Baby blog updated

Check out how much she weighed at her appointment today.

Christmas cookie disaster

I don't enjoy baking, and I'm not good at it, so I don't know why I even attempted a new recipe. The only things I can bake are my aunt's sugar cookies, and even those didn't work with all the humidity here. Sigh.

I wanted to make Christmas cookies for the women I visit teach, and I found the cutest reindeer cookies online.

I've always loved peanut butter/Hershey Kiss cookies, but I had no idea there was such an art to making this type of cookie. There really, really is.

Here's what the cookies are supposed to look like. Adorable, aren't they!

Here are mine.

They look like orcs.

The pretzel antlers didn't even attempt to stick, and the cookies collapsed around the M&M noses. And then I moved the cookies to the cooling rack. Disaster quadrupled.

Do you see the antler carnage? Yikes.

So I made better, less cute use of the random bazillion Christmas M&Ms we now have.

Slightly better, but still ugly. I'm not sure I'm going to embarrass myself by giving them away. The cookies taste ok, though they're really dry. How I managed to make too-dry cookies on a rainy Hawaiian afternoon is beyond me.

The first batch got relegated to the Plate of Shame.

The ugliest cookie ever says Merry Christmas. ;)

The joys of babyhood

Do you remember this song? It is one of the few Sesame Street songs I have remembered and loved for years; I sing it to Nadine quite often. She'll be so retro and cool.

It got me thinking about the other things parents do to try to jump-start their kids' learning. In addition to the nerdiness of me singing a Sesame Street song I learned when I was little, we also bought a few toys for Nadine because she is tracking and focusing on things.

We bought these ADORABLE hand and wrist bugs, in colors infants and babies can see. They don't do her much good now, and she doesn't notice them, but they make me so excited for when she'll realize her feet and hands actually belong to her. And that her feet have fun toys on them.

We also got this ginormous peacock to hang from her car seat. I thought the bird was so blasted cute, with all the colors and layers. And though I knew Nadine can't see the colors yet, at least there was something she could look at during the few moments she's awake in the car.

But then we opened the package and saw the back of the peacock.

Genius! "Colors" a newborn can see, with fun patterns. What a cool toy.

So, I'm sure these toys, songs, etc. won't necessarily quicken her progression, but I know it can't hurt to stimulate her brain as much as possible. Plus, it's just so fun.

Do you guys have any "smarty" things your babies/kids enjoy?

Baby blog updated

Baby blog updated

2 new posts! One with a picture of her first smile! (ish--the picture is right before the smile, and it's a great shot. It's hard to photograph a smiling 6-week-old.)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

This week Todd's parents have been in town and it has been so wonderful. We've seen the big waves on North Shore and the beautiful Christmas trees at the Laie Temple (I didn't know they did that!) and have just hung around and had a great time. AND they even babysat Nadine last night so Todd and I could go on a date. It was so nice.

Todd's dad took all the pictures of the trees. All the stakes on the island decorated a tree each. They were all so different and beautiful.

Surf's Up

(Picture's of Nadine's blessing dress are on the baby blog)

Todd's parents are here for the next week (yea!), and Saturday we went to North Shore to see the turtles. Little did we know the turtle beach was closed because of massive 15- to 20-foot waves. They were so cool. It was amazing to watch them breaking way out on the horizon. The next few days they're supposed to get 40-foot plus waves and possibly have a surf competition they only have every few years when the waves get so big. An Eddie Something competition. We may have to go back and fight the traffic to see waves that big.

This video probably won't do the waves justice, but I'm posting it for my dad to see. And also because the sound of the huge waves crashing is really cool.

I know these pictures really don't show how massive the waves are, but here they are anyway. :)

Yup, nearly all the beaches were closed.

This one is just a great shot. Go me.

