An Unavoidable Update

We are officially 3 days overdue people! Baby girl Emelyne will come at her own sweet time. You should know that I have a habit of speaking for her as if I can hear all her thoughts. At the beginning of the pregnancy I would tell B that I didn't know what she was saying because she only spoke Japanese - well, now she's fluent in English a bit sassy and wiser than her months. She says things like "dad, this is just the beginning of you needing to exercise more patience than me" and "I really need apple fritters and organic milk" (she was very into watermelon this summer). My mom came into town a week ago to prepare for Emmie's arrival. We've been having fun doing crafts, going shopping, watching crime scene dramas, and today we're celebrating Mom's birthday by seeing a movie-musical, eating donuts (emelyne....) and taking a long-hopefully-labor-inducing walk. We're hoping that Em comes today - but she may come tomorrow or the next day. The doctors assure me that she will come sometime before the beginning of next week - either of her own will of the will of a petocin drip (those of you taken to praying can pray for a more natural birth situation in the next 6 days).


In other newsworthy news an official announcement - We're coming back to California in Summer '09. That's right friends - we're comin' home! B accepted a job from Cali-based trial law firm Quinn Emanuel. We're pretty stoked, though we'll miss New England and our dear dear friends here.

In preparation for our move I'm doing lots of research on real estate websites like Zillow & Redfin (beware - these sites are major time vacuums). We plan to live somewhere in the East Bay (see map below - Contra Costa County is most likely).



When baby comes we promise more updates and of course pictures!

Duely yours,
erin

Now Starts the Craft of the Father

I have written that over the last nine months many of my besties have had babies - some firsts and some seconds. But, what about the fathers? Where is their song? Where is their moment? Here is a little montage dedicated to my best friends' husbands & fathers (who luckily, are also some of my bff's too).

most recent addition, my cousin Brady Anderson with second-time daddy Matt
07.28.08

Niece Joanna Shields with first-time grandpa Glenn (B's dad)
-- couldn't get a pic of Jim with Joanna... but, here's his blog --
birthdate 12.14.05 adopted 06.04.08

Nine-month-old Isabella "Bella" Kristian with 2nd time daddio Jeff
11.06.07

Beautiful 10 week-old Hannah Joy with first-time dad Matt
05.15.08

Bjorned little Adeline Rose with brand-new daddy Cameron at Holly's Wedding
05.23.08
(b's birthday too!!)

So... Yeah Dads!!! I will post more from the trip to California soon. Plus, get psyched for some good ones from our upcoming vacation ... back to Northern California ... leaving on Friday.

paternally yours,
erin

Bonus :: here's 2 new bump pictures:

24 weeks with blousey shirt

27 weeks
self portrait

what i have to show for all this time

after 3 weeks in california i was sadly disappointed with ZERO celeb-spotting occurances. the shame - as i am pretty good at this form of stalking. well, i am in the sacramento airport and finally i've found one - a good one. she's small, she's blonde, she's one of b's favorite singers:

Carrie Underwood




she's on my flight to boston through dallas - doubt she's in coach like me.


flight-boundly yours,
erin

I'm so over america

For the last three years I have been a loyal watcher and supporter of the fox phenomenon 'so you think you can dance' - going around thinking it was a legitimate finder & keeper of dance talent - and, more significantly, I have for many years been under the impression that the democratic process works - even going so far as to send in absentee ballots. FALSE ONE, YOU HAVE DECEIVED ME! POWER TO THE PEOPLE - HA! AMERICA'S FAVORITE DANCER - HA! ALL DIRTY ROTTEN LIES! Friends, this week's results show on sytycd has disillusioned me. I walk in a fog of pain and fear. America cannot be trusted! I won't bore you all with the gritty details and minutia of my feelings tonight, but know that I am upset beyond comprehension. Necessary facts are these: this week's decision on who was to leave the show was left in the hands of the watching American public, and America went down; plummeting to the ground in a fury of flaming ignorance & fascism. Moral of the story: wisdom cannot be left of the masses - vote independent.

2 of my favorite moments from 2 of my favorite dancers on the show.
America should be ashamed.

R.I.P.
spoiler alert

disenchantedly yours,
erin

go granny! go granny! go granny go!

