always hard to say goodbye

Two weeks came and went REALLY fast. This morning was the hard part - saying goodbye to Grandma and Papa and sending them back home to Maui.

We really enjoyed having them here, visiting, laughing, eating, trading babies from one to another, playing tourist (a little bit), and just spending time with each other.

This was the first time that they really got to spend with Kai and got to know who he is and what a sweetheart he is. And Cruz got to spend lots of snuggle time too. Ryenne got to show off what a big girl she's becoming and all that she's learning.

What a blessing that they were able to come and spend time with us. We miss you guys already!

venturing out - the Salt Lick

We wanted to take Marissa & Eugene out for some authentic Texas BBQ. So we headed out to the Salt Lick in Driftwood.

Everything tasted wonderful, but it was tough being out. Ryenne was in a stinky mood the entire time. Kai ate quickly and then wanted to get out and run and there were just too many cars and people to let him run around. So he quickly got into a bad mood. Cruz slept while I ate but then woke and needed to nurse so out to the car I went.

I think it will be a while before we go out as a family out to eat again. It was rough - no lie!

Cruz's first time to the Salt Lick!

Ok so this is our first family picture as a family of 5. You can tell Ry and Kai are totally "over it" and poor Peter spent the entire meal giving directions to Koa so he barely got to eat. On the plus side, those are all non-maternity clothes I'm wearing. I fit right back into my regular jeans - yay!

And Grandma and Papa had to be in a picture too of course.

Grandma love...

Cruz and Kai are enjoying having their Grandma around!!

More cuteness coming at you...

The other images from the set of Cruz's two week photo shoot!

Notice the little back fat and those milk bubbles **LOVE**

And that full milk tummy. Ahhhhh.... love it.

busy, busy...

It's been a busy, busy few days. Peter's parents arrived here in Austin just as my mom left for Reno. Perfect timing. I have been exhausted!!

We've had two days of adjusting to the time difference for Papa and Grandma - and the kids are loving being spoiled rotten. I need to get the camera out more... I just snagged this little moment with the kids and Papa.

I spent a moment yesterday morning to document Cruz at two weeks old. Really the first moment I've felt sane enough to pick up the camera and give it a go. Here's his official announcement.

I have a few more to post that I haven't finished editing yet. I also saw the proofs from Cruz's birth photography done by the amazing Michele and I was totally blown away. Email me if you'd like to see them.

I am totally giddy cause next week Michele and I are going to try our hand at some really cool baby images - hopefully we can pull it off - actually I'm sure that together we can.

Tomorrow is Papa's 60th birthday and we're going to have friends over to celebrate. It will definitely be a time for the camera!!!

Sunshiny Day

I have been itchin to try Cruz's photo shoot again, but I just can't do it myself and the light isn't as good in the afternoon. This is the ONE shot I got trying by myself yesterday. Little boy is holding up his head already! So I'll try again on Tuesday when Peter can help me.

I feel like Spring has begun already and days of daily outside play has begun. We had the weeds and dog poo taken out of the backyard so we can start using it again. Dogs will be going into a dog run. Ryenne and Kai were so happy to go outside and have free reign over the yard!

I'm still a shoe fiend. This is Kai's most awesomest pair of shoes, which will soon be too small. See how he's on his tippy toes? He does this when he's happy.



But before I knew it, he had taken everything off and was a nakey little guy having a blast.



Ryenne enjoyed "cleaning rocks" in the water tub. This was her favorite one.



And Cruz has gotten lots of visitors to give him love. Auntie Nikki, Kaeli, and Makena came by to visit and Cruz got lots and lots of kisses!



And Pops came too. He's helping me to get the office loft complete. And Cruz got to snuggle with Pops too. I need to get some pictures of Gams with Cruz cause she's been snuggling on him too!

What makes a name?

I've had lots of people ask about Cruz's name - his whole name - why it's so long? Do the names mean anything? How the heck do you say that Hawaiian name? ... So I figured I'd write out why exactly each name was chosen and what they mean.

But first, a quick update on Cruz. He had a checkup this morning and he is 9lbs, 1oz - super healthy. They were so happy to see he is above his birth weight after only one week!

