Wow, it has been almost 2 months since my last blog entry! I have an excuse -- my 3rd child, Isabel, was born on 6 weeks ago! Here's the announcement that I sent to family, friends, and colleagues:

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Liu Family Product Announcement

We welcome a new addition to our family!

Version: 3.0

Name: Isabel Engracia Tiare Manglicmot Liu

Release Date: January 20, 2005, 8:02AM PDT

Specifications: 8 lb 6 oz, 20 in

Backward Compatibility: Ears, Cheeks – Daddy’s; Nose, Mouth – Mommy’s, Eyes – TBD

Release Manager: Marilyn Honegger, MD

Released at: Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, CA

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   I know it’s a bit geeky, but hey, I do work for a software company after all. And what’s with the long name? Well, my wife and I struggled for the longest time and didn’t finalize the name until the day we checked out of the hospital! Fortunately, we’ve always liked the name, Isabel, but we just couldn’t decide whether or not to go with the longer version, Isabella. It was primarily dependent on the second part of the first name, and we were flipping back and forth between Engracia (my wife’s grandma’s name) and Tiare (a beautiful fragrant Polynesian flower known as "Tahitian Gardenia" that we stumbled upon during our recent vacation on the Big Island). Ultimately, we decided to go with Engracia first. Of course, we're now struggling to agree on a nickname: Isa, Bella, Gracie, Tia .. sigh, we'll figure this out eventually.

   In case you’re thinking about a name for your next child, I’d highly recommend NameVoyager, which is a nifty interactive graphical tool that, as the Web sites describes, allows you to “explore the sea of names, letter by letter .. watch trends rise and fall, and dive in deeper to see your favorite name's place in the historical tides.”

   Oh, about Isabel eyes, I think they’re a good mix of both mine and my wife’s – thank goodness.