The Brown Family Four

Only 3 months late...

2012-02-14T21:18:00.000-08:00

So I am apparently a terrible 2nd kid memory keeper... as evidenced by the fact that Mackenzie will be 3 months old in 2 days and I haven't posted a thing since 3 days BEFORE she was born. I don't even know where to start....

How about the beginning.

Mackenzie was born only 1 day after her due date, a nice surprise since her big brother had to be induced a week late.

We went to bed the night of our due date (Nov 15^th) knowing that once again, our baby was going to be “late” according to our calculations. But fortunately she didn’t wait too long! My water broke at 2:30 am on the morning of November 16^th (meaning we only got about 2 hours of sleep since we went to bed late that night). I woke up to a gush of fluid, tapped on Kent and said with a big smile, “My water just broke!” Kent groggily said “what??” “I’m leaking!!” I said again. Kent started laughing as I jumped up excited about this new experience.

We called my mom and our doula (Brenda) so they could get ready for the day as well. I got dressed, finished packing our bags and then decided I wanted to come home to a clean house. I put on my big earrings (not sure why but I always think earrings dress up whatever you are wearing, and for some reason I wanted to look good as we went in for labor…) and started cleaning the house. My mom arrived to stay with Carter and the first thing she said was “Why are you wearing earrings??” HAHA. Kent said he was wondering the same thing but I was acting really weird so he hadn’t said anything. Guess I was just excited and anxious about what was to come!

We arrived at the hospital about 3:45am, got checked in and were finally moved to the birthing suite about 5:45am. However, nothing was going on so I tried to sleep (with multiple interruptions) until breakfast around 8:30. Leanna (my midwife) wasn’t going to be in until lunchtime, so the nurses were just wanting me to wait to do any labor-inducing activities until she arrived. We, on the other hand, had no desire to just hang out all day.

So, I walked the halls, climbed up and down the stairs, sat on the birthing ball… with not much happening. At 10, they had me try the breast pump, which did start some contractions, but they were still pretty far apart. At 11, I did the pump again and that really got things going. The contractions were now painful and I had to stop and wait through them. Everything started progressing very rapidly… but the only people in the room were me, Kent and Brenda. All the nurses still thought nothing was going on. About 12:30, Leanna came in to check on me and was shocked to see how far along I was. By then I had been laboring in bed for a while and the pain was really strong. She left and Brenda had me go to the bathroom about 12:45, at which point I realized I needed to push. Brenda had to pull the emergency cord to get the nurses attention.

Everyone rushed in, got me back into bed, checked me, and Leanna said “Its time to have a baby!” I was shocked. I thought I had hours still to go!! Mackenzie was coming so fast that Leanna said I needed to NOT push during the contractions, but to push between them. So 2 contractions and 4 or 5 pushes later, Mackenzie arrived!! The whole thing happened so fast!

And of course, the first thing I said after they put her on my chest (besides the tears of joy and kisses) was “has anyone checked to make sure it’s a girl??” (This is the same thing I did with Carter, too! I just wanted to make sure I didn’t need to adjust my expectations!) Yes, she is a beautiful baby girl!! We were so excited to meet our daughter!

2 Days to my due date...

2011-11-13T20:13:00.000-08:00

So we are starting to go a bit stir-crazy waiting for Miss Mackenzie to arrive. Yes, I know we haven't even reached my due date (in 2 days), but last week we just had too much false hope! Wednesday I started having contractions, and though they didn't increase in pain, they were consistent through the night and into Thursday morning. They even woke me up in the middle of the night. Sadly, they stopped about 11am and I've only had random contractions since. But it was enough that we just kept waiting for the real contractions to start for the next few days.No such luck. Oh well, that's how it goes! We are just ready to meet our daughter!!

Hoping she at least comes this week and doesn't make me have to induce a week late like Carter!

Funny Things Carter Says

2011-11-07T20:54:00.000-08:00

Carter is talking like crazy these days, and with more words comes lots of funny stories! Here are a few from the last few days.

He likes to say prayers now (SO SWEET). Here's his typical prayer from the last few nights.
"Dear God. Thankum for Mommy. Thankum for Daddy. Thankum for Carter. (Looking around the room) Thankum for... lamp. Thankum for... door. Thankum for... light. Thankum for... milk. Jesus name, AMEN."

While we are sitting in the living room, he turned around and just said, "Marry Mommy!"
Me: You want to marry Mommy?
Carter: Yes! Marry Mommy!

While sitting outside at night looking up at the stars/moon, Kent asked Carter where the sun was. Carter just looked at Daddy and said matter-of-factly "Nap".

My son is SOOOO PRECIOUS! Love him!

Awesome Baby Shower!

2011-10-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

I had such an awesome baby shower on Sunday! My girlfriends from church went above and beyond to make it an awesome shower with all kinds of fun, creative items and activities. It was like a whole shower planned from Pinterest ideas, so fun (and so ME)!!!

Here are my awesome hostesses, Stephanie, Lindsey, Amanda and Cami. And thanks to the other girls who helped but weren't able to make it!

The sign in table included a diaper baby carriage, homemade frames and my scrapbook.

This is a sock bouquet made by Cami. So clever!

One of the frames Amanda made for Mackenzie's room.

The other frame Amanda made, its a clipboard!

Here is the antique baby carriage diaper cake. The diapers are covered in a taggie blanket Amanda made AND she gave me the antique carriage! I can totally see Mackenzie putting her baby dolls in it as she gets older. I love it!

Lindsey and Amanda made cake pops for the dessert, SOOOO good! They were strawberry and chocolate.

There was a "decorate a onesie" table with lots of fabrics and shapes for people to cut out and glue on using fabric glue. Then Amanda is going to sew them all on so they stay. SO fun!

The sizes vary up through 12 months, so Mackenzie will always have a few adorable homemade onesies to wear! And Tia crocheted the trim on the socks. Cute!

The guests included mine and Kent's family and friends from church.

Opening all those little girl gifts was so fun!!

The quilt made by Kent's grandma Shirley Naylor. Thanks for sending it for the shower. We miss you guys!

Kent's sister Kristin made a bow holder for Mackenzie's room, its so cute! And looks really cute hanging in her room.

I am so blessed to be surrounded by friends and family who love us so much. Thank you THANK YOU to everyone who came and showered us and baby Mackenzie with lots of love! I can't wait to dress Mackenzie up in all her new clothes!!

Maternity/Carter 2-year Pics

2011-10-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

We took maternity/Carter's 2-Year pics last week, and they turned out really cute! Here are a few of my favs. You can see all of the pics here!

Comparing Pregnancies/4D Pics

2011-10-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

Low Placenta

When we did our first big ultrasound to find out the gender (at 18 weeks), my placenta was positioned lower than normal (more below the baby instead of above). The technician said we needed to get a second ultrasound later in the pregnancy to make sure it moved up and there wasn’t a risk of placenta previa (the placenta coming out before the baby is really dangerous and requires a c-section to avoid complications).

So at 30 weeks we went for a 2D/4D ultrasound. It was both informative and super cool! One, we learned that my placenta had completely repositioned and was like 7 centimeters ABOVE the baby, so good news there! Two, we got another glimpse reassuring us that she is in fact, a girl. AND, three, we got to see Mackenzie’s face…kind of. She refused to move her hand and foot from over her eyes pretty much the entire time, but we still got to see her nose, mouth, cheeks, chin and an occasional eye. She was so tangled up, with her right hand over her right eye and her left foot up over her left eye. It’s amazing how flexible babies are! It was really fun getting to see our baby, we are so excited to meet her soon!!

Comparing Pregnancies

People always say that every pregnancy is different, and I can now say I agree with that! I have had a lot more discomfort this time, especially in my stomach and back. For a while, if I didn’t drink enough water or was on my feet working around the house or something for too long, my stomach would start to really hurt. I even made a Sunday night trip to the hospital around 25 weeks for some serious stomach pain. Turns out it was exhaustion and dehydration (after we spent the weekend walking around IKEA).

Mackenzie is REALLY low. I’m sure she is lower than Carter ever was, which seems crazy because he was really low, too. And because of this, I’ve had a lot more back pain the last couple months. I finally had to borrow a brace to help support the weight from pulling on my back. And, of course, every time I look in the direction of a bathroom I have to pee!

Speaking of weight, I am doing a lot better in my weight gain this time. Not that I gained a ton with Carter (maybe about 40 pounds?). But at my last appointment, Leanna looked at my chart and with Carter at 32 weeks, I’d gained 32 pounds. With Mackenzie at 32 weeks, I’ve only gained 22! Sweet, I hope it comes off as easily as it did last time, too. Nursing seriously seemed to suck the extra weight off. Baby girl, you better be good at eating!

Lastly, Mackenzie is a really active baby. Carter just smoothly swam around, so I’d feel gentle turns but rarely were limbs poking out at me. He got the hiccups 2-3 times EVERY day – they were my daily reminder that he was doing well in there. Mackenzie does a lot more sudden movements and turns and flips all over the place for long periods at a time. It’s fun that she is so active. But I’ve only felt her with the hiccups ONCE, and it was 2 days ago (33 weeks)! Fortunately, because she is so active, I get plenty of reassurance each day that she is doing fine!

Tomorrow is my baby shower, hosted by my girlfriends at Northwest, and I am SOOOO excited! Can’t wait for the fun!

Carter at 22 Months

2011-08-31T22:09:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe my little boy is almost 2 years old. I really feel like this last year (since his 1^st birthday) has flown by so fast. I kept thinking I need to write a Carter update, I need to post to my blog, I need to take pictures… and here it is almost a year later and I feel like I’ve barely done any of those things! I guess that is live with a toddler… always crazy!

Carter continues to amaze us every day. He is seriously SO smart. He picks up multiple new words every day and he loves to talk! He will sometimes ask for something or call something by name and Kent and I will just look at each other like, HOW does he know that?!? It feels like there are so many concepts that he just understands so well, it’s hard to believe he is only 1. He can basically count to 10 now on his own with only a bit of prompting. He knows lots of colors and will often describe things by what color they are. He loves animals and knows what many are, both by name and what sound they make. But his favorite is definitely HORSES. He is obsessed with horses, which immediately leads to him saying “Nanny, Papa, Cota (Chacota), Maa (Mia), Am (Shazaam), and he even knows who’s horse is whose. Nanny’s is Mia, Papa’s is Chacota, and Carter’s is Shazaam! He will talk about these horses for HOURS… every day.

He likes to ride his "daddy horse" into his room on many nights. Carter’s nighttime routine is a family thing, so we all three read books, sing songs and pray together in his room before we turn out the lights and he gives us each a hug and a kiss. He knows some of his books so well he will either point and describe what he sees or even say the phrases with me. He loves to sing and will tell us which songs to sing. His favorites are “ Doudern” (Jesus Loves the Little Children), “Twinkle” (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star), “Baa” (I Just Wanna be a Sheep), “Barney” (The I Love You song), “Hop” (The Baby Bop Hop from Barney), and a few others – the list is growing every day! He will sing along with us to many of these which is so adorable.

