The Best is Yet to Be........

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

2009-11-10T22:58:00.018-06:00

Looking back: Then and Now

One year ago today we officially became a family of three and welcomed Mr. Ian into this world. It has been THE best year. It's amazing to look back and think about this time last year as we were spending our very first sleepless night as brand new parents...look how far we've come. Ian is now walking, he sleeps through the night, he's got two teeth, and he's about three times bigger than he was this time last year, not to mention all of the countless other things. It's amazing to think about all that he has learned just in this one year. I can't say enough how much I have enjoyed having him in our lives. I feel truly lucky to have been given the opportunity to be this wonderful little boy's mommy.

Happy Birthday baby boy, mommy and daddy love you so much. It's been a wonderful year.

Fall and Firsts

2009-10-24T20:27:00.017-05:00

Last weekend we headed to Lyons Family Farms in Tennessee with our friends the Dobbins family to pick some pumpkins and just enjoy the fall weather. We played with the kids at the playground where Ian was able to enjoy his very first time in a swing, admired all kinds of farm animals, went on a hayride out to the pumpkin patch and picked a few pumpkins/let Ian toddle around the pumpkin patch and inspect everything from pumpkins, to vines, to rocks and sticks, and enjoyed some music from the bluegrass band. I hadn't been to a pumpkin patch since I was a kid and I definitely enjoyed going again and being able to take my own child. I'm looking forward to the coming years and making this an annual event for our family. Fall is my absolute favorite season hands down so I'm all about any event that gives me an excuse to go outside and enjoy it.

Today we took Ian to get his very first haircut. I debated whether I should wait until after his first birthday or go ahead and cut it now but decided that I didn't really want it hanging in his eyes for his Christmas pictures that he will have made in a couple of weeks so now it would be. According to a girl I work with you aren't supposed to cut a child's hair before his first birthday because it'll stop growing so I guess we'll see very shortly if there is any truth to this. I figure if it does stop gr owning it'll save me a little money on the next cut so best I figure I can't really lose on this one.
We took him to a kids salon here in town called Spoiled Rockin Kids which turned out to be a really cute, fun place. They had an airplane, train, and pink mini cooper as chairs for the kids to sit in and a cool area for doing makeovers. Apparently this place does manicures, pedicures, and facials as well as haircuts. You can even have parties there. They also had kids clothes, hair bows, and all kinds of cute,fun kiddy stuff you could buy. The girl that cut his hair was very sweet and patient with him and did an awesome job. I was afraid he would spend the whole cut crying since I have heard so many tales of kids doing this but he actually did wonderfully which is really surprising since he didn't get much of a nap prior to the haircut. He did cry at first right after I put him in the plane seat and practically jumped out, thankfully his daddy caught him, but after I calmed him down and gave him a few toys to distract him he calmed right down and let her cut his hair without much fuss. He did squirm around quite a bit though but the girl cutting his hair didn't seem fazed by it. They also took before and after pictures of him and at the end of the cut they gave me a nice printed copy with both pictures on it as well a little plastic bag with some of his hair attached for the baby book. It's not a huge change but his hair is now out of his eyes and no longer hanging over his ears and I'm happy because his hair is still long enough in the front to have that baby look. I'm not ready for my baby to look too grown up yet.

He was so exhausted after his big day that he fell asleep on the way home with a death grip on the balloon.

We're also very excited to report that a couple of weeks ago Ian finally cut his first two teeth. We are now trying to figure out just how in the world to get those little teeth brushed. He loves to suck on the toothbrush and it has proved to be quite a challenge to get through that tongue of his to the actual teeth. If anyone has any tips for me I would greatly appreciate it. I hate to turn him off of having his teeth brushed so I would like to find a way to do it that doesn't end in him screaming and crying.

He has also been sleeping consistently through the night for about a month now. I love how when I was pregnant people would tell me that he would be sleeping through the night by around 6 weeks. Then after 6 weeks hit they would tell me 3 or 4 months was the magic age. After three or four months passed and he still wasn't sleeping through the night people started coming out of the wood work telling me that they had 2 and 3 year olds that still didn't sleep through the night. I'm glad he picked something in the middle of all of that to do. I'm not sure how I would have done with 2- 3 years with no complete nights sleep. Being a parent is wonderful but sleep deprivation is definitely not.

Only one more week until Ian's very first Halloween!!

Pensacola

2009-08-16T21:26:00.016-05:00

This past week we headed down to Pensacola for both a family beach vacation and to see some old friends from college get married. I was thrilled to be able to take the whole week off work and just spend some much needed quality time with both Ian and Kirk without having to worry about the hustle and bustle of the normal day to day grind. My only complaint is that it wasn't nearly long enough. The trip was definitely a bit different than I had originally envisioned since Ian decided to start pulling up just a few short days before we left meaning he was very busy the whole time we were there. Needless to say it wasn't a very relaxing trip but it was a lot of fun. We got to introduce Ian to both the pool (which he loved from the very start) and the beach (which most definitely took some warm up time). The first day or so that we took Ian to the beach he cried both when I tried to put him down in the sand and when I tried to put his feet in the ocean so we gave it up and just headed to the pool where he had a great time splashing and playing around with us and watching the older kids. After that we just took him out to the beach and gradually introduced him to the sand and water very slowly by first letting him sit in my lap then letting him sit in the sand on a baby float and gradually sneaking him onto the sand before he could realize where he was. By the end of the trip he was sitting in the sand playing happily and sitting at the edge of the water with me watching daddy swim in the ocean. After spending the whole week just having fun and spending time with my sweet baby boy it's going to be very hard to head back to work this week.
Family Photo

Asleep in the Cabana

How did I get here?

This picture was taken during an early morning walk on the beach. The sound of the waves lulled him to sleep before we could get back to the condo.

Sand Discovery

Loving riding on daddy's shoulders

Last but not least I had to share my favorite moment of the day. As I was running water for Ian's bath tonight he decided to pull up on the tub beside me and observe. Could he be any cuter? I think not.

9 Month old Busy Body

2009-08-14T21:47:00.012-05:00

Last week we took Ian for his 9 month check up with the pediatrician and he is now up to 21 lbs 7 ounces (75th percentile for his age) and 29.5 inches (90th percentile). The child continues to grow like a weed right before my very eyes. It's hard for me to believe that we will be celebrating his very first birthday in three short months, so bittersweet.

Ian is EXTREMELY active these days and is doing something new it seems daily. He has been army crawling for quite some time now but is now finally starting to get up on his hands and knees and rock around and has even done some traditional crawling though it only lasts briefly and is usually prompted by us putting him on the cold tile floor in nothing but a diaper. Nothing like a little self preservation as a motivator. Just last week he started pulling up on things and has now become obsessed with perfecting that skill. Unfortunately for him his balance leaves a little something to be desired so I am now officially not able to leave him alone for even a second because I am constantly having to "spot him" to keep him from wiping out. Around the same time he started pulling up he also became very interested in trying to climb things as well. He shocked us last weekend by deciding to climb a couple of the stairs in the house, check out the video I took of that.

Untitled from Tabitha Williams on Vimeo.

His other favorite activity of the moment is taking steps while holding onto our hands, this has also become an obsession. He loves doing this so much that he doesn't really want to sit anymore which makes trying to get anything done interesting. I will try to sit him on the floor and he straightens his legs out to stand almost every single time. It's pretty hilarious to watch this since he's not that good at it yet and is extremely wobbly but he always has THE biggest smile on his face and looks so very proud of himself while he's practicing, pretty stinking adorable.

We're currently working on introducing more table foods since we have been given the okay to give him pretty much anything, though I am a bit gun shy due to his complete and utter lack of teeth. He is becoming very independent and lately has decided he doesn't want anyone to feed him which has made things interesting. He is great with his pincer grasp and is getting better everyday with things like cereal puffs but when it comes to soft foods the end result is a lot of smashed food all over the place. Sometimes the boy eats so much that I'm afraid he's going to eat us out of house and home then other times I can hardly get him to eat a thing. You just never know from one minute to the next what you're going to get these days.

Here are a few of my favorite more recent pics:
Sleeping Babe

Meltdown

Laundry Basket Fun

Aflac spokes baby

Happy Boy

2009-06-14T22:37:00.006-05:00

After trying for several weeks now to capture Ian giggling on video I was finally successful this weekend! Kirk was entertaining him while he was strapped in his highchair waiting for me to fix his dinner. Usually he stops giggling cold turkey when he sees me standing there with the camera and becomes so "mesmorized" by what I'm doing that he forgets about all the fun he was just having. This time he was so amused by what his daddy was doing that he didn't even pay me the slightest bit of attention. Kirk was the first one to get a giggle from him and continues to be the best at getting him going. You've gotta wonder how we come up with some of these silly things we decide to do to get this kid laughing.

