Kreat, Lauren & Marshall

A Day At The Park

2010-06-03T13:38:00.005-06:00

I thought you might like to see some recent pics of Marshall (for those of you who live far away). These were taken in April.

Marshall's friend Ella came along to play.

Yes, Marshall is actually hanging by himself here.

I think Kreat is more excited about the big slide than Marshall...

A big pile of humans.

We Are Still Alive

2010-06-03T13:01:00.002-06:00

So, I suck at blogging.

But here's what happened: all my "cool" friends and family told me I had to join Facebook. So when that started I began putting up pics and crap on my FB page and have since completely neglected our blog. Sorry.

Really, there is nothing going on with us. I continue to work weekends at St. Mary's and in July will be cutting down from full-time to part-time (yay!). I love my job, really love my job, and I love having "me" time every week. It is fantastic.

Kreat is taking up fly fishing and just went to the driving range last night for the fist time this year. Looks like he is trying to find some "me" time, too.

Marshall is a freak. He is wild and crazy and has a temper like you would not believe. He loves to be the center of attention ALL the time. He is constantly into everything, on everything and under everything. He cannot be left unattended - ever. Regardless of his blooming independence, he remains very sweet. He still loves to snuggle and give kisses (but beware: some kisses are followed up with a punch in the face).

We have a few vacations planned this summer that we are looking forward to. In mid-June we are driving up to Denver to see some old friends and take Marshall to the zoo. That same week, we turn around and drive to SLC to attend my childhood BFF's wedding.

In July we are going to Las Vegas to celebrate Kreat's birthday, my brother's birthday and his wife's birthday. We are really looking forward to this, seeing as how we NEVER see any of my siblings (other than Bob) due to their vast locations.

In August we are planning a big bash for Marshall's second birthday!!

And in September, Kreat and I head off to Maui for 9 glorious, child-free days. Yay!

So, there's the scoop people. I will try to be better about this...

Do You Know The Muffin Man?

2009-04-17T16:14:00.004-06:00

Wednesday was my sister-in-laws birthday and for part of her present I baked her a loaf of my delicious pumpkin bread (one of her faves). With the extra batter I made mini-muffins, or "muffin poppers" as Kreat calls them, and since they dont contain any nuts, chocolate or honey I gave two to Marshall...He loved them.

Easter Sunday

2009-04-17T16:03:00.003-06:00

We had a really enjoyable Easter. Dinner was great. Since we hosted, I felt obliged to cook a nice Easter dinner for the fam...it was a lot of work, but turned out pretty good. The menu: Honey Ham, Apricot-Rosemary Leg of Lamb, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, citrus salad (courtesy of Quinta), rolls and a Lemon Chiffon Cake with Lemon Glaze...delicious!

We had family over and I strongly urged everyone to participate in an adult egg hunt. Most of them were willing, although Kreat needed a little coercing. Friday night Quinta and I dyed eggs. I had forgotten how much fun it is! When I was just a little girl my parents banned the egg hunt due to unnecessary roughness, so it was nice to do it this year.

I put together a basket for every one (the Easter bunny still comes around this house!) It was nice. I look forward to next year when Marshall will be able to hunt for eggs!!

Rise and Shine!

2009-04-06T10:57:00.003-06:00

To all you mothers out there:

Remember when you could awaken in the morning to the sun shining through the windows, birds singing...you could lay in your warm bed for a few minutes before you started the day?

Ah, the days of yester-year.

I was awakened at 0400 to a child covered in diarrhea. I cleaned him up and he went back to sleep for a few hours. At 0630, after finishing his milk, he came into bed with me for snuggle time. As the morning dawn began to creep in through the drapes, I heard a funny sound, like he was gagging. I quickly sat him up, and as soon as he was seated, he projectile vomitted directly into my face. Into my eyes. Into my mouth. My hair was saturated in bile and stomach content and partially digested formula.

Good Morning!

April Showers

2009-04-03T12:20:00.008-06:00

It has been rainy and wet here lately, so I will take advantage of being indoors and update my blog. Sorry to all of you who have been checking it and thinking "still nothing new..."

Nothing exciting is going on with us. I continue to work on the weekends, giving Kreat time to be with Marshall alone. He truly enjoys his father-son time and I enjoy the opportunity to get out and do something for myself.

Marshall is not crawling yet, but I'm not concerned. He continues to be a very smiley, happy baby who loves to eat and play with my hair. He is a very sweet boy. Enough of the small talk, I'll get to the photos.

The other day I was driving home from the grocery store and heard Marshall start fussing. I knew that he wanted to take a nap, and after a few minutes of mild crying he was out. When I opened the door this is what I saw.

Yep, he pulled his sock off to use as a binky to help him go to sleep.

He always has a smile for you.

Marshall has discovered that he has a tongue and leaves it out all of the time. We think he learned it from Lola.

Lola's been a bad influence.

Isn't he so sweet? I love these pics.

And this morning he snuggled me in bed.

The Duck

2009-03-14T18:45:00.011-06:00

I decided today that I need to stop getting into the bath tub with Marshall. He sits up so well on his own, so I think it's time that he sit in the tub without me (I'm right next to him, of course).

As a shower gift we got this inflatable duck that is designed for babies that can sit up really well, but that are still a little too small to brave the open seas of the tub on their own. We blew it up in the living room and let Marshall play in it on dry land. Once we determined that he liked it, we sent them on their maiden voyage.

The pictures are pretty cute, I think and he had a great time (he spent 45 minutes in it, actually).

Already?

2009-03-13T13:47:00.005-06:00

Today Marshall had to move from his infant car seat to a convertable car seat. It just seems like it has all happened so fast. At 22lbs & 28 inches he is squished into his infant seat; his shoulders have no room at all and his feet touch the seat that he faces.

When we bought the infant seat we were attracted to this particular one because it states that it can hold an infant up to 30lbs and 30 inches...you tell me if you think that Marshall could still be in that seat for another 8lbs and 2 inches. I don't think so. He just looks so uncomfortable. We loved our Peg Perego seat, but it is now time to make the move to something a little more comfortable.

The new seat will hold an infant rear facing up to 35lbs and forward facing up to 65lbs. It apparently has multiple settings to accomodate the varying weights. Any who. I thought it was cute and now we should be set. I just can't believe that my little guy is already in a new car seat. They really do grow so fast, don't they?

So cute... Enjoy!

2009-03-06T14:08:00.007-07:00

Lots of New Photos For Your Viewing Pleasure

2009-03-06T13:39:00.011-07:00

Growing So Fast

2009-03-06T13:28:00.003-07:00

On February 21 Marshall turned six months old. So hard to believe. We went to the doctor's and here's how everything measured out:

Weight: 21 lbs (92 percentile)
Length: 27 3/4 in (90 percentile)
Head: 17 3/8 in (54 percentile)

He is a great big kid; so funny and smiley all the time. We are just having a ball. He doesn't crawl yet, but is quite good at rolling from toy to toy.

He eats like a pig and wants to try everything that you are eating. I went to Sam's Club the other day and bought a hot dog for lunch. I covered it with mustard (the only way I like them) and sat down in the dining area. Marshall was sitting in the shopping cart, he rides like a big kid in the carts, and when he saw my hot dog he nearly fell out of the cart trying to grab it, got a hand FULL of mustard and thankfully I was able to grab his chubby little hand before mustard got onto everything. I let him have a few bites of my dog without mustard, and he loved it. Now that he is allowed to eat "real" food (in small samplings, of course) the grandparents on both sides are having a field day feeding him off of their plates. It's pretty cute.

He is taking after his cousin Bailey; he thinks it is great fun to take a big bite of food and then spit & splatter it out of his mouth and all over me. And he doesn't take me very seriously. I will lower my tone and furrow my brow and say "NO" very sternly and he just laughs! It's very frustrating, but very cute.

It's Official

2009-02-11T09:02:00.001-07:00

Just a quick note: I wanted all of you to know that I passed my state board of nursing exam and that I am now a registered nurse!

Just Some Cuteness

2009-02-04T11:53:00.001-07:00

I thought these photos were adorable. Enjoy!
P.S. The caterpillar is Clarence, Marshall's favorite toy.

Experimenting...

2009-02-04T11:30:00.005-07:00

So, until yesterday, Marshall did not have a highchair. We would feed him in his bouncy chair on the floor, which is not a smart idea. He would rather play with the toys on the bouncy chair than eat, and when he would eat, it would always get on the seat. That poor chair was always covered with squash, carrots, apples, bananas...I tried to keep it clean but it was not working.

About a week ago, I was sitting on the floor feeding Marshall and watched in what seemed like slow motion, as Marshall's hand whacked the container of peaches I was holding and they flew across the room. Super. I said to Kreat, "Tomorrow I am buying a highchair."

I shopped online and found a great deal on Amazon (no tax and free shipping!) on the chair that I wanted. It arrived yesterday.

Of course, I had to try it out. Marshall loves Biter Biscuits from Gerber. I gave him one to make his first highchair experience pleasant. Then I thought to myself, "I wonder if he can hold a sippy cup?" Now, I know, he's not 6 months old yet, but I only let him have it for about 10 minutes with some water in it. No harm, no foul.

Enjoy the photos!

Sleepy Time Update

2009-01-28T11:38:00.004-07:00

As you all know, we started sleep training Marshall. Much to our surprise, it is TOTALLY working. We start the bedtime routine at 2130 and he's in his bed at 2200. He has never screamed himself to sleep since we began this process a week ago, and he sleeps until atleast 0500 every morning.

