So here is my Snapshot Sunday: Toys Edition! (don't worry - I won't post every picture! lol)
How it began
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Snapshot Sunday: Toys Edition
I have been thinking of making a list of the toys that we have so that when the kids are bored and driving me up the wall I can look at the list and suggest something for them to do. And then I thought - that's not enough work - what else can I do? No - kidding. Actually I thought they would like to have a picture of the toys so that they can look through ther list and see what they have. I took the pictures today and I have come to a conclusion: they certainly don't need any more toys! In fact they may just have too many! I joked to Tuan that I should put lots of them away and then give them the list and tell them to choose what they want for Christmas! Then we wouldn't have to buy/make more that they don't really need. I'm pretty sure Emma would catch on though. lol
So here is my Snapshot Sunday: Toys Edition! (don't worry - I won't post every picture! lol)
How it began
So here is my Snapshot Sunday: Toys Edition! (don't worry - I won't post every picture! lol)
How it began
Company and Birthday post
Friday, November 13, 2009
Her hair grows so fast!
Just 1 1/2 years ago (March 08) we helped Emma do this:
Her hair grows so fast - no complaints here! but she would always have me take the ponytails or clips out as soon as she was done with dance or church or whayever so I wasn't sure she wanted to keep it long. But she insisted that she wants to grow it out so we haven't cut it (one trim to shape it out of the mullet she was getting! lol). I kept meaning to look up some hair blogs that my cousin (hey Kristin!) linked me to forever ago recently found these two that I really like. (caution - they are addicting! lol
Girly Do's By Jenn
She Does Hair
Just last week I did this with Emma's hair:
It was the first time I have ever french braided anyone elses hair let alone Emma's so it's definately not perfect.
Today I did this one:
It's my favorite so far.
Emma loves that she has a star on her head!
(more pics of this one because she actually wanted a picture taken of her lol)
Her hair grows so fast - no complaints here! but she would always have me take the ponytails or clips out as soon as she was done with dance or church or whayever so I wasn't sure she wanted to keep it long. But she insisted that she wants to grow it out so we haven't cut it (one trim to shape it out of the mullet she was getting! lol). I kept meaning to look up some hair blogs that my cousin (hey Kristin!) linked me to forever ago recently found these two that I really like. (caution - they are addicting! lol
Girly Do's By Jenn
She Does Hair
Just last week I did this with Emma's hair:
It was the first time I have ever french braided anyone elses hair let alone Emma's so it's definately not perfect.
Today I did this one:
It's my favorite so far.
Emma loves that she has a star on her head!
(more pics of this one because she actually wanted a picture taken of her lol)
Thursday, November 12, 2009
It's easier now
Daniel always wants me to play with the trains and tracks with him. Let me tell you it's way easier and I can do it for much longer now that Beth isn't in the way!
This is me attempting to lean over the tracks and play with him about 2 weeks before Beth was born.
This is me attempting to lean over the tracks and play with him about 2 weeks before Beth was born.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, November 02, 2009
She has a name!
Elizabeth "Beth" Anh
We named her after both of us. Elizabeth from me and Anh (Uhn), a common male/female Vietnamese name from Tuan.
Her birth story:
I passed 37 weeks gestation on Monday and my labor started Wednesday night as I was nursing Daniel to sleep. Each night I nursed him to sleep I would feel some braxton-hicks contractions but they would always fade away after I laid him down. This night the contractions were stronger and I put Tuan’s hands on my belly so that he could feel their strength. They were about 30 min apart and only woke me a few times during the night.
On Thursday they were still about 30 min apart but were gradually getting stronger. Laboring in the birth pool during Daniel’s birth was so wonderful that I was really looking forward to it for this birth. However my birth pool wasn’t scheduled to arrive until Friday. So with each contraction I told Beth to hold on and wait for the pool to arrive. They woke me a few times again during the night. Friday morning I was still sure that I was experiencing prodromal labor and Beth wouldn’t come for a few more weeks. The contractions were strong enough that I was actively working with and through them. I checked the progress of the birth pool and found out that it was delayed until Monday! I. was. not. happy! When Tuan got home from work I sent him out with the kids to get a few things we still needed for the birth – straws, shower curtain for the bed and floor, fish net, aspirator. I’m not sure why I left fish net on the list as I was expecting a land birth this time as the birth pool was not here. I’m glad I left it because Tuan did need to use it since I got my waterbirth after all!
