Happy Halloween!!

So halloween officially hit our house complete with a baby dinosaur, pretty witch and clown dog. I didn't get out most of my decorations, so felt a little bad about that, but Grace was still jacked up about getting to go trick-or-treating! She even practiced her "song" -- Trick or Treat, give us something good to eat, if you don't we'll pull down your underwear! (Her version) all week. She also got to have a halloween party at daycare, complete with costumes, but instead of a pretty witch, she went as a ballerina (that morning she did NOT want to be a witch and we weren't going to fight it).

(And no, she hadn't had any candy yet!)

(Thrilled to be in his costume...)
(Even more thrilled to be in a costume...)

(This is what thrilled REALLY looks like!)

Coo-ing Kellan

So our little man is really making eye contact, response-smiling and giggling and doing lots of cooing. Here's a few pix...they really capture how happy of a baby he is!

Kellan -- 2 months

So October 20th marks 2 months for Kellan. He has his doctor appointment a day early, so here's the stats:
Height: 23.8 inches (81%!!), Weight: 12.6 pounds (68%), Head Circ: 16 inches (65%)

All signs point to great growth...definitely ahead of the curve in all areas and WAY ahead of where his sister (teeny, tiny Miss Skinny-minny) was at this time.

Other updates with Kellan -- last Tuesday he started making direct eye-contact and smiling back at Chuck, Grace and myself. It makes my heart melt everytime he does it...and sort of giggles...SO adorable!! He also loves the Einstein mat and the mobile that hangs over his crib. He spent a full half-hour cooing and "punching" at it one day!

Grace is keeping busy (as can be seen in the recently posted videos) and is getting little tastes of what life will be like with baby brother at daycare because a couple times I have taken Kellan in with me when I've picked her up and she gets SO protective of him & won't let the other kids near him and once even tried to stop Dyan (our daycare lady) from holding him. She also got to spend a fun "sleep-over" with Grammy Barb. They met up with Uncle Sam and went to a Cougar volleyball game - and from the report I got...it was a big hit for the first half of the matches, then it was lights out for Grace!

Other family updates -- I had my first epidural steroid shot 2 weeks ago and Gramma carol came to stay with us for about a week since my back was still pretty messed up and to give me a chance to stay down and let my back absorb the medicine and start to heal (without having to wrangle 2 little ones all the time). So far it seems to be working well...my back has been feeling somewhat better and I have the second shot tomorrow, so am hopeful that will tip the healing process to my favor and make all this back nonesense go away. I'm also doing PT and in combination, hopefully I'll be as good as new...that's the hope anyway.
While Carol was here Aunt Callie, Uncle Brian and Caleb came down and visited and Grace had a ton of fun playing with Caleb. Whether they were running, dancing or bouncing on the bed (one of those "where did they go?" moments and then cue the "No more monkeys bouncing on the bed" & giggling from the guest room) the two cousins were having a blast hanging out!
Chuck and I went deer hunting this weekend & both of us got a buck, so we have meat for the freezer...and since I drew one of the new double-deer tags, I can still go out and nab a doe.
I think that's about it for now...but more is sure to come!

New Grace dance videos

So I did upload one short video (below) but uploaded a few other bigger (ok, HUGE) files via YouTube. You can see them if you check out the video bar on the right. Enjoy...and since she does this almost daily, you can believe that we do!!

Grace -- Don't Stop Believin'

Ever since Grace heard/saw this song on "Glee" she is always asking for it and singing it!

Baby, bugs, and back

So I'm already slacking at the blog with Kellan. I guess it was only a matter of time...a cliche that I'm hearing about a bunch of things that have been going on in our lives.

I guess the first was a visit by Auntie Liz. I had a free place ticket from last fall and it was about to expire, so after a quick change of name with the airline...she was on her way to come and see us, but more importantly...meet Kellan! The timing was perfect too because the day she arrived was the same day that Chuck left on a hunting/pack trip with his parents and Uncle Brian up in the Pasayten Wilderness. I admit - I try to be super-mom at times, but I was nervous about the prospect of managing Kellan and Grace on my own for a week. Well, it turned out to be more of a blessing to have Liz here than I could have realized because...

Swine flu. They are saying it's just a matter of time before you get it, especially if you've been in Pullman or anywhere on campus. Guilty on both counts...so guess it shouldn't have been too shocked when Grace spiked a fever. But then it last for 4.5 days, along with a cough, sore throat, and runny nose. Unfortunately it hit 2 days before Liz left, so she spent nights up late with me checking Grace's temp, alternating Tylenol & Motrin, wiping her nose and just helping her get through a VERY miserable time.

Now before Kellan, I had been fighting lower back pain. After an MRI, we discovered I had 3 bulging discs - yikes & ouch!!!! So I started physical therapy to get things under control and after about 3 months of therapy...I found out I was pregnant. Therapy kinda went out the window after that...and the pregnancy kind of helped by throwing my back into the correct positioning, but my brother-in-law (a physical therapist) said he thought it "would only be a matter of time" before my back had an episode again. Well, on top of Grace being very sick and Liz heading home (before Chuck was back) so I was on my own -- I tried to move the garbage out and instead...threw my back out. It was HORRIBLE!!! I couldn't walk, crawl, and the worst - I couldn't pick up Kellan. Thankfully before it really seized up...I called Grammy Barb and she was able to stay for a few days and help out, as well as Grandma Cheryl too. The doctor squeezed me in and could see the pain I was in, as well as the spazms in my back, so initial treatment -- 3 days FLAT on my back with heavy medication. I did pretty well for about 2 days, but then made my way back to my recliner. It's getting a little better...but the spazms definitely haven't let up, walking is still stiff and painful (but managed) and I go to the doctor tomorrow to figure out what's next. I have to admit...I don't know if I've ever been as thankfully to have family so close as I have been throughout this debacle!!