Last night he was so sleepy at 2100 and I thought, "Oh no. He's going to fall alseep early and then awaken in the middle of the night." I was able to keep him awake until 2130 when we start the routine, but at 2145 and after 6oz of milk, he was crashed out. I think that he is slowly beginning to move his bedtime up a little, which is fine with me!

I was still concerned that he wouldn't make it until 0500, but when we checked on him he was still sleeping away. We turned on the monitor and he didn't get up to eat until 0630! Then he went back to sleep until 0930.

I'm so glad that I got over my anxiety about sleep training him because we are all doing so much better now that we've done it.

Five Months

2009-01-22T15:49:00.007-07:00

Yesterday Marshall turned five months old, so I snapped some photos of his favorite past times. He weighs 19.5lbs and the outfit he is wearing in these pics is for 6-12 months (according to Gymboree). He's still not rolling over, but tries very hard.

Enjoy the pics of my super-cute son (I'm not biased...)

Maybe We're On To Something

2009-01-22T15:19:00.004-07:00

First of all, thank you ladies for all of your advice (Mindy, of course you can comment! I didn't think you followed my blog very closely, but you're always welcome!).

After much internal struggle, two long conversations with two of sister-in-laws and a phone call to my pediatrician we implemented "Operation Good Night"; effective yesterday.

Apparently, my first parenting problem was not having and maintaining a consistent bedtime for Marshall. We fixed that. Last night at 2130 we headed into the nursery. With just the nightlight on I changed his diaper, sat down with him in the rocking chair and fed him (7 oz...little pig). After he was finished and burped, we rocked for a few minutes, I sang to him, and I put him in his bed. It was 2200 (our pre-determined bedtime, for now); he was awake. He got a goodnight kiss and I left the room and shut the door.

Figuring that he would cry himself to sleep, I went into the office to study for my state boards and listen for a crying baby (I needed to know how long the crying would last). Much to my surprise, I heard nothing. Not a peep. At 2300 I snuck into his room, peered over the crib to behold infront of me a SLEEPING BABY! Simultaneously, the heaven's parted and angels sang.

I went skipping off to bed, left the monitor turned off, set my alarm clock for 0500 and drifted away to dreamland.

Problem number two (as identified by my pediatrician's office) - a 5 month old baby weighing just shy of 20lbs does not need to eat every four hours in the night; he was awakening out of habit for food and needs to learn to go to sleep by himself without eating. That explains why the monitor was turned off and my alarm clock was turned on. I did not want to hear him in the middle of the night; I have no idea if he woke up and if he did, he put himself back to sleep.

At 0500 when my alarm went off, I tip-toed to his room and could hear him crying some (not screaming at all, but he was awake). I went to the kitchen, fixed him a bottle, and he greeted me with a smile. He was fed and changed and back into bed by 0535, awake but sleepy.

I went back to bed, turned on the monitor this time and did not hear a thing from him until 0945!!

We will repeat the forementioned pattern tonight and pray fervently that this holds. My fingers are crossed and I am holding my breath.

I Don't Like This

2009-01-17T00:18:00.002-07:00

I would like you to note the time that this post was published...

Yes, it is after midnight and I am sitting here amidst the glow of a computer screen listening to my son scream is if being tortured. I'm not a fan. I hope that this works. He does not want to eat, does not need a clean diaper; he is tired and wants me to rock him to sleep. Well, I am tired too and would like someone to come over to my house and deal with this for me so that I can get some sleep. But that's not going to happen, so Marshall listent to your mother and GO TO BED.

I Was Afraid of This

2009-01-15T23:21:00.003-07:00

Attention: Susan, Berkley, Jill & Kate -

Ladies, I need your advice. You are all new mothers and I need some help. My sweet Marshall has started rebelling against sleep. He fights going to bed with all his might. He gets so irritable and fussy. I'll change him, feed him and try to comfort him as best I can and once he falls asleep I lay him in his crib. But every night without fail, he will wake up about 20 minutes after I've laid him down. I go in, I do not pick him up, but I'll give him his binky or let him have a little more milk from a bottle, then he'll doze off again. About 20 minutes later he will do the same thing! So after an hour of fighting it initially, and going in every 20 minutes atleast two or three times, he will finally go to bed. I am just exhausted!

When he's in the midst of the fight he doesn't want to be put down and every time I start to go to sleep once the fight is over, I hear him on the monitor and have to go in and calm him down. It's getting to be a huge joke and I don't know what to do.

Part of me just wants to kiss him on the forehead, lay him down after he's fed, changed and sleepy and be done with it; the other part is worried about being a bad parent and not "loving" my son enough. I feel like I'm doing something right by never picking him back up after he's in bed, but am I doing too much by going back in there? I don't know. What do you girls think? I'm open to any and all suggestions.

A New Year

2009-01-09T16:12:00.006-07:00

I suppose that I will maintain my pace with my blog posts during this new year, meaning, I will continue to be terrible at it and allow it to lapse by weeks at a time. Sorry.

Hope you all had wonderful new year's celebrations across the globe. I didn't even get to watch the ball drop, or get a new year's kiss, why? I was in the delivery of the New Year's baby! The first baby to be born on the record's of St. Mary's Hospital for 2009. It was great. All the family was crying... a very happy moment.

I suppose that I will put up some pics of us lately, certainly someone wants to know what we've been up to.

Christmas was very low key. Just my parents and Bob; no one from Kreat's family was home either. It was pretty nice. Quiet.

Marshall got a Johnny Jump Up and was not quite sure what to do with it:

Mom dressed up Elvis and Lola like Santa Claus; don't they look happy?

Jordan and Casey: we all enjoyed playing with the prizes that came in our crackers! The crowns were a big hit!

And over the holidays Marshall proved that he must be strapped into his bouncy chair from now on:

The holidays were a lot of fun. Marshall is really growing. He is now in size 3 diapers! He loves baby food (prunes and squash...weird. I know.) continues to sleep through the night, but not without putting up a pretty good fight. Kreat loves being a parent so much that he asked me if we could have another baby soon, like get pregnant this year...uh, NO. Crazy hubbie. You grow a uterus and have another baby. I'm good with where I'm at! Thanks.

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-22T16:39:00.011-07:00

Today Kreat and I were supposed to head to Telluride to ski/snowboard with some friends, but due to the current weather conditions, we stayed home. In the mean time, we snapped some photos of our wonderful winter weather that I truly love.

To all of you scattered across the globe, we love you and...

On the phone with Susan:

Marshall also had his 4 month check-up today and for all of those who are curious (Berkley...) he weighs 16#14oz (86%) and is 25 3/4 inches (80%). I find it remarkable that in four months he has added just shy of 10 pounds and 5.75 inches to his little body. Amazing. He is enjoying his exersaucer, baby food and is trying really hard to roll over. Santa better bring him something fun because he has been such a good boy.

A Range of Emotions...

2008-12-10T10:38:00.002-07:00

This morning I took my last finals for my nursing degree. It is so surreal that I am finished with school. On one hand, I'm so happy. I worked so hard for five years to achieve this goal and despite many challenges, I did it. But I also feel somewhat lost.

What will I do with all of my time? I will only be working weekends, what will I do during the week? What do you mean I don't have to get up and go to school anymore? What do you mean I don't have to stay up all hours of the night finishing care plans and studying for exams?...There is so much running through my head right now. I'm feeling so...in limbo...like I'm waiting for something else to occupy my life, because certainly I'm not about to sit around all day.

This is a very weird day.

I'm thrilled to be finished; disappointed that I didn't do better on my finals (I'm assuming); sad to say goodbye to my friends in school; nervous about taking on this new role as an RN; excited about the opportunity to make more money; uncertain about the transition between it all.

I have been so comfortable in my life's routine until this point and now it is all changing. It's scary and joyous at the same time.

It's Never Too Late For "Lobster Baby"

2008-11-20T09:30:00.004-07:00

I don't think I need to say much about these pics...Halloween is so much fun with a baby! Marshall won "cutest costume" at the ward party. These were taken on my cell phone, so the quality isn't as good, but he looks so cute! We took him trick-or-treating to some friend's houses and had a really fun night. He has lovingly been referred to as "Lobster Baby" - don't you just want to eat him? I can't wait to do it again next year.

I Apologize

2008-11-20T09:27:00.002-07:00

For those of you who check blogs regularly, I know I've let you down. It's the end of the semester and life is crazy. I only have 3 weeks of school left and I've really turned up the heat to try to pull a 4.0; after all, it is my last semester, why not go down swinging.

So in the midst of chaos, the blog had to suffer - I'm sorry. Enjoy the new posts and have a great Thanksgiving, a Merrry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-10-21T13:32:00.002-06:00

October is a super busy birthday month for us. I can count 6 birthdays in the first three weeks of the month and the 15th was my mom's 56th birthday. We had her, my dad and my brother Bob over for dinner and birthday cake. For those of you who know my mother, she LOVES chocolate - even more than I do. So, in her honor, I made her a Devil's food cake with fudge frosting and crushed a bunch of mini-Heath bars and sprinkled them over the fudge...It was delicious. Oh, the candles say she's 52, she's not. She was born in 1952 and I'm retarded, so I bought a 5 and a 2. It was fun.

Two Months Old. Can You Believe It?

2008-10-21T13:09:00.006-06:00

I can't. We went to the pediatrician today and Marshall is doing great. He weighed in at 12#10.5oz and 23.25"! He is growing like a weed and continues to sleep well during the night. He got three shots today, which was tolerated as well as can be expected, but he fell right to sleep after calming down and we were able to go to the grocery store for 45 minutes while he napped! He is such a sweet baby.

