Tag Archives: Aliya

development, education

Graduating

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Hey Little Baby,

Last Friday (June 11) was Keana’s last day of preschool and as it is with all big events (you’ll see), I think she was sad to see it come to end, but excited about the possibilities of kindergarten. There wasn’t a ceremony or anything, which was fine with us, but we went out to sushi as it is your sisters’ favorite meal out. Unfortunately, the next day, she got a cold and is still getting over it, and of course, Maia has it now too.

We continue to prepare for your great entrance into the world though. On Saturday Grandma Jennie came over and helped out with the not-so-fun chores. She cleaned the kitchen, organized Keana’s room, and swept/cleaned our bedroom floor. It was really a big help and I actually got to sleep in for the first time in recent (and not-so-recent) memory. I took your sisters to the park when I woke up and we had a lot of fun swinging, sliding (they had to ride on my lap because the slide was already too hot), playing soccer (sort of), hacking sacking (sort of), and playing in the little river there. The water kind of freaks me out because of parasites and what not, but I think it’s chlorinated. Keana and Maia are so well behaved that it seems like they are often dumbfounded by the other children running around and behaving like wild animals. They just watch and observe as if they’ve never seen it before. Don’t get me wrong, I think kids should have fun, but if you’re three or four I think it’s okay to use words in your interactions, rather than just grunting, hitting, and splashing. Anyway, it was fun and by the time it hit 90, we were definitely tuckered out.

Sunday your Mama and I got some good time together (thanks again Grandma Jennie), and we talked about how we’re feeling, waiting for your arrival, and things we were trying to be aware of and enjoy as our time as a Quadripod draws to a close. I’ve been continuing to work as well, trying to wrap up all my duties so I can take those six weeks off without worrying about my work falling apart in my absence (of course it never would, just saying). We’ve been emptying and filling the birth tub, using it for an indoor hot tub, and working out its kinks. We have to drain the air out of the pump pretty frequently or the heater stops working, but don’t worry, I think I got it all figured out. Of course, you’re floating warm and peaceful in there, and when the time comes, I’m sure the temperature of the tub will the be last thing on your mind.

We also met with Jacque today and your heart sounds nice and strong and your head is in a good position. You really responded to her checking you out today, moving quite vigorously and I can already tell you got that Hokama fire. How could you not though, right? Mama’s going to try and do some hands and knees several times a day to encourage you to rotate a little, but we trust you’ll be in a good position when the time comes. Everything happens for a reason, no matter the difficulty, and we’ll just keep breathing, nice and easy, until you’re ready for the outside world.

Love,
Papa

development

What’s going on outside

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Well little baby, you’ve got your papa’s nerves going. I know I know, I’m trying to mellow out and just “be in the moment man”, but this is the toughest part. Waiting. Today something seemed to be going on, cause Mama was noticeably uncomfortable and said that there had been mild contractions most of the afternoon. But I could tell they weren’t the painful, baby’s-coming-now type of contractions. Still, I headed straight out to the hardware store to get that final piece we needed for the birth tub; the ever-elusive faucet->hose adapter. The tub takes 24 hours to heat, which I’m pretty sure we won’t have when you decide to come, so we have to get as much hot water from the faucet, and we’re using a standard drinking hose, so one must have the adapter. You’l be happy to know we had success on the way to pizza tonight, and now all the parts of the tub are ready to go.

Your sisters are crazy as ever. Maia continues to challenge our will, often calling our bluff. This morning she and I sat in the car while everyone else ate their breakfast in the restaurant because she was pitching a fit over not having a diaper. Mind you, she’s potty trained now, but she still occasionally insists on having a “fresh diapy”. Man, what a strong-willed girl that one is. We were all tuckered out from our first block-party last night, so that didn’t help either. Everyone was enamored by you and your sisters. I think they could tell you were just about fully baked in there. But you’re still moving around a lot, especially between 10 p.m. and midnight, so it seems you still have plenty of room. And man, you are fast. We’re really curious if you’re going to be fast and feisty on the outside too. If your sisters are any indicator, methinks the answer is a solid “yes”. But yeah, in case you weren’t able to figure it all out in there, we had the local firemen there with their fire truck, and the neighbors provided a bouncy castle. Keana and Maia had a blast in the bouncy castle, and I was in there too with Maia to protect her from the crazy bigger kids, but it was fun. It was really good to meet our neighbors and I think we’ll be seeing more of them now. One couple is Japanese like us, and splits their time in San Francisco, so it will be fun to get to know them better. The guy plays drums and jams with some history professor from Fresno State, so there may be a band forming for me to play in…we’ll see.

