adventures at the mall, part 2!

No, we didn't lose Anna this time...but I was pretty proud of myself for braving the mall solo today. Well, not fully solo, as we met up with my sister Elika and her 2 kiddies. I was worried about Jolee, but she slept for most of the time and woke up hungry just as we were thinking of leaving. Perfect timing!

It turns out that Winward Mall has this new attraction...the indoor playgym. It was pretty crowded, probably because it's still Summer Break and all the mommies and grandparents were looking for stuff to entertain their kids with. But, Anna had a fun time with her cousin Aya on the plexi-foam ship, sharks, turtles, and waterfalls. We just may have to make another trip out to the East side again...just for this! After school's in session, of course. I can't stand crowds...

blog things

My friend Mari linked this fun site & I thought I'd share. I seriously don't know where you find these! Anyway, here's the result of one of the quizzes I took that turned out "spot on!" (is that a British expression?) Anyway...just for fun~

http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofsodaareyouquiz/

You Are Dr. Pepper

You're very unique and funky, yet you still have a bit of traditionalism to you. People who like you think they have great taste... and they usually do. Your best soda match: Root Beer Stay away from: 7 Up

What Kind of Soda Are You?

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a recovering Dr. Pepper addict. I quit cold turkey when I got preggo with Kela, and only "fall off the wagon" when I'm not preggo or nursing. ( Which, by the way, has only been a total of 7 months in the past 5 1/2 years!! )

Ok, so I've slipped just a couple of times in between...but who's really counting, right? Hee hee..don't tell Mitch, though!

jojo's first bath!

This morning, little Jolee's umbilical thingamajig fell off! Yay! So, I decided it was time for her to have a "real" bath. She did quite well~Kela and Anna helped keep her calm while I washed her...which worked until I got to her hair. What is it about washing baby's hair that they detest so much? But, all in all, she did very well and stayed pretty calm.

Kela and Anna love their baby sister, and for the most part, are pretty gentle with her. I was a bit worried about Anna...but even she seems to dote on her. Kela especially loves to hold her and is constantly asking to hold her. Which makes me a bit nervous...but more relieved. Here's some pics of the few times Jolee isn't sleeping, crying, or eating, which is the only times they get to hold her.

adventure at the mall

We went out to the mall tonight-the Navy Exchange, to be exact. Since Mitch's Dad is retired military, we find ourselves here often during the summer months they are here. This is the fountain the girls like to throw pennies into.

Who needs a triple stroller when you can fit two little bums in the back seat of a sit-n-stand! I love this stroller. A great buy on Craigs List last year! :)

Jolee meeting Grandpa Seavey for the first time. She sort of looks like she's smiling...sort of.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am a paranoid parent. I'll readily admit it. Not so much about germs (although I do have hand sanitizer on hand, use a shopping cart cover, and even carry disposable placemats for public dining on occasion...), but more so about other dangers. At the park, I shudder when my girls climb up to the top of the jungle gym, they're rarely out of arm's reach at the beach or pool, and in my car is a window punch and seatbelt cutter tool that I bought-just in case I ever drive into the ocean. I find myself often imagining worst-case senarios and sometimes have nightmares from my wild "what if's." I need to stop. But ever since Kela was born, it's progressively gotten worse with each child.

Tonight at the mall, we lost Anna. We eventually found her...but for a brief 5 minutes or so, I was frantic. I was holding baby with Anna by my side, waiting for Mitch to finish at the check-out. He had Kela with him. He walked over to me to drop off Kela and I saw Anna follow after him. In my mind, I assumed Mitch knew Anna was following him. He didn't. When he finished checking out, he comes over and asks where Anna is & that's when I started to panic. We spread out all over the store, retracing all the places we looked at & I'm starting to conjure up all the worst-case senerios I could think of! The elevator, the escalator, and since we're on the second floor...the railings, etc. And then the thought of some friendly looking pedophile snatching her up...it's endless! I'm freaking myself out again just thinking about it! Anyway, Mitch walked outside the store and found Anna wandering around the food court area...right by the stairs that lead outside. Relief doesn't even begin to describe the emotional roller coaster I went through in those short 5 minutes!

If there is any reason to keep me at 3 kids, this just may be it! I'm beginning to think I can't handle keeping an eye on more than this...and Jolee is just a baby! What am I going to do when she starts walking?! Maybe I'll invest in one of those "kiddie-leashes" you see tethering kids to their parents at the zoo....or prozac?

first check-up

Today was Jolee's first well-baby check up. She is 4 days old now. I'm still in awe that just less than a week ago, she was still inside my tummy & all I did was complain about wanting her out of me!! SO HAPPY am I that my wish came true! :)

Anyhoo, her first check up went so-so. Her weight dropped 10% which raises flags for docs so I came home with some bottles of formula to help supplement my nursing to "fatten" little Jo-jo up. I had to do this with both my other girls, so no big news there...just a bit of a pain that I have to go back in 2 days to check up on her progress. Her jaundice isn't as bad as Anna's so we're relieved there! She currently weighs 7 lbs. 5 oz. I know, a pretty big drop. But like I said, this has become routine with all of our girls & my milk supply has started to come in so I'm not worried. She's a good eater and an excellent sleeper! Hooray!

