Christmas Countdown

We had a lot of fun introducing Samantha to some of our annual Christmas traditions in the weeks leading up to the big holiday, and fortunately, I managed to remember my camera for most of it!

We took Sammy to Christmas In The Park for two big firsts.  1) First visit to the park and 2) First visit with Santa!!

She looked a little unsure as we crossed the street into the park.  I think she was a little bit overwhelmed with all the lights/sounds/people around the carnival area.

And here's a shot of us waiting to see Santa!

And of course, one with Santa!  Samantha did okay...for awhile, and when she was done, she was DONE!!  Funny, Santa bears a striking resemblance to Uncle Steve....hmmmmmmm....peculiar!  I have a video which captures the whole experience and will post it soon.

And we had to get a shot of the Team In Training tree!

Another annual Christmas tradition is Gingerbread House day at the Mello's.  This is a fun mother/daughter event that my aunt and cousins host every year and I always look forward to it.  AJ and the girls have us over for a delicious lunch and an afternoon of house decorating.  I was so excited to bring Samantha this year, as I know that this is a tradition that she will come to love as she gets older.  I don't know how I managed not to get a picture of my g.house, but I did manage to get some fun pictures from the day.

Here's one of Auntie Kim and Samantha

And one of Samantha and I by the Mello Christmas tree.  We didn't end up getting a tree this year, so I had to have something with her by a tree--even if it isn't ours!

And this is, by far, the BEST picture of the afternoon!  Uncle Steve looked so festive in his Christmas hat that I wanted a picture of the two of them together.  Unfortunately, Samantha was having none of it.  Look closely at both of their expressions--CLASSIC!

A Sad Goodbye

I mentioned earlier that this December was extremely busy for us, but one thing that overshadows everything that happened during the holiday season was the passing of Allen's Grandma Aiko.

Grandma Aiko was an amazing woman, and we were so fortunate to spend a lot of time with her in the years since we moved back from college.  Though in her late 70's, she let nothing slow her down.  She was always on-the-go, seeing movies, golfing with friends, going to dinner, exercising and traveling the world. 

When Allen and I got engaged, we had a family dinner in Santa Cruz and it was the first time that Grandma Aiko and my nana had the opportunity to meet.  We sat them together and they hit it off like old friends--even sharing a dessert after our meal.  Grandma Aiko used to call my Nana to check in on her and we also had the pleasure of having her for a few of our annual family Chrismas Eve Celebrations with the Mello side of the family.

Allen's parents did a wonderful job taking care of Grandma Aiko over the past months and we know that she loved having them with her.  We are so happy that Grandma Aiko and Samantha had the opportunity to meet one another and Allen and I will share our fond memories with Samantha in the years to come.

Help A Mother Out!

Where has the time gone?  Can't believe that 2009 is pretty much over and we are on to a new year!  I apologize for the lapse in blog postings--things have been pretty crazy, and we're playing catch-up on quite a few fronts these days.

The beginning of December had the three of us recovering from Sammy's hospital stay.  I mentioned that I ended up catching the nastiest bug EVER, and unfortunately, poor Samantha ended up with a cold that just didn't want to go away.  I was pretty bummed that she was under the weather for the beginning part of the month, as I was really excited to take her to her very first charity event on 12/13.  Our friends Sara and Payton hosted a diaper drive at their home to benefit an organization called Help A Mother Out, and it was a huge success.  Since I knew that there would be a number of babies in attendance, I opted to leave Samantha with Allen and fly solo, as I didn't want to risk getting any of the other ones sick--especially so close to Christmas!

Sara did a phenomenal job with the event and the turnout seemed great.  The entry "fee" was a pack of diapers or pull-ups, with a special prize to be awarded to the person who brought the most diapers.  Not only was the company fabulous, but Sara outdid herself with fabulous apps and wine.  Since I was the only one who didn't have a baby in tow, I was able to take advantage of a chair massage (talk about a great surprise!). 

The event was a huge success overall, with over 4000 diapers donated from Sara's drive alone.  I really like this organization and all that they do to help moms and would like to host something similar in the future.  This August is the 10 year anniversary of my mom's passing and I am thinking about setting something up in her memory, so stay tuned! 

