tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287429682024-03-13T15:32:23.915-05:00Bo and TaylorWe created this blog so our family and friends can keep up with us. We've just recently started to update regularly, so there's no telling what direction this blog will go.Bohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16116965241875112137noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-31981586250326530232013-08-18T16:57:00.000-05:002013-08-18T16:57:04.136-05:00Lola's First Baby Doll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-66954059569225028802013-07-15T09:28:00.003-05:002013-07-15T09:28:51.018-05:00Almost 14 Months!It's been a while since I did an update. As usual, life has been incredibly busy. Lola turned a year old on May 20 and then we had her birthday party in Canton on May 25th. A special thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate. I posted some pictures on Facebook, but I think this one is really cute...<br />
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This look pretty much sums up her attitude toward the cupcake. She just didn't know what to think of it. After spending some time squishing it around, she finally took some bites. In all honesty, it was a little underwhelming. I thought she would just dive right in, but she had to give it some serious inspection first. The what-in-the-world-is-this-thing attitude was just as funny in its own way and is completely her attitude toward anything and everything. She's a go-getter, but she loves to inspect and explore. <br />
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A little over two weeks ago, Lola started walking. She loves it and has even attempted running. Unfortunately, her little legs can't keep up with the rest of her body and she has a good-sized, bruised lip to prove it. This past week she started getting really silly and started dancing. She's a handful, but we have SO MUCH FUN! There's never really a dull moment around Lola, that's for sure!<br />
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I'm not sure who we've told and who we haven't, but we are moving! We are staying in the Austin area, but are looking for about 3-5 acres. We have found some houses we like, but nothing that says "home" to us. I have faith we will find something, although we might have to rent a house for a while until we do because our home is currently under contract. The option period ends soon, so I suppose it's not 100% yet. The big issue is getting the foundation repaired, so I hope that doesn't scare away the buyers. Obviously we are responsible for those repairs either way, so I'm not looking forward to dealing with a 14-month old while that takes place. Lola just loves to unpack boxes that have been packed up. She always finds something to get into and rearrange it how she sees fit :) <br />
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All is well over here, or the way I see it, as well as it could be. Please keep our family in your prayers. The home selling and buying process has been a little stressful. I'm not sure how often we'll get "back home" to visit until all of this is complete. It takes a lot of energy to pack, watch Lola and keep the house "show ready". When the weekend rolls around, all we want to do is sleep! Hopefully the Fall will bring us a renewed sense of energy and a new home!Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-87006226223212288002013-05-20T18:56:00.001-05:002013-05-20T18:56:18.476-05:00Lola's Birth Story<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday, May 19, 2012</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since Bo was participating in a TEXSAR training most of the day, I was left to my own devices. I had breakfast at Kerbey Lane (In case you’re wondering I had French toast and Migas topped with queso aka the Paris Texas Platter), walked about a mile and a half with Brodie and then puttered about for the rest of the day. After visiting with Bo after he got home, I turned in around <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_845770085" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">10:30 PM</span></span>. I had just fallen asleep when I felt a small amount of fluid - I didn’t think I peed - but I’ve heard it’s totally normal at this point for that to happen so I blamed the fluid on a faulty bladder and tried to go back to sleep. I just couldn’t convince myself of the possibility that my water had broken. That, and everything I had read or heard suggested that it was rare for your membranes to rupture prior to labor starting (the What to Expect website says less than 15%). So I did my best to go back to sleep – being slightly anxious made it difficult to get into a deep sleep.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sunday, May 20, 2012</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_845770086" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">1AM</span></span> I awoke again to another small gush of fluid. At this point, I knew I wasn’t peeing in my sleep, so I was starting to convince myself that my water had indeed broken. Now, sleep was the last thing on my mind. I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t gotten the pediatrician forms scanned and e-mailed back to them, so I decided I would work on that because, although nothing else was happening, sleep wasn’t going to happen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally around <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_845770087" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">1:30</span></span>, after much debate, I decided to wake Bo up “just in case”. I told him something to the effect of, “I’m not sure, but I think my water broke. Nothing else has happened, but I decided to go ahead and work on the pediatrician forms. I need you to help me get this last one printed out.” Shortly after I got Bo up, I started feeling some menstrual-like cramps and probably half an hour later I noticed the “bloody show”. At that point, I knew labor was imminent. I think I even showed Bo, just to make sure - haha!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back in the office, we were still waiting for the same form to print out – it was apparently a ridiculously large file size (the reason it was taking me days to print them out) – so I </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">decided to take a shower as the “cramps” were becoming more rhythmic and coming in </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">waves. The warm water felt amazing. The contractions weren’t painful at this point, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">just uncomfortable, and I found myself swaying side-to-side and vocalizing this low </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“oooo” sound. I’m not sure why I ended up doing that, but it helped me focus and relax. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After I got out of the shower, Bo decided we needed to try and sleep so we could have </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">plenty of energy for the next day. I laid down and not even 5 minutes later I had a </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">contraction that definitely was not like the others I had been having. I told him that laying down </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">was not a possibility – it hurt too much. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My plan all along was to labor in our office for as long as possible. It’s a nice calming green color and not an area that Brodie frequents very often. While I stretched out over the labor ball, Bo put a heated rice pack on my lower back and then applied some counter pressure. Both of those techniques seemed to stop the discomfort. I want to say it was at this point I also requested some applesauce. The Bradley classes emphasized how important it was to have some easily digestible snacks during early labor, and well, I was also hungry, so Bo spoon-fed me applesauce in between contractions. From this point, I began giving Bo some “honey-dos” because I knew we weren’t as prepared as I had intended to be. After all, we were a week early (according to “our” due date) and I had some how anticipated being overdue. So in between contractions I had him feeding and watering the chickens and rabbit, throwing extra clothes into the suitcase (he did manage to not pack me any shirts!), getting Brodie ready to be left, etc. Basically, I would have him push on my lower back and then when the contraction passed I’d give him something else to do. When the contraction started again, I’d yell for him. This went on for at least an hour or more. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Around <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_845770088" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">3:30AM</span></span>, the contractions were getting harder, and increasingly more difficult to talk </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">through. Bo decided to call the doctor. Since I had only been laboring for two hours, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">she encouraged us to stay at home a few more hours, if we could. Not wanting to </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">spend several hours laboring at the hospital, we decided to stay at home. Hindsight tells me we </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">probably should have left at this point. The contractions only got harder after we called. Then the nausea started and I suddenly ran to the bathroom - yep, there went the applesauce I was so eager to eat just an hour or so earlier. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While I was in the bathroom, the shakes started up. It wasn’t until much, much later (like days later) that I realized I was in transition at this point. I’m not sure why I didn’t </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">realize that during the moment, but I think everything was just happening too quickly </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for me to process anything. I don’t remember much after this point. I do know that I </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">returned to the office and the contractions were so bad that I thought to myself, “There’s </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">no way I can do this for 10 hours without an epidural, there’s just no way.” I believe they </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">were double-peaking at that point and I was strongly considering asking Bo to call the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">doctor back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The pain got so bad that I ended up in the dining room. I think I was looking for </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bo. He was probably doing something I had asked him to do earlier. I remember telling </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">him, that I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom. “I feel like I need to poop, but I know I don’t </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">need to.” I think he asked me if we needed to go to the hospital, and I vaguely </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">remember telling him maybe. I believe this is when he told me that he wasn’t putting anything else in the suitcases and the only thing he would do was put the suitcases in the car. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By the time he came back inside I knew it - I was starting to push. Bo looked scared and asked if we needed to stay at home. My first thought was, “Please don’t call 9-1-1, that would be so </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">embarrassing!” I definitely was </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">more</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> willing to risk having a baby on the side of the road, than to be wheeled across my lawn for all of my neighbors to see. So we decided to take a chance and drive the 20 minutes to the hospital. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let me say that trying not to push while in the car wasn’t easy. I was able to relax </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">enough at every other contraction to not push. A couple of weeks earlier, we had put Lola’s carseat into our car. It’s huge in our little car, but I was so worn out that I would rest my head between it and my seat between contractions. Bo was doing his best to check on me and drive safely (and speedily, I might add). The sweat was beading up on my forehead and </span><span style="color: #500050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">then Bo would occasionally stroke the top of my head. I was really scared we were going to </span><span style="color: #500050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">have her in the car, on the side of Mopac, at </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_845770089" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #500050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; position: relative; top: -2px; white-space: pre-wrap; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">5:00</span></span><span style="color: #500050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the morning. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We got to the hospital around <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_845770090" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">5:30 AM</span></span>. Of course the L&D doors are locked at that time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, we had to “buzz in” which made Bo mad because he thought they would be waiting on </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">us since we called the doctor before leaving the house. I imagine that 30 seconds was a long 30 seconds for Bo. When the doors opened, the lobby wasn’t just empty - it was closed. Bo started for the huge staircase, and even though I had never used the elevators, my brain seemed to know where the were. There is no amount of money you can have paid me to walk up those stairs.</span></div>
