The best laid plans...

.....rarely turn out like you thought they would. Back when I was first checking out strollers I decided against a travel system that includes the carseat and stroller because my "plan" was I was not going to cart Karalee around in her carseat other then when she was actually in the car......yeah that didn't work out. You would think since I had many mom's give me their wisdom that you'll carry that carseat more places then you thought because your child is sleeping would have influenced me more. Nope I just KNEW I wasn't going to need a stroller that the carseat would fit into. I just KNEW I was going to take her out of the carseat wherever we were and carry her. Well that obviously flew out the window about the first week! Lol My hard lesson learned advice to you all, just get a stroller that will hold your carseat to begin with at least for travel because it will make life easier. Other mom's really do know what they're talking about. So today we all went down to Target to get a stroller that's compatible with the carseat we have. Now it's two fold on why we got this stroller, 1. For the carseat and 2. it's lighter and folds up better for traveling on airlines. I'll still be using my "Urban Warfare" stroller as my Aunt calls it, we just have an additional option now which is going to help a lot. :-)

In-laws arrived yesterday and they're smitten with their granddaughter as we knew they would be, how can you resist her? :-)

Here's some pics for you all to enjoy!

The new stroller and my fancy one, love em' both!


Lion around (couldn't resist!)


Our friend Lyndsy holding Karalee, her husband Matt chickend out on holding her and picked on us for putting ideas in Lyndsy's mind!


Mommy passed out w/Karalee after the bbq at Lyndsy & Matt's house


Grandma Karen & Karalee


Granpa Norman & Karalee

Hearts a twitter

Well I see I've been slacking as it's been almost two weeks since my last update! Oops! Having a munchkin will wreck havoc on plans! Lol Karalee is doing wonderful and getting bigger every day! She had her last appt for her heart and all is okay there, they'll listen to it again at 2 months just to make sure it's still all okay but our pedi has no concerns that it won't be. She gained 12 ounces since her last appointment and now weighs 8 pounds 2 ounces! I can't believe how fast she's growing and I know it's only going to get worse the older she gets! Lol :-) She's so alert and loves to look around at everything, especially bright colors! We think she's going to do everything early but then we realize all parents think that! Lol She's just so curious about everything and she's got a lot of strength in her neck already, can't control the forward motion yet but she's doing really well at the back motion!

Here's a couple pictures of Karalee, we've been bad and haven't take as many this last week!
Story Time


That was a good story, time to sleep zzzzzzz.........


Dana's parents are arriving today so Karalee will meet one set of Grandparents for the first time! I know they're excited to see her. :-) We're taking them to Bennigan's tonight to celebrate Karen's birthday which was yesterday, should be a nice time.

In other news Dana is helping a friends mom pack up her house and move things so he's working hard today! Poor guy was all out of breathe when I called him earlier to see how he was doing! Lol I've started working out a little bit, I'm taking it slow so my doctors don't yell at me but it was just to the point I feel good and I wanted to start wearing regular clothes again! I've found my waist which is exciting now I just need to find the rest of me! LOL I'm kidding, I'm actually feeling pretty good since I'm losing weight at a decent rate.

Well I hear my little love fussing so it's time to end this post and have some lunch! Have a safe Memorial Day weekend everyone!

Being a Mom

Puked on, peed on, pooped on. I've had all three in Karalee's short 2 weeks of life and I knew I was a Mom for sure when it hardly phased me on my grossed out meter. :-) I think if you asked anyone if they'd sign up for a " job" with those qualifications you'd get no takers, become a mom and it's just par for course and you don't think twice about it. :-) I call it the three P's of motherhood! Lol I've also been surprised by how much laundry increases! My goodness even when she's just in her diaper because of the three P's I'm usually washing her blankets if nothing else! Lol

Had a night of up every hour or so with a very fussy little girl, she wouldn't nap at all the next day unless I was holding her so it made for a rather un-productive day for mommy! Last night went better, she was on an every two to three hours schedule again and that's much easier on me! She's had one morning nap and is still contemplating the second while she's sitting in her rocker.

