. Life with the Edsalls . . .

New address

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 11:20:00 +0000

Dear friends and family,

Just a brief post to let you know that we moved house over the summer.

If you are the type who actually sends things in the mail and would like our address, send me an email (or leave your email address in the comments - making sure I can tell who you are) and I'll send it along to you.

Hope you're all well!

Love,
the Edsalls

Nora goes to Nursery

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 21:16:00 +0000

Eli is not the only one getting older around here. Sometime in the past year (I'm not entirely sure when - even though it happened right under my nose), our sweet little firstborn left toddlerhood behind and became a little girl. She turned a whopping four years old a few weeks ago and is sassy and smart and kind and cranky and helpful and selfish and clever and capable and confident and careful and is a big ball of emotions. We love watching her negotiate the world.

And today her world expanded a bit.

Today she went to nursery.

Nursery, for those of you who are not Brits, is a bit like day care and a bit like pre-school. Most will take kids as young as 3 months and as old as 5 years. The children go to age-appropriate classes and do lots of age appropriate activities (including lots of messy play!) In the UK, once a child turns 3 years old, they are entitled to 15 free hours at nursery per week (more than that and you have to pay). We've decided to take advantage of about 9 of those free hours. Nora will attend 2 afternoons a week starting today.

Nora doesn't need nursery. She is a very social child and has lots of other opportunities to interact with lots of other children. We do lots of activities together at home. She is reading and writing and her reasoning skills are phenomenal. Ben or I can certainly look after her - it's not like we're both working full time or something like that. No, Nora doesn't need nursery. She's going for the pure enjoyment of it.

Over the past few weeks we've talked a lot about the fun she will have, the teachers who will help with whatever she needs, how she needs to listen to them and to be kind to the other children, how she will meet lots of new kids, and how she will make lots of new friends. (Nora has never met a stranger.)

She couldn't wait to go.

As we approached the front gate, she could hear the kids outside playing and started running down the sidewalk yelling "Hi guys! I'm here!! Hi guys! Hiiiii! I'm heeeere nooooow!!"

Needless to say, she had an excellent time.

I, on the other hand, missed her all afternoon. The house was too quiet. I completely forgot to sit down with a cup of tea and a book and take advantage of some alone time while Eli napped. I just kept watching the clock and counting down the minutes until I could go pick her up without looking like one of those clingy moms who can't be away from her kid for more than an hour without having a meltdown. I may be one of those moms, but I didn't want to look like one of them.

Does this get any easier? How do I slow this life down? And, can't I keep her little forever?

12 Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 22:03:00 +0000

12 months??!

There are no words.

Actually, there are loads of words. Too many to try to sort through tonight. Too many to fit into a blog post - that's for sure. So, for tonight, I leave you with nothing but a few photos of our one year old.

One year old.

You go ahead and enjoy some of the less blurry pictures from today's photo shoot while I go grab myself a box of tissue and lament how quickly the year has passed.

11 Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 20:25:00 +0000

Those of you not entirely preoccupied with Advent, Christmas, Hanukkah, cookie making, holiday travel plans, celebrating your husband's (30th!) birthday, job/post-doc applications or dissertation writing will notice that I am late with this post. Although I could claim most of these distractions as my reason for posting 2 days late, I have the much less glamourous excuse of food poisoning. Bleh.

Regardless, here is our handsome little man at eleven months.

It's hard to believe his next post will be marking a full year!

10 Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 14:35:00 +0000

And now, already, Eli is 10 months old.

I feel like he is HUGE - particularly when I look back at his teeny tiny newborn pictures (which were simply not taken that long ago!) but the charts and scales tell me he is in about the 25th percentile.

He's becoming more and more frustrated at being immobile and whines and fusses until we stand him upright.

He loves to babble - quite the chatterbox! But he has to be in order to keep up with Nora.

At 10 months he has still only rolled 4 times. 3 of those times were on his 10 month 'birthday'. I think he may skip the rolling and crawling stage and go straight to cruising. He loves to walk (holding our hands of course.)

