The Chrisman Family

Mini Jake

2010-04-29T21:54:00.001-07:00

Check out this form.

Kind of reminds me of this guy.

So much alike!

Granddad

2010-03-27T21:26:00.001-07:00

Thank you Granddad, for everything you do for us and this little guy! We love you more than you'll ever know!

HE loves you more than you'll ever know!

This one's just crazy!

We love you!

Birthday PARTY!!

2010-03-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

Today was a fun day. Today we celebrated having this bundle of joy around for one full year! She is officially off formula, walking, talking and eating anything and everything in sight. The party was so much fun thanks to family and friends! Also, to the wonderful Grandparents who help out SO much! This party would not have happened without you guys!!!!! ALL of you!!!! :)

The birthday girl!

Grandma and Meliana

Cute cousin Vanessa!

Mel and her Momma

Uncle Connor putting together Mel's first car.

I LOVE finding skinny jeans for my baby girl.

Mel and her Daddy. Reading a new book! Thanks to everyone for all the presents!

Notice that pink thing in Mel's hands? That thing is VERY important. See more pics to tell why.

I loved this birthday hat I made but she obviously did NOT.

Not one picture with a happy baby.

Just a very sad little girl

Then very angry

But as soon as she had her "dolly", she was just fine! Her "dolly" is this doll my mom bought for her and I'm pretty sure it was in the $1.00 bin. Out of ALL the toys this girl has, she can NOT be without this one. I have to wash it every other day because it stinks from her chewing and sucking on the hat. Disgusting, I know. Because of her love for this little thing, we decided the only cake she would approve of would be this...................

Scary, I know. But it makes this little girl so happy!

The color was a bit off but that is as good as it gets for us! She did love it!

Driving in her new car!

Nikko also loves the new car. Look at that face! Watch out, he'll run you over!

Lots of good friends. Mr. Kole is one of my favorite kids! I love his hair! Thanks for coming Paul and Brookelle!

The night ended with Nikko doing some fishing in my snow boots. Love it!

We're Celebrating..........

2010-03-05T21:04:00.000-08:00

Cause this little lady turned one today!

How is it possible that she went from looking like this......................
(1 week old)

To THIS!

What happened to the dark hair? She keeps surprising us!

Her Blessing day.

9 month check up

I know Nikko can't imagine life without her and neither could we.

We are celebrating her birthday tomorrow so more pictures to come!!!!!

My Hero

2010-01-20T20:37:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, my Dad received a call from the LDS church. They asked him if he would be willing to go to Haiti and help the people who are in dire need of medical attention. His response was, "how could I not."

He left the wonderful country we live in to be here...........

Staying in a camp with a sleeping bag and a tent.

Driving through the streets of total chaos.

BUT.... he does get to be flown in by helicopter to the hospital and perform surgeries! (My Dad is the one in the greens!)

Pray for him, pray for those who are helping and serving. Pray for the people of Haiti. My Dad says it is far FAR worse than we could ever imagine!

Busy Busy Busy

2009-12-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

It's not so much that I have NO time to blog. More of the fact that I'm super lazy. I do have some good excuses for being busy though! Evidence is in the pictures. The pictures were taken from my phone, sorry, this is about all I can do right now!

New obsession. Helicopters, airplanes, ambulances - (fueyants as Nikko says) and fire trucks. We go to the mall and hope that 25 cents will get him through the day.

A house that is ready for us to move into. This picture is more than a month old.

A little girl who just MELTS my heart!

A little boy who has found the wonderful joy that art can bring.

And the meaning of tattoos.

Not only what tattoos are but finding creative spots for them!

Another piece of art by Nikkolai Creig Castagnetto Chrisman.

The artist taking a break from his creative thinking!

The artist problem solving. How to get to point A to point B without using his legs!

M E L I A N A

2009-10-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

To our two Lisa's. These pictures were posted for you guys!

Mel trying on Nikko's Nemo costume.

This is the view I get when I turn around to find her paci in the car. SO cute!

Sitting all by her self. This picture makes me laugh. Her headband is pushing her ears forward!

Nikko would be pretty upset if he new she was dressed as HIS Nemo.

Her favorite thing, bath time.

Miss Mel is becoming quite the girl!

B I G !

2009-09-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

Nikko - 22 months

Meliana - 6 months

WOW!

Here She Is!

2009-05-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

I finally had time to make a slide show! This is from her big day, March 5!

I know I'm so bad with keeping this blog updated but I don't have too much time these days!

Enjoy and I will post more recent pictures soon!

Our Little Mel Bell!

2009-03-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

You all know that I'm no good at keeping this blog up to date. I have been just a little busy this past week and I have a very good excuse! Yes, she is here! FINALLY! Our little Meliana Magdalina Castagnetto Chrisman arrived on March 5, 2009! You pronounce it Meli as in Melikalikimaka and ana like Rihanna, spelled with one n. She was 7 lbs and 5 oz and 20 inches long!

The delivery was awesome! I was lucky enough to be induced. We got to the hospital around 11 a.m. They started pitocin around 11:30. It took about an hour to get the contractions really going. Once they kicked in, Dr. Glenn broke my water. He warned me to get my epidural right away so I did. After that it was horrible for about 20 minutes or so, then the epidural did it's magic. I was at a 3 when I got the epidural and in one hour I changed to a 9.75. As luck would have it, my Dr. was also delivering another baby right at that same moment. He came into our room and told us to keep that baby in and he would be back in about 20 minutes! I tried so hard not to laugh for fear of her coming out! Once the Dr. made it back, it took 3 pushes through one contraction and a final little (I mean tiny) little push and she was here! Healthy and crying! It was a GREAT delivery! We were in Labor and Delivery for about 4 hours! It was a fun day!

