Our First Christmas

Hooray! Kollins First Christmas was so great!! My sister Krystal came into town with her two boys and her boyfriend Jay. It was so nice to have them here with us. This is only the second time they have stayed in our home, I hope they come again!!

Kollin loved to play with his cousin Christopher. They would hang out with the floor mat we have named Sunny Jim. Kollin on one side and Christopher's head right next to him and play with all the toys. Kollin would play with Christopher's hair, just rubbing it and feeling the different texture. Dallin started playing with him the same way shortly before they left and Kollin loved it!

Dallin was great on the way to one of the Christmas parties. He sat in the back of the truck with Kollin and played with him most of the way. He even let Kollin suck and chew on his thumb. Man, what a cute site to see our baby boy playing with his cousins!

Christmas morning, Kollin woke up before the boys so Ken and I did our little christmas with him and then Krys, Jay and the boys did theirs a little later. We then had a big breakfast of Egg Nog french toast, sausage, bacon, eggs and juice. YUMMY!!!!

Ken introduced Kollin to all of his new toys and clothes (we had to buy a whole new wardrobe, he is already is 6-9 month clothes). Kollin was extremely interested in everything and Dad showed him how it all worked. I love his serious face!! Ken and Kollin are so cute together. Ken is such a great Dad.

What a great Christmas! Kollin made the trip to almost every family party. He only missed one that happened last night due to being sick. We all spent time with all of our siblings and parents and enjoyed every minute we spent with them. We will treasure this Christmas, our first Christmas as a little family was blessed with so much joy!

Look who sits up in his activity tray!

We love the idea of the bumbo. We got two of them (one for the house and one for the office) and an activity tray thing. I have tried to put Kollin in them since he was about a month old. I know, a little early but I wanted so bad for him to like it.

Well, now he is getting pretty good at sitting up on our laps and in the highchair so we though we would try out the activity tray bumbo and see what happens. He does pretty well. His favorite item is a ball that is also a rattle. He spins it over and over. Of course, his hands still seem to be his favorite toy but we are working on it.

Just look at the concentration on his face. He is so inquisitive!

Rice Cereal

Now that Kollin is three month's old, we can start him on Rice Cereal. I don't really know why they call it cereal, it is more of a powdery mush. The 6th of December was his first attempt. He loved it!

I fed him the first half of the bowl and then Ken did the rest. By the time Ken started feeding him he was covered in the stuff and Kollin decided it was a game. He talked through most of his meal. Now he plays with us while he is eating. He will grab the spoon and jam it in his mouth, he puts one foot up on the tray and lounges, he bangs on his tray if you don't feed him fast enough and talks and blows bubbles with the food in his mouth.

Man, how did we get so lucky to have such a happy mellow baby. You cannot tell in this picture but he has rice cereal from his nose down to his double chin. Thank goodness it was bath night!!

He is 8 weeks already!

Hey everyone! i know, I have been a bit of a slacker when it comes to pictures and blogging. He is worth it thought. I can hardly believe he is 8 weeks old already. Where does the time go??

We are still working on nap time. It has been 2 weeks and he still cannot get the hang of it. We are getting there. 2 successful naps so far today - HOORAY!!!! I just love it when he wakes up. He is the happiest baby. Here is a picture after a 30 minute morning nap.

Such a happy boy!! Ken and I are lucky to have such a mellow baby. The only time he gets fussy is when he is tired. Sometimes I sit back and wonder who was crazy enough to let me have a baby. Kollin is just so much fun to be around.

We go back to work on Monday. We have taken a lot of his toys to the office and set them up so he is ready to go first thing. Wish us luck!

Things that have changed since I became a mom

1. The soundtrack to my day is no longer on the radio - it is kids toys and cooing
2. I cannot stand in one spot - I sway or rock as if I have a fussy baby in my arms
3. My hair is now 3 inches shorter - this is what happens when you are distracted thinking about your child instead of paying attention to the lady doing your hair.
4. Food has different meaning - instead of eating what sounds good, I eat what will work best for him. No dairy, no chocolate, spicy food is still being tested
5. Outings are not longer easy - a trip to Tremonton now takes 2 hours of planning and prep time and 4 bags of supplies.
6. Living in the moment - everything is new for him. I have to remember to live in the moment and not stress about what is happening next week.
7. Enjoying every moment - Everything is new for him. I get to share in his joy when he sees or discovers something new.
8. I have finally joined a sorority (kind of) - The sorority of Moms is better than anything I could ask for. So much support!
9. The books I read - I now read Dr Sues and book on baby development instead of any kind of adult genre.
10. I feel more love than I could imagine - I look at him and see my husband. I get to spend my whole life with the two cutest guys that I know.

