Siriana Mae, Helen Elizabeth & Maja Vere

Chicken Run

2011-05-20T03:08:00.002-11:00

Happy Fall

2010-11-09T03:36:00.004-11:00

These pictures were from around Helen's second birthday. Siri turns four today!

Halloween!

Helen loves the fall.

Camping in the Cascades

2010-08-02T18:13:00.004-11:00

Last weekend we went camping by Mt. Adams with our friends and fellow ex-expatriates Naomi, Aaron and Amity. It was one heck of a long drive, but well worth it, esp. since Amity was out all the way from the East Coast. We got to meet Aaron's parents and sister plus it was Aaron's birthday. Maybe Aaron will take the occasion to update his blog... http://tikidonkey.blogspot.com/

Photo Credit: Sent to me by Amity, taken by Aaron's dad

Forest Service road 23 in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Mt. Adams barely visible in background

Still driving...

These next photos are from our previous camping trip in the North Cascades, near the Canada border (Mt. Adams is near Oregon Border)

Siri loves camping

'Ole Betty has made it over at least a dozen mountain passes and put on a couple thousand miles this summer, pretty good after sitting for the last few years. Maintenance required since we got back stateside: 1 Oil Change, 1 Air filter, 1 Ignition Coil, 1 Can of Sea-Foam dumped down the carb 1 battery terminal and 1 tire. She runs pretty good after cleaning things out with the sea-foam.

In other news - we are headed back to the midwest for a couple weeks at the end of August and are very excited to see friends and family.

How is that Jen? (http://domerbaby.blogspot.com/)

Camping with Betty

2010-06-18T15:40:00.000-11:00

Lucy and Phil's wedding

2010-06-18T15:16:00.000-11:00

Maja

2010-06-18T15:10:00.001-11:00

But MoM

2010-06-18T14:57:00.001-11:00

Always happy Helen, except when she's not

2010-06-18T14:55:00.001-11:00

Minutes from our new home

2010-06-18T14:53:00.001-11:00

Warm sun and happy babies make Mom happy

2010-06-18T14:52:00.001-11:00

Made it to Washington

2010-04-11T10:23:00.001-11:00

Siri kept pointing and saying- "Look dad! Snow on the mountains!" So, we drove up to the snow.

A few more...

2010-03-25T15:07:00.003-11:00

LBJ signs are the best!

Going away party - everyone in this pic is leaving April 1

Chicken across hallway from recovery room

Everybody still fits in the Jeep

In the delivery room

Ditto

At a BBQ 24 hrs. old. Emily wants one!

Maja's first couple days

2010-03-25T14:29:00.002-11:00

Introducing Maja Vere

2010-03-15T17:30:00.003-11:00

Yes, that's right, she is no longer known as "the new baby" but rather Maja Vere. She's a beauty and we'll post more pictures soon. Also, for those those of you who may not have heard, we are moving back to Washington State. Our flight arrives in Spokane on Easter Sunday. We are very excited to go "home."

Baby Girl Number Three Arrives

2010-03-14T15:30:00.006-11:00

Our third baby girl joined us on Saturday March 12th at 2:09 p.m. at Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Center in the Territory of American Samoa. She weighed in at 7 lbs 4ozs and is 50.5 cm long or 19.8 inches. I had another fantastic labor. My girls have been good to me and once again Erick was an amazing labor partner.

I started having light contractions when I went to bed around 10:30 p.m.. I was getting up every hour or so to get water, go to the bathroom, walk a bit then lay back down. I slept for about 3 hours consecutively then got up with the girls and helped get them ready for daycare and let Erick know that it seemed like today might be the day. The contractions hadn't been any more than every 30 min and sometimes an hour would pass without anything so I really wasn't sure if it might just fizzle out.

After bringing the girls to daycare I went for a walk on Coconut Point. It was a hot day but lucky we had a bit of a breeze. I came home, did some cleaning while Erick packed some more boxes to send. I began having some more aggressive contractions but still very irregular. Sometimes I'd have a couple about 20 min. apart, but then 45 min. would pass without another one. We decided to get out of the house to do some errands and pass the time. We stopped by the post-office and dropped off the boxes that Erick had just packed. I could certainly feel that my contractions were getting worse at this point and I was fairly confident that the baby would arrive sometime today. Right now it is about 10:30.

We then went to Erick's work to pick up his camera from a co-worker and our next errand was to stop at Samoa News to post an add to sell our car. When we pulled into the parking lot I told Erick that I really thought we needed to head home so that I could relax in a bath because I could feel that more aggressive contractions were coming soon.

My contractions progressed steadily and they were certainly more intense by the time I was relaxing in the bath. To distract myself during the more intense contractions we watched a movie that I hadn't seen since it first came out (Four Weddings and a Funeral).

The day had turned out to be very warm so I decided to hop back into the cool bath but by the time I walked to the bathroom I could tell that I really needed to get to the hospital. My contractions were certainly taking my breath away but I think I was coping pretty well. We walked to the car and during the car ride I was having very close contractions. I'd have a very tough one followed by a mild one during the whole 15 min. ride to the hospital.

I got out of the car and had a tough one then one tough one after another on the walk down the hall. Finally I turned the corner into the air-conditioned hallway that leads to the labor and delivery area. In my head, I certainly thought I'd have another hour or so before the baby arrived, but then I had a tough contraction in the hallway and had a slight urge to push. Well, that changed my mind a bit and I thought I've really got to get into the labor room because this little one might be coming sooner than I'd thought. We got to the labor area and every bed was full. There was a bed in the hall that the woman directed me to. I looked up and said "I think someone ought to check me out."

They must have seen the state I was in because the midwife Ann asked me if I felt like pushing. When I said yes she immediately directed me right into the labor room, put me on the table and said, "Oh My, there is the baby's head. Well, not actually, but it was the membrane." The other nurse got Ann ready and Ann directed me that on the next contraction she would break my water and I would push and that baby would come out. I was speechless, but she was right. The baby came and screamed and was healthy. I cried and was overjoyed. I was able to breastfeed right away and had about a half-hour with the baby before she needed to be taken to have her vitals checked and I was moved to the non-air conditioned recovery area (look at posts from Helen's birth to understand where I was staying- this time a chicken was wandering the halls of our ward as well).

