Ho Ho HO

Happy Holidays everyone! Henry here. I'll sometimes be blogging because my mom doesn't seem to like doing it very often. And my dad is always studying. Sigh...so its up to me to let you know the haps. Well, I'm 5 weeks old since thursday. As a newborn, I am considered an OLD newborn now. Where I use to sleep all day long, theses days I like to enjoy life. In the morning, I dance with my mom to the Christmas music on the tv. During the day I like to stare at the different ceilings in the house in between frequent cat naps. At night, my grandma will give me a bath followed by a massage. Yep, I'm spoiled. I got three different massage lotions. This is the life.

Mom and dad are doing well too. Leigh doesn't get much sleep, but she's learning how to cope. She spends a lot of time staring at me, kissing me and talking about what goes in and out of me. Thats normal for a new mom, right?! Willy is finishing up his third semester at school this next week. And then he will be home! I can't wait. Every night, we talk on Skype so I can keep him updated on stuff, but it will be better in person.

I, Henry, had a Christmas photo shoot. I haven't mastered my smile yet, but its getting there. This outfit is my favorite because its really cozy. You can't tell, but I'm wearing a tye-dye onesie underneath. And tan socks. My mom dresses me...yikes. Merry Christmas to all!
p.s. -Mom, Dad, Which one of your gene pools left me with no eyebrows?!

re⋅dun⋅dant

Well my mom's blog has a lot of pictures of Henry on it. She steals the photos so I'm going to send anyone interested in seeing the little guy to her site. He's quite fun to look at in my opinion.

link to blog

Henry...that's his name

So IT happened: Team Williams is now Three Williams. Three Cheers, right! Here's some pictures from the Birthing Day 11-6-08

This is Henry's mom before she gave birth to the coolest baby ever. She had a crazy time giving birth. Lots of crying and asking for more drugs. Lots of people having to cheer her on while crying and asking for more drugs. It took almost two hours to stitch her up after Henry finally came out. This is Henry, or Hal. He was a tenth of an ounce away from nine pounds. 9! Nine. Niner.

Big, beautiful baby boy.

This is Hal with his dad. They are both the handsomest kids that have ever set foot in the S. Birth Center. Willy is very good at EVERYTHING that involves taking care of the baby. These fellas are two peas in a pod.

Baby, get out of my belly -like now!

So I got this great doctor named Michelle. She agreed to induce on Thursday so that Matt could spend a few days with the little guy. This makes us happy. So if it doesn't happen before then, we will officially be parents by Thursday night -probably right before The Office and 30 Rock. We will announce his name as soon as we figure out what to name him, deal.

Good luck to the former babies: Obama and McCain and their race for presidency. I hope the right former baby is choosen.

"If a baby were president, there would be no taxes, there would be no war. There would be no government, and things could get terrible. It actually, probably - it would be a better screenplay idea than a serious suggestion." -Michael from THE OFFICE

LAZY blog

As ya'll who visit this blog have already figured out, I am a lazy blogger. Lazy, Lazy, Lazy. Anyways, here's a fun little update.

This is Willy with a cup of water that came from his shower/sink on the island. Hurricane Omar hit just north of Dominica this past week. They closed the school down for one day because of the flooding and heavy rains. Willy spent the whole day at school since the power went out at our place. No lights, no tv, and brown water. Mmmmm -love that brown water.
This is me and the belly. Me-oh-my, we have both grown in the past month or two. I should be ready to pop soon. The baby still has no name. Poor Baby No Name Williams. There are a few names that Matt and I both like, but nothing is stickin'. Suggestions are always welcomed.
Well, this lazy blogger has come to the end of the post. Until next time....adieu.

Oregon a-go-go

Oregon a-go-go? That doesn't even mean anything.

Well folks, sorry its been awhile since Willy and I have posted. Things have changed a lot since July. Long story short - Second Semester of medical school is done. I stayed busy in August working at the after school program while Matt studied his brains out.

