The Boulet Bunch

6 month well visit.....2 months overdue!

2010-01-19T19:41:00.000-08:00

Today we had Karsyn's 6 month well visit....even though she is 8 months old! I didn't mean to put it off for so long but November and December were such crazy months and I just kept forgetting....add that to the fact that we have been in between health insurance plans and here we are.....2 months late.

The visit went really well. Our pediatrician, Dr. Goebel, said that Karsyn was doing very well with meeting milestones and that she is very healthy. She is still very much on the petite side. Weighing in at 14lbs. 11.8oz. and she is 25 1/2 inches long. That is 5% for weight and 8% for height. I was concerned with these numbers when I first was given them because she has always been around 15% but after reassurance from both the nurse and dr. that she is growing perfectly on her own growth curve I am no longer worried. They said she is just going to be tiny. Not like Little People Big World tiny....just a little girl. I guess she will just stay petite like her Aunt Holly!

At 8 months she is a busy busy little girl. She loves playing with her toys and she tries to grab anything and everything within her reach! She crawls....but not forward completely.....she can go forward slightly but she mostly crawls backwards! She is starting to attempt pulling up. She is constantly trying to pull herself up on her crawl and cruise jungle! She waves and it is the funniest wave I have ever seen her whole hand and all her fingers move. It is very cute!! She mimicks kisses and will blow kisses.....which I just absolutely LOVE! Her vocab consists of DaDa, Bubba and Bye bye. No MaMa yet but I am working hard on that one every day!! She LOVES animals! Cats, dogs....and as we discovered this weekend....turtles too! She will now drink from a bottle! This is a major acomplishment considering a month ago she wouldn't even let a bottle touch her lips. She now gulps down juice (loves Pear juice!) or breast milk out of a bottle. I haven't tried formula yet, but I may soon just for a back-up just in case. Puffs are still her favorite snack. Although, lil crunchers (cheese flavor) come in a close second! After naptime when I go get her out of her bed she is either sitting up or is on all 4 rocking. (seriously cute!)

Her schedule is pretty set and like clockwork I know what she needs at each point during the day. She gets up between 7:30 and 8 every day. She plays for a little bit and then is ready for breakfast. Her favorite things to eat for breakfast are Gerber yogurt, mangos and pears. After breakfast she plays for a little bit longer and is ready to go down for a morning nap by 9:30. This nap generally lasts for about an hour....maybe longer if she didn't sleep well the night before. After her nap she is ready to nurse. She is a really quick eater....10 minutes TOPS! We usually run errands or just play during this time. And she eats a snack before we go get Kara from school at 2:50pm. After we pick up sister we come home and play for about 30 minutes, nurse and she is ready for another nap. This is her long nap of the day....usually 2 1/2 hours! I try to get things done during this time.....most of the time though I relax. :) After her nap she is ready to nurse again. I normally feed her dinner around 6:30 or 7 then she gets a bath, PJ's, plays with Daddy for a little bit, nurses again and goes down for bed around 8:30. She still gets up once each night to nurse. I am working on breaking this habit but for now I don't mind. I really do enjoy nursing her at night. It's quiet and she is so sleepy. I just rub her hair and stare at her pretty little face. It's nice quiet time with my little peanut that is growing way too quickly! I wish I could stop time.

Here are her 8 month pictures taken on Friday night. It is getting hard to get her to sit still while we take them and actually pay attention. She just wants to grab her sign, chew it or pet the lamb. We probably took 30 pictures hoping to get just 1 that would work!

"It's my sign....I'll crinkle it if I want to!"

"How could I possibly look at the camera with this bear sitting next to me!?"

"What....is this what you want?"

"Fine....take away my sign....but I'm still NOT smiling!"

Disney World-Day 1 (Morning)

2010-01-09T10:19:00.000-08:00

Decemeber 26th was our first day in the parks. We woke up around 5am and took a bus to our Disney hotel, The Wilderness Lodge, to check in. Luckily they had a room available early so we were able to drop our stuff off and head to the park. We took a boat over and it was really chilly! But when we arrived at the Magic Kingdom we were in awe and it made the cold boat ride worth it! The girls just kept repeating "I can't believe we are really here!" And all that Jeromy could say was "WOW!" That's a pretty incredible feeling when you hear your 30 year old husband have the same wonder in his voice as your children!! (Disney will have that effect of you!)

We headed down Main Street USA and hauled it to Space Mountain to get our Fast Passes. We were all very excited to ride it! The park wasn't very busy so we decided to take our time and figure out what to ride first. Our first ride was The Haunted Mansion. I didn't take any pictures of the girls in line because we walked up and were immeadiately escorted into the "Parlor" to wait to board the ride. I have to say that I'm pretty sure that The Haunted Mansion is the coolest ride! I have never seen ghosts portrayed more realistic then on this ride! Pretty awesome.....but then again....it's Disney so I wouldn't expect any less! Feeling amped up from riding our first ride we went over to Fantasy Land, parked the stroller, and began riding more rides. Our second ride was Peter Pan's flight. It was awesome because we again walked right up with pretty much no wait. The line constantly moved. What was even more incredible about that was that every other time we passed the entrance there was a 30+ minute wait! So arriving at park opening was definitely worth it! We also rode Snow White's Scary Adventure, It's a Small World and Mad Hatter Teacups. Karsyn LOVED riding along....the whole time she would laugh and slap her hands. She was enamoured by the scenes in the different rides and she truely had fun. Before leaving Fantasy Land we had to stop by the Sword in the Stone for some classic pictures. My parents have pictures of my sister, brother and I trying to pull the sword so I had to carry on the tradition with the girls.

(Getting ready to board Peter Pan's Flight)

(Our 1st Family picture in the park....riding "It's a Small World")

I need to add that there is just something about Disney World that makes you feel like a kid again! You have no worries or concerns....just living in the moment! I certainly took that opportunity and enjoyed every minute!

By this time our Fast Passes were ready to use at Space Mountain so we headed back to Tomorrow Land for our 1st Roller Coaster of our trip! Jeromy and I had to take turns riding with the girls because Karsyn could not go on Space Mountain. So Jeromy and Karlee went first and then Kara and I took our turn. Kara was such a brave little girl....she chose to ride in the front cart....her first time!! I usually close my eyes while riding roller coaster but this time I decided that I wanted to see everything so I kept them open. It is an awesome ride and probably the most fun I've ever had on a roller coaster! As we left the ride Kara and I stopped by the photo booth to check out our picture and I couldn't help but laugh....Kara's hands were up and she was smiling and there I was behind her with a nervous grin on my face! LOL! I guess she really is braver then I am!

We had all decided to meet back at the Baby Care Center so Kara and I headed down Main Street to meet Jeromy, Karlee and Karsyn. We were stopped by an afternoon parade. If you haven't ever experienced a Disney parade you are seriously missing out! I don't think that any other parade will ever compare! I don't have any pictures from this particular parade. And while I'm on the subject of bragging about Disney's features I'm going to take a minute to brag about their Baby Care Centers......AMAZING! They are so incredibly nice! Spacious rooms with areas to nurse, feed, change and play with your baby. Karsyn and I spent quite a bit of time in them relaxing while Jeromy took the girls to do different things. There is one in all of the theme parks and they are all very nice! Much nicer then having to change a diaper in a bathroom and nurse on a park bench! (Although I had to do that a couple times too!) We had time for just one more ride so we chose Pirates of the Caribbean! One of my family's all time favorite rides. And with the additions to make it go along with the movie it has added that much more realism to the ride! There were several points during the ride that Kara would say..."How did they get the real Captain Jack Sparrow to come work here?!?" It really is THAT realistic!

By this point it was lunch time and time for us to head to Epcot for the remainder of the day. So....we hopped on the monorail and headed to Epcot!

I was going to do each day in it's own post but due to the incredible amount of memories and pictures I am going to have to do 2 posts for each day.....maybe more! :)

A wonderful Christmas!

2009-12-31T11:19:00.000-08:00

This year we had an absolutely amazing Christmas! We always have a fabulous Christmas but this year seemed to be extra magical....for many reasons. Seeing Christmas through the eyes of your children is like nothing else and with this being Karsyn's 1st Christmas it made it extra special. She loved looking at her toys and she esspecially loved ripping up the tiny pieces of paper!

Christmas morning we woke up at our house with just Jeromy, Kara, Karsyn and I. Santa had left lots of presents for the kids and they were extremely happy with what they were given! Karsyn recieved a Crawl and Cruise Musical Jungle and some some small toys in her stocking and Kara and Karlee recieved shirt decorators.

After we had drank some coffee and got dressed we headed over to my Mom and Dad's house to open presents with the rest of the family. We loaded up all of our presents....yes....all of them! We normally have them over to spend the night on Christmas Eve but with the snow we had we decided to just wait until the morning and go there instead.

We had a great time with the family and Holly and John loved helping Karsyn open her presents. I think it is safe to say that Karsyn now has more toys that Toys R Us. :)

After we opened gifts with my family we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast and rushed home to meet Karlee. She spent the morning with her mom this year and came over around 2. Kara had been dying for her to get there all day so that they could finally open their big box. Karlee opened all of her gifts first and then it was time.........

