Checking in with the kids...

Anna has some tummy time

Matthew got a new puppy from Grandma and Grandpa Guptill. He loves giving his puppy hugs and "kisses" and putting the dog to bed. Here he is giving his dog a kiss by biting his nose.

Trip to Nago

The family at Ocean Expo Park

We went up north to Nago this weekend to see the aquarium, more of Ocean Expo Park and the Pineapple Park. It was so hot and, of course, little Anna was with us, so we didn't last outdoors for too long, but we did get to see the aquarium. Matthew was so excited to see all the fish. Every time we go he is more interested. Anna slept most of the time which was great. We filled up on pineapple, mango, papaya and shikuwasa (Okinawa lime) at the pineapple park and even tried dragon fruit for the first time. It tasted like a very mild kiwi. We also had goya, goya juice, sugar cane and some different kelp and seaweed. We also got to have one of our favorite Japanese drinks, which so far, we have only found in Nago: Melon Cream Soda. Thanks John G. for introducing it to us. Yum! It was our first big outing with Anna and things went pretty well. We had a good time!

Cut up pieces of dragonfuit!

Matthew was so excited to see the different fish

Going on a walk...Matthew's new favorite activity

Grandma Keeler and Anna relaxing in the shade

Matthew was so excited to drive the "car" at the pineapple plantation
He kept saying "CAR!" over and over

Enjoying my favorite thing at the pineapple plantation...the pineapple, cake and ice cream parfait...yum!

Babymoon

Matthew playing with sidewalk chalk

We haven't been venturing out into the world much since Anna has been born. She is still so small and Scott has been back in the states for a few days. So entertaining Matthew at home is getting tricky. I'm keeping a list of some of the activities we did at and around the house so when I'm having a desperate afternoon I can refer to it. Hopefully that will keep my head from exploding. His favorite thing lately is writing with dry erase markers on the white board. I think he likes it 'cause he must be closely monitored by an adult while doing it. He needs and wants the attention. Poor guy. My mom has been helping so much...playing with him, taking him on walks, reading him stories, feeding him and putting him to sleep...and Matthew loves it. I think it will be a shock for all of us when she has to leave. Aaah!

As for Anna, she has been keeping the washer and dryer going almost non-stop! :) I've had to wash the sheets on our bed a few extra times due to some diaper changes gone horribly wrong! She is only 12 days old and has already regained her birth weight plus a pound! She is filling out. :) That's what we like to see. She is still pretty mellow and a really good sleeper at night. She wakes up every three hours or so, but after she eats, she goes right back to sleep. She's not as fussy as Matthew was as a newborn, so that's nice. I've actually been getting a lot of sleep since she's been born. I'll enjoy it now, 'cause who knows if it will last. Here are some pics of our "holed up in the house" days.

Matthew at meal time

Anna calm and relaxed for the moment

Bath time...how we love it!
The rage...OH the rage!

Even the memory of bath time is haunting...

Snuggling up with Grandma Keeler

Enjoying the bouncy seat

And ready to get out of the seat
(her "boo hoo" face)

More snuggling

A few pics...

My friend Angie took these great pictures of Anna and Matthew and I had to share a few. Thanks Angie!!

Matthew shows us where Anna's ears are. Poor girl!!

Obon

This evening my mom, Matthew, Anna and I were out walking on the seawall and we heard a lot of drumming coming from a few blocks away. We had been hearing drums throughout the day but didn't know what was going on. We walked towards the drumming and as we got closer we could hear some of the traditional Okinawan music that we hear around here from time to time. We eventually came upon a large group of Okinawan kids wearing costumes, chanting and drumming on all different sized drums to the music. It was really cool to watch. The kids performed for a while and then took a break. A few blocks away we could see another group doing a similar performance, but moving through the streets like a parade. When we got home we did some quick online research and found out it is the last day of Obon, which I knew was coming up, but didn't know anything about. Obon, it turns out, is a three day celebration to honor deceased ancestors. I think it has Buddhist roots. Maybe the Japanese version of Dia de los Muertos? I wish I had taken my camera with me, but didn't, so I have no nice pictures of the kids and their performance. Oh well. Anyway, it was fun to experience that part of Japanese culture.

