Motherhood

wow... weird... now me and that word go together ... so strange ... everyone always asks how we're doing and honestly, we're good. kaylee jo has a spunky side, let me tell you. she's funny. not doing any tricks yet as people may say, but she lifts her head up and looks around. it's so crazy. she's a little person that depends on you. and there's a whole level of trust to be fed and changed and cleaned and cared for. it's so wonderful. joey's doing a wonderful job too. our nights are sleepless and our house is untidy, but we've got a beautiful baby girl. we went to our lactation appt last week and they weighed her when she was done with her feeding and she's up to 8 lbs! she has full cheeks and thighs and everything now! i'll post more pictures when i can!

Congratulations are in store to
JOAN & CHRIS on their engagement
ATE & GABE - they found out that Kaylee Jo is having a baby GIRL cousin
REG - I wish I could be at your graduation this weekend but it's my mom's bday. I can't believe 18 months passed by that fast. Go ICU nurses!

Happy 1 month birthday!

It's hard to believe that our baby girl is one month old today - but she is! wow! time really does fly! here is her picture from last night! Her cheeks are getting fuller and her thighs are getting nice and plump enough to eat! she is very much her daddy's daughter as she eats, burps and toots like him =) but she's up to seven pounds now and growing every day. i can't imagine her still being inside of me! anyway, this was just a quick getaway! hope to talk to you all soon!

Here I Am ....

I think I got the date wrong. Mommy and Daddy said that I was a little early but I had heard about this thing called Independence Day and I wanted to BE FREE =)
My name is Kaylee Jo. I arrived on July 4th at 0701, weighing in at 5 lbs. 9 oz. and 18 inches long. Mommy and Daddy said that everything happened so fast. I'm sure they'll tell you about it later. I have to go take a nap now because I sleep 18 hours of the day. I hope to meet you all soon if I haven't met you already. Good night!

Kaylee Jo's Baby Shower

so the first of Kaylee Jo's baby showers happened on Saturday. Thank you to Auntie Jenn, Auntie Dana, Grandma Susan and Grandpa Joe for hosting the shower. Auntie Mina always comes up with some hard games, but they make for great thinking. Auntie Roxanne and Auntie Joan decorated the place to make it cute and girly. And of course, Lola and Tita Beth always make the food so yummy. SO a BIG THANK YOU to all of you who hosted and of course, to all of you who came to make it such a good shower! Mommy and Daddy have time to recover because the next ones are not for at least three weeks. Mommy and Daddy have a tendency to pick the hottest weekends for their shindigs so thank you for tolerating the heat. We posted some pictures up to try to recap the shower. They're all out of order but hopefully you get the gist. Thanks for coming everyone! Hope to meet you all soon!

Uncle Erwin, Auntie Frances and Ethan


Auntie Lauren and Uncle Rob


Uncle Robert and Auntie Christina


Uncle Mark, Auntie Audrey and Uncle Brian in the shade


opening presents



Auntie Joan gave us a bib for when she's around - read carefully


Auntie Jenn and Uncle Gabe. Uncle Gabe made it to the right house eventually =)


Mommy and Auntie Steph - the next time we see them, little Addisyn will be out of the womb =)


Our yummy cake

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Mina and Cheryl are attacking me


Alexa, Ate Joy, me, Ate and Mom


Joey's practicing with his bag


Kuya and Ate Joy posing


Auntie Teresa and Auntie Cassie


me and Lola


We like to take pictures together


We're posing with baby KATHRYN - what a lovely name!


Grish is practicing with Asher


Bella and Lolo Ben


Brian is playing the "guess how fat Kay is" game - nice title Day!


Look - we're all reunited!


Joey and Em are reunited too! they always took these pictures when we went to all the weddings and they would have their dance offs to see who would get more video time!


Here's her welcome sign courtesy of Auntie Jenn:


Joey had to BBQ as new dad role:


Asher and Grandma


I pose by the BBQ but Joey did all the cooking


Grandpa Joe and his grandsons - it's Lucas and Jayden

week recap

HAPPY BELATED FATHER'S DAY!!!

Happy soon-to-be daddy's day to my Bubba!



