Kayson - 6 Month Well Check

Today was the day of our 6 month well-check. Here are Kayson's stats:

Weight: 20 lbs 1 oz (90th percentile)
Height: 28 3/4" (97th percentile)

Kayson did so well - just sat and looked at himself in the mirror for the longest time... didn't make a peep when Dr. Spinelli checked him over. Then it was time for shots - poor thing, I guess the shot thing just gets worse every time (as he gets older). Big crocodile tears, just lots of crying afterwards. Ohhh... how he just buries his head and sobs. Poor thing. I hated to drop him off at daycare - all I wanted to do was snuggle with him.

Dr. Spinelli said Kayson is looking great - he is a little concerned that he's not rolling over yet. But he makes a good point - "if he really wants to, then he will." I told him that Kayson is just a very content baby - doesn't get too mad about much, and just would much rather sit up and play with toys. But we'll really start working on the rolling over... just give him a 'boost' and see how it goes.

Other than that, we were good to go. We go back at 9 months (and there are NO SHOTS THEN!) Woohoo!

Taylor Family Reunion

This past weekend was the Taylor Family reunion... always a nice time. Ryan's family is huge - several Aunts & Uncles and cousins, and second cousins, and so on. There were 10 'kids' that started it all and they all had several kids, whom had kids, etc... it goes on and on! So needless to say, I know most of the faces, but do not know ALL their names! It's fun tho.

Saturday is the golfing day - Ladies golf in Lenox, and men golf in Mt. Ayr. I know us ladies had a great time... I talked Niky (Ryan's Aunt) into golfing with me... she was a nervous wreck, and really had no reason to be! She did GREAT and we had a great time. I've attached some pictures of my 'team' and all the ladies that golfed. I think the guys had a good time as well - I know Ryan enjoyed golfing with his Grandpa. Then Sunday is the famous picnic. We all get together to eat - and we eat a lot! I've also attached a picture of just a portion of the group.





What perfect weather as well!

6 Months

Happy 1/2 Birthday to Kayson!!

We have our 6 month well-check next Tuesday, so I'll give his stats then... but so far, I can say that he's a big, happy boy! I think that's all that really matters!

• Sitting up like a pro - would much rather do that then laying down!
• Has found his toes - thinks they are pretty cool!
• Still no teeth - but I think they're coming soon.
• Sucks on everything - his hands, toys, burp rags, everything!
• Loves baths - starting to really splash!
• Loves to look at himself in the mirror - he thinks he's pretty cute!

Here are a few pictures. Enjoy more on our PicasaWeb albums.

Power Outage

Well, Kayson & I survived our first power outage, alone. Power went out around 5:30 last night... I was about to get Kayson's dinner ready... and flicker, out. I thought, "oh - this is ok... shouldn't last too long." Well - after dinner, and playing, and after putting Kayson down for bed... and then 3 hours later (meaning 11:30) - the power finally came back on. OMG. It's crazy how silent the house was and how much we rely on power - like the TV and the computer. But we survived!!

FOR SALE

The townhome is officially on the market!! Ryan and I have gone back and forth for months deciding whether or not we should try to sell the townhome. Friday evening we looked at a couple homes and found one we really liked... I guess that was the kick in the butt to put ours on the market. Now - let's cross our fingers this goes quickly and smoothly!!

Long Family Reunion

This weekend was the first Long Family Reunion in years... I can't even remember the last time we all were together. This is my mom's side of the family - she has 4 brothers & sisters, along with all their kids and their kids... it was a good group! I've attached some pictures of the crew.

The people that made it all happen!

1st Cousins - Notice the ONE boy. Lots of girls on my side of the family! Opposite of Ryan's family - lots of boys!

And all the 'little' ones.

We had a great time... however, I'm completely exhausted! We had plenty of fresh air on Sunday!!

Fussy Evening... Now Quiet

As you know Kayson hasn't been himself for the past couple days... I think we are over the fever stuff, but I do have to say he was rather fussy tonight. I'd say nothing really made him happy!! Boy that's hard - especially when Daddy isn't here to help bounce off of. So - we were pretty busy all evening - up and down the stairs 'bouncin', in and out of the exersaucer, pacing back and forth, reading books... I'm tired! ha. And Kayson was tired too - out in 1 minute after his bottle. That's my boy!

