Growing Up So Fast!

Here are some more recently updated pictures of Alexa. She is now 6 weeks old and getting bigger & bigger everyday. Kyle and I love watching all the changes she's making. She's not sleeping fully through the night yet but she does make it about 4 hour spans at a time...which is greatly appreciated. This first picture is kind of old but we are posting it per Aunt Shannon's request. Alexa and I had the luxury of Aunt Shannon coming up for a special visit shortly after Alexa was born. Shannon got some one on one time with baby Alexa and I got to enjoy Shannon's company and help in taking care of her.

Kyle took this shot after I was done folding clothes. No she doesn't really sleep in a laundry basket but it sure is cute...isn't it? This was only a few weeks ago and I'm almost sure she wouldn't even fit unless she was all scrunched up if we tried it now.

This is Alexa's activity time at Grandma LaBrue's house in Osage Beach. She loves laying on a blanket on the floor and just looking at everything going on around her. She loves to kick and flail her little arms and legs.

Kendall, Michelle, Ashlyn & Preston were nice enough to let us all raid their home for Thanksgiving. We had a blast and that was Alexa's first real trip. She did fine in the 3 hour car ride because she slept the whole way and she loved the attention she got from cousins and Grandma when we arrived. Kyle and Kendall went to witness the tragic MU vs. KU football game so we dressed up for the occassion. Here are Preston, Alexa and I cheering on the MU Tigers from the comfort of Kendall & Michelle's living room! MU should be paying us for looking so good!

Kyle's brothers, Westen & Jeremiah, came from out of town to visit for the week following Thanksgiving and we had a blast with all of them, especially Westen's little girl, Kylie. Kylie is 3 going on 12 and absolutley loved baby Alexa. I think she was kind of dissapointed that Alexa didn't want to play with her and her toys more! It was so cute watching Kylie interact with Alexa and talk to her. She kept coming up to me that week and saying "I love your baby her so cute!" Kylie got to experience Alexa on a more personal basis when she helped me change a couple of diapers....funny enough Kylie was right there with me handing me the wet wipes and throwing away the diapers!

Kylie liked holding the baby but she got bored with it after a while when she realized Alexa didn't really do a whole lot. During Alexa's activity time Kylie would do all kinds of spins and jumps to entertain Alexa and Alexa would just stare at her and Kylie would run up to me and say "Her likes me".

The following weekend was Alexa's blessing so all my family was kind enough to make the travels from Kansas City, Columbia, Arkansas, Willard, and Utah to be there for it...aren't we loved! Here are Shannon and John adoring baby Alexa while she's sleeping..her cutest moments!

Alexa weighs a little more over 9 lbs. and 7 oz. now! It really hit me how fast she is growing when she started out growing a lot of her clothes recently. Don't worry...she has a closet stuffed full of frilly little outfits yet to grow into and I'm very anxious to play dress up with her. She is getting stronger and stronger and holds up her head very well for a 6 week old. The other day she even stood up for a few seconds with me holding her hand!

During the day we don't do much except for eat, sleep, and change diapers. I am very fortunate enough to be able to get stuff done around the house while she is taking her naps. I think one of the biggest things I've learned since she was born is everyday it's all about the timing! I've never had to plan and coordinate timing so much just to go to Wal-Mart! But it's true...everything is a lot more of an ordeal when there's a little baby involved!

We have gone to play group which meets every Wed. and really enjoy that...granted it's more for me than Alexa because she's the youngest one there and she's really not playing all that much. But it is nice to have a reason to get out of the house and have some adult interaction with the other moms!

More pictures!

Alexa as of Thursday Oct. 30th!

Alexa made her big debut on October 28th 2008 at exactly 12:04 p.m.! It was the most wonderful experience ever! She weighed in at 8 lbs. 7 ounces and a whopping 22 1/4 inches long! The nurses didn't believe how long she was at first and thought they mis-calculated! She is the best little baby and she only cries when she is really needing something! We havn't figured out her cries yet but I know we will soon! I'm feeling great and actually got to leave the hospital the following day! The labor and delivery was hardly labor (in my case..at least) and everything went perfectly!

These are the lastest pictures of baby Alexa as of October 30th at 2:15 p.m. and as you can see she already looks different! We all think she is just the cutest and sweetest thing there ever was! Stay tuned for more pictures!

We love you all!

Baby Alexa's Big Debut!

Baby Alexa Update!

Here are the latest and greatest pictures of baby Alexa as of 30 minutes ago! Yes, she is being a stubborn little one and going past her due date! Kyle and I went to a doctor's appointment this morning and nothing has changed...except I am having more contractions;although, they are very irregular! The doctor confirmed today that she is not going to be a huge baby even though she is going past her due date. He said her torso measured in at 37 weeks so that's a great indicator she won't be a giant! Our doctor still didn't want to set a date to be induced yet since nothing has really progressed but we go back Monday and we will set a date then. Even though we didn't get the news we wanted to hear we still got great 3D images of baby Alexa's face...something we've never really seen up close before! I guess she decided to let down her guard just a little bit this time!

