Choun Family

Jessie turns 2!

2010-04-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

Jessie turned 2 on April 17th, 2010.

We celebrated her Birthday with some friends at the little gym. I think she enjoyed running around with her friends. My friends were nice enough to snap some pictures. Here is a link to Jennifer's Nathan's will be coming soon

http://picasaweb.google.com/jodoin/JessieBDay41710?feat=directlink

Jessie is talking a bunch these days. She is becoming quite a communicator. She sometimes acts like a 2 yr old, but for the most part she is very sweet. Jessie adores her sister, she follows her around and mimics what her big sister is doing. She always makes sure that Jamie has what she has, she's very giving.

We adore her more everyday. Happy Birthday Jessie!

That's my big girl!

2010-04-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

Jamie has a great spirit for adventure. I love that about her. This weekend our friend Nathan treated us to jumping and indoor sky diving for his Birthday. Kids where invited and I knew Jamie would love it. Jamie had a great time, we all did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k-It8x7bLk

It's Spring!

2010-03-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

Jessie's first haircut!

Season of pleasant weather, pretty blooms.. and allergies. I am so far behind on this blog it's not even funny. I think part of the reason is I feel like I need to have pictures to go along with the story.. so if I don't have pictures than I tend not to post. It is my spring time resolution to get more pictures!

The kids and what they've been up to.. Jamie: Jamie is a ball full of energy as always. School is going well, she has lots of friends and evidently has displayed a lot of leadership skills (that's good and bad). We have been working on math flash cards because it all goes so fast it's hard to keep up (especially since mom and daughter are pretty tired by end of day). Yesterday Jamie came home with sheets of multiplication flash cards.. My mouth dropped.. we're in first grade.. will we be learning calculus next year? ( I shouldn't joke, they just might). Anyway.. Jamie feels like it might be time to take a break from soccer in favor of an art class. I guess I'll let her make that call. Jamie also does Yoga and loves it! We recently passed a the next level in swim class and we are now working on back stoke, exciting! Jamie is approaching 7 this Summer and is getting taller. She is a great big sister (90% of the time)

This winter Jamie put on skis for the first time. No Fear! Her ski instructor was such a cool guy and quickly acclimated to the spirit of Jamie. He was able to recognize that you can't control her but you can steer her. She is a great little skier and has no qualms about hitting the blue diamond slopes. (There is still much to learn though)

Jessie: Jessie of course is not a thing like her sister. Though, she just adores her sister and looks for her and wants to be around her often. Jessie is a little mama. Jessie is always telling Jamie not to forget her backpack, sit down and eat, sit down and let me brush your hair, go to bed.. etc. It cracks us up. She asks Jamie if she would like a drink and hands her things she knows she would like. She is super sweet. Her talking has just taken off.. I can't believe all the things she says (more on that for her 2 yr post). Jessie is a happy independent little kid. She does way more things for her self than Jamie ever cared to. She eats with silverware no problem, handles a regular cup with ease, and says please and thank you for everything (like I said.. not at all like her sister ; )

more pictures coming soon... (ish)

Lil' Sharkie

2009-10-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't know if anyone remembers my post from July, but in one of them I talked about seeing the dentist. Jamie's dentist warned me that the way her teeth where growing in, they wouldn't necessarily push the baby teeth out of the way. (kind of like a shark) A couple of days ago Jamie says "look mom, I have a tooth coming in". I look in her mouth and sure enough.. there is her adult tooth parked behind the baby, with no wiggly baby teeth in sight. (big sigh for me)

So, last night we go to see the dentist and he confirms the baby tooth isn't going to come out on its own. I asked Jamie if she's ready for the tooth fairy to pay a visit and she nods. So with a little Nitrous Oxide and Novocaine.. out came Jamie's baby tooth. She was completely un-traumatized and happy to have her tooth out to look at.

I was sad for a moment that Jamie would miss the right of passage for kids to have wiggly teeth.. but we still have many more teeth to go, so hopefully the rest will do what they are supposed to.

P.S the tooth fairy came and she was pretty happy about it

Jessie turns 18 months

2009-10-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday (the 17th) Jessie turned 18 months. Not really sure what to say about it.. it's hard to see the changes when you see her everyday. She had her Dr. appointment. I don't have the data (Jeff took her) but she was 75-90 for height, 50 for weight and I think 50 for head. I think that's pretty standard for her, though I think she's a little tall on this round.

I think she has a couple more hairs on her head... but we still have a long way to go.

Talking? Everyday she knows a new word and chooses more and more to use words instead of grunts. I think it's really going to pick up pace now. She talks incessantly in what sounds like Chinese. It's kind of cute. Though, I'm sure when I have Jamie and her talking at me non stop, it may not be so cute.

some captured momments

2009-09-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

Jamie reading to Jessie.

When all you have is your phone..... Jessie was cracking me up running around with a chicken in her mouth.

Long Weekend

2009-09-08T12:44:00.000-07:00

Well, our weekend was action packed. I'm pretty sure they all are and I usually don't bother to blog about it, but today I will. Ok, so I'm not going to go over every detail of who I hung out with or where I ate but I'll hit some highlights.

Saturday Jamie had a play date at our house. I think it went ok, we took them too the park when I thought they could use some get out of the house time. Jamie wowed me on the monkey bars. It wasn't that long ago that she couldn't do it all and now she is quite good.

Sunday we took the kids to Vasona park to ride the train. Both kids enjoyed themselves. I don't think Jessie really understood she was on a train, but she is always up for a ride outside.

While we where at vasona it reminded me how much I enjoyed our bike rides through the park, which inspired me... So, while Jessie napped I took Jamie shopping for a ride a long bike. It is a bike for kids that attaches to the parent bike. Jamie loved it (to my surprise). I feel more comfortable with Jeff riding the parent bike, but it fits best on mine. hmm..

When we where at the bike shop we happened to be next to the dive shop so we stopped in. We wanted to get Jamie snorkel gear for our upcoming trip over winter break, so we picked some up. Later that day we all went to swim at my moms so Jamie could try out her snorkel gear. It couldn't have gone much better. She had a lot of fun and wasn't at all detoured when she would swallow some water. Every time we swim at my mom's she gets much more comfortable with the pool. She's doing a great job swimming everywhere.

Monday the girls and I took the training wheel off of Jamie's bike. For some reason Jessie was pretty insistent that she take part in this (see picture below). I also took the pedals off her bike. The whole ordeal of teaching Jamie how to ride a bike seemed overwhelming. Especially when she hasn't ridden it that much. So, I figure I'd lower the seat, take the pedals off and let her push herself a long and practice balancing. I think it was a good idea. After she seems to have gotten that down, I'll put back on the pedals and give that a try.

The weekend was busy as always, didn't even get to the laundry...

p.s Happy Anniversary Jeffrey! 8 years....

