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Here are a few of the pics from our recent session with Carina (katsphotography.net). We love them! More to come later!

Super Quick Update: 2 Wk Appt

Emily went back to the pedi yesterday. She is up to 8lb 0.5oz, well above her birth weight, and is 21in long. They confirmed our suspicions that she was a bit scrunched for the hospital measurement of 19in. While I'm sure there has been growth, I don't think she grew 2 full inches in 2 weeks. The doctor is still leaning towards a diagnosis of reflux, but we are all hoping she will outgrow this soon instead of getting worse. We will see what the next couple of weeks brings. She had her heel prick for her second newborn screening (which took FOREVER!) and barely made a peep. She cried for a few seconds after the prick and was then cool as a clam.

Kason is 18 months old now (as of Jan 30) and has his next pedi appointment next week, so look for his update then.

Ta-ta for now!

Loving Two

A friend shared this with me via facebook and I wanted to post it here. I went through a lot of guilt about having another while Kason is still so young. Now, I see him with his little sister, even after only 10 days at home, and he is so amazingly sweet and loving and gentle with her. I know he loves his Emmy already and I cannot believe how much love God has put in my heart for both of my babies!


Loving Two

I walk along holding your 2-year-old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship. Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited. And I wonder: how could I ever love another child as I love you?

Then he is born, and I watch you. I watch the pain you feel at having to share me as you’ve never shared me before.

I hear you telling me in your own way, “Please love only me”. And I hear myself telling you in mine, “I can’t”, knowing, in fact, that I never can again.

You cry. I cry with you. I almost see our new baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared. A relationship we can never quite have again.

But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty. I’m afraid to let you see me enjoying him, as though I am betraying you.

But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.

More days pass, and we are settling into a new routine. The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.

But something else is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just we two. There are new times – only now, we are three. I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other.

I watch how he adores you – as I have for so long. I see how excited you are by each of his new accomplishments. And I begin to realize that I haven’t taken something from you, I’ve given something to you. I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you.

I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong. And my question is finally answered, to my amazement. Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you – only differently.

And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I now know you’ll never share my love. There’s enough of that for both of you – you each have your own supply.

I love you – both. And I thank you both for blessing my life. Author Unknown

Introducing Miss Emily Paige Ottinger

As I'm sure you know by now, Emily Paige made her appearance January 19, 2010 at 9:08am, one day shy of her induction date.

Her Birth Story:

Monday night, I began having some painful contractions. Nothing out of the ordinary, so I took a bath, took 2 Tylenol PMs, and we went to bed around 11:30. I vaguely remember waking up a couple of times with some intense contractions and going back to sleep. Then, around 2:00am, I woke up to a contraction and couldn't fall back asleep. Ten minutes later, another very painful contraction. Six minutes later, another. Four minutes later, another. Two minutes later, another. This time, I got up to go to the restroom. I walked around the bathroom for maybe 5 minutes before I woke Kyle up and told him we needed to leave. When you have been having contractions for 10+ weeks, you get to ignore the 5-1-1 rule (contractions for 5 minutes, lasting 1 minute, for 1 hour). You also get to ignore this rule when you skip straight to contractions 2 minutes apart that are so intense you feel like you are going to have a baby on the bathroom floor.

He called our friends, Dan and Kate, to come stay with Kason and he called L&D to let them know we were on our way. I, for some strange reason, decided I should straighten my hair and put on makeup. This was not easy with contractions so intense I was moaning into a pillow (didn't want to wake Kason) every 2 minutes. Kyle kept asking me what I was doing and I don't think I was really coherent enough to answer. Finally, I realized I was being ridiculous and got dressed.

Dan and Kate arrived around 3:00am. I somehow managed to get downstairs between contractions only to crawl up onto all fours on the couch and moan into a pillow. Our friends are newly married and I really hope I did not scare them out of having children. Kyle was gathering up a few last minute things with me telling him we had to leave NOW.

We got in the car and headed to the hospital. Car rides while you are in labor are no fun! I was convinced if we didn't get to the hospital soon, I would be delivering in the car, so I insisted Kyle run all the red lights.

