Author: heidi

I think it is! And I caught it on camera!

We have a new family member! And we finally have a few spare minutes to update you on the last four weeks. Everything has gone by so fast that it has taken me a while to pull myself together. But, better late than never, here is the announcement:

Oliver is wonderful and beautiful. We named him Oliver Stefan Icleanu. Stefan is after Cristian’s maternal grandfather whom he admired very much and was closest to as a child. We chose Oliver because it is such a happy, nice name. An additional surprise came when we called Cristian’s parents with the news on the morning after the delivery; Oliver was almost born on the birthday of his namesake Stefan. Stefan Popescu was born on October 31st, and Oliver was born on November 1st. He was 6 lbs 11 oz and quite tall, 20 1/2 inches.

Oliver has silvery blond hair, and he seems to like to smile already. He is a joy, and we are re-learning the challenge of being the parents of a newborn. I thought I would remember everything, but I’m now realizing how much I’ve forgotten… Merayla, however, seems to have perfect instincts about becoming Ollie’s good friend. Right now, she is covering him with her favorite green blanky and the Ursul (Romanian for her favorite bear). She also tells stories of Prince Ursul, Princess Layla, Prince Oliver, and Princess Jewanna every night. (I really don’t know where Jewanna came from…or who she is…)

Here is the story of the birth: The delivery was a whirlwind. It started out slow, with contractions during the Saturday evening session of Stake Conference. When we realized they were 3-5 minutes apart, we went home to get ready for the hospital. After a few hours at the hospital, the contractions suddenly stopped. So, what were we to do except stop at Cafe Rio for take-out, watch a few old episodes of Stargate SG-1, and hang out like a long-forgotten date night? (My mom had taken Merayla to a Halloween party at the Eppichs. We are grateful because I think the break from being the Mom is what finally helped me go into labor.) I should have gotten some sleep, however, because the real contractions started at midnight about the time we decided to go to bed. They came hard and fast. The drive to the hospital an hour later was reminiscent of a comedy show with the wife yelling at the husband to either run the red light or pull off to the side of the road because you can’t take the braking. When we finally arrived, the nurse at the front desk said that she hoped my cervix had progressed. My response was, "If not, you can give me some drugs and suck my baby out!" (I include this funny tidbit for all those that know I like to do natural births…) The nurse said she didn’t know if they could suck a baby out, but they would work on the drugs. Well, they didn’t have time even for an I.V. I had some very strong contractions while they got the room set up and Cristian went back to the car to get our bag. By the time Cristian came back, I had gone from a 5 to a 9 1/2 and the nurse was telling me I needed to get on the bed because she didn’t want to deliver a baby on the floor. The body pushes the baby all on its own when there aren’t any drugs confusing it so Oliver was out 3 minutes later at 2:19 am. The speed of everything was a surprise to us all, and it took Ollie a few minutes to catch his breath. After that, he has been healthy and growing well. We have been babying around, and it has been fun and exhausting and interesting and cuddly.

I’ve included lots of pictures because I couldn’t decide which were the cutest… I hope you like them. They include a few at the hospital, his first day home, bathing, sleeping, and hanging out with us. Also, this is going to be our Christmas letter so we hope you are all doing well, and we would love to hear from you!

Merayla calls me a Fridge. Daddy is a Lion, and she’s a Princess.

For all who have asked for a picture of The Fridge, here you go:

 

My two little sisters both got married, and they were both beautiful brides! We wish them as many long walks, good talks, and shared smiles as we have had together. We also wish them cute Babettes that bring them great joy.

Danielle & Lance Ward
August 8, 2009 in the Logan Temple

Charlyn & Christopher Lee
October 9, 2009 in the Las Vegas Temple

We took a family vacation this summer to “Can-a-forn-a,” as Merayla says. She talks about it all the time, so I’m so excited that we decided to go. I really wanted to take Merayla to the ocean so we hopped on the I-80 West and made a quick trip! We stayed at a fun hotel in Reno, with the Alecus in Sacramento, and with the Muhlenkamps in San Francisco. We also stopped at Lake Tahoe and got to hang out for an afternoon with Toni. It was great fun!

Merayla talks about how she got a big bed to herself at the hotel and how the ocean was real deep apa (water). It was Daddy’s first time to see San Fran, and all of us loved the unique restaurants downtown. Mommy’s favorite part was playing on the beach with Daddy. He dug huge whole that we forgot to get a picture of but it reached water and past our knees! Here are some pictures of the trip:

Reno

 

Lake Tahoe

The Ocean

San Francisco

The Aquarium at the Bay

 

Driving Home

Here’s the official announcement folks, and we are so excited! The Icleanu name will live on (Cristian is the last boy in his family line with only girl cousins), and Mommy and Layla will have to learn what else to do during the day besides hunting for “fowlers,” dancing in princess dresses, and trying on bracelets.

Merayla was sure it was going to be a boy, and answered, “Boy!” each time we asked her what she thought. She also told me one day that the baby likes green. Another day, she told me there were 2 babies in there (mostly because there were two fat rolls when I was sitting down), haha. And then she said, “Lots of babies in there!” Well, we are hoping for lots of babies some day, but one is good for now. The new arrival is due on October 30th. We haven’t set on a name yet and are finding that boy names are a little harder to come up with. Let us know some of your favorites…

This winter we taught Merayla how to make snow angels. She gets all excited about it and lays down and starts moving her arms and legs as fast as she can.

 

Well, now that the snow is almost gone, it’s no reason to stop making snow angels! Last week there was a little snow fall, and Merayla begged most of the morning to go out in it. She was playing happily, tromping around in the inch or two. Then suddenly, she laid down, started kicking her arms and legs, and cleared the whole area of snow. It’s a grass/dirt angel. It’s cute. And there’s a hand. It’s cute too.

It’s annual spoof time again at DHI. For those of you who are interested, it’s pretty much the one creative thing I get paid to write each year.

This year, I wrote two. One’s a spoof on the Economic Stimulus Plan (Don’t worry, Dad, the spoof is not actually liberal in nature so it should be readable) and the other is a fun, child-like story that spoofs on the fact that my boss can never find “his” chair that is somehow lower than all others in existence. (It’s broken.) If you have a few minutes, check them out and let me know what you think:

Continue reading Spoof III & IV

March 12th was Cristian’s birthday. Merayla had great fun preparing for the party. In fact, by the time Cristian got home, she was running around the house shouting “PARTY!!!” at the top of her lungs! Here are a few pictures of how happy she was to have a party for Daddy.

Then, the week after, Cris and I got to celebrate our 4th Anniversary! Well, both of us were sick so mostly we hung on and survived together. But, we had some beautiful flowers and I wrote a poem for my Babu since he is always writing sweet ones for me. I am so grateful that we found each other and agreed to marry each other, that we have had four great years and have many more to come. I love you, Babu Dadu.

This one is for Victoria, since they are still in the South and we are back in the land of ice and snow… Merayla’s loving it! Cristian and I also went ice-skating in the parking lot a few days ago. Haha!