Thanks for all the advice!!

Who knew that a child wouldn't already know everything?? Being an aunt gave me many glimpses into what it would be like to be a mother but it didn't give me everything. We have had quite the wonderful 6 weeks together. Kollin is such a wonderful boy! He is the happiest first thing in the morning. He smiles and coo's at me for 20 minutes. He doesn't cry when he wakes up. I LOVE THAT!! I go to his crib and look in and see his cute smiling face looking up at me.

I have dozens of pictures of him on my phone. We take pictures every day to send to Daddy so he doesn't miss out on the fun (one of these days I will figure out how to download them so I can post some on the blog). Ken is a great Daddy. He is hands on and cannot wait to see his little boy when he gets home. Man I am a lucky woman!!

Every week we tackle a different item. I have solicited so many of you for advice. I cannot say thank you enough!! Burping my super gassy son is now a breeze, I can pump milk with the best of them, I can calm down my son when he has a melt down crying session...the list goes on. This week we are tackling nap time. We go back to work in 2 weeks and have to be able to take naps without an hour of walking around the house and turning the water on in the bathroom for 10 minutes.

Being a Mother is such a wonderful challenge! I love this job. Every day is a new puzzle to figure out.

Thanks again everyone for all the wonderful advice. I don't know what I would do without all you mothers and fathers out there!

Meet Kollin - the Hospital stay and the first few days home

So, with Kollin in our arms, we headed up to our room. We had been a family of three for about 1 and a half hours. Once we were in the room and I was situated, they wanted to take Kollin to the nursery to do some final test. Ken went with them and I promptly started making phone calls. We had a list of people to call, email or text. I started with the ones I knew were on the phone call list while they were gone. Ken made calls when he got back to the room with Kollin.

It turned out that Kollin had low blood sugar. They decided it was because he is such a big baby. Apparently it is common, not normal. So, even though I was nursing, they wanted to supplement with formula and check his blood levels every 2 hours. He does not like having his little heal pricked and squeeze for that little blood drop. I don't blame him. Poor guy.
Soon many of our family members and friends started to filter in to meet Kollin. Everyone was so sweet to take the time and effort to come meet him. He was so heavy, he got passed along pretty quickly. Everyone is used to 7lb or 8lb babies. My big boy!! He is surrounded by so many people that love him and are excited for him to be here. Thanks everyone! We loved having you all there.



We were quite relieved when they told us that his sugars were OK. BUT, now he has Jaundice. So, they kept him under the lights at the hospital for a bit and then sent us home with a light bed for him. It is the weirdest thing. The bed lets off an eerie blue light and he is strapped in so you are not allowed to hold him except to change his diaper and feed him. Luckily he was able to get the jaundice under control and got rid of the bed by Sunday. HOORAY!! We can hold our son again!!!

Today, Kollin turns 6 days old. Kenn and I cannot stop looking at him, playing with him, taking pictures, just in enjoying having him in our lives. We are so lucky to have our little man here. I am glad we were able to take this journey together and cannot wait to see what the future brings!!

Thanks to everyone for all your love and support. Kollin is super lucky to have so many people surrounding him with love.

He's here - the Labor

Meet Kollin Alexander Kirkman! 9lbs 6oz, 21 inches long. Birthday: September 15, 2010.

I know you are all dying for details so I am going to do this in a few different blogs. First, the labor. Ken and I decided early in the pregnancy that we wanted to have the baby naturally (no drugs). So, we took a 12 week course and did as much preparation as we could to make this happen.

We went to our 41 week visit on the 14th and my Doctor basically told us we were going to be induced on Thursday (the 16th of September). I was not too happy about it but understood the reasoning behind it. That night I went home and started making proper arrangements for the dog to be boarded etc.

