Knot Knews

Where in the world?

2011-06-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

We have been hanging out in Landstuhl Germany for almost two years now...we are still trying to figure out the best way to travel with four kids. Isaac is now 5.5, Jed 3.5, Gabe almost 2 and Sophie 9 months old. Life is not dull, but full of kidisms and endless laughter. I can't believe the last time I posted was over a year ago..yet, life has changed with Sophie added to the gang...having another girl to the mix makes life quite interesting. The boys are so gentle with her and often way too rough with baby Gabe. Baby Gabe is still baby Gabe, only he think he is like 4 years old hanging out with Isaac and Jed. He comes home yelling for his brothers and kisses his "seeester."

Dan and I are enjoy the simplicity of life here in Europe. We don't get much US news unless we are looking for it. We go to work, come home and hang out with the kids...whether its at home or next country over...we are really enjoying our time here. I've made great friends since being here and really enjoying getting to know people at all walks of life. I feel like my life had simplified and slowed down so we have time with each other and truly "see" whats around us...

Thought I say "hi" after a year...

Hello World...we are still here!

2010-04-20T01:30:00.000-07:00

Its been awhile since we posted...life in Europe has been awesome to say the least. We can drive 30min west and we are in a different country. Dan and I are constantly figuring out where to go next and how to toll our 3 kids along! Thank God they are good sports in the car, backpack, and/or plane. Since we last posted..life has turn a drastic change for us....
After Baby Gabe, Dan and I were told no more kids due to my over scarring on my abd wall. Dan had scheduled a vasectomy before Thanksgiving, but after my prompting cancelled it so we can go to Paris instead. His next appt was Jan 8th. Boy, I was excited to walk him to Urology and making sure he checked in and not back out. Throughout this time, I've started working full time in the Pediatric clinic as a nurse while waiting for a NP position to open up. The job is great and people are fun. I'm actually understanding immunizations for the first time. Well, I was getting tired, but Dan kept attributed to me working...finally, he said, "why don't you go get a pregnancy test so we can all enjoy a weekend without you worrying about it". My periods has been irregular since I do have a 3 month old at that time..I gladly walked to the closest Germany pharmacy and grabbed two and even thought of stopping by a bakery to get a piece of cake after i see the negative so I can be relieved. Well, needless to say, the test turned positive immediately. Dan and I were doubting ourselves we even google translated all the key components of the test! Here we are, just had a baby and now on our next one already. I was not ready...I didn't know to cry or to laugh. But God is good. He knows the best for us. We are now entering my second trimester and feeling good. I'm at peace right now..sometimes, I don't know how things are going to turn out or if we have to get a VAN, but God knows best. We just had our ultrasound and the technician says she's a GIRL. I'm still in shock. I'm due for another ultrasound in two weeks for better views of the baby's heart..I'll confirm again...but life is never a dull moment even when we feel like we can't handle it. I know that everything will work out and I am thankful for all my kids.

KIDDY UPDATE:

Isaac-is an awesome older brother. He is in the Germany kindergarten and picking up German faster than we know. He even translated for us one time when our neighbor girl stopped by.

Jed-energetic 2.5 year old. He is so good to Baby Gabe always entertaining him when he is upset. His newest thing to the "be the lion" and is often in character. Quite entertaining!

Gabe-he is now 8 months old (almost) loving solids..in fact, he prefer to eat with us than his special baby food. He has two bottom teeth out and a sudo-crawler everywhere. He is so sweet. He loves to be in the midst of the boys.

Uggs

2009-12-22T15:23:00.001-08:00

Isaac turns 4!

2009-12-12T04:43:00.000-08:00

Wow, its weird to say that I have a four year old...one that can dress himself and very self-sufficient. Isaac is our happy, but sensitive child. He gets his feelings hurt very easily and at the same time is very aware of other people's feelings. I can't believe he is 4. We knew this being the first birthday away we needed to do something extra special. We planned a little party on our own with a Thomas the Train theme and right before he came home from pre-school I had decorated the house and even invited our neighbors to come over. We had a little impromptu get together and Isaac was beaming! He even got a video birthday wish from his best friend from home, Hana and chatted with my parents on skype.
See the pictures below...

Month 3 in Germany

2009-12-07T23:32:00.000-08:00

We have finally settled in and unpacked the last box! The other day when Dan and I were driving home, we finally felt like its home and not some place we are living temporarily.I wouldn't say the adjust some easy, we definitely take some comforts of home for granted...such as Target, grocery stores opening on Sundays, costco, and the access to community and friends. The military community presence is very strong, but people are coming and going its not easy making friends. We have met a great couple from Florida, she use to be Mary Poppins and he was the Disney wedding photographer. We went to Paris together and have hung out a few times. Its nice to be able to sit down and just hang out. The other treat is that Adam Ching's mom is here for about 17 months with her husband. Who would of thought? we live about 20-30min away and its definitely so nice to see a familiar face and having someone that knows you from home.

Thanksgiving we spent in Paris. We took the fast train called ICE that goes up to 324km/hr. We were in Paris in 2.5 hours! It was crazy to be in Germany and then next thing we walk out the train station, it was all in French! We stayed around the Opera District and took the Metro around. It was quite a workout bring three kids up and down the metro, but was fun for us and the kids. We had our "Thanksgiving dinner" on the Eiffel tower with our new friends, the Strakas. We didn't dare to go into Museums but went to the Louvre and that was enough for the kids. They loved the glass pyramid entrance. I did eat a lot of asian foods as where we are in Germany, those were hard to come by. Isaac often ask as we roam around the streets of Paris, "mom, are you looking for Chinese food?" We finished the weekend with a night river cruise on the Seine and seeing the city all lite up and a ferris wheel ride by the Champ Elysees.
The kids are adjusting better. Sometime I wonder how do they play with other kids when they don't understand a word? I guess play is universal. Isaac is so big now, he is really growing up. We've been having a hard time for him to get the pull up off at bedtime. He is okay with nap for about a month now we told him no pull up after his birthday. Last night, he did not whine about putting a pull up and was able to wake up in the middle of the night and get me to take him potty. No accidents!
Jed is the bull headed, sweet spirited child...talk about Mr. Independence. He wants to do everything himself even if it takes an extra 30 min. Dan has him trained that every time he gets home, he would take off his coat, tucks his socks in his shoes and put them in his little cubby. At two year old, he is already pooping about 30% of the time on the toilet! Baby Gabe is just like his name, an angel! He is so sweet. God has given us a great baby knowing our circumstance of moving. He is easy to travel with and slept through the night at 10 weeks! He is now sharing a room with his two older brothers.

Dan did his first solo surgery yesterday. Wow, sometimes I can believe he is a surgeon! I am so proud of him as cheesy as it sounds. Him and I are still trying to get a routine down of working out, date nights, traveling, and stuff, but I have to say, all this moving is really helping us grow closer. The reality of it all is there is no one closer than each other and we have to learn to communicate...we are working on that was we go :) well, I hope this gives everyone a quick update on the Solversons!

Gabe the babe

2009-12-03T09:34:00.000-08:00

Our smiling baby!

2009-10-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

First Month in Germany

2009-10-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

Can't believe it, we just passed the one month mark of being in a foreign country. I have to say, just last week as we were driving home to our apartment that we finally feel like we were "going home." Our house goods should be coming in soon..we are living in a 1500 sq foot flat with four bedrooms on top of a Baptist church and above us is a Vietnamese couple who are also pastors. We are on a dead end with a park across the street...pictures to come...

Last weekend, we took our first adventure and went across the border to Metz, France. We visited one of the biggest flea markets and St. Steven's Cathedral, which was so Gothic its almost creepy. The kids did well on the car ride. It was weird driving and suddenly we were in France.

The kids are adjusting well..slowly..we still haven't set a "schedule" like we did before. Day to day could be so different its hard to predict...nonetheless, the days can be filled with laughter, adventures, and throwing fits as well. Isaac is really missing his friends. He understands that we are FAR away and that he probably won't see familiar faces anytime soon..he often asks if his friends misses him or is thinking of him.

Baby Gabe is sweetheart. He is sleeping longer from 7 to 1:30am and then wakes up around 5:30am. He started really smiling and engaging. We are having so much fun with him. He is already in 3 months clothes and due to be two months in two days. I can't believe how fast time has gone by...

Dan hasn't started work yet, so it has been nice to have him around with the kids...as for me, i went on my first run since delivery...boy, its everything flapping around! I'm excited to get back into working out..the nice about here is that everything is so close, i find myself walking everywhere, which is bad as well, because I am mainly walking to the bakery and coffee shop...

for some cultural differences...

water costs more than pop...if you ask for water at the restaurant, they charge you because you are getting mineral water

Speaking of water...everything here is carbonated...they love bubbles!

Germans thinks ice or cold beverages gives you stomach so everywhere you go you get your drink without ice..in fact, some don't even have ice machines.

McDonald here is more like a sit down with a coffee shop and Barista

Nothing OPENS ON SUNDAY! Including the grocery store!

We are in Germany

2009-10-05T03:56:00.000-07:00

Well, the past few weeks has been quite exciting and busy in the Solverson household...after baby Gabe came, we packed up and moved to Germany for Dan's work. I don't think its even hitting us even now that we are in Germany and was on a one way ticket with no return. Here I am sitting at our hotel writing...I am still in awe that God has brought us here!
Here just to sum it all up....

