The big day finally arrived: Anissa is a big sister!

(And for those of you who have been patiently waiting for more details, let me just say that this is about the seventh time I've sat down and tried to post this. I am determined to put something on tonight!)

Our sweet little girl, Elianne Ranya Mourali, decided to make her entrance on Friday the 16th at 8:08 in the morning. She weighed 7 lb 12 ounces, my exact weight at birth, and is 19 3/4 inches long. We brought her home on Saturday night, and are all already head over heels in love. It's all just as magical the second time around, plus the added bonus of watching her big sister's pride and love blossom. Our family is now complete.

For those interested, I'll share the details of her birth:

One day overdue and getting anxious to meet the acrobat in my belly, I headed over to my midwife's appointment on Thursday afternoon. A check revealed only 1.5 centimeters of dilation, and the midwife did what's called a "membrane sweep" - I'll spare you the details - which can sometimes get contractions going if the body is ready. I was sent home. Mom, Anissa and I did some grocery shopping, and I felt some pains but didn't want to get my hopes up. They got stronger and stronger into the evening, and by about 9 I was pretty sure it was the real thing. Mehdi went to bed around 10, thinking he had better get some rest, but about half and hour later I told him not to bother - we had to go to the hospital soon! I informed Memere that we were leaving, and I wrote a note for Anissa to read in the morning. I called my midwife, we threw some last minute stuff in the suitcase, and a little after midnight we were at the hospital.

My midwife checked me out and I was only 2.5 centimeters, but at least it was progress! We got officially admitted, settled in to our very stylish brand new birthing room. We watched bad late night TV and I walked through my contractions. When the midwife came back to check in an hour later, I was 3.5 centimeters. She offered to call the anesthesiologist for an epidural, but I declined, saying I could wait it out a little longer. Two hours later, I was begging for one - but unfortunately, it was shift change at the hospital and there was no anesthesiologist to be found. I was already at nearly 8 or 9 centimeters, and the midwife offered to break my water so we could get straight to delivery. I was a wimp; I really felt like I couldn't handle the pain anymore, and was terrified to deliver without anything to take the edge off. I opted to wait and see if I could get something, and 10 minutes later my saviour anesthesiologist waltzed in. It was a bit late in the game for an epidural, so I opted for a spinal block (a one shot deal that doesn't last long, which was fine since I was close to the end). Very soon after, I was pushing...and at 8:08, our sweet little darling was in my arms. Mehdi and I were giddily gazing at baby, when one of the nurses asked, "So, what is it?" and we realized we hadn't even checked the sex. A little peak and we discovered that Anissa had got her wish: a little sister!

The rest is a beautiful blur. Elianne is a sweet soul and we are enjoying every second of having her in our family.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Yesterday was Anissa's school Valentine's party, and unlike during the Halloween bash, she actually made a move away from the snack table to participate in some of the activities. She had her face painted, fished, tossed beanbags, and opened her valentines, but I think the highlight was licking the icing and M&M's off the cookie she had decorated.

(Our little baby Valentine has decided not to make an appearance today...unless something changes in the next 3 and a half hours! We were hit by a huge snowstorm today, but Mehdi and a kind neighbour with a snowblower made sure our driveway is clear in case we need to make a night-time dash to the hospital.)

Reading her Valentine's with Memere.

Fishing with Mama.

MMMM....cookies!

The closer I get to Baby #2's due date, the more sentimental I get about Anissa and how grown up she has become. While in one way I can barely remember my life without her, it also feels like yesterday that I watched she and Mehdi gaze into each other's eyes for the very first time at St. Luke's hospital. This little person has completely stolen our hearts, as this soon-to-arrive babe will surely also do, and I am in constantly in awe of the individual she has become. It's a strange mix of feelings to be so proud of someone and all they have become, yet wish you could somehow freeze time and keep them small and innocent forever. I know that the day her sibling comes, as so many people have warned me, Anissa will suddenly seem much older in my eyes, and that piece of me that still sees her as a "baby" will have to let go. So I will try my best to celebrate the person she has become rather than mourn the loss of having her as my baby. Here are some things I want to remember about Anissa at age three and a half:

Her sweetness. She often proclaims her love for me, Mehdi, the baby, her grandparents, and even "everybody in the whole weirld!" (world) And her proclamations are over the top: that she loves us to Alberta and to the sky and to Tunisia and to the moon and around the weirld and back and back again and again forever! She especially makes these proclamations before falling asleep or in the middle of the night, when she is sleepy. She also tells me that she always wanted me for her momma.

The fun she has with Mehdi. When Anissa hears the garage door open when Mehdi comes home from work, she insists - in a total panic - that we both run, quick!, and hide (usually in the coat closet). When he looks for us, she usually pretends she is some sort of animal and growls or roars to help him find us. She shrieks with the same level of excitement each time he opens that door. Then the craziness begins: Anissa and Mehdi spend that half hour or so before dinner either playing "crocodiles! il y'a des crocodiles!" (saving each other from crocodiles) or tag or wrestling or whatever physical play she craves that day. When they go out toboganning together in the yard, I can hear their shrieks and laughter from inside the house.

Her depth. She thinks about some pretty deep stuff, and throws me for a loop with some of her questions. Death is the latest subject of discussion, which I have to admit I avoided for as long as possible. It started with her questions about monsters and dinosaurs: "Mama, monsters never lived, right? But dinosaurs did? Where did they go? Where are they now?" And now it's evolved to people and pets, like Mom and Dad's dog Penny. When I explained that people and animals get old and die, and many people believe they go to a place called Heaven, her only concern was that someone in Heaven would still feed Penny her doggy treats.

Her sense of humour. The girl loves to laugh, and seeks out any excuse to crack up. She's silly and will milk a joke for all its worth. Lately, for example, she plays that she is Mr. Backwards, and can carry on the gag for long stretches of time: saying Bye instead of Hi, walking backwards, etc. Of course, the joke sometimes starts to fade pretty quickly for us, but that's half the fun, right?

I could go on all night - but, truthfully, it's now too close to bedtime and my typing skills are seriously deteriorating. Maybe more soon...