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.

Living outside of the box (By Kevin)

I have been on a sabbatical from posting in our blog because it has been a busy couple of weeks, but I am back in action! During my travels across Northern Vermont, I’ve been doing some research and collecting items for our blog. I was going to indulge my ego some more and post the video and article on my fire rescue, but I was told “enough” by a very-pregnant someone, and that I “did not need to keep tooting my own horn.”

So today, I bring to you the concept of: living outside of the box. Or should I say inside the box? How often do you think about where you live, your possessions, what you have and do not have? Comparing yourself to others? Thinking you need things that you don’t actually need? We are a nation of massive needs and wants. Look where that has gotten us today: a huge financial crisis, a bailout plan for whoever wants a bailout plan, mortgage foreclosures…the list goes on. Whatever happened to working hard, earning your possessions, and paying cash because that is what you can afford? I look around and realize that, yes, there are a lot more things that I would like to obtain in my life. A bigger house for Emma and Baby Kouri, and a real yard for Cooper and Cabot to play in with no worries of knocking over an old lady or getting yelled at by the condo Nazis. I need to step back, however, and remind myself that life is good. I have health, family, the love of my life, a baby on the way and my own dog, Cabot (he is the chocolate one). I guess even though Cooper was given to me for Valentine’s Day, we all know who he really belongs to. I get to do my two favorite pastimes, skiing and golfing with good friends. There will always be wants, needs and desires and hopefully I will be able to achieve everything that I set my sights on. For now, I count my blessings and am thankful for all that I have.

I arrived at a farm a number of weeks ago and heard voices that I could not identify or locate. I finally happened upon a box in the milk house, filled with two brand-new kids (goat babies) with a heat lamp covering them with warmth. This was a goat herd of about 100 or so; therefore, kids in boxes small containers is a pretty common occurrence. I peered down into the box I think to myself “Boy, am I glad I am not a goat baby.” Do you ever put yourself into someone else’s proverbial shoes and wonder how it would be if the tables were turned? I find myself doing that a lot. Try it sometime - it makes you appreciate the smallest things in your life. Like not having to live in a box, literally, and waiting for some farmer to come by and give you a bottle of warm milk. Have you ever looked at a goat closely? It looks as if they are staring right at you trying to speak to you. I think this is why I am so freaked out about working with goats.

Anyway, during this Holiday season, be grateful for what you have and be glad you do not live in a box like the goat kids. Make an effort to think outside of the box as well. I know I am going to in the coming New Year.

Solstice snowshoe

Yesterday was winter solstice, and my due date. No baby yet, but we did get a TON of snow! To celebrate, Penelope and I went out to Pennycluse for breakfast. We went very early for a Sunday (8:45am!!), but it was full and we even had to wait for a table. It was so fun talking, relaxing, and watching the crazy people in their cars with no clue how to drive in the snow. Then we did a little shopping, and the stores were empty! So there is a benefit to getting up early on Sundays...

Then, I took a 2-hour nap in honor of my due date. I did not respond to the many texts asking "did you have your baby yet??????" Honestly, I'm in no hurry. Of course I'm excited, but I have really embraced the concept that the baby is in charge now, and I just have to continue living my life until he or she decides it's time to come out. I'm not going to sit at home and hold my breath, that's for sure!

I woke up from my nap, totally energized, and the snow was still falling heavily. So I called Penelope, and asked her if she wanted to go snowshoeing? Of course she did! She walked up to my place, and we went for a snowshoe at the golfcourse. It was just breathtaking. Pink sky, fluffy snow up to your knees, dogs going wild and white washing each other, kids screaming with laughter as they plunged down the sledding hill at Burlington Country Club. What a magical afternoon. When we got home, Kevin had a fire going and was cleaning like a madman (he gets this habit from his mother). So I made a very spicy meat sauce and some whole wheat pasta, along with his mother's amazing caeasar salad, and we had a lovely dinner. What an awesome solstice and due-date day!

Shredded wheat with bananas and raisins

That's what I had for breakfast this morning, and yesterday morning too. It makes me think of Papa Roger. I've been missing him a lot lately. Papa Roger was a man of routine, and he definitely passed his "routine genes" down to me. He used to have shredded wheat Monday through Friday, then eggs and bacon on Saturdays, then waffles or pancakes on Sundays. No variation, like clockwork.

Here he is on his 90th birthday, nearly 4 years ago. Scotch was also a big part of his daily routine, and he received plenty of it on his birthday! Once Baby Kouri comes, I'll be able to start enjoying scotch again too.

I think Saturday morning, we'll have eggs and bacon in honor of him.