What We Done Did, Are Done Doing, Will Done Do

Annual Santa Party

2011-12-15T09:39:00.000-08:00

Every year, our company throws a holiday party for the kids where they all get to say HI to Santa. It's one of the few family traditions we have. This year, Ethan was finally too old to want to come along so he sat it out (and end of an era!); things change a lot when you're 13. :)

The three other boys, on the other hand, had a great time, meeting and greeting Santa and his elves. Well, mostly anyway. Jasper cried hysterically until Santa handed him a present; then, he figured out it was worth the horror of sitting there. Ah, the joys of the holidays!

Jasper - from tears to thanks!

Xavier - loved every minute! He was the only kid to give Santa a big hug.

Graeme - he was hamming it up the entire time. We had to ask him to tone it down; this kid needs to be in movies!

Summer Strawberries

2011-10-11T15:24:00.001-07:00

I'm backtracking in my storytelling a little because I found this photo of Graeme that I just LOVE to death.

Back in June, we took the boys to Swanton Farm in Pescadero (on the coast) to pick strawberries. They had a blast, even Jasper, who had to be strapped down to his stroller because he is too crazy to let loose on a strawberry patch (poor kid!). They did a great job berry-picking! Check out the picture of me with the boys and notice Jasper helping himself to an early (unpaid) strawberry.

Jasper Turns Two

2011-09-01T11:13:00.001-07:00

Well, our baby isn't much of a baby anymore, even if I still call him that. I'm likely to call him my baby even when he's already had babies of his own!

Where does all the time go?! Jasper turns two today. As Rodney says, he's two going on four, trying to keep up with all his older brothers. He's changing and growing every day, which is so wonderful to watch, but I have to admit that there is a part of me that dreads all this growing up business.

Here are some photos of the birthday boy at his party this past Sunday. We did another joint party with his cousin Jack, who was born a day before him.

Costa Rica 2011: Days Six, Seven, and Eight

2011-08-30T23:40:00.000-07:00

Day Six: Kayak and Snorkeling to Chora Island in Samara
Samara was a really small town, not a lot of tourists, and not much to do, but the beach was two blocks away and so beautiful. Ethan and I woke up early to grab our breakfast then we headed on out to the beach and spent the entire morning there. Ethan was body surfing and I was partly guarding our bags and partly plucking rocks and shells from the shore.

After lunch, we lazed around waiting for what we thought would be another ride to our next adventure. Turns out, we were being picked up to walk back to the same beach to grab our kayaks. Ethan and I shared one and our guide had his own. See the photo on the left below? The island on the left is Isla Chora (Chora Island) and that's where were heading. Kayaking is fun, but it definitely takes a little practice, We were out of practice so it took us about forty-five minutes to get there. I bet our guide could have easily made it out there in half the time.

We walked around the island a little when we got there and relaxed a little before heading out to snorkel. There was a big group of teens there from all over who were apparently in Costa Rica teaching English. When we started to head out to snorkel, Ethan started to get too much water in his mask so he decided to head back while I ventured on with our guide. The water was really choppy and the tides were wild so there wasn't much fish to see, but the ones we did see were very impressive. Plus, it really was just fun to snorkel. There is a calm when you are in the ocean like that and you can't hold conversations and all you concentrate on is swimming and looking, swimming and looking.

When we finally returned to the island, Ethan had already worked his way to hanging out with the young English teachers and was helping the boys in that group with their hermit crab battles in the sand. The island was teeming with hermit crabs. There were also a lot of iguanas in the trees, some of whom were pretty brave and would head down to eat the scraps of fruit people would leave behind.

Day Seven: Trip to San Jose
After waking early to breakfast, we waited around for checkout and another long drive into the main city, San Jose. I think the best part of the trip was the fact that we got another driver who only spoke in Spanish. I felt a little bad for Ethan not understanding, but he really didn't mind since he spent most of these drives asleep on my lap anyway.

San Jose was the worst part of our trip. It was full of people, loud, dirty, and just well, yucky. It was odd/sad that you could tell you were in the city from all the recognizable American stores/fast food joints all over.

Our hotel was old, but was nice enough and it was the biggest of all the rooms we stayed in. It reminded me of really old houses in Manila. Ethan didn't want to stay in and eat dinner at the hotel restaurant so we decided to venture out towards the city. I should've been suspicious of our neighbourhood when we spied a "sexy bar" (a men's club) behind our building. We made a couple of wrong turns, but ended up right in the middle of everything. Interesting, to say the least. We did find a nice restaurant to eat at, where we splurged on our last vacation meal.

When we walked back to our hotel, we got a little turned around and missed our turn. On one street we walked on, there was an Amazonian woman headed our way dressed to the nines in heels and tight clothes. I was wondering to myself if she was not a man in drag, she was so tall. Then, as she passed us up, another woman in uber sexy clothing (if you consider wearing only nylons and underwear on your bottom half to be "clothing") was walking ahead of us. It was only at that point that I finally realized we had strayed into the city's red light district. Ahhh, what a way to end our trip, with me exposing my 13-year old to San Jose's "ladies of the night." At any rate, we had a good laugh then hightailed it on out of there.

If I ever come back here, I plan to skip a stay in San Jose if possible. If not possible, I may not leave my hotel room. Hahahaha!

Here's the best view of San Jose I can offer...

Day Eight: Flying Back Home
We had such a blast and cannot wait to come back. Maybe I can even convince Rodney to buy a house here - did I already mention this? I'm a little stuck on this thought if you couldn't already tell.

Costa Rica 2011: Days Five and Six

2011-08-30T22:38:00.000-07:00

Day Five: Selvatura Canopy Ziplines
Monteverde is the place where I really end up falling in love with Costa Rica. It is so beautiful! I never knew it, but it was founded by Quakers from the US in the 1950s who were pacifists avoiding the draft into the Korean war. Apparently, a lot of Americans retire here. Daydream...

The view off our room's balcony is quite amazing (see photo below). I'm amazed we even wanted to leave the room at all, but we did. A photo of our favourite restaurant during the whole trip is shown below, of Restaurante Maravilla.

Today is the day we headed to the Cloud Forest for some ziplining. True to form, Ethan napped on my lap in the van on the way there. Good for him as he was well-rested for the 12 ziplines that we did, some short, some long, all of them very awesome. We were harnessed and gloved and would zip along these lines above the rainforest canopy. It was pretty misty and if you notice any "freckles" on our faces in the photos below, that's from the rainforest dirt raining down on us. The last zipline we did was a tandem one, where we zipped down the line together so we were speeding pretty fast and it felt the scariest to me.

At the end of all the ziplines was a 26-foot "Tarzan Swing" where you are essentially hoisted off a platform to swing above the canopy. I nearly fell off the platform before it was time to jump, but I really enjoyed the frightening yet exhilirating plunge. I screamed my ass off. Hahahaha!

Day Six: A Little Monteverde Before Heading to Samara
We got up early for breakfast and headed out into town for a bit of exercise and distraction before we were being picked up for the long ride to Samara. Of course, we ate lunch at Restaurante Maravilla and hung out at a couple of souvenir shops before heading back home. I really wish we had more time here.

The drive to Samara was crazy long. I probably don't have to mention here that Ethan slept on my lap the entire time - do I? (wink!) I was impressed with our driver, who made the 4+ hour trek with us then had to head back to where we came from. WOW! One of the best things about him was that he spoke to me purely in Spanish so, once again, I got a lot of practice. It's amazing how fast things come back to you, but really my Spanish leaves a lot to be desired. Nothing that more time in Costa Rica wouldn't cure...wink!

Costa Rica 2011: Days Three and Four

2011-08-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

Day Three: Whitewater Rafting - Rio Toro Class III/IV
Boy, am I glad I let the folks at Desafio talk me into doing the class III/IV instead of the II/III Rio Balsa. We ran into people who did that and they said there was one rapid at the beginning and smooth sailing after that. Our river wasn't overly rough, but it was a perfect combination of mellow and crazy. Ethan and I had a blast and that kid chuckled so hard every time I got soaked. In fact, we both laughed quite a bit during the ride, perenially open-mouthed. I kept wondering how much bacteria we were ingesting, but we survived. :)

In the middle of the ride, we got to stop and swim in the water and we ate the yummiest pineapples I've eaten since forever. Since they are grown there, the pinas can be allowed to ripen properly. Yum!

On the trip home, Ethan was so exhausted he fell asleep on my lap. This whole sleeping on my lap was getting to be a new "bad habit" for the growing boy. Hahaha!

Day Four: Travel from La Fortuna to Monteverde via Boat, Horse, then Van
To go from La Fortuna to Monteverde, we opted for a quick boatride on the lake, followed by a two and a half hour horseback ride, then on to a two-hour van ride. The boat ride was quick and beautiful. The horseback part was long, but we had a great time. The guides spoke more Spanish than English so I got to practice a lot with both guides. On the way, we even got to see a small viper. After we had all gawked at the snake for a bit, our main guide was kind enough to share that that particular snake was so poisonous that one bite would kill the horse I was on, never mind me. Yikes! Ethan did struggle with his horse for a bit until one of the guides gave him a little stick to egg that little sucker on. His name was Payaso and Ethan really hated that clown. Once we got off the horses, we took a van to Monteverde. Since the roads in Monteverde are mostly unpaved and there were SO MANY potholes everywhere, the ride was quite long. But it was fun because we had a great driver who let me practice a lot of my broken Spanish with him. There were so many people on the trip that Ethan and I had to split up seats; I sat in front and he sat in the back. He didn't get to nap on the ride at all. I think that traumatized him. :)

We loved Monteverde. The temperature was cooler than La Fortuna and the town was a little bit bigger. We enjoyed trekking 15 minutes from our hotel down into town. There, we discovered what we lovingly referred to as "our" restaurant. Restaurante Maravilla, where we enjoyed the yummiest meals of our entire trip. It was so good, we went back twice. After we leave Monteverde, I've started to daydream about owning a home here (I will be bugging Rodney about this endlessly, I know this now - sorry babe).

This adventure to be continued...

Costa Rica 2011: Days One and Two

2011-08-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

This past July, Ethan and I headed to Costa Rica for his 13th birthday. We had hoped that both Rodney and I could both go, but it was too logistically crazy to figure out what to do with the little ones so Rodney had to skip. We missed him a lot!

