It's About Time for a New Post!

Wow! Time has flown since September. I feel like I have been so busy...too busy to blog...yet I am struggling to find something to say. What do I do everyday?

One thing for sure...2007 was a great year for us (is this starting to sound like a traditional Christmas letter...). To update everyone, our family is doing well.

CS, nickname Boba, is starting to crawl--backwards and in a circle, but crawling nonetheless. He gets himself where he needs to go. He is an absolute joy....happy nearly all of the time. He has suffered several colds this fall and winter, resulting in several trips to the pediatrician. On one visit, CS was particularly smiley and flirty with the nurses and receptionists, and our doctor joked to him, "I'd hate to see you when you're feeling well." Aside from the frequent colds, his earlier health concerns have disappeared; we are so very, very grateful. He sleeps a straight 12 hours a night, is a wonderful eater (weighing in at almost 20 pounds)....what more could we ask for.

My little Luvs keeps me on my toes in so many ways, and I love being with her. She is so smart; she loves all-day Kindergarten (and I so love her Kindergarten) and is reading, dabbling in algebra, etc. (She asked me once what b + b is. Kind of seeing her logic, I replied "4," to which she replied, "No, d.") She keeps busy with lots of play dates; she has made some really good friends this year. She can swim front stroke and back stroke by herself across the pool and has starting playing the piano. OK, now I see where a lot of my time goes.

When I am not busy with the above, I am enjoying running and my freelance work. I am so grateful for the wonderful friends we have made here, particularly for all of their help with CS this year. And I want to send a big thank you to all of my "old" friends for not forgetting about me and for staying in touch, even when I'm not great getting back to you.

Last but not least, Nagre is awesome. He is such a wonderful, helpful dad and husband. I can't say enough good things. (He took me on a date tonight to a movie and a nice dinner, so he's really on my good list.) He keeps busy at work and will likely start his post-graduate work again this fall. When he's not busy with the above, he still enjoys his video games, but usually only finds time for them around 1 a.m.

There's our Christmas letter/year in review. My New Year resolution is to post once a month...I should be able to handle this, right?

Milestones

First day of kindergarten....

First taste of "solid" food....

10th anniversary at a fancy hotel...

Cool Like Suzie

I want to see if I can do fun things on my blog like Suzie. However, the running statistics you may see here are not nearly as impressive as Suzie's. I'm still in the walk-to-run stage, not running a marathon in three weeks! Good luck, Suzie and M&M!

The Perks of Living Where We Live

Strawberry picking is truly one of the very best things about living where we live. (How's that for trying to be discreet in the vast world of blogging?)


We are then spoiled with our fresh, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth (honestly, they do) riches in the form of homemade pies for Father's Day and jams. (I didn't get any made this year; I'll use the new baby excuse. Suzie, do you have a precious jar to spare?)

Don't all rush to make your reservations for a visit next June!

The Past Five and a Half Weeks

First of all, Nagre and I would like to thank everyone for the e-mails, phone calls, gifts, meals, etc. that we have received over the past five and a half weeks. We truly appreciate you thinking of us and apologize that we have not been able to get back to many of you. I hope to get thank you cards done ideally before Independence Day, but with the way my days are going, it may be Labor Day.

I have no idea where the time goes each day. Even on the days when I don't leave the house, time flies between feedings of my one month old and five year old, diaper changes, getting ready for the day, reading lessons, dishwasher loadings (that's about all the housework I seem to be able to accomplish in a day), etc. I set a goal of showering everyday, which I have kept thus far, even it's been at 6 p.m. Nagre can at least say he has come home each day to a clean wife and children.

And then there are the days when I do venture out. My anxiety kicks into high gear with two children, but in the end, it is good to get out. Most of the time.

CS is doing very well and is a wonderful baby boy. We love him tremendously. And I worry about him tremendously. Nagre brought to my attention today how many times I say, "I'm worried about such and such," or "I'm worried about so and so." His chastising was in response to my comment that I am worried about the baby squirrels that recently appeared on our hill in our backyard. I haven't seen their what I assume to be mother in a day or so (as a naughty black and white cat has been perched on our hill during the same time period), and I hoped they were faring well. Nagre said my worrying had now reached new levels.

