Meeting Thomas

We headed to the Oklahoma Railway Museum to meet the one-and-only Thomas the Train! (Can I just say that Thomas is the most boring cartoon ever?!) We wanted to take Riley for a big-boy day of fun that had nothing to do with his little brother. (Trying to make him feel special!). It was fun and a gorgeous fall day. We followed it up with a lunch trip to Pops...yum. I will use any excuse to head to Pops. Here are some pictures of our super-cool outing:

One month

Remember this kid?

 
Well here's his "little" brother in his very own one-month-old picture! How has it already been a month? Who am I kidding, he'll be six weeks old on Monday. It goes so fast...

Baby on board!

Super timely with this post...what can I say? Life with a newborn.

I'm sure this is old news to most of our blog followers, but we do, in fact, have another Miller in our lives! Asher Britton was born at 10:18 am on Monday, September 13th!

Remember that huge baby we were supposed to have? Ours turned out big, but not huge. He came out a very respectable 7lbs, 15oz (one tiny little ounce away from 8lbs!) and 20 inches long. His head was off the charts big though, so I can't say I'm sad that my pelvis didn't have to deal with that. ;-)

Delivery was quick and went great. I went in early for prep and then it seemed like it was suddenly time. I walked into the surgery room, Kevin stayed next door and put on his scrubs while they did my spinal anesthesia. When I was ready to go, they let him in and a few minutes later they were cutting me open to retrieve our babe.  

The c-section was a whole other beast compared to the first time around. I can see the pros and cons of both ways, but I have to say, I did enjoy knowing exactly what was going to happen. The actual c-section was weird, weird, weird. No pain at all, but when they pushed on my chest to get Asher out, it was very intense. I thought my chest would cave in for sure! And then there was the non-stop shaking. I had shaking the first time too, but this time it would not let up at all. It was strange. The anesthesiologist kept asking me to try and think about holding my arm still so they could take my blood pressure. Afterwards, I got to listen as Asher cried, and Kevin watched, and I was repaired. Then onto recovery and finally getting to hold our baby!

I guess I should type out my entire birth story so I can remember it two years from now when this all seems like a good idea again, but I don't think I have the time! I have one kiddo asleep, one hanging out next to me and that means I'm holding my breath for lots of activity at pretty much anytime. I'm slowly getting the hang of mothering two boys, but it's hard to have the confidence! Healing from the c-section was a good first step.

Asher is the best baby ever! He has the sweetest personality and is as close to an easy baby as we could have hoped for. Just a doll. Riley is sloooooowly adjusting and the behavior problems are starting to present themselves lately. Poor thing, I know it is a huge adjustment for him, but holy smokes! We may be working on breaking his spirit just a wee bit...

I know there is so much more to say, but I'm going to be satisfied with writing this much out without any major breakdowns from children. Here are a few pictures from our hospital photo session. Official newborn pics coming soon...they are out-of-this-world fantastic.

Tired, but happy...that's our life right now. Love. My. Boys. (all three of them.)

The final countdown

In just over five hours, I'll be awake again. Kevin too. We'll be showering and preparing to head to the hospital to meet our baby. Yep, at 8 am we check in for a scheduled C-section to retrieve our supposedly very oversized boy.

At the specialist last week we found out that Mr. Baby Miller is measuring around 9lbs, 2oz. --give or take a 1/2 pound either way. Now, almost a week later, it's time to bring him on out of that warm belly he loves so much. After much thought and deliberation with Kevin and our doctors, we decided a C-section is the safest way to enter the world. It was a hard decision...but I think the right one. The doctors were concerned with shoulder dystocia because of his size--and although it was a somewhat slight risk of injury because of it, I couldn't sleep at night taking a chance with it. So, Section it is.

Pretty different this time around. No timing contractions, wondering when everything will happen. Nope. Just no food after midnight, be here in the morning, and expect a baby soon after. It's crazy! We had a low-key day and night hanging out with Riley, doing last minute this and that around the house and relaxing. The calm before the baby storm.

