We miss you Daddy!

Sadie and I came out to California 6 days early to spend some extra time with grandma, grandpa, uncles, ti, Aunt Katherine, Nicholas and Katya.  We miss Daddy and can't wait to see him Tuesday night!

Bearsy at 2 months

I can't believe my little bearsy is 2 months old...we went to the doctor today...

Height: 23 inches

Weight: 9 lb

Head Circumference: 39 cm

She is getting more fun by the day.  She smiles, coos, rolls from front to back and brings us so much joy.  Happy two month birthday Bearsy!

We get Brett back!

Brett has been studying for the CFA Level 1 for the past four months. Ever since Sadie made her appearance, she has been helping him out with the studying – well, actually, she tried to get into it, but the material just put her to sleep (I can't say that I blame her).
Today is the big day for Brett – six hours of CFA and then he’s free (well free from studying at least but still slave to work and tithing settlement for the next few weeks). We’re rooting for him today and can’t wait to see him when it’s all over at 5pm. (Note: Sadie rooted for him by sleeping in until I woke her up at 8:30…what a champ!)

Good luck Daddy, we’re so proud of you!

Miracle on 34th Street

That's right...our little miracle celebrated her first Thanksgiving on 34th Street. We went to my (Kris') office for a breakfast buffet and prime window viewing of the parade. Sadie was a little angel and though we're not too sure she caught much of the parade, she sure seemed to enjoy the thrill of it all. Brett and I loved it - I remember watching the parade as a kid and wondering who was lucky enough to be in the windows along the parade route. Who knew I would be so lucky?

Our first Thanksgiving as a family of three.




Hanging out by the window as Buzz Lightyear flew by.




Buzz was cool, but Kermit put her right to sleep.



Some other shots of the parade. Note that we were right in front of the finishing line at Macy's so we got to see all the performances as well as hear Matt, Meredith and Al over the loadspeaker.






In the afternoon we enjoyed a fabulous dinner with friends.

This Thanksgiving we're especially grateful for our beautiful little girl and the joy and new perspective she brings to us.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Meeting an Apostle

Today we were privileged to attend a special Stake Conference for the Manhattan Stake where Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (for those unfamiliar with the LDS church, we have a prophet at the head of the church and twelve apostles just as in the times of Christ. Elder Holland is one of the twelve apostles of our day.) spoke to us. His words were so uplifting, especially in such a tumultuous time. His was a message of great hope and as I heard him and watched him interact with the individual members, I knew he was an apostle of the Lord.

We decided to stick around and meet Elder Holland. We were toward the back of the line, so it took a while, but it was well worth the wait. He was so kind and personal. Here is the conversation that ensued:

Elder Holland: "Thank you for sticking around so long. Who is this?"
Kris: "This is Sadie."
Elder Holland: "Well, isn't she just cuter than a koala bear! How old is she?"
Brett: "Seven weeks."
Elder Holland: (directed at me) "And you're already out and about?!?!"
Kris: "Well we had to come meet Elder Holland."
Brett: "You are the first apostle Sadie has met."
Elder Holland: (laughs)
Kris: "Yes, you made her calendar of firsts!"

So there you have it - as spoken by an apostle of the Lord...Sadie is cuter than a koala bear and I'm doing pretty good if Elder Holland was impressed that I was out and about!

Note: we took this picture right when we got home to document her 'bear suit' that triggered the comment

Quick update

There are many a post in progress, but just had to get a few pictures up for the grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends asking for pictures. Sadie has been keeping busy so she has a lot to report on. Unfortunately she is keeping us so busy that we haven't had much of a chance to sit down and document it all.

Here are some of our favorite head shots from the past few weeks...she is even starting to smile (though we've had a hard time capturing it). We're just loving having our little girl around!

Put up your dukes...

Best picture in the last week by popular vote. Look out Rocky.

Sadie's trip to our East River

Just getting ready for her day out. One of Sadie's favorite outfits-- and Daddy's too-- is the Elmo jacket (with ruffly pink pants to show off her feminine side).

We decided to take Sadie to one of our favorite spots... the East River. This is where we were engaged and has always had special meaning for us.






This is the bench were K&B were engaged... only now pictured with our new addition.








Note this picture was taken on the same bench as the one above (only about two years ago). Oh how life was different back then. I think we slept better. Though the decision is unanimous that now we can't even imagine our lives without our little Sadie Baby. Here's to many years of happiness to come.



