Coblie at 6 Months Old

It is hard to believe that Colbie is already 6 months old but the calendar does not lie. She had her 6 month check up last week, she is doing very well, she is healthy and very happy. She is the 75th percentile for height, weight and head circumference. She now weighs 16 pounds and is 26 1/2" long. She has been remarkably healthy which we are very grateful for, she started to get a little cough the last few days and has some congestion which is the first time she has been sick. She is so happy you would never know she was not feeling well. She is truly a blessing for our family, we are so grateful for the priviledge to be her parents.

Time Flies When Your Raising Babies

It is hard to believe but Colbie is now 4 months old, she seems to grow over night. She is healthy and happy, we could not have asked for a better baby we are very blessed. She went to the Doctor for her 4 month check up, she now weighs 14 lbs. 14 oz. and is 25 inches long, she eats well (obviously) and sleeps well too. She will sleep at least 10 hours a night sometimes longer depending on her nap schedule that day. We are excited for Colbie's first Christmas, we will be leaving for Utah on Saturday to spend the holidays with family, some of which have not had a chance to meet Colbie yet. We are loving every minute of having Colbie in our family and are very grateful for this blessing in our lives.

Jessica took Fall semester off of College to come to Texas and help me with Colbie, she has been here for the past 4 months and will be leaving for Utah tomorrow, Spring semester begins in January so it is time for her to get back to her life. We loved having her home with us and appreciate more than words can say her volunteering without being asked to be here during this special time. My expectations were high and I know that it was sometimes frustrating for her but I really do appreciate all that she did. She took such good care of Colbie when I went back to work and developed a wonderful bond with her that they will both treasure. While I hope she waits a long time to have a family of her own I know through this experience that she will be a wonderful Mom. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being here and for not only taking care of Colbie but for loving her the way you do.

Halloween 2009

Every year for before Halloween our church has a Trunk or Treat in the parking lot, we all come to the church some decorate their trunks and the kids go from car to car in the parking lot and say "trunk or treat" and then receive candy. The kids look forward to this every year with excitement. This year Houston was Harry Potter and Colbie was an adorable lamb. Hannah dressed as Miss Texas (sash and all) but I do not have a picture of that. We hope y'all had a Happy Halloween.

Houston as Harry Potter

Mommy had a little lamb

Chad's attempt at deccorating for the Trunk or Treat

Sleeping Lamb

Brace or Unbrace Yourself

Hannah finally got her braces off after almost 2 1/2 years of wearing them. She was thrilled to finally get them off, she looks beautiful if I do say so myself. Money well spent.

Before

After

Shower #2

My good friend Shana was kind enough to plan a Mother / Daughter baby shower to celebrate Colbie's arrival. Our daughters are the same age and they have several good friends who are like sisters, they were very excited to meet Colbie and this was a perfect opportunity. The shower was planned originally for August 13th, as luck would have it I went into labor that day and Colbie was born. A few weeks after her arrival we finally had the shower, it was absolutely wonderful and a great opportunity to celebrate with good friends. The food was amazing, the decorations beautiful, the games were fun and exciting and the gifts were wonderful and very much appreciated. Colbie will undoubtedly be the best dressed baby thanks to good friends with wonderful taste. Thank you to Shana and all who helped with this celebration, we appreciate your love and support more than you know.

YUMMY!!!!
Beautiful flowers, pink of course

Beautiful decorations including a picture frame everyone signed with special messages

Mother and Daughter's, what a blessing

Good Friends Shana, Shauna, Connie, Me and Lindsey

Hannah's good friends and Colbie's adopted sisters Beckah, Hannah, McKenzie, Allie and Olivia

Shawna and Nancy trying to name that baby food by smell and look, this was harder than it sounds