<br /><span style="color: #500050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once we got up to L&D, Bo said, “My wife is in labor” and no one seemed too concerned about it. For some reason a nurse brought over a wheelchair for me and then took forever trying to put the foot rests down. I’ve never seen someone move so slow – I’m talking about the ancient nurse, not the woman in labor. They took me to one of the triage rooms to check my progress and of course I was at a 10 and ready to go – again something I was confident was happening, but I’m just the lady having the baby. Then the nurse tells me that they are going to move me to another room to have the baby. Seriously? Why on earth didn’t we go there first?! I begged them not to move me because I didn’t want to sit in the wheelchair again - it hurt like crazy. The nurse sweetly assured me that they were just going to move me to a bed with wheels and then wheel me over there. Before being moved over, a male doctor popped in. I’m thinking my doctor isn’t male and then Bo says, “Wrong Dr. Miller” to which he responded, “No I was just seeing if you needed any help.” I was happy he wasn’t sticking around because I decided, at that point, that I wasn’t going to have the baby. Dr. Miller walked in about 30 seconds later. I don’t remember the ride over, but I think it was just down the hallway. </span></div>
<br /><span style="color: #500050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I swear there were something like 50 people in the room (Bo said there were maybe 5). I guess because we came in so quickly they didn’t have time to prep anything - it was also shift change. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">While one nurse was putting a various assortment of bracelets on me, another was </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">prepping me for the saline-lock in case I needed an IV. I begged her not to place it. Dr. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Miller said, “We talked about this”. I really thought I could get out of it, but like they had already told me, it was non-negotiable. At least I tried. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #500050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bo was on my right side and a really awesome nurse was on my left. I think we know </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">where Dr. Miller was. Although the Bradley Class had taught us various birthing </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">positions, I don’t think any of them came to our minds. We were both still in shock. Luckily </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">the nurse on my left was reminding me to keep my chin tucked and helping me stay in a good position. She was a life-saver</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In between pushes, I remember joking about the birth plan being in the car. I </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">spent several hours working on it and all Dr. Miller needed to know was if we were </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">delaying the cord clamping, giving the Vitamin K shot, eye drops and Hep B vaccination. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why on earth I was thinking about the birth plan at that moment is beyond me. As I was </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">starting to get really tired, Dr. Miller encouraged me with “just a couple more pushes and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">she’ll be here”. As she was making her way out (y’know the ring of fire?), Dr. Miller </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">said, "You can reach down, if you'd like to feel your baby's head". It was the most amazing and weirdest feeling in the world. To this day, if I rub Lola’s head, it takes me back to that moment.</span></div>
<br /><span style="color: #500050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thirty-three minutes after we arrived at the hospital Lola was born. They placed her on </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">my lower abdomen (her cord wasn’t long enough to be placed any higher) and I remember </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">holding her there why she cried and we waited for the cord to stop pulsating. I was so </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">relieved that we were done with the birth. I was so proud of myself and Bo. I couldn’t </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">believe that I was staring at MY baby. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieG8FZqP7pj01YBVJbP-bM6cQyxVB_HkT8XE1eMsyRBTC6Pca57wPS0AIqznbiCZA2_5lG7Jd_xV9DsbBlSFN4YbG03ZYh_nkhZHBBxhZeEOL5yHHBkzeaJR7-4VLYIplMuMgO/s1600/IMG_1391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieG8FZqP7pj01YBVJbP-bM6cQyxVB_HkT8XE1eMsyRBTC6Pca57wPS0AIqznbiCZA2_5lG7Jd_xV9DsbBlSFN4YbG03ZYh_nkhZHBBxhZeEOL5yHHBkzeaJR7-4VLYIplMuMgO/s320/IMG_1391.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our First Family Picture</td></tr>
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Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-5918226229450133092013-01-28T13:03:00.002-06:002013-01-28T13:03:46.870-06:00Winter? Spring?I can't tell you all how many times I've written this post (in my head, of course). Every day I think I'll finally get around to it, but here we are - it's almost February! Life has been insanely busy. <br />
<br />
A week before Christmas eve, Lola sat up. On Christmas eve, she started crawling. The next week she started babbling (finally!) and also started pulling on things. We haven't slowed down since. I knew once she could move around she'd be happier - I was right. She's definitely not as fussy as she used to be...unless you're keeping her from crawling. She keeps me SO busy! We are constantly moving and there's always something to get into. I'm loving it though. I feel like we're finally having some fun!<br />
<br />
She's currently going through another growth/developmental spurt. Over the past week or so, she's been waking up in the middle of the night ready to play. She crawls and rolls wildly about in her sleep. One night she was at the foot of the bed, standing up and bouncing! Bo has been a huge help sometimes taking her for me, but mostly not giving me too hard of a time for being snippy from exhaustion. She's otherwise been sleeping relatively well. *knocks on wood* I'm wondering though if she's hit a little sleep regression, as a book I'm reading suggested it was normal at this age (8 months already!). She was down to two naps, but yesterday she took three and today her naps have been earlier than normal - and she's already on her second nap so I guess it's possible she could squeeze a late afternoon nap in.<br />
<br />
Lola has been eating some solids. She's tried sweet potato, regular potato, a bit of my oatmeal, green beans, broccoli, chicken, turkey, beef, banana and avocado. I'm sure I've forgotten something. We have been going with the Baby Led Weaning concept and it has suited us well. Lola is incredibly independent, so I doubt she would want to be spoon-fed anyway. She loves finger foods and feeding herself. She's even started to want little sips of water. Bo and I have enjoyed watching her grow up and hit her milestones. Lola is incredibly curious and our lack of baby proofing has made our house perfect for her to explore all sorts of things. We really need to baby proof - haha.<br />
<br />
If you want to stay more up-to-date, Facebook is probably your best bet. My page is pretty much dedicated to all things Lola, since we hang out all day together. I also have Instagram and Twitter, both of which are confusing to me. <br />
<br />
With Spring just around the corner (or is it here already?!), I hope to post some gardening related pictures soon. Bo built us a garden fence and it looks so nice. I also planted a strawberry patch and hope to plant some veggie seeds soon. If not, I'm looking forward to buying some transplants. Really I just want to grow something knowing that Brodie and the chickens won't destroy it!Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-60962833458849460722012-10-29T21:36:00.004-05:002012-10-30T00:17:05.938-05:00Five Months!<div class="MsoNormal">
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--> 10/24/2012
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<br /></div>
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Dear Lola,</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You turned five months old this past Saturday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to say that months four – five
were my favorite so far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
started out month four by grabbing things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your feet, my glass at meal time, anything and everything. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went to Matagorda Bay about a month
ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You cried off and on the
whole way up and back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The city
itself wasn’t that nice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
hoping to get some cute beach pictures of you while we were there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two things prevented that: 1) I left
your beach clothes, sunglasses, cute sun hat and sunscreen at home and 2) The
beach was gross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the
point of the trip was to get a change of scenery so it served its purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The locals were nice and we saw a guy
catch a really big fish off the pier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Almost two weeks ago you were baptized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was such a special time for our
family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I look forward to sharing
our faith with you and your baptism was a beautiful picture of what I hope is
to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I should also mention
that Will Dietrich, who is about 7 months older than you are, grabbed your hand
and held it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s a brave man
doing that in front of your dad. ;)</div>
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<br /></div>
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This past week you have most definitely started
teething.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s no mistaking
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ve been drooling quite a
