Teacher Gifts

This year I wanted unique Christmast gifts not only for KK's two preschool teachers, but also for the school directors. The clincher - how to do this without breaking the bank?! My sister-in-law Jen has made super cute frames in the past, so I had her give me detailed instructions and I set off to the craft store for supplies.



Here's the result.... I am pleased and wondering why in the world I didn't make one for myself?!

Yep, It's Happening....

I am turning into my mother.

Growing up it never failed. Every year, my mom would bust out with a random gift for us kids in the middle of the summer, that she meant to give us at Christmas but then "forgot where she put it." Then she would stumble across said gift in the middle of a big closet clean-out.

Not that I minded a mid-year random gift, but organized, anal me wondered in confusion - "How could this possibly occur?" To me it seemed as easy as picking one spot for gifts and putting everything there.

OK, now I'm a mom too and my kid is 4 and fully understands the concept of gift receiving and believes wholeheartedly in Santa Claus. I am rushing to hide gifts when the 4-year old won't notice. I am trying to find spots in my cramped closets and drawers where her little eagle eyes won't notice. (The girl is good at spotting things.) I am diverted from tasks every 35 seconds by little people. And suddenly, things are hidden in 6 spots and I only remember 3 of them. A few evenings ago I thought I was going crazy, trying to find some missing gifts. I had myself convinced that I had thrown them in the trash on accident. Then I remembered in the middle of the night, and of course I had to get up then to verify immediately whether they were there. Yep, they were. (Like I really need to be doing this with an unpredictable newborn sleeping upstairs...) Sigh of relief and kick-in-the-pants all at once!

I get it now, Nanna!

Humbling Parenting Moments

Well, I debated whether I wanted to blog about this. Really, it makes me shiver to even mentally recall the event. But if blogging is about capturing the "big memories", then this is definitely top-10 material so here goes nothing...

About a month ago my niece Izzy was dedicated at church. My brother Griff and sister-in-law Jen attend a different church than us. So I knew right away this was going to present some challenges with little Katelynn. She has a lot of anxiety in new situations; she is getting better with age but it is still no picnic. So, what are parents to do - force her to go to their childcare where she may completely melt down, or let her come into service with us and deal with the inevitable chatter and moving-about that comes along with being less than 4 years old?

After discussing it, Gene and I decided it would be best to fully explain the two options to KK and let her decide. It became clear pretty quickly that she was conflicted. Both options had negatives. She finally opted to come into the service with us. Two minutes before it started, she turned to me with a look of panic and said she changed her mind and wanted to go to the kids' area. So we headed down to the kids area and went through the looong check-in process. KK waited very calmly and patiently through the whole thing. Then we walked to the door to drop her off and she went into freak-out mode. I could tell - walking away wasn't going to work like it does at our own church. And none of the teachers knew anything about her so I was hesitant to leave her, only to be paged back to get her 5 minutes later. So I told KK that it was fine to come back to the service with me and reminded her that this option required her to sit quietly in the service.

We made it back into the service in the nick of time and barely caught the dedication. We were on the far side of the sanctuary, but pretty near to the front, and it was a large room packed full with hundreds of people. All the doors had been closed off except for two main doors at the very back of the room. The sermon commenced immediately following the dedication. Wouldn't you know it, KK would *not* be quiet and I was really starting to cringe, not wanting to be "that parent" that lets their child talk incessantly during a church service. Then Tyler began to stir and I knew I would have to leave to feed him soon too. So I looked at KK and told her we were going to leave the service.

She interpreted this at the ultimate punishment and within seconds we were dealing with a category-10 tantrum. She was just about impossible to control physically and it was a very looong walk out of that sanctuary. The entire walk out, she screamed at the top of her lungs: "I'LL BE QUIET NOW! I'LL BE QUIET NOW!" Everyone turned to stare at us, and the pastor even had to stop his sermon until we got out of there- oh please let me die! I am sure it took about 10 seconds to make it out of there but it felt like 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, my dad and Gene followed us out to the foyer. I was sweating by this time from the emotional embarrassment and helpless feeling! I sent Katelynn outside with them since I had to feed Tyler in the nursing room. She only wanted mommy, and it took her nearly an hour to calm down.

So, looking back on it, we should *not* have given KK the choice in this situation. I think we would have been better off choosing for her and setting stronger expectations for her behavior. Then again, maybe that would have backfired too. I just felt so helpless and inept as a parent, and this was truly one of the most humbling experiences of my life!

My only solace: KK will have hear this story for the rest of her life!

Half Crazy

Well, I can't believe it is true, but I have committed myself to attempting the Fort Worth Cowtown half marathon on 2/27/11. I guess that silly husband of mine inspired me. Plus I needed a goal to work toward, or I knew I would never find the time to exercise with this crazy new life as mom-to-two.

I have to say that it feels very good to hit it hard, and I am enjoying this new sport. I have been running 3x per week, around 3 miles each time, to lay a good base before the training schedule officially begins in December. My leg muscle tone is looking pretty awesome, and hopefully the weeks of training to come will help to blast off the little bit of baby belly that is still lingering. I can already feel my heart and body getting stronger, and it's showing through improved times. Starting out, a 12 minute mile wore me out. Now an 11 minute mile is downright comfortable most of the time. Fingers crossed that my thirty-something body will hold up! Since my brother, sister-in-law and hubby have all completed one or more half-marathons, I figure I had better bring up the rear in accomplishing this goal.

To further coerce myself into doing this, I have also organized a group of friends and we have named our team "Half Crazy." Mainly, we are just encouraging each other through email and some of us are pairing off for long runs. It will be fun to have some girls to huddle up with on the big day.

