Akina Family

6 Months

2010-11-23T16:49:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm a little late. Here, this should make up for it!

Quick summary of the Kate-a-roo: She's rocking back and forth on her hands and knees. She has one and a half teeth. We just started solid foods and she doesn't quite have the knack of it yet. Still sleeping 10+ hours at night. We're not on a solid daytime schedule, but 2 or 3. naps are par for course. Still spitting up A LOT. I mean, like 4 - 6 bibs per day. And that's because I don't change them every time she spits up. We have an appointment next week, but she weighs around 18 1/2 pounds. She likes her milk!

I'm not naked

2010-11-05T16:39:00.000-07:00

Have you read the blog, stuffchristianslike.net? It's fantastic. Anyway, I got the book version for my birthday and have been loving it. One of the articles Thinking You're Naked has recently applied to me lately in all sorts of ways.

Lizzy had a few friends over while their lovely parents went out on a date night. Right before they arrived, she had wet the bed. We're 99% accomplished on this potty training thing, but it just so happened we had "a ack-cent" as she would say. (And of course it would be when we were expecting company, when do children ever do something when you have tons of time to clean it up? You know what I'm talking about.) So as we were putting sheets in the wash, I hear Lizzy tell her friends, "I had a ack-cent" very matter-of-factly. There was no shame in her voice. I looked over at my husband, and I either thought it, or I said to him, "She doesn't know she's supposed to be embarassed."

Wow. What a thing for a mom to think. Lizzy is three years old. Why should she be embarrassed to have an accident? I was totally projecting and I'm glad she wasn't around to hear me say it. She is a tiny sponge-shaped person who mimics just about everything I do and say. Really, she's so animated while talking I can only imagine how I must come across to her. But this notion of learning shame has really boggeled me down. It's bad enough other people are pushing their perceptions of how we should behave and what is acceptable Self-talk is just as bad, and Lizzy is internalizing everything. That is to say, she's learning how to behave, speak, and interact with others - and we're the people who are teaching her.

It's a cluster of x-rays that are all beaming at me at once. We are going through Galations at church, learning behavior is not what endears us to God. I'm learning in my own personal therapy sessions I think I warped my brain into telling myself I'm not acceptable unless I'm doing the right things (what I consider to be the right things). And finally a blow to my heart in this article about how God truely loves us regardless of ________. Whatever it is, because everyone has something. Everyone. So I'm embracing that truth, I am not naked. (For those who haven't read the article, just go do it. This will make more sense and the article is short anyway. Too lazy to go to the top of this blog, you say? here : link) Truly believing you are not worthless actually boosts self-esteem quite a bit. And if I'm proud of myself for accepting His free gift, I can only imagine it made God's blog as well.

We have a laugher

2010-09-15T07:58:00.000-07:00

We discovered this accidentally when we were at our neighbor's house. I've tried to duplicate it this morning, but no luck so far. I'll keep trying though,

Hello Mini David

2010-09-13T18:59:00.000-07:00

4 Months

2010-08-30T23:10:00.000-07:00

Well, it's happened. It feels like I can't remember a time when Kate has not been a part of our family. (I know I actually can remember, but it feels long long ago.)

Our photo shoot this month was a little difficult. She really didn't want to stay still. Every time I'd catch her smiling she was flapping her arms or putting her hands in her mouth. But she's a happy one, I can't complain. Although today she's a bit unlike herself, I think she might be getting some teeth in... She's at the end of a 3 hour nap, no wonder I have time to blog.

This is what I call her whole face smile. I love it. You can totally see where she scratched her left eyelid. Whoops! Sorry second child... we just don't get to your fingernails as quickly as we did for Lizzy.

Here are my two girls. We're growing out Lizzy's bangs so she looks super messy at the moment. I can't believe she's almost 3. We are beyond blessed and don't deserve a single lick of it.

3 Months

2010-07-28T14:13:00.000-07:00

My oh my! We were just saying last night it feels like it's been forever since Kate's days and nights were mixed up. 3 months have come and gone and what a difference they have made! 16 pounds and 8 ounces later we are in the 90th percentile for height and weight. Kate is still sleeping 6-9 hours a night, and we are about to embark upon letting her "cry it out". A somewhat painful process for mom and dad (Kate too but she won't remember) but well worth it in the end.

Kate had one moment of laughter that we caught on Dave's phone earlier this month, but isn't laughing readily. She gives tons of smiles and is putting her hands in her mouth. She's an overall happy baby except when she is tired (which happens every 3rd hour of the day). We are eating, playing then sleeping in those 3 hour (ish) segments during the day. It is double nap time now, Kate and Lizzy are both down. It makes for a happy mama.

Lizzy's language has just exploded! She is requesting a princess cake for her birthday, and I think Auntie Kibbie has agreed to make one. Poor Elmo is still around, but we definitely don't have the same fascination as we did last year. I'll have to put some pics up of Lizzy soon, our eachday (link : here) has lots of recent pictures.

