Happy 1st Birthday Elsie!!!

Yes, it's been awhile since my last post but I have a REALLY good excuse. The day after I wrote that post we discovered a few spots on Freddie. Chicken pox? Noooooo, it couldn't be. IT WAS. Fast forward a few very itchy, very tired weeks later and they've both had it. Whew. 

The pox may have canceled Freddie and Elsie's joint birthday bash (meant to be last weekend) but at least we could celebrate her big day today. That's right - at 5:40pm on April 25, 2014, the biggest surprise of my life popped out. A girl! For some reason, we were absolutely convinced we were having another boy and were SHOCKED it was a girl. 

I was in labor for 3 days, most of which was spent having contractions at home and out in my favorite spot, Holyrood Park. It was painful but there were breaks, including the night before I had her when I wolfed an entire Dominos pizza (large). YUM. Margaret and William cheered me on until 4am on the morning of the 25th when we decided it was time to go to the hospital. Elsie didn't arrive for more than 12 hours later and during that time I tried pretty much every pain relief option available. Haha. Tens machine, birthing pool, gas and air and, finally, an epidural. 

Once the epidural was in (took three tries...yikes!), I relaxed and waited for our little gal to show up. We chatted with the midwife, medical student and doctor. In a bizarre turn of events, the doctor was the same woman who did my c-section with Freddie. AND, in another bizarre turn of events, the medical student just treated Freddie in the children's hospital last weekend. I was touched that he remembered Elsie's birth and even more touched that he said he almost didn't recognize me (45lbs lighter haha). 

How do I describe Elsie? Snuggly, sly, determined, sweet, fearless and feisty. Another pea in our pod, I couldn't imagine life without her. What an awesome year it's been for this little gal. We love you Elsie!!

E for Elsie.

Picking off the blueberries.

What a little 1-year-old!

"I wanna walk, I wanna walk!"

"...a mile in your shooooooooooes." Don't get the reference? Watch this. Fantastic version. Hands down the best song from my childhood. And that's saying a lot. It beat out 'Backwards Land' and 'Shapes, Shapes!' (NOT this insane techno version).

Whew, that was almost so annoying I couldn't keep writing.

Anyhoot - the point is.......Elsie is WALKING! She took her first couple of steps a few weeks ago and is starting to cruise more and more every day. She loves pushing the bee wheely bug at 100mph down the hall (sorry paint trim I just redid) and can walk pretty steady between the couch and the chair.

She's starting to give her brother a run for his money (pun intended) in the race for toys and it's hilarious to watch them chase each other around their room. She's Freddie's number one fan and boy does he know it. Despite the power struggle (this morning's must-have item? a rubber spatula), they are best friends. Freddie even instructs Els to say good night to him every afternoon before his nap. And, of course, she does it. So sweet!

Our amazing Elsie celebrated her 11 month old birthday last week. Happy Birthday little gal!

Look out! Here she comes.

She's obviously inherited her mother's crazy smile. 

Big kiddo!

Little maniac on the loose. :)

'Summer' is here!

I went for an exhilarating run yesterday to Portobello Beach. I didn't want to do it — my running partner isn't here any more and I'd gotten less than four hours of sleep. But, when I couldn't come up with anything else to do (kids were out with William, I was fully caffeinated and there wasn't a new episode of any of my favorite shows available), I headed outside. 

The sun was shining, the park was hopping (where are all these people in the depths of winter? hibernating?) and I set off. At first, I was just going to do my usual 3-4 mile loop but it must have been the sudden burst of vitamin D that propelled me all the way to the beach and beyond. 

I've been hearing rumors of sunny, 60-degree weather (and higher!) in Seattle for weeks now but I've been ignoring them as I pulled on my boots, circled my scarf and popped on my hat every day. Until now. Thank goodness I'm wearing a tank top and shorts, I thought, as I sprinted down the sand. Should I have put on sunscreen? No, I'm sure I'll be OK, I reassured myself. 

And it wasn't just me smelling the sight of summer. There were kids with their tops off, putting their toes in the sea. 50-year old men skateboarding down the promenade. Teenagers wearing t-shirts and backwards hats (wait, that's back in?). Middle-aged couples waiting in line at the ice-cream truck. People playing beach volleyball! Beach volleyball!!

As I finished what ended up being a fantastic 8-mile run (maybe that half marathon won't be so bad after all!), I whipped out my phone to check the temperature. It must be nearly 65 I thought! 

Nope. 

It was 8° Celsius. That's 46°F. 46!!!!! What's going to happen when we move back and experience a Seattle Spring and Summer? Will we get heat stroke? Should we start carrying umbrellas for shade? 

One thing's for sure, I'm going to miss my fellow Edinburghians who truly know how to make the most of a sunny day. 

Vitamin D rush continued today. Had to get an ice cream bar
for the walk back from the store. It was 7°C.