Amalea Lorayne

New Blog

2008-11-08T11:40:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

We've moved Amalea's blog to: amaleakrill.com

The link might not work for a day or two, but change your bookmarks and start going to that blog instead - as this one will not be updated anymore!

Thanks for sharing in Amalea's life thus far!

If that link didn't work... try this one for now.

Multonomah Falls

2008-11-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

This morning my mom and brother flew up to Portland for a visit. We took a little adventure out to the Columbia River and got to go see a great waterfall, Multonomah Falls.

The real Halloween

2008-11-01T14:44:00.000-07:00

Ami and Mommy getting ready to go knock on their first door. Ami wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, but we had fun anyway. We didn't go to a lot of houses, but just the ones that were all decorated and looked fun.
We also went to a Halloween party at a community center and played games and made cookies. Ami liked playing with the decorations the most.

Halloween preview

2008-10-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

We went to a Halloween party tonight with our church community and got a little preview of Halloween fun to come. It was fun to get dressed up and Ami is an adorable butterfly. More pictures will be coming after Friday. We plan to do a little trick-or-treating old school style (door to door) and also attend a community party in an area of town that we really like. I truly love Halloween - I don't know what it is. Maybe because the Fall air is so crisp and people are always laughing and playing so much on Halloween - it's great.

Brushing

2008-10-22T22:52:00.000-07:00

Amalea has become a fan of brushing her teeth (grandpa Dave would be proud). After Jim or I have finished brushing her teeth for her she gets to try herself and she really enjoys this part of her bedtime routine.

Pumpkins

2008-10-14T21:32:00.001-07:00

October

2008-10-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening we went to this awesome farm to travel through a corn maze, eat yummy food and get pumpkins. We went with a group of people from church and went through the maze with them.
Ami didn't like wearing her hat, but we were able to snap a picture of her with it on here. I think next year we will go earlier and spend more of the day there because it was a bit chilly by the time we got there.
Jim ended up having to carry Amalea through most of the corn maze since it was super muddy. I don't think she cared much for the maze, but oh well.
If the maze wasn't her thing thats ok because she definitely loved the corn. It was delicious corn and Ami ate it right off the cob.
To get out to the giant pumpkin patch you can either take a hayride or walk...we opted for the ride. It was very fun!

Amalea's hair was a total riot blowing in the wind since it is so thin. She loved hitting the pumpkins like they were drums. After we got the ones we wanted and put them in a cart to carry them out to the car she kept banging them and even was hugging them and snuggling a bit.

Daycare and neighbors

2008-10-08T21:00:00.001-07:00

Amalea had her first two days at daycare this week. On Monday she goes for about 2 hours and on Wednesday she goes for only about an hour or less. It's not a lot, but we thought it would be great for her to be around other kids. Jim is working Monday and Wednesday afternoons and the program he works for offers free child care to it's teachers...thus, Ami's first two days. She did great. It was hard for her when Jim first left her and she cried (like she does when I leave for work in the morning), but it didn't take her long to be distracted. Both days when I came to pick her up she was happy to see me, but also wanted to keep playing. She seems to really like the place and have fun while she is there so we are thrilled for her to have this opportunity to interact with other kids. Right now there is only one other kid there because they just opened, but hopefully a few more will come soon.
Also, today we walked up to the street just above us and there were a few kids out playing so we joined them. Amalea was laughing so hard playing with the big kids (ages: 2, 2 1/2, 6) and the puppy. Both the moms who were out there were very nice also. When I told Amalea it was time to come home for dinner she screamed and cried because she wanted to play with her new friends. We were told to come back anytime as they are outside playing all the time. I am excited for Ami to have some kids to play with in the neighborhood!

Our Day at the Zoo

2008-10-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

Today we took Amalea to the zoo for her first birthday! I think she loved it (although we probably loved it more!)

Here are some pics and videos from the day.

First we had to open some presents, of course!

Here we finally made it to the zoo...

That's right... I'm one!

Picnic at the zoo!

Here are some of the animals we saw!

A tiger...

Some weird monkey thing... I think it's the monkey from the Lion King!

Elephants...

Two great big Polar bears... check out the video!

Some other weird monkeys, pics a little blurry though...

A giraffe...

Two zebras...

Some sleeping Hippos...

And the weirdest animals of all!

Yee-haw!!!

Ami got so worn out she fell asleep...

And so did mommy!

Ami got free rides all around the zoo...

It was such an amazing day! So fun!

Don't forget the birthday cake!

I love books

2008-10-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

Amalea has a knack for climbing into boxes and baskets. At church last Sunday I went in to the kids room to play with her during service and sure enough she had crawled into the toy tub and was sitting on top of the toys. Luckily the other kids didn't seem to mind. Amalea loves to look through her books and multiple times a day she takes them out and looks through them. Often she also looks through them while sitting on top of others. We love the crazy little things she does.

