(05/12/2007) 2 more days and Nalani will be 9 months old!  She's rolling all over the floor, trying to get her legs in crawling position.  She gets close, but then falls on her belly.  She's also got the tenacity of her mother, she'll keep trying until she just can't anymore (not necessarily a bad thing...)  She's also eating solids (ok....baby mush) now!  Just yesterday, she became smitten with the sippy cup and water.  Soon, she'll be chatting our ears off!!  It's amazing how time flies!
         April has been keeping the Picasa web albums fairly up to date with pics of Nalani and the family.  Undoubtedly, we will have more pics as we take her in for the 9 month pics.  Stay tuned!

(01/28/2007) It seems like so darn long since we've updated the site!!  Well, it has.  We've been busy enjoying our expanded family during the past 4 months.  Nalani has grown so much, both physically and developmentally.  Just today she started pointing at things she wants!!  She can roll over, have a (mostly) meaningful conversation, and let mommy know when she needs to nurse.  We've got a bunch of pictures in our photo album.  We'll update the site more when we get our new computer built (Parts will be here this week).  Until then, enjoy the family album HERE.  Love Mommy and Daddy

(09/13/2006) Autumn is setting in around here.  The leaves are changing, the hot weather is gone and the nice and cool autumn weather is kicking in.  Soon, the rains will be here and our grass will be 10 feet high (and green!) 
         Tomorrow is Nalani's 1 month birthday!  The time definitely flies when you're having as much fun as we are.  She is a little bundle of joy that we just don't seem to have enough love for!    We've adopted a new nickname for her, "Lil Pooper 2".  She gets that nickname because she puts out as much poop as our cat, Latte!! (His nickname is "Lil Pooper")
         Nalani has surprised us all by being able to sleep between 5-7 hours a night!  Almost every morning, she gets us up between 4:30 and 6:00 for her early morning feeding, then she goes back to sleep--usually on daddy's chest. (Daddy: I've been burped on so many times, I could market it as some kind of spa treatment!)  She is also gaining weight at a rapid rate.  On 9/6/06, she weighed in at 8 Pounds, 1 Ounce.  That was 6 Ounces in 8 days.  Today she feels even heavier than that!  Oh yeah, did we mention that the girl can POOP!  (Brings tears of joy to daddy!)
         If you go to her page (Nalani's Page), you'll see that we've added a couple (4 to be exact) of new slideshows.  Enjoy them! 

(08/24/2006) Check out Nalani's slideshows on her announcement page: Nalani's Announcement Page

(08/14/2006) Nalani born!  Check out her announcement page here: Nalani's Announcement Page

(07/15/2006) Update on the "It's a girl" page!

(06/14/2006) WHAT A MONTH!  Busy busy busy!  We've finished painting the nursery and assembling the furniture (except for the pieces that were damaged and are coming from the manufacturer.)  The chair rail is hung and we've decorated a little bit.  Mom still needs to paint her larger-than-life cow jumping over the moon mural.  That involves an overhead projector and a transparency of the bedding set pattern.  Should look really nice when it's done!!  The bedding is being custom made and it's almost finished.  Looks good so far!!
      Mom also went back to work.....at 30 weeks pregnant.  So that is making both of us VERY tired.
      Nalani is very active now.  She is kicking, punching, and flipping around inside of mom now.  Dad and big brother like to feel mom's belly when Nalani is moving around.  The cats--most notably our Persian cat, Casse--like to "protect" the belly at night.  We all get to have fun watching the belly twitch and roll--especially when mom is sleeping and Nalani doesn't want to sleep!!  HA HA!
      Look below for updates on mom's OB appointments and check out the "It's a GIRL!" page.  We've got some more ultrasounds for you to look at too!!  Remember, all new content has a dancing cow next to it!!

Now that I've got that out of the way, let's talk baby!  April discovered 1/1/2006 that she was pregnant.  It wasn't very exciting or anything, in fact, we thought it was a false positive! 

See, last year we were expecting.  We found out on 8/27/05 that April was pregnant.  We were soooooooo stoked about it!  It took over 2 years of trying, but finally our number had come up!  We went to OB/Gyn and he gave us some grim news....un-viable pregnancy.  Something was growing, but it wasn't a baby.  Then in October, she started to miscarry the pregnancy.  We went in for a D and C on 10/20/05 and within 2 hours, it was all over.

So jump forward to 1/1/06 and that pregnancy test.  We thought it was wrong, so we got another home kit on 1/2/06 and tested again.  SUCCESS!  It was positive!!!  YIPPPPEEEE!!!  YA-HOOOO!!  KA-CHING!! (That last one is for the IRS---new tax deduction!)  April went to our doctor and the pregnancy was confirmed!!  The day after that we were getting our first "pictures" of our little peanut!  Now, we're about 16 weeks into the pregancy and all of the sickness, grumpyness, emotions, etc... associated with being pregnant have passed.  The emotions are still there, though.

