Elf Pregnancy

We went to see Santa at the 5 Points Athens Holiday Bash. He was a great Santa,  a real North Pole professional that you could tell was one of the elite Santas sent for such important missions. We were one of the firsts in line to see him, and the boys talked to him and told him what they wanted. Santa joked with them, told The Boy that he wished he could wear shorts in December, but Mrs. Claus won't let him. He told Beyoyo to make sure our elves were able to come back with him on Christmas Eve.

Beyoyo said "one of our elves is sick!" Santa said "oh no! You better make sure that one can come back, so nobody catches it." Beyoyo didn't miss a beat. He said "we can't catch it! She's PREGNANT!" This Santa was a real pro, but for a split second there was a panic in his eye. He glanced at us, the parents of these children with the pregnant elf, wondering if we knew that our elf was pregnant, and maybe wondering how that happens. I nodded my head and said yes, she is indeed pregnant. Santa, magical man that he is, picked right back up where he left off, and said for us to make sure to take good care of her. Here's how the whole pregnancy unfolded.

We thought when they first arrived that Katya looked a little different. 

Then we discovered she was sick. 

They made her a makeshift bed out of some goggles, and Elfis appeared to be taking care of her. 

He filled up the pill organizer with candy, which maybe is what elves use for medicine?

Then we got a real clue about what was going on with her. She must be pregnant! The Boy said that she wasn't pregnant, because he looked up her shirt and it was just a wadded up plastic bag in there. I said maybe elves don't do things the same way humans do?

The next day the boys found them in the laundry room playing "corn hole"

After that, Katya needed a foot massage. Being pregnant is hard work. 

They must be nesting!

Nutella and beef jerky! No clue if this is pregnancy cravings or a normal elf combination. 

Hormones do funny things sometimes. We're not sure what happened here. 

Seems like their bags are packed! Where are they headed? And why is there a trumpet??

The next day they had set up some sort of makeshift medical facility in the bathroom. We didn't know if it was a regular prenatal visit, or if they were at the hospital waiting for baby's arrival. We waited impatiently.

The next day, Katya was in a tub and Elfis had a large watch. A water birth! We didn't see that one coming. We gave them some privacy and checked on them periodically.

Imagine our excitement when two additional elves appeared! These must've been a doula and midwife sent from the north pole to help with the elf birth! This might be TMI, but if you look closely, you can see a tiny red elf hat crowning.

On 12/12 at 12:00 midnight, Elfis and Katya's baby arrived. I erroneously thought it was a boy, but the boys corrected me.

The new baby was healthy, and weighed in at a whopping 0.0 pounds.

The proud parents celebrated with champagne jelly beans. Katya was feeling the sacred feminine power of all the strong women who came before her.

The boys named the baby GIRL Peppermint Toothpaste Magness.

The new parents had lots of friends drop by, and someone brought a gift- a moby wrap for baby wearing!

Baby Peppermint got her first bath! And The Boy suggested that really she looks much more like his plush toy elf than either of her parents. Awkward.

Day 3 they tried to get back into the holiday spirit, but Katya couldn't quit crying. The baby blues had hit! She was going to go to a new mom's group at reBlossom mama baby shop the next day, so that should help.

Katya met up with some other mom friends at the park. She was feeling self conscious about being the biggest mom there, but her friends reminded her to reject the social constructs about feminine size and beauty, and remember how strong and powerful her body is.

They posed for their first holiday photos as a family of three.

And I guess they were caught up in the magic of the holidays, or the magic of being a family, because THEY GOT A PUPPY. Probably they couldn't resist a rescue dressed in a holiday hat. Rookie mistake.

And I guess they were caught up in the magic of the holidays, or the magic of being a family, because THEY GOT A PUPPY. Rookie mistake.

Elfis took Peppermint out for a bit for Katya to get some much-needed rest. Someone said to him that it's great that he's helping Katya with Peppermint so much. In his friendliest elf way, Elfis responded "I'm not "helping" Katya with Peppermint because Peppermint isn't Katya's baby for me to help with. She's our daughter who we are raising together." :) #dadsareparentstoo

The elves left a note that baby Peppermint will go back to the north pole to start training how to be a scout elf at someone else's house next year, so we should say goodbye to her. They thanked us for helping to take care of her, but Beyoyo pointed out we didn't actually do anything because her elf parents did all the work. Goodbye, Peppermint!


Because we had to say goodbye to Peppermint, Santa left each of the boys a little Peppermint-sized elf keychain in their stockings so we can remember her always.