Guinn Family

Wannabe Photographer

2012-02-17T19:22:00.000-08:00

It's true. I am a wannabe photographer. I have the passion, the ideas....but not so much the skill or equipment. I did just recently get a flash in the mail I have been waiting for. Yeah! I haven't used it yet so don't be judging me on these few pictures I'm posting...pre-flash. Maybe someday I will have the skill (experience) and the expensive equipment to match my passion and ideas. But for now, my family and blogs get the blunt of it.

I've always passed by the Glenn Jackson bridge and thought that the pillars make a great canvas. I finally went on a little outing with just Baelor since he was napping and it wasn't raining on this particular winter day.

The picture of Mount Hood was rather tricky. I didn't want to take Baelor all the way onto the bridge as the cars were on either side of us going 60mph. It feels a lot faster when you bring a baby up there than when you used to ride your bike to Portland and back pre-kids. So I kept him safely below on the ramp while I ran up and clicked towards Mount Hood. What made it so tricky was the fact that I was clicking pictures between the passing cars. Many of my shots have bits of car parts in them, but I did manage to get Mount Hood with my telephoto lens and no clouds covering her beauty.

Sweet baby Baelor contrasted with the hard and dirty world

The rarety of the sun peaking through the moss and ivy trees

Who Rules?

2012-02-16T22:22:00.000-08:00

Some days I find myself basking in the humor of my daughter, other days...not so much. Since turning 3 years old, Reina has learned that she can come out of her bedroom in the morning when she wakes up. In the past, she has always called for me or daddy and waited in bed until we arrive to give her the OK to get up. We have been really lucky that she has been very obedient with staying in bed til morning and when going down at night. Since Baelor has joined our family, I've told her that if she calls for me and I don't come, then to just go ahead and get up because I am nursing. She is always welcome to get up if she needs to go potty as well.We have really been trying to figure out why she is still waking up in the morning 4 out of 5 times wet. We have tried bribing her with 5 chocolate chips if she wakes up with a dry pull-up, but candy doesn't work on our kid....ideas? She has been potty-trained for a year, but still has to wear a pull-up at night. We've decreased her fluids at night, but I just can't NOT give a kid water when they ask for it. I would hate someone to limit MY water if I'm thirsty. I have a water by my bed AT ALL TIMES. So this is probably my fault since I allow her to have an inch of water in her sippy-cup by her bed.

The last couple of weeks we have noticed her bending the rules even more. She will wake up (now often before 7am), when it used to be between 7:30-8am. Reina will come into our room and say, "Mommy, it's time to wake up. I'm hungry." Wait a minute, before Baelor was born she would wait in bed until I gave the OK, then I could crawl back in bed until 8am while she was watching "Cat in the Hat" or whatever show was on PBS. Then at 8am when the show ended was my cue to get up and make her breakfast. I know things change when you bring in a new babe to the family, but I don't want confusion as to who rules the household....(we all know it's the mom, right?) :) So anyhow, I don't think myself, Paul, or even Reina realized this shift of "ruling" until this week! We have to nip this thing quickly because just this morning Reina woke up before 7am (probably due to a wet-through her jammies pull-up) and comes in our room. Paul gets up and changes her into new jammies and tells her it's not time to get up. (Thanks babe, I had fever and a headache all night.) About 40 minutes later she is back in our bedroom, this time completely naked telling us she wants to get up and get dressed. Ugh. I've already been up every 2-3 hours to nurse.

Okay, so the funny things she's said recently:
-"Do you like my bangs? They're so pretty."
-Instead of saying John the Baptist she calls him John the Breakfast.
-Reina also cracks us up with her dancing. She'll create a little routine complete with facial expressions, to any song or commercial...and do quite a decent job.
-She'll delay going to bed by making up excuses; "I want to give Baelor a hug goodnight." "I need to get lotion on my hands (for the 2nd time)."
-Just recently we were chatting in her bed (which I often lay next to her and do before bed), and I was teaching her how to say the letter "L" since she says "Y" sound like most toddlers do. It's not something I am working with her on as I do like the cuteness of saying things wrong like a toddler does. But just to be sure that she can say "L" I asked her to say "lake". Of course she said "yake". So I teach her how to thrust her tongue to make an "Llll" sound. She says, "lake". Okay, so now I have her say, "I put my leg in the lake." She says, "I put my yeg in the lake." We both start cracking up! SHE even realized how silly that sounded. I haven't had the "L" lesson again as I kind of smile every time I hear her say that she hurt her "yeg." It reminds me that she is still just my little baby.

As for Baelor, we had a BREAKTHROUGH today! He smiled at me on/off for 7 minutes! This was not a random 2-week old "tooting" smile, but rather an "I love you mommy and you take care of me and I know you" smile. Totally made the fussy times worth it. In between the smiles he was expelling breaths and really moving his arms and legs like he wanted to talk. I'll take it as us having a 7-minute conversation. He's 6 weeks old and has gained 3 pounds since he was born. I'd say he's packing it on pretty quick for a breastfed baby. I have been pumping once a day so that Baelor gets used to a bottle. He takes the bottle great, so we're set for when I go back to work part-time. Now if he could just sleep through the night I'd have quite the perfect baby!

The First Cut

2012-02-12T18:54:00.000-08:00

We did it! We gave our girl BANGS! This is a big deal to me because I always envisioned my daughter having long, flowing hair that descended to her mid-back so I could create many "do's" and learn how to french braid. We gave our daughter bangs for one reason...NECESSITY. I don't think I have ever met another 3-year old with such thin, uneven, unmanageable hair. Really there are just a few scraps to call it hair...a bit like Homer Simpson's few strands that you can count on one hand. Hopefully by the time she reads this post her hair will have filled in nicely. As any good mom I remind myself that she is healthy, happy and smart.

Before

After

Multi-tasking

2012-02-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

You know you're a busy mom when you have one child yelling, "mommy!" outside the bathroom door while you're "occupied", while holding your 6-week old who's crying, while hearing your tea kettle whistling...

1 month

2012-02-03T09:45:00.000-08:00

Our bundle of boy is 1 month old!
To celebrate I took a few pictures in the gorgeous weather and gave him a nice bath. He has not liked baths, but today he did not cry once! He loved the warm water and was just eating me up (actually, I think I was eating him up because he was looking at me finally). It's taken some time for him to adjust to sight. He has had some major "goo eyes". He still gets the crusties daily, but they are getting better. I think it's the jaundice finally coming out of his system through his eyes. That sounds ridiculous but the white parts aren't so yellow anymore, nor is the goo. I tried to capture him rolling over on video but it was a no go. He has rolled from his stomach to his back at least 5 times! This is quite the feat for only a month old if I do say so myself. Here are a few stats:
-Weight: 9.4 lbs.
-Can roll from stomach to back
-Enjoys nursing, often
-Does not take the bottle of pumped milk (tried for the first time today). Will keep trying.
-Likes a binki
-Has started enjoying just "being" (looking around and not needing to eat or sleep)
-Spits up A LOT
-Likes to sleep up against mama
-Is getting flaky skin and some baby acne

wrinkly forehead

Neighbor cat decided to join in the fun!

We still aren't sure who he looks like. He seems to take a little from a lot of different family members. He seems to be a true mix, at least for now. One things for sure, he looks all boy.

Favorites

2012-01-31T22:52:00.000-08:00

What I'm loving now:

These SUPER chubby cheeks

My two babies in their jammies

Green smoothie face...and the fact that she'll drink it!

Reina's Yo Gabba Gabba Vans...LOVE

Jelly Bellies. I'm embarrassed to say how many I've inhaled.

This photographic little chicka

Matching Mummi with stripes and color! Really was a coincidence

Checking on her before we go to bed and ALWAYS finding her facing the wrong way...

Knowing how much fun she has with her friends...DRESS SILLY DAY.

My two sleepy guys

perfection

Projects on a Budget

2012-01-30T14:45:00.000-08:00

I don't consider myself "crafty", yet I seem to set myself up for doing projects. Is it because I can envision what the final product should look like, or because it seems so much cheaper just to do it myself? In any case, here are some of my more recent projects. The pictures don't do justice. It's not as cluttered as it appears in the photos. Probably due to the writing. Reina's artwall is actually the door to the attic, so it is rather cluttered but an easy place to put all of my favorites!

With Reina's "big girl" bedroom, my inspiration piece was the picture above her bed. I found this at Goodwill. I I like how whimsical it is, simple, yet kid-like.You can't tell, but this cute little thing was a monster of a problem ....too heavy! It took 5 brains and two frame stores to hang this thing. We thought of all sorts of options, but none of them worked until we discovered an "EZ-bar". Apparently this is something you use to hang large/heavy items like mirrors when sheer weight is too much for just the studs and anchors. Can you believe it took 5 brains to discover this? And you would've thunk the first frame store knew about an EZ-bar! We don't plan on living here for too much longer so I chose not to repaint the walls and decided to just make it work. Surprisingly, the wall color fits in rather well. I have labeled the picture like HGTV to give you an idea of how much everything cost. I like to see what I can create on a very small budget. I do have grander ideas, but maybe for her next room and a little more to spend. The bed was mine growing up...kind of outdated brass so I am debating on painting it, but sometimes original is better. Haven't decided yet. Also I am still on the hunt for a cute comforter. I have seen a few that are cute, but are $100 as well. So we'll just have to wait...or make a duvet cover. The white dresser in Reina's room was probably the ugliest color brown you can imagine...oh, and it was a fake wood veneer. It had no hardware which made it even more ugly. I learned what kind of paint goes on "fake wood" and it turned out great! The dresser came with another matching larger 6-drawer dresser that is used in our bedroom. I painted it black and added hardware. It also serves as a dresser and for holding our T.V...sorry, no pic.

Baelor's room is actually inspired by what was supposed to be Reina's room as a baby. She never actually got this crib until she was close to 2 years old, then only months later got her "big girl" bed. I had originally decided on the red/black/white motif because when I was pregnant with Reina I learned that babies really gravitate towards these colors. It intrigues their eyes and strengthens their mind (supposedly). Instead, Reina had a pack-n-play and she slept in my "walk-in-closet". She never had a baby room. Everything in Baelor's room I made except for the two pillows and animal pictures. The Ikea chairs are mainly in Baelor's room because we currently have no other place to store them. I do not sit there and rock him, but the thought is nice. The curtains were from the chiropractic office in Tacoma, so we reused them...they are the exact same color as the walls in fact. I have just a few more finishing touches to put up (i.e. mobile on crib, an empty wall to decorate), but otherwise have 2 rooms done for 2 kids! Yeah!
Here is a chair I re-cushioned (cut the foam), and completely new material. Thanks to the verbal instructions of my mother-in-law, I was able to redo a once horrible ugly Goodwill find (so ugly I didn't take the cushions home...I don't like unknown bottoms sitting in my house). I even put zippers in so I can wash them. I'm kind of a germaphobe.

I have extra material for two matching pillows that I will make for whichever room this goes in. The wicker chair is definitely "retro" but I thought with the right modern touches it will do just fine.

Happy Birthday Reina!

2012-01-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

Reina celebrated her 3rd birthday in style. I say this because it was bigger and better than anticipated. We thought since we just had a week old baby that her birthday would be overshadowed by the birth of her little brother. I didn't have time to plan for a big party with family, so I thought this year it would take place at my mom's house, where she goes everyday. We dedicated 2 hours for her party starting at 10am. All of her friends from daycare were there. We also invited her cousins Logan, Lauren, Heleena, and Ashton.
Her party was actually quite amazing! We borrowed a blow-up house from Paul's brother Bryan. A jumpy house is always a favorite among little-legged people. Add in some requested pink and purple balloons and cupcakes and you have a great party! Reina was such a sweetheart for sharing her balloons with her friends.

Here are some of the things that Reina loves by her 3rd birthday:
-dancing; she often will show off to friends and family that come over with cheers that she has learned from her 1st grade friend Elizabeth.
-singing; one of her favorite songs is a song she made up about underwear! Maybe sometime I can capture it on video..."Oh underwear, Oh underwear..."
-books; still one of her favorite past times is reading. We have recently started learning stories from the scriptures. It's rewarding to hear her recall a story about Jesus. Mummi was the one who started reading these stories to her, so we finally got some scripture story books to read before bed as well.
-obedience; she does not like to be wrong or be in trouble. Sometimes if she makes a mistake and gets in trouble she feels really bad about it. It's hard to explain, but she realizes when she makes a mistake and doesn't want someone else to notice the mistake she made. I totally get this aspect as I think she inherited it from me. Some people think I may "baby" her in getting in trouble but I know how it hurts her feelings.
-skirts and short sleeves; if it were up to her she would wear skimpy skirts and short sleeves everyday. I never let her get away with this because if I give in one day, she will expect it the next. I am adamant that she stays warm at all times. I hate it when kids get sick.
-Yo Gabba Gabba; she still loves this show. This might have to do with the fact that we DVR it, so every once in a while if she watches TV, it's this show that we have already recorded. I think Paul loves it and so encouraged her to like it. It's a positive show though, so I much prefer this over the Disney Channel. I do really like The Backyardigans though....fab show.
-She hasn't had a check-up for some time, but I'd say she is average in everything...height/weight. Although I do think she is advanced in her learning, memorizing, and motor skills. She still requires a pull-up at night though...hasn't had consecutive dry nights.
-pink and purple; what girl doesn't like these colors?
-The girl loves her milk!
-Prefers soup at most meals unless it is junk food night of french fries and fish sticks. Other favorite foods are nuts and seeds, cottage cheese with yogurt, banana with almond butter, broccoli, and blueberries.
-Best friends are Owen, Abigail, and Trevin

24x7= 1 week old!