As Erick recalls, I walked through the hospital door at 1:58 at the baby arrived at 2:09. We are still figuring out what her name is, but as of now we call her the "new-baby." Siriana and Helen are both very interested in her and Siri is constantly telling me how much she loves her. Thanks for everyone's well-wishes.

1,2,3,4,5... still waiting..

2010-03-04T12:04:00.001-11:00

... and a shot of low tide at Tisa's

Kayak Fishing

2010-02-08T13:27:00.003-11:00

There was a calm stretch a while back, and I managed to do a little kayak fishing

This is a nice looking hexagon rock cod, but pretty small so I threw him back

I have managed to catch a few fish worthy of keeping, I had Siri hold this one for the photo because fish always look bigger with kids holding them. She was very excited.

One more of Siri from the beach

2009-12-10T15:47:00.001-11:00

Helen is learning to walk

2009-12-08T13:00:00.002-11:00

One of the ladies at daycare told Melissa that Helen has "weak knees" and that is why she is not walking yet, to which my response was *eyeroll* "Oh-noes... she is over a year old and not walking yet - clearly something is wrong..." Anyway, the Samoan solution for this is burial in sand, which we tried on Sunday - everyone had lots of fun with this "treatment" and *eyeroll* "Clearly" it worked because Helen can now take a step or two unassisted.

Siri turns three, gets her first mobile phone

2009-11-12T15:03:00.004-11:00

Thankfully, she is just as interested in the baseball bat as the phone

Tisa's Tattoo Festival and Halloween

2009-11-04T12:01:00.002-11:00

We had fun hanging out at Tisa's beach during her annual Tattoo Festival. Some of you will remember that Helen was delivered the day after we attended the Tattoo Festival last year.

Our neighbor has a birthday on Halloween, so they had a Halloween themed birthday party for her. Siri was Mini Mouse, the mask didn't stay on long - and the puppies kept pulling on her feather boa. Later Missy took her trick or treating in our village and had a great time.

Helen turns one

2009-10-27T12:12:00.001-11:00

Where the Wild Things Are

2009-10-26T08:19:00.002-11:00

Mommy took Siriana to her first big-screen movie. We met up with her friend Noa and purchased the requisite popcorn, soda, and red vines. When we entered the theater it was already dark, the previews had begun and Siriana seemed a bit timid. We found some seats and Siri and Noa sat next to each other. Siri looked at the big screen with her blue eyes wide open and passed up my offers for her favorite food: popcorn. She was fairly well captivated for the beginning, but when Max takes his voyage, gets almost swept to sea and encounters the 'Monsters' Siri tells me that she has had enough and wants to go "Home Now." I tried to convince her that the monsters were nice but she started to tear up and repeat over and over "Home Now, Home Now, Home Now." Her face looked a lot like Max in this picture, like "Why did you take me here Mommy?" What could I do but take her home. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing with her neighbors Juliana and Francesca (who moved here from Duluth). It was fun to take her to her first movie. I wished she actually would have liked it. Next time, Disney with princesses.

Two more X chromosomes in the Simonsen Family

2009-10-23T11:04:00.004-11:00

I once remarked to Melissa, "The next one better be a boy, or I am hiring a concubine!" Melissa had an ultrasound yesterday revealing that she did not heed my warning, the next addition to the Simonsen Family appears to be yet another girl. I know, I know, some of you are wondering how I can blame Melissa for determining the gender of the baby when it is clearly the genetics of the sperm that are the deciding factor. I once thought the same thing, but Melissa is really the one who helped me see the light on this one, way back when she was training to be a good little Feminazi at the college of St.Catherine she introduced me to a little something called the "Aggressive Egg Theory" whereby the egg actually selects which sperm it will allow to fertilize it. On the bright side, I guess we will save a bunch of money by not having to buy boy clothes.

We may not have USA grade medical care here... but at least it's "FREE"

Pop quiz. What is Helen holding in her left hand?

Fingernail Time

2009-10-09T12:05:00.003-11:00

Siriana and Helen are always a challenge when it comes to keeping their nails short. It is especially important for Siriana who just loves to scratch her mosquito bites. Our latest trick is to convince Siri that it's wonderful to have painted fingernails and she only gets her nails painted after we have cut them. I only have a couple of bottles of paint so if anyone is sending a package (grandma's?) you could throw in some old bottles and she would just love it (also some kid friendly cream to stop her dang itching of the bites)! Helen can be soothed and coxed into this ordeal by putting Barney on.

The Magic Circus of Samoa

2009-10-09T11:15:00.003-11:00

In September, before the Tsunami, our island hosted the Magic Circus of Samoa, from our neighbor country. We brought Siriana and Helen and many of our neighborhood friends were there. It was their first circus. Erick and I, and all other adults I spoke with, were truly amazed at what a wonderful circus it was. It was like one you would envision from the railroad days, akin to that described in 'Water for Elephants' minus the Elephants. Helen had a GRAND time. Siriana on the other hand had a TERRIBLE time. Every time that the tent darkened between acts she would burst into frightful tears and exclaim 'Home, Home, I wanna go Home!' During intermission we encouraged her to stay and bought an overpriced light-up purple bracelet. This seemed to cure her fears and we survived the second act. When we got to the car she asked if we could go to the circus again.

Tsunami

2009-10-07T08:32:00.003-11:00

On Tuesday September 29 at approximately 7:15 a.m. an earthquake and tsunami hit the island and caused great devastation to the villages here as well as in our neighboring country of Samoa. Our family and home are safe. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers as relief efforts are underway.

Helen and Baby Kai on the day of the Tsunami. The parents were all emotional and strained but the babes were sheltered from knowing what happened and had a nice time playing with each other.

Mommy's Birthday

2009-09-14T13:20:00.005-11:00

The Fireworks

Helen is getting so tall and just loves to play with the big girls.

Helen and Sarah

Siriana and Helen had an eventful Sunday September 7th. Our neighbor Ben and Melissa had a joint birthday celebration with an abundance of food and great friends. The weather was a bit rainy and windy, but we all enjoyed ourselves despite the chill. There were an abundance of children so Siriana was running all around the house but did take a little break to hide with her friend Juliana and read books together. Helen's favorite activity was to crawl outside. She loves being outside and really gets a temper when we keep her in and block the door. In fact, she will crawl outside, down the front step which is about a foot and a half high, across the yard to the swing set (about 25 yards) and up the slide! It is amazing to watch her engage these adventures without hesitation or fear. Yes, she's a Simonsen. We had a wonderful birthday celebration and give thanks to all of the great people that we have met here.

