Happy Spring!

April was a fast month... I guess that with the warmer weather and new-found ability to go out more, I neglected the blog. We have been busy just with our daily routines around here, which now include the exciting additions of:

Samantha is rolling over =) She got this trick last week. Now changing her diaper is even harder. She wakes up on her belly many mornings. I should set up a camera to see how much time she dedicates to practicing in her sleep.

Samantha is teething, which equals soaking wet shirts, on both of us, and

Samantha has discovered that she can suck just her thumb, and not her whole hand, to help with the teething process.

We took her to Maryland for the first time to stay over night at my sister's house for my nephew's baptism, and she was sooooo good. She slept the best of all of us in her Porta-crib, which I had worried about because it was the first time that we even tried it. She also slept the whole way there, or at least she was quiet in the backseat of the car, again hard to tell what she does when we can't see her. She probably tried to roll out and gave up =)

It's no secret: We should change our post from "weeks" to "months" of our lives

Samantha loves her bumper!!! She starts out in the middle of the crib and always ends up waking up on her side in some new position. Yes. Her face is implanted on the bumper, and she is licking it. She thinks that it's my body. Completely pressed against it, she often awakens parallel to the bumper. Somebody is hungry...

I suck at blogging... BUT just in case you didn't give up on me here is what we have been up to. Now that Samantha is 11 weeks old, we are 1) starting to get out more and to recover from being very stir crazy 2) sleeping better, as Samantha is sleeping 8 hours most nights without needing to be fed 3) getting things back in order, including this blog, as a result of #2.

I never thought that I could spend so much time at home and get so little done in terms of housework. I could not imagine myself in any other position right now, but wow taking care of a baby is so demanding.

What gets me through the day ruled by the needs of a newborn?? Smiles, lots and lots of smiles. That's not to mention her favorite forms of entertainment: the ceiling fan in our room, mirrors, the treadmill, the various bookcases and closets full of patterned clothes in our house.

Welcome Home!

Samantha Elaine Cabot decided to join us on January 8, 2009, at 5:32 p.m. at Paoli Hospital. She was due on the 11th, but I knew based on what my body was doing that week that she would be here a few days before her due date. I was pretty sure that she was coming when I started having regular contractions at about 2:00 in the morning. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect, and I kept wondering if what I was feeling was the real deal, until about 2:00 when they started to come every five minutes. I waited to wake up Alex until 3:00- I wanted to let him get some sleep in case it was a false alarm and he would have to go into the office. We called the doctor and they told us to come in.

I was only 1 cm. dilated but 80% effaced with contractions every 2 minutes. Then they made me walk around for an hour and forty minutes to see if my cervix would change. We felt like we were homeless because they were cleaning rooms during that time- it was a busy night at Paoli- and figuring out where they would put us. When they checked me again I had almost no cervix left. My contractions were wicked while I walked but slowed down while I was being checked, due to the relief off my pelvis. I thought if I get sent home I will scream because I know that I will be back before I even make it to the car in the parking deck. They made me walk again for an hour. Those contractions came back and stayed strong when they were checking me again. I was so relieved that my cervix had dilated to a 3. After that, they broke my water, which gave me hard contractions. They told me to hold off for a while on the epidural, as it can cause contractions to slow a bit and lengthen labor. I watched some T.V. until I couldn't take it, and then rang for my drugs. What a marvelous invention! With the epidural and petosin, I relaxed, took a nap, and then just waited while they came to check me very so often. Alex watched the little wave machine that shows contractions and would ask me if I knew that I just had a monster contraction, and of course, I said that I had no idea. Praise the brilliant women from Philadelphia who invented the epidural!

I did get anxious when I realized it would be time to push. Fortunately, she was so low that I only pushed for 20-25 minutes!! I was completely at a loss for words when I met Samantha. I was not at a loss for words, however, about the recovery pain... I will spare you those thoughts. Enjoy some pictures instead!

Proud Daddy with Sam

She loves to smile after I nurse her in the morning.

Here are some nursery shots. One day there will actually be pictures in those frames.

Trying to sleep, I spend a lot of time in this chair. This was a great investment.

Vampire in My Home, Continued...

Okay. Now I am really spooked.
Disclaimer: This blog contains SPOILERS! If you have not finished the third book Eclipse and plan on reading it, you may not want to read my post. I just started reading the last book Breaking Dawn. I have only read the first chapter, so if you have read the fourth book, do NOT tell me anything!!!!

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So I am in bed reading and I discover yet more similarities:

Cullen
*buys Bella a car upon their engagement (She used to drive an old truck.)
*gives her a new credit card once engaged
*plans a wedding for August 13th

Cabot
*buys me a car upon our engagement (this was the first car that I ever owned. I used to drive my parents' old cars)
*gives me a new American Express card shortly after we are married
*GETS MARRIED ON AUGUST 13TH!

Let's see if the list goes on...

Vampire Boys

While reading the Twilight series, I have noticed several similarities between my husband and the main vampire in the story, Edward Cullen. After my seeing the movie, the thought that maybe Alex could be a vampire in disguise has come to occupy my mind even more. Here is a list of the similarities:

Cullen

* pale skin

*super speed reader

*knows a lot about MANY of subjects

*uses old expressions such as, "Shall we."

*drives fast cars, a silver Volvo

*never tries, yet excels at school

*gives Bella a family ring

Cabot

*fair skin

*incredibly fast reader

*knows a lot about MANY subjects

*dismisses us from dinner by saying, "Shall we." Trys to bring back old expressions.

*talks about fast cars and likes his wife's silver volvo and likes the model that Edward drives

*never studied yet always did well

*gives his wife a family engagement ring

Granted, my husband does sleep and eat, but this could all be part of a clever cover-up...

Great Place

I realized before going shopping for nursery furniture that the baby will have no idea nor will she care how her room looks for quite some time. Keeping in mind that the room is for mommy for the the time being, I ventured off to put together her room.

I had no idea how involved furniture can be for children and babies. Fortunately, we went to this great store in Delaware called Closic's. Even if you are not in the market for furniture, they carry a lot of neat toys, gifts and accessories for babies. If you are in that area or are up for a drive, it is a neat place. Since I am new to this territory, as I mentioned before, the sales staff were very helpful. It was worth the drive. We won't be able to show any finished shots of the nursery for a while. Apparently, it takes a while to order and to receive- also new knowledge to me. We should get it shortly before or after Christmas time before the baby comes. I will have to work on finding a good image of the furniture that we selected to post.

For now, check out the website if you are interested:

http://www.closicsfurniture.com/gifts.html

Enjoy!

Happenings

I totally missed blogging during the entire month of October. Hmmm... I am not exactly sure how that happened, since I only work part-time right now.

Well, when I changed that calendar to November- crossing off weeks and even days has become a favorite of mine- I realized that we might actually have to finish cleaning out our old office upstairs to make room for a nursery. With 9 weeks to go as of tomorrow, that room is just about empty, with the exception of a pile of random pictures, an old shredder and an old plant pot. We are picking out furniture hopefully next weekend, but I at least already bought the bedding. I am going to be mixing different patterns in shades of pink and green. The lamps, storage bins and a few other things are polka dots. The curtains and bed skirt are gingham. I will have to post pictures once I get that project in order. Don't worry. Unlike blogging, organizing is something that I don't put off, so if you don't see a photo until after the baby is born, that doesn't mean that she didn't have a nursery. Here is a shot of the bedding:
The reason we put off cleaning out the office, besides laziness, is that I spend more time worrying about Halloween costumes. Alex had on a pair of white, suspender-like pants one day for fencing, and I said that he looked like an Umpa-Lumpa, from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Since I had a Willy Wonka Costume, he became, my side-kick.

I didn't make him do this dance, as they do in the factory in the original movie, in public.

I assure you that he does his share around the house. He is a good worker. Compensation is excellent.

We had a lot of trick-or-treaters this year. I think that our favorite costume had to be....

A TEN-YEAR-OLD BOY WEARING

- JEANS

-A SWEATSHIRT

-A HILLARY CLINTON MASK

AND CARRYING
- A KNIFE

We didn't quite get it, which is what made it great. We also had a few parents who stood close behind their children and watched them at each doorstep. When Alex tried to give them more than 1 piece of candy, they repeated as if they were robots, "Just one, please." I shouldn't judge, and I don't know the reasons behind the parents' insistence upon this rule, but I don't buy that one day of candy overload is causing the childhood obesity epidemic. Not sure what to make of that one...