Our Christmas

First we started our festivating on Christmas Eve evening at Esperanza's house, just a few blocks from here, with the hispanic group. Missing from the pic are Fabio, who was taking the pic, and Jaime, Esperanza's husband. Not sure where he was...











Then here we are all bright-eyed on Christmas morning, opening our goodies!











Daddy and Israel














First Christmas at 8 days old!














Playing with the new race track, which already broke! Oh well, made for some Christmas morning fun and I guess that's what you get for buying cheap stuff!










Best shot out of about fifteen we tried to take of the three of them! We're still working on getting Israel to smile for pictures... He did smile for mama for the first time on Christmas morning, though! It was a lovely Christmas gift.









I loved this shot!












Then in the afternoon we joined my brothers' families for our family Christmas celebration. Here is the first shot of all TEN grandchildren! It is far more challenging than just trying to get one of my three!! This is still not great, but we took 12 and this was the best of twelve! And, unfortunately, I barely took any more pics that night as I was holding the baby and helping the other two open gifts and keep track of everything they were opening, etc. Just too much going on to think of taking pics sometimes! It was fun, though. With so many children around, there is never a dull moment, that's for sure!

Ten Days Old!

Sorry these pictures are sideways ~ I forgot to flip them before uploading, and then I didnt feel like doing it all over again!



Well, give yourself a big round of applause if you guessed I was going to have a boy! and a special congratulations to Michelle Hamstra, who guessed he would be born on December 17th! The closest on the weight guess goes to Tish Sen, who was the boldest guesser, at 10lbs 7oz. :)


For all of those who have said that you can't wait to meet him in person, well, come on over! Now that the holiday rush is past and I am on my feet a bit, I am ready! Daytime is best for me, especially morning. Be sure to call before you come!

Oh, and I was unable to identify the "me" who left a comment a few posts back. If you tell me who you are, I can answer your questions! :)

Our beautiful baby boy at 6 days old. Do you think he's changed? Look at those chubby cheeks!













Dominique loved sitting here holding him. He was so alert and just kept looking up at her. Too sweet!

















Brother-sister bonding. :)



















Joshua felt left out and had to get in on the action!













Our three munchkins.














Daddy, Joshua and Dominique all ready for church this morning. I still wasn't quite feeling up to getting out.



Well, I still haven't said much about the birth, but now that it has been a week, maybe I can be more positive about the experience. :)

On the bright side, everything went smoothly and there were no concerns or complications. On the "dark" side, it was HARD!!, much harder than Dominique's birth. It was only about nine hours of labor, but it was very intense and left me rather exhausted and feeling like I had been chopped into smitherenes through the midsection by an axe! Doesn't that make you want to have a baby?!
Back to the bright side, all of that is over now and it was worth it for the precious, lovely result! I am feeling better and stronger day by day and life will soon be back to normal ~ a new kind of normal, that is. The kids love him and haven't shown any kind of ill-will toward him at all, and he is very laid-back so far, which I am very thankful for!

Now, about his name....
We still had not completely decided on a name when he was born! You could say that Joshua chose his first name, actually. About four months ago, maybe, he announced to me one day out of the clear blue that he would like to name the baby Israel if he was a boy, or Olivia if she was a girl. I don't know where he picked these names from, but I liked them! Actually, Israel is a name I have liked for a long time, but Fabio always said that it was the name of a country, not a person, and if we were going to name him the name of a country, we should just name him Brazil! lol!
Anyway, about an hour after he was born, as I was taking an herb bath with him, Fabio and I were discussing his name. When Fabio said "Israel", he turned his head and looked right at Daddy! He was so alert! (That first pic I posted of him was also taken in the bath. That's why it was kinda dark.)
So, we decided on Israel, and just then Joshua bounded in and exclaimed, "I know what we can name the baby ~ Israel!!" Good idea. ;-) {By the way, he is not a bit disappointed that we had a boy, even though he said throughout the pregnancy that he wanted a baby girl. I had tried to prepare him for the possibility of a boy, and once asked him what he would do if we did have a boy and he answered with a shrug, "I'll just give him to Dominique." }

