Working Hard and Playing Hard

Saku and I visited the Reid Park Zoo for the first time last Thursday. My friend Jamie was kind to let us be her guests. I hadn't taken Saku there before because I wasn't sure if he would be old enough to be interested in the animals yet. He still favors a pigeon over everything else, but the otters and the polar bear seemed to be a hit. I didn't get any good pictures of him with the animals in the back ground, but we did get some fun ones with this toy.

After the zoo, we quickly went home and took a nap before we headed over to Alia's house for a pool opening swim date. The water was so warm, which made it much better for all the babies. The moms and the kids enjoyed splashing in the sun.

I was scheduled to work that night, so we had to leave the party little early and get some sleep. I only slept for an hour and I am still paying for it now. I don't like to sleep very much during the day because I don't want to miss too much of Saku's day.

A frequent question nowadays is "how is work going?" I have been on my own for two weeks and it has gone well. Last two nights were very hectic and I wondered why I do this. I had a confused patient who had to be restrained to the bed so he wouldn't take his IV or urinary catheter out. Well somehow he was able to get out of the restraints and he pulled out both of them. When I get to the room, there is blood everywhere....so not fun for me or the patient. The following night, I didn't have to care for this patient, but we didn't have enough staff so we were all running around all night to make sure everything got done. I was really earning my pay check.

I like being a nurse, but I do not love being a medical/surgical adult care nurse, but I am getting great experience and I am blessed to have a job when many other people don't have one. I guess I better just be ready work my butt of for a while:)

Simple Happiness

Today my heart is happy

because

I was able to provide service to a dear friend who has helped me out so much,

I got to hang out with a new friend who made me feel that instant friendship spark,

I get to go and celebrate my dear friend's twins and spend some time with her,

and

most importantly, I got to sing songs and watch Baby Einstein, give kisses, share fake laughs, witness few temper tantrums and much more with a sweet boy of mine.

Today is such a testimony to me that life is all about people. It is not about the riches of this world, but the relationships that enrich our lives.

I hope your Wednesday was a good one and I hope tomorrow will be even better!

Few minutes of being a Paparazzi

On Saturday afternoon, we took the subway from downtown to Brooklyn and fell in love with the neighborhood. The buildings were beautiful, the streets were pedestrian friendly, everything was clean and Saku was happy to walk around. I know we only saw little bit of the city and especially this part of the town, but I could see myself living somewhere like this for few years. I'm sure I would start missing the space that living that we have now, but I loved the city feel; it reminded me of living in Finland, but obviously everything is way bigger in New York and way more people.

The Brooklyn Bridge

Manhattan area and the Brooklyn bridge behind Anna and I

Saku found some fascinating dirt. Wouldn't it be nice to be a kid and so easily satisfied with the little things in life?

We didn't have any toys with us, so Troy would throw a spoon and Saku would run and get it. Yes, we played fetch with our Saku and he loved it. I wonder if people around us thought that we were dysfunctional parents:)

As we chilled on the grass, I started to notice the unusual number of fancy strollers that would pass us by. Troy had borrowed few nice lenses for our camera so I tested out the zoom function and took some pictures of the moms with fancy strollers.

Anna thought that it was strange to be so excited about the strollers, but it was a different experience to see so many of them everywhere. It makes sense though, if you don't use a car in the city, a cheap stroller most likely couldn't handle all the snow that the city gets during the winter months.

I really liked the yellow color on this UppaBaby. I don't think it was a color option when we bought our blue stroller.

Is this totally creepy of me to be so fascinated with the strollers?

p.s there will be multiple posts with pictures of our trip. I think Troy took close to 600 pictures and while I won't torture you with that many, the weekend was way too fabulous not to share.

Seven Falls Revisited

Last Saturday we decided to go and enjoy little outdoor adventure. We headed to the Bear Canyon to hike the Seven Falls. Troy and I did this hike last June five days before Saku was born. I really wanted to get the labor started so we hiked the 7 miles. Obviously, now I am THAT much smarter and I would never want to be in the woods and hiking with the terrible back labor that I experienced.

I embraced my pregnant body while pregnant, but I have to confess that I am not looking forward to being this big or most likely, even bigger with the next pregnancy. Also i have no idea how I was able to do this hike while carrying that big belly with me. It was exhausting enough this time when I am 30+ pounds lighter. Did anyone else feel this way after their first pregnancy/before possible second one?

Anna and I excited to start the hike. She is such a beauty! There will be another entry just for the account of what an amazing helper, sister and friend she has been to me while here(and really always).

Saku loved being up so high and seeing so much. I don't think he stopped pointing at things for the first few hours of the hike.

Thanks to Lars and Amy, Saku had the most convenient way of traveling. Fellow hikers kept commenting "that's the way to do this hike". Troy was exhausted after the hike. While Saku is a light weight for his age, he is still close to 20 pounds.

Our hike took a lot longer since we took breaks to play in the water and dirt.

When we finally got to the water falls, we enjoyed some sandwiches and more playing in the water.

In the background, you can see the falls and the water that has gathered underneath the falls. It seemed like an oasis after few hours of hiking.

On the way back, Saku fell asleep. I was paranoid that this fair skinned dude would get a major sunburn, but he didn't.

Multiple pictures since we thought it was so adorable.

After we were done, we were hot, dirty and thirsty so we headed to Eegee's and enjoyed a lazy late afternoon and evening.

Enjoying "Now"

Too often, I live my life with the "when this happens, life will be better/easier/happier/less busy" attitude. This got me through nursing school, the last few weeks of pregnancy and some of the sleepless nights when Saku wasn't sleeping. It is not that I don't enjoy my life or know that I am extremely blessed; I just tend to plan ahead and think of the future.

I think everyone does this to certain degree and this week I am making a more concentrated effort to enjoy my life today and worry less about tomorrow or think less of the possible "improvements" it might bring.

Yesterday was a beautiful and warm day. Mio is visiting us and he has been soaking in the sun.

Saku hung out in his birthday suit for a while and loved it.

I filled up Saku's baby bathtub with water as a poor man's swimming pool. He wasn't too impressed.He preferred just hanging out naked.

Mio was exhausted after few hours of laying outside.

For FHE, we went to the nearby park. Saku was testing out the slides.

Saku loved the big slide.

We also practiced some pole vaulting.

Mio started looking more and more pink as the day went on.

Troy pondering the meaning of life.

Mio wishing he could wear my glasses every day.

We finished the day by watching Avatar. I wasn't sure if I would like to movie, but I did.

We went to bed in a great mood and my only request for the next day was that Saku wouldn't be covered in poo or vomit when he woke up. And he wasn't!

Now I'm getting off the computer and going to enjoy today.