From 3 to 4

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Originally uploaded by Davies Fam

Now that Kira is almost a month old, I figured it was time to update on our transition from 1 to 2 kids. For the most part things are going well. Nathan is doing much better than I thought he would, but we generally have 2-3 major meltdowns a week. I expected it to be more like 2-3 daily so I think he is doing well. Kira is doing well. She is slowly starting to emerge from her sleepy newborness and is into looking around, especially at lights. Brian and I are getting a handle on the change from 1 to 2.

Happy New Year and New Addition

Happy 2010! This is the first year in five years that we did not head to Mexico for New Year's. The reason was that I was very pregnant and due a few days after the new year. Anyway, New Year's was mellow this year with dinner with Julie and Art and their friends who were visiting from Australia. We were home by 9:30 and in bed shortly after. I had been sick with a sinus infection since before Christmas and it showed no signs of going away. We had a Dr. appointment on 1/8, which was 2 days before the due date. At that time I was 3cm dilated and almost completely effaced, but she was still up high. We decided that if she didn't come by the following Thursday we would induced because I was just tired of being so stuffed up and feeling yucky. So last weekend was beautiful in San Diego with temps in the mid 70's, perfect for long walks to help speed up the process. Nathan seemed to know that something was up and was extra snuggly and clingy to me all weekend. On Sunday evening we went to Julie and Art's house to celebrate Jared's birthday, which was our official due date. Still no signs of labor. However, about the time we sat down to dinner, I started having mild contractions. They were about every 30 minutes, but not painful. By about 9, they were much stronger and about 15 minutes apart. I went to bed to see if I would be able to get some rest before I needed to go to the hospital. I slept about 2 hours and then was woken up to strong contractions that were 5 minutes apart. I timed them for about an hour and then woke Brian up. He called his mom who was over in about 15 minutes to stay with Nathan and we were off. Once we were checked into triage they monitored us for awhile and were ready to send us off since the contractions didn't seem to be changing, but then baby's monitor strip was not spiking like they wanted so they ended up admitting us and putting us into Labor and Delivery. Around 3 I opted for the epidural because my contractions were strong enough to warrant it. For most of the night I was breathing oxygen and rolling from side to side to try to spike baby activity. At one point they mentioned having NICU staff on hand for delivery, which scared us, but around 4 they said there was enough activity to start pitocin. By about 9, I was 7-8 cm and the dr. came to break the water. By 11:43 she was here and weighed in at 8lbs 14oz (exactly one pound larger than Nathan) and 20.5 inches (exactly one inch shorter than Nathan). We spent one night in the hospital and were ready to get home to Nathan. Once home, Nathan was happy to have us home. He has been pretty good, but is starting to show signs of needing additional attention, which we are trying to provide. He is really doing much better than expected, but it has only been 4 days so I am sure we are in for our ups and downs. At any rate, we are happy to now be a family of 4 (6 if you count the dog and cat, which we do).

Big Brother/Little Sister




Home



Proud Grandpa



Just after birth

Christmas 2009

Christmas has come and gone once again. This year was filled with lots of family time and lots of gifts. We currently have a living room full of new toys and literally nowhere to put them. Nathan thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas spirit this year from the lights, decorating the tree to opening presents. He enjoyed many of the attractions around San Diego, as well, including Seaworld, the zoo and the San Diego Bay Parade of Lights. We were happy to share this special time with just him before he becomes a big brother. We are looking forward to 2010 and the addition of a new baby girl, though as it gets closer (2 weeks until the due date). We hope all of our friends and family enjoyed the holiday season and wish everyone a Happy 2010!

Christmas Time is Here...

Christmas time when you are almost 3 is a magical time. Nathan has really gotten into the spirit this year. I think we have watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas at least 10 times since Thanksgiving. He was so excited when we picked him up from daycare on Tuesday to go pick out our tree. I thought he was going to spontaneously combust with all the jumping he was doing. Then when we got home the excitement continued when we decorated the tree. He loves to look at it everyday. Last weekend Balboa Park's annual December Nights took place. The whole park is lit up, the zoo train is decorated and the museums are all free. There is tons of food and Santa is there to greet the kids. It was madness for the adults because it was CROWDED, but Nathan once again jumped right into Santa's lap and told him what he wanted for Christmas. No fear there! Nathan was a little disappointed that by the time we got to the Old Globe Theatre to take pictures with the Grinch, he was no longer there, but quickly got over it. In the next week or so we plan to go to the zoo to check out there Jungle Bells, Seaworld to try the ice skating and use my pass once more before it expires and head down to the harbor for the Parade of Lights, where all the boats are decorated.

