Caleb Connor Pearce- Full Birth Story.

It finally happened! Caleb was finally born. Ok ok...so he was born 4 weeks ago today. Not my fault I'm slow updating- after all, I do have a newborn!

3 Weeks before Caleb was born, I went to the doctor, and was told that I was dilated to a 3. That didn't surprise me much- but it seemed to surprise the doctor. His response was "Holy Mackerel! Don't cough or sneeze!". So, of course, I got my hopes up, and thought maybe he'd come really soon. No dice. The next week, I was dilated to a 3.5, and 70% effaced. So I was CONVINCED that it would literally be ANY DAY NOW! Every day, people at work were asking me why I was still there. Ummm...isn't it obvious? I've still got a huge belly- I think that means that I haven't had my baby yet. I was getting so impatient. Technically, I still had another week left until my due date- but so what? I was SO SO ready to be done being pregnant, and meet my little boy! On Monday, August 29th, I had had enough. I called the doctor, and set up a time to be induced. I was going to have that baby on Wednesday!

 Last Preggo photo - 38.5 weeks

Of course- if any of you have had babies- you know that they never go by the plan. As soon as you plan something, they make plans of their own. With Kenzie, she waited til the day of my baby shower to be born.

For the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy, my lower back, my sides, and my legs hurt so bad that I couldn't sleep much at night. And, there were days that it was so bad that I thought for sure I must be going into labor. At about 2:30 AM that Tuesday morning, the aches were so bad that I got out of bed, took Tylenol (the only stupid pain reliever allowed. lame.) and laid on the couch downstairs for a while. Finally, it got bad enough that I started crying. No good. As the hours passed, it just got worse- though it still wasn't contractions yet. Around 7:00 AM it started to get even worse, and I thought my water may have broken- but it wasn't much liquid, so I really wasn't sure. Then started the contractions. They didn't start off slow like they did when I was in labor with Kenzie. They hit like a ton of bricks. By 7:30, I was upstairs, bawling my eyes out, and waking Tyler up to say I think we should go the the hospital just in case. He got out of bed and got dressed. In the next few minutes, I went to the bathroom again, and it was confirmed. My water HAD broken. It was for sure time to go to the hospital. We were going to have a baby that day! :) It took us half an hour to get everything together. I had packed the hospital bags earlier, but we had to pack food for Kenzie, and get her out of bed, her diaper changed, and get her dressed.

We arrived at the hospital just after 8:00 AM. When we got there, they had Tyler check us in. I pre-registered online, but I guess it didn't go through properly so we had to give all of the info again (and I had to confirm it over the phone later.) By 8:30 AM, I was hooked up to my IV, and had antibiotics pumping through my system to make sure the baby & I wouldn't get Strep B, since I was at risk for it. They wanted me to have a full dose of this before delivering so they told me they wanted me to "stay pregnant" until at least 12:30, when they could administer another dose. Then they checked my progress- I was at about 4.5 cm dilated, and having very frequent/strong contractions. By 9:00 AM, the Anesthesiologist (a JERK!) came in to give my epidural. Seriously, this guy was a jerk. I didn't like him at all. He needs to learn to work with pregnant women. I'd been through the epidural before, so I knew pretty much what to expect. But, the contractions were pretty bad, so I was going to make him wait through one. And, I was a little uncomfortable because my mother in law was in the room (I promised she could be in the room for the birth, but for some reason, I was uncomfortable with this part. I felt too exposed. ha!). I asked her to step out. And as I did, the Anesthesiologist says, "If you aren't ready, I have 2 other women waiting for their epidurals, I can come back in 30 minutes." No. You asshole. Give me the drugs now! Then when he started to put the needle in, I jumped a little, so of course he is a jerk about that too. "Well, now I'll have to start all over." Fine. Start over. I don't care if you have to start over. Just stop talking to me, because you are making it all worse!! So, because I was pregnant and emotional, and in pain, I just bawled, and bawled, and bawled into a pillow. I think that guy shouldn't be allowed to work with pregnant women. I mean, yeah, it doesn't sound THAT bad- but when you are already an emotional wreck- it gets to ya.

After the epidural- still just waiting for Caleb to come.

