We hopped to IHOP

Yesterday was National Pancake Day and, since we couldn't go for breakfast, we went for dinner. IHOP offered a free short stack for anyone who came in. We got one for each of us and a dessert afterward. We were amazed that Brendan ate his 3 pancakes at top speed and polished off his sister's.


This is what Darby did the whole time - she hung out in her car seat. Oh well, she'll get the pancakes in a different form later, I suppose. :)

3 weeks old

Time flies!

Pier 45

Some friends that told us a while back about some things in SF that we would like. One thing they mentioned was the Musee Mecanique and the other was a submarine tour. So we did both this weekend. It was a lot of fun!
The Musee Mecanique (Mechanical Museum) is a warehouse with a collection of old, vintage arcade games. And when I say old, I mean OLD. The kind that cost a penny and use puppets and gears. It was really cool. Eva liked the dancing puppets and Brendan and Jason played several of the games. I personally liked the music machines.


We spend $5 in quarters on all kinds of things, from viewing an English execution (weird) to fortune tellers to bowling games to "Laughing Sal"(a huge fat puppet lady that laughs hysterically at you). Its free to get in and quite an experience.
At the same pier is the USS Pampanito, a WWII submarine that you can tour. Since I had the baby and we didn't think Eva would have been very well behaved in a place like that, just Jason and Brendan went aboard.


Bubbs thought it was really neat but was upset that it wasn't going to go underwater and take him somewhere. The boys also went aboard a WWII warship that was docked there too. Here's some pictures from the photo ops on the pier.



On our way home we drove by Wallenberg High School, an epic skateboarding spot according to Jason, and tried to eat at Ike's Place, a sandwich shop so amazing that Adam Richman from Man vs. Food did part of a show on it. Too bad the line was around the block. What a fun family morning. We don't have too many more in this area and need to see and do all we can.

Worth it

It is worth it to order diapering supplies from Diapers.com just for the huge boxes. It keeps the kids busy for a very long while. Not to mention I do not have to take them all shopping with me. :)

What the kids are up to

Brendan is still suffering from a lingering cough and is now on 2 different inhalers for his asthma. Poor guy. However, he is now back to school after missing it due to "baby-ness" and has a parent teacher conference this week. I wonder what she'll say.

Eva is creating new fashion statements. We made a trip to Travis Air Force Base this weekend and she had the most fun trying on the ladies uniform shoes. She had a meltdown when she had to take them off.

I hope this type of outfit (too short skirt and boots) doesn't make a reappearance when she's 16.

And Darby does a lot of eating, sleeping, pooping and being just plain cute. She really is a mellow baby.

Anniversary/Valentine's Day Gifts

Jason here. So this past weekend was our Anniversary/Valentine's Day celebration. It was on a long weekend like this 6 years ago that we were married. We had planned on waiting until summer break when Christine and I were both out of school (she was teaching and I was a student). When we started planning the wedding things quickly started getting hectic and we started kicking around the idea of a smaller wedding on a long weekend or Spring Break. Spring Break didn't work out so we started looking at long weekends. It turned out that Valentine's Day fell on the Saturday of President's Day weekend that year. It was perfect. It only left a month and a half to get everything ready, but it worked out.

This past weekend we celebrated as much as we could have with a preschooler, a toddler and a newborn. We always do gifts though. Christine is notoriously difficult to surprise with a present. As I have noted before she is like Sherlock Holmes when it comes to guessing gifts. It has gotten to the point where she stops telling me what she thinks the gift is so as to not spoil things. So I don't bother trying to surprise her with stuff and just get her something I know she will love.

And Christine loves Willow Tree figurines.

I really like them too. They are touching without being kitschy. The sculptor manages to capture the essence of tenderness using nothing but body language. They are quite remarkable really.


This year's figurine.


Christine bought me a book I have been dying to re-read called "Days of the Living Christ." Perfect!

Sweet sleep

I got one good four hour and one three hour stint of sleep last night. It is a far cry from making up for the lack of sleep the past two weeks but I'll take what I can get. Darby is finally getting into a rhythm and is getting used to the bassinet. With the help of swaddling, a pacifier, white noise and vibrations on the bassinet, I am able to tank her up (I am amazed at how much she eats) and then lay her down. I know it is early still and we will have many relapses before we are on a true schedule, but it is a beginning.

How Brendan spends his days stuck inside

This is a partial picture of his wooden train tracks extending from one side of the living room into the kitchen. He even has a few tunnels and uses the coffee table as a mountain. Future engineer maybe?

Daddy and the girls

Yay! Daddy's home from the conference. We missed him!

Number 2 is two

Eva turned 2 years old yesterday. Due to her sister's birth 6 days ago, the affair was rather small. She did get to go play with her friend, Margo, most of the morning, which she loved. When Daddy came home we had her birthday cupcakes and sang to her.

Then she opened presents. I am so glad that she really liked what we got her. Judging by Christmas (when she played with the presents for 2 seconds and asked for an Elmo video she'd seen a million times), I never know just what she'll really like. She took her Sesame Street play figures to bed with her. My parents got her a doll that my mom makes clothes for. She has dubbed it "Baby Darby".


I'd like to say that it is hard to believe my baby is 2 but it seems she has been two years old for a while now. She is just too sassy to be only 1.

