4/4

I was tagged by Aubrey to post my 4th picture in my 4th folder. I finally got myself situated enough to get onto my backup drive that houses my pictures and play the game. All of my folders are by year/season... This 4/4 happens to land in the Christmas 2005 folder and as badly as I wanted to pick picture 3, or 5, or any other number, I'm going to play by the rules. I'm so glad Tiff doesn't read this - she'd kill me!

Here it is, picture 4... Makenna and Brendan got these yucky teeth, I couldn't get them all the way in my mouth - they were huge! Tiffany has the bigger mouth :o) hehehe! That or I was laughing too hard.

Alright, I'm tagging Chris, Gramma, Aunt Teresa & Laurece! Post your 4th photo from your 4th folder! :o)

Moving in the baby...

I took Monday and Tuesday off this past week to hang out with my husband and kind of regenerate after the busy tax deadline. Ben's new shift means that I come home Wednesday - Friday to an empty house and spend Saturday's by my lonesome - however Sunday - Tuesday he's home ALL day! He's really enjoying it though, it's taking a bit to get him adjusted to a sleep schedule after working nights for so long, but he's getting a lot of action at work. (He's got some yucky area's now that I do better just trying not to think about!)

Anyway, we're excited for night sleeping Saturday and Sunday's off to start going back to church regularly! Woo-Hoo!

Back to the point - baby stuff! Monday Ben and I wandered down to the higher end baby furniture store that's usually very high priced and kind of just for fun, and ended up finding a huge sale! They've just been bought out and are getting rid of their high end manufacturers product, for higher end European products that are just too ridiculous to even think about paying for. Seriously, the store is about to belong in Manhattan or on Melrose... instead of Andover Pkwy in Tukwila where it currently sits. We found a very sturdy, solid wood, well made crib and dresser for what we would have paid for a crappy knock off from Babies R' Us. We bought it! I'm so the type that needs the instant gratification of a purchase - sitting around thinking about the money I spent on something when it's going to take 8 weeks to get here, just isn't my cup of tea! Large or small purchases, it just doesn't matter... If the cash isn't mine anymore, I want something to show for it! I googled the style and found a picture of the set and I thought I'd share. Ben was a total trooper and didn't even seem to be having a problem with the shopping trip. I was amazed - he hates furniture shopping... let alone for a little person that isn't even going to be here for 4.5 months! 

We got this set, minus the hutch part of the dresser. This is shown in the Cherry stain, our set is in the Dark Espresso color, I just couldn't find a picture online.

I felt the baby move last Wednesday (the 15th) for the first time. It wasn't the 'butterfly flutter' feeling that everyone said I'd get... This was a very distinct 'thump'. It felt like someone walked up and flicked my tummy (but from the inside!) It's totally weird, but still very cool. Over the last 2 days I've felt it ALL day long. It's really like that last ultrasound, wild! It's still not a flutter but more of a 'tugging', like it's grabbing onto random inside parts and just pulling on it, it's not 'annoying' yet, but as soon as it gets bigger - we might have to have a chat about calming down a little - I'm totally going to lose, but it's nice thinking that I might have a little power over something my body's doing. This sitting along for the ride stuff's not my style :o) 

Annie

Chris brought home a new little kitty today... They ended up naming her Annie!

Their (much) older kitty Lucy, isn't quite thrilled about it yet and Gus the dog doesn't really care so much - but little bitty Annie freaked out with Gus in the room. I think he was a bit too big and a bit too foreign!

I went over after work, Jill and the girls were there as well for a slumber party... Here's some little Annie pictures:

Annie's encounter with Gus went a little like this:

I loved this last one, I'm so glad it turned out - she was so scared though!!

Someday, I will steal my friend away...

... And we will fly to the midwest, rent a car, and take this very road trip! Gramma sent me an email full of fun blogs she's been into lately and this was the latest post on one of them. I don't think we'll get to see Sarah Palin on our trip, but I suppose it's possible to hit a women's confrence... but what I really want is to go to these antique malls and see the beautiful architecture, and most of all: That Candle Co Outlet with all that fun Christmas stuff (which according to their web site is out all year long!!!)

Alright Aubrey, start packing, this is where we're going!

( I can't complain about not being able to hit antiqe shops like this lady though - Ben LOVES them and never gets tired of them! He actually takes longer than I do going through! He has to read everything and find out what every single little tool and gizmo was once used for!)

Alright, alright!

Here's a belly pic. I took it early last week but then after procrastinating on posting, I was going to wait another week because, no joke -  I swear it's bigger than this picture already... According to my baby center updates,  by next week the baby will have doubled in size from last week... So that's when I 'll take another picture. Maybe I'll see if Ben will take it so I'm not all twisted like in this one :) 

In other news, Tiffany is home - she found out that the 'let's just try this one other thing, that isn't the stuff that's been making you sick' was actually an experimental drug, not just to see if it worked on her, but literally an experimental stage drug - she was so mad that she checked herself out of the hospital and has been at home for the past 2 nights. Tired of being poked and sick... and SO not in the mood to be the guinea pig! She's still having contractions but they're erratic  and non productive (maybe the experimental stuff wasn't so bad!) 

