Popsie

My grandfather, whom we called Popsie, passed away two weeks after Sofi's arrival.  I hope she will embody the same good nature, joy of life and love of family that my grandfather was known for.  Last weekend we went to his service in Cleveland and Sofi helped me with a reading.  So many family and friends came out for his service which was very special.  The weekend was as much a celebration of family and his life as it was a memorial.  Charlie and Diego had so much fun playing with cousins Wallis and Eli and Toby as well as with their aunts and uncles.  Sofi got passed around from one surrogate grandparent to another.  She seemed to really enjoy the attention.

 

I stopped by the library of congress to go through Charlie Taft's papers in search of a few old photos of Popsie.  Here he is as a young boy (bottom row - 2nd from left), a young man and as a great grandfather of (now) 8!

Sofi is almost a month now and I can't say life is getting back to normal, but we are all surviving...:)

Sofia Etienne Arrives!

Sofia Etienne Taft Vazquez arrived April fools day at 5:50pm, weighing in at 8lbs 3 oz.  We all absolutely adore her - especially her big brothers!!

I thought she was coming Friday March 29th in the early morning as I was up with false labor from 3-6am....but she didn't appear.  Then I was hoping to coax her out on Easter Sunday as my mom was visiting...but that would be too convenient.  I guess she was determined to be an April baby.   On Monday April 1st I took Charlie and Cici to their spring break soccer camp and stayed there doing work.  I have very distinct mental snapshots from the day and one image is from my first contraction at 10:40am when I was helping Cici change from her cleats to her sneakers. I remember looking down at her feet with one cleat and one sneaker thinking that by the end of the day I'd probably have a baby.  After soccer I dropped Cici off, battled with Nationals fans for parking near our house on opening day and called my mom to come back down.


For the next few hours Carlos worked on tiling the bathroom while I cancelled a few meetings, wrote a few emails and posted soccer pics on the blog.  Around 3pm I decided that, although my contractions were still only 7-8 minutes apart, I was feeling significant pressure in my lower back and rush hour was fast approaching so I told Carlos to stop working.

By the time we got to the hospital around 4pm they said I was 9 cm dilated.  The doctor on duty was headed into a C-section so they told me "just don't push."  Great - thanks!  By 5:30 or so I told them that crossing my legs wasn't going to keep the baby in any longer and the doctor did magically appear.  She broke my water and then quickly suited up.  20 minutes later Sofia arrived and cried immediately.  I was so happy to see her - she seemed magical from the start.  It was so nice to stay in the hospital for a few days with just the baby and be in denial of the reality of 3 children!   I even asked for "late check-out" from the hospital!!  We were indeed late leaving as we couldn't decide on a name (again!!).  Charlie, Carlos and I convened in the hospital room and voted between two names.  In the end Charlie won and he even nicknamed her 'Sofie'.

The boys absolutely adore Sofia - to the point that I worry about them suffocating her.  Even though they like her a lot they are acting out like crazy too.  Charlie has been wetting the bed and crying a lot. Diego throws more temper tantrums.  I'm hoping this will pass...Luckily Sofie is a little angel to make up for the other two.

The transition to three has been made easier by all the amazing help from people.  We've had meals made, meals delivered, help with the kids, great hand-me-downs and gifts of new gear for her.  It's so amazingly generous and helpful because I barely prepared for her arrival!   

Carlos filled the house with flowers when I came home from the hospital

A gift from a colleague who works at Martha Stewart:)  

40 weeks!

Diego doing head shoulders knees and toes....well kindof....

Looks like we have an april baby!  I has hoping she'd come during my mom's visit for Easter but clearly March just wasn't for her.  I can't say April fools is the best timing though.

This weekend we went to the kite festival on the mall after stopping at Costco to get Charlie a superhero kite.  He wasn't interested in our $9.99 chinese dragon kite anymore and opted for the $12 spiderman kite!  Due to the cherry blossom mayhem Carlos dropped off the boys and me at the Washington Monument.  We must have looked helpless because the family next to us came to our rescue and got the kite in the air.  Here is Charlie at the controls.  

 

Sunday was Easter so my mom and Mary came down with bunnies in the backseat.  The weather was yuck and Charlie woke up at 5am with some mysterious stomach illness..oh, and our backyard is a construction zone so we had an indoor easter egg hunt.  

This morning I took Charlie and Cici to their spring break soccer camp.  It was pretty cute.  The paranoid mom that I am wouldn't leave them so I sat and watched the whole time.  Charlie gets very serious and earnest about following what the coaches say.  Here they are doing drills and  "juggling."