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.

More Teeth...Finally!

So, it seems as we have an answer to the sleeping frustrations.  Kason has been teething for quite a while and his top 2 teeth are finally starting to poke through.  The bottom two, in case you don't remember, came in 3.5 months ago, so we have been waiting quite a while.  We actually think he is going to get 4 teeth this go round, as the bottom two outside teeth seem to be trying to surface, as well.  His poor little gums are so swollen, but hopefully, he will feel better soon as they start coming through.  We have been giving him Motrin before bed and his sleeping is improving tremendously again!  

His 9 month appointment is next week, so check for an update then.  We also have the cutest video of him playing peek-a-boo that I will try to upload tonight or tomorrow.

Sleeping Frustrations

So, Kason has been a TERRIBLE sleeper since he was about 3 months old.  He is so aware during the day, we think it transfers over to his sleep and causes him to be a very restless sleeper.  

Well, this weekend, that all changed.  We have been working diligently on his sleeping habits.  We did a modified gradual removal, beginning by putting him in his crib and rubbing his back to go to sleep.  Then, we were able to reduce to just holding his hand and did this for every waking.  We have also been trying to get him attached to a lovey (a stuffed Pooh bear that rattles).  Since Pooh bear, there have been a few times that we don't even have to hold his hand to go to sleep.  

We have not yet removed ourselves from sitting next to his crib, because that causes the hysterics to begin (hence, the modified removal method).  We have been seeing definite improvements, starting with giving up his night feeding and longer periods of sleep.  Then, on Friday, the miracle began to happen.  He woke a couple of times before 11pm, then slept through till 6am.  Then, on Saturday, he did the same thing, even after the transfer from car to crib (we were at a friends house) at 1am.  Sunday, it got even better...he went to bed at 8:30pm and slept straight until 6am.  We were in heaven.  I was ready to write my very own no cry sleep solution book.  

Well, after that, it is slowly going downhill.  Monday, he woke at 4am...Tuesday, at 2am....and, last night at 11pm.  Where did we go wrong?  Grrr!!!!  If you have suggestions that don't involve crying, we are all ears.

We have tons of cute videos we need to post, but since we got rid of our cable internet, it takes FOREVER to upload, so they will be coming slowly!

One Other Thing

Kason has slept through the night the past 2 nights in a row. Fingers crossed this continues!!!

The Long Awaited Picture/Video Post

A few updates first:

Literally, the day after my last post, Kason learned how to 'army' or 'inchworm' crawl. He is getting really fast at it and tries to get into everything. He is starting to get up on his knees, so we are expecting real crawling any day now.

He also learned how to get himself from his belly to sitting. He did it a bunch of times one day, a few times the next, and has since decided he'd rather crawl than sit, so I've only caught it a couple more times since...but, I know he can!

Kason can also pull himself up...but, our furniture is not very conducive to this, so he doesn't do it often.

He can also wave hi and bye. He even got 4 free books out of it b/c the lady at Bookman's thought he was so adorable.

I think I've heard 'mama' a few times, too...but, usually when he's mad and wants me to pick him up. He is very much a mama's boy!

Now, pictures:


Visiting Aunt Fifi & Uncle Lyn in California.

In the backyard at Fifi & Lyn's.

Chuck-E-Cheese!!


With Grandma in SA.


Mommy & Daddy on their anniversary. Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Feeding myself. I'm such a big boy!

So happy to be 8 months old!

I'm done with this photo shoot, mommy!

Bath Time!

Look at me clap!

8 Months Old Today!

Wow!  I can't believe it!  These past 8 months have flown by.  Our little boy is growing up so fast.  It's been a LONG while since I've posted, so there are tons of new updates.

He weighs 20+ lbs now.  We'll get actual stats at his 9 month appointment.  He is still a great eater and now has 3 meals a day plus a snack.  He also nurses 4-5 times a day and once at night...which means, he still doesn't sleep through the night.  We just don't have the heart to let him cry-it-out, but we are convinced that if we just keep sticking to his routine he will get it eventually (or, at least by the time he goes to college).

Now, on to other things...