Next time I post, I'll be a mother of two. Can't wait to introduce our little man!

Getting roomy

Time is winding down here... The world's longest to-do list is pretty much complete (I thought it would never happen. I should probably mention that I PASSED my real estate exam last Wednesday. That was a pretty major pre-baby accomplishment. Between trying to prepare for the baby and studying non-stop, I came kind of close to losing my mind. Luckily, pulled through and passed. I am so happy and relieved!

Also in the nick of time, we managed to finish up the nursery. Wahoo! There are still some small details left but they are minor. I'm so, so, so happy with the way it turned out. Love it. My super-talented mom did all the bedding/curtains and everything else just kind of evolved after deciding I didn't want to paint since we'll be moving sooner rather than later.

Here are a few pictures of the nursery in all of its mostly-finished glory:

Now, we just need a baby to put in here...

Eviction date!

Wheeeee! That's all I can say about our life. It's moving fast lately. What else is new, right?

We went for our monthly visit to the high-risk specialist last Tuesday and learned that baby #2 is weighing in at 6lbs, 12oz. Um....that was at 35 weeks, people. So, when I went in for today's check-in with our OB, she thankfully informed me that we would probably need to attend to this matter sooner rather than later. She was planning on a 2-week early induction, but the hospital scheduling gods were not smiling down on us today. So, we are scheduled for an induction one week early, on Wednesday, September 15th.

Yep, that means that unless our little guy comes on his own before then, we have exactly 20 days until he arrives. Now, I have to say for the record that I predict he comes earlier. In fact, I feel like I'm racing him right now. Trying to outsmart his not-even-born-yet brain to finish everything before he can make it out. I also feel like I'm losing, but I'm trying anyway. Today, I learned that I'm already dilated 2cm and 50% effaced. I think I was 38 weeks with Riley before that happened and I was only 4cm when I actually went to the hospital in labor.

Am I making this clear enough here? Baby will be here...soon. My guess is the week of Labor Day. But that's just my motherly shot-in-the-dark.

In the meantime...

• Kevin is scrambling to make headway on the latest renovation. Windows are going in Friday, granite, carpet, and a new pool liner are ordered, and the rest is up to Kevin. It's been a rough haul because life is one big doctor's appointment right now and Riley has been out of school all of August. 
• Real Estate class...CHECK! Finished. In the nick of time. I'm turning in the last documentation for my application tomorrow morning and hopefully they'll process everything and I'll be able to take my test early-ish next week. (See what I mean about racing the baby!)
•  Riley starts "school" again next week. Now, if we can just teach him to use the potty... 
• Nursery finished? Not so much... I still need to wash baby clothes, bring the big baby gear down from the attic and reassemble it all, head to Babies R Us for a big shopping trip of all the necessities we no longer have, decorate the nursery, install the car seat, pack for the hospital, etc., etc., etc. I guess it's true what they say about second children. Pretty sure I had all of this finished by the time I was 6 months pregnant with Riley. Now, we'll probably be tossing the car seat in the trunk on the way out the door timing contractions and grabbing some extra clothes from the laundry room.  
• And what else...oh yeah, we are buying another house! And this one, we're planning on living in. Yes, that's right. The Millers are moving again. This one deserves a whole post on its own, so please stand by and hold your breath while I fulfill that empty promise! It's an amazing house in one of my favorite neighborhoods. Maybe we'll never move? Doubtful...I've quit even kind-of believing that at this point. But, it's a great, great house and I can't wait to renovate it and move in. Oh yeah, and sell this one with a 3-yr-old and a newborn. Sweet. The chaos continues...

I'll leave you with a random picture from our family vacation that now seems like a million long years ago:

Riley and Kevin roasting marshmallows at the resort (they did this every night--the resort, not us).

Here's what may actually be the only pregnant picture I've posted this time around (have I mentioned this has gone quickly?)

Riley, mom, and baby in utero...7 months pregnant.

