Emily Clare and her wee new cousin.

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Auntie Fleur meets the latest petal in our family bouquet.

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Duckens

Rosabel is trying to teach Duckens that Star Trek hand sign thingy. I'm not sure where she learnt it herself - probably YouTube.

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Thawed

Summer has arrived in Lancaster! Get out the suncream, buckets and spades, it's time to play in the garden!

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Weighty Walton

Another Weighty Walton (tautological, perhaps, but worth emphasising nevertheless).

Rosabel was supposed to lose a bit of weight - apparently it's some sort of polite custom for full-termingtons - but, no doubt due to her recusant inheritance, she has, so far, subverted this established, enlighteniment principle at every opportunity, preferring instead to gain several ounces for the occasion of each weigh-in... the midwives squint suspiciously at a rather empty-looking metre-long box of Jaffa Cakes leaning against the piano... This morning Rosabel was a very generous 7lb 10. By my reckoning, bearing in mind inflation & global warming, this means Rosabel will have overtaken Violet in weight by June 14th 2011, just in time for elevenses.

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Awake

Home in Lancaster, Rosabel wakes up for the longest sustained period yet. She loves hearing her big sisters reading with mummy.

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:-)

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Merry Christmas!

Gaudete! He is here, flesh and blood,
Born of she, that Spotless Rose,
Born to the poor in the filth, in the mud:
The Torah, Logos, the incarnate Good.

Gaudete! A child eternally Spoken,
Cradled by the Teenage Queen,
The Word of Love for all to hope in,
"This is for you: My Body, broken."

Gaudete! Gaudete! Praise the Mystery,
Father, Son and Breath of Life;
The sacred koan: the One is Three,
In the beginning, right now, forever to be.

Jw

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Dancing with mini-Martin

LoL

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Welcome, Fr Nolan!

A wise man journeyed from afar, bearing a Texan twang and a Roman blessing:

Back in July 2007, during a visit to his surrogate home-parish of Lancaster, the then seminarian Nolan Lowry served the altar of our Nuptial Mass (you can see a photograph of the first-dance taken by a certain Lanky Anglican on the wall in the top left hand corner), so it's a real delight to see Fr Nolan, now ordained, when he nips over from Rome.

Fr Nolan with Rosabel

Cheers!

We popped open some Sainsbury's economy Asti last night to celebrate; no expense spared! Much fruitier than Champagne and with fewer pesky bubbles.

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Cosy

All tucked up in my dressing gown, fast asleep and beautiful, little Rosabel has her first cuddle of the day with Daddy at long last!!! Big sisters are probably having identical dreams about sisha beeby to the syncapated rhythm of their snores, while Mamma rests and bathes after another long day. 

It was lovely to introduce Rosabel to her paternal Grandparents and one of her five aunties this afternoon, we're all delighted to have another precious princess in the family. 

Babybel - a little cheesy perhaps - is Olivia Rose's name for her new cousin. I like it! More on names later...

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We've missed Auntie Fafah

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New party dresses

Thanks for our early Christmas presents Auntie Fafah

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and meet Grandmama!

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Meet Grandpa!

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Meet Godmother Lucy!

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Thumbs up

Just like her eldest sister, Rosabel has taken to sucking her left thumb!

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Duck

Welcome home Rosabel!

Violet and Ivy briefly met their "shisa beby" [=sister baby] yesterday morning, but they got their first proper chance for an examination at 4:30 this afternoon when Rosabel and mummy arrived by taxi from the 'spital after being discharged.

She's so lovely.  She hasn't cried much, but does squeak occasionally.  Her favourite pastimes are feeding with mummy, sleeping with mummy, looking at mummy, and wearing hats.

Ukubel

Rosabel has more or less mastered three or four chords on the 'lele now; we'll start the WTC on the piano when we get home.  We're due to be discharged this afternoon.

Thank you to everyone who has sent texts, emails, cards etc.  It's a wonderful time for us all.

