Happy Thanksgiving

Here are some pictures from our visit to Clay Center for Thanksgiving. Once again we flew into Manhattan, and I think our days of driving 9 hours are behind us. Holden enjoyed his first Thanksgiving and had fun playing with his cousins. Riley was a real sport and helped Holden get around the house while Steve and I helped Sally with the meals. Clayton and him had quite the conversation on the last day, they were there. I don't know what was said, but they seemed to enjoy their time together. Holden had a battle of wills with his 2 1/2 cousin Shelby and almost lost a finger as he tried to take her necklace.

(<---The before picture , notice the red necklace......)

I predict we will have more of these occurances in the future.

Holden met Santa as he flew in on a Cessna airplane on a remote location. Later that evening we went and saw the lights which made Holden so happy he fell asleep! Holden received some pre-Christmas presents, including his first K-State hat from Aunt Connie. We figured since he was trying on hats, he should try one of G-pa Bob's derby hats. I think he looks rather fierce but you can judge for yourself.

On the last day Aunt Connie decided to introduce Holden to the piano and he seems to have some natural talent.

Finally, we returned home to Dallas, where Holden could resume his normal day-to-day activities, like eating his mom's cellphone on the rug.

Halloween

Tonight, as I watched the Biggest Loser I finished Holden's first Halloween costume. Its also the first thing I've ever sewn/made by hand. I actually was kind of fun and didn't take that long... I'm thinking I might like this sewing thing. My mom helped a lot, she helped me with the bobbin and all that jazz, and honestly in the beginning I didn't think I'd make it through. I thought I'd chuck the whole idea and just go buy something. Steve likes it so much he thinks we'll put Holden in it all the time. I'm thinking Thanksgiving would be a good time to test this theory, see what happens when I stroll through airport security with my little monkey.

Besides modeling mommie's latest fad, Holden is doing really well in his swimming lessons. He also is cruising right along and has figured out how to sit down or as we call it "go boom."


I love this picture, he looks like an actual monkey clinging to his G-ma Mary.

Happy Trails

We just landed in Dallas a few hours ago after a great trip to Clay Center, Kansas. We traveled to Steve's home town to: a.) celebrate the Stalder's Wedding Anniversary b.) attend the Heilman Reunion and c.) get the heck out of Dodge for a few days.

It was Holden's first time on an airplane and as usual...he was great. He was not "that baby" that cried, threw a temper tantrum and caused everyone to consider mandatory sterilization. Nope, when he wasn't sleeping he was disarming everyone with his charm. It wasn't until the descent that he broke his happy disposition. After hanging with Grandma Sally and Bob we headed off to Wakefield to see the Craigs. Although it was a short visit, its always fun visiting with Brent and Erica and as an added benefit, we met the latest addition of the Foster family and what a cutie little Jack is.

Saturday was a complete whirlwind, we started at the Tasty Pastry, followed by hanging out with all the cousins, then Steve treated us all to his famous salmon cakes and spicy aoli sauce.
Later, we all went to Josh Macy's house and attemped to take a family picture, we will just have to wait and see how that turned out.

Finally it was time to celebrate Ernie and Luann's 50th wedding anniversary and let me tell you, they know how to throw a party. We caught up with all the Stalders and I found out , someone other than Steve follows our blog. (Hey Kerri!) Kim Shannon also decided that since her attempts to take me "Snipe" hunting have so far, been unsuccessful, she's going to get Holden to "Dysentery" Hill when he's old enough. I think its a great idea....

Finally Sunday we went to the Heilman Reunion, and had a blast meeting all the Heilmans. At the eleventh hour, The Heigele's stopped by and brought LC. Holden really seemed taken with LC.

Sometimes when we visit, I could almost move there, 'cause the people are so nice and comforting, like homemade stew or Christmas Eve. Oh well , its Monday and we are home in our small condo, surrounded by our dogs, and the sounds of the city. Until Thanksgiving, when we make the trek to Kansas again...toodles

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Milestones

This started last week and has been recorded for posterity and bragging rights!

Holden has some carrots and apples

Holden is having a lot of firsts these days. His first tooth finally broke through this week and he had his first serving of non-formula food. I think the video speaks for itself. I also think following my physician's advice and waiting until he's 6 months old helped too.

Enjoy the video!

Happy Labor Day

This past weekend we took a short trip to San Antonio to visit family. Sunday night Holden got to play with his cousins, Raydon and Thadeus . It was fun until Holden leaned over and took the pacifier out of his horror struck cousin's mouth. The picture above is a re-enactment but Thad learned to take his pac-y out of his mouth before Holden could strike.