So, now it's quiet here... I've done some relaxing and also placed a photo order, which is great! I love doing the photography thing on the side, it just makes me smile! I hope I can continue and grow from what I've done and learned over the past year. I now have heavy eyes... so it's probably time to head to bed. Missin' Ryan.

So many emotions right now...

1. Worried - I'm worried about Kayson. He's still running a fever, so we'll be keeping him at home tomorrow. I hope he kicks this fast. Seems like we've been dealing with something for TOO long now... and it's sad that we know the nurses at the clinic by name!

2. Tired - never-ending.

3. Sad - Ryan leaves tomorrow (travelling) - til Thursday evening. Hope it goes fast.

4. Anxious - Anxiety kicks in every once in while. Typically it has to do with all the things I need to do - and one of them is NOT blogging! ha. But it feels good to blog! Somebody's got to be reading this!

5. Blessed - Can't imagine life without my boys. How did I do it before?!

Good, then Messy

Saturday we had a family friend's wedding to attend... that was nice. The bride was absolutely beautiful - I swear her dress was the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen! Stunning. The wedding reception was outside at the Country Club in Creston - wonderful weather and good food. Kayson had a good time - fresh air knocks him out though! ha.

The new picture on the main page of the blog is from the wedding... good lookin' family! ;)

Sunday was an interesting day. Kayson just was not himself - slept a lot - was fussy most of the day - and didn't eat very well. We obviously knew something was wrong. We got home and checked him temp - 101. Yikes. Tylonol was given, then he napped some more... After his nap, he seemed to be a little perkier - and much better after his dinner. Even though he didn't eat all his cereal, he ate all the squash and some bananas... We finally played a little and he seemed fine. I checked his temp again at bedtime - it had rose again a little, so I gave him another dose of tylonol - and instantly he vomitted. ALL OVER. Squash and everything. Kayson's crying, I'm tearing up. Poor thing. We wonder if it's teeth, or maybe just an upset tummy... we aren't sure? He did sleep well, thank goodness - so hopefully today is a better day for him.


Here's a picture of Daddy making Kayson laugh hard! This was on Sunday morning - before all the crabbiness & vomitting!

Another week... Another weekend...

Another week has gone by... where does the time go?!?!

Today and this weekend will be busy, but good. Today I get to leave work early (woohoo) to pick up my niece and two of her little friends from a Drake BBall Camp. We'll then go pick up Kayson, then home to hang out... we'll order pizza tonight, then my sister & mom will come to pick the girls up. Should be fun! Kayson will be pleased to be around a bunch of cute girls!

Tomorrow we have a wedding to attend in Creston - love weddings! One random thought - I love dressing up for weddings... however, I have nothing fun to wear!! I tried on some dresses from my friend Lacey - big mistake - couldn't even get them over my hips! Oh how things change! So - I'll be wearing something I would wear to work - boring! ha. Ryan will wear a tie - LOVE HIM IN A TIE! and Kayson has some adorable plaid shorts he'll sport. I'll get some pictures!

Then Sunday we'll come home and do our normal errands... then the weekend will be over and I'll be upset! It's a ficious cycle! haah. :)

Hope you all enjoy your weekend - I'll post pictures later on!

All Smiles

How can anyone not smile at this precious face?!?!

Kayson is sitting up SO well - just over the past 2 or 3 nights, each night gets easier and lasts longer. We had a great time talking and giggling tonight. What a moment. Enjoy!!

Our weekend

1. Ryan & I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary with an evening out - alone on Friday night. We went for dinner and then to a movie, The Hangover. I was skeptical about the movie, but it was actually pretty damn funny... I have to admit, I got tired about mid-way through (tough keeping my eyes open), but I was still laughing... it's a good flick - stupid, but good. One of those! ha. Then we crashed at our hotel. Deep down inside I was missin' Kayson... and I was hoping I would sleep well. I slept ok! Overall, we had a great time. Love my hubby!!

2. With Kayson having troubles sleeping through the night - we were really hoping the new medicine would kick in. We went back to the doctor Friday afternoon - did xrays and came to the conclusion that a steriod would be best to help that crud in his nose/chest. We will do the steriod breathing treatments for 2 weeks, along with liquid Zyrtec. By Saturday night we had done 3 steriod breathing treatments and 2 doses of the liquid Zyrtec... and by goley - he slept through the night. WONDERFUL. Those 3 weeks had been rough... so it was nice to have him sleep, even through a loud thunderstorm! Let's see if he does it again tonight!

