One of my friends has finally joined the blogosphere! To find out which one, click here!!!
I will place a permanent link to his page here on the left. I believe that he will post often enough to make it interesting and worth your while so check it out every once in a while!
Grandmom Kelley, Cousin Teigan, and Aunt Janine (not pictured) have arrived and met our newest addition, Jack Ryan, and Aunt Carisa has been reunited with her favorite nephew, Teigan Michael:
They will be here for two weeks and then Nanabanana (Grandmom Stairs) arrives!
We haven't had some pictures in a while of Jack...not since the Jaundice pics. But here are some to show that he is healthy now. The page has been updated and can be found by clicking on this picture:
It is only 8:30 in the AM and we have had some action already. Carisa and I were both up already at 7:45 with Jack in the bed getting hungry when, as there often is, a dog was barking continuously. Carisa got up to see what neighbor's dog it was when she said, "there's a deer in the yard." Not completely believing it, I got up and looked out the window and said, "there's two deer in the yard." There were two does just standing there plain as day and that is when Carisa noticed one was stuck on the fence. She took a picture from our bedroom window. There is a tree in the way of the deers body but you can see to the left of the tree where its left hind leg is caught on the top of the chain link fence. You can also see the blood all over the fence...it must have been there for hours.
I went out to see if I could get the deer unstuck. At this point, the other deer who was still hanging out waiting for its friend started stomping around the yard, I guess to try to scare me away. Eventually she just went and waited on the other side of the yard. The deer that was stuck was also scared and trying to get away from me but it couldn't. Instead she just kept pulling on that painful looking leg. By the amount of dried and frozen blood all over the place she must have been there since early morning. It looked like when she tried to jump the fence, her left hoof, instead of going over the fence, went through the second hole from the top of the fence while the rest of the deer's body went over the fence, causing the leg to be bent over and pinned on top of the fence. All of the skin was scraped off on the underside of the leg exposing bone and tendon and it looked to me like it must have been broken. Realizing there was no way I was going to be able to get the leg out of the fence I went back to the house and got some wire cutters. I cut the wire on the left side of the leg and she was still stuck...I think the wire was somehow in her leg at this point. So, I cut the other side and the deer fell free. It tried to run away but couldn't put any weight on that bad leg. She was in a fenced in yard and was unable to use that bad, back leg to jump out of the yard. At this point its friend was on the other side of the fence so the one with the bad leg laid down while they just stared at each other through the fence before the bigger, healty one eventually left.
I called animal control and two guys came out. We went in the back yard to see if the leg was broken and whether they would have to call "back-up". I guess the incentive of three guys walking toward it gave the deer the motivation to get out. It was putting a little more weight on the leg and succeeded in jumping out of the yard and running down the hill through more yards, jumping over two more fences and was gone. The animal control guys said that they would go down the hill to make sure she didn't get stuck in any more yards, particularly in one with dogs which wouldn't be hard to do in this town. That deer is lucky that she got stuck in one of the only yards in town without a pair of dogs!
We are home and loving it much more than living in the hospital. We did actually have to go back today for a check-up to make sure Jack was fine, which he was. When he was last checked yesterday, he was at 12.9 and this morning he was in the 11s. So we are good to stay...home that is.
Jack is eating well and other than that he sleeps and he rarely cries, so in between naps I have finally finished updating the entire site to its new format.
So, you can see some "new" old pictures on the site:
I had hoped to get it all done and then update the site all at once in a big unveiling, but if I had waited to do that...it would have still been the crappy old site all this time until tonight. So, at least it is done now!
Saturday Carisa's Mom, Sister and Nephew Teigan arrive and stay for two weeks. Carisa, Jack and I are very excited and I am sure I will have some pictures from that time. Especially of everyone getting to meet Jack for the first time, so stay tuned!
We have been released from the hospital and Jack isn't yellow anymore. This morning his bilirubin count was down to 12.9. We are supposed to keep him in the sun b/c now that he is no longer under the lights, the count will go up a little bit before it starts to come back down again. So, along those lines, we have to take him back tomorrow morning for one more blood test to make sure that he will be ok. We think he will be. The poop factory is in business and that is good for the liver.
Here is a picture of our now pink (not yellow) baby:
So it turns out that the first day, Jack's bilirubin level had actually been at 23 (with 30 being the highest) before he dropped to 19. So that was some good improvement. It turns out that at 5 this morning he had dropped to 16, but since he has to go to about 12, we are going to have to stay in the hospital another night. :( Then we can go home tomorrow. We will be happy to be home again. The good thing out of all of this is that Jack has started eating more and he isn't yellow anymore. So, when we get home, all will be healthy and happy!
