Make a Smilebox slideshow

'Tis the Season

The Christmas tree hunt is over. We spotted a lovely Grand Fir at the Carnation Tree Farm (hand picked by Emma) and brought it home with us. With seasonal tunes playing in the background, the three of us descended on that poor tree and decorated the heck out of it. Emma thought it was so much fun that she continued to "fix" the decorations the rest of the day. I finally had to tell her that the tree was decorated and she needed to leave it alone. (That comment didn't win me any brownie points, but at least she stopped tinkering.)

Emma "fixing" the decorations on the tree.

Our decorated tree with my special red angel on top.

With fresh snow on the ground, I have to say it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

First Snow of the Year

Emma woke up this morning to snow on the ground. She was so excited to get out there and play that she could hardly wait for Mom and Dad to suck down their morning cup of Joe. But with caffeine in my system and warm clothes bundled around us both, Emma and I left Ian and Ariyana at home while we scoped out our snow-covered neighborhood.

Emma had a blast throwing snowballs at me and wiping snow off of every covered surface she saw.

Emma turns 4

Emma just celebrated her 4th birthday. She had a party at her school on Thursday and got to celebrate with her friends, which made it harder for us to convince her that it wasn't her real birthday. She got very upset with us when we told her that she didn't turn 4 until Saturday.

I set up a little family birthday party on Saturday. In true princess fashion, we had a little tea party. Emma was really ecstatic to see all of her family at the house. She loves to visit with her Grandma, Nana and her aunties.

Of course, Emma's favorite part was opening the presents. She couldn't tear through them fast enough. After her party she told me that she was going to ask Santa for lots of presents for Christmas. Oh boy!

Tea party in full swing.


Emma makes a wish and blows out her candles.


Emma can't wait to dive into her birthday cake.


Emma is very excited to open her Candy Land game.


Ariyana at 2.5 weeks old.

Just a quick update

I don't have any new photos to share, unfortunately. We've been so caught up in our little routine of changing poopy diapers, feeding, and chasing Emma around that we haven't really thought to grab the camera.

Ariyana is doing so great. She is a great eater, she sleeps well, and she's very good natured. Her smile is melting many hearts over here. I know I can't seem to get enough of her.

We've hit our one week milestone. She's 10 days old, and her umbilical cord fell off today. She's got a belly button now. (This will make diaper changes much easier.)

Emma is handling things fairly well. She is definitely a great big sister. She's very protective, observant, and sweet to her baby sister. She's having a little harder time missing mom's attention, but it's been great to see her relationship with Ian bloom. For example, last night Ian was holding Ariyana for me while I got ready for bed. When I finished brushing my teeth, Emma asked me if I could hold Ariyana, so that she could go play ball with Dad. You should have seen the look of joy on Ian's face.

I've made the mental note to take some pictures and post them soon. I'll try to get better about blogging more frequently to keep you all up-to-date.

Ariyana has arrived!!!

We just got home last night and I'm now able to email and share some photos with you all.
We are so proud to announce the arrival of our daughter, Ariyana, on Thursday, November 20th.
She weighed in at a healthy 6 lbs and 9 oz and was 20.5 inches long. She's absolutely beautiful and has all the nurses and doctors cooing over her. They were commenting on how alert and laid back she was the whole time we were in the hospital.
We'll be posting a full set of pictures for you all later, but here's just a taste.

Playing catch up

I was in a mad rush last week to get everything ready for the arrival of baby girl #2, so I got a little behind on these blog posts.

Once the c-section was rescheduled, Ian and I tried to get in as much Emma time as possible. We took her to the park every day to play on the swings, we went to the Seattle Space Needle and the Children's Museum, and then to 3-2-1 Bounce. We were having a blast and enjoying every minute of our final days as a threesome.

Here are some photos from our adventures:

Rain delay...

