We're Back

Thinking about starting up my blog again.  Thoughts???

 It's just a good way for me to journal.

 That way we can remember the good, bad, the ugly, and the very pretty side of island life! 

 We officially moved to Oahu on June 4th! We had an amazing welcome at the airport.  The CEC Family never disappoints!  

Our first beach outing since landing. Lanikai Beach with Holley, Ben, and Baby J.

HAWAII AND HELP

I need your help with any info or advice you can give us about Oahu. Matt and I are thinking that we might take a mini vaycay to Hawaii in just a few weeks!!!

We don't have much time to plan the trip and we have never been to Hawaii before, so any advice or tips or info would be so helpful! Even if you have never left me comments before, I don't care, any info would be much appreciated!

We are thinking of staying in Waikiki. There are TONS of hotels there so how do you choose one? And it seems like they all make you pay for parking....what's up with that?

We need help deciding on a hotel. What hotels have you stayed at that you liked/disliked and why? And what kid-friendly activities do you recommend or not recommend? What are some good restaurants that we HAVE to try? Of course we want to spend some time on the beach, but really, we have gorgeous beaches here too. So I think we are more interested in lounging by the pool, so there is shade for Miles, and sightseeing. Where are some spots that we have to see? Or if you know of any websites that are helpful or give reviews. I was on tripadvisor.com and got so tired of reading reviews over and over again. So I am done with that website! Instead, I am asking you for help :) So readers, it's up to you now!!

PS This is not a picture of Hawaii. It's a picture of the beautiful island we live on :)

FHE

Yes, Rian is playing dress up and totally posing for the picture :)

In our Church we do something called Family Home Evening (FHE). It's usually done every Monday night and it is an opportunity to spend time together as a family and enjoy one another. Many times we use it to learn a lesson or gospel principle and have an activity and treat, but sometimes we can take that opportunity to do other fun things like go bowling or something, as long as it is done as a family.

So tonight, I had the lesson. Rian is OBSESSED with marriage, brides, wedding dresses, etc. She has been asking to watch our wedding DVD. So I thought I could incorporate that into my lesson on temple marriage. We were telling Rian that not everybody gets married in the temple. And the difference between a temple marriage and a civil marriage. If a couple is married in the temple, they are married for now and forever. But in a civil marriage, they are married for this life only, once they die, they are no longer married.

After the lesson, we watched the DVD. When it was over, I asked Rian what she learned tonight. This was her answer: "If you get married in the temple, you will be a family forever. If you don't get married in the temple, you die." Not quite....but at least we got half of it right?! I mean she is only 3 :) Looks like we will be going over this one again tomorrow!

Bowling

Yes, we are all still alive! We've just been busy enjoying our little baby and when he is sleeping, we are either giving Rian tons of attention or spending time together just Matt and me.....oh yeah, or sleeping too!!

But everyone has been begging me to update the blog. I'll start with our fun night out last night. And go backwards from there. Matt is the Scout Master and 1st Counselor in Young Mens at our Church. For the mutual activity this week, they planned a bowling night. Matt invited us to go with! Rian was so excited, if you can't tell from the picture! And Miles was such a good boy!

I loved watching Matt and Rian bowl together! It warmed my heart!

She is my little model! I love her!

Yep, they got a STRIKE!!!

Miles did wake up, but was content in his carseat. Matt scored a 194. Not an all time high, but pretty impressive none-the-less! I think bowling might be our new popular FHE!

I.Heart.Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! I love all the food! I love being around family and friends! I love that it's the official start of the holiday season! And it means our anniversary is right around the corner!

Since we always spend this holiday with family, Matt and I have never our very own Thanksgiving. This year was our very first attempt and I think it's safe to say...it was a total success! We decided that in order to free up our oven, that we would rotisserie our turkey breast outside on the grill. It was the juiciest, yummiest turkey we have ever had! I totally recommend this cooking style to everyone! Matt was in charge of the turkey, which turned out fab. And I took care of the rest of the spread. I made apple pie, pumpkin pie, and parker house rolls completely from scratch! I also made stuffing (my mother-in-law's recipe), mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole. My mom made the yummy yams! She let me take charge, since she knows how much I love to cook. This Thanksgiving was awesome!


While I was busy in the kitchen, my mom had all sorts of goodies to entertain Rian. They colored placemats for all 4 of us. And they made these apple and candy turkeys. When I was younger, those turkeys were always my job, so it was fun to have Rian take on that tradition. Aren't they cute!

Rian tried on of the turkey feathers (candy fruit slice). She took one bit and said "it's too sweet", and then spit it out :) What a good kid, huh?!