bit for a while now, but it’s obvious that you’re uncomfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You make chewing motions (it looks like
a fish) and moan all day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Occasionally you pull at your ear and what really gets to me is when you
cradle your jaw in that tiny little hand of yours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got you one of those amber teething necklaces, but I
can’t tell if it’s helping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During
the day, you seem the same, but you are sleeping better at night – so it’s a
toss up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spend a large portion
of the day trying to distract you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We go to the grocery store, the thrift store, Target and walking around
the block.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ErgoBaby has been a
lifesaver – finally you enjoy baby wearing!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re still not a huge fan of the stroller (or car seat),
but we managed two 1.5 mile walks this week in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Despite your pain, you still give the sweetest smiles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You haven’t been the social butterfly
you once were, but you will occasionally smile at a stranger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People love you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Twice this week I was told, “You are
lucky” and “You are blessed!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
sweet Hispanic lady said, “Que Hermosa!” today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I agree, you are beautiful!</div>
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<br /></div>
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You haven’t started crawling yet. I watch and wait in
anticipation every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
you’re on the bed you try to crawl, but for some reason, don’t do it when
you’re on the floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I let you
scooch down to one end of the bed, then I turn you around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re incredibly vocal as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t think you could get any louder
or chattier, but I was wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You’re also about to go to the next sized prefold diaper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your dad and I were just talking about
how it looked like you were longer – I guess you had a little growth
spurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In about a month or so, you’ll be ready for solids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far, you’ve only had breast
milk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m so proud of that!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once you start sitting up, I’ll be
comfortable starting solid foods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I do believe you’ll be excited about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We keep you with us during meals and there are times you
seem interested in what we’re doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t really anticipate you eating much, but I think you’ll have fun
playing with the food at the very least!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Love, <br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mama</div>
Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-48958519272866325552012-09-14T22:29:00.001-05:002012-09-14T22:29:29.371-05:0017 WeeksI'm not sure, but I think Lola will be 17 weeks on Sunday. I can't tell you how many times I've counted, but I can't remember. Sleep deprivation kills my memory. <br />
<br />
I'm not sure if we've hit THE sleep regression, but we've certainly hit one. The past 3 weeks have been pretty rough, I don't think I've felt so badly since that first month. So desperately tired (and whiney), so isolated, so frustrated. I've started laying down with her during nap times; otherwise, she doesn't make it through the first sleep cycle (which is about 45 minutes). I don't really enjoy laying there for two hours at a time, but she's a terror if she doesn't get decent sleep. I don't feel like we have much of a routine yet, but it's not because we haven't tried. Whatever your beliefs are on co-sleeping (I don't need, nor want opinions) it has saved much of our sanity. Some nights are still not as great (she likes to kick a lot), but she just doesn't sleep well in the crib sometimes. We've been pretty consistent with bedtime, but the waking up seems to fluctuate the most. I'm not sure if that's normal.<br />
<br />
She's quite the chatty patty these days and we've decided she has the sweetest voice. She loves to laugh and we love to make her laugh. As much as she hated tummy time in the past, she's been rolling onto her tummy a lot lately. She's trying to crawl, but she's still lacking some strength and coordination. She gets so upset when she realizes she's not going anywhere. I can honestly say we're having a ton of fun watching her grow and learn new things. She loves her daddy's beard. Bo has learned that he is going to need to keep it fairly trim because Lola enjoys grabbing it with both hands. She still hates the car seat, but surprisingly tolerated it a little today. I mostly carry her around when I'm at the store. I've noticed that people really like babies and sometimes it catches me off-guard. "Oh my God, she's so beautiful" "Your baby is so cute!" "AAAAH, BABY!", etc. The weirdest was this lady who was walking towards us in the parking lot (about 20 ft. away) and was baby talking very loudly at us. I didn't run away, but I walked as quickly as I could. I'm not sure how I would have reacted otherwise. <br />
<br />
I'm still dairy-free. Her face cleared up and then lately it's breaking out again. Luckily we see the actual doctor next week. Up until now, we could only get in to see the nurse practitioners. We have been going out to eat a lot, so I'm wondering if we have some cross-contamination issues (I really don't want it to be another allergen). I really should try and figure that out though, but it's so hard when we're so tired, you know? Bo has been incredibly supportive, even through the last two weeks when he had to work a lot (he even had to work Labor day weekend and Labor day unexpectedly). He helps out so much and certainly doesn't complain at my lack of housework. I'll have plenty of time to worry about dusting...some other day :)<br />
<br />
I'll try to post a picture soon. I've not been very good at getting posed pictures, but I really want to get a 4 Month picture soon.Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-72365398615578151622012-08-19T23:28:00.000-05:002012-08-19T23:28:31.785-05:00Three Months!Lola will be three months old on Monday. It's almost hard to believe. I feel like time has stood still, but at the same time gone by so quickly. I guess that's the sleep deprivation talking because that shouldn't make sense. It truly is amazing how much she has changed. Those first few weeks were so difficult, I never could have imagined actually having fun with Lola. We still have tough days, but she just keeps getting cuter and sweeter with each day it seems.<br />
<br />
The past week and a half have been pretty rough. I think she has been going through the three-month growth spurt. She went from sleeping in two four hour chunks to one night waking up every hour to then waking every 2-3 hours. The last couple of nights she's slept around 5 hours and then woken up every 2-3 hours. So I have to say that sleep is getting better! The past few days she's even napped, although sometimes it's only 30 minutes. Since I'm not used to her napping, I don't know what to do with myself. I either rush around and fold some laundry or just sit and do nothing. It feels nice to have a quiet break every now and then.<br />
<br />
Since the end of this growth spurt, Lola has been trying to sit up or something. It started with what looked like she was straining to pull her head forward, so I grabbed her hands and helped her pull up into a sitting position. She was really wobbly headed at first (I call it jello neck), but over the course of a few days she's gotten steadier and steadier. She has rolled over from back to tummy three times now and can do little mini-pushups. She tries her darnedest to crawl, but it's not happening for her. She scooches well on her back. I'm actually a little nervous about what we're going to do when she does start crawling. She's going to be all over the place. We should probably start child-proofing pretty soon...<br />
<br />
Lastly, she LOVES to coo. She started around 6 weeks with the "gu gu gu" sounds and she's just added more along the way. When she's particularly chatty - we'll "converse" with whatever sounds she's making. Last weekend we got her some soft blocks that have different patterns, pictures, fabric textures and colors on them. Her favorite seems to be the cat one because as soon as she sees it she starts cooing at it. Too bad Dad hates cats. I've also heard a few loud squeals lately. <br />
<br />
Some of you know that I did a dairy-free trial. Well in the midst of her horrible three month fussiness I caved and ate some cheese. I had been dairy-free for 2 and a half weeks at that point. I had convinced myself that it wasn't working and was unnecessarily burdensome. Well four days later of adding dairy back in my diet and her face is starting to get much redder (eczema?) and she's started spitting up milk again. Soooo, I guess I'm going to cut the dairy again. I ate some mac and cheese this evening for a final goodbye. I'm not sure how long I'll have to do it, but I have a feeling the holidays are going to be less fun this year. Is pumpkin pie dairy-free? I miss cheese. And butter. <br />
<br />
I'll leave you with a funny picture. I guess you could consider it an out-take of sorts, I was trying to get a picture of her and she just jumped up for some reason. It's not the best photo by any means, but it shows me how happy she is :)<br />
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<br />Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-41359598171185144392012-08-01T22:05:00.001-05:002012-08-01T22:05:05.289-05:00Second Attempt at an UpdateIt's been much longer between updates than I intended, but I don't have much free time these days and when I finally do have some time to myself I end up resting to trying to get some housework done. It seems like so much has happened since I last updated. <br />
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Smiles are in full force. She literally smiles with her whole face. Morning time is often the best times to get smiles.<br />
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Lots of cooing: guh guh, ahhhh!, all sorts of fun sounds. We practice conversing back and forth often. She really loves to "talk".<br />
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Movement. She loves to kick and move her arms at the same time. Usually this happens while I'm trying to change her diaper. Before tummy-time I will let her kick and squirm as much as she wants. She's mastered scootching around in a circle while laying on her back. It's becoming normal to find her completely horizontal in her crib. When I flip her to her tummy she gets her legs going - like she's trying to get up on her knees. The poor girl just doesn't have the upper body strength yet for crawling. I have a feeling though that I'm going to be even busier once she starts crawling. She's ready to go!<br />
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Sleep. Daytime sleep is not great. Usually I'll get 1 or 2 decent naps out of her and one of those usually is sleeping on me. She often cat naps. The best success with naps has been when I lay down with her on our bed. The crib is useless during the day. Night time is getting better. A good night usually involves two four-hour stretches a bad night is her waking about every 2-3 hours - so really not too bad in my opinion. After we got back from Canton on Sunday, I got her down about 9:30 that night and she didn't wake until 4:15 that morning. That's the longest she's ever gone and I couldn't believe it when I saw what time it was. I'm not holding my breath for that to ever happen for awhile. We still have some nights where it's difficult to get her to sleep, but it's getting easier. <br />