Silly Daddy from Tabitha Williams on Vimeo.

Weekend in "the 'Ham"

2009-05-31T22:22:00.011-05:00

This Saturday we packed up and headed down to Birmingham to help celebrate Miss Abbie D's 3rd birthday. Since Abbie absolutely loves the Disney princesses Jamie threw her a princess party and invited everyone to wear their "royal attire". Even though Ian is still pretty little we thought it would be fun if he could participate in the party's theme so after doing a quick Internet search Kirk found the cutest "heir to the throne" costume on amazon. Since it was both cheap and adorable we decided to go ahead and get it. It was supposedly a size 12-18 months so I figured it would be big on him and maybe he could wear it for Halloween. Turns out the costume fits pretty much just right so I'm thinking by Halloween it will probably be too small. Oh well, at least we did manage to get one good wear out of it. Kirk, being the crafty one that he is, also made a little fake sword to go with the costume which Ian thought was the best thing EVER for him to chew on. He also managed to break it within 2 minutes tops of playing with it, go figure!!

Prince CaspIAN

Yummy sword

The party was really cute with all of the little girls running around in their finest dress up gowns, jewelry, slippers, (the works). Little girls this age are the CUTEST and so much fun!!

Pretty birthday princess

After the party Abbie was able to practice her big sister skills with Ian. I can tell already that she is going to love being a big sister and is going to be doing all she can to help with baby Carson when he arrives. Luckily for her baby Carson will be a bit smaller and easier to handle when he arrives and will hopefully not take up her whole lap and then some!!

Cinderella Abbie holding Ian
Notice this is Miss Abbie's second outfit of the afternoon, such a girl!!

The rest of the weekend we got to spend lots of QT with Kirk's family. Suellen, Marlee Sue, and Garrett were all in town and luckily since no one managed to get sick this time, at least not ahead of time, we were finally able to get all of the cousins together. For having all of these babies and kiddos in one place I'd say things were remarkably calm. Somehow I doubt it will be the same when all of these babies become mobile. Something tells me we have some wild and crazy get togethers in store for us!!

Marlee Sue and Ian checking each other out

Cousins: Marlee Sue, Garrett, and Ian
We gave the babies the corn to play with and they were absolutely fascinated. Ian, of course never one time put it in his mouth either. Swords are much better I guess.

Cousins: Garrett, Ian, Marlee Sue, and Miss Daisy

Half a year

2009-05-23T12:46:00.009-05:00

Ian celebrated his "half birthday" this month. Unfortunately the celebration was short lived as he came down with something this past week and we had to turn his six month checkup into a sick visit. Tuesday when I showed up to pick him up from daycare the teacher notified me that she had contemplated calling me since he felt warm to her and upon inspection she noted that he had a slight fever, not quite high enough, though, to warrant a phone call. When I got him home I took his temp and it was around 100. He seemed fine at that time, in good spirits and playful. At this point I wondered if the low grade temp might be a result of teething, we keep looking for teeth but so far nothing. It was a gorgeous day here so I decided to break out the fancy jogging stroller and head out for a walk. All seemed well until that night around midnight when he woke up burning up hot with a 103 temp. I knew the poor kid didn't feel good at all when I just could not get him to go back to sleep and had to actually bring him to bed with us to get him to settle back down. The high fever continued on until the checkup appointment where the poor kid had to have blood drawn, get catheterized for a urine sample, get an antibiotic shot in the leg, and a chest x-ray. Needless to say after all of this activity he was DONE with the doctors office. We then had to spend the next couple of days making repeat trips to the pediatricians office since the fevers continued to rage on until thankfully a blood draw yesterday revealed that he finally seems to be back on the mend. The culprit of all of this activity has been ruled a virus since all the tests that were run came back normal. I have been so worried about my sweet boy this week and am so glad he finally seems to be getting better. Don't think I could stand one more minute of seeing him feel so awful. Having a sick baby has got to be one of the worst most helpless feelings there is.

On a happier note other than this sick spell Ian is doing well and continues to grow like a weed. He is now up to 19 lbs 7ounces and is 28 inches and some change long. He is now proficient at rolling both front to back and back to front.
We are now working on sitting up which he is doing great with. He can sit up by himself unsupported for a pretty good while and is getting better at correcting himself at times when he starts to lose balance.

Sitting up like a big boy

He is also now enjoying sampling different foods. So far we've tried carrots, peas, squash, bananas, and of course rice cereal(which he does not seem to be a fan of). Seems the carrots have earned their spot on the top of his favorites list so far. Every night now he sits at the table in his highchair and has dinner with us. I'm also working on having him join me for breakfast in the mornings now on the weekends. Kirk really seems to be enjoying his new role in helping out with mealtime now that it's no longer only up to mom to provide all the food. Ian seems to be enjoying trying all of these new and exciting flavors as well as making a huge mess of course.

Enjoying peas and carrots

Mr Independent helping

Jump Around

2009-04-14T20:45:00.019-05:00

What do we do in our house for entertainment on a Tuesday night?

It's as easy as breaking out the ipod, cranking up a little House of Pain, and popping the baby in the jumparoo. What can we say we're easily amused. The jumparoo definitely appears to be Ian's favorite toy of the moment and we've been getting a kick out of watching him have so much fun in it. This toy is AWESOME. Not only does it entertain baby, mommy, daddy, and grandparents but it has the magical ability to keep Ian entertained for quite awhile with all of it's cool toys and bouncing action giving mommy and daddy either down time or time to actually get something done, that in and of itself makes it priceless. Apparently it's comfortable as well as he's actually managed to fall asleep in it while playing.
Here he is all bounced out:

Squeaky Clean

2009-04-07T22:20:00.008-05:00

How cute is this sweet little guy?? I took these pics a few nights ago of Ian after his bath, all wrapped up in his hooded towel having fun just rolling around on the bathmat. He looked so adorable that I just HAD to get some pictures of the whole thing to try and capture some of that cuteness.

Though you can't tell it from these pictures he was actually somewhat sick when these were taken, I only wish I looked that cute when I'm sick. We had to take him in for his first official sick visit this week since he had been running a fever all weekend and by Monday wasn't eating as well and was generally fussy. Turns out he has an ear infection (again) and some sort of virus. Luckily though he appears to be on the mend for now. Mommy however is another story. After spending a wonderful weekend in Birmingham visiting with Kirk's parents and two of our favorite families (the Garrison's and DuPriest's) and fully enjoying my first four day weekend in FOREVER I managed to return to work for one full day last week prior to becoming SICK on Wednesday morning. I have no idea what I managed to pick up but I woke up around 4 in the morning shivering uncontrollably. After putting on sweats, getting back under the covers, and continuing to shiver for 30 minutes to an hour I decided that I must be sick. Sure enough an hour later a temp check revealed a temp around 102. I felt so terrible I couldn't even stand the idea of getting out of bed and was just getting ready to tell Kirk he was going to have to handle Ian when he informs me that he's also sick and sure enough 101 temp. Around noon or so I decided that I felt so terrible that I must make an appointment to see my doctor right that minute only to be told that he wouldn't be able to see me for two days. Since I have connections in the medical field (a-hem MOM) I was able to get a flu test done since I was convinced that's what I had only to find out it was negative. Luckily our fevers resolved relatively quickly and just when we thought we were getting back to normal Ian managed to get sick. With all of this going on I had to call out and miss three of my four scheduled work days last week and Ian has not been back to daycare in about a week since we didn't want to chance him getting the other kids sick. I'm convinced that the authorities will be coming out any minute to find out what we've done with the kid...
Though I am definitely a lot better now I am still a bit congested and just not yet back to my old self. Hopefully all will be back to normal on Thursday when I am due to go back to work. I already feel like I have single handedly put myself on the bad employee list with what happened last week and am afraid that if I have to miss any more days they might decide to do something drastic like string my up by my toenails and beat me or something but hey, you've gotta do what you've gotta do right? Especially when it comes to my sick kiddo. So, until Thursday we will be taking it easy trying to get better and I will be enjoying spending a little extra time with Ian as I managed to get a bonus day off this week which couldn't have been timed better actually. Gotta love that.

