SURPRISE!!!

So, I realize I have been completely unfair to you all and have sorely neglected my blogging duties! Therefore I apologize for that, first of all. Second, I've missed so much blogging about Cali and our family! So a quick note....this morning we found out we're having another baby!!!! YAYYYY!!!!!

"What you say?"

Cali is quite the vocal little girl. She's been cooing and making all kinds of noises since she was just a week or two old. Those coos have recently turned into gurgles of many sorts. And to our entertainment, many of her little gurgles and coos actually sound like words, although we are well aware that she does not know what she's saying, haha. Here are some of the things she'd "said" so far:

1. Hello
2. Nooooo!
3. Hi
4. Ewwww gross (this was my favorite)
5. Mommy
6.I'm gooooood (this one was pretty funny, right as I was changing her diaper)
7. Okay, okay, okay (usually when she's finishing a good cry)


Haha!! I'm serious, too! I'll have to add more as I hear them.

Week 6 updates!

So I thought a few things worth mentioning....

1.Earlier this week, Cali spit up in Ryan's mouth while he was kissing her. He immediately wiped his face off with the cloth, ran to the sink, and rinsed out his mouth. Really well. Haha...
He said it tasted like pure throw-up. Gross!
2.She spit up all over me while she was laying on my chest. Got all over my neck and my hair.
3. She seems to find it so convenient to spit up in the middle of having her clothes changed, therefore causing yet another change of clothes.
4.We found out that between 6 to 8 weeks, babies develop their "social smiles," which means the smile is not so reflexive anymore (ie, caused by gas or such), and is actually intentional. Her big chubby cheeks raise and she opens her little mouth in delight. They're still few and far between at this stage, though, but it's very obvious when she does it.
5.she coos and gurgles all the time, and makes the funniest little faces. Yesterday morning we were all in the bed together and Ryan and I were just looking at her and laughing. A lot.
6.A couple nights ago, while Ryan was taking care of her and I slept, he said she smiled really big and giggled! Haha! I WISH I could've seen that!
7.Her little legs are also getting so chubby and cute! Last Friday at her 1 month appointment , she weighed a little over 9lbs, and I can assure you she's gained plenty more since then! I swear she gets so big overnight.
8. So far she's had 3 blowouts. If you don't know what that is, use your imagination.
and finally...
9.Just this afternoon, she spit up in Ryan's mouth again, he consequently made funny faces, and she smiled. Really big.
Hopefully she won't do this often to get that reaction out of him because she thinks it's funny or entertaining! Haha!!

Next adventure...or misadventure?

So previously I discussed the awe-inspiring ice storm and the adventure that entailed. Well, folks, here's adventure #2 with Cali:
Our attempt to make it to the Peters-Duplechin wedding in Irving, TX.

After much thought as to whether or not we should even consider taking a road trip with a three-week-old baby, with the approval of her pediatrician, we decided to take the plunge and go for it. However, we most certainly were not making this trip in our little beater of a 2-door convertible. No sir, that was out. At this point, it's the most reliable car we've got, but it's not much for traveling very far, I'd say. So we explored our options....carpool with someone? Perhaps. Rent a car? That could get pricey. Buy a brand new car for the purpose of this trip? Haha, just pulling your leg on that one. Then there were the accommodations to figure out. Would we just get a hotel for that night? Possibly. Was there anyone in the area we could stay with? That was an option. Could we just assign one person to be sleep deprived that night so we could make the journey back home right after the reception? Hey, I wasn't gonna be driving, so okay! ;)
Finally, we concluded that, 1)We should carpool with other peeps going from Tulsa, and 2)We'd make Joanne drive back that night (no, we are not that cruel. She did volunteer such action). Since Jo had flown to Washington, her car was still in Tulsa. Therefore, we would drive her car to the wedding, all attend this beautiful event, and then head home together. Jamie Jewel Hutch needed a ride there, but already had a chauffeur for the way back, so this would work out perfectly. The three parties involved would each pay for a share of the gas expenses, and we were guaranteed good times both there and back. We had a plan, and it was pretty great, if I say so myself.

About 50 miles south of Tulsa, Jo's car started to make a sort of a constant beeping/whistling sound. We were driving through some little podunk town, and at every stop light, we could really hear this little noise.
Then more little noises.
Eh, we thought. Maybe we just didn't notice that before because we were too busy talking about married things. So we kept truckin' right along.
A little ways from the toll, the car, which had been on cruise control, suddenly decided to go at its own speed. It sped up a bit, and the RPMs went a little berserk. At this point, we were coming upon a McDonalds, and the fleeting thought of stopping there entered all of our minds, as we later came to find out. But alas...we just passed it on by.

