Happy Halloween!  Walter took off from work on Halloween so we could have a fun day and so it wouldn’t be a huge rush to the festivities once he got home.  Unfortunately we spent “family fun day” hanging around the house with a crabby toddler and fussy baby.  One thing that made Noah happy was the sheet of stickers from one of his Halloween cards (we have the best family who send the kids cards for every occasion).  Noah was feeling very generous and decided to share them with poor Kate.

Look closely -

And here’s another cute shot from our lazy day -

Later when it was time to put our costumes on things got really cranky and Noah was super crabby.  My sister Nikki stopped by to show us her costume and it really iced the cake by freaking Noah out.  He’ll do anything for candy though, even pose for a photo.

Once we got them dressed we took these -

Kate was supposed to be a teddy bear.  I bought her costume months before she was born.  It’s size 0-3 months but as you can tell it’s a little ridiculous and might fit her next Halloween.

Then we were off to the Friedman’s hoping for the best.  We had very unfortunate weather, it rained all day, but we managed to catch enough of a clearing for the kids to do some trick or treating. 

Ayla and Noah dressed up in coordinating Dolphin’s costumes (a cheerleader and a football player), Kate played along in a Dolphins sleeper and Aaden was a lion.  We had a great time and enjoyed watching Noah actively participate for the first year.  He rang doors bells and even managed to say “trick or treat”.  Anyone who knows him would be shocked at that (including us), the thank you’s were a little coaxed.

If you look closely you can see Robby on the floor behind the ottoman waiting to catch a clumsy toddler.  Luckily no one was harmed in the making of this photo.  Doesn’t Rachel have the most amazing decorations?

The Linder Family

To finish off Ayla’s costume my sister Lindy made her a diaper cover that says “#1 Dol-Fan”.  She looked adorable!

Photos were taken!  Ok, let’s be honest, we’d be hard pressed to find a day photos of Kate or Noah weren’t taken but when Kate was nine days old a family friend and photographer (who wishes to remain anonymous) came to take photos of Kate.  Here are a few of my favorites -

Her umbilical cord stub fell out the next day, it was a big week in the Yap house!  Thanks for letting us drown you in photos!

Kate is one month old today.  I can hardly believe its been a month, it seems like she arrived just yesterday.  I’ll spare you the emotional, goopy, sappy words and just give you an update.  Unlike Noah, she’s actually on the growth chart, comparable to her peers (not that it matters that he’s so little, but he is).  She weighs 9 pounds, 7 ounces (in the 50th percentile) and measures 22 inches in length (in the 80th percentile).  She’s definitely filling out and chunking up and the doctor is pleased with her growth.  We’ve had a few challenges over the last month but none that couldn’t be solved with sleep, lots of rocking, formula and more sleep.  Turns out our little angel is lactose intolerant, just like her brother.  Luckily this time we didn’t suffer through weeks of gas and fussiness before finding this out.  So once again we’ve opted to bottle feed exclusively which at least means we get to take turns sleeping at night. 

I know she will continue to grow and thrive and bring joy to our family.  I promise to torture you with an overload of photos at every milestone.  Thanks for caring and keeping up with our family!

Here is her on her one month “birthday” -

“Kate, want me to take your picture!?”  The poor baby has had a fever from her first vaccine a few days ago.  Needless to say this was a very short shoot.  This is her first time sporting a bow.  What do you think?  I know, I know, she needs more hair.

She looks very “Asian” to me today.  Maybe I’ve been in denial but today I definitely see it.

And because I know Walter is rolling his eyes at the bow -

Last year we went to Canada to experience what fall is really supposed to be like, or at least what we see on TV – it was amazing!  We had such a great time and tried so many new things like apple picking and fall leaves, it’s a bit disappointing spending fall here this year but we are so blessed with a new person to spend it with we won’t complain (any more than we have already). 

So here it is – fall Florida style.  You pack your cranky family into the car in outfits that are way too hot for the 90 degree weather and you act like idiots and bribe them (or threaten them) until they smile.  It’s very painful.  We managed to get a few cute photos and in a few years when Kate is running circles around us and we forget how defeated we felt leaving the pumpkin patch (without a pumpkin) we will love these photos and show them how well behaved they appeared.  Long gone will be the memories of Kate screaming (hoping someone would call Child Welfare Services) and Noah protesting by stepping on pumpkins, dropping them, and then icing the cake by sitting on a completely rotten pumpkin that ended up all over his pants.  Oh, fun times.  Enjoy the photos!

