Goodbye Aunt Becky!

Last night we said goodbye to Becky after 2 AWESOME weeks! It was so amazing to have her here. She spent the 2 weeks basically taking care of EVERYTHING that needed to be done in the house. We did a little bit of running around, but we really didn't spend much time doing the normal "hawaii" stuff.

On Sunday we went to the fancy Halekulani Hotel for Sunday Brunch. We had a really great time. They have quite an impressive spread of all different kinds of food.

To top it all off, she gave us the MOST INCREDIBLE gift.
As a gift to the Nova and Juneau (especially since we live so far away from everyone) she contacted our family members, and had them find a copy of their favorite children's book. Cool, huh? About to get a lot better - Everyone read their book and my sister downloaded them each to a CD, and then attached the CD to the inside cover of the book, so the girls can listen to their favorite books being read by family members! It's sooooo awesome. There are still books coming in the mail, and we are TOTALLY enjoying listening to everyone read their books. Even my little 4 year old niece participated with her own reading of "Where is Baby's Belly Button".

We are excited about our big trip to indianapolis this week. I'm a little nervous about the flight, but i really think it will be ok. Nova is getting so chubby and cute! We can't wait for her get get to meet the rest of her family!

At Sunday Brunch

Sisters

Sister are pretty much the best thing in the entire world. My older sister left last night after spending 2 weeks waiting on me hand and foot, cleaning my house from top to bottom, handling all of the laundry/dishes/dinner, and painting the guestroom/bathrooms/hallway. It has been unbelievable.

To top it all off, she gave us the MOST INCREDIBLE gift ever.

As a gift to the girls (especially since we live so far away from everyone) she contacted everyone in our family - even aunts/uncles, and had them find a copy of their favorite children's book. Cool, huh? About to get a lot better - Everyone read their book and my sister downloaded them each to a CD, and then attached the CD to the inside cover of the book, so the girls can listen to their favorite books being read by family members! It's sooooo awesome. Plus, everyone took it really seriously, and I have sound effects and singing and everything! It is so cool that the girls can listen to "Madeline" read by Grandma anytime they want.

On Sunday, we took Betsy and Becky (my sisters) out to a Fancy Sunday Brunch at the Halekulani Hotel. This place is AMAZING. They pretty much have anything and everything you can imagine, incluidn ga complete sushi bar and dessert bar. We had a really great time.

3rd Anniversary!

On Sunday Cris and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary! This year was extra special since we are now a family of three! Becky and Betsy volunteered to watch baby Nova while we had a nice dinner. Since we aren't quite ready to be separated from Nova for more than a couple of hours at a time we all went to the fancy Ala Moana Mall, and Nova enjoyed her first shopping trip with her aunties while Cris and I ate at a nice Italian restaurant. Nova was a little angel, and thoroughly enjoyed everything from a browse through Tiffany jewelry store, to trying out the massage chair a Sharper image.

the dead silence...

we are waiting waiting waiting for ANY word on our I600, but it's totally quiet on the other end. It's obviously getting a little more than ridiculous. Our agency director is headed to VN this week for the meeting on the 29th, and will be back June 2nd. I imagine we'll hear something after she comes back. At the very least we wil have updated photos, which will be AWESOME. Juneau just turned 8 months.

Nova is doing great. Growing like a little weed. She was 8lbs 9oz at her 2 week check up. She definately is looking chubbier. She is alert for long periods now, and is so cute when is awake.

My older sister is in town (as well as my little sis, who lives with me) to help out with the baby. She is a very typical firstborn, and has completely taken care of EVERYTHING imaginable. She has even painted both of my bathrooms, the guest bedroom, the hallway, and finished decorating the nursery. It's been pretty unbelievable. Plus, we are all loving eating actual home-cooked food, rather than eating out (or eating cereal for dinner) like usual.

anyway, overall things are going pretty good. I've had a few overwhelmed moments where i felt like everything was going to crash down, but mostly just super happy to be home with our baby girl. I am starting to stress out about leaving her in a few weeks to go back to work. I know it's irrational, but i feel like no one else will be able to take care of her properly, and she is going to cry and scream all day long. it's really traumatizing to think about. so, i'll avoid thinking about it for now, i guess.

