Christmas in Texas

We spent a wonderful week with Aunt Kim & Uncle Keith and cousins Kyle, Caden and Quin. They came to visit us from North Carolina and to spend time with their new cousin Keaton. During the week, Keaton was also baptized at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. The boys got to go on a motorcycle ride with Uncle Nate and also got to go to a Mavericks game. It was great having the house full, especially with very active boys. Keaton also got to spend a few weeks home with mom and out of daycare. We spent time reading books, listening to music, going on picnics, playing in the exersaucer, aquarium floor mat, and doing lots of tummy time. She is cooing and screaming and really likes the sound of her voice. She is starting to put things in her mouth, especially her hands. She has always spit up, but it is starting to get really bad... projectile vomiting!

Thanksgiving in Florida

Keaton flew on her first airplane ride (not counting the many she had in utero). We were a bit nervous being trapped 30,000 miles in the air and possibly not being able to calm her down. All our worries were for nothing... she was perfect and slept the entire trip. On the day of our flight, she hadn't pooped in 5 days (which her dr. did say is normal for breastfed babies) and I was so afraid that she was going to have this mass explosion on the airplane. On the ride to my parents house, I could hear a party going on in her diaper. When we got to their house, she was neck high (literally) in poop. Kim kept the boys up extra late to meet her and their first impression of their new cousin was one sure to remember. We had such a wonderful trip with my family. Keaton smiled and cooed all weekend and absolutely loved being held by her Aunt Kim and Nana. Keaton loves to suck on her hands and she spits up all day long. I call her our human faucet. She always does it with a smile on though. 5 days out of 7 she is sleeping from 8:00 p.m. until 6:30 a.m. I know I should be happy about this, but now that I am back at work, I kind of wish she would wake up at 3 a.m. every night just so I can spend an extra 30 minutes alone with her. Her daycare days are going okay... of course I wish I could be with her all day, but just two more weeks of work and I have three weeks off to be with her. We are eagerly waiting for Kim, Keith and the boys to come out and spend Christmas with us.

Two Months Old and First Day of Daycare!

What a great day! Keaton had her first day of daycare today. We were up at 5:30 a.m. (after sleeping for 9 hours... yeah!). She was so excited to wear her Juicy outfit for the first time that her uncle Taylor and Shelby got her. Nathan and I dropped her off at 7:30 a.m. and she was all smiles. She is starting to smile responsively, which is really exciting for us. Mommy headed to the gym for her first "real" workout in two months and it felt great. I was a little concerned because Keaton is a little irregular and hasn't pooped in about 3 days. I had a feeling one was coming. Well, it did and all over the place 2 times!!! Nathan went to check on her at 11:00 and he took her out to lunch at the Galleria... this is when the first explosion happened. When I picked her up at 4:00 she was in an outfit that I had never seen (it belonged to the daycare). I asked why she was wearing that and they said that she had 2 huge explosions that leaked out of her diaper and she also spit up so bad in another outfit. She wore 4 outfits at her first day of daycare... talk about high maintenance. Luckily, they washed all of them for me at her daycare and even got all the yellow poop stains out, which was great for me. After I picked her up, we headed to the doctor for her 2 month check up. Keaton absolutely loves her doctor, Dr. Denison. She coos at him and kicks her left leg really fast when he talks to her. She is exactly 10 pounds and 23 inches. She is in the 25% for weight, 75% for height, and 50% for head size. She had 3 shots and one oral medicine today and she is right on track for everything developmentally. Tomorrow, mom heads to work for the first day... Pictures are Nathan giving Keaton a bath, which is one of her favorite times of the day, and her first day of school.

GO MUSTANGS!

We brought Keaton to her first SMU football game on Saturday. She was too cute in her SMU onesie, socks and cap. We had our friends Reagan and Adam in town for the weekend and we are so excited that they will be having a little girl in April. Keaton is growing like a weed. She is already outgrowing some of her newborn clothes. She has found her hands and LOVES to suck on them! We are enjoying every last minute of our day time together before mom heads back to work.

in love at 3 am

It's 3 am and my beautiful baby girl is happily eating away. As I look down at her, deliriously tired and sleep deprived, i realize just how lucky I am. I am in love... And if I turn my head a little further to the left, I see and hear with his wonderful snores, daddy who I love more and more every day and thank him for giving me the perfect little daughter.

Too good to be true...