2012-01-12T22:42:00.000-08:00

Our baby boy is one week old! I am posting this when he is actually 10 days old, but the pictures are true to age. I don't remember it being this easy with Reina. Was it her strong-willed personality, that fact that we were new parents and didn't know the huge commitment we just made, or because my milk didn't come in for almost 5 days and she was screaming for food? Golly, I still can't believe I made her starve because the lactation nurses would have scoffed if I fed her formula. This time around is so much easier! My milk came in right away in the hospital, just as Baelor latched right away. He didn't latch unusual like Reina did and cause bleeding for weeks, just a hardy latch. I'm kind of waiting for the "hard part" to happen. If it's this easy now, when is it gonna get hard? I felt like Reina has gotten easier every week of her life...yes even with her being a sweet and sometimes sassy 3-year old. Is Baelor going to start out being sweet now and go downhill from there? In any case, I'm totally in love with him! He has the BIGGEST newborn cheeks I've ever seen (except for cousin Lucas Mitchell), and squinty eyes. I haven't seen much of his eyes as he still prefers to leave them closed, or partially closed when he isn't sleeping. His left eye still gets goopy though, no matter how much I wipe it clean.

The only thing we have really been battling is his jaundice. He had medium/high bilirubin levels when they checked in the hospital and went down to just medium bilirubin levels while still in the hospital. He had his levels checked again at the doctor's office and found them to go back to high levels. Ugh! He is nursing great and pooping great so why the high levels? He has been pricked on his feet at least 5 times now, so his cute little heels have needed lots of kisses. He still hasn't reached critical levels where he needs an ultraviolet bed, luckily. I think we are in the clear now as he is over a week old and appears to be looking less and less yellow each day. We have had a few sunny days so I've tried laying him in the light in hopes of soaking in some rays, although the sun was moving so quickly he's probably only had 2 hours of sunlight. The only thing I can do to help him get rid of the jaundice is to keep nursing him. I have been on the ball with nursing him every 2-3 hours...yep, even waking him up to eat. I just hope he doesn't get used to eating this often as we will eventually try sleeping longer in the night.

I was going for one of those cute, sleeping baby on their tummy shots...he was flailing around instead

I've found that Baelor sleeps much better in bed with us, at least at night. He sleeps pretty well during the day in his own crib, or wherever I happen to set him down. But for some reason at night, he knows it is my sleep time and likes to be curled up right next to me. Baelor likes to feel my belly expanding next to him...I can't blame him since it was his home for 9 months. I've tried quietly laying him down in his bed after a feeding and rubbing his back, but he already catches on to the fact that he's not in our bed. That little stinker! So with our last doctor's visit, being 9 days old he has already reached his birth weight, plus one. He is 7 lb. 8 oz now! Hurray! He is starting to pack on the pounds already. Get ready for even chubbier cheeks! Baelor already takes a pacifier. I've resorted to this as he nurses sometimes both sides and still wants it in his mouth...sorry dude, not gonna be your pacy.

We're not sure who he really looks like yet...hard to say when they are this little. Sometimes I see Reina, sometimes I see a complete stranger. He's gotta perfectly shaped head, and soft, silky hair like Reina had. I call it Pepe hair as it feels like my dad's hypoallergenic cat, Pepe. His eyes and mouth are smaller than Reina's were, but so is the rest of him. He definitely looks like a boy though. I don't think people will mistake him for a girl unless he enjoys Reina's dress-up clothes more than she does, which should be easy. Minus a full night of sleep, I don't miss anything before Baelor joined our family.
Oh and the name....how did we come up with it? Well, I thought that I had made it up years ago...yes, before Reina was born. I thought Reina was gonna be a boy so I've had this name for a long time. I asked Paul if he thought it sounded "made up". Come to find out, Paul's absolute favorite author had a character in one of his novels named Baelor...so Paul, or I guess his favorite author came up with the spelling. The middle name is Leevi. This is Finnish spelling for Levi. In Finnish it is actually pronounced Leh-vee, but we are going to go with the English pronunciation of the name. For those of you who do speak Finnish, I am perfectly happy with you pronouncing it properly though :)

Baelor's Birth Story

2012-01-11T11:09:00.000-08:00

Baelor is our New Year's baby as he was born at 3:23pm on January 2, 2012 (1.2.12). He was 11 days early, but only 4 days earlier than planned. I was to be induced on January 6th due to gestational diabetes the 2nd time around. He decided he didn't want to wait that long. Actually, I think Reina inspired or conspired with him to have him come early. She wanted to be sure he was there for her birthday on January 8th. She said many prayers for this to come true! He came a few extra days early due to the fact that I had been battling low amniotic fluid levels since the 19th of December. This was quite scary as some special care doctors thought it was better that I be induced right away "just in case". I wasn't ready at all! I had barely finished teaching on that Friday, then had to prepare and give a talk on Sunday, and received this news on Monday. Here I thought I would enjoy a couple of weeks to prepare for our baby boy, but of course I couldn't have a break. I had an option to try rehydrating with IV fluids, which did seem to show some progress, but would go down after a couple of days. I did this twice and knew on Christmas Eve if it was low once more that I would have to be induced for the safety of the baby. Christmas Eve came and I was hoping I wouldn't be Mary. My fluid levels were just high enough that we could safely wait until the day after Christmas. Somehow with this stress off of me, I was able to maintain my fluid levels until I delivered in the New Year. I know, tax purposes I should have delivered in December, but I'm happy with another January baby.

I went into the hospital all by myself at 7:30 on Monday, January 2nd...day of induction. Of course Paul would have been there, but I thought Reina should sleep in as much as possible as this would be a rough couple of days without her parents...although discovered she was great for my sister Sanni and Mummi who watched her. After paperwork and boring hospital stuff I wasn't officially put on Petocin until about 9am. They slowly increased the dosage by increments of 2 so as not to shock my system. Paul arrived a little after 10am and was my support. Not too much was happening yet besides my cervix starting to soften and dilating from a 3 to maybe a 4. I was already a 3 when I arrived but not soft at all. Dr. Virgin broke my water (at least thinks she does) at 10:32. I had such a low fluid level that the leakage was minimal. First uncomfortable contraction at 10:52.

Continued to increase Petocin until at 8 units. Started walking the halls at 11:30am to get things moving along quicker. Had to stop every 2-3 minutes to let a contraction pass. Not too bad yet. At 12:30pm tried the ball for 10 minutes. Didn't like it and contractions were getting worse. 12:43pm, 75% effaced and dilated 4-5 cm. 1-1:20 pm contractions became more uncomfortable; dilated 5 cm. 1:32pm finally asked for epidural. Epidural administered at 1:50pm. I asked them to go light on it since last time with Reina I couldn't feel my legs for 18 hours and didn't know when to push as I could feel nothing. Much lighter epidural this time. I could still feel every contraction and still painful, but tolerable...no I'm not sleeping in this picture, this was me focusing as contractions were just barely tolerable.

At 2:30pm, I was dilated to 6cm. By 3:15 pm completely dilated and baby at +1 (which means head showing). I pushed for 3 contractions (6 times total). I imagined him moving down with each contraction, which I think helped push him down quicker. Mind over matter, right?

Welcomed Baelor Leevi Guinn into our family at 3:23 pm weighing 7 lb. 7 oz, 20.5"

What an amazing delivery! I only hope for all of them to go as seamless as this one.

My mom was there to see the worst of contractions and the best part, seeing the birth of her 16th grandchild.

Reina FINALLY meeting her new baby brother! So many nights she would give my belly a hug (her brother) when she would go to bed, or when she was sad. It was amazing to see what a GOOD big sister she already is to him. Love between siblings is amazing. I haven't felt greater love for my family than I have now. I love you Paul, Reina, and Baelor more than I can say, smile, or cry. Thank you for letting me be a part of you.

Christmas Season 2011

2012-01-06T17:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas family photo...Reina almost 3, me 8 months pregnant

We stayed home this Christmas season. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant so traveling wasn't an option anyway. We were lucky to have Thanksgiving with Paul's brother Bryan and his family at their beautiful home in Brush Prarie with Grandma and Grandpa Guinn. Reina doesn't see these cousins too often so she thoroughly enjoyed all the attention and toys they shared with her.
Christmas was a little shaky this year because an ultrasound appointment just one week before Christmas showed that my amniotic fluids dropped to a critical level and could prove the need to be induced even earlier than expected. We chose to try rehydrating with IV fluids which did show drastic improvement the next day. But just a few days later had dropped once again. Christmas eve came and I had to get my fluids checked once again to determine if this would be a Christmas baby or not. Luckily they were just high enough to wait until the day after Christmas to recheck. I didn't want to be Mary this Christmas. So as expected, I was a little nervous this Christmas season. I tried hard not to exert myself too much (this was VERY hard for me), as my fluid levels needed to remain high. So no working out, no running around too much doing errands. With amazement, my fluid levels continued to stay at a reasonable level until the doctors chose to induce in January. Yippee! I just wanted another January baby like Reina....even if we didn't get the tax break.

I love Mummi and Papa Will

Family prayer

Jumping on the bed at Grandma and Grandpa Scarborough's...oops!

Reina with cousins Riley and Heleena

Christmas Sunday dresses with cousins Kaija and Miia

Family hug after prayer with Uncle Richard

My brother Teem and his family came for Christmas this year from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. This was a treat since they stayed for nearly two weeks. Most days were spent just hanging out and playing games. One afternoon we took all the kids swimming at Firstenburg. This was fun for everyone. Even the very pregnant lady! We also took the kids to see the new library that opened up downtown Vancouver which includes a discovery area for children to tinker around in. We did have one "date night" with the adults in which we went to a great Thai/Laotian restaurant and to see "Sherlock Holmes 2". Paul and I had just seen this a few nights earlier when I learned my low fluid level and needed a little stress reliever. So we saw "Mission Impossible 4". Definitely liked the Sherlock movie more, but fun to be out with my babe.
One of the big Christmas items this year is remote control helicopters. These little things were EVERYWHERE. Age didn't matter as I saw little boys getting them, big boys getting them, and old boys getting them. Almost all the boys in our family got one except for Paul, so he had to order one on Amazon which is in transit now. Since the guys had time off work and there was no snow on the mountains to go play in, they made a pretty awesome obstacle course with landing pad and all for the helicopters to fly through!

For Christmas, the little girls got an extra special gift this year- doll beds! These are extra special because Grandpa Scarborough made them and Aunt Tarja made the bedding. They are perfect size for American Girl dolls which Reina will get in a few years when she can really appreciate their quality and expensiveness.

Another great treat this year was the traditional Finnish dinner that Uncle Teem made. When he and Sanni were on their missions in Finland, they enjoyed this meal as part of the Finnish Christmas tradition. The meal includes: cured ham, liver casserole, rutabaga casserole, a carrot/rice casserole, potato casserole, and lingonberry sauce. I liked most of the dishes, except for the liver casserole. I really tried hard to enjoy it's uniqueness, but the strong flavor and aftertaste was too much for my palate. Probably my favorite was the ham that is naturally cured and cooked with a rind of rye bread to infuse into the meat.

Spending time with family just hanging out and playing games was a great way to enjoy this Christmas as we anticipated the big bang of a new addition to our family for the new year! Next post will of course be the newest member of our family...

Getting Sentimental

2011-12-05T18:39:00.000-08:00

I am getting some major pregnancy hormones lately...overall, I haven't been too much of a "blubbery pill" for Paul, but I am getting excited, nervous, and sad that Reina will have to share my attention. My free time in the mornings and evenings have been devoted to talking, playing, and interacting with my little girl. I am not as fortunate to spend all day, everyday with my girl, but the time that I do have with her is always special. Some days I substitute teach, then do my normal part-time job. These days are hard emotionally for me and for Reina. We both feel we got gyped with our special time. It's these days bedtime is harder. I totally understand why she doesn't want to go to bed; she'd rather keep singing songs and reading books with her mommy and daddy, even if she is exhausted. Soon I'll be adding in nursing time, coddling time, and some much-needed sleep time with the new babe. Lately, when I am laying in bed I wonder how she is going to handle this new addition. Is she going to be helpful? Will she love her brother or despise him for taking away his mommy? Will she despise me for giving him attention? Those of you who have gone through this could give me some tips, please? It makes it harder when you are a working mommy too. I look forward to more time with my children, probably not an all day, everyday thing. I don't think I will ever be a "true" stay-at-home mom. I will always be doing some sort of side-job, even if it is teaching a couple yoga classes at the gym. Maybe it's for my self-esteem. Maybe it's the fact I was raised in a childcare center always taking care of kids. Maybe because I was raised in a family where my mom worked...and still works. I asked Paul if Reina knew how much I love her. He comforted me by saying that the time we do spend together is always special and she knows it. He also reminds me that I am her favorite person. This will probably change when she's 13 years old...if she'll at least hold out until then! As long as she'll return to loving me. Reina was our miracle baby; very hard to get. Sometimes I feel too blessed by getting HER. If I dreamt up a little girl, she wouldn't have even come close to Reina. Reina, I want you to know how very happy we are to have you as our daughter. Everyday you are surrounded with people who love you. Mommy, daddy, Mummi, Grandma, cousins, friends. You love your life, and your mommy love's your life.

In Over my Head

2011-11-22T18:18:00.000-08:00

I am hoping I can pull this off....pregnancy and life. My pregnancy has had some major changes this last week. I am officially gestational diabetic again, which is contributed directly to my condition, PCOS. Pregnancy intensifies my insulin resistance 3x my normal amount which is not good. Actually, the diabetic counselor today said that my fasting numbers (blood sugar when I wake up in the morning) are some of the worst. Great. So now on top of normal pregnancy appointments that are almost weekly, the baby has to be monitored twice a week for an hour (possibly more), and then in a few weeks 3x a week. Ugh. I opted for insulin injections this time since they are 100% safe. I took medication with Reina, but didn't really work anyway since she was 9+lbs. This means I have to learn to stab myself 3x a day at the same time. Eat at the same time. Monitor what I eat. Write it down. Then prick myself an hour later to see if I "did good" with choosing the perfect food for my body (which is only done with trial and error). Oh yeah, I was involved in a minor car accident awhile back (not my fault) and still have chiropractic adjustments and massage appointments twice a week. I'm not complaining about getting a massage, just having a hard time figuring my schedule of work and pregnancy appointments to coincide when they have openings. Oh yeah, I am supposed to exercise everyday (to keep blood sugar down), but can't 2 hours after eating or I'll get a sudden low blood sugar. This means I have to get up earlier to eat breakfast, so I can wait and then go to my normal workout classes. Also due to my blood sugar problems combined with pregnancy, I have a fibroma growing behind a tooth. I have to go get that removed which is not covered by my insurance and there were no promises of it not coming back. So I have been in and out of dental appointments too. Oh yeah, I almost forgot that I also am having hearing problems. After a birthday party that Paul and I attended in the beginning of November, I have a strange low humming in my ears that comes and goes. I went to the doctor to get tested since I stayed up one night googling my symptoms and getting completely scared that I'm going deaf or will have to deal with it for the rest of my life. NEVER GOOGLE DISEASES AT NIGHT. Luckily she saw nothing and I had no hearing loss, but then she referred me to a specialist. I am still debating to go as this could just be a weird pregnancy thing, or a weird cold thing as it comes and goes. I am putting this one on hold. I am still working until Christmas break....if I can just hold out until the break then half my stress will be gone and I can focus on the baby and my crazy body right now.
I don"t physically look like a basketcase, but I really could do without a few of these things. For the record, I do love being pregnant. I enjoy pregnancy as I never feel sick or unusually tired or achy or like a whale, just wish my inside body enjoyed it as much. I don't feel diabetic whatsoever. To end on a good note, the ultrasounds show that the baby is normal weight, normal fluid amount, and apparently my placenta is "very young". Huh? I didn't know placentas had an age limit. I learned that placentas apparently age up to 10 months. Okay, this makes sense since you deliver around 9 months. But with someone who has gestational diabetes, they usually age very quickly. Mine is still just a teenager. So at least some parts of me are liking pregnancy along with my mind. I hope I can still stay positive despite this craziness right now!