When did he turn into such a big boy!?

You should have seen me.  I swear the video would have sold millions.  It must have been good, it even got Noah to smile.  Kate – not so much.

Again with the hats.  I can’t help myself.

He was drawn to the “bumpy punkins”. 

We don’t title our photos but we couldn’t stop talking about how this would have turned out if we did.  Something that could have been a very cute, but cheesy, “Special Delivery” turned very quickly into “Handle With Care, Damnit!”.  I cannot tell you how many looks we got for doing this.  The bystanders definitely thought we were nuts.  Who are we kidding?  We are nuts.  Our poor children.

Today we attempted to take family photos.  Our friend Rachel got suckered into… err… volunteered to shoot them for us but unfortunately Noah wasn’t in the mood.  He woke up way too early for anyone’s good and gave us a run for our money as we were tried to leave the house by 8am.  It was an interesting morning that had quite a few tears but ended pretty well with a few good shots, bribery and breakfast.  We followed through with his promised lollipop afterwards but that wrecked his afternoon nap, of course.

Anyway, thanks to Rachel for the photos, Robby and Ayla for putting up with the whole ordeal and hello to Lani and her peanuts who we bumped into at Mizner doing the shoot!

And now for the photos -

There was a lot of tickling but those shots look mostly like this first one. 

Noah is just so darn serious (but cute)!  And yes, he’s practically bald.  This happened right after I told the hairdresser “just make sure he doesn’t look bald!”.  Ummm, thanks.

Noah has the cutest face in these but it’s not his love for photos he’s showing you, which is why he’s not looking anywhere near the camera.  Instead, it’s his love for airplanes.  I edited out all the photos of him pointing, and the really funny one where Walter and Noah are watching the plane fly by while Kate and I look oblivious.

At this point we’d pretty much lost Noah completely.  I have no idea what was in his mouth.  It was also about 109 degrees with 600% humidity, you can tell by the gradual demise of my hair!

This is the face he makes when you ask him to smile.  I guess it’s better than the broken neck look Kate is going for.  And yes, she’s a girl in blue.  Does it count that it’s a dress?

I seriously could watch this little girl sleep all day.  She has the sweetest face and best expressions.  I still giggle when she smiles.  I’m sure it’s gas but I would like to think she’s dreaming.  Of what, I can’t imagine.  Boobs maybe?  Just kidding.

My family has been so amazing that Kate and I have been alone together for the past several days.  My inlaws have been keeping Noah busy and my mom has helped me get some sleep and keep my sanity.  So this morning the little angel and I went outside and took some photos, since we didn’t have anything pressing to take care of.  The hats were gifts from volunteers at my sister’s NICU.  I did take one photo without a hat because I’m sure Walter is going to think I was crazy to shoot her in hats but if you saw how small these things were you’d be realize just how cute they are and how little she is.  Anyway, long story even longer, excuse her hat head and bad hair.

Now that she’s starting to lose her newborn face, what do you think?  Does she look like Noah?  Or me, or Walter?  Most people think she looks just like Noah or nothing like him.  I’ll tell you what I think but you tell me first. 

These are from this morning in our backyard -

This gorgeous blanket is a gift from our dear friends the Scott’s.

This hat reminds me of Harry Potter.

Sweet dreams.

Dear Kate,

You were due to be born today.  October 7th is the day after your great grandmother’s birthday (who I still miss every day) and the day before your Aunt Nikki’s but you’re already two weeks old.  It’s a beautiful day outside today, nothing like the past week of rain we’ve had, the sun is out, the air is warm, and the palm tree outside my window is gently rocking back and forth. 

I can’t believe your journey in my belly has come to an end.  I miss feeling you inside of me.  You weren’t much of a mover but at night when things finally calmed down, your brother was in bed, and your father and I sat down to catch up with each other (and our DVR) you always let me know you were there.  You were very shy when others tried to feel you, like you knew the difference between their touch and mine.  You also always had the hiccups.  Big ones.  And you still do.  It’s crazy to see how violent your chest caves in and out with each one and how uncomfortable they make you.  I can’t believe you used to live inside my body.  That you grew a full head of hair, became so big, so strong, and developed such amazing features, fingers, toes, and a personality in a bag of water inside of me.  I can’t believe how perfect you are.  I can’t believe how beautiful you are.

My pregnancy with you was certainly a roller coaster.  There were many days through the summer that I complained and wished it would end but that all seems so far away now.  I cannot tell you how badly I wanted you.  My little girl.  I’ve never been a girly-girl, never loved the color pink, never been very high maintenance, but I always wanted a girl and threatened to have a third child if I didn’t get you.  I had several ultrasounds, sleepless nights, an amniocentesis, more doctor appointments than I can count, four shots of Rhogam in case we ended up with opposite blood types (and we did), a day in the hospital because I fell on top of you in the driveway but you’re tough and we were fine.  You seem to know you’re not an only child.  You are very low maintenance at the moment, you tolerate your brother even if you’re not sure if he’s trying to love you or hurt you (sometimes we’re not sure either), your father’s photo addiction, and my need to enjoy you and love you like crazy as I hold on to every moment like you are the last baby I’ll every touch.  You are usually very quiet and when you’re upset your cry is raspy and hoarse.  The doctor says you’ll be screaming at us in no time.  You fuss when you’re hungry but you’re patient.  You wail when you’re naked or get your diaper changed.

I will probably never be pregnant again and I’ve lost all the weight you (and all that ice cream) gave me, but you did leave a token of your stay, a scar across my belly where you were forced from since you were too stubborn (and your head was too big) to come on your own.  The day you were born I was as big as a house.  My belly was so large and so high that breathing had become a chore.  I remember telling my doctor how bad I felt that you were resting so comfortably and warmly in my tummy just as he started to look for you and how upset and stunned you would be to be born.  I was right.  You cried from the moment they found you up in my ribs until we were reunited almost an hour later.  Life will never be that simple again.  I would do it all again though if it meant having a chance to meet you and hold you even for just a moment.

You are so much different from your brother.  You look different, you have a different temperament, you are more tolerant of so much.  Your father and I are different parents than we were with him too though.  We are enjoying every minute of you, we know we won’t break you, we know that it’s ok for a baby to cry every now and again, and that a diaper can hold a lot more than one drop of pee.  I keep saying how it is such a shame that you will only be little for such a short period of time.  I do love this stage but I also have big hopes for you and I’m excited to see the person you will become.  What will you look like?  What career will you choose?  What kind of partner will you want to marry and will you ever become a mother yourself?  Will you be as close to me as I am to my mom?  Will you love the things that I do?  What kind of relationship will you have with your brother?  There is so much I don’t know but I’m not in a rush to find out either.  I promise to love you no matter what.

Our world is a little crazy right now.  Politics are huge right now with our economy in the toilet and our president a disappointment.  The election is next month and it will change everything, one way or another.  I hope it brings good change and makes this world a little less scary for your future.  Gas is $3.67 on our corner.  It’s been worse but it has certainly been better.  Education is very expensive right now but homes are cheap.  Professional athletes make millions of dollars but teachers live paycheck to paycheck.  I wonder how it will be different when you are my age, and I am 60.  I wonder what you will do to help shape and change things and what impact you will have on others.  I want nothing but the best for you and hope more than anything that you will grow up and be happy.

I could write forever, in run on sentences and rambling paragraphs just like the rest of this post.  Just know that I love you.  That you have completed our family.  That I cry every time I realize I have everything I’ve ever wanted and I can’t imagine what I’ve done to become this lucky.  At the same time know that I have no idea how I got here, when I grew up, how I got blessed with two amazing children, and became a wife and mother.  Know that all I want is for you to feel love, even if you’re 16 and we say things that hurt because you’re making me crazy.  I will always love you.

You will always be in my heart,
Your mom.

Kate has quite a few little people in her life.  Ok, really Noah does, but they’ve all agreed to let her into their club.  Over the past 13 days we’ve had a lot of pint sized visitors whose photos I thought I’d share along with some random shots of Kate and blackmail photos of Noah holding Kate.

