eric + martha meier's family blog

March of Dimes March for Babies

2011-04-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

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Dear family and friends,

We are walking again this year to raise money for the March of Dimes. They do a lot to support people who have premature babies - like us and our Nico back in 2004. Please consider any donation you can manage to help.

Thank you :)
Eric, Martha, Nico and Chloe Meier

Above are some photos of our 2008, 2009 and 2010 walks...

>>> OUR MARCH OF DIMES PAGE

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-07T08:11:00.000-08:00

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We had a great time in Venezuela this year. Above are some of our holiday photos. There are more photos to see if you're interested; some street graffiti in Caracas, some food we ate, and the baptism of our daughter Chloe Elena.

Wishing all a Happy and Prosperous 2011!

Chloe Meier (From hospital to home)

2010-08-14T17:20:00.001-07:00

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Chloe Meier

2010-08-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

Sunday 12:22pm 7 lbs 1 oz

Moms water broke at approximately 6am - off to Boston we went.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2010-07-07T06:41:00.000-07:00

Nicolas gets fitted for a tuxedo for Tina's upcoming wedding. Crazy how big he is now.

Ultrasound 30 weeks

2010-06-11T17:39:00.001-07:00

Ultrasound ultracool - but the babys eyes are not really open it's just the ultrasound reading through the layers. Our baby is looking good. We have a nickname given to us by Nico: "Let's call the baby Oatmeal...then we can call it Otie!" It's stuck for now.

Coming this summer

2010-05-20T20:17:00.001-07:00

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Belly photos. Hi again. We are going to be posting more to the blog now as our family is poised to add another member this coming August. :-)

Another Day Gone By

2009-09-20T17:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't written a song since 2002 but for some reason this tune came to me and I began to think of my dad who's birthday was approaching - he would've been 78. So I finished it. For him and for me.

DOWNLOAD/PLAY THE SONG

Recorded in my basement with Garageband on a Macbook and just the laptop microphone. 2 guitars + bass and vocals. Drums are fake.

//lyrics:

another day gone by... that i've wasted another day gone by... and i can’t seem to face it this time.... i’ve been trying | another month gone by... and i’m busted another month gone by... and it seems such a waste and i've been trying | with all u left me here well sometimes i’m inclined... to pack it up and toss away | and when u left me here well sometimes i seem fine... and in my head i'm a world away

another year gone by... and i notice another year gone by and i can’t seem to shake that all the time has gone by | and all u left me here well sometimes i’m inclined... to pack it up and toss away | and with u lying there well sometimes i'm reminded... memory of u when u waved... goodbye | u waved goodbye

July 5, 2009

2009-07-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

Nico's new song

2009-06-06T18:06:00.000-07:00

Nico started singing this song right after breakfast the other day and I was lucky to catch this on video. Rockin' at the age of 4!

Holiday Post 2008/2009

2009-01-04T15:19:00.000-08:00

It's been weeks since I've had to get up with Nicolas in the morning. Each day he gets up, walks into Tina's, Mabe's or Nacho's room and annoys them until they wake. He's gotten his fill of playing with toys whereever, watching spanish kids programs and learning the songs from "Mamma Mia". He's prone to walking without shoes whenever possible and has gotten his fill of "white cheese" which is a staple here.

This vacation was fun with parties, fine food, dancing, beach, and movies. We stayed in the city more this year than in previous years but got out to enjoy friends and family and things Venezuelan.

Click here to see photos of food consumed in Venezuela.
(WARNING: this will make you hungry) :-)

You can see some of the photos I took of Caracas here.

These are the holiday pictures.

It's been a restful fun time here. My skin is happy to not be in the cold but alas Thursday we are back to north america -- but warmed by the fact that George Bush is gone as of the 20th and with a promise that Obama can get it done. :-)

This is my first story of 2009

2009-01-01T21:07:00.000-08:00

New years activities started at 10pm with frozen blue margaritas which I make for all at the Hernandez home in Caracas - 3 drinks and having watched multiple spanish karaoke songs later I am drawn to go online again - when my brother-in-law walks by and says something like "Loser... get off the computer it's New Years" - so downstairs I go to blend more margaritas - fireworks over the city of Caracas at midnight - we sit to eat dinner 1am (now 7 margaritas + 2 glasses of champagne)

My young in-laws are planning to go to a club called "Sawu". I decide this is a great idea - Martha is too tired - she stays - so out the rest of us go and dance - I have 3 vodka tonics - club is packed - beautiful Venezuelan soap opera stars - there's table service and smoking allowed inside - wow great reggaeton + merengue - it's 540am when we leave - the sun is rising - we're back in the house at 6am and I crash til 1pm - awake with "Raton" - spanish for hangover - I am lazy all day - recover around 4pm with delicious lentil soup I made yesterday then a champagne toast at 9pm with jamon serrano.

:-)
happy new year!

Summer 2008 Wrap-Up

2008-09-27T10:36:00.000-07:00

It flew by. And we are grateful for packing in as much activity as possible. I golfed a lot more this year than last year - and won a Nike Driver at the RISD Golf Tournament. Nico started a new school Brown/Fox Point -- (SPECIAL THANKS TO LEARNING BROOKE for 3 years of watching Nico - especially Miss Patty, Miss Melinda, Miss Nicole, Miss Melissa, Miss Daniele, Miss Cheryl and Miss Kate)

This summer: Groton Long Point, Crabbing, Sea Canoeing, Mystic Aquarium, Boston Museum of Science, NYC, Picnic at Colt State Park, Big Apple Circus, Campfire on the Beach, Westport Vineyards, Iggys, Wall-e, Kung Fu Panda, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Kite Flying Sea Swirl, Beethoven's Fifth at Tanglewood, East Matunuck Beach, Amherst, Eric Carle Museum, Cookout with the Soriano Family, Waterfire, Champlin's, Dinner with family at Harbourside, What Cheer Brigade Concert, Block Island and Newport.

Bye Summer. Fall is here.

July 4th weekend 2008

2008-07-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

The holiday weekend was a fun festival for us - and it makes a worthy post i think. It started thursday morning - with me golfing my uncle Ralph at Melody Hills - 18 holes - then at night we all went to Iggys for a nice "lobstah" roll with clamcakes and "chowdah".

