Meeting baby sister

Hyrum's reaction is much more impressive when you realize that he was given the option to eat Shake Shack, and he chose to hold the baby first

Without Further Ado . . .

Rosemary Beth Prete

Born at 4:31 am on October 25, 2012

6 pounds, 12 ounces

We are smitten with her already.

Photo credit: Kristi-Lynn Gibson

The best-laid plans

When I was in college, I spent a week one summer as an adult counselor at our church's camp for teenage girls in the congregation my parents were attending at the time. My mother called me in February or March, right in the middle of a Utah blizzard, I think, to ask if I'd be willing to help. It seemed like a great idea at the time. Four months later, I was camping in Houston in July. The week ended with me doped up on Benadryl, lying on a camp cot in 110 degree heat after getting bit by fire ants.

A decade later, I spent my entire second pregnancy living in "short-term" housing we were initially supposed to occupy for only three months, moved two weeks after having a baby (while hospitalized for a second time), and swore up and down I would never move again. John was certain I'd get the itch to trade up within a few years. And I told him, "I'm never moving again. They will have to drag me out of here when I'm dead." Someone in our congregation commented, "I always thought each place I moved into would be our final home, but every time I had a baby, I ended up moving." And I said, "Not me. This is it for me. I'm never moving again, and I'm certainly never moving when I have a baby again."

Last January, I had pneumonia. Two days before I finally broke down and went to the doctor, John called while I was trudging through New York in January. He had gotten a call from a recruiter about a potential job in Abu Dhabi. The position was interesting from a professional point of view, but he said the recruiter had stressed that we should think seriously about whether we'd be willing to relocate our family over there before starting any interview process.

It was January in New York. I had pneumonia. Plus, what are the odds of something like that ever really working out anyway, right? Nine months later (the length of a pregnancy, I might point out), I would like to officially announce that our family will be moving to Abu Dhabi---where summer temperatures outpeform Houston by 10 or 15 degrees on average---about 2 months after I have our third child.

On a serious note, we're really excited. While I'm a little worried about showing our apartment to potential renters in the first weeks after having the baby or figuring out the first few weeks abroad---trying to get a car, get Evelyn into school, and navigate all the intricacies of setting up life in a totally new place by myself while dragging around three kids, the youngest of which is only two months old---we feel really good about this next step for our family. I am insanely lucky in that I will have a combination of John, my mother-in-law, and my mom with me here in New York basically the entire time between when the baby is born and when our movers arrive to pack up our things the week before Christmas. We aim to be over there right before the beginning of the year, and on a short-term note, the perks of trading New York's January weather for January in Abu Dhabi are not lost on me. Also, for the first time in our married life, we will have a washer/dryer! And a car! And a guest room!