This is Noah and Kate with Sebastian and Nate.  Sebastian loves babies!  He sang to Kate, kissed her and it took a lot of bribery for him to set her down.  He’s such a sweetheart!

Noah loves Kate’s crib and can get in by himself.  Because he wouldn’t get out we tossed Kate in with him.  Our little peanut of a boy who is in the 10th percentile for height and weight looks like a giant next to her.  Even his diapers look enormous now!  It’s such a shame that I don’t remember him this small.  What’s even worse is in a few years I probably won’t remember Kate at this size either.  It’s too bad they can’t stay tiny for at least the first year!

This is Noah looking “through a diamond” – his current obsession.  And long time friend Ayla, whose parents we met in birthing class when we were expecting Noah.

Ayla loved visiting with Kate.  Too bad they aren’t both laughing in this photo! 

Thursday night our friends Beth and Kim came to visit.  Kim is the mother of twins, Sydney and Peyton.  We used to visit with them every week (without fail!) but they have since moved to DC.  Kim was down for her highschool reunion and was able to squeeze in some time to come see us.  We miss them all very much!  And while I realize Kim isn’t a “little friend” she is the representative of a few.  Aaron (on the right) is Beth’s son.  He wasn’t too interested in Kate with our tornado of a son here to play.

Kim brought Noah a Curious George monkey.  He has yet to set it down.

It is so nice to be home!  My mom has been an amazing help ever since we arrived acting as our live in nanny and helping out with everything.  Walter’s parents come to visit and bring us dinner every night.  I don’t know how we would do this without our family!  Our friends have also been so generous and amazing and I just want to thank everyone for their help and support while we settle in.  Noah is doing really well with all of the changes.  He shows off a bit when company is over but relatively speaking he’s adjusting well. He’s more curious about Kate everyday and has been so sweet to her.  Today he gave her his monkey when she was crying – that is love.  Kate is doing very well too!  She has a clogged tear duct so one of her eyes is a little gunky but is otherwise perfect.  She’s over her jaundice and is starting to be more alert.  Today her belly button cord fell off and she wore her first dress.  Big milestones on this lazy Thursday!

And because I don’t dare post a word without a photo these days, here are some pictures from the 27th when we were trying to get the right photo for her birth announcement.  I will post that soon but in the meantime here are some other pictures from the day.

A lot of people who have met Kate ask “Is that her!?” when they see this photo.  Indeed it is.  No one is used to seeing her with her eyes open.  It’s a fleeting thing I know.  Isn’t she pretty? 

And this is Kate’s usual expression.  We were taking photos in the rose petals from XM’s generous arrangement.  Once she’d had enough we swaddled her so she could relax.  I couldn’t help but take photos even if the backdrop is a bit out of place.

And Noah couldn’t help but get in on the action.  The boy has the most flawless skin, doesn’t he?  I swear these pictures haven’t been touched up.

Sweet Noah -

Silly Noah -

Kate is a week old today and what a week it’s been!  I’m sorry we didn’t get an update up sooner but things have been a bit busy in our little corner of the world.

I’m not sure how curious everyone is but I’ll start from the beginning.  If you’re just here to scroll through photos my feelings won’t be hurt one bit. 

Kate was born on Monday, September 22nd at 4:40pm by c-section.  She had measured 3 weeks ahead for over 2 months and we were expecting a very large (9 pound+) baby.  I wanted very badly to have her naturally, as I did Noah, but it just wasn’t meant to be.  We had an amnio the week before and found out her lungs were mature but since she wasn’t in a good position for an induction we waited.  Turns out we would have been waiting a very long time because she never dropped and she probably never would have.  The minute the doctor delivered her he said “this is an 11 pound head on an 8 pound body!”.  Her head seemed huge at the time and it was a struggle to even have her via c-section.  Two doctors and a surgical tech were pushing on my belly (I thought they were going to break my ribs) and she didn’t emerge until they used a vacuum to pull her out.  It seemed pretty traumatic at the time but turned out well and my recovery has been amazing.  I would almost say it’s been easier than it was with Noah but you forget a lot in two years and his delivery certainly wasn’t without drama either.

The four days we spent in the hospital flew by.  The staff was amazing, friends and family came to visit and brought food, gifts, and lots of laughs.  Noah came to visit but was more impressed with the technology of my bed than his new sister.

