And his name is....

Carter Rei-Kelley

Big yawn

After 4 long days of not knowing, we finally named our son.  We really like to see our baby and get to know him before we choose a name but committing to a name is definitely tough for us too (especially for Shani).  So we prayed and prayed and asked Landon what his brother's name should be but we still couldn't decide.  Our midwives recommended asking the baby about the different names so that's what we also did.  We are a little worried about how much Carter is jumping up in popularity but we figured that we couldn't base everything on that.  In the end it was between two names and Carter seemed to really fit.  So there we have it, his name is Carter!  

As for his middle name we chose to do the same thing we did with Landon.  A Japanese hyphenated to Grandpa's name.  Landon's is Soich-David for Shani's Poppa and John's Dad.  Carter's is Rei-Kelley.  Rei was chosen in honor of Shani's Mom who's middle name is Reiko.  Rei also means salute, ceremony, thanks, lovely, companion, or wise which we also feel is appropriate.  Kelley for Shani's Dad.  Our boys are lucky to have been named after such meaningful people in our lives! 

It's a Boy!

On April 8, 2013 at 10:50pm our second son arrived weighing in at a whopping 7 pounds 9 ounces (a whole pound heavier than Landon) and 20 inches long.  Baby Snake (he is currently being called until we have a name for him because that is what Landon called him as he pointed at his umbilical cord) is doing really well and is as healthy as can be.  Shani is also doing great and recovering well.

Nothing beats having a baby in the comfort of your own home with the people you love and midwives that are as amazing and caring as Marlene and Kaleem.

Welcome Baby Mac #2!  We'll have your name picked out soon hopefully!

Last picture as a family of 3

Just born and meeting his Big brother

The boys always look so little in Daddy's arms

Nonni and grandbaby #3

Our wonderful midwives: Marlene and Kaleem from One Heart Midwifery

Mommy is all smiles with our new boy

Daddy reading out his weight: 7lbs 9oz (we are all shocked he's so big)

Landon giving his little brother kisses

Showing us where his armpit is :-)

Landon helping Daddy change the diaper and put goldenseal on the umbilical cord

Maternity/Family Pictures

Thank you to Shani's cousins Crystal and Steve from Thorns Photography (facebook.com/thornsphotography) for doing our Maternity/Family Pictures.  We think they turned out amazing and could not be happier.  We feel they did an amazing job at capturing the love we have for each other, our unborn child, and our fun son.  We hope you enjoy them as well! 

The pictures were taken when we were at 36 weeks pregnant.  We are now 11 days from the due date (yes we are counting down).  The waiting game has been a lot tougher on us this time.  Since we expected Landon to be late, it was a shocker that he was 10 days early.  Now we are trying to not expect to go early, but we are feeling ready and just waiting.  The hard part is Shani continues to feel great giving us no signs that this baby is ready to come out.  Keep checking back because baby is coming soon!

Yes, Landon does actually play the Ukelele (aka "uke") but in his own way...and no, he hasn't gotten it from his parents because we have no music talent at all!

 

Last Whoo-rah to SLO

We felt we needed a little trip away before our next baby arrived so San Luis Obispo (of course) was where we headed.  Shani was 37 weeks along which we figured is plenty enough time before the baby is due.  Our midwives had told us earlier not to expect this one to be as early as Landon was (38 weeks and a couple days), but then when we mentioned more recently that we were going away they were a little surprised since it was so close to our due date.  Mixed signals?!? Well, we had our 36 week home visit from our midwives on Monday before we left and they thought it would be no problem to go after all.  They actually encouraged it and said that Shani needed to eat a lot to help the baby grow.  They said at 36 weeks they usually tell the moms that they have the "all clear" to have the baby any time, but they didn't give the okay to us.  They are hoping she is pregnant for another 2-3 weeks because they feel the baby is just over 5 lbs and they want it to chunk up a little more.  Sounds good to us as we still have a lot to do around the house!  Not only were we excited to be relieved of our worries about going away for the weekend, we also knew there would be no problem eating a lot since we'd be hitting all of our favorite food places.  John on the other hand was a little more nervous.  He had wished he had picked up a radar detector just in case Shani did go into labor and he had to haul butt home.  Yes, that would be the plan.  Shani made very certain he knew that she'd rather have this baby in the car than going to the hospital.  That's what worried John the most, he knew that is how it would be.  Thankfully we didn't have to worry about that!  Although any time Shani had any type of "out of her normal feeling" he would ask if it was coming "in waves."  John was probably the most nervous and excited about this trip :-)

