New Preschool & Playing

Wow, look at me, week two and I'm still going strong. :) Just a few random thoughts and happenings from this past week:

- I've actually been feeling a little overwhelmed this week. Nothing unusual or out of the ordinary, just your basic being home with two kids and moving to a new house. We obviously still have a lot to do to make this house truly feel like a home, paint everywhere, new furniture or layouts, changes we want to make, normal for moving to a new house but also overwhelming. Also unfortunately, we discovered this week that the tub and toilet in the downstairs bathroom weren't installed properly and required an expensive visit from the plumber to fix. This is one of the hazards of homeownership and I'm thankful to know that it is now done right and working properly but it's still not what we would choose to spend our money on. Anyway, whenever I start to feel this way I am pretty good about putting it all in perspective playing the "there are always people way worse of then we are" which is true and always useful to remember but sometimes makes me feel even more guilty for ever feeling bad or complaining which isn't helpful either. So I need to be OK with feeling overwhelmed and annoyed about life sometimes as long as I don't dwell and try to focus on being happy and grateful the majority of the time.

- Aida started a new preschool this week and I'm super excited about it. I found out about it from my neighbor across the street and it is just a group of moms that decided to start a Classical education style school for their kids and it's grown from there. I need to learn more about that style of teaching but Aida loves the class so far and the other moms are extremely nice. I'm happy to finally be meeting some new moms here in the city.

- Aida continues to amaze me with what goes on in that little head of hers. She asked me out of the blue while we were driving in the car "Do bats' toes get tired from hanging on so long while they sleep?" and one day she decided that she was going to pretend she had a dog and mimed everything all day long. Going to the grocery store she would pick the dog up and put it in the car. When I tried to hold her hand in the parking lot she had to switch the leash to the other hand first and when she wanted to look at something in the store she would tie the dog up to the cart or or a shelf first. So cute.

- Jack is finally cutting his top two teeth. I was starting to wonder what the hold up was. He's this close to walking but still crawls or does the one-handed scoot while sitting instead of taking those first steps. Any day now... He is also really starting to play which is adorable to me. He plays with toys, plays with Aida, and he knows when he's being funny and tries to make us laugh.

- Here is a video that will probably be boring to everybody but me and the grandparents but I just think it is so cute that he's playing with Aida's old toys now:

- And for the rest, here is an even cuter (shorter) video of his big sister making him laugh:

Happy New Year!

Some people don't believe in New Year's resolutions but I've always liked them. I do love the idea of a new year and a fresh start to refocus my goals (and wishful thinking.) In honor of 2011, here are my 11 resolutions for the coming year:

1. Floss regularly - I mean really, I'm 32, this shouldn't be hard.

2. Stick to a night time routine - again: 32; My skin isn't getting any younger so I need to start washing my face and moisturizing every night and stop falling asleep on the couch and then just stumbling to bed.

3. Personal upkeep - I truly believe in the idea that if you feel good about the way you look it will affect the way you feel so the little things (like getting regular hair cuts) will make a difference for me.

4. Build a real wardrobe for crying out loud - I've seen every episode of What Not To Wear, I know and agree with all the "rules" and yet I still buy cheap jeans and wear boring t-shirts more often then not.

5. Lose the last 5 lbs. and tone up - most cliche resolution ever but it still applies...

6. Start making lists - I feel like I'm not staying on top of the little things lately like when something comes in the mail that I need to follow-up on the next day and then I forget all about it. I think I'm going to buy a Moleskin so I can have a nice centralized place for running lists or just use my iPod more.

7. Create a regular cleaning schedule - I was pretty good at this in our last house but since we moved and the holidays I haven't found my groove in our new house. If I can't stick to the schedule for whatever reason during the week, I at least want to make sure the house is relatively clean and picked up every Friday so we don't have to do any cleaning on the weekends.

8. Be more productive at night - after the long day and then the whole Jack & Aida bedtime routine, I usually just plop down on the couch and stay there until I fall asleep and drag myself to bed (see #2). I need to take advantage of this time with things like picking up the house, uploading and processing photos, updating the blog, etc.

9. Maintain the family budget - I set up an online software program for our budget last year and I really like it so this year I just need to make sure I am updating and tracking weekly.

10. Update this blog once a week - my friend updates her blog every Sunday with her random thoughts and pictures and it's great so I am going to start doing that too. No really, I am.

11. Launch a website - I've had a few ideas for years and honestly I just need to do it already. If I actually do, you will be the first to know.