Sept 22 we took off on Luthansana and went direct to Frankfurt...We left our condo three hours early, but the ordeal just began...first, we were at the wrong airline..even though it says "United" we had to beg some guy to help us with our 10 pieces of luggage to the end of the airport to the right airline...then, we were over weight unless we want to pay $150 for each bag...so Dan had to dig through all our bags and repack..meanwhile, Isaac and Jed were running thru the various lines as if they were at an amusement park...we were first to check in on our flight..but were the last to leave the counter! We literally barely got to the gate and it was time to board..sadly, we didn't people to say our goodbyes:( The plan ride was great..we had our own TV and tons of movies and even kids programs...the kids all slept...we were treated like kings and queens with wine, coffee, and tea left and right...

Sept 23..Frankfurt airport
we were picked up by Dan's boss and headed to the airforce base where we were staying at. The kids were tired and so was I...since I was the only one that didn't fall asleep on the 9 hour ride! Dan actually had to leave to get started to check in with work..so, the kids and I hung out at the Ramestein Inn on base and rested. The next few days were a bit hard with the jetlag. Kids were up at midnight wide awake and baby was in a completely different time zone...it took about three days when we finally got the time zone down..

First week in Landstudhl...we got a rental car...which we should of specified automatic..but ended up with stick shift Passat stationwagon. Dan was a bit rusty, but he never killed it on the Autobahn! hahaha...we pretty much took the week to look for potential rentals and finally found one above a Baptist church...its right across the street from a park, on a dead end, and a nursry school nearby..

Second week...we have culture classes this week and is hoping to start moving in..over the weekend, we took the kids to this park in the middle of K-town with live size dinos..its was awesome..for lunch, we had brautwurst and a bun and cake...I will try to post pictures soon...

Welcome Gabriel Joseph Zau-Ming Solverson

2009-09-10T13:05:00.001-07:00

Gab was delivered via c-section on Aug. 29th at 10:09am weighing in at 7 lbs and 9 ounces. 20 1.2 inches. He is by far the smallest of all my babies,but taller than Jed. The c-section was an ordeal itself. When I checked in that morning, I was hoping for a nice uncomplicated delivery, but when the attending doctor came in and was told about my previous c-sections and history of scar tissues, he basically asked me if I wanted to get my tubes tied and warned me that the delivery can be very complicated going in to the same area and cutting through old scar tissues. They even took precaution of placing a second IV fearing of needing to intubate me. I'm not your typical freak out girl, it takes a lot to get me nervous. I was nervous. I hated the idea of being under and have no control and with every epidural that I've had I had a hard time with breathing because of the sedation to your lungs and diaphram. I even asked for some nerve pill but due to potential side effects on the baby, they said I couldn't have any until after the baby was born. I was given both a spinal and epidural in case the surgery took longer than expected. Dan came in while Maureen waiting outside.

During the surgery, I couldn't even talk to Dan because I had to make sure I don't freak out when I am feeling short of breath, I kept asking my CRNA my oxygen saturation and tell myself, I am OKAY. I asked Dan to refrain from talking to me so that I can focus on praying and singing "Jesus loves me" so I don't get anxious. Throughout the surgery, I can hear the attending saying "well, I guess we'll just have to work out way through all these scar tissue" It took them about 2 hours to complete the surgery. Once the baby was out, I felt my anxiety lifted and was finally able to talk to Dan and calm down. But, the surgery was far from over, they had some concern about my abd muscles being too spread apart and concern for future herniation. They had to consult general surgery for possible repair. Surgery was at another call so couldn't come, so here I am lying on the table hearing my third baby cry and couldn't even hold him or nurse him. Dan had to take him out of the OR and get him a bottle he was so hungry! Finally, the doctors were able to get everything "back" in place. I was really out of it the rest of the day. I felt so bad that I barely had enough strength to even hold my new born. That was when I just broke down. But, by the grace of God I was slowly getting better ( not as fast as I would like).

I am about 10 days out...my belly actually swelled up a bit after delivery, but things are finally calming down and I actually feel like I am better. Gab is a wonderful baby waking up about twice a night...really no complaints their. Our two older boys are loving being the older brothers...

in the midst of all, we are also packing for Germany in two weeks. The movers has been here for two days now, and the reality of moving overseas is beginning to come true for me. I am so excited for the new adventure!

Where did the summer go?

2009-08-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

This is probably the longest and hardest summer for us. As we are about to embark on our journey to Germany, between Dan's officer training course to my work, the baby, and the kids we are literally all in three different states. Dan and I made a decision to send the kids home to Chicago for the summer. Aside from our schedules, we know that this summer maybe a while before they'll get to see their extended family. Its been almost 4 weeks since they have been there on their own. I miss them so much and can't wait till they get home soon! Isaac is becoming the big brother and Jed is becoming more talkative and even started talking in 2-3 word sentences. They are having fun with both sides of the family and the best is that they are getting to know their aunts, uncles, and baby Joshua.

Dan is doing officer basic training down in San Antonio. I just visited him with my last weekend of being able to fly. We were able to hang out even went to a water park and relived our good old days. I can't believe that we've been married for 6 years now and I still can't sleep without him. When I got there, I slept over 10 hours the first night, the first since he left.

As for me, I am on my final stretch. I have my c-section in 4 weeks. This baby is a squirmer. I'm at the point where I feel constant pelvic pressure and i know I am showing a lot lower than my other two because I'm not as short of breath as i am with the other two. Work was great, I had a great time working for the military as a contractor. I love my job, but all in all i'm ready for this summer to be over with and my family coming home and finally get our move to Germany going.

If you ever think of us...pray

for safe travel as the kids, Steve, and Dan travels home
safe delivery of baby Gabe
smooth transition of our move to Germany
that our condo can be rented out
God would prepare a fellowship for us there

Life....

2009-06-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

Life has been busy but definitely fun with the kids these days..Jed is finally talking up a storm and voicing his likes and dislikes..and Isaac is finally embracing the joy of being an older brother. He suddenly grew up and such a great help in helping me get stuff for Jed or just playing with Jed. He is very good about sharing and always considerate of his brother. As for number 3, I am on my 29th week..I am feeling good other than tired by the end of the day. I still try to swim as much as I can. The baby is starting to kick quite a bit and I think I'm feeling more uncomfortable earlier than my other two. Sometimes, I can't believe we are on our third child, but like Isaac said "we are a happy family." Dan is great about helping out and being there for all of us...so, in the words of my friend, "I am spoiled":)

The following are some photos of my parents visiting and Heather and Mike in Seattle. It was great visiting and seeing familiar faces.

Graduations

2009-06-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

Wow, its been awhile since we posted...life here is crazy busy! We celebrated Big Isaac's high school graduation and in four days celebrated Dan's residency graduation.I can't believe how fast time has passed. When we first got to Tacoma, Isaac was just graduating 8th grade and now 4 years later..we are having three kids and moving on to another chapter of our lives. I don't know if I felt the relief that he is now a staff or an attending, I'm just glad the "schooling: part of residency is over! Now, its going to be a busy summer with officer training, baby #3, and moving to Germany all within the next three months. We are excited for the move and want people to come visit!

Disneyland!

2009-05-26T21:54:00.000-07:00

Honestly, we were a bit afraid taking a long vacation by ourselves without, but it turned out great and very relaxing. Disneyland was so fun watching the kids enjoy the "happiest place on earth" haha. I think Dan and I have more fun watching Isaac and Jeds expression than anything else and to be able to sharing that excitement with them was priceless!

School photos

2009-04-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

Are my boys growing up?

2009-04-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

So, 24 hours after we find out we are having another baby boy...and we shared with our two boys, Isaac was some-what excited, but said, "but we already have a Jed." and Jed didn't even listen. Today, it seemed like they suddenly grew up overnight.

This morning Dan was gone early taking his boards..and I had the fun with taking both boys to swim class. Isaac's was at 9 and Jed was at 11 therefore, I was at the Y all day long!

At breakfast, Jed, the I-want-to-do-everything-myself, fed himself his cereal with milk and then proceeded with apple sauce while I cleaned up the kitchen a bit. This is one of the few times that Jed is using a spoon and really feeding himself. I was so excited I walked over to find him with applesauce all over his head telling me he is all done. I literally had to rinse him off in the bathtub and then took him to the Y with bits of applesauce in his hair, but through it all, he was very proud of himself...

Isaac is my big boy now..After his swim class usually we go home and Dan would take Jed, but since I'm on my own today, I gave him the option of watching Jed swim or go to the nursery. He decided he wanted to watch Jed swim and understood that he'll have to sit by the pool and watch Jed and I in the pool. And for those 30 min, Isaac really behaved, he didn't cry, didn't whine, he just sat there waved at us and waited. While I was showering and get Jed cleaned up, he got me the soap and towel and was the biggest helper. He even knew to go to the drying machine to dry our swim suites. I couldn't believe it. He is going to be a great help with # 3!

Easter

2009-04-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

We spend Easter morning going through Easter basket and reading the book about Easter and Jesus' resurrection. After church we headed over to the Weissman's house for brunch. Last year, Joy and I celebrated as solo parents with Steve as Chris was deployed and Dan was gone on conference. I had a baby and Isaac, and she had Hannah. This year, we have everyone there and an new addition, Grace. It was great seeing them. The kids had an indoor egg hunt as the northwest was blessed with rain showers!

#3 BOY!

2009-04-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

This is the twenty weeks ultrasound everyone (including me) has been waiting for. I am proud to say that I will be a mother of 3 boys. Baby is measuring right on target about 10 oz. Honestly, part of me was hoping for a girl, even on my way to my ultrasound, I kept thinking to myself what could it be. As I disappointed? Honestly, No. I thought I was going to be, but I am not. I talked my friend Selin right before the ultrasound, the truth is, kids are God's miracle and I'll take all the blessing He is bestowing on us. It was neat to see the baby and hear the heart beat. You would think after two kids these thing would get boring, but each time I hear them or see them on ultrasound, I get so excited and can't wait to hold those tiny hands and body and cuddle. Now the hard part is to think of boys names...