Doctor's appointment went fine, didn't hear any irregularity for about the first minute and then only heard two little tiny ones so they want us to come back in next week to make sure it's gone. If not then we'll have to take her for an EKG again but all the "experts" are certain by next week it will be fully gone. We really like the pedi we've been seeing, he's a really nice guy and does really well with her so I'm pleased about that. He always takes the time to ask us if we have any questions and he lets us know what to expect in the coming months which I really like. Karalee has also gained 19 ounces!! Puts her current weight at 7 pounds 6 ounces, she was 6 pounds 9 ounces when born! She also grew a 1/4 of an inch putting her at 20 1/2 inches long now. Woo hoo! We knew she'd been gaining because her newborn clothes were starting to fit better! Lol

My first Mother's Day was pretty uneventful, I cooked breakfast and Dana gave me the card he and Karalee had picked out :-) They put a picture of Karalee in there and a sweet message from them both so that was really nice. Then we went out to Bennigans for dinner with our friends. Got a couple nice pictures of Karalee and I together, I'm usually the photographer so we don't have as many of us! Lol

OH my gosh I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you the most exciting thing is her umblical cord finally fell off!! The pedi noticed that because of how well it sat in her belly button it wasn't drying out so he put silver nitrate on it and by that evening it was off! Okay so I'm dorky getting excited about that but hey it's a big deal in my world! :-)

We're going to go to JC Penney's for Karalee's one month pictures soon as we pick a good date, sometime around the first week of June probably. Picking an outfit will be tough! 'Course picking pictures will be even tougher because my daughter takes very few "bad" pictures and those are just the blurry ones from her parents not aiming right! Lol All her pictures are so doggone adorable!

Speaking of pictures here are some of Karalee:

This was a gift from our friend Sandy :-)


I'm the Champ!! Dana and I always laugh when she does this pose or both arms in the air, it's like she's cheering for herself!


Mom you're too close!! I took this when she was in my lap, it's hard to get enough distance that way! Especially since I was using my left hand and I'm right handed! Lol


Daddy kissing Karalee - This was too sweet not to post!


Where're we going now??


Lunch with Daddy at Old Chicago


Sweet sleeping picture


Daddy and Karalee on Mother's Day at our friends house


What up world?? Love this picture, she looks so curious about everything!


Mommy and Karalee on Mother's Day at our friends house-what's funny is just as Dana pushed the button to take the picture she let loose this loud poop and it cracked us up to no end! Lol Happy Mother's Day Pfftt all in the diaper Hee hee

Karalee Pictures

What is it about a tiny little hand grasping yours that makes your heart swell with so much love you swear it'll pop from pure joy? How is it that every second you spend with your child your heart falls in love all over again? Even when she's screaming unconsolably in the middle of the night and your at you're wits end trying to make her feel better. :-) The moments of seeing those beautiful blue eyes check you out to see what's going on just make me melt. 'Course just seeing her at all makes me melt! I will say I'm already dreading leaving her when I go back to work, I don't mind returning to work but oh leaving her is just going to kill me. I end up in tears everytime I even think about it so I refuse to think about it. :-)

But you didn't come here to read me waxing poetic you came here to see more pictures of our beautiful daughter. :-) So instead of yattering away some more I'll just post pics of our little heart stealer. :-)

These are the flowers my work sent while I was in the hospital


Karalee in her Daddy's Little Girl outfit


Karalee napping on Daddy


Karalee's first bath-she wasn't real pleased but her second bath did go better :-)


Daddy and Karalee napping


Mommy and Karalee with Hayley (next door neighbors daughter) in the nursery


Karalee in crib-check out those beautiful blue eyes!


Karalee in crib


More pics of Karalee in crib


More pics of Karalee in crib


And now just for fun I thought I'd post belly pics for a week after giving birth :-)

Karalee Elizabeth Clark is Here!!!

Our little girl is here after a much anticipated wait! Her Daddy and I are so in love, everyone is right and it's the most indescribable feeling to hold your child for the first time. I look at her and just think how can mere mortal's have created such a beautiful little life? It truley is God's miracle and I'm so grateful to have her here. Watching Dana hold her and learn the "Dad" things has been so fun, we're both in for so much learning but we're so excited! His entire face just lights up as he's holding her and it doesn't matter if she's crying or she's sneezing or she's just looking at him he's so patient with her and playful and tender all at once. She's already a Daddy's girl and looks very much like him to boot! She's got his eyes and nose which is hard to see in the pictures. :-)

Max and Buggy aren't too sure what to do with this new little person who's suddenly arrived in "their" house! Max loves to sniff her and he's given her a few Max kisses so I know he likes her he's just not sure what to do with her! LOL Buggy is still freaked out everytime Karalee makes a noise! Max's ears go down and he whines right along with Karalee when she's crying it's so funny. Poor guy hates to hear anyone sad! :-)

She's very alert and loves to look at her Daddy and I when we're holding her. She's passed all her tests thus far with flying colors! They did detect a heart murmor but it's only off and on they catch it so they did an EKG on her and she on occasion has an irregular heartbeat, a cardiologist checked the reading and feels this is nothing to be concerned about as several newborns are born with this and it generally resolves itself within 2 weeks. They are going to check her today and then again in 10 days just to make sure but all her vitals are great, she's got great color and all the doctors feel this irregular heartbeat will be gone soon and is completely normal. She breastfeeds like a champ, has quite a latch on her! I'm still adjusting to it and how tender you get but I love feeding her!

