Colin's First Bowl of Rice Cereal

Colin had his first bowl of rice cereal on December 4. He LOVED it! He made a mess of his face and hands, but he took to the different texture very well. He did a great job eating off of a spoon. I'm so proud of him! 

GDSX Christmas Party

Saturday night we went to the annual GDSX Christmas Party. This year it was held at Stratos in Dallas. We ate Greek food, watched belly dancers, participated in the white elephant gift exchange, and danced salsa. We had a great time! 

W00t! It's Here...My New Flash!

It just got here! I'm so excited! I took a few pictures with it already, but I haven't played with any of the features yet. 

Too Cute, I Say

Colin is just too cute. He's adorable, really.

Lately (the past few days), he's been making this new kind of whine noise. It always happens when he's happy and smiling. So, he smiles, makes this noise for a little bit, then cries. I've decided that he's trying to find his laugh. Not really sure what it's going to sound like after hearing the noise he makes, but I'm sure it will be cute!

I'm Singing the Song...

The "I'm Getting My Flash" song. So here it goes.

I'm getting my flash, I'm getting my flash, I'm getting my flash today. I'm getting my flash, I'm getting my flash, I'm getting my flash today. I'm getting my flash, I'm getting my flash, I'm getting my flash today. I'm getting my flash, I'm getting my flash, I'm getting my flash today.

Whoo-hoo! Merry Christmas to me! Thank you so much Miguel! I was deciding between the Canon 430 EX & the Canon 580 EX. After Miguel talking to some friends, and me talking to some friends, and a guy at a camera store, I've decided to go with the 430. More resonable for the type of pictures that I plan on taking with it.

I want it. I want it now!

3 Months Old

I can't believe it, but Colin is 3 months old today. He has grown so fast, and is learning every day. He was this little blob that ate, pooped, and cried when we brought him home; but now he is interactive, coos, laughs, and smiles all day long.
I am so grateful for the opportunity have this precious little angel in my life. 

Happy Anniversary Courtney & Richie!

Happy 2 year anniversay! You now have a little angel to celebrate with you! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that everyone has a fun & safe Thanksgiving.
The thing that I am most thankful for this year, is of course, Colin. He has brought so much joy to me in the past 3 months. Priase God for His greatness. 

Pictures

So we (Miguel, Colin & I) took our Christmas pictures today. Not that great. Our appointment was for 2:10, and they didn't start until 3:10. I purposely scheduled the appointment for the time I did b/c I knew Colin would be awake and happy for the most part. Since the appointment was delayed, it was time for Colin to eat at 3:00. We had to stop to feed him after just a few pictures b/c he was crying and fussy (can you blame him?). After he ate he still wasn't that happy, but we took the pictures anyway. He didn't really smile for any of them, and the pictures didn't really turn out that great. They were so busy, and I really felt like we were being rushed. Anyway, I will post them when I get them back and can scan them.

Pictures

Yesterday Colin had his 3 month pictures taken, and today we are having our family Christmas pictures taken. I'll post when i get them back.

Fun Photos

Yesterday Whitney, Emily & Katie came over and spent the day with me & Colin. We had so much fun eating leftover food and taking pictures!

The rest of the pictures are on smugmug! 

Colin's Dedication

We had our beautiful son dedicated to the Lord yesterday. It was such a special time for Colin, he just doesn't know it yet! Colin received his first Bible.

Thank you to all of our family and friends that helped make Colin's day special and memorable. 

Feeling a little better...

Not sure what I had, but 2 days ago I layed around this house all day long not feeling well. When Miguel got home from work, he took my temperature, and I was running a fever.
I'm so glad that Miguel stayed home from work yesterday to help me with Colin, while I pretty much layed in bed all day running fever.
I feel a much better than the first day, but not quite myself yet.
Thank you Miguel for taking care of me (and Colin!) yesterday! I love you!

Happy Birthday Danny!

I wish you a happy 24th birthday! I'll catch up up to you in a few months! 

Work was Work

Well, I worked yesterday. I pretty much picked up right where I left off. I was nervous that I had lost some of my skills b/c I hadn't done them in about 4+ months, but I was fine. I jumped right in and all was fine as far as work was concerned. I cried almost the whole way to work, and a couple of times during the day. I think that Miguel was probably sick of me calling him.

I got through it...thank God, and will do it all over again next week.

Please Pray For Me

Tomorrow is going to be my first day back at work. I'm nervous about going back, since I haven't worked in almost 3 months, and before that I wasn't working in the main ER...I was doing something very simple (since my belly was so big!). I'm also nervous about leaving Colin for such a long time (about 15 hours). I know that Miguel will be watching him, but I'm still nervous.

