Big Sisters

Tannis already crafted a post similar to one I've been meaning to do; basically something that acknowledges that we have other children besides the new baby. That post was triggered by stellar photos from dear friend Marj, who fawned over the girls almost as much as Ezra last week and somehow managed to capture the insanity that is my curly mop right now.

Anyway, I still wanted to post a few of my own of the girls as well -- they're just thriving this summer, and becoming really wonderful kids. Hopelessly biased dad? Of course. A few recent notes on the big sisters:

• Ivy listening to music, getting dirty, painting blocks, trampolining, and making mischief (tonight). A couple of recent drawings: parrot and train
  
• Ella being funky (tonight at Powell Beach), hangin' with Ezra, and enjoying a picnic with friends last weekend. Oh, and a recent drawing she did of the circus.

Ezra @ Three Weeks

Little dude's got a pretty good lifestyle on the go, I'd say. Despite some pre-teen acne and the occasional shifty-eyed looks, we think he's all right. He mostly eats, lounges, and entertains a steady stream of his adoring fans.

A new diaper gets filled pretty much every hour (my department) and he loudly demands food every couple of hours (Tannis's department). In between those times he naps and hangs out. Seems to like the beach. He's actually done a decent stretch of sleep the last few nights -- from about 8:30pm-3:30am. The fact that I just wrote that means it will never happen again. Ever.

His favourite music isn't even a contest: Lullaby Renditions of Nine Inch Nails, which was perhaps the most awesome baby gift of all time (Punk Unc' Bill). Seriously...Head Like a Hole, Hurt (mp3), and Something I Can Never Have were truly destined to be transformed into "beautiful instrumental lullabies" using glockenspiels and vibraphones. If anyone's looking for something to put in my Christmas stocking this year, it's
the Metallica version. I can see why people would assume something like this:

"...I don't know how effective they would be as lullabies -- the music of folks like Metallica and Nine Inch Nails sometimes feature jarring chord progressions and dissonant intervals that, when played 'lullabye' style, sound more suitable for an 'Omen'-like evil-kid horror movie soundtrack then anything you would actually want to use for lulling your beloved tots to sleep."

But the proof's in the pudding -- Ezra fell asleep TWICE to this album yesterday, and I was stoked.

Singletrack Soul Surfer

What you do when you see this kind of rig pulling into your driveway? You go riding, of course. Kindred spirit and cousin-uncle Dan Reimer showed up in the Okanagan this week, all the way from Whitehorse, and we got to rip it up on our bikes (a shared passion) after not seeing each other for way too many years. The guy's almost 15 years older than me, but totally schooled me on the climbs, dragging my sorry ass and my Stinky beast up long, punishing grunts like McDougal Rim. I loved it, of course. He's a philosopher, a bike buddha, a singletrack soul surfer and someone I wish I could see all the time.

The Foot

We so love every little part of this guy. I mean, seriously; how could you not love those tiny feet? He actually slept pretty well last night for the first time. Considering that he slept all day today, we're not optimistic about a repeat performance tonight, but so it goes.

Great day today, started off by loading up on goodies at the farmer's market in town, then lounging and reading most of the day. I'm SO not working and so keenly aware of it. We hit Sunoka beach through the late afternoon and evening, then back here to munch popcorn and watch a bit of Castle in the Sky.

Welcome Imogene

Angelo and Esther welcomed Imogene Finch to their world this week. She's precious, of course. And lucky her, arriving into their family -- what a trio they must be. I raise my glass to this beloved daughter of dearest friends.

P.S. Birthdays within four days won't necessarily unite Ezra and Imogene as kindred spirits later in life, but that is my secret hope.

P.P.S. Little Imogene also has the best punk-rock birthday around, showing up on the date immortalized by NOFX in my favourite song of theirs. Somehow you just know this kid is going to be too cool for school. I thought the last few lines might have captured a bit of how Esther was feeling toward the end of the pregnancy, it's good fun either way:

August 8th

the air is sweet, the summer flowers bloomin'
nowhere in sight is there anything grey
feelings of joy are filling the street
yeah, August 8th is beautiful day

like waking up from a f*cked up dream,
suddenly everything's looking good
there's been no permanent damage done
yeah, August 8th came right when it should

Farewell Friesens

We just said goodbye to Larry and Pearl as they headed back east, after one last Tim Horton's session with the whole gang. It was a great visit, much better (for me, anyway) than the usual week-long stay -- with four weeks to play with, there wasn't that sense of having to cram in the quality time and we could all find a better rhythm. Helps that they're gracious guests and did most of our dishes for nearly a month (never mind laundry, keeping the girls busy and...the list continues).

They fell in love with Ezra, of course: Larry snuggled him when he wasn't working on the amazing playhouse or at the beach, and Pearl held him whenever she could. The camper suite seemed to work ok, so hopefully we can lure them back again soon.

Birth Stories

Tannis posted Ezra's birth story already -- it's thorough and funny and gives me teary goosebumps. Superpowers, I tell ya. For anyone who missed them (and finds these things interesting) she also wrote Ella's and Ivy's birth stories a while back. I revere these written records as precious family heirlooms...and everyone else gets to see them too.

Update: Since I posted this, I've been meaning to add this photo of Barbara, our dear friend and incredible midwife...so there she is. Barb's been our support and primary caregiver in the births of our three children; an integral part of the story of our family. She's got superpowers of a different kind...and she's also a kindred spirit.

Welcome Ezra

So this is our new little guy, who arrived last night at about 11pm. He took his time getting up to speed after his emergence, causing us some stress and keeping our midwives working hard for an hour or so after the birth. Turned out all good, though. And he's wicked cute -- just look at those cheeks! As Tannis said in the original post, he's a hefty 9lbs 14 ounces, and seems to be figuring out the nursing thing...so look out.



Tannis didn't have a very long labour, but she spent most of it in the birthing pool, which was apparently fantastic. Maybe I haven't mentioned it before, but Tannis is a superhero. There's no other way to say it, really -- she has amazing superpowers. I don't know how anyone could see a woman giving birth and not be overwhelmed by awe.



The girls are thrilled by their new little buddy. Ivy stayed up through the action and Ella woke up to meet him at about 4:30am while I was rocking him to sleep. This morning they took turns holding him for long stretches where they'd sing to him and stroke his hair gently. Beautiful.



And now we have an extra person in our house. An extra little person in our family, just like that. A miracle.

Beach Bums

This is where we've been ending up pretty much every day at some point, lounging at Sunoka. We usually bring some version of supper or enough snacks that we don't have to leave until later in the evening. Ella has learned to swim this week -- a few seconds of dogpaddling at a time with her nose just poking out, often with eyes open underwater. Ivy's floating, treading water, and swimming in deep water now. We met the Duecks (even Kev!) down there yesterday, too...mellow good times.

During the day, Larry's been maintaining a feverish pace on the playhouse, looking like a combination of MacGyver and Indiana Jones up there on the roof -- I can't believe what he can accomplish with wood and a few simple tools. Last night he put the slide on, and the girls must have done a hundred laps on it.

Reimers

I only took this one measly photo from Milt and Carla's visits on the weekend, but I do like it -- look at that enthusiasm! Milt is one of those people who gets so stoked on life, living at full throttle as much as he can.

We got to do a couple of rides around here (with lots of time for talking), hung out at the beach and had a late night to chat at my parents' place. He even restocked me on FXR gloves. Kinda nice that the baby didn't crash this party -- allowed us the time and energy to really reconnect with old friends.