Well, the family is growing. On Friday, April 30 at 7:47am – Brianna Tatevik Phoenix Gaughan – entered the world.

Because Devin was born Caesarian, after much research we decided to do another C-section. Liana decided that she wanted the baby born in April so, April 30th was decided upon. Devin had a scheduled date but he decided that he didn’t want to wait and arrived 3 days earlier – this was actually a blessing because not a lot of thought and anticipation went into the birth so nervousness was at a minimum. That was not the case with this baby, Brianna came right on schedule – so Liana was a little nervous, I on the other hand was the epitome of calmness – after all it was 5:30am in the morning and I had had Nyquil only 6 hours earlier.

Yes, 5:30 in the morning - I guess all Doctor’s are early risers because what started as a 12:30pm delivery was changed to a 7:30am delivery.

Thursday, the day before wasn’t the best of days – tensions were running high and I was coming down with something that was starting out as a tickle in my throat – of course I wanted to be in the delivery room but I had to have a contingency plan just in case – Liana’s mother - who is here from Armenia to help with the baby(s). So, I was resting but when Devin knows that I’m around nothing keeps him from his appointed rounds of “hangin’ with Daddee”, not even an ever vigilant Tatik (Armenian for Grandma). So, as I was just dozing off Devin rushes into the bedroom and goes straight for the computer, pushing buttons and crashing it.

Now, I do have most of my files and documents backed up but you never want a computer crash – all that software that you have to “find” all over again. So, a little stressed about the next day and the fear that I may have lost everything – I go chasing after Devin and let myself get “excited”.

I never wanted a booming voice that could be heard above “war” but I do and sometimes it gets louder when I get “excited”. My mother and her mother before her had rather loud voices – even when they weren’t raised in excitement or anger people could hear them from the other side of the nation. Whisper is not in their - or my - nature.

Needless to say, this didn’t go well with the tension and stress in the house and from that point on everyone was pissed off at me. And I was in trouble. So, at 11 Thursday night I go to bed with a snoot full of Nyquil and passed out before my head hit the pillow. ( You know what Jay Mohr says about Nyquil: “Go to bed with a cold, wake up with a beard!”) Devin arrives in our bed at 3:30 in the morning and Liana tells me to turn off the alarm which was set for 4:00am because Liana wanted to get all showered up and looking nice. Me – I wanted to wake up at 5:00 to make sure we were there at 5:30 and at 4:58am my eyes popped open (or maybe that was Devin kicking me in the head.)

We were at Huntington Memorial Hospital at 5:20am and went to delivery – when we got to the window the nurse looked like she was surprised to see us and with some hesitation, let us in. Now, you have to know that Liana likes to look good no matter where she goes me on the other hand – anyway, she had a nice skirt, with a white blouse and a stylish black sweater, she wanted to put on makeup but her mother talked her out of that. Well, we were there for no longer than 3 seconds before she was out of the clothes and in one of the paper-like gowns with the open back – her nice looking clothes? Stuffed in a plastic bag – but with handles! The nurses were great as we started the long wait as the rest of the supporting cast came trickling in about 7am. Liana was wheeled out of the waiting area and I started my wait in the hall as the Liana was prepared – I was finally let in the room about 7:30 and the action began. It was a little different than before because I knew the procedure but Liana was more nervous this time – I tried my best to keep her spirits up but behind a surgical mask no one can see you smile – so I tried to convey the best I could with my eyes. Squint. Wide. Squint. Squint. Wide. Wide. Wide. Liana had a spinal, the same as last time, but this time it was laced with Morphine which Liana quite appreciated. The anesthesiologist was great, as soon as Liana whispered that she felt nausea, before I could repeat it a little louder, he was preparing the cure and Liana’s nausea would instantaneously subside. As it was with last time, Liana promised me not to look and even though last time I got a quick glimpse of all of her major parts laid out to make room for the first baby, I didn’t even attempt this time.

At 7:47am, Brianna Tatevik Phoenix Gaughan was born. She weighed 6 lbs. 3 oz. at 19 inches. This is the exact length and weight of Devin and both babies were born 10 days before the official due dates. One thing about us – we are consistence. As soon as the baby cried Liana knew it was a girl, “I heard this soprano voice.” Brianna had a thick patch of black hair and her eyes were wide open – after the cleaning and as Liana was being sewed back together I followed Brianna to the nursery where I saw this healthy, beautiful little girl get cleaned up and checked out.
While watching Brianna get the once over I called Liana’s mother, Seda, and just said – “Girl!” She started weeping with joy as I told her that she weighed and was the same length as Devin. I don’t know if she understood me but she was happy. Next, I called my mother and said the same word “Girl!” Oh my god! Congratulations! We got our girl!”
Liana had to spend an hour or two in recovery – and very soon the morphine started to wear off – she started to get tingly and itchy – it wasn’t a very pleasant experience for her. “I don’t know why people do these on purpose.” But the pain soon replaced the itching and unlike last time when Liana would fight taking any kind of pain medication – she was calculating what times she could take her pain killers – ah, what a difference 5 years make.
Finally, Liana was allowed to go to her room and we sat there waiting for Brianna to come – we both passed out for about an hour and a little while after noon Brianna was wheeled in by Alex, our day nurse. She was great and Liana really liked her. As soon as Brianna came I took a few pictures and went to get Devin and Seda. Devin was still taking a nap, so we asked our neighbor Renata to sit in the house while I brought her Seda to see Liana and Brianna, much to my surprise my mom and dad were there – a very happy surprise since I knew my mom wasn’t feeling well, I then headed back to watch Devin.
Now, I don’t know if it some kind of psychic thing but when things change Devin just seems to know. As soon as Seda and I left, he woke up and Renata was able to keep him busy and happy. I took Devin to see Brianna with much anticipation – we’ve been trying to get him ready for the baby but you don’t know exactly how much a two year old really understands – well, they understand pretty darn a lot.
The first thing he did when he saw Brianna was to kiss her on the forehead and then try to wake her up by trying to pry her eyes open. All the months of anxiety and worry about how Devin would treat and feel about his baby sister were dissipated and even now that we are home it couldn’t be better. Devin runs out and grabs our neighbors to see his “baby seester.”
With the new addition we need more space – and anyone who wants to spend the night ends up sleeping on a couch or air mattress. As most of you know we live in a small two bedroom one bath home in one of the greatest neighborhoods in Pasadena. We have been searching for the right house in the same neighborhood where we are currently living but it seems everyone wants to live in this neighborhood. As soon as a house goes on sale – they have many offers well above the asking price. It is all a "secret" bidding process - until you find out who gets picked. It seems that the “eBay mentality” is in effect in this market - (when you really want something you bid way over what you think other people will bid and then you always add a five at the end) we lost two houses because of we were short $5,000. About a month ago, a house comes up for sale – it is the house that Liana had chosen as her dream home when she moved to my neighborhood. We sprang into action and with the much appreciated help from my mom and dad, knew what we had to do. We got the house – and it is literally a block north of where we live now. 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and an entertainment den. The most important part: I have a bathroom all for myself. We should be able to move in in the late summer.
All in all – everything is great. Devin has really taken to his new sister to the point that if she cries he gets someone to take care of her.

Well, as you saw by getting here – I finally got the website up – sorta. Keep checking back, (www.zovkov.com) if you are so inclined to see what I have added.

Brian