 

Ok, so now that my epidural was in- I started feeling more like myself. There were a few people there waiting for Caleb to arrive. My mom had been there since a few minutes after we arrived, and Janet (my M.I.L.), and my Dad & step mom were there. They were the combined effort to take care of Kenzie while I was in labor. And, around that time, they brought Kenzie in to see Mama. (Now that I wasn't so upset.) She was so excited to meet her little brother. And she had most of her grandparents there- which was a lot of fun for her. (Though at one point, she proclaimed that she had "too many Grandmas!" haha.) We had also given Kenzie a "Big Sister" gift, which included: crayons, colored pencils, a notebook, some pjs, a Zhu Zhu pet, and a movie. I know it sounds like we went a little overboard, but that's mostly because we had to make sure she was entertained while me & Tyler stayed at the hospital with Caleb.

For the next few hours- we all visited in the room. Just talked, and played with Kenzie, etc. I waited, very patiently, for them to come check me again. I think they decided that they would not let me deliver Caleb before 12:30- because they didn't even check me again before then. They checked heart rates, and blood pressure, etc- but didn't check how much I was dilated. The closer it got to 12:00, the more I started to feel. I could feel when I was having contractions, and I could feel a lot of pressure down below. I knew that I was ready to push, but I was still just waiting for them to check me to confirm. FINALLY 12:15 rolled around, and they came in to start a new cycle of the antibiotics for me. That's when they finally checked me, and low & behold- I was at 10 cm, and 100% effaced...I could have told them that. That made me pretty nervous though, since I could feel everything- just a little muted. The doctor pushed the button to give me a boost on the epidural. But, they ended up giving me what they called a "standing epidural". Which they had me sit up to get. The same jerk of a doctor gave it to me- but he didn't make any stupid comments that time. Good thing, because I probably would have given him an earful at that point.

It was probably close to 12:35 before they had everything all set up, and ready for me to actually start pushing. I had Tyler, my mom, & Janet all in the room with me for the delivery. I think I pushed 2 times, through 1 contraction, before the head was visible. And the same again, before his head was out. With Kenzie, after her head was out- the rest was SO easy. Caleb made me work harder. Those little shoulders of his hurt like hell! But, I managed. After pushing through 3 contractions total- the boy was here! Tyler was going to cut the cord- but he wasn't doing well at that point. Mostly because I wasn't either. The doctor actually said that he was going to, once Caleb arrived. Tyler & I didn't hear why (even though the doc said why at that time) until later. He had the cord wrapped around his neck twice! I'm glad I didn't know right then, or I would have been SO worried!

 First Family picture

 Skin to skin "therapy"

  

Kenzie's first time meeting & holding her little brother. Yes- he was blue...

 My sleepy boy, after his first bath

Caleb Connor Pearce was born at 12:49 PM on August 30th. He weighed in at 8 pounds 8 ounces, and was 21 inches long. No wonder he hurt! He was almost 2 pounds heavier than Kenzie was (6 lbs. 9 oz). Poor little guy was delivered so fast that his face got totally bruised. So, of course the first few pictures of his life weren't really flattering- but he was still cute anyway!

We were in the hospital for the next 2 days- and had lots of visitors while we were there. Thanks to everyone that came to keep us company! And thanks for the gifts & cards that were given. We appreciate them.

Grandma Janet with Kenzie & Caleb

Proud daddy and his boy!

Caleb had a little jaundice when we left the hospital- but luckily it wasn't too bad. We just had to bring him in every morning to get his blood tested. It was gone after 2 tests (which because of the weekend, ended up being like 4 days or something like that.). Since then- he has already had pink eye. Poor guy. But- luckily, we managed to keep the rest of the family from getting it. (Amazing! considering that includes a very involved 2 year old!).

When we took Caleb in for his 2 week check up- he had grown quite a bit already. He was already 9 lbs 6 oz., and 23.25" long. When we went in for his eye, a week later- he was up to 10 lbs 3 oz. It's been yet another week- and I'm curious as to how much he has grown now! I'm sure it's close to another pound. He's a big boy!