Fall Makes Me Happy

2011-11-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

Fresh from the farm

Wreath I made

Put together this cute Halloween house

I LOVE fall! All of the changing leaves, the wind and thunderstorms, the cool, crisp air that's reminds you to add an extra layer. That is, until the rain decides it wants to stay for the next 6 months starting November 2nd. I'm happy to go on excursions looking for the perfect pumpkin to carve. I'm happy to decide what "theme" our family should be for Halloween. I'm happy to eat all the pumpkin I want...if you didn't know, I have an exceptional love for pumpkin anything. Here are this year's fall excursions:

Pumpkin picking at Bi-Zi Farms

Munching on kettle corn


The slickest and muddiest corn maze...soooo fun!

Making animal feed

Climbing the hay stack

We visited my brother's family in Coeur d'Alene....COLD but very pretty!

Superheroes: Batgirl, Supergirl, The Punisher...it was cold so we had LAYERS

Teem, Miia, Luukas, Kaija, Emily, Finn

Two girlies jumping on the "peloween"

Trick-or-Treating downtown Coeur d'Alene

Pumpkin carving in Coeur d'Alene with Grandma & Grandpa Scarborough

Paul did Angry Bird and Reina "did" Minnie Mouse

Pregnancy Update

2011-10-23T22:10:00.000-07:00

Just a little update on the pregnancy:
Less than 3 months left (less than 12 weeks)
Still craving donuts (and give in)
Checking blood sugar which shows it's elevated but no need for medications at this time (yeah!)
I only have two pairs of pants that fit (black stretch pants and prego jeans)
My bellybutton will forever be an outty
I feel great and forget that I'm pregnant...until I get a glimpse of myself or bend over
As I'm getting bigger, everyone else appears to be getting smaller
I cry at silly things on TV

Here is the most recent 28 weeks ultrasound picture:

Definitely has Paul's mouth and Reina's cheeks. Nose looks more like mine. It's amazing what technology can show, although I'm sure he'll look a little cuter.

The ultrasound technician said everything looks perfect! Good fluid amount, size is right. The baby had his feet and hands in front of his face so he had to really rotate the baby around as I laid almost inverted to get an acceptable picture. It was worth the discomfort. He is not head down, but not worried at this point. With my diabetic issues the docs are always more concerned, but he said to keep doing whatever I'm doing because everything looks great! He said that he doesn't quite know how to diagnose me because I am not typical diabetic at all. It's very confusing and annoying because I can eat the same thing for breakfast one day and have good blood glucose number and have it skyrocket the next! It's something I will have to forever tweak, sadly. We can't believe we only have 12 weeks to go!


22 weeks

24 weeks


26 weeks


28 weeks

A few pregnancy photos taken by my loving husband. Kind of silly but I like 'em:

Sidenotes

2011-10-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

Even though I am a driver education teacher, it is Paul who has taught Reina what the different traffic lights mean. What started this was the fact that she'd yell, "Go daddy!" when he was stopped. So Paul had to tell her why he couldn't go. Now that Paul taught her, Reina will say, "Red means stop. Green means go. And yellow means be careful." We've recently had to increase the rules because now she wonders why we turned right on a red light and other inconsistencies. We're still working on this, along with arrows. She has known them for about 3 months now and likes to keep tabs on us that we are following what the light says to do. It's cute...for now.

My mom has also recently been teaching some sign-language. I never got into it with Reina when she was much younger because I felt there was no need when she could already communicate what she wanted. I picked her up one day from my mom's house where they were watching a sign-language video and found myself interested. We've since learned a "handful" of words. I think Reina knows a few more than me so I'll have to catch up!


Top Row: Owen, Assistant Elaine, Kaitlyn, Sophia, Reina, Abigail, Mummi. Bottom Row: Ella, Anna

We have just been so entertained with Reina since she's turned two. She has such a humorous personality, yet she also has a keen sense of understanding. In fact, my mom and I say she is two going on five. She likes to hang out with the older kids and thinks she can do what a five year old can. I made a mistake of letting her out of the cart at the store when she was walking and now she expects to hardly ever be in the cart. My bad. I won't make that mistake with the next one! She does remind me that when she turns five she gets to go on a school bus and go to school.

She said one of the cutest things the other day. We were driving in the car talking about her birthday (this has been a frequent conversation topic while driving). She has already told me her birthday is in Jan-wary and who she wants to come to her birthday party and that she wants lots and lots of balloons. She now wants her "baby brother to come on to her birthday party in Jan-wary." (tear) Hmmmm....this might actually come true, much to my chagrin.

"We Will Rock You!"

2011-10-03T23:21:00.000-07:00

I don't post videos very often, but just had to post this one! Just to set the record, I have never taught a single cheer to Reina. I was a cheerleader for 2 years in junior high but never really liked it more than the outfits and pom-poms so replaced it with dance team in high school which was my true love. Reina has been picking up some cheers from her friend Elizabeth who is a 1st grader.

Not bad for a 2 1/2 year old, huh?

Family of Four Photo Shoot

2011-09-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

My wonderful sister Sanni took some great pictures of our family recently. We took these pictures on one of the last hot, summer days in September.
Paul and I are 30 years old in these pictures. I am 5 months pregnant with our second child. Reina is 2 years and 8 months old.
Reina was not having the best attitude day. We're just glad she didn't scowl for all of the pictures, or opt out of the pictures altogether. I may do a personal photo shoot of her since we only got one decent individual photo of her.

Here are some updates of Reina:
She likes to say her full, legal name, Reina Suvi Guinn, pronounced perfectly. Reina likes to have the same story read for bedtime, for at least two weeks at a time. Her current favorite is "In My Town" by Richard Scarry. She calls it "Fix It Fox". We take turns saying family prayer at night at Reina's bed. This was a struggle until recently because she thought every night should be her turn to say it. We of course gave in, since you can't pray too much! Her prayers always make us laugh! Sometimes she blesses the food, sometimes talks about the fun things she did that day. But she always prays for mommy, daddy, and Reina. And of course the baby in mommy's belly. She is 37 1/2" tall and weighs 30 lbs. She still has not had a single haircut! We are trying to hold on to what she has, and grow out her bangs. So if you wonder why the side-sweep of the hair, she doesn't have much to hold back, nor will she keep a hair thing in for more than 10 minutes. Reina still loves to dance. In fact, we went to the Vancouver Sausage Fest to visit daddy while he was working doing a spinal screening when the band "Five Guys Named Moe" went onstage. Reina danced into the late hours of the night (9 o'clock) and the ladies dancing with her commented how she was a natural at it.

Paul has been very busy working at the new chiropractic office here in Vancouver. I know I've mentioned it before, but we are so blessed that we didn't have to relocate! Business is doing well and he thoroughly enjoys the staff. We are so lucky to go in there and get adjusted whenever we want. Reina is still hesitant about getting adjusted on the "elephant pediatric chiropractic table". I think she will have to see another kid get adjusted before her.

I was extremely busy this summer with my driver education classes, until recently had a little break. It is nice, but odd. I've been trying to get some projects done around the house including painting two dressers and a display case, painting a bedroom, organizing, and other odds-and-ends tasks I've been wanting to dive into.

Run, Reina Run!

2011-09-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

Funny Moment:
Yesterday, Reina had a super late nap, which didn't end until 5pm. I thought, "How am I ever gonna get her to bed at a decent hour?" So we decided after our late dinner at 7pm to go for a little walk and enjoy what appears to be the last week of summer. Don't even get me started with the weather this summer! I don't consider 5 weeks of summer very fair in the Pacific Northwest! So usually Reina will walk about halfway on our 30 minute walk, and then we get bored of walking so slow and persuade her to go in the stroller where she can have milk or fruit snacks. But no, this little 2 1/2 year old decided to run for .7 miles! Paul figured how long our usual loop is and determined she ran this distance. I'm not talking about running, then walking a little. She ran on the sidewalk the whole time! About 3/4 the way into our walk she finally said with an exhausted tone, "I need to go in the stroller." I wish I had my video camera as she was pedaling those little legs in her little Nike's, form-fitting leopard pj's, and stocking hat! Needless to say, she didn't even ask for more water once she was tucked into bed. She was out!

Another Funny Moment:
I guess Reina heard her daddy say that I am his wife. So at least once a day the past couple of weeks, Reina has been calling me Mommywife. She'll say, "I love my mommywife."

Halfway, Baby!

2011-08-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

I am officially halfway through this pregnancy, or 20 weeks. For sure this pregnancy is going much quicker than the first. We had our ultrasound appointment on Friday to determine the sex of the baby. Here is a poll of what people guessed, at least those I made guess:
myself- boy
Paul- girl
my sister Tarja- girl
my sister Sanni- girl
my brother Teem- boy
my mom- boy
Reina- girl
Paul's mom- girl
Paul's brother Matt- boy
Paul's brother Steve- boy
my dad- boy
my stepmom Connie Jo- boy

So to make it perfectly clear what we are having, here is the ultrasound picture:

Okay, you can't tell from this picture, so maybe the next one.

I wouldn't have known, unless they specifically pointed out the "turtle" which is just to the right of the word "boy" in the middle of the page. Paul easily picked it out before we were supposed to know. But since he is used to looking at x-rays, he's been trained better to look at scans of the body.

Yep, so we're having a boy. Not quite sure what to think, frankly. I don't know much about boys. I have one brother and he played Barbie's with us. Although he chose the "poor" Barbie with ragged clothes and he'd swap heads with one of the baby heads, so his doll had the same size head as her chest! But we did get to use his Tonka trucks as the perfect size Barbie cars.
I'm not worried about the first few years as all babies and toddlers pretty much want the same things: mama's breast, lots of loves, and colorful toys. I learned a lot about boys when I married Paul. I had no clue how dirty and simple boys were. I'm not putting you males down at all since I enjoyed hanging out with boys much more than girls growing up, but sometimes I just don't want to know what you are thinking or doing. I'll have to put my learning britches on and saddle up for a wild ride! I am of course thrilled that we will be having a baby boy. I just don't know if I will keep up with the male brain and male body. I am even more excited for Paul to have a little man in the house. Now things can be even...almost.
Here's a few pregnancy pics for my journaling purposes:

17 weeks

19 weeks

My little Albert Einstein

2011-08-23T23:43:00.000-07:00

So most of you know that I think my daughter is a genius...okay, not a genius but pretty dang smart. So I'm beginning to see the resemblence with none other than Albert Einstein...check out that hair! Probably the only good thing about not having a lot of hair is that it can do this!

Summer 2011

2011-08-14T23:19:00.000-07:00

To keep up with our family blog, I'd better post a few pictures to reminisce about this summer's happenings. I won't go into detail as most families do fun things and thought I'd just show mostly pictures as they speak for themselves. Our summer didn't really start until July when we took our annual family trip to Loon Lake where we hang out with my brother and sisters and our kids, and Mummi and Papa Will. We always enjoy this time to relax, let the kids get dirty in the sand and take the majority of their baths in the lake.


Cousins starting top left: Miia, Reagan, Luukas, Kamryn, & Kaija bottom left: Finn, Heleena, Brielle, Riley, Reina, Ethan, Ashton

2 cuties!

Richard, Eric, & Paul

NO big waves for me since I am preggers, but us little girls had fun!

Cousins Reagan, Kaija, & Kamryn

Cousins Ashton, Luukas, Riley, Ethan, & Finn

SSSSSS'mores!

This trip was great for "the guys" as they had great luck with fishing! I'm sure they could tell you exactly how many fish they got, what types, and how big they were, but all I know is there was plenty of fish to take home and it was probably some of the best fish I've ever had! I think some of the varieties were Walleye, Perch, and Kokanee Salmon. I'm amazed at how long they can fish and not get completely bored...although they probably can't imagine I could dance just as long.


Even the kids got in on the fishing

Reina was at a great age this year, just about 2 1/2. She was able to hang out with all of the girls since she can carry a decent conversation with anyone now. Reina still amazes me how well she can speak in clear and usually complete sentences. The weather was great so we got to spend lots of time outdoors! Our trip was over the week of the 4th of July so fireworks were big and grand. Uncle Teem and Uncle Eric outdid themselves with very fancy fireworks. The kids loved them, but I think Teem and Eric loved them a little more.
One of the highlights from our trip was a unique experience biking the Hiawatha Trail. This was original a route for the Hiawatha Train. It was nestled nicely between the beautiful, green hills in upper Idaho. This was a special trip since my dad grew up in Idaho and has an "O" scale of the Hiawatha train. Although the trail was 17 miles long, it was downhill so everyone got to enjoy the ride, even the little bikers.

This cave was 2 miles long! We needed lots of flashlights! P.S. Reina was NOT scared of the dark.

This is how Reina avoids accidents on trips!

