CAMPODONICOS: January 2012

Evera 7 Weeks

Sweet, calm little Evera. She's so long and still skinny, although the thighs are starting to show signs of smush. Really, she eats, naps and smiles...ALL DAY. She's a pleasure.

What can I say about my pie? She's almost 3 and a half, going on 13. She definitely has quite a vocabulary and continues to bring interesting phrases home from school...like, "I need space," (me), "Why didn't you nap?" (her) "It's ok, I made it work," etc. Oh the napping. The days she does, she's a DOLL when I pick her up and take her home. Sweet, inclusive, agreeable, patient, creative, hungry and talkative. On the days she resists her naps, I take home a coo coo bird who has zero threshold for everything. I can blink my eyes and it will bother her. Not sure why she skips it when she does, because at home she needs and takes a 2 hour nap without fail. I know the teachers are working hard with her to get her to sleep...but they don't know the child I bring home when she doesn't! It's one of the most frustrating wild cards on the table right now. That, and whining! Her latest response to please don't whine, "But I can't stop whining!" On the flip side, her imagination is on fuego these days. Her dramatic play is, well, dramatic. But the stories she tells when she reads to her babies are elaborate and colorful. She is clearly affected by these Disney Princesses, as she caresses and sighs and pouts and dancing with joy in mimicking ways. She watches way too many movies, which came out of them being on during the survival mode of bed rest and a newborn in the house. We have yet to curb it but will come up with new rules soon enough. But her favorites include Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Happy Feet 2, Horton Hears a Who and Puss N Boots. I hope this list reflects new and fewer movies soon! I don't mind her vegging out and watching some times, we all need a little of that. But it's a bit much :) Deia is eating like a champ! Kale, Lentils, Quinoa, Asparagus, Pea Soup, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans and most other vegetables. She finally likes Steak....not that I intend to have her eat it all of the time. But a little here and there is good and I've been trying to introduce it for a loooong time. She's pretty active, in ballet, soccer and gymtastics. But we may be adding in a yoga class soon?! And she'll be doing 5 weeks of Jilly Jazz (my teacher!) in June. She is beginning to care about writing her name, mom and dad. She recognizes D's everywhere and has her own signature. You can make out the D, E & I sort of. She can successfully write mom :) It's so sweet to watch her draw! Her images have evolved and now she is drawing a lot of bugs, flowers, "letters" and using a lot of colors. She always has notes and drawings for me when I pick her up at school. By the way, NSW is the BEST PLACE EVER! I couldn't be happier for her to have the experience and support that she has there. Those teachers continue to impress us with their kindness, creativity and mindfulness about all things specific to Deia. They really know her well and are sharing with us all of their observations of her and intentions for her. I believe she is thriving there. Of course, she is adjusting to so many things in the social world of a 3 year old. But you should hear the way she negotiates the use of the something with another child who wants or has it! And the way she resolves conflict with a friend! It's incredible. I have wanted to put my dukes up a couple times to defend her...kids can be unknowingly and intentionally mean right! But she handles herself pretty darn well and her teachers are really great at validating her feelings and helping her communicate her issues. Cute stuff...she still thinks it's amazing to go poo on the potty and with all her might will strive to get something out at every sitting! She still adores her blubo and her manu, but only takes a couple sips at bed time and then puts it down. She still enjoys two books and two songs at bed time. Her favorite songs at the moments are, Box of Rain, Three Little Birds, Redemption Song, Suzanne, With Or Without You, Vienna, Running To Stand Still, Sweet Home Alabama and anything else we make up about her and her day :) She still loves the color purple but doesn't insist on just wearing all purple anymore. She loves Kids Cliff Bars, sea weed, squeezies, peanut butter crackers and most of all BELL PEPPERS!!! Favorite lunchtime item...spinach tortellinis from TJs. And she FINALLY starting liking peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches, which I press into a heart shape, of course :) She sleeps in pony tails now, so her hair doesn't get naughty and STILL says, "please mommy/daddy," when she wants us to come get her out of bed. She's delicious, and caring, and smart and funny. LOVE that girl!!!!!!!

