And then there was two...

  Soon to be Grandma Fujii comes to visit and take care of Stef while I'm away in Chicago for USMLE testing.

On Friday August 26th, 2011 we go to our ultrasound appointment and both babies check out well (31 weeks and 2days gestation).  We get blood work done, and then go to Star Diner for breakfast.  We get home, Stefanie finishes a few check deposits for work, passes off the checks to the courier, has a snack, and promptly at 12:24pm her water breaks.  She called for help for mom, but the bathroom door was closed, so she calls me on my cell phone in the living room to inform me what was going on.  To which, I promptly jump up and non-chalantly walk up stairs and poke my head in the bathroom door.  Stef calls the doctor and we are on our way to Toledo Children's Hospital for evaluation.  1:30pm

Stefanie is smiling through a contraction.  2 cm dilated. 3pm

Post-magnesium treatment to slow down the contractions so that the administered steroids and antibiotics have time to work on the babies.  4cm dilated. 8pm

Doctor says its time to go to the OR for a c-section.  Both babies are breech, and stef is about 6 cm dilated. 9:45pm.

Nolan Tamotsu Blomquist was born at 10:12pm 3 lbs 10 oz and 17 inches.  Cole Takeshi Blomquist was born at 10:14pm 4 lbs 1 oz and 17.5 inches.  Toledo Children's Hospital amazing NICU team: about 20 people in the OR that night.

Cole is looking pink with his c-pap oxygen.

Nolan giving the NICU team nurses a tough time by flailing his limbs wildly and screaming at the top of his lungs.  He was the wild child, as it happens, that broke his bag of waters.

Mommy visits Nolan and Cole in the NICU after she is done with recovery.

The next day, Nolan is doing so well he is off c-pap oxygen.  Mommy and Daddy are happy to hold there new sons.

Cole nucking on a pacifier.  Quite a little sucker.

Nolan taking a peak.

Mommy finally happy to have some skin-to-skin time with the babies today. 

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts.  -Thomas and Stefanie, Nolan and Cole Blomquist

Babies' forest room

Outlining the tree.

Filled in with paint and add stenciled forest critters.

Our five dollar crib we got at the Waterville Community Garagesale.  New mattress though.

Our Glider we purchased through the garage sale.  Only fifty dollars!

More forest critters.

Bear and Fox perched on high.

Turtles and frog around a pond.  Owl perched on the light switch.  Changing table and dresser from my childhood.

Going Green!

May 2011

Cut out the sod, tilled the ground, made my furrows.  Fenced with rabbit proof fencing.  Or so they say it's rabbit proof.  I think a family of rabbits is living in my garden.

Listening to Dream Theater and White Zombie while assembling the defenses.

 Planted: 12 bicolor sweet corn, 4 zucchini, 2 watermelon, 2 pumpkin, 4 pickling cucumber, 1 English cucumber, 1 Mr. Stripey Tomato, 1 Green Zebra Tomato, 2 Yellow Jubilees and 1 Pink Brandywine, 2 Red Brandywine tomato plants and basil.

Creating a raised garden bed out of old railroad ties in the yard.  Lined the bottom with rock, and filled with mulch from the past three years.

Planted: 1 each of Orange and Yellow Bell Pepper plants, 1 each of ichiban and globe egg plants, 6 cauliflower, 2 jalapeno plants, and a bed of asparagus.

Foiled!

August 2011

Raised bed going nuts!  Look at the size of that cauliflower!  And my Asparagus root crown is really taking off.  We have more jalapenos than we know what to do with; pickled peppers?

Explosion of produce!  So far we've harvested corn, zucchini and eggplant from the garden.  Currently have 5 pie pumpkins growing.  Mmmmm... Homemade pumpkin pie from scratch.

One of our brandywine tomato plants is taller than Stef!