Running is also a great way to maintain my sense of self... hitting the pavement with some great power music booming seems to be the only way I can forget about all the duties of mommyhood for 30 minutes.

Traditional Baby

Well, Tyler is more than 3-months old which I find completely unbelievable. Where has the time gone?! The day he turned 3 months he rolled from his back to his side, and it also seemed like all at once he was staying awake for much longer stretches of time. Plus he is using his hands to grab small toys and mommy's hair, and he is enamored with his Nanna-made taggie. He completely melts my heart on a daily basis with his smiles and he is starting to giggle now too.

I have borrowed some baby gear from family and friends that I never bothered to purchase with Katelynn, like a jungle gym mat and a bouncy seat with a toy bar. KK would have scoffed at these items...or rather she would have screamed ferociously until I took her out of them. I honestly could have purchased only the Baby Bjorn for her and nothing else; she lived in that contraption! Tyler, on the other hand, has been enjoying these entertainment items immensely and I use them nearly every day with him.

I commented to my mom that it is so strange to see my baby using traditional gear after getting used to Katelynn and her preferences. She commented that my view of "normal" was a bit...errr...skewed... and that he is my "traditional baby". Much in the same way that I call KK my spirited child, I have been calling TyTy my traditional baby ever since Nanna coined the term.

First Sibling Pics

Last week I took the kiddos for pictures together at JCPenney and killed three birds with one stone: (1) Tyler's 3 month pictures; (2) KK's 4 year pictures; and (3) First professional sibling pictures. Our photographer Emily was so wonderful. She is the manager and doesn't always take photos so I got really lucky. I will be requesting her from now on...there were so many good shots that it was very difficult to choose favorites. She was able to get a genuine smile out of KK, who has entered the stage of the fake-picture-smile. Sigh of relief...all that work to get them dressed and there was worth it!

Izzy's Auction

My miracle niece Izzy was born on 2/26/09 at only 23 weeks, 6 days gestation. It was a long, long road for our entire family as she struggled to survive in the NICU. I am happy to report that she is thriving today (as you can tell from the adorable pumpkin patch picture). Since Izzy was born, my brother Griff and sister-in-law Jen have been major champions for the March of Dimes. They had the top fundraising team in all of Fort Worth this past Spring... so proud of them!

Recently the March of Dimes Tarrant County chapter designated them the "Ambassador Family" for this year's major fundraiser, the Signature Chefs auction. It was held at the fancy Omni hotel in downtown Fort Worth and is normally $250 a plate. Griff and Jen, however, were given two tables to fill with friends and family! So it was with much glee that we attended our first benefit dinner.

It was a lot of fun. There were about 20 area chefs in attendance and each featured one dish. We wandered the ballroom sampling all sorts of fun delicacies. Then there was a big auction that was waaay out of our price range but fun to watch. The best part for me, though, was seeing my family's video featured at the end! Check it out here. And grab a kleenex.

TyTy the Bowhead

Having two kiddos has been lots of fun. KK is such a sweet big sister - she is gentle with her brother and likes to show him toys, sing to him, read books to him, dance for him, and generally entertain him. I really couldn't ask for more. Sibling interactions have also provided fun entertainment for mommy, such as when she stuck this bow on his head one morning.

As my friend Sarah said, the look on Tyler's face is already that of the ever-suffering little brother. Such a priceless picture!

Happy Birthday KK

I can't believe my little girl is four years old today, on Turkey Day. I have been informed by my friend Kelly, whom has certain rainman-esque like qualities, that this will not occur again until she is 33 years old.... or something like that.

It is appropriate that her birthday sometimes fall on Thanksgiving, since I am certainly thankful for my children more than just about anything else in the world! (Gene, of course you too, sweetie... heehee...) It is amazing to watch little Katelynn grow and develop, even on the hard days. She has captured my heart and I can't even begin to imagine my life without her.

Earlier this month she had a birthday party at McDonald's. (Side note: McDonald's parties are an amazing value... I highly recommend for the thrifty parent!) She never set foot in the play area which I thought was quite funny. She was very eager to collect and organize her gifts and to put out the place settings at the table. Despite her inability to loosen up and just play (perhaps a bit like her mom...), she seemed to thoroughly enjoy "her day."

My Little Ladybug and Pumpkin

This seems to be the first year that Katelynn really "gets" the fun of the holidays and has a great amount of anticipation associated with them, particularly with Halloween and Christmas. She has been obsessed with both and the questions are never-ending. We have entered those fleeting golden years where she has so much understanding and excitement about these fun days and she buys into the fantasy of it all - i.e. she still thinks witches and ghosts and Santa Claus might be real...

This was the first year she picked out her own costume. We walked into Target and she made a beeline for the ladybug costume. (Uh...no pun intended!) I was very pleased with her choice. She absolutely couldn't wait to wear her costume.

In the meantime, I figured Tyler would be dressing up as a baby this Halloween. Then I stumbled across $3 costumes at Babies-R-Us! So I promptly purchased an adorable pumpkin outfit, plus a giraffe outfit for next year. Seriously - a $30 costume for $3!! (Now I am lamenting the fact that I didn't clear them out and fully stock a dress-up closet...)

KK had a wonderful time going door to door with her buddy Anna and looked adorable in her girly costume. She was beaming the whole time she had it on. Tyler wasn't too keen on the pumpkin hood but he's pretty laid back and got over it. Mommy and daddy enjoyed our cutie pies, but I must say Halloween is a little frightening for even adults when you have a kid with a peanut allergy. Luckily KK takes it pretty seriously too and she was good about not touching her candy till we got home...