I know I can't get away with a whole blog post just about me so I'll leave you with this adorable picture of Jack especially since I just noticed his top teeth growing in so this gummy smile won't be around much longer.

Disneyland Weekend!

We took the whole family to Disneyland this past weekend in honor of Aida's 4th birthday. Oh my gosh, we had the best time! It was a short trip but we really packed it in and Aida loved every minute of it. We kept the whole thing a surprise and didn't tell her we were going until the morning we were leaving for the airport. She was very excited:

We flew in on Thursday morning and checked into our hotel and then went and visited with my Uncle Teri & Aunt Jan and introduced Grandma Jo to her newest great-grandchild.


Thursday we went over to Disneyland all day. We met up with my brother, AJ and one of his friends that works there and spent the day riding rides and meeting Mickey.


My dad drove down from Sacramento for the weekend so we met up with him after lunch and headed back to the hotel for some swimming. This was Jack's first time in a swimming pool and he loved to splash! :)

My dad stayed with Jack at the hotel so Zack and I could take Aida back to California Adventure Park. We watched AJ in the Pixar parade and then we rode a few more rides. Aida was just barely too short to reach the 40" height limit on a lot of the rides, missed it by about 1/2 an inch. Oh well, next time...


Then we were able to take Aida back to the hotel to stay with my dad so Zack and I could head back over to Disneyland and ride all the rides Aida was too short for. We loved having Grandpa there with us!

On Friday, we slept in a little and headed back out for another full day. We started in California Adventure Park because we had reservations for Ariel's Grotto for lunch. That was so great, instead of standing in a huge line to meet all the princesses we got to have a nice lunch and they all came one by one to the table to meet Aida and take a picture.


Then we headed over to Disneyland for more rides. Aida loved the ToonTown roller coaster:

After going back to the hotel for some more swimming and rest time, we were able to have dinner with my best friend, Mary, and her husband, Thomas. They are way too cute. Then AJ, Zack, Aida and I headed back to Disneyland for the fireworks and a few more rides. We took our time packing up on Sunday, the kids slept in pretty late, they were all tuckered out... :)


Of course, I couldn't make a trip out to California without one quick stop to Huntington Beach before we headed to the airport.


I think this will be a hard birthday to top! Below is a slideshow of all our pictures and a cute video that Zack made for Aida's birthday. What a great trip...

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Six Months & A Birth Story

Jack turned 6 months yesterday. I can't believe how fast it is going! He weighs 17lbs and is in the 50 percentile for height, weight and head circumference. He talks, drools, babbles, eats his toes, laughs, and acts adorable and happy all day and then sleeps all night. We love him a lot.



I thought in honor of being 1/2 a year old, I'd finally post Jack's birth story. I wrote this down a couple months ago but just never posted it. What a crazy day that was! I guess when my babies are ready to come they are ready.

I woke in the morning with some light bleeding so I decided to call my doctor after I picked Aida up from preschool. I wasn't too concerned but since Aida was premature and I was only 34 weeks I thought I should at least call. Zack was on a business trip in Nebraska but would be home that night at 6:00pm so I wasn't too worried about not having him home.

11:30am I pick up Aida and call my OB. The nurse asks if I'm having any contractions and I tell her no, I fell completely normal. She tells me to come in at 1:30pm and they would do an ultrasound just to make sure everything was OK. I call Zack at this point but just get his VM. I leave a message to call me back but didn't say what was going on. I didn't want to worry him since I was sure it would be nothing.

12:00pm Aida and I eat some lunch and I pack up some snacks and crayons and a coloring book so Aida will have something to keep her busy while I was am at the doctor's office.

12:30pm I start feeling some suspicious cramping and they are coming about every 10 minutes. They aren't very strong but are definitely there. I try calling Zack again and still get VM. I try calling my mom and get VM. I try calling a few more friends just so I can talk to somebody about this and convince myself that it's no big deal. Nobody is answering and I start to feel a little anxious.

12:45pm My mom calls me back, and as I tell her what is happening I start to cry and realize that I am feeling more anxious than I thought and I am just so happy to talk to somebody. The contractions are getting stronger but are still about 10 minutes apart. I hang up with my mom and call the OB's office again and let them know that now I am also having contractions. They tell me to go ahead and come in right now since my appt. is at 1:30pm anyway. I start sending urgent text messages to Zack to call me right away.

