Anna and Alexis

Alexis Victoria was born yesterday Feb 20 at 3:12pm weighing 7 lbd 5.5 oz and measuring 19.5″ long. The process was interesting in how it differed from Anna’s arrival nearly 2 years ago.

Like last time we got to the hospital early. Leigha knew what was coming and the two things she least looked forward to (the breaking of the membrane and the epidural) turned out fine where as the things we’d completely forgotten about were the only things that didn’t go perfectly.

The nurse doing her IV while pleasant and friendly, was not the most graceful or gentle IV inserter. At nearly the same time, the lab guy shows up with every intention of assaulting the other arm while the first one is enduring its trauma. The lab guy was all business and completely unsympathetic to my request to wait until the nurse was done with the IV. The nurse with the IV happened to need to take.a break to let the fluid drain out of her hand so they did end up taking turns, but I don’t know what would have happened if he was unwilling to wait his turn. I imagine the conversation would have ended up going something like: “Unless you want to walk out of this room smelling of vomit you will probably want to wait.”

The epidural came a little late and there was some confusion because most of the anesthesiologists were occupied but we ended up with a great lady who was fantastic and Leigha didn’t suffer one bit.

We sat around mostly bored through the morning and in the afternoon we were starting to think that this kid was trying to beat her sister’s record.

At around 3 Leigha said she was starting to feel pressure so we got the nurse and the nurse got the doctor who told her it would be faster to push the baby than redose and talked her into pushing and a few minutes later we’d met our new kin. It happened so quickly, in fact, that the doctor only had one glove on when the head was out. He was holding her head with gloved hand and with the other handed the glove to the nurse and asked her to put it him. Alexis started crying before her legs were out and as soon as her exit was complete I snapped her very first picture. I put the camera down, cut the cord, and picked up the video camera to get some footage of Alexis and Leigha as they were recouperating. The doctor offered Leigha the baby but she said they should clean Alexis up first and she would hold her afterward. They cleaned her up, weighed her, and measured her before getting back to Leigha. In the meantime the doctor was cleaning Leigha up, and there was a nursing student observing so he went into very specific detail about all the little bits. It was actually lost on me because I was caught up in what Alexis was doing, but when I turned around he was explaining the various features of the placenta.

During the labor Leigha and I entered into a friendly wager as to how much the baby would weigh. She guessed 7 lbs 12 oz, and I guessed 7 lbs 6 oz. The baby weighed in at 7 lbs 5.5 oz and when announced I raised my arms in celebration and announced my victory, unintentionally with too much enthusiasm. Once the hoopla died down, Leigha put in her order for food while she waited to regain the feeling in her left leg. We spent some time with Alexis, and Leigha nursed her in between my picture taking frenzy.

Just as we were wrapping up in the Labor & Delivery room and getting ready to move to the recovery room Leigha’s mom arrived with Anna in tow. We relocated and Anna was pretty pleased with the baby although we’re pretty sure she has no idea she is a permanent visitor nor that she will be bunking with this peanut. They left around 8pm and Leigha and I were pooped and we were winding down as possible in between the endless nurse and staff visits. They took Alexis for her bath around 10:30 so I crashed pretty much the moment that finished.

I’ve started adjusting this website to add equal representation to Alexis. I’ll be making adjustments over the next few weeks but right now you can find current and future pictures of Alexis here.

Anna remembers the darndest things, even after surprisingly small exposure. She only rode the merry-go-round at the mall once but when we went back she sure as heck knew what it was. Consider the counter example of how long I’ve been trying to get her to count to 10. It seems like it took quite a bit of trying to get her to remember her colors but as soon as we walk by the Costco food counter she knows for sure that’s where we get smoothies (she loves smoothies!).

This weekend we took Anna’s Christmas card pictures, and Leigha just submitted the order for the Christmas cards. As usual the actual chosen pictures are a closely guarded secret, but I’m including one of the rejected pictures that I liked most. We took over 100 pictures this year, and there were 28 pictures in the running which is unusually high percentage for us. Anna was extremely cooperative and her ham skills are not going to waste.

Look for your cards in the mail a few weeks from now.

It seems a good time to announce more widely that at some point in February our family will grow once more with a new girl. Negotiations are currently underway on the name for the new baby, and the situation is grim. Family insiders report that if an agreement is not reached soon we may face a strike. Last time name negotiations broke down garbage was not taken out for a week!

Anna’s vocabulary has been growing by leaps and bounds, more than is reasonable to document. She learns and repeats words all day long, although most frustrating is the ever-popular “no.” She has been exercising this one pretty regularly much to our chagrin.

We are currently fighting a respiratory illness for what seems like the fourth week. Last time Anna’s doctors put her on amoxicillin for 10 days which helped slightly. A few days after the prescription ran out the symptoms started getting worse so now we’re on a stronger antibiotic for 14 days. Anna isn’t particularly suffering, except at night when she has trouble getting a good night’s sleep.

Leigha recently took Anna to Cox Farms, pictures, some of which you’ll find among the 30 newly uploaded pictures in the gallery. Pretty soon we’ll start shopping for Anna’s halloween costume, although I’m not sure if I’m at liberty to divulge the exact nature of this year’s selection. I can definitively confirm that my recurring UPS delivery man (Pablo) with package (Anna) suggestion continues to be ridiculed unnecessarily.

We have been video taping Anna probably about once a month, maybe once every other month. I haven’t been processing the tapes which is why you haven’t been seeing the results. This weekend we’ll probably have another brief taping session to get her latest antics on tape.

Anna is growing both bolder in private and more shy in public. She is doing more dancing when she hears music, especially doing the choreography along with her favorite video (Laurie Berkner). In public she has started gravitating towards our legs when she is feeling shy, although she tends to relax after a few short minutes of being around the new person and no longer being showered with attention.

Sorry for the long overdue update. Check out the pictures!

It’s been a while since I wrote an update on Anna’s progress but it has been a busy summer. Last month we went to visit the family in South Florida and we had an exciting time.

On the first day there they were pouring the foundation for my mom’s building, and while we were visiting the site, I had the idea of having Anna leave her footprints or handprints in the fresh cement. The cement was setting up (actually, we waited a little too long) so we got the cameras ready. It took two tries, a nice construction worker “erased” our first attempt and the second one went much better. Afterwards, we visited my dad’s office to say “Hi” but he had an appointment so we didn’t stay long. Then we went home and ate.

On the second day we wanted to take Anna to see some animals, which she has been really enjoying. There are a lot of options to go see animals of varying degrees of quality. Flamingo Gardens, Lion Country Safari, Butterfly World, Miami Zoo, Miami Aquarium, I think there’s a Sea World or something nearby. Most of the more “commercial” ventures (the first three above) are priced similarly, but due to distance we decided to go to Flamingo Gardens. We had a nice time and there was certainly a lot to look at. The peacocks were mating and Anna “ooh”ed at their feathery displays. They also had some very old, large tortoises, and lots of little turtles. After a while the mosquitos were getting thick and Anna tired so we went home to rest and eat.

On the third day we decided to take Anna to the beach. We tried to go early before the sun got too strong but by the time we got there Anna was asleep. We waited for her to wake up and we set up towels on the beach. Leigha took Anna down to the water while I photographed and video taped like wanna-be papparazzi. Anna liked the water but the sand sticking to her skin bugged her out. I took Anna down to the water but by then she was over it. We walked to the car and tried to get as much sand off of her as we could. We later learned that there is a great trick with talcum powder, but at the time we just flogged her with towels until most of the sand was gone. Then we drove home and ate.

We decided that Anna need a break from us. Some time to get to know some new people. So we reluctanctly left her (actually we floored it all the way to Orlando). We spent that night and the next day with Vlad and Katie in Orlando. We went to Animal Kingdom, but you’re not here to read about us, are you?

On Sunday we left and got quite the surprise when we got home. Anna was saying “Iaia” and giving her kisses when asked, which was a huge thrill for Iaia. On Monday we took Anna to Roger and Smyrna’s house for dinner. They have a big dog that Anna was interested in but he was jumpy and barky and Anna got scared of him. Along the way Anna “swam” a whole bunch in the wading pool my mom got her. We finally came back on Tuesday from a long and exciting trip to Florida.

It’s been a very long time since the last update. I won’t make excuses but the fact of the matter is we’ve been very busy. By way of catching ou up I provide the following news since the last post.

1. Anna has 8 teeth now (four on the top, four on the bottom).
2. Anna is now walking
3. Anna says a few words: ball, mama, dada, da-dee, ucky (puppy, but she uses it for all animals)
4. Anna loves swimming, she’s swam almost every single day since we opened the pool
5. Anna is signing a few more things: milk, eat, bye-bye (which she just started using to mean “let’s go outside”)
6. Anna loves parmesan cheese and chicken nuggets. She still eats yogurt every day

Last week we uploaded a handful of new pictures to Anna’s gallery, you haven’t seen them check them out. Finally here’s a video we took Saturday with Anna being exceptionally cute on the back porch.

To see the video click “more…” below.

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In a most serendipitous occurrence coininciding with the holiday song Anna’s two front teeth are making an appearance. This is great for us because it means we can return all of her presents since all she wanted for Christmas, clearly, was her two front teeth. Instead we will be spending the money on frivolous electronic items for ourselves.

If you’ve received one of our Christmas cards you should know that there were four different pictures. Leigha took care to make sure people who frequently see each other got different pictures so they could see them when they visited. However, if you are anti-social or live in a remote location, fear not. I just uploaded the four pictures to Anna’s gallery. I would have uploaded them sooner but they were classified super-secret until all of the cards were received.

Finally, if you actually read this and did not receive a Christmas card but would like to receive future mailings, we did not omit you with malice but, more likely, because we didn’t have your address or didn’t think you’d be interested. Please let us know and we will rectify the situation at the next opportunity.

We are spending a low key holiday at home. Leigha’s mom (Renee) is here and her brother (Ed) will be arriving tomorrow. Hoping everyone has a lovely holiday.