We are so happy to have Caleb here with us! He is very loved. Even Kenzie loves him a lot. She asks, "Can I hold Caleb?" about 10 times a day. And of course, whenever it is possible, I let her. She also says, "Oh no! Caleb crying!" every time he makes a peep. She helps with binkies or bottles whenever she can. And, she refuses to take a nap, or go to bed unless he lays by her for a minute. And almost every time I try to take him with me in the other room, she says, "No Mama, don't take him away!". I only hope that this love doesn't turn to jealousy too quickly. I know at some point she'll struggle with letting him use all of her toys. But so far, she lovingly tries to give him everything. It's funny though. Kenzie is SO possessive over her new baby brother. She's said things like "No Mama, don't tickle Caleb. He's MY baby!" or "No Daddy, I'm holding the baby!" or "Caleb is my baby, huh?!" or even, "Where is our baby?" very frequently. It makes me laugh.

Tyler & my brother did a photo shoot when Caleb was about 2 weeks old. Tyler hasn't had a chance to process most of his pictures yet (he's taken photos for 2 weddings in the last 2 weeks, and had those pictures to process...). But I'll post a few of his that I processed, and a video that my brother put together for us.

A few of Tyler's pics from the photo shoot:

The video Mikey made:

Kenzie & Caleb today:

I hope you enjoyed my really long post! It may be the last one for a while...sorry!

Oh, and btw- I'm not excited to go back to work in 2 weeks. Time went by too fast, as always. I will miss Tyler & the kids tremendously! :( But at least I'll still see the kids every night. (I'll only really see Tyler on weekends though, which is really sad!)

Patience...

You know when you are SURE something will happen at a certain time, and it doesn't? Yeah....I've been feeling that for the last week. Seriously! I know this baby isn't due for another 2 weeks, but my patience has gone. It is nowhere to be found. I was fine up until a couple of weeks ago, when I was told I was already dilated to a 3. Now I keep thinking "any day now" which is true- but that day hasn't come yet! I went to the doctor today- and I'm at a 3.5- which is the same as last week. Maybe he will come tonight? Tomorrow? This week sometime? This weekend? Next week?! That's as far as I'll let it get- I'm too impatient to wait until my actual due date. I will be induced next week if Caleb hasn't arrived before then.

I am to the point that the impatience isn't just because I want to meet my little boy (though- that IS the majority of it!) But, I'm SO tired on a daily basis I can barely function. I'm up at least 3 times a night to pee. And, lately my body aches so bad that I have a hard time sleeping. Last night I was up at 3am with my low back and legs aching. I had to take Tylenol & go sit on the couch in order to fall back asleep. I also can't breathe most of the time if I'm laying down. So, between all of that going on- and it being insanely busy at work for the last couple of weeks- I'm done. I'm at my limit. I just want to see the face of my precious baby boy- and spend the next 6 weeks with him and the rest of my cute little family!

So- yes. I am impatient. But, don't worry- I do know that no matter what I have to go through to get Caleb here- he is worth it. Every sleepless night, before & after he is born. Every ache & pain that I am dealing with. Every ounce of pain that may come way way during labor/delivery. He is worth it. I can't wait to hold him, kiss him, snuggle him, and welcome him to our family.

Caleb- please join us soon! We love you already.

Almost here!

So, I'm aware that I have been a slacker blogger for a few months- but I'm pregnant, and working full time. That's my excuse and I'm stickin' to it.

Over the last few months, we've been working on Caleb's room. We tore out the carpet & drywall. We put new drywall up, painted, and put laminate flooring in- then we added some shelves and pictures. And voile!

We've done a little more since those pictures- but not enough to put the effort in for more pics.

Anyway- I'm 36 weeks preggo, and I went to the doctor yesterday. When he checked to see if I was dilated at all, he literally said "Holy Mackerel! Don't cough or sneeze!" Apparently, he was surprised that I was already dilated to a 3. I wasn't surprised- I was dilated to a 3 with Kenzie at this time too- and had her 2 weeks early. So, if Caleb follows in his sister's footsteps- he'll be here in a week and a half or so.

I'm so excited to meet my little boy! I can't wait to see what he looks like, and how Kenzie is with him. Kenzie is a very independent little girl, and wants to do everything herself, or help me with anything she can. I think she'll be a very good helper! She keeps telling Caleb to "Come out!" I keep telling her that he'll be here soon, but soon to a 2 year old is definitely different than soon to me.