Yeah...kids are funny like that....

Further posts as events warrant.

Latest Check Up

Holden may be eligible for the NBA draft according to those crazy nomograms but Dr. F put the kaibash on solid foods for another 2 months!!! Yep, the good doc says that our healthy growing boy doesn't need no stinking cereal, he's doing fine on the formula. Oh how I wish I had stock in Similac, but I'll save that for another post. He's 17 1/2 lbs and 28" long, and as the good physician says "one healthy happy baby."

Water Baby

Against manufacturer's wishes we put Holden in a kiddie pool (recommended 1 y+)-- and he loved it! I can't wait until he's 6 months so we can get in the big pool and I don't have to worry about him drowning. Even though I am licensed to revive anyone, I prefer saving strangers...go figure. Happy Summer!

Road Trip!

This past weekend we took Holden to Kansas to meet his cousins and see his grandparents. He only fussed a tad and slept most of the 8 hour trip, much like his father and I do when we make the long trek to Steve's hometown. Friday we were fed like royalty as Sally and Bob grilled salmon and treated us to some good beer. Saturday we introduced Holden to the Tasty Pastry, where Holden met a 94 year old man, celebrating his birthday. After enjoying the local delicacies we returned home to await the arrival of the cousins!! Steve and I were very excited to get a peek at Clayton who was born 10 days before Holden. As you can see from the photo the boys hit it off. Holden who may possibly be an only child was very generous and shared his favorite toy at the moment, his surfboard. Holden also met Riley who held him, and Shelby who "borrowed" some of his toys. It was also great to see Uncle Bryan, Aunt Kris and Aunt Connie. We had a lot of fun comparing milestones and seeing all the kids play. We also squeezed in a visit to Steve's friends The Craigs. Holden was so comfortable around Erica that he fell asleep , after drooling just a bit on her shirt.

Next weekend we hit the road again, this time in our brand new Crossover/station wagon/SUV/not minivan Freestyle, we purchased from Grandpa Bob. Its very nice and has 3 row seating for when our furry children join us on our travels. So next stop San Antonio, and hopefully Holden will travel as well as he did this past weekend. He will be reunited with his Great Grandmother, whom he met a few weeks ago.

The We is now Three!

It's March 20th, we are at my 39th week check up with my doctor, well not my doctor but the fill in for my doctor because my doctor just gave birth a few weeks ago. I digress..... so they tell me that Holden is looking rather large and that it could be difficult to deliver "naturally." After a few moments of well we could do this, we could schedule this .... somewhere in all this , the idea of a cesarean delivery is mentioned. According to Steve, I literally jump at the offer to have the baby today, March 20th at 4:00 pm. So we leave the office and I go home, realizing that tomorrow I will no longer be pregnant, and that I can't eat anything for the next 4 hours. We return to the hospital 4 hours later, and I'm in the freakout stage. Everyone in the waiting room is talking too loudly and too cavalierly for my liking. I'm ready to get to my room and start the process. What happened next was such a whirlwind, I'll try to put it down as best I can. 1.) Despite my wonderful blood pressure and blood flow, no one can get an IV started on me. 2.) apparently the fact that I got up and ate at 5:00 am this morning pushes me to the head of the line of selfish women who also want to have their babies delivered the easy way... i.e. we were supposed to go last, but those women ate later in the day 3.) I get wheeled into the OR and I meet my anesthesiologist, the man who will put the "spinal block" in my back. I meet a nurse or tech Tina, she holds me, while this man threads a catheter in my back to make the process as painless as possible. The epidural process was not painless and was like having a root canal done and it hurt like the Devil. Plus I'm totally exposed, for all to see, thankfully Steve is still waiting in the recovery room, he hasn't joined us yet. So after the spinal block goes in they have to lay me down STAT, this is where I'm completely numb and feeling rather claustrophobic and scared as all hell. I can't feel anything and everyone is asking if I'm ok, because I am very quiet. I'm in healthcare, I know I can regulate or control my anxiety levels with breathing but I'm freaking out!

My doctor arrives and there seems to be something wrong, the 2nd doctor is still performing a delivery and may not make it. But we have to push on there are 2 other women waiting for their c-sections, this must be done now....our window is closing...and did I mention I can't feel my legs. The second doctor rushes in and all systems are go. Also Steve enters the room and I hear someone yell at him, PUT ON A MASK, he finally joins me and I feel so much better but still with the freaking out thing going on. I'm so sedated that my right eye won't stay open. YES I'M FINE LADY, stop asking me, I don't like to lie but if you keep asking me I'm going to keep repeating I AM FINE.

