Damien's First Halloween!

Damien celebrated his first halloween with not one but two costumes. For his daytime activities, Damien sported his little monkey suit (Thank you Alex and Julie). And for the evening where the neighborhood organized a street party and had the street blocked off and everything, Damien sported his warm and fuzzy bear suit (Thank you Oe). Damien loved the bear suit soo much that he passed out in it and slept through the whole party! The block party was enjoyed by Mathias who got to meet a lot of our cool neighbors for the first time. Momma and Damien, joined by friends Katie and David, spent most of the night inside, feeding Damien, handing out candy and watching the Giant's Game (Go Giants!!). A fun first Halloween.

Our little Monkey!

1st Family Halloween Photo!

A close up of the little bear!

Damien Goes to Sacramento

Damien took his first road trip to Sacramento to see his great grandmother Nelda on Friday, October 29, 2010. Damien was a champ and a great traveler, which is good considering he is a Craig and Mom and Dad have many trips planned for him already. He slept the whole way to Sacramento and the whole way back! And while we had lunch and visited with Nelda he was a nice calm boy (for the most part!).

Damien Gets His First Bath

After finally loosing his umbilical cord Damien was cleared for his first full bath. In his great big blue tub (thank you Carlos and Jennifer) Damien enjoyed his first bath on the kitchen counter. Although the look on his face was a mix of confusion, uncertainty and perhaps fear, Damien didn't cry one bit (a sign that we interpret as enjoying the bath)! Damien loves bath time and mom and dad are thankful for that. Since his first bath Damien has had several impromptu baths because of mid-changing potty "accidents" (i.e. spray attacks, etc.). Boys will be boys.

Why the white blanket in the bath you ask? No not a modesty thing, Damien loves to be extra warm like his momma, so the hot wet blanket was to help keep him warm (since part of his body is out of the water in this tub). Now that he is a pro at bath time we no longer need to use the blanket.

Damien Bonds with Papa

Damien is very lucky that his papa is a hands-on dad who is head over heels in love with his little boy. Papa is the diaper dude and handles 90% of the diaper changing (which Damien hates with a passion and screams bloody murder almost every time). Papa loves to cuddle with little D (at all hours thankfully) and helps out with burping (momma can't seem to burp as well) and bottle feeding to give momma a little break. They are quite a pair.

Papa "reading" his first book to Damien.

Papa mastering the Moby wrap.

Papa and little D catching some z's.

Damien Kicks it with the Craigs

After the Kleins came to visit, Damien was visited by uncle Guillaume and Grandpa William, in addition to Grandma Colette and Maurice who returned from Oregon to continue with their amazing pampering of mom and dad (cooking, cleaning, home improvement - it was full service and very much appreciated - Thank you!). It was a full house! Several delicious meals made by Maurice were enjoyed as well as lots of champagne! Damien brought together the entire Craig clan together for the first time since our wedding. It was a special and wonderful time.

Uncle G bonds with the baby bear.

The Craig Boys!

William marvels at his grandson.

The Craigs (from Nicaragua, Chicago and France) with baby Damien.

The Jack of All Trades Maurice preparing one of his delicious meals.

Damien Comes Home!

On Friday, October 15th Damien and Momma are released from the hospital and sent home. Damien gets to try out his carseat (properly installed by Papa) in his new car! Thank you Michael and Pat for the carseat, he likes it (mostly). Damien was a champ and slept all the way home (it was a 5 minute ride!).

Once the Craigs got home they were greeted by quite a welcoming party. Grandma Linda, Grandpa Richard and Aunt Pamela arrived from LA, Colette and Maurice were around for the afternoon/evening before heading to Oregon for a few days and good family friend Jane stopped by for a glimpse. Later that evening the incredibly talented Maurice made quite a French feast for the Craigs and Kleins. Thank you Maurice. Then for the next couple of days the Kleins got to enjoy their grandson while giving Momma and Papa some much needed rest.

