Halloween festivities

So we did our traditional 5 min costume.  (Charlie from LOST and a Hippie)

Kendi (red)  and friends as Wii characters

Just want to eat him up!

Just before the carmel bath!

I did the right side, Michelle the left

The first 10 days

Deacon has been so good to Michelle and I (He has his moments).  He is waking up about once a night so we are enjoying that.  Many people have told us that they like to trick you so we hope he does not decide to switch things up.  

I almost think Michelle wants to wake up more often...........I say this because last night I woke up in the middle of the night and I saw Michelle sitting up cradling the baby (so I thought)  It turns out she was sleeping sitting up with her arms as if she was holding Deacon to feed.  It was the funniest thing.  I guess she said the night before she woke up doing the exact same thing.  What a kook!    

Deacon Kai Ellsworth

The above picture is Deacon getting ready for his first sponge bath at home! 

This was the calm before the storm.

All better! He loved his new duck towel =)

Lauren (sister -in-law) says I (Jason) have a good stink eye when I am not amused. This is my little guy in training.

Michelle holding baby Deacon shortly after he was born.

I keep debating on if I should tell the story or Michelle. She is sleeping right next to me so here goes my point of view...
I have been pretty busy at school this last semester so I have not had much time at home. I have told Michelle a number of times that my phone is on loud and to call me if anything happens. So I am in the BioChem lab on campus Monday evening (Oct.12) and I get a text.."How much longer do you think you'll be"? So I respond that I just finished lab and I would be starting homework. She then tells me "I think my water broke". I was not too worried as this was done all over text and she did not seem nervous (and she was not sure as it was a very small amount). I suggested she walk over to Trevor and Lauren's house (not too far but, a little walk). I soon found myself not being able to concentrate and so I left on my way over to their house as well. I get there and she is having contractions so we decide to time them and call the birthing center to tell them all that was going on and if we should make our 50 min drive down to see them (we did not want to go because we have heard when its your first baby they do not take you very serious and its a long drive). After Lauren gave Michelle probably her best massage ever, we went to our house picked up our things and headed on our way. We get there and I do not bring anything in with us as I am sure they are just going to be sending us right on back home (Michelle's contractions were like 10 min apart). We get seen in the triage room and sure enough the nurse says "you guys aren't going anywhere, lets get you settled into one of our suites" =). We were very excited! After a while the doctor came in and decided to finish breaking Michelle's water and the contractions slowly built. Deacon was on Michelle's sciatic nerve causing more pain in her legs making that more intense than the contractions. Michelle wanted to do it without the epidural but, the pain in her legs was just too much. The epidural was put in place around 4am (she made it to just about 8 cm so I was impressed). Michelle did not have any problems with the epidural and was so glad she got it. We then got a few off and on moments of shut eye. Around 7 am she was checked again and was at a 10! The doctor and nurse decided that they weren't going to do anything and let her body 'labor down' on its own. Within the next hour the nurse set her up for pushing and we (she) was on her way. The craziest thing was the amount of time it was just Michelle and I doing the pushing process. She would tell me she felt the urge to push, I would look at the monitor, see that she was infact contracting and I would hold her up and count to ten 3 times with a deep breath spaced between each push. If I had to put an honest guess it was just her and I in there 50% of the time alone (exaggeration 75% but, I liked it just being her and I). The doctor was really busy so when Michelle was just about ready for the last push or two the nurse said "hold on we need to wait". Michelle being her sweet self was very understanding but then after 5 min she says to the nurse "OK, WHERE IS THE DOCTOR I AM PUSHING!" The doctor came in a few minutes later and 2 pushes later our little guy was here. [I do have to say I am glad I caught a few TLC birthing episodes before hand because babies are freaky blue when they come out so I was prepared.]

So Deacon Kai was born October 13, 2009 at 11:04am.

8lbs 3.6oz and 21 1/2 inches long.

Everyone in our family has been really helpful. Thanks you Trevor, Lauren, and Kendal for cleaning our house and helping out so much! Also thanks to our 5th ward for all the food and support.


I still cannot believe that we have a baby.
I truly love him so much! And of course my beautiful wife..... She is amazing! I love you Michelle!

Recently.

Time for an update...

Jason is in his last semester of his undergrad program! Woohoo! He had high hopes that by only taking 6 credits it would a breeze & he would be able to spend more time at home...umm. Not so much. We rarely see each other. 

His time is filled with a class for his job, concluding his Senior Research and BioChemistry and BioChemistry Lab, which is giving him his minor, but taking ALL of his time. He leaves the house sometimes before 8am and (if Im lucky I get to have lunch with him) usually don't see him until after 11pm.  He has homework and quizzes and meetings and works on top of that.

He's working very hard and I am So proud of him! 

