Hair!

Hi there...Brian here. Last night I gave Madeleine her bath and decided to have fun with her hair when she got out. What you see is the result.

Shara didn't think it was funny but she let me keep it like this. I figure we might as well have fun with it now.

In the morning, Shara wet it and brushed it down. She didn't want Jamie at Day Care thinking she would send Maddie out in public like this. I think it looked worse better before. Sadly, I don't have a picture of it, Just enjoy these.

This photo was taken the other night after her bath. I didn't try and style her hair. This is just how it set itself. Madeleine is becoming interested in mirrors. Here we are having fun making faces.

Not ALWAYS smiling...

Baby's first cold. :(

and


Somebody doesn't like their Rainforest Jumperoo as much as her Daddy does...

So we made it through week one of daycare. The baby has a slight cold but still wakes up every morning with a smile.

I've included some pictures of Brooke and her beau, Wyatt. The two of them have made a huge effort to keep in touch with Bri and I over these past few months as we try to adjust to life with baby. Brookie you are amazing with kids. I can't wait until you are a mom too. Wyatt pay no attention - yet.....

Going Back to Work

My maternity leave is all but over and I am desperately trying to savor the last few moments I have with Maddie before returning to a busy call schedule. I have successfully nursed her over the past two and a half months during which time she did demonstrate the ability to take a bottle. Now however, she utterly refuses. Brian and I have tried just about everything and we are at our wit's end. To boot, Maddie is no longer sleeping through the night. I think she senses change on the horizon. Any recommendations from other moms out there would be more than appreciated.

Babyfest

So Trish, Erin, and I all got our babies together last week. Trish, Erin, Sydney, and Ciara trecked up to Maine - an eight hour journey round trip. We celebrated Syd's birthday a bit early with a cake only I could make ;). It tasted good, but was lopsided after being exposed to a warm oven.

Bri and Syd escaped the babyfest and spent an hour or so at Planet Toys. Syd got an electronic destiny device which, if I remember correctly, told us we would all be broke.

Ciara seemed to enjoy the Rainforest Jumperoo (pictured here). It is still too big for Madeleine, but it won't be long.

Thanks for coming up you guys!!

Let's Get Physical

Brian wanted me to post this picture of Madeleine impersonating Olivia Newton John. He actually wanted the song playing in the background but my computer skills are not that good. So sorry.

Smiles!

Shara and I are considering re-titling our blog. Any ideas for a name? I suggested "Holy Crap We Have a Baby!" and Shara had nothing to contribute.

The 80s are Back Baby!!!!!!

Brian here, taking a few moments while our little Madeleine is busy working to increase her lung capacity. She's also trying to turn as many shades of red as she can.
Last week, Maddie woke up with the hair seen in these photos. They have not been doctored. In fact, Shara and I are frightened as to what these photos portend for her in the future.

Angry Ballerina

She is not always sugar and spice. Check out the feet on this outfit!

More Photos

It's taken awhile to get into a routine, but I have finally been able to carve out enough time in the day to return to blogging. Maddie is getting big - so is her hair! For those of you who knew me then, think Shara 6th grade. Those photos will follow in another entry when I'm feeling less lazy. In any case, Maddie is over her case of baby acne but is now entering the drooling stage. Brian and I are getting 8 hours of sleep so we can't complain. Oh, and Maddie is now socially smiling. We can be confident that her smiles are no longer going to be followed by a dreaded diaper change.

On other fronts, my brother recently moved into his new condo. Congrats Paul!

Brian's sister started working at Pier One in Boston and has returned home from N.H. - Yeah!

Also, Brian and I have put the house on the market. We decided that the time spent working on it room by room is too much time spent away from family. Life is too short to strip wallpaper and scrape paint. It was fun while it lasted and was a learning experience to say the least, but we are ready to move on. Keep your fingers crossed that it sells soon.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig

A resounding cry of "More photos!" prompts today's post--that and the fact that we brought our new bundle home for the first time last night. Thanks to everyone who called and/wrote. Shara and I hope to see and share with you soon.