Soccer baby

2008-09-17T20:59:00.001-07:00

Today I caught Ami walking down the hallway dribbling her mini soccer ball from University of Portland. Of course once I got the camera she didn't do it as much, but I was able to catch a little portion for you all to enjoy.

Weekend adventures

2008-09-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

Amalea threw her hands up in celebration when we got to the park. We found a great park that has awesome swings and she was happy to be there.We spent the day Saturday in Bend visiting some friends. Here Amalea is wearing Ron's glasses.
Amalea and Daddy having dinner at a great restaurant right on the river.
Sunday we got to take a bike ride. This was Amalea's first ride since we got a seat from Jim's brother. She had a great time, but definitely did not like wearing her helmet (which is why we snapped a picture before it went on).
You can see why she doesn't like her helmet...it's a little too big and falls over her eyes sometimes, but once we got going she kind of forgot about it.

Ami walking

2008-08-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video of a little bit of Amalea walking. Make sure your volume isn't too loud because Obama is in the background giving his speech at the DNC and it's pretty loud.

Our first week and a half

2008-08-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

Here we are standing in front of our home in Portland.
Amalea riding her sweet "car" down the hallway! She loves to play with this toy and has figured out how to get on herself and use all the fun accessories on the car.
Taking a walk with mom at the Japanese Garden. Amalea is now walking pretty regularly on her own. At times she crawls out of habit, but she will usually try to walk somewhere first.
We went swimming one day after we first moved in when the weather was really warm. Our community has a pool, but it was pretty cold.

Oregon

2008-08-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to our new home and now that we have internet we wanted to share some pictures from the journey...

We got delayed for about 3 hours on I-5 about 30 minutes South of Portland on arrival day. Apparently a truck hauling hay caught on fire on the freeway and started a big fire. After over 24 hours of traveling we were all a bit annoyed by this - well everyone but Amalea was annoyed. She was excited because it meant she got to get out of her car seat and crawl all around the van and even drive at one point!
Here is our amazing moving crew on the loading up side. They had a tough job, but managed to just barely fit it all in (thanks completely to Danny Richards). It was a wonderful group to have send us off and it truly was hard to drive away from them.
Here is Ami on her last night in Moorpark hanging out with Aunt Lindsay.
Ami and Mommy taking their first picture in Oregon.

Eating Sushi

2008-08-08T23:08:00.000-07:00

Don't worry she didn't actually have sushi, but one day she will and I sure hope she loves it as much as I do.

Me & Ezra

2008-07-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

A few more lake pics

2008-07-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

My Auntie Rin came to the lake also and pop let me drive the boat!!

Time at the lake

2008-07-12T14:41:00.001-07:00

This past week we got to spend a few days with family and friends playing and swimming. Amalea LOVES playing in the water (though she is not a big fan of the life jacket or sun block - but really, who is). Amalea took her first few steps at the lake. She surprised us all the first time and we didn't have a chance to get the camera. She still hasn't "walked" but she is getting better at taking steps between things without holding on so she should be walking around the house soon enough.

Daddy is Home!!!

2008-07-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

Time with family

2008-06-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

Hanging out with my Pop and Grandpa Dave (Robin's dad and Jim's dad)Playing with Uncle Benny (Robin's brother)
At a car show with Grammi and Oma (Jim's mom and Robin's mom)
Taking a ride with Pop in his new electric car. It's one of those little ones (GEM) that doesn't have doors or anything and is just an around town vehicle.
We had a good week in Santa Cruz and Portland. Jim's parents came into town Friday for a car show they were in on Saturday so we got to see them also. Amalea had so much fun with her grandparents and really loved time with my parents puppy! Now we are waiting for Jim to get home on July 1st - we have missed him and Amalea is really close to walking so I think she is just waiting for Jim to get home so she can take her first steps.

Beloved Photography

2008-06-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

This picture and the two below were all taken (along with others) by one of my closest friends, Jamie, while she was in town visiting last weekend. You should all check out her website if you need a photographer for anything because she is incredible: http://belovedphotography.net/

Ami's Pirate Smile

2008-06-24T14:12:00.001-07:00

Ami Smiles

2008-06-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

Heat wave

2008-06-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

We have been trying our best to escape the current heat wave. Jim is in Peru where it was 32 degrees when he got off the plane early this morning and here we are melting away in the 103 degree weather.
Thursday and Friday we went swimming with Lindsay Pompey.Amalea's crazy after swimming hair.
Today Amalea "helped" me do laundry. I think Sarah is right - she totally smiles for the camera.
Early this week Amalea figured out how to clap. She loves to clap, especially when the music is on. Here she is focused and impressed with herself.