First an addendum to the eight month update. In the eighth month she also:

• Successfully started feeding herself cereal. She discovered it’s not enough to just grab a fistful and slam them into your mouth. There is a fist-opening component to this exercise.
• Started log-rolling across the room. Not always in the same direction as the desired object, but consecutively rolling over nonetheless.
• Was able to stand up while holding onto an object. She was also able to do the same while only holding on with one hand for balance.

Another month has left us in the dust and we have much to report about Anna’s development. Most significant is that Anna had her first cold this month. It doesn’t seem to bother her much except for the nasal congestion. She can’t seem to shake the stuffy nose, but in the last couple of days it has been unusually runny, what we hope is an indication of the coming end of the affliction. It’s unclear whether she still has a cold or whether she’s suffering due to the climate change.

Leigha would like me to report that she has been feeding herself. Anna has been shoving puffed cereal into her mouth for a while now, although her success rate and accuracy have improved.

Since Leigha gets to spend all day with Anna, I don’t usually get the benefit of being the first to see her do something. This month was an exception. She pulled herself up from sitting to standing by herself (and some clever coaxing by yours truly). According to Leigha while standing she is also able to let go with both hands balance for a few seconds and grab back onto the support item.
Leigha taught her to do “So Big”. For foreigners like myself who are unaquainted with the technique. You ask “How big is the baby?” and the baby responds by holding her arms over her head and responding “So big!”. Obviously, Anna could only do the first part of the response. The funny thing is she knows she gets a positive response so sometimes she does it out of the blue. We call out “So Big!” even when she does it unprompted.

Crawling progress has come to a stall. She can move easily from sitting to crawling position but still shows little interest in attempting it. Despite a lot of encouragement, demonstration, and assistance she does not seem hot to trot in this area. I’m starting to think she’ll probably skip right to walking to which, I suppose, there are worse things in life.

I uploaded some new pictures to the gallery including her nine month picture and the nine month family picture. We are awaiting the top-secret Christmas card pictures for mailing out later this month. Look for them in a mailbox near you.

The month of October seemingly came and went with just enough time to put on a costume and hand out some candy. It’s been 47 days since the last update which is incredible if you think about it. 18% of her life, to date has occurred since the last post. So there’s a lot of catching up to do!

Since the last post Anna attended a wedding, spent a week with her grammy (and great grammy), visited her uncle in Oklahoma and seems to be showing more interest in moving. Leigha tells me that the other day she rolled over several times in a row in order to move towards something. Later the next night I had her on the kitchen island and she looked like she was scooting on her butt on purpose.

Her pitching arm is also getting better with all that practice she’s getting. Earlier she was playing in the exersaucer and she threw a toy onto the floor, then leaned over the edge of the exersaucer to see where it went.

Anna’s eczema is mostly under control and her skin looks great. Occasionally there is a flare up but those are few, brief, and far between. She is still taking pepcid for her acid reflux, except now she seems to like it. Whereas before she would spit it out, now she opens her mouth as one approaches with the syringe. She also had a mystery rash in her diaper area for the past couple of weeks but it is clearing up.

She is still a ham for the cameras, and we’ve uploaded some new pictures of her, but I haven’t had time to think about editing a new video.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that infants are not more sapient than they let on, and for our current purposes, to ill effect. When she’s doing something cute, I’ll go get the video camera. In these cases, she’ll stop doing whatever adorable thing she was doing and just stare at the camera intently (I have a lot of footage of Anna just staring at the camera). It will be around the first of the month, when we do Anna’s monthly picture. She might be in a perfectly cheerful mood but as soon as I get the camera set up she’s Miss Cranky Pants.

One of our tricks when we’re trying to take these pictures and she’s being uncooperative is to let her suck on the binky, hit the timer on the camera, and just at the last second, pull the binky out. This generally leads to amusing photos where she has this “What the hell is going on?” look on her face. Since we don’t have time to review them as we go, we usually take a couple dozen pictures and hope one of them is usable, or at least, not completely awful. This leads to a lot of trade-offs. “Anna look cutes but I blurry.” “Anna is blurry but I like my smile better.” If I look stupid/blurry/ridiculous in any of the pictures, it’s because I lost the argument over which picture we should publish.

I just uploaded four pictures from Anna’s fourth month extravaganza to the gallery. Enjoy.

Some people have been asking how to get hard copies of the pictures we upload. The easiest way is when you are looking at a picture, in the upper left hand corner there is a link that says “Process this photo with shutterfly”. If you click on that link it will add the picture to a shopping cart on shutterfly.com. You can then proceed to pay (the purple “Next” button at the upper right), or you can return to the gallery to find more pictures (with the “Add more pictures” button, underneath the “Next” button). You willl want to print as many pictures in a single order as you can. The cost is about $.19 per (4×6) print + $1.79 shipping.

Almost all of the pictures we upload are printable in fairly large sizes, but the largest we’ve ever printed is 11×14. If you print something larger let us know how it turns out.