Bobby's First Month

Well, Bobby is almost one month old.  He has a few tricks- eating, sleeping, pooping, crying-- and maybe...just maybe smiling. We are still unsure if it is a real smile.  But here's what he's been up to:

Testing his vocal chords:

Enjoying his cozy hospital bed:

Lovin' his new patio furniture (and his Mom):

Gettin' a little snarky:

Helping his Dad grade IB essays:

Refusing to sleep anywhere but his carseat:

Looking just like his Dad- Kate who?

Having coffee at his favorite place- Cafe du Village- he even got a free coffee for being born (and he was nice enough to give it to his Mom!):

Breaking free from his swaddle-- all the time:

Rolling his eyes at his Mom's jokes:

Cheering for the birth of his future wife (as long as she brings a good dowry) Eliza Kahle Jones:

Learning how to kick...and kick and kick- and it seems as though he's gonna be tall with those long legs and big feet:

Soaking up the love from his proud Pops:

And...gettin' jiggy wit it:

Welcome Robert De Filippis Branch!!!

Bobby Branch is here!!  Here is the happy new family:

Here he is with his Gran-Nanne who arrived literally in the nick of time (as I went into labor right when the driver was texting Mike that it was time to head to the airport to pick Gran-Nanne up! Luckily our friend Alison jumped in the van and found her at the airport!!).  Here she is meeting her grandson for the first time:

Bobby's name comes from our families.  He has great uncles on both sides with the name Robert-- one of whom, Bobby McKenna, is still alive and promising baby sitting services as we speak.  (HA!) In addition, his Gran-Nanne's maiden name (Kate's mom) was Roberts.  The De Filippis of his middle name comes from the last name of his Italian Great-Grandmother (Mike's Grandmother)-- we wanted something Italian since Mike and I met and were married in Rome.  We gave him the last name Branch because McKenna-Branch seemed hard to learn how to spell-- and if he is anything like his Mom, spelling won't be one of his signature strengths :)

Although he has this great new name, he knows that many of you might still want to call him "Twig."  That's fine by his us- but here's what he had to say about it:

Summer Paintings

Didn't do as much as I'd hoped, but had a few fun afternoons...

"She don't want nobody around"

"Loose lips sink ships"

"About that time of year"

"Summer shadows"

Summertime in Oregon

We visited tons of wineries around Oregon.  Always a spectacular day: 

Had a great visit from Mike's family: 

Even I sipped some yummy Oregon wine this summer (don't judge):

Branch wanted to do some professional baby bump pictures, but I didn't...so we tried to snap a few ourselves as the summer went by:

I thought this one was kind of cool: 

This is the Maryhill Winery where they host summer concerts.  We saw Counting Crows here, which has always been one of my favorite bands.  It was a fantastic show--and one of my favorite days of summer.  In fact, it was the last weekend getaway we took just the two of us before Twig's arrival.  

Thought that this was a great baby announcement shot: 

Couldn't resist an ice cream store named Mike's:

Found a store just for Twig in Hood River: 

Ending summer with a visit from our friend Vogel.  Updated his Portland knowledge since he went to college here waaayyy back in the 90s--  and found a few beers for him to try:

Portlandia

Some shots from our new summer home in Portland!

 Taken from the skylights in our condo...

Burrito Bump

Shanghai End of Year 2

 Branch DJ's the end-of-year Faculty Party

 Jay and Kate #BOOM

A great way to end the year- see start of year pic of the same crew!

Bump on the Bund