We also had some visitors from the mainland, The Gordons and the Halls. My cousins, Melanie and Kirsten, with their husbands (& babies). We were able to meet up and go to dinner. It was great to see them again and catch up! I just cant believe we didnt take one picture while they were here. =(

As for me...Im 39 weeks pregnant today. And definitely feeling it....although this is the first time I've ever felt it. Our little man has run out of room, taking over all of my abdomen and then some. Its been so great (and at times weird) to feel him move so much. The doctors say I'm progressing well, dilating a centimeter every week for the past 3 weeks. So 3 cm dilated and 75-80% effaced as of last Tuesday. I have been having random & mild contractions, nothing consistent or unbearable as of yet. My doctor said our little one could come any day now. 

I'm nervous for the delivery and the 'unknown' of when he'll come, I secretly get more nervous before going to bed. With the more than likely possibility of waking up in the middle of the night or the wee hours of the morning to terrible contractions. But I'm excited for the "prize" Jason & I will get in the end.  

To fill my time, since I quit my job a bit ago, I think the whole "nesting" thing has come into play. I clean our apartment about every day. The other day I really went nuts and cleaned all our windows, the window screens, washed the curtains and duct taped the screens to the wall (the screen here in Hawaii have a tendency not to fit quite right & I wasn't about to 'allow' any type of creepy crawly find its way into our house with the little guy on his way).  I have washed all of his clothes, set up a little nursery-well a spot in our room for his crib & things and a drawer in our dresser for his clothes. (hey, we live in a one bedroom apt). And am constantly double checking our hospital bags to make sure we have everything ready. 

Let the countdown begin. 

With Jason being so busy, especially this past week and weekend with a BioChemistry exam, white glove inspections he had to do at work, senior research--he continuously reminds me every day that he has his phone on 'loud' if I need to get a hold of him. For Jasons sake, thankfully the baby listened to his request of waiting until at least today for his big debut. Nothing as of yet, but we'll keep you posted.

 

We are so excited to welcome him into our family and cant wait for him! 

A House Full of Fun...

A few weeks ago we had quite the house full of family. We got word a few months ago that Jasons Grandma and Aunt Gina had planned a trip out here to Hawaii. So we talked Valerie and Marc to come out as well (Jasons parents). Tickets were a pretty good price so Jasons sister Tressa and her husband TJ decided to come out too. Thats right...we had a total of 8 people in our one bedroom apartment. It was a bit hectic at times, but so fun to be all together and have them here! 

Some of the highlights included:

--Dinner at Haliewa Eats & Sunset at Keikiks

--We had a blast riding scooters around the Honolulu/Waikiki area. --we'll have to get more of those from Valerie)

This ones for you Kristin...note the helmet. =]

Jason & His mom, Valerie

--Pearl Harbor

Marc & Valerie.

A late lunch with a beautiful view after touring Peal Harbor.

Tressa & TJ. Overlooking Hanauma Bay.

--The Blowhole on the East Side. 

--Hiked to the Lighthouse.

We did it!  Grandma Cleora, at 82 years old, and myself, at 35 weeks pregnant, made it to the top. 

The view at the top is gorgeous...

But she wasnt too impressed with the finale. 

Ha ha. 

--Polynesia Cultural Center.

Waiting for the Night Show to start...Jason, Gina, Grandma Cleora and Valerie

All of us with our Tattoos..Michelle, Gina, Tressa, TJ & Jason.

--Shark Diving, only some of us did that...Marc, Valerie, Jason, TJ & Tressa. The rest of us,

Gina, Cleora & I went to Sharks Cove for some snorkeling.

--Beach Day!

--Baby Shower 

--The ladies hiked up to Waimea Falls while the men snorkeled and played at Waimea Bay.

It was So great to have them all here with us in Hawaii! It gave us a chance to play tourist one last time before the baby comes and as our time here comes to an end. 

"Under the Sea"...Baby Shower!

Lauren & Kendilyn threw me the most beautiful baby shower a few nights ago, Sept. 14.  

It was a "Whale/Under The Sea" theme.. Including all the fixin's... homemade sail boats, whale crackers, a chocolate fountain, bubbles, little umbrellas for the drinks...Adorable!  No detail was left untouched, a huge Thank you to the both of you for the time, effort and creativity you put into it! It was perfect!

And thank you to all of you that came! =)

Sarah & I.

Nanako, Eryi, Francis and Sione

Tara, Aushra and Jen

Jasons Mom, Valerie & sister Tressa.

Camping?!

I've been wanting to go camping for a while now, but its been too hot! and lets face it, we just havent taken the time to plan it & my belly (the baby) is not getting any smaller. So for our date night last weekend, I told Jason that I had it covered. He ended up having to work Saturday evening which worked out perfectly. While he was at work, I went to work myself. 

(Yup, thats whiteout.)

I had originally planned on us making foil dinners, but it just didn't sound appetizing at the time so we made homemade buffalo wings (thanks for the recipe Trevor! They turned out really good).  While our food settled we played some Uno under the stars (hanging from our homemade tent). And lets just say Jason was a good sport to loose terribly to me. Ha ha. 

We finished the evening by our "campfire" roasting marshmallows and eating Smores. 

For not actually being out camping in the woods, it still was a great time spent with one another. 

