long time coming...

It's been a long time since my last post...a year almost. A lot has happened since then and I started this blog so I could always remember the beginnings of what I hope to be a long lifetime of memories. So I need to play catch up. After finding out in September that we were expecting another baby, we had a lot of preparation. We found out on November 30 that we would be buying blue this go round. We were absolutely elated. Mike was set on only having two children (so to not outnumber us, lol) so I was happy to have one of each. I went out and purchased cupcakes and put blue icing inside and topped them with vanilla icing. I had Mike's dad, my parents and brothers over for the reveal. They bit into the cupcakes and saw that we were expecting a little boy. There was so much joy and I got to finally share my good news with friends. It's hard for me to keep that sort of secret. :-) Then came the naming of our new little bundle. I wanted to name him Bennett Michael, while Mike loved the name Gavin. Since there was no discussion about what our baby girl's name was going to be the first time, I let Mike pick this name. One exception... We change the spelling to match our daughter's name (Kathryn) to Gavyn. So, we had a gender and a name... Next came the room assignments. :-) Kaydee's room at the time was smaller and hardwood, so we moved her to the slightly larger room with carpet so there was more play room for her. We removed all of the sports memorabilia and painted it yellow. It was quite a task and took us a while to complete. We then had to prepare Gavyn's room. We didn't put a rush on it since we knew he would be sleeping in our room for the first couple of months. We did end up completing it before his arrival. I didn't like the nursery theme idea, so we just decided to put up some tinkers from Mike's childhood and hung some biplane pictures that a dear friend had made for us. It turned out great. Kaydee was born via c section and after the doctor told us there was an 8% chance I would deliver naturally, I opted for a repeat section. The idea of having no labor pains this time around sounded like a fabulous way to welcome our newest into the world. God had other plans... I guess he thought I needed to be reminded of how hard childbirth really is...even if it wasn't during childbirth. On March 25 @ 2:30 in the morning, I woke up to what felt like back labor pains (I had back labor with Kaydee so I remembered this feeling well). I was only 34 weeks along, so I decided to wait a bit before calling the doctor to make sure my body wasn't just practicing for the big day. After about an hour, I woke Mike up and told him what I was going through. It was different this time...it wasn't coming in waves...it was a constant throbbing pain shooting down one side of my back. I called the doctor and she instructed me to head to the hospital. By the time we got there, 19 month old in tow, it was 4am and the pain had become intolerable. I was sure I had gone into full blown labor and terrified that my baby was too small and not ready to come into this world. My thoughts were going straight to hopes that whatever doctor was on call would be capable of stopping this from happening and give me at least a couple more weeks of pregnancy so my baby boy had time to grow and mature before heading into this crazy world. After reviewing my symptoms, the nurses thought for sure that it wasn't labor and that I had either a kidney infection or kidney stones. Neither sounded good to me, but it sounded a hell of a lot better than preterm labor amd an early delivery. They did a renal u/s and concluded that it was indeed kidney stones. I stayed in the hospital for four days after staying hooked up to an IV and having fluids and Delotted (for pain) pumped into me . I went home and was taking Percocet for pain at home. My mother-in-law, Sue, came over to help me with Kaydee since Mike had already taken a lot of time off work to be with me in the hospital. She was a huge help and the pain started to come back...with a vengeance. After Sue left for an appointment, my mom came over to help me. After the pain medicine wasn't helping, and I was in more pain than ever, I asked my mom to take me to the hospital. Mike was at soccer practice and it was too much pain to wait for him to come home. Luckily, by the time I was loaded into the car, Mike was pulling into the driveway and we headed to the hospital and my parents took Kaydee. They put me on a morphine pump and by the next day, the pain had subsided and I wanted to go back home. I was just sick of being in the hospital. I was discharged and made it out just in time to go to my friend, Michelle's, 30th bday dinner. I never saw it pass, but it eventually did. I cut out all caffeine and drank LOTS of water and I hope to never go through that again. Gavyn's birthdate was set for May 4th after a lot of contemplation on mine and Mike's behalf. It was a Friday and it was also Audrey Hepburn's bday. Since Kaydee was born on Michael Jackson's bday, we thought it was important to give Gavyn some claim to fame. :-) We dropped Kaydee off with her Nana and Pop and went to meet our baby boy. Gavyn Michael was born at 12:53pm on May 4 and weighed 7 lbs 9 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. He came into this world screaming, so we thought we had another fusspot like his sister. He immediately latched on and was an expert nurser. He turned out to be a fantastic baby who slept all the time and never cried. The next three days were spent in the hospital and even though our nurse advised us otherwise, we decided to go home since the doctor cleared mom and baby for discharge. We went home on a stormy night and the next morning Kaydee got to come home and see the new fixture in our home. Gavyn spent his first night in his own room on July 19th and is hopefully going to continue being an excellent sleeper. Gavyn 11 week stats: *Fits in most 3-6 month outfits, but can still wear 0-3 month clothes *Weighs almost 13 lbs and is 23 1/4 inches long. *Size 2 diapers *Spends about 10-20 minutes each day on his tummy and has gotten pretty good at holding his head up *Smiles often and loves to laugh *Coos and gurgles and occasionally blows bubbles. Kaydee is now 23 months old and is just a little person. I sometimes forget that she isn't even two yet and have to remind myself. :-) She absolutely adores her baby brother ('bebes' as she calls him) and is always kissing him or trying to help. I have started planning her second bday party and it makes me sad thinking about how fast these times have already gone. She does new things and learns new things every day and there are times I wish for just a moment with my itty bitty baby girl who first made me a momma. I would start to miss my big baby girl, so just a moment would do. I sometimes think that I can't wait for my children to become less dependent on me so that I can have some more mommy time, but as soon as the thought enters my mind I push it out because these times are so short lived and I want to cherish each second I have with my Littles. Kaydee starts pre school in August and I am already dreading the time I will lose with her while she is there broadening her little horizons (hehe) and gaining new friends. I want to try amd keep up with this blog as best as I can because I washer to be able to look back in five years and be able to remember each detail of my growing family. Pictures to come in the next post.

