Chordy really wants a piece of this super-soft blanket.

We’ve been keeping busy here in the Manning household. I don’t like being cooped up in the house, so after a few days of chillin’ with Karen, I’m ready for some adventures!

Evan and the young gorilla

Back on October 31st, I kept Evan out of preschool and he, Karen and I went exploring at the Franklin Park Zoo! Evan came face to face with gorillas, camels, lions and countless other exciting animals.  Up on Flickr, I’ve got a great set of pictures from the day.  Karen barely even woke up during the trip.  She just chilled out in her carseat/stroller.

We had a fun Halloween.  Evan dressed up as a bear and went door-to-door with Jonathan.  We didn’t have as many trick-or-treaters this year as last. I attribute this to the fact that many of our neighbors up and down the street had their lights off, so the street didn’t seem promising to many of the neighborhood kids.  I took pictures of Evan Bear and Pumpkin Karen, but then I discovered that the memory card wasn’t inserted into the camera properly, so the pictures were never saved.  Since I had to bribe Evan with candy to get him back into his costume for that photo shoot, I haven’t been able to try again.

Karen's First Bath

Another fun thing was Karen’s first bath, which took place on November 2nd.  Evan “helped out” by passing us her towel and providing entertaining commentary.  Since this date, we’ve given Karen two more baths.  They’re becoming more frequent because she has learned how to spit up all over herself (and Mommy, and Daddy and freshly folded piles of clothes.)

Colleen came home for a visit and we had a nice time visiting up in NH. She spent a lot of time with Evan and Karen.  She’s in Colorado now, preparing for a 6 month deployment to Iraq.  We even made it out to a hockey game up in Manchester on Sunday afternoon.

Day by day, Karen is spending more time interacting with us.  Her eyes are currently a dark blue, although we suspect they are going to change colors, as most baby’s eyes do.

At three weeks and one day.

Finally, I would like to share one more picture, taken today, showcasing Karen’s pudgy little cheeks.  She’s pudging up and fitting into her 0-3 month clothes now.  I wouldn’t be surprised if she is more than 8 pounds now, although I always over-estimate the weight of my children.

We are doing well and enjoying each other.  We’re “accepting visitors” now, so if you are local and want to come and hang out, just give a holler.

In this video, you can see a hint of a smile….. probably gas, but she’s apparently dreaming about eating.

Karen has successfully had two bottles. She doesn’t seem to have a problem drinking from one, even if Mommy is in the room, preparing the next day’s bottle.

Here’s a video of the sounds Karen makes.

She’s not smiling yet– that will come in the next few months.  But she spends a good deal of time just sitting around, looking around the room.  She’ll swing her head around if you talk to her… she already loves the sound of her brother’s voice and will focus in on him when he talks to her.

We’re visiting Grandma and Grandpa Knodle. They have a stash of Richard Scarry books from when my older brother was a kid. I loved reading these and my younger brother, Phil, has even gotten an abridged version of “What Do People Do All Day” for Evan. Here’s a picture of Jonathan reading to Evan, which he only agreed to do after I was interrupted from reading when Phil called me. These books are very detailed and can be quite tedious… for us, not Evan.