Matt's Farm and Orchard Harvest

What a nice time we had with my Peaceful Beginings Mom group today. We ventured up to Tombal at Matt Farm and Orchard Harvest Festival. It was very peaceful up there and although the sun was hiding behind the clouds, many of us thought it was the perfect fall weather! There they had a nice little play area with swings, slides, a campfire, tetherball, volleyball, they had persimon trees, tangerines and pumpkins. We got to pick our little pumpkins from the little bale of hay in the entrance and as you can see from the picture above, we took the ones we sat next to. While we were at this farm, we also got to take a scenic hayride toure of the property. Nestled between pines and lily pad ponds was a nice little farm with different trees for fruit picking. There were also little hidden surprises like a bale of hay shaped like a caterpilar and "Boot Hill". Very cute! We were a nice group that went and I even got to take Skip along kicking and screaming. LOL! He bonded with Amy's husband Craig so it was nice to see him with other dads.

Since it was our first time there, we know for next time to bring hotdogs for roasting and some smores to cook over the open fire they had. Hopefully next year Kaitlyn will actually be able to enjoy the farm and run around and play with the pumpkins. I bet she will love the hayride more too although she seemed quite content with the bumpy ride. Here are a few pictures of the day we had there. You can see all the pictures in my Picassa album.

Kaitlyn's 2 Months!

My baby is now 2 months old as of October 5th!

And she is grooooooowing! I took her to the doctor yesterday to start her shots and checkup. Here are her current stats as they stand:

• Length: 21.75 inches long (she grew over an inch since August)
• Weight: 10 lbs 4 oz
• Head Circumference: 15 inches (she's got a smart noggin!)

She was a very good girl at the doctors office too. There was one nurse she really, really had fun with. She was smiling and cooing. And when our doctor came in to check up on her, I got a nice lap full of pee. It was....GREAT. (note the sarcasm) He, he, he. Of course she wasn't too thrilled about the shot part, but who is. At least I have the comfort of knowing that she won't be getting a zillion shots at once since I'm doing an alternative spaced out schedule. Anyway, I still don't like knowing I'm putting this stuff in my kid.

Over the weekend we had a lot of fun. I took Kaitlyn to the B.I.R.T.H(Bringing Information and Resources to Houston) fair that is held every October which has talks, vendors, domonstrations about pregnancy, birth, parenting, etc. My friend Amy was a speaker and she talked about the benefits of using essential oils during pregnancy and beyond. It was really great! There were also lot's of vendors for things such as Birth Centers, babywearing, cloth diapering, photography, etc. I learned a lot there. Here is a link to the B.I.R.T.H. website if you want to take a look at the organization. It's really a great place for information on parenting and pregnancy in general, you don't have to live in Houston to see the get great information. I went to a few other speakers as well. I was in the "Breastfeeding secrets" talk and "Nutrition" talk. I also got to try different babywearing slings and loved the Mei Tai. I had tried it before but with a doll...it's very different when you have a live baby. Ha, ha! I love my ring sling, but the Mei Tai is great too! Here is a picture of one: (I have no idea who the lady is...I just put that there to show you what it looks like). It's inspired by Chinese carriers worn by women over centuries. It's great! Here are some pictures from the fair:

First we have Amy Laura teaching about essential oils during pregnancy, birth and beyond; then we have her daughter Ava watching on adoringly, followed by Kelly modeling some pregnancy clothes; Asher showing of all his colors; and a little girl modeling a very cute cloth diaper.

In this foto above we see the booth held by Amy and her family for Gritman Essential Oils. Her mom is standing with the pink shirt and Amy of course is nursing sweet Ava. You can see other vendors in the background. It trully was a cool event!

Sunday was really nice too because I returned to my walking group for the first time since the birth and it felt so good! We went walking in the historic area of League City which has really neat older houses mixed with newer ones and beautiful oak trees which many survived the Hurricane. After the walk we were lucky to be able to take a peek at the Oak Tree Festival held in the town square. Little miss Kaitlyn enjoyed the walk in her own little way....asleep in the stroller! After the walk though we hung out at home and here is a cute little video of her in the bath:

She really really likes baths. Luckily she didn't get fussy after the bath like she usually does when I take her out of water. The kid is a mermaid, like I was and will be once the pool is clean again. I just love this picture of her in the bath...don't you think it's sexy yet tasteful? You should see her face when I put her in the water. It's says: "Thank you Mommy for putting me in this delighful warm bubbly water that is so soothing and invigorating!". She is also grateful that I do not put her in the dishwasher after I'm done rinsing her! Hee, hee! Anyway, the kid loves baths...hopefully this trend will continue!