After paying the toll, the silly thing wouldn't pick up the speed again! It could barely make it to 50, let alone the speed limit. At this point we were thinking to ourselves that we were going to be so late for the wedding at this rate. But little did we know....
approximately one mile post-toll-paying, the engine started shaking and the car began to slow down more on its own. We decided now would be good time as ever to pull over and turn off the engine, no? Well...no need! The engine shut itself off. How convenient! Ryan got out and took a look under the hood. That thing was smokin'. Baaaaad. I was in the backseat with Cali in her carseat, and Jamie was in the front seat trying to get the engine to even turn over. Nothing. What a sad, sad little peanut of an effort that car made to start again. There were, however, a lot of pretty little lights that came on all at once. Something to the likes of, "service engine soon," then there was the same ol' oil light, and, OH--the engine overheat light. Nice to know we should service engine soon. Seriously, cars should have something that says, "service engine NOW!" and just like that, too. That way, you know how long you've got, you know? Like it says "soon," and you know you've got a good solid 200 more miles or so. Anyway, that will probably never happen anyhow, so I'm going to continue with my story now.

Ryan gets back in the car and the three of us look at each other incredulously. We had a funny moment when we realized we were right in front of the "keep off median" sign. We laughed a little.

It was about 2:45pm, the wedding was at 6pm, and we were still a good 3 hours away. Now there was no way we would make it on time! We still clung to the hope that maybe, just MAYBE there was someone else we knew heading in that direction for this wedding. But of course, they'd have to be heading out pretty darn late to be behind us. Well, no such luck. We finally gave up the idea of being able to attend our friends' glorious event, and decided to figure out how we were going to get back home. Well, we could scarcely find anyone who was even in town, let alone someone who could come rescue us from the side of the road. Everyone (and I mean EVERYONE, and there were lots)who picked up their phone was out of town, and the people we knew were in town were not picking up. It was, in fact, the Saturday afternoon between Christmas and New Years. So. Enough said.

Well, at least it was about 60 degrees outside and we weren't going to frostbite or anything. The three of us sat around, calling everyone in our contacts list that could possibly help. And tow trucks, not to mention, because we could not leave Jo's car to be towed away and taken to some wasteland of an impound. I'm sure she would not appreciate that, either. Ryan called this ma and pop kind of towing company in Tulsa, since they have the cheapest prices in town (broken-down car issues were not new to us). So he made arrangements to have that of the broken down machine variety to be picked up, and Jamie really came through on this one by finding someone (her father in law) to pick up those of us of the human variety. And Cali? She was sleeping this whole time (and I guess that was really the best thing for her to be doing!). And me, I was just sitting in the backseat, having no luck with anyone I tried to call, thus quite lacking in contribution to the solving of our little problem. I did, however, change one diaper. So I wasn't completely useless. ;)

To pass the time waiting for help to come, we began to make little bets on what time the tow truck would arrive. The winner would get a candy bar. The current time was somewhere between 3:30 and 3:45. Ryan said 4:55, if I remember correctly. I said 5:00. Jamie said something like 5:02, or whatever it was, but she was right on! We were thoroughly amazed. Her father in law arrived about 15 to 20 minutes later, and we were saved. Yippee! Just in time, as it was starting to get dark and it was getting much colder. As God would see fit...perfect timing indeed.
Ah, well. So that was our second little adventure as a family, and Cali's first time (and I should mention, only time thus far) sleeping a solid 7 hours straight. Seriously...why doesn't she do that at night???


Update (you know, like the captions at the end of a movie): Jo got her whole engine replaced, and her car is now in tip-top shape. Especially for a Jimmy of the older variety. Jamie never got her candy bar for winning the bet. The Lampe family made it back to their apartment, at which point the baby awakened and stayed awake for quite some time that night, LUCKILY for them.

Let's start from the very beginning...the beginning's a good place to start!

Okay. So...wow. So much has happened these past five and a half weeks...
I suppose I must go back even further, though, to capture the whole essence of the last few weeks of pregnancy and such. :)

By mid-November, I was ready. I was 37 weeks preggo, thus considered "full term," and prepared to pop any day. Every week, my doc would add such hopeful comments such as, "well, we'll see you next week, if you're still pregnant!" Hahaha. And the next week, I most certainly would be (but only for a few weeks straight. You understand...). I would come back from each appointment a little more distraught than the last, anxious to meet this little person who had been growing in my belly for nine long months. I was beginning to feel like I'd be pregnant FOREVER. Nights were hard to sleep through, and contractions were constantly coming and going.