When we pray we always ask him who we pray to, and he says “God-a”. He knows we hold hands and are quiet and say “Amen” at the end. And I can’t forget all his stuffed animals he sleeps with. We do roll call every night to make sure everyone is there: Barney, Elmo, Ba (Zebra), Guy (Dr. Suess character), Gorilla, and Tiger. We have to go find one if he is missing (or turn the light off before roll call if we notice it in advance).

He is such a sweet boy. He loves to give us hugs and kisses, and will always insist we do both if one of us is leaving for work or the store or something. He will run up and ask for a “Hug” then “Kiss” then say “Bye” over and over until we say it back. And of course, he wants multiples every night when we put him in bed, followed by many “Byes” back and forth as we walk out and shut the door. There are many mornings when he will lay on the couch or in bed with one or both of us and cuddle while watching Barney (he is OBSESSED with Barney). But I am more than happy to watch a couple episodes if it means I get to have my boy snuggled in my arms the whole time. He will usually give me a couple random hugs and kisses, too, which is just so sweet.

Carter is also really athletic. He has always impressed people with his throwing arm, from a very early age. He can really chunk a ball a good distance and loves to make “goals”. He will say “goal” if he (or we) make the shot and “miss” if we miss it. He also loves to kick and will even “dribble” a soccer ball, running and kicking it multiple times as he goes. I know his daddy is a soccer guy, but I’m really not sure how he knows how to do that! Yesterday I had three colored baskets and would tell him which color and he would dribble the soccer ball over and kick it in the right one every time.

He has really good upper body strength, which we witnessed first-hand as we watched him easily pull himself out of his crib earlier this week. SO, he is now sleeping in his toddler bed! That transition is going a LOT better than I expected. The first night he got up quite a few times, but once we established that he would get in trouble (and put a knob cover on his door handle so he couldn’t open his door), he has gone to bed with very little to no problem. Kind of amazing really… I was expecting a week of no sleep! He only tried to get up once the second night and none at all the third. I hoping for another full night’s sleep tonight. Nap time is not so easy, as he screams for quite a while until he finally passes out, and he seems to not sleep as long, but hopefully he will get more used to it soon. All in all, he is doing great with the transition.

He became really interested in the potty in the last month or 2. He gets the concept of sitting on the toilet and putting toilet paper in it, though he won’t sit there long enough to actually go. I had to move the toilet paper roll so he couldn’t reach it because he just wanted to keep tearing it off and throwing it in the toilet, and once that game was gone he really slowed down his interest in the potty. Maybe I should have let him waste the roll? Now he just wants to sit on it once a day for like a second, then he will get off and flush. Flushing is the new game. I guess paper and flushing are two of the concepts of the potty, so he’s learning, though there’s kind of a big one missing – at some point you have to actually GO in the potty. But for now, he will tell me when he “potties” in his diaper, so he is definitely putting it all together. Soon enough he will get there.

He is also very aware of the baby in mommy’s belly. He will point and say ”baby”, and when we ask what kind of baby he will say “siter” (sister). He will even occasionally attempt to say her name, which sounds more like KiKi, so cute. Though he sometimes points to his or daddy’s belly and says “baby”, I think he really gets the concept that a baby is in my belly. He will point at babies or kids we see in passing and call them “baby”, too. It’s fun to see him putting the pieces together.

There is so much more I could tell about Carter, but this post is already quite an essay, so I’ll end here for now. We are LOVING every day with our boy, he is SO much fun to be around. He brings so much joy to our lives, I can’t imagine life without him!

82 days!

2011-08-25T15:07:00.001-07:00

82 Days. My precious baby is due to arrive in (approximately) 82 days!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot believe how fast this pregnancy is flying by. It seems like the first 6 months disappeared before I could even begin to prepare. It’s funny, when I was pregnant with Carter it was all I could think about. Planning the nursery, reading about and preparing for the birth… and now here I am less than 3 months away from having my second baby and I feel so behind from where I was last time. I guess that’s what chasing a 1 (almost 2) year old around will do for ya!

That said, I feel ok about where we are. The nursery is in progress, we registered two days ago, and my baby shower is in the works. The baby seems to be doing fine, and we are getting our house in order making room for number 2.

So, here is a nursery room update: We decided we wanted white furniture, so we watched craigslist for a couple months and found some pretty sweet deals. Our dresser was the best find. Someone was selling a brand new in the box white 6-drawer dresser for $80. It sells for around $160 I believe. So we bought it, but when we opened the box all the hardware was missing. So we called the people we bought it from and asked if they would give us half our money back since we basically only bought half a dresser… and they did! Then we went to the manufacturer’s website, filled out a missing pieces form, and they shipped us all the missing pieces for free! SO, we got a brand new dresser for $40! Its perfect.

For the rocker, we didn’t want to take Carter’s from his room since he uses it every night, so again we turned to craigslist. Kent found one in Norman for $70, which was fine because he had a meeting in Norman that night like a mile from where he got the rocker, so it wasn’t even out of the way. It needs to be recovered to match our decor, but it was a great deal. They are normally about $300 new.

I also found a cute little kid rocker and a pink lamp at thrift stores, each only $4… and have since seen them retail for $17 for the lamp and $70 for the rocker.

I’ve bought fabric for the curtains, bumper (I’m recovering one I bought at a resale shop), quilt, and bedskirt. And I’m hoping to have enough extra to make a changing pad cover. I’m not sure what fabric to recover the chair with, but I’m not worried about it.

We registered for her crib, some shelves and a couple baskets, and we are going to paint some stripes on one wall. I bought some frames at IKEA and have an iron thing I might paint white and hang on the wall. All in all, I feel pretty good about getting the room done in time. And if I don’t, that is fine too.

Welp, Carter just woke up from his nap, so back to mommy time!

Pregnancy Update

2011-07-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

IT’S A…

First of all, it turns out I am such an inconsistent blogger (we will call it “busy mommy”) that I forgot to post when we found out…

IT’S A GIRL!!!

We are so excited to have a little girl, we’ve been hoping to have at least one of each, and now we will! I definitely screamed like crazy from excitement!! You can see just how excited we were when we found out during our cake cutting party here (and in the picture above): http://youtu.be/BYUBUynSkUA

We did have everyone at the party guess what we were having, as signaled by the colored plates. Notice Kent and I both chose blue... I think we were just trying to not get our hopes up one way or the other and blue was a safe choice :)

YAY!!!! It's a girl!

THE NAME

For the last year and a half, whenever we talk about our future kids, we always referred to our “future daughter” as Mackenzie. So when it came time to pick her name for real, we just kept going back to that over and over. I think that was her name before she was ever conceived!! And we wanted her middle name to have a family tie (like Carter’s middle name is Reeves, which is Kent’s middle name, as well as his brother, dad and grandpa). SO, we thought using my middle name was neat for our daughter. But, Mackenzie Danielle is pretty long, so we just cut it in half! Her full name is…

Mackenzie Elle Brown!

24 WEEKS

I am 24 weeks pregnant today and everything is going pretty well. I have occasional discomfort, usually caused by greasy foods or standing and working on things for too long, but otherwise I feel good! I am so blessed to (thus far) have had two easy pregnancies. Hopefully it stays that way!

The last few weeks have been fun as Mackenzie grows, making it easier for me to feel her moving around. And in the last couple days, we have even seen her move across my tummy a few times! Feeling her move is my favorite part of pregnancy – it’s just so special knowing she is inside me growing! And of course every time she moves, I am reassured that she is still doing ok. I keep praying for everything to go well and for her to be happy and healthy when she gets here. I know God will protect our precious baby!

Belly Pics

2011-07-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

OK, ok, here are some long overdue belly pics for baby #2!

13 weeks

16 weeks

19 weeks

22 weeks

23 weeks

(with our wainscoting-in-progress in the background!)

Photo Update

2011-07-10T21:52:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics from Kent from the last month or two.

Carter's 1-year-old class on Sunday mornings. His teacher, Ann Simenson, has been teaching the 1-yr-old class for like 30 years. She even had Kent in her class!!! How cool is that??

Carter liked playing with the fireworks... until he grabbed the hot end!

We will try to get him to take a nap anywhere!!! Sadly, this bush didn't work.

So sweet. Reading in his rocker.

Reading with Gran when she and GP came to visit last time.

Borrowing someone's scooter in the church gym. I think this was about as far as he went!

He loves to tuck himself into his bumper when we come in to get him in the mornings. He did this almost every day for a month or so. It was so funny!

All the little kids in their pre-wee worship devo with Pat Schoonover.

New Carter pics

2011-05-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

Here are some precious pics of Carter from the last month. I love this one.

This frog was left by the previous owners in our last house, the first house we owned! It became such a fun memoir we just had to bring it with us to our new house. Carter likes to give it hugs and kisses!

Carter looked so adorable in his Easter outfit.

He had fun hunting for eggs... until he realized there was candy inside! Then all he wanted to do was open them and get the goods!

Carter's Boo-Boo

2011-05-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

So I am working at church Thursday when our secretary runs into the office, "Carter cut his head open. It's bleeding a lot. He might need some stitches." (Context: Carter was at recess in the gym at church during Dayschool. He was running at a wall and tripped, face first, right into the wall.)

By the time I am almost to the other building, Carter is being carried across. His teachers have done a great job of cleaning him and bandaging him so that the bleeding has stopped, but he has a nice 1/2 inch gash on his forehead. After a quick phone call to our good friend nurse Kellie, I decide it's better to drive twenty minutes to a friendly clinic that will help him quickly rather than to suffer through what would surely have been a miserable ER experience.

So Carter is laughing in the truck as I teach him to squeeze my finger, which he thinks is really funny to do. I keep telling him he is a tough cookie, which makes him smile and say back, "coo-kie." I call Leah and let her know what's going on and mostly she just wishes she was there to hug on her boy. We finally get to the clinic and he is playing on the chairs in the waiting room doing great until he finally finds his bandages and starts getting upset.

As soon as I called, Troy rushed home from work so Kellie could come up to the clinic and help. They are amazing friends. Carter went back and got his face cleaned and promptly glued back together, which supposedly means there won't even be a scar. The nurses and PA that took care of us were so good with him and by the time his head was glued together and he was leaking Popsicle all over their office, everything was as good as new.

Anyhow, pictures to follow here. The main point of this story is the last picture, where you see Carter on the way home, recovering from his first "I am a boy who needs to be put back together" trip. He is sound asleep and cuddling with a soccer ball, which is normal because he doesn't want an animal or blanket. This boy wants a ball to cuddle with.

All that to say, we have enough boy already and it's okay if baby number two is a sweet little girl who likes flowers and dolls and tea parties.

My emotional wife...

2011-05-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

This is Kent posting. I talked Leah into making me a co-author of her blog. After a few posts, we will see if I don't getting writing privileges revoked.

So many jokes have been made at the expense of pregnant women in the past, particularly about their emotional...sensitivities. While I always thought they were funny, we didn't really experience that with Carter. Leah was so excited to be having a baby that I never really saw much of the random weepiness or roller-coasters that are supposedly so commonplace with expecting mothers.