The kids were so excited opening the box! They could hardly contain themselves......

After opening they were shocked to find a tiny box inside.....but still excited to find out their surprise!

They were showing us that the small box wanted to be opened.......the anticipation was growing and they then found a DVD to be played. Which drove them even crazier.......so.....after days of excitment and an afternoon of anticipation the DVD was played.......

It was in that last 15 seconds of the DVD that we finally announced that for Christmas we would be taking a family trip to DISNEY WORLD!!!! This picture shows the exact second the words came out of my mouth.

What this photo doesn't show is that immeadiately after Kara screamed so loud she could have shattered glass....and Karlee cried because she was so very happy. For months we have been planning this vacation. I spent countless hours reading planning books.....deciding and ordering outfits.....making dining reservations......searching for the cheapest airfare and dreaming about the moment that we would finally be able to share the surprise with the girls and I have to say that their reactions made it all worth wild. This would be their first visit to Disney World as well as Jeromy's 1st visit. We were looking forward to leaving!! Now....it was off to pack our bags to leave for the airport just 3 short hours later. :)

As you see......our Christmas was magical for many reasons.

It's a bird...it's a plane...

2009-12-24T11:49:00.000-08:00

No....wait....it's the greatest Christmas present 2 little girls could ask for!

Can you imagine having to stare at this box as a little kid? I would have gone crazy! We actually just finally wrapped it and set it out last night so it has only been tantalizing them since then. They are going to LOVE this gift! I couldn't think of a more amazing present then this. Truth be told...I think I may be more excited then they are. :) They haven't opened it yet obviously but when they do they are going to freak out!!! I can't share the secret yet though because Kara and Karlee both read this blog on occasion and I don't want the surprise ruined. But...tomorrow after they open it I will share with all and hopefully have some pictures of their reactions!

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas! I know this year we have so much to be thankful for. I feel so blessed and lucky this year. I am looking forward to seeing how Miss Karsyn acts tomorrow. She is obsessed already with rolling and scooting over to the tree and chewing on the presents. One last picture before I go.....

Doesn't that just look perfect?!? I am so happy with my family and Thank the good Lord for everything that I have. Again, Merry Christmas....enjoy your blessings. :)

6 years ago today...my life changed

2009-12-23T08:15:00.000-08:00

Yes...6 years ago today I went on a date with the most handsome man I had ever met....little did I know that one day he would be the man I was married to. We met a few days before Christmas at the mall. I had taken a part time seasonal job at The Children's Place and he was one of those last minute shoppers. I helped him while he was shopping and he asked me out while I was ringing him up. :) I remember when he walked in I was smitten and blushed. I guess you could call it love at first sight.

We went to TGI Friday's for dinner....while not the most romantic choice it was very casual and we had an opportunity to talk and get to know each other. Afterwards we went back to his apartment and watched a movie. I remember being nervous the whole time but I remember how shy he was at first too. He actually asked me if it was okay to sit next to me during the movie....such a gentlemen. :) Now....the first kiss is a major deal when you start dating someone....seriously....you think about it....you make sure you are chewing gum for the freshest breath and then you wonder when it is going to happen. Well....I can actually say that our first kiss was magical! He was...and still is...a great kisser. :) Anyway.....that's the beginning of our story and I can't believe that that was 6 years ago! 6 years ago today....my life changed....and definitely for the better! I love you Jeromy! :)

Here are some pictures from our dating years. Note....I was a lot younger and skinnier then....I hate the old me. :)

This picture is actually only 2 weeks after our first date. I was 18 and Jeromy was 24.

This is at one of the 7 concerts that we went to while we were dating....at The Green Day concert.

This was taken at the State Capitol in Austin.

This was on our way to Sherlocks for St. Patty's Day in 2005.

And check out these 2 cuties! Kara and Karlee were 2 and 3 when we started dating! So sweet!

Family Pictures

2009-12-16T18:25:00.000-08:00

Today we had our Christmas pictures made. In the past years I have always thought about doing Christmas pictures but never actually did because I always got busy and side tracked. This year I had been talking about getting pictures done with our whole family since it is Karsyn's first Christmas and I also said I was going to send out Christmas cards. Well....as of last week it seemed as it that wasn't going to happen. I really wanted to do them so I made an appointment in the middle of the week during the day. I pulled Kara and Karlee out of school around noon and Jeromy took a long lunch. They turned out really well and I am happy to say that I will actually get around to sending out Christmas cards this year! WOHOO!! In fact.....as soon as I get done blogging I am going to address and stamp them.....NO EXCUSES! I'm hoping that this will be a trend we can keep up with every year. I always enjoy receiving Christmas cards so I am happy that I will actually get to send them out. :) Here are the 2 family poses that we chose. They are scanned so the quality is grainy but oh well.......

I love the kids in this one! Karsyn's big ole grin just melted my heart so this one was our first pick!
And I love how relaxed yet awesome this one is! I never would have guessed that I would have liked it so much but this one is my favorite of the whole family.

Aren't the girl's outfits ADORABLE?!?!?!? I just love them and we received SO MANY compliments on them. My friend April made them. She is so incredibly talented. It's nice to have friends in talented places. :)

I'm a winner and a loser.....

2009-12-14T18:52:00.000-08:00

Seriously! This statement is so true! I will explain.......

I am extremely lucky to have been the winner of the $25 gift certificate from my friend Tina's blog giveaway that she was hosting. I am so excited....the gift certificate to Uniquely Monogrammed. She has some really amazing things but I am going to be good and save it to use on a custom outfit for Karsyn's 1st birthday in May. I seriously never win anything so I was suprised and excited when I found out that I had won. Tina will be hosting several giveaways in the next few months so make sure you check out her blog and watch for them!

And now for the loser part........My name is Lauren and I am a pacifier loser. Seriously.....before Karsyn was born I probably had about 30 pacifiers (no joke!) and today I gathered them all up...from under beds.....in the car.....out of the diaper bag......the nursery......you name.....I looked there. And all that I could find was 10.....yes.....you read that correctly.....10! I don't know how I could lose them so easily. I try to stay fairly organized with them. I always keep 1 in the crib.....1 in the car seat....and 1 in the diaper bag. I try to only use them in their places and if I take them out of their place I make sure they get put back. But somehow I have managed to lose 20 or possibly even more pacifiers in 7 months. I guess I better buy stock in Mam. :)

Well....there you have it.......today I have been both a winner and a loser. :)

Just some quick pics from the patch!

2009-12-13T15:40:00.000-08:00

Okay.....so after I posted Halloween pictures I realized that I didn't share any pictures from the Pumpkin Patch. We have been to this pumpkin patch together every year since Jeromy and I started dating. It is in Flower Mound. We usually spend the entire day out there enjoying the hay ride, the bounce houses and other activities but it was so rainy and chilly that we were only there for about 30 minutes. Hopefully next year we can spend more time there!

Halloween in December

2009-12-13T15:18:00.001-08:00

Okay......I realize that Halloween was a month and a half ago but I just realized that I didn't post the pictures or share any stories so I wanted to catch up. I'm trying to be a good blogger and stay as current as possible. (Although....with things happening daily I'm not sure I will be able to.) My goal is to take time out of each day to blog.....even if it is just about the little things.....cause after all......isn't it the little things that make life wonderful. :)

This year for Halloween we went to Robert and Tina's house. Every year they have their kids and grandkids over....and since they are my second family we went along this year. Robert and Tina are wonderful people and from the first time I met them when Ashley and I were in college they have always treated us like part of the family. And it is so nice that Kara, Karlee and Karsyn are able to grow up with Maddie, Maycee, Addison and Kennedi. :) And the guys like each other too. :)

So anyway......as I was saying....this year we went to Robert and Tina's. We took the kids trick or treating and then we all hung out, ate some delicious gumbo and had a great time!

Kara, Karsyn and I posin for the camera. :)

Look at this group of cuties....Maycee, Maddie, Kara and Addison

Ashley and I with the babies. :) Aren't they just the sweetest!

Mommy and Karsyn Trick or Treating

Daddy wants his picture taken too!

We had such a great time and next year Kennedi and Karsyn and going to want in on that candy action! It's great friends like this that make life fun!

Hurry....before it's too late!

2009-12-11T09:54:00.000-08:00

My friend Tina is hosting a giveaway for a gift certificate to Uniquely Monogrammed. This lady has some amazing items! Today is the last day to enter so check out Tina's blog! Here is the link:
www.itmaybeacrazylifebutitisourlife.blogspot.com

Don't forget.....enter before it's too late!

Proud Mommy

2009-12-08T16:55:00.000-08:00

I am always proud of my girls. But today I am extra extra proud of Kara......she was selected as Student of the Month at Lakeview Elementary! She was told today at the beginning of the day and had her picture taken for the newspaper. She kept it a secret all afternoon and finally spilled the beans at dinner. Thursday she will get to do the announcements and is very excited. I don't have any pictures yet to post but I just had to share how proud I am of my wonderful daughter!

