Curie December 2013. So I will admit I do not know how to do the collages going forward. To date these have been Curie’s but with the birth of Elia, I guess we will be doing two a month. So Elia is not shortchanged, I will do the picture a day collage of her on the 19th of each month just like we did for Curie in her first year; after that she will get her own monthly collage.
December was a challenging month with Erin on bed rest and Albert doing all the chores as well as bringing Curie to and from school. We relearned the power of friendship through the kindness of the Hoaglands, and paid it forward shoveling out our then also-pregnant next-day neighbors and salted the neighborhood walkways.
Curie loves the Sound of Music (Julie Andrews version) and sings “Doe a Deer” in its entirety (video clip sometime later). Her favorite song lately is “Love is All” by Playing for Change to which she twirls to. Curie continues her independence and wants to do things “on ma own.” She loves to play “basketball” with a hoop in the living room And loves to play “tunnel” with her blanket/comforter.
We are lucky that she was not born in Barney or Tele-tubbies, so Curie’s favorite shows are Curious George, Thomas, and Super Why. She does love to watch YouTube of people opening Kinder eggs and similar thing (anyone else seen this? It really doesn’t make any sense).
The biggest thing is of course Elia’s birth which deserves its own entry, but as it relates to Curie, she still hasn’t met her “baby sisser” yet though we hope that will be soon. In anticipation, Curie bought Elia a Curious George (and one for herself), has diapered her stuffed animals and knows Elia has been born: “baby sisser name is Eleee-a, she cute!”
So two daughters, one an independent young girl, the other an infant ready to take on the world. We haven’t even begun the feedings yet and we are exhausted and cabin-fevery – Albert thinks the reason for parental leave is so that you don’t make work decisions impaired. Elia and Erin are doing great, Curie is a little needy, but that is from us going to the hospital all the time. Albert is a basket case, but has been since childhood.
One thing about having a child that applies to both Curie and Elia (Curie’s birth story is on our site, but not published yet): there is a moment before they operate where the husband sits in paper scrubs and a mask in a room by himself while they prep the mother for OR. In those interminable minutes, you remember how fragile life is and how precious what you have is. Then there is the flurry of activity, holding each other’s hand, the c-section, and the wait for the baby’s cry. For both Curie and Elia, hearing the doctor say that they are healthy and hearing them cry, at that moment, that was all that mattered; you think life is right, life is good, and anything that will happen will happen, and that too is right.