The Sweetest Things

Snowfall

2011-02-04T12:08:00.000-06:00

We have been iced in for four days here, with temperatures in the teens and windchill below zero. Today snow fell on top of the ice, making for tough but beautiful conditions.We got outside for a few minutes to enjoy the big flakes. The Super Bowl is in DFW this weekend, so the weather is making big news. It was supposed to be a sunny, warm location for the big game, but this weather had different plans.

Catching Up ...

2011-01-24T20:58:00.001-06:00

OK, so clearly once Ben was mobile I did a horrible job keeping up with the blog ... I didn't post anything from September through December, 2010. I am going back tonight/tomorrow and posting highlight pictures from our major happenings during the last part of 2010. I can go back later and fill in written details, but truly a picture is worth 1,000 words, so some things may be left with that. Sorry for not keeping up better, and I pledge to post more frequently in 2011!

Ben's a Toddler!

2011-01-23T20:23:00.000-06:00

Ben's First Steps from Katy on Vimeo.

Benjamin is ONE!

2010-12-25T12:33:00.000-06:00

This is kind of a long video, but the highlight happens just after the 5 minute mark.

A big thank you to Uncle Chris and Aunt Shannon for filming and editing this for us!

Ben's First Birthday from Katy on Vimeo.

Baby Cowboy

2010-10-19T16:25:00.000-05:00

Ben is going to be a Cowboy for Halloween, but when it's time for trick-or-treating, he will have more clothes on ;-)

Walkie Talkie

2010-10-19T16:21:00.002-05:00

Walkie Talkie from Katy on Vimeo.

Grandpa, Come on Down!

2010-10-15T16:25:00.000-05:00

My Mom and Dad are moving down to Texas!!! It has been in the works for a couple months, but Dad officially made the drive from OH down to TX last week to work full-time at his new job. On the way down, he stopped here for a visit. It really made it feel "official" that they are going to be close by and we will be able to see them pretty much anytime we would want. I think a part of me hasn't wanted to get too excited until I knew it was a done deal, and driving the good ole' Odessey from OH to TX is a good sign that this is truly happening :) HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!! Here are a couple pix from Dad's stopover. Ben is sitting on a beautiful rocking chair from Grammy that she is passing on to us, along with a beautiful marble-top table, toys for Ben and dolls from her collection. We will cherish these always.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2010-09-12T11:35:00.000-05:00

On a hot, hot day in September, we went to see the Rangers play! Little did we know, they would be going to the World Series this year. We were high up behind home plate, and realized that we actually had a very nice breeze by sitting in the top row. We did our best to keep Benjamin cool, and he did great until late in the game ... he was getting sleepy on my shoulder, and just as he would be drifting off to sleep, a huge roar from the crowd would wake him back up. He was startled and cried pretty hard. So we left a little early, and precious pants slept hard on the way home :-)

A Visit from Auntie Em

2010-09-09T11:26:00.000-05:00

My good friend Emily lives in Houston right now, so she came up to spend a couple days visiting us. We hung out in the pool, played with Ben and even had a chance to go downtown to Steel for sushi.

Labor Day Party!

2010-09-07T11:16:00.000-05:00

On Labor Day, we had our friends over for a BBQ and Pool Party! We had a great time listening to music, splashing in the pool, and playing LRC late into the night.

Our First Family Vacation

2010-09-01T22:42:00.013-05:00

At the end of August, we escaped the TX heat and went to Beaver Creek and Denver, CO. Ben was a wonderful traveler, and we had an amazing time. I think if we had to live anywhere else, we would definitely pick CO! Jeff played some beautiful courses, I had a day at the Park Hyatt Spa, and we went to the top of the mountain for a family picnic :) Jeff and I even managed to get a babysitter after Ben was asleep for the night, and we had a date night at a restaurant overlooking the mountains and a dip in the hot tub under the stars. It was a dream vacation.

Red Rocks

2010-09-01T11:44:00.000-05:00

Jeff and I went to my favorite concert EVER while in Colorado. It was Ray LaMontagne and David Gray at Red Rocks. WOW! To be in this natural amphitheater, under the stars, listening to two of our favorite artists, with the love of my life ... doesn't get much better than this.

Ben's First Tooth

2010-08-31T22:06:00.000-05:00

On 8/9/10, Ben's first tooth started to come through ... his bottom right front tooth. A couple weeks later, after a few days of teething (mainly just being very clingy with Mommy - I was MORE than happy to give him the TLC he needed!) the bottom left front tooth broke through. We just got the first picture in which you can clearly see Ben's new pearly whites :-) What a beautiful smile you have Benjamin!

Dadadadada!!!!

2010-08-31T21:52:00.002-05:00

I am way behind on some posts about the last month ... a visit from Nana and Grandpa, a weekend with my college grilfriends, Nana's Birthday surprise weekend, Ben turning 8 months, our trip to CO ...

But I just had to get this video up for you guys to see. Ben started saying Dada in the last few days! We took this video in our hotel room in CO on Saturday. He starts out pretty much whispering it, almost like he can't beleive the sound is really coming out of HIS mouth. Soooooo precious. He just melts our hearts :)

Dadadadada!!!! from Katy on Vimeo.

Happy 60th Nana Pat!

2010-08-25T21:53:00.000-05:00

We went down to Austin the weekend before Nana Pat's birthday to surprise her and celebrate the big six-oh! We made signs and got balloons and made special arrangements with Brad on how to really surprise her. We snuck up on her while she was browsing the magazine section of a Borders near their house. It was awesome - she was so surprised and happy! We went out to dinner at Maggiano's and then whisked the birthday gal off to Lakeway for a weekend of her favorite things :) A spa trip complete with massage, manicure and pedicure, family time around the pool, cookout, and a photo shoot with the grandkids! We all had so much fun because we love making Mama/Nana SMILE :)

8 Months

2010-08-25T11:11:00.000-05:00

At 8 months, Ben is doing lots of fun things ...
- laughs when he sneezes
- worms/belly flops all over the place
- "cooperates" by holding his legs up and putting them down when appropriate during his diaper changes
- first teeth are breaking through
- loves his baths
- eyes are turning from blue to greenish hazel
- enjoying playdates with his friends

College Girlfriends Weekend!

2010-08-15T21:29:00.000-05:00

Every year, girlfriends from college get together, and I look forward to it every year. This year, we decided to meet here in Dallas and OMG did we have a blast! Sarah and Lauren arrived Wednesday evening, and we stayed up til 2am catching up in the pool and hot tub :) Then Thursday we lounged by the pool and played with Ben all day, and Jeff stayed with Ben while we went out for dinner and drinks. Friday was another very relaxing day in the pool, and in the evening we took a sunset sailboat ride and saw a fireworks show on Lake Grapevine. It was a picture perfect night on a gorgeous boat. What a fum, memorable weekend. Thanks for coming down and keeping the tradition alive. Love you gals!

Seven Months

2010-07-25T10:13:00.082-05:00

Happy 7 Months Ben!!! Our little guy continues to grow and learn and thrive everyday. He is wearing size 9-12mo cloths and is in a size 3 diaper! I think he had a growth spurt just after 6 mos, and he's now 18.5 lbs! His eyes are a really beautiful blueish-hazel. We are seeing more and more blond hairs lately, but still overall seems like his hair is a light brown with blond highlights.

He is doing lots of fun new things lately. He seems on the verge of crawling. He is scooting backwards on his tummy, and rolling across the floor to get to things he wants. He tries to pull himself up into a sitting position, although it will likely be a while before he is able to do it by himself. For now though he is working on some rock-hard abs ;) He is showing definite preference for certain books, and his favorite is still I Love You Through and Through. He turns all the pages, and when we get to the end, he closes the book and turns it back over to the front, and we begin again! He usually wants to read it through 3 or 4 times, and then starts looking around for "what's next" - haha.

His spitting up has almost completely stopped. We no longer have to cover ourselves in burp cloths all the time - yay! A couple times he has cried out when I leave the room, and he is calmed when I go back to his crib and give him a kiss and some kind words. So far, this is the only sign of "separation anxiety" we have seen, and it is very minimal. He is enjoying snuggle-time before naps and bed. I sit with him in the rocking chair and sing and hold him close. He runs his fingers through my hair or touches the soft fabric on the chair cushions. It is sooooo sweet, and I am cherishing every moment because I know he won't want these moments forever.

Ben LOVES the water spray from the shower, and squeals with delight when it sprays on him. He reaches his hands out to touch it, and tries to grab the shower head and pull it towards him. He is making lots of noises, like ba, ah goo, and tries to mimic us when we say "mama" or "dada" by saying "ah ah". He looks around the room to find us, and gets a satisfied look when he sees we are there. He loves Kodi, and has definitely been making moves to try and get to him. He loves Patty Cake and the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and he especially loves when we move his arms and legs like he's doing a triathlon (this is for our own posterity ... others may not want to read this part!) "Put your swim cap on, put your goggles on, dive into the water, swim swim swim swim swim, get out of the water, dry yourself off, take your goggles off, take your swim cap off, put your bike shoes on, get on your bike, pedal pedal pedal pedal pedal, get off the bike, take your bike shoes off, put your running shoes on, run run run run run run, cross the finish line, jump for joy jump for joy, receive your medal, yay Benjamin!" His favorite part is running. Laughs every time.

Way to go Ben! Mommy and Daddy love you buddy!!!!

A Big Day!

2010-07-20T16:32:00.002-05:00

So today two big things happened with Ben. For the first time, I think Ben purposely did something I told him not to do ... not maliciously, but definitely to test my reaction. I was feeding him lunch, and one time after I gave him a spoonful of food, he blew a raspberry so his mouthful of food went flying all over him and me. I put my finger to his mouth and said in a serious voice, "No Benjamin, we don't do that while we're eating." He stared at me for a long time with his eyes wide, and I could see the wheels turning since I was talking to him in a serious way. I gave him another bite and said "Keep your food in your mouth" in a serious tone. He ate that bite just fine, staring at me the whole time. Then I gave him another bite, and staring right at me he splattered it all out of his mouth again! It really seemed as though he was testing his boundaries and seeing if I would react in that strong, serious way again. What little stinker!

Later in the day, I left him on his tummy on a blanket in the middle of the floor for a minute to start a load of laundry. When I came back, he was across the floor, about 10 feet from where I had left him! When I first walked back into the room, all I saw was the empty blanket in the middle of the floor - my stomach sank, then as I fully turned the corner and got closer, I saw where Ben had ended up. He rolled his way across the floor. This marks a new era - we can no longer assume baby will stay where we put him! His whole life, he was always exactly where we left him - but no longer :)

A Visit from Nana & Grandpa

2010-07-19T21:27:00.000-05:00

We had a FUN visit with Nana & Grandpa, who came up to spend time together as a family and to watch Ben while Jeff and I went out for a date night! We picked them up from Meachum regional airport and went to Coal Vines for pizza and wine :)

Ben always surprises us with his resilience and ability to hang in there when he is off his "schedule" ... he usually goes to bed around 6:30 or 7pm, and we were at the restaurant til close to 9 that night. He did great, and even read his very first menu!

Here's one of many of what I call "mini-me" pictures - I think they look so much alike!

Nana and Grandpa brought lots of fun gifts for Ben, and he loves them all! Books in the shape of cars and trucks, cute swim gear, a ball, a cup and thermos with his name on it, and a really cool CD with songs that all say "Benjamin" in them :)

It was hot all weekend, so we hung out in the pool on Saturday. We set up the baggo to play it in the pool! Ben had his first taste of popsicle too ... I have a feeling this will become a favorite treat by next summer.

Then on Sunday, Nana and Grandpa were kind enough to babysit Ben so Jeff and I could head out for a date night. We were going out to dinner and then the Michael Buble concert. We realized that the timing would work out so we could actually have dinner at this movie theater that serves dinner while you watch a movie, so we made it our own "double" date and saw the movie Inception before the concert. We felt very fortunate to get out for some quality time together and know Ben was in such good hands at home.