Happy Father's Day to Pa!


so this week went by pretty quickly and i still have 2 more days of work ... boo ...
sunday was father's day ... happy belated father's day everyone! when i was little everyone used to call me my dad's shadow because i was always following him. we were like peas and carrots, always together. so i guess you can say that i've always been daddy's girl. love you pa! all my baby pictures are at my parents' house so i can't show you the shadow pix but that's ok. we had a pretty busy father's day actually. we went to joey's parents' house for breakfast with the family, then went to chino buffet to meet up with our family, then went to dana's for her graduation (CONGRATS ON YOUR MBA DAY!!! We're so proud!!!!) and then went back to my parents to watch the game. went to bed pretty early because i had to work a day shift on monday. it was my last day of heart training. now i get to work on fresh open hearts. they are the scariest patients that you'll ever get. they can bleed and go down really fast. hope you can catch it early so that they can go back to OR but they are the scariest patients to take care of because they are so fragile. we have to stay the whole night by the bedside to watch all of their numbers. but they wanted to make sure that i was heart trained before i left on maternity leave. talk about stress. anyway, when i work day shift it wearts me out to no end because i have to wake up at 5 AM, leave by 5:30 to get to work on time, leave the hospital at about 8 PM, drive home, went to the store for some dinner supples, took a nap, made dinner joey got home, hung out and then finally got to bed after midnight. long day. but i've been off since then.
tuesday was catch up day. catch up on sleep, clean the house. do laundry. pick up painting supplies. cook dinner. watch the lakers lose. how sad. actually, there's alwasys next year. we'll have everyone back and bynum will be back so we can be at full strength.
wednesday was painting day. i didn't paint. joey and his dad painted the baby's room. it's called "pink reef." it looks good. they did a very good job. his mom and i were watching asher as they painted upstairs. we went to lunch after they were done and asher was asleep in his carrier. he was in the chair between me and joey so when he woke up while we were eating, i was the one that picked him up out of his carrier. i think the people at the other table thought that i was crazy because i was picking up this 9month old out of his carrier and am currently 33 weeks pregnant. they were probably thinking i needed some birth control! anyway, then we dropped off stuff at my parents, went to babies r us and the uptown fsrmers market for lots of fruits and fresh peanuts. we later went to go watch joey's uncle johnny play at the crazy horse in west covina. there were some strange looking folks in there. grandma was with us and she had to leave because this one girl was dancing and making strange faces while she was dancing, i think it was making her sick. she told joey to maske sure that i wasn't looking at her because the baby might start to look like that. we left with them.
today was another day of lamaze. the stories about the episiotomies were disgusting and joey got to see the video with the placenta - which was disgusting. i think the best line of all the videos was when one lady is pushing and they said to look down so she could see the baby's head. the baby's head is full of white vernix and the mom - who's still pushing - says "that doesn't look like a baby!" it actually didn't because the baby was facing down and all she saw was white goop but it was a classic line and a classic face. anyway, the next 6 days are going to be crazy. wotk friday and saturday, sunday has a birthday part and a baby shower, and then work monday, tuesday and wednesday. here's to a lot of rest! good night!

date night

so joey and i had wed and thurs off together this week. its been a long time since date night so we had date night on wednesday. we slept in - i worked on tuesday night and then got ready and had dinner with nikki and amin first at chilis. i had fajitas and they were yummy. they weren't sizzling when they got to our table, but they were yummy nonetheless - steak fajitas with onions and poblano peppers with applewood bacon and shredded jack cheese - yummy! and i even had one of those sweet shot things for dessert. they have these desserts that come in little shot glasses so it's just enough to satisfy your sweet tooth craving. i got the cinnamom bun thing. it was yummy. then we checked out what was at the movie theatre. joey said it was my choice, but i said whatever he wanted to watch. it ended up to be my choice. so we watched satc. everyone kept telling me that they cried during the movie and before going in i couldnt understand why anyone would cry. but now i understand. i'm such a sap. good thing i had napkins with me because i cried. at different times and for good reason because apparently a lot of people cried. but i enjoyed it. it was enjoyable. it was a nice date. then today was lamaze. im having this internal struggle between having an epidural or not, but i'm really leaning toward getting the epidural. why go through the pain? but they say recovery is better without the epidural. i guess i get to make the decision when i get there. joey's a good coach. very soothing. calm, cool and collected. he balances me out. hehe. anyway, have a good rest of the week! happy almost friday and happy early father's day!