These pics were taken last night. Isn't he adorable?

Berkley, Marshall is giving his cousin Bailey a shout out that she should understand:

Even though Marshall doesn't have perfect head control yet, I decided to try out the Bumbo chair. You can see that he's a little unstable and slumped to the right, but he's pretty strong for two months. At first he really liked it but as you can tell, he let me know when he had enough. After all, it is a lot work out to hold up that giant head!

Sweet Dreams

2008-10-10T13:03:00.006-06:00

I haven't said anything about this, because I didn't want to jinx myself, but now I feel like we're out of the woods: Marshall sleeps through the night! He is seven weeks old and for the last week and a half he has consistantly had his last feeding between 2300 and midnight (late, I know, but it's okay) then he sleeps until 0630 or 0700, eats again, and goes BACK TO SLEEP for another 3-4 hours!!!

After the second night that he did this, I thought "Oh! Maybe we're into something good..." and now I am convinced. It has been so great. However, because I'm nursing him, I have to get up in the middle of the night to pump, because I can't go 6.5-7 hours without feeding him; I'll explode. So even though he is sleeping through the night, I'm not, but it's okay because now we are all on a really nice schedule. (And getting up once to pump is a million times better than getting up every 2.5-3 hours to nurse him!)

How we got such a sweet baby is beyond me. The above photo was taken today - he's getting so big! And he is starting to smile, but only if he's really happy to see you.

This One's For Leslie

2008-10-06T15:44:00.003-06:00

For my niece Leslie, who turns 2 today (but to her it was yesterday because there's a 14 hour time difference between us). I look like garbage, just got home from school, but hey - it's for my super-cute niece, the rest of you don't need to watch me embarrass myself. Susan, I'm assuming you know to show this to Peanut...

Krogh Family Genius

2008-10-01T19:28:00.003-06:00

So that enormous exam that I had today...I got a 93%...that's an A. Don't ask me how in the world I pulled that off considering I was breastfeeding my baby while studying for it on like, five hours of sleep. Sometimes I amaze myself and then I think - "Wait a minute: I'm a Krogh and we're freaking brilliant!" I'm super proud of myself. Just had to share that. Maybe my son's head is so big because his brain is super huge...Thanks mom and dad for the brains.

Just a Little Update

2008-09-29T13:13:00.003-06:00

Now that I've spent a bunch of time posting to the blog, I have to get back to studying. On Wednesday I have an ENORMOUS advanced medical/surgical nursing exam over the following topics: physiologic changes in stress; fluid, electrolyte and acid base imbalances; cardiovascular system; coronary artery disease & acute coronary syndrome; heart failure; dysrhythmias; inflammatory and structural disorders of the heart; and a smidgen of critical care.

Pray for me.

Oh, the other night Marshall ate at midnight and did not awaken for anything until 0740!! I woke up at 0400 and pumped, thinking that he would be getting up shortly to eat, I crawled back into bed anticipating to feed soon and when I heard him get up and looked at the clock it was 0740. I couldn't believe it. I hope that maybe we're headed in a really nice direction. My fingers are crossed.

P.S. I now only weigh 10 lbs more than I did pre-pregnancy and I can start exercising today! Hooray!

Color Sunday

2008-09-29T12:53:00.005-06:00

Every year about this time is they have "color Sunday" in the Grand Valley (it was yesterday). It's kind of the official start of fall and to celebrate, you drive over the Grand Mesa and experience the beauty of the changing Aspen leaves. It's pretty amazing. Enjoy the photos.

Hungry, Hungry Baby

2008-09-29T12:33:00.002-06:00

The Colorado River

2008-09-29T11:55:00.007-06:00

On Saturday we decided to drive out to Palisade and take a walk along side the Colorado River with the dogs. On our way there, the air show was taking place and I snapped this picture of four Blue Angels flying in formation over the interstate.

The dogs love the water and had a great time splashing around and swimming!

The scenery was nice...

Marshall wasn't too impressed with the whole event.

After our walk, we went back to Kreat's office and ordered dinner from our favorite place, Diorio's. It was delicious.

This is a stromboli...Susan you would love this.

After dinner I caught Marshall talking; he finally found his voice...and there's a surprise at the end.

And on the way home I snapped this photo of Mt. Garfield.

It was a really beautiful day and so nice to be outside and enjoy the gorgeous weather.

Cricket Invasion

2008-09-29T11:48:00.004-06:00

We've had a slight problem sleeping around here and it's not because of a baby! Somehow we have been inundated with crickets in our house and they chirp constantly all freaking night long! And don't bother catching them and killing them, they are multiplying faster than we can contain. Every single night it is like a cricket symphony and we're in the front row. We find them everywhere in the house, mostly half wounded ones because the dogs try to play with them and end up rendering them severely injured, but not quite dead. I had to take some pictures.

The Joy of Dogs

2008-09-29T11:38:00.003-06:00

I looked out the window and what did I see? Titan sleeping in my garden. He dug out the vegetables and decided that my whiskey barrels would be better suited for his napping place. Although it was frustrating, it was really funny. I couldn't scold him, though I should have.

"...Can I help you?..."

Naturally, if Titan is doing it, Lola will join in.

Random Cuteness

2008-09-29T11:18:00.004-06:00

Enjoy the following photos of our super cute baby!

Marshall and Daddy enjoying some time together.

Dad decided to "style" Marshall's hair...a little too ethnic for me.

This is one of his "crazy baby" faces. He has many.

I'm pretty proud of myself, he sleeps in his crib without any trouble.

He'll pretty much sleep anywhere.

These were taken on Sunday the 21st (one month old!). We were hanging out together.

It's hard to believe that he is almost six weeks old. I will say that the first month was a total and complete sleepless blur (for me anyway; he sleeps just fine). It can only get better, right?

A Little More Awake This Time

2008-09-16T21:20:00.001-06:00

Today was bath day and he was slightly more interactive afterwards. You may think it's cute, but I don't know what you people find entertaining.

To Grandmother's House We Go

2008-09-16T18:42:00.015-06:00

On Saturday we drove down to Delta with Marshall for the first time. Unlike the song, we did not go "over the river and through the woods," rather we went through the desert...any how. He is such a good baby; just slept in the car the whole way.

It was nice to be out of the house and visit with my parents. Kreat and my dad went golfing (yeah, my dad went golfing!) and mom and I stayed at home with Marshall. We introduced him to Sunny, mom's horse, he was super excited, can you tell?

He loved being outside with grandma.

And mom loved having her grandson over. She watched Marshall while I went to the grocery store and was happy to have some one-on-one time with him. She rocked him in her rocking chair that she's had since we were kids. The last baby she rocked in that chair was ME...hard to believe.

When grandpa got home from golfing he hung out with Marshall on the couch. They enjoyed a little bonding time.

It was a fun day.

The First Tub Bath

2008-09-10T14:59:00.009-06:00

Yesterday Marshall experienced his first bath in which he was placed in the tub of water. He pretty much slept through it. The photos speak for themselves.

After his bath, he was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Enjoy the following post-bath video; it's pretty boring:

As a side note: every night Kreat and I put Marshall in his stroller and take the dogs on a big walk around our neighborhood. It is so refreshing to get outside and stretch my legs after being cooped up in the house all day, and it's doing good things for my weight - I'm down 32 lbs! Anyway, Marshall loves going for rides in the stroller.

Hope all is well across the globe! Give all my nieces and nephews kisses from us.

Go To Sleep Marshall

2008-09-08T00:58:00.004-06:00

Took this video tonight. It's kind of long but thought you all would like a little live action of the Lewis household, dogs included.

After this video was filmed, we were successful in getting Marshmellow to go to sleep - finally!

Bath Time

2008-09-06T14:13:00.005-06:00

I love Tuesdays and Fridays because those are the days that Marshall gets bathed. He loves it and is so funny with his expressions during bath time. It's one of the only times that he is really alert (other than at eleven o'clock at night - then it's not so cute). I took these pics during yesterday's bath. His cord fell off sometime last night, so Tuesday he gets to take a real bath in a real tub! Of course I will take a bunch of cute pics of him during his first time in the tub. Enjoy!

He looks so cute in his hoodie towel!

The final product: A very clean, very cute, very sleepy boy.

Two Weeks Old

2008-09-04T17:20:00.004-06:00

Today I took Marshall to the pediatrician's office for his two week check. Everything is great. He weighed 7#13oz (51st percentile) and was such a trooper when they drew his PKU. This child just does not get upset about much.

He continues to nurse like a pig ("fat baby pig" is what we call him) and he is still sleeping pretty damn well during the night; I'm up about every 3-4 hours so I truly cannot complain. Some nights are better than others, of course, but we're all doing well.

I had to go back to school yesterday so Kreat and Marshall had father-son day. At this age, all that meant was Kreat fed him when he was hungry and changed his pants as needed...not a very exciting day for either of them, but I felt really comfortable leaving them together. Being in class was somewhat of a nice change of pace. I came home on my lunch break and pumped, ate with Kreat, snuggled Marsh-mellow for a while and went back for my last two hours. It was kind of refreshing to be around my peers and participate in something intellectual. We'll see if the enthusiasm continues as the end of school draws near.

Happy Labor Day

2008-09-04T17:07:00.004-06:00

On Monday we celebrated Marshall's first official national holiday: Labor Day. Of course I had to have people over so that I could take photos to put in the baby book under the title "First Holiday" - like he really cares, I know.

