8 weeks old

Kevin is 8 weeks old today....so hard to believe. And to celebrate the milestone - Kevin rolled over. He was laying on his tummy in his crib and rolled over onto his back. Such a big boy! I don't think he knows what he did so it'll be interesting to see how long it takes him to do it again - but the fact that he did it made us proud.

I am wrapping up my time at home with Kevin and tonight is the last night that I get up with him for 3am feedings (at least until this weekend!) I can't believe I was home for 8 weeks. I am ready to get back into a routine and I look forward to Ben being at home with Kevin. He's going to have so much fun.

Oh...and an update on Kevin's schedule. He takes a 9:00pm bottle and sleeps until 3:00am and then wakes up again for a bottle at 7:00. He's followed this schedule for a week now so I am calling it official. He eats and naps around the same time every day. He's such a good baby.

New pics and cute video

Kevin is smiling so much now it makes taking pictures so much fun! Check out the video to see how good he's talking....

11 lbs 11 oz

Kevin weighed in today at 11 lbs 11 oz and measured 23 inches....He's getting so big! We even had to trade in his size 1 diapers for a size 2. His new thing is smiling and talking. He smiles for us all the time - espcially when he wakes up. He's so cute and so much fun. He's also sleeping for one 6 hour stretch during the night. He's eating every 4 hours the rest of the day. Is this an actual schedule we're on? If he's still doing this in a week we'll call it official.

I go back to work next Wednesday so Ben is preparing to be a stay at home dad for 3 months. He already does so much around the house - but now he's doing more with Kevin to make sure he's ready when I'm gone. He wore the infant carrier with Kevin last night and prepared dinner, vacuumed and helped me straighten up the house....it was too cute! Kevin is absolutely fasinated with Ben. They are going to be great together.

A special congrats to my friend Sarah who welcomed her new baby on Christmas Day! We can't wait to see sweet baby Olivia.

Kevin's 1st Christmas

Kevin's 1st Christmas was wonderful! We spent Christmas Eve with Ben's family (and found out that Kevin will have a new cousin next year....congrats Stephen and Amy!)

Christmas Day we went to my parents. Kevin was in such a good mood and didn't mind being passed around all day!

Here are some fun pictures of our Christmas.....

Updated Pictures...Finally!

A Sleeping Baby = A Happy Mommy

We've had such a busy week with our little man. I officially decided on Monday to put Kevin on formula. I am returning to work in 2 weeks and to be honest, I am exhausted! It was a hard but good decision. We've been able to get out this week and stay out for longer than 3 hours. We went Christmas shopping on Wednesday, visited with my friend Bryanna yesterday and we're going out again tonight. I am so happy and feel so much better. I'm getting more sleep at night and Kevin just seems more content.

A major plus to him being on formula...Ben gets to help with feedings. As a matter of fact, Wednesday morning..Kevin woke up and Ben got up to feed him. I slept until almost 11:00 that morning. It was great!!!! He's such a good husband and daddy.

I will post new pictures of Kevin shortly. He is waking up from his nap....

A look back....

Kevin will be 6 weeks old on Monday. It's so hard to believe! Ben and I had our official first date last night since Kevin was born. We went to Saltgrass and had a great time. My parents came over to watch Kevin. It was hard to leave him - even for a few hours but I figured I haven't left this little man since he was born and since I'll be returning to work shortly I needed to get used to it. We didn't call home once to check on him!!!! He was an angel for my parents and slept most of the time. It's great having family here to help out and love on Kevin.

Enjoy the pictures of my final months pregnant, Kevin's arrival and his first month just hanging out with us. He's changed so much and gets cuter every day. We're not bias or anything!

Prayer, Patience and Parental Instincts

Follow up from my post yesterday: Ben and I have decided not to continue an aggressive approach with Kevin's reflux. Instead, we're relying on our "Three P's"...prayer, patience and our own parental instincts. I really feel in my heart that he is okay and all this medicine they want to try is too much for his little body and young age. Why put a one month old on 2 different medicines if you don't have to? We're not too impressed with our doctor's office and at this point one doctor is telling us something completely different than another doctor in the same office and neither of their nurses know what they're talking about. With that said we are going to take Kevin to the pediatrician's office I used to work at. I love the doctors/staff there and since he's going to daycare by my office - this location is perfect.