And while we're at it...here's a picture of Riley Bug at his dad's birthday get-together. He loved bowling!

A quick recap

Hanging on by a thread here when it comes to keeping up with the bloggity-blog! Why, oh why, aren't there more hours in the day... So, we're 31 weeks into a supposedly 40-week pregnancy and safe to say we are freaking out trying to get things done! Time is suddenly RACING by. This time around everything has gone so fast. Actually the entire last year of life has been insanely quick. Where did the time go?

I'm clicking out this post while Riley sits across the table from me polishing off some spaghetti and grapes before nap-time. That's to say, it will be a quick one. But, this is the only way I have of documenting the happenings of our insanity. It must be done!

With that said, here are bullet points about our crazy lives... Someday maybe I'll have enough time for a really great update, complete with pictures. There are so many good ones to share! 


1. We've been home for about a week from a fantastic family vacation to San Antonio! It was long-coming and very needed. We really wanted to have a special time with just Riley and us before the new kiddo comes along so it was all about Riley, Mom, and Dad. We spent about 6 days away at an amazing resort in San Antonio called the Hyatt Regency Hill Country. Check it out...it was awesome. 4 pools, sand beach, lazy river, nightly smores and outdoor movies. It was a kid paradise and incredibly family friendly! I will be posting pics from it because it was great. Uncle Jimmy flew down  for one our days there to take us to Sea World. He has a great pass gifted to him Southwest Airlines that got us in for free and even discounted all of our food and souvenirs! We are soooo grateful to him! That day was a blast and after we saw him off to the airport that afternoon, we went to our room and crashed as a family until late in the evening. Okay, this was a long bullet point. The trip was great. Especially because of the Prime Outlets in San Marcos. Three words: Pottery Barn Outlet.

2. Our flip sold! The house is Piedmont, after MANY delays, finally closed on the final day of our vacation. Sweet relief!

3. The next house is underway. Our newest project is underway and should be a good one. We had signed on to buy two more but one had some major expenses tied to a trashed room. So, when the bank started having title issues, we took it as a sign and decided not to buy.

4. Kevin just had a birthday---Happy 34th Birthday to the best husband and dad I can imagine!

5. Still chugging away on the real estate class...I have exactly one month from today to finish. Gulp.

6. Our two-corded baby is doing well. To say he's thriving is an UNDERSTATEMENT. I'll be more specific. He is measuring SIXTEEN DAYS AHEAD of his Sept. 22nd due date. He already weighs 4.5lbs and the doctor says if all goes as normal from here, he's likely to be 9.5lbs+ at birth. IF he stays in until the due date. All I can say is he is he's not allowed. You know, it's funny. The biggest risk with the two-corded baby is a low birth weight. I guess our little (big) guy laughed in the face of that one! Just to be safe, I'm planning on being ready for his arrival by the beginning of September.

7. Big boy room for Riley is underway! Kevin is making an insanely awesome bed for Riley based on plans we found on Knock-Off Wood. (Do you know about this site? Check it out, if not. It's incredible.) There will most definitely be a post about my husband's kick-ass skills in the wood-working dept.

Those are the major life-happenings as of this moment. I'll be back soon with some fun pictures. Nursery pics, big-boy bedroom pics, bed pics, life pics. I have the world's fullest memory card ever.

XOXO

A failure no more!

Well, 15 hours without food, 4 blood draws, and 3 hours at the hospital and I can officially say that I do NOT have gestational diabetes! Wheeeee! I hope I never have to take that test again in my life! It was not fun at all. But, good results so I'll take it. 

We went to the specialist today for our monthly ultrasound and another happy report comes with that visit. Our little guy is thriving. The fluid on the kidneys is completely gone, he is measuring a whopping 10 days ahead, and weighs 2 lbs already. Although I'm not happy about the cord situation, it is so great to see his face every month in high-rez 3D. Very, very cool. The doctor says he has hair already and he reminds me a lot of Kevin. They have matching chins! I've said all along that this will be the Kevin baby. Big at birth, big in life. So far, my theory is right on track. I'm also predicting early delivery, in case you're keeping track! This doesn't exactly excite me because my preparation level for baby's arrival is pretty much at -10. We have so much to do in 2 months. Ack!

