Recapping the Summer and ready for Fall and Football

So many things have been going on with us this summer! I will sum most of them up so anyone who still might be following our blog can keep up with us. Monkey (Khloe) celebrate her 2nd birthday on April 4th. It was a miserably rainy day and so our outdoor party quickly moved indoors into our little house....may be rethinking bigger parties in the future...hehe. Around that same time Nate finished his Master's degree in Administration. We are so proud of him for working so hard for his family and such an achievement at such a young age. In June we made our annual trip to Panama City Beach for vacation. Nate and I (and the whole family for that matter) were super excited to see her at the beach. She has gone for 3 years in a row (yes she was 3 months old her first time down...Mommy and Daddy love our beach time!) and last year she wasn't even walking on her own. Well let me tell you all....she LOVED IT! She even took her naps under a tent on some blankets. She wasn't too fond of the hot sand, but once the sun set a little we couldn't keep her out of it. She loved the little kiddie land and she shook her bootie up on the pool deck to the music and even managed to score us a CD for being such a good dancer! On to July....Nana treated us to a night in St. Louis during the air show and fireworks. We had never been and obviously neither had Khloe. Once again, our fearless daughter loved it all. She sat with us and drank her lemon shake-up and clapped each time a firework went off. Our room was amazing and we could have totally stayed in it for the show, but with Khloe she isn't satisfied watching and not being right in the mix of it all. She took her first carriage ride as well and she is now telling anyone who will listen that she is asking Santa for a horse this year (Good luck pulling that one off Santa!) Shortly after, near the end of July we had Nate's sister and her family come home. They had not seen Khloe in about a year! My were they in for a treat considering Khloe talked their legs off. She finally got to have some girl time with her cousins Addie and Ashlyn who she immediately took up with. We should see them again around Christmas time. After that there was a bunch of swimming and playing and swinging and bubbles for the rest of the summer. This summer marked a big milestone in the fact that Khloe decided she only needs swimmies to swim. She is getting to be such a big girl and growing up waaaaay too fast for mine and Nate's liking! That brings us up to right now and football season is upon us. Daddy headed back to school this week and Khloe and I both miss him terribly. Our summers are jammed packed to do as much as we possibly can (and afford :-)) Here is a picture of our little diva. We took her shopping to get some new fall clothes and this is one of her favorite outfits. I swear as soon as she spotted the boots she wanted them. So I, of course, found some bling skinny jeans for her to wear. Such a big girl in these!

This summer we also found a great photographer to capture how our little girl is growing up so fast. She has monthly specials that are themed around something pertaining to the time of year and a mini session is $25! With a price like that who could pass up memories like this one. August was themed around football....HELLO...perfect!!! Here we are and Kristin came to us since Nate is a coach for Marion. She did an amazing job and these are just a few with more to come in a few weeks. She titled it Wildcat Family and I totally love it! This was supposed to be Daddy/Daughter Coach/Cheerleader pics, but she threw me in for one or two. Thanks girl!

And here is Kristin's work again. For May she offered Mommy and Me pictures and Nate wanted me to have them. After trying so hard and for 2 years I have to say I finally got back down to pre-pregnancy weight with a total weight loss of 100 lbs!!!!! Yep I had a lot of baby left to lose! hehe Anywho, I rarely took pictures with Khloe during her first year because I just wasn't happy with how I looked...so silly I know, but I had post partum and that was one of the things that set me off....lol So Daddy treated me to this and this is still one of many that turned out amazing! Mommy and her little angel!!!

So that pretty much sums up the last couple of months. I am going to try and make this a priority and keep up with what is going on for family and friends to follow. We are very excited to see what the year has in store for us and trust that God will do great things in our lives. We can't wait to make more memories with our beautiful daughter that will last a lifetime!

Time has Flown by....

Well I def haven't been on here in a loooooong while. There is way too much to catch up on so here is the short recap. Khloe is now 2!!! Holy cow! Where has the time gone? There are so many wonderful things that have happend in our lives and way too much to comment on at this point. So for now I will just say that I am recommiting to keeping up with this blog and all the wonderful pictures and stories that come with it. Here is our picture at the beach recently.

It Won't Be Like This for Long........

I don't know how many of you have heard of the song by Darius Rucker that is the title to this post. It came out during the last few months of my pregnancy and it kinda became the theme song for Khloe. Khloe is going to be 4 weeks old on Saturday and last night as I was rocking her to sleep I had some time to reflect on the past month. I firmly believe that God has given me an angel. I think back on life before she came and wonder why I was even happy before. I didn't even know what was missing from my life until the second I saw her. While there have definitely been some trying times; I cannot even express how much I love her and love being a mother. I feel like it is what I was meant to do. I want her to stay this way forever. I don't want my baby to ever grow up. I could just sit here and cry thinking about her getting older and someday leaving me. While I don't want her to get another second older - I am so excited for what is to come down the road. Hearing her talk, watching her smile, and holding her little hand. I can truly look back and labor and actually having her was the most life changing experience ever. If nothing else, I just want her to always be happy and healthy. God has blessed Nate and I with the best gift ever imaginable. We just are so grateful that she is healthy and thriving. Sleepless nights and nightime feeding don't bother me at all. I just sit up and look into the eyes of my beautiful daughter and think that I am the luckiest girl in the world. I have a little angel that I get to be with every single day. I would watch my friends with their kids and see the intense love and pride they have and I understand that now. How did I get so lucky to have gotten such a wonderful gift. Anyways, I know to some reading this it might be a little boring, but I needed to get this out. Nate and I are writing letters to Khloe to put in her baby book. We are hoping to give it to her when she turns 18. Nothing real dramatic and embarrassing, just our thoughts, hopes, and dreams for her. We wanted to do this while it was still fresh in our minds. With Mother's day approaching I would just like to wish that every mom have the best day ever. I am looking forward to spending the entire day remembering how lucky I am. Every day with her is a blessing.
Here is little Miss Thing in another one of her tu tu's. She is all about the fufu and bling...I think at least....Mommy is of course.

Here is Mommy and Khloe during her manicures. Mommy is terrified to cut her nails so we file them once a week. It is our little spa time together. Mommy can't wait until we can start painting her nails.

Khloe is finally here !!

Well let see how it all started....we had our dr. apt on Thursday and my blood pressure was a little high. They sent me over to the hospital to be monitored and then sent me home with an appointment for the next day. We went to the apt. the next day and they said that there was no change and scheduled an induction for Wednesday the 8th. Drove all the way back home and sat down to watch my favorite soap operas from the day and felt something.....my water had broke. They just told me that Khloe wasn't anywhere close to being ready to come....yeah right! Started the drive back over and started having contractions 6 minutes apart. Got to the hospital and was admited but they didn't think that my water had broken. Found out it was a high water break and that my bag of water had not broken yet. Made it to my epidural (which had to be given to me twice) and I was in Heaven. Eating popsicles and kidding around and laughing with everyone. Suddenly they said it was go time and that I could start pushing if I wanted to. I closed my eyes and pushed for 15 minutes and my little angel arrived. I was shocked at myself for not pushing very long at all. Dr. fixed me all up and I got to hear everyone's response to seeing her for the first time. It was the most awesome thing that I have ever experienced. I looked up and saw Nate hugging his mom and sobbing tears of joy. I just took it all in....what I could becuase of the epidural. Seeing Nate and how proud he was was one of the best parts of my labor.

Here is Mommy and Daddy shortly after Khloe's arrival. We finally got to our post-partum room around 5:30 a.m. and they brought her in to lay with us a little. This was one of the most precious moments of our entire life. You can really see how much that Khloe looks like Daddy.

Here is Khloe shortly after her arrival. She looks like Daddy when she is sleeping and Mommy when she has her big, beautiful eyes open. She has the longest eyelashes that we have ever seen on a little baby. She is just beautiful.

Mommy and Daddy holding Khloe after her picture was taken.....she is so adorable!!!! She looks like the Chakita Banana lady

Doctor's Appointment Update

Well Nate and I went to the doctor on Monday and there have been a few changes. The doctor said that I am now dialated to a 1 and that I had thinned out a little more. She said that they baby had dropped a lot and that she could feel the head pretty quick when she started checking me. Holy Cow! Here is some funny news...I asked her if there was a way to estimate the size of Khloe. Her response to me was that I was going to have a pretty good size baby..as she laughed. She said actually at the next apt. Dr. Tsung may talk to us about possilby scheduling another ultrasound to check the baby and possibly inducing me early. However, she did throw in that she is positive that I will not make it till my due date and while checking me she said she still thinks that the baby will fit. What the heck does that mean?! I just stared at my husband and his big, round head. I blame him for this you know. Anywho, only gained a pound which is great. We go again next Wednesday and I will post and let you all know then what he says. We are getting closer to seeing Baby Khloe!!!!!!!

Mommy and Khloe at 34 weeks !

This picture is a little out of order, but here I am at 34 weeks. This would have been the Thursday before Spring Break. Still feeling okay. I have moments of extreme energy followed by moments of extreme fatigue. I am trying to get rest, but feel like I have so much to do at home. Five days after this picture was taken we had a dr. apt. Ready for this......I AM DIALATED !!! It is only a fingertip, but the process has begun!!!! I am 25% ephased and dr. said the baby has definately dropped. She is still head down and probably won't change now. YEAH ! I almost got off the table and danced-well I did a little which of course made my husband laugh considering I had just gotten checked--if you know what I mean! We will go again next Monday the 16th and I will be checked again for more progress. We are so excited that we are getting closer to meeting our little angel that we have been waiting for so long to see. Mommy is ready to get started on getting her body back-if that is at all possible at this point! hehe The dr. did say that if for any reason labor started they wouldn't stop it because I am close enough to full term which is 37 weeks. Holy Cow - it is really seeming real now. Stay tuned for next week and we will let you know the progress.

Baby Preparation / Spring Break 2009

Three days of major cleaning and organizing equals fat, swollen piggies. This is how my spring break started out. They might not look too bad on here, but let me reassure you that they were probably just as big as the day I got the tattoos on my feet. The dr. has told me that this is just water weight and there is nothing to be done about it. I have heard that this should possibly resolve itself quickly after delivery (well not super quickly, but still quickly) I am hoping this to be true because I feel like a tick that is getting ready to pop open. We are officially 4 1/2 weeks until due date and Nate and I are about as ready as we know to be. The room is done, the bassinet/pack n play is ready, the car seat is in, the car has been cleaned, the mounds of laundry are done, and our bags are packed and ready in the car. Now all we need is for our precious angel to arrive and I am ready for it. I think the miserableness of pregnancy is God's way of preparing you for birth. Two months ago I would have never said that I was ready for the pain of delivery,,but believe you me-I AM!

I know many people have been asking to see the finished product of Khloe's room....so here it is! We have finally gotten all the furniture, pictures, and everything else put together and set up. Thanks to Daddy for spending almost his entire Spring Break doing last minute honey do's. Of course, those of you who know me, know that it didn't just end there. Now I have been extreme nesting and think that I might have a yard sale while on maternity leave to get rid of a lot of the crap that we don't need. Oy!

Here is the best picture of Baby Khloe's room. This is from the doorway looking in. There was so much more room before we put all the furniture in, but it is quaint and cozy and just wainting for her to come home to it.

Here is Khloe's changer with all of her empty picture frames just waiting to be filled with her beautiful smile.