Daydreaming about the Kids' New Rooms

I have, for months, now been thinking about how to decorate a combined space that both Kason and Emily would love. You see, even though we have 4 bedrooms, one is downstairs. I am not yet willing to put Kason down there alone, so he will be moving into Emily's room very soon.

So far, we have a new bed for him. The IKEA Kura bed. It is a low loft bed. For now, we will have the bed on the bottom, but later on, when Emily is ready to move out of her crib, we will flip it and build a small frame on the bottom making it low bunk beds.

The Kura bed (we got the tunnel to go with)


Now, the hard part was coming up with a theme, or even colors, that would work for both. Then, I became inspired. The walls are a beautiful olive green, but I was having a hard time coming up with boy bedding that would fit the room. That is, until I found my inspiration.

My Inspiration - this bouquet of flowers + the navy dress in the background = the perfect mix of colors for a boy and a girl and the olive walls


Emily's bedding, for now, will be just a pink sheet with a frilly bed skirt. Later on, she will move into a twin bed with a raspberry comforter (already purchased). Kason will have a navy comforter (also, already purchased). Sheets are still up in the air, but I am leaning towards letting them pick their own, as they won't really be seen and doing a solid color sham with a navy/white throw pillow for each.

I plan to make curtains in the same, or a coordinating navy/white fabric as well as a small curtain to cover their hanging clothes in the closet. Since the doors of the closet open up into the room and I want them to have as much space as possible, we will be taking the doors off. So, hanging clothes will be covered at the top, with their dresser and large toys at the bottom.

After coming up with the color theme, I finally decided on a 'theme theme' for the room...Dr. Seuss. More specifically, Oh, the Places You'll Go and I Can Ready with My Eyes Shut. Kason loves Dr. Seuss and these two books will go together nicely. So, now, I am in extreme planning/buying mode to make this room come together. This weekend, we will put Kason's bed together and make a quick trip to IKEA to return some items and pick up a couple more things.



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Now, for the new nursery...Kyle really doesn't want to change Kason's bedding out, but I really want our newest addition to have his *own* space. So, I purchased some Route 66 fabric that will go nicely with the blue walls and will be making a quilt. The fabric is my inspiration for the room. I would like to find some old road signs to put up, along with a few framed pics of vintage cars and places along Route 66. I'm still in the very early planning stages, so we will see how it comes together. Since Kyle really doesn't want to change it (mostly doesn't want to spend the extra $$ when we already have nursery stuff), I am going to have to be very thrifty here.

The Route 66 fabric


Stay tuned in the coming weeks to see what comes of all this....

Go back to March 14...

...to see Emily's walking post. I started it a while ago, but just brought the camera up today to load the videos. So, you have to go back to March 14 to check the videos out. Be sure to check out today's other post, too, for pics from our recent trip to PA and MD.

Our trip to PA & MD

We just got home from a nice trip to Pennsylvania and Maryland for Kyle's cousin, Erich's, wedding. It was a bit crazy getting through airport security and dealing with the kiddos during our 3+ hr delay out of Houston on Wednesday, but we managed and made it there and back safely and with a little of our sanity still in tact. They both did great on the plane. We were a little worried that the loud noises and take-off would scare Kason, but after some prep work, he was fully prepared for the noise and loved every minute of flying. On the way there, we were lucky enough to get an open seat for Emily and her carseat. On the way back, though, we weren't quite as lucky. It was hard keeping her contained, but we did have Sean and Tina there to help us out.

Carseats attached to luggage - the kids LOVED riding in these through the airport


Kason jamming out with his headphones on the airplane


While visiting, we had a great time, even if we were a little short on sleep. The first few days, we stayed at Kyle's sister's house in Allentown, PA. The kids loved playing with her animals, especially her cat, Mimi. We spent some time with Kyle's grandma and dad, too. Kason got a big kick out of feeding the fish at the trout nursery with Grandpa.