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Travel. She did okay when we went back this past weekend. She slept a bit, but she also cried/wailed a lot as well. It was pretty stressful for all of us. Needless to say, we won't be coming in too often for awhile. I really do hope we make it back before Christmas though. I think she hates being restricted in her movement. She doesn't like to be "worn" in a carrier, she doesn't like the swing (although she's tolerating it a bit more these days) and it when she's in her car seat she's trying to lift herself out. She's been doing this movement lately where she looks like she's straining to sit up or lift her head up. Anyhow, short trips to the grocery store are at least tolerable.<br />
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Overall, I feel like she's coming "alive" so to speak. She's a lot of fun to be around when she's in a good mood. I'm really looking forward to watching her grow up!<br />
<br />I don't have any pictures this time. Her newborns pictures FINALLY came in today. It took long enough! We don't have the birth announcements yet, but hopefully I'll have them soon. I'm hoping to send some of the pictures out soon. I'll probably make an online album for family, so they can choose what they want.Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-63495402086731356752012-06-22T13:58:00.002-05:002012-06-22T13:59:17.725-05:00Almost 5 WeeksI can't believe it's been a month already. Time sure flies when you're sleep deprived. Lola is napping so once again, this post may not even get published. She is napping a tiny bit better. It's certainly not an every day occurrence, but hopefully we will continue to improve. Bo and I are still learning how to put her down in a way she won't wake up immediately. I somehow managed to put her down this morning while she was still awake and she went to sleep with no issues. That probably will never happen again :) The evenings are the most difficult. She likes to stay awake from about 5 or 6 until about 12AM/1AM. The past two evenings she's been cluster feeding again, the upside is that during the night I either don't have to feed her as often (as in every 4 hours instead of 2) or she still feeds every 2 hours but for only 10 minutes or so - which means we all get back to sleep sooner. She really is a much nicer baby when she naps. When she's over tired she scratches and pulls at me and is just fussy in general.<br />
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Today I bought a Baby Trend Snap N Go stroller off of Craigslist. I was reading the manual online and it mentioned the importance of the safety strap. Well the one I have either didn't come with it or the lady lost it. I will say that our car seat fits snugly into it and I'm not that worried; however, I also don't think it would be difficult to make one for it. It was only $15, so I guess that's good. I'm really looking forward to being able to take her down the road for a stroll. I think she'll like it. We have a BOB stroller that is much, much nicer than this other contraption, but she has to be at least 8 weeks to fit in it. Unfortunately BOB doesn't have an infant car seat adapter for Britax seats. The BOB will be especially nice for the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail. <br />
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Lola's month well check went well. She's 8lbs 12oz already. Two weeks ago she was 7lbs 7oz! She's also started to smile every now and then. She does it a lot in her sleep and then if I talk to her in a high pitched voice she really seems to like that. I haven't been able to catch one on camera though. Hopefully soon. I tried to take her one-month picture today (almost a week late) and she wasn't having it. Well I hear her stirring around, so I better go. I didn't proof read it, so I hope everything makes sense :) <br />
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Here are some pictures:<br />
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This one looks posed, but I promise it's not. He really was smiling. I think it's so sweet :) <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tummy Time</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-62745375914539113602012-06-12T14:05:00.000-05:002012-06-12T14:05:54.091-05:00Yes, We Are Alive!Lola is napping, well supposed to be at least, so I don't know how much I'll get to write. She's not great at sleeping during the day for some reason. I think we're still learning what works best for her and getting a newborn to sleep in general. Yesterday was rough, so I was reading some stuff about getting newborns to sleep and <a href="http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/sleep-problems/8-infant-sleep-facts-every-parent-should-know">Dr. Sears</a> made a point about babies needing to be "parented" to sleep. It makes sense, although when I'm tired it's not incredibly convenient. <br />
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Anyhow, today is our 8 year wedding anniversary. I really can't believe it's been that long. As they say, time flies by when you're having fun. I'd have to say except for the 8 months I spent in San Antonio, it's all been lots of fun. In August, we will have known each other for 10 years. I can't believe I was 17 when we met...or 19 when we married - haha. Tonight, we're going to stay at home and take care of Lola. She's pretty much the coolest thing we've ever done together so, yeah I'm happy to be here with her and Bo. <br />
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Lola turned three weeks on Sunday. I still can't believe that! I'm working on the birth story, but it might be awhile before I get it done. When I do have the time, I'm too tired or just want to sit and stare at the TV. I think Bo and I are finally getting used to having a baby. I'll be honest, it's been hard. Nothing prepares you for it, that's for sure. We've been battling some latch issues with breastfeeding (pain!), which are getting better thanks to visiting with a Lactation Consultant and having lots of support from Bo and my mama friends. It doesn't help that she <a href="http://kellymom.com/parenting/parenting-faq/fussy-evening/">cluster feeds</a> quite a bit, so having to feed her a lot can be quite painful. She's gaining weight beautifully though and that's really what matters to me. I can't tell you how many times she's pooped and/or peed while we were changing her. We've gotten poop on the new diaper before it's even opened, poop on the wall, poop on the couch, poop on Momma - newborns poop a lot! It's never funny when it happens, but it's pretty funny looking back at it. <br />
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The influx of visitors has slowed. It was nice seeing so many people, I was actually surprised at how many people could come! It's been nice having some time alone though to figure out what the heck I'm doing - and to be able to cry when I need to. I had no idea that postpartum hormones were so crazy. I've been doing a good job at taking my vitamins and supplements and Bo has been an amazing support. Maybe I'll add in some walking soon. I hope the hormones level out in the next few weeks though. I get really anxious in the evenings and that's no fun. I really do think we're getting our stride though. I'm sure she'll shake things up in a few weeks and we'll feel like we're back to square one, but I think we're getting better at this!<br />
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Okay, well my brain is not really cooperating much today (it doesn't often these days). I just wanted to give a quick update though and let you all know that we're doing well. I'm not sure when we'll go back "home" to visit yet. I have some courage to work up there!<br />
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Click <a href="http://www.ellabellaphotos.com/blog/2012/06/sweet-slumber-austin-newborn-photographer-2/">here</a> if you want to see a sneak peek of Lola's newborn session. Isn't she beautiful?Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-41298647850114566862012-05-15T22:29:00.000-05:002012-05-16T02:37:04.989-05:00Almost 39 Weeks!I've been wanting to update the blog since we got back almost two weeks ago, but I haven't been feeling well. On the way home from the shower, I got a migraine - the first one in almost 5 years. Since we took separate vehicles, we had to pull over because I couldn't see due to the aura. We ended up in a little motel in Belton, Texas. It wasn't the nicest place, but it wasn't gross either. Thank God they allowed pets ("No Cats Though") and the pet fee was only $10; otherwise, I guess Brodie would have stayed in the back of the truck? I'm not sure what we would have done. We stayed in Belton until about 4:30 Monday morning and then headed back. I spent Monday recovering and by Tuesday I felt better, but then Tuesday afternoon my allergies started up. It's taken two weeks to feel "normal" again. The mold has been sky high and several other Austinites have been having the same issues. I feel like many of us are yelling at each other because we're all so congested - haha.<br />
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Anyway, last week we had our 38 week appointment and my blood pressure was higher than it usually is. Not high enough to be considered hypertension, but pre-hypertension. They took some blood (testing kidneys, liver, platelets) and then I had to do a 24-hr urine collection. Everything came back good, which means no Pre-Eclampsia. Probably the worst part of the whole ordeal was having to keep the urine in the refrigerator. Yep, I could have lived my entire life without ever having to do that! We have our 39-week appointment on Friday, so I hope my blood pressure hasn't gone up. Brodie and I went on a nice walk today, so hopefully lots of nice walks this week will help. I didn't walk as I usually do the past couple of weeks because I felt so bad.<br />
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The silver lining to all of this is that I had a lot of time to put away all of the gifts we got at our baby shower. The shower was so much fun and I was completely overwhelmed with everyone that came and supported us. I felt SO special. I have to say there have been times during this pregnancy when it's been hard to be away from our family and friends. Everyone was so generous and I could totally feel the love in all of the work that was done to make it happen. A special shout-out to Lynette, Nancy, Ramona and Janice for making it all happen. These ladies did a fantastic job!<br />
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I typically don't enjoy doing laundry, but there's something calming about washing, sorting and putting away her clothes. I guess for me, it's the most tangible way I can prepare for her presence. I'm not sure what it is, but it's incredibly soothing - even though there's way more pink than I could have ever prepared myself for, haha. She's still moving a lot, although the movements seem much slower. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the doctor is estimating her to be at 7lbs 12oz already! I know it's an estimation, but I think we might have a cute, chunky baby on our hands. <br />
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Since my allergies have been so bad, my eyes have been incredibly baggy, which means I've been completely unmotivated to have my picture taken. I did have Bo snap a quick one while we were fishing on Sunday.<br />
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We didn't catch anything, but I did catch the hook in my leg. Luckily, it wasn't too bad because I'm not sure what I would have done if Bo had passed out - he's not much for blood. <br />
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Well, the "due date" is May 24th. I'm not feeling that she'll come early, but we'll let everyone know when she's here. I say "we"; I mean Bo. That is after he's gone to get me a big, cold, deli sandwich - seriously, that's all I want at this point. <br />
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Love to you all.<br />
