I miss you Gina!

We actually had to got to a generic portrait studio yesterday for our family photos. Usually this time of year, we'd be meeting up with Gina and she's take pictures of Mason for his birthday and of the family for our Christmas card. Not only is she a great photographer who would meet us anywhere to shoot, she also gave us a great price! Yesterday we sat in the studio with the generic holiday backgrounds and took our posed family pictures. Don't get me wrong, the people were nice and the photos came out nice. But it just wasn't the same! I miss you Gina!! We'll have to make a yearly date to do photos so we never have to go through this again! Here is one little preview...you'll have to wait for the rest:)

A Little Getaway

Once bitten by the travel bug, it is really hard to pass up a great travel deal. So when we saw ridiculously cheap flights to San Francisco, how could we not buy them? We took off Wednesday for a short trip to visit the city and relax. We didn't rent a car or anything because SF has such great public transportation. I think in the back of our heads, we were thinking that this would give a little idea of what it'd be like to travel in Spain with kiddos. I think we did end up utilizing every form of public transport at our disposal. The only one that we'd never do again is the buses because the kids were horrible! But they did pretty good on the trains. trolleys, and cable cars! It was definitely a little more difficult with two kids than when we went with just Mason but it was still fun- still an adventure! We enjoyed the cloudy, drizzly, cool weather. A nice change of pace from the constant warmth of SoCal. I know for all of you sitting in snow or freezing weather that doesn't sound so bad. But after a while, you miss the cooler weather, the rainy days. Although I must admit, neither of us miss the snow! With that said, here are a few pics from our little exploration of SF. We walked a lot of the city (stopping by cool places like TCHO chocolate) and took a cool little boat tour of the bridge and Alcatraz. We also visited the aquarium when the rain got a little heavier. The kids loved that! Mason also got his first taste of cotton candy. I don't think that we'll do that again! He went nuts as soon as the sugar hit his bloodstream! All in all, it was a fun trip despite it's hectic moments with the kids. But if you ever get a chance to visit, you really should! SF is an awesome city with so much to see!

Halloween Fun

This year, we found a cute bumble bee costume for Willow online. We tried it on and liked it so we bought it. When I showed Mason that his sister was going to be a bee, he immediately told me that he was going to be a fly for Halloween. Not wanting to sound like a judgmental mom, I asked about other possible animals that he could dress up as for Halloween. But he had his mind made up. Willow would be a bee and he would be a fly. OK. Now, try to find a fly costume for a toddler (for a reasonable price). Nearly impossible. We'll have to just make one, I decided. We tried and we failed. I think Dave and I both suck at making costumes. The wings just wouldn't come together right. So for Harvest Festival at Fuller (the week before Halloween) he wore his Spiderman costume from last year. Still bug related! So I had one week to pull out something else for him in time for trick or treating. He said he wanted to be a spider. A few alterations to the fly set up and I think we'll be set. Yeah, more technical difficulties and a broken sewing machine. Well, Spidy is close enough to the insect world that our bug theme isn't ruined. And he loves Spiderman. So Spiderman he was-again!


All the neighborhood kids getting ready for trick or treating.


Willow enjoying her first sugar cookie at Harvest Festival.


Mason riding the ponies by himself- for the first time in 3 years!

Siblings

Mason really wanted to hold Willow. Not being a real "cuddle bug", I wasn't optimistic. But it actually wasn't too bad. Here are a few photos.

