Scianna Family

Surprising Gabrielle at Rosicrucian Museum

Today my neice, Gabrielle (who is from Sacramento), had a field trip in San Jose at the Rosicrucian Museum. My mom and dad were meeting her there to join the field trip and bring her lunch, so I decided to surprise her and show up with Aubrina, who she hasn't seen yet.

It was so cute. She saw my mom and dad walking up and got really excited. Then she saw me and the stroller and started screaming 'Oh my gosh!' She was almost in tears - she wasn't expecting to see her new cousin!

We ate lunch, and then Gabrielle got to hold Aubrina for a few minutes. Then we all walked around the museum gardens to help Gabrielle finish the assignment her teachers gave her. After that Aubrina and I said goodbye while Gabrielle, mom and dad went for a tour inside the museum. It was a really nice afternoon, and of course I took a few pictures :)

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Mark is Back at Work

On Monday Mark headed back to work. It was so nice to have him here for the past two weeks, I don't know what I would have done without him. He helped with the baby and also did a lot of stuff around the house. He hooked up a new water filter, built a shed outside, built a shelf in the garage for my laundry supplies, and changed dirty diapers! He also took a lot of the night shifts so that I could catch up on sleep a little bit.

I'm really thankful that Mark had the opportunity to be here after Aubrina was born. Not only did it help me out, but it gave him a lot of time to bond with her. She still sleeps so much, and now that he's back at work he has a limited amount of time to spend with her. Yesterday he didn't get to play with her at all because she was asleep when he left for work and again when he got home. I can see how hard it's going to be when I finally have to go back to work too.

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These pictures were from our first week at home.  Aubrina had many visitors stop by the hospital and home to meet her!  We really appreciate everyone who dropped by.

Pumpkin Patch!

On Saturday we went for our first annual family trip to the pumpkin patch! We went with Mark Sr to a pumpkin patch in San Martin. This place was awesome! They had train rides, hay rides, corn mazes, a carousel... tons of action for kids, and LOTS of pumpkins!

Even though Aubrina is only 2 weeks old, it was still fun taking her to pick out pumpkins. We got three pumpkins - a big one for daddy, medium for mommy, and a tiny little pumpkin for Aubrina. Then we came home and had fun carving. We even carved the tiny little pumpkin! Next year is going to be even more fun since she'll be older and hopefully walking!!

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She's Finally Here!

Aubrina is finally here! The pregnancy seemed to last forever and we couldn't wait til she was born, but now that she's here we couldn't be happier.

The labor went pretty fast - we arrived at the hospital on Friday at 5 pm and I started pushing at 9:30 pm. I pushed until 2:30 am. After all of that pushing she wasn't moving at all, so the doctor decided that at that point we had to do a c-section. That was fine with me - I was exhausted and was in a LOT of pain. Aubrina was born at 3:07 on Saturday morning. 

We didn't get any sleep until Saturday night because of a steady flow of visitors and nurses coming in to check on Aubrina or me about every hour.  The next day was pretty rough as well, and a week later I'm still recovering, but it was so worth it. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. 

Aubrina is so beautiful. I could spend hours just looking at her and memorizing her face. I just love her so much. She's so tiny, and she still sleeps most of the day. She has Mark's nose and ears, and even his toes. She makes the cutest facial expressions when she's sleeping. She has a dimple on her right cheek, and a beautiful smile. She was born with a full head of long black hair. She lets you know when she's uncomfortable, cold, or hungry, but other than that she's a really good baby. I hope she stays like this forever!

I've also been amazed at Mark the past few days as well. I knew he was really excited about Aubrina, but I never imagined that being a dad would come so natural. I'll never forget the day she was born. I was so out of it from the c-section that I couldn't even hold her yet, but when the nurse wheeled my bed into the recovery room, Mark was waiting there with Aubrina in his arms. He looked so proud to be a dad, and I could see how much he loved her already. That day I couldn't get out of bed, so Mark changed all the poopy diapers - and there were a lot! Every chance he gets he holds her and comforts her. He knows how to soothe her when she's crying. I'm so impressed at how easy it seems for him.

Together we're still getting used to the responsibilities that come with parenting, but we're so happy to have her and excited to see what will come in the future!

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We have more pictures of Aubrina's birth day on our Web Album.

We're on our way

We had a doctor's appointment this morning and got some good news! I'm 4 cm dilated already, and with 10 days to go before my due date! Mark and I are hoping that this means the baby will be coming very soon.

The doctor says that since I'm not having regular contractions, the rest of labor might go by fast, so I should go to the hospital when they are 10 minutes apart rather than the standard 5 minutes apart. I've been keeping track of my contractions all day, and they still haven't been very regular. Maybe I'll go for a long walk this evening to get things going :)

On a related note, maybe Mark and I are not too far off when we guessed when the baby would actually be born. I guessed that she'd be born on October 12th, while Mark guessed October 11th. I think it would be cool if she was born on the 11th, since Mark was born on May 11th. I guess we'll see....

It's Getting Closer...

Now we only have 12 days left until our due date. We feel well prepared, although we keep finding more things to do to get ready... more gadgets to buy, more clothes and blankets to wash, etc. But overall, we're ready! 

We're so excited for the baby to come that we're already trying ways to encourage her to come out sooner, since she is full term already. Who knows if they will work with 12 days to go til the due date, but it doesn't hurt to try :) I've been walking more, and eating more spicy foods. I love spicy foods anyway, so that one is fun! I'm sure we'll try more things as the due date gets closer. My next doctor's appointment is on Thursday, so we'll see if the doctor thinks I'll be in labor soon. 

Well, here is an updated picture of my huge belly. Hopefully we'll take a few more before the baby arrives.

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