The bright days of 2010...it's summertime in Iceland

When Elsa María was born, my brothers Riley and Thomas inherited a very important title....they joined that infamous group of men, the 'Davidson Uncles.' As Davidson Uncles, my little brothers have a long legacy to protect. A Davidson Uncle is a man handy with fireworks and quick with the potty-humor. His body is a niece's playground...waiting to be climbed, bounced on, and flipped over. A Davidson Uncle is quick to razz your belly, but shows no mercy on the Trivial Pursuit board. Great story-tellers, sports-watchers, and beer-drinkers, the Davidson Uncles* certainly leave enormous (probably smelly) shoes to fill! (*Note: Davidson Aunts, as the types of women attracted to the 'Davidson Uncle' men, are as a group infinitely patient, calm, loving, and forgiving women. The Aunts are sweet women with wise souls and wonderful senses of humor about life.)

As Thomas was lighting off fireworks on the 4th of July (good Davidson Uncle practice, Thomas!) Riley was in the air on his way to the land of fire and ice. Riley arrived in Iceland on Monday, July 5th (which happens to be my birthday). A visit from a little brother and brand-new Davidson Uncle is by far the best birthday present I could have hoped for! The night before my b-day, Tumi took me out to a fabulous dinner...tapas, wine, and no baby...it was glorious! It was the first time Tumi and I were out together for a date since Elsa María's arrival. We are gonna have to make that a regular thing, because it absolutely kicked-ass. When we got home that night, Tumi was bouncing Elsa to sleep (she was having one of her 'the-world-is-coming-to-an-end-and-I-will-not-be-comforted-because-I-am-so-sleepy-and-don't-know-how-to-relax cries) and told me there was some boxes and junk in the back seat of the car that I should go clear out so as to fit Riley's bags the next morning. When I got to the car, there were indeed some boxes in the backseat...boxes wrapped up in paper and ribbon for my birthday! My man bought me some wonderful movies and a new bread-maker! Now I can make delicious bread easy as pie and make the house smell good all the time...I am a very pleased lady.

Riley has done a wonderful job as a Davidson Uncle so far, he is teaching Elsa about the guitar and making her giggle like a good fuzzy-faced uncle should. On the many strolls we've taken through downtown Reykjavik, he is not shy about letting me know which buildings he could climb, and how he would do it. He appreciated the graffiti in my fair city, and has had an Iceland hotdog every single day of his visit so far.

Riley is also an entertaining houseguest/couchsurfer .... asking as he comes out the the bathroom, "Hey Mef, what's your policy on flushing?" To which I reply, "Well, Riley, it's really a judgement call; you just do what you think is right." To which he replies, "Cool," and then walks into the living room to chill on the couch. Or, when watching the World Cup, he glances up at the shelf in the kitchen where we keep our liquor and says, "Hey Mef, whose whiskey is that?" And I am tempted to answer, "Oh, that? That belongs to our neighbors. They keep it here so that when their little brothers come over to visit they don't have to give them any." Instead I simply say, "Whose do you think it is? If you want some, just ask!" Ah, brothers.

Last week, I had a graduation party with Gunnhildur and Taru. All of us finished our Master's Degrees this spring, and none of us had held a party to celebrate the achievement, so we decided to combine resources and threw one big summertime grill party, and called it "Master's Degrees and Mojitos!" Tumi's parents generously let us use their house and we went to ENGI, the organic farm out in the countryside where I spent a couple of days last summer to buy the mint we would use to make the mojitos. They have a market open during the summer, so we made a road trip there last week with all the girls (Me, Gunnhildur, Taru, and Elsa María).

Riley brought some wonderful books from Gramma Julie for my darling little Elsa María. It is so cool to sit with her and read the books I remember from my own childhood like Goodnight Moon, Each Peach Pear Plum, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Good Dog Carl. She likes them, too. She looks at the pages and is mostly calm as we read to her. I can tell that reading to her is going to bring all of us a lot of joy in the future!

Elsa María is growing like bad debt (to borrow her Grandpa Frank's phrase). She coos, squeals, giggles, and makes other adorable baby noises. I swear I heard her say 'vuvuzela' the other day. She has also learned the name of her favorite aunt...well, almost. She can say 'Guuuu' and now all she needs to learn is the '-nnhildur' part and we're good to go! Elsa loves her aunt Gunnhildur very much. She also loves to watch soccer almost as much as her Pabbi does. The bright colors and noises on the TV are very exciting, and I imagine that when she sits snuggles up with Tumi while he is watching an exciting game, his heartbeat is probably very stimulating for her as well! Elsa is now three months old, and can roll over both front-to-back and back-to-front, and drools like it's a competition.

