The honeymoon is done

My two weeks of paternity leave (i.e., only very, very little work :-) is now over. Tomorrow work begins again full steam with a 8am meeting. It has been a very good two weeks - our little princess has been behaving nice and it has been almost like a holiday, with an added bonus of getting to spend time with a new person. Very much like a honeymoon, actually, except for the fact that it was spent home.

Progress into normal life has been good! Friday was the big day of introducing Emilia to the mainstay activity of American born princesses - shopping (got to keep the economy rolling, right?). We visited Target and Trader Joe's with Emilia sleeping tightly through all the commotion. As a reward, she got a new pack of diapers. Another very big milestone was achieved yesterday when Marko was visiting and we went for a lunch in a restaurant. Despite quite some oohs and aahs from the staff, the lady kept her cool through the meal - again sleeping soundly all the way back home. Perfect!

It looks like she is picking some first skills and quite some idea of surroundings. She just loves feeding, and she knows when it is going to happen. Screaming stops and a smilish expression appears on her face when she is put to her mom's laps for immediate feeding. Smart girl. Also, on the feeding area, she definately knows already how to put her own hands into her mouth when feeding time is approaching and she feels like chewing some sleeve.

On the "I absolutely hate this" list are most things related to diaper change and getting dressed. What a violation it is to put arms into sleeves! Man.

On the list of "I have not yet decided, but this is so weird that I blankly stare at the wall without screaming" is taking a shower. (No, we do not yet put her into the shower, but as the umbilical cord is gone, she can take bath - and definately needs because there is milk all over the place. All. Over. The. Place.)

On the list of "this is the best thing in the world - even better than eating (when I am not substantially hungry)" is listening to dad play the piano. My biggest fan! It seems that Bon Jovi goes down particularly well, either on piano or sang as a lullaby. We have a rocker in the family!