My lil Veronika Raelene

Wow has it really been 2 months since I last posted pix of Roni??? Time goes by too fast. The first couple are out of order - I didn't want to try to move them around. But they are all labled. Hope you all like! She's growing so fast!

May 8, 2010 - Both our hands

May 4, 2010 - winking and smiling at the camera,
my first pic of her actually smiling!

May 2, 2010 - All bundled up in her Pooh suit

May 2, 2010 - in her cute Minny mouse outfit

May 3, 2010 - Daddy's little girl

May 5, 2010 - Just so loveable!

May 5, 2010 - sucking her thumb

May 5, 2010 - I love this pic, she looks so small
compared to now @ 3 months old

May 5, 2010 - Kooka burping her

May 5, 2010 - with her Kooka Alice as her Grandpa Demetri sang to her

May 5, 2010 - with her uncle John on his 24th bday
May 6, 2010 - with my mom, her grandma Vera

May 7, 2010 - laying in her bassinet she got from her krusna-mom

May 8, 2010 - I think she really likes to get her
diaper changed she always smiles so big!

May 8, 2010 - I love this pix!

May 8, 2010- I love how it looks like she's pointing
to something and "asking" whats that'?

May 9, 2010 - Dressed up for Mother's Day

May 14, 2010 - Looking cute for her daddy's 27th bday

May 19, 2010 - all passed out, so cute!

May 20, 2010 - Chilling in her hat and hoody

May 21, 2010 - catching her smiling away

May 22, 2010

May 22, 2010 - sweet little feet and toes

May 22, 2010 - HA HA HA me seeing what Veronika
would look like with longer hair using my hair

May 22, 2010

May 27. 2010 - with my dad, her Papa Hugh in the
outfit I got from my grandma Lillian, my dad's mom

May 31, 2010 - Watching her daddy change her diaper, so cute!

Baptism/Christening - June 10, 2010

With her Kooka Alice, Grandpa Demetri Sr and her daddy

Krusna mom Kay holding Roni in church

Proud Kursna's Iggy & Kay, thats Natasha on the left (Kay's little girl)

Father Kashevarof putting oils on her feet

Looking cute with her Krusna-mom Kay

Getting dunked in holy water

Clipping her hair

She got mad, as you can see

Proud Krusna's (god parents)

June 5, 2010

Veronika and me on June 5, 2010

June 6, 2010

Veronika's 1st boat ride on the ferry from Akutan to Dutch and back on June 26, 2010

Waiting in line to pick up our tickest and pay for our ATV & trailer

All interested in her "bugs" hanging from her car seat.

With her daddy in our stateroom

Smiling big as she's getting her diaper changed

Holding her up near the plaque in the lobby of the ferry

Roni with the Tustumena behind her.

Here we are with Dutch Harbor in the background

With me near the big painting of the AK Flag on the ferry

Watching her daddy eat a halibut burger on the ferry

Veronika with Akutan in the background, coming back home from Dutch Harbor

1st time eating baby rice cereal - June 27, 2010

June 28, 2010

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Well it’s already the end of June… I don’t know how the year is just blowing by so fast… The island is finally starting to turn green, the salmonberry bushes are flowering, my strawberries planted in my old bbq are starting to flower, and the putchky’s are ready to be picked and eaten! Seems pretty mild this summer, temps hanging in the mid to high 40’s with the usual fog in the AM’s. Some days the sky is clear and the sun comes out warming us up into the 50s and sometimes 60s, but that’s only like maybe 2 times a month in the last 2 months… Not too many bees this year… been looking for them and only see a couple here and there… not like they used to be. I really wonder what is happening with the bees and why they are disappearing like they are??

We went over on the state ferry Tustemena on Saturday the 26th. Went over to pick up some stuff for our store and to hoard up some champagne for the wedding. So far I got 10 bottles of bubble and one bottle of sparkling cider (for myself). I got our favors in and the cute little satin bags with our names and date on it for the favors. I got my cake stand in and my cake pans! I am thinking of having chocolate cake in the big one with cherries in the center, yellow or white cake colored pink with salmonberries in the center, and maybe a carrot cake for my smallest tier all covered in white frosting with a pink ribbon wrapped around the bases. Nothing too fancy, as long as it looks good and taste just as great! I am planning on making my own cake I can’t wait. Too bad I can’t get any white fondant to wrap the cakes in to give them that perfect smooth look… maybe I’ll look online and see if I can order some or something... if not regular butter cream frosting will have to do. J On the next ferry I will start to pick up stuff for the potluck/reception and the ferry after that to meet up with my sisters and “bring” them home with me! We had a great time in Dutch Harbor for the day. That was Roni’s first boat ride!! She did great over and back! I enjoyed a great tasting burger with sweet potato fries at the Harbor Café!! Thanks to CB for introducing me to those fries, I love them!! Speaking of CB, it was great to have him finally meet my little Veronika!! We stopped by the hotel and spent some time with him! He bought Roni this cute blue and green dog that she was fascinated with, she loves it thank you!

