(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.

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.

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?

]]> http://katyverga.com/2008/09/29/making-progress/feed/ 2 http://katyverga.com/2008/09/04/let-the-quilting-begin/ http://katyverga.com/2008/09/04/let-the-quilting-begin/#comments Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:38:30 +0000 Katy http://katyverga.com/?p=110

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.

Of course there had to be an element of craft included in the day, & of course Ella will be sporting American Apparel, so Ant & I nabbed a stash of onesies & set up a table in the corner designated to “baby couture” by family & friends. I’d seen this idea on an episode of “Gilmore Girls” & swore to myself & Anthony & anyone that would listen that we were going to have this at our shower when we became pregnant. I think it was a hit. I love that Ella will have lots of opportunities to represent her awesome family.

As favors, we set out Banana Bread Pots for guests to take home. I came across the potted bread idea here. It came down to me baking seven batches of banana bread the Friday afternoon before, which resulted in very puffy ankles at the shower, but it was well worth it. Somehow all that baking was somewhat relaxing.

I also made Cake Balls, or rather, Cake Pops. I’d stumbled upon Bakerella’s blog a long while ago & became set on making these confections for the shower the moment I saw them. Then one day I was home sick from work & watching Martha, & lo-&-behold, there was the Bakerella herself, mixing up these adorable lollipops with the queen of domesticity herself. It was thrilling! Martha knows a good thing when she sees it. Friday night saw me dipping & decorating the little balls of cake. Wee hours of Saturday morning saw Anthony hunched over the table, asleep next to me as I packaged each little ball individually. These took quite a good deal of time to create, start to finish, but if you break the steps up between two (or a few) days, they become less overwhelming.

I always get in over my head, & Anthony & my mom see this & warn me of it each time, but they let me dive in & in the end I am usually happy I did. I think I must secretly crave pressure (but only when it’s self-induced). But I am sure I will make both of these favors again…perhaps for other shower-type events or holidays or birthdays…

This next one I cannot say was my contribution. In the invites, my friend & fine hostess sent along a little note encouraging guests to bring a children’s book that would grant them entry into a contest for a spiffy giftcard. There was a basket for guests to drop their books in at the door & after gifts were opened, Anthony & I sifted through them only to find beautiful inscriptions on the inner pages. I couldn’t get through a few at the time, as my eyes well up instantaneously lately, but I dove in with a tissue handy the next day. I love love love children’s books & to have these special notes written directly to Ella, I can only imagine how loved she’ll feel when she’s old enough to read them herself.

I know I am repeating myself, but it was a very winsome day. And now I am off to eat more of my nanner bread pot. Sweet dreams……..

* More photos of the onesie corner & favors can be seen in our Flickr set.

I don’t feel like I will ever be able to adequately express how grateful I am to have such amazing people in our lives. I feel truly blessed to be a tiny factor in their lives, & I can’t imagine them not being in mine. My three best friends organized & threw the baby bash & it was perfect. The beautiful decorations & the way-too-good food set the perfect stage for a comfortable day of togetherness with people I needed to see & spend time with. My sister flew in from San Francisco & I couldn’t be more thrilled that she was there for the celebration. I can’t wait for Ella to meet all the incredible people her life has in store for her.

I’m getting teary now & I know there’s more to say, but I seem to be having trouble seeing the screen.

I guess in summary, I don’t think I could ever express the love I felt that day, because it was too outstanding. I could not have asked for a more perfect way to prepare for Ella’s arrival. When she is older, she will look at pictures from that day & read the notes addressed to her, & know just how loved she was even before she came into the world. And I will know for always how blessed I am to have such amazing friends & family in my very own world.

Thank you, ladies. I love you.

And thank you, Fooz, for capturing all the moments from the day.  I am missing you already.  Love.

The Orbit is a convertible infant travel system that supplies us with a carseat base, a stroller, & an infant carseat that accommodates both aforementioned pieces. The real kicker is that the seat swivels on the bases, so we can adjust the direction she faces as we stroll, & when we park her at a table she can stay at our level in her stroller & face us to be included. I suppose like a highchair, but for a smaller one who can’t yet sit up. Also, getting the seat into the car is a cinch as it can be set into the base sideways, then turned to face backward. Really, the swivel is just extremely handy & allows for smooth transitions as it eliminates the clunkiness of transporting the baby & infant seat from one place to another.