Here she is sleeping in her "banzai" pose. This boppy has carried us through all 3 of our girls. Anna didn't care for it much, but Kela LOVED it and slept for hours in it. Jolee seems to be taking on some of Kela's sleeping traits, and we're so happy! So far, so good. Mitch and I keep saying she's a "happy medium" between Kela and Anna. Not quite as easy as Kela, but definitely easier than Anna was.

People ask how I can blog so soon after baby? This is the reason. All she does is sleep! I seriously have to wake her up to feed...even at night, she's sleeping in solid 2-2 1/2 hour blocks which is lovely for me. :) Plus with Kela at preschool all day, and Mitch home to help with Anna...I'm almost bored. Hmmm...I suppose that means I should get crackin on some much needed cleaning and organizing, but of course, that's all on the back burner for now.

*And to everyone, thank you so much for all of your well-wishes and comments! It brightens my day and brings a smile to my very emotionally-charged moodiness lately...

private no more

By the way, you may (or may not) have noticed that I've de-privatized our family blog. After thinking things through, and with the arrival of Jolee, I realized there are many family and friends who don't blog that I'd hate to keep "out of the loop." Plus one of the major reasons for me going private, just doesn't seem to as big a deal as it used to...so, feel free to roam and browse and I'll continue to share the happenings and dealings of our little growing 'ohana (family).

just some more pictures...

jo-jo's first adjustment

For those who don't know, we are a chiropractic-lovin' family. We all get adjusted regularly. Kela and Anna both love getting adjusted. It's so cute watching them crawl up on the table by themselves and wait for Paul to adjust them. No, he doesn't "crack" their backs like adults...but little kids need adjustments just as much (if not more!!) as us adults do!

Today, after getting home from the hospital and taking a short nap ('cause we all needed it!!) we headed out to Uncle Paul's office for little "Jo-Jo"'s very first adjustment. And not to mention for me too, since sleeping in the hospital is always so uncomfortable for me... You can tell by the pictures that she was not a happy camper lying down on her back, but right afterwards, she was the happiest baby around! Yay for having an awesome chiropractor for a brother-in-law! Yes, we feel very fortunate, and will continue to take advantage of it! :) Thanks, Paul!

she's here (already)!!

Meet the newest addition to the Seavey family!

Jolee Kanae Seavey

Born Saturday July 19th at 7:37am

8 lbs. 2.5 oz 20 inches

Well, we were totally caught off guard, and completely unprepared...Jolee came 2 whole weeks (and a day) early. To spare all of you the nitty-gritty details, I'll just give a brief run down of the main events. Labor started for me sometime in the middle of the night. I didn't time it or even look at the clock because I didn't think I was truly in labor. I thought it was just some serious braxton-hicks... By the time the girls woke up at around 6:30am, I finally had Mitch bust out the clock & realized contractions were over a minute long and 2 minutes apart...for a third child, that's probably too close. He rushed the girls to Airi's, came back & just as I was about to get in the car, my bag broke! (A first for me! I've always had to have them rupture it.) We went in the house...thinking baby would come out, and when she didn't (obviously), we rushed to the hospital. That was about 7:10am. We got to the hospital, to the L&D and right after the doc checked me, the next contraction brought baby. I didn't even push. The doc didn't even have time to put her gloves on...it seemed a bit chaotic since everyone wasn't prepared to have baby come out yet...but while trying real hard not to push, baby "slid" out and all is finally well. :) Horray for a fast labor and delivery!

After all this ordeal, Mitch had to rush home to get things prepared for Kela's birthday party. Yes, we had this planned for weeks and decided Kela would be devastated to miss out on her much anticipated birthday bash. Poor Mitch had to take on that activity solo...but with the help of many great friends and family, I hear it was a success! If I can scrounge up some pictures from some attendees, I'll post them later. Happy Birthday Kela, and sorry Mommy wasn't able to make it!

relief!

