Visiting family :)

Well, we ventured our first flight with little miss Olivia. She did so awesome! She barely cried on any of the flights and on our mini road trip from Phoenix to El Paso she did very well also. Now we know that it is possible and that sets me at ease because I hope to go to Phoenix for Thanksgiving, and We all are going down in January.

It was awesome to see Olivia with her family. I am very glad that she got to meet her vis abuela and abuelo, they were the main reason for the trip. Abuelo is go good with children, I got some good pics of him singing to her. It's also good to see her with her generation, Jonathon held her hand on most of the car rides around El Paso, and Hayden had fun trying to kiss her.

Alas, I did not get the job in Phoenix. We are sad that we are not going to move closer to family but also happy because we really do enjoy this city very very much. I did not want to leave even though I think it is best for our family right now. I will continue to apply for work here, Phoenix, and El Paso. We will see where this economy takes us!

Miss you all.

Beach fun.

Well the weather is tipping the 100's up here so, Olivia and I hit the beach to get out of the heat. On Monday we went alone to Oceanside. It was windy but beautiful and calming. We went on lots of long walks with my feet in the water.

On Tuesday we took Piper along to Seaside. It was much warmer there, warm enough to get pretty wet, but not warm enough to actually go swimming. We stayed and watched the sunset and then Piper spun fire for us. It was really nice. Plus Piper bought the best goodies to munch on. Thanks Piper!

New adventures of Olivia

Well since the last post Olivia has now been to the top of Multnomah, done some yoga with Mama, and gone to her first wedding. Her and I are getting along well on our days together and when papa comes home we go for a walk most nights. She loves that. Olivia loves the outdoors, and to be in her stroller on the go.

Albert had his first day alone with her today. He did not call me a million times like all my co-workers thought he would. He was a little stressed about the feeding but he got through it and even ventured out with her on his own. I am some what jealous though because he got to leave her with Piper for a short time, something I never get to do.

Albert is getting a promotion at work and we are moving into a smaller apartment. We are trying our hardest to stay in Portland and for now it looks like it will work out. I am not going to work too much because I don't make enough to pay a babysitter. I am sure x-ray work will come soon, and that will be good because Albert and I are itching to get back to school, and traveling.

A SHOUT-OUT to all the Parents.

I just wanted to say a little thanks to all the parents involved in our lives. I appreciate the way that we were raised and understand the hard decisions that parents have to make. It's a tough job and some of you never lost sight of the big picture.

Thank you.

Okay, so Olivia has been here for 5 weeks now. This is our second week at home alone. The last of the family is gone. We had sooo much fun with them and are very sad that they are gone. Olivia did so much in her first few weeks. We went to Multnomah falls 3 times, the Saturday Market 3 times, the zoo, Japanese and Chinese gardens, a river boat cruise, Seattle, a mansion,
and the beach twice. Whew!!



Now Albert and I are starting to find out that Olivia likes to move. She wants to be held and does not want you to sit down! We take her for a walk every night when Albert comes home and she loves it. Albert is going to get to spend the whole day with her by his self starting on the 24th. I know they will have fun together :)

We mailed out the announcements and a picture of Olivia this week so look out in your mailboxes! Here are some of the pictures from her first month.

First Father's Day

Today I spend my first fathers day with my Family. My mom is flying in to stay for 2 weeks. There will be 2 grandmas in the house for a bit. Hopefully they won't fight over the baby.

Olivia on Excursion

Olivia is just over a week old and has done alot in portland. She has seen Multnomah falls, ridden a stern wheeler down the Columbia River. She's gone down town, road the max light rale, watched naked people on bikes (sorry no pics) and shopped at Saturday Market. Olivia's first few days have been very busy.

Hello from Olivia

SHE'S HERE!!!

Albert already got the head start on the important information but I thought I would fill in a little from my perspective.

On Thursday, the 4th, we had a doctors appointment and ultrasound. The results came back that Olivia's amnio fluid was really low. The doctor wanted to induce that evening. Since induction and interventions were not part of our birth plan Albert and I wanted to wait and try a few more natural methods. There was no evidence that Olivia was in distress. The doctor was just worried because low fluid could be dangerous.

We went directly from the doctors office to acupuncturist. I tried acupuncture on Thursday and Friday, tried "exercises" with Albert, nipple stimulation, spicy food but, Olivia was too comfortable so induction was scheduled on Monday at 6am.

At the hospital labor started out about as I expected. Painful, but I was able to relax in between contractions. The beginning was easy. They upped the pitocin and did checks on my cervix. Labor progressed a little slower than I expected, so we let them break the water at noon. After that it was a whole other show!!

The contractions became very strong and stayed one to two minutes apart. I could not relax, I could not focus. I did start to really want the narcotics to take the edge off the pain. The only thing that saved me was Albert. He was so perfect through the whole thing. Albert talked me through everything and just kept encouraging me to go on. I have never loved him more than I do now. He and my daughter are perfect.

Well anyway. All of a sudden I HAD do push! There was no way around it. In fact Albert tried to coach me through it to wait for the doctor and that was the only time I was really really really mad at him. I told him to shut up because no one was gonna stop me I had to PUSH! After about an hour of pushing Olivia was here. The nurse Joyce was an awesome help, Albert was perfect in helping me crunch up for each push, and my mom got to listen through the curtain. When they put the baby on my tummy I could not believe she had been in there this whole time!

I kept saying, "It's a baby, It's a baby". So far this was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but also my favorite.

Just Born Baby

Olivia is home now and has had her first night in her crib. She slept well, she only woke up once, we got a whole four hours of sleep!

Here are some pics from the hosptial of Eliz, Grandma, Grandpa, and I with Olivia.

Olivia's First Night

Olivia is here! We're spending the first night at the hospital. Hopefully we'll be home by Tuesday night. Olivia started feeding only minutes after birth. Mommy was glad to be done with labor, 7 hours, 1 of which was spent pushing. Eliz did it without any pain meds. Olivia Artemisia Palma. 7lb12oz born @ 420pm. 20inches long.