Babbling

2010-07-15T22:55:00.000-05:00

Overnight, Ben started babbling a LOT more than he ever had before. For the past couple months, he would typically have 1 or 2 "talkative" periods per day, usually in the afternoon/early evening. But the other day, he woke up and was clearly making more concerted efforts to form sounds all day long. That has continued the past two days. Way to go Ben! You'll be talking before we know it :)

Thhhhh Bbbb Wwww from Katy on Vimeo.

Cici & Gpa come to visit!

2010-07-08T22:57:00.000-05:00

My parents came to town for a family friend's wedding. It was beautiful, and we all had lots of fun. Jeff and I left Ben with a babysitter for the first time! We had been easing into it, first with family and friends watching him (thank you Moms and Dads and Sarah!!!), and then recently we left him with babysitters while we went into the next room to have dinner - at a work function for Jeff and at the club in our neighborhood. It felt really different this time though - driving away from the house I felt sad, but also confident that everything would go smoothly. After all, it would only be about an hour before he went to sleep for the night anyway. Sure enough, it was great. Ben went to sleep without a fuss and slept soundly til we got home :)

The rest of the holiday weekend, we had a blast - we spent lots of time in the pool, the most we ever have and it was awesome. We played Marco Polo and volleyball in the water, and cooked out. I also took my parents to the Feedstore BBQ, a local place that is soooo yummy! It was the quarterfinals of the World Cup, so there were some good games we got to watch too.

Dad had to head back to work, but Mom stayed for the rest of the week. We spent lots of good quality time with Little Mitter and we also shopped, dined and checked out some neighboring cities (just in case they ever want to move down here - hehe!)

Ben's new highchair arrived, so Mom and I put that together for him. I think he likes it! He gets to sit at the table and eat with us :)

Splish Splash

2010-07-04T14:40:00.000-05:00

First Splashes! from Katy on Vimeo.

Six Months

2010-06-25T21:50:00.001-05:00

Wow. I seriously don't know where to begin with what's happening in the world of our precious Ben. He is six months old and is such a sweetheart!!! He is 29in tall (98th%) and 17lbs (45th%) - almost identical to his percentiles at birth.

Ben is now sitting up, babbling more, rolling onto his tummy to sleep, rolling over and over again to get across the floor to follow a ball, trying to pull himself into a sitting position, associating words and objects like Mommy, Daddy, and doggie.

Ben has an adorable laugh that melts our hearts. He loves peek a boo, and the other day I was popping out from behind the kitchen counter to entertain him.

6 Month Giggles from Katy on Vimeo.

We just got him a highchair, and he is sitting up in that no problem. He also sits in the seat of shopping carts now, and goes directly into his stroller instead of being in the carseat.

We have taken Ben in the pool several times, and he loves it. He is a very chill waterbaby. He just hangs out in his float and looks around. For most of his life, he has just quietly observed the water, but we just taught him he could splash, so he's getting into that now.

The past month has brought a lot of new changes in Ben's eating as well. He's eating rice cereal, avocado, banana, sweet potatoes, peas, squash, plums, carrots, green beans, pears and blueberries.

Ben is on an AWESOME schedule, and we are so grateful for this. He has been sleeping ~12 hours through the night for a couple months now, but we just recently dropped the "dreamfeed", so now he truly is sleeping all that time, instead of me getting him up to nurse before I go to bed. Lately we have really gotten into a dependable routine ... wake ~7am, nurse & breakfast (cereal & fruit), nap ~9am, 11am nurse & lunch (fruit & veggie), ~1pm nap, ~3:30pm nurse, ~5pm dinner (cereal, fruit & veggie), ~6:30pm nurse & bed.

Ben, you are such a beautiful spirit, and we are incredibly proud of the ways you are growing and changing. You learn new things every day, and your innocent curiosity reminds us to appreciate the little things in life. We love you higher than the sky and deeper than the sea. It is an honor to be your parents. You are our little angelfacepreciouspants!!! :)

ConGRADs Patrick!

2010-06-18T16:40:00.000-05:00

Uncle Patrick, or "Puncle" as we affectionately call him ;) graduated from THE Ohio State University last weekend. Ben and I went up a week early to spend time with CiCi, Grandpa, G-Gma and G-Gpa. Colin just got back from Afghanistan a couple weeks ago, and he was able to come for a visit too - it was a GREAT, big family reunion. WOW what a fun time we all had! We went to the zoo, the mall, the park, practiced sitting, played with new toys, read Green Eggs and Ham to Ben for the first time (my fav kids book), tried peas for the first time (Ben's fav food yet!), went for walks, played with the dogs, took a sink bath for the first time, had a family cookout, an open house party for Patrick and Colin, and went to Columbus for Pat's commencement ceremony. Phew! Here are some pix to tell the story :)

The Laughing Baby

2010-06-02T19:46:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite Benjamin-Mommy moments happened today. I was pushing Ben through the store in his stroller. He was facing me and I could tell he was watching me as I shopped. So I started playing with him by pretending to look at items and then turning in towards him and saying "wha!" kind of like a peekaboo/surprise thing. He burst out laughing every time! Neither of us could get enough of it. I tried to take a video with my phone, but he only did a full laugh a couple times when I was videoing because he was half paying attention to the phone.

This is the first time he has laughed without some sort of tickle/physical contact, and it really felt like he was reaching a new stage - he seemed older somehow because he is now finding humor/joy in a social interaction. As we checked out, another shopper who had seen/heard Ben earlier during his laughing jag said to her daughter, "Look sweetie, there's the laughing baby!"

That's our Ben, The Laughing Baby!!!

Laughing Baby from Katy Lee on Vimeo.

Avocados, Bananas and Sweet Potatoes, Oh My!

2010-06-02T09:01:00.000-05:00

Benjamin has been busy trying new foods lately! He had avocados last week and he did pretty well with those, although he spit up quite a bit. I think we'll come back to those in a few weeks. We started bananas Monday, and he is really enjoying them, though he likes it mixed with his rice cereal. I think straight bananas are too sweet for him at this point, which is fine with me because I don't want him to develop a preference for sweets - we have lots of veggies yet to introduce! His tummy is handling bananas well, and I think they will become a mainstay in his diet. Tomorrow he will try sweet potatoes for the first time ... it is so fun to prepare and serve him new foods!

Pterry

2010-06-01T19:17:00.001-05:00

Ever since Ben was born, he has had a high-pitched shriek like a Pterodactyl. As a newborn, it was the start to his cries, now it's how he practices his vocal range. We even call him Pterry sometimes because of his ear piercing noises - haha. Here he is a couple days ago making his Pterry noises :) There is also a big burp about halfway through - cracks me up every time.

Pterry! from Katy Lee on Vimeo.

Make Way for Ducklings

2010-05-31T08:50:00.001-05:00

We have had a couple duck encounters recently.

In San Antonio, we saw a momma duck and her ducklings in the river ...

And yesterday, we had a duck stop by for a swim in our pool! Kodi was trying to be a good guard dog, but I think he was intimidated.

Make Way for Ducklings from Katy Lee on Vimeo.

Milk & Rice Facial

2010-05-30T21:26:00.003-05:00

Found a new person for facials - he does amazing work. His specialty is the milk & rice facial.

Five Months

2010-05-25T11:18:00.002-05:00

My, my, my how our little man is growing up! Benjamin is changing right before our eyes in amazing, wonderful ways. He is starting to make babbling noises, he's responding to his name, he puts his arms out when I come to pick him up, he is grabbing his feet and rolling side to side (looks like he is on the verge of rolling from back to stomach), he is standing assisted more than ever, and even tries to make little step movements with his feet when he's standing. He is starting to show signs that he wants to crawl, and has his legs and his butt ready, but not his arms yet. He has been eating his rice cereal like a champ for a couple weeks now, and we are getting ready to introduce veggies and fruits too. He takes three naps during the day (8am-10am, 11:30am-12:30pm, and 2-4pm) and sleeps through the night (6:30pm-7am). This has become more consistent over the past month but especially got better once he started solids. The tooth that started to come out around 3.5 months disappeared back under his gumline, so we still get to see Ben's sweet, gummy smile for a while longer! His hair seems to be getting lighter with more flecks of blond hairs coming in. His eyes are still blue, but sometimes have kind of a steely gray-blue to them, with flecks of hazel near the middle. Kind of reminds me of my bro Colin's eyes, at least for now. Apparently his eye color can continue to change for the first year or even later, so we shall see :) He loves peekaboo, reading "I Love You Through and Through", his jumperoo, and is ticklish under his neck, on his belly, and his upper thighs. Benjamin just started moving objects from one hand to the other. He has also started to "anticipate" things, like he will start giggling before my tickle fingers actually touch him because he knows the game. OH and I am finally ready to say for the record that Ben may be left-handed!!! Jeff has thought so since almost Day 1, as Ben's left hand seemed to be dominant. I thought maybe it was just a fluke, but not anymore. He definitely uses his left hand way more than his right :) We'll see if it stays that way ...

Here are some pix from Ben's fifth month of life.

Fun Noises

2010-05-24T11:13:00.000-05:00

Ben is really trying out new noises lately. In just the past few days, we have noticed a huge difference in the amount of ooooing, coooing and goooing he is doooooing ;) He loves this game Daddy plays with him and the video gives a good example of Ben's sweet little voice at 5 months old.

Fun Noises from Katy Lee on Vimeo.

San Antonio

2010-05-23T10:17:00.000-05:00

Ben and I joined Jeff on a work trip down to San Antonio last week. We had a great time together as a family, exploring the Riverwalk and the Alamo. It was HOT - in the 90's - but there was a nice breeze which kept it bearable. This was our first time in a hotel with Ben, and it went really well. He was such a great baby, going with the flow amidst all the travel, changes to schedule, sleeping in new places, etc. The hotel room was like the size of one in NYC - I didn't realize San Antonio real estate was that valuable that hotel rooms are like half the size of normal. We definitely learned some things like - when possible - it would be nice to be in a bigger hotel room, suite or some place that has a way to close off the noise and lights for the baby to sleep. We wanted Ben to have some semblance of normalcy, so we tried to keep it dark and quiet for naps during the day and bedtime around 7pm. We used headphones and laptops while he slept.

Ben got to be directly in his stroller for the first time (without being in his infant car seat for extra support) and he LOVED it - he looked like such a big boy. He was facing out looking around at things as we strolled the Riverwalk, and he kept saying hooooo hooooo hooooo. It was like we brought an owl along with us. I think he was trying to communicate his excitement at all the new stuff he was experiencing. So cute.

Here he is kicking back in his stroller. He knows how to relax.

Here we are at the Alamo and on the Riverwalk.

We also got to stop in and see Nana and Grandpa on the way down and the way back which was awesome! They watched Kodi for us while we were in San Antonio, and I don't think Kodi wanted to leave :) He had so much fun there. Chris and Shannon came over too, so we got to see Sophia, who is one month old already! She is so precious and sweet, we love her!! Here is Nana Pat with both grandkids - what a great sight :)

I Guess It Makes Sense ...

2010-05-20T21:12:00.003-05:00

... that sometimes I think Benjamin looks just like Jeff.

And sometimes I think he looks just like me.

Yep, that would make sense ;)

Sippy Cup Time

2010-05-20T09:55:00.000-05:00

Lately, Ben has been watching us like a hawk in everything we do. His latest party trick is that whenever we bring a cup to our mouth to drink, he reaches for it with both hands, opens his mouth and leans his head toward the glass. When we offer him the cup, he wraps both hands around it and brings it to his mouth.

He is at an age now where he can start to have water or the Dr. suggested diluted apple juice to help with "regularity", so instead of putting it into a bottle, we are taking a cue from Ben and letting him start to learn to drink from a sippy cup. As you can see, he was pretty excited!!!

