---

APRIL 6, 1999 . . . . . . . . MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS

---

Welcome Home Nathaniel!

New Shu Arrives After worrying that our baby would come too early all throughout January, we then relaxed and Evan even predicted he would arrive late -- but instead we were surprised by Nathaniel Ross' birth "only" 5 weeks early on March 18, 1999 at 10:22 p.m but still a hefty 6 lbs. 5 oz. Fortunately, Grandma Ruby (Evan's mom) was able to come out on very short notice and she has been a big help to us getting our new life ironed out. Name Game Nathaniel means "Gift of God", which we like very much (it's also one of the meanings for "Evan".) We liked Ross because it is Annamarie's maiden name, but "Ross Shu" seemed too short and likely to provoke responses of "Gesundheit!". We had actually picked out the name for one of our triplets, but that "Nathaniel" turned out to be "Melanie"! We also love that the name is so flexible: Nat, Natty, Nate, Nathan, `Thaniel, the full Nathaniel -- or we could even use his prenatal nickname of "Boomer". We'll let his personality decide -- but the early leader seems to be "Nate" since that is what `Manda can pronounce.

Me & Dad on my first night out!

Sibling Rivalry? Amanda understandably has had her nose a little bit out of joint over this new arrival as she is no longer the only star attraction, but she is gradually accepting that when she says "Bye-bye" to him, that he is not going away! Fortunately, with Grandma Ruby around, she still gets plenty of attention. But she has been a little more needy and her sleep overnight is not as good. But the new arrival has added a new complete sentence to her repertoire, which includes things like "Read That!". She now often says, "Nate Cry!" -- not exactly as profound as "Jesus Wept" but we think it's pretty good! . Mom's "bribe" is this new xylophone to keep me happy!

What's He Like? So far, he's a very cuddly, placid and quiet baby, at first sleeping for 5 or 6 hour stretches while Mom and Dad lay awake at night wondering, "Is he ever going to wake up to eat?" But after two weeks, he is starting to "wake-up" more to the world. The jury is still very much out on who he looks like, especially since his looks seem to change every day. But if you would like to follow his progress over time, keep checking in at this new web page. . Nathaniel loves to be held so much, one of his nicknames is cuddlebug. Mom even accuses him of "faking" being hungry, so he will be picked up!