Kind of a "whack" idea...

Mr. Wilford (aka Grandpa) has been busy in the lab devising new baby carriers for the working baby... hmmm... somehow I don't think this is the BEST idea he's ever had... although the weeds have never looked better!

Here's a Little Story About a Girl Named Ayla

It all started last Friday, 4/25 when I went outside to do some work in the garden. I saw the most amazing, beautiful dragonfly that I had ever seen on one of our rose bushes. I had been waiting ever so patiently for Ayla to come and took the dragonfly as some sort of sign... dragonflies seem to show up in my world whenever something big is about to happen and when I am thinking about my brother a lot, which I have recently, not to mention that Ayla's room has its fair share of dragonflies adorning it.
That evening Ma & Pa Gimpel and Ma & Pa Wilford came over for dinner... chinese take out. Apparently both Ross' Grandma & my Grandma both went into labor after having chinese food... it couldn't hurt, right? I had already been having sporatic contractions here & there but really nothing to speak of. I can't go any further without mentioning the fact that Mama G happened to spill an entire styrofoam container of sweet & sour sauce all over the carpet in the dining room & we spent the evening on our hands & knees scrubbing it out- we still love you Mama!! Ross finally went & rented a carpet cleaner from Home Depot at about 9 p.m. & that seemed to do the trick! This was the hilarious view of our parents supervising the cleanup...
On Saturday morning, I woke up at 5 a.m. with pretty distinct, regular contractions. All day we timed them & they became more & more regular & strong as the day progressed. I was up all night with contractions that were pretty much 5 minutes apart. At 6 a.m. Sunday morning we decided that it was time to drive to the hospital. By the time we got there I was already 4 cm dialated & 90% effaced. SHOW TIME!
I was still able to smile between contractions until they broke my water... then I went from 5 cm to 10 cm in no time at all! My plan all along had been to have a totally natural birth- absolutely no drugs unless I really just could not handle it anymore. Well, I reached that point and was demanding drugs. I have never felt anything like that in my entire life... for those of you with children there is no need to explain, for those of you without children, there is no way to explain! They were getting me all hooked up on IV fluids & were going to give me IV meds when all of a sudden I NEEDED to push... they checked me & there was no time for meds- Ayla was moments away from her debut! I pushed for about 30- 40 minutes & was rewarded with the most AMAZING creature that was ever put on this earth! Ayla Sierra was here!
Amazingly, that night in our hospital room Ross looked down saw a bug crawling on his arm... after freaking out & trying to hit it away, we inspected it to see what it was... to our absolute SHOCK we saw a tiny gold colored ladybug... in a second story sterile hospital environment! How it got there, we have no idea... our journey began with a dragonfly & ended with a ladybug...
But the most awe inspiring is our own little Ayla- bug- a name we have been affectionately calling her since we found out about her...

Stay tuned to the adventure!

Our Little Sourdough & Rye Baguette

Ayla Sierra Gimpel
Born April 27, 2008 at 3:11 p.m.
7 lbs 9 ounces

20 inches

Moments after birth

Snuggle bug with Daddy

Voracious sucker

Peaceful

Coming home in my carseat

There are just no words...

She is healthy & beautiful and FINALLY home!

(many) More pictures to come :)

Happy Birthday!!!!

Happy birthday Mama! Looks like the baby will let you have your own day after all! Of course, she's probably only doing it so that SHE can have HER own day... pfft... Taurus'!

WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Ooooh...Aaaah...

The crib FINALLY came in!! I don't know what you were all so worried about? I mean, we only ordered it back in JANUARY... plenty of time to spare!

Pretty, pretty!

We are not going to talk about the fact that the threaded holes that receive the screws used to hold the finishing rails along the head & foot of the bed look like they were mashed into the wood by chimpanzees and you can't even put the screws in them...OK, I guess we'll mention it...

I mean, seriously!

Ross assures me that when he very calmly calls the manufacturer & explains how they will be overnighting new rails and screws, everything will be alright...

You have eluded my wrath for now, "Inspector #2" (if that is even your real name)... but I'm watching... oh, yes, I'm watching!

Happy Passover!

Love, happiness, and peace to everyone!
Happy Passover!

Mini-update...

Went to the doctor yesterday for my 38 week appointment... the baby is very low & in position (the midwife could actually feel her head during the exam). She said that I will most likely have a normal vaginal delivery with very little pushing time :) What does all this mean? Well, it could be any day now... but it could also not be for a couple of weeks... she did recommend however, that Ross NOT go snowboarding this weekend... *sigh* why do babies have to be so unpredictable?! But, for some reason I can't shake the feeling that this little one is not messing around. She was conceived on the first try, the pregnancy has been textbook & healthy, and now she's just waiting for an "open door" through which to get this thing started! I admire that she's a take charge kind of woman with better things to do than stand on her head all day!
tick-tock tick-tock...