So my parents came up from Delta and Marshall's uncle Seth and aunt Laura came over; we barbequed chicken, pork chops and brats and I baked salmon...in true Lewis style, we made way too much food but it was a lot of fun. Marshall dined on the very best breastmilk in town; I'm sure he can't wait until he can stuff his fat little face with pork chops and all the fixins.

Grandpa Krogh spent the majority of his time snuggling with his grandson:

I think that being around Marshall has made Laura's clock start ticking...watch out Seth!

What a good looking family!

It was fun to have some family over and do more in a day than sit on the couch and breastfeed non-stop (those of you who have small babies can relate). And although I stuffed my face, the numbers on the scale are still decreasing! I'm so happy to not be gigantically fat anymore; now I'm just moderately fat.

The Passenger Arrives!

2008-08-29T17:30:00.022-06:00

Let me start by saying that I am sorry for taking so long for this highly anticipated blog entry. After Marshall was born we were overwhelmed with visitors, both in the hospital and once we came home. Life has been ridiculously busy. For those of you who don't know the details:

Marshall Kade Lewis made his big arrival on Thursday August 21, 2008 @ 0749 via C-section. He weighed in at 7#11.5oz and measured just over 20 inches. If you recall, my doctor had measured his head via ultrasound and told us that he thought it was gigantic - it was: 14 3/8 inches...he was not going to come out the other way, even if he had turned around - which he did not.

The morning was very exciting for us. I was really calm about the whole thing. We left for the hospital at 0550 and it was smooth sailing from there. The procedure went flawlessly and I watched them deliver Marshall by having my anesthesiologist hold up a big mirror so that I could see over the drape - he came out feet first. It was absolutely amazing. Marshall's APGAR scores were 9 & 9, he was pink and vigorous. Kreat, Marshall and the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner went to the nursery to monitor Marshall's status while I was being "put back together" (yeah, I watched them do that too...it was cool).

I spent a few hours in recovery before bing moved to my post-partum room (where we remained for the duration of our hospitalization). By the time I was transferred I was able to move myself from my OR bed to my regular bed with very little help. I was feeling great. And just seven hours after delivery I was up in my room, walking. By the time we came home from the hospital on Saturday I was functioning at about 95% - I'm just not allowed to lift anything heavy.

The dogs are adjusted - they think that he is really cool. Kreat and I are making the adjustment pretty well but I will say - it doesn't matter how "prepared" you are, you are never truly "ready". We're doing good and have been enjoying some "family time" without visitors coming and going.

Marshall is such a calm baby. He has yet to actually CRY, like scream/cry. He just doesn't. He'll fuss a little, but is so mellow. I don't know how that happened. When he is awake, he is so alert and attentive. He doesn't just look around, he stares, eyes wide open, taking it all in. He is a great baby. The breastfeeding is going great. He literally needs no help when it comes to eating...he knew what to do from day one and does great. As for the sleeping, we really can't complain. He doesn't cry, even when he wakes up in the night for feedings, he makes squeaky sounds like a guinea pig.

We feel so blessed to have this little person in our lives, he has truly changed us forever. We could not have asked for a more perfect pregnancy, delivery and baby. All is well with us. Enjoy the photos!

The last photo taken: 38 weeks 2 days
On our way to have a baby!

Chatting on the phone in pre-op

My girlfriend Missy came by to see me
Nancy was my nurse for the delivery

Kreat getting ready to enter the OR

Me on the table...If only you could see what they were doing to me while I laid there.

Happy Birthday Marshall!

Our first family photo

Marshall's first bath with Naomi,RN (It was so cool to have all of my beloved co-workers there for this experience)

They brought Marshall to me while I was in recovery. This was the first time I held him.

My parents were so excited about meeting their third grandson; it was a special moment for them both.

My brother, Bob, came by to meet his nephew; Bob had never held a baby this young before. It was really cool.

Grandma Lewis thoroughly checked him over - he passed with flying colors.

Grandpa Lewis and Aunt Katie were pretty impressed with our handy-work.

Kreat's assistant Sue and her husband Dean came by on Saturday to meet our special little guy.

There was a slight adjustment period that Lola had to undergo once we got home. As you can see, she still thought that my lap was her personal space and that our bed was still her bed. She has since learned to share.

Marshall loves the swing that his Aunt Casey and Uncle Jordan bought for him!

Marshall gets a spongebath (6 days old):

A few days after we got home I had to get some homework done so Marshall napped on my lap while I studied.

After being cooped up in the house for over a week, I couldn't take it anymore - Kreat was home so I put on his rain coat and did yardwork. Kreat thought I was super crazy, but it felt great to get something accomplished and to be outside!

We're adjusting well - some days are better than others, but I am really enjoying my little boy and I think Kreat is beginning to understand why I begged for a baby for so long; he loves our little Marsh-mellow.

Four Days Left

2008-08-17T12:25:00.006-06:00

Today was the last time that I attended church pregnant. That means that today was the last time I had to wrangle myself into pantyhose and smash my swollen feet into high heels. The pantyhose came off in the car on the way home and went immediately into the trash can.

This week is going to be crazy for us, as it is the week of The Passenger's big arrival.

Monday we have our last doctor's appointment at 0900 - it's a preoperative appointment; we'll discuss the procedure, possible complications, expected recovery, limitations on what I can and can't do after I come home, etc & I'll sign the consent form. I have a few questions that I'll ask my doctor and I'll have him show Kreat where the incision will be made and approximately how big it will be, just so that he knows what to expect.

Tuesday I have a day at the spa scheduled: 60 minute pregnancy massage, french facial and a deluxe pedicure with a paraffin dip...total time: 3.5 hours of pampering. I can't wait. I want to look beautiful for my son's birth.

Wednesday I go back to school from 0900-1430. Nothing super exciting about the first day of school, except that it means I am almost finished - like, totally, 100% finished. My last semester, FINALLY.

Thursday at 0600 we arrive at the hospital. I'll have an IV started, get a liter of fluids, get hooked up to the monitors so that we have a strip on baby before the delivery and at approximately 0730 I'll walk into the OR, get a nice Duramorph spinal and have a baby!

Friday we will still be in the hospital.

Saturday after 1200 we should be cleared for discharge if everything looks good with me and baby.

It is going to be a very exciting week for us. We are really ready for this pregnancy to be over and for our lives as parents and as a family to start. Keep us in your prayers. We love you all. Kreat will be making very brief phone calls or sending text messages out the morning of the birth to update everyone. We ask that if you get a phone call to remember that we have LOTS of people to call, so don't be offended if it is a very short update - we'll have plenty of time to talk to all of you later that day or over the weekend. I can't believe this is happening already; it feels like I just found out I was pregnant and now I'm having a baby...weird.

P.S. As of last night he finally has a name...at least for now.

It's The Final Count-Down!

2008-08-13T11:36:00.003-06:00

Last night my girlfriends from work threw a dual baby shower for myself and Missy (who is about 4 weeks behind me in the running). It was a lot of fun but I didn't take any pictures! I know, loser. Melanie took a ton, so when I get them from her, I will post them for all to enjoy.

An exciting tid-bit: in T minus 8 days I will be having a baby! Holy crap. Eight days. The count-down is on and my house is being cleaned feverishly. Kreat scrubbed bathrooms for me (I refused to do it; my least favorite cleaning task) and I have been giving every nook and cranny the once over. The other night at 2330 I was cleaning the oven and Kreat said, "Uh, hon, I don't think the baby's going to look that close..." Nevertheless, I continued in my efforts to make the house "suitable" for our anticipated arrival.

On the agenda for today: wash all of the blankets, burp cloths, wash cloths and newborn/0-3 month outfits and get them put away for use. I stayed up last night assembling the swing (thanks Jordan & Casey!), bouncer seat, diaper genie and baby monitors. Who knew that one little person would entale so much preparation...I have a feeling this child is going to be a little bit spoiled. The hard part is trying to find space for all of the baby paraphanalia that has been accumulating.

We don't have our bags packed for the hospital - I figure I know when I'm going so I'll pack the night before, take an Ambien, get a good night's sleep then go have a baby. Isn't that funny? There's not much guessing with this, is there? No anticipation of my water breaking or running to hospital in the middle of the night...we're just going to go in and have a baby. I love it. It suits a control-freak, fanatic planner like myself to a T.

It's Official

2008-08-05T15:13:00.006-06:00

Yesterday at my doctor's appointment my stubborn baby was in the exact (literally, exact) same position that he has been in for over 6 weeks now. He is folded in half, his feet are by his head and bottom is sunken into my pelvis - where his head should be - and his head is up under my right breast.

So, here's the big announcement: on Thursday August 21 @ 0730 I am having a C-section.

To be quite honest, I'm so excited! I can't wait to see him and hold him. I don't really care how he gets here, as long as he gets here safely. I feel as though I have a slight advantage, because I have seen so many C-sections and know what to expect that my anxiety level is at a 1/10. I'm ready.

We should be cleared to leave the hospital on Saturday the 23, if all goes as planned. I've prepped Kreat for how the procedure goes and what he can expect from all of this. He has been so supportive and more than anything just wants a healthy baby.

So in 16 days we will have a beautiful baby boy. I could not be happier.

P.S. He still does not have a name.

Announcement!

2008-08-02T16:43:00.004-06:00

There has been a slight alteration in a vital part of the baby's arrival - we have decided to change his name.

After much consideration, and the fact that Kreat listens to everyone else on the planet other than me, the baby will no longer have the initials KML. Someone mentioned to him the other day that there was this really popular boy name right now - it was the name that Kreat had selected and I had agreed to.