A quick Trip with 5 generations

2009-12-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

After we checked out of the hotel on the 22nd from Kara's birthday party the girls and I headed home to pack the car. We had decided to make a quick 3 day trip to Houston to visit my family. My Aunt Dana, Uncle Bill and cousin Brayden live in Pearland and my Nanie and Nana were there visiting from Corpus Christi. It really isn't a bad drive....about 4 hours normally......so when Kara gets a holiday week I like to try to make a quick trip there to hang out and visit with them. This was only the 2nd time they met Karsyn....she was 6 weeks old our last trip in July....so they were so happy to see her and see how much she had grown.

The drive Sunday wasn't terrible but there was more traffic than normal and we also had to stop for 45 minutes at Buckee's (which is the GREATEST road stop ever off of 45!) to change Karsyn's diaper, use the restroom and grab a bite to eat.....they also make fresh fudge! It is delicious! So it ended up taking about 5 hours to get there but once we were there we were able to relax and visit with everyone. That evening Dana, Brayden, Nikki (Brayden's girlfriend), Kara, Karsyn and I went to see New Moon. It was a really great movie that we all enjoyed. Karsyn did really well in the movies. I nursed her and then she pretty much slept for the entire thing. Now I am anxiously awaiting for Eclipse in July.

Monday we did a little shopping for the girls at an outdoor town center and the weather was perfect. Sunny, in the 70's with a cool breeze.....perfect for walking around outside. I also found a perfect pair of skinny leg jeans at Ann Taylor Loft that I am really excited about.....I can finally wear all of those boots I bought! :) Monday evening I wasn't feeling very well and felt like I was coming down with a cold so I went to bed fairly early.

Tuesday Dana and I left the kids with Nanie and Nana and headed to an amazing Scrapbook store in Clearlake....By Design Scrapbook Boutique. I scored some awesome things for Karsyn's scrapbook. It is getting so hard in Dallas to find scrapbook supplies so it was nice to find things that I hadn't ever seen. When we got back it was time to load the car and head home. I was feeling terrible and was running a fever but I was afraid if I didn't leave then that I would be too sick the next day to drive. So we headed home for a LONG drive! It took us about 5 1/2-6 hours to get home and I got a ticket on the way back....BOO....for speeding.

One of the things that I find the neatest about my family is that we have 5 generations! My great grandmother is 88 years old! She says the funniest things and keeps everyone on their toes. It is really nice that my children can say that they have a great-great grandmother. Here is a picture of 5 generations. This picture includes: My Nana (1st generation), My Nanie (2nd generation), Aunt Dana (3rd generation), Me (4th generation) and Kara&Karsyn (5th generation). There are a lot of other family members not pictured but this is 5 generations all together.....pretty incredible!

Here is 15 year old cousin Brayden with Kara and Karsyn. Isn't he handsome?!? :)

We had a great time and I am looking forward to seeing them again....hopfully sooner than later!

A Pool Party!!!

2009-12-02T16:18:00.000-08:00

This year for Kara's birthday party we decided to have a double birthday celebration with Kara's best friend, Maisie at The Embassy Suites in Frisco. They each invited several friends for swimming and then had 2 friends stay the night. Tara and I planned for weeks so that the party would be perfect. And it was despite a run in with the evening manager when we checked in. Long story short they ended up having to comp us a 2nd room because they were not going to allow us to have additional guests in the pool. Jeromy got everything straightened out and after that things were smooth sailing. The men even discovered that they have complimentary Happy Hour from 5-7 every night! Tara and I think we may have a joint birthday party for ourselves there. :)

The kids swam for 3+ hours and had a blast. They jumped, played Marco Polo, flipped and acted goofy as usual. After we finished swimming we headed up to our room for pizza and fun! My brothers girlfriend, Christa stayed the night and gave the girls pedicures and makeovers. They loved having her there.....and so did we! It was so nice to have a teenager that could keep them occupied. I recommend that for anyone having a slumber party!

In the morning we enjoyed a complimentary breakfast buffet and packed up our stuff. I think one of the greatest parts of not having it at our house was not having to clean up the mess the girls left behind!

Here are some pictures of the party:

BEWARE of being scammed!

2009-12-01T08:41:00.000-08:00

Well.....we were scammed! Against my better judgement I purchased airline tickets from an independent airline broker and my instinct was correct. It was a scam! The company's name is Travel Smart Services and this is the link to their website http://www.travelsmartservices.webs.com .

We purchased our tickets over a week ago with promises of receiving flight confirmations with 24-48 hours. I waited patiently and e-mailed a few times for updates always receiving an auto reply response. Well......as of today I received an e-mail stating that my e-mail was undeliverable. LOVELY! I am just wanting to warn everyone else so this does not happen to anyone that I know.

So as of now we are back at square one for a vacation that begins in less than 25 days. Hopefully we will be able to find something fast within our budget. I guess that is what I get for not trusting my instincts!

So excited about my Etsy purchase!

2009-11-20T08:59:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you are all thinking.....What is this? Well......let me tell ya! :) This is called an iSpy bag and I ordered 2 this morning from Etsy. It is a bag for all ages that is filled with small beads and little trinkets hidden inside. On the outside of the bag is a card listing the items inside. My girls are getting one of these for Christmas and I am going to give the other as a gift to one of our neices. This is such a great toy for kids going on trips or ones that get bored easily in the car! I will let you know what I think when it arrives. In case anyone is interested in ordering one the seller is cricketandsix. :)

8 years ago today........

2009-11-16T15:51:00.000-08:00

I welcomed my beautiful daughter Kara Ashton into the world! She was born on a beautiful Friday at 12:34pm weighing 7lbs. 13oz. and was 21 1/2 inches long. My labor was fast and very easy. My mom and sister were there and they kept shouting how beautiful she was while she was being cleaned up. I was pretty out of it after her delivery but the 1st thing I remember saying to the doctor was "Is it still a girl?" He laughed and of course replied "yes."

She has been such a blessing and I love watching her grow. She changed my life in so many ways and I can't imagine a day without her! She has such a kind heart, a free spirit and a playful attitude.

Today Karsyn and I took her Chick-fil-A for lunch at school and also brought cupcakes for her class. Her party is this weekend and it is a joint party with her best friend Maisie. (They share the same birthday!)

Here are some pictures from today:

Kara and Karsyn after Lunch

Kara and her best friend, Maisie (they share a b-day and both have red hair! Crazy coincidence!)

Kara and Mommy enjoying lunch

Happy Birthday Kara! Mommy loves you and I am very proud of you!!!

"It goes by way too quickly."

2009-09-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that everyone has heard this cliche statement. It isn't until you are a parent yourself that you realize just how quickly it does go by. On a day to day basis you watch your little one changing and learning new things. It was just last week as I was reading my 'Your Baby Week by Week book' that I told Jeromy there was no way that Karsyn would start splashing in the tub a week from then.....but....just this weekend when we were at the pool she started splashing her hands and giggling in delight! WOW! What a difference that week made!

I also think back to last year when Kara began 1st grade and her reading was still spotty and she had to have me help her sound things out. I used to be able to spell words out to Jeromy like N-A-P to keep it from the kids. Then one day in the spring she looked at me and said "No way! I am not taking a nap when we get home!" Now she reads everything! If I have something private that I don't want her seeing I have to hide it because she can definitly read it now! I am proud of that milstone and I love listening to her read. :)

Karsyn is now 3 1/2 months old and she is changing every day! She has been sleeping in her own room at night (for the last 2 weeks!) and she even falls asleep with the help of a pacifier! If you asked me a month ago if she was taking a paci I would have said no because she just started liking it! Not that I want her to be addicted to a paci but as a breastfeeding mommy it is nice for her to have a way to soothe herself besides nursing!! She really is a great baby and so easy to breastfeed! She is now eating every 3-6 hours (the longest stretch at night) but she only takes about 10 minutes to finish a feeding! It's great...really and I love spending that time with her! My ultimate goal is 1 year but at 6 months I will evaluate where we are and I will see how things go from there! My next adventure is going to be making baby food!

Here is Karsyn's picture from 3 months! Look at her chubby cheeks!

And I had to add this picture because people always wonder who she looks like....and well....not to brag.....but this looks exactly like ME! My mom said that she looks so much like me that for her it is a blast from the past!

Oh....and on a side note! Remeber the last post I made about Karsyn being used for advertising for Picture People?? Well.....if you go into the Stonebriar location up above the couter there is a black and white picture of a chubby sleeping baby. Can you guess who that is??? Yep....that's right! It's my little Karsyn!

Days flying by!

2009-07-22T23:15:00.000-07:00

I know that I said that I was going to try to post weekly but I have yet again beeen distracted by the day to day of motherhood. Karsyn is getting so big! It's hard to believe that she is already over 2 months old!!

