iPad killed my blog!

well...not really, cause i'm trying to revive it!  but aside from life (which is crazy busy with two littles), i blame the purchase of the ipad with the decline in my blogging.  you see, pre-ipad i actually had to go into my office and sit down at my desktop to do anything on the internet...so it forced me to post to my blog.  now, i can pretty much do anything on my ipad (pinterest, blog reading, facebooking, words with friends...yes, it can be a problem!) except easily post to my blog.  well, i could easily post...but not easily add pictures and what's a blog with no pictures? 

so, i need to find a way to bring this blog back to life and i'm working on that (have a lot of things to work on at the moment though...so we'll see how it goes!).  i have so much to catch up on over the last few months - most importantly a certain someone in this house turned FOUR!  four...are you kidding me? 

despite the lack of attention on this blog, he was showered with celebrations for nearly a week.  first off on the night of his birthday he chose sushi for dinner.  so our little foursome ventured out to the neighborhood sushi train (which was rumored to be pretty good) and enjoyed a feast of sushi.  rolls, edamame, noodles and sesame balls.  it was quite exciting for the birthday boy to grab the little plates off of the rotating conveyor belt.  sadly, i brought my camera sans memory card...so no pics of my sweet birthday boy's sushi outing.  afterwards we went to peachwave to get a froyo with unlimited toppings (faves include:  popping boba's, m&m's, anything gummy and of course sprinkles)!  we brought it home and did a little cupcake/candle and singing action.

family shot...so hard to get all four looking good!

the next day was the day he celebrated his birthday at school.  it was my day to work in the classroom and in honor of his birthday we brought mini ice cream cones from trader joes.  they were a hit in the classroom.  he was given a birthday crown to wear and got to pick out a book from the birthday basket - which of course was the highlight for my book loving boy!  instead of rushing back to pick up maya, i took him on a little birthday lunch date at mcmenamins.

finally the weekend arrived and it was time for his par-tay...a fire station party to be specific.  portland fire and rescue rents out their historic belmont firehouse (no longer a functioning station) for events.  the highlight was getting to sit in the real fire engine and to slide down the fire pole.  well, the fire pole wasn't really kellen's highlight (he made it to the top of the pole only to turn around and say no thank you), but it was a highlight for many of his friends!  what fun to celebrate with some of his closest friends - including our baby and me group (6 of us who all had babes around the same time and used to attend the hospital based support group for new mamas!). 

firefighter cousins sam and maisy!

playing in the firetruck with best bud, max (from nike)

the kids on the tour listening to the real firefighter lecture them about fire safety

the cake...by beaverton bakery

my boy...too nervous to go down the fire pole he'd been talking about ALL week!

max TILDEN! going down for his fourth time before he had to be cut off!

mama's two babies!

daddy helping him to blow out the candles (must have taken 10 tries!)

the next day we had a family dinner and his choice of meal was chili bar.  i made two kinds of chili - regular red chili with beef and italian sausage and a white bean, green chili and chicken chili.  of course lots of toppings were offered, including chips, sour cream, avocado, tomato, hot sauce, green onion and cilantro.  we followed the chili bar up with a little ice cream cake (again with lots of toppings) and a few special gifts from family.  what a lucky boy to be loved by so many.  needless to say, by the end of the week we were a bit birthday'ed out. 

k blowing out candles one last time

papa, b and k

"dancing/running in circles"

baby sammy, sarah and grandma

it's crazy to think our boy is four years old - he's a full blown kid now, who can carry on a real conversation, who loves loves loves books (and also tv!), who is sweet, cautious, kind and sensitve...with a bit of a stubborn side, who is open to trying new things, but often needs a little reassurance, who is fascinated with learning about new things, who wants to know all the details of your day, but not so willing to share the details of his (when we are apart), who is gentle and protective of his little sister (except when he's not, which is about 15% of the time!), who loves his family, who has a hard time picking a favorite of anything - it's ALL his favorite, who is a little on the shy side, especially with new people, who has one of the most contagious and genuine smiles, who can't wait to run as fast or be as big as his daddy (it's almost a daily conversation...when will i be as big as daddy, when will i wear the same size shoe as daddy, when will i be as fast as daddy?!), who still loves thomas and also cars the movie charactors, who has really good hair, who is a puzzle master, who is my "snuggle bug forever" (according to him!!!) and who is FOUR!  it makes me want to smile and cry at the same time.  i know they say time flies, but i really can remember that day we brought him home from the hospital (to a 55 degree house...brrr!) like it was yesterday (and yes, i did want to return him to the hospital in a brief moment of hormone and sleep deprivation insanity).  we love you sweet boy!

