Massive Head Wound Harry

The Malone household saw a very busy weekend. I don't think that we slowed down the whole time. Friday, we went to the zoo with my sis and the nephews. It was Yuri's first trip to the zoo, not that she will remember it. It was a beautiful day though and we all had a great time.
























The other children are a friend of Renee's. They were all so cute. I know that it looks like the sun is shining right on Yuri, but it really wasn't in her face.



















Too much excitement for Yuri. Time to rest!























Aunt Nae, Yuri and a bear























Daddy, Yuri and a polar bear



















Mommy, Daddy and Yuri in front of the zoo.




















Saturday we went swimming in the afternoon. Yuri and Daddy sunbathed in the shade!




































Saturday night, we went out to visit Shippy, a friend that still lives in Guam. He is in town visiting. It was really nice to see him again! We miss him!


















Shippy and Yuri

On Sunday, we went to church in the morning and then to eat with some friends from church. We went home and took a short nap and then went to Michael's soccer game. When we got there, I had to feed Yuri so I stayed in the car to do so. A little time later, Liz comes knocking on the window saying that Michael was hurt and had to go to the hospital. He had collided with the goalie while going up for a header. He had and gash above his right eyebrow that was very deep. Not to be too graphic but you could see his skull and his eyebrow drooped down because there was nothing to hold it up. Luckily, we had some help from Pancho's parents. They drove Michael to the ER and I followed. I am so glad they were there to help b/c I had my hands full with the baby.
When we got to the hospital, they decided that he would have to get stitched up by a plastic surgeon. Michael actually had muscles that had to be reconnected and some nerve damage. The surgeon did a great job though and Michael looks good. Here is a pic of the gash. It truly doesn't do it justice though.

Playtime

Two posts in one day!!! Exciting. I just wanted to share a video of Yuri at playtime today. We got out her Baby Einstein Activity Gym. Yuri loved it and I tried to capture her reaction to it in this short video. It is kind of dark but you can still tell that she is quite captivated by all the "flare". It was really amazing to watch her notice everything. She continues to bless me everyday. It is so wonderful watching her develop.

Odds and Ends

So, once again I have gotten behind on blogging. There has been so much going on and I can't keep up with everything. I am just going to make a hodge-podge of pictures andI captions updating you with things that have been going on.

First is Yuri's first beth which was last Monday. Mommy and Daddy had fun, Yuri didn't. She just got cold...
















Next is a picture of Yuri on her BilliBed. She had to be on the bed for four days because she was jaundice. It was no fun because we had to leave her on the bed at all times, except to feed. That was very hard for us since all we wanted to do when we got home was snuggle with her and hold her.




This is one of Yuri sleeping in her SwaddleMe. That thing is amazing!


And this one is from yesterday... Yuri's first trip to the mall. She was a hit. We went with Aunt Nae and the cousins (Jacob, Cole and Cooper). It was a long day but she was flawless. She slept part of the time and the other part she just looked around. She's so stinkin' cute!!

The Many Blessings...

It has been an amazing past few weeks. Being new parents has been surreal. We have had so much support from family and friends that the transition from husband and wife to mommy and daddy has been smooth and enjoyable. This blog entry is a tribute to all the people who supported us with visits, time, gifts, and even food. The slide show includes most of the people, sorry if I didn't get a picture with you.

Thanks to the following:
Mema Redd, Poppy, Grandma and Grandpa Malone, Aunt Nae, Aunt Amber, Uncle Rodney, Aunt Gina, Cousin Will, Uncle Brett- for your support during the delivery and sticking around through the grueling wait for the arrival of Yuri, also thank you for your support and examples of selfless giving and love.

Cousin Jacob, Cousin Cole, Cousin Cooper, Great Grandma J-funk, Uncle Bruce and Aunt Debbie, the Morrisons, Cousins Mark and Jill, the Woods, the Wohlgemuths, the Laughlins, the Schrimpfs, the Crowders, the Eashs, Saxy and mom (Bonnie), and Kerri- for taking the time to visit us in the hospital and the thoughtful gifts.

Grandma and Grandpa Malone, Great Grandma J-funk, Mema Redd, the Swinigans, the Morrisons, the Woods, Poppy, Bambaneck, Callie Mac, neighbor Maddy, neighbors Mike and Kendall, the Crowders, and the Wohlgemtuhs-for the tasty food to help sustain us!!

Nah-Nah, Mr. and Mrs. Towns, the Amundsons, Carrie Jacques, andGreat Grandma and Grandpa Newell-for the wonderful gifts!

Backflash

Since it has been so long since I have posted, and so much has happened, I am going to do multiple posts. This one will be short because I mainly want to share a video of Yuri's first minutes of life. Don't worry, I am not in it but on a sidenote, Micheal did videotape the birth-what was supposed to be a g-rated video-but dad was a little excited in the moment (understandably) and his recording skills turned out to be...well...not so modest. So, this is when Yuri was getting her footprints in the delivery room shortly after birth. Listen carefully and you will hear OAR, "It's About Time" in the background. Daddy made the delivery mix and oddly enough that is what was playing when Yuri was born. Fitting since it was the 18th hour of labor and 4:36 in the morning. Anyhow, enjoy!!

Starting our New Family

Wow, sorry its been so long with updating this, but its been busy around the Malone house. Much love to our family and friends who have been so kind with visits, food and baby holding (Uncle Aaron Woods). Yuri seems to be doing great and is almost sleeping throughout the night. Now that I've written that, she won't sleep at all tonight, so that should be fun. We've done such "family" things like our first walk (with the dogs of course), first bath, and our first sleep with dad on the couch. Pictures of all will be coming on Monday hopefully.

New Addition, Yuri Marie Malone

Friday, July 6th, 2007. 4:36 AM, EJ and God brought into the world Yuri Marie Malone. She was born at St. John's Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri and weighed in at 6 lbs, 15 oz and 20 inches long. Baby and Mom are doing great and we just had our first breastfeed!

A little background on our interesting name. In Guam, we had a Korean Student whom we both adored who was named Yuri. We thought the name was beautiful and creative. It is not only a male Russian name (insert jokes here), but also a Japanese girl's name.

If you are in the area while we are at the hospital (until Sunday morning maybe!) please call my phone and stop by.

Arriving at the Hospital

Good morning family and friends, this is Michael. EJ and I arrived at St. John's this morning at about 9:30 to have her water broke and get this baby out! The nurses here at St. John's were amazed at how many contractions she was having (Erin said she couldn't really tell!) once they hooked her up. In about 30 minutes the doctor will break her water and we are going to try to avoid taking any medication during the pregnancy. I say "we", what the heck? I know, you are thinking, "Michael has not idea the pain EJ will go through, easy for him to say with no meds!" However, Erin is going to try not to use meds, I'm going to use a little medicine called "Caffeine" during the process to get me through this. Pray for us, and we will update more!