A Tree for Kumquat

Last night we stopped at the tree lot and picked up a cute 4-foot tree.  This is me and Kumquat (now the size of a papaya) at the 22-week mark in front of a much taller tree.  I have a full-fledged baby bump now and it’s getting harder to breathe with all my innards being squished upward.  Kumquat’s also been practicing her kungfu moves quite a bit and 4:00 pm is one of her favorite times of day to be awake.

This year’s tree was small enough to fit in the back seat of the car but then decided to place it on top of our side table in the livingroom to give it more height.  This evening, I decorated it with lights and our set of commemorative ornaments.  This year’s ornament is a little silver frame and I’m going to put one of Kumquat’s ultrasound images inside.  I’ll post it once I’m done printing and framing it.

Rowan’s 1st Bday

Rowan turns one on Tuesday and his mom and dad threw him a little party today.  He got a big ol’ puppy and was in love with it.  He LOVES doggies and this was the perfect gift and prop for his mini photo shoot.

Bang’s parents flew up for the weekend and they couldn’t be prouder.  They were also very excited for our anticipated arrival too.

There were lots of babies and a Jack who looked like a giant next to all the toddlers.  The Bangs have a HUGE backyard and he took advantage of the space.

Reese was all dressed up for a party with a bow in her hair and all.  Simply adorable.

Little Ben played under the table and it was fun to watch him from the backyard window.

Alexander (the youngest of the group) was chillin’ with his dad and got a quick ride on Bang’s shoulders.

Rowan had to choose his destiny and chose the keyboard.  I guess that translates to a future as an Engineer.

Of course there was cake and there was an extra one for Bang’s birthday, which happens to be two days after Rowan’s.  Here’s a photo of the Bangs.

And here’s the rest of the photos.  Happy Birthday Baby Bang and Senior Bang!

Holiday Hi-jinks

Last night I hosted our Annual PediRehab Holiday Party at the Clubhouse in my building.  It was a success last year so I volunteered myself and the room for our little shindig once again.  This time I got food catered from Ozone (the Thai place down the street from here) and we had food food for days.  Everyone enjoyed it all and I even made Mommy’s Secret Coconut Sticky Rice with the mangoes I found at Costco.

Speaking of Costco…I bought the drinks and the famous 7-pound chocolate cake there and it fell off our cart and onto the floor (opened and upside-down) as we exited the warehouse.  I was mortified but luckily the Costco guy was nice enough to quickly clean it up for me and grabbed another one from inside.  Phew.  That sucker was $17 and I didn’t want to wait in line for another one.

Anyhoo…back to the party.  Everyone had a great time and Patty was drinking her fair share that night.  In fact, by the end of the night, she had slipped and fallen, couldn’t stop talking about my belly-button, and ended up sleeping in my fort (the couch) last night.  She was a hot mess but endless entertainment for me…the only sober one in the place.

We had a pretty good turn-out and I’m pretty sure everyone got home safely.  It was certainly a happy holiday party for all of us this year.

I didn’t take as many photos this year but I got some highlights.

Toddler Time!

Reese came over tonight while her brother got to go to Cirque du Soleil with the parents.  The only problem was that I was in class all day and wouldn’t be able to get home in time for the drop-off.  So, Jes had to fly solo with her for the first 30 minutes until Bang and Vyl came over with Rowan to do some laundry and then I arrived another 45 minutes later.  I’ve had Reese in my care before but she’s usually asleep while I’m entertaining Jack.  This was the first time I’ve had to entertain, feed, and change her and she was so much fun.

She’s crawling, standing, and babbling up a storm.  She also ate really well and surprisingly didn’t make much of a mess.  Jes even made an attempt at feeding her for the first time.

Rowan started off kinda grumpy but warmed up to the action.  He even helped rearrange our furniture a bit.

Double Trouble

This evening I drove down to visit Ishya, Billy, and the babies at the hospital.  The new mommy and daddy looked exhausted and were running on fumes but had enough energy for some photos with Sadie and Theo.  I also had the chance to log on to the hospital’s WiFi long enough to get a FaceTime call to Ranee and Jamie so that they could say “hello” to the happy family.  Once again, technology proves its usefulness in these special occasions.

Ishya looks great and is recovering the best she can while Billy is helping out and now the Super Swaddler.

Ishya was even brave enough to take a photo while holding both of the babies at once.

Here’s a photo of me with the little ones.  It was so fun meeting them for the first time.  Sounds like Sadie is the feisty one and Theo is the laid back one for now.

When I placed them together, they seemed to soothe each other and took turns fussing.  Sadie is on the left with the bow and Theo is on the right.  Billy and Ishya have a lot of work in store for them but it looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun too.

Here are the rest of the photos from their second day of life.

New Family Members!!!

This morning I received a text from my cousin Ishya saying that her water broke.  Just a few hours later, I received a text and photos from my uncle that the twins were born!  Wow, that was quick!

The girl, Sadie, came out first weighing in at 4 lbs, 7 oz.

The boy, Theo, came out weighing in at 5 lbs, 5 oz.

Ishya made it to 36 weeks and it sounds like mom and babies are all doing well.  Hopefully they will all be up for visitors tomorrow night.  Can’t wait to meet them!

Congratulations to Ishya and Billy!!!  Welcome to the family, Sadie and Theo!