It was our first trip to Costa Rica and we LOVED LOVED LOVED it! I came home daydreaming of buying a home there (Rodney laughs at me and all my glorious dreams) so you know we'll be back.

Day One: Flight to Costa Rica; Drive to La Fortuna
We flew out of SFO a little after midnight and arrived CR a little before noon on Monday, July 18th. Once we got there, we were fetched and delivered from the San Jose airport to La Fortuna, about four hours away. Ethan slept on my lap practically the entire time. On the way, we stopped at a restaurant to eat and Ethan indulged in some 7Up so I couldn't resist snapping a photo that made me reminisce about the fun Grussing Family Cancun vacation of 2006. Man, how quickly they grow!

We stayed at a modest hotel in the middle of town, which was really convenient and fun for us. The Arenal volcano was right close by. Next to it was a mountain they called La India Dormiendo (The Sleeping Indian).

We booked all our rooms and adventures in advance and I am so glad that I did it that way because it left little to plan once we got there. We used a local firm, Desafio Adventure Company (http://www.monteverdetours.com/), and they rocked.

Day Two: Canyoneering, Liquid Lava Tour, and Baldi Hot Springs
We spent our morning and early afternoon canyoneering; it was hectic (well, the hiking was hectic on poor lil' ol' unfit me anyway) and so much fun! Rappelling is my new favourite sport. We wish we could have done more rappels! We went out with a group of 11 and had about 5-6 guides. These rappels were down waterfalls so we definitely got WET! The last shot below is of Ethan passed out in our room between this and our volcano hike. Did I mention that he slept on my lap on the drives to and from?

Later that evening, we headed towards Arenal volcano for a hike. We saw a lot of beautiful flowers and vegetation, a few birds, and a crapload of ants (yuck!).

After the hike, I was introduced to a drink called "Liquid Lava" with the local rum, Cacique. I fell in love. Hahaha! We were taken to Baldi Hot Springs down the road where Ethan and I lounged in pools of hot water and falls, all heated from the volcano. When we come back, we'll have to spend at least a day or two at this resort. It was exquisite.

Family Pictures

2011-01-18T22:19:00.000-08:00

Recently realized that we have not taken a single family photo since who knows when. I mean the kind where all of us are in it. Not a one, not since Xavier was a baby. Well we finally had the best reason to take one. We got our new home and wanted to get a photo of us in front of the SOLD sign to show off.

So, here's our first family photo since Jasper's made the cut into the Grussing-Pike Tribe. A very typical photo and very imperfectly perfect in so many ways.

First there's me with my car keys dangling out of my pants pocket like a truck driver and my pedometer sitting so gloriously on my pocket (nerdlinger!). Then there's Jasper, both hands in his mouth and then Ethan smiling cutely with his short hair a little disheveled. Rodney looking really cute, but then Xavier is not facing the camera or smiling...and finally Graeme, in mid-sentence, with his hand on his crotchal regions. Ay! Ay! Ay!

An Entire Year?!

2011-01-14T10:29:00.000-08:00

I let an entire go by without a post. I'll do better this year. :)

Lake Tahoe

2010-03-10T22:23:00.000-08:00

In mid-February, we had a 4-day weekend, courtesy of the local elementary schools so we trekked up to Tahoe with the Foster City Concepcions so that the kids could enjoy some winter snow. Kind of ironic, as the east coast of the country was getting pummeled by unwanted snowy weather at the time.

We had a really great and mellow weekend. The boys (Rodney, Ethan, Manolete, and Jude) spent Saturday snowboarding while the rest of us pretty much just lounged around the house. I don't even remember getting dressed up that day - hahahaha! Graeme got to go into town with Aunty Alison and got to play in the snow a little too.

On Sunday, we made an attempt to go tubing at Sierra, but there were too many people in town so we had to turn back around and head home. Thankfully, the house we rented had loads of snow around it so the kids were able to take a sled out and play.

Click here to see some photos from the weekend.

Jasper at Four Months and Other Oddities

2010-01-22T22:17:00.000-08:00

Jasper is growing fast. It's really amazing that he's nearly 5 months old. In just a few more months, he'll be crawling, then walking, then running, then talking and adding to the commotion in the house. I can't wait to see how the boys all adjust to each other and how they'll be playing together a year from now. I can wait to see how tired and aged Rodney and I get in that same amount of time - hahahaha!

Last appointment was mid-January and Jasper weighed in at 17 pounds (87th percentile) and was 25.8 inches long (71st percentile). He's growing well and the doctor has said we can start him on solids anytime now, as long as he seems ready. My first try of feeding him rice cereal was entirely unsuccessful but I'll try again this weekend and see how it goes.

This is what Jasper looks like when I have to get up and go to work in the morning. It makes it SO hard to leave because all I want to do is cuddle this little bunny.

Here's a photo of Noki (Jude & Eva's dog) licking the heck out of Jasper. It seems the dog REALLY enjoys the milk flavour that Jasper obviously has.

This is Jack with Jasper. Jack is John's and Yvonne's son who was born the day before Jasper. He is such a darling and we love his hairstyle to death!

This is the face Xavier makes when you tell him to smile for the camera. Hahahaha!

This is Jude and Ethan doing some strange raindance. Ok, it wasn't actually a raindance, but a Wii game (Just Dance) - same difference, right????

This is what Rodney would look like if he were king of Bumboland or if he was just plain ol' Rodney.

This is what Manolete looks like when he's trying to be normal.

And this is what Xavier looks like when he's wearing mommy's shoes. RuPaul, watch out!

And here are Graeme and Xavier in the bath, where they are either yukking it up like crazy or fighting because someone splashed somebody.

The Weekend Review

2010-01-20T20:54:00.000-08:00

I keep saying I'm going to post more often (and I DO think of it all the time) but then time just gets away from me. So here's the latest update... we went to the park this weekend. Wahoo!

It's been cold and wet lately so getting out has been a not-so-fun thing to do, but this weekend, we braved the cold and headed to Central Park in San Mateo. The boys got some playground time in and two of the little ones got a chance to ride the little puffer train that runs on weekends. Needless to say, the boys had a really great time running up and down the slides and all that good stuff. I can't wait until Jasper's old enough to run around with his brothers. At the same time, I'm glad there weren't 4 kids to keep track of and chase around - hahahaha!

Here are some photos from the field trip:

New Camera

2009-11-12T00:03:00.000-08:00

I've always been fascinated with photography and I've daydreamed of getting a good SLR camera for a while now. Well, my daydream's finally come true in the shape of a Nikon D5000 and I am starting to learn to use it, with Rodney's help. I'm reading the manuals about the wonderfully dorky things like f-stops and shutter speed, learning about the lenses, and finding out about how to actually take great photos. I haven't mastered any of this just yet but look forward to the months and years ahead of honing the craft. *sigh of contentment*

Today, I took the two older boys, Ethan and Graeme, to the park to test out the different shooting modes to see if I could understand what they all were. Ethan was a great sport with modeling for me; Graeme not so much (he was simply too busy playing to be bothered to pose today). Well, I wasn't so much successful at figuring all the ins and outs of the camera just yet, but I did manage to take some really good photos of the boys that I want to post since I'm always so late at posting photos...

This first one is actually of Xavier (pre-trip to the park photo :), inside the house this morning when everyone was still running around in their jammies. The rest are from the park.

Guess Who's Smiling Now?

2009-10-28T00:07:00.001-07:00

Something I've been looking forward to is Jasper's first real smiles and he obliged me this Saturday. I haven't been able to catch a great photo/video of it just yet but didn't want to forget the date, October 24. His already cute (and VERY chubby) face gets even cuter and brighter when he smiles. Mmmmmm...he's so yummy.

Whenever I tell people that we have 4 boys, they always remark at how "brave" we are. I know it's crazy and our life is busy, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE my family and know that we are so blessed to have all these beautiful boys gracing our lives. We are so lucky.

The Incident with the Gas

2009-10-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Hopefully, this video and sound come through. There is so much background noise from TV and other boys, but you may hear some "unwinding" sounds emanating from our latest spawn... Definitely his father's son - Ha. :)

Six Weeks

2009-10-14T00:36:00.000-07:00

Jasper turned six weeks yesterday, October 13. Wow - time flies! Just a brief update on how everyone is doing these days...

Rodney is back at work (yuck!) and as busy as ever. Marissa still "harasses" him daily about coming home early. We definitely miss him being around!

Marissa has adopted a very bad sleep schedule, often not retiring to bed til the wee hours (3am???). Her Facebook game addiction, topped with the "free" time to do things like bills and handle all the silly little things like blogging do not help.

Ethan has adjusted really well to the sixth grade and has been getting really good grades in his classes. The standards-based grading system they use here is confusing, but he is getting As in most of his tests and is in the higher percentage of his classes. He started his "World Languages" class this week, where they are learning Spanish and French; he hit us up with a "grande" and "si" in conversation today. He's also enjoying the saxophone classes at school. I hope he wants to continue with it next year. Classes he's waiting for us to sign him up for include piano, swimming, and dance. DANCE! :) We're just so proud of him! Oh, another major milestone --- braces are gone and we are down to retainers - yayyyy!!!

Graeme has finally turned the corner when it comes to homework. He finally realized that whining and complaining instead of doing was not the best route - phew, our kindergartner is growing up! Soccer season's started and he's having a blast with his team, the Blue Dragons. He runs up and down that field like nobody's business! He has also spent a couple of Sundays hanging out with his Papa Tony in Pacifica and we have had a heck of a time trying to pry him away when it was time to go. For their next "grandpa date," Graeme asked if he could stay for "100 hours" so we may try to work in an overnighter there if Papa Tony is up for it. :) We wish Mommom and Poppop lived closer so he (and the other kids) could also get hangout time in.

Xavier's vocabulary is growing. He says hi (pronounced with a Southern drawl, too...as in "hah"), hat, hot, more (this one's new today). He can moo like a cow and growl like a dinosaur. For all other things he wants to say, though, he pretty much just grunts - hahahaha! He can also point to more and more parts of his body (nose, feet, belly, ears...). It's so cool to watch him learning so many new things. Especially because he's trying to keep up with his older brothers, he is growing up so quickly and wants to be in everything they are into. He and Graeme spend a lot of time together especially now that they share a room. They are thick as thieves and they are usually cracking each other up and laughing like fiends; when they're not fighting over toys that is.

