Jer, Becca, Jonas, & Josie

Josie is getting bigger every day.

She liked trying avocado the first time but since then hasn’t been too interested in food. She’s starting to explore a little though!

Josie and Kiley are best buddies.

Right before Bubby visited, Josie surprised me by doing this!

Slow down, little one! Of course, she fell completely sideways immediately after I grabbed my camera and took the picture.

Bubby has been here and it’s been so much fun!

Jonas has been talking to her all about sea creatures, his current obsession.

Of course there’s been lots of ukulele playing. Jonas’s classmates loved it and so did the kids at Tinkergarten!

The annual Bubby/Jo Jo slide picture.

We went to Babychella– along with 5000 other people! There was so much to do and it was really fun.

Yesterday Josie turned seven months old!

Bubby goes back to WV tomorrow, and we’ll all be sad. Josie has been smiling and laughing every time he sees her and Jonas loves talking to her, making peanut butter balls, and doing fun activities like setting up a bird house. I’ve liked having someone to talk to during the days and someone to help me with the every growing laundry loads! We’re looking forward to visiting her this summer!

Things are definitely busier with two! Plus I’ve been working hard on my childbirth educator training, so I haven’t been updating here. We’ve been having fun, though, especially the last few days with the holidays.

Jonas had a holiday show at preschool. This picture is misleading. While his friends sat and sang, he danced and jumped around!

Christmas Eve was also the first night of Hannukah so we lit the candles, ate latkes, played dreidel, and opened a few small gifts. Jonas loved his pretend shaving kit and couldn’t wait to shave just like Daddy does.

Jer did the annual reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas.

We had a great Christmas too  with some Christmas morning sleepy snuggles.

Santa brought Jonas a scooter just like he asked for! I was surprised– I thought he would tear through his gifts but he wanted to play with each one and we had to keep telling him to keep opening them. He would have been happy with just the scooter and his stocking. We even took a break for breakfast in between opening presents! Aunt Sadie brought vegan bagels and cream cheese and lox. So yummy!

Josie put every single one of her presents in her mouth.

We had fun with Aunt Sadie as always!

Mommy and Daddy got Jonas an air pump crane and he loved it so much he wanted to bring it to his cousins’ house!

We spent the evening at my sister-in-law’s house and had a yummy dinner and opened more gifts. Jonas loved playing with his cousins and Josie enjoyed drooling and playing with everyone’s hands and grandma’s sparkly shirt!

My kiddos are so lucky to be spoiled on Christmas by so many people who love them! It helps to remember that when I look at my living room right now, haha!

Happy Holidays!!

On September 16th, Jonas turned 3 years old!
Jonas, I am so proud of how smart, silly, and caring you are. You have done so well with the big changes this year and I love how you love school and your little sister. I am so lucky to be your Mommy and I love you so much!

Jonas picked his own birthday outfit!

On the 17th, we celebrated with a Thomas the Tank Engine Party. It was really fun!

Happy third birhday to my baby boy!!

Tuesday night and Wednesday morning I spent in the ER and then the hospital with a postpartum hemmorhage, which was surprising and very disconcerting, since delivery was such a dream. I am so thankful for so many things.

I’m thankful for access to quality medical care and to have insurance and enough money that I didn’t have to consider money when making the decision about when to go to the ER. In some places, medical students are not required to learn how to do D&Cs without general anesthesia, as they are generally done with in hospitals, and the places they do them without are generally clinics where abortions are provided. Though I had the general, I could have elected not to if I hadn’t been able to pump but wanted to breastfeed (more on that later), if I had health conditions that would make the general a bad idea, or if it hadn’t worked for me for some reason. Medical providers should know how to do medical procedures and I’m glad they did.

I’m thankful I have a partner who encouraged me to go to the ER and that I listened to my gut about going. I said to Jared, “This isn’t normal.” If you ever have that thought, please go be seen!

I’m thankful I have in-laws who could take care of Jonas at a moment’s notice. I’m thankful I knew he would be safe and loved with them and that Josie would be safe and loved with Jared while I was getting care.