Family Picture

2009-09-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

We finally took a family picture. I've been wanting one with all four of us for a long time. (I borrowed this picture from the site that let's you buy more, that's why it has a water mark on it.)

Testing 1.. 2... 3..

2009-08-24T16:11:00.001-07:00

I was giving the new phone's camera a test this weekend... I was then planning on downloading the pics directly to my blog. Well, I think technology hates me.. Anyway, I did it the long way and here are a couple pics I took.

p.s Jessie is laughing not crying

forgot to mention...

2009-08-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

Jessie's favorite words are ok, and no. Evidently she also says not ok.

Jessie is ...one year plus 4 months... 16 months!

2009-08-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged. It's hard when you're in the thick of it to notice new things.

So, what is Jessie doing now? Well, she is running around quite proficiently. She still likes to sing and does that daily. In the past she would use a word and then who knows if you will ever hear it again. For the most part that is still true but she is using her words with more frequency now. She also seems to be taking directives better now. For example, sit down to drink your milk. Some words that she uses... banana, apple, Stella (her friend in class), bye-bye, hello, hi, ba ba (cup), ma (more), mil (milk), na na (night night), 1-2-3 (more on that later) Well.. we're getting there, more every day. She blows kisses, which I think is cute.

Jessie is doing well in her class. I think she thinks she is one of the teachers. She pats the other kids to try and get them to nap. She returns any dropped blankets or binkies to their rightful owner. She wipes down all the toys. She also takes good care of her babies (toys). Jessie will be going on to the next class at the end of this month. She can feed herself (sort of), talks a little, does role play (which is supposed to be good for her age). I forget all the criteria... but she's ready.

How, could I forget... she loves to go outside! She stands at the door like a dog and makes noises that she wants to go out (all the time).

She also loves to swim! I can not believe how much she likes to swim. All the parents in her swim class are jealous. She doesn't really kick or do her arms to much, but she loves to float on her back (rare) and she loves to go under water. In class they say.. 1-2-3 big breath eyes in and then they dunk them. Jessie gladly puts her own face in the water. Yesterday we where at my moms pool and she kept saying, ma ma (more more) un-oo-ee (1-2-3). It was a hoot, she couldn't get enough. Jamie was really coming into her own too. She was getting comfortable in the deep end and swam the width of the pool. We have two little fishes.

Jamie starts first grade in 2 weeks. On top of her regular curriculum of writing, reading, history, math, drama, music, art, and PE.. they will also be adding computers and spanish. We'll see how it goes!

Fireworks!

2009-07-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

I think I have pretty much seen fireworks every year since I was little. I look forward to it every year and it's kind of a big deal for me. So, this year would be no different. For the second year in a row we saw fireworks in cupertino. It's a good environment for little kids. We had a great time and even though it was way past there bed time the girls stayed in good spirits. Jamie jumped up and down during the fireworks and Jessie clapped and oohed and ahhed with me. When the finally came Jessie was giggling. They loved it!

Smartie Pants

2009-06-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

Is it to soon for my kid to be surpassing my knowledge? ; ) I think I really underestimate Jamie sometimes. Maybe I already mentioned this one, but awhile ago Jamie and I where looking at a toy she got. It was a toy of Amelia Earhart. I was trying to explain to Jamie who she was. I started saying she was the first women to .... stalling to make sure I get my facts right. Jamie then says, she was the first women to fly solo across the Atlantic. (my reply) Right, what you said. Well, just the other day Jamie and I where looking at the different state quarters and we're looking at Mt. Rushmore. I'm trying to think how to explain it. Jamie then says, oh, I know these presidents. These are the presidents that the artist Borglum carved in to the mountain. (my reply) Uhhh.. right, what you said, and this is just Kindergarten, no telling how she will school me in first grade.

banana?

2009-06-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile I hear utterances from Jessie that sound a lot like specific words. She seems so close to talking, but she won't do it on command, only when she feels like it. She loves signing too, you can tell when she is signing row row your boat, you can tell when she is signing her ABCs and this morning I heard her sing ee-I-ee-I-oh. Anyway.. I'm never sure where she is going with her language, she seems to have a lot to say about something. However, this morning she used a word on purpose to communicate with me, which made me very excited! We where in the kitchen this morning and I was packing up lunches for the day, Jessie came over to me and reached to be lifted up. I picked her up and she asked banana? It was so clear.. I expected it to come out nana..but she asked banana? I asked her, do you want a banana? She nodded yes vigorously. Sadly, we had just run out. It was really neat though for me to have a 2 sided communication with her. I guess I'm easy to impress ; )

We have a new Dentist!

2009-06-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

I was taking Jamie to a pediatric dentist that I loved, but I had to let him go because he wasn't in network with Jeff's insurance. It took me about a year but I finnaly found a pediatric dentist that is on our plan. Yesterday was our first appointment with him. He is great! He is so very nice and really took time with us and asked us lots of questions to get a picture of our lives. Jamie left happy (which she doesn't usually deal well with dentist appointment). No cavities, yeah! Jamie even brushed and flossed last night and this morning with no complaints (for the first time ever) (usually I have to hog tie her).

Jessie had her first dentist appointment. She was not so excited but it was good. I learned that she is not predisposed to having cavities. Some kids can have up to 8 by the time they are 2, if they have this issue.

I also learned that Jamie's adult teeth are coming from the side instead of from below (kind of like a shark) so she made need help getting her teeth out once they become loose. Kind of strange, huh?

Anyway... I highly recommend him!! Yahya H Radwan DDS INC

Cute (isms)

2009-06-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jessie and I ran some errands in Target. Jessie sat in the front of the cart and I handed her the items and she threw them in to the basket of the cart. It was very cute and we exchanged high fives after each item.

I had a couple of items... mommy brain has set in and I can't remember at the moment. I'll add more when I remember.

On a side note... Jessie is mimicking more word sounds, she will be talking in no time.

Officially Walking!

2009-06-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

I think I can say now that Jessie is officially walking. For the past few weeks she has been able to take a couple steps, but nowwww, she walks all day. She is so proud of herself and of course she is impossible to hold because she wants to go down and walk. I'm trying to get her used to shoes because most place aren't very good for bare little feet. I can tell though, that switching her back and forth between shoes and bare feet throws her off a little. I'm sure she will get it in no time. Sometimes she holds her hand out for you to hold her hand it's cute, but she does it because she can walk faster that way. Not so cute.. sometimes she doesn't want to walk the direction you want her too and she throws a big fit about it.

