Not a ton of photos, but at 2 weeks old, Evan did not fully appreciate his first Christmas. After opening gifts, he was rewarded with a bath before we headed to our next-door neighbor's for dinner. There, our neighbor Nancy and her sister, Candy, fought over who got to hold Evan. He was an angel all day and into the evening. Who wouldn't want to hold him?
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
MoMo: 4/23/1999 - 12/26/2009
MoMo was put to rest yesterday after discovering that her kidneys were failing. She had lost several pounds over the past few days, so we took her in for some blood work, the results of which were not good. Fortunately, we were able to dedicate some time with her on Christmas night after several weeks of focusing solely on Evan. Jenn and I envisioned Evan growing up to know (and torment) MoMo, but alas, that was not in the cards.
She was not always the friendliest cat to strangers (or even to me), but that was what made her unique and memorable. People well outside of our inner circle of friends/family knew of her reputation, and everyone that met her has some sort of story to tell about it. She had earned several additional names (MoMonster, the Kracken, Krazy Katze, and most recently Paris) due to her behavior and personality. Even in her last days, she was causing trouble as she always had. Here she is attempting to reach the buttery breakfast griddle Christmas morning:
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Welcome Evan David Vu Quinn
Evan's birth story (the abbreviated version):
Sunday Dec 6th, I was up nearly all night working on a presentation for work. I slept from 5:00 a.m. until 7:15 a.m. Jenn was feeling some cramping in the morning (Monday Dec 7th) as she had all weekend, but nothing regular was happening, so I went to work. Over email, Jenn let me know around noon that she was having contractions but nothing urgent. She asked that I come home as soon as my 1:00-3:00 p.m. presentation was over. Leaving nothing to chance, I gave her the (landline) phone number to join the presentation if for any reason I couldn't receive a call on my cell.
Only ten minutes into the presentation, my cell phone rings. Contractions are 5 minutes apart, and Jenn was getting nervous. I immediately left the room of 20 people and let my team members figure out how to present something they had never seen before.
I had intentionally driven the BMW to work in case I had to rush home, and rush home I did. Fortunately it was well before afternoon rush hour so I had no problem making the 22 mile trip in ~15 minutes.
When I got home, our doula, Sarah, was already there supporting Jenn and timing the contractions. I got the house ready and packed up the car. By 5:00 p.m., the contractions had intensified and were ~3 minutes apart. We very carefully led Jenn out to the car, stopping for contractions along the way. Sarah sat on the baby seat dock in the back seat to be beside Jenn, and I was the chauffeur. I did not drive like a maniac this time, but instead was careful to avoid or address every bump in the road as gingerly as possible, to little avail; each bump was excruciating to her.
As we entered the hospital, an off-duty security guard about to go home saw Jenn struggling to walk. He grabbed a wheelchair and took her to the maternity floor while Sarah and I followed. We registered and set up camp in the delivery room, our home for the next 18 hours. Labor was progressing and contractions were intensifying. Her water broke around 7:00 p.m. By 11:00 p.m., now 18 hrs into labor, the pain was too much for Jenn, and an epidural was ordered. But it didn't work. Jenn was still feeling the pain of the contractions, but only on her left side. The anesthesiologist gave her two additional doses when we complained about the ineffectiveness. Finally, at 2:00 a.m., the anesthesiologist came back one more time and adjusted the catheter, and the medication was allowed to flow to both sides of her body.
By ~10:00 a.m. (Tuesday Dec. 8th), labor had not progressed far enough to get to the pushing stage, and Jenn had exhibited symptoms of preeclampsia: high blood pressure and poorly functioning liver and kidneys. A C-section was recommended by the doctor and after careful consideration of the few remaining options, we realized it had to be done.
They wheeled her away to the O.R. as I dressed in a hospital gown, and then I sat...waiting. It was a moment of anxiety, anxiousness, and fear. There was no longer any uncertainty about when he would arrive. My life was going to change forever...right now.
