Sara Bela > squid

It's true!

Mom feet! Baby feets!

Attempting to crawl!

Never too early!  You had fun wriggling on your belly on this quilt that Rach made you.  After some grumpiness you became fascinated by this new sense of your limbs as tools and impediments to movement. 
You spend lots of time on your belly mostly resting on us though.  This was new!

Peaceful sleeper

You have been more wakeful and ravenous like a tiny beast at night - tiring but wonderful!  Hoping this burrito wrap swaddle helps you rest.  We love you, small friend Sara Bela!  Good night.

We love your cowprint carseat Sara Bela!

Cuteness!

I can't believe how lovely you are Sara Bela

These are fleeting moments of quiet and rest together.  Your dad captures them brilliantly.  Everyone in the world deserves these peaceful spaces and times.  Let's keep building them together.

Rockstar pajamas

Courtesy of aunt Rachel!

You rock kiddo

The past couple days you have been aware, alert, calm and lovely.  We love learning from and with you, Sara Bela.  Reading, pointing, singing, laughing, all a joy!

Hi little lady

Good morning Tiny!

You were very quiet and lovely last night - and this morning you were alert, curious and calm!  You are sleeping on my chest in your carrier now, as I fold laundry and eat cereal and have coffee.  Hooray for your lovely eyes!

Precious times

Sara Bela - look how much your dad loves you.  And always will. 

Alert and awake morning time

Morning nap

Tiny, you thought last night was a good time for a dance party instead of sleeping, so yr dad hung out with you.  He just got up from sleeping in, so you and I hung out this morning.  You were cool with your carrier and drowsed back down, but then you wanted to nestle in the crook of my arm!  The evidence below, lovely baby:

Tiny sleeper

After you wouldn't go back to bed around 630 this morn - I put you on in your carrier and we did some needed house chores.  Sweeping the dining room and kitchen and going out to buy yoghurt lulled you to sleep.  Here's the proof in a kitchen sunbeam!

You were two weeks old yesterday and you are bigger and more robust and willful and wonderful every day.  So proud of you, little Sara Bela, and we love you so much!

Breakfast!

Hannah, Sara Bela, oatmeal

The elusive baby bath video!

Thanks Susie for filming on your phone!  It took 800,000 years to upload but here it is:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNvBFmIxk-M&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Baby bath photo one!

I was insanely lax, Tiny, in not posting photos from Sunday's bath.  You tolerated it well - curious about the washcloth and warm water - until just at the end, when the cold and tumult overwhelmed you.  Post bath, we put you in a hooded duck towel that overwhelmed us with its cuteness.  Milestone reached!

Lets see if I can get this cell phone video made by Safta Susie uploaded.

Love, Hannah your mom

Directly post vomiting all over yourself!

Your friend Shy changed you - you were a drean of calm - then suddenly a flood!  Shy put this attractive onesie on you and you are now chilling out, watching the evening news.

Sleeping tiny

After an afternoon walk to the Sattelite coffee shop, you are sleeping soundly in your dad's arms!

Morning baby jaw agape!

Morning sunshine baby

Dad sleeps in

Last night you kind of wanted to have a being-awake-festival, and I had gotten extra sleep as I went to bed a few hours earlier than your dad, so this morning I experimented with letting him sleep and hanging out with you one on one.

You were a little cranky as you have been struggling with burps and too much air in your wee digestive system, but after lots of burping and eating and a diaper change, I got myself dressed (no small feat), you into your carrier and went downstairs.

Grinding coffee and making oatmeal, not to mention doing dishes, is a contact sport while wearing a drowsy baby!  When I tried to spit out my toothpaste post teethbrushing, I hit the mirror and the faucet instead of any reasonable part of the sink, for example.  But I was able to get food heated and in front of me, and got to enjoy my breakfast while staring at your gorgeous face.

You are more beautiful and willful and yourself every day, little Sara Bela!  Let's see what Sunday has in store.

Love,
Hannah your mama

Fun in the park!

We'd been waiting months to bring you to a warm day in Clark Park.  Now that you're here, it was time for a shay adventure at the Satueday farmers' market!

You woke up a bit early today, so we kept you in your awesome adventurer pajamas and that great knit hat made by Lori who we met in our birth class.  So garbed we took you to the park, where your mom and dad enjoyed tacos and doughnuts!

We played pass-the-baby with Rachel and cousin Barbara, and visited with many friendly passers-by - Adam, JJ the photographer, Colleen the midwife, Matty, and many others! 