Three weeks into parenting and we feel very lucky to have such a great baby. Keaton is a VERY laid back girl who is easily fitting into our lives as we have always known them. We take her pretty much everywhere with us right now because all she does is sleep. Keaton has been to the mall, walked to Whole Foods, out to dinner at Terrilli's, a picnic in the park, and Sunday morning breakfast at Cafe Brazil. We just had her Nana and Pop Pop in town for a week from Florida. Mom and dad even got to go out on a date and leave her at home with the grandparents. That may be our one and only date for a very long time. Mom got to experience pump and dump for the first time. Keaton is eating every 3-4 hours and loves to be held. We still haven't figured out the whole bath thing... major screaming when wet and naked! She is starting to make her first cooing noises and is making eye contact with bright pictures, lights and your face if it is really close. She is gaining about an ounce a day and has already outgrown some of her newborn clothes because she has really long legs and arms. We are still afraid to cut her fingernails or claws, so we keep them covered most of the time so she doesn't scratch her pretty little face. Her big brother Barley is very sweet to her... he gives her gentle kisses on the back of her head.

Welcome Keaton Marie!!!

On Tuesday, September 16th at 5:27 p.m. we welcomed a beautiful baby GIRL into the world. Keaton Marie was born screaming with a full head of hair. She weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 inches long. As the doctors pulled and pushed her out of me, they let Nathan announce the sex. She was pulled out with her butt facing Nathan and he said... "What is it?" All the doctors said "It's a girl!" Yes, her little girl parts were a bit swallon leaving her looking like she could have been a boy from the back side. We stayed in "hotel" medical city for 5 days and mommy was well taken care of. In fact, I didn't want to leave! Once we got home, Keaton slept too much and wasn't too interested in eating. When we went to the doctor on Tuesday for her one week appointment she was down to 6 pounds 15 ounces and her jaundice levels were getting high. The doctors gave us 48 hours to beafen her up and we were able to put 3 ounces on her in 2 days. We head back to the doctor this week for our 2 week appointment where she should be back up to her birth weight. Keaton is a good sleeper (when sleeping on mommy - not in her bed) and right now we have to wake her up to eat. She loves to poop and pee while we are changing her diaper leaving us with a very big mess, lots of used wipes and multiple diapers getting dirty in a matter of minutes. When you put her on your stomach, she is able to crawl... yes crawl up your chest to the crevice in your neck where she can feel your pulse. She then falls sound asleep... Her Aunt Ashly and cousin Elijah just visited us for 4 days from Berkeley. Aunt Ashly was a HUGE help cooking us dinner, taking Keaton at night so we could sleep, and changing many diapers. Elijah just chilled with his super cute, bright eyed self and finally warmed up to Barley and Nathan just in time to head back home. We can't wait for them to come visit us again.

Almost there...

With under 2 weeks to go, I am officially READY! I survived my first week back at school and it felt really good to stay busy all day. My co-workers could not believe I was back at school and the parents were even more surprised when they met me. Their first question was "Who is your sub?" and their second was "When are you coming back?"
I have been going to the dr. once-twice a week for check ups. Everything is still going well and he said he would move my due date up to next week if I wanted (because my belly is HUGE), but I am going to "try" to hold out until the 16th. However, I have been doing a few natural things to speed up the process. Other than walking A LOT, I have been drinking raspberry leaf tea several times a day, bathing in sage, trying to eat spicy food, and getting pedicures to hit pressure points. We'll see if any of these speed things up.
Nathan and I finally took our child birth class at the hospital last Saturday after rescheduling it 3 times. We learned a lot of good stuff like infant CPR and choking, breastfeeding tips, signs of labor, etc. My favorite part was when they said that the mother shouldn't clean or do laundry for 6-8 weeks after giving birth. I am all for that tip!
Barley has been getting ready too. At 8 years old, we FINALLY had his boy parts cut off. Or atleast we thought they were going to be cut off, they actually just take them out and then the sack perks back up again so he still looks like a boy. We are very pleased with the outcome. And while he was under, he had his teeth cleaned, a mole removed from his eye, and his nails cut really short. So far we haven't seen any difference, he is still his crazy self that we love. We also think he hid his shock collar on us because we can not find it anywhere!
The pics above are photos we had taken today! 12 days and counting...

September 16th here we come...

