President Hinckley

Like everyone else, when I heard the news of President Hinckley's passing on Sunday night, I was very sad. When I told D, he said, "Can you imagine how happy he must be to see his wife?" And I think President Hinckley would want us all to have this optimistic attitude instead of being sad about not having him with us anymore. Still, he is truly a beloved prophet to me. I love his energy, work ethic, and most of all, optimism. He is such an inspiration to me for all he has done, even when he didn't feel well physically (for health reasons) or emotionally (after his wife passed away)--he didn't let anything slow him down. He is also a humble man. I remember attending his grandson's (Elder Pierce) mission homecoming with my family (he served in my parents' mission), and President Hinckley was there. After Elder Pierce's wonderful talk about the church and the gospel, the person conducting asked President Hinckley to say a few words. Instead of stealing the show, he stood up and said something like, "We came here today to listen to Elder Pierce. Wasn't that a great talk?" and then sat down. What a dear man. He has been a great influence on me during my young adult years. I hope to honor him in the way I live my life.

Back in the Saddle

If you've had a baby, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say I welcome the postpartum return to normalcy--being able to get myself up, showered and fed by 10 am, fitting back into those pre-pregnancy clothes, not having to use lanolin at least five times a day, not leaking breastmilk all over my bed, my clothes, and my baby, sleeping through the night, not having to consume 500% of the "normal" daily value of fiber, losing the flabby belly, etc. Well, not that I'm "back to normal" yet, but today I went on my first postpartum run, and it felt AWESOME!!! I honestly felt like going running a few weeks ago (thanks to a healthy pregnancy and a great birth), but I was still having trouble dragging myself out of bed, plus D was leaving really early in the morning (he's taken something like 9 exams since Pip was born) and couldn't stay around to watch the kids. A week ago I asked him if he'd hang out at home a bit later today so I could go running (yes, I'm so spontaneous now that I have two kids!), and he said yes, and he even encouraged me to get out of bed this morning because I wasn't moving very fast. So I got up, I pumped, I pulled on my running clothes, and I went! SO NICE!! I'm working on getting a double jogger so I can take the kids. Last year I did a half-marathon for my birthday in February. This year I'm shooting for a 5K. Oh, the ambition!

The elusive 5:30 mile

At the beginning of this school year, D and I decided to set some goals together. We each chose an intellectual goal, a spiritual goal, a physical goal, and then we set some joint goals, all to be accomplished by the end of the school year in May. D's physical goal was to run a 5:30 mile, something he had never done before. D is a great runner, but he spent all of last year sitting at a desk and was not in racing shape. He started running again this school year, doing speedwork and distance and also strength training. I was surprised when he announced that he was ready to attempt the 5:30 mile in mid-November (I won't be ready to attempt my physical goal of an olympic distance triathlon for several more months).

First Attempt: mid-November

There he is, dressed in his lucky color red, ready to conquer the mile

Squeak and I dressed up too, to cheer him on.
He missed it by a hair; D's time was 5:32.

Second Attempt: mid-December

Due to illness and sleep-deprivation, this one didn't go so well. He still did a sub-6:00 mile though. Again, lucky color red!

There we are, D's fan club, all dressed up for the occasion!

Third Attempt: Christmas Eve

My runner brother Jonny came to visit and offered to pace D on the high school track. Squeak and I weren't able to be there because she was still asleep. I asked how it went when they got back, and D said he'd just missed it and handed me his watch to look at the splits. I started going through them and each lap was under what he needed to get. Then I saw the total. What a tricky husband!

There he is, after his 5:21 victory! Way to go, baby!

D, your girls are so proud of you!!

Noche Buena Feast and Nativity Program
With all the excitement of a new baby, I've neglected to post these gems.

Delicious middle eastern food eaten while sprawled on the floor. Mmmm! We let Squeak eat in her high chair for obvious reasons. My parents and several siblings attended this year! It was really fun to have everyone over. This year (and this will not happen again for at least 10 years until loans are paid off) we had LAMB cooked by a Lebanese man as part of our feast!! We were fortunate to attend a family gathering for D's side here in Phoenix in the fall, and they had too much lamb. We were the happy recipients of the excess, and we promptly put it in the freezer to save for our Christmas feast. Thank you, Sid!!

My dad was the narrator for the nativity program

I, being great with child, was Mary. D played a dual role, first as the donkey...

...and then as Joseph. Squeak was an angel bringing glad tidings.

"And there were shepherds (Jon, Kev, my mom, and Melissa) abiding in the fields..." when the multitude of heavenly hosts (angels Aimee, Sara, and Squeak) came to announce the birth of Jesus

"And they were sore afraid!"

Here they are paying homage to the baby (Squeak decided she'd like to be with the baby too).

"And there were wise men (Daniel, Jared, and Bryan) in the east..."

"And they brought gifts of gold (Asics), frankincense (Reebok), and myrrh (Nike)"

I couldn't keep a straight face with my family's superior acting abilities on display. I'm so glad I got these photos for posterity!

A post that my dad wouldn't appreciate

My dad wouldn't appreciate this one, but I don't think he reads my blog anyway, so for all you out there who cringe every time our president speaks, enjoy this clip! (For the record, I did vote for him, but I still feel embarrassed when he utters anything in front of a camera). Vote for Ron Paul!

Recent family photos

Here we are after church the day before Pip was born. I was in labor, but it wasn't too intense to keep me home from church. You can see that Squeak was NOT excited about the photo session.

My mom brought Squeak to the hospital to see us. There was an RSV restriction that prevented kids from coming upstairs, but I sneaked down to the lobby to see my other baby.

"Suave"--Squeak finally got to meet her little bro when he came home on New Years Day, and here she is, practicing touching softly.

