My kind of birthday!

Just a quick update on our awesome Disney trip! We are having a blast and the kids are so happy. I bet I have been told Happy Birthday no less than 100 times already, not one person that works at Disney passes without saying it. In fact, we are also celebrating Jeff's bday because in their opinion it is close enough! I will say I'm totally exhausted by the end of the day, but hey being 6 1/2 months pregnant will do that to a girl! Speaking of pregnant, my ticker finally says 100 days to go, woohoo!!!!! Keep on growing Emery! Maybe I'll have time to post some pics tonight, but I doubt it since we are going to a birthday dinner celebration and then to the extended hours at Hollywood Studios. We just can't get enough of Toy Story Mania and Star Wars (no, I'm not riding Star Wars but Chase was finally tall enough this year and LOVES it - his words, that ride almost made me pee my pants)!!!!

~Kahla

***I am grateful for
1) birthdays
2) family time
3) vacation
4) Disney World
5) 100 days to go until we meet Emery!

Disney World here we come!!!

The countdown is on for our big Disney World vacation!!! This time tomorrow we'll hopefully be at the airport and waiting for our flight. Chase is beside himself with excitement and is telling anyone and everyone that will listen about it. We are pretty excited too! :o) We are 85% of the way packed and have a few odds and ends to tie up before we're officially ready to go, but nothing major. I'm sure we'll forget something, but isn't that usually how it happens?

I was talking to Chase earlier about why he was afraid of the frog at The Rain.forest Cafe and not afraid of Mickey and the rest of the gang at Disney and he said because he LIKED them. Guess that's good, I had worried he'd developed a new fear but I guess all will be well!

Have I mentioned that we are totally excited???? Wish us good weather, Jeff is not fond of flying to say the least so that will be the hardest part (especially if it's raining there like it's supposed to be)!

Hope everyone is having a great Thursday, we certainly are!!!!




***I am grateful for
1) vacation, wooohoooo!
2) Mickey and the Gang, they totally rock
3) packing is almost done
4) laundry IS done
5) the rain we got this week

Our Pumpkin is an Eggplant! (25 weeks)

Let your spouse put an ear to your belly -- he might be able to pick up baby's heartbeat (no stethoscope required). Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby's also soaking up your antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink -- perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes. (www.thebump.com)

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture. (www.babycenter.com)

Emery has still managed to avoid letting her Daddy feel her, which totally blows my mind because this girl can kick hard! Of course poor Jeff does have to compete w/Chase for trying to feel, so perhaps that has been part of the problem as well. Chase is pretty excited about his baby sister and talks to her constantly, loves on her, and talks about what it will be like when she gets here. I'm thinking that part of our Disney World trip will have to be a big brother-to-be celebration trip for him (and my niece who is expecting a baby brother/sister in Feb. of next year - on her mom's side, not my brothers).

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On a totally not related to baby note, did anyone else watch MJ's memorial yesterday? I recorded it and went back to watch it (fast-forwarded through some) and will admit that I got teary eyed at some of it. I don't want debates, I have no clue what he was or wasn't guilty of and it is not my place to put judgement on him. That has already been done. However, it broke my heart for his family and friends. Brooke Shields and his daughter, Paris, nearly killed me to watch. I am so sad for his children, he was the only parent they ever knew. Also, when his brother sang "Smile" that was pretty sad. I'm hoping maybe the media will die down some now, as sad as it is, life does go on.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic hump-day!!!

***I am grateful for
1) 25 weeks!!!
2) big belly kicks.... a feeling like nothing else
3) Chase being excited :o)
4) ricecakes (suddenly want them quite often and Chase liked them too)
5) Friday we leave for Disney!

Happy July 4th! ( a little late)

We spent the 4th at the beach with Jeff's mom and dad and had a wonderful time. A friend/teacher I work with owns a beach house that we rented in Surfside and it is absolutely perfect. Just a short walk to the beach and w/in driving distance to Galveston. Has a great covered deck to watch the fireworks from in the evening and you get that awesome beach breeze. We went down on Friday and headed to the beach for a little bit that evening once PawPaw made it down there since he had to work part of the day. Then Saturday we drove over to Galveston and had a great lunch at Joe's Crabshack followed by dessert at The Rainforest Cafe. Then it was back to the Surfside for a little fishing before settling in to watch the fireworks. Sunday we did a little more fishing, one last beach walk (I stayed behind on that one to clean and totally missed Chase on his boogie board for the first time... grrrrr) and then headed home making a detour to stop and have dinner w/Duchess. I have to say it was a pretty great weekend! Enjoy the pics!

