Doctor Visits!

Courtney and I both saw doctors the week of Christmas. Courtney had her 6 week shots and she took it like a champ - only crying for a minute. I can't say the same for Courtney's mom, who had to go to the ER on Christmas night after some scary bleeding. I was blubbering like an idiot. Yikes! But they released me without having to do a transfusion - whew. Too much excitement! I'm just glad Mama Lyn was in town so we could go to the ER and not take Courtney. :-)

Santa Claus Visited Courtney

Here's Todd showing Courtney what Santa brought her - a Baby Einstein activity center! In the background is her stocking and a book that our cat Cokie wrote just for Courtney.

Baby's First Christmas

I don't have a lot of pictures of Christmas because several things happened that day, but here are a couple! Courtney and Pop Pop Mike, plus Courtney in her new Bumbo which she is not yet totally ready for.

Courtney holding up her head

Sorry I didn't post this sooner, but on Dec. 13 Courtney started holding up her head for a few seconds at a time, so I snapped this pic.

Uncle Dan

Before Christmas Courtney got a visit from Uncle Dan, and she was very content being held by him! Dan is the person who introduced Courtney's mom and dad 13 years ago and is such a good friend to us still today.

Annual Girls Christmas Party

For the umpteenth year in a row, Laura hosted the girls Christmas party last night at her home. All the husbands kept the kids and we girls were able to drink Carousel Cocktails (1/2 Bacardi Razz and 1/2 cranberry juice cocktail) and wine. Laura provided a great meal of pork tenderloin, cheese grits and more.

Courtney Meets Helen

Today Courtney and I went to Beverly and Dave's house so we could meet their daughter Helen, born Nov. 15. Although Helen was awake, Courtney slept through the entire encounter.

Courtney Photos Dec 1

Here are a few photos I took this week of Courtney. I am not sleeping very much and struggling to stay lucid during the days. I am also trying to nap. Courtney is very sweet and does not seem to cry if she doesn't have a good reason :0), so I am thankful for that.

Courtney may look like me

When I got home from the hospital I dug out this photo of my parents the day they brought me home from the hospital - and I think Courtney looks a bit like me. :-)

I am back

Whew. Todd capably took over blogging duties for a while. Now I'm at home, running on no sleep, enjoying hanging out with baby Courtney. Here's some more photos and explanations.

Here's a family photo taken sometime during my hospital stay - maybe Friday. I was so out of it my days have run together.

I like this photo of Todd and Courtney taken at the hospital.......

mom and baby

At the end of the day Kristen and baby were completely exhausted!

mom, baby and gmom

mom and baby

mom and gmom

Todd & Mike

Proud dad and granddad in da house post-op.

7 lb 7 oz dark-haired blue-eyed angel

Baby News

I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday and my doc has said if I don't have the baby by Wednesday then she will schedule an induction for Friday, Nov. 9. So we have a definite due date or target due date. Last Friday when I saw her, the doc said to exercise as much as possible to try to make Curtain Climber arrive on her own. So I have been walking the dog profusely, vacuuming and doing other household tasks, etc. I have also eaten all the spicy food that I can. I am trying to hit all the bases.


So everything is ready. A bag is packed for all three of us. The car seat is in the car. My ipod is charged and loaded with lots of favorite music and podcasts. Other baby things have been washed and/or put together. Most of the tasks I needed to do at my work are done. My assistant is trained on how to triage my phone calls, incoming mail and email. Guest bedrooms are prepared at our home. If anyone out there can think of something I haven't done, please keep it to yourself because I am sleeping easy!
:-)

Toasty Warm Over Here

In an apparent fit of insanity and maybe denial that the baby is coming soon, Todd decided to blow an enormous amount of cellulose insulation into our attic today. The first photo shows our garage with the contractor Antolin helping by loading the insulation into the machine (the hose sucks it up into the attic). The second photo shows our poor pitiful Cokie, who in her curiosity to see what was in the attic, got covered in cellulose.

Todd's Family Baby Shower

Todd's cousins were sweet enough to throw us a family shower this past Sunday with a cake (made by Lacey) that was almost too beautiful to eat. Pictured are Leah on the left and Angel on the right of me - who were both the hostesses. Curtain Climber got some great pink loot!

Rufus's Halloween Costume

I am a few days late, but I had to add this photo of Rufus's Halloween costume - a Frankenstein hat. Our neighborhood is lucky enough to have some folks who organize something special for the kids each year. There is a yard with a jumping apparatus for the kids, and then everyone loads up on a hay-baled trailer and goes trick or treating around the neighborhood. Our neighborhood has only about 100 houses so the kids have plenty to do. I was surprised when about 20 kids came and knocked on the door at the same time...it was the Trick or Treat "limo," or so they called it. This is the first year we have been home and able to answer the door for trick or treaters (in the 3 Halloweens we have lived here). Next year with a kid we will be taking a greater part in it. :-)

Gone Baby Gone

Friday night Todd and I went to the movies and saw the new Casey Affleck/Morgan Freeman movie, Gone Baby Gone. It's a crime drama/mystery that takes place in Boston, and we both really liked the movie. It got excellent reviews from Ebert and Roeper (and others), but the box office take has been small so far. I think it's even been lagging behind Good Luck Chuck which got horrible reviews.

Ticker for Baby

'Cravings'

I am now addicted to the Java Werks decaf mocha frappe, which costs the ridiculous price of $2.50. I find myself driving out of the way to go by this coffee joint on my way home from work. This graphic was my attempt to copy the Java Werks logo, but it appears to be incomplete.

