2 months, 2 cute!

So...I really don't have anything interesting to say. I've been thinking about all the things I'd like to write about in my next blog posting but they've all been forgotten in my stuffy-haze. What seemingly was an allergy/sinus thing has turned into a full-blown cold! I feel awful. I really really really hope the baby doesn't get this because I just want to hibernate...probably until the winter is OVER! I've had it with winter. Ugh.

Anyways, in honor of Elias turning TWO months old today (can you believe it!?) we had another photo shoot to keep the tradition alive. I'm looking forward to seeing the progression in his size and personality. However, in my Sudafed coma I didn't realize my camera was on different setting so everything is a bit blurry (also because he was movin' and a shakin'). And please notice that we are finally starting to get some SMILES out of him! Oh boy do I have to work hard for them but they sure do melt my heart.

I love this one!!

Awww...happiness...I can't wait until I get more of these!

Also, at two months Elias had his first birthday party invitation. Happy 1st Birthday Leanna!

And not to leave you hanging for my next entry (c'mon I know I have you at the seat of your pants). I've been working on an art project that was inspired by Elias's waving, busy, always visible hands! I thought it would be nice to document these big paws in a way that's different than those plaster castings. It is taking much longer than anticipated - probably because between naps I'm taking a shower and washing dishes, however, I look forward to it's completion. But the real question is: what will he do with his hands one day??

You will find Mo, myself and Elias's hands as my templates.
And yes! I did trace his little busy hands while he was sleeping :) That was funny...

gluten free baby?!

Almost two years ago (this April) after an exploratory journey through the medical system I decided it would be in the best interest for my health to become gluten free. I suffered for a long time with various symptoms and finally after finding a very wise nutritionist, having the will to give the whole lifestyle a chance, and becoming a googling-medical-junkie: I can truly say I found the thorn in my side. I am not allergic per say or a diagnosed Celiac (where your intestinal walls disintegrate when you eat it) you would call me gluten-intolerant. My body and immune system become severely inflammed when I ingest gluten which then creates a domino effect of uncomfortable symptoms and long-term internal damages. The short term effects pretty much go like this; enjoy the doughy goodness of something like fresh Italian bread, get a migraine that lasts 3-5 days, bloat about 3-5 pounds, have your sinus's swell and feel stuffy, hang out in the bathroom for awhile (and awhile more) and then feel so incredible sleepy you'd consider that you have a chronic fatigue syndrome for a week! It's just no way to live and quite frankly it's depressing. Needless to say it's still one of the hardest things that I do on a daily basis - my options are not "I'm hungry, I want to eat" it goes more along the lines of "I'm hungry, what CAN I eat." The amazing thing I've learned from all of this is that we take eating for granted. I'm sure that's why there's such a problem with health and obesity in this country, we don't have to think about it. It's the machine that we feed ourselves with: being the fastest, easiest and tastiest item that crosses our path. In fact, our food quite literally has become part of machine (see the movie Food, Inc. for further investigation). Anyways, I could go on forever about these things and it's my blog so I could...but I'll stop here.

So back to the title, gluten free baby?! I was recently asked (in a semi-judgmental tone) if I was planning on "making" Elias eat gluten free. I hadn't really thought about it, nor had I thought it was deserving of judgment! Don't all parents "make" their kids eat what they think is good for them anyways? What's wrong with raising a child with limited access to gluten? And I'm pretty sure he's been gluten free for 9 months so what's the problem? So anyways, the answer is yes! Saturday mornings we will be making gluten free pancakes, when I make a gravy I'll be using sweet rice flour and when Christmas comes and we will make cookies as a family, experimenting with all types of flours, making old recipes in a new way. The moral of the story being that in this house we cook gluten free and we're more interested in everybody being able to eat than keeping with the norm. And if by chance Elias asks for a good ol' fashion PB&J on regular bread with the crusts cut off - he can have that too! Because really I've never understood more than I do now that old cliche: there's no manual that comes with parenting! As a parent (still kinda weird to say) we make decisions based on what we think is right at the time and hope for the best. So here's to a kinda, mostly, gluten free baby!

