Adah's 1 month old!

Adah is growing so much these days. I can't believe she's already been around for a month. At her 2 week check up she was growing great. She weighed in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. and still the same height as her birth. My biggest concern at her check up was her excessive amount of spitting up. The doctor said we would assess the situation at her two month check up but for now since she is gaining weight he wants me to just wait. Adah also has a 'stork bite' on her right eye lid. It's a birth mark. The doctor said she will probably outgrow it. Other than those two things her appointment went very well!

Now at a month old, Adah continues to spit up. It is gradually getting better though. After talking with a lactating consultant she has been having me try feeding her every 2 hours during the day and every 3 at night. This will allow her to get the calories she needs spread over several feedings so she isn't stuffing herself. After a couple weeks of this, I don't think it really is helping much! But feeding so often during the day is causing her to sleep longer stretches at night-the longest being almost 6 hours!! I eventually got to a point where I couldn't get up every 3 hours. I just wasn't hearing my alarm. I am excited to see how much she has gained at her 2 month check!

Uglum/Coyle Christmas!

We got home from the Smith Christmas Saturday afternoon, relaxed a bit and then headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Uglum's house. Mat and Steph along with Brady and Henry were there too. They arrived Saturday morning sometime. We only stayed for a couple hours and then went back home. Sunday morning we got up and got ready. We managed to be over at Brian's parents by 10:30. We spent the whole day there. We ate a pretty simple lunch and put the kids down for naps. Kezzie napped on Grandma's big king size bed. The only way she has napped there is if Grandma lays with her so that is what Grandma did. I don't think either one of them slept for the first half hour or more but eventually Grandma came out once Kezzie dozed off! Once the little kids were awake we opened gifts. Austin got the new mind flex game that is supposed to be really popular this year with kids his age. That was good entertainment for part of the afternoon (see photos). Along with that, Mat and Austin and the little ones played a good game of sock bomb-a made up game of throwing up wadded socks at each other. Somewhere in the evening we managed to get all twelve (Remi the dog makes 12!) of us together for a nice family photo. We ate a delicious dinner and barely had time for dessert before it was time to go home and put very tired kids to bed. It was so good to see Mat and Steph and spend some good quality time together! I still don't think I even had the chance to hold Henry though...maybe next time!

Smith Family Christmas!

We got to my parents' house Thursday afternoon. Mom and dad were there for just a short bit before heading out for some last minute shopping! They came home with a Wii. Emily and Adam arrived shortly after us. The fun began! We went to the 5pm candlelight service at church and then went back to mom and dad's for dinner. Jamie and Keith arrived sometime after we got back from church. Every year mom puts together a combination of things to eat-crab legs, shrimp, cheese and crackers, veggies and usually some kind of soup. It was so delicious! After a night full of fun on the Wii every body turned in for the night. So far there is still room in that house for all of us even with our kids. It was like a slumber party! Christmas morning we all woke up and mom made us a breakfast casserole. We opened gifts. It was a blast watching the kids open their gifts and enjoy them. We are so thankful for everything that was given to us. Thanks everybody! Friday evening Emily and Adam's family went home. After a couple games of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader and one game of The Allowance Game between myself & Brian and Keith & Jamie, we decided it was time for a movie. It was already getting late. I don't think I made it through the whole movie before giving in and going to bed. Saturday we were pretty lazy! Brian and I got packed up and went home after getting Austin back from his dad's (he went Friday @4 until Saturday @11). What a great couple of nights with family. I am so grateful for each of them! Merry Christmas everyone!

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11

Keziah's 25 months!

Instead of the big brown chair I think we will start taking her monthly pictures in her rocking chair. One of these days I will take a picture of her in something other than her jammies! And this other picture is her sporting her new robe. She loves it and looks so cute after a bath!

My angel is now 25 months old. Not much changes with her these days. I would say she has become a little more ornery. I think that goes with being 2 though! And having a little sister to compete with! She really is a good girl and does very well at listening. She still wants to please me so it makes discipline pretty easy! For the really trying times she has to sit on the carpet for 2 minutes and when she gets up she has to apologize. She is very cooperative. Although there have been a couple times that I have had to send her to her room for a time out. She really hates that.

Keziah is sleeping from about 8-8 and still takes an afternoon nap for about 2 hours. Sometimes more sometimes less. She is a great eater. She loves peas (frozen or cooked) and broccoli. She will eat any kind of fruit and thinks of bread as the main course! She isn't a fan of carrots or green beans but will eat them occasionally. She gets pretty excited about mac and cheese, pizza and hot dogs but will eat just about anything you give her!

