Throughout my whole pregnancy with Elise, I was convinced that I was pregnant with a boy. I had a boy’s name all picked out and even imagined what my little boy would look like. But I also knew that it might be a girl. Even with the total absence of morning sickness, you just never [...]

I had to go to the market up the street to buy milk and bread which I was only prompted to do because we are completely out of both and they are universally accepted as bare staple items. The entire trip took 20 minutes. That sucking sound you hear is the air rushing into the [...]

Currently 10lbs 9 oz and 23 1/2 inches long. The math - she’s gained 2lbs 4oz and grown 3 inches in a month. She eats a lot. She fusses a lot. She doesn’t sleep more than 2 hours at a time. Ever. If everything goes well with the medical clearance, passport and visa, we should be [...]

Elise Morgan Shannon was born on Friday, September 25th at 9:29am, 8lbs 5oz, 20 1/2 inches long. Everyone is resting at home and doing just fine. Photos a little later.

Today is the child’s due date and, alas, no signs of any forthcoming birthday. Late, just like his/her sister. My physical mobility is much more limited than it was with Amelia (old muscles ain’t what they used to be) so I’m sitting around, doing nothing but waiting. Amelia is officially a clothes horse from all of [...]

Today Little Miss Amelia turns two. We have been very fortunate for many reasons, most of all that she has been the picture of health. She reaches all of her milestones with flying colors and rarely even gets the slightest bit sick. Even when she does have an issue (roseola - scary fevers with not [...]

I’ve been home for almost a month now and living in my old house where my brother now lives. I have been working and I’ve been dropping Amelia off with friends and relatives. Chuck doesn’t arrive until next Saturday and we will celebrate Amelia’s second birthday on Sunday and maybe I’ll even save her a [...]

Last week, Little Miss and I had an overnight flight from Tel Aviv to Boston. We arrived at the airport at 9pm Friday night (2pm EST) and boarded a flight that left at midnight (5pm EST). We then flew 12 hours to Newark, landing at 5am on Saturday morning. After a 3 1/2 hour layover, [...]

I haven’t written much about my second pregnancy because there isn’t much to write. I have not have 24 hour morning sickness since January. I don’t get heartburn that compels me to sleep in an almost sitting position. No bouts of baby hiccups that begin at 9pm and last for the next 3 hours. Nothing. [...]

Because there isn’t much else going on around here…. So, the One On The Way seems to be doing fine. I have to get back to the doctor, but that’s a strange thing here. The ObGyn doesn’t actually want to see me until I’m at the end of my second trimester. With Amelia, they measured my [...]

I have made as many phone calls as I can, with time differences and my lack of phone-love being what they are. So, internet, I am pregnant with our 2nd child. The best part? Amelia’s birthday is September 14th. I am due September 20th. We are hoping that they won’t share a birthday, because I [...]

Today Little Miss Dictator had her first “playgroup” with the nanny. I think that “playgroup” has also moved into verb territory and perhaps she went “playgrouping” with “playgroupies”. Being so insanely out of the loop I really have no idea. The group is made up of Americans and other foreigners in this foreign land and [...]

Among the mommy blogs and boards, many mothers lament the fact that their memories of their own mothers don’t include a lot of playful memories. Many mothers vow to spend playtime with their children in a way their own mothers did not. Often times what is left out of the conversation is why our mothers [...]

Amelia was on the floor playing with some little finger puppets. I noticed that she was picking each one up and placing them down in a neat little row. I thought “Wow. That kind of spatial organization is pretty forward for an 11 month old. Maybe she is advanced.” Then she looked at me, picked up [...]

I’ve uploaded some more photos that range from as soon as yesterday and as far away as 2 months ago. Here are some of my favorites.

All Amelia Photos Amelia is now crawling and at a very fast clip. She is also in her clingy stage, meaning I can’t be out of [...]