Around 1:00 in the morning, I woke up with labor pains. This is not new for me. I had been having false labor pains on and off for about 2 weeks. They were always at night between Midnight and 3am. So, I assumed this was the same thing. I went into the front room and waited them out. By 4am, they hadn't stopped, in fact,they seemed to be intensifying. I thought, well our class instructor said taking a bath could make them stop if they are really false. I drew a bath and stepped in. That didn't work. In fact, they got worse. A LOT worse. It was now 5:07am. Time to wake up Ken and see if my coach could help me.

Ken timed the next few contractions and worked on the pressure points we did in class. That was heaven! Those pressure points helped more than I ever thought possible. Turns out, the contractions were 3 minutes apart and lasting 1 and a half minutes. Time to go to the hospital - NOW! Ken went into super man mode. He got extra water for the cat, finished packing our hospital bags, got the car seat in the car, put a towel down on my chair (just in case my water broke. Who wants to clean that mess up?), and helped me with every contraction. He was amazing! I joked with him on the wait out the door, "watch, we will get there and they will send us home because we are still dilated to a 2."

By 5:45 we were on our way to the hospital. It felt like he was going warp speed. He claims he never went more than 10 over the speed limit but I thought he was going so fast I was going to get car sick. Ken did a great job getting us there safely. We were checked into our room by 6:30. The poor nurses barely had time to do all their paper/computer work while helping us through the contractions. While Ken was pushing on my back, one of the nurses would push on my knees doing counter pressure. WOW that was great. Between Ken and the nurses, each contraction was manageable.

Dr Rappleye was able to make it to the hospital by 7:30 or so. Honestly I lost track of time. All I know was that the nurses told me not to push when I wanted to because he wasn't here yet. My water broke mid contraction somewhere right after he arrived. He got me in position and told me to push shortly after that. I was on the bed and pushing by 8:00 and was able to have Kollin in my arms by 8:44. I only know this time frame because I would look at the clock after a few pushing contractions. In class, one of our videos showed a woman pushing for over 2 hours so I kept that in the back of my mind. "OK, 15 minutes down, you can do this Angie." Hooray for only 45 minutes!!!

I did yell at the doctor once. He told me to stop pushing mid contraction with no explanation. No one should tell a laboring woman to stop without telling her why. They hurt like a son of a gun if I don't push, I am pushing darn it!

Kollin's cord had already stopped pulsing so Dr Rappleye clamped it and asked Kenny to cut it almost immediately. Kenny cut the cord as the nurses did a little clean up and Dr Rappleye got to work cleaning me up. They let us keep Kollin in the room and on my chest nursing for about an hour before they weighed, measured etc in the room. He never left us until we told the nurses it was OK. Even then, he was in the delivery room so we were a part of everything.

I love the Intermountain Medical Center! We couldn't have asked for a better birthing experience. My only regret was not waking Ken up earlier. The poor guy. No one deserves to be woken up at 5 am and have to go into super man mode.

Thanks sweetie pie for all you did. You are such a wonderful partner. I could not have gone through the pregnancy, the delivery or the past few days without you. I love you!!!! You are so cute with Kollin. I love to watch you with him. You are a great, hands on Daddy already. You amaze me.

Roar like a Lion!

One of my favorite stories of Ken and his family growing up contains the Phrase "Roar like a Lion." Any time any of Ken or his siblings were afraid of something, Kirby (Ken's dad) would say "ROAR like a Lion!" The roar would scare off just about anything... monsters under the bed, soap in the eyes.

When we ended up decorating the nursery with a safari theme, I thought of this phrase. Ken's sister is amazing with crafts, scrapbook, vinyl, you name it. She is amazing with that she can create. She offered to make a sign for us for the nursery if we wanted. Well, we planned on making one with our little man's name but then my brain got to thinking. What about one with the magical phrase?!?!? Amanda said yes! Her and Wade were so sweet. They came out and measured the area we were thinking of putting it, took the paint left over from painting the room and went to town. Here is their finished product!

Isn't it perfect!! We can never thank you guys enough for doing this. Your support though out the pregnancy and prior has been unparalleled. Thank you so much!!

So, any time you get scared or just need a smile, remember to Roar like a Lion!

Nesting or just me??

Ken started school again last Wednesday. He is going back to school to get his CPA and already has several semesters under his belt. Wednesday started a new semester. With a little guy on the way he decided to only take one class at a time until we can figure things out. Planners and new parents = chaos!