And although the cup was about half the size of him, he picked it right up and loves it! Not sure much of the drink is getting in him yet, but he has had a great start learning this new skill :)

Trying out our pool

2010-05-15T21:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome Summer, 2010! We're so happy you're here :) This is our first summer in our new house, so we are really excited to get pool season started.

Turning a Corner - Figuratively

2010-05-10T14:53:00.000-05:00

The last few days, it seems like Ben has been turning a corner, acting and engaging with us more like another person. He makes noises intentionally ... making a noise, then looking to us for a reaction ... so he's figuring out how to get our attention with his communication. He is also advancing with regard to his visual perception of the world around him. If the wind is blowing outside, he will look past me to watch the trees blowing in the wind. If Kodi walks into/through the room, he watches him the whole way, even if it means pivoting his body around to see it all.

Ben is also starting to show signs of independence, like grabbing the spoon I was feeding him with so he can do it himself. Or taking his pacifier and putting it back in his mouth on his own. It's funny, because it seems like these progressions are clustered ... we'll go for a while seemingly on cruise control, and then all of a sudden, Ben has an accelerated burst of development - I love it!!!

Turning a Page - Literally

2010-05-10T13:53:00.001-05:00

I kid you not, last night I was reading a book to Ben and he started turning the pages all by himself! I had just finished reading the book when he reached his hand out towards it. Thinking maybe he wanted to turn a page, I separated one page from the previous one about an inch, and sure enough, he put his hand on the edge of the page and pushed it forward until it rested on the other side! We celebrated this feat with much fanfare, excitement and encouragement. But I thought it must be a fluke because it wasn't even on my radar that he might have already learned how to do this, so I tilted another page open, and sure enough, he reached his hand over to the backside of the page and pushed it all the way to the other side of the book. He repeated this over and over til we got through the entire book ... about 15 pages! I didn't have a camera or any witnesses, but tonight I would like for Jeff to film us to see if we can recreate this amazing sight!

[UPDATE]

The Greatest Gifts are Heaven Sent

2010-05-09T15:06:00.009-05:00

The two main thoughts I had on Mother's Day:

1. Sure it's nice to be celebrated, but I've only been at this 4.5 months - shouldn't there be some sort of extra celebration for my mom, my mother-in-law, and all the other moms out there who have been at this a lot longer?!? I know how much of myself I have already given to this precious child of mine, and I look forward to adding to that over time. It's just a new level of appreciation I have for my mom, grandmothers and all the moms out there that have put their children's needs ahead of their own for years on end. There are a lot of "Happy First Mother's Day" cards out there, but maybe the greeting card manufacturers should make other milestone Mother's Day cards ... Happy 10th/25th/50th Mother's Day ... because IMHO those should be even bigger celebrations!

2. Overwhelming gratitude to my son Benjamin for the privilege of being his Mom. Without him, I wouldn't have a reason to celebrate this day (OK, I know it's a chicken or the egg thing, but work with me...) Jeff did extra special things and gave me some very thoughtful things, but we both agree that the greatest Mother's Day gift of all was already here with us, and he was Heaven sent.

First Solids!

2010-05-08T13:34:00.002-05:00

At our four-month well visit with the Pediatrician, he mentioned that we should look for signs that Benjamin is ready to start solid foods. The signs would be waking early from naps, having trouble sleeping as much as he had been during the night, and seeming hungry after finishing nursing. In the last few days, all those things started happening. That, coupled with the fact that he is able to sit up and hold his head up, and is showing lots of interest in Mommy and Daddy's food led us to the decision to introduce solids into his diet. I plan to continue nursing Ben through his first year of life, but we'll start to add solid foods slowly over the next few months. I also plan to make most of his food myself. We'll start with rice cereal, and after a few weeks will move to green and yellow veggies, followed by some fruits. That should get us through and beyond six months. I haven't though past that yet, although I do believe by the end of the year, he will be eating small portions of our table food - wow! That is going to get here fast! I am going to enjoy the pure and simple goodness of this pureed food stage and not let the mess get me stressed! (I think that may just become my mantra because it looks like it will be getting messy folks!)

Here is a video of Ben trying out solids for the first time. Both mom and baby need to get used to the spoon and the overall process, but I would definitely give Ben an A+ for effort on this first go-round :)

First Solids! from Katy Lee on Vimeo.

As a side note, after we thought we were done and took him out of his seat, he was staring the bowl down and reaching for it, so we put some more on the spoon, and Ben opened his mouth wide and did a head-lunge straight for it! He was learning already :) And THEN on our second day of solids, I had the spoon resting in the bowl on Ben's tray while I cleaned up some cereal from around us, and Ben reached out, grabbed hold of the spoon and brought it to his mouth! I just about fainted I was so shocked and of course completed excited and proud. I could not believe he was already trying to do it on his own after only one feeding session. (Keeping my motherly pride in check and lest you think I brag too much, I will admit that the coordination was off and he didn't get the front of the spoon into his mouth ... he doesn't have those fine motor skills down at this point.) Maybe this is totally normal, but I certainly didn't expect him to pick up on it this soon.

Playtime

2010-05-06T12:42:00.000-05:00

Rolling Over :)

2010-05-03T11:44:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Ben rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time! He has done it a few times since, and here's one we caught on video :)

It is so neat to see him becoming more mobile ... this is the first time he has been able to exert his will to literally move his body from one place to another (if you don't count his spinning tactics in the crib). It's a little thing, but yet it's huge when I think about how the rest of his life will be filled with times where he decides he wants to do something or go somewhere, and so he does. What a special moment to see his first attempts at this sort of independence.

Rolling Over! from Katy Lee on Vimeo.

Welcome Sophia Anne!

2010-04-30T11:44:00.021-05:00

On April 25, our brother Chris and sister-in-law Shannon welcomed their first child, a beautiful girl named Sophia Anne. She was born at 7:17am weighing 7lbs 11oz, and measuring 20in. We went down to Austin to welcome her into the world and to help them get settled in at home. Sophie is such a sweet, precious baby, and Ben was fascinated with her immediately. I think it's probably the first baby he has seen, other than the "baby in the mirror" he is so enamored with ;) We had a great visit and were so happy to meet our niece and Ben's cousin Sophie!!! I know they will have lots of great times together, being able to grow up almost the same age and share holidays, weekends, vacations, etc together.

Back to Work

2010-04-23T11:43:00.047-05:00

My maternity leave ended at the end of March, and I decided to give "work-work" (as I like to call it ... differentiating from the "work" I do all day every day as a full-time Momma :) ) a shot on a part-time basis. Wasn't sure how I was going to feel about going back to work, and I still don't know how it's going to be, but I figured I will never know unless I try!

I have always wanted to be a Mom and have the ability to be at home with my child(ren), but then I had found a rewarding career in brand consulting and business development. Now I can see benefits to both these careers, and I think I may want to try and do both. But I hate doing things par or sub-par, so I want to be sure that I am not compromising anything by trying to manage both. We will give it some time and see how it goes.

For now, this is a typical scene:

UPDATE 5/10:
Being back at work part-time from the house is working out great! I really think each job actually helps me be better at the other one. Although it is challenging to manage my time and still get everything done that I would like on a daily basis, I do enjoy pushing myself to try and do more than I thought I could.

I will say though, I underestimated the dynamic of work deadlines versus personal deadlines. My new boss at home Benjamin doesn't tolerate being late for meetings or missing assignments, and he often doesn't give me a heads up about what is going to be expected of me on a given day - he's one of those bosses that decides he wants something and wants it 5 minutes ago - you know the type ;) Then work-work deadlines are hard and fast (i.e. we need this proposal done by the end of the day) and sometimes I don't have those hours to spare, depending on how my day job goes. So I have found myself doing work-work a lot in the evenings, and housework on the weekends to play catch up. Jeff has also been a huge help and support system, doing whatever he can to take care of Ben and the house when I am working against a deadline. I really think it's the right arrangement for us at this point in time, and feel very fortunate to have a great husband and company that are supportive and flexible for this arrangement.

New Noises!

2010-04-19T17:20:00.001-05:00

Over the weekend, we went down to Austin to celebrate Grandpa L's birthday. Benjamin always LOVES Grandpa's animated faces, and he seems to especially like talk about trucks, cars, airplanes and anything that goes fast ;) Anyway, this video really captures Ben's range of vocal talents at 3 months, 3 weeks old. At this point, he makes some noise throughout the entire day, but seems to have just 1 or 2 times during the day where he really lets loose and explores his full repertoire of noises. His occasional fussiness and fist chewing is also on display, thanks to the little tooth that's making its way out ... Thank you Aunt Shannon for taking the video and uploading it for us!

Baby Ben from Lee Productions on Vimeo.

A Week of Firsts

2010-04-10T22:25:00.001-05:00

Last week, Ben and I traveled to Hudson to visit my Mom, Dad and brother Patrick. It was a week of firsts for our little precious ... his first plane ride, his first LAUGH and his first TOOTH started cutting through! Wow ... we had so much fun, and it was neat to share these milestones with our family.

Ben did great on the plane - I nursed him on the way up and way down so the pressure in his ears would equalize. Then he slept or just hung out the rest of the time. Several people came up to me after the flight and said what a good baby he was - and I swear I could detect a sense of relief that they didn't have to listen to a screaming baby during the flight. Or maybe I just imagined that because that would have been me pre-baby.

The big belly laugh happened on Tuesday, and hasn't really happened again since then (5 days later). My mom had him on the changing table and started tickling him up his stomach to his neck. He was smiling and cooing and gooing, and all of a sudden, CHUCKLE CHUCKLE CHUCKLE! My mom and I freaked out and both started laughing and crying at the same time because it was the sweetest, most unexpected expression of happiness from Baby Ben. It was sooooo cute. I immediately grabbed the camera and tried to record it, but he only made half-chuckle sounds after that one big outburst.

The next day he was pretty fussy, and he had been drooling a lot, so we tried to get a good look at his lower gumline, and sure enough, there is the tiniest speck of a white tooth bud peeking through! We got some oragel and teethers at the store, and have continued to monitor its progress. I can't believe my little baby is already getting a tooth! It makes me think he is growing up too fast already! Once he has teeth in his smile he won't look like an infant anymore.

We had a full week of activities in Hudson ... we went for a hike, a run, lots of walks, out to a yummy pizza dinner, and my mom even had a bunch of friends over one night to meet the baby and have a party :) My Grammy made her first trip in a few years and came up to see the new baby. It was very special. I think Benjamin loved meeting his Great Grammy! One thing is for sure - this babe is very loved, and has several new admirers in the state of Ohio.

It was an awesome week and we miss them already! Can't wait to get back up there in June for Patrick's graduation from OSU!

Waking Up Happy

2010-03-30T11:03:00.001-05:00

Here is the angel-face that greets me when I come to get him from a nap ...

Three Months

2010-03-25T09:34:00.001-05:00

Precious Benjamin,

Today you are 3 months old!!! My what a smart boy you are. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you as you learn, grow and change each and every day.

It's the end of your "fourth trimester" so the baby scientists would consider you to truly be ready for life outside the womb. And right on track, you seem to be wanting to explore your surroundings and discover things around you more each day. You are sitting up on your arms now, and you kick your legs around and try to get up on your knees like you want to crawl. You have started responding to your name, and you whip your head around when you hear a noise or want to look in a different direction. You stand up on your legs straighter than before, and Daddy is convinced that you could stand on your own if you just keep a wide base and could keep your balance a little better. Personally, I am content with you being a non-mobile baby for the time being :)

You just slept through the night for the first time ... went to bed around 7:30, ate in a dream state at 10:30, and slept til 7:15! When Mommy woke up at 5:30am, I ran to your room and slept the rest of the time in the rocking chair because I couldn't believe you were actually OK sleeping this long. It was nice, and good for you to get such good rest.

You also just started grasping at things. When we hold a toy near your hand, we can see your brain calculating your next move - see object, open all fingers, move arm, close all fingers around object - SUCCESS! You hold onto it tightly for a while and then make a throwing motion and let go, or just drop it unceremoniously because your attention has shifted elsewhere.