Rian loves to hold her baby brother! And she loves to play computer games with Bama Lois!

Miles turned one week old today. We bought him the cute little "First Thanksgiving" outfit hoping he would be here in time! So glad that he is! I love how the feet say little turkey!

I love this time of year and the way it gets me thinking about all of my many blessings. I truly am blessed and i am so grateful for all that i have. I'm going to attempt to make a list, but honestly it could go on and on.....so just to name a few in no particular order.....that our prayers have been answered and that miles arrived here happy and healthy. my loving, hard-working, caring, supportive husband whom I just adore! the opportunity Heavenly Father has given me to bear children and witness the miracle of delivery. my smart, beautiful, out-going daughter and my new baby boy who is so good. all my friends and family back home. the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. all the friends we have made here on guam. my calling as first counselor in relief society and the opportunity I have to serve the sisters here. matt's job and the fact that it gives me the chance to stay at home with my little ones. the priesthood and it's presence in our home. our health and happiness. the Spirit and my Savior Jesus Christ. our home. my parents who would do anything for me and constantly do. the temple and our sealing. skype. the power of fast and prayer. for my freedom. the holidays and the time it allows us to reflect and remember our many blessings and the birth of our Redeemer...these are just a few :)

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

BLISS

BLISS = supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment....this is how I feel!!!


Miles is one week old today. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by already!

Matt was burping Miles and my mom captured this on her camera. It's our favorite pic so far :)

Big Sister and Bama Lois holding Miles at the hospital

Rian has been adjusting pretty well considering the circumstances. At night, she gets a little more feisty and wants more attention, but for the most part, she is doing really great. She loves her baby brother and especially loves feeding him!

Helping feed again!

Daddy giving Miles his bath. The first bath (which I didn't capture on film) he didn't like so much. This time, he enjoyed it much more...although his face may not show it in this shot :)

The bath exhausted him!

Check out this calic....gotta love it!

Bama Lois and Miles. They just love each other! I am so grateful my mom is here. She is so awesome and I am so lucky to have her as my mom! About 2.5 weeks til my dad gets here :) Rian can't wait to see him....and neither can I!

Everyone thinks Miles looks just like Rian did as a baby. Here they are in the same outfit. She is about 5 days older than him in these pics. Rian is on the left, Miles on the right.

Miles is such a good baby. We really lucked out! All he does is sleep, sleep, feed, and sleep! Occasionally he will wake up and enjoys walking around the house. His bilirubin levels were higher than the Dr wanted, so we had to go in the day after we were discharged to check the numbers. He had lost quite a bit of weight and was not filling up his diaper like he should have been. He was dehydrated. Apparently, I wasn't producing much milk yet.....surprise, surprise...my milk never came in with Rian. I was so worried. But we went in the following day and his weight went way back up and his bilirubin numbers were great. Now all he does is fill up his diaper! In fact, last night before bed, Matt and I were laughing hysterically because Miles pooped and we seriously went through 4 diapers in just that one diaper change. He just kept going and going. It was quite comical! I love having a newborn in our home again. He sleeps so well at night and I'm getting enough sleep to function throughout the day. At least for now, maybe it will hit me in a few days.

Rian is doing pretty well considering. She really wants to be involved with Miles and she wants her own time with both Matt and I too. Totally understandable. It's a little bit of an adjustment for me, but I am trying to make her feel very special too. Any advice on what has worked for you is totally welcomed! She has her first dance recital coming up and I can't wait for it! She really loves her dance class and her teacher. She also loves her weekly tumbles class! She has been going on lots of playdates with her friends too. It's so fun to watch her play with her friends! Thank heavens my mom is here to help out with all of Rian's outings! Rian has also been doing so well with recognizing letters and learning how to write her letters too. She can even spell some words. She also loves to type names/words on the computer, as well as play educational games on the computer and ipod touch. She is such a good girl and I am grateful to have her in my life! Seriously, how did I get so lucky! :)

Introducing.....

the newest member of our family....Miles Matthew Pine!!!
Born on November 19th at 8:08pm local date/time, 7 lbs 15 oz and 20.5 inches long.
Both stats are almost the exact same as Rian, she was 7 lbs 14 oz and 20.5 inches long.
The birth story is at the bottom of this post, if you are interested.

His first picture taken just minutes after his birth.

He is absolutely gorgeous and just as perfect as can be!

Just minutes old

With his eyes open

A very proud Mommy with her beautiful new baby boy!

How precious is he?!

Beautiful flowers from my mom and my whole family....thanks guys, I love them!