I am totally blessed to have a husband that hasn't argued with me at all over names for our kids. In fact, we have been on agreement on all of them straight from the get-go. Our criteria for each child is that they don't have a "mainstream" first name, they have middle names that honor family members, and they have a Hawaiian name somewhere within.

Ryenne's name is long - Ryenne Alicia Grace Waiwaipuhia - and she honors beautiful women in our family - Grandmama Alicia and Great Grandma Grace. Waiwaipuhia is the mist that comes off of a waterfall - Wai being fresh water. And we knew that each Hawaiian name thereafter would be a nod to the water.

Kai Eric is short and sweet. Kai is the Sea - salt water. It's so fitting because he was born in the water and is such a water boy. Eric is Peter's baby brother who is no longer with us.

And then Cruz Nico Ka'ehukai Florencio ... definitely a long one. Here's the breakdown:

Cruz: I just downright LOVED this name when I heard it. It's strong. Cruz means "cross" and a cross is a symbol that can be taken in many different ways - of course religious, but also I think a symbol of strength and faith (whatever faith that might be) and focus.

Nico: After my brother Nicolas. Nico and I grew up 2 years apart. The same age difference between all the kids. Nico and I had so many wonderful adventures together growing up - in many, many ways we were each other's best friend. So many memories of our childhood together that make me smile and wish and hope that Ry, Kai, and Cruz will have just as many adventures as Me and Nico had together. I just wish Nico lived closer!

Ka'ehukai: our nod to the water.... Ka'ehukai is the mist that gets sheared off the wave as it breaks in the ocean. It's truly beautiful. Sometimes a rainbow will appear in that mist. Cruz was born in the water.

Florencio: We knew we wanted to honor someone in Peter's family with Cruz, and it became obvious to us who to choose when Pupu passed away. Pupu was a strong man and Peter has so many memories of him. So Florencio it was!

It's a beautiful day today. Cruz is sleeping in his carseat and Ry and Kai are wrestling in the living room. The sun is shining and blossoms are blooming. I think we'll go on a walk later.

A Spring Day

It seems like the trees outside have started sprouting new leaves - almost overnight in fact. Things are starting to get more green and along with Cruz's new life, life begins to refresh outside as well.

Yesterday the family went outside and basked in the sun. It was a beautiful 80 degrees (as it is today too!)

Ryenne and Kai enjoyed throwing leaves with Peter. Kai especially liked the outside play time. He loves to get dirty and be a boy.







Ryenne... my little tree hugger :)



And the new blossoms on the trees outside. They were literally bare branches days ago!



Just a little out of focus... she was moving quick. But I love it still!



And how is the newest member of the family? Well... he is very much like his big sister in many ways. He doesn't like to sleep and hasn't quite learned how to soothe himself. Other than that, he is super sweet. I wanted to have a photo shoot of him yesterday, but he really didn't want to cooperate. I'm happy with what I got, but I really wanted him to fall into a deep sleep to challenge myself artistically with some different things.

I am still in awe at how much he is like his sister and how fair he is. Such a contrast to my dark little Kai Boy. It will be interesting to see how all the genes come into play and what he will look like as he grows. He has very wise eyes. He stares at me so alert as if he's known me for so long. Last night we had conversations just staring at each other while everyone else was asleep.

I am in love with his mouth.



Don't let this next one fool you. He wasn't sleeping. He was pooping!



So alert... he looks just like me as a baby I think!



His "giddy giddy" - hmmmm what do they call this on the mainland? His head swirl?

milk

Oh my... the milk is totally in. I'm toting around watermelons. Ouch!

Staying in the Jammies kind of days!

We've all been in our jammies for two days. :)

We're all doing good - just tired mostly. Cruz and I had a rough night last night, but we got loads of help today and Peter and I got a nap, which was sooooo needed!

Kai was having a cranky few days as well. He is sweet to his new brother and to me and Peter, but something was bothering him - growing pains maybe? - but he discovered Cruz's plug yesterday, popped it into his mouth and it was like all is right with his world again. I didn't feel like I could take it away from him - it brought him so much happiness... so Kai Boy has his plug again. But I will take it out of his mouth when he bites it and keep my eye on any holes.

