6 months!

Wait. What? 6 months?! That can't possibly be right. To me she should STILL be a newborn. I blinked and now she's a 6 month old!

Weight: 16 lbs (48th percentile)

Height/Length: 27" (89th percentile)

Thriving!! 

She is such a sweet thang. She loves to be held and carried around. Probably not abnormal for the average 6 month old! ;) She LIGHTS UP when she sees her big brother. He's always so engaging with her. (Read: wild and screams like a banshee around her). But, oh so much love. 

No solid foods just yet. Well unless you count the frozen banana she gnaws on sometimes in her teether mesh toy. Those things are genius, by the way. I've also let her gnaw on small bits of avocado, but no "official" sit down, let's eat, meals. One of her first foods will be poi. I wanted it to be one of Christian's first food, but never tried it. I have a feeling that if you don't start them on it as infants, then they'll probably never like it. Hah. Have you heard of poi? I've recently seen this article (Is Poi the Ideal Baby Food?) circulating again, and the timing is perfect! Luckily, it's readily available here as I just picked up some from Costco! 

She may be a little unsure of the banana. 

Everyone's happy when Dad comes home from a trip, but Cora's smile lights up the room when she sees Rob. She loves her daddy. And I love that she has Daddy's beautiful blue eyes. 

Cora is also sitting up unassisted for short bouts of time. 

She loves loves LOVES watching the trees blow in the wind. Frequently we sit outside on the lanai just for that purpose. She's at that age where it's like she's really seeing everything for the first time. The wonder in her eyes as she takes it all in... it really makes me stop and think, why don't WE as adults stop and marvel the beautiful world around us like that. Cora's life lesson for the day. Going on her first hike on her 6 month "birthday" was PERFECT. She kicks her legs (we call them happy feet), and takes it all in. Smiles at the trees, coos at the flowers. Constant amazement. 

She loves the water. Which is obviously perfect. In the tub, in the ocean, it doesn't matter, it's splash splash splash! 

She also finally loves walks in the stroller. IF I leave her uncovered. Therefore, I take my walks in the early evening so the sun isn't beating down and I don't have to put a blanket over her carseat to protect her oh so fair skin. As long as she can look around, she is perfectly happy. If Christian is there to also provide her some entertainment, which he's always willing to do, even better!

I am so in love with this baby girl. And I'm so in love watching Christian be such a wonderful big brother to her. To be completely honest, I was skeptical when all the mamas of more than one child ASSURED me that I would love her just as much as I love Christian. HOW could I love another human as much as I love Christian? But it's true. It's so true. Your heart just grows. Our family is complete and perfect. 

It's been a wild 6 months operated on minimal sleep, but we're surviving. And we're having lots of fun! 

SO.

MUCH. 

LOVE.

:)

that time we went to Portland

You may remember that last month we took a whirlwind trip to Portland, which was also Cora's first time on a plane and first time out of the state. Both kids were amazing on the plane, and good thing because they put us in the row DIRECTLY behind first class with the only divider being a thin curtain. Christian was mostly entertained with the iPad or back-of-seat-TV entertainment, and Cora was entertained being a 2 month old.

Even though the purpose of the trip was to have Cora's tongue and lip tie revised, which went off without a hitch, we wanted to pack in as much fun stuff as possible. 

We arrived Saturday evening, late. Well, 10pm, which is late by parental standards. We checked into the Embassy Suites in downtown Portland, and man, downtown Portland was in FULL Saturday night swing. The streets were busy, and I wanted to be part of it... but not more than I wanted to go to bed. This Embassy Suites did not really look the part of a traditional Embassy, but more of an old, glamorous hotel, and it actually used to be a different hotel at one point. It's one of the many beautiful historical buildings around Portland, built in 1912. The crib they provided was also from 1912. 

{photo cred}

We were across the street from lots of really cool things, including the giant Saturday Market, a splash pad, Voodoo Doughnuts, and the Willamette River. 

Prior to arriving in Portland, Rob made a reservation for us to take a tour of the Widmer Brothers Brewery. Everyone has had their famous Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen. Right? Ok, if not, then you must. We may or may not have a keg of it on tap at our house at this very moment. The tour was fantastic, the beer was great, and the food at the Gasthaus Pub afterward was... pretty good. :) But seriously, we had a blast, met some cool people... and is everyone this friendly in Portland?? 

After the tour and lunch, we headed over to Voodoo Doughnuts. But not the original one downtown, the other lesser known (??) location in the burbs. There was still a line, but nothing like the one across from the hotel. 

I will say, the doughnuts were good, but definitely more of a novelty. They weren't all that. 

Sunday evening was a REAL treat! Back when we lived in LA, we were part of this awesome small group/bible study. I have talked many times about how much I love all the people that were part of this group. It just so happened that one couple, Jenny and Joe, plus now their two adorable kids, were vacationing in Portland. They were staying in an amazing house with the most ridiculous backyard that was a former salmon hatchery... because Portland. So we went over there to BBQ and catch up on life. When I left, my heart was full. It was like my tank was replenished of something I didn't even know was missing. Oh, and the kids, especially the two boys had a BLAST throwing rocks in the creek, throwing themselves over the hammock, getting as wet and dirty as possible... you know, being boys.

It was truly an evening I didn't want to end. But we headed back to the hotel and mentally prepared ourselves for Monday, the day of the tongue tie revision aka the whole reason for flying to Portland. 

