Nora is 1 week old

Our little Nora is a dream to have home. Having this little one be so calm the first couple of weeks has made this such a great transition for all of us. Leia is so in love with her baby sister and it's been fun to see the beautiful way she has welcomed her into our family. James just finished his last final and we are enjoying the relaxing days at home with our girls. We have Grandma Janice staying with us which has been an immense help. The only difficult part is that our angel Nora has her days and nights mixed up so my nights are spent feeding this little one every hour and a half and listening to her cooing the rest of the night which results in her sleeping most of the days. Oh well, a small price to pay for the miracle of having her with us.

 

Our little blessing has arrived!!

Our angel has arrived 2 weeks early and is healthy and happy.

Nora Suzanne Robertson was born at 12:08pm May 18th

Weight: 7 lbs 10 oz Height: 20 in.

We had a great experience at CHOMP hospital with a great group of staff members that supported our choice to have a natural medication-free birth!!! 

We are enjoying every second with this sweet mild tempered little girl.

Moments before baby Nora arrived

Moments after baby arrived



My sister is the reason I can do medication-free births

Baby slept in Daddy's arms the first night

Bringing baby home--the 2 sisters

Grandma Janice in her glory

I love surprises!!

James, Leia, and I spent this weekend visiting my family in Daly City. I told myself that this is the last time I will travel before baby arrives (unless Gilroy Gardens calls my name on Mother's Day). James dedicated himself to resolving all of Mom's handy man needs in her house and this was to be her Mother's Day present from us.  I spent the days attending my niece and nephew's shows. Every time I get to enjoy their performances I am amazed with their talent and ability to role-play in such a magical way. There are 3 spots on Broadway awaiting these children...

On Sunday there was a brunch planned for my sister and my soon-to-be sister in-law Mason. When I arrived at the restaurant in Ft. Mason, I was shocked to see a long table full of close family and friends there to celebrate a baby shower for this little angel # 2.  I was so shocked and surprised and it took me the entire day to process that this celebration was for us. We had such a beautiful time  enjoying wonderful food, coming up with potential girl names, and honoring this little one growing inside me. This was such a sweet event and I am overly grateful for everyone's love and support. My sister Dena, who arranged the event NEVER ceases to amaze me. She is one of those people in life that fits in a 25 hour day into 24 hours so the idea that she was able to squeeze in planning this baby shower is incredible to me. I was able to spend most of the weekend with Dena and it reminded me what a remarkable human being she is. Dena is the type of person that makes everyone she comes in contact with feel like a better person. She constantly thinks about how to make others happy, from the waiter at the restaurant, to the children selling lemonade on the corner, to her colleagues at work. I don't think I have ever met a more magnetic, generous, and loving person. It is with such pride that I call her my sister and I am reminded how lucky Leia will be to grow up with the incredible bond that sisterhood offers.

Dena: You are my inspiration and constant rock for support. Thank you for your friendship, your unconditional love, and your ability to make this world a better place. I will live and raise my girls to be just like you.

Leia Turns 2!

For Leia's second birthday we decided to take a family trip to Disneyland and let her enjoy being amidst the presence of real princesses. What an amazing vacation!

To be quite honest, I am married to a man who is "allergic" to amusement parks, particularly Disneyland, but he so graciously decided to sacrifice his own desires for the pleasure of watching his daughter enjoy the "happiest place of earth".  I know he was dreading this trip, but I have never seen James so happy in my life. Once we entered the park, he was so thrilled to show her all there is to see at this magical place. Experiencing Disneyland through the eyes of a 2 year old is a moment I will never forget. It nearly brought tears to our eyes to watch her light up. I have to admit, watching my husband enjoy being with his daughter in this capacity made me fall deeper in love with him. It was one of my most favorite moments in life. And throughout the entire day, Leia's words that resonated with me were "wowwwww" and "Oh dank you, dank you Daddy". Uncle John and our friend Sarah also accompanied us on this adventure and that was the icing on the cake for Leia to experience this adventure with her beloved Uncle John. In addition, we were also able to squeeze in a visit to the Robertson family in San Diego and were lucky enough to get to see Nonna Sandra during her lay-over in Anaheim! I know my life will forever change with the arrival of baby # 2 so I relished every moment with just the 3 of us for this small fragment of time.

Check out YouTube video below, just click on the link :

Leia at "It's a Small World"

Never thought we would be the parents to use a "leash" for our child (LOL)

Couldn't get Leia away from Mickey's toon town

Uncle John and Leia

So excited, but a little apprehensive

James and I took Leia to a local bakery on her actual birthday to celebrate

Daddy showing Leia around Disneyland

Following our Disneyland visit, my sister had a special day planned for Leia at her house in Daly City on Leia's actual birthday. Dena arranged for a Princess bounce house and all the neighborhood children to come celebrate. Leia was in heaven and you can still catch her singing to herself throughout the day "Happy Birday to Yeia". I give such thanks to my sister for never missing an opportunity to celebrate the great milestones in Life!

Princess Castle bounce house, courtesy of Auntie Dena

Fun with Leia

Check out a couple youtube videos of Leia, click on the links below:

Leia Swimming in our backyard

Leia dancing with Auntie Mason and Uncle Rickey

Waving to Grandma at Gilroy Gardens

Enjoying time with Daddy in Carmel

Leia's 1st manicure and pedicure

36 weeks and counting...

How appreciative I am to say I am still pregnant at 36 weeks, especially after the scare I had at 26 weeks. This baby and I are bonding more everyday and I am getting so excited to meet her. I am just a little bit apprehensive that she is still head up.  This problem was not on my radar at all and I think I am most fearful about WHY she is not head up. When the Dr. told me this last week that we will have to do an ultrasound and potentially manually rotate the baby, I immediately got on-line to find out natural options on how to flip a baby.  What I found was more that I wanted. I guess that is the problem with internet searching: you look up one thing and all kinds of other scary answers pop up on the screen.  I not only found old wives tales about how to flip a baby (which I am not too proud to try), I also unfortunately read about reasons why babies are breech, from a cord wrapped around babies neck to chromosomal abnormalities, to autism, to too much or too little amniotic fluid, the list goes on and on. I know its stress that prevents a baby from rotating in the right postition so from now on I am going to stop researching on-line and let go of any angst or worry. I have my next appt. this Wednesday so we will just take one day at a time. Stay tuned...