Seven months to go....

We dropped Zach off at the hangar tonight to begin his 7-month deployment to the sandbox. This is actually the first time that I've been home when he's left for deployment. All the other times, I was deployed myself. So I don't think I was mentally ready for how hard it would be to say goodbye to him, especially since Daniel's in the picture now. That definitely makes it a thousand times harder, knowing how much Zach is going to miss. I'll try my best to take pictures and video, but it won't be the same, we know.

But I'm trying to look at the bright side. I had a boss once who said about deployment, "Once begun, half done." I always took that to mean that the anticipation leading up to the beginning of the separation is bad, but once the deployment begins, so does the countdown to homecoming. So here I am, marking down the days until Zach's home!

Here are some pictures from our last day together:




And some video of a silly Daniel:

Christmas Eve in Hawaii

The three of us went to the Hawaii Bowl yesterday and watched Hawaii get thrashed by Notre Dame. We didn't really care who won, but it was fun to get out of the house and do a new activity with the little buddy. I think Daniel thoroughly enjoyed his first live football game. He actually fell asleep at one point, a deep sleep that I'm unable to achieve when he's in our quiet house in his vibrating chair. Maybe I should invite the large woman who was sitting near us over to scream profanities every now and then (if you look closely in the first picture, you can actually see her, standing up and yelling). Whatever it takes to help him sleep!

The cutest baby around:

When the score was about 35-14, Daniel was much more interesting than the action on the field:

Zach put on the nursing cover as a sun shield while Daniel slept:

Daniel has a new cousin

Congratulations to Zach's brother, Lee, and his wife, Cassandra! Davis William Rashman was born today in Missouri, weighing in at 7 pounds 1 ounce. Daniel is very excited that Corinne now has a little brother (Corinne, Daniel, and Davis are within 13 months of age with each other, so we'll have to keep a close eye on them when they're together!). What a perfect Hanukkah/Christmas present--a healthy new baby!

Childhood obesity....

Apparently, it's an epidemic and it's striking the very young:

One year ago today...

Zach and I found out we were having a baby! And look at us now--proud parents of the cutest little guy around!

We were in Buffalo and Zach's cousin Deirdre had won a bunch of tickets to the Bills-Giants game a couple of days before Christmas. So we went with her and his brother Tom and the other cousins (Anna, Leah, Emily). It was a beautiful Buffalo winter day--33 degrees, drizzling rain, high winds. Everyone in the family pooled their clothing resources so Zach and I wouldn't freeze at the game, hence the non-matching layers in the picture above.

The game was pretty fun, but the weather was terrible and I started feeling sicker and sicker as the day went on. I just knew that I was getting strep throat, which is a pretty miserable feeling when you're on vacation. We all left the game at halftime and I went back to the hotel to cover up in layers of bedding to try and thaw out. Swallowing became almost impossible, so I called Zach's mom and said that I was going to go to the VA hospital to get some medicine.

Zach, Mary Ellen, and I headed over to the VA hospital and sat around in the ER for a little while before I was able to be seen. Sure enough, I had strep throat, so I mentioned to the doctor that we were trying to have a baby, and there was a very slight chance that I could be pregnant, so he had me take a test before prescribing me anything. As you might imagine, not that many people get pregnancy tests at VA hospitals (their usual clientele is mostly older men), so it took awhile.

The doctor called me in and told me the happy news. I went back out to the waiting room and had to wake Zach up (too much fun at the Bills game!) so that he and Mary Ellen could hear the news. And that's our "how we found out" story!

Fast forward one year: we have beautiful Daniel and Mary Ellen is now a nurse at that hospital. What a difference a year makes!

Zach demands a recount!

According to a website sent to me by Lisa (of Shields' in the City fame), Daniel looks like Zach and me equally. Hmmmm.....anyone who has seen Zach's baby pictures would probably disagree! I think he's about 70% Zach, 30% me. Maybe I'll try this site with different pictures to see what it comes up with!

