a few ramblings

Kara needed a post, and I need to remind myself of some of the adorable things she has done lately that warm my heart and make it all worth it. I love watching how she responds to her world. From "feeding" her dolls french toast and juice after having had that for breakfast herself, or "talking" on her play phone to her friends. I'm not sure who she was talking to yesterday most of it was her toddler speak, but she mentioned the baby Jesus in her conversation a several times. A couple days ago we were watching" Santa Clause is coming to Town" and Kara became very worried cried "No, No, No! Baby!" when the baby Clause who was being pulled in a sleigh became separated in the snow storm and it appeared that a snow monster was going to get him. Or when we are at Target and she was perusing the jewelry cases (she LOVES jewelry, she is 100% girl!) and she pointed to some earrings and said "pretty, a mom" because mom wears earrings. I love this girl!

Three Months and Growing

Andrew is 3 Months old today!

I stepped on the scale with him and he weighs about 15-16 lbs now. He wears size 3 diapers and some of his 3 month clothes are too small for him.

He is smiling more and even laughs sometimes. He is starting to really like his bath. He fusses for a moment when I first put him in the water, I think because he is surprised, but he quickly decides he likes kicking his feet in the warm water and cries when I take him out. He's also starting to entertain himself for short periods on his play mat or bouncy seat. He recently discovered his hand and was studying it very intently the other day, but every time I got the camera out he stuck it in his mouth.

Kara has a hard time sharing mom sometimes, especially when she's tired, but she is starting to settle into her role of big sister. She often brings him a toy, a paci or a blanket. She likes to hold his hands and "dance" with him. She also likes him to play dress-up with her and will bring me necklesses and things to put on him.

Turkey Trot 2009

I've been planning to train for and run a 5K some months now. It seemed like it would be a great way to get back into shape after the baby. When heard about the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day I decided my time had arrived. As the day got closer I started getting nervous. What had I committed myself to! Was I crazy, signing up to jog/walk a 5K only 2 and a half months after having a baby! It seemed so far away when I made the decision, but now that the day was actually approaching, I was having doubts.

I drove down to the race with Heather Matthews who had run the race last year and she knew where to park and where to go to start. We parked at Golden Gardens Park, where the finish line is. Then we walked up, and up, and up the steep stairs to where the starting line was and picked up our t-shirts. I should have taken a picture of those stairs! As we climbed those stairs I was thinking " and we haven't even started yet! ugh, what am I doing?". Well all those stairs, meant that half the route was on a downhill incline and the rest was flat. I knew I probably wouldn't be able to run the whole way but I was going to run as much as I could. I didn't know how far I'd gone, but based on how many songs I'd listed to I figured I still had a ways to go and would just walking the rest of the way, but then I saw what a parking lot with a lot of cars. As I got closer I realized, this was the park! I was almost to the finish line! Knowing I was almost to the finish line I decided to pick up the pace and jog the rest of the way. I finished in about 35 minutes . The view of the water was beautiful, and it was easier then I thought it would be. It felt awesome to cross that finish line. I can't wait to do it again next year and run the whole way!

the stats

Andrew had his 2 month WCC today. He now weighs in at 13 lbs. 1 oz, which puts him in the 75-90% for weight. He's 24 1/4 inches long, so just over 2 feet of baby! That puts him in the 90%. So far looks like he'll be tall like his daddy.

This was, by the way, our 4th trip to the pediatrician in 4 days! It started Monday with him being unusually fussy instead of his smiling self, plus his appetite was seriously diminished. Something was obviously wrong for this boy to not want to eat!So, I took him to get checked out. Late Monday night he came down with a fever of 102so they wanted to see him again. Thank you to Jill, and to Emmy for having Kara over to play. This time they did a blood draw, it was not a fun visit for baby or mama. Wednesday, since he still had the fever and because he is so young they wanted to see him yet again. They had given me a bag to put in his diaper so they could test for a UTI. Fortunatly, his fever went away Wednesday evening and he is mostly back to his normal happy self because the next step would have been to take him to Children's Hospital to determine the cause of his fever, and rule out anything serious.

Two Months!

