Bum

Christmas

Daniel survived his first Christmas, but it wore him out. He got to visit with lots of family both Christmas Eve and Christmas day. He's looking forward to meeting Darian in March, seen here in Aunt Nikki's belly.

Animals

The little Ruskie

2 Months

Daniel had his two month check-up on Thursday. He came away with three shots in the legs, poor kid. He's been sleeping very well... about 9 hours per night consistantly this week which was great while sharing a cabin with 14 other people in Yosemite. Daniel now weights 12 lb, 9 oz. He's 23 1/2 inches long. For both of these, he is in the 75th percentile. His head, however is in the 10th percentile at 15 1/2 inches. He's growing well and eating well and looking forward to meeting his new cousin in March.

Yosemite

This is the whole clan sitting on a rock down at the river we used to play at every winter growing up. This is the third year we've gone back to Chilnualna falls in Yosemite. We rent a cabin for the weekend and visit the valley including brunch at the Ahwahnee before heading home. Yosemite is one of the most beautiful places I've seen and everytime we drive into the valley, the views of El Capitan and Half Dome take my breath away. We were surrounded by such beauty.


On Sunday we had brunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel, it was delicious and everyone ate their fill. We all took pictures in front of the huge fireplace at which, a couple days earlier, we sat and and listened to two concert grand pianos play together just feet away.

Grandma

Daniel is now 8 weeks old. He's talking like crazy, of course in his own little language. He moves his mouth and makes the most beautiful noises and then smiles. He slept 9 hours last night.

Fun Weekend

Susan and Eli came to visit for the weekend. We had a great time and Daniel made a new friend.

On Sunday, we went horseback riding for Kia's birthday in Saratoga. It was a beautiful, sunny day and since it just rained, we could see for miles.

Baby Boy

Daniel has quite a few new sounds he's been developing over the past two weeks. His little coos are so precious.

Thanksgiving

Daniel made some new friends this week. Here he is with 5 month old Kaitlyn. They got along great.


Daniel had lots of family to visit with on Thanksgiving.

Bathtime

Growing Fast

Laughter

4 Weeks

Daniel went to church for the first time today. We meant to go sooner, but it's so hard getting out of the house in the morning. The little guy changes every day, he's growing before our very eyes and getting so big. We now get eye contact from him. He looks at us and smiles and it's just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. And as you can see here, he loves the camera.

3 weeks

Daniel will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. It's already going fast, even with the sleepless nights. He sleeps good through the night with a couple feedings about half the time. The other half the time he cries until 2 or 3 am. It seems he has an 18 hour day because he'll sleep well hours before or after he's supposed too. We're working on getting him on our schedule though. He seems to have a bit of colic some evenings.

Daniel and Mommy

11 Days

The umbilical stump fell out last night. He slept all night with the exception of feeding every 4 hours. He's so considerate.

Prodigious progeny

At the ripe old age of 5 days our young son rolled over from his tummy to his back three times in a row. I think we're going to have our hands full.
George had shoulder surgery two days ago to reconstruct his left clavicle and ligaments. It was a success but he's in a lot of pain. Hopefully the healing process will be a quick one as our squirmy little guy is hard to hold with just one hand.

What a Cutie

Birthday

Daniel is Here

8lb, 7oz. He came out perfect, a little blue at first as the cord was wrapped tight around his neck, but he started crying after a minute or two. He's a little angel during the day. He wants to eat all night. What a miracle.

Prego & Gimp

Last week, George broke his clavicle. He may need surgery in the next week or two. We'll get a second opinion tomorrow. I'm counting down the hours until the baby comes. Everything is ready, I just need to start having contractions. We've both got colds, I don't know where that came from. But we've got plenty of time to relax around the house which is nice.

The Nursery

Counting Down

Weeks left, maybe just days. It could happen anytime and I'm ready... I think. I want to have this baby now, I can't wait to hold it in my arms. But then I think about actually going into labor and I get a little scared. No turning back now though. There are three weeks until my due date, but that seems an awfully long time off. I'm huge, my tummy just can't grow much more. It looks like there is a basketball in there.
I had planned on being totally done with work leading up to and a couple months after the baby's arrival. That's not happening. I've got my first real estate transaction closing a few weeks after the baby is born. I guess we'll see how that goes. At least I've got help.
The nursery is finally put together. My hubby put beadboard up and it looks really cute. We're all ready.

No Such Luck

Sleep eludes me. It's the numbers, they're racing through my head. I've been going to a 3 hour class every night this week learning how to do home loans. I love it, it's so interesting, but all night long I lie awake with numbers running through my head. When I was in High School taking math, I remember thinking I would never use those math skills in the real world. What do high schoolers know anyway... Thank you Mr. Padget.
I'm 35 weeks now and starting to get uncomfortable. Just last week, I was starting to like my pregnant belly. I'm used to it and can't remember what it was like to be thin and not pregnant, it seems like so long ago. But every week my belly changes and there's something more to get used to. I went jogging this morning. I always feel fine while I'm jogging, but the rest of the day I'm sore. That might have been my last run for awhile... We'll see. I feel so much better if I keep exercising, I'll have to find a substitute.

Sleepless

5am and wide awake since 2am. These last few days got really busy. I've written two offers for two houses in the last two days.... My first two offers. My Real Estate career is off and running. If either of these deals goes through, escrow will close the week I'm due. It's an exciting month ahead. Hopefully I can get some sleep.

Sunny Saturday

It's saturday afternoon and another day of work in the yard... well not for me, I timed this pregnancy well for getting out of all the yardwork. I started a prenatal yoga class this morning. We also started a Lamaze class earlier this week. I like being prepared and informed.
I had a really good lunch with my mom yesterday. I'm so thankful to have an expert nearby whose brain I can pick. Having given birth seven times, I can't think of a better person to have around. Hopefully I can do it as well as she did.

The Farm

After the concrete, grass, shrubs and shed were removed, our backyard resembles a small farm. I can't wait to finally plant my vegetable garden. We plan to build a deck, plant the lawn and build planters for the garden before the baby gets here. My hubby has his work cut out for him.

Backyard Redo

Our backyard has looked like this for the past couple of months. The stack of concrete is from when we tried to take the patio out without the tractor. Ah, the tractor made all the difference. George's little toy. We had it for two weekends and three yards. Both of our next door neighbors tore up their yards too. We'll have a whole new block by the end of summer.

Getting Ready

This is me at 31 weeks. I visited the doctor yesterday and everything looks fine. Just waiting for the last two months to go by before the baby gets here. I can't wait. I feel the little one moving around, turning, stretching, kicking... sometimes it seems like it never sleeps. I hope it's a different story once the baby gets here.
It's almost 4 am and I can't sleep tonight. I've actually been sleeping better lately too. We watched a documentary on 9/11 before we went to bed and that's probably what's keeping me awake. Strange how the shock of that day is gone and now it seems like just a story, a piece of history to so many. It's almost as if it were as long ago as Pearl Harbor with the way the attitudes of so many have changed.
We bought a crib two days ago, used. I got a good deal on it, but I've decided I don't like it. I should have stuck with what I wanted in the first place... A white one. But I figured the dark wood would look nice too, it's not going to work. So now I have something else to sell online. How convenient is the internet.

Dad's Graduation 5/20/2005

Dad graduates from UC Berkeley. We are so proud.