1 Hello World!

It gives Lina and I great pleasure to introduce you to our daughter Lauren Aiva Colon! Lauren's middle name is a fusion of both her grandmother's names (Aida & Eva). It has been extremely difficult to find the time & energy to update the blog since her arrival. We feel like zombies from the lack of sleep, but we are floating on air none the less. Lina is a superwomen! I literally have tons of family and friends that I need to call or text back. Everyone has been understanding. For now I leave you guys with the first of a gazillion baby pics. I promise as soon as things ease up we will be updating on a regular basis.

1 The Scouting Report

In sports, teams read "scouting reports" and watch video tape of the opposing team in preparation for the upcoming contest. So as the due date rapidly approaches I've been watching all the baby-related shows on TLC. My personal favorite show is 'Bringing Home Baby'. It is really inspiring to witness what the first 36 hours with baby is like. There are a lot of little nuggets of information that will aid in preparing for bringing home baby. It's no replacement for the real deal, but it keeps me mentally in the right place. I know that I may be sacrificing my manhood by putting this information out there, but I don't care what others may think of me. I owe it to my daughter to be as prepared as possible.

1 The Final Month

In the above picture we have Lina, our cat Lincoln and Secret baking away. I don't have anything witty to say. I just felt this was a nice snapshot that I can share with everyone.

The opportunity to snap up belly shots is fading fast. We have really slacked in that department. So far Lina is having a great pregnancy when compared to all the scary things people have told us. No abnormal swelling or stretch marks either. The overnight hospital bag is packed and we are in stand-by mode. Soon Secret's name will be revealed.

For me, October is an exciting month. Football season is live and kicking. Yankees are in the playoffs. The cool fall weather has arrived. I have a birthday. My daughter arrives soon after. Truly some exciting times.

0 The Supporting Cast

This past weekend Tania E. Bracetti-Cahill (Lina's sister) and Aida Rosado (Lina's mother) held a baby shower for Lina. We had guests from Philadelphia, Florida and all parts of NY in attendance for an afternoon tea party in Manhattan honoring the mother-to-be.

Once we arrived home we had time to process our thoughts and take inventory of all the generous gifts. We are overwhelmed by every one's enthusiasm and generosity. It's understood that we all are doing our best to weather through these challenging economic times; so for people to graciously equip us with the tools for parenting is truly humbling. Although we are sending out the thank you cards this week, we felt compelled to say THANK YOU to everyone in advance. We can't thank everyone enough.

To our daughter: "You are not alone. You will always have God. In addition to his greatness, he has provided you with a supporting cast that is driven on putting your mom and I in a position to be the best parents we can be to you. They came out in support before you arrived and will continue to do so after you arrive. You will never be alone..." ~ Mom & Dad

8 Eviction Notice (Chapter 2)

Finally, we get a look at the infamous man cave transformation. I am about 90% done with the nursery. Minus some wall art, we are just waiting for the crib. I wanted to hold back showing you guys the room until we get the crib as it really ties the whole room together. Why keep everyone waiting, right? We based our paint choices off the crib's bedding set. To the right is a swatch of the bedding set that started the creative juices flowing.

3 weeks ago I had finally gotten the room empty enough to start painting. I assume from all the moving I threw my back out the morning I was going to begin. I literally could not move and was bedridden for 3 days straight. I became very depressed that I was not able to work on the room for a week and more importantly take care of Lina as she was 30 weeks prego at the time. I reached out to my family to pray for my recovery. Through the grace of God and some muscle relaxers I made it my mission to make up for the lost time. It's one thing to paint a whole room, but to do it with back pain is another story. What amazes me is what resulted after focusing on what this project was about and who it's for. I put it in my head that this is for our daughter. It felt as if the love I have for my daughter gave me the energy to fight through the pain. Similar to how adrenalin kicks in when you are in shock. The process was slow & painful. So I am particularly proud of this room. Less the design of the room, but more the journey it took to get here. Enjoy the pics.

Oh! If you are wondering what the room looked like before click here.

