First Halloween and Hurricane!

David had 2 more firsts last week - a Hurricane & Halloween! Oh, and a growth spurt to get the week started. But we'll get to that :)

First, the hurricane. Sandy came through town Monday, October 29th. When the winds started to howl outside, the 4 of us decided to hunker down in the basement. Here's a pic of our set-up, while we still had the luxury of power - air mattress, check! TV, check! 

If it weren't for the creepy winds upstairs, it was like a fun basement camp out. But around 9:15 our power went out. The noises got creepier and downright scary. Luckily I had 3 weeks of experience feeding & changing diapers, so doing it by light of lantern actually wasn't too bad. Here are some pics I snapped of the little guy through the night & morning (there aren't any windows in our basement, so it stayed pretty dark through the day).

Luckily David seemed completely unfazed by the storm & power outage.
Since our office lost power too, the 3 of us spent the day Tuesday trying to stay warm! We went to the mall along with the rest of the folks without power, got some hot food, then came back and hung out with Franklin (who fared the worst during the storm - he groaned when the power flickered and went off (and when it came back & then went off again, another groan of frustration! ha) and he was on guard throughout the storm, patrolling upstairs and down, checking out all the noisy windows and doors. Poor guy!). 

Since the house was getting pretty chilly, and we weren't sure how long it would take for power to come back, David and I went over to mom-mom and pop-pop's house, while Josh stayed back to man the house & take care of Franklin. Mom-mom was SO excited about the surprise mid-week visit. Look at that face :) 

Our power came back on around 11pm Tuesday night. David and I made our way home Wednesday, where we got things back on track and prepared for Halloween!

Here's David's first Halloween outfit:

He doesn't really look all that psyched about it - which might be why he spit-up and peed on this one. So we went with our back-up outfit & bib:

But even this one didn't make it through the night of trick-or-treaters! Maybe he'll be more excited next year when he'll fit into a real costume :) 

Now back to the growth spurt that started on his 3-week birthday. Saturday the  27th seemed like a normal day... until David started crying for feedings every 30min! It was like his stomach had turned into a bottomless pit overnight. It lasted through Sunday around dinner time, when all of a sudden things turned back to normal. Here's a pic of our little guy (or big guy.. he's now in 3month clothes to fit his long legs!) celebrating football Sunday in an awesome onesie from Aunt Lauren :)

Oh, and we can't forget about bath time! David's cord fell off around 2.5 weeks, so now he gets a 'real' bath vs. just sponge baths. Turns out he loves the water (as long as we keep him nice & warm), and he and mommy do a little baby massage after the bath, which he also loves :) Here are a couple pics with mommy & daddy:

And last but not least, I love this pic and video of David and daddy hanging on the couch. David decided he doesn't need a thumb or pacifier - he's perfectly content suckling on daddy's nose :)

Our Growing Boy

We took David for his 2 week checkup last Tues (Oct 23). He gained 2lbs in the 2 weeks since we've been home! Not a huge shock, given he'd been eating about every 2hrs (about 12 times a day) and producing 10 or so 'dirty' diapers a day (not including the numerous 'open air' accidents :)). Our boy is a big eater! He also grew a big longer, measuring in at 21.75in. At 8lbs 14oz, that puts him at 75th percentile for height and 50th for weight. His head grew a little as well; he's 25th percentile for head size (so much for those ultrasound techs scaring me saying my baby had a big head!). 

Here's a pic of us doing what we do best - hanging in the nursery eating!

And here are a few shots of our big guy just hanging out. Most are just after eating - David's pretty content when he's full, and he makes a million different faces in the span of a couple minutes - definitely one of my favorite times with my boy:

David had lots of adventures during his first 2 weeks home. He had his first sponge bath: 

He went for a walk around the neighborhood with mommy:

And when we mastered that, we added Franklin to the mix!

He went to the mall with me and mom-mom:

And to work to visit daddy, and see mommy's friends (here he is outside of our office's cafe, "Spoon"):

We also had a fantastic day celebrating daddy's 32nd birthday (Wed, 10/24). Josh took the day off of work and we went to Ft Washington State park to enjoy the gorgeous fall weather. We started with a picnic, then went for a nice stroll through the park. Here's a shot of the family :)

David decided he'd sport some Pats gear in honor of daddy's birthday. Then daddy decided to dress to match his boy. I love my boys :) 

I forgot to dress Franklin in a Pats bandana though! Next year... 

