Being a new parent it is easy to look ahead. I have heard that after the first three months it gets easier since they cry less. And also it is nice when they turn one since they are much stronger by then. And according to my mother-in-law at 16 months because they are really cute then.

However, God has taught me something important this week. In BSF we are looking at Ch 8 of Romans. According to BSF it is arguably the best chapter in the Bible. Romans 8:28 says that “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good, for those who love God; for those who are called according to His purpose.”

At times I find myself looking ahead as well mainly because I like to have control over my life. And when you have a newborn it changes things. I can’t always run at a certain time, or even if I did I might not have gotten the sleep I wanted. In addition, there are more concerns and responsibilities (usually not what a guy wants). However, studying this verse gives me comfort that in all situations God will cause me to grow more in the likeness of His Son. Parenting can add some wrinkles in one’s life, but this will allow one opportunities to grow and produce spiritual fruit e.g. patience. I have learned to enjoy the time I get to spend with k now despite her cries. I love it when she is peaceful and she looks at me. But also I enjoy it when she cries and I get to use my fake Italian accent to try to calm her down.

I made these announcements for D to pass out at work. They are tubes of mini M & Ms covered in wrapping paper. I’m still working on the announcements to send out to family and friends.

k’s First New Year’s Day

For the past couple of days, k has decided that she prefers to sleep during the day and cry at night, making two very tired parents. She has also started to snort when she is hungry–not very lady-like. Tonight, her umbilical cord fell off. She has an innie!

We thought it would be too gross to post a picture of her stump. 🙂

So, we made it through the first week. On Thurs. I had to return to the hospital to sign the paperwork for k’s birth certificate. It was weird to walk through the hospital hallways again, this time as a mom. (Before I went into labor, the doctor had me walk up and down those hallways for two hours to see if I could jumpstart the contractions. I ended up with blisters on my feet!)

Here is k in front of our penguin themed Christmas tree. Christmas was kind of a blur for us since we were so exahusted that day. k was able to meet her great grandma though, so that was special.

It seems that when k is not feeding, she is napping. The times in between when she has her eyes open are pretty rare. Here is one of those times.

Nap Time

On Wed., Uncle Kevin came over and brought us lunch, made fried rice, and showed D how to install GFCI outlets. For the past couple of days, k has also been able to spend some time with her Uncle Simon and Aunt Jackie who flew down from Sacramento. I think k is enjoying all of the attention!

I thought I would share a couple of pictures of the nursery. My mom sewed the valance, which I think is quite cheery. She also sewed the “boppy” cover as seen on the chair. The form is a “nurture nest” from JoAnn’s. The changing table is just a card table, but I think it should work. I want to find some cute artwork to hang on the otherwise blank walls. The crib is pretty basic…I think I will wait until KJ comes to show you pictures of it.

So, I finally put together my “hospital bag”. It is ready and waiting near our bedroom door. I feel better knowing that it is there since I am sure a lot of other things will be on my mind when the time comes.

I was also able to buy the last few things we needed for K’s room. I would still like to make some curtains and I need to clear more stuff out of there.

Side note: The windy weather is putting a spring in my step. I think I will put the flannel sheets on our bed tonight.

Thanksgiving was a little different this year because D and I were not on the road. Usually we visit my relatives in Paso Robles or his relatives in Nor Cal. This year we decided to play it safe and stuck close to home. We had the traditional Thanksgiving feast at my parents’ house, along with my youngest sis and her boyfriend. I made a cranberry punch, cranberry jello (with pineapple, yum) and yams (with a pecan-rice crispy topping). My mom made everything else, including the turkey pictured above. I thought everything was quite delish even though my mom claimed that the turkey was too dry (it wasn’t). D even looked forward to the leftovers today–he usually refuses to eat leftovers, so that is a big deal.

Just as Rachael Ray calls herself a “stuffing girl”, I am a self-proclaimed “cranberry sauce girl”. Today I had a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce. Tonight I plan to make turkey quesadillas with cranberry sauce (as suggested in the LA Times on Wed.), and tomorrow morning I want to toast up some bagels and spread them with cranberrry sauce mixed with cream cheese.

This morning D and I attempted to take part in Black Friday, but we didn’t have too much success. We woke up at 5:30 (which wasn’t too difficult, as that is our normal weekday wake-up time). First we hit up Office Max to buy a 1 GB SD digital memory card. It was a pretty good deal, especially since no mail-in rebate was required. It will definitely come in handy to take lots of pictures of K when she arrives.

Next we kept it real and went to Westminster Mall. Although it’s not the fanciest of malls, it does have a Macy’s, which was our main destination. We were armed with our coupons, but did not find anything that was worth standing in a long line for. We also went to Old Navy and GAP, which was very hot and stuffy, but no luck. It didn’t help that I’ve been feeling under the weather the past couple of days…we just did not have the energy to keep going.

D and I will be spending the rest of the weekend watching football (him), cleaning/decorating our place (me) and napping (both of us). We cannot believe that in approximately four weeks we will be parents! Thanksgiving has been a good time of reflecting on all that God has provided for us.

Today D’s co-workers threw a baby shower for us during lunch at Maki Maki in the Irvine Spectrum. There were close to 30 people so they sat us at a long table outside. It was really warm out–it did not feel like mid-November! I thought it was nice that they organized the shower for D since it seems that dads often get left out of the whole pre-baby celebration. I was also glad that D was feeling better today because yesterday he was pretty sick.

We received a lot of nice gifts…Keilah is a lucky girl.

There was also a cake with raspberry filling and a cute little lamb on top.

Here’s a picture of my side profile for those who haven’t seen me in a while.

I guess it doesn’t show much since I’m wearing black. I’ll post more pics later–the “bump” is definitely getting bigger. Only 5 more weeks to go!

Please read about D+L’s past weekend in C-Willis’ blog. See “Monday Nov 13th, 2006”.

It was a lot of fun hanging out with my buddy from B-school. However, it was also very tiring and I am glad I had today off!