Drinking the Kool-Aid

This year Gene and I did not think we would make our annual trip to Aggieland because of having a newborn. We didn't realize just how much last year's trip had an impact on little Katelynn. Then one day she excitedly began asking us when we would return to the Promised Land - I mean College Station - and listing off all the fun things she got to do there.... getting her face painted, wearing her cheerleader uniform, getting ice cream at the stadium, etc. That is when we realized: at less than 3 years old she was already drinking the kool-aid! We would be terrible parents not to take her again this year! (After all, we are Aggies - once you do something once it is a tradition.)

So we decided to make a family trip and then we were up against a very big wall called there-are-no-hotels-and-we-don't-have-ANY-hotel-status-anymore. But God must really want KK to be an Aggie because he cleared the way there, and some friends opened up their home to us. (Thanks Cameron and Sonia!)

The final hurdle was how to deal with a nursing newborn in Kyle field. It is not the most sanitary place in the world, nor is it very friendly for tiny babies. As it turns out, the Alumni Center has a great set up where anyone can go watch the game free on a huge TV, in the A/C, in a comfortable chair at a table. Plus there were conference rooms galore and I had completely private quarters for feedings. So I hung out at the alumni center. KK attended half the game with daddy, then they came back and finished the game with me. She got to do everything on her "checklist" and she very enthusiastically yelled "Gig 'Em Aggies" to just about every person we passed. Makes a momma and papa sooooo proud....

And, we beat Texas Tech which hasn't happened a lot in the past several years. Whoop! So all in all, it was a great little family weekend...

10.10.10 - Gene's Perspective

A post-race email from Gene to his running buddies. His overall finish time was 4:26.

Preparing for a marathon doesn’t end with the training and the weekend was too busy for Katie, Tyler and I. We flew in Friday morning, checked in, got to downtown, ate, and went to the expo. Seems easy enough, but it zapped the energy out of us. We then met up with an old high school friend on Friday night and dinner took a long time so we got to bed late. Saturday, I went on the morning jog with the Leukemia team that I’ve been raising money for and toured the starting/finishing area. We then went to an early lunch that took a long time again with some good friends that live in Michigan. After we walked to a park and hung around for a little bit. I think I should have had better communication with my wife and friends to keep things simple and not too much walking. I knew I needed to be sitting down in A/C and not walking around a park the day before 26.2. It’s kind of hard to balance combining the marathon with seeing good old friends.

I meant to send out an email to my running buds, but with having a 7 week old and everything else, time really flew during the weekend. I spent a lot of time Sat night figuring out how to get a shower, etc since we would need to check out of the hotel before I got back. I apologize about it – I know some of you got an email and were able to track me.

Before the weekend, I was fretting over how fast I should run because it was going to be colder weather in Chicago. Ha! The day starting in the high 60s and went to the 80s pretty quickly. I wasn’t too concerned about the weather since I knew I was prepared to run in the heat – it’s just I couldn’t run as fast as I could in the cold. Runkeeper was having issues tracking me since we went through a couple tunnels and with the high skyscrapers it didn’t have the best approximation of time/distance. I haven’t looked at my garmin data yet, but based on the garmin during the race and the Chicago website, I ran a consistent 10 min mile through the whole race. I had enough energy at the end that I sprinted for the last half mile (including the sole/larger hill in the race).

For me the marathon was longer than 2 halfs. It was mentally challenging to pace yourself and know you still have a lot of miles in front of you. I prefer to run straight through and was glad that with the exception to refill my camelback a couple times I ran straight through. I’m not sure if I hit the wall or if I was too focused on finishing because my splits didn’t drastically change. They were maybe 30 seconds per min slower in some of the later miles, but like I said before, I still had energy to sprint during the last half mile. I ate 6 GUs, drank Gatorade here and there and maybe that help me avoid the wall.

The course was much more crowded than San Antonio, white rock, cowtown halfs. I spent a decent amount of time dodging people and going around them. I should have been closer to the front of the open corral, but I wasn’t and believe I paid the price by moving around people. There were many people in the last 6-8 miles that were walking. Pretty much at every water stop it seemed like 66% of the people were walking!

Chicago did an awesome job with coordinating the logistics. I would say it was by far the smoothest race I ran logistically. They really had their act together and had small things covered. I think the only thing lacking vs other races was the post race food wasn’t anything special. I think they had bananas and some chips! Whoopie. Cowtown had ice cream and chicken noodle soup – yum!

The crowd support was fantastic. My headphones died a couple miles into the race – I HATE apple headphones! Therefore, I had no choice but to listen to everything else and it was amazing how well supported the race was. For most of the course there were always fan support. In some areas they were going crazy and I loved it. I also appreciated the people praying for me. I knew there were many praying for me during the race and the sense of peace knowing those prayers were being answered in that I was still running after 4 hours straight! Having my wife there was awesome too. Even though we never saw each other, having your wife there in support of something as large as a first time marathon is huge!

I’m very pleased that I finished. I know that I can put together a better marathon time, but, really, this race wasn’t as much about my time as it was everything else. Raising money for blood cancers, running it in honor of my friends with blood cancers, completing a goal that I didn’t think I would ever try/do 1.3 years ago, and working though the struggles just to get to the starting line (injuries, time, financial, etc.). Worth every second of it!

My 2 cents…

-gene
P.S. – I did beat Oprah’s time!

10.10.10 - A Spectator/Wife's Perspective

Gene ran his first marathon in Chicago on 10/10/10. He also raised $3,500 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I am so proud of him! We, amazingly and sadly enough, have three friends with blood cancer, so the race was run in honor of them.

