Kirsten Hodges Photography

David and Laura Maternity Session

2010-09-26T20:32:00.003-04:00

These two were wonderful to work with! Laura had many ideas of her own which always makes it fun when you get to help capture personalized moments. Admist a rainstorm, we were able to capture some beautiful images that show how excited this couple is about their own little miracle.

VHS Class of 79

2009-10-17T21:55:00.002-04:00

Class picture is on website and ready for orders! More pictures to come!
http://kirstenhodges.zenfolio.com/

2009-10-07T06:43:00.005-04:00

Check us out at our new location where you can view more galleries.

http://kirstenhodges.zenfolio.com

Youth Football

2009-10-03T19:52:00.003-04:00

We met up after practice one afternoon and I had a great time photographing these two!

Notice the expression on the face of the boy in the black uniform!! Priceless!

Can you feel the love?!

I love the effect of the sunlight on this photo.

Cloth Diapers

2009-09-16T18:57:00.007-04:00

I wanted a creative way to portray our usage of cloth diapers. Many people still think that cloth diapering consists of the "white burp cloths" and pins. We use Bum Genius cloth diapers as you can see in the picture and absolutely love them. I definitely recommend them to all parents.

Boys and their Toys

2009-09-13T07:34:00.002-04:00

James Broom and his Jeep "Big Orange".

Lindsay's Maternity Session

2009-09-09T06:25:00.005-04:00

How exciting to know that your little baby is soon to arrive!!?

I love how you can see a hint of a smile!

Over the weekend I got to do my first Maternity Photo Session. It was with a good friend from the college years. She is 35 weeks pregnant and looks absolutely beautiful! She made it easy to get some really great shots and I had a lot of fun working with her.

New Editing Techniques

2009-09-09T06:19:00.003-04:00

I finally figured out how to make just part of an image colored...thanks to a good friend!

Family Fun

2009-08-23T21:07:00.004-04:00

Our family when Kylin was 27 weeks old.

There is nothing like being wrapped up in
Daddy's strong arms!

My little baby is 6 months old!

2009-08-17T12:02:00.003-04:00

I wonder what it's like to look and see a Siberian Husky staring back at you??!!

· 182 days

· 26 weeks

· 6 months

· Around 10 diaper changes per day = 1800 diaper changes so far and plenty more to go!

· 3 months of disposable diaper usage

· 3 months of cloth diaper usage and our bank account thanks us!

· 1 load of cloth diaper laundry per day totaling about 90 loads at least thus far

· About 5 bibs used each day since we have a little drool monster!

- Averaging about 6 bottle/nursing feedings per day = 1092 sessions

· Plugging the electric pump up roughly 728 times and making at least 728 bottles from
those pumping sessions
· High chair/swing feedings equal about 150 times so far
· Changing clothes equal out to a number that is immeasurable! It seems like when you've changed outfits for what seems like the umpteenth time the little booger spits AGAIN!
· Changing our clothes equals the same number that is immeasurable!
· Saying "No, No!" just started within the past month or so but happens at least several times a day…for example…don't pull the dogs ears, tails, whiskers, or any body part! Don't pull mommy's hair, don't go after that cord, don't spit out your food in my face…etc….the list goes on
· At least 364 bath times enjoyed so far
· 365 walks somewhere: down the road, at Wal-mart, in the mall, at the park
· That same immeasurable number of pictures taken!
· Videos included!
· About 30 pages of scrapbooking completed
· About two months worth of sleeping through the night and then that became history! Who knows why? I have decided to not worry about sleeping through the night! We can sleep now, we can sleep then, we can sleep whenever…just sleep!
· 4 days worth of starting daycare and this week makes for the official start of full time daycare at my school
· Several afternoons of making baby food
· Countless hours spent playing "baby games" and being so proud of the little bit when she does the simplest task
· smiling OFTEN just to see her smile
· at least 1000 naps taken so far
· LOTS of minutes spent washing bottles, pacifiers, toys, pump parts, etc….

182 days= 26 weeks= 6 months of being a mom

I could go on and on and try to add it all up. But it all boils down to this…I chose this job. I didn't exactly know what I was getting myself into fully at the time. People warn you but you never really know until….it happens! I didn't know the love and joy I would feel but you couldn't put a price tag on the things I have gained in this short time of being a mother. I would do it all again for free. I have never known before the love I have felt and given for my Kylin. I know she's only 6 months old but it has all been priceless. I know there are lots to come but I am going to enjoy it all, savor every moment because I am blessed to get to wake up and spend each day living life with her. I do have to say…all the things above I can't claim I've done it all. Thanks Travis for helping to make the first 6 months of our daughter's life so enjoyable by being there through it all! Happy 6 months old Kylin!