1:15pm Aida and I arrive at my OB's office which is in a building connected to the hospital. My contractions are getting consistently stronger and closer together. I have to take a break and lean on the counter while I'm trying to talk to the receptionist.

1:30pm Aida and I go into the room for the ultrasound. I think I've talked to Zack at this point and told him what was going on. I'm still convinced that I will just be given something to stop the contractions or at least I'm at such an early stage of labor that it will still be a few hours before anything needs to happen. Unfortunately, my contractions keep getting stronger and closer together at an alarmingly fast rate. I'm already having to really focus on my breathing while I'm waiting for the ultrasound.

1:35pm The tech performs the ultrasound and informs me my cervix is 100% effaced (WHAT?!) but the baby is still in a completely high and sideways position with his head under my right ribs and his feet under my left. I don't understand how I can be 100% effaced since I only started having contractions about an hour ago but I couldn't think about it for too long since another contraction hits and the pain is now what I would call "very intense."

1:40pm I'm taken to a room with a reclining chair and hooked up to a monitor for my contractions and another one for the baby's heart rate. I get a hold of our friend, Eric, to come and get Aida and have him call his wife, Emmy, at her work so she can try to leave early and come be with me. Aida is playing and chatting with the nurses, she doesn't really know what is going on. At this point my contractions are about every 2 minutes apart and once again, just like with Aida, they are all in my lower back. I'm suddenly in a lot of intense pain but I can't go over to the hospital until Aida is picked up since no kids are allowed in the hospital due to flu season. My OB tells me that I will be having this baby today. I tell her we need to stall until this evening so my husband can be here. She looks skeptical but tells me we can decide after we get over to the hospital and get checked in.

1:50pm Eric arrives to take Aida. She is excited to go to Eric's house and play with his kids. I have to tell her to come back and give me a kiss since I am having the baby and probably won't see her for a few days. I barely have time to think about the magnitude that this will be the last time I see her when it is just me and her, a family of three. The contractions are taking up most of my mental energy at this point but I'm glad I called her back for that last hug and kiss. Eric tells me that Emmy is trying to finish up work and will come over as soon as she can. I've been in contact with Zack, he tried to get on an earlier flight but wasn't able to so he won't be getting to the hospital until 6:00pm. I still think we will be able to wait.

2:00pm After Aida leaves, my nurse, Sarah, starts to get me ready to move over to the Birth Center. I tell her I wish I had brought my camera so she borrows one from the other nurses and says she will go with me and stay with me until Emmy shows up. Thank goodness for Sarah and the other nurse's camera or I wouldn't have any pictures or video of my son's birth. They unhook my monitors and tell me to try to start walking down the hall. I can barely make it a few steps before a contraction hits and I have to stop and lean against the wall and breathe. I start to panic that it will take me at least an hour at this rate to walk over to the hospital and the pain medication that waits for me there. Sarah offers to get me a wheelchair and tells me I should try to use the restroom before I go.

2:05pm I go into the bathroom and as soon as I sit down another contraction hits and my water breaks. I'm so thankful it waited until I was in the bathroom over the toilet and not a few minutes before or after when I was still out in the hallway. Sarah goes to get my OB and she informs that now that my water has broken and I am 100% effaced but my baby is still so breach that there will be no more waiting, I will be having this baby in about an hour.

2:10pm - 3:00pm I'm wheeled over to the hospital and begin the process of preparing for the emergency C-Section. Amazingly and thankfully, once my water breaks all the pressure and pain I'm feeling in my back disappears and even though I am still having contractions, I am only feeling them in stomach and they aren't very strong anymore. I try to convince my OB that this means we can wait but she isn't buying it. I've called Zack and told him the news, I'm so sad that this is happening without him here. He feels bad that he can't be here for me but I'm not worried about me, I'm sad for him to miss the birth. There was no way for us to know that this would happen but I can't believe it is all coming down to a few hours of bad timing. I'm given a gown to change into and then I have a swarm of nurses all working at once to get me ready. One is going through the admittance forms, one is removing my jewelry, one is prepping me for surgery, one is trying to insert my IV (which takes 3 tries, me and stupid small veins). I'm finally ready around 3:00pm right as Emmy shows up and quickly changes into her scrubs.

3:00pm - 3:23pm I'm wheeled into the OR and given the epidural. They start getting everything ready and Emmy comes in to video and take pictures. Most of this C-section experience is the same as it was with Aida. The anesthesia makes me really cold and I get nauseous at one point. I can feel the pressure when they start trying to get the baby out. Since he is still breach and so high up they have to push really hard to get him out. I feel like my ribs are cracking. I ask "Is he out?"

