Matt's been busy!

We have been lucky to talk to Matt every other day or so and we have skyped twice so far (not enough, but beggars can't be choosers). Makaela doesn't do so well on the phone, but she is loving skype and her time with Matt consists of them making funny faces at each other. It definitely keeps her entertained. Matt has been working very long hours though. He has had a lot of training and certifications to complete before he heads to Iraq sometime next week. In fact today, our phone call consists of mostly yawns and "I'm so tired" comments. From the picture, I can see why.

Latest Ultrasound

Today I had another ultrasound to check the baby's growth and to make sure she is on track and growing proportionally. The ultrasound tech said that she is developing wonderfully and she is actually larger than most babies at this point. Around this time, babies should be 2.4-2.6 lbs and Mia is approximately 2.10 lbs, putting her in the 61st percentile for weight. The tech couldn't guesstimate her height because she is too curled up at this point. The doctor (ultrasound doctor) is going to have me come in again in 6 weeks just to be sure that we are still on track, but at this point, he doesn't see the need to recommend me for an early delivery. That is exactly what I was hoping to hear.

Back to Teaching

So this was my second week back to teaching and I'm happy to report that I still like my students. I have a few students in my homeroom who complained that they hate to read and were trying to avoid the silent reading period. I gave two students books I just purchased this summer (from the Percy Jackson series) late last week and today, I actually had to scold my male student because he was sneaking reading instead of doing a test. He looked up at me and whined that he was almost done and just wanted to find out what happened. I was thrilled even though I had to put on a tough face, because he wasn't doing what he was supposed to, but so happy to see that he liked the book. He has been teasing my female student that he is further along than she is in the book, but she told him she was going to read all weekend to try to "beat" him to the ending. I truly don't mind bickering like this in my class. It really is refreshing to be back with the students. Now let's see how long this lasts.

Poppy Hammel

During our visit to NY, we watch Poppy Hammel getting weaker and weaker. We were very fortunate to get some time with him while he was able to talk and enjoy the company. Makaela was definitely entertaining and lightened the atmosphere a bit, but by the end of the week even Makaela was noticing that Poppy needed more naps and that we shouldn't wake him. Poppy passed away the morning of Sunday August 14th. My dad called to tell me that Pops waited until Mike got home from work and then, as if he were just going to sleep, passed away. It is so great that he was surrounded by family members who loved him, but at the same time I feel like that was probably one of the hardest things for my family members to witness (although watching him go through the pain of cancer might have been almost as bad). My brother's firehouse was called and when Pop was carried out of the house, the firemen stood at attention and saluted him- Pop was a former FDNY as well. It is really painful for me to be apart from my family right now, missing the wake and the funeral, but again, I just feel blessed that Makaela and I got to see him. Here are some pictures of our last day with Pop when he was spoiling Makaela with cookies. Makaela was very comforting when I got the phone call too. When I started crying, she got very concerned and asked me what was wrong. When I told her I was crying over Poppy she asked, "Did he hurt you?" I told her that he didn't, but that I was sad, so she ran to get me a tissue and wiped my eyes for me. Later, when I had another bout of crying, she got me another tissue and said, "Ma, I already cleaned your eyes".

Matt's training

We thought that with Matt being in New Jersey for training, we would have had better communication with him, but it seems the training is as time consuming and as intense at boot camp was. I have been getting calls at 10pm Eastern Time (4pm Hawaii time) and he is just getting out of PT or training. His Skype hasn't been able to work yet because the bandwidth is not large enough in his barracks, but he is hoping to find a location that will work by the weekend. He did send a picture of himself after a training and I thought I would share it. I love how the Kevlar covers the essential parts of the anatomy :-)

Makenzie Grace

We finally got to meet the newest member of the Weida family today. Makaela has been talking about Brooke our entire trip and was desperate to see her. She was in for quite a surprise when she found out that the baby that was in Auntie Monica's belly was finally there to see. Makenzie is a gorgeous little girl and Brooke could barely tear herself away from her little sister to play with Makaela. Brooke is already a great big sister (hopefully she can teach Makaela some pointers in that department soon).

Back to work and school

My school year started when we were in NY, so I missed the first 4 days with my students. Come Monday, I was back in the thick of it, learning over 140 students names, teaching rules and regulations and gearing up for a new year. They seemed quite happy to have their real teacher back, although few of them actually knew my name (there was a problem with the schedules). Anyway, for the most part, they seem like a great group of kids and I already am enjoying myself. The actual administrative side of the job is not so fun this year (lots of new work and expectations piled on us), but I am looking forward to working directly with the kids again. I have been busying myself with lots of cleaning, organizing, prepping meals for the week so I am not too overwhelmed and spending lots of quality time with Makaela.

Makaela headed back to school again after being off for a week and transitioning her was a bit tougher. She has gotten very attached to me during the trip and in light of Matt's departure that she is having some separation anxiety. Dropping her off to preschool involves some weeping (although she is great when I pick her up), but at home, she is battling some issues as well. I can't go upstairs without her following me because she doesn't want me to "yeave her" and she says she is getting scared of random things. She is also complaining of boo boos that I can't see (they are usually located on her legs). She also wants to continue to sleep in my bed (we shared a bed in NY), but I am trying to squash this before it becomes a habit now that we are home. She is always looking for Matt's car, so I think that much of this behavior comes from her internalizing Matt's departure and then leaving NY after she bonded with that side of the family. We will just take it day by day and hope that Skype can help settle some of her insecurities.


Makaela vacuuming- even she got busy with the cleaning.