Today I actually got to go see Jackie Griggs (my midwife) for my followup! It was so nice seeing her at the B.I.R.T.H. fair but then to also see her at the Birth Center today. We did the un-fun pap smear and other checkups and drew some blood to see how my iron is doing. Hopefully everything is in tip top shape. We also weighed Kaitlyn there although she had her clothes on she was a little heavier there. Still doing really great Jackie said! I know this won't be the last I see of Jackie and Camelia since I will be attending the Mother group and hopefully catch the LLL meeting that is also held there! Here is a picture of Kaitlyn with Jackie and Camelia. They did such a great job! If I get pregnant again before leaving Texas I will be going back there again! Not only did they deliver my baby but they saved my life too!

Well, that is all for now! Let's see what other adventures we get into by next week! It's going to be a busy week! So far it has proven to be so! I have some neat groups set up this week that I will be attending and then over the weekend I will be visiting Tatiana for her birthday and also attending an Aromatherapy Certification class. By next week I will know soooo much about Aromatherapy! And that is just for Level 1, November I take Level 2! Wish me luck! I'm super excited, but that will have to be another blog! I promised this would get out on Tuesday and by Joe...I have done this before midnight!

Everyone take care and a special shout out this week to Stephanie Shoemake and her family:

Welcome to the world Sadie and Summer Shoemake
Born Monday, October 6th

Check out their blog, the link is on this page!!!!
Bye!

I'm BAAAACK!! Chapter 1

Hello everyone!

Your favorite blogger is back from hiatus! I was thinking about how I was going to take on telling everyone my story. I think that what I will do is make little Chapters...Before I start though, I would like to point out two very important things...Ok Three:

• My kid is awesome
• I'm 30
• Heroes Season 2 DVD comes out today

Take those into any order you would like. I know that the responsible thing is to put the kid first...although secretly I've been waiting for my DVD before she came. Ha ha ha! Calm down people, this does not make me a bad Mom! Anyway...I will do this Chronologically with the most interesting news first of course.

The Birth of Kaitlyn

Ok, so as many of you know, she was born. By now you should all know that at least! What some of you might not know...is the story behind the birth! So I will make it as painless and entertaining as possible.

My contractions started at midnight on August 5th. Yes I was due the 4th, but apparently that storm (Edouard) brought it's low pressure which has been rumored to bring babies. I still think that it was Skip's Grandpa that brought Kaitlyn. Contractions....not too fun, but they are a piece of cake compared to hurling a kid out your wahoo....so keep that in mind. This all happened pretty fast because by 6:30 I was at the birth center with my midwife Jackie and a few minutes after that I was happily in the tub with some nice water. Let me tell you, being in that water was a godsend. (PS. Godsend is what that symbol in Heroes means....but I digress.) As soon as I hit the water I felt a zillion times better. Then I pushed and felt lot's of not so fun things but in the end little Kaitlyn came out at 8:10 am! The feeling of the best poop in the world doesn't even come close to the relief I felt. Apparently it was winter time in my body because Kaitlyn decided to wrap the cord around her neck for warmth 3 times. Perhaps I should have made her some mittens and booties. LOL.

So the fun did not end there! Skip got to cut the cord after a while and you would think..oh great, the Placenta will come out next. Well...it didn't. It actually took a while and then with it came the hemorrhaging. Good thing I was in the tub huh? Yeah...so I passed out a few times and got some delicious oxygen so I could breathe again and some shots of Pitocin to stop the bleeding. Let's just say that I passed out quite a few times...some in the tub...some in the bed. It was fun. I also got to drink what felt like a whole keg of Gatorade, Water and Juice. I was doing all I could to avoid the hospital though...so I chugged like an undergrad.

All is not lost...I regained my color, my consciousness, and a little bit of strength. And just in time for some stitches too! Ha! After that I got to go home and rest in my own bed. It was so nice. Lot's of people say it was like a Drive thru birth. Get there at 6:30 am and leave at 3 pm. I thought it was perfect. OK...not the drama part, but everything else. My birth team was awesome. I had Mom and Skip, Jackie and Camilia (my midwives). They were awesome. And Mom was such a trooper! She did not pass out from seeing all the blood and THAT is a feat I will never forget. She hates blood....

Anyway, as you all also know. Mom is our official photographer and you can see her pictures at the following link:

Grandma's Photo Album

So that is really the end to that chapter. I was on bedrest for a few days....walked like a duck for a week....lot's of fun! I'm more anemic than before so I'm all tired all the time. Joy! But I love my daughter and she was well worth it!


Next chapter....Adventures in the ER....

Kaitlyn's Preview!!!

Hi guys and gals!

Here is a little preview of Kaitlyn!!! Brought to you by Precious Glance Ultrasound! I just got back a little while ago with a DVD and CD in tow filled with little Kaitlyn! And they checked the gender for me and she's still a GIRL!!! Woo hoo! Anyway, sit back and relax and see if you can decode what the ultrasound shows! It's pretty friggin amazing!

Enjoy!!!!

Love,
Kat
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