I am posting some ultrasound pictures..one with him having his hand on his chin, the other is with him proclaiming himself and letting everyone know he is a boy, and lastly is his profile and I think he looks like Jed! Then there is me at 20 weeks. I actually feel pretty good other than the occasional heartburn.

19 weeks and counting

2009-04-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

I am at 19 weeks and finally feeling great. The nausea and vomiting has finally subsided, although I still get occasional vomiting session where Isaac would stand by my side "helping me" while I puke. I'm starting to feel the baby a little bit more...I can wait till I can feel those kicks and hiccups. This time around I am finding myself having a harder time sleeping and heart burn. I am already waking up twice a night to go pee and can't find a position comfortable enough to sleep in. As for heart burn, anything I eat I pay for it...it doesn't matter what kind it is. I wish I had a craving so I can eat and feel that satisfaction..oh, do I love food! I started exercising again, which really helps me feel so much better! I wish I could run, but every time I do, I get so winded, I guess we'll just put that off till after the baby comes...

I will need to get some preggo pictures, but with #3 coming along, I've been dying to cut my hair and I love it! I am more comfortable with two kids and definitely looking forward to three. I know people are asking, do you want a girl? honestly? I don't know. I can't imagine having a girl because I have two boys. And even if I do have three boys, I would imagine I would just yell louder than before:) We'll find out soon...

We for us its looking like we may be going to Germany, but no official word yet. I'm thankful for the experiences to come. I had a hard time for awhile of not knowing and honestly we still don't know where we are going yet, but I'm excited for what's to come. The cool thing about it all is that I have my family to share with as cheesy as it sounds. Being away from home has really made our family stronger..anyways, before I cheese myself out...laters

Isaac and Jed

2009-04-06T20:12:00.001-07:00

Isaac and Jed are growing up so fast, I can't catch up sometimes. Isaac is really talking and reasoning with us more and more. Isaac really loves animals and reading. oh, and singing in the car is a must no matter where we go. Jed just started talking probably about a month ago. When Isaac was his age, he was already singing. Jed is more developed at this age with his motor skills. He is quite but deadly. Whenever we turn around, we find him either climbed up on our dining room table or hiding on the second shelf of the toy chest. He loves dancing to music, but more importantly run after Isaac and copying whatever he is doing. This kid also have a love for sweets, where Isaac prefers salty foods. Its amazing watching them two learning to play together and learning to love one another.

Wedding

2009-03-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

Our most recent wedding in awhile. It's kinda nice to be dressed up and go out on a night of fun and catching up with friends. Tram came in from DC and Nimae came in with her pregnant belly. Isaac and Jed dominated the dance floor all night long. Jed danced so hard he had one of the little girls ended up with a bloody nose. Isaac danced so hard, he riped his pants with all of his crouch showing. It was a great time!

Two little soccer players?

2009-02-21T16:54:00.000-08:00

Ski trip to Whistler

2009-02-21T16:31:00.001-08:00

We are sort of counting down the days before we have to leave here...so every opportunity we get we like to go back to places we'll miss. One of them being Whistler BC. Each time that I've been there, i've been pregnant, but this time, the run wasn't too bad, because I had Steve with me. We took it easy and enjoyed the sights. The best part of going on the gonedela between Blackcomb and Whistler. The kids enjoyed swimming and playing in the snow. We wanted to sent Isaac to ski school, unfortunately, he was too scared to even put his winter boots on!

Baby # 3 Here we go again:)

2009-02-06T21:50:00.000-08:00

We are so excited for baby #3 to join the solv clan. My due date is in early Sept. This pregnancy has been very interesting as in I am experiencing true morning sickness and frequent throwing ups. I am at the point of not knowing what to eat or what not to eat, anything could trigger it. I would literally sit down relaxing after dinner and suddenly have an intense urge to vomit and there I go. I am about 10 weeks along. Fatigue is the recurring theme, every night I would snuggle up on the couch with a blanket, but overall, I am feeling well. I know, everyone is thinking maybe this would be a girl. Honestly, we pray that this baby is healthy and happy. God willing children are such gifts from God.

Dan's Finally Home

2009-02-06T21:42:00.000-08:00

After a long two weeks, Dan finally came home from Honduras. He had a great time working with the people and able to help make a difference in their lives. I'll let him tell whenever he feels like blogging...but here are some photos...

As for me, we survived. The final draw was the sunday that my father-in-law was suppose to come in and help out..that morning, I noticed Jed was having some difficulty breathing from 4 am on, everything just seemed labored. He didn't cry just appeared to have a hard time getting his breath. I call Aunt Patty and she was here within 5 min. I was off to the ER with Jed while she took care of Isaac and picked up Steve. Thank God there was no one in the ER, Jed was seen right away and given steriods and breathing treatments. It took him awahile t finally breathing better for awhile we all thought he was going to have to stay overnight for observation, he is such a sweet baby. Most of the time, he just slept in my arms as we waited for the medications to kick in. Seeing Steven when we finally got home was a relief. That week sure went by a lot faster and the kids seem to perk up more. When Dan came home, Isaac literally got so excited he couldn't get any of his words out and Jed just sat on his lap in awe. It was sweet and great to have him home...

Where is daddy?

2009-01-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

I love my husband of 5 years dearly...he is currently on a work mission trip to Honduras for the next two weeks. I am almost amazed at how hard it is for me when he is gone. I feel like it gets harder (not easier) the longer you have been married. I think I started crying even before he left...the good thing is I have been able to talk to him daily and have great family and friends around to help me with food and kids...for that, I am so grateful! and Grandpa Steve is coming to the rescue.:) It has been going okay so far. The kids are in a funk, but they are adjusting and I'm doing better knowing that Dan is okay and having a good time. I just miss him so much.

What I am amazed is that the kids are just as close to him. Isaac ask about him constantly and finally he said, "daddy is going to fly home and have lunch with us" or "I'm going to sing my song when daddy comes home from work and he's not going to work" at one point he even told me"mom, don't cry, daddy will come home soon." Isaac is even having a hard time sleeping...I know it's because he knows that Dan is not around.

As for Jed, we come home and he is searching and yelling for "Da" When Dan finally talked to him on the phone the other day, he literally got this excitement on his face, he was reaching for the phone and waving. When I had to take the phone away, he got so upset, he threw a fit for about half an hour.

Holidays and then some...

2009-01-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

I can't believe the new year has come and is already almost the end of January. Where did the time go? our time in HI felt brief..we had a great chilling out with the Chings and the Weissmans..oh, and running the Honolulu Marathon. It was so fun for me even though I wasn't that fast, I enjoyed watching people run and pushing myself to keep going...I would definitely do it again!

After Hawaii, we basically came back to a snow storm in the NW. Nothing like being a prisioner of your own home! I was literally stuck and couldn't even move my car out of the parking spot because it was so icy. It really frustrated me that people don't salt or invest money in snow plows! Needless to say, I was glad the snow finally melted, but I honestly haven't seen 5 inches of snow at one time since our time in Chicago/Michigan. Dan was driving home with people crashing left and right.

Our holidays were filled with family...my in-laws came in from Chicago and brought tons of gifts for us and the kids..I even felt like a little kids opening the gifts. It was different this year in that Isaac was so much more aware of what presents means and loved every minute of it.

Jed has turned into a monkey. He love climbing on chairs and tables. I often find him looking proud standing in our dining room table--don't worry, he is well supervised!

We started out the new year at Vien Dong, a pho joint in Tacoma on new years eve with steve and mo and the Charlie/Patty clan. It was so much fun just hanging out and eating good food..who said you need a reservation at a nice restaruant on new years eve...I may just have to do that more often! We then took a two day trip to Vancouver for some shopping and food. It was a great way to start out the new year!

Honolulu Marathon

2008-12-21T10:38:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread house

2008-12-21T10:29:00.001-08:00

Making gingerbread house with Enya. Dad got into it more than Isaac and Jed.

Isaac's 3rd birthday

2008-12-06T20:39:00.000-08:00

Cancun

2008-11-23T16:05:00.000-08:00

Now to more fun things, we were in Cancun for 6 days with my side of the family and had a great time eating, swiming, lounging, and doing it all over again. Other than Dan's accident, we had a great time catching up and just doing nothing. Isaac had a great time hanging out in the pool for hours just self-entertaining! Jed, the daredevil, really had not fear and jumped right in with Isaac in the pool!

Dan's Surgery

2008-11-23T16:02:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of Dan's eye after the initial injury---if you were me, you would think it's just a blackeye!

as some of you might of know, Dan went into surgery yesterday for repair of his facial fracture...I haven't had a chance to catch people up, but here is the story.

We were on a family vacation with my side in Cancun, Mexico last week. Second day into the vacation, Dan was playing water polo and within 5 minutes into the game he ran out and told me someone had hit him in the eye with an elbow. He got really concerned because he couldn't really see out of that right eye very well. I checked it out and to me it was just a black eye coming to form. Dan was more concerned for fractures and permanent damage of double vision. I kept telling him he is just paranoid because he knows too much being an eye surgeon. I think I talked him out of it until the descend on the way him. Dan started having more double vision and eye pain. He went into work and got a CT scan and had shown that he had fractured two parts in the eye bone that houses the eyeball. Monday, his boss looked at his scan and said he needed repaired.