Originally, when Gene told me he wanted to run this particular marathon I reminded him that we would have a newborn and that he would be running solo. He had read a lot about the excitement and crowd support in Chicago and really wanted his first marathon to be special, so he was willing to go solo. However, after baby boy was born I realized that I might be able to handle the trip. So I decided to just take the plunge and go for it. I really thought I would regret missing it if I didn't go.

Although the trip was in fact very tiring, I am so very happy that I went. KK went to her grandparents, but Tyler is nursing too frequently to leave behind so he came along. He turned out to be extremely portable. Feedings while being out and about were the main challenge. Other than that he was very happy to be transported around the City in his stroller.

As a spectator, the marathon was amazing. I have never been so excited to watch a sporting event. I was able to hook up with friends-of-friends, Suzy and Glen, who were watching their son race and they were so terrific to me. They had a full route planned out, and they helped me get the stroller on and off the trains. I was even able to feed the baby in their car at our second stop! I got to see the marathon at the start, middle, and in Chinatown at the 21 mile point. This never would have happened without Suzy and Glen's help. It was so exciting to see 36,000 people all running 26.2 miles! The elite runners were like gazelles - how can anyone on earth run that long at less-than-5 minute miles?! Blows the mind... At the start, it was just crazy to see wall to wall runners for over 45 minutes. There were cheering crowds lining the entire race, bands, Elvis, huge Chinese dragon heads... you name it.

It turned out to be a very hot day which makes me even more proud of my hubby. He performed so well considering it was his first marathon and it was sweltering. His own email to some runner buddies speaks best for his perspective so I will post that in my next blog.

"Goody Bags"

Katelynn is a huge fan of small toys and treasures, and also loves to gather her beloved items in boxes, purses, etc. The other day she created several "goody bags" and distributed them as "gifts" to mommy and daddy. She did this using only items already in her room and I didn't help her at all. I thought it was pretty darn creative of her and had to get a snapshot for posterity...

Smiley Boy

My little guy is two months old already - so hard to believe. He is turning into quite the love bug. He melts my heart on a daily basis. He is full of smiles, mainly reserved for me, the mama! I have found it interesting that he does not like the Baby Bjorn as big sister did, but would rather be in his pappasan chair or his car seat. It clicked the other day that his sister wanted to see the world... he just wants to see his mommy!

I highly recommend parenting a second! I am enjoying Tyler soooo much more than I did as first-time nervous mom and I am already lamenting the short time he will be a tiny, innocent little baby.

The Lie

Katelynn got in trouble today for her first big lie.

Lately I have caught her in a couple of tiny fibs. I have tried to use those opportunities to talk about the importance of telling the truth, explained ad nauseum that it is wrong to lie, etc. She escaped punishment because I figured we needed to lay some groundwork first.

Today she was allowed to choose a pack of gum at Wal Mart for good behavior during our shopping trip. I let her hold the package in the car but emphasized the importance of only putting one piece in her mouth. (I am a paranoid mom when it comesto choking.) I asked her halfway home if she had eaten more than one and she looked me right in the eye and said no.

We pulled into the garage and I was gathering up our things to take them inside. I asked her to put the pack of gum in a bag I was holding and she balked, covering it up in her hands. That's when I knew.... not only did she take two pieces of gum, but she knew it was wrong and was trying to hide the evidence from me.

A long session of timeout later (and after revoking all gum privileges), I had a big discussion with my almost-4-year-old about the truth versus lies. Here's hoping it sunk in... parenting is hard! (And I know, I know, it only keeps getting harder!)

The Sonic Run

Mommy, Katelynn and baby Tyler have a new addiction. Well, maybe the addiction is mainly mommy's... and perhaps Katelynn's too. Sonic is walking distance from our house. In fact it is a perfect little tricycle ride for a pre-schooler. I have never really frequented Sonic, but recently I discovered their diet cherry limeades... which are also half price during happy hour from 2-4 pm.

Combine that with pretty weather, looong afternoons, a crying baby, and a bored little 3 year old girl... and we have been going nearly every day lately. Katelynn gets an ice cream dish for $1, and I get a half price large diet cherry limeade for $1 as well. We also all get some fresh air.

A Sonic Tale of Mommy-of-two-absentmindedness: The other day, we loaded up and headed out for our Sonic run. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to get there with KK riding her glider or tricycle. We don't exactly fly there. I realized when we arrived that I had remembered nearly everything.... my iphone, sunglasses, diaper bag, wet wipes... but no money. No credit card. Aaagh! What was a mommy to do? I considered walking back home to get the money... then I just sucked it up and begged from the table next to us, a sweet little family much like ours with a preschooler girl and a baby boy. They were very charitable and gave us two dollars. I'm sure they could identify with my plight. KK was quite impressed by this.

Summary: Even when I do actually remember my own wallet, the Sonic Run is two dollars well spent!

My Preschool "Star"

Katelynn has homework now at preschool. I found that pretty funny the first night she brought it home. Really though it is a good idea. It is usually just a ten minute tracing and coloring exercise and it gets them used to the concept of work they have to take home. As a mom with a newborn and a preschooler I often forget about it till the morning of preschool. So this week when I opened it up at 8:15 am, 30 minutes before we had to leave, I wad a little panicked to learn that Katelynn was also the 'star of the week' which required additional time and effort I had not "budgeted" for that morning.

I went into Tasmanian devil mode and quickly fetched the required photos from a box of extras... thank goodness I had those around! Then I went through a 'questionnaire' with KK and learned some interesting things about my girl. I should ask he questions like this more often!

Members of her family: Mommy, Daddy, Katelynn. (We added baby Tyler when prompted by mommy!)

What she wants to be when she grows up: Doctor. (OK, I knew this one.)

