About Our Beginnings...

My photo
Hiro was born January 17th at 12:07 am at Kaiser hospital, 48 hours after the water broke. It was a natural birth, and a very positive experience. Judah was born January 1, 2010 at 1:08 pm 7 hours after the water broke. Judah was delivered at Andaluz Waterbirth center, which was a completely magical experience that we highly recommend to anyone having a normal healthy pregnancy. Malakai was born on December 23, 2011 after three days of inactive labor labor and three hours of active labor (three hours after the water broke). Kai was born at Andaluz as well, this time in "Sienna" the red room. It was a relaxing and delightful way to spend our first Christmas with Malakai.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

5-6 month videos


Here's a very low quality video that has excellent sound quality...Hiro laughing for 2 minutes! When he gets tired, he get punchy!



This is an older video...when Hiro was just learning to sit up....they love each other!
4th of July 2008




In this one, Hiro gets up on all fours for the first time! We were so pleased that Uncle Mark and John were there to witness the great event!



We've had the pleasure of watching Noah and Ellie swim every other week. I am so impressed with how comfortable they are getting in the water. This was mid-summer. At the end of the summer, they were doing somersault forward and backward under the water. I sure love those kids!



This video is my favorite for the summer! It's Hiro on his first boat ride in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. He's in Steve Scammell's boat. You'll also see Auntie Tahlie right before baby Eden was born. If you look close, you'll see Tahlie's husband Steve, Amanda and Gary Fox, Tahlie's sisters, and her son Evan. What a great family! Hiro loved the boat!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Our friend Joann and the talent of eating Cheerios

The beginning of seven months is turning out to be a big one! Our dear friend Joann has moved to the area, we are so excited about that! She took some really lovely photos of our cute son. We are hoping to spend some more time with her in the future.




Also, Hiro started eating cheerios! This takes a lot of eye-hand coordination, and he is so proud of himself! Oh my, the world of "real foods" has begun!



We finally got an "All Cousins" shot...here they all, the fabulous five Iwata grandchildren.
Apparently they were a serious bunch that day!

Shana

In the month of August, just before Hiro turned 7 months old, we traveled as a family to Wallowa Lake near Joseph, Oregon. We went with two people we consider family, David and Alexus Davis. We went to say "good-bye" to Shana Davis, our dear friend that passed away just before Hiro was born. Shana was instrumental to us establishing our family in Tualatin. Erin and Shana as a team together everyday when Erin was a teacher, and Shana and David were also their small group leaders at church. She was, without a doubt, our closest friend in Tualatin. We miss her everyday.

The journey was quite an adventure. The drive is about 6-7 hours. Hiro did great in the car, thanks to the "singing mirror" a gift from cousin Joy, Pramode, and baby Asher (thank you VERY much). We stayed at the lodge, then woke up the next morning to take the long horse ride up to Aneroid lake, were Shana requested some of her ashes be laid. From the time she was adopted as a young girl, Shana spent every summer and winter with her sisters and parents at Wallowa Lake. It is a BEAUTIFUL area, someplace I can see going back to camp on a regularly basis. Maybe we have a family tradition started?

Hiro was too little to ride a horse, and double riding is not allowed. So instead, Hiro hiked on Daddy's back. Shana's sister is VERY allergic to horses, so the rest of the family decided to take the tram up to the top of another mountain, then try to hike across a few mountains and down into aneroid lake to meet us. That was the plan anyway, and some inexperienced people told them they thought it could be hiked in a few hours. Turns out it's an 8 hour hike for experienced hikers...and did I mention Shana's sisters and her kids, plus her parents were doing the hike??? The age range of hikers was 4 years old (besides Hiro) to 68 years old. Needless to say, they did not make it. It was just me, David and Lexi on horse back that made it to Aneroid Lake.


The Lodge. We stayed in a cute cabin behind the lodge. I want to return for family vacations in the future.

Lexi before we start our adventure. The horses are ready to go.
Oh, the small town charm!

On the long path up to the mountain lake.

About 1/4 of the way up...a view of Wallowa lake from above.

Alexus and David

A mini lake on the way up.
Mountain Meadow
The way Nat and the rest of the crew was trying to get to Aneroid Lake. Stunning, but not easy to pass.
Dave and Lexi on their rides.
Aneroid Lake. We finally made it, 3 hours to get there.