On our way back home, we got to stop in Newark for a layover. It was really fun going to the New York City for a day. Highlight of the city: Brooke, Peter and their coolness. We really appreciated them coming to meet us in Central Park.

After our flight home, we just spent a fantastic two weeks in Utah bumming around Matt's parents house. The whole two weeks I was in denial about having to part ways from my husband-ban-beano for more than a month. Yesterday I flew to Oregon to live with my mom and Willy left for the island again. While we're apart, we promised each other we will only casually date other people until we reunite (just kidding, relax people -I'm pregnant and Matt has a bad back. Nobody will want to date us).
Things in Oregon have been quite tame. I play spider solitaire, hang out with the Mommacita, read, watch t.v. - no big whoop. Well, that's it for now. More to come later....
(I tried to post some pictures, but the internet kept shutting down.)

So here's a few fun pictures of a branch activity we had on Saturday. It was at a local nursing home in Portsmouth, Dominica. We brought some hygiene kits from the LDS Humanitarian Center and some enthusiastic primary kids to sing some songs. There were a few children I could tell were NOT thrilled to be in a nursing home (kinda like I was at that age), but most of them did an excellent job talking to the "grandma's and grandpa's".

Our little primary singers.
Unlike in america where we lock up our 'old people' and put them in diapers, in Dominica, most of the older generation are cared for by their children. So this nursing home only had around 12 residents. They have the most centenarians (not to be confused with centurians -which I did until my poor husband had to correct me...um embarrassing!!) per captia in the world.

Here's a picture of Team Williams...looking quite haggard, in our opinion. Its a look we're getting use to pulling off day after day with a few 'pretty' days in between. At least it is better than a picture of a scar and a bruised bottom, yes?

Scars, Bumps, and Bruises

Hey everybody, we got some pictures here for ya. They're not pretty, although they are pretty interesting. Sorry if any of these pictures are too graphic. Its been a graphic week.

Up first is Willy's freshly exposed scar. Its not big, but it packs a punch. It's on his lower back and only about a inch and a half long. He's been following doctor's orders and keeping his activity to a minimum. Lots of lying down, no twisting, no bending, no tennis. Despite his banishment from sports, he still wants a new tennis racket and some running shoes for his birthday.

Oh, here it is: the first actual picture of my belly's belly. Not too shabby for 24 weeks.
Okay, this is a doosie. What you are looking at is my right cheek, as in my bottom. This is the worst bruise I've had since I was 15 years old. On Tuesday I went to my friend Chelsie's to plan our ESL class. She lives on the third floor and it had been raining all day. The stairs to her place are tiled with the most SLIPPERY tile in the universe. I was being very very careful going to and from her apartment, but ZING and THONK, THUNK, THUNK, THUNK, THUNK. I fell down at least five stairs on my cushioned rump. No one was around and I didn't scream or anything - I just pathetically hobbled home in the quietness of the rain, thinking 'that's gonna leave a mark'. And it did. Poor me.

So we took a sneak trip back to the states at the end of June. Matt needing surgery on his back. He was in the Portsmouth hospital on Saturday, took an exam on Monday and we were in the air by Wednesday. On Thursday he had a MRI and an appointment with the neuro-surgeon and that following Monday he went under the knife. One week laps time for surgery: not too shabby. We considered it a great blessing that everything worked out so well.

Six in the morning on the way to the airport. Morning never was a pretty time for me.

Willy after surgery. Even on drugs and in a hairnet he still looks handsome.

Happy couple on the happy day. They look marvelous.

Chill-axing at the wedding. Who sits like that after the age of 80?! Grandma, that's who.

Back to the island. Sigh.

We have a few shout outs to make concerning this trip:
R & C Williams - thanks for the fantastic accommodations. There's a big I.O.U. with your name on it that you can cash in 10 or 15 years from now!!
Michael aka 'servant boy' - thanks for all the rides and the tutorial on your iTouch. Also thank your wife for the cookies she sent with us for the trip back. Mmmmm, they were gone by Puerto Rico.
My cousin's in Denver - thanks for letting me slumber at your place.
Cafe Rio - Your pork salad tasted as good as I remembered.
Dr. Gardner - You did a bang up job on Willy's L5 - S1 disc. Thanks for penciling him in on your schedule that was booked out three months.
Hilmo - It was a dream come true that you traveled up to utah the week we were in town. Thanks for being the special person you are.
Hammy - thanks for getting hurt at Lake Powell so I could see more of your pretty face. And thanks for the ride to the airport at 5 am. You are a true friend.
Delta Airlines - Thanks for the great seats. It really helped my hubby's back to be able to stand during the flight. I love Delta.
Wimbeldon - Your tennis matches entertained us for hours when matt was bound to the bed. Although it would've been nice if you didn't have your final match with Roger and Rafael right during church on Sunday.
Mommacita - Thanks for the care package and all the good blogs to read. Even though you were three states away, it felt better than being a whole nation apart.
And finally MILK - We love you United States Milk and your delicious goodness. Parting with you was like losing a limb. See you again in August.

Yah Boyeeee II

Picture of the baby in cozy womb.
Picture of the baby's parents in cozy bus ride.

Yah Boyeeeee!

hey so I'm sitting next to a loud-breather in the library, which will make this a brief entry. (I don't do annoying noises very well right now...can't he stop breathing while I finish this?!?!) BUT I thought you all might want to know that we are having a MALE child. Hooray. It is such fun news to find out. I'll post a pick of the ultra sound once I get away from Captain Loud Lungs.

Shiver Me Timbers

Have you ever had one of those moments where you have to stop and take it all in and think... am I really here doing this?... I have had that feeling at least weekly since we got off the plane in Dominica. Today was definately one of those days... OK, so my new favorite place that no ones ever heard of... Batibou. We had some time to kill before school starts again on monday so we got together with some fellow students, called our good buddy Ren, a local man with a van and a plan, loaded up the kiddies and rode a half hour into the jungle toward the atlantic side of the island where Ren dropped us off and said, "no problem, just follow this trail and you'll find it..."

So off we went...

we hiked down this way...

...passed this...which was awesome...

...finally hit a break in the canopy and saw this...

... which reassured us we were on the right trail... we hiked through a little more of this...

... and then we were here. It was deserted...We had the entire beach to ourselves and no signs of civilization in sight. Batibou is one of those places (of many in Dominica) that make you feel certain you are the only ones to have ever been there. It's just coconuts, cliffs and clear blue water. There is a natural rock reef that you can snorkel in, around and through and plenty of sand and sun. Rumor has it they filmed parts of Pirates of the Caribbean here... but many places on the island seem to make that claim to fame so who knows... I've only seen the films once and that long ago so maybe some film buffs can weigh in on the issue- and yes despite the foxy pictures, Leigh is in fact 4 months pregnant still... I swear I'm feeding her at every opportunity...

Update-a-roni

Hello friends and family,


Well, this last Saturday Matt and I got to hang out which doesn't happen very often other than on Sundays. His classes are over (hooray) and he has a good ten days to study for finals, so we took a great/not-so-great trip down to the main city Roseau. Two of our friends, the Taylors, came with us. We had a lovely meal at the only nice hotel on the island and looked around the city a bit.

In the picture above, we are standing on the deck of Fort Young Hotel, overlooking the calm ocean waters. Ahhhhh, tranquil.

This is one of the buildings in Roseau. As you might notice, it is kinda rundown, having no roof anymore. A man known around town as the Spiceman sells spices and hundreds of different home made rums inside. Usually the streets are packed with people and cruise tourists, but it was about 4 pm and everything shuts down earlier on Saturdays around here. It was fun to have the streets to ourselves.

Here are the Taylors and us by a pretty little waterfall. A security guard took this picture, obviously not understanding that we wanted a picture with the waterfall as a beautiful background. Oh well.