Friday:
On the 4th we went to visit our friends Liz and Scott at their mom's house on Groton Long Point - which is a great area geographically - you can see Long Island right from her porch. There we had a nice lunch, watched a parade go by (as cars went by they threw candy at nicolas who scooped it up), then we went crabbin' (this involves a clothspin - some string - a mashed-up mussel and lots of skill). We caught a bunch of crabs - then went canoeing for a bit and then a swim, at the end of the day - Nicolas passed out in the car. So Martha and I went went to The Sea Swirl for some fine shrimp (tasty).

Saturday:
We went to the mall (it was raining) and watched Wall-e.
Our second viewing - go see it.

Sunday:
We went to Westport River Vineyards, sampled some good wines and had a picnic - then we were off to Horseneck Beach where we flew a kite. Dinner was at Evelyn's in Tiverton RI - another great seafood meal.

Happy 4th! Here's to freedom!

MORE JULY 4th PICTURES HERE!!

watercolor sketches - 2008

2008-04-05T09:01:00.001-07:00

These are 2 watercolors that I made while in venezuela this past january. I thank the gods of rum and coke for preventing me from feeling the 50+ mosquito bites I suffered in the process (see previous post).

:-)

a horsebarn

mountainview

I can't say i am really enjoying watercolors over oils - I am so messy with them - but it's the only way i get to work non-computer-wise anymore. I am only getting to paint every year or so... I think it would get better with practice. :-)

The last ones I made two years ago both won awards at the Providence Art Club, which surprised me. I don't think I ever posted them here as my dad had his stroke that year. Will post them soon.

Bill Gilbert

2008-02-29T07:38:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine from RISD passed away last weekend having fought cancer for a year.

Read this blogpost to get a sense of how special he was to those who knew him.
http://frankgardner.blogspot.com/2008/02/bill-gilbert-1964-2008.html

Here is a photo of Bill at our 20th reunion in 2006 - having fallen out of touch over the years - it was a treat to spend time with him again. (from left to right, Mark Goodkin, Bill Gilbert (sticking tongue out), Brad Foltz and me – Eric Meier

He dressed like a biker - leather, mustache, skull rings - but was truly a gentleman in the best sense and the world is a lesser place without Bill in it. I am heartbroken as all who knew him are.

His online obit is here.

venezuela 2008

2008-01-04T16:24:00.000-08:00

It's been a solid comfortable time in Caracas this year. Unlike last year - no sick little boy. We have discovered the show "Heroes" thanks to marathon watching of a boxed set of season 1 my brother-in-law has. We got so addicted to it that we took them with us to a camp/resort (that we spent 5 days at) and through the use of the camp projector in our cabin - did not lose track of the story.

Other travel benefits to Venezuela include: great food, seeing friends, parties with music and musical instruments, getting to play the Venezuelan Cuatro, eating steaks, arepas, tequeños, drinking whiskey, fine rums, and snacking on Flips cereal.

Highlights for me include: trying to make watercolors work and enduring 53 mosquito bites in the process (really. I counted. I didn't feel a thing while getting them though - thanks cuba libre! - the next day they started itching and made red marks - see photo)

I've been shooting more photos with new lumix camera - here are some samples - signs in venezuela (flikr gallery)

Nicolas is talking more and more - constructing sentences and describing what he wants now. It's in broken spanglish which makes it all the more endearing.
His highlights include: swimming on his own with floaties, riding a horse, riding in a pickup truck, petting horses, seeing water buffalos close-up, playing with dogs, holding a stick bug, sleeping in hammocks, playing timbals, and maracas and bongo drums.

>>>MORE PHOTOS HERE (flikr gallery)

we've had a time here in Caracas. now back to the grey.

summer 2007

2007-09-17T07:45:00.001-07:00

this is a photo of me and nicolas taken this summer at the beach. he's growing like crazy and now says "wassis? all the time - which we translate into "what's this?". his eating has improved and he now eats hot dogs, arepas, pasta with a cream sauce, not all at once.

we had a good summer. will post more information later

CLICK HERE FOR SOME MORE PICTURES

-eric

cupcake

2007-04-20T07:09:00.000-07:00

hi all - been crazy busy.
This is a photo cartoon I made of nicolas last week eating a cupcake! I used a program called Comic LIfe (http://plasq.com/comiclife) which comes with every Mac i guess ( I discovered it on my iMac hard drive)

Martha became an american citizen last week! (insert patriotic music here)
This cupcake was one made for a party that her co-workers threw for her.

:-)

CARACAS!!! land of arepas and scotch

2006-12-31T15:56:00.000-08:00

we arrived on the 18th thinking we were to head to the coast for some beach and 2 days later nicolas got a weird sounding cough. so we went to the clinic where they took blood and x-rayed his chest to find he had bronchial pneumonia (the beginnings of it) so we began treating him with around-the-clock medicines and therefore no beach. no nice beach. argh.

well that's life though eh? we had a fine christmas and took him out to malls as he got better and he now rules the hernandez household. entertaining us with song and dancing to any music he hears.

the social life here is active and we are enjoying seeing friends and family. we were up late celebrating the beginning of 2007 and nicolas even got excited about all the fireworks in caracas.
photos here include:

nicolas learning karaoke with his godmother - feeding carrots to a camel in the petting zoo and playing with santa`s hat - which was an outfit for the hernandez beagle. :-)

One of my favorite Nico summer stories....

2006-10-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of one of my favorite stories about Nicolas. It happened in August when Martha's mom and sister were visiting us (i have alot of posts to make to catch us up to October).

We were on Block Island for the day having a great lunch and giant margaritas (yes!) at the Spring House Hotel. While there we let Nico run up and down a giant hill that the hotel is on. I helped him walk up and down this big hill twice - at his insistance. We started walking back to the Ferry and Nico was so excited and he was grabbing onto the bar of the stroller so he could sit right up.

And then the very next minute when we checked on him - this is how we found him.

We stopped in Ben & Jerry's and i took this photo.:-)

Summer's heatwave

2006-07-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

Newport 2 weekends(?) ago. The Foltz family in town for a wedding and we meet to eat Ben & Jerrys on the pier.

