Fertile like Mesopotamia

So what happens when you don't update your blog in months? A whole hell of a lot, it turns out!

We arrived back in Reykjavik two weeks ago from a fabulously long vacation in the Pacific Northwest over the holidays catching up with family and friends. Elsa took the the Davidson branch of her family like a fish to water, and we all had a wonderful time getting to know her many aunts, uncles, and cousins who live across the sea. It is hard to come back after such a fun trip, but we are re-adjusting to regular life these days, and appreciating how warm the homes are in Iceland (much warmer than in Olalla...believe it or not!)

At the end of September this past year, Tumi and I learned that we are pregnant once again! The best reaction I've received since starting to share our news was a dear friend of the family who said, "Jeeze, girl! Another baby already? You're fertile like Mesopotamia!"

To me, it feels quite different than when I was pregnant with Elsa, since she takes up so much of my attention these days, I often find myself forgetting I am pregnant...Whereas when I was expecting my first little one I could think of little else. We went to our 20 week sonar last week and got to see our new little one. All is going well and looks healthy, and we found out that this time we get a BOY! As the bump grows and we plan for our future, the fact that we will be a family of four in May is beginning to sink in, along with the excitement that having a baby brings.

While there are plenty of fantastic stories from our recent stateside adventures, I will let the pictures speak for themselves (mostly because I don't have the time to write as much as I'd like!)

Elsa and I arrived in Seattle in the middle of a snowstorm. We ended up sleeping at a hotel near the airport for the first night, and then drove to Tacoma on the icy roads very early the next morning. This is a picture from when we first arrived home...Elsa and Marley soon became the best of friends; one so fuzzy and the other smelling so much like Cheerios is a match made in heaven!

Chillin with Grandpa and sampling some fine glasses.

Elsa quickly learned to make this face whenever she saw Marley (in anticipation of the doggie-kisses)

Hangin' with cousin Herron at Thanksgiving!

Happy faces for the camera

Baby in a box...

Elsa's first Thanksgiving

We picked up Pabbi at the airport....it was a very happy reunion for everybody!

The beautiful Christmas tree in Olalla on Christmas morning

Grandpa's wake-up drumming crew. One does NOT sleep in on Christmas morning in the Davidson household!

AFTER the early-morning wake-up drum session:

Stockings!

Santa Elsa on Christmas morning

Opening gifts like a pro!

Strolling in Gig Harbor with Gunnhildur

Gunnhildur all snuggled up in the cold Olalla winter

Elsa with cousins Ellie, Abby, and dog!

Marley is quite a tolerant dog...even when she is used as a pull-up bar

Playing the piano with Pabbi in Olalla

This is what jet-lag looks like when you are 9 months old:

One, two, three, SMILE!

Elsa spends quite a bit of her time standing up these days. Her favorite place to be is the bathroom...so much to explore!

It's about time

About time to update the baby blog, dont'cha think?!

It's hard to believe, but half a year has already flown by since the day our precious Elsa María came into the world. Suffice it to say that I am impressed every single day by how much she is growing and how quickly she is learning. When I look at videos and pictures of her from just a few months ago, it is hard to imagine her being so small and squiggly...she is quickly becoming a strong, chubby little child! As of last night (she is still asleep, and who knows what tricks she has picked up since I last saw her awake 10 hours ago) she can now babble adorably, sit by herself, crawl (we're still refining the technique) and eats solids like a champ. In the past month, she has started sleeping all night, with a bit of fussing usually around 2am, and only one feeding. Last night she slept from 8pm until 7am when she ate, and then fell asleep again until 9am! Little lady 'sleeps like a Viking,' as her father would say.

Solid food is so much fun! She was super skeptical about it at first, but I think that's just because I was doing what the book told me and giving her rice cereal only. Have you ever tasted that stuff? It's flavorless and basically nasty-gross. She would eat it and then literally shudder her little body and give me a look like, "Why did you put that in my mouth, Mom? It's so icky!" Once we discovered the wonderful world of mashed up bananas, applesauce, potatoes, carrots, and sweet potatoes, there's been no stopping my little eating machine.