We came home on Thursday and it didn’t take much to settle in.  It’s so nice to be home.  Noah is taking the most time to adjust but doing relatively well.  More than anything it’s nice to have our complete family of four.  The plan is to stop there.

So here’s how it all went down – in photos…

Walter, my mom and Rachel were there for the birth.  We hung out in the labor room while they pumped me full of fluids and other assorted IVs and prepared for the surgery.

They gave me some super foul drink to help neutralize my stomach acids.  For some reason it didn’t go down as easy as the “shot” it was described as.  The flavor was like a super bitter, tangy Sweet Tart.  Never. Again.

Surgery time was getting near.  They had Walter change into scrubs about 3 times his size.  Wasn’t he stylin’?

I’m not predjudice.  The hat looked just as bad on me.  I actually walked to the OR on my own free will.  That was a little weird.  I wheeled my IV in and everything.  Look at that belly!

In the OR they got me ready for my spinal.  This photo needs no caption, the way I was feeling is written all over my face.  On a side note, I was kind of surprised that the OR wasn’t bigger.  It did look exactly like it does on most TV shows though.

Walter wasn’t allowed in when they did my spinal anesthesia.  This was his view.  The story of how this went isn’t pleasant.  My friend Amy describes hearing about it like “eating tinfoil”.  I’ll just say it wasn’t pleasant.

He was brought back in and we got down to business.  I was squeezing his hand so tight that my pulse dropped off and they had to keep asking if I was with them.  I was, but I wasn’t enjoying myself.  When I looked around all I could see was RED.  I saw the used sponges hanging in the count bag and the lights above me reflected what was below.  For the most part I just kept my eyes closed and focused on breathing.  I think I made everyone nervous but I just couldn’t participate during the surgery.

They are PUSHING on me here.  Walter took all of these photos with one hand because the other was getting squeezed to death by me.

I’ll spare you the photos between the one above and the one below.  If you’d like to see some grossness just come over for a slide show.  The photos are available.

And she’s out!

But not happy.  At this point I was just yelling out – “Is it a girl?!”  “Does she have hair?!”  “What color is it?!” 

While I’m sure my doctor was busy doing other things he was great about entertaining my 50 questions.

She seemed to know who Daddy was.  Again, all of these photos are one handed.  Are you as impressed as I was?

Mom and Rachel waiting at the nursery for her to arrive… and she finally did.

And when we asked Kate what she thought about the whole experience -

Right after the surgery I was wheeled back into my labor room.  I was surprised I didn’t have to go to recovery first.  They really did take amazing care of me.  Shortly after we got there Kate arrived.  They hadn’t bathed her or put the gunk in her eyes because I wanted to nurse her.  She had chunks in her hair and ick all over her body.  After she nursed they took her back for her bath, I thought it was really nice they were willing to do that.

After work Raven came to visit.

She was much more presentable after her bath.

Day 2

Big brother Noah came with Apoe and Agoon to visit.  He wasn’t real sure about the whole thing.

She totally rocked her hearing test while he was there.  Do you think XM will want this for their site?

And then we had visitors.  More than I could have ever imagined.  It was so nice to know how many people cared, even if they were only there to see the new lady in our life! 

From here which day was which gets a little fuzzy.

Grammy came and spent the night with us because Noah needed to sleep in his own bed on the second night (or he wouldn’t get any rest at all).  She was amazing and even took the night shift.  We had such a good time she’s since moved in with us and continues to be an incredible help.  Thanks Grammy!

She had jaundice pretty bad and we ended up having to supplement with formula.  We’re still struggling with breastfeeding vs. bottlefeeding because of some issues both she and I are having.  Why couldn’t this have been easier?

Noah came by every day and got a little more curious each time.

We got some beautiful flowers too.  This orchid was a gift from my mom.  Noah also received an orchid when he was born (from his Agoon).  Believe it or not both he and the orchid are still alive!

And these are from Walter’s work -

This is her going home outfit.  The photos where you can see the outfit better she’s screaming her head off.  We’re going to try to do photos in it again.  All of my sisters, myself and my nieces and nephews came home in this, it was made by my great grandmother.

And then we were off.  The nurse pushing me was our nurse this time and before with Noah too.  She was amazing!