<br />Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-57752859567678934202012-04-27T08:07:00.001-05:002012-04-27T08:07:59.412-05:0036-Weeks!Google owns Blogger and has been making everyone switch over to their new system. I think that's what I did, but I'm not quite sure. If by the end of May the blog doesn't work (that's the deadline to switch it over I think), I guess I'll be starting a new one! I've been meaning to update all week, but my energy level just hasn't been there. The mold has been medium-high and I've pretty much been a zombie all week. Both of us have been stuffed up - not fun! At least we don't get sick very often *knocks on wood*.<br />
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The past two weeks have been really busy. Two weeks ago, some ladies from our church had a shower for us. I had such a great time! They really are an incredibly encouraging group of women, I could go on and on really. The next Monday we had Maternity Pictures done...they turned out great! I was so nervous - it's shocking to see how big my belly has gotten! Then last Saturday our small group had a baby blessing for our small group leaders second baby. I couldn't really tell you what this week entailed...I've been so tired - I just don't remember what we did! Bo did finish the painting in the nursery, well we have the door left, but that's no biggie!<br />
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Here's Bo finishing the last chevron stripe! He has done such an awesome job, I love it! Thank you <a href="http://pinterest.com/taylorwingo/">Pinterest</a> for the idea!<br />
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This is me at 34-weeks right after my shower. I had no idea my belly was that big! I wonder what it looks like now. I'm sure I'll have pictures of it tomorrow! Speaking of tomorrow, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone before our little girl is here. I feel honored and blessed that people want to celebrate our little one with us!<br />
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I can't believe we only have 4 weeks until our due date - it's gone by SO fast! Of course, we could go as long as 6 more weeks. Oh, I just remembered one of the things I did this week. I started packing our hospital bag! It's almost done, basically I just need to add in our extra clothing and I think we'll be good. I originally thought we'd need two bags (one L&D and one for post-partum), but I think it'll all fit in one suitcase. The food and snacks will go in a separate bag, so only having two bags to carry in will be nice for Bo. We had an appointment yesterday, it went well. I was tested for Group-B Strep - I really hope that comes back negative. Otherwise, I'll have to have an antibiotic IV during labor and birth. We're prepared to deal with it, but it would be nice not to be hooked up to an IV the whole time. Her heartbeat is strong, she's still head down and she's on her side - which according to the doctor that saw us is a good thing (I think it's neat that they can determine position by feeling around. We haven't had an ultrasound since the 20-week appointment, so I'm glad they know how to tell where she is by feeling around). She moves so much and so often that I'm always worried she'll flip head up. The chances of that happening at this point are very slim, so I'm not worried too much anymore. She does love my ribs...they were numb last night. Every time I get in the car she backs up into my ribs...it's torture, haha. I read that putting something cold up top helps, so I'll probably try that on the trip. <br />
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Alright, I need to get up and get moving around...my feel are going to swell up! I apologize for any typos, like I said, my brain just isn't functioning too well these days!<br />
<br />Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-30116374288348290852012-04-11T10:27:00.002-05:002012-04-11T10:57:56.063-05:00Almost 34 Weeks!I keep thinking I'll get around to posting a picture, but both of our camera batteries are dead and we can't find the charger. We should probably find it before we have the baby! Instead, I'll post a picture of Bo painting the nursery. His phone takes great pictures!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDbSRxuKmIhvTGZ9JB49m2U3dGJwrecc1BTr_xmQVZe74RWmPoXVp931I65nGJT5pnQmM4HltwLcgVAFIpYclEc2ACFMOHrDvcJQeGQs7inBDc-M1MXlVWerKCs1SGYVnTKs2/s1600/bopainting.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDbSRxuKmIhvTGZ9JB49m2U3dGJwrecc1BTr_xmQVZe74RWmPoXVp931I65nGJT5pnQmM4HltwLcgVAFIpYclEc2ACFMOHrDvcJQeGQs7inBDc-M1MXlVWerKCs1SGYVnTKs2/s320/bopainting.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730165704589810530" border="0" /></a>We, really Bo, started this last night. We've been ready to start for a few weeks now, but we were both avoiding it because we were afraid it wouldn't turn out well. I think we both completely underestimated Bo's ability for fine detail. It looks awesome! I think we have something like three gray stripes left to paint, so I hope we're able to get those done within the next couple of weeks. It took about two hours to do this one, so I don't want him to completely burn out trying to do them all at one time.<br /><br />Bo has been working on the VW Westfalia Van a lot. We got the van shortly after we moved to Austin, but when I went into my internship we had zero money for working on it (or anything, really). It's been registered, inspected and insured for a couple of weeks now, and now that Bo can drive it around we're finding out what other stuff needs to be fixed. We're currently waiting on some sort of part for the gear shifting mechanism. The new tent for the pop up came yesterday...I really can't wait to see how great it looks! The current tent is pretty gross.<br /><br />We had another check-up yesterday. All went well! The midwife we had this time was the same one we had for our first appointment. I really like her! I have to say that I have so far enjoyed my prenatal care at this practice. I chose the practice when moved here, specifically for their support of natural childbirth, so I'm glad it's lived up to the reputation.<br /><br />I'm doing well. Allergy season is in full-force so that's not been fun for neither of us. I'm sleeping pretty well, every now and then I'll have a night when I don't sleep much, but the third trimester insomnia hasn't hit yet. The Braxton Hicks are definitely becoming more intense. I started taking papaya enzymes again with my meals because the heart burn/indigestion was getting really bad. It felt like knives in my throat sometimes. Baby seems really comfortable up by my ribs. I hope she enjoys it because I do not. Sometimes it's just a dull soreness and other times it's a quick stabbing feeling. It's quite painful, especially when I drive. For some reason, that angle really encourages her to move into my ribs. As long as she stays head down, I don't care where she is...haha.<br /><br />I can't believe we're only 6-weeks out! I feel like I have too much to do and not enough time to do it in, but I think I'm just being paranoid. I have a few house projects that need finishing up, namely: take one final load of "giveaways" to Saver's Thrift Store, Organize the new office/library space, hang up pictures in the hallway (this project came out of nowhere - ha!), and finish up the nursery the best we can. The nursery needs: painting to be finished, clothes need to be hung (thanks to my wonderful friend Krista for the hand me downs!), cloth diapering system ready to go (diaper pail, wet bags, diaper sprayer, etc) and lastly a mattress. I imagine the decorating of the nursery won't happen before she gets here. We'll see. Maybe I'll get super-nesty there at the end! Oh and I need to pack our hospital bag...that's probably one of the most important things that needs to get done!<br /><br />I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in a couple of weeks! Some of you haven't seen me since Christmas (or at all!) so I imagine I'm going to be pretty huge compared to then! Lot's of love to you all!Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-25873086768084959442012-03-26T10:34:00.002-05:002012-03-26T11:01:11.552-05:0031ish Weeks<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>SXSW ended officially a week ago yesterday and I think I've caught up on all of my rest. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we walked at least 3-4 miles a day. Then that Saturday we had our hospital tour, came home and took a 3-hour nap, then decided to stay home from SXSW activities. We were exhausted! I think we both enjoyed listening to a variety of music over the week, but we did come to the conclusion that we'd never spend over a $1000 for us to get badges. If you don't have a badge you'll likely have to wait and may not get into see the concert...so if you're really into music and have the cash, go for it. I could get used to the whole free badge thing though :) <br /><br />Here I am at the Austin Convention Center:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQ2Me6YITIM4iCa43ZAvhy6m5U_Amqr684U0ugiP-Huw4PbFKD2lv3ZSE1ytSGhyPaHAOxJjVb9vq4SWUWOsaLIkDJg8KiKhKa98LEyRnCC5csGSm8FwZ_037cptEAS7joASY/s1600/30weeksSXSW.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQ2Me6YITIM4iCa43ZAvhy6m5U_Amqr684U0ugiP-Huw4PbFKD2lv3ZSE1ytSGhyPaHAOxJjVb9vq4SWUWOsaLIkDJg8KiKhKa98LEyRnCC5csGSm8FwZ_037cptEAS7joASY/s320/30weeksSXSW.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724229964802838034" border="0" /></a>This is at 30-weeks. We need to take a recent picture because I know I've grown a lot since then. At our appointment last week I had gained 7 pounds since my last appointment. That's just over 2 lbs a week! I knew my shirts seemed like they were getting too small (plus all of the extra lower back and round ligament pain), but I had no idea that was possible! I guess we're catching up from the first trimester because I didn't gain hardly anything at that point. <br /><br />Baby is still head down, moving a ton...oh while we were listening to her heart beat on the doppler we heard some extra "blips" and it was her hiccuping! She gets the hiccups at least once a day (I have them several times a day) and the doctor said she would likely have them a lot once she's "out". <br /><br />Our Bradley Classes (child birth) also ended on the 18th. I'm very happy that we took them, we learned a lot, but we definitely didn't miss driving 30 minutes all the way up and back yesterday!<br /><br />We have started painting the nursery and the only thing left is the accent or "chevron" wall. Bo put the crib together on Friday (I have pictures!) and I have some decorations I want to make. I love the gray and white so far. I was a little nervous that it wouldn't come out the way I had imagined it, but so far we're both really loving the color. We still need a mattress, so I need to look around for some organic ones...although we borrowed a bassinet from some friends and she'll be staying in that for awhile. The main things we need to get finalized are the car seat, the birth plan and packing the hospital bag. I'd also like to get some meals in the freezer, but we'll see how that goes. <br /><br />I'll be 32 weeks on Thursday...that's 8 weeks left! Our wait could also be shorter or longer. I really hope she doesn't come early or I'm going to run out of time!Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-56856471258233505052012-03-08T21:07:00.006-06:002012-03-08T21:46:28.039-06:0029 Weeks Today!I can't believe we only have 11 weeks left! That is of course if she comes on time. I'll start with some pictures, since I haven't been very good at posting them regularly. Honestly these two that I'm posting were done last minute (hence the no make-up) and I didn't realize it at the time, but I'm wearing the same shirt in both! I only have two long-sleeved, maternity shirts so I guess that it was chilly both times we took the pictures. It's been otherwise nice and warm!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjTOZIzpdp6NhvQWC0_-PG46x4l_0EIMs8rmGF8KsHG3C1xuWMWdlfch9T214FowwT5DG45Sc-0FH8VehrJ59QzgXmP-w_Fnfzewe8uEE6gYQHzmyK4xBx8mcUr_9lUCT32jR/s1600/26weeks.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjTOZIzpdp6NhvQWC0_-PG46x4l_0EIMs8rmGF8KsHG3C1xuWMWdlfch9T214FowwT5DG45Sc-0FH8VehrJ59QzgXmP-w_Fnfzewe8uEE6gYQHzmyK4xBx8mcUr_9lUCT32jR/s320/26weeks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717730149378914082" border="0" /> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOYW_fgw06ZSCzxF0IE_M9chabUjCOaSJJViUFoVaBDTfyI750XxTBKseYsHTiwOuf-luUUl0R6YZt1BjDGOjJfcvSNyEOlWdpXq-uk4IDzyLQxcpAw0b5gzrBpvwckHcWJbf/s1600/28weeks.