With so much love from our family to all of you, and wishes for a peaceful and happy 2012.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Merry Christmas!
The greatest gifts I could ever have dreamed of.
And I get Mary in a new way, as I ponder all of these miracles - all of this love - in my heart.
Merry Christmas to you all. May peace, love, and joy be yours.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Sharing, of sorts.
Asa's new favorite toy is his "Mozart Cube" - each side plays one instrument of the orchestra, so that one can deconstruct a piece of music, or see how all the instruments work together. Asa loves it so much, he had to show it to Elias.
"You yuv it, Yias? You yuv it?" (Do you love it, Elias? Do you love it?)
"You yuv it, Yias? You yuv it?" (Do you love it, Elias? Do you love it?)
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Pure Cuteness
Just so you can take a little time, during all the hub-bub of this week-before-Christmas, and just enjoy the quiet of a newborn baby.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
And us without a star on our tree!
Actually, we haven't had a star in years. M. made a dove as a tree-topper when we first moved up here. But this year's tree is closer to the ceiling than usual... and Asa, having read "A Poky Little Puppy's First Christmas" nearly every night this month, insisted upon a star. Okay, kid: you insist, you get to make it:
Add glitter paint, and use fingers. Don't forget the tablecloth.
From there, the star dried overnight, before more embellishment: first, a layer of glue for the glitter shakers. Yes, there is still glitter on EVERYTHING in this house.
Then glue dots...
For the pom-poms.
Apparently, the artist had a slightly different vision, one that looked better on paper than on... er... foam core:
The pile got a little big, but the negotiated, end result was truly perfect.
Actually, we haven't had a star in years. M. made a dove as a tree-topper when we first moved up here. But this year's tree is closer to the ceiling than usual... and Asa, having read "A Poky Little Puppy's First Christmas" nearly every night this month, insisted upon a star. Okay, kid: you insist, you get to make it:
Start by drawing a star on a piece of foam core, then painting.
Add glitter paint, and use fingers. Don't forget the tablecloth.
From there, the star dried overnight, before more embellishment: first, a layer of glue for the glitter shakers. Yes, there is still glitter on EVERYTHING in this house.
Then glue dots...
For the pom-poms.
Apparently, the artist had a slightly different vision, one that looked better on paper than on... er... foam core:
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Recent Asa-isms
Asa was chewing on his little toy parrot. M. looked up and said, "Asa, don't eat your parrot, they're endangered."
Asa: "And Yummy!"
Asa, sitting on the potty, kept saying "Lightbulb..." (Think Gru in Despicable Me) However, since he didn't appear to be doing anything else, we had him get up... only to find poop!
Us: "Why didn't you tell us you were pooping?"
Asa: "I saying, 'Lightbulb'..." (and seriously, as though we should have known that Lightbulb = poop.)
Asa and M were out running errands, and M came back in laughing.
M: "Tell Mummy what you want Santa to bring you, Asa."
Asa: "Boyfriend!"
Both parents dissolve in laughter.
Apparently, the initial answer was "Baby Brother!" (as opposed to other days, when he says "baby sister" or just "baby".) This, over the course of the ride home, modulated into "Best Boy Brother" (we've been known to call Asa our "best boy"), and then to "Boyfriend."
What goes on in his mind is anyone's guess.
At Thanksgiving dinner, we all stood around the table and said grace - which, I admit, is not a normal practice in this house. When I said "Amen," Asa (who is far more used to bedtime prayers), looked up in alarm and said, "No Bedtime!"
Similarly, in the cradle room at church, he was going through his now-very-usual "Where Mommy? where Mummy?" every thirty seconds or so. When Wendie told him that we were upstairs "singing and praying", he was very confused. "Sunny out, not bedtime now..."
And right now, he's playing YoYo. He's very excited. Of course, at two, "playing YoYo" means dragging the yoyo around the room, circling it, and jumping over the string. But who am I to say he's doing it wrong, when he looks so happy?
Asa: "And Yummy!"
Asa, sitting on the potty, kept saying "Lightbulb..." (Think Gru in Despicable Me) However, since he didn't appear to be doing anything else, we had him get up... only to find poop!
Us: "Why didn't you tell us you were pooping?"
Asa: "I saying, 'Lightbulb'..." (and seriously, as though we should have known that Lightbulb = poop.)
Asa and M were out running errands, and M came back in laughing.
M: "Tell Mummy what you want Santa to bring you, Asa."
Asa: "Boyfriend!"
Both parents dissolve in laughter.
Apparently, the initial answer was "Baby Brother!" (as opposed to other days, when he says "baby sister" or just "baby".) This, over the course of the ride home, modulated into "Best Boy Brother" (we've been known to call Asa our "best boy"), and then to "Boyfriend."
What goes on in his mind is anyone's guess.
At Thanksgiving dinner, we all stood around the table and said grace - which, I admit, is not a normal practice in this house. When I said "Amen," Asa (who is far more used to bedtime prayers), looked up in alarm and said, "No Bedtime!"
