Nora and her brother

Nora loved her brother long before he ever exited the womb. She waited for him with mounting excitement as the time grew nearer. Nora informed us that while mommy had a boy in her tummy, she had a little girl in hers (who was born about 2 weeks before Eli arrived - no hospital necessary.)  She has been putting her dolls and stuffed toys down for naps, shushing us as they sleep, and changing their diapers (or nappies, as she calls them) for months.

When Eli finally arrived and she met him in the hospital room, she ran/hopped around in excited circles for several minutes. (Sadly, we have no video of that.) She wants to be there for his every diaper change and feeding. She always wants to hold him. We've been trying to teach her to look for clues (like rooting, a full diaper, yawning, etc.) to figure out what he needs.  Her favorite solution is the pacifier and any time she wants to give it to him she says, "I think he's just cluesing." We also regularly hear, "Daddy [or Mommy], will you put little brother down so I can stroke his soft hair?" It's pretty cute. I'm sure when he figures out what's going on he'll like it too.

Eli and his new bed-mates, courtesy of his sister.

Nora and her babies.  Quiet please, they're sleeping.

A happy girl and her brother

 

Having such a good big sister can be exhausting.

Finally, a little video where Nora can tell you about her brother in her own words. You're welcome.

Eli at one week

It's hard to believe that it's been a week…and also hard to believe that it's been only a week. Time with newborns is a bit funny that way, simultaneously moving quickly and slowly. Nevertheless, a week it has been and we are growing more attached to little Elias James every day. We love him, his sister adores him (see forthcoming post), and our friends and family are suitably enamored. And why not? I mean, look at him.

Ready or not... he is HERE!!!

We're so pleased to introduce the newest addition to our little family, Elias James, who we'll call Eli.  
Born Sunday, January 8, 2012.


We arrived at the hospital just before 10:00am and he arrived at 1:55pm - all 8 pounds, 12 ounces of him.  (For a little perspective, Nora was 6lbs, 13 oz.)  At the moment, he has gorgeous blond hair, blue eyes, and amazing sideburns.  We are all recovering well and sleeping as much as possible.

More details and updates to follow in the coming days...

Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Love,

      Deanna, Ben, Nora and Eli

2011 Reading List

(In order of when I read them.)


I'll use a 3 star rating system.  The more stars, the more highly I would recommend the book... however, please note that I am NOT a book reviewer, I simply recommend books that I enjoy reading, that I relate to in some significant way, that challenge me to think differently (hopefully more correctly) about a certain subject, or that are just plain old beautifully written.

Those in purple are non-fiction.  I haven't included the few that I started but never finished.  After all, if I couldn't get through them, I probably wouldn't recommend them, right?

So Many Ways To Begin - Jon McGregor  **
Ines of My Soul - Isabel Allende  **
The Princess and the Goblin - George MacDonald  **
Love and War - John and Stasi Eldredge (for book club)  That's right, zero stars.
The River Why - David James Duncan  ***
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer  **
The House At Riverton - Kate Morton  **
Nurture By Nature - Paul D Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger (for book club)  **
Of Love and Shadows - Isabel Allende  *
Mother Teresa:  Come Be My Light - Brian Kolodiejchuk (for book club)  **
The Blue Parakeet - Scot McKnight  **
The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton  **
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck  ***
I Curse the River of Time - Per Petterson  **
Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood  *
A Mercy - Toni Morrison  **
The Turn of the Screw - Henry James  *
If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things - Jon McGregor  **
The Help - Kathryn Stockett (for the second time, for book club)  **
Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (aloud with Nora, per Jessye's suggestion)  ***

I seem to read in fits and spurts.  As I look back, most of these were read before we moved (end of August.)  The past few months seem to have been very full of things other than reading (like moving and getting ready for another kid) but because of that I have a growing list of things I want to read.  Currently Ben and I are reading My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok together aloud.  And although we haven't finished I will, having previously read several Potok novels, highly recommend it.  Nora and I have moved on to The House at Pooh Corner also by AA Milne and she's loving it.

Have any suggestions for me for 2012?

Here's to lots more reading in the year to come!!!

Change is on its way...