Pimp my ride - stroller edition

2009-03-26T23:20:00.009-05:00

Spring fever has kicked in big time around our house with all of the beautiful spring weather we've been having lately (with the exception of this week of course). Kirk and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather this past weekend by loading Ian up and heading to my favorite walking trail for some quality time in the great outdoors. We used this opportunity to try out Ian's new shades as well as his new ride, a cool new jogging stroller that I got as one of my birthday gifts from Kirk. The new ride seemed to receive Ian's seal of approval as he spent half of the walk asleep and the other half just chillin. As for the shades, he didn't even really seem to notice them but he sure did entertain some of our fellow walkers who couldn't help but smile when they saw him coming.
Joe Cool himself

The sunglasses came about after Kirk and I received a note from Ian's teachers at daycare saying that each time they took him out for a walk they noticed he kept his eyes tightly closed the whole time until they got him back inside. Poor kiddo. I had no idea they even made sunglasses that little but sure enough Kirk and I managed to find some at babiesrus. Seeing him in them still cracks me up every time.

4 month stats

2009-03-11T22:08:00.006-05:00

In celebration of his four month birthday Ian had a checkup with the pediatrician Tuesday and he is now up to....
17 lbs and 27 inches, this puts him in the 90th percentile for his age!! The appointment turned out to be good timing as I was getting a bit concerned about the little guy since he's been congested, snotty, and had a nasty cough for a couple of weeks now and every time he seemed to be getting better it seemed like he'd sound worse again. Turns out he's got a bit of an ear infection so we have been filling him full of antibiotics and cough syrup for the last couple of days. Luckily it seems to be helping though and he now finally seems to be on the mend. The Dr. also gave us clearance to start baby cereal anytime we're ready. I'm hoping that when we do give it a whirl maybe it'll help fill up his belly and he'll sleep a little longer at night, a girl can dream right???

Today was a pretty big day for us as apparently Ian rolled over for the first time. I say apparently because neither Kirk or myself witnessed it. I was upstairs taking a nap after work and Kirk had put him on the floor on his belly. The next time he glanced over at him he was on his back. Though we didn't actually see it we're still exciting. Hopefully we'll be able to actually witness it soon. He's also grabbing at things and holding them in both his hands now. He's changed so much already that it's hard to believe it's only been four months since he was born. I'm constantly amazed at how much he's changed, how much we've learned, and how far we've all come in these last four months.

Winter Wonderland

2009-03-01T10:43:00.008-06:00

I knew the weather forecast called for possible snow this weekend but I must admit I had my doubts and didn't really give it a second thought until we woke up to this scene this morning:

A snow covered Bradford pear in bloom

Guess the groundhog was right. Luckily we are into the 4th week since his prediction so hopefully only two more weeks to go until spring!! Happy March 1st.

Dork Alert!!

2009-02-26T18:13:00.005-06:00

After having been at work for several hours this morning I looked down and discovered this lovely site:

In my haste to get out the door I apparently put on two DIFFERENT shoes and didn't even notice until half the morning had gone by. I was standing up at the nurses station when I discovered it and just burst out laughing. I then proceeded to show all my coworkers so they 1)wouldn't think I was going crazy just randomly bursting out into laughter and 2)so it wouldn't be as much fun for them to give me hell about it. After giving all of my coworkers a good laugh one of them proceeded to ask me if I got dressed in the dark. Sad part is I didn't. Is this a result of sleep deprivation or am I just going senile (after all the big 3-0 is just around the corner)? You be the judge!!

February in Review

2009-02-25T18:14:00.010-06:00

Is it almost March already??!! Things have been so busy around here I've barely had time to notice this blur of a month that has almost passed us by.

I've been back to work for almost a whole month now and while it's hectic trying to balance being a full time nurse, mom, wife, chef, housekeeper, etc. I'm happy to report we're all surviving. Truth be told going back to work hasn't been nearly the disaster I'd convinced myself it would be. After shedding many tears and worrying myself silly during those last couple of weeks of maternity leave I have come to discover that contrary to my original beliefs my child will survive daycare, he has not forgotten who his mommy is, and I actually do like my job and my coworkers. I do miss Ian like crazy while I'm at work but typically I stay so busy that the day is over before I notice and it's time to go pick him up. So far everytime I go to pick him up he is happy, clean, and dry and a time or two someone has even been rocking him when I showed up so I feel like he is being well cared for which has definitely eased my transition back to work. The biggest obstacle I'm now trying to overcome is just finding enough time in my day to get everything done. THe day typically goes something like this:

5:00am get myself ready for work (unless Ian wakes up first then I just reverse the order)
5:30am wake Ian up (if he hasn't already woken up): get him fed, dressed, and change diaper and make sure everything is ready for daddy to take him to daycare.
6:00am Out the door to work
6:30am arrive at work
5:00Pm quitting time
5:30-5:45PM Pick up Ian from daycare (unless daddy has gotten him first). This is the best part of the days hands down as I am now usually greeted by a big grin nothing could make me feel more loved!!
6:00 - ?? (In no particular order: Feed Ian, make dinner, clean up kitchen, wash bottles, prep bottles for the next day, make my lunch for the next day.
Between 8 and 9Pm: bath Ian and get him ready for bed. This is Ian's favorite part of the day as he loves to splash around in the tub!! Can't wait to take him to the pool this summer!!
10:00pm or as soon as Ian goes to bed it's mommy's bedtime so she can have enough energy to get up and do it all again tommorrow.

With all of this going on a daily basis you can see how I'm having a hard time fitting the little extra things such as, oh, household chores and grocery shopping into my schedule. In all reality I shouldn't even be taking the time to sit here and write this and am really only doing so since Kirk is working late and I don't have to cook tonight. If any of you working mommy's who read this have any suggestions on how to balance it all I am all ears. Since I'm relatively new at all this I need all the tips I can get. I'm sure as time goes by it will get easier but for now life is hectic!!!

Nights are getting better though we are still not sleeping through the night!!! Ian actually did sleep through the night twice this month 9PM-5AM but I'm not counting it since I think the only reason why he did is because he was fighting off his first illness (thankfully he is feeling better now which means no more 8 hour sleeping sessions, oh well). Though he slept soundly those two nights I certainly didn't as I was waking up all night long thinking "he should be waking up anytime now..." I wonder, when he finally does start sleeping through the night how long it will take me to relearn to sleep through the night as well. This is something I certainly didn't even take into consideration until recently. On the nights I work he is now usually down around 9 or 10pm, depending on how quickly I can get everything done. After that he usually wakes up around 2 or 3 am for a feeding and diaper change and is usually back down and sound alseep in 30 minutes. After that he sometimes wakes up around 5 or 5:30am but many mornings I am waking him up around this time. When I'm off work he'll still do the 2 or 3am awakening but he'll wake up around 6- 6:30 am for another round of feeding, diaper change, and back to sleep and he'll sleep until 8 or 9 am until he is up and ready to start his day. So as you can see things are getting better, we are now getting a 5 hour or so stretch without awakening so we're getting there it's just going A LOT slower than I had originally thought. Meanwhile, all my sweet coworkers are telling me stories of their kids who never slept through the night...gee thanks guys!!
Ian's favorite way to sleep

Ian has gotten a lot more active this month. He is holding his head up well and doing great with tummy time, just this past weekend he has started trying to roll from his back to his front(he can make it to his side and swings one leg over but has not yet learned quite how to get the rest of the way there. He continues to practice everyday though so it may not be too much longer), he is also strenthening his tummy muscles and trying to sit up (when I put him in his bouncy seat now he leans forward so he now has to be strapped into everything at all times.) He's growing like a weed and it's so much fun watching him learning all of these new things. He will be mobile before you know it which is both a fun and scary thought for mommy!!

This past weekend Kirk, Ian and I packed up and headed to Phenix City, Alabama/Columbus Georgia to both attend the wedding of an old college friend, Matt Walker and to visit with family. Luckily I have aunts there who were more than willing to keep Ian so I didn't have to be "that person" with the baby at the wedding.
Thursday night we heading to B-ham to spend the night with Aba so she could get some Q.T. in with her grandson. He was all smiles and really showed off for her splashing away in the bathtub and being cute in general.
Friday morning we got up and headed to the Summitt to do a little shopping, really so I could see this glider I've been drooling over at pottery barn kids, which I'm wishing we didn't do because now all I can think about is buying the darned thing. I also got Ian some cute onesies and things at babygap since they were having a sale. I got one of the onesies for $2.00!! After all that we headed out of town around 2pm, which was really 3pm in Columbus so we got there literally just in time for the rehearsal, which we had to make since Kirk was in the wedding. We had originally planned to check into the hotel first but since Kirk decided to listen to my directions we got lost, hehe that'll teach him and we had to just go straight to the rehearsal. This means that I got to nurse Ian and change his diaper in the car. Than goodness for my cute nursing cover!! After the rehearsal we headed to Matt's parents house for some laid back barbeque and beer (which I couldn't have because I'm nursing) I made up for the lack of beer though with extra banana pudding. We finally got to meet the bride and chat with the groom whom we'd not seen in 4.5 years since our own wedding day.
Saturday morning I got up, dropped Kirk off for prewedding beer and xbox 360 with the boys, and headed out to lunch with my aunts and cousin before heading off to the wedding. The wedding itself was gorgeous and so much fun. It took place in an old antebellum home, the wedding itself in a tent on the grounds and the reception in the house and tent. It was a pretty intimate affair which made it so much fun. The bride was gorgeous of course and Matt looked handsome as always (his screenname wasn't cleansupgood for nothing)! The reception was so much fun with dancing and lots of good food: pasta, fajitas, kababs, a chocolate fountain, not to mention the cake. There was so much food we actually got full!! It was great to be able to make it to the wedding and share in an old friends happy day and to be able to spend an evening amongst adults dressed up with my "Kate" in tow without a trace of drool or spit up in site.
Sunday morning we got up, checked out of the hotel, headed to lunch one last time with my family, and headed back home making a pit stop once more in B-ham so Aba could get one last baby fix. Through all of this excitement Ian was a great little traveler once again sleeping the whole time we were in the car. The little guy just has no power to resist the lull of the car ride.

