Jake and Mia

As many of you know, I enjoy taking lots of pictures....especially of my cute kids! However, taking pictures of both of them together has proven very difficult! With the help of Auntie Julie, some marshmallow bribes for Jake, and some patience, we were able to get a few good ones of the two of them.

4 weeks old!

Somebody make it stop!!! My baby is getting too big, too fast! I wish I could slow it down a little....she is just too sweet! 4 week updates....Mia is a pretty good sleeper, which is great. She wakes up around 1:30 and 4:30 or so....I'm getting used to it and Brian is getting used to sleeping with a bit more noise! She is a really good eater (about every 3 hours), but she does have some gas issues. I feel so bad because there's not much I can do for her :( She HATES her carseat and if she is awake, she lets you know that she'd prefer to be being held! Jake continues to be sweet with her, which makes me happy....he loves to "help" me change her diaper and give her a binkie....whether she wants one or not! We are so lucky to have these 2 healthy and adorable kids! Here are some pics of Mia at 4 weeks, including some of her first smiles.....we noticed her doing this when she was 1 day shy of 4 weeks. Yes, she is quite advanced :)

3 weeks old

Well, she just keeps getting cuter! I'm not biased at ALL!! I just can't get enough of our little angel! She's sleeping pretty well and eating well too. She likes to be held, which I'm HAPPY to do, though my hands aren't always free for it :) Mia is just to sweet for words and Jake continues to be such fun and a total goofball! Here are some pics of them both. If you can see the sticker on his shirt, he's pretty proud. And yet another hat to obsess over (Pat and Katie, I think Mia needs a tiara or "girl" crown so that Jake doesn't let the whole "King Jake" thing go to his head!).

Happy Father's Day!

What a great family day! We celebrated by having a picnic at the Livermore airport....we watched a jet take off, a helicopter, and lots of smaller planes. I honestly don't know if Jake or Brian had more fun looking up into the sky! After naptime, we met up with a big group of family members at a park for a bbq! How lucky Jake and Mia are to have Brian as their Daddy!! And we're lucky to have Daddy, Peter and Bob as OUR dads/grandpas! Here are some pics :)

Day on the farm

We headed out to Brentwood to pick fruit....enjoying one of Brian's last days off before heading back to work. Jake and Daddy picked cherries and peaches.....Jake was a great "helper". He climbed the ladder, held the bucket, and shouted "woohoo" EVERY time he picked a cherry or peach....apparently he considered each one to be quite a victory! In any case, he kept us entertained. Mia spent the morning in the front pack with me....still sleeping a lot! I enjoyed having a little snuggle-bug with me while I took pics of my boys in the orchards! There are also some recent pics of Mia....I find myself taking pictures of her because she's cute, and also because all of her outfits are so adorable....I don't think the pictures do them justice!

Mia is 2 weeks!

Well, despite the sleep deprivation and slight chaos of having 2 little ones at home, I'm in heaven! Mia is an angel so far and Jake has been very sweet with her....both things that are bound to change, but we're enjoying them while they last! Jake gets concerned if he doesn't know where "baby sister" is....and the first thing he says when he wakes up in the morning is "baby Mia" (questioning where she is). He likes to shove a binkie in her mouth (whether she wants it or not) and I often hear him saying "here you go, Mia".....sharing toys with her, etc. He's not too interested in hugging or holding her unless prompted, but that's okay....he seems like SUCH a giant next to her that it's probably best for now! Mia is a good sleeper, eater and pooper.....what more could we ask for?! And of course, we think she's adorable! We change our minds daily on whether she and Jake look alike.....definitely the same mouth, definitely not the same nose.....she has hair, he didn't......same full cheeks, and the list goes on. In any case, they look like siblings and time will tell just HOW much the will look alike! Here are some pics of her today.....she already seems like she's getting bigger and I wish I could slow it down!!

Mia Isabel DeMichiel has arrived!

We have a healthy and beautiful baby girl!! Mia Isabel arrived at 6:43pm on May 29th, weighing 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and 19 inches long. I ate Skipolini's "prego" pizza on Thursday for dinner and started having labor pains at about 2:30am....that pizza has worked twice for me! I went to the hospital on Friday morning around 7:30am, as I was scheduled to be induced. They gave me a little bit of Pitocin to progress things, but it still took a while! I pushed for 45 minutes, which was SO much better than the 2 hours and 45 minutes with Jake! We have giggled at the fact that she has as much hair as Jake did at a year and a half! It's very dark and who knows, we might even be able to get a bow in there soon! We are recovering well so far and are just thrilled to have this new addition to our family. Jake met his sister this morning and we're pretty sure he was more excited about his donut than his new baby sister, but he did seem to like her! He noticed that "baby come out of Mommy's belly", and gave her some love too. Here are some pics....can't wait to introduce you all to her!

