Memorial Day Weekend

The annual Stone Family Reunion took place over Memorial Day Weekend. We made the trip from CA to be with everyone. It's always so fun to catch up and see what has changed and what has stayed the same each year.

We started with a visit with E's grandparents and mom, as well as a visit to the Mudbug Festival where we enjoyed some crawfish, art displays, and good music.

We always have three hosted events during the weekend. Aunt Dottie has everyone to her house for an evening of BBQ and fun. Susan hosts brunch the next morning, and we wrap up at Uncle Ronnie's for swimming, karaoke, and fajitas. I only took pictures at Susan's house this year, which means I captured the annual puppet show organized by Aunt Carol. The younger generation loves this part of the weekend!

We managed to get a large group picture this year, and we had almost everyone there!

I also played with a new-to-me lens while we were there. There were lots of beautiful flowers to take pictures of!

There are more pictures in the album!

Audrey McKenzie Taylor

Born 3/10/10 at 12:31 pm. 8 lb 3 oz. 19.5 in long. Pictures coming soon. E hasn't come out of the OR yet.

OR

E has gone in...I'm waiting to join her. She was progressing a little@but not really in labor so she decided to go ahead with the c-section.

Hospital

We are at the hospital for Audrey's birth. E has been having a few contractions and the doctor will probably check her progress when he gets here but chances are we will be going into the operating room in about an hour for a c-section at about noon. They are getting her all prepped right now.

Audrey McKenzie Taylor

We had our last planned ultrasound today, and we're still expecting a healthy baby girl! As of today she weighs 3 lbs 6 oz. All four chambers of her heart we're beating strongly at 131 beats per minute, and apparently she's already working on her flexibility for becoming a dancer because she had her feet above her head!

We have decided to name her Audrey McKenzie Taylor. Audrey means "Noble Strength" and is simply a name we really like. McKenzie is a name that belongs to two special people in our lives. Ross' great aunt's name was Elsie McKenzie. Elsie was Dick's mother, and someone both Ross and I loved and respected immensely. Ross' sister, Leslie McKenzie, was named after her. Because Elsie meant so much to us we wanted to honor her by using the name McKenzie. We hope baby Audrey will live a life as full and rich and God-honoring as Elsie.

Here are a couple of the ultrasound pictures of Audrey from today. The first is a face shot from the front, and the second is a profile. We think she is adorable and can't wait to meet her!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

THE GOOD...

Jackson's 8th tooth finally broke through, so he's been in a great mood lately. Ross has been busy working the shuttle flight, which means JD and I have had some fun, quality time together. Here are a few pics from playing around the house on Sunday.

JD with his duck, which he will tell you says "qua, qua"

JD playing peek-a-boo from behind the door.

I'm gonna get you...

What to do next?

We also had another ultrasound done at my last appointment, which was over a week ago...sorry for the delay! This was for the nuchal translucency test. It was fun to get to see the little one again so soon, but apparently it's harder to see through scar tissue (from my c-section), which meant it was harder to get a good pic to share. The little one didn't want to cooperate either. He or she was moving all over the place, which was very different from Jackson. Jackson didn't move at all. I remember them shaking my belly to try to get him to change positions, but I guess he was comfortable. Here's one of the better pics of Baby Taylor #2 from the visit.

THE BAD...

Of course, along with the good comes the bad. Last week Jackson fell at daycare. He landed on a chair with his mouth and almost put a tooth through his lip. After a couple of popsicles and some extra TLC from his teachers, he was good to go. I have to say I've been impressed with how quickly it's healing!

THE UGLY...

We are in the midst of our first home repair. After only 3 weeks in our new house, a wet spot appeared on the ceiling in our living room! We had someone come out to look at it today, but even they couldn't figure out where it came from. There aren't any pipes near that area. After they left, Ross noticed a very small spot in another ceiling upstairs that's fairly close to the area downstairs and both are close to a wall, so we're wondering if it's a roof problem or something...the roof was replaced last year though! Hopefully, we can get it figured out and fixed soon. In the mean time, there's now a hole in the ceiling of our living room!

Catching Up (Big Announcement Too)!