Kason and Gpa feeding the fish


On Saturday, we made the trip to Maryland for the wedding festivities. Unfortunately, we got stuck in traffic and ended up having to change clothes in the car so we weren't too terribly late for the rehearsal dinner. The actual wedding was on Sunday and the kids had a blast dancing and running around with their cousins. Then, on Monday, we took a little trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Kason absolutely loves the aquarium, so this was very exciting for him. We followed that up with some more family time at Kyle's aunt and uncle's house. For the three days we were in MD, we stayed with Kyle's cousin Brad and his wife, Patricia. Kason and Emily adored them and their Golden Retriever, Addie. Addie was pregnant and had her puppies the day after we left. While we would have loved to have seen the puppies, it was probably best for everyone involved that the kids were far away when these new little guys came around.

Maryland Pics:

Ottinger Siblings (Sean, Kyle, & Samantha)


Emily, with crazy hair, post-nap at the wedding


Emmy & Mommy at the Aquarium


Daddy & the kids at the Aquarium


Checking out the fishies


Kason was (and, still is) dying to go for a ride on these boats in the harbor


In front of submarine outside the aquarium


Baltimore - Barnes & Noble, Power Plant, & Hard Rock Cafe all rolled into 1


The cousins playing soccer


Just being cute


Ottinger Family Pic


Ottinger sibs


April is also a big birthday month in both our families, so after arriving back in Houston, we stopped for a birthday dinner at Red Robin for Allison. Happy Birthday to Jacob, Allison, Sean, Jim, Uncle Kim, and Kolby!!

Kason at Red Robin for Allison's bday dinner



Now, that we are back at home, we are looking forward to a quiet Easter weekend followed by more travels in the coming weeks.

First Appt at New Office...

...was excellent! Everyone is very nice and super helpful! Since Dr. L is so busy, I met with the NP today for my first appointment. She was wonderful and had lots of good info about what I can expect with Dr. L. She says everyone jokes with her that she is like a midwife with an MD. I feel very at ease with delivering with this practice and am looking forward to meeting Dr. L in 3 weeks at my 28 week appointment and glucose tolerance test.

I did ask about early discharge from the hospital and unfortunately, while Dr. L is all for it as long as labor and delivery went well, the hospital has a 48 hr hold on babies. So, 48 hrs it is. Blah!

Disappointed...

One day last weekend, I opened up the browser on my phone. Oddly, a google search for 'Pearland Birth Center' (the birth center I was using) popped up. Since I hadn't searched for this in quite some time, I was a little confused, but noticed that there were a couple of new reviews for the birth center. These reviews were from the aunt and the mother of a little boy that died. Needless to say, they were not good reviews.

The night before this, I had a strange dream that I had gotten in an argument with two of the midwives over my diet and left the practice. So, these two things together left me wondering if someone was trying to tell me something. I spent some time stressing over it and decided my best bet was to pray over it and see what God led me to do.

I spent some extra time in church that Sunday praying about what we were being led to do. Later in the week, I found the birth story on a blog that is very biased against birth outside of the hospital. (I have no desire to advertise this blog, but I do want to link the birth story, so here it is http://hurtbyhomebirth.blogspot.com/2011/03/thomas-story.html ). Nevertheless, this story made it clear what we had to do...leave the birth center. Every step along the way were poor decisions made by the midwife at this center and we could not, with good conscience, trust them with our care. I should add here that I have know idea to the truth behind this...but, I do know that it would take a very sick individual to make up a story about the death of their child. Regardless of the truth behind it, we can't unread the story, so we will always have that doubt.

So, back to the hospital it is. I am extremely saddened and disappointed that we will not get the birth experience that I so desperately wanted for this baby. I have been sick over it for the past few days. On a positive note, though, we did find a very natural childbirth friendly OB in town, who was kind enough to take me as a patient even though she is not accepting new patients at this point. We have heard wonderful things about all the doctors in the practice and are excited for our first appointment tomorrow.

**In other news, we had our appt with the high risk OB last week. Baby boy is growing right on track and weighing in at 1lb 7oz. Cervix looks great...loooong and closed! Contractions are here, but very, very infrequent. Nothing of concern.**

(P.S. That Emily walking post is in the editing process, along with some very cute picture posts)

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my amazing husband! Can't wait to see what the next 50+ years have in store for us. I love you!


*this is the only wedding picture I have access to at the moment, so I guess it will have to do*

On the Move!

Emily has been taking steps for quite a while. At almost 13 months on the dot (2/21), she walked all the way across the living room. It still took a little encouragement after that, but within a week and a half, she was walking everywhere. Look out, world, here she comes! So, she is now, officially a toddler.

