Well, before catching everyone up on the last 5 months, let me start with the latest:Natasha is walking!She is loving it.The look she was getting on her face as she crossed the living room was fantastic; arms held stiffly out, body tottering, face concentrating at first, then brightening with excitement with every step, she would arrive at my open arms a bundle of joy.But I write in past tense.That was a few weeks ago.Now walking is old hat– the new new is finding new places, and getting to where she wants to go. Gotta feel good.
Speaking of Natasha, I hear from the other room that it is time to have dad back.(I took a few minutes of valuable writing time to post the new header).Hopefully I’ll be back in a few minutes, but if not. More soon…
P.S. Pics from trip home are now posted.We did not replace our point and shoot till the end though. Was fantastic seeing everyone. Thanks again to those of you that helped make the whirlwind tour possible: yeah, I’m talking about Corey and Gillian Linberg, Great Uncle Patrick and Aunt Susan, Mike and Mel Coulter,Uncle Matt and Aunt Tina, all the Grandparents, especially Norm (thanks again for the wheels and the wings!), Misty, and many others.Thanks!!!
We are not finding the time for a “real” post. I (j) keep thinking it is on the upcoming weekend… Life is good, but busy; and we are trying to keep the balance. At least we have had a chance to post some pics, and a fun movie of Natasha and the “i’m gonna get you” game. See the flickr site. More soon.
Random nature moment: Last weekend, the four of us hiked down to the river from our place. At the river Wendy found a spider the size of an argentine ant that had a metallic silver conical butt. Wild. Then we watched it act out “shooting” its invisible web, then cinching it tight once it attached to the nearest object. Then, no acting involved, it started its escape– crawling perfectly horizontal. We repeated a couple times to discern that it was using the wind to shoot the web. Nice to finally figure out how they do that.
When I was sitting on my board after that special moment, I was wondering if I should write a poem about it. Just then two dolphins porpoised right in front of me. “Done,” I thought. I wonder if it was the same two?
Things are going great here, just a bit busy. Natasha is growing and changing increadibly. On the surface: she is no longer a brunette– now a blonde. We did not dye here hair, promise. Teeth are coming in too, early. They surfaced at four months. Pre-Dawn is a good time to be awake, they say. Also we got her official birth certificate: Natasha Kate Nolitha Gallo. Nolitha means “warm like the rising sun” in Xhosa. John learned the name last winter when he visited their village. And after we got to know her, decided that it had to be part of her name.
WE don’t know where the time goes. But, we have managed to update the Flickr site. A highlight was visiting Addo Elephant National Park in March. Flickr set with those photos is linked below and on right side bar. We had a fun Braai (BBQ) with fire dancing on Earth Day. alas, no pictures, were caught up in the moment. And, big news today, 6 chicks hatched! Ok, maybe that is not such big news compared to this: we are coming home early summer for a visit! Yay. Then John heads to Society for Conservation Bio conference. Then we are probably going to come back here and hit up the Kalahari, with the wonder Bean and world traveler Cory G! Super stoked they are making it out.
new sets: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgallo/sets/72157604744622411/show/
Companion post to the below: One of the great perks of having visitors is that we get to check places out. A couple of non-work days in the Little Karoo (the study area) were especially nice. Again, the other pics are at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgallo/sets/72157603843532817/ these are just a few:
Rock to Root
chillin with Mr. Frog
Getting checked out by the Baboon Family
(Note, two days later: I think the photo of the Patriarch and his fangs is better, gotta roll now though. It is on the flickr site)
Thanks everyone for the outpouring of love and support. It was especially fun to get the comments on the blog as they rolled in. E-mails were wonderful too. Thanks!
Big news here is that we had some wonderful guests. My fam came for Christmas, and Wendy’s Mom and Aunt came a few weeks later. Both great visits. Some pics, and the slideshow, are linked below.
As you can see in the previous post, Natasha is healthy and happy. Wendy and I are tired, but healthy and happy as well. Time has taken on a whole new dimension though. It is really tough to stay on top of life, and meet all the work deadlines. But Elias and Nick have inspired me to get organized and post the latest pics. Priorities.
We miss you all, and are really looking forward to being with you again.
Love,
John (And, from the other room, Wendy, Natasha, and Indi)
SOme of the Pics are below, the rest are at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgallo/sets/72157603841653348/ click “view as slideshow” if you have a fast connection. you can see the picture titles using the options tab in slideshow mode.
Painting the belly cast
Family Photo: (For those of you who have not met my Fam yet, this is Wendy and I, then Diva, and Novia, my Dad (John L.) Natasha, Sabre, and Annie
and a movie. Thanks, Sabre for the mobile. She loves it. (Folks, when you see the “play” triangle in a picture, you can press it and a movie starts playing.)
Natasha Kate Gallo was born at 4:37 PM on December 9th, 2007.We are delighted.Here is a journal entry of the birth and the first week.
Wendy started having contractions on Friday the 7th, and by the evening they were consistent. “Latent Phase” had begun!We did not sleep much that night, and at dawn Saturday we started filling up the birthing pool.By noon, all was in order for the home birth.We wanted to bring the baby into this new world in a calm, quiet, lowlit atmosphere without a bunch of stimuli.Active phase finally started at about 4 or 5 in the afternoon.Wendy was doing amazing at staying calm and handling the pain.It seemed like she went into fully dialated phase at about 9 PM, but then things started going backwards.Then exhaustion was setting in and the pain was getting unbearable.By 3 am Sunday she was back to only partially dilated.So, we went for a relaxing Sunday drive into George, and checked into the hospital.