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Mr. Mom

Zach's on his predeployment leave, so he's been the primary caregiver for Daniel during the day when I'm at work. I think he was kind of nervous before the week started, but he's doing a fabulous job! They go for walks, play on the floor, and read books. Dan doesn't mind taking the bottle, so the freezer full of milk is coming in very handy.

I don't even like to think about what life is going to be like when Zach deploys. This is our fourth 7-month deployment in five years of marriage. With all of the other ones, I was gone a lot of the time too, so the months flew by. For this one, I'll be home the whole time. The other big difference, of course, is Daniel. Zach will leave when he's four months old and will come back just before his 1st birthday. So many changes will happen and we won't be able to watch them together. Zach should be able to check the blog, so I'll have to be very vigilant about posting so Daddy can keep up with his son.

When Jean was here, she used her super-fancy camera to take over 500 pictures. I don't plan on posting all of them, but check out our Shutterfly site if you want to see a ton of pictures (mostly of Daniel, of course!). Some of the shots she got are so good that I'm using them on our annual holiday card. Since I don't plan on paying her, I thought I should acknowledge her great pictures here!

Very excited on a car ride:

Zach and Daniel at the farmer's market:

At the USS Arizona Memorial:

Daniel's first boat ride (on a US Navy boat, appropriately):

My boys, doing what they do best:

Mahalo, Aunt Jean!

A big, huge, gigantic thank you to Jean for staying with us for the last two and a half weeks. She was amazing with Daniel and the two of them became very good buddies while I was making the transition back to work. I had absolutely no anxiety leaving him every day because I knew he was in very good hands.

Because of Jean, we now know that Daniel loves to have someone sing in his ear--Robin in the Rain is a favorite, as well as selected show tunes. I think I need to Netflix a few musicals because Daniel is a big fan.

We dropped off Jean at the airport today and everyone was very sad to see her go back home to Buffalo. It's time for her to get back to Bob and the sisters and her daughters. Leah and Anna, your (future) children are very lucky to have a grandmother as wonderful as Jean!

Play before work

Here's a video of us playing before I head off to work one morning (you can see my lovely camouflage pants if you look closely. Or maybe you can't--they are camouflage, after all).

Deployment Address

For those of you that want to keep in touch with Zach over the deployment, here's his address:

Capt Rashman, Zachary J.
HMH-362
Unit 44160
FPO AP 96607-4160

email: zachary.rashman@usmc.mil

He'll be on a big base with access to a store with food and toiletries and stuff, so he won't really need much in the way of necessities. But I'm sure he'd love letters, pictures, homemade treats, etc.

There are many Marines that are deployed to remote places in Iraq and Afghanistan, so if you would like to send a more traditional care package (snack foods, toiletries, etc) please check out www.thecarepackageproject.com (sorry, I can't figure out how to hyperlink!). Marines can submit addresses of their buddies who aren't receiving anything from home and this website will send your care packages to them. Speaking from experience, there is no better feeling than getting something in the mail on deployment!

Teething?

Daniel has been trying to suck and chew on many things lately--his fists, his blanket, his shirt, my thumb--pretty much everything except a pacifier. We're now up to five different kinds of pacifiers but this kid is being very stubborn. (I wonder where he gets that trait?) And because his thumb is usually tucked into his fist, he hasn't been able to find that yet either.

I doubt that he's getting teeth already, but I've been feeling around in there for any break-throughs. My mom said that I got my first tooth fairly late, around nine months. And according to Zach's baby book (thanks, Mary Ellen!), his first tooth arrived on 11/1/78, when he was almost six months old. So if history is any indicator, we won't have teeth for awhile, so I'm not sure what this new chewing/sucking activity is all about.

Daniel and I are both a little under the weather right now. I think it's just a little cold, nothing too much to worry about. But last night was very rough and this morning I had annual training for work, so I had to be there at 0645. Of course.

