My Little Tater-Tot

Here she is, my little tater tot in all her sweet potater goodness:
She can also be a little dictater these days. So I like to call her my little tater.

Kaylee had her first ear infection the day we brought Hudson home from the hospital. We lost the dispenser for her medicine, so we served it in this shot glass. She thought it was a lot of fun to drink out of this little glass. Normally, it's used to make shots of espresso - just FYI!

More please? See, it works!
I thought these photos were pretty funny. First because of her wardrobe. Whenever I let Kaylee decide what to wear it involves a swimsuit. In the first picture back there, she wore her pajama top, followed by not one, but two swimsuits, and no pants. Secondly, it just looks like she's had one too many in this second picture, don't you think?? Funny!

Kaylee likes to wear this hat backwards these days:

I don't know where she got the idea in her head, but it's adorable!
Kaylee does a few other adorable things these days. I love it when she runs from room to room and she lets her jowels hang loose. You can hear hear her mouth flapping as she runs "hobble...hobble...hobble..." with each step. I don't know how to write the sound, but it's really cute.

She also has a few new expressions that I really like. "My Goodness!" and "What doin?" I hear those all day long these days.

Looks like Kaylee's been getting about as much sleep as I have lately:

More tea please! And forget the decaf!!!

A few weeks ago we celebrated Kaylee's second birthday with a Blues Clues party!

I loved this cake. Kaylee didn't want to even try it. That's alright, more for me.
Kaylee was afraid of opening presents. She cried when we asked her to. But in her defense, she was also pretty tired that day. Once the presents were open, she really enjoyed them. So don't worry Shauna, she doesn't hate the outfit you got her!! :)

I got Kaylee a handy dandy notebook and planned to put pawprints on certain "clues" around the house, so when she got up from her nap, we could follow the clues to her birthday gift - which was a tricycle sitting outside. But it started to rain, so I figured we should hold off until maybe the next day. So the next morning Grandma is in the shower (where I had hidden the tricycle). Grandma set the bike on the bathroom floor. Unfortunately, Kaylee isn't shy about coming on in when you're in the bathroom. She came to see what "Maka" was doing, and found this neat bike. Grandma felt really bad that it happened that way - as if it were her fault or something - but i thought it was pretty funny.

So that's that for now. I've got two sleeping kids so I should really be trying to nap myself. I'm sure it won't last long!

Recent Ramblings...

It's funny how little Hudson already looks in these pictures. Here he's about a week old:
And here about two weeks: (I'm guessing, it's all a blur to me)
He likes to sleep... a LOT... during the day anyway.

I've been wanting to blog a lot more often, but life is just chaotic right now. I wish I could be the type of person who can just "embrace the chaos", but as much as I try, I simply can't let certain things go.

I can't stand clutter, and messes, and toys all around. I like a neat and organized house. I don't have one, I just like one!

Our kids' doctor says that there's a different kind of mathematics when it comes to children. He says one plus one equals three. I think that's because the older one will cause twice the hassle as the younger one.

Hudson has been a dream baby. He's really pretty easy - during the day anyway. Nightime is a whole other story, but that's all normal. Kaylee was really difficult the first couple of weeks. Anything she didn't like to do before she threw the biggest tantrums over that I've ever seen. I practically had to put a priest on speed dial in case we needed to do an excorcism! Thankfully she's gotten a lot better. We still have occasional tantrums, but nothing so extreme.

I know, it's hard to imagine when you look at that sweet face:

But God blesses me with little moments of refreshment. This was a pretty sight for sore, tired, sleepless eyes. I sat on the couch one morning, feeding Hudson, watching Kaylee play, latte in hand, and this beautiful sight out the window. By the time I got my camera and got outside to snap a picture, it was mostly gone. And you can't really capture the beauty on film... or I should say on disc. We don't really have that great of a camera.

