Yes, please!

These days, I live in a state of constant amazement. This time 2 years ago, I had just found out that I was pregnant with Elsa. While we were waiting to tell people we were expecting, Tumi and I did some amazing hikes in Iceland and took a trip to Scotland, where he asked me to marry him. When I reflect on what my life was like then and compare it to what life is like now, my jaw just hans open in disbelief at how quickly things can change. Back then, Elsa María was a bundle of cells, and Finn wasn´t even a thought...

A younger, well-rested Scotsman

A much thinner, livelier me

Now, only two short years later, Elsa is walking, running, speaking (2 languages!) laughing, climbing, making jokes, kissing, snuggling, and learning more everyday. She is developing a personality. She is bossy, always telling her parents and grandparents and brother what to do! She loves balls of all kinds (wonder where she gets that) and in completely enamored with her father. We are working on her manners, and she is now a very polite young lady. She has nearly mastered ´please´ (she says ´pees´) and takk (sounds like ´kakk´when Elsa says it). Finnur Atli has started swim class, and he gurgles and giggles, rolls over, lifts up his head, squeals and belly laughs. They just grow so fast!

Tumi and I are different, too; older, more tired, a little less spry, but blissfully happy and doing what we love to do. He is a natural parent. He is calm, attentive, funny, and involved...how lucky we are! Tumi has started school again, and his schedule nowadays is a much better fit for family-time than it was this summer when he was working nights at the news station.

I have been doing some work for the UN University Fisheries Program, and will start to work there (officially) part-time after Christmas. I am very excited that they have offered me a job, and I think it is a good fit for me...I get to work in English while practicing my Icelandic, and the schedule will be flexible so I can work when I find childcare for Finn. Tumi will be writing his MA thesis for the Journalism after Christmas, so I hope that we can work out a deal so he watches Finn while I am at work. I am looking forward to having a job. I feel like I´ve been either in school or mothering for the past three years, and I am excited for the new challenge having a job will give me (oh, and I am also excited for the paycheck...though it is not a high one, an income is very welcome!).

We are going to be in the Northwest from December 2nd until the 29th. I love going home. I love being in the green and rain and trees and surrounded by my family and visiting friends. I´ve lived in Iceland for 3 whole years now, which seems like a long time! Somehow, I think I´ve gotten over the initial culture shock, and I´ve managed to keep myself busy enough that I feel very settled in here, and don´t imagine moving away anytime soon. A lot of that has to do with our new beautiful, spacious apartment. Plus, the inertia of my life has somehow flung me full force into building a home and a family and a career in this place.

Before I found out I was pregnant with Elsa, I figured I´d finish my graduate degree, and then Tumi and I would move on...go live somewhere else and start some new adventure. We still will someday, I am sure. But, when considering where to raise young children, I am convinced that there is no place better on earth than Iceland. So here we are, and here we´ll stay (for now)!

Some videos of my adorable children:

Elsa reading with her Pabbi

Finnur Atli, 3 month-old chub master

Finn, chillin in the bouncy chair. He is almost too big for it! Last time we took him to the doctor, they told us he was the size of an average 7-8 month old. Ladies and Gents, presenting my little happy chub-ball, Finnur Atli Kolbeinsson ;)

Elsa has started whining. It sounds horrible, but somehow she is still cute.

Elsa just woke up

Posing next to cousin Nolan´s bridge drawing!

She tells me everyday to put Finnur in her bed. She loves to snuggle (smother) him!

Monkey feet!

Tumi, zonked-out!

Finn has the BEST smile I´ve ever seen!!!

Elsa María in pigtails? Yes, please!

Kids!

This is the very curious bunny rabbit we met the other day on our walk through the Icelandic ´forrest´

Here is Elsa trying to meet the bunny (video here)

Happy family

...And a kick in the head...Sorry, Finn!

A late-August update

I wish I had more time to write on this blog thingie. The thing is, with a 17 month old and a 3 month old, when I have a free moment I am usually much more inclined to clean or cook or catch up on sleep or laundry or sit in silence and sip a coffee than update the ole´blog.

The pace of life in our home is chaotic these days. Elsa is talking (mostly in Icelandic) and Finn is enormous. When your babies are little, you hear the same comments over and over again. People always said (and still say) that Elsa looks just like her Pabbi and Aunt Gunnhildur. They would also notice that she has big eyes and is very active (both also still true). When people see Finnur Atli, they say he is huge. They are shocked to hear that he is only three months old, and I think they expect him to be able to do more than he can since folks tend to think he might be 6 months old or so. He is a mellow baby, and in general a happy pudgy little boy. He drinks a lot and spits up every time. He sleeps very well and has the brightest smile I´ve ever seen on a baby. He can roll over from tummy to back, and has started to stare intensely at his hands. He loves to suck, and I predict he will be a big fan of the ´snudda´(Icelandic for pacifier) for a long time. I am proud to have such a healthy, burley little boy, but man are my arms and shoulders tired!

Elsa is back at playschool after her summer break. Tumi will start back at school on Monday. I suspect I am more excited about him going back to school than he is...Fall always makes me feel like it´s time to start school, but I know he would rather be working. Finn and I will start going to babyswiming class soon, and I hope to be able to start taking yoga again this fall. Maybe even Icelandic class, too....I need to be on top of that so I can understand what my daughter is saying!

Here are some recent pictures from life in the Icelandic summer sun...

A picnic in our backyard, and Finn relaxing on the blanket

Elsa, the sweetest thing on earth

Our little chub

Another scene from the backyard

This is a picture from Elsa´s latest sickness...she had a fever for five days :( All better now!

