Here are a few pictures from last week when we gave Koji his first bath. He didn’t seem to mind at all, even with Noby helping!
15
Oct
Here are a few pictures from last week when we gave Koji his first bath. He didn’t seem to mind at all, even with Noby helping!
13
Oct
We have been working hard on finishing Noby’s big boy room! Today, while I gave mom the important job of Koji duty, I worked upstairs adding little white speckles to the ceiling. After much debate we decided the best way to o this would be with a tooth brush. So there I was, on top of the ladder, splashing white paint all the dark ceiling. It took me forever to finish, however I think the tooth brush was the right call. It made perfect stars!
Before…
Hard at work…
Finshed!!!
I picked the right guy to add the planets, Ichiro made sure they were in the right order, the right distance and that the shadows were in the right direction!!!
12
Oct
Today was Koji’s first doctors appointment and it couldn’t have gone any better. Dr Jill was very happy with his stats and said he was perfect! Something we already knew! 😉
Koji was born at 8lb 9oz, when we left the hospital he weighed 8lb even, and at 5 days old he was almost back to his birth weight. He weighed in at 8lb 8.8oz, I guess I make some good milk!!! Dr Jill was very happy, and said we didn’t need to make any appointments for weight checks, something that was MUCH different with Noby!!
11
Oct
Koji’s first outing was to Babies R Us for some new bottles. It was nice to get out, even if it was just for a half hour!
10
Oct
Here’s the video I promised of Noby working out at the Buddy Walk.
10
Oct
NOBY???
As most of you know we have been doing sign language with Noby for a while now. I think we started back when he was only 9 months. It’s been amazing to us that he has been able to communicate with us even when his speech was delayed. One of the best resources we have found for sign language was a series of tapes called Signing Time. If have you vacationed with us, gone out to eat with us, or even just hung out at our house you will know the series and probably some of the songs. Noby just LOVES them and can watch the videos we have over and over AND OVER again! He asks to watch “Rachel” all the time. So when I heard that she would be preforming at the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Buddy Walk I knew we needed to go out and show some support.
The date for the Buddy walk was close to the arrive date of Koji but I figured it could be our first outing at a family. But as the due date came and left I was nervous that Noby wouldn’t be able to see Rachel. As each day went by I made Ichiro promise that he would take Noby no matter where Koji and I were. As it worked out Koji was born on the 7th, we were released from the hospital on the 9th and the buddy walk was on the 10th! We are so lucky that my parents were here and offered to watch Koji so both Ichiro and I could go with Noby. Seeing that both of us wanted to see him experience this!
When we got there and the show started Noby was starstruck! It was so funny. He was watching her but wasn’t sure what to make of it! He wouldn’t get off my lap but would smile. As the show went on he got more and more comfortable and was laughing, signing and dancing. It was so much fun.
After the show a dance instructor came up on stage to get everyone stretched out for the walk. By this time Noby was so excited and followed her instructions to a T! It was so cute, video to come!
Then we walked around and visited the Signing Time table. Here Noby was able to meet Rachel!! And although you can’t really tell by the picture, he really loved seeing her! For days now he hasn’t stopped talking about it!
This was at the beginning of the show, Noby wouldn’t get off my lap. He just stared and stared at Rachel. Here I am signing “Thank You!”
As the show went on Noby got more and more comfortable, here he is signing silly…
By the end of the show he was right up at the stage!
After Rachel’s performance they did some stretches to get ready for the walk….
9
Oct
After two long days at the hospital we were finally allowed to head home!
Koji in his going home outfit…
Showing off his traditional good luck going home kimono…
He looks so little in that seat…
Lets Go…
When we finally got home, Noby was enjoying his lunch. Here the two boys are checking each other out….
Awwww Sleeping after a tough day…
8
Oct
Thursday afternoon Koji got to meet his Memere, Grandpa, Auntie and most importantly his big brother, Noby!
I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous about how Noby was going to handle this but I honestly don’t think it could have gone any better! He was excited to come to the hospital and meet his new baby brother. I was holding Koji when he got there and he came up, gave me a huge hug, said hello to Koji and gave him a little kiss on the head! Then he asked for his iPod like it was no big deal. It was the cutest thing ever.
