Happy Halloween!!

Yes-we dressed up both boys. Will was a hot dog and Ed was the mustard. Since it was a "cool" 90 degrees here at the end of October, Will's costume didn't stay on for long because it was pretty warm. However, he was a good sport and went along with the festivities! We went to a family festival, carved a pumpkin, and "trick or treated" around our complex.

Will had his 4 month appointment and shots earlier this month. He was a healthy 17 pounds and 26 inches long. Doctor said he looks great and he can start "solid foods." So far, he's only ventured into baby cereal, but he's getting the hang of it.

He's amazing. I can't say it enough. He is rolling over constantly and has almost mastered sitting by himself. He's slowly growing more hair, but hasn't popped out any teeth yet. It seems like it should be any day now though with the way he is teething.

Thanks for staying updated!!

October is here!

October is here, but where is the fall weather?? There is snow in Minnesota now, right? Sorry to say I don't miss it! We do miss everyone in the midwest though, and thank you for keeping up with our blog. Sorry it's been a little while since I've updated. I posted 2 new slideshows to the right. Let's see, where to begin...

September started Gator football season, and that is the ONLY time William is allowed to watch TV (by watch I mean for about 2 minutes at a time). He loves watching football though!
On October 5th, I started nannying for another infant in our complex. Her name is Sophia and she is almost 7 months old. Yes-2 babies is A LOT to handle, but it's worth it because I get to be with William all day. It's really neat to watch them observe each other and "play together."

On Will's 4 month birthday, he rolled over from his back to his belly and he's been doing it non-stop all week. He can do it on both sides, but can't yet figure out how to go from tummy to back. He has been "talking" up a storm, especially to Dad.

This past weekend, Mimi and Teddy (Kriby) took us to Disney World to celebrate my birthday. William met Mickey, Pluto, and many other characters at a special breakfast and at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. His favorite was "Mary Poppins!" Of course, ironically it was one of the hottest weekends in a long time, but we kept him inside a lot and he was so good. I couldn't ask for a better, more content and happy baby!

We think he might be teething because he's been waking up in the middle of the night screaming (not normal for him), drools a lot, puts everything in his mouth, etc. He's growing up so fast!!

August Wrap Up...

Is summer almost over already? As you see from the picture, Baby Will has been enjoying it. Not that it will make a difference for us in Florida since it's pretty much summer ALL the time-sorry Minnesotans! And now that summer is coming to an end, we're ready for Gator Football!

On August 9, William was dedicated at our home church- First Baptist Indian Rocks in Largo. It was a beautiful little ceremony where Pastor Jeff prayed for us as parents and for William. It was amazing to see the whole congregation praying for our family! I'll post a new August slideshow soon with those pictures.

At the end of the month, Will took a big trip to Mimi and Teddy's, and also Grandma Karen and Grandpa Greg's house. Mommy and Daddy had been planning a cruise with friends for about a year, right after we found out about the pregnancy. We decided to still go, provided William was healthy. After weeks of preparation, lots of breastmilk in the freezer, and a very nervous Mommy, the vacation was wonderful. Apparently William was amazing with all of his grandparents because they kept telling us not to come back! Even though the trip was very relaxing for mom and dad, we couldn't wait to get back to our boys.

This past week, Baby Will weighed in at 15 pounds! Some other new developments through the month of August...

• Smiling BIG and so happy when he's awake


• Lots of "oohs and aahs," especially at Daddy and Grandpa Teddy!


• Will loves to put weight on his legs and get ready to stand


• He's liking "tummy time" more and looks like he's doing "push-ups"


• William has discovered his hands and feet, and loves watching them move
  
• Stuffed animals, rattles, and books have become very interesting to Baby Will and he loves following them with his eyes

Again, more pictures to come soon from the month. Thanks for staying updated!

Great Check Up!

William had his 2 month check up yesterday. I was worried about the vaccines but he did great-better than his mama!