Princess pigtails (in Icelandic the word for ´pigtails´ translates to ´bitch teats´....no joke...)

Elsa riding the carousel at the petting zoo

Mr. Suck

Guess what time it is...!

Elsa and Finn relaxing together one calm Tuesday morning

Our family of *FOUR*

Whew! It has been a long time since I´ve updated the ole´baby blog...too tired taking care of all these babies to write about it all! Elsa´s playschool was closed for all of July and will open again next week. We were very lucky to have a long visit from my mom (henceforth called ´Gamma´) and dad (´Gammpa´or simply ´Bitho´) and Unkka Thomas. Was lovely. We took a trip to Stykkisholmer and the Westman Islands. It was wonderful to get out into the country a bit, and even more wonderful to have such attentive babysitters. I am very excited to see them again this Thanksgiving-Christmastime. Tumi has been working his handsome Icelandic ass off as a journalist this summer, covering games, writing articles in the paper, and even commenting on TV!

Both kids are growing and healthy and amaze me everyday. Elsa is talking. And running, and climbing, and hilarious. Finn makes the sweetest coos and smily faces. He is growing so fast that he is now about the size of an average 3 or 4 month old (even though he is 8 weeks!).

All in all, life is grand. Not much time to be prolific, so I´ll let the pictures speak for themselves...

A sleeping little Finn

Elsa with her beautiful Aunt Gunnhildur

Multitasking like I invented it...

Boy-o

Gammpa Mattress

Happy Grandma!

Change the channel, Finn...we want to watch soccer!

Ah, smile...

Tourists!

That´s one big cuddly family

Sæta

Waterfalls go ´ROOAAARRR´

Yep. 2 kids. Holy crap. 2!

That´s how it´s done!

Elsa going out to play (or shop...with Mama´s purse)

Elsa, don´t stand on your little brother, please.

With Thomas and Heiða in line for HP7pt2...YAY!

Tumi + Kiddos = Happiness!

Welcome Mister Kolbeinsson!

He's here!

Our newest little addition arrived at 1:51 am on May 31st weighing in at 3.88kg and measuring 52cm long.

The birth was very long, and let's just say that I am very happy that I won't be doing that again anytime soon! I started having contractions at around 2am the 30th. They were around 10 minutes apart, but they were not very strong so I fell back asleep. When I woke up, the contractions were coming more often, but still were not very intense...just annoying. We took Elsa to playschool and then went to our midwife appointment in the early afternoon. She 'swept the membranes' and let me know I was already about 3cm dilated, and that the baby would come within the next day or so. After the midwife we waited a couple of hours and then went to the hospital. They checked me out and then suggested that we wait in the waiting room for things to pick up a bit more. Contractions were about 3 minutes apart and not coming any faster or stronger. It was then suggested that we might be more comfortable waiting for things to pick up at home, so we headed to Tumi's parents house for dinner and to hang with Elsa for a little while. We went home and waited there until around 10 when the contractions started getting much stronger...then back to the hospital.

The next several hours are a blur in my mind...there was a lot of intense contracting and discomfort (okay, pain!) and some 'happy gas' and some walking around and lots more pain. Tumi was a huge comfort, and made expert work of the massage oil they gave us. I hope his hand bones survived the intense squeezing they got those few scary hours! At 9.5 cm dilated, I told the midwife that I thought I was almost ready to push, but that I thought I should try and pee first. Once on the toilet, my water finally broke, and the baby's head was suddenly VERY ready to come out...I remember the midwife and Tumi telling me not to push while they tried to get me form the bathroom to the bed, and me screaming back, "NO! I HAVE TO PUSH!" I don't think there is anything harder then feeling the need to push and being told you can't...it's like you've been holding your breath underwater for minutes and when you finally break the surface to gasp for air and are told you can't!

Once we were back on the bed, I was allowed to push, and in two good pushes he was finally out! I think from the time my water broke until he was laying on my stomach was probably like 20 seconds...it was really fast and chaotic and actually kinda terrifying.

We stayed in the hospital until just after lunchtime the next day. On the way home, we got a call from Elsa's playschool letting us know that she had a fever and we should come pick her up. Poor thing! I settled in at home with the new baby and Tumi went to his parents' house to take care of the sick one. She stayed there for a couple more days and got a prescription for some antibiotics. Little man was a couple of days old before his sister met him for the first time. She seems pretty uninterested. She says 'hi' to him, and calls him 'ba-bee' and sometimes pats him on the head.

I am remembering life with a newborn. It's actually really nice. We sleep and eat a lot. Sometimes there is a lot of crying, but since Elsa has been so well taken care of by her Amma and Afi and Gunnhildur and Pabbi and playschool, the baby and I have had a chance to relax and bond over the past week and a half. It has been very hard for me to be away from Elsa during this time. I'm thankful she is so well taken care of, but I miss her terribly, since I only see her before school and for dinner/bedtime. I look forward to being able to go out with both my kids...I hope Elsa remembers me when it's time!

Our little boy is a good baby. He is growing like crazy, and when we went for his 5-day check up, we were astonished to see that his weight had gone up to 4.2kg! (usually they like to see that the baby has gotten back up to his birth weight by the 5-day mark...) It is generally agreed that he looks more like my family than Tumi's....truly a Davidson boy!

Our son arriving in the world!

Snuggling with Pabbi just after being born...

Elsa playing the piano

Mama and baby boy
Check out those feet!
Chub-bub
Baby's first bath!