I thought I wasn't going to know what to do with a little girl and now I can't even imagine not having a girl! I love everything about her. She melts my heart! There really is something special about little girls. Jake is SO in love! Nikko, well, he loves her paci! He is doing really well with her. He never gets jealous. He actually is extremely curious. Any time she starts crying, he runs right over to see what is making so much noise. Then he tries to steal her paci and when he does get it, I have to chase him down! He is starting to get really fast!

She is a great baby. She eats, sleeps, poops and pees like a champ! I have survived the first week so I'm thankful for that! We love her and are so happy she is here!

Meet Meliana!

I was SO ready for this day!

One last pregnancy profile!

This is Becca Ackley, she is like a sister. We were lucky enough to have Meliana the day Becca was working. She gave her a bath and cleaned her up for us!

She is so tiny, I forget how small they are!

I LOVE these little headbands!

She is so snugly!

First family picture. I look like a train wreck. It wasn't from the delivery, it was from the lack of sleep. I hadn't slept for more than 3 or 4 hours for that last week. I started to get so uncomfortable that I didn't sleep.

Nikko checking out Meli.

Nap time!

Meli and Noni

Meli and Grandpa and Grandma Chrisman

Meli and her Grandad

Noni just giving Mel some loves.

My best friend Hayley took pictures during the delivery and I will post more when I get them. So check later for more!

Where Do We BEGIN?

2009-02-10T19:43:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been over two months since I posted last. I have really good reasons. I just don't even know where to begin to explain. I will start with two months ago.

Jake had been struggling with a knee injury from October. He had an MRI to see if his ACL was torn and it came back as "negative" according to the Dr.'s in Portugal. That was good news to us. They did find that his MCL was partially torn. The recovery for that is about six weeks. Not too big of a hurdle, so we thought! Jake did all his rehab and worked out every day. As six weeks approached, he started to run and began to practice. Things were looking great! He practiced hard with no problems for three days in a row. The team then traveled to Lisbon and Porto for games and Jake had been cleared to play. He was SO excited and SO ready to be back! He gets into the game. Very first possession, Jake gets a steal, outlets the ball, sprints the length of the floor, gets an offensive rebound and a put back. Next possession on defense, Jake was fronting his guy, the player back cut, Jake planted to go back with him and his knee gave out. Completely out.

I get a call from Jake back in Funchal and knew he was hurt as soon I answered. After talking with the coaches, Jake knew that it was time to go home because there was something going on with his knee that wasn't being treated the way it needed to there in Funchal. They all were very optimistic that he would be gone for six weeks, (since we thought it was a partially torn MCL) and then be back to finish up the season. SO sure enough, we packed our lives up again and headed home! We left on December 15, traveled for 32 hours straight! Nikko is an amazing kid because he held up better than his mom! Flying with a toddler is not fun. Flying with a toddler while being 29 weeks prego and dealing with jet lag is awful. It was one of the LONGEST days of our lives. We survived and were SO happy as soon as we landed in SLC.

First thing we did when we got home was had my Dad check out Jake's knee. He did the Lachman's test and checked everything else out. It all looked pretty good. He did think his knee was a little unstable but Lachman's test was negative. An MRI was ordered to find out just what was going on. We had brought the MRI that was done in Funchal back with us to review. Jake had the MRI done and the results were in. My Dad was stumped. It reported a torn ACL and a chronically torn MCL. After having 8 different Radiologists look at the films, it was confirmed 100% torn. They looked at the MRI from Portugal and all agreed that it was originally torn back in October in Funchal! YEP, Jake had been running, working out, practicing and even played on a completely torn ACL. What luck is that?

We had a busy December and January. We got Christmas over with then Jake had a wonderful time recovering from surgery. It's been a crazy couple of months. We just can't believe the difference in medicine between the States and Portugal. I actually had my plane ticket to come home on January 20 to get back in time to have the baby here. Going to the Dr. was always an adventure over there! We are SO happy to be here with awesome Dr.'s and facilities.

That is what is going on! Jake is pretty frustrated because we left with the intention of Jake recovering from a possible knee scope and rehab, then go back to finish up the season. That is no longer an option! 6-9 months is his new time frame.

That is Jake's news. Nikko's news is, tons of teeth. 12 to be exact with 4 on the way as we speak. Super skinny, he is no longer in the 8th percentile for weight. He moved DOWN to 3rd! That's our boy! He speaks his own language. He is trying to figure out the whole jumping process. He hasn't left the ground yet! The biggest change for him would be the fact that he is now surrounded by other kids his age! He loves his cousins and wants to play with them all the time. He is such a happy little guy. I can't believe he is going to be a big brother soon.

My news, just being pregnant. It's getting really uncomfortable. I went to the Dr. today for my 36 week check up and turns out I'm dilated to 1 and 50% effaced. I'm so hopeful that she will come soon because my body is done being pregnant. Out of the past 24 months, I have been pregnant for 18 of those! I am ready for this little one to come! We will update as soon as there are any changes!

This is why it has taken me so long to post anything. Plus, I'm pretty lazy. Blogging is the last thing on my mind. I will try to be better!

Here are some photos with proof of our hectic lives!

Every main street in the city was totally lit up for Christmas. They even had speakers hanging in the trees playing Christmas music! It was fun! This was right in front of our apartment.

I took Nikko to our park for one last time. It was a bittersweet moment. Happy to be going home but also sad to be leaving such a fun place.

We had our Christmas tree up and decorated. We gave it to the Church for the lobby.

Jake and Nikko by the Palace.

BACK IN THE STATES.

This kid was in HEAVEN when we got home. He was so happy to see his Grandad and Noni.

He was also very happy to get crayons from Grandma and Grandpa Chrisman. He thought they tasted delicious. Especially the green crayon.

He was totally spoiled. Christmas was fun. He actually wanted to open his presents and play with them. The only problem was he had too many presents to open and play with.

This horse is his favorite. He still can't figure out how to get off and on.

Now this is a beauty! Check out those incisions! Yummy! This was taken about 3 days post op. Don't worry, it looks MUCH better now.