Happy Birthday Yasmin

My little neice Yas min turned 8 today! Happy birthday Yasmin! 

New Photos

I've uploaded some more photos to my baby shower folder, finished off the 1-2 Months folder, started the 2-3 Months folder, and added some other various photos. Enjoy!

smugmug

Happy November

Happy November everyone! 'Tis the season! It all starts now...my favorite time of year!

New Car

So I forgot to post that last Thursday we finally decided on a new car, and bought it. We got a 2007 Toyota RAV4! Yay! I'm so excited that I don't have to bend down anymore to put Colin in the car. It's the perfect height. We test drove 3 cars, and researched quite a few, but the RAV4 met our needs the best! We got rid of my Accord. It's a pretty blue color. I'll post a picture when we get it back from the shop (leather seats are being installed)

My Little Niece!

My little niece Rachael Lynn. Isn't she cute?

Rachael Lynn is Here!

Courtney has Rachael at 5:21 PM. She is 7 lbs. 10 oz. and 20 1/4 inches long! I can't wait to see pictures of her!

Rachael is almost here...

Courtney is pushing! Yay! Well, she may be born by now...she pushing about 20 minutes ago, and I haven't heard anything yet! I can't wait!

Today is the Day...

that we will finally know what little Miss Rachael looks like!

Courtney started having contractions at 10:00 last night, and they are now, finally, 10 minutes apart, so she is waiting for Richie to get home from work so she can go to the hospital.

I'm so excited that I'm going to have a new neice soon!

6 Days Over Due

Today Courtney is 6 days over due with Rachael...and we know the baby is a little Rachael because Courtney had a sonogram yesterday. Now if we could only convince Rachael to make her grand appearance...

Broadlane Fall Festival

This evening Miguel, Colin, and I went to Frances' job for their annual family fall festival. We ate dinner, and went to each floor to see the decorations! We had fun!

Colin's 2 Month Appointment

Colin had his 2 month appointment today. He weighs 11 lbs. 11 oz., and is 22 inches long. The doctor was very impressed with his social skills and his neck control. He was also impressed with his night time sleeping.

His reflux is getting better now that we've been on Enfamil AR formula for a while. His constipation has also gotten a little better. Hopefully he'll grow out of the reflux soon.

Happy Birthday Frances!

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Frances, happy birthday to you! 

To Due Or Not To Due?

That is the question.

Courtney is due today. Now I know that only 5% of women actually go into labor on their due date, but Courtney is so tired and ready, that I hope she's part of that percentage. Little Rachael is being stubborn!

All, I can say is, Courtney...prastaglandins! It's guaranteed to work!

I Retract My Last Post!

So, Courtney thought that her water broke. She packed up, went to the hospital, Richie met her there...when in fact her water hadn't broken...it was excess fluid that had built up and leaked. Her actual due date is on Sunday...but my guess is that she won't have her until November 2.

A New Neice...or Nephew?

Courtney's water broke a little while ago, so soon Colin will have a little cousin! Hopefully the baby will be little Rachael...since that's what Court has been preparing for!

First Time To Meet Colin

Megan got to meet Colin for the first time during her visit home. Colin just loved being held by his Titi Megan! 

Megan's Coming

Megan's coming home for the weekend from college (Alabama). We are excited to see her. This is the first time that she will get to meet Colin!

Interesting...

I came across this and thought it was interesting.

Here is mine:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 32 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Here is Miguel's:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 6 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Funny thing, is that 3 of them are related to Miguel!

Here is Colin's:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 9 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

I totally thought my Colin would be the only one!

New Pictures

I finally uploaded some new pictures of Colin that Whitney took today! They are cute! See them on my smugmug page. 

Colin

Colin is definitely developing his little personality. This morning he is all smiles for his mommy and papi. He hears our voice, and looks for us smiling! He's got an adorable dimple on his right cheek when he smiles. What a beautiful thing. I'm stalling on getting ready for church just so I can make this moment last. He's such a happy baby!

His reflux seems to be doing better. We've put him back on the Enfamil AR, and we are just adding karo syrup to each feeding to prevent the constipation. We've also switched to Dr. Browns bottles, and at first I didn't think that they helped, but they do. Now I just need to go out and buy more of them!

On a Side Note

Ok, this is serious...I need to know...

Danny & I are debating this topic, and I know I'm right!

Do the majority of men have skidmarks in their underwear? (YES!!!) I've started a poll, please vote!

Skidmark Poll

Update on Colin

First of all, thank you to everyone who prayed for Colin. I know prayer works!