We've been having such a fun summer so far (even though it's hotter than hot). We took Riley to his first real movie at the theater last Friday to see Toy Story 3. Great movie and great day! He was so excited and good. You can tell we aren't mall people by the fact that we parked at Macy's to cut through to the theater and when we walked inside the store he said "Cool movie!" Um, no buddy... This isn't a movie! Ha ha. He's hilarious. He loved the movie and clapped and said "yay!" when Woody and the gang made it through a particularly dangerous moment.  

Here's a couple of pictures from his big boy movie experience:

Other than this, we are in full-on real estate mode. We are set to close on our Piedmont flip in about a week and are also in the process of purchasing two more houses within the next two weeks. My poor husband is about to be a very, very busy man. I'm about 1/2-way through my real estate course so as soon as I finish that I will hopefully have two houses to list! And, you know, have a baby somewhere in there. No big whoop.

I'm a failure.

Argh! Could this be the most eventful pregnancy ever, please?! 

Last Friday was our monthly check-up to the OB and my glucose test for gestational diabetes. The doctor's visit went great. We made our next appointment for the specialist who will do our monthly ultrasounds to keep an eye on the two-cord situation. I've gained 16lbs and everything is nice and normal. BUT, I failed the dumb glucose test. Grrrrr... This blows. 

What does this mean? It means I have to return to the lab for a lovely 3-hour test. A 3-hour test. I'll have to fast for 12 hours before the test and then go and drink one of the weird juices they give you, then I'll have blood drawn and urine samples every 1/2 hour for the 3 hours. In between, I'll be hanging out in the waiting room, drinking water, and trying to finish this week's book club selection. That, and counting down until I can eat again.

Blaaaaaaah!

Pending.

58 days later and we are under contract on our investment property! The house is being sold to a teacher moving to the district and she and her husband are so, so excited about it. This makes me happy. It's a happy day that ends a not-so-happy week. See what I mean? You can never predict tomorrow.

(By the way, our little fighter Beau is also improving by the day and they are hoping to move him to a rehabilitation facility soon. Still praying constantly for his total healing and rejoicing in his progress!)

Wow. It is so crazy how fast life can change. Try to predict it and something will swoop right in just to let you know you're not in control of a darn thing.

Saturday was an awesome day. Wait--revise. Saturday started as an awesome day. We had long-standing plans to head up to Tulsa for the birthday party of one of my best friend's daughter. We were so excited. Birthday parties like this are especially fun because I get to see my long lost college friends and hanging out with them is one of my favorite things in the world--and it doesn't happen often enough.

The party was so much fun (minus the tire blowout we had on the turnpike on our way up. Kevin had to spend most of the party getting our tire repaired for the way home. And we thought this was the big crisis/event of the day.)

After the party, we were at Crystal's house hanging out with the kids and husbands and Robin and we all decided to order Chinese. I hopped in the car with Crystal and Robin and off we went to retrieve the order. But, before we made it inside the restaurant, Crystal's phone rang. And here is where life changed.

Robin and I were eavesdropping on a conversation that was quickly freaking us out.

"...Christy?...I don't know where she was...wait, what happened?....Beau?...kicked...what?...what?...oh my God...oh my God."

Robin and I were freaking out trying to figure out what happened. Crystal immediately called Christy (another one of our friends who hadn't made it to the party that day.) And it was then we learned the horrifying news:

Beau (Christy's son who is almost exactly one month younger than Riley) was at Christy's parents house and was kicked in the head by a horse. He had been life-flighted to Saint Francis hospital in Tulsa where he had undergone brain surgery. He was in critical condition. He might not live.

We all fell silent. Then we all grabbed hands and started to cry and pray. It felt unreal. We rushed back to Crystal's house to tell our husbands the news, then we got right back in the car and sped to the hospital.