The only good pictures I got from the wedding since the photographer aka "the drill sergent" according to the groomsmen was on the prowl. Just look at those beautiful, tasty works of art.
War Eagle!!

Birthday Bash

2009-01-31T22:23:00.010-06:00

Kirk and I took Ian to his first birthday bash today to celebrate the 4th birthday of Harris Spinks. I can't believe this kiddo is four years old already, seems like only yesterday we were going to the hospital to see his cute newborn self. Where does the time go!!??? Ian did great at the party and spent the majority of the time just hanging out and taking it all in. I didn't get any pictures of the birthday party but I did get some pictures of Ian all dressed up for it which I will post below.

Ian will be 12 weeks old on Monday. He is very alert these days and very interested in everything around him. He is holding his head up well and looking all around at everything. He's smiling all the time, "talking" up a storm, and trying out all kinds of new noises. The best part of my day hands down is getting one of those big gummy smiles so I spend the majority of my time these days doing any and everything I can to encourage one. We are having so much fun watching him grow and develop.

Unfortunately he is still not sleeping through the night. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it'll be soon but honestly I'm starting to think I will never sleep through the night again. Everyone assures me that it will happen but as of right now I'm just not convinced. Things had gotten better for awhile once Kirk and I really developed a bedtime routine and stuck to it until a few nights ago. I'm convinced the kid knows something is up (i.e. Mama starts back to work on Monday) and is trying to throw us for a loop. Here is a quick glimpse into our night here last night:

7:45pm Kirk and I eat dinner
8:00pm Kirk and I give Ian his nightly bath and get him dressed and ready for bed
8:3opm nightly nursing session
9:00pm I put Ian down for the night
10:00pm I go to bed in preparation for a long night telling Kirk that I hope this is a better night than the night before.
11:30pm Ian wakes up for his first feeding. I tell Kirk this is shaping up exactly as the night before.
1:00am Ian wakes up again and Kirk hits the vibrate function on the pack and play and thankfully he is down for the count once again.
2:30am Ian is awake yet again and this time no amount of vibrating on the pack and play will do him. He gets up for another feeding. A short time later I discover that he has blown out a diaper and will have to have a wardrobe change. I lay him on my chest and maneuver the dirty onesie over his head without smearing him with poo (a skill I have become very good at lately with all the up the back blowouts we've been having. While he is still positioned on my chest and I am attempting to get re situated I hear him "talking" and the next thing I know he is holding his head up perfectly with those big blue eyes shining and giving me that all familiar gummy grin that melts my heart every time. At this point I'm thinking it looks like this kid is now no where near going back to sleep but I have to laugh because he is so darn cute.
3:00am After getting Ian cleaned up, dressed, and fed he is back "down for the count"
6:30am Back up for yet another feeding. I'm impressed this time at the luxury of a 3.5 hr stint and am grateful that this night did indeed go better than the night before when we had several two hour stints.
8:00am Ian is awake again and ready to start his day so we get up. What an eventful night. I can't help but think of one of my coworkers telling me that her son who is over a year old is still not sleeping through the night but I reassure myself that surely this will not happen with my child and I keep my fingers crossed that maybe tonight will be "that magic night" but I don't hold my breath.

Here are some of the latest and greatest pics of our little guy:
Dressed in his party attire a Kenneth Cole Reaction outfit from his great grandparents. Too cute!!

Can you tell I love my outfit from Aunt Sue??

Put up your dukes

down for the count

Two Months

2009-01-11T18:18:00.015-06:00

Friday we took Ian in for his two month appointment with the pediatrician and .... my big boy is now up to 13 lbs 15 ounces and 24& 3/4 inches long a far cry from the 8lbs 2 ounces and 21 inches he was at birth!!!!! The appointment proved to be a very traumatic event for the poor little guy since he recieved three immunizations. It broke my heart to hear him screaming. Luckily for me Kirk volunteered to be in the room with him and to help hold him down. After getting the shots he was beet red and cried until he fell asleep. He was so worn out from the trauma of it all that he spent most of Friday afternoon and evening sleeping.

I can't believe how big he's gotten and how much he's changed in these last couple of months. He is now "talking" to us and smiling more and more everyday. It's been so cool so far to see him become more interactive and noticing new things around him. Now if I could only get him to sleep through the night or at least a 5-6 hour stretch a night.... I'm due to go back to work in three weeks so am crossing my fingers that maybe that magical event will occur soon. Luckily for us he is starting to go longer between feedings now so we are back to doing some 3 - 3.5 hour stretches at night which has been fabulous. Getting up in the middle of the night for feedings has probably been one of the hardest parts of having a newborn for me but I'm even starting to get used to the sleep deprivation now. Once I start back to work though it may be a whole new ballgame, I may have to learn how to start sleeping with my eyes open so they won't catch on to me....

Thanks to my mom and dad who volunteered to keep Ian yet again for us, Kirk and I were able to go out on our first "date" since he was born. The other couple of times we managed to get out of the house it was to do grocery shopping or Christmas shopping so it was quite a treat for us to go to lunch and a movie yesterday afternoon. The movie of choice was Marley and Me, which was fabulous. Word of warning if you go see this movie take a box of tissue with you and wear waterproof mascara, by the end I was crying like a baby and so was the lady next to me evidently because I could hear her sniffling!!! It was so bad I was embarrassed to go out of the theater at the end of the movie because I didn't want anyone to see my red eyes.

A couple of my favorite new pics of Mr. Ian:
Two Months Old

Chillin in the swing

UnaBaby

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T23:26:00.019-06:00

Happy New Year!

This is my very first post using my brand new laptop, woohoo. Types like a champ!! :) Okay, now that I have that out of my system.

2008 was a fun and exciting year for our family and though in a lot of ways I hate to see it go I look forward to this year and all of the firsts we will get to experience with Ian. It's amazing the difference that just one year can make. I started out 08' hopeful that this would be the year my greatest wish would be full filled, I felt uncertain but kept trying, rather unsuccessfully at times, to remain hopeful and positive. Thanks to my many wonderful family, friends, and a few complete strangers I managed to keep my sanity through the most trying times. I had no idea as I rang in 2008 that this would be the year that would bring some of the greatest and happiest moments of my entire life. We experienced so many wonderful things this past year: the moment we found out we would become parents, seeing our baby and hearing his heart beating for the first time, finding out we were having a little boy, sharing our news and happiness with our friends and family, celebrating our upcoming arrival, our baby shower, setting up the nursery, experiencing pregnancy in all of its glory, the birth of our baby boy, bringing him home, his first holidays. WOW, It's going to be hard to top 08'!! Can't wait to see what 09' has in store for us.

"our lives are made
in these small hours
these little wonders,
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away,
but these small hours,
these small hours still remain"
- Rob Thomas - Little Wonders

Baby's First Christmas

2008-12-27T14:19:00.014-06:00

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. It's been extra special for us this year since it was Ian's very first Christmas. He took his very first road trip and we headed over the river and through the woods (or at least over the river and down I/65) to Aba's (Kirk's mom's) house on Christmas Eve to spend a few days with his family. Somehow we managed to, as Kirk put it, stuff 10 lbs of stuff in a 5 lb space and off we headed. It's amazing just how much stuff you need to take on a trip with you when you have an itty bitty baby (swing, bouncy seat, diapers, wipes, clothes, the list goes on and on). Ian did great on both the trip there and back and slept the whole hour and a half, we just made sure to feed him and put him into a "milk coma" prior to loading him into the car. Works like a charm every time. Car in motion + full belly = sleeping/happy baby.