San Luis Obispo was just beautiful for us!  We love this time of year because all the hills are green and wild flowers are blooming.  The sky was blue and we didn't have any fog.  We could not have had better weather.  Landon did great on the car ride both there and back.  We didn't even have to break out the ipad to entertain him which we were happy about.  On the way in we stopped off in Paso Robles at one of John's favorite breweries Firestone Walker.  We had a small bite to eat then Shani and Landon played at the fountain while John did some beer tasting.  After buying some  a lot of beer, filling his growler, and getting some shirts we headed into SLO for Thursday Night Market.  Landon loved the local bands that were playing, the juggling act, and the big slide.  We all enjoyed the yummy food and were so happy to be in SLO.

Firestone Walker Brewery

Thursday Night Market

Corn on the cob, Yum!

At the end of pregnancy, when most moms are sitting around on the couch Shani does the opposite.  When she was 37 weeks pregnant with Landon we hiked 3.5 miles round trip with 800 ft gain in the snow in Tahoe.  Now again at 37 weeks we hiked Bishop's peak which is a popular hike in SLO.  We probably saw at least 30 people between going up and coming down.  We'd say it's in the mild to moderate level of difficulty for a hike.  The elevation gain is 1550 ft and 4.5 miles round trip.  So a pretty good one for sure, but doable.  We definitely had to take breaks and were drinking our good share of water, but we made it to the top.  Landon hiked the first part, but was easily distracted by bugs, rocks, and flowers so we had to eventually put him in the pack so we could get back while it was still light out.  He probably would have been a little bored if we didn't see so many dogs on the trail.  He got really excited whenever we passed one.  Again, another beautiful day with great views from the top!  After we hiked down we headed into town for some lunch, then back to the hotel for naptime.  For dinner we went to our favorite restaurant Firestone Grill and met our good friend Christy there.  The tri-tip sandwiches are to die for and as you can see, we are starting our son off early eating them.

Look at the green hills!

Big boy going potty on the trail

We made it to the top

37 weeks pregnant with baby #2

37 weeks pregnant with Landon

Tri-tip sandwich from Firestone Grill

Saturday we went to our favorite coffee place then out to Morro Rock.  The waves were pretty big so there were a ton of surfers.  This time of year is perfect to possibly see Peregrine falcons nesting on the rock.  Not only did John see a couple flying around, but one landed in a great view on the rock.  Of course he remembered his spotting scope, but he forgot his tripod!  Doah!  Definitely a bummer.  We also saw a lot of otters swimming around and Lando's favorite....squirrals.  He also enjoyed chasing the seagulls around too.  After Morro we headed to Pismo Beach for chowder at Splash Cafe.  Since the weather was so great there were a ton of people on the beach.  Apparently we need to take Landon to the beach more because he did not like it very much.  He wanted to be held the whole time.  We thought it could possibly be from the waves but even when we were far from the water he didn't want to walk on the sand.  He is like his Uncle Kevin when it comes to sand on his feet :-)  From there we headed to Aunt Margaret and Uncle Bo's for the evening.  Landon thoroughly enjoyed his time with them, as did we.  Landon kept Aunt Margaret very busy playing outside and with Ryan's old toys.  We then headed to Buelton for dinner at Firestone Walkers other restaurant and brewery in hopes of John getting to try some of their specialty beers.  Turns out the tasting room is separate from the restaurant and closes at 6pm...we got there at 6:15.  Shani felt bad since she made the reservations late when we could have made the earlier, but we didn't know that it would be a separate area. John was forced to stare longingly through the glass doors and think of all the super rare beers that he would get to try. Guess we'll just have to make another trip down!

Morro Bay

Landon actually walking on the sand at Pismo Beach

Landon NOT wanting to be put down

Helping Uncle Bo hang the finch food

Helping Aunt Margaret with the bird feeder

Cheers Uncle Bo!

We wrapped up our trip with breakfast Sunday morning with Aunt Margaret and Uncle Bo and headed home.  We stopped off at the winery where we have a membership and made some last purchases before we cancel. We still love the wine but we have so much since Shani hasn't been able to drink much in the last year.  They are so friendly and relaxed there that it will probably be a stop we'll continue to make even when we aren't members.  From there we made it all the way back home.  We are so thankful we got this time to spend together and absolutely loved getting away as a family. We enjoyed this time together as just the three of us before our next big change.  Fun family times!