I'm waiting on Jasper's first "real" smile...any day now. He is sleeping for longer stretches and I have to learn to take advantage of that. He's also spending more awake time, which is super cool. He also took his first bottle today and that's always such a relief. He and I have been pretty attached at the hip (okay, maybe at another body part that's a little higher up - hehehe!) and it's been so nice. He's asleep on Rodney's chest right now and it's just so precious when that happens. Ahhh... it's really just the little things that make me so happy.

A Birth Story...

2009-10-13T23:51:00.000-07:00

When I first tried to post this blog, there was a very lengthy birth story that went along with it. After posting, I noticed that all my text had been deleted. Thanks, blogger.com!

Now I'm finding some time to rewrite, I want to save all the details for Jasper when he's old enough to want to know all the details...

Well, the main thing to start with is the fact that Jasper was late. Ethan and Xavier were 10 days early and Graeme was 5 days early. So I was a little eager to meet the little guy. We did EVERYTHING the day/night of August 31st to speed the process up, including thinning the membranes, loads of walking, etc. I wanted his birthday to be his own and not land too close to Graeme's. Sometimes I wonder when he would've actually come if we just let it all be. The way it all worked out though was just perfect.

August 31st was the first day of school for Ethan (going in to the 6th grade) and Graeme (going in to kindergarten), both of them going to new schools, and we didn't want to miss that so it was good that Jasper didn't come anytime before that date. His cousin, Jack, was born on August 31 (sharing a birthday with Uncle Luigi and his great-grandfather Manuel dos Santos) so these two boys have the closest birthdays among all the cousins.

So, during our evening walk around the neighbourhood, I could feel contactions, but they were really not bad and felt more like Braxton Hicks ones more than anything else. When we went to bed (late!) that night, nothing had changed so I had pretty much resolved myself to going to work the next day. But at around 2am or so, I was actually starting to feel uncomfortable and slightly painful contractions. I kinda was thinking at first that it was just me and wishful thinking so I didn't bug Rodney at first. When I finally woke him up, he helped me start timing the contractions and they were coming pretty steady and I was starting to feel really uncomfortable so we knew stuff was happening. We called Manolete to come by close to 6am so that he'd be here when the boys got up. I was pretty excited heading to the hospital, but still kind of dreading that they'd still tell me I wasn't ready and send me home (it's always a possibility!).

At the hospital, when they heard that this was my fourth pregnancy, they worked pretty fast. I get they just think that all fourth babies just fall out like it was nothing - hahahaha! By the time they checked me, I was already 4cm dilated so there was no turning back. For me, I was pretty surprised I was so far along; it had felt like an eternity getting to this point with the other boys. I had considered not getting the epidural for this one, but when they told me that both anesthesiologists would be in surgery for at least an hour and that I wouldn't get a chance to change my mind, I just went ahead and got one. Why suffer when technology can help, right?

The best part about the epidural was getting nap in. The contractions slowed down a bit after that and the nurse worried that I had stopped progressing so she got the pitocin (evil drug!) ready. Thankfully, I didn't actually need it. :)

Once I was ready to push, the nurse and Rodney helped me. It always feels like the pushing is not getting you anywhere, but this was the quickest experience yet. I think I only pushed for 15 minutes and there he was...our little Jasper. So perfect and just perfectly perfect.

And I can say it now, too. I KNEW he was going to be a boy. Hahahaha! I always wished to get old surrounded by men and now I am seeing my wish come true. Oh joy.

Due Date Plus 2

2009-08-31T23:44:00.000-07:00

Wow, I never ever dreamt I'd be sitting here on the verge of September without a baby. Surely, this last one was supposed to toe the line and do as his brothers did? I guess he has a mind of his own. Or maybe he's a she and mad that I keep calling him a boy so she's making me pay?? :)

Either way, it's an odd place to be and I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm getting antsy and anxious. Yvonne and John (my brother and his wife) had their latest Kawika Jack Concepcion at 1:30pm today so she definitely beat me in the baby race. Now it's just a waiting game for us.

Not surprisingly, I'm not motivated for much else but having this baby right now. Will keep everyone posted as best I can. Love...

Baby Delivery Wish List

2009-08-26T10:29:00.001-07:00

4 days left and the doctor at our appointment yesterday said I may go past my due date. This baby has already beat his brothers at staying in longer and he's likely to be bigger too! This whole going past my due date thought is making me anxious because I really really want this baby to come in August so he can have his own birthday month. :)

Dear Baby:

Here's my wish list to you, sweetheart, about when I want you to come so if you could just indulge me, I promise to love you forever and ever.

Thursday night - Make it so mommy goes into labour
Friday - Get yourself borneded and out so we can meet you
Saturday - Chill with mommy and daddy in the hospital
Sunday - Go home and chill with all your brothers

Can you do that? Please, pretty please???? I told you that I'd love you forever, right? :)

Love,
Your Mom, who will love you forever (no matter what)

10 Days Until Due Date...

2009-08-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

Just like before, I really am in no rush for this baby to get here, but if my track record proves to be any indication, this baby will make his/her entrance any day starting today (Ethan and Xavier were both 10 days early and Graeme was 5 days early). I don't think it's going to happen today, my body just doesn't feel ready to go yet, but then you don't really get so much advance warning every time, do you? *smiles*

I'm trying to will this child to not show up until next week, when I hope we'll be a little more ready - there is simply WAY too much to do and we haven't even packed our hospital bag yet! Plus, there are more naps I want to take - hahahaha! Okay, that, and I just love being pregnant. :)

We finally moved Ethan out of his room and into the old office, but he is slumming it and sleeping on the floor right now. We've still got to get the bed situation squared away - there are just too many options to choose from! It's funny to walk into his room in the morning and find him all balled up on the floor, looking like a lost little urchin. I'll have to try to photograph him for posterity's sake. He is enjoying having a room to himself once again, though, and I, for one, am VERY jealous!

The start of school is right around the corner and that's definitely going to be one crazy week, with a new baby coming and with two new schools to attend orientations at. It's so surreal (still!) for me to be bringing Graeme into kindergarten when I can still remember dropping Ethan off for his first day of kindergarten. And here Ethan is starting middle school... Wow, how can six years fly so quickly?! Just a reminder to treasure every moment, I suppose. Yes, even the crazy ones...

Here are some recent photos of the family for your viewing pleasure (or displeasure) while you are awaiting my next post. That will likely come after the latest Grussing spawn decides to join us, but we will likely be on Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and other internet devices while in the hospital so look out... Hahahaha!

Ethan at the piano (I'll post an actual video once I get Rodney's help downsizing the 90MB video I took of Ethan playing for about a minute - hahahahaha!)

The Grussing men lounging on the couch...

Mommy and Xavier modeling what a 37-week belly (aka, the Shelf) looks like (um, try not to notice the thighs or the bundonkadonk on this one!)...

I Don't Know You, But I Love You...

2009-08-03T09:12:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy, what pregnancy? You could hardly even tell by the way I've been blogging that I've been pregnant at all. I suppose life is simply too busy, what with the three boys, all of whom are transitioning into the next phases of their lives...Ethan into middle school, Graeme into kindergarten, and Xavier (just today) out of the baby room and into the "bigger" kids' room.

Well, it's not for lack of obsession or love for this latest Grussing to come, that's for sure! Yesterday marked 36 weeks of gestation, which means that the baby now weighs almost 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He/she is supposed to gain about an ounce a day at this point so that's another 2 pounds of baby "meat" he/she will have to gain til his/her birthday. The last time I saw my doctor, she said she thought this baby would be an 8-pounder, but we'll see if we actually make it to the due date this time.

Next week, the baby will be considered full-term, which also means they won't stop me if I go into labour. The Braxton Hicks contractions are definitely back and more frequent; the body is definitely getting ready. The last two weekends have been an exercise in finding energy, too. I can't fall asleep at night, wake up early, then find myself needing morning naps. Hahahaha!

We've been trying to get the house ready too. We are moving Ethan into the office and the two younger boys will start to share their own room to make space for the baby (don't know how Xavier or I am going to take him being so far away, but we'll just have to see I suppose). We are looking at minivans and just waiting for the best deal to come along. Only thing left now is to pack my hospital bag and that'll be it. Everything else will be easy after that, right? :)

In some ways, I am scared for the craziness that will ensue once there are four children in the house. But in more ways, I'm really excited to meet this newest little Grussing, to hold him and fall in love with him in person. I'm ready...

p.s. If this next child is a boy, I'm starting a petition to get my own bathroom. I hope you guys will sign it too. So far, there's only one supporter and signature for said petition and it's definitely going to be an uphill battle, from the looks of it. I wonder how much those Port-O-Potties cost???

Graeme Graduation

2009-07-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I almost forgot to write about this! Graeme graduated from his Pre-K class at Papillon Preschool this past June. While he doesn't technically leave Papillon right before he starts kindergarten on August 31, they held a graduation for his class that was so fun to watch. They showed off the things they've learned this past year - counting in Spanish and French, yoga poses, dancing, singing, etc. It was sooooo cool. At the end, there was a video presentation of photos by one of the kids' moms that was so touching and cool. It showed photos of the kids from baby to today and it was really amazing to realize how quickly they all have grown. Time flies to fast; I admit I got teary-eyed watching the video, but then again, I'm pretty sappy.

To see photos on Flickr of Graeme's big day, click here. We'll post more pictures of his first day of school as soon as those memories are created.

Rodney's 40th Birthday

2009-07-07T23:51:00.000-07:00

The craziest thing about Rodney's birthday is that he's had to share it A LOT; his sister Terri's birthday is the day right after his. Little did he know that becoming part of my family would mean he would now have to also share it with our now 11-year old, Ethan, whose birthday is two days before his. This year, he not only had to share his birthday week with Ethan, but he also had to share his actual day with celebrating Graeme's graduation from preschool. Oh no!