Nicolas and we spent the better part of this weekend indoors in the air conditioning sheltered from the non-global-warming heatwave that has made this year the warmest in recorded history in the US. So these photos are from the past 2 weekends or more. :-)
PICTURE GALLERY HERE
hopefully no password needed.

Today Nico enjoyed a 2 hour nap on the sofa - normally he's in the pack 'n' play. So it was his first Sunday-afternoon-sofa-nap and boy he loved it. And was grumpy when we woke him. Naturally. :-)

Summer begins

2006-06-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

Nico has been doing all sorts of new things so much so that it's hard to track them. His vocabulary has grown. (UPDATED)

in spanish: zapato, agua (pronounced aqua), mami (not mommy), hola, quack-quack, carro and casa (pronounced calah), pie, alla, tete, tina (pronounced ina), coco, gracias

in english: star, ball, dada, eat, bye, hi, hello, up, grandma (pronounced manma), apple, yum, all done, clock... and he also repeats a lot of new words

Two Nico stories:
2 weeks ago martha was changing Nico in the bathroom preparing him for a bath - when he opened doors under the bathroom sink just enough to pee into the cupboard. :-)

We were with friends who have a little girl (2 years old) and we were changing Nicolas in front of her. When she saw Nico naked she pointed and said "big one! big one!".

:-)

-- more later

Nico walks!

2006-06-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

we picked him up at daycare and they told us he had walked around all day - and sure enough he continued that when he got home. :-)

watch it!

AIN't NO MoUNTAIN hIGH ENough....!!

2006-05-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

see Nicolas climb the stairs

Nicolas is getting to be a little devil sometimes. You see, he loves to sit on the first few stairs on the staircase and bang on them to get our attention. If we choose to come, he climbs the stairs and if we choose not to come, he climbs the stairs. Either way he's going up. :-)

OTHER THINGS: We have all been pretty sick lately here. Got food poisoned last weekend so we were wiped out and in addition to that, Nico got 2 ear infections. Grumpy times. But it's getting better. He's beginning to eat some solid foods - mostly goldfish crackers - but we are hopeful. He is refusing to walk still which is curious - but that doesn't stop him from getting around.

MORE PICTURES HERE

that's it for now.

nico gets around

2006-03-28T11:44:00.000-08:00

We have had a slow time trying to recover our lives and Nico has been helping us by : refusing to eat at night, climbing up the stairs, repeating words like "carro" and "agua", throwing balls and chasing them, pushing the kitchen chairs around, occasionally standing on his own, pouring all our tupperware onto the kitchen floor, clapping his hands together, picking his nose, and putting his toys into our baskets and on our bookshelves. Thanks Nico -- I am certain your granddad is very entertained by you as are we.

gone fishing

2006-02-20T19:04:00.000-08:00

My father died on Saturday afternoon the 18th of February.
There is nothing I can write that comes close to the loss we are feeling.

his obituary

This is a photo of me and my dad on the day of my civil wedding to Martha August 28th, 1999.

my dad

2006-02-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

it's been awhile since i posted. my dad had a massive stroke a few weeks ago and has had severe complications which means he won't be coming home. we are arranging for him to enter a hospice facility. it is a very sad time for us all.

Happy New Year! South American Style!

2006-01-04T15:34:00.000-08:00

Man it's good to have a new year don't you think?

Nicolas stayed up late to celebrate our new year at a beach resort on the venezuelan coast that Martha's brother recommended (he works there) . Nicolas had a great time at the beach. He loved the ocean and the pool and the sand and all of it. Me? I loved the pina coladas and snorkling and... well pretty much everything.

We had a fine christmas too with Nicolas playing baby jesus during a neighborhood Mass. All the neighbors here gather for caroling venezuelan style (involves drums and a cuatro) and then we have treats. A great idea all around. Nicolas is the rock star of our venezuelan tour and get's plenty of attention whereever we go.

Time is flying by and soon we are back to lack-of-sleep lives and cold weather but for now we are spending the next few days enjoying caracas with martha's family and hopefully getting in some more hammock nap-time.

:-)

caracas!

2005-12-27T17:28:00.000-08:00

nicolas was an angel on the plane. really. he slept and was fine considering we ended up with a 9 hour layover in Atlanta ( thanks Delta!) the damn pilot showed up 3 hours late.

but things are nice and warm here - blue sky and green tropical plants
we are off to the beach tomorrow and will stay there for 5 days or so. i will try to post photos later.

i have taken some fine long naps and feel rested (finally).we have eaten well and have had lots of attention from all the venezuelans.

nicolas is surrounded by women all the time and he loves it

more later

ps - my server went down and i lost some photos

Winter ills + peace

2005-12-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

Nicolas with his new sweater made by grandma :-)

These past few weeks have been filled with Christmas rushing to get all things done and prepare for our holiday. Nicolas and Me and Martha have been stricken with the dreaded stomach bug which wiped out the lost continent of Atlantis (kidding it just wiped us out - but man it could've wiped out Atlantis ok?)

ugh and ugh. I've been inhaling gatorade to rehydrate.

Nicolas is standing on all things immobile and some that are mobile (to his surprise) - some bumps here and there. All normal we suppose but tough to see. He has a cool habit of walking a kitchen chair around the kitchen - and if i weren't so sick and overworked i would've posted a video clip. so there. maybe i will soon. by then he could be walking on his own for all i know.

peace be with you all :-)

eric + martha + nicolas

birthday, halloween and more

2005-11-16T19:23:00.000-08:00

FAO Schwartz

NEWFall photo gallery

yes I have been slacking. so here's whats new.

Nicolas is now holding himself up in the crib and happy to do so. He turned one. (thanks to all for the gifts and cards - we are late with the thank you notes). We had a party for him and he was dressed like a space shuttle pilot. He did NOT eat any cake and cried when we sang "happy birthday" to him. On halloween he was dressed as a SNOW monkey and helped us answer the door.

We all went to Rochester NY, two weekends ago where I gave a presentation on web design. And we were in NYC this past weekend were I met Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson (at a risd event) and also - in another celebrity related event - John Cusack walked right by us up near central park (man he's tall).

Thats all for now. look at the pictures.

