November 4th, 2008
…but it’s also a little girl’s birthday!
(One month birthday, that is.)
Happy Birthday, Ella Faye!
You’re growing so big & strong!
We walked to our polling station this afternoon & cast our votes…tonight we’re hunkering down & waiting to hear the words “President Obama”! I feel hopeful. Things are feeling promising. We are excited.
It was so nice to get outside. The weather is finally beautiful – nearly scarf-donning time. I feel rejuvenated. Maybe I’ll break out my friend the sewing machine & see what I can whip up.
Happy Election Night! Here’s to CHANGE.
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October 29th, 2008
Ella Faye Elizabeth came into our arms just before midnight on October 4th. She shares my grandpa’s birthday, & although I didn’t know him well, I feel honored that she can share that day with him.
I awoke at 4:30 that morning & timed my contractions for a bit before waking Anthony. Then we sat in anticipation for the next two hours as the pains grew more intense & closer together. It seems odd to think now about walking into the hospital. I felt surprisingly calm. For knowing what was sure to come later in the day, I think we both kept our wits about ourselves very well. I’d expected to freak out a bit, expecting the intensity & pressure of labor. My whole birth experience turned out to be very tranquil & unexplainably satisfying. Seeing & feeling the changes my body has gone through these past months (occurring still) & realizing all that we are capable of makes me feel like a goddess. (We are goddesses!)
After 19 hours of labor including two and a half hours of good solid pushing, Ella made her entrance into our world. Her daddy cut the cord & brought her to my arms & my life changed forever.
Our stay in the hospital was extended as the next day we found out I had developed HELLP syndrome after delivery (shucks, we got the news just as our fancy hospital “Baby Bistro” meal was delivered, Martinelli’s & mini champagne glasses & all). Several blood tests & monitoring required me to stay in the hospital a couple extra days. Ella was discharged before I was, but she & Anthony stayed by my side, sharing my bed. I’m just glad that I was the reason for our delay getting home.
The past three weeks have been busy & stressful at times, but pretty beautiful just the same. Lots of introductions & visits with loved ones & getting to know our new little blessing. Having a little being around is definitely an adjustment, but I can feel motherhood growing in me. I’m learning to take things as they come. Nothing is getting done around the house (except the meals that Anthony graciously cooks up), but that’s as it should be. Sometime soon perhaps we’ll fall back into a routine that resembles some sort of normalcy. Well, a new normalcy…a better one.
For now our baby sleeps at my side, stirring gently as she stretches her tiny arms. She is lovely. I look at her hands & wonder what she’ll use them for. What will she make with them? Will she find a hobby that will keep her hands busy? Who will she touch – with them, & with her soul…I wonder what her eyes will see. I wonder about the lucky boy, who, once he meets her, will get to spend the rest of his life gazing into them. I can’t wait to hear her laugh & listen to the fascinating things that will come out of her tiny mouth. She is perfect. She is pure love. She is the best of Anthony & the best of me.
I am in love again.
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September 29th, 2008
While I am feeling quite stuck at bringing forth life from within these days, I am making progress in the quilting arena. I just might finish it before Ella’s here, afterall.
And I have a tiny helper. Lillypad always appears when I break out the fabric. She helps me with the design of things.
She is French. Need I mention it?
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September 4th, 2008
Yay!! My Joel Dewberry fabric is in! It arrived just before the baby shower preparations, & I haven’t had a chance to start on my quilt yet, but the plans are laid & waiting for me. Very simple plans, of course, because it is to be my first quilting experience, but it’s nice to know the plans are set.
I’d been unhealthily coveting that almond sparrow fabric there on the far right since this post. I started the search for what turned out to be the very mysteriously disappearing print & couldn’t find it in any online quilt shops. I called a store in a neighboring town to see if they would magically have any little birdies waiting for me. The woman sounded like she’d heard the question several times before. “If it has birds, I don’t have it. I’ve got Joel Dewberry, but only the turquoise stripes & dots. Usually when a print runs out, that’s it…the designer only runs so many…” Sigh. Eventually I turned to Ebay & in desperation actually considered buying the little sparrows for $25/yard. !!! Thankfully Anthony saw what I was doing & told me we’d find a way to work around the lack of sparrows. So we came up with a new color scheme, still in the aviary collection, but the line of yellowy fabrics instead of browns. I chose new prints, laid out my plans on Photoshop, & somewhat discouraged, went to order the new picks.
It turned out to be a wonderful day for fabric purchasing. The shop I’d planned to buy from magically had the little almond sparrow print in stock! I veered back to my original plans, upped the amount of my coveted print, & in very high spirits, placed my order as quickly as possible. I was so worried the little sparrows would fly away again, but I finally reined them in!
So there they wait for me. I’ve already cut into the sparrows & sent a bit off with my sister to San Francisco so she can begin working on Ella’s baby book. I’m thankful for that first cut that’s already been done. I tend to stash my most beloved fabrics as I feel they’re too beautiful to use. But these, oh these fine prints will look so much nicer once they’re bundling up a little girl named Ella.
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