Walkin Man

2008-11-20T14:04:00.000-08:00

We finally got it on video. Our little man walking. This isn't his best performance due to the shoes. Those Jordan's are pretty heavy but they are so cute. We figure his legs will get really strong! Thanks again for the shoes Noni!

A Day At The Park

2008-11-18T13:59:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures for your Nikko fix Mom and Lisa! We went to the park on Sunday and it was SO nice. Mom, I really wish you were here NOW since the weather has totally changed.

This wasn't at the park. He had just finished a bath and was rolling around naked. It makes him so happy to be without clothes or a diaper. He hasn't started peeing but I know it will come soon.

He likes to look at us and double check to make sure he hasn't gone too far.

Snuggles

Jake and Nikko feeding the swans, Nikko's favorite.

Me and my big belly. It is getting bigger every day!

He finally got the courage to walk. Again looking back at us to make sure we were still there.

Then our trip ended with this face.

Ready To Play!

2008-11-17T15:20:00.000-08:00

I found this picture today. Isn't he cute! I will have to find more but for now, this will have to do.

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-11-10T07:07:00.000-08:00

This is a little late but we promised Grandpa & Grandma Chrisman some cake footage. OK, more like the birthday song of terror. It's funny how we expect these little babies to go right along with TONS of strangers singing all together while smiling and staring at them. No wonder why they cry. I think I would too.

Need A Good Laugh?

2008-11-08T02:30:00.000-08:00

I was in tears from laughing so hard. I don't know if it's because I really don't get that much entertainment or if this is really as funny as I thought. After watching it, I have to say that little chimp is a quick learner. I don't think I could drive a segway that well. Watch the clip and check out the form of the Japanese man running after the chimp. ENJOY

Paci's, Passed Out & a Package!

2008-10-30T08:50:00.000-07:00

I had to post more pictures of Nikko's Birthday and random stuff.

Before my mom left, I asked her to get a couple more paci's for us. We came here with 6 and were down to 2. This little guy finds all sorts of places to put them. In our shoes, in drawers, cupboards, boxes. Behind the couch, pretty much any where that makes it hard for us to find. So she brought us a bunch and he is in paci HEAVEN!

One is never enough!

Four will do just fine! This wasn't posed for a picture. He really has to have more than 2 paci's in his crib. Just in case he gets bored with the one he has.

We took these two pictures the night after of his party. The night of his party was wild. He would NOT go to sleep or even settle down. The following night however was a bit different. He was pooped. We think he had consumed way too much sugar during the party. The night after was a lot easier to get him to sleep. He completely passed out.

Noni fed him and that was it for the rest of the night! SO exhausted.

OK- Rick and Lisa,

These are for you!

He was SO excited to see what was in the box.

He really opened the box on his own! It was really cute!

This was the expression caught once he got a peek inside!

Just what Nikko wanted! Some bath time wipes!

And a Twix!

The train was a HUGE hit! He LOVES it! Good job!

The Milkways are also a hit!

He really loves to tear paper apart so a wrapped present was a present alone!

Little Einsteins! He still loves that show!

Then a book! Not just any book, a Skippy Jon Jones Book! His favorite! What a SPOILED little guy! He is SO lucky! Seriously though, that was too much! He really is one loved boy! The package was GREAT! Jake was in Heaven with the beef jerky! So was Nikko, we let him have a piece and he went to town! You guys are awesome Grandparents! Thanks for being so good to our little man! And to us as well!

We love you guys!

Another Adventure!

2008-10-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

Wednesday we decided to take a little road trip and took a tour around the island. It is MUCH bigger than we thought. We had planned to go around the entire island but half way through, we decided it would take about 6 hours to get home. So we cut through the middle of the island. The drive was amazing! We went from a big city to the country side. Four lane highways to tunnels that have been hand chiseled with room for only one car. One tiny European car! This island is gorgeous with so much diversity. In one day, we felt like we had been to Ireland, Oregon, San Diego, Hawaii and South America! Madeira really is such a unique island with so many different things to offer. We are so happy we were able to see all this while Noni is here!

This is the tunnel I had mentioned. It was TINY! The picture is bad but it was the only one that turned out. We were really lucky because there weren't any cars coming in the other direction!

You probably can't tell but those are little huts that you can stay in. It's like a hotel, they looked really cute!

We got lucky, someone was very tired and slept for the entire drive!

Hydrangeas just grow out here. They are SO beautiful and there are so many all over. Just growing like weeds!

The views were amazing.

These little huts were in the town of Santana. They were so cute!

Monday

2008-10-29T03:23:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken on Monday. We went for a nice walk and took some fun random pictures. We have been busy doing fun stuff but I just haven't been able to post them.

Can you tell Noni is here?

He now loves Pepsi!

The Palace

Nikko waking up from a long nap/walk.

This church is right around the corner from our apartment. It is SO cute. It's right in the middle of the city with big buildings surrounding it. You would think Snow White lives inside!

Too cute.

This is Noni leaning against the root of a tree. It is massive.

A castle on top of the hill.

A view of the Marina and our apartment.

Some dog baking at us.

Not a very good picture but it's a really pretty old castle.

Just going for a walk!

The Day I Nearly Ruined Nikko's Birthday Party!

2008-10-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

I never really thought about the day that I would be throwing a birthday party for my one year old son. It just never crossed my mind. I have SO much respect for ALL mothers who do this EVERY YEAR. I must have been out of my mind. Since we are away from family, we had to invite the next closest thing. All the Missionaries! That means 10-12 missionaries to feed, plus whoever was going to show from Jake's team. That's a lot of hungry boys, and big boys at that. Now, I am the biggest procrastinator in the entire world. No lie. I figured I could throw a party together that day (what an idiot!). Then we went to church and found out from the 4 missionaries we invited that word had spread like fire that we were going to be feeding them. So all the missionaries wanted to come over. Like I'm going to say no to all those hungry boys! We went to the store and had my mom not been here, it would have been a disaster! Somehow, we were able to feed almost 20 people in our tiny apartment. We even had left overs.