2 Months

2010-07-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

Ms Kate is now (as you can see from that last pic) a happy kiddo. Weighing in around 15 pounds, her little legs are getting sturdier by the minute. We're on a schedule, and she likes her routine. So much so, that she really really doesn't like to take a bottle anymore. Which has made life harder over here at the Akinas. I'm working on changing that. Everyday, I feed her one feeding from a bottle, which is still met with resistance. Still no bottle from Dada or anyone else. We'll get there, right? Right?

Sleeping now comes in 6-9 hour chunks at night. 6 hours is really the norm, every once in awhile she'll sleep all the way through the night. But only waking up once, I can handle. And we're only awake for about a 1/2 hour. Other than that, we're doing ok! I'm driving David a little crazy because I keep trying new dinner menu's. Asian meatballs and brown rice (recipe: here) wasn't our favorite. Oh well, you live and learn!

1 Month

2010-07-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

Here is Ms. Kate at 1 month old... At her six week appointment she weighed 12 pounds, 12 ounces. Yikes! No wonder my back is already getting sore. She's looking very cute here but still not really sleeping.

Cheese and Rice! Sleeping!

2010-05-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

What is it about 2am that most newborns find attractive? Is it the attention they receive? There are no good shows on TV during that time. Or do they like to just excercise their lungs while they have the opportunity to really enjoy the noise? No noise competition at that time you know...

Whatever the reason, little Kate really likes to be up for about 3 - 4 hours during the night. I'm hoping it is the 3 week growth spurt my baby book was talking about, and the constant nursing during that time will let up. I'm not sure if my nipples can take much more. (TMI, sorry). Anyway, she's sleeping so peacefully now I thought I would take some pictures and show them to her later to model the appropriate behavior. I don't remember being this tired w/ Lizzy, and I thought I should write it down so I don't forget. I know it doesn't last forever. But knowing that isn't making me less tired at the moment. Well she's waking up now, time to take another trip down the milk lane.

Seriously?

2010-04-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

Today was interesting.... Lizzy locked herself in our bedroom. And I had no way of getting her out. Trying to talk a 2 1/2 year old through the process of turning a lock on a door is frustrating for both parties...

I called my neighbor who luckily was right down the street. She was able to come over and had just the right tool to unlock the door. Dave was right behind her, and fixed the door so we wouldn't be in the same situation again. Goosh, what a heartbreaking feeling to have a little girl on the other side of the door crying and begging me to open it.

Back and Forth

2010-04-14T13:58:00.001-07:00

Ok, today I'm done. It seems like some days I can just push through and being pregnant is only a minor inconvenience. However, today, was not one of those days. I knew the power was going to be out in our house and my plan was to run some errands with Lizzy during that time. I did not remember to account for the automatic garage door. To open it by hand, I would have had to crawl on top of the car. Probably not a smart idea for a 9 month pregnant person. So I was stuck at home, with a cranky toddler and my patience was gone.

Lizzy saw that I was sad, and said she would read to me. She had her little bible, and had me help her find baby Jesus. Thank goodness Jesus was at one point a baby, it has been our introduction to Jesus for Lizzy since she LOVES babies. Anyway, her tender little heart asked me if I was sad, and if I needed my Dada. What a sweet little girl. I wish I could say in that moment I realized I needed to turn to Jesus and everything was made better. (It just struck me how obvious that connection would have been... with Lizzy holding her bible... but sadly I just put it together.) I was able to move past my own pity party and just hang out with Lizzy though. God totally used her to soften my response and get a grip.

These last few weeks have been a little back and forth. Good days and not so good days. Sleep has definitely become more of a challenge within the past few nights. We are overly ready to meet baby peanut, but I wouldn't change a thing. When it's ready, we'll push 'em out! Well, maybe I will, but Dave will be in charge of telling you all. I feel kinda like I have a do-over since the power is back on and Lizzy is napping quietly in her room. Some peace and perspective feels good already.

Poor Kiddo

2010-02-09T12:04:00.000-08:00

Look out Vanessa, we've got our own boo boo's to display. (I think you and Rebecca are the only one's who read this anyway). It actually looks worse than it is, Lizzy is her normal self, going through a growth spurt at the moment. I am always impressed how much she eats these days. Anyway, a little allergic reaction to something left some giant hives all over... or we call them "bumps". She's quite proud of them, I think. They don't bother her, which is awesome. Kind of shocking to see =)

Trouble

2010-01-29T10:20:00.001-08:00

We have officially entered the putting things up our nose stage. Lizzy and I were playing Hi-Ho-Cheerio earlier this morning and it was still out after we had finished playing. Shrek was on TV, Lizzy's new favorite and a staple during this crummy weather, when she started rubbing her nose and crying. She sneezed, and I saw something brown sticking out of her nose. I realized they were the little cardboard circles that were punched out of the game to create the holes in the trees.

By this point, Lizzy wouldn't blow because she was so upset, so we headed to the bathroom where my tweezers are located. I pinned her down on the ground and proceeded to pull out 3 chewed up cardboard circles from one nostril and 2 from the other. Lizzy continued to cry, especially since she was looking at herself in the mirror (this usually makes her more upset and I think she does it on purpose).

Anyway, they were out and we had a talk about NOT putting things up our noses. This was the second time, the first was a very small pink rubber hair band. She had pulled it out of her hair while sitting in the carseat, and then shoved it up her nose. We couldn't see it at all, but she was sneezing and rubbing her nose so much we figured out something was wrong. We pulled that one out by hand since I had her blow into a tissue. Two lucky breaks I say, let's not make it three.

November 1st

2009-11-03T20:24:00.001-08:00

Well, it came and went. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the day when it finally came. Our due date. My friend Amy once said about her miscarriage, "As long as I'm pregnant again by the time the due date rolls around, I'll feel ok." I definitely think that it helps to be pregnant, but my heart aches a little knowing that I don't think I would feel ready to have a newborn right now. It makes it feel like it never happened. I feel confused that I don't feel more sad. Not sure if God has used the time to heal my heart, or if I'm just focused on the new pregnancy.

I had a feeling that something was going to go wrong with that pregnancy. Maybe my eyes just opened to the frequency of others who had experienced loss. Pregnancy is such a fragile thing, and I so took it for granted when I was pregnant with Lizzy. Total ignorant bliss.

I still feel uneasy about this current pregnancy. It doesn't help that we have had complications. Our next ultrasound is November 11th, and I keep thinking I'll feel better when.... When I can see the baby, when I can hear the heartbeat, when I stop bleeding, when I actually gain some weight. I know it doesn't help to be anxious, and I do have times when I let go and give control back to God where it stinking belongs. But I have times that the lump in my throat is just building and building and I can't make the ache in my heart stop. Kathleen says I need to cry more, little pressure releases so I don't end up blowing a fuse. I'm still learning how to process and be congruent. I really wish I had a better grasp on that before I did lots of things. I've definitely made some progress, and ready to tackle some more.

Big Girl Bedroom

2009-10-02T16:28:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been awhile since I've put anything up. We've been very busy getting Lizzy's big girl bedroom ready. You can see her in her new room... sans pants. Today we are starting potty training... we'll see how that goes. Anyway, hope you get the gist of the new room.

Bike Riding

2009-08-23T11:10:00.000-07:00

We have really enjoyed our Sunday morning bike rides. Lizzy loves her "el-mut" (helmet) and pads. They have all her favorite sesame street characters. She's just started getting the concept of smiling for the camera too (well in this case, wincing.)

Found

2009-08-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad we found our camera charger... We missed out on pictures of the beach and pictures with the Iowa smiths. I could kick myself. But it's found thanks to my wonderful husband, who was out of luck for dinner tonight because I forgot to make it! We agreed to have dinner at home and I was visiting with my parents and completely lost track of time. Poor Dave. Now he gets to eat at probably 9:30pm or 10:00pm, whenever he gets home. I feel terrible. My p-brain isn't helping us out too much.

We're not done hunting possums

2009-07-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

Cousin Daniel in New Zealand would be proud... At 2:30am this morning, our dog Tui was barking. She is a dog that thankfully, does not bark (though she has other problems) unless there is a reason. So naturally, when I woke up to constant barking, I asked Dave if he thought it was Tui. We soon realized it was, and he went to check it out. I sat on the bed, terrified that someone was breaking into our house and had attacked Dave (did I mention we watched a Vampire movie right before bed?) I waited for what felt like an eternity before Dave came back and asked me to come check out Tui. She was pretty dirty, but other than that she was ok. Turns out Dave had found a half mangled possum that Tui had been... well I don't know what she was doing. But the possum needed to be put out of it's misery which my wonderful husband did. I don't know what I would have done if he wasn't here.

The last time we had to kill a possum, we were riding around in cousin Daniel's truck late at night with a .22 and a spotlight. To be fair, the possums carry diseases that transmit to the dairy cows on their farm. It was still dang fun though. Made me miss the farm and our fabulous Kiwi family.

Big Girl Bed

2009-07-18T22:54:00.000-07:00

I feel really strange about the new chapter we have begun. Lizzy is now sleeping in the twin bed I did when I was a kid. It's really got me thinking about the dynamic of parents and children. It's funny that I still sometimes feel like a kid (especially around my parents) and now Lizzy feels that same way about David and I. Not sure what exactly is resonating with me... I'll have to keep thinking on that one. In the meantime, we surprised Lizzy with her big girl bed earlier this afternoon...

She spent a good amount of time playing and reading in her new bed this afternoon...

and is now sleeping peacefully and will hopefully remain in her bed and not on the floor. Wish us luck!

Goofy Girl

2009-05-19T19:00:00.000-07:00

Lizzy loves to play with her princess car she received as a gift for her first birthday. She is still getting lots of use out of it! It's been hard to catch a picture with her looking at the camara, this was a lucky shot.

The sunglasses were also a gift from our friend Vanessa, and since we were inside Lizzy wore them on her head! It's so fun to watch the ways our little copycat mimics our behavior.

Tui and Lizzy

2009-05-11T09:49:00.000-07:00