I’ve been trying to upload pix of Veronika to share with everyone. I can’t believe it’s been over 2 months since I last posted pix of her! Time goes by way too fast! Before I know it she’ll be running around with all the rest of the kids! She’s slowly moving out of her 3-6 month clothes and getting ready to wear 6 month and 6-9month clothes!! I can’t believe how fast they grow out of stuff… I just hope I let her wear everything at least once before she can’t fit it anymore! Time to go clothes shopping… I think I might have to save up and go to Anchorage for shopping….. We’ll see on that one though.

Fish are slowly starting to show up. We got one the other day and got it ready to be dried… but in the middle of the night last night a fox or cat or something got into our dry rack and we woke up to no fish hanging… I was mad about that… time to rig something to keep the animals away… what a waste... at least it was only one fish I guess…. But still L

So I’ve started up workout every day again, feels good to get a good sweat and to feel sore the next day! I have 25 more days until our church wedding, so time to try to lose the last of the baby weight so I can look good in my pictures! I’m getting excited! Both my sisters and my nieces are going to come down, I’m excited to see them, it’s been since my older sister Shannon’s wedding 4 years ago that my whole family have been in the same place at the same time! Plus my younger sister Ivy hasn’t been home in like 4 years, and this time she gets to bring my niece Aaliyah with her!! Plus we take picture of our 3 girls together for the first time!!

4th of July is already sneaking up on us. I can’t wait to enjoy the festivities. I heard we are having a couple contests like Pool contest and a “Rock Band Battle of the Bands” contest. There should be the usual games like: egg toss, balloon toss, bobbing for apples, pie eating contest, watermelon eating contest (the eating contests are what people love to watch and root for people in), the 3 legged race, the one where you balance an egg in a spoon from your mouth, pass the lifesaver from a tooth pick in your mouth, dizzy lizzy, pass an orange using your neck, men vs. women in tug of war, along with a handful of other games. A potluck with great food cooked up by volunteers, followed by a great firework show around midnight!! It’s going to be so much fun!!

Well I hope the best for everyone, take care and TTFN (that’s Ta Ta For Now if you didn’t know)

Monday, June 21, 2010

Well today is officially the first day of summer... it's cold and windy here in Akutan, doesn't feel much like summer... oh well hopefully it warms up and we see some non-windy days with lots of sunshine!!

I took Roni down to the clinic this morning to get weighed and measured. She is officially 25 inches long and 14lbs 2oz!! That's around 3lbs and 2 inches in a month!! Goodbye to #1 diapers, hello #2!!

We have decided to go over to Dutch Harbor on the ferry Tustemena this coming Saturday. I'm trying to make a lunch date with our beloved CB (Dutch Harbor Dirt). That's if he isn't too busy. :) Pizza sounds good... so does a juice burger!! I found a dog sitter for my chihuahuas so I figured we can go shopping for some of the stuff we need for the wedding and anything Roni might need. That and to get off this Rock for a bit. I have to make sure I pack everything Roni will need for a day, including her car seat and maybe her stroller. Next I have to see about renting a car while we're over there! Yay this will be Roni's first boat ride!!

Nothing new has really happened here over the weekend. The weather has been pretty crappy so we haven't had any planes. My hubby got to celebrate his 1st official Father's Day yesterday! I made sure to make the day as close to perfect for him! I love him so much!!

Tonight we get to enjoy some good ole homemade lasagna from my momma, but first going to enjoy a nice hot steam bath right after work. I had both grandma's wanting to babysit for us, but my mom said that since she gets to be with her all during the work day (since Roni's in the office with me) that her other grandma (Kooka Alice) can watch her :) I'm glad they don't argue and make me pick who gets to watch her!! I still can't believe Roni is going to be 3 months next week, time goes by way too fast!!