All around Aneroid lake there were there delicate purple butterflies. There were SO many of them. I have never seen a purple butterfly before. Purple was Shana's favorite color.

The little dock.

Picking up rocks to remeber this place by.



Then it was back down the mountain. My hind end has NEVER been so sore! 6 hours is WAY too long to be on a horse. Of coarse, it was all worth it. I might even do it again someday. Back down at the lodge, we washed the baby and went out to eat with the whole Shana clan. It was a good time of fellowship with people that are very dear to me because of Shana. The next day, we all relaxed on Aunt Michelle and Uncle Larry's boat. It was a nice break from ordinary life. The lake really is a wonderful place.



Back in a sink, what fun!


While we were there, Hiro discovered STRAWS! He kept himself entertained for a long time with just one plain straw. In this picture, Hiro is giggling uncontrollably over a straw being in Mommy's mouth.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Six Months Old!

Well, Hiro's 6th month has been filled with many adventures and travels!
We got to visit many friends and family, and Hiro has grown a LOT!
He started eating "real" food, started scooting across the floor, and is trying to say "Mama" in context. It sounds like "Mmmmmm-mamama" and he only says it if he see and wants his Mama to pick him up. He's very interested in his toys now, especially blocks he can hold and bang together. He also clicks, blows fantastic raspberries, gives kisses, and smiles for cameras. What a ham!

Hiro trying to crawl


Hiro and Uncle Mark (great uncle, I guess!)

Hiro Swimming with Grandma and Great-Grandma (Mamo)
Kisses from Mommy!

Hiro Eating with a Spoon. What a big boy!

Hiro drinking from a water glass. If he sees a water glass now, he grunts and reaches for it until he gets a sip.
This is how Hiro sleeps these days...face down, hands on forehead, butt in the air. Comfortable???

We've spent a lot of time with friends this month...here are just a few!

Auntie Allison and Hiro on a playdate

Hiro and new baby Ava with mommy Jenny
New Baby Ava...Beautiful girl!

Kim gets married! The new Mrs. Snow with Hiro and mommy.

Mommies get hair cuts!

Cousin time! This summer has been a great time to catch up with cousins!


Cousin Elowynn and MeeAe, Hiro and Noah.
Boy cousins! Noah and Hiro
MeeAe and Hiro having some stroller time.
"Auntie" Erin with Elowynn and Noah. We have really enjoyed swimming with these two every other Tuesday! What a blessing they are!
Hiro and cousin Gabe swinging. We've gotten to have Gabe over to spend the night. He does great with Hiro and we always enjoy having him.
Hiro loves the baby swing. He laughs and smiles the whole time!
Matchy-matchy cousins. Thank you Auntie Sarah!
Slumber party with Gabe!

Saying Good-Bye to Papa
(Great Grandpa Ehrenstein)
One of the things we did while Uncle Mark and John were in town was take Papa Ehrenstein's remains to the Willamette National Cemetery. It was a beautiful place, and a good time to say "Good-bye." We miss papa everyday and wish that Hiro could have met his wonderful great-grandpa who gave him his eyebrows and the expressions we see in him.
Willamette National Cemetery.
Uncle Mark, Uncle John, Mamo Ehrenstein and Grandma Johnson.

Road Trip! Hiro took his first long road trip to Idaho this summer to see Auntie Tahlie and Steve Scammell. We also met their son Evan and baby Eden is on the way!
Hiro on the road again!
The Scammells and the Iwatas. We love those guys enough to move to Idaho!
Thanks for having us, we had a great time!
Beautiful 2 year old Evan Scammell. Does anyone see Tahlie in there? :-)
Steve taking his son for a (little) ride. What a brave boy!
Hiro's first boat ride on the lake in Idaho! He loved the breeze in his face and wanted to get in the water.

Thank you Tahlie, Steve, and the Fox family for having us! We really considered that weekend a relaxing vacation time! What a blessing you are to us!
Mommy and Daddy on skidoos for the first time!

Family time!
Although we have been very busy trying to support two houses (anyone want a house, both of our are for sale!) we still try to make time for the three of us to get out and relax together. One of our favorite things to do is go explore Portland on foot.
On one of our adventures, we ended up at the Japanese memorial park on the Portland waterfront. We took some time to remember Poppie. Nat found the name of the interment camp where Poppie was born. We miss him everyday.
Family self-portrait!