We love celebrating Rodney so on the day of his birthday (June 26, for those of you not "in the know"), we made sure to celebrate by going out with family to dinner. Graeme (because it was his graduation day) got to pick the spot and he picked his latest dining obsession, Macaroni Grill. We had a great meal, got the waiters to sing for Rodney, and "showered" him with presents and love. If you are interested in seeing some photos from that night, click here. The next night, Rodney and I went out for a fancy dinner at Central Park Bistro in San Mateo and then ended up at the movies, seeing "The Hangover," which was a really funny movie.

Because turning 40 is no small feat (especially for someone who's looking as good as he is!), I wanted to get Rodney something extra special to let him know how awesome we think he is so I had a birthday journal made for him, complete with entries from friends and family. The journal was handmade by a really creative friend, Melissa Esplin, who I had the pleasure of meeting while working with her husband, Chris, at Cornerstone. She's got a really great website that showcases her talent and shares a lot of really neat ideas, at IS•LY (check it out!). It was actually one of her Father's Day ideas that led to the creation of this journal. The journal is made of leather and cork and touching it alone is sheer joy. But it is definitely the contents of the journal that make it extra special. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to it; without your words, the journal would not have been so wonderful.

Here are a couple of pictures of the journal - the photos really do not do it justice so make sure to ask to see it the next time you see us.

Ethan Turns 11

2009-06-25T12:46:00.001-07:00

We celebrated E's 11th birthday yesterday. First he came to work with me and we took him for a nice lunch at Oak City Bar & Grill across the street from work. Then I put him on the train, on his first solo ride ever, back to San Mateo to meet his cousins to spend the rest of his birthday. Alison, Eva & Jude spoiled him with a big birthday banner and swimming all afternoon.

In the evening, we had family over for pizza and cake. It was us, plus the Concepcions, plus his dad, Grandad, Grand Mere, and Papa Don. And it's not even over since he and a few of his friends are going to get some laser tag action in this Saturday!

Ethan did mention that he enjoyed his birthday last year just a little better. I was home with him and got to spoil him all day then, starting with breakfast in bed. This tells me that I need to take more days off on their birthdays and give them my time on that special day. I'll do this from here on out. :)

Some photos on Flickr to enjoy; I will post more if we get more from Saturday's events... just click here.

Graeme Quote of the Day

2009-06-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

When I picked Graeme up from school yesterday, I asked him (as I generally do) about his day at school. Obviously not in the mood to tell stories this day, he answered quite matter of factly, "I can't remember my day because my brain is making my hair sweat." Who could argue with that?

Guess Who's Walking???

2009-06-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

He actually took his first two steps about a month or so ago, testing his land legs between mommy and daddy, but his walking is really taking off lately. He can stand off the floor on his own and then take a few steps with great balancing techniques. He can even pivot on one leg to turn around now. The only deterrent to him walking more, in my humble opinion, is the fact that he can crawl so fast that his walking holds him back. To have an idea of how fast this kid can crawl, I want to remind you of the scene in "Aliens" where the alien baby jumps out of that guy's belly and scurries across the lab floor. Yes, THAT fast! We aren't worried about the love of crawling, though. We are sure that, sooner rather than later, this kid will be running and I will be complaining about why we ever decided to teach him to walk - hahahaha!

How Time Flies...

2009-06-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, Ethan graduated from the 5th grade. Wasn't it just last year that I was dropping him off for his first day of Kindergarten? Time passes by way too quickly and it kind of freaks me out that Graeme's starting Kindergarten in the Fall. I just know I'll blink and he'll be at this same point with him too... Where does all the time go???? Ah, just another reminder to really cherish every day; our time with our kids is way too short.

A quick story about cheering... As Ethan sat waiting for his name to be called to collect his diploma, he caught my eye and was begging in his own version of sign language for me not to cheer as loud as I promised I would. I guess he doesn't know that that kind of thing just eggs me on. Hahahaha! So when Ethan's name was called, there were loud cheers and yelling of his name (by me, Rodney, E's dad, Uncle Manolete, and even a few of his friends). Much as he thought the whole thing would be embarrassing, I do think he enjoyed it at the end, especially since his friends were also cheering him on (because, you know, that makes it "cool").

We are so proud of Ethan and all he's accomplished at elementary school and can't wait to see how much more he grows in middle school. For graduation, Rodney and I finally got him the cell phone he's been asking for as his graduation gift (we held out as long as we could!). He seems pretty pleased with the phone we all picked out so that's always good. We also took him out to an Indian buffet lunch as an extra celebratory treat that day. It was a fun treat for us to be off work and just enjoy our time with Ethan without the other boys for the day. We hope Ethan felt the same way. :)

Our graduate...

Posing with Roni and Eva...

Stories of Graeme, Part 375

2009-06-04T15:03:00.000-07:00

This kid provides us with a treasure trove of stories and things to laugh about, I can't wait til Xavier is old enough to regale us with the same craziness.

Two days ago, Graeme was hanging out with me, doing "homework," meaning he was practicing his letters, colouring, etc. After a few minutes at work, he declared that he needed glasses so he could see better. So he went to his room, collected his swim goggles, and put them on. Those apparently did the trick...

I love this boy!

Another Graeme Gem...

2009-06-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

I guess he's just at that age... so precious!

This last weekend, we went to an early dinner with our friends Dina and Sam and got seated close to the front desk of the restaurant. After eating, Graeme decided he was going to stand up on his seat and chat the ladies of the reception up. One cute, blonde girl gave him attention and that's all he needed to throw down his pickup line: "I like the boom boom pow..." Of course, she (and the other ladies with her) were all tickled, which just encouraged our little Romeo. Thanks Black Eyed Peas, our son is now well-prepped for the teenage years and beyond!

Graeme Story of the Day

2009-05-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

Not from today, but last week, actually... We were driving home from school, me and the boys, when I announced to Ethan that I had to stop at Costco to buy a "couple" of things. Knowing already that I tend to wander around that store too long, Ethan said to me, "Okay mom, just don't get carried away."

Almost immediately, we hear Graeme chime in from the back seat, "Yeah mom, don't get carried away or we're going to miss you!"

That kid just tugs at my heartstrings!

Here he is in his room, where we found him one day, tucked among his stuffed toys. And, yes, he did put himself in there.

A Story About Graeme

2009-03-19T10:16:00.000-07:00

I should say that this is really a story about how Rodney is raising our kids. That's right, I'm blaming all this type of stuff on Rodney...

So anyway...one of Rodney's favourite jokes for when the kids say they smell something bad is to say, "Maybe it's your upper lip." I have to admit, the reaction is usually quite comical and we all have a good laugh when this happens.

Well, the other day, after arriving home from school, Graeme unbuckled himself from his seat and said to me, "Mommy, I smell something. Do you smell something?" I turned around and told him that, no, I didn't in fact smell anything funny at all to which he so flatly replied, "Oh, maybe it's my upper lip."

I just laughed and told him that, yes, maybe it was. Hahahahaha! Our poor kids.

Confessions of a Slacker

2009-02-17T09:26:00.001-08:00

It's been so long since I've written and I can make up a million excuses, but I won't. Instead, I'll tell you what's been going on lately with the Grussing-Pike Tribe.

Ethan's winding up his last semester as a 5th grader. Next year, he'll be in middle school where he'll be among the 7th and 8th graders. I don't know if I'm ready for that so we'll see how we all transition. Here's a picture of him perfecting his Ripstick technique. We got him the Ripstick for Christmas and he said it was the best thing we got him. Yayyyyy!

Graeme is also winding up his Pre-K year and looking forward to starting Kindergarten in the fall. He is working on writing and numbers right now. He has nearly mastered the number patterns and can count to 100 with a little assistance. We do "homework" to strengthen his pincer grip and encourage good writing habits. He still (especially at school) writes with both hands, but we feel he is really and truly a lefty. Graeme's favourite things to do these days include playing with dinosaurs, making up silly names for Xavier, chasing Ethan around (and generally driving him nuts), and, of course, cooking. Every day, he puts on his apron and asks me if he can be my chef, to which I always reply, "Yes chef." He loves putting food in the pans and stirring. He understands the process of cooking and can probably walk you through cooking scrambled eggs, easy. Luckily, they've spent a lot of time at school cooking lately - here are photos of Graeme flipping his grilled cheese sammidge and frosting his V-Day cookies (notice the lefty action):

Xavier just passed the 9.5 month mark. He's been crawling like a fiend for a while now and really loves standing and cruising the furniture. The rooms in the house he's obsessed with are (1) the bathroom (because he knows he's banned from crawling around in there) and (2) the kitchen (where his main goal is to get to the cat's food bowl so he can pick it up and slowly drop it to the floor - I think he likes the sound it makes). He's also eating regular food with us a few times a week and loves to feed himself Cheerios. He LOVES bathtime, especially now that he gets to bathe in the big tub with Graeme. Graeme, of course, considers Xavier his personal plaything when in there. Evidence of this...

Finally, some really great news on the Rodney front - he recently was promoted to Head Graphics Honcho at work. Okay, that's not his official title, but he's now officially a manager. When I told Ethan about this, his first question was, "So he can tell people what to do now?" I assured him this has always been the case... hahahahaha! I kid. I kid. Congratulations sweetheart, you really really really deserve it.

What It's Like to Have 5 Kids

2008-12-11T13:39:00.001-08:00

This last weekend, we were lucky enough to have our niece Eva and nephew Jude come stay with us for a couple of nights. I love when they come to stay with us because it gives us another excuse to do things like (a) skip out on the laundry and (b) let the dishes languish while we go (i) out to breakfast and (ii) do cool stuffs around town.

For this weekend, our big excursion was to the new California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. We recently bought an annual family membership and were able to get our money's worth by taking all five kids in one trip. Of course, Rodney's behemoth came in super handy as we could fit all 7 of us in one car. We even got sooooo lucky and found parking right outside so we didn't have to walk too far in the cold. :)

At the Academy of Sciences, we enjoyed the green display, where we read up on how much waste people produce and how much carbon offsets we need to purchase just to become carbon neutral. Truly interesting information and such a fun way to "brainwash" the kids about treating the Earth with kindness. Graeme's favourite part of this display was the T-Rex skeleton right next to all this green goodness.