Building Sandcastles
(technically this is from the weekend before, I didn't take the camera to the beach this time!)

Chase and Daddy (my two favorite guys!)

A Family Pic (Chase is doing his Tiny Tiger face, so tough)

Memaw and PawPaw

Yummy Volcano Dessert, Chase was so excited!

Fishing w/Daddy (I love this pic!)

Chase's Fish (on Daddy's pole)

Yummy bread at Saltgrass (Mommy's fave) w/Duchess

Chase looks so red in the last picture, but today he's not even pink.... phew! Hope everyone else had a great 4th as well!!!




***I am grateful for
1) a wonderful weekend
2) those that sacrificed and made July 4th what it is
3) family time
4) making memories
5) Disney World is just days away!

Our Pumpkin is an Ear of Corn! (24 weeks)

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon. (www.babycenter.com)

Now there happens to be a very important tid-bit that baby center left out on their little blip. 24 weeks is considered the "point of viability" meaning that if something should happen, Emery would have a very good chance at survival thanks to all of today's advances in the medical field. Of course we want her staying put for another 15 weeks or so, but it's comforting to know we have reached this point!!!

Emery can be quite the kicker at times, but the minute her Daddy tries to feel her she stops. His touch must be soothing! I have a feeling we'll catch her in action soon enough. Her valence FINALLY arrives (no more buying from that chick on ebay) and we'll be able to match the colors for the nursery now and start painting so we can get it set up. Sometimes this still seems like a dream, then I think wait, we only have 16 more weeks until her due date... that will fly by!

Chase is doing well, the two of us spent the night in Galveston on Sunday night with some friends and spend Monday at Moody Garden's Palm Beach. I love that place and swear if we lived closer I would totally get us a season pass. We had a very nice time and Chase really enjoyed it.

This Friday we will be heading to Surfside where a co-worker has a beach house that we are renting for the weekend of the fourth. Then a week from Friday we leave for Disney, I can't wait! I'm not sure who is the most excited!

Pics from our trip will be coming soon!




***I am grateful for
1) a nice weekend
2) a fun day at the beach w/Chase
3) 24 weeks
4) the point of viability
5) we actually got rain (not much, but it was a step in the right direction!)

5 years ago today

My dreams came true and I found out that I was pregnant after our first IVF/ICSI. I can remember that day like it happened yesterday, the phone call that changed my life forever. I had no clue that they were running my BETA that day so I was taken completely off guard. I cried tears of joy like I had never cried them before. Little did I know we would go on to have a scare, which resulted in the loss of a twin and how bittersweet it would be. And little did I know that I would end up with the most awesome son in the world. Mommy loves you Chase, more than anything in this world!

~ Kahla

***I am grateful for
1) 5 years
2) my most precious gift
3) how blessed we were w/our first IVF
4) the miracles do happen
5) that we were given Chase to be part of our family

23 1/2 weeks OB appointment!

Everything checked out well at the OB today and belly is measuring right on track and looking good. My bp was a little high, but I take it daily at home and it's been fine here. My OB was not concerned, so neither am I. Perhaps it's a little white coat syndrome!

They listened to Emery and as usual she felt the need to move away from the doppler. She is already a little stinker. I know we listen to her daily at home, but that sound never gets old! We got the all clear for Disney in TWO weeks and I don't go back until July 21st and will do my GD testing... fun times!

I have apparently developed a lovely "pregnancy rash" on my tummy (doesn't itch now, but it did) and am getting a chest cold, so he wrote out an antibiotic and a RX for a rash cream. I'm also supposed to start on Zyrtec for allergies, I think he's a tad worried about the whole chest thing while traveling.

We have also scheduled the 3D ultrasound, although this time we are not doing it with the OB like we did for Chase. We are actually going to a place in Houston and I can't wait. The big day is Saturday, August 1st. I could have gone in earlier but figured she'd be a little chunkier then which would give us better pics!

For a funny, Chase made this comment on the way down, "I sure hope they don't say it's a girl again!" Now he is totally OK w/having a baby sister now, but apparently he really dislikes those words!

Jeff is off to pick up Emery's furniture as we speak, I can't wait to see it all set up! Hope everyone is having a fantastic Friday, we are going to play some wii and try not to bake in this hot weather (the Tahoe read 107 on the way home, how crazy is that????)!




***I am grateful for
1) an uneventful appointment!
2) 23 1/2 weeks (ok, not quite a half, but close enough)
3) two weeks until Disney, that will go soooo fast!
4) Fridays, love 'em!
5) Emery's furniture is in!!!!