Tag Archives: Aliya

development

Chuberoo

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Oh Little Aliya, I feel like you’ve been neglected here. Clearly the writing has slowed since you’ve been born, but it’s not your fault. Many people think that it’s the second kid that gets lost with regard to photos and video, but I’m starting to think it’s the third. Don’t worry, I think we have plenty of photos and video of you, but I need to work on the writing. And what better time than now?

You’re seven months old now. SEVEN. And just like we had done when Maia came along, we’ve forgotten what amazing little beings babies are. You continually amaze us with your even temperament and your quick smiles. When one of us walks in the room your eyes light up, your mouth opens wide with a smile, your body springs into action, and it’s as if we hadn’t seen each other for a month. All this is especially sweet given the fact that we had just left the room 30 seconds before.

You have seven rolls on each arm and wonderful little sumo thighs. You’ve been marveling at how your wrists move and how you can match your thumb up with just one of your other fingers. This also allows you to pinch your mama and mess with her neck when you nurse, and while she loves you dearly, this seems hard for her to endure at times. She asks you to stop and you just laugh at her (and she laughs back).

Your bottom teeth broke through just after Christmas and they’re about halfway out. Two tiny, cute little chompers. You’re a master at tummy time and stick with it longer than Keana or Maia did without getting frustrated (I think…this fact should be checked though). You still like to bounce yourself in your bouncy seat with your left leg, and of course love to grab your toes striking those famous makes-your-heart-want-break-baby-poses. You do suck on your toes, but’s it’s been so damn cold they’re usually covered up.

When you’re distressed, a few times, we’ve heard you say “ama” and Mama swears you’ve said “mama”. I wouldn’t doubt it given the fact that I’ve definitely heard word-like sounds coming out of your mouth. Generally you’re quiet, but you can ramp it up when you’re done sitting in on position or need some food. Speaking of which, you’ve tried a ton of things so far: apple sauce, avocado, carrots, turkey, chicken, goat yogurt, pears, and some baby cereal stuff which you don’t really like. When we sit down to eat you often say, “Mmmmm” and you watch us eat with such intense curiosity. You’re also really fast with high precision grabbing. Just last night Mama turned away for a second and you lunged out and snagged a big chunk of meat off her plate. Yup, you’re definitely a member of Team Hokama.

You’ve rolled over from your stomach to your back for a couple months now, but not the other way. Don’t worry, we’re not worried. You’re perfect…and really strong. You have such a sold little body that you haven’t met anyone yet that doesn’t think you’re just “the huggiest”. I think your super-sweet demeanor helps a lot with this too.

When Keana messes with you or dances around you or even just looks at you really, you crack up. You have a great laugh and Keana really brings it out in you. Maia too, but Keana really likes to get up in your face, which you mostly like. You’ll grab her hair and bang on her head, and every once in a while you pull her face close for a nice wet, open-mouthed baby kiss. Keana’s strong enough to hold you too, which she loves to do, but still makes us a little nervous. Maia is very helpful to you too. When you drop something she springs up, runs over, and gets it back in your hand. I’ll often here you cry out and it’s immediately followed by Maia’s fast little stomping steps as she runs to see what you need. And when we ride in the car, both your sisters are very helpful and only torture you occasionally. This winter they’ve especially liked pulling your hat over your eyes or just over one eye and call you a pirate. Luckily I think you’ll be big enough and fast enough to hold your own…some day.

So I guess that’s it for now. You’re bouncing yourself in your seat as I write this, starting to maybe get a little upset (barely). Plus Keana’s nagging me to make her second breakfasts, so I better get on that. You’re doing great Chuberoo and I’ll try and keep the words up to go with those amazing photos and videos we have of you.

development, trips

Perpetusmile

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That pretty much sums Aliya up: perpetusmile. She is so mellow, so easy going, and so damn smiley it’s ridiculous. Sure, she gets upset if she’s hungry or tired, but she can be talked out of it very easily.

Anyway, we had our 6 month check-up at UCSF last Friday (December 10) and the doctors confirmed what we’ve all suspected and have been observing since Aliya came home: she’s perfect. She handled all the “test” objects well, manipulated them, followed them when they moved/dropped/etc. She’s making sounds with inflection- she even says “mama” from time to time and “mmmmm” and has started “b”- and generally aced all the doctor’s tests. In fact, she did so well they said we could skip the 9 month follow-up.

We’ve also been trying out a few foods with Aliya since Thanksgiving in very small tastes at a time, mostly because she’s seemed so interested. She’s tried avocado, turkey, rice, pears, applesauce, and egg yolks (cooked of course), but she threw those up this morning and we’ve realized that maybe we’ve been a little overkill with it. I’m pretty sure Keana started much later than 5 months, and Maia was a little earlier than that, but not this early. So we’ll back off for a while. She’s a little over 19lbs and is over 26 inches long, so she’s getting enough to grow at a good pace.

Maia has taken huge leaps since turning three. Just before, and certainly now, she seems like a really different kid. More articulate. More reasonable. But of course, still her feisty, scrimesties self. She’s pretty much sleeping through the night and since I’ve been her only go-to guy at night, she’s done really well. I think she needed it to be clear who was on duty and what was going to be happen if she woke up and called out. She often doesn’t fights nap time and sometimes has enough energy to make it through the day sans nap, but if anyone’s going to fall asleep at the dinner table, it’s her. Or, of she’s in a car or stroller in the later day, early evening, she’s a goner. With being three there is some new fire for Maia, but in a lot of ways, that fire doesn’t quite burn you as much.

And our big Zoob. Little Miss Sunshine. When we were in Berkeley last week, Keana was dancing down the sidewalk, around the office, and in the hospital telling everyone she was the sun. And in so many ways, she is. Keana is the brightest, sweetest, most positive, open, person you’ll ever meet. She and I have been butting heads a lot lately, but I only have to take a breath and look at her, and she teaches me all I need to know about patience, love, and understanding. Oh, and the other day, we’re driving along and she blurts out, “Hey! 5 plus 3 equals 8!” I was blown away but at the same time not surprised at all. Also, while we were in Long Beach, Tia taught her Itsy Bitsy Spider in spanish and one day, weeks later, Keana was just singing it perfectly, as if she’d learned it an hour ago. She’s been doing stuff like this since she was born, and having little Aliya Baby in the house now reminds us how gifted these kids are from the time they’re born and on and on.

So there you go. Not all the times in Casa de Team Hokama have been bubbles and cookies lately, but as we struggle through learning to be good parents and good spouses, we have only to look at our kids’ tiny but growing faces to know that it’s all worth it, and it all shakes down in the end.

development, education, family, holidays

When Papa got a minute

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We got the kids to bed kind of early tonight so here I go…

Last week Aliya was still just figuring out grabbing things well with her hands and now, seven days later, she’s so much smoother. Yeah, she still drops things and doesn’t always rotate them smoothly, but she is so much more dexterous and accurate with her grip, it’s scary. These damn babies develop so fast and we are beyond thankful. Aliya still laughs hysterically at her sisters, so much so it almost sounds like something between a smoky bar laugh and baby’s cry. First time she did it I wasn’t sure she was actually happy until I saw her big smile at the silly things her sisters were doing. She’s also figured out how to thump her leg in her bouncer to back it bounce and once it stops, she thumps again to get it going. Brilliant.

Maia is still struggling with sleeping through the night. Sometimes she does, sometimes she doesn’t, but she always wakes up between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. People are always saying not to look forward too much to the teen years, but I have to say right now, I’m ready to get back to sleeping in until noon. I think Maia is still really struggling with not being the baby anymore and she wants to grow up and be independent like Sissy (Keana), but she’s just not quite there yet. It’s a big step and although we’re quite frustrated with her, I have a soft spot for what she’s going through. I remember feeling exactly like her at several stages when I was coming up.

Keana continues to be our extraordinary pioneer. Her parent/teacher conference was amazing and her teacher said that she is well beyond where they expect at this point in kindergarten. We, of course, try not to put too much weight in evaluations like this, but I have to say it’s what every parent wants to hear. There’s a little boy in her class that has been trying to kiss her and/or talk about kissing her, so that has been interesting. Keana and this boy played all the time together but when he started this behavior, she was done. Thankfully the school is taking it seriously and wants Keana to be comfortable, so we’ll see how everything turns out. Sarah and I know that this little guy just likes her a lot, and perhaps doesn’t have great modeling at home, so we’re just rolling with it for now and letting her teacher deal; don’t want to make it a bigger deal than it is. I guess the whole “boys and girls can’t just be friends” starts early (just joking…sort of).