Some of my new things

2008-06-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

I (Robin) got a new camera after I left mine on the plane on the way home from Portland a few weeks ago. So, finally, here are a few new pictures of Amalea. We are amazed at how fast she is growing. Now that it's summer and I 'm off work hopefully we'll be better at posting. Thanks for reading!Amalea has been trying to drink out of a sippy cup for a little bit now and just the other day finally got it. Later the same day she had trouble again, but I managed to get this picture of her while she said hello and took a drink (a multi-tasker like her mom).
One thing I absolutely love that Amalea started doing is giving kisses. If you ask for a kiss she will lean in and give one (without puckering so sometimes it can be a bit sloppy). In this picture she is giving kisses to one of the puppets Jim is taking to Peru this week. Hopefully you'll all get to experience an Amalea kiss soon!

Hair fluff

2008-06-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

On my last trip to Portland I (Robin) lost my camera, so here is a picture off my phone. It's not the best, but it was time for a new one. This is what Amalea's hair commonly looks like...

Grass

2008-05-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

Jim is out of town this weekend with the high school group. Before he left Amalea and I went to the church to see him. Since it was so hot Amalea and I spent some time playing in the grass - after a little bit of feeling it out she was crawling and pulling at it like crazy. The tree roots were particularly fascinating to her.

New Camera

2008-05-11T22:50:00.003-07:00

So I (jim) got a new camera after my old one got stolen from the church... here are some pics I took with it over the weekend:

Last weekend

2008-05-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

I love chewing on everything. Luckily Grandpa Dave let me chew on his zipper!
Uncle John and I got to play together. He was practicing being a daddy because he and Becca are going to be having a baby soon!!
Auntie Lena had a birthday so I got to help her celebrate. Lucky me!!

Happy Kid

2008-04-28T20:52:00.000-07:00

Amalea is definitely a happy kid. Most of the time she just wants to play and crawl around. Now that she can pull herself up and walk along the couch she does it all the time. We often laugh and wonder where she got all this crazy energy from. Here are a few pictures from the last week of Amalea playing and taking adventures.

My awesome sweater and beanie

2008-04-20T20:53:00.001-07:00

A really special friend that Jim works with made some incredible gifts for Amalea before she was born. This wonderful sweater and hat are examples of her amazing skills. Thanks Ang - we love you and hope you are getting better!!!!

On The Move

2008-04-08T11:34:00.000-07:00

There she goes!

Portland

2008-04-04T19:43:00.001-07:00

Spring Break

2008-03-29T15:25:00.000-07:00

Jim was in Mexico for Spring Break so Amalea and I took an adventure of our own. We spent the week in Santa Cruz with Pop and Oma (Robin's parents) and got to visit lots of new friends.Pop and Oma are getting a new puppy (she comes home in 3 weeks) so we went to visit the puppy and her 8 siblings!Pop took Amalea out to explore the grass for the first time!
Amalea had so much fun playing with her friends. Abigail, Maizie, Amalea, Rayley (left to right).
Rayley and Amalea.

How much changes in one year

2008-03-18T14:30:00.001-07:00

Every year we go to a "green dinner" that my friends mom puts on. It is a lot of fun to celebrate St. Patty's day with friends and we love eating food that has all been dyed green. This year Amalea got to join the fun!
The first picture is from last year. Everyone is excited for Amalea who is chillin in her mommy's belly. The second picture is from this year. How crazy how so much can change in just one year.

Wedding

2008-03-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

Amalea hanging out with her cousins and daddy at Aleda and Brett's wedding (Jim's cousin).Looking at the camera with Aunt Rebecca!

I did it!

2008-03-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

2nd tooth

2008-03-08T06:40:00.001-08:00

Amalea got her first tooth a few weeks ago and we just realized yesterday that the second one was poking through also. She is growing up so fast!

5 Minutes with Ami

2008-03-06T10:04:00.000-08:00

Here's a lengthy video from today's playtime

5 Months

2008-03-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics and a video of our little (active!) 5 month old:

Water Baby?

2008-02-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

Boys will always make you cry, Amalea

2008-02-21T07:56:00.000-08:00

Attempting to crawl

2008-02-18T16:11:00.000-08:00

Every day Amalea gets a little closer to crawling.

4 Months

2008-02-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

Amalea had a very active 4 month check-up this week. The doctor and nurse both commented on how active she was and when the doctor put her on her stomach she tried to scoot right off the end of the table. When the nurse gave her her shots she needed both Jim and I to hold Amalea down. It was pretty comical to watch our squirmy little one fight the nurse and doctor, but in the end she did great.
The doctor said Amalea is a fairly lean baby, but she is also pretty long. She weighed in at 13 pounds 5.7 ounces. She is 2 feet 1 inch long.
My (Robin) parent's go Amalea a Johnny Jump Up so she has started playing with that and loves to bounce around.

LAUGHING!!!

2008-01-30T19:36:00.000-08:00

Finally! Our friend Lindsay (Aunt Lindsay) was over and was holding Amalea while Robin and I ate dinner... and all of the sudden Amalea lets out this precious sound! Enjoy!