Unfortunately, the day gave a surprise when we discovered that OUR bench had been taken by someone else. Not only did someone replace the old wood, but he added this memorial engraving. Peter Boyle (who you might remember as the Dad on "Everybody loves Raymond") apparently likes our bench as much as we do. I guess we'll have to share.

Sadie was so tired after the trip that all she could do was fall asleep. Thanks for coming along Sadie; not only to the river, but into our lives!

Sadie's Favorite Activity

As you can tell, Sadie can sleep almost anywhere/anytime... note all of the following separate occasions. The funny thing is that every time we think: "oh this is too cute to pass up; where's the camera? (click to enlarge)

Sadie's first visit to the doctor

Sadie's Stats
Weight: 8 pounds 0 ounces (her discharge weight was 7 lb 14 oz so she is gaining)
Length: Still 21 inches (90th percentile)
Head Circumference: 36.5 cm (90th percentile)

The pediatrician said that she was perfect - an uneventful newborn. I'll take compliments like that any day.

It was quite the adventure and we had to document her first trip to the doctor and really her first little walk outside.

Heading out:


My mom has been such a great help - cooking, cleaning, waking up with the baby, doing laundry (and Sadie sure manages to produce a lot of it), running our errands...we're turning her into a New Yorker.


Our new family of three on our street


Sadie liked the outdoors so much she slept right through the excitement.

Introducing Sadie Grace

Sadie Grace
Born: October 7, 2008 at 10:27pm
Weight: 8 pounds 7 ounces
Height: 21 inches
APGAR: 9/9

Here's a little sampling of our newest addition... click on the pictures to enlarge.



We just love her and can't get enough of her!

Info on our name selection:

Sadie is a “classic” name that, while currently gaining in popularity (so as to avoid people having never heard of it), was virtually non-existent in the 1950s/1960s/1970s (see chart below; y-axis is "usage of Sadie per million babies").



Hence, our little Sadie will grow up without an older generation of people with the same name. At the same time, because Sadie is not historically a more popular name, this will hopefully mean that the only association many people have with “Sadie” is that of our daughter (i.e., no preconceived notions).

Grace is a family name on both sides—coming from Brett’s great grandmother, Grace Flake and Kris’ grandmother Vilma Altagracia (translated from Spanish: “high grace”). We hope she inherits their best qualities!

Quick Recap of Sadie Grace's entrance: Our Baby Story (lasting 15 hours, 42 minutes)

• 6:45 am: Kris’ water breaks— she’s not sure if it is actually the water breaking especially because the Dr had said the evening before that she wasn’t even close to being ready as the baby was high and she had not started dilating. Dr says: “Now don’t you go having your water break on me in the next few days… your body isn’t ready yet. I’ll see you next Monday”
• 9:00 am: K&B catch a cab and head to the hospital
• 9:37 am: K&B and OB resident start the process with misoprostol
• In the meantime… K&B wait for things to kick in
• 4:45 pm: Resident checks Kris: 1 cm dilated, 50% effaced
• 6:45 pm: Dr comes, checks Kris: 2 cm dilated, 80% effaced; Kris decides to get an epidural after having pretty strong contractions every 2-3 minutes since 4:00 pm
• 7:02 pm: Epidural goes in, ahhh; Kris starts receiving pitocin, Dr says that if all goes well we can expect a 7:00 am birth the next morning
• 8:00 pm: Kris turns on Biggest Loser; despite the epidural, still feeling a significant amount of “pressure” and some pain
• 8:30 pm: Resident comes to check Kris: 4-5 cm dilated, by now the pressure is getting stronger
• 9:00 pm: Brett turns on the Presidential debate, pressure intensifies (for both Kris and the candidates)
• 9:25 pm: Anesthesiologist comes to help with the pain since the epidural wasn’t fully effective (only the left side of her body was feeling more or less numb)
• 9:40 pm: Kris turns off the debate because of the pain
• 10:00 pm: Dr comes back to check Kris: 7-8 cm dilated
• 10:05 pm: Anesthesiologist comes in again to try to help with the pain
• 10:20 pm: Nurse comes in because the monitor is having a hard time picking up the baby’s heart rate
• 10:22 pm: Nurse realizes the baby’s heart rate is dropping significantly, calls in the Dr by saying only one word: “come”
• 10:24 pm: Dr rushes in yelling that he needs X and Y, asking for a resident, pediatrician and the anesthesiologist to come right away and, quickly removing the bottom part of the bed, says “start pushing”
• 10:27 pm: Sadie Grace is born after only 3 pushes