I began coaching Kara's cheer squad this week and I am seriously overly excited about it. (It's pretty embarrassing!) I just love being able to share something that I loved so much with my daughter. Plus I am hoping that it will be a good workout to help me lose these extra 10 lbs. of baby weight I am still carrying around! Maddie and Maycee are on our squad. Kara is really happy to have her friends cheering with us. I know that April will have some pretty embarassing pictures of me before all of this is said and done. In fact, I think that she got a picture of me doing a handstand at our first practice! LOL! Our squad is the Lobo Gold and we cheer for a 7/8 year old boys football team. I can't wait for our first game. So far, in 2 practices I have taught the girls 7 cheers. I wasn't sure if they would remember them all but this morning I heard Kara in her bedroom practicing so I am pretty confident that the other girls probably remember them too! Holly is helping me coach and she is a God send! She is such a talented cheerleader and really has great skills for teaching children. (She will make a great parent and dentist some day!) Unfortunately, Holly can only attend 1-2 practices a week because of her work schedule so I will have to wing it when she isn't there and hope for the best. :)

We went to Karsyn's 2 month old check-up last week and she is officially 10lbs. 4 oz. and 21 3/4 inches long! I can't believe how fast she is growing! That is almost 4 lbs. and 3 inches up from her size at birth. She really is still such a little peanut though. She is 45th percentile for weight, 30th for height and 10th for her head! I laugh at her head size because she is 2 months old and 0-3 month hats are still GIGANTIC for her little head! I was buying her some fall clothes today and I wanted the matching hat but seriously laughed out load at how ridiculously huge the 3-6 month hat was on her! I ended up buying the 0-3 month hat because it was still pretty big on her. So as long as her head doesn't go through some major growth spurt she will be sporting a really cute hat this fall!

One of the worst things about well baby visits is the vaccinations. I always hated when Kara had to get shots and even though we are on an alternate vaccine schedule for Karsyn I knew that she would be getting some at her 2 month appointment and I was having really bad anxienty about this! The day of her appointment I was flustered and nervous all day! At the appointment I was sweaty and shaking. I am so glad that Jeromy was there to hold her arms down. I cried when she got her shots because she had the saddest little face and cried so hard. I held her and nursed her in the room for about 20 minutes before we left the office. I had to give her Tylenol every 4 hours for the next 24 hours because the shots were giving her a fever. :( I felt really bad for her and she acted like her legs were hurting whenever I would touch them. Jeromy and I are glad that we don't go back for another 2 months but we are both still dreading more shots!

Ironically before her appointment; in all of my anxienty I had Karsyn's 2 month pictures made at the Picture People. They turned out so cute and I ended up spending a lot more than I wanted on them. She was so alert in the beginning and we got some great shots of her smiling and holding her head up. Then she fell asleep and got some amazing pictures of her sleeping. Of course she is my baby so all of this sounds obviously cliche that I think that they were adorable but then yesterday someone from Picture People called me and asked if they could e-mail me a waiver because they wanted to use Karsyn's pictures on their website and for general advertising! So maybe you guys will see her in some future advertisements for them! I should have the e-mailed images from the session soon so I will upload them as soon as I get them.

Well, that pretty much puts us up to speed. I am sure that the next few weeks will be spent hanging out with the kiddos, going to cheer practice and getting ready for school to start. I love summer but I have to admit that I am ready for school to start back. It is such a challenge to entertain 2 girls and take care of a baby. I am ready for scheduled nap times and the ability to actually clean my house!

A Long Overdue Update

2009-07-05T15:07:00.001-07:00

As pointed out to me this weekend by a good friend I have been a bad blogger. I know this. There are so many days that I think about getting on but then something comes up and I forget all about it until I am half asleep and by that point I am way too tired to get up and begin. (Believe me....with a 7 week old sleep is a necessity!) So this brings me with so much to catch up on that I am not sure where to begin.......

Karsyn is such a great baby! I really enjoy spending my days with her and watching her grown and learn new things daily. Coming home from the hospital was quite an experience. The day that we were discharged there were more than 30 other couples going home with their newborns that day! It was a very busy weekend on the L&D floor at Plano Presby. By the time that we got home it was around 3pm and we were happily greeted by my mom, brother, Christa, Kara and Karlee. The girls had been making WELCOME HOME KARSYN signs all day and my mom had been busy cleaning and even mowed our yard! (I know....I have the greatest mom EVER!) Our stork sign was proudly displayed in the front yard for the whole neighborhood to see that we had welcomed our new baby girl into our lives. Here is a picture of our new family by our stork.

From there the weeks flew by! Jeromy was home with us for the first week and then my mom took a week off of work to stay with me and help me with Karsyn and household things. It is such a blessing to have such a wonderful mom and a pretty great hubby too. :) On Memorial Day we went to Jeromy's dad's house to celebrate with the whole family. They were thrilled to have the newest addition there and we were surprised by the news that there would soon be another new addition to the growing Boulet grandkids! Jeromy's sister, Brandi and her husband, Todd will be welcoming a 4th baby sometime in late December! Karsyn will love having a cousin so close in age!

With the kids being out of school for the summer we have been enjoying going to the pool and hanging out with friends. Karsyn went swimming for the first time on June 18th. She LOVED the water! I only put her in for a few minutes each time we are down there but she seems to enjoy every second and usually falls asleep for quite some time after getting out.

2 weeks ago we discovered that Karsyn has a minor case of acid reflux. The was spitting up every time after she ate. At the dr's office she weighed in at 8lbs. 13oz. I am happy that she is gaining the appropriate amount of weight but I was sad that the dr. said that her crying after eating was due to heart burn. SO SAD! A mother never wants her child to be in pain.

Yesterday we celebrated the 4th of July and Karsyn loved being outside. She sleeps well with lots of noise so she did just perfectly. Here are some pictures of our little family on the 4th!

Well....I know this update isn't very detailed but I just wanted to do a quick catch up and I promise that I will try to update at least once a week from now on!

My Birth Story

2009-05-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

Finally...I have been meaning to post this for a week now but have been so busy with Karsyn that I just haven't had an opportunity....but here it is! Finally!

I was scheduled for an induction on Friday May 22nd but Karsyn had other plans. I woke up Thursday morning, May 14th exhausted as normal but with a busy day planned. Ashley B. and I met up at the Stonebriar Mall and shopped for a couple hours. Afterwards I had to go to the grocery store, do some housework and pick up the kids from school. After finishing everything I started feeling really tired and really strange. I layed down in my room for about 30 minutes before having to get ready and leave for Karlee's school play.

At Karlee's school play I was feeling really weird and having some braxton hicks. I was also feeling very crampy but had been experiencing these for a few days so I didn't think anything of it. Kara and I left there and headed to Jeromy's basketball game. At the game the cramping was getting stronger and the pains were going down my legs. They were really uncomfortable. I called my mom when we left and asked if I could bring Kara over to spend the night because I wasn't feeling well. Jeromy drove and we took her to my mom's. (It is about 15 minutes from our house.) On the way to my mom's the contractions were getting stronger and the cramping was steady inbetween the contractions. I began to feel them going down my back and I knew then that it was something more than just what I had been experiencing the days prior. We rushed home so Jeromy could take a shower and I called the doctor. Dr. Garner wasn't the dr. on call but the dr. on call told us to go to Labor and Delivery but that because I was only 37 weeks that I shouldn't expect to be staying. I threw some last minute toiletries into our bags, we loaded our car and headed to the hospital. As we pulled out of the driveway Jeromy turned to me and said "I have a feeling that this is a practice run."

We arrived at the hospital around 10pm. They checked my cervix and I was still a 3. (The same that I was on Monday.) They hooked me up to the monitors and we waited. I was having contractions 2-3 minutes apart. After an hour and my pain level was increasing they checked me again and I was still a 3 but my cervix was softer. They decided to keep me to monitor me for a few more hours. At this point they decided to give me a shot of stadol to help me relax and get some sleep. Jeromy left to grab something to eat and pick up some DVD's for our video camera. When he got back I was already out of it and falling asleep. I slept off and on until 4am when they came in and checked me again. This time I was dilated to a 4, 90% effaced and my bag of water was bulging. The nurse then looked at me and said "Okay. Well, we will go ahead and start your IV and you can get your epidural as soon as you are ready." Jeromy and I looked at each other and were shocked! I said "OMG! We are having our baby today!"

It took them an hour to get my IV in and going. By 6:30 the anesthesiologist came in and gave me my epidural. Dr. Garner called up to labor and delivery around 7am and told them to go ahead and start pitocin to speed things up. He came in around 8:15 and broke my water. (The amount of fluid that came out was unreal!!!) I labored very comfortably and around 10 the nurse came in and checked me and I was about 9 1/2 centimeters dilated. Dr. Garner showed up around 10:15 and started prepping the room for delivery. Once he was suited up it was show time. I started pushing at 10:30 and 4 contractions later at 10:40am Karsyn was born. When her head came out I looked down and was absolutely amazed! The umbillical cord was wrapped around her neck once but she was okay. When she came out I couldn't beleive that I was looking at my baby!! She just looked so tiny!

When Karsyn let out that first cry Jeromy turned around to kiss me.. he was crying and I was crying....I think everyone was crying. It was a perfect moment and I am so happy that she is finally here. All the heartache and worry were worth it when I stare at my baby girl. She is just an absolute gift from God and we feel so blessed.

Just some quick pictures of Miss Karsyn!

2009-05-22T09:13:00.001-07:00

I am busy with Miss Karsyn but I have a quick second to share some pictures of her. She was born last Friday May 15th at 10:40am. 6lbs. 6.5oz. 18 3/4 inches long. She is absolutely PERFECT! I will post our birth story and more pictures soon! I promise. ENJOY!