I haven't written a lot about pregnancy on this blog, but as our due date looms (1.5 weeks to go!) and as this is my second pregnancy, I have found that I am reflecting a lot about how life is going to change in the next few weeks.
It is a distinctly different sort of anticipation this time around.  Don't get me wrong - we are thrilled to be adding to our family and extremely excited to meet him and get to know him.  But, having had a newborn before we also know better what to expect.  Our perception of what life will be like in those first few weeks and months is (at least slightly) less naive.  So I've written a few lists (I'm crazy about lists!) to help me process this change from being pregnant to having a newborn.  We all know I won't have the time or energy to do it after he arrives!  ( :

Things I will NOT miss about being pregnant:
Morning sickness, swollen ankles each night, a sore pelvis, back pain, only being allowed to sleep on my left side, waddling, getting easily out of breath from my lungs being so squished, bumping my belly hard into counters as I try to do simple things like wash a dish or chop an onion, sleepless nights full of leg cramps, watching stretch marks grow, sleeping on a shower curtain (just in case my water breaks in bed), the hormones, being THIS huge (seriously, my belly is so big I'm not even going to show you)

Things I WILL miss about being pregnant:
Feeling baby hiccups, the anticipation and miracle of life growing in you, people giving up their seats and holding open doors for me, great hair and nails and skin, the nesting instinct that has been making me uber-productive lately, having a good excuse to eat pretty much whatever I want, Nora hugging my belly and talking to her little brother via my belly button

Things I am NOT looking forward to:
Getting up every few hours for feedings, sore nipples, the physical recovery of labor and delivery, changing diapers - lots and lots of diapers, hormone swings, having less me-time, increasingly needing to ask Nora to wait while I care for her brother, the additional laundry, blowouts and mega spit-ups

Things I AM looking forward to once our baby arrives:
Meeting this little guy and seeing what he looks like, watching Nora love on her little brother, letting Ben carry him around instead of just me all the time, FINALLY knowing his name, the smell and super soft feel of clean baby hair, coming home and becoming a family of 4, Ben taking a bit of time off work, introducing our newest addition to family and friends, sleeping on my right side (or my back or my front!), being able to run around and jump and dance and wrestle with Nora again, my belly shrinking, seeing my toes and maybe even being able to reach them, a visit from Grandma Edsall, watching our son grow into a man

Would love to hear if you have anything to add from your own experience!

THREE!!!

After last year's low-key event we decided to throw Nora a little party this year.  Many of her friends are back home in the States for the Christmas break.  And it's a good thing!  How would we have managed many more??!?

__________________________________

A bit of food, a few balloons, a mountain of cupcakes 

and a roomful of totally crazy toddlers makes for a rockin' party!

All attempts at a group shot of the kiddos were thwarted despite much coaxing from kind parents.  

The kids in the photos below were the cooperative ones!!  : )

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Nora!

Happy Birthday to you!

Turns out everyone just wanted cake.  Duh!

Happy Birthday sweet silly girl!  We love you SO!!!

Funny side note:  We sing a song with Nora before she goes to bed each night.  For her birthday she wanted us to sing her 'Happy Birthday' which we were happy to do but on a whim we decided to teach her the version about smelling like a monkey and looking like one too.  It was the first time she had heard it and she thought it was very silly.  You should know that Nora is getting very excited to meet her little brother.  After we leave her room at night she often sings songs or talks to her stuffed animals and dolls and we hear her telling them things (in a very grown-up, matter-of-fact sort of voice) that we have been talking to her about throughout the day.  Lately that often includes things about what it will be like to have a little brother.  But on her birthday we hear this to the tune of 'Happy Birthday'...

"Little bru-u-u-ther,

Little bru-u-u-ther,

Little brother smells like a monkey,

Little bru-u-u-ther!"  

Oh boy.

Christmas Goings-on

There has been a lot going on here in the Edsall household. Deanna is officially done with work (and ever-growing.)  Soon our newest addition will join us…but hopefully not too soon. There are, of course, lots of Christmas goings-on about which Nora has been very excited. Last weekend we took a trip to a palace to visit Father Christmas (I know…it should be Santa Claus) and yesterday we visited Oxford Castle for a Christmas market, complete with carousel and pony rides. The pictures describe it better than my words could.

Nora on the bus to the palace. She's not excited at all.

Here is part of Blenheim Palace on a beautifully cloudy (but very cold!) day. 

We took a little novelty train from the palace to the pleasure garden which boasts the world's second largest hedge maze.  Here's a small part of it.

Nora the red-nosed toddler.

Priceless. Nora was super pumped.  When Santa asked her what she wanted for Christmas she answered, "A baby brother."  Santa was obviously unsure how to respond but I reassured him that we were working on it.  He seemed rather relieved.

A little family photo.

She can be such a cheeseball!

Here is Nora at the Christmas Market riding the fastest carousel I have ever seen.

Nora on Bo-Bo. (Deanna may have been as excited as Nora.)

Riding a pony at Oxford Castle.  She loved it!

Saying good bye to her new friend.

And here are a few more classics for you to enjoy.

Classic bubble-hat.

Nora, comparing her belly to Deanna's a couple of weeks ago. According to Nora, there's a little
girl in her tummy.  We randomly hear, "Ow!" throughout the day.  Which is most often followed by, "My little girl kicked me again!  She's so wiggly!"