Here's the most recent family photo. Pretend we don't look sleep-deprived.

The missing photo

Well, from the comments I got on the last post, it looks like I forgot to post that photo of Pip's genitals. All right, all right, enough with the mystery--Pip is a BOY! We were definitely surprised--it seems that D's brothers all produce two girl children before they have a boy (three brothers have manifested this already), so we thought number 2 would be a girl. It turns out that D is not just an "X-man" after all--he is thrilled to also be a "Y-guy." Being a "surprise" definitely has its benefits. Pip sleeps cozily in his sister's beautiful pink bassinet, wrapped in a butterfly blanket. Lots of yellows and greens in his wardrobe (although I did remove all the pink and purple newborn clothes from the dresser). Well, we think he's beautiful! More photos coming soon.

Pip has Emerged!

D, T, and little Pip

Pip wearing the cute hospital hat

Pip

Here we are with Ellen, our awesome midwife

We had a New Years Eve birthday party when Pip joined our world. We are so excited to be parents of a Squeak and a Pipsqueak! I'll put more photos up later, but here are the details:

Birthday: December 31, 2007
Birth time: 6:45 a.m.
Weight: 7 lb. 9 oz.
Length: 20.5 inches
Head circumference: 14 inches (thank D for that)
Labor time: only 25 hours!!
(we are thrilled that it was less than half of my 59.5 hour labor with Squeak)


We did an exciting thing two days before Pip's EDD and switched to a different care provider. When Pip's amniotic sac ruptured on Thursday morning and I didn't go into labor, I called the midwife on call from my clinic and found out that only a doctor from the clinic would be on call the whole weekend. I had met this doctor previously and didn't feel comfortable with his ideas on birth, so I called another midwife in the area, Ellen Franklin (who attends births at the same hospital)--I had been told excellent things about Ellen from one of my HypnoBirthing students--well, I asked Ellen if she'd take me as a patient and she said yes! She is very hands-off as long as birth is proceeding normally, and she has so much confidence in a woman's body to birth naturally with no intervention. So I felt true relief, and I think Pip felt safe enough to come to us. I think the sac must've ruptured and then resealed because actual labor didn't start until Sunday morning (Pip's EDD), and the sac ruptured again as Pip was emerging. Anyway, birth was a thrilling experience, and switching to Ellen was key to Pip's fabulous birth journey. So was HypnoBirthing and having D as the best birth companion ever! We are so grateful for our experience.

Yes, I'm pregnant

I was talking to a friend who said she kept forgetting that I'm pregnant because I don't have any pregnant photos on my blog. Why would that be? Because I'm always the one who takes the photos. So I've made some efforts recently to get a few photos taken of myself, all within the past few weeks!

Hiking with Squeak at 37 weeks

When I was pregnant with Squeak, I ran until I was 40 weeks (actually the day before I went into labor). This time I decided to stop at 37 weeks because Pip has been sitting kind of low and I kept feeling the pressing on my bladder at every step. I haven't yet given up hiking though.

After I went on the hike with Squeak, my midwife said I probably shouldn't be carrying Squeak long distances, so I had to go during her nap while D watched her. I was happy to see that some other hikers had decorated this tree at the summit.

Hiking with D and S at 39 weeks

I was pretty excited to get this shot of us and the moon

Eighteen Months

Our little Squeak has reached the eighteen month mark. I remember thinking at one week and two months and six months, etc. that I didn't want her to get any older because she was so fun at those stages. The truth is, she just keeps getting more fun and more cute. We are so blessed to have such an energetic, happy, outgoing, charismatic, and beautiful girl!



Some fun facts about our princess at 18 months of age:

She weighs 24.5 pounds and is 31.5 inches tall
She has 14 teeth (4 top and bottom in the front, 2 molars top and bottom, and 2 bottom canines)
She has never had a haircut, and it really hangs in her eyes if I don't pull it back
She loves to eat
She is SUCH a ham!
She still drinks from a bottle (doesn't like the sippy cup at all)
She loves water and bathing
She is quite verbose (see below for "words spoken regularly by 18 months")
She loves people, animals, and being outside
She loves shoes
She is very helpful about putting things away (alongside Mom)
She frequently comes over to sit on my lap, often with a book in her hands
She loves playing rough with her dad--being thrown in the air or tossed on the bean bag
She waves and says, "Hi!" to strangers all the time
She understands (and speaks) Spanish better than English
She loves babies and now understands the concept of "suave" (soft)!!!
She is very curious and always wants to be part the action
She loves praise, whether from others or herself (she will do something good and then say, "Bien!")
She likes music and dance
She LOVES Christmas lights
She is very good at giving "abrazos" (hugs) but hasn't quite grasped the concept of "un beso" (kiss)
She will point to the following body parts when asked: oreja (ear), ojos (eyes), nariz (nose), boca (mouth), ombligo (belly button), and cabeza (head). Don't ask her to do it in English--she won't understand!



Words spoken regularly by Squeak at 18 months:

muchacha
zapatos
perro
gatito
pelota/"happy" (I say "pelota" and she says "happy")
bien!
hambre
oreja
ombligo
Dada
Mama/Mami
pajaro
bebe
guineo/banana (she kind of combines these two words and it sounds like "nano"
huevo
libro
queso
hielo
nena
ay-ay-ay-ay-ay

boo (short for peek-a-boo)
hi
hello
shoes
socks
shorts
ball
water
dog

I know that every parent thinks their kid is a genius, and I'm no exception. Squeak is so smart! She also inherited perseverance (i.e. stubbornness) and curiosity from both parents--what a lucky gal! She will be such an awesome big sister. I just hope little Pip can keep up with her.