Here are a few picture of Koji meeting everyone for the first time…
7
Oct
At 6:39 this am, Koji John Ashihara entered our world!! He actually entered it with the greatest of ease! Let’s take a step back, a few steps, I guess. At about 10 or 11 last night I decided to text Brenda and see if she was planning on sleeping over tonight or just show up at 6am so that Ichiro and I could leave for the hospital. Our appointment for inducing was at 7am this morning. We had had a few false alarms this week and I couldn’t blame her for just wanting to sleep in her own bed, Brenda’s plan was to be at the house at 6am! Now fast forward through the night, I had a few contractions but nothing more then the other nights, well that was until about midnight. I went into the kitchen for something and just knew. Ichiro had me call Brenda and then the doctor. We all decided that this baby didn’t want to wait to be induced so we headed to the hospital.
By the time we got there, were admitted, and set up in a delivery room it was about 1 (or maybe 2) in the morning. The nurse checked my cervix and I was already 5 centimeters!!! I was VERY excited! They set up my epidural, which wasn’t kicking in so then gave me an extra shot of something. Something magical and worked within minutes! After checking my water they decided they couldn’t pop it because Koji wasn’t low enough and they were afraid that the cord would come out first. I was told to just wait and see if it would pop on its own. Ichiro and I hung out, we played some games on our iPods, watched a little tv and just pretty much sat there until the nurse came in to check again. She lifted the blanket to check my water again and said “OMG!! DON”T MOVE!!” I was like nervous for a minute till she was like started to say this was the coolest thing ever. Apparently my water came out, like just slid out, right on the bed!! Ichiro said it kind of looked like a water balloon. The nurse said she had only saw this twice before and called her fellow nurse/doctor buddies to check it out. HAHA The doctor finally (after everyone saw how “COOL” I was) broke my water. She said it was time and that they were going to set up for the delivery. As the nurse finished up setting up the doctors asked if I wanted to try to push. So I could remember how it was going to feel. After only one push they said “STOP PUSHING!!! We need to put our gowns on!” After they were dressed, I pushed two more times and Koji was here!! It was so fast and so easy!
Koji John Ashihara
8lb 9oz
20 inches
born 10/7/10 at 6:38 am
5
Oct
Do you ever find that you have a ton of brown bananas and you just know that no one is going to eat them? Well that was the case with me this week. Usually we don’t have brown bananas because I like to eat them when they are still green, however this week we had a couple that slipped through the cracks. And to top it off Brenda came to our “I think I’m going to have a baby false alarm night” with a few of her own. Usually if I just had one brown banana I would just toss it, you can’t really do much with one brown banana. But this week we had 5!! So off to the internet for a yummy banana bread recipe! I love banana bread and checked all my favorite foodie blogs to see if one of them had a favorite recipe I could try. The winner was a recipe I found on the Annie’s Eats blog. She has tons of amazing recipes and after reading her Banana Bread recipe I knew I had to try it. There are a few extra steps in making this particular bread but as Annie put it, “but spending the few extra minutes and completing a few extra steps was well worth it in the end!” The bread was amazing and I recommend that everyone try it!
One of our sad brown bananas…
Extra step #1…
Extra step #2…
Folding in the flour mixture…
Yummmm…..
Yummy!
My little taste tester….
Banana Bread
Ingredients:
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
6 large, very ripe bananas (about 2¼ lbs.), peeled
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. granulated sugar
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Lightly spray a loaf pan (about 9 x 5 inches) with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt; whisk together and set aside.
Place 5 bananas in a microwave safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap and make several slits in the wrap to act as steam vents. Microwave on high until the bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bananas to a fine mesh strainer set over a medium bowl and let drain, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes (you should have ½-¾ cup liquid).
Transfer the reserved banana liquid to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to about ¼ cup, 5-10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. In a large bowl, combine the bananas and the reduced banana liquid. Mash with a potato masher or whisk until fairly smooth. Whisk in the melted butter, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the banana mixture. Fold together gently, just until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula.
Slice the remaining banana diagonally into ¼-inch thick slices. Layer the banana slices along both sides of the top of the batter, leaving a couple of inches in the center to allow an even rise. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the assembled loaf.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 55-75 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool at least 15 minutes in the pan before removing. Continue to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.