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If you have not guessed it by now, we had our baby…little baby girl Freya was born on October 30^th and to say we are overjoyed is an understatement (I seriously mean that!!).  We’ve had a few amazing weeks and some time to adjust to the transition of life with baby and now that the third round of company is gone and our lives are a little quieter I’m able to get back to reality (in small doses). Each day I have a goal of one thing I’d like to accomplish and while most days the task of showering will be enough today I told myself I MUST jot down her birth story before I forget it all, even if I have to do it one handed and it takes me several hours. So, here goes:

October 29: 7:30am. I woke up feeling like I had to pee and maybe couldn’t hold it in. Little did I know this urge was my water breaking (super anticlimactic!).  I went to the bathroom, walked Oslo for a mile or two and when I returned home my “systems” just felt different. I had a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions during the pregnancy so it was hard for me to know if these feelings were more of the same or not. Nonetheless, I semi ignored it all and started working at my job like I normally do (I’m a dork). When C woke up I told him things were “feeling different” and of course being the logical person he is he said I should call the hospital. I called and they said to come in. So, I lollygagged…and worked some more (major dork!). We left around noon and luckily the roads were clear …one thing I feared as much as labor…the drive to the hospital in rush hour traffic! (and just for the purpose of journaling this I have to add that C did miss the exit to the hospital, ha!) The gals in triage took a test and indeed my water had broken. So, the party was about to begin. I went to Continue reading “the birth story”

Yup, we are now at 39 weeks. I have had a life beyond just getting bigger and I probably should have documented a lot of the goings on so I don’t forget all the wonderful/challenging events (mental note: amazing baby shower, family visiting, mom’s bladder cancer, “foodie-moon,” food trucks etc) but I’ve been slacking. I’m going to pull the pregnancy card on this one. Maybe I’ll get to these at some point…

But for now I told myself I need to document a little of how this pregnancy thing has gone for me before I forget it all. So here I go (in no particular order):

• The one comment I’ve appreciated the most from strangers and family/friends is “You look healthy.” Hopefully these have been genuine comments but compared to anything else anyone has ever said the “healthy” made me feel really good.
• The food aspect to being pregnant hasn’t been as fun as I thought it might be. Not sure why exactly but part of it may be due to questioning too much whether what I was eating was good or not…and over thinking things. Having a “glucose intolerance” (i.e. borderline gestational diabetes) at first was frustrating and I didn’t know what I should be eating, but then it helped guide me with portion size and quantities of certain foods that would best for me and ultimately I think it was a blessing in disguise because it forced me to eat lots of protein all day long….when normally I probably wouldn’t. The downside is I have a major sweet tooth and crave fruit juice, cinnamon rolls and anything with salted caramel in it….all of which I haven’t touched in months.
• I had a moment last night where I was really thankful that we decided not to move. We majorly debated on where we should be and why we shouldn’t stay in our loft but at the moment I’m really glad we stayed put. Part of it is probably because a number of our neighbors either recently had babies or are having kids so the “vibe” in the building is changing but also I think mentally I’m just happy to be here…for now (not forever).
• The Thomas’ pumpkin spice english muffins are really good.
• I loved the moment when my family was leaving after our baby shower weekend and my sister and I had a weepy girly exchange (which we don’t usually do) because the “Assi” she had always known was becoming a “Mama Assi.” Thank you, sista, for having this moment with me.
• Being pregnant in hot hot heat is painful…and makes you swell. Thank goodness the bay area has such a temperate climate.
• Since I work from home and don’t have a super social life on a day to day basis I’ve loved that strangers will talk to you.
• On the flip side, I’d say I’ve become a major hermit in some ways…especially during the first trimester.
• I’m proud that I helped Cdawg with his work up through my 8th month. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to deal with several 12 hour days on my feet in the heat, lugging camera gear around and such but I did it and I felt great.
• The baby ALWAYS kicks when it hears Katy Perry. Uh oh.
• People always ask what cravings I’ve had…and my pregnancy brain can’t remember. So I have to document: greek, ethiopian and mexican foods, french dip, cheesy pizza and anything sweet. If I had my way I’d also spend my days eating nothing but fruit with maybe some greek food on the side…ha!
• I’ve really appreciated how amazing friends/family have been through the entire process. The sense of community, sharing and love that comes with having a kid is incredible. I hope I can share the love with others.
• I have not worn jeans in 8 months. Dressing myself has been a challenge (thank goodness for clothes from Emiliana!!)
• I have lots of gray hairs but am not doing anything about it.

If you had asked me last week if I was ready I’d say no way…not talking about ready with material things but mentally I just wasn’t ready. I had a few moments feeling anxious, questioning whether I could handle being a mom and such but as of this week my mind has quieted and I feel like I’m in a good place. You can never really be ready and I have no idea what we are really in for but mentally I’m in a good place. We are certainly not in the clear until baby comes and who knows what sort of card we’ll be dealt but I’m in a good place and am excited. Bring it baby!