6 months old!

2009-08-15T17:16:00.001-04:00

Make a Smilebox photobook

Changes

2009-08-09T13:35:00.002-04:00

Changes. I have realized that just when something seems to finally seem like the "norm" it all changes. I guess that is what makes life interesting and keeps us relying on God. If we knew what was up ahead we wouldn't always realize our need for Someone greater. I started back to work this week. I did good...emotionally. I cried Sunday night and had a hard time going to sleep. I didn't cry at work though which was good. I didn't feel like I was hiding my emotions though. I mean, I don't ever want to be fake, but I do feel like I am handling this well. Of course I would stay home with my little one if I was able to, but at this point in our lives, I have a wonderful job that takes care of us financially and so I must make the most of being a full-time working mother. I don't think it will ever get better in the sense that I will ever say "Oh, I want to work full-time" but I think I have come to the realization that I must accept this as being the right thing to do for now. Travis brought her to visit me at school several times last week and this coming week he will bring her to her daycare to visit for several hours in order to help her get used to the transition. It is hard thinking that someone else will take care of your baby throughout the day but I must think that this too shall pass. I am excited about Kylin getting to play with other babies and toddlers. We can tell she gets bored with us sometimes! I know this will help her socially AND I will be so close to her daycare.....probably less than 50 yards away! Haha...maybe farther, but the point is I can be right there if she were to need me! I'm still breastfeeding/pumping so this is comforting knowing that I will leave this "part of me" with her throughout the day. I try to give Kylin the absolute best! So far I've made her baby food which includes: green beans, apples, bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash! It has been alot of fun! Travis helps too! It's nice having a husband that I don't feel like I have to "fill him in" on what to do with the baby. I can leave things just as they are and he picks up right where I left off. I realize most husbands work full-time, but I personally think it has been so great for Kylin to have Travis around just as much as me. He will start school full-time next week so I'm sure things will start to get alot busier!
To end this blog I'll fill you in on some changes Kylin has made: she has fully transitioned to sippy cups! I LOVE the Nuby cups with the soft spouts and she does too! No more bottles for us! She was sooo proud of herself! This makes for less cleaning...yay for me and Travis! She now rides in the grocery buggy seat!!! Of course protected by the cool cushion gadget so she doesn't get exposed to all the nasty germs on the bars! She sits in the high chairs at the restaraunts and TRIES to pull everything off the table that she can get her hands on! She's so much fun! To top it all off we traded in our Mercury Mountianeer and got a Toyota Yaris! We're getting WAY better gas mileage so far and absolutely love this switch! Next week my little girl will be six months old! AHHHH, I can't believe it! Enjoy your week and look out for the simple pleasures! They are everywhere!

End of Summer Break

2009-07-31T11:43:00.001-04:00

My summer off is quickly coming to an end as going back to work is just around the corner. I am so thankful I have had these months to enjoy my precious Kylin. Each day seems to bring something new. She has learned how to roll over, sit upright by herself when put in the position, creep around, and beginning to crawl. We have endured a round of shots, sleepless nights, 30 minute naps (exactly!), teething pain, growth spurts, and stinkier diapers. We have enjoyed new giggles and grins, full body laughs, new hair growth, baby noises which include her new word/sound "oom BAA", the ability to interactively play more, a "little more freedom", longer naps now that the summer is almost over, feeding new foods such as rice cereal, homemade green bean puree, and homemade applesauce, fewer poops, lots of picture taking, Splash in the Boro, visits with friends and family, and daily melting each time my little girl smiles at me. I have successfully scrap booked her little life so far. Yep, 23 weeks full of memories and pictures have been placed into her very own first scrapbook. My goal was to have her life up until now scrapbooked before I started back to work and I reached it! I'll have to post some pictures of some of my favorite pages. Well, I'm off to be a hero to my 2 feet tall baby girl!

2009-07-30T20:39:00.002-04:00

This was just an idea I had. It is of a pair of Kylin's booties when she was born.

Kylin at 21 weeks old.