We had lots of fun catching up with family, meeting our new niece Marlee Sue, and showing off/passing around both babies. It's fun to think about the coming years and getting to see these two grow up together. I had so much fun with my cousins through the years growing up and hope Ian and Marlee Sue are able to have the same experience. A trip to Grandma's is definitely more fun when you have someone around your own age to play with when the adults get boring!

Even though Ian doesn't know it he was spoiled rotten and got lots of cool things this year: books, toys, clothes, and some other necessities and odds and ends. He really is a lucky little guy to have so many people who love him. We still have one more Christmas to go with my family and I can only imagine he will continue to rack up. I also racked up as I got one of the coolest gifts EVER from Kirk this year my very first, very own, laptop, woohoo!!! It's a beautiful new Dell in midnight blue. I'm so excited and can't wait to get it. No more fighting with Kirk over who gets to use the computer!!

So far it's been a fun holiday season as we've had our little boy here to spend it with. Having him here with us is by far the best gift we could recieve and we are so excited to think about the coming years of experiencing the magic of Christmas and the holidays through his eyes.

The Williams Family Christmas tree

Christmas Eve

Family Photo

Three Weeks old

2008-12-01T15:59:00.013-06:00

Baby Ian is three weeks old today. I can't believe how quickly the time is passing now that we have him. Next week he will be one whole month old. It's amazing how much he's already changed in the few weeks since he's been born. Last week we had his two week check with the pediatrician and he was 8lbs, 9oz and 22 inches long. His favorite things to do these days it seems are eat and sleep of course. Kirk and I are most enjoying his wakeful periods when he is wide eyed and alert and just seems to be hanging out and taking it all in. I feel like I am finally starting to get the hang of this mommy thing now and we are starting to get in somewhat of a routine and things definitely don't feel as stressful now as they did a couple of weeks ago. Kirk headed back to work today but my mom is spending the week with us to help out so we don't officially go it alone until next week so that will be a whole new experience for us. Until then we're enjoying being pampered.

We had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving this year and Ian got to take his first trip to his Grandma and Grandpa Tutten's house where he spent the evening being passed from one set of arms to the other. The only time he got put down all night long was when we had to put him in the car seat to go home. Kirk and I have so much to be thankful for this year: a nice home, great jobs, loving family with brand new niece who we can finally meet in a few weeks, wonderful friends, and most of all our sweet baby boy. We are also thankful for all the help we have had since we have brought little Ian home. We have had many friends and family stop by and bring us meals, offer advice, encouragement and support and we can't thank everyone enough for all that they have done for us. We feel very blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives. As Kirk always says "it takes a village" and we feel very lucky to have one.

Pictures from this past week:
Grandpa giving Ian one of many of his first Thanksgiving dinners:

Q.T with Aunt Katie

Hangin' with Uncle Chris

How he spent most of Thanksgiving

Napping with Mommy

Scrub a Dub Dub Ian's First time in the Tub

2008-11-20T19:48:00.007-06:00

Ian's first tub bath:

We took advantage of Ian's wide awake period this afternoon and decided to give him his fist official tub bath and he loved it!! Not one peep out of him until we took him out of the tub. Of course the bath was not without incident. First order of business once we put him in the tub? To pee in the clean bath water, on the bathroom counter including the cute decorative clock, and mirror. Surprised momma didn't see that one coming! After the bath I had my sweet baby all nice and clean and smelling good with a nice clean diaper, clean cute outfit, lotion applied, and set to go. Next order of business? Load up our clean diaper. Sweet. Not only did we load up our clean diaper but we also decided to go on our changing pad cover and nice clean outfit before momma could get the new clean diaper on. I think he was having fun with me at this point. Another change of outfit later and he was down for the count. What a night!!

Down for the count after our "eventful evening":

One week old today

2008-11-17T22:25:00.014-06:00

Our sweet baby boy is one whole week old today. I have to admit that this makes me a little sad as it seems that time is now flying by. If only I could do something to slow things down..... We got home from the hospital last Wednesday and luckily for me both my mom and mother in law were here to see us through it. Suzanne was such a big help preparing us meals, getting us groceries, and doing some things around the house. We were exhausted from our stay in the hospital and appreciated all the help we could get. Wednesday night and Thursday were definitely trying to say the least. Ian was fussy since he was hungry and we were having breastfeeding issues. I was a mess and luckily for me as soon as I had a crying conversation with my mom she and my dad came to the rescue with baby assistance and dinner! I swear those first couple of days home I felt like the new baby trying to care for the new baby. Things are better now though. My biggest challenge so far has been, believe it or not, with breastfeeding. We are trying to hang in there and stick it out but it has definitely been trying at times. I now see why so many women give up on the whole breastfeeding thing within the first couple of weeks. I don't know what women did back in the days of no breast pumps or lactation consultants.

Kirk has been a tremendous help this past week and I am so grateful for the time he has been able to take off work to spend time with the new baby/ look after and help me. He has been wonderful with Ian and I love to see them together. His patience with him has truly amazed me. I don't know how I would have kept my sanity or made it without him and again this whole experience has made me wonder just how single parents do it.

Here are some pictures from Ian's first week of life.

Meeting mommy for the first time:

One week ago today....

2008-11-16T22:49:00.003-06:00

I'm an aunt again!! Congratulations to Suellen and Todd on the arrival of their baby girl this Saturday. We can't wait to meet and hold our new niece and to introduce you to your new nephew. Wild that the cousins will have birthdays 5 whole days apart!! Gotta love those November babies.

Thinking back to last week I wanted to post Ian's birth story while it's still fresh on my mind. Last I posted before Ian's arrival Kirk and I were awaiting our scheduled induction. Little did we know that Ian would have other plans. He still arrived on Monday 11/10 as had been set up but turns out that no induction was necessary. Sunday morning 11/9 I woke up around 5:45 am with lower back and abdominal pains. They weren't terrible just noticeable. I got up, piddled around, and then headed back to bed where I noticed the pains were coming somewhat frequently. I went back to sleep but woke up each time I had a pain to see how far apart they were. Between 8-9 am we were up to 5 minutes apart for an hour. At this point I started to wonder if we would have to head to the hospital that morning. I got up and did a few things and noticed that the pains were starting to come less frequently and not regularly anymore and I was convinced that something was definitely going on but we would probably still be heading to the hospital the next morning as scheduled. Kirk and I had planned to go to the mall and do some last minute errands but I decided I didn't really feel up to it and started doing laundry and household chores like a mad woman. Fast forward to Sunday afternoon with most of the laundry and chores now done I was convinced that I felt better and was now ready to head to the mall so off we went to Williams Somoma. We then went to Zaxby's for what would be our last dinner as a childless couple, fancy I know, and headed home to watch a movie and spend one last quiet night before our induction. All throughout the movie I noticed the aches and pains I had been having off and on all day were now coming rather frequently. At this point I started logging all of the times I would feel something and noted that while they were frequent they were not coming at regular intervals. At this point it was late so I headed upstairs to get ready for bed. As time passed I noticed I was getting a bit more uncomfortable. I started paying attention to the times again and noted that from 10-10:30 I was consistently noticing something every 5 minutes. It was at this point I told Kirk we needed to start writing down times. Over the next hour the pains were consistently 5 minutes apart for an and while I was getting a bit more uncomfortable I still wasn't convinced that we should head to the hospital, after all we were going to be there at 6 am the next morning anyway and I was determined to just wait it out. I got into the bath for awhile which was fabulous and really helped me to relax then decided it was time to head to bed since we would need to be up really early the next morning for our induction. I headed to bed and quickly determined that rest was so not happening for me that night and the pains were now coming rather predictably anywhere from 3-5 minutes apart, it was at this time Kirk and I decided that maybe we should just go ahead and get to the hospital, I was still worried that I was going in too soon but we rationalized that we were going to have to be there in a few hours anyway so off we went.

We arrived at the hospital between 12 and 1:00 am. At this point I was uncomfortable when a contraction would hit but was able to easily breathe through it, as long as I could stand up during the pains I was okay. Sitting during a contraction at this point was just not super pleasant. Once we got to the hospital they got us back to an L&D room rather quickly and hooked me up to monitors for contractions and the baby's heart rate. Contractions were coming every three minutes at this point and I was 5-6 centimeters. This is when I realized that perhaps it was a good thing we went ahead and arrived at the hospital when we did. I did after all want the epidural and had I waited much longer to get to the hospital I may have found myself in the situation of not being able to get one. My L&D nurse was great and worked me up quickly and pretty much immediately got me hooked up with an epidural which was fabulous. After the epidural nothing much happened until my OB/GYN came in around 7/8am, broke my water, and started me on pitocin to get the contractions going again. This was the downside of the epidural as it noticeably slowed down my labor. Finally around 11:30ish my nurse came in and informed me it was time to push and at 12:37 pm little Ian arrived. After Ian's arrival my Ob GYN informed me that Ian's cord was wrapped around his neck once and he had a "true knot" in his umbilical cord which luckily wasn't tight and never caused his heart rate to drop during his delivery. He also presented Occiput Posterior, meaning face up. Our Dr. told us that many times when a baby presents this way it winds up having to be delivered via C section so, all told seems that we were very lucky to have had such a good delivery. As someone who was absolutely terrified of labor I was pleasantly surprised that every bit of it was very manageable. I had heard all of the horror stories during my pregnancy and all the details of women being in horrible pain but can honestly say that this was not my experience at all. Yes the contractions hurt but they were only for a short period of time and once they were over I was okay. Once I got the epidural there was absolutely no pain. I could still feel some contractions but nothing I would call painful. I had the most fabulous labor and delivery nurses who really put me at ease and best of all my regular OB/GYN was able to deliver Ian.