Last weekend we went down to Long Beach to visit Tia, Uncle Ryan, and Cousin Olivia. We hadn’t been down there since last Thanksgiving, so it was time. It was a lot of fun, minus the 6+hour drive to get down there. But Iana and Ryan were very good to us and the girls had a blast with Olivia. She’s starting to walk, so Keana had fun leading her around by her hands, and both Maia and her had fun torturing her with as much love as she could take. Honestly though, I think Olivia really enjoyed having her boisterous cousins around for a couple days and it was fun watching them together. Of course the World Series was on so some time had to be spent rooting for our Giants, and there was the costume/trick-or-treating-candy-eating-mayhem on Halloween, but all-in-all it was pretty restful and great to get away. (SO many pics from October/Halloween, not enough time tonight, so I’ll get them up tomorrow.)

I can’t believe we’re already entering into the holiday season, with Maia’s birthday falling on Thanksgiving this year. This month is going to be crazy, especially with me having a work trip the week before Thanksgiving, but we’re looking forward to it. Today we had a very productive day around the house and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed raking leaves off the roof and cleaning out gutters. Why is being on a roof so much fun? I do not know. But it did feel good to get give away some things, clean up a bit, and prepare for this great month we’re about to have.

development, family

Death grip, sleepovers, loose teeth

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Curling toes that try to grab; tiny chubby fingers that have difficulty navigating at first, but then get a death grip that can’t be budged, the grip surprisingly strong. It’s these little things that we’ve forgotten over time that Aliya is now reminding us of. She’s really working on her motor skills and figuring out what those little hands attached to her chubby little arms are for. She still likes the finger puzzle (a term we coined when she interlocks her fingers and stairs at them intently wondering how and what they are), but she’s moved on to liking baby rings, watches, and any other baby-hand-sized object to grab, grip, explore, turn around, and bring up to her mouth. Yep, she’s started the quasi-teething. Maybe it’s real teething, but basically she’s started exploring things by sticking them in her mouth and producing inordinate amounts of drool.

Aliya continues to be completely entertained by her sisters. When she sees Keana or Maia dancing or jumping around—or generally acting crazy—she busts out laughing. It is the cutest thing. It’s not just a giggle but more of a bellowing baby laugh. Her sisters love to see how she’ll react almost as much as they love holding and squeezing her. The fact that Aliya’s beginning to sit up better and develop more of her core body strength definitely helps with being held by Keana and Maia who aren’t always, how should we say, stable. Also, Aliya actually enjoys “tummy time” for a while and can roll herself over onto her back when she gets up on her strong little arms. She continues to be very mellow and quite smiley, even to nosey strangers.

In other news, Maia and Keana had their first voluntary sleepover at Grandma Jennie’s house last night. They stayed at Grandma’s when Sarah and I were with Aliya in the hospital in San Francisco, but of course that wasn’t exactly something they chose. So we watched the Giants secure their place in the World Series, then said goodnight. Keana had a little trouble saying goodbye, and we assured her she didn’t have to stay if she didn’t want to, but when Maia decidedly said she wanted to stay and sleep there, Keana quickly decided that was really what she wanted to do too. We took Aliya home and it was very, very quiet. I sort of liked it and sort of didn’t. I was quickly thinking of what life would be like when they started sleeping over at friend’s houses or stayed out late doing who-knows-what. But I did sleep until 8 a.m., with no interruptions, something that hasn’t happened in ages, and it felt great. It seems like the girls had a blast too, so it was a win-win.

Oh, and Keana is on the verge of loosing her first tooth. She has several loose, and this one’s been loose for a while, but it’s finally, almost there. She’s in no hurry to get it out though, and certainly doesn’t want any discomfort, so it’s basically holding on by a proverbial thread. It’s so loose it can stay sideways, but yet she’s not quite ready for it to come out. Of course we don’t want to damage any trust by yanking it out without her permission or her being totally okay with it, so we wait. It’s her tooth, it’s her call. Maybe tomorrow.

