Happy Halloween!

Baby Bear's first Halloween! For Halloween, we dressed her as a car freshener. Papa Bear and I found this costume online and thought it was just hilarious. We just couldn't resist!!





She had fun handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters.



We didn't get very many and Baby Bear fell asleep before we ran out of candy. But it was a fun one for her first!!



Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

Walk Now for Autism

Last year I participated in the Walk for Autism and I have signed up to do it once again. This will be Baby Bear's first charity walk (well, she participated last year in the womb). It is never too early to start to give and do something for a good cause.

I have written about why this cause is near and dear to my heart before, you can read about it in my other blog, Sher's Corner.

Click here to go to my personal web page and help me and Baby Bear in our efforts to support Autism Speaks.

Pumpkin carving with Grandpa!

Today we took the pumpkin that we picked out on last weekend's great pumpkin patch adventure and carved it. Since Grandpa Bear is a great pumpkin carver, he helped us out. I think Grandpa Bear had the most fun out of us all!!!

Here is Baby Bear with her pumpkin.



Before shot of the pumpkin.



Grandpa getting the pumpkin ready.



Grandpa hacking away. Baby Bear looked away, she couldn't watch her poor pumpkin get cut up.



Baby Bear is a little concerned for the pumpkin (Note: she never took her fingers out of her mouth during this whole process).



Papa Bear and Baby Bear check her pumpkin out.



It's a happy pumpkin with buck teeth.



Grandpa Bear was pretty proud.



The pumpkin was happy about the results as well.



A fun day was had!

The cutest pumpkin in the patch

This weekend we went to the Pumpkin Festival at Cal Poly Pomona and picked out a pumpkin. We found the cutest pumpkin in the patch:







This pumpkin had super powers, she could fly!



Baby Bear could fly across this huge sea of pumpkins at the pumpkin patch.



Baby Bear really like the grass and the pumpkins. She liked it so much that she wanted to put it in her mouth and kiss it.









(no pumpkins were harmed during this pumpkin adventure)

Baby Bear found the perfect pumpkin in the patch.

Looks like we made it

We made it through my first week back to work. I am really liking the 4-day work week! I am very fortunate to have had such a generous maternity leave package that I still have my California Paid Family Leave benefit available to me. Instead of using the 6 weeks of Paid Family Leave in one big chunk, I have worked it out so that I use it one day a week until it runs out and that brings me right to Baby Bear first birthday!! So it is a 4-day work week until Baby Bear turns one!! That really makes the transition back to work pretty easy. So today was my Friday!

Baby Bear did fabulously this week at daycare and with the grandmas. She had a great time with everyone. She did take a bottle, but she didn't eat as much as she should eat while I am gone. I definitely pumped a lot more than she would take, which helps me to add to my freezer stash. But that means that she ends up waking up and eating more at night to make up for it. I am afraid that she might end up reverse cycling. I guess that won't be the end of the world and that would mean I could pump less at work, but it does mean I don't get as much sleep. It is a good thing I have a 4 day work week. I am definitely tired tonight and I am very glad to have tomorrow off to spend with Baby Bear and run a few errands.

It isn't so bad being back at work, I am actually glad to be back at work. I think it is great for my family to have me at work. I get adult interaction and stimulation. Baby Bear gets to bond with her grandmas and gets to socialize with other kids in day care. When we are home together we are both so excited to be with each other that it is truly some quality time that we have. It is win-win for both of us!

Rolling, rolling (for real this time)

I posted last month that Baby Bear had almost rolled over. This morning before I left for work, she really rolled over! She rolled from tummy to back. She did it 3 times when I put her on her tummy for some tummy time. Wow!! This is so exciting!

This time, I have video to prove it:

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go...

Maternity leave is over and back to work I go. The day went by really quickly and I made it through. I had a lot to catch up on and was quite busy so that made it go by quickly and made it not so difficult to be away from Baby Bear. I did miss her but I had pictures of her to look at from time to time. I am getting the hang of pumping and I am sure it will become more second nature as time goes by.

