McHam Madness

Life Changes...

2011-12-19T09:00:00.008-06:00

So I realized it has been way too long since I posted on my blog. So much life has happened!

Jayden has turned 3 years old, Kenley just turned 2 years old and we are expecting #3 in June! We are so excited to welcome another sweet soul into the McHam family.

The girls have started "school" this year. They attend MDO and Pre-school at CSK (Christian School of Kingwood) and they LOVE it! They are learning so much and they adore their teachers. They go twice a week and it has been such a blessing!

I am seeing a couple of doctors pretty regularly during this pregnancy. I have seen my Endocrinologist several times and I have been going to the OB once a week. They have recently pulled that back to once every two weeks so it won't be so bad.

Since I posted last, I have been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. That means that my body is not producing any insulin at all. That is the hormone that helps your body change sugar into energy. So, I have recently gotten an insulin pump. It is AMAZING! Instead of giving myself 5 shots a day, I now have one injection site that I change around every 3 days. The pump looks like a little pager or cell phone clipped onto my pants or wherever. It has helped so much over the past week that I have had it. Technology is really amazing. Over the last week, I have felt so much better and my diabetes has been in complete control!

So, that is about all that is happening with us now. Christmas is coming up and we are excited to spend the weekend with my family in Arlington. Honestly...I'm so excited for the holidays to be over. We have been going constantly since mid-November. I am so ready to not have anywhere else to go or anyone else to dress up for! Don't get me wrong...I LOVE the holidays...especially Christmas! I just long for the days when we celebrated Christmas Eve opening family presents and then waking up Christmas day to what Santa brought. Only then did we pack up and head to Grandma's house. We didn't have 5 separate Christmases with multiple extensions of the family. It was so much simpler then and so much more special!

Okay...I'm off my soapbox now. I do LOVE the holidays and I LOVE watching my kids' faces light up when we talk about Santa and when they see him. We spend a lot of time talking about the reason of the season and the reason we give presents in the first place. Merry Christmas everyone and keep the focus on the reason we are all here!

Success!

2011-03-04T15:27:00.003-06:00

Well, a lot has happened since I last posted, but it doesn't really seem like I have a lot to tell. Life!

I didn't really get to finish my 21 day challenge, but I am still having success with my weight loss and eating healthier. I was doing very well on the challenge and seeing some success, but the timing was just really bad! We had a trip planned that put me out of town for 5 days and then we got iced in, in Arlington for an extra day. Needless to say...I wasn't going to drive to Dallas (40 minutes each way) to pick up more food for the program. When I got home it was really difficult to fit it into the routine of our daily life. I really enjoyed the food and I wish I was able to stick with it. However, I did learn A LOT! I learned about fixing foods that are healthier and portions. Even after just 1.5 weeks, I was able to train myself to only eat the right portion sizes. My body just recognizes that it is satisfied faster! It is awesome.

So...the results so far: I am at 134 lb (pre-pregnancy weight was 133!) and I have lost 3 inches in my hips!!!! I am so excited! I had to buy new jeans because I was really tired of pulling up my other ones all the time!! I am continuing to learn and adjust what I eat and what I do for exercise. Everyone is noticing the difference and it feels GREAT!

My Mary Kay business is going really well! I finally recruited my third person and have now earned my RED JACKET! That is one thing I LOVE about this business. I am my own boss and if I want a promotion...I just have to do the work to promote myself. If I don't meet my goals...no one can fire me. I just push back the deadline a little! And you mothers know that with two little babies...deadlines get pushed...a lot! :)

The family is doing great! Travis is being shifted around at work to a better team. He is pretty excited about being on a different team and actually enjoying his work.

Jayden is getting so big and is such an awesome big sister! She helps out so much around here,especially with her little sister. We were playing a game the other night and one of the cards asked Jayden to say the name of a friend, "KENLEY!!" is the first thing that she yelled! :) My heart melted!! There is just nothing like sisters!

Kenley is WALKING!!!! Scary! She has really started to move and groove! She loves to dance and it is very entertaining to watch her try to walk and dance at the same time. HILARIOUS!

Well, that is about it for now. I really am trying to be better at posting. I need to schedule a time each day to sit down and do it. I'm just really bad at scheduling! :) We'll see what happens!

Thanks for sticking around!

21 Day Challenge - Day 3

2011-01-26T06:18:00.005-06:00

Day 2 was a lot easier than Day 1!

I think I'm getting the hang of this! :) Yesterday, I was a lot busier than the day before, so it made it easier to not focus on food or whether I was really hungry. I just didn't have time to eat anything other than what I had on my meal plan. I did find out that I don't like Greek Yogurt. Yuck! Why would anyone want to eat anything that has an after-taste like vomit. I just don't get it! Oh well...

The food I had yesterday was actually pretty good. The meals were great and the cookie I had for a snack in the afternoon was awesome! I don't know if it was the fact that I had gone over 24 hours without something sweet or if the cookie was just that good! :)

I had a lot to do yesterday so that kept me busy. I had Ladies' Bible Class in the morning and that distracted me to lunch. Then, when the babysitter came, I ran a couple of errands before it was time to take Kenley to her first Little Gym class of the semester! It was so much fun! Kenley was fearless!!! She tried everything and by the end of the class she was taking over! :) I also noticed a huge difference in the amount of energy I had this time. When we went for our introductory class, I was able to do everything with her, but could feel myself getting tired. This time...I did everything with her and chased after her, ran around with her and I didn't feel tired at all!! I am feeling a big difference in myself after just 2 full days of this challenge. I'm so excited!

After Little Gym I went shopping with Kenley. I got some new tennis shoes because my old ones were 4 years old and the plastic in the back was digging into my ankles every time I moved. It was time! I got some really cute ones:

I also got some new heels that are super cute:

Okay...enough about shoes! :) After our shopping trip, I went home and got Jayden. Her Little Gym class is scheduled for Fridays at 3:15, but we are going to be out of town this Friday. So, I rescheduled for last night at 6:30 so that she would still be on schedule with her class. She had a blast! Travis showed up a few minutes into the class and took over for me. I stuck around and got pictures and I'll post those of Jayden and Kenley as soon as I get them off my camera. I love watching my girls learn and explore and find confidence in themselves. Jayden was asked to demonstrate the new skill and she did great! It was on the uneven bars. The instructor had her stand on a step and jump to grab onto the lowest bar. She did it on the first try!!! And she kept wanting to go back. I'm so proud of my girls!

Okay...so back to my challenge. I'm already noticing a difference in my energy level and also with my blood sugar. I took 7 units of insulin yesterday morning because my numbers were still a little high 2 hours after breakfast. When you exercise, your body releases a growth hormone and a lot of sugar so that your body can burn the fat. So...you blood sugar spikes...big! I am just having to learn how to control that with what I eat for breakfast. All day my numbers were awesome! I was 122 before bed last night!!!!!!!!!! That is AWESOME! This morning I was at 133!!!! I am so excited!

I did have a harder time waking up this morning. I just wanted to lay back down and sleep. But I didn't! I got up, worked out and did my liver cleanse. Now...I just need to get myself ready for the day!

So...I better wrap this up. My mother-in-law is coming to pick up my girls for the day in a couple of hours and a client coming over for a facial. I need to get this place picked up! :) Thanks for the support!!

Weight: 139.4 lbs

Total Weight Loss: .4 lbs

Day 2 (21 Day Challenge)

2011-01-25T08:06:00.003-06:00

Day 2 and going strong!

I woke up at 5:30am this morning. I allowed myself 30 minutes extra of sleep because I went to bed 30 minutes later than I should have last night. I still got everything done by the time Jayden got up!

Before I get too much into today...I need to tell you about yesterday! I made it through the day without giving in to temptation! I was sooo hungry! But I did not deviate from the meal plan. I realized that Liz (my nutritionist) only has me eating 1300 calories a day. WHAT!? She is crraaaazy! So, I let her know this morning that I was hungry throughout the day and she will adjust it for me. The meals were all so good...especially my dinner! I had chili for dinner and it was, quite possibly, one of the best chilis I have ever had.

During the day I was very tempted to snack on all my old treats. So, I called my best friend Leigh! She came over and distracted me for the rest of the day. Then I had my weekly Mary Kay meeting to keep me away from the pantry! :)

Leigh is my main support at this point. Travis is awesome, but he isn't the best accountability partner! :) He still has to have his half of the pantry with the white bread, Pop Tarts and such. Having all that around is hard, but he isn't the one who has to live with Diabetes. The girls will eat whatever I fix for them, so that helps. Soon, Daddy will be the only one eating the bad food! :) Anyway...Leigh went with me to my consultation with Liz so that she could hear everything I was told and so she can hold me accountable. She is awesome!

Yesterday morning I took my insulin as usual and by the time I needed my first snack I was crashing hard! After my snack I was fine. I went through the rest of the day and before dinner I tested my blood sugar. It was perfect! So...I didn't take my insulin. I ate dinner and two hours later (when you are supposed to check the peak of your sugars) I was at 152 (a PERFECT number for me)!!! In ONE DAY I have proven that I can control my Diabetes with my diet! **Don't worry...I'm checking my blood sugars regularly to make sure I am stable and will continue my insulin use if needed.

This morning I did not take my insulin because my blood sugar was at a GREAT level!

DAY 1 = SUCCESS, HOPE and EXCITEMENT!!

This morning was great! I woke up at 5:30, did my work out (was easier today, but my legs hate me), did the Liver cleanse and ate breakfast. I even had some quiet time to sit down and read my Bible before the chaos of the day. Then I got ready for the day...all before Jayden woke up (Kenley is still asleep)!

I did the Liver cleanse as a shot this morning and it was SOOOOO much better! I still wanted to throw up right after I took it, but it subsided after about 10 minutes. I was able to eat breakfast and I had my wheat protein isolate drink. I am hoping it helps me stay full during the day so I am not tempted to snack!

I feel so good today! I am so excited about the idea that I just might be able to pull this off! :)

Day 2:

Weight: 139.4 lbs

Total Weight Loss: .4 lbs

AND GOING STRONG!

Thank you to those who are encouraging me with comments! I need them!!

21 Day Challenge - Day 1

2011-01-24T07:23:00.002-06:00

Today is the first day of my 21 Day Challenge with My Fit Foods!

My goals:

1) Get control of my blood sugar levels

2) Get off insulin

3) Lose 10 lbs.

Beginning weight: 139.8

Insulin: 10 units morning and evening

Here is how it works:

My Fit Foods is a company started by a man who was a trainer. He got frustrated when he wasn't seeing fast results with his clients, so he started cooking for them. Soon, he was cooking for the entire gym. Now he has a company that cooks great quality, healthy meals and snacks. He started this business in Houston, but it has spread.

I went in yesterday for a consultation with a nutritionist. We talked about my likes, dislikes and goals. She spent an hour with me, educating me and putting together a meal plan for the next 21 days.

So...for the next 21 days, I am going to be waking up at 5:00am, working out, drinking a liver cleanse and eating breakfast. Then I will continue to eat, pre-made meals and snacks, every 3 hours. I will be documenting my progress here so whoever wants to join me in my journey...can! :)

Okay...so some of you are questioning my sanity regarding the 5:00am wake time. The reason I chose that time is because that gives me the perfect amount of time to get everything done that I need to, get a shower and get ready for the day before my kids wake up.

Today it began! I woke up at 5:00am and did my Biggest Loser Boot Camp workout with Bob! It kicked my HINEY!!!! Right after working out I drank the liver cleanse. Okay...I fought back the urge to vomit the entire time! That thing is NASTY! Here is what it consists of:

- 12 oz water

- Lemon juice (fresh squeezed)

- Apple Cider Vinegar

- Cranberry juice

- B-12

There are a couple of ways to drink this: 1) All together or 2) the last four ingredients as a shot and then drink the water. I made the mistake of putting it all together. NASTY NASTY NASTY!!!! I was fighting the urge to run to the bathroom and hug the toilet. Did I mention it was NASTY?! BUT...I'm determined. I am going to do this for 21 days. I will find what works for me and I will DO IT! Apparently, artificial sweeteners are really bad for your liver if you use them a lot. I do!! I use Splenda in EVERYTHING! So...I really really really need to cleanse my liver. I WILL DO THIS! (can you tell I'm trying to convince myself?)

This morning I had breakfast tacos. They were really good!! I'm looking forward to my snack at 9:00am! :)

Alright...that is day 1! We are just beginning and I am so excited. I really feel good about taking charge and doing something to get my diabetes under control!

Thanks for joining me on my journey!

Kenley's First Steps

2010-12-27T14:56:00.002-06:00

Today: 12/27/2010

Kenley took her first steps to her daddy! It was so fun and Daddy got a little teary eyed!

Thoughtful Thursday

2010-11-18T17:29:00.002-06:00

Please don't think that I'm a bad mother by not responding to my child's cry of, "I want you!" There are just days when you know that is manipulation. This has been happening all day and just thought I would share one of the reasons that us mothers seem to have lost our minds on many days. :)

This is actually a pretty rare occurrence around here, so I had to share!

29 Years Old!

2010-11-03T12:20:00.003-05:00

My birthday was yesterday and it was a great day! I went to Ladies' Bible Class in the morning and then spent the afternoon with my girls. At 3:30pm I had a 90 minute massage! It was heavenly!! :)

Apparently, while I was gone, Jayden had been complaining that her tummy was hurting so the babysitter had given her some laxative. She had started complaining as soon as I left (3:15) and

when I got home she was still hurting. She would randomly cry out in pain. It was awful! I finally decided that when Travis got home, we were going to take her to the doctor. So, Travis got home and the babysitter came about the same time. (We had another babysitter come so that we could go out for my birthday dinner.) Travis and I loaded up Jayden in the car and started driving. About the time we pull into the parking lot at the hospital (doctor's office was closed) Jayden cries out one more time and lets out the biggest TOOT I have ever heard come out of her! And then...she was ALL better! That is right... I almost took my daughter to the ER for GAS!!!!! Ugh...

My birthday dinner still happened! We took Jayden home and went out. Travis took me out to my traditional birthday place...RED LOBSTER!! Woohoo!!! It was good to get out and spend time with my hubby. We had some time to go walk around at Bed, Bath & Beyond after dinner. I love spending time with Travis no matter what we are doing!

Kenley has the stomach bug that the rest of us had the last couple of weeks. :( Poor kid! We thought we got her out of the house in time to avoid it, but apparently her tummy is giving her issues!

God please give my babies a rest from the sicknesses going around!

Halloween and New Business

2010-11-01T22:21:00.003-05:00

Hello World!

I know it has been a long time, but isn't that I have been starting all of my posts lately?! Okay...please leave a comment when you read this so that I know people are still out there reading my blog. Sometimes I feel like I'm writing and posting out into the internet world and no one is out there still reading. I don't blame those who have given up on me, but I need a little reassurance that my mother-in-law is not the only one who still wants to know what is going on!! I would still post just for you Mimi!! :)

Halloween was a blast! We only got a few pictures of the evening, but the only reason we have ANY pictures is our dear friend Tong! My camera went missing, along with the memory card holding all of my pictures for September and October. :( We have looked high and low, in all cars, at the homes of friends and family. No camera! I'm thinking it fell out of my car (not sure how that hunk of a camera could fall and me now hear or see it) or someone took it. It makes me sad, but I got a new camera today! Yay!

Okay...on to the important stuff...pictures of the girls last night!

Our sweet girls did so well! They really had a blast and went straight to sleep when we got home! It was great! :)

I guess the biggest news for our family recently is that I am now working! I am now an Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay! I'm so excited about my new business and I am really having fun with it! I have some big goals, so if you are interested in helping me out, leave a comment, email me, call, text, or whatever!

My website is www.marykay.com/janakaymcham and my email is janakaymcham@marykay.com!

Stay tuned as I will try to post more often (I say that every time too) and I hope to post my goals and success for my business!