He's at the 90th % for his weight- 13.9 pounds, and 75th% for height- 23.5 inches. Doctor said he's very healthy, looks great, and will learn to crawl quickly by seeing how active he is!

August Already?!

We're already into William's 3rd month- I can't believe it!

Not too much to report right now. I've uploaded some new slideshows to the right. Our good friend Kerri is an AMAZING photographer and came over on Will's "one month birthday" to take some family pictures. Check out all of her pics at www.kerrigagnephotography.blogspot.com.

William now weighs about 13 pounds-big healthy boy! He's smiling and "talking" more and more, and we HOPE-getting into a sleep pattern. He went 8 hours on Saturday night! Now this might be a fluke thing, but he generally sleeps at least 5-6 hours in a stretch.

As always, we're constantly taking pictures ourselves so here are a few of the favorites lately.

Oh yeah! William is having his Dedication Service at 9:00 am at First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks on this Sunday August 9th-so excited!!

Brothers!

Went through some videos this evening and this is my favorite so far. I promise I don't let Ed do this all the time...

First Night Out...

This past Saturday, Tommy and I went on our first "date night" since William was born. Of course, Grandma Karen was eager to babysit! We went to a concert in Tampa and left for about 5 hours. Needless to say, Will did great. He entertained Grandma, Grandpa Greg, and Aunt Kasey and they thanked US for letting them watch him! I was sad/nervous/anxious all at once to leave him at first but was fine after a little while. I knew he was in good hands!

Not too much to report-William is 6 weeks old today! This week, Tommy and I have been trying to figure out his "eating habits." Actually, we've figured them out-he wants to eat ALL THE TIME. He tends to get cranky in the evenings unless he eats every hour. So we're just trying to get used to that and handle it appropriately. Otherwise, he's a very happy and alert baby. He's starting to make "coo" noises other than the "baby grunts." We've noticed a few smiles and think now it's more than just gas!

A lot of people have been asking about his sleeping patterns. On average, he goes about 4-5 hours on his first stretch, wakes up and eats, then goes about 3-4 more hours. His daily naps vary- sometimes he'll sleep most of the day and other days he's awake the majority of the time. That's what I'm trying to figure out right now. I'm VERY happy though with his night sleep because I hear horror stories from other moms. He's a good boy!

More pictures to come soon!

Happy One Month!!

Happy 4th!

Doesn't he look ready for fireworks?? I've posted more updated slideshows and pictures to the right.

We've finally recovered from the weekend so I figured it was time to update. The last 2 weeks have been busy but wonderful.

Last weekend (June 27), we took our first "trip" to see family in St. Pete. We only stayed one night, as not to disrupt Will's schedule too much, and he did great. Grandma Karen and Grandpa Greg had our room all set up with his cradle. He woke up a couple times during the night but slept about 3 hours at a time. William had his first church day the next morning and slept through the whole service! Later that day, we visited with all of Tommy's family, Great-Grandma Gladys, and some other family friends.

This past weekend, we traveled to the east coast to visit Paul and Alexys in Jupiter, FL. Tommy's known the Gagne's since college and they have a 7 month old daughter and a 5 year old boxer. It was time for all of the "kids" to meet! Again, William had a great weekend and slept even longer at night. We went to a 4th of July festival with music and fireworks and the noise didn't bother him at all. Jacqueline, their daughter, is absolutely PRECIOUS and will hopefully be Will's girlfriend later in life!

At the beginning of this post, I mentioned that we're "recovering from the weekend." With that, during the week in between travel, I've been taking it easy and staying close to home so that Will and I can get used to a routine and try and form some type of schedule. Earlier today, I went to a class for newborn parents and babies where we can discuss common questions and concerns about our children. After a few weeks of "figuring Will out," I had a couple questions that I addressed in the group and realized that everything he's doing right now is very normal and expected. He eats about every 1.5-3 hours and has no problem with that. With frequent but shorter naps during the day, he's starting to get into a routine at night. He sleeps at least 4-5 hours long in the first stretch, feeds around 3-4 am, then sleeps for a couple more hours waking between 7 and 8. Hopefully it will just extend from there, but after listening to other moms, I feel VERY lucky!