Ryan's aunt Thuyanh arrived December 1st to stay with us for the entire coming week, in anticipation that Cali would arrive by her due date, the 7th. Monday afternoon, Dec. 3rd, I had an appointment with my doctor, in which I found out that in terms of dilation and effacement I had not only not made progress, but seemed to be regressing! I was so discouraged and thought this baby would never come. Of course, that thought is just absurd. Babies have to be born sometime. I knew this, of course. I have taken Human Anatomy. ;) After a good long cry (during which, I must say, Ryan was very comforting), we all took advantage of the time we had together to go out and buy a few last items we wanted, but other than that, we waited around. Looooong days, let me tell you, but only because each day I hoped it was "the day." Well, Thursday, the 6th, crept along, and I was seriously wondering how late from her due date this child would be. We went to Braum's because I was in serious need of a milkshake, which I decided to make yucky by adding a little castor oil. If you don't know what that means, it is probably best you don't ask...



We watched "Amazing Grace" (good movie, by the way) that night, and a little bit after it was over, my contractions started getting stronger and closer together, but I didn't want to get everyone all excited, go to the hospital, and be sent home (again). Yes, we had previously made a trip to the Labor and Delivery, a few weeks earlier. And it was quite uneventful (obviously). So this time, I just decided to wait it out. So here we were, the eve of December 7th. I managed to take a nap, and got to spend some time with Ryan beforehand. He didn't know how bad the contractions were getting, and I intended to keep it that way until I knew if they were leading up to anything. I woke up after said nap with more intense contractions, but let Ryan keep sleeping for another hour and a half, at which time I decided we should probably go to the hospital in case things speed up suddenly. Ryan jumps out of bed when I tell him, and he wakes up aunt Thuyahn. It may have seemed odd to them, but I was just taking my sweet time getting ready, even though my bag had been packed for two months, haha. I'm telling you...I was READY. Now that I think about it, I should have put my contacts in. I don't know why I was convinced that I could not go through labor with contacts on my eyeballs. Such a mystery, it is. I later found out it would have been completely acceptable.

We arrived at the hospital at 7am. By this day, I was pretty familiar with that part of the hospital, haha. The nurse checked me; just a mere 1cm and 80% effaced. Bah, I thought to myself. All those contractions and only 1cm?!? But alas...it was truly going somewhere. At about 8am, my doctor arrived, and I had progressed to 2cm and 100%. So they decided to keep me there. At 9:30, the contractions were still only 4 to 5 minutes apart, and had been that way for a looooong time, so they put me on a slow drip pitocin (makes contractions more intense to speed things up), but since it was just a little bit, it was manageable. However, Cali decided to switch her position, so I was in back labor for several hours. This means the baby is facing outwards instead of inwards, so the pressure is mostly on the nerves and everything in the poor woman's back (and I empathize with any woman who has experienced such pain).


At 11:30am the doctor breaks my water. Boy, do things speed up after that happens. By noon, after twelve hours of labor thus far, Cali was still facing the wrong direction, and I decided to let go of my ideas of a real woman's labor and told the nurse I wanted the epidural. I had been a very good girl, breathing through those beautiful contractions, and keeping my cool. Now, I knew it would be a while before I got the silly thing in my back, so I went ahead and asked for it before things got even more intense. Ryan held my hands while the anesthesiologist inserted the needle in my back. Let me tell you, I HATE needles. However, I had wonderful contractions to keep me distracted, and in case that wasn't enough, I sat there, hunched over, talking some smack about guinea pigs, and how the Dzaks have one. The hospital staff was quite entertained. Well, getting that long needle in my back had some spectacular results. I felt no more contractions after getting the epidural.

Ryan, aunt Thuyanh and I proceeded to watch some Brian Regan on DVD, but we didn't make it very far into the show before I was 10cm and the nurses started bringing in all sorts of tables and frightening accessories. Haha. Moments before, one nurse told us it would be "soon." We figured she meant perhaps 4 more hours or so. NO, she meant SOON, as in, within the next five minutes. Definitely caught us by surprise. Then came the pushing, during which I looked up at aunt Thuyanh and said, "hey, is that Mickey Mouse on your sweatshirt?" After probably 10 minutes of the lovely (and did I mention, fun?) activity of pushing, Cali was born at 2:37pm. 7lbs, 19.5 inches, and absolutely perfect. Ryan was such a trooper during the whole labor and delivery. He da man! I couldn't have done nearly as well without him, and aunt Thuyanh was a tremendous help as well.