development, education

And the beat goes on

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Sarah and I just celebrated our 6th year of marriage last night and had an amazing time out together. We finally found a truly excellent restaurant called Cracked Pepper Bistro here in Fresno. I mean, it’s not like we’ve been out a lot here, searching for that perfect, magical dining experience, but it’s Fresno, and things are different here. It brought us right back to our “younger” days in Santa Cruz and then the bay, pre-kids, when we were, as we like to say, “ballin’”. We frequently went out to expensive, fancy dinners with zero regard for how much it would cost or how long it took, simply because we could. From our very first date in August of ‘02, all the way up to last night, one of our favorite things to do together is eat really, really good food, and just talk and laugh. And last night we reflected on what an amazing life we’ve had together so far. Speaking of which…

Keana is doing amazing in school. She’s writing better and better every week, and even writes short sentences now. Her letters are getting cleaner and cleaner and she’s even starting to sound out words and knows some “sight” words (i.e. I, me, my, see, like, etc.). We were skeptical at first of a school that pushed her so hard in kindergarten, but now we’re seeing that she’s really ready for this knowledge and finds a great sense of individuality and power in knowing how to read and write. Just like it was when she started talking, it’s really amazing to see her find her voice through literacy as well.

Keana is also just the sweetest, brightest little vessel of light in her class too. I mean all the kids are really sweet and amazing in their own regard, but when Keana arrives and leaves every single day, it’s an event. Before she even gets on school property, her classmates are shouting, “Hey, here’s Keana! Hi Keana!!!” and even the lady that walks late-comers to class looks forward to Keana being a little late, just so they can have their 20 second conversation on the way to the classroom door. And yes, she has been a little late lately. Not technically, because I do get her there before the final bell, but the kindergarten classes line up at 7:35 in the cafeteria and walk to class together. So we’re usually running up to the school gate around 7:40 (class starts at 7:45). Anyway, every day when I pick her up, kids are literally lining up to say goodbye and get their Keana hug. At first, no one gave hugs. But Keana always hugged her teacher Mrs. Vick before leaving. And eventually it caught on and now all the kids get hugs before she leaves. It’s as if Keana gave the other kids permission to show their affection, and it’s truly one of the most touching things to see. This isn’t an occasional thing either, it’s every day.

Sarah and I volunteer in the classroom on Tuesdays from 10-11 (we alternate weeks). It’s a great way to see what class is like and meet all Keana’s peers. They really are great kids and it’s interesting to see how loving, respectful, and open these kids are in a school setting. It hasn’t been scared or shamed out of them yet and I hope it never is, though I know things haven’t changed that much since we were in school. But who knows?

Maia continues to be Maia. Willful, outspoken, and hilarious, she is our feisty middle link. There is no way she is going to get lost in the shuffle of Keana the Love Magnet and Aliya the Tiny. She is loving preschool and last Thursday when she came home, she ran to me yelling, “I had a GREAT day at school daddy!!!” She’s only going two days a week right now, but I think she’d be open to more in January if there are any other days available. And yes, she calls me “daddy”. At first I wasn’t sure about that, just because I’m so used to “papa”, but now I kind of like it; best of both worlds: “papa” from Keana and “daddy” from Maia.

Poor little Maij has been falling a lot lately too. She’s just more daring with her body than Keana was, but takes her licks like a champ. No matter how many times we caution her or how many times she falls, she’s right back into climbing, or running, or jumping. As her great, great grandma Beulah used to say, “I may be the smallest, but I’m still the mightiest.” These words truly apply to Maia.

And now for Aliya. Ah, our sweet, sweet mellow Aliya. She’s practically sitting up now and can hold her head quite well, looking side to side to catch all the action around her. She’s quick with a smile and continues to be our easiest baby yet. She naps a couple times a day and sleeps through the night. A couple things we miss though as she matures: grunting while pooping and laughing in her sleep. She still smiles in her sleep, but she rarely chuckles out loud like she used to. She’s still talking a bit though, and has begun to really suck on her fingers. She prefers gnawing on two fingers but often tries to fit both hands in there and gets a little frustrated when it doesn’t work. We weighed her yesterday and she’s 16lbs. and roughly 26”. We have Aliya’s first neuro follow-up tomorrow as well, here in Fresno, with a doctor that splits his time between UCSF Children’s and here. He’s supposed to be one of the best and we have another neuro follow-up in December at UCSF. Aliya is doing amazingly well and we have no concerns about her development, but it will be nice to have a “professional” confirm that.