Life With Diabetes

2010-08-11T10:16:00.003-05:00

As most of you know...I now have Diabetes! I had Gestational Diabetes with both of my pregnancies and now I am a type 2 diabetic. I have been insulin dependent because I was nursing Kenley.

About 3 weeks ago, I noticed that I was starting to get really fatigued again and so I started checking my blood sugar more regularly. I was back up in the 200's (the normal average fasting level for someone with diabetes is 130). Getting up in the 200's is NOT GOOD! I was so tired that I could not stay awake. It was almost like being in the first trimester of pregnancy...you just can't get enough sleep.

So, I went to the doctor yesterday. Apparently...birth control makes your blood sugar shoot up! Well...THAT would have been nice to know!!!! Grrr....

I just started birth control again since I stopped nursing Kenley. Yup...I started it 3 weeks ago. Exactly when my numbers went up. I am now taking a higher dosage of insulin, but he also put me on Metformin. Our goal is to get me off of insulin all together. Yay!!!

We will see what happens.

____________________________________________________________________

Here is the video of Kenley crawling...

Since The Last Post

2010-08-07T14:27:00.006-05:00

We have been BUSY!!!

After camp Travis built the first level of our new deck. Our friend Tong came over and helped too. It is nice to have it and much more appealing to look at than the concrete patio we had before. He did such a great job!

While they were building the deck, Kenley decided to start sitting up on her own. She is now crawling a bit and it is so fun to watch Jayden encourage her sister. (I will upload a video as soon as I can. This thing is giving me a hard time!)

In July we had Jayden's birthday. She turned 2! It is amazing how time flies. Our little girl is growing up so fast. She is testing at the 3.5 year old level on her developmental evaluations. She is too smart! We don't get away with much these days! :) For her birthday party we had a Backyardigans theme. Jayden had so much fun!

Yup...I made that! :)

To start our August, we have two of my nephews here with us! Wade and Lafe came to stay with us on Wednesday and they are staying until Monday. We are having SO MUCH FUN!!! Thursday we just laid around and had fun playing games. Yesterday we went to the Zoo and then swimming! Jayden was so excited about Wade and Lafe coming that she kept saying, "Take Wade to Zoo?!" She kept telling me to get my shoes on and go get Wade! It was precious. SO, of course we had to go to the zoo. I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures from there. Today (Saturday) we went and had lunch with Mimi and Pop and tonight, we are going to have Aunt Norma, Uncle Danny and Grandma Mary over for dinner! It is going to be a good time!

That is it for now. We will keep you posted on the exciting times here at the McHam's! :)

Here are some pictures I took of the girls to hold you over! ;)

I Wish Babies Could Talk & Tell Us What Is Wrong With Them!

2010-06-14T22:51:00.003-05:00

My husband, all my sisters, my mom and many others are at camp tonight and I am at home. :(

Kenley woke up from a nap on Saturday and her left check was really swollen. We took her to the ER and they gave her some antibiotics for Parotitis. That is an infection is the Parotid gland just in front of the ear. She reacting very well to the medicine. The swelling has gone down, but of course we have to continue the antibiotics for 8 more days!

I took her in to the doctor today and they drew some blood and took a culture for testing. The blood work shows that her white blood cells are normal, but there is a presence of the cells that fight off viruses. We are waiting for the culture results to come back to let us know if I can go to camp at all. That could take a few days. The earliest I would get to go is Thursday and camp ends on Saturday. I'm not sure I want to drive up just to turn around a day and a half later. Ugh! Great timing, right!?

Oh well...we will see what happens...

Jayden is in Little Rock with her Mimi and Pop for the week. She went with them so that we wouldn't have to take her to camp. I'm sure she is having a blast, but I miss her!!! I was supposed to have camp to distract me, but now I'm just sitting at home with Kenley missing my other baby! Here is a picture and video...

Saturday Mornings with Dad!

UPDATE

2010-06-08T09:46:00.010-05:00

**I have added something I forgot in the original post. Go down to May!**

It has been 2 months since I posted last. Sorry for the absence, but life has been pretty crazy. I'll try and remember the big things that have happened! :)

In March:

1) I took the girls on a trip to see all of my sisters. It was a blast! We went to LJ's first and had a great visit. Then we went to DL's and Jayden got sick. :( We ended up staying in most of the time, but it was a good visit. Next we went to Mom's and visited with JB. We went to the Dallas Zoo and met my cousin Jill and her son Nicholas there. It was really good to see them! Finally we went to KA's. That was a lot of fun. I miss getting to see my sisters all the time. I decided that I was going to make an effort to go visit each of my sisters each year. I also decided to go see Mom and Dad more often. I just get so caught up in my family's schedule that I don't think about the fact that I can go see them during the week. I don't have to wait for a weekend that Travis can go.

2) Travis and I had our 3 year anniversary! It is hard to believe that we have only been married for 3 years and have 2 girls. I am so glad I married my best friend! We are so happy and can't wait to see what God has in store for us.

3) We had our family pictures taken! Our friend Tong has really gotten into photography and we were so willing to let him use our family to get started! :)

In April:

1) We went to Little Rock to visit Travis' brother Mark and his family for Easter. It was so much fun! We colored Easter eggs and had a hunt in the back yard. It was great! We also went hiking. Jayden had a blast!! She did awesome and wanted to climb the mountain all by herself. :)

2) Jayden has learned Ephesians 6:1! She has actually gotten to the point where she can say it all by herself since we took this video.

In May:

1) I took the girls up to see Mom again. It was a great visit! We went up to see her parents in Wayne, OK. It was so good to see them!! Kenley decided she wanted a taste of Oma's coffee! :) She kept pulling Mom's cup toward her and chewing on the edge of the cup. She is getting so big.

2) Mark and Jenny came in for a weekend in May also. Jayden had a blast spending the night over at Mimi and Pop's with her cousins Tristan and Pierce. She often wakes up in the morning or from her naps (sometimes both) asking for them! I keep telling them that they need to move in next door. Literally...the house next door is for sale! :)

3) Jenny has started her new photography business too! (sorry I forgot sis!) Here are some awesome shots she got of Kenley!

Now that we are in June, a couple of things are going on! First, we have camp next week! Yay! We are getting so excited. :)

Also, Travis and I have started a workout routine. We have doing it for a week and so far...it is going great! I lost 3 lbs last week! Woohoo! I am really trying to get these last 30 pounds off. I want to do everything I can to get off of insulin! My numbers have been so high and I'm nursing, so I can't take the oral medication (not that I want to take it anyway...I have not heard one good thing about any of the oral medications for diabetes). So, my goal is to get everything under control and not have to take anything! We will see...

As a final note...please pray for Kingwood Church of Christ. We have had a lot of blows lately. Satan is really at work and while we are able to show what this church is made of...it is very trying. I am so proud of our church and the way that everyone has handled the last couple of weeks. Life has been delivering blow after blow, but I am looking up!

God is my refuge and my strength! I can do anything through Him!

Family Pictures!

2010-03-28T21:41:00.002-05:00

Our friend Tong Utakrit is starting his photography business and he offered to take our family pictures if we allowed him to use our pictures for his portfolio. So...of course we did it! Plus, he is an AWESOME photographer and we would love any chance to capture precious moments with our little ones. We got some great shots that I will post later. However, we need a caption for one of our favorite shots. Leave your suggestions in the comments and I will pick a winner on Tuesday!

Play Time!

2010-02-22T20:25:00.006-06:00

I took Jayden to Kids In Action today. It was so much fun! This is a place where kids develop skills and do gymnastics. They use a Kindermusic curriculum that is so creative! They have free play every once in awhile and that is why we went today. We met some friends there and Jayden had such a blast! She was fearless and wanted to try EVERYTHING!

Then it was music play time! She played with bubbles, balloon balls and with friends!

And then Daddy got home!

Kenley has gotten so big! She is almost 3 months and it is amazing how fast the little babies grow! She is smiling and squealing all the time!

Kenley is 2 Months Old!

2010-02-09T10:46:00.005-06:00

Kenley is 2 months old now! Time is flying! We have adjusted pretty well around here. I definitely have days where I am completely worn out by the end, but they are all fun! What a blessing to have 2 precious little girls! Plus, I know I'm the favorite daughter now since I have ONLY girls...(right Dadda??) :) J/K Sisters!

Kenley's 2 month stats are:

Height: 22 1/4 inches (47%)
Weight: 11lb 7oz (68%)
Head: 36.5cm (5%)

So we have a chunky, long baby with a tiny head! :) But she is gorgeous!

All three of us girls went to the park yesterday and had a ball! Jayden went down all the slides by herself. The only thing I helped her do was climb up the first step. She had it all under control from that point. I was so proud of her! She is growing up so fast.

Please Help!!

2010-02-05T09:41:00.001-06:00

Hello friends and family!!

Our friend Tracy Robinson is an INCREDIBLE photographer and she has taken pictures of our kids loads of times. She's just gone full time and is having a photo contest and some giveaways for best picture of 2009. Please, please, please go and vote! I have to warn you - There is some tough competition! But you gotta vote for JAYDEN (25) and if you know my awesome sister in law, her youngest boy PIERCE (#11) . You just go to http://doe-ee-bird.blogspot.com// and leave a comment on the blog OR you can email Tracy at tracy@doe-ee-bird.com.

Let me know when you go vote! :)

And We Are Back!

2010-02-01T14:49:00.005-06:00

Sorry it has been awhile. Our internet has acting up and it was on a very rare occasion that I could actually connect at all, and then it would drop within 5 minutes! Very frustrating...but I think we have it fixed now! :)

Things have changed around here a bit. Making the jump from one kid to two really wasn't that hard. Granted, the fact that Jayden has NO jealousy issues whatsoever and Kenley is her sister's own personal baby doll, has made it pretty painless. Jayden absolutely LOVES her baby sister. I hope they become the best of friends as they grown up! :) There is nothing like the bond of sisters.

Kenley is getting big. I haven't weighed her recently, but would guess that she is at least pushing the 12 lb marker. She is still sleeping and eating very well. We go back for her 2 month check up next Tuesday, February 9th. I believe they are planning to do an ultrasound to check out her one kidney, but I'm not sure. I'll give you an update after the appointment. I decided to use her musical sea horse as her visual growth guide! :)

during her 1st month

2 months

I went for my 6 week check up a week and a half ago. I took my 2 hour glucose test to see if my gestational diabetes went away. I FAILED the test!! :( So, technically, I'm a diabetic. I didn't test too high, so diet and exercise has helped to regulate my blood sugar levels over the past week. I went to see my PCP (primary care physician) today. He said that since I am nursing, there is none of the medications for diabetes that I can take, other than insulin, but my numbers are not high enough to treat with insulin. Also, he thinks that when I lose the last few pregnancy pounds the results of the test could be different. So, for the next 6 weeks, I am to exercise at least 3 times a week and stay on a diabetic diet. The hope is to have lost the last few pounds that I have hanging on by then. He is going to then test me again for diabetes and test my liver, kidney and thyroid. I see him again on March 22nd for the results of those tests. Please be praying that I am able to lose the weight and stick to the diet like I should. I am very thankful that I am not going to be dependent on insulin!

Here are some pictures of the girls to send you off...

Babies and Rodents!

2010-01-02T11:39:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year everyone! :) I hope everyone has had a great start to 2010.

We have been spending the weekend with my sister Lara Jane and her family. It has been fun to play Wii with them and the kids have really enjoyed each other. They are headed home today and we will miss having them here.

Kenley is just over 3 weeks old and we gave her a bath last night for the first time. She lost her umbilical cord last week, but we have just now found the time to give her a relaxing bath. :) She really enjoyed it.

We also got another addition to our family. We bought an indoor pet for Jayden. She really LOVES animals we decided that we wanted to get her a small pet that she can love on and play with. So, we did our research and found a pet that is one of the easiest to train. It is basically just like a small dog. They learn their names, you can train them to do tricks and you can train them to use a litter box. We got a RAT!!! That is right...a rodent! I have been very pleasantly surprised at how much she is a snuggler! Her name is Tilly and she is so sweet. That is weird to call a rat sweet, but hey...you can't deny that Tilly is special. :) Are we crazy? Probably...but we sure do love our life!

Welcome Kenley Adeline!!!

2009-12-09T12:54:00.004-06:00

At 4:00 this morning, our journey began. Even before the alarm I woke up and could not sleep another wink... well okay I could've... but not with Jana's snoring.

I nudged her awake, and after a quick shower, she was ready to go. So we sneaked out into the darkness and headed to the hospital.

Preop went on without much to tell about (I slept through most of it)... and then at 7:30 they came in, tossed me a pair of scrubs and took Jana to the O.R.

I had to wait out in the hall while they prepped her, then they called me in. I was shocked at how FAST everything went from that point. I barely had time to hold Jana's hand and ask her how she was feeling, before we were jostled about, and the doc started describing the baby's position.

As it turns out, the C-Section was a God send. She had turned face up and the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck.. both of which would have made for an eventful traditional delivery.

Seconds later we heard the first feeble cry. It didn't stay feeble for long...

I went with Kenley to the nursery while they stitched up Jana Kay. I got to hold her hand, and watch as the poked and prodded, and just generally made her mad.

She is definitely a McHam in looks. In fact, we see a lot of Pop in her!

A few hours later Oma and Jayden showed up, followed closely by Pop. We had to wait a while longer before they FINALLY brought her in to the recovery room, and Jana got to hold her for the first time.

Jayden was very intrugied and seemed excited at the thought of a baby doll in the room... just wait till she realises it's coming home with us... AND IT'S STAYING!!!!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers...

Stats:

9 Lbs

20 Inches

Born 8:15 AM.

And it is time...

2009-12-08T04:09:00.004-06:00

It is 4:10 AM on Tuesday morning and I can not sleep! My body is so exhausted and my mind is so tired. I haven't gotten a good night sleep in a very long time. I'm thinking I just might get the best night sleep I have had since getting pregnant, right after I have Kenley! Wouldn't that be nice...

The big day is Wednesday. Technically, that is TOMORROW! Wow...I can't believe it is actually here. My second baby's birthday is here! We are so excited! Oma is here to help take care of Jayden and Travis' parents live right around the corner, so they will be here to help out as well.

I know that having a c-section is major surgery. I know that there are some complications that could occur. I know that the bonding between me and Kenley will be delayed. But I'M SO EXCITED! She is going to be HERE! I'm going to be able to hold her. She will no longer be a dream of mine, but an actual living, breathing child that God has blessed our family with.

Travis has been working on a special project for Kenley's room over the last few weeks. He has built, from scratch and no plans, a new changing table! It is beautiful! Here is a picture of the finished product!

So, before I am laid up in the hospital for a few days and completely exhausted from becoming a mother of two...I thought I would post a few pictures of the McHam Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration that we just had.

This year, Travis and I "hosted" Thanksgiving for his side of the family at our house. I had great big plans for this event. However, Kenley decided to act up a little and pretend like she was coming early. I have had contractions for about 3 weeks now. Not Fun! Anyway, long story short...I made two trips to the hospital for observation and nothing happened, so my plans for Thanksgiving didn't really happen. My mother-in-law, Judy took over the cooking and made Thanksgiving dinner sooooo good!!! I think the best part of the entire meal was her gravy...made to perfection! :) We had Mark (Travis' brother) and his family stay with us from Monday until Thursday. Thursday night they headed over to Mimi and Pop's to spend the rest of the weekend.

On Friday, we went over to The Woodlands to have Christmas with everyone. We opened presents and played...A LOT! It was so much fun. I love it when Mark and Jenny get to come visit with the boys! They are so much fun and we don't get to see them enough. Hopefully, we will be able to take a trip to see them soon after Kenley is born. Here are a few pictures of the whole weekend. Enjoy!

I at least made the desserts! :)

Jayden loves her Pop! Just a sweet picture of her using him as a prop...

Jayden loves her Sweet Pea doll that she got for Christmas.