Enter baby #2. This time around, Leah has been more...attuned to her...emotional side. Yep, that's how I am going to say it. For your reading and viewing pleasure, I want to include two videos that we have seen recently that left her with tears streaming down her face and me cracking up laughing next to her.

#1 Farewell song to Michael Scott on the Office, which you can see here...

#2 Leah was really amazing and got us tickets to game 5 of the Thunder vs Nuggets playoff series for our five year anniversary a few weeks ago. While there (at the best basketball game I have ever been to), there was a video of Rumble the Bison running through Oklahoma City getting people to do "the wave." He then ran through the arena and everybody there did the wave as well. This show of community, togetherness and support for both our city and our basketball team was more than she could bear...see it here.

I doubt you can see it in the video, but Leah is standing there tearing up a bit. She is in section 101.

Just thought I would share with you some of the fun we are already having with baby #2 on the way.

Mother's Day Announcement

2011-05-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother’s Day!

I find today a perfect time to tell you all that…

I AM PREGNANT with baby #2!

That’s right, this November Carter is going to be a big brother, and we are going to be a family of four! I am currently 12 ½ weeks along, almost out of the first trimester. We are so excited for our new addition and the excitement of growing our family! We won’t find out for another month or two if it’s a boy or girl, but either way it will be a wonderful adventure. And I can’t wait to see Carter with his new little brother or sister! They should be almost exactly two years apart, just how we wanted them! Please pray for us over the next 6 months, that the pregnancy is not too hard on any of us and that we have a healthy, happy baby born in November!

Two weeks ago we got to get an early sonogram on a small machine in our doctor’s office. Kent and Carter went with me and it was so fun to all see what will soon be Carter’s baby brother or sister. Carter was so good and since then, whenever we ask him “What’s in mommy’s belly?” Carter answers, “Baby.” It’s so cute. I love both of my kids so much. I can’t wait for them to meet.

I know many of you have questions, so here are my answers to what seems to be the most popular questions when people find out I am pregnant.

FAQ

Was this…expected/good news/were you trying, etc.? – Yes, it was planned! We wanted the kids to be two years apart, and amazingly, our timing was perfect and my due date is 2 weeks after Carter’s two year birthday.

How have you been feeling this time? – Ehh, I haven’t been throwing up, but I have had a good amount of discomfort… bloating, pressure in my stomach, etc. Tums don’t seem to make much of a difference…I’m hoping it lessens in the second trimester! That said, both of my pregnancies have been pretty easy (thus far at least!) so I can’t complain too much!

Do you want a boy or a girl? – Of course, the main thing (and standard answer) is we just want a healthy baby. But here is the real truth… Ultimately, we want to have three kids and we really want at least one to be a girl. SO, if I could guarantee the third to be a girl, having another boy now would be fine with me. He and Carter could be buddies and all Carter’s clothes would be the same size in season… super handy. But since we can’t guarantee a girl on try three, it would be nice to have a girl this time to take the pressure off!

Having any cravings yet? - I’ve had a few random urges, like Taco Bell, Italian food or salad, but just once or twice… really, both this time and with Carter, I just wasn’t a huge craver! Though I guess if I really analyze it, I seem to eat healthier when I’m pregnant and nursing, more fruits and veggies. But that could just be because I want to fuel my babies with better calories then I tend to eat on my own!

Do you think Carter’s going to be a good big brother? – Absolutely with no doubt! He is seriously the sweetest little boy I could have ever imagined, I know he will love and kiss on (and pester) his new sibling! He is very loving and gentle and I cannot wait to see him with the new baby!

Four months later

2011-03-03T08:39:00.000-08:00

And here is the finished product!!

In the beginning...

2011-03-03T08:38:00.000-08:00

We finished the condo we bought 4 months ago! Here is the before video.

Happy Valentine's Day... a day late!

2011-02-15T21:34:00.000-08:00

These are my yummy Valentine cupcakes!

And these are my two Valentine's! I love my boys :)

(This pic is from Carter's Mother's Day Out Valentine party.)

Snow tears

2011-02-12T21:14:00.000-08:00

We took Carter out to experience the snow a couple weeks ago.

He enjoyed it before we actually set him in the snow. Daddy was a great chair!
Then, not so happy.

Oh, boy....

Hmmm, feeling a little warmer but still not sure about this.

Mommy (and not being in the snow) makes it all better :)

Maybe next time :)

Carter Sits on Command

2011-02-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

Even Sadie likes to teach Carter a thing or two! (See other video on previous post, too.)

Carter Sits on Command

2011-02-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

Even Sadie likes to teach Carter a thing or two!

Late post... but here are some Christmas pics!

2011-01-28T20:25:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas 2010, from the Brown's!

Carter's big gift from us was his new chair. He loves sitting in it in the living room!

We also got him this drum, which came with a bunch of smaller instruments. Add that to the guitar Zach got him for his birthday and the keyboard his Nana got him for Christmas, and we can have a whole band!

I made aprons for the girls in Kent's family. They turned out pretty well I thought!

The Kaisslings bought him a new swing for the backyard! I can't wait to get it hung so we can enjoy it this spring and summer!

Here he is with Kent's aunt and uncle, Kim and Dave. Not sure what they want to be called, so for now its Grandma Kim and Papa I think... I don't know if they ever decided for sure!

On our way back from Omaha we stopped by Kent's grandparent's house, the Naylors. They had fun seeing Carter again (it had been since last Christmas! Way too long!)

Carter enjoyed playing the piano. Anything he can bang on that makes noise he loves!

I realized while uploading these pics that I have no pictures from my family Christmas. I remember now I just told my mom to use her camera and I'd get them from her. Looks like I forgot!

Merry late holidays!

Carter Plays BBall

2011-01-18T12:59:00.000-08:00

Ornament Cupcakes

2010-12-19T19:53:00.000-08:00

Here is my latest cupcake creation... Ornaments! And I took these pictures with my new Canon Rebel camera!!!! Thanks mom and dad!

Sweet as can be!

2010-12-01T21:44:00.001-08:00

Christmas Cards

2010-11-18T21:23:00.000-08:00

So its time to start working on Christmas cards again! Two years ago I scrapbooked my cards... super cute, but super time consuming. Last year I had a two-month-old, so time was not a luxury I could spend so freely. SO, I turned to Shutterfly! I was able to use 4 photos on my 5x7 photo card last year and I was really pleased with how they turned out. So now that Carter is a busy little one-year-old, I've decided to go that route again this year! They have TONS of options... almost more than I can handle! There are so many cute choices, I know I will end up designing a few before I decide on one to order.

Here are a few adorable options from their Christmas card section.

And a few more from the Holiday Card Selection.

Seriously, how will I choose with so many great beautiful options? It is going to be a tuff choice.

Plus, Shutterfly is having a great deal for bloggers. Go check it out here... You just might want in on it too. Plus, if it couldn't get better then all this you could also buy a few presents while you are there. They have great calendars and photobooks. Getting more done at once is always good right? I will let you know what I end up choosing.

Camera Suggestions

2010-11-14T20:59:00.000-08:00

I'm considering buying an entry-level SLR camera... I want to take more professional looking pictures than my point-and-shoot can give me, and I especially want to play with the focus, getting blurred backgrounds, etc. Any suggestions or personal recommendations?

Birthday Party - TIME FOR CAKE!

2010-11-03T20:21:00.000-07:00

First off, isn't this name cake adorable?? I just love all the details! Katie at Brown's Bakery made it.

And here is the cute chocolate pumpkin cake she made for Carter to dig into! So cute!

The first bite...

This cake is pretty tasty!

We knew he'd eat the whole thing, so we cut him a chunk to eat.

Getting a little sugar-high!

Must. Get. Every. Bite.

Can I have some more?

Carter loved eating his cake!!

Birthday Party - THE COSTUMES!

2010-11-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

Here are all the kids in their costumes at the party! So cute!

Its really funny trying to get that many kids to pose at one time...especially when they all start crying!

The dads made balloon animals for everyone.

Carter's uncle Zach (my brother) brought the TV!

Carter with his Nana and Papa. They were all cowboys (my mom made his cowboy vest).

Carter with his aunts and uncles, Joel and Kristin, Riata and Kirk (Where's Waldo, so cute!), and Andrew.

Such a sweet boy!

Fred and Daphne from Scooby Doo (Kellie and Troy Carter)

Ryan Russell as... a trucker? Lumberjack??

David, Sarah and Emmitt Skelton wearing Egyptian robes... and a skeleton!

Josh and Jessica Hudson as the Duggars. And of course their Princess Alex!

And me and Kent as a Flapper and a Clown.

I wish I got pics of everyone else but my camera battery died and I had to charge it during part of the party, boo. But it was so fun, I am so glad everyone dressed up!!

Saturday Birthday Party... THE FOOD!

2010-11-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

Here is the invitation I created for Carter's Costume Birthday Party (Of course, I had the real address on it). We invited Carter's little buddies, their families (our friends), our siblings and my parents.

Here is the main food table, which included the cake and food for the adults. I made the banner with scrapbook paper and filled the Halloween tins with different types of candy. Here is the cake, made by Katie at Brown's Bakery in OKC. She did a great job. Isn't is so cute??

The pumpkin cake was for Carter... so cute!

Deviled Eyes

Veggie Man

Coffin Dogs

I also had a "Baby Bar" with baby-friendly foods, including goldfish, pretzels (Baked Skeleton Bones), slimy grapes, carrot eyes, cheese fingers, cupcakes, and Halloween-shaped PBJs.

Scary PBJs

Cheesy Fingers

Steamed Carrot Eyes

I had a lot of fun creating the spooky foods for the party! Next, I will post pics of the costumes.

Birthday Party #1 Recap

2010-11-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

Friday night we had a family birthday party for Carter with my parents and grandparents. We enjoyed hamburgers, delicious sweet potatoes from my Grandma, veggies, pasta salad, chips and cupcakes. It was fun seeing them interact with Carter, especially since he started walking last week!

Carter loved his lemon cupcake!

Gotta read the cards before you open the presents!

Sweet! A dump truck!

The fam!

Look at me, I can stand by myself!

Cowboy Carter

2010-10-31T21:53:00.000-07:00

Carter was a cowboy for Halloween. His Nana (my mom) made his cowboy vest for him, so cute!

Here is Carter at his dayschool Halloween performance. He was NOT happy to be sitting in his chair while I was sitting in the audience. It was really sad, but really funny. He looks so silly when he cries :)

Happy 1st Birthday Carter!

2010-10-31T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple pictures from Carter's 1-year photoshoot!

Carter plays

2010-10-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

Carter plays with Dane's toys at Dane's first birthday party.

Carter's Baby-proof kitchen

2010-10-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

Carter tries to break into the newly baby-proofed kitchen, then applauds daddy's efforts.

Carter Slides

2010-10-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

Carter talks jibberish and finds a faster means of transportation.

1...2...3...

2010-09-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

This is one of Carter and daddy's favorite games together!

Carter Hides

2010-09-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

Carter plays hide and seek in the curtains... don't tell mom!

I like this

2010-09-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

I am going to recreate something like this for my game room... I will post pics once its completed.