In addition, I put Will on the scale today at the class. He had all of his clothes on, so I'd subtract a couple ounces, but he weighed in at 11 pounds 7 ounces-almost 2 pounds more than 2 weeks ago! Healthy boy!

2 week check up!

Happy 2 weeks to Baby Will. We went to our first check up this morning and I'm happy to report we have a VERY healthy baby boy.

He's in the 85th percentile at 21.5 inches long and 9 pounds 14 ounces- gaining great weight! He's sleeping about 4-5 hours at a time at night and is very content during the day. We gave him his first "big boy bath" last night.

Grandma Karen is coming to visit tomorrow and then we'll travel to Largo/Seminole this weekend to see more family.

Happy Father's Day!!

One Week!

We made it through our first week of parenthood. Let me just say- I love my son.

There's something that people always say about having a baby- "it's amazing how you can love someone so much that you just met." I agree 110%. I can't believe how much I adore that little boy.

The first couple of days were a little rough. Will, being the big boy that he is, wanted to eat non-stop- about every hour or two for at least an hour at a time. Mom couldn't handle that. I was worried that he wasn't getting enough to eat, but after a few days, things have improved very much. He's eating every couple of hours, wetting/messing lots of diapers, and sleeping about 3-4 hours at a time at night. I'm great with that! He's also become pretty content and I love just holding him while he looks around with his blue/grey eyes and chubby cheeks. Precious!

Grandma Karen helped me out A LOT all week by visiting during the day, and her and Aunt Kasey came over yesterday and stayed the night. Mimi Debbie came over on Wednesday and took us all to dinner-Will's first restaurant experience. He sleeps through anything! Even Eddie (our dog's) fierce bark. On that note, he is an EXCELLENT "big brother!" He's very interested and attentive with everything the baby does.

I've posted more pictures on the slideshow and if you have facebook, friend me and check out even more.

4 Days Old

Thanks to everyone who has called, posted comments, and followed our blog to stay updated on William's arrival. Yes, he's here!

As my previous blog said-he was a big boy weighing over 9 pounds. I'm not sure how I pushed him out but WE did it. Tom was the best birthing coach ever. Very encouraging, helpful, and super calm. I couldn't have asked for anything more. I wasn't completely decided on going natural vs. epidural when I arrived but I was open to either option. We arrived at 4 am and at 7:30, the doctor broke my water. After almost an hour of contractions, I decided on the epidural. I might have been a wimp but I'm so glad I did. 10 hours later I started pushing, and an hour after that we had our precious boy. I was very impressed with the epidural. I was still able to feel my water, some pressure of contractions, and pushing him out. I was able to enjoy the process without all of the pain.

We stayed in the hospital exactly 48 hours and came home Saturday evening. Our hospital stay as well as our time at home has been filled with family and friends and we couldn't be anymore grateful for all of the people in our lives.

Will is doing well-eating like a champ! So not to mention, tiring mom out a little bit. He was pretty quiet the first day or two but since we've been home, he's introduced us to his lungs and strong voice! The first night home was kind of rough but we're all getting used to each other and figuring things out. Tommy was able to sleep a full night last night before his first day back at work. Grandma Karen visited all day today and was a huge help.

Again, we're so thankful for everyone's thoughts and prayers and can't wait until he meets more friends and family. I've posted some slide shows on the left and of course, our favorite picture so far above- Go Gators!!

He's here!

I will update more in a few days, but we had some "down time" in the hospital and I wanted to update quickly. After about 11 hours of labor, our precious boy is here! Weighing in at 9 pounds 3 ounces and measuring 21 inches long, "William Earl Thomas Kriby II" has complete our familiy. Everyone's doing great with wonderful support from family and friends already. More pictures and updates to come later...