Daniel and one of his burp cloths:

Man Hands

It's been one week since I've gone back to work and the transition for me hasn't been the easiest. I did pick a good time to come back, though, because the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas is pretty slow, so my days haven't been too long. But after being home with Daniel for three months and really never being away from him, it's hard to go eight hours every day without being able to see him or touch him or smell him. Aunt Jean is amazing with him and it's so much fun to see how they have become good buddies, so that definitely makes it easier to leave him every day. Easier, but not easy, because I just feel this low-level, ever-present sense of loneliness when I"m at work. Coming home every day is the best, though--seeing Daniel's little face light up with recognition and feeling his body relax as I feed him.

Which brings me to why I've been so slow at posting--I'd rather hold the little man than upload videos and write witty messages. Sorry! I'm writing this at 1:27 am, after I finished my middle-of-the-night pumping. I think this is a good time to get a post in, but if you read something that just makes no sense, check out the time that the post got published. Ha!

Anyway, I'm trying to catch up on video posting. For some reason, Daniel's paws look like they're huge in this one, as he plays with a new toy that came with a chair loaned to us by the Attwoods:

Much-needed update

Where do I begin? It's hard to know, especially since I've been such a slacker with posting. We had a great time with Grandma Mary Ellen when she was here over Thanksgiving. My food turned out beautifully if I do say so myself. (I did forget the rolls and the corn, but we had so much other food that I really don't think they were missed.) For a vegetarian, I sure can cook a turkey! I brined the turkey in a Williams-Sonoma brine for 24 hours before roasting and it received rave reviews from Zach, Mary Ellen, and Jean. It did smell good, so I hope they weren't just being nice. My favorite things were probably the pumpkin soup and the pumpkin cheesecake tarts. Those recipes are definitely keepers.

On Friday after Thanksgiving, Zach and I went to the water park to celebrate a friend's daughter's birthday. We left the little man at home so we could ride all the big kid rides. I was nervous that the park would be crowded because it was a holiday weekend, but I forgot that Black Friday is the real holiday out here. The exit lane for the outlet mall was about 100 cars long. No thank you! Zach and I rode all the rides and had a great time.
On Saturday, we took Mary Ellen and Jean to the farmer's market. Besides locally-grown produce, the market has a lot of hot and prepared food, so we shared fried green tomatoes, beignets with lilikoi sauce, ginger ale, roasting ears, and tomato-pesto pizza. And we bought our fruits and veggies for the week!

Then on Sunday, we headed to the USS Arizona Memorial (Pearl Harbor). Zach and I hadn't been there in years, so it was nice to visit with our out-of-town guests. Daniel seemed to enjoy his first-ever boat ride and he was even pretty quiet on the memorial. I was really bad about taking pictures all weekend long, but Jean was snapping away so we're going to head to Walgreens to get her pictures put on a disk.

Mary Ellen had to make the long trip back to Buffalo on Tuesday and we miss her! I've been back at work all week and it's going okay. I think I picked a good time to come back because things are pretty slow in the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I miss Daniel terribly during the day, but I know he is in very good hands. Thank you, Jean, I don't know if I could have done this without you.

Daniel, concentrating very hard on a new toy:

I'm Back!

No, I didn't go anywhere, but I've just been a lot busier lately since I've been back at work. So I'm about four videos and a bunch of pictures behind. In this video, Daniel is just bouncing peacefully on Zach's knee, but Zach insists on bothering him. And he doesn't like it one bit!

In other news, Daniel went in for some more shots today but the clinic was out of one that he needed, so we'll be back again next week. He was a brave buddy and only cried for a second. He's doing a lot of complaining in his vibrating chair right now, but he'll go to sleep for an afternoon nap in a bit.

Update coming!

I promise! We had a very busy weekend with Thanksgiving, a trip to the water park (without the baby!), shopping at the farmer's market, sightseeing at the USS Arizona Memorial, and lots of fun with Grandma Mary Ellen and Aunt Jean. I don't want to ignore my guests (plus I have to go back to work today--boo!), so that's why I've been slacking on the blogging. I'll try and get new pictures and stuff up after work today. Be patient, dear readers, be patient......