Tuesday- we went in around 10 in the morning and Maureen had flown out the night before to help me with the kids. Dan was in surgery by 1pm for an hour and a half. The whole surgery was done really well. The scary part is that the fracture had pushed his bone further back closer to his brain and some of the fractures were shattered. They had to go in and put in a plate to stabilize the fractures. Dan is now home and doing well. He has a black eye and some bleeding, but overall he is okay. Please continue to pray for his recovery. It was quite a scare, but God is faithful for giving Dan the wisdom to know that something is wrong and providing great care to get the surgery done. Dan is probably feel almost back to normal as in that he is not sleeping half of the day or feeling just spent. Mo left this morning, she was a great help for me and helping out with the kids.

Jed's Surgery

2008-10-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

Jed has had issues with his tear ducts since he was born..basically, they don't drain and whenever he get sick, his eyes are just full of greenish discharge and crap...after talking with Dan, we both decided that it would be best to go ahead and operate now rather than later. This morning was surgery day. I had a hard time sleeping last night..something about knowing that your son is going to be intubated even for the smallest procedure or even with the best doctor.

Our morning started at 5:30am with Dan taking Isaac to daycare. Isaac surprisingly was already up and was ready for school. Then I had to wake up Jed and went down to surgical check-in. There is one thing cool about being a doctor's wife, son..boy, did we get the royal treatment. Dan's boss came out, his co-worker went over the surgery with me again (no, I am not a snotty doctors wife). It was nice to know that Jed was in good hands. The surgery was literally 40 minutes from the time he was taken from my arms to me seeing him waking up. He was one mad boy when he got up. He must of thrashed around for at least 10 min. before the nurse came over and gave him some juice. Dan then came by with his case and was able to see Jed post-op. I am very thankful that God was present throughout the procedure. Jed is now happy, well-fed, and playful as if his day wasn't full already. Here is the picture after he woke up from his nap--notice that gash on his face, he gave that to himself when the oxygen mask was still on him, he freaked out.

Its still sunny!

2008-10-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

Its at the end of October here in the supposed cold and rainy northwest. Yet, we had at least a full week of sunshine and warm weather to the 60s! This weekend, Dan dropped me off in Gig Harbor, just at the end of the Narrows bridge and I ran home from there as part of my training for the marathon. For the first couple miles, I felt like I was a runner---run Jo, run..but by like the 9th mile I was thinking of what I was going to gorge on for lunch. Unfortunately, my stomach didn't agree with my brain, I had to stop eating because I ate too fast!

Kiddie update...Jed is officially walking. He is walking all over the place today. You can tell the little man is just so much happier being free.

On another note...It seems like everyone around me is pregnant. Within my blog stalk, I know at least 7 people that are pregnant! The babies are coming! Congrats ladies!

Our cute kids

2008-10-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

Portland AGAIN

2008-10-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, we love Portland, OR. Since we found this cool town, we've been back three times since July. This time we went with our friends, Kristin, Michael, and Enya. They use to live there..so it was nice to go to the local joint and hang out. We went to this little pub that had a children's play area, it was so nice to let the kids play and allow us to catch up. Jed had the most fun when we went swimming at our hotel. He kept putting his face in the water without any fear. Isaac had a lot of fun at the Portland Zoo. It was like walking through a forest.

Its been awhile....

2008-10-21T19:30:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we haven't even blogged for almost a month now...well, time sure has gone and pass...We celebrated Jed's birthday at least three times, once with our small get together, one on his actual birthday (Dan, Isaac, and I ate the cake), and again in Chicago with the Solve's as Grandma and Grandpa got some serious cupcakes. At one year
Jed has:
6 teeth
21# 4 oz
29.5 inches (moved him up to closer to 50th%)
bedtime from 7pm to about 5 am with an 8 oz bottle and then will go back to bed till 7am
enjoys feeding himself
can walk freely about 5 steps (this just happened this week)
hate stuff that are weird in texture
oh, he likes to grab whatever Isaac's got..
Yesterday, I had to leave work because Jed had a low grade fever..as we were home together just the two of us, he was cuddling and smiling..we went grocery shopping, he was delight. I sometimes feel back that I don't have enough of me to go around my kids, I pray and hope that in the midst of busy life..that our kids will still feel loved and treasured.

Isaac is one happy, energetic boy..sometimes I think he is misunderstood for being happy and excited..instead people may view him as hyper or misbehaving, he is a toddler!. He is such a sweet boy and always looking out for others. We were at the mall the other day and Dan had accidentally ran the stroller into my leg. I said "ouch" and moved on, but Isaac ran up to me and said "mom, let me look at it" he examined me and lifted up my foot and make sure it was all okay and then looked up at Dan and goes "dan, you need to say sorry."

Two weekends ago, we took a short trip home for "brother from another mother's" wedding. Lester and Jen Pineda got married in their romantic backyard 10/4th. It was one short weekend, I"m glad we got to see my parents, hang out at my sister and brother in laws pad in Chicago and chill with the Solve's. Kat was so great, she treated me to high tea at the Ritz in Chicago for my 30th birthday..it was yummy!

So, what else is going on? It is official...Dan and I are running the Honolulu Marathon for my girlfriend, Joy, who has rheumatoid arthritis. She is a mom, teacher, and a great friend. We are running with her husband, Chris this Dec. 14, 2008. We are raising fund for the arthritis foundation, please pray that my legs don't fall of..and if you would like to donate for this cause...http://2008jointsinmotionchicago.kintera.org/disney/

2008-09-23T19:12:00.000-07:00

We had a small get together for Jed's b-day! But as you can see the food, half of it was made by my friend Mimi and her sister Kyoung Hee. Thanks ladies!

Lester & Jen Wedding

2008-09-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwi11X684cg

Hello!

2008-09-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

We are still here! I feel like this past month has just gone by in a flash! We celebrated Dan's 30th birthday with the solv's and our friends. He should feel super special while the kids really cared about the balloons and cake.

Jed is inching to 1 year old! I can't believe it! I am still only half way done with his baby book@ He is just a sweet child. Loves and adores his brother...they love wrestling and playing rough. I was cleaning their room one day and those two chased each other crawling back and forth. Jed was laughing so hard I had to tell Isaac to give him a break so he can breath! Jed now has 6 teeth and is one stubborn child. When he doesn't want something, there is NOTHING you can do to make him, especially with eating. When he is done and give you the sign, his lips are sealed tight! I wish he would cuddle a bit more, he doesn't like to be still and is constantly on the move otherwise, I would find him pulling down on my pots of eating my phonebook.

Isaac on the other hand is going through some potty training. I send him home with my mom and she basically had him trained!. He is doing okay since we've been home not close to 100%, but now he can pee in the toilet standing up and is wearing a pull-up. Probably about 50% wet and 50% going to the pot. He still loves his story time and after pre-bedtime chats. The other day, I had a rough day with him and was finding myself yelling more than usual. At our nightly talks, I apologize and told him that his behavior for not listening makes Mommy sad. I knew he understood because he told dan what we talked about when dan came down. At the end of Isaac telling dan about our conversation he goes, "mommy is a good mommy." That really warmed my heart, because I knew he understood.

So what have we been up to? I'm putting up some of our half marathon photos and our trip to DC without kids. I had a hard time. I missed them a lot, but Dan and I also had a great time reconnecting and hanging out. I think he was kinds of sick of me going "I wonder what the kids are doing?" I got to visit my girlfriend, Ditty...my oldest as in she is one of the few people who knows me the longest since Jr. high. My parent and sister, brother-in-law visited. It was a great time hanging out and chilling. I would trust my sister with my kids any day!

Ahh

2008-08-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

"Stop it Jed"

2008-08-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

"Stop it, Jed!" is a common phrase from Isaac to his dear brother. Jed has been trying to be a part of everything Isaac is doing ever since he started crawling and pulling himself up. Sometimes he pulls on him so hard, Isaac's pants end up coming down. The other day, Jed's teacher at daycare asked me if Jed wrestles at home. I was like, yeah, being the little guy, he's usually the one that gets "beat up" at home. So, Miss Tiffany tells me that, Jed was playing with one of the other infants when he decided to jump on the poor girl and start pushing his hand on her face and wrestling with her. Hilarious, but I guess not so funny for the baby girl. They now call him the "WWF baby" at daycare.

Isaac is talking a ton, not the best listener though, I am going through some similar stuff as Sally. Now, he has freedom of speech, he speaks up a lot more and disagrees. But overall, he is a pretty good kid. He loves being my helper around the house and with Jed. Our favorite say before we leave the house is--I say "ready to go?" Isaac replies "rock n' roll." He is so sweet and dear to my heart.

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!

2008-08-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

Dan and I celebrated our five year anniversary with first running the half marathon and then in the afternoon, we dropped our kids off at Rob and Mimi's and headed up to to the Seattle Grand Hyatt for a night out. When we got to our room, we saw this. It was a huge gift basket delivered by Mimi. She had a made a special trip to seattle the day prior just to set it up. We were so surprised and excited, it really made us feel so blessed to have great friends! We went around town and went back to the hotel and watched a movie. The funny part was even though we were kidless--Dan still woke up in the middle of the night thinking he heard Jed crying and I just really missed them. We woke up or I should say I woke up bright and early and ordered fancy room service before we went out for some more retail therapy. It was a great weekend. I am truly blessed! Thanks Rob and Mimi!

Narrows Bridge Half

2008-08-04T20:39:00.001-07:00

Dan and I ran the Narrows Bridge half-marathon on 8/2. Exactly 5 years earlier, we were getting married. Dan pointed out an interesting point, the morning of our wedding, I drove out to McDonalds with my girlfrieds for my last bachelorette breakfast. On the day of the half marathon, I got up super early and yup, ran out for an other Mcdonalds run...sure was yummy! If you are interesting in reading my half-marathon journey feel free to read on...

