(More) Family is here!

Today Shaena, Ethan, Grandma Michelle and I took our first walk outside since he was born. We walked from our place to Grandma's to meet up with Great grandma, Nini and Julia who arrived safely this morning. Apparently they had to travel with a group of missionaries who just could not stop talking about their upcoming crusade to Africa and how they would talk about God with every person they meet. Oy ve! :)

After we’d all had a little afternoon nap, for various reasons, the gift-opening started. We’ve said it before and it is obvious that we will have to keep saying it; this boy is spoilt silly, and he will definitely be the best dressed little kid on the block!

The guys brought presents from the family back in Canada, and among the things we got was a handmade personalized diaper bag, clothes of course, Ethan got his Christmas outfits, Ethan and I got matching camouflage hats for hunting, a manly-man camouflage diaper bag, and of course Canada-inspired items! He wouldn’t be a real Canadian without them! Another thing we got that was really cool was a pair of handmade Cree-moccasins made by Cree natives in Canada. I am sure my dad is going to love that!

As everyone was quite tired today, we decided to just have a quick dinner together and then Shaena, Ethan and I would head back to our place. Nini and Julia walked us back to give cousin Emily back in Grand Forks a quick webcam call, as there was one super-secret gift remaining…

Nini had spent the last 5 months working on a Muppet show themed quilt and had created every single little detail from scratch with personalized texts and details for Ethan! The quilt was absolutely fabulous and unbelievably beautiful, truly a labor of love.

Thank you so much for all the pressies guys!

I almost forgot; the midwife came to visit today again to check up on Ethan, and he is doing great. Today she did a prick test in his heel to draw blood, and he did not seem to mind at all. What a trooper!

Some pictures from today:

Surprise visitors and not-so-surprising visitors

In the UK, it is common practice that a midwife visits baby and parents in their home the day after birth, and then every day for a week+. Today was our first visit, as we left the hospital yesterday. Actually, two midwives came to see us. They checked Ethan to make sure is doing alright, talked to us about what to think about and what to do and what not to do and we also got a chance to ask them questions.

I also received a surprising call today; my aunt Annika and uncle Håkan from Sweden were in Edinburgh and wanted to meet up, they had heard through the grapevine that we’ve had a baby recently so they came by with a gift for Ethan this afternoon and we had a coffee and a great catch-up session! I had not spoken to Annika for many years, so the call came out of the blue, but definitely much appreciated!

Ethan is doing really well, he is such a lovely, calm little boy, and he is slowly but surely getting into an eat-play-sleep routine.

Speaking of visitors; tomorrow Ethan’s Great grandma, Auntie Nini and cousin Jules are arriving! What a life we lead! It will be good times for sure!

More Ethan

Today we have spent the day in the maternity ward at the hospital so that Ethan can figure out life outside the womb. He is such a treat to be around, and today he has actually been sleeping most of the day away, to the point where we had to wake him up to actually get some energy into him. Once he got that little energy-kick his little eyes were wide open and he just kept working away on eating his fists for lunch. He also had his first bath today, and contrary to many other newborns, he did not cry at all. He really seemed to enjoy getting pampered and taken care of! Must be getting that from his mom…

Tomorrow, Michelle and I are going to go see Shaena and Ethan first thing in the morning, and if all goes to plan, we’ll all leave the hospital together later in the day.

Also: A huge thank you to everyone for their congratulatory messages on this page, Facebook, email, phone, texts, etc. We really appreciate it! Love to you all!

He's got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything
Was as fresh as the bright blue sky
Now and then when I see his face
He takes me away to that special place
And if I'd stare too long
I'd probably break down and cry

Sweet child o' mine

Ethan Noel

The day is finally here! Our lovely little son Ethan Noel is born. At 8.39PM on Tuesday evening this adorable, perfect, little boy was born. Everything went well, but it has been a very long day and night for all of us.

Here are a few photos:

A recent photo taken outside Michelle's place

Day 12 – Rockin’ it at The Grosvenor

Last night was ‘Karaoke Night with Karen’ at The Grosvenor around the corner from us, so we decided this would be a good opportunity to try to sing the baby out! Shaena, Michelle and I went over to the pub, and were later joined by Martin and Craig.

Michelle was first in our lineup of acts with ‘Delilah’ and let me tell you, she brought down the house with her singing and her dance moves and people were clapping and singing along. Michelle then continued her hit parade with ‘Hot and Cold’ by Katy Perry, and let me tell you, it was hot!

Next on the bill was Shaena with…wait for it… ‘Ice Ice Baby’! That is right, the old classic rap song by Vanilla Ice! That is just how awesome my wife is! Shaena’s rap hooks turned into a duet when Michelle hijacked the microphone.

My own contribution to the night was ‘Walk the line’ by Johnny Cash, and my solo also turned into a duet when Michelle hijacked the microphone once again.