While they were gone I labored in the tub and then tried to take a nap. I got bored of just working through contractions and logged on to a contraction timer to keep track of them. At 7pm they were ranging from 3-6 min apart and lasting from 30 sec to 1 ½ min. Tuan came home with the kids and I started playing garbage (card game) with Emma. When a contraction would start I would tell her to click the start button and the stop button when it was over. Tuan kept Daniel occupied – not really sure what they were doing!
I got into the tub again and Em got in with me while Tuan lit several tea candles and turned off the light. Around 10:30 Daniel conked out on the bed – I remember thinking – hmm where will I give birth if D is asleep in the bedroom. Em left the tub and went to watch a movie with Tuan. I got out of the tub and moved the candles to the kitchen where I labored for another hour or so. I told Tuan that it felt so surreal to know that our baby was coming now and would be born soon. In fact I was still a bit in denial that this was actually “it” – I think that those thoughts/feelings were prolonging my labor. So with each contraction I would tell Beth how excited we were to meet her and how she could come any time now.
As time passed I was feeling very tired and frustrated. I ran through my mind the scenario of a hospital transfer. I knew that even if I wanted to (not needed to) it wouldn’t work. We had no one to tend Em and D meaning Tuan would be with them and not me and we hadn’t yet ordered Beth’s and Daniel’s new car seats. (If I ever felt that for Beth’s and my safety we would need to transfer these things would not stop or hinder us.) I also told myself that with Emma’s labor I lost confidence in myself and went to the hospital and asked for an epidural at 8 centimeters dilated which prolonged my labor and hindered my pushing to the point of a forceps aided delivery. I would not let that happen again.
I moved into the living room and asked Tuan for a blessing. He blessed me with strength to do what I needed to do. I felt better even knowing that the strength promised could be to deal with either a hospital transfer or the last stage of labor. I asked Tuan for some food. What did I want, he asked. A bell pepper please. Just cut it in half, pull out the seeds and hand it over! It was good.
I decided to move back into the bath where I would get a few moments of sleep in between contractions. I started to feel a bit pushy so I called for Tuan. I told him how I was feeling and asked if he could stay in the room with me. So he got Emma set up with a movie in the kitchen where she could still see him. I started pushing and he brought Em in the room with us. She wasn’t wearing any clothes so I wish I had told her and Tuan to get in the water with me. I suppose I had other thing on my mind right at that moment though. After only a few pushes Emma watched as Beth was born and Tuan helped lift her up to my chest. Daniel slept through it all. The water really was not deep enough for the best water birth experience and she got a bit chilled half in and out of the water. So we moved to the bed – Daniel still zonked on the bed. I delivered her placenta a few minutes later. In my research on preventing post-partum hemorrhage one of the best and most immediate remedies was placenta. I had Tuan cut off a pill size piece and I chased it down with some water. I took some rescue remedy as well. About 15 minutes later I felt like I wanted some more placenta so I had another piece. Placenta is also very helpful in cases of post-partum depression so I have some saved in our freezer (properly labeled of course!) in case I feel I need it. With Beth we decided to have a lotus birth. This is the practice of not cutting the cord ever – just letting it fall off while still connected to the placenta. We cleaned the rest of the placenta off and packed salt and lavender into it. Then we wrapped it and the cord. I think that in the future I won’t do a full lotus birth again. I would like to wait at least 24 hours before cutting the cord but not longer. The reason is that while the placenta was wrapped a bit bulky (we would know how to do better next time) it just delayed EC. As soon as her cord fell off (3 days I think!) I caught my first poo in the sink! EC has really taken off since and is going great!
I feel sad that the birth I had pictured and looked forward to didn’t happen. I wanted to videotape it and have Daniel, Emma and Tuan all in the pool with me to help catch. There are no pictures of me in labor and none of the birth. Tuan was awesome and grabbed the camera for some pictures right after she was born.
