Introducing Paul Eldred Bills

Paul Eldred was born on 8/9/10 at 8:06 a.m. and came out at 8lbs. 15 oz. and 20 1/2 in. For those of you expecting this post much earlier this week, our apologies, but the week was anything but normal and included an emergency surgery for Paul on his birthday and a 3 day stint at the NICU at Winnie Palmer in Orlando. Hopefully this monster post will make up for the delay . . .
As stated earlier Paul was born at 8:06 a.m. Above is a picture of Paul seconds after he was born and in the arms of the good doctor who delivered him. Below is the first "family" picture, although you might be able to see that Melanie was a bit "out of it" (she will be happy to explain the drama of her c-section with a spinal that didn't take too well!).

Welcome to the planet little guy . . .


Grandma Russ gets her first chance to hold the baby.
Proud father (of course I am!) and loving sisters below. A whole blog post could be done around how much Hannah and Eliza are loving on baby Paul. Eliza especially cannot help but beg to hold the baby every 5 minutes. If she hears the baby crying she is off in a dead sprint to go "comfort him." Hannah likes him . . . but doesn't like that she has to wash her hands before she holds him. As such, Hannah holds him a bit less.


Dad and baby Paul had a lot of bonding moments when he was in the NICU and away from Mom who was stuck in Clermont recovering. That was one positive from the situation.
Where am I?

Mom's first real chance to hold the baby came on Wednesday. It was a very happy moment to see them reunited . . .


Some more pictures of Hannah and Eliza holding the baby. Also one of Paul's aunt Jen and his "Grammy" Bills . . .




Paul on the quilt that his grammy made for him.

Twinkle Toe Fairies

Just a few pictures from Hannah and Eliza's dance recital in June. Hannah did a number called "Twinkle Toes" and Eliza was the Tooth Fairy. Both of them really enjoyed dance this last year and had lots of fun at their dance recital.

And what will we be doing with your hair today . . .?

This summer Eliza became a serious hairstylist. From my little pony, to her aunts, to her dolls, to her mommy, Eliza was styling whatever hair she could put her little hands on.

No Care Hair

Hannah loathes getting her hair done everyday with the same passion generally reserved for religious warfare. As a result, mommy decided that this summer would go by much easier with our sweet four year old sporting a shorter hairdo that does not require as much upkeep.
At the salon Hannah was uncharacteristically serious and did not move a muscle for the entire haircut. She would not even smile for her picture.
Goodbye beautiful hair . . .
Still no smile . . .
After the haircut her smile came back and the full body locomotion quickly followed as well.

Little Surfer Girl

Annual events are always a fun time to see just how much your child has grown and developed over the previous year. In addition to being a great swimmer, Eliza has really started to love body surfing.

The Beach is Fun, Don't Ya Know?

The annual Russ Family beach trip is taking place this week. But don't tell Hannah that it happens every year. Even though we go on this beach trip every year, Hannah did not remember anything about the beach or the accommodations. In fact, Melanie had to reassure her that the condo would have a fridge and other basics that she's grown accustomed to and just to be sure, Hannah made Melanie show her the fridge in the condo.
The good news is that it didn't take Hannah very long to warm up to the idea of the beach. After a few timid moments we had her playing in the water and enjoying herself. Soon she said to me "Daddy, the beach is fun, don't you know?"

I love a parade!

Eliza and Hannah got to be in the Leesburg Christmas parade this year with their dance studio. Here are few pictures of the event:

Cousin Makayla and Cousin Emily also were in the parade.


One benefit of a parade is that you get to stay up really late and get all kinds of silly as Hannah learned:


Eliza is always ready to strike a pose and a post parade photo shoot is no exception!