So we’re basically just getting all our ducks in a row for your arrival. Keana can’t wait for you to some, and asks just about every day now, “Is the baby coming today?!!!” Every birth experience is a big Unknown, and we know we just have to be ready for anything (which is consequently very difficult, especially for me). Right now I’m trying to have faith in the fact that we’ve done this twice before and that you and your mama are genetically programmed for a safe, healthy birth. I’m going to keep focusing on that until you do decide to take the plunge, but you should know, we really are ready when you are.

Love,
Papa

p.s. We’ve been feeling your toes lately which I don’t think we ever got to do with your sisters, so that’s something that’s all yours and pretty damn special.

development, family, trips

Your 1st 50th

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Hey Little Baby, it’s me again, Papa. I thought you’d like to know what’s been going on out here since I last wrote. Your sisters were sick last week so that was exciting as usual. Fevers, copious amounts of snot, more tissue than you can believe- you’ll see. Not fun but not all that bad. Just another one of the things you get used to on the outside. I had another work trip to Berkeley also, and I couldn’t believe that it was probably my last trip to the bay until after you’re born! You’ll be within your dates to pop out in three weeks now, but there’s no rush. You just stay in there and bake as long as you need. Make sure you’re really ready for this Team Hokama craziness.

Last week was filled with the usual antics around the house. Mama helped Keana and Maia build a castle out of cardboard which is still around, being used for all kinds of make-believe goodness. And Thursday morning before Keana went to school, she and Maia got into Mama’s makeup and painted on their faces and arms. I think they were pretending they were kitties. I definitely got a glimpse of the future that morning.

Keana and I continued the piano lessons, and started to learn Three Blind Mice which then turned into a chasing game around the house where we each took turns chopping off each other’s tails. Maybe you heard your sisters squealing with delight while they held onto their butts as I was chasing them down the hall? Good times ahead for you Little One! We also finished up planting the zucchini, carrots, bush beans, chard, tomatoes, mint, basil, rosemary, and parsley so you’ll have a nice little garden here when you arrive.

On Friday we had another prenatal appointment with Dr. Kopascz. Everything looked good, you’re “measuring perfectly”, and just after the doctor checked your heartbeat with the doppler, you moved so fast that it surprised even her. It was really funny to see a doctor be so astonished, especially when you imagine that she’s probably seen thousands of babies. It was a very defined movement, so maybe it was your knee or elbow? Anyway, you continue to amaze us with all your action.

Keana’s really been working hard writing the letters in her name and figuring out how to spell words. You can bet she’ll be a great teacher for you. A lot of parents stress out or brag about how much their kids read or write, even before kindergarten, but you’ll be happy to know we have complete confidence in your abilities already, and all will be learned in good time. We think we’ll be sending Keana to Dailey Elementary Charter School, which is a new charter that uses the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program. Basically its a focus is on global standards, so the kids learn another language starting in kindergarten (Spanish), and continue on through 5th grade. They also hire specialty teachers in physical education, art, and music, so it seems there’s a good emphasis on the whole student, not just reading, writing, and math. The idea is to teach kids to be a part of a global community and help each kid grow so they can compete on an international stage. At least that’s what I gather from my research. They do have longer days though, 90 minutes longer for kindergarten and 180 for the other grades I think. Hopefully that’s just so there’s plenty of time for the extra language and arts without neglecting the basics. We’ll see though. It is a new school, so Keana will have to test it out for you. Aren’t you lucky to have two older sisters to test the waters before you have to jump in?