November Vacation

Thanksgiving has come and gone and the year is quickly coming to an end. We just spent the last week in San Simeon, Monterey and Fresno celebrating Thanksgiving with family. We started with a quick trip to San Simeon, where we stayed at Grandma Lois and Grandpa Larry's favorite hotel. We ran around on the beach and enjoyed a sunset fire at the firepit. The next morning we drove up through Big Sur to Monterey to visit the aquarium, where a nice older man offered up his extra passes to Brian and I so we were able to get in for free. Nathan enjoyed all of the interactive kiddie exhibits, but the actual sea life didn't hold his attention for long. It was impressive to us, though. We stopped up the street and had lunch with my cousin Russell who lives there and headed down to Fresno for the rest of the weekend. Thanksgiving Day was spent with my family up at Uncle Jerry and Aunt Vivian's house in the foothills below Yosemite. Nathan enjoyed playing with his cousins and extended family and we all enjoyed food and drink. On Friday we went to the Fresno Met Museum to see the art of Dr. Seuss and the Christmas Trees themed with various Dr. Seuss books. Later that night, we sat down and started off the Christmas season by watching the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. On Saturday, the ladies of my family threw a baby shower for the new baby girl. It was fun to catch up with aunts and cousins and my grandma. It was a fun day. We are back home and one step closer to the end of the year and the beginning of a new year with a new family member.

Baby Shower for the Girl





Fresno Met Museum






Thanksgiving Day






Monterey





San Simeon

Random Updates

Pregnancy Update
Since I just had a Dr. appointment today, I figured a bit of an update was due. I will be 30 weeks pregnant on Sunday. So in 10 weeks give or take, we will be parents of two. How crazy is that? At my appointment today I had only gained one pound in the last month. I still weigh what I did at full term with Nathan, but I remind myself that I was a few pounds up going into this pregnancy. I seemed to escape the Gestational Diabetes bullet this time around, but honestly, I am not eating as well as I should. This little girl is moving around a ton, mostly at night (early, late and middle of), which I hope isn't an indicator of how her sleep patterns will be. I have about six weeks left of work and one off in the middle for Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to my winter break before she comes so I can get some quality time in with Nathan. Physically I feel pretty good. Definitely feel like she is sitting lower and there are times when I feel like she may just fall out, but I know she is safe and cooking. Overall, things seem to be going well. Since I haven't taken a single belly picture this time, I figured I was due, so here is baby belly at just shy of 30 weeks.




Updates on Nathan
Nathan is now a little over 2.5 years old and it is hard to believe that in 4 short months he will be three.

Current Likes
Nathan has recently gotten very into pretend play. Whether it be with his stuffed buddies, little people figures or trains, we can often hear him making up dialogue. So fun to listen too. He also loves computer games and has replaced his nightly puzzle with an educational game or two. His love of learning continues, as well. He has recently started to copy his name from a model and loves to write letters. He also loves to identify the sounds in various words. Nathan loves music, especially mom and dad's music and in the car always requests songs from our ipods. Nathan recently got a big boy bike with training wheels and loves riding it at the bay. He is also a big fan of meeting new friend when he is at the park.

Current Dislikes
Nathan does not like having to do things he does not want to do. He works every angle to get his way (which doesn't happen). He also isn't a big fan of eating a lot of the foods he used to love. As long as he eats, we are happy at this point.

2.5 is definitely a challenging age, but it is also a lot of fun. Nathan is a mini person who knows his likes and dislikes and it is so cool to sit and have conversations with him. We think he is definitely starting to be a bit anxious with the new baby coming. He is a bit more clingy and defiant, but we know that eventually he will be a great big brother.

Fall is here....sort of (the weather is still warm)

Fall is upon us, but here in San Diego we haven't the weather hasn't gotten the memo as it is still pretty warm here. Today we kicked off the Halloween season with a trip to Oma's Pumpkin Patch in Lakeside. We took Nathan there last year and he remembered it. We went with the same group of friends from last year and now that they are a year older, the boys really got a kick out of the hayride, sliding down the cotton seed hill, the hay maze and of course the dirt hill and diggers. The pumpkins and the petting zoo were of course a hit too. Other things on our list of Halloween to do's is the Spooktacular at Seaworld and the Wild Animal Park has something going on, as well. Oh and we are of course doing our annual trip to Warner Springs for golf and trick or treat fun. October promises to be a fun month.

It's been awhile since we've updated. I am now in my 26th week of this pregnancy, so we are well beyond the halfway point. Looking forward to meeting her in the new year. I had my second three hour glucose tolerance test come back with safe numbers. My nurse practioner wants me to do one more fasting only test just to make sure, but it looks as though I dodged the gestational diabetes bullet this time around.

Pumpkin Truck


Hayride


Nathan's Pirate Costume