Kountdown to Kara: Part 1

Today, we went in for our 36 week ob/gyn visit to see how Ashley and Kara are progressing. After the basics were taken care of, the doctor checked to see what state Ashley was in. To our surprise, we found out that Ashley is 50% effaced and 1cm dilated. Whoa! This was cause for pause. Now the countdown can really begin. All the lessons about pre-labor during our birthing class are becoming reality. So, if you weren't praying for us before, please consider doing so now.

We know there is still much pregnancy left, but getting started on this phase feels like a big step.

We were happy to pass this info on to our mothers - who were both quite excited. As far as preparations go, we're about to pick out paint for Kara's room, do the painting, and do some serious organizing. We still need to pack our "go" bag.

In other news - we received a beautifully refinished table from Ashley's father, Jim. Here's a quick pick:

This was a table that Ashley's parents had for many years (20+) and gave to Ashley after college. It had some dings, stains and an iron burn ... so it needed a face lift. Not so any more. Much labor went into this and we are very thankful.

We're Ready!!!!

Woohoo! The Fithians are ready for Christmas...early! No wrapping gifts in the car on the way to events, no last second shopping, no frantically running to the store to buy more wrapping paper! We did it!

Actually, Lee thought we were done a few nights ago, but he didn't take into account that his presents still weren't wrapped. I have been waiting for his last gift to come in the mail for a couple of weeks, and it finally arrived this morning.

I had been refusing to wrap his presents until I had all of them (sometimes it saves space and paper if you can fit more than one item in a box). But keeping them hidden from Lee was more of a challenge than I anticipated. I thought I could just hide them among the clutter in the disorganizational mess of our house. This was faulty thinking. Just because I can pretend like overwhelming messes don't exist, doesn't mean he can. Even though I kept moving the gifts, he still managed to stumble upon them.

I felt like I was constantly having to supervise his movements in the house. "Hey, you're not allowed in there!" "Don't touch that bag!" "Get out of that corner!"

I understand that there are easier ways to do this, and maybe I will do better next year. Right now I'm just glad that his gifts are wrapped, and that I don't have to chase him around the house anymore.

Showered in Katy

Last weekend, Kara got to be the center of attention at her baby shower hosted by Lee's sis, grandma, and some of his mom's closest friends. They made us feel so honored and special.

We played a few games which I would recommend for any shower:

• Guess the number of jellybeans in the jar
• Guess what's in the sack (pass around several sacks with a baby item in each, and the participants must guess what the item is without looking) - I got 9/10 right! This made me feel like I might be a competent mother.
• Make up a princess name for the baby (the participants had to make up nicknames using only letters from Lee & my full names). Some names of honorable mention were; FiFi LiLi NeNe YeYe RaRa HaHa, Tiny Fashionista, Tea Leaf, and Fonesha (pronounced phone-isha). I came up with Shy Bean.

We had a great time talking, laughing, and eating the best cookies and petit fours ever! I was especially excited to see my best friend from college (shout out to Lauren) come in from Austin to celebrate with us.

Right now I don't have any pictures, but I will likely post some later.

Thanks again to all of the lovely women who helped with the shower and made me and our little girl (FiFi LiLi NeNe, etc) feel so special.

Getting in the Christmas Spirit

This past weekend was perfect for getting us ready to celebrate the Christmas season.

On Friday, we received about 2 inches of snow in north Houston. It didn't stick, but we were able to watch the flurries fall for most of the day. I kept trying to take the dogs out in the snow, but they weren't impressed. Apparently, they don't recognize snow as cool or special, just cold wetness on their paws. Since the snow was melting as soon as it hit anything, I wasn't able to take many good pictures. So, I decided to make Kermit lay down on the wet ground until enough snow accumulated on his fur to take a picture.



On Saturday, Lee and I hung our Christmas lights. Since I am 8 months pregnant, it was his turn to get on the roof, which was slick from the freeze the night before. He was obviously uncomfortable being up there, and this was totally against all of the safety rules that are drilled into him at ExxonMobil. But he did a great job, and now our house illuminates with the warm, fuzzy glow of Christmas.