Well, I cannot just sit on my butt when he is gone can I? There are things to be done and I might as well do them while he is out. I decided last week to rearrange all the furniture in the front room and the media room. This is no easy task as I had to take two rather large chairs downstairs in order to make room for the baby's toys. Ken got home from school and was not too happy with me. I know, I am 9 months pregnant and probably shouldn't be moving really heavy furniture but I was careful!!!

So, is this the beginning of my nesting phase or is this just me being me??

I promised Ken that tonight I would take it easy. No heavy lifting, mowing the lawn, etc. Gotta keep this baby in for another week! Chris and Kirby our out of town until the 6th. Little Kj has to stay in my belly until they get back. Maybe if I stand on my head......

Whirl Wind Weekend!

What a crazy weekend last weekend was. I was so busy cooking and spending time with family that I forgot to take pictures. Sorry everyone.

Everything started when my Sweet Aunt Diane offered to do a shower for us on the 17th. Before I knew it, Krystal was coming into town with J, Katie was coming with the girls and all were staying with us! Hooray! i love to have a full house. We also tried to do a N.A.K.E.D get together that same time frame but Daphne wasn't able to make it. We got together anyways.

I was so excited I planned meals for an army! Jenny was kind enough to let me have Friday off so I could prepare the house and do food prep. I was up at 6am getting as much done ahead of time as possible so we could all just sit and enjoy each other's company.

Katie and the girls arrived Friday around 4:00. Krystal and J got there around 5:20. We all had dinner (stuffed chicken breast, baked potatoes, spinach salad), dessert (chocolate and berries truffle), and caught up a bit. The girls were nice enough to let me help them bathe. We even turned on the Jets!! They LOVED that!

Mom came over in the morning to join us for breakfast (quiche, hash browns and cantaloupe). After breakfast Krystal and Mom went shopping while the rest of us hung out, cleaned up and got ready for the shower. Little ivy was having so much fun playing with her Mom and sisters downstairs. You could hear her cute voice/squeal all the way upstairs! She sure is a cutie and has quite the personality.

Off to the shower we all went. It was great to see Aunt Diane's new house and catch up with the family. We have gotten so big! Well, the family started out pretty big with 23 cousins. Now add husbands/wives and kids and you can imagine the numbers. Aunt Diane was so sweet to throw us a shower and have everyone at her home. She has such a big heart.

After the shower Eric's family joined us at the house for some hang out time and dinner. Gin loved playing with the girls. Some of them even went out back with her and played chase. Later in the afternoon Gin walked over to where some of them had been playing with the sidewalk chalk. She sat right in the middle of it! She was so cute!! He entire hind quarters were covered in pink and green chalk. I though she was rainbow bright for a bit!

Everyone left that night except for Krys and J. It was nice to have some downtime with them and really get to know them. I am so glad they came to town for this. They are a great couple.

Sunday morning, Krys and J left around 7 am. Ken and I got ready and headed into Sugarhouse for a Birthday Brunch for Amanda. yummy Brunch!!! This is a Kirkman family tradition. We usually hit brunch/dinner for the Kirkman birthdays. I look forward to it every time. Always good food and the company is excellent.

Later we went to Amanda and Wade's place to celebrate Taylor's 1st birthday. Man, this year has gone by quickly!!! Taylor is such a cutie. she loved having her own little cake to eat. Of course, she loved the roses on top the most. She got it all over her face, arms and hands. She even got a little down her legs. What a cutie!!!

To finish it all off, we went to our friend John and Steve's for dinner. There were 8 of us all eating Mexican food on their deck. I love dinners with John and Steve. it isn't a quick eat and go. No, you eat for 3 hours! That sounds like a lot of food but it isn't. They time everything so well. We just sit and chat and eat a bit, then chat, then eat, before you know it you have been at the table for 3 hours and enjoyed every minute of it. What a great way to end the weekend.

It was an exhausting weekend but I loved it!! It was great to see so much family and friends. To top it off, when I woke up Monday morning, i had a voicemail from Lamont. He rolled another 300 game!!!!

What a great time!!

The Belly

Well, we have made it to 32 weeks. My belly started out pretty flat back in January. Now, a flat belly is just a memory. I am loving this belly though. I would not trade it for the world! Here is the progress.

Here is my belly at 13 weeks

Here it is at 18 weeks.

Here we are at 22 weeks. Man, it looks like I had a growth spurt!

Here we are again at 27 weeks.Last but not least - 31 weeks along.

He is getting so big now that I can feel just about every move he makes. It is awesome to see Ken so excited to feel him. He cannot go to bed at night without having his Baby time. I am one lucky lady!!!

We are going public - for a bit

Hey everyone,

We have decided to let go of our paranoia for a bit and go public. This way some of our cousins and friends can join the blog and follow how little KJ is doing. We may decide to go private again but we will let all of you know before we do.

Thanks for following our blog everyone!!

Angie and Ken

Hooray for Pride!!!

Ken and I have volunteered for the Utah Pride Festival for three years. This year, my friend asked me if I would be willing to be the team leader of ticket sales before the parade. Of course i said Yes!!! What a great time. We started meetings (every other week) in March with last night being our last one. The Festival ran Saturday June 5th and Sunday June 6th.

Ken and I sell tickets on a parade float before the actual event starts on Sunday. Ken drives the truck and guards all the money (no small task. It is A LOT of money), while I work with the volunteers on the float to make sure they have enough tickets and clean totes to stash their money. We make a pretty good team. We didn't have any problems getting through crowd either. Of course, when a crowd sees a pregnant woman coming at them with a big truck following they pretty much move out of the way.

At the meeting last night, we got a few details that blew me away! We sold about 5000 tickets off our float in 3 hours. It is the most we have ever sold off the float since we have been part of it. The festival sold 25000 tickets!!! that isn't counting any children because kids under 12 are free! The attendance alone was enough to cover the budget for the event.

Other details: 85 parade entries - that's right 85 floats!
260 runners in the 5k race the night before
120 exhibitors inside the festival
15 food vendors (not counting the vodka garden and bear stands)
4 different stages had entertainment non stop!
800 + volunteers

It is amazing how much goes into this festival every year. The festival is HUGE and gets bigger every year. Last year it rained but they still had the best year to date. This year almost doubled it!

I am just in awe at how well the event is planned and attended. It is amazing to me that there are this many people that will support the festival and the cause and yet they still cannot get equal rights. This is a different topic for a different day though. I won't get political.

I am proud to be part of the Utah Pride festival. I have already informed them that we will be part of the festival next year too! Anyone want to babysit the first weekend in June next year??

He moved it up!!

We had our monthly check up with Dr Rappleye yesterday morning. He is a great doctor. I really like his sense of humor. When he walked in the room he looked at me and said "wow, you've really been growing". Upon measuring, he stated that I am still measuring two weeks in advance. I have been measuring ahead of schedule since our second visit so this isn't anything abnormal.

He then decided to check Kj's heart rate which he does every visit. it is so cool to hear it. I love to listen to the rhythm of his heart. Kj really doesn't care for things being in his space. He kicked the heart rate monitor a few times just to let Dr rappleye know that he didn't care for it. He kicks at anything that gets in his space. Ken's head and my bladder are the main culprits. Let me tell you, it isn't any fun to be in the car, know you have to go to the restroom REALLY bad and there is nothing you can do about it and have your son kicking your bladder every 10 seconds just to remind you. Such fun!!!

Once we finished all the normal exam, we went back to our due date. Every visit we discuss the date and whether it is possible for me to really be two weeks ahead of where it is set. We remind him that it is IMPOSSIBLE for us to have conceived two weeks in advance and we just have a big baby boy. I am tired of the talk so I told him to do what he felt was right. If he wants to move it up, go ahead and do it. We discussed our charts again and he decided to split the difference. So, he moved up our date. We are now due on September 7th.

I realize that little KJ will come when he decides he is ready. However, i am still planning on the 17th. He is just going to be a big baby. Besides, this whole due date thing is just a guess anyways. No one can really tell when you are going to give birth. My only wish, NOT IN AUGUST. We have WAY too many birthday's in August.

Roller Derby

I have a cousin that lives in Alaska. She loves it up there! I don't get to see her very often but I follow her Blog quite closely. Lately, she has been talking a lot about Roller Derby. Apparently it is huge in Alaska. Her husband is the official photographer so they hit every match.

