16 months

life in mexico
was amazing
but overwhelming.
i fell behind
and then
the backlog
was overwhelming.

now is the time
to begin
to
catch up.




t h e    m o n t h    o f    m o v e m e n t




we began our stay
in mexico with
a little girl
who held
our hand
(or the
nearest
solid object)
as she explored
the world.

















but
on christmas day
she realized
she no longer
needed to hold
onto things
anymore...
















and so
her
independence
begun.

with the
occasional
return
to
home base.



but of course,
this was
just the beginning...



xo

it seems
like
only weeks ago
that
i arrived
in switzerland
and
the wisteria was
in bloom.



now the trees
that
cover the hills
are
adorned
in autumn colors.
the air is brisk
and
the sweetness
of autumn
mingles
with the
muskiness
of wet leaves.



wee grub
is already
6 weeks
old and
i begin to see
what parents
mean about
the quickness
of time.

yesterday
i opened
a box of clothes
from a dear friend
containing outfits
for 1-2 year olds
and
i cannot
believe she will
wear those
any time soon.

but she will.

soon i will
look at
the photos of her
at 6 weeks
and feel
the pang of
time so
quickly gone.



. . . . .

wee grub went
with
grub's parents,
grub, & i
to basel
this past week
to see the
art museum
designed by
renzo piano,
aka
the beyeler fondation.


{spider sculpture by louise bourgeois}

wee grub
took a long
train ride
in the carrier
with grub.



wee grub was,
of course,
totally
uninterested
in the museum.



. . . . .

lastly
wee grub
is enjoying
quality time
with her
grandparents
before
they return
to the usa
this week.



then
it's back
to boring
old life
with
mom & dad.



xo

the last
2 weeks
have sped by
and
vee turned
one month old.

today
she is
5 weeks
old.
we feel
like we know
her much better
but still
worry a lot
that
we are doing
things "right."

vee now can hold
her head up
for a while
and seems
more alert-
noticing
people and things
around her.
she is enamoured
with
the
black
and white
image of
a girl
and her
linnea doll
that we put
on her
changing table
to distract her.



she
almost
seems
to flirt
with them...
smiling & laughing
(after she
furrows
her brow
for a while).

vee has had
many visitors
including her
aunt krista.



vee
has cried
a lot.



often
we feel helpless
and
don't know
what to do.

many afternoons
my yoga ball
is
the only
thing that
will soothe her
(well besides
the boob,
of course).

this
is a very common
scene
at the
wee grub residence.



she finally
will be
lulled
to sleep
after much
bouncing.



we even bribe
visitors
to do it,
like
vee's
aunt pip.



vee's
grandma
and grandpa
(grub's parents)
arrived
this week
and
of course
they
are smitten
with her
(despite
the crying fits).



each day
brings
something new
and
as our midwife
is constantly
telling us-
we need to
just
chill out
and
enjoy it.

so
that's
what
we are
trying
to do.



xo

nothing yet.

not much
left to do
but wait
at this point.

at 40 weeks
they estimated
the size
of wee grub
at 3.73 kg
(~8.2 lbs)!
an average
baby size
but it
feels big to me.
grub was 7.8 lbs
and
i was 7.4 lbs
so wee grub
may weigh in
bigger than
both of us.
i blame it on
grub's great
cooking.
he kept
wee grub
well fed this
whole pregnancy.

thanks
for all
the emails...
it's nice to
feel loved...
it's very strange
to have so many
people waiting
for something
to happen to you
that
you have
no control over...

i promise
that once
wee grub
decides
to make
an appearance
we will
let you
all know
as soon
as possible.

more soon...
xo

the suitcase is packed
(that's wee grub's
orange tiger suitcase
from his aunt suzy)...

the celebratory whiskey
is ready to be opened...
the celebratory cuban cigar
is ready to be lit...

all the baby clothes
are cleaned,
labeled,
a put away...



oma is here!

and now
we wait...


nothing yet.
we are all
feeling
anxious.
prepared
(mostly)
but anxious.



xo

here we are
at beef 11...
they pronounce it
beef-onze.
it's a
sort of
swiss county fair.
grub was
very excited
about it
and everything
was beef onze this
and beef onze that
this week...
my colleagues
thought it was
very strange
that a vegetarian
would want
to go to
a meat-oriented
festival.
they apparently
don't understand
the subtle
nuances of
my personality.

we learned
a lot about
cow varieties...



watched sheep dogs
hard at work...



and
checked out
local yarn.

it was hot
which was
a bit tough
on me
but it was
all worth it.
but
i did have to
stick my feet
in the lake
at the
end of the day
to cool off.

. . . . .



aunty astrid
sent
a big package
of her
value village
thrift store
booty
for wee grub.
she knows me
so well
and
sent everything
so pleasingly
color-coordinated
i had to
take a photo.



wee grub is
getting quite
the wardrobe.
i may have to
post
her/his outfit
each day
so everyone
sees what
a stylish baby
wee grub is.

this week
i also had
my first
birth prep
acupuncture visit.
it was very strange
to be stuck
with needles...
especially in
my belly.
wee grub moved
around
a lot...
they have a point
called
the
bon bébé point.
it's suppose
to make
your baby smile
and not cry a lot.
hope it works!
i will have
3 more pre-birth
acupuncture visits
(as long
as wee grub
doesn't
arrive early).

later this week
we will finally
put the nursery
together
because
wee grub
is full term
and
now is
allowed
to arrive
at any time
(according to grub).
i am hoping
wee grub waits
until after
her/his oma
arrives
on the 4th!

xo

{click for larger view}

on monday
we had
our 36 week
appointment
and
our doctor did
a quick ultrasound
to see how big
wee grub is...
almost 3 kg
(~6.6lbs )!!!
wow.
i can't believe
i am carrying
such a big baby
around-
no wonder
it's so hard
to climb
the hills
these days!

our doctor
couldn't get
a good 3D shot
of wee grub's
face because
she/he
was sucking on
the umbilical cord
(you can kind of
see it in
the ultrasound photos)
our doctor
thought that
was
pretty cute.

. . .

today
our midwife
gave us
a tour of
the birthing rooms
and
post-birth rooms
at the hospital.
check out
the luxury.
i requested
the room shown
below
with the tub.
keep your
fingers crossed
that i get it
when the time
comes.



c'est tout!
xo