what a week

Last week was marked by two big happenings, which surely made things different than first expected: the happy surprise of my dear old friend Jane coming all the way from Denmark and of course the Boston bombings.

Bjarni and Jane had secretly planned her visit, and it was such a surprise when I opened our door, and she was standing there. Living abroad is like life is divided into two worlds: the world (with all its people, places and habits) at home and the world in the new place. So it was so surreal to see Jane from home standing here when I wasn't prepared for it. But so so great to share what life here looks like and we all loved having her. Friends who pick up your kids and pour a whole lot of love out on them are simply the best!

A friend visiting calls for sightseeing and showing off some of what Boston has to offer. One of the first things we did, was to cheer for the marathon runners that passed by our neighborhood on their route Monday afternoon. We ate lunch in the sun and enjoyed the festive atmosphere, while the runners passed by. It was when we later got home we heard about the explosions in downtown Boston. We followed the news on TV and it was sad and frightening to see how the cheerful atmosphere had so suddenly turned to shock and disbelief. 

From how I experienced it, the following days continued with surprising normalcy albeit the media covered the bombings extensively. We went to Cambridge and back to downtown Boston on day trips and aside from extra police on the subway stops and having our bags inspected at the New England Aquarium, things looked like they used to. Our plans about driving out of the city came to a halt Friday morning, when we heard about the lockdown in our neighborhood: we shouldn't leave our building. (The part of Watertown where they suspected the man to hide is about 4km from our place.) We tried to cancel our rental car, but nobody answered the phone at the car agency. It was closed down as was the rest of the neighborhood. We could hear police sirens and helicopters throughout the day, and the streets and parking lots around us were strangely quiet. Silja played with friends in our building, and the rest of us ate cake and changed between following the news intensely and having too much of it. By the time they finally caught the guy in the evening we were watching a movie, but could hear the cheers out on the balcony from people in the neighborhood. We had all been trapped inside the entire day, and it was such a relief for everyone when the drama and suspense finally was over.

I got two little ones keeping me too busy to follow the aftermath too closely, but there seems to be a strong sense of community and togetherness growing out of everything that happened last week, which reflects in the new mantra of the city and it's people: Boston strong.

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two kids

I meant to write about how it is having two kids now, but I've just been staring at the pictures and folding a pile of laundry (all that laundry!) and now it's way past my bedtime, so I save the words for later. It's only been a month, but if there is one thing I have learned then it is that sleep, precious sleep, is key to having energy to manage it all these days. I will be back with more soon.

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grandparents visiting Boston

With Easter came spring, and it's so so nice. We went to Rockport over the weekend to enjoy the nice weather along with Bjarni's parents, who came to visit. It's been great sharing a bit of our Boston-life with them over the past week and a half, not least for the kids. Grandparents visiting is way better than a Skype call.

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sun

Like many newborns Jonas is slightly yellow here in the beginning and we've been recommended by the doctor to leave him undressed by a window in the sun every day for a short while. So there he is on a fantastic homemade baby blanket given by a friend, stretching his toes and looking at his big sister who wants to hold hands, sing songs, and give hugs.

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Jonas

He's here! A perfect, hungry and healthy little brother who got the name Jonas Egill Bjarnason (middle name after his paternal great grandfather in Sauðakrókur).

It all took a little more waiting than probably anticipated in the last post. Another snowstorm moved in and covered everything in white, and while there were signs of labor being close, nothing happened. Silja kept asking 'when is he coming, when is he coming', and finally suggested we should call him to ask when he was planning to come. At last I was given a time for induction, and gave up on the idea of going into labor on my own (again). We went out for dinner the night before I was going to the hospital, celebrating our last night as family of three. When putting Silja to bed I realized periodic cramps, and lo and behold it turned out I was having contractions. They continued through the night, and at 5am we woke up Silja, who was first confused but quickly ready to go and play with her little friend Leon as planned, when she heard that now the baby was ready to come. At the hospital I was admitted to a birthing room, feeling proud and happy that my body managed to get to this point on its own. I got an epidural, which worked absolutely amazingly and hours later a slippery and warm baby was placed in my arms, while Bjarni cut the umbilical cord.

He has been checked a little extra given the concerns that we faced during the pregnancy and thankfully thankfully everything looks good! He will continue to have a few extra check ups, but we are told there should be nothing to worry about. All tests, numbers and examinations are good. We are home from the hospital and although I'm sure these first days or weeks at home in any family are always a state of bliss with a newborn who is just sleeping, I think we enjoy this healthy baby boy a little extra. We were literally hours from ending the pregnancy back in the fall, and looking at him now it really feels like a little miracle that we made it this far with a perfect little being as the end result. If anything this journey has taught me that healthy babies are not a given outcome.

As for spring we still need to be patient. 10-20 cm of snow is expected on Tuesday, but really... who cares about that right now :)

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waiting for spring and a baby... almost there.

After weeks of freezing temperatures, today was sort of spring'ish, and it felt soo good and energizing! 

A lot of the snow has melted, finally making it manageable with a stroller and my big bump to actually get out and move away from our own little neighborhood and join a playgroup with friends somewhere else. The past many weeks it seems we've been in hiatus at home, which has been good and needed too. I've been working on different baby prepping projects and we've gotten to know our neighbors in the building a lot better - we have the nicest neighbors! Now the baby crib needs another round of paint and the blanket I've been working on needs a last row of stitches, and then I think we are pretty much ready to welcome this little brother. Until he shows up I'm enjoying these last days of having only Silja to care for -- and with this nice weather, actually getting out and about like we used to. 

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hearts

I guess we are like most Europeans when it comes to Valentines Day: it's not a huge ordeal. But when in Rome... you might as well make the most of it. And I suppose you (me!) get smitten by the surroundings that all of a sudden are full of hearts, flowers and chocolate. So we've been crafting with hearts and eating a heart shaped cake or two (yesterday with the accompanying Happy Birthday, because cakes in Silja's book is related to birthdays strictly).

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