I used to think we did, until I started reading from this website called Confessions of a Pioneer Woman (there's a link to her site on the left side of the page). This lady has a really nice digital SLR camera - one you can adjust the focal length and aperture in order to make some really nice shots. Of course she also uses Photoshop to spruce them up a bit. But over the last month or so, I've come to really dislike our camera and start drooling over this Nikon camera the Pioneer woman has. I was really into photography when I was in high school. My parents got me a really nice camera when I graduated. I love that camera, even though I haven't used it in years. I think it'd be a great hobby to get back into, especially now with kids. I'd love to have wonderful pictures all over this house and also make some really great scrapbooks.

So...um... is my husband reading this?? Here's a big hint: Nikon D80!! Here's another one (since my birthday is so close to Christmas): Photoshop!! I'm kind of an expensive date, aren't I?

Look at this gorgeous picture of Mt Shuksan:

My mom took that picture with her point and shoot camera. It helps to have gorgeous scenery nearby!

Well, I ran out of pictures. I'm going to stop here and start a new blog. I got a few things to say about Kaylee before I completely forget...

It's a BOY!

I am extremely happy to announce the arrival of Hudson James - born last night at 10:30 pm. He weighed 8 lbs, 4 oz.

We arrived at the hospital the previous evening around 7 pm. After checking us in they set me up with some Cervadil to get me ready to be induced (or hopefully put me right into labor). I awoke the following morning (Aug 6th) with nothing going on yet labor wise, although my cervix was ready to go. They started me on pitocin at 7:30 am. The rest of the day was marked by a series of slow and steady increases in the amount of pitocin. By 3:00 pm my contractions were starting to get serious but unfortunately, I only measured to 1 cm and 60% effaced... not much change from when I checked in. I was starting to worry we'd be going home at the end of the day and trying again some other day.

Dr Cook came by around 6 pm and found me to be 2 cm and 40%. I looked down and saw him holding a long, thin stick. I shreiked "What are you doing?!" "I'm just going to break your water", he says, "just relax, this won't hurt at all." Okay, how in the world can I relax when someone is trying to poke a big long stick in there?

I'll skip the rest of the details for the sake of those who really don't want to know. After the water broke I progressed quickly. In a few more hours I was dialated up to 8 and almost completely effaced. By 10 pm I was telling the nurse that the baby was coming out on it's own. She checked me out, called the doc, and got the room all prepped. The doc had just enough time to wash up and hold his hands out. He asked for a push, which I did, and the head came right out. He told me to stop pushing... STOP PUSHING! And I told him I wasn't pushing, he was just coming on his own.

So it took a long time to get into labor, but boy did it go quick and easy once I was. I'm sure it wouldn't have been as easy had I not had an epidural.

So here are some pictures:

When Hudson was born, he was very quiet. He wimpers a lot, but just doesn't cry. They gave him a shot and he gave one big wail, but then was done.

I took this picture this morning. What a cutie! He's got my mouth and eyes (we think), and Jeff's nose and hands. His hair is light blonde.
My other sleepy guy:
Sorry for the bright flash buddy:

Hopefully we'll get to go home soon. We'll see what the doctor says. He was born so fast, his lungs didn't get a chance to clear very well on the way out, so he's had some respitory issues. He spent some time in the nursery and now he's sounding good and clear.

I don't know what else to say other than I gotta go hold my baby now. He's two feet from me and I miss him like crazy!

Baby Bump and Two Towers

On Sunday, Grandma, Kaylee and I decided to drive up to Mt Baker. It ended up being a really nice day to be up on the mountain. Unfortunately there was so much snow up there, we couldn't go anywhere beyond the parking lot. But it was gorgeous!

I love this picture I was able to snap of Kaylee and my baby bump. She wants up!
This picture is a little dark, but to be there... you really needed sunglasses or something. The sun's reflection off all the snow was so bright!
Kaylee called these mountains "towers". She'd point and say "oh WOW, tower!" Despite my best efforts and naming them mountains instead, she knew they were actually towers! :)
Kaylee put her coat on all by herself! "Ready to go, Mom!"

Reading Suggestions?

I just realized I have four days till my due date!