They came to get me about 20 minutes later, and escorted me into the operating room, around to Jenn's head. A 3-foot high blue sheet was erected just below her chin as an infectious barrier. At 11:52 a.m., only a few minutes after I'd entered, I heard the cries of our son as he was extracted, and I first saw him as he was carried over to the "baby workbench," for lack of a better term, when they weighed him and checked his vitals. Upon seeing him, I immediately started crying. It was wave of emotion triggered by the 9-month anticipation of his arrival, the 32 hours of labor, the 52 hours with only 3 hours of sleep, and an immense attachment to him that I never felt while he was in utero. He was all pink and very healthy looking, and he was adorable. A rather large 9 lbs 1 oz, he was not a fat baby, just large (21" long). They wrapped him up and brought him over to me, and I held him as best I could so Jenn could see him. After 5-10 minutes, they took Evan and led me to the recovery room.
Finally in Recovery, Jenn was able to hold and see her son:
This is the first family photo:
And here is the first photo after he had been "officially" named Evan David Vu:
Sunday Dec 6th, I was up nearly all night working on a presentation for work. I slept from 5:00 a.m. until 7:15 a.m. Jenn was feeling some cramping in the morning (Monday Dec 7th) as she had all weekend, but nothing regular was happening, so I went to work. Over email, Jenn let me know around noon that she was having contractions but nothing urgent. She asked that I come home as soon as my 1:00-3:00 p.m. presentation was over. Leaving nothing to chance, I gave her the (landline) phone number to join the presentation if for any reason I couldn't receive a call on my cell.
Only ten minutes into the presentation, my cell phone rings. Contractions are 5 minutes apart, and Jenn was getting nervous. I immediately left the room of 20 people and let my team members figure out how to present something they had never seen before.
I had intentionally driven the BMW to work in case I had to rush home, and rush home I did. Fortunately it was well before afternoon rush hour so I had no problem making the 22 mile trip in ~15 minutes.
When I got home, our doula, Sarah, was already there supporting Jenn and timing the contractions. I got the house ready and packed up the car. By 5:00 p.m., the contractions had intensified and were ~3 minutes apart. We very carefully led Jenn out to the car, stopping for contractions along the way. Sarah sat on the baby seat dock in the back seat to be beside Jenn, and I was the chauffeur. I did not drive like a maniac this time, but instead was careful to avoid or address every bump in the road as gingerly as possible, to little avail; each bump was excruciating to her.
As we entered the hospital, an off-duty security guard about to go home saw Jenn struggling to walk. He grabbed a wheelchair and took her to the maternity floor while Sarah and I followed. We registered and set up camp in the delivery room, our home for the next 18 hours. Labor was progressing and contractions were intensifying. Her water broke around 7:00 p.m. By 11:00 p.m., now 18 hrs into labor, the pain was too much for Jenn, and an epidural was ordered. But it didn't work. Jenn was still feeling the pain of the contractions, but only on her left side. The anesthesiologist gave her two additional doses when we complained about the ineffectiveness. Finally, at 2:00 a.m., the anesthesiologist came back one more time and adjusted the catheter, and the medication was allowed to flow to both sides of her body.
By ~10:00 a.m. (Tuesday Dec. 8th), labor had not progressed far enough to get to the pushing stage, and Jenn had exhibited symptoms of preeclampsia: high blood pressure and poorly functioning liver and kidneys. A C-section was recommended by the doctor and after careful consideration of the few remaining options, we realized it had to be done.
They wheeled her away to the O.R. as I dressed in a hospital gown, and then I sat...waiting. It was a moment of anxiety, anxiousness, and fear. There was no longer any uncertainty about when he would arrive. My life was going to change forever...right now.
They came to get me about 20 minutes later, and escorted me into the operating room, around to Jenn's head. A 3-foot high blue sheet was erected just below her chin as an infectious barrier. At 11:52 a.m., only a few minutes after I'd entered, I heard the cries of our son as he was extracted, and I first saw him as he was carried over to the "baby workbench," for lack of a better term, when they weighed him and checked his vitals. Upon seeing him, I immediately started crying. It was wave of emotion triggered by the 9-month anticipation of his arrival, the 32 hours of labor, the 52 hours with only 3 hours of sleep, and an immense attachment to him that I never felt while he was in utero. He was all pink and very healthy looking, and he was adorable. A rather large 9 lbs 1 oz, he was not a fat baby, just large (21" long). They wrapped him up and brought him over to me, and I held him as best I could so Jenn could see him. After 5-10 minutes, they took Evan and led me to the recovery room.
