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With all the recent pictures we have been taking of Ethan, a picture printer was something that we just couldnt do without. We used to have this big photo printer and when we were downsizing the office, we decided to downsize the printer. So we purchased the HP Photosmart 475 Photo Printer (Click for more info and specs).

So I used it for a while and started to realize a couple of things… its a bit slow and it burns ink quikcly. Once Ethan was born we really started printing a lot of pictures and the more I printed the more I wished we had a faster, printer. Its not a bad unit for the right person, i just think we demand a bit more out of our photo printer, so im looking for something new thats a bit more high end.
Cool things

Its totally portable: With the optional $70 battery that plugs into the bottom, you can charge this thing up and take it with you to parties… Now im a real geek but doubt i would ever bring my photo printer to a party.

Bluetooth Connectivity: You dont need to hook this up to your computer if you have bluetooth functionality. It will print wirelessly from your computer or if your Camera has bluetooth printing, it will print from there.

Hard Drive: This thing has a hard drive so you can copy your pictures to it and print directly from its own hard drive. You can also use it as a photo storage device from your computer.

No Computer Needed: A lot is made about this feature. You can plug your memory card right into one of the 4 slots that supports 7 types of cards. You could also copy pictures to it and store them on the hard drive and print to it. My opinion is that this is a good feature for a certain set of people that have digital cameras but not computers. Im just not sure how big that market slice is.

Size Matters: This thing is small and unobtrusive which is why we bought it. the profile is 9 x 5 x 5 so it sits right next to my monitor. I think the design is cool in that it is very Mac-like and fits in with the mac color scheme but not with my PC.

Photo sizes: Most small printers this size only print 4×6, this thing prints 5×7.

One Cartridge: This may be a plus and a negative. it only has one ink cartridge in it. This is good in that you dont have to buy 4 types which can be more expensive. The downside is that it runs out of ink rather quickly.

Negatives

• It prints too slow for me. Im a liite impatient.
• It took me too long to tune the settings to get it to print color correctly
• No 8×10 support. I found that there were one or two pictures I really wanted to have blown up and hung on the wall at larger sizes.
• It burns ink pretty quickly. Ive gone through 3 cartridges. Granted we print alot.

Who Should Buy It: Anyone that had a digital camera that does not have a computer but wants to try printing their photos. The other class of users would be those that want portable printing functionality.

Rating

2 of 5

Cool Factor

4 of 5

Improvements

I would like to see the following on this printer:

• Faster Print Engine
• Improved Paper feed (jams alot)
• Wireless connectivity
• Synchronize feature to the My Pictures Folder on my computer
• A PC software control interface of the menus on the device a la setup, printing etc. I realize this is a bit counter-intuitive for a “portable” or “no pc needed” printer but more attention should be paid to those of us that do hook these things up to our computers.

All for now, ill let you know when I get a new printer…

Ethan was wearing some new clothes this week and discovered the fine
art of relaxing in his two favorite chairs (which also happens to be
dad’s favorite). Click Here to enjoy the pictures. Did you know you can order prints
of these pictures? sign up at www.flickr.com or email me to ask how.

Pete, Jen, Henry and May came to visit all the way from Seattle.  It was such a great evening, one of the best actually ;>  Its so amazing to have this close group of friends, family actually.  Every time we hang out its like we are 16 again and acting silly, sharing the same stories and jokes.  And now, we have kids to boot.  its very cool. (click here to see all the pictures)

Ethan was hanging out with his best friend this morning… (click here)

Checkout all the pictures here

We had passover at the folk’s house, it was a really great intimate event and while Ethan cant quite get the 4 questions yet, he had a great time. Thanks agan dad & ev for a wonderful evening.

New pictures of the little big man… sorry for all the duplicates.

Pictures can now be accessed via the Albums Page2 on the sidebar ——>

email me if you have interest in being able to order prints.

Daleet and Todd had a baby boy on 4/4/06 at 3:45am, Abraham Eli Spector entered the world and is Ethan’s new cousin. here are some pictures from our visit to the hospital.

So on your right side of the page under links, i have a new albums called “Album 2“using a cool site called Flickr. they host pictures and integrate into my site. the cool part is that you can order prints, but you must email me first to authorize you.
to do that,

1. click on an album

2. click on an individual picture

3. Click on the link that says “See this photo on Flickr (0 comments) ” at the bottom of the page.

4. click on the Icon that looks like this…

5. follow the prompts to print and pay for your pictures…
Enjoy…

So the Weiss’ brought Russell over this morning, they both recently had their haircuts, checkout the pictures (click here)

Just a few pictures (click here), its quite busy here more pictures later

So the big man celebrated 8 weeks of life today (To see all the pictures  Click Here) by:

watching tv..

getting a bath…

eating (including holding his bottle)

napping with mom

looking cute.