Carter's 9-Month Pics

2010-08-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

Here are Carter's 9-Month pics, taken by Becky Opp. He is such a cutie :)

Carter's First Box Fort

2010-08-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

Kent made Carter a tunnel with the box from our new entertainment center. He loved crawling through it, especially when Kent was playing peek-a-boo at both ends!

Carter the speed demon

2010-07-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

Carter is getting SO fast at crawling!! All he needs is a little motivation :) Again, the iPhone cover!

Carter Crawling

2010-06-30T23:12:00.000-07:00

Carter is crawling!!!! All he needs is a little iPhone motivation :)

By the way... he also has TWO teeth coming in!! His front two middle ones on the bottom. CRAZY!

The Bed-gie

2010-06-23T12:13:00.000-07:00

Introducing... The Bed-gie!

I walked in to check on Carter before I went to bed last night and this is what I found... He fell asleep like this! It took all I had NOT to laugh out loud and wake him up before I could get the camera and take his picture!

We call this "The Bed-gie!" Here is the full view.

My camera flashes finally woke him up. And when I went to move him his thighs were stuck! Considering he woke up 4 times like this throughout the night, it looks like the bumper will be going back on the bed.

Standing Tall

2010-06-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

My boy is too young to be standing all by himself!!! This is what I found after leaving him sitting in his crib for a minute!

Carter at 7 1/2 mos...

Fun at the Beach

2010-06-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

Carter and I just got back from a great week at Myrtle Beach with Kent's side of the family. Kent had camp so he couldn't go, but Carter and I had a great time!

This was Carter's first time to fly (at 7 1/2 months) and he did great! We had two flights each way, and on all but the last leg of the trip home you wouldn't even know he was on a plane! I was so proud of him :)

Here are some pics from the week:

I love Carter kisses!

Carter learns to drive

2010-06-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

Here's Carter (7 mos) learning to drive! He LOVES the windshield wipers!

6-Month Photos!

2010-05-19T21:00:00.001-07:00

Here are my favorites from our 6-month photoshoot with Allison! I love this first one!! I think I'm going to crop this one and hang in my hall bath.

SO precious! I love this kid!

This one just feels magical :)

It was our 4-year anniversary. Love the pink flowers... but the wind was terrible so my hair was all over the place. But I still like the photo!

Carter on the go!

2010-05-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

And this week just gets better, full of big changes/growth for Carter! Here he is learning how fun it is to walk in his Jeep Walker! I'm sure he will be all over the kitchen in no time!

Moving towards mobile...

2010-05-16T20:32:00.000-07:00

This past week has been a huge week for Carter... he has grown and developed a few new skills! He has been "able" to turn over for a few months, but it was always random and never consistent. Since he hated tummy time, rolling over just made him mad.

Well, in the past week Carter has started consistently flipping over when layed on the floor and even more so in bed. It usually wakes him up, but last night, he slept ALL NIGHT on his tummy. I couldn't believe it! To go from HATING being on his tummy to sleeping that way is wierd to me. But, we've heard that if he can roll over both ways (tummy to back and back to tummy) then he is fine to sleep how he wants. So, although I was a bit nervous all night, Carter slept great! I was even able to turn his light on and take a picture! Awww, isn't he SO precious!?!His other new skill this week is MOVING!!! Slowly but surely, he is skooching backwards!

He wants so badly to move forward, but he just keeps going the wrong way! So, sorry for all the grunts and cries... just pay attention to his start and end locations of each video and you will see his really is moving!! And these videos were taken after he'd already moved like 7 feet so we were wearing him out!

Here is Carter with Deven Matthews on Deven's first day in the nursery at church! Go Deven!
Carter SO badly wanted to play with the "Big Boys" during church today. He kept wanting to crawl over the pew and see what they were doing. It was so cute!

My baby is growing SO fast. I can't believe he's already 6 1/2 months old. He is such a cute little boy, I love every second of being his mommy!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T19:46:00.000-07:00

This is why I LOVE being a mommy!!!! Isn't he so precious?!? I had a wonderful 1st Mother's Day! After a breakfast and baby dedication service at church, we had a bunch of family over for a cookout (eat-in) to celebrate the day. It was so fun seeing everyone! We spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching a movie.

Carter has become even more cuddly lately, I LOVE IT!! He is SO sweet and gives me lots of kisses :)

My happy family!

And here is MY awesome mommy!! I love watching her play with and laugh at Carter and all the fun things he does. It just makes me so happy seeing her love on him. She is an amazing mother and I love getting to see her with Carter! Happy Mother's Day Mom!!

And here is my wonderful daddy! He is SO sweet with Carter, it is just precious to see him love on him! I am so blessed to have two amazing parents who taught me so much on love and life. I hope I can be as good a parent to Carter as they were/are to me!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mommy's out there! Isn't motherhood wonderful? I wouldn't trade it for anything :)

Kent makes Carter laugh

2010-05-04T15:37:00.000-07:00

5-Month Pictures

2010-05-02T21:14:00.001-07:00

Here are the studio pictures from our 5-month photoshoot with Allison Stephens. Aren't they so cute? We took the outdoor shots last Thursday so I will post those when I get them!

Hehe, naked pics are so sweet :)Love those eyes!!

Graduation Weekend

2010-05-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a busy weekend! Both of our brother's graduated from OC yesterday, so we were going back and forth between parties and families all day. What a fun day!

My brother Zach Zeller graduated at the morning ceremony with a degree in music.The Zeller/Brown family.Blue-eyed boys :)Carter loves his uncle Zach! Here they are at Zach's studio at his graduation cookout!Kent's brother Kirk Brown graduated at the afternoon ceremony with a degree in engineering.The Brown kids, Kent, Kirk and Kristin (Davenport). We had a graduation party for Kirk and Riata (Kirk's girlfriend) at our house. Aunt Kim made the cake!Saturday morning we took Carter to the zoo for the MS Walk. It was his 1st Zoo Visit! It was so rainy!!We finished the marathon!!!..... or, the 1 mile walk :) Go team!
We have such great families!

A Wonderful Evening!

2010-04-29T21:01:00.001-07:00

Its our 4-year anniversary! Tonight Kent and I enjoyed a great evening out just the two of us while my mom watched Carter. Thanks Grandma!

Dinner at the Elephant Bar was fabulous! After our free appetizer of Shrimp Skewers, we shared the Shrimp Scampi and the Macadamia Nut Chicken and Shrimp.

It was so nice being together just the two of us! Then we went over to Cheesecake Factory and grabbed a slice of Snickers Bar Cheesecake to take home and enjoy. It was SOOO yummy!

The girl taking our picture said I looked like a model with my hair nicely blowing in the wind. I smiled to myself excited to see the picture later...

Not sure this is a model picture I'd put in any magazines! HAHAHA! Wow. That's some hair.

We got home just in time to feed sweet little Carter and put him to bed! What a beautiful life we have been blessed with! And what an enjoyable night!

4 Years of Marital Bliss!

2010-04-29T11:38:00.001-07:00

Happy 4 Year Anniversary to my awesome husband, Kent!!! I love you so much! Every year just gets better and better!

Here we are the night before our wedding, dancing at the rehearsal dinner. Those ballroom dance lessons paid off!Our Wedding, April 29th, 2006. It was such a fun and perfect day! And because it rained 1.01 inches on our wedding day, my engagement ring was paid for by BC Clarks!For our 1st Anniversary we went to the 2 Hearts Inn in Edmond, OK. Its a really nice Bed and Breakfast with different themed rooms. So fun! (Haha, so I wasn't thinking color coordination when I brought those shoes with me!)Ok, so I can't quite remember what we did for our 2nd anniversary... BUT, that same summer just a couple months later we were in NYC (which is where we went for our honeymoon) during a layover coming back from Guyana, South America. So we (or at least I) pretended it was a 2nd honeymoon (with a bunch of other people from church with us, haha!)!For our 3rd annivesary we went out to eat at Bourbon Street in Bricktown, where Kent gave me a beautiful diamond studded heart necklace, as well as a gorgeous fresh water pearl necklace and bracelet set. And I framed a couple pages from a Latin bible for Kent's office for him. I was just a couple months pregnant in this pic.And today is our 4th Anniversary... and we get to share it with our beautiful 6 month old son! This picture was taken by Allison Stephens (the same photographer who took our awesome wedding pics!) about a month ago. It was too windy to take outdoor pics that day, so we are actually going to meet her this afternoon for some outdoor family photos! Perfect timing!

I love you Kent!!! I look forward to many, many more years with you!!

So Blessed / Picture Frame Walls

2010-04-27T19:57:00.001-07:00

Today was...a day of extremes. Professionally, it was one of my more frustrating and disappointing days. And yet, after what could have been a day-killer, Kent came to the rescue and really reminded me that my professional life is just a small part of the blessings that fill my life and our family.

He is SO right. I am blessed with an amazing marriage to my best friend in the whole world. We both have flexible careers that allow us to do things we really enjoy. And I have the coolest son in the entire world who looks at me and smiles and my heart just melts. And there is so much more!

And still, every day it just gets better and better. I love my life!!

This evening, Kent took me to the batting cages to let out some steam. A perfect and fun family night out!
And then on the way home Kent made a stop and came back to the car with these beauties! Ahh, I LOVE fresh flowers!! Isn't he SO sweet? What a nice surprise!

And they look so pretty under my picture (frame) wall! The plan is to eventually put pictures in those frames, but for now I really like the cute paper :)

And on the topic of picture frame walls, this is the wall in our master bedroom. Ignore the unmade bed and pillow pile, its laundry day. And again, I plan to soon put pictures in those frames! One step at a time, right?

I am so blessed!

Arts Festival & The Non

2010-04-27T19:38:00.001-07:00

This weekend was a weekend of festivals! Friday Kent and I took Carter to the Arts Festival for lunch. He enjoyed the outdoors, seeing all the pretty paintings, and people watching.

But mostly Carter was chill-laxin'! This is the good life...

Then on Sunday night my brother's band The Non was playing in the Norman Music Festival as the headlining band in the Sooner Theatre! My brother actually wrote all the music for the Cloud Collision Orchestra to play with them, and it was AMAZING. The theatre was so packed they stopped letting people in! Zach is the guitar player on the far left.

We tried baby earplugs for Carter but as soon as the first song started he freaked out... it was just too loud in the theatre! So we enjoyed the concert from the upper lobby with another couple and their baby :) No worries though, it was plenty loud to hear out there and we took turns watching from the entrance to the balcony and got to see the magic!

I am so proud of my brother and all of his accomplishments. He is graduating this Friday from Oklahoma Christian University with his Bachelor of Arts in Music Science. Go Zach!

Carter's Best Face

2010-04-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

Oh wow, watch Carter stick his tongue out every time Kent blows in his face. LOL!

Carter Plays

2010-04-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

This is Carter when he was about 2 1/2 months.

Carter plays piano

2010-04-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

Hey Carter

2010-04-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

Carter does the Chicki Chicki dance with daddy!