Penny got me thinking. What exactly is roller derby?? Well, Did you know that in our sleepy little state of Utah, we have several roller derby teams? I know of several people up at the u of u (two professors and a nurse) that are on the slc team. Last night, Ken and I along with some friends decided to check one out. We went to the one in Layton. That team is called the Junction City Roller Dolls.

All of us were pretty apprehensive going in. We weren't quite sure what to expect. There was a lot of blue hair, fishnet stockings and tiny skirts on big girls. Needless to say, we were a little out of place.

What a great time!!! here is how the game goes, all but one person from both teams start around track. After everyone is going, the final two players (called jammers) get to go. The Jammers are trying to get a head of all the other people. Once they get out front, they have to lap the players and pass through the crowd again. You get a point for every person from the oposite team you pass. You have two minutes to do this. Pretty simple!

There is a lot of hip checking and pushing. I was surprised at how into it i go. If you like hockey but get upset because there isn't enough body contact,this is your sport. There isn't any fighting or blood. Just some good clean body slamming.

I highly suggest going to at least one. Man, what a great night!!!

Nursery - it is all coming together

We are five months in! Can you believe it?? It seems the first two months were really slow. Once we told everyone we were pregnant it started to speed up abit. Now that we know what we are having time is flying by! It is hard to believe that in only 4 months we will have a little Kenny Jr in our home.

We have been trying really hard to get all the big stuff set up for his arrival. I think we are almost there! We have the crib, changing table and rocking chair/recliner. Now we have the bedding in place with matching valance, diaper stacker and wall art. It is all a jungle theme. Roar like a lion little guy!!

It's a boy!

We had an ultrasound on the 30th. Wow! What an experience. The ultrasound technician was amazing. She spent over an hour going over every body part possible. Valerie was able to find the sex of he baby within the first minutes. It looks like we have a miniature Kenny on the way.

They sent us away with a cd of pictures but for some reason I cannot save them or email to anyone. So sorry. Luckily they were able to print out some of the pictures for us to take with us. Just know he has the cutest profile and is SUPER active!! I cannot wait to meet our little guy.

Both the tech and my doctor have confirmed that we have a BIG baby on the way. Both the baby and I are measuring 1 week and 4 days ahead of schedule. It looks like my suspicion of a 9 lb baby may be correct. I guess it is a good thing we started birthing classes early.

Spring in Utah

What a wonderful time of year. April is the month when you need a snow shovel AND a lawn mower!

I always know spring has officially arrived when our daffodils are blooming. That doesn't mean we are finished with snow though. Every year the daffodils get buried in snow at least twice. The snow usually melts by the afternoon but it is still a shock to wake up to.

Utah plants must be a little more sturdy than those from say Arizona. Sure, they have to handle 100 + degree weather but they don't have to handle the 70's one day and 30's the next. They get to dig in and look for water all year while our little plants go through a feast then famine.

Oh, I love this time of year!!! This flux in temperatures and rain/snow just means one thing, Summer is on it's way!

my waistline just isn't what it used to be!

My waistline just isn't what it used to be.....and for good reason!! I have been working really hard over the years to get and keep a fairly flat tummy. Now that we are pregnant that is no longer the case. At first, it bothered me but now I am doing pretty good with it. As of this week, i am officially into maternity clothes. My "normal" clothes just don't fit any more. Well, to be honest, my size 10's stopped fitting around week 8. I have been wearing my size 12's and now they don't fit!!

Ken and I told the families in February. To announce to may family had these shirts made. Katie's sister has a screenprint/embroidery company in Brigham. She was kind enough to do these shirt so my work didn't have to know until we were ready. They turned out great!! Ken's is my favorite!! My sister in law wasn't sure what Ken's was at first, she thought it was a band.

All of the books we are reading tell me to start taking pictures every month of my belly. I resisted until the 17th of march. My belly is still pretty small (comparing to what it will be) but we are officially 3 months along and OUT OF THE FIRST TRIMESTER!!!

Our books tell us that the nausea etc will stop at the end of the first trimester. They were right. The past two weeks have been a breeze. OK, the nausea etc weren't bad to begin with but now that I am feeling more like myself I feel great!!!! Only six more months to go!!

