all is (sometimes) calm, all is (usually) bright.

i set very low expectations for christmas time this year. you know, with a new baby and all.

besides the morning when sage snuck downstairs while we were sleeping and emptied every pocket of the beautiful advent calendar my mom put up, there were lots of magical christmasy moments. sage's little dance recital was my first outing without pajamas on. progress!

our shy sagie was so brave to go sit on santa's lap, and then he handed her a coloring page as she walked away. wah wahhhh. no candy canes anymore? whatever.

S doesn't quite grasp the whole what-do-you-want-for-christmas idea and replied, "an orange" when santa asked her. my mama heart swelled with pride. i don't care that she doesn't understand the commercialism of christmas yet, and i love the way she explains what the wise men brought baby jesus..."go-owd, fwankincense, and moww." she's way more interested in the fact that baby jesus slept on hay and that there was a cow watching him from across the stable.

nate talked me into a real live tree this year. the nostalgic evergreen smell has been wafting through our little house, plus we finally put our ornament collection to use. we pick up a new ornament in every country we visit. 

i love remembering the cold and vibrant frankfurt christmas market we waded through to find this one.

and the crazy crowds we pushed through in a shopping complex to find this filipino angel.

nate's siblings arrived in time for christmas eve, and this girl became the center of attention. the night was filled with bowls of tortilla soup, carols, scriptures, and too many hours spent building something wonderful for a lucky little girl. also, who invented the manuals for these play kitchens? we could have used an interpreter, or 100 less screws.

christmas jammies, as per tradition (thanks grandma!)

sage whipped up breakfast for all in her snazzy new kitchen.

sneaky sage ducked under the tape i put up at the top of the stairs and played with her kitchen early in the morning. it wasn't until she asked madi, who was sleeping on the couch, if she wanted some soup that sage was brought back upstairs. trickster!

nate whipped up a gorgeous prime rib dinner for everyone. annnnnnd it was the inauguration of our christmas china.  

 merry christmas!

s + n

before my mom left, belize snapped some photos of the girls. 

i love having little girls...

at the very end, we tried to get a shot of their christmas dresses, but both girls were over it. oh well!

two kids

two kids.
i still freeze up a little when both girls wail at the same time. tricky.
i can also confirm that the most effective torture method on me would be sleep deprivation.
but i looooove having a little baby around here again.

a few photos from my iphone...

we're floundering without grandma around.

sage's real smile is becoming a thing of the past.

nora has to compete with bitty baby. 

sage slides bitty baby into the swing right when i'm about to set N down.
"mom, bitty baby needs to swing," sage explains.

we think this girl is pretty beautiful.

and i got all weepy when packages arrived at our doorstep this week from friends all across the world. this blanket is from nora's singapore "aunties"

nora jane

sweet nora jane was born two weeks ago.

8 pounds, 10 ounces, 20 inches long

she arrived peacefully at 11:42 am on a monday morning.

i was super nervous for this c-section since there were serious complications last time. it felt odd to wake up, shower, do my hair and makeup, and march (waddle) into the hospital to be cut open. but you know what? everything went so well. the doctors were fabulous and took many precautions so that my body wouldn't hemorrhage. my recovery so far has been better too.

of course we're biased, but we think nora is so beautiful. dark, dark hair and chubby cheeks. 

she is mostly sleepy, but likes to be awake in the painfully early hours of the morning too often (!). we love her.

sage loves her too, but is definitely adjusting (that's putting it nicely) to not having my complete attention. 

having my mom here for two weeks was a dream. in the blink of an eye, all my projects were complete, our house was decked out for christmas, some delicious homemade something was always baking in the oven, the girls' room is organized and darling, sage was constantly entertained with crafts and games, and nora was held to her heart's content. she even made a complete thanksgiving spread since we brought nora home that day. we spent our nights watching british dramas and sipping hot chocolate...perfect.

i'm feeling so thankful for these little girls and for our family of four. 

i'll keep reminding myself of that gratitude next week when nate is taking finals and i'm learning the ropes of two kids by myself. here we go!

most of the photos by belize meri photography

cameron crazies

for my college basketball-loving husband, a major draw of coming to duke was jabari parker. i have to admit that i was even stoked to watch this kid play ball at cameron indoor. we took advantage of the "family game" (a.k.a. you're allowed to sit down on the crazy uncomfortable wood benches instead of standing the entire game, which is like a religion for duke fans) before baby N came and dressed up S in her cheer costume. we're breeding her to be a cameron crazy!

we got on the jumbotron twice...once when i danced with sage, and once when all the MBA kids were on their parents' shoulders together.

on our way out, a security guard asked when i was having a baby (in two days) and quickly said, "girrrrrrl, whatch you doin here? go HOME!"

nate's got a ticket for the duke vs. unc game,
but now i'm thinking i need to fenagle a way in there too.