Favorite sport: Soccer. (Ummmm so much for the ballet! Maybe we will try soccer next. Goodness knows there are many soccer opportunities here in Dallas.)

Hobbies: crafts, mopping, taking out the trash. (Laughing out loud. I have trained her well!)

Sibling Moments

I continue to be soooo thankful for Katelynn's overall wonderful adjustment to siblinghood. There have, however, been a couple of noteworthy, funny moments worth documenting...

Moment #1

Katelynn picked out a very girly, dainty ladybug costume for Halloween. It is actually more like a "ladybug fairy" because it is a frilly little dress - red satin with black polka dots - and antennae and velcro-on wings. She has been obsessed with wearing it around the house. She had it on the other day and I was getting after her about keeping it nice, not getting it ripped before Halloween, not eating in it, etcetera. I was being the nagging mom.

In the meantime, I changed baby boy's diaper and was walking back into the living room with him. KK was sitting on the ottoman and I brought Tyler over to her, intending to make him "talk" and "dance" for her and give her kisses. Next thing you know, Katelynn was covered in Tyler spit-up, including her ladybug dress. The boy had barely urped a teaspoon up until this point and now big sister was doused in the slimy mess.

Poor thing just sat there frozen for a second, then said in astonishment "Baby Tyler threw up on me!" I told her sit still and made a mad dash for a wet rag. She was so good - she just sat there looking a little wide-eyed until I got her cleaned up, and she never even acted resentful about the whole thing. Not even one tear! Wet rag + Febreze saved my rear and I thankfully don't have to buy a second costume!

Moment #2

Tyler has had some fussy days, as most newborns do. I think their poor little digestive systems are just so immature. One day last week he had been crying a lot. Mommy was frazzled and I think it was even getting on Katelynn's nerves. I was complaining to KK a lot about her fussy brother.

Toward the end of the day she asked me if he could go back into my tummy. I told her that was not possible. She then informed me: "Jesus is in my heart and he will have Tyler go back into your tummy if I ask him to."

Ahhh the faith of little children!

Nicknames

All babies must have their nicknames. Here are Tyler's so far:

Little man

LP2 (LittlePeanut2)

Poopy pants

Little bit

Sweet thing

I'm sure there will be many more to come.

Doula Plug

My friend Maria is a doula and she served as my doula during Tyler's birth. Now, a lot of people have never even heard the term doula so here's a basic definition I found on the web that sums it up pretty concisely: a woman who is trained to provide support to women and their families during pregnancy, childbirth, and the period of time following the birth

This post is simply a shameless plug for Maria's services (Great Expectations Doula Services), especially if you are interested in going natural during childbirth. I ended up going natural with the birth of my first even though I tried to get an epidural. I have mild scoliosis that creates a small "s curve" at the base of my spine- which I had no idea would have any impact on my ability to receive an epidural... well Dr. Anaesthesiologist poked my back for over an hour during heavy contractions only to inform me at the end that "it didn't work." Later my hubby (who somehow watched the entire thing without ending up on the floor) informed me that I had been stuck in the back at least a dozen times in an attempt to get it in. I have since done a lot of reading on the internet to find many other women with scoliosis who had the same experience.

So I survived natural childbirth - imagine that! - and I wasn't too keen on having my back experimented on again. So for baby #2 I fully planned for natural childbirth, and having Maria's support was fabulous. I joked with her and my hubby that she does all the things you wish your husband knew to do during labor. However your poor husband has never in his life witnessed someone he loves in so much pain and truly doesn't know what to do. Maria is trained, experienced, calm, and extremely helpful... and she has a God-given talent and passion for her job. She was a great support and coach, and was able to provide lower back massage during contractions as well as suggest laboring positions, interact with the nurse, and provide lots of reassurance throughout that everything was proceeding normally.

Thanks Maria!

Big Sister

I must say, Katelynn's positive reaction to having a little brother has exceeded my wildest expectations. She has been such a sweet girl for the most part, at least when it comes to "baby Tyler" - her official name for her little bro. Now there have been a few ugly moments directed toward mommy, usually in the form of talking back and "having an attitude", but I am just happy that her brother has been spared. And come to think of it, we had those moments before Tyler was on the scene anyway...

The smile plastered on her face in this picture pretty much says it all. That is not her "fake" smile....she didn't wipe that cute expression off her face from the moment she walked into the hospital room and saw that - it was really true - mommy did really have a baby in her tummy all that time!

Since coming home I have attempted to use the never-ending feeding sessions to give her extra attention. Usually I read books to her or we work on her pre-school workbooks. Sometimes she gets to play games on my iPhone or watch a TV show. I think that has helped. It has also helped that Tyler is still sleeping a lot and that he is a much easier baby than she was. If he was as demanding as she was, we would have some serious issues in the Kim household right now trying to tend to both.

A big sister "funny moment" occurred a few nights ago. Tyler was not due to wake up for at least 45 more minutes and I was, for unknown reasons, lying in bed awake. So I decided I might as well get my shower. I was only a few minutes into shower time when I heard Tyler crying very loudly from the other room. (He sleeps in the living room right now.) Then KK came running into the room and informed me that "baby Tyler is crying, mommy." After some investigative questions I figured out that she had gone to "check on him" before coming to our room and had tried to shove a pacifier into his sleeping mouth. Well, if you have followed this blog at all you know that a pacifier is very near and dear to KK's heart. So we had a little talk about how that was very sweet, but please don't do that again if he is sleeping because it woke him up too early!

