Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Nathan

I tried to have a little photoshoot with Nathan this morning so we can get some announcements together. This is the best of the batch. I think I'll try again.



If anyone has any baby pic taking tips I'd love to hear them. Esp. on how to get around the double chin.

Thanks!
Kenz

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Blockhead

I meant to post Owen's 1 year check up stats earlier but have been pretty busy. I took these pics today and they nicely illustrate the following information:

Weight: 14th percentile,
Height: 40th percentile...
HEAD: 95th percentile

I think he may be Charlie Brown's twin.




The following two pics may be a tad inappropriate but too funny not to post. When Lex saw the first one she said "That's a-skustin'!". Can't say I really disagree.

Any ideas on teaching you child how to put her panites on not backwards?


Monday, November 19, 2007

All is well

For those of you who didn't know it already Nate came home on the 10th. Sorry if you were still worried. If you didn't know we were home and you were not worried then SHAME ON YOU! Nate could still be in the NICU.



Anyway, we're home. Nate's doing well. He's still breathing too fast but slow enough for us to have him home. We just have to be extra careful about germs and not stimulate him too much. Lex and Owen have adjusted quite well. They both ignore Nate most of the time. Lex has the whole 'been there, done that' attitude most of the time. It took me a week to talk her into feeding Nate so I could get some pictures. She does, however, frequently announce that she can't love Owen anymore. She can only love her new baby. Most of the time she can't love Shane or myself either. We encourage Owen's lack of intrest; he's big on whacking things with his maraka at the moment.



My mom was here for a week. I won't get into that because I don't want to think about how HUGE of a help she was and just how in over my head I am. I really could go on and on about how fabulous my mother is. I will say this, how many moms get up to do the middle of the night bottle feedings and diaper changes? I am a very lucky girl. And also a very sad one. She went home yesterday.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Update on Nathan

Nate is still in the NICU. He's 5 days old now and it is very strange to not have him home with us. His respirations are getting slower but he's still on oxygen and tires easily when he trys to nurse. The good news is that he is trying. We still don't know how long he'll be in there. No one can seem to give us an estimate. It's very frustrating.

I took this pic this afternoon. I love his sweet little hands under his chin.



We were on the news last night. I know some of you saw it. I didn't get a chance to see it. The story was about how busy the NICU is and they asked to film Nate for a few minutes. 5 days old and already making the news.

Monday, November 5, 2007

Baby Nate

For those of you who don't already know... we had our baby last Friday. He was born at 9:03pm weighed in at 7lbs 2oz and is 19 inches long. We named him Nathan Avery Neville.

Since I'm getting tired of telling the labor story I'll write it here and hopefully that will be the end of that.

Contractions started at 4am Friday. Went in to work (@ the hospital) at 7am. Contractions continued all day and I finally clocked out 2 hours short of my full shift at 3:30pm. Walked over to the Family Birth Center. Met Shane walking through the doors. Was admitted around 5pm. Epidural around 6:30ish. Hooray! Though we'd get some rest but the nurse checked and dilation was complete. Dr. called. He showed up just in time to catch baby Nate after 2 pushes. Everything went really well on my end. I'm home and feeling pretty dang good.

Unfortunately, the speedy delivery wasn't so perfect for Nate. He got some fluid in his lungs and after only a few minutes on my tummy he was being given oxygen and whisked off the NICU. He's been there ever since. The main concern is that he's been breathing so fast around 100 bpm when he should be in the 40-60 range. His oxygen level is low also. The NICU nurses are really great and he has an excellent Pediatrician. It's slow going but he's getting better each day. No one can tell us when he'll be able to go home but we're hoping and praying that it is soon. He is a very sweet little boy.

Lex and Owen are doing well. Lex has finally decided to use the potty. We are very proud of her. Owen is starting to walk. He's up to about 5 steps at a time. He is still a very goofy kid.

Shane starts his new (2nd) job this weekend. He has been such a trooper and a awesome leader of our family. We are very overwhelmed right now and I am so grateful that he has continued to put his shoulder to the wheel. We are very grateful for all your kind thoughts, wishes and prayers. Please keep them coming.

Kenz






Thursday, November 1, 2007

Trunk-or-Treat (costume change)

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween

Two Dorthys
And a pacy sucking cowardly lion.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Yes, I know it's been a while...

It's been pretty busy around the house. Getting settled and getting ready for #3. In Sept...

Lex got her very own playground. Thank you Uncle Lyle!


PopPop and Omi came up for Lexie's 3rd Birthday!



Shane learned how to install new electrical outlets and lighting. Yeah for overhead lighting.