Big day today!

Grandma's on her way from snowy Buffalo! I just checked flightarrivals.com and she's departed the Buf on her way to Newark. Then poor Mary Ellen has a direct flight from Newark to Honolulu, a mere 11 hours in the air. At least she's on Continental, so she'll get lunch. United would charge her $8 for a soggy sandwich and Delta would just throw some Biscoff cookies at her! She's supposed to arrive around 7:30 tonight and we're very excited!

I'm looking forward to having an extra set of hands for Thanksgiving. Mary Ellen does not have to do one single thing in the kitchen, but if she can keep Daniel occupied, then I will be set. People are asking if I'm nervous to be cooking a holiday meal for my mother-in-law, but I don't think they realize that I could serve her reheated beanie weenies and she would be happy, as long as she gets to hold the baby as long as she wants. But there will be no beanie weenies on my table tomorrow! We're having:

Cream of Pumpkin Soup Topped with Curried Pecans
Roasted Turkey (it's going in the apple and spice brine today)
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Stuffing
Sweet Potato Fries
Corn
Celebration Roast (a yummy vegetarian option--mostly for me!)
Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarts with Gingersnap Crust

I absolutely love Thanksgiving! This is the first time since 2001 that I've been able to celebrate Thanksgiving with family, so I'm thankful that Grandma Mary Ellen and Aunt Jean will be with us. And of course, Zach and I are so thankful for Daniel--that's he's healthy and happy and growing and playing and doing everything else that almost-3-month-olds do. This is just the first of our many holidays together and our list of things to be thankful for will continue to grow.

Happy Thanksgiving! (Now I need to find my apron and learn how to use all the new stuff I bought so I can make this dinner!)

A couple of pictures of Daniel just laying around (I know nobody wants to read an entire post with no video or pictures, so here you go!):

He speaks (part 2)

He speaks!

Well, kind of. Daniel has been using his voice for more than just crying lately. It's so fun to have "conversations" with him. He keeps very intense eye contact and seems to enjoy chatting with Mommy and Daddy. He's a little more talkative with me, probably because Zach feels a little silly talking back to him in his language. I certainly don't mind it one bit!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Today is Zach's mom's birthday, so we're sending birthday greetings to Buffalo! (I hope Zach called her like I told him to!) We're very excited for her to come and visit us next week for Thanksgiving. Here are pictures of her two favorite Hawaii boys:

Flying Daniel

On Friday, Zach was lifting Daniel over his head and he loved it! He would look up at the ceiling fan and just laugh. His very first giggles! They were so cute--high-pitched, little baby giggles. Unfortunately, we did not capture that moment on videotape. We tried to re-create it yesterday, but all we got were a few smiles. They're pretty cute, too, but the laughter was the best!

Marine Corps Birthday Ball 2008

Zach and I have been married for five years and have known each other for six and a half, but this was only the second Marine Corps Ball that I've been to with him. The chronology:

2002: I lived in San Diego and he was in Hawaii
2003: Zach was deployed to Japan
2004: First Ball together!
2005: I was deployed on the USS Chosin and Zach was deployed to Afghanistan
2006: I was on a mission in Laos
2007: I was a bridesmaid in Danielle's wedding in Florida
2008: Second Ball together!

So this year, even with an infant at home, I was determined to go to the Ball with my husband! Some wonderful friends from church were kind enough to watch Daniel. Thanks, Mary Alice and Larry! We left him in extremely capable hands and had fun with friends without having to worry about the baby. Okay, we worried a little, but mostly we just missed him!

As you can see, I cut off all my hair and donated it to Locks of Love this week. My head feels so light now! I really like having short hair again. I loved having it done yesterday and getting all dressed up for a night of fun with Zach. The Ball itself was just like I remembered it from 2004 (guest speakers, rubber chicken for dinner, overpriced drinks) but it was really fun to sit with friends and just laugh and talk story and pass judgment on dresses/hairstyles/shoes/etc. Only kidding! Everyone looked great and it looked like most people were having a good time. Zach and I left before the dancing went into high gear, but I'm sure all of that was fun as well.