On Saturday we headed to Sacramento for your Great Uncle Vic’s 50th birthday celebration. Keana and Maia had a blast playing with cousins McKenna, Cassidy, and Riley, and I’m sure you’ll love them too. They’ll be pretty old by the time you’re able to run around with them, but they’re so sweet I’m sure they’ll slow down for you (at least they do for Keana and Maia). Your sisters really enjoyed swimming and jumping on the giant trampoline too. I also realized that we probably won’t see most of that family until after you’re born as well. They’re all quite excited to meet you and see what kind of scruffer you’ll turn out to be.

Man, it was crazy though. The party was great, but Maia was really getting tired, so we headed to our hotel. And we all crashed after getting settled, but Maia woke up at 2 a.m. Maybe you heard her? Anyway, she would not settle down and as you know, Mama needed rest to keep up with you, so we told Maia if she didn’t quiet down and go to sleep, we’d have to drive her around in the car until she was ready to sleep. She called our bluff and said, “I want to go in the car.” So she and I got dressed and I took her out. It was windy and cold and I figured she’d be asleep in 20 or 30 minutes. Oh no. She was ready to go. She was pretending bad guys were chasing us and I’d look back and she’d have this mischievous smile and she’d say, “Papa, I’m scared!” I drove and drove and it was quite clear she wasn’t settling down. Eventually we got hungry so I found a Safeway and I’m pretty sure everyone thought I was either kidnapping her or that we were crazy. It was almost 4 a.m. at this point and you’ll see that that is not the time for kids to be out and about. We got some flowers for Mama for Mother’s Day, then some bread, cheese, salami, and water and had a little picnic in the car with the motor running to keep the heat on. You should have seen your sister. She was having a blast, and I must admit, so was I. When I was younger I used to do stuff like that all time, so it was great to be on a night adventure with your sister. Every once in a while Maia would say, “More cheese Papa!” followed by a high-pitched, “Thank youuuu!” It was really a lot of fun. But as 5 a.m. approached I realized how horrible the day was going to be without some sleep. We finished up and I put Maia back in her seat and asked if she was ready to sleep now. She said, “Let’s keep driving!” I realized my mistake was fueling her up, so we drove a little longer, then headed back to the hotel. It was a little after five before she crawled into bed with Keana and I. Hilarious. Three people in a double bed. Around 7 a.m. I think I crawled into bed with you and Mama and I thought for a brief moment, “What the hell are we going to do with THREE kids! Where are we all going to sleep?” Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out. Or we won’t ever leave our house. Just kidding. Maybe.

We woke up kind of late (surprise surprise) and headed over to Great Aunt Krisite’s Mom’s house for Mother’s Day brunch. It was an elaborate spread and great to see all the Petersons one last time before heading home. You all slept for a while in the car heading back to Fresno, but then Little Miss Maia woke up and was pissed. She always has a hard time the last part of any trip, so hopefully she’ll be over that by the time you start rolling side-by-side with that crazy girl. Keana’s pretty easy going in the car though, so at least you’ll have her to balance things out. This is, of course, assuming you’re not going to be as crazy as Maia, but I know you’ll have your own flavor of crazy however it turns out. Otherwise you wouldn’t have made the team.

Anyway, we got our appointment with Jacque tomorrow, so rest up and we’ll just keep getting things ready out here for your arrival! I think this weekend I’ll be cleaning out the garage and getting all the baby gear out. Oh, and maybe we’ll see if Tia’s birth tub will work for us.

Love,
Papa

development

To my unborn child

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You are getting quite big in there Little One. You’re big enough now that we can see your every move from the outside. Oh, and we were wondering, do you actually play with Mama’s organs and stuff cause you’re bored, or does it just feel like that to Mama? I remember with your big sister Keana, my first time seeing the pregnancy process, I was constantly reminded of the movie Alien, and watching you reminds me of this amazing, foreign feeling I had. Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re an alien or scary or anything, it’s just amazing to see the movements of another human inside another human. Last Friday night I watched you for almost ten minutes, just amazed at the physical prowess you already have. And although I’m tempted to always feel what’s going on from the outside, I know it gets you riled up, so I’ve been trying to keep my curiosity in check.