Around 3:30am, we arrived at the hospital. As soon as a contraction passed, I headed into the ER. Luckily, it was almost empty, so there was only one poor man that had to witness my contractions. The ER triage person so how much pain I was in so I got a free pass straight to L&D skipping triage in antepartum.

There were two nurses waiting for me upstairs. I was immediately changed into a gown and checked for progress (4-5cm dilated at this point). An IV was started and the questions and signing of papers began. I'm still not really sure what I signed. I would've signed just about anything at that point to get some pain meds. I was contracting every 2 minutes and they were PAINFUL! After about an hour, the anesthesiologist came in and Kyle had to leave the room so I could get my epidural. It was now 5am and in the hour it took to get admitted and to get my epidural, I had progressed to 7cm.

Unfortunately, this is where the song repeats from Kason's birth. The epidural did not work completely. I was left with a hot spot on my left hip and only had partial relief for about an hour, if even that long. The hot spot hurt the entire time and increased with each contraction. After a little while, the contractions were again unbearable and I was writhing, moaning, and at times, screaming in pain. Labor was progressing very quickly, but the epidural did seem to slow it down. It took 3.5 hours to go from 8-10cm and get to push. That was the worst 3.5 hours...but, we made it through. At one point, a nurse came in and said I was scaring the patient next door. I'm not really sure why she thought I would care, though. I was in pain and I bet her epidural worked.

Three different anesthesiologists came in the room that day. One to administer the epidural, one to give a bolus (that didn't do a thing), and another to give a second bolus (that also didn't do a thing). Immediately after the third anesthesiologist finished and left, my water broke and I felt immense pressure. I never felt the urge to push with Kason because he stayed so high up until my doctor used the vacuum, so this was new to me. I had just been checked before my water broke and the nurse said I still had a lip and couldn't push. My body had a mind of its own, though, and was pushing all on its own. During this time, my doctor had been in the room twice. She had just left to go to her office, but before she even made it down the hall, she turned around and came back. She came in the room and said, "Let's have a baby".

At this point, I was focused. No more screaming in pain, just pushing, waiting on my baby girl. After a few good contractions and about 10-15 minutes, Emily made her entrance into the world. She was placed on my chest and cried immediately. Such a different experience than with Kason who was whisked away by the NICU nurses and neonatologist. After a few minutes the nurse took her to clean her off a bit, suction her, and weigh her. 7lb 10.7oz and 19 inches long. We got to spend the first hour in the room with her. She nursed and Kyle and I were both able to hold her and spend time with her before she went to the nursery to be bathed.

While the pain was much more intense than with Kason and the epidural didn't work for the second time, the labor was quick and Emily was healthy, so all in all it was a great experience. We now believe that my body just doesn't respond to epidurals like most do and am leaning towards a more natural experience in the future, so I don't have to be strapped to a bed while writhing in pain.

We came home around lunchtime on Thursday. Emily is doing great...nursing like a champ and sleeping well. Fingers crossed she will keep this up. She had her first pedi appointment yesterday and is up 6oz from our discharge on Thursday. She lost 7.5oz in the hospital and is expected to be back at birth weight by 2 weeks. So, she is well on her way and then some! We go back to the pedi next Monday for another weigh-in and her second newborn screening test. Speaking of weight - my goal for this pregnancy was to stay under 30 lbs (I gained 37 with Kason). As of my last dr. appointment at 38w6d, I had gained 22 lbs and as of today, I am only 5 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight! Yay!!

Kason is adjusting fairly well. Tantrums are much more frequent, but tapering off, and he is so sweet and gentle with his baby sister. He tries to give her her paci whenever she is crying and pushes her very gently in her swing. And, when he thinks we're not looking, he will go over and wave at her and say, "Hi Emmy" in the sweetest little voice. So cute! He is a great big brother already!!!

Now for the pictures. Enjoy!

Waiting...