We feel great about our decisions and are reminded that God is in control and He will take care of him.

A Good Night

Last night was great! I haven't admitted it yet but Kevin has been sleeping with me for the last week... Poor Ben has been sleeping in the living room on an air mattress. This started when Kevin went through his growth spurt last week and was wanting to eat every hour. I was exhausted and when he fell asleep one night, I layed down with him and what do you know - he slept for like 4 hours. I thought "great, I can do this every night" and I did! I was about one feeding away from not breastfeeding anymore but getting sleep last week helped me stick with it.

For the most part, he is on a great schedule. I find myself feeding him around the same time every day and he usually falls asleep around the same time, too. I knew if I didn't get him back in his crib - he couldn't continue to build a schedule. At first I thought it would be harder on him and that he would miss me - not a chance! He slept great last night and after putting him down the first time, I was the one missing him. I can't even explain how wonderful it was to lay him next to me and for him to look up at me before he fell asleep. I still managed to get in a 2 hour nap with him this afternoon but officially at night, he is sleeping in his crib. Ben should be thrilled that he gets to return to his bed tonight!!!

The pediatrician is adding a reflux medicine to see if in addition to the Prevacid it will help more. We are going to the hospital on Thursday to get a reflux ultrasound to see what's going on inside his little body. We hope that his reflux can be controlled with medicine. He's gaining weight so I can't imagine that he'll need anything else.

He's starting to smile more and turns his head in the direction of our voices. He's so much fun and we love him so much. I am now in the process of preparing Ben for him time off with Kevin. Trying to give him tips and advice so he doesn't go crazy!

Also, please keep the Franklin family in your prayers. They are giving birth to their son Deren today! It's been a long hard pregnancy and we're praying for a healthy baby that gets to go home with mom.

Updated Pics

Things change by the day... Kevin was going 4 hours between feedings for about a week. I thought a schedule was actually forming. I was wrong! I think he's learning that if he eats less but more often his tummy doesn't hurt....and that's exactly what he's doing. He eats (which takes about 30-45 min) and sits up for an addition 30 minutes to make sure he doesn't spit up. After that it takes a good 30 minutes for him to fall asleep. So basically from the time he falls asleep - he's only asleep for maybe 2 hours before he's ready to eat again.

I've been trying to think positive about the whole situation. I look at him at 2 in the morning and think "aren't you tired?" and "how are you hungy again?" And then I think.... Some nights I sleep better than others and some meals I eat better than others. Who can blame him for wanting to eat a lot at some feedings? And he's only 5 weeks old - I know he's not going to sleep though the night yet...especially since he's breastfed. So we take one day at a time and love every minute of it. He's just precious when he wakes up (all 4 times a night!!). I get the biggest smiles during those times. It's like God's little way of reminding me how blessed we are to have him even though I'm so tired I wonder how I'll make it though the day.

Didn't make it to church today. Ben worked 2am-6am and then came home. It's about 40 degrees outside, dark and raining - staying in a nice warm bed sounded so much better at 7:00 this morning! And that's exactly what we did...

He's getting bigger by the day!

Kevin weighed in at 10 lbs 8 oz yesterday when we had to make a trip to the pediatrician's office. Ben changed his diaper and noticed that Kevin's eyes were yellow. We called and they wanted to see him and check him for jaundice. We had our appointment and had to head to the hospital to get his blood drawn. **Side Note: Jeers to the lab employees at MY hospital who were extremely rude when (1) we showed up 5 min late (unable to prevent since we left the clinic at 4:45) and (2) when the pediatrician's office put our info on the wrong req form. Hello! The req form said STAT and they just sent us away like it was no big deal. "Come back tomorrow when the form is right" is all the employee had to say to me. Cheers to the employees at Dr Yee's office who called and allowed us to go through the ER to get his blood drawn and cheers to the doctor who called us at 9:00 last night to give us the results!** His lab results came back and everything looked good. They were concerned that his liver may not have been functioning like it should....but he's perfect. They gave us samples of Prevacid today to see if it would help with his little tummy after he eats. We're hoping it works!

We took pictures today at Target and they turned out great. Kevin was a little angel and slept the entire time. We get the pictures back in a few weeks and can't wait to get frames and give them as Christmas gifts.