In his bassinet with his stats above his head.

I loved this "property of" shirt :)





Look how long and skinny he is :)

I went to the Dr on Monday for my 38 week appt. I was dilated to a 4/5 and the Dr stripped my membranes and swore I was going to be having the baby that night. I started contractions about 3 hours after my appt. They were kind of all over the place. 4 mins apart, 7 mins, 15 mins, 3 mins, 4 mins, 8 mins, etc. We put Rian to bed and told her that when she woke up in the morning her baby brother would be here.....we were way wrong! My contractions slowed way down around 9 and I suddenly became exhausted. Soon I was sound asleep. When Rian woke in the morning, she asked if Baby Miles was here, we sadly had to tell her no :)

Tuesday I woke up with a few small contractions, so we were thinking that soon they would become more regular and therefore Matt stayed home from work. We decided to get a few errands done and by 230 I was starting to have painful contractions about 2-3 mins apart for 40 mins straight. We decided it was time and we went home to get our hospital bags. A few minutes after I sat down in the car, the contractions slowed down and once again exhaustion took over. I fell asleep on the way home. Needless to say, it wasn't time.

Wednesday I sent Matt back to work. I figured once my contractions decided to stay regular, I would call him to come home. I had contractions off and on all day.

Thursday morning I decided to call the Dr again. I knew these contractions had to have made me dilate more. She told me to come in. Matt happened to be at his physical therapy appt at the hospital when she wanted me to come in. So he joined me for the appt. I was now dilated to a 6 and she said that I needed to go to MBU (mother baby unit) now. We headed home for our bags and we were admitted to MBU at 2 pm. After some blood work and monitoring, I was given my epidural at 345 pm. I was hardly having any contractions and when I did they were hardly regular, so they broke my water and started pitocin at 445 pm. I was still a 6, 90% effaced, and at a -3 station.

My mom and Rian showed up at the hospital at 7. At 740 we asked my mom to take Rian to the store to get Matt some cold medicine (great time to be getting sick, huh?). At 755, the Dr came in to check me. I was dilated to a 10, 100% effaced, and a +2 station. I was ready to push. My contractions were still irregular at this point. I had a contraction while he was checking me so he asked me to push to see where the baby was. I pushed the baby's head half way out! He shockingly said STOP! And quickly called his team to get ready for this baby and told me whatever I do, DO NOT PUSH!! I asked Matt if he had hair and Matt said yes! Within mins they were all ready to go, but I wasn't having any contractions. Finally after a few mins of everyone waiting on me, I had a small contraction at 805 and I pushed one time. We then lost baby's heartbeat (this had been happening all night because he was moving all over the place). The RN tried moving the monitor to find it and after about a min, the Dr said lets just push since he is right there. So without a contraction, I pushed one more time and Baby Miles was out at 808 pm.

My mom and Rian returned to the hospital and came walking into the room to a sound of a crying baby just a couple mins after he was born. Rian said look at him, he is so little. She was smiling so big! Unfortunately, she is also a little under the weather, so she can't get too close to Miles. Soon we'll have pics of big sister Rian holding her baby brother!

We are so grateful for all your thoughts and prayers. Miles is absolutely beautiful and perfect! I know Heavenly Father answered our prayers! We were discharged from the hospital today and are adjusting to life at home with 2 :)

Pregnancy Update

I cannot believe how quickly this pregnancy has gone by! I love being pregnant and especially feeling our little guy move inside of me! But I am so excited to finally meet him! As are Matt and Rian! Here is a little progression collage again.

I wanted to do a Maternity Photo Shoot this pregnancy and my friend, Kjirsti, offered to do it for us. She just got a camera for Christmas so it was fun for her to play with it and take our pictures. For some reason, when I put the pics in the collages, it made them lower quality, but I am posting them anyways. I don't want to redo it! So here are a few of the pics...

I went in Monday at 1 for a routine appt. I was dilated to a 3/4 and my Dr stripped my membranes (sorry if it's TMI). Then another Dr came in to check me (apparently I had a really good cervix according to my Dr and she wanted the other Dr to check it out). She told me that I already progressed to a 4/5. And I've been feeling contractions on and off since ever since! But they won't stay regular....and it's frustrating. I keep thinking maybe this is it, but then it's not! I know he will come when he is ready and I really hope it's before Thanksgiving! I would love to be home with him before the holiday!