Jayden and her new sunglasses and purse! Thank you Aunt Jenny! We love to play dress up! :)

We will keep everyone posted as things unfold for our sweet little blessing coming on Wednesday! :)

Quick Update

2009-11-30T12:46:00.002-06:00

Hi Everyone! I know it has been awhile since I posted last. It has been busy around here and then the holidays hit! Where did they come from!? Anyway...I just have a few minutes to let everyone know what is going on.

This past week, we had Mark and Jenny and their two boys stay with us for Thanksgiving. They came in Monday and stayed at our house until after Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. We had so much fun! Jayden LOVES her big cousins and had so much fun waking up to playmates every morning. Thursday through Sunday, Mark and Jenny stayed with Mimi and Pop over in The Woodlands and we went over Friday to have an early Christmas celebration. Jayden and Kenley got so many great toys and so did Travis and I! :) I will update with details and pictures later...

During all the holiday hub-bub...I have been having contractions. Yup...I went to the doctor on Friday, the 20th (10 days ago) and I was dilated to 2cm and had noticed some contractions, but didn't think much of it. Friday night, however, we made a trip to the hospital because my contractions had gotten a little more intense and they were coming 3-4 minutes apart. By the end of the hour that they monitored me I had only dilated to a 3 and so they sent me home. Contractions continued through the weekend and I called my doctor on Monday. They had me come into the office and sit on the NST monitor for awhile. Then they decided they wanted to admit me into the hospital for observation. Ugh! So...I spent the night in the hospital, having contractions and at 8:00am the doctor checked me and I was still at a 3! Grrrr... So, here we sit...a week later and the contractions haven't stopped (they are mild and not too bad at all though). My body is tired, I'm tired and uncomfortable! It is kind of like Chinese water torture...just annoying and continuous!

So...as of right now...I'm not planning on this baby coming anytime soon. I get to tell Kenley, when she is born, that I was in labor with her for weeks! :) I'm resigned to the fact that she is not coming early.

And that brings me to my last piece of news: They moved my c-section from the 7th to the 9th. That is right! I'm having contractions with a planned c-section and they moved it forward 2 days!!!! I think they hate me!

So...if you get a chance and don't mind...send up a quick prayer that either this baby comes early, or the contractions stop all together. I'm not sure it is quite fair that I have to labor with a c-section. :)

I'll post again soon with pictures and details from the holidays!

We do plan to post during this delivery as well. It will be more about preparing for and then afterwards, but we will keep everyone updated (especially if we do go in early). Love to all!

Halloween and Update on Kenley!

2009-11-05T14:43:00.004-06:00

Halloween was a blast! Mimi and Pop came over along with a few of our friends. We all ate dinner and visited and then got Jayden all dressed up for Trick or Treating! She did awesome! It only took one house for her to catch on to the fact that everyone was giving her candy! :) She would prance right up to the front door (or people sitting in the driveway) knock, grab some candy, put it in her basket, say "Thank you" and turn and RUN to the next house. She knew the routine and she wasn't going to let slow poke Mommy hold her up! We were so proud!

After we got a basket full of candy (meaning the basket got too heavy for Jayden to carry and she would get mad if we tried to hold it for her) we headed back home to hand out candy to the neighbors. This year was a weird year. Last year our circle was swarming with kids in costume. This year...not so much. We did manager to give away a whole bowl of candy, but only because we started giving away fist fulls of candy. It was an off year...but a great one! :)

We have some neighbors who just love our baby girl! They have three girls of their own and Betsy (the mom) has always made their costumes. They have recently cleaned out the dress up closet, so they brought Jayden

over some old costumes. She didn't take these off all last night...

Okay...so I got in on the fun too! :)

I had my last appointment with the Perinatologist yesterday. He said that Kenley is doing just fine! Her one kidney is fully functioning and there are no other findings. She is 5lb 3oz. The doctor said, "Well...she isn't TOO big!" Ugh! I think Kenley is going to be big like her sister. I also had my regular weekly check up today. Everything looks good and I have my c-section scheduled for December 7th. I am really praying that Kenley comes before then. I would like to go into labor with her since we induced with Jayden. We will see what happens!

Jayden - 15 months (231 photos), by Jana McHam

2009-10-23T19:55:00.001-05:00

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

2 for 2

2009-10-22T13:46:00.006-05:00

Well...we are 2 for 2 now. Jayden skinned her knee on Monday and then busted her ear on Tuesday. My poor baby! She does tend to do this though. She will hurt herself every day for about a week and then we won't have any more incidents for awhile. She just gets adventurous and over confident. It is fun to watch her though! She is sooo proud of herself when she accomplishes something new!

She did this by trying to climb up on her tv table in the playroom and coming down on her ear right on the edge of the table. The swelling went down pretty quickly, but she has a nice big purple section on her ear now.

We went outside that day to play with Nikki. I love that there are days when Jayden will not stop begging to go outside and play. Usually she isn't content until we go in the back and play with Nikki. She loves that dog! :)

We went to the park last weekend and got some fun pictures:

I went to the doctor today for my weekly appointment. They checked the amniotic fluid around Kenley and it all looks good. They put me on the NST monitor (they watch the baby's heartbeat and check for possible contractions for about 20 minutes) and everything is good there too. We are still having a little trouble regulating my sugar levels. We adjusted my insulin again by just a little and I hope it works! I had several days where I crashed this past week and I hate that feeling! It is not something I want to happen when I am alone with Jayden. It makes me nervous. Anyway...we will see what happens.

I go back to the Perinatologist on November 4th. He wants to check and see how big Kenley has gotten. I'm excited to see a 4d picture of her again!! :)

Nothing But Daddy Will Do!

2009-10-19T19:58:00.005-05:00

This weekend was fun!

Saturday:

Travis and I went to see Where The Wild Things Are. It was really good! It is most definitely NOT a kid movie. It is much darker than the children's book. If you read the book as a kid, though, go see the movie!!

That evening, Jayden went and spent the night with Mimi and Travis and I went over to our friends' house. Carlos and Emily are new at our church, but we adopted them pretty quickly and it seems like they have been here forever! :) We were there along with another couple of our friends, Leigh and Tong. We had dinner and carved pumpkins! It was so much fun...

Sunday:

We celebrated our firefighters on Sunday. Each year, our church puts on a lunch for our local firemen. We have a big bar-b-q and it is fun to get to visit with and meet the men who serve our neighborhoods. After we ate, I took Jayden to say, "Thank you" to the firemen. She acted all shy until we were starting to leave and then she decided to blow kisses at the men. They all melted and there was a simultaneous, "Awwww". It is so fun watching grown men buckle under the power of a little girl! :)

After church we went and bought Jayden's Halloween costume. I love it!!! She kind of picked it out herself. She walked right up to the package and started making her monkey noises!

Today:

Well, today Jayden had a rough morning. She really Really REALLy wanted her Daddy and since he works downtown it makes it a little more difficult to get a quick fix. So, I tried to console her and we went outside. I tried to take pictures of her with the jack-o-lantern, but she didn't want anything to do with it. We started to go on a little walk down the driveway, but the entire time she was calling out to Daddy and when she realized he wasn't there...she broke down...

After that last picture I decided we had to do SOMETHING! We went inside and called Daddy. That didn't help very much. She just kept crying for Daddy. So, we loaded up the car and headed downtown. We had a great lunch with Daddy and then headed home for a nap. Her day was much better after that! Daddy fixes EVERYTHING!

This evening, Jayden and I went out to check the mail, like we always do and Jayden fell down...like she always does! She always trips and falls on the way to the mailbox. Today...it was different. We got our first really big ouchie!!! My poor baby! She was so brave though. She did cry...really loud and really hard...at first. But by the time we got upstairs to the first aid kit, she had calmed down and let me clean it up without much of a fuss at all. I was so proud of her! It is a little uncomfortable for her to walk on it, but she tries if asked to.

That is about it for now. Kenley is still growing and I am becoming less and less comfortable. I think I have started to have a few contractions (the feel very different at this point, but could still be braxton hicks). I go to the doctor on Thursday, so I will be sure and update everyone then.

15 Month Update

2009-10-11T16:57:00.007-05:00

Hello everyone! We are all doing so much better here at the McHam house. I still have a little congestion and a bit of a cough, but those can linger for a couple of weeks after the flu is gone. I pretty much have all of my energy back and I was able to clean my house and entertain some guests this weekend! :) Yay!

When I was sick, Travis took Jayden to College Station for a Memorial Boogie. This was a 10 year memorial to remember 5 skydivers who were killed in a plane accident in 1999. Travis'

cousin Jonathan Warden was one of them. It was a good weekend and they were able to see some old friends and reconnect. Jayden had fun running around and getting dirty! :)

She also got a chance to hang out with her two cousins on the McHam side of the family. This picture sums it up:

I took Jayden for her 15 month check up on Tuesday. She is doing great! Here are her stats:

Height: 30 inches (36%)

Weight: 21 lb 1 oz (22%)

Head Cir: 17.6 (18%)

Our little girl is growing up! She is still a football watcher! The first picture is her at 3 months old:

12 months later...nothing has changed!

Yesterday we spent some time outside while Daddy worked on the yard. We had fun and got a visit from our neighbor's yard Dude:And here is our little girl this morning. She is starting to look like a little girl now instead our baby!

Flu Bug Shmoo Bug!

2009-09-29T14:35:00.003-05:00

Unless of course you are pregnant!

I spent all day yesterday in the hospital to find out that I have the flu. Yuck! Being pregnant and having the flu...NOT FUN!

My mom drove in today to take care of me and Jayden is staying at a friend's house for awhile. Travis is having to work late all week (what timing) so at least he will be far away from me most of the time! I have never had the flu before...EVER! Ugh!

Since I last posted, I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes and we found out that baby Kenley has one kidney. She is still healthy and technically, she only needs one! :) She just can't play any contact sports when she gets older. That is OK!

What that means for me is...I might be diabetic anyway...even when not pregnant. Diabetics tend to have babies with kidney problems, spina bifida, etc. They will just watch me very closely after I deliver baby Kenley and I will start going to a specialist on a regular basis just to make sure we catch it early if I do develop diabetes.

Lots of prayers are appreciated, but we are all very confident that God has a great plan for this baby and we fully trust His plan for us! :)

Life Goes On...

2009-09-14T10:53:00.005-05:00

Well, not a lot has happened since I last posted. School is back in session so we are all starting to get back into a routine again. We have started Ladies' Bible Class again on Tuesdays. We are doing a study that I am really excited about. The book is "A Different Kind of Wild: Is Your Faith Too Tame?" We have a great mix of young mothers and older women. I am glad that I am getting the opportunity to learn from these women and get to know them better.

Jayden and I have been cleaning up at home and decluttering! :) Yes...I meant to say that my 14 month old is helping me...check this out!

And she has really enjoyed helping her Daddy with the home projects...

She has been working really hard to learn how to feed herself. She loves it!

And here are just a couple of cute shots...

Life is Crazy...

2009-09-03T13:07:00.002-05:00

There has been a lot going on around here since I last wrote, but I can't write about all of it. Life has just been crazy! I have been trying to sit down and blog for about a week now and I am just now finding the time.

Since I wrote last, I have been to the doctor and everything is just fine with baby Kenley. I am gaining weight in big chunks now and Kenley has become a lot more active. All the high school girls at church want to feel her move. When I was pregnant with Jayden, no one touched my belly until the last 2 weeks. Then it was a complete stranger who did! It is so funny to me that with this pregnancy, everyone wants to touch the belly and feel Kenley. I don't mind though, and it just shows me how many relationships God has blessed me with since we moved here.

Our house has become the after-school hang out! The high school girls come over and play with Jayden or just visit with me. They are so fun and I really enjoy the time that I have to get to know them. I have been helping Lindsay (the youth ministers wife, and my good friend) with teaching the Sunday morning Bible class for them too. I definitely feel like I am being used by God here.

Starting this Sunday, Travis and I are going to be teaching the High School class. We are so excited! They are joining the boys and girl back together and we are going to teach for the Fall quarter. I have really enjoyed getting to know the girls over the summer and now I am excited to get to know more of the boys.

I have also been asked to be part the praise team for worship on Sunday mornings. Our praise team is just a few people who sit with the congregation and sing with microphones. They are so subtle, it took me a couple of Sundays at this church before I even realized we had one! :) Anyway, this will be my second Sunday singing with them.

This past weekend Tong had his 24th birthday! The guys went and played paintball while we girls stayed and painted my kitchen, made peach cobbler and hung out. (Hey MOM! I made an awesome peach cobbler from scratch just like you taught me! I even made the peach on top!) Saturday evening we all went over to Tong and Leigh's new apartment to celebrate. It was great fun.

I don't think I have mentioned this yet, but I have gone back to school! I am doing an online course to get my "career diploma" (one step up from a certification) in Medical Transcription. They give you 15 months to complete the program, so technically I have until October 1st of 2010 to finish. My goal is to turn my final exam in on November 30th of this year! That would mean finishing the whole program and getting my diploma in just 5 months. I am right on track and should be able to finish before Kenley gets here! Then after we get settled in to our new life with two little girls, I can start working from home to earn a little extra money.

We aren't really in a position where I need to work, but I am married to a man who has a passion to do what he loves and he is not doing that right now. If we can get debt free and build up a nice pad in savings, then Travis will be able to go out and take his time to find the job that is made for him and that he can't wait to get out of bed for. That is the goal anyway! :)

Well, we have a long month ahead of us, but I will post about all of the happenings as they happen.

If you have made it this far and are still reading...I would like to ask for prayers. I can't talk about details, but a dear friend of mine needs a lot of help. She is a mother and wife and a child of God, but she has found herself in a dark hole that she is desparately trying to dig herself out of. Please pray for strength, wisdom and healing for her. Also, please pray for strength, patience, guidance and also healing for me and all of those around her at this time.

Thank you!

Update on McHam Happenings!

2009-08-20T08:29:00.012-05:00

Wow! We have been sooo busy! A lot has been happening, although it doesn't seem like a lot as I type this out. It was just all very close together and fun and didn't leave time for blogging about any of it! So...here is your update on the last month...it is really long, but trust me...anyone who reads to the end and knows my father will get a really good laugh!

Two days after the last post: Mimi (Travis' mom), Jayden and I packed up the car and drove 8.5 hours to Little Rock, Arkansas to visit my sister-in-law Jenny. All the men were in Colorado having fun cutting down trees and clearing the land that they own out there. Mark (Jenny's husband) took their oldest son Tristan (3 yrs old) with him. So...the girls got together for a fun filled GIRLS' WEEKEND! :) Woohoo! It was so much fun! Pierce (Jenny & Mark's other little boy) and Jayden got along fabulously! They played so well together and Pierce taught Jayden how to jump on beds! It was adorable! :) We were there from Thursday to Sunday. When we got home, the boys were here and all cleaned up! From seeing pictures it is a good thing they had a night to shower and shave before we got home. They were truly mountain men by the end of the week! Hehe...Here are some pictures of that weekend:

Rockin' in the rocking chairs...

The crew at the Peabody Hotel downtown

Aren't they precious!?

Ahhh...we Bridgwater girls love our power tools! (Making Daddy proud!)

A sweet candid moment waiting to cross an intersection

Having fun in a laundry basket!

Then on Monday (yes the next day after getting back from this trip) we started Art Camp! This is a fun little day camp we put on at the church. It is such an amazing outreach to the community. We have over 200 kids come each year and this year we got an article in the Christian Chronicle written about us. Kids come from all backgrounds. It is a great opportunity to get hold of these sweet, precious youth and teach them a little about God as we use our hands and talents to create pieces of art. In our class this year we made candle holders out of baby food jars and tissue paper and wooden crosses with beads and bookmarks. Our kids got so creative!