doula training

This past weekend, I attended my official CAPPA (Chilldbirth and Postpartum Association) doula training. Since I decided to pursue this goal, I have been blessed to be at 10 births, supporting women and their partners through one of the most intimate, amazing and miraculous moments of their lives. I do consider it a blessing and privilege to be asked into someone's birth and do my best to support them through those hours of uncertainty and intensity. My attendance at this training this weekend makes me an official doula-in-training with CAPPA and puts me on the path of certification, which I am hoping to complete by January or February 2010. The training was a weekend training that started early and went to about dinner time. Additionally, it was about 40 minutes away. Those of you that know me, know that I am not a morning person. So it definitely has to be something important to get me out of bed that early on a weekend! On a side note, I must say though that there were other women who traveled much further than I did to attend this training. Cudos to you all! Back on topic, I learned so much this weekend about how to better support women in labor. I was reaffirmed that this is the career for me. And I was reminded again of the awesomeness of God in allowing humanity to participate in creation and designing our bodies to work and to birth! I am convinced that women know how to birth their babies. It is a deep, innate part of femaleness. Unfortunately, our culture and society has made women doubt this truth and doubt themselves. I think there is a growing number of women (and their partners) that are being to listen to their bodies and trust their instincts. They are asking questions and making informed decisions about what is best for them and for their baby. I hope that this trend continues. Pregnancy and birth are not medical conditions. Pregnant women are not sick.

Listen, I know that not every woman wants to feel labor. I know that not every couple wants to have a natural birth. That is fine. That is each couple's choice. But at least know your options before making a decision. Know the risks and benefits of each procedure and medication. Read up on them for yourself. Don't just trust someone else to tell you the whole truth. Ask your doctor about their attitudes toward labor and letting things progress in their own time. Ask about their c-section rates, etc. Get information. Whether or not you agree or choose to have birth in a natural way, just make an INFORMED decision. Ok, I will get off my soap box now:) In an effort to pursue my passion to educate, here is some information for you to think through.

I know that most typical Americans don't really understand natural or normal childbirth and don't even know the word doula. I think that is a shame! In fact, that is part of the passion that I have developed over the last few years- a passion to educate people about birth choices. Did you know that most couples spend more time researching what car they want to buy than how they want to bring their child into the world? To that end, here are a few facts about the benefits of having a doula present at birth:

(1) It reduces the likelihood of c-sections by 50%
(2) It decreases the length of labor by 25%
(3) Reduces the use of oxytocin (pitocin) by 40%
(4) It reduces the use of narcotics by 30%
There are many more advantages but these give you an idea of the significance of a doula's presence!

Some of the long term benefits include:

(1) Improved breastfeeding
(2) Increased time spent with baby
(3) Decreased postpartum depression

Here are some great resources to learn more about normal/natural birth, it's benefits for mom and baby and doulas in your area:

Childbirth and Postpartum Association www.cappa.net- Find a doula
Doulas of Southern California www.dascdoulas.org- Find a doula in SoCal
The Business of Being Born www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com-Watch the documentary, links to other great resources
Giving Birth Naturally www.givingbirthnaturally.com-Everything you ever wanted to know about the risks of medical interventions, medications and how to do it all naturally
Dr. Sears www.askdrsears.com- Great information on childbirth and newborn health and care(and much more) from the the Sears family of doctors

Playing and Baking

Helping mommy make brownies!


I AM a big girl, see?!!

Look at me after "baking" outside!


In the process of making mud pie.

Oprah

If you didn't get a chance to check out the Oprah show today, you can see it online. Our good friends, Vanessa and Rolondo and their daughter Raven, were on the show briefly today. The topic was about women and their hair, particularly African-American women. Chris Rock was the guest. He was talking about his new documentary coming out next week entitled Good Hair. It was a great show that was applicable to women of all ethnicities. Chris Rock made a great statement in the end of the show. He said, don't wear your hair for her, or him or because it is what other people are doing. Wear your hair for yourself, because you like it. My friend looked at me and said, that could be said of most things women do in America. We are a culture of image. It is hard, especially for women, to achieve the image that is set out as "ideal" or even normal! I am very conscious now that I have children of what I say about myself in front of them. I want my daughter to have as an example a mom who is happy in her own skin, who cherishes herself and who is confident in how God made her. I want my son to see the same so that one day he will desire to find a secure and healthy women to spend his life with. As a Christian, I am reminded that my worth does not come from what I wear, how I look, what my hair looks like or who likes me. But my worth comes from my identity in Jesus Christ! I have to say that I have been wearing my natural hair for a few years now. First, because I couldn't afford to color it. Recently, by choice. I can finally say that I like my hair and my hair color. And for those of you that watched the show, I'm a proud natural NON-BLONDE brunette!