Introducing Elliana Joy

We are reviving the blog, perhaps temporarily, to introduce you to our newest blessing, Elliana Joy.

Stats:
Elliana was born at 5:17 a.m. on April 17.
She weighed 8 pounds even and was 21.5 inches long.
She shares with Talia the distinction of being called by her doctor, "One of the least jaundiced babies ever." I guess we have pink babies. :)
She had the highest Apgar of the evening, according to the Nurse-Midwife who delivered her.

Appearance:
You will see for yourself, but she most resembles Talia (which means she is adorable)! We are amazed at how similar they look when looking at Talia's baby pictures. Ellie has dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. I think her nose is slightly more Thomasson and her lips are thinner like mine.

Her Name:
After the difficulty of cancer and the great likelihood that we would never be able to have another child, the blessing of Elliana deserved a name that reflected the miracle that she is. Elliana is of Hebrew origin and means, "the Lord has responded" or "God has answered." Two of our biggest prayers were answered last year. First in Jon's healing from cancer. Second, in the conception of Elliana. Jon is credited with the discovery of her name. To clarify, her name is pronounced ElliAWna, with a Hebrew "a" rather than an English "a." We chose to spell her name with two Ls to transition easily to her nickname, Ellie. We used one N to differentiate from the common pronunciation of Anna (such as the Spanish Ana). Her middle name, Joy, probably needs no explanation. The Lord has given us joy!

Her Birth:
Feel free to skip this section if you have no interest in reading about labor and delivery. But I know many are interested so I am happy to share our experience. You could say this was a very long labor, or a very short one. Ellie was due April 15. Early in the morning on the 16th I began having labor type contractions. They were sporadic and spaced between 8 minutes apart and 30 minutes apart. After five hours of contractions, they ceased and I finally got some sleep. The next day brought occasional contractions, strong enough to force me to practice my relaxation techniques, but light and inconsistent enough to continue with my day. The contractions tapered off and stopped at bedtime. At 3:00 a.m. I awoke with a strong "wobble wobble gush" and it was clear my water had broken. We called over Jon's parents and headed to the hospital when they reached the house. By the time we arrived at the hospital at 3:40, I was in serious labor and moving quickly towards transition. I don't think Triage is used to labor progressing this quickly, as they hooked me up to monitors, took vitals, and left. Jon and I realized I was in transition (self doubt reigned and I began asking for medication) and Jon had to leave the room to get someone to finally check for dilation. After the nurse checked me, the room sprung to life. An OB was called to approve my admission and I was quickly taken to a labor delivery room. I don't think I was in that room more than 15 minutes before I had to push. I think I had 6 pushing contractions, two before the team was ready and four working contractions before Ellie was born. My nurse midwife, Marci, was amazing. She was calm, encouraging, and allowed me to work at my own pace. Elliana was born at 5:17 and had a spectacular cry. She was incredible and I couldn't wait to hold her! With the exception of post labor contractions, my recovery has been much quicker. My pre-pregnancy energy has been quickly returning and I have been feeling better than I had felt in many months.

Peronality:
As I write this, Ellie is only 10 days old. With that in mind, our observations are not meant to peg her for life. As she was in the womb, Elliana appears to be fairly easy going. She doesn't cry excessively and is easy to console when she does. Ellie smiles frequently. While the smiles may not yet express pleasure, she has such a look of contentment and joy throughout the day. Ellie even smiles in her sleep. Following in Talia's footsteps, she eats and sleeps well.

Talia, the Big Sister:
Talia is an amazing big sister. She is very helpful, complimentary of Elliana, tender, and very interested in spending time with her little sister. She asks to hold her and loves to watch her sleep. Talia can be very sensitive when I nurse Ellie, asking to be held and sometimes crying. We are just trying to make sure she gets plenty of affection and attention from each of us. Aside from her increased sensitivity, Talia has really been making a smooth transition from only child to big sister.

Second Time Parents:
So far, having a newborn seems easier than last time. I think we have more confidence and are more laid back. I feel like I am enjoying this special time more because I am not stressing about "doing things right." Naturally, we are a bit sleep deprived, but we are thoroughly enjoying every minute as a family of four.