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOYW_fgw06ZSCzxF0IE_M9chabUjCOaSJJViUFoVaBDTfyI750XxTBKseYsHTiwOuf-luUUl0R6YZt1BjDGOjJfcvSNyEOlWdpXq-uk4IDzyLQxcpAw0b5gzrBpvwckHcWJbf/s320/28weeks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717730224733632674" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjTOZIzpdp6NhvQWC0_-PG46x4l_0EIMs8rmGF8KsHG3C1xuWMWdlfch9T214FowwT5DG45Sc-0FH8VehrJ59QzgXmP-w_Fnfzewe8uEE6gYQHzmyK4xBx8mcUr_9lUCT32jR/s1600/26weeks.jpg"></a><br />The picture on the left is at 26 weeks and the one on the right is 28 weeks. I really can't believe she grew that much in two weeks. Actually I guess I shouldn't be too surprised considering the amount of round ligament pain I've had. <br /><br />We had an appointment last week and the midwife said that she was head down (pray that she stays that way!!) and a "good size" baby. She then asked if either of us were big babies, so that kinda scared me...haha. We heard her heartbeat and it was 145. Our practice does only 2 ultrasounds (8 weeks and 20 weeks), so we won't see her until she's on the outside. Anyway, I was also tested for diabetes and anemia, neither of which I have, woo hoo! Our next appointment is in two weeks, I have no idea what takes place at this appointment.<br /><br />We're going to start painting the nursery *hopefully* tomorrow. I'm so excited! We're doing grey walls with one being a grey and white chevron wall and then I'll have pink accents in there. I haven't decided how that will work out, but I'll eventually get there (I hope). I've been asked by a couple of people where we are registered: Babies R' Us, Target and Amazon. You'll find your standard baby stuff on the BRU and Target registries and more of the cloth diapering related stuff on Amazon. That's all I'll say about registries, I feel weird enough putting it here :)<br /><br />Lastly the Wingo's have been blessed twice this week. First Bo won a raffle at work for two SXSW music badges for us. We always go the free concerts, but never to the paid stuff because two badges would cost over $1000 if we bought them and this close to the conference they would cost $750 each! Our good friends were also winners of the raffle (for the 3rd year in a row!), so I think we'll get to hang out with them and have an idea of the best places to go. It seems like a million people come in for this conference so there can be some really long lines to see certain bands. It would be nice to see a "big act" but I'm not sure I want to wait in line for two hours. It might be nicer just to see some smaller, upcoming acts and not have all of the fuss. Secondly, Bo has been wanting some lighting for the garage. When he did the math, I wasn't comfortable with us spending that much all at one time. Well between selling stuff we didn't want/need on Craigslist and Bo getting birthday money, we'll be able to pay for the lights! Poor guy has been dealing with a single bulb for the entire garage lighting!!! I know those aren't huge blessings (and possibly trivial), but it will be nice to have one last hoorah before our little girl arrives.<br /><br />That's all I have for now. Hopefully we'll be headed back to East Texas sometime in April!Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-75363510162766452012-02-16T06:17:00.002-06:002012-02-16T06:43:48.185-06:00Good Morning!It's roughly 6:15 AM at the start of this post. I've been up since about 3AM, and since I figured it would be awhile before I go back to sleep, I might as well post. I'm running on less than 4 hours of sleep, so if something doesn't make sense or my grammar is even worse than it usually is, you'll know why.<br /><br />Unfortunately we haven't had a chance to take any pictures over the last month. The weather has been gross and Bo has been working quite a bit. I think if I remember, I'll make it a priority to do that this weekend. I do enjoy seeing our progress and hopefully you do too. <br /><br />We had an appointment about two weeks ago and everything seemed fine. We got to briefly hear her heartbeat again, which is always nice! At the 14-week appointment, she had to search awhile for it, but this time we found it almost immediately. In a couple of weeks I'll go for another appointment and they'll test me for gestational diabetes. I'm really not looking forward to this. I have to fast for something like 12 hours and then drink an orange-flavored glucose drink. Lately, I've been either waking up starving or having to eat in the middle of the night. Yesterday morning I felt horrible and I'm 100% sure it was all blood sugar. I should have tested it...I have a glucometer around here somewhere. <br /><br />Little girl really started moving a lot these past two weeks. She's been quieter the past few days, but she's picked it back up this morning. It's even to the point now where Bo can actually feel it. He gets so excited and I'll never forget his first reaction. I'm just glad he gets to experience those aspects of the pregnancy. Overall, I've felt pretty good. Bo probably wouldn't know that because he gets to hear me whine about every ache and pain :) I have some pretty serious reflux that sometimes responds to enzymes or the occasional Tums, but other than that everything else has been manageable. I feel constantly hungry...all the time. A friend of mine, who is also pregnant, asked me if I ever got tired of eating. I said YES! I'm glad I'm not the only one. As much as I hate going to the grocery store, I find that going twice a week ensures that I have a good variety of things to eat. Having fresh eggs available is also nice. I had a great omelet a couple days ago.<br /><br />I'll stop talking about food now. In all seriousness, I would like to ask for prayer for Bo. We are going through what I call a "busy season" of work. I guess this all started about a week or two ago, so we're both still a little shocked by it all, but hopefully we'll hit a stride soon. Not that it will be any easier. He's concerned he might be getting sick, which is not uncommon during these stressful times. He's such a hard worker and I'm incredibly thankful for everything he does for us. He rarely complains and despite the late nights, he's rarely crabby (unlike me -ha!). <br /><br />Well I'm going to try and get some sleep before I need to wake Bo up for work. We miss everyone "back home" and will come back for a visit once our Bradley (child birthing) classes are over in mid-March!Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-1781339070462798272012-01-24T14:56:00.006-06:002012-01-24T15:20:45.353-06:00Quick UpdateI've been wanting to update the blog for sometime now, but I just never seem to remember to do it when I actually have the time (I think this is "pregnesia"). Anyhow, I finally remembered and thought I would try to do a quick update. Hopefully everyone knows by now that we're having a GIRL!!! I felt all along that it was a girl and of course I had a 50/50 chance, but it's still cool that my feeling was right. We're absolutely thrilled to be having a healthy little girl!<br /><br />Here she is:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cFjqYZv4TbCLtq8-QwrrbH6UqGElYhGq4P2gPsnjyAww94fSSswOtuKvFCWuuLpDR3tOqJVo5Y8vtgKsnVPh6jBNBt1IpGn9uwWi31t4x978sSPyHxJXKa2rsn9ZQor8K9IY/s1600/picture1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 306px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cFjqYZv4TbCLtq8-QwrrbH6UqGElYhGq4P2gPsnjyAww94fSSswOtuKvFCWuuLpDR3tOqJVo5Y8vtgKsnVPh6jBNBt1IpGn9uwWi31t4x978sSPyHxJXKa2rsn9ZQor8K9IY/s400/picture1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701306309744816114" border="0" /></a>As for names. We do have a name picked out, but our plan is to wait until she's here to tell everyone. I'm not giving out any hints either :)<br /><br />On January 15, we started our Bradley Method classes. Basically, it's a naturally approached childbirth method that emphasizes the husband's role as the birth coach. So far I've really enjoyed it, although we haven't really gotten into the nitty gritty. Last week was the nutrition part and so that was nothing new for me :) However, we had to keep a food log and I realized that I am not eating enough, especially protein. I was really surprised by this because I already felt like I was eating all the time. Now I really feel like I'm constantly eating. I find that it's really important that I eat right before bed, regardless of whether or not I'm actually hungry. No bed time snack and little girl has me up at 4:30-5AM eating a snack. Bo even got to partake in an early morning breakfast with me at Kerbey Lane Cafe. You can get the breakfast platter for like $3.50 before 7AM, how cool is that ?!<br /><br />Lately we've been really busy cleaning out the "office" and purging it of anything we don't need. Most notably, we've taken out the desk and replaced it with a giant bookcase from Ikea. The painting is almost done, the bookshelf is almost ready for books and soon we'll be able to take put everything back in there. The nursery is FULL of office stuff. Seriously, I can't walk into the room. I'm not worried though, we have just over 4 months until we need the nursery.<br /><br />Lastly, I thought I would post a picture of my progress. I'm currently between 22 and 23 weeks. If I got to see everyone on a regular basis, I would not put pictures of myself like this online...so I hope you enjoy them :) We likely won't get around to taking pictures each week, but hopefully every 2-3 weeks we'll do it. Brodie sat in with me on this one, haha.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5pj623C3MUYjttJzaFP6ElZBr97qOSsitzYXmjCrnSj5Vq1RMDHKkZ_WvggVE_f4LGPOAx2HrqfeiYTyp5kfiSubSdMBWF61A28i5m9O2oS7GRRqn16nRDKg7mdB_DnmlolWA/s1600/22wksbrodie.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5pj623C3MUYjttJzaFP6ElZBr97qOSsitzYXmjCrnSj5Vq1RMDHKkZ_WvggVE_f4LGPOAx2HrqfeiYTyp5kfiSubSdMBWF61A28i5m9O2oS7GRRqn16nRDKg7mdB_DnmlolWA/s400/22wksbrodie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701310062478730594" border="0" /></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /></span>Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-72483669345615710622010-11-15T09:43:00.008-06:002010-11-15T10:04:33.380-06:00Better Late Than Never...<div style="text-align: left;">I must apologize to our wonderful families. You all have asked how our trip to San Francisco went and I probably told you "good" and left it at that. Well, we have pictures! I'll try and do a quick photo montage. I don't know who still has dial-up so I'll make the pictures small. If you have issues viewing them, give me a ring and I'll try to help you. Otherwise, you'll see us soon and maybe we can show them then.</div><div><br /></div><div>Without further ado...</div><div><br /></div><div>Day 1 we got to SF and planned on seeing the Golden Gate Bridge. What we didn't plan on was being 4 miles away from it and it was Fleet Week (a huge display of planes and ships) so there were literally thousands of extra people hanging out. So we ended up renting bicycles and cycling up to and across the bridge.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before the bridge, there was a little park full of tents and picnics. I thought it was funny so I took a picture.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHc4z3UxUdPdLPBLPR0vKPWIBwY132nbxV4ogbTrXSpNobZPg9NxjSHsGf3MQXJZsNopSXKLgVxhyphenhyphenwIxyW0Wk1KX8Cvu6Q4BBC5fUr6ZEHbl5lTFS2vE18_dxMY_cjggd4T6OP/s200/100_2857.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539804489437774098" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px; " /></span></div><div>Here I am on the bridge. We enjoyed cycling across, but there were quite a few snooty "real" cyclists who enjoyed giving tourists the evil eye. Cyclists take themselves way too seriously. I'm glad runners aren't like cyclists :)</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUU5CFHuF1w8jGebK7Sns4OeJaIRwsbLuxgbBn_tIB8DRhPIz9OgrK7BwSVwXfjH_1GKzFy8DRliNQvSQD2stzMMGoGsXGMA3lYZnEtxjFoGjeyUTnvyz_Jjt9qUWl_MrCa2Qs/s200/taylorbike.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539805331084516226" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px; " /></span></div><div>The other side of the bridge was beautiful.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIEBIHkhFptvmp8-FuNFlCxjJ1KHhpfx7FF0dieJOWnvUC61VGzSfPkpGri21g6eWagrjwvgk6Mh0bMv8WCETx3YBmBYyMVnvKEY-K3LcYpVu4BhtCfhq1u8OwkZOAdGVByEb2/s200/otherside.