Archive for the ‘ Events ’ Category

Jaeson Benjamin

Jaeson Benjamin Cecka
October 13, 2011 6:43am
9lbs 1oz | 21inches

You will have to forgive the delayed announcement, as little baby Jae tried on many names in his first few days before he finally found one that fit. After a short and intense labor, he was born at home into the arms of loving family and friends. I am forever thankful for, and incredibly fond of, the midwives at Freedom and the Seed. Everyone who gives birth deserves to do so in an environment without force, fear, or judgment. It was a beautiful experience and I could not have done it without the support of my husband and mother (currently living with us) who believed in the strength and intuition of a birthing mama.

The boys were blessed with the sight of their newly born brother, just seconds old. While this is common all over the world, not many American kids get to see their new baby sibling as they sing out their first cry into the world. The appearance of vernix and lanugo was surprising, since he was born at 41 weeks. As some of it floated into the water, Joshua offered, “I’ll help clean up the feathers!” It is sweet to think that our little guy arrived safely on angel’s wings. Maybe some of those “feathers” were left by big brother watching over him. Ben also pointed out that this assertion is cute and fitting given my childhood nickname “Shae Bird,” later changed to Shaebyrd after a grandparent’s name.

Our little Jaebyrd sings a nightly scream for about two hours before he settles down for a peaceful evening. The long stretches of sleep are a fair trade for the consoling-intensive hours that precede it! He is usually done with the hysterics by 10 or 11pm and wakes only briefly throughout the night until 6am. He is calm, sweet, and sleepy throughout the day, and seeing his deep, dark blue eyes are still a nice surprise. It will be interesting to see what shade they ultimately turn out to be. Jaeson was born with long, dark hair on his head, and toes so long he could play the piano with them. Maybe I should dictate this post to him while I nurse – I might get it done faster! Or, maybe I should wrap this up here. The boys are having their morning cereal, and I’d like to spend some time with big brothers Josh and John before they head out to school.

Thank you all for the greeting cards, prayers, gifts, meals, and kind words. Jaeson Benjamin has an army of support and love out there!

 

Mother’s Day breakfast

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First attempt at poached eggs without any special trays. Not bad at all…

Fall 2010

Yes. It’s a little late for these, but they’re going up nonetheless.

Sanchin-Ryu Summer Workshop in Gilbert

We had a 3 week break in between Sanchin-Ryu sessions at the start of summer so District Master Ahles was kind enough to host a 2-hour outdoor workshop. Not only that, but it went so well that we did another one the following weekend! Here are pics from the first session (and a 2nd Degree Brown Belt promotion at the end).

Photos courtesy of Fifty Seven Photos.

Joshua’s Birthday

AZ Science Center

We took a spontaneous trip to the Science Center today and had some good fun. The boys had an encounter with a robotic Lego scorpion created by ASU engineering students…

p.s. If you are looking for the perfect gift for the June boys, a Lego Gift Card would be the bee’s knees!

Johnathan’s Karategi

Here’s some pics of Johnathan wearing his official karategi before our first class back as individual students rather than father/son pair. Instead of pairing off with me 100% of the time to work on a move, he gets to work with another student closer to his age/build. And of course the flip-side of that means that I get to work with another adult rather than someone that I can pick up with one arm!