Colin had his Barium swallow test today, and he does not have pyloric stenosis...thank God! But, and here is the but, his pyloric sphincter (the sphincter at the bottom of the stomache that empties into the small intestine) is spasming, and can get to the point where it won't open, and turns into pyloric stenosis. He definitely does have reflux, and the radiologist said that it can be due to the spasming. Colin is at risk for pyloric stenosis until he is about 10 weeks old. After which time, his chances of getting it decreases, and the spasms should be slowing down...which in turn will help his reflux problem.

I'd like to ask everyone to continue to keep Colin in your prayers, not only for the pyloric stenosis thing, but also for the reflux. It's not comfortable for him, and he's not sleeping as well as he would if he didn't have it. Thanks!

Completed Nursery

Okay, so I finally took some pictures of the completed nursery. It only took me like 2 months! So, for those of you who were asking for them, here you go!

Nursery 

Prayer for Colin

This morning at 10:30 is Colin's Upper GI Series test. I am very nervous, and would like to ask everyone to please keep Colin, and Miguel & I in your prayers this morning.

3 Nights in a Row!

Colin has slept over 5 hours straight for the past 3 nights! I am beginning to wonder if it's going to stick. Last night I actually woke him up after 5 hours...I know, I know...never wake a sleeping baby, don't know why I did it! Yay!

BTW - can anyone see the picture with the post below? I can't see it.

I posted some new pictures of Colin in the "1 Month to 2 Months" folder in smugmug. He's so adorable! 

Colin slept!

Or better yet...I slept! For the first time, last night Colin slept for 5 1/2 hours straight! I know that's not great, but considering he was only going 3 hours, 5 1/2 is wonderful! I'm not sure what to attribute it to. We've changed so many things in the past few days. He's on yet again another formula...Enfamil Gentlease. That didn't work by itself, so now we are mixing that with the Enfamil AR. We've also gone to feeding him every 4 hours instead of every 3. He's now getting 5 oz. instead of 4 oz. We've also given in, and he's sleeping in his swing. Miguel moved it to his room last night. I didn't really want to do that, but he actually slept better...and longer. Praise God! Now if we could only get the spitting up issue to end...he did really good last night, but this morning is just terrible. I fed him at 7:00, and he's been spitting up lots since then.

Family Worship

We started a Friday night family worship this past Friday. We opened Sabbath, ate dinner, had a brief bible study/worship, prayer time, dessert, and fellowship. It turned out nicer than I expected! I am hoping to continue it each week, and maybe make it a family tradition.

World of Warcraft Video

Ok, so I laughed through the whole thing and had to watch it over and over!

1 Month Checkup

I took Colin to his 1 month checkup appointment today. The doctor said that he is developing wonderfully, and his growth is great. He weighs 9 lbs. 5 oz. (which is 50-75% percentile), and is 21 inches long (also 50-75% percentile). He does have reflux (poor baby), so the doctor started him on some medicine that should help with the burning but won't help the spitting up. The formula that we had him on to stop him from spitting up so much was causing him constipation, so we had to switch formulas...again. I've already noticed that he's back to spitting up more, but at least it doesn't seem to be burning as much as before.

First Smile

Ok, so this isn't a picture of Colin's first smile, but he is so pimp! I popped his collar, and gave him a faux hawk just like his Papi!

Now about that first smile...My little Colin smiled at me for the first time yesterday! At first I thought is was just gas like all of the other times, but then he smiled at me again when I was talking to him. Still thought is was gas. Later on in the day he smiled at me a third time, and this time I knew he was smiling at me. We met grammy for lunch, and he gave her a big smile too. Later when papi got home, Colin was cranky, and wasn't in the mood for anymroe smiling, but papi got a little smile too! Yay! My little boy is gaining his personality! 

Happy Birthday Casey!

Casey, I hope that you have a wonderful birthday. May God give you another blessed year! 

How Time Flies

I can't believe that my precious little baby will be 1 month old tomorrow. I am sad & happy. He's growing so fast. I have to take pictures almost every day to capture his changes. Today is the last day that I posted pictures to the "Birth to 1 Month" folder on smugmug. Check out the pics, b/c tomorrow will start a new folder! 

New Name

So I'm sick of "Kristen's Korner". Blah is what it is. I need a new name. Any suggestions?

New Pictures

I uploaded a few more pictires to the "Birth to 1 Month" folder on smugmug. Only a few more days before I have to start a "1 Month to 2 Months" foler. I can't believe how fast the time is going! 

My First Attempt at Photoshop Elements

I've had photoshop elements for a while now, but I think that it intimidates me. After seeing the prices for birth announcements that I liked, I decided that I wanted to try to make Colin's birth announcement. So, 4 1/2 hours later, here you have it...my first attempt at phtoshop elements! 

Happy 20th Birthday Whitney!

We are glad to have you as part of the family. Have a great 2oth birthday! 

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy 40th (haha) birthday mom! I love you! 

A Good Night's Sleep!

I guess as good as it's going to get...at least for a while! Colin stayed awake for a good portion of the day yesterday. I gave him his last feeding at 11:00 last night. poor baby didn't want to go to sleep until 12:30...but that's ok, because he let me sleep until 3:45 this morning. I fed him, and put him back to sleep and he let me sleep until 7:15. I'm liking not waking up every 2 hours!

So I Failed Miserably

Yup, I did. I failed miserably at breastfeeding. It's all I wanted to do. I was all prepared for it. At least, I thought I was. It started ogg wrong in the hospital when Colin wasn't latching properly and blistered my nipples. He blistered them so bad that I had to stop breastfeeding and start pumping b/c it hurt so bad. Well, since i had to do that I wasn't emptying my breasts of the milk fully, so I became engorged. Very painful, might I add. I waited too long to get help for the engorgment, so my milk supply went down. By the time that I wasn't engorged anymore, I was ready to try breastfeeding again, but now my problem was the milk supply. Colin went back to the breast, again making my nipples sore, so back to pumping, and back to the milk supply issue. After an engorgement, sore nipples x3, and 3 visits with a lacatation consultant and a couple hundred dollars later...I still failed miserably at breastfeeding. Am I depressed? You bet. Do I feel like an ass? Sure do. I mean, this is supposed to be the most natural thing to do...and I can't. Little Colin boy is now on formula. The mention of breastfeeding or breasts, or breastmilk, or pumps or anything of that nature still brings tears to my eyes. I think I've cried over this more than I should have, but it really bothers me that I can't do it.

9/11/01 - Where Were You?

So 5 years ago today was the day. Need I say more? I know that everyone knows where they were and what they were doing that morning.

I was in New York, about 40 miles north of Manhatthan. I was heading to class, A&P I to be exact. My professor was running late for class, which we all thought was odd, b/c she was always on time. Next thing I knew she came running into class sobbing and saying that a plane crashed into the World Trade Center and that she had a bad feeling about it. The second plane hadn't crashed yet. Miguel called my cell phone a few minutes later, but I didn't answer b/c I was in class. Someone came to my classroom a few minutes later and talked to the professor in private. She came back into the class saying taht the school was in lockdown b/c a second plane crashed into the tower, and people weren't sure what was going on. They moved us to another classroom with a bunch of other students. They finally let some of us go home after they asked us where we lived. A lot of students at my college lived in NYC. I only lived a 5 minute drive from the college, so they let me leave. I called Miguel on my way home, where he filled me in on what was happening. We both spent the rest of the dat with the news station on. We were worried about my mom b/c she was working in a hospital across the bridge, and very close to Manhattan. I tried calling her, but since her hospital was put on disaster watch, the phone lines were flooded, and I wasn't able to talk to her until much much later.

So, where were you?

New Pics

I posted some new pictures of Colin on smugmug today. I'm going to break down the pics by month for the first year, just because babies change so much in the first year of life. The new album is "Birth to 1 Month." I'm just going to add photos to that folder throughout the month. Make sure to check them out often!

Colin's 2 Week Report Card

Colin had is 2 week check up today. Everything went great. The doctor was pleased with his progress so far. Colin now weighs 7 lbs. 5 oz. (25th percentile). He's almost back up to his birth weight! He is 20 inches long (50th percentile).
We took him over for his second newborn screen, where they pricked his heal for blood. Boy was he a trooper! He wimpered when they first pricked him, but didn't make a peep after that.
BTW - isn't that just the cutest picture? 

2 Weeks Old

I can't believe that Colin is already 2 weeks old! The time is flying by. We have our 2 week appointment today, and I will update later to say how it went!

Prayers for Nanny

Nanny had her surgery today. It was to remove the hernia that she had sitting on top of her belly that restricted her breathing. It was a pretty intricate surgery. She had to have her cardiologist and her pulmonologist agree that it was okay for her to go ahead with the surgery before the surgeon would perform it. I was really scared that she wouldn't make it out of the surgery since during the last surgery she had, she had a heart attack on the table, and almost didn't make it out. With lots of prayers, Nanny made it out okay. I spoke to her tonight, and she is in incredible pain, but recovering. Please keep my Nanny in your prayers for a speedy recovery so she can come back to Texas and meet her great-grandson!

Congratulations Sean & Emily!

Miguel & I are so happy for you two! We can't wait to meet your new bundle of joy...in 9 months! Another playmate for Colin!