Kevin's eating and sleeping schedule is getting better. He's almost making it 4 hours between feedings!! Can't wait to see how much "schedule progress" he makes in the next few weeks before I go back to work.

We made it to church!

Kevin and I made it to church this morning!!!! Miracles do happen... He decided to wake up every hour on the hour last night. He'd eat, go to sleep and wake up an hour later. This continued until 2:30 this morning. He finally went back to sleep and woke up at 4:00. At that point I had already decided that we weren't going to church. I was so tired. Kevin (and God) had other plans. When I changed his diaper...he went tee-tee all over himself. I got his bath tub out and we were taking a bath at 4:30 this morning. After that, we were both awake! He ate, relaxed in his swing and I got ready for church. I was ready, ate breakfast, fed him again and we were in the car at 8:20 on our way to church!!!! I couldn't believe it..and it only took me 4 hours!

Church was great and it was nice to get out and see everyone. Kevin slept the entire time and only made noises when he was dreaming. We got home, we both ate lunch and we were down for a nap at noon. He let me sleep 2 hours - I was so happy.

We're venturing out again tomorrow to run some errands. I'm getting so brave these days. I can't believe he'll be 4 weeks tomorrow. Time has gone by so fast. One of my errands is to run by my office. I plan on weighing him while I'm there to see how big our chunky monkey is!

First bottle

I finally got to start pumping this week which meant that Ben got to feed Kevin his first bottle! We're only doing 1 bottle a day for the next few weeks and will start increasing that number the closer it gets to me going back to work. Kevin did great and didn't seem to care that it was a bottle feedig him instead of me! I was glad he did so good and Ben loved being able to feed him.

Kevin is feeling much better and is back on his regular feeding schedule. He is sleeping pretty good at night - falling asleep between 9:00 and 10:00 and waking between 5:00 and 6:00. An excellent schedule for me when I go back to work! He takes a small nap during the day..usually around 11:00 and is awake the rest of the day. No more fussing and crying when he's awake either. He either plays on his little mat or sits in my lap and looks around. He's starting to notice more things now...especially when he hears one of the dogs. He looks in the direction of mine and Ben's voice - I love that!!! When he's done eating, he just lays on my shoulder and looks at me. I still can't believe he's here and that he's ours! We just love him to pieces. He's our "little buddy", "little man" and "pumpkin"....all the nicknames we've come up with. He's rarely called Kevin unless we're talking about him to others!!

Going to try to get a little nap in before he needs to eat again. Enjoy the pictures.






Kevin and daddy enjoy their first bottle experience









Look at him go!





Playing on my mat








My shirt says "my crib rocks". How cute is that?










Bath time!





Drying off


"hurry mom - it's cold"


Warm and cozy in my robe

Kevin and Mommy's ER Visit

Today Kevin and I visited the ER.... He started spitting up and having diarrhea yesterday and since his midnight feeding - he wasn't keeping anything down. I talked to the nurse at the hospital and she said to go ahead and take him into the ER. Of course...it has to be on a day that Ben is at work and my parents are already at church. I was in tears most of the way to the hospital but pulled it together before we got there. Kevin hasn't really slept the last 2 nights (except when he sleeps in my arms) but what do you know...we get the hospital and he passes out. We were there 2 hours and he slept almost the entire time! The doctor said he has a stomach bug and there isn't much we can do. They gave him some medicine to help with the nausea and vomiting. It seems to have worked because he hasn't spit up since we've been home. Oh..and I was worried that all the fluid he was losing would cause him to lose weight. Yeah right - our chunky monkey weighed in at 9 lbs 9oz (with clothes)!!! He's eating good and even though he's lost a lot over the past few days, he must have some in reserve or something!!!

We got home, both ate lunch and took a good nap. Daddy is home now and is loving on Kevin. We're planning on staying in for the next week until he gets to feeling better and we're limiting his visitors. This last week was too much for his little body. He's getting into a good routine (eating and sleeping) so we're going to continue working on that and hope it continues.

We're thankful for....

Just want to point out that my post a year ago today was sharing with everyone that we were thankful for my successful surgery. We also found out that the chance of us getting pregnant was good with the help of fertility pills. Fast forward 1 year....and all our prayers and dreams have become reality. Our little miracle is here and we are so thankful for him.