In short - Beth’s birth was nothing that I had pictured or planned but it was exactly what it needed to be for her and me.
We named her after both of us. Elizabeth from me and Anh (Uhn), a common male/female Vietnamese name from Tuan.
Her birth story:
I passed 37 weeks gestation on Monday and my labor started Wednesday night as I was nursing Daniel to sleep. Each night I nursed him to sleep I would feel some braxton-hicks contractions but they would always fade away after I laid him down. This night the contractions were stronger and I put Tuan’s hands on my belly so that he could feel their strength. They were about 30 min apart and only woke me a few times during the night.
On Thursday they were still about 30 min apart but were gradually getting stronger. Laboring in the birth pool during Daniel’s birth was so wonderful that I was really looking forward to it for this birth. However my birth pool wasn’t scheduled to arrive until Friday. So with each contraction I told Beth to hold on and wait for the pool to arrive. They woke me a few times again during the night. Friday morning I was still sure that I was experiencing prodromal labor and Beth wouldn’t come for a few more weeks. The contractions were strong enough that I was actively working with and through them. I checked the progress of the birth pool and found out that it was delayed until Monday! I. was. not. happy! When Tuan got home from work I sent him out with the kids to get a few things we still needed for the birth – straws, shower curtain for the bed and floor, fish net, aspirator. I’m not sure why I left fish net on the list as I was expecting a land birth this time as the birth pool was not here. I’m glad I left it because Tuan did need to use it since I got my waterbirth after all!
While they were gone I labored in the tub and then tried to take a nap. I got bored of just working through contractions and logged on to a contraction timer to keep track of them. At 7pm they were ranging from 3-6 min apart and lasting from 30 sec to 1 ½ min. Tuan came home with the kids and I started playing garbage (card game) with Emma. When a contraction would start I would tell her to click the start button and the stop button when it was over. Tuan kept Daniel occupied – not really sure what they were doing!
I got into the tub again and Em got in with me while Tuan lit several tea candles and turned off the light. Around 10:30 Daniel conked out on the bed – I remember thinking – hmm where will I give birth if D is asleep in the bedroom. Em left the tub and went to watch a movie with Tuan. I got out of the tub and moved the candles to the kitchen where I labored for another hour or so. I told Tuan that it felt so surreal to know that our baby was coming now and would be born soon. In fact I was still a bit in denial that this was actually “it” – I think that those thoughts/feelings were prolonging my labor. So with each contraction I would tell Beth how excited we were to meet her and how she could come any time now.
As time passed I was feeling very tired and frustrated. I ran through my mind the scenario of a hospital transfer. I knew that even if I wanted to (not needed to) it wouldn’t work. We had no one to tend Em and D meaning Tuan would be with them and not me and we hadn’t yet ordered Beth’s and Daniel’s new car seats. (If I ever felt that for Beth’s and my safety we would need to transfer these things would not stop or hinder us.) I also told myself that with Emma’s labor I lost confidence in myself and went to the hospital and asked for an epidural at 8 centimeters dilated which prolonged my labor and hindered my pushing to the point of a forceps aided delivery. I would not let that happen again.
I moved into the living room and asked Tuan for a blessing. He blessed me with strength to do what I needed to do. I felt better even knowing that the strength promised could be to deal with either a hospital transfer or the last stage of labor. I asked Tuan for some food. What did I want, he asked. A bell pepper please. Just cut it in half, pull out the seeds and hand it over! It was good.
