Andrej, Jessica, Kaiya and Tobi

We are back home, after an exciting weekend, with a precious brand new person, two delightfully exhausted parents, two overjoyed grandparents and one big sister who can't get enough kisses and big "huggies" from baby Tobi. We couldn't be prouder or more thankful for the new blessing God has given us. Our little Tobi is healthy, beautiful and the sweetest little boy I've ever seen, and rightfully named as Tobias means "God is good!" The following is a recap of his birth story. (Read more …)

After months of long deliberations (which included vetoing such great names as Chuck Norris Ciho or Mohandas Ciho) we arrived at Tobias Daniel Ciho early this morning. We're planning to call him Tobi, which is what Kaiya has been calling him for about two months. Soon, you can expect to see the story behind our decision just like we have typed up the story behind Kaiya's name.

He weighed 7 lb. 6 oz. (3,335 kg) and was 20.5" (52 cm) long.

…and he has red hair :-) In the face he looks like his dedo (grandpa) Igor.

… for the hospital. Our son, who may remain nameless, is getting ready to make his appearance. Updates coming soon…

Today, Baby Ciho and I had our 37 week OB appointment. We are now going every Friday to see the doctor and will continue until the baby arrives. However, it COULD be sooner than we think! I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I really really really want this baby to come soon. Dr. B checked me today and confirmed that the baby's head is down and that I am already 2 cm dilated and about 25% effaced. I know this may not mean much as I could hang out at a 2 for weeks, but at least that's 2 cm closer to where I need to be, and without any pain. (Read more …)

Since my Kaiya updates tend to be a wee bit on the long side, I decided to write Kaiya at 21 Months number style. To keep my points to a minimum, I'm writing only 12 facts about our sweet little 21 month old. It will still probably be long, as are all my posts, but hopefully this will keep my thoughts on track.

1. Kaiya has successfully transitioned into her big girl bed and loves it! She still asks every once in a while to sleep (or get into) the crib and our response is always the same. We tell her no in a playful way and then ask her who sleeps in cribs. She smiles and says, "Babies seep in criby." Then we ask her where she sleeps and she replies, "Kaiya seep in big bedy." (Read more …)

(Warning: This post is EXTREMELY long. I wanted to document in detail (mainly for myself) the past week and a half as we transitioned our little Kaiya to her new bed.)

Many months ago, after finding out that baby number two would be arriving at the end of May, we decided that Kaiya would need to move out of her crib sometime in early April. We thought that would give her plenty of transition time to a new bed before the baby arrived and took over her beloved crib. It was a relatively easy decision at the time, and one that other parents who had been in a similar situation highly recommended. (Read more …)