Back to UCSF...but for good reasons!

Today Cole got a chance to return to the place of his birth, UCSF. Or, more precisely, the place across the street from the hospital where he was born - the UCSF obstetrics clinic, where mom spent many a Friday being viewed and probed and prodded in order to keep him inside about 16 weeks longer than he apparently wanted.

Most importantly, he got to visit with our great doctor, Anjali Kaimal.

We feel so lucky to have found her as an OB while we went through this difficult pregnancy! And Cole took a liking to her right away - not surprising since she's the first face he saw when he was born into the world - and since she's a huge part of the reason he was born so happy and healthy all the way out at 35 weeks and 6 days.

While we're at it, there are at least three other people at UCSF who share the credit for the happy ending of it all:

Dr. Russell Laros, who decided we should go ahead with the surgery at 21 weeks (Labor Day weekend), despite the fact that others in the hospital thought I was too far along in the process of miscarrying to even try...

Dr. Mari-Paule Thiet, who actually placed the cerclage - doing so successfully despite what apparently were pretty long odds given what things looked like when she got in there...

Cathy Gleason, the ultrasound technician who noticed that my cervix was effacing slightly at my routine ultrasound visit on August 17th - only 18 weeks and 6 days along - the day my infamous bedrest started...

And so many more people who interacted with us and helped us along the way.

We feel so lucky to have had the wonderful people of UCSF working to help us through to the very end! Thanks to all of you.

p.s. - we might have gotten Cathy's last name wrong - if we did, sorry! :)

Marriage

Here's to all our friends and family living in California who, as of today, are able to be legally married if they so choose. We knew we picked this day to be married 6 years ago for a reason! Congratulations to all of you. We wish you as many good times and as much happiness as we have experienced since our wedding. It's about time!

6 months old.

Hard to believe it, but today is Cole's half birthday already.

9 months ago, we weren't sure we'd even be able to celebrate this day. And here we are! It has been six amazing months. So much change, so much learning, and so much fun. Definitely lots to celebrate.

Cole's first tooth broke through the surface yesterday - we'd include a picture but it's pretty impossible to take one at this point, because a) the tooth is still barely visible, and b) Cole's pretty big on covering up those gums with his tongue every time we try to get a look. Stay tuned for a picture once it grows in more, though.

He's still loving solid food - so far, he's tried rice cereal, apple, carrot, avocado, pear, and, as of today, peas. Apple seems to be his favorite. Rice cereal, not so much. And here's what he does with avocado:

Oh, and one more update: as of today, we've committed to stop swearing (at least in Cole's presence). We're not exactly sure when kids start really learning words (hoping it's not long before 6 months) but we figure we don't want his first word to be one that starts with an "f." Unless it's "fabulous."

He's still growing strong - started right around Maine and he's already stretching to Iceland! Here are the last 3 months - click here for the months before that (was he EVER that tiny?)

Today:

5 months:

4 months (he's happy in this one!):
Well, that's it for now on this turkey weekend. (Today's Cole's half birthday, tomorrow's father's day - happy 1st father's day Daddy! - and Monday is our 6 year wedding anniversary.) Like we said, lots to celebrate.

More later...happy father's day to all those dads out there.

Glossary of Terms

Since December, we've come up with quite a few terms we use to describe things happening in the Ambrocente household. So that all of you can understand our new terminology, we've decided to post a glossary.


bobblehead - quickly rolling or nodding the head, before the neck muscles have developed sufficiently to hold the massive noggin with any measure of control


Curly shuffle - circular "running in place" while lying on one's side in a crib. Often accompanied by the sound "boop-boop-boop-boop-boop!" See the Three Stooges.


doin' the monkey - being burped in a sitting position, with the palm of the burper's hand across the upper chest and thumb and fingers wrapping around the sides, so that arms and legs hang out, giving the appearance of a gangly monkey


monkey surgery - sitting for up to an hour in a bumbo seat, closely examining and sometimes chewing on a stuffed monkey lying on (and occasionally falling off) the tray in order to determine what ails him


paranoid face - looking side to side, wide-eyed, with a quivering lip and a very paranoid look (often with no apparent reason)


pleco - latching on, in the act of hunger, to any human surface, such as a nose, cheek, or arm, as a plecostomus fish does to the glass of a fish tank


poopy face - the adorably un-self-conscious scrunched baby face that signals a diaper deposit of the #2 variety. Often accompanied by an "uunnnhhhhhhh" sound


popcorn - a burst of quick, loud farts, sounding roughly like popcorn popping


Popeye - sleeping with one eye partially open. Freaky, but apparently normal in babies


splurt - otherwise known as "razz" or "raspberry." Making a farting noise with one's lips, usually against the skin of another person (especially fun on the stomach)


Stevie - swaying of the head broadly back and forth, apparently in an impression of Stevie Wonder


Stretchie McGee - usually immediately after eating or waking up, the stretching of the face, neck, and shoulder muscles, accompanied by raised head, pursed lips, a wrinkled forehead, and a fully extended neck. Unfortunately quite difficult to capture on film


Woody Woodpecker - the notification of hunger, by repeatedly bashing nose and mouth into the body of anyone with breasts, like a woodpecker, until provided with a nipple

Surely there will be more additions to the list in the future..........stay tuned.