She absolutely loves to get to walk around outside with all the other kids and they (Bella, especially) love it, too! We just have to keep a very close eye on what she gets her hands on. She is teething like crazy (10 and 2 more on the way), so everything goes straight to the mouth.

Kason is also loving her newfound freedom and can't wait for her to be able to play a real game of chase around the kitchen.

Enjoy the videos -

Emily walking across the room for the first time - 13 months


Emily now + Kason tumbling in his underwear and flip flops :P

Work

I really want to update the blog tonight with videos of Emily walking. Have I mentioned she is walking everywhere now??? Well, she is...but, I unfortunately, am ridiculously tired and have just begun working again. It is that time of year, you know. State testing time. So, I will be spending most of my free hours for the next few months scoring state tests (at home). I'm sure I will find a few minutes in between, though, to update the blog.

That Emily walking post is first and foremost on my list...coming soon (maybe tomorrow).

Made the Switch

Since my last failed epidural with Emily, I have been thinking about what I would do for any subsequent births. I knew I wanted to go the natural route and just assumed I would continue with my doctor (or, another doctor in the area). The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that natural childbirth in a hospital setting is not what I want. I don't want to have to fight to be comfortable (i.e., not having an IV, being able to use the shower/tub, not having continuous monitoring, etc). Even if my doctor is totally supportive of my choices, there is no guarantee I will have my doctor at delivery and I would be dealing mostly with the nurses, which can be hit or miss. I would also like to skip the 48 hr hospital stay my doctor requires after delivery, as long as baby and I are both healthy.

So, after a lot of research and discussion between Kyle and I, we decided to make the switch to a birth center run by three CNMs (certified nurse midwives). I met several of the office staff and one of the midwives last week and am very excited about continuing my care with them. Some friends of ours that we met through Kyle's work delivered their first son 2+ years ago at the birth center and had a great experience. They are now planning a home birth for their baby due in April with the same midwives. Their positive experiences really help to alleviate any fears we might have.

The birth center has 3 exam rooms and 2 delivery rooms, each equipped with a tub to labor/deliver in. The delivery rooms have full/queen size beds, instead of the standard hospital bed. They also have the ability to perform NSTs, ultrasounds, and routine testing (such as the glucose tolerance test at 28 weeks). They even have a movie room to sit in for the hour between drinking the sugar drink and having the blood work done. There is also a kitchen to be used for delivery, as they allow and encourage you to eat/drink during labor.

We also found out that they will be able to monitor me if/when I need it for preterm labor and they have the capability in their office to give me IV fluids and terbutaline, if necessary, to stop any contractions that come my way. The birth center is very close to a hospital if a transfer is needed any point before, during, or after labor. If necessary, they also refer patients to the same high risk group I am already seeing, so I have the option to continue my care with them, as well. Another big plus is that the average stay after delivery at the birth center is 3 hours, assuming all went well with labor/delivery and mom and baby are doing well.

My first appointment with the birth center is tomorrow and I'm excited to get to meet another one of the midwives and for Kyle to see the birth center for the first time. It is fairly small and in a strip center type location, but they are in the process of building a new facility set to be completed in July. So, who knows, I *might* get to be one of the first to deliver in the new facility.

Early Ultrasound was Wrong

As you may or may not recall, our perinatologist made a guess at the sex of this little one during our NT scan a few weeks ago. She guessed girl. We found out today, though, that she was wrong. Our second little boy is on his way in July and we couldn't be more thrilled. Kyle is especially happy, as this means he will not have to paint. :P

Our NT scan and accompanying bloodwork came back great and today, at our anatomy scan, our little guy looked healthy with a heartbeat of 152 bpm. Dr. G decided to check my cervix to make sure it was long and closed (it was) and we found out that I will be considered high-risk for the remainder of this pregnancy due to the preterm labor scare with Emily.

We discussed how difficult it was for me to know when/if I needed to go to the hospital with Emily as I often had mild contractions 5 minutes apart or less. I ignored the advice of my regular OB, Dr. T, because I would have been in the hospital daily for these contractions. So,to avoid that this time, starting at 24 weeks (6 weeks from now), I will see Dr. G for cervical length checks once a month and possibly biweekly fetal fibronectin tests (fFN) until 32 weeks. If my cervix stays strong and the fFN tests come back negative, I can monitor my contractions at home unless they get strong and/or are accompanied by bleeding.