You are making lots of wonderful noises, ah-goos, bffs, and every once in a while, you test your vocal range with a squeal to the upper octaves.

You are sunshine in our days and our brightest star at night. Our love for you knows no bounds. We feel blessed to be your Mommy and Daddy and help you realize all the amazing potential that lies within you. We love you angel!

It's No Coincidence ...

2010-03-24T20:19:00.000-05:00

... that the day after Ben slept the longest he has ever slept (6 hours straight), I went for my first run since, mmmm, probably 5 months pregnant. It felt good to go for a run. And by "good" I mean it hurt, but it was 30 minutes of free time listening to non-baby music (thank you Pink and Jay-Z) and I felt great once it was finished.

On the sleeping front, we are starting to make a more concerted effort to "train" Ben that he doesn't need to eat in the middle of the night. He has spent so long eating around the 3:30-4:30 hour that I think he is now waking out of habit rather than his body really needing to be fed at that time. At 3 months, he should physiologically/metabolically be able to go at least 8 hours if not longer between the last feeding of the night and the first of the morning, and I always feed him last at 10:30pm. So when he starts to stir, if it's before 5am, Jeff goes in to give him a paci. That's usually all it takes to help baby settle back to sleep. It took 3 nights of this process to get Ben to stop waking around the 2am mark, and now we are working on moving his habitual 3:30-4:30am waketime later too.

And no post would be complete without a picture ... so here are a couple to go along with the sleeping theme.

Bye Bye Swaddle ...

2010-03-20T20:53:00.002-05:00

... It's been SO nice having you around. You've been there for us since the beginning, helping Ben feel secure, helping him get important sleep, and aiding him in the transition from the womb to the world. We will miss you!Lately Ben has been gaining more control of his arms, and with this newfound skill, he no longer appreciates being swaddled tightly to sleep. Another sign he is moving out of the newborn stage - sigh. So now we put him in a "wearable blanket" that's like a long vest/sleep sack. It took him about a day to get used to it, but the process we've incorporated of sitting quietly with him before naps or bed to help him get into a sleep-ready mode has relly helped ease the transition. He's so ready to go o sleep by the time we put him down that he is not depending on the swaddle to help him feel secure.

Tummy Time: An Infant Workout

2010-03-18T20:41:00.000-05:00

Ben has not been a huge fan of tummy time, but as he approached three months of age, we really tried to be more insistent that he spend increasing amounts of time doing this infant workout. He just reached a big milestone and raised up on his arms! We placed a mirror in front of him as incentive to lift his head up, and he wasted no time getting his arms underneath him to support his weight. He luuuuves that baby in the mirror ;) Way to go Baby Ben! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you :) This pictures are of your first time getting up on your arms ... the first step to crawling and walking!!!

LeeAnn & Ella Come to Visit!

2010-03-10T20:57:00.000-06:00

We had a super-fun weekend when my Aunt LeeAnn and Cousin Ella came to visit from SC! Ella was such a doll with Benjamin, and she did a great job picking out outfits, burping him and playing with him. She even read him stories!!!

We enjoyed a great afternoon in Grapevine, and had a fancy night out at my fave sushi restaurant Steel. We shopped, ate, drank, and visited all weekend, and it was awesome.

Ben's First Overnight Trip

2010-03-08T23:06:00.003-06:00

This past weekend we went down to Austin to celebrate our SIL Shannon's baby shower, whose baby girl is due at the end of April. It was such a good weekend! We stayed at Jeff's parents house, and they had set up a mini-nursery in the room we stay in there, complete with a changing table, mobile, and a basket of baby goodies. SO sweet :)

Saturday was the shower, and it was awesome. It was a great turnout, and they received so many adorable gifts. Ben was the only dude there, and he wasted no time trying out one of his cousin's new toys :)It was fun to see all the girly outfits Ben's cousin will be sporting. I can't wait to meet this precious little girl, and am really excited for the two cousins to be able to grow up together.

Two Month Checkup

2010-03-03T22:27:00.003-06:00

We had Benjamin's two-month checkup yesterday. He got a glowing report from the pediatrician! He's long and lean ... already 25.5 inches long (97th percentile for height) and 13.5 lbs (50th percentile for weight). These are very similar to his stats at birth, so it's great to see he has been growing consistently. Developmentally Ben is right on track or ahead of pace on all measures. He is socializing, having tummy time, tracking objects, starting to reach for things, and bearing all his weight on his legs. He is nursing great and the Dr. said we will not even think about solids til after his next well visit at 4 months.After the pleasantries, it was time for shots. They combined 5 vaccinations into 3 shots, which they administered into Ben's thighs. I was heartsick leading up to the appointment, but was trying to stay positive and normal for Ben's sake. Precious had "woken up happy" that morning for the first time ever - as he woke at 7:30am and saw my face hovering over his crib, his face transformed into a huge smile and he let out a coo. As I saw his happy, innocent face greeting the new day, I was devastated to think of what the day would hold. But, I knew he would get through it. I knelt close to him and talked softly to him as the first shot went in. The worst part for me was the look of surprise and shock on his face as he felt the pain - the moment before his face turned red and he started crying so hard. They did all three shots fast thank goodness, and I picked my baby up as soon as I could and held him close. He was comforted and stopped crying within a minute. He cried later in the afternoon, but I spent lots of time snuggling and holding him close, trying to help him get through what must have been a very uncomfortable time. He was such a trooper!

On Becoming Baby Wise

2010-03-01T21:22:00.002-06:00

Well, things have been a little different around here lately. Ever since reading and incorporating the Baby Wise philosophy into our daily lives, Momma has been happier, baby has been even more content settling into a predictable routine, and Daddy is happy that the family is in harmony :) I have seen the effects that a husband/wife bond has on family life first hand, and really buy into the notion that the core of the family is a healthy, loving spousal relationship, which in turn fosters a healthy parent-child relationship and provides the security and positiive sense of self children require. The best thing we can do for the baby is to provide a solid, loving home - and help baby understand that there is a structure and routine for his life.

As a Type-A personality who thrives on structure and control, the Baby Wise process has given me some peace of mind that there can be a flexible structure amidst the chaos and unpredictability of life with an infant. Ever since about 6 weeks, we have been incorporating a schedule that begins with a feeding at 7:30am, followed by some awake time, followed by a nap, until another feeding ~ 3 hours after the previous one. We repeat this schedule of eat, wake, sleep throughout the day until the "dreamfeed" at 10:30pm, which Ben doesn't really fully wake up for ... he nurses with his eyes closed and goes right back to sleep when he's finished. Then we let baby sleep until he wakes me up at some point in the night. It started that we would only go about 3 hours, then 3.5, then 4. I am usually up with him for about an hour during the middle of the night feeding(s). As he goes longer, it has reduced the number of times I am up with him during the night. We hope the trend of extending nighttime sleep will continue, until eventually he will sleep from his dreamfeed at 10:30pm until his waketime of 7:30am.

Of course every child is different, and every parent has their own opinions about what is best for their life/baby. I don't agree with everything Baby Wise espouses - like letting your baby cry it out - I just can't stand to do that, and for our baby, it works to attend to him and help him not be upset. He hardly ever cries and almost always goes right to sleep, so I know there is probably something he needs help with if he is crying. All in all though, I'm really happy we have found a reference to help provide structure for us and a healthy routine for Ben.

Two Months

2010-02-25T20:04:00.003-06:00

Benjamin,

Today you are two months old!

My what a difference a month makes for you little one. You have grown so much in the last month. At about 5 weeks, you started giving us little smiles, and you have been giving us more and more smiles every day since then! This is a picture of one of your first smiles.
Most recently, you have begun to find your voice - and what a sweet voice it is. You give us lots "ahhh, oooo, guuuoooo, coooeeeeoooo". It's so funny to watch you figure it out - you sometimes get a surprised look on your face when a new sound escapes! Clearly, there are more sounds that are just waiting to get out - we get the impression words are "stuck" at the back of your throat. But man you're having fun figuring it out :)

You have really been exploring your world this month. You hold your head up like a champ, and you love to be carried facing out so you can look all around. You especially like the mirror I hung next to your changing station - you smile at the baby in the mirror, and "talk" to him too :) In fact, the changing station seems to be your favorite spot - you do the most smiling and "talking" to us too when you are laying there.The other new thing lately is your activity gym on the floor that has a bunch of bright toys and things dangling from arches above you. There is a "kickmat" attached to it that plays music and lights up when you kick it. It took you less than a day to figure out that cause and effect relationship. So now you kick at it, stay still while it plays music, and as soon as it gets quiet, you kick at it again to get it to start back up. That's probably the first example we have seen where you clearly are learning that you have control of your body in a way that is able to affect change in your environment. You have strong legs for your age, and you love to stand up and down in my lap while I hold your hands to keep you steady.
Needless to say, this is all really cool to watch, and you guessed it, Mommy and Daddy are sooo proud of you Ben!!! We can't wait to see what the next month has in store ...

This Great Grandson Is So Loved

2010-02-22T21:54:00.000-06:00

Benjamin is so blessed to have the most amazing Great Grandma and Great Grandpa - my maternal grandparents. They have been married almost 56 years, have 5 incredible children, 7 grandchildren and now their first great grandchild.We had a really special visit when they came all the way from Florida to visit. We spent lots of time cuddling and playing with baby at home, and we also managed to visit downtown Dallas, where JFK was assassinated, Addison where we used to live, and the Stockyards in Fort Worth. The Winter Olympics were going on, so we were able to watch some of that as well - it brought back memories of when we got together with my mom's side of the family in Atlanta for the Summer Olympics in 1996.

It was so cool to have four generations of family together this weekend. We will always cherish this time we all got to spend together.

A Visit from Auntie Sarah

2010-02-17T15:32:00.001-06:00

The night of the snowstorm, one of my very best friends in the whole world Sarah came into town. It was a miracle she got in that night, and we were so glad she got here safely on the last flight they were letting into the airport! It was SO special to spend this time with Sarah, for her to meet Ben, and for us to experience this unique time together. It's a strange time in my life - trying to figure out mommyhood and still hold onto all the ways I have previously defined myself. Sarah is a true friend who is always there for me, and spending time with her helped remind me of who I have always been and can continue to be - even after baby.

One night we had a girls night out - pizza, wine and a movie - SO fun!

We spent a lot of quality time with the baby - he was clearly smitten with his Auntie Sarah ...

Sarah even babysat for us while Jeff and I had a Valentine's date night. AND she made us lasagna and pasta sauce to freeze and make when we're in need of a great homecooked meal, but I don't have time to prepare one for us. Such an amazing friend, and a visit I will never forget! We love you Auntie Sarah!!! :)

A Record Snowfall

2010-02-12T17:37:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, we had a record snowfall here in Dallas! It snowed about 10 inches at our house, and up to 14 inches around the Metroplex. It was was beautiful, and a huge surprise, even to the forecasters. They were saying there was a small chance of precipitation, and it definitely would NOT be frozen. About 12 hours later, this was the scene:Jeff and I had a blast throwing snowballs and building a snowman. There is something so special about the quietness that comes with a heavy snowfall, and we really enjoyed being out there together - it felt like stealing a few moments away, as the baby was sleeping, safe and warm in his bed we escaped to play in the snow :)

The next day, before all the snow had a chance to melt, we brought Benjamin outside to experience snow for the first time. It was too bright for his little eyes to open even though he was awake, but I think he enjoyed it nonetheless.