After a day starting at 4:30am EST I landed at the Burbank Airport midafternoon to begin my 3 week adventure. The flight was mostly uneventful - even if I could go on & on & on about the infuriating nature of the new baggage policies ($15 for a single under-50 lb. bag.... come on!). For as long as I was in transit the hugs and string cheese upon arrival were worth the ride. Best-friend Holly lives in Pasadena, where I will be making my week-one headquarters. Since leaving my 3-year home, the place where B and I became an 'us', I often wax nostalgic about the quaintness and village-like atmosphere amidst the hustle and bustle of Greater Los Angeles that is Pasadena ... however, I have not missed the smog.

my favorite pasadena building

city hall

Not only am I excited about re-exploring one of my favorite Cali towns - but I am waiting in great anticipation for a glorious friend reunion - All 3 of my bestest friends will be together for 2.5 effervescent nuptial filled days in Santa Ynez. Plus, between now and then I get to see many of my closest and dearest friends and family at the harbinger of baby showers in B's hometown. I truly am blissed and blessed.

:: the sisterhood of the migrating maternity pants ::
taken this past fall (rt to left - shara (no longer preggers - baby bella is here, round and stupid-cute),me (obvi currently growing a little still un-named girl person - currently spaghetti squash sized and reeking havoc on my lower GI), JR (recently birthed baby-girl addy - super precious and total boob reliant) and holls (not at all prego, but plans on practicing a bit with new hubby before adding mas small humans to the mix)

the nearlyweds for whom i travel many miles, gladly.
and, to other bloggers with concerns of absentee newlyweds i'm sure old Ryebread won't go AWOL on ya.

matron of honorly yours,
erin

The Start of Something New

B got me the best prize eva eva eva for my birthday 2 weeks ago. The Nikon D80 SLR camera. I am beyond pumped to embark upon this new artistic life medium with great vigor. Here are some of the most recent pics - including some more obligatory bump shots.

me and my lady lumps + bump in South Dartmouth this weekend.
((B's firm threw a little soiree for some of the summer associates at two of the partner's summer homes in souther mass... it was deliciously awkward if not a little bit contrived (I get it, if we join your firm we can live by the ocean with our kids in big-A houses all the while selling our souls to daddy warbucks, I get it... and I'm not wholly opposed) - but the food was legit good... btw, I am so in love with gazpacho shots! ))

We are so married.

The corner O'Baby in our bedroom...
What, Me? Worried about upcoming shower & space? Nah?
(enter sarcasm here)
((Also, we bought baby her first piece of furniture - ah, nursery chair goodness, as I write I glide.))

down by the river charles i'm really digging my new wrap shirt - way to go target! plus i got $7 maternity pants that don't fall down ... s-c-o-r-e !

And, lastly a peek into my possible reproductive prowess....

tay-tay cousin's baby
me

Tomorrow I leave for California for 3+ weeks. (enter Phantom Planet's "California") So get ready for some posts heavy on the shower, wedding and friend/family reunion vibe. Plus B and I get to meet our niece Joanna - recently adopted from China. Stoked doesn't even glimpse the iceberg's tip.

photographically yours,
erin

Jump for Bjorn

We have begun the inevitable journey towards lots and lots upon tons and tons of baby shiz. Before getting pregnant I was unaware of a few things about the business of being born :: including, but not limited to, the stupid amount of junk bringing a new human into the world entails. Seriously, when we meet out little un-named-one she'll be about seven to nine pounds naked and approximately five-hundred-seven to five-hundred-nine pounds with all her equipment on. Don't make fun of her weight though - she's self conscious. One thing that will help us lug her fat ass around is the baby bjorn we got in the mail yesterday from some of our favorite relatives. Here is B with Moxy our Ugly Doll and Hop-Hop the Bunny trying out the new gadget.

I love this man.

(Hop-Hop misses his best-friend Vinnie.)

Increasingly heavier & yours,
erin

Since You've Been Around

For B's 1st Father's Day and my 27th birthday we went to Concord for a little excursion conoeing down the Concord River and eating dinner at the Colonial Inn. It was fun fun fun!!!
Here are some pics from the conoeing segment of the day - we were too hungry at dinner to take any photos.

20 weeks.
(baby girl kicked me for the first time last night!)

not only my belly is growing... seriously...geez.
(docked at The Old Manse next to Old North Bridge)

B and I on the river - we are pasty-new-england-white

ze boat

water ratedly yours,
erin

living life in black & white

:: excuse this obligatory blog crossing the line into uber-cheesy & baby crazy ::

We're having a baby girl!!! Here are some of her first ultrasound pictures. Also, we are glad to report that baby-girl-arnold seems healthy. So check her out, being all skeleton chic (fyi - it's the hot-mess look for summer 08').

here she is laying back takin' it easy with her perfect little spine and very round head. (also, if you look closely in her chest you can see her baby heart pumping nice and fast)

From kind of creepy bone baby to the creepiest baby picture ever. Welcome Skeletor Baby!! (her face from the front) Notice to the left of her face she's tossing us a peace sign. I'm glad that I'm growing a progressive little girl ... even inutero!
Perhaps she shares sentiments with Kimya Dawson.