Keeping Active

 I dont know exactly where this 'tennis itch' came from, but within the last few weeks, {in the evenings} you're likely to find us out on the courts as we all play a couple of times a week. Its become a slight addiction. 

My times on the court have definitely slowed down--with the growing belly getting in the way of running around and bending down to pick up the balls. 

But its been a great way to get outdoors and get some exercise.

Another Year??

My sister called to wish me a Happy 25th Birthday on Monday, I wish she were right...she was a year too late as this year I've turned a quarter of a century plus one. 

The big 26. 

Weird.

Our night away in Honolulu the weekend before was the perfect present, especially since Jason had class and work on Monday so we didn't get to spend time together until that night. Since everyone was busy that day I decided to work a few hours myself but that night we had some family and friends over for dinner and some activities.  

 We made my favorite ice cream, my great grandmothers recipe--Lemon Cream Shebert {THE most delicious you'll ever eat!!!} and decorated our own cakes with homemade fondant. All Jasons idea which was perfect cause he knows how much I LOVE desserts! 

    

Everyone took turns shaking a ziplock bag until it was nice and ice creamy.  We all deserved ice cream as we all burnt off the calories before eating.   

 

We really like the show Ace of Cakes so Jason really wanted to make a cake that we could put fondant over.  I helped Jason find a recipe and he went to work.  The fondant turned out pretty good (good job Jay!).  And we made personal cakes so that everyone could make their own "Ace of Cake".

            

The creative geniuses at work...Decorating our own "Ace of Cake".

Thanks to everyone for coming over and helping to celebrate, and for the Birthday wishes! 

 It was a very happy Birthday!

Just What the Doctor Ordered!

Jason and I decided that we both needed a night away.  We decided that with the baby coming less than 2 months {and as a birthday retreat} we needed some time to relax and to relax together. This past weekend we got a great deal on a hotel in Honolulu for a night (an hour away for our version of a vacation) and headed on down. The moment we got there we immediately headed for the pool. Neither of us had been a pool for over a year. We spent quite a bit of time there and enjoying watching some MTV in our room.(We don't get that channel in our student housing. haha). Later we went over to the mall and then out for dinner and dessert. It was  great time away from schedules, our phones and the norm and away from Laie; if only for 24 hours.

The view from our room, 32 stories up. 

 The elevators; they freaked me out to ride (I swear I felt like the wind was going to make the elevator detach and sway us right off the side of the hotel!), but Jason LOVED them!

31 week Photoshoot. (end of the 7th month)

A HUGE Thank You to Jason for taking these photos! 

Bittersweet

Jason & I have been SO blessed to have shared the first {almost} 3 years of our marriage out here in Laie, Hawaii. We have gained an education, life long friendships and a stronger relationship with one another. 

Come this December it will be time for change; Jason will complete his bachelors degree and we will be moving on from this amazing place. 

We are thrilled to move to the mainland and be closer to family and friends there, but when Jason brought home the printed confirmation of our ONE WAY flight back to AZ  tears came to my eyes. {And even as I'm writing this, they are flowing back.}  Hawaii has been our home. And always will be. 

For now, for the next 4 1/2 months, we will embrace everything we can while here.  Enjoying the sun, the numerous beaches, the friends, the smells of the plumerias & the gardenias, the sunsets, our small apartment, our nightly walks around town, the hour long drive to more civilization (Honolulu),  the random showers of rain, the wonderful breezes, the short walk to the temple as well as the view, the fresh coconut, pineapple and mangos, the T.V.A lifestyle, trips to Foodland for melona bars, and our life together.  

3D ULTRASOUND

 

Just about 28 weeks along (7 months)I cant believe it!

  And its just going to get bigger! 

What a 4th!

For the 4th of July Jason had a work meeting at 7am after which, he came home and we decided to enjoy some much needed sleeping in. Once we got up and got going we headed to the beach to soak up some sun then met up with some friends & family (the Bullocks, Holladays and Johnsons) to go spear fishing. Afterward we headed home to get ready and met up with some friends from our ward to go to dinner for Aushras Birthday. It was a great time & the food was delicious. 

The Robins & us then met up with the Bullocks & Holladays, we played Wii and headed out to cause some trouble with our own fireworks show since we all had just barely missed the show at Turtle Bay. 

So,  Josh & Hayley Wilbur, thank you for your "flowers"!

Jason & David Robins. 

Watching Jason box on the Wii is one of the most entertaining things anyone has ever witnessed.  

What a bunch of Kooks!

Yes, that is lit and yes, it is in Taras mouth.

For some reason I knew this 4th was going to be different & since we missed having a BBQ and all the typical 4th of july foods, the following Monday I decided we couldn't miss out on it and we enjoyed it for dinner-complete with homemade potato salad, watermelon, chips and hot dogs. It definitely felt more complete. And yes,all in all we had a great 4th this year! 

Michelle Graduates!

Michelle graduated about a month ago to the day.  I have failed to post about her graduation until now.  Michelle graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Pre-Professional Biology and has the desire to return to school soon.  She worked so hard and I am very proud of her !!!!  WAY TO GO!