What a week, things going pretty well. Here are updates of Ethan (Click Here) He is sleeping 4 hours sometimes 5 at night and is feeding much faster. On Thursday night we weighed him, hes up to 11 lbs. and growing tall. His head is getting a bit larger and he is still cute as can be. Ev and Barry came over for some more time with him before her birthday trip to NY. I cant tell you what a godsend grandparents are. we have had some great babysitting allowing robin and i to get back to some sense of normality. We even went out to see 700 Sundays, the Billy Crystal one man show where he talks about life, death and growing up jewish. It is absolutely one of the best shows and most poignant for me i have ever seen. If you get the chance, check it out.

This morning at 12:08 Ethan turned 1 month old (four weeks really)… They grow up so fast… Its odd, it seems like he has been here forever but also like yesterday that we rushed off to the hospital.  We spent the weekend hanging out with friends and family, to see all the current pictures CLICK HERE

So Ethan is two weeks old now, its amazing. We think he may have a cold, as evidenced by this picture. I know I’m going to get a ton of heat for posting it, but check out his first booger!!! Ok, let the hate-mail start…

So we had a busy weekend, we had two big outings, one with Grandpa Barry (Click Here) and one with Grandma Joyce.  Ethan was very tired and fussy that night, I think we did too much in one day.

Then the Rubensteins came over on Saturda for a play-date with Rachel (Click Here). Ethan slept
through the wole thing, he’ll get better at these dates im sure. Thanks to Josh for the great pictures of Ethan. He gives decent weather advice, and his daughter Rachel below is just adorable!!!

Ethan has his first play date today with Daniella Lippman click here to check out the new photos…

So we had the little man snipped on Sunday here at the house (Click here for album), it was a great day with friends and family.

Renee came out from Chicago and Jack flew in from Denver, we were happy to have them and appreciate the travel to see the little guy. Thanks again to Dad and Ev, Joyce and Joe for making this possible. Robin and I were very touched by the whole ceremony, Chayim officiated and as always moved us all with his amazing voice and wonderful spirit.

My favorite picture from the day?

I love the way this captures the view of everyone from behind us all and it reminds me of looking at everyone during the ceremony it was an awesome sight.

Thanks Jason for taking such a great one!

Ethan is doing well, recovering just fine and sleeping and eating like a true Levitt/Spector.

There has been some talk about the fact that Ethan looks like his dad, you be the judge…

Who is who?

Starting off with more pictures… Click Here
But here is the full story from my view…
We woke up on the morning of the 21st, I rolled over and looked at my beautiful wife and said..
“Good morning pants (my affectionate term for her) Happy Birthday, I love you”. when I asked what she wanted for breakfast in bed she said “I want to go to Marmalade in Malibu and then sit on the beach”.

So it was a beautiful day at the beach that day (always do what a pregnant lady wants) with a slight bit of wind gently lifting the sand and scrubbing our skin for what would be an incredible adventure to come. I had no idea at the time, but this would be the happiest day of my life.  We sat and talked about the baby and what we thought it would be like and how much we were looking forward to tonight’s party for Robin’s Birthday. We planned to have our immediate family and Robin’s set of girlfriends over for a small celebration.

Jesse (the massage therapist) arrived around 1:45 to give robin a pregnancy massage while Joyce and I went out to get some groceries and pickup a cookie cake.

2:30pm - “Hey honey, whats up?” “I dont know I just had some fluid running down my leg” she reported calmly.. “It’s probably just your bladder relaxing from the massage” I wrongly guessed. “Are you ok?”. “Yeah, it happend about a half hour ago.” “O.K. we are on our way home, go lay down.”

We got home and Joyce started making dinner for the group, I was her sous chef while Robin sat at then end of the island. we talked about how funny it would be if she went into labor during the birthday celebration, should we cancel it? No. What’s the worst that could happen, besides if she went into labor it would be a nice distraction to have family and friends with her. Jon and Debi Weiss showed up first (they are like the marines, first in, last out) then Julie and Sydney: “Hi mama”, “Hi Strouvey Revvi”, come on in have a drink… the party had started.   So had something else…

6:30 - “Honey, im feeling a little crampy”. “Ok babe go lay down” (my mantra for the last 3 weeks of pregnancy). Robin sat in our bedroom and started to get some cramps. By 7pm the ”cramps” were more frequent.  Out on the couch with all her girls around her like a scene from “Fiddler on the Roof”: “Robin, how often are the cramps coming?” I inquired. “Im not sure” she said. “O.K. here is a watch, start timing them, write down the time they start and how long they last. Sydney can you help her? “sure, lets go lay down in the bedroom”.

I kept looking at the paper, the list read:  7:10, 7:15, 7:20, 7:25, 7:29, 7:33, 7:37, 7:42, 7:44, 7:46, 7:50, 7:53, 7:55, 7:56 (called the doctor after that one) 7:57, 8:00 hmm…

Although it really hadn’t dawned on us yet (believe it or not), Robin was in labor.