We've also been asking Kenzie what she wants to be for Halloween. Her response used to always be "Pumpkin!" That was because she knew that there was always candy in her pumpkin. Lately, her ideas have gotten more creative. The other day I asked her what she wanted to be, and she said "I WANNA BE BUZZ!" then thought for a second and said "No, no, I wanna be a monkey!" That same night after she went to bed- I went in to cuddle her about 2 hours later (I missed her...). While I was cuddling her- she says in a VERY groggy voice "a doggy". I said, "what babe?", she said, " I wanna be a doggy. a doggy for my Halloween costume". Since then- she goes back to Buzz Lightyear a lot, but has also come up with ballerina, princess, leaf, heart, flower, rainbow. And the newest one on the list is an "ippy pippy pider!" (Translation: Isty bitsy spider). So I guess we'll have to take her shopping and see what we come up with. We'll let her choose I think.

You won't here from me for a while, but maybe at some point after Caleb is born- I'll post and update, and pictures.

'til next time...

We're having a ...

We got our big ultrasound done this morning, and found out, we are having a boy! :) He looks so cute already. And from the ultrasound pictures, it seems like he will look a bit like Kenzie. The slope of their noses look very similar to each other. (I compared his ultrasound to the one I had when I was pregnant with Kenzie. His Name will be Kaleb Connor Pearce (maybe not with that spelling, we're still working on the K's and C's for the name to decide on the final spelling.)

I was honestly really surprised when I found out I am having a boy. But, now that the shock as worn off, I'm totally excited! I know I have a while left before I meet him, and I have a lot left to do first too, but I just want him to be here! I'm feeling him more and more every day too. It's so strange, yet fun, to feel the gentle kicks and nudges from inside my belly. If Caleb is anywhere near as active as Kenzie was, it will only get more entertaining as time goes because I'll be able to watch my belly do "waves" at random times. I always thought that was funny when I was pregnant with Kenz.
Anyway, it's time for bed, but I wanted to share the news that we will now have not only the cutest little girl in my world, but also an adorable baby boy! :)

Patience

These last couple of weeks have been hard to keep my patience. We find out what we're having on the 18th (a week from Monday). But I don't want to wait anymore!! Last weekend we almost went to Fetal Fotos, but they were closed. I found out that when we get the ultrasound done, it won't get recorded. We'll just get a cd of still images. That is another reason I am tempted to go to Fetal Fotos, they'd give us a DVD of the whole ultrasound. That way we can share those moments with the family members that aren't able to be there! We decided that we can wait for that though. We'll push through our impatience, and wait until the 18th to find out who this cute baby is (Kaleb, or Lexi). Then, when I'm a little further along in my pregnancy then we can go to fetal fotos and get the ultrasound done. That way, it will show more detail, and we'll be able to see our baby again before "it" arrives.

We have a lot of things that we need to do once we find out what this cute baby will be.

If it's a boy:

1. We need to figure out what theme to do his room in.
2. Pick a paint color & paint the walls. (and of course decorate with whatever we decide)
3. Buy clothing, etc.

If it's a girl:

1. We have to choose a middle name! We know the first name, but we can't seem to come up with a suitable middle name for her.
2. We'll need to finish the room we've been working on and move Kenzie's new bedroom stuff in there to make room in Kenzie's current room for the new baby girl. We'll be using the same bedding, room decor as we did for Kenzie.
3. Choose paint for Kenzie's new room, and figure out wall decor, etc. We already bought new bedding- so we'd have to find something that went with that.

We have lots of things to do no matter which gender the baby is. We still need to finish drywalling, mudding & priming the room. (3 of 4 walls are drywalled, and 2 are mudded.) After we have decided what color to paint, etc (see above...), then we'll paint, and lay down the wood flooring that is currently residing in boxes in our family room.

Aside from the home projects- we still have to stock up on diapers, wipes, formula, etc. The less expenses we have when baby comes, the better!

On another note- I found out yesterday that my lead, at work, is quitting. And, I "applied" for his job. Basically that just means that I sent an email to the C.O.O., who happens to be my manager right now, and told him that I'm interested in the position. I am meeting with him on Monday, and I'm SUPER NERVOUS about it. I'm no good with interviews. Even when I know the person. So, wish me luck. I know I'd do a good job, and I think it would be more money, which would help!