Kyle and I both laughed when we saw her face for the first time because we both think she looks almost exactly like I did when I was a baby! She's got the chunky cheeks and the famous Bell nose! We both are getting more and more excited as the days go by and we already thinks she's the most adorable thing ever! I tried to find a good comparison of me as a baby so you all can really see what we're talking about!...

(Cassandra)

(Cassandra)

(Kyle)

Who do you think she looks like?

Still waiting...

Well I'm officially 39 weeks pregnant. We went to another doctor's appointment this morning so that they could tell us that I was still pregnant and they didn't know when I could have the baby! If I don't have her at some point this week...which my due date is Oct. 19th..then they will for sure induce labor towards the end of the following week!....still everyday that goes by feels like it's a long time to wait! Kyle and I are just soo excited! I've gotten different bits of advice on how to hurry up things on my own whether it be from walking a lot or getting a foot massage and at this point I'm willing to try pretty much anything. But everything still looks great we did get to hear her heart beat again today so that was reassuring! Stay tuned for more updates on baby Alexa. If by chance she does come here pretty soon I will try to post pics on the blog as soon as time permits...so keep checking back!

WOW !

Here I am showing off my 8 months pregnant belly! I'm still toting around that belly but somehow it looks twice as huge in the picture! In all my defense...this is a little past 8 months! Needless to say we are all very excited and anxious for baby Alexa to arrive! She could make her big appearance any day now...I'm officially 38 weeks as of today! She is still just as active...especially at night when I'm trying to settle down to go to sleep! Now that she's a lot bigger my stomach at times will look like it's having a seizure all on its own when she really gets to floppin' around in there! At least we know she's an active little one! She is very responsive to sounds and movement! The other day Kyle and some of his friends were shooting off some guns in our backyard and I was just sitting in the house and every time one would go off she would kick at me...which sometimes she aims directly for my ribs and that's hardly a good feeling! The aches and pains of pregnancy have lost their excitement and I'm ready to hold and kiss on my little girl!

Baby Shower

Okay so better late than never but here are some pictures of my wonderful pool bash baby shower back in August that my oh so sweet mother in law threw for me!

Here I am posing next to the themed rubber duck cake. As you all might already know I'm kind of a fan of rubber ducks! I was amazed at how many people came...some didn't even know me personally but they knew Kyle somehow when he was growing up! We are loved! It was a very hot day and ripping open all those presents was making me sweat....not that I'm complaining!

I absolutely love this picture! This is my sweet mooma who made the long drive all the way to Osage Beach to come to my baby shower...and she even came early to help set up for the festivities! I also need to make a shout out to the rest of my family who also made the trek to come to the baby shower and I'm so glad they did because I had a blast and it was so fun hanging out with them before and afterwards!

Here is the swollen sweaty version of me and my mooma and grandma Weekes! I was extremely flattered when I discovered that my grandma and my cousin Jenny came all the way (like a 1 1/2-2 hour drive) just to come to my baby shower! I still feel oh so loved! Not only did they drive all that way but then after the festivities were over they still drove home that night! Talk about sacrifice!

Still growing...

So we went to our weekly doctor's appointment this morning. Sorry, no picture...they didn't do an ultra sound but we did get to hear her little heart beating away! The doctor said everything looks good and I'm dilated a little bit...I didn't ask how much. So I asked him what that meant and he said that means I could go into labor tonight or just stay this way for the next 3 weeks until her due date. So here we are again just anxiously awaiting her arrival! It's hard not knowing what day is going to be the big day! I did gain 1 lb. since the previous week and I'm experiencing more intense Braxton Hicks contractions and pelvic pressure...seeing how this is my first time at this I'm not sure if they are real contractions or I'm just getting really excited and anxious! I'm now officially 37 weeks and considered full term so if she decides to come soon everything will be fine and she won't be counted as premature even though her due date is still 3 weeks away!

Baby Alexa

I just got done with our doctor's appointment where they did the last ultra sound of Alexa before she's born. Great news...everything looks perfectly normal! She is head down into position and was very stubborn through out the whole ultra sound! She would not turn around so we could get a good picture of her cute little face...she did this same thing at the last ultra sound too! Very stubborn little girl already! Anyways we were able to catch this picture of her face...even though it wasn't that great. As the lady was doing the ultra sound she said "Oh my, look at those chubby cheeks!" hahaha if you if you look really close you can see those oh so chubby cheeks. I figured she'd have this much between Kyle and I. I was happy because I think chubby cheeks are cute! As many of you might know I was concerened they guessed the sex of the baby wrong the 1st time and after I had stocked her closet full of dresses and frilly bows she would actually be a he. But, during the ultra sound the tech said she's definatley a she and nothing grew since the last time so I feel a lot more at ease about all the pink! She is estimating to be 6 1/2 pounds right now and can gain anywhere from 1/4 of a pound to 1 pound a week until she's born!...lets hope for the 1/4 of a pound! We couldn't get an estimate on her length because she was all curled up in a little ball. All her little fingers and toes where accounted for and we could even see her hair! Similar to the last ultra sound we had done she had her hands on her butt!..it's funny I can already see a little personality in her and she hasn't even been born yet! As of right now the due date...Oct. 19th is still the same but I have received many comments from people..and even strangers telling me there's no way I'll last that long! At most we have a little over 3 more weeks until we get to meet her and kiss on her chubby little cheeks but Kyle & I both agree that we're ready...maybe we're being naive!