Cruz and I had our checkups today. Roswitha came to our house and we are both doing great. Here's the recent pictures... I haven't been much of a shutterbug the past few days. But hopefully on Tuesday I'll get Cruz to cooperate for his first "official" newborn session.

Kai's Big Brother Video

The newest little Dagupion

Peter and I are so excited to announce the birth of

Cruz Nico Ka'ehukai Florencio Dagupion

Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 10:34pm
8lbs, 15oz | 21.75 inches long
Austin Area Birthing Center (Roswitha Dowell, midwife)

The day started out with the excitement of Kai Boy's first day of preschool. We got lunches and extra clothes ready in the morning for both Ry and Kai and then Gams helped me get both kids to school.

I felt a little gush of fluid and figured I'd had a tear. So my midwife asked me to come up to be checked out. She figured that perhaps it was mucus and not amniotic fluid, but a check under the microscope proved that there was fluid and I had to stay at the birth center and start antibiotics since I had tested positive for Strep B. Since there was a tear in the sack, we had to get labor going because "P3" had 24 hours to get out or I'd have to go to the hospital (for risk of bacteria getting in the sack).

The labor journey began with me by myself at the birth center attached to an IV getting antibiotics. Contractions hadn't yet started and I was feeling a little nervous, but my midwife, Roswitha said she had some tricks up her sleeve and something was going to work to get labor going!

Gams picked up both kids from school and stayed with them while Peter drove up to the birth center after he woke up. We got settled into our room and Roswitha started me on some herbs and then hooked me up to a breast pump to stimulate contractions.

Contractions started out slowly but then got stronger. The big contractions began at 6:20pm and they were very intense. My favorite place to labor in the beginning was sitting on a green bouncy ball holding Peter's hands (and squeezing them). At 9pm I was hooked up to IV again for another round of antibiotics and I had a very big contraction while I was on my back. Roswitha assisted the water bag breaking and I think it was one of the most intense contractions of the night. I felt like I wanted to leap out of my body! I was dilated to 6cm at this point.

Shortly afterward I got into the big tub to labor in warm water. The stream of the faucet of warm water felt good on my back and Peter sat on a stool by the side where I could hold his hands and squeeze them when I had contractions.

The contractions really started to hurt and I would squeeze Peter's hands, close my eyes, and concentrate on focusing the contraction on the baby. I felt as if I were pushing the baby down and I could start to see my stomach changing shape.

It was after 10pm when Roswitha checked me again and I was 8cm. She said she was going to step out of the room for a moment since we still had time. But with the next contraction, I felt I had to bare down and I could feel the baby slide into position to come out. Peter yelled that he could see blood and he thought the baby was crowning. I felt down and could feel the babies head. The next contraction brought the baby even closer to being born and we called Roswitha back in. She was amazed that in only a few minutes I had gone from 8cm to now having the babies head almost out.

Getting his head out was challenging and hurt a lot. The baby had his arm wrapped around his head. Roswitha had to push his shoulder back in to move his arm. Once his head was out, I felt like all my energy had gone away. Everyone kept telling me to PUSH! but I felt like I was already pushing and nothing was happening. It was a very frustrating feeling for me. I had to catch my breath. So while everyone yelled to push, I just took a moment to catch my breath and then bared down again. In an instant, I went from feeling like "GET THIS BABY OUT!" to a rush of his body leaving my body into the water - like 20 pounds had been lifted right off my system.

Roswitha immediately placed the baby on my chest and he was covered in vernix and a familiar purple color. I gazed at the baby and immediately recognized the upper lip - the same as my own and Ryenne's. I smiled. And then I lifted the leg to discover that I had a brand new baby boy.

I gazed up at Peter who looked amazed and in disbelief all at the same time. A proud look came upon his face - the nurse assistants all cheered. I felt great, exhausted, and cold all at the same time.

Peter cut the babies cord and then everyone helped me out of the tub and we went to the bed where the placenta was delivered. We discovered that the original tear in the sack was near the top. The placenta was healthy and the cord was thick and long. I couldn't resist touching it. Such an amazing piece of equipment!