Farmer Jake

This is one of Jake's new favorite hats. When he puts it on, he insists that we sing "Old MacDonald"....or "e-i-e-i-o" as he calls it.

Why wear one hat when you can wear two?

As many of you know, Jake is obsessed with hats, helmets, and will even wear buckets on his head if no hats are readily available. Today I caught him outside with his baseball hat on, and then his helmet on over it.....and the helmet was backwards. What can I say.....the kid knows how to make me laugh!

Cousins

It's so fun having family close by! Jake and Grady are two of the cutest little guys around (I'm not at all biased) and it's going to be so great watching them grow up together!

37 weeks

I'm 37 weeks pregnant and ONLY posting these belly pics to appease those of you out-of-towners who insist on seeing them! When Jake gets a peek at my belly button, he cringes and says "a yucky mommy" and covers my tummy back up as quickly as he can. I can't say that I disagree with the kid! At my Dr. appointment last week, the Dr. said that if baby (yes, we still haven't named her) hasn't arrived by 5/30, she will likely induce. I'll keep you all posted!

Bailey 2002 - 2009

It's taken me some time to be able to make this post, but we lost our Bailey in March. Our lovable companion is gone and while it pains my heart that he is no longer with us, I'm so grateful for the love and laughs that he brought to our lives. He was of course, the best dog EVER....the sweetest, cutest, dopiest, goofiest, and most lovable dog we could have asked for. We made the decision to put him to sleep, as he was not eating. And for a dog who would get his head stuck in the bottom of the BBQ trying to reach one sliver of leftovers, that was a red flag for us that he was not feeling himself any longer. We cherish the memories that we have of him and thank him for all of the stories that will make us laugh, always!

Here is a link to some pics that were taken by our friend and neighbor.
http://pambiasotti.com/blog/2009/03/28/good-night-sweet-bailey/

Jake's Birthday Party

Well, we didn't get very many cute pictures at the party (we were too busy having fun!), but I have to post something!! We celebrated Jake's 2nd birthday with lots of family and friends. The bounce house was a big hit (with kids and adults alike!), and so was the pinata. We had so much fun celebrating and just can't believe that our "baby" is TWO! Where does the time go??!! Thanks Auntie Kelli and Uncle Rob for ALL of your help!

Family trip to Yosemite!

We spent a long weekend in Yosemite with Mom, Peter and Auntie Julie (we missed you, Uncle Tim!!). The weather was beautiful and we had a great trip! We saw the waterfalls at their peak, which was amazing. We did the Valley Floor tour, some great walks, and finished it off with brunch at the Awahnee (I think they are going to start charging double for pregnant women after having me as a customer)! Jake had a blast looking for bugs, playing in the sand/water, walking, and riding the "train" on the tour. He also enjoyed the loose rules on junk food consumption while on vacation :) We almost started WWIII tonight when the carrots were NOT followed by ice cream! THANKS Mom and Peter....it was GREAT! FYI, the pictures are blurry, which is a bummer....we had several people take group pics for us and I didn't realize that somewhere along the way, the setting on the camera got messed up!

A visit from our favorite WA residents!

Staci and Kathy came into town and we got to spend such a nice long weekend together! They came for my baby shower (thanks Julie, Kelli, Staci, Kathy and Mom!!!) and it was fabulous.....so girly and fun! They also came to spoil Jake rotten! He had a blast with his "Auntie Staci" and "Kaffy".....in fact, he is STILL asking for them. Please move back to CA.....we miss the Darlington/Wallace families too much!!!

Belly pics

Here is the belly at 33 weeks....getting large! Starting to coundown...she'll be here SOON!

Jake is 2!!

We had quite a weekend....Jake turned 2, graduated to a "big boy" bed, and we had a great Easter! Can't believe our "baby" is already a "kid". So far, he's done great in his new bed....he did make one big thud to the ground on night one, but that was due to faulty bed rail installation from Mommy and Daddy :) Luckily, it didn't phase him at all. We're keeping our fingers crossed that all continues to go well. He had a great birthday.....loved all of his gifts, but the most enjoyable party for him was definitely the candles. Maybe if I sing and do candles at every meal, he'll start doing a better job eating??!! Oh, and he's officially obsessed with his bike helmet....much more interested in it than the bike! He hunted for eggs this morning at our house when he woke up and also at Grammie and Gramps with the Foley kids. What a whirlwind....but lots of fun! Pics from the weekend's events are below.