We are now waiting patiently for the rest of the family to arrive in just under a week (hooray!) there will be plenty of new pictures and stories to share after their visit!

Here is Elsa laughing at her hilarious father...he's quite the funny-man!

Elsa has started putting her hands in her mouth. Sometimes her hands also grab her slobber-bib. Often, the two actions occur simultaneously. The results can be very confusing for everybody:
Elsa watching the World Cup with Pabbi. What the hell ref? He was off-sides!

Awe....
Who said, what?

Loving eyes in her pretty white dress:

World Cup with the guys:

Elsa's reading 'Goodnight Moon' with Pabbi:

Happy bouncing with Aunt Gunnhildur:

Gunnhildur at the hotdog stand in Selfoss....cuz it's whatcha do when yer in Selfoss.

...But when you're a veggie-eater, like Taru, you order the 'vegetarian pita' from the hotdog stand. That's when they give you a piece of bread filled with lettuce. It's your own fault for not eating meat, you hippie!

Elsa is having an important conversation with her blue elephant friend. Looks like they're talking about bubbles, and Elsa has some valuable words on the subject:

Sunshine!

The Grads at the 'Master's Degrees and Mojitos' party:

This is towards the end of a long car ride. To me, her face says, "What the fuck, Mom. Why are you taking my picture when I'm wearing my teddy-bear outfit? You are so lame."

Life is a Saturday

While we were traveling the US a couple of years ago, Tumi and I stayed with a couch-surfing host in Cleveland who showed us a movie called "A Map for Saturday." The film was a documentary made by a guy who was traveling the world for a year. It's a good movie, and you should see it. In the film, he made the keen observation that when you're traveling, it feels like it's always Saturday...On maternity leave it feels like everyday is a Saturday, too. Days blend together, and it's hard to remember what you did a few days ago, or even yesterday, since each day is so similar to the next and the last. Gotta love motherhood...

When such is the pace of life, visitors are a refreshing blessing! We've been lucky enough to have several guests so far, and many more on the way. Blake and Courtney stopped by last month on their way back to Seattle from Sweden. Jeremy was here for a vacation...he, Tumi, and Atli went for a hike in the Westfjords for a few days and came back with wonderful stories of arctic foxes, boat trips, and sheep chasing. Ryan and Jessica Thody are here now, and have just left for a trip around the country. Unkka Riley comes next for his summer adventures with SEEDS. He gets to stay here all summer long! Then, the rest of the fam (Gramma J, GPa Frank, and Unkka Thomas...*nicknames are works in progress*) is coming in mid-July. Brandon and Robin are paying a visit in August. Then, Great-Bapu and cousin Liz are stopping by at the end of August...Wow! There will be plenty of action to write about in the coming months!

As for now...

Elsa grew out of her little new-baby cradle....

...and moved into the spacious crib in Mama and Pabbi's room!

Elsa helping Mama make scones...it's SO nice to wrap her up and have both hands free!

The family at þingvellir National Park; our first stop on the 'Golden Circle' tour with Ryan and Jessica Thody!

Elsa bustin' a move at the waterfall:

Wrapped up with Mama at Geysir...How exciting!

Friends visit from Seattle and introduce Elsa María to a classic American pass-time...Go M's!

Making faces with Pabbi at the summerhouse

Elsa, who hid your hand under the blanket?

Elsa's first trip to the hot spring by the summerhouse...she slept the whole time.

Icelandic elf baby visiting the hot spring

Leaving the couch

Elsa María is officially 2 months old today, and my life is slowly moving away from the couch. When she was a brand new teeny tiny baby, it was hard to imagine life going on as normal outside our cozy apartment. Gradually, I've been getting small pieces of regular life back and moving away from life on the couch.

Aunt Gunnhildur came back from school in the US last week, and quickly became Elsa María's new biggest fan. It was clearly love at first sight, and Elsa is very lucky to have such a beautiful aunt to teach her how to sail, climb on glaciers, play the violin, and do backflips! We are all very excited to have a summer to spend getting to know one another...

Gunnhildur and I just started an 8 week long Crossfit course at the gym. I am really looking forward to having something active to do not only to help me get back in shape after pregnancy, but also to help me get off the couch and practice being away from Elsa for a couple of hours. I've also been given permission to use Tumi's card at Yoga Shala for the summer, so I can go there for a yoga class whenever I have time. With this access and the workouts with Gunnhildur, I'm well-set of an active and fun summer!