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539805895777532466" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px; " /></span></div><div>Here's Bo on the other side.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecK9jshrRpQY0duPeoyjjLHaGjdHI_9Tze7K3cewYqAnpF_AAG7cNkn1byM6mcHKyp1jrQdW7Py18RrjQqXDc0anCQqtQt-lWNPg946bMqYxz-L7I43B3cOQaLMPTgP17DQ-t/s200/bobike.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539806203857492770" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px; " /></span></div><div>Sausalito is on the other side of the bridge. It's full of wonderful touristy shops and restaurants. We ate at a nice Italian restaurant for lunch. We didn't have much time to spend there before the ferry came to take us back (yes we cheated). After eating a bunch of pasta I was NOT about to bike back 4 miles!!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYfWgfISRDribAejKyu5mkQo68h3eG6_WcPodsI1QqMu4bGWp5McmJf8VQBGteArQb05B_zhaeG4Y22LyWf451ugZ-HRcW_LpqeMFX3pJhmsJNb6P1CWPJHRdzTgQfcOKwaSFQ/s200/sausilito.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539806949535070914" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div>I have more pictures, but I think I'll try to upload those in a couple of days. Let me know if the pictures should be bigger...I uploaded them on the smallest setting. </div><div>**Edit: The pictures are pretty small. I might try making them bigger later.</div>Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-16492949960085054692010-05-09T16:15:00.004-05:002010-05-09T16:53:48.562-05:00Well Hello May!<div style="text-align: left;">So I don't think it's a secret that I'm not very good at blogging. I'm trying to think about what has happened since my last post. In February, I started getting a lot more hours at work and started seeing patients at the outpatient cancer clinic. I also started taking sewing classes at the Stitch Lab (Bo's Christmas present to me). In March, we celebrated Bo's 26th birthday at Hudson's on the Bend where we feasted on a variety of wild game - it was delicious.</div><div><br /></div><div>April was a big month. I started quilting and I got a full-time job. Yep, my first full-time job! On Monday I started orientation at the Austin State Hospital. Orientation will last another week. We've spent a lot of time learning about mental illness, intellectual disabilities and a technique called Prevention and Management of Aggressive Behavior (PMAB). I've learned so much in such a short amount of time. I find it all very interesting (and I love to learn about new things). Bo has also been doing well at work. He was commended by his manager for doing such great work that they gave him a $200 gift card for Eddie V's (and there is a choice of two other restaurants that I don't recall). He's been working hard since he started his new project, so it's nice to know that his manager recognizes his hard work. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here is a picture of my first completed sampler block. You don't have to look hard to find mistakes, but it's my first and I'm proud of it. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5BLUfjDNNfSVY6mvgurdcrM-F0Bz0b4b613PTIC9-6orawRvHsFJNj2q4aXag6-t9DfcTvi17X5XzlzBPRpaoFvlm2E5-3ZIf0kIzcsriSO0ZfTGWrSlTONtbXztbljasRF2/s1600/Block2.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5BLUfjDNNfSVY6mvgurdcrM-F0Bz0b4b613PTIC9-6orawRvHsFJNj2q4aXag6-t9DfcTvi17X5XzlzBPRpaoFvlm2E5-3ZIf0kIzcsriSO0ZfTGWrSlTONtbXztbljasRF2/s200/Block2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469386909448727010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 187px; height: 200px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">I took the picture will my phone, so the lighting isn't great. (the background is my ironing board). Hopefully I'll have the previous month's block finished by the end of the week. I attend a monthly quilting class taught by a woman that I go to church with (Dolores). Each month we start another block of the quilt. I think it'll take a year or so to do the whole project. Dolores has offered to give me some instruction on a scrap quilt to work on also. This should be a nice project that doesn't require much skill. Which is nice because I don't have much of that...haha. </div><div><br /></div>Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-8233697061407590592010-01-23T21:39:00.004-06:002010-01-23T22:34:19.584-06:00Where Did January Go?Well January isn't over yet, but it seems like it's flown by so quickly already. On my way to the grocery store this afternoon, a song came on the radio that brought me back to this time last year. The song in-and-of-itself isn't relevant, but it was new and very popular at the time so it was on the radio pretty much every time I was in my car. Anyhow, this time last year I was my foodservice management rotation. First off, I HATE hospital foodservice. Bless those that love it and are successful at it, but it just wasn't for me. I didn't like what I was doing, felt no connection with my preceptor (cold as ice!), and I missed my husband terribly. I don't think there are words for how much I missed being away from home. I haven't lived a very long time, but I'm going to say that was the lowest, darkest point of my life. Praise God I'm back home with Bo and even have a job! It's weird thinking about how different my life is now - just a year later.<div><br /></div><div>Speaking of my job, in addition to my PRN in-patient position, it looks like I and the other PRN dietitian will be working with the outpatient cancer clinic. I'm pretty nervous, but excited at the same time. We haven't started yet, so I'll try to keep everyone updated on how that goes. We're first going to start by teaching people how to use their PEG tubes (feeding tube) and then will progress into doing some counseling and educations. There's also another opportunity that I might have. I would really appreciate some prayer for this as it's not definite that I will get it or even if I will be a good fit for it. I would love for it to pan out, though.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bo and I started a new budget with the You Need A Budget (YNAB) software last week. I'm anxious to get this budget going. God has blessed us with educations and jobs and I think it would be in our best interest to honor those blessings by paying off our school debt! We've set everything up, so now we'll just need to update it weekly and actually follow it! Ideally, if we do it right we'll be paying the current month's bills with last month's income. </div><div><br /></div><div>We're smoking a brisket right now. Bo bought a smoker from Craigslist awhile back and this is the second time we've used it. This is the first time we've ever done a brisket. It smells beyond wonderful. On one of our visits, Bo went down to the river bottom land and found a hickory tree that was about to fall so he took it back with him instead of letting it rot. I hope you all are jealous :) </div><div><br /></div><div>Tomorrow our church is moving. I'm happy about this for many reasons, but the main one is that we will go back to one service. I miss not seeing everyone each Sunday. We're helping with the move because Bo is on the sound-team and I'm the hospitality coordinator. Hospitality is going to have a new set-up so I'm interested to see how this is going to work. I'm not worried about it though, there are so many people available to help and give input. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not sure when we'll be in to visit next. Perhaps March or April. I know that seems like a long way off, but our schedules are NUTS! Love you all!</div>Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-38349301220425096222010-01-11T09:42:00.006-06:002010-01-11T10:11:24.169-06:00Happy New Year<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0Y5Z1Hn8kJwwci7kFTP0yXcz4EUN0bl9VnasdPhYLcGCLGCqxRsGQzayefzZrgNqx8tRQPSLC9lirlgbEjDmfyvs1wx8J948gyeOlM-Ou18ZR5y-3L1QwAHCJZFAkZQHfa4M/s1600-h/photo.jpg"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></a><div><div>I worked the first week of January so I'm just now getting to the Happy New Year post. First of all, we had a great time visiting our families for Christmas. It's always nice visiting everyone, but Christmas makes it that much more special.</div></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxi8M6Tuu92-2PiNL96SYLZh4iyEhB9czULbdSpdT6q9zUep22JofBQ1D_pnhiffyQ8WP3FBQR2vTb7Qhj5A3FqZT0LAEYWhDcxYdGJdGs-aaDKfToaL7SbqNhcl1BNOQ_mLP7/s1600-h/Grace.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxi8M6Tuu92-2PiNL96SYLZh4iyEhB9czULbdSpdT6q9zUep22JofBQ1D_pnhiffyQ8WP3FBQR2vTb7Qhj5A3FqZT0LAEYWhDcxYdGJdGs-aaDKfToaL7SbqNhcl1BNOQ_mLP7/s320/Grace.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425510904580057858" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Santa came to visit Grace and some of her little friends on Saturday. She was so excited to see Santa and then once he came she was suddenly shy. I've never seen her so shy before, so it was pretty funny!</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Luckily, I don't have a picture of Bo and I sitting on Santa's lap. Yep, I don't think we had a choice in the matter...haha. I don't even know what I asked him for, but I'm pretty sure I got everything I wanted :)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0Y5Z1Hn8kJwwci7kFTP0yXcz4EUN0bl9VnasdPhYLcGCLGCqxRsGQzayefzZrgNqx8tRQPSLC9lirlgbEjDmfyvs1wx8J948gyeOlM-Ou18ZR5y-3L1QwAHCJZFAkZQHfa4M/s1600-h/photo.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0Y5Z1Hn8kJwwci7kFTP0yXcz4EUN0bl9VnasdPhYLcGCLGCqxRsGQzayefzZrgNqx8tRQPSLC9lirlgbEjDmfyvs1wx8J948gyeOlM-Ou18ZR5y-3L1QwAHCJZFAkZQHfa4M/s320/photo.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425513230324155874" style="float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Over the last part of December we dog sat for a co-worker of mine. She was going to drive back to see her family in Kansas City, but decided it wouldn't be safe as they were having some major snow flurries and ice. We watched Lucy, her Italian Greyhound, for a few days while she was gone. I think it was the first time Lucy had been away from her, but she did really well. Lucy didn't care much for Cannon, and vice versa, but her and Brodie managed to get some play time in. For a dog that isn't around other dogs too much she did really well.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We didn't do anything for New Year's eve, except go to sleep. However, we went camping on New Year's day so we needed our rest. We had never been to Bastrop State Park so us and another couple from church went. It's a beautiful park, right there inside of the Lost Pines. If I get around to it, I'll try to do a write up on our camping page. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Today I'm going to start my somewhat annual "Spring Cleaning" marathon. I know it isn't Spring yet, but the house could use it and I have the time. There's always the chance that I might not have the time come Spring. Spring cleaning is a time to purge our house of the things we don't need or haven't used in the past year and re-organize. We don't have a lot of extra space in our house so it's important to only have what we need and for it to have a place. Otherwise, I go crazy looking for things. Off to clean...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div>Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-60452108307256265832009-12-16T09:55:00.003-06:002009-12-16T10:30:41.212-06:00Unintentional Hiatus and My New JobI lost track of time and so here I finally am updating our blog. Since most of our readers have seen us recently and will see us soon, I thought it might be pointless in updating. However, I really enjoy having a blog so I will update anyway! <div><br /></div><div>Probably the main reason I haven't updated in awhile is because of my new job. I was hired by a local hospital system as a PRN Clinical Dietitian. "PRN" means that I work on an "as needed" basis. So basically whenever a full-time dietitian needs a day off, I will cover their position. There are 5 hospitals that I cover! I've been trained in at each one, so that's exciting. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm frequently asked what exactly my job entails. People mostly tend to think I make sure people get the right diet or that I write menus. That is a small part of my job, but not really the sole reason I'm there. I can tell you that what I love most about my job is that every day is different. It really depends on the patient. Everyone is different.