And the winner is . . .

Jason got the email yesterday evening - we are going to Fort Bragg in North Carolina after graduation!! I am so excited! It is where we wanted to go. Now I am dreaming of a house with a backyard and lots of space! Jason is excited too, especially since Bragg is updating their facilities and building an entirely new clinic there. I am also glad it is NC because they have a Core Knowledge school right by the base and I am going to try my hardest to make sure we move into that area so Brendan can attend. Time to look up all I can about North Carolina!

A Baby Story

For those of you who are wondering how labor went with Darby, this post is for you. For those who would rather I keep it to myself, you might want to skip this post.
When I went in for my last OB appointment, Dr. Wilner asked if I wanted him to sweep the membranes and "see if that stirs things up". I hadn't talked to Jason about it but it seemed like a good idea. If I did go into labor that weekend, a lot of things would work out well for us. So I said yes. He told me that it does not always induce labor but to be on the lookout for it. The procedure, though, was pretty uncomfortable but short lived.
That night, around 8pm, I started to feel some cramping. Braxton Hicks had tricked me before so I went to bed an hour later anyway. I woke up at 10:30 with some serious contractions. I still figured I was in early labor and should rest at home while I could. An hour later I woke up again in real pain. I started to time them. Fifteen minutes later they were 2 minutes or less apart. I woke up Jason. I don't think he fully comprehended what "less than 2 minutes apart" meant in his sleepy state because he said he had to take a shower first.
We called in reinforcements (thanks Matt!!) to come sleep on the couch until my mom could get the kids in the morning and left for the hospital. The contractions were right on top of each other and the drive there feel like an eternity. It was excruciating back labor. Upon arrival people started asking me questions. I couldn't talk and just pointed to Jason. When they got me to Maternity, I checked in at a 6. Yep, it was going fast. The IV went in and I got some fentanyl. At that point I was feeling pretty good and thought I could do this again with just IV drugs. But it wore off after half an hour and I began to feel those awful back labor contractions. I have to say they are much worse than those in the front. So, I decided I wanted an epidural (my fist one ever).
There was a problem, however. The anesthesiologist could find an open spot to insert the tube. She tried for over 25 minutes. She was able to get the initial dose in but couldn't find another for the long term tube to be put in. So, my legs started to feel like lead and the pain lessened but I now have 3 small holes in my back as a result. They are healing fine, by the way. She told me that it works better on some people if they lay down and curl into a fetal position. First try and we were in. I didn't really like the lack of feeling in my legs but I didn't feel any contractions and could finally talk. The nurse checked and I was at an 8. Everything was so nice that Jason and I just played a game on our iPhones while we waited out the rest of labor.
At 4:30am I was at a 10 but the bag of waters hadn't broken. The nurse went back out of the room to wait some more but I coughed once and the water broke (guess my persistent cold is good for something). Then it was pushing time. I couldn't really feel much but pushed as hard as I could. One push and her head was out. The doctor told me to wait a bit. It turns out that the cord was wrapped so tightly around her neck that he couldn't slip it off. It had to be cut. He later told me that was curious because she showed no signs of fetal distress even though it was so tight. I pushed again and she was done. No tears, 2 pushes - NICE!! She was a litte groggy and had to be rubbed a bit to get a good yelp out but she was beautiful. However, we were expecting a 9 pounder and I could tell right away that she was nowhere near that. So my little one is not yet 8 pounds and 21 inches long (my lightest but longest child so far). The nurse was fascinated with her toes (see previous post about the Telford toe - everyone in my family has it, including all my kids). She has a TON of dark hair and the longest fingers and toes I have ever seen on a newborn.


She roomed in with me but was so sleepy the whole time I had to wake her up to eat every time. Thankfully, that is not a problem anymore. Daddy couldn't stop kissing her whenever he came to see us. He had to leave for a school function and some errands while we were recuperating. My hospital stay experience was better than last time but I was still interrupted way too many times from well meaning people wanting to take my vitals or give me advice. I understand that is the nurse's job to check in on me but please, this is my third baby, I don't need someone to tell me what to do every step of the way or insist I must need more pain meds. I only really liked my night nurse. She came in once and then told me she'd leave me alone. Bless her. I was glad to be home.

Sweet Pea

Yea, Daddy is already around her little finger.

First Meeting

I will save the delivery story for later, mostly because it is long and I am already typing with a newborn on my lap, but I thought you'd like to see pictures. I was lucky enough to deliver on the day that Marin General rescinded their "no child under 14" visiting policy. That day, the 29th, a bulletin went out that healthy siblings of the newborn could come and visit. Yay!
Brendan and Eva were immediately enamored with her. Brendan got to hold her (because he is a big boy). He hugged and kissed her. Eva was clamoring for her and saying "baby Darby" over and over again so she got to love on her when she was on Daddy's lap. I have a feeling Bubbs will be a big help and Eva will "love" the baby a little too much. :)


Darby gave them the presents she brought for them. Brendan later told my mom, who the kids went to stay with a for a few days, that Darby was "so smart" because she knew what he wanted (i.e. more trains). Eva got a purse and had no idea why, but loved it anyway.
It was a special time for me to see all my children together and to see the bonds already forming. I can't wait for the older ones to come home today.