still working on telling the world about sam...

it's a four part story

i know, you all are dying of suspense

in the meantime

little photo collage of sam :)



Sam - 1 month



he was just hanging out with me today, totally cooperating while mom had the camera in his face!

and he has such cute dimples

didn't capture them on camera yet

he smiles for me

but not in time for me to reach for the camera...

one of these days ;)

the beginning...

so, our story of how sam came into this world is a little wild so i decided to share it... it's going to be a 2 or 3 part series because it'll take a little while... and to keep all my many readers (hah) in suspense.

as i posted previously, we moved on september 11.
wednesday, september 15 i came home from working on the cape. i came home to boxes upon boxes. our apartment was chaos. i remember thinking, ugh, i just want to be organized before this child arrives and causes MORE chaos...

From top left: living room; kitchen; kitchen; Bedroom 1; Bedroom 1; Bedroom 1; Bedroom 2; Bedroom 2; Living Room; Center: view from living room into kitchen w/a VERY preggo Sara

i pulled his carseat out of the box to make sure all the parts were there and everything looked good and showed it to caleb. i joked about how our apartment is going to have many baby things. caleb refers to this as my "nesting phase", pulling the carseat out of the box. i wanted to wring his neck when he makes comments like this. he laughs and does it on purpose because i get annoyed. lol. i strongly dislike HATE when people make comments to me about "nesting". i am not a bird... just because i moved into a new apartment and want things organized does not mean i'm nesting. that is just human sara to want things organized and a place for everything...

wednesday, september 15, 2010
anyway, i crawl into bed that night thinking about:

• all the tasks yet to complete for work BEFORE baby alpine is born
• comcast is incompetent because it has been almost a WEEK since i requested a transfer from ipswich to hamilton and they still haven't completed the transfer
• all the boxes to unpack and organize - preferably before alpine is born

thursday, september 16, 2010
i didn't sleep well and chalked it up to pregnancy insomnia. i couldn't sleep past 5am. i decided to make use of my bathtub and soak in it before work. i roll out of bed, a difficult task at this stage of pregnancy, pad down the hall to the bathroom and fill the tub with water and bath salts. i slide into the tub to relax. heaven. well, almost. for a moment i forget i'm pregnant. caleb knocks on the door and asks if everything's alright... of course it is, i'm just relaxing in the tub. he tells me it's almost 8 o'clock. shoot. i have to go to work.

i drag myself out of the tub and get ready for work. i set up my computer and organize my desk in my home office. i contact comcast to ensure they are coming today to set up my work phone and internet. they are set to arrive at 12 noon. a friend of mine lets me borrow her wireless internet connection until comcast arrives so i can work. my brother peter calls from sweden (on skype) so i skype with him for a few minutes so he can see my belly (he's been traveling since june and won't be home until the end of december). his comment "wow. you are for sure pregnant." i hang up with him; get caught up on emails and continue working through my "to do" list. around 11:30 comcast calls to say they'll be their shortly and it will take 3 hours to set up. i tell them i have an appointment at 1:20pm and will have to leave by 1pm. they say it's better to reschedule and they will come over at 3pm. i relent still upset over the whole comcast process.

37 weeks - picture taken 3 days earlier

i have lunch and head to my appointment with the midwife. i ask her if she wants to check me to see if i'm dilated or effaced. she says she won't put me through that and we will wait until next week's appointment. we listen to baby alpine's heartbeat and i proceed to ask her many questions about labor & delivery, the hospital, etc. she said since it's my first baby i'll probably go late... but she answers my questions.

37 weeks pregnant

i leave the ob/gyn office and run a quick errand to target and go home to meet the comcast guys. i get back to the apartment and comcast shows up shortly thereafter. i have to rearrange a few cords and computer stuff under the desk - quite the task for a pregnant woman... as i'm crouched under my desk i feel a strange feelling... i stand up and it feels like i wet my pants! now i'm 37 weeks 3 days pregnant and didn't think i would be going into labor anytime soon...

Happy 30th Anniversary

Mom & Dad

30 years

what a milestone



Dad & Sam w/the ducks; John Hancock Tower; Mormor, Mom, Sara & Sam; Dad & Sam in Boston Common; Mom, Dad & Sam; Mom & Sam; a view of Boston; Mom & Dad

 THIRTY years ago today my parents were newly-weds.

 they have been such an inspiration and role model to me - both as a child and now as an adult.

let me share a little bit about my parents and how they met. please note: this is the cliff notes version. :)

my dad spent his junior year of college in sweden as an exchange student. he met my mom in one of his classes. they became friends (my mom had recently returned from studying in the states and wanted to keep up her english, so she befriended the american lad). they spent a lot of time together at school, hanging out, playing sports, and enjoying sweden. my mom invited him home to her family and he was able to experience the swedish culture even more. they backpacked europe together and then worked for one summer in sweden. my dad came back to the states and realized he met the woman of his dreams. he decided to go to sweden over christmas break of his senior year and ask my mom to marry him. when over there, he did propose and my mom said yes. they decided to get married the following year. my dad came back to the states and graduated college, my mom came to the states in july and they were married in october. there's much more to the story, but we don't have time today...

it's hard work to get everyone happy and looking at the camera

sam's at least not crying here...

a few memories...

growing up my parents would exercise by running together in the mornings and then we would take family walks around the neighborhood in the evenings.

sunday was family day - we would go to church, come home, have a big family dinner and hang out together: go for a walk, go to the beach, go biking or swimming, watch football, play games, relax, watch movies, basically spend time together. growing up, i didn't think it was anything special, but as i got older, i began to appreciate our sunday family day.

my parents made sure we ate together every night at 6pm. of course sports, school activities, work and other events interferred occasionally, but we could always count on dinner at 6pm. we would let mom know in advance if we weren't going to be home for dinner. "mom, i won't be home for dinner, but can you save me some?" was a request in response to missing dinner. friends would joke about eating dinner at the macdonald's house - apparently it was something akin to a comedy act, maybe it still is...

these days, family dinner is farther and fewer between, i'm married living away from home, one brother is out and about doing his thing, the next brother is gallavanting around the world and the youngest is in college in florida... needless to say, looking forward to christmas when EVERYONE will be together (my world travelling brother comes in a few days before christmas)

i have digressed from the original topic...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my wonderful fabulous kind loving caring parents!!!!

you worked hard to take care of us kids AND keep your marriage in tact. there is something to be said about spending 30 years with the same person. thank you for being you, for being great role models, for supporting us, for loving jesus, for providing us with memories for many many years. i love you both and can only pray caleb and i will be able to have a similar partnership in marriage as you have.

sam hanging w/Grandpa and the baby duck

sam enjoying a sunday in boston

a crowd was gathering to see the little baby on the baby duck :)

yesterday we celebrated my parents anniversary at Toscano in Boston. it came highly recommended and we weren't disappointed. my mom and dad, mormor, grandmother, uncle tim, caleb, sam and i were all there. my dad had a great time showing sam around boston. (earlier in the week, sam spent time w/my mom and mormor - more on that later - so sam spent most of the day in my dad's arms)

mom and sam

she loves her grandson

dad and his grandson sam