So, Jack is still in the hospital (with the whole family) responding well to treatment and doing very well, but he will have to stay under the light for at least 24 hours. So hopefully we will get to go home again sometime tomorrow. His first bilirubin count was 20 and it should be between 12 and 14. After five hours under the lights he had dropped to 19.
Mom and Pop are doing well also. Jack is being a trooper as usual...he is eating better now and other than that he is sleeping under the blue lights as you can see in the picture below.
So it turns out that little Jack's jaundice hasn't gotten any better so he has to undergo treatment. So, we are back in the hospital while he lays under the UV lights for 24 hours. It is certainly for the best b/c then he won't be so tired and he will eat more and he will be a nice shade of pink rather than the yellow he has been. At least we have a room with two beds this time.
If any one needs to call us, you will have to dial our cells. Alright, I have to get back.
This is the 200th post on this blog...just wanted to mention that. Anyway, Lee sent me this video which is really cool/weird. I don't know where he gets this stuff, but if there was a job to find odd stuff on the web, Lee would be the man to do that job!
Our first night with Jack went pretty smoothly. He got up like clockwork to eat every two hours but in between he slept and we slept. Mom and Jack are laying down right now for a nap and I am getting a little work done on the computer. I wanted to make some picture comparisons...
The first one is of me when I was a newborn compared to a picture of Jack:
Jack makes the exact same face that I am making in my new born picture but I just never have a camera around when he is making it. That picture of me is actually pretty funny looking. In my own defense I can say that I looked like this when I was just a little older:
I can't wait until Jack is that same age...I am sure he will be a million times cuter than I was.
Also, I wanted to make a comparison of Jack's 3D ultrasound picture that we have posted here not too long ago to a picture taken of him on the outside:
For those of you out there wondering where Day 3 in the hospital has been...well it is here now!!! It took a little longer today because now...WE ARE HOME!!!
We made the trip around 3 PM and it is nice to be home now. Jack is sleeping and mom is resting while I get the house back in order. I don't know if we will continue with a daily update because Jack just isn't quite active enough for that but I am sure we will have more pictures that anyone (other than Grandmoms, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles and Nanabananas) can stand.
So, last night I got back to the hospital at 7:15 PM from my dinner break and Jack was still asleep! He had been sleeping most of his life. So, while Carisa took care of some other things I was holding him and trying to wake him up. There was no chance of that! He was really, really asleep. Also, since he had been so asleep over the past day and a half, he wasn't breast feeding and had lost a half of a pound. Anyway, Carisa came back and then a nurse came in to get Jack's vital sign's. At that point he woke up! While he was awake, Carisa tried again with the feeding. He was the most awake we had ever seen him, and he latched on! He started feeding and once he got the hang of it, he knew what he wanted!
After a couple of feedings, he started to cry...maybe he had a belly ache. But by midnight, with him still crying, I could not believe that just a few short hours before I was actually trying to wake him up! Eventually he calmed down some time after I fell asleep. Carisa was able to get some sleep but had to wake up every couple of hours to feed him. Then morning came and now he is sleeping like a baby again! :)
The good news is, he is eating now and we get to go home today sometime after 2:30PM!! We are all very excited to take our new little family home. I will take pictures of that journey, so you can look for them here!
OK, so I wasn't able to give a lot of info yesterday but I have a minute now before I run off to work.
Jack Ryan Stairs was born on January 10, 2006 at 2:34 Mountain Time. Jack was born at 8lbs 3 oz (3714 grams) and is 20.75 inches (52.7 cm). His chest was about 14 inches (35.5 cm) around and his head was about 15 inches (38.1 cm) around! His due date was January 19th so he was 9 days early. Had mom gone to term, Jack most likely would have been a 9 pounder. Due to the altitude, most babies here are born at around 7 pounds so they have called Jack the Incredible Hulk.
Mom basically did it naturally. Her epidural wore off before she started pushing which went on for two hours before Jack made his appearance. She did great!!! I was scared to death, however, both mother and son are doing great! At one point, I must have been holding my breath with her while she pushed and then I would take deep breaths to try to get her to breath...a combination that made me a little dizzy, but after squatting down for about 15 seconds I was back to normal and back by her side.
Mom is pretty sore now and Jack is pretty tired so he mostly sleeps as you can see in the new pictures that I posted. One more night in the hospital and the whole family gets to go home.
