Marina's 2nd Birthday!

Only about a month late, but here are a few photos from Marina's 2nd birthday party. She is really turning into quite the little girl. She's very outgoing and loves to talk and play hard! I guess that's probably like every 2 year old, though.... except it's MARINA!

Another Summer Post

Hi everyone.

I am sorry it has taken me so long to do another blog posting. It has been a very busy summer, and I spend a lot of time helping Mom and Dad take care of Mitch. I don't know what they would do without me.

Let's see, where should I start? Mom and Dad took me to the beach in August, and we spent a lot time running around on the beach. It was one of those rare days when it's not too cold or windy at the beach. We had a great time.

Mom made lunch for us.

Dad didn't let me win the race.

Mitch and I got to share a bath in the big tub at the beach house.

I am so glad he caught me.

Oh, did I tell you that we got a new stroller? My old stroller's name is Big BOB. The new one's name is MONSTER BOB! It is really cool!

I think Mitch and I will get lots of use out of this thing.

We gave Monster BOB a great workout at the Oregon State Fair. Mitch and I had a great time with our friends Judah and Micah. They have a double BOB, too, but I am not sure what its name is.

Here is Mitch enjoying the sights and sounds of the fair.

I didn't like the sheep.

Mom and Mitch

Judah let me borrow a hat.

Well, it is getting late. I will save the other stuff for another message. But hey, check out my hair.

More photos...

Marina and Judah in Judah's Crabby Sandbox.

Marina holding Mitch!

Daddy and Marina!

Photo updates of the kiddies

Well, so far, Mitch is a wonderful, mellow little baby. Marina loves him and loves to help take care of her little brother. We have taken lots of little outings with the girl and the boy and Mitch has met lots of people. Marina went to Judah's birthday party today (and brought mom, dad and Mitch) and had a great time, of course! Here are some photos of Mitch and Marina the past week or so.

This is Mitch and his pediatrician, Dr. DeKlotz!

Mitch on his first walk.

Marina eating her first cob of corn.

Mitch looking super cute!

Judah and Marina at his birthday party.

Mitchell Donald Scharbrough Yoshinaka

Baby Boy Yoshinaka

Well, the ticker at the top of our page isn't worth crap! Boy decided to come early, as in June 30th in stead of July. He weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and was 18 3/4 inches long. I'll send some photos from my phone as I don't have the camera cord here this morning.

I'm certainly glad that c-section is over. They are not fun! (I know, I know - real labor and delivery are probably not fun either!)

Ft. Stevens Camping Trip

We wanted to take a trip with just the three of us this summer and decided to take a little camping trip.  Since I'm a huge preggo now, we reserved a Yurt at Ft. Stevens State Park.  It was so much fun!  Here are a few photos from our trip.  I can't wait to go back next year with the 4 of us!  

"Marinaese"

I am such a bad blogger, but since Marina is napping and I am laying beside her and can't sleep, I thought I'd make an entry.  Brian and I have been meaning to make a list of Marina's vocabulary words, but have been too lazy to start.  Now, her list is so long we probably wouldn't be able to capture it.  Here are a few of her "cuter" words:

Pococo = Popsicle

Nina = Marina (name given to her by her friend Judah and she now calls herself "Nina")

Dubby = Shelby (dog)

Nummy = Millie (dog)

Gha gha = kitty

Pich = chips (favorite food)

Peeta = pizza (phrase is "Oh boy, Peeta!")

Lollup = roll up (fruit roll up)

Dadoo = either stroller or shower (both current obsessions), depending on the emphasis

Guy = anyone who is not a baby (awkward when she says it to women who sort of look like guys - I find myself over explaining to them)

Yoyo = yellow (the first color she learned)

Gmm = (I don't know how to put the sound into letters) room, broom or boom

Oya = Hola (we eat at Mazatlan Restaurant a lot and everyone knows her)

Bo bo = Sombrero (again, from Mazatlan)

Ba ba = Crab (one of her first words - she's a big fan)

Pow = she says "pow" and bumps fists with us.  The cutest is she will "pow" everyone around her and then say "Nina pow" and pow herself.  She knows the timing too and will do it when she does something cool or thinks we are funny.

 

Not a word, but the only sign language she knows is more (knocking her fists together).  The best part is you can tell by the placement how bad she wants something.  If it's in front of her, that's "more", but the higher it gets, the more she wants the item.  Above the head is basically "If I don't get it, I'm going to make you pay!"  

I'm sure there are lots more, but right now that's all I can think of.  I'll post more when I think of them.  

I hope everyone is having a fun and sunny Memorial Day.

Would you care for some ice?

Well, this is my first post, so I thought I'd do something special and post a video. Here's a behind the scenes look at some of the exciting stuff that goes on in our kitchen. Try to forget about this the next time you're over and we offer you a glass of water or a Coke or well, anything to drink.

That's the dryer you hear in the background.

I'll try post more videos soon.

Catching up!