A funny thing to note about Kezzie is she has kind of started getting into Blue's Clues. And for those of you who have seen it you know that Steve 'skadoos' into pictures-meaning he can go into any picture he wants and live in it for a little bit. One of Kezzie's favorite things to do is look at photo albums and she frequently gets on top of a picture and tries to skadoo into the picture. She will say 'get in this picture'. It is so cute some of the pictures she tries to get into.

Kezzie is waking up dry more often in the morning now. I still wouldn't dare leave a diaper off but I think she is starting to hold it more. She has also woken up a couple times in the night this month to have us take her potty. One night though (I must have had my head on backwards) I forgot to put a diaper on her...that was not one of the nights she decided to hold it either. Brian and I were awakened by her saying 'all wet'. I knew exactly what she was saying because a couple weeks earlier she must have scratched her back and her diaper came loose and the same thing happened. This time though, Brian went upstairs to help her (I was nursing) and searched everywhere for her diaper. He yelled down the stairs asking if I forgot to put one on her and that's when it hit me! I don't think I will be making that mistake again!

Another funny thing...Kezzie wakes frequently from her nap with her socks on her hands. Don't know why she likes them there!

Also I have to take note of her dry skin. It has really escalated this winter and has actually kept her up itching a few times at night. We try benadryl to stop the itching and then also use aquaphilic cream and have even tried a couple other creams. I have a vaporizer in her room running but nothing seems to be making it better. One more reason to wish winter was over!

Well, that's it for another month. In the meantime, she's going to keep making us laugh! And I will tell you all about it next time!

Uglum Christmas!

What a great day! We woke up early this morning to celebrate Christmas since we will be with my family tonight until Saturday. It was so much fun getting Keziah excited for Santa to come. I don't know if she fully understands the process but I am guessing she will by the time the season is over! I finally broke down and told her Santa brings gifts...I swore I would never do it to another child after seeing how devastated Austin was when he found out a couple years ago that Santa isn't real. I guess it's just easier to go along with what the majority of the world (and our families) tell their kids. It's something I will struggle with. I guess as long as I still make sure my kids know the true meaning of Christmas, I shouldn't beat myself up over it! Either way, it was a blast watching the kids open the gifts we have been collecting for them over the past couple months. Adah slept through the whole thing not even waking to eat until it was all over. After breakfast and the enjoyment of all the gifts, we hurried and got packed to go to my mom and dad's house. We knew with the weather forecast that we only had a couple of good hours for travel. Here are some of my favorite photos. Kezzie with her new violin (she has been into violins a lot lately), Austin with all his new cool Hawkeye gear and Adah finally joining the party, all dressed and ready to go to grandma and papa's house!

One neat thing I experienced this Christmas was Austin giving to Keziah. He had a couple days where he took her 'shopping' down in his room and let her pick out several things of his that she wanted. He then wrapped them and placed them under the tree for her to open. He was really excited about it and had her open his gifts first. These things were: a train whistle, a mini flash light and a rubber spider. I am thinking there were more things then those three but I don't remember what! It was so sweet of him!

Decorating Cookies!

Today we decorated Christmas cookies. Unfortunately we forgot to do it while Gavin was there and rushed at the last minute to get them decorated before we all went home. The kids had a great time and enjoyed decorating them almost as much as eating them. Kezzie got good at spreading and always wanted to make it perfect! I love that Austin still enjoys it too. A family tradition, for a few years, used to be that we would all decorate the cookies and then pick out our favorite one to have our picture taken with as a group. Brian started it that we would also do a picture with frosting on our faces. Kezzie recently found an album with pictures of this fabulous tradition and thought it was quite funny. She obsessed over the pictures for a couple days after discovering them and is still bringing it up often. She must think we are crazy! Of course this was all before we had kids when we were a lot more relaxed and had the time to do such things! I guess it's time to create new traditions-ones that involve our kids!

Christmas with the Aldermans!

Today we celebrated Christmas with my oldest sister Casey and her family-Nate and Gavin. Gavin turned 4 in July '08. He is such a sweetie and is really appreciative with every gift he opens. We don't get to see them often enough but enjoy it when we are together. Casey and Nate got Keziah a Mrs. Potato Head and a Fisher Price tea set. She absolutely loves them both. Austin got a couple versions of the Rubik's cube which kept us all busy for quite a while. Bennett confiscated Kezzie's tea set and played on the fireplace for a while with it. He is so adorable! And I had to stick in the photo of papa and Adah having a moment together!

