MY BABY

 Whatever happened???? WHEN did he become a high school student??



Football update: Jamin is playing with TLC Academy this year. We've discovered football is a serious business down here. I've not been able to go to any games as I've been busy having a baby and being on bed rest....but Mike and the family have faithfully attended.

So far the Eagles have played two games. They won the first one 51- 24 and the second game 91-54. Jamin has been the kicker and has stopped several touch downs. So far he has not been seriously injured and I keep praying that he survives the season. I don't make a good Texas Football Mom.

Alexander's Charming Way

I know that Alex (Zander) has found a special place in many's hearts and so I'll share the answer to the question that all keep asking me "how is Alex handling a new baby"?

Alex is smitten: pure and simple. This little girl has wrapped her big brother around her finger and it took less than a day to accomplish.

Alex's big deal lately is NAMES. One day he told us all "I'm not Alex". "I'm Zander". That lasted a few days. I think he was tired of hearing "Alllllleeeexxx" and thought being Zander would take care of the problem. He discovered that "ZZZZAAAAANNNNDDDERRR" had the same results as "ALEXXXX". Then he began to tell us he was not Alex or Zander "I am ALEXANDER".....we never know who the little guy is. This fascination with names has carried over into reading - where he stops us to point to characters and ask us their name; into every day life where he finally calls Breanne BREANNE instead of Krista;and he's even corrected us. In a silly moment I called Mike a "stud muffin" and Alex looked alarmed and quickly said, "Mom - that's not a Stewed Muffin - that's MIKE". :::snort:::


Alex's new love is computer games. He plays them by the hours. We have to watch his time as he gets to involved. We have no idea HOW but he will get up in the a.m, boot up the computer, ENTER THE PASSWORD, insert the cabella hunting game and go bear or moose hunting. It would appear that this love of hunting is warring with his responsibility and love of Stacia. He is very attentive. Runs when she peeps and lets us know that WE need to run as well. I was watching one day when Stacia began to whimper....yep...here came our streak of energy....direct from hunting bears....he ran up to Stacia, got down in her face and said, "Sorry STECIA.....I'm BIZZZY".

We still haven't convinced him that he needs to be potty trained...but it will come.

STACIA'S FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY

The kids made a ladybug cake...never knowing Rose would call Staica "ladybug" immediately after her birth...a nickname in the making....
Who would have guessed Jared would one day be our "middle child"?
Jamin & Stacia
Josiah notices she's a bit more wobbly than a football.

Cool cars - how did she know?

It's our family tradition to welcome each new baby with a birthday party at the hospital. The kids spend the day while I'm in labor baking a cake and such. They then bring the cake, the sparkling cider and THEMSELVES to meet the new baby and celebrate the very first birthday. We are create quite a stir but we've never had a nurse complain. The kids are always so cute filing cautiously into the room....we sing happy birthday, we enjoy the juice and cake, the kids meet the new little one and THEN....our babies are so very smart!!!! They always have the perfect gift to give each of their older siblings at the party.

Above are pictures from Stacia's birthday party! She gave the girls silver picture frames to fill with a picture of her and take with them. She gave Josiah and Jamin gift cards to the movie theater; Jared a computer game where he gets to create an amusement park and then watch how much money he can make; Arielle received a REAL silver charm bracelet complete with BIG SISTER charm; and Nolan and Alex each got a radio control car. She also gave us a family gift of a movie night to watch Narnia when it comes out. What a very thoughtful girl. Oh yes.....and a very special gift for Mike and I but I'll share that along with pictures in the next day or so.

STACIA'S FIRST TWO WEEKS AT HOME

Mike with the younger set

3 days old



Alex, Arielle & Nolan watch over Stacia

Krista combines her two favorite pastimes....reading a Nero Wolfe mystery and holding Stacia.

I KNOW you hear this all the time but Stacia has been smiling since minutes after she was born....here she is at 2 weeks. They are hard to catch.

I'm not so sure about THIS!!!!

Shew - survived the dreaded bath

Arielle LOVES to be a big sister (Stacia - 2 1/2 wks)

Stacia's Birth Story

There are many things I could begin with...photos of our move, stories of moving in a new home, deer sightings, trips to visit friends and more....but many are asking for pictures and details of Anastacia's birth...so here you go....

The picture to the left....though not great...will give you the low down...16 August at 5 a.m. and I'm very ready to have a baby. We head to the hospital. Shortly after 6 a.m. they begin an iv of pitocin. Dr. Adams was due in to break my water at 9 a.m. She came in and was told they were ready to give me an Epidural and so she went across the street to her practice and I got an Epidural. This prolonged labor by many hours as she was not able to get back to the hospital until shortly after noon to break my water. Of course, who cares if labor is prolonged when you have an Epidural. After 7 au natural labors Mike and I spent the hours laughing, chatting, catching up on chapel news and discussing how strange it was not to be breathing, giving back rubs etc. Dr. Adams came back at 12:15 to break my water. She apologized for the wait but said she wanted to be sure I had the Epidural as she was convinced that when they broke my water things would go fast. They did. At one point Rose, the labor nurse, decided to do a check or some such thing and I heard her say something that sounded alarmingly like a curse. She said, "Your complete" and went to get Dr. Adams back to the room. By the time Dr. Adams arrived the contraction was over and evidently Stacia had moved back up the birth canal. Dr. Adams said (in a voice that made clear she expected this to take a bit longer), "well why don't you go ahead and push through the next contraction and we'll see what happens".

The next contraction began, I pushed, Dr. Adams said "Oh my," as Mike and Rose began to laugh. I asked if I'd done something wrong and was told that I'd delivered a baby girl. One push and Stacia was born....if we do this again it may take a hiccup!

Stacia - minutes after birth

It didn't take long to see that Stacia doesn't have Downs and has a "perfectly, beautiful" heart. She'll have a renal ultrasound in a month to be "completely sure" her kidneys are fine. A highlight of this birth experience is that Krista spent both nights in the hospital with Stacia and I. I was a bit nervous about the cockroaches I saw in the shower....and they do all rooming in and I was a bit tipsy that first night. The second night we just watched chick flicks and ate chocolate. Ah girls night out.

I have tons of pictures to add here but I can't seem to get them to work right with the text. I think I'll go try another one with just photos....oy vey!

Testing....Testing

This Labor Day we aren't doing a lot of typical family fun things....hopefully this is the last day of my bed rest and we can enjoy the rest of the "summer". There is talk of Mike and the kids going to the lake or finishing the big flag football game that they began last night. Stacia and I will stay home and enjoy reading the latest "Hannah Swenson" mystery....at least bed rest has been good for catching up on reading.

I'll probably come back on and play with this while they are gone....try to get some recent pictures of Stacia up and out.

The picture to the right is of our family in front of Mt Denali - obviously, not this Labor Day. Though TX is wonderful, we've not seen this type of scenry down here yet.