But as you can see in this photo, he is beautiful, happy, and healthy. And I am so grateful to have him in our lives. (Special thank you to my long-time friend of 30 years and her mother who made the outfit and blanket in the photo!)















His sister is doing well. In the past five weeks, she has graduated from preschool, participated in her first talent show (she read a story to 60 amazingly quiet four and five year olds), danced to "Teddy Bear Huggin'" in front of a packed house at the local high school, and completed swimming lessons. Oh, and she turned 5! This has been a long anticipated event at our house. However, the day after the big event, she said to me, "I'll be 6 soon." As you can see, she loves being a big sister. In fact, we have very few photos of CS without her in them.









The past five and a half weeks have been a major time of adjustment for all of us, but we're hanging in there. One sleepless night at a time.

He's Awake!

Did you know that C-Section mothers get the best medication during recovery? And little boys that go to the "circ" room... they get the good stuff too. And when mom and baby get the good stuff, dad gets a bunch of photos of sleeping people. Just as all good things come to and end, medication wears off and the family wakes up. Finally, I was able to get some pictures of C.S. with his eyes open.


Unfortunately, the sleeping all happened during the day, when I couldn't seem to conk out, setting me up for a long night will a "fresh" two day old with a sore.... well, enjoy the pictures anyway.

Big Boy!

C.S. is here! The adventure started this morning with a 5:30 AM check in at the hospital. Sticky Niki was prepped for surgery by 7:30 AM and at 8:07 AM we had our healthy baby boy. C.S surprised us at 9 lbs 2 oz and 21.5 inches long. He is eating and sleeping well and Stiki Niki is glad to not be pregnant any more. C.S. has already shared his affection for his father by pooping on him.

D-Day

D-Day is upon us... (Thats delivery day). With the countdown now at about eight hours we are looking for something clever, or insightful to share.... but nothing is coming. We are too excited and too tired to think properly. Come to think of it, that may be our state of mind for the next six months!

I think that the best part is, we are finally ready. The bags are packed, the baby's room is complete (photos to come... when we can get the grandparents out of it!), and stiki niki is anxiously awaiting her pain medication.

More to come...

Spring Visitors

Hi All... Nagre here. This looked kinda fun so this week I am hijacking the NYG Times. As it struggles to be spring here in the sunny Pacific northwest (thats sarcasm... in case you missed it), we had a couple of visitors on the back yard hill this week. Spring seems to bring out the animals around here. Last year it was deer and "Twitchy" the squirrel (and family). This year its ducks.

With neighbors on either side running water features, we think the ducks must have been terribly lost to park on our part of the hill. But they did provide entertainment for the family for the better part of half an hour. With February being so dreadfully dreary, its nice to see the world around us coming to life again. Bring on the sunshine. Enjoy the pics!

Good medicine

During this first week of blogging, I have discovered that a blog may be good medicine. A very good friend of mine was supposed to come for a visit next week and stay for almost a week. She canceled this week, for a variety of reasons. In my pregnant, weepy state, I am longing for a visit with family or an old friend, and needless to say, was devasted by the news. But, how fun it has been to hear from family members through this blog. I appreciate your comments.

Yes, the big delivery day is coming...about six and a half weeks away now. I feel like I should still be able to do all that I normally do in a day, but the truth is, I am really slowing down. I was hoping to work until tax day, but that's not going to happen. So, starting next week, I look forward to a month with my little Luvs before her world as she knows it changes forever. And mine and Nagre's too.

Up to the challenge....

After reading Suzie Petunia's post from November 13, 2006, I have decided it is time to enter the world of blogging. It's only taken me five months to accept the challenge (actually I just stumbled upon it today).

I guess I'll start by explaining my naming choices for this blog. First of all, one of my nicknames growing up was "slap sticky Niki." Why, I don't know. Maybe I can get my mom to start a blog to explain those details.

The rationale behind The NYG Times. With a journalism background and a love for newspapers, I still harbor a desire to work for The New York Times someday. This may be as close as I get for a while. There's just something about seeing your name in print.