Finally in Recovery, Jenn was able to hold and see her son:
This is the first family photo:
And here is the first photo after he had been "officially" named Evan David Vu:
And some more photos taken later that night, once we were in our post-partum room:
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Halloween Pumpkins
Another Halloween come and gone. Thankfully, it was on a Saturday, which gave me enough (barely) time to create my carving patterns and carve the pumpkins. I was able to step up the overall complexity. Here are this year's pumpkins. Check out the Photo Journal link to see pumpkins from previous years.
My unborn son, Megatron Vader Quinn, was this year's inspiration for the pumpkin patterns. And of course, Hello Kitty, for Jenn. Lots of compliments from the parents this year, although most did not recognize Megatron (because most people aren't cool).
Another Halloween, another Hello Kitty pumpkin. I had found the picture for this last year, but like every year, I didn't start turning it into a pumpkin pattern until Halloween afternoon. This one took the longest to carve because of the "shaded" areas. I'm getting better at shading, but it's still not there yet. Maybe next year.
Darth Vader (as if I needed to tell you). I can't believe how well this turned out. It didn't look this good in my dining room. There are some really thin areas, so I doubt it will last more than a day. I had an even better version, but it would have taken too long turning it into a pattern, whereas this one was pretty much done as I found it.
I had to make a choice between old school Megatron (from the 80's Transformers cartoon) and the "Michael Bay" version. Naturally, I went old school, for three reasons: 1) It required very little conversion work, 2) Who cares if no one else recognizes it, and 3) ALWAYS go old school. The Michael Bay version would've taken me an entire day to convert from a movie poster to a carving pattern, and then carving it would be another 3 hrs. Plus, I probably would've needed a 40lb pumpkin to include the level of detail in that version. This one took about 1.5 hrs to carve, mostly because of how small it is. The pattern/image is only 6"H x 5"W.
My unborn son, Megatron Vader Quinn, was this year's inspiration for the pumpkin patterns. And of course, Hello Kitty, for Jenn. Lots of compliments from the parents this year, although most did not recognize Megatron (because most people aren't cool).
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Hospital Tour
On Wednesday night, Jenn and I toured the hospital where Megatron will be delivered. It's a short, 10-minute drive from our house, and that's obeying the speed limit. With our 4WD vehicle with 8" of ground clearance, even an early December winter storm will be a short obstacle to hurdle when it's time.
To our pleasant surprise, the tour guide was the same nurse who had taught our childbirth classes. That made the tour much more comfortable. Only one other couple attended, and they, in constrast to our 6-week childbirth course, had been attending a 13-week class that sounded more like a pre-med requirement than a pre-parenting option. They were very nice, though, and they came prepared with 3 sheets worth of typed questions, so that helped answer a few questions we didn't even think to ask.
Overall, the maternity wing is nice, and rooms had recently been upgraded. It was quiet and relaxed in atmosphere. I'm a little concerned about the "coach" accommodations...a vinyl covered chair that opens up to become a "bed." It's debatable whether the laminate wood floor is more comfortable. But hey, it's not about me and my comfort, right?
After touring the delivery room, we headed into the post-partum section. The rooms are a little nicer in terms of the furniture, with the exception of the sofa/coach bed (again). We walked past the nursery, and there were a few newborns in there. Seeing them triggered something in both Jenn and I; this is no longer a pregnancy to which we are anticipating an end, but a new life (Megatron's and ours) we now eagerly await.
To our pleasant surprise, the tour guide was the same nurse who had taught our childbirth classes. That made the tour much more comfortable. Only one other couple attended, and they, in constrast to our 6-week childbirth course, had been attending a 13-week class that sounded more like a pre-med requirement than a pre-parenting option. They were very nice, though, and they came prepared with 3 sheets worth of typed questions, so that helped answer a few questions we didn't even think to ask.