Little Organizer

2009-06-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been quite tickled with Jessie's sense of organization. For example, yesterday she pulled some items off the entertainment center. I figured her only intention was to throw them off the entertainment center. However, I gave her a second and she placed them all back in a neat little row. On other occasions she takes out leggos from the box just for the joy of putting them away. Jessie went in to Jamie's room and put all the blocks away that Jamie had laying around. I feel like tying an apron to her and handing her a broom and dust pan (just kidding). It's not just cleaning up though, you can tell that she is trying to group things. She picks up a crayon in Jamie's room and she looks to grab more of the same and she just stands there with a handful of crayons. This morning, I had one of her nail clippers sitting on the diaper changing dresser, she noticed a second one had fallen off (some time ago) and she picks it up and placed it with the one that was sitting on top. I showed how pleased I was and she seemed quite pleased too. I hope it lasts (but not in an OCD way or anything). I think Jamie went through a phase like that.

Daddy's little girl

2009-04-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

I've heard of such a thing, but I never expected to experience it. Afterall I carried them, I birthed them, I nursed them and I get up when they cry in the middle of the night. I've suspected this might be the case, but felt it was pretty well confirmed as I watched Jeff carrying Jessie and she smiled at me from over his shoulder. When he comes home she is eager to greet him. When he leaves she makes sure to get her good bye hug. They really seem to get each other. I witnessed them playing quite contently discussing the finer points of Legos. He would build something and she would take it apart. Not in a demolition sort of way but a meticulous disconnect of each piece. Jeff is also able to sooth her, sometimes even better than me. Yep, it's hard to say... though I'm very happy for them... she is her Daddy's girl.

Jessie's 1 yr Dr. Appt.

2009-04-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

Well, we have a healthy baby. She was very cute with the dr. Unfortunately, our favorite nurse was to busy to do the shots. Jessie was pretty unhappy with the experience and cried. She calmed down after I hugged her though. She watched the nurse walk out with big tears rolling down her cheeks. When we left she fell asleep in the car. I guess it was exhausting, that and the fact that she woke up at 6:30 in the morning.

Drum roll please.... and the stats are.....30 in. tall (75-90%) 46.4 head circumference (75-90%) and weight was 21 lbs and 11oz (50-75%).

Jessie turns 1 portraits

2009-04-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Jessie!!!!

2009-04-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

Ever since my friend Bree wrote about her birth experience on her blog for her son’s first birthday, I’ve been thinking about what a good idea it was. I always wanted to write down Jamie’s story while I still remembered it (maybe I will for her sixth birthday). However, today is Jessie Rachel Choun’s first birthday and today’s blog will be how we first met.

The date was April 17th 2008. The time was about 5am and Jeff and I where arriving at the hospital. This was a scheduled delivery and we walked with a purpose to the nurse’s station. I lead the way since I had already walked this path a couple days before so I would not be lost in the hospital at 5 am in the morning. I was there in my jeans and my favorite purple hoody with enough adrenaline to keep me going at such an early hour. It annoyed me how everyone was so perfectly calm and I was buzzing with nervousness. Fast forward a bit and we where in a hospital bed with all the monitoring equipment hooked up and they took their turns poking me full of holes for their tests. I was a bit nervous with the one who was learning what she was doing. This was going to be her first I.V. Lucky me! It went just fine. The experience in general wasn’t doing a thing to calm my nerves. Jeff is smiling at me in his bunny suit wondering why I’m so nervous. I’m terrified of the idea that they are going to be cutting open my gut and I watched way to many of those maternity shows where everything goes horribly wrong (before it gets fixed).

My doctor shows up and her smile is reassuring. It’s a good sign when your surgeon is perfectly calm. She looks at my contractions chart and makes the comment “ whew, I guess it’s a good thing we have you in now”. This comment perplexed me since the contractions I was having seemed like the same ones I had been having for awhile.

I’m taken to the table for surgery. The anesthesiologist
is preparing my spinal block. I’m shaking uncontrollably. They get me a blanket. The anesthesiologist starts to insert the needle. This is hurting way more than last time. They ask me to breath through the pain. The pain becomes more then I can bear. He asks me to describe the pain and with no exaggeration I describe it as a baseball bat slamming in to my spine. He takes the needle out and tries again. Much better this time. There is some nervousness going around because now we have a time limit and the second surgeon hasn’t arrived. After everyone running in and out my Dr. says she is going to start anyway. The incision is made (didn’t feel anything). They start pulling her out and everything above the numbness is burning pain. I let them know (I had no choice). It hurts, it hurts. The anesthesiologist sends something in to my IV. Still hurts. Something more goes in to my IV and so it continues. Jeff later tells me that the dr. had to make a larger incision when she couldn’t get the baby out. I heard nothing in my pain. The dr. pulls her out and shows her to me. Her beauty and the way she looks at me is amazing and all is right with the world. Jeff and the baby head out together.

I’m now in the recovery area. I’m still in to much pain to unclench my jaw to speak. I’m nodding and making utterances. I can’t even think about the baby, especially since I know she’s being taken care of. During timed increments they are able to give me more pain medications. About 30 minutes to an hour later I am comfortable and all the pain is behind me. I held her all the way to our room and didn’t let go for months.

Jessie was a healthy 8lbs 10oz (almost twice as big as her sister). She did develop jaundice. We had to stay an extra day and she underwent constant light therapy for a week. She was out little glo worm. Just like her sister she nursed with ease and they told me to do it as often as she wanted to clear up the jaundice. She wanted to nurse a lot. I wonder if I had nursed Jamie more often if she would have been less fussy. Eh, new moms.

Four days later we went home. I could have stayed longer. Jeff’s mom stayed with us for a week to help absorb Jamie’s energy, which helped a ton. My parents also helped a lot and provided food. Thanks to all my friends who came to visit, it was great to see everyone. Nice this time the guys weren’t inching for the door and Nathan wasn’t green . ; )

Update: Not much has changed in this area. Jessie can stand up in the middle of the room and just stand there and she can walk while holding on to stuff, but we're not walking yet. Talking? I think we are still pretty much on the same words.. bye-bye, hi, up She talks all day though in her babble, which I love. She really loves her solid foods. She has been promoted to the big girl table at school and is doing really well with it (no longer a high chair). I've started adding whole milk to her sippy cup and will gradually increase it until it's all whole milk. Jessie is drinking from a sippy, since the bottle thing didn't really work out. She drinks about 3 oz from it her whole day in school. Most kids in that group will take at least that amount every few hours. Though, I'm happy to get what I get. When we go for our one year dr. visit I will give an update on the stats.

FIrst day in a new class

2009-04-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

Today is Jessie's first day in her new classroom. I think this now puts her in pre tots. On her visits to this classroom during the adjustment phase she did well, so I think it will be good. It was a little emotional this morning though. I've been trying very hard not to get sappy about it. Though, when Jessie's teacher that she is leaving today came over to the new class and gave Jessie the doll that she liked playing with and wrote her name on it, I got a bit teary eyed. It's very touching to see that she will be missed. I'm trying not to think about that to much and I'm looking forward to all the new things she will be learning.

games that Jessie plays

2009-03-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I know I mentioned before that Jessie thinks it's a fun game that she comes up to me and stands and waits for me to clap. Now, (it's so cute) she comes up to me and stands and then she claps for herself. I love it. On the other hand.. the yin and the yang.. there are games that I don't love. Jessie has found a game ( I guess running to the tv is not enough anymore), she crawls as fast as she can (away from me) cracking up in anticipation and grabs the first spec of something she finds on the floor, she throws it in to her mouth. She smiles and laughs to watch me try and dive for her hand to prevent her from putting who knows what in her mouth. sigh.. not a game I love.