Honestly, it wasn't terrible. The procedure itself literally took 3 minutes. Three minutes.   The numbed the area with some cream, took her away, and THREE minutes later she was back in my arms. Dr. Ghaheri was amazing and had so much great information. I really enjoyed chatting with him. Rob and Christian were out in the waiting room, and then we joined them there. We hung out for a while before heading to Trader Joe's... buying all the chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels. 

After clearing the aisles of Trader Joe's, we went back to the hotel to relax. Well, Cora and I relaxed. Rob and Christian went back to the "splish splash," or the splash pad as it's more commonly known. 

We checked out of the hotel that afternoon and had lunch at the Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House. The food was yummy! I drank the delicious Black Butte Porter... you know, all in the name of increasing my milk supply. It's now one of my new favorites. 

Monday night was our final night in Portland. We stayed with one of Rob's college roommates and his family. The same family that stayed with us back in February. They are seriously some of the most wonderful people, and I wish we could be next door neighbors. Rob and Christian camped out in their backyard - tent and all! And Cora and I camped out in the living room. 

Tuesday morning we left for the airport, where we did NOT get on our flight back to Honolulu. See, free travel isn't always the best. Hah. They wanted to put Rob in the cockpit, and Christian 6 rows behind me. Tempting, but... probably not in the best interest of everyone else on the plane. We ended up flying on Alaska Airlines into Maui and then taking Island Air back into Honolulu. It was great to fly on my alma mater.

And home sweet home. 

It was indeed a whirlwind trip, but I'd like to think we made the best of a short stay in such a wonderful city. I would love to go back to Portland and spend much longer than one weekend. 

Cora has been doing great since the tongue tie revision and it was 100000% worth the trip out there. 

Thanks Portland! A hui hou!! 

meanwhile in Portland...

So we're not there yet, BUT we are leaving for Portland on Saturday, and I am very very excited for many many reasons, besides the very obvious reason of getting Cora's tongue tie fixed. I have never been to Portland. I have been to the airport a thousand times. But I never actually had a layover in Portland. So, this will technically be my first time IN Portland.

We will arrive late Saturday evening and check into a hotel in downtown Portland. We'll stay there for 2 nights, and Monday we will stay with friends - Rob's college roommate and his wife and their beautiful family. I met his roommate years ago when we went to a wedding in Costa Rica for another one of his/their college roommates. And within the past few years, we had the pleasure of meeting his wife when they would come to Hawaii for her job. (Everyone needs a job that brings them to Hawaii once a year, right?) Anyway, they came to Hawaii a few months ago and stayed with us a few nights. We had a BLAST. They are just such wonderful, genuine people, and if everyone from Portland is like that, then I believe I could pick up in an instant and live there. True story. They are that awesome. We'll be heading back to Honolulu on Tuesday, and promptly upon landing, head to our chiropractor so Cora can get Craniosacral Therapy.

I am on a pretty intense nurse, pump, nurse, pump, nurse, pump schedule to in the very least maintain what little supply I have until Cora can latch and nurse efficiently, which will hopefully get my supply back up. I'm actually trying to increase my supply by way of Lactation Support pills, fenugreek (I currently smell like maple syrup... pancakes anyone?), oatmeal every single morning mixed with flaxseed, drinking TONS of water, power pumping with a hospital pump, and as of yesterday...LACTATION COOKIES! Oh sweet mercy, they are delicious, and I probably ate eight too many.

Two nights ago I got the sweetest text from a friend who said she had read my blog and baked me lactation cookies. And if you're not familiar with lactation cookies, they're basically like regular cookies, just with a few extra ingredients that are known to up milk supply, like oats and Brewer's yeast. Although this isn't the exact recipe she used, it's very close.)

Back to Portland.

We debated back and forth for a while on whether to bring Christian because we knew it would be a pretty quick trip. We weren't sure how the weekend and doctor's appointment would play out, or how long we would be gone. In the end, we decided to make a fun little impromptu family trip out of it, and we're just gonna roll with it!

As I was trying to say above, since I'm on this pretty rigid schedule where I'm pumping and nursing every few hours, I'm not sure how much we'll be able to do. I basically feel like I'm on lockdown at home right now, but one thing I know FOR ABSOLUTE SURE, is a stop into Voodoo Doughnuts. Christian has already informed us that he wants the Captain my Captain and The Loop doughnuts. And every other doughnut topped with cereal. We also plan on taking a tour of the Widmer Brothers Brewery. We actually have their Hefeweizen on tap right now. I wonder if they have a dark beer... you know, in the name of increasing my milk supply. :)

Cora's appointment is first thing Monday morning. I don't anticipate that it'll take very long, just from what I've heard from my friend's experiences. THANK YOU everyone for sharing their experiences with us. It eases my mama mind!

I would say Cora is plumping up nicely this week. I've been trying to nurse as much as possible, even more than I had been previously. Since my supply has dropped, she gets a little frustrated, so that's definitely hard and emotional for me. Don't even ask me how many times I've cried this week. Or today. I supplement each feeding with a bottle. I try my very hardest to pump enough milk for each of these feedings, but I don't always get enough. When I don't, I will usually mix what I have with formula. This morning she weighed in at 10lbs 3oz, which is up about 11oz since Friday.

This is life right now. It's been a very emotional week, and we're all taking it day by day. I'm trying to keep this all in perspective. If this is the worst thing we ever have to deal with, then we are very blessed, which I already know to be true.