Our Family of Four

We're trying to adjust to our new family dynamic. My mom is here helping us now, which probably gives us a false sense of having things under control. Matthew is handling things well so far, just slightly more needy than usual. He likes to pat Anna on the head, or try to vigorously bounce her when she's in her bouncy seat. We try to keep him away from the seat. She tolerates his attention pretty well. She is a pretty easy going baby, at least so far. We'll see if it lasts! She does have a loud high pitched piercing cry that Matthew will try to imitate, so that's fun. :) I think Scott and I are still somewhat in a daze. Hopefully we can figure this out.

Matthew holds his new sister. Anna looks a little nervous!

New family pics...Matthew has his medicine in his eyes

Dad and his two kidlets

More pics of Anna

Matt and Anna

Anna and Matthew

Right after Anna was born I kept thinking how much she looks like Matthew did as a newborn, so we had to compare. Not exactly alike, but I think there could be a family resemblance.

Welcome Baby!

Right on schedule, the new baby Guptill arrived. On Friday morning, August 8, 2008 (8/8/08 - her due date!) Anna Rose Guptill was born. We left for the hospital at 6:45am and got there at 7:05am. At 7:10am we made it to labor and delivery and at 7:23am Anna Rose was born. It was a whirlwind trip to the hospital. We barely made it. We didn't even get to a delivery room. We had the baby in the triage room and I was still wearing the T-shirt I walked in with. The nurse told us if we have a third child, to come to the hospital RIGHT AWAY!

Anna was 7 lbs 10 ounces and 20 and 3/4 inches long. Mom and baby were both fine and healthy and we got to come home from the hospital the next day. Matthew is mildly interested in the new baby...I'm not sure it has sunk in yet that baby Anna is here to stay. Hopefully they get along.
For Anna's Birth Story, click HERE

Baby Anna minutes after she was born.

Getting weighed...7 lbs 10.9 ounces!

Getting her bath...she has lots of black hair

Relaxing under the warmer

Mom and baby in the recovery room

Hi baby Anna!

Matthew meets Anna for the first time. They both like their fingers.

Matthew and Anna at home

Matthew's Bad Week

The good news is that my mom made it into town before I went into labor (which still hasn't happened by the way!) and Matthew has been having a great time with her. The bad news is Matthew has had a rough couple of days, including two trips to the ER and one bout of tummy trouble.

Friday, just before my mom flew into town, Matthew bumped his lip pretty hard on our futon and I thought he might need stitches. So off to the ER we go...turned out he didn't need stitches. We just have to keep his cut really clean so it doesn't get infected. So that turned out to be not so bad. The next day Matthew woke up with a goopy eye and it just got worse throughout the day. By the afternoon it looked pretty bad and we started to suspect it was pink eye. I didn't want to wait until Monday to try and get an appointment with his doctor, so off to the ER we went again. The doctor agreed that it was probably pink eye and we got some antibiotics to treat it. We've been using the medication faithfully and some days it looks better, but it hasn't gone away yet. Tuesday afternoon after his nap, his other eye started looking goopy and puffy, and sure enough, the pink eye had spread to the other eye. Of course, pink eye is really contagious, so Matthew can't go to any of his playgroups or see any of his friends until he gets better. He just has to stay home with us. Poor guy. And then to compound matters, Matthew started having tummy troubles. I'd been giving him soymilk in his sippy cup after he tried some of mine the other day and really liked it, but is seems like it didn't sit too well and he spent the afternoon sad and very uncomfortable with a bad belly. So, we gotta keep the lip cut clean, no more soymilk (or only small amounts)...antibiotics in BOTH eyes now...plus we gotta wash wash wash all the blankets, especially before baby arrives. I REALLY hope the pink eye is cleared up before we have the baby, otherwise Matthew won't be able to get too close to the new little one for a while. :( That would be sad.

Comprehensive Park

We took a drive to comprehensive park this weekend. Of course it was extremely hot, so we didn't stay long. But we were able to walk around, find the water park and see some fish and turtles. Then we had to grab a cold drink and rush back to the car. The park is right on the Pacific Ocean, and the tide was out while we there, exposing all the coral, rocks and seaweed beds.

Matthew checks out some fish and turtles.

The Pacific Ocean right next to the park (the tide is out). As you can see, some of the locals wear long pants and long sleeve shirts out in the blazing heat!!

We made it!

All that resting paid off. My mom arrived from the states on Friday night and I still haven't gone into labor. Woohoo!! We're so excited to have her here and Matthew is having a lot of fun playing with Grandma. So now we can have the baby at any time and it will be ok. Of course if this baby is as late as Matthew was, it will still be a week or so until anything happens. Oh well. At least we are on the home stretch!

Matthew helps with the dishwashing.