When I get time and when blogger lets me get them uploaded. I will post some pix of Roni's baptism/christening :) She was sooo cute in her dress we got her!!

Well until next time, take care and TTFN!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Just an early post to say Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there in the world. Without you we wouldn't be here!! Hope you all have an awesome weekend!!

On Monday I'm planning on getting Veronika weighed and measured to see how much she has grown in a month. On the 21st of May she was 11 lbs 3.6 oz and 23 inches long! I wanted to wait until the 21st of this month to get her stats done up again :)

Happy Early Birthday to my friend Jessica B!! May god bless you with many more happy years to come!! I can't believe how fast 27 years has blown by!!! Much love to you!!

Think I'll go see how big the putchkies are and maybe have some with sea oil!! Yum!! I heard that some people were already picking some and eating them... they might be small but hey they are big enough to eat!! :D I got some awesome sea oil from my mom the other day!! I love her so much!!

Wow 5 weeks and 2 days until my big church wedding!! How exciting!!!

Have a great weekend everyone, until sometime TTFN!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Well lots have happened since my last post.



On June 10th Veronika got baptised/christened with her cousins J.B.3 and Tasha B. in our Russian Orthodox church by Father Kashevarof. She had her first communion on the morning of June 13. She looked so cute in her dress we got for her baptism! Roni's godparents (krusnas) are Kaylyn and Iggy.



Tasha had her first bday on June 7th, but celebrated with a big birthday bash on the 13th of June. We all had a great time and there was a lot of great food! I brought 2 sea gull egg custard pies and a big bowl of potato salad! Roni didn't enjoy having the birthday hat on, so only let her wear it for a picture (which she was super mad and screaming at me until I took it off her).



The state ferry Tustemena came in on the 12th. A handful of people did the round-trip run over to Dutch Harbor and back. I sent my hubby over to get some of the supplies that we need for the wedding and some stuff for Roni. He picked up these super cute vest and rain jacket from CB!! Thank you so much!! I can't wait for her to start fitting them, they are so cute!!



I had my wedding date changed to July 25th - Father Kashevarof let me know of fasting days and when he's going to be available. So I had to change my dates.... I don't mind as long as I get to have my wedding in our church in our faith and I'll be happy! I was happy that both of my sisters were able to change their travel dates so they can still attend my wedding! I love them so much for going thru the trouble of changing their schedules to make it here in time! <3



Roni is growing fast, I can't believe she's going to be 3 months here soon already! On the 21st I plan on going to the clinic to get her weighted and measured so I can put it in her baby book! I have to look for something for her to wear to the wedding.....



I got my hubby a beautiful Tux! I love the way it looks on him! The last wedding he went to he rented a tux, this time he owns his own! I got him Joe - by Joseph Abboud... He seems proud to own his own tux now!



I ordered almost everything I need for the wedding: cake pans, cake tiers, my favors and little bags to put them in. I have napkins (with the original date on them but they will work), the garter set, plastic toasting glasses for everyone else, glass toasting glasses for my hubby and me (with the original date enscribed on them). I have my cake topper and bouquet. I ordered white shoes. I have my dress and veil. I have all the stuff to eat with. Now to start on a menu and to start asking people what they can make/bring to the reception/potluck. So far I know I want: a turkey, spiral ham, roast, halibut fish pie, salmon fish pie, baked halibut, baked salmon, deep fried halibut, aaladix, halibut chowder, potato and macaroni salads, mashed potatoes, spaghetti, assorted veggies, and whatever else I can think of... :) I am trying to think of punch ideas and drink ideas other than the champagne for toasting. So far I've hoarded up 4 bottles of Korbel Brut. Will pick more up when the ferry returns next weekend. I figured 10 bottles will be enough :P I need to get myself a bottle of sparkling apple cider (no alcohol for me since I'm breastfeeding). I'm getting excited!! I asked my younger sis Ivy to be my Maid of Honor. I love her so much for helping me out!! My hubby still have to come up with who he wants to be his best man... he hasn't hinted to me who that is going to be yet... but I told him to get it figured out soon!



I just hope that I didn't forget anything. I have all my invitations out in the mail and receiving my RSVP cards back already! I hope everyone heard that my date was changed to July 25 instead of Aug 14. I tried to make sure I let everyone know!! SO EXCITING!!!