So that’s the story here in Fresno. Team Hokama rolls on, into the fall, and we’re ready for the heat to give way to the cold, wet of winter. Oh, and for our anniversary, we got a new camera. No promises, but I’m pretty sure our pictures are about to get a lot better and our videos will now be in HD.

development

Chubaroo!

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Aliya is—I’m just going to say it—a chubaroo. Man, she is the most delightful of fatty fats. That is to say, she is very healthy and doing amazingly well. Not only is she big and healthy, but about two weeks ago she started talking. Of course it’s just “agoo” and “brrvu” and “ugggg”, but it’s her timing and eye contact that really make it like a conversation. You look at her, say something, and she responds. Then you listen while she talks and when she pauses, you talk, and it’s back-and-forth like that, just as if you were discussing the most normal of things with her. We’d have to consult “the files”, but we think she may be our earliest conversationalist yet.

Another really cute thing that started about the same time are the “hand puzzles”. Aliya’s really been working on folding her hands or just playing with her own fingers, as if it were some kind of puzzle that could be solved. It’s especially cute because her arms are short and chubby, so she rests them on her big belly and stares out at the world with her big cheeks puffed out on her chest. With all this chub though, she’s still quite strong. She’s able to hold her head up pretty well and swivel it round to look at the things that interest her. For the most part, she likes to just be held but occasionally goes in her bouncer for naps or just to hang out while we eat.

Of course her sisters are in love with her and still smother her at times with kisses and cheek rubs. It’s really a challenge to let them show their affection and see what works and what doesn’t, without intervening or correcting them too much. Recently Keana’s been saying really crazy things like, “Aliya, I’m going to take you away and you won’t see your Mama any more!” At first we responded by saying, “Oh Keana, we don’t talk to each other like that.” and of course that just made it worse. Then we tried saying, “Now what would that mean and why are you saying that?” but that also seemed to make Keana think, “Hmmm, they don’t seem like this, let me try some more.” Now we observe and let her say things and just try not to give it any more charge. Maia for the most part just goes about her business and gives Aliya the occasional drive-by face smooshing or kiss attack. It is very difficult to figure out what the best reaction to a situation would be, especially in the moment your parental protectiveness is being triggered.

They always say that the first kid gets all the picture and video attention and the second kid gets none. I have to say, I think I did a pretty good job keeping up with Maia. But this third kid, man…definitely a challenge to keep the documentation up. But Aliya, I promise I will keep trying and I’m determined to take as many pictures and video of you as I did for Keana and Maia. The blog…not so sure…can’t make any promises, but I’m working on it…I’m definitely working on it.

p.s. The fact that I didn’t mention anything about sleep means it’s been awesome. She sleeps through the night, naps like a champ, and is the mellowest third baby anyone could wish for.

development, education

Say goodbye to summer

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I’d say we officially started “back-to-school” last Thursday. We went shopping for Keana’s uniform stuff and a couple things for Maia. After work we attended Keana’s back-to-school night at her new school, Dailey Charter. It was weird. I mean, there were lots of levels of weirdness. For one, there was the weirdness I felt. I know I’m a grown-ass man, but something about attending our first “real” school event for our little 5-year-old made me nervous. I felt out of place and couldn’t believe that we were now responsible for her formal education and the choices we made would affect her success in this crazy world. I know all the decisions we’ve made up to this point also affect her success and happiness, but this was a new level of it.

It was weird to see all the other families and kids too and to imagine what Keana’s interactions would be like with the other kids and how these other grown-ass people in the room were just like us; nervous, concerned, excited, curious, etc. Actually, they weren’t just like us. I didn’t get the feeling at all that they shared our political views, sensitivities, and/or education. One of the downfalls of living in a place like Fresno I guess. I was happy though to see such a diverse room full of people. If I had to guess, I’d say only 15% were caucasian, but there were very few asians, which didn’t surprise me. But it was good to see so many different types of people represented anyway.

Which brings me to the next weirdness. The teachers did not reflect the population of students. 90% of the teachers were young, white women. Which is fine, but I think it’s important for students to see themselves in their teachers. Of course, our girls are predominantly white, so maybe it’s my issues…I mean, I guess they’re all my issues, because Keana certainly doesn’t think about race very much. People are people to her and she doesn’t blink twice at skin color. (Note to self: work on that.)