Nana & Grandpa Come to Town

2010-02-08T16:04:00.001-06:00

This past week, Jeff had to go out of town for work, so his parents came up to stay with Mr. Benjamin and me for the week. We had a wonderful visit! It was great that Nana and Grandpa could see their grandson - I think he changed noticeably just in the week they were here! He is changing so much, and we don't want to miss a thing. It was also nice to have company here - I think I would get really lonely if it was just me here with the baby for a week. Nana even watched the baby while I got my hair done one day and my toenails done another day - I was in heaven ;)

We are so grateful for their support and love! After Jeff got back in town, they even encouraged us to get out for a date night - we gladly accepted :) So they had their first time babysitting as grandparents. Based on the pictures I saw, it looks like they thoroughly enjoyed the experience :) Thank you Nana and Grandpa, we love you!!!I will write more in another post, but I have to mention here that having Jeff's parents in town afforded me the ability to finish reading the Babywise book, and that has changed things for us so much - for the better! Prior to this 6-week mark, we were really not in a routine and were always reacting to the circumstances, instead of proactively helping to manage the circumstances. I think we are all much happier and healthier now that we have become a little more babywise!

SMILES!!!

2010-01-29T16:20:00.001-06:00

Well, I think babies have a way of knowing just the right time to bust out the smile - right about when Mom thinks she has reached her breaking point, going on 6 weeks with little to no sleep, the only feedback from her child coming in the form of crying or not crying. Juuuuust when you're getting down, baby decides to woo you all over again with his smile. Ah yes, the most precious, beautiful, welcome smile you have ever seen. I have truly never wanted a human interaction as badly as I wanted this level of recognition from my child. It wasn't just his smile - which, of course is absolutely the most charming and precious thing - but more so for me, it was the fact that his whole face lit up and many things we communicated to me that he had not been able to express up to that point. In his smile I saw joy, contentment, recognition - true, unbridled happiness. Which of course, as a parent, is what you want most for your child. I expected to be excited by his smile. To love it. But I didn't expect to fall in love with the twinkle in his eye every time he smiles. The way his whole body smiles. Oh my goodness, this baby knows how to Work. That. Smile. And I truly couldn't be happier.

One Month

2010-01-25T19:38:00.001-06:00

Benjamin,

Today you are one month old!

You are doing SO well being a baby, and Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!!! You are growing and changing every day. You're nursing great (we finally figured it out so it wouldn't hurt Mommy anymore - yay!) and you're already up to 10 lbs which your doctor can't believe! You hardly ever cry, and when you do, it is very predictable ... you're either hungry or need to be burped. You're VERY strong for your age, holding your head up often and doing lots of arm and leg "exercises". When you have "tummy time" to strengthen your neck muscles, you like to scoot yourself along the ground like an army crawl if we put our hands against your feet. We can tell there is a very active boy inside just waiting to be old enough to scoot around!

One of the neatest things that has happened towards the end of your first month is that you have become much more alert. You have longer periods of awake time, and you are SO wide-eyed and curious about the world around you. You pop your head up and fix your eyes on things around the room. Your head bobbles around after you've had it up for a while, but it's just the practice you need to hold your head up on your own.

Ben, you love looking at your books and toys. Your favorite is Swirl the Snail, which has a black and white swirled shell. You also held a toy for the first time this past week - you were moving it around and didn't want to let go! Mommy and Daddy couldn't be more proud :)Mommy takes you for a walk almost every day, because we have had a lot of nice sunny days over the last few weeks. As a family we have even ventured out to dinner with friends, the grocery store and a local park. Mommy was very nervous the first time I took you to the grocery store with me ... I realized once we got home that I hadn't taken a deep breath the whole time we were out!

This whole month has been an amazing adventure! In many ways it's harder than we ever anticipated, but it's also brought more joy than we could imagine or ask for. You are a precious angel, Benjamin. Happy one month birthday!

Grandma CiCi's Extended Stay!

2010-01-18T18:38:00.000-06:00

My Mom was kind enough to stay for about 3 weeks after Ben was born. She was a lifesaver!!! She taught me a lot about life as a mom ... every day had lessons little and big ... the best way to burp a baby, how to properly "latch" for nursing, how to wash your hands while holding baby, how to take a trip out with baby, and on and on. She also cleaned, did laundry, cooked us meals and helped keep me (mostly) sane :) She also encouraged Jeff and I too go on our first little date as new parents. It felt really weird to leave Ben at home, but it was nice to reconnect as husband and wife over dinner and - gasp - a glass of wine!

During the time Mom was here, we had Ben's and my 2-week checkups. Precious did great at his checkup and I was cleared to drive.

Thanks Momma!!! We loved having you here and will always be grateful for all your help during this crazy, special time.

The Early Days

2010-01-12T15:13:00.000-06:00

From mom's perspective, the first few days at home have been a blur. Most importantly, Ben is a happy, healthy, thriving little boy. He has already brought immeasurable joy to our lives - we are in love :)

He smiles in his sleep a lot, he is very content and hardly cries at all. So far he seems to be a very patient, mellow baby. We hope he stays that way! Dad has become an expert diaper changer, burper and swaddler practically overnight. Mom and baby have been trying to get the hang of nursing, and we are doing feedings every 2-3 hours, leaving small 30-90 minute windows for sleep. Despite the lack of sleep, we are feeling good and enjoying the day to day experiences of being new parents. We ooh and ahh over every expression and squeak that Ben makes, and are in awe of the miracle of this new little life.
We have SO much support from our parents, Patrick, Chris and Shannon who have helped with meals, cleaning, shopping, errands galore and anything else we needed. Not sure how we would have done it without all their help. Here we all are on 12/28, celebrating Christmas :)We decided to have Ben in our bed with us for these first few days so we can clearly hear his breathing, and be ready with the suction if he had any breathing problems (typically paranoid new parents!) He makes so many funny/suspicious noises in his sleep, but we are learning that it's normal and to be expected.

He had a visit to his pediatrician the day after we got home (5 days old), and he was almost back to his birth weight already, weighing in at 7lb 10oz. We had a whole list of questions for the Dr., and left the appointment feeling a lot more confident about life at home with Ben. We went for a walk with him and gave him his first sponge bath 2 days after we got home from the hospital.
We celebrated New Year's Eve as a family, played games and had a great time toasting the newest addition to the family :)He had some early visitors too ... my Godparents, Lou and Kathie, as well as our friends Katie K., Katie O., Marisa, Meredith, Megan and Angelo. It has been so much fun to introduce this little miracle to our friends and loved ones!

The Hospital Stay

2009-12-29T12:41:00.000-06:00

After delivery, I was taken to the recovery room, accompanied by Jeff. After a few minutes, they brought Benjamin to us. We were overjoyed. I was able to hold Ben and nurse him for the first time there in the recovery area. He was such a good eater from the very beginning! A baby's instinct to root, latch and suck from the first moments of life is awesome. He was very calm, alert and peaceful as he lay on my chest, skin to skin. After he nursed, Jeff was able to wheel him down the hallway to meet the family who were eagerly awaiting his arrival :) As he wheeled the bassinet up to Nana, Grandpa Lee, Cici, Grandpa Jerry and Uncle Patrick, Jeff said, "Meet Benjamin William!" Everyone got a chance to see Ben and take some pictures before he got taken back into the newborn nursery to get cleaned up. Our family got to watch that happen through the window. Meanwhile back in recovery, I was feeling extremely tired/groggy, dizzy and had trouble focusing my eyes. I guess this is because of the long labor followed by surgery and the the intensive amount of drugs they pumped into me in a short period of time. After a while, they wheeled me out to the post-partum room that would become our home away from home for the next few days. I passed our family as they took me down the hallway, and was SO happy to see all those smiling faces saying how beautiful and precious our little son was.We spent 4 days and 3 nights in the hospital because of the C-Section. It seemed like a blur of activity, with doctors, nurses and techs coming in round the clock to check mom's and baby's vitals, administer meds, help with nursing, diapering, swaddling, clearing congestion, reassuring us that all Ben's little noises were normal, etc, etc. Family came to visit every day, sometimes more than once a day, which lifted our spirits and brought lots of smiles and love to the room. Jeff and I got to know our little guy more and more every minute. Some of my favorite memories of this are the skin to skin "kangaroo care", seeing a little smile come across Ben's face a couple times in his sleep, and seeing Jeff swaddle and sing to his little "Ben Burrito!"
By Sunday and Monday, we were SO ready to get home. We had our final nurse Janet who provided some comic relief on our last day ("Did you hear that? That was me!") Then family came and we made our way HOME, at long last! It was our original due date, December 28, 2009.

Labor, Surgery and Delivery

2009-12-27T16:28:00.000-06:00

Christmas Eve started out like any other. A peaceful day, filled with the laughter of family, the warmth of a fire, Christmas music throughout the house, the smell of turkey and ham, and even a surprise snowfall outside. At about 4:45pm, my parents, brother Patrick and Jeff's parents were all gathered as we made final preparations for Christmas dinner, which was to be served in about 30 minutes. Jeff and I were sitting at our fireplace, quietly whispering with one another, imagining what it would be like to have a little baby in our house only a few short days later (still thinking we would end up being induced on 12/29).

All of a sudden, a felt a huge gush of warm fluid and looked down to find my pants soaked and puddle of water of the floor. I looked up a Jeff with my eyes wide and said "I think my water just broke!" "Are you serious?" he asked, while at the same time looking to the floor. His question was answered, and he immediately sprung into action. "Carol, Mom, turn everything off, Dad go get our bags and load up the car!" I looked across the room to my mom and said, voice quivering, "My water just broke!" I stood slowly, not quite sure what to do, fearful of getting the house all dirty on my way to our bedroom. My mom grabbed a towel, and Jeff put his arm around me and ushered me to our room, where we quickly gathered our things and got out the door ... into a Texas blizzard! It had been 80 degrees the day before, but Christmas Eve, a snowstorm rolled in and by 5pm, we were in the middle of the worst of it.We carefully made our way to the hospital, with just a bit of skidding on the snowy, icy roads. We got checked into the hospital, and were the only patients on the Labor & Delivery floor. After LOTS of paperwork, our family arrived, bringing along pillows, blankets, games, magazines and cameras, ready for the long haul :)I was only 1cm dilated and was having contractions but (thankfully!) couldn't feel them strongly yet. So we went for a walk around the floor, and that got the contractions going more! The next time they checked me around 9pm, I was 3cm, and the contractions kicked up a notch. For the next couple hours, contractions got stronger and more frequent. Jeff was an amazing support and labor coach. My parents also came in to support and offer comfort as the pain worsened.

*baby's heartrate is in the top half and my contractions are in the bottom half of the screen

*during contractions :( ...
*between contractions :) ...By about 11pm, I was 6cm, and had reached my limit on pain. So I requested an epidural, and it was in place and I was comfortable by midnight. Our family joined us again, and we celebrated Ben's birthday at the stroke of midnight :)

Then Jeff and I tried to sleep for a couple hours, gearing up for the hard labor ahead. At 3:30am, the OB checked and discovered I was a full 10cm and announced it was time to start pushing! I pushed for about an hour and made good progress - the baby was descending. Jeff could even see his head when I pushed! Unfortunately, the next two hours of pushing did not produce any additional movement. It is believed that the baby's head was face up instead of face down, thus preventing him from making the 90 degree turn he needed to make to come out. There's no way to confirm this, but apparently the only way to diagnose it is if you push for 2 hours with no progress, they conclude the baby is presented in a manner that will not enable natural delivery. So we were told by the OB the baby would have to be delivered via an "alternative method" - which when we asked, were told that would be a C-section. I was devastated because things had progressed so smoothly and I had not expected or really even thought about the possibility of a C-section. My thoughts also immediately went to the fact that it was a major surgery, and the recovery would be difficult, and the same time I would be getting to know our baby, learning to nurse and trying to learn how to be a mom. But Jeff comforted me and promised we would get through it. So they prepped me for surgery and Jeff got geared up for the OR too.
After about 15-20 minutes of operation, out came the baby and we heard Benjamin's first sweet cries. Jeff got to see him being born :) Then they took Ben over to get cleaned up and get his official measurements.After about 10 minutes, Jeff was able to bring him over to me and I got to see my baby for the first time.We took the long way around with 10 hours of labor, 3 hours of pushing and finally surgery, but it was all worth it because now our precious baby has arrived healthy and strong.WE LOVE YOU BENJAMIN!