SNOW

2008-01-29T20:47:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from our weekend in Mammoth. Amalea did really well - I wouldn't say she exactly "liked" the snow - it was more like she was confused and amazed by it. She definitely didn't like the 60 mph winds that blew the snow in her face, but other than that she seemed to enjoy the weekend.Our family :-)
Amalea chillin in her snow outfit.
Staying warm with daddy inside.
Playing with Yaya Andy

Miss Grumpy Pants

2008-01-22T09:21:00.000-08:00

Amalea was so grumpy last night. I don't really blame her though... we've kind of been really busy the last three or four days and she seems to have gotten a little cough and is getting to bed later then she is used to... but despite the grumpy pants she's wearing, she's still cute as ever! Here are some new pics.

And a great video of Amalea lifting her head...

Grabbin' the ol' feet

2008-01-17T09:25:00.000-08:00

A few of my favorite things

2008-01-13T20:12:00.001-08:00

Amalea is becoming more playful everyday. She is beginning to develop her own little personality and it is so fun to watch. Below are some pictures of things she loves to do. Amalea does surprisingly well being on her tummy. She is starting to get really strong and is able to hold her head up. This picture also shows one of her most favorite times of the day - naked time. She loves the freedom of no clothes.
A majority of Amalea's day is spent with at least one hand in her mouth. If she could fit her whole fist in I am sure she would. She loves to suck on things and puts everything in her mouth - usually the easiest and most convenient thing is her own fist.
Someone I work with gave Amalea this toy and she just got big enough to use it and she absolutely loves it. She has always been an active child so this toy is great. She is learning to use her legs and she gets to play. The second we put her in the excersaucer she lights up with a big smile.

Father / Daughter Time

2008-01-09T08:41:00.000-08:00

3 Months

2007-12-30T20:33:00.000-08:00

Although, officially, Amalea won't be three months until Tuesday... today was such an eventful day that I had to post this picture and video. Amalea is getting so close to sitting up on her own, and today she was talking up a storm... we managed to catch it on video just before she went to bed. The video is dark, but it's all about the audio here!

Christmas

2007-12-27T22:11:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures from Christmas. It was so great to have family here to help us celebrate Amalea's first Christmas. It was a wonderful day for all of us.When Jim and I got married my parents go this really neat sign made for us. It has our names engraved in a piece of wood along with some scenery. My dad (Robin's) made an incredible addition to the sign himself. The original sign was bought from a guy who makes them, but my dad made this part for Amalea on his own. It was one of the most thoughtful gifts ever. Amalea now has her own name on the sign (it dangles from the bottom).
Amalea is wearing a pair of Christmas pajama's that were actually mine for my first Christmas. My mom kept them and Amalea got to wear them (they fit her perfectly since I was only 20 days younger than her on my first Christmas). You can see the joy on her face as she gets kisses from daddy on Christmas morning.
After opening two of her gifts Amalea decided it was time for a nap with Oma.
Our family celebrating together Christmas morning.
My family and part of Jim's came to celebrate Christmas with us which was so great. They all had left by dinner time on Christmas day so we spent dinner with the Castle family (friends from church). It was our second year having Christmas dinner with them and Amalea had a great snuggle with Carolyn as Matt looked on.
It was a great first Christmas. We are so blessed to have had family here to help Amalea celebrate. Though she won't remember we have plenty of pictures to show her one day :-) She will always be able to see the joy she brought and brings to so many people. Jim and I are so in love with Amalea and are having so much fun watching her grow and develop her own little personality.

Mommy and Me

2007-12-21T13:37:00.001-08:00

I find myself so enthralled with Amalea lately. She has become very animated and today starting squealing in a very high pitch voice. She always seems to make me laugh - I think she gets that from her daddy.

Talking

2007-12-10T12:51:00.000-08:00

Amalea says, "Hi Everybody!"

Rock Stars in Training

2007-12-10T10:43:00.001-08:00

Amalea's "New Thing"

2007-12-05T09:29:00.000-08:00

Everyone that I have ever known who has a baby, always talks about their kids "new thing"... all the time it's "Oh her new thing is _____ "

That always kind of bugged me... but now, alas, here is Amalea's New Thing! ^_^ Enjoy!

2 Months

2007-12-01T17:29:00.001-08:00

Today is two months old for little Rayne. Here are some pics from an eventful two month birthday!

We went to the tree farm to cut down our Christmas tree...

Amalea's aunties (Lena and Erin) came with too!

We found the perfect one...

So daddy got to work...

While the girls were being silly...

Victorious!

We had so much fun!

I'm two months old!!

And finally... a video of Amalea's new ability : Thumb sucking!

Thanksgiving

2007-11-25T21:40:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday with Jim's family in Laguna Beach. Jim's grandmother had us all over to her house and all his siblings (4) and their spouses and children were able to make it. Jim's family is spread out all over the place so it's a real treat when we can all be together. Here are a few pictures to highlight Amalea's first Thanksgiving.