I thought you’d like to know what’s going on in the upcoming weeks before you’re born so you can hit the ground running here with Team Hokama when you finally make it out. You should know that although we’ve been quite busy with your sisters, we think about how amazing you are every day. Your mama is starting to really feel how big you are, but it’s not your fault, it’s just the way things are. The last week of April we had a brief scare because there was a tiny amount of blood after Mama went to the gym, but it stopped, she rested, and nothing came of it. Turns out it’s a small infection that we’ll get some medicine for soon. Then when I was gone for another work trip in Berkeley, on April 8, your mama was nauseous and had blurred peripheral vision. Again, we were worried but she had just had some blood drawn, so that was probably it. Other than a couple little things like that though, your voyage has been smooth sailing (as far as we can tell from out here). We just ordered some shots of B-12 and folic acid, so you should be feeling a little boost in there soon. I’ll warn you before it happens, though, don’t worry. You’ll like it.

You should know that Keana and Maia have been having a blast with each other lately, so their team dynamic will be a strong one to support you when you come out. Just a couple days ago, when Maia woke up, Keana exclaimed, “Oh Maia! I missed you. Can I have a hug?” and Maia came and gave her a little hug. Then a minute later Keana says, “Can I have another hug Maia? That one wasn’t big enough.” You’re going to be glad you have such sweet sisters. Of course, it’s not all lovey-dovey out here as you’ve probably heard. Maia has been quite the spit-fire lately. Recently she was really upset about not getting something off the fridge, and Keana and I thought she wanted one of the pictures. So we pulled it off and asked if she wanted it. She screamed, “Nooooo!”, grabbed the picture, threw it on the floor, and stomped on it with her feet while staring me down. Fierce. So watch out for that; she’s still working on her communication skills. (Though I guess that goes for all of us out here.)

Anyway, you’ve probably already noticed, but we’re starting to do prenatals with Dr. Kopascz every other week and will be meeting with Jacque the midwife every week starting in two weeks. With you we’re doing concurrent care with an OB and a midwife, which is new territory for us. It’s just the way Jacque likes to do things, so there you go. Hope you haven’t minded the ultrasounds. You’ll be happy to know we’ve refused most of them on your behalf and there will definitely not be any more.

So that’s the gist of it. It’s time to really start preparing for your great arrival, as a family and individually, so I’ll try and give you an update every week. Oh, and this weekend I’ll see about those Team Hokama sweat/wrist bands for The Great Event. After all, this may be the last time we can rally with the legit Team Hokama birth gear.

Love,
Papa

birthdays, development, family, holidays

As promised…and a little extra

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WARNING: This blog post may be boring and disgusting but you might actually like it if you stick with it. For those that don’t have the patience, here’s an outline to assist in skimming:

  1. Following up on Keana’s 5th birthday/visitors (Iana and Olivia)
  2. Easter weekend Part I (The Rogers Gathering)
  3. Projectile vomit (Best Friday Night Ever)
  4. Easter weekend Part II (Rough Start with a Strong Finish)

1. In my last post I said I’d let you know how Keana’s birthday party went, so here it is. Let’s just say it turned out better than we imagined. For one, we thought that only one friend was coming, but it turned out that the other two girls Keana invited showed up at the last minute; we were probably more excited than Keana was in some ways. As a parent you can start to see all those social perils unfolding, even at this young age, of who gets invited, who doesn’t, who shows up, who doesn’t, and what that might mean as far as whether or not they like you, etc. And in this case, there were competing birthday parties that day, so we weren’t sure the best way to explain that one. Keana seemed fine with just having one friend there, but I think deep down inside she was disappointed and Sarah and I felt especially bad because maybe if we had sent out the invite sooner the outcome might have been different. Luckily, in the end, all turned out well. The girls, even Maia and the other 2-year-old, all played really well together and enjoyed our little treasure hunt and piñata. Sarah had to give it a good bashing first though, cause there was no way these five-year-olds were going to even make a dent in that thing. I sat video-taping and laughing wondering how many parties in the world had the same unbreakable piñata. And of course, The Cake. The Cake was amazing. Grandma Jennie picked it up from La Boulangerie and upon request, it was chocolate, and not too sweet, but still rich, moist, and overall scrumdiddidlyumptious (as we say in our house). Our guests stayed from 11-after3 and we were exhausted, but Keana was happier than ever.