Do any of you have any good suggestions for reading material while I'm waiting for this baby to be born? It's been a while since I got my hands on some good fiction and I need to make more time in my life for reading. I figured with an upcoming hospital stay and some late night nursing sessions, it'd be nice to get into a good book.

I know a few people who tell me they still read this blog, so I'm curous to see who else does! It'd be nice to know I'm not just talking to myself. :) I started this blog so that my family (living all around the country and even over in Thailand) could stay up to date with what's happening with our family, but it turns out I'm mostly just giving updates on Kaylee. In the future I hope to step up this blog with other content that would interest more people than just me and Kaylee's grandparents!

For now, if you have any good reading suggestions, leave them as comments at the end of this blog. My mind is open to any genre as long as it's good reading!

Thanks.

Oh, and here's a picture of our new rock collection:

Pretty, huh?

Spontaneous Day Trip

Friday morning I woke up with a lot of energy and feeling like I was only in my second trimester. It was such a nice day and since Jeff didn't need to be to work until 11 am, we thought we'd take Grandma down to a waterfront park.
Eventually Jeff had to leave and I just wasn't ready to go home yet. I first suggested that we drive down to the Kingston ferry, cross over to Port Townsend, then drive up Hurricane Ridge. Well, this seemed a little too far for comfort for everyone but me. Then I suggested that Mom and I drive down to Deception Pass and go through LaConner on the way back for lunch. This seemed a better alternative.

Leaving Boulevard park, I decided to take the scenic route down to Hwy 20. We followed the shoreline along Chuckanaut Drive and Mom was thrilled with the windy, forested roadway that offerred panoramic glimpses of the sound and San Juan islands. Kaylee fell asleep, she was so impressed.

Soon we arrived at Deception Pass and decided to go down to the campground area where there was a beach we could park at. Kaylee woke up here, a little disoriented, but enthusiastic when I told her there was water, sand, and rocks here to play with. She also was excited to see boats on the water and planes in the air. This beach is just north of a naval base and at times we were buzzed overhead by fighter jets coming in for a landing.

We made our way down the beach to the water. Kaylee must stop anytime she feels the slightest bit of sand or rocks in her shoes...

"Hi Mommy!" she says:
She was a little timid about the water at first. Mom and I looked for rocks that we liked and Kaylee looked for any rock she could throw. She was entertained for over three hours there at the beach, just throwing rocks into the water.



I stood next to her and offered her ample shade with my belly...
As the tide came in we had to keep backing up when a big wave would threaten to get our feet wet...
None of us really cared to leave, it was such a beautiful, perfect day. But soon my stomach got rumbling and we decided to head down to LaConner to see if we could find anything to eat.

We found a nice enough restaurant to eat at. Kaylee and I shared some halibut and fries. We sat outdoors along the waterway where we could watch boats coming and going. That was big excitement for Kaylee.

We stopped at a few shops, but nothing could compare to this puppy that Kaylee found. She kept giving it kisses and hugs. (when she hugs something she always says "ahhhhh" - so cute!)

It doesn't sound like much now that I write it down, but it sure beats sitting around the house. Of course this morning I woke up very achey, very swollen, and very much feeling every bit of 39 weeks of pregnancy!

My dear husband was sweet enough to get up early with Kaylee this morning and now my mom has taken her grocery shopping. Boy, I could get used to this!

Oh, I forgot the picture of our rock collection. I will have to post that in the next blog.

Grandma's Cute Pics

My mom downloaded her pictures onto my computer last night so I could blog about our fun day trip. I found these other misc pictures that I wanted to share as well...

Kaylee loves to have tea with me. I should make a point to have a special tea time with her every day. We drink the decaf Red Rose tea with milk and sugar. Mmmmmmm....
Kaylee is so proud of her blue tongue. She got a dum-dum for sitting on the potty:
Kaylee at the zoo, checking out the warthogs...
"Swing, Slide, Park!" She just can't say "playground" or "park", she has to say "swing, slide, park". It must meet her most basic requirements, you see...
Mommy and Kaylee at Bloedel Donovan park...