And speaking of the kitchen, here's some pics from yesterday - funny faces in the kitchen!

just baby!

happy faces

sad faces

very scary faces!

sweet faces..

NOTE: I must make a note about the dark circles under Mo's eyes! He was up for over a week until 5 am writing papers for an insane mid-semester course! The GOOD NEWS: he was offered an awesome internship this summer at a big accounting firm downtown!! We're very proud and excited for him to graduate this December!

2nd NOTE: I really like this blog about being, eating and going gluten free - it really helped me a lot! Check it out if you're interested. http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

just be-ing, one month

The meaning of time has a different definition depending on what phase of life you are in. My true concept of time began during my college years when I first became responsible for managing my own affairs. College time was measured by semesters, dining hall hours and 3 a.m. bed times. My concept of the world was measured in 15 week increments and how much fun I could get away with (work hard and party harder being the motto). Soon there after came the smack-in-the-face reality of the working world. Alarm clocks before sun rise, coffee as a mandatory additive and the hum-drum of recycling through dress pants that were always wrinkled because I was too lazy to iron them. Monday through Friday, work then dinner then dishes: wash, rinse, repeat. OK don't get me wrong life before this Mom thing also had some fun gin & tonics on the weekends as well ;) Needless to say for the last month my definition of time has become newly defined. For the most part I have no concept of what day it is. I'm not patiently waiting for the weekend to arrive or dreading Monday morning creeping up on me. Right now I am on baby-time and that's all about eating, sleeping and being cared for completely (around the clock, every three hours - phew!). Babies have no time, they just are...they just "be" if you will. And since I'm around for this ride I can honestly say that this "be"-ing: sitting, marinating and soaking in a lack of Monday through Friday is such a beautiful breath of fresh air! Unfortunately, once May comes I won't be able to enjoy such luxury, however, in the meanwhile I'll try to enjoy each second.

So anyways, speaking of baby-time I surprise myself by saying that Elias is now one month old! I never before understood why new mothers feel the urge to announce each month that their child is older until of course it was mine...I guess you have to walk in those shoes to get it.

Mama and baby time...


Just be-ing...




...and yes the quilt is embroidered with the name Elijah Andrew (a gift) we think it's funny and still picture worthy! Ringo likes it too.

And of course happy one month glamor shots! Nice camo pants :)

life is but a dream...

row row row your boat
gently down the stream
merrily merrily merrily merrily
life is but a dream...

It's funny how once a baby enters into your life (or even into your arms) a slew of nursery rhymes, riddles and children's songs begin to tumble out of your mouth! I mean how often do you sit around and sing about twinkling little stars? I think it's just part of our genetics. We are programmed to soothe and care for these little lives even though we think we have no idea how to do so. Anyways, the point is that while sitting in the rocker chair with Elias yesterday I realized just how perfect the lyrics "life is but a dream" were at describing my current state of being. First, and most obviously to me is that these past two weeks have felt like a waking dream. The days have meshed into the nights (with no help to Syracuse's lack of sunshine) and it's been hard to decipher the days. It's a mix of survival mode and the continual chipping away of allowing myself to believe that he is really mine...like I said...it feels like a dream.

Secondly, the idea of "rowing a boat" is identical to the theme of Elias's room. One of the things I've always enjoyed doing is decorating. I'm not talking the seasonal hokey stuff that rotates each new holiday season, I mean taking a room and giving a feeling to it. Needless to say every room in our house has been my canvas (thank you Mo for not caring) and the baby's room has been no different. It was really exciting this summer to think about what I wanted to surround our child with. To a certain degree it really didn't matter - he could sleep in a drawer and not know the difference - but in the end his room was a gift I wanted to give him. I was drawn to the idea of a sailboat. There is just something peaceful about such a large boat moving along in the water powered quietly by the wind. I had this feeling he'd love the water (and if his bath time temperament is any indication - I'm right). So here it is, the place where Elias can dream!