The next day, Keana’s actual birthday, was pretty mellow. Keana went to school, though she did try and talk me out of it. They do a special celebration though, and I knew she would be upset if she missed it (all the special attention in front of her peers), so I persuaded her to go. I took the day off work though, and after school we enjoyed some time as a family, followed by Keana’s favorite dinner, roast chicken, and some of that awesome left-over cake. It was a little hard for me to relax because I knew the next day I would fly to DC for NWP’s annual Spring Meeting (where our teachers lobby for funding from their representatives). This trip was also a longer one- I got back March 28 in the afternoon- and when I returned, Iana and her baby Olivia were visiting. Keana had the week off school for spring break, so she and Maia got lots of good time with their little cousin. Olivia is really starting to grab things, roll around, and smile, so I think it was especially fun for the girls. And I’m not going to lie, it was pretty fun for Sarah and I too. Olivia adores Sarah and has the biggest smile whenever she sees her (and a cheerful squeal or growl isn’t uncommon either).

2. On Friday we had a Rogers’ get-together up at Sarah’s Grandma Bev’s house that overlooks Millerton Lake. In attendance were Great Grandma Bev (of course), Great Uncle David (who the girls don’t get much chance to see, but something we’re going to work on), Grandpa Robert and Nana Cin, Tia, and Olivia. It was a lot of fun, but the car ride home was NOT. About two minutes into the 40 min. ride, Maia began screaming and crying and nothing would comfort her. In order to not let the screaming disturb my driving and/or drive me totally insane, I often try to focus on a piece of music or some other train of thought. This particular night, I was thinking how it was Friday night, and once upon time that meant something. It meant around 5 or 6 you would start scheming the entertainment for the night. Who’s around? What’s the dinner plan? Would it be live music after? A movie? A bar then some dancing? Maybe even a night trip to the outdoors somewhere? Now it’s a mad-dash home before the kids melt down, and on Friday, it was already too late. Kid was melting down. Poor Maia was just plain pissed off. After what seemed like hours, we finally arrived home and both kids were hungry, of course. We fed them some left-over hamburger that we brought home and some yogurt, and put them to bed.

3. Then, not long after we got Maia and Keana to bed, Keana called out. I went into her room and she looked worried. Something’s wrong with her throat she said. I began to worry she was having an allergic reaction to something and attempted to assess whether or not her throat was sore or if it felt like it was closing up. I called for Sarah, then had her stand up to see if it was just the position she was in. In the span of three seconds, I saw The Look in her eyes…I grabbed her to move her to the toilet…and…projectile vomit spewed forth on my shoulder, arm, leg, and cascaded onto the cat, who unfortunately happened to be rubbing up against my leg at exactly the wrong moment. The nastiness continued to flow onto the rug, her toys, then eventually all over her little toilet we keep in her room for night-time convenience. Like waves of disgusting it seemed to just keep coming and coming. Oh man oh man. Luckily, after that one blowout of the decade, Keana calmed down and appeared to be completely fine. Sarah and I got to work like a machine, trading off cleaning up the worst mess in recent memory and sitting with Keana to be sure it wasn’t going to happen again. Long night doesn’t begin to define it.

