Pellegrini Page

Today is a day that we will never forget as long as we live. Our sweet little girl, Elise LaFleur Pellegrini, has arrived! She was originally due on July 13 and ended up being born at 5:21am on July 14, so I think it’s fair to say that she was right on time. Elise weighed in at 7 pounds 8 ounces, and measured 21 inches long.

Jessica started going into labor yesterday around 4:00pm. She was having regular contractions about 8 minutes apart, so we decided to go for a walk to help expedite the process. Initially we didn’t want to get our hopes up because you never know if the contractions are suddenly going to stop, but by about 7:30pm we knew that this was the real deal. We tried to treat it like a normal night; I made dinner and the three of us watched a movie.

Jessica continued having contractions through the night, so at about 1:30am we decided to call my sister Dana to have her come over to watch over Ava. Jessica, Amy and I arrived at the birth center at about 2:30am and they were just getting all setup for her. I had already spoken on the phone with the midwife and she was just a moment behind us getting there. The whole concept of giving birth at a birth center is very different from your typical hospital birth. You’re in a ‘birthing suite’ containing a bed, jacuzzi, shower, and furniture. You have complete control over the atmosphere, so we had candles, dim lights, and music to make things more comfortable for Jessica.

The most difficult part of this whole process from my perspective was seeing Jessica in so much pain. She didn’t take any pain killers this time and was an absolute trooper throughout the entire experience. The three hours that took place between us arriving at the birth center and Jessica delivering Elise were some of the most intense hours of my life. To see your wife in so much pain and not be able to do anything other than be there and hold her is really tough. There were times when each of us questioned whether going to the hospital and getting an epidural would have been the right thing to do, but ultimately she toughed it out and did it naturally.

Surprisingly Jessica ended up preferring the jacuzzi because it made her contractions more bearable, so she ended up going in there two separate times. It was during this second time in the jacuzzi that Elise was delivered. I’ve heard of water deliveries before but never expected that to be what we would do, but it worked out perfectly. The best part about doing the natural birth was that we were allowed to go home less than three hours after Elise was born. Since Jessica hadn’t taken any pain killers she was able to walk, and Elise was looking perfect, so we were home before Ava finished breakfast. That was definitely the best part of the whole experience. We hadn’t even made it out of the parking lot when leaving the birth center before Jessica stated that this was a much better experience than we had at the hospital in San Diego. Getting to come home with Elise so quickly was amazing.

Here are several pictures from Elise’s first day of life. Words can’t express how proud I am of Jessica, and how much I love my family.

This was taken right before we went to the birth center

This is the first picture taken of Elise, just moments after delivery

Getting all checked out

Ready to head home

Elise being held by Auntie Dana for the first time

Elise and Laurel, the two birthday girls

Ava out enjoying the sun on Elise’s birthday

Holding my 2 girls together for the first time

Grandma Amy came into town on Friday night to stay with us for a few weeks and help with the new baby. Yesterday she and Jessica got a bunch of work done on Elise’s bedroom, and today they’re out visiting with Laurel while Ava and I spend the day at home. This is probably the last day that just Ava and I will have together for a while so we’re having lots of fun. I’m actually writing this from our front yard while Ava runs around climbing on stuff and collecting rocks.

Thursday we celebrated the 4th of July by going to the festivities in downtown Issaquah. There was a small parade, playground, pony rides, slug races, slides, and lots of food. Ava seemed to enjoy watching the parade, then we ran around the playground for a bit and went down the slide together a few times. She wanted to keep walking when we were leaving and ended up walking at least a quarter of a mile back to the car. I was impressed that she could go that far without stopping.

We got a chance to say hi to Dana on the phone Thursday afternoon and wish her a happy birthday. She and Brad were doing their annual trip to Leavenworth and were having a great time as always. That night we were able to watch two separate fireworks shows going on over Lake Sammamish from our front yard. It was a surprisingly good view from where we stood, but maybe next year we’ll have to get up on the roof to be able to see the whole show.

School officially started back up today. Having the last two weeks off school has been really nice but I’m happy to be back in. It’s mostly all programming work now and that’s what I like doing best. We were hoping Elise would arrive during my break from school but no such luck. I always do my homework early so I’m not too worried about turning in late work when she does decide to make her appearance. We’re totally ready and waiting at this point so hopefully it will be this week. The sooner the better as far as Jessica is concerned.