A Few New Tricks

He claps!  He started this just a few days ago and now does it all the time!  He will do it for Pat-a-cake and when we say "Yay!" or just to get attention from us.  We got a video of him doing it a couple of days ago and will post it tomorrow.

He dances, too!  Whenever one of his toys plays music or mommy and daddy sing to him, he shimmies his whole body.  It has got to be the cutest thing I've ever seen.  I don't think we've gotten a video of this yet, but will soon.

He walks down the hall holding our hands.  At bath time, he almost runs (he loves bath time!) and stops to hop every now and then.  It is too cute!

He says, "Dada".  I don't think it's directed at daddy all the time, but he's definitely learning.  I also think he's really close to saying, "Hi"....which brings me to his next new trick...

Talking on the phone!  He LOVES to hold the phone to his ear.  Sometimes he will actually 'talk', but most of the time he just smiles really big before trying to chew on it.

He feeds himself...not for all of his meals, but snacks.  He has mastered the pincher grasp and chewing, so he has now fed himself puffs, cheerios, toast, crackers, pieces of ripe pear and banana, and carrots.

He has been trying really hard to pull up in his crib so we had to drop the mattress a few days ago.  He is also trying really hard to crawl.  I think he will be there in the next few weeks.  Right now, he can get up on all fours, but then scoots himself backwards.  He rolls all over the place, though, and has figured out this great technique to get something just out of his reach - he turns up on his side, scoots with his feet, and turns back over until he reaches it.  Just today, though, he was working more at crawling, so we'll see....

Stay Tuned Tomorrow - The Picture Post

6 Month Appt

So, Kason had his 6 month appointment yesterday (even though he is 6.5 months now).  He is a whopping 19lb 1oz and 27 inches long (I think this was a bad measurement).  

In other news - After Kason's recent habit of waking every 15-20 minutes ALL NIGHT LONG, he ALMOST slept through the night last night.  He woke up at 2am to nurse and that was it!  Well, he did squeak a couple of times, but each time, after only 1 squeak, he was back asleep.  It was heavenly to get some uninterrupted sleep.

More Pics

More pics from our photo session.  Did I mention how much I love this photographer?

Check out those teeth!

Professional Pics

Our session yesterday was fabulous. Here are a couple of the pics. More later this week.

6 Months Old! (Yesterday)

Wow, can you believe it's been 1/2 a year already? I can't! Kyle and I were just talking last night about what we did before Kason on Friday nights and couldn't really remember. We were pretty sure, however, that it involved going in to town and spending unnecessary money. Don't get me wrong...we still spend unnecessary money, but it's usually on Kason instead of us. :)

Kason's 6 month well-baby appointment is still not for another couple of weeks, so you will get his new stats then (I'm guessing 19lbs and 28in long). We are going today to get some professional pictures done for the family and for Kason alone. I can't wait! The photographer that is doing the pics is AMAZING (ashliephotography.com/blog if you want to check out her work) and I can't wait to see her work with Kason.

On the food front - Kason has now tried:
rice cereal (eh...could take it or leave it)
oatmeal (LOVES it!)
carrots (YUMMY)
sweet potates (again...YUMMY)
squash (could take it or leave it)
applesauce (LOVES it!)
peaches (still up in the air - just started these last night)
pears (EWWW, mommy, do I have to eat this? I will if you say so, but I'd much rather have one of the above)
Sweet Potato Puffs (I break him off a little piece and put it on his tongue. He sucks on them while I get his real food ready)

He is an AMAZING eater. He just had 5Tbsp of oatmeal mixed with an entire container of stage 1 applesauce for breakfast and I had to make him stop eating then. His mouth was still wide open ready for more!

6 Month Pic and Professional Pics Coming Soon!

Growing up too fast!!

My little boy is growing up sooo fast. Last night, he was so restless in his sleep and kept waking up screaming. Tylenol and teething tablets weren't helping, so we assumed it was gas, but lo and behold, today we have a SECOND TOOTH! I love watching him grow up and learn and discover new things, but it just seems like it is going too fast. I want it to slooooow down!

Some more pics for your viewing pleasure :P




Enjoying his cereal for the first time!


Enjoying tummy time!


Being a ham!



Kason and mommy!