4. Saturday Morning Keana was fine though, and we prepared to head up to “the round house”, a small round house up in the hills near Friant/O’Neals. It’s actually where we got married, so it holds a special place in our hearts. Anyway, Jacque (our current midwife) and Frank Moschella own it, and host an Easter celebration every year there. I guess it’s usually a two-day affair, but this year we just did Saturday. It was great to see all the old family friends and I think Sarah especially enjoyed catching up with everyone and showing off her pregnant belly. Tia (Iana) and Olivia left first to head back to Long Beach and it was almost a teary good-bye. I have to admit, I got a little misty looking at the little chunk-a-munk Olivia, thinking of how much she’ll have changed and grown before we see her again, and how seemingly small and vulnerable she and Iana looked heading out the door to the open road. Anyway, we tried to enjoy ourselves and be conscious of the time, having just endured the same car ride with Maia screaming the night before, and wanting to avoid another terribly long one. Ten minutes down the road, it began. Again, Maia screamed bloody hell practically the whole way home. I put on Kind of Blue and she screamed through So What and Green on Blue (it was on shuffle) before finally falling quiet to Flamenco Sketches. Sarah had to hold her hand too, a deadly combination with the subtle stylings of Miles.

And today. Well, today was not a picture-perfect Easter. Maia was awake from 1 a.m.–3 a.m., followed by Keana waking up between 4 and 5. Needless to say, I awoke pretty grumpy with zero coffee to be found. Maia and I hung out though till 10, which was fine/fun, when Keana and Sarah got up, but Maia and Keana instantly began fighting over Easter bags they got yesterday. Papa growled, apologized, then had to head out for coffee before things deteriorated any further. We finally had our “special breakfast” of Belgium waffles and sausage around noon and the girls went out to look for the baskets that Grandma Jennie had carefully assembled for them, and that I had hid in the backyard. Sarah and I did not rally for Easter this year, so we were especially thankful for Grandma’s collaborative efforts with The Bunny. Sarah and Maia went down for a nap around 1:45 p.m., and after prepping the chicken with rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper, Keana and I followed and had an amazing nap. This amazing nap was followed by an even more amazing dinner. Although the day started rough, with a little help, I think it was still a special one for everyone and we’ve certainly ended on a positive note.

development, family, holidays

Happy “Balentimes”!

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As Keana says, “Happy Balentimes”! Don’t you remember how crazy that word was when you were little? What little kid can actually pronounce “Valentine”? Anyway, we’ve made several decorated hearts today, and also attended Fresno’s Mardi Gras parade in the area called the Tower District. I can’t say it was the best parade ever, but there were some fun costumes and some great live music on flatbed tow trucks. The girls seemed to enjoy it, but it was a lot of waiting. Something different to do though. Thanks for the tip Grandma Jennie!

In other news, number 3 is kickin’ up a storm! What’s that you say? THREE?!! You haven’t heard? Well, consider yourself informed. What’s that you say? THREE?!! Yes. We are crazy. Sarah’s about 21 weeks now and everything is looking perfect. This was really the first week I was able to feel the scruffer kicking too, and it was good to remember that “in utero” magic. I guess the little baby had hiccups most of yesterday too, which is pretty fun and much less alarming with each pregnancy. For those of you who know, those first hiccups are weird, right? Even on our third it’s something to pause about and enter a space of wonder.

The girls have been amazing lately. I think I mentioned last time that they’ve been playing really well together and that certainly continues. They’ve been taking the cushions off the couch and making forts and magic forests. Hearing their laughter and squeals streaming into the kitchen or back rooms always brings a smile to our faces. And even when those squeals of pain or rage come charging in, we sit for a second and try and let them resolve things themselves. They do surprisingly well and I think we have to intervene less and less.

In other news. Uncle Peter has been crashing in our garage, applying for jobs and looking into life in Fresno. He’s been on constant dish/kitchen duty and I know we’re going to miss that. If we could we might just employ him as our house boy. The girls certainly have loved having him around and it’s good to see them strengthen their relationship with him. I’m pretty sure our frantic, non-stop lifestyle is challenging for him, but he also seems to enjoy being one of the kids.

Anyway, I best be on to some photo/video editing now. Stay tuned for some footage from our trip to the snow up at Grandpa Robert’s house in North Fork, and stuff from Iana and Olivia’s visit last weekend!