Weekend Highlights

Steve came home early on Friday.  It was such a nice surprise after his busy work week.  

Steve and I had a date on Friday night.  We went to the mall so he could look at some frames for prescription sunglasses and then we ate at Vapiano's.  I must be back to my normal self because all sorts of food, including the previously banned Italian food, sound good to me these days.  Except for Papa John's pizza.  I'm not sure Papa John and I will ever be friends again.

On Saturday morning, we visited the Museum of Natural History in DC.  We paid for the butterfly exhibit, and Stephen hated it again.  We visited the Korean, snake, photography, mammal, and bug exhibits.  Mei Li held a tobacco hornworm, which she dropped when it tickled her.

We met up with Christine at Founding Farmers for lunch.  Oh my.  If you haven't tried it, you need too.  Everything we ordered was excellent.  Steve ordered the prime rib dip and I ordered the butternut squash and mascarpone ravioli.   Mmmm.

Afterwards, Christine joined us at Gravelly Point to watch the airplanes and feed the ducks.  The weather was perfect.   The last time we went there, it was Father's Day and I ended up giving birth to Mi Na the very next day. 

Mei Li fell into the Potomac and got her shoes wet.  It took her a while to get over that one.  But taking pictures helped cheer her up.

On Father's day, we had a pancake breakfast and a Hawaiian haystack dinner at Steve's request.  He still had a church meeting to go to in the morning, but at least it was pushed back until 11 AM.  We had a great time celebrating Steve.  I know no one is perfect, but Steve kind of is.  At least I think so.  I am so amazed by the patient way he parents our children and the joy that he brings to them daily.  Being around Steve makes me want to be better in all aspects of my life.  It's hard work keeping up with him, but if I didn't at least try, I'd probably feel so bad about myself I couldn't stand to be around him.  We're all so blessed to have Steve in our daily lives.

Tomorrow, we're going to my 20-week ultrasound.  I usually have a correct hunch by this time about the gender of our babies, but I am totally stumped on this one.  At times, I have felt positive that it was a girl, but then I've felt that it was a boy too.  I don't care either way.  I am just happy to trust that Heavenly Father sent us the child that was meant to be in our family.  Any guesses?  Are you one who can tell the gender of the baby just by looking at my baby bump?

Safety

I'm kind of a worrier when it comes to my kids.  It's not something I'm proud of, but I am doing my best to prepare and teach them so I don't have to worry (as much).  I have spent some time worrying about my future teenaged children and the challenges they will face.

It seems, though, that each time I start to worry, I almost immediately feel peace and know that they'll be okay because Steve is their father.

Each one of them feels completely safe in his love, and I know that no matter what mistakes are made or how hard the trial is, Steve will be a great source of strength, help, and comfort for our children.  I am starting to think that "safety" is a synonym for "amazing father and husband."  Thank you, Steve, for safety.

 

And now, I must write a bit about my own sweet, Oklahoman father.  He loves his children so completely.  He is proud of each one and has always supported our goals.

I think one reason I worry so much about my future teenagers is because I pretty much hated being one myself.  I just remember crying SO. MUCH.  I was so emotional.  There were so many days that I couldn't wait to walk through the door of my own home and just be enveloped by the love of my dad.  I felt safe with him, not necessarily because he could solve all my problems, but just because I knew he loved me unconditionally.

Nowadays, I receive phone calls from Dad that go something like this:

Me: Hello?

Dad: Hey! How's my Virginian?

Me: I'm doing well.  How are you?

Dad: Good.  I just called to make sure you were doing okay.

Me: Thanks, Dad.

Dad: Okay, love ya.  Bye! (I'm not sure how to spell "bye" in Oklahoman, but it's different than the way I say it.)

My siblings and even siblings-in-law report similar conversations.  I used to be so puzzled by these short phone calls, but then I loved them and looked forward to them.  Even if he's busy doing something else or doesn't have much to say, he makes the effort to call and check up on us.  I love that.  I love you, Dad.

Happy Father's Day!

Wednesday night-Thursday morning

Steve and I went to bed late Wednesday night after working out and cleaning up.