I am sure we will have lots of pictures posted here over the next several weeks!!!! I hope you enjoy them almost as much as we are!
Click the animation for more pictures of Jack!!! (I had to take out the animation, it was 1MB and I think it might have been slowing things down...so just click on the pic to see more of Jack.)
I am just home picking up a few things so here is a quick update:
We got to the hospital at 6:15. They started Carisa on pitocin, to induce labor, at 9:15. At noon they were going to break her water but found that she was only 2 cm dilated. So, they waited. Then, all day she was still only two cm as they increased the pitocin and the contractions got stronger. At the end of the day...around 6:30, they checked her again and she was 3 cm but at max pitocin. So, they have now turned the pitocin off. They probably will leave it off all night so she can get some rest and then start again in the morning. So, we are having a sleep over at the hospital until then.
Turns out Jack is rather stubborn. Hopefully he will cooperate better tomorrow.
It is just after mid night here, and I can't fall asleep. I think I might have dozed off for about 20 min, but my heart burn woke me up. the alarm is set for 5 am, and I know I have a big day ahead of me...I knew this was going to happen
Very soon, we will have the best pictures of all...pictures of Jack! It is 8:30 Sunday night and we have finished packing for our adventure tomorrow. Now we just go to sleep and come 6 AM Carisa and I are going to the hospital to have Jack. I hope everyone will be thinking of us. As soon as Jack has joined us in this world, I will let everyone know!!!!
So....here I am about to be an Aunt and I am a nervous wreck!!! I just finished my conversation with Carisa and of course she's calm and at the same time giddy....and I'm a nervous wreck. Jason sounded pretty together too. I dont know why I am so nervous. Maybe it's because I feel helpless....I feel like there is so much that I want to do but I can't because I'm not there. But....no it's not that, because I know Carisa will be fine....Jason has always and will always take such good care of her....so what is it. I cant really put my finger on it. Maybe it's anxiety more than anything. I think that it's simply that I know Carisa and Jason are about to experience the most amazing thing they will ever feel! Wow....the very moment that you hear and see that little angel take his first breath the surge or emotions just takes over your entire body....mind....and spirit. This is it....that beautiful little being that you created that is you.....your body your mind and your spirit....is now here, it's the most beautiful thing in the world. How long he relied on you to live and now this is his first taste of the world outside. All the new sights and sounds and smells. Think about what Teigan did the second he was born....he just wanted to see what was going on and taste the air.....Taste the air, how simple...how amazing. I think that sometimes we should all take the time to taste the air. Just remember that Carisa, Jason....Jack is going to have all these new sensations all at once and you're there to see and and experience it with him.
I cant wait to be there....to see you guys and to meet my beautiful little (or maybe not so little) nephew. Enjoy your day tomorrow! Try to relax. Actually I think that someone should be telling me to relax....but in anycase.....I love you both so much!
Wow....I'm gonna be an Aunt.....
(O yea and Carisa and Jason are going to be Mommy and Daddy ;) )
Since my blood pressure has been high since I moved out here (it really has nothing to do with the fact that I have moved to the middle of freaking no where ;) ) my doctor feels it would be in the baby's best interest that they induce me on Monday! So.... Jack will be here in about two days! We will keep everyone posted on how things are going, and as soon as he is born I am sure Jason will find the nearest computer and "blog" all about it!
Matt just pointed out to me that if Jack is born on Monday, January 9th, he and Jack will share birthdays. So when Jack turns 21, Matt will be turning 52 at the same time while we are all out partying!!! That will be so sweet. And, it has a pretty good chance of happening since Carisa is being induced on Monday.
It makes me smile to think of that party...Jack all grown up and Matt 52!! That's funny. I guess I will be 50 about to turn 51 and I told Carisa she wasn't allowed to come b/c it wouldn't be cool for a 21 year old man to be celebrating his 21st birthday with his mom! How is he going to break all the girls hearts with his mom there wiping the shot off his chin! ;) (Maybe we will leave it up to him...)
The other night Carisa and I were watching TV and all of a sudden our cat Nala, who was in the living room with us laying on the floor next to the couch, sounded liked she was in a cat fight. So I quick put my recliner down to see what was happening...and she was in a cat fight...with herself!!!
Apparently she had attacked her own tail and now her one of her claws were stuck in her tail. Carisa told me to help her, so I reached toward her to get her claw unstuck and she tried to bite me so I told her that she was on her own for this one.
Anyway, she got it unstuck and walked away sheepishly. I had never seen a crazy cat do something so silly before.
