She's Here!

Welcoming the newest member of our family: Nora Jaymes Malicdem!

She came to us right as scheduled on December 2nd at 8:34am. She weighed in at 6lbs 8oz and a stretched 19 inches. It was fairly routine as far as deliveries go. We arrived at the hospital about 545am, were taken into triage within minutes and wheeled to the OR promptly at 8am, just as scheduled. L was a little shocked by the casual conversation at the operating table regarding secret mashed potatoes ingredients and the memories associated with the Queen song on the radio as they sliced me open but it went just as I expected. She handled delivery well and let us know she was here with an innocent cry of irritation. We are both doing really well, we even got to leave the hospital a day early. She is beautiful and so tiny. You definitely forget how very tiny and delicate they are in the first few weeks. She is a great sleeper, dead as a door nail. She is mellow and, I know I am partial, but super cute!

Gwen adjusted really well to the new addition. Here is one of their first meeting. Gwen is possessive if anything. She wants to hold her and help do everything. Its sweet! She loves her baby sis.

Deadlines

The end has come and it is really here! Tomorrow we go to the hospital to have our second baby girl. Keep in touch and we will be posting pictures first thing so that everyone can see her pretty face, hands, feet. I am so excited! G keeps saying that she is going to share her room. Its too cute! She is going to sleep at her aunt's and then daddy will pick her up to come to the hospital so she can see mom and baby sis. Oh yeah, we still haven't announced the name so keep in touch for that as well.

Halloween

Well, again the year is flying and G is just getting bigger and bigger everyday. Her favorite sound these day is to buzz like a bee so of course when it came to buying a costume that was at the top of my list. So here are a few shots of little G with our pumpkins. Daddy and her carved one and the others are the every convenient fake ones. Gotta love that. We spent Saturday hanging out with our good friends the Todds' and then we hit the trunk or treat. Lola and Lolo came to see G and played for awhile. We had hot dogs and chili and did the cupcake walk (for mom, of course). Sunday night we sat on the driveway and made scary sounds for the few kids that came by. Aunt Rissa and Uncle Toan stopped by to see our little bee. G was excited by all the costumes and jumped a little bit with the screams on our Halloween CD. It was fun for all.

Okay, I have to brag...

For just a second. I think my little G is so stinkin' cute! She is getting so big and so smart, so fast and when she copied me after only a couple times of doing this I was so excited! We caught her on tape as soon as she would let us. So making her debut...

And its a ...

GIRL!! For those that haven't heard yet we are having a GIRL! G is excited for her "baby sis" as we keep calling her (sorry, you don't get the name yet). I look forward to seeing them together. It's funny how this pregnancy seems to be taking so much longer that the first one. G seemed to get her so fast and we are barely over the middle mark but I am sure that time will speed up as the seasons change and life just gets more busy. We have a new niece and G did great when we went to see them at the hospital. She wasn't scared of the bed or anything and was a big girl to sit so still and hold the baby. I just hope she can remember that when her sister gets here. I am probably more worried about leaving her for the 4 days (another c-section) than anything. I miss her so much when she goes to sleep early that I can't even imagine her without me for days. I am sure I will cry more than she will. But daddy will be there with her and I am sure she will have a ball. We are loving being back in town. So close to everything and everyone. Our new ward is turning out okay. The church is true no matter where you are, just new faces and names to learn. I am missing primary but RS has been good. I have had to push myself to interact with adults and that has never been my strong suit. But L has been great. Letting me cry on his shoulder when needed and laughing me out of it at the end. Good thing he's just blends in and gets along with everyone. Sure love him and grateful for him. Hope everyone is good. Let us hear from you. All our love.

Cali in the Summer

The summer demands time away from sunny AZ and CA called loud enough! We headed out super early (hoping G would sleep most of the drive) and got to San Diego just in time for breakfast. We ate at a great little diner and then zipped over to Seaport Village for some fun. We had a silly picture scavenger hunt and then the hotel called out sleepy heads for a break. We relaxed for a bit and then shot over to the beach for little fun. This was the first time I painted G's little toes! She was too excited about it. How cute are her itty bitty toes on the beach. It was too cold to swim but great for just relaxing and frisbee challenges on the beach. We have a great day ending with humongous hamburgers at an awesome little place on the beach.

We had a quick nights sleep and were off early the next morning for LA and an array of tastes for our tongues. R and T took us on an adventure of foods. We had vietnamese sandwiches, boba and smoothies, spring rolls with peanut sauce, and super sweet sugar cane drinks. We had more food than our tummy's could hold! Yummy stuff!! We'll be back next year for sure!
We got back to the hotel with a couple hours and relax. L and I took G down to the pool. Another first. She loved it! No fear at all. She loves the water. We finished off the night at Lolo's favorite seafood joint! Lobster, french beef, clams and oysters! More food that we couldn't get enough of. It was all amazing and a good nights sleep was in order. The trip was a great relief from the AZ heat. Breezy and cool, a nice 68 degrees most of the day. It was all too amazing!

Life just goes on...

even in the midst of craziness. We are pretty much settled into the new place. So glad to be back in town and 5 minutes from almost anything we could need or want. Its been nice! Not much is going on. We are just going day to day. Can't to take G to fireworks this weekend. I think she will love it, all the flashing lights and bangs. I love the 4th. We are having a family steak cook off at our BBQ this weekend as well. Let's see what kind of mad skills the cooks (self proclaiming of course) have to show us. I'll let you know who wins. Everyone have a safe and happy holiday. Many thanks to all those that have made my freedom a luxury I often don't appreciate as much as I should. We are so blessed to have the privilege to choose how and what to worship and get the opportunity to have our voices heard. Happy 4th of July!!

Yes, we are still alive!

Okay, okay I know its been way too long since my last post. Life just kind of flies by and before you know its been months and the holidays have come and gone and you have no idea where the time went. So I am not going to rehash the last several months, instead here is what is happening in the next few coming. First: we are moving this weekend, the long drive everyday has gotten old for L. Second: we are expecting #2. So excited about this! And third: My side of the family has set our first family vacation for Disneyland! Can't wait! Yes, poor L will be dragging G and me 7 1/2 months prego around the park. Should be fun. Good think we have a double stroller.