Other things I am interested in eating now are jalapeno peppers and other spicy peppers.

What We're Watching This Fall

Here are the TV shows that we digitally record and watch on a pretty regular basis:
The Office
30 Rock
My Name is Earl
Dancing With the Stars
Shark
Cold Case
CBS Sunday Morning
The Real World (Sydney)
How I Met Your Mother
Football Night in America
Globe Trekker
Oprah

New Shows This Year We've Been Watching:
Moonlight
Women's Murder Club
Pushing Daisies

Susan & Donna's Halloween Party

Tonight was Susan and Donna's annual Halloween Party - girls only. Costumes are required. We all had a great time and the costumes were hysterical. With my limited costume options due to limited clothing that actually fits, I went as a (pregnant) hippie. The button I wore read, "Ask me about my Woodstock 'souvenir.'" The best costume was Jane (on the left in the 2nd photo), who came as Britney Spears with a wig and two plastic dolls slung around her neck. We all enjoyed the banana split - three girls who came as chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. The last photo is of me with Susan, who is also pregnant and went as Sister Susan.

37 Weeks

With only three weeks to go before Curtain Climber arrives, we're doing a lot of last-minute tasks. We've organized her closet, put together an infant swing and more. This must be the nesting thing, but this weekend, I spent several hours organizing our home office so it will be habitable for guests, cleaning the house, paying bills, and wrapping Christmas presents. Yes, you read that right. :-) I'm also including a belly shot here for posterity.

Fontanelle Neighborhood

Sunday we went to the Home Builders Assn of Jackson's Tour of Homes in Fontanelle subdivision in Madison. This subdivision is part of a new-urbanism type development in Madison and there were 6 custom-built homes open for viewing. All had been professionally decorated and furnished. Some really cool home features we saw included a brick screened porch, backyard fireplaces, showers with 9 showerheads coming from above and sides, and an awesome television inside a bathroom mirror.

What We're Reading

I am just finishing Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, and Todd is halfway through Baby Wise. Then we'll switch books. The countdown to Curtain Climber's arrival is 5 weeks. But who knows, she may come early.

Mississippi State Fair

I met Dave, Beverly and Stacey at the Mississippi State Fair on Sunday. We ate and saw the kind of things you only see at the fair each year. For example, the top photo is a cute little trolley-shaped food stand called the Whistle Stop Cafe, but the most notable thing is at the bottom right of the sign - check it out. It says they serve 'monte crisco' sandwiches - that's right, not monte crisTo sandwiches, but obviously the kind made with shiny lard. The second photo is of a deep-fried Snickers bar, which surprisingly only cost $3 - just about the cheapest thing they sell around there. Since I am pregnant and ate what I wanted to eat, I will unapologetically list it here: (1) free biscuit with syrup from Miss. Ag. Department booth [a bit dry] (2) $5 for 2 crawfish pistolets from a cajun booth [yummy], (3) $5 for a 1 pound cinnamon roll [good enough to save half and eat Monday morning for breakfast], and (4) a $4 'daiquiri' flavored non alcoholic slushie [pretty adequate substitute for alcohol]. Photo #3 is Stacey, me and Beverly posing in front of one of the horrid rides. None of us rode any of the rides but they were fun to watch.

Laura & Chris's Wedding

Today was the wedding of our friends Laura and Chris, and it was just beautiful. We had a great time. I did not take any photos at the church, but took all of these at the reception. At the top are Laura and Chris cutting their gorgeous cake, which was white with green and purple decorations and flowers.

The next photo is of me, Beverly, Jennifer, Laura, Stacey, Vanessa, Julie and Susan.

The third photo is Todd and Stacey.

The final photo is me with Laura looking great in her gorgeous dress - candlelight with subtle green and purple beading.

Southern Miss/Rice Football Game

Wednesday night we drove to Hattiesburg for the Southern Miss football game at The Rock, which we could have watched from home on ESPN2. This was the second home game of the year, and we watched the first one in the pouring rain - that's why I never posted photos from that (Sept. 1) game - it was raining too hard to take my camera to the game. Anyway, Southern Miss played Rice and we made it to the game in time to see the third play of the game, in which Martaveous Young, the starting QB, was injured. That would set the tone for the game. The backup QB, who was injured himself, ran the show and pretty soon Southern Miss was down by 3 touchdowns. Todd and I left at about 9:15 pm to drive back to Jackson, and at that time Southern was playing as bad as the Saints on offense. However, they made a 4th quarter comeback, which we listened to on the radio, and came within a 2 point conversion of tying up the game. Anyway, the top photo is from our seats at The Rock - section C row 36. The second photo is Todd and my mother, who came to the game with us. The third photo are our friends Julie and Jimmy, with whom we have our tickets. Next game in 10 days is Homecoming. Hopefully the team can get it together before then and maybe get our starting QB, Jeremy Young, back.

Wednesday, my co-workers were sweet enough to take me to lunch and give me and the Curtain Climber some great gifts. This first photo is of the divine petit fours with baby bottles and safety pins on them. The second photo is all of us in front of the new P.F. Chang's restaurant in Ridgeland. Mac took the photo, and pictured are Sherry, Nikki, Joy, Amy and me. I am in the foreground of the photo and I will blame that for the fact that I appear absolutely huge in this photo!