What has Jamie been up to..

2009-03-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give a quick update on Jamie, since I just did one for her sister.

For the most part Jamie is still Jamie, however, it was nice to hear that she is making improvements in school. She is very proud when she knows she is doing well. Her behavior has improved and her writing is getting better too. This past weekend we bought Jamie a chapter book. ( A book with multiple chapters). Jeff and I sat with our mouths agape as we listened to our little five year old read a story about nights, rarely missing a word. We haven't had time to work on her reading in a long time (been busy with the other subjects) but she has improved anyway. She is proud (rightfully so) and now enjoys to carry a book around with her.

Jamie is also learning to tie her shoes this week. She doesn't seem to believe me that it takes practice. I'll keep you updated.

Jessie turns 11 months

2009-03-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

It is with great excitement that I blog today about Jessie turning 11months. I feel her one year birthday around the corner. A few weeks ago I would have argued that she was too much of a baby to be turning one year old. Or at least she felt like just a baby to me. However, I see so many changes happening that she just might feel like a one year old on her 1st birthday.

As of today... (could be different tomorrow) these are the fun things that Jessie has been up to. Jessie is starting to stand on her own a little bit. Yesterday we where playing a fun game where she would come up to me and stand without holding on to anything. I would clap and say "yeah Jessie!". She would squeal and laugh. We did this a bunch of times. She loves anything that feels like a game. Peek a boo is a favorite. She holds a blanky either over her face or mine and then is so excited to pull it off to hear peek a boo. She also loves row row your boat.

I'm starting to see the beginnings of a vocabulary. Some thing make no sense but I can here she is copying the words I use and some things are more clear. She says haa (for hi) and baa (for bye) she waves when she is doing it and uses it at the right times. I'm excited to hear what will be next.

She also learned this weekend how to drink from a straw and wants to drink every time she sees a drink with a straw. We bought her a sippy cup with a straw and she is excited to drink her water from it. The diapers have been heavier since we discovered this.

She is an absolute delight and smiles easily.

Some things are not so delightful.... If she gets her hands on something she does not want to let it go (understandably). Sometimes we have to pry it out of her fingers and she has a screaming fit. I totally understand why, it really isn't fair. I make sure to offer up something in exchange which usually agrees with her.

One other thing that is nice is she treats daddy well. She has a slight preference for me but daddy soothes her and she enjoys interacting with him. This makes him very happy. When Jamie was a baby she once screamed for 2 hours straight while I attempted to go shopping with my sister in law.

Anyway.. I'm sure there are things I forgot to mention, but these where some highlights of our littlest one turning 11 months.

Late night

2009-03-12T13:54:00.000-07:00

Jessie and I had a late night last night. She woke up at 10:50pm and couldn't go back to sleep. Jeff tried to help but I sent him to bed at 11:50pm. I tried being soothing, I tried playing and everything in between. She wasn't having it. She was kind of funny though. She pulled up using the tv and she just looked so little standing there. Every time I called her (she's not supposed to be at the tv) she came crawling to me, touched base and then turned around and crawled back to the tv. The highlight was she got in to this crazy loop of wanting to sing row row your boat. She would start swaying back and forth and singing ra ra (row row). I would ask her if she wants to do it again and she would shake her head yes. After a couple of times she was signing along with me, mostly using the the word da, but she had the tune right. I need to get that on video, it was super cute. She doesn't want wheels on the bus or patty cake, right now it's all about row row your boat. When she starts swaying back and forth the school is going to think she's lost her mind. Anyway.. she finally went down at 1:30am. Crazy baby. She is also so active in school they have been having a hard time this week getting her to nap. I'm not sure what she is going through.

Alex (my nephew) comes for a visit

2009-02-17T14:20:00.000-08:00

10 Months Today!

2009-02-17T10:05:00.000-08:00

Jessie is 10 months today. Time is flying. 2more months till her first Birthday. I think if there was one phrase that would some up turning 10 months today, and that would be "I think we are going to need baby proof the tv center". Before, Jessie would crawl to the closet toy, sit and play. Now... you set her down and she is off and running (well, crawling). She is especially fascinated with the tv center, with all it's flashing lights. I sat her down this morning to play with her toys, (and she was playing with them). I ran quickly to the car to get it started and when I came back in she was smiling and taking dvds out. I should get a picture of that. Anyway, I'm not sure what else has changed. She loves eating finger foods and doesn't want to eat the jars anymore. So far she will eat anything and like my moms soups. She didn't seem to like the bite of potato I gave her yesterday, she made quite a face. I'm sure the changes will be coming fast over the next few months.

Valentine's Photo

2009-02-11T09:18:00.000-08:00

Well, I still haven't gotten the pictures off of Jeff's camera (whew behind on that) but, I have a few valentine's photos for you.

ER visit

2009-02-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

Well, Jeff was not gone even a whole day (he left for Japan) and we already managed to squeeze a trip in to the ER. Though, it was mostly a trip to the ER because it was Sunday and our doc office was not open. (I hate the ER). Anyway, I digress. Jamie and I where at the playground and she was trying her hand at the monkey bars. She jumped down and upon the recoil somehow managed to bang her knee in to her chin. She doesn't cry but lets me know that she hurt herself and of course she has blood dribbling down the side of her mouth. I'm pretty calm because we go through a lot of injuries at our house. Though, when she stuck her tongue out I felt pretty sick to see her tongue. (sorry to be gross) On the side of her tongue there was a flap on tongue in which you could see blood coming out of a whole in her tongue. I call my mom (of course) and she isn't home (and not good with a cell phone). I talk to the neighbor who kind of shrugs it off. I came to understand later that when the flap lays down it doesn't look so bad. So, I go about our day but decide it's to gross not to at least call the advice line. They heard the word flap and we where on our way to the ER. When she was being looked at the doc to a look at her tongue (flap down) and said oh, we're not going to do anything. Then she stuck her tongue out one more time (flap up) and I see the look of repulsion on the doctors face. She said, ok, I get it now. She decided stitches would be worse, so we went home with a bottle of antibiotics. Now I have more limitations on a child that was already hard to feed. p.s she hates the medicine and spit it all out last night. The good news though, it does appear to be on the mend. Bad news, we have to finish a week of antibiotics.

quick note

2009-02-02T08:54:00.000-08:00

This is kind of a follow up to Jamie's hair cut. Once her hair settled in to it's usual Jamie way, it was worse than I had realized. Oh well, it is what it is.