Only 9 days left!

2009-05-13T09:04:00.000-07:00

As I type this I realize how incredibly anxious I am that Karsyn will be here so soon! 9 days at the most before we meet her! Last night Jeromy and I did a lot of prepping that was needed. He did the dishes while I sterilized the parts to my breast pump and worked on freezer meals. I am now up to 4 meals, 5 loaves of bread and 77 pigs in a blankets! My goal is to have 2 weeks worth of meals prepped and ready to go so that I don't have to worry about cooking while we are getting settled into a routine. I must admit that I have really enjoyed cooking all these different things and I think that this staying home business is going to suit me well. :) Our hospital bag is finally packed and ready to go at any moment (with the exceptions of my daily use items) and the baby book is in the diaper bag ready to be taken to the hospital too! I am so glad that everything is coming together...finally! Friday we are having cleaning people come for a deep cleaning and Monday we are having our carpets cleaned. I think that once those things are done I will feel more prepared for Karsyn to get here. Jeromy has his own list of household chores for the weekend.....he has to do yardwork in addition to changing the a/c filters and batteries in our smoke detectors. Other than that we have a pretty busy weekend ahead of us with graduations parties, birthday parties and all the house preparations. Luckily Friday is my official last day at work so next week I can finish my freezer meals and maybe even take a nap!

I say all these things that we have left to do and gulp because my dr. isn't very confident that we will make it to induction day. I am already 3 centimeters dilated and Karsyn's head is super low. His exact words to me were "Well...luckily I am on call this weekend. I won't be surprised if I see you there." I almost fell off the exam table when he said that! I just cannot believe that she could come sooner than 9 days. But, just so I don't get my hopes up or overwhelm myself I am sticking with 9 days to go. And I look at it on the bright side....being this dilated will only help my induction to go smoother!

And here it is....this is what a full term pregnant girl looks like! :)

I'm 9 Months Pregnant People.....

2009-05-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Seriously!?!?! Why do people in this world think that they can just say anything that pops in their mind to a pregnant women? I get it people....babies are a lot of work....you are sleep deprived for the first few weeks....labor hurts....I get it! I also know that at 9 months pregnant I look like the baby is going to fall out of me at any moment......my ankles and feet are swollen.....yes, my belly is huge....I have gained weight....and of course I understand that my face is swollen right now! Seriously though.......where do they think that they can get off pointing these things out and laugh it off! I may slap the next person that draws attention to these things! What exactly do people expect a pregnant women to look like?!? Esspecially one that will be having her baby in 2 weeks! From the ladies in the grocery store to the other parent at the school to the man in the nail salon and the trashy lady getting a pedicure everyone has a comment to give me and guess what people.....I DON'T WANT YOUR OPINION!! If you are my family, yes, give me your loving opinion. If you are my dear friend and I will be able to reciprocate the loving jokes when you are pregnant, then please give me your opinion or tease me because I know you love me and it's all in good fun. But if you are a STRANGER please keep your mouth shut! I do not want to hear about your sister or your son or a friend of a friend....or even your own story for that matter. I want you to smile and move out of my way when I am waddling my ass down the aisle in Walmart trying to find that one thing that I am craving or need for getting ready for this baby to come. And while I am relaxing while getting my pedicure please do not make comments about how hard children are. I seriously want to look at them and yell "SHUT UP! Please and thank you!"

Ok, seriously...I know this is kind of an awful post but I am so worn out right now that I just need to vent....and who better to do that with but my loved ones who read this blog! So maybe if you are with me next time someone is about to open their mouth you can beat them off at the endzone so they won't get tackled. :) LOL!

And now since I have done all this complaining I will give everyone a 35 week belly picture. (Well, almost 36 weeks but not technically when these were taken.) And on a bright note I had a great Doctor's appointment this week! I only gained 1.8lbs. so I am really happy about that! And our induction is in the books at Plano Presby for 5am on May 22nd! Wohoo! Only 2 more appointments until we meet little baby Karsyn!

THIS MONTH!!!

2009-05-01T07:59:00.000-07:00

WOW!! This month I am having a baby! This month I will be a mother of 3 girls! This month I will be wearing regular clothes again! This month I will be a new mother yet again! This month my baby girl will be a big sister! This month I will finally get to meet this little girl that has been growing inside of me, kicking me daily with the pouty little lips! This month I will fall head over heals in love with someone again! This month we will be a family of 5!!!!! This month I will get to kiss Karsyn's sweet little cheeks! THIS MONTH I AM HAVING A BABY!!!!!!

I just can't beleive that I am staring at the end of this journey with only 3 weeks left and that at the end of this journeywill be my sweet baby girl that I have wanted for more than a year now! Karsyn is going to make our family so incredibly happy.

On the way to school this morning Kara said to me "Only 21 days until Karsyn gets here!" I teared up and replied "I know and I am so excited!" She is so excited to be a big sister and she is going to be great! She loves babies and has such a huge heart. She is such a sweet little girl and I can't wait to see her interacting with Karsyn and teaching her all the tricks of the trade. :) Karlee is getting really excited too! She keeps saying "I just can't wait until Karsyn is born!" They are both ready.....well....we are all ready!

Yesterday I started packing my bag for the hospital and went to the fire station to have the car seat installed. The firefighter that did it for me was so nice and very knowledgable about car seat safety. I feel confident now that we are 80% ready on the home front. I have a lot packed into these next 2 1/2 weeks and then I will hopefully have at least 2 days of rest before the big day! LOL! Well, I am off to get some work done but I will post some new belly pictures on Monday! Have a great weekend!!!

34 Weeks and 31 days left!

2009-04-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

I am 34 weeks pregnant today! I have said it a million times but I am going to say it again and again.....I can't beleive that I am this far along and 31 days away from meeting our baby girl!!

We were sent to Labor and Delivery this past Saturday after I had been experiencing some severe rib pain for 2 days. They hooked me up to the monitor and also did a Non Stress Test. (A non-stress test is when they monitor baby's movements.) Karsyn was doing wonderful but apparently I was having some pretty regular contractions during my stay there. They were about 5-7 minutes apart and spiking pretty high on the monitor. When the nurse checked me she determined that I was 1-1.5 centimeters and 50-75% effaced! I couldn't beleive it when I heard that! I was certain that they were going to say "Long and Closed." They sent me home because they were getting stronger or closer and gave me pain meds for my ribs.

I am actually happy to know that I am progressing and that these Braxton Hicks have been making some changes in preparing my body for Miss Karsyn to arrive. We just would like her to stay put for a few more weeks so that she doesn't have to spend any time in the NICU. After our follow up appointment with Dr. Garner on Monday he put me on restricted work schedule which consists of 3 days per week and 4 hours per day. I am happy that I am at least able to work a little longer to keep that extra income coming in. And I know that my work is happy to have me to train until my leave begins. As long as everything stays the same and there is no significant change I am going to try to work as long as I possibly can.

I finally took some new belly pictures today so I will share them with you all. I look huge and exhausted but I guess at 8 1/2 months pregnant what can I expect. :)

33 weeks and 3-D sono pics!

2009-04-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

I can't beleive that the last 33 weeks and 1 day (who's counting?) have gone by so quickly! We are officially in a count down of 5 weeks and 1 day until induction day. Dr. Garner is going to be inducing me on May 22nd and it is creeping up quickly. We still have lots to get done but I am trying to space out the things so that the weeks won't start to stand still. I have my next appointment on Monday and I am anxious to see what Dr. Garner says.

Saturday we had our final 3-D sono. It was really awesome and we just think that Karsyn is such a little angel! I can't wait to kiss her chubby little cheeks and her pouty lips in person. Here are some of our favorites from the pictures that we got.

She is really smushed in this one but check out her double chin! LOL! And those lips are so pouty! She obviously gets those from Jeromy.

My little girl likes to stick her tongue out. I LOVE IT! My mom said that I constantly stuck my tongue out when I was a baby...I guess she gets that from her mommy. :)
I just love this picture! Her sweet little baby face! I just think she is so precious!

This isn't a very good picture but I just love those little lips and I had to show them off again!

Chubby chubby little baby cheeks! Jeromy said that she gets these from too many Tagalong cookies. :)

Isn't she such a little angel. :) I mean I know that we are prejudice but we just can't stop smiling at her. Well, I guess that wraps up this post. Although I will leave you all on a funny note. Last night I went shopping with Ashley and little Ryan for clothes for me to wear after Karsyn is born. I was trying clothes on as best as I could and Ryan looks up at me and says "Oh....Lala baby...oh" (He calls me Lala.) I know it doesn't sound that funny written down but if you could have seen his face so shocked and hear the words in his deep little voice you would have laughed as loud as Ashley and I did. I just love my little Nephew!

BABY SHOWER!

2009-04-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

Sunday I had my 2nd Baby Shower at Jenny's house. My friends threw it for me and it was awesome! I am so blessed to have such an amazing group of friends. We received so many wonderful gifts and now everything will be all ready for Karsyn to come.

Isn't this sign adorable!?!? Laura had it made for the shower.

Before the game.

Getting ready to open gifts.