Nicolas on his b-birthday

Nicolas on a swing in Washington Square Park

Nicolas on Halloween

Nicolas trying to get out. :-)

poor updating

2005-11-16T18:00:00.000-08:00

i have been lazy. with this blog and nuts with other things. but i will make an effort tonight.

daycare for nicolas + crawling

2005-10-10T18:19:00.000-07:00

More Photos: New PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO - Nicolas crawls forward
(he's been going backwards for awhile so it's big deal ok?)
View it!!!

hola - long time no posting busy busy. And now that he's moving he's a lot more to handle. :-) Yes Nicolas moves now - and he's picking up speed. So now we have to really keep our eyes on him and watch where he goes. He also shakes his head "no" but we aren't quite sure he really understands "no" yet.

And he's really keen on grabbing stuff and proving the theory of gravity over and over again.

He seems to have adjusted to daycare. We haven't though. It's hard to leave him there - but then the staff always says that he's having a great time -- and it seems that when we leave him he's excited to be playing with all the toys there. He's not even sympathy crying much and they all say that's a good sign. The staff also said he's pretty independent and that makes us feel better.

It's coming up on his birthday soon and time is flying by. Man oh man. We can't believe it.

like a wildfire

2005-09-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

More Photos: New PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

I can't believe that 15 days have gone by since my last post.
Wow -- how the fall is rushing by.

I wish I could report that we were enjoying ourselves with it - but we have been swamped with work. It's good to have it - and we need to focus on it while we can. They are some exciting projects really -- but leaving us little time to go apple picking and other such fun treks.

This past week Nicolas spent his first day at daycare. And then immediately got sick, and then so did I, my mom and martha. It spreads like a wild fire. And that has made us all grumpy and my lawn is looking very neglected.

Last weekend Martha's neighbors from caracas were here in RI to settle their son into New England Tech and we ate brunch at 20 water street (photo above). Nothing fancy there breakfast-wise but a great view on a nice day. I hope this cold passes quickly and we all recover to enjoy the cool days soon.

FIRST CRACKER!!!

2005-09-11T06:22:00.000-07:00

This is a special report: nicolas has eaten a cracker ALL BY HIMSELF!
We were doing yard work and nicolas was hanging out with us and martha went to get a cracker for herself and casually gave one to nicolas for him to hold. AND HE ATE IT!
VIEW IT NOW

the big apple

2005-08-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

More Photos: New PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO CLIP! (August 3,2005)

Well it's been a while since I've posted and the hurricane and our governments lame response to it has sapped most of my energy. It sickens me to realize how utterly helpless we really are. How unprepared we are as a nation to cope with this sort of emergency. How thoughtless the people in charge truly are. How the emperor slept while Rome burned.

Martha and I are lucky that we were not in New Orleans as we were last year, check out our photos of what was a remarkable city. Maybe they will rebuild it and Nicolas will be able to see it someday.

ON A HAPPIER NOTE -- we spent those last few days of Martha's sister Mabe's visit getting some good things in. His first day on the beach and his first trip to NYC. We even went to the Apple store (see above) where Nicolas selected his first Mac and Ipod. I told him if he is reeeaaallly good for 10 years then I will consider it.

He's beginning to make new sounds this week -figuring out how to use his tongue. We have to raise the bar on the crib now as he has attempted escape too many times now. I am going to be babyproofing very soon i suspect.
:-)

the world is his oyster...er...crepe

2005-08-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

More Photos: New PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO CLIP! (August 3,2005)

Nicolas is now 15 lbs. Early Intervention came by to weigh him and measure him and although he's small he's doing fine. He's about to eat a crepe (clearly marked as his) that his Tia Mabe made for him (see photo above). :-) In addition, he has migrated to more solids - eating bananas and pears and rice cereal and sweet potatoes and carrots. His favorite seems to be pears so far.

Last weekend we went to Rockport, MA and walked around with him. We ate some lobsters in front of him and he didn't seem to mind at all. This week we went into the Discovery store in Faneuil Hall and he really enjoyed it. I think it was the first toy store he's seen and with all the noises and bright colors he was very excited by it all. We played with an electronic drum machine and a remote control dinosaur and crocodile.

Nicolas is sitting up alot now so we splurged and bought this stacking toy which he loves. :-)

TIA MABE!!! POWER TO THE NIÑOS!!!

2005-08-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

More Photos: New PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO CLIP! (August 3,2005)

Martha's sister Mabe (pronounced mah-bey) arrived last week and she has been spoiling him like mad. We don't know the outcome of all this over attention but I am sure he will be impacted for life. :-) So far we have been taking small daytrips to Boston and Mystic and etc. It's good to be able to get around and show him the world - some of which he's slept through.

This week we noticed that Nicolas is now getting more adept at crawling (still backwards mostly), flipping over on his belly and rolling onto his back, and sitting up wherever -which he likes alot. This morning we found him in his crib - climbing the side halfway up- he had switched on his Tiny Love mobile (courtesy of Sarah, Paul and Simon) and was very pleased with himself.

everything within reach

2005-08-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

More Photos: NEW!! PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO CLIP! (August 3,2005)

...now belongs to Nicolas.

Yes lately he's been grabbing things and touching anything that comes into range. I think it's because he makes them real by touching them. Like he's got magic powers or something. Which he does. Really. I mean to him its all magical I think.

My cousin Chris (that's Dr. Matarese to you) came to visit this past weekend to eat some seafood and see how he's doing - so we went to Newport to walk around and to Starbucks where Nicolas ordered a Mocha Frappuccino and some chocolate covered graham crackers - hee hee...well no...not yet. He's still content with a little white milky filled bottle. My mom is trying to get him to eat more solid foods but we are happy to have things take their sweet time. It seems like the whole experience is on high speed anyhow - Nicolas is now sleeping in his own room and in his own crib and that marks the end of a chapter that will not repeat.

Ah life... no wonder I'm downing Mocha Frappuccino.

:-)

and the livin's easy....

2005-07-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

More Photos: NEW!! PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

NEW VIDEO CLIP! (July,11,2005)

This photo was taken this last weekend in Jamestown RI. We ate fancy ice cream in front of him and made him hungry for....more milk.