You did what?

2009-01-30T11:19:00.000-08:00

So, last night I'm getting Jessie ready for bed when Jamie comes in to the room. I'm not surprised to see her because no matter how many times I've tried to explain that I would prefer not to excite Jessie before sleep she still comes in to play goochy goo with her sister. However, this time was different. Jamie was standing there holding her forehead with a look of .. I don't know how to explain it (though I recognize the face) maybe fear describes it best. I ask her, are you hurt, did you bonk your head? She shakes her head no. I then ask (somehow already knowing the answer), did you cut your bangs? She nods yes. I take a deep breath and tell her I'll meet her in her room. I hand off the baby to Jeff because I need to be able to wrap my head around what could be a disaster. I go to her room and ask to see the damage. She shows me. I'm relieved, because it could have been worse. In fact I think I've seen women pay to have their hair dresser give this uneven look. I think unless you where looking her in the face you probably wouldn't even notice. I feel like she knows she screwed up (and I've done it before myself) so I avoided the screaming. Though she lost all scissor privileges (which she typically uses for her art projects). Jeff of course had a fit. I suppose it's right to have one, though I'm remembering all the trouble he caused his parents. Maybe he did too, because he calmed down pretty quick.

and we're off and running

2009-01-28T14:45:00.000-08:00

...ok, not so much running as it is crawling. Jessie started crawling last night. She has been showing signs for the past month that it could happen any day and that day was yesterday. She wasn't doing it at school yesterday, but when we got home in the evening I put her down and she crawled and continued to crawl all night as if it was something she always could do. Well, good for her, we a re very proud. Now we have to be even more careful. Also, since she started eating finger foods her pincher grasp and hand to mouth have gotten pretty good. When I was sitting with her this morning on the floor she managed to sneak a piece of tanbark in her mouth (that had fallen out of Jamie's shoe). I don't think she enjoyed me going in after it.

p.s we visited the Dr. office today for our 9 month check up. Jessie is 75-90% on everything. The doctor told me when she was little(er) that it's common to start off big and kind of level out. I guess that's what we are doing. We also had our vaccinations. Not a big fan (either one of us).

9 Months

2009-01-23T12:59:00.000-08:00

Ok, so she turned 9 months last Saturday, but better late then not at all (in my opinion). It's hard for me to believe we are 3 months away from a one year old. It doesn't feel like it. When Jamie turned one she was just starting to walk and knew how to say at least 15 words (I think there was more that I was oblivious to). When I think about that we feel miles away from that with Jessie. Though, they are very different and Jessie will get to all things when she's good and ready.

So... on that note, what has Jessie been up too. Teeth is the first thing that comes to mind. The bottom two are in, the two fangs (I think they're called eye teeth or something) have broken through, but one of those you can just see a little bit of. One of the front teeth is coming through. Every day I can see more and more of it. These teeth seem to be popping up at record pace (again very different then Jamie).

Crawling! well sort of.. She gets around a small area by getting on all fours and then sitting. Every time she sits she is in a different spot and kind of gets around this way. She has taken a step or two in a traditional crawling position and then she flops on her belly. She has always loved to stand by holding on to things and yesterday she stayed standing even after letting go. It cracks me up that she seems to be trying to stand without holding anything. She has her legs standing straight but she can't figure out how to get the rest of her body pulled up (it looks like she is doing a downward dog (yoga) position). I imagine this is foreshadowing to eventually learning to walk.

Talking.. nope we're not there yet. She still says her standard Mama, Dada and Baba. Though, she does manage to keep her teachers amused with all the sounds she makes. It cracks me up too. Though, not that fond of the screaming at the top of her lungs in the car, especially when Jamie thinks it's funny and joins her.

She still loves the bath. When Jamie goes in she stands holding the tub, desperately trying to reach in and splash.

Eating. She is a great little eater. She will eat anything you let her. (thank goodness, not picky like her sister). Her favorite foods right now are garden vegetable (earths best) and.. well all the jars of veggies. She also likes canned green beans and mashed up bananas. The more solid, solids make me nervous but I'm working on it.

Lots of pictures coming soon...

Christmas 08

2009-01-13T11:07:00.000-08:00

Click on the link to see our pics from Christmas.

I didn't have time to describe the pictures, so if you don't know who the people are.. my kids should be obvious.. then there are Jeff's parents, his brother Chris, his sister Karen, her husband Fernando her little one Dylan and her step daughter Jazmine.

All the pictures where taken at Jeff's parents house in Kansas.

Winter Break

2008-12-29T16:17:00.000-08:00

We packed our bags and headed to Kansas last week. We where taking our annual winter trip to see Jeff's family. Luckily Jeff's parents have most things that we would need so we didn't have to pack much more than clothes. We had great plane rides both directions. This may be our last easy flight with Jessie. I imagine next time she will want to run around. Jessie had her worst cold yet which had me freaking out. I was away from our pediatrician (though I called and he called me back on Christmas. nice. I told him merry Christmas because that's what everyone seems to say, he didn't say it back which made me think... hmm he's probably Jewish..oops next time I should keep to the happy holidays). Even though I had talked to him I still took her in to urgent care because I wasn't going to feel better until someone listened to her lungs and looked at her ears. We where given antibiotics for her ears. She hates taking medicine but her body seems to tolerate it better than Jamie did.

Anyway... we all had a great time. Jamie loves this time of year.

Though, it is nice to have my kids back to their bed time routines. I depend on it.

Jessie's third tooth broke through. They seem to be coming fast and furious.

Jamie just loves to play with her sister. She loves that she can make her laugh and is in her face every chance she gets... I wish the car was bigger..

Jessie is starting to wave which is really cool. She seems like she is really close to crawling and really enjoys standing... though.. I wouldn't be surprised if we still had to wait awhile for that stuff. (fine with me)

I will try to post pictures soon. Jeff took some nice pictures and I just have to figure out if we have made them small enough to put them on the blog.

correction

2008-12-18T09:25:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I said Jessie just had the one tooth. Well, last night I noticed number 2 had broken through. Maybe that explains the rough day at school on Monday. Poor baby.

Jessie turns 8 months today.

2008-12-17T12:47:00.000-08:00

Jessie is 8 months today. So what is she like at 8 months... She is still a very happy baby. When she gets excited she flaps her arms up and down (which always makes me laugh). She always has lots to say (not as much as her sister). She says mama (I swear she knows how to use it) she says dadada, bababa and my favorite ohhhh and oooohh. She plays very well by herself. Though, there are the moments where I can't so much as touch her toe to the ground or she stars crying. She wraps her arms around my arm as if to say.. don't leave me. It's so sad. If I'm not with her but she sees me in the room.. get ready for the tears. This can make getting ready in the morning tough.