The island is slowly but surely turning green. We mowed our lawn again last night. The foxes are starting to hang out close to town, we have no big dogs to chase them away anymore. All the sea gulls are out laying eggs so we barely have any around town right now. The eagles are plentiful and doing their mating rituals - flying high into the sky and falling back to the Earth entwined to each other. The salmonberry bushes are starting to push out leaves and some flowers - they have a ways to go before you can't see between the bushes though. We've been having pods of humpback whales hanging out in the harbor. One day there were at least 20+ whales in the bay! It was so cool to hear them singing, watching them splash the water with their flippers and seeing their huge tails (flukes) slowly sinking back into the water after they come up to breath. None of them were jumping out of the water though (breeching), at least none in our harbor were but I know that they usually do on the North and South sides of our island. So spring/summer must finally be here if all the signs show it. The temps sure aren't agreeing. It's been pretty chilly out and we've been dealing with a lot of strong Northerly winds. Can't wait for it to warm up, but it's been raining a good amount lately.



Life is good here on "the Rock". We have a lot of contractors here working on numerous projects. A main one being our boat harbor project at the head of the bay. They have been working long hours ripping up parts of the land, digging and moving tons of dirt. They have a lot of heavy equipment and living quarters set up. Pretty exciting to see everything come into play instead of just looking at plans of what we'd like. Still waiting for our restaurant to open back up, I know we have a lot of people who are waiting for the cooks to come back from their vacation!



Well until next time, TTFN!

Monday, May 31, 2010

Happy Memorial Day!! Please remember to thank those who have served for our great country.

I can't believe how fast the days are going by. It doesn't feel like it's been since the 9th that I last wrote my last blog.

Well my hubby turned 27 on the 14th. The weather has been on the chilly side with a side of fog and rain. The island is slowly turning green. Yesterday 30 sea gull eggs were harvested from Akun Head! I got to make my first custard pie of the year and it turned out awesome!!

I'm slowly getting everything I ordered for my August wedding in the mail. I have to figure out what else I need to get. Patiently waiting for my invitations to get here so I can get them out. I ordered them around the beginning of the month and they still aren't here... wish we had more flyable days... The temps have been averaging in the the mid 40's lately, while the rest of the state is having a heat wave...

The state ferry Tustemena came on the 29th. We had a couple people head out for a couple weeks to visit family. I'm debating when to go to Dutch Harbor and hoard up some champagne for my wedding... I asked CB to price it for me so I know how much I want to spend on it... of course for me I'm getting sparkling apple cider since I'm breastfeeding. My in-laws are supposed to be hosting a bbq tonight with their neighbors, so I figured I'd make and bring some corn bread muffins to share. That's if the rain decides to go away. Been raining/misty for a couple days now.

I finally got my wedding invitations in today so that'll give me something to do. I have 125 cards to fold, envelope and address then get in the mail hopefully tomorrow!! Surprised the plane flew today, that's a good thing though. Bringing over all the mail and freight before all the fish processors start to flood the island!

Veronika has been growing like a beanstalk. She no longer fits newborn clothes and her 0-3 month clothes are getting a bit snug on her. So I'm moving her into her 3 month and 3-6 month clothes. I just ordered her some 3-6 and 6 month clothes, that was fun shopping for her online!! She officially out of her newborn diapers and into her #1 diapers! So sad to see them grow so quickly, almost wish they could stay small for longer but they have to grow up eventually!! She's such a great baby. She only cries for when shes wants to eat, if shes wet or when she's tired. She likes to fight her sleep, just like her cousin Aaliyah did (my younger sister Ivy's baby girl). She's cooing and saying ah-goo now, it's so cute. I love how she smiles back when she's smiled at and her cute little giggle when she finds things funny. She loves her swing that her Krusnamom (godmother) gave to her!! She does so great with me at work too, which I'm relieved about!! Both sets of grandparents spend lots of time with her, which makes me so happy!!

The pups have been taking to her greatly too. Cali and Roscoe take turns sleeping next to her when they can. Dante still gets a little jealous because he thinks he's the baby since he's the smallest, but he hasn't done anything aggressive towards her, thank god! I don't think he will be mean or anything to her, just tries to wiggle in and get some attention too. We make sure to spend lots of time with our pups as well as the baby so they know that we didn't forget about them!