Cute little bloomers that Jenny ordered Karsyn. LOVE THEM!

Her piggy bank from Aunt Ashley.

Ashley made her this blanket!

Kara and I after the shower.

Karlee and I after the shower.

Ashley and I.

All my shower hostesses. (Except Laura, she left early.)

The Little Elm Crew. We all graduated together. (And we're still lookin good!)

I had such a great time! I am seriously so lucky! :)

A few updates! And Maternity photo sneak peak!!!

2009-04-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

We had our 32 week appointment yesterday. It went really well. I am now at a total of 21lbs. gained through this pregnancy. Not too shabby for being 8 months pregnant as of tomorrow. We had an u/s and Karsyn looks great. She still has the echogenic foci on her heart but our OB and pedi are not concerned with it so we are trying not to be either. (Easier said then done when it's your baby.) We had an u/s tech that I don't particularly care for. She isn't very friendly and pushed and poked my stomach so hard trying to get her to turn around that I was sore afterwards. Anyway, on to Karsyn....she is weighing in at an est. 4lbs. head down, face down. The tech pointed out hair on her head. (SO CUTE!) And she is getting chubby little cheeks! I really can't wait to have our 3-D u/s on Saturday. Hopefully she will turn over this time so we can get a good look at her face!

And drumroll please..........Dr. Garner said that he only wants to keep her in about 6 more weeks so that she doesn't get too big. He is going to induce us on May 22nd. It just is so crazy that we are now at a count down of when we will be meeting her! I hope that this month goes by quickly so that I don't crazy! Although we still have so much to get ready before she makes her appearance so I guess that 6 weeks won't seem too long!

And here are some sneak peaks from our maternity photo session that we had done on 3/29/09 at 30 weeks 4 days.

Pregnant Brain

2009-03-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

Yes....pregnant brain is a real thing! I know that people make fun of it all the time but believe me....it is something that you cannot control. It's like the simplist of daily things are forgotten or misunderstood. In honor of this I want to share with you my biggest moment of pregnancy brain thus far.

Yesterday we had our maternity photo shoot. I will have to brag about how wonderful Angie was and give you all her website so that you can look at her work. But I will do that in another post. :) Well, you know us....we can't ever be on time for anything. It takes our family a full 2 hours of getting ready from start to out the door if we have a special event. Well, anyway, we were running around getting our change of clothes and props for the pictures out in the car and I wasn't sure what the weather was going to be like so I wore jeans. Well, last minute I had to run back into the house because I decided that I needed to bring flip flops for our outdoor photos. I am so glad that I did that! We hopped in the car and away we went. Well, about halfway to the photographers house I reached down to get something on the floorboard and realized that I had put on 2 different shoes! They were both black but totally different! I pointed it out to Jeromy and we laughed pretty much the rest of the way there!

At the time I didn't know whether to blame it on pregnant brain or the fact that I can't see my face but now....I realize that it was both! Needless to say from now on everytime that I get dressed I am going to try to remember to look down and make sure that I have on matching shoes!

Enjoy that laugh for the day! Hopefully my photos will be ready to post in the next few days! :)

30 weeks yesterday

2009-03-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the official point of 30 weeks pregnant. WOW! That just seems so crazy to me that I have less than 10 weeks left! I am so anxious to meet Karsyn but she needs to stay in there for at least 7 more weeks to grow. :)

Along with 30 weeks I welcomed a whole new level of feeling uncomfortable. I am not trying to complain. I really do LOVE being pregnant but the last few days have been miserable and I know that it gets harder as the end draws closer. My back is constantly killing me. Right now at work I have a pillow propped up for the middle part of my back, leaning far back in my chair with my feet propped up on a box. I look real professional right now. LOL! Luckily my boss is wonderful and she knows that I am uncomfortable and exhausted. I also constantly walk around with the taste of puke in my mouth. Sorry if that is TMI but seriously it is annoying and gross for me too! I never feel like my food is settled and most days I am full from lunch time until 9pm. But don't worry....even through my extreme fullness I still manage to eat 4-6 cookies each afternoon. :)

Something else that has blown me away and actually made me call my dr's office today is the Braxton Hicks contractions. I don't really remember having these with Kara. This pregnancy though I began noticing them around 25 weeks or so. They are uncomfortable and sometimes take my breath away. Last night though they were definately different and this is what caused the concern. I had noticed earlier in the evening that I had a couple that were more painful than normal but last night I was awoken from my sleep with a contraction that hurt so badly. I tried to get up to use the restroom but couldn't move. I couldn't even wake Jeromy up to tell him until after it passed. I seriously haven't felt pain like that since I was in labor with Kara. I fell back asleep but then a few minutes later I had another one. Well after that I was scared that they would keep coming so I just laid there waiting. Luckily I didn't have anymore but I did call my dr's office to let them know. Dr. Garner was out of the office today so he is supposed to call me tomorrow but the dr. that I talked to did tell me that if I feel them that painful again to go straight to L&D to make sure nothing was going on. Crazy to think about but hopefully they were just a fluke and won't happen again. (Maybe dinner last night was too spicy for Karsyn!) Please just keep us in your thoughts.

Well, that sums it up. I was supposed to chapperone Kara's field trip to the zoo tomorrow but it was rescheduled yet again due to rain! I was really looking forward to having a 3 day weekend and going with her but I will be excited to go with her next month.

NURSERY PICTURES!!

2009-03-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

Our nursery is finally complete! Jeromy did such an amazing job and I am so so happy with the way that it turned out. Here are some pictures of us in the nursery showing off the finished product.

All of us waiting on little Miss Karsyn.

On Saturday we took Karlee and Kara to Build A Bear in the Stonebriar Mall to make Karsyn a stuffed animal. Here is a picture of the beautiful bedding with "Cuddles" the Lamb.

The changing table and hutch just needing some finishing touches.

Here I am relaxing in our glider. It is so awesome!

And last....but not least.....Here is a picture of Jeromy and I after the Baby Shower that I forgot to include in my previous post.

My First Baby Shower!

2009-03-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

Sunday was my first baby shower. My younger sister, Holly threw it for me. It was so much fun! We had the shower at my house so that everyone could see our completed nursery. My nanie and nana came from Corpus for the shower and it was so nice to have them there. There was probably about 25 people there total including several of my family members and some close friends. We played Baby Shower Bingo and the Dirty Diaper Game. Erin won the dirty diaper game because she identified all of the candy bars in them correctly. It was really funny to watch the looks on peoples faces as the peered into the dirty diapers. Everyone was so generous and we got lots of things that we really needed for the baby! We also got a lot of really cute outfits. We are so blessed to have all these wonderful people in our lives.

Here are a couple pictures of me before the shower.

My sister and I.

My mom and I.

Here I am opening some of my gifts.

Showing off a cute robe from Masie and her mom, Tara.

These are the beautiful handmade baby blankets from my grandma. She is so talented. They are so special and I know that Karsyn will cherish them forever.

After the shower I loved looking through all the beautiful gifts that we received. Thank you to everyone that came. We are so blessed.

Our crazy buzy week.

2009-03-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

This week has been so crazy! Nanie and Nana arrived on Sunday and we have been having a great time hanging out with them. But with the girls on Spring Break, work and doing spring projects around the house we have been going non stop. Last night was the first time I have turned the TV on all week! (And we only caught up on Lost and One Tree Hill!)

On Saturday Kara and I went on a shopping spree. It was a lot of fun but all that shopping actually wore me out. By the end of the day I was actually tired of shopping! LOL! Imagine that!?! I wanted to do one final "Stock up" of clothes for the family before Karsyn gets here. The girls were in need of some early summer clothes and Jeromy has not had new shorts since our honeymoon! So we went to Justice and spent about 2-3 hours in there. I think that Kara tried on everything in the store in her size! We finally narrowed it down to a stack of things that we loved and had to have for both girls and then dropped a small mint at the register. I think all in all we left with 7 bottoms, 12 tops and 4 pairs of shoes. :) I hit the jackpot at Old Navy looking for Jeromy. They were having friends and family so that made his stuff a steal. He now has a good stash of clothes that will last him for a while. I did buy myself 2 dresses and a pair of shoes from Forever 21. I am confident that they will still fit me after Karsyn is born and they looked great with my belly too.

In the evening Ashley, Adam, Addison, Kennedi, Ashley, Jason, Ryan, April, Guy, Maddie and Maycee came over. It was really nice to all get together. Kara loved playing with all the kids and Ryan and Addison had fun with each other too! And of course we all had fun loving on Baby Kennedi. I can't wait until Karsyn is here...I have a feeling that next summer the two of them will be getting into a lot of trouble together. :)

Sunday morning Jeromy and I got up and had to get to the hospital for our tour of labor and delivery. Plano Presby is such a nice hospital. The whole staff is extremely friendly which is great because with Dr. Garner being so wonderful already it will make our experience there even more enjoyable. They are the only hospital in the area with a Level III NICU. They have the capabilities to care for babies born at only 23 weeks! We are obviously beyond that point but it is great to know that they are fully prepared for every situation.