For the record, when Kreat and I settled on this name, I said to him, "Ya know, I hear that name, and variations of it, all the time; it's super popular right now. So if you're okay with that, I am."

Kreat is now saying that he has no recollection of ME telling him that the name was popular, but now that this other person has said it, the name is changing.

We are currently in deliberations over a new name. We are dropping the "K" name, keeping the "M" name which will either be moved to the new first name or remain the middle name and a the runner-up first name will be implemented. It's quite complicated.

So six weeks ago I thought I had this figured out and here were are again, like three weeks away from his big arrival and he is back to baby no-name. This is ridiculous.

Baby Shower

2008-07-30T23:16:00.011-06:00

Tonight was my first baby shower. My girlfriend Kim hosted and we had a wonderful time. The turn out was good, about 25 ladies; we ate cake, drank freshing citrus-ie punch and enjoyed each other's company. For those of you who could not attend, you were dearly missed. Enjoy the photos!

The cake was designed to look exactly like the napkins and plates - so cute! And it was absolutely delicious! The same bakery that made my wedding cake made this:

For the record, I am 35 1/7 here:

One of my best friend's, Jamee, bought me this super-chic designer diaper bag...she spent way too much, but I love it!

All those who attended (and some who didn't) were more than generous in their gift-giving:

This shelf that is shaped like a canoe was also a gift (the things on it were gifts too, but they aren't for sure staying on this shelf):

Just as a side note: I finished painting all of the fish in the nursery!

Quick Update

2008-07-28T21:36:00.002-06:00

At the doctor's appointment today everything went fine. I didn't do the version and I felt really good about that decision.

We did have the ultrasound which is still showing our little guy in the frank-breech presentation. He's just happy as a clam in there. According to the measurements, he weighs 6 pounds (+/- 1 pound)!! That's huge for 35 weeks! I'm hoping he's more on the 5 pound side of things, but if he really is giant then it means less weight to come off of my tushy in a month.

During the ultrasound when my doctor was measuring baby's head, I noticed he was taking a long time;

"What 'cha looking at?" I asked.

The reply: "Um, did either of you have particularly large heads when you were born?"

We both said that we don't recall ever hearing that our heads were huge...(I knew where this was going)...

"Why?" I asked, knowing what he was going to say.

"Let's just say, it might be better for you if this baby doesn't turn around."

Great. My kid has an abnormally large head - he better be freakin' brilliant. We have another ultrasound next Monday; the plan is to keep an eye on him for a while and see what he decides to do. We'll keep you all posted. Other than that, everything is great. The nursery has three more fish on the walls, I don't have to stay on bedrest any more and we're just going to let mother nature/my stubborn child run the show. Kreat and I are getting really excited for his big arrival.

Yellow-Belly Chicken

2008-07-28T10:12:00.005-06:00

So, my doctor's appointment is this evening at 1615. I'm going to go, do my ultrasound, see just how fat I really am... blah, blah, blah - all the usual stuff. Though, after much contemplation and a large dose of reality (I'll explain) I'm not going to try to turn my rotten, stubborn child today.

Although I've been on bedrest, I had to work Saturday night (1900-0700) in the NICU. My doctor said that as long as I took it easy and sat down a lot that I could go in. So I did. Low and behold, one of my babies, who was delievered two days prior, was the exact same gestation as MY baby. This was a little creepy. I have seen a ton of babies in the NICU; some of them have been 26-27 weekers weighing in at just over a pound and others have been 38-39 weekers who are big and fat, but are having some troubles. But this time, it was weird - I looked at this baby and thought to myself, "That could be my baby," referring to the fact that if we tried to turn him today and something went awry, that is what my baby would look like, essentially.

I thought about it during the whole shift and all day Sunday. I just can't do it. Not at this point. I would feel too guilty if something happened. I know that I'm getting closer and closer to my due date, but I just can't try to turn him today knowing that there is a possibility that I could deliver him today.

So we are going to sit tight and see what my baby wants to do. In theory, he could turn on his own; if he does not (I'm not counting on it...plan for the worst, hope for the best) then we'll go from there. But today, we're going to have a lovely doctor's appointment, see our son, take his measurements - I wonder how big he his, because I feel enormous! - and leave him alone. We'll keep you all posted.

Down For The Count

2008-07-25T09:25:00.009-06:00

Okay - I'm 34 3/7 today which makes me realize that I'm going to be having a baby, like, really soon. I'm not quite sure that I'm "ready" for that, but I feel relatively "prepared."

I've had some time to think about the prospect of becoming a mother, lots of time, actually...because I got put on bed rest.

Wednesday was like any other day for me - I got up, ate cottage cheese and a piece of peanut butter toast and finished it off with a cold glass of cranberry juice (lately, that's all I want to eat for breakfast; weird). I immediately started into the hustle and bustle of painting more fish on the walls of the nursery; a daunting task but one that I enjoy. I turn on the radio and totally tune out the stresses of life while I stencil brightly colored fish on my son's walls. It's been pretty therapeutic for me amid the other stressors I am dealing with.

At about 1300 I started getting really terrible, sharp pains in my belly. They would last for maybe 30 seconds to a full minute and would then go away. Then they would come back. They weren't predictable, so I cast them aside as me being dehydrated. I filled up my Nalgene bottle with ice water and kept painting. The pains kept coming. I only stencilled three fish (it takes about an hour a fish, then about an hour to clean up...) and I called it a day because I was so uncomfortable. I headed into the kitchen, ran a load of dishes, and stared intently at the browning bananas on the counter wishing that they would magically turn themselves into banana bread, "I'll make it tomorrow," I said to myself. Another pain shot through my abdomen, stopping me mid-walk from the kitchen to the living room; "I need to rest," I said to Lola.

By 1830 the pains were still coming in an unpredictable pattern, but not easing in their intensity. I called my girlfriend Kim, a NICU RN/mother of three, and ran the day's events past her. "Give it an hour and if there's no relief, call your doc." That's exactly what I was going to do, but needed moral support. At 2000 I paged my physician and told him what was up.

"Are you sure they aren't contractions?" he asks me...
"I think they are, but I don't know. I've never done this before. You tell me." I reply. (My doctor and I have a great relationship - I never feel like I have to hold back my true personality with him; I'm pretty blunt).
"Alright, I want you to come on in [to St. Mary's] and get put on the monitor. Let's see what we've got here. I'll tell the girls you're coming."

So, I find Kreat and very casually say, "You might want to get dressed, and I'm going to jump into the shower. We have to go to the hospital." Keep in mind that Kreat has been so nonchalant about this whole "my wife's pregnant/I'm going to be a dad" thing, and for the first time, I saw a little fire in his eyes. He did not flip out or fly into a panic, but it certainly got his attention. I was glad to see that he wasn't a robot.

We got to the hospital and I must admit, it felt a little funny to be a patient. The entire staff that was on that night are very good work-friends of mine, which was great because I know them and I trust their abilities, but it was kind of weird. I got changed into the ever-so-lovely gown, peed in the specimen cup and laid down. Kreat asked me why I didn't just hook myself up to the monitor, which I could have done without problem, but I was there as a patient, not as a nurse.

Rachel came into the room, greeted me with a big smile and was very professional. She asked me what was goin' on and why I came in, what other symptoms I was having, etc. She hooks me up to the monitor and there I laid for about fifteen minutes. The whole time, I'm reading my own strip and making commentary to Kreat, "Baby looks great. My uterus looks like crap." I showed Kreat what I saw and confirmed it when Rachel returned - "You're not dehydrated [they can tell from when they dip my pee] and baby is looking really good, but you have one irritable uterus that is really liking to contract."

She had the small ultrasound machine with her to check placement of the baby. Before she even started, I told her what we already knew, "He's totally breech. His head's right here [I put my hand on my belly under my right breast]. He's been there since I was 21 weeks." We took a quick look and there he sat. Happy and breech. Nothing new for us. She hooked me back up to the monitor and left to call my doctor. I was able to avoid a cervical check - because I begged and pleaded to bypass that at this stage - and here's what was determined after Rachel spoke with my doctor:

I'm not really in preterm labor, but I'm have lots of preterm contractions. The bad thing about that is because baby is breech and these contractions are so frequent (I first noticed them about three weeks ago...) that baby is being wedged into my pelvis in the breech position, which does not bode well for a vaginal birth, or for the fact that we were going to try version (a manual technique to try to turn baby into the vertex position) at 36 weeks. However, these contractions are muddying up the whole thing.

So, because my son is a turd and is already making the rules around here, my version appointment was moved up to Monday 07/28, which is 35 weeks, because the more time I spend contracting with him breech the harder it is going to be to move him. I left the hospital with bedrest and bathroom priviledges only. That sucks.

Another problem we face is that version is not without possible complications. Three things can happen with aversion:
1) my water can break
2) I can abrupt [my placenta can tear away from my uterus]
3) I can go into labor
None of these are very good things to have happen at 35 weeks. And there is no guarantee that my baby will turn around; it's about 50/50.

So, if one of the above mentioned things occurs, I go to emergency C-section and deliver a healthy, but premature, baby who will spend like 3 weeks in the NICU.

If none of the above mentioned things occur, there's still a chance that baby will not turn. In which case, I get scheduled for a C-section, because babies are not meant to be born vaginally when they are breech.

However, there is the chance that none of the above mentioned things will occur, baby will turn, and I will have him vaginally. We shall see what happens.

I don't have to do the version; but by not doing it, I get scheduled for a C-section. Period. I feel like I have to give it a shot. I'm not retarded, I'm aware of risks, but like anything else in pregnancy and child birth, there are TONS of risks, most of which the non-medical population don't even know about.

Anyway. That's what's new with us. I'm on bedrest and I hate it. I'm staring at dirty carpet, fighting the urge to vaccum and the even more brown bananas are calling to me from the kitchen. And there are about ten more fish that need to be painted in the nursery...torture. I just have to sit tight until Monday when we'll actually know how this baby is going to make his big arrival.

Nursery Phase II

2008-07-21T15:06:00.004-06:00

A week after I began the paint project in the nursery, it's done...the painting that is. As you know, I am a very meticulous, detail oriented person; that explains why it took me one week to paint a very small room.

I started with Costa Rica blue, being incredibly careful to not get any on the ceiling and to ensure that the ceiling was cut in just perfectly. The blue part was the easy part. Next came the base board - I had to mask off the carpet and my beautiful blue walls to guarantee a perfectly clean finish. The taping took forever. So there I was, 33.5 weeks pregnant, scooting around the room on my butt, taping off base board; my legs went numb.

After the taping was completed, I started the white paint. Now, because I am painting over tan with white, it took me three coats of white paint to get the right coverage. That means it took three times longer than I wanted to spend on my butt in the nursery. But it does look beautiful. After the base boards were done, I had to paint the window sill white and the door jam; by this point in the project, my patience was running out and I still had the closet doors, the bedroom door and 40' of chair rail to paint. Kreat could tell that I was getting a little "snippy" - he went to Lowe's to pick up my chair rail and came home with a professional paint sprayer to save my back and wrists from any further strain.

He sprayed all of my chair rail for me (prior to putting it up), the closet doors and the bedroom door - he saved me an easy eight hours of brush painting. It was lovely. After I put the chair rail up, and yes I cut it and everything myself, Kreat helped me hang the doors up, put the blinds back on the window and... TA DA! Phase II is complete, the hardest part is over. Now I need to move the furniture back and decorate the room.

When Phase III is completed I will post more photos. Enjoy the attached - it's going to be really cute when it's finished; for those who don't know, the theme is fish & ocean, which is why I painted it Costa Rica blue...

Lots of Catching Up To Do

2008-07-15T20:40:00.006-06:00

In usual slacker style, I have failed to update my blog even though I promised I would after Kreat and I went to Breckenridge. Well, I'm still a loser, but enjoy my photos:

The day we left for Breckenridge we had a 4D Ultrasound (I take it you have seen the images from that). Here's me at 30 2/7 weeks awaiting the big moment (I look so fat, it's hilarious!):

View from our hotel room and the super gorgeous drive through the Rockies:

A few weeks after returning from Breckenridge, Kreat celebrated his 31st birthday. To my surprise, he picked a chocolate-on-chocolate cake; I'm not sure if that's what he truly wanted or if he was just trying to make his super pregnant wife happy - either way, it was delicious.

And as promised, here's my ever growing belly. Pardon the no-makeup look, but I took these on impulse for your viewing pleasure. I'm 33 1/7 today and have gained 31lbs. I know, it's ridiculous. I've come to terms with the fact that I will gain an easy 40lbs with this baby...whatever.

Other than the above activities, not much else is happening with us. I started painting the nursery yesterday. I figured that this is my first baby and I better just do it so I won't have any regrets. Right now, I'm regretting the decision to paint the stupid room. I'm tired, my back hurts and I'm sick of climbing up and down the damn latter every five minutes because the phone rings constantly. I swear, no one calls me when I'm doing nothing but the second I undertake a project that I'm trying to make stress-free and enjoyable - every one wants to talk. No offense to those who have called mid-brush-stroke, I love you all, but you climb a latter fifty thousand times with 31 extra lbs strapped to your butt. When phase two of the nursery is done, I'll post photos.

Summer school officially ended the first week of July, but if you recall, I was going to do a bunch of extra stuff this summer on my own so that I won't have to do it once the baby gets here. So I am currently in the middle of completing 116 hours of clinical time in Labor & Delivery, NICU, OB and Pediatrics. I'll be totally done with all of that garbage on the 26th. Putting the time in isn't so bad, but the 125 pages of careplans, worksheets and evaluations is killer.

There is an end in site! To those of you I haven't spoken with in a while (Susan...Berkley...Cecilie...) know that I love you and am thinking about you. Susan, let me know when you deliver Lincoln, no matter what time it is.

Until next time...

Would You Like to Meet Our Son?

2008-06-27T13:03:00.009-06:00

So I thought I wasn't going to be able to upload these images until we got home, but thanks to WiFi, you are all getting an extra special glimpse into my womb a little earlier than anticipated. As you know, we had a 4D ultrasound yesterday before leaving for Breckenridge. This was a truly amazing experience.

Here are a few great photos for you all to enjoy.

This is a really cute video clip of him. It's hard to believe that he's really inside of me...Kind of makes me feel like a mama alien.

The Straw That Broke The Camel's Back

2008-06-25T16:39:00.005-06:00

Holy sh**. Just when I think that my life is calming down to a reasonably stressful environment, it gets sky rocketed back to unbearable, completely intolerable, 10/10 on the stress-o-meter bad. Kreat and I are supposed to go out of town tomorrow for a lovely, stress free weekend. I got up this morning, started on a bunch of homework that I needed to turn in this afternoon, ate breakfast with Kreat...everything was fine. Kreat went on his way to work.

I was playing with Lola and ruffled her head in my hands, like I do all the time. This time, Lola whips her head back, yelps in pain and tries to bite my hand. Now, for those of you who know Lola, she is not an aggressive dog; she has never, under any circumstance tried to bite a human, not even a kid. I knew something was wrong. I sat her down, wrapped my legs around her tightly, so that she couldn't wiggle out, and began examining her ears. Turns out, her right ear was so swollen on the inside that I could not look down into it. Her outer ear (the part that sticks up) was not inflammed, but the base of her head and the inside of her ear were huge, comparably. "Oh goody" I thought, "just what I need today."

I called our vet that has seen Lola for 4 years and I brought her right in. They called me about 30 minutes after I returned home from dropping her off and this is what the doctor says to me:

"Lola's right ear is encompassed in a hematoma (a collection of blood underneath the skin). Has she been scratching her head or ears a lot lately? [Yes, I reply] There appears to be a foreign body stuck in her ear, which has caused irritation and the subsequent itching of her head, and that itching has broken blood vessels, causing the hematoma. I will need to do surgery to drain the hematoma, cut out the damaged tissue and remove the foreign body. I'll call you when I'm finished."

Super. So $200 later, I bring my heavily sedated dog home from the vet with a viking horn bandage on her right ear. She hates this bandage; I went to pee, come out and the bandage is 2/3 of the way off - Lola is passed out on the couch. Screw this, she's getting an E-collar. Kreat's going to pick it up on his way home from work. In the mean time, Titan thinks that Lola's viking horn is a chew toy. If I leave the room for more than 1 minute, he is found chewing on it and trying to pull it off. He's not helping.

I don't know what I did to Karma in my life to deserve all of this crap, but whatever it was, I think I've paid my dues. Now, Lola has to go to the kennel tomorrow so that we can go out of town - which makes me a total anxiety stricken mess - but she has to wear the E-collar, which means I have to trust the staff at the kennel to keep it on her and they also have to administer her antibiotics three times a day. I don't have a whole lot of faith in people who's big ambition in life was to work at a bording kennel, so I'm guessing that I will return on Sunday to a dog with a massive infection, which will then turn septic and my dog will die. All because I tried to go on a nice weekend vacation with my husband.

The viking hat, poor Lola is so out of it:

On the lighter side, Titey thinks it's funny to sleep in our bed when he thinks no one is looking...

A Hallmark Day

2008-06-24T19:55:00.005-06:00

Today marks a great day in my pregnancy. I am 30 weeks along - I can't believe that in 2 months, give or take, I will be having a baby - but more importantly...Kreat and I have officially named the passenger! Yep, today we came to agreement on a first and middle name. Our child is no longer "baby" or "the kid" but he's a real-named human. I'm so excited. Sorry to disappoint, but we are not releasing the name until he makes his big debut. We will give you a very broad hint: he will have the same three initials as one of his grandparents. We weren't trying to make it that way, it's just how it ended up. The name possibilities to figure that out are endless, we know, but it's all you're getting from us.

I know I haven't blogged in a long time, but life has been ridiculously busy and has brought me to tears many times in the last three and a half weeks; things are starting to lighten up, but the outlook continues to be overwhelming. I'm trying to take things one day at a time. I will blog more after this weekend - Kreat and I are going on a get-a-way to Breckenridge this Thursday-Sunday; we should have some beautiful pictures and I'll be sure to take one of my GIANT belly. This baby is going to be huge or I'm going to have lots of lb's to lose postpartum. Oh, on Thursday morning on our way out of town we have a doctor's appointment to have a 4-D ultrasound done - the pictures from that should be amazing - we'll post any good ones we get. Love you all and sorry for being a blogging loser. I'll get better when life calms down (in mid December).

Nursery: Phase I

2008-05-30T16:12:00.009-06:00

Remember the dilemma I was having over what to do with the nursery furniture that was boxed all over my house? Well, about a week ago, I moved my brother's stuff into the front bed room and began phase one of Project Nursery. I assembled all of the furniture, by myself I might add, and set everything where I wanted it. The walls are still bare and paint less and there are no drapes on the window, but that will just have to wait. At least I don't have giant boxes strewn all over my house. It's nice to actually have a space for my little nugget of joy, even though he's not here yet.

The crib:

The most comfy rocker ever!