Jessie loves to stand. Her face lights up when she does. She is getting a little more sure footed and can stand up holding on to something (without parent support). Last night she even took some steps while holding my fingers. She doesn't seem to want to pursue crawling. I'm not worried either way.. she will figure out what works for her when she is ready.

Big sister Jamie adores her. Though, not a good idea to turn your back on them. Jamie's hugs can border on tackling and she always wants to hold her hands with every germ known to man on them. That's a little tough for me. The other day I stepped out of the room for less than a minute and Jamie was bouncing her a little too hard in the bouncy. Yep, don't recommend leaving a five year old with a baby. Jamie loves to have her around though, she likes to help give her baths, change her, and sometimes feed her.

Oh.. and how could I forget... teeth.. we are standing strong with our one bottom tooth. I'm sure more are on their way. Along those lines, she loves to eat. She will eat nearly any of the jars we give her and anything that you can mash up on your plate. She also enjoys toast.. and anything you will let her put in her mouth. She watches everyone eat and appears to be studying. She also likes to have her own spoon when she eats. She will take up to two (size 2) jars of food a day (usually 1.5). She nurses 3-5 times a day with me and I'm lucky if she will take any milk at all at school. We got all excited yesterday because she drank 3 oz. This doesn't seem right to me, but everyone tells me since she looks healthy not to worry about it.

I'm starting to buy 12 months clothes and they fit. She is a big little girl but somehow it seems just right.

She makes us all very happy and we are a better family for having her in it.

Jamie's pics

2008-12-11T16:58:00.000-08:00

Jamie took some pictures on her own.

p.s she took more pictures than this.. I included more of them in this blog but for some reason they didn't show up.. next time I have time I may post more of them

just the girls.. (and logan)

2008-12-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

A portait of the ladies (also taken at bree and john's).

family portrait

2008-12-11T16:52:00.000-08:00

Yeah! We have a family portrait. We took this picture at a lovely dinner we had at Bree and John's house.

santa party

2008-12-11T16:48:00.000-08:00

My work had an event where we got to make ornaments and receive a gift from santa. We go every year and it's lots of fun. This was Jessie's first year.

Fire Truck

2008-12-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

We got to ride the fire truck for a donation to Toys for Tots. Jamie and I where very excited!

brrr... it's cold

2008-12-11T16:42:00.000-08:00

bouncing fun!

2008-12-11T16:40:00.000-08:00

woops

2008-12-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

for some reason this didn't show up in the fall fun blog and it's my favorite

Fall fun

2008-12-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

Since no one ever let me jump in a leaf pile I decided to make a leaf pile for Jamie to play in. I wanted to find a place with nice big leaves but couldn't find an ideal spot, so we made due with our yard. The neighbor kids started to line up. I new the look, so we invited them to join us. After awhile the parents came over and started to help me rake the piles back together. There where actually a couple more kids that just didn't make it in to the photo. Everyone had a very good time.

More bath pictures...

2008-12-11T16:22:00.000-08:00

Jessie loves to be in the bath. Jamie loves to take a bath with her little sister. Though, Jessie doesn't want to be in the bath with her sister for to long because that usually reults in water in the face.

I'm coming up...

2008-12-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

Jessie's first tooth is coming through. You can hardly see it, but it's a little white bump, poking through her gums. Jessie is about 7 1/2 months old. When her big sister Jamie's first tooth came in she was 14 months old. We kept thinking Jamie was getting a tooth.. and they didn't come for awhile. Once Jamie's teeth finally broke through, it didn't seem to bother her much. Jessie however, seems bothered. She cries hysterically at what seems like the smallest things. She is also not as interested in jars of food. I'm not even sure what the protocol is these days for this. Jessie seems to appreciate the refrigerated teethers and we gave her some tylenol which made her feel much happier and willing to eat.

I swear I don't do it on purpose...

2008-11-08T13:33:00.000-08:00

I keep dressing them the same. That's not a bad thing, but I'm not aware I'm doing it until I see them together.

Now that I can sit....

2008-11-08T13:24:00.000-08:00

I want to sit in the bath too!

Couple of pics from Halloween

2008-11-08T13:00:00.000-08:00

Robert (Yoda) joined us for some trick or treating!

Jamie had a parade at school.

Jessie turns 6 months

2008-10-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

Jessie turned 6months on October 17. We had our pediatrician appointment yesterday. We are in the 75-90 percentile on everything. A well proportioned baby ; ) (his words). For those of you keeping track.. I can only remember that she came out to 18 pounds. I think her height was 26inches (or maybe it was 23, but I think 26 makes more sense). He also thinks she may be an early crawler based on how she could get her butt up. Well, she is or she isn't I'm in no hurry. This little bug loves to eat. She is a happy baby and a total joy. This was Jessie's first ride on a swing. She had a good time and I had to snap a picture. (even if it had to be with my crappy camera phone). P.S these days her tongue seems to be permanently sticking out.

Halloween Cuties

2008-10-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

My friends where nice enough to snap some pictures of my cuties at molly's first b-day party, with a halloween theme.

to see more pics, click on the links.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jodoin/MollyBDay101108#

http://www.smilineyes.com/~bree/Logans_Blog/Mollys_Birthday.html

http://stonekitty.net/pix/mollys-1st/

Sleep Blog Day 3

2008-10-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

I put Jessie down last night at 8. I was tempted to keep her up longer so I could enjoy her company, but that seemed selfish with her yawning. She fell asleep right away, but then woke up at 8:30 and proceeded to cry about it for an hour. I went in every five minutes and did the patting. She was asleep by 9:30. She woke up at 3am and I nursed and she agreed to go back to sleep (crying for about 30 seconds). She woke woke up again at 6am but was asleep by the time I got to her room. I suppose that's how it's suppose to work, put themselves back to sleep and all. She woke up for the morning at about 7:50. Not to shabby. I hope she cries less tonight and sleeps through the night too. I think we are on the right path though. The teachers at Jessie's school applauded me yesterday and suggested I talk to some other parents ; ) I have to pat myself on the back too, it certainly is not easy and takes a lot of resolve.

p.s I can't tell you how much peace of mind the mattress alarm brings me. I no longer stare at the video monitor to make sure she's breathing.

Sleep Blog Day 2

2008-10-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

Last night we put Jessie down for night number 2 in her crib. I followed my same routine that I did the night before. Of course she fell asleep again while nursing, which I can't let her do (bummer). I put her down awake in her crib. She cried for an hour and 20 minutes. I don't know who was more upset, her or me. Jeff and I took turns going in to her room every 5 minutes, patting her and reassuring her, so she would know that we are still around. We kind of felt that things didn't go right on the first night. She fell asleep to quickly and didn't learn to soothe herself. The crying for over an hour is how I remember this process from last time. Poor baby, it was very hard.