Still cute as a button and sweet as can be. Except for those wretched teeth which are trying to break through his top gums and which turn him into this...

This is how Nora feels about it.

"Don't worry." we console ourselves and our pain-sticken son, "Only 14 more months of this teething business."

9 Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 20:59:00 +0000

This is a big milestone for me. Eli has now been ex-utero just as long as he was in-utero. Amazing.

And while it feels like these last 9 months have FLOWN by, the aches and pains of carrying a big baby in my belly seem eons away. In fact, I can hardly remember them. Dangerous ground, this is.

In other news...

- Two little white buds are breaking through Eli's pink and swollen lower gums.

- During this photo shoot, for the first time (except that once which doesn't really count), of his own accord and initiative, Eli rolled over! Woohoo! (Not that we were worried in the slightest.)

- Today marked the official first day of Michaelmas Term at Oxford and more than likely this is our last fall in Oxford. It's bittersweet for me. Bitter because it will be sad to leave this city we have learned to call home and all the dear friends we have made here. And although sweet may seem a strange way to talk about it (since we have ZERO idea where we will be next fall) the sweetness lies not in the fact that we know where we'll be but in that we know God is with us and leading us, wherever we may go.
We have a busy term ahead full of lots of good things and lots of hard work but I'm determined to enjoy it all. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let's rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

8 Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 21:34:00 +0000

It's that time again folks - monthly photo shoot time! Don't pretend like you didn't notice that I'm 2 days late on this (or that you haven't been pacing the floor for the past 2 days waiting for this moment to arrive.)

You wouldn't know it from our recent blog posts but we occasionally do things other than take pictures of Eli. And we occasionally take pictures of those other things too. In fact, life is so full these days that it seems I don't have enough time to write blog posts about it. It's a bit overwhelming to even think about it actually.

But somehow these monthly photo posts of our growing boy seem manageable to me (if barely). And so, for those of you who want more than the boy-on-quilt over and over and over again, bear with me. Perhaps the start of term and the routine of fall will bring with it more varied blog posts and a better sampling of the rest of our lives.

But perhaps not. And I've decided I'm not going to feel guilty about it. Call it motherly pride and affection or whatever but I kinda feel like the world should be writing me a big old thank you note for sharing this cuteness with them.

But I realize, the rest of the world is busy too.

So I'm just going to assume that if they had the time, my inbox would be flooded with thank you notes. And for that I want to officially say, "You're welcome."

I cannot stress enough what a content little boy he is. This is a huge blessing 99% of the time. Because of his contentment, he is yet to roll over. That's right. 8 months old and he does not go from back to front (or vice versa). He probably could but he doesn't. Does not even try. He sits well (as you've seen) but we have to put him in that position. He can't get himself into a sitting position yet. So when we need to set him down we can either lay him down or sit him up and we do our best to guess which he would prefer.

This is the face we get when we guess wrong.

7 Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 19:20:00 +0000

Swimming, Alice Day, and Solid Foods

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:37:00 +0000

Our kids continue to grow-up. As with many life-changes, there is some bitter mixed in with the sweet…though the sweet clearly predominates.

Grandma and Grandpa Edsall have been in town for several days (with a few more to go) and we have been trying to make the most of it despite the uncooperative weather. We took the one almost sunny day to go swimming at the outdoor pool and on Saturday we took Nora out for some fun events on the 5th annual Alice Day, in honor of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (which was written here in Oxford).

At the pool.
This was the first time Nora had been to a pool since she was 18 months. She liked it back then but has had some minor water fear since so we weren't sure how she'd take to it this time around...

Nora's getting used to the water…it didn't take long.

Notice how empty it is - it really wasn't a particularly warm day but we work with what we have. Luckily the pool was heated a bit.

Eli…just chillin' by the poolside.

Nora seemed to take to the water well.

This happened over and over and over again.

Bonus Photo: Nora as a lion, reading "Library Lion" with Grandma.

Alice Day.

Nora had her face painted at Blackwells bookshop. She chose a butterfly. And she asked the lady making balloon animals for a butterfly balloon as well. Not particularly Alice-themed, but cute none-the-less.