Siriana taking a break and enjoying the birthday cake Emily made that actually had a real firework on the top.

Hammock time, flashback time

2009-08-30T21:24:00.002-11:00

Siri and Helen in the hammock today...

... and back in February.

Big spider, New teeth, Fun expressions

2009-08-25T14:31:00.003-11:00

When it rains, spiders seek refuge indoors. This one chose to seek refuge in our kitchen, I scared it into hiding by taking too many pictures. I was going to leave it alone and hope it would find a few cockroaches to eat before going back outdoors but my wife did not think that was an acceptable option. One little squirt of Raid into it's hiding hole sure did the trick, Siri was quite impressed to see how quickly a spider in it's death throes can move around the kitchen floor.

Look closely... two bottom teeth.

Helen is exited.

Siri is reluctantly posing.

And not so reluctantly.

Siri mad.

Helen is still excited.

Kim's Baby Shower

2009-08-12T07:29:00.006-11:00

One of our neighbors is pregnant with her first child who is due November 11th, just a few days after Siriana will turn 3. Our other neighbor Cheryl hosted a wonderful baby shower with an abundance of food and fun games. Siriana had a great time playing with the kids and all of the fabulous toys that Cheryl has. Siri's favorite toy was the little toy kitchen set with plastic food. She played there for at least an hour. She must take after her Dad.

In other news about Siriana, she LOVES to read and go to the library. She sleeps with her books at night and throws a fit if she doesn't have one in bed. Every night she asks us to go to the library and we have to calmly explain that it is already closed and we will have to wait until Saturday morning.

Once again her vocabulary is growing exponentially. We are constantly surprised at how much she knows. Sometimes we throw her when we say something in Samoan. She will look at us like "Wow, how do you know that?" Then she will smile and repeat what we just said. She loves to say Faamolemole which is a very formal way of saying please.

She is also very good with Helen. They LOVE to take baths together and play. Helen is Siri's absolute favorite 'thing' to play with. The two of them will just laugh and laugh with each other.

Helen has her first tooth coming in. It one of her bottom front teeth and it is about a quarter of the way up. She smiles and smiles all day. She rarely cries.

When Helen starts to get tired at about 7:30 she won't let you hold her, she just wiggles and wiggles until you put her in her crib at which point she rolls over, gives a few cries, then passes out while sucking her thumb and doesn't get up until about 7 am.

And saving the best for last, Erick and I recently found out that we are expecting another new addition to our South Pacific Simonsen Clan. A possible due date in March but more certain numbers will be forthcoming. We are extremely excited and hoping for a little boy this time, but three girls will be a joy as well.

Time for Spagetti! and the Paloa beach.

2009-07-28T15:02:00.004-11:00

Spagetti is one of Siri's favorate foods. Last weekend while Mom was out, she insisted on spagetti for lunch, I was happy to oblige and dutifully prepared a meal of spagetti. In the meantime, Siriana decided to throw a tantrum, because she wanted her Spagetti RIGHT NOW! Eventually she just fell asleep under the high chair.

Three hours later, when Siriana finally woke up, we ate Spagetti!

Later, when mom got home, Siri went for a swing in the front yard.

while Helen watched.

Saturday we went to the beach at Paloa. The girls hung out on the beach.

Dad went snorkeling.

Marina's Baby Shower

2009-07-13T11:25:00.002-11:00

Our friend Marina is having her baby any day now. We had a wonderful baby shower with great games and tons of beautiful women and babies to celebrate the imminent arrival of the new hombrecito. Little Helen had a fabulous time and it was great to see just how big she is compared to the newer babies. The littlest little baby is Nadia's son Ki who is tucked away in her wrap. Ki is Siri's best friend Noa's baby brother. He is just a few months old now.

Helen pulls herself up, has fun at daycare

2009-07-10T13:20:00.005-11:00

Helen pulls herself up on couch, for the first time in recorded history!

Helen in her walker, the kid next to her is named Duane. He is reported to be the only one of the kids at daycare that Siri will allow to touch or get near Helen. If one of the other kids gets near Helen, apparently the consequenses are severe.

Helen likes her walker

Kids at daycare, I do not recall the name of the boy on the left, the boy in the middle is Duane again (or maybe D'Wayne) I showed Siri this picture and asked her what the girl's name is. She replied "Hippopotumus". Don't ask me. While I am on the subject of "things Siri says" I will report what she told me the other night; "Daddy, what are you doing? Stop it. You're making a big mess." What was I doing? Barbacueing chicken. I may have dripped a little marinade on the porch.

A Fautasi team flipping over their 50 person boat

I'm headed back to the office

Siri and Helen at Sloshball

2009-07-08T14:43:00.004-11:00

Here are Siri and Helen after a Sloshball game. They love to party, especially because Siri usually ends up eating all sorts of yummy junk food that she doesn't get at home. This is our friend Sarah. Mommy and Sarah went to Apia last weekend with our other friend Emily. Daddy stayed at home with the girls. Mommy had a great relaxing time but was so happy to see the girls waiting at the airport with ballons in hand when she returned.

Father's day at Tisa's

2009-06-23T11:39:00.004-11:00

It was another sunny day at Tisa's beach on Sunday. Cold beer. Warm sun. Good day.

The hermit crabs get pretty big over on the West Side, and it has been quite a while since breakfast...

Siri splashing.

Helen and Siri had lots of fun playing with Noa and Princess.

Video of Helen splashing. Listen carefully, there is a prize for the first one to correctly write a transcript of the audio.

Helen is still splashing.

Helen is no longer splashing. Uma lava Coors Lite Helen!

"Eat it! - Food Helen!"

2009-06-02T13:05:00.000-11:00

Siri has taken on the role of helpful big sister quite well, retrieving diapers and wipes upon request, and putting empty baby bottles in the sink. She even took it upon herself to give Helen some food.

Siri was a bit more enthusiastic about this arrangement than Helen, time for dad to step in.

"Siri kayak ride?"

Siri loves to get into mom's makeup bag, and mom can't understand why she can never find her makeup, did Siri hide it, or did dad?

