The Name

The name:  Addysen Thanh Thuy To

Addysen=Kind, Joyful, Created by God

Thanh Thuy=Pure, Clear Water

Thanh=Lisa's dad's middle name

Thuy=Joel's aunt's name, Lisa's aunt's name, and Grandpa's best friend's name

We had a really hard time with a name for our baby girl. It's funny cause when we were pregnant with Kaden we had a bunch of girl names and when we found out our second was a girl we didn't think any of those we originally liked fit baby number 2. So, we a lot of searching and praying we narrowed it down to Emery and Addysen. 

We aren't ones to change up the spelling of names just for the sake of being different, but the original spelling Addison means son of Adam. We wanted it to be a little more feminine so we spelled it with "sen" and you have to change the "i" to a "y" cause if we left it with an "i" the "e" in "sen" would make the "i" say it's name. (Make sense? No, well... Joel's elementary education degree said that we had to change the "i" to a "y". 

It's a family thing: My cousin April texted us a bunch of names and Addysen was one of them. It's only right that since I had a hand in naming April she would have a hand in naming our baby girl. We also got a call from my other cousin, Sophie, the day after we posted our list of names on Facebook and she said she had a dream before we posted them saying we called the baby Addysen and since that was one of the choices she said it was meant to be. Kaden's middle name is Anh Bao. Anh is Joel's dad's name, so... I thought it only fitting to incorporate my dad's name for Addysen. We told Joel's parents we wanted Thanh to be part of her middle name and they came up with a few options. We liked Thanh Thuy the best for the meaning and since it's the names of important people in our lives. 

I am not sure she looks like an Addy to me, I don't mind if other people call her Addy... Kaden still calls her sissy or CiCi. (the name of a girl race car he wanted to originally name her after). Her name is quite fitting since she's very kind and peaceful.

Kaden is FOUR!

Kaden is FOUR! I can't believe it's been four years since our lives have changed forever. He thinks his birthday is EVERY DAY in April. Hhaha! It doesn't help that we have spread out all the celebration! On March 31 we had a birthday party in Seattle at The Nest. (Where April works). It was the perfect venue for a toddler party. There's all these rooms with different themed activities, like a Cars Room, a Ball Room, Kitchen Room, etc.

We also squeezed in a Portland party on April 7th at our house. Of course Kaden wanted a Cars 2 themed party...so we had it all decked out with Cars fruit snacks, juice boxes, balloons, and props. It was a beautiful day in Portland... so, we got to open the back door to allow the kids to run around the backyard and have an Easter Egg hunt.

We also took Kaden to celebrate with birthday ice cream at Baskin Robins and Ben and Jerry's and also lunch at Red Robin. (All separate days). He got gifts from all over on different days so I would think my birthday lasted all month too if I was him. On his actual birthday he had preschool, it was also the day after we got home from the hospital with Addysen. He wanted to show off his little sister at school and bring cup cakes. He had a fabulous day! He thought the birthday cake we got for Joel was for him... hahhaha!

At Kaden's four year check up he's in the 25% for height and weight. He's 33 lbs... and I forgot his height. His favorite things right now is still his Cars, Chuggington Trains, his scooter and his baby sister. He's a great helper who loves to dust and clean the house. He loves books and is the first to suggest prayer when someone is hurt or sad. He is always asking questions and loves to dance. His memory is astounding. He's enjoying preschool and is a child of routine, which we do not give him enough of. We love his heart and how much he's growing to be a little boy and not a baby at all anymore. He still loves his froggy. He loves to make us laugh and dance and sing. Kaden has been such a blessing!

Happy fourth birthday Kaden Anh Bao To!

Addysen's Arrival

Addysen's birth play by play is a lot shorter than Kaden's play by play.

We heard that the second kid can come a lot faster, but we didn't think it would be THAT fast. At least we didn't have her at home like one of our dear friends (not on purpose).