fail.

aye aye aye...big time fail in the blog department! what can i say, moving, the start of preschool, two kids, a bit of work, life, birthdays and halloween has all taken precedence over blogging. i have such good intentions, but just can't seem to make it to the computer to bang out a blog post. so here is a big dump...

we moved! it's already been seven weeks. yikes. the house is slowly starting to feel like our home and not a vacation house that we are borrowing for a week. the odd, not our smell of the house is going away and it's starting to feel familiar. i'm becoming less nostaglic for our old house - in fact was over visiting our old neighbors and didn't even pay too much attention to our old house (other than to see if they were keeping up the yard work!). it's feeling comfortable. now if we could just get ALL the boxes unpacked, ALL the pictures on the walls, some decisions on more paint colors, and buy a few (or more) things that we need...we'd be in even better shape!

the kids have adjusted really well. especially maya who...HALLELUJAH!!!...is sleeping in her own big girl bed. it was a thousand times easier than we anticipated, considering she slept every single night of her almost two year life in our bed and practically in my arms. she more often than not sleeps through the night and if she does wake up, it's best if aa goes in to get her settled as he can be in and out in a few minutes (as long as he doesn't fall asleep on the floor!). she prefers us to lay and snuggle her until she is asleep when going to bed, but aa and i both now snuggle her for a few minutes and then tell her "i'll be right back" to leave her on her own to fall asleep. i actually have to tell her that i need to brush my teeth and i'll be right back and that will somehow alleviate any tears. i won't lie...sometimes i miss her...but i couldn't be more thrilled to have our bed back. it's such a treat and my back and neck are happy too! kellen has been pretty good, although the combination of a too scary halloween story and a new house with new noises and shadows has had him a little fearful and calling out for us to make sure no one was coming in and that the shadows were nothing to be afraid of...err. just when we get one sleeping better the other has trouble!


i took a picture of each of the kids in their bed before we moved and then a shot of each of the kids fast asleep in their own new rooms on their own new beds (really mattresses on the floor at the time!).

to make things really exciting...the week we moved was also kellen's first day of preschool! it was a big day and i won't lie...i felt a little emotional, but let's face it...i dropped him off at stringer (the nike child development center) for 9-10 hours a day, four days every week for 2 full years. but, we had been home together for the last full year and it definitely seems like such a milestone! we chose a great, play-based preschool called small friends. it's pretty hands on, as the parents volunteer in the school once every 4-5 weeks (which i really love) and the teachers seem wonderful (have been there for 15 and 20+ years). he is loving it and i think we both wish it was either a little longer or at least one more day per week. right now in the younger class he goes just tuesday/thursday from 8:30-11:45. he will often ask us if it's a school day yet! here are some pics from his first day:


big preschooler - ready to tackle the first day of school...after the first night in our new house!


little sister getting in on the picture taking action...notice the lock box still on the door and maya's pj's and crocs!


getting comfortable in the classroom with dad at the potato head table


maya running through the halls of kellen's school!

in other news, aa and i both turned 35 in october...sounds sorta old, but we really don't have time to dwell on it. and i honestly don't have any problem with getting older (at least yet!). definitely feels like a milestone...so much closer to 40! we talked about taking a little trip - maybe to sf...but it's looking like we'll take a kid-free night or two to the beach and save our pennies for the house. it's crazy to think that when we met we were 19 (nearly 20) years old...and yet here we are, solidly in our mid-thirties, with two little darlings and a lot to be thankful for - especially each other!