Kylin is almost 24 weeks old! Where has my itty bitty baby gone?!

2009-07-26T22:43:00.002-04:00

2009-07-25T19:07:00.005-04:00

Today we took a trip to visit the grandparents in Vidalia. While I was there I got to photograph a subject other than my own little munchkin. I had a lot of fun and he did as well!

in plain view photography

2009-07-25T08:37:00.003-04:00

If you don't follow your dreams and set goals that to others may seem unattainable then you will settle for the mediocre life. I want to take the path that is not as worn as the rest. I want to follow my dreams, try out new things, and take a chance even if failure is an option as an end result. How can you ever know the depths God has for you if you aren't willing to dive in head first?

Here I go taking a chance. I have found something I absolutely love and I am going to run with it.

in plain view photography... I am going to work on building a portfolio, other than my own little subject, and see where this leads. I am so excited! I plan to focus solely on babies and children in modern and unconventional settings and we will see where things lead. Until then...enjoy the moments in plain view.

5 months old!

2009-07-22T08:10:00.004-04:00

I absolutely LOVE this shot!

I have enjoyed "playing" with all the pictures I've been taking.

It's as if she's really pondering something important!

Someone likes being silly!

5 months is such a fun age....aren't they all though! I guess at each stage you find all the new ways to enjoy your little one.

Where did my itty bitty baby go? Kylin is now starting to sit up! It seems like just last week we brought home that helpless, immobile, teeny, tiny baby! Here are some recent pictures I wanted to post for your enjoyment. I have taken up the hobby of photographing. When you have such a cute and easy subject it makes taking pictures so much fun!

2009-04-23T09:57:00.001-04:00

Two months have come and gone and I am back at work. 7:00 a.m. is one of my favorite times of the day because my little one wakes up in such a good mood ready to share her smiles and giggles with me before I head off to work. I usually get about 20 minutes with her before I have to leave and those 20 minutes are so precious to me. She looks at me as I approach her crib and once she hears my voice and realizes it's me, she gives the biggest toothless smile I've ever seen and my heart melts all over again.

I've come to learn that being a mom is one of the toughest jobs there is, but one of the most rewarding. I spent two months scouring the internet for articles on issues my baby and I were experiencing or about to experience. I held her in one arm and fed her and typed away at the internet with the other arm. I became quite the expertise in doing activities one handed with a baby in the other hand. I can now do laundry one handed. I can cook (not using sharp objects, near the stove, or hot items). One rule we have is she isn't allowed in the kitchen when the oven is on or near knives or other sharp objects! So I have become quite inventive on getting dinner ready. I had quite a few evenings where her nap coincided with time to cook dinner but then she thought she needed to eat at just the second we both sat down to enjoy a hot dinner. Hot dinner….what is that???? Thank goodness for the microwave. Somehow babies sense when you're hungry and they all of the sudden need your undivided attention!

I had the time of my life staying home with my sweet Kylin. She is precious and such a good baby. I would stay home the rest of my life with her if I was able to but right now I must work and somehow each morning I will try to put a smile on my face as I kiss her goodbye and enjoy the professional job that God has given me.

Kylin is growing so fast! We go to the doctor this coming Thursday. She must weigh a ton it feels like! She is eating good and is already sleeping through the night (most nights at least)! When she does wake up in the night she usually eats a few ounces and then dozes back off to sleep pretty quickly. The fact that she is sleeping so good is such a blessing. I know it would be a lot harder to go back to work if I were not getting as much sleep. She absolutely LOVES bath time and screams her head off when we take her out. We usually do baths around 8 and then she eats and little and is usually asleep by 9 pm. Then she will wake up around 7 in the morning, just in time for me to change her, feed her, and enjoy her sweet smiles before I go to work. Her days consist of eating, burping, sometimes spitting up (we go through a lot of bibs!!), being changed, being held A LOT!, swinging, staring AND smiling J at the ceiling fan, being walk around the house looking at all of our AMAZING stuff, walking around outside in her stroller, tummy time, being licked by our puppy Slade, laying in her crib looking at butterflies that hang over her crib and laughing and smiling at them as well, crying, pouting…and YES….she knows how to stick her bottom lip out and quiver AND get her way, taking baths (sometimes several!!), sleeping on Mommy and Daddy's chests, cuddling, and most of all just being cute! We have a lot of fun with her! She does enjoy short car trips…haven't gone anywhere yet that's farther than 45 minutes away. She will usually, USUALLY fall asleep but we have had a few episodes where she screamed her head off in the car and we had to pull over to figure out what was wrong. It's not as easy as one would think to travel far with a young baby. You have to try and travel in between feedings, which for mine is difficult because she is not very predictable yet with when she wants to eat…we are getting there though. And then she spits up a lot so we have to hold and burp her longer to try and prevent her from spitting up and I just really don't enjoy spitting up…so…we've kept our outings to close to home for now. Hopefully, this summer she'll start to keep a little more predictable schedule and we can travel now. One thing that is nice is that she does still take several naps throughout the day as long as you recognize she is getting sleepy and you arrange her surroundings to somewhere she can fall asleep…for example, she LOVES to sleep in her swing so every morning about an hour after she wakes up I put her in her swing and BOOM…she takes a nap! Nice! Well, I've got to go for now but I hope to start blogging more often now!