If you want to learn more about Help A Mother Out, click here

This picture doesn't do justice--by the time everyone had dropped off their contributions, the pile was CRAZY!

Checking in with Dr. T

Sammy Jo had her 6 month check up with Dr. Triantos today, though she is officially 6 months and 4 days old.  All in all, the check up was good, and Dr. T agreed that the first 6 months have been quite a wild ride for our little family.  He declared her the "picture of health" with the exception of her poor little kidney, and we hope to have her test scheduled before the end of the week. 

Sam did really well with the check up and he (the dr.) even said that after what she had been through in the hospital, he was shocked that she was letting him poke and prod her for today's visit.  Apparently, the test that they will be doing to determine whether or not Sam has reflux is pretty unpleasant, and I'm trying not to think about it right now.  At the end of the visit, she braved 2 shots and was less than thrilled when they stuck her with the needles.  Fortunately, I was able to take her home right after and with a little bit of Tylenol and an afternoon nap, all in Samantha's world was much better.

Samantha's 6 Month Stats:

Height: 26.5 inches

Weight: 16 lbs

Head Circumference: 43.25 cm

And of course, some 6 month pictures!  I'm planning on taking her this Friday to have some pictures taken, so stay tuned for more!

Lounging on her pink chair and relaxing after a rough day

The reindeer sings, dances and lights up and Samantha LOVES him.  He was a gift from the Perez family during her hospital stay.

And this last one was taken at the doctor's office from my phone.  She was so happy...before the shots...

6 Months Old

Can't believe that Samantha is already 6 months old!  Everyone told us that the time would fly by, but honestly, it has been crazy.  She is already 1/2 a year old and so much fun.  Almost every morning, Allen and I are greeted with smiles and babbles and we just love our little girl.  Though the first 6 months have not been without a hiccup or two, we have settled into a pretty decent routine, and while I hate leaving her to go to work, she has a blast with Nona JoAnn and the Aunties and I can't get over how lucky we are to have such wonderful family members taking care of her.

Though we are still getting back on track after Sammy's hospital stay, we have been slowly experimenting with new supplemental foods.  She had tried rice cereal (semi-successful) and oatmeal (very successful) and on the weekend of her 6 month birthday, we decided to try her first "real" food---organic peas--

For the first attempt at food, Allen and I decided that it would be "fun" to make our own.  We'll see how long this lasts, but the first attempt was pretty funny.  Uncle Brian, Aunt Allison and Cousins Kayla and Emily passed down a baby food cookbook that has a bunch of introductory recipes.  We decided to start with pureed peas (we already had them on hand and someone told me that foods that start with the letter "p" help babies in the digestive department).

Here are some pictures from the preparation/feeding process...

We started with a recipe for "Sweet Pea Puree".  I have to admit that we both found it hilarious that we used a recipe to make a "meal" that required only one ingredient.


And we cheated and used frozen peas...

The steamed peas, ready to go into the food processor

We had to get them to the right consistency

Doesn't this look delicious?

And thus began the feeding process...

Both Allen and I thought that she wasn't really digging the peas, but apparently it wasn't all that bad

As usual, there was probably more food "on" than "in" her, but all in all it was a success!

Over the weekend, we gave Sammy a taste of mashed potatoes and came to find out that she HATES them with a passion--who'd have guessed?? :)

December Fun

With all the craziness in our lives as of late, blogging has taken a bit of a back seat to everything, so I though it would be fun to share some pictures from our most recent upload.  Sammy is doing much better after her most recent stint in the hospital and we have been having fun now that she is back to her old self.  She is currently on antibiotics until we have her VCUG test at Stanford, but in the meantime, she is doing great (and this was confirmed at the pediatrician's office for her 6 month check up).

Samantha LOVES being in the sling carrier and Al and I both agree that she looks like a little "pod person".  I have resorted to carrying the sling everywhere, as it is a sure bet to buy some time when we are out and about and she gets a little bit fussy!