Hostile Takeover! Dad updates Blog...

2009-05-19T15:19:00.000-11:00

The girls and a cruise ship - yes; cruise ships come here.

Sunset at Swains island where Dad was on vacation... I mean work.

Siri climbs a tree

Siri and Noa have a snack, Helen watches. mm.. banana bread

Helen is Happy

Siri and a cruise ship

Helen loves the "American Hunter" and wants to learn more about deer scents

Helen likes rice cereal a little less...

Painting and Fun at the Beach

2009-02-22T14:14:00.000-11:00

Siriana loves to paint.
Siriana and Helen in our hammock

"Dad, where Hermie go?"

Back in American Samoa

2009-02-22T14:02:00.000-11:00

We spent a day at the beach in Selele and had a blast as always.

Here is Erick and Helen at the Yacht Club
Siriana and Grandma Julie doing "foot care." Siri looks like she has something very important she's telling Grandma Julie.

Lovely Dinner at Seabreeze

2009-02-22T13:40:00.000-11:00

The last night that we were in Samoa we went to Seabreeze and had an amazing meal. It was truly on par with an upscale restaurant back home. You couldn't beat the atmosphere and scenery. The restaurant is on a dock out on the ocean so that you have a beautiful mountain cliff on one side and the ocean on the other.
Siriana and Grandpa Jeff at one of the fale's that we stayed at.
Helen and Grandpa Jeff at the beach in Vavau.

Showers! aka waterfalls

2009-02-22T13:21:00.000-11:00

Grandma Julie carried Helen in the sling. If it looks like we were walking through a jungle then you are spot on. We spent one afternoon visiting a lot of different waterfalls. This one was quite a hike. It was very pretty though. At one point we had to cross a little river. The village kids were having a blast playing in the little waterfall created by the river. When Siri got close to the river she was very apprehensive. One of the village girls (naked of course) walked over to Siri very matter of factly, picked her up, carried her to the other side, then went about her playing in the water. It was great. Siri was completely shocked by the moment but we loved it.
Here is the waterfall that we hiked to. There are huge fern trees here. This is a branch that Erick found.
Here we are on our hike.
At one of the waterfalls the owners of the property had a lovely garden full of Samoan plants that were identified with their common and scientific names. They also had a Samoan drum.
This is the beautiful garden.

Our first full day in Samoa

2009-02-22T13:04:00.000-11:00

We took the "Cross Island Road" and traveled from Apia through the middle of the island to the other shore. We had a blast seeing the countryside. Before we left Apia we spend a couple of hours at the market. It was so amazing to see all of the handicrafts. Helen slept the whole time in the handy sling that my friend Jenny sent us. Grandpa Jeff pushed Siri around in the stroller. Siri was as always the recipient of many smiles. Her blond hair and blue eyes are a rarity in this part of the world. People seem to just like looking at her. And, they give her stuff a lot. One woman was so happy to see her eating fried bananas that she kept giving her more for free despite the fact that I tried to pay her multiple times. After the market we had lunch at a great restaurant on the harbor. The pig is pictured below. On our drive we stopped at this waterfall. Try saying that name three times fast. I can't even say it one time slowly. Siri called it a 'shower.' I guess you could call it a shower.
She loves to climb. She actually calls her self a climber: "Siri Climber, Siri Climber."

Jeff and Julie are sitting across from us, but conspicuously missing from the meal was Helen. In Samoa and American Samoa the extended families often live together so that you have many many generations in the same home, or at least as neighbors. Villages are often comprised of one big family, or maybe two or three families. What this means for us is that were every we go, here or there, the waitresses are flattered if we let them take our baby. They love to hold them. So we were able to enjoy the whole relaxing meal while Helen was whisked to the back of the restaurant to hang out and play with the waitresses.

The Independent State of Samoa

2009-02-22T12:46:00.000-11:00

Not to be confused with American Samoa, the Independent State of Samoa is as you may have guessed, Independent. We flew there for a long weekend and had a blast. The kids did great on the little plane. The ride is only about 30 minutes. The first night we stayed at the "Outrigger" in the large city of Apia. It has amazing restaurants and is much more developed then any city on our island. By nightfall the kids were tuckered out so Julie and I went back to the hotel with the babes and Erick and Jeff got some amazing pizza that we shared on the deck. It was a great day and so nice to get off our island and check out a new place.
This is the plane ride. As you can see the plane is very small. They actually weigh you before you get on the plane and they seat you according to your weight so that they can make sure that the plane is balanced. Jessica- if your out there do you recognize Siri's bear? Besides her Elmo doll from Grandma Julie- this is her favorite.
Looks like Grandma Julie is a little nervous to be responsible for the little one.
Erick and I counted the number of plane rides that Siriana has taken in her little life- the final tally came to Eleven! Not bad for only being two.

Going to Anu'u

2009-02-22T12:37:00.000-11:00

Helen loves car rides almost as much as Siri. We traveled down the island to catch the ferry to a little island called Anu'u. Erick and I had never been there so it was pretty exciting. The population is pretty small- I'm just guessing that it can't be more than 100 people. It was a fun day trip. It was a hot day but fun to see somewhere new and be in the water. The kids had a great time too.
Helen was pretty pooped by the afternoon.
This is the 'ferry' that you take to the island. You can see what the boat looks like if you look at the other boat in this picture. Apparently there was some big study to see what the most gas efficient boat could be designed for this particular purpose and this was it. Its actually pretty amazing what they came up with because they are very sturdy, fit lots of people or stuff, and use just a regular little outboard motor.

More fun with the Grandparents

2009-02-22T12:30:00.000-11:00

Baby Helen loves her Grandma Julie.
Siriana still loves to help with Helen's diaper.
Siriana loves her hermit crabs too.
Grandma Julie doing double duty.
Siriana in our front yard showing the grandparents all of the fun things in the ocean.