Today was a crazy day! We spent most of the day with my family (all 20 of them!) and Kevin wanted no part of that. He pretty much cried from the moment we got there until we left. We then spent time with Ben's mom and sister (and family friends)...and he wasn't too thrilled about that either. It was too long of a day for him. It took us 10 minutes to get home and he cried the entire time. And I don't mean fussed...I mean cried. Loud, high pitched, mad at the world cried. I felt so bad for him. I fed him when we got home and he passed out. I think he'll sleep good tonight and we're spending the day just hanging out at home tomorrow...just him and I. Poor baby is worn out!!!!

And can you believe that it snowed today? 2 days ago it was in the 80s and today snow! Only in Texas.... What a great memory for Kevin's first Thanksgiving.

Enjoy the pictures of today. If you can't tell...his onesie says "Baby's 1st Thanksgiving". He got too hot in it so we changed him into a little football onesie to help cheer on the Cowboys!!

More pictures....

We had a great day...and we're hoping for another great night! Ben is off tomorrow and Thursday so it'll be nice to have him home and actually off for Thanksgiving! It's been at least 4 years since he's been off on Thanksgiving so we're going to enjoy it!

Chunky Monkey

Yep....I'm referring to our little man! We had Kevin's 2 week check up today and he now weighs 8lbs 13oz and is 21 inches long. He gained 10 ounces in 1 week!!! We all know he is eating very good around here - thanks to daddy's cookin'. And thanks to me feeding Kevin - I have lost 30 lbs. It feels so good to be wearing my rings again.

Afterwards we ran by my office to pick up our employee appreciation gift card. (Sorry we missed you Aunt Libby!) What a huge blessing....The new president of the hospital gave each employee a $400 gift card to Wal Mart - just to say "thanks"!!! Let me say it again...what a huge blessing.

We just got finished eating dinner and after Kevin eats around 9:00 - I'm off to bed. He only woke up 2 times last night and has stayed awake more today..so I'm hoping for a good night's sleep.

Our day without daddy

Today was Ben's first day back to work. Kevin and I did pretty good just the 2 of us. We slept in the living room last night so Ben could get a good night's sleep in bed. Kevin did good in his pack n play....only waking up every 2 - 2 1/2 hours to eat. He slept most of the day today so we'll see how tonight goes. He's changing so much every day and I can't believe he'll be 2 weeks tomorrow. We go for another weight check and part 2 of his newborn screening tomorrow...I'm thinking he's back to his birth weight - if not more.

I don't think Kevin has any idea of what is in store for him on Thursday.... He does have an adorable "baby's first thanksgiving" outfit that we can't wait to put him in. I'll be posting tons of pictures of Kevin meeting his extended family and friends for the first time.

More sleepless nights.....

It has been said that a baby will follow the same schedule as they had when you're pregnant....and I'm convinced that Kevin read that memo! He is awake from 11:00pm until 6:00am - the exact same schedule he had when I was pregnant! I sleep a lot during the day (thanks to Ben!) so Kevin and I can have our 7 hour slumber party. We have really good talks and when a Maverick game is on - I explain the rules of the game to him. He's very interested...trust me!

I'm learning what is on TV and what is not during this time. Thank you Discovery Channel for showing Babies: Special Delivery at 4am every morning. I love that show and it makes that last stretch of time go by fast. Ben goes back to work tomorrow so we'll see how well I do by myself. Ben has been great!!!! He fixes every meal, does the laundry and cleans house. When he knows I need a break - he holds or changes Kevin. I am so lucky to have a wonderful husband and Kevin has a great daddy. We are definitely going to miss him.

Here are the latest pictures of our sweet (and sleeping) baby. I should start taking pictures in the middle of the night when he's awake : )

Daycare decision and Ben's experience!

We decided on a daycare for Kevin. We will be taking him to a center right across the street from my work. It is a very nice place, great staff and of course it's location makes it convenient! We turned in our application and registration money this morning - so Kevin is on the list.

After dropping that off, we went to my mom's work to visit her and let her show Kevin off...which she did like a pro! He did great and let everyone hold him - after my mom insisted that they all wash their hands before touching him!!! We left there and went to visit Ben's mom at her work. She didn't want to share Kevin at all but let everyone come in and see him.....it was all G-mama time : ) Kevin actually woke up for this visit and enjoyed being held and loved on. It's funny to watch everyone comment on "all his dark hair" and then ask who he got it from. I understand the amount of hair but the color..seriously? Look at us - is there any doubt? We're home now and Kevin should be waking up to eat and then we nap. Ben goes back to work on Sunday so we'll see how well I do by myself.