Wacky Wednesday

2010-04-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

Hi, Mom! Carter LOVES his new freedom being able to sit up and play with his toys! We enjoyed the Thunder Fest in Bricktown last Friday. It was very rainy but fun nonetheless!

We started Carter on rice cereal a week ago and he LOVES it!! I mean, grabbing the spoon and NOT letting go. Its great. We are only doing it before bed, and he is now sleeping ALL night long! Its so wonderful.

Kent and Carter enjoying some time at the park!

I can't believe my baby is turning 6 months next week!

Easter Pics

2010-04-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

Easter at Northwest was so much fun! We had a church-wide breakfast with an Easter egg hunt and balloon popping game for the kids. And guess who our Easter bunny was!?! Yep. Kent :) Carter and "daddy"

Wiped out after a busy morning!

The Brown family!

Carter with Aunt Kristin and Uncle Joel.

Carter's First Easter! We had lunch and spent the afternoon with my family.

Hmm, what is this??

Ehh, who cares... its going in my mouth!

Carter is sitting in a high chair that's like 100 years old! It was my grandpa's when he was a baby, and it wasn't new then!

Our family on Easter 2010.

Gotta get my sugars!

Hot Wings!

2010-03-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

Last night was our 3rd annual March Madness basketball tournament at church. So the night before we all got together at Stephanie's for a pasta dinner (gotta have those carbs before the big games) and shirt-making. Kent's team (the 20's) were called the Hot Wings. Check out the cheering squad! Devon and Carter were even in on the fun!The fam: Kent, Carter, me, Joel and Kristin.Carter was so proud of his daddy and their 3 wins... they won the tournament!Daddy's fans :) The Hot Wings! Just so you know, the other teams were: Jumbo Shrimp (teens), Chicken McNuggets (upper 20'sand 30's), and Biscuits and Gravy (40's+). The whole night I couldn't stop thinking about how much I LOVE my church! We have such a great family!

New Carter Pics & Update... It's About Time!

2010-03-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

I'm having so much fun with my little boy I keep forgetting to update my blog :) Here are some recent pics and an update of my sweetie from the last couple months (age 3-5 mos).

Carter has the greatest laugh. Over the last couple months, he has really started laughing a lot. It is seriously the greatest sound I have ever heard. We love playing with him and making him giggle! He just lights up! Our new neighborhood has lots of young families and kids are always outside. I love taking Carter and Sadie (our dog) for walks around the block. Can't you see how much Carter loves it too?

The first few months, Carter was not a huge fan of tummy time. Actually, thats an understatement... he hated it! As he has gotten a bit stronger, he is starting to last a bit longer and will play with/talk to his toys few a few minutes. We are even getting a few smiles while he's working out those arm muscles!

We call this his "denture face!" You can't see it well in the picture, but his lip actually gets wrinkled and it really does look like he is missing his teeth (which technically he is)! So funny :)

Love those baby blues and cheeky grin! He is SO MUCH FUN!

Carter loves playing with Daddy! They have dance parties and crack each other up, its so precious to see!

I love this boy!

Carter started going to bible class around 3 months. He does so good and loves learning at the table with Gayle. She says he just smiles and is happy the whole time. He hardly even looks back when I leave the room! Here he is on the end in red with the Spruill twins, Robert and Peyton.

He LOVES naked time. Its so funny, we lay him on a blanket with nothing but his diaper and some toys and he is content for quite a while. He rolls around from side to side (not fully over too often) and plays with his feet, talking the whole time. Its so cute! We definitely think Carter is starting the teething process. We have yet to see any teeth emerging, but he is chewing like crazy. Anything he can get his hands on goes straight to his mouth. If he gets your finger in there, he actually moves it around to rub his gums, its crazy. The other sign... slobber! Its amazing how much drool can come out of one tiny little boy!

What's up with that, yo? He likes his playmat and Jeep walker. Its so cute watching him play with his toys, he is such a little boy!

He is momma's little angel!

Carter 3-month Photos

2010-02-28T19:34:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-15T19:51:00.000-08:00

Momma's little heartbreaker :)
Carter at 3 1/2 months.

Our New House!

2010-02-07T17:54:00.000-08:00

We closed on our new house last Wednesday!!! I am so excited!! We are getting it painted and recarpeted before we move in, so it will basically feel like a new house (its 7 yrs old) :) I can't wait to move in this weekend! So here are some pics from before we started painting.

And as for our current house, we got a contract on it in 8 days!!!! Inspections went well yesterday, so we should be set to close at the end of February! I never imagined we would be buying and selling all in the same month... I was prepared to anxiously own two houses for a couple months. This whole move is falling into place so smoothly, I can't help but think it was meant to be :)

Baby-wearing

2010-02-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

I love baby-wearing! And as long as he can face out and see what's going on, so does Carter. After buying the wrong fabric on my first go round, this simple green knit did the trick. 2 wraps for $5 each! And its so easy to do. Just go to the Moby wrap website and they have directions with pictures for every position of baby wearing, its so simple. And although I don't use it every day, I have managed to get a few things done while Carter is strapped on. That being said, we usually spend most of our time in the wrap standing at the bathroom mirror... Carter LOVES to look at himself and stand up. He just uses my body and the wrap to balance, then pushes up and smiles at himself. Its so cute!

Too Cool

2010-01-25T09:16:00.000-08:00

I love this picture... he just looks too "cool"! Haha! And his precious smile! I LOVE it!

Momma loves her baby boy!!

I think today I am going to attempt to make a wrap so I can "wear" Carter around the house. I have high hopes of being able to get more done... we will see!

Photo Friday

2010-01-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

Classic.

Our House is On The Market

2010-01-21T11:50:00.000-08:00

So, big news... we are moving! We weren't thinking we would consider moving until this fall, but, since I'm a Realtor I recieved an email from another Realtor for a bank-owned property in our ideal next neighborhood. So for fun we went to look at it... and we just couldn't pass it up! It's just on the other side of the lake in Yukon, so not too far. But its perfect! As long as everything goes smoothly, we should be closing on our new home by the 5th of February!

Sooo... Now we must sell our current home. Its a bittersweet thing. We are really excited about the new house. Its bigger, newer and in a neighborhood we have always really liked. It has so many things we want. But, our current house is like our masterpiece. It is the first home we have owned and we've made so many memories there. And we have updated almost everything in the house!

When we moved in, there were white walls, lots of wallpaper and borders, and very dated bathrooms and kitchen. Over the last 2 1/2 years, we have painted every room AND the outside of the house. We've replaced 17 new light fixtures. We remodeled the kitchen, including knocking out a wall and adding a breakfast bar between the kitchen and living room, really opening up the floor plan. We took out shag carpet and dated tile in the master bath and replaced with designer tile and textured walls. And SOOO much more.

Here is a before and after of our home. The first video is the one we sent to our family when we bought the house.

BEFORE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYBuI6-71c4

And now... Here is our finished product! This house is covered in love :)

AFTER

If you know of anyone who might want to buy our house, please send them our way! We live in Bethany near Lake Overholser. Its a nice, quiet neighborhood with nice neighbors!

Carter's 2-Month Appointment

2010-01-12T12:33:00.000-08:00

Today was Carter's 2-month appointment (although he is actually two months and almost 2 weeks). Anyway, everything checked out great!

He weighs 13 lbs, 9 oz - 90th percentile (a big boy!)
Is 23 1/4 inches long - 50-75th percentile
And his head size is 50th percentile

He has great neck and leg strength and made eye contact and smiled at the doctor from across the room. He said he is doing wonderful! I was getting a tiny bit concerned because he has started only nursing on one side then refusing to eat anymore (making me lop-sided, ha!), but the doc said he is just maturing and is able to stop when he is full.

He also said his head shape is very symmetrical and the small flat spot I thought he was getting on the back is in fact just his normal head, so I guess I can stop making myself feel so guilty for having him ride in the car so much the last couple weeks while traveling! (I will go ahead and tell you that Kent will say "I told you so" when he reads this...)

Carter is standing and smiling for dad - he is such a happy baby!We took this family picture while in Omaha visiting family. It was taken on Carter's 2-month birthdate. Doesn't he just look like a little man? So cute!

Carter Loves his Grandpa Z!

2010-01-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

Since I'm just now getting caught up with my blog, this is a little out of order... But who cares, right? My dad's birthday was Dec 11th and we went out to eat with my family then spent some time at my parents house just hanging out. Carter got his Grandpa a birthday card with a "#1 Grandpa" button, which he proudly displayed while cuddling with Carter. I LOVE watching my dad love on my son, he's an awesome grandpa!

They are such a sweet pair!And we took this over Christmas when we spent a couple days at my parents house. Dad and Carter were having a "man-to-man" conversation, haha! So cute!

Carter's Second Month

2010-01-12T08:21:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can’t believe Carter is already 2 months old! It is amazing how fast time really does fly by when you have a kid. People tell you to cherish every second all the time because it goes by so quickly, but you have no idea how true that is until you experience it for yourself.

Carter (our “Lil’ Buddy”) is changing so much every day. He is really starting to fill out in his face and body. His little arms and legs are starting to get adorable little rolls on them, and his cheeks are continuing to be soft and gushy. I LOVE kissing his cheeks… and face… and hands… and anywhere else he will let me. He is so soft and sweet, it’s hard to not kiss him! Kent makes fun of me, saying that kissing him has become part of my movement in picking him up, I do it without thinking. This second month, he has really started to get some personality. He is “talking” more and more all the time, cooing and awing – it’s so adorable. But it is also loud! Carter sleeps in a bassinet at night… at first, it was right next to my bed, then we moved it right outside our bedroom door, and now it’s at the other end of the hall! Sometimes when he wakes up, he just talks and talks, which is really cute unless you are trying to sleep!

One of the most rewarding things he has learned this month is how to smile! Every day he seems to smile more and more, which is totally adorable! He has the best smile, especially when he gets really happy and shoots you an open-mouthed grin. I love just talking to him and watching him get so excited… it can melt away any tired or stressed feelings you might have. I could watch him smile all day.Carter is not a huge fan of tummy time, so at 7 ½ weeks he decided he’d had enough and rolled over! I was so excited, he did it 4 times in a row and I got a couple of them on camera! Then a few more times a couple days later let me know it wasn’t a fluke! He is also starting to lift his head up a bit while lying on his tummy. But the most amazing thing is how strong his neck is while sitting up. We rarely need to support his head when we are holding him up, he loves to just look around and turn his head every which way. He is also growing really strong in his legs. He can pretty much hold up his own weight if we balance him, and he loves to push off your lap or in the tub… so we have to make sure we are always holding on to him! He’s so strong and getting more so every day!

He is also enjoying using his arms and legs – he loves to lie on his back and just wiggle all around, kicking and throwing his arms, learning how they move. He gets especially happy when we put him under his Monkey mobile in his crib. He’s getting good exercise, too!

As far as things that soothe Carter, there are a few we have learned work well. We introduced the pacifier around 3 weeks, but he wasn’t too interested for a few more weeks. Although he’s not always up for it, there are times when he sucks on it like crazy and it really calms him down. He also loves the sound of running water. Turn on the kitchen sink and seriously, he’s calm in less than 30 seconds. Follow that up with a ceiling fan in his eyesight and he’s golden.

