Pop Pop's Cradle

Pop Pop (my mom's father) was always up to something - fixing broken appliances, re-doing our old kitchen in Boston with my dad, building cabinets, etc.  He would never call a repair man because he could fix/build anything!!
I always remember him being in the basement of his house working in his 'woodshed'.  The grand kids always enjoyed his space to play hide and seek but he spent many hours down there creating masterpieces for his family.  One Christmas he surprised me and my sisters with a brand new dollhouse and he also made this cradle for me when I was born:

My parents have held onto this cradle for 30 years(!) and Rich and Lisa had it shipped to Hawaii when Joseph was born. 

Before Lisa and Rich moved to Texas, they brought the cradle over to our house so Sydney could sleep in it for the first few months.  Although she's not a fan of using it during the day for her naps, she has been sleeping GREAT in it at night!  

Pop Pop even signed his name to the bottom of the cradle and it's still there today:

Pop Pop

Steves 1981

 While we wish Sydney could have met my amazing Pop Pop, it's nice to know that this gift he gave to my parents 30 years ago is still being used today.  Thanks, Pop Pop!

2 week check-up

We went to the doctor yesterday for Sydney's 2 week baby checkup.  We thought she had a growth spurt early last week but were shocked to find out she has gained 1 1/2 pounds since birth and grew 1/2 inch!  The doctor says she looks great which is always a relief to hear. 


Pictures from the past week:

All bundled up after tub-tub time with daddy!

LOVES her playmat

2 weeks.
Sizing her up to the cabbage patch doll.  I meant to do this when we got
 home from the hospital but forgot. 

Sound asleep on our walk.

After our doc. apt yesterday Sydney and I went for a walk along the water before meeting Daddy for lunch.

Our little Hawaiian girl

Nani's visit!

Nani & Sydney in the hospital

My mom (Nani) flew out to Hawaii on August 2nd and was here for close to 2 weeks.  To say she was helpful would be an understatement -- she was a lifesaver!!  For the 10 days after we came home from the hospital, we never cooked a meal, cleaned a dish, did a load of laundry or cleaned!!   It was so nice to have an extra set of hands in the house and I know Sydney appreciated all the extra attention!  She left on Monday and we miss her already!!  


Sydney is a lucky girl to have 4 amazing grandparents.  We're looking forward to introducing her to Mimi, Jawgie and Poppa in December! 

3 generations

Thanks again, Nani.  We would have been lost without you!

Newborn photo shoot

 A friend of a friend is looking to get into photographing newborns so offered to come to our house last week to take newborn pics of Sydney.  Sydney was a great little model and we LOVE the way the pics turned out!!

I think we'll keep her!

We arrived home from the hospital on Sunday afternoon and are slowly adjusting to life as a family of 3.  Sydney is a content and happy baby which definitely helps.  My mom has been out here since last week and just extended(!!!) her ticket through Monday.  Although Dave and I are missing our 8 hours of sleep at night, we wouldn't trade it for the world. 

Nani and Sydney

Coming home from the hospital!  (I can't figure out how to rotate the pic)

It's go time!

Just as we went to sleep on Wednesday evening, I woke Dave up to let him know that my water broke.  We called Tripler hospital to find out how we should proceed and they said to make our way there so off we went.  So much for a good night sleep and going to work on Thursday!

When we arrived at Tripler, I had some initial testing done and answered what seemed to be a million questions.  About an hour into the night, the nurse informed us that they were really busy and didn’t have a room available for us.  Since my water had already broken and the risk for infection is higher, they wanted me to get to a hospital that same night so they told us we would have to choose a new hospital.  Not necessarily the ideal way to start our night but we went with it.

Excited after just checking in.  Little did I know I would be in that bed for what  felt like forever. 

We were in the same room that Lisa & Rich had for Joseph!

We decided to go with Kapiolani hospital because it specializes in women and children and our nephew Joseph was born there in December. Kapiolani’s staff were ready for us when we arrived which was reassuring.  We got set up in the labor and delivery room for what we thought would be a relatively short stay – boy, were we wrong!  After witnessing multiple shift changes of staff and watching every infomercial on at 3 a.m., I realized this little girl may take longer than what we were expecting!

I was starving by morning time so was excited when the nurse told me they were bringing in breakfast.  Um, not so excited about the liquid diet; however, I don't think broth has ever tasted so good!

All I can say is that she was well worth the wait!!  31 hours of labor and 4 hours of pushing later, Sydney Elizabeth Ozeck was born at 9:11 a.m. on Friday, August 5^th.  She weighed in at 7lbs 4 oz and is 20 ½ inches long (definitely has her daddy’s long legs).  She is perfect and we are so in love.  

First family photo!!!

We're ready when you are little one

M & M countdown jar is empty:

Watch is ready to time contractions:

Hospital bag is packed and waiting by the front door:

Nursery is all set up...had to put wrapping paper up to cover her name :) 

Just waiting on you, little girl.