We had family bonding time and Cruz was a little lazy starting to nurse but then became a champ. We were discharged just after 4:45am and drove home where we tried to catch a few hours of ZZZ's.

When I went upstairs, Ryenne was asleep but immediately woke when she saw me and told me how much she loves her new baby brother. Then this morning we introduced him to Kai and Kai's first word was "Hi!" and then he said, "Baby!" and he gave him a kiss and has been touching him all day.



I have been really, really tired all day and pretty sore, but mostly happy - just watching everyone interact with each other. Cruz looks like a boy version of Ryenne - almost identical to her newborn pictures. So far he is living up to his name - he is a cruiser. Just wants to eat!

I don't think I'm used to the idea of having two little boys though. When I hear "The Boy" I immediately think of Kai Boy. He's my first boy. And he's such a lovey little boy. It will be so interesting to find out what Cruz's personality is and how he differs and is the same as his big brother. Which is another weird thing for me to wrap my head around... that Kai is a big brother... since he is still so small and such a baby himself. *sigh*... these are things I will just have to learn to let happen and enjoy.

Speaking of Kai Boy... When I wanted to snap a few pictures of Cruz, he was such a helper. He kissed Cruz on cue and then helped me hold the camera lens cap. Here he is being a huge helper!

Big sister Ryenne is also being extremely helpful. I am so proud of her. Such an amazing little human...

I'm sure the coming days will all be so new for our family with one more little person added to the bunch. We're enjoying the new baby smell, the tiny cries, grunts, and squeaks. I'm hoping that I will be able to show each of them how important each one is as an individual and how much I love each of them. That will be the hardest thing I think... to find the balance of my time between the three. But I think I can do it. Here's to a brand new ride... mom of three kids! Wow!

P3 will be coming soon!

So this morning was Kai's first day of pre-school. Gams met us at his school and we took him inside. He cried. We made it a fast escape and then took Ryenne to school. On the way out to the playground, I felt a little "gush" and then me and mom went to breakfast. I checked and I had some leaking fluid.

I called the birth center and they told me to come in and be checked. Sure enough, a little bit of fluid showed up under the microscope. I am Strep B positive, so this meant that I needed to stay at the center and have some IV antibiotics.

The day is progressing... it's 5:50pm and I am having contractions that are starting to hurt and more fluid is coming out with each contraction. I think it might be a long night... we'll see. But P3 should be here in the coming hours! We are excited!

Gonna go to school

Kai Boy. He's growing you know. His Gams & Pops know how big he's getting and how much he wants to join his sister at school... so they gave him a very special gift. I can hardly contain my excitement for him - HE GETS TO GO TO SCHOOL!!!

Ryenne's school doesn't have room for him right now, so he'll be going to another school near our house on the same days as Ry - Tues & Thurs - and he'll get to play with lots of kids his age, eat snacks, and play outside. His first day is Thursday and I can't wait to see him off to his big boy school.

We bought him a lunchbox (with Texas orange, of course!) and sippy cups and a special tote to carry his diapers and wipes. We'll be sure to take pictures. So special!!!

Thank you for the amazing gift, Gams & Pops!!!

17 Months!

It's March 1st! I thought for sure that I would have a brand new baby in the house by now. But I guess I am *technically* still 9 days from my due date. So I wait... I couldn't help but catch a glimpse in the living room mirror of myself and the growing belly. Probably more of me than you want to see, but here it is!

Speaking of this mirror.... this is quite a special mirror. It was gifted to me by my parents and it has made its way from Mexico to Maui and finally to Texas. It finally found it's home on my living room wall just a few short weeks ago. I adore it. It has "flutterbies" as Ryenne calls them.

Today is Kai's 17 month birthday. He is such a big boy - well big on personality - not quite big on size. He is sweet as can be. I was so lucky when he wanted to see himself in our mirror and he decided to try to kiss me just as I hit the shutter. I realize this is not in focus, but so very special nonetheless!

The boy and girl snuggling is a rarity. But I love it.

Below: Oh goodness.... when Peter sees this picture of Ryenne he's going to want to lock her up. Visions of her as a teenager.... gah! And doesn't Kai look so handsome??

And lastly.... my little boy Kai - so big 17 months today. No more pacifier - all smiles.