Welcome to the World, Benjamin William!

2009-12-25T16:08:00.001-06:00

It is with great joy that we introduce to you our precious son, Benjamin William Lee!

Ben was born at 7:33am on December 25th, weighing 7lbs 13oz and measuring 21.5 in.

He is the greatest Christmas gift we will ever receive, and we are so honored to be his parents and help him to become the best person he can be. He really is The Sweetest Thing.

Baby Pix

2009-12-16T15:36:00.007-06:00

We are SO ready to meet this baby, and we're really curious to see what he will look like! To get some clues, we went in search of our baby photos.

Here's Jeff at 1-day old:And here's me at 1-day old:
We'll have to post these again in a couple weeks next to a newborn picture of our SON and see just how much he resembles us as babies :)

Just for fun, here are a few other pictures of Jeff and me as babies ...

T-minus Two Weeks and Counting

2009-12-15T09:38:00.003-06:00

Yesterday marked two weeks til our due date, and today marks two weeks until our scheduled induction - unless baby decides to come sooner! So - as hard as it is to believe - this means that no matter what, we will meet our angel baby in two weeks or less. Ahhh!!! We can't wait! The crazy thing to think about is that he could literally come any day now. Jeff and I have our little lists and plans, but baby doesn't know how to read yet, and he doesn't care much for to-do lists anyway, so we'll be working off of his schedule for D-Day :)

We had our 38-week appointment yesterday, and things are progressing. I am 60% effaced and .5cm dilated. Which means ..... drumroll please ..... not too darn much ;) Truthfully, I am releived that things are progressing even a little bit because it means my body is responding the way its suppossed to at this point in the pregnancy. But it's not an indication of when baby is going to come. As the Dr. left the room, he said, "See you next week, if not sooner!". The hunch is we'll be seeing him for our regular weekly visit again next Monday, but the thought that the next time we see him I could be in labor is insane to think about!

I started maternity leave last week, and we have been taking full advantage of the new-found time ... taking some baby-prep classes at the hospital (Baby Care 101, Infant CPR and Breastfeeding - they were all so helpful!), packing the hospital bags, washing newborn size baby clothes, blankets, towels, etc., further unpacking and settling into the house, decorating the nursery (the furniture finally came!!!), Christmas shopping, and trying to still take some time to relax and enjoy each other. Everyone says they can't remember what life was like before baby, and we are determined to remember and appreciate these last few days before parenthood.

I will post pix shortly ...

Brother in Arms

2009-12-08T09:22:00.000-06:00

My brother Colin is a 1st Lt in the Marine Corps, flying the AH-1 Cobra. He deployed for the first time to Afghanistan a few weeks ago. It seems like not so long ago, we were little kids building forts with our youngest brother Patrick, dressing up as Supergirl and Superman, playing on the swings, hiding underneath clothing racks in department stores and generally having a classic, all-American childhood.

Now he's all grown up, and we couldn't be more proud of him. The little brother I once held in my arms and defended on the playground is the one protecting us and our country. He has committed himself to being a brother not just to me, but to our entire country.

The truth is, I think Colin was born to be a Marine. He wanted to climb the highest trees, jump off the tallest heights, dive into the deepest end of the pool since he could climb, jump and swim... err, jump. Nevermind swim - he figured that out after he jumped in. Well, now he is voluntarily and with honor entering the Afghan war zone to fight an enemy that would like nothing more than to destroy us. Colin and his squadron are stationed in Southern Afghanistan - the Helmand province - which is the the heart of the current Taliban insurgency. Please keep him and his fellow soldiers in your thoughts and prayers as they represent and fight for our country's best interests here and abroad.

9 Months, Full Term and Delivery Plans

2009-12-07T21:58:00.000-06:00

I'd like to think I was a really good pregnant lady for about 8.5 months. Then 9 months happened and things started to change. Back aching. Feet swelling. Trouble sleeping. Knees hurting. Short of breath. Carpel Tunnel in my hands. Face puffy. Feeling as big as a whale. I am writing this not to complain but rather to document the realities, lest I get that "pregnancy amnesia" I've heard about - where you forget all the bad things about pregnancy so you have unbridled enthusiasm about doing it again. Truly, I am really more focused on how incredibly blessed we have been for a healthy, uneventful pregnancy up through this point. I have felt great, moved well, and been healthy throughout a majority of this pregnancy, and considering the incredible miracle of life growing inside me, that has been a truly awesome blessing.

36 weeks marks the start of weekly doctor visits now. We went last Monday and again today. Today is 37 weeks, which I recently learned is actually considered full term. Wow - to think the baby could come anytime now and be considered "fully cooked" is very cool. I had started feeling some cramping periodically in the last week or so, so I was hopefully that some change had taken place. I was 20% effaced last week and 40% effaced this week, so that's progress. Both last week and this week, the doctor said of course it's possible for the baby to come anytime now, but he thinks I will still be pregnant "for a few weeks". Those words echo in my head. On one hand, I'd like to get un-pregnant and meet this little guy. But mostly, I realize that every day in there hopefully means more health and growth for the baby - up to a certain point.

Which brings me to another topic - induction. If the baby hasn't decided to greet the outside world by his due date of 12/28, we will have an induction scheduled for the following day, Tuesday, 12/29/09. Jeff and I both think it will come down to induction. But, maybe this babe will give us the first of many surprises and come before then. Either way, our precious son should be here within 3 weeks of tomorrow. WE ARE SO EXCITED!

Reflections on Pregnancy

2009-12-01T14:49:00.000-06:00

Things I Love about Being Pregnant:
- Feeling little precious move inside me
- Getting a ridiculous amount of foot and back massages from the hubs (thank you love!)
- Having strangers be extra nice, or smile knowingly
- Having our little guy with me at all times, safe, secure, well-nourished and content, with no extra maintenance required (changing, feeding, sleeping, bathing, strolling)
- Having family time with Jeff talking to baby in my tummy
- The baby bump! I used to put a basketball or pillow in my shirt as a little girl when I dreamt about being pregnant and a mom someday ... now it's here for real! Every time I walk past a mirror, I have to double-check to make sure that really is MY silhouette there :)

Things I Am Looking Forward to When I Get Un-Pregnant:
- Meeting our angel baby, of course :)
- No more heartburn!
- Sleeping on my right side, or - gasp! - my back
- Easily getting in and out of chairs
- No more blood draws
- Having my body back
- Having more energy (err, maybe not for the first month or two, right?!)
- No swollen feet, ankles, legs and hands

A Great Big Bundle of Potentiality

2009-11-24T10:33:00.002-06:00

Hey in there precious baby. Today I woke up thinking about you, like I always do. But this morning, a song popped into my head that I used to love as a child. I sang it to you for the first time today, and it surely won't be the last. Because Daddy and I always want you to remember this message ...

I am a Promise.
I am a Possibility.
I am a Promise with a capital P.
I am a great big bundle of Potentiality.

Love always,
Your Momma

35/35

2009-11-23T09:36:00.002-06:00

Today, I am 35 weeks pregnant, and the baby is due to arrive in 35 days! Time has gone by so fast, and yet it really does feel like we have come a long way over the past 8.5 months. We have learned so much about ourselves and everything baby-related, we've experienced new and exciting things, we've moved and begun to make a house a home, and we've grown in love for each other, our baby, our family and friends. It has been a blessed adventure.

Baby Moves - Issue #2

2009-11-09T22:15:00.005-06:00

Baby Blue, you are rockin' and rollin' in my tummy these days! You are a precious miracle, and whenever we feel and SEE you move, we are reminded of how much we already love you. On one hand, I'm sorry you don't have more room because I know you are getting really squished. But on the other hand, I think you probably really like your curled up little position in there. I made this video to capture this time in our lives. I never want to forget what it feels like to have you moving inside there! We love you baby and can't wait to meet you in a few short weeks!!!

Babymoon!

2009-11-02T08:09:00.001-06:00

Our Babymoon to Chicago was a dream come true. Chicago is our "first city" so we really enjoyed going back and hanging out at all our favorite spots. We stayed in a historic hotel in Lincoln Park, near where we used to live. The room was overlooking the park, lake and city skyline. It rained the first day we were there, and then cleared up the rest of the weekend with crisp, sunny fall weather.
We saw David Gray in concert, and it was a great show! He played lots of our favorite songs like This Year's Love, Sail Away, Ain't No Love, Slow Motion and a new favorite World to Me.

Friday night we went to our FAVORITE Chicago restaurant, Brick's Pizza, and then we saw a show at The Second City comedy club. Classic date night in Chicago :)

We also did lots of walking around Lincoln Park, the zoo and gardens. One fun thing we did was recreate our *first photo* together. Here's the original from April, 2005 ...
And our re-creation in October, 2009 ...On Saturday night, we had a wonderful time catching up with our dear friends Sarah and Tom, Lauren and Alphonse, and Emily. We went to Trattoria Roma in honor of our study abroad semester in Rome, and then we checked out the new Trump Hotel & Tower, getting drinks and dessert at Rebar.
And a post these days wouldn't be complete without some belly shots ;)

Belly Evolution 20, 25, 30 Weeks

2009-10-25T22:21:00.000-05:00

The Big Move

2009-10-15T18:44:00.000-05:00

Well, we've moved into our new house! Everything went smoothly as far as moves go, and we couldn't be happier to be getting settled into our new house - and slowly but surely, making it a HOME :)

My mom came down to help us get unpacked and organized - she was such an amazing help! I don't know where we would be at this point without her help. Not sure if I would have found the pots and pans by now if it weren't for her help ...We also did some fun baby shopping while Mom was down visiting. The baby section has it's own gravitational field, and you cannot resist being pulled into it. Ha!
Here's baby blue's little collection of stuff so far :)

My Hubby the Triathlete

2009-10-11T21:59:00.001-05:00

Today my amazing hubby completed the US Open Triathlon Sprint in Dallas. The weather was cold and rainy, and the water was in the mid-upper 60's, but Jeff did it! I am so proud of you hubs. Maybe next year, I'll be joining you?! My Mom was in town helping with the move, so she and Kodi and I got to see Jeff start and finish at each transition point for the swim, bike and run. Jeff did such a great job and finished the bike and run under his goal times!

Colin's Visit to Austin

2009-09-28T18:48:00.000-05:00

Colin and his GF Katie came down to Austin so we could meet up there and hang out again before he heads to Afghanistan in November. We had a great visit ... hung out with Jeff's family at Chris and Shannon's, had a pool party, went to the Oasis, watched football, and saw some sights around Austin. Here are some of my favorite pix from the weekend ...

26 Weeks

2009-09-22T21:11:00.003-05:00

Hello in there baby boy! You are 26 weeks old in my belly this week, and you are practicing your leg and arm exercises a lot :) We can even see your movements from the outside sometimes, and we made a little video to try and capture your kicks and punches. You have more predictable patterns of movement in the last few days ... you move a lot when I wake up in the morning, around 10 or 11am, again around 8 or 9pm, and your favorite time to squirm is when I lay down in bed at night. I hope that's not a sign of things to come!

You have a big milestone this week - you're opening your eyes for the first time! Way to go little guy! Even though you won't be able to see much in there, your eyes have developed enough to detect light through my stomach. You really started packing on the weight in the last couple weeks too. You're gaining about a half pound each week, so in the last 3 weeks, you have gone from about a half pound to 2 pounds! You are about 15 inches long. Mommy's tummy is really starting to grow outwards, and strangers have started to ask if you're a boy or a girl. I tell them with a huge smile that you are a sweet little boy. We are so proud of you already and what you have accomplished growing and developing over the last 6 months. Mommy and Daddy love you little bambino!

In news outside my belly, we are preparing to move out of our townhouse and into our new home next week. We had friends over for Addison's Oktoberfest and a BBQ to watch the Texas Tech vs Texas football game this past weekend. It was the perfect way to celebrate the last full weekend in this place, and totally represented the best of what this townhouse and location offers. But, we're so excited to get into the new place, introduce Kodi Bear to his new yard, and really get going on preparations for baby's arrival home. We're looking into painters, flooring, utilities, insurance, and all sorts of other things that come along with moving and settling in to a new home.

