FRIDAY IN THE YARD

SB LOVE

This weekend we fell in love with Santa Barbara all over again. There is just something about the way the mountains transition to the sea, the intoxicating smell of tar and eucalyptus in the air, the charm of the Spanish-style buildings, and the way the palm trees dot the skyline that call out to me. Although I only lived there for four short years while in college, the town will always hold a special place in my heart.  Since graduating, Nathan and I have spent many weekends in SB visiting friends who have been lucky enough to make it their permanent home (so jealous).  It is the town where Nathan and I met, and where we have shared many happy memories.   This past weekend our dear friends, the Lyman's, offered us their cozy home while they traveled down south to celebrate with their family.  Nate and I enjoyed the comforts of their home, while Annabelle reveled in playing with Ruby and Milo's toys.  Saturday morning we walked downtown to get coffee then played hard at Alice Keck Park on its old-school, wooden playground.   Then off to the Santa Barbara Zoo just in time to beat the rain.   During the storm we drove through the Riviera picking out our imaginary future home and later joined the Degner's at their new home for an amazing dinner (thanks Jess and Joel!).  Sunday morning Nathan woke up early to surf Jalama with Drew while Annabelle and I took a nice long walk to the Mission.  Before we took off for Westlake, we slipped in a quick walk on the pier and a visit to the Sea Center.  Wow, what a weekend.  Santa Barbara - someday soon we will return - if not for good, then for another visit.

THE BOYS & ANNIE E

NANI AND GRAN

Last week we had two very special visitors.  Nani and Gran stayed for a full seven days to get some quality time with their first granddaughter.  We had such a good time and Annabelle loved getting to know her two grandmas.  I took Thursday and Friday off work, which was wonderful.  We spent the days off on walks, cooking delicious dinners, going the park, shopping at the Chelsea Market, and even hit up my favorite mom and baby yoga class.  Mostly, though, we all just enjoyed hanging out with A.  On the weekend Nathan joined us for a beautiful day in Central Park, and then a not so lovely, completely rainy day, at the American Folk Art Museum (just to clarify - the Museum was lovely - just not the weather!)  Monday was back to work for Nate and I.  Gran and Nani took over nanny duties.  They enjoyed some special grandparent time just to themselves.  When we got home at the end of the work day they were full of stories of their adventures, filling me in on what they did, what Annabelle ate, read, and babbled about.  I loved hearing the play-by-play and seeing Annabelle light up at the sound of her grandmas voices.  Some of my favorite granny/Annie moments were Diane and Annabelle singing and dancing to her International Food Songs CD, and Nani cracking her up about raspberries (see below).  A. was quite taken with them both and we all hope they will come again soon to visit.  Perhaps bring Gramps and Papa John, too!  Missing you already!  XO

SNEAKY RAYS

Heading into February we are experiencing the NY cabin fever that inevitably sets in every year.  The snow has not melted since Christmas and yesterday was one of those extra yucky days of "freezing rain."  We were stuck in the apartment and I began to see why the idea of indoor playground has become so popular.  After holding off as long as possible, I buckled when I saw an online coupon for a month pass to City Tree House, which is an indoor gym for babies.  For days like yesterday these are essential.  Annabelle is not even mobile yet, but I see how important it is for kids just to get out of the apartment to play.

Today, however, for the first time in a long time, the temps crept up into the 40s and there was a beautiful blue sky.  For the first time in weeks Frosty, the icy-snowman in Abingdon Square, began to melt.  We went for a couple walks and enjoyed the sunshine.  We even were able to sneak a few rays from the living room couch.

HAPPY 0.5!

 Today is Annabelle's 6 month B-Day.  Annie E., you are the apple of my eye!  Love you.

ROCK STAR

I wanted to share Annabelle's favorite new pastime - rock star.  She loves when we hold her in front of the mirror, giving her the opportunity to shake her maraca and sing into it like a microphone.  So far she only knows one song, "Aaahhhhhh", but it is a start.  Check it out. 

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN - JIGGITY JIG

Right now I am pondering whether to begin sipping a steaming cup of coffee to start my day, or whether to hold off and see if Annabelle will fall back asleep so I can, too.  Last night was a late one.  Annabelle and I have finally returned from our last trip of the summer and though we had blast, I am glad to sit tight in New York for awhile.  I have just two short months left of maternity leave and I want to maximize quality time with our girl with minimal planes, trains, and automobiles.  Due to some stormy weather in New York, our flight was slightly delayed putting us at JFK at 1:00 am.  Nate picked us up at the airport and by 2:00 we were back in our cozy apartment for a final feeding, a little playtime and eventually bedtime. This final trip of the summer really put our travel skills to the test.  We flew to Las Vegas to spend time with my family who was attending my cousin's wedding at the Mandalay Bay.  Then from Vegas we flew to Northern California to attend the wedding of my roommate from freshman year at UCSB, Tegan.  Between hotel switches, layovers, and rental cars in a 4-day span, Annie E is proving herself to be quite the traveler.  At not even 4 months old she has been on a plane 7 times!  She seems to mostly sleep during travel time, adopting a "wake me when we get there" attitude.

Anyways, now that we are home, I am feeling the urge to blog and give an update on our girl.  She is changing so fast every week and I want to be sure to savor and document the moments of her short life so far.  Annabelle is more lovable than ever with her big cheeks that I just can't stop kissing.  When I kiss her little feet or her cheeks she opens her mouth in a big 'O' of happiness and attempts to get some laughs out that right now sound like "eh, eh, eh."  Speaking of laughs, to date we have had 4 good belly laughs from her.  They are not yet a regular occurrence, but when we are surprised by one, it is the most joyous sound to hear.  She has discovered her feet, as I mentioned in a previous post, and just loves to hold onto them when she is lying on her back, rolling side to side.  She has perfected "happy baby pose" which comes in handy during diaper changes.  Annabelle can now grasp her toys and tries to put everything in her mouth including her hands, which makes for a very drool-y baby.  We often now say to her in our best Julia Childs voice, "Hello, I'm Droolia Childs," which we think is much funnier than she does.  She continues to want to stand like a big girl with our support, strengthening her cute little legs that are getting chubbier by the day.  This is also helping her strengthen her neck muscles for added head support, though she still has a bit of a bobble head.  When standing she always looks side to side, back and forth, just to make sure she is not missing anything going on around her, reminding us of an owl with her big eyes.  Aunt Ade believes she comes from a long line of owl ancestors.  Her hair is a constant source of amusement for us, growing in at strange patterns.  The dark baby hair that never fell out, continues to grow longer competing with the new growth that is coming in lighter (almost blond).  The circular spiral pattern on the top of her head that we refer to as the "eye of the storm" is in full effect, as is the mullet-like long pieces in the back that we call her "mud flap."  Depending on the humidity, her hair can be curly or straight, giving her some versatile styling options.  Annabelle gets more vocal every day.  Her language of "om" is adding new sounds that she is beginning to string together into a babble.  She enjoys reading her books and tries to help turn the pages.  Her favorite books so far include the Baby Einstein Animal Book series, a gift from Barb Letterman, and My Cat Just Sleeps, a gift from the Boosers'.  She has proven that she can roll from her stomach to her back, though she only performs this move at her own will, and extremely sporadically.  Other miles stones: she can now ride in the Baby Bjorn or the Moby wrap facing out rather than in with her head on my chest.  I believe she enjoys this brand new view of the world.  I am loving introducing her to new games and songs and mostly dance around making funny faces and voices trying to get reactions out of her.  Some of her facial expressions remind me so much of Nathan and I see more and more of him in her everyday.  As she grows, so do her list of nick names which now include the following:

Annie E

Annabellita (my favorite)

Annabellewski (Bellewski for short)

Bella-rues (Her Russian Name)

Banana-Bell

Cabana Anna

Molly B (Courtesy of Grandpa Mike)

Pookie Bear (which I don't particularly like, but it keeps coming out of my mouth)

It will be amazing if she ever recognizes her real name since we continually call her by her nick-names!  Here is a recent picture taken the day before we left for our trip.  She is wearing her "Breastmilk - 100% Organic" Nutritional Facts shirt, a gift from Aunt Ade. 

