Things that have happened since Ethan was born

Contrary to what this blog would suggest, life did not screech to a halt when Ethan was born. We have been enjoying a steady stream of visits from friends and family, enjoying a range of holiday celebrations and in our downtime we are adjusting to life as a family of four. A lot of what we have been up to is well-documented on Emerson and Ethan's blog. Here's a few of the other things that happened that you won't read about there:

• Kindle plus newborn breastfeeding plus husband watching older child = lots of time to read. I read The Hunger Games trilogy obsessively and finished it far too quickly. I know it is not great literature and I am not sure I liked the third book at all but there is something about those books that is seriously addictive and weeks later I am still jonesing for a fix. I'm not sure the movie will help but I look forward to seeing it with all the local teenagers. I have also read some other books but nothing worth mentioning.
• Two nights out: Eric and I (and Ethan, who slept the whole time) have been out to dinner twice so far. Once just us and once on a double date with neighbors who took us to their favorite gastro-pub where I got to drink a Boddingtons, a favorite beer of mine from my days living in London. Eric ordered the fish and chips but then swapped his regular "chips" for sweet potato fries for reasons I have yet to understand.
• Birding! Starting in our own backyard, we are getting to know the birds of Florida. Our pond frequently hosts anhingas, little blue herons, wood storks, white ibis and more and we have a front row seat to watch them eating, swimming, strutting around the grass and flying around. We even went on a bird walk in Lettuce Lake Park with a guy who is apparently a bird expert and about twenty senior citizens, many of whom commented on how nice it was for Ethan to be getting such an early start at birding.
• A long journey completed: Two and a half years after we started watching it we finally finished the entire series of Battlestar Galactica. It didn't have to take that long but we got distracted after watching season one and only just returned to it a few months ago. I mostly enjoyed the show, though at times I found it too realistic to be a good escape - too many gut-wrenching decisions and dealing with sadness, loss and life not being the way you want it to be.