My Umbrella

Deia always wanted her own umbrella. So, I bought her one...and we waited many months for it to rain so she could actually use it! On this day we decided a walk in the rain and some hot chocolate would go really well together. She luvs her "brella."

Daddy's Watching Ballet

What a moment. 3 dads, tip toes, venice palms in the reflection..all watching their little girls at Miss Marie's ballet class on Abbot Kinney.

Evera The Fraggle

I LOVE this little fraggle hat. I intend to photograph Evera in it a few more times before she grows out of it. Have you ever seen anything so fluffy and cute? ...the hat, I mean ;)

Birth Announcement

Evera was only 2 weeks old when this photo was taken! I grabbed the camera for an early session knowing that baby acne would probably ensue soon. PHEW. Evera had little bumps for several weeks after this! I failed at being able to get a holiday card out, so I figured the announcement would do. She was such a cute little mouse!

Helpful Big Sister

Deia has special little jobs that seem to make her happy and feel involved. She loves giving Evera a bottle, and does so with an adult glued to her side of course. She insists on "opening the wrappers" on each diaper we change and must "dab dab dab" with her own wipe. Every once in a while she will run upstairs to get something I need, which is great, and is almost too excited to shove a pacifier in her mouth. It's hard to explain to her that Evera isn't so much into the pacifier. But Deia speaks to her kindly, and loudly, and often tells her that "everything will be ok, sweetheart." It's adorable. Deia also doesn't seem to know her own strength. So we have to remind her to not put her entire body weight on the baby :)

About Evi

People want to know the story behind her name...there really isn't much of one. Evera, pronounced Ever-a. Not Eveera or Evira or EEvera, as we have already heard it. We'd seen Evera as part of a last name....something something Van Evera. The letters stood out to us. We looked it up to make sure it didn't mean anything bad. It's a simple English name that means The Brave One. That seemed fitting, given the trials of pregnancy....and that she was entering a household with a nugget called Deia Pie :) Loie, pronounced Lo-ee, is named after Loie Fuller, a pioneer of modern dance. She was famous dancer in France and was well known for being her own lighting technician. She wowed crowds with her use of fabrics in her dance and how she illuminated them so it looked as if they were changing colors with each twirl. Evera Loie, feels like a song when say it. Doesn't skip off the tongue too easily and we are still getting used to it. But she is Evera, nickname Evi (Eh-vi) :) She has also taken on the nickname firefly - fly for short...so far :)

The Love...

Once Deia was healthy again, she seized every opportunity to love on her baby sister. Desperate to hold her, feed her, change her and talk to her, she finally felt the love. Nothing is cuter than Deia's 2 little feet peeking out beneath the large nursing pillow when she would hold Evera on it. Now, if we could only get her to stop wrapping her hands around Evi's head and not kiss her so loud near her ears! Aggressive love, but love none-the-less :)

All Smiles!

At first you are supposed to assume a smile is due to gas or some involuntary action. But from day 1, this little baby smiled constantly. Awake and asleep, that grin, revealing the adorable dimple on her right cheek, was ever present. It sure made 2am a pleasure to be woken up to!

Deia Meets Evera

Nothing will ever replace the look on Deia's face when she came into the room to meet Evi. She came in with her gift bag, all items she chose for Evera (blankie, hat, bla bla rattle, wind up bath whale and a giant girly blubo doll). Corey video'd her peeking under the privacy curtain and walking into the room. At first she didn't know where her sister was, and then she found the bassinet :) Her little face was filled with wonder, maybe surprise. Granted, the poor thing had the WORST cold she had had in ages. But she was all smiles and baby talk when she approached her sister. She immediately decided she needed to start putting the gifts in the bassinet. We immediately, and sadly, decided that she couldn't stay long after we asked her to wash and sanitize her hands for the umpteenth time. She was over it, to say the least. Soooo, we gave her a gift from Evera that kept her occupied while the grandparents visited and then she went home. I was sad because I had a vision of all of us piling into my bed to cuddle and coo at the new baby. But still, I will always remember the curiosity and the little smirks Deia made. Priceless!