While she hasn't quite mastered the art of sitting up on her own (unsupported), she is really close.  For now, we love to put her in the corner of the couch and take pictures!  We didn't get a smile on this round of shots, but we still thought she looked cute.

As Sammy is getting bigger, she is starting to become more interactive and it is so much fun.  This is a picture of her playing "peek-a-boo" with Allen.  He was using her burpcloth and she was having an absolute blast!

And, of course some pictures with the dogs.  Samantha and Scout are fascinated by one another and it is pretty funny to watch.  Scout is so interested in everything that Sam does and she wants to share all of Samantha's toys.  We're working on getting Peter on board--slowly but surely!

http://www.helpamotherout.org/

More Sammy Pictures

As promised, (yes, I know--promised about 3 months ago!) here are some more pictures from Sam's 3 month session.

In the Holiday Spirit...

here's an old picture that I found of my mom and I going to cut down a Christmas tree when I was little.
I can't wait to get Samantha's first tree!

On The Road to Recovery

Samantha mentioned in her last post that I would be writing with more info about last week's hospital stay. Well, I had every intention of doing that over the weekend, however, it looks like our crazy week at Good Sam finally caught up with me! I managed to come down with the nastiest bug over the weekend and though I picked it up from Al, (who subsequently picked it up from the hospital) I got it much worse than he did. Fortunately, I was able to see the Dr. and get a prescription and though Samantha has a stuffy/runny nose, I think our family is on the mend!

Anyway, back to last week.

We spent Saturday through late on Tuesday night in the pediatric ward at Good Sam. Though it was definitely NOT a place that Allen or I wanted to be, we both had to admit that they really did a good job making it as comfortable as possible not only for Sam, but for the two of us as well. Much like when Samantha was born, we had our own room (this time with a window!) complete with hospital bed, fold out chair/bed and crib for Sammy. We had access to a pantry with snacks and drinks, and we were so lucky to have friends and family drop by with all kinds of wonderful stuff. (Thanks everyone!)

Samantha's initial diagnosis was a urinary tract infection, but it turns out that she did have a kidney infection. The doctor told us to expect a minimum of 3 days in the hospital with IV antibiotics and while we were there, Samantha had a kidney ultrasound. The ultrasound detected that one of her ureters was enlarged, and as a result, the doctors are all fairly confident that she has kidney/ureter reflux. Simply stated, after the urine leaves the kidneys and goes into the bladder, if a person has reflux, the urine will travel back up the ureter and into the kidney. Sam will be having a test in a few weeks up at Stanford to determine whether or not she has reflux, and if so--to which degree.

Despite a rough first day in the ER, Sam was such a trooper throughout her hospital stay. She started to feel a lot better once the antibiotics kicked in and she made friends with all the doctors and nurses who came to check on her. Samantha had a ton of visitors in her short little hospital stay and it really meant a lot to Allen and I to have our friends and family around. Al and I spent every night (and almost all of our days) at the hospital with Sammy, and our time at the hospital reminded me of the weeks after Sam's birth when we were all home together. One of the nights, we had a new nurse and she kept telling Al that he looked familiar. After talking awhile, we figured it out--she was one of the nurses who "caught" Samantha right after she was born. From what she could remember, Dr. Reimnitz did the "hand off" directly to her! It was really neat to reconnect with her, especially since she usually works in the NICU.

We had such good care at the hospital and feel lucky that we were able to escape with such a short stay. The first hours in the ER were some of the hardest and scariest of my life and I am just so thankful to have left with our happy, healthy little girl. As mentioned in Samantha's update, Allen was hunting in the Central Valley and I know that it was so difficult for him to be away during the whole ER ordeal.

Since I came down with the plague on Friday, Allen took Sammy to the pediatrician for a follow up visit and they were satisfied. She will continue on antibiotics until we determine the cause of her kidney infection, and with the exception of a stuffy nose and some lingering sniffles, I doubt that Sam even remembers the happenings of last week! :)

Since we were cooped up in a tiny hospital room for so long, Al took a video of our surroundings. Though I hated having Sam in the hospital, I have to admit that she looks so cute in the tiny, yellow hospital gown...I know that the gowns belong to the hospital, but I couldn't help it--I actually brought her gown home to save with her special baby stuff!