I’m thankful I had access to compassionate care providers who understood how important it was to keep my baby with me as much as possible while I was receiving care. When I finallly saw an OB, the first thing she said when she walked in was, “I’m going to do my best to keep baby on you” and she did. She is a mom to an 11 month old and in the process of weaning her baby, and without my saying anything, she said, “I know you’re worried about breastfeeding.” She gave me a plan for timing for pumping and feeding so that Josie could have my milk while the anesthesia was leaving my system. I had my baby on my chest during pelvic exams and being wheeled through hallways.  I was only away from her for 20ish minutes while getting an ultrasound and for a couple hours while I was in the operating room and immediately after recovery.

I’m thankful that my doula training and experience have taught me how to advocate for myself in a medical setting. Though the providers I saw were all wonderful, as has been my experience at Kaiser previously, getting to them was slow and filled with bureaucracy. I had to revisit the desk twice after checking in to communicate the severity of the situation. It still took hours to see a triage nurse, then more hours to see the ER doc, hours to have an ultrasound, an hour to have it read, then a bit more time to see an OB and wait for an operating room to be available.

I’m thankful for my friends. I posted in my local moms group and immediately, I had friends willing to bring milk for Josie, bottles, or whatever else we needed. Though we didn’t end up needing them, it made me feel so loved to know they were so willing to help.

I’m thankful for my awesome doula, who provided information and support via text and was even willing to come be with me if needed, even though I was more than three weeks postpartum and she was definitely not on call for me anymore. If you have ever thought of a doula as a hippie thing or some luxury, this would have changed your mind.

I’m thankful we have the resources for me to be at home with our kids. The postpartum period really does need to be a time for healing– again, it isn’t just hippie bs. Medically, even after what seems like the smoothest normal delivery possible, your body is still doing a lot you can’t see for weeks. It is insane that some women in this country have to return to work as soon as they do, and some women could have experienced the same situation and not have a legally protected job to return to if they had missed work for it.

I’m so thankful for my sweet babies. It was scary and stressful, but Josie is worth it.

Thank you, thank you universe and friends and family. Let’s make some changes for the people who don’t have the access to these things I am so thankful for.

On August 29, we all went to Jonas’s preschool to visit for an hour. He was sad to leave and excited when we told him he got to go for his real first day the next day.

On the 30th, when he came downstairs, Jonas was surprised and excited to see his new hedgehog backpack. He loves hedgehogs and he wanted to put it on. He was sad he had to take it off for the car ride.

When we got there, he walked right in and barely said bye. He went right to the playdoh table. Jared and Josie and I got breakfast and walked around for a while and then went back to get him. As soon as Jonas saw us he yelled “I’m not done with preschool!” He wanted to stay and have lunch. He was excited to go back again today.

I’m so glad he loved it and I hope he keeps enjoying it just as much! I’m so proud of my big boy!

Joseline Rocket was born on August 13, 2016 at 10:02 am weighing 7 pounds, 13.9 Oz and measuring 20 inches long. We are absolutely, totally in love!!

Grandma and Papa took us to Disneyland for an early birthday present for Jonas and it was so much fun!

Jonas was definitely a little more tired and cranky by the end of the day, but he perked back up for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.

He loved the rides, even though he wasn’t sure about Pirates of the Carribean. He asked, “Will the pirates eat me?” and “Where’s the ground?” He still enjoyed it, though, even the little drops!

He got to pick a Mickey doll to bring home, and he loves it!

Thanks, Grandma and Papa, for a great day!

We got to spend 8 days in West Virginia during the Strawberry Festival and we had such a good time. It rained for a lot of the week, but even on rainy days, it was nice to sit around and relax as a family.

Jonas got really into tractors. At first he thought this one was too loud but eventually he wanted to sit on it while it was off. During the Grand Feature Parade, when all the tractors went by, he wanted to know what they were all called and told me all the green ones were John Deeres.

He loved the carnival. At first we weren’t sure if he was having fun on the rides because he looked so serious– like he was working so hard to really steer them.

Eventually, he lightened up a little and even smiled.

We saw a lot of friends and some family and enjoyed some gross but delicious carnival food. It was cool to see how far my town has come– there are people there working hard to make it a more welcoming and enjoyable place.