Kylin has arrived!

2009-02-21T16:21:00.009-05:00

Kylin looking adorable!

A proud grandfather...Travis' dad.

A proud grandmother! Travis' mom

Another proud grandmother...Kirsten's mom.

Proud granddaddy holding baby Kylin...Kirsten's dad.

Our little sweetie :)

Her husky brothers aren't quite sure what we have brought home. The big one is scared to death of her every move and sound and the little one wants to lick and clean her!

Here are a few pictures from Kylin's first week with us! We are soooo excited she is finally here and we're enjoying every minute of it. I'll post later on how labor and delivery went!

Kylin: Feb. 15, 7 lbs. 2 oz; 20 1/4 inches long

2009-02-16T17:44:00.002-05:00

She's here and we're loving every minute of it! We are completely in love with this baby girl!

When are you coming...????

2009-02-12T22:06:00.002-05:00

This little baby has decided to wait to the last minute! I was just certain she'd be an early bird but I guess not...she's making us wait and teaching us patience before she ever gets here! We're due this Saturday so maybe she wants to be a little Valentine's baby! I am feeling great though...never really thought I'd say that at 40 weeks pregnant, but I feel better now than I have in a long time. She'll definitely be here in a week because the doctors don't want me to go more than 1 week past due...so until then...2 days till due date! :)

39 weeks

2009-02-07T11:51:00.000-05:00

This might possibly be the last post “prebaby”. We went to the doctor Thursday afternoon and I was only about 1 ½ cm dilated my cervix was thinned out almost all the way. So progress is being made and I’m obviously having some contractions but they are going away instead of progressing. We go back to the doctor Tuesday and will get an ultrasound and hooked up to the monitor so they can check everything out. Hopefully, if I’ve dilated enough then we can discuss a date to be induced…unless she’s already come…which I’m hoping! I came down with a nasty cold a few days ago and it’s making me feel so sick! I think it’s making me feel worse than actually being pregnant! Hopefully the next time I post I’ll be able to post some baby pictures!!!!!!!!! It is sooo exciting being this close. Please keep us in your prayers over this next week as the biggest change in our life is about to happen! I’m so ready to meet little Kylin!

Dr. Visit Jan. 27

2009-01-27T18:14:00.003-05:00

Quick Update: Everything looks good that they checked at our appointment today. I am about 1 cm dilated. I was kind of bummed it wasn't more, but hey...it's a start! I realize too that labor could still start anytime even though this afternoon I was only 1 cm...so that's exciting! I had to get another shot of Rhogam since the last time I had it was at 24 weeks and it lasts only about 12 weeks. They had to draw blood first, which was NOT fun. I DO NOT like getting my blood drawn!!!!!!! I'm having lots of stronger "pre" contractions...not going to call them false, because they are doing something and preparing my body! I'm getting more tired as each day goes on but Travis has really been a huge help with getting things done around the house! I couldn't do it without him! 18 days till due date...

37 weeks

2009-01-24T09:33:00.002-05:00

21 days until due date…

…if she’s late I realize that’s perfectly fine because she’s already with us. I may not be able to pick her up and hold her close, but our little miracle has already begun. This chapter of our life has already started. She reminds me she is here each and every morning I wake up and feel those sweet movements, all through the day as I see body parts sticking out and each night as I fall asleep to my little one punching me in the stomach. This time is truly about learning to live in each moment…taking each day at a time and enjoying it for what it is. I’m not saying I’ve learned that lesson but I’m trying to because when Kylin is born I want to know how to slow down and enjoy every moment with her, never dreaming about “When she can…”.

