Keep in mind that some of the contact info and URL info has changed... these are posted just because it's neat to see what Stan was thinking on the day each of his children was born... *sigh*
This is the email that Daddy sent out to announce the birth of our sweet Baby Bubba... :)
From: "The Kwong Family"
Subject: "Baby Bubba Kwong" has arrived...
Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 01:15:10 -0700
Note: Please feel free to forward this mail onto others but please do not "reply to all" as there are a lot of business addresses
IT'S A BOY!!!!
Yes, Stan and Annie are now parents... eek!
Ryan Robert Kwong has arrived...
Birthday: 7/24/00
Weight: 8 lbs 2.3 oz.
Length: 21 in (L)
Stan testimonial....
It has been a long day today so if the mail rambles a little bit...get on me later...like 18 years from now when I have time....er.....maybe 18 is too soon
So what happened? - To start off, I am in COMPLETE awe about childbirth process. A lot of respect goes out to anyone who mothers a child because Annie was having contractions for a couple of weeks and was in hard (contraction type) labor for over 17 hours. Hell, I don't even do things that I like for 17 hours.
Annie started having hard contractions between Saturday night and Sunday morning so we went to the hospital. Annie measured 4 cm dilated (10 cm is considered fully dilated so that mothers can push.) Annie started pushing at 4pm on Sunday and pushed for about 7 hours before the doctors contemplated a Cesarean section. This is the part that I will always remember because a C-Section was the last option on our Birth Plan. Maybe it was from watching too much Baby Story on Lifetime but Annie said, "the best option is a C-Section so that the baby won't suffer anymore." This had nothing to do with exhaustion or the worry that this was major surgery....it was because she loved our little "Bubba". I am extremely proud of her. Many tears were shed at 12:22 am on 7/24/00 as the Doctors and I yelled, "It's a boy!" The doctors continued to work on Annie while a different team worked on the typical birthing procedures. The doctors let me cut part of the cord then they showed Baby Ryan to Annie. Both Annie and the baby were admitted to her room a little bit after 2:00 am. Dad went home.
On Annie - I must say that Annie did a great job with the whole process. Everything from the nursery and clothes to contractions to the birth of our son was the most amazing thing that I have ever witnessed. You can see that Annie is going to be a great Mom. The way she is with Ryan is really something to see. Annie is recovering well from her surgery as she is already slowly walking around. If you see her.....ummmm.....tell her that she just had a major operation less than 24 hours ago and she should sit down. :)
On being a Parent - Right now I am so happy that I feel a little dizzy. It is such an awesome feeling that Annie and I (mostly Annie) were able to bring a healthy baby boy to the world. I hear a saying a while ago that said, "...being a parent is having the ability to watch you heart run around outside of you." If that isn't it, sue me I'm on limited sleep. At any rate, I am extremely happy that both of the important people in the Kwong Dynasty are ok. I am looking forward to teaching my son good values and maybe some baseball. This is where you come in. For all intensive purposes, I'd like to consider you all Aunties and Uncles. As Aunts and Uncles, I would like you to help us raise Ryan as a good boy with some of your knowledge, values, time, etc. This is by far my only wish at this moment as the commitment to raise the best boy that I can extends to our Family and Friends.
So what now? - If you are nearby, stop by the hospital, Kaiser Hayward room 205 (visiting hours 11am -1pm and 6-8 pm.) or call 510-732-3205 until Thursday when Annie gets released. I am assuming that Annie and I are not going to have a lot of extra time and/or sleep so we might have to rely on you to check out the joy that we named Ryan but also to keep our relationship strong. Annie is schedule to come home on Thursday. I am not sure how Annie, Ryan or myself will deal with the transition so if you are planning to come over, please call before you come. I might insist on a smallish number until we get into a semi-routine. Please don't view this as a polite don't come over type on thing, I just want to allow enough time for Annie to recover. The truth of the matter is that our great Family and Friends is one of the most positive things that we have.If you are interested, Annie is planning to upload pictures and whatnot to the website.
Log on to: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/7944/ if you are interested in the latest in the Kwong Dynasty.