Hi Everyone from Sam

Now that I'm coming up on six months of age, I thought it would be a good time to write my first official blog update. In addition, the past 4 days have been quite intense for my mom and dad, so I thought I would share the events from my perspective. First of all, I want to thank you all for reading our family blog and keeping in the loop of what is happening to the three of us. My parents told me that some of you have been reading about me and looking at pictures from before I was even born! So here goes with my first update...

On Friday morning, I woke up around my normal time and was a little bit cranky. My mom and dad assumed that it had something to do with the busy Thanksgiving holiday, but it turns out that they were wrong...

But anyways, back to Friday. I was really excited because we were planning on seeing Nona JoAnn, the Mellos, Uncle Pat and the whole Perez clan at the tree lighting ceremony at Christmas In The Park, so mom and dad weren't all that strict with my normal nap schedule. In fact, at one point in the afternoon, I even fell asleep while my mom was holding me!Mommy and daddy thought this was really cute, but I was actually starting to feel pretty yucky and I think that is why I passed out. When I woke up from my nap in the late afternoon, my parents knew that something was wrong. I was not smiling and they couldn't get me to laugh. Even when they put me in front of the mirror, I wasn't interested at all (normally, I love the mirror). They took my temperature (I was not happy about this) and it was a little bit high. Since I wasn't my normal chipper self, they called the advice nurse for help. Not too long after that, the advice nurse and Dr. Triantos (my doctor) decided that some Tylenol and close monitoring of my temperature should keep everything under control.

Once I got the Tylenol, my fever went down and I was much happier. I just love the cherry flavor of that stuff! Mommy and daddy were so nervous, but much happier when I started to feel better. When I woke up on Saturday, I was much happier and daddy decided that it would be okay to go hunting for the day.

As a precaution, mom took me to the pediatrician. I seemed to be feeling better (little did she know!), and she expected to be told that I was teething and just a little grouchy from that.

To make a long story short, the on-call pediatrician took one look at me and knew that something was wrong. She insisted that mommy take me over to Good Sam and even called ahead so that the nurses knew I was coming. We spent the afternoon in the ER and they did all kinds of horrible things to me! First, I had a chest x-ray and even though mom put on a lead vest and went in with me, there was no consoling me. I was still reeling from the chest x-ray when they decided to insert an IV. Mommy was most upset about the IV because she had a bad experience with an IV when she was close to my age. Fortunately, the nurses did a great job with the IV and I think my crying was more traumatic than anything. I was thinking that I was done with all the poking and prodding and then someone else came in and put in a catheter so that they could get a urine sample. I hated that almost as much as the IV! And just when I thought I couldn't take any more, they decided that they needed to do bloodwork. THAT was no fun at all. It took a long time to find a vein, and they spent quite awhile poking around until they got what they needed. Fortunately, Nona JoAnn, Uncle Ron and Aunt Julie came to see mommy and I in the ER, so that helped a lot.

In the early afternoon, we found out that I had a bladder/kidney infection and the ER doctor informed us by saying "welcome to the hospital". Yup, that's right--I had my first (and hopefully only) hospital stay. Daddy came home from hunting (thanks to Margaret's backroad maneuvering) and brought a couple of my favorite toys from home. We found out that I would have to spend a minimum of 3 days at Good Sam on IV antibiotics and my mom and dad were so scared. They were so happy to be able to stay with me at the hospital and I was lucky to have a bunch of visitors come and play with me.

Even though I was feeling pretty awful by Saturday night, I did start to get better and was lucky enough to go home late on Tuesday night. Mommy promised that she would give more info about my infection and treatment in another blog update, but I told her that I wanted to share some pictures from my hospital stay.

