Leigha.org

My daughter has as many friends as I do.

It seems almost all of my close friends have small children. As a result, Anna has no lack of babes to play with. Both she and I are very fortunate for all of these people in our lives. The “mommy support group” has been a critical element in my transformation from working girl to stay-at-home mommy. I could not have survived the first six months without their support and at times, guidance. Our world is a better place with these little people in it: “Big” Matthew, age 2 1/2 years; Connor, age 1 1/2 years; Bella, age 10 months; “Little” Matthew, age 7 months; Abby, age 7 months; Anna, age 6 months; Harry, age 1 month; and Ava, due any day now. (Side note: I am so excited for her first birthday party with all her little friends in party hats! The pictures are going to be so cute!)

Life with Stinky

Stinky is almost 3 months old. The idea that I am her mother has finally sunk in. For the longest time, I felt like an exceptionally hard-working baby-sitter, and that Stinky’s family would come to claim her soon. Reality seemed surreal even though I had daydreamed about it my whole life. From a very young age, I couldn’t wait to be a mother. At ten, I vowed I would have a child by age eighteen. At eighteen I pushed it back to age twenty-three. At twenty-three I was struggling to support myself so I promised to “do it” by my late 20′s. By my mid 20′s I was content with having a child by thirty. That was my plan until I unexpectedly became pregnant at 26 last June. I have seen first-hand that fertility is a gift and not a right. Pregnancy came with mixed emotions but I was grateful to have been able to conceive a child so easily. Continue reading Life with Stinky…

A Baby Story

Anna Caroline Averbuj was born Wednesday, March 1, 2006 after a sonogram 2 days prior estimated her weight at 8lbs. 14oz. and a head circumference nearing too big to pass through my pelvis. Our OB recommended induction and that afternoon we knew we’d be parents come sometime on Wednesday. We chose our induction date carefully because Pablo’s birthday is March 2nd. I didn’t want to wait until the 3rd to be induced, simply because I was all too eager to see my pregnancy come to an end.
Continue reading A Baby Story…

Anna Calderon Reich

My great grandmother was Anna Calderon Reich. She passed away March 16, 2005 at the age of 102. This is her life story.
Continue reading Anna Calderon Reich…

Getting Ready for March Madness

Happy 2006! I am so happy to be rounding the corner into the final stretch of my pregnancy. As expected, the bigger I get, the more uncomfortable I get and I am anxious to get this baby out! Her nursery is almost ready and we are starting to get really excited about her arrival. We just returned from our last trip out of town to Cleveland. We got to spend the New Year with our friends, Erin and Ernest. We had a great time! Next week we start our child birth preparation class. In 2 weeks Pablo is going skiing for the weekend with his brother. Lucky duck! I wish I could go! My last day of school is Feb. 24th and from that day forward I will be taking it easy until the baby comes. Once the baby arrives, Pablo is taking a month off to be home with us and my mom is coming to stay for a week right after her birth. Don’t know when the rest of the grandparents will visit, but I am sure they won’t be able to stay away for too long.

It’s a Girl!!!!!!!!!!

The word seems to be out, but in case you haven’t heard, Pablo and I are expecting our first child in March 2006. Her name is to be Anna Caroline Averbuj and she was a very unexpected but welcomed surprise. Anna was my great grandmother’s name. She passed away not long ago at 102 years of age. Caroline is Pablo’s grandmothers name and she is 91. Both woman are an inspiration to those around them. We are proud to make her their namesake.

Right now we are about half way through the pregnancy. It has been relatively easy but I know the hardest part lies ahead. We can’t wait to meet her. Currently we are working on painting the nursery and getting her room organized. My belly has popped and it is clearly visible that I am with child. So far I don’t mind it too much, but I expect it to become more uncomfortable soon.

Wedding Update

To read more about our wedding plans, please click on the engagement entry. I extended the entry to include more details about the wedding.

The Aver-iffin’s get engaged!

On March 22, 2005 Pablo and I got engaged. Right now we are in the very prelimenary stages of planning a wedding for spring 2006. We will post more information once we start making some decisions.
Continue reading The Aver-iffin’s get engaged!…

The Bensons come to D.C.

I am very excited that the Ernest and Erin (the soon to be Benson’s –October 2005) are coming to see us for the New Year. We are looking forward to their visit especially since it is Ernest’s first time visiting the not so soon to be Averbuj’s (also known as Pablo and Leigha). Hopefully we will be able to make big plans for New Year’s Eve as Erin and I are former party girls looking forward to reliving our college days for one night of partying. Other news I should mention is that these two love birds are tying the knot next October. I have the priviledge of being Erin’s maid of honor. Hmmm…maybe I will catch the bouquet…
Continue reading The Bensons come to D.C….

Back to School

Good news! This site has finally been updated with something new to look at. You can see pictures of my Kindergarten classroom here. This weekend was our Fall Harvest Festival. Our school goes all out for this event and transforms half the school into Harvest Town and the other into Spookyville. See pictures of the Fall Harvest Festival.