So... on April 7, 2012 we got good news that our house got an offer that morning...and then we had a birthday party for Kaden's 4th birthday in the afternoon... it was a busy day in our house to say the least. We also had Good Friday service at our church the night before and a Sunday Easter service we were getting ready for. We wanted to squeeze in a birthday party for Kaden. And apparently baby Addysen wanted to join in all the fun that evening!

All day I was having minor contractions, but I was having them all week. On the Monday before we had a doctor appointment and I was already 3cm dilated and 75% effaced.

4:00 pm the last guest left the house, I sat down and all of sudden had a really big contraction. I told Joel...he freaked out just a bit and went downstairs to tell Kristina to help him clean the house cause we might be heading to the hospital. Kaden was getting a sugar crash and tired from all the partying. We were trying to prep him on leaving the house to have baby Addysen... he melted down. We tried to figure out where Kaden would go... Chi Thu and Anh Thanh (Joel's middle sister) was supposed to take Kaden...but they were at Wicked. So, we brainstormed and called our friends Annette and Nappy. Kaden loves playing with their kids. We distracted him enough to go ride his scooter over there with them and then Chi Thu and Anh Thanh would pick him up there after the show. We headed to the hospital from there. I started recording my contractions on my nifty app on my phone...I was about 20 minutes apart when we first left our house, then quickly was 10 minutes apart and when we got to the hospital we were 5 minutes apart. They came on fast and strong.

5:30 pm we arrived at the hospital. The nurse checked me when we got to the hospital and we were 5 minutes apart, 5 cm dilated, 100% effaced. She asked if I wanted any drugs to take the edge off, I declined thinking my epidural was on it's way. They also called the on call doctor and she was on the way in. We started to fill out some paperwork.

6:15 pm I felt like I needed to use the bathroom. Joel freaked out a bit thinking the baby would be delivered in the toilet. Nothing came out (TMI? Sorry). I had a BIG contraction as I was getting back into bed. I asked for the drugs that could take the edge off... and the nurse hesitated, and said the anesthesiologist was almost there. The nurse decided to check me again and she said I was 10 cm dilated... and if my water broke I definitely couldn't get my epidural.

6:28 pm my water broke just as the anesthesiologist walked in the door.  Joel said I looked really sad.  I had the realization that I'm about to push a baby out of me completely drug free.

6:45 pm Dr. Jennifer Miller-Davis got to the hospital. She was the on call doctor. Dr. Wendy Hall is my OB... I was bummed she wasn't on call that night. But she came to check up on us early Monday morning. I pushed through about three or four contractions. It was definitely a different experience than Kaden's birth story... glad Addysen came fast.

7:06 pm Addysen Thanh Thuy To came into the world at a whopping 5.5 lbs, 17 inches. She had a big bruise on her forehead, because she was "sunny side up" or face up when they are supposed to come out face down. That made it a little harder to push her out.        

8:35 pm Joel's sister and family: Chi Thu, Anh Thanh, Gabby, Nathan, Zachary and big brother Kaden came to visit! Kaden was holding his little sister and Chi Thu went to hold her and Kaden burst out in sad tears! He said he wasn't done holding Addysen yet. It was the cutest thing ever!

That's how Miss Addysen decided to come into the world. She was gracious enough to allow her big brother to have his birthday party. We were a little sad to miss Easter service at Missio... but we were so in love with the little peanut it kept us pretty occupied.

Meet Addysen

Here she is.... Fast and adorable! 5.5 lbs. 17 inches. We are all in love.

Work Baby Shower

My work threw me a baby shower. If you haven't heard... I work in the Events Productions department at the Portland Art Museum. There are about seven full time guys and two full time gals. (me being one of them) There's a handful of occasional employees. So, when I got the email we were having a shower for Addysen I was pretty surprised. Cause up until now I've been the party planner.

Needless to say... They put the other girl in charge. Hahah! She did a great job! Balloons, streamers, cupcakes and ice cream and she even made the guys play baby shower games. That was the most entertaining part. I'm not a huge games person, but it was fun with a bunch of techie guys. I felt loved and cared for. Overall fun afternoon celebrating the arrival of Addysen.