Sleepy Babies

Jaxon's starting to catch on to his sister's ways. Tired and sleep at 11:00 am.
Hmmm, nap time on Zoë.

Mommy Time with Babies and Daddy Time with Babies

Today is just a day we get to lay around and enjoy our babies.

Here's mommy with our two littles.

And here's daddy wout our two littles.

And Then There Were Two!

Throughout the night, I felt what could be Braxton Hicks or actual contractions. I was mostly convinced they were actual contractions though. They just seemed much more stronger than the few times I had Braxton Hicks. Still, we had an easy going morning and didn't think baby boy was coming just yet. Still, I timed my contractions and they were still irregular.

I also have my regular checkup today since I'm right at the 40 weeks mark. His due date is actually supposed to be today. And here's the baby girl still asleep as I get ready for my doctor appt.

Of course, when it was time to go, she wasn't too happy because she wanted to sleep some more.

And here she is hanging out with mommy in the waiting room.

Well, at my appointment, the OBGYN confirmed it! I definitely had contractions and am now dialated at 1cm. Still not enough for them to think I'd be in active labor. The OBGYN even said it could be a slow process and can still be days or weeks til he decides to join us.

So, we went home. But first, we headed to McDonald's to get us some yummy breakfast. And, of course, while we're in the drive-thru, that's when my contractions start to get stronger. Like, strong enough, where I actually need to take a moment to catch my breath. We made it home, but even then, I had to pause every time the contractions hit. We made it home though and I had Zoë enjoy her McDonald's.

After running my app and timing all my contractions, my app actually told me that it would be best to call the hospital because baby boy is most likely on his way. I immediatelly texted Jeric and he said he'll leave work soon. While waiting for Jeric to get home, I checked for everything we needed and decided to take a shower, because, you never know, it very well could be my last shower for a few days. LOL!

I called Kaiser to see what the plan was and the lady on the phone was a little rude. She didn't think my contractions were strong enough because I was carrying a convo with her at the moment. And I was like, yah, no kidding, because I'm not having a contration this minute! Still, she was hesitant. But with me being adamant, she said to come by and they'll get me in.

Finally, we make it to the hospital, but wow! I'm not even on the list to be seen! So, they have me stick it out in the waiting room. We were there for maybe an hour or more before they finally call us in. I was so annoyed because I was having contractions and had to wait outside all because that lady on the phone didn't do what was needed.

Nonetheless, we got seen and they hooked me up to the monitors. They needed to monitor me for about 20 minutes and will let me know if it's strong enough to be admitted.

Well, yup, definitely strong enough to admit me! Baby boy's on his way!

And by 3:28 pm, I'm relaxed and got me a cup of yummy ice chips!

My contractions began getting stronger and stronger, but my water hasn't broken yet. So, the Dr told me that if my water doesn't break they might have to break it for me. Also, even though my contractions have been getting stronger, they still seemed super manageable. I was even, for just a split second, considering nixing the epi! HA! That would've been so dumb. And so, the anesthesiologist came by and gave me my epi dose.

The Dr came by to check up on me and basically said if I'm not dialated at 8 or higher, then, she'd have to burst my water in hopes that it will speed things along. Well, not an 8 yet, so she had to burst my water. I didn't feel a thing though, since the epi kicked in.

Now it was time to rest as much as I can before baby boy comes! The whole time before the epi was placed in, we kept Zoë out in the waiting room area. She hung out with Ninong Jason and also Daddy while they put the needle in. He was definitely not sticking around for that one again. Hahaha.

Now that my epi was in and the nurse was done with all the admission questions and paperwork and whatnot, we had the baby girl join us. Marky and Liz also came by and not long after Mom and Dad Samoza came too.

The epi of course slowed the progression down some. So I tried to rest as much as possible. The Samozas, except for Mom, Marky and Liz, went out for a bit to buy some food. Then, when they came back, they stayed downstairs and Marky, Liz and Zoë took Jeric's keys and met them downstairs. They needed to move Zoë's carseat to the 4runner since she was staying over at Mom and Dad's overnight. Now, all that was left, was me, Jeric and Mom. And literlly minutes later.. I was in major pain! And I just felt like baby boy was definitely coming any second/minute now. We called in the nurse and she asked if I felt like I needed to poop. And nope, that was not the feeling, but I knew it was baby boy. She disregarded me, ugh. But since I was adamant, she called in the Dr to check on me. And the Dr's exact words were, "Oh yah, if she laughs, sneezes or coughs, this baby is coming out!" So they got me all ready and 9 minutes later, he was here!!

And the best part... Zoë's reaction when she first meets her little brother!


