What a Cute Kid! Che Bel Bambino

Yesterday morning, Lorenzo received a visit from his Aunt Allison. Today he calmed down after breakfast for an artistic shot.

Lorenzo ha ricevuto una visita da zia Allison ieri mattina. Oggi si e' calmato dopo colazione per una foto artistica.

Washing Lorenzo - Lavando Lorenzo

After four days at home, Lorenzo took his first bath. He wasn't too thrilled with the experienced but he survived.

Dopo quattro giorni, Lorenzo ha ricevuto il suo primo bagno. Non era molto contento ma ha sopravissuto.

A cute song

We came across the cutest song yesterday... while riding in the car, I heard a song called "Dat Dere" by Oscar Brown, Jr. It's a jazz classic that also has a wonderful theme of a daddy wanting to raise his quizzical child in the right way.

Hey daddy what dat dere? And what's dat doing dere?
Hey daddy, hey daddy, hey look at that over dere?
And what's dat doing dere? And where're dey going dere?
And daddy can I have that big elephant over dere?

Oh... and just when you thought you'd heard stories of big babies, comes a big Russian bear!?

More Fun Stuff / Altri Divertimenti

Today was a day of firsts for Lorenzo. First, he went to the pediatrician for the first time and tonight he'll get his first bath. He has a bit of jaundice and he broke his clavicle on the way out but the pediatrician said he will heal without a problem. He's already back up to 8 pounds and has a voracious appetite - after four days, he's already guzzling down up to 2 1/2 ounces every three hours. Last night he was so good that he only woke up once - at 3 in the morning? Thank God, we actually slept six hours. Oh, and the constant bottle washing makes me feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.

Here are some photos from the day...

Oggi era un giorno di "prime esperienze" per Lorenzo. E' andato all'pediatra per la prima volta e stasera ricevera' il suo primo bagno. Lorenzo ha un po' di ittero ed ha rotto la sua clavicola quando e' nato ma il pediatra ha detto che guarira' senza problema. E' gia' ritornato a 3628 grammi ed ha un appetito abbastanza feroce - dopo quattro giorni gia' mangia 74 ml ogni tre ore. E' ieri sera era cosi' bravo che ci ha svegliato solo una volta - alle 3 di mattina. Grazie a Dio, abbiamo dormito 6 ore.

Ecco delle foto da questa giornata...

Lorenzo Comes Home / Lorenzo Arriva a Casa

A few photos / Qualche foto

As you know, Lorenzo Tate was born at 6:16 PM on the 20th of September. He weighed 8 pounds, 2 oz and is in good health. For the moment, we're getting used to having a new guest in the house but we'll write more later. For the time being, enjoy some photos from Friday and Saturday. More than anything, we know we want to thank Jesus Christ for this little miracle. We're very happy to have him here.

Come sapete, Lorenzo Tate e' nato il 20 Settembre alle 18:16. Pesava 3,67 kili ed e' in buona salute. Per il momento, ci stiamo abituando ad avere un nuovo ospite a casa ma scriveremo dopo. Godete qualche foto da Venerdi e Sabato. Piu' di tutto, sappiamo che vogliamo ringraziare Jesu' Christo per questo piccolo miracolo. Siamo cosi' contenti.

The Day in Near / Il Giorno Si Sta' Avvicinando

So, here is the latest scoop. The baby is "in position" but the proverbial gates are still closed. So, the first plan was to check into the hospital on Sunday night at 10:00 PM and then have the baby on Monday. Well, it looks like there's no room at the inn so we're going to check in on Tuesday night at 8:00 PM and then have the baby on Wednesday.

That is, unless the baby comes before then on his own or someone else who is scheduled has their baby early so we can sneak in on Sunday. We prefer Sunday since it allows us to do it at the end of the weekend and Selena can finally see the big boy rather than carrying him around like a sack of potatoes strapped to her front.

Allora... oggi siamo andati dalla dottoresso per capire quando arrivera' il bambino siccome e' diventato cosi' grande. Per il momento, abbiamo programmi di andare all'ospedale questo Martedi' alle 20:00 e poi Lorenzo nascera' il 26 Settembre. Pero', potrebbe arrivare piu' presto se c'e' spazio Domenica sera o se arriva senza "aiuto". Stiamo sperando per Domenica sera perche sarebbe piu' facile e poi Selena puo ammirare Lorenzo faccia a faccia invece di portarlo a presso come un sacco di patate.

Say it with a Shirt / Dillo Con una Maglietta

It seems like one of the hottest trends for pregnant women is the recent rise in pregnancy t-shirts with funny sayings. Most are puns or plays on words... like "shopping for two" rather than "eating for two" while others give some insight on the impending birth... due in (month) or coming this (season). Here are a few of Selena's favorites, some of which come from the popular t-shirt maker, 2 Chix.

Una delle novita' negli stati uniti sono tutte le magliette che vendono per donne incinta. Ogni maglietta ha qualche frase divertente che referisce a l'arrivo del bambino. Per esempio, "shopping for two" vuol dire "spendendo per due" (invece di mangiando per due... una frase che si sente spesso). Ecco le magliette preferite di Selena.