3:24pm My OB says "Yes, he's out" and holds him up for me to see. He has blond hair. He is taken to the warming table and immediately starts crying. He is struggling a little to breathe so he is given a C-pap and taken to the NICU. Emmy goes with him and gets a picture of him on the scale. He weighs 5 pounds and 14 ounces and is 19 inches long.

3:25pm - 6:00pm I'm stitched up (and have a weird freak out on the operating table because I feel this incredible need to move my legs but of course I can't so the anesthesiologist gives me a little extra dose of something to calm me down) and taken to recovery. Emmy joins me again but this part is all a little fuzzy as I'm tired and slipping in and out of sleep. I learn that my baby boy is doing fine, he is breathing under an oxygen hood and has been hooked up to an IV but is stable and perfect. I'm taken to my room and spend the next hour calling family and friends and waiting for Zack.

6:00pm Zack arrives at the hospital, 2 hours and 36 minutes after the birth. So close! :) He kisses me and immediately goes to the NICU to see his son. My dad calls to let me know he has booked a flight and will be arriving at midnight so he can stay with Aida for the weekend while Zack stays with me and our boy in the hospital.

9:00pm I'm able to slowly and carefully maneuver myself into a wheelchair so I can go to the NICU and see my baby boy. Needless to say, I am completely in love.

Daddy/Grandpa/Daughter Day

While I was in the hosptial, my dad and Zack took Aida to the pumpkin patch. These pictures crack me up because of the way Aida is dressed. You can tell Mama wasn't around to let her leave the house like that! :) Obviously Aida didn't seem to mind one bit and she had a blast!

(This slide picture is classic!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

For Thanksgiving weekend my parents came to town and Zack's mom and her boyfriend, Jim, drove in from Minnesota. We had a nice dinner at our house, traditional Thanksgiving with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sauteed brussel sprouts, and lost of different kinds of pie. We spent most of the weekend just hanging around the house holding Jack but also took a day and went up to Estes Park. It was a great relaxing weekend with the family. Happy Thanksgiving!

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First Month

Dear Jack,

Today you turned one month old and I can't even believe it. At your doctor's appointment earlier this week you were already 7lbs. 5 oz. You have already changed so much and gotten so much bigger. I'm happy you are growing and thriving and doing so well but it is also breaking my heart a little bit. My tiny little baby boy already feels so much bigger and it just makes me realize all over again how fast this all goes. Especially when I look at your 3 year old sister who is a running, talking, singing, jumping ball of crazy and I try to remember when she was this little. I can't believe you will someday be 3 years old or even three months old. I wish we could stretch this newborn stage out for just a little bit longer but the clock and calender just won't slow down.

I don't know if we just got lucky twice but you are a very mellow baby just like Aida. You are still sleeping most of the day and can sleep in your crib, bassinet, or while being held. You can sleep when its quiet or with the stereo turned up and Aida and her friends running all over the house. Sometimes you like your pacifier, sometimes you don't. If you fall asleep with it in and it falls out you don't seem to notice. Knock on wood that continues.
You are doing so well at breastfeeding (although you need to work on your latch a bit, open wider little boy!) but you don't have any problem with the bottle either. Since your father is taking time off work to be with home with you, he takes one of the night time feedings using some of the gallons of breastmilk I pumped while you were in the hospital. This allows us both to have that quiet time with you in the middle of the night and lets me get more sleep. You always fall right back asleep after your feedings. Like I said, you are being a perfect little angel baby, just like your sister.
You are awake much more now during the day. Your eyes are still a very dark grey-blue and when you are awake I can see you are very alert and curious. You just lay in your bassinet and look around, kick your blankets and make cute noises. You are usually awake around 10am and then again around 6pm so you seem to have your days and nights figured out, I hope that keeps up.
Your sister LOVES you. She always wants to hold you and play with you. She repeats everything we say to you and can mimic our baby talk perfectly. She is going to be an awesome big sister for you I can already tell.
I love having a baby in the house again. After those first few emotional, hormonal days I've calmed down and am loving having you here. Your father and I spend hours on the couch just holding you while you sleep. I know there are a million other things I could be doing but your dad is going back to work soon and you are growing so fast so we will take advantage of this time while we have it.

We love you, little guy! We are so glad you came to our family.

Love,
Mama