I saved the good news for the last part because I'm so excited!!! When she did finally go to sleep, she slept the whole night!! I think if I did not have the mattress alarm I would have had a panic attack. There is a good chance that we will still have a couple of tough nights ahead of us and we may even have a night tonight that is worse, but.. I'm thinking in a week, she will have it down.

Sleep Blog Day 1

2008-10-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

Background: Up until last night Jessie had been sleeping with me in bed. It started off that she couldn't sleep unless I was holding her, and there she stayed because I wasn't sure what to do with the fact that she could only stay asleep on her tummy (though she did back sleep next to me). The school where she naps even told me it's not likely she will sleep on her back, they tried and failed. So, now that she is nearly 6 months, can roll back and forth (when she really wants to), and I have the mattress alarm that I purchased (it arrived yesterday), it was time for her to move to her crib.

The Technique: We went through this sleep situation before with Jamie and the technique that worked for us then, was from a book, the sleep solution. How it works... You set up a routine, you do that same routine every night. for example, pjs, milk, book, say night-night. They need to be put to bed sleepy but not asleep. The book warns against forming associations like music or noise, that they might always need that to fall asleep. The purpose is that they learn to soothe themselves to sleep so they can always fall asleep. When they start crying you can go in every 5 minutes or so, pat them, say night-night (or whatever) and then leave. Once they are asleep and wake up you can put them back to sleep however you normally would (rock, nurse, whatever). The theory is that since they are learning how to put themselves to sleep when you put them down, they will eventually put themselves back to sleep at night.

Past Experience: When we did this with Jamie, she cried the first night for an hour, the second night for 2 hours, third 45 minutes, fourth 20 minutes and then she wouldn't cry to go to sleep anymore. 3 weeks later she was sleeping through the night. It worked exactly how the book said it would go down.

Night One: I do the night ritual, set Jessie down on her tummy, turn on the alarm, go sit on the couch and brace myself. She cries for 7 minutes and falls asleep. I could not believe what a contrast. Jeff says let's go to sleep (at 9:15). I'm afraid to believe that I could actually be so lucky, but 15 minutes later I agree. I get ready for bed and I'm in bed for about 5 minutes when she starts crying. I went to her room to try and put her back to sleep. She falls asleep I try to set her down, she starts crying. I repeat this again and again. I see 10pm go by, then 10:30, I think no big deal since I'm usually awake at that time. By 11, 11:30 I'm starting to feel pretty tired. I go back and forth between her room and mine. From 1:00am to 4am we both are sleeping soundly. Strangely the way I achieved this was putting her on her back, face to the bumper like she sleeps with me (don't worry, plenty of air around her mouth and nose). I felt the sting of irony. Jessie wakes at 4am. I'm thinking, ok, I'll put her back to back to sleep and I can still sleep till 7. I do the dance like before, putting her down, she wakes up and cries, back and forth between our rooms. Jeff sleeps soundly this entire night. I watch 4:30 on the clock, 5, 5:30, 6. At this point Jessie and I are both crying. At 6:15 I decided to just start getting ready for work. I slept for 3 hours the whole night. I'm tired. I put her to sleep in my bed so that I could at least get ready for work. She slept soundly.

Stay tuned for day 2.

You win some you loose some

2008-09-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

Well, as most of you know, whenever possible I like to follow the Dr. rules or if I've read something in a magazine or what have you. So, when Jeff decided he wanted to start feeding Jessie solids I called the Dr. office and asked if it was ok and where to start. The advice nurse told me that Jessie gets all she needs from breast milk and they usually advise people to wait until 6 months (unless she doesn't seem satiated with just the milk). So in my mind this is the law. To Jeff... not so much. I believe his response was something like "pbfhh". Needless to say, this was not a debate that I won. Jessie has had sweet potato, peas, and carrots.

First was sweet potato, she made a face like she was eating a lemon, but still kept opening her mouth. The next week we tried peas, Jeff felt vindicated as she lunged for every bite. This week we tried carrots. Carrots where well received and she is now showing a preference for them over the peas. Jeff is very happy. (Especially since Jamie never would eat that stuff. We kind of had to wait until toddler foods came around for her.... and we're still kind of there with her.)

Well, we don't give Jessie very much since I was told that it should not displace milk and we do wait at least 4 days to try something new (in case of allergies). So I suppose it has been somewhat of a compromise. More to come on baby food preferences. She does seem to have taken to it like a natural.

Times, they are a changin'

2008-09-16T16:06:00.000-07:00

Jessie and Jamie have changed so much with their first two weeks of school. It surprises me how much can change so soon. Jamie's reading and writing has taken a leap, she is doing so well. Jessie can roll from her back to her tummy (maybe she was supposed to be doing that a long time ago, I don't know I'm not caught up in that stuff this time around) she's playing so intently with toys (she never seemed to care before) and she's doing great with belly time. She is able to go to her baby school and be put down and play (big deal to me) and she's drinking milk from a bottle like a champ (yeah). Sitting and crawling are right around the corner. I'm cautiously watching the thumb the keeps going in her mouth, given the choice I'd rather her suck a binky. I'll keep you posted as the excitement continues.

p.s Jessie is 5 months today. next month will be a big milestone with a dr. visit, eating, and more abilities.

A bit of Irony

2008-09-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

So ... those of you that have been following the saga know that it's been trying, trying to get Jessie excited about the bottle. I've been really stressed with Jessie starting school and needing to take a bottle. Well, when I spoke with her teacher at school today she told me " I switched to a different bottle and it worked great, she took 4 oz (compared to the struggle before of getting her to take 1.5 oz)" Here comes the irony... The bottle she did "great" with is the avent bottle, the same one I have a bunch of at home because that was the bottle Jamie had. I've been running around buying all these premium bisephonol -A free bottles and she like the very one that I already have at home. go figure.

Another thing that is funny, Jessie for some reason likes to nap listening to Celine Dion. (I'm not much of a fan) Jessie's teacher is sweet and made a cd just for Jessie to listen to for her naps. I can add that to the lengthening list of why I like this school.

Trip to Kansas

2008-09-03T16:41:00.000-07:00

Cick on the picture for pics from our trip (the first few where actually taken at home, but I kept them with this group anyway).

I needed pics for my desk

2008-09-03T14:16:00.000-07:00

Back to work!

2008-09-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

I stared back to work yesterday, Jessie started her baby school, and Jamie started Kindergarten. It feels ok to be back at work, though we'll see when the work really get going. Jessie did well yesterday, she was very tired from her experience and we still have lots of work to do with the bottle. Jamie did well with school, she has a cute new uniform (need to get a picture of that) and sadly homework every night. Hmm... how will we fit that in.

Pictures are coming so stay tuned... I have a lot of pictures from a recent trip to Kansas and some new ones from the portrait studio. my goal is to have it up before the weekend.

Well.. wish us all luck.