Here are a couple more shots doing what they do best - my boys hanging on the couch after daddy gets home from work: 

And that about sums up our first 2.5wks at home :)

David's Bris

On David's 8th day of life - Saturday, October 13th - we celebrated his first mitzvah with family and friends at our home. David's Bris was an amazing day, one that I know Josh and I will remember forever. For those of you, who, like me, may not know much about what a Bris entails, other than it's when Jewish boys get circumcised, you can read more about it at our mohel's website: Berit Mila: A Brief History.

Here's a shot of the dining table all decked out for the festivities:

The first half of the ceremony was when the actual circumcision was performed. Aunt Lauren and Uncle Jason brought David into the room to start the ceremony.

Then Mom-mom and Pop-pop McSorley lit the candles..

And Grandpa Mark helped soothe David with some Manischewitz, which he apparently loved - he could not get enough of it :)

Here's a quick pic of mommy & daddy during the procedure...

It was pretty traumatic hearing David crying while he was having the circumcision done, but we were glad we were there & that he was in very capable hands (thanks Dr. Rawdin!). Here's an 'after' pic of me and Josh..

Haha, sweet relief :)

The second half of the ceremony consisted of David's baby naming, where he officially received his Hebrew name. Josh picked David's name; we wanted a nice, traditional, strong male name, and David fit the bill perfectly :) We both decided on Theodore for his middle name in memory of Josh's grandma Dorothy, who passed away this summer. Dorothy was a force to be reckoned with, and we can only hope that David has been blessed with even just a little of Grandma's spunk and tenacity :)

The Bris ended with Grandpa saying a blessing over the wine, and Nana breaking the challah bread for everyone to share.

Here's the formal certificate David got commemorating the big day:

And here are some shots of our big guy with family after the party:

Quick shout-out to Nana & Grandpa for hosting David's Bris - 

the house looked great & the food was SO good!

Can't wait to add another guy or gal to the McSorley clan in January!

Just like the Lion King :)

Proud mom & dad :)

And our photographer, cousin Jeff :)

Here are a few words that I really liked from the naming ceremony: 

May hearing his name always be a source of joy and happiness. 

May the one who blessed our ancestors, bless this child who has just been circumcised, and keep him from harm. May his parents have the honor of raising him, educating him and loving him for who he is. Grant him health of mind and strength of body. And may he be a blessing to his parents and all the world. 

To our family from the 4 grandparents:

 May they grow together as a family in health and strength, in harmony, wisdom and love. Their home filled with acts of kindness. May we be able to share in the joy of seeing our grandson grow into adulthood, a blessing to his family, his people, and all humanity.

Thanks to everyone for all of your love and support & for sharing in the big day with us! We have a feeling David is bound to do great things - he's definitely already the apple of mommy & daddy's eye :) 

David's Homecoming

On Monday Oct 8th, with David just 2 days old, we left the hospital and headed home, where David would meet his furry big brother Franklin. We pulled up to our house and saw the awesome signs my sister and her husband had put up on our lawn. How awesome is this stork? 

Then it was time for mommy to be reunited with her first big guy..

After a few sniffs and inquisitive licks, Franklin settled right into his role of big (protective) brother. Here he is watching over mom-mom & David:

It's hard for Josh and me not to think back to when we first brought Franklin home almost a year ago. Josh attempted to relive the photo op with David. Here's Franklin's first day with us:

And here's David's:

I'm pretty sure he wore the same sweatshirt on purpose :) 

After we all got acquainted, we headed out for our first official family portrait on the front lawn:

Our family of 3 has easily transitioned to a family of 4 - these guys are gonna be best friends in no time :) 

While I'm pretty sure David won't reach the 75lb mark by his first birthday like his big bro, it is crazy to think how quickly he is going to grow up. I guess it just serves as a reminder to cherish every day we get to spend with him, watching him grow, and to hang on to as many of these little faces as we can :)