P.S. Annie E is now napping and I just finished that steaming cup of coffee.  No sleep for mama.  Perhaps I will catch up during the afternoon nap.  :)  More on our trip later...

ANNABELLE'S FIRST HOURS

I finally have downloaded the pictures from Week 1 and 2 of Annabelle's life onto our computer and am in the process of uploading them to Kodak Gallery to share with all.  The images are so huge the website says it will take 1,380 minutes to upload!  I may be here for awhile.  If anyone knows a way to not make the image file size so huge, let me know.  I may need to place a call to Josh for some Argyle photography advice.  Here are a few shots from the very first hours while we were still at the hospital...

OUR LITTLE PERSON

Annabelle Lee Ellis

June 4, 2010

9:42 a.m.

7 lbs., 1 oz.

A week ago today, we welcomed our little person, Annabelle Lee to the world.  For seven days we have been keeping busy getting to know each other and have been in a constant state of amazement that we were able to create such a tiny, perfect little being. Everyone says you can't imagine how much you can love, until you have a child of your own, and now I know what they are talking about.   I can spend hours studying her little face, crinkly feet and tiny hands.  I treasure each little coo, sigh, stretch and funny face - so far she has mastered the poo-poo face, the barracuda, the drunken sailor and the pirate.  These looks are mixed with wide-eyed gazes, grimaces, and what looks like smiles.  We feel so lucky to have this perfectly healthy little gift from God in our lives.

Annabelle Lee is named after her Aunt Adrienne Lee, who she can't wait to meet.  Uncle Jamie actually thought of the name and Nate and I both loved it too.  Anabelle Lee also happens to be the name of a sad but beautiful love poem written by Edgar Allen Poe.

So how she came to be...
Following the long Memorial Day weekend, I spent Tuesday and Wednesday getting ready for the arrival of our girl as well as the arrival of the grandmas.  My mom arrived on Thursday night, and on Friday morning we kicked things off with a long walk down by the river.  It was on the walk that I felt some really strong cramping/contractions.  Nothing unbearable, but enough to slow me down to take deep breaths.  Following the walk we headed uptown for lunch in Bryant Park and my doctor's appointment.  At my appointment the doctor said that my cervix was soft and the head was far down, but there were no signs of dialation and to make another appointment for the following Thursday.  Not four hours later, I was about to run out to the Duane Reade to pick up a prescription when my water broke.  Oh wow...go time.  Not 10 minutes later Nathan walked in the door from work, and we received a text that Diane had landed and was headed over from JFK.  Perfect timing.  I called the doctor's office and was happy to hear that one of my favorite doctors in the practice was on call.  She said that most people go into labor on their own after their water breaks, but if I didn't, then to head to hospital by 3:00 am.

The four of us made a nice pasta dinner and turned on the Laker's to pass the time.  In about the second quarter of the game I was having some pretty intense contractions and retreated to the bedroom to focus and due the exercises we learned in labor and delivery class.  At about 1:30 when my contractions were 3 minutes apart, we decided it was time to get to the hospital.  We grabbed our hospital bag - packed with all the things they tell you to bring (of which we used almost zero), and hailed a cab.  Nate made sure the taxi drove safe and sound, while I tried to deal with my agonizing pain.  We entered the hospital through the ER and headed to the Labor and Delivery Triage.  At St. Luke's Roosevelt they send you to Triage first, to check out your vitals and see how far along you are before assigning you to a labor and delivery room.  Triage is composed of about 8 curtained off tiny rooms that are dark, feel dirty and really lack any privacy at all.  Unfortunately for us, the staff said it was the most busy night they had had in years and there were no labor and delivery rooms available.  Even the Triage waiting room was packed with very calm looking couples sitting pretty.  Me - I was not so pretty - I was doubled over in pain, leaning on anything possible to support myself, bracing as each contraction waved through my body.  That was when I felt a wave a nausea coming on.  "I am going to throw up!" They quickly ushered me to the back in search of pan for me to use.  Unfortunately they were not quick enough, I ended up loosing my cookies all over a clean pile of gowns, my own feet and the charge nurse's legs.  Yikes.  So sorry!  I guess that is one tactic that works if you want to get a bed, at least in Triage.  They put us in the way back corner where they hooked me up to the heart monitors and I continued to labor.  When they checked me, I was three centimeters dilated.  They asked me if I wanted the epidural, and going against my labor strategy - I DID!  This was at around 2:00 am.  The staff did not so much as come back and check on us again until 6:00 am.  I was furious - where were the nurses?  had they called my doctor? why couldn't I get a delivery room?  was I next in line for a room? where was the anesthesiologist?  I kept sending Nate out to check and to be the squeaky wheel while I dealt with the contractions tearing through my body.  At 6:00 am, the staff had a shift change and new charge nurse came in at Nate's insistence that we had been there since 1:00 am, with false promises of an epidural, a room, or even a nurse!  She checked me and reported that I was 7 cm and was next up for a room.  At last!  They wheeled me away to the nicely decorated labor rooms that we had seen on our hospital tour (mind you, they never show you Triage or tell you that you may be stuck there for the majority of your labor, with only your husband to look after you - mind you he was a great support and I am forever thankful for him).

Once in the Labor room we were greeted by not only daylight (to my surprise, the sun had risen) and a very nice nurse who assured me my epidural was on the way (I had heard that before!).  Sure enough, she was good to her word and not five minutes later the anesthesiologist arrived with his cart of feel-good meds.  As soon as he did what he needed to do, I went from Beast of Burden to what may have even been recognizable as the woman Nathan married.  I was able to talk again, breathe again, smile, even joke with the doctor.  Comparatively, I was in bliss.  Warm and tingly.  My doctor told me to rest and she would be back in an hour for us to have this baby girl. Nate and I both fell asleep until she returned in her full delivery gear.  She was so super supportive and coached me through each push with the help of Nathan and the nurse.  Just thirty minutes later, we witnessed the miracle of baby Annabelle's arrival, screaming and covered in green poo.  She was placed on my chest and we had our very first moments together as a family.  They cleaned her up, weighed her, and let us enjoy her fresh life on earth.

An hour later, my mom came in to meet little Annabelle.  She accompanied me to the recovery room (of which we had to wait in the hall for as well, until a patient was discharged because, yup, you guessed it, they were all full!)  Nate accompanied Annabelle to the nursery for her thorough cleaning and tests.  The grandmas and Nate hung out until the late evening hours when they had to leave.  Annabelle and I had a solo sleepover where we learned the basics: breast-feeding (way harder than I thought it would be), changing diapers and swaddling.  This repeated through out the night and has not stopped since:  feed, change, swaddle, repeat.  By 1:00 pm I had had enough of the hospital, my roommate (more on that later), and the recovery room facilities.  My doctor said if I did not want to stay another night I didn't have to, so we decided to book it out of there.  We packed our bags with our new essentials, and were discharged.

The week has flown by, as I am sure time will continue to do through out Annabelle's life.  My mom and Diane were such a tremendous help through the week; cooking delish healthy meals, doing the dishes, playing with Annabelle and just being there to offer their love and support.  We can't thank them enough and miss them already.

Looking back the whole birth experience seems surreal.  Did that really all happen to me? to us?!?  I am still amazed.  I am healing very quickly, though am incredibly emotional.  A song will come on the ipod, or I will see Nathan holding her and I start crying because I am so happy (or incredibly hormonal).  I have already had my first tear-filled call to the pediatrician, because I was worried our girl was sleeping too much and not eating enough, though I think she is okay now.  In general life is beautiful and I am so happy to be the mom of Annabelle.  Can't wait for everyone to meet the newest Ellis.