It is Monday, January 18. Emily will be here in 2 days, one day before her EDD. With the rush of moving to Texas from Arizona and then moving from our apartment to our new home, this pregnancy has flown by. With the preterm labor complications, stomach flu, and constant contractions, though, I am ready to be done and to meet my baby girl.

At the same time, I feel guilty...like we are taking some of Kason's babyhood away. I am sure that will wear off as I see him interact with his little sister, but for now, I am a bundle of nerves. We rarely leave him even for a night out, much less for a couple of days. I am going to miss him so much and pray that our hospital stay is short and sweet.

We tried to make this weekend, our last as a family of 3, special for Kason. Unfortunately, Saturday, we had yucky, rainy weather. We still managed to get out of the house for a while, though. We took Kason to do a little shopping and to Chick-fil-A. He loves Chick-fil-A (as do I). He gets to play with balloons, watch the kids run around, and eat chicken nuggets, french fries, and fruit. What toddler wouldn't love that?

On Sunday, we took him to Kemah. The weather was gorgeous and he had a great time! He rode the carousel a couple of times with daddy and got to watch the train go around the boardwalk. He was also happy we did not take the stroller. He got to walk, holding daddy's hand, wherever he wanted to go. He also had a blast watching the sailboats and yachts come in. Later in the evening, he hung out with our friends, Dan and Kate. He had fun playing at their house while mommy and daddy went to their last dinner alone for a while.

MawMaw gets here tomorrow. She will stay with Kason for our pre-op appointment at the hospital tomorrow and then, stay with him while we are awaiting Emily's arrival on Wednesday. I was induced with Kason and it was far from pleasant (see the beginning of my blog for details) and we are hoping for a much different experience this time.

We will update facebook once Emily makes her arrival. Your prayers are appreciated!

Christmas, Another Hospital Stay, & Progress

Where to begin...

Christmas sounds good. We had a wonderful Christmas. Santa brought Kason LOTS of toys and he loves them all (except for his beanbag chair). He got a Thomas the Tank Engine tent and tunnel that he absolutely adores and now wants to see the trains on tv all the time. We had a great time visiting with friends and family, too. Grandma O was here for a few days before Christmas and Christmas Day and my parents, brother, and his family were here for a few days after Christmas. We got to take my nephews to Kemah and even though it was so cold, they had a blast on all the rides. Kason had a blast watching and riding the carousel and train around the boardwalk. He did end up with a little cold after the holidays, but is starting to get over it now.

After Christmas, we were all set to have friends in from S.A. for New Year's Eve. My family left the morning of the 30th and friends were set to arrive the afternoon of the 31st. Wouldn't you know, though, I started having contractions 3, then 2, minutes apart the night of the 30th. They weren't too painful so I took a bath and figured they were the same ol' thing. Well, shortly after my bath, the uncontrollable vomiting began and everything spiraled downhill from there. I called my dr, who happened to be on call and she told me to come in. After some frantic preparations, we were able to meet our friend Randy at the hospital. He and his wife were nice enough to take Kason in the middle of the night and let him spend the night. Kason had a great time there playing with their little boy.

As for me, I still wasn't progressing, but we had to do something to get the nausea and vomiting under control. I had also developed a fever and Emily's heart rate was skyrocketing near 200bpm. I got dehydrated very quickly and ended up in the hospital for 2 days getting IV fluids and making sure Emily's heart rate was under control. So, after 2 days in the hospital and a couple days resting at home, I am now feeling much better!

Today, I went in for my 38 week appointment expecting nothing new. The contractions have been pretty much the same...close together and a little painful, but nothing out of the ordinary. To my surprise, though, we found out I am actually progressing now (if you do not want to read about the state of my cervix, STOP NOW!). I am 2-3cm dilated and 50% effaced. The contractions have finally started doing their job! But, as we all know, they doesn't mean a whole lot. I could still be sitting here in 2 more weeks waiting to meet Emily (and, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't mind going a while before seeing the inside of the hospital again). The only reason we have to believe that we will meet Emily anytime in the next few days is that I am still having contractions frequently - only about 3 minutes apart this morning - and, they are starting to work. Only time will tell what the next few days will bring.

