Go Red Sox!

When I first discovered I was pregnant, Mike was out of town for work and returning in 3 days. So I quickly jumped online and had 2 Red Sox onesies shipped to our place so I could surprise him with the news when he got home. I remember the rush-job order ended up costing me far more in shipping than the onesies but it was worth it.

The first of 2 outfits is now making its debut. And although it's a little big on her, here is little Miss Eloise sporting her first Red Sox gear and cheering loudly for her favorite team. Go Red Sox! Beat Baltimore! Red Sox Nation is proud of it's newest, and likely youngest, member - and so are her Mommy and Daddy!

 

Whitewater Park Outings

For the past two days, I've taken Eloise to the Whitewater Park here in Charlotte for little afternoon outings. Yes, we're now mobile! And I have to say, Charlotte really lucked out when they scored the locale for the US National Whitewater Center. This place is so super cool. They even hosted the Olympic Trials here last year.

Yesterday, Mike joined us and rode his bike on the trails while Eloise and I enjoyed some quiet time under a tent watching the rafts and kayaks go by. Actually, little Miss Eloise enjoyed an afternoon nap as the rapids turned out to be the perfect white noise for her to get some ZZZs.

Today, we returned and met Erika and Gavin there and had another great afternoon. We plan on making this a weekly voyage as it's the perfect place to enjoy the great weather and see some pretty cool rafters, kayakers and those zooming by on the zip line up above.

Cute shots

We've been taking lots of baby pics over the last few weeks. Here's a collection of some of the cute ones.

Spending time with Daddy

Wooden letters

Forgot to post the pics of Eloise's name in wooden letters. Of course, this was another Etsy.com purchase.

Cruisin'

Birth announcement

Today, Miss Eloise makes her mass media debut with her birth announcement in the Jamestown Post-Journal (circulation: 13,500).

VAIL - To Michael and Allison (Reed) Vail of Charlotte, N.C. in Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, N.C., on June 11, 2009, a daughter, Eloise Claire Vail. Grandparents are Richard and Sara Vail of Lakewood, N.Y., Judy Reed of Charlotte, N.C. and Bob Reed of Bloomington, Ind. Paternal great-grandmother is Winifred Vail of Lakewood, N.Y.

The Lakewood Vails

This past weekend, Eloise enjoyed a visit from her Grandpa and Grandma Vail from Lakewood. They drove 10 hours one way to meet the little nugget and see her for the very first time. Although the weekend was hot (30 degree difference for the Lakewood Vails), we took some walks around the neighborhood and spent lots of time together on the front porch.

 

Our new 7am

7am is a little different for us now with little Miss Eloise. This used to be about the time I'd arrive at work and begin my morning ritual of reading the papers and getting mortgage industry news online. Around this time, Mike would typically be getting in the shower, letting Jack out one last time, and heading off to work himself. Now, with the arrival of our little girl, we see 7am a little differently.

Come to find out, the back of our house enjoys a beautiful sunrise each morning and I only finally discovered this while feeding the nugget and looking down the hallway and seeing the light pouring in the windows. So of couse I think, what a perfect backdrop for another Eloise photo shoot.

Happy Father's Day!

Spa day

To celebrate Eloise's first week birthday, we decided to treat her to a day at the spa. Only the best for Little Miss Eloise. Ok, so it was just her first bath and nail trimming but you know how I tend to exaggerate things. So during spa day, Miss Eloise enjoyed a mani, a pedi and a spa bath. Afterwards, she was bundled up in her special, and really beautiful spa towel hand made by Kimmy G.

 

Today's glamour shot

Jack

This week has been filled with so much emotion.

Today we had to make the extremely painful decision to put Jack down. We learned from our hospital room just yesterday that Jack’s cancer had returned. He broke his leg at the vet on Saturday while playing. They ran tests and it was uncovered that the bone was severely weakened from the returning cancer. The break was bad enough that the only option was amputation. After further screening and more tests, it was clear that the cancer had spread and Jack was given only a short time to live where he would have endured considerable pain.

The terrible and tragic irony of losing one baby as we bring a beautiful one into this world will never be lost. We’ll never forget the day we picked Jack up from the rescue. We’ll never forget selecting his name and sharing with everyone that we were getting a beautiful brindle, four-legged baby.

Enjoying seven wonderful years with Mr. Jack-o-Lantern has been the most fulfilling and loved of our lives. He challenged us with his anxiety and his chronic blind eating incidents, but it never mattered. He was The Lantern and we loved him for every bit of joy he brought to our lives each and every day.

We will miss our baby and our friend. We’ll remember today as a day when Jack met Miss Eloise for the very first time. We believe he has passed along the torch.

We love you Jack. You will always hold a very special place in our hearts.

Love, Allison and Mike

More pics of Ellie

And to see many more pics of Ellie, click here.