More Pictures!

Here's a link to an assortment of pictures from 5/21 to 6/26....

Katelin is 2 months old today!

More Pictures of Katelin

What a Weekend!

This has been a busy weekend for us. On Friday, we flew up to Chicago. Katelin made it through her first flight without a fuss. She slept most of the way. Taking off and landing didn't bother her a bit. Good thing since we fly several times a year! We flew using miles and because of the types of mileage awards available, it actually cost us less miles to fly first class so we spoiled Katelin. I hope she doesn't get used to it! We're back to coach for our next trip.



Friday night my cousin got married so we went to his wedding. Katelin got all dressed up in her pretty pink and frilly dress from Grandma Zimmerman.

We got to show Katelin off to all my family on my dad's side. She was very good. Didn't make a sound during the ceremony and only cried a little bit at the reception. When she did cry, the music was going so only a couple people right around her could hear it. The DJ had colored lights moving around on the ceiling and Katelin was mesmerized by them. I think we may need to try picking up a cheap colored light party ball thing from Wal-mart and see if that helps her fall asleep in the crib.

Since everyone on my dad's side got to see Katelin on Friday night, we had a little get-together with the people on my mom's side and a few of my friends Saturday night. It wound up being a meet Katelin/30th B-day party for me. Of course, Katelin was a big hit again. She got to meet Lucy, the 5 month old daughter of two of my friends from high school. Katelin looks so little next to Lucy!


Katelin is smiling a lot now (and not just when she has gas anymore). She's getting more and more responsive. She can roll over from her back onto her side so it is just a matter of time before she can roll over onto her stomach. That should be her next milestone. We go back to the pediatrician on July 1st so we'll have a height/weight update then. If I were guessing, I'd say she's around 10 pounds now and maybe 23 inches long. Of course, that is a complete guess.

I've added some new links on the left side of the page. Katelin has a You Tube site that we've posted a couple videos on. I've also added links to her newborn pictures/slide show. At 2-1/2 weeks, we had a photographer come out to the house and took some great pictures. He put together a wonderful slide show that will bring tears to your eyes. If anyone is expecting in the DFW area, see if he'll come to your area. He only does newborn pictures up to 3 weeks old though so you need to get on the schedule. He doesn't do any other ages either. He's amazing and his price was really good.

Sunday we celebrated a belated Father's Day for my dad and Chris since we were all in town before Jen and Scott headed home. We just went to Northwoods so Chris could have some Walleye before he headed home. Evidently, you can't get Walleye in Texas. Who knew! Chris also requested some pizza so Sunday night, we enjoyed some tasty stuffed pizza (YUM!). My last trip up to Chicago was so short, I didn't get to have any good pizza. I miss it.

Well, I hope everyone is doing well. It was great seeing everyone this weekend and we're looking forward to showing Katelin off even more :) I'll post a slide show with more Katelin pictures this week.

The Big 3-0!

Okay, I said I was going to update this blog today so here it is! Today was my birthday and I turned 30. No big deal to me though. I feel like I accomplished a lot before I hit 30. Found a good job, bought a house, traveled to various countries around the world, got married, had a child... what else could I ask for???

I know you are all wanting to see new pictures of Katelin but it'll have to wait another day. We're leaving for the airport in 5 hours (6am flight!) and I've already shut down my computer. Chris' doesn't have any pictures on it. Katelin will be taking her first flight tomorrow! How exciting. Hopefully she'll sleep or be quite. We're going up to Chicago so it is only a 2 hour flight.

I'll try to update more tomorrow!
Trish

It's A Girl!

Introducing Katelin Alyssa Hicks!



