Here are some of the photos from our May session with a local photographer. I scanned them all in but I'm having trouble uploading several of them to the blog. If I can make them work at a later time I will just stick them in Gabriel's album to the right. The first group of pics is the proof a collage that is too big to scan so it cannot be viewed any larger than you see it now.
We had our 20-week ultrasound recently and found out we are having a little GIRL! She is developing perfectly and we can't wait to meet her. Here's her latest photo:
I'm showing a bit more than I did with Gabriel, but I've been avoiding the camera this time around. I'll eventually post some "baby belly" pictures. I continue to have bouts of nausea with this baby, and it's a little tougher to keep up with Gabriel as I get bigger. Otherwise, things are going well.
As for our first-born, he is a joy as always. Gabriel will be 15 months old this week and is discovering his independence a bit more every day. He continues to be a happy baby boy who LOVES balls, balloons, and books. He says "ba" repeatedly when he sees any of these things. He hasn't really used any full words that we can tell, but he uses his baby signs very effectively. He's running all over the place now but still falls when he gets going too fast or he's sleepy. Here are a couple videos:
That's about it for now. I've been told that the photographs we had taken when Gabe turned one year are FINALLY ready so check back in a couple days for those!!
Hello All! We have finally returned home from our extended vacation safe and sound, though we brought back a little more than we planned. All three of us picked up colds and are still trying to recover. Marc's has developed into bronchitis and he continues to be home from work as a result. Gabriel's cold went into his chest as well and we had to give him breathing treatments for several days. He was not happy about it but he seems to be doing much better. Luckily, I just have a lingering stuffiness from my head cold.
In addition to our trips to the doctor for our illnesses, we also had a follow-up with the pediatric cardiologist for the hole in Gabe's heart (ventricular septal defect) that was first detected when he was born. Unfortunately, the hole has not closed as was expected. The doctors assure us that it very small and that it will not impact him in any way. They have asked us to follow up again in two years to see if it has closed. While we were hoping for better news, we are not too concerned at this point. We have an appointment with a developmental pediatrician at the end of the month to evaluate Gabriel's growth. We want to rule out any medical reasons for his slow progress. Again, we are not too concerned (now that the initial shock of the "failure to thrive" diagnosis has worn off).
Finally, the last of our recent medical appointments was for a prenatal check-up!! As some of you already know, I am 14 weeks pregnant with our second child! Everything appears to be going well so far. The due date is December 30th, so we may end up with a New Year's Baby! When we were visiting Marc's sister in San Jose she did an ultrasound for us:
With all that news out of the way, I'll share a bit of our trip. Gabriel and I spent two weeks in Charleston with my whole family. All of my siblings were able to be there for a short time, which doesn't happen too often these days. My sister Catie brought her son Jacob, who is now 10 months old. He and Gabe had fun playing together, or at least playing near each other. My brother Steven and his wife Sonia were able to come from NC to spend a few days with us, and my youngest brother Bradley stopped by often with his girlfriend Manda. We had a great time going out on the boat, going to the park, and just spending time together. We had a nice treat when Marc's parents were able to stop in for a quick visit with Gabriel on their way down to Florida. The visit was too short but it was wonderful to see them again! While we were in Charleston I was also able to visit some friends from Massachusetts who happened to be visiting family at the same time. Ed and Jessica Mills invited Gabriel and I over to Ed's parents house for a BBQ. Again, the visit was too short, but it was nice to see some old friends- and Gabe had a blast in the pool with Mr. Mills!
Our little family was reunited in San Jose at the end of June. We got to spend some time with Marc's sister Jennifer, her husband Tony, and their new baby Sadie. Our niece is now 3 months old and is starting to become much more interactive. Gabe showed some curiosity toward his cousin now again but appeared more interested in the two dogs during this visit! As a Father's Day gift, Jennifer and I treated the boys to some time at the iFly center, which is an indoor skydiving facility. They had a great time and are now feeling ready for the real thing- maybe. All of us took a trip to Muir Woods National Monument, an amazing redwood forest just north of San Francisco. We had a great time visiting with all of the family and are looking forward to the next time we see everyone. Check out the album "June Trip" to the right for a few highlights from the trip.