Well I hope that our weather warms up more than it has and let us get some sunny days like the rest of the state!! The island is slowly turning green but it's still mostly brown. I'm happy that we were able to mow our lawn the other day for the first time this year! Its been about a week now and it looks like the next dry day we're going to have to trim it again! Happy that we get to borrow my parents lawn mower. Maybe we'll get our own someday :P

Well I hope everyone is doing great!! Until next time TTFN!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day to all you mom's out there! Hope you have just as great a day as I'm having!!

Woke up to that beautiful Aleutian summertime fog!! A really thick fog that makes it hard to see our neighbor's house! Then by noon the sun was burning thru it all showing us the beautiful blue skies above!! The temps were in the high 30's this AM warming up to about mid 40"s by mid-day. There was no wind and the water was flat calm, it looked like glass!! There have been a lot of krill coming into the bay and coating the beaches - making a feast for all the birds and some foxes, but also giving this strong fishy smell. Most of the snow is finally going away, only appearing in the gullies's and where it was the thickest. I love the sound of the tweety birds singing away and the sea gulls making all their sounds as they gorge on the krill, and once in a while the screech of the eagles and the caws from the ravens! I think spring has finally made it's way to this part of the world!

Well today is Mother's day, my first offical Mother's day as a momma!! The Safe Harbor Church threw a Mother's Day brunch @ 1pm. They had some ham, waffles, quiche and a big tray of cut up assorted fruit, along with some bagel and cream cheese. The kids raffled off the quilt they made, and they also gave Veronika a quilt! I almost cried when they came up and presented it to us!!!

My hubby is cooking steam bath once again today! My father-in-law and his friend Jason got the water hookup fixed so we have running water in the bath house once again! I guess when my in-laws had their weatherization job done on their house the hose got unhooked and wasn't hooked back up until the other day. So no more packing water! Yay! This time I made sure to pump milk yesterday (which is kind of harder than I thought it would be). I got 4oz ready for Roni if she get's hungry while we're in bath. Last time she cried not even 10 mins after we got in and had to wait for me to get out 20 mins later. So I'm making sure I'm prepared this time! I need to start pumping and storing milk (freezing it) for an emergency stash just incase I need it! She feeds good from her soothie bottles, since she's used to the soothie pacifier (the one the hospital gives out).

I want to wish my friend Simeon V. (1985-2001) a happy 25th birthday, RIP Sim - you will never be forgotten and you are missed dearly!! Wish you didn't have to go the way you did, I know we'd be having so much fun hanging out and everything! Watch over us from up above, much love to you!!

Until next time, TTFN!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Happy Birthday to my Krusna (godfather), my Bro-in-Law Don J, and to my sister-in-law's b/f Brett!!

Well woke up on Saturday to 31F weather and fresh snow.. then Saturday it was sunny and in the 40's. Monday the weather was beautiful, looks like Spring/Summer is on it's way finally!! Yesterday was sunny and warm! My strawberries are starting to grow in my old bbq grill turned planter!! Today the weather is a bit cloudy but still in the 40F's!

The snow is finally starting to melt and the grass looks like it's growing and starting to turn green! My hubby is cooking steam bath, this will be my first time going since before I got pregnant!! I can't wait to feel the heat and scratch/scrub my skin!! Not going to take Roni until shes a bit older, to be honest I'm scared to take her in that kind of heat....

We made a couple Jello No Bake cheesecakes for his brothers big dinner that my in-laws are having!! I heard they are bringing out the BBQ grill and whipping out some awesome food!! I'm lost on what to get my hubby for his 27th bday on the 14th... hopefully I find something...

I go tot he Eye Dr today... go see if my prescription changed or not and check out their glasses and see if I like any of them... its about time I get a new pair! The ones I have now, the lens are all scratched up.. I've had them for like 5 years or so now... about time for a change!

Roni has a slight cold, which sucks! I got saline drops to put in her little nose. So I'll see if that helps her. She weighed in at 9lbs 4.8oz this morning. We both have our 6 week check up on the 10th on this month... I can't believe how fast time has gone by already!! Shes growing out of her newborn clothes already and moving into her 0-3 month clothes!! I try to make sure to take her picture every day, since I doubt she'll be wearing the same outfit more than once, with all the 0-3 month clothes we received for her!!! I'm trying to capture the moment and get my paparazzi on since I know they grow so fast!! I never want to forget how small she used to be!