We also checked out the new Steinhart Aquarium, where we got to see Ethan's favourite Leafy Sea Dragons, sea nettles, some really huge fish, and a huge display of Philippine coral reefs and fish (with loads of fish we'd never seen before). We also got to spend some time in the Rainforest display, where butterflies and birds flew freely, and where we got to see a ton of lizards, chameleons, and frogs. We didn't get a chance to check out penguins, the Planetarium, and a lot of other things so there will definitely have to be a follow up trip.

Some photos from the day...

Leafy Sea Dragon:

Ethan, Jude and Eva at the rainforest:

Graeme checking out some amphibians:

Xavier, Rodney, Jude, Eva, and Ethan outside the rainforest and surrounded by aquarium (NOTE: Graeme wouldn't join in any of the group photos - what a snob - hahahaha!):

The kids at a statue of Beethoven outside the Academy of Sciences:

Enjoying the sunset at the end of the day, at Sunset Beach in San Francisco:

So, what is it like having 5 kids? Well, we don't really know since we only had 5 kids for two days, but we do know that you need a bigger car and more cash to spend at the gift store. Besides that, though, there is a ton of laughter and silliness in between the times you are haranguing the kids and that makes it all so worth it.

Until next time...

The Xavier Update

2008-10-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

So much happens when you are not paying attention...

Xavier's been in daycare for nearly four weeks now and has adjusted like a pro. Despite one super bad day where he only drank one ounce of milk and tortured his teachers with all-day tears and wailing, he is doing very well. Every day I get to pick up a super happy baby who is constantly nuzzling his teachers and smiling at the other babies. It's hard to not spend every waking moment with him, but it really makes me feel so much better knowing that he is so happy at Papillon.

New skills and things:

* Rolling Over: I am trying to not let this kid grow up too fast since he is our last baby, but he is growing up anyway despite my best efforts. :) At any rate, I busted him rolling over when I set him down on the floor at my dad's house when we were there on the 28th. Now we really can't leave the little bugger unguarded.

* Solid Food: I don't really know how anyone can call extremely ground up food "solid," but it is what it is. We started Xavier on rice cereal at 5 months and he took to it, finally. Then we moved on to green peas - wish I'd gotten on video the strange faces he was making. Last night, we tried sweet potatoes for the first time and he loved them so much that he ate two jars of it. Rodney, who abhors sweet potatoes, was a little disgusted. Hahahahaha!

* Brothers: Xavier is fascinated with his brothers and they are enthralled by him. I am glad that we are a family of silly people and we spend a lot of time laughing together. I hope this never ever changes.

Love to you all - can you believe Halloween is just around the corner?!

Graemesaurus Rex Turns 4

2008-09-17T23:16:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we celebrated Graeme's 4th birthday. All in all, he really had a great birthday this year, with celebrating that just seemed to go on and on and on - the joys of having your birthday on a Friday, I suppose. His main birthday theme was "Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs!" For some reason, however, we managed to get birthday cakes that had anything but... Funny how that works out sometimes. :)

On Friday, September 12, his actual birthday, we brought a cupcake cake with a dragon design into school for him and his friends at Papillon Preschool. The cake was a hit with all the kids, teachers, and even mommy (who couldn't help but have one - I mean, look at how yummy it looks!). Graeme also loved that he got the first piece - too cute!

We also went out to dinner that night, dining at the oh-so-fancy Red Robin. It was a stop we had to make because they are one of the restaurants that get all the waiters together to sing the birthday celebrant a long and racuous birthday song. In all our past visits to Red Robin, someone's always had a birthday and when the singing started, Graeme would always call to us to "clap your hands." He gets so excited and happy for birthday celebrations - even when they're not for him - he is so cool! For the dinner, Uncle Manolete, Aunt Alison, Eva, and Jude joined us, which was a real treat for Graeme, as these are nearly all of his favourite neighbours right now. When the time came for his birthday song to be sung, he was just so pleased!

Here is Graeme enjoying his birthday dessert, after getting serenaded for his birthday, and then opening up one of his birthday presents, a new "Little Einsteins" DVD.

On Saturday, we had Graeme's "real" birthday party, returning to Lemos Farm to celebrate with ponies, farm animals, trains, and bouncy houses. All the kids had a blast with the pony and train rides and trolling around the farm and Graeme had a blast being the center of attention with all his friends. For his birthday cake this time, he selected the "Madagascar" theme - this is one of his favourite movies of all time. :) All in all, it was a perfect day, with perfect weather, and a good time was had by all.

The New School Year

2008-09-17T23:05:00.000-07:00

First day of school is always exciting - new clothes, new school supplies, old friends, and loads of catching up from summer vacation. Summer vacation rocked this year because I got to be home; Ethan didn't even need to go into summer camp at all and he just loved that. Now that summer is done, though, reality hits and this year we have three boys going into new classes.

- Ethan is in the 5th grade, the big man on campus, and he'll be going in to middle school next Fall;
- Graeme is in his last year of preschool, looking forward to graduation next August and starting kindergarten at "Ethan's school"; and
- Xavier is in his first year of daycare, just starting out his school career.

Some photos from all the firsts...

Graeme on his first day in the Pre-K class; like big brother Ethan at his school, he is also one of the big men on campus at Papillon Preschool. He is working on letters, numbers, and writing to get ready for kindergarten. He really loves school so much and now directs me daily about when to fetch him from school, which is "after snack and after playground" unless we have swimming lessons. It will be a sad, sad day when the time comes to move from Papillon. He loves it there so much! And just a quick update on swimming lessons, Graeme is really getting the hang of it and is even really enjoying going underwater. One last note about this photo -- notice the lump on Graeme's forehead. He fell into our wooden rocking chair, head first, and gave us a big scare and himself a bruise that lasted about 2 weeks. He's a total boy!

Ethan on his first day as a 5th grader at Foster City School. Jude and Eva are also in this photo - they all go to the same school. Aren't they all just too cool for school?! Ethan is continuing to take piano lessons and he has gotten SO good at playing and he can read music as though he's always known how to :). He's also taking Spanish classes right now, nothing he's too excited about, but he'll grow to appreciate learning a second language eventually. His hair continues to grow, but he's showing signs of wanting a change. He told me just recently that he's ready to cut about 2 inches off.

No photo of Xavier at school yet, but he's adjusted amazingly well for having been there for only 2 days. He is drinking out of the bottle like a pro and just having a happy time with his new teachers.

We've got amazing boys and we are so proud of them all!

Life with Ethan

2008-09-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

I'm still amazed that Ethan is already 10 years old. It makes me proud because he's growing up to be such a great person. It also freaks me out, to tell the truth, because of how quickly these first 10 years have seemed to pass. I can almost feel the next 10 passing just as fast and I dread it. It makes me want to hold him and the other two boys so much closer, to memorize all the moments we share (even the seemingly inconsequential ones) so I can bring them to mind later on in life, to write everything down, to commit to memory all their expressions (facial and verbal), just to keep everything close to me so that I never forget any of it ever. I look at Graeme, who's turning 4 this Friday, and I know that him reaching 10 is going to get here just as quick. There is a happiness and a sadness to children growing up that just can't be helped, I guess. And I think that therein lies the reason for grandchildren. Hahahaha!

Some recent photos of Ethan on his trusty scooter at the park this past week I want to share. He's had his hair long for so long now that I can't really remember the last time he let us cut it short. It might be two years or so now. I wonder how long he'll let it get. I'm trying to convince him to grow it really long then to donate his locks to "Locks of Love" when he's ready for a shorter look.

Life with Xavier

2008-09-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

Xavier just turned 4 months old. This signals my return to work in about a week, which I am dreading, but that is an entirely different story. :) At any rate, Xavier's been really keen on using his legs lately, wanting to "stand" more often than not so we bought him a play center to allow him more freedom and exercise and he loves it!

Went to the park for a spell last weekend and put Xavier in a swing for the first time. He looked really cute but silly in it so we have to memorialize it with photographs...

Life with Graeme

2008-09-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it takes a lot of time to put Graeme to bed. He gets up with all sorts of reasons to not be in bed sleeping - he's thirsty, he has to hug mommy goodnight, he has to kiss the baby, etc. Last night, he came up with the best reason so far...

Graeme: I can't sleep.
Daddy: What's wrong?
Graeme: I can't sleep so good because my eyes are in the way.
Daddy and mommy snicker to themselves quietly.
Graeme: And my ear.
Daddy: Why your ear?
Graeme: Because I want you.

Who are we to argue?

Bootie Family

2008-08-31T22:40:00.000-07:00

One of the things we like to do is make up names for the boys. Okay, by "we" I really mean that I probably started it and everyone else has adopted it. Ethan doesn't care much for his new name but the one he got is actually my favourite one - I'd probably use it as my DJ name if I could actually play records well enough to be a DJ. :) Graeme LOVES playing the renaming game but hasn't quite mastered the fine art just yet. Often, he insists that my name is "Jonko" or "Bonk" but he can't make it stick because (1) he doesn't remember these names from day to day and (2) I don't accept having a simple name when we've come up with such winners for them. I know, I know, this all smacks of future therapy sessions for the boys and I say, "So what?" After all, we haven't been saving money for their college education, we've been saving money for therapy. Hahahahaha!

So let me introduce you to our three boys...

Sheik Djerboudi

Shay Shay Shabouti

Stinky Buttowski

I wonder now if I inherited this "renaming disease" from my granddad, who came up with a funky nickname for each of his grandkids.

Swimming Lessons

2008-08-07T00:08:00.000-07:00

Graeme started swimming lessons this week, on Tuesday to be exact. Here is a kid who loves being in water but is quite afraid of going past the second step in any pool. Its a healthy fear, especially since he can't swim, but one we want him to now let go so that he can get his inner fish out.

There was a dunking during the first class, which led to tears and begging for mom to take him from the pool, but he was a trooper and stayed through. So, with one class under his belt, his willingness to be in the pool is now if-fy, but we hope that his tolerance for the water and being dunked gets better and better as the weeks pass. Fingers are crossed...

Graeme laughing it up during swim class.

Summer Fake-ation

2008-08-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it was a real vacation, just a really short one... Technically, this was Xavier's first vacation ever so it was an important weekend to memorialize, even if he didn't realize it or could really care less. :)

Rodney and I took the boys in the "Behemoth" (my pet name for his new Mazda RX9 monster gas guzzler - hehehe!) to Santa Cruz and Monterey. We drove down to Santa Cruz on Saturday morning and headed on out to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We spent the day taking in the beach, a few rides, and greasy food galore.