Changing Table:

Car Seat - This was a gift from my mom.

Summer semester is in full swing. I hate it. I'm keeping my eye on the prize, working hard and doing my best to remain focused. I finished last semester with decent grades; I knew I wasn't going to get a 4.0 this time and I didn't even try. I just could not put in the emotional and mental effort, I took my 3.75 with a big smile on my face and said "Two more semesters to go!"

Question: Why do people think that they can touch my belly? For those of you who have experienced this, please comment. People who normally don't talk to me (and perfect strangers) are now touching my belly - why? I would never walk up to a fat chick and start rubbing her flab, so why do people assume that they can rub my belly? Just because there is a baby in there doesn't make it any less awkward. When my son is born I certainly don't want people touching him without permission, so why wouldn't they ask before they put their filthy, nose-picking fingers on my belly? It boggles me.

The belly: 26 4/7 weeks

P.S. Don't judge my dirty bathroom - I asked for it to be cleaned two weeks ago and I refuse to break down and do it myself. It's the principle of the matter...

While I Have the Time

2008-05-18T14:29:00.008-06:00

I figured I should put up a few photos of what we did this weekend, considering I go back to school tomorrow and life is about to get very hectic.

My stroller and the nursery bedding arrived right on time, so naturally I had to get it all out and play with it. I pushed Lola around in the stroller, she wasn't impressed. I made Kreat feel all of the pieces of the bedding and "ooh and aahh" over how soft they are; he didn't really care, but went along with it to make me happy.

Yesterday (Saturday), I planted our small, yet enjoyable garden. Due to the configuration of our yard and the fact that we have two dogs that love to dig, we plant our vegetables every year in whiskey barrels. It's not much, but I love doing it. This year our theme is "Salsa" - totally influenced by my Mexican cravings. Our goal is to grow our own ingredients to make our own salsa...wish us luck.

Cilantro: According to the little plastic stick in the soil of the plant, each of these tiny little things will grow to fill the entire pot...

Onions: Each little green thing is the start of one onion. We planted 27 of them.

Tomatoes: We only planted two; that should be plenty.

Peppers: Mucho Nacho's and Jalapeno's...delicious. We planted six plants. Notice the chicken wire surrounding the plants? The dogs LOVE peppers and without this reinforcement, they will eat any pepper that grows on these plants.

Lola and Titan weren't very productive as I schlept dirt and plants around, they were more interested in watching us.

This photo was taken today - 24 5/7 weeks; my son is almost viable. Explanation: at 25/26 weeks fetus's are considered "viable" meaning they can theorectically survive outside of the womb. And because I have taken care of 26 week babies in the NICU, I would really like my son to remain in-utero for a long time to come; no preemie please.

It's Been a While

2008-05-15T10:32:00.009-06:00

Okay, I know I've totally slacked with the blogging, but for good reason. I finished my finals yesterday - thank goodness! I studied for four straight days for my advanced medical/surgical cumulative final and ROCKED IT! 97%! And I took the entire test while laying on the floor of my classroom because I was so nauseated and lightheaded that I couldn't sit upright in a chair. Ah, the joys of pregnancy and nursing school. I also had my advanced health assessment final yesterday (don't know the results of that one yet) and had to turn in my end-of-the-semester portfolio. Let's just say that when I got home from school last night, I was completely worthless - no, really. I went to Chipolte, got a chicken burrito with black beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, lettuce and cilantro rice, came home sat on the couch, ate the whole thing, and didn't move until I went to bed. My brain was mush.

Although the spring semester is over, I start summer school on Monday morning. Four days a week. Yippee (sense the tone). Summer school runs until the first part of July, then I have 13 12-hour shifts to complete during the month of July, also for school, so that I don't have to do them once the baby is here. My summer "vacation" will be a whopping total of 18 days...August 1-18, then fall semester begins, I have a baby and I find out what I'm really made of. Pray for me.

This morning I had a chiropractic appointment. I have been experiencing the most miserable sciatic nerve pain for weeks now, some days I truly cannot walk from my bedroom to the kitchen. I finally decided to try chiropractic therapy - I've been impressed. This morning was my third appointment and I've been feeling great. For those of you who don't know what sciatic nerve pain feels like, let me tell you: on my worst day last week I could not sit, lay on my back, lay on either side or stand without continuous sharp, shooting pain running down my left leg, starting at my glute and radiating to my calf. There was no position that helped it, but every movement hurt it. And because I am pregnant, there were no anti-inflammatory drugs that I could take for it. Just good ole Tylenol, which does nothing. It was lovely. But, I'm feeling much better.

The baby furniture and miscellaneous items have been arriving to the house, which is quite exciting. For those of you who don't know, my brother Bob has been staying with us; he's actually in the room that the baby will be in, so we have boxes of baby furniture strewn around the house and closets of stuff because there's no place to put it yet. We can't set the furniture up yet, because what are going to do with it? Leave it in the living room? Bob won't be with us much longer and then I can tackle the most exciting part of this journey: nesting. I love to clean and decorate and I am super excited about that. We have more stuff on the way. The nursery bedding will be arriving tomorrow, the stroller will be arriving on Saturday, the rocking chair and cushions will be arriving end of the month. I don't know where we are going to put all of this stuff in the mean time. Our entire garage is filled (literally every inch of it) with Bob's stuff...who knew one person could have so much stuff! [For the record, we totally love having Bob with us and he knows that he has a ton of stuff; I'm not in any way taking shots at my brother, so don't take it wrong].

Here are some photos I thought you'd enjoy.

This was taken on Sunday May 11; I was 23 6/7 weeks. This dress does not show how truly huge I am...

Closets of stuff:

This is our changing table. It's in the dining room. Beautiful, isn't it?

More nursery stuff. One of these boxes has the ottoman to my rocking chair in it.

This is the crib...

Lola was helping me this morning

Here's mattress and changing table pad, which are being stored behind my exericise bike, which is boxed in with all of this stuff. Not really being used much right now.

I took these this morning, using Bob's bathroom to aid in the one-person-photography trial...Not bad. See, I totally look like a bus.

And finally - the belly! And I know it's only going to get worse.

The Wait Is Over!!

2008-04-22T16:47:00.002-06:00

I'm 21 weeks today. We had another ultrasound, but this time, we were successful! For those of you who are just as curious as we were, Kreat and I are expecting a baby boy in September!!!!! There was no question this time. Dr. Robbins started the ultrasound and when he moved it down to the baby's bottom, I blurted out "That's a boy!" I was right. It was pretty obvious. Kreat is super excited. I'm headed out to go shopping with my girlfriend Jill, because now I know what to buy! I'm really excited to coordinate the bedding with paint and decorations for the room. The only thing that I'm not looking forward to is negotiating a name with Kreat. For those of you who know him, he's not big on compromise...this should be fun.

I'm Dreamin' of Another Man...

2008-04-16T17:12:00.003-06:00

Okay, so last night I went to bed, exhausted. I slept harder than I have for such a long time - it was wonderful. Yet I awakened in the middle of the night after another dream regarding the gender of my unborn child. These dreams are always very vivid. In last night's dream I was at my ultrasound appointment next week, but Kreat wasn't able to make it. I went, determined to find out the gender of this baby. In the dream my physician was performing the ultrasound and I was watching the monitor, but it was like I was looking at the baby in real life. And again, I dreamed that this baby is a boy. It was very clear and lifelike; strange. I am growing very convinced that I am having a boy. Hopefully we will know in a few days. That means we better dust off the ole list of boy names that we haven't touched in weeks and get down to business. I'm getting really excited.

Halfway There!

2008-04-15T10:09:00.003-06:00

Today, I am 20 weeks along and 8.5 pounds heavier. I'm not so excited about the lbs, but I'll take it. Next Tuesday we go in for our ultrasound; I'll be sure to post more photos of our little guy (or girl).

The baby moves around a lot, I don't know what it's doing in there, but it's keeping very busy. The other day Kreat and I were on the couch, I was laying on my side watching tv and WHACK! The baby made a running start in what I think was an effort to escape; I had never felt it move like that before. It startled me and was kind of uncomfortable, so I scolded it and told it that I was going to count to three and that if it didn't stop hitting me I was going to have to come in there...I'm practicing my discipline techniques early.

We ordered nursery furniture, which was very exciting. Just the basics, since we don't know what color scheme to use yet - a crib, changing table and rocking chair with ottoman. I'm excited to see it and set it up, but I'll be more excited when I know what this child is so that I can paint the room and decorate!

For those of you who are curious:

A Very Stubborn Child Dwells Within

2008-03-31T12:21:00.005-06:00

So, we had our ultrasound this morning. I am 18 weeks along. It was so fascinating to see our little person. They estimated the weight at 0.66lbs and everything appears very healthy and normal: 2 arms, 2 legs, 2 feet, 2 hands, a 4-chambered heart (with a heartbeat), a stomach, an intact spinal column, etc. It even has private parts. Parts that this child deems so private that he/she would not show us. This baby was looking right at us the entire time and I just know it was smirking as it held its legs tightly closed. So, we will attempt it again on April 22 at 1530. I am in a very bad mood.

Hands:

Feet:

Face & Belly:

Disappointment

2008-03-28T12:05:00.003-06:00

Kreat and I were so excited for today. We were scheduled to have an ultrasound at 1200 to try and determine the baby's gender. I was up at 0730, went to the grocery store, got online to make final bedding selections depending on the gender, and tried my darndest to keep busy. I had just hung up the phone with my girlfriend Melanie (we were planning to do lunch after the appointment to celebrate) when the phone rang. It was my doctor's office: my physician got called to an emergency C-section and I was rescheduled for Monday at 1045. I am very disappointed. I know that if it were me having a baby and something went wrong that I would want my doc there, but today was really important to me. Oh well. Check the blog on Monday afternoon everyone - if we know anything we will release the info on here. Love you. Pray that the baby cooperates on Monday because we are dying to know.