Christy's mom took us back to Beau's room in PICU. And seeing that little man on the bed was one of the worst experiences of my life. We sat together. Talked. Cried. Tried to change the subject. We heard the story and the details and shuddered. Christy told us the first 72 hours were the most critical and that if he survived those days, there was hope.

This was Saturday. Today, is Thursday. I've never seen so many people rally around one little boy. The prayer response is the most overwhelming thing I've ever witnessed. It's intense and uplifting and every other word I could think of. And the best part is that it's working.

Beau is making amazing strides. They were hoping to get him off the respirator by the end of the week and he was off on Tuesday night. He's being weaned off his pain meds and is completely off his paralyzing meds. He is talking, trying to move, and improving every minute. And today, he was taken out of ICU and moved to a regular room. The doctors are surprised and Beau is surpassing expectations.

But he has such a long, long way to go. 30% of his brain is showing no signs of activity and the extent of his damage is still undetermined. The left side of his body has been pretty unresponsive. Brain swelling is still a real possibility and could result in paralysis or worse. There are so many scary unknowns and I can't imagine being in the place of my friend and handling with the grace that she is showing. She is my hero.

I tell you all of this because it's been all-consuming for me lately. I think and pray for this little boy constantly. I'm on my knees for him any chance I get. Because it makes me feel better; because there's nothing else I can do; and most of all, because it's working. And I tell you about Beau because I hope you'll join the hundreds of people praying for his recovery. I have faith that his recovery will be complete and total. That the titanium plates holding his tiny little skull together will be a tough-guy story to tell his friends. That life will not be permanently altered for my sweet friend and her precious family.

Please pray for Beau--for his complete and total healing. For Christy and her husband Zach--for strength, for energy, for rest, for faith. For her parents who feel so guilty over what was nothing more than a tragic accident. And for the doctors who are the human hands doing God's amazing work. A website has been set up with daily updates and pictures our our little fighter. If you'd like to follow Beau's recovery or leave a message for the family, please visit: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/beaukyledavis

I can't wait until I'm back here telling you the entire family is back home where they belong.

Do I know how to leave you hanging or what?

Last week we had our much-anticipated visit at the perinatal center. I have to say those were some of the coolest ultrasounds ever. Extremely high-resolution and awesome to see the baby so clearly (and we got some 3D peeks which I'll share!)

The news is that we do have the two-vessel cord that they thought we did. I guess the official name is Single Umbilical Artery. Basically, umbilical cords are supposed to have three vessels, one feeding the baby and two taking away waste. We only have one of each. The complications from this can be zero or bad. Usually though, they end up being slight. According to both of our doctors, the most common complication can be low birth weight. Another common complication are urinary tract problems that have to be corrected after birth.

But, like I said, most times the problems don't exist. Our ultrasound looked good. The baby is still measuring a week ahead and everything appears great. The only problem they saw is some possible fluid in the kidneys. But, it is too early to tell if it's actually problematic or just normal waste showing up in the ultrasound. So again, lots of monitoring.

Again, the doctor sounded positive. Although the two-cord and kidney issue could indicate something serious as Downs, he didn't think it was an issue for us (we've had other testing done in this pregnancy that has come back negative on any abnormalities). He didn't think the markers were strong enough to recommend an amniocentesis, so we took that as another positive.

Basically, it's too early to tell much. We'll have regular ultrasounds and monitoring from here on out and that means lots of looks at our little guy, which is great! From this end, pregnancy has finally smoothed out and is mostly a non-event. The baby moves much and often which given our "special circumstance" is super-duper reassuring.

(Did I mention this particular condition affects only 1% of pregnancies...aren't we lucky?!)

So....that's that! I hesitated even talking about this on the blog, but since this blog has been the major journal of our life activities, I knew I'd want to remember what we were going through with this now. Plus, I truly think everything will be just fine. Just one more thing for an already stress-prone person to deal with. I'm dealing. Thank God for Kevin. There's a reason I'm married to the calmest person on the planet.