The beginning of the grandparents visit

2009-02-22T12:12:00.000-11:00

This is our nanny Faiuga. She cares for the babes while we are at work. She is amazing in so many ways. Some of which are the fact that she does such an amazing job with the kiddos. They are always happy to have her come and are so well behaved with her. She has many kids of her own. Her oldest daughter just had a baby girl on Feburary 20th. This is her first grandchild. Her youngest boy is 12 I think. She has helped us since Helen arrived and has been such a blessing in our lives.
Here are Erick, me, Julie, and Jeff. We went to Tisa's Barefoot Bar and had an amazing Umu. Our nanny stayed late and watched the kids so that we could really enjoy ourselves.
Here's Helen hanging out with Grandpa Jeff.
Siri's having fun in the ocean out front. She loves the water. Her favorite thing now is to float with her hands in the sand and her legs floating.
This is the first night that the grandparents were there. They brought Line's with them. It was such a treat to have some classic beer from home.

Christmas!

2008-12-25T13:15:00.000-11:00

Siri wants to Snorkel

2008-12-25T13:00:00.001-11:00

Kaylani's Birthday Fun

2008-12-25T12:51:00.001-11:00

Hangin around the house

2008-12-25T11:01:00.000-11:00

Thanksgiving

2008-12-13T13:15:00.000-11:00

We spent thanksgiving at our neighbors house. We had a wonder feast with ham, turkey and all of the fixings. There were at least a dozen of us. Helen loves to be held in the crook of Erick's arm. We'll see how long this lasts as she just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Fun times at Coconut Point

2008-11-25T11:16:00.000-11:00

Siriana loves to look at shells and hermit crabs on the beach. She'll also spend lots of time picking up rocks and throwing them into the ocean. Erick and Siri spend hours at the beach which gives Melissa and Helen time to rest.
Since Helen has arrived Siri has become a lot more cuddly. She wants to be held more often then before. She has a very independent nature in general, but seeing us hold Helen all of the time has resulted in a lot more requests for us to pick her up as well. Clearly she loves cuddling with her daddy.
These are our neighbors Kelani and Denali. Siri loves playing with them. Denali is just a few months older than Siriana. The girls just went to the library and got a ton of books. They spent some fun time reading them together.
What you can't see is Siri is naked- her favorite state of being- and covered in sidewalk chalk. She loves to color on our front porch and her new favorite part is to also color her legs with the chalk.
Siriana loves to be next to Helen. As soon as we go to change her diaper she jumps right up on the bed or couch and lays next to her. It's pretty cute.

Helen just reached her four week birthday and is getting very chunky. She is a great eater and my milk has been coming in only when she needs it which makes my life more comfortable. She has also been doing a great job at night of letting me sleep for at least three hours at a time.

Helen's fast asleep

2008-11-17T12:03:00.001-11:00

Helen loves to sleep. She just had a bath this morning so you can see that her hair is much darker than Siri's but it has a light reddish tint in some lights. It also has a ton of curl to it.

Siri turns 2

2008-11-17T11:11:00.000-11:00

On November 9th Siriana turned two. We had a wonderful birthday. The weather was great and we had many of our neighbors come to celebrate. The morning started off a bit rough though. She had the beginnings of an infection on her leg. Basically, she gets bit by mosquitoes, scratches till it bleeds, then plays out in the ocean. It was inevitable that she would end up with an infection at some point despite how hard we try to keep her legs in good shape. We spent the morning in the ER so that we could get her on antibiotics right away and you can see the bandage. It is all healed up now and she did a fantastic job taking her medicine for the week. Daddy made her a chocolate birthday cake. Siriana helps Dad make birthday pancakes.

She got to open one present early. Grandma Julie sent her a picture of Elmo and our puppy Artimus. She loved it! The picture is currently hanging in her bedroom.

She has grown up so much over the last two years. She is talking a lot. Her favorite word is "No" and she even says it in Samoan: "Owa." She can say her alphabet and count to 10 and sometimes she'll go to 20 if we help. She understands basically everything that we say. She is also great at brushing her teeth and going poddy in the bathroom, although we still put a diaper on her because she still forgets sometimes. She loves the ocean and will spend hours with us down there now. She is learning the names of shells- her favorite is a Cowry. She still loves to read, but now she will grab our books off the shelf. She loves Ericks textbooks with birds and fish in them and wants us to tell us what each and every bird and fish is, even if they look alike. She loves to climb and is very tough. She falls and gets right back up and does the same thing again. Siri does not like to swing but loves to go down the slide and stand on the top of the slide and hang from the side of the slide.

A present for Siri and Helen

2008-11-06T12:57:00.000-11:00

Our friends Sam and Karen Gordon sent a package full of goodies for us. Unfortunately it was sent to Siapan first (see the red stamp). We thought it was hilarious. How do you get American Samoa and Siapan confused? Is this enough postage to send to Siapan? At least it finally made it to us. Siri is wearing a shirt that they sent. It says "Big Sister." She loves it. She is doing so great as a big sister. She is a great helper. She is also very good at saying Helen and she is getting better at being patient when we have to attend to Helen first and her second. But- when Helen is sleeping we give Siri tons of attention so she is certainly not starved for that.

Halloween

2008-11-01T10:58:00.000-11:00

Our neighbors Clif and Julia had a Halloween party that was lots of fun. A bunch of families with kids were there and Siri had a blast running around with glo-sticks and candy. It was a pirate theme party, so we just put on bandannas and called it a costume!

Day two at home

2008-10-30T13:50:00.000-11:00

As you can see she has a lot of hair and its a rich golden brown. It looks lighter in some lights, but it is surely not the blond hair that Siriana had. Although, when I look back at the postings from Siriana's first week, the resemblance is stronger than I remembered. This little one has a lot more weight on her though considering her shorter length.

Siriana and Dad go to the beach while Mom and Helen relax

2008-10-30T13:34:00.000-11:00

This is the beach just in front of our house. The sun is setting behind us.

Siriana is getting more comfortable in the water and when it is very calm like this she'll wade out with us close by.

Siri found a shell and is bringing it to show Daddy.

The mountain in the background is called the Rainmaker. Pago harbor is just below it.

Siri showing Helen her new toys

2008-10-30T13:25:00.000-11:00

Helen got lots of great new toys and clothes at her baby shower a few weeks ago. Siri is teaching her about her play-mat that she got from our friend Emily.