In one week we take our first trans-pacific adventure when the 3 of us will fly to Indianapolis for Cris' conference. I'm a little nervous about the flight, but overall not too bad. Nova's needs are so basic right now, and usually a little bit of mama's milk will solve all her little problems pretty quickly.

i hope everyone out there waiting for approval is surviving this horrible wait. We are really saddened not only for our little Juneau to be sitting in an orphanage, but for all of the families and babies who are waiting to be united. But i do truly believe the next few months are going to hold some very happy moments for a lot of families as the approvals HAVE to start coming soon. I just know it.

yikes!

it's been a whole week since i updated last! Things are still going great. We are adjusting to the New Normal with Nova (and preparing for the New New Normal once Juneau gets here!). she is sleeping 3-4 hours at a time during the night, which has been nice. When she does wake up she just eats and goes straight back to sleep. We are so happy that she is really not fussy at all. She very rarely cries, and if she does it is only for a couple minutes and she settles right down. She has been spending more time awake and alert.

Both of my sisters are in town now, and we are having a great time! Becky has been spending a lot of time helping me to paint and decorate the house and nursery, which is awesome! We have been doing a little bit of running around now that i am starting to feel a lot better.

Last week we stopped by the adoption agency to sign some papers, and found out that the U.S. Govt was at June-bug's orphanage on Thursday. Apparently they were able to complete some of the investigation that we have been waiting on, and that was previously not being permitted, so that is some good progress. Our agency director will be back in Vietnam in a few days, so that means updated pictures, and hopefuly lots of progress on our case!!! we'll keep you posted. She won't be back until the first week of June, so we probably won't have much info until then.

First Mother's Day

Yesterday marked my first official week as a mom, and my First Mother's Day!! Last year at this time we were so sure Juneau would be home by Mother's Day this year, and although we are incredibly sad that our family is still missing one member, we are so happy and blessed to have our Little Nova as part of our family. We can't imagine life without her.Happy Mother's Day also to both of our moms, as well as all the other important mothers in our lives (especially our sisters!) that have been outstanding examples of being a mom.

In June-bug news, we have gotten some unofficial information that we can hope to see some progress soon!!!! As you may know, Juneau is in an orphanage in one of 6 provinces that is considered "blocked". I did see on another blog that TuDu has been "unblocked", whatever that means, but it sounds good! Hopefully Quang Nam is next! We are just over a month into the wait for our I600. So, we continue to wait, and pray for safety of our little girl, and rapid approval.

Here are some pictures of our Little Nova. Getting cuter and sweeter every day

First Mother's Day

Yesterday marked my first official week as a mom, and my First Mother's Day!! Last year at this time we were so sure Juneau would be home by Mother's Day this year, and although we are incredibly sad that our family is still missing one member, we are so happy and blessed to have our Little Nova as part of our family. We can't imagine life without her.

Happy Mother's Day also to both of our moms, as well as all the other important mothers in our lives (especially our sisters!) that have been outstanding examples of being a mom.

In June-bug news, we have gotten some unofficial information that we can hope to see some progress soon!!!! As you may know, Juneau is in an orphanage in one of 6 provinces that is considered "blocked". This means that the U.S. Gov't is claiming that the Vietnamese government is not allowing them to perform investigations, while the VN gov't is claiming that the US side is barging in places unannounced, and not following the official guidelines for performing these investigations. Our agency emailed last week to say that there are meetings underway to clear up the problems with these investigations, and that will likely result in some approvals of the all-elusive I600. We are just over a month into the wait for our I600, so they are still within the 60 day time frame that was set forth. So, we continue to wait, and pray for safety of our little girl, and rapid approval.