Oh yes, and we have a name...but aren't sharing just yet! :-x

Boy, oh boy!

Thought I would come back and officially reveal the gender verdict (although I'm sure most of you have already been informed in one of our many ways of communication)...

As though the title didn't give it away--it's a boy. Yep, another one! Pretty much everyone we know was assuming baby dos would be a girl. This wasn't a feeling I ever shared. The first time around I assumed girl and was wrong. This time, I had literally no gut instinct about it. I'm good with two little boys--great, actually. I loooove little boys. Hell, I love big boys. I love the idea of Riley having a brother to share life with and for them to play together and cause all kinds of ridiculous trouble. Plus, I love the idea of continuing to be the only woman in the house! I can't help it. ;-)

Does this mean we'll try to get Kevin his much-coveted daughter with a third baby? We'll see how two feels first!

Here are the obligatory ultrasound shots. Remember Riley's? You can see them here. And here are the shots of baby boy #2. (Who, by the way, is still measuring a week ahead!)

On a kind of scary note, we have to go in for a high-level ultrasound at a specialty perinatal center in about a week-and-a-half. There was a possible complication that showed up on the ultrasound and going in to take a closer look will give our doctor much better insight about what may or may not be going on. I know, I'm being vague. I'm trying my best to not give this possible complication much energy, all the while thinking about it mostly constantly. I have faith that all will be fine, but I'm also counting down the days until that appointment. Why is it the appointments you want to go to the most are the always the furthest away? Damn specialists.

Let's see...in non-baby news.

We're still trucking along on selling the flip. We've had a decent amount of showings and some talk of possible offers coming in. I think it will sell sooner than later. Also, trying to buy another house with seriously little luck. We've had to compete on the last three houses we've tried to buy. Multiple offers on every one! Hard to steal a house that way for sure. But, we'll find another project soon. And I'm soon to begin on that real estate license so we can save some major commission on future buying/selling. Our long-time Realtor just jumped ship to Colorado so the timing is perfect. Kevin is busy signing up for summer construction classes and Riley is finishing up his last couple weeks at school before summer is officially here. Woo-hoo...I think it will be a good one!

Have I mentioned...

that I'm with child? It's true. Baby #2 is on the way!

Most of you probably already know this fun development, but I felt the need to officially put it out there in the blog-o-sphere. We just went yesterday for our 17 week appointment. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going so far. At this rate, we'll be a two-child household in no time. Scary. Exciting. Scary.

Some of you might remember the life-changing all-day-long-and-most-of-the-night-sickness that I had with baby #1, aka Riley. Well, this time the sick came earlier, around week 7. And left much, much earlier too, around week 10. Thank you, thank you. It was intense while it lasted, but I can't tell you how happy I was --am-- was that it was easier than pregnancy #1. Oh. My. I guess every pregnancy really is different?

Other that that, smooth sailing. We've had some cool diagnostic ultrasounds to test for Downs, etc. and all have come back negative. Blessed, indeed. We are measuring a sweet-sounding week ahead and our official due date is September 22. Two weeks from yesterday, we will know whether our wiggle bean is a boy or a girl.

Stay tuned... 

Finally flipped

Has it really been over a month since I've stopped in? Insane. And what a month it has been! Well, needless to say the house is FINALLY on the market. And I really shouldn't say it like that. It only took 68 days to finish from the day we signed the closing papers until the house was officially listed on the MLS. I could not be prouder of my amazingly, awesomely talented husband. He kicked some major renovating butt on this one. And we even threw in a ski trip during that time. Minus that, we would not have been quite as far off our original goal of 60 days.

Now, we just need someone to buy this place so we can move on to our next project. We've already starting submitting some offers on other properties. As a matter of fact, we found a great house a few days ago and we're currently one of EIGHT offers. So, that's obviously a long-shot. I'll keep you posted!

Here are some official "after" pics of flip #2. And lest you forget what this little house once looked like, check out the scary before pictures HERE and HERE.