It's that time of year

Freaking winter!! I tell ya. I love the changing seasons, the trees, the crispness of the air, that winter smell. I even like snow. But one major difference between here and San Diego is how many freaking time we get sick because of how freaking cold it is. I think last winter I got a total of five severe colds. It isn't even November and I've already had one... and it's turned into a sinus infection. Ugh! Nothing quite like having your teeth hurt because of a sinus infection.

I will tell you, the only thing worse than having a cold is having a young child with a cold. So here's a recap of our last two weeks. Ready? Katherine gets sick, down for three days. Kevin gets sick, down for three days. Katherine gets food poisoning, down for two days. Lyla get's sick, down for three days. It was a dark dark time. Especially because when you weren't sick, you were worn down by having to take care of a sick spouse and a baby. Not fun. Fortunately, we're on the road to recovery.


I think the hardest was dealing with sick Lyla. She's never been sick like this and she just seemed so helpless. Especially at night because she was uncomfortable and thus didn't want to sleep. Which meant, no sleep for us. Fortunately the recommended treatment for a baby with a cold really worked. It is: steam, salt water, and suction. After the first night of being up with her, I wasn't shy about administering it (even though Lyla really didn't like it).


For us, steam was either running the humidifier and trying to get her in the path of its vent or taking her in the shower and letting it run hot. So over the last few days, Lyla took three showers, which she liked moderately more than her baths so it may become part of the routine. For salt water, we bough a nose sprayer designed for children. Of course Lyla did not like the intrusion of me jamming it in her nostril and had to be held down to administer it. Though I think she recognized the good it was doing because she would lean forward to line her nose up to it, but then she'd turn away when it got near her face as if she had suddenly realized what was about to happen.

Suction consisted of post-salt water, sticking an aspirator (a rubber bulb with a nozzle on one end... kind of like a tiny turkey baster) in a nostril, releasing the squeeze bulb and drawing out... (what's the polite word for snot? mucous?) mucous. That girl had a lot of mucous. She also had no hesitation about how much she dislikes the aspirator. Not fun trying to pin her down and jam something in her nose. All while being gentle and reassuring. Especially when your reward is mucous. But despite the discomfort and potential trauma, Lyla's health improved quickly and she's almost past it (she is sleeping through the night again).

So the pictures are of Lyla up late because she couldn't sleep. Sad because of the cold and being tired, yet somehow still in a good mood. Glad to be reading books with mom and dad.

And this picture is just a taste of all the cute pictures of Lyla in winter gear that you can expect over the coming months.


Also, Friday is Lyla's first Halloween and I guarantee you that if you check back in in the coming days you will not be disappointed by how freaking cute she is in her costume. Yay baby costumes!!! Oooh, Lyla's going to be 11 months next week. Do I have to stop referring to her as a baby?

Final count: 4 uses of the word "freaking"; 4 uses of the word "mucous". I smell a Pulitzer... actually I don't smell anything. Freaking mucous!

It's a boy!!

Or at least it will be sometime around March 17, 2009. For all y'all (that's southern for "those of you") who didn't know, Katherine's pregnant!! Again!! I know!! I can hardly believe it either!! Especially because Lyla and her little brother are only going to be 15 months apart in age. Next year is going to be CRAZY!!

Anyway, yesterday we went in for the ultrasound and the baby looks real healthy. We also found out the child's gender (we like to know the gender. I respect those who wait to find out a lot but Katherine and I both really enjoy knowing). During the ultrasound the little guy was being shy but the tech was able to get pretty good confirmation that he's a he. I personally hadn't spent much time before the ultrasound speculating about the gender, mainly because I didn't want to expose myself to the possibility of being excited. And also because I remember the rush of emotion when we found out Lyla was a girl and just the onslaught of anticipated future Daddy/Daughter experiences that came flooding in.

And yesterday the same thing happened. We saw that he's a boy and immediately I started thinking about my little man and playing catch and wrestling and teaching him to work on stuff and teaching him to be respectful and polite and chivalrous. It was (and continues to be great). Another thing I'm excited about is that he's the first boy among Katherine and my siblings. He has an older sister and two older girl cousins. Man are they going to terrorize him. It will be so much fun.
We've already received a number of suggestions for names from our family. Fortunately we have a lot of great names among the males in both our families. Right now the working name is "Michael Jeff-Jeff Stephen IsTheBest David Robot Awesome Dude 3000 Ring". Katherine and I are going to keep the real name to ourselves (probably) until he's born (like we did with Lyla), but think that might be easier said than done this time.

Anyway, we're super excited and it was so great to see him on the ultrasound. He's so cute. I can't wait to meet him.

Lyla's new word

Our routine most nights is: a little before 8 pm, Lyla and I head upstairs for "night night." She usually waves (not necessarily to anyone) as we say "night night" as we're going up the stairs. We go into her room, turn the lamp on low and grab her pajamas and a diaper. We then head into the bathroom where I was her face, hands, and feet, change her diaper, pretend to eat her hands and feet, and put on her pj's. We then say "night night" to Lyla in the mirror, then I lean her down so she can switch off the bathroom light. We say "night night bathroom", "night night hallway", "night night stairs", and "night night door". Then we sit in her chair and give her a bottle.

Every night, as she's eating I pray for her. I pray that God will pour his grace upon her, that she would know him, that she will lead a life of love and obedience to him and that he would be glorified in her life. I pray for wisdom, humility, love and patience as parents. I pray for protection, health, and growth. I pray for our family and the different people in our lives. I then thank God for his grace and mercy, his love, his Spirit, and his Son. And then I say "amen".

Some nights I finish before she does, some nights she finishes before I do. I then burp her, and then lay her in my arms. I say "night night", carry her to her crib, tell her I love her and set her in with her bear.

Tonight she finished her bottle a little before I finished praying so I wiped her mouth and sat her up as I finished my prayer by saying, "... and thank you for your Son, and it's in his name we pray. Amen."

And tonight, for the first time ever, Lyla replied (clear as day) "Ah-men."

God is amazing.

Nap time.

As Lyla gets bigger little behaviors/mannerisms/etc. start developing that make her seem more and more like a little girl (as opposed to a baby). For example, when sleeping, she will role all around in her crib often ending up in some really funny sleeping positions. See for yourself:

Simple pleasures

Enjoy: