Carter is learning to eat!

Our little man is learning to eat on his own and it is very exciting. This is the key skill he needs to learn in order to be able to go home! He has taken some entire bottles on his own and we're trying to work on breastfeeding as well, but that's a lot of work for him. Every time he takes a bottle we want to do cartwheels! Here are some pics from the past few weeks:

Carter's 1st pic, the NICU staff was in the delivery room ready to take him right away, and we were warned he might not be able to cry, so we had tears of joy when he screamed his little head off at birth!

Some cuddle time with mom during a photo therapy session for his jaundice

This has been my favorite of his poses so far, this was his afternoon nap pose on Wednesday! He makes napping look pretty darn good!

Last night (Monday), we gave Carter his bath and got him all situated in a fresh sleeper and swaddle. This is him in his post bath and bottle nappy time!

Carter's Birthday 7/7/10

Monday, July 5th was a nice, normal holiday. It was my mom's last day in town for a visit, and we headed to the Diamondbacks/Cubs game. Then we had dinner and relaxed for the evening. Just before midnight I awoke to discover that my water had broke, and Aaron moved faster than I've seen anyone move. Off to the hospital we go. We tried this magnesium to stop labor so I could get 48 hours of steroid treatments and admitted to ante partum.
But, Carter had other plans. Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning I was complaining of discomfort, but the monitors showed no contractions. When I continued to complain like a crazy person on Weds, they decided to check me and discovered I was 9 cm along. Oops! So, my birth plan and desire for an epidural was out the window and it was go time! Carter was born at 1:48 pm on 7/7, a lucky day. He weighed 4 lbs and 15 oz, which is great for being just 33 weeks along! We, of course, think he's a genius baby nd just can't wait to bring him home from the NICU. Please keep our little guy in your thoughts and prayers!

Aloha November 2009!

Aaron and I headed out for a much-needed beach vacation on November 7th. It was our first trip to Hawaii, and it definitely won't be our last! The Rainbow State is breathtaking! Here is a rainbow pic taken while basking in the sun at Kailua State Beach.

We visited the Pearl Harbor monument while we were here on Oahu, and it was a very moving day.

Then we moved on to more fun and less sad! Here we are with Diamondhead in the background. We did the hike to Diamondhead, with me in a skirt and flip-flops (it clearly wasn't planned for that day). Stunning views!

A scenic view!

On the recommendation of some good friends, the Listons, who lived on Oahu, we tried lots of yummy things like Kona beer, delicious shaved ice, and found a favorite party spot at Dick's! I want Liquid Aloha cups!

Aaron enjoying a tasty mai tai at Dick's. It was heaven in a glass, and counts as a fruit serving with the fresh pineapple:)

We also attempted to do some snorkeling at beautiful Hanauma Bay, but between the rip currents and jellyfish warnings we did more viewing from above than from in the water!

Sayonara Nihon!

Ok, I'm finally going to blog again. I'm making it my goal to get caught up on my 2009 posts in 2010 and then hopefully get back into the swing of things

In April, 2009 it was time to head home to Arizona and say good-bye to all of our dear friends in Japan. We had so much fun in Japan and the year flew by so quickly! Thus began a few weeks of farewell binge drinking. Here are some of my lovely ladies that made Japan a blast! Ana, Danielle, me, Lisa, Karen, and Alli! So off to Rickey's Bar we go!

Note to self: when you start making this face, you really don't need more to drink, probably shouldn't go for karaoke, and are not sober. But, we all know I don't listen to these kinds of ridiculous arguments!

One of the funniest things about living in Japan were the very descriptive picture signs. I've learned that we don't have nearly enough picture signs in the USA!

Now it is time for karaoke with many of our neighbors. Despite my natural tendency to not like to sing because I have the voice of a 5 year old, it turns out that I LOVE karaoke. I'm not sure if we were signing My Humps or some other fabulous song at this point. Good times!

Then we had a more official sayonara party in Nagoya the next night. We began with a churrascaria for some Brazilian tabehodai and nomihodai (all you can eat and most importantly, drink)!

This is my good friend, Mer, who speaks awesome Japanese if I do say so myself and was a real trooper for coming to the nomihodai party to wish me farewell despite being pregnant! That is a true friend!!








After eating and drinking, it was time for more karaoke. As I mentioned, I love karaoke! We even got to sing some NKOTB. Try not to be jealous. Here I am with Lisa and Lorie, two wonderful friends who I hope to see again in the USA!