Naz meets his family

Naz's first trip over the big pond, if you will, was a big hit! March was quite a month as we packed in as much as we possibly could. New baby passport in hand, we traveled 26 hours door to door, each way, to spend time with all six grandparents, to meet the Bonds-Pate side of the family, to see beloved friends, and of course to eat fish tacos!

We started with a few days in Houston with Mimi and Pops, otherwise known as Adam's parents. A friend of Miriam's hosted a delightful babyshower for us, and even though I was extremely jet lagged, Naz did great! He cooed and smiled, I think he even pooped for them. Then we packed everything up and headed to Austin.


In Austin we spent time at Nana and Sampa's house, otherwise knows as Sam and Connie (Sera's Step-daddy and Mom). We had such a heavenly time relaxing, going for walks to the farmer's market, spending time with friends, and eating a taco everyday.




Then the aunties and uncles blew into town for a big music festival, South By SouthWest. Naz took in his first full day of music in style, sleeping through two punk shows. He again wowed the crowds as people approached us all day asking if they could take a picture of this adorable baby decked out in his tye-die and noise reducing headphones. A great day!



Nana turned 32 while we in town, and so we all spent some time celebrating our Mom, wife, and Nana. There was a bowling party, a sushi dinner extravaganza, and a pictureque night by the pool sipping wine, eating steak, and listening to Jordyn and Joel play guitar. We miss our families so much, and nights like that one are what we conjure up on days we are feeling particulalry far away and alone. It was really special.
And just in case you thought all of that might be enough, the third set of grandparents came to town: Grandpa and Grandma Bonds! It was the first time Naz was meeting them, and he was so excited (he told me so). We spent two days together walking by Town Lake (which is really a river, but who is counting???) and eating ribs! We miss you and can't wait to see you both again this fall.




I would be completely remiss if I didn't include this yummy picture of my favorite Mom, besides my own obviously, Erin. Here she is loving my baby, as I have loved hers now for 12 and 10 years (is that possible???). Thank you for inspiring me to be a Mom, Erin. I hope I can do this even half as gracefully as you do!

And here is Naz with his new friend, Leilani, who came to Austin to do some COHI work with me while I was stateside. So loving!

Here we are, in line at security starting the 26 hour return trip. We miss you all, can't wait to see you soon!

Going Dutch

For Passover holiday this year we decided to return to Adam's ancestral home place: Amsterdam. Adam's mother was born here and for a reason that continues to escape us, her family decided to leave to move to Canada???? Well, had it not been for that move there would have been no Adam, so I can't complain too much, but we are seriously considering a return trip for this Rosenbloom-Bonds clan for an extended period of time as we found we, well, loved it. All of it: pickled herring sandwiches, the green green parks spotted throughout the town, water at every turn, trains and buses running on time with special space allocated for strollers, and of course, the relaxed atmosphere of Europe in general.

The streets all have several lanes: two for bikes, to for cars, two for pedestrians, and two more for the trains. Needless to say one can't wander aimlessly too much, and it took us a while to get used to having to look before we crossed so many times, but we made it.





We rented a flat directly across from Oosterpark, here is the signing pointing the way to our house.

Here is the front yard, gorgeous....



The view out of our windows was of the onion domes atop the spires of a local Museum with the trees blooming pink and purple buds. Here is a pic of Naz and I enjoying a sunset from the kitchen window.


People keep asking us, so what did you do in Amsterdam? And sheepishly we admit that we walked, and little more. Here is one of the many streets we enjoyed, just wandering but far from lost!



I mean we ate great food, mostly at the flat where we cooked and packed picnics, we saw some art, we checked out coffeeshops, Adam saw Boby Dylan. We visited old friend we love and miss. Here are Meike and Olva, our Dutch friends we met in Tibet and shared a car with for 10 days on our way to Nepal.


We spent as much time with these two as we could. They fed us brilliant homecooked meals, as well as some impressive Indonesian. They also were kind enough to give up thier own bed one night so we could stay with them after we'd missed our flight back to Israel, oops! I am including this because many aspects of thier life are inspiration for us in settling down one day: thier hallway lined with books is just one!