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some patients cannot eat. This might be because of their diagnosis or they might be mechanically vented, which means a machine is breathing for them. Whatever the reason is, they might need to be fed through a tube. I determine their "nutrition needs" (calories, protein, etc) and choose the appropriate formula. There are different formulas for different needs: more concentrated for those who need fluid restriction, high protein, some that a lower in certain minerals, etc. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are also times when a person cannot be on a tube feeding. So they will be fed through their vein, so to speak. Again, I determine their nutrition needs and then determine how much amino acids (protein), lipids (fat), and dextrose (carbohydrate) to give them. This method of nutrition is very expensive, but it's cool to think that you can receive nutrition right into your blood instead of your body digesting them first! Okay maybe I'm the only one here who thinks that's cool :) </div><div><br /></div><div>I also do diet educations. I typically enjoy doing those because I get to visit with people. Of course, not every patient wants to hear me talk about their new diet, so sometimes it's not fun. I also talk with nurses and doctors about the patients. It's a team effort, which I like. </div><div><br /></div><div>When I make my recommendations to the doctors, I have take the diagnosis, lab values, medications, past medical history and of course the patient's personal needs into consideration. There's seriously not a day that goes by when I don't learn something new. </div><div><br /></div><div>So there's a brief overview of what Taylor Wingo, RD, LD does as a clinical dietitian. The RD stands for Registered Dietitian and the LD stands for Licensed Dietitian. The RD is what I studied my rear-end off for and is a national designation. The LD is a state of Tx designation and I had to take an exam over the state laws of my licensure. Both licenses require continuing education and of course a yearly fee! That part is pretty much the same with any other health professional with a license. </div>Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-34134800468668450722009-10-12T11:57:00.009-05:002009-10-12T12:54:28.209-05:00Our VanagonI've been quite busy the past week and a half, so of course I didn't feel like posting. This past weekend we went to the Christ Church Retreat out at Genesis Ranch in Fischer, Tx. I think we both had a great time and are looking forward to next year's retreat.<br /><br />This November 18 will not only mark 25 years of life for me, but will mark 2 years of us being the proud owners of our 1985 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia. We acquired this big fella from my great uncle, Tom, who graciously gave us a steal of a deal.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcb7PYtVviVfrBzn5gd50pRVIRqJgtFlEE9I8xzjOVT-xrBNqQxB-c1emc5huBaFtbb_VIDHGz6St43JJUnfBXhFCqyS1FhPnR9d32j9PZoTH1xCR5oT2eAU5CJEkhGqAho4T/s1600-h/100_1333.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcb7PYtVviVfrBzn5gd50pRVIRqJgtFlEE9I8xzjOVT-xrBNqQxB-c1emc5huBaFtbb_VIDHGz6St43JJUnfBXhFCqyS1FhPnR9d32j9PZoTH1xCR5oT2eAU5CJEkhGqAho4T/s200/100_1333.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391758895763212866" border="0" /></a>This is us picking the van up in Houston. U-Haul said that our truck wouldn't be able to tow the van, so we had to not only rent the tow-dolly, but rent a U-haul truck as well. The Westfalia is a camper, complete with two (small) beds, a stove, refrigerator, sink, and a ton of storage space.<br /><br />After sitting in my uncle's driveway for a few years, never being cranked, the van didn't run. Bo and I helplessly tried to push the van down the driveway and up onto the tow dolly. A neighbor saw us and felt sorry for us, so he offered to help. We're not stupid, so we accepted his offer. I'm pretty sure we would have been out-of-luck had he not helped us out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHC0wjMpLZOGM_0dRGp3KsHXKpCVvMjg0reFrXVFATQaANMJN3vSKI1TOntcUf-bxhV9qJATJz190-Pk3a5a1KBihlqqNvGXWsd0wJOPDjTOSMvqGH6VV6pyY34PrguzfL9krN/s1600-h/PICT0038.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHC0wjMpLZOGM_0dRGp3KsHXKpCVvMjg0reFrXVFATQaANMJN3vSKI1TOntcUf-bxhV9qJATJz190-Pk3a5a1KBihlqqNvGXWsd0wJOPDjTOSMvqGH6VV6pyY34PrguzfL9krN/s200/PICT0038.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391759595101726386" border="0" /></a>Once we got to our house we realized even more how gross the "the thing" looked. Swamp thing would have been an appropriate name for the van, instead of Westfalia. Houston is really humid so it had moldy stuff all over the outside and the inside too. We decided it would be in our best interest to wash it up a bit so that the neighbors wouldn't hate us. At this point we'd only been in the neighborhood for 6 months, so we were still in the getting-to-know-you phase. All cleaned up with the side door open. Not bad looking, eh?<br /><br />Bo started working on the van when we got it, but we had to stop while I was gone for my internship, for financial reasons. Now that we're not having to pay rent and all of the gas bills from traveling back and forth, we've started back to fixing it up. Progress will continue to be slow until I find a job and we have two incomes again. I'm excited about this and hope we'll be able to go on vacation in our little camper someday.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbZUiOAllSVKCYY_R_BjMqjryuyqkUExsLvBgJ38OxAUn2TI8XMYg7SrB2ZFRnJBR2WH0_gz3b_o-wf80ZP2k8Lx73wSClm2rjIHP29QdVvzsl3kkqwMXSGVqj223yj5s5sA3k/s1600-h/100_1337.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbZUiOAllSVKCYY_R_BjMqjryuyqkUExsLvBgJ38OxAUn2TI8XMYg7SrB2ZFRnJBR2WH0_gz3b_o-wf80ZP2k8Lx73wSClm2rjIHP29QdVvzsl3kkqwMXSGVqj223yj5s5sA3k/s200/100_1337.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391760635785687314" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />The camper with the "tent" popped up. This is how you access one of the beds. I think this looks really bizarre, but I like it!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTLZwPjBqUthPo7qdVh81a9RwwFHeYlOb0NbK-GYb4wXPBgcfznBaSNu3dEp_R0Evr09FoPVSZJO9z6yx1vDHNZSE-x3Zy3wOqcFaLOvHImDEuSwpjK-JYSsZooR6PEgKRCt_/s1600-h/PICT0044.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTLZwPjBqUthPo7qdVh81a9RwwFHeYlOb0NbK-GYb4wXPBgcfznBaSNu3dEp_R0Evr09FoPVSZJO9z6yx1vDHNZSE-x3Zy3wOqcFaLOvHImDEuSwpjK-JYSsZooR6PEgKRCt_/s200/PICT0044.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391760950661607666" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span></span><br />This is the refrigerator. Above you can see the stove on the left and the sink on the right. How funny is that?<br /><br /><br /><br />Bo's first goal is getting the van "inspectable." At least this way, we can legally drive it to get something fixed if Bo is unable to do it himself. Otherwise, I think we would have to tow it there. One of the more costly items will be tires. Apparently it needs special, heavy-duty tires. Hopefully that will be the most expensive thing it needs! Of course, I'm not going to leave it all to Bo. My plans are to clean up the curtains and carpeting. The seats are in exceptional condition, thankfully! The carpeting needs some TLC and at least this way I have a valid excuse to purchase a little steam cleaner :)<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;"><br /></span></span>Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-9786958901000963152009-09-24T09:25:00.002-05:002009-09-24T09:50:20.853-05:00Los Dos WingosI've been procrastinating a bit on updating because I haven't felt that too much is going on with us. However, if you're here then surely you notice our new look. It was a collaboration between Bo and I with the help of a template that I found online. I hope it doesn't take too long to load for our family with slower connections. Please let me know if it doesn't work for you and we'll work on a solution. <br /><br />The biggest news going on around here is that I have applied to two jobs. Hopefully I will hear back soon. I'm so excited and ready to finally be working as a Registered Dietitian! It just seems like it's taken so long to get to this point. I'm sure there are many great candidates for the job, so I'd appreciate your prayers that I can do the best I can if I get an interview. I've always wanted a job doing something I like and at this point in my life I know that is clinical nutrition. What I like about the clinical aspect of nutrition is that you never know what is going to happen. Every patient is different and you don't always have that "text book" patient, so it can be challenging. <br /><br />Other news around the Wingo homestead is that we finally got the Hackberry trees that were leaning over our privacy fence removed. One was little, but the other one was a normal sized tree. It had started to rot and was infested with mistletoe. Anyhow, the guy who cut it down put a ladder up on the tree, climbed up and started cutting limbs down. He was WAY up there, no harness, no hard hat, nothing!! I'm glad I was inside because I was panicking. Bo took a picture, but I don't have access to it right now. He didn't hurt himself so I was very happy about that. He and his associate finished in two hours. I figured it would take much longer. This weekend will be spent moving the tree branches to the curb so the city can pick them up. Twice a year they do large brush collection for free, otherwise it would cost $100. So we timed that nicely, although it wasn't originally intentional. I think we'll post the wood on craigslist as "free firewood."<br /><br />I never thought I would enjoy the home improvement process. I will confess I hated painting, but the difference is amazing! I prefer landscaping, oddly enough. Once we finish with our backyard I think it will be nice. It's a mess right now, no grass, stumps awaiting removal, and a chicken wire fenced garden. Overtime, all of that will change and I think it will be just how we want it. Now I just have to figure out how to keep the mosquitos away so we can enjoy our backyard more often. Any ideas?Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28742968.post-74335446256426085132009-09-09T10:13:00.003-05:002009-09-09T10:59:00.650-05:00Introducing Our Newest AdditionMeet...Duke of Earl aka Cujo aka Rabbit Claus, "Brangelina" for short.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDpH6ciH0tyOCFA4zV3uWFRQhuSHVug1mpwtAqhiuhDEBy6MMuKaqStFZGnPd-cigInkfEW1ThAmMNdljFsKkNJE7VBz655ZThL_N63uvP_A15mUSeunvHDYwis_XrxT3moNk/s1600-h/rabbitclaus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDpH6ciH0tyOCFA4zV3uWFRQhuSHVug1mpwtAqhiuhDEBy6MMuKaqStFZGnPd-cigInkfEW1ThAmMNdljFsKkNJE7VBz655ZThL_N63uvP_A15mUSeunvHDYwis_XrxT3moNk/s200/rabbitclaus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379486396316635410" border="0" /></a>Yes, yes I know what you're thinking, "What's with <span style="font-style: italic;">all</span> the names?" Bo and I couldn't agree on a name, plus I'm not sure if it's a boy or a girl. Usually we call it a he, just to make it easy on us. I am able to pick him up, but the thought of turning him upside down scares me. He seems to be happy here. I think his cage (that he came with) is a little too small, but Bo is eventually going to build him one. Once I make up my mind what I want it to look like :)<br /><br />Yesterday when I took this picture of him, I think it upset him. He thumped at me, peed and then flicked it on me. NOT COOL. If it wasn't a cute little bunny I would have hit him on the nose or something. So I won't be invading his territory with my iPhone anymore. <br /><br />I'm not sure what breed he is, but I'm thinking part Lionhead? He's not near as fluffy as some of the Lionhead rabbit pictures I've seen online, but he has the ring of hair around his head. So my best guess is that he's a mutt-bunny. Dad, do you know? From what I understand the American Rabbit Breeders Assoc does not recognize the Lionhead breed, so maybe you've never heard of it. Dad used to raise and show rabbits for those of you wondering...haha.<br /><br />QUESTION: What do you think we should name him/her?Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05293180541661755446noreply@blogger.com2