Overall, the maternity wing is nice, and rooms had recently been upgraded. It was quiet and relaxed in atmosphere. I'm a little concerned about the "coach" accommodations...a vinyl covered chair that opens up to become a "bed." It's debatable whether the laminate wood floor is more comfortable. But hey, it's not about me and my comfort, right?
After touring the delivery room, we headed into the post-partum section. The rooms are a little nicer in terms of the furniture, with the exception of the sofa/coach bed (again). We walked past the nursery, and there were a few newborns in there. Seeing them triggered something in both Jenn and I; this is no longer a pregnancy to which we are anticipating an end, but a new life (Megatron's and ours) we now eagerly await.
Car Seat Experts
When we registered with Babies 'R' Us several months ago, the representative in the registry department explained about the various workshops and seminars that they hold at the store, so when it came time to install our infant car seat in the Subaru, I figured I would take advantage and attend the car seat seminar. I'm a fairly bright person, so I originally thought I wouldn't need any instruction...I can read a manual perfectly well. But I figured why not? I certainly don't have the experience that they do, and there's something to be said for experience.
Ever the prepared one, I had stopped at home to grab a bite to eat prior to heading out to the store. While home, I also found time to start reading through the car seat manual. I was just going to show up on Tuesday night, but Jenn called ahead and registered me. Thank goodness, else they might have had only one instructor for the three other attendees. With me there, they had two. I had gone in with the impression that they would be providing instruction on how to install car seats. After all, it was explained to me that you could take car seats out into the parking lot and test fit them prior to buying one.
The seminar started with the four of us waiting for ten minutes. We were told that one of the salespeople was looking for a safety video and TV. When that salesperson returned, it turned out that they didn't have such a video. This was a sign of things to come.
One of the instructors was male, 45-50 yrs old, the other a female, 25-30 yrs old. I got the impression that the younger one was an "instructor-in-training" based on the dynamics between them. Within the first 30 seconds of her speaking, I knew I was in the wrong place. The seminar has nothing to do with car seat installation, and everything to do with car seat selection, not to mention selection of booster seats and strollers. Jenn and I have all of that stuff already, so this seminar was not going to be of use to me in the slightest. I was faced with a decision: be polite and sit through the 30 min. long seminar, or get up and leave. For only 30 minutes, I didn't want to insult anyone, so I sat there. I was ticked that I didn't anticipate this to be a sales pitch, but it was my fault.
Then she started describing the car seats they had and how some of them differed. She grabbed the Graco Snugride 32 and started pointing out some features. Great, I thought...this is our car seat. She asks, "Ok, trivia question...in what position should the handle be placed when in the vehicle. I knew the answer for two reasons. Jenn had just explained to me over dinner that the handle is suppose to be down, according to her friend with a 16-month old daughter, and I had just read over dinner in the manual that the handle was to be down. Confidently, I said, "all the way down." "No," she said. "It's supposed to be up, so it will [act as a roll bar in an accident.]" "Not according to the manual for that seat, which I just read an hour ago, " I said. The older guy intervened and said he will look into it. Strike two.
She was completely ad-libbing the seminar, and half of her sentences trailed off in incoherent phrases "like, ya know," and, "the stuff on this seat is just really good stuff. It's convenient and stuff like that." Strike three. Not only was the seminar nothing but a sales pitch, it was one of the most poorly executed sales pitches I've ever encountered. As they moved onto to booster seats and strollers, the comedy of errors continued. Questions asked could not be answered, and there were several "watch this" demonstrations with the seats and strollers (think Empire Strikes Back when Han Solo is about to engage the hyperdrive, but it does nothing but sputter and fail). The seminar lasted over an hour. I felt sorry for the other "students" and future students of this class.
