Goodbye Mr Pops

The last few months have been extremely hard for our family. While it may appear that we're always up to something fun, the smiles you see hide much sadness.

One month ago today our lives changed completely when we lost our unborn baby girl, Mr Pops. I was 24 weeks pregnant.

At my 20 week scan back in May we received the bad news that our tiny baby was just that; tiny. Too tiny. The placenta had not formed properly and she was not able to get the nutrients she needed to grow. Many tests were carried out to find the cause, followed by an agonising three week wait for a follow up scan to check on her growth.

During this time I had been hopeful that she had picked up growth as my belly had grown substantially, however at my 23 week scan we received worse news. She was now further behind in her growth than she had been at 20 weeks. The flow from the placenta had slowed and it was only a matter of time before it stopped feeding her altogether. Our only chance was to deliver early within the following week or so.

24 weeks is generally the earliest that doctors can successfully deliver a baby. Unfortunately Mr Pops was so much smaller than the average baby. At 23 weeks she weighed only 11 ounces (approximately 320 grams). The average baby at 23 weeks weighs 1.5 pounds (approximately 680 grams). Being less than half the size she was supposed to be, her odds of survival were very slim.

Unfortunately on 17th June Mr Pops slipped away and our world came crashing down.

It's been a very hard time for us all, especially being so far away from our families and friends, but we've been trying our best to focus on the positives in our lives. We know how lucky we are that we already have two beautiful, healthy girls. While we were so excited at the prospect of giving them a new little sister it just wasn't meant to be this time.

As Ava is on Summer vacation we've been trying to keep her and Lola busy with fun activities and day trips. While it hasn't always been easy this has been a great distraction for us all. There are days when I just feel like curling up in bed all day and not moving, however I know that it's not going to help. No amount of moping will bring our little baby back. Staying positive and looking toward the future is best for us all.

With every day that passes it gets a little easier but I know that the pain will never go away.

Thank you to our families and friends for all their love, support, kind words, hugs, help and for just being there for us during this difficult time. Just knowing that so many people care about us has been a great help.

Goodbye Mr Pops. You may not be with us any more but you'll always be in our hearts.

Summer Bonfire Party

Last night we went to a Summer Bonfire Party hosted by my friend Hanna. Hanna always puts on the best parties. You may remember the fantastic Easter Party that she held back in March. You can see it here.

Last night's Bonfire Party was no exception and we all had a great time.

We toasted marshmallows over the fire, we made s'mores, we had a BBQ, we cooked sausages over the fire, the kids had fun playing together and the adults had a great time catching up with friends. A perfect Summer evening.

Pretty party lights

A Fintastic Voyage

One of our all time favourite places here in California is the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

We visited the aquarium back in April last year and we all absolutely loved it. You can see our visit here. It's such a wonderful place to visit and we hope to go back again one day soon.

So when I discovered that Monterey Bay Aquarium has a mobile display here in the Bay Area over Summer we were all pretty excited.

Today I took the girls to explore the ocean in the Fintastic Voyager, an airstream trailer converted into a "submarine on wheels".

Captain Ava and First Mate Lola

Little Squirrel Friends

One of the things that we like about living in Berkeley is the abundance of wildlife that surrounds us. Unlike at home in Australia where the wildlife that surrounded our home was all of the insect and spider variety, the wildlife we come across on a regular basis here is much cuter and friendlier. 

I'm talking about squirrels. Cute and fluffy little squirrels!

So cute and fluffy

Alta Plaza Park, San Francisco

Today we headed into the city for the annual Fillmore Jazz Festival.

We enjoyed listening to some great live music, ate greasy festival food and walked up and down Fillmore Street taking in the sights and sounds (and walking off that greasy food!).

After a few hours of music, food and crowds the girls were ready to move onto something else. I'd spotted a hilly park down one of the side streets so we thought we'd go check it out. This turned out to be one of the best calls I've ever made while exploring the city and we ended up in a fantastic playground with amazing views over the city.

Playground with a view

Happy 4th of July 2013

Happy 4th of July!

I can't believe we're already celebrating our second 4th of July here in America. It doesn't seem that long ago that we were celebrating our first.

Today we celebrated in much the same way we did last year. We headed down to the marina here in Berkeley for junk food and carnival rides at the 4th of July festival before heading home to watch the fireworks from the roof of our building.

Here's a look at our day of red, white and blue fun...

Hanging out at Berkeley Marina

Hand Print Flags for 4th of July

Another 4th of July craft today...

Back in November the girls and I made hand print turkeys and we've been eager to make something similar ever since. Searching through Pinterest for 4th of July craft ideas I came across just the thing: hand print American flags!

Ava's hand print flag

Hand print flags

These flags were really simple and lots of fun to make. Anything that involves covering your hands with paint is always fun!