Alexander Galicki

2008-08-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

Please welcome my nephew Alex! born Aug. 14th 8lbs 1 oz

Jessie gets in some play time

2008-08-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

Hey, this is hard work

who's the cutie in the mirror?

some up-datin'

2008-08-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

ahhh!!! I spent an hour yesterday trying to get some pictures on (an hour is a very precious block of time). Something wasn't working right... anyway.. now I've got them and I can't arrange the pictures the way I want. so here are some pictures in not the right order. herumph

Jamie all glammed up. yes, she did this herself.

It's time for some swimming! Jessie's first dip. I think she liked it.

Jamie turns 5

Jamie gets a haicut 7-24

4th of July

2008-07-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

4th of July is one of my favorite days and it can't get much better than how we spent it. We enjoyed a lovely bbq with our friends during the day and in the evening we went to cupertino to watch the fire works. We all had lots of oos and ahs. Even Jessie enjoyed the fire works.

Here are some pics from earlier in the day.....

Bragging Rights

2008-07-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, like any parent I look for any reason to take pride in the accomplishments of my children. So, yesterday I was playing with Jessie and I was telling her uh-oh. I could see her concentrating on my mouth as I spoke and she repeated uh-oh. 2 and a half months, need I say more ; ) (of course I'm teasing about bragging, but I was pretty tickled by it).

Monterey Field Trip

2008-07-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Kim and I took our girls to Monterey. I of course forgot my camera. Kim was nice enough to take pictures and provide a link (thanks kim). I especially like the captions, true and funny.

http://www.smilineyes.com/images/20080619/20080619.html

Dad's 70th Birthday Party

2008-07-03T12:37:00.001-07:00

couple o' pictures

2008-06-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

Dr. visit- month 2

2008-06-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

wow, these blogs are harder to keep up with than I thought. Jessie is sitting in the Bjorn as I type. She is tossing and turning a bit and I imagine it's time for her lunch. After I feed her I'll have 10-15 minutes of happy baby, which I'll either spend typing this or taking my shower. I'm so behind on e-mails and everyone's blog. When I get back to work I'm going to get a chance to see what has been going on for the past few months.

Ok, about the dr. visit... well we didn't get to see our dr. this time : ( we saw the NP. Jessie weighed in at 12 lbs 11 oz with a height of 23 and 1/4 inches. This puts her at 90% for both. I think we are sliding down the scale a bit from the 90-95 percentile. Anyway, it's good just to have a healthy baby whatever the size. The only thing is she was born in the spring and Jamie in the summer, since Jessie is bigger than Jamie was it's making it even harder to make the hand me downs from Jamie work since the seasons are off. So, I've had to buy some new clothes, darn.

Sorry, was I talking about a Dr. visit.. we had 4 vaccines and we didn't get our normal shot giving lady and I wasn't pleased with this other ladies technique. Jessie of course screamed her head off. To my surprise Jamie hid on the other side of the room. Jamie handles her shots better than anyone but she can't bare to watch her sister get them. We seemed to have no side effects from the shots, so that's good. The NP joked that Jessie is in her fourth trimester since she still needs to be held so much. What can I say I tend to have kids that need to be held and walked. could be worse, but sometimes I think it would be cool to have a kid just content to be sitting on my lap.

Jamie started her summer program at school yesterday, which is good. Though, she gets home earlier and we have to come up with things to do. This isn't so easy. Well, I think we will survive the summer, hopefully. I will try to get some pictures added.

Picture time!

2008-05-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

We did the best we could...

4 weeks today!

2008-05-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already been 4 weeks, time does fly. Sorry I haven't posted many updates. The lack of updates is mostly due to the fact that if I actually have 10 minutes when I'm not holding or feeding her I usually choose to eat or something, instead of get on the computer ; )
However, I 've managed to get in a a shower and delete some things from my e-mail inbox and I'm now typing as fast as I can to get a few words in before she wakes. I can already hear her stirring. So far Jessie is great and Jamie is great also. I will let you know more stats when we have our appointment next week. So far, if she is awake she wants to nurse. I will take this up with her Dr. I don't want her eating more than she should, but then what can you do. The number one question people ask... how is the sleep going. Well.... again I have another child that prefers sleep on her belly and by prefer, I mean she will actually stay asleep for more than 1 minute if I place her down on her belly. Yes, I know I'm not supposed to, I only do it during the day when I can keep an eye on her and really I try not to do it at all. During the night she sleeps really well if I sleep with her. Other wise I end up staying awake for many hours during the night. For example the other night she slept on her own until about 3 am, than after staying up with her till about 5 am I finally fell asleep on the couch, holding her. This is a very typical evening for me. Than Jamie is up at 7 (if I'm lucky) (this morning was 6:15am). I feel awful that I don't have a better system in place, it's hard to figure it out when your eyes are stinging from tired in the middle of the night. I need to go buy the book I read when we learned how to put Jamie down. I'll figure out something...

One week check-up!

2008-04-24T15:48:00.000-07:00

We had our one week check-up today. Jessie is already at 9lbs. With that weight and the height of 21 inches, that puts her at 95% for height and weight and 75 for head. Holly cow, we have over compensated for Jamie's 10%. Though, Jessie still seems itsy bitsy to me and can only fit in to her new born clothes. All is well with us, at this point we couldn't ask for better.

here are some pictures from the first couple days

2008-04-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome Home

2008-04-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

Jessie Rachel Choun was born on April 17th, 2008 at 7:50AM weighing in at 8lbs 10 oz. and 19 inches long. Though she is at about 8 lbs now and I suspect longer than 19 in. Anyway... we are all doing great. Jessie had some jaundice so we have a to have a billy blanket strapped to her that emits uv light. She seems to be on the mend now. Sorry I didn't keep up with the blog while in the hospital like I had hoped. She is a sweet little one. Thanks to everyone that was able to stop by it was good to see you all.

p.s I hope to have pictures posted by some time today.

keeping you posted

2008-04-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

Since the purpose of this blog site is to keep people up to date on our newly expanding family, I figure I'll make mention of it. This time next week we will be having our last night as a family of three. We are scheduled to go in to in to the hospital at 5:30 am on April 17th. I guess one last night of good sleep was to much to ask. Of course this is assuming everything goes as planned. I wouldn't make any hefty wagers that it all goes as planned, but right now we are going with what we've got.

Big sister Jamie is very excited, mom and dad are in a safe place called denial ; ) No names have been decided so don't even ask. By the way, this is not a topic we are up for debates on. (despite what my parents might think)

My plan is to continue to keep everyone posted via this site. At this point it seems easier then having to call everyone. Plus.. all my friends are doing it ; ) no worries mom and dad, way to chicken to jump off a bridge.

old dog learning new tricks

2008-04-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Welcome to our site. At this point I'm completely unfamiliar with how all of this works. I'll figure it out eventually, but right now I'm in the process of clicking every button to see what it does. (how else do you figure things out ; ) Wish me luck.