Kenny has been the biggest support through all of this. I don't know what i would do without him. He has kept me motivated when I was all kinds of emotional and scared. He is constantly asking how we are doing and what he can do to help. I am so very lucky to have him in my life. We just ordered the car seat with two bases. He cannot wait for them to get here so he can put the cat in it and carry it around. How cute is that!!!

Fyi, we have a few nicknames for the baby. Ever since the doctor confirmed the pregnancy (for the second time), we have been calling it Aj (Angie Jr), Kj (Kenny Jr) or Jaak (Jr Angie and Ken). Chris and Kirby (Ken's parents) picked the last one out. It is pronounced Jack but spelled a little different. So, if you hear us talking about Aj, Kj, or Jaak it is the baby. No none of them will be the actual name, that will be decided later.

For Sale

Hey Everyone,

We are selling our coffee table/end table/sofa table set. It is glass and steel. You can see pictures below. We are asking 150.00 for the set. Spread the word! We are happy to deliver it if anyone is interested.

This is the Sofa/Buffet Table. it measures 48"Lx20"Wx28"HHere is he end table. It measures 26"Lx24"Wx23"HHere is the coffee table. It measures 48"Lx24"Wx20"H

More details on why we are selling later.

My sweet, sweet husband

Every year we discuss Valentine's Day and every year we decide we are good not doing presents. It has always seemed a little silly to celebrate. It is my Mom's birthday and we get to celebrate our love all year long. We do try to go to dinner or something around the day but nothing too extravagant. This year was to be no different. we talked about it the week of and decided that Valentine's day for us would go uncelebrated.

Friday came along and at 9:30 am there was a delivery at work. Kenny sent me flowers, a balloon, a stuffed teddy bear and chocolates. What a sweet heart!!! I was completely surprised. He is always doing the most thoughtful things for me and our little family. He is constantly looking for ways to improve our situation (financially, emotionally, physically, the list is endless).

How on earth did I get so lucky to have this man in my life? I truly am amazed by him and am thankful every day he chooses to stay with me. Kenny is my best friend. I would not trade my life with him for anything. Thanks for all you do sweetie. I LOVE YOU!!!!

Family - when are we supposed to let go??

OK, this is a deep one. It has been on my mind a lot and I thought it was time to get it out.

When we are children, we are taught to help each other. We are asked to help our younger siblings to reach that toy, tie their shoes, color in the lines, ...the list is endless. It doesn't stop when we are children. In adolescence, we are taught to be an example for them. To show them that living this way or that is better. Older siblings daily lives are an example to their younger siblings. They are keenly aware that their actions effect the others around them. The younger ones are also compared to the others "why can't you be like..." or "just because he did it doesn't mean it is OK for you to". As a family we depend on each other, to help each other.

It is normal for one sibling to talk to the other and say "that is pronounced ___not ___" or "No, shoot it this way". It is almost expected from each child to look after each other and teach each other the "best" way to live. That is one of the purposes of a family.

This is not a bad thing. It helps us all be better than we could be alone. We are able to look around and model our lives after others'. When we make a mistake, our siblings are often there to help us through it and fix what is broken. All very good things.

At some point, we are expected to let go. We are expected to accept our siblings for who they are and their life choices. It is no longer our place to "judge" their actions as correct or incorrect. It is not longer our place to fix their "mistakes". It is now our place to say "I see what you are going through. I am here to help you if you want my help." or " I would not have done that action but that is your choice and I support you."

What point is this? Are we expected to let go at 18? at 30? when we get married? when we have kids? There is no written date. No wonder it is so hard for us to do. No wonder it is so hard for us to say "That is your life, your life choices, your career. Your choices are not mine and I support you."

We are raised to be fixers, helpers. We are not raised to sit back and watch. No wonder it is so hard for us to just accept our siblings for who they are and what they have chosen to do with their lives.

Many people have said "My friends accept me for who I am, why can't my family?" Is it possible that the family doesn't because they are used to fixing things. They are used to judging our actions as good or bad, fixable or not fixable, right or wrong? As friends, we are taught to accept each other. We don't judge our friends, we support them. We are there for them in their trials, it is how we are taught.

Is this what Dad meant when he said "your sister will be your best friend some day"? Do our parents want us to get to the point where we can let go of the "family help" and become friends that accept each other no matter what? Or is it something else entirely?