Catching Up, Again

I’ve been in virtual hibernation while the in-laws were here, but the rest of you have not been forgotten.  I return with beaucoup pictures!  Henry and Janet enjoyed two weeks of grandkids and island sights.  They also carried with them our new *waterproof* camera!!!  We didn’t get a chance to test out its waterproof capabilities while they were here (Henry and Janet aren’t really beach/ocean people), but I did give it a thorough “dry” run. 

Week One:

A beautiful day at Nakagusuku Castle.

 

 

 

 

Morning prayers and flowers at Futenma shrine.

Followed by a stop at one of the local parks.

Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, Henry and Janet got a bird’s eye tour of the area from the ferris wheel.

  Later, needing to run some errands, I dropped Henry and Janet off with Logan at the Botanical Gardens.  Afterwards, while waiting to meet up with them I found this gem in the gift shop.  “Isn’t it bewildered” indeed!

Also while waiting to meet up, I had the opportunity to test out the camera on a couple of my favorite subjects.

 

 

 

Naomi’s first “real” bath.  She did pretty well; Logan, who was in the tub with her, completely flipped out.  He seemed to think that her mini-tub was hurting her or going to hurt her somehow.

A little roller slide action helps keep everyone young.

It’s fun to let someone else do the pushing once in a while.

Meanwhile, Henry went for a spin.

  Because of kid-care considerations, we split up and I stayed home while Jake took his parents to the Japanese Naval Underground Headquarters (first pic), a handful of sites which played significant roles in the battle of Okinawa, and Shuri Castle (second pic). 

The plan was to meet up after Logan’s nap, tour Shikina-en and go to a portion of the Naha festival.  What happened instead was meeting up at Shikina-en (which was closed), going to Kokusai St. (which, as it turned out, was not where the festival was), and having a good dinner at a Japanese restaurant. 

Lesson learned: Life is an adventure.  Adventures don’t always work out the way you expect them to.

Hope your adventures are going well!  Many more adventures and a few more mishaps to follow from me soon!

Just a Taste

Delicious little hands.

Cooking up a storm.

We have eyeballs!

(Do you have any idea how many tries it took to get this shot?)

Little monkey.

Why am I able to post these right now?

Because, as evidenced by this and the previous picture, the kids are simultaneously napping!  Woo-hoo!  Now, off to get a few other things done while I still have some quiet time.

The New Normal

Life as a family of four . . .

I still find it hard to believe sometimes.

But life has already fallen into something like a new pattern. 

We haven’t resumed quite the same adventure pace, but we still get out to enjoy the sunshine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The time Jake was home on paternity leave was fabulous and the initial transition was smooth and relaxing. 

Thus far, we’ve been able to give them both plenty of attention and Logan really hasn’t shown any jealousy issues yet.

During Jake’s leave, we rested as much as we could.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And enjoyed family time.

With Jake back at work, things have still gone pretty well.  Naomi is behaving exactly as a 2-week old ought to, eating and sleeping lots.

Logan is a very attentive and caring big brother.  He always wants to know where “baby” is and gives her lots of kisses and gentle pats.  He’s also a great little helper, bringing me burp cloths, etc.

 

We’ve been doing this a lot.  Except that it’s usually Mommy nursing and reading at the same time. 

Finally, a couple pictures for comparison.

Until next time . . .

Introducing . . .

Jake has already posted several of these pics on Facebook, but if you’re here reading my blog, you probably don’t mind looking at them again anyway. 

Naomi Adelle Wilde

Naomi—because we like it.  Adelle—because Heidi is a short form of Adelheid and Adelle is the other half of that.  And because we like it.

In case you haven’t done the math: my water broke (no contractions up to that point) at about 2:15.  My contractions didn’t start until about 3:00 and didn’t get strong until about 5:30, when we left for the hospital.  She was born at 6:20.  And practically every other mother in the world hates me.

But she’s beautiful, isn’t she? 

Proud parents.

 

 

 

 

 

Curious, loving big brother.

You’ll get the update on how he’s doing with all this next time.  Sleep takes precedence over thorough blogging.  Until then, short version: pretty good.

 Okay, so who do you think she looks like?

Happy family.

Thanks, as always, for reading.  The outpouring of love from both local friends and far-away family has been tremendous.  We are richly blessed! 

Now to get a couple hours of sleep . . .

The Now and the Not Yet

A completely random smattering of pictures from our normal, everyday, pre-baby #2 life.

We love playing outside--

and enjoying the neighbor’s flowers and good weather.  (When typhoons aren’t passing through, that is.)

As I was working on (finally) putting an enormous number of photos into albums, I realized how very few pics we have of the three of us together.  So a couple days ago we had an impromptu family photo shoot.

Another mini-photo shoot; this one of “both” the kids.  I find it hilarious that Logan can basically hide from me under my bump.

Indoor activities that have recently become more popular include playdough, coloring, and this magnet construction set that I uncovered while rearranging bedrooms.  Anyone want to guess who is having the most fun in these pictures?

 

 

One of our recent joint-effort artistic projects.  Everything that is identifiable was requested, by name, by Logan: barn, cow, tractor, train, tracks, bridge, tunnel, water, Junior, Bob and Larry.  Also included in the picture is Logan’s first “completed” Sunday School craft (the paper plate on the right with blue paint and the fish), photographed for the grandparent’s benefit.

A couple of my projects, displaying only slightly more skill than Logan’s Sunday School craft but that’s okay.  I made three additional decorative panels for my baby carrier, burp cloths to match each of them (one set not pictured b/c it’s packed for the hospital) and several extra burp cloths for myself and others.

I also made curtains for Logan’s new room and did quite a bit of cleaning/organizing/rearranging, but we are still waiting on one more item to complete his room before I show you pictures of it.

Waking up from naptime can be rough and frequently requires some snuggles.  Today the snuggles also included Logan’s baby doll.  He seems to understand that there’s a baby in my belly, doesn’t hesitate when we identify his old room as “the baby’s room”, and associates the baby (or at least the baby doll) with items such as the bouncer, infant car seat, etc.  Hopefully he’s got as good a grasp on what’s about to happen as possible—we’ll see how it goes!