Finally, here's a video of one of Gabriel's first walking attempts. This was a few weeks ago so he's gotten much better!
Gabriel turned one year old on the 14th of this month! We can't believe how the time has slipped by so quickly. (Double click on images for larger view)
We started celebrating his birthday a little early because my 
mom and step-dad were here visiting. We had a pool party/cookout and invited a few of our friends and a few kids from Gabriel's play group. I think everyone had a good time, especially Gabe. Everyone ate then played in the pool. I ordered a cake made of individual cupcakes, which aside from the melting frosting, was easy to serve. The whole thing was a success! On Gabe's actual birthday Marc and I helped him open presents sent from family. He's been having a blast playing with all his new toys ever since. Check out the album labeled "Gabe's 1st Birthday".
At his 12-month checkup, Gabriel weighed 18 lbs 8 oz and was almost 28 inches tall. He is still very small and has fallen off the bottom of the growth charts, but the doctor says he's healthy. It was recommended that we get him checked out to make sure there's nothing delaying his growth. He's so active and happy that it's hard to think there would be anything wrong. He's met all of his developmental milestones in an appropriate time so we'll keep this in mind, as well as the fact that both Marc and I have slim builds. He'll catch up when he's ready. In the meantime, we get to watch him learning new things every day. He's taken a few steps on his own and is doing a lot of imitating these days. Marc has been trying to get him to dance recently. All he's managed is a cute little wiggle so far. We're loving every minute!
We had a wonderful visit with my mom and step-dad a couple weeks ago. We kept very busy while they were here with things like a hike up Diamond Head, a trip to the USS Arizona Memorial, walking through the botanical gardens, golfing, shopping, attending a dinner cruise, and snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. Check out the "Family and Friends Visits" album. 
We leave in less than two weeks for our trip to the mainland. Marc will be in Connecticut for training while Gabe and I visit family in San Jose and Charleston. We'll all be back on island at the end of June. See you then!
We just had the most eventful weekend since Gabriel came along! It started off with a trip to the beach on Friday afternoon. Gabe and I hung out under our umbrella while Marc caught a few waves. That evening our friend Jennifer came over to babysit Gabriel. It was a pretty dull night for her since he was already asleep by the time we went out! Marc and I picked up our friends, Jared and Jacqueline, for a night on the town. We went to a unique wine bar in Honolulu. You buy a prepaid card and then you use it to sample any of the wines they have available. The "vending machines" dispense one ounce of wine at a time so you can sample quite a few during an evening. There was a nice local duo playing and the crowd wasn't very big so we had a great atmosphere to enjoy a night out.
On Saturday Marc and I spent the morning and afternoon hanging out with Gabriel and then headed out for the Kokua Festival. It is an annual concert that local singer Jack Johnson puts together in order to raise money for environmental education in schools and communities. This year Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds were among the guest performers. I wanted to attend this concert last year but was unable to get tickets. This year I was on-line at Ticketmaster 6 minutes after tickets went on sale only to see they sold out in 4 minutes! Marc was able to find tickets through a third party and surprised me with them though. Yea, Marc! We had a lot of fun squeezing onto the blanket covered lawn and reminiscing about previous concerts. It has been quite a while since either of us has attended an outdoor concert or caught the scent of...um...the local herbs :)
Sunday we spent the day preparing for a fondue dinner for Jared, Jacqueline, and her mother, who is headed back home to England today. We had a wonderful time, as usual, chatting and drinking wine. We topped the evening off with a song and dance called "Brown Girl in the Ring". Jacqueline was already familiar with this one and somehow her mother convinced me to learn it as well. Marc says the video would be a hit on YouTube, but I think I'm more likely to hit "delete!"
Gabriel Update: He has started waving all the time and will now do it when asked. He will stand alone for a few seconds at a time, and he took a single step on his own this weekend. He started doing the sign for "milk" this weekend as well. It's hard to distinguish it from his wave, but mom and dad will catch on soon!
Marc leaves on Thursday for a week-long deployment to Georgia. Gabe and I will be on our own until the 29th when my mom and step-dad arrive for a visit. We're looking forward to playing "tourist" with them!