...

My only thoughts today are-oh my-one more day! I'm a million emotions all rolled into one. Nervous, anxious, excited...you name it and I feel it! I can't believe by this time tomorrow we will be parents!!

Induction Scheduled!

At our first doctor's appointment back in October when we initially found out we were pregnant, June 8th was the predicted due date. However, at our 20 week ultrasound, they moved the date up to June 3rd and have stuck to that ever since. Maybe they were right since he still hasn't arrived!

I had an appointment today and was told I'm still around the same measurements, a little over 2 cm. More tests were done to make sure that fluid levels were right and his heart beat is good. Everything seems okay and they scheduled me to be induced on Thursday- 4 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING! So if he doesn't decide to come within the next couple days, we should be parents by Friday!

3 days passed...

I think a couple weekends ago I wrote about it being our last weekend as just husband and wife. Boy was I wrong! Baby is still in my belly but God is teaching us to be patient and enjoy our time. So I don't have much to write today except that we're still playing the waiting game...

Baby's due today! Apparently he doesn't know that though...

June 3, 2009-we can't believe it's here. Tommy put it perfectly last night by comparing it to a vacation that we've been planning for so long. Only we don't know when the plane is taking off.

Well so far, "the plane" is still parked at the runway. I went to my doctor's appointment earlier today to see what the baby's status is. I'm still measured the same- 2 cm and thinned out, but not much progress. They sent me over to the hospital to get some testing done which took a couple hours. They did an ultrasound and monitored the baby's heartrate for a while and everything checked out great. I have another appointment on Monday if he doesn't come before then.

So, it's just more of the waiting game now! It's fine with me as long as he is healthy. I think it's just God's way of teaching me to RELAX and enjoy my special time with Tommy. I'll keep you posted!!

Reasons Why Baby Kriby Can't be Late...

Dear baby Kriby,

It would be very convenient if you could arrive sometime this weekend (even though it's already Saturday night). Here's why:

• Your mama is feeling LARGE.


• It's much more convenient for everyone for you to arrive on the weekend. Except for the doctors of course.


• The May birthstone is prettier than June (even though you're a boy).


• Your grandpa Kriby is going to Egypt in 4 days and we want him here when you arrive. And we don't want to wait until he gets back a week later!


• Again-your mama is LARGE.

Thank you for cooperating!

However-I love these relaxing weekends....

39 week appointment

I finally grew a centimeter-yay! I'm sure that doesn't mean much to the baby though. He'll come out when he's ready!

I just got back from my 39 week doctor's appointment and things look great. I'm 2 cm dilated and his head is very low. Dr. says he's about 8 pounds! Hopefully he won't grow too much more.

She can't pinpoint when he's coming out, but told me to hang in there because things are going smoothly. We're hoping to have him on time or early, because Tommy's Dad is going to Egypt for work on June 4th-one day after the due date! We really want him to be in town for this and I don't want to have to wait another week until he comes back. Oh well-again-he'll come out when he and God are ready!

Another Weekend...

It's now the end of Memorial Day 2009 and no baby yet! Believe me though, I'm not taking it for granted. We had another wonderful weekend and God has blessed me so much with the people in my life.

Tommy and I spent Friday and Saturday at our place in Sarasota watching basketball and laying by the pool. Saturday night we went up to Seminole and had dinner with my family. I love staying at home. Sunday we went to church and spent time with more family-parents, grandparents, and sisters-the whole crew! It was so nice to see everyone since we know things might get a little hectic over the next couple of weeks. Before we came back last night we had dinner with Amanda.

Today we slept in, made a big breakfast, and then went to the Ringling Museum. We'd never been before and it was absolutely beautiful. Again-taking advantage of the free time we have for now!

The baby has been pretty active-moving around a lot and a few contractions, but nothing too strong. Again, this weekend was so nice and I am so blessed for what God has put and will be bringing into our life soon.

Happy Memorial Day!!

