Pretty Girl

I love these pictures. The lovely bonnet is from Keith and Teodora.

Zoe - Thirteen Weeks

Dennis mentioned yesterday, as he held her close, that Zoe will not get any smaller. Soon, faster than we can imagine, and notwithstanding all my fretting about the speed of her weight gain, she will be much bigger. One day, she will be too big for us to cradle within our arms. The she that she is now is as ephemeral as the morning dew. I suppose that is the reality of everyone of us too. It's just that the changes that occur now are less noticeable, solicits less excitement (well, minus the times when I spot the undeniable signs of aging, like when I discovered white hair).

Anyhow, she is today 13 weeks old, which means we are one quarter of the way into her third month. In terms of her physical development, her weight gain has slowed significantly. In fact, she hasn't gained any at all since two weeks ago (She is today 12.07 pounds). I attribute it to her eating habits - she doesn't seem to want very much at all. I tried very hard to encourage her to eat more, but to no avail. All I did was frustrate the two of us. So, as of yesterday, I decided to be Zen about it. After all, I can't force Zoe to nurse if she doesn't want to. For now, she still has her lovely chubby cheeks and is daily babbling and smiling more, which I take as an indication of good health. In terms of her mental development, she is increasingly aware of her surroundings and is very curious about it. Else, we still haven't nailed down a schedule. Yesterday she napped at 9 am and at 1 pm. Today, except for a very brief spell, she missed her morning nap - but we are making our way there. If not surely, at least slowly.

What we looked like right before Zoe

These two pictures were taken when I was 40 weeks pregnant with Zoe. Looking back, I was BIG!!! No wonder all kinds of strangers (random people I met while grocery shopping or at the bookstore) said I looked like I was about to pop! Am I glad that I have just about 8 pounds of the 40 pounds I gained to lose still. By the way, that's Dennis fooling around there. I wish we took a picture of him every time he took a picture of me during the pregnancy. One more thing, even then, Zoe was already showing her personality: sometimes, when I forget or push my belly too close into the table, she would kick and force me back.

Video of Zoe

Zoe

So, this is Zoe, our little one, for whom I wake up twice a night to feed. Since her arrival, I have cried more, worried more, loved more than I have ever thought capable of in a few short weeks.

I knew I would love her, but I didn't expect the joy I would feel when she smiles, the tenderness I would feel when I hold her. I had no idea I would worry so much too - is her gaining weight? Is she getting all the stimulation she needs? Are we doing enough to let her know just how much she is loved? I had no idea.

One Year Anniversary

Dennis & I celebrated our first year anniversary on Monday (11/19). We celebrated by going out to Nine-Ten for dinner on Sunday. On Monday, the actual day, I cooked us dinner (Garlic Bread, Salad & Linguine with Clam Sauce), which we enjoyed with the remaining bottle of wine we bought in New Zealand (Rippon Vineyard Lake Wanaka Central Otago Osteiner 2006). Over both dinners, we reminisced about the day and days leading up to our wedding one year ago.

It was a very eventful first year, full of adventures and dramatic misadventures. The adventures include our honeymoon in New Zealand, conceiving Zoe (in New Zealand - TMI?), the pregnancy, trips to Grand Canyon and San Francisco, Zoe's birth, becoming parents. The misadventures include Dennis' rather difficult transition away from academia into industry, the flooding of the house and the attendant headache of dealing with insurance, rebuilding and putting up in a hotel for nearly two months. Then, recently, there was the eye surgery to correct a detached retina in my right eye, followed by the fire, which displaced us for nearly a week. Thankfully, it has all ended well. We still have a home to come back to and my eye is recovering (slowly but surely). What a year! The highs were so high and the lows so low. Thankfully, we had one another. I suppose this year is a good start if love and marital longevity is what we are working towards. We remained pretty much chipper in spite of the troubles because we took solace in the fact that we were confronting them together. Then, if the fire taught us anything, it was the impermanence of things material and the importance of our lives, love, friends and family.

So here we are. What was two last year is now three. A family unit of three.

Linguine with Clam Sauce

1 onion, chopped
6 to 8 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped fine
5 tbs olive oil
4 cans of chopped clams
approximately 2 tbs of butter
2 to 3 tbs of white wine
Sprigs of fresh basil (optional)
Parsley chopped as garnish

Drain clams, reserving the juice. In a large skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil. When onion is soft (but not browned), stir in clams, half of the clam juice, butter, wine and basil. Simmer until sauce has reduced by 1/3, about 20 minutes. Serve over linguine.