Assortment of DIY Pro Pics

These are my DIY *pro* pics (obviously, not really pro). Since I got my DSLR, we are determined to make it a good investment and not paying for pro pics anymore unless it is a really, REALLY special occasion. So, here are some I have done recently, including some of Emily's 1 yr pics.

*Kason's 2 yr pics*






Emily, 7 months


Emily (7 months), Kason (25 mos)


Kason (26 mos)

*Emily's 1 year pics*

Emily's Birthday Post

As you know, our little girl turned 1 a few weeks ago. The last year with her has been more wonderful than we could have possibly imagined. It has been so exciting to watch her and Kason interact with each other and to see how much they love each other. Seeing the love that they share makes welcoming #3 a little earlier than expected a little less scary.

Her personality is so much different than Kason's was at this age. It is so fun to watch and see the differences between the two. Emily is not exactly shy, but also not especially outgoing. She loves to smile at everyone, though (then, quickly bury her face into momma's shoulder). It is true what they say: sugar and spice and everything nice. She is such a sweetheart and a cuddler.

While not officially a toddler, she is getting so close. The past few days, she has gotten so much braver with taking steps and can string 3, 4, even 5 together. She is so proud of herself and loves to be cheered for. Kason loves it, too and is enjoying helping his little sister learn to walk.

She is trying to say lots of things now and has quite a few words. A few that I can think of are: mama, dada, Kason (comes out Kay), hi, bye, baby, banana, Kason, all done, more (mo as she signs 'eat')... We haven't worked with her a lot on signing, but she has had the important ones down for months (more, all done, eat).

She loves to be ticked, bouncing on our knees, her baby doll and My Pal Violet, playing peek-a-boo, swinging, singing (Itsy Bitsy Spider is her fav!), and stealing Kason's toys. :P She doesn't have quite the love for books that Kason did at her age, but she is starting to. Her favorites right now are Let's Dance Little Pookie and Look Who's Talking on the Farm.

She has 6 teeth now (4 on top, 2 on bottom) and loves to use them to eat! Now that she is on table food and whole milk, she is beginning to put on some pounds more consistently. Still tiny, though...weighing 19lb 6.5 oz (19%) at her 12 month appointment. She was 29 in (49%), though, so long and lean. We are, unfortunately, still battling her reflux and she is still taking meds twice a day for that. We are hoping to take her off of it by 15 months, but as of this point, even lowering her dose causes her to wake up in pain. So, I don't know if that will be realistic or not.

We are so excited to see what the next few months will bring and looking forward to warmer weather and lots of outings this spring.

Our dear, sweet Emmy--Mommy, Daddy, and Kason love you right up to the moon...and back!

Long Overdue Christmas Post

Christmas celebrations started for us with Kason's program (breakfast and music class) at his school. It was fun to watch him interacting with the other kids. He loves school and tells us all the time about his friends, so it was great to get to be a part of it for a couple of hours. We started with breakfast and then went to their music and exercise class where they had been working on some Christmas songs. Kason got really upset on his way across the hall to the class because he thought we left and weren't going to watch him. He cheered up when he realized we were still there, but still refused to participate in the exercises. The music got him going again, though. They sang and danced to, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and "Jingle Bells", along with their regular music class songs.

Singing and dancing



Daddy & Emmy at Kason's school

The weekend before Christmas, we took the kids to San Antonio to see Grandma since we wouldn't be celebrating Christmas there. It was not really a Christmas trip, but we did get to take part in some fun activities - church play, Christmas lights, playing in the leaves, and Santa on the firetruck!

Santa




Christmas was lots of fun this year with Kason and Emily both enjoying the festivities (mostly Kason, though). Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent here at home with our little family of 4. We enjoyed church service, baking, and pizza on Christmas Eve, along with late hours in Santa's workshop finishing up the kids' play kitchen. Santa was very good to them this year with a new wagon and play kitchen.






New Years' weekend, we traveled to Fort Worth to celebrate a late Christmas with my family. Unfortunately, I think we forgot our camera this weekend, as I cannot locate any pictures. As usual, though, Kason had a BLAST playing with his cousins and opening presents again! Emily got sick pretty much the moment we got there, so we ended up cutting our visit short by a day so we could get home and get some much needed rest in our own beds.