We'll have a little break from the preparations when we head down to Austin this weekend to visit Jeff's family and Colin, who will be in town on a little pre-deployment vacation. Looking forward to a relaxing weekend with family in beautiful A-town. And we're so grateful for a chance to see Colin before he leaves for Afghanistan in October!

What a Difference a Week Makes

2009-09-09T15:12:00.005-05:00

Okay, so I don't know if these pictures tell the story, but this past week, it seems like there have really been changes with the baby! I literally woke up a couple mornings ago and felt like my stomach got noticeably heavier overnight.

Our precious little guy has been moving around a lot more too. He gets active in the morning when I wake up, at night when I lay down for bed, and usually two or three VERY active times during the day. The sweetest thing is that the baby really seems to like Daddy's voice. Whenever Jeff gets close to my belly and talks to the baby, he starts moving around a lot. We have even been able to see kicks (punches? elbows?) from the outside of my belly. THAT is cool :)

This is my makeshift craft station where I make the numbers for the sign every week :) Heeeello baby bump, nice to meet you!

Jeff and I went out this weekend to celebrate the 6-month mark for our little nugget AND the purchase of a new home! We went to our favorite sushi place in Dallas, Steel. It's so yummy!Everything looks official for us to be moving into our new home at the beginning of October. We are so excited :) Here are a few pix.

New Mexico Adventure

2009-09-01T13:55:00.005-05:00

Jeff and I decided to take a trip out to West Texas and New Mexico earlier this summer. We had a blast! We spent one night in Lubbock and then drove on to Ruidoso, passing briefly through Roswell, the UFO capital of the world. We spent a couple days in Ruidoso, and it is a beautiful mountain resort town. We played golf, putt-putt, go carts, went out to dinner, hiked and relaxed. Then we drove down to Carlsbad to see the underground caverns, and that was really cool - unbelievable the formations that exist 750-800 feet underground! Here are some pics from the trip.

On our way to the Caverns, we even got to see an example of Obama's Stimulus Plan in full effect. They are taking a very lightly traveled 20-mile stretch of highway and expanding it by one lane on each side. Tax dollars at work, whether we need it or not!!!

Michigan Beach Vacation

2009-09-01T13:37:00.003-05:00

At the end of July, I went up to Chicago to spend an extended weekend with my girlfriends at Sarah's beautiful beach house in Michigan. It's becoming an annual tradition, and it's always one of the highlights of my summer :) Lauren, Emily, Tina, Catherine, Sarah and I all enjoyed catching up on each others lives, reminiscing about good memories, and celebrating all the exciting things happening with everyone. Catherine just got engaged, Tina is due in a few weeks, and of course we have a baby on the way too!

My sweet girlfriends threw a SURPRISE baby shower ... we had a fabulous dinner out, and then celebrated with games back at home. You girlies are the best!

Big Changes

2009-08-31T10:02:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, Jeff casually brought up the idea of moving into a proper "house" before the baby arrives in December - you know ... a yard, a driveway, neighborhood kids, not 3 stories of stairs. At first, I thought nah - we are so happy in our townhouse right now, we can wait 2 or 3 years until we outgrow this place. No reason to rock the boat during the last few months of this pregnancy. But, the more we thought about it, the more we realized now is probably going to be the easiest and best time to move in the next several years - before we have kid stuff to juggle and while the interest rates and financial considerations are to our advantage.

So, after a couple days of analyzing the situation, we decided we would put our place on the market to test the waters and see if there was a possibility of selling it within the next couple months. We met with our realtor, and she had it listed by the next day. Within 2 hours of her putting the sign in our yard, she received a call from an interested couple who wanted to see the house the following morning. They put an offer on it, and we had a contract on the place by the end of that day.

Our happiness and gratitude in finding buyers for our place was quickly accompanied by excitment and some anxiety about finding the right house, neighborhood, community for our soon to be family of three! We have spent the last two weeks viewing 1,000-plus properties online, 125 properties in-person, and lots of conversation, prayer and thoughtful consideration about the best town, neighborhood and home for us. After an initial review of the towns in the metroplex, we narrowed it down to Frisco and Southlake. We then visited homes in each and really felt like Southlake was the best fit for us. It is a smallish town of about 25,000, with a real community feel built around family. The public schools are considered some of the best in the state, and they have done a great job building a solid infrastructure of shops and amenities to support the community. They have many nice neighborhoods, and lots of playgrounds, parks, walking trails, etc. It is also centrally located in the metroplex between Dallas and Fort Worth, so when the traffic isn't too bad, it is a relatively good location for Jeff's work.

As of last night, we think we found the perfect place for us! We've put an offer on it, and will hopefully be able to come to an agreement within the next couple days. We are really excited about this next step and know that the future has some wonderful things in store!

The first kick!

2009-07-29T11:50:00.004-05:00

Hey little guy!

The day you turned 18 weeks old in my tummy, I felt you move for the first time! It was this past Monday night, and Daddy and I were laying in bed. Daddy was talking to you, and he bounced his hand on my tummy to see if you would give us a response. You sure did! I could tell right away it was you, with a very determined, purposeful kick inside me. Mommy laughed and cried, Daddy laughed and smiled and we hugged and thought about all the movements you will be able to accomplish in your lifetime. I also thought about how in a couple months, that little flutter of a kick will be much stronger - enough to wake me up at night!

You are about 5 inches long right now, and you weigh about 5 ounces. You've recently begun to pick up on sounds outside the womb. We are getting a device that will project sounds into your little home so that your brain, memory and senses will be stimulated while you spend the last few months inside me. Baby Boy, you even have your very own set of toe and fingerprints now :) You are truly one of a kind, and we love you very much!

Here is a picture of what Mommy is looking like these days ...

California Dreamin'

2009-07-29T11:50:00.000-05:00

Over the July 4th holiday, we took a wonderful trip to (sort of) sunny California. It turns out, there is a thing called "June Gloom" that no one seems to mention til you get there, but it involves mostly cloudy, cold, dreary weather along the coast during June and the first part of July. Once you go inland a little bit, it clears up. Apparently it has to do with the cold Pacific air meeting up with the hot inland air. Despite this, we had an AMAZING trip and created a lot of great memories of quality time with the fam.

My mom and I flew into San Jose, where we rented a convertible and took the quick trip south to beautiful Carmel Valley, CA. Aunt Sandy, Uncle Chris and my cousin Kyle live there, and I had never had the chance to visit their hometown before. They were wonderful tour guides and hosts (thanks guys!) It is gorgeous there ... we visited Monterrey Bay, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Big Sur, and more. Some of my favorite experiences were seeing seals and otters in Monterrey Bay, eating Clam Chowder on Fisherman's Wharf, visiting Clint Eastwood's Mission Ranch in Carmel, taking the 17-mile drive through Pebble Beach and seeing the golf course there, and the yummy fireside dinner we had at the local Fish House in Carmel Valley.

Can you spot the seals all lined up in the middle of this ^ picture?! They look like rocks!

After Carmel, we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway through Big Sur (breathtaking!) to the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. A very cool experience all around.

As my mom and I were driving from San Simeon down to LA, we realized we were going to drive RIGHT BY Michale Jackson's Neverland Ranch - 5 days after his surprising death. So, we googled the exact location and plugged it into the GPS ... sure enough, it would be about 10 minutes off the highway as we passed through Los Olivos, CA. So, being spontaneous and curious voyeurs on vacation, we naturally took the detour :) Wow - totally worth it. The small farm road was packed with satelite trucks broadcasting around the world, reporters were primping and finding their best angles for the camera, and many fans (or just curious observers of pop culture, like us). We saw the front gates of the ranch and the large memorial with flowers, notes, posters, etc that had been created. It was a *unique* experience, and I'm glad we were able to see that, especially at such a memorable time.

We got to LA around sunset, and heading right to our hotel on the beach in Santa Monica - we were staying one night at the newly renovated ShangriLa Hotel - it was gorgeous, and the people couldn't have been nicer. Totally different than my other experiences in LA. After a yummy steak dinner down the street at BOA, we settled in for the night. The next day, we had a goal of seeing all the typical LA things - Rodeo Drive, the Hollywood sign, the Hollywood Hills, a couple famous peoples' houses, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Walk of Fame ... turns out, there was a bus tour that went to exactly the places we wanted to go! It was perfect ... navigating to all the "must see" spots around LA without having to find our own way and read about the stuff in guide books.

Then we drove down to San Diego to meet up with Jeff, my Dad, Uncle Randy, Colin and Patrick. The rest of the weekend, we explored around San Diego and Camp Pendleton and spent some good quality time as a family all together. We had fun dinners out, went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park (like an African Safari in SoCal), and saw the Cobras Colin flies up close and personal. Man, those are some mean machines!

This may be the last time we all get to be together before Colin deploys for Afghanistan in October, so it was a really special visit I will always cherish.

Bah Dee Ah ...

2009-07-13T21:50:00.005-05:00

This weekend, we went to a GREAT concert ... Earth, Wind & Fire AND Chicago. It was so fun! They played together and separately. We were very impressed with their talent, especially Earth, Wind & Fire - they seemed to still be at the top of their game, even though they are celebrating their 40th anniversary as a band. They still have 3 original members, including Phillip Bailey, the guy with the incredible, unique voice, and they were all SO good. We had a blast singing along to songs like September, Sing a Song, Let's Groove Tonight, 25 or 6 to 4, Make Me Smile, Saturday in the Park, and many more :)

To Our Baby Boy

2009-07-13T21:08:00.004-05:00

Precious Baby Boy,

Daddy and Mommy have been given the most wonderful gift to have you as our son. We already love you and are so proud of you as you grow healthy and strong. You are getting bigger everyday, and at 4 months along, you are about 4 inches tall. On Friday, when we saw for the first time the very good evidence that you are a BOY, we also got to see your strong heartbeat, your sweet profile, your arms and legs and fingers and toes. You are getting so active inside Mommy's belly, and we got to see one of the cutest things ... you began sucking on your thumb (see picture below)! You moved your head and your hand around until your thumb found your mouth. Mommy and Daddy laughed with joy at your sweet little movements. We can't wait to meet you in 5 months!

Life is a great adventure, and we are so excited to share it with you, son!

All our love,
M&D

Pink or Blue?

2009-07-09T21:45:00.005-05:00

Jeff and I are on the brink of a big surprise tomorrow! Will it be pink or blue for our little Baby L? Tomorrow, we are going back to the ultrasound doc to find out whether we are having a girl or boy. We are soooo excited :) We can imagine so many wonderful things that will be in store for our baby, whether it's a boy or girl. Of course, our primary concern is having a healthy, happy baby and we don't have a preference either way. I am just really looking forward to setting up the nursery and getting some real shopping started - ha! There are so many cute clothes - for boys and girls - and I am excited to know which to be buying for.

For some reason, from the beginning, we have both thought "it" was a girl. But over the last couple months, I have been liking meat even more than usual - especially bacon ... yum ;) - and that makes me think possibly boy because my mom was a vegetarian for like 10 years until she was pregnant with my younger brother Colin. He made her eat a hamburger, and she has never looked back!

Either way, tomorrow the big question of boy or girl will be answered!

Here are some baby bump shots. I have to say, I am surprised at how long it takes to really get a baby bump. I'm 15 weeks, and even though my clothes definitely let me know I'm bigger in the waist, I think I have been looking more like I ate a big dinner rather than looking pregnant. Apparently that's normal, and the real bump action will be coming soon enough. (I know in a few months I will be wishing for these days again!)

OH BABY!

2009-06-23T14:57:00.004-05:00

So, this is our first blog post in a while, and by now many of you know why we have been a little "distracted" :) On April 24, 2009, our lives changed forever when we found out we are having a BABY! WOW! Even just typing that word B-A-B-Y seems surreal. Jeff and I have never been more joyful, shocked, and excited than this. What a miracle life is.

