Monday, September 22, 2008

Maxwell is 2!

We celebrated Maxwell's 2nd birthday over the weekend at one of his all-time favorite places: the aquarium! And on the way home, we stopped for Japanese food (another Max favorite) which was topped off with tempura ice cream (which, ironically, we had to trick Max into tasting). Today, he & I had some one-on-one time at the park which was followed by a pizza dinner with Grandma & Grandpa and more birthday ice cream (courtesy of Auntie Val). The only favorite thing that was missing was Daddy, whom he did get to talk with on the phone and webcam... and who sent Thomas the Train as his representative! (Can't wait to see you again, Mike!)

Scenes from Max's birthday:



It's hard to believe that my baby son has become a little boy. His personality and unique characteristics and interests have been developing and evolving along with a rapidly expanding vocabulary and unexpected motor skills. I have been especially amazed by his increasing self-confidence and independence. Not that he's doing his own dishes or anything. (Although, I can hardly wait till that day comes!) From the simple task of using the appropriate utensil to move food from his plate to his mouth (without spilling most of it somewhere between), to fearlessly swimming across the pool with nothing but inflatable arm floaters to assist him, to sharing his toys with Maya or cousin Josiah without even being asked... these little things make the infamous "two's" seem not so "terrible".

Early rhythm perception and motor coordination at 1 year old:

Refining his hand-eye coordination at 2 years old:

Friday, September 12, 2008

Here She Is!

Well, she must have inherited Mike's punctuality... or, rather, his admirable habit of being early! Although Daddy had plans to welcome her into the world over Labor Day weekend, our baby girl took the initiative to welcome him home from Kansas. I guess she was so excited to see her daddy, she just couldn't wait for the weekend. ;)

Maya Lourdes Miranda Mercado was born on 8/28/08 at 12:08pm--less than an hour after I walked into the hospital! Weighing in at 6lbs 4oz and measuring 18.5 inches (with APGARs of 8 and 9 for the medically-inclined audience), she made quite an entrance.

The labor that preceded this unexpected delivery was nothing like my experience with Maxwell's birth, hence, the vagueness and my uncertainty of whether or not I was truly in labor! With strong contractions almost every hour starting at around midnight, Maya gave me plenty of warning to tell me she was on her way, but I still wasn't convinced. Even at 6:30am, when the contractions started coming every 8-10 minutes, I kept telling myself "Maybe if I just relax or go for a walk the contractions will slow down." Looking back, I think I was just in denial that I was going to have this baby without my dear husband to coach me through it! Kudos to my beloved mom for taking on the role of coach, camera person, and videographer all at a moment's notice--literally!

As healthy as she was (and has been), Maya unfortunately did have a temperature of 101.6 just a couple hours after birth, which bought her a ticket to the NICU (neonatal ICU) and 5 days of IV antibiotics. As soon as she was discharged from the hospital, we took her straight to the airport with us to bid goodbye to Mike once again. Needless to say, we're looking forward to some quality family time when Mike comes home one last time before he leaves the country.

Here's a glimpse of Maya's first week of life...