It's surreal to think that just a week ago today Kirk and I experienced one of the most amazing moments of our lives when we welcomed our son. At long last he is here and we are just trying to take it all in and enjoy every minute we can with our sweet little baby. My days are now filled with changing diapers and feedings around the clock and while it is exhausting and overwhelming at times when you are lying there cuddling your sweet baby against your chest and watching him sleep you know that it is all worth it.....

He's arrived!!

2008-11-14T21:47:00.008-06:00

Our sweet baby boy Ian Malcolm Williams arrived on Monday 11/10 at 12:37pm weighing in at 8 lbs 2 ounces and 21 inches long. We are now back at home and attempting to get all settled in. So far motherhood has been a challenging, exhausting, and amazing experience. We are very much in love with our little one and still can't believe that he's finally here!

"Before you were concieved I wanted you. Before you were born I loved you. Before you were here and hour I would die for you. This is the miracle of Love" Maureen Hawkins

4 More days

2008-11-06T22:11:00.002-06:00
Only four days max until Baby Williams will arrive!! Had my trial run at L&D today for my NST. Baby's HR was in the 130's and all looks well so we will continue to hang in there until Monday. The test provided me with enough peaceful time to reflect that apparently I drifted off and didn't wake up until the nurse came back in the room to tell me I could go. Too bad we can't get a nap break at work everyday, I could definitely get used to that. It was strange being on the opposite end of the spectrum today as I was the one wearing the hospital name band and lying in the bed hooked up to a machine. Being a patient is going to be a whole new kind of interesting experience for me, perhaps it will make me better at my job. Everyone at work is shocked beyond belief that I'm still there as they were convinced I would deliver early. I am basically the only nurse who's worked there and carried full term. They have all informed me that apparently my child is going to be very stubborn. Gee, wonder where he would get that from......

40 weeks!!

2008-11-05T20:00:00.002-06:00
Happy Due date to us! That's right today I am officially 4o weeks pregnant. How did I celebrate this momentous occasion one might ask. Why, by going to work as usual of course. I have to admit at this point it's getting downright amusing to answer the question when is your baby due? When I answer "today" I can tell by the look on the other person's face that they now view me as nothing more than a ticking time bomb.

Obviously there will be no baby today. Since our due date is about to be behind us I will now start a new countdown: T minus 5 days and counting until we meet our baby boy! Two work days down and only two more to go until I start my new 12 week job of stay at home mom, can't wait!

Happy Election Day!!

2008-11-04T17:35:00.005-06:00
Voting today was surprisingly easy. Kirk and I walked in, went right up to the counter, voted, and were back in the car leaving the polling place all within about 10 minutes maximum. Not too shabby considering we figured it would be an hour wait just to vote since this is such a historic election and all. I don't know if we just really lucked out or if the people with last names at the end of the alphabet just weren't voting but we were very pleasantly surprised. This is the one thing I wanted to do before the baby arrived so he now has my permission to show up whenever he wants!! I hope everyone else was able to get out and vote today. If an almost 40 weeks pregnant lady can make it out anyone can, no excuses people. Don't know about the rest of you but I am just so glad that the election mania will be winding down soon. Things I am looking forward to the most now that this election is almost over: one by one the campaign signs will start coming down, the Newsweek magazines might finally have something on the cover besides Election 08' stuff, No more automated phone calls encouraging you to elect whatever candidate they're calling about, and last but not least no more campaign ad commercials with candidates smearing each other. I have decided Baby W is waiting until after the election to arrive so he can prepare himself for the kind of world he will be born into. :)

Kirk and I went to our last prenatal appointment today. We are at a standstill as No change has occurred since we last went 5 days ago. Something tells me our little boy will not be showing up for his due date. I'm actually expecting to go all the way until Monday when our induction is scheduled to take place. I'm a little disappointed as I was hoping to avoid the whole induction/pitocin thing but have to admit that within the last few days I have officially entered that period everyone told me would come where I am just ready to get this kid out and quite frankly will be fine with whatever method it takes to do just that. We have been instructed to show up to labor and delivery at 6:00 am on Monday morning 11/10 for the induction. I will also be making a trial run to L&D this Thursday as I have been ordered to go for a Non Stress Test just to make sure everything is good with the baby's heart rate. The Dr wants this done just as a precaution to make sure it will be okay to wait until Monday to deliver him. Everything looked great today at our appointment so we just continue to wait...... As usual we'll keep everyone posted as things unfold.

Induction date set

2008-10-30T19:43:00.005-05:00
Only 6 days left until our due date! I can't believe we're so close now. All checked out well at our 39 week appointment today. We have some slight progress since the last appointment (2 and 80%) and are just continuing to wait it out at this point. Our next appointment is scheduled for next Tuesday 11/4 (election day). If we don't have a baby next week then we will be going to the hospital on Monday 11/10 for an induction. (We'll get more information on that at our appointment next week provided we make it.) That gives us a maximum of only One and a half weeks until we meet our little guy!! That also gives me a maximum of only one more week at work until I'm out for 12 weeks of maternity leave!! I am so excited to get to spend the holidays at home with the new baby this year and not having to worry about work for a few months so we can have that time to get to know each other. In the meantime I'll be taking advantage of the little bit of time we have left to get things ready, pamper myself, and spend some QT with Kirk. I started the pampering process today with a fresh new haircut and fully intend to treat myself to a pedicure and some sleep this weekend. Time to squeeze in all the little luxuries we can before baby boy arrives.

The Home Stretch

2008-10-25T21:47:00.005-05:00
38 week 3 days belly pics.

Only 10 days left until the presidential election.......

and only 11 days left now until Baby W is due to arrive! I can't believe the time is here already. On one hand it seems like I have been pregnant for FOREVER and on the other hand it seems like it's flown by. To me this is by far the most tedious part of the whole 40ish weeks of pregnancy. It's strange to think that our baby could be born either any day now or his arrival could still wind up being a few weeks away. It's hard to be patient as I am more than ready to meet our new addition though I keep reminding myself to just enjoy this time as our little guy is easy to take care of right now. Something tells me that once he gets here it won't be quite as peaceful around the house. The wait is killer though and it's getting harder to be patient as our due date rapidly approaches. At 38 weeks and some change I'm feeling huge and exhausted. The exhaustion is really my biggest complaint these days as it's getting harder and harder to make it through the work day much less the work week. Thank goodness for the weekends! Our next appointment is set for this Thursday 10/30 so we continue to wait....... Hopefully it won't be too much longer.

October or November??

2008-10-15T21:23:00.002-05:00
Only three weeks to go until Baby Williams is due so we are now officially playing the waiting game and biding our time until he decides to make his big debut. Since I know that he could be born anytime between now and a week or two after our due date I've really been wondering lately just when his birthday will be. Will it be November or October? Will he be born before, after, or right around his due date. What do you guys think? Apparently there is a guessing pool of sorts going on at Kirk's work right now. Don't know why but it cracks me up to think of a bunch of grown men sitting around trying to guess Baby W's due date all so they can win a coveted bag of m&m's, or whatever the prize is, I say m&m's because apparently that was the going prize the time Kirk won one of these things. The girls at my work are convinced it will be a Halloween birthday. My guess is he'll be born sometime during the last week of October. Of course now that I'm saying this he'll probably be stubborn and be a week or two overdue. I sincerely hope it doesn't happen that way but I also know that I have absolutely no control over the situation. My mom is convinced that it will either be October 2oth or 31st since both of my brothers have decided to schedule their wisdom tooth removal for these dates and she will be busy shuttling them around town those days. I figure whenever it does happen it will be during the wee hours of the morning anyway, isn't that the way these things usually work?