Art Camp was from 9:00am to Noon, Monday through Thursday. Thursday night we had an Art Show where the parents could come pick up all the crafts and meet the teachers. It was a great week. AND...our sweet friend Thomas turned ONE year old on the 5th! :)

On Friday, Travis and I were sponsors for the high school Lock-In at church. Jayden went had a fun weekend at Mimi and Pops. It was so much fun! I haven't been to a lock-in since I was in school. The Lock-in was from 6pm on Friday to 6am on Saturday. I thought I wouldn't last very long and would be begging Travis to go home by midnight. Nope! He came up to me at 4:30am and said that we should probably be going home. I was very surprised! :) And proud of myself for staying up that long! Besides the fact that it took us at least a week to recover from it....it was a blast! They had inflatables there and laser tag. I went through the inflatable obstacle course. It was very interesting being pregnant and trying to jump over big bumps!

The next week was spent recovering from the Lock-in and preparing for my parents to come visit! Oh yea...and going to the Space Center and Chuck E Cheese! :) We finally are able to get her hair up in pig tails "antenna" again!

Jayden trying to walk on the moon!

Riding a ride with Mommy

"Hey! It's Chucky!" She was completely taken with him!

My parents came Friday the 14th and stayed until Monday! It was such a good visit! They brought my nephew Wade with them and he was so much fun to have! Jayden really enjoyed being the center of attention and climbing all over Wade! She squealed each time she saw him. She really liked for him to go get her when she woke up from naps. :) We worked around the house all weekend and had some fun. Wade LOVED playing Rock Band and we even got my mom in on the action!

Oma playing the drums!

Oma teaching Jayden to be even more of a daredevil!

And JUMP!

Poor Jayden was so worn out when Oma and Opa left! :) We had a blast!

The last event was yesterday. We went to the pool with my friend Lindsay and her kiddos. Here is my precious little one!

And I just snapped this cute picture of Daddy and Jayden after nap time!

So...as I mentioned before...we worked out in the back yard when Mom and Dad were here. We weeded a lot of the flower beds out back and made lots of piles of stuff. Well, we didn't have garbage bags to put it all in so it was a good 48 hours before we got around to cleaning it all up. Monday morning, Oma told Opa to go out and clean up the piles we had created on Saturday. So, as any good husband/father would do...he did it! It wasn't long before Opa came banging on the back door looking very angry. When I opened the door, he pointed right at Oma and said, "YOU did this to me!" We had no idea what he could be talking about...so we went outside. He brought over the weeder (with a good 5 foot pole on it) and on the end was a snake! It was a little bitty (no longer than a foot and no wider than an inch) garden snake. It looked dead. Apparently, Opa had been beating on it for a minute before coming to get us! Oma convinced him to throw it into a neighbor's yard so that it could live. (Although, I'm not sure it could survive the beating it took from a man who is extremely afraid of snakes.) He took it back in the yard and attempted to throw the snake over the fence. It fell into our yard again! Opa literally shivered from his head to his toes and ran the other direction! It was one of the funniest things I had seen in a long time!! I love you OPA!!! I wish I had gotten pictures...but I was so caught up in the action I didn't even think about it!

So...there you have it! The longest post in this McHam's blogging history! I hope you were entertained and that you made it all the way to the end! I will try to stay on top of this blog so that this doesn't happen again! :) Thanks for not giving up on me!

Virus After Virus

2009-07-28T13:35:00.005-05:00

Well, Mom and Dad are back from Zambia. They made it safely home on Sunday. I got to talk to them and finally tell them about my appointment tomorrow and Kenley's kidney. They were glad to be back and they were very tired. Jayden and I went to lunch with Winkle Danny, Aunt Norma and Grandma Mary. Jayden ate all of Opa's Blue Bell ice cream for him! Okay...not ALL. That is just a sugar rush that no parent is dumb enough to encourage! :)

Asking for "more"!

Sunday morning Jayden woke up with a rash that COVERED her entire torso (front and back) and her neck. It showed up a little on her forehead and mouth when she would get really hot. We saw Dr. Weed at church and he said that it was just another virus. She wasn't contagious, but I needed to keep her out of the heat and keep the rash covered up. Well, the only way to do that is to put her in a turtleneck and that wasn't going to happen in 100+ degree weather! Here is a picture or two of her wonderful spots! I couldn't really get any shots that would justify the extent of the rash. I'm not an over-reacter when it comes to rashes and stuff. Usually I just think, "Ah...I'll wait a couple of days and see what happens." This rash, however, had me a little freaked out!

Anyway, she is fine now. She gets more viruses than I have ever heard of a child getting. Dr. Weed assures me that it is just because we live a very social and active lifestyle. It will definitely help her fight off more stuff when it is time for her to head to school. Okay...not thinking about that now! Yikes!

Quick reminder that I have my ultrasound with a Perinatal specialist tomorrow morning at 8:50am. I will post whenever I have something to tell and I have talked to my family.

Thank you all for your prayers!

Fun Weekend With Family

2009-07-25T21:09:00.004-05:00

Well, it seems like I just got back from camp and Travis has already headed off to Colorado with his dad and brother. Pop, Travis, Mark and our nephew Tristan are driving to Colorado for a week! They made it to New Mexico today and saw a pretty big thunder storm about to hit on the pass and then realized that the trailer has a flat tire. So...they are stopping for the night and will then head on to the land tomorrow morning. I miss Travis already, but he took Nikki to keep him company. She is in doggie heaven! :)

So, Friday night Jayden and I went and stayed with Mimi and had a blast! We got up this morning and Mommy got a new camera! Yay! Our other one is broken. The shutter button is stuck in the focus mode and it makes it very difficult to get pictures of anything but fingers and feet! Ugh! Anyway...I got a really nice camera! :) I have been snapping pictures all day!

After Jayden got up from her nap, Mimi took us to the Carter outlet store in Conroe. It was fun to get to pick out some new pajamas for Jayden. (Why is it so difficult to find pajamas for 12 month olds?! Yikes!) We bought her some new outfits too and a new toy. She is so spoiled! Her world is about to get rocked when little Kenley comes along! :)

Tonight we went and had dinner with our friends Lindsay and Kevin. The youth interns were there too and we had a great time! Lindsay is a great cook and fed us some awesome lasagna! Yum! Jayden ate it up!!! (which is surprising because she hasn't been eating today...I think she is getting a little cold AND she is teething! ugh!)

Here are some pictures of our day!

Gotta love the bed head!

Playing with the phone.

She is officially a WALKER!

Discovering new hiding places!

Jayden is Going to Have a Little...

2009-07-23T10:43:00.003-05:00

SISTER! Yay! Kenley Adeline will be the next addition to our family in December! We are so excited! We have picked out the bedding and theme for the room. We want to wait to reveal it until we have it all planned out though...sorry! :)

I am going in to a specialist downtown on Wednesday, July 24th at 8:50am to have another ultrasound done. Kenley's left kidney is smaller than they would like it to be, so we are getting that checked out. We aren't too worried, but prayers would be appreciated! :) They are calling it "possible hypoplastic kidney". I don't recommend googling it just yet. Until we know more about exactly what is happening in there...there is no need to worry. God has precious Kenley in His hands and we are thankful that we have another beautiful little girl on the way!

I will let everyone know as soon as I know anything!

Here are the ultrasound picutres:

Dear Old Sooner Youth Camp...

2009-07-09T16:26:00.004-05:00

I am going back to good old SYC!! It has been a few years since I was able to go back as staff and I have missed it! For those of you who do not know...

Sooner Youth Camp is where my parents met. It is also the reason Travis and I met. Both sets of my grandparents had a big hand in getting this camp up and running and why it has continued for so long. SYC is in my blood! It is a place that I hold dear to my heart as a place of rest from the busy world, a place of friendship and love. Sooner has had a big impact on so many lives, that I can only hope to try and give back a portion of the blessings that God has given to me because of this wonderful camp!

That being said...I am leaving my daughter for an ENTIRE WEEK!!!! Oh my goodness! What am I thinking?! For the past few days I have been thinking, "Maybe I just shouldn't go." But...I know why I am going, and what this week will mean to me and to the others that I am able to share it with.

Poor Travis...It is going to be hard to leave my hubby too! He has always been a constant in my life and such a blessing in my life. I'm going to miss having him come home to me at night and spend the evenings being goofy! :) We both know that this camp means to both of us and we are excited that I have the opportunity to go back.

Jayden had her 1 year old check up the other day. Here are her stats:

Weight: 19lb 10.5 oz (46%)

Height: 29 in (26%)

Head: 44.8 cm (21%)

Our little girl is getting bigger!!!

Dear Old Sooner Youth Camp
I'll remember you

When life's evening shadows
Hides life's morning hues

Hold to your traditions
Noble Pure and Fine

Dear Old Sooner Youth Camp
Glad that you are mine.

When life's evening shadows
Hides life's morning hues

Dear Old Sooner Youth Camp
I'll remember you!!!!!

Jayden's First Birthday!

2009-07-04T09:29:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was Jayden's first birthday! I can hardly believe my baby girl is ONE YEAR OLD!!! She is walking, trying to talk and constantly into everything! She is an amazing source of entertainment and keeps us on our toes.

We had several people over last night to celebrate Jayden and we had a cook out. It was fun to see all of our friends come to surround our baby girl and show her how much she is loved! Here are a few pictures of the party...

And then there was the cake!!!

After pretty much everyone had left...our neighbor Betsy came over with this....

We love our Betsy! Jayden LOVES this new toy!

She also got a baby doll! She is loving the baby and is always hugging and kissing it! It is precious!!! :)

My baby is ONE! :) She fills each day with so much fun and excitement. Thank you God for such a awesome blessing!

Home Sweet Home!

2009-06-23T10:13:00.004-05:00

We are back from camp! Well, we have been back since late Saturday, but I am just now finding time to get on here and post about it.

We had an AWESOME week at camp! The week went by so smoothly. The staff was all wonderful and everyone got along. Each one was a hard worker and worked very well with each other. The kids were great too! God sent us 99 wonderful, amazing and eager to learn children! We had a lot of younger campers, so hopefully we will be seeing them all again next year!

At camp, we got to swim a lot! Jayden is learning so fast. She is now falling into the pool from the side (and would even if no one was standing there ready to catch her...no fear)! She goes under water with no hesitation and comes back up looking around as if nothing has happened. She has started to associate moving her arms and legs in the water in order to get from one place to the other and she loves the motorboat song! :)

She has also become a little monkey!

Yea...she is going to give me an ulcer! :) She is also "walking". She has taken up to 7 steps at one time all by herself! She is getting so big!

Jayden turns 1 on July 3rd!!! Ahhhh!! Where has the last year gone?! I am in the process of planning her birthday party, but I'm not going to reveal anything until we have the party! :) Not that it is going to be huge or anything...I'm just not big on revealing anything until it is 100%.

Besides...I'm the only one who is going to remember this party anyway! :)

Here are a few camp pics of our darling:

My List

2009-06-09T07:57:00.004-05:00

Got this cool list from Amy C....neat to see what people have done! Here's my list...(bold and italicized is what I have done)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyworld/Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you were not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (does a stranger on the street count?)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been laid off from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (lifeguarding)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Now it's your turn!

I am NOT diabetic!

2009-06-08T12:24:00.003-05:00

Yay...for not being diabetic! So I went back for my 3 hour test and it came back negative. However, the doctor told me that my body is very confused and isn't quite sure how to process my sugars. So...my perscription? To eat every 2 hours! Oh shucks!! (My dad said, "Ask your doctor how I can get that perscription!" Hehe...I love my Dadda!)

So I have been busy eating, taking care of Jayden, eating, sleeping, taking care of Jayden and eating some more. I am having a ball!! :)

In other news...Travis has a doctor appointment tomorrow. We have had some concerns about his health recently and tomorrow we find out more details and IF there is any need for concern in the first place. We don't want to share details right now, but would appreciate prayers! God knows what is going on right now and what we need. We will update everyone as soon as we know anything!

Jayden is doing great! She has a little cold right now, so she is congested and a little sensitive, but still in such great spirits and happy! She really is such a good baby! :) She is 19 lb 4 oz. I can't believe my baby is about to be one year old!!!!! Ahhh...where did the time go?!

She loves playing in her new playroom and turning the tv on and off. She LOVES her zebra spinning and bouncing toy (thank you Aunt Norma and Winkle Danny)! She could play on that all day. She is getting tall enough that she is trying to figure out how to swing her leg over it to sit on it by herself. She is getting so big!

We leave for camp New Beginnings a week from today! We are so excited! It is going to be an awesome camp! If you know of any kids who just finished K-5th and want to send them off to camp for a few days...let me know or go to www.newbeginningscamp.com!

I think that is about it for now! I hope everyone is having an awesome summer so far!

Random Update on Jayden

2009-05-19T09:30:00.003-05:00

I thought I would just write down a few thoughts/notes about what is going on with Jayden these days.

Jayden is 10 months and 16 days old.
She is walking along furniture and getting very confident. She is even letting go every once in awhile to prove how brave she is.
She laughs...A LOT! Her laugh is so addictive that you can't help, but continue whatever silly thing made her laugh (no matter how stupid it may make you look or feel).
She is saying several words and is surprisingly good at communicating things that she has no words for.
Her words include: Daddy ("Da Da"), Momma ("Muh Muh"), Woof ("buph"), All Done ("Ah Dah" with the sign), Again ("gee", she just started this today), Bye Bye ("Buh buh buh" while waving) she will actually wave us away, before we even start to leave, when we drop her off at the nursery at church.
She loves to talk...even if it is just babbling (especially if other people are trying to hold a conversation).
She has learned how to clap.
She has learned how to learn lights on and off and make the bird (stuffed) go in and out of the bird house.
When someone is holding her we say, "Love Daddy (or whoever is holding her)" and she pats their shoulder! It is sooo precious!
She LOVES strawberries. She wouldn't eat any meat or anything but strawberries for dinner last night.
She has two bottom teeth!
She weighs just under 19 lbs.
She doesn't like to be held by one person for very long. She will constantly be reaching for someone new.
She knows how to turn the tv on and off.
The only time she cries is when she is hungry (and we haven't fed her in a long time), extremely tired (and it takes a lot to get her there) and hurt. She is such a happy baby!
She IS the boss!!!!

Well, I think that is about it. Or at least, all I can think of right now. I'll try to do this every once in awhile. It is fun! :)

I went to the doctor yesterday because I failed my 1 hour glucose test. So...I went in for my 3 hour test. I am preparing myself to be diabetic again. I know that sounds like the negative way to go, but really...I'm being realistic. My number was really high for the 1 hour test and it is still early in the pregnancy. Plus, I have just had a feeling from the very beginning that I was diabetic again. We will find out the results in about a week. Please pray for me and my health and my family. This will effect us ALL!

Happy Days!

2009-05-15T08:16:00.003-05:00

Happy Happy Day!!! We have AC again!

The repair guy came and there was NOTHING wrong with our AC. What?! That's right...nothing wrong. Pete...the nice repair guy just cleaned out the drain and said we should be good to go. Now we just have to get the ceiling fix.

Ahhhhh.......

The Joys of Home Ownership

2009-05-13T20:43:00.002-05:00

So, last night we discovered a leak. A leak from where? The ceiling in the entry way... Our AC has decided to freeze up and spill over and leak through the drywall. Ah...joy. So...this means we have no AC on the two HOTTEST days this week. I'm talking high 90's and we are in HOUSTON! What the heck?! So, we have put our baby girl down to sleep a room that feels like a sauna. I feel sooo guilty! The AC guys are supposed to come out tomorrow to fix it. I pray they come fast and work their magic like speed demons!!

My poor baby....I love this face:

Oh, The Life We Lead!

2009-05-05T18:33:00.006-05:00

Wow...a lot has happened since I last posted! I will try to remember everything, but it will all be out of order...

I went to the doctor on April 30th! They confirmed I am prego and 8 weeks along (well, I was just 7.5 weeks at the appointment). I got a couple of pictures, but haven't scanned them in yet. I know...I'm a slacker! :) I will get them up soon!