We were supposed to have a doctor’s appointment yesterday but it had to get rescheduled so we will go this Tuesday afternoon. I’m starting to feel more exhausted each day. I have spurts of energy throughout the day but find myself getting more tired. I’m trying to rest up for the “big day”! Lol….not sure you can be rested up!

I’ve been thinking lately how odd it is that we countdown to a day when our lives will be completely changed forever. I have to admit at times I still get a sick feeling in my stomach because I’m scared of the unknowns of bringing my firstborn home. I guess this is normal because there is nothing one can do to completely prepare for the change that is just around the corner. It won’t just be me and Travis anymore. At times this makes me a little sad because we’ve had so much fun enjoying each other and to think about how a baby will change the dynamics. I know it will be different but I know our relationship is deep and strong that we will have fun learning how to adapt to enjoying each other with a little baby girl right in between. I don’t think it will be hard. It’s just the thoughts of things changing in ways you’re unsure of. I’m trying to be honest here. I want to be able to look back and see how far I’ve come from these “prebaby” thoughts and emotions and how God has changed our lives.

The two huskies…God must love these dogs and really want us to have them…ALIVE! They escaped the other day through a wood panel that had been blown loose by the wind. Travis found them but it’s scary every time they get out because they could so easily get hit by a car, picked up by a stranger, or shot because they look like wolves! My stomach always drops when I hear or find out they are missing. We’ve been on a million wild goose chases with these dogs and every time we do whatever it takes to get those two back…they are our babies…for now. I can tell they are getting more sensitive and attention demanding over the past few weeks. It will be interesting to see how they will react to us bringing Kylin home. We’ve already got a plan for how we’ll introduce them, but I have to admit I’m starting to feel guilty. I know they won’t be my first focus anymore. I know I won’t have as much time for them. Anyways, I know it will all be fine…just another “prebaby” emotion to deal with. I’m just so thankful for the love these puppies have given us over the past 3 years. They have brought so much joy to my heart and I think through them God has taught me how to be still and enjoy…these dogs aren’t like regular dogs…they have their own feelings that they display quite boldly! For instance, if they are mad with us, they will still lay near us but completely turn their heads away from us and puff pretty loudly to let us know their thoughts on the matter! When they want attention they couldn’t get closer to one of us and won’t let us stop touching them until they are content. When they sense that one of us is sad they will literally climb into our laps (remember how big these dogs are) and will lay their heads on our shoulders and let us know it will be okay! It will be fun introducing them to their new companion…I think they’re gonna love her!

Until next time...enjoy each moment for what it is! Life is worth it!

36 weeks pregnant!

2009-01-17T15:09:00.001-05:00

We have successfully made it to the point where the doctor has told us "If she comes we are not stopping her!" Yay! What a relief I think to have made it to the point where she will be developed enough to come into this world if she were to come early. The past few weeks I've been sort of impatient with wanting her to get her. I think I'm finally OK with waiting however long it takes for her to be ready to join us. Thanks to friends advice I realize I won't get this sweet time back, even though it will be TONS of fun to have her here, I won't ever get to go back and experience being pregnant with my little Kylin again. I have decided to enjoy these last few weeks!
We had a doctor's appointment yesterday which went great. We got to do an ultrasound and the technician gave us a sneak peak in 3D, which we totally did not expect. It was such a nice surprise...and alot of fun! Our little baby still wants to keep at least one hand in front of her face so we couldn't get a full face view, but what we got to see was absolutely precious! She weighs approx. 6 pounds and supposedly has a good bit of hair on her head! I guess she gets that from me! We will now start going to the doctor every week so next Friday will be another checkup. Things are going good...I'm feeling great for the most part and all the last minute stuff we needed to get ready is falling into place. Until next time...28 days and still counting!

Waiting Patiently...or trying to at least!

2009-01-13T18:36:00.001-05:00

32 days and still counting down...that is as long as Kylin doesn't decide to be late. I am planning on working up until she comes. I've actually been feeling really go0d! I'm so thankful for that! I feel we've been very lucky with this pregnancy as far as health goes. We have most things ready for her and I have to admit...it's hard waiting on a baby to come. Sometimes we end up just sitting in her nursery looking through all the cool stuff we've gotten and talking about our hopes and plans for her throughout life. It has been a lot of fun experiencing this adventure with Travis. I am so glad I get to be a parent right alongside him. It won't be too much longer and we'll have baby pictures to share! I can't believe this little miracle will soon be entering the world.

