More Vacation Photos

These are some pictures of Keira on the beach in Destin. We didn't take any of her actually playing in the Gulf for several reasons....not the least of which was that we didn't want to risk ruining our new camera. I think these are pretty adorable, though. Hope you enjoy!

Vacation Photos at last!

Appointment updates

Well, I took Keira to her 15 month check-up this afternoon. She's still a little one. She is 28 1/2" long, and weighs 19lbs. 7oz. The doctor didn't seem particularly concerned with anything since she was still within her "normal" range on the growth curve...right around the 5th percentile in everything except head circumference, in which she was the 50th percentile. The doctor also said that she seemed fine developmentally, and that's a relief, not that I had any doubts.
She got 3 shots today, DTaP, varicella and MMR. This is the last round of shots she'll need until kindergarten. Hooray!

I also got a call from my doctor's office today. At my 18 week checkup last Wednesday (baby's heartrate was 150bpm), I had the quad screen done (it screens for birth defects such as Down's Syndrome and Spina Bifida). Anyway, the results are in and they were all negative. Thank God. I hope this means we'll have a normal, healthy baby. We go in for an ultrasound on July 5, and hopefully we'll see if we'll be adding a boy or another girl to our growing family. I'll keep you posted.

Oh, and by the way, we're still waiting on our new nephew to make his arrival. Becky's due date is July 4, and we're getting impatient to meet Aidan!!

Again! :(

My mom called me the other day and told me that my Aunt Delores (my dad's sister in Arizona) passed away. She died on Wednesday. They had a viewing in Tempe this week and they're flying her body here and will have her funeral next Saturday (July 1). It seems like a really long time to wait to bury her, you know?

Anyway, I talked to my dad yesterday. I feel so bad for him. He's really hurting because he didn't know she was that sick and didn't get to say goodbye. They were always close and I know he's going to miss her. Now there are only 3 siblings left out of 7. I can't imagine losing a sibling...I hope Dad's ok and that he'll be ok throughout the funeral next week.

This is just so crazy! Since April, we have had 5 deaths in our family (my Grandma, Shawn's Grandpa, my mom's aunt, my mom's uncle and now my aunt). I hope this is the last one for awhile...

Vacation Part 2

We got back from vacation late Saturday night. We had a wonderful time, but it was nice to be back home (once I got everything unpacked and put away, that is).
We ended up leaving for Florida at 1:30 am on Sunday. Keira slept and Shawn drove. We stopped for breakfast and gas and then were on our way again. We arrived in Destin at about 2:30 pm on Mondah and checked into our condo at 4:00. The Gulf was really choppy because of the effects of Tropical Storm Alberto. It was also really windy. So, that evening we just went to dinner and then back to our condo to relax and unwind from the drive.

On Tuesday, we got up early and took a walk along the beach. Keira seemed to really like it. Then after breakfast, we went to Big Kahunas waterpark for the day. It was a lot of fun! We put SPF 50 sunscreen on Keira every 45 minutes or so. Unfortunately we didn't think as much about ourselves. She didn't get a drop of sun, but Shawn and I got kinda toasty.

Wednesday we decided to spend some time inside, so we went to the Gulfarium in Okaloosa Island. It was great! We saw a dolphin show, which was really neat. I'd never seen dolphins that close before. After that, we drove out to the shopping center. We were stopped by a woman who offered us a free 3 day vacation and 2 free tickets on a sunset dolphin cruise if we'd take a tour of their resort (and listen to a talk about timeshares). We decided we had nothing to lose, so we did that for an hour and a half. We knew going in that we weren't going to buy anything, but we did get our free stuff. So, that evening, we went on a dolphin cruise with Olin Marler Dolphin Cruises. We actually saw several dolphins in the Gulf. And, it was pretty relaxing.

Thursday was our last day in Destin. We just relaxed on the beach and at the pools on Thursday. We left Friday for Alabama to see Kenji. He took us to see the sights in Birmingham. Then on Saturday afternoon, we began our long car trip back home.

Overall, we had a great family vacation! Next year we'll have another baby to take with us. We'd better start planning now!

Vacation!!

We're leaving late tomorrow night/early Monday morning for vacation! I can hardly wait. I've spent the week doing laundry, cleaning and packing. It looks like we're almost completely ready to go. Tomorrow we're taking Max to Mom and Dad's house. They're going to watch him for us while we're gone.

We're planning to put Keira to bed around 8:00 tomorrow night and then try to get a couple of hours of sleep ourselves. Then we're heading out at 2:00 am. Shawn wants to try to make it through Memphis before rush hour. Hopefully Keira will sleep during the first 4 or 5 hours of the trip. I guess we'll see...

Anyway, we're staying in Florida 4 nights, then we're planning to drive up and visit Kenji. We should be home late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. I'll update more after the trip.

Just an Update

I've been at home with Keira for almost two full weeks now. I have to say that I am absolutely LOVING it! I'm trying to really focus on the now, and not think about August.

Keira updates: She's like a crazy little monkey...climbing on everything!! The other day she climbed up onto the rocking chair and then crawled across the arm of the chair to the arm of the couch. Her favorite place to climb is onto the coffee table. She'll climb up, look at me, and say "GET DOWN!" I usually pull her down and she throws a fit (what a temper this one has already!). Aside from the climbing, she's also learned a lot of new words (potty, ball, shoe just to name a few). And the other day, I taught her how to make a "fish face". That's probably my favorite part of being at home with her everyday. I can teach her stuff and actually watch her get it, you know? What a sweet girl I have...I'm a lucky mommy.

Pregnancy updates: I'm a little over 15 weeks pregnant now. We went to the doctor last Wednesday for my appointment. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat on the doppler...it was 152 bpm. It was a great sound! I've lost 3 lbs. since my first appointment. The NP wasn't too worried. I wasn't either, because I lost weight with Keira throughout my first and even second trimesters. Anyway, she said that all looked well. We go back on June 24 (I think)...it's the Wednesday after we get home from our vacation. I'll be 18 weeks pregnant then, and I'll have only 2 more weeks until our big ultrasound! After 20 weeks I'll probably go in every month for an ultrasound and a non-stress test in addition to my regular OB appointment.
I am starting to feel a bit better...most of the nausea has subsided, which is really nice. And, I'm not quite as tired as I was. I don't know how much of that is because I'm not working everyday right now, though. Either way, I'll take it! I don't have any "feelings" about the gender of the baby, yet. There are a few girl names and a boy name that I really like, so we'll be prepared either way.

Other stuff: We're leaving on vacation a week from Sunday. Next week I plan to spend a little bit of time every day doing laundry and packing so we won't have as much to do at the last minute. I'm looking forward to spending a few days on the beach just relaxing...and I know Shawn is too. He's not liking the fact that I get to stay at home every day while he has to get up and go to work. Although, I do get up at the same time he does, and I chase Keira around all day while doing laundry and dishes and general cleaning stuff. Ah...the life of a stay at home mom...

Well, I guess that's about all that's going on here. I'll sign off now and get back to my book...I just finished reading Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" for the second time. Right now I'm reading "Dispatches From the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival" by Anderson Cooper. It's a great book and a really easy read. The only downside is that sometimes I cry while reading it and have to stop to regain my composure. It's a really emotional, though-provoking book. Couple that with my overload of pregnancy hormones and I'm a mess!