If we want him to fall asleep, riding in the car or putting him in the sling both work great. And he is a terrific traveler. Unless he is just starving, he’s content to just look around or most often, sleep. This is good since we have traveled so much for the holidays his first couple months!Breastfeeding is going MUCH better this month. The first 5 weeks, I had all kinds of problems, including an unpleasant case of mastitis and lots of pain! Now, we have both pretty much got it figured out, the pain is gone and it’s actually enjoyable! I am also occasionally pumping so Kent or others can give him a bottle while I am out, which has made life a bit easier as well.

He is still eating pretty often, but he is starting to sleep longer stretches at night, which is great. A typical night is: nurse at midnight, sleep for 4 hrs, nurse for 1, sleep for 3, then either nurse and sleep a couple more hrs or just get up and get things done while he sleeps that next time. However, the last week that 4 hour stretch has turned into 5-6 hrs! Last night (Two days before his 2 month mark) he went 7 hours (11pm-6am)… basically a full night’s sleep!! I really hope he keeps that up!

Carter’s first couple months of life have been full of holiday excitement. Born the day before Halloween, he was so cute in his pumpkin costume in the hospital. Then a month later, he enjoyed Thanksgiving in Omaha with Kent’s family. Now it’s the end of December and he has enjoyed a few Christmases, met lots of family, and showed off his Santa suit multiple times! We had Kent’s Kirkpatrick family Christmas in Texas mid-December, then my Eldridge family get-together at Northwest followed by a few days with my parents and brother at their house. He loved spending time with his grandparents and Uncle Zach! He was wide awake for almost an entire Thunder basketball game and was excited to open his rocking horse that matches Grandma’s Palomino! I can’t wait until he’s old enough to run around and play on Grandma and Grandpa’s ranch!

Then we drove to Omaha and spent a few days with the Kaisslings. They were so excited to see how much he has grown and changed since Thanksgiving. Kim and Dave got him his Jeep walker and he LOVES it. He is strong enough, he can already sit in it and look around, and he loves to stare at the toys on it! I am so excited because he can now be a part of what is going on while mom and dad are hands-free to do other things! I have SO enjoyed this last month. I feel like we are finally figuring out our new normal, are getting a decent amount of sleep, and are really enjoying being parents. I love every day with my precious son, watching him grow and change in front of my eyes. I am SO blessed to have what I consider an easy baby, and am excited for what the next few months brings! Carter coming into our lives is the most amazing thing that I have ever experienced and I am overjoyed with love and awe of our little miracle!

Carter's First Month

2010-01-12T07:06:00.000-08:00

A little over an hour before Halloween, 10:16pm to be exact, Carter Reeves Brown was born. A beautiful baby boy with alert searching eyes and a long cone-shaped head entered our lives and changed everything. There are certain things in life that you can talk about, read about, pray about, plan in detail, and dream about constantly and yet all of that falls completely short of the reality. The amazing thing is, you know in advance that you don’t have a clue and then it happens and you realize you had no idea even then. As soon as Carter was born we knew his mother’s prayers had been answered and that she had her little cuddler. Unfortunately, this created a little bit of a problem early on. Because Carter had bruising on his head from the birth canal and a little trouble nursing initially, he became a bit jaundice and had to be placed under a billy-ruben light. While under the light, he was often upset because he wasn’t being held (mom and dad hated it, too). When it was finally time to nurse, he would be so happy and relieved to be in Mom’s arms that he would immediately fall asleep. Since he wasn’t eating, he needed to continue being under the light. We finally compromised and took turns holding our beautiful cuddler underneath the light.

From the beginning he was a calm baby. Before inducing labor, they needed to get his heart rate up, and it took forever because he refused to be bothered. During the almost three hours of intense pushing at the end of labor, his heart rate never really changed (although I couldn’t say the same for Leah). At his one month appointment he needed a shot and the nurse said, “Oh boy, you are about to scream at me.” But Leah and I knew better and loved the look on the nurse’s face when Carter cried for all of about two seconds before going back to just looking casually around the room.

While Leah was pregnant, women at church were always talking about how my mom, Rhonda, would always pray for healthy and beautiful babies when she was pregnant. I know that she would not have been disappointed with this boy. Occasionally I am looking at his face and begin feeling sorry for parents of the babies in the magazines. I bet they all wish they had a son that is as wonderful as mine, or perhaps I should say Leah’s.

People ask all the time who he looks the most like, me or Leah. The first time I saw him, something about him reminded me of my dad. Since then, he often reminds me of Kirk. When we check out our baby pictures, he definitely looks more like Leah. Most people quickly point out that he seems to have Leah’s good looks and my hair line. Leah has decided he has my nose with the tip of her nose, and that his chin is apparently mine. Whatever it is, we like him.

There are several things that I can tell you Carter absolutely loves. He loves his mommy. I like to tell her occasionally that she has the potion in the motion to kill his ill (make him quit crying). He is a fan of fans. And usually when we tell people this, they say something about how he must like the movement. But that isn’t it. We don’t ever turn our fans on. He just loves looking at them up on the ceiling. You can walk around a room and his eyes won’t leave the fan. Carter loves sucking on his dad’s pinky finger. In fact, for the first month it’s pretty much the only pacifier he is interested in. He loves being in his car seat, especially when driving. The only thing he sleeps better in is his sling. We are also so lucky to be one of those rare parents who have a baby who enjoys bath time. A little warm water in his “whale of a tub” and Carter is relaxed and quite enjoying himself. He also really likes his great-grandma Naylor’s stories and songs.

I am writing much of this between two and three in the morning because he still doesn’t quite have his days and nights sorted out. In the very beginning though it was much worse. You could walk him around the house for half an hour putting him to sleep, only to wake him up putting him in bed. Once we discovered the swaddler blanket, however, our nights improved dramatically. It’s amazing how much better life is when Carter’s randomly moving limbs don’t startle him into panic mode all night long. Even now, the best way to get Carter to sleep for the night is to swaddle him and have Dad slowly pace around the house as Carter’s eyes slowly get heavier and heavier. We also take some special time to pray that God will always watch over Carter and will help him grow up to be wise and strong, a leader, and somebody who will always follow God. While Mom uses this time to get a head start on sleeping, it’s Dad’s favorite time he spends with Carter every day.

I don’t know if we could have survived this first month without all of the love and support we received from family and friends. The church provided meals for a couple of weeks, which was really nice. Grandma Jeanette spent the first few nights at home with us and spent many hours of the night holding and loving on Carter. After that, Aunt Kim came in and helped for about five days. Without the sleep we got those nights, I don’t know what we would have done. Julia stayed for one night also. We are still trying to find the best ways to increase our family’s amount of sleep. Anyhow, our friends and family helped us in so many ways and we are so grateful for everything they did.

Carter’s first Halloween was spent in the mother-baby wing of the hospital. When it came to trick-or-treating, the only treat he got was cuddle time with his family and the only trick he got was circumcision. However, we did dress him up in a really cute pumpkin outfit for his first holiday and he looked pretty awesome. His first Thanksgiving was also his first trip as our family made a little pilgrimage up to Great Grandma Naylor’s house to see her and Grandpa. They were so excited to meet Carter and Grandma found time to try out a bunch of her stories and songs on Carter by staying up with him pretty much all night. Carter is a fantastic traveler and we had a great visit in Kansas City. Grandma also gave him a special book “The Night Before Christmas” that had her voice recorded with it so that as we turn the pages, it is just like Grandma Naylor is reading it to him.

We spent the rest of the Thanksgiving holiday at the Kaissling’s house in Omaha. I don’t think that Carter had too many minutes that he wasn’t in somebody’s arms that week. It was nice to have everybody pitching in with diapers and midnight fits. It was fun seeing Aunt Kim reunited with Carter after they had bonded when she stayed with us, and also really fun watching him sleep on Uncle Dave on a number of occasions. He had a cute little Turkey bib that he wore on Thanksgiving Day. We also took him to his first movie! He slept in the sling or nursed the whole time and never made a peep.

On a Thanksgiving side note, Dad’s horrible decision to go off-roading on a muddy scenic route near Kansas City almost scared Mom to death and made a terrible mess of the car. Poor Leah had some clogged ducts and a bit of mastitis that got cleared up when Aunt Kim rescued her with a late night doctor visit. And then on the way home we hit a deer on the highway in Kansas. We were so glad nobody was hurt that we pulled over, said a prayer of Thanksgiving and then sang kid’s church songs to help calm Carter back down. I get the feeling that life’s adventures are really just getting started…

Here are some of our favorite quotes about Carter from his first month:

“Some little boys look like girls. Not Carter. He looks all boy.” Bill Hull

“You can take him off of the billy-ruben light.” A nurse

“That is such a beautiful baby. And it’s so nice not having to lie when I tell you that.” Lady at church

“Whatever you do, don’t take pitocin. The body reacts violently to Pitocin.” A friend’s advice

“I think they call that labor.” Joel’s response to the previous quote.

“He’s kinda boring, isn’t he?” Alan Miller

“He could be a model.” Some lady at church

“Those baby pictures look like Anne Geddys.” Numerous people.

Things we thought we knew, but really knew nothing about:

Actually buckling a baby in a car seat.

Natural childbirth.

What tired could actually feel like.

Love.

How expensive babies can be.

Breastfeeding.

Everything else discussed in “What to Expect…the First Year” book.

Kent

Carter's Christmas Pics

2009-12-08T21:14:00.001-08:00

I took these pictures of Carter yesterday and they turned out so cute! I love the little Santa suit! Then I added some "bling" with photoshop. He is 5 and a half weeks in these pics.

OK, so this one just turned out creepy and we've gotten some good laughs out of it! Kent thought he looks like Mini Me from Austin Powers. Haha. Carter's future wife Alexandria and her parents Josh and Jessica came over for dinner tonight so we did a quick photoshoot for their future wedding slideshow. Yes, Alexandria is going to rob the cradle :)Our little present this year!

I love my mommy!

A great Thanksgiving/Birthday!

2009-11-26T18:33:00.000-08:00

I have SOO much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving/25th Birthday!

Here are my two biggest blessings! I can't ask for a more amazing, caring, loving, thoughtful, fun, husband! He is my BEST friend and I LOVE sharing my life with him!

And I love being a MOM! I am so in love with this little guy, its such a wonderful and life-changing experience! I am excited to see him grow (but hopefully not too fast!). Our family of three!

So sweet. Kent loves cuddling with his son.

My baby :)

He has the funniest expressions and faces, especially when he is stretching. So cute!

Meeting his Great-Grandparents

2009-11-26T18:17:00.000-08:00

Kent and I are so glad we are able to introduce Carter to all of his great-grandparents! He has now met all but one set of them!

Here we are with Kent's maternal grandparents, Gene and Shirley Naylor.
Here are my dad's parents, Herman and Lorene Zeller.

And here he is with my mom's dad and stepmom, Leon and Carol Eldridge (and my brother Zach).