Then we visited the classroom. It was a very neat, new classroom, with all the desks grouped in fours, and the kids’ names already on them. The teacher’s large, black desk was at the front, in the corner, angled, overlooking the kids. There was a laptop on there and a pseudo-laptop for the kids. To the right of that was a SMART board and a projector hung from the ceiling with new speakers on either side. Fancy. In the back there was also a behavior chart, like a stop light. All the kids start out on green. Everything was labeled: scissors, crayons, pencils, desk, etc. The kids will learn to read and write. There will be homework, especially reading every night. There’s a field trip. It felt sterile in the classroom. We’re hoping it will warm up and gain some character as the year goes on (after all, it is a brand new school).

I think Sarah and I both wished the teacher had focused on welcoming the kids, but instead it felt like she/the school wanted to emphasize to the parents that they were a serious academic school, with strict rules and a dress code. So we’ll have to see. The fundamental principals of the International Baccalaureate program sound great, so as long as those really shine through, I think it’s going to be a great school for Keana.

Little Miss Maia will be starting preschool too at the school that their great grandma Bev runs. Keana loved it there, and Maia got small samples when dropping her off or picking her up, so I think she’ll love it too. She’ll be going two days a week for now and she will be one of the youngest kids there. So we’ll see how things go and we’re willing to be flexible. If she hates it, we’ll try again in January. If she loves it, we’ll increase the days in January (if there’s room).

Aliya has been growing, growing, growing into a little chuberoo. She’s 12lbs. now and 24” (95% percentile for both). It will be nice for Sarah and her to have some alone time with both girls at school, and I think it will be great for Maia to have her little sister to herself on her days off.

It’s really hard to believe we take another plunge tomorrow. Kindergarten. The beginning of formal education. And Maia in preschool. Damn!!! Where has the time gone? I’ll let y’all know how the first day goes!

development

Time with Aliya

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The simplicity of a baby is wonderful. They sleep, eat, poop, wiggle, repeat, and we are soaking up that simpleness in large amounts. The first week Aliya was home she slept practically all the time which was exactly what we all needed. Starting about a week ago, she’s begun to have more wakeful times, but still sleeps quite a bit. When she is awake, she either looks around the room, maybe looking for the origins of all those crazy sounds around her, or maybe just to get the lay of the land. Sometimes she just stares at your face for long moments, with the intensity and seriousness that only a newborn can have. And when she sleeps, it’s not merely heavy, peaceful slumber (though there is that too), but it’s somewhat active sleep. I think all babies have this, and Keana and Maia certainly had their versions of it, but sometimes when Aliya sleeps she frowns with a whimper or raises her eyebrows as if to stretch to an enlightened place with her eyes closed. Other times she actually laughs or giggles in her sleep followed by the sweetest little smile you ever saw. Sarah and I have never seen a laughing, sleeping baby and we think it’s something amazing. My other favorite is when she stretches her arms straight up with raised eyebrows and closed eyes, her arms still just barely longer than the top of her head.

Her eyes are actually lighter today too and we believe we may have our third blue-eyed-quarter-Japanese princess. When she’s hungry or just exercising, she wiggles quite briskly and throws her arms straight up or out in quick, brisk movements. Then her legs will go from their fetal curled up state, straight out in the blink of an eye. She’s fast. She might give Maia a run for her money. It’s amazing how well she holds her head up already too. We remember Maia doing this early on, but Aliya may already be a little more adept at it than Maia was. When you have her up to your shoulder, upright for burping, she holds her head right up to see the world around her and can even move it around, though the movement is still a little wobbly.

So overall, yes, she’s just being a baby. But she’s our baby and we are beyond thankful for every moment we’ve spent with her and for every moment to come.

development, family

Zooba and Screimsties

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With all this fuss about Little Miss Aliya (a.k.a. Nüni), some of you may be wondering how Keana (a.k.a. Zooba) and Maia (a.k.a. Screimsties a.k.a. Maija) have been adjusting. First, let’s back track briefly (or not-so-briefly) to Aliya’s first week out in the world. During the birth, I was holding Maia most of the time, even while I was on the phone with 911, and Keana was rubbing Sarah’s shoulder, telling her everything was going to be okay. Throughout everything, I was explaining to them what was happening and that we were going to have go to the hospital and they’d stay with Grandma until everything was okay. Even after I left with the ambulance, Jennie (a.k.a. Grandma) said they really took everything in stride. I love that they have that youthful optimism and considering everything that happened that day and that week, they really handled it all amazingly well.

