Goodbye Mr. Brown and Happy Mother's Day

Sadly, the Hayden Family took a major blow this week with the loss of our beloved Mr. Brown. She bid us adieu as unexpectedly as she arrived. She always did things on her own terms! Those who knew her, loved her and should take comfort that she made the journey to kitty heaven peacefully. Her main passions in life were puking and snuggling... passions which she cultivated daily, and often simultaneously. Thank you for being our dear friend Mr. Brown. We'll always leave the window open for you.

Practical Use For Baby #1: Exercise Equipment

Sechselaeuten

This week was Zurich's centuries-old Sechselaeuten, which stems from the tradition of driving out evil winter spirits and welcoming the longer, milder days of spring. On Sechselaeuten-Monday, some 3,500 colourfully-costumed guildsmen, over 350 horsemen, 50 horse-drawn wagons and around 30 bands parade through Zurich to the Sechselaeutenplatz for the burning of the Boegg, a SNOWMAN that sits atop a 13-metre high bonfire. The procession to the bonfire is a huge spectacle and attracts thousands of spectators. The bonfire is lit at precisely six o'clock in the evening and horsemen then circle the blaze three times to the accompaniment of the Sechselaeuten March. Tradition says that the faster the Boegg burns, the sooner summer will arrive and the longer and sunnier it will be.

Burn Boegg, BURN!!!

Learning more and more about less and less.

I'll apologize - it's been practically forever since I wrote last. But I don't think this thing even gets read so no big deal, right?

Echo.

Well, where did I leave off? Oh yeah... we had a baby! I think this is common knowledge now since it's been over 6 weeks. She is so incredible! And beautiful! And brilliant! And just the most loving, snuggly, perfect little munchkin that ever lived. That's just my humble opinion. She really found her voice just this morning. She laid in bed jabbering and singing to no one in particular and it was the sweetest sound. Nevermind the fact that she followed it up with a GINORMOUS farty poop and then puked all over herself exorcist-style on the changing table.

Here's a brief re-cap of the labor and delivery for those who have asked about it. I'll leave out the embarrassing details, but trust me, giving birth involves lots of things that if any single one were to happen at any other time in your life, you would undergo complete facial reconstruction and relocate to someplace totally isolated from normal society - like Canada.

I was 9 days overdue and it was the eve of an induced delivery when I began having contractions at 3:00 a.m. I woke Eric up around 6:00 a.m., told him it was starting and then, naturally, we watched "Prince Caspian" of the Chronicles of Narnia series. After that we hopped on the tram and headed to the hospital. And then 'SURPRISE'! My water broke... on the tram... during rush hour. We wrapped my coat and Eric's coat around me basically like a giant coat-diaper, deboarded at our stop and walked the next few blocks to the hospital. And just in the nick of time, too. That's when the contractions really kicked in to high-gear and I became the crazy lady you see giving birth in movies, but it wasn't just bad acting - it was real.

The goal was to go all-natural, which I did for the first 12 hours. Isabella was posterior - meaning she was head-down, but facing my abdomen rather than my spine. That complicated things a little and the pain was excruciating! I sat in a hot-water bath and under the stream of a hot shower for "relaxation" but I kept accidentally knocking off the fetal monitor and they said I had to lay in bed and they recommended an epidural. I couldn't get that sweet nectar injected in my spine fast enough. Everything changed after that... Eric stopped being yelled at for trying to give me kisses, for one. Labor continued and after I had been dilated to 10 cm for over 2 hours, the Dr. said they were going to have to vacuum poor little Isabella out if she didn't come on her own in the next 20 minutes. VACUUM? Oh, heelllllll nnoooooo lady. So we got down to business and 'Volia'! She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

Overall, it lasted just over 17 hours. Eric was incredible... completely supportive and encouraging. It was an amazing experience that I am so glad we shared. And my poor mom sat out in the waiting room for the entire thing. Thank you, Mom!

That's all for now, but I will update again really soon.....

Nicknames

Eric is a nickname genius. Here are a few he has come up with in the 2.5 weeks of Isabella's life:

• Dr. Wriggles
• Lurch MacGruber
• Biscuithead
• Pancakehead
• Poops McGee
• Meet Joe Poop
• Ralph
• One Eyed Willy
• Crazy Cross-Eyed Munchkin
• Jazzbolt
  

There are a lot more that I am forgetting, probably for good reason!

New Pictures

Hi! I just wanted to give a quick update that we put some new pictures up on the Picasa site... I'll do a real blog update soon.

No Baby Yet

The due date has come and gone. Oh man, this is torture! First thing she comes out, she is grounded. I think 2 weeks of no TV, no cell phone, and no boyfriends should teach her a lesson. She'll probably cry when we tell her, but it's best to lay down the law early.