-EY it is!

Thanks for voting on the pup's name, everyone. For a while there, it was a close race between Harley and Harlee. Then my friend Daina from Maui wrote in her vote of Harley, so the deal's been sealed.  With Daina's vote, and Ophelia's write-in of Harly, we got a total of 13 votes. My first reaction was, wow - lucky number! My second reaction was, thirteen people have read this blog? Hot damn, I'm almost as popular as my inspiration, Dooce! Maybe I could start raking in an esimated $40K in ad revenues each month! And then I thought, there's no way there are thirteen people out there reading this. Mom, did you vote three times?!

Anyway, Harley is... Harley. It fits. We like it. She's filling out every day, becoming a chunky puffy fluffer - all round and fuzzy. She is a literal shadow, and it's hard to take two steps sometimes without tripping over her super excited little body. She loves her pen in the basement and has been sleeping darn near through the night without a single potty incident! She and Mila have the cutest relationship ever - Mila has become very maternal. I'm going to try and capture some of their play on video so all thirteen of you can see it.

coney baloney the sleepwalking wallbanger

We carried Mila downstairs after her little surgery and blocked the stairs so she cold walk up and down them. She was zoned out from being under and fell asleep right away on her little bed.

At 2:30 Luciya stirred to cry and only went about 20 minutes. We went back to sleep and then I woke up about five minutes later to a loud SMACK! And then another BANG! I woke up John (yeah, kind of a deep sleeper). I told him I thought Mila was walking around. We sat up in bed and sure enough, old Zoney Conehead jumps up onto the bed with the wide sides of her plastic cone slicing the covers as she tried to figure out what in Sam Hill was going on.

John picked her up and placed her on the floor (she's not supposed to be jumping up or down, or on the stairs, etc.) and led her back into the living room. On the way there was a CRACK! (wall) and a SCRAPE (floor) and a BOOM! (door jamb). Poor little thing. She's just so confused.

Help meeeeee........

at least our last name isn't spears

Thank goodness January is almost over. Just a few short hours. I swear, this has been a challenging month!

John lost his job. That's been a big one. He still hasn't found work (he's actually been told he's "over-qualified." Does that not make sense to anyone else?).

There's the money issue. Issues. And there are family issues here, sleep issues there, and time and home issues hovering everywhere. We don't have any (local) friends. And I've been eating way too many chocolate chip cookies.

And it's cold. I don't particularly mind it, but poor little John has never lived anywhere that has a true winter. Poor boy is freezing. And bummed. It probably doesn't help that Idaho hasn't seen this much snow in the last decade.

I was wondering if maybe the snow, and its way of keeping us indoors, was affecting little Nature Babe's mood, so we bundled up this evening to go on a quick walk around the block. Luciya was in her little pink snowsuit in the backpack, jolly as could be, and Mila bounded along beside us. Suddenly we noticed bright red pools of blood in the snow where ever she stepped and realized that her front left leg had gotten punctured by something and was literally spurting blood.

Tonight's long story short:

Poor baby.

Bill: $504.52

Oy vey.

sisters

we're baaack!

Here we are!

Our container arrived to our new home today, and with it our computers. Hooray! I went 3 weeks without a computer and I'm JUST FINE!

I haven't got a lot of time right now, but here are a few updates from the past few weeks:

- John and Mila got in on July 5th. Mila was a trooper on the planes and continues to be an amazing spirit. She is buck wild about her giant new backyard. And squirrels! OMG, what are these furry fuzzy fast skippy little things??!!!

- Luciya is an incredible adaptable little person, as well. Tonight will be her first full night in her new crib. She will be 3 months old on Thursday! Wha...??!

- The new house is looking quite phenomenal, if I do say so myself. The interior is painted, and the pool is ready for our evening swims (which feel awesome on these 102 degree days!).

So far, we are thrilled to be here. I haven't uploaded any pictures yet; those will come later.

cute dad

Yesterday our new family went on a walk through the upcountry pine forests in Olinda.


It was Luciya's first time at the "Fairy Woods" on the outside of my belly.

I think she liked it.

It was a little much for me. I am still quite sore and I get tired easily. But, as much as I am loving staying in with my little girl and just trying to relax, it felt really nice to breathe the clean air of the trees. And watch Mila finally get some much-deserved attention and playtime.


And please, look at how cute the new Papa is.

we are family

Luciya has been greeted by her two older sisters.

This is Mila.


Mila will be 2 years old in June. She is energetic, joyful, and a lot of fun.

Mila is very curious about this new little creature in the house.

She gently sniffs the bassinets and cocks her head when she hears the strange little coos and whimpers coming from this unusual being.

I think they will grow to become great friends.



This is Eryn.

Eryn will be 16 at the end of this month. She is passionate, fiery, and an artist.

Eryn lives in the Los Angeles area. She came here to Maui for her Spring Break in the hopes of getting to meet and greet her new little sister. But, as we all know, Luciya took her sweet time and came 3 days after Eryn flew back home.

The night before her return flight, Eryn and Luciya had a chance to bond. Luciya's big sister shared some special thoughts with the baby and we had a beautiful ritual in which she adorned my belly with thoughts of love.

Eryn, we are so excited for Luciya to have you as her older sister. I know she will learn a lot from you and will serve as a way to bring us all closer together.



We love you!!

ode to mila

To the tune of "O Christmas Tree." Kind of.

Ton Ton: "Oh Sleepy Eye, Oh Sleepy Eye
Why do you have a sleepy eye?

Oh Sleepy Eye, Oh Sleepy Eye
My chin is gray

Oh Sleepy Eye, Oh Sleepy Eye
I like to stick my paws out straight

Oh Sleepy Eye, Oh Sleepy Eye
My tail wags."



[In conclusion:]
"The cool thing about Old Sleepy Eye is that she lived forever. They've been singing about Old Sleepy Eye for years."

preggo pop

the pregnancy journey.

baby is due in 2 weeks!

i wish we had been keeping better track of the changes in my body, but we have been taking some pictures along the way. last week (week 37!) i had some portraits taken in my back yard. they turned out beautiful; i'll be posting them later.

this has been the most amazing adventure.


Week 13
mila is excited to meet her new sister!


Week 23
busting out the maternity wear.


Week 28
enjoying a beautiful weekend in san fransisco.


Week 30


Week 31
rough life on maui.


Week 32


Week 34


Week 35
with mom and bro adam.