Supermodel Baby

A quick FYI for all those who may want to know...baby puke stings really bad when it gets in your eyes. How do I have the wonderful ability to pass this on to you? Because my son decided to play supermodel today and stick his index finger down his throat until he puked...all while I was holding him up in the air playing airplane. What a nice way to say good morning. If you want to know how it tastes ask Shelley she got a good batch in the mouth the other day while playing with Cole.

Talk Soon.

Solid Food

Cole recently moved on into the world of "solid" food. Here's a video of his first experience with rice cereal....

Since then we also tried some apple puree, which was much more preferred by the little one. Still a messy eater though - and here's the picture to prove it.

My first real vacation!

Hi everyone, Cole here.

As you may know, my parents took me on my first real vacation last week, to St. John in the US Virgin Islands. This wasn't my first time away from home (that was to visit my aunts in Sacramento) or my first time on a plane (that was to Mexico, where Dad had a work trip). But for taking a bunch of long plane flights, going to the beach, staying more than two nights in another location, and just hanging out with family, this was a big first!

I thought I'd take some time to let you know what vacation looked like for me.

First of all, we flew into St. Thomas, and then took a ferry to St. John. My first time on a boat! Luckily, Papa Steph kept me company on the bench while I napped.

Since it's so sunny down here, I stole Mom's shades and decided to wear them myself. Gotta protect those baby blues!

We went to the beach pretty much every day. I didn't want to burn my soft baby skin, so I kept myself wrapped up a lot.

These palm trees actually have coconuts on them! Hope none of them fall on my head....

I have to get my beauty sleep, you know!

Papa Steph and Bestemor got me a great hat to keep my scalp from burning since my hair's still kinda thin. Mostly I like to eat the strings that hang in front of my face. Thanks, guys!

We had a pool at our villa. The water there was warmer than the ocean....boy, did I enjoy swimming in there!!!

Thanks to all the salt and chlorine, I got a bath every night! Luckily Dad brought my inflatable ducky tub. Bath time is fun now!

Mom and Dad took me off-roading! They didn't mean to....this is actually "Route 108" if you can believe it.....but they turned around because they were afraid my brains were

scrambling.

I know I'm just a baby and my reading skills aren't so good yet - but these signs were posted at the bottom of someone's driveway. Now tell me, can goats and donkeys read?????

Whoa - there are goats in the road! Where are their parents? No one is with them, they're just roaming around free! Anyway, last time I checked, they were eating the grass on the football field we drove by.....

We actually drove to the end of the road. Mom tells me that this sign actually says "The islands beyond this road can best by reached by boat." That makes me giggle!

On the way back home, a donkey walked right in the road up to my window to say hi. It was big! I wasn't scared, though.

After such a long time in the car seat, I demanded that Mom and Dad take me back to the beach. Here I am, checking out some waves as they rush in and out at the shore.

After all my time swimming, I got so tired! Good thing Papa Steph had a chair in the shade and let me take a nap.

I love Mr. Frog so much! I'm glad Auntie JoJo and Aunt Sandy got him for me. I take him everywhere I go.

After the beach, Dad took me to the iguana feeding at the Westin hotel. These are all wild iguanas but the nice people at the Westin give them food every day at 3pm. It's cool to watch!

I'm no iguana, but I have to say I think milk is probably a lot yummier than some old lettuce and zucchini.....I tried guys, but mom says she's reserving her milk only for me. You're out of luck!

Speaking of yummy, Papa Steph gave me some beer on his knuckle and I really liked it. He also let me taste lime, apple, and sauerkraut. Mom and Dad said those are probably not ideal "first tastes" for me, but that's what grandparents are for, right?

Grandparents are also pretty good for cuddling, like Bestemor here, who bundled me up and held me for a nap at the beach after a good swim.

St. John was a pretty beautiful island. Dad took me to see the ruins of the Annaberg Sugar Mill. That was really neat to see. Plus I got to do a hike along the water, naked except for my diaper and hat. Whoo-hoo!

The last night, Bestemor and Papa Steph treated us to a really delicious meal at the Ocean Grill. Or so I'm told...I only got milk.

I got a bit fussy at dinner so Uncle Stef volunteered to help Mom and Dad out and swing me in my carseat for awhile. Forget those electronic swings! I am a high maintenance baby - don't you forget it.

Well, I guess that's about it. But luckily we got one last picture of me with the Connecticut Ambrosch-Hall family, so I can remember everyone even though they live far away. Here's me with Uncle Jeff, Uncle Ben, Uncle Stef, and of course, Bestemor and Papa Steph.

And last but not least, I can't forget to remind everyone of the hard work I did at baggage claim in the San Francisco airport...but hey, it's way past my bedtime!




Well, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the tales of my vacation! More to come later....