Well I promised the labor/birth story so here goes! I started having contractions at about 5PM on April 29th. At first they were just like bad menstrual cramps and I couldn't get comfortable, by about 11PM they were really starting to get painful but they still weren't at a consistent tempo, it'd be 3 minutes, then 7 minutes, then 10 minutes, then 2 minutes etc so when I called the midwife she recommended taking some warm baths to help relax my muscles and especially my lower back which was really starting to ache. She said first babies always take awhile and I was probably still in the very early stage of labor as I could still talk through my contractions even though they hurt. So discouraged but with information I dutifully did as directed and soaked, and rubbed my back when I'd lay in bed. I had sent Dana to bed so that one of us could get a little rest and since he was the driver I wanted him to be semi cognizant! Lol So he'd check on me periodically and I told him what the midwife had said so I sent him back to bed and continued to labor in the spare room and the guest bathroom in the tub. Well at about 2:20AM the pain was so intense I cried out and then GUSH my water burst all over the comforter, I "dashed" aka hobbled my way into the guest bathroom just to make sure it wasn't something else and nope it wasn't! I was finally ready to go to the hospital and know for certain they couldn't turn me away for being in false labor. Well I went to the spare room and got slammed with another contraction so hard I couldn't move for a good 30 seconds or better. Dana rushed in and said we're going to the hospital to which I answered "Yeah we are my water just broke" so we go get dressed and I hobble downstairs and sit at the kitchen table while more and more water comes gushing out, I was a mess I can fully admit! In between contractions which by now were probably about 2 minutes or less apart Dana got me to the car and sat down. The entire time I'm screaming and feeling A LOT of pressure on my back end. Well, I hadn't actually thought I was going to go into labor so I hadn't put more gas in the car figuring I'd do it on the way to work........um yeah don't do that poor Dana's got a screaming wife who's breathing as best I can but those contractions are really starting to hurt and he has to stop to put gas in the car. Oops on my part. Least I had the hospital bags in the car! At any rate we dash for the highway after getting gas and call the midwife to let her know we're on the way etc. We get to the hospital at around 3AM and pull in behind an ambulance so I got a wheelchair escort up to the labor area where they checked me and got me in a hospital gown. I was already at station 2 when I got there and fully dilated so no epidural for me, to my dismay at first I might add! Lol Dana got there in time for that look of dismay but gamely jumped right in to holding my hand and being there for me. They tell me to start pushing at my next contraction so I did and I have never in my life felt such a burning and stretching sensation inside! Few more pushes and I hear they can see her hair! Whew I think if they can see her hair then her head must be right there and I'm done soon! Well...not quite! Took several more pushes before I got her head to crown and then pop it was out and it was time for the shoulders, pop they were out and my daughter was on my stomach beautiful as could be! I know I cried a little from pure joy at seeing her and knowing she was finally here! Dana got to cut her umblical cord which I wish we'd thought to take a picture of but alas we were a tad preoccupied! They took her to the warmer to check her and Dana went with her while I delivered the placenta a few minutes later, felt like a big water balloon coming out was very weird. Then the stitching below began, wouldn't have been so bad but my legs were shaking like crazy from all the work we'd just done. Thankfully I didn't tear very bad so I'm told I'll heal just fine. :-) That's it. That's our birth story, 1/2 an hour after arriving at the hospital our daughter was here! It was recommended that since second children typically come faster we leave a smidge more wiggle room in our labor plans lol. I will say that it was all worth it and if I had it to do all over I'd do it the same. Laboring at home was much more comfortable then being in the hospital and getting there with very little pushing time was really pretty nice. Scary for certain and not what was in the "plans" but having gone natural I now know I can do it and I'd do it again. Just not for a couple years! Lol

Karalee has had a very busy life for as short a time as she's been here! She's met most of the neighbors and is of course a HUGE hit. She charms everyone the second they see her! :-) She's also been to Village Inn where we had lunch after seeing the peditrician-who gives her a clean bill of health just wants to monitor her heart irregularity which Dana and I got to listen to today-and she's been to Babies R Us where we picked up the monitor so we'll sleep better, and some various items from our registry. Now she's home and sacked out in her crib while I listen to her on the monitor. Dana is doing some grocery shopping and should be home shortly.

We'll keep you updated on her progress and ours as we go! Enjoy the pictures!

Karalee getting weighed


Karalee just after being born


Mommy and Karalee on going home day


Karalee in her hospital crib


Daddy and Karalee after she was born and weighed


Daddy, Mommy (who was very tired) and Karalee


Trisha our midwife-she was fantastic!


Daddy and Karalee