sara without an h

daddy magic.

travis is quitting his second job. he will be home 5 evenings a week now, instead of just 1 or 2. i know one little girl who will be very happy to have more daddy time. travis has what i like to refer to as "daddy magic". sometimes sylvie sees him and immediately calms down. well, little girl, there's a lot more daddy magic coming your way!

awake.

our days are looking more like this: and less like this: it's way more fun this way! happy six weeks to my little milky-moo.

08-31-2010

today is sylvie's original due date. she is 3 weeks and 2 days old. i can't even imagine still being pregnant. it feels like she's always been here in our arms.

the park and tummy time.

today we went on our first real family outing to the park. by real outing i mean that i had to change and breast-feed her in public for the first time. we had a great time lounging under the trees, reading aloud to each other, and just being there together. sylvie slept most of the time: look at those lips! after she woke up we got her changed. she peed all over herself. being the novice parent that i am, i forgot to pack a change of clothes. no matter. with her belly full, we laid her in the sun to dry out. our first public feeding: tummy time/tush drying time: shortly after tummy time it started to get a little warm for her. we packed everything up and headed home. she is still napping in her car seat. we started doing tummy time just a few days ago. this is a video of her first time. she picked up her head and turned it over no less than 3 times her very first go at it! it may be silly to get so excited about such a small thing, but i think it's pretty impressive. i can't believe that her original due date is still 6 days away. she's grown so much already. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyuhY6cZ0zk] the song in the video is "tick eats the olives" by devendra banhart.

raised in the wild space between two hearts.

one year ago: photo by geoffrey horowitz of leapfrog photography. today: happy anniversary to my wonderful, sweet husband and the father of my child.  i love you more and more everyday. these pictures are from yesterday, to mark sylvie's one week birthday:

so much love.

i apologize for my lack of posting over the past week. however, in my defense i have the cutest reason ever to be preoccupied. we finally got some clothes that fit her today. she's so tiny that my mom had to venture into the preemie section. the newborn items we have are HUGE on her. can someone please explain to me where the clothing items for 5-7 pound babies are hiding? the preemie items are just slightly short on her, but they fit her better than anything else. oh well. i'm sure she'll fit into her newborn stuff by her actual due date on the 31st. there are many unexpected side effects of having a baby that no one ever tells you about. the one that has hit me is the overwhelming love i have for my husband. it's an entirely new kind of affection now that we're nurturing this life together. i'm more in love with him now than i ever thought possible. he just blows me away. he went from changing his first ever diaper to being super dad over the course of a day. you always hear about the mother's instincts and intuition. i think it's about time we give it up for the dads. his instincts are spot on. i'm continually impressed with how well he has adjusted. there is so much love in our little family.

your first few days

(in pictures) i could sit and stare at you all day long, sylvie. we love you so much.

34 weeks and 1 day.

sylvia finally dropped and it's way better than i thought it would be. yes, there is now some insane weight in my pelvis, but the pain in my ribs has substantially decreased. it still burns like crazy when i get into bed for the night, but it is much better throughout the day. i'll take it, waddle and all! my parents are coming into town tomorrow for a weekend visit. we're going to do some last minute shopping before sylvie arrives. at the very top of my list is a good breast pump. do the mamas out there have any recommendations? other than that i need a set of comfortable pajamas and a nightgown for the big day. one thing i love about our hospital is that they let you wear your own clothes all throughout labor and birth. i want to hit up target to get a long, super soft nightgown for that. i was so relieved to learn this! the hospital gown they gave me when i went in for my gallbladder was horrible. it tied in the back in big knots and still managed to expose my tuchus to the world. other than shopping we're planning on a nice dinner at travis' restaurant and lots of quality family time. it's been a super fun week with all the visitors coming and going. i can't believe that the next time i see everyone will be after sylvie's birth. i feel like there's still so much to do, but i know it will all get done. travis and i are shifting a few pieces of furniture around tonight to make more open space in the living room. i think eliminating all that clutter and opening up the room will make me feel a lot better. it will also make me feel better to finish up this last illustration commission today so i can focus on more baby-related projects. her crocheted afghan has been awfully neglected the last few weeks. the original purpose of this post was to show off some 34 week bump pictures. travis took these earlier this afternoon. sylvie, i can tell that you're getting cramped in there! just stick it out for 3 more short weeks. then you can come anytime you like! your papa and i can't wait to meet you. it's all we talk about these days, and we're about to bubble over with excitement. stay healthy and strong and keep on growing! we can wait until you're ready. i love you, baby girl. if you don't mind, please take a moment to vote for us.  we would love to be back on the first page again.  thank you!

score!

travis and i are trying to do as many spontaneous activities as we can before sylvie's arrival. yesterday we had planned to take a field trip to the indy zoo. mother nature, however, had other plans. we woke up to a cloudy, gray day, with a large cell of thunderstorms coming our way. instead of traipsing around the zoo in the pouring rain (and boy girl, did it pour!), we instead opted to check out a large outlet mall about an hour west of us. we looked online and saw that these outlets had numerous baby stores and a maternity store. rock. the maternity outlet had some nice things at even better prices, but i find it hard to justify spending more money on preggo clothes with only 7 weeks to go. if i buy something for myself, i make sure it works for post-pregnancy, too. oh, and costing less than $10 is always a plus. i could insert a rather lengthy love letter to target here, but that's for another post. we browsed through all the usual baby store culprits (children's place, hartstrings, carters, etc), but found the BEST DEALS at oshkosh (ohmygosh) b'gosh. and, yes, i did have to get up and look at a tag for the spelling. we only bought one thing, as travis and i both have an anti-spending-money complex these days. we just couldn't pass up this adorable little pair of jeans: flowers, ruffles, and girly without being fussy? PERFECT. plus, they were on BIG discount. how BIG was it, you say? check out that tag: BOOM-SHAKA-LAKA.

apartment tour.

yesterday i was tagged by allie to share some of my favorite things about our little abode. it's about time i gave a tour of our apartment! these are a few of my favorite things: auggie the doggie! our books, especially my small collection of cookbooks. our patchwork chair, complete with my favorite ikea pillow. our giant yellow four-poster bed, always in a perpetual state of unmade-ness. the kitchen, also known as my favorite room. our little herb garden on the deck. sylvia's mobile above her crib. we're still working on the rest of the drawings for it! the pink parrot, which hangs over the other end of her crib. this belonged to me when i was little. lastly, the view from our living room windows. i spend a lot of time looking out this window, at the trees, and daydreaming about sylvie. there you have it! our tiny, happy, cozy apartment. sometimes i wish we had more room. i often wish we could move this apartment to another place. that said, at the end of the day this little one-bedroom is my sanctuary. this is my first home with my husband, the place where sylvie was made, and where we will bring her home. i will miss this place when we move next year.