News!

So, Mike and I decided to start trying to have another baby...and it didn't take long AT ALL! :) We found out on September 4 after a home pregnancy test that we will be expecting a new little one in May 2012. :) After calculating the due date myself, it looks as though we should expect to meet Kaydee's new baby bro/sis on May 13.

After a lot of back and forth, we decided to switch doctors and hospitals, despite the fact that the doctor we had with Kaydee was wonderful. It was just easier to drive 20 minutes as opposed to 1 hour each appointment one way. So, we will see how Kennestone Hospital goes! Our first appointment is October 3 where we will get blood work done (eek) and hopefully see the first ultra sound!

In other news, Mike is going out of town for work this week for 2 days and it will be the first time without him. I have been getting nausea the past few days, so I am nervous about not having him at the end of the day to help out with Kaydee while I get my rest and get to relax. BUT-I am also excited for a girls' night...maybe we will watch Beauty & the Beast and Little Mermaid! HA!

Til next time-
SHALOM!

ONE.

Kathryn Brooke turned 1 on Monday, August 29, 2011. I made her a pancake and scrambled egg breakfast and she loved it. We met daddy for lunch and then to the park for some swinging we went. We ended the day with a nice relaxing night.

There were a few things she did on her birthday that she had done for the first time.
>>Took her sippy cup with no problems for the first time. I have been trying for the past couple of months and at the end of the day while at the park, I gave her the sippy cup after letting her watch me drink water out of it and she actually took right to it!!!
>>Took her first steps to someone other than Mike or me. She walked right to Josh with three big steps!!! :)
>>Pooped in the tub! haha! I have been waiting on this one as it seems to happen to everyone at least once. I had to grab her out & scrub the tub, lol.
>>First taste of chocolate and first nuts experience. She shared some rocky road ice cream with Nana!
A few things she has started doing this past month are:
**Takes a few steps on her own...I honestly think she would be walking by herself if she could gain the confidence. :)
**Wears 12-18 month clothes. She is our little chunky monkey.
**Will not eat from a spoon...unless it is yogurt...girlfriend can put down some yogurt! :)
**Dances to music-she prefers Sid the Science Kid and Dinosaur Train intros, but anything will do.
**Answers "yes" and "no" with a simple head shake or nod and has gotten QUITE good at doing so. She will certainly shake her head at you if she means NO! ;)
**NO MORE FORMULA! That is one expense I am glad to say we are RID of!
**Size 3 diapers-thinking of trying size 4 next, but not sure yet.


Tina came to visit with us and stayed through her birthday as did my mom's sister and my aunt Terry with her three adorable children. We spent a lot of time out at the pool and had a scare with Kaydee! EEK! All was well after it was all said and done. We got to visit many of the pools around my parents' neighborhood and had a great time!

Kaydee had a playdate with Isabella, whose birthday party was last Saturday. I cant' believe how much bigger Isabella is than Kaydee and they are only 2 days apart...Kaydee is even OLDER! haha!





The Sunday before Kaydee's birthday, we had a small get together with my dad's family (and of course, Terry & Tina). We grilled hot dogs and ate cake with K-bug! She LOVED her cake! She ate it UP with no hesitance. She typically doesn't like having dirty hands, so I was worried she wouldn't take to it well, but she dug right in. She got lots of great things and this may be the first time she actually PLAYS with her toys!
















Someone was having a really good time :)


Her cousin Audrey was a tremendous help while I was running around. She has a great future in babysitting.