The weather was perfect and we were all beat by the time 6pm rolled around so we happily headed back to our room at the local Super 8 Motel (we roll in style!) and slowly got ready for dinner out. We ate at Riva's on the wharf; the wharf was cool, but the food was really just okay.

The next morning, we had breakfast on Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz before the hour-long drive to Monterey, where we spent the day at the aquarium. There were a ton of people milling about Monterey - the horror of vacations during the summer, especially over the weekend - but we had a really great time seeing and learning about all the fish and sea creatures on display. The boys really enjoyed themselves. As an extra treat, we got a chance to sample Bubba Gump's and found their Cajun peel and eat shrimp to be sooooo yummy. Even Ethan kept asking for more (if Ethan likes it so much he asks for seconds, you know it's GOOOOOOD!). :)

I am so lucky to have the summer off with the boys and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I know am blessed to have the opportunity to take short vacations like these with family. I love my boys - I really do!

I hope you are all enjoying the summer as much, if not more, than we are. Our love to everyone and we hope to see you all real soon!

Graeme on the beach; hanging out in underwear.

Ethan spent his beach time chasing and jumping from the surf.

Me and the boys strolling down the Boardwalk.

The boys posing together after dinner on the wharf.

Rodney and the kids at the otter exhibit.

Marissa, Graeme, and Ethan at the otter exhibit.

Two of our pearls.

How hard is it to get 3 boys to smile for the camera at once?

2008-07-26T00:14:00.001-07:00

Pretty hard...trust me. :) I'm not looking forward to getting the holiday photos taken so I may just leave that to professionals...

I'm posting some recent pictures of the kids and one of me and Graeme (posting this last one only because I'm rarely in photos and this one was pretty cute of the two of us and I want to memorialize it, egomaniac that I am)...

Not much has gone on lately, not that I can remember anyway. Hahahaha! The summer is winding down and so is my maternity leave. I am feeling a sort of panic about that. I wish I could stay home for another 3 months with Xavier and the boys. It has been such fun being home with Ethan for summer vacation. We laze around all day, but it's just a great time spending our days together. Lately, we've been letting Graeme play hooky from school and we go for walks, eat out, watch movies, and do pretty much nothing all day. Today, I spoiled the boys with homemade pancakes, mac n' cheese, and homemade mango lassi. Yummmmmmm...

Last Tuesday, I dragged Rodney to go see Lisa Williams with me. Most people will probably not know who she is and I won't go into detail, but suffice it to say that my ulterior motive for going had to do with my mom (who I miss and think about every single day). For that motive, the trek was unsuccesful, but it was still really cool to see Lisa in action. She has a really great personality and was really amazing with what she does.

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Much Love to All,
M

How many people does it take to make a tribe?

2008-07-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

Five and a cat...trust me.

This past month has been pretty eventful so far. We took the 3 boys to a wedding over the 4th of July weekend and we had such a good time - especially during the reception when we all got our dance on. Congratulations to Dina and Sam on getting hitched and giving us a place to kick up our heels!

On the 7th, Rodney and I had our first night back out in the world (sans spawn). We caught Yazoo/Yaz in concert and it was such a blast! I was the only person in our area (practically) who kept standing up to dance but I don't care. Who can sit down to "Goodbye Seventies" after all?! I may have embarrassed Rodney, but it's alright because he's used to that kind of thing.

This past weekend, we celebrated Ethan's 10th birthday at the local mini-golf spot and everyone had such a good time. We had an extra fun and special birthday cake made for him that turned out so cool I have to share it with you. We are going to have this same cake made for all the boys when they turn 10...

Here's a picture of Ethan and a couple of his friends along with Graeme tagging along as they waited in line for the bumper boats at his party. Graeme was so darling because he kept pushing his way in the midst of all the 10-year old boys and joining in as though he was one of them. We love how he is so self-confident and can mix with any crowd.

And now, for more photos of Xavier... He is so funny because he's hard to photograph or film candidly - he's always trying to look straight into the camera, no matter where it is. He's a star in the making! Hahahaha! He will be 11 weeks as of tomorrow, Wednesday, July 16, and it really is just amazing how time's flown and how much he's grown already. His eyelashes are growing and you can almost see how nicely they curl over his eyes. He's just too cute (have I said that already?!)!

Baby Food

2008-06-30T23:24:00.001-07:00

Lately, my biggest challenge is trying not to eat this kid up...

We went in for his 2-month appointment and he's doing really well! He now weighs in at 12 pounds and is 23 inches long - the kid has grown and we are just so happy. He's getting chubby cheeks and chubby legs that make him so cute and tasty.

He's also changing in so many ways. He started smiling right around the 6-week mark, but his smiles were elusive. Now, they are coming in droves and it is so special. When he first wakes up in the morning, he is all smiles and it just warms your soul. He's also been cooing a lot so we are having tons of pretend conversations where I make up what he is saying like, "Oh, you want daddy to change your next 25 poopie diapers? Okay, I'll let him know."

There is nothing like being a parent. Babies are such a wonderful way to start people, 'tis true!

Thanks for the Memories - Game & Watch

2008-06-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

I am currently enthralled (well, ok obsessed) with the very first handlheld gaming system I ever owned/played - the Game & Watch Chef game. I remember our parents buying us these games as kids and the Chef one was mine - I definitely wore it out. Each of the kids had one of their own and, as far as I can remember, we all had different ones (smart move on the parents' part - so there was no mistaking who belonged to which game)... ah, memories. I want to buy one, but they are very pricey to acquire (insane!). One of these days, though, I may just break down and buy the Chef game just to relive that time of my life. Mmmmm... (insert sigh of contentment here)

CHEF

OCTOPUS

PARACHUTE

MANHOLE

Long Time No Write...

2008-06-12T23:33:00.001-07:00

Today, a friend of mine said to me that when you have kids, the minutes last forever and the years go by in the blink of an eye. I love these little tidbits of knowledge that make me say, "Yes of course, why didn't I think of that myself!"

Xavier is going to hit the 7-week mark this Wednesday and it already feels like time is just speeding by. He's still so little but he's already changed so much, eating more, sleeping more, starting to "talk" (okay, he's just cooing, but whatever - he's baby-talking - wink!), making eye contact, recognizing voices, etc. This past week, I've even been getting real smiles from him. He's most smiley in the morning, when it's just me and him, but today I managed to capture it on video so Rodney can see it too.

That said, it is then strange to look at Graeme who's just growing like a weed, talking and reasoning like a big boy, and is turning 4 this September. These first years have just sped by! Then I look at Ethan who is turning 10 in about a week and I freak out at how fast the past 10 years have gone past. I can still remember Ethan and Graeme as newborns so I am reminded to savour every single moment (even the crazy ones) as none of it lasts long enough.

Rodney, if you're reading this (and you better be!), you need to capture all the video I'm taking so that I can post some. And by the way, I love you. :)

New photo of the week:

Time Flies

2008-06-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

I can't even believe it's already June 1st. We've officially survived our first month with Xavier at home. But then, I've had my lifesaver, Rodney, home all month to help me out. He has been so absolutely wonderful and I have been so spoiled. He goes back to work tomorrow and I'm scared... who's going to bring me my meals so I can sleep all day?!! ;)

June is going to be a month for me and Xavier to readjust to being on our own (at least until Ethan is home for the summer break). Once Ethan is home, too, we'll have to make sure Graeme stays home some days so we can all play hooky together. It will really be fun being able to take Xavier out more this month, though, and maybe even going for long walks and so I can start to get back in shape. Will let you know if I can sneak that into my days in between napping. Am also trying to get the love of my life (yes, Rodney - hahahaha!) to buy me that new Wii Fit so I can stay at home, play video games, and still lose weight.

This weekend was the art & wine festival in our little town. We spent most of Saturday enjoying food and rides and friends. Okay, I spent most of MY time sitting on the lawn nursing Xavier, but it was still really great to be out and around people. Graeme rode on several rides - he was hesitant to try anything at first, but was sold after the first ride on the "race" cars that went round and round. Here's a photo of our cute lil' guy at the fair - he's getting so big and growed up!

Another interesting thing about this weekend - we were adopted by a new cat. Kinda, sorta. We found a new cat hanging outside our front door yesterday afternoon and she is apparently a homeless cat that someone's dumped out here. She's been going from home to home in our little neighbourhood, I guess making the rounds to see who's going to let her in. We can't take her in, but we, thankfully, have a friend, Sylvia, who rescues cats so she's going to help us figure out what to do and how to get her to a new family. She's living by our front door and, for now, has a bed, food, water, and some attention. We hope to find her a good home. I wish I had a photo of her to post because she is so pretty, with really beautiful patterns on her. Graeme is absolutely fascinated with her.

Since I don't have pictures of the cat, I'll post a couple of recent pictures of the Grussing men, just because...

Can I Pet Him?

2008-05-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow marks Xavier's 3-week birthday. In this short time, I'm amazed at how much he's already changed. In addition to getting longer and heavier, he's starting to spend some time awake and looking around at things, he's getting chubbier by the day, and he's definitely getting cuter every day! It's crazy to realize that, as much sleep we've already been deprived of, there's still months and years of it to come. Thank goodness it's all worth it. :) He's seemlessly merged into our family and we are so lucky because he's turned out to be an angel baby. He's so calm and quiet that it's been so easy so far. He's also been sleeping these past few days in 2-3+ hour stretches so we can do things like nap, catch up on housework, and even get out of the house. Now, if we can just get past the non-stop feeding hours, life would be perfect - hehehehe! What a little dream child this is!

The older boys are adjusting amazingly well to the new brother in the house. Ethan is an old hat at this big brother stuff so he's really done a great job of being a sweetheart to both his brothers, understanding the lack of energy and time that mom has right now, and being so wonderful and patient at everything; good thing he's good at self-entertainment and that Rodney is around to give attention all around! Ethan's nickname of "Buddha" really suits him well because he's got such a mellow and sympathetic personality.