The Lincoln part was recent, that is, it's not a name we had considered or discussed for long. About a month ago, Fabio just said, "How about Lincoln?" and I think he was actually joking, but I kinda liked it! Then he suggested combos like "Lincoln Mercury", "Lincoln Nebraska" and "Abraham Lincoln" ~ lol. I also liked the meaning once I looked into it: "settled by waters, a pool, or lake." It reminded me of Psalm 1 which talks about the man who delights in the law of the Lord and does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly being like a tree planted by water, who bears fruit in season, whose leaf does not fall, and whatever he does prospers. I pray that this will be a theme chapter for little Israel Lincoln's life.

A few pics

So much to post, so little time to post it!


The Moment of a Miracle












The fam gets a good look














Nearly 11 pounds!













One day old
















Proud Big Brother










Intrigued Little Sister

Perfect!

One Hour Old

A Baby Was Born

Hey everybody,
it's a boy!!!
His name is Israel Lincoln Tsukayama
10lbs 12oz
21.5 inches
Yes, big baby!
He was born at 1:40pm. It wasn't a fast nor painless one, but everything went good and smooth. Praise God for that. Thank you all for your prayers and God bless you.
Elizabeth will write more later...

Labor Day!!!

This is it, folks! It is 6:45am and I've known I was in labor since about 5am. Please pray and we will let you know when we have THE news!!!

41 weeks!

Well, look how far we've made it, folks! I didn't get my wish for the 15th, and with the passing of yesterday, this baby has earned the distinction of being my latest baby yet. Michelle said it well in commenting on my last post: "The Lord planned, before the beginning of time, the very day this litttle guy would be born. He won't come a minute earlier!" Very good reminder. :) So, now what am I going to do with myself today???

Just another day...

... in this never-ending saga.
My mw predicted 2 wks ago that I would have a long prodromal labor like I did with Dominique, but I didn't want to believe her! Turns out she's a pretty smart lady. Now I hope the second part of her prediction turns out to be right: a short active labor. ;-)

Yesterday we spent some time at my sil's house and the kids had fun playing while we visited. It was a nice change of scenery and helped the day to go by.










This morning I'm a bit discouraged again with one more day of no baby. Maybe I won't get my wish of baby by Dec 15th after all. What was that I was saying earlier this week about the opportunity to learn surrender? I think I forgot..........

I'm Hangin' In, Hangin' Out and Hangin' On

That pretty much sums it up!
Last night Fabio and I were up until after midnight, thinking surely this was *it*.... Then things slowed a bit and we decided to try to get some rest since we would likely be up most of the night... I was very disappointed to wake at 4am to nothing much going on!!! Arg. So here we begin one more day.

On the bright side, Fabio finished painting the basement last night, except for a few finishing touches! :) I'm trying really hard to look on the bright side.... Today is the first day I've felt a bit "down" with all the waiting.

Another Kind of Deja Vu

Here we still are! We walked around the block, but got cold, so we headed to the mall to walk some more. I did still keep having contractions, but nothing is intensifying yet. So, now this is reminding me of another part of the week before Dominique was born: four days of early labor! I *really* hope this isnt the beginning of four days like this.....







Here's my comfort: I have never known anyone who was pregnant for longer than ten months. :) There is an end in sight! (Although I hope to not ever be counted in with the group of ten monthers either!)

I have hoped ever since I found out I was pregnant to have the baby before December 15th, so maybe I'll get my wish yet. I'd like to be up and around a bit by Christmas, and I'd like for the baby's birthday to not be *too* close to Christmas.... We'll see!

Deja Vu

Well, good morning faithful readers!

