Interesting Amaya Facts

She's only a week old, but it's time to start studying up on the blog's newest star... You want to be a true groupie, don't you?

* "Amaya" has Japanese origins, meaning "night rain." This is a nod to her 1/8th Japanese background, and the Japanese side of the family.  It also has Hebrew origins, meaning "close to God."  

* Before leaving the hospital, she had lost weight from 6lbs 15oz to 6 lbs, 7 oz.  (This is normal and expected.). Most babies take some time to get back to their birthweight.  Four days later, though, she was already 7lbs. 5oz!  (In terms of percentage body weight, this would be the equivalent of someone going from 150lbs on Monday to 139 lbs by Wednesday, and then back up to 170lbs by Saturday!)

* "Rose" is Libby's middle name.

* She has a small patch of light-colored/blonde hair behind her left ear.

* "Amaya" rhymes with "papaya," which 50% of Noah's parents believe was his first word.

* Amaya is a drama queen, producing tears (not just wimpy cries) at the drop of a hat.

More Cute Baby Pictures

Kung Fu Amaya

Meet Amaya Rose!

August 29, 2013, our blog got a new co-star... Just after midnight, after forty-one weeks of anticipation, Amaya Rose emerged!

After a smooth induction for being so late, baby came out just fine, and Mama did spectacularly!  As the baby was halfway out, Libby asked the doctor whether the baby had lots of hair... She does!

After a relaxing 1 1/2 day hospital stay, they came home.  Dada had to work for the first couple days, but tried his best (with limited success) to minimize his hours.  Now, the whole family is home together for a week, as Dada's vacation begins!

So far, Amaya is asserting a different personality from Noah.  She seems to eat just as much, but she doesn't seem to stop moving when she's awake - a far cry from Noah's bump-on-a-log strategy.

She seems to be sleeping okay... For now, Libby's done the lion's share of getting up at night, so I must sheepishly admit that she could tell you better than I...

She has really beautiful big eyes... Dark colored... Gray, maybe? Hard to say...

She wants to eat everything... Her hand... Dada's finger... The blanket... Anything remotely close to her face.

She has a powerful cry.  It seems to always mean the same thing, though:  I'm hungry!  And then, Viola! Calm, happy (often asleep) baby, once again!

Libby has already enjoyed dressing her up in cute girls clothes... Though she's been disappointed that all of the dresses we have are way too big for a newborn size,   She is a tiny little peanut! 6lbs, 15oz at birth, 20in.

Noah's Prayers

No baby sister, yet, but while we're waiting, more Noah cuteness!  Here are some of Noah's nightly prayers over the last few weeks:

 

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"God, thank you that the road isn't too bumpy.  Thank you that monsters don't come to our house... Or animals And thank you for trains that stay on their tracks."

 

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"God, thank you for the trains, these animals, the people."

 

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"God, thank you for this bed and these animals and this bed and teddy bears, and the animals."

 

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"God, thank you for these monkeys, and the water that leaks out of the clouds, and this bed, and if you don't have a Mama and Dada then you can't do that, and for this day.  Amen."

 

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"God, thank you for this day and for these clothes, and for our things and the baby, and thank you for the fans that move most of the time, and for the trains that move most of the time, and for this bed, and thank your for the people."

 

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"God, thank you for this bed, and the outside of the bed, and the bed, and the penguins, and the dogs, and the people. Thank you for the kids who come on Tuesday, and for cell phones."

 

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"Thank you for the card and these animals, and the cars, and the cars, and the cars, and the windshields, and ... Amen!"

 

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"Thank you, God, for this day and for keeping us healthy, and for keeping us healthy, and for the trees, and for the grass, and for the cars, and for my convertible, and for cars that go over the hills always, and for trains that go over the hills always, and for train tracks, and for this bed, and for blocks, and for watering cans, and for the buckets. Amen."

 

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"God, thank you for making us, and for these things, and for these things, and everything! Amen!"

A New Skill for Noah

It's true... not only does he know how to spell his name out-loud, but now he knows how to write it, too! Not too shabby, eh?

You Say It's Your Birthday... It's My Birthday, Too, Yeah!

Still pounding out the entries... Gotta get all the pictures up! Let Noah enjoy his last bit of unopposed limelight!

Noah likes birthday parties. He likes playing with other kids. He likes singing Happy Birthday. He LOVES cake and ice cream. So, when he had two birthday parties to attend in the same day... HEAVEN!

The two parties were different. Both were great! The first one had lots of crafts...

And games (like musical chairs)...

Who knew two- and three-year-olds could mostly figure out musical chairs?

Once Noah understood the point of the game, he definitely relished in the sweet taste of victory every time the music stopped and he found a chair to sit in!

And very wisely, the hosts had pink lemonade as a consolation prize to immediately console the children as they were eliminated. No tears here!

And then, the pinata! Or as one of the birthday girls put it, "Knocking Dora's head off!"

Of course, once Dora's head got knocked off, and the body full of candy was still intact, it took a little surgery to re-capitate Dora and continue the game.

Noah's favorite part...

Cake and ice cream!

Followed by several hundred cycles up and down the slide to burn off the calories.

No rest for the weary, though. On to birthday party #2 we went!

All the kids were entranced by a magic act. Somebody-the-Great... I forget what his name was. He was really good, though.

He made a bunny rabbit appear...

In fact, he turned Noah into a bunny rabbit!

(But then to his credit, he did make a real bunny rabbit appear - and then disappear again! And I really have no clue how he did it. The magician was pretty slick!)

And then the camera battery died. So, that must've been the end of the party, right? Guess you'll have to use your imagination!

A Walk in the Park

"Hey! We're in Michigan. Can we come over tomorrow?"

Maybe it wasn't quite THAT extreme of a conversation, but it was pretty close. That's typical for our Texan friends. And our response to them was typical as well: "Come!!! You're always invited!"

Noah loves having other boys around to play with. He got along easily with Judah, shared his toys well, and then did the typical 2-year-old sort-of-play-with-you-and-sort-of-ignore-you thing.

Highlight of the visit, of course, was showing them around the park. Noah showed Judah how to climb up the stairs, run across the bridge, and go down the slide. Although, as much as Noah liked demonstrating those skills, it seemed like Judah didn't really need to be shown. He doesn't seem to be afraid of very much. He was eager to try it all, whether someone showed him or not.

I'm still not really sure who was having the most fun. Smiles were pretty easy to come by.

Speaking of smiles... this one below looks pretty familiar. Seems like the apple doesn't fall too far...

Eventually we pried the two boys (and at least one of the fathers) away from the slides, though. Surprisingly, there was no wailing or gnashing of teeth.

I guess the fact that there were still cool things to play with (a stroller, a wagon, a tricycle... lots of things with wheels!) made it easier to lure them away from the jungle gym.

And then they rode off into the sunset... well, actually, the kids went to bed, and then (quite awhile later) the adults followed suit - I was so proud! We stayed up late! We weren't old and lame! But sadly, they did ride off into the sunset the next day... Guess it's our turn to go to Texas next!