I feel very little but my hearing is 100% so I hear "oh wow, he's way up there, this would have been a 30 hour labor only to have a c-section." So I look at Steve, "is he out?" Then I hear the loudest cry, I hear our son. He screams for an eternity and I forget my numbness, all my medical questions go out the window, I just want to see him. They bring around what looks like a baby with a crochety old man's face. After they clean him up, they bring him around again, still screaming until I say "Hi Holden" and then he's quiet.

And THAT Holden, is your birthday story........

This is Holden the first night in the house, all wide awake and non-fussy. He saves all the craziness for when I take care of him--with his father he is all fun and games.

March 1, 2008
This blog is great! I love all the entries Tina has shared. With my first blog entry there are so many things I could share… Men's Golf Shower, the Baby Furniture Woes and QA, Mary coming to Dallas to help when Holden, Tina making this all look easy, etc.
I have to start by saying Tina has really taken each change and development of the pregnancy with great optimism and acceptance. Obviously, I'm asked many times how she is doing, and my response has been carefully reduced to the following, Tina is doing well however, she has a high tolerance for pain. I really don't know if she has had a fortunate pregnancy or the later. However, if you know Tina, you know her spirit and what better elixir is there than that!
The support we have received from friends and family has been amazing. The baby showers have been such a supportive experience. Everyone's generosity has been overwhelming. I love the green baby shower theme, the hand-my-downs are great and kid tested. As well your calls and notes of encouragement and well wishes in passing are very much appreciated.
I've picked up the trade of baby furniture assembly. It has been a difficult education. The running stroller, for example, was assembled in some what short order; however, that was only the first half of the job. The second was the QA (Quality and Assurance), which I had to decide if putting a stuffed animal in the stroller would be appropriate for a short run through the neighborhood... Tina wonders what the neighbors are saying… Then there was the baby crib that was assembled three times before the kick plate to lower the sides was assembled correctly. Yes, the whole thing had to be unassembled each time. It is the great mystery revealed that the baby furniture assembly trade is one of precision and blind faith, as the end product is not revealed until the final step is completed correctly.

Looking forward to posting about Holden's arrival!

Actually February brings showers too.....

This morning I found myself surrounded by so many gift bags I thought it was Christmas at the White House. The craziness actually started a few weeks ago when my co-workers threw me a shower. They brought cake and ice cream and gave me a basket full of goodies. Then it continued on this past Wednesday.

Steve's coworkers surprised us with even more items from our registry and some good advice. Like, if its cold put some socks on your baby...apparently Dallasites are notorious for forgetting their babies' socks and hats in our tempermental weather. We also played games and found out that none of us are smarter than a fifth grader when it comes to our nursery rhymes. I especially enjoyed myself because I had only heard about his co-workers but had only met a few of them before that day.

Friday at work I was surprised again when the RT department all pitched in for a food spread that was out of this world. I was treated to a homemade cake from my friend Karri, Cutlets by Mini which are an Indian traditional food that is more like a tuna fish cake and Chicken Briani another traditional Indian food by my friend Sheela. They also gave me some towels and a BOPPY! This is a half donut pillow that can hold Holden while I change or help frees up my hands.

Continuing on... yesterday my girlfriends Caroline and Carrie went all out and had my friends and family over for THE Shower. I had all my friends from 10 years ago to my newer friends-- gather to help me celebrate the impending birth of my son. Steve and the fellas decided to leave all this fuss to the ladies and went for a couple rounds of golf. It made no difference to me, there was so much fun to be had and I didn't have to share. We had cupcakes, pizza, and lots of nice nibblies. This morning I had a huge gift hangover.... before I could get to the task of putting away all of my gifts, I had to say goodbye to my mom and aunt who came all the way up from San Antonio to help out my friends and to celebrate with us. You can see from the pictures how many gifts we received and how generous all my friends and family are! Wish me luck, I have my last shower this coming weekend with my friends and former co-workers from Doctors Hospital.