Neonates

It's been strangely nostalgic being in the RLI again.  In early September 2008, Violet and Ivy were delivered by c-section at 29 weeks gestation because Violet wasn't getting enough oxygen in the womb.  77  days later, we left the RLI with two beautiful, tiny, delicate, identical monkeys who'd been on a long and somewhat scary journey.  Two years later, we're back to have Rosabel.  One of the neonatal nurses we got to know in 2008 was present at the birth this morning - a lovely bridge 'twixt two very different experiences.  We also had our first visitors this afternoon: two more neonatal nurses who had looked after V+I for those 11 weeks had heard we were in for another and came to see.  They think Rosabel looks very much like her big sisters so I thought it would be appropriate to fish out some old photographs for comparison...

Violet

Ivy

Rosabel

I think she particularly looks like her big cousin Joseph in this close-up^.  Any thoughts?

New Baby :-)

Rosabel Mary Ethel Walton was born at 05:41 am, Sunday 19th December 2010, weighing 7lbs,4ish (3.3kg).  She was one week early, which is novel.

Mother and baby are very well, it was a lovely birth (not too painful for me, any way).  Daddy needs decent coffee; the RLI cafeteria doesn't serve Atkinson's - I'll put a note in the suggestion box.

Rosabel is very beautiful.  She has black hair like many Walton babies, and big feet like her mother!  She came out all squashed and stretched (from suction (which is an amazing thing (more like a bath-plug than a toilet-plunger))) but has quickly re-morphed into little baby-girl shape.

Deo Gratias!

Snow Princesses

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Notorious I.V.Y

Photograph courtesy of Godmother Marianne ('Mameeya')

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Bambini, baci e bye-byes...

Little Donkey

Ivy & her lavender donkey, all tucked up and cosy...

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Toddling brickies...

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Waiting for a precious child...

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Duet, naturally...

It's all go @ the mo in House Walton, but the girls always manage to fit in some scales & arpeggios before meal times. 19 days to go...

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One and Two

Photograph courtesy of Auntie Lucy.

(3x7)+3

Today, 10/10/10, is our 3 year, 3 month and 3 day anniversary of marriage since 07/07/07; it is also 77 days, until Violet and Ivy's little brother or sister is due!

(and it's my 24th birthday:  the start of my 3rd cycle of Chinese years! - Year of the Tiger, of course.)

Happy Birthday Violet and Ivy :-)

Ageing Signs

Happy Easter!!!

• Ivy and Violet are nineteen months and five days post natal.
• They both walk, run, climb (and fall) and dance.
• Between them they have a whole night's sleep.
• Ivy has SIX teeth; Violet has THREE (and a fourth in transit).
• Ailsa and James have been married for 1007 days, according to Grandpa.
• Violet and Ivy have learnt (and dialectified) many 'baby signs', including:

dog, cat, duck, bird, chicken, elephant, mouse,

crocodile, (teddy) bear, fish, pig, sheep,

Mummy, Daddy, I(vy), V(iolet),

dolly, book, bed/sleep, water/drink, milk!,

biscuit, cake, banana, ball, hat, bath

more, thank you, please, where is?, up-stairs, singing

and, methinks, a few I've probably forgotterised.

• Violet and Ivy can say

dadda (which means 'mummy' or 'daddy' depending on the context),

mamma (which means 'I've been hit by my sister'),

manana (which means 'banana'),

dawawah (which Ivy says, meaning 'Violet'),

awah (which Violet says, meaning 'Ivy'),

baba (which means 'bye-bye' or 'go away!' depending on the context).

So there you have it! Back with pictures soon. Possibly.

Toddling Twins!

Violet started walking (with both (!) feet) on Thursday the 11th of February. Hurray! We now have two toddlers to run after... Below is a filum of Violet demonstrating her new talent.

We wish you all a most happy and holy Lent.

Fringe

By George she's done it!!!

Just a little update: Ivy slept through from 7.30 till 6 last night for the first time ever! It was simply incredible.

Back with pictures soon...

...probably.

Happy New Year!