We had a little scare a few weeks ago....I've been consistantly measuring small since 29 weeks. Before the Dr would schedule an ultrasound, Matt and I went to our Branch President to help assist Matt in a Priesthood Blessing. (For those of you who aren't LDS or don't know what a Priesthood Blessing is, click here) Let's just say that the blessing wasn't too reassuring, and basically said things that you would never want to hear or expect in a blessing. Luckily one of the doctors I see is LDS and he got me into an ultrasound asap. The ultrasound showed everything was okay. I am still a little worried though and ask for you to remember us in your prayers. Only 9 days to go.....

Did You Miss Us?!

WE ARE BACK!!! I know you all missed us :) Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Life has been so crazy. Here is a little glimpse of what we have been up to the past 6 weeks. Warning: It's a long post!

Rian has been busy with lots of birthday parties. This is a collage of Joah's party. They roasted a pig, had a blow up waterslide, had a fairy come to paint faces and make balloon animals, had this awesome Yo Gabba Gabba cake, and played lots of games. We had a good time!

My mom flew in at the end of September and the first weekend she was here, we had another b-day party to go to. It was a tea party themed party for Kylie. It was such a cute idea!!! The girls had tea (lemonade) and little cookies and tea sandwiches! After the tea party, it was swim time! Rian had a lot of fun!

The party was at this amazing house!! Not only was the location perfect (right on the beach), but it had the most amazing features. I could seriously live on Guam forever, if I lived here! It was a fun day for all of us and I was excited to finally meet Kylie's parents, who are very cool!

We attended another birthday party the next weekend. Emma, a friend from church, had a Halloween themed party. This was also a very cute party! All the kids had fun painting pumpkins and making caramel apples! I loved how Rian ate her ice cream after dinner. It was so frozen, she stabbed it with her fork and picked the entire scoop up.

Next up was Halloween. We went to our Church's Trunk-Or-Treat on Friday, the night before Halloween. We had a potluck dinner and then the little ones played a few games. Then we all went outside and the kids went trick-or-treating from trunk to trunk. Rian was wanted to be a princess, of course, does that really surprise any of you?! Her favorite one at the moment is "Cinderbrella". I just love how she says that :)

On Halloween, I made these mummy hot dogs for lunch. Rian loved them :) Then we went trick-or-treating with the Vines, who are our friends from church. Kenzie dressed up as Dora and it was such a cute idea for a costume. The Vines had a wagon so we could pull the girls around the neighborhood. I loved how 'Dora' ran from door to door, and 'Cinderella' always came back to her Royal Carriage (ie: wagon) and had her dad pull her from door to door. Very typical of each of their personalities!

We met up with more friends from church as we walked around the neighborhood. I just loved this little boy in his superman costume, it was awesome!! As we were walking from door to door, Rian told me "Mom, I just love, love, love Halloween"! What three year old doesn't?! When we finished that neighborhood, we drove over to our other friend's house for a BBQ. I was excited for my mom to get a taste of what the locals and their BBQ's are all about! Rian passed out on the way over to the house. Once we got there, Matt took her trick-or-treating around that neighborhood. There were so many mobs of at least 20-30 kids all over the neighborhood. It was pretty crazy. We left the party at 930 pm and those mobs were still out in full force! I think it's safe to say that Rian had a very, very fun Halloween and the best part is that she seriously has no desire to break into her candy bag. What a good girl!

We took my Mom to Chamorro Village of course! It's a must when you come to island. I was excited to have her get a feel for it and sample a few of the local foods. And of course, Rian's favorite part of Chamorro Village is the carabao ride.

Something we have never done at Chamorro Village is take Rian on the little rides. Bama was happy to let Rian experience them for the first time! Rian loved the rides and then my mom and her played a very silly carnival game. They won a wannabe barbie doll named Julia.

Here are a few random pics. Rian loves to play mommy and we caught her in the nursery rocking her pooh bear and feeding him a bottle. I think she is going to be a great big sister! We got a package in the mail full of these peanuts. Rian loved playing in them. She immediately pretended it was snow. She is constantly telling us that it doesn't snow on Guam, so I think she had fun frolicking in her version of it :) She even made snow angels!

On Veteran's Day, we went to a party with Matt's co-workers and their families. It was a fun day and very nice for Matt to have the day off work. This group of people got together for a softball game. It was fun to watch them play, nothing's better than a fun, competitive softball game!

We also took my Mom to Jeff's Pirate Cove. The view is beautiful and the burger was pretty good too! We will definitely be taking my Dad back here when he comes onto island.

We have also been busy with my Mom exploring the island, swimming, going to the beach, shopping (as much as you can on this island), getting ready for the baby and the baby shower (which was on the 7th), playdates, tumbles, dance class. The time has flown by. I wish it would slow down a little bit...the thought of my mom leaving makes me so sad :(