Isla

When I was pregnant with Isla, I sometimes wondered how I could share the love that I have for Mikaella with this new little baby. I worried that I might not have the same bond or connection that I have with her older sister but everyone reassured me that it was possible and that I would have the same crazy love for her as I do for M and they were totally right.

Isla just melts my heart. There is something about her that is so wonderful. Maybe it was the bond that we built while I sat beside her incubator at the NICU day after day while she fought to be here or maybe it has something to do with the fact that she was born months after my Nana and there's something about her spirit that reminds me of my Nana, but either way - she is so incredibly special to me. There are moments when I look at her and she just smiles at me and for some reason she makes me feel like I am the only one in the world that can make her feel that way. She resembles me too and maybe I feel so much of myself when I look at her and I daydream about what kind of a person she will be. Will she enjoy sports as much as I do? Will she be a fussy eater like I was? Will she excel in subjects like English over Math and Science? Maybe I project so much of what I was like on her just simply because she looks like me so much and she will turn out to be the exact opposite! Either way, I will love her just the same.

Right now, she is starting to laugh and giggle and I'm trying every silly little way I can to make her crack up because it makes my day. I love that I get to enjoy the way that Mikaella is growing and changing as a 2 year old and yet simultaneously I get to re-enjoy the baby phase. M's vocabulary is expanding exponentially and it is so great to hear her express herself and I can't wait for Isla to be able to converse with her and play together but for now I am totally enjoying the simple giggles and smiles that she is giving these days as a playful 4 month old.

Our days are simple, we eat, sleep and play. We usually finish our days with a walk to the beach and wait for Daddy to come home from work but we have a lot of fun. Some days are more difficult than others especially when teething is involved but it has been so stellar having the girls together and for me to be able to take care of them.

This is a pic from this week on our daily stroll to the beach at the end of our street. Mikaella couldn't wait to knock on our friend Cruz's door and Isla was quite content with looking all around now that she is big enough to face out in the Baby Bjorn.

Happy 30th Wedding Anniversary Mom & Dad!

July 4th

July 4th was so much fun this year! The fireworks returned to Marina del Rey [MDR] and we had a roof top party to watch them. We love living by the beach and July 4th is one of our favoutire holidays [this is the day Jim & I met :)]

 

Watching Mikaella's face as the fireworks went off was priceless. I love watching her reaction to people, places and things as she is now at an age where she is taking everything in and learning so much. She has so much spunk and we just love her energy [we hope she never changes!]

Sisters

I grew up with 2 brothers so I have no idea what it is like to have a sister. My hope is that they always know how special they both are to Jim and I and that they hopefully share a bond that will be incredibly special. So far they are off to a great start and I am curious to see how their relationship will grow and blossom over the years.

My Girls

I have this warm feeling in my heart every time I get to talk about my daughters. I still can't believe that I have 2 beautiful girls now and feel beyond blessed that they are as amazing as they are. So far Isla looks a little bit like me and Mikaella is looking a little bit more like her Daddy.
My Mom took this picture of Mikaella, Isla & I and I have a feeling it will be one of my personal favourites forever.

Amazing Big Sister Mikaella

Jim and I could not believe how incredible Mikaella was when we brought Isla home. She was [and still is!] a great big sister. She hasn't been jealous or anything and we are so proud of her. She always wants to hold her, change her diaper, and kiss her. It is so stinkin' cute.

It is really incredible to see your family grow and to see how everyone adapts and transitions. This time Honey was even stellar!

Cuddles

The first week we brought home Isla we cuddled her 24/7! We were so excited to have her home that we couldn't put her down ;)

 

 

Isla's 1st Car Ride!

Our Sweet Little Isla Kawahito

I cannot believe how quickly the last 3 months have gone! I have some catching up to do on here! Life has definitely been busy now that Isla is here and we are so happy that she is a part of our lives but she gave us quite the scare when she arrived. Here's what happened...

I was hospitalized a couple of times from May 7th-18th due to early contractions that were bringing on labor and since I was only 34 weeks my OB was trying to stop labor so I was given drug treatments that left me very tired and my arms black and blue from all the needles and IV that I had to have. I was also put on strict bed rest and was only allowed to get up to go to the bathroom and could only lay on my left or right side as sitting up also started me to have contractions. On May 23rd they started up again and I was admitted to the hospital. Isla Mai Kawahito [pronounced "I-LA" "My"] was born Thursday May 24th at 4:41am and was quickly taken to the NICU [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit] as she had difficulty breathing on her own and they wanted to make sure that she was ok. It turns out that she could not get the fluid out of her lungs from leaving the birth canal and was quickly connected to a respirator and IV to assist her. The fluid in her lungs quickly turned into an infection and she had to start a 7-day antibiotic treatment that could only be administered by IV. We were told this is common and was something that with treatment was not something to be overly worried about since they caught it so quickly and they reassured us that she would also be able to breathe on her own within the week as well.