We had our last appointment yesterday and things are continuing to progress right along. Here are the stats for those that want to know: 1cm dilated, 50% effaced and -2 station at 37 weeks. As we're leaving our appointment on Tuesday Kirk looks at me and says "ya know, I'm starting to think we're about to have a kid." So I guess at 37 weeks pregnant the reality of the situation is finally starting to kick in for my husband as D day is now in our not so distant future. I'm still feeling pretty well but do have to admit that I'm getting pretty tired these days and fantasize multiple times during my work days about going to my office and taking a nap. I feel huge, can't breathe and can't do anything around the house without my upper back aching so all that being said my feelings will not be hurt if this kiddo decides to arrive in a week or so. I don't even want to think about getting any bigger than I am right now! I've also been having some lower back aches/cramps lately that my doc says could be contractions. I haven't had anything really that I could tell was an abdominal contraction yet. Anyone else have this experience? Our next appointment is set for Monday 10/21 at just shy of 38 weeks.

In other news Kirk and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary last week. As most of you know we usually celebrate our anniversary by going on a trip. First year: Biltmore, second year: Outer banks, third year: Blue Ridge Georgia cabin, this year: trip to the hospital to bring back our very permanent souvenir. Since we're not really going on our usual trip Kirk went all out this year and got me THE most fabulous gift EVER. A beautiful, black, brand new Kate Spade purse and wallet. That's right he went to the Kate Spade store all by himself, told the sales girl about a purse his wife had seen three weeks ago that she loved and bought the most fabulous anniversary gift ever!!! How sweet is that?? It's hard to believe it's been 8 whole years since we first met and 4 years since we were married, time really does fly.

Slight Progress at 36 weeks

2008-10-08T21:14:00.003-05:00
Today was our appointment with the Ob Gyn for our 36 week checkup. Imagine my surprise when the Dr. informed us that I am already making some progress. This is about how the exchange took place:

Dr. Wheeler: "Have you been having any contractions or been feeling like you've had anything going on?"
Me: "Nope I don't think so."
Dr. Wheeler: "The reason I ask is that it looks like you're already about 1 cm dilated."
Me: "EEEK!" or some other kind of gasping shocked sound.
Dr. Wheeler: "I still expect to see you next week though."

OMG!!!! I honestly don't even think I've had one single braxton hicks contraction yet. How could this be?? I know I could go on like this for weeks and it doesn't necessarily mean anything but this new information got me started thinking that this is really going to happen soon! The Dr. also informed us that it could really be anytime now and that if I did go into labor I'm so close to my due date that they wouldn't do anything at this point to try and stop it. All of this new information got me started thinking about all of the little things I need to do and loose ends I need to tie before the big day and suddenly it doesn't seem as far off as it did just 24 hrs ago. Last night as I was drifting off to sleep I had a quick moment of panic when I realized that today I would be 36 weeks and in just two weeks I would be officially full term. This thought was followed by the thought that the baby could possibly come in two weeks which was quickly followed by the thought OMG I'm not ready for him to come in two weeks. I've been telling myself that I'll probably be overdue so I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that the baby could actually come before our due date. Anything at this point is possible because like I was just telling Kirk tonight this kid will come when he's ready.

Everything looked good as usual at our appointment today and we are due to go back next Tuesday for another check up. Incidently today at my weight in I weighed the exact same thing I did two weeks ago at my last appointment. Absolutely no change and that's still four pounds less than what the nurse tried to stick me with last week. Interesting no??

I also had yet another party in my honor today as my coworkers decided to throw me a baby shower at the hospital. It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of cute stuff including a hand made baby blanket from one of my coworkers. I feel very loved as baby Williams has so many people who want to celebrate his upcoming arrival with us. I have never felt as pampered and spoiled in my life as I have felt these last couple of weeks. Thanks to our family, friends, coworkers, and mom's coworkers we have pretty much most of what we wanted/needed for the baby and we are now just waiting for his upcoming arrival.

Crazy Busy!!

2008-09-28T19:43:00.007-05:00
34 Weeks!! Whoa Belly!!

Phew!!! Feels like the last two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity and something tells me that things aren't likely to slow down anytime soon!! First off let me start out by singing Kirk's praises as we just found out earlier this week that he got a promotion at work!!! Just had to put this out there as I am very proud of him and all of his hard work!!

As for these past couple of weeks, Kirk and I are finally finishing up the last of our parenting classes this week and then we will be certified to have this baby, which is a good thing since we don't have that much longer until he's due. Out of all the classes we've taken lately the parenting class seems to be the most useful of all of them. A couple of weeks ago Kirk must have been feeling inspired by our class on Baby care and decided to use poor Tobi cat as a practice baby and dressed him in one of the newborn onsies we have. It was hilarious though I felt bad for the poor cat but he was truly a good sport. This picture says it all. I think if he could talk he'd be saying "I hate you both".

Last week in our parenting class we talked about healthcare issues and the whole time I couldn't stop thinking about how lucky we will be to have a nurse on call 24/7 who will probably even make house calls if necessary, right mom ;P ? How sweet is that!! You can't beat that kind of service. During the last two weeks we've taken/ finished up most of our classes, lined up our pediatrician, and today I preregistered at the hospital at the suggestion of my ob at our last appointment this past week.

Also last weekend three of our best friends threw us THE most fabulous baby shower, also apparnetly known as "fertile valley 08'". (It has been brought to my attention recently that a certain member of my family is referring to the shower as this since there were so many children and pregnant women there!! How fun will it be to see our son grow up with all of these kiddos!!) We had a great turn out for the shower and feel so incredibly lucky to have so many wonderful friends and family to share this special time in our lives with. We got so many great things and I truly feel spoiled by how much people have done for us and the baby. After the baby shower Kirk and I had so much fun unloading/playing with all of our new toys, I mean new stuff for the baby. It's crazy how quickly the baby's room is filling up with stuff. We got so many diapers I don't think we'll need to actually buy any for months and I'm definitely stoked about that.!!!We also got our travel system/car seat stroller combo and pack n play (thanks mom and dad) and bouncer which Kirk promptly put together right after the shower without me even having to ask him to!! He also already put together our crib which came in this past week(thanks ABA and GrandDad!!) a couple of days after our shower of course and it looks fabulous!! Do you think Daddy is getting excited?? I'm so stoked about being able to finally start putting his room together. I still have a lot to do but it's all finally coming together. So, with all of this going on and then throw in work and just life in general and you can see how things might seem a little crazy around here. It's all good things though as we're trying to make sure we're as prepared as we can be for this baby's arrival, if there even is such a thing.

I still feel pretty well all things considered except for some occasional upper back pain, mostly if I stand on my feet too long. Also my son's kicks are geting very strong and he has a tendancy lately to jab me in the side with what I can only imagine is a foot. It's very interesting to say the least. Kirk has been having a lot of fun jabbing my belly and getting him to move all around. Funny how they can play like this even before he's born. Our next appointment will be October 8th for our 36 week check and then I'll start going every week. So far everything looks great except for the fact that they made me weight about three times this last appointment because I had "such a large jump". Yikes!!! I will say that when the doctor weighed me she got 4 pounds less than the nurse and then when I got home I got home on my scale I got 3 pounds less than the doctor so I'm going with freaky scale on this one, that's my story and I'm sticking to it anyway!! Let's hope that doesn't happen again as it was quite embarrassing. I only hope I can keep it from going out of control these last few weeks. Thank goodness I don't have much longer!

32 week update

2008-09-11T22:30:00.004-05:00
32 week baby bump. Now ya see it.

Now ya don't.

32 weeks down only 8 ish or so to go! Everyone keeps telling me how I'm so close but I tell ya 8 weeks feels like forever away. We had our 32 week appointment today and I'm happy to report that as suspected it was very uneventful. Baby's heart rate looks good, measuring right on time, Mama's BP is good, doesn't appear that this kiddo is trying to arrive anytime soon. All around a good report for all. We go back in two weeks (9/25) for our 34 week checkup. I feel very lucky that all in all this pregnancy so far (knock on wood) has gone remarkably well. I've felt great pretty much most of the time and really can't complain. I've managed to keep working mostly at my regular pace and I'm still able to get some exercise in though I admit it's not nearly as frequent as it was during the second trimester but something is better than nothing. All in all I really have enjoyed being pregnant so far and do not feel overly ready for it to be over just yet. The only real complaint I have is how ridiculous I now look at work in my overly huge scrubs. Suellen, in answer to that question you asked me long ago about maternity scrubs I can honestly tell you that yes they are that awful. The problem is that stores don't really sell maternity scrubs per se they just instruct you to wear a larger size so this normally size small girl is now wearing size large scrubs to accomodate the growing belly. First my coworkers gave me a hard time because I was growing out of my scrubs and needed to buy new ones and now they make fun because I look so ridiculous. There is no pleasing these people!