Hooked up to my IV and pulse monitor and hanging out in my hospital crib. Everyone agreed that the crib at the hospital was very sad looking. I was so happy to come home to my very own bed at home!Nona JoAnn was trying to get me to play with Sophie (my giraffe), but I was more interested in her Starbucks cup!The infection made me really sleepy and cranky. I was stuck in the corner of my hospital room because I was hooked up from both my hand and my foot. It was tough not to be able to go out and about--I love to know what's going on at all times.Here's a picture with all my Mello Aunties. I was starting to feel better at this point.And here's one of mommy and I. Daddy took this picture of the two of us when I started to feel better and was back to my normal smiley self.

Love Samantha

Feeling Thankful

We can't believe that Thanksgiving has already come and gone! What a whirlwind of a week--the Holidays have begun!

We had a great Turkey day, and though it was jam packed FULL of activity, Samantha was a little trooper throughout all the Holiday madness.

She's thinking about what she wants to eat on Thanksgiving!Peter and Samantha are developing a closer relationship. I think he realizes that the "new puppy" isn't leaving.An Ishibashi family tradition is to start Thanksgiving morning with the Turkey Trot. This may only be the 2nd annual Trot for our little family, but we intend to make sure that our family "trots" every year. This year, we even convinced Nona JoAnn and SK to join us for the 5K race. Here's a picture of all of us before the race started. It is up for debate as to whether or not this is Samantha's first event, as I did the Turkey Trot last year while I was a couple months pregnant.The Turkey Trot is also a Mello family tradition! We took a family piture before the race started! This picture doesn't show it, but the Mello girls had their finisher picture from last year emblazoned on the front of their t-shirts. It was such a great shot that my cousins were the "face" of the Turkey Trot this year! Maybe Sam will be the face of the Turkey Trot for 2010!Another family picture before the big event!

After the trot, we went downtown for a big breakfast (another family tradition!) and had a great time commending ourselves on our fantastic 5K finish!

Allen, Samantha and I had a few stops throughout the day and had a great time visiting the Ishibashis at Grandma Aiko's. We also stopped at the Mello house and had a great visit with Uncle Steve and all the Aunties!Dinner was delicious at Ron and JoAnn's and Samantha even had a highchair at the dining room table. She enjoyed some oatmeal while we all gorged ourselves on a delicious feast, complete with "peppercorn stuffing" ;)

After dinner, Sam decided to catch some football with Allen...

and we had to get a close-up of her special "First Thanksgiving" outfit!

at the end of the night, we managed to get a family picture, complete with a squeaky turkey from the Turkey TrotAnd even though Sammy was EXHAUSTED, she was all smiles during her bath!We have SO much to be thankful for!

Getting Ready for the Holidays

This past Sunday, Allen, Samantha and I had a blast doing our first family "photo shoot" with Laurie Bryant, a wonderful woman who holds a very special place in my heart. We got some great shots and I am really excited to display some of them in our home. It will be hard to pick one to use for our Holiday greeting cards, but hopefully Al and I can agree on one that we both like! We met out at Gavilan College in Gilroy and JoAnn came along to help us keep Samantha happy.

Speaking of Holiday cards, I have to give a shout-out to my friend Tara who recently started a great blog which showcases some really beautiful and creative stuff. She designs holiday cards, birth announcements, wrap-around address labels, you name it! All her designs are sold through Etsy.com--be sure to check out her blog when you have a second. http://www.tarabledesigns.blogspot.com/

And of course, some pictures from last Sunday!

Even though it's only Tuesday, this week has already been quite busy for us! I worked a 1/2 (okay, more like a 3/4) day yesterday and Samantha and I ran a ton of errands today. We have a lot of Thanksgiving day preparations on the agenda for tomorrow and Thursday will be quite busy for us. With the Turkey Trot in the morning and a few Turkey day visits with family, I imagine that Samantha will need to rest up for her first round of Holiday celebration.

Sam is still thisclose to rolling from tummy to back. In addition, she is drooling a ton and sticking everything in her mouth. I'm pretty sure that some teeth are on their way. We're noticing that she is making a lot more fun little noises and she is starting to really develop her own little personality. Allen and I get a kick out of watching/listening to her on the video monitor as she falls asleep and wakes up in the mornings, as she always has us cracking up!