And then here is Carter with his grandparents (my parents), Larry and Jeanette Zeller, and his uncle Zach. I brought him to Zach's jazz concert and he did great! He slept or nursed the whole time and never made a peep! He was still sleeping after the show was over.

Now he just needs to meet Kent's fraternal grandparents, Anne and Clint Kirkpatrick, which he will see around Christmas-time!

1st Week Photoshoot

2009-11-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

Saturday we did Carter's 1-week photoshoot. The pictures turned out SO good!! I wish I could print and frame them all! Here are all my favorites!

Precious Carter!

2009-11-06T18:32:00.001-08:00

Carter Reeves Brown was born Friday, October 30th at 10:16 pm. He was 7 lbs, 9 oz, 21 inches.

Carter was jaundiced, so he had to spend a couple days under the billiruben lights. He was cute, but we were SOOO glad to get him off them. Yawn!!! I did my own photoshoot outside the other day, it was so beautiful out!
(This photo uploaded sideways...)

Content after his first bath at home.

Our pumpkin on Halloween... about 15 hours after he was born.

He has the sweetest little smile and the tiniest little hands!

Sunbathing

I love my daddy! Here he is in his going home outfit... it was almost time to leave the hospital!

Mommy and Carter love to stare into each others eyes!

2009-10-31T09:58:00.000-07:00

Introducing Carter Reeves Brown

2009-10-31T08:12:00.000-07:00

This is Kent. Normally when I post on Leah's blog I title it something like "Kent's Thoughts on Introducing Carter Reeves Brown," but that was too long. Now you know.

Well Friday morning we checked into labor and delivery to get Leah induced. The induction got off to a bit of a slow start and Leah impatiently walked all over the halls, spent time on the birthing ball, and did anything else to try to get things moving along. During the first check-up with the midwife around 2:30, her water broke and things got pretty intense, pretty fast. In all, Leah was in labor for 16 hours and was in active hard labor for 8 hours until Carter Reeves finally was born at 10:16pm. Leah proudly accomplishly her goal of having an unmedicated birth (with the exception of pitocin, which she didn't even need for the last several hours). She was amazing.

Carter is a beautiful baby boy. Just a few minutes ago Leah was commenting that she had been warned by other moms that Carter might not be completely beautiful when born, because you just never know what a baby is gonna look like. But Carter is a really cute little guy (with a bit of a football shaped head, but we're told that's just temporary). He was born 7lbs 9oz and 21 inches long.

For the first two hours of his life, his favorite thing was to just stare at his mom's eyes. He was so alert and awake. It was really fun. After Mom and Dad got to spend some time with baby Carter, bonding and staring at each other, we introduced him to the family, which was super fun. He has the privelege of being the first grandchild on both sides of the family, so he will definitely get plenty of attention.

He has such a calm demeanor (thus far and we pray forever) and just stayed calm throughout the pretty intense last couple hours of labor and as soon as he was born cried for just a moment and then just wanted to meet his family. He has cried a couple of times during medical check-ups or treatments but about ten seconds of cuddling calms his right down. So far, it looks like Leah got the little cuddler she was hoping for.

We finally got to our recovery room (5126) and got settled down for bed about two in the morning. Carter slept through most of the night. Mom slept a little but mostly just stared at the new love of her life. Dad slept great. Today we all got cleaned up, fed, showered and are feeling really good.

It was a pretty intense day, but God is good, Leah is a fantastic mom, and Brenda (our doula) helped more than we ever could have expected. Thanks to everybody who has been praying for us through everything.

Pictures to follow....

Twas the Night Before Carter

2009-10-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

This has been a crazy week… and yet, it has moved so slow. Last Friday we saw Carter’s due date come and go, and this week, we have had an induction scheduled for almost every day of the week. It continued to change for one reason or another (sometimes us wanting to give him more time to come on his own, sometimes the hospital and scheduling miscommunications)… but it’s for sure: tomorrow morning we will be induced!

As hard as the last couple weeks of WAITING have been, it is really exciting to know that we will finally get to meet our son this weekend! And as desperately as I wanted to go into labor spontaneously (it could still happen tonight so cross your fingers), it IS nice to be able to plan for it… clean the house, pack the car, and know we will be spending the next couple days at the hospital. And I feel good about inducing tomorrow. We gave Carter an extra week to grow and now, we are doing what we feel is best for the health and safety of our son. It is time for him to come out!

Tonight Kent and I are enjoying a relaxed evening at home, knowing it’s probably our last night to be just the two of us. Wow… and while typing that gives me chills, I am SO excited for what is to come!

Please pray for us over the next 24-48 hours… pray that everything goes smoothly, that labor is short, that I am still able to go naturally AND avoid C-Section, and ultimately that Carter and mom are both happy and healthy in the end!

Today is (supposed to be) the day!

2009-10-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

Well, today is my due date...

...though I feel it is going to come and go without luck... It is already 4pm and I haven't had many signs that anything is changing.

Looks like the poll majority just might be right. Boo.

So here is my 40 weeks belly pic, taken last night before bed at 12:05am, so it is officially on the day. Yes, gawk at the HUGENESS.

Kent's Thoughts on When Will Carter Be Born?

2009-10-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

When do you think Carter will be born? Take a guess and vote in our brand new poll on the right side of the page. You will notice that the fourth option is "On His Birthday." That's because any time we ask our midwife when she thinks Carter will be born, based on her extensive medical training and midwife experience, she always replies with something about a crystal ball and "well we know he will be born on his birthday." So if you think that's funny, you can put it too. But if you want my advice....don't be that guy.

Kent's Thoughts on "The Longest Two Years"

2009-10-20T08:39:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I was visiting with some of the older ladies at one of our church's midweek lunches. One of them shared a long story with me about how even if the baby is off-center in Leah's belly, that the baby would still not fall down into her leg when he was born. That's good to know.

But the most important warning I received that day, I almost ignored. One of the ladies said, "Let me tell you, the last two weeks of your pregnancy will be the longest two years of your life." I laughed with everybody else at the table then. It's now three days until Carter's due date, and it's not funny any more. Somebody asked me yesterday how things are going. Well, I am getting impatient and Leah's reached her breaking point.

So here are some reasons we want Carter to be born soon (immediately).
1. We are excited to meet the little guy.
2. Leah wants to be able to see him and make sure he is okay and protect him, all the time, from now until forever.
3. I don't really like Halloween. For most of my childhood I wore my soccer uniform as a costume. People who decorate their home more for Halloween than Christmas creep me out. So I think it would be awesome if his birthday was not in the same week as Halloween.
4. I have pretty much cleared my schedule for two weeks. Right now I kinda sit in my office waiting for him to be born. I am fairly bored. Leah, on the other hand, has completely cleared her schedule and has nothing to do but wait for Carter. Yesterday she baked pumpkin muffins in the shape of cookies and called them pumpkin cookies, shortly after watching a Lindsey Lohan movie called "Labor Pains." Yes, we have reached that point.
5. After spending several months preparing for natural child-birth, it feels kind of like I used to feel right before a really important soccer game, or test, or I am sure some people feel before a big performance. You really just want the game to start so you can find out what its like, see if you are actually ready and see how everything's going to go. It's like having butterflies in your stomach, except it's only one butterfly that's in the shape of a big kicking boy.

And here are things we have done to try to encourange him to speed up his arrival:
1. The famous midwife Ina May Gaskin once said, "What gets the baby in, is what get's the baby out."
2. Acupressure. In theory, this is where I apply pressure to certain spots on Leah's hand, foot, and shin to encourage contractions and induce labor. In reality, I think I have simulated the pain of labor for Leah by way of the deep bone bruises on her shins.
3. Walking. Leah has walked all over the place. She has even come up to the church and done stairs a couple of times, because we were told that might help.
4. Leah on Sunday: "Is it okay for me to pray that he is born really soon." Kent: "I think it will happen on God's time, but if it's really important I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting it to happen sooner." Kent on Monday night at elder's prayer meeting: "Can we pray Carter will be born really soon?"

So that's where we stand. We are one year into the last two weeks with no end in sight. We haven't stooped to jumping on a trampoline, castor oil, or actually getting Leah induced. But stay tuned...

P.S. Just in case Leah is one of the 8% of women who's water breaks before they actually go into labor, we are currently sitting on towels when we go somewhere in her car. I am not sure why we both are, but like I said....that's where we stand.

Hopefully the LAST Belly PIC...

2009-10-16T21:02:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I am 39 weeks as of today... My official due date is in one week... and I am HOPING I DON'T make it all the way to 40 weeks! I am READY to meet my baby! So here is what I am hoping is my LAST belly pic at 39 weeks. Look at that HUGE belly...yikes! Labor will be fun...I think he's gonna be a big baby! And this was taken last night at my brother's rock/orchestra concert. This is me and my dad... also taking what I hoped was my last belly pic, but obviously not since the above is from tonight. But still a fun pic! My dad is awesome and I am so excited to see him as a grandpa. Or gramps. Pops? Hmm, I wonder what his grandfatherly name will someday become. Dad, you better be nice to Carter, he will probably be the one naming you... :)

Picture Ledges

2009-10-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

So the photographer we used for our maternity photos had a great idea about printing pictures on foam board and putting them on photo ledges... it looks so cute! Here is her blog post about it.

I loved the idea and had the perfect spot in the nursery. However, I had a REALLY hard time deciding which pictures to get printed on the foam board and what sizes... My ledges are pretty small so I didn't want to order them too big, but I just wasn't quite sure. So, I decided to experiment with making my own so I could try out different ideas rather than ordering some and then wishing I had different sizes or something. And they turned out so well!!

I found a tutorial online which made it really easy. I just ordered the pictures in 5x7 (and did one 4x6 that I cropped to a 4x4), sprayed tacky glue on the backs, and then flattened them on the foam board. Then I used a ruler and razor blade to trim the edges clean and straight. And wah-lah!

I can't wait to add Carter's pictures as he grows to the ledges! Once I have baby pics, I will print some in all sizes... 4x6, 5x7, 8x10... and get the stacked look going. For now I added my favorite baby shoes for something cute :)

You can see the skinny little wall space, perfect for the ledges! Below we want to put a toy chest that will second as additional seating (which is also why the ledges are a little higher on the wall). Right now we have an ottoman filling in for the future toy chest.

More Progress

2009-10-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, so as of my doctor's appointment yesterday, I was dilated to a 3, 60% effaced and still at -1 station... Progress!

Things I Love About Being Pregnant

2009-10-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

As my days as a pregnant woman come to an end and I look forward to the next phase in this journey of parenthood, I want to remember all the reasons I have LOVED carrying my son inside of me for 9 months.