On Sunday afternoon Kara and Karlee had their older sibling tour of the hospital. They were so well behaved and really liked the idea that they would be getting special treatment since they are the "BIG SISTERS" They made sure to remind me that they will need to wear their big sister shirts and buttons everyday while they are there visiting us. The lady conducting the class went over several things that they would be seeing and where Jeromy and I would be over the course of time that we were there. They really liked looking at the brand new baby in the "admissions" nursery. They were excited to know that is where they would be able to see Karsyn there while she was getting her bath. Our hospital actually is great because after she is born they will come out to the waiting room and bring the older siblings in first so that they can spend time with mom and dad bonding with baby before anyone else. The girls had lots of questions about different things in the room but their most important question that they wanted answered was "What do we do if we get hungry while we are here waiting?" The lady giggled and I promised them that if they were hungry while we were there Grandma or Pop would take them to get some food. I guess they thought that they would just have to be hungry while we were there. LOL!

The rest of this week has kind of been a blur. Kara went to her friend Masie's house today while I am at work because Grandma and Aunt Holly are going shopping for the shower with Nanie and Nana. Kara was really excited to get to go play. She got up really early and didn't waste any time getting ready. She looked so cute in her new clothes! I will have to take a picture of the 2 of them together. They both have red hair and they have the same birthday! They are convinced that they are twins but with different moms. :)

Well, there you have it....it is long and wore you out to read...HUH?!?!? That is how I feel too. I am so glad that today is Friday. I am really looking forward to my shower this weekend and I will post lots and lots of pictures on Monday....PROMISE. :) And in case you are wondering...today I am 29w2d. Wohoo next week I will be 30 weeks! WOW!

28 weeks pregnant and the 1 hr. test

2009-03-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

YUCK! That is the word I can use to describe todays glucose screening. I had to take the 1 hr. today to check for gestational diabetes. I didn't have any problems with this when I was pregnant with Kara but almost everything has been different about this pregnancy. Hopefully this will the one thing that the pregnancy's have in common....well...this and a short labor and delivery. :)

28 weeks is such a huge milestone for me.....7 months....I am 7 months pregnant! That is just crazy to beleive! That is pretty much 2 more months left....well 2 and a half but still....CRAZY to think that 7 months have gone by so quickly and now we are in the home stretch. My swelling has gone away this week for the most part. I am officially up 16 lbs. from my pre pregnancy weight. I am okay with that number considering I gained so much more with Kara. LOL! My dr. was happy with my weight and blood pressure so now I just have to wait 3 weeks until we go back for another ultrasound to follow up on a small calcium deposit on Karsyn's heart and they will also measure her weight. My guess is that she will be about 3lbs.

Here is a belly picture from today...I took them in the bathroom at work. My belly is definately growing!

Yes...I told you that it is getting big! :)

I have such an exciting week up ahead. My Nanny and Nana are coming into town on Sunday to stay the week. We are really looking forward to spending the week with them. We also have our hospital tour on Sunday and Kara & Karlee have their Older Sibling class at the hospital....I wonder what questions they will have after the class is over. :)

3-D U/S

2009-03-09T10:29:00.000-07:00

For my birthday on Saturday we went and had our 2nd 3-d ultrasound done. It was so amazing! We were hoping to get better pictures of her face but she is a stubborn little girl and would only give us bits and pieces. But from what we did see we think that she is just the most beautiful little girl! :) She definately has my nose and Jeromy's lips. The lady who did the ultrasound said that she is practicing her breathing already and she opened her eyes a couple times for us. She couldn't see any hair yet but she did say that she has chubby cheeks and a double chin. LOL! Our little chubby girl. Seeing these made us so anxious to see her, hold her and kiss her chubby little cheeks. We scheduled our final ultrasound for 31 weeks instead of 32-33 weeks because the lady thinks that she will be too big to get pictures of at that point. We know for sure that she is going to be tall...her legs are the longest part of her whole body! And her feet.....well....with me wearing an 8-9 and Jeromy in a 13
we know that she will have big feet. LOL! So here are our 2 favorite pictures from the session. I hope you all enjoy her!

Welcome Home Courtney!

2009-03-05T13:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we welcomed home our good friend, Courtney. He has been in Iraq since November and got to come home yesterday for a couple weeks. I know that his wife is happy to have him home safe and sound and we are too! Thank you Courtney for serving our country and keeping us safe here at home.

Welcome 3rd Tri!

2009-03-03T09:23:00.000-08:00

I can't beleive that today I am staring down the last leg of this journey known as the 3rd trimester! It seems like just yesterday I was celebrating the beginning of 2nd tri. I feel so blessed to have made it here and I feel acomplished as each week passes. This month is going to be so busy with fun things that it is going to fly by! I have enjoyed each day and look forward to the upcoming weeks.

Last night we painted to the stripe in the baby's room. I am so happy with the way it turned out. We will paint the circles tonight and then this weekend I will post completed pictures with the curtains and the furniture. I can't wait to see it all put together. I think that this room is probably going to be my favorite in the whole house. And it may have sparked the decorating fire in Jeromy. Last night he was talking about re doing the girls rooms by adding dots to the walls or a stripe of some sort. LOL!

Nursery Progress! And little limbs!

2009-03-02T14:50:00.001-08:00

Today was so amazing! I was sitting at work when all of a sudden I felt a little push from the inside. I put my hand down to feel and when I did she moved it back. I am assuming it was her leg stretching out. It was so cool. I have mostly felt punches and kicks with the occasional push but today was different. Then for about 10 minutes I sat at my desk feeling, both from the inside and with my hand, Karsyn moving her leg back and forth. It was absolutly AMAZING! This is probably one of the best things I have experienced this pregnancy! At our last ultrasound at 24 weeks 5 days they measured her weight to be 1 lb. 9 oz. but her arms and legs were measuring almost 2 weeks ahead. Jeromy and I were joking that she will probably be 6 lbs. 5 oz. and 22 inches long at birth. :)

After all the paint color debates we finally started the nursery this weekend. We taped and painted the green on Saturday night and then Jeromy and John (Holly's boyfriend) painted the pink on Sunday. We still have to retape for the brown stripe and paint the brown cirlces. I am so happy with the way that everything turned out and Jeromy did such an amazing job! He has really been into getting the nursery put together. I think that maybe his nesting has set in. The details of the decorations are still coming together. I bought the letters for the wall and the curtain rod but my mom and I have to go this weekend to buy the material for the curtains. We tried to go this weekend but the store closed 10 minutes before we got there! We are going to go with a sheer solid pink. The glider/ottoman will be in this week and the changer/hutch should be shipping out later this month. I will keep updating with new pictures as we get things completed and together. Thank you to John for all of his help!

Here is the green all dried. I actually helped paint this on Saturday night. I love the color. I am much happier with it then I could have imagined!

Jeromy hard at work. Notice his painting friend on the window seal. "Mr. Miller" was such a great helper. :)

Here is John hard at work.

Here is Jeromy showing off his hard work.

Here is the final product of what they acomplished. I LOVE the way that it looks so far. I can't wait to go home tonight and finish it up.....well....supervise Jeromy anyway while he finishes. :)

And to end this post. Here is a picture of my belly from the front from over the weekend. I guess it does look kind of fake. LOL!

26 weeks 3 days.....and an announcement

2009-02-28T16:35:00.000-08:00

23 weeks ago to the day I found out that we were expecting! I can't beleive that this much time has gone by and that we have less than 14 weeks to go! I know that these next weeks are going to fly by but at the same time are going to drag so incredibly slowly. 26 weeks for me brought on more than just another week into my pregnancy this week I have discovered:

1. Swollen ankles....or cankles in my opinion. The swelling has gone down and my blood pressure is okay but that was so strange to see my feet look like that!

2. Back aches that keep me up at night. Last night I woke up probably 5 times with my hips aching so badly that I would have to roll to the other side to help the pain.

3. Getting up an additional time during the night to pee! Yes....I am now up to 3 times a night.

4. The greatest part.....feeling Karsyn turning and moving so much more during the day. I have been feeling her every day for 6 weeks or so but now her movements are more frequent and more powerful.

5. A much bigger belly! I swear that I have had to go up a size in my tops because most of the ones that I currently have are too short. (Oh well, it was time for a season change anyway!)

6. And last, but certainly not least.....I gained 8 lbs. in 2 weeks! My dr. thinks that it is because I was so swollen earlier this week when I was weighed but I am not convinced! AHH!!! I guess all of those cookies everyday is not such a great idea.

In honor of this milestone here is a belly picture from Tuesday at 25w6d.

And here are my belly pictures from 26 weeks. I took these at work. :)

And for the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.......

We are proud to let you all know that Kara and Karlee both made the A honor roll again this 6 weeks! We bought them a new Webkinz and took them to the Olive Garden to celebrate. They are both so incredibly smart. We are so so proud of them! So next time you see them congratulate them.

A Big Acomplishment...and a birthday party

2009-02-24T08:48:00.000-08:00

We have acomplished our final of goals for the planning of the nursery! We picked paint colors!! After 2 weeks of looking for paint colors and $40 spent on samples the 3 colors and shades have been picked and are ready to be purchased! I have been stressing about finding the perfect colors because I have a vision in my head and I want the room to match that vision. We already have the furniture, the bedding and the wall decor. So this weekend we are prepping and beginning to paint. The pink will be the first color to be done and then we will finish with the green. The chocoloate is the last color that we will be painting. Cross your fingers for us that no paint gets spilled or that Jeromy doesn't strangle me before the project is complete!