I don’t have to worry about any work travel for now so that’s nice, especially considering its Summer. Its been pretty hot here lately, including a couple days in the 90’s, but then I talk to my Mom and hear its been 115 in Vegas. Kinda puts things in perspective. I’m just glad we still have our portable air conditioner. Moving it from room to room isn’t very fun but Jess would be dying without it. I’m pretty buried with work right now but I’m probably only taking 3 days off when Elise is born so I won’t get too far behind. With any luck this will be the last post before Elise arrives.

Summer is officially here and it was a lovely weekend, a little on the hot side coming in at about 95 degrees on Sunday but a lovely day none the less! It has been really nice this past week getting some quality family time in since Michael has a two week break from classes. We have been taking full advantage of it and spending lots of time playing outside.

Yesterday afternoon my Aunt Carol hosted a backyard/ garden baby shower for Elise and I.  Ava and I, along with 12 lovely ladies and 6 kids (4 under the age of 3 months) spent the afternoon catching up with girl friends and family, learning new Mommy tips and tricks and passing all the babies around. It truly was a lovely party. It’s no surprise to me, but Carol really knows how to put together a great event. The backyard was set up with a white party tent for shade, toys for all the kids to play with, a refreshment table, baby girl decorations and more. She didn’t forget a single detail, I felt very special. There were a few games for everyone to play but thankfully not the cheesy type where I was forced to sniff fake diapers or subject myself to having my belly measured. We enjoyed lots of yummy appetizers, sweets and drinks. She asked each guest to write a comment to Elise and is making us a cute keep sake with the notes and pictures of each guest. No detail was forgotten.

We had a really great time. Being surrounded by everyone made me realize how much love and support we have here. I know that having two girls under the age of 2 is not going to be easy but knowing that we have so much support helps put my mind at ease.

A HUGE thank you to my wonderful Auntie Carol. She always goes above and beyond to show her love and support. We are all so lucky to have you close by again, yet another reason I’m thankful to be back home.  Now come on little Elise, we are ready to meet you!

Ava and I before the party started. Its so hard to get her to stay still for even a moment these days and forget about getting her to look the direction you want and smile.

Opening all of the great gifts. Baby girls come with so much cute stuff.

Ava and Drew, the two “big” kids at the party. They pretty much ignored all the babies.

Earlier this week Jessica was doing one of her regular checks on the website to see if Bruno had been adopted and she couldn’t find him. She emailed her contact at the shelter and we found out that Bruno has been adopted by a new family! Apparently the shelter had already turned down at least one family because they wanted to make sure they found the perfect fit for him. As we know, Bruno requires lots of outdoor time and exercise; something that we were no longer able to provide him with. His new family has teenage kids and they are very active, outdoor people, which is perfect for Bruno. We were very excited to hear the news, even though we still miss him and think of him often. He was such a character, and will never be replaced, but I’m very happy that he is with a family that can give him what he deserves.

We’re getting very close to Elise’s arrival. Our friends Leon and Jodi just had their son Miles on Friday, as did our friends James and Amanda, whose daughter Winslow was born the same day right down the hall. This means we’re the only ones left so hopefully it will be soon. Jessica hasn’t been feeling very good today so she’s resting in bed. It’s great having her home all the time but I know she’s getting anxious. I’m just glad she held out while I was traveling for work earlier in the week. I won’t be leaving again for a while.

Ava is doing great and absolutely loves going outside to play. Rain or shine, she wants to be out there everyday and doesn’t take no for an answer. In a way its a little bit sad that these are the last days we’ll have with her as our only child, but that sentiment is largely overshadowed by the excitement of the impending arrival of her little sister. Ava got to spend some time this week with Uncle Butch and Aunt Carol while we attended Kallan’s high school graduation. As usual she spent the whole time chasing their dog Max and playing in the yard.

I finished my final project of the quarter today which means several things: First it means I’m on a two week break from school. It would be so perfect if Elise could arrive during my break so my fingers are crossed. Next, it means that I am done with all of my prerequisite classes; no more math, no more economics, no more project management, etc. From here on out its all programming classes, which is exactly what I joined for. Getting classically trained in computer programming is going to help my career as a web developer quite a bit, so I’m excited to finally be at that stage in the curriculum. Finally, being done with this quarter means that I’m officially in my final year of school. Exactly one year from now I’ll be graduating and it feels good to know that I’m getting so close to completion.