Some new things this year for Loon Lake trip included:
Baby Finn Scarborough (born in March)

Baby Brielle Davies (Born in April)

Pregnant me (Due January 2012)
No diapers for me to change (except pull-up at night)
Us adult girls Zumba dancing on the porch (it's the "in thing" din'tchya know?)
We always look forward to this vacation!

Other doings this summer:
I have been working like a mad dog with my job. Summer is always busy for kids wanting to get their licenses. Usually I teach two classes and take most of August off, but since I didn't have plans I thought I could handle three classes. Still after 6 years I have not had a single car accident with a student (yes, I'm knocking on wood)! I recently was forced out of my classroom I've had the past few years since they are tearing down a wall. I will miss that classroom as I got accustomed to it's idiosyncrasies. Yet I really miss the classroom I had before that, so I'll adapt as usual. It's been hard to fit in all the other things I like to do every summer like berry picking, but I still managed to fill a shelf in the freezer of blueberries. A little disappointed I didn't have time for the other berries. Always next year! We do eat a ton of them though between the 3 of us.

Like mother like daughter...straight from the bucket!

My sister Tarja and her kids Reagan, Kamryn and Ethan are here for the summer taking care of the daycare while my mom is in Finland. This has been a real treat for Reina as she gets to know her cousins and vice verse. I am still trying to figure out a way for them to move here from California- we need them!

As Paul has just begun at Yoder Chiropractic he is bringing in some new patients as a vendor at the Clark County Fair. He barely moved back home, then we don't see him for 10 days, besides a body at night. We went out to visit him one day. Reina rode her first fair ride and of course the carousel. We also watched a juggler who did a lot more than juggling!

Paul's booth at the Clark County Fair

Both mommy and Reina stopped and stared for a long time...he decided to pose for me.

Cousins and friend got to go except Reina, too short. She cried the whole time they were on the ride.

First fair ride!

Another fun outing this summer was the Farmer's Market where we got kettle corn, some great produce in which I made homemade onion rings...probably so bad but so good!

Like it was picked out of the garden!

8 Years

2011-08-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

I have been married to my best friend and favorite man in the world for 8 years! We started dating 12 years ago as seniors in high school. Yes, we were high school sweethearts, but we went our separate ways for a few years...~~Paul~~ we had to grow up a little. Through all of the trials that we have had, we continue to laugh together and totally "get" each other's silly jokes and ideas. I seriously couldn't have asked for a better match. I remember a song Paul wrote me our senior year of high school asking me out to prom. I won't post the song, although I'd really love to, Paul would be terribly embarrassed. Anyway, in the song he said "we go together like pairs of shoes." It is true, you just feel lost without the other and can't get anywhere...comfortably, anyway. I do feel we make a great pair. Paul, you continue to be supportive of anything I want to do. You never say that I "nag" but rather care about your well-being. Thank you for that because I know the "n word" is evil in the husband book and I never want to be the "n word". You are patient with me and continue to love who I am. I love you very much babe and look forward to many more years we can be silly and laugh with each other!

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home?

2011-08-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

One huge change in our family dynamics is that Paul is no longer commuting to Tacoma each week. We are so happy to have him home every evening now. It is taking me some getting used to. I was in my "single parent" routine for almost 1 1/2 years and got accustomed to the runnings of our day. Reina has adjusted very quickly...in fact too quickly. Now she is calling out for "Daddy, I need water." "Daddy, read me a book." Of course this has made it easier for me, but what happened to her favorite person in the world? Paul reminds me that I am still her #1, but am I really now? We feel like we are always on vacation now that daddy is home. We are so glad he's home! Since he moved back we have been busy organizing the attic, going through old college stuff that we thought we just had to save, getting rid of old furniture and other clutter. We thought about a garage sale, but realized we'd just rather give it away than try to make a few extra bucks. We turned Reina's room into a big girl room; big bed, pink decor, bedside table, etc., but still have to complete it. I didn't paint the walls because we hope to be moving within the next year, so the blue walls will have to do. But the walls do match the picture I found at Goodwill! We are turning Paul's hobby room (Warhammer room) into the baby's room. Still so much has to be cleared out, walls painted, carpet shampooed, but we feel so much better getting rid of all the clutter we've been holding onto. We're not buying anything so it's taken some refurbishing old furniture, reconstituting and "cheap finds" to put it all together. We don't want more stuff and more expenses to hassle with when we move again.

This process of cleaning and clearing is taking longer than we'd like because Paul has to do a lot of the heavy lifting and he hasn't been home much. He is now working at a new chiropractic office here in Vancouver, just 8 minutes from home! This has been such a blessing! He is an associate at Yoder Chiropractic. He is literally only 3 minutes from where I work so I can pop in after work and get a little pop! Already Paul has been busy at the Hawaiian festival and is out at the Clark County Fair for 10 days. We will see very little of him, but are rooting him on for some good work!
Here are a few pictures of Guinn Chiropractic in Tacoma:

Why the Cravings?

2011-07-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

When I was pregnant with Reina, everyone kept asking me what foods I was craving. Cravings? I had no idea what they were talking about. I never craved a single food item, other than what foods I have always naturally liked. The only thing I remember is that I couldn't stand chocolate!
This time around is so much different! Morning sickness (luckily that passed quickly without a single purge), headaches that force me to lay down at 7pm and hope that it won't be so extreme I throw-up again, and the cravings! I actually have cravings this time. Not a fan of this, since for the last month it has been donuts! I am not a typical donut eater, maybe 2 a year? But I feel so much better if I've had my apple fritter or a gooey cinnamon roll, okay maybe both. I know, I'm gonna look like a cinnamon roll soon but I can blame it on the baby right? Luckily I can't tolerate chocolate with this pregnancy either, so I can say I've kicked my chocolate habit for a while now. Early on I had cravings for cucumbers...couldn't get enough of 'em. And throughout I have consumed much more fruit than I typically do. Peaches, plums, watermelon, apples, berries- it's all good. Can't forget about pizza- lovin' the marinara sauce!
Okay, so people say that based on cravings you can tell if you're gonna have a boy or girl. They say if you crave sweets then it's a girl, but if you crave bread, meat and pizza it's a boy. Wow, tough call. I think I'm split, just like Paul and I are split with what we think the sex of the baby is. We'll be happy whether it's a sweet peach or if it has a bread stick.

14 Weeks

2011-07-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

14 weeks refers to how many weeks that I am pregnant! I never blogged about my first pregnancy (except for the delivery) and thought I would give it a try this time. This will not be a weekly update, just a little here and there. I haven't written anything down about this pregnancy so far, so I am doing my best to jog my memory from the moment I found out I was pregnant. Well, some of you know that I have a condition called PCOS which does not make it easy for me to get pregnant. Not only do I have extremely irregular periods, but it also contributes to insulin-resistance which doesn't help either. After reading a library on this condition, I have come to the conclusion that I have actually had this condition my whole life, just didn't discover it until we tried to get pregnant and had a lot of difficulty. Luckily after being married for 5 years we had our amazing little girl Reina. I do think that since we had to wait such a long time, Heavenly Father blessed us with a delightful daughter. My first pregnancy really went by amazingly well; I never had a day of being sick and always felt full of energy. In fact, the night before I delivered, Paul and I cleaned the office buildings we maintain and I worked out at the gym. I hardly even felt pregnant, and most people couldn't believe how small I was for having a 9 lb. baby! It wasn't until my last couple of months being pregnant I found out I had gestational diabetes and had to completely overhaul my diet...that was and still is one of the hardest things I've had to do. I already have to alter my diet with this pregnancy since I am more than likely gestational diabetic this time around.
When did you find out you were preggers?
I had been taking a few doses of fertility meds and documenting everything. So I was planning on taking the next round of fertility meds since I had taken a pregnancy test 2 weeks previously and 2 weeks previous of that and knew there was no way that I ovulated. But I didn't want to take meds until I took a pregnancy test. Right before getting in the shower I took one- negative. After my shower I was literally moved to look again at the test. So I dug it out of the garbage and saw a 2nd faint line. Positive or just a bad dollar store test? Got tested at the doctor's office that day, yep pregnant! I couldn't believe it since I ovulated without having a period or taking fertility meds! I believe it was the countless prayers and fasting.
I waited a few days to tell Paul and make it extra special. He figured it out last time before I even showed him the pregnancy test, but this time I asked him to look at some pictures from the camera and on the last picture was the positive test result!

Have you been sick?
So up until a few weeks ago I have had morning sickness. Really it was only from weeks 8-12. I have never experienced it before and realized it is really icky! I tried to explain to Paul what it feels like. For me it's like when I was in college walking up to BYU campus from home and had only eaten an apple, and by the time I got to my class I had that icky nauseous feeling that would pass either with time or a little bread. I haven't thrown up from morning sickness per se, but I have had some severe headaches that have caused nausea and have ended up with me over the toilet. This has happened 3 or 4 times already. I am not taking any Excedrin which easily clears up any sign of a headache for me, but of course it is a "no-no" during pregnancy, so I have to suffer. Besides feeling icky, this baby has already begun to show! I got really worried because even at 6 weeks I looked bloated! I thought at this rate I'm going to be huge!!! Luckily the size hasn't increase tremendously, just more than Reina. I liken it to a balloon. The first time you blow it up, it takes some real effort to get it to go, and the resistance is rather great. Okay, then you deflate the balloon and try it the 2nd time. A little easier, right? The 3rd, 4th, 10th...you get the idea.
So when are you due?
Since I never really knew when I got pregnant due to my crazy ovulations I had to get an ultrasound....hmmm. Well Reina was due January 14, and this baby is due January 13! I guess I am just fertile during spring break!
I am trying to document this pregnancy with pictures, but I already missed four weekly pictures. I am only enclosing them on my blog for journal purposes, so please don't look really hard at my belly at only 8 weeks. I should have taken pictures when I was pregnant with Reina as my "balloon" was a little tighter!

8 weeks!

9 weeks!

14 weeks!

Happy Barther's Day Daddy!

2011-06-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

Red Robin B-day Burger

Birthday 4-wheeling with brother, Steve

Not a typo. I wasn't quite sure how to put Father's Day/birthday in one word...you can comment if you have a better one :) Depending on how you look at it, Paul either gets an extra special weekend since his birthday falls on or the day before Father's Day. Or he gets gypped since he typically only gets one special meal and cake. Either way, Reina and I just LOVE HIM OH SO MUCH! He is such an amazing husband...especially because he is so patient with me. He always wanted to be a daddy, and every weekend he tears up a little with joy at how awesome it is to be a dad. I hope he isn't embarrassed for me saying that he cries. It's the good kind, I promise. And for those of you who may have forgotten he works out of town all week and is only home for the weekends for the past year and half. We are seeing the end of this soon though, thankfully.
I wasn't quite sure what I could get him this year that he really wants or needs, and something completely different than I've done before so I came up with the following.You're my babe, and we love you!

A Little Help Please?

2011-06-06T23:40:00.000-07:00

As I write the title to this post I'm beginning to think of the Beatles songs that have help in them "...help me if you can I'm feeling down". "...I get by with a little help from my friends." "...Help me Rhonda, Help! Help me Rhonda." Okay, I guess the last song was a different boy band, namely the Beach Boys.
This is not the purpose of this post.
Can I post a phrase or title of any of these songs and put it as the title to my blog entry? Or is there some obscure copyright law that will put my rebellious, pirating shenanigans in prison for re-printing an old "Olan Mills" family portrait, or printing off a copy of a piano piece I want accompaniment for? I've always wondered where they draw the line. Does it infringe on copyright laws to take half of a sentence from a textbook and claim it as your own without citing it? I've never researched where the line is. I was in a meeting and this conversation happened to come up about copyright laws. One lady across the aisle from me said "as long as you aren't copying it to sell then it's okay." Another woman right in front of me said under her breath, "no, it's not okay. That's why there are copyright laws."
So I admit, I have no idea where the line is.
This is not the purpose of this post.
This is what happens when you are writing a blog when you should be in bed.
The real purpose to my post is to ask for a little help please. My "help list" is longer than a 6-year old's Christmas list, but just one thing for now.
Blog help.
I just got done looking at some amazing blogs of people I don't know (uh oh, now I'm in trouble for stalking). How do they format things to make them look so professional? I'm lucky if I even get my pictures to load! I wouldn't even know how to start editing a vlog! They have links to this or that, chat rooms, daily thoughts, categories for their many talents (i.e. photography, journals, recipes, inspirations, quotes, and so on.) I want to do that. How did I miss the savvy blogging class? My husband Paul tells me that all I have to do is play around until I find what works and learn as you go. My problem is I don't remember how I did it the first time because too much time past in between to remember it again. I swear I'll have to write it on a paper step-by-step like teaching someone over the age of 80 how to get on the internet.
I'm becoming old. This is one of the signs right? Not knowing all the bells and whistles of technology. I'm not keeping up with this fast-past technological world.
I guess I have to admit that I get bored of being on the computer...I don't want to waste 20 minutes figuring something out that someone experienced can show me in 2 seconds! Okay, so the lessons I've learned today are to be patient and one usually will do what one wants to do. So maybe I don't want to learn badly enough to figure it out myself. If anyone wants to help me out with my blog, I really would think you were an amazingly, tehcnologically advanced pupil.

Tulip Festival

2011-05-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to have a new digital SLR camera! I have been drooling over one for some time now and finally got one...I'm a definite newby and still have to read the piles of manuals on the functions and options but wanted to give it a "test drive" by going to the Tulip Festival in Woodburn. I got a few nice pictures but still have a ways to go. I would like to get a special flash, but will have to do without for a little while.

This was the first Easter that Reina really enjoyed, and we as parents enjoyed seeing her actually get into the Easter egg hunting! The Easter Bunny hid them in rather easy places since Reina is only 2, but she found all 15 eggs in less than 2 minutes! I guess we'll have to tell him to hide them much better next year! It smelled in our fridge terribly because with each egg Reina found she threw them in her basket so ALL the eggs were cracked and the smell of egg wafted through the house.