2 weeks to go!

So yesterday marked exactly 2 weeks from the due date. However, I've come to realize, as I'm sure all of you mom's know, that the due date doesn't mean anything.

We went to our 38 week appointment this morning. I'm at the same measurements as I've been for the past 2 weeks- 1 cm dilated and 70% effased. The baby is moving nicely, great heart rate, and feels pretty low, so again-who knows what to expect!

My contractions go on and off. Some days they last for an hour or 2 at regular intervals, but never get stronger. Other days, I'll only have a couple throughout the day. Hopefully I'll know when the real thing is happening!

Otherwise, I think we're as ready as we can be. The house is all set, nursery done, and car seat installed. The question is are we ready mentally? We're trying to be. I think it's finally sinking in that we're going to be PARENTS. Crazy. I can't wait to see Tommy as a Daddy! More updates to come...

Real Contractions?

So today I started counting down in days instead of weeks- 20 to go!! Scary. Crazy. Exciting.

My fabulous husband surprised me yesterday with a pre-natal hour long massage scheduled for tomorrow. I'm very excited about that since lately it's become very difficult to stand up, sit down, bend over, use the restroom...
Yes, all of the above!

We had our 37 week doctors appointment yesterday morning. The baby is still doing great- moving around nicely and in the proper position. I'm still 1 cm dilated. I've had contractions off and on for the past couple of weeks but yesterday they started getting closer together. Late in the afternoon, some of them even started to be about 5 minutes apart and pretty strong. As the evening went on, they slowed down, sped up again around 9-10 pm, then stopped througout the night. I've only had a few today so I'm guessing they were more "practice" then the real thing. Pretty crazy though. We're keeping on our toes!

Mother's Day Photo Shoot

In my post yesterday, I forgot to talk about the highlight of my Mother's Day. We went to Selby Botanical Gardens in the morning to take maternity pictures with our friend Kerri who also happens to be a very talented up and coming photographer. She shared the pics with us today so I'm uploading a few. More to come!

Happy Mother's Day!

I really love today. Techincally, I guess I'm not a mom yet, but I already feel like this is such a special day. Thank you to so many people who wished me a Happy Mother's Day-it means so much.

We had our moms over yesterday for Mother's Day dinner. I always realize this but especially this weekend that I am so incredibly lucky to have family like we do. Our mothers our completely selfless, loving, beautiful, and everything else you'd expect a mother to be. I pray that I can be at least half as wonderful as a mom as my own.

Tommy and I were talking last night after dinner and I was just sitting there saying that "I'm going to be someone's mother soon." That's crazy. Exciting but so crazy.

Anyway, not much to update/write. I'm having contractions on and off but they're still kind of weak and don't have much of a pattern yet. I hope all of the mother's reading this had a fantastic day!

Less than a month to go

This is my first blogging attempt. We'll see how it goes...

Today marks exactly 4 weeks until the due date of our baby boy. Craziness. I can't believe it's gone by this quickly. Are we really creating a family?!

Yesterday, Tom and I went to the doctor to start our once a week appointments until the due date. We have 2 doctors, 2 midwives, and a nurse and we met with the nurse yesterday. Now we've met everyone in the practice (Lakewood Ranch Women's Clinic) and one of them will be on call when we deliver.

The nurse reported that I'm measuring great and the baby weighs about 6 lbs. She thinks he'll get up to about 7 upon delivery. That sounds good to me-no bigger please! During the exam, I measured 1 cm dilated and 70% ephased. Tommy gave the nurse a nervous look and asked, "does that mean he'll come early?" The nurse explained that every woman is different and I could remain those measurements for a couple weeks or grow quickly- she never can tell.

So we'll see! Feel free to guess the arrival date-late or early? It was so exciting to hear her say that she could feel his head. I'm feeling pretty good. He's moving around A LOT and I think I'm getting used to the Braxton Hicks (practice) contractions that are going on inside. Nothing regular yet...