Today was a good day with Kenzie (after I got off work of course.). She ate really well for me, which doesn't happen often. She had some chicken nuggets, bread, string cheese, mac & cheese, corn, pudding. Don't worry she didn't have a lot of everything, just a bite or 2, but she ate 4 1/2 chicken nuggets. If you know anything about my daughter's eating habits, you'd be impressed with tonight's dinner! I usually struggle to get her to open her mouth for ANYTHING! I kept her occupied while feeding her by playing catch with her. Kenzie came across one of the door knob things (preggo brain, sorry, can't think of the correct term...) and it was like a ball. So she'd toss it to me, and I'd toss it back. I think we did this from our chairs in the kitchen for 30 minutes or so. Then continued while sitting on the couch. When it was time to get her ready for bed- she sat on the potty for a while, and did very well. While she was there- we looked through her foam bath letters. She has learned quite a few! I'm amazed by how many she knows! She knows the following numbers & letters: A,B,C (mommy's letter, so she calls it)I,K,L,O, P,Q,R,S("s for snake," she says.),T,X,Y,1,2,5 & 8. I think that's pretty dang good for being just barely over 2 years old! She gets the other ones sometimes, but not every time.

Kenzie has turned into a little girl, not a baby! Over the last month, I've noticed a HUGE difference in her language skills. She now says almost anything you tell her to say. She'll say 3-4 word sentences, sometimes more. The other night, she threw her pajamas in the corner with her laundry and said, "jammies yucky. peed on them." And while she was home with her daddy the other morning, Abby tried to lick her and she said something like, "No, Bad doggy. GO AWAY. NO! Bad doggy!" Tyler works the swing shift now, which means that Kenzie goes to bed while he's at work. so we call him every night so he can be part of the bedtime routine even though he can't be here. So every night, the conversation goes something like this:

Tyler: Hi baby. How are you?
Kenzie: Hi Daddy.
Tyler: Are you getting ready for bed?
Kenzie: Bed.
Tyler: I love you baby.
Kenzie: Love you daddy. Miss you daddy.
Tyler: Miss you too. I hope you have a good night, and I'll see you in the morning.
Kenzie: Goodnight. Morning.
Then Kenzie precedes to give him about 10 kisses over the phone. It is so cute to see her interact with her daddy. Even if it's only over the phone. Every time my phone rings, she gets all excited and says "IT'S DADDY!!!". I"m so glad I have the 2 of them in my life. They make it so special! Can't wait for our 4th family member to join us in September! (or August, if all goes according to my plans...)

Sorry for the random, scattered update. I'm just sitting here, bored & tired, waiting for Tyler to get off of work. And, as always, this post ended up being a mile long....always happens. I can't help it!

Until next time...(which should be soon, since I won't be able to keep the gender to myself!!)

Just for fun

I was bored tonight so I decided to check a few wives tales to see what gender my baby will be. So far here is the consensus:

1. Pop off your wedding ring -- if you still can! -- and tie it to a string. Hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, a little guy's in your future. If it goes back and forth, you've got a girl. According to that it's a boy..

2. I took some stupid quiz on Babyzone.com- and it said it was probably a girl.

3. I added my age, and month of conception to a Chinese Lunar Calendar, and it says it's a boy.

4. I took another gender prediction quiz online- that one says boy.

5. Legend has it that the Mayans determined a baby's sex by looking at the mother's age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one's even and one's odd, it's a boy. 25 & 11 are my numbers- so girl.

6. If you're breaking out like crazy, blame it on your girl babe. The belief goes that girls steal their mother's beauty, hence, those annoying zits. Yeah, this one is girl, again! It's been bad.

7. Sick as a dog during the first trimester -- or still? Signs indicate you're having a girl. Little or no morning sickness points to a boy. I've been in between on this one- so no answer here.

So the total is:
3 for Girl
3 for Boy
& 1 undetermined.

Guess I'll have to wait for the ultrasound after all. I knew that anyway, but it was fun to do all of these little tests just to see what the internet thinks I'm having. lol.

Here is a list of one website thinks should be happening with each. I'll put notes by the ones I know/have been experiencing (sorry that some are a little more personal than you might care to know...)