The Birth: November 14, 2011

What a journey to get to 40 weeks! I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes on September 3rd, ugh. So I had to be mindful of my diet and continue my exercise...and prick my finger for blood 4x a day. Surprisingly that was easy! And with the diet and exercise in place (spinning 3x a week and dance 1x), I was actually losing weight in my 3rd tri and felt incredible! So, not so bad. BUT, at 36 weeks, ironically, I was told my fluid was getting really low. When you are diabetic, you are constantly monitored to make sure you baby isn't getting too big too fast and that you don't have too much fluid. In my case, baby was looking small and fluid was low. Strange. Anyhow, I was told to go on partial bed rest and if I kept my fluids in tact, I might get to have that VBAC I was so desperate for. I kept that baby afloat in there for many weeks, and even made it through my 39th week while Dr. Thordarson was away in Hawaii! She had said that if baby didn't come while she was gone, on the day of my 40th week, November 15th, she would start "stirring" things up. On November 14th I went to Dr. Silverman for a routine ultrasound and non stress test. Alas, my fluids were too low to even get me to the 15th, Evera was to be born via c-section that night. I cried. Feeling like, had I known it would be this way, I would have had the c-section at 38 weeks and avoided those dreadful last two weeks of discomfort and would have been done being diabetic and would have begun recovery a little earlier. Damn. So between his office and home and St. Johns, I didn't really have enough time to reconcile my feelings about my efforts being all for nil. I was bitter about the outcome, finding it hard to get excited and fearful of the surgery and aftermath. The surgery went well, Evera came out easily and beautifully...although this time I nearly threw up and felt a lot of pain during the tugging etc when she was pulled out and afterwards. But Corey went to cut her cord and brought her over to me! She as all slimy and funny looking and beautiful. The room was so bright and there was a lot of chatting between the drs. The whole thing felt surreal to me, and they were giving me a lot of oxygen to keep me from throwing up. And there I lay, concerned about how late it was and the undoubtedly long night ahead. Fortunately, in recovery, I had an amazing little baby cuddling me, with the sweetest breath and all things tiny. She was gorgeous. It was quiet, no one around. Just us, staring at each other. She nursed for the first time here, seemed to latch on with ease...phew! This time, it was instant love. Knowing the phases of baby and what they turn into, I already had strong feelings of connection and excitement. That first week in the hospital was BRUTAL. The gas...which I couldn't pass, had me doubled over in pain. I wasn't allowed to eat for nearly 3 days until that gas was passed, thank you to the kind nurse who finally gave me a suppository that I begged for, yes, I begged! Good drugs and less visitors made for a more relaxed environment. Corey worked a lot, so I had a ton of time bonding alone with the baby. And Deia, poor thing, had a terrible cold, so she could only visit once. It broke my heart because I had such visions of her hopping into bed with me and us enjoying the baby together. Oh well. She brought her sister a gift, and conveniently, Evera got her one as well :) When we were discharged, we weren't as panicked as we were the first time around and went home thanking GAWD we decided to have a baby nurse!!! Best money ever spent!

Welcome Evera Loie Campodonico!!

November 14, 2011 - 9:36 P.M. - 7lbs - 18.75 inches of beautiful baby! She was born at 10something at night, via c-section, and was a calm, sweet angel from the moment she was born. She resembled Deia in many ways, but was very different at the same time. Of course, she came out 100% Corey, as history would repeat itself :) As we analyzed more closely, we see that maybe she has my nose. Corey's eyebrows, possibly my eyes (but they came out sapphire blue like Deia's), the bridge of Corey's nose, and his cheeks, the tip of my nose, lips are up in the air and Corey's chin. She definitely doesn't have my skin, she's quite pale. And she has BLOND hair! Whaaaat?! She's perfect in every way :)

Happy Halloween 2011

This photo was from the New School West Halloween Parade. The adults did drop off and then waited outside of the school. The kids prepared themselves and came out the front door, only to walk up and back a couple blocks. Maddy, Charlie and Deia were matching and holding hans the entire time! Then Deia wore her costume for the rest of the day at school.

CAMPODONICOS

Evera 7 Weeks

My Big Girl Deia