Similarly, in the cradle room at church, he was going through his now-very-usual "Where Mommy? where Mummy?" every thirty seconds or so. When Wendie told him that we were upstairs "singing and praying", he was very confused. "Sunny out, not bedtime now..."
And right now, he's playing YoYo. He's very excited. Of course, at two, "playing YoYo" means dragging the yoyo around the room, circling it, and jumping over the string. But who am I to say he's doing it wrong, when he looks so happy?
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Our first Full Day
As you probably noticed from yesterday's all-too-brief post (but cute, no?) Elias and M. were discharged from the hospital yesterday! YAHOOOOOO!!!
So today begins the real period of sleep deprivation. You know, last time, we could feed Asa and he (and we) could go back to sleep, until rather late in the morning, if we wanted. No longer! Asa still gets up at 6:30, and although he often wants to snuggle in bed, "snuggle" means jump up in between us, talk a blue streak, and thrash/kick/tickle/flop. Not very restful.
Two words: YAY COFFEE.
All things considered, today went well. Asa did not appreciate being left, yet again, as we took Elias to the pediatrician - in fact, eyes full of tears, he said, "Don't leave me, please, Mummy." Heartbreaking. But we did leave, just for an hour, to see our beloved pediatric team. Despite a little jaundice (which they're hoping will just work its way out, although photo therapy is an option), he's doing amazingly well - nursing like a pro, sleeping pretty well, pooping and peeing and doing all the things a little guy should do.
And Asa cheered up tremendously with a lot of attention in the afternoon. It's certainly not Elias that he's mad at, but us: if the baby is crying, Asa will run over and say "Don't cry, baby brother. I love you too, baby brother!" And before bed, he insisted on going to give "Baby Yi-as" a kiss good-night. We, on the other hand, are finding ourselves with a clingy, demanding two-year-old... pretty much as expected.
So life goes on. We'll try to go to Asa's swim class tomorrow, so that Nonni can see her boy swimming like a champ, but we'll get back into his full routine next week. We welcome visitors, but with some space so as not to overwhelm Asa. And we'll continue to adapt to being a family of four.
So today begins the real period of sleep deprivation. You know, last time, we could feed Asa and he (and we) could go back to sleep, until rather late in the morning, if we wanted. No longer! Asa still gets up at 6:30, and although he often wants to snuggle in bed, "snuggle" means jump up in between us, talk a blue streak, and thrash/kick/tickle/flop. Not very restful.
Two words: YAY COFFEE.
All things considered, today went well. Asa did not appreciate being left, yet again, as we took Elias to the pediatrician - in fact, eyes full of tears, he said, "Don't leave me, please, Mummy." Heartbreaking. But we did leave, just for an hour, to see our beloved pediatric team. Despite a little jaundice (which they're hoping will just work its way out, although photo therapy is an option), he's doing amazingly well - nursing like a pro, sleeping pretty well, pooping and peeing and doing all the things a little guy should do.
And Asa cheered up tremendously with a lot of attention in the afternoon. It's certainly not Elias that he's mad at, but us: if the baby is crying, Asa will run over and say "Don't cry, baby brother. I love you too, baby brother!" And before bed, he insisted on going to give "Baby Yi-as" a kiss good-night. We, on the other hand, are finding ourselves with a clingy, demanding two-year-old... pretty much as expected.
So life goes on. We'll try to go to Asa's swim class tomorrow, so that Nonni can see her boy swimming like a champ, but we'll get back into his full routine next week. We welcome visitors, but with some space so as not to overwhelm Asa. And we'll continue to adapt to being a family of four.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Deja Vu
Yup, I did jinx it. Blogged the "Baby Contest" and what happened?
Elias Harwood. 6lbs even, 19 1/4 inches, born December 3rd at 2:27pm.
And yes, one month early. M.'s water broke, and after a long while and an induction, along came a baby. Sound familiar? Apparently, M. is amazingly consistent. Who knew?
The difference is that Elias is perfectly healthy and will not need to stay in NICU for a week. He figured out the nursing thing within the first half-hour of his life, his blood sugar is perfect, and his lung development is great for his gestational age.
Don't be fooled by Asa's expression - he was just sick of being photographed. Although slightly confused by the baby now being out of Mommy's tummy, he seems fairly content to be a big brother.
He didn't want to let go of his baby brother. The beginnings of a love affair? I can only hope.
Welcome, Elias. We love you already.
Elias Harwood. 6lbs even, 19 1/4 inches, born December 3rd at 2:27pm.
And yes, one month early. M.'s water broke, and after a long while and an induction, along came a baby. Sound familiar? Apparently, M. is amazingly consistent. Who knew?
The difference is that Elias is perfectly healthy and will not need to stay in NICU for a week. He figured out the nursing thing within the first half-hour of his life, his blood sugar is perfect, and his lung development is great for his gestational age.
Welcome, Elias. We love you already.
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