Now..for Ben's diaper changing experience. I wish I had my camera when it happened but I think everyone can use their imagination. Ben changed Kevin last night while I was in the living room. I hear him tell Kevin "you think that's funny don't you?" Apparently, he wasn't finished going poopy when Ben took off his diaper so he put a wipe under his bottom to catch what was coming out. Kevin thought it'd be a good time for him to go tee-tee, too. Ben tried to cover it up but when he lifted his bottom, Ben laughed and all I could hear him say was "old faithful!!!!" He had poop on the changing table, urine on his arm, diaper genie and wall (not to mention on Kevin). It was too funny!!!! I gave Kevin a bath to get the urine off his little face and chest and Ben cleaned up the nursery. Now we're both cautious when we change our little guy so we don't get another surprise...and in Ben's case - 2 surprises! Way to go Kevin.

Kevin had a great night again. He only woke up 3 times to eat and then went right back to sleep. He really is becoming a good baby - regardless of what I thought last week when we got home. Kevin is becoming a thumb sucker - it's the cutest thing ever. I've taken several pictures of him sucking his thumb that I'll post later.

Off for our afternoon "snack"....

A great night and daycare dilema

Kevin and I had a GREAT night last night. From 7pm-7am, we got about 8 hrs of sleep! I would wake up after an hour thinking he'd be awake...but he was fast asleep.

I think we wore him out yesterday. We were informed Sunday night that the girl who was supposed to watch Kevin is not going to be able to now. I was in total shock and of course cried about it for a while. I just kept saying "are you kidding me?" We're had her lined up since I was 4 months pregnant and we find out a week after he's born that we have nobody to watch him. We'll be "daycare shopping" the rest of this week to find somewhere for Kevin to go when Ben returns to work in April.

Here's a picture of the girls checking out Kevin. Jersey doesn't really care that he's here. Meghan is our baby watch dog! When Kevin sleeps, she stays in the nursery and sleeps, too! It's so cute. When he cries, she is right there "helping" us change him or feed him.

Can't get enough pictures!

We had a good day...after a not so good night. Kevin's tummy was not feeling good and he spent most of the night spitting up, crying or eating. After all that drama, he slept most of the afternoon and is having a good evening so far. Things are starting to come together and we're figuring out this parent thing a little bit at a time. It's hard to believe a week has almost gone by.

More pictures coming soon.....

Kevin William Sasser is here!!!!!

Kevin William Sasser entered the world on Monday, November 5th at 10:34pm weighing in at 8lbs 7oz and 19 1/2 inches long! Enjoy the pictures. I'll post more about our labor and delivery experience later - Kevin only sleeps about 30 minutes in his crib before letting us know he's not happy.

Almost a family of 3.....

Our last weekend of "just the 2 of us" was great! We ran some final errands Friday night and went to bed early - my kind of night. We attended a friend's wedding on Saturday. The reception was held at the Mira Vista Country Club. Can't think of a better way to spend an evening than surrounded by million dollar homes, great friends and expensive food.

We went to church this morning and made our way to the hospital for my pre-op. I had a great nurse who took so much time explaining to me what was going to happen tomorrow. She pretty much assured us that we were good to go at 10:00 tomorrow morning!!!! They have plenty of rooms and one person that was scheduled for tomorrow had her baby this weekend.

We ate dinner with Ben's mom and sister tonight and now we're home watching the Cowboy game. Our house is clean and bags are packed. I can't believe we're less than 24 hours (hopefully) from holding Kevin. Ben has rubbed on my belly more today than he has the past 5 months : ) I have loved being pregnant and am very grateful for such a smooth and uneventful pregnancy - but I am very ready to lose the belly.

Our prediction of Kevin:

Candi: 7 lbs 10 oz and 21 inches long born at 6:25pm
Ben: 7 lbs 2 oz and 19 inches long born at 8:30pm

We both predict he'll have a head full of dark hair!!!!! Can't wait to post pictures of our new baby. Keep us in your prayers.