6 Days of Steve

Steve's birthday is this Friday and I decided that just one day of celebrating was not nearly enough. Like most of my good ideas it came to be a little bit late, so instead of ending the 6 days on his actual birthday, this will end the day after his birthday.
Monday Steve had chicken w/ a wine roux sauce, butternut squash risotto and asparagus w/ hollandaise sauce.
Tuesday, I bought salmon stuffed w/ blue crab and baked that for 20 minutes , along side some seared scallops and a salad with citrus vinegrette and french bread crustini.
Wed, Steve has asked to cook his favorite chicken pesto w/ tortellini , mushrooms and sun-drid tomatoes. I will also serve garlic bread and a salad w/ basalmic vinegar.
Thursday we are going out to Mia's a Mexican Restaurant 2 blocks away with our condo neighbors which should be a good time, if not a complaint session about the lousy managment company and our horrible neighbor.
Friday HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE--I am cooking Chilean Sea Bass and some crab cluster legs w/ Steve's favorite butter sauce.
Saturday rounds out the 6th day and we are going out to Cuba Libre with 7 of our closest friends or the friends who RSVP'd.
That rounds out the plan to commemorate the wonderfullness of Steve, 6 days, 6 good meals.

Maybe we didn't need to know so much.....

This past Saturday Steve and I went to our second prenatal class. We got to the bottom level of Presbyterian Dallas, and shuffle around looking for our class while carrying 4 pillows and 2 blankets. We finally come to our room where there are 9 other scared looking people with pillows and blankets.
First of all it was nothing like the movies, we only got to sit on the floor with the pillows and blankets ONCE.
Secondly, we had a Juno in our class, as in a young girl who tried to be funny but wore everyone out with her stupid questions. For example, when discussing the Restricted Food/Items List, she raised her hand and asked about smoking marijuana!!!! Let's just say by the end of class it was all Steve and I could do to not run out of the class screaming. That rounded out the first of TWO classes. That's right in another week we had to return for more discussion on what would be the happiest day of our lives.
Round Two
This time we only took one blanket and 2 pillows (its nice to know the body pillow has finally come in handy). We arrived fully prepared w/ water, 2 coffees (1 decaf/1reg) 2 bagels and a sugar cookie w/ icing for Holden. We took the seats the farthest away from the annoying girl (apparently so did everyone else because there was a nice shield of empty chairs around her.) This time she brought her mom with her, because her fiance is in Afghanistan. See how much I know about her? She literally talked non-stop the first time we met her. Anyway I digress, we get to see the cringe-worthy birth film and they inteview 3 families about childbirth and post childbirth. We see a loving couple, who is excited, we see a single mom and Steve gets his first view of stretch marks. "Tina, what is that stuff on her stomach?" "Oh those? Yeah, those are stretch marks." "Her stomach looks like an alien, or something...." Oh the joys of pregnancy. Then we see another couple but these people look really awkward and admit that post childbirth has strained their marriage somewhat. They literally look into the camera announce this and uncomfortably face each other and then look away. Can we show delivery again or something a little lighter?
Finally the class is over and we take our book that includes a Birth Plan. Ok, this is one of those things like the father cutting the cord, or catching the baby that has become the latest trend. This birth plan is a list of everything you want done or not done while you are in labor. When did this happen? Don't I have enough to do without telling my nurses and doctor how to do their job?
So I leave you know to work on this "plan," hopefully it won't be too long because apparently that is a faux pas.

Texas Hold Em

Today marked the first day Steve and I were expected to return to work after the holidays. So of course we scheduled our sonogram to cut our work day to under 8 hours. Everyone else at our doctor's office had the same idea as the waiting room was packed w/ other pregos and expectant dads. After waiting awhile, they call my name and no sooner do I reach the hallway did I pipe up "can we have a DVD, please?" You see with the technological advances these days, you can have your sonogram recorded on that slick paper and on a timeless DVD. But you have to act quickly, anyone who's ever visited a doctor's office will find that those people are quick and to the point, you pause-- you lose. This goes double for OB/GYN offices. Once I paused to put my shoes on , after being weighed and my nurse left me and I had to chase after her, so I could find my exam room. But I digress....

So we get ready to see our son, and are left only to wait, again. Finally our doctor arrives and quickly and to the point-ly, he gets to pushing on my tummy. He ooh and ahs and says, "Oh this looks good, no problems, etc etc." "Do we know what we're having?"
I say "a boy?" "Yes, you're still having a boy."
You hear about these horror stories where they tell you the wrong sex and that would stink because we've already picked out a name. In fact we've picked out a name, have been teased and at times harrassed about the name. So we have grown attached to it or at the very least have witty comebacks, now.

Nothing else that day was as eventful as seeing Holden in black and white-we even saw an ear this time. That is until Steve came home and announced that Holden has yet anthor suggested nickname. I say another-- because my sister said she intends to call our son HP the laser jet. Anyhoo-- when Steve was talking about our son's name at work his boss tells him that his nickname could be ... Texas...as in Texas Hold 'em. (get it Hold-en, Hold 'em)
I'll just put that in our birth plan...instead of congratulations..its a boy... they should say
HERE COMES THE FLOP!