4 weeks (is not the same as a month)

our stroller arrived this afternoon, and we went for a short walk around the neighborhood. there are an incredible amount of babies out there in park slope - and i'm sure i'm the first person to notice this. they should open up some children's boutiques or something.
in penny news, she had a bath yesterday, and she didn't hate it! we are starting to be able to distinguish between her cries. we're not 100% yet, but as there are really only three things she cries about, and sometimes two of them are happening at once, we are fairly confident we're going to get this nailed down. she's getting much better about tracking us with her eyes, and totally focuses on who's talking to her. her eyes still cross frequently, and that freaks me out. i've spoken to her about this, but to n avail, as she flat out refuses to learn english.

three weeks!

hello from chez z, where we don't mind the cold outside because we never go there.
this week, penny had her first bath! she hated it,then she didn't mind it, then she hated it again. she really liked being wrapped up in a towel, though.
she spent almost an entire night in her basket, giving her parents several consecutive hours of sleep! amazing!
so now that we're past our third week, it's all smooth sailing, right?

happy new year! (week 2)

hello, and happy new year to you! this week, we found out that penny has made it back to her birth weight - this is great news! to date, she has had a manicure and a half, as one of her favorite games is to taunt us by pretending to gouge her eyes out. right now, she's asleep on my lap, getting ready to rally for midnight and 2010!
penny's resolutions include perfecting her neck control, getting her eyes focused, and spending more time being adorable.

from all of us at chez z, all the best wishes for a healthy amazing year full of new adventures!

please say hello to penny!

hello, blogosphere!
sorry for the extended silence, but we've been a little busy over here at chez z. on thursday, december 17th, at 4:19 am, we welcomed little penny ruth zalben into this crazy world. she is, of course, perfect and beautiful. she as born at 7 pounds 7oz and 20 inches - as of today's doctor's appointment she is 7 pounds 6 oz. she is a brilliant genius! her umbilical stump has fallen off! she produces gas like a champion!
i will do my utmost best to continue posting once a week, but please bear with me if i have no idea what day it is.
penny says hi to you all!

week 38!

as of this morning, it just looks like i'm faking. seriously. just look at that belly.

better preggo photos than we could ever take...

on halloween, we went to prospect park and met the photographer who shot our wedding, minwin.
i cannot recommend this man enough, people! guests of the wedding still ask about him as if they are old friends, and we knew we wanted to see him again for our maternity photo shoot. further ado? nuh uh!
lifemagical maternity gallery 1
lifemagical maternity gallery 2

ps - 80% effaced, 1cm dilated!

week 37!

this week started off at the doctor's office, where she told us that i'm 70% effaced, but not at all dilated. she thinks we're right on target so far as the due date is concerned. we are really enjoying trying to identify which lump is which, and part of our excitement over her impending birth is knowing for sure what part of her we're looking at (we fervently hope).
thanks to a very helpful fellow preggo over on ravelry.com, i found out that adding another pillow under my head at night stops both the snoring and the flopping about i was doing all night, leading to much better sleep! thank you again!