The only real problem we have had, which seems to be abating, is KK waking in the night. This is extremely frustrating especially since she used to be out like a rock the entire night and I have become very spoiled. Of course, the waking up typically falls exactly half way between Tyler's feedings. And of course, she really really really wants mommy and not daddy. However the other night she managed to have two night wakings and I thought I might completely lose my mind. So Gene and KK are both on notice that she gets daddy from now on if she decides to be up in the night. I think this must be how she is sub-consciously expressing her anxiety about not being the "only" anymore and I am sure it will be a passing phase, as just about all things seem to be with raising kids!

Tyler John

Our Tyler John finally made his entrance a couple of weeks ago! Since then, I have been enjoying life as "mom of 2" but it has been crazy - very little time for blogging! The highlights of little Tyler's entrance to the world and his life thus far:

• Labor was about the same length as Katelynn’s but I would have to rate it worse on the pain scale. Overall though – can’t complain about a 5 hour labor and a healthy baby at the end of it!
• He weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces, a bit less than his sis who weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces. Since I gained about 5 pounds more with this pregnancy I guess that means I just get to KEEP all that extra weight for a bit!
• First night home from the hospital resulted in a trip to the Children's ER since Tyler thought it would be ok to skip peeing for 12 hours! Scary and exhausting night. 2 ounces of formula and we had a big wet diaper within 15 minutes. Hmmm did we really need an ER doc to think of that?!
• He is generally a calm little guy, at least compared to how his big sister was as a baby. THANK YOU GOD!
• We can't decide whether he resembles his big sis much or not yet. He seems to have his own look. Time will tell. In other news, big sister is doing great - which needs its own blog post another time.
• Overall I forgot how much I do love this "newborn phase." I truly don't mind the constant feeding, though I would like a little more sleep. I spend a lot of time admiring my sweet little guy. I am once again amazed how much I could love someone just minutes after meeting him!

And now, on with a few pictures...

Early labor - getting kisses from sweet KK, so excited to become a big sister. (You know it's early because I am still smiling and my hair is not soaking wet!)

Immediately after birth - with my fabulous OB, Dr. Jacoby.

With my sweet hubby.

Introducing our adorable little man...

Look ma! I can open my eyes! Just please don't give me a bath ever again!

Funny Girl

Well, LittlePeanut2 is still hiding out in the womb and in the meantime I spent the day hanging out at the house with the three-year-old, avoiding the misery that is Texas heat right now. Since we were together, just the two of us, the whooooole day (can you tell it was long?!), KK gave me some good blog fodder that could not be ignored.

Funny #1

KK spent a good amount of time helping me with chores this morning which was nice. I commended her repeatedly for being mommy's helper and gave her stickers for her chore chart. Then, this afternoon, I was upstairs shredding some documents while she watched a TV show. She made her way upstairs to see what I was doing; she is certainly a mama's girl who likes to be glued to my side.

Me: "KK, will you be mommy's helper again and go downstairs and get mommy a trashbag for all the shredded paper?"

KK (in a very sweet voice): "No thank-you Mommy. I deserve to watch TV all day. I appreciate your offer."

Funny #2

Gene and I decided to go out for dinner and were debating the various options among our normal rotation. Katelynn is becoming familiar with our "regular" restaurants and her absolute favorite is Mi Chula's, a Mexican place that she associates with Sprite, beans and rice, tortillas, and fajita steak meat.

KK: "Mommy, now sit down on the couch. I want to tell you your choices."

Me: (Sitting obediently.) "OK."

KK: "Now, Jesus is in our hearts and he wants to eat beans and rice. We need to go to Mi Chula's." (I glance over to the loveseat where Gene is trying not to completely lose it...)

Nesting

The anticipation of waiting for Tyler, a.k.a. LittlePeanut2/ LP2, to arrive has been intense this time around, even for my even-keel husband. I have been shocked how many times Gene has made comments wondering when LP2 will make his debut and wishing that we could know when it will be. I'm not sure why; we don't remember thinking too much about it when I was pregnant the first time.

The past few days I have been a nesting fool, despite extreme fatigue and back pain. I have felt compelled to keep up with the laundry almost daily. The house has been relatively spotless, especially the floors which I often ignore when I'm not 9 months pregnant. And yesterday I felt strongly that having the somewhat pricey "Interior Super Clean" package at the car wash was an absolute life-or-death necessity. Oh, and I also labeled all my shoes, which are in matching clear bins, with my label maker ....and organized Katelynn's drawers.... and re-organized the laundry room. You get the idea!

Well, last night some of those late "impending labor" signs started making their appearance. (Go read a pregnancy book if you are curious enough to wonder what those are.... I'm not sharing details here on the blog!) So, that explains the nesting. Hopefully my next post will be one welcoming our little boy into our hearts and home! Today is my official "due date". Katelynn arrived on hers, so maybe we will make it 2-for-2 ???

Giant Tortilla

KK loves her carbs, and she especially loves warm tortillas, just like her daddy. The other night we picked up delicious made-in-house tortillas from Rosa's Tortilla Factory since Gene wanted to "carb load" in anticipation of his weekly torture long run.

Katelynn was thoroughly enjoying her late night snack in the back of the car, making all sorts of contented noises as she chowed down. She announced that "warm tortillas are soooooo good." She then finished that cute comment up with an even better one: "Mommy and daddy, I sure do wish I had a GIANT WARM tortilla I could use as a blanket!"

We both cracked up laughing. I'm not sure if she was picturing something like this:

Or if she is just having dormant memories emerge of the days we wrapped her up like a burrito:

Either way, you gotta' love the imagination of a three-year-old.