I decided to move back into the bath where I would get a few moments of sleep in between contractions. I started to feel a bit pushy so I called for Tuan. I told him how I was feeling and asked if he could stay in the room with me. So he got Emma set up with a movie in the kitchen where she could still see him. I started pushing and he brought Em in the room with us. She wasn’t wearing any clothes so I wish I had told her and Tuan to get in the water with me. I suppose I had other thing on my mind right at that moment though. After only a few pushes Emma watched as Beth was born and Tuan helped lift her up to my chest. Daniel slept through it all. The water really was not deep enough for the best water birth experience and she got a bit chilled half in and out of the water. So we moved to the bed – Daniel still zonked on the bed. I delivered her placenta a few minutes later. In my research on preventing post-partum hemorrhage one of the best and most immediate remedies was placenta. I had Tuan cut off a pill size piece and I chased it down with some water. I took some rescue remedy as well. About 15 minutes later I felt like I wanted some more placenta so I had another piece. Placenta is also very helpful in cases of post-partum depression so I have some saved in our freezer (properly labeled of course!) in case I feel I need it. With Beth we decided to have a lotus birth. This is the practice of not cutting the cord ever – just letting it fall off while still connected to the placenta. We cleaned the rest of the placenta off and packed salt and lavender into it. Then we wrapped it and the cord. I think that in the future I won’t do a full lotus birth again. I would like to wait at least 24 hours before cutting the cord but not longer. The reason is that while the placenta was wrapped a bit bulky (we would know how to do better next time) it just delayed EC. As soon as her cord fell off (3 days I think!) I caught my first poo in the sink! EC has really taken off since and is going great!
I feel sad that the birth I had pictured and looked forward to didn’t happen. I wanted to videotape it and have Daniel, Emma and Tuan all in the pool with me to help catch. There are no pictures of me in labor and none of the birth. Tuan was awesome and grabbed the camera for some pictures right after she was born.
In short - Beth’s birth was nothing that I had pictured or planned but it was exactly what it needed to be for her and me.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Happy Hallow'en!!
After a long day of measuring, drawing mer-tails and sewing I rewarded yself with a nap.
Er, well I wanted too. Not exactly the reaction I was looking for when the costume finally came together! lol
My cute mer-children. (The skirt/pants are the ocean)
Ready to go Trick-or-Treating. The weather was great! Turns out Em's favorite candy is Kit Kats!
(Tuan stayed home with Beth and handed out candy.)
Er, well I wanted too. Not exactly the reaction I was looking for when the costume finally came together! lol
My cute mer-children. (The skirt/pants are the ocean)
Ready to go Trick-or-Treating. The weather was great! Turns out Em's favorite candy is Kit Kats!
(Tuan stayed home with Beth and handed out candy.)
Monday, October 26, 2009
Happy Birthday Daniel!
I can't believe it - my little boy is 3!
Where did my little baby go?
After seeing the most awesomest cake my sister made (scroll down) for her 3 yr old's party I dismayed of ever being able to post a pic of any b-day cake I made! But since we were giving dairy a trial I went with my favorite cake - cheesecake! And you just don't frost a cheesecake - blasphemy! So I was off the hook to decorate it! Daniel didn't much like it, Tuan ate a bit, Emma really liked it and I ate at least half! (Well, I hadn't had any cheesecake in nearly 3 years!)
There was no way I could edit the messy table out of that picture. Check out the undies on it - you know you live with a three year old boy when there are undies on your table!!
Daniel is really into mermaids right now. He is going to be a merman for halloween and loves to play with his cousin's mermaid dolls in the tub. But somehow I missed getting a pic of him opening the mermaid dolls - you can see them on the floor in this picture.
Daniel has been showing a lot of interest in the violin and Emma's old one was too small even for him! So we got him his very own. His favorite color is red and so is his violin!
How about a huge tonka truck to balance out the mermaid dolls, eh? lol
This is a Waldorf doll. They sell for upwards of $100!! I say this to let you know how awesome my sister is. I helped her make this doll for Daniel. She provided all the materials and the pattern. She also stitched the face on which is the hardest and most important part.
I crocheted the hair cap and then gave it a haircut. I tried to get it to match his faux-hawk. Maybe a few more snips here and there?
Sweet dreams after a busy, fun day!
Sweet dreams for everyone.
Where did my little baby go?
After seeing the most awesomest cake my sister made (scroll down) for her 3 yr old's party I dismayed of ever being able to post a pic of any b-day cake I made! But since we were giving dairy a trial I went with my favorite cake - cheesecake! And you just don't frost a cheesecake - blasphemy! So I was off the hook to decorate it! Daniel didn't much like it, Tuan ate a bit, Emma really liked it and I ate at least half! (Well, I hadn't had any cheesecake in nearly 3 years!)