3 more days!!!

I talked to my nurse today and we are officially scheduled for Monday at 10:00! Still doesn't seem real and probably won't until we're at the hospital and in a room.

I'm spending this weekend resting and cleaning. I am attempting to attend a wedding on Saturday - we'll see how that goes. Our doctor's appointment went good yesterday. Dr Maxwell laughed at my huge swollen feet and said "yep - those are big all right!" Kevin's heart rate was great and he estimated he was 7 lbs.

Today I woke up to get ready for work and realized this is one of the last times I wake up and just get myself ready! And probably the last time I wake up to an alarm clock and not a baby crying : )

I'll update more before Monday....and will post final pictures of my belly!

New Car and 8 days until baby!

We decided that having a baby wasn't exciting enough - we needed to buy a new car, too! We really needed a new car seeing that we've had Ben's car almost 8 years and even though Ben won't admit it...it is falling apart. We love the car and can't wait to bring Kevin home in it!

Only 8 more days until we meet our baby. As terrible as I feel, I wish it was tonight but I've made it this far, what's 8 more days, right?

Looking forward to posting pictures of Kevin soon...until then, the new car will have to do!

November 5th...only 10 more days!!!!!!!!!!

Well...this is the day that could possibly be Kevin's birthday! They are planning on inducing me on Nov 5th. Our appointment went good yesterday. Kevin's heart rate continues to be strong....and my blood pressure and weight are good.

We go back next Thursday for another exam and they will put us on the books for the 5th! We are so excited. There is a chance that we could be canceled because of an overflow of babies being born right now but if all goes as planned, we will be holding our baby in 10 days.

More updates to come....

Kevin is ready!!!!!

I decided to go to the doctor this afternoon because I didn't feel too good this weekend and when I didn't get better today - I thought it was best! I am so glad I did.... Kevin is ready to make his grand entrance - hopefully sooner than later!

Since Thursday, I have dilated to a 2, he has moved between a -1 and 0 position, and I am between 70 and 80% effaced. Holy Cow!!! In 4 days, I did all that...like I had anything to do with it, but it still makes me feel good. Dr Maxwell's instructions were: If I'm not holding Kevin in my arms in the morning to call his office and give them an update. We're still keeping our appointment for Thursday and he'll do another check to see how things are going.

The car seat has been installed and we are putting our bags in the car tonight. We're ready when he is and by the looks of things, he is READY!!!

More Progress

We had our appointment yesterday and everything still looks great! Kevin's heart rate was 140 and he estimated he was about 6 or 6 1/2 lbs. My weight and blood pressure were both good and I measured exactly 37cm. I am now 60% effaced and he said even though I haven't dialated yet, my cervix is softening...which is great news!

We go back again on the 25th. Dr Maxwell is very pleased with our progress and says both mine and Kevin's health are perfect.

We are finishing things up in the house this weekend and will be cleaning out my car to install the car seat!!!! Getting closer every day. Doesn't seem possible that we'll finally get to see our baby in a few weeks.

A Little Progress

We had our 36 week check up today and everything is still on schedule for November 7th! As my friend Elizabeth says..."He still needs time to bake"! I measured 36 cm and Kevin's heart rate was 141 - all perfect!!!

So....I am 50% effaced (half way there) and Kevin is in a -3 station....which means he's only dropped a little bit and has a way to go. His presentation was head first - so that was good news, too. We go back next Thursday for another check. I'm so glad we made some kind of progress.

Only 27 days until we meet our baby! We are so excited and anxious. It's hard to believe it's almost over and yet our journey is just beginning.

5 more weeks!

I can't believe we have less than 5 weeks before Kevin makes his grand entrance!!! Time sure has gone by fast. The nursery is completed and all his clothes, bibs, towels and wash cloths are washed and put away. We completed our Lamaze class last weekend and took a tour of the hospital.

At my last doctor's appointment, he estimated that Kevin was about 5 lbs. I am still measuring to my due date, so nothing has changed just yet. We go back to the doctor next Thursday. Not sure if or when they'll do an ultrasound....

Now we just sit back and wait!! I'm getting bigger by the week. I'll get Ben to take a picture of me this weekend so I can post.