Baby blog updated

The parent trap

I realize I have only posted baby pictures the last couple times, so I've been thinking of non-baby-picture things I could post about. (Though I've also updated pictures and a video on the baby blog. Ü)

-Like how being the parent of a newborn is insanely trying and, honestly, not very enjoyable. And how there seems to be a stigma against talking about that fact. As if we shouldn't admit this adorable new person in our household is more than we can and would like to handle most days. I had such guilt feeling like that, until others admitted they'd felt the same way. Phew. So either (1) all women truly love the newborn stage, which is amazing and by golly so lucky, or (2) not liking having a newborn is a

stage of parenthood you just have to get through. I'd guess #2 is the case most of the time, so I think it's something people should be allowed to discuss, if only because it's one less thing to feel mommy guilt about. Having a newborn is hard and it isn't fun, but it gets better (that's what everyone says; I'm still staring at that light at the end of the tunnel, though it's getting brighter). As long as you feed and love and treat with kindness this new person, it's ok if sometimes you dislike your current job.

The hard newborn stage, and the fact bottle-feeding doesn't make you less of a good mom, are two things I wish other moms would openly and without judgment discuss.

-How I listened to Christmas music on Sunday, 5 days before Thanksgiving, and that's just wrong, but it made me giddy. I love this time of year.

-How I keep wondering when I can take Nadine to the beach. Because I've realized I'm addicted to the sound of waves crashing on the shore.

-How, through sheer luck and joy, I trapped a mosquito in the dishwasher yesterday (after it bit me four times on my legs) and slammed the door shut and ran the appliance for a bit to kill the sucker (pun not intended, but hilarious). And it made me really, really happy.

-How I'm reading The Help and I love it. I look forward to feeding Nadine because that means I can read.

-How I bought these shoes, and they arrive in a few days, and I can't wait.

Baby blog updated

Baby blog updated

Now she's officially a member of the family

My mom has been in town the last week and a half, and it has been so wonderful to have her here helping in so many ways. Moms are great. She helped me finish Nadine's stocking! This is probably the last crafty thing I will do for a long, long time, and I'm so glad she was here to help finish the project. It turned out adorable. Probably because my mom did the letters. I love it.

But the animal is inside out. ... And it exploded.

The other night Todd took the mid-early morning shift and let me get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. He came up carrying a happy Nadine and said he needed me to hold her while he cleaned up a poo mess. I was thinking maybe she just pooed all over her changing pad. But oh no.

Below is a picture of her changing area--the changing pad is on the dresser. Do you see the drops of brown mess on the pad? Gross and no fun. But then look down on the floor, FEET from the changing pad. See those spots? Also baby poop. She exploded on poor Todd (or as Uncle Dave would say, she had an assplosion). She seems to like to shoot her poop at her dad.

So poor Todd was cleaning baby poop at 3 AM off our carpet; he said he got a blister from scrubbing the poo. A poo blister. As if the story couldn't get more hilarious. We were cracking up and had to take a few pictures. Apparently her intestines are really strong.

Nadine's feet say . . .

Happy Halloween!

To see the adorable costume her Grandma & Grandpa J got her, look at the baby blog.

The Story

I'm not sure how many of you care, but I've had enough interest in Nadine's birth story that I'm going to post it on this blog. If you don't want to read it, I don't blame you. :)

Also, we've updated the baby blog to include pictures of her in her First Hospital Visit. She had jaundice and spent Monday night in the hospital and 24 hours under the lights. Which she loved. She looked like Johnny Depp Willy Wonka with the light shield sunglasses.

Without further adieu . . ..

Throughout the pregnancy, I had high blood pressure. Sometimes over the limit, but usually just below the "normal" threshold. Because of this, the doctor wanted me to get my blood pressure checked between my next appointment, which was in two weeks.

The day I was planning to get it checked I woke up at about 6:30 with a lot of pain in my lower belly. The pain was constant, seemed localized, and didn't come in waves. It didn't feel like what people say are contractions, so I was quite concerned. After waiting an hour I called L&D triage and spoke to a nurse who suggested things I could do to alleviate the pain, and who said I could call back if I didn't feel better. I did start to feel better, and at about 9:30 I went to Tripler Army Medical Center, where I'd been receiving my care, to get my blood pressure checked.

When I arrived at the OB clinic, I was told I needed to go to L&D to get my blood pressure checked because I was so far along (37 weeks). I was quite relieved to be sent there, because I was still concerned about the pain I'd felt. In L&D they wanted to monitor me every 10 minutes for 30 minutes, so they put me in a room and also attached a baby and uterus monitor. So I sat and read my book while waiting for the tests to end and being comforted by the sounds of her heart.

After about 20 minutes, a doctor came in (before I'd just dealt with nurses).

Doctor: "Did you know you're having fairly regular contractions?"
Jen: "Oh THAT's what those are?!"

I then told her I passed a kidney stone in June without any pain medication (because really, pregnancy-safe Tylenol hardly counts as a pain medication) and I apparently have a high tolerance for pain. Throughout the night the doctor kept mentioning my pain tolerance and how she'd bragged about me to other docs.

The doctor then did an exam, and I was 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. So they admitted me as being in active labor. All I had wanted was my blood pressure checked. :) Todd was working in General Surgery that day, so they sent him the following page: "hey Tod wanted to let you know that your wife has been admitted to lnd in labor, cervix 3-4/80/-1. She is also being ruled out for preeclampsia."

Despite the hilariously-late-placed and dire "preeclampsia", everything was ok. Though Todd didn't know that. This page was definitely a good Hall Pass for him.

I was admitted at about noon, and was in a remarkably low amount of pain; just discomfort. For me, the contractions felt like the baby was settling, maybe sticking her limbs too far out. I'd been having that feeling on and off for a couple weeks. It's good to know that's what my contractions feel like.

That gave Todd time to drive home and get the hospital bag I'd luckily packed early, the camera, and a bunch of other things we'd need. He was gone about an hour and a half, and when he got back the doctor broke my water.

Ah. Now these are the contractions people talk about. The pain was horrible, and the anesthesiologist was promptly summoned. I'm sure she arrived quickly, but it felt like she took forever. The contractions were insanely painful, and I definitely had the desire to push. The anesthesiologist gave me the epidural, and it took about 15 minutes to take effect. About 30 minutes later it was time for me to push. Luckily I was numb at that point. Numb and happier. A short time later she was born. She was beautiful. I asked the nurses not to put the drops in her eyes until the last possible moment, so she stayed in my arms or near Todd, staring at us. It was great.

Nadine

She has a name. And more pictures on our baby blog. Check 'em out.

She's here

Well, not here on this blog here. But Baby Pink Sassy was born last night, and there's a picture of her on our baby blog here (send me your e-mail address if you'd like access).

She's beautiful, she listens well (we've been telling her for a week that it's ok to be born any time, so she decided 3 weeks early worked for her), she was 6 lbs. 6 oz. and 18 inches long, and she has strawberry-blonde hair. We might have a redhead on our hands.

And she doesn't have a name yet. Poor baby.

We are so excited and lucky to have this new addition to our family.

Her first white dress

My sister's friend makes baby blessing outfits, and she's working on a dress for Sassy. I'm so excited with how it looks thus far--Amanda is patterning it after my wedding dress, which is such a great idea. It's going to be adorable and unique. The one Amanda made for her baby was beautiful, so I couldn't resist making an order. Sassy will have her cute Hawaii blessing dress made in the Midwest. Totally fun.

Check out Amanda's blessing outfit blog.

Baby in the nursery

Here she is sticking as far out of my belly as possible . . . in her nursery. This picture was taken yesterday, and I am about 36 weeks. So near the end, which is awesome. We can't wait to meet her.

Also, I'm smiling in this picture because the 5 days of insane heat and humidity and no wind were finally over. Note to self--if we move back to Hawaii, get a place with air conditioning.

It would seem the heat was preparation for a storm, and it's been raining on and off since Sunday early morning. When it rains a lot, waterfalls form on the cliffs of our favorite mountains. I got a lousy picture today that doesn't show how dramatic the waterfalls are, but I'm going to post it anyway.

Hopefully the rain keeps up and we can get a really dramatic picture of the falls--we saw some a few months ago and they were like silver ribbons going down the entire mountain. It was breathtaking.

But I did get a picture of a rainbow.

That Sam-I-am! That Sam-I-am! I do not like that Sam-I-am!

The baby's room is done! (Well, most of it. It is still the baby's/sewing room.) I'm so excited about how it turned out.