On Saturday we had to take Jayden to the doctor because I noticed a bad rash starting on Friday and it had only gotten worse Saturday morning. It took Dr. Weed all of 30 seconds before he announced, "You my dear...have Hand, Foot and Mouth disease!" WHAT?! Oh my goodness! Well, basically it is just a virus. It is passed on from kid to kid by slobber! Ewwww..... So, we are in quarentine until Saturday. Today is the end of the 4th day and I am going nuts! Jayden is a real trooper. She just plays and plays and acts as if nothing is attacking her body! She is so precious. Here is what her body looks like...the rash and the blisters:

Jayden now has a tooth and the second one is working its way out...

So...I made my first cake ever for a friend's baby shower. I had so much fun making this and can't wait for the next one!

Okay...that is about all I can fit in before bathtime. I have a couple of videos I want to share...so be looking out for those!

State of Shock

2009-04-12T16:26:00.002-05:00

So...you know those days when life seems to be pretty predictable? Yea...that has been most days for us lately...except Tuesday, April 7th at approximately 9:30pm. That is about the time when I went upstairs to take the third pregnancy test in 2 weeks. Not having been trying...just suspicious...I was expecting my last week of PMS on steroids to be confirmed. As I watched the pee stick very quickly begin to reveal a positive result I all but panicked. No...I PANICKED!!!! Jayden is 9 months old and very much still my baby...and here comes #2!

Wow...we are still in a bit of shock, but very excited about the new addition to our family. We believe that delivery will be in December 2009.

Wish us luck!

9 months!

2009-04-01T17:38:00.004-05:00

I know it is a couple days early, but we went to Jayden's 9 month wellness check on Monday. She has a little cough so I wanted to get her in sooner so that we could check out the cough and keep it from getting any worse. She isn't sick...just teething! Yay! :) It is official because the doctor said so...hehe!!! Anyway, she is coughing because of all the drainage from her runny nose. Yuck! She is such a trooper though. Always in good spirits, my little one is!

Her visit with the doctor went well. Here are her stats:

Height: 26.75 inches (25%)

Weight: 17 lb 3.5 oz (23%)

Head: 40.7 cm/16.81 inches (16%)

So our little one is growing and healthy! She is tiny...but precious and just where she should be. We did have to get her finger pricked for an anemia test. She was such a trooper during this too! We pricked her finger the first time and it took so long to get the right amount of blood that the blood in the first vial clotted. NO GOOD!! :( So...we did it all over again. She cried...A LOT! My poor kid!

Everything here is going well. We are almost done with Jayden's playroom. Travis still has to put up the trim on the outside and the trim on one window inside. We are soooo close! Things just keep coming up this week (like rain, helping other people move things [we are the friends with the truck], etc) that keep us from finishing. The cleaning ladies come tomorrow and are going to scrub the playroom with bleach so we can make it officially kid friendly! Yay! I'm so excited. Here is a picture...although you can't really tell the difference from the last

update...there is trim around the windows...that is about all the new stuff inside:

So...I am really good at buying presents for people...but I am HORRIBLE about waiting to give the gifts at the appropriate time. I tend to just give the presents to people as soon as I buy them. Travis has made his list of tools that he needs/wants for his garage shop to be complete. At the very end of his list is a new table saw. He has a perfectly good one, but it has about two feet of table space that actually supports the wood he is trying to cut. Being the understanding and loving wife that I am...I bought him one! Yes...I bought him a Jet table saw with a 52'' table. I bought for a combine Father's day (June) and Birthday gift (May). And...I gave it to him last week! I know...I know! I'm bad! But his face was awesome!!! I wish I had gotten a picture of his stunned face. I told him we were going over to my Uncle's to get something. He wanted to know what it was and I told him, "You will have to see when we get there. I don't' want you to be mad at me." Travis is now thinking, "Great! She has agreed to take yet ANOTHER piece of 'family' furniture for safe-keeping. Ugh!" Little did he know! It was great....

So, I think that is all I have right now. I hope everyone is doing well and life is treating you to a bowl full of cherries! (I don't know where that came from...I'm wierd...I know!) :D

A Mother's Fear

2009-03-29T13:21:00.003-05:00

Today I experienced a mother's fear. I have fed Jayden french fries galore! She loves them and she does very well with them. However, she had never experienced the potato wedges from Fuddrucker's. She LOVES them! But...I will never ever give them to her again...

This afternoon we went to lunch at Fuddrucker's with several of our friends from church. The ladies were on one end chatting with each other and the men were on the other end...talking about who knows what. We were all happy...all healthy...all eating! I gave Jayden a potato wedge...thinking nothing of it. A few seconds later my heart stopped as I realized that my daughter...my beautiful, precious, sweet, amazing little girl was CHOKING! I waited a second to see if it was just gagging her and she would spit it out. NOPE! She was really CHOKING! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Okay...so my training comes into play. My heart is pounding, my head spinning and I quickly pick my daughter up, turn her over, place her on my knee facing the floor and POUND! Apparently I didn't have to hit her more than once because I flung her around so hard it came out before my hand made contact with her back.

Thank you GOD!!!! Ugh! I was shaking, Travis was sitting next to me with eyes wide open and finally taking a breath. Looking around I realized that everyone was going on about the conversations and eating their lunch. WHAT IN THE WORLD! Didn't they realize my baby girl just survived a horrible experience?!

Everything is fine and Jayden was playing and laughing not 2 seconds after the food was out of her mouth. It is just so amazing how much your world changes with your little ones. I never want to experience my life without her!

Even though, inside, I was panicking and scared, my friends said that my reaction was seamless! :) Good to know that I can react in a situation like that instead of freezing!

Praise God for his protection and watchful eyes!!!!

A Lot Has Happened....

2009-03-18T18:24:00.007-05:00

Well, a lot has happened since I last posted. I'll spare you all the details and just cover a few things from the past month!

Late last month, all the Bridgwater girls got together for a girls' weekend. This included my mom and all four of my sisters. We had so much fun! We went and stayed at a cabin in Hawkins, Texas at the Holly Lake Ranch Retreat. We took Jayden and she was the only kid there. Next year...I'm getting a babysitter! It was fun to have her with us, but it definitely wasn't the kid free weekend we had all hoped for. :) While we were there, my sisters convinced me (actually I had been thinking about doing this in the first place) that we needed to cut Jayden's hair so that it would grow in thick, full and healthy. It had just been growing on top and was really stringy and uneven. Anyway...I called Travis to okay this with him. BAD IDEA! He flipped. Well, he thought about it and finally agreed that it was a good idea (okay...fine...he just agreed to trust my judgement)! So....here it is...before, during and after:

Then on March 3rd, Jayden turned 8 months old. Time is really flying with this little one. She is crawling, pulling up and even walking behind her little ice cream truck/walker. She wants to explore everything and loves it when Mommy and Daddy get down on the floor to be her personal jungle gyms.

She loves her friend Thomas...

And we went swimming for the first time today! She loved it! She splashed and splashed. Her 2nd cousin Noah was there and she couldn't keep her eyes off of him. He was very pleased to be her entertainment in the pool.

Also, we have put in the windows to the sunroom! Yay! We are converting our sunroom into a playroom for Jayden. We decided that we wanted to reclaim our livingroom and put Jayden's toys somewhere else. So...the sunroom it is! We have put the windows and a new door in and now we need to get glass cut for several small openings at the top. Travis is working...as I type...on putting up the trim and sealing the windows. He is such a handy man!!! :) I love having a man around the house who likes to do house projects.

This weekend, Travis and I are going away to celebrate our 2nd year of marriage! :) Our anniversary was yesterday so we went out to dinner. This weekend we are leaving Jayden at Pop and Mimi's OVERNIGHT! It is our first time leaving our little one overnight, but it is time. She is going to do great and Pop and Mimi are going to have soo much fun! We are going to the La Cantera Resort in San Antonio, TX. We are going to relax and play GOLF! YAY!! :) I'm so excited!

I will post pictures when we get back!

Memories...New and Old

2009-02-09T10:09:00.006-06:00

Look at me...posting twice in one week! Yay...I'm back! :)

Saturday, Travis and I drove up to Waco with a few of the women from our church here in Kingwood, for the first staff meeting for New Beginnings Camp this year. It went very well! We had a good turn out and we are all getting so excited about camp.

Saturday was also the anniversary of Grandpa Emmitt's passing. I miss him so much! This whole year has been full of, "I wish Grandpa was here to see this," and "Jayden, your great grandpa Emmitt use to...". I try to talk to her about Emmitt as much as possible...so that maybe she will know how special he was. And, I know it is silly, but I'm afraid of forgetting. Grandma Mary is doing great! I am so proud of her and how strong she has been. I have really loved getting to see her so much in the past year. She often comes down to stay with Winkle Danny and Aunt Norma. Jayden LOVES to spend time with her...especially when Grandma starts squealing like Jayden! :)

I still have three grandparents who are going strong and who get to know Jayden. I am so blessed to have known all of my grandparents for so long!

Yesterday, we started to install windows in our sun room. Before, we had just an extra room with screens. It was nice, but 1) the dogs kept jumping through the screens and 2) the rain would get into the sun room (which has tiles floors) and take forever to dry! So...we are going to close up the room with windows and turn that room into Jayden's play room. We can open up the windows on really nice days and play or we can close up the windows when it rains and still play! :)

Now...we are doing this ourselves...so we went to Home Depot and bought ONE window and all the supplies to install it. We were going to try this one window and see how long it will take us and even if it was possible to do alone. IT IS! We got the window installed and it looks great. However, I do have to tell a story on myself.

Whoever thought it was a good idea to insert little plastic black things in the windows to keep them from sliding open during shipping....is retarded! Travis and I were trying to get the pieces out of the window so we could put the window in the frame and...as Travis was getting something from the garage...I kept trying. I BROKE THE WINDOW!!!!!!!! Argh!!! That is okay though...Home Depot graciously took it back and gave us another one. No...I didn't break the second one!

As we were working Jayden had a fun time with Nikki and her toys...

Hey Sis...how about some kisses!?

Oh Mom...this is soooo exciting!

Hehe...that tickles!

She always makes me laugh! :)

Then we had some vegging time...

Look Out World...Here I Come!

2009-02-04T16:02:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was Jayden's 7 month birthday! She is getting soo big! I have found myself going through all of the pictures from when she was just a month or so old. She has changed so much in such a short time. I am so proud of her and she makes me happy every day!

Hey Mom! What's up?!

See...I CAN smile with my binkie in my mouth...Pfffth!

Hey...what's on my shirt?!

And...look out world...Jayden is mobile!

At Home Adventures...

2009-02-02T22:59:00.005-06:00

I cut Travis' hair for the first time tonight. I think it turned out pretty good! :)

Fun with Friends

2009-01-30T18:41:00.004-06:00

Ooo...look at me...keeping up with my blog! :)

We had one of Travis' friends from high school over for dinner Wednesday night. It was great to be able to see Rachel since she lives in Austin and we got to meet her little 9 month old girl Delilah! She is soo precious! We really wish we could see more of them.

Here are a couple of pictures from the fun play night! :)

The girls had fun playing together and Jayden watched Delilah very closely to learn how to crawl and pull up. We will see if she catches on soon! :) Hehe...

Here is a video of Jayden giggling....

Small Group Fun

2009-01-28T08:32:00.003-06:00

We had small group last night and I love it! Our group is so great and I have really enjoyed getting to form such close relationships with each one of the people involved.

Last night we went over to the Bertrand's and they have a little baby dachsund. She is precious and her name is TONKS! That is right...we found some more Harry Potter fans. We love Tonks...and she REALLY loves Jayden...watch and enjoy...

Hard Work and Fun Times

2009-01-27T14:00:00.013-06:00

This weekend we went to Austin to work on our house out there. We have had renters in it since we moved to Houston and we want to try and sell it now. Of course, if it doesn't sell in the next month or so, we are going to look for more renters as an option. Right now the houses are still flying off the market in the neighborhood so we are hopeful.

The weekend started with Jayden and me driving downtown in the truck to pick up Travis from work. We headed straight for Austin from there. We got in to Austin around 9pm and we were all ready for bed. Jayden went down pretty well and we got up bright and early to start work on the house on Saturday. The house just has some problem spots, but mostly we wanted to clean it up and touch up a few places to make it look more appealing. We worked hard and got a lot done. That night we went to dinner with some friends and had a great time! They have two cats and Boggie...LOVED Jayden...and her carrier...

We took the dogs with us because there was a couple interested in meeting Cooper. We have been thinking about giving him away because we just don't have the time to train him and needs so much more space than we can give him. So...this wonderful couple came over to meet him with their dog Sly. The dogs got a long great and if you scripted the home Cooper needs and would thrive in...you couldn't script it any better than what this couple had to offer. So...we let Cooper go home with them. We already miss him, but know that it is for the best. Nikki misses her playmate, but now we are looking forward to rekindling the bond with her and letting her bond with Jayden. Cooper is now running around on 25 acres of land with Sly and chasing horses! I talked with the guy who took him yesterday and it sounds like everyone is getting along great. We plan to stay in touch with them and I am excited to hear all the stories about Cooper and Sly getting into mischief together. This is the best picture I could get. The dogs were both so excited that they couldn't sit still!

So now...Cooper is in a good home and having fun adventures every day!

Sunday we got up early and went to Target. We got out of town without looking at the weather forcast and apparently a cold front was coming in. We hadn't packed any warm clothes for Jayden so we stopped at Target on our way to church and bought several warm outfits for her. We totally dressed her in an outfit straight from the 80's for church, but she was sooo stinkin' cute! I will take pictures next time we put her in the outfit. :) We got to visit with several friends from our former church and catch up a bit. It was good times!

After church we went back to the house and started working again. We worked hard painting and cutting wood and staining and cutting wood....you know...the usual. He wouldn't stay still for me to get a clear picture! Grrr.... ;)

Nikki got a little lonely without Cooper...

On Monday, our friend Amy came over and watched Jayden while we worked. It was so great to have her there to free up my hands too! She got Jayden a HUGE dog for Christmas and she is working on a blanket for her. We love Amy!

We got done and pulled out of the driveway headed home at exactly 4:33pm. Only 3.5 hours behind schedule, but hey...we got home in time to put stinker bean down for the night! :) She was such a trooper! We are so proud of our little traveler. She always does so well and makes us so proud!

She only kept us up late one night..."Come on Dad....Play with me! It is only 1:00am!!"

Of all the work we got done: painting two bedrooms, replacing trim in both bathrooms, caulking some gaps, fixing some foundation gaps, painting the front and back doors and fixing the interior garage door...we were most proud of the side patio that we turned into a really cool hangout! As most of you probably remember...the old house has a really cool deck in the backyard and we had a small patio right outside the kitchen...well, here are some before and after photos.

I have an adorable video of Jayden that I will put up this afternoon! Check back! :)

6 Months!

2009-01-15T19:08:00.004-06:00

Okay...first let me start with...I'M SORRY! Life has been a bit...hectic/wierd around here lately. I am sorry that I didn't post about Christmas and all that good stuff. It was a GREAT holiday. We went to Arlington to have Christmas the weekend of the 20th and then we drove to College Station to have Christmas with the extended McHam family. On Christmas day we flew to Oregon to stay at Travis' Aunt's cabin (massive house) in Tygh Valley. It was awesome. We went four-wheeling, hiking and we even visited the hot tub on the final morning in the rain. Yup...fun times! :)

Jayden got her first Santa gifts: a little red wagon (Radio Flyer...of course)! She also got a couple of toys to encourage her to crawl. She enjoys them all!

So...now that we are home...we went in for Jayden's 6 month check up. She is doing great! Here are her stats:

1) 25 1/4 in = 31%

2) 14 lb 11 oz = 24%

3) 41 cm = 12%

Like I said...doing great. She is a petite thing, but beautiful and happy and growing strong. She is sitting up on her own now and loving the independence. Her favorite food is YAMS! She loves to eat!

Well, Jayden was sleeping 11 hours at night until about a month and a half ago. Then she decided that 8 hours was enough. So...that meant waking up at 4am to keep her company. Ugh! We have started to feed her more at night before she goes down, but she still is having a bit of a hard time making it to a reasonable hour. I'm not sure what to do, but I figure that once she decided to actually go to 2 naps a day...things will get better. Oh yes...we are moving out of the swaddle stage...woohoo!