Now my reason for another reason why I have so much respect for Mothers.

I should have worked harder on my domestic skills when I was younger. About 2 hours before the party was suppose to start, I got the cake ready to put in the oven. Yes, the oven. That's right. The cake wasn't even made and to top it off, I was trying to make 2! One for Nikko and one for the guests. One important thing to mention, I had never used our oven before. After the first cake had been in for 15 minutes, there was SMOKE coming out of the oven. We pulled the cake out and that is when the breakdown started. My mom was SO hopeful that we COULD salvage the burnt cake. I pulled the angry Emy attitude and put the next cake in and lowered the temperature. What do you think happened next? 10 minutes later, MORE smoke! Yep, I ruined BOTH cakes! The tops were totally burned and the center was still runny. With 1 hour before the party was suppose to start! All I can say is that I have the worlds best Mother and Husband. They saved the day and were able to cut all the burned tops and edges off AND were able to finish baking the cakes. I was a MESS. I was crying, thinking to myself, I SUCK at this. What was I thinking trying to pull this off. With them both by my side, I..... NO, WE were able to throw a party for the cutest little stinker in the entire world. Thanks to LOTS of frosting to cover up all the lumps in the uneven cake, no one ever knew I had ruined them!

It was 1 year ago today, almost to the hour that he was born. He is our everything. If we didn't have him, I would be SO lonely out here. He makes us both happier than we thought we could ever be. We love him so much and are so grateful he is all ours!

Here are a couple of pictures. I tried to upload all the best shots, (like messy cake face) but it wouldn't upload. I will do it another day!

We had about 10 missionaries there. All of them helped us sing Happy Birthday to Mr. Nikko and this is how it went.

At first, the song was fun and exciting!

Then for some reason, Nikko did NOT like the song. Or the cake. Notice how amazing that cake looks. Like some professional chef spent all day on it! This cake was made from the left over parts from the cakes we had salvaged. That is why it looks like a cinnamon bun.

Once he tasted the frosting, he was a happy camper!

I wasn't able to get the pictures of him eating and smashing it in his hair.

He had lots of happy moments, then sad moments. The presents were his happy moments, then he would get a little overwhelmed with all the people watching him.

SHE MADE IT!

2008-10-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

She is HERE! It has been non stop fun since Saturday! I don't think we are going to be able to send her home. She might go "missing" for a couple months!

For some crazy reason, Noni had the thought that Nikko wasn't going to remember her.

He for sure knows his Noni!

He could never forget her!

Christmas came early. I had SO much fun unpacking all the goodies my mom brought over. Who knew Mac & Cheese could bring someone so much happiness! It was really like Christmas morning! I was in Heaven!

NONI!

2008-10-24T01:27:00.000-07:00

Our NONI will be here soon! She leaves today and will be here tomorrow! We all are SO excited to see her! In three days, our little man will turn one. This picture was taken only minutes after Nikko entered into this world. His Noni was there when he was born and is going to be with him to celebrate his big day! A lot can happen in a year........................

You go from this, to.............................

THIS! Now we stand in shopping carts.

We wave to everyone who passes by.

Finally, shopping is fun for someone!

Nikko can't wait to show his Noni all his favorite toys.

Pots and pans are very popular right now.

Especially since he has figured out he can SIT in them!

Mom,

We are so excited to have you here to ourselves for a whole WEEK! I wasn't able to sleep last night, I was up thinking about all the fun stuff we are going to do! Plus, I couldn't stop thinking about all the goodies your bringing over! REAL food! We hope you have a great flight and have a nice layover in Paris! Eat some yummy pastries for me!

Love you!

THE TREND CONTINUES!

2008-10-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

Well, apparently the Chrisman's have some incredible genetic assigning abilities. The Dr. told us it is a FEMALE. I am not convinced. I have been having dreams about this baby since we found out I was pregnant. All the dreams have been a little boy. I couldn't see with the image the Dr. was showing us, proving the gender. I will have another ultra sound in a month so maybe the image will be a bit more clear and it will sink in. For now, I am NOT convinced! I was 100% sure that the little bugger was a boy. Don't get me wrong, a little girl is WONDERFUL! A healthy baby is all we could ever ask for so I will take whatever is given to me. I was just a little shocked to hear "FEMALE!" when I was expecting to hear "WEINER!" We are grateful for whatever the Lord blesses us with. We couldn't have more grattitude to hear the babies heart beat and know that it is healthy and happy. With all 10 fingers and 10 toes!

I had no way to scan the images they printed for us. I took a picture of the best image I could and this is the one that turned out. I don't know if anyone can even tell what they are looking at but there is our baby. Our MYSTERY baby! You can see the head on the left and stomach below and to the right.

Me just enjoying the poking and jabbing from the Dr. trying to get the baby to move. I was a little nervous. You can tell by the sweat marks! That's real nice Emy.

I really don't like having my picture taken when I'm pregnant. Since everyone is bugging me to see my bump, well, here it is!

19 weeks. Almost halfway there!

My belly button has totally popped out. I am one of those lucky people who have an outie. When I'm pregnant, it looks like I have a hernia. Nikko actually will pull my shirt up and try to bite it. It doesn't feel nice since he has teeth.

Me and my little man. He is such a good baby.

If our baby is indeed a girl, I hope she gets eyelashes like her brothers. How cute are those teeth? Love it!

Look at those suckers. I wish I had some like that!

Going For A Walk, Eating & Pigeons!

2008-10-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

We went for a nice little walk today. The weather was perfect! We actually had a good reason to get out, we wanted to find exactly where my new Dr.'s office is. Thursday is a big day for us, we finally will find out if Nikko is going to have a baby brother or baby sister! I have a very strong feeling that I know what it is but am not telling anyone. I think it will jinx me! Jake seems to think it is a girl. In his family, his dad had a boy, girl then boy. Jake's brother has boy, girl, boy and then girl. Will the Chrisman trend continue? We will find out soon! So stay TUNED!

