicely filling out - when I arrived yesterday, Amanda and Kathleen were very excited to show me her rounded tummy. No more skinny/sexy baby like Anna Nicole would've liked! So healthy and gorgeous.



All that strength, however, doesn't mean that she isn't a girl who loves her naps... and sometimes the best resting spot is right on Grandma's chest. Sigh...



After starting life curled up in a ball, Veronica now kicks out her lovely dancer legs whenever she can. I love this picture, how Carol is cradling her little feet! So happy and protected, that baby.



This is Jeffrey, he's one of the Unicorns that owns Willoughby Manor II (aka Amanda's house)... you can tell he's got a little baby of his own, as he has the perfect hold going here. And look at Veronica's eye contact with him! It's like a portal to another dimension, for reals.



This is sweet and lovely Sarah Bosco, back for another sampling of Veronica - Sarah was a great hospital visitor and is clearly as comfortable as any other guests that inspire sleeping in V!



Joining the rotating Hold Veronica As Long As You Can Before Someone Else Steals Her Away Brigade is Marnie! Don't let the flash on the skull throw you off, I still stand committed in my belief that Veronica is going to have some glorious tresses.



Two things: 1) how perfect and mushable are Veronica's little baby lips? 2) is it too early to start planning prom outfits for V and Lazlo? It probably is, right?



Amanda's friend (or BFF, Best Friend Forever, as I like to obnoxiously insist to him because he looooooves it), Dave King, came to visit this weekend. This was as close as he got to the baby, but she's got so much karmic goodness floating around her that it ain't no thang. Plus, that little pink Boppy seat she sits in is pimped out like you wouldn't believe - it can simulate a heart beat and make ocean sounds and probably create a peace treaty for Jerusalem or something.

All in all, a good weekend and Amanda and her Pops, Ernie, even took Veronica out in the stroller and walked around the Silver Lake reservoir for awhile!

Drea

America's Next Top Baby Model

Saucy (Sarah Brown for any of you that might ever require professional photography) brought her ninja camera over to Willoughby Manor again the other night and took some really cool pictures of Veronica. This first one absolutely kills me, and even Tyra would agree that she looks "fierce".



Look at those eyes, and how much soul she already has! Most kissable little wad of babyness anywhere, I'm telling you.



I love her gnawing on her hand, and wonder if she'll be a thumb sucker (I was, for years and years... and um, You Are Welcome for that knowledge).



This is the flip side of the Gore onesie that Amber made, with the sparkly cupcake. So cute! And although they visited the other day, Amanda's lovely neighbors did instigate the first known usage of the "hug-and-pass" technique, so they've made the cut.



One last little image of her sweet, sweet face... don't you just want to nibble on it? In a good way, of course.



That's all for today!

Drea