OH YEA!!! I almost forgot...

Jayden was on tv. Well, her picture at least. I sent a picture of Jayden in a Mavericks jersey to Mark Cuban when she was 5 months old. During the games, they show pictures of fans that have sent in their photos. On Friday night they showed Jayden's picture on tv during the game!

Ah...the joys of motherhood!

Long Update...

2008-12-04T20:49:00.006-06:00

A lot has happened since I last posted...so, bear with me...

Two Sundays ago, Jayden and I took her first flight up to Arlington, TX to see my mom and dad. Travis and Jayden before leaving for the airport:

Jayden drove us to the airport...

Here is a picture of her as we were waiting for the plane.

Once we got to Arlington, my best friend from college picked us up at the airport...

Then Jayden learned how to throw a football to surprise her Dad:

And she went to her first MAVERICKS GAME!!!! We WON!!!!!

Then we had Thanksgiving! There were 33 people in my mother's house...that is right...chaos! Uncle Travis spent quality time with the kiddos...

And this...well, this is just classic!

While we were all at mom and dad's, Mom couldn't wait to give Dad his Christmas present so she announced that she got him...drumroll please...FLYING LESSONS!!! My father...at 63 years of age is going to learn how to fly a plane. He was in shock!! :)

It was a great holiday and I am sooo looking forward to Christmas.

In fact, we already have our tree! I will have to post those pictures later...

Mom took our family Christmas pictures while we were there too. I will post those later. We want to show Mimi the pictures first and we will see her Saturday to celebrate her birthday. So...you will just have to wait! :P

I'm Nervous!!!!!

2008-11-04T21:02:00.003-06:00

You don't have to respect the person...just the title...

Just trying to convince myself that it will okay... UGH!!!!!

I'm going to get an ulcer!

GOD BLESS (I mean...SAVE) AMERICA

Jayden's 4 Month Check Up / Tagged!

2008-11-04T12:48:00.004-06:00

We went to Dr. Weed for Jayden's 4 month check up yesterday. She got her second round of shots and did so well! She cried a little longer than last time, but once it was over she was fine. She didn't have any episodes like she did last time. Here are her percentages:

Length: 24.7 inches (69%)

Weight: 13 lb 3 oz (41%)

Head circumference: 39.6 cm (15%)

So, we have a petite girl! She is gaining weight like she should, but she is so long that you can't tell!

TAGGED!

This is the 6th picture in my 6th folder. My sweet nephew Bennett is loving on Jayden. This was the first time he met her. My sister and her whole family came to visit. Bennett wanted to hold Jayden every chance he got! He is so precious. Jayden was only two weeks old.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T10:04:00.008-05:00

Halloween is my favorite holiday! :) I love getting dressed up. I love carving pumpkins.

I love roasting the pumpkin seeds. I love watching little kids dressed up as their favorite super heroes. I love candy! I love the fact that I got to dress my own kid up this year!!! :)

Jayden was a dragon...

I went as a Goth Raggedy Ann Doll...

And Travis went as a Scary Jester...

Pop and Mimi came over to help us pass out candy and take care of Jayden. About half way throught the night it was time for Jayden to go to bed. So, Mimi gave her a bath and brought her back outside to say goodnight. Our neighbor Betsy, who can't keep her hands off Jayden, came over and spent some time with us.

It was such a fun night! We had a TON of treak or treaters and still didn't get rid of all our candy. Which means...I have to HIDE the candy from my husband! :) (I know you feel my pain Jenny!)

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!! :)

Jack O' Lantern pumpkin head

He is a fearfull sight.

I am sure you'd be afraid

to meet him in the night.

He is by day a pumpkin,

but just you wait til night.

From out of eyes and nose and mouth

there shines a yellow light!

Fun Times!

2008-10-27T12:57:00.004-05:00

Wow...I'm getting really bad at this...

In fact, I'm not sure what all has happened since I wrote last, but I will try and post about some of it.

Recently we went to a murder mystery dinner and, of course, I forgot my camera. It was a crazy time just getting ready to go and I totally forgot to pick up the camera. Anyway, we went and we had fun. It was set back in 1881 so we dressed up in western gear. Jayden wore a little dress that my sister Kari Ann had let me borrow. It was sooo cute on her with the bonnet and everything! I'll have to get pictures from the two people who remembered their cameras.

This past week, Jayden and I went to the zoo with three other moms and their little ones. It was a blast. I think I'm going to take Jayden back to the zoo this week.

Recently we went on a walk. We have some greenbelt trails all through our neighborhood. It is so nice to be able to take a few steps down the street and then suddenly be lost in nature.

The other day, Jayden decided to strip during her nap. She is so stinkin' cute!

We Are Alive...

2008-10-08T13:04:00.004-05:00

Sorry we haven't blogged in awhile. Not a lot has been happening around here since Ike came to town. Everything is getting back to normal and we are enjoying our uneventful lives right now.

Since I last posted, Jayden has turned 3 months old. She is working sooo hard to roll from her back to her front. She tries all day...pretty much every day. Every time I lay her down...she goes at it like a pro! She is still inching along the floor on her back (a lot faster now). Her favorite place to end up is still under the coffee table.

"Uh Oh...you found me..."

She is getting so big! I watch me friends who have just had their babies within the last 4-5 weeks and they can still cradle their babies in one arm. I can only do that for a few minutes with Jayden now. She is soo long and soo heavy! It is exciting that she is growing up and developing, and I am so thankful that she is still a cuddly baby! She loves to cuddle!! :D

Jayden has discovered TV. Much to my dismay...she takes after her father in that she can't tear her eyes away from it. We are definitely going to have to limit this childs interaction with the tube!

Well, that is about it for now. I'll try to post more often! :)

A quick update...

2008-09-29T14:02:00.005-05:00

Just a few pictures to keep you all updated...

We have started wearing bigger bows!!!! :D

We have started using the Bumbo and Jayden loves it!!!

She loves her Luvee too!!

Learning all about football with Dadda!!

A video of Jayden rolling over!!

(I know you already saw it...but this is the full thing...not just the end!)

Proud Momma and Dadda...

2008-09-24T16:03:00.004-05:00

Jayden rolled over from front to back today!!! Yay!! I just got the very end of it...but it is enough!

Road Trip '08 Continued

2008-09-23T16:44:00.001-05:00

To continue our adventure...

After we spent a couple of days at Grandma Mary's we headed to Edmond, OK to visity cousins Mary Ann and Dana. I had so much fun catching up with my cousins! On Wednesday we went church and I got to see a few of my friends from college. Thursday Mary Ann and I took Joel and Jayden to the Zoo! It was great! I love the Zoo! :)

Thursday, after the Zoo, we headed to Wayne, OK to see Grandma Helen and Grandpa Jack. Friday we went to the Senior Citizen Center for Grandma's birthday lunch. She had a great time showing Jayden off to all of her friends.

Saturday I headed to Arlington, TX to visit Oma and Opa (my mom and dad) and Grandma Mary was there. She went down there after I left her house. I got spoiled seeing her so much on this trip! We went to Lafe's soccer game and he did so well. He was so exhausted and hot. It was down right cruel that they had him out there the whole game! He was trying so hard to keep up with the pack and he kicked the ball several times! Dispite being tired he did a great job. He was so tired that when they called the game he ran to the sideline with a huge smile on his face and said, "Did you hear that Mom...the game is over!!!" Hehe...he is soooo cute! Sunday we went to church and my friends Jill and Jennifer came to church from Ft. Worth. I got to see so many people on this trip that I didn't expect to see! It was great!! Monday we cleaned out mom and dad's room because they were having a guy come stretch the carpet. It was a busy day, but we still got to enjoy each other!

I left Monday afternoon to come home and we still didn't have power. About an hour from home...I was on the phone with Travis and the power came on! It had come on just in time to cool the house down for us! :) It was great!

While I enjoyed my trip completely...and Jayden was absolutely wonderful with all the traveling...I am sooo glad I am home!!!

To see all the pictures from the trip just go to the link to the right that says "Pictures...Yay"

We Got Iked

2008-09-19T13:28:00.002-05:00

Post By Travis:

I am sure most of you know that we are safe and sound after the recent hurricane. Jana and Jayden we off on their planned road trip, and so I stuck around to brave the storm alone. We got out of work early on Thursday so that those who needed to prepare could do so.

I got home to find my next door neighbor boarding up his windows, which made me think that perhaps I was taking this storm too lightly. I still would have done nothing, except that he had a bunch of extra wood, so I went ahead and boarded up the four front facing windows on the bottom floor.

On Friday I spent most of the day just hauling everything from the outside indoors somewhere. Most items found a home in the garage, and the dog kennels got moved into the living room where I planned to sleep that night as the storm hit.

Seeing as how the storm was set to hit around 1:00 am, I popped a movie into the DVD player and was just about to hit play when the power shut off... that's right, at 9:10 PM without so much as a drop of rain, or gust of wind, I lost power.

So now, completely unprepared, I made my way to the garage (detached from the house) in the dark to get my flashlight only to find that the chrager had not been plugged in properly and the thing was useless.

So candles got lit inside, but it was only about 9:45 by the time I decided I would just go ahead and try to sleep.

Around 3 in the morning I woke up to the sound of wind, but the experience was surreal. I could not see. I mean, it was darker than ANYTHING I had ever experienced. I literally touched my eyelashes with my finger, and still could not see my finger or even detect movement.

So by the light of my cell phone I walked to the back windows to see out into the yard... but the blackness was impenetrable, so I went back to sleep.

The next morning it was drizzling rain and still fairly windy. I didn't wake up until about 9:30, well after the eye passed directly over Kingwood. So time to survey the damage. I looked out back to see a small tree had been knocked over, doing no damage to anything around. It fell away from the new fence I had built a few weeks back, into the middle of the yard.

Out front, one branch lay in my front yard, along with plenty of sticks, but the typical summer storm accounts for that much. So I thought to myself, wow, all that hype for nothing. I walked my street, and most of my neighbors fared the same. A small tree here or there, 2 fences with segments knocked down or leaning, but on the whole, not much had happened.

Reaching the end of the block I was shocked... literally 1 block in any direction there were HUGE trees laying across roads, cars and houses. One house a block over had 3 enormous pine trees resting on the roof. It was about here that I realized just how devastating this storm was.

Later in the day I drove over to the Woodlands to hang with Mom and Pop. They had a generator powering their fridge and freezer, so it was nice to have a hot meal. I stayed there that night, a night in which we got hit my more storms caused by an incoming cold front.

So the waters rose, but I still thank God for the cold front because it made the next few days tolerable if not down right enjoyable.

I headed back home to start the cleanup, and all of my neighbors were out, cleaning raking, and the kids were playing football in the cul-de-sac.

The next two nights, without power, we had block parties in which people brought watever was going to spoil from their homes and we cooked out.

After that I was invited over to Bob and Teri Ethington's (our preacher) and we ate dinner there with the Mahlers, and Jen DeChillo, and we even roasted Smore's on Bob's fire pit.

On the way home that night I got the call that our building downtown was safe to enter, so I was to head into work the next day (Wed).

I work in the Chase tower downtown, and for those of you who are not familiar with it, it is the tallest building in Houston at 75 floors, and was by FAR the hardest hit buidling in downtown. All of the pictures of office buildings that I have seen from any source are ALL of the Chase tower.

I work on 48 which did not lose a single window. 47 and 46 did, and floors 1-about 35 lost almost every window on the east side.

So as it sits now (Friday) I am in my office, working away, but still do not have power at the house, nor do I expect I will before Monday.

Jana and Jayden are still in OK, and are planning on coming home Sunday if we have power, or Monday if we dont.

I am anxious to see them, but know it would not be comfortable for them to be in that house with no power all day long. My nights since Wed have comprised of walking the dogs and reading books, of which I am about to finish my 2nd.

All in all we made out very well. I can complain about not having power, but then all I have to do is drive through my neighborhood and see trees down, huge holes in homes, store fronts ripped off, and 2 hour lines for gas stations that are operating, and I count my blessings.

There were many who were very adversley affected by this storm, but it intrigues me that the media has given it very little coverage when all we heard for months was news about Katrina.

The difference was poigniently pointed out to me by one of my colleagues. Here we were out in droves cleaning our yards, cleaning our neighborhoods, helping each other, and making the best of what we were dealt. This city came together in a spirit of service and solidarity. There were communities coming together to push through instead of waiting for a goverment to save them.

I am proud of the people of this city, Houston at large, and Kingwood specifically. I ask all of you to please keep Galveston, Houston, and the surrouding areas in your prayers. The need here is great, as you will see from the photos. There were no levees to break, but the aftermath is very Katrina-like and we need to not forget that there are many suffering, and many more "getting through".

If you want to pray specifically for power to come on at my house so I don't go insane this weekend, that would be appreciated to :)

Sorry for the long post.

God Bless,
Travis

Road Trip '08

2008-09-15T10:44:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! I am going to make this brief...

Yes...we are safe! :) Jayden and I started our Road Trip '08 on Thursday morning to avoid all the hurrican traffic and have been on the road since.

We started by going to Lara Jane's house for a Stamp N' Stack party. It was soo much fun! The cousins loved getting to play with Jayden and we had some great sister time! Dava Lynn and Juli Beth were able to make it too. The only one not able to come was Kari Ann and we all missed her so much!

On Saturday we traveled to Paris, Tx to see Kari Ann. We spent Saturday night and went to church with them in the morning. Again, the cousins had a blast playing with Jayden. That was the first time Kari Ann had gotten to see Jayden! It is so much fun watching my family love on her. After church on Sunday, we headed to McAlester, OK.

So, here I am at my grandma Mary's. We are just playing around today and having fun with my Great Aunt Edna. I am going to go weed Grandma's garden here pretty soon. We are going to stay here until Tuesday and then head to Edmond, OK to see my cousins Mary Ann and Dana. I will post more there if I get a free moment.

**Travis is safe in Kingwood. We lost one tree in the back yard and it didn't fall on the house or anything...just into the yard. He is without power and has been since Friday at 9pm. We dont' know when they will restore power, but he has been able to go to the grocery store to get some food that won't spoil. :)

I will keep you updated as we travel along. Love you all!

Sleeping Baby...

2008-09-07T17:25:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we had a good day. We were productive and relaxed...a perfect Saturday! We woke up and went to the church to help move our Sunday classroom furniture to another room and then went to lunch with a few friends. Travis and I introduced them all to Pete's Burgers. This place has the best burgers in town! We found it by accident one day when we were driving to Home Depot and realized we hadn't eaten lunch yet. We looked over on the side of the road and there was this little shack with the name "Pete's Burgers". So...we stopped and boy were we glad!! I'm telling ya...they are awesome burgers!

Anyway...after lunch we headed to The Woodlands to let Pop and Mimi babysit while Travis and I went on a date to the movies. We went to see The Mummy and it was actually pretty cute. We like that whole series, although, the first is definitely better than than the rest. :)

After the movie we headed back to Pop and Mimi's to eat dinner and shortly after, we headed for home. Jayden had a hard time getting to sleep because she has been so congested lately. But when we finally got her to sleep she stayed asleep and didn't wake us up until 6:41am. She slept for just over 8.5 hours! We were soooo pleased! :) She has been a great sleeper from the beginning, but we sure are enjoying the more frequent nights of solid sleep.

The other day I was sitting on the couch, checking my email while Jayden was asleep in the Pack n' Play. All of a sudden something caught my eye:

Murderous Dogs!

2008-09-05T10:53:00.001-05:00

Okay...we have already established that our dogs kill for fun. Nikki kills squirrels and birds. Cooper kills a snake, frogs and huge bees, wasps and dragonflies. We have just come to accept that our dogs like to hunt and are really good at it. We have tried to convince them that they do not need to bring us presents, however...the game just got bigger!