The Samozas are ringing in the new year with Jaxon Drake Samoza!

Zoë Very First Snow Day!

Denise asked if wanted to go with them for a fun snow day for the kiddos. Definitely couldn't pass it up! The weather brought on lovely snow to the mountains and since we weren't actually going snow boarding, we didn't have to make a huge trek up the mountains. We didn't even need snow chains!

This was super last minute though and we didn't really have any snow gear for Zoë. Plus, my snow gear and Jeric's were all stored somewhere and definitely not easily accessible. So, last night, we started scrambling around for gear and apparently everyone else has the same idea because most stores were super slim pickins. We couldn't find anything for the toddlers at Dick's Sporting Goods or Macy's. Luckily, when we checked out Baby Gap, they had some stuff. We found snow shoes for Zoë and decent enough pants for Zoë and Dustin. The pants were like windbreakers, so not exactly water proof, but maybe water resistant. We bought those just in case we couldn't find anything else. Also found the last pair of baby gloves! And these are definitely good for the snow.

Early this morning, we all checked out Dick's Sporting Goods over in Upland as well as Kohl's and Target. Found nothing for the kiddos, so they'll have to stick with the windbreaker pants from Baby Gap. We'll just put a ton of layers underneath. Luckily Kohl's had gloves for me and Jeric. But still, we all felt unprepared! Totally reminds me of the first time we went boarding. Hahaha. No snow boarding pants or jacket and had to rent the boots.

Anyhow, after all the craziness we finally made it! Btw, Zoë has been excited about the snow since last night, when I told her we were going! She even requested for a carrot for her snowman's nose. Hahaha.

Zoë's first time on snow

Family photo.. oh Zoë... look at the cammy

Baby girl having fun on top of a ginormous fallen tree

Dustin, Zoë and Bella

Dustin absolutely hated the snow, but Zoë loved it! Bella loved it, but hated the cold. Eventually, even most of the adults couldn't hang with how cold it was and everyone started heading back. Me and Zoë were the last ones to head back to the car and the whole way there, Zoë kept saying, "No go in the car!" Hahaha. Her cheeks were super red, eyes were watery, and nose super drippy. Yet, she didn't care. She wanted to play in the snow some more.

Hahaha. Definitely need to find all of our gear and get her better gear for the next time that we come up to the mountains.

Aquarium of the Pacific!

Heading to this wonderful place and meeting up with Denise, Ray and Dustin. While trying to find them, Jeric and Zoë headed over to view the large tank and all its glorious fishies. It was cute because they dropped in carved pumpkins to decorate for Halloween.

The first exhibit we all went to was the Jelly Fish area because you get to actually touch them! Zoë totally had a blast! As did Dustin.

I tried to shower the Baby Sharks, but sadly they were all sleeping in the corner and Zoë was too little to reach over and pet them.

She got to see some really pretty Sting Rays too with Dada.

We also found a cool place to sit down and enjoy views of the bigger sharks. Zoë was certainly taking advantage of the "lounge" spot she found.

She also got to touch the Horseshoe Crabs with Dada.

Then we headed to the upper levels of the outside exhibits to view the penguins. Jeric checked them out while Zoë watched them with Ninang Denise.

One of the penguins decided to give Zoë something to hoot about and Mama captured in on cam at just the right moment.

LOL! Yup, the penguin decided to poop in Zoë's face!

On the way out, the cousins had fun with the Penguin statues.

Peek-a-boo, I see you!

Some more of the wonderful exhibits we all got to see and touch.

ZRye & DRhye

The Amurao's came to visit! Which meant, cousin time for Zoë and Dustin! Look at these cuties chillin on the bed together.

Sharing Uncle Brian's Lap

All the kiddos fight for attention and are super possessive. So when Zoë went to sit on Uncle Brian's lap, all the kiddos had to squeeze on in there too! Hahaha!

Mark's Beach Bonfire Birthday Bash

Jenn's been planning Mark's surprise beach birthday party for quite sometime now and it ended up being converted into a bonfire.

When we got there, it seemed pretty hot, but we were warned that it was super windy. I thought it wasn't that windy, that was at least until we stepped out of the car. And boy was it extremely windy! Still, the sun was out and it was a nice and relaxing day at the beach with everyone.

Right when we got there, Zoë plopped herself down next to Penny and they both got busy playing with sand.

She was absolutely cute standing around as the wind tousled her hair. And mine too! Check out my shadow. Lol.

Zoë then had a lot of fun playing with all the kiddos.

She even spotted a little turtle trying to crawl back to shore! Hahaha. Oh wait, that's no turtle, that's baby Eli!

Happy birthday Mark!