Saturday, November 7th Andrew turned two months. He's growing, growing, GROWING! His WCC isn't until next week so I stepped on the bathroom scale with him and he's at least 12 lbs. Even Jeff says he's getting heavy to carry in the infant car seat carrier. I've put him in the front carrier a couple times and each times he fell asleep. We can tell he's recognizing us, and has started giving us smiles. Occasionally he shows a preference for who's holding him. Sometimes only daddy can calm him down if he's crying and vice versa. He is awake during the day a lot more, but still a good night sleeper (knock on wood) and sleeps for about 5 hours straight most nights. He's very wiggly and kicks his legs and pumps his arms a lot. He's liking his bath better now. Still likes his paci as long as he's been fed. And he still likes blankets around him, but with this cold weather he who doesn't!

The Fair 2009

So this is a bit out of order, but I've been a little busy lately. The Friday after Andrew was born was opening day of The Puyallup Fair and Jeff took Kara there for a daddy daughter outing. Opening day admission is free until noon. I was sad to miss it this year but it would have been too much walking for me and it just isn't the kind of place you take a newborn baby. Instead I enjoyed some time alone with Andrew, a nap while he napped, and being treated to steak fajitas at LaCosta for lunch by my mom.

Checking out the animals

Kara's favorite exhibit

the petting zoo

say cheese

lunch break

one month and growing!

As of Oct 7th Andrew is one month old. He's now 10 lbs 9 oz and 23 inches! I guess he's getting enough to eat.

looking for potty training tips

I'm looking for potty training tips and advice. Books, websites, ect that are helpful. Kara is 26 months old, she has been waking up with a dry diaper for months. She often hides behind the couch or something when she has to "go". She tells me when she needs a diaper change, and I feel that her communication skills are good enough now that she is just about ready. I have about 4 weeks worth of diapers then I want to move her up to underwear. I think by then she will have adjusted to having a baby brother enough to be done with diapers.

getting a big girl bed

This was a hard one for me. Maybe it was the hormones. But it was VERY hard for me to pack up her cute crib/toddler bedding. I have a hard time when I have to pack up her outgrown clothes too. She looks so darn cute in them! It makes me sad that she can't wear them anymore. I took about a dozen pictures of her room and a picture of her napping for the last time in her toddler bed.




We got her princess sheets, (of course!) which she was excited about. When we got it all set up I realized how nice it was to be able to sit in her bed with her and read stories. And when Andrew outgrows the bassinet the crib will get reassembled, this time with jungle animal bedding.

First Bath

Andrew got his fist bath on Tuesday. He doesn't like being naked, so it was no shock when he let out a big fuss as I placed him in the water. After a few moments he decided it was tolerable and stopped crying, but he still wasn't too happy.



His mood improved when I took him out and wrapped him in a towel.


But being dressed in warm, dry clothes and wrapped in a blanket was his favorite part.

Visitors

Grandpa and Grandma Leonard, Uncle Wesley



Big Sister

Aunt Janine

When you have a big sister...

... you get wrapped in a pink blanket


Andrew was fussing and I said maybe he needs a bink, Kara thought I said "bank" (blanket) and brought him one of her blankets and draped it over him. She loves her brother! She gives him kisses and hugs, waves at him and even tried to share her waffles with him. There have been a couple meltdowns, but overall she is doing very well!

Andrew's Birth Story

Full name: Andrew Soule Fernandez (rhymes with duel)
Born: September 7, 2009, 6:21 pm
Height 20 1/2 inches
Weight: 8 lbs 10 oz