An hour after we hit the hay, Stephen and Mei Li walked into our bedroom and wanted to sleep in our bed. We told them no, but I guess they didn't hear us because they climbed into our bed anyway. Steve doesn't sleep well with kids in his bed so I suggested that he get into Stephen's bed. Stephen thought he needed directions so he said, "Dad, my bed is in my bedroom over there."

So it was just Mei, Stephen, and me just lying in my bed, not sleeping. And Steve was all alone in Stephen's bed. This was not right at all! So I told the kids to get back in their beds. And surprisingly, they both sprung up and went back into their room. I heard Stephen say, "Dad, your bed's over there. Thanks for making my bed warm."

But then, Stephen knocked on our door again and said he had to go to the bathroom. Steve helped him and then he went back to bed.

So we shut our eyes.

And Mi Na woke up. I brought her to our bed to nurse her and I drifted in and out of sleep until Mei and Stephen were up for the day. We were pretty tired going into Thursday.

Mi Na's Blessing Day

Steve blessed Mi Na on Sunday and many family members came just to witness the event. Steve's brother Zack, father John, and my father Howard joined him in the blessing circle. It was beautiful.

Here's the star of the day on top of a quilt made by Aunt Annee, dressed in a silk dress made by Aunty Ie Mei and booties made by Great Grandma Z (not pictured).

Three generations. I'm glad Dorothy suggested that we take this picture.

Z fam

Us

Oh how I love this little girl.

Annee really loves her too.

Steve went to the field with Mei Li and Stephen. I waited for Mi Na to wake up, fed her, and joined them later.

I took these few pictures from the field, but mostly I drank in all of the beauty that I saw my family creating. Steve playing catch with Stephen, Mei Li running to me to hug me as I arrived at the field, Mi Na and me having a smiling/laughing session, and Mi Na just being her smiling and tender self with a sunset for a backdrop was enough to make me want to cry. Here I am, getting all sentimental about another Sunday evening on the field.

The whole day was beautiful. It was sad to say goodbye to family.

Mi Na

Her name is Mi Na Anne. Mi Na means smilingly tender. Anne is my middle name, the name of my grandmother, Steve's grandmother, and Steve's sister.

Our tender little one came to us on the summer solstice, June 21, at 6:13 PM, exactly three weeks before her due date. She weighed 6 lbs 14 oz, measured 21 inches long.

Steve woke up early Monday morning to water the grass. I woke up with the kids and helped them find Steve. They watched him water the grass while I got a little more sleep.

After getting ready for the day with Steve, I told him that it would be nice to go into labor in the morning so we wouldn't have to bother anyone to watch our kids in the middle of the night. I somehow knew that the baby wasn't going to wait for Ie Ling and Jonathan to arrive, but I didn't really think I would be having the baby that very day.

I sent Steve off to work and we started our day like any other. I had irregular contractions all morning until 10:13 (or 10:23, according to our stove clock, which is 10 minutes fast), when they became more regular, about 8 minutes apart. I started timing them and simultaneously addressed thank you cards. 10:23, 10:31, 10:39, 10:47, 10:53, 10:58, 11:06, 11:17, 11:25, 11:30, 11:35. They started coming every 5 minutes.

I tried to find someone to watch my children. I thought it would be good to find someone in our old neighborhood, closer to the hospital. Ashley was the first I found to pick up her phone and she was available and willing. Thank you, Ashley.

Somehow, even though my contractions were getting closer together, I still didn't believe I was in labor. I wasn't in pain, I wasn't panicking, and life was just going on like it normally does. That morning, Stephen and Mei Li decorated her mirror together.



I called the doctor's office and talked to a nurse about what I should do. She consulted with the doctor there and the doctor said I should head to the hospital, considering that I had been at 3 cm on Friday, and that this was my third.

The kids were watching Sesame Street when I told them it was time to go. They put up a little fight, but they came.

I continued to have painless contractions 5 minutes apart during the 30 minute drive to Ashley's. We met Steve there, dropped the kids off, and then he drove me to the hospital.

