Happy Birthday, Ahna!

Sorry that I didn’t get to post yesterday, but things were awfully busy between celebrations, departures, and arrivals. First of all, it was Ahna’s 30th birthday! We had a wonderful brunch/party for her at my folks house with all of the family there except for Dave and Mary Jo who were stuck in Minneapolis (their pilot refused to fly after the long delay…a story for another time). Following the party, Kjerstin, Jamie, Isaac, and Johnathan had to take off to head back to reality – which we certainly would not wish upon anyone, let alone family that we have absolutely loved having here. Not long after they left, Dave and Mary Jo found their way down to the house, at which time we enjoyed yet another party for Ahna. It certainly wasn’t what we would have chosen (them missing the brunch), but Ahna wasn’t complaining about two parties in the same day. Neither was Nora for that matter, who was able to help open gifts both times. 🙂 

Also, thanks to Teva and Abby for the swing….he loves it. 

Homeward Bound

We were discharged from the hospital this morning! Actually, I suppose that it was technically this afternoon, but we will say that noon was ‘this morning.’ It was almost sad to leave the hospital since we have absolutely fallen in love with the staff at Parker Adventist. They were amazing from start to finish, and we look forward to our next adventure there. 

The trip home was uneventful and quick, but waiting for us upon our arrival was a wonderful welcoming committee made up of the Smith’s and the Bersagel-Braley’s. We had signs welcoming Ezra home, balloons, and lunch waiting. Then for desert, there was a birthday cake for Ezra with a big ‘0’ on top. It was a lot of fun. 

Ahna and I settled in for a while this afternoon before my parents stopped by, and now we are getting ready for bed – and hopefully so is Ezra. Here are the pictures from today (azaleas are from the front yard, roses and daisies are from the party today)…enjoy!

Day 3

Today was a good day…lots of fun, lots of visitors. Ezra continues his good relations with new people, but has had a rougher go of it today than previously…he was circumcised today. It was a decision that we have spent the last year+ trying to make, looking at ever single angle that we could, yet still hadn’t come to any conclusions until we defaulted to doing it this morning. Since then, he has been a little fussier which hopefully will resolve itself with some help from Tylenol. We would be more than happy to share more with you when we see you, but needless to say further: the desicion was extremely difficult. Oh well, time to move on.

The pediatrician heard a heart murmmer this morning on Ezra’s daily check, marking the third day in a row that they heard something. This is extremely common but should go away around now, so she ordered a ultrasound of his heart. Turns out that nothing is out of the ordinary and there is no need for anymore concern. Relief.

I spent some time away from the hospital today showing the family the fire station. I met Kari, Matthew, Nora, Kjerstin, Jamie, Johnathan, and Isaac at my firehouse for a tour and some play time. By play time, they got to ride in the fire truck, try on my gear, and get hooked up to the heart monitor. There were lots of pictures taken, but none by me…so once I get them, I will make sure to post them here. It was super cute.

For now, we are easing into our last night at the hospital before everything gets crazy at home. Ahna is having a remarkable recovery (at least in my mind)…so much so that she isn’t even going to get a doctor’s visit tomorrow. We should be heading home around lunch time, but don’t count on any posts tomorrow as we settle into a new routine. If I have time… For now, here are a couple pictures from today, including a 4 generation picture!

Day 2 Picture Dump

It was a wonderful day today….Ahna was taken off all of her connections (IV, BP, SaO2, etc) and had her bandages removed – which allowed her to take a shower for the first time in a while. I left in the late morning to run home, shower, shave, and grab a few things that we needed. We had the normal steady flow of nurses and doctors this morning; and Ezra showed that he is doing very well by everyones estimation. 

This afternoon we had a steady stream of visitors and family – which we absolutely love. Ezra was a little fussy for about two hours this morning – which we think was due to the fact that he still had some amniotic fluid in his stomach – but for the rest of the day was a real trooper. Ahna just finished feeding him, and I just checked his diaper and got him bundled up for sleep. The two hour clock is running….so here are some pictures from today!

Ezra Kyle: The Name

The story behind the name. Kind of sounds like a VH1 program. It’s a lot simpler than most of you would believe: it started in conversation because one of Ahna’s favorite children’s book authors is named Ezra Jack Keats. Beyond that, it fit our wishes for a name that was unique, simple, and easy to say. It grew on us during conversation over the course of a couple of years to the point that when we found out we were pregnant with him we didn’t give too much thought to a lot of other names. It comes from old-school Hebrew times, so in that sense it really draws on the traditions of both Judaism and Bible that are important to us. Biblically speaking, Ezra is referred to as “the flowers that appear on the earth.” He was a scribe that led 5,000 Jews out of Babylon and into Jerusalem and is thought of amongst the Rabbinical community as someone that “if the law had not already been given to Moses before, Ezra would have been a worthy vehicle.” Ezra is not specifically mentioned in the Quran, but is thought of as a prophet by most Muslim scholars. Besides that, the name starts with a vowel.

His middle name was the middle name of my brother: Jonathan Kyle. It’s pretty much as simple as that. 

Pictures From This Afternoon

This afternoon was fun filled with all sorts of visitors and events – just none of them included sleeping for Ahna or I. Ezra did great all day, he’s very social. As far as the goods go, he has been pooping all day and recently started peeing – with a flair for the dramatic, he started off his peeing career by doing it all over both me and him during a diaper change. Good fun. He is currently feeding with Ahna and has seemed to take to that pretty well. Thank you to all of you for your support and love.

Pictures From The Morning

From what is sure to be thousands of pictures soon, here are some pictures that were taken this morning. Everything from the first time that we sat down together, to his first bath, to his first diaper change, to his first family visitors (including a picture of all of the Bersagel family cousins). Hello world!

It’s A Boy!

Ezra Kyle Bersagel-Briese was born this morning at 3:13 weighing 9 pounds and measuring 21.5 inches long. There will be plenty more to post, including stories and pictures…so check back later for those.

Happy 1st Birthday Micah!

Little Man: have a wonderful day! We can’t wait to see you soon!

Happy 2nd Birthday Nora!

Hey Nora, Happy 2nd Birthday! It seems like just 24 months ago that we were in Atlanta to celebrate your birth. Oh, wait….We will try to call you later tonight.