We've got ultrasound pics, mommy pics, daddy pics, and guitar picks to share!  Also, we've got some sounds we've recorded from the baby.  Enjoy your visit!!!

Important Dates:

• 01/01/2006-01/02/2006 - Positive tests!
• 01/03/2006 - Blood Test (HCG 19,000)
• 01/04/2006 - April's PCP Visit, 1st Ultrasound-No pic to share! :-(
• 01/05/2006 - Our first formal ultrasound, baby at 8 Weeks.  1st picture!!
• 01/17/2006 - First OB Appt.  2nd picture! Measured 9wks, 6d (1 day ahead)
• 02/14/2006 - 2nd OB Appt. Heard heartbeat for the first time! 150-160BPM!! (HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!)
• 2/27/06 - (15 weeks, 5 days) April started to feel the baby "fluttering" around in the womb. She could only feel this internally however.
• 03/14/2006 - 3rd OB Appt. Blood Test for Spina Bifida and Down's Syndrome and Mommy's iron level.  Ultrasound taken. Couldn't find out gender--baby not cooperating.  :-(
• 3/20/06  -(18 weeks, 5 days) Blood results are in - Baby tested negative for Spina Bifida and Downs Syndrome. However, April is anemic.  She had to start taking iron supplements in addition to her prenatal vitamin.
• 3/24/06 - (19 Weeks, 2 days) April felt the baby kick externally for the first time. (Of course the baby stopped kicking by the time daddy came to feel it also).
• 3/27/06 (19 weeks, 5 days) Daddy and Brother Brendan felt the baby moving for the first time. 
• 03/28/2006 - Level-2 ultrasound (Gender determined--SEE SPECIAL LINK ABOVE!!)
• 04/01/2006 - Gender announced to Matt's family at Kyleigh's 1st birthday party.
• 04/06/2006 - OB Appt. MORE ultrasound pics  to share! (Click "It's A Girl!" in the left column.)
• 04/26/2006 - OB Appt. Everything is normal.... Mom has to start taking iron.
• 05/17/2006 - OB Appt. Measuring 27.5 cm.  Mom had to increase her iron intake and passed her Gestational Diabetes test!  (See Brendan, studying pays off!!)  ;-)
• 06/01/2006 - OB Appt. Measuring 31cm.  Total weight gain=15 lbs!  Doctor is very pleased. :-)  Now it should be 1 lb. per week weight gain.
  
  (Dad's note: Keep mom away from the carrot cake and chocolate-covered cashews....)
  
• 06/13/2006 - We started our birth preparation classes.  The first of 6 classes. 
  
  Tonight's topic: Baby Basics Dad learned how to swaddle the baby!  Also learned the umbilical cord can shower the room in blood when being cut!
  
• 06/14/2006 - OB Appt.  Measuring 32.5cm.  2 lbs weight gain...right on target!
  
  (Dad's note: Mission to hide cake and cashews is working...mom is eating lots of peanut butter....must hide!!!)
  
• 06/30/2006 - OB Appt.  Gained 3 pounds, everything is normal--except for April's cold!  Doctor is concerned about April's VERY DEEP cough.  3 Days later, April is in Urgent Care and diagnosed with a Upper Respiratory Infection.  Nothing can be done due to the pregnancy. Doctor prescribes VicoTuss elixr and extra rest/water.
• 07/13/2006 - OB Appt.  Gained 2 more pounds (right on target).  Tested for Strep B and first internal exam.  No progress at this point--much to the relief of everyone in the exam room!  Ultrasound taken of the face.  Baby is head-down in April's pelvis. This appointment is the start of weekly appointments until the baby is born.  Also found out Dr. won't let pregnancy go more than 41 weeks.
• The weely appointments began and were all routine, with the exception of the last week--we went twice in one week.  The first time, April was VERY VERY swollen and her blood pressure was high.  The OB/GYN who was covering for her regular OB/GYN wanted to see her 2 days after this appointment--and she was put on bed rest.
• The 2nd appointment came on 08/10/2006 and her swelling was worse, blood pressure didn't come down, and she got a rash due to decreased liver function (from BP being high).  The OB/GYN gave us the option (read: CONVINCED US) to induce labor.  The paperwork was filed, calls to the hospital were made, and we would soon be on our way! (The call from the hospital came at 12:30PM on 08/12/2006.)
• About 36 hours later, here comes Nalani!