The plane has been making back to back flights, I think all the incoming mail is caught up, and Trident is moving all their people in and out. I finally got all of Roni's diapers in plus all the dog and bird food we mailed down! Thank goodness because we needed all of that, the dogs were out of their food and the birds were completely out and we don't have cockatiel food at our store!! Not to mention there are no diapers in our store!! So I'm happy I got all that in!! Can tell its almost summer when the plane is flying until 8PM!!

My pups are all doing great! I think they love being home and not having to worry about putting a leash on to go outside!! They all seemed to have missed their big brother Tug (our lab)!!

In a week or two we should be getting our new furnace set up and have our house weatherized. So we'll see how that goes!.....

Ok well until next time TTFN.

PS if you notice spelling errors its because I'm typing with one hand and holding my baby feeding her with the other!! :) I love knowing that I'm giving her a great start on life by breast feeding her, not to mention cheaper for us!!

Friday, April 30, 2010

Veronika's hand and foot prints @ 1 week old

Roni in her crib

Roni's room:

Still hard to believe we’ve already been home for a week (well tomorrow)!! So far I love being a new mom and I don’t know why people say be ready to get no sleep, I’ve been sleeping pretty good! Roni has been being a great lil girl and sleeping thru the night! I actually have to wake her for feedings or she’d sleep all night with us! I really love having her in our lives and I really love being her momma! Her daddy is just as excited, we both can’t believe how much she’s grown in the past month!!

The day we got home we got to opening all our mail and boxes that we sent home and started to put all the nursery furniture together, we didn’t finish putting everything together until around midnight (we started at 3PM when we got home). We were both happy with how everything looks in her room!! Now to just get her clothes washed up and hang it all in her closet! Lots of pink in her room – hopefully she likes it when she gets older, but for now she doesn’t seem to have a problem with it!

I’ve been bringing her to work with me all week so far, my mom has been loving all the time she gets to spend with her and my mother-in-law makes sure to come up and spend lots of time with her too! She can’t go far from me since I’m breastfeeding and no one else can feed her. I’ve been trying to pump and store milk, but she doesn’t want to take any milk from any bottles and I’ve tried at least 5 different brands of bottles on her! That’s ok with me though, as long as she takes a bottle later on when her teeth start to come in or I don’t know how I’m going to deal with her chewing me up! I’m hoping hard that a plane will come in and bring mail. I only packed a box of newborn diapers in my suitcase and mailed 4 boxes home… which still haven’t arrived since we only had one plane since the one that brought us home! So I’m hoping and praying hard that our weather lets up and lets the planes fly!

Labor and delivery went pretty smoothly, I’d say. I didn’t take any pain meds and delivered her naturally! I’m proud of myself for that! I went into labor around 4:30AM, at 5:30 I woke up my hubby, we went to the hospital at 10:45AM and was admitted into L&D around 1PM. I tried the whirlpool for about an hour but I couldn’t see how anyone can deal with the pain of contractions while trying to sit in a tub! I felt better sitting up out of the water. I didn’t really yell at all at my hubby but I did yell and cry about the pain I was feeling. Mostly saying “Oh my f-ing god, what was I thinking?” and “Holy s**t” and trying to convince myself that I can do this naturally and that it was my plan from the beginning not to get any pain meds! My sister Ivy and hubby were really great supporters reminding me that I can do it and I was doing a great job! I tried the whirlpool, the birthing ball and all the positions they were instructing me to try and be comfortable. Contractions are no fun, especially when they get stronger and closer together!!!

The nurses told me that I needed to empty my bladder and I screamed that I couldn’t get up and move… so with the help of my hubby and a nurse they took me to the bathroom, where I still felt like I couldn’t pee… I dropped to the ground, crawled to the door frame and started to yell that I needed to push! The Dr. came and checked me and told me she was right there and I needed to get on the delivery bed. Which my response was “I can’t stand up!” So with help once again I was lifted to the bed and was instructed to start pushing when I felt a contraction. Within less than 11 mins I got her out!! I was proud of how I took the pain and how quickly I got her out! I can admit that when I saw her head pop out I stopped pushing and yelled “OH MY GOD.. A HEAD!!” then had to be told to concentrate and keep pushing to deliver the rest of her! I started to laugh and kept pushing. I also let the Drs break my water for me instead of waiting for it to pop on its own. I’ve read that it helps labor progress faster, plus it let them know whether or not she used the bathroom inside, which she did. So pediatricians were there for her delivery to check her out and make sure she didn’t breathe any of it in, which luckily she did not! Since there was poop in the “bag of waters” my hubby wasn’t able to cut her cord since she was rushed to be checked by the Drs, but he was able to trim the cord once they were done evaluating her! Then she was finally handed over to me!