So, we started on the Gig Harbor side, the anticipation was killing me a bit. I couldn't decide if I wanted to Dan to run with me or not, but I figured, it would be nice for me to have him around, because he is good at pushing me. But, I am an oxygen hog so I asked him not to talk but run next to me. The first couple of miles was fairly easy, running over the Narrows bridge was an experience that I will never forget. I drive over it all the time, but to run the mile stretch was an awesome view of the sound and the mountains. I was a bit worried because during training, my knees has been killing me, thanks to the new shoes, I have no knee pain what so ever. Going from Route 16 to the off ramp was the killer, I walked a little bit, but was able to pick right back up. By 4.5 miles, I got some water and gel, and I wish people would tell me to eat the gel first and than drink water because I had this nasty vanilla paste in my mouth! We ran through Cheney Stadium and paralleled Route 16 for awhile. The cool part was that this one guy who was running a bit ahead found out it was our anniversary during on the first water station. For rest of the way, we were greeted with "Happy Anniversary" at every water station from then on. It was a sweet surprise and by then, Dan wouldn't dare to leave me fearing if he showed up at a water station by himself, people would think he is a jerk for ditching me, hahaha!

The final stretch was hard even though I've ran 4 miles all the time, but my thighs were getting sore and my music was getting boring. So Dan and I switched IPODs and that helped a bit, by the time I saw the finish line, I knew I could finish it. No, dan and I did not hold hands, but we were able to finish together.

533 DANIEL 29 M M2529 02:37:46 02:37:12
534 JUI-HAN 30 F F3034 02:37:46 02:37:12

I still can't believe we got the same time, right down to the tenth of a second.

Poor Dan, he could of ran much faster, but I don't think I could of done it without him...pictures to come...

Life is no longer the same....

2008-08-04T20:26:00.000-07:00

In the past two weeks, I've turned the big 30 and celebrated Dan and I's 5 year anniversary. But the interesting part is that I don't feel so different and I don't feel particular old either. I feel like even more an adult. I was reading one of my friend, Shandis's blog when she turned 30, she was so right that in the 20s it was a time to find oneself and 30s is time for others. I totally agree. I don't think I know who I am or still struggling to find my role in this world. Here I am at 30 a wife, mother, with a career and blah blah. I have may roles God calls me to be, and I am excited to embark the next 30 years with hopefully a different point of view. I would like to focus on others: helping my kids find themselves and discover this large, but small world God has created, or embark on the mission field we've been called to be, be that supportive partner to further my husbands passion-eyes, to be that supportive friend when she/he needs a hand, to be that daughter called to serve, I guess I'm more excited than anything. There are many things I want to accomplish an do, but I can truly say, I am happy and I love my life. I don't life a picture perfect life, but I was squeezing my brains out trying to help Dan out with a birthday present...and honestly, I have been blessed with a very awesome husband who knows my needs and wants and selflessly supports me in my dreams and kids who loves me no matter now I imperfect I am.

Here is Dan taking my out on my birthday dinner date at Stanley's and Seaforts.

Our family on our short Mt. Rainer climb. We went with our friends, Rob and Mimi, whose daughter, Hana is Isaac's best friend. We made it to snow, but the same part is we can still see the parking lot...

I vs J

2008-07-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa visit

2008-07-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

Which included a weekend to Portland via Amtrak.

Amigos

2008-07-13T20:16:00.000-07:00

Hanging with the girls, again. We're confident that the manly snake-vulture tatoo offsets the glam-froo-froo shoes.

Welcome Thad Lambert!

2008-06-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Seth and Janelle on their baby boy, Thaddeus James Lambert (I hope I'm spelling his name right) born today! Welcome to the children's club! Your lives will forever be changed and forever be blessed! We are so excited for you both!

San Diego family vaca

2008-06-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome Addison!

2008-05-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

Welcome Addison Kanaelilia Ching born 5/29/08...

Congratulations to Adam and Shandis on their new baby girl! We can't wait to meet her!

Who's who?

2008-05-28T21:10:00.001-07:00

Can you tell which two pictures are Isaac and which two are Jed?

2008-05-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

These days, Jed is more often able to fend for himself during bath time since he is officially crawling. Compared to Isaac, he's definitely more on the serious side, but he'll often let loose with a giggle and a smile. As you can see, they wear the same size diaper.

Jo thought it would be so cute for Isaac to finish his cold stone in the car. She thought he had until she discovered the cone tucked away in the the car seat the next day. Not so cute.

Tacoma City Marathon 10K

2008-05-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

I must clarify because people are thinking that we ran the marathon, when we only did the 10K! Dan was too lazy to update..we ran the 10 K, which was part of the marathon...but hopefully, you will see more "marathons coming." I find it more of a challenge to train and reach that goal has been good exercise and also goals to reach..next up--Narrows Bridge Half Marathon. We are running it on our 5 year anniversary!

Guys day out-photo shoot

2008-05-11T22:09:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos, Dan and Rob took on their rare guys day out around town. I recommend whoever reads this blog and works for Lucky--you have a new male model.

Catch up Time...

2008-05-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

Time has been flying at our house..Jed is now seven months..he has been sitting up and crouching quite a bit..just two days ago, he started from stomach to sitting up and started holding his bottle. Yay! Jed is getting to be a big boy eating three solid meals daily and enjoy playing under the crib with his brother.
Jed is our super chill man, he loves to be around people, but never fusses or cries
Dan calls him our observer.

Here is Isaac and Hannah at the Puyallup Spring Fair with Joy. Isaac only went on a few rides before he got freaked out, also, over half of the rides, he was way too short--I hope he doesn't have my genes when it comes to height!

Last weekend, Selin and I went on a girls day out-Shopping, while Dan and Bruce took the kids out to the Pacific Science center--here is Isaac and Rohan on the ride.

Tacoma City Marathon-10 K..for mother's day, Dan and I did the Tacoma 10 K together. I normally do not like running with Dan because he is a lot faster than me, but we decided to run together, but he cannot talk to me because I am an oxygen hog. We had a really good run thru downtown and stadium/theatre district...it was slow but nice pace..at the end, I sped up and sprinted for the finished line, little did I know, Dan was behind me walking up a hill...needless to say, let the time tell the story.

315 Jui-Han Tacoma , WA 29 F 33 137 210
Chiptime 01:09:00.0 Finish 01:09:05.0
314 Daniel Tacoma, WA 29 M 10 74 211
Chiptime 01:09:03.5 Finish 01:09:08.5

YES, that is correct, I beat Dan by 3 seconds! And he honestly did not try to let me win!

Well, this is a quick catch-up on our end, we've been having a great time getting to know new friends, trying to work-outs (the spinning class killed my butt, overall was a good experience though)..Dan found a new photo buddy..and our family of four is just getting comfortable and enjoying everyone's company!

Re-tagged

2008-05-11T21:45:00.000-07:00

The rules are:

* The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
* Each player answers the questions about themselves.
* At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

The questions for Mimi:

What I was doing 10 years ago:
Ten years ago, I would of been just graduating from East HS and heading to UIUC for college.

Five things on my To Do List today:
1. Fold laundry
2. Put kids to bed
3. Run
4. Sleep
5. Fold more laundry that Jo left from the week before

Snacks I enjoy: Thin mints, mint chip ice cream, fruit pies, banana pudding

Things I would do if I were a billionaire: pay off student debt, pay off my house, and my family's..and help out whoever..oh, and then invest in ?stocks. Ha
Three of my bad habits:

1. I scratch my head and rub my hands when I get excited
2. I am a maniac when it comes to cleaning
3. I love my mac

Five places I have lived:
1. Rockford, IL
2. Urbana-Champaign, IL
3. Detroit, MI
4. Kansas City, MO
5. Quito, Ecuador

Five jobs I've had:
1. Lawn mower
2. Office Assistant-data entry
3. Chem TA
4. Worked in a foundry and drove a fork truck
5. Retail, all departments, even womens plus sizes!
6. Tech support person

Current position: Resident

I tag Rob, Seth, & Adam

we are still here!

2008-04-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

So, there is much to update...since our last post, Dan is finally done with his boards and now we can relax and have fun!...He was studying daily for a few weeks...we literally felt like he hasn't been home. Isaac would come in our room surprised and said "oh, Daddy, your home?" it was cute and sad at the same time...

Jed is now 7 months and ready to crawl...he would put up his little legs and trying to move..he is so sweet and honestly, an easy baby..he loves playing with his old brother..it would be Isaac trying to hop over him or at times pull on his hair..he is always giggling..he is even more intrigued with his dad. When Dan is home and dosen't say hi to him after he gets in the door..you can see his eyes following dan around and start to whine...He is now eating three meals of solids and waking up once a night around 4-5, which has been great for us. They both go to bed at the same time, so after 7pm party at our house...:)

Isaac is talking up a storm..thank GOd for kids, because they sure put you in your place. One morning, I had a really hard time with Isaac. He was probably in timeout 2 or 3 times already. We got into the car with me still upset and didn't really feel like talking. Once we got driving, Isaac goes..."mommy, lets pray" I was like "you want to pray" Isaac replied, "yeah, lets pray." here are a few fun thoughts from a toddler...

after having a little hard time with bowl movement--"Mommy, I have a rain-deer in my butt, its ou-ie"

"mommy, i have a good idea, lets go to church and then hana's house. I think that's a good idea"

"mommy, i have a fever in my toe"

"daddy, you have an ou-ie?"--pointing at the zits on dan's face

"I'm a king and grandpa is a fat kitty cat"

"I have a big penis too..and daddy and Jed-di-di"

"a worm bite me"

"leave me alone, i'm doing something"

"no, Jed, don't touch me" --as Jed sat helplessly in one spot

"oh, that's my church"--as we drive by

"mommy, i go to big boy class. I'm not a baby"

"I want a drive a little bit"

Embarrassing story

2008-04-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

Gon-gon and Po-po recently visited Taiwan and sent us a whole box of gifts that they got from there for us. Isaac's favorite gift is this new shirt (shown front and back). He likes all the letters even though sometimes they don't make sense. Yesterday, he wore it proudly to church, and I'm sure as soon as it makes it through the laundry, it'll be on him again this week.