What we weren't expecting was to be woken up the following morning at 5am by the head Doctor of the NICU saying that she needed our signature/approval as quickly as possible to insert a chest tube into Isla's right side as her lung was in jeopardy of collapsing and it was a matter of life and death. Jim and I were staying in the hospital as I was healing from the delivery and went right away to the NICU to be there for her as they performed the procedure. The doctor said that she had Primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) [you can read more about it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumothorax]  Basically her right lung could not expand as it should as PSP is an abnormal collection of air or gas in the pleural space that separates the lung from the chest wall, and that may interfere with normal breathing.

Once they inserted the chest tube we quickly saw her breathing change and the X ray showed improvement and her right lung was able to expand as it should [Thank Goodness!]

The next day we were told that Isla also showed very high levels of bilirubin and needed to start 24/7 light therapy to help her jaundice.

The following day after that, we were told that in one of the follow up X-Rays from her PSP situation showed that she had a hairline fracture on her right collar bone and we needed to meet with an orthopaedic surgeon to discuss treatment. They think this happened either when she was leaving the birth canal or in their attempts to get the fluid out of her lungs but apparently we will never know exactly which one it was.

So our sweet little girl had been through so much in a short period of time. She had been hooked up to 2 different respirators simultaneously,  had a feeding tube that goes in from her mouth to her stomach [which also helps pump out the excess fluid in her lungs], 2 different IV lines [one going into her hand and the other into her foot] as well as numerous sensors to monitor and track her blood pressure and heart rate.

I basically been lived at the NICU and Jim juggled work and taking care of Mikaella and visiting the hospital whenever he could. My parents flew out to help as soon as I was put on strict bed rest and were an extraordinary help.

We decorated Isla's incubator at the hospital so she always knew we were there by her side even when we physically couldn't be there.

 

 

Words cannot describe how hard it was to go through this difficult time but we are so incredibly grateful that Isla is as healthy and happy as she is. She is our little fighter and we know how blessed we are to have her a part of our lives :)

 

We also have a profound level of respect for all the nurses and the doctors who work in the NICU at St Johns and will always feel so close to the women that took care of Isla during those 8 days. We will always visit and let them know how special they all are.

 

I was incredibly touched by one of the Respiratory Therapists, Lynda, who on the second day we were there gave us this knitted blanket so we could have a cover for baby Isla. It was such a sweet gesture that she didn't have to do but touched us so much. We also couldn't believe the love and support we had from all of our friends and family.

 



 

The Home Stretch!

I caught a glimpse of myself today and I still can't believe that I have a little baby in my tummy! Jim took this shot as I was in mid-sentence [I'm not trying to pull a "Blue Steel" intentionally in this pic] but I thought I would add a before shot here so Isla can see one day how she looked while she was in my tummy. Our OB says that anything can happen in about 10 days from now so we are almost there and can't wait!

Isla, one day when you read this, just know that I loved feeling your every kick and every movement!

xo

And So it Begins...

I cannot believe how early daughters start mimicking their Moms! Or at least that's how it is in our house. Mikaella is now 21 months and she is already so into anything and everything I do. She wants to brush her hair when I am brushing mine, put on make up, wear my jewellery, clothes etc! She has now discovered where I keep my nice shoes and independently goes to my closet and opens the door and helps herself to my dressy heels. What kills me is that she is only interested in the "sparkly" ones!

Today once I finished washing my face and brushing my face this is what I found my little monkey doing...

When she does things like this it reminds me that I really now have to make sure I'm being a positive role model for her. I think as new moms, we are all guilty of saying, eating and acting in a way that we don't realize affect our kids because they are so small. I'm now really trying to eat healthy in front of her and to watch how I speak to my friends when she is within listening distance and trying to not have the news or other television programs on in the background that I could get away with watching when I didn't think she was absorbing the content! I want her to learn good habits and I think this starts now in terms of how I can demonstrate that for her. Part of me can't believe that she is picking things up so quickly but the other part of me isn't so shocked. She seems to be in a hurry to do things on her own and my Mom keeps telling me that I was very similar so I guess we know what side of the gene pool this particular trait comes from!