It was adventure from the moment we woke up. The town is flooded. Both roads going out were under water, and Carnation was a virtual island within the Snoqualmie River valley. We headed out on the roads around 10:30 with the hope that we'd be able to sneak through somehow and make my doctor's appointment.
Thankfully the south road had cleared a bit. We maneuvered around road closure signs and crossed our fingers. Some large pools in the road that we had to swerve around, but we made it safe and sound to the other side.
Next up, the amnio test where they stick a short needle through my belly and draw out some amniotic fluid to see if the baby's lungs are developing properly. Two hours later we had the results.
Looks like the doctor would prefer for her to cook a little longer and develop her lungs a bit more. So, the c-section has been rescheduled for next Friday.
We're back home now and watching the flood waters recede some more.
As usual, we'll keep you all posted.

Emma's class throws a Halloween party

Emma's teacher just sent over some pictures from their class Halloween party.

Here is Emma with her best bud, Ray.

Class photo (Sanjit, the astronaut, and Ray, the cowboy are Emma's best friends).

Feasting on Halloween goodies early in the morning.

And here's a picture of Emma in her pink ballerina dress. The one that she won't take off and must wear to school every day, now. And, yes, that's Ray squatting next to her. Ray calls her "my Emma".

Short Emma Films

For those of you who haven't seen these already, here are a few short Emma films to entertain you

Ian took Emma to 3-2-1 Bounce during her spring break vacation from school.

Emma entertains the crowd during my birthday dinner at a local Ethiopian restaurant.

We set the date!

At my last doctor's appointment, Dr. Easterling and I set the C-section date. Baby Girl #2 will be joining us shortly...as in less than 2 weeks. Her birthday is set for Friday, November 14, 2008.

Ian and I have been working hard to get the baby room ready for her. Ian slapped up a fresh coat of paint, and put together the crib. I've washed all the bedding and clothes and have started to get things ready for her arrival.

Check out the awesome Babar poster that my friend, Erin, gave us. It's from her childhood. She's saved it all these years, and thought that it would be the perfect addition to baby's room. I absolutely love it! Plus, I just can't believe that she blessed us with such a treasure. It means a lot.



I finally strung together all of the beads I received during my blessingway ceremony. It's crazy how we didn't have a designated color scheme or theme and yet they all seem to go so well together. I plan on taking the bracelet in the operating room with me, so that I can channel all of the positive energy and prayers from the blessingway.


Here's another view of the baby's room, which shows the prayer flags that we created during the blessingway ceremony.


And here are some of the stones and additional beads that I received from the Blessingway. I've collected them all in bowls (that Ian carved himself) and placed them on the dresser in baby's room.

We're on the final countdown now. I'm really excited to meet this little girl, and I love that I had the opportunity to fully enjoy this pregnancy, really prepare for her arrival, and share so much of this experience with my closest friends.

Halloween 2008!

Woke up to the pattering of rain. Not a good sign for all those eager trick-or-treaters. But Emma doesn't seem to mind. She donned her Snow White costume, the same one as last Halloween (why give up a good thing?), and stomped outside to catch raindrops in her mouth.

She was very excited about the class Halloween party, which started at 9:30 this morning. Cupcakes for breakfast! Now that's my idea of starting out the day right.

Ian's picking her up at 11:30 and taking her to his office for a small bit of trick-or-treating. I'm sure she'll love the attention.

I will be on the other side of the water doing my weekly NST (non-stress test) at the UW Medical Center. The pregnancy is going really great. Baby girl is growing like a weed and giving me no troubles (other than finding a comfortable sleeping position.)

We carved our pumpkins last night, and Ian bought an insane amount of Halloween candy. I think we're as ready as we're ever going to be for this year's onslaught of trick-or-treaters. I'm not kidding, folks. We're talking over 300 kids...and as many rings of the doorbell!

Emma went trick-or-treating through the neighborhood with her friends Zoe and Jackson. The rain had stopped and was replaced by an eerie fog. Perfect Halloween weather. She made a wardrobe change and turned into Cinderella.


Happy Halloween!