On another note, I might be losing my touch with the art of hosting guests at our house. Saturday we made a last-minute decision and invited Mimi and Rob over for dinner. Jo took Isaac and went grocery shopping for the ingredients, while I had the dirty job of cleaning up the house with Jed. (Jo makes fun of me, but I always clean the house in only my boxers.) In the midst of all the noise from the radio and the vacuum, I didn't really even hear our early-arriving guests open the door and walk in, witnessing me full-frontal in my favorite camouflage underwear. Although it set the mood for a much more casual evening, i think it's safe to say that they definitely lost most of their appetite. You could even say that we bonded.

2008-04-01T20:09:00.001-07:00

Didn't you know that grandpa is actually two words?

2008-04-01T19:32:00.000-07:00

Tagged

2008-03-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Sally

The rules are:

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
Each player answers the questions about themselves.
At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

And here's the meme:

What I was doing 10 years ago:
So ten years ago, I would still be back at UIUC finishing up my junior year hanging out with friends--Sally, Adam, Lester, Ren, and Dan ...our little group of 6..I was also very involved with Intervarsity ministries...those where the good old days!

Five things on my To Do List today:
Dentist appt
Jed's 6 months appt
Lunch with Cousin Isaac
Shower
Workout
oh, and mom's night out with my MOPS group

Snacks I enjoy: Starbucks, chocolate, my new thing is USANA shakes, cake (specifically white frosting on chocolate cake)

Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Pay off my parents, parent-in-law, sister, dan's siblings house for them and our of course...10% to God..pay off our student loans, build a house in roatan and then invest the rest

Three of my bad habits:
1. I like doing the laudry, but hate folding it and putting it away
2. Anxious about tomorrow...even when tomorrow is like a year from now
3. Biting my nails when I am nervous

Five places I have lived:
1. Lisle/Naperville, IL
2. Urbana, IL
3. Dearborn, MI
4. Tacoma, WA
5. Taipei, Taiwan

Five jobs I've had:
1. Nurses aid
2. Data entry person
3. Front Desk Receptionist for a church
4. Tutor
5. Nurse

Current position: Adult nurse practitioner

Five people I want to know more about (a nice way of saying TAG!):
1. Adam & Shandis
2. May Yang Lee
3. Michelle Yu
4. Mimi
5. Brian and Carrie Turpin

Finally cut!

2008-03-22T22:18:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about getting a haircut for awhile now..while we were at the PX, i walked by the salon..so Isaac got a cut and so did I...I was honestly freaked out at first since I get so many bad haircuts! But the final outcome wasn't too bad...what do you think? this is after shower without anything done to it..its kinda hard to see we even tried to use a garbage bag as a trash bag to show it better...its too dark right now..maybe more photos later

california pictures and movies update

2008-03-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

Finally, a little time to update the world...so, we had a short getaway to San Jose, CA two weekends ago for a wedding..Dan was asked to be the officiant, which was really neat and an honor to be part of Tram and Tom's big day...it was a traditional Vietnamese wedding with a western twist--Dan as the minister..hahaha..we had a lot of fun and had tons of great food!
The other highlight, for me especially, I got to hang out with my childhood friend, Jessica Yang now Stone and her family. I think last time I saw her, Sofia was just one...and now she is four. It was really nice to catch up..i felt like we never lost touch and was able to just chat and chat..oh, and eat! Yummy Dim Sum, even though Charles says it wasn't the best. Dan and I can't imagine what good dim sum would be then...then, Jess and I ventured to the local bubble tea joint with taiwanese fried chicken...I was heaven..i mean, you get these stuff on the streets of taiwan and here I am having it melt in my mouth!

Isaac and Jed are both good travelers..Isaac slept on a queen size bed all by himself without falling off..and Jed is getting so much more interactive. At one point during the reception, Isaac scoped out a dance partner, ran straight to her and brought her to the dance floor, by himself. It was hilarious for Dan and I to watch! He was very persistent in asking "where's the girl?"
Isaac hit it off with Sofia and Sarah pretty well. They would watch a princess movies together, while Isaac keeps asking Sofia "what happened?" I miss good friends:(

2008-02-21T19:06:00.000-08:00

Isaac got a formal Chinese outfit (complete with rat-tail hat) from his cousin who just got back from a month-long exchange program across China. When he wears it, he walks up to complete strangers and says, "My name is Issac. I'm a king!" We don't know where he got that one. And, yes, we often let him ax on Jed.

How to break bad news...

2008-02-20T20:22:00.000-08:00

This time has finally came for me...just two days ago, for the first time in my short nurse practitioner career I had to tell a patient that he has cancer. It was one of the hardest thing I've ever done...to look someone in the eye and tell them, they have cancer. To look at their family member and tell them, we found cancer...

My job has a focus on adult primary care, which means, I see a lot of chronic illness as well as routine preventative care. The cool part of it all is that I get to see patient get better and follow-up with them from time to time. Before you know, you are not only their health provider...you start to learn about their family lives, work situation, and more importantly, develop a relationship with them. It was a shock to my system to have to share the news...I ended up breaking down in front of them...I don't know how to describe it, but I feel for them and wish I could give them a pill and tell them, this will make you feel better. This is not a simple sinus infection that you can treat, but my boss said a cool thing...we may not be able to help treat, but we can be there to be their support, make sure they get in with the specialist..and let them know, we are available...for that, I love my job...I thank GOd for this career path to allow me to help people.. this experience renewed my passion for medical mission...I want to do more...be out there for people...thanks for reading...

Singing in Chinese

2008-02-20T19:32:00.000-08:00

It's Isaac's newest thing, Jo just sang it to him a couple times and he picked it up right now. This is "Jesus loves me" he is pretty good...

Children's museum photos

2008-02-14T19:40:00.001-08:00

Hawaii 2008

2008-02-13T11:59:00.000-08:00

We got back about two weeks ago from a week vacation on the Waikiki beach with Steve, MO, Keri and Dave. It was a great time chilling on the beach and hanging out at the Hale Koa pool. Steve was the grandfather/ baby hog...he had Jed in his arm 24/7, which thanks to him and Mo, Dan and I were able to have some time alone and rest. We did the typical tourist stuff..but most of all we got to catch up with family, each other and friends.

Meet baby Ching soon to come...Adam and Shandis were great hosts..we miss our friends already!... Its amazing after years of UIUC and cleaning the ching's ceiling fans we return back to HI with a family. We had so much fun hanging out with Adam and Shandis..from tea at the Sheraton to visiting their cozy home and enjoying yummy food at Mac 24/7...they are truly friends for life. Dan and I are amazed how easliy we just get back to the swing of thing as if, we've never left or lost touch...

Doanes--Mark, Tina, and Camden came down for a visit at the pool and watching the Penguins at the Hilton. Even Isaac had friends to catch up with! It was neat to catch up..even better to see Mark finally home from deployment.

as for the kids...Isaac start speaking in full sentences..just one morning, he came up to me and said "mommy, I need my diaper changed" from then on , he was a different person. Jed is getting so cute and cuddly..he is the sweetest baby ever...He is beginning to be more social and showing his needs. If he sees my across the room, he would start to laugh or even whine a little until I come and hold him...Dan, had a good time hanging out with his family..it's never enough time for the brothers...I love my family!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAY!

2008-01-17T11:26:00.000-08:00

Its a day late, but we did call her on her b-day...happy birthday MAY

Jed di-di and Big Brother

2008-01-17T09:55:00.000-08:00

Jed is almost 4 months now...he's got two bottom teeth fighting to pull through, which is a lot earlier than Isaac did. He is sleeping pretty good. going down at 7 with Isaac and usually is up once at 2 and then 5ish, which is doable for dan and I..although, Isaac was down for the count since 3 months...but Jed is probably one of the best babies I know..and I thought Isaac was easy. He has a really easy going personality..laughs at everything..I almost feel guilty sometimes that because he is so good, I don't spent enough time with him.

Isaac on the other hand is more and more like a little boy. He is very vocal was his needs and wants. Time-outs has been a frequent thing unfortunately...but he responds well. He is also doing so much better with his little brother. He loves giving Jed kisses and hugs....at times even tries to pick him up, but usually concludes "Jed di-di too heavy." ...

The good old days

2008-01-11T16:01:00.000-08:00

My oldest girlfriends, Ditty and Freda visited over the weekend. It was a real treat when Dan stayed home with the kids and let me have an overnight in Seattle with them. It's been almost 5 years since we've all been together and that was our wedding...The coolest part of it all is that, we don't talk regularly, but when we got together, it was as if never lost touch...we weren't awkward...in fact, almost scary how we are so open... i'm realy grateful for them...it's like they are one of the few people in my life that knows me since jr. high..

Christmas and New years

2008-01-11T15:30:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the late posts...things are just slowing down since the holiday...we had a great time with Steve and Mo. It's nice when family come out and just being able to hang out and catch-up. Dan's schedule wasn't bad over the holidays, which was nice and that we were able to catch-up with some friends. We visited with the Stalls at Zoo lights and got to see the Lambert clan (thanks for bring the yummy food too!)

