Lisa n Tom (n James n Joseph)

Lisa writes: It's a lovely kids' playground, not that James noticed much of it.  

Lisa writes: James got his first bath in the kitchen sink. Just for the record, he hated it. But he's clean. :)

Lisa writes: Giving somebody a name is a big responsibility. That's the identity they're going to be stuck with, for better or worse, for the rest of their lives. So we spent a big part of our waiting time thinking about names. Well, truth be told, I let Tom do all of the creative heavy lifting and I just shot down his ideas. Here were some of the contenders: Manuel -- Tom's first and most dearly-held suggestion Emmanuel -- Tom's concession when I shot down Manuel Samuel Gabriel Matthew Mark Luke John Peter Paul Thomas Patrick Charles Joseph Carlito -- Trudi's idea, a Spanish-ized diminutive of Tom's dad's name Chancho -- Mike Valle's hilariously awful suggestion that we'll probably sometimes use as a nickname just because it's funny Yes, James is sounding better and better.

Dear friends and family, We are very pleased to introduce to you our son,  James   Alejandro , who officially joined our family today.  He was born in Fairfax, Virginia, on April 7 at 1:59 pm, 19 inches long, and weighing 6 lbs 5 ounces.  He is in great health and is quite perfect. We know that he was the child that was meant for us, and we are very happy that he has joined us. Love, Tom and Lisa

Lisa writes: This is the email I got from Tom at 10:15 a.m. on April 9. I was in the middle of training a new nurse and wasn't checking email and had my phone off. Dear Lisa, Um, things are happening.  Please call Love, Tom Tom resourcefully found the number of the IT department and got the executive secretary to call over to one of the other trainers to go find me. When I finally called him back, he said that a baby was born at Fairfax Inova on April 7 and the mother choose our book. That took me a minute to process. Choose our book? Did that mean she had chosen ... us? And did he know anything else about this baby, like was it a boy or a girl? "I forgot to ask." So he conferenced in the adoption agency social worker and we asked our questions. Yes, that meant the mother had chosen us to adopt. It's a boy. He's perfect. There's a legal risk period, during which the baby will be placed in "cradle care" foster care. If the mother doesn...