Hanging out with Gigi (great grandma Krill)
Cuddling with Uncle Bryan (Jim's oldest brother)
With my ever so cute cousin Jack

Our trip up North

2007-11-19T23:13:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures from our adventure last weekend.

Meeting Auntie Steph (Jim's sister)
Meeting Uncle Benny (Robin's brother)
Playing with Oma and Pop (Robin's parents)
All dressed up for my first wedding
Hanging out as a family
We had a great trip and were happy to see so many friends and family. Amalea is doing really well and recovering wonderfully from her surgery.

2007-11-12T18:49:00.001-08:00

Wow, what a day. Amalea came out of surgery with a giant patch and a huge contraption to hold in her IV, not to mention that she was really yellow from the dye they had to use. It was alarming at first for me to see her in this state - all hooked up and bandaged.
The doctor said the surgery went well and that they got all the blood out. Amalea goes back tomorrow morning for a follow-up so the patch will come off then and we'll get to see the eye. The doctor said she still may develop a lazy eye, but they might patch her good eye and give us some exercises to try and strengthen the bad eye.
All and all it was successful - yes, she cried a lot and that was hard for Jim and I, but we know that she needed to do it. Yes, she threw up all over the floor and pooped a lot, but it's now six hours after surgery and she is keeping all her food down so that is great. The yellow color is already fading and should be gone by morning.

We are so proud of Amalea. Today she is 6 weeks old - what an amazing adventure the last 6 weeks have been. She weighed in at 10 pounds today!! I love this picture below because she looks so big to me in her jeans and uggs and holding her head up - she is perfect (even with her gigantic eye patch).

Surgery Schedule

2007-11-07T22:06:00.001-08:00

Amalea will be having her eye surgery on Monday November 12. The surgeon comes highly recommended and we got a great feeling from him when we met him. She will get to come home after the surgery (assuming all goes well) and then we'll go back the following day for a check up.
This pic is a little fuzzy, but I love it - Amalea is growing so well (and eating a ton!!!).

Another doctor

2007-11-03T21:27:00.001-07:00

This picture isn't actually from the doctor today, but is from a few weeks ago. In the picture you'll notice the bandage on her arm - she had to have blood drawn. They had to put a butterfly on her and I'm pretty sure they took 2 vials of blood. Amalea is a trooper for sure.
Today we saw a retina specialist and he confirmed the blood behind her eye. The good news is that she is not currently bleeding, however the bad news is that she does have blood built up behind her left eye (most likely from the trauma of the delivery) and they need to drain that blood out. Currently she has no vision in her left eye and because of that if we don't do the surgery she will probably develop a lazy eye and possibly some severe vision problems. The goal of the surgery is to remove the blood from behind her eye and after that she shouldn't have any vision problems. They want to do the surgery sometime in the next 10 days - the sooner the better so that her eyes don't develop incorrectly. Amalea will be under a complete anesthetic knocking her out for about an hour while they perform the surgery. The doctor is a specialist and said he has performed this surgery many times. He seemed confident in the process and in her complete recovery.
Though it is a scary process for Jim and I we know it is the best thing for Amalea. She is a strong girl and thankfully will not remember any of this. Thank you all for your prayers and phone calls through this process - it looks like the end is in sight and hopefully Amalea will have complete vision after the surgery.

Our Little Chili

2007-11-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from Amalea's first Halloween. These were taken before she threw up all over her costume :-)

AMALEA, THE ___________

2007-10-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

Tweaker:

Screamer:

Sleeper:

Small

2007-10-24T21:12:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I forget just how small Amalea is, yet people always comment on how small and cute she is. The other day I put her down on the couch (I'm learning that I don't always have to be holding and cuddling with her) and stepped back and realized just how small she is. What an adorable baby girl we have!

OTHER BLOG

2007-10-22T23:52:00.000-07:00

Robin and I keep our own individual blogs. We have both posted some things on being a parent / dealing with life now. Check them out if you haven't:

Robin: robinkrill.blogspot.com
Jim: jimkrill.blogspot.com

I Love Daddy

2007-10-22T09:52:00.001-07:00

After the doctor Saturday Jim had some cuddle time with Amalea. On Thursday I got her dressed and then we met Jim to go to the doctor and lunch so I put her in a onesie with a great message!