In other random bits of news...

My thesis is at the print shop and will be officially handed in this week. I'll show you a copy if ya want. I am very proud.

My nipples have healed (yea!) and I now have some gnarly battle scars from my breastfeeding woes. I'll wear them proudly cuz I'm a tough lady.

Elsa can bring her hands together....which I guess is a thing.

The wind in Iceland changed direction, so ash from the volcano has shown up in Reykjavik. The cars are dusty, and we're hoping for a good hard rain soon.

I think oil spills royally suck, and we should learn from our mistakes!

Had my first freak-out about what to do with my career since finishing grad school. Trying to relax and hope for good things while the universe does its thing.

Tumi is preparing for a hiking trip in the Westfjords next week, and Elsa and I are preparing to hang out with just the two of us for a few days.

Click here to see Elsa María learning how to "bitho" (and don't worry if you have no idea what that is...it's a Davidson thing!)

Springtime Reflections

Springtime in Reykjavik is very beautiful. It seems to come on all of a sudden...tiny buds on trees and bushes suddenly explode into leaves of green. When out walking you suddenly notice daffodils and tulips in front yards. Sidewalks that were covered in snow and ice just a few months back are lined with lush green grass. And you suddenly look outside at the bright sky and realize that it's 10.30 at night! The light is the most impressive thing about this season. It effects your body and spirit a lot more than you might think...In the winter, it is easy to go to sleep early and often; it feels like hibernating. The opposite is true in the late spring and summer. Everyone who has visited Reykjavik in the light season has undoubtedly experienced that sense of absolute shock and disbelief that it's actually so late in the day. Last spring, I remember waking up, taking a shower, and starting the coffee pot before I realized that it was 3am...not 7 like I thought! The soft light of midnight makes waking up to breastfeed very tolerable...Since I am the type of person who likes to go to bed early no matter how bright it is outside, I am thankful for the chance to appreciate the light of arctic spring with my hungry grunting baby on the boob (see me trying to stay positive about the fact that I haven't had more than 4 hours of sleep in a row in six weeks?!)

I recently discovered a new type of screen saver on my laptop; I can select a photo album from iPhoto that will randomly flash across the screen. I chose the album of pictures from my trip to the Pacific Northwest last spring, which may or may not have been the best idea. Seeing pictures of a trip to Portland I took with my mom, grandma, aunt, and lovely cousins, pictures from Riley's graduation celebration in Olalla, our vacation in sunny Lake Chelan, and just goofing off in the backyard at home has made me feel homesick for family, friends, and greenery of Washington. For as lovely Iceland is in the summertime, I am seriously homesick for the Northwest.

I find myself thinking back on this time last year. I was just finishing up with the second semester of grad school, and getting ready to go home for a visit and embark on my thesis journey. I spent my trip in the Northwest connecting with family and friends, drinking fantastic beer, and reading about education for sustainability in the backyard in Olalla while working on my tan. I was so impressed by the height of the trees and the ease with which plants flourished in Olalla; it was obscene! I had just felt so pleased with myself because my little herb garden on the balcony had grown a few centimeters when I stepped into my parent's garden and was assaulted by a rosemary tree (that's right, not bush...tree). When I left to come back to Iceland, I remember thinking I would finish up my thesis and then it would be time for Tumi and I to move somewhere else. I made a list of pros and cons of living in each country (dork) and was going to see which place would be better to live in. After a month in the Northwest summer sun, I was resolved to leave Iceland just as soon as I could. Needless to say, my mind was changed a few months later, probably due in large part to planning for Elsa María's arrival. The conclusion of my pros and cons list (nerd) was that there are good and bad things about both places, so instead of deciding which place would be better, I chose to to focus on the good things about wherever I ended up. Hence the positive thinking about Icelandic spring and desperately trying to shove down feelings of homesickness for the Pacific Northwest.

When I reflect on life a year ago, I am struck by how very much my life has changed. Of course, having a baby changes everything about your daily life, but it is amazing how quickly it changes not only everyday activities, but your whole life plan...Last year I was ready to pack up and leave Iceland, now I'm planning on being here for at least the next few years. Last year I had the flexibility in my schedule to leave for a month and a half, now I am uncomfortable being away for more than an hour or so. On my last birthday, I was out at a summerhouse with my friends and got drunk and jumped in a lake at midnight...not likely to happen this year (although I suppose it might be possible if I decide it's really how I want to celebrate). Last year I was gearing up to start my thesis, now I'm officially an MSc and not sure at all where my life is going professionally.