Last night was a major deja vu of the night before Dominique was born. I felt exactly the same ~ lethargic, like I could barely move ~ and so I did the same last night as I did on Oct 28, 2002: I took a long soaking bath and went to bed *early*. On both occasions, I was having some contractions, but nothing too major, and they continued through the night. I slept through a lot of it, though, just waking up occasionally with a big one. Every time I woke up, I kept praying that this would PLEASE be *it*! I kept praying "Please let it be it!" and from there I got the hippie song "Let it be" stuck in my head and kept singing it through the night. hehe.

But.... the deja vu ends there! With Dominique, I woke the next morning around 4am and couldnt sleep anymore because of the ctx, and she was born at 1:40 that afternoon. This time, however, I woke up ravenously hungry at 5am, and ate a whole bunch of stuff. I was still having some contractions, but not real strong ones. Now, I haven't had anything for nearly half an hour.... :( So, we'll see. Fabio went ahead to work. I still think this *might* be the beginning of the end, but I can't be too sure yet. I think after our baths/ showers and stuff, we might take a walk around the block and see what that does for us....

I'll let you know if anything changes!!

Nada.

Here we still are! Nothing exciting to report. Still have contractions every day, and some are rather strong, but nothing that persists for any significant period of time....

I am still taking votes/ bets on baby's gender, date of birth, and birth size, for those that asked. And baby's heart rate has been around 140's. ;-)

On the bright side, the longer baby tarries, the more Fabio is getting done on the basement! He is nearly done with the painting now, which is a huge relief. Every little bit helps. If he can get the painting done, then we can get carpet laid, and the finishing touches he can do little by little, while we start using it. :)

I also finished the last of my projects yesterday. I have been more interested in having a baby lately than finishing my projects, but it is nice to have everything done that I thought it would be nice to do. ;) Since all that was done, I started in on the baby's album! I've never done that before the birth of the child! Here's a preview (click to enlarge):

Nope.

Nothing yet. No baby news.
At this point it sorta seems like some far-off distant dream! Like a fantasy that may never come true.... LOL, I remember getting to this point with the other two too, feeling like I may be pregnant forever and will never give birth. hehe.

Just one more opportunity to learn surrender, right? At least I don't feel too terribly impatient at this point. Probably even less than 2 weeks ago. Maybe partly because I *know* it can't be long now, and maybe partly because I feel more ready than I did 2 weeks ago. Everything is set! So now Im just trying to keep up with the day-to-day, and at least I have no chance to get bored!

Thank you for praying. Keep it up!

Today is "D Day"

That is how I affectionately refer to my "due date" .... and just as I suspected, baby did not choose to come out before that! Baby just doesnt seem to know about this magical date on the calendar!! The good thing is that since the other two came after their due dates, I had more realistic expectations this time around. There was always a chance that it could happen, but I wasnt really counting on it! And actually, at this point I feel pretty relaxed about the whole thing, and as excited as I am, I dont feel too desperate.




I do, however, try to tie up any loose ends before bed each night: make sure all the laundry is done, kitchen clean, house picked up, etc., so that I can relax and feel ready, just in case. ;) I suppose it is a good practice anyway, right??

The kids just got these cute little capes from their Uncle Fernando in Japan and they have hardly take them off since, especially Joshua! They have worn them over their coats when we go out, slept in them, etc. Fun stuff!



As another attempt to enjoy the time I have with just the two children, as well as to pass some time so we don't go stir crazy, we made a trip to the library this week. We read a TON of books, but didnt check any out, so I wouldnt have to worry about returning them. ;) Our library is pretty cool, though ~ it has so many things for the kids to play with. It is especially nice in the winter when we cant play outside. Provides a nice change of scenery!
























Here I am looking plump, with friends Edith, Miriam, Alejandra, Claudia and Esperanza. Esperanza had us for lunch on Wednesday for Mexican homemade tamales. Yum! Miriam and Claudia go back to Argentina on Monday and they will be missed! (They really were hoping to meet the baby too!)







Come on out, baby!

No News = Good News???