Owen partied like a rockstar at the new Lewis Park opening day.




Shane refinished the floors!
Before...
After...

Earlier this month...

Nana came for a visit! (There was lots of snuggling)








And here's a few fave pics I thought I'd thow in for good measure :0)






A few other notables (sorry, no pics)
*Our water heater blew and had to be replaced
*Shane sheetrocked and shelved half of our spider-infested garage.
And of course we've been trying to prepare for the new baby. Which we're having the usual trouble naming. Suggestions please! There may even be a prize for a winning name!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Mom's Overture by Anita Renfroe

My sister-in-law sent me this video. It's a bit premature for my tykes but the days are coming fast.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Chicago Concert

For my company's employee appreciation event, Asante, rented out a mini version of the Concord Pavillion and we got to see Chicago live. Sounds pretty cool I bet. Did you know there are 8 band members? I had no idea. I know only the popular ones. They played 3 or four of those and I can't say they brought me back because they sounded pretty funky. How old are they now anyway? We were in the front of the nosebleeds.


We did have fun though. We brought sandwiches and shared a blanket with Dan and Jacque. If you can't tell from the pic, Dan is Shane's brother. Jacque is his wife and appears to have swallowed a dinosaur egg. We're a bit concered what sort of dino she'll be having next month. Hopefully a vegan. Oh yeah, I chopped off my hair too. I did it right after we moved but this is the first pic I've posted.

And this is Chicago. Five in the front, three in the rear. Seriously, have there always been so many? The opening act turned out to be a local music shop owner. He is very fortunate to have a business to fall back on. He thought he was clever and funny but he was not. He also thought he was good (or so you'd think since he willingly opened for Chicago). He, in my oh so humble and talentless opinion, was not. One of his songs was about eating strawberries that tasted yummy. Another had something to do with praying at the river with a mexican and something to do with boobs.


I'm pretty sure this pic is self explanitory.


The best part of the concert was the crowd. This lovely couple reminded me of those ladies that watch talk shows and are under the impression that they are a part of the 'live studio audience' and that Oprah or whoever can hear them. They were also the only couple in the entire audience (I checked) that did the lighter thing. No joke. This is the picture I took of them with their lighters.

This lovely group provided much entertainment as they boggied their way through the show. Lots of wine and bootie shakin'.

A Few Snippits

Here's a bit of what the kids have been up to...

This is Owen pushing his little tractor around our backyard. He is crawling everywhere (even up the walls it seems). He pulls himself up and cruises the couch and walls. He gets into everything. His favorite pass time is sneaking into the bathroom, pulling himself up and banging his fat little palm on the tub. He also likes to ransack the cabinet drawers in there.(Yes, I am aware that there are methods of preventing drawer ransacking. We'll get there.) I must say my favorite thing about this picture is that it gives you the impression that our lawn is not dying/dead. Too bad you can't live in a picture.


Babies get pretty tired after crawling and ransacking. This is Owen sacked out last night. Alright, ya got me. This coma is partially Benedryl induced. He does have a cold though. Not exclusively foul play I promise.


Here's Lex kicking back on our mini front porch. She loves to sit there and watch all the ferrel cats scamper around. It seems there is no birth control of any kind on our street. Cats and kids run wild, mangey, and abundant. We're down at the end of the culdesac where the last 6 or so homes are thankfully well kept and occupied by normal people. Past those 6 homes it's a whole other world. We are thankful for the imaginary boundry.


Lex and Tally (her cousin). She can't get enough of this girl. You can tell from the pic that Lex is smitten. It is very cute how much she loves her cousins. And awesome how great her cousins are with her.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Such a Shrimp!


This is a pic of Pinski with his cousin Max. You'd never guess that Owen is three weeks older. He's such a squirt. And no teeth. Max has several. Owen's gums aren't even the slightest bit swollen. Max is also aprox 6 inches taller and 8 pounds heavier than our little guy. Poor kid.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

You've Come a Long Way, Baby!

Some of you may remember my June 22nd post. We had an ultrasound yesterday and everything looks great (so I was told). And thankfully, our little guy seems to be making progress superficially speaking. He already looks less like a mini Igor.

The US Tech said he's about two pounds.
In this pic you can see all his little phalanges. He's got his hand up by his head. The head is the rather large round bit on the side. Sadly, the Neville/Steiner combo doesn't make for small headed babies. We produce the Fat-Headed variety around here. This one shows his little arm bones. Teeny Tiny Ulna, Teeny Tiny Radius. Teeny Tiny Baby with a Big Fat Head.