We go back to the doctor's on Monday so I will keep you all updated!

Prepared Birthing Class

This is how good of a blogger I am....Kyle & I were just released from "Prepared Birthing Class" only 30 min. ago! Anyways, Kyle and I went to the hospital this morning where we spent 7 hours learning how to breathe and give birth! It was actually pretty funny because Kyle the comedian was performing! Here are 9 other couples laying on the floor with their husbands behind them and we're supposed to be practicing the breathing and Kyle was making fun of me wallering on the floor trying to get into position and at the same time making fun of the instruction film that looked like it took place in the early 80's. Needless to say no one else really thought it was that funny but I couldn't stop weezing until I had to jump up and leave to yes...use the bathroom....a very common activity here lately. We made the best out of the film and the graphic pictures...they don't blur out the "area" on this movie like they do on my Baby Story shows on T.V. It wasn't all fun and games though, I actually did learn something and Kyle claims he did too...which he might be saying that to make me feel better. Well that's the latest update on the baby news and I thought "Prepared Birthing Class" was a hilarious name for the course....can you ever really be prepared for such a thing?

Baby Update

Okay, seeing how we only have 6 more weeks until baby Alexa's due date 90% of our blog is going to be about the baby so here I am with the baby update! We went to the doctor's office this morning for the usual check up. Everything looks great and we got to hear her little heart beating away! I have gained 2 pounds in the last two weeks...which is normal.....it's a lot better than last time when they told me I gained almost 6 pounds in just 2 weeks! I feel great ...except for when I drop something and have to bend over to get it! She's moving around a lot and I think I was even able to depict her little hand the last time she was fluttering around. Sleeping at night as been a lost cause...as I'm sure all you mothers can testify of. I wake up in the morning so sore and feel like I have just ran a marathon when I have just been sitting on the couch! We go back to the doctor's in two weeks and they'll do the last ultrasound before she's born...they will be able to tell me how big she is...and hopefully she will lean more towards the smaller size...no offense Preston!

Getting Ready for Baby

Per some of your requests here are the pregnancy pictures of my ever growing baby bump! This is the most recent...7 months pregnant!

It looks a little smaller the farther away the camera gets! As some of you heard there was a little scare a few days ago when I was feeling some contractions that didn't seem to be going away. Per my doctor's request we went to the hospital where they hooked me up to some machines to monitor them...fortunatley baby Alexa decided not to come early. Hopefully she can wait the 7 more weeks out until her actual due date..Oct. 19th! Kyle got a little nervous at the hospital when he suddenly felt the feeling of being ill prepared if in fact I was in actual labor! Needless to say I plan on the next couple of weeks being less eventful!

Here I am at 6 months pregnant! I didn't gain any weight for the beginning months of pregnancy but I sure have started packing on the pounds towards the end! Doing simple things like getting out of bed and getting around have proven to be more difficult than I thought.

And I thought I was huge at 5 months! I guess I didn't know what I was in for!

I know I probably look like a slave driver

making Kyle put together all this baby furniture but this bassinette is the last construction project....I hope.

Halloween & Misc.

Here I am showcasing our beatiful creations for our very first Halloween together last year! hmmm.... could it be Satan?

Okay, this was a team effort...I can't take all the credit for the creative & matching costumes but either way they turned out great! And two grown adults made a good time out of Halloween yet!

For my Valentine's present my beloved husband took me to a Matchbox 20 concert in Kansas City....my favorite band of all time! Not only did I get to enjoy Rob Thomas live but Alanis Morisette was the opener! Can life get any better?

Best Valentine's Day Ever! I hope he knows he's setting the bar pretty high for future Valentine's Days!

We celebrated our one year anniversary in Branson Missouri! I got to visit my childhood memories by going to Dixie Stampede and tromping all around Branson for the weekend!

No, I hadn't just gained some weight since our wedding...I am about 4 months pregnant in this picture! Yup, we're having a little girl in October!

Honeymoon

We waited a month after our wedding to venture out on our honeymoon in beautiful Orlando Florida! It was well worth the wait!

One of our favorite things we did was go on an airboat ride in the swamp! No we didn't drive it by ourself ! Again the heat was intense but we did see a few gators and had fun re-inacting WaterBoy!

Here we are on the beautiful Disneyland Boardwalk! Between the sideshows and movies on the beach it was very entertaining!







We spent one day running around Adventure Island & Universal Studios! The rides were incredible and what made them even better is that we splurged the extra money to buy the "skip ahead" pass that let us bypass all the long lines! Well worth the money!