Videos

2007-12-24T16:45:00.000-08:00

over the weekend

2007-12-11T20:15:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, we not only celebrated Isaac's second birthday..we were super busy running around. Saturday I went a Christmas luncheon at a friend's church. It was really nice hanging out with ladies and just remember the meaning of Christmas. Dan on the other hand, took the kids with my friend's husband to a German St. Nicholas festival. Although, everyone spoke german to him, he had a lot of fun, and Isaac ate every sweets there were presented to him!

Saturday night I had my work party. It was a great excuse to dress up and hang out with people outside of work.

Sunday--Seattle Jingle Bell Run for the Arthritis foundation 5 K. I ran it and Dan walked it with the kids. He backpacked Isaac and frontpacked Jed. Isaac's hands were frozen by the end, but he keep sing jingle bells and really enjoy the holiday festivities. I don't know my final time yet, but from just going by the songs I was listening to, should be about 30-35 min. I had a great run. It had two hills than we ran thru the I-5 Express tunnel while everyone was singing Jingle Bells. I had a celebrtiy sighting as well. I saw Susie and Matt from the Biggest Loser! It was neat since I"m addicted to the TV show...

2007-12-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

Isaac's birthday party with the family! It was a praise jam at the Solversons!

2007-12-08T16:25:00.000-08:00

2007-12-08T16:18:00.000-08:00

Isaac singing

2007-12-08T14:54:00.000-08:00

So much to update!!!! Where should I start?

2007-12-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2007
The day before Thanksgiving, Isaac came down with the Hand Foot and Mouth disease. And it's not pretty..he got blisters in his mouth making it hard for him to eat and rashs of blisters on his palms and soles...poor kid. He would take a bite of food and scream because it hurt so bad. We spent the day lounging around and then went over to the Solversons for the festivities. We topped off the night by watching Blades of Glory...The following morning, I was up by 5am with jed and then hit the malls by 6am and left the kids with Dan. Let me tell you...it was CRAZY!!!! But, i guess the fun of it was just being in the holiday season..I wish I had more people to give presents to...

Now I have offically gone back to work...it wasn't as bad as I thought...between getting two kids ready in the morning and pumping through out the day, it hasn't been too bad...my boss is really laid back and easy to work with. Our offical sign is that if I have a picture of my kids on the door--i am pumping.

Jed sleep 8 hours at 10 weeks but still refer back to 4-6 hour every couple of days...in the past two days, he has been sleeping 4 hours and feeding every 3 hours..he finishes the 5 ozs of the bottle too..he is a growing boy! He is the sweetest baby...always smiling and very chilled. Isaac will be playing rough with him, he would still laugh back and just hang out with us. THe brothers I know will be great friends. They are both sleeping in the same room and Isaac isn't waking up anymore by Jeds cries in the middle of the night. If Jed is not in the room with Isaac in the morning, Isaac would roam around the house going "Jed di-di." Very sweet!! I can't remember when kids roll over, but just yesterday I put him on his stomach and I turned around he was on his back....

Isaac just turned two yesterday. We had a little party just ourselves...We decorated his room the night before with streamers and balloons...The following day, did he feel like the special boy. He was singing happy birthday all day to himself. The highlight was going to the doctor for his 2 year check up...He was very cooperative and enjoyed beging "checked out" except for the two shots he got, which immediately afterwards, he said to me "Isaac go, Isaac go.." I guess that was enough for him and he was ready to go...Potty training--we are not pushing it, but we did buy a potty and are just more aware whenever he is about to go especially pooping. He has been telling us whenever he goes to poop for months now..so in the past week, we've been catching him starting to push, we would then rush him to the toilet. He gone in the potty twice and very proud to see his poop get flushed away!

Dan--he is the best dad ever! Whenever he is home, he takes over the kids and lets me have my time....which has been nice...the best part is that, he is the one getting up at night...we are finally adjusting as a family of four, and it wouldn't of been so smooth without Dan being so hands on and helpful..the other morning Isaac asked, where's daddy..I said, at work..Isaac answered "oh, yeah" just daily fun with the KIDS!

2007-11-21T14:33:00.000-08:00

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=11723840

2007-11-16T12:52:00.000-08:00

Jed's 8 week appt (though not quite 8 weeks yet)

2007-11-14T20:22:00.001-08:00

Jed-di-di is what I call him..he is now entering 8 weeks old next monday. He has been sleeping 6 hour stretches, but starting at 7pm, which wasn't set by me but himself. For some reason, he will not stay awake pass 7, wondering if he knew that his brother was going down that same time. With Isaac, we had to stay up till 10 and then he'll do his 6 hours stretches as we call it--sleeping thru the night:) but back to Jed. He'll sleep from 7 to about 2am and wake up every two hours from then on, which is not too bad..in fact, since we've been back from Chicago, we've been going to bed around 8:30 -9...kinda in between time zones...

The appointment--

Weight 13lbs 10 ozs--90th percentile
Height 23.25 inchest- 75 percentile
Head 15.25cm- 40th percentile
He cooed the whole way through the appt. THe doctor was like, is he like this all the time? yup, we have a talker, he has been like this since 5 weeks old. He is so interactive, which made me love him even more! He had a hard night last night after the shots..i'm crossing my fingers as in how he'll sleep without the vaccination still brothering him..will update soon!

We are back!

2007-11-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

Jacob and Jed
Before the reunion--check out my ghostly face--its an illusion the makeup artist was trying to create.
Solversons

Solversons and yangs at my church
Jeanette and Lester
Isaac and his friend, Nathan--if we lived closer, these twos would be
best of friends!
Isaac and my sister

We are back from our week in Chicago...boy, do we miss home...nothing like the easy access to family, friends, and of course for me personally-chinatown:) We went there twice in one day..kinda crazy...The plane ride was good, Isaac was doing really well until landing after waking up still tired! Jed pretty much slept the whole way, which was nice..the hardest part was trying not to pack so much, but how can you when you have two kids...we had three suitcases, two car seats, one stroller, my breast pump, diaper bag, oh, and our two kids...It was nuts! I should of taken a photo of our stuff!

It was a jammed packed week from visiting family to friends...and meeting new friends (Jen) as well. It awesome to see my kids playing with our friend's children. I hope and wish that our friendship will last through generations..what a blessing!

Highlights:
Yang's home coming dinner was food heaven...as my parents welcomed us home with tons of friends and family from my church
Visiting the Burks at their new Narnia
Hanging out in Chi-town with my sister, Michael, the Wongs, and Muriel..oh, and catching up on Heroes till wee hours of the night (DAN!)
Kat's awesome massage treatment and some good quality time catching up and hanging out
Stall's gourmet meal and seeing the kids play together was such a treat!
Meeting Jeanette and seeing old friends--Lester, Judy, Courtney
Chicago outing with my sister and hanging in her new dig as Dan catches up on "Heroes"--he stayed up till 3 am!
Hanging out with Carla and her baby Jacob
Hanging out with the Solversons and celebrating Kat and Mo's b-day
Shopping by myself--trust me, it was great!
Power shop with Mo and Keri

One of the main highlight was Dan's 10 year high school reunion...can you believe it, 10 years? It was a nice night out for Dan and I..can you can see, I got my makeup done at the Estee counter...I didn't realize how ghostly white my makeup was until the photos, yikes! But, it was nice to see some of Dan's friends that I've only heard about and never met.

Every time I see family and friends it makes me treasure those moments even more...it's amazing how even though we live states away that we always have great family and friends whom always hang in there with us as we journey thru life...

Isaac vs Jed at 5 weeks

2007-10-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

Isaac

Jed

Isaac

Jed

Finally, the double stroller...Halloween

2007-10-31T11:26:00.000-07:00

Finally, after some convincing telling Dan that I cannot juggle two kids with one stroller...and after visiting several stores and talking to random strangers, we found the double stroller! Its lite and compact! Its the Joovy sit and stand, I saw it on Jackie's blog and tried it out at the store...and we are loving it!

Below are also some pictures of Isaac bonding with his brother. He is getting better in terms of being gentle..every morning, he would run into our room looking thru playpens and blankets for the baby..."where baby go?" he would ask...then, I had to remind him that the baby is sleeping with him in his room now. Its amazing that after a few weeks of sharing a room, Isaac dosen't even wake up to Jed's cries..thank GOd!

Today is Halloween..and Isaac is the fierce tiger..as you can see..he loved this outfit. We already had a dress rehearsal over the weekend..he even said "mommy, color Isaac" so I can paint his face:) He is so sweet! We are thinking of going to our church's Fall Harvest Carnival....more to come..

Jed at 1 month

2007-10-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

At one month, Jed is still sleeping about Q3 Hours..what is interesting is that by 7pm he is ready for bed. He would sleep till 9:30pm and go back to bed and basically start his night routine. The interesting part is that every day around 4:30am he is up for his feeding, but would wake up at 5:30am and then finally go back to bed at 6:30am. So, Dan is basically up from 4:30am on...we are wondering since its not until later that we would try to give the baby an earlier bedtime, but that with the earlier bed time Jed set for himself is causing him to wake up earlier. He is not hungrey at 5:30am..just wanted to move..so typically, I would move him to bed with him and he would sleep till about 7:30am...boy, this kid is awake a lot more than I remembered about Isaac. Isaac was always sleeping...

2007-10-24T18:38:00.000-07:00

On her way out the door to a dinner party, Jo poses for the camera.

Isaac actually smiled for this year's school pictures.