Unfortunately, we are still waiting for our advent story to come in. We like reading Arnold Ytreeide's advent books. He has 3 books, and I guess they fall under the historical fiction genre. This year's story is Bartholomew's Passage. The story is segmented into chapters, so there is a reading for each night of advent that eventually leads you to the birth of Christ Jesus.
This is probably our most stable Christmas tradition. Lee and I enjoy taking half an hour each night to snuggle up, read a chapter, and pray. Hopefully the book will come in soon because we already have quite a bit of catch-up to do. If you would like to check out these books, here is a link to the publishing company http://www.jothamsjourney.com/
You can also order them through LifeWay bookstores.

Baby Sitting?

We received a very gracious gift from my grandmother, Grammi.

She recently moved into a new retirement community and had too much furniture for her space. There were two chairs that belonged to my great grandmother, Mema (Grammi's mother-in-law). Since the cloth was somewhat worn, Grammi had them re-upholstered. Here is a shot of one of them for your viewing pleasure:

The footstool was re-upholstered by my mom, in about an hours time. Quite expedient and crafty!

We'll be using one for Kara's room, giving us a place to "baby sit". Eventually, it will join the other chair in our bedroom, giving mommy and daddy a very nice place to relax.

FBC Couples Baby Shower

This past weekend, our friends from Faith Bible Church threw us an awesome Couples Baby Shower. The dads don't usually get to be a part of the baby parties, but this party was made for the guys and the gals to enjoy.

It was sweet (flowers, cutsie cupcakes, pink packages), but not too sweet (pizza, more root beer than I've ever seen in my life, and a practically naked toddler running around trying to fight the men while streamers were hanging from his diaper). Needless to say, we loved it!

This group has been a huge blessing to us since we moved to Spring 2 years ago. We have been able to share our joys and our struggles with them. We have prayed for them, and they have prayed for us. And several of us are just entering parenthood, so we will have new joys and struggles to share...I'm sure.

Here are pictures of Kara's soon-to-be friends from our church group. They had fun at the shower too!

There's something missing

I knew this would happen some day. The change was slow, but it has finally come to the point where I can no longer deny it. I just have to be honest with myself...I have no belly button.

My umbilical wonder has disappeared. No more trapped lent. No more...well, that's all it was probably good for.

Here is a cute video to help mourn the loss of my belly button.

Final Trimester!

We are officially in our 3rd trimester! Kara and I are growing, and she has continued to be incredibly active. We love watching her move and stretch around my belly. She is reactive to touch and pressure, which has given Lee a great way to play with her/antagonize her over the past weeks. But she gets her revenge at night by kicking him in the back while he is trying to sleep. I didn't realize this was happening since I am a heavy sleeper.

The picture on the left is week 16, and the picture on the right is week 27.

Kids are cute

The little one in the picture is my cousin, David. He is 4 years old, which means he is active, a bit rambunctious, and extremely inquisitive.

This weekend was the first time he has seen me with a belly. He understands that pregnant means baby, but was a little curious about how the whole thing worked. He kept coming up to me to feel my belly and try to get a peak under my shirt. After being satisfied that the baby hadn't come out, he would look at me and pronounce, "It's still in there."

After a while, I guess his mind got to thinking...and he came up to me with a question. "How does the baby get out?"

It's an innocent question, but really, what do you tell a 4 year old? So after an awkward silence, and possibly a bit of blushing, I told him the truth. "I'm going to push it out."

It must have been a good answer, because as you can tell from the picture, he likes to push things. So he put both hands on my belly and started to push on it. Unfortunately for him, but luckily for me, my grandpa quickly put a stop to that.

David will just have to wait like the rest of us. But it is nice to know that he is excited about meeting his cousin.

Everything gets a new home

The process of reorganizing our house has officially begun. Who knew that bringing a 7 pound, tiny person into our lives would mean that we needed to rearrange every single room and closet? No space has been left untouched, and our house looks like Hurricane Ike came through for a second visit.

There are definitely fun results from reorganizing. One very big result is that Kara's room is starting to be the nursery rather than the "catch-all" where we store unused electronics, old college text books, Lee's comic book and baseball card collections, and basically anything else we aren't using but don't want to (or don't know how to) get rid of.

Organization isn't one of my strong points. I love when things are organized, but I'm not a fan of actually doing the organizing. What's that you say? I can't have my cake and eat it too? On the contrary...my husband likes organizing, and I like doing projects with him. So, I feel like my needs get met without the drudgery and frustration of pushing through something I hate.

It has been nice to see our house start to transform, but we still have a long way to go.

The Supplement Dance

This pregnancy has been relatively easy. Most days I feel quite normal, and only remember my "fragile state" when walking past a mirror or struggling to get out of a chair. My biggest complaint about pregnancy...prenatal vitamins. They're the devil.

For those not well acquainted with these jumbo choking hazards, here is what you're not missing:

• Nightmares/scary, vivid dreams
• Gagging
  
• Sudden onset nausea & vomiting
• Vitamin burp (tastes a little like chalk...or fish if you're taking DHA as well)
• Horrible guilt from missing one (I'm a dietitian; I know it's not a big deal)
  

However, after 26 weeks of pregnancy and 4 different vitamins, I think I have found a winner. THANK YOU Nature Made brand for making a prenatal vitamin that I can tolerate. You have made me very happy, and I hope we can continue this relationship through the next 3 months of pregnancy and into lactation.

Dare I?

I have an old Dell desktop that my grandmother (Grammi) has asked me to clean off and get rid of. But, a baby rocker made out of a pc ... I'm not really considering this, but it appeals to my nerdy/fathery side at a deep level.

A New Kind of Monday

I loved the past 11 months of Mondays. I had the awesome privilege of starting each week by baby-sitting my nephew, Carson. But now that Kara is getting bigger, keeping up with Carson has become more of a challenge, and our weekly play days have come to an end.

Getting to watch Carson's growth and development over the past year has been amazing. Being present for each new stage and being a consistent part of his life has been a huge gift to me. I will miss several things like seeing his little smile when he wakes up from a nap, playing chase with him around the house, and answering his never-ending question, "wha' sat?" I will also miss the encouragement and friendship of my sis. She has listened to and mentored me through a year's worth of struggles.

When Kara is old enough, she will have to thank Carson for preparing her mommy for parenthood. Hopefully, there will be fewer moments of freaking out due to plain ignorance and lack of experience...I don't mean to brag, but I can now handle poopy diapers, spit up, crusty boogers, and other baby grossness like a pro!

Sense & Sensitivity

Today's conversation:

Ashley: Well, can't wear this shirt anymore. I keep having to pull it down over my belly.
Lee: Yeah, when I came home and saw you I was like, "Woah, there's my pregnant wife."
Ashley: Uh-huh.
Lee: I mean, I'm just not used to seeing so much of you.

The Epitome of Pitiful

What happens when you have a husband coming down with a cold and a wife with pregnancy pains? Nothing, that's what.

My poor man has been getting more sick every day, and I have been trying to force that practically nonexistent nurturing side of me to come out. I was doing well until yesterday afternoon when I started having pains in my side and back (likely related to ligament/muscle stretching).

When Lee came home from work, he joined me on the couch where we stayed until bed time. Neither of us wanting to do anything. I tried to impress upon the dogs that they would need to take care of themselves, but their English is still limited. And they have not grown opposable thumbs, which makes opening doors and throwing balls more difficult.

Today, I am feeling better, but Lee is more sick than ever. Please say a prayer for him...I know he feels miserable, and he hates missing work. Personally, I don't mind him missing work. It is always nice to have him home, sick or not.

We got stuff!

This Monday, we received a special gift from my sister and her family. They let us have our pick of Carson's infant paraphernalia which he has outgrown. We are now officially a part of the 3B club (boppy, bumpo, & bouncer).

I have to admit, having that stuff in the house is making me even more excited for Kara's arrival. Too bad we're only half way there. At least it gives us plenty of time to read the instruction manuals included with each of the products.

Thank you so much, Daniel, Amber, and Carson! We are incredibly blessed and grateful for your generosity!

Meet Kara James!

We're delighted and full of joy to tell you our first child will be a girl. Her name is Kara James. Here are a few photos from our ultrasound on September 10th. She weighs 13 ounces, which puts her in the 76th percentile.

Here is a profile:

Here is her little hand:

Feel free to compare these to her Granny's dream.

We can't wait to hold our little one. We covet your prayers that the rest of the pregnancy goes well and for her to know Christ!

BTW - Kara means Joy or Delight. James is a family name from both sides.