In non-baby related news (and yes, there are still some non-baby things going on around the Stickley household believe it or not) Cris has been offered a position as full-time faculty at the University of Hawaii next year! He has been working on his phd as a Graduate assistant since we moved to Hawaii, and so taking this job as an Assistant Professor is an amazing opportunity. Of course this means he will have to have his PhD completed by July in order to start his full-time position in August, so he is hard at work finishing his dissertation. He is handling the pressure of getting his work done while still being an amazing new daddy with ease.

And finally, b/c i know it's really what you keep coming back to the blog for, here are some pictures of our Little Nova. Getting cuter and sweeter every day.

"Playing" with her jungle toy

Getting Aquainted with Little Nova

A little video

Who does she look like?

It's funny b/c i found a baby picture of mine that looks like it could be Nova, mostly because we are in the exact same position. In real life I think she actually resembles Cris a lot more than me, but this is kind of a fun comparison.

Remember, you can click on the picture to make it bigger.

Nova's Birth Day

Here's how it all went down:

Friday - lost my mucous plug

Saturday - started contracting around 3:30 p.m. We were out getting lunch and doing some shopping. The contractions were pretty painful, but in between them i felt completely fine, so we decided to stay out for a while to help pass the time. When we finally headed home i still wasn't completely sure what was going on. We worked around the house, and did some little projects. I was supposed to meet my friends in Honolulu for dinner Saturday night around 10:00, but when the time came I decided it might not be a good idea since the contractions were getting a little closer.

About 10:30 things started to pick up. It's funny, b/c i still wasn't totally sure if it was labor, just because i felt so good in between the contractions. I decided to try to get some sleep. We went to bed, but i couldn't really sleep, and around midnight i got in the tub for a while. I called L&D to see if it was busy or not. The absolute last thing i wanted to do was show up at L&D and be like 1 cm. I did NOT want to get sent home!!! They told me it was completely empty (a major rarity at Tripler!) and that i should come on in just to get checked. I still wasn't sure, so i thought i'd wait awhile.

Around 3:30 I decided we should go to the hospital. When I got there one of the midwives checked me and I was 3-4 cm/90% effaced/0 station. My Blood pressure was really high, so they decided to go ahead and admit me! Whooo-hoooo!!!!! This was IT FOR REAL!!!! It was finally sinking in.

Next came the epidural, which went fine. A little painful, but nothing too scary. It was an absolutely perect epidural. I could still move my legs, and feel some pressure with contractions, but no pain!! At 6 a.m they broke my water. At 8 a.m. i was 5 cm, and by 10 a.m. I was completely dilated!!! After managing so much dysfunctional and abnormal labor, i was compltely shocked that things progressed so quickly! My friend Tracy arrived at about 11:00 to help me push and deliver little Nova. I pushed for about 50 minutes, and out came sweet Nova!

It was AMAZING!!! the last few pushes were the most unbelievable moments ever. When her head finally delivered, it was unreal. Tracy put her right up on my chest, and i can't even describe that moment. I've put lots and lots of babies on their mama's chest, but i never imagined what it would feel like the second my own little sweet girl was placed on my chest. We tried breastfeeding right away, and she was actually able to latch on. The whole thing is still so surreal to me. I'm not much of an overly emotional or sentimental person, and it totally shocked me how emotional the whole thing was.

So, that's pretty much the story of Nova's entry to the world.

Here are some more pics of our girl!

big smile = awesome epidural!

Nova Pictures

The first full day home has been awesome! We are having so much fun "playing" with Nova. She has been such a wonderful little girl, and we are absolutely loving these amazing first few days of being parents. We actually got a pretty decent amount of sleep last night, and have been napping on and off.

Nova had a short little office visit today to check on her weight and be sure she's doing ok. Her weight has dropped a little. She was 7 lbs 3 oz today. She is still eating great, so we expect her to start gaining soon. She also rode in her little stroller for the first time, and loved it!

Here are some pictures of our little sweetie pie!

We're Home!!!

Just a quick post to say we are home from the hospital. we are so ecstatic and thrilled. Even in our fairly sleep deprived state all we can do is just stare at our little girl. We are absolutely crazy about our tiny little Nova baby. Things have been going really well so far. She is a GREAT little eater, and has been keeping her mama busy with very frequent feedings. She's had a few little periods of waking up and looking around, and especially LOVES her daddy's voice. When i came out of the shower yesterday they were just staring at eachother. It is so incredibly sweet to see Cris with his baby girl. He was pretty immediately smitten.

