Home with Miss Ellie

Today Ellie is 5 days old (I wrote this yesterday- but didn't get to the photos).

Proud big sister!

Dyllan ran to grab her chair so she could peak in.. 

I am sitting here in bed- with Ellie's little body on my chest sleeping.  There is no where I would rather be right now.  I have a white chocolate hot chocolate, a bowl full of ripe mango, my computer and a sleeping little barnacle attached my my chest.  Its the first time since she was born that I have really had a chance to sit down and relax with no one around.  Its perfect, I am in heaven.

The past 5 days have been surreal.  I knew it would be different once we had two kids, but I really didn't know what to expect.  Its amazing how quickly you forget the infant stage, then how quickly it all comes rushing back as soon as the next one is born.  I am brought back to the time when Dyllan was only tiny- having to set an alarm every 3 hours to wake her up and feed her.  This is similar- except I don't have to go to all the trouble of getting a bottle ready while simultaneously pumping (thank god!)- breastfeeding is so much easier in that respect.  Ellie is calm, peaceful, happy, sleepy but alert for a few min every couple hours.. Dyllan set the bar high with how easy she was.. but so far Ellie is following right in her footsteps.  We are lucky (knock on wood).

Dan has been such a great help so far- especially running around after Dyllan - who's energy levels have doubled since Ellie was born!  He's been able to take some time off work which has been great- but we want to save his vacation time for vacation (Feb and July/Aug)- so he is popping into work when he needs to.  Dyllan is booked into an extra day of daycare today- which she was thrilled about.  She's been telling the teachers and her friends about her sister "Ellie Crammit" for weeks now!  Its so nice that she loves daycare so much- and that I can rest easy knowing that she is busy, stimulated and happy.

All 3 girls

Dyllan in the baby bath

Skin to skin- her favorite spot.

Ready to go out- (hi Dyllan!)

Sitting on my knee

My little bundle

Ellie's Birth Story

It all started Tuesday when I woke up for work- I was 37.5 weeks pregnant (and full term this time!).  I was feeling SUPER tired.. I had an office meeting at 8am and I couldn't seem to wake myself up.  By the time 9am rolled around I decided I better pop out and get a snack to wake myself up and get through the day.  I came back to my desk with a giant sugar twist doughnut and a coke zero- my co workers looked at me like I was nuts.  I snarffed down my snack and attempted to get through my day's work.  My cold calls were next to impossible- and my phone voice was sounded like a zombie.  Around lunch time I had convinced myself that yes, tomorrow I would take the day off.. a personal day.. to get stuff done and rest up.

Tuesday is date night.  Dyllan is at the grandparents and Dan and I make an effort to have a date night each Tuesday.

After work- Dan picked me up and we headed into the city to our favorite sushi spot- Zushi.  We got there at 6pm- had sushi and went out for a frozen yogurt- and were home my 7:30pm.  Haha.  We were both tired.  We went to bed early- around 9:30pm.  At 12:18am I was awoken with a startle as I thought the baby had kicked my bladder and I peed a little in bed!  I went to use the bathroom- changed, then came back to bed thinking for sure that I just peed cause the baby kicked me.  About 20 min later- I got up again to use the bathroom- I figured I maybe drank too much water.  I brought my phone with me and googled in the dark "how do you know if your waters broken"- as I was convinced that it wasn't my water breaking- it was nothing like last time- where water gushed out.. this  was only a little bit.  After google convinced me that I was probably right- and that it wasn't my water breaking- I returned to bed.  Thats when the contractions started.  It was probably 1am- and the cramps weren't that bad- so I decided before I woke Dan up- I would wait it out and see how far apart they were- and how bad they got- I knew if I woke Dan up- and if it was a false alarm - he wouldn't have a good night sleep.  So I waited in bed- counting out 6 contractions.. Then around 2:30am I decided I better wake him up.  We got up- called the hospital and they told us to come on in.  As we were driving the contractions got BAD.  They were SUPER close together and really painful.  We checked into the hospital at 3am- and they sat me down on the hospital bed to assess the situation.  As soon as I laid town - the midwife took one look at me and said- yep- you are FULLY DIALATED and I can see the baby's head!  WHAT?!  I said.. I immediately asked for my epidural.  She said no- it was too late for that- and instead of an epidural I could have a baby.  I started to panic.. and cry.  Nooo.. this was my biggest fear- no epidural.. 

We then walked into the birthing room- me keeled over- laid down on the bed and began pushing.. pushed for about an hour (maybe less- I lost track of time)- and had little Ellie at 4:38am.  As worried as I was about not having drugs- I have to admit- it wasn't as bad as I anticipated- in fact the contractions were the worst part.  Don't get me wrong.. it hurt.. but I was expecting the worst!

It was amazing- this was the first time I got to experience having my baby placed on my chest when she was born (they wisked Dyllan off right away).  She was perfect.  The first thing we both noticed were her long hands and feet.  We spent the next 2 hours waiting for the doctor to come stitch me up.  The midwife explained that they were very busy- and the 2 doctors on duty were attending to emergency patients.  When the doctor finally arrived- I casually commented that "you must be busy tonight!"- and she replied "no.. we're not that busy.  I just woke up from a nap".  WHAT?  A nap??  Here I was sitting naked in my hospital bed- blood everywhere- while she NAPPED?? ... at least she was honest..

About an hour old

I got stitched up and Dan and I enjoyed the next hour or so holding Ellie before Marianne and Dyllan arrived!  

Dyllan was soo excited the whole car ride to the hospital to meet her new baby sister- Ellie Crammit!  When she got there it was pretty sweet.  She was whispering in a sweet voice and so cute with Ellie.  

Proud Dad

Lozzo

Gaga

Yunny

A long distance phone call

Lucky for me, I talk to Dad all the time- but this time was particularly special.  Dad was enjoying a vacation down in Arizona with Tatyana and her family when I called to tell him the news:  I am pregnant!

 ...and Tatyana captured the moment.

Sunday Dinner: Korean Beef

A trip to Costco on Friday inspired me to have a family dinner party tonight.  After buying 3+ lbs (the small pack) of Costco flank steak- I decided a family dinner at our house was long over due and Korean beef was the perfect meal.  We had a few birthdays to celebrate- Brenden turned 28 on April 5th, Libby also turned 28 on April 25th, and Marianne's birthday was the 15th- plus Lionel got a new (permanent) job- teaching P.E. at St. Pauls in Manly.

I woke up early to marinate the steak- which made the rest of the day free to do whatever.. so I made cupcakes ( they don't sell rainbow chip here- so I made my own version).

I love having Libby and Marianne over for dinner because they always bring a dish.. so it makes having a dinner party super easy!  Marianne brought prawn fried rice, and Libby made a wild rice dish with corn, cilantro and salmon. And I added stir fried asian vegtables.

I thought I had Mom's Korean Beef recipe stashed somewhere- so I searched for it in my email and came across this... an email mom sent Teri for a recipe swap.  The email was titled: A Recipe from the Sussex House: (I tripled this recipe- and it fed 8 hungry people with 1 slice left over)

Kerry Sussex ksussex@hotmail.com	2/28/09
to tschramm

Teri,
Here is your recipe. Wonder how many you will get! This one is a favorite at the Sussex household.
Korean Beef

1 lb flank steak
2 T sesame oil
1/4 C soy
3 crushed garlic cloves
1 1/2 t rice wine vinigar
a few twists of ground black pepper
1 1/2 t crushed toasted sesame seeds
1/3 t cayenne pepper
2 green onions chopped

Thin slice the flank steak diagonally and marinate several hours (or overnite) in the remaining ingredients. Barbeque the meat for just a few minutes (rare is best) and wrap in washed iceberg lettuce leaves. Yum!

Your real estate advisor for life,
Kerry Sussex
John L Scott, Mercer Island
7853 SE 27th Street, Suite 180
Mercer Island, WA 98040
206-230-5135 206-236-5162 FAX

And for desert... birthday cupcakes

Dan's New Gig

So, its official... Dan got a promotion! 

Fitness First has been going through big changes- restructuring, cutting down on staff, and changing the way they do business.  Its been sort of a crazy couple of months for Dan in the work department... lots of uncertainty- as they were deciding who to let go.  Dan's been doing a great job- and has been actively involved in implementing some of these changes, so he wasn't too worried about losing a job- but his position was changed.. which forced him to step out of his comfort zone- and interview for a more senior position.  After several interviews- he made it through- and is now the new National Sales Strategy Manager (he was previously Area Sales Manager).  Woo hoo!  Bug and I are so proud of our man!

We were supposed to go out and celebrate- but unfortunately Dan came down with food poisoning (again! twice in 2 years.. ) .  He is on the mend today- so we might go out this weekend and cheers to his new role.

High Fives Dan Newton!

After the Sneaky Sound System Concert - at the Manly Surfing Open

Dyllan trying on Dan's Fitness First shirt

"Umm, Dad, great job on the promotion and all, but the focus is still on me"

Dreaming Big!

Celebration time

Congratulations Matt and Jessica

Matt and Jessica's engagement photo

Congratulations to my cousin Matt and his beautiful bride, Jessica today!  Matt and Jessica are getting married as we speak-  in Paso Robles, Ca.  They will be married in a church with the reception at  Still Waters Vineyards. 