Well, after a lot of doctors appointments this summer, Nathan and I finally decided to be conservative and to go with a scheduled c-section to keep mom in good health with her messed up back. We are happy with our decision (even though Nathan asked me if he could watch someone else giving birth vaginally in the next room at some point during our hospital stay) and we have picked Tuesday, September 16th at 5:00 p.m. (happy hour) for the date and time. The baby may decide to come before then as he has dropped very low in the last several weeks. He/she is still sticking straight out. He/she has also found my upper right rib which has become a constant kicking spot all day. You can now see actual feet and elbows coming out of my stomach which is really exciting to watch because you can tell that the baby is out of room in there. The baby gets the hiccups about 10 times a day and finally I asked my doctor what the deal was and he said that it was a good sign because he/she is trying to start breathing by themselves. So, I am now going to the doc every week for a check up and will be starting school next week 9 months pregnant!!!

Thank you family and friends

Nathan and I have such wonderful friends and family! We had such a wonderful baby shower and received so many much needed gifts for our new baby. The sprinkles cupcakes were just what the baby wanted too. Nathan is definitely overwhelmed at this point, but reality is starting to set in more each day. He can not believe all the accessories that come along with a baby. At 33 weeks, things are going great with the baby. The baby is growing more and more each day and the belly just keeps going out further...

Getting bigger every day!

At 30 weeks, it is hard to believe that my stomach can get any bigger. The baby moves 24/7 and now gets the hiccups alot. It looks like there is a party going on in my belly. It is amazing how nice people are to you when they can tell you are pregnant. My dry cleaners today asked if they could start bringing my dry cleaning out to the car so I wouldn't have to get out in the heat (which I thought was hysterical) and the bagger at Whole Foods tonight insisted on carrying my bag (only one) to my car. It is nice to finally have the summer off. Nathan started a new job today and loved it. Barley just spent a week at camp and came home today with a perfect report card. We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary yesterday by flying to Spain at the last minute. Yes, Nathan thought it might be a good idea to run with the bulls in Pamplona before becoming a dad. My thoughts... I'm going to Spain and my doctor wrote me a note, I'm a happy camper! This pic is from Cadeques on the east coast of Spain. Things are going great here and we are looking forward to Kelli's family coming out in 2 weeks!

Long Legs

This morning I had a sonogram of our little kicker. I now know where each body part is, so it all makes sense when I see a body part move across my upper right side... that's the butt or feel jabs down low... the arms. The head is now facing down and he is starting to run out of room. I am 29 weeks and 2 days today and everything is measuring perfectly except the femur (thigh) bone. It measured 33 weeks! The technician had to measure several times because she couldn't believe it. Nathan is tall, but with a long torso and not legs. One of the sonogram pictures looks like a frog and another one he is flexing his arm muscles. The doctor said he is about 3 1/2 pounds right now and that I should expect an 8 or 9 pounder!

3rd Trimester!!!

We kicked off the 3rd trimester with Father's Day (or soon to be). Aside from Nathan's Grateful Dad shirt he got baby lullaby songs from Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones. Now that the baby can hear us and recognize our voices, we thought we would introduce her to some good tunes as well. Nathan spent the weekend with the guys floating the river and I relaxed at home and read ALOT. My to do list just keeps getting longer. All is good with the baby. She is kicking and moving nonstop. She still prefers liquids opposed to solid foods and she is weighing in at about 2 pounds. I started teaching summer school last week to keep me busy and to keep my mind off all the funky stuff that happens to you when you're pregnant. Anything weird that happens (nose bleeds, indigestion, hair growth, fingers tingling all night long, and alot more that are too innapropriate to mention) I just blame it all on being pregnant. I'm sure it's only going to get more interesting... but I am enjoying it. We finished painting the baby room (blue) and are waiting for our crib set and rocker to come in. We are starting to interview pediatricians and weighing our options between a nanny in our home or daycare. Next doctor's appointment is July 7th.

Babymoon in Jamaica

Well, we brought our new baby to be to one of our favorite places in the world, where we got married at Round Hill in Jamaica. It was the perfect place to have our babymoon and relax and take it all in. Once we arrived in Jamaica, the baby got his appetite back and started kicking nonstop. We can actually now see jabs coming out of my stomach everytime he kicks or punches. The baby loved sitting in the salt water (and so did his mother feeling very light). He also loved the reggae music and banana pancakes. We were able to get some exercise in at the gym, walking up the hill and rowing. Nathan has a hard time "relaxing" on vacations. He always has to be doing something. The more he relaxed, the more stressed out he got about everything that we have to do to be prepared for the baby. I just kept ordering him more red stripes... and it seemed to work. He is soooo excited about the baby and is always talking to him and feeling him kick. He tells me he loves me atleast 100 times a day. He is going to be a great dad!
The baby is now a little over a pound and about 8 inches. At our last doctor's appointment, Dr. Jordan did a sonogram that lasted about 45 minutes. He measured everything and made sure everything was looking good... which it was. He had a hard time seeing the sex at first because of the position of the baby and he (or maybe a she) had his legs crossed for a while. But, eventually he did see, but did a great job of not telling us. He wrote in on a card that I decided to keep at the doctor's office until we are ready to open it. I go back next week for my 24 week check up. Only 16 weeks to go!

