The Third and First Christmas

Mom and Halil arrived on time last Tuesday. We've since seen some of Okinawa (as Halil didn't get to see much last time) and enjoyed our first Christmas together with them as a new family of four.  Reina enjoyed her third Christmas and Kaiya had her first, but she of course didn't really know what was going on!.  Reina was very thankful for all of her gifts and two days after Christmas has since played with every single toy (she wasn't into the clothes as much as I thought she would be).  Crazy to think she's just going to get more in about two weeks for her birthday (and be three). Although that's not as crazy to me as the fact that I'm turning 30 tomorrow. Woah.

Watching the dolphin show at the Aquarium

Anyhow, we've taken lots of pictures, so here they are to tell what I have not.  Mom and Halil sadly leave us this Thursday (man time flies) and then my Dad and Romeni come in shortly after Reina's birthday.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!    

Sisters are Sweet

I knew there was a reason I always wanted a sister (or a sibling at all for that matter!).  Reina LOVES Kaiya. She is more involved with her each day, which probably has a lot to do with Kaiya staying awake a little more as she gets older.  She'll be one month on Christmas Eve already! I have been on a mission to get a good, cute picture of the two girls, but it has been tough, as one always squints and makes funny faces during pictures, and the other is completely oblivious.  Here are a few that are ok.

 Kaori and Sklya came to visit with Kaiya and Reina last week.  Skyla also opened all of her presents (two for Xmas and one for her birthday - which is the same day as mine).  Reina and Kaiya also recieved presents from Kaori and Skyla - cute fur jackets.  Hopefully the weather continues to cool, so that we get to wear them soon!

I can't even wake her up if I move her.  She will just keep sleeping!

My time alone with Kaiya has ended.  It was much easier than with Reina, as Kaiya is a very good napper. She almost always has at least one good, long (like 4 hours) nap and a well rested mama is much better for everyone.  I even got good at juggling both kids in the morning.  I still don't know how single moms do it (or moms who have husbands who are lazy and don't do anything - Chris is WONDERFUL).  Now Reina and Dad are at home with me every day, and as I mentioned, Grandma will be here today, followed by Granddaddy in January.  Now to find a daycare...

Kaiya during one of her long naps.

Bouncing both girls on the exercise ball.

Mom and Halil get here at 12:30....TODAY!  Yay.  

Reina-isms & Quilts

"Remember, babies sleep in cars...Remember, babies cry sometimes." These are two phrases Reina has told Chris and I on an occasion or two.  I'm not sure where she got them from.  The latter I'm thinking I may have mentioned when preparing her for a baby sister.  I'm not sure where she came up with the former.   Either way, Reina is still coping pretty well considering she is no longer the center of attention. I actually ran upstairs this morning to put the laundry in the dryer....when I came back downstairs, Reina was attending to Kaiya in her bouncy chair - gently bouncing Kaiya, as I had asked Reina to do.  So sweet.  I haven't seen any signs of anger or jealousy towards Kaiya (knock on wood) and aside from being a bit more whiney than normal, I would say she has made the transition seamlessly.  But...I think I've already talked about this.

Kaiya or Reina?

Kaiya or Reina?

What I have failed to mention in a while is the progress of Reina's quilt. Its DONE!!! And it is amazing.  It came from Romeni (who actually quilted and put on the finishing touches) just in time for our "cold" whether, and has been on Reina's bed since it arrived in the mail last week.  We even went through her baby books last night and talked about all the clothes that were in the pictures and the quilt.  Pretty cool.  Ironically enough, the same day my quilt arrived, I received a surprise package from my best-friend in elementary school, Jessica Halley.  She made two baby quilts for both Reina and Kaiya. WOW.  And Reina's was a collection of fabrics from our young years together. It was VERY sweet and thoughtful. She also sent two Breyer horses, toys that Jessica and I treasured more than I can ever explain.  I fear that Reina doesn't appreciate them as much as I do, but perhaps with time she'll worship these horses as Jess and I did.




The count down has been going for a while now, but aside from the obvious Christmas nearing, Grandma and Halil will be here in a week.  Shortly after that Granddaddy and Romeni will be here...and the visits couldn't come fast enough, as I am lonely at home alone (even though Kaiya is so sweet).

Reina will turn three while Grandaddy and Romeni are here and we'll have her party that weekend - guess I better figure out what we're going to do for that!  Wish EVERYONE who reads this blog can come...that's all I want for Christmas (oh, and for Kaiya to sleep through the night!).  

Many, Many Thanks

Reina's little sister, Kaiya Elizabeth arrived Thanks-giving morning, two days after her due date and one day before her Aunt Liz's birthday.  As soon as she was here, Chris' first comment was, "she's big." And she was.  She was two pounds heavier than Reina, at 8lbs 9oz and an inch longer, 21".  Kaiya had a bit of jaundice and had to return to the hospital in her first week of life 3 times for a bili check (several heal pricks) as well as spend the night on a take-home ultra-violet light bed. So far Kaiya has been more mellow than Reina baby, sleeping in three hour stretches at night, which has been blissful.

Reina met Kaiya at the hospital when Kaiya was only a few hours old and was very excited to hold her. Reina also loved going home with Kaiya, right next to her in the car.  She has transitioned very well and loves her little sister so much.  However, Reina did come to the realization two nights ago that Kaiya, Mommy and Daddy all got to sleep in the same room.  She showed up one night after we thought she was asleep, blanket in hand, and said, "I'm going to sleep in your bed tonight."  We negotiated another book in bed with Mom, and that seemed to appease her.

In addition to being thankful for the delivery of a healthy baby girl on Thanks-giving I have to mention how thankful I am for all of my friends.  Living WAY over here makes times like these difficult, when you can't depend on family.  So, special thanks to Auntie Karen and Jane, and Barbara we've got a freezer full of meals.  I know there are several more who have offered for next week, and I am so happy to not only NOT have to worry about cooking or shopping, but getting to eat some new good food!  Our family has also been very supportive, its just a bit more difficult since there a bit further away.  Thanks to Skype, Grandpa and Uncle Paul have met Kaiya, and hopefully there will be more introductions this weekend.

In a bit of random news, Reina has started a new activity, that reminds me a LOT of myself (I probably started it).  Its called the "guessing game, guessing game," yes, it always comes in twos, and we usually have requests for it while we're in the car. Either Chris or I are to think of something, give Reina clues, and then she guesses what it is: "I'm thinking of a vehicle that flies in the air and is loud sometimes..." When its Reina's turn (and we guess), it usually starts with, "I'm thinking of a bus, that is yellow, and has a lot of kids in it." As you can see, she tells us what she is thinking, but she still gets excited when we tell her we know what it is.  Silly girl.

Mom and Halil are coming to visit December 20th, and we all can't wait (especially since I'll have spent the previous two weeks alone with Kaiya).  And Reina knows that when they are here Christmas is soon.  She is VERY excited about Christmas and Santa Claus.  As the matter of fact, I mentioned to her that we could put up the tree today, but we had to wait until Daddy got up to carry it downstairs.  So, about an hour later (and I had since forgotten this conversation), Chris comes downstairs, and Reina didn't waste a minute requesting the tree brought down.  We'll get the Xmas music going this afternoon and put up the decorations and put some presents under the tree (which she was very concerned about).

Kaiya goes in for her two week check up next week (12/7), so I hope to report then.