The last weekend in April/first weekend in May we had the opportunity to visit my brother and his family in Coeur d'Alene for their 4th child's baby blessing, Finn Robert Scarborough. Is was a short but sweet visit. It was nice riding with Grandma and Grandpa Scarborough in their new and roomy Honda Accord, but I guess with 5 people and a car seat it wasn't quite so roomy. Reina had a great time because there was always someone to talk to if mommy was driving or daddy was sleeping. Suprisingly I did the chunk of the driving this time which I rarely do on a trip! We stopped at this great little farm that has fresh-made salsas, dips, flavored popcorns, chocolates, produce...so we tasted a little of everything and ended of course with some yummy ice cream- we stopped both ways :)
My brother and his family live literally right across the street from a great hiking trail along a mountainside. This is always a fun little hike we get to enjoy on our visit to Idaho. Reina didn't join us on the hike because she was busy jumping on the trampoline with six of her other cousins. She opted off the trampoline when the big cousins (Kaija and Riley) were jumping since they could bounce real high. It was a nice break for the weekend to getaway and eat well and play games. Emily always spoils us with good food, and games with my family are always a hoot!

What's Happenin'?

2011-04-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

She "gets it"

2011-03-25T13:43:00.001-07:00

Besides praying for a healthy baby when I was pregnant, Heavenly Father knew that it was important to me for my children to "get it". I seem to always say to myself that Reina "get's it". I've heard that if you have difficult infants or toddlers then they will be easy teenagers and vice versa. Oh I hope that this won't come to pass. We got blessed with a daughter with an AMAZING personality. She is so funny, quick, witty, and teachable.
Remember, this is our family blog so if you are already disgusted at my complete PRIDE (not the bad kind of pride that we just discussed at church on Sunday) for my daughter then do not read further :)

I have just been amazed at what Reina can do for just being a couple months past her 2nd birthday! I give credit to many people in her life who have helped mold her into her best self. I pray daily that she will be the very best that she can and that as as parents we will learn how to help her be her best self. We are being blessed so much already as she amazes me every day!

Reina has always been very advanced for her age in her ability to learn things quickly and remember them. She has really taken off in her vocabulary since her 2nd birthday since she not only says nearly complete sentences every time, but has so much personality with what she says. She will "read" a book and have lots of phrasing and inflection in her dialogue. Reina will go down for nap with piles and piles of books. Mummi reminds her everyday that "a girl can never have too many books." Now when she goes down for nap she will tell Mummi "a girl can never have two books". Of course she doesn't realize that she has changed the meaning of the sentence into something quite funny!
Mummi and I always comment on how she never "misses a beat". When she sings a song, even if she doesn't pronounce all of the words correctly she will give each syllable a beat. Even her songs are nearly in-tune! That's pretty amazing for such a young age. She never misses a beat in her rhythm either. Sometimes she'll be singing a song or dancing to a song and she'll tap her foot, or swing her arms, or move any body part to the rhythm of the song. I am hoping she will enjoy music as much as her parents do...whether it be band, singing, dancing, or all of the above. She never misses a beat with something going under her radar. She seems to know if you quickly snatched a sweet treat, hid something from her, or are trying to change the subject.
We have also noticed her ability to memorize things extremely quickly and to RETAIN the information. I think she got the latter from her daddy. She remembers stories, songs, words, memories, names, pretty much anything that has come into contact with her...osmosis right? Our kids will do what we do, act how we act, be what they see which is why a good example is something I not only WANT to be better at each day, but because I HAVE TO if I want to keep Reina as undamaged as possible.

A funny story I have to mention on our family blog is one I posted on facebook. A week or so ago I was picking out an outfit for her to wear that morning. It happened to be one of her favorite t-shirts with a kitty on it. When she saw the shirt that awaited her she kept repeating, "Kitty shirt! Kitty shirt! Kitty shirt!" As most of you know, a 2-year old doesn't pronounce everything correctly so it sounded like she was saying "kitty sh**!" Kids say the darndest!

Recently during our family prayers Reina has finally decided it is HER turn to say prayer. Usually mommy or daddy will say it and she will remind us of EVERYONE we have to include in the prayer...yes mommy, daddy, relatives, all of her friends...sometimes repeating extra-special friends. Our family prayers end up being really long. So she decided it is her turn and we are not allowed to help her with it whatsoever! She will even pause and say "hmmmmmm" when she is stuck with someone she forgot to pray for. How could Heavenly Father resist not blessing each and every one of those people that a sweet, little girl prays for? Sometimes I will even try to get Reina to pray for something that I really want so that maybe He will listen to her innocent prayer and bless.

101 Consummations...and Counting

2011-03-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

I always want to live life to the fullest and not wind up being 85 years old saying "I wish I would have...". I was thinking about this today and decided to make a physical list of things that I want to do, learn, create, own, etc. These are things that I may or may not have accomplished so far, but seeing them in actual writing will help me to focus and remember what I need to do to get there. Why am I posting this list in my blog? Well, this is sorta our family journal and I do go online at least once a day so I think this is the BEST place for me to actual see what my goals are whether I am at home, work, vacationing in Rome (add to list?), or wherever I may be! I will probably add much more to this post as I can't think of all my possibilities in the twenty minutes I write this post! Feel free to steal any of these ideas, add ideas, or feel proud that you have already accomplished these things. :)

1. ~~Get married in the temple~~- 8.9.03

2. Go on a mission...with my love

3. Own a new/new to us Honda Odyssey with leather seats and DVD player

4. ~~Be a teacher~~

5. Have a big family

6. Exercise at least 4 days a week (can't cross this one out until I die)

7. Do something special with dancing talent

8. ~~Teach a dance class or aerobics class~~ 2004

9. ~~Become a certified yoga instructor~~ 2008

10. Become an herbal supplement specialist

11. Have a nice digital camera to capture my favorite people and things

12. Create a health website that includes all the things I hope to specialize in

13. Perform a ballroom dance routine (maybe with Paul if he'll allow it)

14. Play Warhammer one time with Paul

15. Hike all the major spots in the Pacific Northwest

16. Camp via backpacking and canoeing to destination

17. Get organized and updated with pictures

18. Finish (DO) Reina's baby book

19. Learn how to sew (just for home decor/clothing repair)

20. Create my own Tried and True Recipe Book (for my personal odd and healthy palate)

21. Learn how to garden as well as my brother Teem

22. Read all of the Harry Potter novels

23. Host a fancy dinner party where I learn how to make things like Creme Broulee

24. Create artwork for our home

25. Own a home!

26. Take Reina (and more children) to Disneyland with cousins who live in SoCal

27. See the east coast (i.e New York, Virginia, etc.)

28. See all the Church sites east of Utah

29. Go to Zion National Park/Bryce Canyon and possibly try a little rock climbing

30. Have a traditional dinner/movie date with Paul

31. Do visiting teaching faithfully for one year!

32. Fast faithfully for one year!

33. Bear my testimony at church at least twice in a year

34. Own a couple wave runners and a boat

35. Own a little vacation home on a warm lake where I can go crazy with themed rooms, afterall, it's a vaction home!

36. Learn all of the scripture stories with Reina (including names!)

37. Learn how to knit and make a hat, purse, scarf, pot holder, toaster cover (j/k about the pot holder)

38. Have a home with all hardwood floors in the main living areas

39. Have a pottery wheel and use my high school pottery class skills to create gifts and home decor

40. Give a family in need "A Christmas"

41. Donate time and talents in adult care homes

42. ~~Refurbish old furniture~~

43. ~~Get a pedicure~~ 2009

44. Get a facial

45. ~~Get a professional massage~~ 2010

46. Become endorsed in more subjects as a teacher

47. Sleep in the backyard in a tent with my kid(s)

48. Learn all the state capitals (no, my teacher didn't teach them)

49. Learn how to use Quickbooks and create a budget sheet

50. Do not buy anything unnecessary for 1 month (and then improve thereafter)

51. Learn how to can food

52. Have a year supply of food and water for our family

53. Get a wheat grinder

54. Learn Photoshop

55. Teach Reina how to swim

56. Go to a yoga retreat

57. Read one book a month from the Latter-day prophets

58. Do something nice everyday for someone for a month (and then make it a habit)

59. Get involved in service (not including church callings)

60. Learn how to make pulla ALL BY MYSELF

61. Say only NICE things to my husband for a week (and then improve thereafter)

62. Do a spray tan once (I don't believe in tanning, but sure wish I was naturally tan)

63. Get braces

64. Not eat chocolate for a week (without being sick as an excuse)

65. Not eat chocolate for a month

66. Do a half marathon, or Hood to Coast ( FYI: I have no desire to do a full marathon)

67. Be a part in a play (with my family)

68. Take piano lessons again.

69. Learn how to play my favorite Yanni song.

70. Pick up the flute again.

71. Learn how to play the guitar enough to accompany singing.

72. Get old family videos from VHS fixed and put on newer technology for my mom.

73. Make dinners for a week from "garden only" ingredients

74. Host a Martha Stewart-like holiday meal

75. Get the nerve to sing at a karaoke bar

76. Be a part of the church choir for one year

77. Learn how to make fudge and truffles that actually taste like a "family secret recipe".

78. ~~Teach dancing to kids~~ 2006

79. Create an organic Christmas tree (popcorn, cranberries, pinecones, etc)

80. Bring cupcakes for Reina's kindergarten class (tear)

81. Teach Reina to play the piano

82. Go skiing with Paul (since having a kid)

83. Get a true physical as an adult (cholesterol, lipids, etc.)

84. Go to the Melting Pot restaurant

85. Go on a bike ride and picnic with family

86. ~~Take Reina to the zoo~~ 2/2011

87. Learn how to hold my breath underwater without plugging my nose for more than 3 seconds

88. Own a dog?

89. Go to Voodoo Donuts in Portland

90. Visit college roommates in other states

91. Go see the ruined castles in England and Scotland (for Paul)

92. Go to Portugal with Paul where he served his mission

93. Take Paul to Finland where he can take part in a real sauna, naked and lake jumping!

94. Take Reina roller-skating

95. Brush up on my Spanish so that I can speak near-fluently.

96. ~~Reina meet great-grandmother in Finland who is 89-~~ 8.2010
97. ~~Go to Hawaii with Paul~~ 2008
98. Get trained to teach CPR and First-Aid
99. Get a Vitamix blender and make "green drinks"
100. Send birthday cards to every family member for a whole year
101. Make one patchwork quilt, one time

Oh, What Do You Do in the Wintertime?

2011-02-28T21:54:00.000-08:00

There has been a particular Primary song that has been stuck in my head the last week or so. I think it has something to do with the fact that I am dreaming of the sun warming my back, the soft grass under my feet while doing a cartwheel, or playing with my family in the lake. So to bring a little warmth during this cold and lackluster time of year, I dedicate this blog to summer.

Please read in the tune to the song "Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?" in the Primary Children's Songbook#245

Oh, what do you do in the wintertime, when you are stuck inside?

Do you sing while you ride,

or dress dignified,

or lay at your cousins' side?

Is that what you do? So do I!

Oh, what do you do in the wintertime, when all the world ain't green?

Do you peel tangerines,

or read magazines,

or build your first snowman high?

Is that what you do? So do I!

Oh, what do you do in the wintertime, when all the world is wet?

Do you get a new pet,

or with grandma sit,

or learn at your best friend's side?

Is that what you do? So do I!

A few quick notes since Reina's 2nd birthday in January is that she can officially count to ten in three languages: English, Finnish, and Spanish (actually to fourteen in English skipping twelve). Reina can also, not only say the letters of the alphabet but knows what sound each of them make...yes, even the hard ones like l, n, and x! Mummi and her assistant Elaine have been working with her and the other children on letters/sounds, music, and languages. We feel very blessed that Reina has had such a great place to learn during the week. In fact, tonight Reina was reiterating one of the Spanish videos to me that teaches colors and she clearly sang..."purple- murado, yellow-amarillo, red- rojo, blue-azul, white-blanco, tatata..." and ended with a "pose" just like the lady on the video. Wish my eyes were a video camera so I could capture these memories forever! Let me tell you, kids can learn ANYTHING if you make a song out of it!
I don't remember if I have already posted this, but recently I have gotten back into doing yoga a couple times a week and I showed Reina a few poses such as bridge, downward dog, and plank. I only showed them to her once as she copied me and since then if I call out the poses she will go into them- all from memory! So of course I am a proud mama, as all those mamas out there are proud of their own children- and daddies too :) Rightfully so.

Reina Turns Two!

2011-01-15T15:03:00.001-08:00

If you are reading this post for entertainment, there is a WARNING ALERT that this may be boring unless you are in love with our little girl. I want to keep up with Reina's development as she reaches new ages and phases of life! So here is where she is at as of her 2nd birthday (1.8.2011)

Height: 36 inches= 94% average percentile (taken 1.12.2011)

Weight: 28.3 lbs.= 71% average percentile (taken 1.12.2011)

Vocabulary: She can speak in many complete sentences, and can speak as well as a 3 year old (in my opinion of course). We are able to understand ALMOST everything Reina says. As of now she can say most letters except for "R" as she calls herself "Meena". This is kind of cute though because it's a mix of "me" and "Reina"!

Songs: Still LOVES singing the "Bumblebee" song and "Rock-a-Bye Baby" when it's time for bed. Often she will sing songs that I haven't sang to her before or haven't sang in months....must be from nursery or Mummi's. Reina can sing the majority of the ABC song....correctly. Just this last Sunday she was singing the ABC song to a young woman at church during sacrament meeting (quietly in the back rows) and sang it well except for the LMNO part in which she chattered her teeth instead. Paul and I, and the young woman were laughing under our breaths! I am pleased that she can sing in-tune! I cringe when someone is out-of-tune or off-rhythm (but maybe we will have a child who lacks this ability so I learn to tolerate it)! I think she may be an alto like her Grandma Guinn as her singing voice is somewhat low. I am noticing more and more how much she takes after her Grandma Guinn! They are also alike in that they both love to read, don't like to eat the same thing two days in a row (leftovers), are friendly and polite (Reina always says "thank you" and "your welcome"), concerned if someone is sad or hurt (Reina will say "You alright?"), similar body frame and hair, like things to be put away in their place, and witty.