With all those reflections bouncing around in my head, I look forward to this summer. We have a series of friends and family coming to visit over the next three months, and I am excited to see familiar faces from home and show off my new baby and country! This year, instead of visiting home, home is visiting us :)

Family...take your positions for the World Cup, please! Thank you!

This is the face she makes when we put her in her little bouncy chair. I call it the "Where the hell did you just put me?!" look.

Lifting up on Pabbi's chest:

Is it true that watching TV rots your brain, Elsa? Oh yea...Let's read a book instead, baby girl!

Like father like daughter...

I finally caught one of those beautiful smiles on film!

This video is special for Great Uncle Pat, Great Aunt Shawn, cousin Brennah, and cousin Nolan...check out the sneezin'!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtCF8tFgH1U

Elsa María; the best thing since air!

It's official...I'm smitten.

Last weekend, we held a 'naming party' for our little lady and announced to the world that she will be called Elsa María Kolbeinsdóttir. It is common for parents in Iceland to wait a long time before naming their babies (though waiting more then six months will get you fined!). I think the reason people here wait so long to name their babies has to do with the harsh historical trends underlying the culture of child-rearing in such a difficult environment. Lots of families in the olden days lost children, so to save themselves the heartache (and probably to avoid tempting fate) they held off on the naming until they were sure the baby was going to be strong enough to survive. The tradition stuck around, and as my mother-in-law explained to me, preparations for the baby's arrival in Iceland should be done quietly. You don't blab to all your friends about the nursery decorations or the new baby clothes you just bought, and you certainly don't have a baby shower! Such excitement will wait until the baby is born (healthy) and survives (God willing!). In Iceland, most babies have a christening party in which the parents announce the name and the baby is baptized. While we opted for the secular route, we still wanted to have a celebration to officially mark the special event that was choosing a name for our little lady, as well as give family and friends a chance to meet her.

Can I talk a little bit about how cool Iceland is? First of all, one of the reasons I decided to move here (well, aside from Tumi, obviously) was to go to graduate school. The Environment and Natural Resources program here is taught in English, and because of the overwhelming governmental support for education, tuition for grad school works out to about $600 a year. The one year I worked for Pacific Science Center between undergrad and moving to Iceland earned me a tax return that paid my entire graduate school tuition! In my opinion, this is the way education should be handled all over the world. And then there's healthcare. All of my prenatal care, and delivery, and postnatal care was free....that's right, FREE! We paid about $50 for the ambulance ride to the hospital, and I've paid about $30 for breast feeding advice, but other than that, all of our care was paid for by the government. The midwife COMES TO YOUR HOUSE EVERYDAY for a week after the baby is born to check up on you and answer your questions. Then, a nurse comes to visit every week or so for the first month to weigh the baby and provide even more help. We have an appointment to take Elsa in for her first check up actually IN the clinic in two weeks. I absolutely love this set-up, and when I feel homesick, it helps me to remember the really good things about the place I chose to live; like that the government invests its resources in creating a healthy, well-educated society, which are both goals I can fully support!

People here pay ridiculously high taxes, but that money goes to education, healthcare, social security, and other services the government provides to take care of its people. In America, our tax dollars do go to some support services, but a huge amount also goes to killing people in less fortunate places. All of which begs the question; Why can't Americans take better care of themselves?! We pretend like we're the biggest, strongest, best-est country in the world, but we neglect the poorest of our citizens. Only recently have we started to embrace the idea that adequate health care is a human right! Imagine an America where a university education costed $600 per year....what kind of a country would we be able to make then? Think of all the talent that is going to waste because of the prohibitively expensive price of a college education, and higher taxes to support a 'socialist' state doesn't sound that bad. That's the end of my lil' rant...mostly I feel very lucky to have been given such excellent education and care and support while living here.

Oh, and Tumi gets 6 months PAID PATERNITY LEAVE! Thank you, Iceland!

Elsa María is a wonderful baby. She is growing more and more everyday, and getting even more adorable all the time. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that I made something as beautiful as she is! Looking around the room at all the people who came to meet her last weekend and celebrate her entrance into the world, it is clear that she already has a fabulous community of people who love her dearly, and are happy she is here with us...It struck me during the party that all those people are really only HALF of Elsa María's folk. There is a whole other bunch of people across the sea waiting to meet her and see how she grows up. How lucky we are to have such a community of support! We are planning a trip to the Pacific Northwest next Christmas, and are very excited to meet the other branch of Elsa María's family tree :)

(Hey Aunt Gunnhildur....Does this look like somebody you know?!)