Long overdue update... - Thu, November 15, 2007 - Katrina    Comments: 2

Hi dear friends and family.
My how time flies even faster with two children. I can't believe it has been two months since Taleh was born. So much has happened. Of course, you all have seen the posts from this summer, but I wanted to also comment on how excited I am that I graduated and have to send a HUGE thank you to my husband, my parents, Nafeh's parents, and my classmates. I coudn't have completed the program nor done it in the time that I did without all their help. I love you guys!!
Secondly, Jameh, at 21 months, has been growing and he is just so smart...(I know all parents say that about there kids)--but he really is!! He is talking so much and has started to try to say short sentences such as, "It's hot" or "It's a big elephant". He loves animals and can talk about them, say their names, and their sounds endlessly. He also has a really adorable habit of saying 'hi baby' to any child 10 years old and younger--which is hilarious when he says it to little girls and always gets a laugh from parents...He loves Taleh so much! On most mornings her name is the first thing he says when he wakes up and wants to see her. She usually had a bit of grimace on her face, but lately she has started smiling more at Jameh and just watching him. We have also discovered that he has gotten taller. No we haven't measured him, but he all of a sudden can reach the books and dvd's on the third shelf of the bookshelf, get things off the counters in the kitchen and the table. That proves for fun times of safety concerns. He definitely keeps us on our toes. Jameh sings lots of songs, nursery rhyms such as 'twinkle, twinkle little star', 'it's raining, it's pouring', prayers such as 'blessed is the spot', and pretty much repeats at random times anything (including the tone) that we may say or sing. He is basically, hilarious and keeps us laughing and smiling.
After graduation (August), when almost all of my family came---so much fun and really really appreciated---I had one month until Taleh was to be born. I felt great the whole pregnancy and really enjoyed being pregnant. The week that Taleh was due I was not really feeling any different, except a little nesting, and really thinking that she would be later than her due date. As her due date, September 13th, approached we started to get pressure from family and friends, for different reasons to hurry up and have this baby. Mostly, our family wanted us to have the baby on the weekend so most of them could come--hahaha...like we have control over that. Well, Thursday the 13th came and no change..so my very dear friend Pooneh Ghiassi called and encouraged Jameh and I to go for a walk/hike with her and her son, Micah at Radnor Lake. We went for about an hour walk, which felt great, but I was definitely so much slower.
Sure enough, that evening I started to feel a little different, with a little cramping. We called our family members on Friday when the cramping continued that morning and the contractions started to seem pretty regular. However, as my family arrived we were a little discouraged to find that the contractions had actually become irregular and further apart. That evening we went for another long hike and I started drinking more and more raspberry leaf tea. Alicia and Brian arrived and we all started joking that it would just be a fun weekend to hang out because this baby was probably not coming. In addition, Nafeh's parents arrived that night and Nafeh and I went to pick them up from the airport. When we got back home, the contractions started getting more noticeable around 10/11pm. Everyone finally went to bed around 1pm after a long evening of playing Wii. As the night continued, I didn't get much sleep since the contractions then began to come around every 10 minutes and were more intense that I could sleep through them. I tried to stay in bed and change positions as much as possible, while timing them and trying not to wake anyone else up. Then around 4am, the contractions suddenly got more intense and I began to spend more and more time in the bathroom in order to be in a room where I could move around because there were people sleeping in all the rooms in our house. I woke Nafeh up around that time because they had suddenly jumped to 4 minutes apart. Nafeh immediately wanted us to get ready and get to the hospital. So, we quietly got ready and around 5:30am we said good bye to family members and set out for the hospital. We were really excited, and my only sadness was leaving my baby Jameh and not saying good bye because he was still sleeping. That was heart-breaking because I also knew that when I saw him next he would not be my only baby anymore---such mixed emotions.
We arrived at the hospital around 6:30am and began the hospital labouring process (see previous blog entries)--Basically, the labour experience was awesome and amazing. I had such great support in Nafeh and my midwife and nurse. I was so happy to have our family members waiting and sending their prayers and good wishes and knowing that Jameh was being taken such great care of. He is always so happy to see his grandparents and aunts and uncles. The birth was extremely intense and much harder than I had thought...but never-the-less we made it through. WOW!! No medication was taken---something I was seriously questioning during and for some time after the birth....hahahaha--It's true that you do start to forget it though, so now I might try it again--THOUGH NOT ANY TIME SOON!!!
Taleh joon was born and it was so exciting and we were so happy---Time to start a totally new and different phase of life.
One month after Taleh was born, we went to Cumberland, MD to visit Nafeh's family (see previous blog)...we had so much fun and loved seeing everyone. We will be posting pictures from that time as soon as possible.
The week after we returned from Cumberland, Jameh, Taleh and I went down to Huntsville, AL to see my family, see Amelia who had just arrived from Haifa, Israel, and let Nafeh study for his Step 2 Boards.
Well, that pretty much takes us to now---Time passes pretty quickly, with so much of it spent changing diapers x2, feeding x2, napping x3 , laundry, cleaning, playing, and just overall family time.
Fun, fun times and life totally changes. However, we have two adorable babies and I have a really wonderful husband (who, by the way, gave me a gift certificate for a spa to get a massage and anythng else I wanted, when we returned from Huntsville--he really knows the way to my heart) hee heeee!! YEAH!!!