Mom- check out his shoes. They are almost too small. This is only the second time he has worn them. Makes me sad! You will need to bring a new pair out for him!

He LOVES oatmeal!

This picture cracks me up. He was trying to talk to me. There were tons of pigeons surrounding us and he wanted to make sure I saw every single one of them. So here he is, pointing to each one and looking back at me to make sure I was seeing this amazing moment.

Usually I freak out about germs and diseases. Especially with the whole "bird flu" thing! We actually were living in Germany when a couple cases broke out. We didn't eat chicken for awhile! Back to birds and germs, I couldn't keep him away from these annoying things. He was in Heaven!

This fat bugger was brave and kept getting as close as he could. It kind of freaked me out.

So We Are Slackin!

2008-09-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

OK- I haven't been as good as I should be with updates. Jake pointed out something to me the other day. I have noticed that my vision seems to be getting worse, if that is possible. Everyday, I notice I can't see as well as I could a couple weeks ago. Then Jake said, "your pregnant!" I forgot about that! My vision becomes much worse when I'm pregnant. So my excuse for not updating as often as I should is I just can't see and contact solution is VERY expensive out here. I am rationing my supplies, no joke! Also, I am lazy and don't like to wear them. I will try to be better and maybe put my contacts in more often!

Jake is home, they did really well. He wasn't able to play in any of the games due to his little shoulder sprain! He is getting released by the Dr. on Wednesday and will be playing in their first official game of the season on Saturday. They had 3 games over last weekend. Fridays game they blew them out by 35. Saturdays game they won by 26 but unfortunately lost on Sunday by 5 points. They took second place in the tournament so that was good.

Here are just a couple of pictures Jake took while in Lisbon.

This is the same statue of Christ (Christ Rei, don't know what that translates to) that is in Rio De Janeiro. It stands 100 meters tall, approximately 328 feet. Jake said it was huge and is much smaller than the actual statue in Brazil. Guess we will have to go see it one day.

He called this the Golden Gate Bridge since they look similar.

OK- now to show off Mr. Nikko. Now that he has mastered climbing onto the couch, he LOVES to just chill. I turn on Portuguese cartoons for him and he is set.

He is also finding new places to explore. Like the basket in his stroller. He was THRILLED when he first climbed in but only seconds later did he realize he couldn't get out. He wasn't so happy about that! Hopefully you can see the angry expression.

Here is one of his new toys. We paid 40 Euros. What does that convert to? $57.00. No, it has no amazing features, just a simple walker with flashing lights and a couple of jingles. We miss Walmart more than we ever have.

I will NOT cut this hair! I am going to let it grow out until we are home in the States. We did get scissors to trim up around his ears since it's getting pretty nasty. That is not a zit on his cheek. Read below for an explanation.

Check out his war wounds. Those suckers are mosquito bites. You can't even see all of them. They are horrible. We have tried everything. My mom is sending us a mosquito net to drape over his crib and hopefully that will work. They look like burns but I promise they didn't bother him too much. They look terrible the first day and then start to get better. Of course the ones he got from our first week here are still healing but we are happy they are starting to go away!

While I was loading the pictures above, I found some of my favorite old photos!

December 27, 2006. SLC Temple, a very special day for us.

PCC, Hawaii. I really do miss those days. I also have no idea where that purse went. I loved that thing!

Another one of those "Where did that go?" moment. The backpack Jake is wearing was the best backpack ever! Where did it go? I will tell you. Some moron stole if from his locker at BYUH. That was a terrible day, it had a lot of Jake's books and school stuff in it. Shame on that person. I love all these pictures, we look so young and they are all pre-baby body days! I have to say, it's worth it.

Going To The Pool???????????

2008-09-15T12:53:00.001-07:00

The three of us went with some of Jakes teammates to what they call a beach. It is so funny to me. This island has no sandy beaches. You can either go to a rocky beach or a "beach" like this one. It had 3 pools. 1 for kids, the one below and then the big concrete pool filled with ocean water. They also have a high dive into the ocean and a big square floatie out in the middle of the water to swim to. They have these all over the island.

This is one of the actual pools.

This is Jason and Danielle. Jason is from Alabama and Danielle is from NY. They are both super kind and we enjoy hanging out with them. Jason plays with Jake and Danielle plays for the women's team.

Here is a picture of the square floatie. It's a pretty good swim and it was kind of rough waters.

Big Jake and Jason flexing. Check out the little boy in the spedo. I think his dad was wearing one too. What did we miss the most while we were away from Europe? The wonderful spedo.

Our little man watching his dad and eating a fry.

BIG BOY!

This was kind of crazy. It is just a massive pool that fills up with ocean water.

Saturday night was Jason's birthday so we all went over for a nice BBQ. Jake and Boby, the other American, just grillin up tons of meat. The BBQ later fell apart and nearly burned Bobby but he's quick. No burns!

Me and my man. My OTHER man! He is starting to look and remind me of Jake so much. I should start calling him little Jake.

Two handsome boys! Jake left all of his church clothes at home so he had to wear jeans. I told him he wasn't going to be the only one in jeans. I was right. He fit right in.

2008-09-12T13:50:00.000-07:00

Some more pictures from yesterday. The picture below was a really pretty shot but right as we posed, the little red van parked next to us and then a bus drove past. Poor timing.

He loved to chew on the rocks. They were nice and salty. We thought of little Aaron the whole time we were there. We thought of him saying " A ROCK, A ROCK, A ROCK."

Jake's teammates were all swimming and having a great time. We preferred to just chill, swimming with a baby on a rocky beach wouldn't be that great.