Zach and me on the balcony of the CO's suite before the Ball started:

Red was the color to wear, apparently (Kim, Lesley, Alaina, Kristina):

Doesn't Zach look handsome? Too bad he can't breathe in this uniform:

Zach deciding to ruin dessert for everyone by drinking the pineapple glaze (at first he thought it was honey mustard) directly from the boat (love Drew's face in the background):

Hot mama! (:

Just like Daddy

Well, I might as well stop taking pictures of Daniel because now we know exactly how he's going to look as he gets older. Grandma Mary Ellen sent me pictures of Zach as a baby and there is quite the resemblance! I need to have my mom send pictures of me so I can compare and contrast because I think the only ways that Daniel resembles me is in his lighter hair and chubby thighs. But I'm okay with it because I think Zach is one handsome fellow!

You be the judge..

One day old:

Two months old (July 1978):

Not sure how old, but I'm thinking 6-7 months (?):


Eight months old (I'm assuming this was around Christmas 1978 because of the bib, but maybe Mary Ellen dressed him in holiday attire year-round, so who knows? Only kidding!):

Couch potato

Just a few random shots of Daniel as we try him out in different poses! He didn't seem to mind sitting on the couch so maybe we'll give his vibrating chair a rest every now and then.

We don't have very big weekend plans--just laundry and cleaning since the houseguests are gone and Zach gets back on Monday. (Not that he'll notice if the sheets are clean, but I will!) Daniel and I might venture to the pool again on Sunday if we feel brave and the weather is nice. Other than that, we're just ready for Daddy to be home!




Daniel trying to make milk come out of his duck's beak:

Dinner at town

Last night, Lauren, Jesse, Daniel, and I had a delicious dinner at town (a restaurant in Kaimuki--no, it's not supposed to be capitalized). It's fast becoming my favorite restaurant. Their motto is "Local first, organic whenever possible, with aloha always." The menu changes daily depending on what's available, but everything I've ever had there has been unbelievable. Last night, we shared mussels in a fennel and butter sauce, then Jesse had opah, Lauren had mahi-mahi, and I had hand-cut pasta with eggplant and peppers. Of course, we had dessert--Jesse ordered the lemon tart and Lauren and I shared the banana and dark chocolate panini. Yum, yum, yum. And we had the perfect table: outdoors at the very edge of the restaurant, so Daniel's crying spells didn't bother anyone. He was actually very good, but he did stay up a little past his bedtime so he had to remind us he was still there every once in a while.

I managed to capture him dream-eating on video. So cute! I told you that he does get to leave his vibrating chair every now and then.

And please note that I am wearing clothes that are not maternity! I still have work to do, but I'm taking baby steps to slowly get back to my fighting weight. Ha!





Lesley and Lauren:

A sneeze and some smiles

Finally! I managed to capture a couple of real smiles on video! And they're pretty much the cutest smiles of all time. As you can see, Daniel's playing in his chair again (I swear, he doesn't sit in there 24 hour a day!). It was so funny when he sneezed as soon as I started filming. Then he has a few smiles and just flails about like normal.

More pictures and video to come today as I find a few minutes every now and then to post!

2-month checkup

Today was Daniel's 2-month well-baby checkup. The doctor said he's perfect, of course, but I could have told her that! His head circumference is in the 90th percentile and his height and weight put him in the 95th percentile (he's now 25 inches long and weighs 13 pounds 9 1/2 ounces). Basically, he's Chubzilla.



He also had to get two immunizations today--DTap and rotavirus. Daniel was a very brave little boy and only cried a little. From the sounds coming from the immunization stations, you would have thought that we were in the waiting room for Torture Chamber #1 at Guantanamo Bay, but it really wasn't that bad.

In honor of Election Day, Daniel wore his shirt that says "I vote for a change (my diaper's wet)." Everyone at the doctor's office loved it! Here's Daniel with Aunt Lauren: