Sorry, Cooper. We've been neglecting you. Here's a recent picture of Ella's cousin, Cooper, at 6 months.

Still sleeping, but only because I am working so hard to get bigger! I weigh 9 lbs 8 oz today!

We have a mover and a shaker on our hands!

This still continues to be what I do best!

Now, let me get this straight. This little piggy went to market, and this little piggy stayed home?

First stroller ride!

Bathtime makes me sleepy!

This little girl was once swaddled, but she had other plans!

Pretty in pink, but not amused!

You know that mountain we live on.....

...well, sometimes we forget that it's actually an active volcano! Over the past week it has been reminding us of its true title by making loud thunderous noises every time red hot lava spews out of it! Don't be alarmed thoughbecause our friend Mimmo says that this is just the typical summer tourist eruption. If you would like to check out info and live action of Mt. Etna, you can visit either of these sites:

http://www.vulcanoetna.com/en_etna_cam.php

http://www.vulcanoetna.com/gallery/v/eruzioni/speciale_eruzione_2006/

Also, just a reminder that if you would like to view more pics of the baby (of course we have to mention her in every post!), they are available in our Yahoo photo albums. Click on the Yahoo link on our site, then log in using "ajaphilip" as the user name and "oscarwilde" as the password. Ciao!

"I think I'm full," says Ella.

The Andre family.

Fast asleep in her car seat.

Stretching out.

Checking herself out in the mirror!

Winners of the Name/Birthdate Contest

Thanks to all who participating. It was fun to receive your reflections on the names and when Ella would arrive.

Winners of the name contest are:

Monique Aiuto
Carrie Andre
Jen Bunyan

Winners of the birthdate contest are:

Linda Duncan
Mary Schlechter

p.s. All winning guesses were submitted long before I knew I would be induced! Don't hate the player, hate the game!:) Congrats!

I guess Ella missed the memo about wearing her sunglasses for this picture!

Ella and her Moma at the hospital after a weigh-in and cord clamp removal.

Ella and her first "milk drunk" experience with our nurse Candy after a successful breastfeeding intervention.

Here she is wrapped in her bathrobe after a little sponge bath.

A mommy/daughter moment.

Up close and personal after an attempt at breastfeeding.

Fast asleep as usual. Here you see our own version of the classic swaddle because Ella likes to have at least one hand out. She's a squirmer!

A bit of a better picture of her. She's a very sleepy girl. ZZZzzzzzzzzzz

Ella and her daddy getting ready for bed after another exciting day together. She likes to have her hands up near her face...not good for photo opps:)

The Andre family getting ready to be discharged from the hospital.

Back to our house we go........

.....and it will never seem the same now that there are four (Oscar included). So, for all of you dying for the reveal of the "juicy details" of Ella's birth, here they are........

Once upon a time, I thought I would awake in the middle of the night with that panic of contractions, Phil and I would rush to the car in our nightclothes and a few hours later the baby would arrive. Well, that sounds like a fairytale for one reason; IT IS! In real life, it played out a bit differently.

First of all, I didn't spontaneously begin to have contractions. As of Monday at my doctor's appointment I was about 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. My doctor, the wonderful Dr. Lyon, said that we should probably induce on Tuesday morning. So, bright and early on Tuesday morn, Phil and I headed for the hospital. There I was started on Pitocin at around 7:30 am. I was having contractions, but they weren't intense and I wasn't feeling them. It seemed like things were going to be pretty easy, and then, it happened. I began to feel the contractions. Imagine a pretty bad stomachache where your stomach cramps up and you know something is going to come out whether you like it or not--that is exactly what contractions feel like, in their MILD stage! Around 11:00, Donna and I were just starting to watch the movie Pride and Prejudice when I felt my water break. Go Jane Austen! That's when all hell broke loose and the contractions went from mild to really uncomfortable. The nurse came in and asked me what my pain level was at the time. I said, "10!" It couldn't possibly get any worse than this, I thought. If I only knew what was in store for me in the next few hours.

Well, apparently my membrane had not completely ruptured, so it needed a bit of help from the doc. There was a bit of meconium in the mix, so then I had to get flushed out, which sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it? Here's the part in the story where my memory is a bit blurry because I started experimenting with some mild drugs to "take the edge off", which actually did not take any edge off, but just made me a bit sleepy. Well, you can't exactly sleep when you still feel like someone's jackhammering your back and punching you in the stomach at the same time. So, needless to say, the mild drugs that I did have were not of any help.

So, as I came closer and closer to realizing what a true 10 is on the pain level scale, I begged for an epidural. "Please, Candy. Go get the aneastesiologist!" For those of you who heard a rumor about me saying no to drugs, it is a lie. I wanted those drugs, but Candy, my L & D nurse, thought otherwise. But, oh, she never said no to me outright. She was very sneaky about it, stalling by claiming she needed to chart some stats and then she would order the drugs. I hated her at the time, but now I appreciate it because by the time I was asking for the drugs, I was only about 2 cm away from pushing. Once my water was broken, it only took about 2 1/2 hours to go from 4 to 10 cm. At 3:00, I was at 10 and ready to push. I really feel for those ladies out there who push for hours on end, because let me tell you, it is exhausting! Luckily, I only had to push for about 50 minutes, then Ella was born at 3:59 pm.

We're all doing well. Phil is an awesome daddy. He took care of the first few diaper changes without a hitch! And this is a guy who thought he would be afraid to hold a newborn! Ella has proven him wrong and she loves it when he holds her. We came home this afternoon and the little bambina is sleeping downstairs. She's a very content baby and we're so glad that she arrived safe and soundly. We wish you all could be here to see her in person! Ciao for now, the mama needs her recovery sleep!

Ella's Second Day

and the correct spelling of my name is ELEANORA LOUISE

8 lb 10 oz and 21 1/2 inches long, aja says, ?Whew!?

momma and sweet elenora

momma and sweet elenora

momma and sweet elenora

daddy and elenora louise

daddy and elenora lousie

buongiorno, mondo - hello world!

elenora louise arrives on 7-11

elenora arrives on 7-11

Ben, Phil, Donna, and Aja at the restaurant Hosteria al Palmento in Nicolosi on Thursday.

40 weeks and counting......

Well folks, you can all stop holding your breath for the much anticipated due date because there's still no baby being born! That's right, she's holding out on us, but the old pregnant body is starting to get ready for the birth. She'll be born mid to late next week at the latest as the doctors don't like to let people go beyond 41 weeks here. So, for all of you who voted that I would be in this predicament until July 18th or whatever date it was, you are sadly mistaken:) So sorry!! We'll keep you posted in the ever running drama of "Baby Andre 2006." Ciao!

We're having a heatwave, a tropical heat wave........it's too hot here even for Oscar to do anything but lie around. Temperatures in the 100s all week, folks! Thank goodness for AC:)

Philip playing with Oscar and D.O.G., our neighbor's dog.

Name and Birthdate Poll

Buona sera.......

Well, obviously we are still waiting for the baby's arrival, but I have had some requests to see the tally count for each name candidate, so here goes. This count includes most of my 6th grade (now 7th graders!!) students' votes.

Girl Name: Boy Name (just in case!):

Sarah--14 votes Kevin--18 votes
Stephanie--11 votes Xavier--9 votes
Isabella--10 votes Luca--6 votes
Elise--9 votes Julian--5 votes
Lillian--8 votes Theo--5 votes
Olivia--6 votes Logan--4 votes
Eleanora--4 votes Liam--4 votes
Natasha--4 votes Gideon--2 votes
Cynthia--3 votes Campbell--2 votes
Dora--2 votes Oliver--2 votes

There are still some birthdates left to choose from! The following days have the # of people guessing that the baby will be born then. If a date is not listed, then no one has chosen that day.

June 28--3 people
June 30--2 people
July 1--1 person
July 3--2 people
July 4--2 people
July 6--1 person
July 7--3 people
July 8--4 people
July 9--1 person
July 11--1 person
July 12--1 person
July 15--1 person (I don't care if that is your b-day, Kathy, I'm not going that long!!:))
July 18--1 person (ditto to you, Diane E.!!:))

We'll keep you posted! Ciao!

Aja at 38 and 1/2 weeks with a collage she made for the baby's room.

Here's Phil in front of our new car.

Me and Phil at our baby shower last Monday at school.

Summertime, and the living is easy.......

Buon giorno, tutti!

Well, our school year has come to a close as of today. Now Phil and I can just rest up for the big event that has been cleared to happen! The past few months have been both busy and dragging at times, but we both made it through. Phil was busy this spring with the men's soccer team again. I have been very active with some end of the year activities with our 6th grade class--a Pizzathon, Renaissance/Medieval Festival, field trips, etc.

Recently, we had some painting donw inside of our house, namely to the baby's room, guest bedroom, and kitchen. Check out our Yahoo photo albums to see what the house looks like now. For some reason, the direct link to the albums is not working, so here is our log in information:

user ID: ajaphilip
password: oscarwilde

It's Mr. Cooper at nearly 5 months (tomorrow). Look how his dad is trying to push baseball on him--the poor kid!:)

Okay, so his belly's not quite as big as mine, but iw was worth a shot! This picture was taken last Sunday at our end of the year party. The other belly belongs to Chief Naab, our school liasion to the Navy.

Baby belly at 36 1/2 weeks--it's almost time!

A recent picture of our nephew, Cooper. Apparently he is already quite the water enthusiast! Anyway, my hope is that his cute picture distracts you from the grotesque pregnant lady in the picture below!

Baby belly at 35 and 1/2 weeks.

The Baby Andre belly at 34 weeks. The baby has definitely dropped down and continues to get bigger everyday!

Here I am with Phil's family during my recent trip to the States. From L to R is cousin Andrea, me holding Cooper, mom Donna, sister Carrie, Andrea's baby Madelyn, and aunt Kathy.

The baby belly at 31 weeks--Oscar doesn't know what to think of the expanding tummy!

The baby belly at 24 weeks--this is 2 weeks old!