Day With Nanna

Katelynn's Nanna (my mom) takes her to do lots of fun things. There have been many trips to the zoo, but recently those have been abandoned due to the ridiculously hot weather. (We don't need a Nanna or Katelynn passed out on the concrete from the heat.) So, KK's trips to Nanna and PopPop's usually involve a friends' swimming pool, trips to Costco to get ice cream, etc. Recently, my mom made a special trip with her to the Children's Science Museum in Fort Worth. It has been overhauled with tons of interactive exhibits.

Nanna and KK spent hours there. Among many other activities, she dug for fossils in a big sand pit, rode a fake horse and corralled sheep, saw an Elmo planetarium show, had a picnic lunch on the museum grounds, and created shadow "sculptures" out of everyday objects.

That evening I went to pick KK up and ate dinner with my parents. As we were all sitting around the dinner table, Nanna asked KK what her favorite thing about the day at the museum was. Katelynn did not miss a beat. Without hesitation she immediately answered, in a sweet little three-year-old voice, "Just spending the day with you Nanna."

The popular Mastercard commercials talk about things that are "priceless." This was one of those priceless moments - it just doesn't get much better than that...

My Ballerina

For months, Katelynn has asked to take ballet. She has always favored walking on her toes everywhere and has calves of steel thanks to this habit. Recently, she has begged for tutu's and frequently chooses flouncy skirts for her attire, calling them her ballet clothes. Her favorite little Einsteins character is June - the ballet dancer of course. And one of her favorite "Max & Ruby" episodes involves her favorite bunny attempting to learn to pirouette.

KK finally got her wish. Nanna and PopPop helped to get her started, buying her shoes and paying for her first-ever round of classes. We are taking a 4 week summer class at a nearby community center to get her feet wet. As you can see from the picture, she was very excited about her first day. The girl is obsessed with leotards and tights, so it isn't hard to get her dressed to leave the house on dance morning.

In typical fashion, any time I peek into the dance room, Katelynn is the most serious little girl in the room. She is all business. Last week they were dancing in a big circle around the room and she had her little tongue stuck out to the side of her mouth in concentration. Before we left the house this week to go to class she informed me that some of the moves were "very hard."

This week, she caught me peeking at her through the door and her serious face broke into a huge grin. She gave me a little wave then got right back to the business of practicing second position.

My New Housekeeper

My new housekeeper is about 40 inches tall, weighs 37 pounds, and requires a certain amount of supervision. Yes, that's right, my 3.5 year old Katelynn has been cleaning up a storm with me lately!

I loved to clean as a child. My mom gave me a dime to clean the tub, and she had to place limits on how often I was allowed to perform this task! Yes, I am a nerd. However, KK has a very different personality from me and I did not expect her to take to the cleaning; it has been a fun little surprise and very welcome in late pregnancy, when getting up after bending to the ground feels about like being an Olympic dead-lifter.

It started a couple of weeks ago with mopping the floors. I usually let KK have her own mop, but in the past she has abandoned it quickly after getting frustrated with her inability to control it well. However, I guess she has developed enough now that she can now handle it much better and I was in shock when she was still helping me - very enthusiastically I might add - after 30 minutes! Yesterday we gave toilet scrubbing a try and that is her new obsession. She thought she was pretty hot stuff.

Today made for a bit of long afternoon since it is too darn hot (i.e. 105 degrees) to go out and do much these days. KK was clearly bored and I asked her what we should do. Her response: "Let's CLEAN mommy!" Ahhhh, now that's a girl after her mommy's heart!

It's August?!

Where has the summer gone?! My mom recently commented to me that this pregnancy has seemed long to her. On the contrary, it has gone quite quickly for me. I had envisioned a long, lazy summer to spend with my "only" before rocking her world. I can't believe the time to welcome our little son will be here any day....

While the time has gone quickly, I do feel I have done a good job of enjoying my little girl. Spirited KK certainly gives me a run for the money many days, but she also grows more sweet every day and is pretty good at melting my heart only minutes after enraging my head! Just today, she was sent to her room for some alone time after hours of whining and pestering mommy. Mommy just needed a break, but Katelynn made sure to cry loudly and miserably during the entire "break." I finally took pity on her. She came downstairs puffy faced and sniffling and sat on my lap. Me: "I have an idea. Let's get a nice bath and get shiny and clean. Then we will put on your new earrings." KK (in pitiful voice, with face to match): "I don't want to get sparkly, mommy. I just want to be poor, plain 'ol Katelynn." At this point it was difficult not to crack up laughing at my sweet little drama queen.

We have spent so much time together and it has been a summer of fun firsts for her - swim lessons, ballet lessons, attending Vacation Bible School, and going to her first "day camp" at church. And now we wait for the biggest first of all - first time as a big sister!

The Camerons

Gene and I have joked that every time we get that "comfortable closeness" with another couple, they leave us. We hit that great point where hanging out is effortless, last minute invitations to grab dinner are welcomed, and it's just a lot of fun to be around each other. Then they move away. We had two sets of friends do this where we should have seen it coming since they were here in town temporarily to attend Dallas Theological Seminary. But we didn't see it coming with our pals Mark & Layne Cameron.

These sweet and fun friends grew up in Amarillo but had truly grown to love Dallas. They had really put roots down here and even said they weren't the types to feel the need to return to their "small town." Then they had baby Clay nearly a year ago. Well, all us parents know how having babies changes us! Sure enough, they began to feel the urge to be close to family... and all their family is still in Amarillo.

The next thing you know, their house sold in one day and we only had a month left with the Camerons. Luckily since they were homeless we got to have them in our home for a week before they left us; it was so fun! Oh how I miss those last minute fun times already, Mark and Layne!

So I leave this post with these Michael W. Smith lyrics to the song "Pray for Me." A little cheesy? Maybe. Full of truth - for the Camerons and other couples from our past that we miss so much? Absolutely.