I've always wanted a Seuss-themed nursery, and this season Pottery Barn Kids stepped up to the plate and released impossible-to-find Seuss crib sheets. I'm in heaven!

We bought a random matching pillowcase for the extra fabric. I cut out the characters from the pillowcase and then sewed them onto a completely non-Seuss-related bumper. I love how it looks.

We bought two copies of the two books I consider to be Seuss essentials--Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat. One copy of each is in her library, and the other copy of each I used to create wall art. Seuss art is expensive, but pages from an actual Seuss book are not and are, in fact, much cuter.

I think it all came together very well. She will probably never sleep because of sensory overload, but at least she'll know the world is a REALLY colorful place.

Oh good! My dog found the chainsaw!

I was going to use the "Ohana means family" quote from Lilo & Stitch, but when I IMDBd the movie, the first quote that popped up made me laugh so I used that for the title instead. Even though it has nothing to do with this post. C'est la vie.

My mom, sister and nephew, and grandma visited us last week. It was such a great visit. I am so thankful for family members who are able to visit. Though my pregnancy hormones can't handle the goodbyes.

We learned Baby Sassy is going to be great-grandchild number 40 for my grandma. Crazy, and oh so cool.

Here are the four generations represented during the trip.

This man is going to be such a great dad. I'm so lucky.

Turtles have the cutest eyes!

What a lucky guy to get to play with his great-grandma. On the floor no less. My grandma rocks.

My belly continues to grow. Yikes. But Lupe looks adorable.

We went to the beach during a tsunami alert (as Todd so intelligently proclaimed, "No swimming for the pregnant lady"). We got to the beach (planning not to get in the water) during an announcement about how people shouldn't swim because of dangerous currents, etc. But apparently the kitesurfers couldn't resist the wind or the waves. I love watching kitesurfers. In the afternoon the ones who know what they're doing are out.

And yes, I am a dork and put a watermark on the pictures of my nephew.

What of it? I'm a bit paranoid. Ü

You've got a sparkly

We were in Kauai earlier this week, and at one of our stops we saw this spider. It looked like it had a jeweled belly; I swear it sparkled. And the spider was large and therefore scary, but I thought it was fascinating how its legs are situated; definitely different from traditional spiders.

Luckily we took the above close-up photo, because it was so hard to find in the picture below. I couldn't find it on the computer screen, even zoomed way in--Todd found it.

I love examples of how things are supposed to work--the spider is camouflaged, and we know camouflage works, but wow this is a great example of how.

The spider is about the length of four of those holes in the pole. I told you it was huge.

Also and seriously, you'll be my hero if you know where the title of this post came from.

One ring to rule them all

In Middle-pacific resided two persons called Jen and Todd. One day they went to the perfect beach. They spent much time in the water--they played in the waves, dodged man-of-wars, and gazed at the beauty around them.

As always, Todd wore his One Ring. For 18 long months this ring had been his constant companion. It had transformed him into a great husband, and he had come to rely on its power.

On this day, however, the ring abandoned Todd.

For a long while, despite the risk of sunburn, he braved the crashing surf trying to locate the ring. But his search was in vain.

His precious was lost.

I'm hoping some lucky Hobbit with a metal detector finds the ring and enjoys it, because it really is a nice (fortunately replaceable) ring.

Luckily, of all the places to lose a wedding ring, the ocean in Hawaii is a pretty dang good one.

7 months

I don't know if I've done a pregnancy update on this blog yet so here it is.

Yesterday was two months to my due date--woohoo! She moves, forcefully, quite often; I love feeling her move. I have very few complaints about the pregnancy, and I'm thankful for how lucky I've been.

We went on a movie sites tour yesterday and had a great time, even if we again didn't get to see them filming LOST. It wasn't overcast yet, though, so we did get to see the top of my favorite mountain range (I had to get a belly shot in front of the mountains).

We also saw two rock formations that look like gorillas kissing. Do you see it? Kinda random and fun.

UPDATE: And in total geekiness, here's the golf scene from the first season of LOST . . . with the kissing gorillas in the background. Who knew?!