Ma - I know you like this hat, but it is too big and I can't see!

Damien is asleep for his arrival to his home.

Grandma Colette enjoys snuggling with her grandson.

Jane meets the fresh from the hospital Damien.

Grandpa Richard (Damien's namesake) is the baby whisperer and gets Damien to snooze so Momma and Papa can catch a few winks of sleep.

Grandma Linda meets Damien at last, she's been eagerly awaiting his arrival.

Grandma Linda is in love.

Warm snuggles in my favorite blanket - it will be in a lot of photos - thank you Ashley Rupp, we all can't imagine Damien's life without it.

Damien loves his deluxe swing, thank you Jeff and Laura

Proud Papa with his little bear.

Damien's favorite spot to sleep, on Momma's chest. Momma's a sucker so he gets to sleep there frequently when he is not pleased with his crib or swing. They say you can't spoil a newborn, and even if you could ...

Damien's Luxurious Stay in the Hospital

After his journey into this world, Damien and parents got to rest and recover for 2 days and nights under the helpful watch of many nice nurses at Alta Bates. Damien was visited by Colette and Maurice (who also brought good food for mom and dad), Jordan, Izabel, Alma and Mariano (who also brought yummy burritos and Guinness beer) and Jenny (who drove all the way up for the birth the night before and missed it by minutes since it went so fast!). Many thanks to all the visitors.

Sleeping in his hospital crib.

I'm too cute!

Alert and showing off my hospital shirt.

Head over heels in love with my little burrito.

Izabel, Mariano, Alma and Jordan (not pictured) visit us in the hospital.

All suited up in street clothes and ready to go home.

Damien Richard Craig Arrives!

So, Baby Craig's due date came and went, and no baby. Momma Craig and her doctor decided that they would do an induction on Wednesday, October 13, 2010 if he didn't come on his own by then, which he didn't. So Wednesday morning Momma and Papa Craig reported to the hospital at 7am, were admitted and got the induction drugs rolling by 9am, and contractions started intensely around 12pm. 9 hours later, with the help of an epidural (that unfortunately stopped being that effective in the final stages) and a record 1 hour of pushing, baby Craig entered this world!

Lorelei and Mathias are please to announce the birth of their son Damien Richard Craig. Damien was born on October 13, 2010 at 9:09 PM. He weighed 9lbs 1oz and was 21.65 inches long.

Momma and Damien meet at last after a long 9 month journey together. It is love at first sight.

And baby makes 3!

Proud papa Craig is immediately smitten with his beautiful son. Papa was an amazing labor coach and kept momma sane in that difficult final hour.

Auburn proudly holding little Damien after coaching and supporting momma during the final pushing stage to get him out. Momma Craig is very appreciative of her support and hopes she is no too traumatized by Momma's yelling, screaming, cursing, etc.

Waiting for Baby Craig

Well, Baby Craig is almost 40 weeks, i.e. fully baked. Due October 9, 2010. Momma Craig is HUGE. Not too surprising given that Papa Craig was over 11 lbs at birth and looked like a 3 month old immediately. Yikes. We're hoping for something a few pounds smaller to start with (especially Momma Craig). Momma Craig is having some mild contractions, but nothing too painful and nothing regular, just getting warmed up I guess. Baby Craig is still passing his monitoring tests with flying colors, he was called a model patient today!

Grandma Colette and her boyfriend Maurice are here all the way from France. They have been cooking delicious meals and cleaning the house for us already, we are so lucky (thank you Colette and Maurice!). Momma Craig is officially on maternity leave as of Friday October 1, 2010. We are all ready and eagerly awaiting Baby Craig's arrival. Momma Craig took Colette and Maurice down to the San Francisco Marina to get some fresh air and some walking in and some tourist shots!

Momma Craig at 39 1/2 weeks.

Momma Craig with the ecstatic and proud Grandma Colette.

Artsy shot of Momma Craig's profile.