Orbit also sells add-ons for the system. For babies up to 15 pounds, there is a bassinet with a removable rocker base. I’ve been eyeing this bassinet for a long time, as I love the vintage feel of it. I really wish we could push babies around in one of those old black prams & not worry about it falling to bits.

When Ella gets older, we’re planning on purchasing the Orbit toddler seat that will snap into the stroller & carseat bases. The whole unit is completely convertible, & if we plan it right (& oh believe me, we will try our darndest), our first girl will be out of her stroller in time for the next Chickpea to occupy it.

Being a girl, I love the little diaper bag carryall that snaps into the bottom of the stroller. And the cupholders! Snazzy for that Mexican hot chocolate I spoke of earlier. There’s also a “paparazzi shield” as Orbit likes to call it, that tucks away into the shade. I don’t know how much use we’ll get out of this here, as we don’t get much rain & I imagine it would be so hot in there with the shield covering, but it seems like it could be a nice little getaway for her.

The kitties were interested during the unpacking process but I think after a while the knowledge of just who this new toy is for set in…I think I can see a tear in Paddington’s eye.

Perhaps this evening we will take it for a brief stroll around the park or block. It’s pretty fun empty as is. I can’t wait until there’s a little Ella Faye nestled inside. (I am chancing she can’t wait either, as currently she seems a bit annoyed being nestled in me.)

Ella’s wheels arrived a few hours ago & we’ve been busy since, pushing it up & down the hallway, through the kitchen, outside.  We wanted to take it for a walk around the park but thought perhaps passersby would think us kooks.  Although it’s dark now, so we could get away with it.  Maybe tomorrow.  We’ve already encountered one small fiasco trying to get the carseat strapped in with lightning looming & heat stifling.  I can’t wait for Fall.  And Ella.  Photos tomorrow, perhaps!

]]> http://katyverga.com/2008/08/05/the-stroller-is-here/feed/ 2 http://katyverga.com/2008/07/09/its-crib-day-baby/ http://katyverga.com/2008/07/09/its-crib-day-baby/#comments Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:29:16 +0000 Katy http://katyverga.com/?p=65 Ella Faye’s crib comes in today!  Here’s what we’ll be off to pick it up as soon as the workday’s through.

Ant had found a very similar, very expensive version by a very upscale company called Oeuf.  We knew we couldn’t foot that bill so we hunted around for a modern looking crib in our own price range.  We found a nice white convertible crib at Babies R Us, not too mod looking, but not a big hunky sleigh design that seems to rule the baby bed world these days.  Well when we went back to buy it two weeks ago, we discovered it had been recalled.  So!  All for the better!  Our hunt continued, & we came across this lovely thing.  We swooned.

Then hit a snag.  It’s manufactured by BabyMod, a new line at WalMart.  I faced a dilemma.  I do not concur with the way WalMart functions.  However, I am not one of those people who, at mention of WalMart, goes into a rant & preaches against its unpolitical, unethical ways.  I worked at WalMart for a summer (maybe almost a year?  I’ve blocked it from memory somewhat), & it was pretty depressing.  I felt like a sellout, & I experienced first-hand how poorly the blue-vested were treated.  I have my own reasons for not wanting to step foot inside one since the day I stepped out of cashier status.  And though it may be silly, I’ve secretly prided myself on taking my shopping list elsewhere.

But today I will relent & walk through the sliding doors, greet the aged face before me with an equally wrinkled smile, & dash as fast as I can to wherever I need to go to pick up that crib.  As WalMart tyrants are my witness, I am visiting for the sole sake of affordable style!

Here are some fabrics from Joel Dewberry’s line that have made the ‘possibilities’ list:

We are aiming for a nature-y theme in the nursery & I want to incorporate birds as much as possible. This print completely fits the bill…this with the woodgrain or sunburst prints above…YEARN…

Now if I could find a crib bedding set made of one (or a collection) of these, oh it would be perfect. I’m not up to the challenge of making a set myself, but maybe the nursery could have a little touch of Joel Dewberry. Perhaps my first quilt attempt is in the future?