So Kellan update -- new pic's in the slideshow and a couple here -- he's eating a TON and growing to prove it...just shy of 12 pounds (of not there and I just don't realize it). He's also awake quite a bit more and loves to look around all over so we (well, Chuck or one of the grandmas who's here helping) take him on walks throughout the house. He has also developed good head control...can hold it up on his own and when he's on "tummy time" he can turn it from side to side and is starting to do the "inchworm." The other thing we've found is HOW much he loves to swing...he'll look around for a bit before - lights out! He also LOVES to snuggle and be cuddled...which is funny because as a baby, Grace hated being swaddled or cuddled too tight.

All in all...it's been a crazy week and a half around here, but we're coming out the otherside - and hopefully...if the doctor appointment goes well tomorrow...we'll be on the mend.

Rollin' down the river!

Well, we finally did it...we bought our own raft! :-) NRS had a fantastic sale and among the wet suits, dry suits, boots, lifejackets, etc....they had 4 rafts for sale. Turns out they were custom built for a guide company and after a couple runs down the river, they returned them. Lucky for us...they were in near-perfect condition! So...with the price right, we decide to take the leap and get one!

Here's to many summers of DeMCougs enjoying our favorite water activity! :-)

A baby Cougar

So I have actually gotten some crap - from a few different sources - about why Kellan hasn't been wearing more Cougar gear/why I didn't have Cougar pix of him/why haven't we taken him to a game yet....

GEEZ!
Answers....we only have one Cougar newborn onesie (we got some other sizes, but he's jsut not big enough yet)...I hadn't really had a chance (getting there...) and between the fact that the Cougs are playing only their 2nd game of the season as I type this post & the crazy sickness/flu that is all over the WSU campus, I haven't really felt like showing him off at a tailgate would be the smartest thing to do - call me a bad Coug if you want, but I'd rather keep him healthy (especially since his cold is subsiding and he can breathe better again).

But........all that said - I was inspired yesterday. I was watching the TODAY show (as I do every morning to catch up with what's going on in the world) and just about the time the show was going to switch from hard news to soft stories...the first piece was about a photographer in the midwest who only shoots newborns-6 week old babies (think Anne Geddes-type pix) and she gave some tips/ideas. As a result - Kellan was fed, I warmed up the house and a Coug photo shoot ensued! :-)

Here's a couple of my fav's....more in the Kellan slideshow. Enjoy & GO COUGS!!

Sniffle, sniffle - the joys of kiddos!

So Grace was back to daycare for all of 2 days when she got a runny nose. Not sure if it's from the kids or her allergies, but regardless...because of her need to constantly be right in Kellan's face (I'm much stricter about her staying back than Daddy...but we're working on it)...now Kellan has the same sniffles. Well, I guess its good we made it to the 3 week mark before he got sick, right?! And at least there's no fever, so we must be in the clear with H1N1...
It is pretty funny to hear a 3 week old snore however -- especially when he's sleeping on Daddy's chest & Dad's snoring too! :-)
In other news...chuck is still plugging away on our deck, Cougar football isn't starting too bad (let's just say so far Wulff is living into his goal of "losing by less"), and in a week Auntie Liz gets to come visit for a few days. Not too shabby and not too busy...all in all things are going well.

2 weeks and counting...

Well today was (and still is) a bit traumatic for our little Kellan-man. We had to go into the Dr. first thing for his 2 week check-up --- all went well, he's grown an inch (or has finally "unscrunched" as Chuck puts it) and is up to 8# 10oz. so is growing quite quickly.
Unfortunately for him, this appointment also included a blood draw from some newborn screening tests and....his circumcision. I waited in the exam room while Kellan and Chuck went down the hall for the "procedure." Chuck and Tammy (the nurse) both said he did very well...didn't cry but apparently turned red as a tomato, ground down on his binky and toughed it out. Since we've been home, things have a been a bit more vocal, but still he's remarkably good about all of it.
Otherwise...we did have to make a trip to the ER a couple nights ago...I was having terrible pains in my lower right abdomen...right about where your appendix lives. I was fine with riding it out and seeing if jsut got better...but when it started really getting worse, following a quick trip to Costco...well, I finally agreed to go in to see the Dr. Unfortunately ReadyCare was closingi n a half-hour, so they sent me down to the ER. Ugggg! As soon as we walked in they told us they were having tons of swine flu cases in, so better to wear a mask, not touch anything and DEFINITELY not bring Kellan in (Grace was across the road at aour neighbor's...Thanks Dyan!). So...Chuck and Kellan went back to the car and I turned into a human pin-cushion. After almost 6 hours, 1 CT (all-clear), 2 IVs of saline, 3 different meds...it turned out the ER doc had NO CLUE what was wrong so said he would call it Endometriosis. Now, I'm no doctor myself, but I know that's not possible...and so did he, but god-forbid he admit he didn't know. Thankfully I had my post-op appointment a day later and my doctor knew exactly what was going on when I explained to him the pain I was still having. Turns out in the sutures from the c-section, they likely hit a nerve that fires and gets aggravated every time I have to use that particular muscle. Until the suture totally dissolves...I just have to tough it out and actually RELAX. The less I'm up and about...the less pain I have -- amazing how that works!
So...Kellan and I are just relaxing today - neither of us wanting to move too much and that is suiting us just fine.
Last night was a bit harder though because Grace had us cracking up pretty hard and that was really engaging the muscles that I wanted to keep relaxed. It was worth it though and I hope you enjoy the video! Be sure to note what's happening on the TV and then what Grace does a few seconds later...she runs the gamet of hip-hop, Broadway/jazz and contemporary! :-)