Saying Goodbye

Almost all my moms kids were here at our house for Thanksgiving this year (Nate and his wife Erinn, Rachelle and her husband Taylor, and Korey) along with 8 other guests. So, needless-to-say, we had a very full house! Sooo fun! Still, best of all, Chris was home for it all. We all went to the airport to see him off as he boarded his plane back to Korea last Saturday (6 months down, 6 more to go!). We sure do miss him already. His signature "pile of clothes" still lies neatly at the end of our bed unlaundered. Hah! Who knows, maybe I'll leave them there.....it still makes me feel a little like he's here...or at least like hes coming home soon. Anyhow, here are some of the highlights from our fun time together:

Daddy reading to Jane in person instead of on a DVD like usual.

Jane looooooved the chocolate cheesecake.

Korey, Mom and Jane in Chinatown

Two last minute pictures for which I was clearly not cosmetically ready for.....

Babysitting

I think I've gotten the hang of this whole babysitting thing.  All she needs is a big TV and some baby Einstein.  Piece of Cake!

Let me explain.....

So, I was not being the mindful mother I should have been....feeding my baby peas, of all foods, while she was lying on her back. All was well until we got to the last couple bites when suddenly, you guessed it, up it came...out her mouth, her nose, even her eyes...just kidding- only the mouth and nose. But anyhow, she cried and sneezed repeatedly for the next ten minutes and I felt awful! She managed to have a smile even through the muck. As gross as this picture is, I still find it hilarious!

Alcatraz

It only took us 3 and a half years to make it out to see one of the famous attractions in our backyard.  We decided to make time for an Alcatraz trip during the short 3 weeks of time together before I head back to Korea.  The weather couldn't have been better and it was great to get out and spend some time together as a family. 

Nothing better than holding the camera out as far as you can and trying to snap a pic of the family yourself.  I don't think it turned out too bad. We could barely keep our eyes open the sun was so bright reflecting of the water.

Jane enjoyed looking at the water and wake behind the ferry.

We always enjoy visiting San Francisco! It is a great city, to visit!

These are the apartments where the guards and and their families lived. The skeleton of a home above it was the warden's home that was "burned down" in the '70s

Pretty nice accommodations eh?  Maybe today's prisoners don't have it that bad. This was a 5x9 foot cell and it was only 7 feet tall. Laura thought the most depressing part of it all was the horrible lighting....

Ever wonder what a kidney stone looks like?

Despite Chris's resistance, I've decided to show you all my inexplicably painful kidney stone. It was only about 3mm in greatest diameter but man......2 days ago this thing caused me pain reminiscent of the early stages of labor.

By the way, if you are easily disgusted, a bit of caution to
you: per my chosen field of study, there will probably be more grossness to come.

Jane's big buddy....

As you can see, Jane really loves Vegas. She got a couple of shots today, noted by the bandage on her thigh, and found much solace in Vegas's company (and of course Baby Einstein)

Yay!! Daddy is home!!

So, Chris is home for 3 weeks.  Got here a few days ago on Saturday and we were so excited to see him.  All the little asian women on Chris's flight wanted to hold Jane, but there was no way he was giving her up after going 6 months without seeing her.

The dogs (Vegas is the white one and Gracie is the fawn one) are happy to have Chris back as well, although it is impossible to capture Gracie's enthusiasm on film.  Who knew a camera could be so scary.  Jane also loves the dogs and gets extremely excited whenever they run or bark.

I can't wait to get home!!!

I am flying home this weekend and can hardly contain myself.  I think this has been the slowest, longest week of the entire 6 months I've been here in Korea.  I didn't think a clock could tick so slowly.  The recent pictures of Jane have made me realize just how much she has changed over the last 6 months and how very blessed I am to have such an amazing and beautiful wife and daughter, and family.  I'll be home in a few days girls!

Brenda Bisharat Photography is Amazing

We recently got Janes photos taken for her book that Brenda Bisharat is putting together for us while Chris is in Korea. She does an amazing job. Anyone in the Sacramento area wanting professional photos of anything should seriously consider giving her a call. Here is the link to our Janes photo slideshow. The password is White (capital 'W'). http://www.bisharatphotos.com/slideshows2/

Jane is learning to eat big girl foods.

So, I tried the gerber banana flavored melt-aways for the first time a few days ago with Jane....she just gagged repeatedly, she hated them so much. This time she was a little more tolerant. She still made her distaste very clear. Maybe when she gets teeth she'll be less reluctant to try anything with texture.... I'm hoping.

Happy Halloween!

So, Jane was a little blue bird with no eyes for Halloween this year. She was, for some reason...ummm I am not sure why, not very happy. Never-the-less we still managed to get some smiles out of her. She was very happy to be de-feathered as you can see. Jane is a very agreeable child most of the time. However, she would not let me put the eyes on her....I guess they were just too much garb and the beak was the limit. Mom was an angel and lost her wings half way through the night with all the trick or treaters: the wings didn't fit in the doorway very well. Hah!

Happy to be back home in Sacramento!

Jane, Mom, and Grandma Colleen are all happy to finally be back home in Sacramento.  It was a long 2 months in TX with all 3 of them cramped into one small hotel room.

Looks like Jane is developing a cowlick on the right side of her forehead much like the one her father had before his hair fell out.

Who knows what this face is all about!

  Jane has found a new face where she crinkles her nose and sniffles really loudly.....cracks me up!!!  Afterwards she looks at us for approval because she thinks she is so silly....which she is.

Don't judge, we are rookie bloggers

Laura and I decided to get with the times and start a blog as an easy way to keep you all up to date with our activities and share some of our photos and thoughts with friends and family.  It has been tough to keep in touch due to busy schedules and physical separation, (Laura in Medical School and me in Korea) but hopefully this blog will make it a little easier.  Since Laura and I are unoriginal new parents whose lives revolve around our daughter,  I figured we would start the blog with a picture of beautiful Jane Bug.