The secret of knowing something no one else (but Kent) knew was happening inside of me
The excitement of what was to come, both in pregnancy and once he was born
The first time we heard his heartbeat! That tiny little creation is growing inside of ME!
The first time we saw him on the portable ultrasound machine in our midwife’s office – that TINY little bean is our baby! And then getting to see him each following appointment and watch him grow!
The first time I felt him move – I was laying in our pop-up while camping over Memorial weekend – I was so excited! It was very faint but I knew as soon as I felt it, it was my baby! And for weeks I was the only one who could feel him move (It was our special secret).
I love how excited both Kent (and I) were when Kent was able to feel him move for the first time. Kent loves to “play” with Carter, talking to him and trying to get him to react to light, touch, etc. It makes me so happy watching Kent. I know he will be the best dad and I can’t wait to see him with his son! My favorite time was when Kent was talking to him with his nose on my belly and Carter kicked him right in the nose! It startled both of us so much, I even screamed! It was hilarious.
Finding out that he was a boy – my whole life I wanted to have a boy first so my other kids could have an older brother. And as awesome and loving as Kent is to his siblings, I know Carter will be one amazing son and brother, too.
Feeling him move around makes me so happy! Once Kent said that Carter and I had “inside jokes” that only we knew about… I loved that explanation! And it’s so true. Sometimes he will move and I can’t help but smile, knowing “that’s my son!”
And he is very gentle. I have had very few of those painful kicks you hear pregnant women complain about where their insides are getting beat up… Carter’s movements are more like swimming than kicking, and he never hurts me.
On that same note, I have carried Carter really low this entire pregnancy, so I haven’t had much pain or shortness of breath caused by him pushing up too high, which has been great! I have definitely experienced some heartburn, but nothing too bad at all. I really cannot complain. I have been so fortunate to have such an easy pregnancy!
I got a whole new wardrobe of really cute clothes, and a lot of them I didn’t even have to pay for thanks to all the other gals at church! After receiving one tub full of cute clothes, I actually thought to myself, I hope he isn’t too early… I really want time to wear all of these!
Deciding on the nursery theme and sewing all the décor was so fun. For one, I am so proud of how much money I saved “recreating” the set we liked, and two, it’s so much more special walking into the nursery and seeing all my handiwork! Plus, I had a blast making it all and expanding my sewing abilities!
For the first two trimesters, I ate a lot healthier than I normally do. It felt so good NOT having my sweet tooth for a while! Of course, it came back in full swing 3rd trimester, but it was good while it lasted. And I experienced healthy eating enough to know I do enjoy eating better.
Shopping for all those adorable and tiny clothes becomes really addicting… good thing for consignment stores and discounted prices!
Taking “bump” pictures and realizing that just when I didn’t think I could get any bigger… I keep on growing! And then looking back on those earlier belly pictures from when I thought I was so big and thinking, “Wow, I was so small then…”
Rubbing my belly and feeling that special connection with my child

I could seriously go on and on and on… and at a time when I am getting so anxious to meet the little guy, it’s so good to reminisce on how special the last 9 months have truly been. I have absolutely loved being pregnant, everything about it. Even the not so fun things were still exciting because they reminded me that I was carrying life inside of me. What a miracle I have experienced! And as excited as I am to meet him and hold him in my arms, I want to savor the last few days of this amazing and special experience!

False Alarm

2009-10-09T15:01:00.000-07:00

OK, so on Tuesday (at 37 and ½ weeks), our midwife checked me to see if I was progressed at all. I was already dilated to a “loose 2”, 40% effaced and -1 station! She was careful to not be too positive that he could come early, but I felt like that is what she “wasn’t saying.” Or at least that’s what I took from the conversation!

Then everyone we told was like, “wow, that’s good” and “I’m impressed, that’s a lot.” Our doula started talking about him possibly coming early, too. So I was excited… but I tried to not get too ahead of myself.

Then on Wednesday, I got what I think was the “nesting” energy. I spent a lot of the afternoon and evening cleaning out and organizing my house. It was great! I also had a while where I felt some semi-rhythmic Braxton Hicks.

Thursday morning I woke up and soon started feeling them again. They lasted for quite a while and were even pretty rhythmic as well. I started thinking, maybe this is the beginning of labor! So I went ahead and finished packing my bags and got things ready around the house. I also took a couple short naps and relaxed, “preparing” for the strenuous hours ahead. I went to the mall and walked around a bit, hoping to move things along as well. Most of Thursday was spent thinking, “I’m going into labor today.”

And then everything stopped. No more Braxton Hicks, and even the pressure I was feeling (like he was pushing down, or dropping more) went away. Just gone. I laid down, thinking I just needed to pay more attention, but no. Nothing. I woke up this morning hoping they would return, but alas, nothing AT ALL TODAY… and it’s now 5:00 pm.

So I am bummed. Yes, I wanted this to be the day. I am ready to meet my son. But I am also bummed because I am so prepared. Mentally and emotionally, I am ready to take on the challenge. I am going natural, so I need my head in the game (and right now, it is!). Physically, I am rested, relaxed, and again, ready for the marathon ahead. And… we have nothing going on this weekend other than waiting for the baby!

So now I am drinking my Raspberry Leaf tea and waiting. I’m sure he will decide to come on the one day in the next two weeks when we DO have a lot going on and I am totally exhausted. Especially after I have been preparing for weeks to be rested and prepared. But I guess that is the life of a parent, right?

Hmmm, did I just feel something contract? I think I’ll have another cup of tea.

Maternity Photos

2009-10-06T17:44:00.000-07:00

We did our maternity photos last week at the Myriad Gardens/Downtown with GreyGill Fish Photography. We had a blast working with Becky and she did an amazing job! Here are all my favorites :) Thanks, Becky!

37 Weeks Belly

2009-10-02T14:31:00.001-07:00

I think he is dropping! He already sits so low, but there is a slight difference and I do feel he is slowly starting to be a bit lower. Something has definitely been changing during the last 24 hours, that is FOR SURE. I don't think I am going to be 21 days early by any means, but I do think my body is preparing!

Braxton Hicks and Heartburn... FUN!

2009-10-02T05:32:00.000-07:00

Especially at 4:30 in the morning...

I woke up to use the potty then laid back in bed only to be hit with a strong case of Braxton hicks followed by a wicked case of heartburn. Needless to say, I am now up at 5:30 blogging. I did spend some time in my new rocking chair, hoping the upright position would help with the indigestion, which it kind of did. Though I am afraid to lay down again. But then Carter was fully awake and ready to have a dance party. He is all over the place! And now he has the hiccups. I guess I will be taking a mid-afternoon nap today.

I guess he is just preparing me for all the middle-of-the-night nursery parties we are soon to have...

Clutter

2009-10-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

So its been a bit busy lately and I just haven't had the drive to blog... although I'm sure I could have had like 10 blog posts since the last. But oh well. Here are a few highlights since Sep 10.

Here is my belly at 34 weeks. And again at 36 weeks. And yes, I did finally get a few stretch marks... although they are just on the sides of my waist and barely noticeable (yeah!). They are located just above my waistline under my arm in this pic. They really just look like I had on too tight of a waist for a while and it left marks. But alas, they are there! Now if my belly can go 3 more weeks without getting any that would be awesome.

We bought our travel system (car seat/stroller) from Babies-R-Us last week. I used a couple different coupons and saved 25% off! I love getting good deals! Here is Kent putting it together :)

So we now have basically everything we (think) we will need to have a baby. It is actually a pretty exciting feeling. I've spent the last couple weeks returning duplicates, getting just the right colors, and making sure we have the right number (but not too many) of all the needed items.

I am REALLY trying hard to NOT be a "collector" of "stuff" and own just what we actually need. This is difficult because I have always been one of those people that saves stuff because "I might use it one day" or "I spent good money on that!" But I can't do it anymore! My house gets way too cluttery with extra junk sitting around or stuffed in closets... we don't have much storage space so every inch matters! I have gotten pretty good at giving away extra items, decor, etc. that I don't use or have room for, which is really liberating. I need to keep doing that more. I definitely still have some closets and drawers that need purging, but at least I am headed in the right direction. Is it sad that I actually DON'T want people to buy me things unless I ask for it? (which is awkward in a gift situation to ask for something)... oh the dilemma of stuff.

Today we are taking maternity photos... or at least I hope so. I am waiting to see how the weather is close to 5pm because if its too windy my hair will be permanently in my face... which is no good. Please let the wind die down so we can take pics! I am so excited! And I don't want to wait too much longer to take them, because what if Carter comes early and we don't get to take them at all! (Although, really, I think he will be right on time, the early talk is just wishful thinking...).

Ok, that's enough random thoughts for now.

Leah

The finished nursery!

2009-09-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

We have had so much fun getting the nursery ready the last couple weeks!! Here are the finished results!You can't see it well, but the straps on the curtains are giraffe print. And the square frame behind the chair will eventually hold pics of Carter, probably with his measurements and birthdate, like a scrapbook page.The mobile is actually from the pack-n-play we got, and it goes perfectly in the nursery! I just hung it on a ribbon from the ceiling over the crib. And now we have lots of toys to put in the toy bag!Here is the dresser and changing table. I made a runner with the stripe material for the top of the dresser to protect the wood. The lamp hanging from the ceiling is from Ikea. I love my letters! I painted them brown and glued the animals and ribbon on with hot glue. The ribbon is giraffe print again. I used the giraffe to tie everything together. The finished diaper bag hangs on the side of the changing table.

I replaced the white canvas strap with giraffe strap! I just cut the strap off the plastic clips and sewed them on the ribbon. I am pleased with how it turned out.I painted these canvases! The dark color is the same brown as the letters. We saw this when we were at Ikea and thought it was such a fun idea! Its a roll of paper hanging on a short curtain rod. We will set a cup of crayons or markers nearby so we can draw pictures for Carter :) And WHEN he is big enough, we can roll it down low enough for him to reach. Although there is always a good chance he might color more than the paper. But we will address that when its time! For now, if you ever come over you can color something for Carter!

Thanks to everyone for all your gifts and kindness that helped to make this nursery possible! We love you all!

Northwest Shower, Sun Aug 30

2009-09-10T16:56:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday was our shower at Northwest. We have such a wonderful church family! We were shown so much love by everyone and recieved so many wonderful items! I can't wait to use them all with Carter!

Here I am with the hostesses. They all did such a nice job with the shower! Everything was so cute. Jana even made pacifiers out of candy, paper diapers with mints and booties with nuts in them. So creative and thoughtful!

I have a wonderful group of girlfriends at church!

We even played a few games. There was a match the baby animal name to the mama animal name, and they had everyone cut a piece of yarn to the size they thought my belly was! This is Stephanie measuring their guesses to my actual size.

And here I am in baby heaven with all our great new baby things!! Its so fun setting up the nursery!

Family Shower, Sat Aug 29

2009-09-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

My mom (Jeanette) and sister-in-law Kristin planned a family shower for both mine and Kent's families. It was a wonderful party! And we recieved so many beautiful personal items for Carter. Three grandmas and an aunt made quilts or blankets and I even recieved a cup and saucer given to my great grandmother (whom I was named after and born on her birthday) that she recieved on the day she was born... Nov 26, 1897! We were also given many other great and useful items and adorable outfits. We are definitely loved by our families! Thanks to everyone for everything!This is my mom and Kristin at the food table. Everything was great! Kent's aunt Kim made the cake. It was delicious!

This is my side of the family. This is Kent's side of the family.

Me and Kristin.

Me and my cousin-in-law Tosha and her sweet baby Ella. I can't wait until she and I can have playdates!