sibling love.

she’s here!

after making us wait some overdue days, claire entered the world quickly on a clear, calm early morning.

the parking meter ticket at the hospital read 5:28am and she was born at 6:11am on friday, april 24th, 2009.

claire (clear and bright) ellery (cheerful)

8lbs, 2 ounces 21 inches

there was some concern with baby distress and a heart rate that lowered with labour- but with a few hours of monitering in the nursery she was deemed healthy. audrey’s taken to her and we’re all loving our new little family!

to better things,

steph

waiting.

we’re still waiting.  waiting on the world to change…

to better things,

steph

soon to be sibling.

photo credit to sharalee prang; images of life.

The Things I Carry on This Thursday.

 The Things I Carry on This Thursday.

Stephanie Strauss Hall

It’s a Thursday morning and my daughter, ever the early riser, bounds into my room and leaps onto the bed. “It’s morning time Mommy!” She says this every morning as soon as daylight seeps into the blinds in her eastern facing bedroom waking her up.

I pick her up, slung on my left hip, her soft arms reach around my neck, and I carry her down the stairs. Even though she is fully capable to walk, it has become our ritual. Her waffle-weave pink pyjamas, littered with little designs of penguins and hearts smell like yesterday’s fresh laundry. I know one day she will be too big to carry down the stairs, and so I oblige the request.

The burr grinder sits patiently on the kitchen counter as I turn the dial just so and it makes its constant hum of fresh coffee grounds. The smell is spicy and earthy and rich. The kettle whistles away on the stove with its impatient steam of water, wanting, begging my attention. My coffee cup is smaller these days, I’m trying to cut back for the little life that is forming in my womb- yet I can’t quite go without coffee entirely.

I carry my handmade, green glazed pottery mug to our antique table (that so desperately needs refinishing) and my daughter and I set about eating our breakfast. We talk of the daily activities, we talk about nothing, and we talk about putting more soft, brown sugar on our porridge.

It’s midmorning and the sun is high in the sky. It’s undeniably bright, the type of sunlight that requires sunglasses. Our car follows the gentle curves of the road that I know so well. We park and scurry into the dirty white warehouse building that houses my daughter’s dance studio.

I carry her champagne coloured ballet slippers, with the heather gray soles in my purse. We do a quick change from the cobalt blue rubber boots she insisted on wearing to her delicate, feminine slippers. She leaps and twirls and spins across the mirrored room as the mother’s line the wall watching in our hard, plastic chairs.

The day goes by quickly, the sun sets earlier these autumn days. There is a perfect hour- the golden hour- just before the sun sinks into the horizon. In this hour everything glistens and gleams and glows. I and a newly engaged couple are meandering through the local park for an engagement photo shoot. The sun casts sideways in between the trees illuminating their new love.

I carry my black camera bag as it hangs over my right shoulder. I’m used to the familiar weight of my camera as I gather it in my slightly red, mottled and cold hands. There’s no time for gloves, I need to adjust all my settings. In my gear bag I carry my flash, extra batteries, extra memory cards, extra everything because I always want to be prepared. I interact and instruct the couple for photos, giving gentle guidance as the ochre and toffee stained leaves above us float effortlessly to the ground.

The sunlight has faded; twilight has arrived and the neighbourhood street lights are beginning to flicker and hum as they rouse for the evening. I am carry my camera gear into the house, carry my tired body upstairs to the washroom and melt into a puddle under the warm stream of a soothing shower.

As the handmade soap glides in lavender scented bubbles across my body, I feel the extra weight that is starting to gather at my midsection. I carry a life, a small person that will have a favourite colour one day, a favourite cereal one day, a passion and fervour for things I do not yet know. I carry the hopeful addition to our family who we anticipate the arrival of when the pastel pink cherry blossoms erupt with bloom next spring.

I absentmindedly step into my pyjamas to signal the day’s almost done. I make one last trek to the kitchen to heat up the kettle for its final duty of the day. The kettle seems more patient at nine o’clock in the evening than early morning. My tannin marked tea cup- the one with the faded lemon motif on the outside of the cup holds my tea bag. The green ginger tea wafts up to my nose and steams my freshly moisturized face.

I carry my tea, secure in my right hand, upstairs to the bedroom. I crawl into my bed, deep under the chocolate coloured duvet. The lamp on my night table beckons for more time. I read and sip, read and sip. Then I turn out the light.

***** 

written october 2008 for a writing class assignment.

i used the idea of light (natural and artificial) to carry the day, along with the physical things that i also carried.  the descriptive, physical elements are used to give a glimpse into a random day of mine (whether it be a thursday or otherwise). 

to better things,

steph

30 weeks.

30 weeks. photo credit to sharalee prang; images of life.

(on the other side of the camera for once!) 

to better things,

steph

baby (GIRL) bump.

5 months.

after some hullabaloo with the ultrasound experiences,  we now know that we have a seemingly healthy baby GIRL on the way!  we’re all excited.

to better things (more pink and lavender anyone?),

steph

baby proof.

baby proof:

inside

   and outside. 

to better things,

steph

heartbeat.

baby 2.0 has a heartbeat.  i heard it today for the first time.  for those interested in the stats it was 150 bpm.

and most importantly…  there was only one heartbeat!  

phew.

steph

5 things i’m loving right now.

1.  starbucks winter blend.  available at costco for a reasonable price.  it’s in the dark blue packaging with snowflakes adorned on the outside of the bag.  i’m slowly getting back into coffee.  i think the morning sickness is slightly abating and i crave the occasional cup again.  this coffee is hands down fantastic- it’s earthy, and spicy, and just the thing for a crisp morning.

2.  my new slippers.  they’re totally old lady slippers- isotoner brand with soft lining and a leather sole- but they are the best thing to put on these ice cube feet of mine.  london drugs.  $10.00. 

3.  christmas music.  i must explain myself.  toddlergirl is completely and utterly freaked out by halloween.  i like halloween.  i would love to take her trick or treating just to show off her cuteness and accquire some candy loot -  but she is adamantly set against it.  so- we skip halloween around here and look straight on forward to the next holiday: christmas.  therefore the christmas music has been dug out of the crawl space and toddlergirl is already singing with vigor.

4.  baby names.  we’re starting to peruse baby names.  we’ve got awhile to go, but names are so fascinating to me.  the origin, the meanings, the syllables, initials…

as usual, we will remain top secret with the names until the baby is born.  but until then- it is great fun to see what names we like.

5.  friends.  i’m always thankful for friends, but as of late we’ve done a lot of catching up.  we’ve had a chance to meet new friends, old friends- high school friends, college friends.  we’ve spent the last couple of weekends in some serious social happenings and it’s been a blast.

to better things,

steph