Favorites: As soon as she gets to Mummi's house in the morning, she puts on her Minnie Mouse dress that apparently no one else DARES to touch as she has claimed it and then asks for "moosik" (music) to dance to. When Reina wants to do her own thing she grabs a book, draws or paints with watercolors. She is becoming quite the pro at making circles! Reina still loves to wear boots, always has to have her coat/shirt buttoned or zipped, and reminds me that she needs a hat on to go outside. On Saturday mornings she spends time with daddy watching "Yo Gabba-Gabba". I think daddy likes the show just as much as she does! This is the only t.v. watching she does, and maybe a little Sesame Street some mornings. And most recently, Reina likes to go to bed with a hard, plastic miniature dollhouse size computer desk! Silly girl!

More funny stories: Recently she has climbed out of her crib at Mummi's house during naptime, and only twice at home. Luckily this had ended. During one of those occasions at home, Paul went to her room and peaked in. She was pulling a hanger up around her waist and when she realized daddy was watching she quickly pointed to her bottom and said "a poo-poo" (she knew that there HAD to be a reason why she was up and out of her bed).

Other landmarks: She still continues to go potty on the toilet #1 and/or#2 at least twice a day, but doesn't love to do it like she used to. We haven't pushed her too much with potty-training as it will happen at her pace. Still likes to eat healthy foods like cabbage soup, broccoli, celery, fruit, eggs, rye crackers and chicken...surprisingly she has never been a fan of mac & cheese, potatoes and some other kid favorites. Reina can put puzzles together quite fast for her age. I can take two puzzles and mix up all the pieces and she can put them all back in their place (of course we're talking about the baby puzzles, not traditional tongue and groove kind). She can somersault completely on her own and can count to12, skipping some numbers here and there...

We celebrated her birthday a week early since my oldest sister, Tarja and her children Reagan, Kamryn and Ethan were in town from California and had a multi-birthday party with my sister Sanni's family as well. I sure wish Reagan and Kamryn lived closer because she LOVED to play with them! I would definitely hire them to babysit!

We feel grateful to have a happy, healthy girl. This is all we asked for, so anything beyond this is an outpouring of rich blessings. We thank our Heavenly Father daily for her and pray for more.

Goodbye, Hello

2011-01-02T17:37:00.000-08:00

Dear 2010,

Thanks for a TOUGH year! We knew that you would be difficult, but didn't know that you would be so LONG. You have been difficult for us as a family and hope that all of our hard work and commitment will pay off with your younger brother 2011. We do really appreciate the joy we have had with seeing Reina grow and advance. She has been such a blessing! We can't believe how wonderful, smart, funny, silly, quick, witty, determined, entertaining, and pretty she is. She could be labeled "Miss Personality" as she DOES have a bucket of it and continues to spill over with more. We have been blessed to have a wonderful family who has helped us with our difficult situation of being apart from each other 5 days out of the week; a roof over our head and the BEST learning center with her Mummi (my mom's childcare center). And also for my job. I do love it and don't want to give it up, but will gladly do it if we can be together as a family. Our fingers are crossed and our prayers are going out daily for a better 2011. We have grown this last year and are ready for a little TLC. So PLEASE tell your brother 2011 to give us a break!

Thanks again,
Paul, Aliisa & Reina

P.S. I know this letter may sound a little harsh, but we are more blessed than ever to have this sweet little girl. She is the best Christmas gift we have ever received, so thank you (even though we got her from your older brother 2009) :)

Potty-training...an Easy Task?

2010-11-21T21:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, so most of you know how our Little Love is potty-training herself right now. It began when she was almost 19 months old on our trip to Finland. Her extreme love of red currant berries that grow wildly in Finland were visited multiple times a day- every time we went outside! She ate her belly full of 'em (great source of vitamins), but they also caused extreme diaper leakage. It got a little old constantly changing diapers and outfits so her aunt suggested she start potty-training. Hey, we had all the time in the world so might as well! First time she tried it, she went. Beginners luck? Second time she tried it, she went. Fluke? Third time, nope. Darn it! So it was hit and miss for the rest of the trip but she did go at least once or twice a day. Since then we haven't made a big deal about going. Sometimes in the morning, sometimes at Mummi's daycare, sometimes before bed, we would give it a shot. We've gotten a lot better about it the past few weeks because she isn't just sitting on the potty "for fun" anymore. She is recognizing when it's coming. If she says "Poo-poo" she really has to go! I know, long story for a LITTLE feat, but a BIG feat for us "new parents". So we are pretty much used to her going #1 easily and even #2 occasionally, but today was a BIG leap! We were at church in sacrament meeting and she says, "Poo-poo". I could already smell something so I take her out to change her diaper. Nothing there! They obviously don't have little potties at church and she didn't like the big potty when we tried it once before so we went back to sacrament meeting. Just 30 seconds later she says again, "Poo-poo". Paul decides he's going to try putting her on the big potty. I'm thinking, "Good luck, she hates the big one."

Paul and Reina both come back with big smiles on their faces. Here's a recap of what happened: He walks in the men's bathroom. He puts her on the BIG TOILET and is holding her armpits so she doesn't fall in. She adamantly says, "No daddy" and pushes him away as she's holding onto the big seat all by herself. She doesn't even want him in the stall so she says, "Bye-bye daddy." He closes the stall door (to humor her with privacy). About 10 seconds later he ask if she went potty. She replies, "No." He looks behind in the toilet and sees that she did go. He exclaims, "You went poo-poo!" "Yeah," with a big grin on her face!

I'm crossing my fingers that the last two Costco boxes of diapers that we have already bought will be the last? Probably not, but we are excited none-the-less.

P.S. She went both #1 and #2 again in her potty before bed :) Sweet dreams!

I need to give thanks to daddy for taking her potty on the weekends when mommy wants to sleep in; Mummi for taking time out of her busy day to "sit on" with her; and Grandma Guinn for helping out and giving great ideas from experience.

Our Halloween 2010

2010-11-09T18:38:00.000-08:00

We went to my brother and his families house in Coeur d'Alene for Halloween as a 3rd year tradition. It was so much fun seeing the cousins play together! Especially Reina and Miia. They got along so well!I know...a little late, but still managed to get pictures up before Thanksgiving! Enjoy!

You're 21!

2010-10-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

I was laying in bed with my husband...a rare and wonderful occasion and realized that Reina has just turned 21 months yesterday! She totally acts like she is at least 2 1/2. I am hoping she already went through her "terrible two's" when for about three weeks she was into saying NO and hitting mommy in the face. By the way, this was during our Finland trip (although 48 hours and VERY little sleep can do this to most people, even 19 month olds). Since that bout of being hit in the face and told NO, she really has been a sweetheart! She still goes to her Mummi's childcare center and LOVES the action! Some of her best friends are 2-4 year olds: Abigail, Peyton, Ethan, and Trevin. Just yesterday they did some leaf imprints with paint to welcome the fall. When they have music time she takes center stage and really gets big and loud (definitely takes after me in this area). One day they were running back and forth in a race and Reina has learned that if she doesn't go all the way to the end, she can turn around and have a head-start to reach the finish line first! She has always been very coordinated, but since our Finland trip her vocabulary has really taken off. She understands everything we say, and can say many words. What's funny is that she kept saying "No fat, no fat." Paul and I could NOT figure out what she was saying for the longest time, then realized she was saying "No that, no that." Mummi reminds the kids "We don't do that," instead of "No" so she was just interpreting that phrase. We haven't been pushing potty-training but if we remember and feel like it, we ask her to go potty and at least half the time she does make something! In fact, grandma Guinn was getting Reina ready for bed one night and Reina told grandma "potty" and put herself on it and actually went! And last night we put her on (thinking it was just for fun), and much later when we got ready for bed realized there WAS pee in the potty! We didn't even realize it to congratulate her on her achievement! I'm thinking she will potty-train herself (knock on wood). So she has really increased in her vocabulary, molars, and sweetness! She gives scrumptious hugs and kisses, and always wakes up in the morning by talking and singing with her books. Some of her favorite things are shoes, especially boots, doggies, Dr. Laura soup (family joke), music and dancing, books, wrestling with mommy and daddy, coloring, anything outside. She still doesn't have enough hair to get into a ponytail, so she always seems to have a ball of fuzz at the back of her head. We think she is just perfect! Here are the most recent pictures of our "Sweetstuff" (20 months old):

Back to our Roots

2010-09-14T12:53:00.000-07:00

So we had the chance to go to Finland this summer! Well, at least Reina and I got to...Paul was busy at our chiropractic office. He probably would not have enjoyed having seven women in one house though. Infact, he could only watch about 15 seconds of some videos I took of the family because it was all in Finnish! I plan on putting together a little picture album for Reina to look through this week so that she may remember at least some of her relatives who live in Finland which include Reina's great-grandmother Isoaiti (this is not her name; it means big mom), Reina's great-aunt Marjatta, and her 2nd cousin Simo and his dog Pimu. She LOVED Pimu! She's a little white Ceasar dog (you know the one from the Ceasar brand dog food) who is playful, obedient, and never bites...perfect for a 19 month old who likes to grab her face. It was funny to see how Reina would watch Simo and his girlfriend Mervi give commands to Pimu, then imitate orders to Pimu.

I have already written details about our trip for our family memoirs, so I will give all of you who read this the pleasure of just seeing pictures of our trip and avoid the boring details. Enjoy! One thing I have to point out is that Reina really enjoyed the sauna. Finland is where saunas originated from. While people are building their homes, they build the sauna first so that they can use that while they are still in the process of building their homes. They go to sauna year-round, and even jump into the lakes when there is a couple or eight feet of snow! This type of attitude is where Finns live the phrase "SISU"....look it up.

A Father's Day Gift from Reina

2010-06-24T21:54:00.000-07:00

A Father's Day Gift from Reina

At the bottom of this post is the gift that Paul received from Reina. Before I share it here is a quick update of her development. If you want to skip this portion, then go to the bottom to the video.

Reina is 17 months and amazing. She goes to her Mummi's (my mom's) childcare center everyday and fits right in. She does get special treatment of course but that's what grandparents are for right? She spends hours playing outside riding on all the cars, especially the "roller-coaster" which is basically a long ramp that you ride the car down. She likes to play in the garden with Mummi and feel all the dirt and leaves between her fingers...and eat the strawberries :) When the music is on, Reina is right there dancing away! She's always the first to start moving and the last to get tired. Mummi teaches ballroom dancing and saw her practicing the Cha-Cha and now copies her by moving forward and back in the Cha-Cha motion saying in her not-quite-clear baby talk: "2-3 Cha-Cha, 2-3 Cha-Cha!" I promise I did not force this at all just because it's my passion; she picked it up all by herself- and she is GOOD for her age. I hope she will continue to like dancing as a hobby because if softball becomes her forte, I think I'd be snoring at all the games. I really did try team sports in school, but never liked them. I'm laughing thinking back when Paul and I were dating and playing the game HORSE in basketball, he'd have to copy my shot by twirling and split-leaping to make a shot!
If Reina is not busy running around in circles with her eyes closed (literally) or dancing or playing outside, then she is either "reading" or eating. Reina loves to move and she loves to eat. You can't ever sneak anything from the kitchen or in your mouth without her knowing. I think she inherited a natural LOVE for eating from both her parents, sorry Reina. At least she eats well. She eats just about anything except potatoes, meat, and pasta. If you sneak it in soup, she'll eat it all. Her favorite veggies are broccoli and cooked carrots right now, and tonight I had some brussel sprouts and she enjoyed them as well! She claps if she really likes something, like her almond butter and jam sandwich and milk...and her gummy vitamins. When Reina needs a break she grabs a book. She loves to point things out in books for her grandmas (Mummi and Grandma Guinn), so that they will say what it is. When I read to her, she especially likes how I make the ladybugs crawl up her arm and the butterflies fly into her neck- she comes to expect it at least 20 times per reading! Whew! She still has a thing for BABIES whether they are real (like the 10 month old at the daycare), in a book, in her bed, or crying on t.v.- she's got a heart for them and always treats them well. And yes, she flirts with the men...the more "mountain man" looking the more she flirts. She basically goes to nursery even though she's not quite legally 18 months, but fits in better there than climbing the piano bench in Relief Society.

Paul and I really couldn't ask for a better girl! She's got a sense of humor already with a "fake laugh" and knows if people are laughing to continue doing it- although will NOT tolerate being a puppet. She understands so well and either mumbles to respond or shakes her head yes/no. She sleeps through the night 95% of the time (since she's stopped nursing). She is happy with routine (which for now makes our lives easier). She's a trooper when sick. She is sympathetic if someone is sad. She doesn't like to get in trouble. She's a good eater. She's sharp; nothing passes her. She has rhythm. She's happy most of the time. She likes to sing. Can you tell that we are really proud parents? Here is that cute video for daddy's Father's Day surprise:

My bedtime read for April

2010-05-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

So lately I've been having a hard time sleeping because my mind is going in a million different directions and an hour has passed before I realize that I need to go to sleep! I'm not a typical "read-before-bed" type of person but lately I've been reading a few articles a night in the Ensign and have found them very rewarding...WHO KNEW? (read sarcastically please). March went by in a blink and didn't even get a chance to pick up that months Ensign so I read it throughout April and realized that it was from March 2007! If anyone is looking for answers to prayers or needs a spiritual lift, then I highly recommend that issue. It really helped me to put things into perspective and to find peace with the trials I am facing right now.

Pictures in the Park

2010-03-07T22:58:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures that were taken of us in a park in Portland. These pictures were taken by a photographer who is a relative. He was able to squeeze us in before shooting for a wedding that day. If you want to see more of his photography go here: oakhillstudios.com

The scenery was excellent with the moist air and the moss on the trees- perfect for a Pacific Northwest family!

Cute daddy and daughter!

It was a very cold day in January if you can't tell by our pink noses! Reina is one year old exactly in these photos.

And She's Off!

2010-03-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

My favorite dress of hers. . . for now :)

Is it okay that all of our posts are about Reina? We just can't help it since she is soooo entertaining! Ever since she started walking (at about 12 1/2 months) our little Suvi has really taken off- physically, mentally, verbally, and musically. Okay, so we are still waiting for more hair and more than 3 teeth! Sheesh! The last month or so I have been quite busy at work, so she has been spending a lot of time at Mummi and Papa Will's house which she loves! She has space, toys and playmates who treat her like a little doll. She knows she's getting close to Mummi's house when she sees rows of trees along the street nearby and begins to giggle and "talk" to herself. When we pull up to the house she squeels and says "Oooh, baby!" Okay, baby is definately her favorite word, but I think she considers all of her contemporaries as "baby". She greets anyone she is comfortable with with a "hi" which is usually daycare dads. One of the children always greets her saying, "Look, it's Little Baby Reina. Hi Little Baby Reina," as if that is her full name.

