The Picture Post

Ah, pictures. Yesterday, for my birthday, Holly was one week old already, and I realized I better try and get some pictures done a.s.a.p.

It took a little while to get her to sleep, and then I had a very helpful helper for most of the process.

Griffin was such a sweetie, though, it was hard to resist snapping a bunch of pics of the two of them together - so, of course, I didn't!

I just love the photos of the two of them together, and I know these are pictures we will cherish forever, so I'm really glad I made myself do it, even though it felt a little exhausting at the time.

I had a lovely birthday overall. Griffin and Jai worked together to make me a very special brownie cake, and Jai made pad thai (one of my all-time favourites, and not so easy to get in rural Nova Scotia!) Griffin sung me the birthday song, all by himself.

Anyway, I will come back soon, and write about more things baby related, but that's all for now. I'm going to try and get some more pics posted over on the photography site (www.laurenkayephotography.com), for those who wish to see more.

She's Here!

Hello Everyone. Meet Holly Freya Soloy! She was born on November 16th, weighing a respectable 8 lbs. I'm sure we'll be taking more pictures soon, but I wanted to just post a little note to say that she's here, and well, and we are all enjoying being home together. Next time, I'll write a bigger update, all about it!

Feeling Thankful

Hello! Still no baby! We had a nice, quiet Remembrance Day - it was a very wet, blustery day around here, so we spent some time being Thankful for the ability to snuggle together inside our warm, cozy house, listening to the services and stories on the CBC - feeling very lucky, indeed.

I did get some granola bars made, in the hopes that I will be taking some to the hospital with me as a snack. Come on, baby, everything is ready for you! Griffin and I spent two hours at the doctor's office yesterday - 15 minutes with the doctor, and an hour and forty-five in the waiting room. He did well - better than me! Needless to say, I am really hoping that the appointment we have for next week (all the way up in Kentville - an hour's drive each way) will NOT be necessary!

Griffin expressed his desire yesterday to grow up and be a Mommy. He said it like it was the most exciting thing he could imagine. Mommy!!!! Aside from being just about the cutest thing I've ever heard (yesterday he also told me I was his Sun and and Best Friend), it has me hoping he will relish his role as a big brother. I know it will be a big adjustment for everyone, but we're hoping it will just be more love going around, and not feel like less.

We were hoping Jai was going to be able to stay home for six weeks or so when the baby arrives, but financially we just wouldn't be able to swing it without putting ourselves into major debt. Still, he will have a couple of weeks to spend here, and some Christmas holidays to look forward to. My Mom will come down for a week, and I may end up going up to Halifax for a week as well. Having a new baby is no doubt always an exhausting endeavor, but hopefully we won't be quite so gobsmacked by it all this time. We'll at least have the illusion of somewhat knowing what we're doing. Good times!

To finish up, here's just a couple of things I am thankful for:

-Feeling like my family is mostly safe, most of the time

-Our ability to choose what we think is best for us as a family, without having to bow to outside forces

-Having a house, with a roof, and warm blankets, and a cozy fire

-A freezer full of home-made food

-The freedom to create

-A house full of giggles and cuddles and the stomping of little feet

And maybe one more - that Halloween only comes one day a year! These are this year's Halloween photos. He kept the costume on just long enough for me to capture those crocodile tears. Yes, I am willing to torture my child with a frog costume to keep up the tradition of the Halloween photo.

It's Nice to Have Some Help

Hello! Happy November! Wow, October really rushed by.

We did Halloween here, with some good friends, but it was pretty quiet. Griffin wore a costume for about a minute... screaming the whole time. He just wanted to be Griffin, and he just wanted to stay home. We managed to convince him that he could just wear his raincoat and hat, and we could just go to our neighbour, Pearl's, house. He got a little interested when she put some candy in his bucket. Jo joked that he's a total East Coast trick or treater, though, as he peeked around the door and said, "Maybe we could just go in for a little minute," then walked in and visited with Pearl for a little while. Nova Scotia-style. As we were leaving he said, "Maybe we could do another house." Once around the block did it, and then it was, "Time to go home."

Baby is doing well. Last week, we had a bit of a worry, as it had decided that being head down was no fun any more, and being sideways would offer a much better perspective on life. So we had to make the hour-long trek to Kentville and do an ultrasound to see if they were going to have to try and turn the baby (which did not sound fun to me at all) but baby managed to figure it all out and get itself turned the right way around again. Whew!

Jai and I are doing well, too, for the most part. Griffin and I managed to come down with a nasty cold that we've been fighting off for the last week. It doesn't slow him down much, but it sure threw me for a loop. I'm really hoping that the stuffy nose and hacking cough will be gone before I go into labour. Really hoping. A lot.

My Mom is down for a few days to help us try and get ready for the new family member. So far, I think we've mostly been doing laundry. All the baby clothes that had been in the attic got filthy when the roof got redone, as all sorts of roofing crap fell through the boards and into the attic. Yuck. Plus, the whole hauling giant loads of laundry up and down the stairs has not been something that I've been feeling up to lately. Yeah, I got a little behind. It's nice to have the help.

And Griffin, of course, is loving having Grandma in the house.

Most of these photos (except for the above two) are from Jai's parent's visit, just before Thanksgiving. We tripped off to PEI for a long weekend touring around and playing on the beach. It was lovely.

Anyway, it's after 7pm, and my brain has turned to mush. Maybe next time I write, we will be four. You never know. . .