No Picture with Santa

Wednesday afternoon we decided to hit the mall before the rush and get a pic of Kason with Santa. Well, we stood in line for 40 minutes. Most of the time, Kason was more than content with his crackers and juice. But, when the crackers ran out, he wanted down to play with the other kids in line. From that point on, there was to be NO SITTING, which meant no pic with Santa. He absolutely refused to sit on Santa's lap, fighting with every bit of strength he had. He also refused to sit in my lap or in Kyle's lap. We might try again, but I kind of doubt it. I am going to take some cute pics of him in his Christmas jammies next to the tree and the fireplace. Santa just might have to wait until Kason actually 'gets' it.

And, besides, we have other exciting things going on this weekend. We will be attending a birthday party for another little boy - lots of kiddos, so Kason should have fun. With Christmas just around the corner, we will also be spending the weekend finishing up wrapping presents, etc. I can't wait to see how Kason reacts to all of his new toys on Christmas morning and to experience our first Christmas at home. Grandma O will be here on Christmas Day and my family will arrive to celebrate Christmas on the 27th. My family was nice enough to drive down here for Thanksgiving, as well, with my preterm labor scare. Kason had a blast playing with his nephews and my brother helped Kyle put up lights on the house and a new section of fence to house the dogs in the backyard. Lots of fun!

And, the best news of all, is Kason's dresser is here and we can FINALLY get the nursery done and get Kason's new room all set up. I am really getting anxious to get everything finished in case Emily makes an early appearance.

Speaking of Emily's appearance - I am 35 weeks 1 day pregnant...34 days to go! I had an appointment this week. Emily is currently head down, but off to the side (over my hip). Dr. Taylor is not worried about this, but said it could become a problem if she stays there to term (which is only 2 weeks away - move baby girl, move!). The contractions are getting much more painful and more frequent now. I go back on Monday, so we will see if I have made any progress then. I will continue to be on Procardia until about 36.5 weeks. I have felt all along that Emily would arrive fashionably late to this party after causing mommy and daddy so much stress. However, with the recent change in contractions, I am not so sure. Dr. Taylor does not think I will make it to my due date and I am curious to see what happens with the contractions after I am done with procardia. Only time will tell!

That's all for now. Merry Christmas everyone!

Blog Name Change & Updates

So, it has been decided that I can barely keep up with one blog, much less multiple. Therefore, with the imminent arrival of baby Emily, we are going to have to change the name of the blog...ottingeroutings.blogspot.com, "Outings with the Ottingers". Of course, there will be more than just outings, but I like the name.

In other news, Kyle is finally painting the nursery! Hopefully, by the weekend, we will be able to start switching out Kason's furniture and getting the nursery ready.

Emily Updates:

We had an ultrasound and visit with the high risk OB last week. I am still contracting, multiple times, every day, but no cervical changes. That is very good news!

I had my 33 week appointment with my regular OB today along with a 3D ultrasound. Kason was so cute looking at the screen saying, "baby". With some prompting, he will also tell you that his baby sister's name is "Emmy". Adorable!! She still looked great with her chubby cheeks and is measuring at 33w0d and 4lb7oz.

Ultrasound Pics from last week (31w6d)




Gig'Em Ags!

Ultrasound Pics from today (32w6d)





The rest of the story:
Due to the constant contractions, Dr. Taylor did another FFN test to predict if I would go into labor in the next 2 weeks. We will find out the results later today or tomorrow, but I am guessing it will be negative. She did tell me if I have more than 4 contractions per hour, I need to call and go to L&D to be checked. I, however, won't be calling (as long as the FFN comes back negative), because I have MANY more than 4 contractions per hour on a daily basis (I had at least 10 in the hour I was in the office this morning). I feel like, at this point, I know my body and when to get concerned. The L&D nurse last time told me that I didn't need to worry unless my water broke, I was bleeding, or my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart, which they often are, but also so painful I couldn't walk and/or talk through them. While some have been painful, they are not that painful and they typically go away a little while after I take my meds and a warm bath. I finish up my procardia at 34.5 weeks, so we will see what happens then, but I have a feeling Emily will keep cooking for a good long while.

