Christer & Cat

Addison would like to show everyone her new trick. Her baby sister is getting a lot of attention, so everyone look at what she can do!

Pictures are now available in Elizabeth’s Gallery. I apologize for the delay, but I couldn’t find where I had packed up the card reader for the camera. We’ll keep adding to it as we get more. Enjoy!

Elizabeth Marie Edwards- Less than 12 hours old

Well it is the end of Day One with Lizzie and Mommy back home with us. So far things have gone well. Addison is still adjusting, of course. Mostly she is jealous of the attention from her Mom. I’ve been trying to spend extra time with her, but there is only so much a Dad can do. Sometimes she just needs Mom.

Cat and Addison went for a drive this afternoon and ran some errands. That gave them a few hours of girl-time. Daddy stayed home with Lizzie and they both took a nap, which was nice. So far she has been very pleasant–rarely fussy.

I had better get some sleep while I can. It has been a long weekend and I’m sure its only going to get more exciting.

Well, we’ve been at the hospital a total of about eight hours and we’ve managed to come up with another little girl. I swear Catherine is going to win medals someday for her extraordinary baby-pushing abilities. Let me tell you a tale, and we’ll let you decide.

Dad is stretched out on the uncomfortable Father-couches. (You know, those green couches that are not deep enough to get comfortable and not quite long enough to stretch out on, but are there to give visitors the illusion of being welcome. It’s really just a ploy by the Hospital to keep cycling the people through.) He is rudely awakened by Hospital staff moving in carts and monitoring equipment. When he gets the sleep cleared from his eyes he notices that the doctor is already fully covered in plastic. Looks like he’s ready to get dirty.

Dad gets up and stands by Mom’s head. She’s doing great. No pushing yet, just basking in a medical-induced glow. Contractions have been regular and we’ve made a lot of progress while Dad has been napping.

Not a moment later the Doctor says to grab Mom’s leg and hold it up. The nurse on the other side does the same. The Doctor takes a peek and mentions that the baby is facing the wrong way, “but we’ll take care of that with a good solid push.”

Mom pushes. Doctor peeks. Baby is facing the right way. If hindsight were with us, he’d mention that we were now about halfway there.

Doctor tells Mom she can rest for a few minutes. He tilts his head, as if he’s remembering something, and settles his stance for better traction. It’s time to push again.

Dad again helps Mom with the leg and Mom pushes. If it were a cartoon there would have been a loud “POP”. We seem to have the larger part of a baby. How ’bout that! One last mini-push, one that doesn’t even really qualify as a push–more of a grunt–and we’re all done. Good work Mom! The time is 6:23 am.

Baby is long. And Big! When it’s all said and done she is 9lbs, 7oz, 22 inches. All the nurses have wide eyes. The anesthesiologist is in the corner mumbling something about how Mom had enough pain medication to stop an Ox, yet there she is moving her feet already on here own. It’s quite the feat. Dad is quite amazed that in the first twenty minutes of being awake he’s now a Father, again.

We’re still deliberating on the middle name, but Elizabeth is here to stay and she’s a beautiful monster!

Let’s try this again.. (I’ve tried two previous posts and had problems. I blame the Hospital wifi)

Catherine is now all wired up to the warm-and-fuzzies machines here at Davis Hospital. We’ve been here nearly five hours (I’m exhausted!). The doctor is now here and we’re going to get started with having a baby pretty soon. I realize by the time many of you read this the baby will likely already be here, but I need something to do to keep me awake here tonite. (Perhaps I should try to nap a little bit on this horrible green couch.)

More news as it comes. Updates will likely make it to Facebook before they make it here.

During dinner we were watching the news and a short segment came on regarding the Iranian Election. For those that haven’t been following the news on the issue, things are getting rough out there. The incumbent president has stolen the election and the streets of Tehran are filled with protestors asking “Where is my vote?”. People are being arrested and even killed, yet the protestors are trying very hard to be peaceful. I have heard reports today that they gathered in silence in Tehran. One report said you could hear a pin drop. Our entire lives we have heard about “those that fought for our freedoms”, but the words really come to life when you can watch that very thing happen nearly in real-time via services like Twitter and Facebook.

The reason that I wanted to write about this is that a portion of that news segment talked about “cyber warriors” in the US and around the globe that have been working hard poking holes in the Iranian firewalls. The same firewalls the incumbent president is using to try and limit communication outside the country. According to reports from protesters inside the country he has blocked access to sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and similar sites that these people might use to communicate with the outside world. It is only through the work of these outside volunteers that they have been able to share their stories and continue to coordinate and plan their rallies.