Our Final Batch of Photos...Whew!

2008-03-22T13:30:00.005-06:00

The cars in Rome were small, to say the least:

In Sorrento, there are orange and lemon trees everywhere. They were beautiful.

The McDonald's in Rome is enormous, two stories, beautiful mosaics and a cafe...it was fancy.

Even in Rome: What can brown do for you? (Not much in this tiny thing!)

Our hotel:

Neither of us tried it...

Although it wasn't hot, Kreat got a little sweaty after a long day of site seeing:

A few of our favorite places to eat:

On our 11 hour flight home we caught a glimpse of Canada's Hudson Bay from 36000 feet:

Of the five hundred photos we took, that's all you're getting! I hope you enjoyed them. We're really glad we took this trip prior to having a baby. Now we can say we've been there, done that. It was the trip of a lifetime, but I'm proud to live in America, where Coke is cheap, cars are big and there's air conditioning!

More Photos From Our Trip

2008-03-22T10:01:00.026-06:00

Palatine Hill & The Roman Forums

These doors are 2500 years old, are still usable and the lock and key mechanism are still functioning...that's good craftsmanship.

These photos are of Cesar's tomb.

St. Peter's in Chains Basilica

This sculpture is of Moses, Rebecca and Leah; by Michelangelo

We went to dinner and watched this old Italian woman make fettuccini

Spanish Steps: Super Crowded

Trevi Fountain

The Pantheon

Pompei
Mt. Vesuvius

They figured out how the plumb their city with lead pipes. Impressive. However, they did get lead poisoning.

Look closely at this one: it's a dog, on its back. The owner's left it chained up when they escaped the eruption.

View of the Tyrrenhian Sea: Day Trip from Pompei to Sorrento

The Vatican Museum
We were not allowed to take photos inside the Sistine Chapel, however, it was beautiful. Enjoy the photos of the rest of the museum.

This sculpture inspired Michelangelo to create the David, which is on display in Pisa.

This is my kind of tub!

Cleopatra's kind of tub; she bathed in it, but instead of water, she preferred goat's milk...

Mosaic flooring

The next four photos are of hand woven tapestries, created by Raphael.

This is the end of our cultural and historical photograph collection. The next publishing will include miscellaneous photos from our trip. Stay tuned!

Roma!

2008-03-21T07:53:00.011-06:00

I'm not going to go on and on about our trip because photos are worth a thousand words. We had a wonderful time and saw so much! It was really an amazing experience. Every day was packed full with tours of places that I had only read about in history books. It was an exhausting trip but well worth the time and money. Although, the Romans are pretty proud of their Coca-Cola...to the tune of $3-6 U.S. dollars per can! We drank a lot of water.

The Center of Vatican City

St. Peter's Basilica

This is a real pope who was embalmed and entombed in St. Peter's Basilica:

The Colloseum

They have been cleaning the Colloseum; check out all the pollution that's accumulated over the years:

This is showing the holding places that are located underneath the Colloseum floor where they held the fighters and animals prior to the games:

The Arch of Constantine

My New Car

2008-03-20T19:24:00.005-06:00

So, after we got home from Rome, we heard from the insurance company. They deemed my car a total loss and gave us a check for the value. Well that's nice, but it leaves me with no car. Kreat and I weren't planning on purchasing a new car for another year or so, after all, we have a baby to pay for and they aren't cheap. But after a little shopping I found a smokin' deal on this car. It's a white Toyota Highlander with only 15000 miles on it, keeping it well under factory warranty. It's not super fancy, it doesn't have leather seats or a nav system, but it's really clean and will hold atleast two car seats. It also is 4WD and seats seven. We're pretty happy with it. But it's still a bummer that we have a car payment, after all, my car was paid in full at the time of the accident. I must have bad karma.

Off to a Rough Start

2008-03-17T09:16:00.011-06:00

In my last publishing, I told you all that Kreat and I were preparing to embark on a wonderful European adventure, full of history and culture. We were very excited about taking this trip together. However, preparation for such an endeavor is highly stressful; to the point of tears. There were so many details to finalize regarding my schoolwork, the dogs kenneling, Kreat's work and most importantly, time with my family.

As it turned out, a very rare event was to take place the day prior to our departure: my entire family was getting together for the first time in three years. I had not seen my brother Jordan and his wife since shortly after Kreat and I were married, and it had been seven months since the last time I had seen my brother Jared, his wife Susan, and their two beautiful children. So for me, spending as much time as physically possible with my family before we left was priority number one.

We achieved our goal of getting everything settled and had set aside time to spend at my parent's house for about 36 hours before we had to leave. It was wonderful to see everyone. I had forgotten how much fun it was to have my family, my whole family, together.

Then things got interesting: Susan and I decided to run to the grocery store at around 1600, then to get a quick bite to eat (since the two pregnant woman can't go more than about four hours without food). It was a nice day; just the way I wanted to spend it. I was driving us home from getting tacos when we were hit by a car who ran a stop sign. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This is not happening...not today...not the day before I leave on vacation. The first thing Susan said to me before I called 911 was "Don't tell them we're pregnant! They'll make us go to the hospital." So the police arrived and we spent a little over an hour dealing with them, my dad came to get us because my car is in no way driveable and my vehicle was towed to the body shop where it has been sitting for just under two weeks. Lovely. The irony: Kreat's dad and sister Katie were involved in a car accident the day before; the other driver ran a stop sign. My car was parked next to their car in the body shop parking lot.

It gets better. We got up Wednesday morning, March 6 at the crack of dawn to pack for the trip, dropped the dogs off at the kennel (which broke my heart) and we were off the airport, right on time. We checked in, checked our bags and were seated at the terminal awaiting departure. Now, travelling stresses me out majorly. I don't like delays, I'm paranoid about missing flights and having bags lost. So naturally, I was watching the clock as we sat by the gate, minute by minute. Our plane arrived, de-planed the arriving passengers and I'm thinking "right on schedule," however, we still weren't bording and I was getting nervous. Our flight was to land in Denver at 1200 and we were to be off the ground to Munich at 1400. Then the announcement was made at 1130 "Passengers scheduled to board flight XXXX to Denver, we are having mechanical problems. Please go back to the ticket counter where an agent will rebook you. Thank you." Super. So here we are, in a line of fifty million people who all need rebooking to Denver...bottom line? We never made it to Denver, missed our connection to Munich, the airlines tried to reroute us across the entire planet (not kidding) and we spent 6 hours in our hometown airport at the ticket counter before we said screw it.

We never made it to Germany. We did however, manage to get into Rome a few days early, which was great, but the whole exprience was rediculous. On the bright side, after deciding to scratch Germany, we realized that we would have two more days in Delta with my family. That part was awesome. We threw our bags in the back of the Tahoe, picked the dogs back up from the kennel and went to Delta where we have a wonderful time with my wonderful family. A silver lining to a horrible way to start a vacation.

Our beautiful niece Leslie, who really gets called "Peanie"

Our very handsome and so funny nephew J.R., who really gets called "Buddy"

13 Weeks and Counting

2008-02-27T12:46:00.005-07:00

Not a whole lot has happened since the last posting...I have continued to throw up, though it is tapering off now, my moods are in full swing and I've gained a few pounds. Oh, and my skin looks horrible, like I'm going through pueberty again, it's nice. We went to the doctor's for my monthly check up yesterday and everything is going as well as it can go this early on. I'm really worried about gaining too much weight, so I asked for a graph so that I can plot out my weight gain and keep myself on track. So far, right on target. I'm at the stage where I feel really fat and jiggly, but I don't look remotely pregnant. I'm a pock-faced fat girl; I thought pregnancy was supposed to make you "glow"...I'm not glowing. Kreat and I both had dreams on different nights that this baby was a boy, which is unfortunate because we don't agree on a boy name at all. Girl name - 100% in agreement; boy name - not so much. We borrowed a baby book from my girlfriend and I've compiled a list of 30 boy names that I really like. Kreat immediately crossed off about 6 of those, leaving us with over 20 names to kick around over the next few months until we find out a gender. It'll be a girl and we'll have argued our way through 20 names for nothing, just watch. Anyway. Kreat and I leave for Europe on March 5 and will be gone until the 18; we'll take lots of pictures and post them on the blog when we get home (and get rested). We love you all and hope to hear from you soon.

Our First OB Visit

2008-01-29T18:07:00.000-07:00

For those of you who may not know, I'm pregnant. We found out the day after Christmas and have kept it under-wraps for the most part until recently. Kreat immediately dubbed our bundle of joy, "the passenger." The nick-name stuck (I think it's cute). We went to the OBGYN today where we met our tiny passenger for the first time. It was a really wonderful experience. We were able to see the baby move its teeny-tiny arms and legs and heard its heart beat (165 beats/min. - perfect). I am 9weeks gestation today, not out of the woods, but so far so good. The due date is September 2, 2008. We go back in on Feb. 25 for our next check up. In the mean time, my focus is on school...as always.

Another Year of School

2008-01-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the beginning of the end...the first day of my last year of school. I couldn't be happier. Though the day was quite boring and filled with meaningless introductions and anecdotes, I am excited to say that there is now a light at the end of the tunnel!