Well by now I figure you are all anxiously checking my blog daily for baby news, right?? I know I did that to my blogger friends when they were pregnant! Anway, no news yet. And in my opinion at this point, that is decidedly not good news! hehe. Still trying to be patient and hang in there. I had *very* strong contractions for a couple hours last night again, the strongest yet, but they eventually petered out and here we still are...
Each night when I go to bed, I console myself

by saying, "Hey, you are one day closer!" I dont know how many days I have left, but I know for sure that I am one day closer!! That helps.

Well, here are a couple of pictures of Fabio on the job from yesterday. How would you like to be working on a roof on a day like we've been having lately?? I know I sure wouldn't! Poor guy. The second one is of him with the other guys at work. In case you cant tell behind all the clothes, Fabio is the one on the far right. :) Don't they look cold?!



We do have family news! Suzy and the kids came back home from Georgia last Saturday night. It sure is good to have them back and the kids sure have grown! This is probably the last picture of *only* nine grandchildren. As usual, it is impossible to get a good shot of everyone, but at least they are all present! Dominique was playing dress-up again, which is why she has a funky leotard over her clothes. No, I dont dress her like that on normal days. ;)

Please keep praying for my brother Aaron in Iraq. He is in a hot spot and needs lots of prayer covering.

I'll let you know if anything happens baby wise!!

Enjoying Being a Mother of Two

I am trying hard to concentrate on savoring the moments that I have left as the mother of only two children, and spending special time with them. These pictures are of the other day at the park ~ probably the last nice day we will have this year! I didnt even have a coat on ~ hard to believe on a day like today! I'm glad we took advantage of it while we could.

This picture looks a little overexposed, but I thought it was so cute. They love each other!











While not quite what I was looking for, I thought their expressions in these pics were comical. :)












My big boy! It will be fun to have a 4.5yo this time with the new baby. He can be such a big help to me at this age! I can hardly believe how big he is getting. We have been watching home movies lately, and even to see him one year ago ~ wow! He seemed so much littler then! How they grow!















Still the baby, for a few more days! Funny, several days in a row last week, she crawled in bed with me in the morning after she woke up and ended up snuggling in and falling back asleep ~ NOT something she is used to doing. It was so nice! I just cuddled in and let her be my little baby, just for a few more days. :)













Then, once it turned cold and we could play outside, we tried playing dress-up. Oh, how they LOVED it! How do you like Dominique's long black dreds??

































Well, I had another prenatal check-up last Friday and everything looks great ~ and baby is not looking so small these days... We can probably count on another baby around Dominique's size (she was 9lb 12oz). That's ok, though. I just can't wait to see! Anyway, all seems ready to go, but she doesn't think I will go before my due date (which is only FIVE days away!). That's okay too, I guess. I'm trying to enojoy the time I have left and not get too impatient. It is a little easier now since baby dropped last Thursday and my stomach isnt quite so much "in my throat" anymore. And, I can breathe, which is always a bonus! ;) So, I feel pretty good, but I thought I would journal a little about what waiting is like in the last few days, for me anyway! I'll keep ya posted if we have any news!!


What I feel like doing and what I don’t feel like doing:

I feel like wearing pajamas, comfy sweat pants, or big muumuus, if I had some!
I don’t feel like wearing anything more attractive, that is less comfortable.

I feel like eating pumpkin pie and cold cereal and toast as my main courses.
I don’t feel like eating EGGS! or really any other protein foods, which is what I really need.

I feel like spending hours taking long luxurious baths.
I don’t feel like taking a rushed shower first thing in the morning.

I feel like watching home movies and reading birth stories all day long.
I don’t feel like reading or doing anything that requires much thought or concentration.

I feel like sitting Indian style or rocking on the floor on my hands and knees.
I don’t feel like sitting in chairs in more socially acceptable positions.

I feel like having my kids do sedate activities like read books and color all day.
I don’t feel like having them do anything that makes a mess!

I feel like organizing every nook and cranny of my house.
I don’t feel like cooking.

Does reading this make you feel sorry for Fabio?? LOL, it makes me feel sorry for him! Lucky for him and the rest of the family, I am not governed entirely by what I feel like doing! But can anyone who has been pregnant lately relate with any of this???