I was at 5 cm when the doctor first checked me (around 3 PM). I asked the doctor to hold off on breaking my water so I could see where these painless contractions would take me. We took a 45 minute walk around the hospital floor. My contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. When checked again, I was only at a 6 (around 4:30 PM). The contractions continued and one hour later, I was only a little more than 6 cm.

During all of this, Steve and I watched the World Cup. We were happy and chatty.


Steve took pictures of these ugly turkey vultures outside of my window.


The doctor broke my water and the next five contractions were mildly painful and more intense. I suppose those ones took me to 7 cm.

The next two were unbelievably painful. I moaned through them. Then I asked the nurse for an epidural, and felt a little silly for not asking for one sooner. The nurse took her time getting that ordered.

I screamed and cried during the next contraction. But before the next one came, Steve very carefully and tenderly asked me if it would be okay to offer me some pain-coping advice. I thought it was sweet that he was so careful about my feelings and just didn't want to make things worse.

I let him give me his advice. He told me to try to project my mind past the pain. I relaxed my body and tried to almost fall asleep. It helped. In the middle of intense pain, a patient ambassador walked in so he could ask me some questions. I told him that it wasn't a good time.

The anesthesiologist arrived during the next contraction, but I already knew she was too late. I felt like I needed to push. The doctor checked me and it turns out that those last few contractions took me from 7 to 9 cm.

The next one came and I was ready to push. I turned to Steve and asked a silly question, "is it okay if I cry?" He looked at me and smiled, "yes, it's okay to cry."

In considering giving natural childbirth, I knew to expect extreme pain like I'd never felt before, but I never expected to feel fear. In that contraction, I felt so so scared. I was scared because I couldn't turn back and I desperately wanted to. I screamed, "I can't do this, I can't do this!" Steve said, "Yes you can, Ie Li. You're doing it!"

Steve reminded me to breathe so I tried. It's easier to scream than breathe, though. I breathed, screamed, pushed. Breathed, screamed, pushed. Her head was out and I saw a full head of black hair, just like my other children.

One more push and she was out. I felt relief and exultant joy, just like I did with my other two. To me, the pushing seemed to last forever, but Steve informed me that I pushed for just five minutes.

Steve cut the cord and then the baby was on my chest. She was beautiful with her smashed face. I cried. We did it again. We did it together.


Rachel and Christine picked up the kids from Ashley's house and brought them to the hospital to see their new sister shortly after she was born. They loved her and they looked at her with wonder. Thank you Rachel and Christine for your help.


That night, I asked Steve to write down his account of her birth. It is short, but so sweet. This is my favorite part of his story:

"I am always impressed and touched as the baby is born, just how close a new baby brings us all to heaven. To think she was just there, and now she is here. I think that is what makes the moment so special every time. I wonder if we can make her home here as nice as her home there."


We are going to try. We are going to try really hard to make her home a heavenly one. I think that with a father like Steve, and loving siblings like Mei Li and Stephen, we can make it happen together. Welcome to the world, Mi Na. We love you.

Father's day

The kids woke up early this morning. I let Steve sleep in. We made pancakes for breakfast and enjoyed them together in our sunny kitchen.

We got ready for church and made it there on time. I am so happy that we have 9:00 church. Our kids are happiest in the morning and they have an easier time sitting still during sacrament meeting.

Mei Li went up with the rest of the primary kids to sing a couple of songs for father's day. She made her way to the front and smiled the whole time. Steve and I were grinning from ear to ear.

After church and lunch, we headed to Gravelly Point to watch the planes take off and land at Reagan National. It was Steve's father's day wish. He really loves airplanes. Occasionally I catch him checking airplane websites and blogs and it makes me smile.


We set out a blanket, where I stayed for most of the outing, even when Steve and the kids went to feed the ducks. I'm trying to find my ankles again. I last saw them on Friday morning.


Mei Li came back to join me for some pita chips and water and then we walked over to the boys and the ducks.



After all the bread was gone, we all went back to our blanket for some rest and more pita chips.


And since we were in Rachel and Christine's neighborhood, we stopped by to say hello (and use the bathroom).


This is my favorite picture of the day.


Just look at Mei Li's head on Steve's shoulder! Happy father's day, sweetheart.