She has been so much fun lately and we've been really trying to talk to her about becoming a big sister and I am very excited to see the two of them together once Isla arrives. I know it will be a lot of work and there will be difficult days, but I really can't wait for Mikaella to have a sister to have in her life. I never grew up with a sister so this will be new territory [and for Jim too!] but I'm really looking forward to our family growing and to meet this little sweetie who has been in my tummy for the last 9 months! :)

xo

Saturday Mornings

In our house a typical Saturday means that we all snuggle in bed and laugh and cuddle until one of us [usually me, especially in my current state!] gets hungry. We then all move to the living room/kitchen area and we start to make breakfast. We usually stay in our jam jams until we have to get the day started but we delay this for as long as possible since one of our favourite things is to be lazy all together, and this of course includes Honey. Which I should mention, is the laziest one of all of us. She will delay eating and going to the bathroom till lunchtime if we let her as she loves to curl up in one of our laps and enjoy the benefits of the weekend. I've often wondered what benefit there would be to have a very large home one day since we seem to move from room to room as a single unit. It doesn't matter what time of the day or what is going on, if you were to walk into our house, we are always together. We will gravitate to most of the rooms in our home but very seldom will you find each of us in a different area. We just like to be close to one another and always find a way to get the things we either need to get done or just want to do somehow all together. I guess this will change as our family expands and as time goes on but for the moment I will enjoy every minute :)

But after we have a nibble we start to get dressed and Mikaella gets very excited to head straight to the beach. Lately she has been obsessed with this little toy that one of my girlfriends gave her for her 1st birthday and needs to take it with her whenever we are exploring outside. This weekend she insisted wearing her sunglasses so needless to say, she had a lot of people stopping and talking to her!

I can't tell you how many times we have walked up and down this little walk street to the beach. I know one day we will move from Galleon Street but I have loved every time we have walked down this little path to get to the ocean. I'm also excited that in a short little while we will not only have memories of Mikaella but also Isla as well :)
xo

SIAAT

Super cute...

http://www.thecakeblog.com/

Happy Easter!

We had the most gorgeous weather this Easter Weekend, it was just spectacular! Last year we had a great time in Tennessee but this year since I'm 8 months pregnant, we decided to stay home and have Mikaella enjoy her little Easter Egg hunt here at the house as well as the beach. She is 20mths old and was definitely into it :) She loved gathering her eggs and putting them all in her little basket. She actually saw her eggs and gifts before Sunday when she went exploring into my closet and I quickly had to move them elsewhere! She was so excited to see them return yesterday morning and loved opening and closing them and seeing what little surprise would fall out. It was tricky finding "non-chocolate" treats for her to enjoy as we are trying to keep her sugar intake to a minimum. So I went out to many different stores and tried my best to get bouncy balls, fun costume jewelry and little fluffy yellow chicks to fill all her eggs with. She was more interested in her eggs than her gift basket! I'm sure that will change as the years go by but for now it was so sweet watching her reaction to the day.

Here's how the day went...

                                                    Her Favourite Part of her Easter Basket

                           
                                                                   Bunny Pancakes!

Honey!

SIAAT

Love this one!

http://hookedonhouses.net/celebrity-houses/

Nap Time

For the most part Mikaella sleeps and naps really well. On average she sleeps for 10-12hrs every night and naps for 2-3hrs every day. Today nap time did not go as I was expecting...it seems that she is teething yet once again and whenever this happens Jim & I are more lenient with her sleeping schedule.  We attempted to put her in her crib today for her afternoon siesta but that didn't go over too well. She kept crying out for Mommy & Daddy so Jim quickly scooped her up from her crib and brought her into bed with me. He couldn't cuddle for very long since he had to leave to make it to his regular Sunday afternoon basketball game but weekend afternoon cuddles with his girl is one of his favourite things.

So I wrapped my little sweetie in my arms and sang to her to try and get her to sleep. At first I thought this was going to be a quick mission but I soon realized how mistaken I was. She started to twitch and move all over the bed and tried to get comfy but couldn't. I got an "accidental" punch in the face and kicks to my legs and tummy so after about an hour of trying to spoon her I switched sides and we were back to back. As soon as I switched positions I thought it had worked, she was finally still and pressed up against my back. So I swiftly reached for my sleep mask [I can't sleep in the afternoon without it!] and thought I would take full advantage of this little rest. So I slid my mask on and started to drift off to sleep when all of a sudden I felt little hands crawl up my back and these soft little fingers slide in between my cheeks and the mask and I felt the mask start to slide off my head! and then her sweet little giggle soon followed.As if that wasn't enough she then proceeded to take her little finger and put it to my nose and say "Beep Beep!" So much for nap time today! It felt like a little kitten had climbed up my back and then gracefully pulled off my sleeping mask - not a 20mth old!!

Anyways, I turned over and wrapped my arms around her and we just giggled in bed for a while. I had to wave my white flag...

Isla's Baby Shower

This weekend my Mom and Aunt Sandy hosted a beautiful baby shower for our Little Miss Isla Kawahito! It was such a special day. My Mom and Aunt did so many sweet and thoughtful things to make the day memorable and unique and it meant so much to me that they came in from Toronto and that so many of my girlfriends were able to make it as well. I'm so excited to meet this little lady and to see what kind of big sister Mikaella will be and the shower was such a wonderful way to welcome her arrival. Only a couple more months to go!

