Nanos Arrives!

We welcomed Elsa Jae Weisbrod into our lives on June 25th at 1109am. She was 7lbs, 1oz, and 19inches long. Here's some pics from our stay at the hospital, most courtesy of Steve (aka "Teeb"):

For those who are wondering, I found the name Elsa in a baby name book when searching during my pregnancy with Sam. It's hebrew in origin and means "joyful." It has also been linked to Elisabeth and remains more popular in Sweden and Norway than in the States. We liked the name because its easy to pronounce and to spell (you say it how you read it). It also provides a good sophisticated adult name while easy to adapt into a kid's nickname. We are planning to use the nickname "Elsie" while she is young.

I used Mom's nickname "Jae" as a middle name. During my last conversation with her before her death, I had told her that if I had a daughter, I would use her name to honor what a wonderful mother she had been to me. In my own life, I try to emulate her mothering style: how she was able to make each of us feel loved and special. As a woman, I remember my mother to be approachable, kind, and joyful and I hope Elsa is similar in her nature.

Elsa took after her brother Sam and decided to be breech so our delivery was a scheduled cesarian section. Having provided anesthesia for over 100 c-sections, I'm well versed with the procedure. My physicians did a great job acknowledging that I have an anesthesia background while allowing me to play the role of the patient. I had to tune-out a lot of the information in the operating room (the speed and tone of my pulse oximeter for example), but once Elsa was born it was easy to do. They put her to my chest right away and I just cried with joy and forgot all about the medical-aspect of it all. Within a half hour, we returned to my room and she was breast-feeding happily. Every birth is such a miracle...

A number of friends visited us. Here's a visit with Pauline, who had given birth to her son, Orion, just 6 months previously in the same hospital. Moses and Bess also visited on the first evening.

Sam enjoyed learning how the nursing pillow worked. He and I walked around the unit and discovered the view of Pudget Sound from the waiting room and a water fountain that sprayed him in the ear! His favorite part probably was pushing Dad in the wheelchair...

The (almost) older brother

Some great photos that Steve took of Sam during his May visit to Seattle. A little gushing, I know, but allow me to dote on this awesome kid before the next one comes along:

Almost There!

38 weeks pregnant!

A Toddler with Empathy

Just a short anecdote:

Today, I was coming down with a migraine. I explained to Sam that I would need to rest. He took me by the hand and said, "Here, I will help you get into bed."

Once in my room, he continued, "Lay down and I will rub your back and sing you a song."

He proceeded to sing "Twinkle, twinkle" and touched my back gently while Kyle pulled down the shades to darken the room.

Then the two of them went out to get me some Tylenol and ginger beer. They were the best therapeutic team a pregnant mom could ever ask for!

Who said toddlers weren't empathetic!?

Springtime in the Northwest

Usually springtime in the Pacific Northwest is a protracted state of rain and gloom that lasts from January till July. Imagine March/April of New England for seven months and that pretty much sums it up (minus the snow, of course). Lately, though, we've been lucky enough to enjoy some sunshine and  warm temperatures (50s! Even 60s!) and it's been heavenly.

Last weekend, our family took a road-trip across the boarder into Vancouver, BC (After passing through customs, Sam exclaimed, "Yay! We did it!" I can only imagine that he was relieved to have smuggled his snacks across!)  A map for regional reference:

We felt like we were stepping into the future as we crossed the bridge into the city and noticed how clean and uniform all the glass buildings appeared. I imagined that it must be similar in Hong Kong or Singapore...

We had a nice stroll along the sea-wall around Stanley Park, rode the mini-train with Sam, and enjoyed a complementary movie during our nap-time at the Westin Bayshore. We had an awesome view of the city and the mountains and could see sea planes landing and taking off from the bay.

The following day, we took a ferry (i.e. 12 passenger motor boat) across False Creek to Granville Island and explored the open markets there (Granville "island" is near the center of the picture below, Stanley Park is the tree-covered area just north of downtown.)

This past weekend, we reveled in some record high temps here in Seattle (68 degrees!). On Easter morning, we hid plastic eggs in the garden for Sam to discover. He had a fun time exploring and then discovering the stickers and mini-chocolates hidden inside the eggs:

Babymoon in Maui

I hereby announce that we are pregnant again! After a false alarm last spring (i.e blighted ovum, i.e. empty gestational sac, aka "the ghost fetus, Casper,") we are officially with child. More specifically, this child is a "she," a little baby girl due July 1st.

Because for many weeks we had been referring to her as "Baby two" or "number 2," we asked Sam to come up with a nickname for her a la "Champ." His first suggestion is impossible to replicate, having had an abundance of consonants, mostly of the "t" and "k" variety. But suggestion number 2 was perfect:

"Nanos."

Yes, we thought, "nanos" like nano, meaning small. It will do.

Last month, the three of us were thrilled to travel to Hawaii with the Weisbrod/ Arnow/ Slutsky Family: Steve, Beth, Alexis and Corey, as well as our friends Scott and Rachel Doniger and their 2 girls. It was, I think, the last vacation we will take for a while and thus we dubbed it our "babymoon."

We rented a 5  bed/ 6 bath house on Kannapalli beach in west Maui, just north of the famous black rock. The beach was just a hundred yards away, with great snorkeling and fun surf. We enjoyed a lot of beach time with the kids, an adults-only trip to the Haleakala crater, a few dinners out in historic Lahaina, and an amazing luau. The setting was perfect as we had a relaxing atmosphere with our house right on the golf course and there were plenty of people to keep an eye on the kids as they played in the yard. We enjoyed an awesome whale watch (it was humpback whale season and it was impossible NOT to see a whale on a daily basis) and took the little ones on a glass bottom boat tour of the reef.

Some of my favorite moments (thanks to Steve for taking the pics):

Our house was great. There was ample, private outdoor space next to the golf course for us to spend time on the lanai reading, eating, playing games, and goofing off:

The beach was great and so close by. It was easy to walk to the sand and back to the house:

My favorite personal moments. Couldn't I just do this all the time?

 More fun at the beach:

On to the whale watching:

Beth and Steve took the kids on a train ride while the parents were checking out the crater:

Scenic beach:

The awesome luau:

Taking the little ones on the glass boat:

 A few good last pics:

And a couple more...

Kyle said this was my "Mom of the year moment"

Ailee, Olivia, and Sam