For all of you who haven't heard, or haven't heard the full story, I am delighted to announce that Josh Kandies and I became engaged on New Year's Eve. We're both so thrilled! Here's how it happened.
Leading up to the proposal, Josh and I were busy making plans for New Year's Eve. We had just accepted an invitation to a party hosted by our friends Brett and Erika, when another couple of friends, Mark and Courtney, invited us to ring in the New Year with them at a restaurant downtown. Since we had already accepted Brett and Erika's invitation, Josh declined Mark and Courtney's offer, but told me that since we had said no to dinner, Mark and Courtney suggested that we should meet for lunch downtown instead so that we could still spend time with them on New Year's Eve. This was the beginning of Josh's elaborate ruse.
On Saturday (New Year's Eve) morning, Josh told me that Mark had called him and said his cousin was also in town and wanted to join us for lunch, so Mark suggested that we all should have lunch at his cousin's hotel's sports bar so that we could take in one of the BCS football games over lunch. Thinking nothing of it, I said "sounds good". Then Josh mentioned that the hotel where Mark's cousin was staying was the Grand Hyatt. For those of you who don't already know, Josh and I met at a party at the Grand Hyatt on New Year's Eve three years ago. So to throw me off the scent, Josh said, "Now I can't remember, but did we meet at the Grand Hyatt, or was it the Hyatt Regency?" (We spent the New Year's Eve following the year we met at a party at the Hyatt Regency) Of course, I was a little miffed that he (supposedly)didn't remember, so I reminded him that it was, in fact, the Grand Hyatt where we met. He then said something along the lines of, "Wow, that's pretty coincidental. It'll be really nice to go back there," which made me a little less miffed. Once we arrived at the hotel, Josh "called" Mark (he was actually calling his own voice mail), and let him know that we were in the lobby. When Josh got off the phone, he said that Mark, his cousin, and Courtney were still up in the room and that they'd be down to meet us in a few minutes. Josh then suggested that we walk around and see how the hotel was setting up for the New Year's party. So we took the escalator to the next level, and on the left was the ballroom where Josh and I met (and danced) for the first time. Of course, Josh pretended to be unsure if this was the ballroom where we met, and asked if I was certain. Again, getting a bit miffed, I assured Josh that this was the same ballroom, saying "Don't you remember? I have a picture of us standing right there?" Josh said something like, "Oh, now I remember." So I still wasn't suspecting anything when he suggested that we go into the ballroom. As it turns out, this was the first year in 10 years that the Grand Hyatt was not hosting a New Year's party, so we were all alone in the place that we first met three years ago, when Josh began telling me how lucky he is to have met me and how much he loves me and how happy I have made him over the last three years. Then he hugged me and said that he wanted to spend the rest of his life making me just as happy, and he got down and one knee and asked if I would honor him by being his wife, and took the most beautiful ring out of his pocket and offered it to me.
Naturally, I began crying and, when I could finally get the words out, I said yes!!!! Then he placed the ring on my finger, and like an idiot, I asked if we really had to meet Mark, his cousin, and Courtney for lunch. Josh laughed and said that it had all been a trick to get me there. Obviously, his little trick worked very well, since I was still convinced, even after he proposed that we were at the hotel to meet our friends.
Carisa went to the doctor's today and they told her that if she hasn't given birth to Jack by Monday that they will induce her. The doctor seemed to think that she would go into labor on her own before that, but one way or the other, by next week, we will be parents!!!! Very exciting stuff.
Also, I just got off the phone with Ken who is in Arkansas watching the Orange Bowl. He and his family are driving back from home and they might stop by here in New Mexico and say hi. It would be great to see them!!!
Also, here is an awesome picture of Sam!!!
Hopefully Jack will be strong like Sam!!! ;)
(This is all a little bit short...it was actually going to be three separate posts, but I have to get back to the game!!!)
I just put up the pictures from Christmas. My mom and sister were here for a week and we took a lot of pictures!!! We gave my mom a new digital camera for Christmas and she was excited to use it. We not only took "Christmas" pics, but also a lot of landscape pics (so you can see what it looks like out here at Christmas) and pics of some of the local tourist attractions in both Los Alamos and Santa Fe.
Click on the picture of the Christmas tree to see the pics.
While updating the site (We have almost all of the old site converted over into the new style) I came across a bunch of pics from our time at PSU. It took me back so I thougth I would share them with all of you.
Click on this picture of Old Main below to be taken to the new PSU pics!!!
Matt Kelly took the picture of Old Main right after 9/11. It is one of my favorite pictures. Which is your favorite?
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