How Do You Say Ania?

Our little one has finally arrived! We wanted to share a little bit more about her name and her birth. It took a little while, but all are doing well.

Last summer we took a vacation to Hawaii. While there we bumped into three moms at the beach who all had little ones that were Eva's age. While Eva played, Corrie started talking to one of the moms and found out they were all from Poland. Adam's family has a Polish background, so we started asking her about popular Polish names. The first one she shared was Ania, and Corrie and I were both pretty sure we had found our girl name. Ania (more commonly spelled and pronounced like Anya ... the Russian version), comes from the Hebrew name of Hannah which means grace. We know that we are always in need of God's grace, so we are happy to have this little daily Polish reminder as part of our family. Her middle name, Louise, was the name of Adam's late grandmother on his Mom's side. We're happy to honor her as well.

As for the birth story ... we'll be sharing limited details here. All you moms can get the play by play from Corrie :) Last we posted, we were still waiting. Literally within a few hours of sharing that news, and after drinking 2 ounces of castor oil, contractions started. Both of our parents excitedly made their way down, but the labor had subsided by 10pm. Corrie went to sleep, but was kindly awoken at 2am with more contractions. Around 6:30am we headed to the hospital just to get checked for peace of mind and they admitted us on the spot. Corrie labored in UCSD's Birthing Center ... the only one found in a hospital west of the Mississippi. The place is kind of like a medical day spa. The staff was incredible and we felt extremely lucky to have a Polish nurse who was with us every moment. A volunteer doula was also on hand the entire time as well. At 5:17pm, little Ania Louise was born!

Ania nearly slept through the night and we all got some much needed rest. We hope to come home from the hospital tonight or tomorrow morning. Until then, enjoy the pictures. Thank you for all your love, support and prayers through this process. So grateful to have such a great community.

Special thanks to Erica Ruse and Mai Pham for watching the newest big sister, Eva Jean, yesterday. The two just met for the first time!