33 weeks

2008-12-27T17:19:00.000-05:00

49 days….give a few, take a few…the day we’ve been waiting for since June will be here. I think I’ve gotten over the period of being completely afraid of labor that I’m just now in awe that “our moment” will be here so soon. She could possibly be here in about 3 weeks and the docs wouldn’t do anything to try and slow it down or stop it. Today I’ve been trying to get things around the house ready “just in case!” I guess you never can really be prepared for something like this. Her room is ready and we have almost everything we “think” we will need when she first gets here but I’m sure there are all those little items we won’t even realize we’ll need until we actually need them!
I’ve read about and heard about the Braxton Hicks contractions but never noticed that I was experiencing them until just two nights ago…it was pretty exciting! I can feel my body starting to get ready for all that it will endure. It’s amazing how our body tries it’s best to take care of us and prepare us. God definitely knew what He was doing when he created us…it’s all just perfect…literally.
Kylin has been kicking and moving around constantly! I can tell she’s growing and getting stronger…actually I can feel it…her little kicks and rolls are so strong sometimes! We are 33 weeks so our countdown begins…49…

30 weeks pregnant

2008-12-06T15:08:00.000-05:00

I am currently 30 weeks pregnant….wow….each day I still find myself amazed at this fact. Each day we get closer to having our “real” baby here. It’s still hard to really understand how she is already alive and living inside of me. I can feel her kick and turn over all throughout the day…but it’s still a concept that blows my mind away. Last night, Travis and I found ourselves sitting in the nursery looking at all we’ve done to get ready for her and talking about what we still need to get and/or do. I cherish those moments spent with him just talking about our past and dreaming about the future. God has brought the two of us through a lot and He continues to take us through this life that is ever-changing and sometimes hard to figure out and understand. I am so thankful for this path I get to walk down and I could not imagine my life without Travis. It seems like just yesterday I was watching him walk up to me for the very first time and pull up a chair beside me in the Gordon College cafeteria and here we are a little over 6 years later talking about our little girl. I am still blown away by the sight of Travis walking up to me….he still takes my breath away. I’m more in love with him now than ever and thinking about him becoming the father to our little girl brings tears to my eyes. Love…it really is a powerful thing. I know God has blessed me tremendously!

I’m feeling Kylin kick and move now more than ever. She has definitely been active! Sometimes at night I feel her kick so hard it hurts…but the uncomfortableness is bearable because it’s nice to know she’s there and doing alright. We went to the doctor this past Monday and everything is looking great. I’ve been so lucky to remain fairly healthy throughout this pregnancy. I can’t believe the pregnancy part is quickly coming to an end. I have to say even though I am beyond excited to have her here with us…I am scared about what is to come. I question if I’ll be not just a good mother, but an amazing mother! I want to be the best for her! I get scared about the labor and delivery aspect and hope and pray everything turns out alright. I wonder if Travis and I will know just what to do with her when she does get here. I know though that there is no way we could ever be fully prepared for a new baby…we’ll just do the best we can. Until she gets here, I’ll just keep cherishing these moments spent dreaming about what she’ll be like and what it will feel like holding my little newborn.

Kylin's Nursery

2008-11-28T17:17:00.000-05:00

This is a teacup floor lamp that Travis made! I am so impressed!

The mirror reads "Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is the most adorable of them all".

Welcome to the most adorable room in the house!

The changing station

We are nearing 29 weeks and little Kylin's nursery is almost complete! It is by far my favorite room in the house! :) I just can't wait to enjoy it with our sweet little girl.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-27T18:52:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday. I can't believe Thanksgiving is here and almost over.....that means we're only getting closer to meeting our little girl! This week I've been off all week so Travis and I have gotten alot of work done in the nursery. It is looking better than I ever imagined! (the frame in the background will hold a pic of the baby once she gets here....we just put it up for now to get an idea of where everything is going! lol)

I'll have to post pics again from the baby shower this past weekend. I posted some but obviously the post did not go through completely because they are not up. Sorry about that.