My Rendition of the Story

Hi Everyone! So I have finally had an opportunity to read Brian's comments about the delivery of our little bundle. For the most part it is accurate, however, I will have you know that there was no cursing before, during, or after Madeleine's arrival.

Our first day together as a family was an amazing success - and Brian and I felt like heroes. Last night was a different story altogether though. Madeleine was colicky and left us each with only 2 hours of sleep. We are due to travel home today in another one of Maine's latest blizzards. The two grammies are anxiously awaiting us. More later.

String of 9 Missed Periods Ends Spectacularly!

Hello Everyone...Brian here.
On Monday, Shara had an appointment with the Midwife and it was decided that Shara would be induced on Wednesday morning because the baby's due date was December 9th.
So, after an eventful trip to Walmart and some trash TV to celebrate the two-day-away induction, Shara's H2O broke at 11:30pm Monday night. It seems the baby had her own plans. A call to the doctor's office and we were told to wait until 7 Tuesday morning to head in and proceed with the events. Again, the baby had her own schedule and the contractions grew closer as Shara and Brian watched infomercial after infomercial (seriously, how many things can that guy sell?) in anticipation of the big day. At 6am Shara decided they needed to act "now" rather than at 7 as her contractions were 7 minutes then 3 minutes and then 10 minutes apart. She called the hospital and off we went.
The nurse led us to our delivery room. Shara changed into her johnny and climbed into bed. "One or two centimeters" the nurse informed us. Shara was not pleased because she felt that this meant a car ride home but the nurse reassured her that she was more than welcome to stay. "Great" Shara replied. " I need some medicine!"
The sun rose in the sky. Clouds passed overhead. The contractions increased as did the back spasms. Dilation ensued as the Grandmothers-to-be paced in the hallway, then listened at the door, were yelled at about "privacy", and finally sequestered to a room where they pretended to knit.
Two doors away, Shara opted for the epidural which helped for a while but not really to her expectations. It seems her body only wanted to be numb on the right side. Brian rubbed her back with minimal success.
At about 4:10 Shara and the baby decided that the best way to decrease the back pain would be to push. The midwife concurred and off they went. After an hour and thirteen minutes of diehard pushing a head-followed by a body-emerged. Shara and Brian named the joining of these two Madeleine. There was a decent amount of cursing but not enough to embarass.
Madeleine slept very well through the night and has not fussed at any great length. Holy crap she has a lot of hair. Shara is doing great! Brian is happy.
Enjoy the photos!

Hi! Brian here, presenting a picture of Shara not cooperating. She's extremely good at it--it was her minor in college.


Shara asked me to remove the unfavorable photo of her so I did. Here's a picture of some jumping cats. Brian

Bathroom

So the bathroom is way better than it was.....no more moldy walls, peeling wallpaper, lead painted window...Look closely though. Brian and I have yet to finish the trim next to the toilet. That's the problem with old houses. You work on a project non-stop and get so tired of it, that you can't be bothered to finish the moulding and complete the room. Our living room is the same way - one piece of moulding next to the piano. Old houses are never done.

Christmas Tree

Some More Pregnancy Photos

Our good friend Brooke took some pregnancy photos of Brian, the baby, and I back in November. She did a fabulous job. Thanks Brookie! I am working on getting the images into picture frames before D-day. Four days and counting. Now would be great though.

Getting Ready!

I am way bigger than this now. Only 2 weeks left until my due date!

The Hallway in Progress

Baby's New Room

7 Months Pregnant - Why Not Undertake Major Home Renovations??

So Brian and I decided that it would be best to rent the upstairs apartment once again. This way we might have a prayer of ever leaving our house, which we affectionately call the money pit. Unfortunately this was no easy feat. At 7 months pregnant we moved and renovated the bathroom, porch, and front hallway. I don't recommend anyone do this - EVER. Here are some photos. Oh yeah - and we had help from Butch Vila of course. Thanks dad!