Kason Updates:

Since I am posting about dr. appointment, I don't think I posted about Kason's last appointment. We got to see one of the actual pedis this time and LOVED her! The nice thing about this group is you don't have to actually pick a pedi. You can see anyone you choose at any time. An added bonus, is the on-call pedi with the practice will come to the hospital when Emily is born.

Back to Kason: He weighed in at 25lb12.5oz (65%) and was 32.5 inches long (85%). I don't remember his head circumference, but it was big (89%). This was the worst appointment for him so far. I think he has finally realized that getting up on the table only means bad things in the dr. office. He cried and cried when she looked in his ears and mouth and we had to hold him down for his shots. He only cried for a few seconds, though, and was all better. The good news is no more shots for a while except for his flu boosters...I need to call right now for those.

Well, that's probably overload for now. I will post about our fantastic Thanksgiving with family and Christmas shopping later!

All Moved In & Pre-term Labor

Well, we are all moved in to our new place. Very exciting! Christmas lights go up outside this weekend and painting the nursery should commence soon. Kason loves it here and is happy to have his puppies back (unless they get in his face). He has lots of new buddies in the neighborhood to play with, both young and old, and he can't get enough of all the attention!

If you didn't already know, I went to and was admitted to the hospital two days ago for pre-term labor. Thankfully, my labor contractions were stopped with a series of three shots of terbutaline. I am now on procardia, a drug to prevent labor contractions, every 6 hours. I am still contracting a bit on the procardia, but it is keeping them mild, so hopefully, no changes to my cervix. I will be on these meds for at least 3 weeks and then, we will see what is next. I personally think I just overdid it with moving and getting settled and am hoping the contractions stop completely soon.

I will see the high-risk group soon for an ultrasound to check cervical length and get further directions. Right now, I am just taking it easy and hoping I don't get put on full bedrest. Unfortunately, though, we will have to miss out on Thanksgiving with my family in North Texas. It was supposed to be our last trip before Emily arrives, but alas, it has to be canceled. Kyle will be cooking us a nice Thanksgiving dinner here at home. Have I mentioned how wonderful he has been? Due to the hospital's flu season visitation policy, he couldn't come, because he couldn't bring Kason. But, he was checking in on me often and listening to me cry because I wanted Emily to be ok and to come home to my little boy. He has been taking care of everything around the house and all without complaint. I am truly blessed to be married to such a wonderful man!

Well, that's all for now. I will update when I have more news.

Home Sweet Home

We are here! Finally...we are in our new house and we have internet (sort of - we had to go with mobile broadband). We are still in the midst of unpacking and we don't have a desk for our desktop so pics will still have to wait just a bit. This weekend we are traveling to San Antonio to pick up the rest of our belongings (including our desk) and should finish setting the house up by next weekend. Keep your fingers crossed we meet that deadline.

This past Saturday, we stayed home to hand out candy to the neighborhood trick-or-treaters. We thought it would be a great opportunity to meet our neighbors and since Kason is still a little young to go trick or treating, we dressed him up and hung around the house. A couple of the houses on our street went all out with decorations, lights, and scary music. Kason had a blast running up and down the street to check it all out.

He certainly is keeping his mommy and daddy on their toes these days. He hates to ride in anything. He wants down down down to walk, or run, and explore. And, there is also to be no hand holding. He is a stubborn little guy. We have finally figured out that he LOVES the carts at the grocery store that have the cars attached to them. He makes the cutest driving noises as we go through the store. I hate them, though. They are impossible to maneuver and seem like huge buckets of germs since we can't use his seat cover in them. Guess that's what wipes are for. We have been extra diligent with the swine flu circulating and seasonal flu on the horizon. We all three managed to get our H1N1 shots at a vaccine clinic put on by the county last weekend. All 5000 of their injectable doses went to the clinic, so waiting in line was our only option. We got there early and only had to wait about an hour and a half and we were very thankful that Kyle was able to receive his, as well. Now, we just have to hope that we can get Kason his seasonal flu shot at his appointment next week (they ran out and canceled an earlier appointment) and his H1N1 booster in about a month.