...and how could i even mention my birthday without mentioning our big TWO year old??? i'm sure this deserves a post of it's own...but let's be honest, if i wait it might not happen! ugh. october 21st is really about my girl. i can hardly believe she's two...it's flown by and yet feels like she came into this world just yesterday. she's the sweetest, fiestiest thing ever. she weighs 21 pounds 10 ounces...actually up to 24th percentile on the growth chart, but still quite a peanut. her height is 32 inches (and i didn't catch the percentile on that one...typically second child slight!). some of her favorite phrases are: "me do it" or "maya do it" (and watch out if you don't let her!), "how about me" (or how about maya/nellen/mama/dada...the girl is always looking out for her fam!), "no, nellen" (her second version of kellen...at first it was nennen) and "go duckies!". she has very strong opinions about almost everything...especially what she wears and what she eats. she talks up a storm, loves her big brother, is both a mama's girl and daddy's girl...but at different times. her favorite books in the last few months are: 10 little dinosaurs, my car, baby faces and baby born. her two year molars have yet to make an appearance. she loves to eat protein (chicken, turkey, salami, eggs, peanut butter...straight from the jar!) and isn't a huge fan of whole grains, although rice is pretty good. she's a total junk food junkie - chips, candy, cookies, chocolate, cupcakes, ice cream...you name it, she doesn't seem to have ANY problem eating any of those options. she LOVES babies...and will randomly name off her favorite babies - baby tato, baby adelynn, baby molly, baby nammy, etc. she doesn't however love baby dolls or really anything very "girly". anything her brother loves - she loves. for example, thomas the train, lightning mcqueen, etc. she'll push trains or cars around in her little doll stroller all day long. when given an option to do anything, she will usually ask to play trains and build tracks...just like her nellen.

all she wanted for her birthday was ime meam (ice cream) and bawoons (balloons)...so because I did nothing for her for her first birthday (well a little family party...but nothing with any friends) and since we had just moved...we invited some of her favorite baby friends and some of my favorite mamas over to a playdate birthday party...complete with ime cream sundaes and a balloon animal making clown. the clown was a hit with most of the kids...although it did frighten a couple of them! it was utter chaos with 19 children 3.5 and younger, but loads of fun. maya wasn't sure at first, but warmed up right away. and after talking for weeks about wanting balloons...was too overwhelmed by it all to want one when it was time.




and here she is...hiding behind the couch, not so certain of what is going on with the clown!


"two!!!" ...and those are rice crispy treats, orange because of the strange pumpkin marshmallows the kids picked out!

on sunday, we ended the birthday celebrations with a family birthday lunch...full of paninis, homemade soups and ice cream cake with yummy toppings!


topping choices, minus the gummy bears...which were devoured on friday!


enjoying every last bite of her ice cream cake with papa!


this year she had NO problem getting into the present opening!


enjoying some fun times with uncle bry...otherwise known as "oh bry!"

as i said on my facebook update on our birthday...my baby girl decided to make an early appearance and surprise me on my birthday. at the time, i wasn't totally thrilled. today (oct. 21, 2011), i think it's the greatest thing ever and can't wait for all the birthday celebrations to come.

it's true...i truly hoped she'd hold off until oct. 22 that night, but nope...11:57 pm she was pulled outta me and i really couldn't believe it. and now i feel so lucky to share the day with her. i envision mani/pedi's, shopping sprees and many more exciting adventures as she gets older for our big day. and with that...i'll try to post halloween pictures/updates before december arrives! no promises though...clearly that would not be worth betting on me for that!

seven

yesterday was our seven year anniversary. we ate a bunch of great food (toro bravo for dinner, papa haydn for dessert, then simpatico for breakfast the next day), had the house to ourselves for an entire night and then marveled at the last seven years. the day was beautiful, warm and sunny - just like the day we were married. i remember it like it was yesterday - it was perfect (except for the 300 missing candles that still haunt me to this day!!!!).



this was the first year we stayed home for our anniversary. for our first we went to cannon beach for a long weekend - there happened to be an art festival going on that we didn't know about and all the galleries had receptions with free wine, food and music. we enjoyed it all and then went back to our room and dug our forks into two cakes made by the baker who did our wedding cakes (who is sadly now out of business). our second we spent at skamania lodge. it was nice for sure, but skamania felt a little like an older crowd and just wasn't for us. for our third i was fairly early in my pregnancy with kellen and we spent a long weekend in victoria. we almost missed the ferry cause aa was parking the car and taking his sweet time. we rented a condo right off the harbor and had a great weekend walking and exploring a new city. for our fourth, kellen was five months old so we decided to stay closer to home and went back to cannon beach. we stayed in the same place, hit up all of our favorite spots and enjoyed our first anniversary as parents. for our fifth we wanted to do something a little more special and decided to have our first night (really three) away from kellen and headed down to san francisco to explore. i was also just finishing my first trimester with maya. we stayed right downtown and despite the rain and not so great weather, we walked and ate our way all over that city! so much fun and while we missed our boy, it was so nice to have that time as a couple. finally last year, for number six we again decided to go back to the place that never fails us - cannon beach. this time with our six month old baby girl. k stayed in salem with grandma and papa. what fun it was to celebrate and also have a little weekend with just our girl - a real rarity for #2!


