Mid-year Update

With the year half over (almost), we thought it would be good to update those of our friends and family who read our blog. Kelli and Tyler are fine, so let's get to what's really important - the kids. That's right. I said kids.

Per our last post, we are expecting a new baby. We recently found out that we are having another BOY. We were kind of expecting a girl, so it's thrown us (particularly Tyler) for a bit of a loop. We have a name for a girl. We have no idea what to name this boy. Luckily, we have a few months to settle on one. We are excited and hope he's just like Lincoln. Because he's pretty great. And, besides, if we get two of those giant hamster wheels, we could probably power the house next time there's an outage.

Some pics from the ultrasound:




Lincoln used to throw his head back like that second picture. It's crazy how similar they already seem. Speaking of Lincoln:

Lincoln is growing up so fast. He will be two and a half next month. His language is exploding and he is learning his numbers and letters. He can count to 9 and amazes us every day with the things he has picked up. Some of our favorite things he does/says:

• Anytime we leave his room at bedtime, he reaches out and says: "Wait, guys!" or "Wait, Ma!" or "Wait, Da!" or, my favorite, "Wait, Ma-Da!"
  
  
• We have had colds recently and Kelli has had a cough. After one of her coughing spells, Lincoln called "Mom, you ok?"
  
  
• Speaking of "ok," when Lincoln falls down, he almost always will hop up and say "I ok!"
  
  
• Lincoln does not like to hold your hand. When you try (especially when he's trying to do something he shouldn't), he will jerk his hand away and say: "No! My hand!"
  

I'm sure that everyone thinks their kid is the cutest, but we just have a blast watching Lincoln grow and learn and say funny things.

We had another trip to the ER a couple Sundays ago. Lincoln had croup and was having a hard time breathing. He didn't like the breathing treatment they gave him at the hospital. He kept trying to take it off and would scream "I done! I done!" Poor kid. It helped though and he is doing much better. We did learn that, if you have to go to the ER, 7 am on a Sunday is the time to do it.


And some happier pictures. (We couldn't end with that one.)

News!!! And the Hospital

It seems like we update this blog more when it involves babies and hospitals.  I think that's probably because that's when people most want to know how things are going.  So speaking of babies and news, we announced it on facebook (on April Fool's Day, cause that seemed fun), but for those who missed it, the Williams baby bump watch is confirmed.  I'm due October 6. 

And that's the news.  Now, the hospital.  I was in the hospital on Thursday.  For anyone that doesn't know, I have chronic daily headache and migraine.  When I'm not pregnant, I've found preventative medication that I can take that helps me manage them.  But when I'm pregnant, I just take what I can and take it one day at a time, and some are better than others.  I had a really bad migraine wake me up Thursday morning, and I couldn't even lay down because it hurt so much.  So I was sitting up between 3:30 and 7:30 or so when I decided the medication I had wasn't cutting it, and I needed more help.  My OB had said I could go in to the hospital for a shot of demerol when it got too bad, and I've never had to before (even with Lincoln), but I needed it Thursday.

I had Tyler take me in because I was hoping they could just give me the shot, it would start working, I'd be all loopy, and Tyler could take me home and then get to work about an hour or 2 late.  Oh, I'm such an optimist.  First, Dr. Petersen wanted me to stay for at least an hour so they could see how I responded.  Which, of course, makes tons of sense.  But an hour after the shot (which wasn't until we'd been there about 30 minutes), I had to conclude that the demerol did not even touch it.  I couldn't believe it.  Luckily Dr. Petersen figured out I was probably dehydrated, so they had to place an IV to give me some fluids.  I sent Tyler to work then; I knew it would be a while before I left. 

I was so dehydrated that it took them 4 tries before they could finally get the IV in, and they had to use the smallest needle they have, the ones they use on infants.  I have no idea how it got that bad since I drink water like it's going out of style, but it obviously happened, so there you go.  After we got the medication right and some fluids in me, I felt MUCH better.  They finally let me go about 6 hours after I showed up.  But it was worth it.

Then I had a migraine again yesterday morning, so I medicated with the new meds my OB had ok'd and stayed home and drank water until my stomach hurt to try to hydrate and avoid going back to the hospital.  I feel much better today. 

War Eagle!

I give up.  I wanted to do something cute and clever with this post, but since these pictures are from SEPTEMBER, that's obviously not going to happen.  We got together with some friends for the first Auburn game of the season.  Lincoln is right in the middle of their kids, 9 months younger than Hunter and 9 months older than Kaylee, so the three kids had a lot of fun.  And we didn't plan it, but Lincoln and Hunter were twinners (It's almost inevitable when we're both such fans of Target, right?) in their Auburn jerseys.  