Now I think that nesting is starting to kick in....not in full force but it is starting to rear it's head. With working full time both Jeromy and I use the weekends to complete everything that needs to be done. And the next 6 weekends are planned and packed. Here is a rundown of all of our weekend plans:

3/1- Ryan's 2nd Birthday Party
3/7- My Birthday!!! We have a 3-D u/s that day too!
3/15- Nestie Get together/Hospital Tours/Nanie and Nana arrive
3/22- My Family Baby Shower
3/28-Maternity Photo Shoot
3/29-Mom's Birthday
4/5- My Baby Shower
4/6- Breastfeeding Class
4/12- Easter

Then it should let up a little with the plans. But don't let this busy schedule fool you....I love to be busy. It gives me something exciting to look forward to each week! We had a busy weekend this past weekend too!
This weekend we celebrate our neice, Graycee Jane turning 1. I can't beleive that it has already been a year since she was born. Time flies way to quickly. That is one reason that I am enjoying everyday of this pregnancy. I know all too well that time doesn't stand still and that in the blink of any eye time is gone. So today, hug the people that you love and take the time to enjoy whatever it is that you are doing.

Belly pics coming tomorrow!!

From the beginning

2009-02-21T13:53:00.000-08:00

Well, since I just started this blog at 25 weeks pregnant I thought that maybe I should go back to the beginning. Not the beginning of time but the beginning of our desire to have a baby. I have always known that I wanted more kids. Jeromy and I went to Vegas last year for my birthday with Chris & Laura and Brandon & Jo Ann. We had such a great time and it was the perfect way for me to start my year of being 23! We arrived on my birthday and enjoyed our long weekend. Little did I know that I was in for a long year of being 23. After we returned from Vegas we talked about me being ready to try for a baby. Jeromy was still unsure if he was ready but after a lot of talking we decided that we were both ready to add another baby to our family so we began trying. We went in to see Dr. Garner for a preconception appointment the following week.

We were so lucky and got pregnant the first month trying. I remember April 23rd like it was yesterday. I stood in the bathroom holding a digital test shaking as I read the word "PREGNANT". I couldn't contain my happiness....this was it....we were having a baby! When Jeromy came home from work I gave him the "My Daddy Rocks" bodysuit that I had bought for him a few weeks earlier. He said that he wasn't surprised and that he knew that it would happen right away. We lived in bliss for the next week. The next week I was at work and noticed some spotting. I was really freaked out because with my pregnancy with Kara everything was smooth sailing. We went in at about 6 weeks and they performed an u/s. The baby was measuring just 4 weeks. That seemed off to me but we took my dr's advice and came in 2 weeks later. On the u/s we saw our little baby with a hb of 98. My dr. told us that it was low but had just started beating so we were given hope that all was headed in the right direction. I had been spotting everyday but around 8 weeks my spotting changed and I knew then that something wasn't quite right. I called my dr. and he told me to come in for a quick u/s. As soon as they called us in the room I remember looking up at the TV screen on the wall and watching as the u/s tech performed measurements and tried to find the babies heartbeat. I knew right away that the baby had passed. I knew what an 8 weeks old embryo looked like and it was not what I saw. The tech said "I'm sorry but there isn't any cardiac activity." We were both devastated. What had been looming in my mind for weeks was happening. I had a D&C 2 days later on June 4th.

I kept thinking how this could have happened to us. I never thought that I could have a miscarriage. I just assumed that pregnancy=healthy baby. I cried for weeks and had a hard time getting over the pain. Jeromy was a great support and he reassured me that we would have a baby and that this would all pass. I took it a lot harder than I would have ever imagined. Finding out about other people around me becoming pregnant was a hard blow each time but I just tried to keep faith along the way. I ordered several pregnancy loss books and joined the pregnancy loss board on thenestbaby.com. The women there were such a wonderful support and after my first cycle I joined the Trying to Conceive After a Loss Board. We began trying again a month after my D&C. We were unsucessful 2 months in a row and I had just assumed it would happen again immeadiately.

September was our 3rd month of trying but I was extremely doubtful because Jeromy had a business trip scheduled right in the middle of the month. On Sept. 19th I decided to test in the morning because that was my usual monthly ritual. I saw the same "phantom line" that I would see everymonth and threw the test in the trash. The next morning Jeromy headed off to the races and I went shopping with Ashley. After I got home I just decided to test just because. As soon as I did a 2nd line popped up. I was in shock! I had to work that afternoon so I put the test in my purse and drove to work. I think I took it out of my purse 5 or 6 times in my 20 minute drive to work. I just couldn't beleive it. I called Jeromy and he was so excited. We both agreed not to tell anyone until after the 1st trimester but of course I had to tell Ashley B. and Ashley D.

We had our first appointment on October 6th and I was shaking as I set in the waiting room. When they called us back we were taken into the same room that we had found out about our miscarriage so that brought back all kinds of emotions. But when the tech started I saw it immediately.....a beating heart. We were measuring right on track and the heartbeat was perfect at 122. I was so excited. Our dr. hugged us and was so supportive. We had u/s at 8 weeks and 10 weeks. Each time our little one measured on trach and had a strong heartbeat. We just felt so lucky and blessed. Even though each u/s reassured me that our baby was growing the way she should be I still couldn't shake my fear.

Even now I still get worried if I don't feel her for a couple of hours. I shake up my belly or drink tea to get her moving and I think that I still probably use my fetal heart doppler about once a week. Jeromy laughs at me when he sees me pull it out. It is hard to live each day with that fear but I will tell you that I cherish everyday of this pregnancy. Even if I am uncomfortable and exhausted at the end of the day I still thank the good lord every night for blessing us with this little girl growing inside me and I ask him to watch over her help her to continue to grow. We are looking forward to welcoming her into our family. To ease my fears I try to set small goals for myself that I celebrate when they arrive. I was so happy to reach 24 weeks because that is the week of viabiliy. (Meaning that if something were to go wrong and she came she would have a chance of surviving.) My next goal is 27 weeks so that I will officially be in the 3rd trimester.

Sorry for the long winded story but I just thought that everyone should know where we began with this journey. Thank you for being there along the way and supporting us. I have a very cute video of Kara that I am going to post later tonight. Stay tuned......

Some Pictures to catch everyone up.

2009-02-20T08:13:00.000-08:00

I promised that I would post some pictures so here are a few random ones to show everyone what we have been up to. Hope you enjoy them.

Here is our 3-d ultrasound of Karsyn at 17 weeks. She was still very small and her features were still developing but this is such an amazing picture. She is yawning and has her hand over her mouth. We are either boring to her or she just has good manners. :) We go back on my birthday for another set and I will be 27 weeks so we should have some really good ones of her beautiful little face.

Here is Kara and Karlee on Christmas morning opening their karaoke game for their Wii. They love playing the Wii and they love to sing. It has all their favorite Disney songs on there and they sing them LOUD! Lets just hope that they may have some hidden talent that their parents don't. They could be the next Hannah Montana!

This is Kara and I at her Christmas concert that due to icy weather was postponed until mid January. She was so excited for the whole family to be there. I think that she was probably the only kid there with a 8 person audience! All the Roby family attended including John, Holly's boyfriend. (I am 20 weeks pregnant in this picture.)

Here is Jeromy and Kara getting ready to leave for the Daddy Daughter Dance. They had such a great time and Kara saw all of her friends. Jeromy said that they danced to the hokie pokie and to butterfly kisses. They drank punch and had their picture made. She had such a great time. We are so lucky to have him in our lives. He is an amazing daddy!

Here it is...here is my belly picture from 23 weeks. I know that it is 2 weeks old but this is the most recent. I promise that we will take more soon. It has grown so much over the last few weeks. Strangers on a daily basis ask me when I'm due and people are always holding the door open. Someone even let me cut in line at Quiznos last week! (I guess they fear the wrath of a pregnant lady that is hungry!)

The First Post

2009-02-19T07:46:00.000-08:00

Okay, since everyone keeps telling me that I need to blog I am going to give it a shot. Where to begin.....well, Jeromy and I were married on October 20, 2007 and it has really been great. We have had our bumps during the last year and a half but it has been fabulous and I couldn't ask for a better partner in life. My daughter Kara is 7 now and is an absolute mini replica of me. It is hard sometimes to discipline her because I feel like I am looking at myself. My step daughter Karlee is more like my own then my step daughter. She is 8 and is so smart. She listens and analizes everything so we have to watch what is said around her. We have a house in Little Elm and love our neighborhood. Our cat, Forrest, has been my baby for the last 3 years and he is the most un-cat like cat I have ever seen. He plays fetch and hunts us...yes you heard that correctly. He hunts his family. And now onto our newest addition....we are expecting a little girl June 3rd. We are absolutely thrilled! Her name is Karsyn Joy Boulet. Another little Boulet for the bunch. Well, I better get back to house work but I will work on more posts later and hopefully post some pictures soon. (I need April's help in learning how.)