Nora came home and checked herself out in the bathroom mirror. This was her reaction.

Butterfly balloon.

Solid Food.

In other news, we have started Eli on some solid food and he seems to take to it quite well. It turns out that he is a big fan of mashed pear.

"Hey guys, what's that you have over there?"

Mmmmmm.

Bonus Photo: Happy Eli on a Walk in Port Meadow.

posted by: Ben (Daddy) Edsall

6 Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 21:11:00 +0000

Is it really possible that half a year has passed??

Is it really possible that only 6 months ago this little man was still in utero??

Is it really possible to love two children this fiercely and completely??

Is it really possible??

Mom: "Did you just stick your tongue out at me?!?!"

Eli: "Hmm??"

"Ummm..."

"Sorry Momma."

"But it was funny, right?!?"

Not only is it all possible, it's all true.

________________

PS - Sorry about the load of photos, I had a hard time picking just a few favorites this time.

Typical

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 21:14:00 +0000

Typical scenes at our place:

___________________________

Eli watching his sister.

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Eli with a teething ring. (No teeth in sight.)

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Eli distracted by the camera - eyebrows up in anticipation.

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Eli watching his sister. (Again.)

Nora busy with puzzles (or legos or ballet dancing or imaginary friends).

___________________________

Eli distracted by the camera - eyebrows up in anticipation. (Again.)

___________________________

Eli with a teething ring. (No teeth in sight.) (Again.)

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Nora with a ~~precocious~~ precious grin.

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Rub-a-dub-dub. Two babes in a tub!

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But my favorite typical scene these days??

Story time.

___________________________

xoxo

We love Dad

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 19:02:00 +0000

Happy Father's Day! You are one amazing Dad!

And, in case the cake wasn't clear enough... We love you!!

Five Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 20:06:00 +0000

And now, somehow, Eli is five months old.

I was chatting with my dad on the phone tonight and he wisely pointed out how terribly slowly those first five months of pregnancy seem to crawl along (waiting to get over the morning sickness and tiredness, waiting to have a bit of a bump to show off, waiting to feel those first kicks, etc.) but the first five months of a baby's life simply flies by. It rang so very true. I often find myself wishing I could just pause life to give us enough time and space to soak in every detail of our precious children.

Dear Eli,

Please slow down little man. You're growing too fast.

Love,

Momma

More from the Edsall clan

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:32:00 +0000

We have, of course, taken many more pictures (and videos) of Eli and Nora than we have posted. Here is a selection of some of the ones I love…the pictures and the kids.

Nora as a "mean" tiger.

In case you were wondering, this is a sassy three-year-old.

Our curious boy.

Nora loves to climb up me and flip over.

We got Nora her own guitar…also she's not wearing pants.

Nora loves her brother…

…really, she does love him.

See.

You know you want to visit.

Four Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:48:00 +0000

Today our growing boy is four months old.

See, I told you.

He's getting louder and stronger and is producing incredible amounts of drool.

He is becoming more and more interested in what Nora is up to.

He still loves to sleep (about 19 hours a day).

And his smile still melts our hearts.

Three Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 21:40:00 +0000

Our handsome boy continues to delight all who meet him.

______________________________

Eli loves to smile and laugh and chat but you'll just have to take our word for it. He refused to humor us with a grin during this 5 minute photo shoot. Oh well, at least he's still cute when he's being contemplative.

(*sharing secrets already*)

Happy Easter to all!

And happy 3 months Eli!

Two Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:49:00 +0000

Can it be? 2 months already?!

This second month has been so much fun. We are getting glimpses of what's to come!

Eli is an easy-going dude. This is the Eli we enjoy most often: alert, calm, bright-eyed.

He is enjoying more and more awake time (usually during daylight hours - which is nice) and is beginning to really interact with us. He's finding he can ask for things by giving a little shout to let us know he needs something (he still doesn't cry much). Usually he just wants to eat or be put to bed but these last few weeks he will sometimes just want to chat and will babble back and forth with us for several minutes, often exchanging smiles too!