There's been another delay in posting, but at least I can say our lives have been busy! I'll just hit the highlights for you. Backing up to the last post about the weekend we had an offer accepted on a new house...that very same day we found out that I am pregnant again! My first doctor's appointment was last week, and everything looks good. The expected due date is March 4th!

Since then we have also sold our house. It was only on the market for a whopping 9 days and had well over 20 showings in that short time.

Jackson also had his 1 year doctor's appointment where he got his first serious bump on the head...at least we were at the doctor's office right? He was toddling around the room and landed forehead first on a low shelf beneath a bench. A bruise and welt showed up almost immediately. Fortunately, he recovered quickly, and otherwise, he's doing great. He is now in the 50-75th percentile in height and the 35th percentile for weight. Both are higher than the curve he's been on, so he's definitely growing well.

I also turned 30 since the last post. The shuttle finally launched that day, which was a good present, and Ross and Jackson gave me some beautiful red tulips. I had fun taking pictures of them as you can see.

Who does Jackson look like?

Most people, by far, say that Jackson looks like me (Ross). I don't claim to be able to see it...I think he looks like a baby. However, my parents gave me some of my baby pictures and I have to say it is pretty clear when you compare the baby pictures. So, here you go...

I'm not sure exactly but I was probably a little over a month when that was taken. I was a little chubbier than Jackson but the similarities are there. Just check out his album page to see. BTW...that's my mom and most of my sister also in the picture.

Jackson is here!

Mom and baby are doing well. It was a very quick and successful c-section by Dr. Klein. It turns out that Jackson's umbilical cord was only about a foot long (compared to roughly 3 feet normally) so the c-section was absolutely the right decision. Jackson is being warmed up in the nursery right now and should be down for E to hold him pretty soon.

He is 7 lb 5 oz and 20 in. Pictures are coming as soon as possible.

Epidural

They went ahead and gave E an epidural. She is a lot more comfortable now, which is good but I think the main reason they did it is to be prepared for a c-section if necessary. They are trying everything to keep that from happening though. They think that he is turned sideways which is putting extra pressure on him and slowing things down. They are having E try various positions as well as giving her oxygen to try to keep his heart rate up. So far, things are looking pretty good since the last change.

It's pretty amazing how many monitors, tubes, etc they put on a perfectly healthy woman. We are now monitoring both heart rates, E's BP, and contractions. She also has a couple of IV drips, the epidural, and oxygen. Whatever it takes though!

By the way, I realized that the times on the previous two posts were wrong. I updated them to my best guess but they are still probably a little off...hopefully, this one will work right.

Fetal monitoring

Dr. LeBlanc put a fetal monitor in because Jackson's heart rate is dropping during contractions. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but they want to be able to accurately monitor the timing. They are also prepping E for an epidural because the pain is pretty severe and they want her to be ready for a c-section if necessary. She is 2 cm dilated and 90% effaced.

Saw the doctor

Dr. Klein stopped by and verified that E's water is broken, she is a "loose 1 cm" dilated, and about 80% effaced. He said there was a dramatic difference from yesterday so things are looking good!

Hospital

We're in! We didn't have any problem getting a room since E thinks her water is broken. They are getting her all set up right now. She is still only 1 cm dilated but they can't tell for sure if her water is broken (yet?).

Labor

Elizabeth is in labor! It started at about 2 am but has gotten intense quickly. It is now 5:30 am and her contractions are ~5 min apart and 1 min long. At about 5 til 5, she called the doctor to see if she should go in. About 5 min later she got a call from the hospital to see if she could wait until 8 to come in for induction because they don't have any beds available. We haven't heard back from the doctor yet but this is not very encouraging.

Jackson is Coming!

It's official. I will be induced tomorrow if I don't go into labor some time tonight. We had our 41 week doctor's appointment today, and I had at least made some progress. I was dilated 1 cm. From there we went to the hospital for our "preop" appointment, which took care of all of our paperwork, so tomorrow we'll just show up and have a baby. :)

Baby Room Woodworking

First, a quick update...we are still waiting for Jackson to decide he is ready to come. As E said last week, labor will be induced on Thursday unless he decides to come before then. However, E has gotten sick with a stomach bug that has been going around. She checked with the doctor and they may delay the induction if she still isn't feeling well tomorrow. I guess we'll see what happens...