Cris has been busy doing the Daddy duties - basically running to the store or out to get food, making multiple trips to the car, and then back in to the hospital, then back out to the car, and changing dirty diapers. He's also mastered the art of the extremely tight burrito blanket swaddle, which Nova LOVES.

We'll post more after we catch up on some sleep (and some pictures!!)

thank you all for reading along and for the comments!!
lots of love,
the thrilled new mommy and daddy and sweet baby Nova

Welcome to the world little Nova!

Well, it was indeed the real deal.

I'll write the whole story later, but for now we just got home from the hospital and we are one tired mama, daddy and baby girl.

Overall we had a really great experience, and we are soo incredibly elated and happy.

here's one little pic. i will post more when i catch up on sleep a little.

Nova Joelle

Born 04 May at 12:13

7 lbs 13 oz

20 inches

and cute as a little button

Happy Birthday Nova!!!

May 4th, 2008

The sage started around 3:00 pm yesterday. Emilie started with small contractions while we were on the way to do some grocery shopping at the NEX. By about 9:00 pm, they were getting pretty bad. Finally, about 3:30 am, we headed to the hospital.

At 12:13 pm, she arrived. She weighed in at 7 lbs 13 oz and was 20 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great. I am home shortly to check on the dogs and get some much anticipated photos posted for everyone.

This post is short on words partially because I am tired, partially because people are just tuning in here to see pictures, not to hear from me, and mostly because it is impossible to find the words to do justice to the experiences of today.

We decided a while ago that she would bear the name of her great-grandma Nova. She came out with a wail that suggests she has the potential to be every bit as feisty as her namesake.

Not everyone knows yet what middle name we chose for her so without further adieu, here are the top 5 REJECTED first and middle name combinations:

5. Nova Scotia (for obvious reasons)

4. Nova Liscious

3. Nova Caine (although we hope her childhood will be painfree for us and her)

2. Nova Avon (the chance at the palindrome was almost irresistable)

And the number one REJECTED first and middle name combo came to us from Alex Matus:

1. Nova Zark (Say it fast and you'll laugh as hard as we did)

In the end, we settled on: Nova Joelle Stickley

Both of these names have multiple meanings but our favorites are:

Nova: Hopi for "butterfly chaser"
Joelle: God is good

We're not sure who she looks like yet but your welcome to give your thoughts by leaving us a comment.

Enjoy the pics (I'll get video posted as soon as I can)


Getting Ready















The smile means the epidural is working















Parents to be















She's Here!


































Aunt Betsy & Nova
















First visitors - Tracy (on right) who delivered Nova and Benny - both Em's classmates

















Below: Heavier than we expected :)
















First Family Photo


















Our little Nova

a little contraction action.

This may be a bit of a false alarm, but i thought I'd go ahead and post just in case.
I started contracting about 4 hours ago. They are still only about every 5-10 minutes, but have been getting more painful. We are trying not to get too excited yet, since we probably still have quite a while to go. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens overnight. Either things will really start to pick up, or they will slow down and go away.
We'll keep you posted!

the very anxious soon to be mom and dad,
cris and em

false alarm....or....the real deal.

I started contracting about 4 hours ago. It's still only once every 5-10 minutes, so i'm trying not to get too excited thinking this is it, but i'm really really hoping it is. I definately am not close to having to go to the hospital by any means. just enough to make me stop every so often and breath through the contractions. Yesterday was a real false alarm. I thought my water broke when we were eating dinner at wendy's, but turns out it was just my mucous plug (sorry for the queasy ones out there). So I have been having some bloody show since yesterday, and now the contractions are getting a little more painful. I'm hoping to get a little rest through the night, and maybe go to the hospital sometime tomorrow. OR maybe they'll just go away and I'll have to just keep waiting. I'll keep you posted!