Still waiting for Ben!
Just checking to be sure I’m all set to send good news from my BlackBerry when it’s time! —Gramma Oli
update on Ben
Sooooo…he is still not here! I had a bunch of tests done today and he is doing well. Amniotic fluid is totally normal. We will wait one more week and see if he decides to come on his own. If not, we’ll likely induce on Thursday (May 22). This is my brother’s birthday, so that would be fun. And my friend is on duty that day to do the epidural 🙂 Good day for delivery!
Broom hockey with Uncle Tim!
Uncle Tim making do with what he can find around here – inline skates, a broom and a kid’s golf club!
Sam is really going to miss his Uncle Tim. We had a banner day today – planting the garden that Dave built in the side walkway, including digging a big hole to plant a papaya tree I bought Dave for his birthday (in Dec!). It was so great to see (and hear!) Tim and Sam working away side by side. Sam took the empty planter pots and stacked them up out of the way, then he sprayed water in the holes before putting the plants in. I put him in a chair in the shade with water so he could relax and “help” Uncle Tim but within 30 seconds he decided he was done “relaxing” and wanted to work. What a nice boy. Meanwhile I was staining the deck and pruning the rest of the yard. Ben was due today…guess he decided it wasn’t time quite yet. Sam got to swim in the pool twice today – once after all our yardwork and then again when Dave got home. He loves jumping off the side and floating around under the water with his goggles on. He’s really working on teaching himself to swim and making wonderful progress. Soon we’ll do swimming lessons – but for now he’s very determined to teach himself and insists “no! don’t help me!”
hiking at Bellows
Sammy and I enjoyed one more hike with our friends Kathy, Anneliese and Calleigh – I’m due tomorrow 🙂 Here’s Sam smiling away as he shows us a tiny tiny spider web. He’s been watching Charlotte’s Web a little at a time at night and loves the story. He especially likes Templeton. Dan – I understand you had a Templeton? Was that his name? Sam said he’d like a REAL Templeton, “one that walks around” – I told him I’m sure Templeton lives in the nearby orange tree (we don’t really need a REAL Templeton, do we?).
Tim is here with us just one more week. I wonder if he’ll get to meet Ben after all? Wouldn’t that be crazy if he’s here a month and Ben decides to be overdue?
Red pepper pesto pizza
Another Dave and Tim collaboration! This time with a thin crust 🙂 This is red pepper pesto with basil from our garden, sweet Italian sausage and possibly some other items…Dave promises to itemize everything in our Krug Kitchen pizza recipe post so we can make it again 🙂 We’re having a great time romping around, enjoying the weather and golfing (Dave and Tim) before Ben arrives. Dave took this week off so the boys could have some fun. Thankfully they got a few rounds of golf in before I go into labor. Could be any minute!
“no fire, no machetes, and don’t let Alli get in the kayak”
Those were Mike’s parting words to Angel as he left on Saturday for a few hours during the baby shower 🙂 Well – we complied with most of his directives. I didn’t bring my fire stuff over, and we decided against using machetes to crack open coconuts. But…as you can see…I did get in the kayak. I’m surprised it didn’t sink! We had such a great time. More pictures are in the album (click on photo or follow link in header).
Uncle Tim is here!
Uncle Tim arrived and Sam is loving having another guy around to read with, play Legos (Sam is the “Boss” for building projects) and romp around with at the beach. It’s great to see Dave and Tim have some time together, albeit squeezed between Dave’s work and school commitments. So far Tim has visited our beach, the tide pools where Sammy loves to play, base, the marsh trail, and the North Shore for snorkeling at Shark’s Cove. Yesterday was a town-wide block party with hula and other performers. Last night they figured out the rules for Dread Pirate – I heard something about raid or trade…sounded like a fun game for guys. Dave is looking forward to Neil arriving on Wed for a few days. I think there will be some pirate stuff going on then!
Yesterday my friends threw me a wild baby shower – sorta like a Survivor! episode. Angel coordinated it all – 9 women, 8 games, appetizers, presents and all in 2 hours! We had a kayak race down the canal, a pool race using kiddie floats, a fruit bowl race (a relay where you couldn’t use your hands), a poopy diaper toss (hilarious to see Angel’s “poop” mixture!) and cut the cord (with darts – whoever hit the umbilical cord on a drawing of a baby won). She did an amazing job and I was so touched not only that she and her co-conspirators would honor our baby this way but that so many wacky friends came out for it! In fact, it was such a hit that they want Angel to organize other strange parties 🙂 Wait ’til you see the pictures…
First overnight in three years!
Here we are at Turtle Bay Resort… We sneaked away for an overnight while mom and Sam had a nice weekend together. We were only away for 28 hours (!) but it was wonderful to reconnect. This is just before going to dinner at a nice restaurant. Yes, we still talked about Sam a lot 🙂
beach fun with Daddy
Dave and Sam had a great time romping in the waves! This was after a full week and weekend of work around the house – Dave had to finish up exams/papers for school then clean up the guest room which was still a disaster after the kitchen remodel. We’re still working on that but it looks MUCH better! Just in time for brother Tim to visit for a month.
Pregnancy math
40/4=10 right? So how is pregnancy 9 months long?
People walk by me and say, “wow! you’re about to pop!” I know! But I’m still like 6 wks from delivery!!!!
Paddleboarding adventure
Video: Alli and Ben SUP in stiff wind and current
Mom rented the paddleboard again so she could work on standing up before Pete leaves for WA on Tues. Unfortunately the trade winds weren’t cooperating and they were much stronger today than predicted. The waves were choppy and the current very strong. Mom got to her knees well but standing up is quite a challenge. I tried my hand at it and was only up for about a minute or so. I practiced on my knees for quite some time, learning what the current and swells were doing so I’d be able to manage once standing. If I were more confident, knew what I was doing (!) and not pregnant…it would be super fun! Still hooked on it. I need a board 🙂
Sam says goodbye to Frank and Dominic
One of my fellow honu guardians, Nancy, and her family are moving to the Sacramento area. We went up to the North Shore today to send them off and give Sammy a chance to play with the “big boys” one more time. Sam really enjoys playing “dead” with Frank and Dominic, as well as wrestling and romping in the water. The two bigger boys are 12 and 9 years old, respectively. They are so sweet to Sam and take such good care of him near the water. This is Sam with Frank. Aloha friends! Enjoy your next adventure 🙂
Meeting Ben
Here is a picture of little Ben at 32wks! His face is so clear – it was fantastic to “meet” him this early via ultrasound. In a way, he is even more real now than he was before :)Â We saw his hair flying all over in the amniotic fluid as I laughed. (He has a LOT of hair!) He blinked his right eye. And he looks totally healthy. We are so blessed. He is also very big! It looks like he’ll be over 9lbs at birth just as Sam was. I can’t wait to hold him!
Happy Easter + egg hunt :)
We really enjoyed seeing our friends for what has become an annual Easter egg hunt at the beach park. I think there were 10 kids this year! We also added an “event” to the festivities – the “manhunt”! The mommies hid eggs for the daddies to find. We had such fun watching them look for their eggs with the kids helping. Find the rest of the photos by clicking on Sam’s picture above.
Wishing you and yours a very Happy Easter . . . aloha nui loa from Alli, Dave, Sam and Ben 🙂