Disneyland and California Adventure

Yesterday we took Nathan on his first trip to Disneyland. We brought Kira too because both sets of grandparents were going so there was noone to leave her with back home. It all worked out because she was perfect until the ride home! Anyway, Brian's co-worker and her sister-in-law were able to get all six of us adults in to both parks free of charge. Talk about a a score!!! So we started at Disneyland. As we entered the park Donald, Mickey and Goofy were all out for photo ops. Nathan enjoyed meeting all three of them. We then headed over to Fantasyland where we rode the Merry-Go-Round, Dumbo, It's a Small World and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Nathan said that Dumbo was his favorite and Kira enjoyed the lights and sounds of It's a Small World. We stopped for lunch and then went on Pirates of the Caribbean. Nathan said he enjoyed it, but I think the the drops scared him a bit and he clung to me during the cannon fights. Next, everyone except Kira and I went on the Jungle Cruise. We headed over to Tomorrowland where Brian was so excited to take Nathan on Autotopia because it was the one thing he remembered loving when he was a kid. Nathan enjoyed driving the cars and then wanted to ride the train around the park. We tried to go on Peter Pan, but the line was long and Nathan was about done at that point. We plopped him in the stroller and then headed over to California Adventure. He got a whopping 15 minute nap on the walk over there. That 15 minutes helped to rejuvenate him and when we got there he was ready for more. We first started with photos with Lightning McQueen and Mater. We got fast passes for Soarin' Over California and then let Nathan run around at the play structure. We found spots for the Pixar Parade and Nathan enjoyed it, though he really has only seen Finding Nemo and Cars, Inc. We need to expose him to more Pixar movies. We then went to see the Bugs Life 3D show, which we all enjoyed. The adults went on Soarin' Over California, which we all enjoyed and then decided to call it a day. We attempted to have dinner at Downtown Disney, but on a Friday night lines and waits were long and we knew Nathan was tired. So we headed home and Kira decided she had had enough of her carseat and pretty much cried from Disneyland all the way home, with a few breaks in between. Nathan was exhausted because he was able to sleep through her cries. Overall it was a great day and Nathan woke up talking about Pirates this morning and asked when we could go back.

2-months old

Kira is now 2-months old. This month she is smiling and "talking" up a storm. She really recognizes mommy, daddy and her brother. Her head continues to get stronger and she looks around and smiles while on her tummy. Kira is enjoying time on the play mat. She spends lots more time awake during the day and sleeps longer stretches at night. We had a few nights of only one wake up, but that didn't last and she generally wakes up twice a night. Kira likes to go on walks with her friend Natalie at Mission Bay. We think we found daycare for her, which is a good thing because I go back to work in five weeks, which may seem like a long time, but in reality it is right around the corner.

3-year and 2-month well visits

Both Nathan and Kira had well visits today. First Nathan's stats. He weighs 31.5 pounds and is in the 45% percentile. He has gained half a pound in a year. He is 37.5 inches, which is in the 50%, so he has grown 3 inches since last year. He is growing up, not out these days. Nathan is super active, which I believe is contributing to his slow weight gain. That and he doesn't stop talking, so he burns a few thousand calories that way. Nathan has had a horrible cough since September and we were going to ask for a referral for an Ear, Nose and Throat Dr., but when Dr. Berent was listening to him, he quickly commented on Nathan's wheezing and confirmed our belief that something is wrong. He indicate that Nathan sounded asthmatic. So he will no be on a Flovent inhaler 2x a day. I am hoping this helps to calm his cough because he has been waking up multiple times a night for a couple of nights coughing. Other than that he is doing well.

Now on to Kira. She weighed 10lbs 2oz and was in the 33% and was 22.5 inches, which is in the 57%. Her head circumference was 15 inches, which is 34%. Dr. was slightly concerned with her slow weight gain, but not too concerned. He said to try to add an extra ounce of pumped milk to each feeding and then he would check her again in a month. He wasn't too concerned because she looks healthy, otherwise. She was given two vaccines today because we do an alternative schedule. She got her rotavirus vaccine and a new one called pentacil that combines several. Kira will go back in a month and get the other two that she should have gotten today. Overall, she is doing well, too.

Happy Third Birthday Nathan

Tomorrow morning our baby boy turns three. As I was putting together this slide show it hit me that my baby boy is no longer a baby in any sense of the word. The pictures show a gradual transition from chubby toddler to full on big boy. Nathan you are an amazing young man who surprises and entertains us on a daily basis. We love you buddy! You make us laugh, you challenge us and you have started to take on your roll as big brother. I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for you.

Miss Kira is 1 month old

Kira is one month old today. Despite the lack of sleep and the evening fussiness, this month seems to have flown by. Kira is starting to be more alert, hold her head up for a little bit and look around at her environment. She enjoys staring at lights and nightly baths. Kira also got her first cold last weekend, which was not so much fun for mom and dad, and I am sure not so much her either. Nathan is starting to get more into his role of big brother. He will spontaneously give her a hug and kiss and now asks to hold her every once in awhile.

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




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