Baby Bear was with Grandma today and did really well. Papa Bear checked in on her around lunch time and called me to give me an update. That really set my mind at ease. She took two bottles and had several naps. I am so proud of my baby!! She has been so wonderful and that has helped to make this transition very easy for me. I know she is in good hands and she is such a good little baby that everyone who cares for her absolutely loves her and only has wonderful things to say about her.

It also helps to see a big smile on her face when I pick her up. I love my little girl and that smile is the best part of my day no matter how tired I am. To celebrate a successful first day back at work, Papa Bear took us out to dinner. It was a nice end to a long but good day!! I am so lucky to have a wonderful family! A supportive husband and an adorable daughter. Life is good!

Update on Gabrielle

Gabrielle is home from the NICU and with her daddy. She left UCLA Medical Center on Wednesday and is doing really well with her daddy at home.

Some people have had asked me questions about Gabrielle and what had happened. Gabrielle was deprived of oxygen during birth. As a result, she had been suffering from occasional seizures. The doctors at UCLA performed an MRI last week and discovered that she has some damage to her lower brain. We won't know what any of this means until her motor skills start developing in two to three months, but the doctors are very encouraged by her progress and the fact that newborns can often heal from things like this. She has been seizure free and was allowed to go home with her daddy on Wednesday. Here she is:



Isn't she beautiful!

Thanks again to everyone who donated money to the memorial fund, formula, gift baskets, gift cards, etc. The out-pour of support has been absolutely amazing. The kindness that people have shown has been absolutely amazing. Thank you so much.

Here is information on how to help:

To mail donations (checks can be made out to The Jewelyn Okamoto Memorial Fund), formula checks, diaper coupons, or gift cards, send to:

The Jewelyn Okamoto Memorial Fund
P.O. Box 235971
Encinitas, CA 92023-5971

To send packages (FedEx, UPS, etc.), mail to:

Brandi Futrell
c/o The Jewelyn Okamoto Memorial Fund
14928 S. Maple Avenue
Gardena, CA 90248

To contribute via PayPal, that email address is 4jewelyn@gmail.com.

A yard sale to raise money for Gabrielle will also take place on October 18 in Riverside.

We survived the first day of daycare!

We survived our first day of daycare!! Mostly, I survived without breaking down. I was nervous and anxious all day, but I did not cry and I made it through. It had been the longest time I had spent away from Baby Bear. Baby Bear did great! She took a bottle!! Yay!! She napped!! Yay!!

I really like our daycare lady. She was so excited to see Baby Bear this morning and that really put me at ease. Baby Bear was smiling and happy, which made it easier for me to leave. I had been advised by other mothers not to linger when I made my goodbye, so I gave Baby Bear a big hug and kiss and left.

Papa Bear and I met with some friends for breakfast. That helped to keep my mind off of Baby Bear, then my phone rang and it was my daycare lady. She called to assure me that all was well and that Baby Bear had indeed taken a bottle. Wow!! I was so happy that it was good news and not her calling to have me come and nurse Baby Bear.

I spent the rest of the day trying to keep myself busy with shopping and errands until it was time to get my baby. I picked her up and was so happy to see her. I really think this is all going to work and it is going to be great for all of us. Baby Bear really seemed to enjoy daycare; she liked the other kids and seemed really happy. I feel good about our choice. I think Baby Bear will get a lot out of this. I made it through, it was a little rough but Baby Bear was in good hands.

Out of toilet paper

During my pregnancy, I went through my nesting phase and a part of my nesting phase included stocking up on toiletries and bathroom necessities such as toilet paper. Papa Bear thought I was a little silly as to how much toilet paper I bought during that last month of pregnancy. I bought so much that we had to store the toilet paper in the garage. This was my thought process at the time:

We will need toilet paper and I didn't want to run out of it. What if we ran out and I wasn't able to get out of the house with a baby to get more toilet paper that would not be good.