Playing at Mummi and Papa Will's. Can you find Reina playing outside?

Reina's new favorite past time is the great outdoors. I think if it weren't for getting hungry or tired she'd prefer to play outside the whole day! She recently discovered the park and oh my goodness- loves it! Since we've had some great weather (i.e. no rain) we've taken this rare occasion to go often. She watches kids go up the slides and gets frustrated that she can't do it just like them, so I help push her up so she feels like she did it all by herself. She can walk back and forth across the "shaky bridge" and the bigger the slide the better! I haven't let her go down alone yet since she hasn't figured out how to keep her legs from splitting and getting caught on the edge of the slide- no broken legs please! It's amazing how much more brave she becomes with each trip to the park. She now can run on the bark dust and will let the dogs come right up to her face and lick her. Paul insists she needs a puppy to grow up with her, but I insist that I'm not ready to take care of another baby.

She got this tube for her birthday that attaches to a tent. She likes it as long as there's someone to play with her...but it will be great when she's a little older for a nice little "hideout" with friends.

This little girl just loves to move! She enjoys the feeling of the body in motion. I call her my little "yoga baby" because she has always enjoyed moving into different yoga poses. I think she subconsciously remembers how yoga felt while in the womb. She is very careful with each movement and does it with care and concern to make sure it is stable, no matter how contorted it may look.

Mummi has been doing a lot of singing with Reina. So now she not only imitates sounds but freely sings to herself while playing or reading a book. I would love to capture this on video but all you parents know how once the camera goes on, the cuteness stops.

I can't remember how to get videos from the camera to the computer to the blog all by myself, so maybe next weekend when Paul is home he can help me put some videos on to share all the cute things she's been up to. We've enjoyed the sun while it's lasted!

Steals for Storage

2010-03-04T18:18:00.000-08:00

I got all of this (plus a few other things that didn't make it in the photo for $51.72. This includes some usually spendy items: 16 lbs. oranges, a large block of Tillamook cheese, two packs of double-12 pack toilet paper and two whole chickens! What a deal!
I sure do love WinCo and will miss it in Tacoma! They had a few special coupons, but the majority was without a coupon and no manufacturer coupons either, so this was just pulling what I needed off the shelf. Now Paul will have at least some chili, TP, and tuna on hand while he's gone all week long.

New Adventures have Arrived!

2010-02-05T10:44:00.000-08:00

We thought 2009 ended in a whirlwind, but this year we haven't gotten a minute to catch up! I'm taking this Friday morning while Reina is napping to quickly jot down some major changes in the Guinn family!
1. We rang in 2010 with a road trip from Las Vegas to Vancouver with Grandma and Grandpa Guinn in their Honda Odyssey. We had a Guinn family reunion after Christmas and flew down, but saved a little by riding back home to Vancouver. This was two LONG days of driving. The first few hours were horrible as Reina was screaming in her car seat on and off. Come to find out she had a triple explosion which required a complete onesie change and rinse in the sink in a restaurant and then peeing on the seat in the car during the diaper change as the restaurant did not have a changing table. I told Paul I will NEVER do a long road trip again...but after that she was perfect the whole time! So maybe I take back the NEVER.
2. Reina had her 1st birthday party with mostly family and close friends. I made a princess cake completely from scratch and even put different flavors and fillings for each layer. This was my first attempt at a "pretty cake" so I am pleased how it turned out. She even got to eat the whole top layer (thank you daddy and Uncle Steve)! I had the hardest time watching her shove that frosting into her mouth (luckily she stopped and preferred to throw it over the highchair). Her favorite gift was definately the elephant chair that Grandma Guinn made...just her size!
3. Reina officially walks 100%. She started taking her first steps December 16, and has become more confident each day...then one day while at Mummi and Papa Will's house she spent the whole day walking from room to room, just like the rest of the kids. This was about 10 days after her birthday that she decided walking was so much quicker. I walked in after work and she usually walks about 7-8 steps then stumbles down and crawls quickly to me, but that day she looked at me, turned around and kept walking the other way. Kind of sad for me, but so rewarding as well.
4. We have no more savings:(.............................BUT that means that we bought a chiropractic office! The practice we were moving towards in Austin, TX fell through when the seller decided not to sell after we got approved for a small business loan. We got that news right after Thanksgiving, so we were disappointed, mad, sad, etc....back to square one. Paul kept checking for practices for sale and looked into a few in the area. Then on January 5th there were a couple postings for practices in Tacoma and thought we might as well take a look since I still had a break from work. We went and looked two days later and felt really good about it, as well as the sellers. Things moved RAPIDLY as we scrambled to get lawyers, accountants, business accounts, legal documents and all other sorts of grown-up things together. We had to learn quickly what documents were required for what and how I should have become a lawyer or accountant with the kind of money they make :) Phew! But alas, we signed our lives away and Paul officially started February 1. I will still be in Vancouver with Reina for quite some time as the business needs a lot of growth and we still need income to survive. Paul is up there during the week and comes home on the weekends. It's only been about a week so this is all new to us, but we are trying to put things into perspective and remember that some families live like this all the time.
5. We are very thankful! We have family who have been so supportive towards us and have helped us throughout this process. It has been a long road and it is still a bumpy and curvy road, but we are beginning to see glimpses of the sun and beauty at the end of the road. I have to remind myself not to forget how beautiful the path is on this journey; stop and look around at the perfect leaves, the smell of the moss, the trickling of the stream, the yucky bugs that are content in the dirt. There is joy in these things that take us to our goals. I have a lot to be thankful for and I let my Heavenly Father know daily, bi-daily, sometimes hourly how grateful I am for my life.
My greatest joy is Reina, so of course I can't post without some pictures of her sweet, sweet face. She is such a good girl in every way!

Cousin Christina and Reina in Henderson, Nevada for Guinn family reunion Dec. '09.
Reina and cousin Madeleine meeting for the first time! (Born 18 days apart). This is Paul's twin brother's daughter.

Reina was getting a cold for her birthday party, but she was a champ and enjoyed all of the toys and people. Her favorite words at age one are: Baby followed with an Ohhhh, Doggy, and Dada.

Eating her first sweets and feeding them to Uncle Steve. By the way, this high chair is the exact same one that Paul had for his first birthday cake AND in the exact same spot in the kitchen. (tear)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-12-26T12:55:00.000-08:00

Reina's 1st Christmas! She is 11, almost 12 months in these pictures. She can stand well and has taken 5 steps to Mama or Dada. Reina also tries really hard to copy words that you say. She does great with the words: baby, Mama, Dada, and many consonants that begin words such as zipper, stars, monkey, and bunny. And for bird she says "Ttt."

p.s. Paul's beard is only TEMPORARY. Long story but it's his turn to have the beard for a family picture which will be posted at a later date.

What a BIG girl standing all by herself! She is at Papa Will and Mummi's house where she spends a lot of time. I think I'll post a video of some of her favorite things to do at their house :)

The Biggest Binki Ever!

2009-12-05T14:36:00.000-08:00

Reina cracks us up daily, but this incident was picture worthy. Below you see a binki and a rubber octopus bath toy. Reina hasn't used a pacifier for months but she discovered the biggest binki ever and couldn't resist!

Here she is with some other silly faces:)

She looks like Grandpa Guinn in this picture when he is concentrating on a task (at least the tongue looks like him).

And below she looks just like a picture of her uncle Matt when he was about her age. Although uncle Matt is a twin to daddy so I guess it's in the genes.

2009-11-04T08:34:00.000-08:00

Candy, Carving, and Coeur d'Alene!

We just love Halloween! I guess I'm speaking for the family, but Paul and Reina seemed to enjoy dressing up and getting free candy as well. This year our costume theme was somewhat "Lord of the Rings-ish". Reina was a fairy princess, Paul a Knight (next time I promise his costume will be homemade and much cooler), and me a wood elf. It's hard to tell from the pictures but I had elf ears as well. I was pleased with myself in that I sewed/put together most of my costume and also made Reina a cloak to go over her dress thanks to verbal instruction from my mother-in-law. We took a quick 6-hour trip to my brother's house in Coeur d'Alene to enjoy the picturesque fall town scene that thrives there. The little shops on Main street all gather and hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters at closing time, and then all of the houses, which are well-kept Craftsman and Victorian style designs are decorated for fall fun.

Teem (pirate), Emily (witch), Miia (unicorn), Kaija (witch), Luukas (spidy-man)

My brother Teem created this carnivorous man, and Paul created the victim!

2009-10-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

Favorite Things!

Reina's Favorites at 8 months:

Food: Raspberries (fresh), peaches cut up (but those slippery buggers can also make her a little impatient), cereal puffs, and bits of things found off the carpet. If I come to sweep her mouth to see what garbage she found she quickly clamps her jaw shut so I can't steal it from her. I've been making my own baby food to add protein in her diet and she loves it just as much as everything else. I haven't discovered anything she doesn't like...even fish! You can freeze homemade baby food by putting it in a muffin tin and stick it in freezer until hard, then let them thaw a few minutes on the counter until you can pop out each individual serving size of food. I store in a ziploc in the freezer and take a serving out as need be. My sister Sanni told me this inventive idea.

To Do: Her new thing now is to clap her hands all by herself, crawl EVERYWHERE (right now she is pulling daddy's Robert Jordan books off the book shelf). And just this week Grandma Guinn and daddy taught her to pull herself up from sitting position to standing! You go girl! Since Grandma Guinn had surgery and is in a foot cast, she likes to stand up to Grandma's recliner and squak to get her attention. Reina still loves peek-a-boo and will play it with herself if she finds a shirt, a pajama, anything made from cloth. She loves it when we sing and dance with her. Some of her favorite songs are: "You are My Sunshine", the Finnish "rowing" song, "Bimbala Bima" (also Finnish), and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam." Reina also loves to babble...she actually says "mama" like 25 times a day, especially when she wants something.

Funny things she loves: She still likes to head-bang (literally), something she picked up at 5 months. The past month or so she has been closing her eyes really tight...like you do when someone splashes water. For some reason it looks so funny on a baby. She notices that we laugh so she'll do it more and more. I'll try my darndest to get a picture of this but she gives no warning. She is very flexible and often gets herself into splits (well, splits like an L) and prefers to sit side-saddle (legs dangling to one side like riding a horse). She's hilarious when she's cocking her head to one side while observing people.

Daddy's Favorites at 28 years: (all answers are what Mommy believes are Daddy's favorites...he's not home)

Food: Red Robin Whiskey River Barbecue Chicken Burger and Bottomless Fries, Burger King Whopper (although rarely gets), Tillamook's Udderly Chocolate Ice Cream, any diet soda, Sweet Tomatoes salad that he creates along with their clam chowder, and my homemade hamburgers. (These are favorites, not staples...except for the ice-cream. We're trying to cut back on that.)

To Do: Spending free-time with mommy and Reina, especially running trails with me while Reina's in the jogging stroller. He also likes to read sci-fi/fantasy books (currently reading Jim Butcher novels), listen to talk radio (Glenn Beck, Laura Ingram), play Guitar Hero/Rock Band with whoever will play (usually Steve his bro, my bro Teem, and maybe even Mommy).

Funny things Daddy loves: Daddy loves to watch literal version videos on Youtube over and over (in fact, one of the songs was on the radio and he knew 90% of the words to the literal version song)! Likes to check-out his "nerdsite" websites everyday i.e. Forgeworld, Bell of Lost Souls, Blue Table Painting...just to name a few and dreams of days where he can paint and play Warhammer...which doesn't happen. And also likes to watch Mommy be silly with Reina.

Mommy's Favorites at 28 years:

Food: Pumpkin pie with whip cream (a whole pie), beans in any form (not green beans), Tillamook's Black Cherry Vanilla ice cream, chocolate chips, salt and pepper popcorn, blueberries, any kind of soup, and lately I've been really craving Mongolian Grill.

To Do: Anything with Daddy and Reina together which may include trail running, camping and recently picking out Halloween costumes together. I like going to Zumba or Quad step at the gym (those that are bored to workout should really check out Zumba), going to Spanky's (a local consignment store where I can take my clothes in and get store credit to buy Reina clothes, or myself)! I like to take pictures and would love to own a great camera some day soon! Of course I love to ballroom dance but since I still nurse Reina it's been on hold for a while (dancing time is Reina's needy time).

Funny things Mommy loves: Giving Reina a bath (just so I can see her splash in the water with that naked bum), watching "America's Next Top Model" (completely lame I know, but sinfully addicting), picking up things I find for my home that doesn't exist, playing Madlibs with my family and using very juvenile words.

Baby You Can Drive My Car...

2009-09-17T22:50:00.000-07:00

... because you got my keys!

Reina is 8 months and is the awesome-est baby evah! -Paul

Summer Dayz

2009-09-02T23:33:00.000-07:00

It is officially September so I decided to fill everyone in on what we've been up to this past summer.

We just got back from a quick trip to the Oregon coast. We stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory (mmm...cheese curds), waded in the river, and went to beautiful Oceanside beach. The view was spectacular, but the whipping sand forced us to leave the ocean sooner than we would have liked. Luckily we retreated back to our friend's beach house where we cozied up and watched "Confessions of a Shopaholic."

My oldest sister Tarja and her three children Reagan, Kamryn, and Ethan were visiting from California for six weeks so we've taken advantage of this treat and done some fun things. My brother Teem and his family also spent about two weeks with us. Over the 4th of July we went camping up North at Riffe Lake. We couldn't have asked for better weather. Teem brought his new boat for tubing and fishing. We watched a fantastic fireworks show right at the campground since the owner's brother lives next door and does a show every year with an actual flamethrower. All the kids loved it...but I think the firewworks startled Reina a bit so we didn't keep her out too long. This was Reina's first camping trip and she did great! But of course she always does. The only thing we were worried about was sleeping in a new and unfamiliar place, but she did just as good as at home. We are glad she is so adaptive to the environment. (hmmm, now I sound like a biology teacher). We didn't have a sleeping bag for her so I had the idea to use her too big snowsuit as her sleeping bag...yes, you can use this idea!

I think Tarja and her family are head-over-heels in love with Reina. Her cousins just can't resist keeping their hands off of her; those of you who know me know how I am about hands and germs. Anywhoo, we all have had our fair share of being sick this summer. It's been rotating from Paul, to Reina, to me, and back and forth. I heard on the news that if you have had fever and flu-like symptoms this summer that it is probably the swine flu. If that's the case, then we will be immune to it this fall! So I'm a little behind on getting Reina's 6 month shots since she has been sick off and on.

We took our annual trip to Loon Lake with all of my (Aliisa's) family. We of course did the usual boating, fishing, relaxing, and taking family photos. This was Paul and my first time wakeboarding. Paul got up on his first attempt and did great! I, however, only lasted a couple of seconds up then didn't know how to stay up...next year right? Tubing was a lot of fun though because both of my sisters and I rode at the same time for 30 minutes while my brother tried to throw us off; of course I was his only success at being flipped off the tube. I could hear everyone laugh as they zoomed past me STILL on the tube. I do have a rug burn on my hand to prove how hard I was holding on. Although this has been a super-busy summer, we are glad that we have some great memories to look back on with family. We just love our family, the BIG and the small!

P.S. Here are some family pictures my sister Sanni took. She did a great job as usual, and Reina looks especially cute even though she was very hungry...as you can tell by one particular photo.

Memorial Weekend at Loon Lake

2009-05-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a nice, long Memorial weekend at Loon Lake. Our family (Aliisa's side) stays at a family friend's lake house usually once every summer, but we were able to squeeze an early stay there over the holiday. The weather was excellent with high 70's/low 80's for this time of year so that we were able to do some boating, swimming, fishing, and water sports. Last summer my sister Sanni, sister-in-law Emily, and I were all pregnant...and this time there were 3 little girls lounging in the sun in their little sun hats and swimsuits- Heleena, Miia and Reina! We are excited to see these three cousins grow up and play together whenever we get together.

Paul finally got his first fishing license and caught the first catch of the bunch...a large-mouth bass and while trolling he caught a kokane salmon. My brother Teem has become quite the fisherman and was able to give Paul some guidance. The funny thing is that the guys were pulled over by the fishing police and Paul didn't have his fishing license on him...they luckily let him go back and get it. Whew! The guys went turkey hunting one day but didn't even see a turkey...but I'm sure they will do it again in the fall when the season is better for it. They weren't too bummed since they still did some shooting anyway.

The water was still a bit cold since it freezes over in the winter and hasn't had time for the sun to warm it, so the only brave souls to do water sports were Teem and Paul...in August when we go again I am going to try skiing and wake-boarding for the first time! We are looking forward to going again and are so grateful for our kind friends loaning their house. Also thanks to Emily and Teem for all they have done to make this possible for us...we really appreciate it!

Reina Rolling Over... Or is it Falling?

2009-05-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

Reina is 3 1/2 months old here. She has never had any trouble keeping her head up during "tummy time", she just doesn't like it! So to avoid this treacherous event she proceeded to flop herself over. We just had to capture this moment again and again...and again.

Beautiful Blessing

2009-03-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

Look at that dress! I was so happy that the design worked out perfect for Reina's blessing dress. I wanted just a hint of pink throughout the dress; antique-like that can never get "out-dated". It came out perfect! Grandma Guinn has such great sewing skills! Although she did say that this was more difficult to make than her daughter's wedding dress. We're grateful for all the effort and it's something that will always be special for our girls.

Aunt Sanni helped take these pictures of Reina. She is exactly 7 weeks in these photos. She was getting hungry (of course) during her photo shoot, so we are lucky to have gotten some good pictures!

Reina, Our Little Sweet-a Pie

2009-03-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

This is a video of Reina taken at about nine weeks old. As you can see, she loves to smile. She had been smiling and playing for about ten minutes before we started videoing, so she gets a little tired near the end. But she sure is sweet.

How Reina Came into this World

2009-03-19T22:21:00.000-07:00

So I finally am trying to get back to our blog. I'm not the best at keeping up with a "so-called journal" but I do enjoy reading others and once I do complete a blog entry I enjoy reading our family's accomplishments. So this is one of my goals: to stay up-to-date with this...(crossing fingers).
Reina Suvi Guinn is the newest addition to our family. She was born on January 8th, 2009 at 6:07 pm weighting 9 lb. 1 oz. Yes, a VERY big girl! I knew when I would be going into labor since I was to be induced on Thursday, January 8th. The night before (Wednesday) I was at the gym doing a "light" workout on the elliptical. An older gentlemen was impressed to see me there so late in my pregnancy...I let him know I was going to have a baby tomorrow! Following my shower that Wednesday evening after the gym, my husband Paul and I went to clean an office building that we take care of twice a week (once during the weekend and on Wednesday night...which it was the day before I was going to have a baby). That night I of course did not sleep much with thoughts of: "This is the last night it is just Paul and me." "Next time I sleep in this bed there is going to be a baby sleeping between us." "Uh oh, I have been anticipating this for 9 months and now it is here and I am not ready." "Yeah, I am ready to be a mommy, but oh the pain tomorrow...what if I can't take it?" "Is it possible that I am weaker than other women and will pass out?" "That's impossible, you went to the gym and cleaned the night before you delivered...hmmmm, maybe not the best idea!" "Woohoo! It's finally here!" "What's she going to look like?" Okay, so you get the point! Fear; excitement; all tangled into my thoughts.

They were going to call me sometime that morning when they had an "opening" for me to come. Usually when it comes to doctors and appointments everything runs late so I expected a call NO earlier than 10am. Much to my surprise they called at 7:20am. They question, "Is this Aliisa?" With a surprisingly restful 5 hours of sleep I responded, "Yes". They ask, "Are you ready to have a baby today?" What kind of a question is that? I felt like I was at a Bed and Breakfast and they were calling my room asking if I would like an omelet or scrambled eggs. So I respond with an embarrassed red face, "Sure." So of course they want me to quickly hop in the car and already be there before I even have gotten off the phone with them. My husband Paul lovingly makes me an omelet (hmmm....I just realized the reality of my breakfast order). I quickly put my hair in a bun, knowing that I won't want ANY distractions later today and dash a little blush and lip gloss on my face. (I've been told by "What Not to Wear" that the quickest way to look fresh is a little blush.)

We arrive at the hospital around 8:15 with all the necessities in tow...to discover those "necessities" that they tell you to bring were never used. They brought us (Paul and me) to a nice, big, room where you deliver and sleep all in one. We actually had a great view of the secluded trees and shrubs in the center of the hospital courtyard. I didn't get hooked up to the Petocin (which speeds up contractions) until 9:30. I was already dilated to 3-31/2 for the last 3 weeks and had been having minor contractions for a while now...but nothing painful whatsoever. The Petocin didn't really do anything so my doctor came in to break my water. Dr. Virgin came in a little after 11am in between delivering another lady at a different hospital. I couldn't believe how easy she just came in, put a long tube in me (it looked like one of those squeezy things you use to suck the juice out of a turkey), and suddenly I began to leak. At this point I began to feel like I was a turkey who was done and ready to be carved. My hours of baking were up ( 9 months), my turkey timer had official popped (belly button), and the stuffing was beginning to leak (water broke). Once my water broke, that's when I actually started feeling contractions. The first hour of contractions felt like bad gas or diarrhea pain. The second hour I really started to have major contractions and had to change positions so they made a warm bath for me. Paul helped out a lot during those contractions by pressing my hips together during the minute long contractions. The only thing that kept me from the horrible pain was the idea that the pain was somehow "lessened" with squeezing my hips together. The "minute" between contractions of course seemed to last only a few seconds compared to the "minute" long contractions. After the second hour of real contractions in the tub I had to change positions because the pain was getting to be too much. My nurse kept asking what my pain level was. Earlier I had told her I would get an epidural when it was at an 8. At this point I wanted to say 8 but still forced myself to stick with it a little longer (since an epidural tends to delay dilation) so I said 6. The third hour of contractions was leaning over the bed on a medicine ball and realizing what an overcoming amount of pain the body goes through to deliver. At the end of this third hour I finally said it was time for an epidural. My pain was definitely a firm 8. Relief. Immediate relief with the epidural. Wow, why didn't I do this earlier? Now I can't feel a thing and I can actually fall asleep. I attempted to sleep for an hour or so. My mom and sister Sanni arrived at this time after the epidural was completed when all was peaceful. At this time Paul finally got to leave and get something to eat while I rested. After three hours of the epidural I began pushing a little after 5pm. My doctor was not there yet and I was afraid I would deliver before she got there. But luckily she got there the last 10 minutes of my delivery. I pushed for 53 minutes. Pushing made me VERY sleepy so in between each set of pushes I had to breath through an oxygen mask. It was my only relief. If I did not have that oxygen mask I think I would have passed out. My eyelids were drooping and the only thing keeping me from going to sleep was the oxygen mask and bites of jello in between pushing. My mom ordered that I get to eat. She was right, I would have passed out without the energy from the jello. Because of the epidural I could feel the contractions but couldn't really feel if I was actually pushing. So they brought a mirror that showed the crown of the baby. That mirror really helped me and gave me the effort to really push and know that my pushing was actually accomplishing something. Soon after the mirror arrived I was able to push until out popped Reina with her big, round, cheeks and big eyes.

Everything with the labor and delivery went great! The nurses kept commenting at how easy of a patient I was. I surprisingly handled the pain much better than I expected. No screaming, no crying; just moaning.

Reina was born with chubby little cheeks and eyes wide open taking in this new world. We like to think that the veil wasn't completely closed and that she was welcomed with angels at her side comforting her with this new life. Reina just kept looking and looking at her mommy those first minutes of being born. I think she was told that I would be her mommy and would be taking care of her. Apparently after she was born when they brought her to me I said "This is my baby? I have a baby? I have a baby!"

And now she is here and with us. We are blessed to have such a healthy and wonderful little girl. She is our little miracle and blessing and hope that she will always feel blessed to have us as her parents. My favorite thing in the whole world now is laying in bed with daddy and baby Reina sleeping between us.

Vacation Time!

2008-11-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

We did it! We finally took a real vacation...it didn't start out being a vacation with plans to look at a chiropractic office for sale, but it was a good excuse to visit Hawaii. We stayed a week on the island of Oahu and went about 3/4 around the island. Our first visit was to Pearl Harbor which helped us (me) to realize how brave our soldiers are. Military service I think is one of the most unappreciated and gracious acts one can do in this life. I owe my life to those who defend this country.

One of our main trips was to the North Shore where BYU-Hawaii and the temple are located. During our day trip there we visited the campus and visitor's center at the temple, and probably the highlight of the trip was to the Polynesian Cultural Center (which is owned and run by the Church). This was AMAZING! It's not only a luau with a show but a full day event. You start out with a canoe show featuring dances from all the polynesian islands. Then you continue your tour of the islands with ceremonies and cultural activities from each particular island. This leads you up to the luau where you get to eat the traditional smoked pig feast with entertainment while you eat. I expected the evening to end after that but it continues with an hour and a half full on show featuring music and dancing from the islands (which is put on in an outdoor arena). We didn't get home until 11pm or so. Spendy but a great memory!

We did a ton of swimming- how can you not when the water is like bath water...except for the sand. We literally went to a beach every day! We realized that the North shore had the best waves. I even wore a bikini while pregnant...I wanted the least amount of tan lines as possible. I got a few stares but most people couldn't believe I was actually playing in the water.

We did a little snorkling at Hanauma Bay where it's known for lots of underwater life...we snapped a few shots of different sea life. Paul happened to see an eel, which he said looked like it was going to take a bite out of him. I was glad I didn't see one!

Of course we did some shopping. And on our last day there we tried to go for a hike which started out great...it reminded us of the island on LOST (only our FAVORITE show) but we only got about 300 ft. into the hike due to the thickest muck and swarms of mosquitos!
It was great to get away from the rain and have sun and beach for a week!

WSCC Graduation

2008-07-13T21:28:00.000-07:00

He did it! Paul graduated from Western States Chiropractic College on June 21, 2008. We are excited to be at this point in our lives...it's been a long road, but good things have happened along the way. We were happy to celebrate "the day" with so much family support. Thank you all for coming!
After the ceremony at the Oregon Convention Center we went out for a steak dinner at Sayler's Old Country Kitchen. When we pulled up to the restaurant we weren't very excited to see a 30 year old sign with a faded picture of a steak on it. Luckily the steaks turned out to be delicioso! Two surprises were in store; one for Paul and one for everybody else. Paul was surprised to get a new mountain bike. (And it was even the right color!) The second surprise was the big one...Paul announced that I am pregnant! Family, food and fertility make a great day!

2008-07-11T13:27:00.001-07:00

Time to Start a Blog

2008-07-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

I've decided that everyone has a blog but us, but I kept telling Paul that there is no reason to start one since it's just the two of us. I kept saying that we'd start one once we had something to actually talk about...we finally do! Paul and I are having a baby...I guess I should clarify that I'm having a baby with Paul! I'm not due until January 14, which I think is great timing! I get to enjoy the summer without being too pregnant and hot, hopefully we can go on vacation to some warm and yummy place (a needed late honeymoon) this fall before I'm too big to fly, and then after all the holidays are over have the new adventure of being a mommy. The timing couldn't be better as well since Paul just graduated from Western States Chiropractic College a few weeks ago (post in preparation). All he has left to do is his preceptorship (working with another chiropractor in the area) until September and take his final board exam in November which he has heard is the easiest one of them all. We went to a financial planner the other day and they asked if there were any big events happening in the near future...we looked at each other and laughed! Of course the three big ones will be on our plate at the same time: new chiropractic business, probably moving, and baby. Why does it seem to happen all at once? Trial of our faith right? We are looking forward to these scary but very exciting events nonetheless.

We hope to keep up with our blog as we enjoy reading and seeing all the events that take place in all of our friends and families lives. We look forward to seeing and hearing from you all soon!