He is finally here! In case you have not yet heard, on Monday morning at 5:39am, we welcomed Nathaniel Elijah Percy into the world. He weighs 9 lbs 3 oz and is, in my unbiased fatherly opinion, as cute as a button. Nathaniel means “given of God”, and he is certainly a wonderful gift.
The little guy kept us waiting until the last possible moment. With Julianne’s pregnancy extending beyond 41 weeks, her doctor had scheduled an induction for 8am on Sunday. But, around 4am, Julianne woke me to tell me she thought the baby had decided to come on his own. Some of us just work better with a deadline.
After 28 hours of labour, little Nathaniel was born. Joining us in the room for the birth were Julianne’s mother, as well as our incredible doula, Angie, who provided hours of support and encouragement throughout the process.
Caleb and Micah have been thrilled to welcome their little brother into the family, showering him with love and taking very seriously their job of teaching him all about the world. When he first arrived at the hospital, Caleb walked up to Nathaniel, pointed to himself and said, “This is called a ‘kid'”. Micah is already making plans to teach him about all the essentials: baseball, outer space, and really big numbers like a million.
As we sat in the hospital room together, enjoying our first moments as a family of five, Micah turned to me and said, “Daddy, I think a baby being born is kind of like magic.” I completely agree.
abwe without going to Shumba Shaba. Set atop a massive rock formation in the hills of Matopos it is, quite simply, the most beautiful place either of us has ever been. The lodge is run by Denis and Sandy Paul, who are the warmest and most gracious hosts you could ask for. The chalets are perched on the side of the rock, each with a back wall of bare rock and a front window that gives you a spectacular view of the sunrise without needing to get out of bed. Stand outside on the rock at night and you can see stars not just above you, but also straight ahead and for 360 degrees around you. The only way I can think to describe it is that it’s like a planetarium, except that is the wrong wa
y around. This is the thing that planetariums (planetaria?) are meant to imitate.
It was one of the many surprises about life in Zimbabwe for Julianne and me when we lived there in 2007, this obsession with pro wrestling. The kids in the community seemed to know when it was on, and they would cram into the living room until there was no more floor space and sit watching in wonder. The adults were no less into it, and with every big move they would cry out, contorting their bodies or shielding their eyes or ducking their heads, as if someone might leap from the screen and direct the next move at them.
MICS It Up 