We are getting excited for our long upcoming trip to the US next month! We will leave Iceland on Monday, November 22nd, and stay in the Pacific Northwest for Thanksgiving and Christmas and then fly back to the land of fire and ice on December 30th. Tumi will join us in the US when his school and coaching responsibilities wrap up on December 8th.

In light of forthcoming international travels, we recently acquired a passport for little Elsa María. Since we had to report her birth to the US Embassy in Iceland for her to become a recognized US citizen anyway, we applied for her to get her passport at the same time. To be honest, it didn't even occur to me that we should get her an Icelandic passport, even though it might have been easier and less expensive, and less of a hassle. She is a dual citizen, so she could technically have passports from either or both countries. How many passports does a little baby need? In any case, we made an appointment to go to the US Embassy to get her citizenship and passport sorted out before our trip this fall.

I don't know if you've ever had the pleasure of visiting a US Embassy while abroad, but it is quite an adventure. Technically, you are stepping onto US soil, and it really does feel like you're leaving one country and entering another. To begin with, the US Embassy in downtown Reykjavik has a guard outside (a security measure not employed by any other embassy in Iceland). He is friendly enough. Then you stand outside in the rain while the second guard just inside the building checks to see if you have an appointment. He lets you set our baby inside, but has to check you and your husband out. He informs you that while your name is on the listhis is not. Why doesn't he have an appointment? You let the guard know that you were told both parents needed to be present when reporting birth abroad which is what you are here to do (gesture politely to baby). He concedes to let you both into the building. The foyer of the US Embassy is basically an airport security checkpoint. The guard employs the same kind and trusting tone as a TSA agent and a customs official all rolled up in one happy welcoming package. "Ma'am, please take the baby out of the car seat and place it on the X-Ray belt." "The baby?!" "No, the car seat." "Sir, please empty your pockets and take off you belt. Remove any cell phones, computers, or metal." Then you hold your bundle of joy/anchor baby while you walk through a metal detector. Then it's time to meet with the woman behind the panel of bullet-proof glass.

I don't know if you've ever seen a baby's passport before, but just like all children's passports, they are good for five years. The application is the same for a child or grown-up passport. When I filled out the application for Elsa, there were a few places I left blank, because I figured they could not seriously apply to my six month old; occupation, height, hair color, etc. When I handed the stern woman behind the bullet-proof glass the application, she looked it over, and informed me that all the spaces needed to be filled in. Ok. So occupation (sucking, pooping, tummy time, chewing on stuff, sleeping) was marked 'n/a'. Height...seriously? 70 cm. Hair color? I asked the woman about this, since Elsa baby does not have any hair, and she said, "Just write in 'light.'" This passport will serve Elsa María until she is 5 years old. Oh well.

There was a very kind and cheerful woman, obviously trained in customer service in the US, who dealt with our paperwork after that. She was overly-bubbly, cooed at Elsa, and made eye contact (almost) with my eyes....sort of upper right forehead quadrant. When the paperwork was finally all done and accepted, she said, "Congratulations, Elsa! You are the newest US citizen living in Iceland!" At this, my calm, sweet baby abruptly projectile barfed the biggest barf I have every seen come out of her...it wasn't an 'I just ate' little spit up, either...this stuff had been in her stomach long enough to turn into stinky curds and whey. It got all over me, and the chair I was sitting on. "Oh, she is so excited!" Miss Bubbles behind the glass cooed...Yea, she's *something* alright! Excited? Disgusted? We'll see...

If you haven't already seen them, check out the latest videos of our little lady who can now crawl, swim, and smile for the camera!

Elsa and Mama at baby swim class

Elsa pulling herself up....here comes trouble!

She knows to have a serious expression in the passport photo. No bullshitting with the customs people, Elsa!

Little Anchor Baby

Pulling up again...

Sitting by herself!

Happy baby!

Elsa munchin' on some kale.

Helping Pabbi with his homework!

Elsa grew out of the little bed she used to nap in...now she just sleeps in her crib

Downward dog

A visit from neighbors Bergrun Lilja and Vala Kristin!

Hi Elsa!

A visit from Una Lilja and little Davið

Wood Elf stuck in the Kingdom of Rohan

I'm totally a wood elf. When you move to a foreign country, sometimes the things that make you homesick aren't the things you didn't think you would miss. Thinking about my family makes me want to go back to the US, but I figured that would be the case. It's fall here in Reykjavik, and the leaves are changing color; soon they'll fall off the trees and all the green will be gone! At times like this, I imagine the tall thick evergreens of Olalla surrounding me on all sides and above, and it makes me feel cozy, like jumping into a bathtub of green. The Icelandic natural aesthetic puts a great emphasis on long, unbroken vistas. While I think this is beautiful, it is certainly not comforting like standing in the middle of a Pacific Northwest forrest. I've heard that thick forrest makes some folks uneasy; it gives them the spooky feeling that something is lurking inside the woods waiting to pounce at any moment. When I stand in the Icelandic landscape, it makes me feel exposed, and I fear I might just spin off the earth with no trees holding me down.

I've started scheming to come back to the US for a long trip this winter. It occurred to me, why not try and come back with Elsa María for Thanksgiving AND Christmas? Being a 'stay-at-home' mom is the same schedule no matter if we're in our own home, or Elsa's grandparents' home....plus when will we have the flexibility to come for a long trip again? Tumi doesn't have any finals this semester, so he could join us shortly and wouldn't have to be away from his adoring daughter for too long. Plus, it would be so good for Elsa to have some time with the other half of her family (and it would be so good for her mom to spend some time in the mother country!) I think we can make it happen :)

The beginning of fall has been a hectic time at our house. Tumi quit his job and started school. He is taking all the classes required for a teaching certificate, plus some classes for an MA in Journalism. Together, this means he is spending 110% of his time on school. He is also tutoring, coaching soccer three nights a week (+one weekend day) and finishing up projects at his old job, and doing his weekly radio show, and his weekly pub quiz. Somehow in all this chaos, he also finds time to hang out with his daughter and teach her how to play the piano. He seems very happy being so busy, and we are proud of him for following his passion. He won't really brag on himself, but I can....he has a knack for journalism, and apparently a bright future in the field. One of the tasks students in his class have to complete is to write for the student newspaper. One of the articles he wrote last week was picked up by the Icelandic news, a rare honor. An editor for the student paper asked him if he was sure he wanted to 'waste' his talents on sports journalism...a sentiment that I am inclined to agree with, but he will follow his heart...hey, maybe he can find a way to make soccer interesting to us non-sports-oriented people and explain what's so frickin' magical about it anyways!

I have started helping out at the International School in Iceland. I have one small class a week in which to teach 'environmental stuff.' We've only met once so far, and I can tell that creatively planning interesting lessons for them will be challenging for me. I am also going to start an Icelandic language course at the 'Intercultural Center' in the evenings three nights a week. With Tumi's coaching time, this means we will be relying on Icelandic grandparents quite a bit this fall. What a blessing to have them so close and willing!

Elsa María is almost crawling. She is certainly mobile....She pivots around on her tummy and scootches backwards (not forwards, yet!). If she is on her belly and hears something interesting going on, she'll turn around to look at it. How exciting to learn to interact with the world around you! The backwards-wiggling has landed her in some tricky spots, but my smart little cookie will figure out how to navigate the apartment pretty soon.

Rivendell...

The Riddermark...

My beautiful daughter in her Pabbi's old wool sweater...

Watching a soccer game with her Pabbi. I think she's inherited the passion, don't you?!

Sitting in her booster seat from Grandma Julie...She can almost sit up straight :)