Wishing them all the best- and a fabulous time on their Fijian honeymoon!!

Still Waters Vineyards
photo from here

Photo Courtesy of my cousin Sheri's facebook- thanks for the mobile upload, Sheri!

Looking forward to seeing lots of photos from the weekend! 

Face Time

It was great catching up with "Creepy Uncle Sean" today.  Dyllan and I were fortunate enough to get to  "Face Time" chat with him on our iPhones.  Technology makes it so easy to stay in touch- and now that Sean (and Dad!) both got new iPhone's we can chat more often.  Sean and I only talked on the face time for a few min until we figured out how much extra it would be costing us.  We promised each other that our next technology tackle would be to Skype.  I havent dont much skyping here because the video quality was so bad- but I maybe I can get it fixed with our wireless extender (haha do I sound like a computer nerd or what?!)

So, once I get this Face Time rate and Skype figured out- lets chat!

Mothers day weekend

Dee Why food and wine festival

 The weather was perfect on Mothers day.  The sun was out- and so were the people.  The cafes and parks were packed with picnickers and footy games as people ventured outside to celebrate mothers day.  We were no exception.  We kicked off the day with breakfast at a little cafe overlooking Mona Vale beach- Lozzo treated the whole gang (Dan, Me, Dyllan, Lionel, Kayleigh, Brenden and Libby) to breakfast.  After breakfast we went to visit Granny- who has just come back from the hospital.  Long story short:  Granny went into the hospital a few weeks ago for an operation to remove the cancer from her bladder.  Once in the operating room- they discovered that the cancer had spread further than they could operate.  They then determined that operating was not an option and that it was more important to keep her comfortable and pain-free.  She is now at home- in good spirits (considering the outcome) and happy to have her family around.  Mothers day was no exception- she was laughing, singing, and cracking jokes all afternoon.  We pray that she will remain pain free and happy in the days and weeks to come.

After our visit with Granny and the family- Dan, Dyllan and I headed to Dee Why beach for the food and wine festival.  Great food- warm sun- and live music.  Couldn't get much better.

Saturday night we headed into the city for date night and Das's 30th Birthday.  We started out with some wine in our Starbucks cups while we walked along Darling harbor- checking out all the boats, tourists, and nightlife.  We had a cocktail at Cargo bar on the harbor and enjoyed all the people watching- couldn't believe how many batchelorette ("hen's" they call it here) parties there that night!  We got dinner at the convenient store that I use to frequent (for the bin candy of course) when I worked for Boost Mobile in the city- years ago!  Then headed to a cute, quaint wine bar to celebrate Das's 30th- with 100+ of his closest friends!  He rented out the entire bar- it was so much fun being at a bar where there are so many familiar faces.  We danced the night away and had a great time.

Wine in our Starbucks cups.  Starbucks and Sussex street.. nice.  Convenience store dinner (bottom right)

Easter Weekend Away- part one

Happy Easter.  And Anzac Day!  Lucky for us- Easter and Anzac Day fell on the same weekend- meaning that it was an extra long weekend here in Australia.  Dan had Fri-Tues off work so we decided to get out of the city and head for the hills.. and the beach.  Thursday afternoon Dyllan and I packed up the car- picked up Dan from work and headed west to a place called Kenthurst - where Bushy's parents live.  They were away for the weekend so we had the entire ranch to ourselves.  It was so much fun.   We got there around dinner time- and didnt waste any time cracking open the wine and decorating our pizzas.  We talked for hours then headed to bed.  The next morning was a lazy, lounging by the pool, do-nothing in our pajamas kind of morning.  The sun was out and there was plenty of relaxing to be had.  Stacey and I caught up on all the latest celebrity gossip magazines- while the boys watched some bike race on tv.  Perfect.  Around lunch time we decided it was time to get out of the house- so we headed to the Hawksburry river for fish and chips in the park.  We came back home around dinner time- and Bushy and Stacey made a tasty (and SUPER spicy!) chilli prawn fettuccine- and we watched movies till late.  The next morning the boys went on a 60km bike ride up through the Blue Mountains- while Stacey and I  watched reality TV.. haha (hey- someone had to stay with Dyllan, right?  plus it was raining..) 

Someone loved fish and chips...

The Hawksburry River

Their dog- Jess- would circle around and around and around the pool... all day long.. haha!

When the boys got back- Dan and I packed up the car and headed up to Caves Beach (to his parents holiday house).  We spent two nights there- and celebrated Easter with lots of chocolate!  I will have to put the Caves Beach photos on a different blog- because the photos are taking FOREVER to upload.. one.at.a.time.. sooo slow.  Stupid blogger.  Anyway.. hopefully I can do this tomorrow.