While we wait, I figured I'd talk a little about the woodworking in the baby room. Elizabeth posted pictures last week so have a look at that (because I don't feel like posting more right now - sorry). The dresser was a fun project and it turned out pretty good. I talked about the plan a while back and have posted one update. The project went pretty smoothly because of my experience with the desk. It is a fairly simple MDF case on a stained birch base. The tolerances were pretty tight because of the overlay drawers but it worked out pretty well. The one new experience is that I got a paint/stain sprayer to try to make finishing easier. It worked really well and I am happy with it. The biggest problem with the dresser is that I didn't realize the "clear" polyurethane actually has a bit of a yellow tint. You can't really tell in the pictures but it is noticeable in person. I guess I could sand it down but I don't think it is worth it.

I'm really happy with the wall art...it is just three pieces of MDF glued and screwed together. I got a circle jig for my router that made the circles pretty easy. After setting it up and cutting, they just needed a little sanding to fix the irregularities. They are hung with my standard keyholes. This particular project made me really feel like a woodworker because I had the required materials laying around and didn't have to go buy anything. I'm not sure that will happen very often though since I usually take on big projects.

Healthy Baby Boy...Still in my Belly

It has been a long morning. We went in for my weekly doctor's appointment this morning, which usually only takes about 20 minutes. My due date is this Saturday, and I show no signs of Jackson's arrival yet. They had a harder time finding his heartbeat today and decided they wanted to make sure he was okay to stay in my belly for another week, so they sent us to the hospital to monitor Jackson's heartbeat and my contractions, as well as to perform a bio-physical ultrasound.

Jackson's heart rate was good, and I was surprised to learn that I'm having contractions fairly regularly since I don't feel them at all. They were around every 6.5 minutes. Unfortunately, they aren't making any progress though.

After being monitored for a while, they sent us to the ultrasound lab where they checked Jackson's biological functions and measured the amount of amniotic fluid. From what I could tell his heart looked good. You could actually see the chambers. They showed us his stomach and bladder and reaffirmed that he's a boy. They also said he doesn't have a lot of hair on his head. It just amazes me that you can get that level of detail!

It took more than half of the day, but we left knowing that Jackson still looks healthy. My doctor has decided to induce next Thursday if Jackson still hasn't arrived. I would much rather go into labor on my own before then, so all prayers are appreciated! Regardless, we'll likely get to meet our little boy by next Thursday!

Getting lazy...

I've started getting lazy in the last couple of weeks. Since the crawfish boil I've managed to do just what's required each day. I guess my body is trying to tell me to slow down, but in the process I didn't make time to do a post about the wonderful "coed" baby shower some of our work friends hosted for us. From adorable cupcakes to yummy food and drinks to adorable and useful gifts to great company, we couldn't have had a better time. Of course, there are pics in the album, and here's a pic of the cupcakes (minus 1 that had already been eaten).

Now we're just counting down the days until Jackson's arrival! Ross is almost done with the dresser for his room, so expect to see an update with the finished product soon.

Weekend of Celebrations

This weekend we made our way to Ruston, Louisiana to celebrate Carter's 1st birthday and to have a baby shower for Jackson.

Heath and Barbara have been some of our best friends since college. We have been there for each other through lots of good and bad times, but this weekend was definitely one of those good times. Their son, Carter, is such a precious little boy. We were fortunate to be there the day he was born, and a year later, we got to celebrate his life with his friends and family. He had such a good time as you can see in the picture below and in the album.

The next day Barbara, Mrs. Judy (Barbara's mom), and Mrs. Paula (Heath's mom) threw a baby shower for Jackson. It was a beautiful shower. They decorated with adorable burp cloths that were embroidered by Mrs. Paula and had a delicious spread of food. Let me tell you...this little boy is definitely going to be well dressed and spoiled! Our family and close friends came to celebrate Jackson. I loved having everyone together, and they certainly showed their love and support through their generosity. There are a few pictures from the shower in the album, and here's a picture of the bedding we received at the shower!

Dresser Progress

I've been making some pretty good progress on the dresser for Jackson's room. Yesterday, I started painting. The drawers still need to be made but it is probably going to be ready pretty soon if I can find some time to work on it. Below is a picture of the base just before glue-up. I'll try to get some more pictures up soon.