The Hospital

2008-10-30T12:44:00.000-11:00

I wanted to give everyone an idea of what the hospital is like- but first- isn't it amazing how big Siri is getting! We didn't realize it until we brought the new one home and see them together. Siriana looks like a giant! She has been so good with her little sister. Very gentle and cautious around her. She gets very concerned when she starts to cry and she is constantly bringing us diapers to change her- even if we just changed her. She has been such a good helper too. She'll get anything we ask for the baby and when we finish changing a diaper she'll take it and put it in the trash. Also, as you can see she is naked. She is steadily getting

better at going poddy in the toilet, and if we keep her naked she is about 90% on target.

This is one of the buses waiting in front of the hospital. This is what I took from work to my appointments during the week. The ride is $1.00 whether you ride for 30 seconds or half way around the island. Each bus is individually owned and the drivers love playing loud crazy music. It's an adventure.
Here is the sign in my room. The maternity ward is not air conditioned and it is very steamy. There are 3 women in each room and the whole ward shares 3 bathrooms that are in the central hallway. I luckily got a bed right next to the window. I also brought a fan because it was just so steamy during the day. Although the location was not wonderful, the nurses were amazing and my neighbors in my room were great.
This is the view from my (dirty) window. Also, there are mosquito's everywhere. Not too much fun considering there is Dengue on the island and people currently at the hospital for treatment.

Helen Elizabeth has arrived

2008-10-29T13:10:00.000-11:00

Weighing in at 7lbs 6oz and 19.5 inches long, Helen arrived at 7:23pm Sunday, October 26th- Samoa time. Baby and Mom are happy and healthy! The labor and deliver was amazing. I was accompanied by my always supportive hubby Erick and my great midwife Elizabeth Ballering. I began having light and easy contractions Sunday morning spaced about 20-30 min. apart. I took a nap, took Siri swimming after the nap, Erick made lunch, and by the time 3 o'clock rolls around the contracts get a lot more aggressive very quickly. I called my midwife and while she headed over from the other side of the island I took a dip in the ocean. The water soothed my back pains and the contractions got more aggressive very quickly. When she got here at about 4:30 my contractions were very tough. I was dilated to 6 centimeters already and 90% effaced. The baby had already fallen very far down. She was certain I'd have the baby that night. Because it was so nice being it the water she encouraged me to go back in before we headed to the hospital for the birth. About a minute after she said that I had some very aggressive contractions and she quickly advised Erick to get the bags in the car and we would be heading to the hospital now. On the 10 minute drive there I had 2 tough contractions in the car, then one in the parking lot, 1 in the hallway, and one when we reached the labor and delivery ward. She was born within 2 hours of arriving! A beautiful baby girl.

Another Birthday Party

2008-09-28T13:34:00.000-11:00

Siriana was invited to another birthday party. This is Noa and her mom Nadia. Siri and Noa go to daycare together. We all met at "$2.00 beach" and ate yummy cake and swam in the shallow bay area. It was a great day and actually a bit cool. The water was cold which felt great to the new baby girl Simonsen.

Loungin by the Ocean

2008-09-28T13:28:00.000-11:00

Yes, Siri still likes her bottle and no we haven't been too diligent in making her give it up. If we were celebrities the press would have seriously chewed us out by now. She still has them when taking her nap or going to bed but otherwise uses a cup. She will not use a sippy cup though- its a big girl cup or nothing. She can be very determined about this issue too.

Driving the Jeep

2008-09-28T13:21:00.000-11:00

Our neighbors have a motorized jeep that's out of batteries so we just push it around. Siri loves to pretend to drive. You can kinda see the new baby girl Simonsen getting big.

Sunset on Coconut Point

2008-09-28T13:14:00.000-11:00

This is the first full moon since moving to our new house. It was obviously beautiful. This picture is from our front yard. Siri loved it and stayed up late to watch.

Siri loves to read

2008-09-28T11:57:00.000-11:00

This book is called "The Napping House." She got it when she was a baby from Auntie Renee and Uncle Mike. She loves her naps too. In fact- she just got up from a three hour nap. Sometimes her naps are only 1 hour. It depends a lot on what her morning was like.

Maliu Mai

2008-09-28T11:47:00.000-11:00

Siri loves to play in the sand. She just doesn't like to sit in it. Unless we put a towel down she'll squat and play. What a goofball. This is a nice little resort about 10 minutes from our house. The water is very menacing here, but there is a little pothole/pool carved out of the rock that you can stand and swim in. It is nice for Siri and I to swim in and then we can enjoy fun beverages and some fries. It's a nice getaway from home every-once and a while.

Small World!

2008-08-31T11:29:00.000-11:00

We have new neighbors to our left- our friends from Lions Park, Cliff and Julia Harty just moved in with their two elementary school age boys Everett and Simon. We love having them next door because they are really cool people and Siri loves having more kids to play with. The really crazy thing is that they both are attorneys and also graduated from Gonzaga Law. They graduated a couple of years before me though, but that means that we still overlapped by a year. We know many of the same people. Now we are living in the middle of no-where and whadya know- our neighbors are not only from Spokane, but they went to Gonzaga. It turns out they also lived only about 20 streets south of us on Spokane's South Hill.

Siri was invited to her first birthday party yesterday. She did such a great job playing with all of the kids. She only had one small temper tantrum and that was at the very end of the night after she had been playing hard and it was well past her bed time. She shared toys and interacted with the kids. She was very quiet, as she usually is with new people. There was also an infant there and a couple of times she quietly sat down next to her and gently patted her head.

Our Beach

2008-08-17T21:58:00.000-11:00

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago before we moved into our new house. We were visiting a friend (Erick's golfing buddy) who lives a few doors down from where we live now. The beach is amazing here and Siri seems to love it (most of the time). Sometimes she loves to go in the water and other times she would much rather sit up on the grassy shore. The fact that she doesn't like to swim that much is actually a blessing. She stays far away from the water unless we are right next to her. There is also a 5 foot rock decent to get to the water, so if she was interested she'd sooner break an arm before she ran into the ocean without us- a bad situation either way but we would prefer the broken arm to the latter. She laughs most of the day and she loves to make Daddy laugh. Here, she had a runny nose because she had another tooth coming in. She kept blowing bubbles with her nose; a trick my mom says I also did when I was a toddler. She is growing like a weed and is as tall as many 2 and a half year olds.