Love always, Stan, Annie and Ryan
PS Giving your time is more important than money. Unless you are a Yahooligan! and want to offer Ryan a job as a baby consultant or some strange position like that. hahahaha :)
PSS Attached are 2 pictures: one of them is Ryan Robert and the other is Ryan Robert being first introduced to Mom. I'd send out a Mom and Baby but I don't want Annie saying, "you sent that picture out?!!?!" It'll keep out marriage happier. :)
Announcing the arrival of Princess Kiana Joy
April 12, 2002
Family and Friends,
Let me start out by saying that we (Annie) gave birth to a baby girl named Kiana Joy, and I must say that she is more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Here are her stats:
Name: Kiana Joy Kwong
Birthday: April 12, 2002
Time of Birth: 8:09 am
Weight: 8 lbs
Height: 20 inches
Place: Washington Hospital, Fremont, CA
Short synopsis of the day....we got up VERY early in the morning, like 4:30 in the morning to be at the hospital at 5:30 am. (Ryan was having a "sleep over" at Annie's Aunt's house). We were admitted and at around 7:30 am, Annie was brought into the C-section room to do prep-work while I put on my scrubs. Our Doctor and Anesthetist, did a great job talking both Annie and I through the procedure, which went pretty much by the book and without complications. Kiana was raised up to both Annie and I to a "That's our baby girl!". They continued to work on Annie as I cut the cord on the baby warming table. I went with Kiana and Annie met us in the recovery room. Both Mommy and baby Kiana are fine.
First Thought.....Both Annie and my first thought was that she looked a lot like Ryan (who looked a lot like both Annie and I when we were born). She has a perfectly round head, Annie's nose and so far has been a very good sleeper and eater.
Annie.....Last time, I said that I thought Annie was going to be a great mom, I can now definitely verify this status of greatness. When going into surgery, she was mostly worried about how Ryan was doing from being away from Mom and Dad, and again not worried about the MAJOR surgery part. She arranged for Kiana's room to be completely done up by a friend of hers, which turned out to be a awesome and even got daily presents for Ryan so that the notion of a "new baby" would be lessened and not so shocking....like "Who's the new kid taking up so much of mommy's time?" Mentally, she has a development plan for both kids, individually and together. I am very proud of her both as a parent and as a wife.
Ryan.....today, he first met his baby sister, he recognized her as a "ba-by" and was "talking" a lot about the baby. It was really cute when he was pointing to his sister (as in the picture). I believe that Ryan will be a great Big Brother. Furthermore, he was very content with his new toys.
For me......I feel that euphoric feeling of satisfaction when someone completes a difficult task. It is difficult to convey in words, especially over e-mail, the excitement that I feel for our family of 4. When I was in the "daddy" waiting room, I realized that "this will be my little princess...forever" and had a strong sense of unconditional love for Kiana. How many times in your entire life can you say that? The whole event was very surreal as I have hundreds different things that I want to do as Kiana's dad but in the end, I want my baby girl to reach for the stars and experience only the best things in life. I am still however at a loss on conveying how special Kiana is....I have heard about the special bond that daughters have with their fathers and I am eagerly looking forward to all of it.
In closing, Annie and I can no longer play a Zone Defense, we have to play one-on-one. Even at this early stage, I know that 2 kids will bring us joys that surpass the double amount of work (kind of like 1+1=3). Now more than ever we will rely on our family and friends (many of whom have helped us in ways that simple "thank you's" will not suffice.) I appreciate all of the help that friends and family have given especially in helping Ryan love his sister and helping Annie recover from her C-Section.
If you want to stop by, we will be at Washington Hospital (off Mowry Ave) until about Sunday or call 510-797-1111 and ask for room #34 in the birthing center or stop by the house in Fremont.
Much love to all and looking forward to the future.
Sincerely,
Stan, Annie, Ryan and baby Kiana Kwong aka The Kwong Dynasty.
PS for the latest pictures and information, you can always log onto the www.kwongdynasty.com or Kiana specifically at http://www.kianajoykwong.net/
and finally... the family is "complete" --- welcome Baby Kaili Grace
The Email Announcement sent with love by Daddy on July 4, 2003
Family and Friends,
I am very proud to announce the birth of Kaili Grace, another beautiful addition to the Kwong Dynasty. Personally, as with Kiana, I am stunned at how beautiful she is.
Here are her stats:
Name: Kaili Grace Kwong
Birth Date: July 3rd, 2003
Time of Birth: ~10:30 am (note from annie: actually 10:10am)
Weight: 7 lbs 3 oz
Height: 19 inches
Place: Washington Hospital, CA
On the evening of July 2nd, Ryan and Kiana went to stay at Annie's Aunt's and Mom's for a sleep over. The morning of July 3rd, Annie and I checked into Washington Hospital where the staff got everything prep for Annie's 3rd C-Section. We were greeted by Dr. Kurkjian, who has been immensely helpful over the course of Kiana's and Kaili's deliveries. After a short while, the Doctor raised up our girl to me exclaiming, "Another beautiful baby girl!" The nurses cleaned the baby under the heating lamp and I cut the cord while the staff finished with the procedure. Kaili, then Annie went to the recovery room. No complications, both Annie and baby are doing great...in fact, I would say that Annie is doing much better this time.