Here's Willy in the front seat of the transport for the ride home. On the way to Roseau he got really sick and threw-up twice out the bus window. Poor poor Willy. The drivers here are crazy and the roads are even crazier. Roseau is only 26 miles from our home, but it takes an hour to get there because of all the twists and turns and hills and goats that are in the road. By the time we both got back from the trip, we were spent. So, it was a great/not-so-great trip.

We're back...

Okay, I'm sorry for the one month hiatus we took from writing on our blog. I just wasn't really feeling the blog sensation and Willy has been busy with the grinds of medical school, so he's off the hook. But I have no real excuse.....or do I?>>>>

Well, let me just preface my excuse with a picture.

I bought some of this today. What! Queso in a jar....gross. And I paid a good 15 EC ($7.00) for it. It looked so good on the shelf of the local grocery store. I had to have it. Cheese and carbs have been looking very tasty these past couple weeks. Cookies, blogs and the sound of my husband's sexy voice (things I have always previously enjoyed in large quantities) have brought me the verge of heaves.

So, I pose the question one more time: Do I have a good excuse for not blogging? Yes, I think I do. I'm pregnant. There, it's out on the impersonal world wide web now for all to know.

It's the oddest thing being pregnant. There are so many extremes. I feel like I am a big hyperbole now. Your body changes, you want to cry during episodes of Law & Order, you can eat a ton and then you can't eat at all, you want to nap all the time, you have really strong rude opinions about everything, something is growing inside of you, the smell of certain foods makes you feel like you are going to die...and you get this super exciting feeling that your life is going to never be the same again, but it's a good thing.

Anyways, I'm just getting over the "bad" weeks of being pregnant. I hope to blog a little more

often from now on. I'd also like to publicly send a shout out to my super cool and supportive hubby. He's been so nice and patience with my abnormal emotions and fickle stomach. Although I'm probably biased, I think our kid is going to have the best dad in the world.

Middleham Falls

I tried to create a six picture series so you could see how long the water fall really is. As you can see, it only kinda worked. It was quite beautiful though. Myself and four other ladies went on this hike last Saturday, leaving matt and the other med students to study for their first big exam. The first "mini" is going on right now! Best wishes to my study bug Willy on remembering all the information he studied. Anyways, the Middleham hike took about 50 minutes each way.

We had a guide from Extreme Adventures named Victor who was fabulous. When we got to the falls, the mist was freezing. Victor, who grew up on the island, said he has never come to the falls without jumping in. Four of us followed him down the rocky banks to test our guts and took the plunge into the cold cold water. We jumped off some cliffs and climbed in some caves -it was invigorating.

From the left: Jamie, me, Katie, Aileen, Erica, Mike -the extreme adventure crew :)

Savanne Paille Primary School

What we got here are the four coolest kids in school : (from the left clockwise) Bernard, Mick, Pria and Leon. Kevin was absent the day I took this picture. Every thursday morning I head to the neighboring town of Savanne Paille (it's french so it sounds like savon pie) to help these little darlings with their reading skills. It's one of the highlights of my week so I wanted to document it on the bloggy blog. They get to wear uniforms to school four days of the week. Pria's skirt is always blowing up while we are reading since we sit outside where it is always windy.
Anyways, it's really different working with kids that are from the states and kids that are local. The locals are much more well behaved, which is a nice change from the rascals I do the After School Program with. When I asked the bunch if I could get a picture of them, I thought they'd be hesistant. But they were super excited to have me snap a few shots of them. I even got them to pose with some books (see below) -that made me laugh because it was so staged, but they were still excited about it.
We read books that a family in america collected and sent out to the island. The kids' favorite so far are the Arthur books. They also like the Magic School Bus series of books. Anyways, if any of you want to do a service project and send some more books to the island, it would be much appreciated. The books can be used, they're not picky around here.

"Hey, send us more books cuz we're cute."