I guess it's safe to say that this is no longer a man cave. Unless you're a man that's really into pink and has a polka dot fetish. We didn't want to paint the room entirely in pink because we like to do our own thing. 

2 Sunday Morning in Manhattan

We had an opportunity to get a tour of the hospital where it's all gonna go down. It's a public tour where expecting parents can see the facilities and ask the tour guide general questions about their services. We arrived a half hour early and waited in the main lobby for the tour to start. While we were waiting a crackhead run down lady walked into the lobby and went to use the bathroom. 20 minutes had passed and she still was in there. The cleaning lady informed the security guard and he was forced to enter the bathroom to ask her to leave. That's where things got interesting.  The women started yelling that she wasn't going to leave and that he should call the cops. She kept yelling "Call the cops B****" over and over again. She even said something more, but this is a family blog. At this point there were about 20 freaked out couples in the lobby witnessing the calamity. It really set the tone for the impending tour. I overheard a women tell her husband "and you wanted to live in New York". After the tour we felt good about the hospital, but we do not want to have anything to do with the bathrooms in the main lobby.

Later on we walked around the city and window shopped while soaking up the sun. We walked over 2 miles, unsuspectedly. The city is misleading like that (but in a good way). There is a lot to take in that keeps your mind busy. We grabbed lunch at Five Guys and ended our Manhattan trek with frozen custard from Shake Shack before hopping the train back to the Bronx.

4 Lina's Lovely Lady Lump

Say that 5x fast. Well here it is. You asked and we provided. Lina’s belly at 24 weeks. This mini photo shoot was taken on the 4^th of July. We enjoyed a low key BBQ at her Titi Mary & Tio Louie’s house located in Pelham Manor. It was our first family event in a month so reactions to Lina’s new shape commanded attention as soon as we pulled up. I ate my first Bubba Burger. If we’re ever forced to grill frozen hamburgers in the future, that will be the brand we get. While Lina is pregnant her food must be fully cooked. You run the risk of a dry and tuff burger. Not with Bubba’s. We were all amazed at how tender and juicy the hamburgers were. Later on that evening the baby was kicking up a storm. For whatever reason I decided to lay my head on her tummy and it felt as if the baby dropped kicked me in the face. 

3 Evicton Notice (Chapter 1)

I'm happy to report on the status of my man cave exodus. The need to make room for the baby has added some warmth and signs of life to the mundane corner of our living room. That long plain wall and corner annoyed the hell out of me. I've never known how to furnish it much less give it some purpose until now. Kudos to the baby! More importantly Kudos to Lina. She has been really supportive in this process. Then again I knew what kind of women I was marrying. Now I have a comfortable corner to work on my graphics and music without impeding on the living room vibe. Our cat Lincoln also approves the update to the living room (see red arrow in above picture). Chapter 2 coming soon...

2 It's A Girl!

This is the baby at 20 weeks. Up until this point we had heard the weirdest ways on how to determine the sex of the baby. From the straightness of the line going down the middle of Lina's belly to analyzing how her belly was shaped. Everyone was wrong. When I (David) heard the doctor say "It's a girl" I immediately considered registering for a hand gun. It was my joke I told people for the rest of the week. I couldn't help but notice Lina glowing. It had been her wish to have a girl. I won't lie, I was anticipating having a boy so I can share my hobbies, interests & artistic views on life. Why I thought this could only be achieved with a boy? I dunno. So after the brain fart, I became excited that nothing has to change except the paint color on the wall.

0 First Baby Picture

Here is the first picture of the baby. She is 8 weeks old in this picture. The baby is about the size of a raspberry. I think she looks like a peanut. Don't you?

Lina wanted to surprise her mother, Aida Rosado, with the news of the baby on Mother's Day. So as a Mother's Day gift we purchased this cool frame from Destination Maternity. It's a matted frame with the words "Coming Soon" underneath where you insert the sonogram. Lina couldn't take the pressure of holding such big news so we caved in and gave her the gift a week before. Lina was 14 weeks prego at the time. Aida and Lina predictably shed a few tears of joy. I'm actually surprised we lasted that long. Boy, it felt good to finally let people know.