Regarding names - B and I are un-lame. So, the name will be revealed as soon as it's decided. We're down the the final 3 - my goal is for it to be done and decided by July 6th...

Thanks for taking a look inside my womb.

sonagramaly yours,
erin

bump

here's my baby bump.
is it exciting to finally showing - yes.
am i annoyed that a stranger would just think i'm fat - yes.
would i call this striped shirt "prison chic" - yes.

6 days until our baby gender determining ultrasound.
am i having dreams where we're late to the appointment
so the desk-nurse turns us away and then i cry on the floor - yes.

voluptuously yours,
erin

бабушка

Cyrillic for Babushka = Grandmother in Russian, also Baba

About 30% of who I am & what I do today can be directly drawn to my Baba. My Dad's mom, Nadya McCann, was a fierce and fiery woman who lived half her life in China and the other half in San Francisco. And, was as complicated a woman as vodka is Russian. Spoke over 8 languages, played golf like a pro when woman were an exception on the course, never shopped sales and could curse my Dad under the table (often ending our visits with a somewhat slurred and thick accented "Alan, you ass-hole. I love you. Scratch my head" - which, come to think of it, take away the slur & accent we're left with my Dad's departure comments as well... hmm... apple, tree, not far to fall). And, though cliche to a Babushka, nonetheless true - she was unbelievable in the kitchen - the borsche, the pashka, the pilemeni, the stroganoff... OMFG... my pregnant-mind often dreams of her buttery concoctions. I can honestly say that I have yet to have a better meal than the last Russian Orthodox Easter we had with a healthy Baba in 1997. I attribute 100% of my cooking prowess and 75% of my profanity to her (college roommates get the other 25%).

One of my more lasting memories of Baba was luckily capture on film (thank you Daddio for knowing comedy and awkwardness when you see it). A little set-up: Baba loved Vegas... L-O-V-E-D it. A perfect Baba day consisted of golfing during the day and dollar slots accompanied by bottomless vodka tonics and Budweiser at night. On 2 occasions my Dad and Baba took my sister Rocket and me with them on their golfing & gambling excursions. Once we saw Tom Jones and the other Cirque De Soleil. And, I could write like 2 million blogs about what Rocky (9 then 11 years old) and I (11 then 13 years old) did during the days we were left alone in major casinos with nothing but the Vegas Strip, $200 dollars and 8 hours of youthful ambition to keep us company. After one such day ending with Baba saying something along the lines of "how could you girls spend ALL that money in 8 hours? Erin you're 11 years old. You know better", she decided to take a long soak in the in-room jacuzzi while we just hung out waiting impatiently to go to the buffet downstairs. It was at this point that Big-Daddy posed this picture:

Rocket, me, & Baba.
Luxor Hotel. Las Vegas, 1994

Mid-pubescently yours,
erin

what time is it?

summer time,
it's our vaction!
what time is it?
summer time,
school's out,
scream & shout!!!

how do i know, you may ask. well...

1. B sans finals

oh, freedom. i love you.

2. finally, plentiful not-as-expensive watermelon

nothing smells sweeter to my pregnant olfactory sense than the fresh crisp scent of newly cut watermelon. yum... hold on a sec, i have to go cut one of the two I bought today at Costco for $6... and we're back.

3. all my prego friends are a poppin'

hannah (baby) and joy (new mommy) asleep after what I assume was a very long day. maybe the cutest picture of all time...

4. the end of american idol (phew - sorry, not a huge fan save the final 3 or so episodes) meaning the beginning of So.... You.... Think... You... Can.... Dance !!!!!

not a single things screams summer louder than shooby-dooby-dance.