He'll be a good dad

My belly.

Lee has recently discovered that it makes a great drumming sound and is the perfect size to grab with both hands and jiggle around.

We both get a good laugh out of it (although a part of me feels like I should be offended). Right now it's his little way of playing with the baby. Some people read books to their children while in the womb, others sing songs. Lee is more hands on.

It's Alive!!!

As the weeks roll by, this pregnancy has become more real. The undeniable bump, the disappearing belly button, and now...I felt the baby move!!!

I've been anxiously waiting to say that for a couple of weeks. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night thinking that I feel the baby, but it's just my heartbeat. I know that sounds odd, but sometimes my heartbeat speeds up while I'm sleeping and I can feel it thumping in my head and stomach.

But this was real...I was very much awake, and I was able to rule out active bowels. I say that because I have the loudest, most active digestive tract in the world. It has been a life-long source of humor and embarrassment for me.

Many books describe the early feelings of movement similar to flutters. They're right. I'm so excited!

Pink or Blue?

For those of you who love to cast your votes and are having withdrawals while waiting for new seasons of American Idol, So you Think you can Dance, and Dancing with the Stars...we have posted a poll in the side bar.

Do you think we will be having a baby boy or baby girl?

No, your vote doesn't count toward the actual outcome, but we'll let you know what the doctor says on September 10th.

29, and holding on

(this is a week late, but we have been pretty busy)

HAPPY 29TH BIRTHDAY, LEE!!!!

You are an amazing man and my favorite person. Thank you for leading our family to know and desire Christ, and thank you for being an example of selflessness, honesty, and generosity to me. I am so grateful that we get to spend our lives together!

Thanks to all the friends and family who celebrated Lee's birthday with us. He loved it!

Button Bustin'

It finally happened. I couldn't even come close to buttoning my pants today.

Our baby is now 16 weeks along, and likely the size of a grapefruit. My belly bump has become noticeable to people other than myself, and I've been putting clothes in the "see you next year" pile at an alarming rate.

Some fun news from my latest Ob/Gyn appointment...
1. They had difficulty tracking the baby's heartbeat because it wouldn't stay still. Hopefully, that means we'll start feeling some kicks soon.
2. On September 10th we'll get to find out the sex of our baby! I'll be happy to stop calling him or her an "it".

Little Monkey Mery - First Birthday

As part of our pre-parenthood planning process, we requested both my sister and sister-in-law to have children. That way, we could learn all about babies with little to no personal sacrifice.

In celebration of the culmination of one year of our great plan ... I mean ... we celebrated Owen Mery's first birthday this past weekend (his actual birthday is on my own birthday, just another great part of our plan ;). Owen is the son of my sister Krista, and her husband Nathan.

Besides Owen, the party was attended by only one other person less than 5 years old. There was an abundance of friends and family. We gave the little guy a pop up tent. Not surprisingly, he didn't immediately scream with childhood excitement over it (see Monkey-video below). However, all the adults thought it was pretty cool. Here are some photos:

Stunned by all the people

Already walking!

The Challenged Baker

Many people know that I like to cook. I think it is fun, easy, and a good creative outlet. I particularly like the instant gratification of immediately enjoying (eating) the efforts of my labor. But baking is another story. It takes a long time, you have to be amazingly precise, and things don't ever seem to come out the same way twice.

Baking is hard, and it frustrates me to no end. The problem is that I really want to be a good baker. In an effort to solve this dilemma, I had my first baking lesson this past weekend. My Aunt Angela invited me over to learn how to make an apple pie. I could say that "we" made the pies, but honestly she did most of the work. Either way, the pies turned out great, and Lee and I have been enjoying apple pie a la mode for the past few days.

Even though I learned a lot about pie crusts, I'm not sure I will be able to make my own. The baking curse seems to be upon me, but I'm determined to keep trying. So, if you're a good baker and you're willing to take on a student, give me a call and we'll set a date for you to teach me your tricks and tips for excellent pies, pastries, cookies, brownies, cakes, etc.

The Pies

My aunt, Angela.

This is Genius!!!

Would you be happier with more M&M's in your life? I probably would be. So, how do you get those tasty little "melt in your mouth, not in your hand" morsels for free? Win a contest!