We ended the day with pizza at Paisano's...our favorite pizza place. Tina and Terry left on Monday and so it started our slow week (compared to the previous week). :)

Kaydee has her "friend" birthday party planned for this Saturday, September 3 and I am so excited. We are having a few of our friends and of course-Mike's side of the family join in. We are also getting to dog-sit little Jazzie!!! :) :) :)

Shalom!

Picture Post

So, I am way behind on posting pics of doodlebug lately. It takes time and I just haven't had any of that lately. :)

Once she started crawling...she was into EVERYTHING! :)




Took Kaydee to the Blue Ridge Mountains with Mike's parents and our nephews. Kaydee is mesmerized by their energy. :)


















Her first Zoo experience was great. She loved the warthogs and giraffes.










She was SO hot (we all were) so we stopped into the treehouse to cool off in the air conditioning.



We got some pictures done for her 1-year, but it was actually on her 11-month birthday. I had a canvas groupon that was expiring on 8/3 and needed to get professional pics done as soon as possible. :)














We are going to have her best friend, Tina, visiting with us, so more pictures of her visit and Kate's first birthday party to come!

One Craziness After Another

Ok, so I haven't posted in a while due to my hectic life, but I really want to get back into doing this as I have noticed that it keeps track of my little one's milestones & life in general.

We took baby boo to the zoo a couple of weeks ago & she actually enjoyed herself. It was hot (as expected in July in Atlanta), but bearable. Her favorite exhibit was the warthogs-go figure, lol. She just stared at them until we finally rolled her away to move on. I love going on family outings and find it's very important to do so to keep our family unit tight.

I have been planning a birthday party for the past month and I am trying my best not to let it stress me out. I am trying to also not let it get too big without hurting anyone's feelings. I have decided to hold 2 parties so that we are not overwhelming little-bit. :) August 28 with be with family and a couple of friends while September 3 will be with her friends. I am just realizing that her birthday party could easily be on Labor Day weekend for the rest of her life! :) That makes for a weekend of partying, lol. ;)

She has been up to a lot lately now that she is approaching her 1st birthday!
**SHE TOOK HER FIRST STEPS LAST NIGHT!!! I wasn't able to get it on camera as it was a spur of the moment ... well, moment and I didn't want to personally miss it, so we just didn't capture it on film. It will, however, be captured in our memories forever. :) They were only a few steps at a time, but I have a feeling with more practice and hard work, we could have a walker by her birthday!!!

**Size 12-18 month clothes. She has outgrown all but a few 6-12 month outfits and is completely in all 12-18 month clothes.

**Climbing stairs. She started one day while I was cleaning the kitchen and I heard nothing but silence...never a good sign. I walked around the corner & she was halfway up the stairs!!! I freaked out & demanded a baby gate. ;) She HATES the baby gate...basically-she hates boundaries! lol

I know I am in much need of a picture post & will try to do that in the next couple of days when I get a chance. :)

Shalom

My 10 month old's changing life

So, it's been quite a while since my last post due to our crazy schedule lately. Kaydee is now 10 months old & in lieu of doing a 10 month post, I figured I would just do an update on how things have changed lately.

On June 13, Mike and I made a major life-changing decision. We decided I would stay home with Kaydee full time making me a STAY AT HOME MOMMA! It was a hard and thoughtful decision. First things first-budget. We had to get a budget together. It's something we really never had to do, but something that was worth the alternative (keeping K in daycare).

Not only was it going to be a finance-changing decision, but a lifestyle changing one as well--what am I going to do all day???

The first thing I needed to do was get my house clean. Not the every-day pick up that's been done for the past 3 years, but a deep clean, spotless baseboards type clean. I made it through three rooms with it...ugh! After 3 days, we noticed Kaydee's voice was getting hoarse and wasn't going away, so we took her to the doc. Turns out, all the dust I was kicking up during the cleaning process was messing with her allergies. Soooo...guess I need to lay off for a while...bummer ;).

So, what else can I do? I literally stay bored at home. We got Mike's car fixed, but it remains in the shop waiting on a wheel that had to be sent off for repair so I am still at home with no vehicle ... basically stranded with a 10 month old, lol. Once I get my car back I am going to start bringing Kaydee to the park, the pool, zoo, and hopefully get involved in a playgroup. There were lots of pros to her being in daycare and one of them was it kept her socialized. I have friends with little ones her age or close, but most of them live farther than just a few miles up the road.

(Baby cries in the background because I told her "no"...)

My last day of work was July 8 and so I have been home for only a week only to realize-this is much harder than I had imagined it would be. Everytime I get started doing something productive, Kaydee decides she has other plans for me...like screaming to get my attention, pinching her finger in a cabinet, falling face-first into our hardwood floors, pulling folded clothes onto the floor-thus making that task a much longer task than I had anticipated.