A couple hours after the birth, after Aliya was stabilized and up in the ICU, waiting for transport to UCSF, and Sarah was checked into her own room, Jennie brought the girls over to the hospital. I was able to take each of them individually to visit their new sister and they loved her immediately. Of course there were some questions about the tubes and wires and why Aliya had to stay there, but overall they were curious about the little things. Keana was really impressed with her finger nails and Maia was concerned about the ink on the bottoms of her feet. After a brief visit with Mama in her room, Jennie, Jacque, Keana, Maia, and I headed home so I could pack a bag for UCSF. It wasn’t easy leaving them, but I knew they were in good hands and I knew that our newest baby needed us.

While we were gone, I tried to call them at least once a day and found each time that they were being thoroughly entertained by either Grandma Jennie, Tia (Iana), Grandpa Robert or Nana Cin, Great Grandma Bev, and later Uncle Ryan. I would check in with Keana for a few minutes, and she would ask how Aliya was doing and what I was up to. That would shortly be followed by, “Well Papa, I think I should get back to what I was doing.” I would say okay, I love you, and hang up happy. Maia often wasn’t in the mood to talk and I was totally fine with that. It took a minute, but Iana and Jennie finally got into a good routine getting Maia calmed down before bedtime and sleeping through the night. On Wednesday my mom (a.k.a. Grandma Linda) and Peter (a.k.a. Uncle Pud a.k.a. Uncle Pedie) went from Sacramento to Fresno as reinforcements.

When we finally arrived home on June 24, we found the girls in really great shape considering everything that had happened. We had several nights of Maia throwing tantrums and Keana had a couple breakdowns too, but all-in-all, Sarah and I have been amazed at the girls’ resilience. Now, three weeks after Aliya’s birth, it feels like we’re settling into things as a Pentapod. Sure Maia still screams bloody hell when Sarah’s unavailable and Keana reminds us how fun things were with Tia and Grandma when we were gone, especially with regard to sweets and bed time, but I think they’re actually happy to have their old boundaries back (at least their general moods reflect that). I’m trying to treat this time off as vacation as much as it’s been healing time, so Keana, Maia, and I have been having little adventures while Sarah and Aliya rest. On Wednesdays and Fridays we swim at our neighbor’s pool down the street, we’ve had some trips to the park, and we went to the zoo yesterday for a birthday party, so it’s really been great time together.

Well, I sat down to write about some other fun things that Maia and Keana have been up to, but I better leave at this for now. This is definitely a story that’s going to slowly get filled in, piece-by-piece along the way.

birthdays, family

Pentapod, ride on

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It’s happened. Team Hokama is now five strong. When Maia was born I coined the term Quadripod because there were four of us and we were a pod, like a heard of sea mammals, or tripod but with, um, four legs (plus I just thought it sounded cool). Now of course we’ve graduated to Pentapod status. Aliya Nakine Hokama was born June 18 at 7:41 a.m. via emergency c-section at Fresno Community Regional Hospital. Unfortunately there were some complications with a prolapsed cord, and just four hours after birth she had to be flown to UCSF Children’s Hospital to undergo a 72 hour cooling therapy to prevent damage to her brain. I drove over right behind her and was met and supported by family until Sarah could get there on the following Monday (June 21). That Monday, at 4:30 p.m., they began warming her up slowly, half-a-degree an hour. She was very sleepy at first, which was expected, and her MRI on Tuesday showed a perfect, healthy, little brain. Of course we have to do some follow-ups down the road and keep an eye on her, but so far she is the perfect, fifth member of our team.

Sarah’s family primarily took care of Maia and Keana while we were at UCSF, until we returned home on Thursday, June 24, just less than one week after Aliya was born. My mom Linda and brother Peter had driven down the day before to help out as well, so it was quite a reunion.

We are slowly getting used to being home and being altogether, but Keana and Maia are overjoyed to have their new sister present and healthy. I’m in the process of writing the full birth story and will hopefully have that up here soon as well. And of course, with my time off, I hope to catch up on all the other amazing things Keana and Maia have been up to as well. In the mean time, be sure to check out Aliya’s gallery, and we’ll get her photos and video up on this site soon too.

We want to once again send out our greatest appreciation to our family and friends that have shown so much support and love during this, how should I say, exciting time.