Natasha’s first moments in her new world
The epidural was such a relief, for both of us.It killed me to see her in that much pain.She got some sleep.Unfortunately, she still did not dilate very much, and by 3 pm we had a tough decision.She was 6 cm dilated (need to get to 10), and feeling strong, but the baby’s heart was indicating signs of distress.We decided to go for the caesarean for the baby’s sake.It was amazing how fast the operation was.We were settling in for the long haul, Wendy had just asked me about chess in an effort to distract her from the pushing and pulling going on inside her belly, when suddenly, boom, there was a baby being held in the air.“It’s a girl!” I said, and Natasha’s first cry echoed through the world.Wendy melted with an avalanche of emotions.
All of that was quickly forgotten as we held Natasha in our arms.She was healthy, (and out) and that is all that mattered.While Wendy was being sewed up, they let me hold Natasha in the recovery room, alone. Away from all the fuss and bustle. They had me take my shirt off so she could get skin to skin contact. Holding your newborn is magic, it feels as if a miracle has just occurred, and if you think about it, one has.
She felt so small and fragile in my arms, but apparently she was averaged sized: 3.4 kg and 58 cm.(What, you don’t use metric?Silly American.That is 7 lbs 8 oz; and 23 in .She has Wendy’s hair and my lips, and the rest seems to be a mix.Right now her eyes are HUGE and almost the color blue of Aunt Annie’s.She had a small birthmark on her temple. I read later that is called a stork bite.Those storks still need to work on their technique apparently.They could have brought her a bit earlier too.Anyway, it is already fading–no lawsuits necessary.
An exhausted but content mother and daughter.
It was great to be in touch with the Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles so quickly.Getting a call on the bedside phone was great, making the 15,000 miles seem a lot closer.We quickly adjusted to our new roles.I overheard Wendy telling my parents when she thought I was sleeping: “a Dad was born as well during my labor.”
So, enquiring minds want to know: how did we choose the name?Wendy and I both have liked the name Natasha for a long time, and it just seemed to fit.Also, the only Natasha we know is awesome, so that is cool too.(Yay Dr. Tash!) Wendy’s mom Gerry suggested the name Kate, and did not even know that is my Mom’s name.We both love the name too, and figured it was kind of a serendipitous thing; we are honored to name our firstborn after MaMa.
Things got better back home. Natasha at four days.
As far as life goes, it has no resemblance at all of life two weeks ago.Sleep is a commodity.But fortunately, our friends here have been lifesavers.They have given or lent a whole suite of baby furniture clothes, and do dads.All the gifts of the Blessing Way are coming in handy.Bethany and Andrew even dropped off a home cooked meal!And everyone has also been respectful of our space and letting us get into a rhythm of some sort.
Fortunately, Tasha’s digestion is coming into its own, and her burps and gas (called winds over here) are getting under control.Wendy’s milk took its time coming in, but is here in force.We are having lots of poopy diapers now.Yay!Wendy is recovering slowly, but steadily.Maybe she’ll be able to post something soon.Frankly, after watching the operation, I am amazed at how fast she is healing.She is a strong woman. Meanwhile, Indi seems to know what and who Natasha is, and is being appropriately respectful. But he is just dying to give her a good lick.
Well, Natasha has been sleeping in her rocker (thanks Mandy) next to me, and is starting to wake up.Miss you all, and glad we can stay in touch this way.There is a cool “comment” link below to add to our list of communication options.The e-mails and skype calls have been great, thanks!Gotta go.
Peace,
Pappa J
P.S. Natasha at 1 week is below, and the oher dozen or so photos are at Flickr as a a Slideshow or Individual Photos. (To clear up some confusion: underlined text, usually colored, is a “hotlink” and if clicked will lead you to the promised webpage).
It was on November 10. Now that Natasha is here, it is hard to write about the wedding. Best to go get som sleep right now. The photos that Andrew Brown took tell a great story. (Link here to the Slideshow or individual photos) Basically, the community and support that everyone brought to the event was very touching. Special thanks go to Jennifer for hosting and catering, Melissa for organizing and the flowers, John-O for the bachelor party and getting me to the wedding on time , Karin and Charlie for the great wine, Garth for organizing the beer, Sarale for the beautiful crown, Andrew for the photos, and everyone for their support and best wishes.
Wendy and I are very blessed to be married to each other and have all of you in our lives.
A great swell rolled through earlier this week. When I got in the water it was chest high, when I left it was overhead and a half and building. Had to pull out the cam. I’ll let the videos speak for themselves:
Here is Stuart getting a ride, followed by ?, possibly Garth.
THis was the start of a sick set, which continues here:
I thought this one was also fun. Garth, I’m pretty sure this was you, was it? You can comment below I think. Let us know, and what you thought about the session k?
"love the life you live...live the life you love." -Bob Marley, repeated by Midnite, and many others...We named the blog this to remind ourselves of this wisdom...
Last 10 Photos Posted on Flickr; click to go there.
Karin and Charlie for the great wine, Garth for organizing the beer, Sarale for the beautiful crown, Andrew for the photos, and everyone for their support and best wishes.