Hooray! Mitch finally came home from his training in Seattle! And thankfully, he passed with flying colors! *Whew!* Wouldn't that be terrible to have to tell everyone that he flunked out of training!...Anyhoo, he passed and he's home and I'm finally hands-free! Literally. I have avoided holding Anna, carrying any type of bags (except for my small purse), or even driving...which has become quite cumbersome as of late. My stomach practically touches the steering wheel these days! The other day I was driving while talking on the phone ( I know, taboo!), and did a U-turn and my hand got caught between my tummy and the wheel and I almost didn't make the turn! Scary...I guess that's why it's dangerous to talk and drive at the same time! Then, after dinner, Mitch even took them to the park, bathed them and got them ready for bed!! Yay for Daddy!

I must say, that 2 1/2 weeks is such a long time! The last time he was gone for this long was right before Anna was born and he was gone for 3 weeks for training! At the time, however, I only had Kela and didn't feel as uncomfortable as I do now, so don't remember being so overwhelmed!! There is definitely a difference between one and two kids, that's for sure!! (or maybe it's my age...:P ) So, all's well and back to normal at the Seavey household once again...I'm hoping to catch up on my rest, rest, rest, etc. Although I'm wondering if I should continue to work to try and get this baby out sooner...

Here the girls are sporting their new BOEING "Jetsi & Jumbo" T-shirts Daddy got them in Seattle...we are a Boeing family now that Daddy will be flying the B-717's! Yippee!!

the most trying of days...

So, I feel like a terrible mother...since Mitch has been gone, I think today has been the most challenging thus far. Hopefully, today was the peak and Thursday will come sooner than it feels right now. *sigh*
For some reason (OK, I sort of know) Anna was absolutely out of control. Kela has had her share of tantrums and crying bouts, but this was seriously a first for me! I was out and about all day today, running around and getting errands done. So much so that Anna's nap was cut short and in her car seat only...didn't even have time to bring her inside to nap on her bed like I usually do. I'm thinking this is what did her in, because come evening time, she was a completely different little girl! It started with the shower--she screamed that she didn't want one, and then when it was finished, she screamed that she wanted to take another one! All the while the screaming and crying is merely a backdrop to the entire drama unfolding...non-stop and LOUD! After 15 minutes or so of this (I simply left her alone to "cry it out" because she was seriously inconsolable) she finally calmed down enough to eat her dinner. After which she was back to her happy-go-lucky self again.
Fast forward to bed time & it's the crying drama all over again. I offer her water, she refuses. I take the water away, and she cries and cries for water. MAKE UP YOUR MIND ALREADY!! I know, she's overly tired and I should have been the patient and loving mother to hold her and try to console her...but terrible me, what do I do? I close the windows ('cause I don't want our neighbors to call CPS on me!), sit with Kela and try to calm her down because by this point, Anna's screaming has upset Kela to tears as well. Oh, it's never ending! **sigh**
After giving Anna some more water (even though the stubbornness in me wanted to ignore her completely...terrible, I know!), she ended up crying herself to sleep in her own bed. Does that make me a bad mom? I'm thinking to myself...what would "Supernanny" say to this situation and how would she handle it? Hmmm...I dunno, but all I can say is that I'm pretty proud of myself for not "losin' it" because it took a lot of deep breathing and thinking "happy thoughts" on my part to refrain from losing my temper completely!
With both girls down in bed, fast asleep, I can honestly say that I am BEAT! And super glad that the day is over. And despite the fact that I should be in bed as well...I think I need to unwind. Maybe I'll scrapbook...

our weekend

Well, starting with Wednesday (I know, not the weekend), it was Kela's Birthday so after picking her up from Grandma's Preschool a little early, we hit the NEX (Navy Exchange). Kela and Anna love it here because Grandma always gives them pennies to throw into the fountain-even though there is a sign right next to it that says, "Don't throw anything into the fountain." This is what they love to do and what they look forward to every year when Grandma comes...go figure.

And then, since only Grandma & Grandpa can get us into the stores here at the Navy Exchange & Commisary, they always take the girls in to play with the toy cars. Kela wanted to do this for her Birthday as well, and since Grandma spoils her...we got to go inside and play with the toys a little bit, too. I don't know what's up with Kela's facial expressions these days, but everytime I bust out the camera, this is the pose she gives. I suppose it could be worse...
Then on Thursday, Aunty Elika came down to visit for a couple of days to hang out with us. Since we're both husband-less for this weekend, they spent the night and the girls got to enjoy their very first "slumber party" yay! After dinner on Thursday, we took the kiddies out for some Ice Cream to celebrate Kela's birthday. Yum-o! Then finally, Friday night we had a special dinner at Aunty Airi's house. All of us got together for some yummy Okonomiyaki (Hiroshima style) and ice cream (again...it's our family favorite dessert-you can't go wrong with ice cream!). Here's a fun pic of Atau balancing Kashus. Elika freaked out just a little bit, and Kash was a bit scared at first, but after 4 or 5 times, he seemed to like being up high!

kela's 4 years old!!