Kirk and I have been very busy the last couple of weeks with various classes. Last Saturday was our first childbirth class and I actually enjoyed it. My favorite moment came when the instructor was talking with the class about enemas and how some docs still require patient's to have them blah, blah, blah. She then went on to explain that this was an "invasive procedure" at which point a random husband in the class got a very puzzled expression on his face and asked"how is that invasive?" At this point came my favorite moment when my husband looked at him like he was insane and said "how is that NOT invasive??" Hehe, gotta love it. Kirk then looked at me and wispered "wonder what they do for fun". That's my husband! We also went to our first parenting class on Tuesday night where we learned to do baby care basics such as diapering, swaddling, and bathing oh my. I told Kirk that by the time we're done with these classes in three weeks we should be fully certified to have a baby. Somehow I don't think he was convinced.

4D U/S and 30 Week Update

2008-08-27T20:47:00.013-05:00
Today marks 30 weeks exactly. Only 10 weeks to go give or take a couple!! Yesterday, as planned, we had our 4D U/S. The morning got off to quite a rough start as everything that could have gone wrong, it seemed, did on the way to the appointment. We left the house for our appointment 20 minutes later than planned. Against our better judgement Kirk and I decided to go ahead with our breakfast plans even though we were already running late. Kirk was, of course, trying to look out for his pregnant wife who'd been craving a chick fil a chicken biscuit for a couple of weeks. Tons of school traffic later and after getting pulled over by a cop for a stupid should have known better traffic violation we arrived at our appointment 20 minutes late. I, of course, was having a "come apart" through all of this as I just knew we'd have to cancel our appoinment after we'd been looking forward to it for a couple of weeks now. Of course it all worked out and we still got in. Luckily for us our ultrasound tech was also late. Moral of the story, things usually work out and there is no sense in getting worked up when there's really nothing you can do. This is something Kirk's been trying to get me to realize for some time now and though I've managed to adopt this attitude at work for some reason home is a whole different story. Hopefully next time I'll just remember this experience, take a deep breath, and avoid having my "moment". Oh well, for now I'll just blame it on the pregnancy hormones. After all I only have a few more weeks to use that excuse.

Luckily after we arrived for our appointment the rest of the day thankfully went off without a hitch. The ultrasound was a lot of fun and I'm really glad we decided to do it as I knew it would probably be our last chance to "see" the baby before he's born. The pictures didn't turn out quite as clearly as I thought they might but they're still pretty amazing and you can definitely make out some pretty cool details. This ultrasound gave us a little bit of insight into our baby's behavior in utero as well as his physical features. So far the feedback we've gotten regarding his pictures is that he has his daddy's nose and both of his parents long fingers and toes. Apparently he's pretty flexible as he had his foot all the way streched to his face at one point. He also spent the whole ultrasound with his hand up to his face/ mouth. Can't be sure as to what he was doing but it almost looked like he was sucking on his hand/thumb. He also did a good job posing for us as we got to see him smile at one point. All in all it was a pretty fun experience. The whole ultrasound took about an hour total with something like 50 pictures and some videos that we got to keep. Not all of the pictures are very clear or that good for that matter but the good ones we got make all the drama worth it. Here are a few of our favorite pics from the ultrasound.

Picture one sweet baby foot. Picture two shows his long fingers giving us the peace sign.

Picture one with face, hand and foot. Picure two: our future gymnast, baby with foot up to face.

Sweet little face.

I'm definitely feeling and looking very pregnant these days. Makes me wonder just how much bigger this bump will get over the next 10 weeks. I can only imagine as I already feel huge! Mom, I still can't imagine how you did it carrying two at the same time! I have a whole new respect for women carrying multiples.

30 week baby bump

This upcoming month promises to be a very busy time in the Williams household as we get ready for our new addition. Our plan is to finish the nursery as soon as furniture and bedding gets in. Kirk has been hard at work getting the room ready so far putting up crown molding, painting the walls, putting in an awesome closet system, changing doorknobs. You name it he's been fixing it. He's pretty much gotten most of the prep work done now. Have I mentioned how fabulous it is to have such a handy husband around!! I'll post some nursery pics as soon as we start getting furniture and things into the room. I'm definitely excited about the progress so far. We also have childbirth and parenting classes coming up in the next few weeks. So much to do for such a little person! Our next appointment is set for 9/11 at 32 weeks. I don't imagine it'll be too exciting but of course I'll keep everyone updated as usual.

28 Weeks Today!!

2008-08-13T21:00:00.000-05:00
Officially 28 weeks pregnant today and as promised had my regular 4 week checkup with the OB and so far so good. Baby's heartbeat was in the 140's. I'm measuring right on track and best of all I only gained 1 pound since my last appointment. This is a definite far cry from my 24 week appointment when I got lectured by the doctor for packing on 7 pounds in four weeks. Honestly I know that's excessive but I have no idea what on earth I could have done differently four weeks ago than what I'm doing now or have been doing the whole time. Who knows. I also got the results back from my GD test and all's clear with that too. Let me tell you that was one test that I can honestly say I truly enjoyed since it allowed me to eat a whole king sized whatchamacallit candy bar and drink a Dr. Pepper in 15 minutes per DR's orders. Doesn't get much better than that!!

Kirk and I are slowly but surely getting things done in preparation for our little guy's arrival. Bedroom furniture has finally been ordered though I'm not convinced it or the bedding will be here before he arrives. He officially has a space reserved at Primrose Daycare for February. This past weekend Kirk began diligently working on getting the room ready. So far he's almost gotten the closet organization system done and crown molding up. Next step painting and then it's just a matter of waiting until all the stuff for the room comes in.

It's amazing how the farther I get into this pregnancy the faster it seems like the time goes. I have a feeling these next 12 weeks are going to fly by.
Since we only have about 12 weeks left I figure it's finally time to post some recent pics, with, most importantly of course a recent belly pic.

Kirk caught me here napping with my three boy after work. I love this pic as it sums up perfectly just how I feel after work these days.

Lynchberg Tennessee at the Jack Daniel's distillary tour for Kirk's birthday. Doug, my boyfriend Jack, me 25 weeks 3 days pregnant, and Kirk.

27 weeks 4 days belly pic

Next up our 4D ultrasound on 8/26.

$1000 + dinner at Zaxby's??!!!

2008-08-12T22:10:00.000-05:00
Sunday night started out innocently enough. Kirk and I were looking forward to going to a friend's house for dinner which is always a good time. That afternoon/early evening we decided to run around town to get some errands done prior to dinner. While we were out and about at Lowe's (our home away from home) we get a call from our friends informing us that one of their children has a fever and while they still want us to come to dinner they will leave the decision up to us. As much as we hated to Kirk and I decided it would be best to stay away from that situation since we had no idea what the kiddo had that could be giving him a fever and since I didn't want to take a chance on getting baby boy sick and myself sick. Since we were already out and about and starving (go figure) we decided to go out and grab a quick bite at Zaxby's, not quite the steak dinner we had been planning on but at least I didn't have to cook! Little did we know this one small decision would later cost us.

Dinner at Zaxby's was like any other that I knew of so as I was leaving the restaurant I was in my own little world planning out what I would do when I got home. Apparently Kirk was doing the same thing because as he walked my to the car and opened my door for me and I climbed in and got buckled in to leave we both managed to miss this lovely little site:

The only reason we noticed this prior to driving off is because a nice couple came and pointed out the damage informing us that someone had, of course, hitten our car in the parking lot and driven off. Luckily the man was observant and got a vague description of the driver, the car, and the tag #. When we filed the police report the officer informed us that if our witness could identify the driver and if we wanted to press charges this lovely human being would get at most a ticket while we of course, the innocent bystanders, get stuck with what I'm sure will be at least a $1000 to fix my car bumper. Oh well, what can you do. Most shocking about this whole incident? The fact that I didn't even get upset. I actually told Kirk "oh well "stuff" happens, what can you do." Yeah, I think he was as shocked as I was about my outlook on the whole ordeal. All I can say is at least it wasn't a brand new car. It's a little easier to take when you know your car is 10 years old and you're about to replace it anyway. Dinner was good, worth $1000? The jury's still out on this one.

Our next appointment with the OB is tommorrow. I will be 28 weeks pregnant with only about 12 weeks (give or take a couple) left to go. I can't believe how fast time is going by now! We are so very excited for our little guy to get here in a few short months!

Breaking in the Blog

2008-07-30T22:02:00.000-05:00
Welcome to our new blog! I decided to start this page so family and friends can keep up with what's going on in our lives. This will serve as a great place for me to keep everyone updated on our busy family and most importantly for me to keep everyone updated on pregnancy and in a few short months baby news. I can't promise it'll always be interesting so read at your own discretion and don't say I didn't try to warn you!