The doctor

2007-10-20T17:43:00.001-07:00

Watching Amalea as they poke her and strap her down has made the last two days a little rough for me. I understand that all the poking is necessary, but still when she is screaming and they are taping down her head it's really hard for me to just watch and not pick her up. I've cried a lot these last two days as I think about this gift we've been given and all the trauma she has already had to endure in only 20 days of life. I pray it won't come to surgery, and yet I attempt to trust God's desire.
The brain scan went well today and the doctors didn't find anything that alarmed them. They were trying to find out if there was something going on with her brain (bleeding, tumors, etc.) that might be causing the bleeding behind her eye. This still doesn't answer why she is bleeding, but it does rule out a few very scary possibilities. We will go in on Monday and she will get blood work done.
After being strapped down for the brain scan Amalea had a huge barf session at the hospital. It was actually pretty funny because she made a huge puddle on the floor - almost as if she was telling the hospital what she thought about everything she had been through - and then she slept. She is very worn out.
I had a cute picture of her cuddling with Jim, but it's not letting me post it right now so I'll add it later.

OFF TO WOODLAND HILLS, AGAIN

2007-10-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

It's Robin's birthday today... but we're off to Kaiser Woodland Hills again. Our Pediatrician called and set up a CT scan for Amalea, so Radiology is waiting for us. We are not sure how serious this all is... but we may know more after today. Please be praying... we'll keep you posted.

A FATHER'S FRUSTRATION

2007-10-19T23:23:00.000-07:00

It's 11:20pm. Robin has gone to bed because she is exhausted, and rightly so. She feeds Amalea almost every 2 hours... and in between Amalea just seems fussy a lot of the time, mostly at night. And so I take her and try to get her to sleep. We walk around the house a billion times, rock in the rocking chair, I sing her stupid little songs I make up, I stand and cradle her and rock her back and forth; and on and on she cries. What the hell am I suppose to do?

See the problem, a lot of the time, is that she is hungry. And I can't do anything about that. We are trying to solely breastfeed, so we are trying to stay away from formula, which means when Amalea is hungry, she needs mommy. So how am I, as dad, suppose to help my wife, mom, when she is dead tired, her body is soar, and she just needs sleep - but Amalea is hungry?

I find this so frustrating... that there is NOTHING I can do to calm her down... I feel so worthless.

But alas, I am sitting here typing in Amalea's blog...and Amalea is silent, almost asleep. Ok, so I put her in the swing... the one with the fishes and the light that changes colors and the 5 different sounds... I chose rain tonight, and it worked. Like a drug it worked. Which freaks me out... but you get to a point... where you'll try anything... even an artificial mechanical swing.

ISSUES

2007-10-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

After a hellish visit to the eye doctor in Woodland Hills, we learned that Amalea has some hemorrhaging in the back of her eyes, and on one side it is bleeding pretty bad that they are worried about it. We will give three weeks to see if it goes away naturally, but if it doesn't - she may have to go to UCLA to have Surgery.

Hopefully it won't come to that. But if they don't take care of it, her vision in that eye will suffer.

Please pray. Not that God would make her perfect, but that he would get us through these hard things. It's hard on Amalea for sure, but it's hard on us too, to have to watch her suffer.

We'll keep you all updated.

TWO WEEK CHECKUP

2007-10-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

Amalea sort of passed her two week check-up. She has gained back the weight she lost, and is now 7 pounds 9 ounces. She is eating well and definitely going to the bathroom well... The only problem at the doctor was that there was something going on with her left eye. The doctor shines a light into their eyes to see if it bounces back, and the left side wasn't bouncing very well. The doctor said she doesn't really know why, and she is sending us to a Pediatrician Eye Doctor next week to get it checked out.

Hopefully all is well with little Rayne's eyes... but who knows, maybe we'll have a pirate daughter with a patch over one eye! Poor little thing, hopefully she is ok.

WAKING UP IS HARD

2007-10-16T22:09:00.000-07:00

Snuggled

2007-10-16T17:05:00.001-07:00

Amalea has a real hard time sleeping by herself. Even if she falls asleep in one of our arms the second we put her down she wakes up. I don't really mind all the snuggling we get to do.

OK, NOW IT'S FOR REAL

2007-10-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

Enough of the fluffy adjectives about how great it is to have a child. Bottom line is, it's hard. I'm starting to have a deep empathy and understanding of all parents and what they had to go through to raise each of us. Sure some of us were probably harder then others, but newborn babies are just all around hard to deal with.

There is the feeding every 2-3 hours (in Amalea's case it feels like every hour). Then there is the screaming, oh she's good at screaming. She should be a deep sea diver one day because sometimes she goes for minutes without breathing because she is screaming. My mom says my sister was the same way - great. Thanks Steph. Then there are the diapers, which actually are the easiest part in my opinion.

Amalea is almost two weeks old, and I feel like we've reached a beginning point of having to realize that this is our life now... whether we like it or not, we have to cater to our little ones needs and outbursts and sleeping patterns and everything else. What can we do, just ignore her?!? No way. But when it's 4am and she's hungry and poopy and she's been fed every two hours all night and we both haven't slept much, there is a moment when you hesitate - like just before jumping into a cold pool - and you say something like, "ok. Here we go again." and you just do it. Over and over.

