New Jammies

After we took a bunch of photos and played for a while he crashed on our bed. I could not resist.

He is getting so big and somethin' has to give!


His new favorite toy. Cesar! (named after Cesar Milan : Dog Whisperer)

I found these jammies and I'm glad that I put them on today, they are getting small already!

I saw a picture like his online yesterday and I wanted to try out and the sun was just right this morning.

Desire to be Creative

I was thinking last night about the desire to be creative. An author finding just the right twist to invoke emotion, an artist painting, sculpting or drawing in order to paint the bigger picture to tell a story without words, a photographer trying to find just the right angle that speaks about the environment, the mood and the subject all in one click. A chef combining the perfect blend of elements that makes a person's taste buds beg for one more bite. I think we all desire to creative something that speaks about our selves, better than our words, better than our art, better than our portraits, that tells the whole story from the right angle making people beg for one more opportunity to see us as we really are.

I tried some different angles today. Here is what we captured.

Overkill

Okay so I know this is the third post I have had today. I guess I am just making up for lost time. William, Kurt and I just went outside to try out his new sled! It was really cute. William hates the snow in his eyes. We will have to find a time when it is not snowing to go out and take some more pics.

Baby's got teeth

Williams teeth poked through a few weeks ago but we have not gotten a good shot of them until this morning!

Trying out some new things on GIMP

Kurt got me a new computer for my birthday and Christmas so I am trying out some new things in GIMP. I am learning but am enjoying trying new things. Last night I watched a tutorial (by an 8 year old) about how to make parts of your photo colored and other parts black and white. I tried a picture that I took last night of William in the bathtub and made the picture black and white and left the duck yellow. I wanted to try something else so I took a picture of Kurt and the boys and made thier ties red.

I am a bit obsessed with taking pictures now so I figured that I would post them here rather than on Facebook so people don't get sick of seeing my kid!

Bad Blogger

Okay so I am officially a bad Blogger. I will try try try to be better about posting pictures and messages here. It is just not always on my radar screen so I forget.

William is getting BIG. He is 18 pounds now and is in the 90% for weight and the 15% for height. I was right he is going to be a squatty little guy. He has started some solid foods. We started with peas and green beans and now he is exploring pumpkin. I have been making my own baby food and really enjoy doing so after a long day of work. It is just nice to be able to do something that does not require a debate or a lengthy explaination. It just is a process and that is all.

We are looking forward to halloween this weekend. William was going to be a pea pod, then a chilli pepper but neither of the costumes fit. (I bought them last year on clearance!?) He could be a split pea and we may just put him in and take a picture cause he is just busting the seems. So now he is going to wear his snow suit(also getting small) that has moose ears on the hood and feet. Fitting I guess.

We have been so busy with Weddings (Congrats: Nick and Lindsey, Nick and Kate!) Eaglefest, Winetasting parties and bbqs. We are hoping things start to slow down a little bit as fall turns to winter.

I have been sewing as well. I made William two fleece hats and am working on a bag to cart papers back and forth from school. I was planning on making his halloween costume like my Mom did for us but decided too late for this year. Maybe next year! I will post pictures soon!

Last Day of Summer

So today is the last day that I have off before school starts next week. I was hoping to get so much more done this summer but I guess having a baby and getting him chunked up is good enough. It has been so cold this week that I pulled out some of Williams warmer clothes and today he crashed in his carseat (sometimes the only place he sleeps) and I had to take a pic, and one of the hats that Lisa Gross made us matched his outfit so I had to put it on him. Poor kid is just trying to sleep.

Update!

Okay so Beth Stapleton said that I have not added anything to my blog since little man was born so I am here to do a little updating!

William is growing like crazy! He is just over 13 pounds now and changes everyday it seems. He is in the 50% for weight, and 25% for height. I am afraid that he is going to be a stocky guy! He has been sleeping between 4-6 hours every night and seems to be getting the hang of the night time routine.

He started Daycare last week. Mom cried half way to work and then realized that I left my cell phone in his diaper bag. I had to turn around and go back and leave him all over again. He seems to be doing well with daycare. He tends to get caught up in the activity there and crashes on the way home. He will slide into a routine I am sure.

He is Here!

He is finally here! We were scheduled for to be induced at 4 am on Saturday but actually went into labor at about 9 the night before. We went into the hospital about 1 am and labored through the night. My water was broken at 11 am and we had an epidural at 6 am. Labor progressed slowly and we delivered after two hours of pushing at 10:23 pm.

William Magee Rowland is 8 lbs 2 oz and 18.5 inches long. He experienced a bit of trouble breathing and had a low grade fever. He was taken to NIM (a intermediate nursery) over night. He is doing very well and being such a trooper!

We have had many visitors today. Grandpa Hallada and Grandma Deb came this morning, Aunt Lisa came around lunch time and was followed by Grandma and Grandpa Rowland, Uncle Mitch, Aunt Christina and cousin Austin. Cousin Robbie is coming this evening.

He should be joining us this evening in our room and should be with us until we leave on Tuesday.

40 and Counting

The doctor's is becoming a place of bummerness. Baby is still hanging out..not wanting to come out. He was much more cooperative today for the NST, he was kicking around and the doctor was thrilled with his activity.

Sandy (the midwife) said that he is very low, I am still not dialated but pretty well effaced. She is thinking that we will still be pregnant this weekend if we do not choose to be induced this weekend. I am afraid of being induced with the pitocin and being "dropped" into contractions. She mentioned using castor oil, which I have read about but was hesitant to use. It may or may not work ..but one think is sure I will be cleaned out?! We are going to try and see what happens.

Hopefully we will be in labor soon!

Overdue

Well we are only one day overdue but it feels like few weeks! I went in today for my first post due date appointment. We were scheduled for a Non-Stress Test and an Ultrasound. I went in at 9 am for the NST. The doctor looks for accelerations in the baby's heart rate which happens most when baby is awake. So baby slept through the whole test!

So we went for the Ultrasound. He was moving all over the place. (Making it hard for the technician) He has hair, it showed up in the Ultrasound! I asked if she would check his size. She told me that they really don't like to do that because the numbers can be wrong but she did it anyway! She said "he does not look really big." she did the measurements and then said "ohhh" he measured at 8 lbs and 11 oz! Hopefully he comes soon!

We went back to try the NST again and he settled right back down to sleep through the second NST trial. We went back after lunch and he was kicking and very active so the doctor said he was doing fine.

We had contractions for quite a while last night so maybe tonight we will have some real action! We shall see. I was thinking this morning this is just like reading a book and you really have no idea what is going to happen next. Exciting yet at the same time...frustrating when you know at one point in the story there is an amazing event that makes the book interesting and worth reading. Maybe the next page will feature the blessed event~

Patience is a Virtue

People say that becoming a parent is a lifelong lesson. Learning about your child, learning about your spouse and yourself. This is so true. This little guy is teaching us that being patient and enjoying the moment for what it is worth is worth it all. We will have to wait a little longer for this baby to come!

The doctor said today that we are 70% effaced, 1 cm dilated and at -2. All of that really does not mean anything for a first time mom. We will just have to wait and see. I get to go back in on Friday for a Non-Stress Test and an Ultrasound to make sure that baby is a happy guy. I will need to go in twice a week until he comes for those two things. So more visits to the doctor to come!

I went to breakfast with Jody and Kathy today. It was great to catch up on what is going on at school and get out of the house and socialize. I think we are going to plan something next week too, just to keep something on the calendar.

I am busy making birth announcements and baptismal invitations on GIMP. I love my husband, I was having trouble with something in the program and he of course knew how to fix it. I am excited about how the annoucments turned out and am still working on the Baptismal invites!

Still No Baby

We are still waiting for our little guy to arrive. This is one time in pregnancy that people do not tell you about. Being anxious and excited and frustrated all at the same time. Knowing that he could make an appearance at anytime makes me not want to go and do anything, which on this Memorial Day weekend is a bummer for Kurt. I think that we will still get out and do some things anyway.

Lisa and Jeff's babies are now almost 2 weeks old. I am thrilled about going over and holding those babies. As Christina says "if you hold someone else's baby it will make your baby jealous and want to come out!" We will see if that works. It was really fun to be pregnant at the same time as Lisa. She already has a little guy, Ben so she was very knowledgeable about the going ons in pregnancy. It will be fun to have babies so close in age.

Not This Weekend

Everything went well yesterday at the doctor's office. Baby is growing well and has dropped! I was bummed at the end when the midwife said, "I don't think that you will be having this baby this weekend!?" We are hoping this baby will come sooner than later but I guess we will keep waiting.

Kurt and I toured spectrum hospital last night with the "July due-dates", I was surprised to find out that we were the furthest along in the group. The tour was informational and just good to see what is going to be happening before it actually does.

So it looks like Kurt and I will enjoy a weekend of sleep, relaxation and some time together. Everyone keeps saying enjoy this time before he comes because it will be awhile before we can have that time again.

The kids at school seem to be doing well with the sub. I stopped in yesterday after school to pick up thier work to grade and everything is getting done as I had hoped so I am pleased. I miss seeing them but I do not miss sore feet and hot rooms and endless hall walking. I really hope that baby comes in time to go to graduation..so I can see them one more time before they go onto highschool.

The Waiting Game

Everyone said that it would happen. I would be off work and would simply wait for this little guy to grace us with his presence. I am waiting but loving the time off before sleepless nights.

I have a doctor's appointment today! 39 weeks. I am hoping for news of progress and upcoming labor and delivery. We will see what happens!

It seemed like the day would never come 9 months ago and now it is quickly approaching. Kurt and I are touring Spectrum hospital tonight (scheduled!) so we know where we are going when we need to get there.