T-minus one month until the elusive due date. Yes, I grunt and groan like a man and I’ve been pulling the pregnancy card more and more but overall I’m feeling great and not waddling (yet!). One pregnant woman story: I was playing ball with Oslo one day and his ball got stuck under one of our cabinets. So this pregnant woman got down on the hard cement floor in an odd corner of our place to get the ball and she couldn’t get back up. A few minutes later Cooper comes looking for me and I’m just on the ground floundering like a fish out of water. Good times.

This ain’t no spoof photo. We are growing a mini Cdawg/Ali…27 weeks to be exact!

Although we are not in the clear yet (not until baby comes out), we are thrilled. The entire baby growing process is so incredible…I have no idea what is going on or how do deal with it all but it is just happening! Due date is Nov 2nd but I’m hoping for an Oct 31 arrival. As I tell my nieces…if it comes on Halloween then maybe the baby will come out wearing a hairless rat costume. Ha! (the look on their faces when I said this was priceless). We don’t know if it is a boy or girl so it will be a surprise for one and all. Just keep your fingers crossed that all goes ok for us. All I can say is I LOVE being pregnant during the summer in the bay area…the produce tastes better than ever!

10 things I’ve done/seen/observed lately in no particular order:

1.) Went home to Colorado. I loved walking in the early morning with my mom. I am my mom. We both really enjoy eating corn.

2.) Have had 7 nosebleeds in a week and a half. I blame 6 of them on the dry Colorado air and one on stabbing myself in the nose while playing with the dog. The best attack came on 2 minutes before a conference all for work. Thank goodness it wasn’t a video call.

3.) Prime steaks. Nectarines.

4.) Witnessed a snatch and grab robbery while on BART. Note to self: if you are ever in your own world looking at your iphone it is prime time for someone to swipe it out of your hands and run away. I wish I had reacted fast enough and tripped the guy running off the train. I also heard something outside our window but can’t mention what it was because then my parents would want me to move away from the bay area, ha!

5.) Tea with a long time friend. Good for the soul.

6.) Came home after leaving Cron for a week and found he had installed a DISHWASHER! And it was FREE! I am a new woman thanks to that contraption and thanks to Ctron.

7.) Got stabbed in the hip by a bee. My hip developed this great, big, itchy welt on it for days. Thank you bee. I still love you.

8.) Just being with family. Although we are collectively a bit intense at times we’ve got spirit and spirit keeps you going.

9.) Seeing the best aerial view of SF from the plane. Wish I had had my camera handy. The lighting was magical.

10.) Listening to the symphony outside. This summer we’ve listened to the SF Symphony, happened upon the NY Symphony rehearse (in Vail) and watched the SF ballet dance to the symphony at Stern Grove. Makes me feel fulfilled.

Holy shazbot I’ve been lacking on the photo front lately. Not because I haven’t wanted to but life and little things are getting in the way. More on that later (winka, winka).

But, to get myself caught up on what we’ve been up to, how’s about two photos from the road on our road trip to Washington in May? The second image is my dream world.

One sad side story: we went to Red Robin on the way home (because we couldn’t find anything better to eat) and I didn’t want anything on the menu so I cried. At Red Robin. I seriously wept tears at Red Robin because I couldn’t find anything to eat. I’m so embarrassed but so it goes and the side salad and mac ‘n cheese blob I ended up eating tasted mighty good. To end this drama saga on a high note, after our meal the solar eclipse was happening so we got to watch it and probably burned our eyeballs.

At the time last year in Boulder, CO it was starting to lightly snow. At the ungodly hour of 10:15am-ish a small group of special people gathered in a field. The girls kicked off their heels in exchange for rubber boots, a banjo man played under a tree and probably froze his fingers off, some kids in shorts stopped by to sing us a tune, my brother the reverend donned his finest white suit and white top hat and the Ctron and I finally married each other…

A nice way to celebrate a good 10 years of “courting”…

We escaped the cold for some great food, the warmth of a fire and just the cozy feeling you get when you are around good people…

Within this first year as a couple we earned about $4 back in taxes (getting married isn’t really much of a tax relief) and we are plotting out what might be next…maybe we’ll move to Kentucky or Minnesota, maybe we’ll become nomads and live in an RV like I’ve always wanted, maybe we’ll start raising fainting goats, maybe we’ll start making hecka good sauerkraut and selling it at farmer’s markets, maybe we’ll just continue to be slaves to computers…I don’t know. But, our lives are certainly going to be changing and it is all really exciting. If anything I’m glad to be embarking on a life long adventure with a Ctron…he is really one swell guy. Feeling very blessed.

p.s. I’m also really really really thankful to the brave souls Jenna and Matt Walker who captured our muddy mess with frozen feet and didn’t complain one bit. Being on the other end of all of this we feel SO incredibly fortunate to have had them take our photos and immortalize our awkwardness in front of the camera. You guys are rad.

p.s.s. I promise not to write stuff like this every year. Just had to do it this one time. Ok, maybe once more when we celebrate our 50 years together.