We have spent the last several weeks learning about what is happening with the baby and its development and beginning to plan and prepare for this new chapter in our lives. We have had so much fun tracking the baby's growth as it went from the size of an orange seed (when we first found out) to a peach (about its size as I write this today). It is awe-inspiring to think of all the important things happening each day ... brain cells developing, fingers and toes forming, eyes, ears, nose appearing, bones beginning to grow ... I never really thought about all the little miracles that happen to form each individual person. It makes me realize that each person isn't a miracle, we are all a set of millions of miracles that came together to give life. What a profound and beautiful process.

On May 15, 2009, we had our first doctor's appointment. They call this a "confirmation of pregnancy" appointment, and to be honest, that's kind of how we viewed it too. Other than the positive pregnancy test (well, tests - we took 2 at home), we didn't have any outward, tangible signs that there really was a little baby inside me. This made the experience of seeing that little baby on the ultrasound screen and hearing a precious, strong heartbeat all the more powerful and meaningful. Here is what we saw on the screen!

In the picture above, the head is to the left and thefeet are to the upper right. You can see a little arm bud in the middle/upper part of the body, and the leg buds at the upper right end of the body. The baby was 7 weeks, 4 days old at this time, which makes its due date December 28, 2009! It was about 12mm long when this picture was taken, and its heart was beating at 150bpm. The doctor said everything looked and sounded perfect for that stage of development. We were amazed and excited, and so grateful that everything looked good!

Well, after the experience of seeing the baby and hearing the heartbeat, things started to feel a little more real. I continued to feel very well throughout the first trimester ... just needed to eat small meals regularly in order to keep nausea away. We began to rethink the way rooms are laid out in our house, and began clearing out the guestroom that's across the hall from our room, as that will be the nursery. We moved Jeff's office upstairs and made our lower level an "apartment" for guests (and it has now become my favorite room in the house because all the air conditioning sinks to the first floor!) We haven't really purchased any baby stuff yet, but maybe we'll start to get a little more proactive with that as we enter the second trimester.

The next big milestone happened last Friday, June 19, when we went in for a screening ultrasound. The pretense for the ultrasound was screening for chromosomal abnormalities, but our doctor encouraged us to go also to be able to see the baby again at this stage. I'm so glad we did - the screening checked out fine, and we got to see the baby move around quite a bit! It had grown so much in 5 weeks. It had a CUTE little nose, arms and legs, hands and feet, fingers and toes - I never thought I'd be so excited about those body parts ;) ha! Jeff's family was up for the weekend, so we invited them to come and see the baby with us. At first it wasn't really moving, but then the doctor bounced the wand on my tummy above the baby, and it got pretty active. So cool!!!

They allowed us to take a couple short videos of the screen as we watched the baby.

We want to find out if we're having a boy or girl, and they couldn't tell during this ultrasound. So the doctor invited us to come back for a quick peek in a couple weeks, as she is confident she'll be able to tell then. Can't wait to start going blue or pink crazy! :)

We are now at 13 weeks, and I feel wonderful. I am starting to have a little baby bump, and got a few maternity shorts and capris to accommodate my growing waistline. The store I went to offers FREE prenatal yoga classes, so I have started going to those as well. I'm really enjoying them.

Now that our big news is out there, I will be sure to stay current with postings as we prepare to welcome Baby! We have a few trips planned for the summer - during the "easy" 2nd trimester - and we're looking forward to seeing family and friends over the next few months!

Thanks to all for your love and support!

Let's Go Fly A Kite

2009-04-17T13:08:00.005-05:00

Can't remember the last time either of us tried to fly a kite ... probably 15 or 20 years ago. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be! But it sure is fun :)

We got a kite in the shape of a parrot and took it out to Addison Circle Park. Kodi came too, and he thought the kite was out to get him the whole time. He kept hiding between our legs. Aw!

At first, we had no idea what we were doing, and we became a spectacle for the other park goers. They were trying to give us advice and help get it going. Eventually, we got the hang of it and were laughing so hard trying to keep it up in the air!

Ohhhh hello, Ohio

2009-04-15T22:21:00.006-05:00

I was heading to Cincy for work at the end of March, and made plans to stay with Grammy and visit with Aunt Mary, Uncle Mike and my cousins while I was there too. It was so good to see all of them! Grammy was doing very well and was feeling good. We went out to dinner with Mike, Emily and Dan, and then back to their house to visit with Mary and Meg too! Grammy made me a wonderful lunch the next day before I headed out to ... Hudson!

Turns out, Patrick was going to be on Spring Break from OSU that week, and Colin had leave and would be flying from San Diego to Hudson at the same time. So I changed my flight plans and drove the rental car up to Hudson instead of heading home. We were able to spend 3 wonderful days all together back in good ole Hudson. We had lots of laughs and were able to catch up on everyone's happenings. It was a fantastic, spontaneous trip.

St. Paddy's Day

2009-04-15T22:15:00.004-05:00

We had some friends over for St. Paddy's Day this year. It was the first time we had a big get together at our place, and it was lots of fun. We drank Irish beer, rolled St. Paddy's themed dice, played Catch Phrase and had a great time late into the night :)

So sweet

2009-04-15T22:07:00.005-05:00

Jeff's family came to visit a few weeks ago. We had a great time playing games, attending an airplane exhibition, and cheering for our favorite teams in March Madness!

Shannon took this PRECIOUS picture of Kodi Bear and Brad, and I just had to post it.

Happy 1st Anniversary!

2009-03-26T23:52:00.013-05:00

On Sunday, March 22, we celebrated our one year anniversary! This past year has been filled with so many wonderful memories. Our wedding day was the best day of our lives, and the past year has been beyond our greatest expectations. Honeymooning in Hawaii was unforgettable. We went to Mexico for a work trip and saw ruins at Tulum and Xel-ha. Last April, we adopted Kodi and had a great summer with trips to Hudson, Austin and Chicago, settling into married life and thoroughly enjoying our time with each other and our new puppy. We took a really fun road trip in CA (Napa, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite), and we went out to Lubbock for a Texas Tech football game in the fall. The holidays brought quality time in Austin and Greenville with family (we love you guys!) And, we've stayed busy in the new year with a weekend in Vegas, driving Super Cars, an O.A.R. concert, and a surprise visit from M&D! Here are some pictures celebrating our first year of marriage ...

Birthday Surprise!

2009-03-17T22:02:00.010-05:00

My precious husband planned the greatest birthday surprise EVER for my 27th birthday. He flew my Mom and Dad in from Hudson to celebrate with us for a fun-filled, fabulous weekend!

Here's how it all went down. A couple months ago, Jeff's parents asked what we were doing the weekend after my birthday because they had something special planned. We both checked calendars and confirmed that would work. We proceeded to talk with each other periodically about what we thought it could possibly be, and we both agreed we had absolutely no idea. Turns out, Jeff had asked his parents to play a part in the larger surprise. Because we knew we were going to be doing *something*, we were able to clear our schedules, get the house ready for guests, etc. Fast-forward to the scene of the surprise. I was picking Jeff up from the airport the day after my birthday. He said his plane had - at the last minute - pulled into a different gate, so I needed to go to a different terminal to pick him up. No problem! (Turns out it was so Jeff could meet up with my parents as they arrived!) When I pulled up to Jeff's terminal, I grabbed Kodi Bear and sent him running on the sidewalk to his Daddy. I followed quickly behind and jumped into Jeff's arms. I was just so excited to see him! Then, Jeff got really serious and took me by the shoulders and said that he had a birthday gift he had wanted to give me the day before, but he couldn't til now ... then he turned me around and MY PARENTS WERE STANDING RIGHT THERE!!! My knees went weak and tears welled up and I just kept saying "Oh my gosh!" I couldn't believe they were HERE. In DALLAS! Across the country from their home! My mom was on crutches recovering from foot surgery and my Dad was *supposedly* on a biz trip. Hugging them tightly and laughing and freaking out in happiness at being together was not supposed to be even possible! It was truly one of life's great moments of joy.

It meant so much to me that Jeff knew what would be the best possible gift, and that's time with family, especially because we live far apart.

We had an awesome weekend ... ate at fun restaurants like Cyclone Anaya's and Roy's, went to see a King Tut exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art, saw where JFK was assassinated, went to the park for a windy picnic and had game night with Blackjack (my current obsession) and Cranium.

We even drove by George and Laura's new digs, only to be turned away by Secret Service. I really think my car is on their watch list now, since Momma Carol decided to yell out the window at the group of suited men with earpieces running towards us, "Aw, we just wanted to get a peek!" ha - classic Mom! I love her so much. Here is the Secret Service protecting our former prez's street (before they came running at us, arms flailing.)

It's only been a couple weeks, and I miss M&D already. I will always be grateful for the elaborate plan Jeff orchestrated to pull of this most excellent birthday surprise! Great memories will last forever :)

XOXO

What Happens in Vegas ...

2009-02-24T22:48:00.010-06:00

We went to Las Vegas this past weekend for a little getaway and to celebrate my 27th birthday! We loved playing Blackjack at Encore and Caesar's Palace. And, I knew it was going to be a good weekend when we walked up to the Roulette table and I hit my lucky number on the first spin. Woohoo! 35:1, baby!

We saw The Cirque du Soleil show LOVE that goes along to Beatles songs.
It was really cool. My favorite parts were "Something in the Way She Moves" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

The most visually stunning show was Le Reve.
It was an intimate, round theater with a huge water tank in the middle. The show involved aerial acrobatics, synchronized swimming, high diving off platforms, dancing, contortionists, singing, and more. They even had an amazing smell permeating the theater ... we think they did it on purpose for the whole "sensory" experience OR they just needed to cover up the smell of chlorine. :)

We had two fun, unique dinners out.

Friday night was at Japonais ... a trendy sushi/Japanese place. They had one in Chicago too that we always wanted to go to, but this was our first opportunity to go to one. I HIGHLY recommend "The Rock" ... yummy marinated thin slices of New York Strip steak, served with a lava rock that's heated to 450 degrees ... you place the slices of meat on the rock and cook them yourself at the table (about 5 seconds/side for medium). WOW ... the best tasting steak either of us ever had.

Saturday night was at a cool new restaurant called SWITCH at Encore ... the new Steve Wynn hotel/casino that just opened in December. The ceiling, walls and lighting literally "switch" all around you about every 30 minutes while you're dining. It is a really innovative concept and definitely gives the sense of something that would only happen in Vegas!

On the way there and back, we flew over the Grand Canyon. I had never seen it before, so even just getting a glimpse from the air was awe inspiring. Would love to go there someday to see it up close. What a beautiful world we live in!

Duck Hunt

2009-02-19T17:01:00.005-06:00

So, there is this wooden duck standing on a speaker in the first floor of our house. Kodi Bear thinks the duck is lording over that area of the room. We entertain ourselves by throwing toys into the vicinity and watching how he handles the incursion into enemy duck territory.

Check out the video below (warning: it's kinda hard to see the duck because it's camouflaged ... brown duck against brown wall). If nothing else, you have to see the "Kramer" moment about 1/3 of the way through. Ha!

By the way, this duck has been in the same place for all of Kodi's life and has never once done anything to elicit such respect (or is it fear?!)

Triathlon, Here We Come!

2009-02-10T21:12:00.008-06:00

Jeff and I have decided to participate in the Dallas Triathlon on October 11, 2009! We're going to do the sprint distant, which is 800m swim, 25mi bike (it's usually half this distance, but the layout of this course makes it longer) and a 5k run. We are starting training this week ... which for now really just means getting back to the gym on a regular basis. Ha! Hopefully in the next month or two, we will get on a more structured training regimen.

I am nervous about the swimming part ... apparently there is a lot of contact when you first start the race in the water. But, hopefully a lot of training over the next few months will get us really prepared! We'll keep you posted on progress :)