18 Weeks and 29

Kelli had a great 29th birthday. She started the day by treating herself to a maternity massage and smoothie at the Crescent. Then we caught some sun out on the lake while we had cupcakes from Sprinkles. For dinner we went to Charlie Palmer where the non-alcoholic bahama mama hit the spot. It was a perfect day! We are now 18 weeks pregnant, she is starting to show a little pouch (looking fabulous), and she can finally hold down some food. Kelli has really been a trooper with her positive attitude and glowing aura as the morning sickness that lasts all day looks as though it may be with her throughout the term. About two weeks ago her students noticed her belly protruding a little and discovered our little secret, the classroom nicknamed the baby "Bob." Her students have been little angels as their mothers have put them on their best behavior.
The 18 week progress report is that she/he is now approximately 5 1/2 inches long, 7 ounces, is starting to develop facial expressions......its sex should now be visibly apparent, but we are still going to wait until later to discover the gender. So far all appointments indicate that we will be having a healthy baby.
The time is going by extremely fast as we are almost half way through the pregnancy. I am in anticipation to feel the little sucker kick....we will update again soon (next sonogram is May 5th) and appreciate every ones love and support.

We bought the baby a new house!

Well, we have officially moved out of our adorable 1500 sq.ft. home and into a home that will fit the baby (lots of them!). We love our neighborhood so much that we just moved 1/2 a mile down the street. The week before we closed, Nathan went skiing in Canada for a week with friends (he is loving being pregnant), while I packed up the house. Instead of buying me something at the gift store in the airport, he bought the baby a ski onesie (in blue). We recently had our 12 week doctor appointment and heard the heartbeat. Both appointments have been in the 170's. People ask me what the heartbeat is, but my doctor says it has nothing to do with the sex, just that it is a very healthy heartbeat. We plan to find out the sex a little later than normal, but we thought it would be a great anniversary present in July. We are fully preparing Nathan for a little girl... he is freaking out.... I love it! We have also started preparing Barley, our only child for 7 1/2 years, for the new house and the baby. He now wears shoes in the house, has a shock collar for when he cries, and is not aloud to come upstairs. He is a new dog!

The best husband ever!

We had our first sonogram yesterday and saw one very strong, very little heartbeat. Nathan surprised me for Valentine's Day and flew us out to Florida to see my parents for the weekend and tell them the great news. We got in last night and not only were my parents surprised to see me, but were excited to have their 5th grandchild on the way. We surprised them at dinner (another sushi restaurant) and Nathan bought onesies and had them embroidered to say "Nana" and "Pop Pop." We told them we got them a present out in San Francisco. Yes, I do have the most thoughtful husband ever!

How it all began...

Last Wednesday night after leaving the gym, I wasn't feeling quite right so I took a home pregnancy test. Within seconds it was positive! I immediately called Nathan, who was working in Columbus, Ohio and told him the news.... luckily he was at an Irish pub at the time. About an hour later I took another test, just in case the first one was broken. Positive. The next day when Nathan came home, I showed him the two tests and he said I shouldn't have bought a digital one so we went to the store and bought two more... both still positive! So, we went out to dinner to celebrate.

On Tuesday we had our first Dr.'s appointment. Dr. Jordan confirmed that we conceived on December 28th while in the wine country in Sonoma, California (the picture above). He also told us the expected due date, September 20, 2008. He preceded to tell us what to expect and what we needed to do and not do in the upcoming months. Nathan pulled out his list of about 20 questions that he researched at work. A few great ones were.... Can she still ride in the side car of my motorcycle? Can she still go to concerts? And my favorite... can she go to a wedding that I'm in in Carmel on September 20th (THE DUE DATE). After our very long appointment, we went out for sushi. Ordering sushi is very different since I can not have raw fish. At dinner Nathan pulled out his list of names.... Yes, he has already started researching names and I am only 5 weeks pregnant. It was very sweet. Our next appointment is February 15th when we will have a sonogram to see the heartbeat.