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Fri, Dec 30, 2005 9:46 AM
Well Christmas has officially come and gone and I have to say Erin and I request a do-over.

Where to start?

Lets see.... on the 16th we left on a Jet Blue red-eye to go see Grandma Joanne and Grandpa David. Surprisingly this went off without a hitch and Arden slept like a champ the whole way.

And that folks was the last thing that went without a hitch in Dec.

Arden came down with one heck of a nasty cold in NV.....we took her to one doctor who turned out to be a homophobic asshole and then thanks to HRC took her to a wonderful doctor a few days later when she developed a fever.

As all this was going on we of course were housebound. Originally the plan was to take her on the Saturday or Sunday and get her pictures taken professional for Christmas and then take that picture and turn it into our holiday card....

Days slipped by with the baby fondly called "Snots McFarland".... she wasn't napping...she certainly wasn't sleeping through the night......tiny, glazed brown eyes peered beseechingly at us through black circles....throwing fits every time she saw the snot sucker or the saline nose spray....

By Wednesday we just tossed on her Christmas dress and LO AND BEHOLD....the good lord blessed us with an hour of cheerful Punkie Pie.....we got some wonderful shots and I think an adorable Christmas card....

The one good thing was we were there to celebrate Erin's Dad's birthday.

Then Thursday night we headed on a midnight flight to Boston.

People.....NEVER AGAIN. Arden was a champ on the flight (people came up to us on landing and complimented us on her behavior saying they were terrified when we first ambled on board - frankly I don't blame them)however, by mid day Friday she started screaming and didnt stop.

Her little self had just HAD IT. Patience was over and the infidelic parents MUST PAY.

Okay well she may have had a point.

Christmas eve we got the shopping done that we didn't get to in NV (since we didn't leave the house) and then ran over to Grandma Mary and Nonno's for dinner... Arden was just cheerful and wonderful.

Apparently we used all of our Christmas cheer on Christmas Eve.....let me explain....

Erin and I were up until the wee hours of Christmas morning (with my darling wife putting up with 14 hours of "A Christmas Story" marathon...the defining event of the holiday if you ask me)... wrapping gifts...after all a first Christmas only comes once....

Christmas morning we were so excited to see what Santa had brought Arden...Arden, however,...not so much.

After nursing she went to sleep (9am)....the clocked ticked and ticked.. Christmas dinner at Nonna's (1pm) was getting closer and closer....

It was at 12:30pm that our worst nightmare came true....WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO WAKE THE BABY.

There are good ideas in life and bad ideas in life...and then there are "ARE YOU BLEEPIN' CRAZY" ideas.... waking Arden transcends them all.

So we wrestled our fire-breathing....red-faced.....howling offspring through a brief bath and somehow wrangled her into her dress and out the door....

Arriving at Nonna's...the whole family was there for the first time in years...and Arden had a brand new cousin Anya to meet.

The second one person looked at her, our normally cheery, interactive child commenced to let loose with loud vocalizations of abject misery.

Erin and I marched upstairs... I nursed her, she fell asleep and that was how she stayed until it was time to go.

Her behavior was off enough that we called her Pediatrician who told us to go to the emergency room if we felt like it but that she should be fine until Tuesday and to bring her in then if we wanted. (no fever, nothing, she had just been cleared health-wise 2 days earlier by a Ped in NV)

We took the time to grab a couple photos of Anya, Arden and Nonna together...and headed off at 8:30pm to re-reunite with Grandma Mary, Nonno and my siblings over my Aunt Terri's.

A grumpy Arden stayed entrenched on Erin's shoulder for the brief visit and home we went.

The next morning??? Our cheerful girl was back...although she still seemed bothered when nursing. So Tuesday she went to the docs and had the start of an ear infection (mild redness) in her left ear.

So now we're shoving pink goop down her throat 3x a day.

Merry Christmas.

Dora

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Thu, Dec 15, 2005 4:34 PM
Sounds like our little angel had a rought day at the chocolate factory. Too much of a good thing I guess ;-). Good news is that Dora is home tomorrow.

This mommy gets to pack everyone for our trip to Grandma and Grandpa's tomorrow night. I did most of the laundry last night so tonight should be just pulling out the suitcases and getting things together.

Here's to hoping Miss A sleeps most of the flight .. last time we flew she was just bitty and had yet to discover the joyous sound that is her voice. Screaming is SO fun ;-).

Erin

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Wed, Dec 14, 2005 10:00 AM
Good Morning,

It certainly has been a tough week in our house. Luckily, Arden being smothered with attention amidst the chocolate. Yesterday was a better day for her, I got her down for a nap before I left and she took another one (3 hours!) in the late afternoon. Of course then she came home and promptly fell asleep for the night. Sigh. Don't get me wrong, I love that she sleep, just would like to see her awake too. :-)

Today was day 3 of shoving her into a snowsuit and trekking over to Grandma's factory. I should have taken a picture of her in this suit, she looked like a giant marshmallow with a tiny head. Will definitely whip out the camera next time. I got her down for a nap again before I left, which I think (hope) is helpful to Grandma and Nonno. That way they can get their day started while she gets the sleep that will put her in a chatty cheerful mood.

