Making sure these photos and videos of Leo are saved in perpetuity

Leo is now 2 years, 3 months old. He is so much fun and just cuter than cute! I just need to make sure these photos and videos are saved forever, so here they are! 

Here’s Leo singing the ABCs at just about exactly two years old. 

I met Courtney Campbell many, many years ago when I worked at Disney and she entertained young children all around the world. Our kids were so lucky to get some amazing “personal concerts” when they were young and now our grandson has fallen in love with Courtney, as well. A few weeks ago, when Leo and Courtney were together at our house, Courtney sang this dinosaur song for Leo. He adored it so much that Courtney recorded a quick video for him to watch from home. He apparently plays it over and over and over. ♥️♥️ Here is Courtney’s recording and Leo’s reaction to it. I just love his “Uh-oh Kootney!” (Leo’s about two years, 2 months here.)

And then there’s Leo’s first introduction to chocolate milk (at 2 yrs 3 months)!

Announcing... Leo Thomas-Rex!

He’s here! Our first grandchild, Leo Thomas-Rex Markus, announced himself to the world with what can only be described a grand entrance. 

At 8:30 on the evening of June 13th, I got a phone call from Elisabeth. I had just talked to her an hour or so earlier as she headed home after three consecutive days of 13-hour shifts as a nurse anesthetist at University of Washington Medical Center. She was exhausted, she’d said, and would be in bed within moments of being home. 

‘Hmmmm,’ I thought, ‘Why is she calling now?’

“I think my water just broke.” Elisabeth said calmly. “Danny called me from a business dinner and when I sat up to answer my phone, I felt a POP! I don’t think it’s pee...”

“It’s not likely pee,” I told her, drawing vaguely on my training 20 years ago as a doula and childbirth educator, but mostly as a mom. ”Maybe you should call your midwives. No real hurry, though; contractions will likely take a while to start. Have you felt any since this happened?”

“No,” Elisabeth replied - followed immediately by, “Oh wow. Yes, maybe this... is... one?”

Tom and I went about our evening, excited that our grandchild would be born by this time the following evening (once the water breaks, the baby must be delivered within 24 hours, as the chance of infection increases after that), but fully expecting to have a full night’s sleep. Still, I was so excited I had a hard time drifting off to sleep. 

Danny’s text, sent at 11:33,  made it pretty clear that we wouldn’t have to lie awake, excited, but just waiting. 

Elisabeth had gone from no labor to hard labor, with contractions two to three minutes apart from the get-go. 

Precipitous labor. There’s a misconception that a precipitous labor means an easy labor, but it is far from easy, as mom has had no chance to deal with lighter, further-spaced contractions. Instead, she is thrown into a frightening whirlwind that can be very scary, as she attempts to keep up with this powerful force from which there is no rest and no escape. Oddly enough, Elisabeth’s labor seemed to be progressing much as my labor with her did: I popped into hard labor at 10 PM, arrived at the hospital shortly after midnight, fully dilated, and she was born after a very short, but very intense labor, at 2:38 AM. 

At this point, Tom and I quickly packed a bag and waited for another communication from Danny. It came barely a minute later: 

Waiting for the next communication was hard. Was everything OK? Forty minutes later, it arrived:

And we were on our way! Traffic would not be an issue as we made our way across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, headed from Gig Harbor to Swedish Hospital in downtown Seattle. 

When we arrived, Elisabeth was working hard, with assistance from Danny and his sister, Michelle. One thing was for sure: it was too late for an epidural. 

I took hundreds of photos in the next (very) few hours, which Elisabeth and Danny will have to look back on, as things happened so quickly that it was hard to keep up. Very few are internet-suitable. 

This is the wonderful midwife helping Elisabeth stay on top of her frightening, powerful, very precipitous labor. Throughout the entire labor, Elisabeth had no meds if any sort! She had wanted to have an unmedicated labor, if possible, and now there was no doubt that she’d have one!

At 3:53 AM, Leo finally arrived, fully awake and with his eyes wide open! 

Needless to say, we were all instantly in love - especially Leo’s mommy and daddy! 

I have been proud of Elisabeth many times in the past 35 years, as her accomplishments have been great. But I don’t think I have ever been as proud of her as I was after she birthed our first grandchild. 

And Danny! He was surely a bit frightened, too, as nothing had really prepared either of them for this sort of labor. But he was amazing as he calmly attended to her every need and provided uninterrupted support and advocacy for Elisabeth. 

Elisabeth said to me a few weeks before Leo was born, “Don’t assume that I’ll have a strong maternal instinct like you did. We might not be alike it that way. It might take me a while...” Ha! From the moment Leo was born, Elisabeth was a loving, natural mommy, full of maternal instinct - and oxytocin. 

And Danny! What a wonderful father - right from the very first moment! 

We see this new little family every chance we get, and love every second of watching our grandson grow and change each day. 

I must have a thousand photos of Leo already. Here are a few of my favorites. Isn’t he a cutie?

I’m a little late with this blog post, because today...

I think we’re gonna love this grandparenting gig!

The nursery awaits

Elisabeth is officially a “primigravida” (advanced maternal age) mom today - her 35th birthday! To celebrate this, we (her “advanced parental age” parents) came to Capital Hill to visit her and Danny, and to see their newly created Pacific Northwest inspired nursery. 

Look at this! 

The nursery is filled with items of sentimental value to Elisabeth and Danny - from the birch tree that Danny climbed as a child that recently had to be cut down (by Danny!) due to disease, to moss gathered at our house, to the wood mountains that Tom made for the recent baby shower, to the ink print Kat made from a tree round in Danny’s dad’s yard (which was also used at the wedding) to rugs bought in Spain on Danny and Elisabeth’s honeymoon.

Here’s the tree in front of Danny’s childhood home and Danny cutting it down a few months ago... 

And finding just the right branches to slice and bring into the nursery...

And here they are in the nursery! 

All this moss (and much more!) was gathered at our place. The baby’s name -which remains a mystery to everyone but Danny and Elisabeth - will go on after he’s born. 

I just love the single, long bookshelf, which is filled with books which were given instead of cards at the baby shower. 

(Of course Professor Ian, Kat’s boyfriend, made sure Baby Markus learns the important stuff early in life.)

And Tom’s mountains above ithe bookshelf work so perfectly.  

One of my favorite things in the nursery is the “cloud” that flashes with various weather patterns (really!) and the raindrop hooks under it. So wonderful!

Elisabeth’s definitely been nesting. She’s ready! Today marks her 36th week of pregnancy, meaning that if this little guy came today, he’d likely be just fine. 

Everything is set and ready to go - including the new parents. 

What a lucky little boy to have such a wonderful home, and room, and parents! We can hardly wait! 

Maternity photo shoot (It’s almost time!)

Elisabeth and Danny’s baby - our first grandchild! - is due to make his appearance in about a month, and yesterday was the official maternity photo session. 

Location: our home in Gig Harbor. 

Photographer: Kat 

(These first few photos, though, are mine, taken on my iPhone...)

Yay! Kat sent me some her “official” photos. Love ‘em!  Here they are:

Of course I got some shots of the shoot...







What a fun day for all of us! 

After the photo shoot, Danny and Elisabeth made the MOST delicious Indian meal as a belated Mother’s Day gift. 

And then of course we had a backyard bonfire!

It’s amazing that in just a month or so our lives will change so dramatically. I never had grandparents of my own, so this feels like a double-huge deal! 

I just can’t wait!