Long Time...

It's been a long time since my last post, and so much has happened that it's hard to know what to blog about or where to start.

Christmas has been and gone.  We had a quiet christmas at home, with no obligations to visit anyone or rush here or there.  In some ways it was nice to not have the fuss and bother, and yet... my favourite part of the day was a long 3 way skype visit/conversation with family who are far away.

We felt the love of family with piles of gifts from near and far,

we had 'stockings' in the style I grew up with,

and we made a delightful mess.

After Christmas was over we began the waiting game.  We were waiting eagerly for our special new arrival.  After being advised by a doctor that our baby would probably arrive early and it was vitally important that I get to a hospital as soon as I suspected I was in labour, we decided to take it easy and not venture too far from home.  We did manage a trip to the beach and a few other outings, but not as many as I had hoped.

Finally... on Monday the 16th of January (TWO days late, thankyou Dr...), at 2:59pm, our beautiful new Princess made her arrival, weighing a hefty 4250grams (9lb 6oz).

Elizabeth Faith Gellert

So far she has been loved, cuddled, kissed and generally doted on by all her siblings, as well as her Daddy and Mummy.  I am daily amazed again at the miracle of a baby, at how perfect are their tiny fingers and toes, andhow beautiful her eyes are and the cute little faces she makes when she is sleeping and ... well, everything really.  God has been VERY good to us.

Bethy, so far, has been a very good baby.  I'm not sure if it's because she is number five and has to fit in, or if she is just naturally easy going.  She cries when she is hungry, needs a nappy change or has a tummy pain, but otherwise whe sleeps or lays quietly observing what is going on in the world around her.  If she is left alone for awhile when she is awake she will give a little cry, not a distressed cry, but a "Hello, is there anyone to talk to?" kind of a cry.  When the kids were still at home, she rarely had moments of being left alone, so this week she is learning that Mummy and Daddy can't spend all day looking at her (even though they would like to).

Some highlights of her life so far are:

    *Ezra's delight on arrival at the hospital as he told me "I'm not the youngest anymore!  I'm a BIG brother!"

    *Watching Tim's gentleness and patience as he cuddles her or talks to her in her waking moments.  He has been SO helpful and adoring of her.  Almost every morning he knocks softly on our door, asking if he can come in and look at her as she is sleeping.  He has trouble getting out of the car while she is still in her carseat, as he just wants to stop and look at her and kiss her.  (Makes it hard for the kids behind him who do want to get out and can't get past him though...)

    *Watching Ben read to her and point out pictures in the book he's looking at, and seeing his disappointment at not getting to cuddle her in bed (not that I like to see him so sad, but it's nice to see he loves her so much).

    *Watching Abby hold her, tell her stories and chat to her about life in general.

    *Having Ezra give a running commentary on her as we prepare tea.  He stood near her and every few minutes he would come bounding across the room to gleefully declare "She did another pop-off!" or "She's got the hic-cups.  I didn't give them to her, see I haven't got hic-cups, but somebody else gave them to her!"  Each declaration was followed by a delightful little giggle from him and then he'd rush back to her side to wait for the next thing to happen.

And now... she has decided it is lunch time, so I will have to stop.