Friday night we head out to see her other grandparents in Nevada. Wonder what flying with her will be like, now that she has found her voice and all. :-) Last time she was only 5 weeks old and so easy to travel with.

Tonight will involve packing "smartly." This child travels with so much gear (carseat, stroller, her own suitcase, diaper bag), we barely have hands to carry stuff for ourselves. Think it's a very good idea we are leaving the parrot home this time. That would just be too much.

Of course we are hearing that there will be a storm on Friday, which will just throw another special wrench into getting to the airport. Good times, good times.

Alright, that is all from this mommy. Hope it isn't 9 degrees wherever the rest of you are.

Erin

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Tue, Dec 13, 2005 10:49 AM
All good things must come to an end…..

Maternity leave is over and I have returned to work. Returning to work is hard enough on its own. You leave your baby, you know that she has no idea that you are going…. She has no idea why when she calls you don’t come….she has no way to understand that you’ll be returning…..

Your heart just breaks in a million pieces.

But Erin and I are also facing the crumbling ruins of my company and the impending loss of my income. Right now I work in a place where when you walk in the door you are keenly aware that each minute that passes is just another minute on the countdown to the unknown. Where each letter of resignation is another loss of a comrade and another hole in what is a great, hardworking team with that rare, hard to find chemistry. This is a great company. I refuse to say ‘was’, was will come after I walk out the door for the last time.

It is the instability at work that makes me just want to wave the white flag of surrender and go crawl under a bed somewhere with Arden and wait until life gets back on an even keel.

But I know I can’t and I know I won’t. I’ll come into work, enjoy the people who are left, learn the last bit I can learn and when the last moment comes, try to look on the other side of the fence and admire the greenery.

Today is day two of my return. It was easier yesterday because I had no idea how aware Arden would be of my absence, my only times leaving her before were with Erin and she loves her mommy so I don’t think she ever noticed I was gone. Today I know she is missing me as much as I miss her.

The only thing keeping my emotions in check is knowing that Grandma and Nonno have her and love her to pieces…..Sometimes you have to thank God that my parents are my parents and are taking care of Arden at a personal expense to themselves during the holiday rush week at the factory. If I were a better daughter to them I would have just left her at daycare…but selfishly I took the security of their loving arms.

I guess this is another lesson in the hard knocks of life for me and Arden’s first taste of bitter that accompanies life’s sweetness.

Dora

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Fri, Dec 9, 2005 10:32 AM
Hello from snowy Massachusetts. I think today qualifies as Arden's first real snow storm. It's nasty (in my humble, California born & raised opinion).

Luckily Dora and Arden got to stay in today while I trudge through the blizzard. Our office holiday party is today, and I haven't got much time off as it is so here I am.

Our snowblower was returned from its annual service yesterday, what good timing. It'll get a workout this afternoon!

Next week is a big week in the Ferrari-Henry household. Dora has to go back to work :-(. Thankfully though, her mom has offered to take Arden for Monday. I think it will be easier on Dora than if we were sending her to daycare. I think though, I'll need to find a prescription for valium this weekend for her. We just have to make it through this week, then we go to Nevada to see Arden's other grandparents for a week. That'll be fun!

Have a great weekend folks!
Erin

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Tue, Dec 6, 2005 3:40 PM
Attention...Attention....

We have learned to scream. As in Arden learned how to scream and I learned to just block my ears and scream with her (just kidding...no really.)

The punkie pie (my favorite nickname for her...think pumpkin pie meets punk hairdo)was in a particular sort of mood today...and that mood resulted in deciding that the only way she was happy was nursing...and so what if she perhaps spit up a bit (or a ton) afterwards. It was obvious that it was nap time but who could nap when there were such lovely things to look at, even if it was through black circles that were rubbed with agitated fists.....

Eventually I took a stand and made her at least chill out in one of her chairs to give her some time to digest what she was eating...This of course pissed off the High Priestess of Stinky-pantedness....she did her normal yell for me and continued to do so (she doesn't cry when she wants me, she yells, crying indicates pain or true dispair). Finally I went down and tried making faces at her....still the yelling continued(I called Mommy Erin so she could partake in Arden's current dispostion - you know, just so she wouldn't feel lonely at work)....all of a sudden I watched Arden's face turn an interesting shade of red and she let out a SCREAM! And then stared at me, dry-eyed and furrow browed...generally looking like Oscar the Grouch's long lost cousin. She then repeated it a few times before finally staring at me, bottom lip protruding and trembling..

SIGH... okay guess who won?

And 10 minutes into nursing she was really sleepy so I put her down and she looked at me, smiled and shut her eyes...down for the count... as if to say "SEE IDIOT??!!! I was just thristy!"

Sigh...

Idiot over and out....

DOra

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Thu, Dec 1, 2005 2:13 PM
Well someone is starting to fuss so this is going to be much shorter than planned....

I just wanted to update that Arden has discovered that when she hits her toys they make noise! It is just the cutest thing ever :D

She bats around until the music starts and then gets all excited when the lights start flashing...sometimes she'll look at me with this big gummy grin like "SEE! SEE! LOOK at that!"

I also think we're in a very big growth spurt... it will be interesting to find out what she weighs now :)

Dora

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