But, he does know how to cry...

...it just doesn't tend to last very long.

Nora is really ready to play with him...

we try, but he's not quite ready to keep up with big sis just yet.

So she settles for holding him on the sofa.

And if we happen to have the camera out, she practices all her faces for us... move over Zoolander.

Today when I told Nora that it was time to take Eli's 2-month pictures on his quilt, she informed me that she needed her picture taken on her quilt too.

I couldn't agree more.

Precious moments

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:26:00 +0000

2 weeks

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2 weeks

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2 weeks

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Valentine fun

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:35:00 +0000

We had a lot of fun with Valentine's Day this year. Nora is finally old enough to anticipate and appreciate holidays and we're having fun making memories with her!

Last Friday a friend of ours threw a lovely little Mother/Daughter Valentine's Tea. The little girls made post boxes by decorating empty tissue boxes with heart stickers, paper doilies, ribbon, paper, etc. and then 'posted' Valentines that they had brought with them to each other. Genius idea! Most of the little girls were just old enough to find the whole thing very exciting. This is the Valentine that we brought to give to the other little girls. (Sorry the light stinks - it's much cuter in person! And no, Nora does not have red hair.)

I couldn't help but throw a little something together for the Mums too after I saw these hand-sewn Valentine tea bags on a blog I often visit. I decided to design my own and sewed them up the night before the tea.

We had a lovely lunch there and a great time with friends!

On Sunday we made cookies with Grandma Edsall. I tend to be a cookie decorating perfectionist - but I curbed my compulsion to 'help' Nora and instead let her go with pretty much all the frosting and sprinkles her little heart desired. She had a great time and made special, personalized cookies for Grandma, Daddy and me. Talk about sugar overload!

You may also note that she did her own hair that day... with 4 randomly scattered hair clips. What can I say? She's a trendsetter!

Valentine's Day itself started sadly. In the morning we said goodbye to Grandma who had to catch her flight back home. Nora is missing all her cuddles and undivided attention and is anxious for her to come back.

But the day improved. Grandma left us stocked with delicious chocolates, I managed to turn out a decent dinner (which we ate by candlelight - Nora's request), Ben brought home flowers for his sweethearts (Tulips - my absolute favorite! Red for me, yellow for Nora.), and we all exchanged Valentines. It was all pretty much lost on Eli who slept through it all. Oh well. Maybe next year...

One Month!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:55:00 +0000

Hi all.

It has been a busy month here in the Edsall household as we have slowly adjusted to the presence (and needs) of our little boy. Eli, however, has been oblivious to all the effort we have put in. It's like he doesn't even care. Kids. They just take and take.

Really, though, it has been pretty easy as far as transitions go and Eli is thus far a good eater and a "good" sleeper. He was born at 8lbs 12oz and as of 1 month he is 10lbs 10oz. Yeah, our boy can eat.

It's hard to believe that Eli is a whole month old! Here he is on a quilt that Deanna made for him (perhaps another post on that later...) The plan is to take a photo on this blanket as each month passes in order to visually record his growth.

1 Month Old

This morning at breakfast when Deanna told Nora that Eli was one month old she asked, "What does a one month old baby do?" She is ready for him to do more than sleep, eat and poop and eagerly peers at him in his Moses Basket in hopes of seeing some new behavior. We keep telling her that it will be awhile but then today, during his one-month photo shoot, Eli rolled over! (Photo evidence to follow.) He was at least as surprised as Deanna. It's amazing what can happen when your head weighs more than your body.

enjoying a little tummy time and working on those neck muscles...

'hey, i wonder what my right arm tastes like...'

'whuh-oh! there goes my head again... darn thing is so heavy!'

'um, mom, a little help here??'

'no seriously!! MOM! i have no idea what's happening!'

'whoa. that was intense.'

Nora and her brother

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:29:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:40:00 +0000

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!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:01:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 10:51:00 +0000

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...

noreply@blogger.com (Deanna) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:56:00 +0000

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!