Here are a few recent pics

More whip cream please

I’m a little late on writing this post. My intentions were good but at this stage of the pregnancy I am finding myself extremely forgetful, increasing tired and not nearly as productive as I’d like to be.

Even though this isn’t the first Father’s Day we’ve celebrated as a family it’s the first that we celebrated just the 3 of us and it will be the last. Last year my Dad was visiting us in San Diego and next year we’ll have another baby girl to spend the day with.

This week we will be celebrating my nephew Kallan’s high school graduation. Kallan and I have always been very close so I’m very proud to see him growing up and doing so well for himself. Kallan was my Dad’s first grandchild, as well as the only grandchild he ever got to meet in person, so that makes it extra special. I remember holding Kallan as a baby, then living with him a few years later. I used to take him to preschool at the Pike Place Market, let him rewire my stereo, and take him for rides in my Prelude. Should Jessica and I not have any more children, Kallan is the closest thing I’ll ever have to a son.

Tomorrow night Dana, Brad, Kallan, Anna, Jessica, and I will be having dinner at El Gaucho to celebrate, then we’ll be attending his graduation ceremony on Monday evening. Should be a great weekend. I also have my 2nd Father’s Day to look forward to this Sunday. We don’t have anything special planned, and unfortunately I’ll be working from home all day, but at least I’m home with my girls. Jessica is officially done working now and is on the home stretch preparing for the arrival of our baby girl Elise. She had initially expected to work another week or so but we mutually decided that it’s best to stop now and just relax. We got to work together on a private party at El Gaucho last weekend, and I’ll actually be covering her shift on another party this Saturday night.

Life has been incredibly busy for me lately and I’ve been doing my best not to freak out. I took on a huge challenge to prepare a version of an application my team is working on for a test in our Southern California Fulfillment Center next week. I have literally no support on this project and am working around the clock to get it finished on time. I’m actually not sure that I will be able to complete 100% of it before the test but I’m doing my best and my manager has already assured that whatever I get done will be fine. I’m spending all of my free time working on it, but I also have a significant amount of homework to do so I’m spending about 16 hours every day working either on work stuff or school stuff. Kallan’s graduation activities will provide a much needed break from all this work, even if only for a few hours.

The trip to Southern California next week will be my last until August. Although unlikely, I’m praying that Elise doesn’t decide to arrive while I’m away on Tuesday and Wednesday. Anytime after that will be just fine with me. The last 3 weeks have seen trips to California and Phoenix, air conditioning breakdowns on the plane in Phoenix before takeoff, sinus infections, and even more coding than normal. I wish I could say I’ll be taking time off when Elise is born but no such luck. Due to my limited tenure as a full–time employee at Amazon, I only qualify for an unpaid leave of absence, which I will not be taking. This is a very similar situation to the one I was in when Ava was born. Most likely I will be taking 3 days off, then working from home a few more days. Luckily I have a great manager who puts family first, so I have the freedom to work from home as long as necessary.

Today is WebDevCon at Amazon, which I’ve been looking forward to for a while. WebDevCon is an annual conference put on internally at Amazon to showcase the latest and greatest web development technologies. There are a variety of talks being put on, plus meals are provided. There are well over 1,000 attendees so it’s a pretty big event. This is the type of conference that you would normally pay a lot of money to attend, but in this case they’re paying me to attend, so that’s pretty cool. I arrived early this morning to help setup and soon found myself making a run to pickup 5 gallons of coffee and 5 gallons of orange juice. I’ve never seen so many bagels, cream cheese containers, or pizzas. The 250 pizzas we ordered from Mad Pizza in Seattle was a store record! Happy Hour is being catered tonight by Foundation but unfortunately I have too much work to be able to attend. At least I’ll be home with my girls listening to game 4 of the NBA Finals while I work.

There probably won’t be too many more posts on here before Elise arrives. It’s a bit hard to believe that we’re so close to her arrival but I can’t wait to hold her for the first time. Regardless of how much we have going on and how many responsibilities I have, I couldn’t be happier. If you would have told me a year ago that today I would be a web developer at Amazon, living in the Seattle area, and that Jessica would be on the verge of giving birth to our second child, I would have said you were crazy. It’s funny how life turns out when you set goals for yourself and work hard to achieve them.