Born April 27th, 8:02am
7 lbs, 3oz
20 inches


Katelin is starting out on the right foot with great timing! On Thursday, Chris and I completed our childbirth classes and then Friday night my parents got into town. Early Saturday evening, I started having irregular contractions and couldn't tell if it was the real deal or more Braxton Hicks. By the time I was ready for bed (around 11pm), they were getting more consistent and I started keeping track of how far apart they were. Chris came to bed around midnight and they still seemed pretty far apart, but getting stronger. Around 1 or 1:30, I woke him up and made him start timing them and by 2:30am, we were on our way to the hospital. At this point, I still hadn't slept any since Friday night. We got checked into the hospital and I was already at 7cm. As the contractions got stronger and closer, I had to make a decision if I wanted an epidural or not. I didn't know how much longer I'd be in labor or how much more the contractions would hurt. Around 4:30, I gave in and got the epidural. Once it kicked in, I don't know why I didn't ask for it sooner! For a while, I couldn't even tell when I was having a contraction. I took the opportunity to get a little rest. Chris was able to fall asleep but I don't think I ever did. The little bit of rest, even if I wasn't asleep, was nice (considering I had been up for about 22 hours at this point). I lost track of time but the next thing I know, they were having me push and Katelin was born at 8:02am. I have no clue how long I pushed but I'd guess it was only around 30-45 minutes. Seemed like a long time to me and I was wiped out (hence the really great second picture in the link below!). Since then, everything has been going great. I was in the hospital until Monday, late afternoon. My room had a chair that made into a bed so Chris was able to stay at the hospital with me as much as he wanted. Since the hospital is about 10 minutes away, he was able to come home and get cleaned up but Sunday night he was there with us.

As far as who she looks like, I can't really tell yet. She has a full head of dark hair and long legs like her mommy. Her face is pretty round like her daddy and it looks like she'll have his blue eyes.

Well, my brain is starting to go now so I guess that is about it!
I'll try to post another update in a few days with more pictures.

Pictures of our little sweetheart!

Nursery is Done... for now

We did some more work in the nursery this weekend. We finally cleaned out the 3rd bedroom upstairs (for the most part anyways!) and moved the guest room furniture out of the nursery and into that room. We now have 2 guest rooms and the nursery upstairs. :) The "new" guest room is a little smaller than the other one so it seems a little cramped but it works.
We have a lot of open space in the nursery now which will come in handy when the baby starts playing around on the floor and we accumulate a ton of toys! If we ever need all 3 rooms upstairs for guests, there is room to throw an air mattress on the floor.
We ended up getting a new white dresser from IKEA on Sunday. I love IKEA. We actually made it up there for breakfast which was pretty tasty (and super cheap!). We spent less than $8 total and we were stuffed. I don't know why, but it still amazes me how much time we can spend in IKEA when I have a list of what to get. We didn't stray from the list too much and we were still there from about 9:45-11:45 (including breakfast).
With the nursery "done" (for now at least), I was able to put away more baby stuff. The dresser drawers are loaded with blankets, hooded towels, wash rags, booties, mittens, caps, burp clothes, and bibs! The diapers & wipes that have been living in the game room for the past few weeks have finally been stacked & stored. The stroller and high chair have been assembled.
We still need to install the car seat bases and I need to pack up my bag for the hospital.
I had my weekly check-up today. I've hit 33.5 pounds gained. After I passed 25 pounds, my new goal was to stay under 35. I think I'll make that. I'm making progress (3cm.. not that everyone cared to know that!). Still no indication of when Baby Hicks will make his/her appearance. My doctor said I could go into labor tonight (scary thought!) or it could be another few weeks. We're just in a holding pattern now.
Chris just got home from bowling so I'm going to go spend some time with him before I crash into bed for the night.
Enjoy the new pictures of the nursery...

We have the best family & friends!

Since my last post, I've had two more showers. Two of my co-workers threw me a shower at work on the 26th and then two friends threw me a shower for some friends and family down here. We got tons of great stuff! When Chris and I sorted through all the shower gifts we got from our Chicago shower and these two additional showers, we were amazed! We have the most generous family and friends. We added up all the gift cards we've gotten and I was amazed! A great big THANK YOU to everyone! And we're still getting gifts in the mail from people who couldn't make it to the showers!

I've started seeing the doctor every week now on Mondays. Everything is still going well. I'm probably still gaining too much weight but my doctor stopped questioning it and I've stopped caring (for the most part). I'm not going to pig out and go crazy these last few weeks but I'm not going to stress if those darn numbers on the scale keep going up.

Everyone keeps saying that I'm still tiny (okay... I've never been tiny in my life!). I'm starting to feel huge but considering I have less than 4 weeks until my due date, I guess I'm doing okay. My back still hurts all the time. Maybe if I had stuck to the 25 pound gain that my doctor recommended, my back wouldn't hurt so much. Maybe I'll try that next time!

Thanks again to all those who have helped spoil this baby before he/she even arrives! Also, thanks again to my mom, Jen, Robyn, Sabina, Suzanna, and Alison for 3 great showers!