Hannah's friend Analeise and I trying to guess the baby food flavor

Shower #1

The amazing and delicious food and beautiful display thanks to Kelly

The yummy cupcakes thanks to Jennie

The guest of honor Colbie, she slept through the entire shower

I am behind on posting, life with a newborn does not allow much time for blogging or even checking e-mail, going to the restroom, eating, sleeping or anything else for that matter but I wouldn't trade a minute of it. I have a lot to catch up on but decided I needed to go back several weeks to some very special events. My dear friend Kelly asked to give me a baby shower when she first found out I was pregnant, she had been planning the big event and then surprise Colbie made her arrival 10 days early. We decided to go ahead with the shower and I would bring 5 day old Colbie with me to the shower. Everyone was very kind and understanding when I requested that no one hold her, I really appreciated there understanding. The shower was of course amazing, the food was delicious, the decor was beautiful, the sweets were sweet, the guests were very kind and generous and helped us welcome Colbie to the world. I really appreciate Kelly, Holly, Jennie, Paige, Heather and Elizabeth K. and any others that helped make this such a special event for our family. We feel blessed every day when we look at our beautiful girl and we are so happy to share our joy with wonderful friends.

Hannah's First Day of 10th Grade

August 24th was Hannah's first day of 10th grade, where has the time gone. It seems like just yesterday she was Colbie's size and now she is a Sophomore in High School and learning to drive. She was supposed to get her permit on her birthday but we were in the hospital following Colbie's birth, she patiently waited until the next week and her Dad took her to get it. She has been driving every chance she gets since that day, all in all she is a pretty good driver. Dad has more courage than Mom and does most of the driving with her, thank goodness. Hannah loves learning and we look forward to where her learning will take her and all the opportunities that lie ahead for her.

Houston's First Day of 4th Grade

August 24th was Houston's first day of 4th grade, he was not exactly looking forward to summer ending and going back to school but now that school is in full swing he is happy to be back. He loves his new teacher Mr. Ciernia, this is the first time he has had a male teacher. He said that the boy teachers are nicer than the girl teachers, interesting observation considering he has had amazing''girl' teachers all the years he has been in school. It is hard to believe he is already in 4th grade, maybe it is having a new born at home that makes him seem like such a big boy, or maybe he is growing up before my eyes, or both. We love Houston so much and look forward to seeing what he will learn and how we will grow this year.

Houston and his friend Will

Houston's first Male Teacher Mr. Ciernia

Colbie's Arrival and other Happenings!

It seemed faster to post a slideshow than individual pictures. I hope you enjoy seeing pictures of Colbie's arrival to the world, Hannah's small birthday celebration (I still ower her a real celebration), the baby shower and some current pictures of Colbie.

SURPRISE!! Colbie Makes Her Appearance 10 Days Early

Imagine my surprise when on my way to work Thursday morning I had several contractions that seemed stronger than the standard Braxton Hicks I had felt previously. I tried to ignore them and pretend that they werel no big deal. After eating my lunch at work in my office I stood up and felt a gush of fluid, my immediate thought was either I had wet my pants or my water broke. As I headed to the restroom it became apparent that my water broke, this was 10 days earlier than I had planned which was a big surprise. I told my boss what had occurred and told him I would be leaving, he was nervous about me driving home, I assured him I would be fine knowing that it could take a while before anything would happen but he insisted on at least following me home which he did and I am grateful for that. The girls and I hurried and packed my bag for the hospital, I had not done that yet in hopes that it in some way would prevent her from coming early, I know crazy. We dropped Houston off at my friend and lifesaver Heather's and headed to my Doctors office where Chad met us.

The Doctor confirmed it was indeed my water that broke and sent us next door to the hospital to check in. We arrived at the hospital around 3:00pm, they hooked me up to the monitors and within 30 minutes I began having consistent transactions. I had high hopes that my labor would be similar to Hannah's and Houston's around 4-6 hours, no such luck it ended up being 8 1/2 hours of labor. At one point my contractions started to spread further apart and lessen in strength so the doctor gave me a very small amount of Pitocin. This really kicked things into gear and pushed me to the point that I almost gave up on my plan of labor without an epidural, fortunately I had Chad, Jessica and Hannah and a wonderful nurse coaching me along and encouraging me. Within 40 minutes she made her arrival, fortunately I only had to push 4-5 times. She was born at 11:39pm, she weighs 7 pounds 10 ounces and is 21 inches long. She is beautiful (I am biased of course), she had a coupled of bruises on her cheeks from the birthing process but other than that she is doing great. While it was a huge surprise and something I was not quite ready for I am very glad that she is finally here and that she is healthy. I hope you enjoy some of her first photos below.