Jed is 4 weeks old

2007-10-23T15:49:00.000-07:00

I am a bit lazy on downloading pictures..so more to come on that...Its been 4 weeks since Jed's born and boy, what a significant different from overwhelming, emotionally rollercoaster to now, enjoying my KIDS. Isaac is doing better in adjusting to his new brother that is not going anywhere anytime soon. He still wakes up periodiaclly, but has been really good for the past few days. He is talking up a storm..yesterday, we asked him what he learned at school, he mumbled something I didn't understand so I kinda brushed it off. I could tell Isaac knew that I had no idea what he was saying so he kept repeating it...finally dan goes, "Astranut!" I was like, no way...well, we looked at his daily progress sheet and yes, they learned about Astronut and Isaac was so excited that we finally understood him!

Jed is sleeping 2.5 to 3 hours...haven't hit that 4 hour stretch like Isaac did, but from pumping breastmilk, he is already chowing down 4 oz at a time...overall, his schedule has been somewhat predictable and boy does he get mad when food is not getting to him fast enough. Last night was a bit rough, I think he's got a cold of some sort--nose was all stuffed up, which was hard for him to breath thru his nose...He is smiling--don't know if its just gas, but I say he is smiling.

As for Dan and I, we found a great college babysitter...first time was over the weekend as a trial...so we can go on regular date night...this is how sad we are, we left the house and didn't even know what to do...we finally decided to go to Borders to sit, read, and chat. we both got a coffee..after about 10 min. Dan was like, are you done with your mocha? I looked down, and I was probably 1/4 left. We laughed and realize that we've been on kids mode, everything was in a hurry...

As for me recovering from my c-section---I am so much better...I started running/ slow jog..at 2 weeks. I know I wasn't suppose to, but the exercise really boost my energy dispite the sleepless nights. I've been taking Jed with my to the Y and have him in the carrier, while I do cardio or wts. I am still craving sweets, mainly chocolate--I thought that part of the pregnancy was over already..oh, well...

Mo visit, Pumpkin Patch, & Sleep Update

2007-10-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

Maureen was nice enough to come out on a short notice to help out. In fact, she had the baby with her for three nights doing the feedings and changing diapers so Dan and I can get some uninterrupted sleep! That was a God-send, I didn't realize how much more human I feel to get some sleep! She also helped cleaned our house and organized the the kids clothes and added some new fun shoes for Isaac!

Over the weekend, we went to a Pumpkin patch just outside of Tacoma. Isaac really enjoyed the hayride and looking at the chicken. The Pumpkins were a bit big and dirty, which he refused to touch, but did manage to find a school bus in the patch.

Sleep update....When Jed was with Mo, he was doing really well, fairly spaced out. Last night we had him, we put him down at 7pm sound asleep, woke up at 10 for feeding and slept till 1am...from 1 to 2:30am, he was sleeping, but grunts all night. Dan and I were going crazy! By 4am he was up for another feeding, the grunting stopped when we put him in our bed, wondering if anyone elses baby is like that? Last night was Isaac's first night sleeping thru the night in two weeks. I hope its a sign that he is adjusting. It has been hard going between one baby to another...

Baby Jed Video

2007-10-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

Isaac video

2007-10-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

2007-10-13T09:49:00.001-07:00

So Isaac's newest words are "breast pump" and "nipple." He's been marching around the house with the nozzle of the pump attached to his stomach.

Sleep PLEASE!!!

2007-10-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I should pray for sleep for Isaac or Jed? I've started bottle feeding breastmilk on Jed during the day because I've notices that he tend to nibble less, which I am going to try for night time. He will almost always sleep 3-4 hours on the first nightly feeding waking up around 1am, but after that, its nursing for 40 min and then up again in an other hour an a half. He maybe going through a growth spurt..in two weeks he went from 8 lbs 40zs to 9 lbs 6 ozs., but I am finding that it's easier for him to eat from a bottle than nursing...so we'll see...as for the other sleeping situation...Isaac has been up every night since Jed got home, which has been hard for us. Last night, he was up at 1 am and I walked him back to his room at least 10 times before Dan went in to lay down with him. Needless to say, none of us got any sleep...where is the light at the end of the tunnel? I am tired!

2 weeks after birth....

2007-10-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

Well, to say having two kids is easy is an UNDERSTATEMENT! Today marks two weeks since we had Jed....overall, I feel great physically surprisingly not horribly sleep deprived. The hardest part would have to be the emotional aspect of having two kids. I am incrediably overwhelmed with emotions when is comes to two kids. I've been struggling to feel adquate as mother. I know I will never be perfect, but by God's grace I am here for my kids. I've been struggling with feeling guilty not being able to spend as much time as I would like with Isaac. Its hard for me to see him struggle to adjust as well. He has been very nice to his brother, but has his moments of tantrums where you don't know where it comes from. He has not been sleeping the past week, waking up twice a night and basically wide awake at 4:30am. Last week, I basically cried every day just feeling sad that 1.) I can't pick Isaac up because of my c-section (no lifting for 6 weeks) when he askes me to "hold you." 2.) wondering how am I going to juggle two kids and be equal in love and attention 3.) amongst all these is adjusting to the new baby schedule. I think Dan and I forget what it was like to have a baby. We figured since we got Isaac all figured out this one should be easy.

All in all, God is faithful and He will not give us anything we can't handle. We've had so many friends and family coming in to help out as well as dinners made for us. We are just blessed in friendship, its amazing. Dan and I have learned greatly through the birth of our second child that there is enough love to go around, by human standard there are limitations, but by God's is never ending and unconditional. I have to give props to Dan for being a great husband and father. I've never known anyone so willing to jumping and help meanwhile, making sure I'm doing okay. Whats interesting is that our church focus this month in on family. Pastor had spoken about how as parents we forget that our first commitment other than God is our spouse and then our kids. This was also a good reminder for Dan and I to get back in the Lord together.

I will conclude with this....you will never be ready enough for kids, but God is here so that there are enough love, patience, kindness, and grace to go around....praise Him for that!
Jed has been sleeping 3-4 hours nightly. There are even times where I would only get up twice a night, so that has been nice...It's been two weeks and he is already getting bigger. At one week, he went from 8lbs 4 ozs to 8lbs 11 ozs. We'll see how he is doing at 2 weeks coming up Wed. Maureen is also coming out Wed. to help out, which will be nice. Thanks Mo!

Grandma and Grandpa Yang plus May

2007-10-06T16:49:00.001-07:00

My parents came on my due date for a week. Thank God that they were here to take care of Isaac while we were in labor and cooking up a storm for us. I swear they brought the entire stock of groceries in their suitecases. My dad was also able to celebrate his birthday with us.

My sister, May came for a short visit. Isaac was on cloud nine with someone just hanging out with him. It was nice to have her lifting the kids around and being my shopping slave as we hit the mall:)

Jumping and counting video

2007-10-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

Baby Jed Video

2007-09-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

The Labor Story

2007-09-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

SO, here I am three days later...recounting my second labor experience for those who are interested....

Sunday afternoon on my due date, I was desperate to deliver this baby. I went out and got some castor oil. The cocktail of orange juice and castor oil wasn't as bad as what others have told me. I went ahead and called Estall wondering if I had done something wrong. She then told me I needed to drink a little more for the full effect. So, here I am chugging it down in like two shots. Within two hours, I was cramping and having liquid diarrhea. That subsided around 9:30pm with no regular contractions. At 12:10am, I woke up with really bad cramping, ran to the bathroom, no much going on there. So I thought I could just try to let it go and go back to bed. After about twenty minutes, I woke Dan up and told him, I really don't feel good. Dan said "no, you are not going to labor." So I laid back down and waited. No change, the contractions are getting worse and going to my back. Finally, we woke everybody up and left for Madigan.

When we got to L & D, I was only still 2 cm dilated with hard contractions the doctors were even considering letting me go home and walk and then come back, at least that was their plan until the baby's heart rate went down. Once that happened, I became a full admit. For the next 12 hours, Dan and I slept and waited for more dilation until about 11 AM we decided our best bet to augment the labor, which wasn't progressing was with Pitocin. I was a bit reluctant about starting because of what happened with Isaac last time and ending up with a c-section. But thank God, everything worked out okay. It helped dilate me up to 6 cm, but the baby was still at -3 station, which is way high up in my pelvis. In a last ditch effort, my doctor thought maybe we should try and rupture the membranes...well, within minutes of my water breaking, the heart rate when down for a third time. I had people coming in left and right and the doctor literally stuck his hand up my cervix to hold the baby up so that baby's head would be off the cord. It was at that time, I gave up on a VBAC and decided to go ahead with the c-section. As much as I wanted to be natural, I felt that my baby would be in more danger the longer I wait. So we went ahead and started on the c-section.

By the time we got to the OR, I already have had the epidural on board for over 10 hours and it had started to wear off. Everything was going great until they started sewing me up. For some reason, I felt more pain than anything. Not wanting more pain meds, I kept refusing. I was in so much pain, I even asked Dan to not talk me (sorry, honey). I was feeling every pull and stitch. I was screaming and swearing...at one point, I was holding on to the surgeons legs so tight, one doctor was like "Ms. Solverson can you put your arm back on the board." Finally, the surgery ended. Jed was healthy and I was put out for the final stitches. Thank God everything worked out. I was a bit bummed about not being able to do a VBAC, but I was reassured to know that the surgeons evaluated my pelvis during the operation and concluded that there was no way I was going to fit an 8-lb baby out of my pelvis. I'm just thankful I have a great doctor that listened and really cared about what was going on the whole way through.

Now, life with two kids..we'll see.....more to come...

Please help us welcome Jed

2007-09-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

Jedidiah Daniel Yang Solverson
8 lbs 4 oz, 19 3/4 inches
24 Sept 2007, 1753