It’s always special to see Jonas and my Grandma together.

It’s sad that we probably won’t visit again until next summer, and it’s hard to believe when we do we will have two kiddos to show around!

We have been so busy the last couple months I haven’t had a chance to blog about any of it! And this is just a taste of what we’ve been up to.

Jonas’s hair was getting long so we went to get it cut. When I told him we were going to, he said, “It’s haircut day?!” I was so proud of him– he sat in the seat all by himself and giggled the whole time! And so handsome!

The sun shade doesn’t work very well on the window, but Jonas hates the sun in his eyes so he told me he would hold it instead.

March 2 was Aunt Sadie’s birthday so we went to the California Science Center for a play date with her and the girl she nannies.

Bubby came to visit for a week! We did so many fun things and Jonas loved it. He told me Bubby is his best friend.

Jonas had his physical for starting preschool in the fall. When the doctor walked in, Jonas said, “The gown is open in the back so you can use your stethoscope,” and the doctor was so impressed he didn’t even know what to say!

Jonas was not as big a fan of the Easter Bunny this year. Last year he kept hugging him and telling him secrets and he cried when he had to get off his lap. This year, he was excited while we were in line, but then when we got up to the bunny, he asked me to come with him and when I said I would be back by the camera, he started to get upset and said he didn’t want to sit with him. So he sat next to him instead.

We went to an Ontario Reign game with a guy from my hometown who moved out here. Jonas loved that he could scream when everyone else cheered.

One day, Jared was still sleeping and Jonas crawled up and said, “Take a picture of me with Daddy!”

We don’t usually eat eggs because we don’t like how chickens are treated at the big farms, but we found a neighbor with chickens in his yard! So we’ve been enjoying eating them and Jonas got to dye eggs this year. Our friend Sami’s sister lives in San Jose and Sami was visiting her from the UK, and made a stop at our house for a few days! I didn’t take any pictures, but Sami took the one of me and Jonas.

Yesterday was Easter and we had a great day! Jonas liked his Easter basket but he was most excited about the jelly beans in the eggs. After breakfast, I hid some eggs for him and he liked finding them. He hid them for me and when I opened my eyes, he said, “I hid the eggs! There’s one there and there and there!” and pointed to all the hiding places. In the afternoon we went to Aunt Shannon and Uncle Chris’s house and it was great. Jonas ran around with his cousins and found eggs and ate way too much sugar.

Going straight for a Daniel Tiger book

Jelly beans! I was glad I only put 2 or 3 in each of his 6 eggs.

Shaking eggs like maracas

He didn’t want to stand up for a picture– he wanted to sit in the basket instead.

And the other thing we’ve been up to…yay!!

A few weeks ago, we visited an awesome indoor play space called LOL Kids Club. Jonas LOVED it. There was a ball pit and tons of stuff to climb and a little trampoline and toys. We stayed and played for four hours!

Someone hit our car on the way home. Thankfully no one was hurt!! We still don’t have our car back though. Jonas  was very excited to see firefighters and he asked them “Are you a fire fighter?! Do you fight fires?!” They even gave him his own helmet!

Jonas went to the dentist for the second time and he did such a great job! They were all so impressed with how well he listened when they told him to open and close his mouth while they did his cleaning!

Even though we stopped nursing in August, I was still bouncing Jonas to sleep in the carrier before most of his naps. It was getting tiring for me so we decided it was time for him to take naps by himself. He had a really hard time at first. The first day, we went out for sushi after and Jared asked “Did you have any dreams?” Jonas said, “I had a dream that Mama goed in the other room and I cried for her to come back.” I asked, “Did you feel proud that you fell asleep by yourself?” He said, “No, I felt sad that you left.” It broke my heart!! He’s been doing a lot better though, and the past two days has fallen asleep by himself without crying at all. Yesterday he even got up and used the potty by himself!! Here I am crying our last nap in the carrier:

I want to remember this view forever!!

Since we’ve been without a car, I’ve been trying to come up with fun things for us to do at home. We made Valentines! Our friends are coming over on Monday for a Valentines Play Date!