January Snapshots

This month has been busy. We welcomed in the New Year with our church friends and celebrated Epiphany with a gathering our place. The rest of the time has been dedicated to preparing for baby in some way or another. Washing clothes, diapers and blankets. Finding and acquiring a changing table/dresser. Cleaning and organizing and preparing the birthing space. Putting together activity bags for Ella. Coping with the hardness of being two. (I've decided I'm so glad I can't remember all the frustrations of being two.) Josh went skiing for the first time and liked it. Nonna came for a visit and spent a whole special day with just Ella, which both really enjoyed. So glad Ella got that one on one time. (And Mama got to paint!)

New/Funny Ella Things:
* Imaginative play involving plot and characters interacting with each other while playing with toys; also switching personas (where she's Mama and Mama is Ella)
* Sequencing - from lining items up to talking about sequences "jabber jabber and then jabber jabber jabber and then jabber and then..."
* Has mastered all her chunky puzzles
* Some counting "One two three four eight!"
* Becoming more affectionate to the baby bump; definitively declared it to be a sister
* Likes to play more with Daddy than Mama (but daddy's better at it)
* Great at following small directions still (ha, most days)
* Talking in complete, complex sentences "Daddy take baby upstairs and help baby go to sleep." "I would like some water."
* New tonal inflections while singing
* "It's too heffy!" (heavy) "Nunumbers" (cucumbers) "No, a new one!" (Brian Reagan quote) Singing "Jesus Christ" over and over during the singing of the Apostle's Creed

Obligatory New Year's kiss

Babywearing goofiness (Ella was intentionally making silly faces at the camera)

Ella nursing her baby

Tea Time with Baby

Ella and Mama went to a church friend's concert at a coffee shop

Ella playing Midwife and getting baby's heartbeat

Double wearing!

Racked out on the bump

Baby AND bear

Sacred Severance Box

Instead of cutting the cord, our plan is to separate baby from its placenta by doing a cord burning ritual. This cauterizes the cord nub and prevents infection. It also warms the baby and supposedly makes the cord fall off faster. (And baby won't have an obnoxious clamp on its abdomen for 4 or 5 days!) Here's the box for the ritual. Written along each side is a Jewish blessing called the Shehechiyanu, which thanks God for the gift of life. It is recited when a ritual or experience happens for the first time. Its translation is "Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe Who granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion." The symbols in each corner are various traditional symbols meaning life or eternal life. More about cord burning here.