Graeme is likewise enjoying all the attention that his daddy is giving him these days - so much so that he could care less that I'm generally "stuck" with Xavier and with running my new business, the 24-hour breastaurant. Rodney and Graeme are attached at the hip these days and let's just say that, if I wasn't so tired, I might feel more left out and jealous than I do. ;) When it comes to Xavier, Graeme constantly asks about what the baby is doing. Unfortunately for him, the stuff that Xavier can do right now is limited to eating, sleeping, or pooping so the answers don't vary much. The cutest thing about Graeme, though, is that he will come up to watch Xavier and never fails to say two things about his new baby brother. (1) "He's so cute!" and (2) "Can I pet him?"

Welcome to the World...

2008-05-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

I guess all my suspcions of Tuesday night were right after all - I had a feeling we had something brewing!

So, to (try) to recap this long story, Rodney and I were up til midnight (haven't been able to sleep well this last week) working on laptops in bed (I know, I make it sound so sexy - hahahahaha!) and by 2am, I was back up, feeling a contraction every 7 minutes. I woke the Rodman up sometime before 3am so he could help me track the contractions. Finally, at around 4am, I decided it was time to call the doctor and see if we should come in and we were told it was probably cool to do so. So we called my brother, Manolete, to come and watch over the boys while he headed out. At the hospital, there was still a fear that they would send me home if I was having false labour as I was only 2cm dilated and apparently some women can walk around that dilated for days/weeks. But walking around the hospital for a bit really did the trick and by 9am, I was at 4cm and my doctor said not to send me home.

I was hoping not to need pitocin in order to avoid the epidural for this one and I was doing so well with contractions and dilating that I didn't need it to help me progress, but the aspirations of not getting an epidural quickly went down the drain because the pain was just too much and I suppose my threshold for pain is not as high as I thought. I tried fentanol (sp?) first and that lasted about 30 minutes for relief so I went ahead and asked for the anesthiologist to come rescue me. Yayyyyy for epidurals, man. It gave me hours of much-needed rest and also respite from the monster contractions. By 2pm, I was stuck at 8cm dilated and so they recommended the pitocin to help the final stages. Since I was already on the epidural - why not?!

By 4:12pm, we started pushing and by 4:34pm, we were hearing those magical words, "It's a boy!" Unfortunately, Dr. Arjomand didn't let us film the birth (party pooper!), but I had them wheel in a mirror so I could watch the little man pop out. Everything about the birth was as easy and smooth as I wanted it to be, starting from the desire to experience real labour instead of my water breaking again. So, welcome to the world Xavier Rhys Grussing! (His name is pronounced Zay-vyer Reece, by the way.)

Right now, it is 11:22am on May 1st and Rodney and I are on computers and email, writing everyone back to thank them for congratulatory notes. Xavier is asleep in the bassinet - he's had a preety intense last 21 hours so far and is pretty knocked out. We should really catch up on sleep before he lets those nonstop munchies and rockstar lungs loose on us again. Just kidding on the crying because he's been so non-fussy so far and we are feeling so blessed at this little piece of perfection we made all by ourselves.

More photos to come when we get a chance to download more, but here's one of me and the boys, our first family photo.

Wishful Thinking?

2008-04-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

So, the last 2-3 days have been a little different. I can definitely tell that the baby has dropped and my body is acting differently, too. I've been feeling a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions, way more than usual and tonight, there have been a couple of huge, pretty intense ones. I don't know if it's just wishful thinking, but I really think this week is the week.

Will keep you updated as much as I can these next few days. Fingers are crossed for an easy labour and for my dreams of "no pitocin." If they don't give me pitocin, I will try to not ask for an epidural unless it becomes absolutely unbearable. Rodney is excited about me waiting til the last minute again to get the epidural. :)

Having this baby is just the most important thing to do right now and we are so looking forward to meeting the little one. I think we're ready to be parents to three kids. Whether we are or not, though, here he/she comes!

For those of you who have not played our baby guessing game yet, here's the link: http://expectnet.com/index.php?t=0. The game is called "GrussingGuessingGame."

Life Moves Forward Whether You Like It or Not

2008-04-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, we held a memorial service for my mom. It was beautiful and so many people came. She has touched so many lives and it was really great to see all the support and love that was in that room. All her kids went up to talk about her and it was really nice for all of us to stand up there together in unity and in honour of her, something she would've also loved to witness. I imagine that she was there in spirit and smiling down on all of us. Even Ethan went up to speak on behalf of all the grandkids and, though he couldn't finish, it was just an awesome show of the love he felt for his G.M. - that kid has such a heart of gold and we were all so proud of him. Rodney and my brother Manolet put together a really beautiful video with so many pictures of her life and with such beautiful music. When I get a copy that I can post, I will do so you can look at it at your leisure. After the service, we had a reception at her house and her place was filled to the brim with people and food, just her style. It would've been a party she would have been so happy to see - we did everything just the way she would have, I even tried to cook some of her dishes although one can never fully replicate her work because she didn't cook from recipes ever - just always from the heart. So many times during the party, I found myself waiting for her to walk around the corner into the kitchen - she would've had such fun being in the midst of all the hubbub and cooking. I miss her so much and I know I always will...I wish you could all have known her.

Death and birth are completely related parts of life and both are to be respected. I am happy in the knowledge that my mom is happy and healthy in her next life and I know that she would be so happy to see us move forward, with marriages, births, and the rest of our lives. Until we meet again...

This past Saturday also marked another huge turning point in our lives ----- we hit the 37-week milestone so the baby is considered full-term. This means that if the baby decides to poke his head out now, they won't stop him. His lungs are fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb. The baby weighs about 6 1/3 pounds and about 19 inches long. Ethan and Graeme were born with hair on their heads so I have no reason to believe this little one will be any different.

Ideally, I am still hoping that the baby comes one day late, on May 11th. That day is Mothers' Day and I would love to give birth that day in honour of my mom who couldn't be here to witness his arrival. I am visualizing that scenario in my head every day so please help me with positive thoughts and vibes as well. But don't worry about me if he decides to come earlier or later because I won't be sad about it either - babies come when they're good and ready and I'm alright with that. Bringing in my mom's 11th grandchild will be a gift no matter when it happens.

Love to you all,
Marissa

With Love to Mamita

2008-04-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

The past week has been really tough. My mom passed away last Wednesday and we are all still in turmoil, shock, despair, grief, and whatever other emotion you could possibly imagine having in this new reality. Not a day has gone by when I haven't cried for the end of our life together, the end of future conversations and shared experiences. I try to fill my head with all my happy memories of her laughter and the love and silliness she shared with us all.

I am extremely sad that she will not get to meet the new baby in person; her grandkids were the light of her life. She was there when Graeme was born and was the first person on earth he actually laid his newborn eyes on and we had been planning on her being there for the birth of this, her 11th grandchild. Deep in my heart, I feel and know that she will be there in spirit and that she will again be the first to welcome this child into the world. Her baby prediction was for a third boy for me and the other week had bought and delivered two new boy outfits for him. Whether this kid is a boy or a girl, I think I will make a point of making him/her wearing the outfits anyway. She would find that hilarious, especially if her next grandchild is a girl.

One thing I've learned and hope to never forget is that all the petty angers and arguments are really just that in the end - petty. They are not the things that matter most. What matters most is love and lifting the spirits of those around you. When you are faced with any sort of choice about people, always choose what matters most...

Life and people are precious so don't forget to tell those close to you just how much you love them. Don't miss the opportunities for that extra bear hug and that extra "I love you." Do it often. I find some solace in the fact that we had been spending so much time with her lately and that the last words we said to each other were, "I love you and I'll see you later."

Move forward in happiness and love,
Marissa

Her obituary and a guest book: http://www.legacy.com/insidebayarea/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=107794891.

As the belly turns...

2008-03-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

40 days left. The baby weighs about 4.75 pounds now and is almost 18 inches long. He's definitely running out of room in there - poor thing. :) He's also definitely permanently upside down and getting ready to exit. At the doctor's this past Thursday, Dr. Adams (one of the other doctors in the practice) helped me to feel his head wedged in my pelvis. Very very cool. One extra thing that's really great to know is that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks generally do fine so I am done worrying about preterm labour. I am only looking forward to meeting this little miracle.

At home, we are slowly working to get the house ready for the new lil' one. With less than 6 weeks left to our due date, I'm starting to feel the pressure of actually getting everything on our TO DO list done. A big one off that list - Graeme is completely toilet-trained and has settled into his "new" life of sharing a room with big brother Ethan (Ethan is still adjusting to it, however, but is being such a super big brother). We worked on the backyard some this weekend, getting it ready for planting a small flower garden. Next, we have to get the deck ready for the spring/summer BBQs that we love. Ethan and Graeme were both the biggest help with the backyard cleanup project - they are such awesome kids!

Summer is a going to be such a great time to be home from work. The weather will be incredible and there will be lots to keep us busy. The Rodman and I are also looking forward to all the movies we'll be able to catch up on during that first month when we are just lounging around the house with the new baby.

Life is great. Love is great. We are all so happy!

47 Days To Go!

2008-03-24T13:29:00.001-07:00

Actually, considering my track record, I'm thinking it's really more like 42 days left or something more like that. Ethan came 10 days early; Graeme joined us 5 days short of his due date. I am treasuring each day.

This past weekend was quite a treat. We enjoyed some unadulterated family time in the beautiful spring weather. On Saturday, we headed out to Chinatown in SF. My mom came with us and it's always a treat watching the surprised looks when she spits out her perfect Cantonese. On Sunday, we went out for a family brunch, picked up new baby clothes, took the boys to an Easter celebration at Bay Meadows race track where we had time to bet on one race (We are THE best parents, taking our kids out gambling instead of to church on Easter Sunday - hahahaha!), then hung out at my mom's house with my brother Manolet and his family. We also found time to look at the Saturn Outlook (no minivans for us ever, I hope!) and head out to Pacifica to have dinner with my dad and "the Manolets" again. I love non-stop weekends like these. So what if the laundry and dishes are piled up - I won't go to my grave regretting all the laundry and dishes I didn't do, you can count on that.

Today, I am clued in to how out of shape I've gotten -- my calves hurt today from all the weekend walking and it wasn't even that much! It's hard to imagine that I am the same person who ran a half-marathon when I was 2 1/2 months pregnant. Wow, I've come a long way indeed. So sad...