All in all I’d have to say the contractions were worse than pushing her out! I really want to thank my sister Ivy and my hubby for all the loving support they gave me!! I don’t know how I would have gotten thru the whole L&D without taking meds if it wasn’t for them reassuring me! We spent 48 hrs in the hospital before being discharged! I received lots of flowers and balloons while “recovering”. I’m kind of happy that I had a roommate because she gave me lots of great info that I never knew, but it also sucked because my hubby wasn’t able to stay the night with us. Roni was with me the whole time sleeping in the room with me, I was happy she got to stay with me at least! I really want to thank my sister for letting us stay with her and for her putting up with my 3 lil pups for the 2 months that we were in Anchorage!! I miss being around her and she misses us being around her, but we had to come back home, 2 months was long enough up there for us! We’re so happy to have made it home all in one day! :D

I still can’t believe it’s been 33 days since I was going into labor!! I still can’t believe how fast my pregnancy seemed to go by! At her 2 weeks checkup she was 7lb 14 oz and grew 1/4”. I tried to weigh myself then with me holding her and subtracted and came up with just over 12lbs. So I’m guessing that’s how heavy she is. Roni is just starting to grow out of her newborn clothes, but still fitting her newborn diapers. (Hopefully she gets her 4 boxes I sent down and burns thru those before moving to the next size…. Hopefully!). At one week old the rest of her umbilical cord stub fell off and I was able to give her a real bath and not just a sponge bath!! Flying home on the Saab to Dutch Harbor was her first plane ride, which she did really great – sleeping the whole way! And she did just as great on the goose flt to Akutan!!

Soon I have to get her baptized, I want to get her a cute keepsake dress but not sure how long it would take for that to get here… both her godparents (krusnas) are excited to have her home and can’t wait to get her baptized. We are of the Russian Orthodox faith, just to let everyone know.

Life with my new baby couldn’t be any better than we’ve experienced so far!! She makes the future seem that much more worth it and I hope I am able to give her everything she needs and more!!! Right now I’m just enjoying watching how her personality is and listening to all the cute girly sounds she makes, even her cries are cute (at least I think so right now!)! I couldn’t have asked for anything better! She makes my life light up and I love waking up to her beautiful face every day!!

I still can’t believe that there hasn’t been a plane since Sunday morning!!! And that winter is still holding its grip here!! Where is our spring/summer at this year???

Well until sometime, TTFN!!

Thrusday - April 29, 2010

Getting a bath in the tub that my parents got her!

Roni and her cousin Yaya (Aaliyah)

Roni and Me at the APICDA
Community Conference dinner

Eating at Bennihana's for my 27th bday!

Our feet! :D

Hey everyone! So we finally made it back home, which feels really great! I'm so happy to be back home and back at work once again!! Veronika was welcomed by all her family and new friends with big open arms and lots of love! Her grandparents were happy to finally meet their new grandchild (my parents 4th and my in-law's first).

We are not happy about coming back to winter weather though... it's in the 50F+ in Anchorage and around freezing here in Akutan! But other than that it's been great to be home. We fixed up Roni's room, almost all her furniture has been put together and placed where we think we want it. I still can't believe she's already a month old!! All 4 of our dogs have been accepting her pretty well, which makes me super happy! We had the 3 little ones with us the whole time while Tug stayed with my parents, he's wondering what she is but I know he'll be a great companion to her when she gets older!

Tomorrow I will try to get a good size post done up with some pix of Roni's room! Take care everyone, until tomorrow TTFN!

Veronika Raelene Tcheripanoff

Chillin in her car seat!

Daddy's first time holding her, only mins old!

Proud mommy and daddy in the delivery room!

Miss Veronika Raelene! <3

Just a quick note to everyone!


