Aiden hits the bottle

A few days ago we introduced Aiden to the bottle--and he did great! (Sometimes breastfed babies will refuse the bottle, even when it contains breastmilk. But this kid doesn't care how he gets his food; he just wants to eat!). So...now *Daddy* can get up in the middle of the night to feed the little bugger. Oh, happy, happy day....

Uncle Andrew and Aunt Tracie stop by

Andrew and Tracie came by last Tuesday to see Aiden and have dinner. It is nice to have some family this close (only 1 hour and 15 minutes door to door!). Anyway, we all had a good time and enjoyed delivery pizza from our new favorite place Mt. Washington Pizza (they have pizza, subs and Indian food so you know it must be good). Anyway, I have included some pics from their visit below. The first couple are of Aiden on a "tummy time" surf mat that Andrew and Tracie gave us. Apparently you are supposed to put babies on their tummy at least twice a day to build up their back and neck muscles. So we are not only strengthening little Aiden but also preparing him to have strong positive associations with surfing (Andrew has been all over the world surfing and is eagerly awaiting an apprentice).

What you can't see in the pictures is that Andrew had to change shirts half way through their visit because the little man decided to break in his new uncle by peeing out all over him. I guess you christen new boats with champagne, but new uncles get urine. What you can see from the pics is that these two are naturals....(which reminds me I embedded a subliminal message in this slideshow--see if you can pick it out)

Who does Aiden look like?

There has been quite a bit of discussion on both sides of the family with regard to who our son looks most like, most of it very biased(....I'm looking at you mom). Anyway, I thought that the best way to settle this was to post representative pictures of both Julie and I when we were babies and let you all vote. By the way, I apologize for resurrecting pictures of some of you with haircuts that you wished would have stayed forgotten....Your voting options are:

1. He Looks like Brent!
2. He Looks like Julie!
3. I didn't know you guys adopted!

I made the baby pics into a slide show (Note: this is a web link now), you can click on any of the pictures to get to the whole album or check captions if you are unclear who is who. Please leave your votes in the comments section associated with this post.

Our Nursery

Several people have asked about the murals on the wall of the nursery. I have to admit that we are not responsible (the east coast would have to be awfully magical to raise our artistic ability to this level...especially considering where it was starting). These were actually painted by the former owner of our house, Tara. Tara and her husband Phil were friends of Julie's in college. Every time we came to visit Baltimore we told them how much we loved their place, so when the opportunity presented itself we bought it. Tara is a fantastic artist and painted these murals for the nursery when their first child was born. The paintings are all based on Hans Christian Anderson stories, including: "The Ugly Duckling", "Thumbelina", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", and "The Nightingale" (for a refresher on the plots of those stories click here). Outside the very unique interior design, Tara and Phil are a big reason why our transition to Baltimore has gone as well as it has. They have helped us with everything, including finding a pediatrician, OB, hospital to deliver at, and even advice on how to start this site (thanks again guys!). Anyway, check out the up close pics of the nursery walls below.

nursery

butterflies

Just to get away from the hundreds of baby pics that everyone has been inundated with, here are some pictures that Andrew (Julie's brother) took in our front lawn. They are close ups of the butterfly bush we have next to our front porch...enjoy.

butterflies

Grandma Markham comes to help

Julie's mom came up to Baltimore to help us out for a week or so. It was a tremendous help and we were treated to great dinners every night (That's right Steve, when she leaves the house she does the cooking). Anyway, Aiden was treated to long naps in grandma's arms and a paparazzi-esque flurry of pictures. Check them out below (just double-click on the picture).

grandma markham's visit

Grandma and Grandpa Orr visit

Grandma and Grandpa Orr came out to visit their first grandchild. Poor little guy forgot what the bottom of his crib felt like by the time they left. Anyway, Julie and I had a good time showing off our new house, baby, and place of work. Grandma Orr even offered to babysit so Julie and I could take dad down to Washington Tavern for crab cakes. Somehow, I don't think it was much of a sacrifice for her.

Orrs visit

Aiden's birthday

The big day finally arrived. We headed over to the Greater Baltimore Medical Center (shhhh! don't tell the people at Hopkins I went across town) at quarter to six in the morning. The induction started around 9 am. Everything went great except this little guy decided to come out with the cord wrapped around his neck....twice. Anyway, he is doing great now. Below is a slide show from the big day. Also, as we all got a little picture happy a bigger collection of pics from the first few days in the hospital can be found here (Click me you picture hungry fools)

Our first few days in Baltimore

We weren't able to enjoy too much of the city when we first moved to Baltimore, but we did take the train down to the inner harbor. Here is a collection of pics from our first days in Baltimore. We took a few of the pics from the 22nd floor of the World Trade Center. There is a picture of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the harbor. I also included pictures of my first gift upon arriving on the east coast...my in-laws gave me a creepy raven...you know, for over the crib.

Oh by the way, I wanted to share with you the most fitting description of the weather out here. "like the inside of a dishwasher".

first days in Baltimore

julie pregnant

I know some of you would like to see what Julie looked like with a 8+ pound baby. Here she is in all of her basketball-smuggling glory. By the way, she was displeased that I put these up so be kind in the comment section....I think she looks great.

julie pregnant

Our new home

Some of this stuff is from the recent past.... I guess that I am getting a little ahead of myself by introducing Aiden. First was the big move. Julie and I headed out to Baltimore so that I could start my residency at Johns Hopkins and she could start her new postdoc at University of Maryland Medical School. I know that nearly nobody has been out to Baltimore to see our new place, so I thought that I would try to give you all a quick look.

Our new home

Introducing Aiden

I wanted to introduce everyone to Aiden Edward Orr. He is the little guy below. He was born on July 26, 2007 at 10:31 pm. He weighed in at a stout 8 lbs 5 oz. I am biased, but I think he is a good lookin' fella.

First Post

This is our first post. We started this blog so that all the friends and family that we left in the middle of America could keep up with us now that we are on the east coast. Also, now that we have added a new addition to the family, we wanted everyone to be able to see pics etc. We are new to this blogging stuff so it may be awhile before we are able to add much content.