About the bambino: he's about 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. I think knowing that makes me feel all the more how close to the end we are getting. At least we finally have the baby names figured out (the boy name always takes longer; our girl name's been picked since we first started dating so that one is super easy).

Some random baby trivia: A Russian woman holds the record for having the most children. Between 1725 and 1765, she was pregnant 27 times and had 69 children.

Life is good. Love is good. And babies are the best way to start people, it's true.

Who ate all the Frusen Glädjé?

2008-03-17T10:46:00.000-07:00

We've got nails! Yep, the baby's got nails covering the tips of his toes and fingers now. It's almost strange to realize that not everything just appears at the same time, that there's a timing to everything. The baby's about 3.75 pounds now (about 20% of the weight that mom's actually gained, but let's not talk about that right now) and about 16.7 inches long. He's taking up so much space that his movements are really seeming more and more like the alien from "Aliens" trying to see his way out of my tummy. So far, my guess for this kid's future occupation is acrobat/contortionist.

My sweet tooth has not abated. On Saturday, I admit it, I secretly ate the last of the Butter Pecan ice cream that Rodney showered us with. I doused it with hot fudge and ate it straight out of the carton, making sure that I finished before any of the boys strayed in my direction to see what I was up to. How demented, huh? At least no one noticed that the ice cream was gone before I had a chance to replace it with a new half gallon yesterday - hahaha! Now I just need to avoid the "what happened to all the chocolate-covered pretzels" conversation and I'll be all set...

Happy happening of the day: I won tickets to the Duran Duran concert on the drive in to work today. Show is on May 2nd so I need everyone's positive thoughts that this kid won't decide to show up before or during the show. :)

Thoughts for a Monday Morning

2008-03-10T09:38:00.000-07:00

Not that I'm greatly eager to be done with the pregnancy or nearly ready to evict this kid from the womb just yet, but I am excited to report that there are 61 days left to "B"(irth) Day. That's under 9 weeks left. Amazing how time flies and I am relishing every moment.

My favourite pasttime during pregnancy? Belly-watching. Watching the baby shape and reshape my belly while he is twirling or kicking is both amazing and, yes, plain crazy. Seriously, I think this kid is trying to kick his way out half the time! I just love it, though - feeling this secret language of baby movements - it's like a personal show 24/7. The times when we can actually feel actual body parts pushing out, that's just pure bliss!

Graeme, who loves to look at my belly, kiss it, and talk to the baby will refuse to even put a hand on my belly if I tell him the baby is kicking. I think he's afraid of getting hurt. Hahahaha!

Some things I love about being pregnant:
* Realizing again how easy it to love someone even at the point when they're no bigger than a grain of rice.
* Allowing the belly muscles to relax from years of sucking it in. :o)
* Finally having a GOOD and valid reason why I can't clean the cat box - now I just need to pay the doctor for a note for why I can't do it the rest of the time.
* Feeling the baby move when no one else knows it's happening - you just can't help but be happy during those times; it's like a being in a secret conversation, just the two of you.
* Wearing cute maternity clothes and letting the baby bump speak for itself. YAYYYYY to flaunting the baby bump!
* Working on THE perfect baby name - Aldous Bukowski Grussing is cool, right?
* Having the best excuse to take naps in the middle of the day.
* Eating an extra (or 5) helpings of food and everyone thinks it's funny, not gross - well, they could think it's gross, I just don't care.
* Listening to the baby's heartbeat and seeing the baby via sonogram - I only wish it could be every day.
* Knowing we are going to bring in the next mini-Rodney (aka, the spawn) and looking forward to meeting him.
* Looking at baby clothes and supplies for hours on end, just planning for his arrival.
* One word - cleavage - hahahahaha!

On the other side of the coin, there are things I'm not as keen about. Not to complain because it is all so worth it, but there are just a few things... come on people, back me up here:
* Increasing brain cell/memory loss and plain old acts of dumbnification, like walking somewhere and forgetting why I'm there or telling a story and forgetting my point midstream
* Sleep deficiency. Between the multiple bathroom trips and insomnia alone, I'm lucky when I get 3 hours straight. I keep forgetting that this is nature's way of getting me prepared for the next few years of sleep deprivation.
* Hyper-clumsiness. Seriously, how many times can you drop and pick up the same pen off the floor?! Sometimes I just have to leave it there so, for anyone who's wondering why there might be random items collecting at my feet, here's the answer.
* Getting emotional and teary-eyed over silly things like dropping the pen for the 10th time. :)
* Don't even get me started on what the iron pills are doing to me!

I am feeling really great though and am lucky to have escaped all the other dregs of pregnancy one more time, yes including the morning sickness at the beginning. I think I inherited the knack for breeding from my mom - she only had 7 kids, you know.

The memory thing can be funny, though - even at this late a stage, I've found myself waking up to see this huge belly before me and being surprised for a minute because I've temporarily forgotten that I'm pregnant.

To update you on the baby, this newest Grussing is over 16 inches long now and weighs about 3.3 pounds. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's moving a lot more now, too, so he is now able to wake me in the middle of the night with his kicks and turns. His eyesight continues to improve and he will respond to light shone on my belly (direct experimentation will begin tonight). I'm also starting to experience Braxton Hicks contractions, which just makes me feel even closer to the day I will meet this new little miracle.

Grussing Guessing Game

2008-02-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

To make the baby's arrival a little more fun, we like to play a little thing called the Grussing Guessing Game. Essentially, you log into a website (see links below) and enter your best guesses about how big this kid will be and when he/she might get here. We hope you'll all play along with us!

To participate, go to: http://www.expectnet.com/games/GrussingGuessingGame or go to http://www.blogger.com/www.ExpectNet.com and enter GrussingGuessingGame as the game name in the space indicated on the home page.

For those of you who might be interested in some helpful hints with your guessing, here are some real facts along with some bits of information you might find useful:

- Both our kids are boys so think about the odds (wink!)
- I experienced no morning sickness this time around, the same with both boys
- Ethan was born 10 days early
- Graeme was born 5 days early
- My belly is shaped more like a beach ball than a watermelon
- Both boys weighed in at around 7 pounds; one was slightly longer than the other
- Third babies may or may not come out larger than previous kids
- I love eating salty, sour, and spicy foods, but have been wanting dessert lately
- The "cork" trick says I'm having a girl (but it said that for Graeme, too, at first)
- Heart rate has been consistently over 150BPM
- When asked if we were having a girl, the Magic 8 Ball said, "Yes, definitely"
- Oh, and I have bad gas - hahahahaha!

Ah, the suspense of not knowing! Life IS wonderful! Happy Monday everyone!

Graeme's Pledge

2008-02-19T20:46:00.000-08:00

So, when was the last time you recited the Pledge of Allegiance? You know you need a refresher course on the verbiage - admit it. Here's Graeme's version and we find it to be one of the best we've ever heard. And, no, we're not biased and I'm offended that you would even suggest that! ;)

Some current baby facts

2008-02-19T15:37:00.001-08:00

1. Baby weighs about 2.5 pounds
2. Baby is about 14.8 inches in length
3. Baby can blink eyes that now have lashes
4. With his/her eyesight improving, the baby may may be able to see the light that filters in through the womb(at)
5. Baby kinda sorta looks like this:

This image's labels kinda crack me up. The most informative ones, in particular, are (i) the one pointing to the "eye" (because I would NEVER have distinguished that from a toe or an ear) and (ii) the one pointing to the baby's shoulder and labeling it as "fat." Um, okay... I guess there is more to babies than I ever knew!

Baby Photos

2008-02-15T14:25:00.000-08:00

Here are the last photos of the new baby, taken last December 26th. We brought both boys to the ultrasound and it was a mixed bag, with Ethan asking a thousand questions and Graeme actually falling asleep in Rodney's arms. We were all so excited to be watching the little one, though. Ethan said that it was really hard to keep looking away and not peek when we might have seen what sex the baby is. :o)

The photos above show a leg, a face, a hand, and the full profile. You can click on the photo to see it in a larger view, of course.

84 Days and Counting Down...

2008-02-14T09:23:00.000-08:00

Saw the doctor yesterday to check on the next Grussing spawn. Heartrate is a fast 153 and the baby was sitting upside down when I was in there. Yes, butt up in the air so you know he/she will fit right in when he's/she's finally out with the rest of us crazies. It's amazing how Dr. Beretta can feel around and tell exactly where all the body parts are. I wish I could do it so I could tell if this baby was kicking me or punching me or just giving me a shoulder heave.

For those who are interested, at this point, the average baby this age is nearly 2 pounds and about 14.4 inches long, head to toe. The baby now sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. Waking time seems to coincide with mommy's sleep times, but I digress... The baby's lungs are still immature, but would be capable of functioning - with assistance - if he/she were born now. Amazing, huh? Lately, too, I've been feeling "rhythmic movements" and just discovered that they are likely due to the baby hiccuping. Lay off the amniotic fluid, kiddo!

This Saturday marks the start of Week 29 so we are really into the third trimester now - the final stretch. Instead of going to see the OB every 4 weeks, I have graduated to going every two weeks, which is cool. I love these little milestones!

In our house, there is a split right down the middle when it comes to internal voting on the boy vs. girl question. Rodney and Ethan believe we're having a girl. Graeme and I still feel like there's a boy in there. It is so great having this as a surprise - now we can debate about it all the way til birth day. Then, when the baby is born, there will be so much excitement like there was when Graeme came out showing off his gigantic testicular parts.

We'll run a Grussing Guessing Game like we did last time just for fun so watch out for that. As for names, we are still considering DingBang if he's a boy and PomPom Anemone if she's a girl. Hahahaha!

The next ultrasound probably won't be until right before the due date (D-day = May 10) so I'll update with ultrasound photos from last Christmas as soon as I can get those scanned in. We are lazy about scanning in our neck of the woods so don't hold your breath. Hahahahaha!

By the way, Happy Heart Day everyone!

The First Note

2008-02-12T12:30:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the Rists, I discovered a place to actually be able to blog for free - hurrah!!! We'll hopefully use this spot to update family, especially those who are not close by about all the stuff we are up to in our neck of the woods. Stay tuned...