Dude

when a bench player gets more free throws BY HIMSELF than the ENTIRE laker team, do you think they need to re-evaluate their foul calling? these officials are KILLING ME! and despite all that, the lakers got the 24-deficit down to 2!!!!! crazy! but we have A LOT of work to do. Games 3, 4, and 5 better have the same home court officiating that the celtics had in boston! anyway, have a good week all! go lakers!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Congratulations are in store!!

Congratulations to Ate on her graduation!!!



Congratulations to Ate and Gabe on their new announcement!!! EDD 01/06/09!!!



Congratulations to our expanding family portrait!!!



Congratulations to Dana on her new job!! We're going to miss you but you're going to be awesome out there!!

WE'RE GOING .....

TO THE NBA FINALS!!!!

not we, but THE LAKERS!!!! YAY!!!!!!
4 more games! 4 more games and then ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP!!!
CAN'T WAIT!!!

vegas in a nutshell ...

so we went to vegas for j mo's bday and here's just a glimpse ...

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day (belated)!!!
But really every day should be mother's day! We wouldn't be here if we didn't have mothers because they gave birth to us - so of course every one has a mother and they should be appreciated for all that they do! I know it sounds cliche, but really, words really can't describe how much my mom means to me. The picture is from Christmas but moms are the core so I thought this was appropriate. I love you Mom!
can I make a little side note that I love my hubby? he's so awesome. so i worked on Friday and Sarurday night and had one of the hardest weekends that I've ever had as a nurse. You know when they call CODE BLUE on those hospital shows like Grey's Anatomy and ER. well, we had to call a Code Blue on my patient - we pushed a lot of drugs (7 amps of epi), did a lot of CPR, bagged her and intubated her - we resuscitated her for an hour and put her on alot of blood pressure medications - and to top it all off, she's the mother of one of the attendings! in our hosptial it's similar to Grey's, there are interns, residents, chief residents and attendings. their attendings are a lot younger than ours bnt anyway, this is totally tangent, but it would be like treating Derek Shepherd's mom. but anwyay, we had that crazy night on Friday and Saturday was not better because the same thing happened - not to that extent - but still there were 20 people in my room helping me - but she is alive! Thank God! I prayed at Mass before I went to work on Saturday and even her son asked me if I thought that she would still be here when I came back. I prayed hard and we worked hard and hopefully she'll be there today when I come back but talk about stress! anyway, hence we haven't had a chance to do much let alone clean the house. and when I came home on Sunday morning, I received the most wonderful mother's day-to-be present. the house was immaculate! kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom ... the counters were cleantd, the floors were cleaned, the table was polished and shiny with flowers in a vase on top, the floor was mopped, the carpet vaccuumed and in the living room sat a new glider and ottoman with a card that read "From Your Baby." i just melted. and of course i cried. damn hormones! but it was so sweet. i'll take a picture and post it. and when i sit in the glider, the baby kicks a lot. i'm trying to convince her that this is the seat she's going to be in when she's supposed to be falling asleep but this is where she likes to kick. she's funny. anyway, i love my hubby. have a beautiful day all!

and here she is .............

so here's the 4d pictures .........
these were the best that we could get .............
she's shy .... and when she's asleep in a comfortable position, she doesn't like to be bothered .......... just like daddy ...

Enjoy!

HAPPY NURSES WEEK!