I never thought of myself as someone who would want or allow birth photography. I turned my head away a lot during the actual birth parts of the videos they showed in the childbirth class we took when I was pregnant with Kara and frankly, I was embarrassed for those ladies. This was something sacred and private and well, not something to be shared with strangers. Actually going through it myself having Kara confirmed it for me... sort of. Definitely something private and sacred, between me and Jeff and Heavenly Father... and the doctor and a bunch of nurses. I tore and hemorrhaged badly, lost a lot of blood, and I'm glad I wasn't watching that happen. Feeling it was enough! But... right after that, when they put Kara on my chest and let me hold her while Jeff cut the cord... was one of the most amazing, miraculous, indescribably wonderful moments of my life! And I have often said that when we get to the other side I want to watch THAT moment over and over and over again! About the same time I found out I was expecting Andrew I was checking out my friend Sarah's photography blog and she had posted about the birth photography she had done for one of her friends. That got me thinking... I wish I could have had someone there when Kara was born, who wasn't busy helping me have the baby who could have captured the moment. So, I asked Sarah if she would be interested/willing to photograph Andrew's birth. Like me Sarah is LDS, so I knew that she would understand both my feelings about modesty and the sacredness of childbirth. She is also a certified doula and a mother of two, so she knows and and is very comfortable with the birth process. And thanks to the wonders of digital photography, I knew that only me, Jeff and Sarah would ever see any pictures I didn't feel like sharing. Having her there as a second support person was extremely helpful, but having someone there to capture the moments was priceless! The pictures she took are beautiful, I can't thank her enough for being there and capturing the memory for us! I especially love that I can "relive" the experience without having to relive the pain of the contractions. And surprisingly, I actually do like having pictures of the baby's head coming out. I won't be sharing them, but it gives me a new respect for what the body, what MY body can do! There are so many wonderful pictures I decided to make a slide show, which I will post here once it's finished. For now here's a couple of the pictures she took.

summer gear

a few things that were almost always in my car over the summer...

stroller, swimsuits, swim diapers, water shoes, flip flops, beach towels, sand bucket, shovel, sand rake, plastic boat, beach ball(fully inflated), playground ball, sunscreen, sidewalk chalk, extra clothes for Kara, granola bars, fruit snacks, drink boxes, folding chairs, kites, Kara's life jacket, bubbles...

I think that's everything.

yard sale finds!

Saturday before last as we were leaving Kelsey Creek Farm and I spied a yard sale sign and a clothes line that had what appeared to be little girls dress up clothes. I asked Jeff to turn the car around and go back so we could check it out. We found a Snow white costume, a shinny purple dress up blouse, a blue and silver fairy princess tutu/skirt, a shinny pink dress up tube top, a pink beaded necklace and some silver dress up slippers! Kara wanted to wear ALL of it as soon as we got home! The slippers and fairy skirt are hidden under the snow white dress, but she is wearing them!

We also picked up some Disney princess figurines (because you can never have too many princess dolls!), a plastic "Beast" figure for Belle, some plastic textured rollers for play dough, a Belle kaleidoscope, and a pink toy bath boat.

And only $5 for ALL OF IT! I'm going to have to check out more yard sales!

Terrific Two!

Ok, I'm a little behind here. It's been almost a month since Kara turned two (August 7th), it's now September, and we're going to have a new addition to our family any day now... I better post something.
After much deliberating in the end we decided to have her party at the same park where we had her birthday last year, Kirk Park here in the Highlands. There's plenty of room for the kids to run and play, and the covered gazebo picnic area is a great place to chat and eat cake. We weren't sure what the weather was going to do, like last year the forecast was cooler with a chance of rain. So, like last year we decided to pray for good weather and that if it was going to rain, that it would wait until AFTER Kara's party. Like last year it did not rain (YAY!) during the party, and after the record breaking heat wave we'd been through recently most everyone enjoyed the cooler temperature. I'm glad we picked such a close location because Kara, not understanding exactly what was happening, became very distressed when we took the cake and Doritos to the car, and we spent the entire 2 minute car ride reassuring her that she could eat them when we got the the park. It was a fun day and we enjoyed sharing this milestone with so many of our friends.





Some fun things about Kara.

-she is petite for her age, her weight is in the 10th percentile and wears mostly size 18 month clothes

-she to loves to wear dresses and I have to hide her newer dresses from her to keep them from becoming play clothes before she's worn them to church at least a couple times

-some of her favorite toys are her princess dolls and she likes pretty much anything with Disney Princesses

-she loves animals, especially dogs and besides food and toys names of animals make up a big chunk of her vocabulary

-she likes to watch her sign language video and knows the signs for "daddy, mommy, baby, bath, blanket, friend, more, eat, drink, kiss, ball, play, story and friend"

-if she she sees a slug or an ant or some other bug on the ground she squats down to watch it

-she almost always puts "a" in front of words when she's talking , "a swing" "a doll" "a milk" "a juice" "a princess" "a sammie" (sandwich)"a rice" "a bean" "a pink" "a night night"

-she loves music and dancing and has started to sing along a little bit to some of the songs I sing with her or songs from music class, sometimes in the car she will entertain herself by singing a medley of the words that she remembers from songs all rolled into one new song "i know ,dream... gulp gulp gulp... star.. e i e i o ... ashes ashes... rock..." ( I know you - from Sleeping Beauty, slippery fish, twinkle twinkle little star, old mac donald, ring around the rosey, the wise man) it's different every time, but about like that

-her favorite color is pink, purple is a close second, but she calls that pink too

-she loves Frosted Mini Wheats and asks for them for breakfast every morning

-she is a total cuddlebug and gives the bestest hugs!