First Impression: Annie's prediction came true, Kaili, looks like me but my first thought was look at how tiny she is. Maybe it is due to the fact that Ryan and Kiana were 8 lbs and were much larger at birth. I too thought that she had a couple of features that resemble me, mostly the eyes, but the one definitive trait of all of our kids, is that they all have Annie's nose.
Annie: I love her. Relentlessly, she pays little thought for her own needs in an effort to provide for the betterment of our family. Whether the task is teaching, rewarding, discipline, food provider, baby-putter-to-sleeper, or just daily Mom juggling, it is a 24-hour a day job...much more complicated than mine. I would have never foreseen how great of a mom Annie would be when we first met but I can proudly say that I can't imagine going through life without her as a partner or best friend. Annie is also primarily responsible for the development of all of the kids, and so far I believe has done a terrific job with their development.
Ryan: He is going on 3, on July 24th, so he understands that "Kaili is in Mommy's tummy." Upon coming to the hospital, he wanted to hold the baby and gave her a big hug. Both he and Kiana are best friends and I expect that he will continue to love his sisters as they grow.
Kiana: Will always be my little girl. She is so smart, funny and most of the reason why I am so excited about Kaili, as I can see how much joy Kiana brings to the world. Prior to Kiana, I was very unsure about how I would raise a girl but she has passed my expectations and in more ways than I imagined. I firmly believe that she will grow up to be a great Big Sister to Kaili.
Me: I like the fact that at 31, I get what is important and would not ask for any changes. Kaili has come into this world a beautiful princess….and she will allow me to continue to laugh harder, love more and care more. I am not sure what it is about pre-C-section waiting rooms but I was able to think about how excited I was to see what she looked like, to experience how she would behave….just to be able to match her entire foot up with my thumb. It was almost like a great dream that step-by-step came true with everything falling into place. My hopes and dreams for her are that she will grow up to become a happy, loving and fulfilled person. I love Kaili Grace will all of my heart.
Answering the big question:The most frequent question I get is "wow, why 3?" or "you guys are brave to take on 3." In many ways, I agree that 3 will be difficult to juggle but I get so much joy from my family simply existing. For instance, I was driving with Kiana and Ryan in the back seat and Ryan started going "Ribbit, Ribb-it". Kiana then broke out into one longest and loudest case of the giggles. This went back and forth for about 5 minutes. I was so happy at that moment that I had to turn down the radio just to hear the connection that they were making. There are times in the day where I have to stop for a moment to enjoy the fact that I have a great wife, that my kids will tackle me upon coming home, I am always included in hide-and-go seek and hundreds of other indescribable instances that bring joy to my life. Therefore, I ask, "who would not want to add that kind of joy in their life?" I AM the luckiest person on the face of the earth as I fully realize how enriching Kaili is to the family (now we have 2 princesses in the Kwong Dynasty.)
Adding 3 does bring some inherent challenges though...Ryan, Kiana and Kaili, will all have different connections between themselves and with us, so we will have to extend our love and affection to growing a family. It really doesn't matter when you were born, the steady thing in life is that we all (Stan, Annie, Ryan, Kiana and Kaili), continue to unconditionally love each other through whatever life brings. There will be times where any of us 5 might think that something is unfair….as 3 or 5 are hard numbers to divide evenly, you are always left with that 0.3333….but the very simple message is that our sense of family is the one consistent thing that has no number and will always part of your life forever.
Last time, I mentioned that we will have to go to a Zone Defense but there are more of them now so someone will undoubtedly be open so we will likely need to go to problem solving on a global resolution or a "first come, first served basis". Both Annie and I are truly going to be pushed to become better, more effective parents. Relying on our Friends, Baby Board Friends, Family and others with advice, additional hands, moral support and all other means are continually appreciated and welcomed.
If you are in the area, Annie will likely be released sometime on Sunday (potentially Saturday evening) so if you are in the area, please feel free to drop by the hospital. We are on the second floor in 2N3 (2nd floor / Room 3 on the North side) and the Visiting hours are 11 am - 8 pm -or- please feel free to drop by the house. Kaili's website is: www.kaili-kwong.net.
Best wishes and Happy 4th of July,
Stan, Annie, Ryan, Kiana and Kaili
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