6 1/2 months pregnant

Once we got back to Hawaii, I realized that I missed my 24 week belly shot. I was trying to take them every month to document my growing belly, but with the craziness of our last minute trip, I totally forgot. So here is a picture of me at 26 weeks. I am feeling great, but the belly is getting a bit heavy at this point. Mia is kicking constantly and it is so comforting to feel her move (even when she is digging into my ribs :-)
4 months

5 months

6 1/2 months pregnant

Our chance encounter with Matt

The day we were flying home to NY, we got a big surprise. While sitting in Chicago's O'Hare Airport, Matt called informing me that he too, was going to be having a layover in Chicago. Problem was that Makaela and I departed at 11:50am and he wouldn't be getting in until 1:45pm. We were going to miss each other. Bummed out, I asked the ticketing agent if there was a later flight. I got some weird looks and a snide comment that there was only one flight to Hawaii a day out of Chicago. Stupid me... oh well. About 40 minutes later, I noticed that our departure had been delayed- our plane was broken and couldn't be repaired so they were having another plane come to Chicago to pick us up. The entire ordeal would take an additional 3 hours, so our new departure time was 2:30. I called up Matt and told him the good news. We were going to be cutting it close, but there was a good 45 minutes between his landing and my departure, right?...

At 1:50pm, they started boarding our flight and I called Matt, but his plane was just taxing to the gate. He was arriving in the United terminal which was clear across the airport from our terminal. At 2pm, I called and he couldn't speak because he was running across the aiport to get to us. At 2:10, the lobby was pretty much emptied, everyone having boarded our plane. Makaela and I were standing in the center of the gate area so I could see the hallway in which Matt would be coming down and also in clear vision of my gate to make sure they didn't close the door on us. I was getting pretty upset thinking that we might be missing each other by seconds and thinking how Matt would be devastated if we weren't there after running all that way. Just when I was able to turn around to the gate, I saw him running down the hallway in his Army camo. It was like the parting of the Red Sea- everyone was moving out of his way. I told Makaela that Daddy was there and she ran to meet him, jumping up into his arms. In the middle of this madness, I was able to get one picture to capture the moment, even though it felt like something out of a movie.

Now everyone is staring at this military guy hugging his daughter and the teary-eyed pregnant wife in the airport...what a scene this was, but leave it to Makaela to do something comical. After a few seconds of hugging and kissing, Makaela turns to Matt and says, "Yuck". She had realized that he was getting all his sweat on her (after running across the airport, there was a lot of sweat) and she wiped off her face. After a few more kisses and sweaty hugs (which Makaela was reluctant to fall for that one again), we had to board. We literally got to spend a minute with him. As we walked away, Makaela turned to me and asked, "Why daddy no coming on the plane?" It was really hard to keep the tears back at this point. Matt said when we left, a few other passengers in the seating area were crying too. What a moment!

Celebrating Birthdays at Breezy Point

While we were in town, we were lucky to be around for my Aunt Donna, Uncle Gerald, Uncle John and Uncle Donald's birthday. The birthdays coincided with the beach club's court party at Breezy Point. When I was younger, I used to spend many of my summers down there since either the Torries or the Hammels (or both) rented cabanas out each year. This year entire Torrie clan made their way down to the beach (a true rarity), swam, played softball, ate (Makaela nearly ate our neighbors out of guacamole), drank, danced and the party lasted well into the night. It brought back many memories for me and made me realize how much I missed NY.

Makaela and Patty Ann

Me and Poppy TorrieThe Torrie ladies and some family friends

Learning about Tid-e-Bowl

While we were playing at my aunt Donna's house, Makaela had to go to the bathroom, however, she got a bit freaked out when she saw that the water in the toilet was blue. She started to flush the toilet over and over again and when I asked her what she was doing, she said, "It's dirty mama. Someone made blue pee pee". For the next few days, she would announce that her pee pee was yellow and not blue.

Makaela and Aunt Donna

While we were hanging out at Poppy Hammel's house, Makaela continued to find ways to amuse herself. Entertainment got creative where we ended up taking a medical glove, blowing it up like a balloon and teaching Makaela how to play volleyball...indoors, of course (I hope this attraction for playing sports indoors doesn't follow us back to Hawaii). Makaela also had her first experience in a convertible (Aunt Mary's bug)...what a stylish little lady!

Playing with Uncle Mike

We spent the first part of day with Uncle Mike and Makaela put him in some interesting situations, but he was a great sport and totally entertained her. He also spoiled her rotten with some great gifts which she loved showing off. Problem was, my brothers look quite similar to each other, so she was telling people Uncle Joe bought her new earrings, when it was Uncle Mike and asking to go wake up Uncle Mike, when she meant Uncle Joe. Poor kid was so confused, but she eventually figured it out. Mike not really fitting on the carousel. Below is my favorite video of the trip. Mike is such a goof ball.

Spending time with Liv and Scarlet

While we were in NY, we were able to spend the night with my friend Kristin and her family. Liv and Kaela met one other time, but they acted like they have been friends forever. They spent their time racing each other, playing dress up, having tea parties and playing soccer (indoors of course). Makaela sipping on coffee, while Liv sips her tea. Below are the girls racing in the backyard.

Interesting enough, when we were driving back from Kristin's, we had to cross over two bridges. Makaela was so amazed by them. She kept repeating the word and became fixated on going on the bridge. It took me a while to realize that she had never really had any experiences with bridges, since we don't have any in Hawaii (other than the Ford Island one that she never goes on). Our trip definitely led to some new experiences.