We have all taken part in a "Guess the amount of M&Ms in the jar" contest. But could you ever do more than give a random guess? Well, now you can. The guy from lifehacker.com made a video on how to shark the M&Ms game by using science and math! I have never found these 2 subjects more interesting or exciting. Finally, practical application!

Here's what you need to know:

• Volume of the container being used (mL)
• Volume of 1 M&M (happens to be ~0.715mL) -- using volume formula for ellipsiods
• Packing fraction of M&Ms (66.5%) -- yes, there was a published study done on this

Example:

If you have a 1 liter container, how many M&Ms would it hold?

Answer:

(1000mL/0.715)x0.665 = 930M&Ms

If you would like more of an explanation go to this link, it will take you to the video on lifehacker.com.


Good luck! And if you do win a contest, remember it is always nice to share with those who helped you.

What does a dream mean?

My pictoral interpretation of Mom's dream.

Well, Grandma Bobbie had her first baby dream...and guess what? We had a girl! But she was already six months old with long hair when she came out. And she talked a lot. Can you imagine OUR kid being a chatter box? I guess it would be good to have someone around to fill the silences.

Now most people have been predicting we'll have a boy. I must admit, there is a certain comfort that comes with having a boy. Most of my younger cousins are boys, both of our nephews are boys, there seems to be less trouble with adolescent boys. The list goes on. But, I guess we should consider that there's a 50% chance that there's a girl in there.

So, we'll find out in a couple of months whether my mom's dream is right. Right about it being a girl...not the other stuff because I'm not waiting til I am 15 months pregnant to deliver.

12 Week Check-up

On Friday, baby and I had a check-up with the ob/gyn. This was the first time I got to hear its heartbeat!

Finding the heartbeat took a while, and I was hoping the lunch of rice and beans that I shoved into my face on the car ride to the office would not impede the nurse's ability to locate the baby. When she finally found the heartbeat, which sounded like gusts of wind blowing into a cell phone, I thought about how much Lee would have loved to have been at this visit. It was sad to experience something so incredible without him. But he's working hard so we can pay for this kid's future college tuition, ER visits, and random pleads for more spending cash. He's a good man.

My doctor tells me the baby's heartbeat and my uterine measurements are perfect...which I translate to mean normal. So, it's looking good, and we're very encouraged.

1 trimester down...2 to go!

2nd Anniversary: Fredericksberg, TX

This year, we went to Fredericksburg, TX for our 2nd anniversary. We typically enjoy going to smaller towns where we can do some low-key hiking and take pictures. For those who are interested in going to Fredericksburg, here is a short list of do's and don'ts.

Do:

• Take a morning to hike Enchanted Rock
• Stay at a Bed & Breakfast
  
• Eat at the Peach Tree Cafe (order the mango limeade!)
• Visit the Wildseed Farms
• Go on a Winery Tour (we did not do this since I am pregnant)
• Eat lots of peaches
• Bring your walking shoes
• Consider bringing a trailer or SUV for unexpected purchases

Don't:

• Stay at a Bed & Breakfast close to Main St...if you value a good breakfast and good service
• Try to hit all of the shops in one day
• Mind the stench of beer that lingers on the street after 6pm

Speaking of Enchanted Rock...here are a few pictures from our hike. You can click on the individual pictures for a closer look.

Hiking Enchanted Rock

"Climbing the Rock"

"Trekking around the Rock"

How to: Start a Blog

The best time to start a blog is when some life-altering event has occurred that friends and family members are deeply interested in. Namely, a pregnancy. We were having some difficulty conceiving, but after several months of waiting, praying, and wondering "is something wrong with us?", we have been blessed to announce that I have something in my uterus about the size of a lime...and it's not a tumor.

Our little parasite, more affectionately our baby, is now 11 weeks old! We have been busy reading books, thinking of names, and getting as much feedback as possible from other new parents. The amount of available information on pregnancy is quite overwhelming, and sifting through the junk can be a challenge. We've decided the internet, although useful, can be a stinking cesspool of refuse. "Reader Beware!"

Well, welcome to our blog, and thanks for letting us share our lives with you. We'll try to keep you updated on the transitions and developments that are happening with us and the little one...you'll probably get some fun puppy stories as well. But hopefully not too many because that would mean they are making trouble.