First Tracks (by Kevin)

Since the birth of our first child, Emma and I have not done a lot other than figure out parenthood. We will have to get back to you on that one, which I think will not be anytime soon. Every day is new and exciting and parenthood is something that evolves. We will evolve with Sapphire and learn as we go. Sapphie turned 5 weeks this Friday and we have been pretty much home bound.
It was time to get out of Burlington and do our first “mini trip”. Emma, Sapphie and I headed out Wednesday afternoon in the season’s first big snowstorm to Sugarbush, our ski home away from home. We safely arrived to meet up with our good friends Brian and Christina and their three children for a 4 day “mini vacation” and test run for upcoming trips. We picked a great time to head to the mountain with 20 inches of fresh POW on its way plus we had some fun things planned. My ski season has been on hold since December 26th at 10 am but I was ready to break out of that drought with a four day ski weekend and a Snow Cat tour first thing Thursday morning, which meant first tracks for Brian and I on 20 inches of POWder. Not a bad way to dust off the cob webs.
Brian and I arrived before dawn at the base of the mountain and were greeted by the Sugarbush Limo, a 12 person snow cat. This was going to be our ride up the mountain for the next two hours. We had the mountain all to ourselves, with the exception of 10 other people from Sugarbush, until the first chair spun at 9 am. That meant we could paint the canvas, which was the untouched snow, for two hours all by ourselves. It gave us the big mountain feel of the West right here in Warren, VT. We rode the mountain like we owned it. We took some great runs and got some nice video and pictures to document the morning. Seeing the sunrise from 4000 feet was a pretty cool experience. The cob webs are dusted off, and I cannot wait until Sapphire is on my heels following my every turn. She is going to be a mogul maniac and a backcountry rockstar like her daddy.

Sapphie is one month today

Sapphie is a month today! We woke up in shock that the time has passed so quickly. To celebrate, we wrapped her up in the snuggly (on Kevin), and took a long walk with the dogs on the golf course. She loved the walk, fell asleep halfway through, and then continued to sleep when we got home so that I was able to take a shower, strip the bed, and do a load of laundry! What a little angel.

The last 2 weeks have been really exciting. One big event was that Sapphie has started to really focus on things – people, the dogs, her play arch, lights. She just stares and blinks slowly at anything in her face. It’s so cute! Another big event was smiles, real ones! The first one happened when I was alone with her, talking to her while I held her close to my face. Suddenly, she grabbed one of my curls and locked eyes with me, with a very serious look on her face. I said “hello!” and she stared, and then broke out into a huge smile! It made me cry and I encouraged about 10 more smiles out of her in half an hour. Of course once Kevin came home, I couldn’t get her to repeat it. Luckily, though, she was alert this morning and gave him a big smile. She continues to take her feedings very seriously, with her hands clenched into fists while she eats. LaLa calls her a “passionate sucker”…which she is! She also looks very much like a female version of Kevin, with the cutest little pixie face. The pictures don’t show how red her hair is! We’re wondering if it will stay this color.

The dogs continue to fall in love with the baby. Cooper is always on guard, very serious when we have visitors. Cabot is his usual aloof self, but he loves to lick her toes when she cries, and he’s always supervising when I change her diaper. Kevin has been amazing. On the weekends, he takes Sapphie to watch lots of TV while I nap. During the week, he has been making me breakfast in bed. Even with the new baby, we’re still managing to eat our dinners together while she stretches her legs in the bassinet.

Last weekend, we had our first big outings. On Saturday, we went to the grocery store. Sapphie stared up at the lights, with her eyes bulging with excitement. Then she fell asleep, so we went out on our first post-baby date: a perfect lunch at Fresh Market. That evening, we had dinner at the Smiths. Zoe ate her dinner in her highchair while Sapphie ate hers in mummy’s lap. Sunday, we went to Church Street and did some shopping. It was a big weekend and lots of fun to take the baby to our favorite places.

Next weekend we will have our first road trip down to Warren. It should be lots of fun!! After that, a long visit from Auntie Hannah! We’ll surely have lots more pictures to share. Enjoy xoxo

It's a Girl!

Most of you know already, but I must make an official post to announce our baby girl, Sapphire Elizabeth. Sapphie was born on December 26th, 5 days after her "due date". The birth was amazing, and everything went smoothly. I went into labor on Christmas Eve when we were at Penelope and Colin's. Luckily, we were able to enjoy an amazing Christmas dinner and exchange gifts before we had to go home so I could start my hypnobirthing. Around 10pm, we got home and decided to watch The Holiday. Then we both went to bed, and I labored through the night in deep relaxation. By 5:30am, I woke up Kevin and told him it was time.
We arrived at the hospital at 6am and were placed in our first choice room, which had panoramic views of the city and a birthing tub. After some preliminary check-in tests, I got right into the labor tub and relaxed between contractions. Sapphie was born in the tub at 10:10am. She was 7lbs 10oz and 21" long.
The first 2 weeks were emotional for all, and we are now settling down into a new routine and a wonderful life with our new baby girl. I'm having a blast at home with my new little buddy. Here are some pictures from her first 2 weeks of life:

Snow (by Kevin)

Saturday the 20th and Sunday 21st were the first official “Powder” days of the 2008-2009 ski season. It came in on the brink of the Winter Solstice, the first day of winter, with a bang. Over a 48-hour period, close to 20 inches plus of snow fell across the Green Mountain’s. I was off to Sugarbush both days catching the waves of powder drifts that awaited me. Winter is my favorite time of year because I can play in the snow and the back country terrain that contains the secret powder stashes that Mt. Abraham and Ellen have to offer. I can not disclose the exact locations of these powder spots over the internet, but I am willing to take you to them if you so desire. As I skied, I kept my phone in my front jacket pocket anticipating that the next call would be from Emi beckoning me home as she started labor. The phone rang but they were not important enough calls to take on a Powder Day so the calls waited and the skis turned and burned their way down the steeps, peaks and glades of Sugarbush. I was rocking knee deep powder and waist deep in areas that had drifted. All in all it was good day and a great way to welcome Mother Winter. I hope this is an omen for things to come this winter. So get out and enjoy the snow in whatever way you enjoy the snow, I sure did.