I suppose Papa Bear could go to the store and get toilet paper if I was unable to do so. I guess that would not be the end of the world. But at the time, I wanted to make sure we were stocked up on toilet paper. I also stocked up on other toiletries like soap, shampoo, and conditioner. But the amount of toilet paper I purchased was most striking to Papa Bear.

Today, we used up the last roll of toilet paper from my pregnancy nesting phase. It took us about 5 months to use up all the toilet paper I had purchased and it is now time to stock up again since I am going back to work next week and who knows when I will have time to get more toilet paper again?????

4 month doctor visit

We had our 4 month doctor visit on Tuesday and Baby Bear is doing well on all her milestones. The pediatrician said that Baby Bear had a wonderful demeanor. What a great compliment!! He sees so many babies and has been doing this for a long time, so it was so wonderful to hear how great my baby is. I knew she was awesome but it was nice to hear it from someone a little more objective!!

Baby Bear did much better with her vaccinations this time around. She did not throw up the rotavirus vaccine like at the last visit. She was not happy to get her shots, but then again I wouldn't be either. I talked to the pediatrician about not getting so many shots at once and although he did not recommend it, he was open to it and spreading it out a little bit. So that was good. I want her to get all her vaccinations, I just don't want her to get so many of them at one sitting.

Here is a look at her stats:

How I spent my maternity leave

I have one week left before the end of maternity leave. I am mentally ready to get back to work, but I am not sure that I am totally emotionally ready for this transition. Baby Bear will have her first day at day care on Thursday before I go to work, so that I can run some errands baby-free and so that we can have a trial run before I head off to work.

I had many intentions of doing a lot of things during my maternity leave in addition to bonding with Baby Bear. I thought the house would be so clean and organized. I also that I would make dinner every night and eat really healthy. Uhh, none of that really happened.

Instead, I spent a lot of time watching re-runs of Beverly Hill 90210, One Tree Hill, and The OC. Of course, in addition to being a new mommy to Baby Bear. SoapNet was my friend when Baby Bear was sleeping and nursing. Man, did I watch a lot of TV. Well, Baby Bear and I also spent a lot of time walking around Target. Target was my saving grace; it was always an opportunity to get out of the house and not go crazy after watching back to back episodes of my favorite shows. It also gave me a reason to get out of my pjs. On the positive side, Baby Bear and I did go for a lot of walks in the mornings before the summer heat set in and we did some other activities. But I think that the most memorable things about my maternity leave (in addition to the time I spent with Baby Bear) were my Soap Operas and Target, LOL!

So it wasn't a productive maternity leave, but I did get to spend a lot of time with Baby Bear and really developed a strong bond with her. That was the best part of my maternity leave and I would not have traded that time for the world. She is my world!

4 months

Getting so big and strong!! Baby Bear loves to sit up and stand, she loves to talk to everyone. She loves grabbing her feet and reaching for toys. She recognizes her mommy and daddy. She has a fabulous smile.

Congrats Dave and Stacy!

Yesterday, Baby Bear attended her first wedding and boarded her first ship. Our friends got married on a cruise ship. We were allowed to attend the wedding before their cruise set sail.

Congrats to Dave and Stacy on there wedding. We are so happy for you and couldn't think of a better couple to tie the knot.







Baby Bear had a great time!



Are we bad parents for using the stroller to carry our bucket of beer?? Baby Bear didn't seem to mind.



Loving my Baby Hawk mei tai. It is such a great way to hold Baby Bear and still have my arms free.

Another day at the races

Last weekend, Baby Bear went to her second water ski races. It was close to home, which was really nice and allowed Baby Bear and I to leave a little earlier so that Papa Bear could continue to stay through to the award ceremony. We had several people in our group race and win!! Two 1st places and a 2nd place!! Wohoo!!

It was pretty hot, but we would go in the truck to nurse and blast the air conditioning to cool Baby Bear down from time to time. It was a fun day filled with cheering for friends, hanging out with friends, and barbecuing. Lots of fun was had.

Baby Bear loves going to the races with her daddy and she was great.



She was so excited that she knocked out.