We had a great night, but no baby as of yet… any other creative suggestions on how to speed this up?

Playlist:



And the Grammy goes to...

Day 11 – Crazy 24 hours!

Since the last update it seems a lot of things happened! I have kept working from home, and in the evenings we have been dining at Michelle’s Rainbow Dragon Restaurant and Michelle’s Chippy.

On Thursday evening we decided to go to The Melville for a pub quiz, which is always fun. Could have used Grandpa Stefan's worldly knowledge though! I mean; how are we supposed to know what the only 9 nations in the UN starting on the letter 'L' in English are? :) Our friend Martin also tagged along, and half way through the quiz everyone were suddenly staring at the flat screen on the wall instead of listening to the Quiz Master. Shocker! Michael Jackson had died! Very unexpected and very sad! A guy by the bar shouted a profanity about Michael, but did not really get the response he was hoping for; instead he got a telling off from the bartender. Earlier in the day another celebrity, Farrah Fawcett had also passed away, still sad, but at least a bit more expected.

Last night we stayed at home (at Michelle’s) and just watched a movie, and to our horror we realized that the internet was not working and the battery on my phone was dead! Is that how being shipwrecked on a deserted island feels like? Before the phone died completely I managed to squeeze in a phone call with my dad, who is a busy blogger nowadays!

His blog, http://tornedalsbloggen.blogspot.com/, is attracting lots of visitors and he is constantly coming up with new anecdotes to write about. Very interesting I must say!

The plan for today was either to throw a Barbie in the backyard or to go on the hop on hop off-buses and be touristy around the city, but I think we’ll have to postpone as the weather is definitely more ‘Shiite than Sunni’ today – Iraqi inside joke.

Oh, and no baby yet!

Day 8 – Working from home

Today was my first day working from home and it is incredible how much you get done when you can just sit down and focus on the task at hand! I have to say, I am lucky I am working for a cool company that is flexible when it comes to things like this!

I am slowly getting ready for my holidays and paternity leave, but still in full swing anyway. It will probably take a few days to wind down, but no time to snooze with a baby on the loose! :)

No baby yet though, but then again, the due date is on Monday so he is still not late or anything. We are just about to head over to Grandma’s house for some Chicken Korma. Man, we are spoilt right now! Dinner cooked for us every night and a dishwasher that’ll take care of the aftermath. Speaking of spoilt; Grandma and Great grandpa came by with packed lunches today as well to make sure we were eating properly. Sweet!

Oh, and it is Great grandma Linnéa's birthday today. Happy Birthday!

Day 5 - Happy Father's Day!

So today is Father's day in the UK and I believe Canada too. Mom and I went shopping and bought some pressies for our boys. Funny enough Peter has been grilling me to find him slippers but I have had no luck so far. We walked into Debenhams and low and behold Peter's Homer slippers that he retired months ago were there in true form. They are the exact same pair that he used to have and they were on sale too!! So I bought them. It was meant to be and he is pleased beyond recognition that he has his slippers back!! I am a great shopper!

Mom and I also went to Starbucks with the gals today - Judy, Orlaith, Jen and us. Jen had just finished the Moonwalk which is a 26 km walk around Edinburgh from midnight till finish wearing a bra to support breast cancer. She did the whole 26km in 7 hours which is pretty impressive I must say! Way to go Jen!!

It was nice to have a drink with the ladies and catch up on the gossip.

Just to keep those of you in the loop - there is no baby yet...my Aunt said that because we didn't go to Karaoke last night, this is the reason he hasn't showed up. Pffft! Think my off key singing will get him out?! Nah!!

Here is a pic of Peter's new slippers! Mind the yellow!

B&B review – Casa Michelle

Shaena and I had the opportunity to be among the first guests in Casa Michelle, the apartment that Michelle has rented over the summer and converted into a B&B for all our international visitors. Let me tell you, this place is great! This spacious basement flat is equipped with everything one might need, except for a few kitchen essentials which can easily be borrowed from the Harrison-Helin base camp a few blocks away.

The beds are nice and firm and the walls are thick enough for those who would like to withdraw themselves from the lively activities in the living room for a bit of peace and quiet.

A B&B is not a B&B without an excellent selection of food on the menu, and the chef at Casa Michelle is ready to cater for all kinds of requests and can satisfy every taste bud with ease.

The B&B also offers a wide variety of activities like movie-nights, Wii-battles as well as outdoor activities and excursions.

Amenities:

- TV and DVD player
- Microwave - Not yet established how this thing works
- Nintendo Wii – battle it out against the best of them
- Fake fireplace – Yet to be tested
- Personal chef – It ain’t a B&B without one
- Bathroom with bathtub and a walk-in shower to die for
- Washer/dryer combo – yes Canadians, a combo! That’s how we roll here in the UK.
- A backyard with potential for wicked BBQ's

Day 4 - Adventure at the castle

Day 3 - Photoshoot in the backyard