Now we are resting at home and waiting for more visitors layer.  Good Shabbos and happy Saturday!

Am I sleeping?

Again, directly before spitting up!  Hooray! 

A Friday of Grand Adventures

Dear Sara Bela, Today was your most exciting West Philly day yet. We started out with a visit from your Safta (the hebrew word for grandmother) Susie and Rachie. It's hilarious to see them negotiate over who gets to hold you next. They both love you so much and we know that you'll learn grace, love and family from both of them.

Check out the cute onesie Sydney gave me!

Sara Bela!  Stop punching Safta!

 

 After a fun visit, our neighbor Teresa walked by. Teresa and Rachie talked for a while about schools for kids in our neighborhood and how hard we want to work to make sure you and all kids get a great education. Teresa had great advice for us and wonderful stories about her birth of Gus, who is now a beautiful 4 year old. Our dear friend Mars stopped by briefly with delicious cheese cake cupcakes and borscht. Beets and cheese are big favorites in our household. This conversation involved us eating many handfuls of concord grapes grown on our porch. We sat under the shade of our grape vines leaves, protecting you from the sun as we chatted with our neighbors and family.

Sara Bela was pooped after the visitors!

Then we decide to embark on a grand adventure. Both of us have been overwhelmed with the miracle of your birth and what a blessing you've been, so we decided to go to Kabbalat Shabbat services at the local synagogue, Kol Tzedek. Shabbos is a day of rest and celebration every week for Jews all over the world.

Josh and Sara Bela at Kol Tzedek

Having a newborn turns everything into a contact sport, so we prepared for every inevitable outcome -- diaper bag packed to the brim, we headed off to shul. You needed to eat a few times during the service and you were very warm at the Calvary Church, a wonderful community space where Kol Tzedek meets (and where your momma worked for many years at the Prometheus Radio Project), but we could definitely tell you were in the spirit of the Sabbath when you projectile vomited all over us during the Shma prayer. Everyone marvelled at how beautiful you were and you had so well that we accepted a dinner invitation from our new friends Billy and Sarah, at whose house we started our labor with you two weeks ago today! We just got home from a great dinner there with Billy, Sarah, Paul, and Nava. Everyone was captivated by your birth story and we were grateful to talk about Jewish life and culture in our community and beyond with these wonderful people. Now you're home and snuggled up. Thanks for a great day, Sara Bela!

Sara Bela, sleeping after a busy day

Hooray afternoon nap!

Tiny is sacked out from visits with her Safta Sue, Rachel, and a great stopover from Teresa the supermom neighbor in another great group house.  Nap away our little pterodactyl!

Sara Bela Science Experiments

Sara Bela - I love watching your dad learn with you.  In this video your training as a starship captain began!  Can you withstand the centrifugal force?  Can you track hypnotizing lights from the sky?

Watch "Sara Bela Science Experiments" on YouTube

Tiny has something to say

Sara Bela, taking after her mom, has an important point to make.

Hannah loves photos with Sara Bela's tongue out

Another day with our tiny friend

Today was good and restful and filled with learning.  Sara Bela, you stayed awake for about 5 hours w/o napping, about 11 or 12 to 5.  Crazy!  You met our friends Christi and Adam - great community organizers and beer brewers.  They brought great food for us and we have already enjoyed the pesto gluten free pasta and salad.

Then we walked to the farmers' market and said hi to Billy Yalowitz, who we had Shabbat dinner with the night we went into labor with you!  Our neighborhood is filled with people who want to be your friends.
Last night we watched the Republican presidential debate and tonight, President Obama's speech on jobs and job growth for people in our country.  The political and economic environment in which you are growing up is hard.  But we can work together in our community and with leaders beyond Philly to build the world we all deserve.
You are sleeping now after a long day of awakeness - we are excited for another night with you and another bright day tomorrow.  We are so lucky to have dear friends and family nearby!
Love, your mom Hannah and dad Josh

Hannah rocking Sara Bela

Baby, you're a burrito

We have been swaddling the baby at night and in the morning a bit to help her feel safe and snug and ready to sleep.  In the photos below she is in a swaddle called the Miracle Blanket, which promises to keep their arms and legs tucked in and to reset your baby to snoozing mode.  We like to sing a song to her about how she is a burrito - wrapping her up is not unlike putting a burrito together.

Our baby is a genius tho - she quickly escaped from the wrap, aka the Baby Straitjacket.

Dad Josh wanted a little more sleep so we put her down in between us in bed.  They will nap and I will watch over em.  They are snoozing now.  So cute.