Now...I think this poor animal has been hidden in the yard and drug around like a toy because our dogs have not been left out all night for several days. They are usually in their kennels at night, but sometimes we give them a little freedom. Poor animal...

2 Month Check Up

2008-09-03T18:00:00.003-05:00

Wow...2 months already! I just blinked and she went from 2 weeks to 2 months! Ugh...she is getting so big...and sleeping most of the night! She hasn't slept less than 6 1/2 hours in a long time. She averages between 7 to 8 hours a night. We are getting lots of sleep!

The doctor says she looks good and is really strong for 2 months. He was impressed. He is so funny. He is extremely happy about the fact that I am not working and still breastfeeding. He has to be the biggest advocate for it. Anyway...we are right on track...here are her "stats":

Weight: 10lb 9oz (44%)

Height: 22 1/2 inches (58%)

Head: 37 something inches (15%)

So...our little one is average weight, long body and tiny head...Yay!! :)

She got her shots today too. She was NOT happy!! She was holding onto my finger for dear life and crying so hard she wasn't breathing. She does that sometimes, briefly, if she has really bad gas, but this kid held her breath for the entire thing!!!! As soon as I picked her up though, she stopped crying, and every time the nurse looked over at her she started to quiver the bottom lip again. The poor thing! She was fine for a few hours, but then around 3:00pm she started crying harder than I had ever heard her cry before. I could tell she was in pain. I gave her some more tylenol and she seems to be okay now. She just wants to sleep mostly. I'm going to try and feed her now...we will see how that goes...

Whoa Baby!

2008-08-18T14:12:00.005-05:00

Wow...it has been a busy week! My third sister (Lara Jane) came into with her family. She has one boy and three girls! We had a blast!

They came in on Wednesday and we headed downtown to have lunch with Travis. (Travis had to work the whole time they were here.) After lunch we came back to the house and played MarioCart on the Wii. The kids LOVED it! Thursday we spent the day at a the beach in Galveston. Here is my little beach babe...

After the beach we got back into Kingwood just in time for dinner with Winkle Danny and Aunt Norma. Then, on Friday, we all headed downtown again to eat with Travis and to go to the Zoo. It started raining during lunch so we decided to go to the Aquarium instead. That was a lot of fun...

On Saturday morning, LJ and her family headed home and Travis and I headed to Austin. Our friends Tim and Katha got married that night!! They are such a fun couple!

We found out on Sunday (on the way to meet all of our Austin friends for lunch) that Saturday night, Tim was carrying Katha across the threshold when he stumbled and dropped Katha on her head. She is fine. However...Time fell forward and hit a dresser, knocking himself out cold and slicing his cheek open. He ended up at the hospital and got 10 stitches on his cheek and 13 stitches on the inside of his mouth. He and Katha were on a plane the next morning to Costa Rica for their honeymoon!! What a trooper!!!!! :)

So now we are home and I had my 6 week check up this morning. I am all clear for normal activity...so I can finally start working out and getting rid of these last few pounds of baby fat. They also drew blood for my final diabetes test. Please pray that the diabetes is official gone and I don't have to prick myself ever again! We will know the results in a week.

Now an update on Jayden: we haven't been to the doctor or anything...that is September 2nd. However, we have a sleeper! The past five nights have gone like this...

1) slept for 7 1/2 hours

2) slept for 8 hours

3) slept for 8 hours

4) slept for 7 1/2 hours

5) slept 9 hours

It has been wonderful!! I felt so refreshed when I woke up this morning and I am going to treasure this time, because I know this pattern will probably not last very long...she is only 6 weeks old!

I need a nap...

For more pics you can go to the picture link in the links section on the right.

Weekend O' Fun!

2008-08-11T21:47:00.003-05:00

This weekend was fun. Travis and I had some hard work to do, but we had fun doing it.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, our dogs are escape artists. They get out of our yard all the time. Well, it doesn't help that our fence in the back yard is over 15 years old and the boards are easily broken. We have even had our neighbor dogs break through into our yard. So, we decided to build a new fence. It has taken us a week to do it, but we finally got it done with both of us out there all day on Saturday and in the afternoon yesterday. Here are just a few shots to sum up how I helped...

Who can tell me the most important tool on my toolbelt?! :)

On Saturday, one of my friends from high school (Sara Jane) came into town with her family. She has two little ones (Ashley who is 3 years old and Zachary who is 3 months). At dinner Saturday night I took Ashley to go to the bathroom. She was taking quite awhile, but as no one else was waiting for the bathroom, I just let her take her time. The whole time she was in there, she was talking in her made up language. It was quite cute! :) However, after some time had passed, a woman walked in and was waiting patiently for the toilet. After a minute we hear, "Poop?! Are you going to be coming out all night?!" It was so hard not to bust out laughing. I love that kid!

Happy Birthday Jenny!!!

2008-08-07T09:39:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to You...

Happy Birthday dear JENNY!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to the best sister-in-law in the world!!

Um...This is the ONLY picture I have of us...we need to fix that:

Holy Cow...I Went Blonde!

2008-08-04T09:01:00.005-05:00

So...my mother-in-law came over to let me have an afternoon to myself on Friday. I have had a coupon for a really nice hair salon since we moved here, so I decided to go get my hair done. I went in to get highlights and a cut...here is before...

and I walked out with this...

Yesterday Travis started to build our new fence, for the backyard. Pop came over to help him. They worked all yesterday afternoon with about a 20 minute break because of rain. It isn't quite done, but they got a great start!

While they were building the fence, I got to take Jayden to her first baseball game on her 1 month birthday! It was so much fun! I forgot my camera, but my friend Jennifer took some pictures. I will post them once I get them ;)

To end the day, Judy brought us all dinner. I am blessed with some great in-laws! :)

4 weeks old...

2008-07-31T21:07:00.002-05:00

I can't believe my baby is already 4 weeks old!! Time has just flown by. She looks completely different than when we brought her home. She has started to get rolls on her thighs (YAY!). She is showing a lot more personality and is on the verge of smiling for us (she is already smiling in her sleep).

Speaking of sleep...we have moved Jayden to the nursery. We had her sleeping in the cradle in our room until Monday. She has done great in her crib this week. We started the new routine of bathtime after her last feeding time and then putting her down. Each night has gotten better and better. The first night we put her in bed at 8:57 and she finally fell asleep at about 9:45. The second night she only cried for about 30 minutes total (it was split between 2 crying sessions). And then last night she cried for about 20 minutes and I went in there only once...at which time she fell asleep. Now tonight...we put her down and she lasted 17 minutes before making a peep. I just had to go in there, but I think she is down for the count! :)

Earlier tonight, Travis let me go get a massage while he watched Jayden. It was great! It is so hard to be away from my little girl though... Tomorrow, Mimi is coming over to watch her while I get my hair done. I am really going to have to start spreading these appointments out because being away from my little girl is really hard!!!!!! Does it get any easier?! Ugh... I am fine leaving her, but then I just can't wait to get back to her. I'm sure she is already thinking, "Come on Mom...you don't have to kiss EVERY part of me EVERY time you come home!"

Ah...motherhood! :)

Update with Lots of Pictures

2008-07-29T10:47:00.006-05:00

This weekend we went up to Arlington to meet Mom and Dad when they got back from Zambia. We drove up Saturday so that Juli Beth, Lara Jane and I could go see Mama Mia together. It was soo fun! The guys let us go to dinner too. We ate at Abuelo's and it was so nice to have sister talk again! Then we went to the movie and it was AWESOME!!! I am downloading all the music to Travis' ipod today! :) Before we headed out to dinner and the movie we had some time to introduce the cousins to Jayden...

I didn't get any pictures of Lara Jane or any of her family with Jayden...:( I will do better next time! They are planning to come see us soon, so hopefully I will get lots of pictures then.

On Sunday we went to Pleasant Ridge for church and got to introduce Jayden to a lot of people. After service we went to meet Mom and Dad at the airport. Mom was excited to see Jayden again and had fun showing her off to all of her friends from the mission trip. It was so good to see them! I know we got to see them right before they left, but there is just something special about being there when they get back from this trip each year. We took them to lunch at Khaki's and Jayden's umbilical cord came off at lunch! Yay!!! She has a cute belly button! :)

Last night we gave Jayden her first full bath. It was fun! She enjoyed it so much more than the sponge baths we have been giving her. Her hair seems to be getting longer and curlier! Yipee!! :) I love it! Travis took a video of her after the bath...

And the morning after her bath...her hair looks like this...(notice the outfit! "Daddy did my hair")

Photobucket src="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m296/shaunacallaghan/mchamcopy.jpg" border=0>

Weekend with Family!

2008-07-21T14:46:00.006-05:00

This weekend was fun! My sister Dava Lynn and her family were able to come stay a night with us. Her husband had a conference in Galveston and suggested that they come see us on their way home. It was so much fun to see them and hang out with their 4 boys! It was a short visit, but a great one. We don't get to spend much time together so the time we had was exciting. It was fun to watch the boys love on their new baby cousin. Bennett was the most interested in holding her every chance he got! Here are a few pictures of the weekend:

Here are a couple that Dava Lynn took of us...

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

2008-07-17T12:16:00.001-05:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities

Anorexic Ankles and 2 week update

2008-07-17T11:55:00.002-05:00

I have lost most of my water weight...yahoo!!!!! However, now I don't even recognize my ankles! It is weird. They just don't seem like mine now. I thought I had a picture of them when they were swollen...but I can't find it now. Stay tuned for a before and after comparison! :)

We went to Jayden's 2 week check up today. She is doing great! She weighs 8lbs 2.5oz and she is 20 inches long. That puts her in the 39th percentile for length and 45 percentile for weight. We had to do her newborn blood labs today too. She was NOT happy! She had just fallen asleep and then they pricked her little heel. She screamed and kicked through the entire thing! I don't blame her. :)

VBS discussion

2008-07-13T16:32:00.003-05:00

Travis and I went to the store today and on our way back home he asked, "What is VBS?" The conversation that followed went like this:

JK: "Vacation Bible School."

Travis: "I know that. I mean, what does it consist of?"

JK: "Oh. Well, some churches are different, but I grew up going to VBS where we were split into groups (which might be tribes or families of the Bible) and we would go to different 'stations' or 'classes' to learn a story or concept."

Travis: "Ah...gotcha."

JK: (After a few moments of reflection, broke into song...sing with me everyone) "Booster, Booster, be a booster. Don't be grouchy like a rooster. Booster, Booster be a booster. And boost our Bible school!"

Travis: "You are like having Saturday morning cartoons with me all the time!"

I can't help it!! I blame my family! :)

Baby's First Outing and Family Visit

2008-07-12T16:11:00.002-05:00

On Thursday Travis had to work really late. It is just that time (quarter end). So, he didn't get to bed until about 2:00 am and slept in a little. That meant that instead of riding the bus into work, he was going to have to drive in. Instead of staying in the house all day, I decided that Jayden and I would drive him to work and hang out downtown until lunch time. So, that is what we did! We drove Daddy into work, introduced the little one to his co-workers, fed Jayden in the car and then met up with Travis again for lunch. After we ate, I headed home with Jayden for a relaxing afternoon! It was good to get out of the house and socialize a little bit.

This morning Muna (Pop's mom) and Aunt Sandy (Pop's sister) came to meet Jayden. We had such a good visit! We got a picture of the 4 generations of McHams and some other cute ones too! :)

McHam Look-alike Meter

2008-07-09T13:00:00.001-05:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

The 1st Night on Our Own...

2008-07-08T12:25:00.003-05:00

Last night was our first night on our own and it went really well! Travis and I were able to relax a little and catch up on some of our shows while Jayden slept and ate. Then at bedtime we gave her a bath! The poor kid wailed through the entire thing. So...we didn't get any pictures. But this kid has curly hair when it is wet!! I mean...KINKY hair!! Sooo cute!

After bath time we headed up to bed for the night. Jayden ate and we all went to sleep. We only had to get up once in the night!! She woke up at 2:45 am and ate and then didn't wake up again until 6:52 am! It was so nice! We know this is going to be a rare occurance, but it made our first night by ourselves a nice one. :)

Today has been good too! I have been able to nap and shower and eat lunch! Jayden is such a good baby so far! I am loving being a mom. This is the hardest job in the world, but we have had an awesome start!

1st Doctor Visit for Jayden

2008-07-07T20:50:00.005-05:00

**Edit to Play by Play post**
Jayden Bridgwater McHam was born 7/3/2008 at 9:10pm. She weighed 8lb 3oz and was 19.5 inches long!

Having my mom here for the past few days has been awesome! It was so great to have her there by my side while I was in labor, right by my side as I was learning to nurse my new baby, and having here right here by my side while I learned how to adjust my home life around my baby. She is such an amazing support and source of information and experience. We were so blessed to have her here. God has answered so many prayers during this pregnancy and even now afterwards. He is soo good! Another answered prayer was having my dad here for the experience too. I was so worried that he wouldn't get to see his new granddaughter before leaving for Zambia. It was so fun to watch him hold Jayden and love on her. It was also great to see Grandma Mary. She got to hold her 21st great granddaughter! It made me miss Grandpa Emmitt, but I know that he loved on her and held her tight before she came into this world.

Mom was able to be here for Jayden's first doctor visit this morning. The doctor said that Jayden looks and sounds great! She did lose exactly 10% of her birth weight (which is expected), but my milk finally came in today so she will start gaining it back soon! Yay!

So, Mom left this evening to go back home. My parents leave for Zambia on Thursday so they have some packing and preparing to do. It was hard to see her go. All my emotions from the past few days and shear panic hit when she drove away! I know that I can do this and that Travis is already proving to be the best dad ever! It just hit me all at once.

Tonight has been great. Travis got home from work just in time to say good-bye to Mom. Then he cooked dinner and it was sooo good! Now we are just relaxing and taking care of our new bundle.

This week we have so many friends who want to bring us dinner and meet our new little one. It is amazing how many people care to be part of this amazing life changing event. We are surrounded by awesome friends and family. Thank you to all of you who have kept up with us during the labor and the past few days. Thank you for all of your prayers and thoughts. Here is another picture of Jayden...

The day after...

2008-07-04T12:43:00.002-05:00

Jayden is an absolute doll. The bruising on her face has gone down some, but she still looks likea little Eskimo. Here is a photo from today.

I cant tell you how excited we are to start off on this adventure, and as hard as we know it is going to be, this precious little one has already won us over.

Just as an update, I think the previous post said we would be in the hospital until Sunday, but we now think our doc was a day off and thought yesterday was Friday. We are getting to go home sometime on Saturday, and YAY for that!

We can't wait to see all of you, and introduce our little one to the crazy people in our lives. Warning... she already knows how to work that bottom lip of hers... between Pop, Opa and I, we dont stand a chance. This girl is going to have the world if she wants it!

In baby health news: the docs tested her for diabetes because of Jana's gestational diabetes... she past all four blood tests with flying colors, so praise God for that. A wonderful side note to that is that Jana is no longer diabetic either! No more pricks, no more shots!

She got her daddy's blood type of A+, let's hope that's a sign of grades to come :)

Jana is doing well too, with a little rest between feedings throughout the night, she is still managing to be bright eyed and joyful today. I know it gets harder and harder from here, but if anyone is up for the challenge it's Jana, and she will drag me along for the ride.

We had a visit from Oma, Opa, Pop, Mimi, Winkle Danny and Grandma Mary this morning. It was precious to see Mary holding her 21st Great grandchild. It's just the 3 of us sitting here at the moment, Jana is feeding baby and we are both looking forward to a little nap soon.

Thanks again for everything.

Play By Play

2008-07-02T22:16:00.013-05:00

Okay, here it is, 10:15 the night before we induce labor. Jana just took a sleeping pill and is watching my type this post from her hospital bed. We came in tonight to have Cervadil (sp?) applied which is a medicine used to "ripen" the cervix. There is a small chance that it will send her into labor, but the plan is to start Petosin (sp?) at 7 in the morning.