It's a boy if:

* You didn't experience morning sickness in early pregnancy. SO-SO. ITS WORSE THAN WITH KENZIE. THAT'S FOR SURE!
* Your baby's heart rate is less than 140 beats per minute. WE HAVEN'T BEEN TO THE DOCTOR YET (FEB. 9TH.)
* You are carrying the extra weight out front. - SO FAR YES, BUT IT'S EARLY- SO IT'S HARD TO TELL.
* Your belly looks like a basketball. TOO SOON TO TELL
* Your areolas have darkened considerably.- YES.
* You are carrying low.- NOT YET
* You are craving salty or sour foods.- NOPE. I WANT THE SWEETS.
* You are craving protein -- meats and cheese. I ALWAYS WANT CHEESE- BUT THAT'S NORMAL FOR ME.
* Your feet are colder than they were before pregnancy. NO WAY, THEY ARE ALWAYS BURNING UP!
* The hair on your legs has grown faster during pregnancy.- I'M NOT SURE ABOUT FASTER, BUT ITS BEEN LONGER BECAUSE I'M TOO LAZY TO SHAVE...
* Your hands are very dry. A LITTLE. NOT TOO MUCH.
* Your pillow faces north when you sleep. I FACE NORTH- I'M NOT SURE ABOUT MY PILLOW.
* Dad-to-be is gaining weight right along with you. NOPE
* Pregnancy has you looking better than ever. HAHA I WISH.
* Your urine is bright yellow in color. NOPE
* Your nose is spreading. SPREADING? I DON'T KNOW, BUT I'VE BEEN STUFFY SINCE BASICALLY THE DAY I FOUND OUT I WAS PREGNANT.
* You hang your wedding ring over your belly and it moves in circles. YEP.
* You are having headaches. EVERY DAY!
* You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an even number. 25+12= 37. ODD NUMBER.


It's a girl if:

* You had morning sickness early in pregnancy. IT HASN'T BEEN TERRIBLE, BUT I'VE THROWN UP ALREADY WITH THIS ONE...
* Your baby's heart rate is at least 140 beats per minute. WE HAVEN'T BEEN TO THE DOCTOR YET.
* You are carrying the weight in your hips and rear. HAH YEAH, AND MY BELLY (FAT, NOT BABY)
* Your left breast is larger than your right breast. I THINK THEY ARE THE SAME SIZE, BUT WHAT DO I KNOW?!
* Your hair develops red highlights. UHHHH....MY HAIR IS ALWAYS RED, BUT I'VE NOTICED SOME IS BRIGHTER NOW THAN BEFORE.
* You are carrying high. TOO EARLY TO TELL
* Your belly looks like a watermelon.
* You are craving sweets. ALWAYS.
* You are craving fruit. NOT REALLY- JUST BANANA BREAD- WHICH DOESN'T REALLY COUNT...
* You crave orange juice. EWW...
* You don't look quite as good as normal during pregnancy. I'LL AGREE WITH THAT! TOO BAD.
* You are moodier than usual during pregnancy. UMMM....ASK TYLER. YEAH I HAVE BEEN...
* Your face breaks out more than usual. YEAH- I DON'T LIKE IT. IT'S ALSO HIT MY ARMS. LAME-O!
* You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread. I PRETTY MUCH AVOID THAT ANYWAY, BUT YES.
* Your breasts have really blossomed! UH YEAH! AND THEY HURT!
* Your pillow faces south when you sleep. NOPE
* Your urine is a dull yellow color. YEP
* You hang your wedding ring over your belly and it moves from side. IT GOES IN CIRCLES.
* You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an odd number. 25+12= 37. ODD NUMBER. :)

Anyway- just thought I'd share my findings. Hopefully I'll update again soon, but there are no guarantees...

Until next time.

Projects & much more!

Hello again! Sorry I've been MIA for a while....Here are lots of updates. Don't get bored... This is basically a small novel. (if you don't want to read it all, at least skip to the end...)

PROJECTS:
So about 3 weeks ago, (~2 weeks before Christmas) my Mom asked me if Tyler & I could host Christmas breakfast at our house this year. I was a little hesitant about it because our house was in shambles. There was a piano in the middle of the kitchen, and no carpet in the room attaching to it. And the carpet in the front room was still covered in dog pee- despite my best efforts cleaning it up. When I asked Tyler if he thought it would be ok to have the breakfast at our house- he came up with this crazy plan to remodel our whole upstairs before Christmas! WHAT?! As crazy as the idea was, I agreed. We started the next day. We tore out carpet, tile, a large archway, a built in entertainment center, etc. Then started painting. We chose red for the kitchen & family room (the kitchen was already red, but we chose a slightly different color of red), and a light brown for the living room. The red took 5 coats of paint- with doing 1 coat per night- it took almost a week! That was a little discouraging. But, when it was finally painted we started flooring that Friday night (1 week & 1 day before Christmas). By the end of that Saturday, we had the 2 connected rooms completely floored. The next day we moved all furniture from the living room back into the kitchen & family room, and started prepping the living room for paint. Luckily, that room only took 2 coats of color. We started the flooring in the hallway on Wednesday (only 3 days before Christmas!) and were lucky enough to finish the flooring including the main room by Thursday night. Friday, we spent all day rearranging furniture, and doing some of the finishing touches. It was a huge project, but we completely the majority of it before Christmas! We are AMAZING! The only parts that were unfinished by Christmas were 1. appliances, and 2. moldings & door frames (which we are completing this week, after a much needed break!), and 3. the fireplace. So, here are some "before" and after pictures. We always forget real before pictures, so I got some as we were working on it.