I have once again been guilted in to blogging by my friend Melissa.  Thanks for kicking my butt and making me do this!

As we left off at New Years, I do suppose I have a bit of catching up to do.  In January, I had the usual blood tests and early ultrasound tests to screen the baby for some chromosomal abnormalities.  I can now say I don't recommend these tests.  The blood test came back with an increased chance of the baby having some issues.  We then had an amnio which came back perfectly fine.  I've talked to more than a few people since this all started that said their blood tests did the same thing and it sucks, because it stresses you out for no reason.  Plus, the amnio (while not horrible) was not pleasant.  We did get to find out early that the baby is a boy!  We are very excited to get to have one of each and I think Marina is going to be an awesome big sister!

I celebrated my 35th birthday in January, which was good, but sort of depressing.  35 is old!  Plus, it was my first birthday without my dad.  Just another milestone to remind me of how much I miss him.  

February was a good month.  We had a few play dates with friends and Brian, Marina and I went to Lincoln City for Presidents Day/Valentine's Day weekend.  Then my mom, Marina and I went out the next week for more R&R at the beach.  Brian turned 38 last week, so even though I feel old, he will always be older!  

Marina has been up to her same old tricks and adding new ones to her playlist.  We've had some fun trips to the indoor playground as well as the playground outside on good days.  She is still in swimming classes, which she actually is starting to love.  The biggest thing though is her music and dance career.  She is obsessed.  I mean OBSESSED with Beyonce.  She LOVES her "Single Ladies" song and demands to listen to it many times throughout the day.  I bought the video for my computer and iPhone and now that she knows she can watch the video on demand, she demands that as well.  She points to the phone and says "Oo Oo!  Oo Oo!"  I'm trying to teach her Beyonce's hand moves in the video and she's catching on.  It's a little scary how single minded she is about it, but at the same time, its nice that she has passion!  Oh, Elmo and Abby Cadabby (both Sesame Street characters) are also her faves.  She loves the show and I made her one Elmo blanket and have the fabric for another one.  

Remodeling started and finished in Marina's new room!  She had a suicide window in her room that was almost floor to ceiling, single pane, un-tempered glass that had to be removed as well as some other weird stuff that the previous owner did.  So we had a smaller window put in as well as a new door and moulding.  We painted it a pretty green and it looks awesome!  I ordered her a big girl quilt from Pottery Barn Kids that is purple and green and her room is going to be so cute when it's completed!!  Here is a picture of her loving her new pillow sham. :)  

Oh, before Boy is born I really wanted to take a family trip with just Brian, Marina and me.  I had wanted to go to Disneyland, but something a little cheaper was more likely.  So, I made reservations for us to go on our first camping trip as a family.  We're going to Fort Stevens State Park and going to stay in a yurt!  I'm SO excited!  I hope she enjoys it and the weather is good.  We're doing the yurt partly because it's a little early in the year (May/June) and they are heated.  Also, I'm going to be a whale, so it will hopefully be a bit more comfortable for me.  

Okay well, I think that about covers it.  Oh, I am almost done with the Twilight series.  It has been awesome, but right now I just want to finish it.  Mostly my desire comes from the fact that I've been reading during Marina and my naptime and I'd like to get back to napping during nap time.  

Finally, here is a picture of Marina taken today at Pump It Up Jr.  It's an inflatable play area for little ones.  I have to post because she looks awesome!

Melissa - you make me want a Clarisonic.  I hate you for all of your good ideas and recommendations. :)

Happy New Year

We rang in the new year with one of our favorite movies.  Marina loves it now too!

Bad Blogger

I was told by my friend Melissa that I am a bad blogger for not giving any updates for over a month.  I think she might be the only person that follows our blog, so here I go!

Let's see.  Thanksgiving was fine.  Marina enjoyed all of the food that we did and I hit the after Thanksgiving sales.  It was hard having the first big holiday without my dad, but we made it through.  I think that's probably my main reason for not writing about recent events.  Everything is so weird without him.

In early December, we took a trip to Seattle to see some friends and some of Brian's relatives.  It was a fun, exhausting trip.  Marina got to hang out with her "old" friend London and made new friends with Tyler and Carter.  

Mid to late December was a blur of snow.  Marina and I barely left the house for over two weeks and I thought I was going to shoot myself by the time things thawed out.  It's not that I can't stay home, but "knowing" you can't leave makes you want to leave that much more.  

Christmas was good also.  Brian's parents were here and my mom spent the night on Christmas Eve.  Marina got a boatload of presents - it was sick, really, and she loves them all.  She'll be discovering new ones for months to come.  

Brian, Marina, the dogs and I went to my parents' place in Lincoln City for New Years.  That was probably the best part.  We just relaxed and played and had a great time together.  It was stormy, so that was cool and Marina had a really fun time hanging out.

Ok, I think we're caught up now.  Happy New Year to everyone.  I hope 2009 is better than 2008!!  

(I'll try to post some photos as well.)