Sunday evening, we are discharged from the hospital. After going through the monumental event of giving life to a child, we were by no means aware of what was going on with the weather outside. Ryan and a friend, Adam, taught that ice on the windshield who's boss, and we made it home. As luck would have it, the next morning...our power went out. So no heat, and a newborn baby. Those two elements are truly not compatible with one another. My mother was with us at the time (for the week), and we thought through what options we had. Electric heaters were out, of course. Couldn't get a propane tank; nowhere to put it. And we certainly couldn't stay warm with the candles we had around the house! Thankfully, we have such amazing friends who we can count on to help us in times of need.

We packed all of the things we would need for a couple days (which is no easy task for new parents who are not yet sure what all is absolutely necessary for travel with a brand new baby) and take off into the mass chaos awaiting on the treacherous roads. It was like experiencing the Tulsa version of the Chronicles of Narnia, or something. Icicles galore, even on each blade of grass! Every stop light along the way out. Traffic backed up to China. Tree branches toppling left and right, an occasional power line on someone's house (okay, I'm stretching that one a bit, although I'm sure it really happened, just not within eyesight of where we were...).
An hour later, we made it the 15 miles to our friends' house. But of course...their power had JUST gone out minutes before we arrived, but we weren't going back home after that whole ordeal of driving over there. Besides, it was nice to be with other company, and come to find out, they had a gas powered fireplace, so we ended up sleeping next to their fireplace that night. :) Despite the fact that I was terribly sore and still unsure of what I thought of the whole delivery experience, we had a splendid time with our friends. I am glad we stayed there. Their power returned the next day, but ours didn't, so we stayed another night.

WOW, I'm tiring very quickly at this point, and will have to continue this later. You can safely assume that I did not type this with one single hand.

Well, it's about time!

For those of you who though it nearly impossible to type one-handed...buahahaahhhh! I strike again. Well, just one key at a time, mind you. When I first started practicing this form of art, I seldom got to the end of a sentence without forgetting what I was going to write in the first place, because it just took such a darn long time! Nowadays, I've either sharpened my memory skills or have improved tremendously at typing in such manner. Maybe a little bit of both. One thing is for sure: it's certainly about time I start keeping one of these things! A blog, that is.

I used to be quite the writer, back in the day--and I daresay I almost loved writing as much as I love making music. Almost. As you should well know, however, creating music (or complete songs, anyway) does indeed involve writing. So, how convenient. Come to think of it, it's really about time I get back into the swing of that, too.

Actually, it's about time for something else, too....lunch! So while Cali is grunting away trying to work through those gas issues, I'm going to let her chillax in her bassinet while I make a quick lunch.

Eggs and rice. Overeasy, with crispy edges. Add a bit of soy sauce on top. When you stick your spoon into the egg, the yolk spills out all over the nice bed or rice you have underneath, and the eggs, rice, and soy sauce all mesh together in a very scrumptious fashion. Ryan and I thoroughly enjoy it, anyway.

So I'm supposed to be taking in all these calories and still make healthy food choices. So I suppose I must limit my intake of the above said eggs and rice, daggum cholesterol. Not that my cholesterol is too high, but it's just not good for anyone to have too much cholesterol in their diets. Anyway, back to the point....what was my point? Bah.
Oh, yes, I remember. I am excited about starting new workouts and getting back into that as well. I've made a few attempts at exercising since Cali was born, and I must say, they were pretty good ones. Within reason, of course. I'm not running yet or anything, because I think the impact is still a bit too much for me right now, but I'm going for my six-week checkup in a couple days, and hopefully the doc tells me everything is great, so I can resume exercising, and other activities. ;)
Two days before Cali's arrival, Ryan and his aunt Thuyanh watched as I cavorted around the living room with a huge belly, working out to a prenatal exercise video. It was deliciously entertaining for all other parties involved. Ryan documented this event on video. Now that I'm not pregnant anymore and can watch this video, I myself am quite entertained, although I don't know what's funnier, my pregnant self exercising, or Ryan's commentary of my pregnant self exercising. Haha.

Alright! So this is going to be our blog that documents milestones, special events, random happenings, adventures, misadventures and any mayhem that ensues. Good, fun mayhem, that is. I mean, when you walk into our apartment, we have this thing on the wall with a painting of a squirrel that reads, "Welcome to the nut house," and although, if I remember correctly, it was the squirrel alone that truly inspired us to buy this thing, the phrase on it sure didn't hurt. :) We have fun. What's life without a little fun?
As soon as I can continue writing, I will catch you up on the happenings thus far. Believe me...there are some happenings to be mentioned!