 

You'd think we've stopped taking pictures of Lincoln or something since we've been so bad about posting.  But appearances are deceiving, we definitely have some great shots from the last few months.  We'll try to get those up in the next year or so...

Flip Video Fun

We recently got a new flip video camera and took some fun clips of Lincoln.  So, enjoy...

Lincoln, pretending to be asleep.  Listen closely for the snoring sounds.

Singing, until, of course he notices the camera.

 

Showing us his nose.

And, finally, giving kisses.

It's Been a While...

...since we updated this blog. So, I thought, at the very least I would post some recent pictures of Lincoln. This way, those who care can see how big he is getting.

Lincoln runs everywhere...


He runs to you...



He runs away from you ...

Sometimes he stops to check things out.



Or to tell you something....


He is very inquisitive and is really starting the jabber. Some of the words one can recognize are: mom, dad, CAR (he LOVES cars), juice, shoes (sometimes indistinguishable from juice), Mater, snack, milk, ball, button, sock, and I'm sure there are more. He likes to dance around and is pretty good at it (we'll get some video posted). He is so much fun. We could talk about him forever and think he's the best kid ever.


**I should add that these pictures were taken by a friend of Kelli's who is an amateur photographer. She does a great job. People local to the Huntsville area should check her out.

Aunt Jana

My (Tyler's) Aunt Jana passed away this weekend after a several years battle with cancer. An obituary can be found here. Jana is my dad's older sister. They have a younger sister, Terri Lynn, who died from a brain tumor when she was a teenager. One sweet thought is that Jana and Terri have been reunited.

Jana was always a "good" aunt. She is a sweet, good-natured person, who was always kind. I can never remember a time when I thought she was mean or mad. She always had a smile and a kind word, even when you knew she wasn't feeling well. And she has an infectious laugh. It was always evident that she deeply loved her family, not only her husband, children and grandchildren, but her siblings, nieces, nephews and parents. Some of my earliest memories are of riding my big wheel from our house to hers (when I was very young we lived in the same neighborhood). I don't remember many details, but I remember that I liked the feeling of being there.

Jana was also a selfless person, often in the background quietly serving others. When Kelli and I got married, Jana had to miss the events because she needed emergency surgery to remove a tumor from her brain. As I recall things, this was when her cancer was discovered. Even though she was in the hospital, we still had a gathering that was planned for her house with my extended family and Kelli's family. The party went on and it was important to Jana that it still take place, and at her house. In spite of what she was going through, Jana was concerned that her situation not be a hamper on ours (mine and Kelli's) special day. I was touched by her concern at the time, and will always remember the kindness expressed, even though I did not get to see her on that trip to Utah.

While I know that she had reached the point in her illness that death was a mercy, she will be missed. I will miss her. I know her sweet family will. I also know that, for her, the separation will be brief until her family joins her, and she will await that time in a place of peace and rest. I know that, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can all live eternally with God and with our families. He is the resurrection and the life and those that believe in Him, though they are dead, yet shall they live (John 11:25). I am grateful for the example and love of people like Jana that I have been blessed to have in my life, and more grateful for the peace that comes from knowing that the separation imposed by death is a temporary one.

Dinner Time

I've been hearing a lot about e-mealz and other resources that provide you with a weekly menu and shopping list. I love the idea! The problem is that after we (Tyler and I) both get home from a full day's work, the last thing we want to do is spend 40 minutes "whipping up a quick dinner." We have our old stand-bys (like tacos), but I really want to make an effort to add some variety to our meals AND make them a little bit healthier. I'm thinking the way that would work best for our family would be crock-pot meals. I would love to throw 5 ingredients (give or take, but no more than 10 minutes worth) in the crock pot in the morning and come home to a delectable smell and ready-to-serve meal .
Pretty much all I have in my crock-pot repertoire is black beans and taco soup. And those are blah by about try 3. I'm intrigued by this book, but they don't have it at my library, and I've had a bad experience buying a cookbook without looking at it.


I think that A Year of Slow Cooking, among other blogs, could be a good resource, but I'm really looking for recipes I can (quickly) throw in the pot on low in the morning and then be done with it.
Do you guys have any books or websites you'd recommend? I'm seriously considering compiling recipes and making this the subject of my e-book goal (#15), but I hate to reinvent the wheel. Any suggestions are very appreciated!