Happy Nurses Week everyone!
I know all of you know someone who is a nurse so celebrate them this week. When I think nursing, I always think of my childhood. I grew up at the hospital. As most ofyou know, I aspirated a peanut when I was 3 - meaning instead of the peanut going into my stomach it lodged into the lower left lobe of my lung. I kept getting sick and coughing and the doctor had diagnosed me with croupe - another kind of lung disease. well, we then went to Childrens Hospital in LA and they found that it was a foreign object in my lungs. Because of that peanut, I went to the doctor's office ALL the time, first every three months, then every six months, then once a year. I would have to take PFT's - pulmonary function tests every year to see how my lungs were developing. This was all between the ages of 3 - 18. Imagine driving to LA - Sunset Blvd every three to six months to get my lungs checked. and we lived in Baldwin Park and Diamond Bar. Anyway, back to why I started this story, I had the same RN, Lucy, from the time I was diagnosed with bronchiectasis at 3 until about 15. Then she started doing research. But every time I went in - which had increased to once a year at that point - from the age of 15 to 18, they would page her and she would come down and see me during my visit. She really saw my grow up. And I always wanted to establish that kind of relationship with my patients. I don't know why I denied it for so long. I always thought I wanted to be a pediatrician growing up. Then I got to school and realized that it was way too competitive and too hard and too long. I even called Cal State Long Beach during my second year at UCI to see if I could transfer to their BSN program. But then I got comfortable and said that I could do something else with my BS in Applied Ecology - environmental and public health. and then it all came back to nursing. worked for a little bit and found my way bnck to where my heart has always been - the heart of a nurse. I was working at the nursing home and I would do my rounds every morning, check the change of condition reports, check the rooms, talk to the patients and one day there was one pt sitting in the middle of the hallway, I bent down, straightened her wheelchair into her spot and looking straight into her eyes and said "Good morning, Mrs. B." and she never really talked, but that morning she looked me straight in the eye and said "You're nice." and my heart melted. and I again realized that I wasn't made to work behind the desk. I know I complain a lot or vent a lot about work. it's stressful. it's hard. and it is very tiring. but it is so worth it. So anyway, to all of my fellow nurses, happy nurses week! you truly keep the caring and compassion to the bedside that no one else can provide.

so we finally know ...

its a ...................................

GIRL!

yay!

we saw a hamburger as opposed to a hot dog

yay!

next week is the 4d pictures so we can post them and freak dana out! i wish i was in hawaii with you gals! miss you!

anyway, see you guys later!

random thoughts ...

so let's see what's been going on lately ...
- i'm getting bigger. actually at my last doctor's appt, the nurse midwife said that i was right on the button. i was 22 cm at 22 weeks when she saw me but i feel like i'm bigger than i should be. but then everyone at work says that i'm incredibly small. i think it's because i'm in scrubs that don't accentuate my curves :p anyway, this second trimester has been good. definitely more energy than the first and then i get to be a lot more productive. i even get to work extra. speaking of working extra ...
- work's been crazy. we've gotten some pretty sad patients lately. i think the saddest part about them is that they're so young and all of this stuff happens to them that isn't their fault. one is riding his bike and gets hit by a drunk driver, and the other two are just passengers in the car and they get critically injured; one of the drivers was drunk and the other one got rear-ended. so it's been pretty sad at work lately.
- i miss hanging out with people and i enjoy it when i do. the past couple of weeks have been fun catching up with people. i had lunch with mina and dana one weekend and it's been forever since the three of us were together. our lives have been all on different paths lately but whenver we get together we still gel together. we're like glue. then i got to hang out with the kims, the o's, dexie, jimmy and kristin. from Mass to dinner to starbucks, didn't feel like we were there as long as we were. i think we were there until starbucks closed. time does fly when you're having fun. and both encounters either started or ended at st. liz. i think i find a comfort at that church for some reason. joey and i go to Mass there a lot and it's just comfortable. for some reason it makes me feel at peace. i can't place it but there's just something about it.
- we've been to the clinic a lot lately. i had to take my 3-hour glucose test one week and i passed (yay!) joey had a bad case of sore throat and the flu. the doctor said that usually 70% of people come in with a sore throat and it's nothing really. he looked at his throat and said "your throat looks like hell. you're going to need some antibiotics." guess he didn't fall in the 70%. then we went in for our monthly prenatal check-up. it's nice to be able to go to the clinic with someone; i always feel taken care of :p
anyway, i guess that's life in a nutshell. still other things going on but this is getting long :) talk to you later...

there's a bump ...

i woke up and there was this bump in front of me :p last week was the first time that some stranger came up to me and asked about my baby bump. so i think i finally look prego. and i bought some maternity clothes finally because my pants don't close :P anyawy, hope you all have a nice weekend!