Free Therapeutic Volcanic Massage

2008-09-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

We took our first trip to the beach yesterday. It was a unlike any beach we had ever been to. No it wasn't a nude beach, it was a ROCK beach. People were actually laying out and sleeping on these rocks. This island has no sandy beaches so I guess they will take what they can get.

Our Adventure Of The Day

2008-09-10T08:56:00.000-07:00

Nikko and I had some time to kill. I've been wanting to check out the park across the street since we've been here. Today was the perfect day. It wasn't raining and the sun was shining. This island is really beautiful and we've only seen the city.

For You Noni!

2008-09-09T15:17:00.000-07:00

This is what Nikko looked like when he woke up from a LONG nap. This also is known as "ass eyes" pardon the language.

He had been sleeping for 2 1/2 hours and I thought it was time to wake him up. He was fighting it. It was too cute, the camera ran out of batteries so these were the only shots I got. How about his mattress? Yeah, their version of a pack and play is more like a collapsable table. It does not fold down at all. And it is heavy. Nikko is sleeping well in it so we can't complain. It might help having all the entertainment right in the mattress!

Noni, we sure miss you and hope you were able to rest. It probably has been a long day. We can't wait to hear from Grandad! Our prayers and thoughts are with him constantly. Please let him know how much we love and miss him, especially Nikko! Show him these pictures, maybe it will help him feel better!

Love you!

The Internet Is AMAZING!

2008-09-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

Lisa Chrisman,

I was so skeptical that we would be able to plug that little "Magic Jack" into our computer and all of the sudden be able to make calls from a Utah phone number all the way from Portugal. FOR FREE. Well, you sure proved us wrong. It works. We tried a bunch of numbers and we got through to Bryce. We will try you next.

To everyone who reads this that means you can call us anytime for free! Actually please call from anytime in the morning and no later than 4 p.m.. That is 11 p.m. for us here.

So give us a call @ 435-705-5097!!!!!! Hooray!

We both have new cell phone numbers as well. You can reach Emy @ 011-351-914-014-429 and Jake @ 011-351-913-605-872.

We think those numbers will work, there is only one way to find out!!!

Life In Funchal

2008-09-06T15:51:00.001-07:00

Here is our new home! We use this entrance because it is the only spot to our building that has a ramp for a stroller.

This is our apartment building from the opposite side. We live on the fifth floor and 5 windows to the left! It's a lot of fun so far. The city of Funchal does not sleep much!

This is a gorgeous park across the street from us. The road that the cars are going up is the street our church is on!

This is for all the Grandparents. He really does miss you guys! Check him out in his new tub and new tub chair! We also use it for feeding him!

He misses you all! And so do we!!

Keeping My Promise!

2008-09-05T05:17:00.001-07:00

I only have a minute, Jake and I are going into town. These pictures were taken from our balcony. The view is SO beautiful! It reminds me of Waikiki with a European touch. They unfortunately do not have the Aloha Spirit here! Sad to say!

Jake just picking up some WiFi on his phone late last night.

This is how packing went, a LOT of distractions!

Nikko and his Noni! He misses you SO much!

Jet Lag Is a BEAST

2008-09-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

So we finally made it to Madeira. For those of you who have no idea where in the world Madeira is (like me two weeks ago), we are in Portugal. A Portuguese Island just north of the Canary Islands. Yes, we somehow are back on an island but this time in a different country.

For those of you who are thinking about taking a 10 month old across the world, maybe find a babysitter! Poor poor Nikko is struggling with adjusting to sleeping when he usually is up and playing and playing when he is usually sleeping. Right now it is 1:30 a.m. and I still have not adjusted to the time difference. The good news is that Nikko is sleeping as we speak and I am praying that he won't wake up until 5 a.m. That is hopeful thinking though.

Jake however is sleeping like a champ! He has been going to practice since the day we got on the island! Anytime he has a chance to rest, he falls right to sleep. He is happy to be playing again but is already frustrated with the coach. He ran 6 miles yesterday! I think that might be why. He has a scrimmage in two weeks and he is looking forward to that. Nikko and I are too!

I have been so lucky. I haven't felt sick since we got here. There are some funk nasty smells too and they aren't making me queasy at all. The bad news is that I never sleep and don't eat as much as I need to be. I forgot how hard it is to recover from jet lag. It is MUCH harder when you have a baby and are pregnant.

I will post pictures tomorrow. I have no idea where our card reader is. Yep, we are not unpacked. Oh I forgot to mention that Continental Airlines lost all 6 of our checked bags! HA HA HA! That made our trip even more fun! Don't worry, we retrieved all of them!

So we are going to be here for 8 months and I would love to hear from all of you. It will keep me updated and know whats going on! So please drop a note if you have a second!

Love the Chrismans!

7 Months. Driving & 1 Tooth

2008-06-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

Here we are at seven months. Everyone told me that time goes by too fast when you have a baby but I didn't actually think it would. He already has his first tooth (and is working on his second!) he sits on his own, he has mastered eating, he can roll from one end of the room to the other, he is very into things (like the steering wheel of his granddads truck!) and believe it or not, he can walk (with assistance of course!). We hold his hands and he has figured out how to get moving! It looks hilarious, like he shouldn't be doing that already!

I was trying to get a picture of him with my glasses on. He thought it was actually lots of fun at first but by the time I got the camera, he was pissed. So not the cutest picture but funny.

It goes by too fast!

2008-05-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

The other day I came across this picture and I almost started to cry. Time goes by SO fast!

Nikko at about 6 weeks

Now he is trying to figure out how he can escape!

THE BIG DEBUT OF CEREAL!

2008-04-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

Well, it has begun. Last week, we decided it was time to let Nikko try some yummy cereal. Here is how it went...............

He loves his highchair so we thought we were off to a good start, then...........

It started.

First, not so bad. Just figuring it out.

Still just wondering what to think.

Then it starts.

He was looking at us like WHAT IS THIS!

We tried EVERYTHING! Clapping, snapping, SINGING!

Which could have made it worse!

It's a good thing he is so cute because..............

He made a pretty big mess.

More From Costa Rica

2008-04-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are FINALLY updating our stinkin blog. Here is some more pictures from our freakin awesome trip to Costa Rica!

Baby Boy Nikko just chillin

Emy with a very scary face

Us enjoying the pool
There were these yellow trees everywhere! I made Jake pull over on our way back to the airport to take some pictures.

Jake getting ready to go on the zip line

Candice ready to go

Just enjoying some lunch. Emy, Nikko, Candice and Jordyn

Go Cougs.
Mike and Jordyn

Costa Rica Day 4 part 1

2008-04-09T20:33:00.001-07:00

For some reason it wont let me post more pictures but I will tomorrow!

Costa Rica Day 4 part 2

2008-04-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

This picture is out of place. It was taken last since it was the end of our long day. I jumped in with Nikko and he LOVED it. I think a big part was his diaper was too full of water so it just fell off and he was able to just swim naked.

After our fun time with the zip lines, we came across this little shelter. I was ready to open the doors and release these little guys but it turns out they are all babies and were abandoned by their mothers. So they grow up here and when they are big enough, they release them.

Just chillin in the trees

Jakie Poo

Crossing a bridge for the next zip line.

Day 3!

2008-04-08T22:49:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a town called Tamirindo. It was a cute little surfer town. We had a great lunch and hung out at the beach. We then went to another beach to watch the sunset while we had a nice dinner. It was a nice day. Does Nikko look any tanner? Answer, NO. Don't worry, we apply sunblock more often than recommended!

On our drive home we came across the soccer game going with cows eating on the field!

Nikko and his Daddy!

Nikko and his Mama!

Our little family!

Even More from Day 2

2008-04-08T22:35:00.000-07:00

On our way to the pool, look what we ran into! They were just hanging out in the trees by the road! SO cute!

Now this little creature is called a Coatie?! We looked it up in a Costa Rica book in the house. I woke up this morning and opened up the door to our deck and heard some noises in the bushes. I looked out and saw this harry creature coming out of the bushes, I was hoping it would be a monkey but this little guy came out. He was right out our door, so cute! He eats the fruit that grow by our door. We have named him Sniffy because he sniffs everything and it is REALLY loud! He caught our scent and his tail puffed up, we ran back in the house thinking he might attack!

Day 2 A Day Late

2008-04-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from yesterday that we did not post. Sorry for the delay but every time we come back to the house, we crash. ENJOY

This is the provate beach for the resort. It was so nice. I had to hang my skirt on the tree, it worked great because it had huge thorns! Nikko slept great, had about an hour nap while I got to play in the water!

So cute!

This is the pool by the beach, it's beautiful!

Costa Rica Day 1!

2008-04-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

These pictures are for the Grandma's! Nikko was GREAT! He slept through the entire first flight and never made a sound. Everyone who passed us as they exited off the plane turned and told us how good of a baby he is. I said, we still have one more flight to make so lets knock on wood! Actually he is really the best baby. He is happy and doing awesome so far!

New Pictures!

2008-02-18T17:29:00.001-08:00

Here are some new pictures! I suck at posting so consider it lucky that I even did this much!

Nikko sits in his bumbo while we do his hair!

MY DAD MAKES ME LAUGH

2008-02-05T21:58:00.000-08:00

Jake was getting out of the shower and Nikko started to crack up, I guess he thought it was funny that his dad was naked! So Jake ran and grabbed the camera just in time to capture these sweet little giggles.

Hanging Out

2008-02-05T20:55:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple random shots. Enjoy

Isaac got a super sweet watch from Sumner for his birthday and was so excited to show me.

Nikko and Uncle Bryce. Bryce can get this kid to giggle like you wouldn't believe!

Lisa, here he is! First time in his exersaucer! He actually likes it a lot! We still need to put all the batteries in, it takes probably 20!

We have to put blankets in to support his head for now but hopefully he will be good in 2 more weeks.

Oh- great news! This picture was taken with my greatest purchase EVER. I dropped my favorite camera in the ocean in Mexico last time we were there. I was so mad because this camera was the best thing I had ever purchased. We took it to China and all over Europe. It is the perfect camera. So I was pretty freakin pissed to no longer have it. I started to look online for the same camera, new and used. The cheapest I found was used for $130 which was a great price since we bought it for $400. So I emailed the people to find out the condition and while I was waiting for a response, I checked out Ebay. Sure enough, I found the same camera that was pretty much brand new, still had the box, all the cords, charger, what not. I ended up bidding and winning the same camera we bought for $400 for $52! Thats right $52! And it is in better condition than our old one! That is my story! I love EBAY!

He Is A Little MAN.

2008-02-05T20:43:00.000-08:00

Nikko is no longer our little new born baby boy. If you were to look at him, you would expect a full sentence to come out of the kids mouth. He just acts and looks a lot older than he really is. It makes us a little sad because he grew out of the newborn phase so fast. Oh well, guess we will just have to have another one!!!!! HA HA HA!

His favorite thing right now is to play Superman

Jake's proudest moment, Nikko's first day out with his Baby J's on.

Thanks Lisa, the Bumbo is GREAT. I put him in it to do his hair!

MY FIRST GLOVE, and a little something extra!

2008-01-20T18:26:00.001-08:00

Check this out, who knew they made real leather gloves this small? Well Noni found this while she was in LA and in her words she "just HAD to buy it!" We are sure glad she did because it is so freakin cute! Sure he doesn't even know he has hands yet but one day he will! He wasn't really in the mood to smile for any of these shots.

This is for you Lisa Chrisman. Look what Nikko can do! It's a mini Jake in the making!

Jordyn Turns 1!

2008-01-20T18:12:00.000-08:00

So we got to see Mike, Candice and Jordyn last weekend for Jordyn's first birthday! Jordyn and Nikko seemed to like each other, then Jordyn maybe changed her mind for a second and hit him right after this picture was taken. Don't worry Candice, I think Nikko is going to be ok! It will be good for him to know the first person to ever hit him was a girl! HA! I'm working on getting that picture we took the day you flew home from Oahu. It's on our hard drive and I'm super lazy so one day I will plug it in and send it to you!

Bath Time!

2008-01-14T20:48:00.000-08:00

Nikko's new favorite towel!

He also got some new PJ's!

SUPER MAN!

Nikko's getting BIG

2008-01-11T21:51:00.000-08:00

We are not very good at posting pictures so we are sorry.
Here are some new pictures.

These pictures are hilarious! Look at the hat, just a bit small!

Here he is passed out, apparently it was a REALLY good dinner.

Look Who's Smiling!

2007-12-21T11:29:00.000-08:00

These are actually 2 weeks old so he looks a little different now.

More of Nikko

2007-12-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

Baby Nikko's First Photo Shoot

2007-12-04T21:20:00.000-08:00

Well, we are only 4 weeks late with posting these pictures. My VERY talented friend Hayley Anderson took these pictures for us! She is SO good with lighting! I'm so happy to have these precious pictures! Nikko was only 2 weeks old, he did well until the very end. He got mad, cried, peed, then pooped on both me and Jake! I guess we were pushing our luck with having him out of a diaper for so long.

Thank You Auntie Candice

2007-11-14T22:50:00.001-08:00

Nikko got a his first package in the mail, it was from "Auntie" Candice

Just keepin the aloha spirit Candice, I know how bad you hated being called that! The outfit is so sweet, and he loves to snuggle with his new blankie. Thank you Mike, Candice and Jordyn, we can't wait for him to meet you all!

2 Weeks!!!

2007-11-14T22:37:00.001-08:00

Baby Nikko and his new best buddy, cousin Lucas Edward Castagnetto

Born November 12th

6lbs 18 in

Our little guy is growing fast. He is now 8lbs 13oz and 21 inches long! I know it sounds stupid, but he is growing up so fast! His newborn onesies are getting tight!

More Of Baby Nikko

2007-11-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

As you can tell by all the recent post's made, we have a little extra time now! Nikko is an awesome little baby. We are getting about 6-8 hours of sleep a night (of course not straight through!). We find ourselves starring at him at 3 a.m. still in awe. We are in love!

Nikko's Cradle

2007-11-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

Our little Nikko got a huge present from his Grandpa Chrisman, a beautiful new cradle! Grandpa hand crafted this masterpiece from a design that is all his own. Everyone is amazed at how creative and skilled the man is with wood. The cradle is set into grooves on top of a dresser, it is the most amazing design we've ever seen. Thank you Grandpa Chrisman for all the time and love that you put into this, how can we ever thank you enough!!!

Our Last Week!

2007-11-07T22:38:00.000-08:00

Little did we know that this would be our last week before little Nikko would come! Hayley took some family pictures for us. We wanted to get some last shots before the big day.

Happy Halloween!!

2007-11-01T22:47:00.000-07:00

Our little Nikko came a week early, so he got to have his 1st Halloween!! He was so freakin adorable in the Pea Pod costume!! What you can't see is how tiny he is under the costume. We had to bulk hime up a bit with some blankets so he could fill out the pod a little bit better.

Nikko's Birthday!!!

2007-10-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

Baby Nikko is Here!!!

7 lbs 10 oz

19 in

Both Momma and Baby are happy and Healthy

Emy was so amazing the whole day! She was very happy once she got her epidural!!!
It was a big party in the delivery room. Lots of family and friends were there to enjoy the whole experience.
Baby Nikko getting all cleaned up, he ahs the sweetest little cry!
Momma and her baby boy, he starred at her all night!
Getting a little burp out of the boy, he's a good little eater!!

Baby Jake!

2007-10-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

Even as a baby, he still had that cute smile!
I asked Jake's mom if he had wavy or curly hair in this picture. She laughed and said, nope, bad hair cut!
What a CUTE kid!
And when he is older, this is what Nikko might look like!

Just Some Random Shots

2007-09-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

This is the latest addition to our family, Chui. It means Leopard in Swahili. He is pretty wild. Also, this is the latest shot of my tummy. I don't take a lot of pictures of it so enjoy it. 5 more weeks!
We went up the canyon to roast marshmallows one last time before it got too cold.

This is Aaron, my nephew. He is so stinkin cute. He is going to have a little brother who is due 2 weeks after me and they are naming him Lucas. Aaron calls him Baby Nucas.
Another shot of Chui.

HOT MOMMY!!!

2007-08-06T09:03:00.001-07:00

Isn't she just adorable! Candice was in town this weekend and took amazing pictures of Emy and her cute baby belly! They turned out so great, THANK YOU CANDICE!!!

San Carlos, Mexico

2007-07-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

Baby Boy Video Part 1!!!

2007-05-27T22:09:00.001-07:00

Baby Boy Video Part 2!!!

2007-05-27T18:23:00.001-07:00

WE HAVE A WEINER!!!!

2007-05-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

Today was our BIG day! We had our first ultrasound to check the gender. I am 17 weeks and thought for sure they wouldn’t be able to see what it was. So we went to our appointment and Jake thought 100% that it was a girl!
So the technician starts to get an image of the baby and the first thing Jake said was "look at HIS face!” Then a few angles later, there HE was in a nice Indian style position showing the world what he was! We couldn’t be happier with a baby boy! It's a good thing it is a boy because we have TONS of baby Jordan’s and Lebron's for this kid already!

Life in Hawaii

2007-05-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

The Chrisman's

2007-03-12T17:40:00.000-07:00

It has been crazy these past few months but a lot has happened! Jake had a good recovery from his ACL repair. We have had lots of time to be with family and the biggest thing that happened, EMY is PREGNANT! It took us by surprise but we couldnt be more excited!