We celebrated Christmas with Kyle's family the week of Emily's birthday, so that post will be coming tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Emily!

My sweet little Emily turned 1 year old yesterday. Can you believe it? Where did the last year go?
We were so busy with cake and presents and the aquarium that I didn't get a chance to log on and wish her Happy Birthday on the blog, so here it is...Happy Birthday to my precious little Emmy! Mommy, Daddy, and Kason love you more than you could know!

A Few Christmas Pics

We have been without our home computer for a couple of days, but we are back in business now. It is late and I just finished Emily's bday invitations, so here are a few teaser pics for a larger post coming soon.

We Plan, God Laughs

Remember a couple of posts back when I said I had been under the weather? Well, there is a reason for that (and, things are finally looking up). Kyle and I are expecting our third baby this July (7/11). Some answers to your questions:

1. No, this wasn't planned. When I finally decided to take a test, I was actually well past the time I found out I was pregnant with Kason & Emily because this just wasn't something we were ready for. Oh well...ready or not. We were planning for a 2-3 yr separation between Emily and a third baby, but as the title reads, "We plan, God laughs".

2. Yes, we are very excited (a little apprehensive, too). It's a baby....how could we not be excited?

3. Yes, we are finding out the sex (although Kyle didn't want to originally). The perinatologist from the NT scan made a guess already....girl. We'll see if she was right in 4-5 more weeks.

4. Baby is seemingly healthy. We have had 3 ultrasounds and baby looks great, even measuring a few days ahead. Today, at 13w2d, heartbeat was 164.

My belly is growing quite rapidly and I have already gained more weight than I would like to admit. I'm really not sure how, though, seeing as I have had awful morning sickness. Much, much worse than with Kason or Emily. That, originally, made this whole thing hard to accept. We weren't planning this, so I wasn't prepared and/or ready to embrace the morning sickness like I would have been if we had been trying. But, I have moved past that phase and am finally feeling better (minus the random day of puking).

Emily, of course, has no idea what is going on. Kason, however, will tell you there is a baby in mommy's belly and kiss my belly. When asked if he wants a brother/sister, his response is "just a baby". I'm not sure he gets it quite yet, but I think he will understand a bit more as I grow more and time progresses.

We are very excited to have our children so close together and hopeful that they will be best friends and confidants as they grow older. We are so thankful for our unexpected blessing and are excited to welcome him/her in July.

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Stay tuned for a Christmas post tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Jesus & Merry Christmas!

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! Pics to come soon....

Not in the mood for blogging lately

As I'm sure you can tell, I have not been much for keeping up with the blog lately. I think about it, but then realize there are many other things I need to be doing, like relaxing on the couch. I have been feeling a bit under the weather, but am hopeful it is beginning to turn around.

So, even though I'd rather be vegging out on the couch right now while my children sleep, I decided to give a quick update and a few pics. So, if you'll excuse my jumbled up mess, here goes:

We had a nice Thanksgiving here at home. My brother and his family were supposed to join us the day after, but the illness won and they couldn't make it. We were definitely bummed, but will be glad to see them at New Years. Kyle's mom did come stay with us for a week, though, and it was wonderful! The kids adore spending time with grandma and mommy got a chance to really relax and go on a few dates with daddy, including his company holiday party.

Kason and Emily are both doing fantastic. Emily really wants to walk and pushes her push-walker around everywhere. We are trying to encourage a few steps, but a couple seconds of standing alone are all we have managed so far. She is signing more words now, saying hi, mama, and dada, waving, clapping, dancing, playing pat-a-cake and so big, etc, etc. She has four teeth. The top two have a huge gap, but it is sooo adorable! She loves to play with Kason's toys and he is getting much better about sharing with her. He is still loving school and comes home singing new songs all the time...right now, Jingle Bells and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Their Christmas program is next Thursday and I can't wait to see it!!!


Kason enjoying his new Cars bedding


Emily crawling up the stairs for the first time


My little Warehouse Mouse


Happy Halloween!

Have you ever seen a cuter mouse?

Smitty

His first (and better be only) time sitting in the back of a police car. Taken at the Hot Air Balloon Festival

Skydivers from the festival

He loves FIRETRUCKS!!