Cumberland - Tue, October 30, 2007 - Nafeh    Comments: 1

This picture was taken at the shore of a lake in Cumberland where my parents live. Jameh loves the water. We had a great time...my uncle Khazeh was visiting from Britain, and Uncle Ghassem and Auntie Sateh were visiting from California. Ghaneh, Melody, and Sameh also had the chance to come up with us for the week.

Thu, September 27, 2007 - Nafeh    Comments: 1

At the moment, these two have the full spectrum of the 24-hour day covered. Jameh sleeps during the night. Taleh sleeps during the day. Which is to say that Jameh is awake during the day, and Taleh is awake during the night. This is a rare moment when both are awake. As you can see, Jameh adores his sister.

She's home - Mon, September 17, 2007 - Nafeh    Comments: 5

Right now, it feels quite peaceful, although I am sure that will change...so I am just sneaking in a few moments to give the promised update.

We took Taleh home today. Jameh was excited to see her again (he had seen her briefly at the hospital). He pointed to her and said "baby Taleh"...and then proceeded to point out her eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, and elbows.

Taleh was 6lbs10oz, 20 inches. We were happy that, at first, she seemed to like to sleep, but then discovered that she loves being awake from 1am to 6am. At the moment, we are at home. Katrina is catching up on her sleep, Jameh and Taleh are sleeping in their cribs (Taleh has a side "co-sleeper" bed next to ours), and Katrina's parents are helping us out so much. My parents were also here for the weekend, and it was wonderful having them here. Alicia and Brian (and brother Brian) left yesterday, and it was wonderful support to have our families all together.

I placed a few photos on the site, and hope to put more up later. You can e-mail Katrina at: Katrina.L.Fananapazir@vanderbilt.edu

Taleh is very precious, and already very much loved ... it is a blessing to welcome her into the family, and I look forward to times up ahead. All prayers, e-mails, and well-wishes have been very much appreciated. We look forward to keeping in touch with friends and family again soon.

The Grandparents - Mon, September 17, 2007 - Nafeh and Katrina    Comments: 1

She's here... - Sat, September 15, 2007 - Nafeh and Katrina    Comments: 6

Taleh Maria Fananapazir was born today, September 15th, at 1pm. Mother and baby are doing very well! We have our families with us, and it is truly a special time. We will, of course, post more photos and details later.

Sun, September 09, 2007 - Nafeh    Comments: 3

I submitted my application for pediatrics residency programs last week...and Katrina is now four days away from her due date. Life is moving along, it seems...

Sun, August 26, 2007 - Nafeh    Comments: 7

Greetings from one of the hottest cities during one of the hottest Summers on record.

Katrina and Jameh returned from completing her clinical hours in Huntsville this summer very much missed by myself. So she's done with her degree and has graduated from the pediatric nurse practitioner program! Both sides of the family came down to Nashville for a sort of "double" graduation (I just turned in my thesis for the biomedical informatics M.S. degree) and it was wonderful for us all to be together. Ghaneh and Melody brought Jameh's cousin Sameh down also, and it was great to see my nephew again.

As I enter the fourth (and last) year of medical school, I have decided to apply to pediatrics programs (with an eye towards sub-specialization in cardiology). This is a recent decision (I had been thinking of pathology prior to this). The pediatrics externship this summer was a confirming experience, and I have learned that I really love working with children and their families. The residency application is to be turned in by September 1st.

Our baby girl is due on September 13th...and the countdown continues...we'll keep you posted through the web-site as and when events transpire.

Sorry for the delay... - Sun, June 10, 2007 - Katrina    Comments: 0

Hello all our family and friends!

