Four Weeks!

In honor of Zoe's 4 week birthday-- a blog update for you!

The past four weeks have been a bit of a time warp-- overall, the time has gone by so fast, but individual days at times go by so slow! We were lucky enough to have full time help the first three weeks, giving Zoe's Grandma and Granddaddy Swanson and Nana Hillebrand the chance to get to know her, and giving tons of support to us! This week has been solo for Mom and Zoe, and we've done pretty well-- not exactly routinized yet, but getting there.

Watching a brand new person all day every day is quite a new experience. I get to track the littlest changes in her development, the tiny little things that will eventually lead to a walking and talking child. But not yet! So far, Zoe can do exciting, life changing things, like lift her own head up off of your shoulder (she especially likes to do this when you are burping her, so that she is away from the spit cloth and over your neck), and kick her feet like crazy (which Aaron uses to help her kick on her socks or pant legs). And we are learning more about her likes and dislikes:

Zoe likes:
-Eating
-Staring at the light from a window
-Watching the light up toy on her play mat (she watches this like it is TV, I'm worried she'll develop an addiction)
-Looking at our black and white pillow, or the bars on her crib
-When you hold her feet (seriously, the tighter the better, it can calm her down when she's crying)
-Pressure and rocking- being held tightly, the bouncy chair, etc.
-Walking outside in the Ergo or the stroller
Zoe dislikes:
-Getting the hiccups (which she gets all the time)
-Waking up with a dirty diaper (so she screams)
-Waking up hungry (so she screams)
-Being too tired (but that doesn't mean she'll always fall asleep. Tricky!)
-The cold weather (wait, that's actually Mom. Zoe hasn't complained.)

Biggest surprise so far:
Babies make a LOT of weird noises. At least, I hope they do-- if not, we have one weird baby! Zoe has two noises in particular that she likes to make:
1. The squeaky door
2. The snorty pig
She is very good at both of these!

Biggest disappointment about having a baby:
I can no longer call my urge to eat baked goods a pregnancy craving.

Zoe Sylvia Swanson Hillebrand

Born: February 25th, 2011

20 inches long

7 lbs 9 oz

and Pretty Darn Cute

Zoe was born at 3:10 pm on Friday, February 25th-- after a long labor/ c-section that I won't write about right now. She spent 4 days as a Manhattanite at NYU hospital, where the fantastic nurses helped us to acclimate to her and her needs, and helped me with pain meds! She learned that she actually lives in Brooklyn last Tuesday, when she came home with Mom and Dad and met her cat, Zippy. Zippy is not quite sure what to make of her yet, and a little jealous that Zoe gets to be on all the furniture she's banned from.

My parents have been here the past week or so, and we are so very grateful for the help and the time they get to spend with Zoe. They will be tagging out with Aaron's mom this weekend- we are so lucky to have such a supportive family. As I've been recovering and acting as a one woman food machine (seriously, there is no exaggeration to how much newborns eat!), Aaron has been a fantastic diaper changing, rocking to sleep, house organizing new dad. Zoe only wants to eat when she's with me, so it is helpful to have some non-eating options for her between Aaron and her grandparents.

So, we are slowly but surely adjusting to this whole thing! Every day gets a little smoother. As you can see from the pictures, Zoe varies from making totally adorable faces to looking kind of like a fussy old man, depending on her expression and pose. Looking at her, I can't help but be floored by the fact that a week and a half ago this is what was in my tummy! I know it happens all the time, but it is a pretty amazing thing! I'm pretty proud of the fact that we made her!

Thanks for the many well wishes, visits from nearby friends, calls and emails we've gotten over the past week or so--- your support is really appreciated, and we love introducing Zoe to her family, "aunts" and "uncles". X's and O's-- from Carey, Aaron, and Zoe S.S. Hillebrand!

Baby Watch 2011

Tick, tock....tick, tock....tick tock

After the doctor told us last week that all is looking good for an early delivery, I can no longer make phone calls without leaving a message or the assumption is that I'm in labor. Last

week's doctor predicted a baby in the 8 pound range and speculated that she'll make her appearance at around 39 weeks. I am 39 weeks tomorrow (gulp), so, we shall see! At my visit this week, no predictions were made.

We've finally gotten pretty "baby ready"-- crib and changing table are in place, baby clothes in bins, diapers ready to go. As ready as we'll ever be, I think. She is moving and kicking up a storm these days, I guess she's feeling crowded.

So, the next time I post will be with baby pictures. Hope you are all staying warm and enjoying February.

Holiday Visits

Christmas, (belated) Hanukkah, Showers and visits-- we had a week of seeing wonderful people in Lansing and Grand Rapids. This baby is in for a warm welcome, considering our fabulous family and friends getting ready to greet her!

Happy New Year to all of you-- very excited to see all that 2011 has to bring!

December: Art Update

We are getting ready for our long drive to Michigan this week- can't wait to see Hillebrands and Swansons and more! Although I will be honest and say I'm nervous about the drive- the doctor told me to stop every hour and a half, and if you've ever been a road trip with me you'll know that is the opposite of how I like to travel-- I'm more of a destination than a journey kind of girl! However, that's not been the case for this pregnancy, so maybe that's changed. As I'm nearing month 8, I don't mind if the journey slows down a bit!

Aaron just had his third Open Studio at SVA (School of Visual Arts). He did a great job setting up his studio and hiding some of his hundreds of pieces to highlight a few favorites from this fall. He's been making art like ants storing up food for winter lately- trying to get as much made as he can before the baby comes. His next and last Open Studio will be in May, which will be Baby Swandobrand's very first art opening of many to come!

If we are seeing you next weekend or the following week we CAN'T wait! If we don't get to see you at the Michigan Christmukkah/ shower/new year's celebrations than we wish you very happy holidays!

See more of Aaron's art at www.aaronhillebrandart.com

Thanksgiving

We hosted our usual Thanksgiving crowd this year-- after eight years of making Thanksgiving together, Aaron and I have gotten quite good, if I don't say so myself! This year we even did some preparations early, and Aaron's turkey cooking skills are such that we didn't even have to wait around for the turkey to be ready! I didn't cook as much as mingle, but I did that well!

We had a total of ten for dinner. Both of my cousins came this year- Shandra from Philly for her 6th Thanksgiving with us, and Jacy from Wisconsin for his first. We had some regulars join us for "orphans thanksgiving" who aren't able to get home, and a couple first timers. Food consisted of turkey, tofurkey, twice baked mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, cranberries, stuffing, brussel sprouts, mac 'n cheese, three different pies and a south african pudding- pretty much way more food than any group of 10 people need.

I'm very aware that this is representing a shift in our holiday tradition this year. Next year we may have some of the same guests and all the same food, but the nine month old baby will make things feel different!

I'm also very thankful for the amazing friends and family in my life, and for the many blessings I am fortunate enough to have received. At the risk of sounding cheesy... Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Bump Update

We'll see if this blog is happening because I've been laying around sick all weekend, or if it is actually something I'm going to update regularly. I think it will depend on how much interest there is from you, far away friends and family! But, here I am, 6 months pregnant, making a blog...because facebook is too public and requests for prego-pictures are abundant.

So- here goes. Included are pictures from our recent trip to Mexico--a fantastic, restful week on the beach with Aaron and my parents, which wound up our "babymoon" vacation. We had a wonderful, relaxing time-- avoiding a hurricane, a surprise trip to the jungle, kayaking to snorkel, and primarily laying on the beach in the sun and sand.