Miss Veronika Raelene Tcheripanoff was born on Sunday March 28th 2010 @ 8:44PM!!! After 16 hrs of labor (about 6 hrs of screaming labor) and 11 min of pushing... my lil baby girl made her arrival!!! She was 7lbs 10.8 oz and 20.5 inchs long!!! She looks just like her daddy!! :D

Today she's already 3 weeks old!! Time goes by way too fast!! I can't wait to get her home (we're still hanging out in Anchorage) and introduce her to her grandparents, who have been patiently waiting for us to get home!! I miss being at work, but I can say I don't miss all the snow they still have down there! Been pretty slack here in Anchorage... we usually just sit around and watch TV then go out and find something to eat.... I'm going to go into Taco Bell withdrawls when we go home but at least I loaded up on TB Fire sauce!!!


Hope everything has been going great with everyone out there in the world!!! Take care and until next time, TTFN :D

Friday, February 19, 2010

Wow has it already been 3 weeks since my last posting?!?! Time is just flying right by!!!

The last 3 weeks have been pretty much the same its been all winter - we get warm days with rain and fog the we get super cold temps and light snow then once in awhile we get a really beautiful day (like today!).

We have a fresh blanket of snow coating everything - so beautiful when the hills are frosted from the beaches to the tips of the mountains/hills!! The sky is this baby blue color and the sun is slowly rising over the horizon by 10AM. There isn't a breeze in the sky, the temps are holding at 32F and the water in the bay is so calm it's almost like glass... such a beautiful morning!!!!

I still can't believe how fast my pregnancy has blown right by... I'm already approaching week 35 this weekend. I have all our reservations to head to Anchorage soon to await Veronika's world debut. Her crib set is currently sitting in Dutch Harbor waiting for space on a flight on the Goose, so hopefully we get that soon so we can get it set up before we leave! I am currently packing up stuff I think I'm going to need and sending it all up to my sister so she can hang on to it all for me! Lots of thanks to my parents for getting me the breast pump I wanted and for the cute sets of clothes!!! Love you both lots and lots and lots!! Darn electric pumps aren't cheap and that was our next "big" purchase... but my parents took care of that for us!! Again thanks mom and dad!!

I have some pix of the nursery, I ordered these wall decals I found online - pink, white and chocolate circles and dots. We spent a couple hours taping them where we wanted them before actually making the commitment to peel the backing off and get them placed on the walls. It almost looks like we painted it!! I'm very happy with how it came out (I will be sure to post a pic of what it looks like). I don't know if I ever told anyone but we're going with the pink, white, chocolate, and black color theme for our baby girl!! I still can't believe I have about 5 weeks until my due date!! I still feel like I just found out at week 5!!!

Valentine's Day went great other than the fact that the Cafe didn't have my cupcake order... we went in on Friday was told come back tomorrow - went in on Saturday was told tomorrow once again... so we show up to pick them up on Valentine's day and they say they sold out!!! I was like WTF?!?! I put my order in for them..... so that kind of ticked me off when I was looking forward to them for like 3 days..... my hubby tried to cheer me up by picking up 4 roses and giving them to me - roses don't equal cake... at least he tried.... I got a couple cards from some of the girls here in town - I thought that was cute of them!

Not much else has been going on... pretty quiet and peaceful. Last week I was training the person who is going to temp for me in the office while I'm out on maternity leave. Hopefully everything goes smoothly while I'm out of the office, he seemed to be getting the paperwork down great and everything else is pretty easy to do - mostly answering the phones, cashing checks and putting money on the right accounts (store, hotel, rents).

Uggg my first iPod finally died... it's making these weird sounds when I plug it into the computer and it keeps saying I need to restore it. But when I go to iTunes to restore it I get an error that it can't be restored and I really don't want to pay $200.00 to send it in to get serviced when I can probably just buy a whole new one!! Really sucks... especially when we're traveling around the corner... iPods are a great way to make the 3 hour flight from Dutch to Anchorage pass by!! So we'll see what we'll do with that.... probably deal with it in a couple months when we get back home!

Well I think I'm going to go for my usual at the Cafe today for lunch. I swear Veronika's going to come out either hating or loving French dip because of how much I eat it!!! :P LOL!!! I think it's funny... I'm either gaining too much weight, not putting on enough weight or losing weight and the clinic is worried about my eating habits... I eat, and I eat lots... I don't know why my weight fluctuates so much.... as long as baby is growing great I'm happy!! :D

Ok well I hope all is going great with everyone out there. Rest in Peace to Capt. Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie who recently passed away due to heart problems. You will be missed but never forgotten! Until sometime, TTFN!