Pictures!

Talia's latest music video

Talia Is...

Tender: Talia can be so cuddly, loving, and sweet. She showers us with "uhwuvuhs" (I love you), hugs, and kisses, and she loves to be held. Recently, I was at the store shopping the meat aisle when Talia reached over and gave me a big hug! It was quite out of the blue and so special! Her tender embraces melt our hearts and bring us such joy.

Moody: Everything written above is dependant on mood! Sometimes we ask for or offer said hugs, kisses, and cuddles. Reaction: "NO!" and run away. Sometimes it's a game and she wants us to work for her loving, other times she would rather be doing something else!

A Peek-A-Boo Fanatic: Talia could play Peek-A-Boo all day. She uses her hands, blankets, hats, doors, stuffed animals, and anything else at her disposal. Before long all three of us are busting up! She even plays Peek-A-Boo with our borrowed cat, Tiki.








Goofy: Talia loves to entertain us. She loves to see the world from a different angle (upside down, in a box, through her fingers, etc.). The other day Daddy was resting on the carpet. Talia came along and placed her potties (unused, we are allowing her to become comfortable with them before beginning training) along his back and legs. Talia likes to put things on her head or on ours and declare it a "hatah." Items include boxes, doilies, bags (we put a quick end to that one), headbands, glasses, toys, and even underwear.
















Talkative: She loves to talk to us and her stuffed animals. She knows and uses many nouns and verbs. She is learning adjectives (such as colors, other as in "other foot," this, that, yummy, yuck, stinky, good, etc.). She listens to everything. Jon and I will be talking on our walks while Talia "looks" like she is paying no attention. Suddenly she will repeat or react to something we say. For example, we can't say park, Grandma or Grandpa, food, drink, walk, store, and more without a reaction. She has even learned the spelling of a couple words (E-L-M-O and D-R-I-N-K). She loves to have us sing to her and calls singing "La La La." Sometimes she has a sing-songy voice or hums. She calls animals by their sounds rather than their names, "bah", "moo", "neow", "ha ha" (aka hee haw), "whoo whoo", "woof woof", guttural sound (oink), scratchy "ahh ahh" (quack quack), "hee hee hee" (monkey), etc.



A Dancer: One of Talia's favorite activities is dancing in the arms of Mommy or Daddy. She asks us to turn on music then says, "dih dih." She loves waltzes and songs with a strong or fast beat.



Observant: Talia notices everything! She can spot a balloon, animal, or character from far away. She likes clothes. I recently put on a dress Talia had never seen. She looked at it and said, "uhwuvah." Seemingly out of the blue Talia will say "dih dih whoo whoo." Sure enough, we hear the very distant rumble of the train. Talia notices items out of place or on the floor. Sometimes she puts them back or says, "uh oh" to let us know something fell. At home and elsewhere she notices little pieces of dirt or crumbs on the floor and says, "bluah" (yuck).


Part African? Talia loves to smell spices. The odd thing is that her "word" for spices is a clicking sound. We have no idea where she came up with that way of communicating spices. Apparently Jon is related to Booker T. Washington, so maybe Talia has ancestry in a clicking tribe? :)


A Lap Lover: Talia loves to sit on our laps while she plays. She will pat the ground or a chair and say, "sih." If we are sitting on the ground, she will inevitably back her caboose right onto our laps. She often brings books, toys, or stuffed animals with her.




A Little Mommy: Talia loves her stuffed animals and babies. She almost always has at least one in her arms, sometimes as many as four. She feeds them, puts them on the potty, puts them to bed, and even prays with them. Talia makes her "friends" talk and make sounds (like eating or snorring). Her "friends" even know sign language! Talia can spend half an hour playing house, making food in her kitchen, and reading to her stuffed animals. She is generally very gentle with her "friends," rocking, hugging, kissing, and tenderly holding them. One day at the park Talia saw two girls playing roughly with a baby doll. Talia was noticibly upset. She tried to go "rescue" the baby doll now laying discarded on the ground. I stopped her, and it's a good thing since the girls loudly let her know that it was their doll and she couldn't touch it. Watching Talia with her stuffed animals brightens our days and makes us prayerful that she will someday have her own family to love with tender care.