With the beautiful weather and new backyard, we are doing pretty well avoiding too many germy places and Kason is loving his new backyard and swingset. I am fairly certain he would sit in his swing all day if we would let him. He runs straight to it and if we don't follow he comes right back, saying, "please please" the whole time. Unfortunately, this has also caused a bit of a headache in the morning. He is refusing to eat breakfast when we go downstairs and cries hysterically to go outside. Since he is not quite old enough to get that first, we eat breakfast, then we go outside, it has caused quite a commotion in our morning routine.

Speaking of routines, we have managed now to get him to one very good nap a day instead of two. We are up around 8am, milk, breakfast, 'toonies' and playtime until around 10am. Then, we go for a neighborhood walk for about 30 minutes and play outside for another 30 minutes. At 11am, we come in for some quality Barney time, lunch, and nap at noon. So far, so good.

The only problem is, he is refusing to eat. For example, this morning, I made him what used to be his favorite - cinammon toast with cream cheese. He took one bite and never touched it again. So, we tried some cheerios with milk, which he normally loves. Again, one bite and nada. So, we tried a little yogurt. We got all the way to 3 bites with that before he was done. Oy! This has become a daily occurrence. I sat with him at lunch for 40 minutes trying to get him to eat. He did manage a decent lunch - half of a sandwich, a few goldfish crackers, and mandarin oranges, but boy, was it a struggle.

I am hoping this is because he is still cutting his molars and will end when they are all in. The top 2 are all the way in and we are working on the bottom two. Amazingly, the top ones came in with no disruptions - no crankiness, no sleep interference, nothing. I actually had no idea he was even working on them until they were all the way in.

Fingers crossed normalness returns soon!

In other news...Emily is still doing great as far as we know. We did find out from my bloodwork at my last OB appointment that I am anemic and from my last endo appointment, that my thyroid levels are a little low. A little iron supplement and a slightly higher dose for my thyroid medicine and hopefully, all is normal now. I go back next week and will begin 2 week appointments after that. I can't believe it has already been almost 29 weeks. Now, that we are getting settled in to our new house, hopefully, things will start coming together for baby girl. We still have not ordered bedding, a crib, or a dresser. I will be getting on that this week!

Thank you for continuing to check in on us and keeping us in your prayers!!

The Countdown is On: 99 days to go!

I had my 26 week OB appointment and glucose test this morning (1 day shy of 26 weeks). Emily's heart rate was a strong 147 bpm and I am measuring 26cm...perfect for 26 weeks. So far, I have gained a total of 14 pounds. I am really trying to keep it under 30 this time (down from 37 with Kason) and have been eating much better the past few weeks. Somehow, though, I still managed to gain 6lb from my last appointment exactly 4 weeks ago. Hopefully, I can slow down to no more than a pound a week. We also found out today that I will get a 3D ultrasound at 32 weeks and get to bring home lots of pics and another DVD. Yay! As we get nearer to the end of the pregnancy (36 weeks), I will begin having weekly or biweekly checks of my fluid since that is what caused me to be induced with Kason.

The big news from today's appointment is that, as of today, we have 99 days before our due date. We all know babies come when they are ready and that nothing is set in stone, but we are excited to be near the 100 day mark.

We close on our house 1 week from today, the first day of my 3rd trimester. Yippee to both! Our official move will be next weekend and I can't wait to stock up on new toys for Kason to play with outside and get the nursery ready (if only we could decide on bedding)! We are also very excited to get our dogs back - thank you MawMaw and Grandma O.

Stay tuned for a huge picture post when we get moved in and find our camera cord. I was looking through our camera and camcorder the other day and we have SOOO many cute pics and videos we haven't be able to upload from the last 3 months. Hopefully, they will all be up soon!!!

What's New

Lots of new and exciting things are going on around here right now, so I thought I'd take some time to give a little update.