My plan, and mind you what happens when you make plans, is to update this blog throughout the day tomorrow to let those who cannot be here for the blessed event, keep up to date with the goings on.

So far, there is not much to tell, and that is a good thing. Check back periodically to hear the latest. We love you all, and appreciate your prayers.

7:00 AM - July 3rd
The Petosin was administered at 7 on the dot.. much to the chigrin of the sleepy husband. Jana slept well, but is a little more uncomfortable with each contraction. The number of chords and wires she has hooked to her makes trips to the bathroom quite the ordeal too.

9:00 AM
Mimi showed up with breakfast, much to the chigrin of the hungry mom to be. We were in the middle of a rousing game of Yahtzee when the doc came in to check up on her. After a quick check of the cervix, he announced that she had dialated some, and the cervix had grown soft... all good things. He decided to break her water!

That went well, the fluid was clear so all good signs that the cervadil and petosin were working correctly. We're getting ready for the ride, and will try to keep you all posted.

10:30 AM
Things are progressing nicely. The contractions are coming very regularly, every minute and a half or so, and they are staying pretty intense. Jana is saying her pain scale is at a 2 on a scale of 0 to 10 where 5 is crying. She is such a trooper!

A few of my favorite moments so far:

Last night Jana was talking in her sleep and woke me up when she blurted out "Food.... foooood".
Jana has been eating ice chips and with each bite saying "Honey nut Cheerios, chocolate doughnut, etc as she pretends she's eating something more pleasant than plain ice.
Here is a picture of Jana during one of her contractions... notice the spoon!

More to come as things progress!

12:30 PM
Mom and I just got back from a lunch run. Jana apparently slept for most of the time that we were gone. Her contractions have fizzled a little so they are upping her dose of Petosin. They are going to gradually increase the dosage to get her contractions into a regular rhythm before they check her progress.

We're all sitting around eating our sandwiches, and feeling sorry for Jana. She is SO hungry. They added glucose to her IV drip to help regulate her blood sugar.

Jana just announced "I smell a pickle!" poor baby.

Here we are trying to relax... we're hoping Jana can get some more sleep through these early stages.

2:00 PM
The nurse just checked her, and we are at 4cm dilated 80% effaced. So things are moving right along. Jana's spirits are high, although she's starting to give me the evil eye more and more often. I just knew this was going to end up being my fault.

Her breathing is doing well, and I am soooooo proud of how she is handling this. She is managing to stay relaxed in a situation Lord knows I would be the biggest weenie ever in.

The nurse says that we've had excellent progress, so we are all getting excited for the arrival of the little one.

Thank you all for your prayers and comments. Jana has appreciated them as I read them aloud to her, although I have censored the ones about 16 hour labors! ;)

Stay tuned...

4:00 PM
Well the doc checked her again, and we are STILL at 4cm. They are upping her dosage of Pitocin once again. We're really trying to kick this girl into gear, but as we all know this is quite the process, so it will happen when it happens.

The good note is that when the doc walked in this last time he said "well we need to check you since this epideral is working so well..." then we informed him that she has not had one! That's right, my baby is so calm and collected, and not one drop of pain medication has been administered. I am more proud of her than words can express, not because I have anything against the drugs, but because she has just been so strong through this whole process. I am amazed by her, even more now than I had been before, and that is saying ALOT!

6:00PM
Awaiting the epideral. The nurse checked her at 5:20 and she was still at 4, but the pitocin was not allowing the contractions to stop. She was going for 5 minutes at a stretch with 10 to 15 seconds between. Such hard work, and killing em to sit here and watch. We opted for the epideral because of the lack of progress, and the extreme exhaustion of 11 hours of labor so far.

Just a minute ago Jana had the urge to push, and so the nurse checked again and she was at 6cm. 2cm in half an hour! We're not sure where this leaves us, we are still waiting on the doc to administer the drugs.

7:00PM
The last 40 minutes were some of the hardest I have ever experienced, and I wasnt even doing any of the work. After agreeing that she wanted the epideral, Jana had a contraction that lasted 12 minutes... non-stop.

She was soooo strong through it, but it was so hard to watch. The "happy" doc finally showed and we got the epideral in, but here's the kicker. In the 40 minutes it took to get him in here Jana went from 4cm to 7.

Thank you all so much for your prayers, and please keep them coming. I feel like we are in the home stretch. Jana is much happier at this moment, and back to talking about food, and how hungry she is. Funny how her mind goes right back to food when she's not so distracted.

7:43 PM
The doc just stopped by to check on the much happier Jana, and guess what... she is almost totally dilated, and the expect her to start pushing in 10 - 20 minutes... that's 8 on the nose for starting... PLEASE PRAY FOR US!!!! Jayden is almost here, and we are getting ramped up for the last push! (litterally).

Thanks for hanging in there all day with us... the next post I assume will be welcoming our daughter to the wonderful adventure that is life.

9:10 PM
Jayden Bridgwater McHam entered the world, in a very eventful delivery. Her shoulder got stuck during the delivery and the doc had to do some very quick manuvering to get her out. It was very scary, and thank God Jana did not pick up on the tension in the room because she was so busy pushing. Jayden eventually broke free, as the doc says, 30 seconds before drastic measures were to be taken.

Everything is perfectly fine now, and Jana is feeding her now, and so we proudly present to you... Jayden

The blue face is bruising from the exciting delivery, she has a nice pink hue everywhere else, and a small little birthmark on her hip. She has a FULL head of long black hair!

Needless to say we are all exhausted... it looks like we will be here in the hospital until Sunday. Visitors are, of course, welcome during visiting hours from 8:30am till 9 pm.

A huge thanks to all of you who have prayed for this day, and this event. We ask that you continue to pray for Jayden and our family.

Good night, and God Bless!

And the Plan Is...

2008-06-28T16:06:00.002-05:00

So, I went to the doctor on Thursday and once he measured me said, "I think we need to deliver you this next week." WHAT?! Awesome! So...we are scheduled to induce labor on July 3rd at 5:30am. That is right...this Thursday! I'm thinking that the baby has started to pack on the layers so he wants to go ahead and get her out of there. With the diabetes, I am at risk of having a bigger baby. So leave your guess as to Jayden's weight at birth in the comments section! :)

While we are waiting for the big day...here are some pictures:

Baby Jayden

2008-06-17T10:53:00.003-05:00

She could come any day! Here are some pictures while we wait...

The Kleptomaniac Dog

2008-06-05T09:31:00.002-05:00

Okay...our dog Cooper is a kleptomaniac!

We have had a problem with our dogs getting out. They would dig under the fence and escape just to lay in the front yard. That is right...our dogs wouldn't go anywhere. They just wanted to be in the front. According to the neighbors, the pups never go anywhere and just play with the kids. They don't bother anyone and stay right at home. Amazing....except the fact that we were tired of having holes in our yard. So, we fixed that problem and they are no longer digger. However, Cooper is now big enough to jump the gate. That is right...he leaves his sister in the back yard and goes out on the town. He still stays right here, but now he has started collecting gifts for us!

Last night we came home to find Cooper in the front yard. As we drove into the driveway, he led us to the back gate and showed us his pile gifts! 8 or 10 newspapers, a pair of kid crocks, a flip-flop and a Nintendo DS! Luckily, we found the owners of all shoes and games. The newspapers...we threw away. But HOLY COW!!! Our dog is a Klept! haha!!!!

Gotta love it!

31 Days to 30 & an Ultrasound

2008-05-28T16:17:00.007-05:00

Travis' 30th is this Saturday. To celebrate the big 30 I have given him little gifts all month. Each day he opened a small present like playdough, bouncy balls, gumball machine, water balls, candy, etc. Every week he got a bigger gift. One week he got his reserve repacked for skydiving. Another he got a game of golf with his dad. He also got a day at the driving range and a watch. This past weekend he got to go skydiving for the first in almost 4 years. He use to skydive all the time in college and after. He was an instructor for skydiving even. He would look up at the sky every once in awhile and say, "Today would be a perfect day for skydiving." But he wouldn't go. First of all, he needed to get his reserve repacked and the closest drop zone is a little over an hour from us. Anyway, I finally got him up there! :) He did a recurrency jump (since it had been so long) with an instructor and then he went up in a 12 way. That basically means he was one of 12 people who planned a jump together and made formations together in free fall. He did so well and we had a great day! Here is a picture of me pushing him out of the mock plane, his first landing and practicing with the 12 way. We have a video of his second landing, but it isn't working right now. I will post it when we figure out what is wrong. Enjoy!

Today we went for a 4D ultrasound, but Jayden was being a brat! She is in the perfect birthing position, but that doesn't make for very good pictures. She was face down, head down and the only part of her body that she made VERY visible was her girl parts! Ugh....doesn't she know that is what she is NOT suppose to show off?! Oh well...we are going to try again in a couple of weeks. We are handling the diabetes just fine and dealing with the shots. We have (yet again) changed the dosage and we hope this helps to even things out. My numbers are either really good or really bad...so we will see. Jayden is 5 lbs 7 ounces right now, so she is right on target. We learned today that with the diabetes, the babies lungs develop slower. So...we are going to try and bake this baby until 39 weeks and then induce. We are still looking at July 7th for the due date! Yay!!

Showers and Doctors

2008-05-19T12:03:00.002-05:00

We had our first baby shower this weekend. It was so much fun! Everyone was so generous and the hostess were so sweet! We ended up getting a lot of clothes and most of the bigger items. I'm sooo excited to get my little baby into those cute little outfits! :)

I went to the doctor today and the visit was good. My blood sugar numbers are really good and they are even lowering my insulin dosage! They measured the fluid around the baby and it all looks good. They usually start to put you on the monitor, to watch the baby's heartrate and movements for about 20 minutes, at 34 weeks, but since I am on insulin they started me this week at 32 weeks. 7 weeks to go at the most!!! It is so nice to know that the baby will be here by a certain day...

Next week we get to go have the 4D ultrasound done! Yay! Travis is really looking forward to verifying that our baby is indeed a little girl...and not a boy. :)

And We're Back!!

2008-05-13T11:02:00.002-05:00

I know it has been a long time since I last posted. I'm sorry! Things around here have been a little crazy.

I have been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. At first we were trying to control it by my diet. After a week of that the doctor decided I needed insulin. So then I started giving myself insulin injections twice a day (at 5pm and 9pm). After one week of that, my numbers were still too high after lunch so they changed my dosage and I started giving myself injections once in the morning and once at night. Two days later, my blood sugar started crashing after breakfast and I was getting dangerously low. They changed my morning dosage again and it seemed to work a lot better. At my doctor appointment yesterday, the doc said that my numbers still aren't where he would like to see them, so he drew some blood for an AC1 test (I think that is what it is called). When we get the results from that he will decide whether I need to start taking some oral medications along with the insulin injections. Good news...I only have 8 more weeks at the most (we are inducing at least one week early).

Overall, I feel great! I have been having some brackston hicks contractions. They say the last two months are the most uncomfortable...all I have to say to that is...AMEN!!! I'm so ready for this little girl to join us on the outside!

Even though I am getting a little impatient...we have so much to look forward to in the next few weeks. We have our first baby shower this coming weekend and then another one in June. In two weeks we are going in for our 4D ultrasound. I am so excited to get to see her again and Travis is in some desparate need of verification that we are indeed having a little girl...not a boy! He is pure entertainment during this process! :)

That is about all I have for now. I will try and be better at keeping the blog updated. I hope you all are doing well!

Bump Patrol

2008-04-28T08:58:00.003-05:00

We are 29 weeks today! Woohoo! 10 weeks and our baby will be here. We are inducing on July 7th because of the diabetes. I'm so excited to have her here and see what she looks like. Here is an updated picture of my belly...

That is it for now. :)

Bad News...But With a Good Twist!

2008-04-23T18:11:00.002-05:00

So...as all pregnant women do...I was tested for gestational diabetes. Guess what?!? I WIN! Yup...that is right, I have it! We did the one hour test, which consists of drinking 50g of a sugar/water mixure drink and waiting an hour for them to draw my blood. Usually, if you fail the one hour test, you have to go back in and do the 3 hour test (drinking more liquid and waiting for 3 hours). However, they spared me the 3 hour test because my numbers were so high. The normal numbers are between 65 and 139. Mine were 235!! Holy Cow!!!! They were all so surprised that I got it because I don't fit the profile in any way. I have always had trouble with my blood sugar levels, so honestly, I'm not completely surprised that I was the one out of all the sisters to get it! Anyway, I get to test my blood 4 times a day and eat a very strict diet. Strict in this situation doesn't necessarily mean the same thing over and over (I can be creative), but it does mean that I have to eat a certain amount of specific food groups. You would be surprised how much food I have to eat...I had a hard time eating everything I was supposed to today...and that is saying something for a prego!

It really isn't all bad. They will induce me early. The goal is July 7th. So, Mom might actually get to be here for the delivery. (I say MIGHT because that is only 3 days before she flys out to Zambia and I would not blame her one bit if she decided it was too much to try and make it!)

I don't get to go to camp in June anymore. :( That makes me very very very sad! My doctors said that they don't want me traveling that close to delivery especially with diabetes. So, I am staying home and Travis is going to camp (don't worry, my husband is not abandoning me...he asked me what I would want him to do). This actually gives me the opportunity to spend some more time with my big sister (the first one) Kari Ann. She still has to see if it will work, but I have invited her down to spend the week with me while everyone else in the family is off having fun at camp. I am excited about the chance to spend more time with her. It isn't very often I get my sisters by themselves (without the other sisters...haha...did you really think I mean without the kids around...you are crazy)!

Anyway, the statistics and "side effects" that go along with gestational diabetes (GD) are a mix of good and bad:
1) 90% of all women who have GD go back to normal within 6 weeks of delivery.
2) women who have had GD have a 65% chance of getting Type 2 diabetes within 10 years.
3) the baby has so much extra fat that they are bigger than normal (causing early delivery)

Those are just to name a few.

Well, that is it for now...keep us in your prayers! :)

Great Week & Tired Husband!

2008-04-19T19:10:00.009-05:00

As Travis wrote in the previous post, I was in Arlington all week watching my nephews while Juli Beth and David were at work. My mom usually watches them, but she went sailing with my dad and his brother Floyd. So, I was fortunate enough to go up to Arlington for the weekend to help take care of JB's boys. I loved it! We had so much fun! Lafe spent the night with me on Sunday night and Wade spent the night with me on Thursday night. Joseph never did, but of course, he is only 1 year old...his time will come! :) All three boys were so wonderful and they are such a joy to be around! I loved getting to spend soo much time with them. Before I headed up to Arlington, I stopped by Waco to visit Lara Jane and pick up the crib that she is letting me use for Jayden. I spent the night there Saturday night and got to spend most of Sunday with them. It was so much fun getting to play with all four of her kids and get to chat with my sister. I don't usually get to spend individual time with each family so this trip was very special!

While I was gone, Travis (as he wrote in the earlier post) was busy painting and tiling our bathroom. He worked sooo hard!! He put so many hours into this project and really did such an awesome job. The only thing he didn't finish in there was the grout, but even so, he got most of that done too! He ROCKS!! The pattern of tile is amazing and the paint turned out so pretty! It looks like it came out of a magazine!

Travis had some help. His parents came over on Saturday to help paint and they gave him a night a rest on Wednesday. They brought over dinner for him and helped him tile. It makes me feel so good to know they were here to keep him company and help him out. I felt bad leaving him here to do all the work! He did such an awesome job though! He let Judy go get some decorations for the bathroom too. He picked out some of the stuff too, so I have to give him props! :) It looks so great! I'm so excited to get to take a bath in our new bathroom! :)

BEFORE:
AFTER: Today we went and took a tour of the hospital maternity ward. After that, we met Travis' mom at Babies R Us. Travis' parents wanted to get us our crib bedding for our gift. So, we picked that up today and a changing table. We weren't going to get a changing table, but we finally found one that we both like and didn't cost too much. Yay! After some more hard work from my wonderful hubby...our nursery has furniture and it looks like this...