Hot-Tamale-Train-ely Yours,
erin

our baby's all growns up and he's all growns up

my brother is about to be a senior in high school. he's gone to prom & kissed a girl, and he's applying to college & is growing far beyond 6 feet. he makes me feel old... and short. makes me wonder about the passage of time - how someone can go from a little punk kid to a big punk high schooler. makes me think that it will be no time before our bumble arrives. garsh. when b and i got married he looked like this:

yes, my brother gave us a wedding gift called "the gas we pass" and b had super cute spikey hair 5 years ago. and, my mom is a stone cold fox.

in closing, time does weird things.

anciently yours,
e

laughing, crying, sharing...

as the end of the school year is upon (or close to upon) us we can pause and reflect...and perhaps send one another an e-greeting or two. my new favorite site for sending out the occasional flirty comment or witty banter is where these e-cards can be shared (btw - these are all chosen because I could have sent them myself):



enjoy the warm weather and send me some funny e-cards.

serendipitously yours,
e

thanks to Krystal P for the e-suggestion.

If it's free take two...

This piece of Daddy-McCann wisdom is hard to pass up with Coldplay handing out new songs like candy. (Daddy-0's other bits of wisdom include gems like: never split 10's in blackjack - I was 7 the first time I heard that one) This new uber-opus from the UK's second favorite sons hit me as different from their earlier work. To be honest it reminded me - in a good way - of a toned down version of the Beatles' Helter Skelter off the 'White Album'. Overall, I enjoyed the listen and am anxious for the upcoming album release. For all those Chris Martin haters - sorry - but, I really like him and his somewhat toolish eco/trade-conscious ways. The album cover artwork is pretty cool - in that French Revolution Chic kind of way.



So, get the song free here. And decide for yourself if reinventing the Beatles' wheel is folly or fortune.

Ubiquitously yours,

e

ps that blog was way way to serious.

Over Due, but Never Late...

You know what’s the business? I’ll tell you. Mommy Bloggers. For serious. They can be legit funny and insightful. Always Honest. Something about being more than just a working stiff or a bitter student/wife/baker/photographer, they have something significant to contribute - bits about vodka cocktails at playgroup, baby/home decorations that don’t make me gag, and seemingly endless diatribes about the truly touching and ridiculous. Kids make for great material.

Over the last 3 years I have become somewhat obsessed with a few of these Mommy (and one Daddy) Bloggers. While writing styles and blog gimmicks vary - they ALL take UN-believable pictures of their kids/dogs/furniture. I highly suggest the following Parent Bloggers... in order of favorites (of course):

1. Sweet Juniper This stay-at-home-Dad and fab-professional-Mom make up the blogging duo of SJ. Of the many things I love about Juniper’s parents is their unwavering commitment to well written prose. Particularly touching are their multi-part birth-story narratives... superb. Something about the way they document their lives makes being a parent seem artful and hip.

2. Dooce (pronounce deuce) Legendary is her own right, Heather Armstrong is perhaps HRM Queen Mother of all mommy bloggers. Starting as a single-person blogger, then a married-person blogger and now a mommie-person blogger Ms. Armstrong is as honest as one comes and often cynically delicious. Frequently falling on the age-old adage - if it’s not broken, don’t fix it; mock or complain about it. If blogs were like bar drinks Dooce would be the strong stuff - the vodka cranberry ... hold the cranberry stuff. I love her.
3. Simon Family Blog

B and my next-door-neighbors are the said Simon’s of the Simon Family Blog. They are pitch perfect comedic geniuses without delving into the sardonic stylings of some of my other favs. Their child - Vinnie - is my favorite little guy east of the Rockies. Everything he does - from picking up rocks instead of Easter eggs to dinosaur walking the aisle in a wedding - makes me belly-laugh. The only reason these parent-bloggers don’t rank #1 is their newness to the blogosphere - - maybe a jump in a couple years when they’ve been tried and tested. B and I value our friendship with the Simon family so much. We will miss them when they are living in LA this summer, but look forward to reading about their adventures - as I hope you will too.

(vinnie and i discussing the finer merits of songs sung by squirrels)

All this to say that I will be joining ranks this coming fall. If one needs it spelled out - Brett knocked me up around the mid-February which makes our little bumble due October 31st and me currently at 13.5 weeks prego. Zoinks! Though planned, we are equally thrilled and terrified to become parents. And many things have precipitated from the growing fetus - most significant, me quitting my overtiring and stressful job 4 weeks ago. Hooray!

So, get ready for stories about baby names, ultrasounds, round ligament pain and how hearing your baby’s heart-beat sounds like a symphony of little angels riding a submerged steam-train.

Sperminatedly yours,

e

p.s. for those interested: bumble is the size of a lemon and no longer has a tail (that part freaked us out)... i sort-of have a baby bump - - or I'm wearing a weird-fat-shirt in this picture, you decide: