Calista Catherine Brady: Surprise for Eloise!

About Calista Catherine

Calista was born at 5:32 am on February 15, 2007. She was excited to show up for the birthday of her grandmother Eloise, so they now have that in common along with a middle name. The birth was at the wonderful CPMC in San Francisco, in Laurel Village. We even got the "honeymoon suite" -- the room was so big. She weighed in at 8lbs 1oz which surprised her mother who had asked her to try for a sensible six pounds.

Another surprise was that she was born with a "true" knot in her umbilical cord, which is rare (it only happens in one out of ~8,000 births we were told) and is supposedly both auspicious and a sign that she will be wise. (Does that mean we have a future Dartmouth/Cal MBA grad on the way?) She is happy and healthy and so far is getting lots of sleep (most nights) which is making mom and dad very happy.

Calista derives from the Greek language, meaning "Most Beautiful," and a myth involving the Ursa Major constellation. Of course, both name and constellation great for a Cal fan. Go Bears!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Surprise for Eloise!

Mike and Eloise came to visit to celebrate both Eloise's and Calista's birthdays (since they share the same day -- very exciting) a little early. Scott planned a very fun weekend. On Friday we surprised Eloise with tickets to Teatro Zinzanni, which turned out to be loads of fun. On Saturday, Calista said, "Choo choo train with Grandma Weezie" which kind of gave away the next surprise, which was to go to Roaring Mountain in the Santa Cruz Mountains on one of only two steam engine trains in the country! We arrived a little early so were able to spend time at a great playground nearby which was right next to a beautiful old covered bridge. Naturally, she only wanted to play on the structure that was meant for 5-12 year-olds.

The train ride itself was gorgeous. Little missy fell asleep toward the end (it was about 1 1/2 hours) and Scott said we should install a railroad in our living room to help with naptime. :-) Afterwards, we did a little wine tasting at David Bruce and Savannah Chanel, and then headed to the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay for the night.

The next morning we took Calista to the pool and then drove back to make birthday cookies (Eloise showed me the secret to perfect chocolate chip cookies - I am so excited), open presents and settle in. It was pouring rain in SF on Sunday night, but Grandma and Grandpa had gotten Calista galoshes so our walk in the puddles to Luna Park for dinner was actually enjoyable!

A couple of fun new things G'ma and G'pa taught Calista:
1) If you ask Calista how old she is she will try to hold up two fingers and say, "two."
2) They told a lot of Billy and Fido stories in the car (two friendly dogs that were featured in many childhood stories for Scott) and Calista was absolutely mesmorized. The look on her face was precious - she was concentrating so hard and letting every word sink in. She even tried to make up a story herself!