We are nearing the 29 week point! I'm feeling great so far. I feel better now in the third trimester than I did in the second. I still get exhausted easily, walk slowly through stores, and need to take breaks throughout the day but other than that I cannot complain. In like less than 77 days our little one will be here. It is truly amazing! Each moment I feel her kicking reminds me that she is really there and getting stronger each day. Lately it has felt like she is doing complete flips inside my stomach! I love to feel her there but sometimes the movements are pretty strong and I'm sure I give off some pretty funny faces! Oh, this week I started pages for her scrapbook.....I figured once she gets here I'll be busy with her and making pages of what she's currently doing so I went ahead and started pages from when we found out we were pregnant and then some ultrasound visit pages and such.

Travis has been busy building shelves for the nursery, painting, and just decorating all the finishing touches in her room. She is a lucky little girl to have a Dad that puts so much effort into making her room fit for a princess! I think the room looks like a little baby shop. It's better than I ever imagined it could look. I find myself walking in there and sitting throughout the day just imagining how it will be when she is in there with me!

I'm sure December will fly by. I only have 3 weeks of teaching with my students and I know that will go by soooo fast! I've been lucky to have these holiday breaks built in to my pregnancy!

I'm off to enjoy the rest of a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Hospital Fun

2008-11-17T19:22:00.000-05:00

So....it's about 7:30 p.m. and we are BACK in the hospital for Travis this time. In the past four weeks this is our third visit among us in the not-so-fun place. Travis has hyponatremia and from time to time his sodium will drop and this will lead us to the hospital for an IV and Lasix and lots of donating of his blood! Today his sodium was down to 123. Usually we will come in when it's like 127 or a little higher so this is the lowest it's been in a few years. He gets very lethargic and nauseated, looks pitiful, and I wish I could take his place. I mean, it's not fair he gets the comfy bed and I'm cramped in one of those chairs in the corner! Oh well...I'm just thankful that for now all things are going good with our pregnancy....other than the frequent exhaustion...I'm learning my limits and try not too push them to far.
Anyways, right now I'm just taking advantage of the wireless internet here in the room so I'll keep you posted.
That's it for now~

2008-11-10T18:25:00.000-05:00

Taking a pic of myself at 26 wks. and 2 days!
26 weeks!
22 weeks
22 weeks
26 weeks

I am sooo excited! We got to have the 4D ultrasound done this morning and even though our little baby kept putting her hands in front of her face we were able to get a few precious shots! It's still so amazing that we can see her this clearly already. It is amazing to see how far she has come in just 26 short weeks. She went from being a little "bean" to looking like a real baby.

23 1/2 weeks pregnant

2008-11-02T14:14:00.000-05:00

This is me at 23 and 1/2 weeks pregnant. As of Nov. 1 we are 25 weeks pregnant! It is going by soooo fast!

http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/t/travisandkirsten/
This is the baby journaling page I've been using but it will only let me put up 3 pics soo.....it's this blogspot for now.

2008-11-02T13:27:00.000-05:00

October was a crazy month! Whew....finally after having set this blog up a month ago I'm finally sitting down to get it going. I've been doing good...just continuing to take it slow. Travis and I went to Walmart last nite for some grocery shopping and I could not even walk fast at all....like I felt like a turtle walking so slow but Travis is such a great husband that he walked at my pace right beside me. I don't know what I'd do without him.

I've uploaded a few pics from the past week in OUR life....we can't get our scanner to work so no ultrasound pics yet. :(

This is my new favorite children's books 'You Are My I Love You'. I got it last weekend for Kylin. It is amazing how everything in our life now revolves around this little girl who isn't even born yet!

Pet Fun Day 2008

2008-10-02T22:18:00.000-04:00

Slade got to conquer the "mountain" as well.

Slade was happy just sitting on the winners block!

Coda got to conquer the "mountain".

Travis is holding Slade up to see the little gerbils. Yum Yum! lol

Coda FINALLY found a doggy buffet!

Slade was a little unsure about this whole "store" experience!
Statesboro Rec. Dept. hosted a Pet Fun Day so we took the boys and the had a great time! Then, we bought them hamburgers from BK and last they got to go to Petco! What a day!!! We figured they needed a day centered around them in between all this baby planning.

New website

2008-10-02T21:23:00.000-04:00

So....I'm getting tired of the baby website we set up cause it's been too hard to add more photos and then I tried this other website but visitors had to sign up and get a login in order to view it....so....I'm thinking setting up a blog is the way to go.