I walked into the room at one point to one of the most profound things I have ever seen. Robin was laying on our bed with her head up.  On her left was her mother, Joyce and my step-mom Evelyn, on her right on the bed and behind her were some of her best and closest, Julie, Sydney, Daleet, and Joanne. It was like we were in Anatevka and the entire village turned out to help this woman in labor. Her best friends were really doing mid-wife duty, it was profound to see and Robin keeps talking about how amazing it was to have these women with her.

As it turned out, the Birthday Party was turning into a Birthing Party in grand Levitt/Spector style.

The contractions were anywhere from 2 to 4 minutes apart, we talked to Dr. Entin and he said we should come into the hospital.  Robin really didnt want to go, we were concerned that we would be turned away due to false labor.

We arrived safely and they checked Robin…. 7cm she got to frickin’ 7cm at home surrounded by friends and family. The nurses were so surprised by this they had to re-check her to be sure. Yep, its true. I knew how strong Robin is, but this really renewed my sense of awe in her.

So the nurses setup the Labor Delivery Room and started all the prep like you see on the tv show ER. After an Epidural, Robin became very jovial and funnier, started cracking some jokes with the Doctor and nurses. After about 30 minutes the nurse Aimee who was pregnant with twins and had the same BDAY as her monther, said “ok lets practice pushing”. Joyce, Kimmy and I were there coaching and encouraging her.

Meanwhile, the entire party was gathered outside the delivery room, they all came to the hospital from our house. Everyone was on their cell phones with loved ones around the country, it was a total scene. Robin had a chance to relax and started cracking jokes with the Dr. and delivery nurses. Only my wife…

After about 30 minutes of practice pushing Joyce and I were able to see the baby’s head and hair. The nurse said “O.K. stop pushing”. Dr Entin came in and put on the “BLUE GOWNS”.

So we had been watching “A Baby Story” on TLC and there is a part in every show where the doctor puts on the blue gowns and then they deliver the baby, so we knew it was close. A couple more pushes and his head was out. One more push and Ethan was out. Dr. Entin looked at me and said “only you, only you say what it its”.. I looked down and saw male equipment I let out the most amazing scream ever.. I felt every part of me buzzing with Joy, Love Excitement, Pride, i had met my son, the young man I have waited for and dreamt about for so long….. “ITS A BOY!!!!” Robin, Joyce, Kimmy and I erupted in screams, applause tears and laughter. Ethan was laid on Robin’s chest and we just stared into his eyes.

So at the same time I heard the above, I heard this guttural yell “Oh god” Joe and Lisa were right outside the delivery room and they heard me scream, but then again so did anyone within a 10 mile radius. there was clapping and excitement and laughter outside the delivery room. We basically took over the Hospital Sunday morning, filling the hallway with people on cell phones (2 no no’s) yelling and screaming as if we were the only ones in the place. The staff there was so nice, they recogizned that everyone was very happy and tolerated us. (Our doctor visited us in the hospital the next day and commented on 2 things, 1: the atmosphere was like a sports event when he was born, all the laughing and clapping and 2: Robin has an incredible threshold for pain)
Meanwhile back on the chest, Robin and I were staring into Ethan Jacob’s eyes talking to him so that he recognizes us, he started back with those amazing grey-blue eyes that babies have before their real color comes in. A few minutes later, Dr. Entin handed me scissors and I had the unbelievable honor of cutting the cord that gave him life for 9 months he was now free of his cord. he sat on mom’s chest for a while I remember just thanking her and kissing her forehead and lips, so amazing I was so thankful to have my family started in such an amazing way.
Time slowed down, before I knew it the generic, sterile clock on the wall read like 1:30am Iwasnt even tired, wasnt even aware that time was passing, i didnt care, i just couldnt stop crying and was in total amazement staring at this little Levitt, I kept thinking to myself part in pride part in disbelief…. I HAVE A SON!!!

The rest of the couple days were pretty begning, your basic bath in the nursery, feeding, sleeping, napping pooping we wer anxious to bring the guy home.

They say having a baby changes your life…. I agree but really thing that having a baby makes you want to be a better person. I have learned the following from this whole thing:

• My wife is the strongest person I know. I owe her a debt of gratitude I can never repay but will try.
• My Son is the best looking guy on the planet. Period.
• You can never have enough family or friends around, ever. We were completely humbled by the amount of love support and excitement we received from everyone. when we are tired, too tired, people give us their energy and we can keep going. its awesome. We had 20 people in the room on his first day of life, everyone showed up, it was great! It made us feel so loved and supported.
• Grandparents Rule!!! The grandma’s came over, stocked our fridge with food and cooked enough stuff to feed a normal family for a year, or our family for 6 months. Help us with errands, calls and planning, its so key, so under appreciated no matter how much we thank them.
• You cant do it alone, we were lucky to have amazing caretakers along the way, everyone from Dr. Boostenfar to Entin and Ota and now Dr. Esmond, everyone is so great and so generous with their time.

Check him out… adorable

his first picture