Ever the prepared one, I had stopped at home to grab a bite to eat prior to heading out to the store. While home, I also found time to start reading through the car seat manual. I was just going to show up on Tuesday night, but Jenn called ahead and registered me. Thank goodness, else they might have had only one instructor for the three other attendees. With me there, they had two. I had gone in with the impression that they would be providing instruction on how to install car seats. After all, it was explained to me that you could take car seats out into the parking lot and test fit them prior to buying one.
The seminar started with the four of us waiting for ten minutes. We were told that one of the salespeople was looking for a safety video and TV. When that salesperson returned, it turned out that they didn't have such a video. This was a sign of things to come.
One of the instructors was male, 45-50 yrs old, the other a female, 25-30 yrs old. I got the impression that the younger one was an "instructor-in-training" based on the dynamics between them. Within the first 30 seconds of her speaking, I knew I was in the wrong place. The seminar has nothing to do with car seat installation, and everything to do with car seat selection, not to mention selection of booster seats and strollers. Jenn and I have all of that stuff already, so this seminar was not going to be of use to me in the slightest. I was faced with a decision: be polite and sit through the 30 min. long seminar, or get up and leave. For only 30 minutes, I didn't want to insult anyone, so I sat there. I was ticked that I didn't anticipate this to be a sales pitch, but it was my fault.
Then she started describing the car seats they had and how some of them differed. She grabbed the Graco Snugride 32 and started pointing out some features. Great, I thought...this is our car seat. She asks, "Ok, trivia question...in what position should the handle be placed when in the vehicle. I knew the answer for two reasons. Jenn had just explained to me over dinner that the handle is suppose to be down, according to her friend with a 16-month old daughter, and I had just read over dinner in the manual that the handle was to be down. Confidently, I said, "all the way down." "No," she said. "It's supposed to be up, so it will [act as a roll bar in an accident.]" "Not according to the manual for that seat, which I just read an hour ago, " I said. The older guy intervened and said he will look into it. Strike two.
She was completely ad-libbing the seminar, and half of her sentences trailed off in incoherent phrases "like, ya know," and, "the stuff on this seat is just really good stuff. It's convenient and stuff like that." Strike three. Not only was the seminar nothing but a sales pitch, it was one of the most poorly executed sales pitches I've ever encountered. As they moved onto to booster seats and strollers, the comedy of errors continued. Questions asked could not be answered, and there were several "watch this" demonstrations with the seats and strollers (think Empire Strikes Back when Han Solo is about to engage the hyperdrive, but it does nothing but sputter and fail). The seminar lasted over an hour. I felt sorry for the other "students" and future students of this class.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Ultrasounds
Trying to catch up on a few months' worth of info. Here are several ultrasound scans of Megatron from July, August, and October.
These first two are from the July 10th ultrasound, where we learned Megatron was a boy (I'm sparing you the conclusive scan).
This is Megatron's foot:
This is his head:
This is from the August 18th scan, where we get to see his face a little better (freakishly better, if you ask me). He appears to be staring at us with one open eye.
And another one:
And finally on October 23rd, at 34 weeks, is a close-up of Megatron's nose, lips, and chin:
This is Jenn at 6 months old:
Notice any resemblance??? :-)
These first two are from the July 10th ultrasound, where we learned Megatron was a boy (I'm sparing you the conclusive scan).
This is Megatron's foot:
This is his head:
This is from the August 18th scan, where we get to see his face a little better (freakishly better, if you ask me). He appears to be staring at us with one open eye.
And another one:
And finally on October 23rd, at 34 weeks, is a close-up of Megatron's nose, lips, and chin:
This is Jenn at 6 months old:
Notice any resemblance??? :-)
New Car
Step 1: Get pregnant. Step 2: Buy a mini-van. Okay, maybe not a mini-van, but when all of your vehicles have only two doors apiece, something's gotta change. Hence, the search for a baby-mobile to replace my aging, paint-deprived '92 Civic. It took two weeks of intense research, carefully comparing and weighing the features of each model, from the presence or absence of heated side mirrors to the rear seat shoulder room measurements. But after 2 painful days of test drives and car salesmen, what it came down to was what Jenn wanted. So here it is, a 2009 Subaru Forester XT Limited:
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