**Also, I'd like to thank my family and friends who made some creative pieces of art as contributions.

making history

I find it amusing that this month has made so much history. First, it has been the snowiest December on record for Syracuse. The snow started and never stopped finding all of us off guard and unprepared even for us Syracuse folk! During our trip to the hospital we kept hearing from the nursing staff that there must be something in the air because the amount of births they experienced during those 48 hours was "absolutely nutty" to quote my nurse. Then after a little Googling online this evening I found out that tonight marks a celestial phenomenon with a lunar eclipse and the advent of winter. According to NASA's website "Since Year 1, I can only find one previous instance of an eclipse matching the same calendar date as the solstice, and that is December, 21 1638 ." Basically that means this same event only happened 372 years ago! Why am I rambling about snow storms and lunar phases on my family blog you might wonder? It just so happens the change of seasons are important to both Mo and I. It's no coincidence that we were married on March 21st (the spring equinox) because we found it fitting to celebrate the new life of spring with the new life of our marriage. And so... here we are with the birth of our first child and this very day was supposed to be his real due date! For some reason I find something a bit magical about that. To take it one step further in the name of "historic" events, the name Elias is derived from the sun God Helios, both a literal "son" and figurative translation. So, here we are about to witness this phenomenon of the moon at the same time as we celebrate the coming life of our son (sun). OK yes.....I admit this comparison most certainly shows the deep seeded hippie in me, but come on it's all pretty cool ;)

As for the details of this past week: there is nothing I really want to say about my labor and delivery besides the fact that it was the worst experience of my life - and yet somehow it gave me the most amazing thing I've ever had/made/felt! There are no books or classes that can prepare you for the birth of your child (quite literally) but when it's all said and done there's a reason that people keep going back for more!

On that note I proudly introduce to you Elias Andrew Hereba! Born December 13, 2010 at 6:02 am. 9 pounds. 21 inches! Here are a few peaks from his first week...(notice the hands in all the pics - he never puts them down!)


Alert after a feeding!


Sleepy after a bath.


Not sure what to think of Daddy!


Hospital photo shoot.

you gotta start somewhere...

So I began this blog at the beginning of the week and today I've finally forced myself to start writing! Everyday I'd sign on and feel this insurmountable pressure to write something profound. Until this morning I forgot about the fact that this is MY blog and MY little spot in cyberspace to muse about whatever is important to me (talk about power). I suppose it's also a difficult time to start a blog: do I write about being pregnant which has practically passed? or do I write about my new family which has yet to come in the future? (well maybe tomorrow). In many ways I wished I chronicled my pregnancy in one location as I can truly say the journey has been nothing like I've ever experienced. I never knew the human body was capable of such things until it happened to me...in fact I never knew I was capable of this at all! I could go on and on writing about the things I've learned about my body, what I've learned about the people around me and most appropriately all the things I feel like I know nothing about. I suppose the big stack of baby books that have been at my bedside for months makes me look like a well educated mother, but I honestly can say I'm feeling a bit of panic at the idea of taking a newborn home and calling him mine - talk about mind bending!! I think it's pretty obvious that Mo and I have a tendency to make things more difficult than they have to be (I mean people have babies everyday right?) but it doesn't mean that this new chapter in life doesn't have me awe struck.

I go into the hospital tomorrow to be induced. It's certainly not the way that I hoped he would come into the world but I suppose all my parts have had enough! My body is under a good deal of stress right now so I know it's the best for us both. I feel that I've been very lucky in love, having somebody that I've been able to walk through these new phases of life with. I look forward to this monumental moment and the Pandora's box of life experiences we have yet to adventure together! Here's to this weekend...we'll keep you posted :)