I can't believe my baby is 4 years old! It feels like just yesterday we brought her home from the hospital. As brand new parents we really had NO idea what we were in for...and now we're expecting our 3rd child! It's crazy how fast time flies and how much can change in such a short span of time.
Kela was born after 15 long hours of labor & 3 1/2 hours of pushing (my bag never broke...& silly me didn't want them to rupture it!). She came out at 8 lbs. 13 oz. It's our family record for biggest baby (so far, anyway!). Although now, she's probably one of the more petite kids in our family now...strange how that happens~
Anyway, here's a slighty long slideshow ('cause I had a hard time narrowing down pics) of our adventures with Kela from birth to now!

* And you'll notice...Kela was born with a MOP on her head-both of our girls had a full head of hair, but Kela especially. Her hair stood straight on end from about 2 months till 6 months...it was the fluffiest thing I've ever seen.
Enjoy!

children's discovery center

We visted the Children's Discovery Center this afternoon with ALL the kids in tow. I never even knew this place existed! It was a bit chaotic and a bit pricey, but absolutely worth the effort. The kids had a blast with all the exhibits and fun activities...and I'll admit, I think I had just as much fun as they did! The place was huge! Tons of things to do and see packed into 3 levels...I simply took way too many pictures, and so if you have the patience, you can take a look & enjoy the kiddies adventures. A great way to spend a HOT afternoon.... (for me anyway, since I'm always hot, hot, hot. I'd simply die without a/c)

welcome baby luke!!

NO, I didn't give birth yet...although there are a couple of reasons why I wish he were mine! (#1, I'd no longer be pregnant, & #2, a BOY!!...but anyway). Yes, my brother Atau and his wife Kiyomi had their #4 baby BOY this afternoon. At home. In the bathtub. And it was planned! They are so brave! Baby Luke weighed in at exactly 8 lbs. Over a pound heavier than all of their other babies, so poor Kiyomi looked exhausted! That's a Sakuma baby for sure! We Sakuma's tend to have big babies. I must say, our little Kela still holds the record for size out of all the Sakuma babies (8 lbs. 13 oz.). But, we're all so happy for them and and their super cute little baby boy.

So, with this blessed event, the reality of my impending Labor and Deliver is becoming a bit more nerve-wracking. I mean, she was only 4 weeks ahead of me...which means our little one will be arriving in less than a month!! CRAZY! Oh, those memories of timing contractions and laboring and pushing are rushing back to me now....

happy 4th

Here's just a couple of pictures of Kela in front of her Patriotic poster with Grandma at Preschool.

And then for this year's Independence Day, we had a HUGE crowd (and I mean, REALLY, REALLY HUGE!) of people at Aunty Airi's house to celebrate. With all together 9 families (26 kiddos in all!), we had a fun time splashing around the front yard with pools, slides and of course, the trampoline!

After dinner & a movie, it was time for fireworks...Kela seemed to be loking forward to sprinklers, but unfortunately, all we had were the loud crackers and fountains. Both of which Kela and Anna don't care for. After a brief 2 minute trip up the driveway to check it out, both girls were bawling, afraid of the noise. We headed straight back to the house & sang karaoke with the other babies & smoke-nixing people. I know, a 4th with no fireworks?! But, Mitch would be happy since he mentioned to me (at least 5 times) to stay away from the smoke!! Yeah, no problem there.

An exciting and exhausting day for the Seavey household. We came home, showered, and fell right to sleep. Yea! A true successful day, in my book! :)

mno!

We had our every-so-often necessary Mother's Night Out last night. I must say, it was very nice to have free time without husbands or children to relax, talk story and just enjoy some fun and silly conversation. And no, not all of our conversation revolved around kids or husbands...although it is true, we do talk (and sometimes gripe and make light) of all that we mom's go through on a daily basis. I think we need it! So, thanks guys for a great night away~

Here's dinner at Kincaid's. I'm craving the crab & artichoke dip again already! (it was so yummy as an appetizer, I ended up ordering it for my dinner as well!) Hey, it was my "splurge night!"

Then it was off to the movies. We saw "Made of Honor".

I'll admit, I have a problem with movies with this theme...of the person who's dating or engaged, while harboring feelings for someone else...that sense of 'emotionally cheating' on the person they're dating/engaged to/or married. How terrible! I know, I take these stories too seriously and probably analyze too much, but it's a personal irk of mine--and many movies/shows have plots like this. Anyway, my personal feelings aside, it was a cute movie. Plus, I enjoy movies with happy endings (hope I didn't spoil the ending for those who haven't seen it and plan to...) so wasn't terribly disappointed. But in the end, I left feeling slightly unsatisfied...Boy, am I a boring movie-watcher or what?