3. Another photo shoot. Our friends Jessica & Steve has a precious little girl, Presley. I took some shots of her this morning... between some fussin' and a bottle... I thought we did pretty good for her only being 4 months old. I actually just went through the pictures now... I got some good ones - just wish she would have shown more of her crooked smile! :) I hope her parents will be pleased and will have me do some more again!

Here's a preview of "Presley Pie" as Daddy Steve calls her:

Great weekend for the Taylors... as I always say - just wish they lasted weeks instead of just 2 days!

Confused & Frustrated

Well, Kayson's cold is getting better - I think. However, we are really struggling with sleeping through the night now. Oh why oh why!!? I've counted, and we are at 2 1/2 weeks of him waking in the middle of the night coughing and fussin' - being up for about an hour or more. This is so hard and confusing when we've had no problems with him sleeping since he was weeks old. I feel bad for him, feel bad for Ryan, feel bad for me! Just overall, I'm frustrated and just feel sad about it!

Ryan's Mom is coming to stay with Kayson tomorrow night, while Ryan and I go out to celebrate our anniversary - a stay over in a hotel, and I'm so concerned that Kayson will give her a hard time in the middle of the night - that just won't be any fun for Grandma.

Prayers every night and even a silly one of - praying Kayson will sleep through the night.

2 Years

Happy 2nd Year Wedding Anniversary to US! 2 years ago we were prepping and getting ready for our big day and it wasn't raining!! Oh how time flies and how life changes!! We've had a wonderful 2 years and I can't wait to see what the next 2, 4, 6, 20 years bring for us.

Ryan is on the road this week, so we won't be seeing each other today. Friday night however, we are celebrating our anniversary by a night out. I won a free nights stay at a hotel in West Des Moines, so we will be having our first night away from Kayson. Ryan's Mom is going to come stay with Kayson - hopefully he sleeps through the night for her! Hopefully we sleep good - or we'll probably be up at 6:30 cuz that's when Kayson normally gets up!

So that was my gift to Ryan - the night out, the stay over, etc... and Ryan surprised me three weeks ago telling me he wanted to get another wedding band for my ring. I was shocked. We actually talked about it and decided it might be 'too' much for the ring, but how about a right-hand ring? Oh yea! So Sunday we went to Iowa Diamond and picked out a gorgeous right-hand ring - simple, row of diamonds, perfect. They kept the ring to clean it up, and they also kept my wedding ring to polish up as well - so I've been without rings since Sunday. How something so little can make you feel completely naked! I pick up the rings this afternoon.

What a wonderful day - just wish Ryan was home.

Laughing Kayson

In spite of my last post (our not so good night) -- Sunday evening, we did get this on video, and I figured I had better post it! Two major things happening - Kayson sitting up all by himself, and laughing at Quincy. Those two things - at the same time - is BIG!

Enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhtR12wExVA

Poor Buster, Poor Momma

Kayson (aka - Buster) just didn't sleep well last night... all I have to say is - that damn cough. Poor guy - falls asleep like a champ, just like normal - sleeps til about 1:00 or 1:30 in the morning and begins his coughing fits... he gets to coughing so hard, it scares me (and Ryan), and just sounds uncomfortable. We did get him some actual medicine on Friday - I thought it was helping, but last night was just NOT GOOD. We were up from about 1:15 am til at least 5:00 am. He would sleep, then cough, then sleep, then cough... Ryan needed to be on the road this morning by 5:30, so I took charge in the middle of the night... unfortunately, I don't handle it very well - meaning, I just can't get back to sleep quick enough between the coughing fits! (It takes me at least 15 minutes to get back to sleep!) We would rock, then I'd put him down - good to go for about 20 minutes, and he'd cough/gag again... this went on and on. He's so happy though, which almost makes it worse!! Anyway, I didn't get much sleep - but by 5:30 Kayson was out - sleeping hard (finally I'm thinking), so I called into work and said I would be in late - I HAD to get at least a full hours sleep (uninterrupted). And I did - Kayson slept (without a cough or a peep) from 5:30 til about 7:15. Wonderful. Like I said - he's happy and content, it's just that damn cough. I'm on my own with Kayson til Wednesday night - as Ryan is travelling, so I'm I'm a little nervous... normally I would be completely fine, but I worry about Kayson's throat and just getting enough good sleep. I'll keep you posted!