Naz worked hard pushing out his first two teeth, learned to sleep in the stroller, rode the trains, and melted hearts. Here are some images for you to consider, with some brief notes to clue you in to thier contents:



Here Adam introduces Naz to our first coffeeshop. Really, we really just had coffee!

This is Adam's family friend, Dafna, who met us for a lovely breakfast one day. Really, she looks like a Rosenbloom, doesn't she?

Here we are walking in the sunshine with our good friend Natalie Kapp who came to spend the weekend with us, taking a break from Geneva where she lives these days. Was delicious to see her, thanks so much for coming, Dr. Kapp!

Adam and Naz enjoyed so much time together, here they are getting ready to take a shower washing of the day's grit and grime (ahahahhaha, right).

We tried lots of new foods, including some spinich that Naz is sampling here at a cafe at Oosterpark.

Starry Night, anyone?
Dad and son enjoying a train ride to check out the tulips in the countryside.


Tulips, windmills, and Mom. What a great combo!


One of our many afternoons spent enjoying a beer and some herring at a cafe in the warm spring sunshine.

We will leave you with this gorgeous smile from our little wonder. We had such a perfect trip, and we really do hope to be able to live in Amsterdam someday soon. Shall we reserve a room for you now?

Lots of love,

Adam, Sera, and Naz

Our first war

It seems I've been swept away by the not only the thundering sound of rockets, but also by the power of motherhood these last four months and you haven't heard much from me here. That may be preferable as I have a hard time following a train of thought through to its natural end these days. I call it "milk head", and I am high, high, high on it! That said, the war here is too hard to talk about most days being this close to us, and so we are just trying to get through with open hearts and as little fear as we can muster.

Naz is growing literally before our very eyes. Each morning when I wake, he seems bigger than the day before. He is rolling over, sometimes, now, and often reaches out to touch my face while nursing. The sweetest moments are passing between us, and I cannot believe how much I love this motherhood gig. The best thing going, really.



As for our "other" lives, outside of parenthood (is there such a thing anymore?), Adam is in his surgery rotation now and comes home each day with tales of staples, colons outside of bodies, and other magical feats of medicine. I am busy, busy with COHI and loving what 2009 is already bringing us.

I am trying to find a way back to the lines I find myself crafting as I sit, watching him. Its my fave pastime, and that's a good thing as I do it so often. I love to watch his small hands pawing like a kitten on my chest when he nurses, breath slowing for us both, as we quiet ourselves for naps. I revel is his daily successes like finding his feet, reaching out for things he wants to know more about, his smile growing with each day just like his mind and body. I sometimes, in my weaker moments, wonder how many years are between me and a full night's sleep (what is that?), but do my best to remind myself that these moments are fleeting, never to return. That grounding thought is enough to bring me back to the moment, and breathe him in. His sweet small, bottomless eyes, wondrous giggle, and deep, slow sleeping breathes. I love this boy of mine, thank you for coming to join us.


This blog does not have a very hopeful title, I am afraid. But it is the reason that we spent a month+ up north seeking refuge from rockets hitting literally too close to home. Luckily, we had a place to go while Israel and Hamas battled it out in Southern Israel in the month of December-January. Our midwife and friend, Mindy, and her husband, Avner, so kindly opened their home to us and we gratefully accepted. Here are some super cute picures of these gentle people hanging out with baby Naz.


Don't feel to bad for us, though, as the daily quality of life greatly improved. Adam was able to do most of his surgery rotation at a hospital in Haifa and received one-on-one training most days. Here he is napping with Naz after one of his early morning shifts.

Naz and I enjoyed the greenery of the Galilee, and Shula, sadly for us, found a new home on the Moshav where Mindy and Avner live. A family asked us if they could have her, we thought long and hard about it, and in the end why would be take her to a studio apartment in Harlem when she could live in this dog's paradise with no fences???



Our friend Alex brought a woman who would soon become his fiancee, Alyssa, to visit. Alex and Alyssa, we can't wait to see you this fall for your wedding!


Election day was monumentous for us, even here. I found myself singing the National Anthem with a warm heart and wet eyes, tossing Naz into the air, and squealing, "Barak Obama is YOUR Presdent!!!!" The most American mean we could come up with was McDonald's and so we did, yes we did, and then we all promptly got sick. Worth every moment. It was a historic day I will never forget.





At the end of the day, loving my family like this is what gives me hope. That is what we all need right now: hope that a kinder day will prevail and this madness will stop. Until then, we are blessed beyond measure to have a safe, loving place to go.

Thank Mindy and Avner for letting us into your home.

Until next time.....

Adam, Sera, and Naz

Six weeks and a day

It seems sometimes he's been with us forever, and then a moment later as though he just arrived. Naz and his parents are truly enjoying their ride together as a family so far. Its so much fun to just watch him, which is what we do almost all of the time as of late!

Our days have a bit of a routine to them. In case you are interested, here is what they look like:

6:30 am Adam's alarm clock goes off for what will be the first of many notifications that its time for him to start his day. At about this time Naz and Sera usually rouse themselves for the last of the nursing sessions taking place in the quiet of the family bed. Shula patiently waits for someone to let her outside.

7 am Adam heads to the hospital while the rest of us start our day. Shula chases cats, birds, and the dogs behind the house who jump the fence. Sera and Naz make coffee, change diapers, listen to some relaxing world music, and enjoy one another. Naz is truly his father's child as he wakes every morning smiling. Its wonderful.

Until about 10 am Naz nurses, Sera puts him in various position on her body to find something that comforts him. Shula goes in and out and in and out of the house hoping Sera will see her bored expression and take her for a walk. About this time at the hospital Adam has successful poked several patients as he spends his mornings practicing his blood draws. Hopefully around this time Naz falls asleep either on his own (praise God) or on the boob.

Afternoons Until around 1 Naz, Shula, and Sera enjoy a mostly serene scene at home. Then as the light shifts, so does the mood it seems. Naz has enters his fussy phase (please let this be a stage and not his way of being all of the time, every afternoon for the rest of his life!) when nothing satisfies. He moves from sleep to feeding to crying every twenty minutes or so from around 2 until 6. Sera nurses seemingly non-stop. Shula is done being patient and starts trying to herd us to the front gate. Adam is in class for an hour every afternoon, and then he studies for a bit before coming home around 4.

4-6 We head to the smelly dog park with Shula in tow. Naz is in his Baby Bjorn as we can't seem to master the Sling quite yet. He fusses, falls asleep, nurses, looks around, and sighs. Adam and Sera hang out talking of their days that seemingly from Sera's perspective look more and more routine. Shula runs, runs, eats trash, chases other dogs, and gets treats.

6-7 Shula and Naz eat. Adam and Sera cook and get ready for Naz's bath. It is usually during this hour that Naz puts on his greatest vocal performance of the day. Truly impressive. We do our best to "om" him through it, knowing that the bath is where he settles down. Adam is the nightly bather and they love this time together. Lots of cooing sounds can be heard coming from the room, and Sera slams her dinner, some water, and prepares to head to bed with Naz after the bath.

7 pm onward Sera and Naz nurse in bed for what is pretty consistently 12 hours now, with a few breaks for diaper changes, burping, and some slight fussing. Adam studies, does laundry, dishes, talks on the phone, and watches the Daily Show. Shula waits for us to call her in for the night, where she will take up her slumber on the couch waiting for it all to start again.

There you have it. Life as we know it today. We look forward to the day that he can tell us what he needs with words, or at least a gesture we can recognize. For now, we are all just finding our way. Sometimes when I look at him I think it would be really scary to have only been here for six weeks and not to be able to understand anything that goes on around me. Maybe that is why he cries sometimes, I have no idea. We are doing our best to reassure him that we love him, that we are so glad he is here, and that he is safe. We should all be so lucky to have someone tell us that everyday, right?

Check out www.nazrosenbloom.com for the latest pics of our little man engaging in such amazing feats as taking a bath and sneezing!

From us.....

Naz's debut

We headed up north to the birth center a few days before his arrival. This allowed for plenty of time to settle in, and enjoy one another as we passed our last few days as a duo. Here we are at the beach the day before labor started.