Pacific Arts Festival

2008-08-17T21:39:00.000-11:00

Over 20 countries from across the South Pacific gathered on our island for two weeks to showcase their arts: photography, dancing, crafts, food, music, etc. It was a great celebration. Siri loved all of the events. On the last Sunday of the festival we spent the whole day in town at the beach in front of my work. For lunch we sat in the shade and across from us was the large stage with performers as pictured below. You cannot see the performers in the picture here, but they were vi sable above the crowd if you stood up. The mountain that you see is called Rainmaker mountain. We had beautiful weather for the whole of the festival.

Baby Girl Simonsen is getting bigger

2008-08-17T21:21:00.000-11:00

This is my belly around July 23rd. We went swimming at Tisa's on Sunday afternoon. This was after two weeks of Pacific Arts Festival celebrations. We were out each night with Siri watching the amazing performers from more than 20 island countries. Siri had a blast. A group was performing at Tisa's this night before they left on the plane. My belly is much bigger now. Only a few more months left. She is due to arrive October 28th. My pregnancy is going great. She's treating me well, just like Siri did. We are all excited to be in our new house that stays so cool and it is wonderful to jump into the ocean on a whim without having to pack everything up. Erick is enjoying kayaking too. Our friend lent us his to use whenever he isn't using it and he is storing it at our house, which basically means we can use it all the time.

Siri Loves Elmo

2008-08-15T11:02:00.000-11:00

Siri picked up one of of her juice boxes a couple of days ago and freaked out saying, "Elmo, Elmo, Elmo!" Well, it was actually more like "EMO, EMO, EMO!" We don't have any Elmo things at our house, only a Grover book that she loves. There is a picture of Elmo on the back of her Grover book and just yesterday she also picked up her book and pointed to Elmo and exclaimed "Emo!" She must be reading Elmo books at daycare or maybe she watches Sesame Street there. We don't have a television so she hasn't watched any t.v. with us. It is pretty cute. She is also getting really good at saying "Bye." She also makes tons of animal sounds- she'll make cow, monkey, and sheep noises. She loves puckering her lips and saying "moooo."

We just moved into our new house last weekend. We love it. We sleep so much better without the stray dogs running around and Siri loves the big yard. We are also right on the ocean so she can see the boats and the planes and goes crazy over both. She loves airplanes and will wave goodbye as they fly away.

She has also been going to the daycare for the past few months. She loves it there. We drop her off and she runs to play with the kids. There are only about 8 other kids. They are all Samoan kids with the exception of our friend Noa who is the same age as Siri. She is learning a lot of Samoan words too. She knows how to say "no," "bring it," "stop it," and "you better knock it off." Basically she knows all of the words you tell to kids or kids tell eachother when they are being obnoxious. Those are the words that I recognize her saying, but she might know more too but she just says them and I take it for babel because I don't know very much Samoan yet. All of the kids speak Samoan all of the time, but the caregivers speak in English most of the day and read English books. She is learning songs too and she loves to dance when music comes on. She'll do the hula for you if you ask, and she'll show you her 'twinkles' when you read Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She's a really fun girl and all the kids seem to love her. They sing her a song when she leaves and she just smiles like crazy.

Island Life Update

2008-08-06T10:33:00.000-11:00

We have been so busy here on "The Rock" as it is lovingly referred to by locals and imports alike. We just had the 10th Annual Pacific Arts Festival which culminated in an amazing fireworks display. For two weeks Siri stayed up late dancing with artists from over 20 pacific islands. I will post pictures when I have a better internet connection. Now we are resting from so many late nights. We also are getting ready to move into a new house that is right on the ocean. We will likely move later this week. Work is going great for me. I am very busy, but the work is exciting. I work with immigration issues daily. Erick was just hired by the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources. He gets to work from home and it is just 20 hours a week so he gets to still spend a lot of time with Siri. We also have another baby on the way. The new baby is a GIRL! She is scheduled to arrive October 28th. She is healthy and I am doing great too. Thanks for the cards and emails. It is great to keep up with what is going on back home. We miss all of you and I wish that you could hang out on the beaches with us!

Tisa's Barefoot Bar

2008-05-13T13:38:00.000-11:00

This is Siri and Dad's first time at the ocean here. It was the Saturday after they had arrived. She wouldn't get off the blanket unless we were carrying her. Otherwise she seemed to enjoy herself. Later it started to rain so we walked up to the bar area and hung out overlooking the ocean. It was a relaxing Saturday.

Lovin the Warm Weather

2008-05-09T13:34:00.000-11:00

Since being here for a few weeks now Siri and Erick seem to be adjusting very well. She used to itch her cheeks and bottom and she hardly does anymore. She loves the ocean- at first she HATED it and didn't want anything to do with sand, but now she will walk toward the water and run in and out of the little waves that come into shore. Erick has been paddling with the Yacht Club a couple of times a week and each time Siri gets more excited about the water. All of us seem to be doing better with the weather too. Its about 87 degrees every day, and at night it only drops to 80. For Mothers Day we went to a friends house and had a big breakfast and went to the beach in front of their house. That night Erick and Siri took me out for dinner. They also got me a card and a beautiful plant to brighten up our house. Erick's 28th birthday is tomorrow and our 4 year wedding anniversary is coming up. May is an exciting month for the Simonsen house!

Annie and Meghan with Siri

2008-04-21T11:02:00.000-11:00

Here is Siri and her beautiful neighbors that watch her during the day. Annie just returned from a mission trip in Mexico and Meghan just finished high school. Siri is going to miss them so much!

At Manito Park and Mc'D's

2008-04-16T11:21:00.000-11:00

Siri and our neighboors Sheila, Meghan and Annie have been taking great care of Siri while I've been out of the country and Erick has been remodeling our house getting it ready to sell.

They took her to this great park near our house and she loved the ducks and the playground.

The picture on the left is at the Japanese gardens. Despite everyone's consensus that she looks just like Erick- to me she looks just like pictures of Grandma Dorothy when she was this age.

Siri and Erick have tickets in hand now and will be flying down to meet me here on Thursday the 24th of April.

She has already grown so much since the last time that I saw her, and she just got her first molar!

Yoh-Ho, Yoh-Ho: the Island Life for me

2008-03-16T06:56:00.000-11:00

For those of you who haven't heard yet, we are moving to American Samoa! Mom took a job with the Public Defenders Office there and will start working the end of March. Siri and Dad will fly out April 17th. It's a two year gig and should be a blast. http://americansamoa.gov/

If any of you (relatives and friends alike) would like to visit we would love to have you!