Kate is up to:

**No more baby food. She will not eat it if it is not being fed to her by her own hands. And since the coordination to hold a spoon doesn't come for another few months, she is on all solids. :) I worry about her not getting the proper nutrition I could ensure she got while eating her pureed carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, apples, pears, etc... But, my doctor reassures me as long as I am being conscious of it, she is fine.

**ALMOST no more formula. At the doctor's visit mentioned earlier in this post, I mentioned her whole milk intake. We just purchased a case of formula which lasts about 2 weeks, and the doctor said this could be the last bit of formula we give her. She is almost entirely on whole milk!! It was hard to introduce at first as she was constantly turning her head away from the chilled version of her prior bottles, but after a couple of weeks, she finally responds positively to it! That will play a nice part in budgeting for other things. ;)

**CRAWLS everywhere and gets into everything. Her curious nature is proving to be a constant, "No Kaydee", "Don't touch that", "Take that out of your mouth", "Don't climb on that", "What the hell is that?" (lol), but I think of it as a good sign she likes to learn and discover new things.

(Fell down from the back window and is now upset)

**Cruises furniture. She has stood on her own a few times, but it's always on her terms. I can't get her to just let go ...it's always while she is holding onto something else, so I can't get a shot of it!

**Wears 6-12 & a lot of 12-18 month clothes. She has completely outgrown her 6-9 month outfits.

**Weighs 20.6 lbs as of 7/15. She has been right around the 20 lb mark for a while now.

With this new decision having changed our lives, I believe it has changed our lives for the best. I am excited to attend all of K's school functions without the guilt of telling my employer I am unable to make it in that day.

Pics of our new adventure to come as our new chapter unfolds.

A couple of updates of what has been going on the past month 1/2:

We took a trip up to VA to attend my mom's mother's family reunion. Kaydee was the newest generation and had her own line labeled on the family tree...so cute. I meant to take a picture of it, but never did. :( We had a whirlwind trip for a weekend to the Shenandoah River State Park where there was canoeing, fishing, and picnicking. We all had a great time and it's always nice to see family we haven't seen in quite some time.

My parents bought a new house. On Joey's 17th birthday, we spent the day moving 24 years worth of stuff into their new house. It's such a beautiful home and I am so excited they get to experience what they have always dreamed of.

9 months old & growing

Kaydee Bug turned 9 months old on May 29th (a week ago...little late). We had a doctor's appointment on the 30th at which time they took her hemoglobin & gave her a hep B shot. Her iron was .5 lower than they prefer it to be, so she is now on poly-vi-sol vitamins each day. I assume it's low becuase she isn't wanting her bottle as much anymore. We try a sippy cup, but she really just prefers to finger-feed herself.

Due to the abnormally large amount of ear infections she has had in the past 7 months, the doc decided Kay-bug was a great candidate for tubes. We left on June 1 at 5am (woke up at 4am...ugh!) to make the trek to Scottish Rite where we had the procedure done. It took no time at all & the worst part of the whole thing was not being able to give her anything to eat until after her surgery. She went back at 7:25 & by 7:45, she was wheeled back into our room & given apple juice. The ENT said there was a lot of thick, yellow mucus behind her ears which is the culprit to all of those awful ear infections she got continuously.

She is doing fantastic now & hears to much more...this also poses a problem at sleep time. She can hear the slightest noise now & wakes up with just Rocky walking down the hall on the hardwood. We'll all get used to it eventually. :)

At 9 months, our little boogy is:

**Starting to get crawling. We haven't baby-proofed, but that is coming this weekend.

**Pulls up on everything. It's time for daddy to adjust her bed so that she doesn't climb up on the rail & roll right over it. There are so many mornings I walk in to get her up & she's already standing there holding her paci hostage dangling it over the bed...SOO funny! She also loves to just stand anywhere holding onto whatever she can. She giggles & has a good time doing that.

**Feeds herself everything. She doesn't know how to use a spoon, so I am still feeding her the purees, but if it can be picked up, she is feeding herself. Even when we sit down to eat dinner, she has to have pieces of bread on her tray to feed herself while I am spoon-feeding her. Otherwise, she is pitching a fit.

**Wearing 12 month clothes. Majority of the 9-month clothes no longer fit, so we are eliminating more clothes from her wardrobe... :( This is the sadest part of having a girl...outgrowing cute clothes.

**She currently weighs 18 lbs 12 oz, 27 3/4 in tall, and 17 3/4 head circumference, which comes out to 50th percentile for all!! She's our average little monkey.

**LOVES to swim! We take her to my in-laws pool on a regular basis & she spends hours upon hours in their pool. Can't wait to take her to the beach! :) Bath time is fun as well. She slips & slides around in it on her little bottom playing with all her squirty toys!

She's such a fun baby & we couldn't be happier. I know people say it all the time, so it's so cliché, but we really cannot imagine a more perfect child to call her own. And now that we have these stupid ear infections under control, she's even more perfect!