I couldn’t help but feel a real sense of pride hearing about this on the national news. Why? For the last few days I have been one of those volunteers. I have been forwarding information via Twitter. I have created two proxy servers (a proxy server is a service that can mask the source of an internet connection, effectively unblocking these blocked services) for these protesters to use. I have even published instructions on how others might do the same thing.

While I am not educated on the issues facing Iran, or the political stances of the candidates I do support the freedom of the citizens to decide who they want to lead them. I am pro-freedom of choice, not pro-candidate.

I felt like I should document this today. I want my children to know someday that their Father was a part of something like this. This entire situation feels very historic and, depending on the outcome, could become even more so. I hope the people of Iran are able to gain increased freedom as a people and I applaud those around the world who are helping to make that happen.

I’m sure you all know that we’re going to have a new addition to our family before the month is out. The Dr has told Catherine to keep the baby in there just two more weeks and then she can come whenever she is ready. This time I think its snuck up on me, and I realize we haven’t decided on a middle name yet. I’m hoping you can give us some feedback..

We have decided that we like the first name “Elizabeth”, and we will likely call her “Liz” or “Lizzy”.

Elizabeth _____ Edwards

What goes with that? I kind of like Ann(e). What do you like? Vote in the poll or leave a comment with suggestions.

This post is going to be long, but hopefully worth it Addison and I went and visited Shaun, Janelle and Preston last week in California. We had a blast and loved all the activities we were able to do. Here are some pictures and videos of the week. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do!

Monday we left and of course the flight was right during her naptime. She did fine, had a few cranky moments, but I had an extra seat which was really nice. We got there and Preston was too excited to see Addison that he didn’t take a nap either. Both toddlers slept very well that night! We went to several parks while we were out there. I especially loved the last one we went to- it had recycled tire bits as the ground, lots of play areas, a sand pit, swings- the works. It was safe enough that I just let Addison run around. She had a total blast and was talking to any kid that would listen as she ran around in circles. We went to Rubio’s after that because Shaun said that I had to try a fish taco. Yes, that’s right- I had never had a fish taco before in my life. It just sounds (sounded) strange to have fish in a taco- you can have beef, possibly chicken- but fish?! I have to say- *this* particular fish taco was freakin’ amazing! Thank you Shaun for this suggestion.

We went to Stinson Beach on Wednesday. It was warm weather but had an icey breeze that never really let up. The kids had an absolute blast. Addison and I walked up to the water and she was excited/little bit scared of the waves. She loved having the water on her feet. It was really fun to watch. She also dug up some sand, helped me find some sand dollars, and almost had a seagull land on her head. The birds out there were pretty ruthless and kept trying to get at our snacks- even after they took off with our cheese nips and cheese flavored something else… hmmm… coincidence?

We went to some fountains one day too. It was raining, but Addison finally warmed up to it. I think it just startled her at first, it was like a kind of mini Bellagio with music and timed fountain shots. I look VERY prego in this picture! Only a couple months left!

Saturday night we went to Tricks- a children’s gymboree. It was so much fun It was after hours so Shaun and Janelle were cleaning up. We had the whole place to ourselves! Addison LOVED following Uncle Shaun around while he was vacuuming. She would get close to him and then run away thinking he was chasing her- which he caught on pretty quick and actually chased her around. She was able to run and jump and roll on anything she could climb onto- which she’s getting pretty good at!

Congrats to Janelle on running a half marathon! I have to say- I was really impressed

We had a lot of fun just hanging out with Preston, Janelle and Shaun (and Collen and Tim)! Addison had fun in the backyard, feeding herself and the rabbits, chasing and being chased around the kitchen, playing and learning to share toys with Preston- and who can forget bathtime?!

Thanks for the awesome week Shaun and Janelle- We’ll have to get together again soon!

She has yet to do so, but I’m sure Catherine will soon blog about her exciting trip to California this week. Her and Addison left Monday morning to visit Shaun and Janelle (and Preston, of course) for the week, leaving me behind to spend my days at work. One night down and I’m still alive, but after looking through the cupboards this morning I wonder how long I’ll last. Perhaps I got a little bit ahead of myself yesterday by eating all the “good food” during the Heroes and Chuck finales. Perhaps I’m a little bit like a dog in that way—you can’t leave me with a bowl of food because I don’t have the willpower to stop eating it! Ohh well, I’m sure I’ll be fine.. if you don’t see me online (Facebook, etc) on Friday, start to worry.

In any case, I hear Catherine and Addison are having fun in California (despite the overblown “We’re all gonna die” swine-flu reports out there), and I’m sure we’ll see some pictures soon.