i love this picture of my nephew when we were cutting the cake! he's now a teenager...ah! where does the time go?

we would have loved to have a little weekend away this year, but with a hawaii vacation right around the corner and a baby girl who still really hasn't slept through the night without a little comfort from me it just didn't feel right. but, we did have a night to ourselves because auntie molly was kind enough to take both kids for the night (knowing full well that maya might be a challenge!). we were actually going to play it by ear and possibly pick maya up after dinner and then drop her off the next morning again so we could go out to breakfast...but my sis texted at 10 to say they were all going to bed and that was that. maya was a dream - woke up once at 1:30 and rocked back to sleep until 8am. sure, she was with my sister the whole time, but boy did it feel good to know that she could sleep without me! {and somehow this post about our anniverary has turned into a post about maya!}



a close up of the angie and aaron bobblehead dolls that aaron's parents had made for us!

back to our wedding/anniversary...it was everything i hoped it to be - short and sweet ceremony, surrounded by our most loved friends and family and then a big party to celebrate where everyone enjoyed delish food, good drinks and danced their booties off! not to mention the fact that i married my best friend...truly. lots has changed these last seven years and it hasn't always been easy, but i'm so so so fortunate to have aa as my #1 teammate, partner and love.

my sweet maya girl's birth day

i sit here 24 hours before my girl turns officially turns 1 and i'm finally taking the time to document her birth story (bear with me!)! what a day that was...my very first day of maternity leave from nike. i had actually hoped to be off the previous friday, but of course, there was so much left for me to do, that i decided to work monday and tuesday and would have wednesday, the 21st...MY birthday be my first day of leave.



since aa and i have very few moments to ourselves, we decided to drop k off at school and set out to celebrate my birthday all day long! a couple of things happened that morning...1. my mucus plug (sorry, tmi...i know!) was lost and 2. i heard "i gotta feeling" by the black eyed peas and it ran through my head all day.



after we dropped off k, we went to starbucks to decide how we would spend our day together. i decided to splurge on a chocolate old fashioned donut since it was my b-day! :) we decided to go see a movie, since we rarely had the opportunity and knew that it would be even harder with "rolo" on the way in 10 days (give or take). we headed to bridgeport to see the informant (with matt damon...i recall it being pretty good). before we went into the movie, we stopped by the at&t store because i had been wanting to get a memory card for my blackberry so that i could take pics of rolo when he or she was born.



as we watched the movie, i started paying attention to the tightening in my stomach...but wasn't entirely sure that i was experiencing contractions. i really had convinced myself that i would not go into labor, since i was two weeks overdue, on pitocin for 25 hours and then c-section with kellen. but...there was a small part of me that thought, hmmm...this is interesting. we finished the movie and decided to go enjoy a nice lunch at meriwether's before my doctor's appt at 3pm. lunch was yummy. saint cupcakes was conveniently nearby and since it was my birthday, we picked up some cupcakes for after dinner! toasted coconut cream for me of course.



we were set to discuss our plan for this baby at the doctor's appointment. we had been trying to figure out if we just wait to go into labor and try for a vbac, induce in hopes of a vbac or schedule a c-section. just like with kellen, i really struggled with picking the birth date by scheduling something - i SO wanted it to just happen. the good news is that i had progressed from 1 cm to 3cm at that appt. i told her about the plug and about the tightening/contractions and she was hopeful that my body was showing signs of going into labor on it's own and thought that a vbac was a strong possiblity. with that, we decided to just let my body do it's work and if nothing happened by monday, november 2 (2 days past my due date of october 31), we would go in that day to either induce (if things had progressed and with the option to call it at any time to go for a c-section) or just go for a c-section. feeling great about our plan, she gave me a hug and said she'd either see us at the next appt or hopefully sooner!



immediately after we left that appt, the contractions started stepping it up...but i was still unsure about what i was actually experiencing. not wanting the day to end, aa and i headed to hall street grill for happy hour. aa had a beer or two and i had tempura green beans. we finalized our a girl middle name, should we have a girl and confirmed the spelling. we started timing the contractions. they were 2-3 min. apart and started to become uncomfortable. i still didn't believe i was in labor and we continued on to new seasons to buy groceries for my birthday dinner. as i walked into new seasons, i actually had to stop and catch my breath with each contraction - i still did not believe i was in labor. but, we decided we should hustle, get kellen at school and get home. just. in. case.