Enjoy the new belly pictures! Chris took these at the end of the day.. it was late, I was tired, and my hair was all over the place so sorry.. no glamor shots this time!

Trish

36 weeks, 2 days

Yikes!

So Behind!

I can't believe it has been almost 2 months since I posted last! I've been pretty busy lately.

In February, I took two trips.
The first was to Chicago for my baby shower up there (and also to celebrate my sister's birthday). The shower was great. My mom and sister hosted it for me. It was mostly family with a couple of friends thrown in the mix. I got tons of great stuff and somehow managed to get most of it back to Dallas on the plane! There are still a few things at my parent's house but I was able to pack a lot more than I thought I would. Of course, getting out to the shuttle with a rolling suitcase, a huge rolling duffle, my backpack (stuffed to the max) and tote bag was a little interesting, but I made it. Luckily, I didn't have to go very far.

The second trip was to Albuquerque, New Mexico for our yearly national bowling tournament. It started out as a group of about 7 of us that bowled in college with a few others mixed in. This year, we had 20 people from all over the county bowling in our group. It is a great way to see each other at least once a year. About a week before we left, I started having horrible, stabing pains in my back. They are normal according to my Dr (I was expecting soreness, not pain like this!). My back hurt on and off the entire weekend and I didn't bowl very well. I think I only got/beat my average 1 game out of 9 (of course, it was a 245!).

This month brought 2 snow storms, another bowling tournament, more (or continued) back pain, and a new niece!
Okay, a Texas snow storm is a little different than what I'm used to, but it was still impressive for down here. We usually don't get too much snow here, more freezing rain and ice. On the 4th we had about 2 inches of accumulation but by the next afternoon, it was all melted. Then, on the 6th we ended up getting about 6 inches! This caused MAJOR havoc. Driving home from work, it took me about 40 minutes to get within 10 minutes of the house (normally the entire trip takes about 30 minutes so it wasn't bad at all). Then, it took me another hour and a half or so to get the rest of the way home. All the roads I tried to take to get home were closed due to cars stuck in the middle of the road or accidents! Chris spent about 2 and a half hours trying to get home and that was once he got to Denton! The roads were better by the next afternoon (patches of ice did stick around until Sunday though). That weekend, I bowled in the Denton County Women's Tournament and did fairly well. I ended up averaging about 195 for the 9 games and it looks like I'll get a little prize money for singles.
On March 14th, my sister-in-law gave birth to a healthy baby girl. She weighed 9lbs, 5oz! I'd feel sorry for my sister-in-law but since she was only in labor for about an hour and a half, it couldn't have been too bad! Not sure that the proud parents want her information out in cyberspace so I'm keeping the name and pictures to myself. We were really hoping to make it down to New Orleans to see them but it doens't look like it will happen. This is the last weekend that I can fly and with Easter/Spring Break, the flights are all really full. If we flew standby, we could probably get out there, but we may not make it back before Tuesday. Buying tickets this late isn't an option either (prices are way too high!).
As far as this back pain goes, it has to be the most annoying part of this pregnancy. I've had it fairly easy until this started. I did have a lot of nausea in the begining, but I could handle that. This pain (without good pain meds) is really getting to me. If I sit for more than 20-30 minutes, I have a stabbing pain mid-back on my left side. Walking around or laying on my side for a little bit makes it go away, but while I'm at work or in the car, it is hard to move around that often. Well, hopefully only about 6 more weeks of it!

We "finished" the nursery a couple weekends ago. We finally got all the wainscotting, trim, and baseboards up, caulked, and painted. We put the crib & changing table together. We still have the other furniture (full size bed, dresser, & chest of drawers) in there but we're hoping to clear out the 3rd upstairs bedroom (currently our junk room) and move the non-baby furniture into that room. That way we'll have 2 dedicated guest rooms and the nursery. The glider still hasn't made it into the nursery yet (still stitting in the game room) and I haven't washed the crib sheets to make up the bed. All the gifts we've received so far are still sitting in either the other guest room or the game room so those all need to find a home. I have 2 more showers in the next 2 weeks so there will be even more stuff to put away. (Not that I'm complaining!). I am also going to attempt to make a roman shade for the nursery. We'll see how that goes.

Enjoy the pictures!