It's a humbling experience. I'm not saying we're hating it - in the end, we look at her and are still overwhelmed with emotions - mostly love - and we agree it's worth it. But as all of you who have kids already know and don't need pointed out, it's hard. We're just acknowledging our weakness.

Amalea sure is feisty - but I wouldn't want her any other way.

It rained today. We love Rayne.

PHOTO SHOOT

2007-10-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from today's photo shoot (just for you weph).

THANKS

2007-10-07T18:50:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who has been so kind to us during the last week. Robin and I feel as if we are in a cloud, with being tired and the strangeness of this new reality, and we know that so many people have done some really nice things for us, or sent us a card, or cookies, or gifts, or food, etc. And we just want you all to know we are so thankful for amazing family and friends. We couldn't have gotten through the last week as well as we did if we didn't have you all - so THANK YOU.

Hopefully one day we will be able to repay you in some loving way. God Bless.

LATE OR EARLY?

2007-10-06T04:16:00.001-07:00

It's 4am. ^_^

Amazed

2007-10-05T15:54:00.000-07:00

I feel amazed every time I look at Amalea. Amazed that God choose Jim and I to be parents for this child, amazed that she was in my stomach less than a week ago, amazed that she is healthy and strong, amazed that Jim is such a great daddy, amazed, amazed, amazed.

I am recovering well. The whole birthing experience was insane. I nearly made it without any drugs, but when I got to being 9 cm dialated I just couldn't do it anymore - all I wanted was a break. I got some much needed rest with the medicine and then they turned it off so I could start pushing. The doctors were certain it would be an easy delivery since Amalea appeared to be low and ready. I was not prepared to push for 2.5 hours without any breaks. My contractions were 1 minute apart so there literally was no rest. By this time all the medicine had worn off and the pain was a bit intense. The doctors ended up trying the vacuum (and leaving a nice little bruise on Amalea's head), but even that didn't exactly work. It helped though and finally our little girl entered the world.
The only problem was that there was no cry. The sweet sound I craved to hear didn't come and instead the doctors begin yelling "code pink". 2 or 3 more doctors rushed in and started working on Amalea. Jim and I didn't know what was going on and we just prayed and cried and begged for God to give us the sound of her cry. The doctors told us that she was breathing and that she was ok, but it was a very scary few moments for us. They did have to take Amalea away for a little bit and do some work on her, including pumping her with drugs, suctioning her stomach, and who knows what else.
The intensity of the birth definitely made Monday hard on all of us. Amalea was extremely out of it all day (too many drugs) and I was as well. She wouldn't nurse so they had to give her formula which she just threw up. We told the doctors Tuesday morning that we did not want her to have formula and that they did not have our permission to give her any (though some nurses still wanted to). All she needed was time and by Tuesday night she was nursing wonderfully.
Needless to say the whole experience was quite incredible. Yes painful, but also worth it. Amalea is a true joy and as I said earlier I am constantly in a state of being amazed by her every move and sound.
I thank you all for your prayers and phone calls and visits. I am looking forward to being without pain so that I have nothing hindering my attention from sweet Amalea.

HANDS UP

2007-10-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

Like our friend Zoe Debenning - Amalea loves to throw her hands up when she's sleeping as well.

SUN BATHING

2007-10-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

Mommy put me in the sun today... ahhh... so nice.

HICCUPS SUCK

2007-10-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

Poor Amalea got daddy's hiccup syndrome ^_^ sorry my little Rayne.

WORRY

2007-10-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

I don't worry. I just don't. Even in Youth Ministry when I am in charge of a bunch of teenagers going away on a weekend trip, I rarely worry. I guess I forgot what worry feels like. I'm not saying its good or bad to worry - but I have never experienced worry in my life as I have these last few nights.

When Amalea was born, they took her away from Robin and I for the first few moments because there was some issues with her. I can't explain to you what it felt like in those moments as Robin and I both pleaded with God to let our little one be ok. I'm not one to believe that God does what we say all the time, as if prayer was some way of controlling God (like magic spells) - but I found myself nonetheless pleading for what I wanted; for Amalea to live. Turned out she was fine, she just didn't start crying right away, and they had to take her to the ICU to get an IV and some shots... but in those short moments, I found worry.

Over the last few nights, Amalea has had some normal baby issues of spitting up, coughing, fussing, and twitching. With all this talk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) it is so hard to put Amalea in her bassinet and just let her sleep. I found that I can not sleep, every inch of my nerves are on full alert listening and responding to every sound and movement she makes. I want to sleep - but my mind won't let me go unconscious. How can I leave consciousness? Who will help Amalea if she starts choking on her spit up? What if she stops breathing?

See. Worry.

Today we had our first meeting with Amalea's pediatrician, and she was able to relieve a lot of my worries by just reassuring me that spitting up, twitching, being fussy - this is all normal. I just have to trust that babies have survived for centuries, many with much worse parents then Robin and I, and I can do my best to be there - but need not worry so much.