aa made dinner - halibut parmesean. i checked my facebook and at 6:11 posted his status update: "feels VERY loved by all her friends and family! Thanks for the bday wishes...had a great day...movie, lunch and happy hour with my hubby. now my boys are making me dinner and st. cupcake for dessert. it doesn't get much better!" if only i knew! the contractions continued still around every 2-3 minutes and quite painful - but i still thought this can't be the real deal. so i ate the whole dinner and the cupcake. we put kellen to bed and i called my sister to tell her she might need to be prepared to come over. i then called my friend andi and described the situation - plug gone, contracting through the day, in pain now...could i be in labor? yes!



it was about 8pm. from here, we decided to get serious about timing the contractions. i laid on the couch and for about 45 min we timed them...they were anywhere from 1-2 min. apart and this is where i realized i might be in labor. for real. i had aaron call the hospital to describe my situation. they made me talk despite my having to breathe though each contraction every minute or so and after describing my situation they said that i better hurry up and get to the hospital because we were having a baby! ah!!!!!!!!



my sister was called. i took a shower. packed a bag and waited for my sister to arrive. she showed up. took some pictures of us and we hit the road. time is about 9:45pm. about 2 minutes away from our house, i realize i forgot the special paper that i had intended to bring for the baby's footprints. i insist we turn around and get it. back on our way and aaron is driving in the right hand lane on 217 with cars passing us. i am clinging to the handle and ask him why tonight he decides to follow the speed limit. all i remember thinking/saying is that i wonder how quickly i can get an epidural and that i can't think clearly to decide if i really want to go for that vbac until i get an epidural!! we arrive in the ER parking lot and i go in and am immediately placed in a wheel chair. aaron comes along toting our 50 pounds of crap - but forgets the paper!!!



we arrive in labor and delivery around 10:15-30pm. they confirm just by my demeanor that yes i am in labor and i ask for an epidural immediately. they start doing their business of setting me up, prepping for epidural. dr barrett arrives and she is excited. the anethesiologist arrives and begins putting in the epi. dr. barrett sits and watches the monitor. once the epidural is in she tells us she wants to do an exam because she saw the babies heartrate go up quite a bit and she wants to make sure everything is good. instantly she says something is not right - she feels something and believes it is a tear on my cervix. she continues to check it out and within minutes she says the vbac is off and that we need to get the contractions stopped and baby out. (by the way...only dilated to four - seriously...was so painful and only to four!!!) we could tell that things were quite serious, but i was never worried. i was given a shot to stop the contractions and things were pretty frenzied. i was watching the clock very closely now because it was approximately 11:30pm. i ask if she thought the baby would be out before midnight and she said absolutely. hmm...selfishly i think to myself...i don't want to share my birthday! i also have doubts that it will happen because the second doctor had not even been called at that point and he would still need to arrive!



by 11:40 i was being wheeled to the OR, aa had his scrubs on and i was all prepped and just waiting for the oncall dr (dr davis) to arrive. he flew in and true to her word...our baby was delivered at 11:57pm on wednesday, october 21, 2009. SHE was beautiful!!! she weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. i could hardly believe it...she was a she! what fun it was to not find out. tonight was a good night. even though the vbac was not accomplished...i couldn't be happier with the way things happened. it was thrilling to experience going into labor and it was meant to be because it just happened. my baby girl was meant to share a birthday with me (by the way...i share my birthday with my uncle who is 9 years older than me. so that means my grandma, my mom and i have all delivered a baby on oct. 21st! crazy!).



while baby girl was being measured and cleaned...i was being examined and then the tear was confirmed and repaired (so thankful for my wonderful doctor...disaster averted!). aaron and i enjoyed our baby girl in the wee hours of the morning. aa finally needed to get some sleep, but i was on pure adrenaline and couldn't take my eyes off of her. she ate right away and slept peacefully in my arms. pure bliss. {oh and it was a good thing that i stopped and got the memory card for the blackberry! text and picture announcing her birth was sent out!!}



we had a very quiet hospital stay due to h1n1. i was only allowed two support people - aaron and jan (who was wonderful to skip a family wedding and stay with our boy!). i missed my boy terribly and felt awful that he couldn't come to the hospital to see his baby sister. i was able to see him one time during the stay - we met in the cafeteria and i couldn't believe how big he had suddenly become! four days later we arrived home as a family of four. what a ride this last year has been! i couldn't be more thankful for my sweet baby girl.





happy birthday to our maya girl! we love you baby girl!