NEW ARRIVAL! - 1 month later

and so it was that parker delgado havlan found his lifelong partner in crime fighting.zoila mckenzie havlan was born a month ago into a family already filled with love but ready and willing to have our love cups runneth over... which they have.
(mental note: buy love cups with lids.)
as you can plainly see, she's as cute as can be. quite the little pin-up! okay, yes, she's a bit of a crier, by which i mean she cries pretty much anytime she's not lying on top of her mother. but she's a baby! what would you have her do!? truth be told, i'm also prone to crying whenever ellen isn't holding me. so i guess we have that in common.
FAQ #1: what are we actually going to call her?
answer: though ellen and i love the name "zoila" we both agree that it may cause our little girl some future trouble in the "how do you spell that?", the "how do you pronounce that?" and the "say that again?" departments. so we narrowed it down to Zoe and Kenzie with ellen leaning toward Kenzie and me leaning toward Zoe. i "gave in" (since i mainly just call her "Z" anyway and that fits as a nickname for both of them) but now i'm back on the fence. an update will soon follow. keeping in mind, of course, that she will be free to change it at some point to "Princess Elbowfingers" or "J.R." or something stupid like that. exciting, right!?
FAQ #2: how's parker taking all this?
the answer at this point: very well.
he often asks to "hold the baby", though he never lasts too long before he's pushing her away like a king who's unpleased with his meal. we'll see soon enough how that pans out. but he's also been learning how to give kisses, and his baby sister is a common target. (see picture at end of announcement.) it's awful nice... minus the awful.
quick note on parker d - his staggering love of music continues unabated. "mommy" has since been replaced with "violin" as his most frequent if not constant "first word of the day".
and he's backing up his talk with some...
SERIOUS JAMS
(http://bit.ly/xEqQAe)
a special shout out to uncle ed for playing second fiddle, or in this case, first guitar.

more on the growing family unit in the near future, but for now i'll keep it simple.
first, the beginning stages of a potentially long-term photo project.

Day 1...
Week 1...
Week 2...
Week 3...
Week 4...she's got her brother's appetite! and with that, his cheeks.

and once again for prosperity's sake, the official birth announcement of the world's very latest superhero baby...

****

from the team that brought you "parker delgado havlan",
in conjunction with new york-presbyterian/weill cornell medical center,
(without additional funding by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation)

ellen jackson thomas and j robertson havlan are proud to announce the world premiere of their beautiful baby girl...Zoila McKenzie Havlan
2-17-2012

"Zoila" after her grandmother on daddy's side, and "McKenzie" because her mommy always liked that name... and because "Lady Gaga" seemed too obvious.

you all know the story of parker d - he was supposed to be born at home, but after an "indiana jones"-like thrill ride, ended up at the hospital.
the story of little Z-Mac* - as she may or may not be known if she ever becomes a professional snowboarder - is different, but no less exciting.
(* "Z-Mac" is copyright protected. take that, final generation of apple computers!)

no attempt at home birth this time. hospital and drugs all the way. who am i to say no?
here it is in a nutshell.
ellen called me as i was walking home from work on thursday and said "my water broke. i think we're having a baby", adding, "can you walk a little faster?"
so i did.
but when i got home she was calmly packing a few necessities, asked me to do the same, and then asked me to go downstairs and put the wash in the dryer.
so i did.
our favorite baby sitter, taryn, got to our apartment so fast we think she might have been hanging around out front. then ellen and i finished packing, folded the laundry - don't want everything to wrinkle - said goodnight to parker, and walked the 15 blocks to the hospital.
the girl loves her walks.

turns out Z was just as calm about the whole thing as we were and decided to make us wait for a bit. perhaps having me and auntie sus, who was there for the whole thing, spend the night trying to sleep sitting up in hospital chairs was our new baby's first practical joke. and if so... well played, young apprentice. well played.
so flash-forward to 9am the next morning. that's when the pushing started. and at 9:42 (that's some good pushin'!) i pulled up a front row seat for the most amazing show i've ever seen - and yes, i've seen "the godfather" and "the godfather: part 2".
no c-section this time around. and without getting into details, may i just say...
YOWZA!

spectacular and unforgettable.
ellen was even more awesome than usual, taking everything in stride, and giving me a first hand look at why she's been taking all those pre-natal yoga classes. pavanamuktasana indeed!
of course, i realize ellen isn't the first woman ever to give birth, but as the loving husband and doting father, it's my job to run around for at least a few days pretending she is.

as for my part in the actual proceedings, i yelled "push" a few times, gave ellen water out of a squeeze bottle like i was a corner man at a boxing match, and when all was said and done, i got to cut the umbilical cord. that was a big moment for me. totally amazing. though i have to admit i was a little bummed out i didn't get to use a pair of those giant novelty scissors small town mayors use when they unveil a new park bench or top-of-the-line self-serve car wash.
can't have it all.
i know that now.

and please don't tell anybody this - our little secret - but right after she arrived, i quickly published a birth announcement in a kenyan newspaper in the event little Z ever decides to run for president there. ya gotta plan ahead for these kinds of things.
(insert evil laugh of your choosing here)

for the record, zoila mckenzie was a relatively tiny 6.5 pounds and was born in the year of the dragon at the height of LINsanity!
that's what i call support for the home team.

and finally, big brother came for a visit later that day and he welcomed his sister into our lives with a hug and a kiss...that's what i call love for the home team. :)