Sensitive: Talia likes to see kids, but can be very shy and nervous around them. Ever since a little boy chewed Talia out for no apparent reason, sending her crying back to me in tears, Talia has been worried about her well being around other children (the boy did this twice, I might add, with his mom sitting there mumbling, "that wasn't nice"). Now she hovers around me watching them until she feels safe enough to approach. She will begin to share or play around them until they make a sudden move or try to touch her. At that point, she runs back to Mommy or Daddy. She has warmed up to Anna and her cousins. We are looking forward to giving her more opportunities to be around other children in the near future. When Talia feels safe, she can be a ham. For example, at the grocery store she was standing on the floor holding my hand. A toddler close to her age was close by confined to a cart. Talia started to perform. She danced, clapped, waved, said "hi" numerous times, and generally showed off her repertoire of talents. The toddler just watched her with little expression.


A Gigantic Blessing! Our lives are so full and we are so thankful. Having Talia has brought an even deeper understanding of God's love for us. He is that perfect father that loves, trains, and guides us.

Months in Review

The aforementioned avalanche experienced a deep freeze. The cold front, coming from the realms of Facebook, swept accross my laptop. I am forecasting a thaw, as Talia is nestled in her crib, Jon works steadily at his computer, and I sit with a mug of hot water (blame Yael for that idea). Will this impending warm front be sufficient to dislodge the avalanche of experiences from the last several months?

AUGUST

My last detailed post dates back to Talia's birthday. After her big day, Talia learned to stand (without assistance). Notice her concentration as we happened to capture this momentous occasion.



Gas prices soared so Jon wisely created our Summer List. This list of staycations gave us something to look forward to without breaking the bank. He chose several historical and enjoyable outings within a 50 mile (or so) radius. The first spot on the list was Bridgeport.

Bridgeport is one of the largest double span covered bridges in North America. We visited the bridge, picniced, geocached, and hiked. Here are a few highlights.







SEPTEMBER

On September 1st we drove to Empire Mine. This hard rock gold mine opperated until the 1950s and consisted of 367 miles of underground tunnels and mine shafts. In addition to the mines, buildings, museum, and mining machinery, the park boasts admission to the Bourn estate and its surrounding acres of gardens.







One highlight of September was our (Talia and I) trip to Texas. You can read about that trip in a previous post.

Our next adventure took us to Coloma and the James Marshall Discovery Park. We visited the place where gold was first discovered, ushering in the Gold Rush of 1849. In addition to visiting the historic sites and museums, we hiked, picniced, and geocached.







Mike and Evelyn invited us to welcome autumn with a trip to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm.











It was in September that we learned Jon was very sick. This month began a nearly six week series of tests and appointments to determine the cause of his illness. We had weekend trip to Tahoe in October and a week long vacation to Sea Ranch planned for early November. Jon's doctor told us that he needed to stay close to home while they researched his diagnosis and planned treatments. Jon's doctor called the morning of our trip to Bishop's, we got home, packed, and left on an "emergency" trip to Lake Tahoe.







OCTOBER

One of the highlights of October was Talia's first steps. You can see her first steps on video below. Here she is enjoying her new found freedom.



We joined Mike on a trip to Apple Hill. Cold weather and illness kept some of the family home, but the rest of us had a great time.









NOVEMBER

Come November, we did our civic duty, and enjoyed the benefits. Thank God for America (and Starbucks)!







We enjoyed rather temperate weather. Talia spent quite a bit of time outdoors, playing, on walks, and geocaching.











This Thanksgiving was extra special since all 20 Thomassons were finally together again. We had a great time. After Thanksgiving, we went to Fairy Tale Town. Talia also had her first paid babysitter (with nine of her cousins) while the adults enjoyed a quadruple date.















We bought Talia a kitchen for Christmas. The only problem was we couldn't wait for Christmas to give it to her. She loves it and can cook and explore for hours. Here she is playing in her new kitchen.



There are so many more pictures of Talia if you go to our Flickr album. It is hard to select a few pictures when there are so many more worthy of posting.

DECEMBER

Talia is waking and it is time for me to get dinner started. I will continue with December soon (no promises :)).