My Mom got back from the Alaska cruise on Friday and stayed the weekend with us. She said the cruise went really well and everyone had a nice time. We’ve been looking forward to having her so that she can have some quality time with Ava and a much needed break from work. She’ll be going back home to Vegas tomorrow but unfortunately I have to fly out to Phoenix tonight for work. Jessica has the night off and I wish I could stay home with everyone but there’s nothing I can do. I just checked the weather down there and its going to be 106 degrees both days I’m there. Should be interesting.

We had brunch with Dana and Brad this morning. I hardly ever get to see them these days due to everyone’s work schedules so it was really nice to sit down and catch up. Ava did surprisingly well at the restaurant, but that was mostly due to her choices of: portable dvd player, Nana’s iPad, and pancakes with syrup. Yesterday the four of us found a great park near our house on Lake Sammamish that we hadn’t been too. It was really beautiful so I’m sure we’ll be back there again.

It was great having my Mom for the weekend, and I’m looking forward to her next visit at the end of July. By then she’ll have two granddaughters to play with. Here’s a few pics from the weekend.

Today our sweet baby girl turns a year and a half old! It was only a few days after her first birthday that we moved from San Diego back to Seattle, which means we’ve now been back for six months. Time has flown by and we’ve settled in nicely to our new home. More importantly, we’re only about 7 weeks away from Elise’s due date! Jessica has been busy painting and getting her room ready, and I keep telling Ava that she’s about to be a big sister. Very exciting times for us.

We’re still getting used to living without Bruno. The house feels so much quieter these days and we talk about him frequently. We both still feel really bad about letting him go and have been checking the website regularly to see if he has found a new home. So far he’s still at the shelter but hopefully it won’t be long before someone adopts him. I’d by lying if I said I didn’t miss him.

I got my motorcycle back this week. Had it shipped from my Mom’s house in Vegas and it got here in perfect condition. I just went and got Washington plates for it this morning. Summer is obviously the best time to ride in Washington so I’m glad to have it back. There won’t be much time available for joyriding this summer but I’m looking forward to riding it to work. Every time I get on that thing I end up with an ear to ear grin.

We got to visit with my Mom and Denny on Thursday evening. They were in town for the annual Card Player Cruises trip to Alaska. My Mom hadn’t seen our new house yet so we all had dinner at El Gaucho, then Mom, Ava and I came back to the house so they could hang out for a while. She’ll be back on Friday to spend the weekend with us, but unfortunately I have to fly to Phoenix that Sunday night for work. I’ll still get a couple days with her, but more importantly she has an entire weekend with Ava.

Tonight Jessica and I are meeting our good friends Jodi and Leon for dinner at Rover’s. We celebrated Jessica’s 30th birthday at Rover’s and had one of the best meals of our lives. Its the best French restaurant in Seattle but unfortunately it will be closing in about a month so the chef can move on to open a new place. The Maitre D’ is an old friend that I worked at El Gaucho with for years so I’m sure he’ll take good care of us tonight. I’ve always wanted to go to a French restaurant with my friend Leon because he has worked at some of the finest French restaurants in the country and knows so much about the cuisine. Dinners like these don’t come around often so we’re very excited.

Auntie Dana is going to watch Ava tonight when we go out. Ava loves going over there and Dana is so good with her so its a perfect fit. Our little girl is growing up fast and I think its going to be amplified once Elise arrives. It won’t be much longer before we’re referring to her age in years rather than months. Here’s a few recent pics. Happy 18 months baby girl – we love you so much!!!

Always climbing up on something

Getting ready to go see Nana

Today was a really difficult day for us because we had to surrender our dog Bruno to a shelter. Bruno first entered our lives in the summer of 2009. My Mom was in Seattle visiting for my birthday and the 3 of us decided to go to the animal shelter. Jessica was the first one to find him and immediately she fell in love. Those big floppy ears and long legs were hilarious and he was instantly gravitated towards us, so my Mom got him as my birthday present. He had been found at Myrtle Edwards Park in Seattle and was assumed to be about 6 months old, so I decided to give him my Grandma’s birthday: January 30th.

Bruno accompanied us on many adventures, including trips to the Cascade Mountains in Washington, the beaches of Southern California, and the desert of Nevada. He never saw a cat or squirrel he didn’t want to chase, but was so clumsy due to his long legs that he couldn’t even run without falling over. His gate resembled a horse more than a dog, meaning he got lots of attention anytime we took him out in public. He is without a doubt the goofiest and most individual dog I’ve ever seen in my life.

Bruno was far from perfect though. He has food aggression issues that are most likely due to the time he spent abandoned in the park. Meal times were often intense between him and Bella but it was never more than we could handle. Bruno is the kind of dog that needs a lot of exercise and time outside; if he doesn’t get those things he starts acting out, which is exactly what has been going on with us for the past 6-8 months. The combination of having a child, plus me getting a day job and going back to school meant that our family had no more time to go to the dog park and take them out on daily walks. Slowly Bruno started acting out more and more, which included peeing in the house daily and escaping from the yard. His life was turning into being shut into rooms by himself and being chained up outside.

Obviously this was a self–perpetuating cycle that only got worse. Bruno didn’t deserve this type of life and Jessica was going insane trying to clean up after him while caring for Ava. This was only going to get worse once Elise arrived, so we made a decision to find him a new home. Jessica was able to find a no–kill shelter in Woodinville that was happy to take him, so today we took him in. I knew this was going to be tough, but it’s been much worse than I originally expected. I’ve never had a dog for this long before and we built a great bond between the two of us. He’s my boy and I feel so guilty that I wasn’t able to do more for him.

This is one of those situations where your brain knows that you’re doing the right thing, both for us and for Bruno, but your emotions won’t listen. I came home from work today and the house felt so quiet and empty without him. I’m sure the shelter will find a great family or person to adopt him and he will soon be living the life that he deserves, but it’s really hard to cope with the fact that I’m never going to see him again. My Mom has always told me that getting a pet means you’re setting yourself up for heartbreak down the road, and that’s exactly how Jess and I are feeling right now. If my little girls read this someday I hope they understand that doing the right thing is often going to be really difficult, but that’s how you know it’s right.

Bruno, you’ve been such a good boy. I’m sorry we couldn’t give you the life you deserve, but I promise we will never forget you. You will always be a member of our family.

This was the first time we saw Bruno at the shelter

This is probably my favorite picture of Bruno. We had only had him about a month at the time.

Walker Hounds are known as "couch hounds"… You can see why

Hangin’ out with Momma

Daddy long legs

Playing at the beach in San Diego

Our final night together

His last morning at the house

Today we got to celebrate Jessica’s second year as a Mom. This is a special year because it will bring us our second addition to the family. We’re inside of 9 weeks until the official due date so the clock is definitely ticking. Jess and I both spoke to our Moms today and got to send our love. Amy and Tom are having fun at Disneyland today. My Mom and Denny went to their annual Foreigner concert last night and had a great time.

The thought of going to a restaurant this morning for brunch wasn’t very appealing, especially since Jessica had to work last night, so yesterday Ava and I went grocery shopping at QFC to pick out lots of special ingredients for brunch this morning at home. We got to see Kallan at work for the first time. He gave us the VIP treatment by opening up a check stand just for us when we were ready to leave.

For brunch this morning we had Crab–Prosciutto Eggs Benedict with homemade hollandaise and roasted potatoes. I had never done a Benedict before and had to learn how to make hollandaise, but it came out well. After brunch we took the dogs on a walk and got to try out our new stroller. We got a convertible model that can carry one baby or two. Its way more modern looking than I was imagining and its a jogger. We’re turning into those nerdy parents that have cool kid accessories.

After brunch we got to hang out at home for a bit. Unfortunately Jess had to work tonight but she’ll be off early. I’m staying home with Ava and getting ready for another big week at work. I’m interviewing a candidate for the first time on my own tomorrow morning, which can be chalked up to the list of things that I always assumed I would do here at some point, just not this soon. There’s going to be considerable more work travel coming up, but I’ve set a travel cutoff date of June 24 so that I don’t have to worry about being away when Elise decides to make her appearance.

I got a chance to speak to my Aunt Norma today. I think of her constantly but we haven’t spoken in quite a while. It was so good to hear her voice and update her on everything going on with us. We’re going to pick a date to get together soon so she can finally meet Ava. I can’t wait for that to happen, its going to be really special to see them together.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms in our lives. We love you all and hope you’re having a great day. Here’s a few recent pictures of our family.

Crab–Prosciutto Eggs Benedict with roasted potatoes

Family photo after our walk. It’s impossible to get everyone looking at the same time.

Mother’s Day 2013

Blurry but still cute