There was no way I could edit the messy table out of that picture. Check out the undies on it - you know you live with a three year old boy when there are undies on your table!!
Daniel is really into mermaids right now. He is going to be a merman for halloween and loves to play with his cousin's mermaid dolls in the tub. But somehow I missed getting a pic of him opening the mermaid dolls - you can see them on the floor in this picture.
Daniel has been showing a lot of interest in the violin and Emma's old one was too small even for him! So we got him his very own. His favorite color is red and so is his violin!
How about a huge tonka truck to balance out the mermaid dolls, eh? lol
This is a Waldorf doll. They sell for upwards of $100!! I say this to let you know how awesome my sister is. I helped her make this doll for Daniel. She provided all the materials and the pattern. She also stitched the face on which is the hardest and most important part.
I crocheted the hair cap and then gave it a haircut. I tried to get it to match his faux-hawk. Maybe a few more snips here and there?
Sweet dreams after a busy, fun day!
Sweet dreams for everyone.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Family visits!
A week after Beth was born my dad came to spend the day with us before his 2 month trip to New Zealand (lucky him).
His got into town and I put him right to work helping me pick up a freezer given away on freecycle (Tuan was out of town for work). The family giving it away had a motorized car that Em and D loved driving around while we loaded the freezer. And when I say we I mean not my 1 week post-partum self!
Emma and Daniel of course found ways to entertain themselves while we said goodbye to the generous givers.
I love this one for their personalities. Emma: "There's a camera! Smile!" Daniel: "virtical object - must climb!"
The next morning the kids were still zonked from their late night playing with Grandpa.
Once Daniel woke my dad got some fun pictures of us making muffins together. I tried to find the picture he took of Emma helping me make breakfast after Daniel was born but couldn't.
And yes, I edited the heck out of these pictures to try to hide my super messy kitchen!
Then we went to Daniel's gymnastics lesson. I'm glad my Dad loves to take pictures because I had never thought to get some pics of Daniel in gymnastics but I really love having them.
First is this one of Emma. Can you tell that she woke 10 min earlier? Well - she did! lol
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed - yep, that's her!
These really capture D's personality.
When we got home Daniel got to open his early birthday present from Grandpa.
Soon after my sister came to visit with her three adorable kids.
And one of us sisters
My sister's "baby" - can't believe how big he's getting!
I planted some flowers last year and the kids loved picking them - the plants couldn't really even keep up with them. This year we planted lots more flowers in the kid's very own gardens and they hardly ever picked any. Color me confused! But not so with my two adorable nieces. Everytime they visit they love to pick flowers and use them in their games.
This is what I often see after they have left - I love it!
His got into town and I put him right to work helping me pick up a freezer given away on freecycle (Tuan was out of town for work). The family giving it away had a motorized car that Em and D loved driving around while we loaded the freezer. And when I say we I mean not my 1 week post-partum self!
Emma and Daniel of course found ways to entertain themselves while we said goodbye to the generous givers.
I love this one for their personalities. Emma: "There's a camera! Smile!" Daniel: "virtical object - must climb!"
The next morning the kids were still zonked from their late night playing with Grandpa.
Once Daniel woke my dad got some fun pictures of us making muffins together. I tried to find the picture he took of Emma helping me make breakfast after Daniel was born but couldn't.
And yes, I edited the heck out of these pictures to try to hide my super messy kitchen!
Then we went to Daniel's gymnastics lesson. I'm glad my Dad loves to take pictures because I had never thought to get some pics of Daniel in gymnastics but I really love having them.
First is this one of Emma. Can you tell that she woke 10 min earlier? Well - she did! lol
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed - yep, that's her!
These really capture D's personality.
When we got home Daniel got to open his early birthday present from Grandpa.
Soon after my sister came to visit with her three adorable kids.
And one of us sisters
My sister's "baby" - can't believe how big he's getting!
I planted some flowers last year and the kids loved picking them - the plants couldn't really even keep up with them. This year we planted lots more flowers in the kid's very own gardens and they hardly ever picked any. Color me confused! But not so with my two adorable nieces. Everytime they visit they love to pick flowers and use them in their games.
This is what I often see after they have left - I love it!
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