Here is where the road divides
Here is where we realize
The sculpting of the Father's great design
Thru' time you've been a friend to me
But time is now the enemy
I wish we didn't have to say goodbye
But I know the road He chose for me
Is not the road he chose for you
So as we chase the dreams we're after

Pray for me and I'll pray for you
Pray that we will keep the common ground
Won't you pray for me and I'll pray for you
And one day love will bring us back around again

Painted on our tapestry
We see the way it has to be
Weaving thru' the laughter and the tears
But love will be the tie that binds us
To the time we leave behind us
Memories will be our souvenirs
And I know that thru' it all
The hardest part of love is letting go
But there's a greater love that holds us

Pray for me and I'll pray for you
Pray that we will keep the common ground
Won't you pray for me and I'll pray for you
And one day love will bring us back around again

Bunnies be Gone???

Two summers ago, our front yard was ravaged by bunnies. And I mean ravaged. The following spring we had to get about $300 worth of re-sodding done - yikes! So this year, when I started to see that tell-tale rabbit poop and the beginning of some bare patches, I declared war. No more standing by while they eat our entire yard.

I had heard that fox urine was a deterrant so I headed to our "local hunting store", which is actually the a store the size of several football fields all dedicated to fishing, hunting and boating. They actually have an entire row of animal urine - whouldathunkit?! And, let me tell you, this row *stinks*, particularly to the sensitive nose of a pregnant lady. Hunters use these products to mask their own human scent, apparently despite warnings on the bottle that they may be attacked by things such as mountain lions. Obviously the hope with putting it on one's yard is to make the bunnies think there is a fox that wants to eat them.

There were two choices - a predator "bomb" that you set off one time that emits an aerosol spray, or concentrated pee that comes in a tiny spray bottle. The bomb seemed the obvious choice to me, but the sales guy convinced me otherwise. I guess I had pictured in my head trying to coat my entire lawn in fox pee, which would require roughly 592 bottles of this stuff. But all that is required, apparently, is to mark your trees and a few of the areas where the bunnies have been. Repeat once a week, and eventually they will think a fox lives in your yard.... at least supposedly. I have done one application. Hopefully fox urine is safe for pregnant people! So far I have not seen more bare patches so fingers crossed.

The disturbing part of all this was the result of my internet investigation after my mom asked how they collect the urine. She (and I) were picturing foxes peeing in cups on demand. Alas, this is not the case. I found one site that tells the "steps" to collect it, and the first step is "kill a fox." So, generally speaking, fox urine is a by-product of fur farming. Other internet sites talk about the animals being caged and the urine collected and the environment didn't really sound too great. Now I'm not some huge animal rights activist or anything, but I know that fur farming can be a pretty dirty business and most of the animals are not being raised for food- just for vanity products like furs, and apparently for hunting products. It seems that perhaps I should just man-up and trap/humanely kill the bunnies, rather than use the product of another animal that was killed, possibly in a very unpleasant way, for me to chase off the bunnies.

So the fox urine has been purchased and I might as well use it up... but I may have to re-think some other strategies if the bunnies continue to show up. I wasn't expecting this to become a personal ethical dilemma!

Puppet Show

On Monday I took KK to her first "live event" - a puppet show at the arts center in our town. It was really her first time to sit through any sort of event that requires a certain amount of quietness since we have not yet attempted a movie with her. (She has only sat through one movie at home, so I'm not ready to chance it yet....)

The puppet show was put on by the Dallas Puppet Theater, which for this event consisted of two middle-aged men that I assume are full time actors and/or puppeteers. They were quite talented, but talk about a somewhat thankless job - putting on a show in a tiny community theater for about 20 pre-schoolers on a Monday morning! Then again, kids are a pretty accepting and non-critical audience. They threw in some decent humor for all the mommies there too.

I personally found the puppets a bit creepy. They were those traditional large puppets that are manipulated by strings. KK however seemed to thorougly enjoy it. The show was Cinderella. KK did great. She sat silently nearly the whole time; the only time she spoke was to ask "where the puppets went" in between scenes. At the end the kids could go "meet" the wicked stepmother puppet; KK wanted to go but brought mommy with her. She lurked close by but wasn't interested in touching her.

All in all I rank it as a success!

Sibling Class

This past weekend I took Katelynn to "Sibling Class" at the hospital, which we have been calling "Big Sister Class" in our family. There were about 8 or 10 kiddos there, all having little brothers!

I thought the hospital did a really great job with this class. When we arrived they worked on a craft - this door sign:

Then we went to another room to watch a 15 minute video that was silly and geared toward pre-schoolers. It talked about many aspects of becoming a big brother/sister, including right and wrong ways to hold the baby and the many ways they could help their mommy and daddy.

They gave us a tour of the labor and delivery room and we peeked in the baby nursery. They talked to the kids about how they might spend the night with a friend or relative when it was time for the baby to come. Then all the kids got to practice swaddling a fake baby. As you can see, KK took this very seriously:

They also had a bucket of baby items, and each kid got to pick one. Then the instructor went around the circle and discussed each item. They included things like nose bulb syringes, hospital bracelets, and other things that might be foreign to them. They also had a special plastic tube about the size of a toilet paper roll. The kids practiced putting little bitty toys in the tube - if the toy fits in the tube, it is too small for baby brother...

Then the kids got to take home a coloring book, one of the plastic tubes, and a couple of toys. Katelynn seemed to really soak it all in. We have been reading books and talking about baby Tyler for a long time. Hopefully this class, along with some unexpected but excellent breastfeeding "lessons" from some girlfriends with infants :-) , will really help cement things for her.