As you all know, we are expecting our newest addition - a little girl - in January (EDD:1/21/10). We have been hesitant about sharing her name in case we change our minds, but we are really in love with it and are pretty confident it won't change, so we are ready to share. Our baby girl will be named Emily Paige - it has a nice ring, doesn't it? :P

My belly is growing quite rapidly now and baby girl is moving like crazy. Kason loves to lift my shirt up and kiss my belly, although, he really has no idea what is going on. He also points out all of the babies in his books, in the store, on tv, wherever and says "Baby". So cute! He is going to be such a wonderful big brother.

Kason is still growing like a weed. He is such a big boy now. His favorite game to play is chase. He LOVES to be chased around the house. He also likes to be chased around other places, in that he always wants down to explore, but refuses to hold our hands.

He is saying so many words now (we understand them, not sure how much everyone else does), that we have lost track. He has also finally begun signing more. In the past few weeks, he has begun signing and now saying, please (puhwease). It is so hard to say 'no' to such an adorable little guy saying 'puhwease'. It just melts our hearts to see him grow up so quickly, but it is also so amazing to watch him learn new things!

His latest trick is climbing up on to the ottoman and then to the couch. He will do it over and over. He also likes to push mommy and daddy off the couch saying, "up". Who would've thought one little boy needed so much space all to himself?

He has recently learned to kick his soccer ball and say kick, although it comes out "keek". Unfortunately, though, he has also begun kicking other things, such as his toy puppy. Maggie, our Yorkie, might be in trouble once she is able to return to us in October. If you haven't seen him lately, it might be time to plan a trip to the Houston area :).

Let's see...what else? Some very exciting news is that we close on our new house October 21. It is a nice size- 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths, with a formal dining room that we will use as a study/play area until our kids are older- that we plan to stay in for 7-10 years. The current owners were nice enough to leave their play set behind. The weather should be beautiful when we move in and I can't wait to get Kason out in the backyard playing on his new play set and in the grass, without having to worry about him eating rocks (that's all he wanted to do when we took him in our backyard in Tucson). Look for pics around the beginning of November, once we get moved in.

As you can probably tell, we are very excited to be in our new home and prepare for the holiday season. I finally get to have Christmas lights outside this year. Kyle has always said when we are home for the holidays, he will put up lights. Since I will be 36 weeks at Christmas, we are staying put, which means...LIGHTS! We still have to figure out a way for Kyle to get over his fear of heights, though, since it is a 2-story house.

These next few months will be very busy and we appreciate any prayers you can spare as we continue to go through these exciting transitions!

Birthday Party Pics & More

As you all know, I am quite the slacker...but, here are Kason's birthday party pics. We have lots more pics and videos on our camera, but not quite sure where our cord is from the move. Hopefully, we will find it soon!


Our nephew Alex enjoying Kason's rocking horse. Thanks Aunt Barbara! He loves it!














He was very careful with his cake...not making much of a mess.




The monkey cupcakes I made. I think they turned out pretty cute!

It's a Girl!

We found out this morning that we are having a baby girl! Measuring right on track at 18 weeks and everything looked great. We are very excited for Kason to have a little sister and know he will be a great big brother.

Settling In

Well, we have been Texas residents for a few weeks now and so far, so good! Things really seem to be working out for us.

1. We rented our house in Tucson to a very nice military man who hopes to be in the house for 2-4 years (the length of his tour in Tucson).

2. I am on the 3rd part of a 3-part interview for a math course writer position. The curriculum is sold to regular schools as well as used for many online and private schools. This is what I have wanted to do for a long time and the best part is if I get it, I will get to work entirely from home.

3. We have begun our house search here. We only signed a 3 month lease, so we will be moving into our new home (wherever that may be), the middle to end of October.

4. We got to hear baby's heartbeat last week (~156 bpm) and have an ultrasound tomorrow - hoping to find out we have a beautiful, healthy baby boy or girl.

5. Kason is settling in here beautifully. Apartment life isn't ideal, especially for sleeping, but he is doing great and seems to be enjoying it here.