-she loves to "help" mom sweep the kitchen and to wear mom's shoes, especially the high heals

baby update

I've graduated to weekly doctor appointments now that I'm in the final month. At this last visit I also had another ultrasound to check on the baby's size. I'd post pictures, but but he's moved down so low and is so squished in there that honestly there isn't much to see. Now doubt it's a boy though. According to the measurements he's 7 lbs, which is 87th percentile, so a good sized baby. I was happy to find out that even though he's on the bigger side, his head is proportionate to his body. Kara had, and still has a big head for her size. The doctor also said at this visit that the baby is 90% effaced, and that my cervix is already soft and starting to dilate, so I should try and take it easy for the next couple weeks and keep him inside a little bit longer.

Sprinkler fun

One of the things we did to cope with the heat wave was escape to my Dad and Lisa's air conditioned house in Renton. Friday night we packed a change of clothes and headed over to spend the night, and hung out all day Saturday. We always enjoy visiting at Grandpa Bill and Grandma Lisa's, but the air conditioning was an added bonus this time. Kara especially liked playing in the yard, running around on the deck, climbing on the big toy, swinging on swings, and... running in the sprinkler! At first she just held out her hand to the water and kept her distance, but soon she was running back and forth, chasing the water as it moved across the yard and then running away again. Watching her brought back so many good memories of summer, and I love passing on these kinds of memories to her. Later that evening she went outside and ran over to where the sprinkle had been set up and said, "a water, a water, broken?" I told that no, the water wasn't broken, it was just turned off.

Maybe

she does understand... a couple nights ago I was changing the background on our blog and Kara climbed up in my lap. She saw the (almost 2 year old) picture of our family and said, " Mommy, Daddy", and then "baby". And when I told her yes, that was her as a baby she pointed at me and said, "tummy".

Birthday weekend

Last Friday was Jeff's birthday and we started the weekend with dinner at Red Robin Thursday night for Jeff's free birthday club burger. Red Robin is pretty much Jeff's favorite restaurant, and Kara is such a carnivore, it will probably be hers soon too. The Red robin bird was making rounds though the restaurant, and Kara watched him with fascination, but didn't seem to want him too close, because she clung to me and hid her face when he came to our table.


Friday Jeff had taken the day off from work and we headed to Alki beach. The sun was out, and the the view of Seattle was amazing. My little point and shoot camera really shows its limitations at times like this. Jeff built a sandcastle, and Kara sat and watched. Since the sand on the beach isn't naturally occurring, it doesn't go all the way to the coastline. So to make the sand workable we had to carry water up to the very, very dry sand. Since all we had was Kara's tiny bucket this required a lot of trips back and forth. Jeff offered several times to be the one to carry the water, but it was such a tiny bucket it wasn't the least bit heavy. After I insisted several times that I would rather be out in the cool water then sitting in the hot sand building the sand castle he finally believed me.










Saturday we went to see the new Harry Potter movie. Amy had offered to watch Kara for us, and Andrew and their kids took us out to the movie.It was sucha warm summer night that we decided to take a walk wround the pond down the hill.





Sunday we went out to visit Jeff's dad and brother in Port Orchard. We ate yummy BBQ and Kara played with her cousin, Andre. The garden gnomes looked to her like 3 of the 7 dwarfs and kept saying "Dopey, Dopey, Dopey".

We decided to try taking the Southworth ferry back instead of dealing with the bridge this time. Since we didn't have to pay the toll, or drive as much it was about the same price and way more fun. Since the 9:15 ferry goes straight across instead of stopping at Vashon it was almost as fast (except for the time spent at the dock enjoying the amazing view). We have decided to go home this way more often!