Ben, Jared and Rich brought Ben's gun safe to the house finally on Sunday, the monster one, this is how I found Ben after everyone left... He's got a new 'camp' (I'd say fort, but Soldiers have forts, Marines have camps)

I married a big nerd! He's really good to me... and he's cute, so I shouldn't complain too much! By the way, he's sitting at the edge, this picture doesn't do the thing justice! It's huge! Today I hit the terrible selection of maternity clothes at Target and left the store with Halloween candy and Q-tips... I was bummed! Ben took me to the Pumpkin patch to cheer me up, which can I say is so much cooler on Tuesday than a weekend! We finally used a gift card for dinner that's been sitting in my purse for almost a year - we had a 4 course meal that filled us to the brim. 

More Kaelyn

We went to Emily and Jared's yesterday with Pizza for Monday Night Football. These are some pics from the night:

Jared and Chloe boxing

Little Miss Kaelyn

Ben & Kaelyn

She decided to wake up for about 5  minutes

The little family 

(Chloe is not snuggling with the baby she's trying to hog Jared)

Tiffany update

Well, Blayne is still 'cooking' for the moment. Tiffany didn't tolerate the last round of drugs to keep him in well and was very sick last night! Like officially listed between serious and critical condition for a while sick, but was able to get the second round of steroids in - so in the long run it's going to be worth it! Aunt Cindy's on her way down to Dallas now, they're not stopping the progress anymore so it's just a matter of time until he's here. Yesterday the neonatalogist was very pleased with how Blayne was progressing and said the latest tests put him around 5 lbs, not the initial 2-3 lbs like they first thought. PTL! 

As far as I know Makenna wasn't hassled yesterday again by those mean little boys, that or Brendan the little bruiser knocked 'em around a little and handled it :o)

I think Aunt Cindy's probably going to the hospital first to be with Tiff so I don't know if that means the kids will have a little Daddy time, which I hear they're needing pretty badly - but I'm certain as soon as Nana leaves Tiff and heads to be with them, it'll be 'Mommy and Daddy who?' 

Oh, and to reply to Aunt Debbie's comment on the last post about Tiff's baby machine being broken. They'd planned to voluntarily disconnect the wires to that machine. Her body does not appear to like the Y chromosome. Makenna's pregnancy went flawlessly, however she started rejecting and kicking both boys out around 5 months... this one a little worse than Brendan. If she were to have another little boy we don't know that either one would make it out unscathed! 

In other baby news, I just got a phone call and my cousin Tiffany went into the hospital today and is in labor. They've been giving her medication to stop labor for almost 2 months now and her body isn't accepting it any longer, they've decided she's far enough that she can have him if he's coming. He's decided he wants to come right now, but now there's word that they think he's much smaller than they previously suspected he'd be. The doctors are making Tiffany very ill with all the junk they're pumping into her to keep Blayne in until they can give her the last round of the steroids to help him develop. As long as Blayne will tolerate the drugs, Tiff's just got to suffer through. Please pray for Tiffany, Jake, and baby Blayne... That they all make it another 12 or so hours to get that last round. (Makenna and Brendan aren't taking it well either, Makenna got bullied today at school and the kids said awful things about something happening to the baby - then with Tiff going into the hospital in labor, Makenna's kind of a wreck - poor coincidence!)

Kaelyn Elizabeth White

7lbs 11oz, 20 inches

10/16/08 2:00 am

Kaelyn and her very sleepy Daddy

The family's doing really well! Emily's water broke just before 10 last night and 4 hours later they were holding their girl! They haven't slept more than an hour between nurses and family coming in, I think going home will be a relief tomorrow!

Congratulations Emily and Jared!

sick of tax returns

I have been in this office, working on tax returns for 9 days straight! At least in April I get Sunday's off, not this busy season... We are slammed! It's rediculous! And totally depressing too - the last return I processed, the guy's W-2 read $15.8 million! Just his W-2!!!

Ben was off yesterday, and I was stuck here at work for most of the evening, I got home last night just before 8 and he was reading my fit pregnancy magazine (thanks Aunt Debbie)... It was pretty cute, "Did you know it takes about 4 months for a baby to learn to roll over!?!" :o)

Right when I get to start getting home at decent hours again, he's starting his new shift. 1pm-11pm... I'll really miss not having him around for dinner time, but it'll be nice when at least I'll get to snuggle up to him when he gets home. The set days off will be nice too, no more guessing when his days off fall when trying to make plans :o)

Though, if anyone wants both of us for anything on the weekend, it's gotta be Sunday, he's working Saturday's :o(
(I'm afraid this will mean that he'll miss all the birthday parties now)

Got to get back to work! 29 more hours until our deadline!