Friday, April 25, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Me and my cousins
Today I met my cousins on my mom's side for the first time. My older cousin Eavy (my mom's third goddaughter) is 17 months old now. She was born November 8, 2006. Eavy's little sister Demi was born two weeks before me. Her birthday is March 10, 2008. They live in San Francisco. I can't wait to visit them and play at the park near their house.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Athan James is born
Athanasios James made his appearance on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 4:34 in the afternoon. He weighed 5 pounds 6 ounces and was 17 1/4 inches long.
Athan's story...
After two years of trying to have a baby, my mom and dad decided it was time to try in-vitro fertilization. Dr. Buyalos, the greatest doctor in the world, was positive the procedure would work. After several weeks of medication and lots of trips to Thousand Oaks, my mom and dad learned I was on my way. Despite some bumps in the road during my 9 months in the oven, I finally made it into the world!
The BIG day...
So my mom went to the doctor on March 20 (at 35 weeks and 1 day). The doctor acted kind of funny but wouldn't tell my her why. As my mom was leaving the nurse told her to go to the hospital and pre-register. My mom was suspicious but didn't give it a lot more thought. On Easter Sunday my mom had a second sign that I might be coming soon, but again she let it go. For the next two days my mom cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. She had the carpets cleaned, the windows cleaned, and the house cleaned. She cleaned out the pantry, the kitchen drawers, and re-organized the spice cabinet. Around 12:00pm on my birthday she finished up her homework for that night's class and talked to her friend Teanna on the phone. She headed off to the couch for a short break. Her break did not last long, as within minutes I gave her a good kick and her water broke. She called the doctor and waited for my dad to come home from work. Once dad got home they jumped in the car and headed for Memorial Hospital. This was around 1:30pm and my mom's contractions were already five minutes apart. They made it to the hospital where they met up with the doctor. He announced I would come into this world via c-section, because I had been laying sideways for the past 9 months. He told my mom he would be back around 5:30pm for my arrival. By 3:30pm my mom's contractions were one after the next and the nurses had to page the doctor. The doctor arrived about 20 minutes later and the rest is history!
The COOL part...
A couple weeks before my mom found out she was pregnant my Theo Tommy and Nouno Peter were at a Monastery in Greece where they prayed to an icon of the Theotokos (Blessed Virgin Mary) that my mom would have a baby. My mom's nouna Aggie also prayed to the Virgin Mary while in Greece. In fact, she put a tiny silver baby charm on top of the icon of the Virgin Mary when she prayed. Finally, my Thea Tina had a Blessed Apple sent to my mom from a monestary in New York. This is an apple blessed by the tears of St. Irene, the saint of health and fertility. My mom ate the apple before she underwent the final medical procedure that led to my arrival. My mom also prayed to an icon of the Virgin Mary that day. Nine months later, on March 25, 2008, I was born...on Annunciation (name day of the Virgin Mary). This day is highly revered and celebrated by Greek Orthodox Christians. As a side note, it was also Greek Independence Day... :). My mom says I'm very spiritually protected! And my name...it means Immortal.
Athan's story...
After two years of trying to have a baby, my mom and dad decided it was time to try in-vitro fertilization. Dr. Buyalos, the greatest doctor in the world, was positive the procedure would work. After several weeks of medication and lots of trips to Thousand Oaks, my mom and dad learned I was on my way. Despite some bumps in the road during my 9 months in the oven, I finally made it into the world!
The BIG day...
So my mom went to the doctor on March 20 (at 35 weeks and 1 day). The doctor acted kind of funny but wouldn't tell my her why. As my mom was leaving the nurse told her to go to the hospital and pre-register. My mom was suspicious but didn't give it a lot more thought. On Easter Sunday my mom had a second sign that I might be coming soon, but again she let it go. For the next two days my mom cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. She had the carpets cleaned, the windows cleaned, and the house cleaned. She cleaned out the pantry, the kitchen drawers, and re-organized the spice cabinet. Around 12:00pm on my birthday she finished up her homework for that night's class and talked to her friend Teanna on the phone. She headed off to the couch for a short break. Her break did not last long, as within minutes I gave her a good kick and her water broke. She called the doctor and waited for my dad to come home from work. Once dad got home they jumped in the car and headed for Memorial Hospital. This was around 1:30pm and my mom's contractions were already five minutes apart. They made it to the hospital where they met up with the doctor. He announced I would come into this world via c-section, because I had been laying sideways for the past 9 months. He told my mom he would be back around 5:30pm for my arrival. By 3:30pm my mom's contractions were one after the next and the nurses had to page the doctor. The doctor arrived about 20 minutes later and the rest is history!
The COOL part...
A couple weeks before my mom found out she was pregnant my Theo Tommy and Nouno Peter were at a Monastery in Greece where they prayed to an icon of the Theotokos (Blessed Virgin Mary) that my mom would have a baby. My mom's nouna Aggie also prayed to the Virgin Mary while in Greece. In fact, she put a tiny silver baby charm on top of the icon of the Virgin Mary when she prayed. Finally, my Thea Tina had a Blessed Apple sent to my mom from a monestary in New York. This is an apple blessed by the tears of St. Irene, the saint of health and fertility. My mom ate the apple before she underwent the final medical procedure that led to my arrival. My mom also prayed to an icon of the Virgin Mary that day. Nine months later, on March 25, 2008, I was born...on Annunciation (name day of the Virgin Mary). This day is highly revered and celebrated by Greek Orthodox Christians. As a side note, it was also Greek Independence Day... :). My mom says I'm very spiritually protected! And my name...it means Immortal.
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