rainy day

today is a great day to blog.  it is pouring down rain.  the baby is asleep to the rain with ogi standing guard at his crib to protect him from the thunder and lighting.  tuk is snoring underfoot.  

i measured dante this morning and he is over 25 inches long.  he was born 21.5 inches, so within a month he has stretched almost four more inches.  we are going to papa's office on wednesday to be weighed and measured.  i'll update you on the real stats then. 

the baby announcement will finally be in the mail next week, thanks to our friend chris.  we love it and his work. 

dante took his first plane ride, and was amazing.  if he wasn't feeding or sleeping he was smiling.  we went to durango, co to visit our friends the Z's and for a potential job opportunity for dave (more details soon).  the second plane was a propellor plane.  dave was the only one that didn't fair too well on the prop flight.  

we've had heaps of storms hit our area this season.  and we lost a huge tree.  thankfully no one was hurt and the tree fell directly into our neighbors front yard.  they had a few bumps to their car but luckily all was ok. 

parenting continues to be amazing, challenging and very rewarding.  i can't imagine really doing anything else.  all of the cards that you all have sent, saying 'savor every moment' 'it goes by so fast' are very true.  so we are heeding your advice and savoring every moment.  as one friend said last night, 'pretty soon they will hate us, and when we pick them up from school they'll pretend they don't know who we are.'  i remember those days, so now off to gaze into our baby's eyes.

also we are in MI for dante's namesakes 100th birthday.  june 27 - july 7, would love to see everyone!

i hear a little boy starting to rumble.  

much love. 

us

magic new world.

weighing in at 13.5 pounds at 9 weeks, we are doing something right.  papa is still of the thinking this size will make dante a rockstar on skates.  hopefully i will succeed in keeping him in a bubble and that won't happen.  

as i write he is on his 'activity mat' otherwise know as chaotic cluster of over-stimulus, squealing away.  everyday he chats a bit more, has a new expression and overall is truly amazing.  for us, it really is like seeing the world for the first time all over again.  we forget, as we grow what an amazing place we live in.  can you imagine seeing the color red for the first time?  better yet, black and white?  dante's fave book at the moment is a book of black and white animals.  sheep, pig, dog, cat and duck.  in that order, specifically.  we've read it A LOT.  so as he approaches everything new, we are trying to do the same.

must go.  just noticed a large spray coming up and over the activity mat... raining is not an element we purchased with this mat, just a function of little boys. 

much love.

tidbits

for the last time (as I fear I will have to start every post with an apology), sorry.  my new life as mama has taken it's toll on scheduling and all things pre-baby.  

a few updates.  we've hit a few milestones... most important dante smiled.  : ) he smiled.  not a smile of relief.  a patterning smile.  i smiled, he smiled.  what an amazing feeling.  i think this is his first foray into socializing... and it is a great feeling.  i've tried to capture it on camera, i'll keep trying.  the next milestone is that he slept for five hours.  well five hours between feedings, meaning i slept for four hours.  i felt like a rockstar.  

we had a surprise visit from dante's uncle david on wednesday.  my brother flew in for the day to meet his nephew and see us.  dante and david made their first trip to the arch, met dave for lunch and made a quick tour of our neighborhood... then we had to rush to the airport to make david's flight.  it was a great day and wonderful to see my brother with dante.  it's funny to be trading parenting tips with my bro.  

things are progressing in the right direction... we'll keep you posted.

Love, 

us

the new us

cheeks you could eat with a spoon.

delicious dante

my apologies for being away from the blog.  we've had a lot happening here adjusting to all things baby.  mostly we've been gazing at the delicious dante (please

 see above and below).  it has been a truly amazing few weeks.  today, dante is twenty days old.  and in the past twenty days he has taught us more about ourselves than we knew possible.  we have really taken these twenty days to hibernate and start our family.  the days of me thinking it wasn't possible to love anything more than our little family has changed, i look at our baby and it makes my heart hurt, i love him so much.  and as my friend kelly says, it really is exhausting just feeling so much love.  it really is.  

after an intense twenty-three hours we delivered dante.  dave was amazing during the entire process, i was so proud of him.  i am still trying to process the whole natural childbirth process myself, and if you are interested i would be happy to share the story(ies).  parts of which are rather humorous.  but not in a public form.  we spent two days in the hospital, which was really nice.  i never thought i would say that but i really did enjoy this time under supervision.  we were sent home to fend for ourselves.  thankfully my mom was still here and able to jump in and take care of everything else while dave and i sorted out our first few nights of sleepless parenting.  we are breast-feeding, and it has had a few bumps including mastitis.  i think we have turned the corner and are on our way to b

ecoming champs in this category.  we made it to the pediatrician, and learned that he is a butterball and close to perfect.  we've begun the transition back to a new normal... meaning dave went back to work.  i had a vision of myself waving goodbye on the front steps holding the baby, hysterically crying, with milk leaking everywhere.  alas that daydream did not come true but i think mostly because my mom was still here.  this morning my mom left, and a lot of tears were shed.  a lot.  she has been amazing this past week.  thanks, mom.  but we are now on to our new adventure of doing it on our own, being parents.  this time i feel like we are ready... 

stay tuned.

a few photos of our babe!

GO STATE!

  

luck of the irish

DANTE NEVAN DEVITRE

2.28P MARCH 17. 2009

8 pounds, 9 ounces

21.5 inches long

we are in awe. 

thank you all for your wishes. 

taking a few days to enjoy being us, we'll be in touch soon. 

love, 

dave, sarah, dante, tuk + ogi