The Name

You've probably noticed by now that the name has leaked out... our big boy will be Lorenzo Tate Brichford. Lorenzo is a name both of us have always liked - it has a good Italian ring, a nice pedigree and it turned out to be a family name. Apparently, there are 2-3 Lorenzos alive in the Diano clan. Tate... well, Tate was a name we spotted and liked. Nothing too complex there.

The three finalists were actually the following:

1. Lorenzo
2. Massimo
3. Maxwell

Ironically, we thought Massimo would be easier for Americans to pronounce but, lo and behold, people kept butchering the name. The would also refer to Mossimo of Target fame. Yeah... that name is gone.

And the top 10 names ruled out early in the process...

1. Osama
2. Saddam
3. Pol Pot
4. Ermenegildo
5. Shaq
6. Thor
7. Achilles
8. Federline
9. Lodovico
10. Pradeep

So, Lorenzo it is.

More Preparation / Altre Preparazioni

It turns out bottle manufacturers have come up with ways to make bottles more effective to reduce colic but, in the process, have made them out of a thousand components. Each of those components, at least the first time you use the bottle, has to be washed, scrubbed, spit-shined and in some cases, boiled (I was heating up nipples!?) until they repel dirt from ten feet away. I guess this would be OK if I was dealing with one bottle at a time but five? An early lesson to not let the bottles pile up.

Ho scoperto che ogni bottiglia e' costruita di mille componenti... ciascuno deve essere pulito, bollito, asciugato e lavato in una dozzina di modi. Ci sono varie spazzole e spazzolette che si devono usare per ogni buco miscroscopico in ogni bottiglia. Forse non sarebbe un grande problema con una bottiglia ma con cinque? Meglio pulire ogni bottiglia dopo si usa...

A Surprise in the Future? / Una Sorpresa nel Futuro?

Will he be a future linebacker?
Sara' un giocatore di football?

He started as a peanut... then grew to our little walnut... but now he's more of a coconut. Despite the due date being three weeks away, it turns out the baby is already 8 pounds, 3 oz. This story may be starting sooner than we thought...

Prima era un nocciolino... e poi e' cresciuto ed e' diventato una noce... ma adesso e' un cocco. Anche se non dovrebbe nascere per tre settimane, il bambino e' gia' 3,7 kilogrammi. Ci pare che questa storia incominciera' piu' presto che avevamo previsto...

The Second Party / La Seconda Festa

Thank you to everyone who made it out on Saturday at Giovanni and Allison's. We had a great time and really enjoyed hanging out. Here are several pictures from the party. Enjoy!

Grazie a tutti che sono venuti Sabato sera da Giovanni e Allison. Ci siamo divertiti e abbiamo goduto stare con tutti. Ecco certe fotografie dalla festa. Godetevi.

Everyone has an opinion...

So, here we are, sitting at Starbucks. Selena is busy writing thank you notes while I'm answering work e-mails. We're minding our own business when another customers decides to strike up a friendly conversation. In essence, it went like this... (red is the customer, purple is Selena, black is me)

"Boy or girl?"
"It's a boy"
"That's great. I just had twins... 7 1/2 months old"
"Congratulations, that's great"
"You should be drinking a lot of water... and walking"
"Yeah... I try to walk a lot"
"She's at the gym with me all the time"
"You should walk ... not on a treadmill, just walk slowly."
"Yeah... I mix it up, some on the treadmill, some elliptical and weights"
"No... that's bad!"
"Her doctor says it's fine"
"No, that's not good at all"
"But her doctor says it's okay for her to do so. We saw a report on the news last night that said it's good for a pregnant woman to continue working out"
"Is your doctor a man or a woman?"
"It's a woman"
(no response)
"Are you going to be natural at home or in the hospital"
"Oh, in the hospital but I'll be taking drugs (ha ha)"
"Oh, that's not good"
"Well, not drugs... just an epidural"
"Yeah, that's bad. After it wears off, you'll have side effects"
"Yeah, we know that"
(black cloud slowly appearing over both of our heads)

Now, maybe those things applied to his wife... that's great if they did. That doesn't mean they apply to us... it's just funny how everyone has an opinion. That's not a problem per se... it's just when their opinion is supposed to trump ours... and they're a stranger!?

Party Time! / Tempo di Festeggiare!

Today was our first baby shower... The party was at our office and was hosted by Bridget and Sandra with my co-workers, Walter and Bridget and a gaggle of kids. We had a great time opening gifts for our baby boy (and for us, too). Below are a few photographs from the party... the last one is when we gave some cake to the contractors who chopped down two trees in our yard. Spread the love...

Oggi era la prima festa per il bambino... la "baby shower" Americana. Questa festa era al nostro ufficio ed era organizzata da Bridget e Sandra. Presente erano i miei soci, Walter, Bridget e una folla di bambini. Ci siamo divertiti aprendo regali per il bambino (e per i genitori). Ecco delle foto dalla festa. L'ultima foto e da quando abbiamo dato un po' di torta a i lavoratori che anno tagliato due alberi nel giardino.