Work Shower

My work shower was this afternoon and I had so much fun! My entire office got us our stroller and car seat - I was completely shocked!! We got some great gifts and lots of gift cards....which is perfect. Between WalMart, Babies R Us and Target - we have gotten around $800 in gift cards. How awesome is that?

We are surrounded with such wonderful people that love us and Kevin. I have a great staff and I appreciate all their support and prayers. The "road to Kevin" has been hard but they have each supported me and they will never know how much I appreciate it. To give you an idea of what they've been through.....We all started working together in August. I had my surgery in November, started Clomid in December and got pregnant in February. They have yet to spend more than 6 months with non-hormonal Candi!!!


Okay, well here are some fun pics from the shower....

Surprise!!!!!!



Our stroller and car seat




We had some great food!!!!










My mother...the shower attendence queen! I love her...

Nursery Progress

Everytime I think we're almost done in the nursery, we find more little projects to do! This weekend we bought a TV for the room (actually it's more for me because of the amount of time I'll be spending in there).....but keep in mind I would have been happy with a basic TV - so I should say it's for me to watch and for Ben to show off! He's so proud of himself for mounting it to the wall. This was my opportunity to spoil him for a change - so I didn't mind.

It's hard to believe a year ago today we were telling our family our plans for adoption. We had the paperwork filled out and had the envelope ready to go. God had other plans for us!

This week is going to be another crazy week for us:
**My birthday is tomorrow so I am going to dinner with my parents
**Tuesday I am eating dinner with a friend of mine
**Wednesday is my work shower
**Thursday I will be putting up gifts from the shower and organizing the nursery (My favorite thing to do these days!!!)
**Friday and Saturday - Lamaze class

No wonder I am so tired!!!!!


Ben's..I mean mine...I mean Kevin's TV!!!



Look at the little hat






I love this little guy!

Jersey

"Ummm...excuse me - what is all this baby stuff doing in our house???"



Our girls are still adjusting to all the changes taking place in the house. I go into Kevin's room every night and show them something new - especially the toys that make noise. Jersey sniffs at them...Meghan looks and turns her head from side to side. They don't have a clue what is getting ready to happen!

I organized a little more in the nursery tonight. I ended up moving the changing the table next to the crib to make room for the glider my parents are giving us.



Here is Kevin's 33 week development. Hard to believe we only have 7 weeks to go!!!

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Baby stuff, baby stuff and more baby stuff

We had our church shower this afternoon and had a blast! My best friend Ashley was there! It was great being able to see her, Chad and baby Emilie. **Side note: Please be in prayer for Chad and Ashley. They are making a big decision this next week. Please pray for wisdom.**

Here are some pictures from the shower. I will get more from my mom's camera. I had a full memory card in the middle of the shower. Thanks Leslie for taking pictures again!!!!! You did a great job.

Breastfeeding Class and Nursery....Check!

We completed breastfeeding class this morning at Harris. It was a lot of fun and we met some great people.

We then tackled the nursery and believe it or not - FINISHED IT!!!!! We have a shower tomorrow at church, so I will be adding more things but this is how it turned out. We love it : )

Nursery Painted!

Kevin's room is painted and the border is up! We are putting the crib together Saturday and hope to get things put up soon. We have our church shower on Sunday...I am really looking forward to it.

Our doctor's appointment went great this morning. I measured exactly 32 cm and Kevin's heart rate was 142. I go back in 2 weeks for another check up and then every week in October.

Almost Done

We put the border up in the nursery this weekend. We just need to paint the baseboards and door trim. It's all coming together and looks great. This weekend we are attending our first class at the hospital...should be lots of fun!


32 week development:
By now, your baby is just shy of 4 pounds and is nearly 17 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

Single Digit Countdown....9 weeks to go!

This week, your baby measures about 16 inches long. He weighs a little over 3 pounds and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Ben painted the nursery this weekend and it looks great! We are putting the border up this weekend and we'll be done. I'll post pictures once it's all finished.

And the fun begins....10 weeks to go

With only 10 weeks to go, we have slowly started on the nursery. Ben cleaned all the walls in preparation for painting this weekend. I've started going through some gifts and putting things up.

Here is our 30 week development and pictures:

Kevin's cute clothes



Bath stuff



Diapers, diapers and more diapers



Wiper warmer already set up in the bathroom






Your baby's a bit more than 15 1/2 inches long now, and weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day.