These are the "before" for the family room & kitchen:




Here are the "after" pics for the family room & kitchen:





Here is the "before" pic for the living room:



And the "After" (still needs pictures hung, etc):




CHRISTMAS:
On Christmas Eve we went to my family's Christmas party- with dinner, a pinata, and the Hokey Pokey. Yeah, I know- strange tradition, but we had fun anyway. Kenzie had fun dancing to the Hokey Pokey, and also liked hitting the pinata. She ALMOST broke it. Ok, that's a lie, but she did hit it!

On Christmas morning, we got up at about 7:30 or 8:00 and got Kenzie up to open presents. She got a barbie doll, a drawing station for crayons that sings when she draws on it, some toy horse figurines, a plush baseball, a recorder and a stocking with a chocolate orange and some "em ems" (as Kenzie says). We also bought her a whole new wardrobe but didn't put any of that haul under the tree because she had grown out of most everything else.
At around 9:30, everyone started showing up, we had a very nice breakfast that consisted of: Cinnamon rolls, french toast, bacon, sausage, orange juice, pumpkin eggnog, hashbrowns, etc. It was delicious- and the company was great! :) After breakfast we opened gifts from everyone. We all got a bunch of nice stuff. Kenzie's favorite being her brand new doll with bottles from Grandma.
After that- all of us "kids"(except Mikey, since he had to work), our spouses, and our kids went over to my Dad's house. We all visited for a while, again, opened presents. More great stuff. Kenzie got a BIKE! :) She loves it! She kept making us push her around his house. When we would stop she'd yell, "AGAIN!". She wore Grandpa out!
From there, Tyler, Kenzie & I went to my mother-in-law's house for a nice dinner with her and Tyler's brother's family. It was a lot of fun, and we were able to get a few pictures with all of us. Though, I'm not sure how well they turned out because Tyler's camera has been difficult, and we've been lazy.
After dinner at Janet's, Tyler's brother's family came over to our house to see the progress that we had made. We hung out for a half hour or so. When they left, we relaxed for the rest of the night. Tyler was still checking out his new Playstation 3- his Christmas present from me.

NEW YEARS EVE:
Tyler & I decided not to go out on New Years Eve. We were planning to go to a friends party, but decided at the last second that we didn't feel like going. Instead, we had my brother, Mikey, and sister-in-law, Alanna over. We just hung out for a while, and when Kenzie went to bed we decided to play some Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. It was very entertaining! We laughed because we didn't look at the clock until 12:01 AM, then just said "happy new year" and went on playing.

AN ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
I'm PREGNANT! Kenzie is going to be a big sister! So, last night, when we got home from my nephew's first birthday party, I decided to take a test. I didn't really think I was pregnant, but because I had one- I decided to test just for fun. It was POSITIVE! I couldn't believe it! I took a minute or so, then went into the kitchen where Tyler was and said "We have a new project to start". He had a funny look on his face for a second, so I showed him the test, and said- "the new baby's room". We were both so excited- so of course, we called our families within a few minutes of finding out. That's just our way. I don't know how people can keep it a secret for so long! Kudos to you! it just doesn't work for me. Anyway, I couldn't be more excited for this new baby! From my calculations, I should be due around September 6th (my Mom says the 4th, because that's her birthday).

The line on the left is very light, but I SWEAR, it's there!!


I think that's enough of a novel for you for now. Maybe I'll update again soon. Then again, maybe not. Pictures of Christmas, etc to come still. Trying to figure out Tyler's camera.