Treading Water

Do not get me wrong, we are having fun and enjoying the magical moments that we will never get back, but it also feels like we are treading water...just trying to stay afloat. We are still trying to get to the bottom of baby Zion's stomach upset, such a frustrating endeavor that I will spare the details of, but it is exhausting and heartbreaking to say the least. To top it, Eden just started showing jealousy, for the first time since Zi's birth, in the last few days. Of course we should have seen it coming, but I guess I just hoped that she was so secure that she was above those feelings altogether - not so much. Well, that is the update with where we are at on week 5. On the upside the weather has been beautiful and Jon is amazing and supportive and everything else. He watched the babes on Saturday so that his mom and I could paddle from Dana Point to the pier and then again on Sunday so that I could standup surf at Sano - it was my first time surfing in somewhat bigger waves in quite some time so it was a real treat.

Baby Zion

Poor baby Zion has such a sensitive stomach. So far it seems even more sensitive than Edens - is that possible?? Because Eden was so sensitive to dairy, I have been off dairy since the moment Zion was born, but even still he is very gassy and spitty, he even appears to have actual reflux. Because of this he almost never sleeps laying down. More often than not, a few minutes after I lay him down on his back he starts burping and spitting and choking on his own spit, then he is crying and we have to start all over again to try to put him down. Therefore, during the day, many of his naps are spent in our bed propped with pillows and blankets. It is kind of a bummer at the present, but I know that soon enough we will look back on this phase and laugh. Here is baby Zi in his usual mode of sleep.

I'm super happy because I'm sitting up!

Mommy & Me - Wk2

I promise not to give an update on school every week, but this week was so special that I just could not resist. Since last week was somewhat traumatic with the circumstances surrounding the name tag, everyone rallied behind Eden to try to make this week go more smoothly. Grammy & Grampy brought Eden some name tags to practice with and last night before bed, Daddy practiced with Eden. He told her that if she wears her name tag it would give her special powers to dance really well. And from the moment he put it on her she danced and danced and danced....I have never seen such beautiful dancing in all my life - it was amazing and magical! When she got to school she was not only willing to put on her name tag but the name tag actually did seem to give her magical powers so that she even seemed to be one of the most participative kids at circle time! A special thanks goes to Grammy, Grampy, & Daddy for helping make Eden's second week of school such a success!

Fancy Camera, Fancy Pics

We splurged on our 6 yr anniversary this year and bought a fancy new camera. Our hope is to be able to take really cute/fancy pictures (and video) of the kids with it. Lately we have been so busy that we haven't been able to play with it much, but these are the pictures we have gotten thus far we hope to get some better ones soon, but I think you can really tell the difference in clarity between our two cameras.

More Playdates

These photos were all taken early last week. I am just that behind. I thought they were too precious not to post. The twins look so big next to Zion, but I guess they are 5 going on 6 months old now?? Is that possible? I can't believe how fast time goes by!

This one melts my heart...Makai is so sweet with the babies!

Baby Mosh Pit!

School Girl

Eden and I had our first day of mommy and me preschool this week. It is run by capistrano unified school district, meets once per wk from 9-12 at the local elementary school, and will run through mid January. For Eden, the best part about it is that she gets to wear her backpack (with snacks inside) to and from school. Otherwise the whole experience was slightly traumatic from Eden throwing herself down to the ground in a fit of rage over wearing a name tag the second we walked through the door to the fact that she was what appeared to be the only child refusing to participate during circle time, but I think she will warm to it, and then it will be fun and worth it and everything else. The below pictures capture the highlights of the day.

Daily Grind

Jon went back to work yesterday, and I have to admit, it was harder than I thought it would be. Granted we were coming off of two days without a nap for Eden (due to all of the wedding festivities) so the day would have been hard regardless, but I hope that the days will go quite a bit smoother in the future. Our big saving grace yesterday was when Melissa stopped by with Finn for a visit. Makai is Eden's favorite little buddy and for some reason seeing his baby brother Finn really shifted her mood. Finn is 6 weeks older than Zion, it was really neat to lay them next to each other, hopefully they will all grow up to be good friends.

Here Zion is doing some tummy time for the first time.

Wedding Weekend

Drew & MaryGrace got married this weekend. Eden was a flower girl (that did not go very well) and Jon was a groomsman. He looked so incredibly handsome and Eden was adorable. The Bride was stunning, I wish I had a better picture but things were a bit hectic and it was hard to take pics.

Unfortunately this was our only family pic. It captures Eden's cooperation level for the evening very well.

Zion Fisher Walla

Zion made his way into this world at 10:04 on Tues night. His arrival was everything that I had hoped and prayed for. He came very quickly, my contractions started around 5:00pm and were smooth and steady till he came out at 10:04. Jon was at work, so I think taking care of Eden and packing the car, and trying to arrange child care for Eden for the evening was a good distraction that made it all seem to go by even quicker. By the time I drove myself to the hospital at 8pm I was already 6cm. Jon works just down the street so he was able to come quickly and make it just in time for the big push.

Eden and Zion have already taken well to each other. Eden adores her baby brother. He was the first thing she asked for when she woke up the morning, which was very special. These pics are out of order, but I guess that is what happens when you are extremely sleep deprived.

Eden seems like a giant compared to Zion. Up until now she seemed so small.

Eden meeting Zion for the first time

Right after Zion was born. We were ecstatic!

In Search of a Ghost

Jon has been working for the better part of this past month on a video log of the diving he has done this season. It is now complete. Enjoy!

In Search of a Ghost from Jon Walla on Vimeo.

Lately

Jon takes Eden surfing just about every chance he gets

Eden and Easton have enjoyed spending more time together and getting to know each other better...

We celebrated my Dad's 70th birthday. We all had so much fun!

Eden is often practicing her surf stance and whipeout techniques.

Baby Zion just grows and grows. Here we are at 38 weeks.

Gyotaku Video Updated

The finished product of the Gyotaku print is up in Zion's room! We placed pics of it at the end of the Gyotaku video, check it out!

"Shami's"

Since my parents gave us passes to Seaworld for Christmas, we have been able to spend a lot of time there with Eden this year. Because of our time there, Eden has become somewhat obsessed with Shamu. She loves to see Shamu jump and fly and loves to mimic that as often as possible. Whenever we are at the pool with Jon, she wants to do nothing but "Shami's" the entire time. It works out pretty well for Jon, because he can get her to do all sorts of swimming to the step on her own, etc for just one more Shami.

Jet Ski Safari's

The last few weeks we have made a very pointed effort to enjoy our last few days as a family of 3 before the new baby boy's arrival. We are very much looking forward to his arrival, in fact if he came today I don't think any of us could be happier about his timing, but we know that when he comes we will be more immobilized for a time. Which is why lately, we have been getting out on the jet ski as a family as often as we can, and it is so much fun to race with the dolphins, check out the seals, look for whales and snorkle in laguna. The time that we have spent on the ocean like that this summer has been pure magic, especially since we are sharing it with Eden, and baby to come.