Naz Menno Rosenbloom
Born October 1, also Rosh Hashanah and the Eid (last feast of Ramadan!)
Named after the city where he was born, Nazareth, and Adam's mother's father whose anniversary of his death was today.
Weight at birth was 8.8 Ibs and length as 22 inches

The labor was everything I'd ever hoped it would be: deeply hard, gratifying, and raw. Adam was a rock and was with me contraction for contraction for all 30 hours. We labored at a birth center in the Galilee and were attended by two midwife friends of mine here, they were amazing. The hours we labored we walked in the gardens, danced to music prepared by my sister (awesome mixes of Bruce Springsteen, Pat Benetar, and other such inspiring faves to me), and spent lots of time in the water in the tub at the birth center. Everything I'd ever wanted. We really had a great time.

However, after 30 hours of long, hard labor I was stalled out at 7 centimeters (for about 8 hours) and little Naz had not even entered the birth canal. We all decided it was best to transfer to the private Arab hospital in Nazareth. Upon arrival I decided with calm and contentment to have a cesarean as the idea of laboring with an epidural for some mystery amount of more hours with little hope of moving him down was too much for me. So, Mindy our midwife and I headed into a surreal, uneventful surgery and Adam awaited the arrival of Naz to join him in the nursery so he wouldn't be alone. Given the circumstances, as lovely as it could be. Really.

Here is the view from our hospital room, Nazareth.



Being in the hosptial was hard, I won't lie. People in and out of the room every hour, an incredible amount of pain, and a great sense of isolation as it was just Adam, the babe, and I. Every once in a while folks would drop by and each times I felt my spirits soar. But I needed to get out of there, so I checked myself out three days early and we headed back to the birth center.



We returned to the birth center for some water and cranial/sacral therapy, and to try to catch up with all that transpired in our bodies and spirits in the last week. We arrived home in Be'er Sheba last night to a clean house, a stocked fridge, and meals that keep arriving provided by our friends in Adam's program here. What a wonderful community we feel apart of.



Thanks for the love, keep it coming. We are doing well all in all. The current focus for us is that I am having some trouble nursing while doing my best to not get swept under by the emotions and hormones shifting inside of me. A full time job, both. Adam's family is here, and I can't even describe how helpful that is. Let us know when the rest of you will be cruising by, we can't wait to see you!!!!

More to come, promise!

Wedding video

Hi folks,

We've recently received this incredible wedding video as a gift from Adam's brother, Jonas, and his truly talented wife, Nava. I hope you enjoy it; what an incredible day it was~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT0evGD4K34

The grass is always greener in Vermont

I write these sad lines on the runway of Burlington International Airport, as we wait. Rain, rain, rain is the theme of the last week or so here in Vermont, and it won't let me go it seems as we wait, again, for the rain to pass so the plane can fly. That said, wow.....it sure is green here!

Adam and I passed a leisurely week + a few days with his family at their farm, Hyde Away, in Vermont. It is currently the third wettest summer on record, which makes for raging rivers, lush greenery, and jungled gardens. We had a wonderful time, even making it up to Montreal for a day to enjoy a tea shop, bagels, and the required stop at Schwarz's smoked meat counter.

Several of our friends who are somewhat local to the area, as well as some extended Rosenblooms who were close at hand, joined us for a baby shower. And it showered, and showered, and showered! We painted onezies, ate tasty treats, received henna tattoos, and even watched a birth movie. Our kind of party.



I sit here on the run way waiting to go to NYC, Adam has already flown west and spent a night of debauchery with friends in Las Vegas. We will reconvene for a brunch with friends in NYC on Sunday before heading later that day to Israel, via Rome. So, there is more to come of our adventures this summer but I wanted to post some of the baby shower pictures here for your viewing. Yes, I am getting bigger by day and this wee one is a tad bit antsy as it doesn't stay still for long! Eightish more weeks to go until we meet it, and I am enjoying the last few weeks of round, full Sera before I become an official member of the Mothering Tribe.

There are a few other images compliments of our wedding photographer, Orah Moore, and a one year wedding anniversary gift from the Rosenblooms. It was really fun! Hope you enjoy them, and the glamor that pregnancy CAN be.

Enjoy the pics, and more to come soon!