I know it has been WAY too long since I last wrote and talked about our lives. I think about it daily and then the day is gone and I haven't written. So, we finally downloaded some pictures (although we are aware of the large time gap and will eventually try to fill in new pictures from the past).

Jameh and myself are currently in Huntsville, AL during the week while I am finishing my last semester of nursing school and completing my clinical requirements. It has been so much fun and although most days I'm pretty tired when I get home from the clinic, I am happy because I've learned a lot and Jameh is happy. Of course, we are both sad that 'dada' can't be with us (he has to stay in Nashville), but so far we have seen him the past two weekends. We hope to continue to be able to see him on the weekends. 3 weeks down and 7 to go.

Of course, you can see in some of the pictures that my belly is certainly growing, but I still have a lot of energy and am feeling good about it.
Jameh is growing too --- again, you can see this in the pictures. He runs around and tries to go on his tippy-toes. He can pretty much feed himself now too (with a fork and spoon). He talks a lot now, not only saying new words and copying what we say, but he talks in paragraphs...which we can't understand but obviously means something.
New words include: 'awa' for water, 'off', 'up', 'down', 'purple', 'baby', 'paw, paw' (grandpa), 'bus' (truck), 'alright', 'oh, no', 'no', 'yes', cute 'pie', 'bye bye', 'eyebrow', 'bish' (fish), 'baf' (bath), 'bafroom' (bathroom), 'nigh nigh' (sleeping or sleeping blanket), 'ababiba' (abuelita), 'more', 'babee', 'awwww' (in reference to the baby)

He understands so, so much more!! and it's really cute to ask him about things and he can point to them or go get it. He also says a ton of animal sounds.

Nafeh is working hard and has actually been enjoying is OB/Gyn rotation --- he finds it interesting and I think it's close to home since we are going through this process again

Jameh is 17 months next week and I will be 27 weeks this next Thursday.

Tid-bits:
We miss all of our family and friends and wish we could see everyone.

Our little nephew was born a few months ago and he is SO cute and we can't wait to see him again.
Alicia and Brian G. came to stay with us a few times to help with Jameh while I was in clinicals or classes --- it was a HUGE help and so nice to spend extended time together.

Our friend Shai (who is in one of the pictures) had her baby shower and we were so honored to host it at our home. She is due two weeks before I am and so we will both be quite HUGE come graduation (August 5th).

Amelia, Lucia, Geoffrey, and Roya are all still in Haifa, Israel and doing well. Amelia should be returning to the states in September or October, so we look forward to seeing her soon.
Brian T. will be heading to the Czech Republic and Israel as well this summer. We will miss him, but he will have SO much fun!!

We miss you all and love you -- hope to hear from you soon.

Sat, May 12, 2007 - Nafeh    Comments: 0

First things first, we found out that we're having a baby girl due September. She has begun kicking and occasionally waking Katrina up at night. It is just as enjoyable going through this the second time. We're looking forward to meeting her very much indeed.

In other news, I am now an uncle. We visited Ghaneh and Melody and their new baby boy, Sameh ("the one who listens" a couple of weeks ago. You can visit them at: www.fananapazir.com/sameh. My parents and Melody's mother were also there, and we had a lovely time with all of them. Sameh looks a very wise, spiritual baby...and you can see the strong resemblance between him and his parents. Jameh kept on trying to get closer to him saying "bebee....bebee" in his most gentle voice. It is nice for them to be so close in age (along with our future little one).

I have just over a month before I start the last year of med school, and Katrina is preparing to move in with her family down in Huntsville, Alabama to finish her nurse practitioner clinical hours in order to graduate in August. I'm going to miss her and Jameh a lot during the week, and try to make it down on the weekends.

Jameh has grown up a lot and is so delightful and so precious. He has a very good nature to him, and likes to laugh and make other people laugh. He is at the stage of trying to imitate everything that we do (when we're cleaning the floor, he will grab a napkin to "help" ). He is very social...greeting friend and stranger alike with a "hi" and a wave.

We no longer have fast internet access at home, but when I get my act together, I will bring my laptop to school and upload a ton of photos from the past few months.

Here we go again... - Sat, February 03, 2007 - Nafeh and Katrina    Comments: 12

This past week, we found out that Jameh is going to have a sibling with a due date of September 13th. Happy news and more to look forward to in the upcoming year!

Happy First Birthday, Jameh! - Mon, January 15, 2007 - Nafeh and Katrina    Comments: 3

Jameh had his first birthday today. Though birthday parties at this age are more for the parents than for the baby, Jameh enjoyed his chocolate cake.