Siri's posing for Grandma Dorothy

2008-03-16T06:36:00.000-11:00

Siri pulled this book right off the bookshelf and sat on her current favorite seat (our speaker set taken apart and ready for the garage sale). Apparently, she likes to keep up on the Book of Common Prayer and daily rituals. Wouldn't Grandpa DeVereHunt be proud!

Siri loves to feed Artimus

2008-03-13T05:48:00.000-11:00

Sorry I did it sideways accidentially

Siri having fun with Mary Kay

2008-02-24T08:50:00.000-11:00

Siri and mom's co-worker Mary Kay were having fun at Elena's house. All three of us went to Elena's for a fun wine tasting. Everyone brought a bottle of Northwestern wine, covered the label, they were numbered, and then blindly tasted. It was fun to try things that you might not otherwise, simply because you think you don't like that variety of wine. Our friend Mike stopped over too.

Yep- I'm a Cutie

2008-02-16T08:32:00.000-11:00

and I like to play in the doogie dish:

Happy Valentines Day

2008-02-15T10:54:00.000-11:00

Family in Town

2007-12-02T09:56:00.000-11:00

After Siri's birthday Aunt Sue stayed in town for the afternoon and Julie and Anna were here for another week. Julie and Anna spent the week with Siri, hanging at the house, going to the playground, and they even spent a day helping Erick and Neal build a house.

Siri loves to hide in this little cubby hole we have in our kitchen. She looks out with an expression that surely says "am I going to get caught?"

Bath Time with Grandma Julie

Kate works at an amazing Cheese Shop in downtown. On friday night Anna, Julie, Siri and I went and enjoyed the cheeses and a bottle of Vino from Vino. Siri had her very own cheese plate. It was terriffic.

Siri loves to climb at the playground.

She also loves climbing on her Dad's head

She has so many fun new toys to play with. This one is a Dora the Explorer bike that makes tons of noise- thanks Kelly!

First Birthday

2007-12-02T09:51:00.000-11:00

There were many people here celebrating. She got lots of wonderful presents and some great books and clothes. She also got to wear her cute Grand Canyon Ranger outfit, complete with a stuffed Condor. Anna Simonsen made a chocolate cake that Siri devoured. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Mom gets Sworn-in

2007-12-02T09:47:00.001-11:00

Judge Eitzen swore Natalie and I into the legal profession. All of my Attorneys that I work with and our family and friends were there. Later, Attny Jamie Wolff hosted a reception for all of us at Niko's, an amazing Greek restaurant. It was a very special occasion and it was great to have the little one there celebrating with us.

Halloween

2007-12-02T09:43:00.000-11:00

Siri was a little Tiger. We drove to a few friends houses. She got great candy. Crissy and Kevin gave out Whole Candybars! Thats' where we're going next year! We ended the night at Natalies house where Siri was entranced by the big-screen t.v.

Labor Day Weekend in Idaho

2007-12-02T09:26:00.000-11:00

We camped in our van Betty right next to the river- all of our friends camped right on the bank. It was cold at night and hot during the day. The river was icy cold. Siri couldn't get enough of the water. From the minute she got up she wanted to walk down to the river and walk right in If we took her out of the icy water she would literally throw a fit. She was naked all day, and we would only put cloathes on her when it got cold at night We all had a blast

Siri and Riley reading

2007-09-23T09:25:00.000-11:00

This is Siri's babysitters son Riley. He is a GREAT kid and is teaching Siri all sorts of fun things like reading. She has advanced a ton since spending time with him. She wants to do everything that he does- including walking. She's going to be able to walk on her own very soon I'm sure.

Siri and Mom dancin the Charleston

2007-08-27T18:55:00.001-11:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!

Dinner Party in Minnesota

2007-08-07T09:04:00.000-11:00

Erick, Siri and I took a red eye flight from Seattle to Minnesota on Thursday July 26th. I had just finished the Bar that afternoon, and Erick and Siri met me in Seattle where we celebrated with friends. Erick's sister Anna's wedding was on Saturday, so we had a great time celebrating that and hanging out with family. The weekend after the wedding we spent time with my family in Minnesota and had friends over. Unfortunately, my camera was stolen when I was at the Mall of America (grrrrr) so all of my pictures are lost. But here are a few pictures from the dinner party at Grandma Dorothy's house (courtesy of the Abbas'). Siri is crawling everywhere - and walking with help. Wally Abbas and Siriana

A new Dad Sam gives Siri a bottle

2007-06-24T11:50:00.000-11:00

Our friends Crissy and Kevin had us over last night for a barbecue. It was a nice break from studying and working. Sam and his wife Karen are expecting their first child next winter. He's getting some practice feeding. I think he may need it. I had to show him how to cradle the babe- although she surprisingly didn't mind eating this way either, so what the heck?

Hangin out this summer with Annie

2007-06-24T11:39:00.002-11:00

Siri is spending her summer days with our neighbor Annie. She gets to cruise around the house in her walker and man does she go.

Camping in Hell's Canyon Oregon

2007-06-01T08:44:00.000-11:00

After driving to the top of the mountain, we stopped the car and made a yummy lunch of steak, asparagus and some fresh morels that Erick picked in the area.

We were driving down this tiny road and saw this . . . Siri's first UFO site. How exciting

Our kick butt campsite. It was raining but Erick still got an awesome fire going. We were just a few feet from the river and surrounded by mountains. Artimum ran himself ragged. Siri loved watching the sparks from the fire.

See Grandma's: We are keeping Siri warm and she has a hat on!

Dad and Siri catchin some Z's

2007-06-01T08:41:00.000-11:00

Laughing with Grandma Dorothy

2007-05-19T13:15:00.001-11:00

Mom's Law School Graduation

2007-05-19T06:18:00.000-11:00

Mom's Cousin Tom Gadwa surprised her and flew in from Texas. It was great to have him here for the weekend. Grandma Julie also spent the weekend, as did Grandma Dorothy and her friend Kris.

'A' for Awesome

2007-05-19T06:14:00.000-11:00

Siri loves to play with the building blocks that Auntie Katrina made for her for Christmas.

Siri loves bathtime with Grandma Julie

2007-05-19T06:11:00.000-11:00