The adorable invites!

Cherry Blossoms are my favourite!!

The cupcakes were from Magnolia Bakery and were scrumptious!! http://www.magnoliabakery.com/home.php

The entire house was covered in fresh pink flowers~

Hilarious game that my mom played and we had to see how Daddy did! [the winners of the games won prizes to go to DryBar!]

My Mom asked everyone to sign a heart that she had sewn onto a piece of fabric so she could make Little Isla a quilt~!

Everyone recieved a pair of heart slippers.

Our amazing new bassinet that my mom and girlfriends picked out! I can't wait to see our little sweetie snuggled up in there :) http://www.montedesign.net/bassinet.html

So funny! A little gift for Mikaella to not have her feel left out.

One of the most creative gifts! A set of baby wash clothes rolled up into sushi roles to celebrate our Japanese heritage!



~Mammoth~

We had our first family adventure to Mammoth this month and had such a great time. Mikaella loved playing in the snow and watching everyone skiing and snowboarding. We considered having her take her 1st private lesson but decided to wait till next year when she would have a little more coordination but when we went to the mountain she found the hill where they teach the little ones how to ski and she was very eager to try and put her ski boot in pair of ski's she found and kept pointing to go up the chair lift! We have decided that we will make this an annual tradition :)
Here are some pictures from our trip there...

We went up with another family and the kids were so cute together. We would have hot chocolate in our chalet, hang out in the hot tub and pool and loved every minute. The drive there was spectacular and we stopped in at Erick Schats Bakery and it is a must for anyone else heading up there!! http://www.erickschatsbakery.com/

SIAAT a.k.a. "Sites I am addicted to!"

So, from time to time I want to share websites that have caught my eye [and that I may spend too much time on!] so I will be referring to them as SIAAT's.

Here's my latest craze....

http://www.houzz.com/

Enjoy!

Home Sweet Home

Tonight Jim, Mikaella, Honey and I went down to the beach which is at the end of our street and watched the sunset. It was exceptionally pretty tonight and made me think of all the amazing times we've had here. We met 7 blocks away at a little beach bar and have so many memories since we've been together. Jim surfs right by this pier at the end of our street and while I was pregnant with Mikaella we would go together almost every night after work. I'd watch him until the sun went down and I would feel Mikaella kicking away in my tummy and then when she was 2 days old we brought her here and from that day forward she has spent almost every day here exploring and playing and enjoying all that the beach has to offer. We would bring her here to practice walking since it's a very forgiving surface to take some tumbles! and now that we are pregnant with our 2nd little girl, we are enjoying all the same memories all over again but now with our little sweetie.

I've been thinking a lot about where is best to raise a family. We think it's very beneficial to be so close to the ocean but on the other hand what we forfeit is space. We will have to make a move in the somewhat near future as we will outgrow our current space as we hope to have one or two more kiddies and we need to figure out a better solution for our children's education as the public school district for our zip code is unfortunately not great. I've had to really educate myself on the different areas within Los Angeles that possess a strong school board as they are not as common as one would think. The private schools in the area are quite good but Jim and I would much prefer Mikaella and her future siblings to go to a strong public school. Our goal is to try and stay close to the ocean but in an area that has a strong school system but also isn't too far from Jims office. I can't believe how many factors have to be considered when deciding where you will raise a family but it's a decision that I take very seriously. I have visions of what I think would be great but then I get very sentimental about our current home. This is where we spent our time together as newlyweds; this is where we brought Mikaella home from the hospital and this will be where our daughters will spend their early days as sisters together. I love that we have had a myriad of visitors over the last 2 years that we have been here and I adore the memories that we have made with all of our friends and family. I think we are getting further in our decision making and will keep you posted on where we decide to move but in the meantime, we will continue enjoying every day that we have here on Galleon Street :)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...

Today Mikaella and I had a good ol' fashioned girls day of shopping. We needed to look for a snowsuit for our upcoming ski/snowboard trip to Mammoth and although we turned up empty handed as every store we went to was showcasing their summer collections we had a great day.

Here's how it all began...

Got to get our start at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Loving Sephora!

Hmmm, should I do my toes this colour?

Giving our salesperson high 5's on our way out the store

Got my Bag and I'm ready to go...

 Stopping to Make an Important Phone Call at Pottery Barn Kids

Laughs at LuLuLemon

Stopping to give herself Kisses {after she just danced to Michael Jackson in the middle of the store}

And what shopping trip wouldn't be complete without stopping to make a wish and throwing coins into the fountain??