We are traveling to the D/FW area tomorrow for Kason's belated 1st birthday party with my family this weekend. It should be lots of fun! Updates on the party, ultrasound, and my job status will hopefully come soon.

Happy Birthday Kason!

Our little guy is 1 year old today and officially a Texan! We can't believe how quickly the time has gone and how much he has grown over the past year. We spent the day at Sea World and Kason loved watching the shows and of course, playing with the people. A bigger post will come when we are more settled into our new home in Texas.

I'm a Slacker

Ok, ok, so it has been a REALLY long time since I have updated. So, bear with me as I try to get everything in to one post.

Kason is growing so fast! He is officially a walking, talking, 23+lb toddler! Can you believe it? He started taking steps a while ago and is now stringing more together. He wants to walk EVERYWHERE, but is not quite stable enough, so he cruises the walls a lot. I think he will be full on walking everywhere by the end of next week - he walked halfway across the living room last night and was so proud of himself!

He is also saying so many words! We have been working with him on signing (he signed please for the first time last week, but I can't get him to do it again), but he would much rather say the words. Words he has so far:

daddy
mama (although not often enough!)
hi (he waves and says hi to everyone he sees)
bye (he loves to wave bye bye but then hates it when the person really leaves :-P )
cat
car
teddy (most often just the te-, but sometimes the whole thing)
all done
all gone
hat
moo
cockadoodledoo (just the cocka part, though)

He is such a quick learner and loves his books! Anytime he is fussy, all you have to do is ask if he wants to read a book. He immediately brightens up and comes to sit with you. I love it! He has been playing peek-a-boo since 7 months, so he is an expert now and when Grandma O was here last week, he learned "So big". Now, he sticks his hands WAAAAY up over his head and screams if you don't ask him how big he is. She also taught him the hand gestures for "Open, Shut them". He also still loves music and loves to dance!

On the teething front, we are not doing so well. He has 6 teeth and is a very good eater. But, I am afraid he is cutting his molars right now and that has totally ruined his sleeping through the night. We were up for 2.5 hours in the middle of the night last night. Needless to say, we are all exhausted today! When will the teething nightmare end???

This month is a big month for Kason, as you already know. He turns 1 July 30th! Can you believe my baby is already a whole year old? We will celebrate his birthday in Texas. Kyle's best friend, Jeff, is getting married, so we will take Kason to Sea World on his birthday. Then, that weekend, he will have his first birthday party in Fort Worth with friends and family. It is going to be an exciting month!

Now, on to the pictures!

Kason and Daddy reading














First Baseball Game - Astros Win!




First Haircut:

Before







After


Sinbad's on Mother's Day


Mother's Day


Chillin' in my Pool


9 Months Old - A little Old!



Now, if you made it this far, you get the big news. Kason is going to be a big brother in January! EDD: 1/22/10.

9 Months Old, Mother's Day, & More

So, a lot has happened since the last time I posted.  

First, and foremost, Kason turned 9 months old!  His appointment went great, 21lb 12oz (68%), 29 in (75%) and his head, I'm not sure how big, but 80%.  We did find out, though, that he had an ear infection.  We went back to Dr. H's office today and his ear infection is all cleared up and he weighs a whopping 22lb 7 oz...a jump to the 75th percentile!

His top teeth are coming in quickly now, which means lots of pain and poor sleep.  Hopefully, it gets better soon, though.

He crawls all over the place and pulls up on everything!  He has also found a new love for clearing off the bottom shelf of the entertainment center and pulling things out of the cabinets.  Fun times!  

Mother's Day was so nice!  Daddy took Kason to pick out a birthstone necklace.  He said he had the saleswoman hold one in each hand and then Kason chose.  How sweet!!  It is a heart with 3 rubies and 1 diamond.  The stones can be replaced with other birthstones as we have more kids.  It is beautiful!  Kason also signed Mommy's card with some marker scribbles and a handprint.  

We have tons of pics to upload, but with our recent downgrade in computer service, it now takes forever.  Kyle is working on it now, though, so hopefully I can add them soon.