There are just so many unknowns that I am left anxious all night. But I need to sleep... so I will try tonight to trust that Amalea will be ok.

- Jim

HOME

2007-10-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

We made it home. Here are some pictures from the craziest three days of our lives.

Of course there are many more to come... as our little angel grows and learns how to control her little body. We are so in love... as you can see.

Thanks to everyone who texted us, thought of us, prayed for us, visited us: we love you and are glad you are a part of our lives, and Amalea's new life.

Oct. 1, 2007

2007-10-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Introducing:
Amalea Lorayne Krill

born at 7:58am: weighing in at 7 pounds 3 ounces, and measuring 20 inches long... she has blonde hair is the most beautiful child on the planet.

More pictures to follow in the next few days!

Robin and Amalea are recovering at Kaiser in Woodland Hills. Both are doing great.

Sept. 30, 7:01pm

2007-09-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure when I will be able to post again. Robin and I called Kaiser, and they said to still come in at 8 to get induced (depending on how dilated Robin is) - so we are leaving in about 30 minutes for the Hospital!

I can't believe it's really happening - but like clockwork, every ten minutes or so, Robin says "here one comes" and she starts her concentration. She's really brave, and so strong. It's going to be a long beautiful night - and we all know what comes after night, the dawn - a new day.

We can't wait to bring Amalea home and start this new life as parents.

HERE WE GO!!!

Sept. 30, 5:47pm

2007-09-30T17:46:00.000-07:00

Contractions are anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes apart, lasting about 30-45 seconds.

We're going to call Kaiser at 7 to see what we should do (as we were scheduled to get induced at 8pm) so hopefully we can just wait at home and deal with the contractions until Robin is ready.

It's getting so close!

Sept. 30, 2:03pm

2007-09-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

Robin began having light contractions this morning (early around 2:15) and they have been sporadic and far between. Right now they are about 30 minutes apart, and no more then 20-30 seconds long... but it seems like it has begun on its own!

So we'll keep you posted, but hopefully she won't need to get induced tonight.

Sept. 29

2007-09-29T22:28:00.001-07:00

Another day of waiting. Robin and I are just settling into bed, thinking about how this will be our last night in this house without a child to take care of.

It has been strange to think that our lives will never be the same after she is born, but it is really weird to know that this is the last night. Being induced has this strangeness to it - labor is a mysterious thing, and then all of the sudden you know exactly (relatively) when the baby will be born.

We are so excited as we try and get some much needed sleep tonight... we are so blessed to have such great friends and family who will love and support Amalea - almost as much as Robin and I will.

I am planning on bringing my computer to the hospital, so I may be able to update from there - but hopefully the next post will contain a picture of the newest Krill.

Miss Amalea Lorayne Krill.

Sept. 28

2007-09-28T21:29:00.001-07:00

It did not rain today, although it looked like it might.

We think Amalea doesn't like the month of September, and instead is choosing to wait for October.

Robin and I spent the day indoors watching the first season of Heroes (intermixed with breaks to go on walks, try to work the baby out). It was a nice day, although I think Robin would much rather be in the hospital working on getting Amalea out...

Who knows what the weekend brings.

Sept. 27

2007-09-27T17:13:00.000-07:00

It's looking like it might rain tonight. Perhaps Amalea LoRAYNE will come tonight too... who knows.

Sept. 26

2007-09-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

Well, there was a baby born today! But it was not Amalea ^_^ my (jim) cousin Amy and her husband Danny had their first child today. A boy, named Luke. Congrats!

Amalea? when will it be your birthday? There is a full moon tonight! Come on!

Sept. 25

2007-09-25T23:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry to those who had birthdays today, Amalea did not come.

We did go to the doctor today, and everything seems fine. Robin was dilated half a centimeter... so basically nothing. So the doctor made us an appointment at the hospital, for this Sunday at 8pm. If nothing progresses by then, we will go in and they will basically induce Robin.

Please be praying that it will not come to that... Robin really wants to try and do this naturally.

Sept. 24

2007-09-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

Another day - no Amalea. Maybe tomorrow...

Sept. 23

2007-09-24T00:23:00.000-07:00

It's actually the 24th now... 12:30am. No Amalea yet. Waited all day... even went to church, out to lunch with some kids from the youth group, then to Ikea for a five hour marathon of shopping... but still no Amalea. Next thing to try: jumping on a trampoline. Just kidding.

Her due date has come and gone, and we are anxiously waiting to see our child.

Check in here...

2007-09-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

We will keep everyone posted via this blog in the upcoming days as Amalea's birth gets closer and closer. Check back every so often to see pics, and receive updates on where we're at.

For now... it's 10pm the day before Amalea's due date; we don't think she's coming yet.

We'll keep you posted...

We're waiting...

2007-06-17T16:50:00.000-07:00