His stomach is still acting up which is making him crabby - sometimes. And this week we went to the doctors for an eye examination and he was very good while they put drops in his eyes and really squirmy later when they tried to look into them. Lately I find myself looking at the older photos of him in the hospital and wondering "how did we get through it all?" -- he's so different now. We can't believe he's real somtimes.

watch the video. it seems he has an ear for music. :-)

Mid-Summer's Dreams

2005-06-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

More Photos: NEW!! PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO CLIP! (May,30,2005)

Ah the middle of summer... YIKES!!!!
Where did it go? I am not even done with the mulching. Haven't been to the beach yet. Wait...we did go to Galilee last weekend. And we all walked the beach - didn't go into the water though - or wiggle toes in the sand. Does that count?

Nicolas has a stomach virus of some kind so we are sampling his poops for the doctor (sorry for that - TMI ) but hey that's life in babyland. He's been lots to handle - but has managed to be pretty good about it mood-wise. We went to visit the NICU in Boston where he was born early last week but most of his nurses weren't there - we will make another trip again sometime soon.

This week we have noticed that his hands are getting grabby. He pulls my glasses off now and shook one of the house plants yesterday with a grin. He also has begun to push himself a bit while on his belly and I forsee a time when hes crawling everywhere and using his powers for general chaos.

It will be a chaotic luau - he's dressed for it I think. :-)

How you feeling? (hot hot hot!)

2005-06-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

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VIDEO CLIP! (May,30,2005)

WHAT A HOT WEEKEND. Wow. Nothing to do but water the plants and head to Newport and South County. First we went to visit my cousins who were having a yard sale and my cousin's daughters were there and were happy to touch a little baby. He enjoyed it mostly I think but as the heat bore down he got grumpy. Then after that we went to Newport to stroll around and look at stuff we can't afford anymore... like cool shoes. We tried them on and thought how we might look in them but in the end left them there. Next we went to Aunt Carries in Narragansett -- this is a great seafood shack -- for you non-Rhode Islanders -- and I tried several times to get Nicolas to eat a clamcake. No such luck.

Some thoughts:
1.Nicolas does NOT like the heat. Nope. He gets grumpy and refuses to smile
2.People are SO FRIENDLY when you have a baby in your hands. We were trying to take pictures by the dockside in Newport and 4 TOTAL strangers asked if they could take our picture. I have come to the conclusion it's due to Nicolas's charm. People are always giving us the "knowing smile" and holding doors open.
It doesn't suck. :-)

sunshine and giggles

2005-05-31T07:46:00.000-07:00

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VIDEO CLIP! (May,30,2005)

This weekend we discovered our little boy can laugh. We hold his toys above him and shake them and then drop them and he giggles. It's really really addicting for us. And so we spent part of our weekend watching this phenomenon.

(sigh) Lately, I find myself concentrating on his face or his hands or his eyes and holding him up with my hands while he stands on my lap and hoping that I never forget any of it. He is growing and changing and Martha and I are realizing its all happening way too fast.

Some things we did this weekend: introduced him to the neighbors, took him for lobsters (which he didn't eat), let him help us plant shrubs (he managed the project for us - see picture above), coaxed as many smiles out of him that we could, and again, we watched him laugh at his silly parents.

video (May,17,2005) | video (Apr,29,2005) | video (Apr,23,2005)
video (Mar,28,2005)

Nicolas's first laugh

2005-05-17T20:45:00.001-07:00

Well it's the first one we caught on camera anyway. :-) I think it was sunday?

VIEW IT!!!

FREE AT LAST!!!

2005-05-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

More Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY <--mabe click here :-P
VIDEO CLIP! (Apr,29,2005)
VIDEO CLIP! (Apr,23,2005)
VIDEO CLIP! (Mar,28,2005)

Yes... that's right... he's wearing ROBOTIC clothing (courtesy of ashley and cheri - who know my warped-ness).
And me I'm jealous - very.

This week the doctor gave Nicolas permission to GO OUT! Yes, at last, to walk freely amongst the other members of his species and so we went out... TO THE DELI!!!

Seriously. We did. :-)

We had to get groceries and the idea of going to a BIG supermarket was WAY too much for us. As for the deli, we got so many "ooohs" and "he's soooo cute" from total strangers we decided it might be better to shelter him a bit more -- before he gets a big head -- oops too late. :-)

Kidding. NEXT STOP --THE MALL!!!

Maybe. Stay tuned. Coming next: Nicolas' first on-camera giggle. :-)

10 pounds +

2005-05-04T16:25:00.001-07:00

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NEW VIDEO CLIP! (Apr,29,2005)
VIDEO CLIP! (Apr,23,2005)
VIDEO CLIP! (Mar,28,2005)

This week Nicolas weighed in at 10 lbs and 7 ounces.

We had a great weekend last weekend - it rained and we spent most of it indoors- cooking and cleaning and watching movies. Nicolas has been practicing making his noises and holding his head up. Little by little he is getting stronger and this afternoon my mom said he rolled over from his belly to his back.

I had to see this for myself - so I placed him face down on the playmat and he did it again! :-)

It's great to watch him make these changes and grow stronger -- we are looking forward to more adventures with him later this month when we are finally unshackled from staying away from crowds -- our doctors current advice.

patience. patience

nicolas noises

2005-04-25T06:40:00.000-07:00

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NEW VIDEO CLIP! (Apr,23,2005)
VIDEO CLIP! (Mar,28,2005)

Hello everyone - this fine family photo was taken while Nicolas was visiting me at work. He was stunned by all the great people that I work with. :-)

I will be updating this post later - but i wanted to get the new video clip online. :-) Enjoy!

oops - never updated it. sorry folks. busy busy. Scroll up. :-)

ah spring at last

2005-04-17T17:18:00.000-07:00

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VIDEO CLIP! (Mar,28,2005)

Outside.

This weekend we tried to convey the concept of "outside" to nicolas. Don't know if it worked but we went to Goddard State Park and napped on the grass and it was mighty fine.

Nicolas is sleeping for longer stretches at night now -- ah at last -- (yawn) still doesn't seem to make me less tired though. Maybe its cumulative.

With the warm weather kicking in we are finding it harder to stay home. Nicolas's doctor says we should avoid having Nicolas around people (especially kids) due to the RSV season - but I hope we get the green light soon and can commence out-of-the-house activities on the weekends.

mucho leche + grandma

2005-04-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

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New! VIDEO CLIP! (Mar,28,2005)

This week Nicolas decided that eating more would be a good idea - so now he is eating up to 4 ounces at a feed! It's crazy! And the talking goes on - he now tries to talk to us a couple of times a day - and he talks to his toys!. Martha and I are making "goo ga" sounds to motivate him - her's are in spanish. :-)

My mom is babysitting for us now 2 days a week (thanks mom) and we are glad to have the help - she's a natural with babies and we only hope that Nicolas's cooing doesn't begin to have a Rhode Island accent too soon. :-) Just kidding mom.

Seriously, things are better lately. We grabbed 10 hours of sleep this past weekend - a block of 6 and a block of 4 hours and I swear we feel like we overslept. We went to a party on saturday night and left him with my mom and dad for our first outing since November -- and had lots of fun! Although I admit I found it hard to have a conversation about any other subject than Nicolas. Ugh! Martha laughed at me all night as I pulled out pictures of him at every opportunity to show to total strangers. (sigh) My cool self totally deleted. :-)

Martha's B-day | Easter with her sisters

2005-03-30T13:40:00.000-08:00

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New! VIDEO CLIP! (Mar,28,2005)

This Easter sunday was Martha's birthday and we celebrated it at my parent's house along with my brother and his family and Martha's sisters.

We have had a good week with their visit. Tina and Mabe took over some of the Nicolas caretaking and we slept for 2 nights - well not soundly but MUCH BETTER THAN lately. They in turn were exhausted those days. :-)

The photo above includes a solo shot of Nicolas (with a very nice smile) and an Easter shot with (from left to right) -- Martha, Nicolas, Mabe, Tina and Rachel (our niece).

Nicolas's surgery recovery continues - he's still fussing instead of eating well - which is tiring. But this week he seems to have discovered his hands - and he enjoys touching his finger tips together in a slightly mad-scientist sort of way. Like he's making plans for world domination - which...well... you never know do you?

It's obviously a world with cool headwear (see picture above).

smile baby smile

2005-03-21T07:54:00.000-08:00

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Last week many of my co-workers chipped in and bought Nicolas the amby-baby hammock to help his reflux. We started having him nap in it and as of this weekend he is sleeping soundly in it. A special thanks to everyone at RISD who made this possible. :-)

As of Friday he is 7 lbs and 10 ounces. Which is amazing. He seems to be more excited about eating as a whole and we are feeding him every 3 hours or so. He also has been playing with his gymini more and more - and he loves to be carried around the house. Changing him is no longer a traumatic event either - he likes to watch his little animal mobile while we attend to him. And the other day I sang a little Bob Marley to him and he smiled at me the entire time - an indication that he's got excellent taste in music already. :-)

Martha's sisters Tina and Mabe (surprise!) have come to visit and will be here throughout the week - we are very happy to have their company and hope they will have fun taking care of Nicolas and teaching him spanish. :-P

hernia...all gone!

2005-03-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

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This week was a tiring one for all of us. Wednesday morning Nicolas had his inguinal hernia surgery and in the process the doctor's also removed his appendix. Apparently it was caught in the hernia and it was easier to remove it completely. We are hoping this is a good thing for him in the long run and maybe its one less organ that can cause later problems in life. :-)

It was a mess for us that day - due in part to the secretary of the doctor who told us to be at the hospital at 7:30 am and forgot they don't do surgery on Wednesdays until 10am. So we were stuck with a starving child there for hours (we had to stop feeding him after 3am). We spent the night there - to make sure Nicolas didn't have any spells or complications - and came home at 3pm on Thursday - I taught class that night until 9:30pm and it was the most tired I've ever been.

So far Nicolas seems to be ok with it all. His little discomfort from time to time is treated with lots of holding -- and tylenol. :-)

Bigger boy

2005-03-04T12:05:00.000-08:00

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This week Nicolas weighs 7 pounds!!! Its unreal.

We had a rough week though as his reflux kicked up and he caught a cold. The little coughs were so tough to hear. His doctor changed his medication also - to Prevacid - so hes not on Zantac anymore (he hated its minty flavor). Prevacid is strawberry flavored which he likes alot.

Nicolas' inguinal hernia is scheduled to be fixed next wednesday morning at Hasbro Children's Hospital - we are looking forward to having this overwith.

Last night was the first night he was smiling -- alot. And it wasn't gas related - what happens is - he looks right at us and we stick out our tongues and then he smiles. It's great to see. He also wants to be held high looking over our shoulders whenever possible - and insists we walk around and show him the house.

Slow goings...

2005-02-24T07:39:00.000-08:00

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This week Nicolas had another bad spell with his reflux - we think - it was just one night but he was very unhappy eating and we were very unhappy as we are when he's not happy. getit?

Martha took him for a neonatal follow-up visit for preemies and they say he's still not growing very fast - his weight as faraswecantell is around 6 pounds and 10 ounces - and to us he looks bigger each day. Hey good things come in small packages right? :-)

He had his first playtime this week - that is - we placed him on the tiny love gymini and he swatted at the things and enjoyed looking around at it all. He also likes when Martha rings a little bell while he's on the changing table and it really calms him.

:-)

No pictures please just more food...

2005-02-14T17:11:00.000-08:00

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This week Nicolas has been eating like a....baby! Crazy! He's eating every 2 hours or so and it's like he's trying to catch up on all the times he didn't like to eat.

We are happy and tired.

His eyes seem bigger to me and he's very active looking around -- and he has noticed himself in the mirror a few times. The other night I swear his cheeks got bigger between one feed and the next. We have also begun to really decifer his different cries now - knowing when he's tired and knowing when he's hungry.

We are looking forward to the next things he does as he grows and becomes more aware of the world around him.

a big boy now

2005-02-08T18:39:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the doctor's and Nicolas now weighs 6 pounds.

WOW!

zzzzzz....waaa!!! waaa!!!

2005-02-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

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Even though he's not quite 6 pounds - I really think his ability to scream has improved. He also has gotten good at spitting out his pacifier when he realizes its not a bottle and his hands are getting more coordinated at pulling it out as well. He burps loudly (though not easily) and gets freaked out by his own burps. He's also gotten good at closing his mouth tightly when he's not interested in eating anymore. I will try to get a photo of this sometime.

His eating has gotten better now that we are not adding the cereal and he seems to be gaining some weight -- but more slowly than is normal - and we are on track for having his hernia fixed sometime in March - after he's gotten a bit bigger.

Yeah that's your reward kiddo - surgery. (sigh)

home sweet home...hmmm

2005-01-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

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It's great to be here - all of us - in a house surrounded by snowdrifts and cold nights. If only Nicolas would enjoy himself a bit more. His reflux is making each time he eats a painful chore and so he doesn't grow very much. In fact, he didn't grow at all for a few days now. And so we are scheduled for a visit to Hasbro children's hospital early next week to have a gastrointestinal consultation and his hernia surgery consult as well. Between now and then we will plod along with our routine. Hopefully these will lead to better times for Nicolas's eating.

81 long days

2005-01-20T15:57:00.000-08:00

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Well I can't really believe it and neither can Martha - but Nicolas is home. He's really here. We dressed him in a handmade outfit Martha's godmother made and got all the instructions from the nurses. We put on our brave face while at the NICU in Kent Hospital but when we got to the elevators we lost it. Overwhelmed by it all. A very special thanks to Kent NICU -- especially the Angelas, Valerie, M.A., Carol, Kim, Barbara, the Jeans, the Kellys, the Chris's, (hmmm... never noticed all the duplicate names before) -- you all were patient with us and wonderful with our little boy. We can't wait to bring him back to see you - and who knows maybe he will be a little bit bigger. :-)

And in celebration, we drank a little champagne and toasted his homecoming. Cheers. Salud. Etc..

Today he was looking around at his new surroundings and settling in. He was fine in the car and in his first sunlight.

Hey it's only a blog and can only convey so much - but we want to say THANK YOU to everyone for your kind thoughts, prayers, gifts, apartment lending, and words of comfort and support (Martha's mom - muchos gracias! Stayed 2 months to help us!). It's been 81 long days since Nicolas was born - at 1lb and 14 ounces - and we couldn't have gotten through it all without the good people in our lives. Thank you.

:-)

No not yet.

2005-01-17T10:44:00.000-08:00

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Nicolas is coming home possibly thursday (cross your fingers and toes and whatever else please). Martha and I and my mom are to take an infant CPR class on wednesday - and we have an apnea monitor and oxygen at the house JUST IN CASE we need more reasons for freaking out.

Martha stayed with Nicolas overnight on Saturday. They enjoyed. Martha was very happy to wake up in the same room with him. I had planned to stay the night as well but in the afternoon I got a sore throat - which by night-time was a full-blown cold. The thought of me staying all night in the same room as Nicolas spreading my little cold germs all around him made me nuts and I went home. I was home all day on the couch sleeping through sunday and today I am still groggy. Martha has a bit of the cold too but not as much.

We plan on seeing Nicolas sometime today through masks.

That is all.

The long haul....

2005-01-09T22:24:00.000-08:00

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A tough week for us and Nicolas. He has been struggling with his reflux. His original due date was the 14th and his scheduled delivery was to be the 4th. And he's STILL NOT HOME. ugh (see previous).

However, Nicolas was baptized in the hospital this past sunday and it was a nice ceremony. Father Ricard is a cool priest and he made us all feel comfortable and happy with the situation as it was. We dressed Nicolas in a handmade gown that Martha's godmother made. He looked great and wasn't fussy. We had decided that it would be good for us to have the ceremony while Martha's family, especially her sister Mabe (the godmother) are still around.

It became clear to us earlier this past week that Nicolas was not going to be home to spend time with Martha's family (how's it go? .."the best laid plans of mice and men" -- damn high school english class! ). But we are happy knowing that he has had good care and will come home when he's ready. We are trying to spend as much time with him and Martha's family.

I think we are going to make a trip to BJ's this weekend and get some diapers and homestuff - maybe that's being a bit hopeful but I think we need it. :-)

The hope, that is.

A New Year

2005-01-01T19:13:00.000-08:00

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A list of recent purchases made on behalf of Nicolas:

Snuzzler -- This is supposed to go inside the car seat and make the baby "snuzzle" into it a bit more firmly. get it?

Bundle Me -- This do-dad is for the car seat as well - its a big sheepskin cover for the seat - with a zipper for strapping in the laddie.

Head rest -- ok I don't know if i should've bought this -- but then I thought of Nicolas's head bouncing around and i felt really guilty for thinking of NOT getting it.

Essential Guide to Preemies -- This book rocks. I mean if you have to know about all the preemie related terms and issues -- it's a straightforward read -- with charts and all the lingo presented in a completely accessible way.

Things are slow here. Nicolas has bad reflux and is not eating with enthusiasm. Poor eating = slow growth = reflux = spells = NO GOING HOME YET!!!!

ugh. yes ugh. It's past time now -- according to my optimism he was supposed to have come home on New Year's day and that hasn't happened.

Merry Christmas to all!!! WAAAA!!!!

2004-12-25T16:45:00.000-08:00

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Nicolas was mad that he didn't get to open presents today.

This week was a tough one for us with Nicolas staying in the hospital while we celebrated the holiday with martha's family and with my family. We went there a lot to see him. And one of the nurses found a little santa claus hat for him to wear that we really like. He's currently 4lbs and 2 ounces -- which is great compared to his birth weight. He now eats an ounce + each feed. He is a slow eater though sometimes and cries and squirms when he's supposed to be enjoying his meal -- this is very unlike his father. :-)

We are counting the days hoping he can get home soon.

Getting closer to the door

2004-12-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

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I love this picture so I thought I'd post it.

Lately Nicolas has been very active. When I am feeding him now -- in addition to crying and getting mad that he actually has to EAT -- he kicks with his legs with kung-fu like strength and almost launches himself off my lap (not so fast little man). We have to work him a bit but he's beginning to eat all his feed (1 ounce or so ) each time we try it.

I love hearing the growling sounds he makes when he's mad and still has the bottle in his mouth. He has a well-deserved reputation for being cranky in the NICU and the nurses say that he is the LOUDEST of all the babies even though he's just at 3 lbs and 14 ounces now. He doesn't like to be disturbed. I think maybe he's just mad at the world cause he isn't home with us yet.

Yeah... that's it. :-)

Leche con Amorrrrrrrrrrr

2004-12-17T07:41:00.000-08:00

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This week we spent time getting Nicolas used to the taste of food and at the same time helped him learn how to coordinate swallowing and breathing - two skills I usually take for granted. Until I eat too fast and choke on some General Tao's chicken... or something. :-)

Nicolas is having NO chinese food yet though. He's getting all his nutrition via the Martha con Amor Milk. It's a slow process with him because he is still pretty small (he did double his birth weight today though - 3lbs and 12 ounces - 1711 grams!). But eating takes energy and he's still a little boy. On average he can manage to take half his feed (40 CCs - 1.35 ounces - every 4 hours) via bottle and the rest is given to him via the gavage tubes. Martha is best at feeding him and when she does it - he takes the whole feed.

It's great to see him grab ahold of the bottle and eat with crazed enthusiasm -- and then see his eyelids close as he falls fast asleep -- all within a span of seconds. Something I rarely get to do anymore. Ah... enjoy it while you can little boy.... :-)

First bath - no gustar

2004-12-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

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Ahhh the soothing feeling of warm water on the skin. WAA WAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Martha gave Nicolas a bath today with the help of the nurse. He didn't really like it. Nope. Nada. I hope this attitude changes over time.

This week we have a new goal: to get Nicolas to eat from a bottle. He has a good suckling reflex but not so good swallowing reflex. Anyhow...it's all a learning experience for him and we need to get him to eat like a normal baby so he can come home. He manages to eat about 10 ccs at a time with the bottle and then the rest is fed to him via the gavage tube which he's had now since he was about 3days old.

Now he has to work for it. :-)

In a little boy bed

2004-12-08T08:06:00.000-08:00

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Nicolas was moved into a bed yesterday and out of his isolette. So he's exposed to room air and room noise. Man, those nurses are pretty gabby but he doesn't seem to notice. He's sleeping most of the time and has the habit of waking a half hour ahead of his feed schedule -- we are adjusting accordingly. :-)

Last weekend was the first one he spent in the Kent NICU and it was a very exhausting one for us as he was having a lot of apnea spells. Luckily, since then, we have had some better days and are enjoying holding him more and more. He's currently 3 lbs and 5 ounces - which I think means he's almost doubled his birthweight (u do the math - I'm lazy - there's a chart in the middle of this page).

Yesterday I noticed he could lift his head while on his belly -- and then he changed the side he was facing in the crib! It's great and strange to see him do these things now -- as we have been so used to him being still. He's also acting more like a normal baby - each time we place him back in bed he cries and cries for a few minutes and then, of course, he is out like a light in complete exhaustion. :-)
We are loving every minute of it.

Nicolas moves closer to home

2004-12-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

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This is NOT really a watercolor of Nicolas - its photoshop! Love those filters! :-P What can I say - the photo was blurry and this makes it look better I think.

It was made from a photo of Nicolas in Martha's arms in the NICU of Kent Hospital in Warwick RI. 11 minutes from our house. It's good to be closer but we are a bit stressed with moving him and hope we have made the right choice.

Last night I got to feed him with a bottle for the first time (his first and my first) -- and he ate half of his feed by himself! (insert proud daddy look here)

It's impossible to thank the NICU of Beth Israel Deaconess enough - we are overwhelmed by the people we met there. Martha and I feel so very lucky to have been with them from the beginning -- and the professionalism, dedication and care they showed us and our little boy was unreal. Our deepest thanks to all the nurses, doctors and staff -- we miss you all.

thanksgiving +

2004-11-29T08:04:00.000-08:00

After a nice thankgiving meal with my parents and martha's mom (grilled sweet potatoes by me - turkey by my mom!) we were off to boston. Two good friends lent us their awesome condo in brookline for the post-holiday weekend - Amitabh and Jess - thanks again to you both - buy cool cards from Jess here : www.jessicasmithdesigns.com.

Nicolas's latest stats: 2lbs and 13 ounces, no longer needs the heater in the isolette and is wrapped up like a little burrito. He's wearing clothes now - and its fun for us to dress him even though he doesn't really enjoy it. :-) He also was able to eat a little this weekend off martha - he has the reflexes and the intuition but not the stamina yet. He gets tired after 5 minutes and is then fast asleep.

Martha and I are quickly getting over our fear of holding him and are now doing all the chores we can with him which include: taking his temperature (underarm), changing his diaper, dressing him, removing him from the isolette, and holding him. We get to hold him for an hour a day and are taking turns. :-)

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photo of nicolas - Nov21.2004

2004-11-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

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my first posting - nicolas arrives!

2004-11-18T18:24:00.000-08:00

first post dedicated to nicolas henri meier -- 3 weeks old now - came into the world on Nov.1 at 12:04am. I raced from our home to Beth Israel Deaconess in brookline, MA in 40 minutes driving as fast as possible (normal drive time 2hours). I figured if i got pulled over I had the best excuse for speeding in the world --my wife is having our baby -- :-)

When i got to the hospital i was gowned up and led to the delivery room and martha was already there. I could see they had started already - but i didn't take any pictures of my wife's internal organs. I snapped pictures of her and she started laughing at me - and then worried that her laughing would make the doctors slip up or something.

Nicolas arrived shortly -- with a little crying that was the best sound I've ever heard.

He's been in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ever since then. First with alot of help breathing and then not so much. Then with a heart murmur and then that was fixed. Now with an infection but doing ok for a tiny little boy. He is now 2lbs and 4 ounces and still hates being changed. He has apnea and sometimes forgets to breathe - which is nervewracking - last night the alarm went off and i patted his back to start him up again. I plan on telling him this the first time he gives me attitude. :-)

Martha and I are pretty tired -- we go up to Boston each night to see him for a few hours. Martha's mom arrived the day after he was born and has been a huge help to us. I will be happy when we finally get to bring him home.