Me & My Baby

She's such a sweet baby. So easygoing and patient. She puts up with the bigs attacking her with love constantly and me being distracted half the time with a graciousness one cannot expect a 10 week old to possess. When she smiles, the sun and the stars shine just a little bit brighter. When she sleeps, so warm and quiet next to me, I am filled with peace.

At the hospital...

The Arrival

Sunday, January 25th, 2009. 9:52 pm.

Little L began breathing.

8 pounds, 12 ounces. 18.5 inches long. Sweet, sweet baby.



Thank you, Robyn, for witnessing and documenting the birth of our third child. We are so lucky to have you in our lives... this is truly a charmed life.

Robyn Guy Photography

42 weeks and counting...

I was 42 weeks pregnant yesterday. I had a biophysical profile done on Thursday, which showed that both baby and I are perfectly healthy... so we carry on. Time is passing slowly now, and although I am showing signs of impending delivery, actual labor has yet to set in. And so we wait. This one wanted to be an aquarius, I suppose. I looked up the aquarius sign... they march to the beat of their own drummers... fitting.

In case you have never seen a pregnant person at 42 weeks (which I would guess you haven't since most women are induced by this point) here are a few shots I took this evening. I took them past sunset, so the exposures were long, up to 5 seconds long actually, and the ISO was bumped as high as it could go giving them a grainy, artsy quality. I dig it. In a few you can see my other 2 children running amok, streaks of light and color moving through the images... it was fun to shoot.

Belated Christmas Post

Well, Christmas was different this year. we were scheduled to go up to Chattanooga to be with Mister's family, but the kids came down with the pink eye and I came down with a bad cold, so we opted to keep our germs to ourselves. It was a quiet family affair at home, just the 4.5 of us and the dog(s).

We do both Christmas and Hanukkah... the more holidays the merrier, I say.

So, when the munchkins awoke on Christmas morning, they rushed downstairs to see what Santa had brought them and were sorely disappointed at first because they could not see ANY change in the amount of present sunder the tree... at first. Santa had done a good job if placing the presents from the North Pole out of the line of sight from the stairs. Tricky Santa.

G got a pop up princess castle tent which was the hit of her holiday. She also got a doctor kit and some various other sundries. Little Guy got a Fisher Price Little People School Bus, a teddy bear and an M&M candy cane, which he promptly took into the bathtub with him and "melted" all of the M&Ms. Tasty. They both got playground balls, also. Never underestimate the joy that a simple rubber ball will bring. Oh and Zoie the dog got some stick on earrings. Bling, Bling, baby!

After Santa presents, we did stockings. G and Little Guy got some good stuff in their stockings, and I was surprised that my stocking was full also. Mister, however, only got a spoon rest, which the kids and I had picked out for him. When G asked why Santa didn't put anything in Daddy's stocking, I explained to her that with all of the people losing their jobs lately, he needed to supply more presents than usual. So, when it came around to stocking time, he gave to the kids and the mommies first... as well he should.

After having breakfast (a egg and rice casserole), we opened the presents from each other. G was fairly unimpressed with hers... her favorite present was a slinky. Little Guy's favorite present was his new Plasma Car... totally cool toy. He also LOVES all the Cars stuff he got. He spent hours matching up the toy cars with the books about them. They each got a cool storybook featuring them in it from Nana. I got some pajamas, and Mister got some jeans and pants that had been tailored to actually fit him...not an easy thing to find. He also got the latest Alton Brown book from my sister... a perfect gift for him.

All in all it was a fun, relaxing day, as I do believe it was meant to be.

dreamboat @ {3}

He is such a dreamboat. He loves cars and college football. (He is a huge Vols fan) He is a foodie - loves any sort of protein and is a connoseur of fine chocolates. He has an amazing sense of humor and is always the one to crack the joke when situations get tense. He never hesitates to give a good strong hug when you just deperately need that loving touch. He has the most amazing eyes... deep chocolate colored, warm and kind, with an impish gleam, framed by these lashes that go on for years. One glance from those babies can melt the coldest heart.

He adores my daughter, which is exceptionally important. And animals - he is a total dog lover. He is secure enough in himself to ask for help only when he really needs it.

He loves art and photography, and is working on giving his subjects clear direction and timing his exposures. He made these self portraits just the other day...

And today he turns three. We are so lucky to know you, Little Guy. I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and a hundred more in your lifetime. We love you more than you could ever know.

NaDa.

My cousin is here with her girls. I apparently don't go into labor if we have too much company. This is the 3rd time this has happened. I should have known.

Oh well, no tax deduction for 2008. I do hope she comes soon. I am getting very large and frustrated and uncomfortable. The girls are leaving tomorrow, though, so maybe tomorrow. Until then....

No baby yet....

Still no baby. Maybe Saturday.

So, to kill time, here are some self portraits I made. The first ones were from Christmas morning, before we opened up some presents. Ho, Ho Ho!!

The rest I took with the help of my new remote control for my camera. What a cool toy! Merry Chrismakkah to me.

And yes, I did actually measure my belly. 45"... can you imagine? And this is SMALL for me during pregnancy! You know, I usually am a 27"... in my magic mirror anyway.

Next, self portraits with faces!

Before opening presents:

After opening presents:

With help from Di:

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My own belly...

Last weekend, my friend Kath helped me shoot some maternity portraits... of myself. I got the camera set up and would do a few shots to show her the framing, and then she went to town trying to get the exact shot I wanted. I think she did a swell job, don't you? I was 35 weeks 3 days...

Kath in a test shot... (yes that is a pillow in there)

The resulting shot of me...

Touched by the {hair} Angel

My friend Li's brother Jonny is a god. A god of hair styling and I shall worship him always. He came to my house on Monday and performed miracles. See for yourself:

You would think that the one time I have my hair actually done I would've put makeup on for my picture. But no. Oh well, I kinda dig my freckles and chappy lips. And I actually like the beginnings of the wrinkles around my eyes.

Gotta love that smirk. I know it well.

Jonny, thank you so much. You are one of those people who blows into people's lives for a minute and leaves them feeling sparkly for a year. You were born to shimmer. Have a great Pesach and best of luck with your new place on the beach.