Band/Choir Concert

Austin had his holiday concert tonight and since he plays the trumpet for band, we also got to enjoy seeing him do that. It just so happens that my mom has this week off work and planned to come stay with us to help out with Adah for a couple days, so she had the pleasure of seeing Austin in action too! He did a great job! We were a little worried how the singing would go though because while practicing at school for the concert he passed out on the risers. He managed to get through it without any trouble! Kezzie enjoyed hearing him and watching him. She yelled his name in silence a couple times and always clapped when the songs ended. As for band, I told him to at least try it for a semester and then he could drop out. While he feels great accomplishment for learning the music, he still doesn't enjoy being in band so he has decided to drop out when the semester is over. Maybe someday he will go back to it...I hope!

Snow Days!

Austin has had a few snow days lately and although it has been too cold to play outside, we managed to get bundled up for 10 minutes and play outside. Keziah was in heaven! She loves the snow! Austin has made a fort out of the snow pile that was plowed from our driveway. It's really neat! He also uses the mound to sled down! Kezzie was in awe watching him play. She could hardly walk in the snow without falling over!

More cute pics!

12/2 and 12/3

12/5 and 12/7

12/3 Kezzie thought she should get a turn too! 12/9

12/9 and 12/10

Yes, I agree...I take wayyyy too many pictures!!!

Adah's first bath!

Adah had her first bath 12/1. We didn't have very much water in the tub since her cord hadn't come off yet. She wasn't a huge fan! This is Adah having a real bath. She absolutely loved it. She was perfectly content as long as I kept warm water on the rag! Her cord fell off earlier today!

40 weeks!

Today I would have been 40 weeks pregnant! Here is Adah laying where she would have otherwise been inside me! It's amazing to think that she used to fit in there! Never mind how awful I look here, just focus on how adorable Adah looks sleeping so peacefully! She is so precious!

My two girls...

As hectic as it is having two little ones, I have never felt so blessed to have them. I love having them both in my lap and reading a book or just talking with Kezzie. It's great! God is so good!

Beauty Queen!

Kezzie got a dress up outfit for her birthday from a good friend of mine in Cedar Rapids (Kristin). She brought it to her when she came for a visit in the hospital. Kezzie loves it. The skirt has lights in it that twinkle and so does the slippers. There is also a crown that lights up but Kezzie isn't wearing it in these pics! Thanks Kristin! Kezzie feels like a dance star when she wears it and twirls around saying 'bootiful'.

New little one!

Keziah is enjoying her new little sister. She will often ask to hold her and when she is done with her she will say to me 'Take this' and try to push her off her lap. She will usually hold her for a max of about 15 seconds! It's sweet none the less!! I would have been 39 weeks pregnant yesterday which is when the last two pics were taken!

Kezzie's Family Birthday Celebration!

We got out of the hospital around 11am. Just in time to make it home to get ready for Keziah's (rescheduled) birthday party. It was all family anyway so it wasn't too difficult to let everyone know it was rescheduled. Who would have thought we would be having a baby this weekend. I thought for sure I would at least make it past her birthday party!

The party started at 3:30. We opened presents first and then ate dinner around 5. We immediately had cake and ice cream. Kezzie was proper and used a fork for her cake! She still got pretty messy though! Thanks goes to Great Grandma Troyna who decorated the cakes on short notice that morning. We ate sloppy joes and a yummy fruit salad along with a veggie tray and cheesy puffcorn-all Kezzie's favorite things.

For her birthday she got some jammies, a new baby doll with stroller and bottle (so she can pretend along with mommy)a cradle to rock her baby in (used to be mine when I was growing up), the tag junior device along with 4 books, some cute outfits, books, and a new kitchen. Thanks to family for the gifts and for changing your plans to come Sunday instead!

There is a video at the very bottom of this page of photos from our fun celebration!

Black Friday Baby #2 is here!!!

(Yes. I know it is weird, Keziah was born on black friday too!)

Adah Kathleen Uglum
Born: November 27th, 2009 @ 5:16pm

7 pounds 10 ounces

20.25 inches long

Proud Brother Austin and big sister Keziah!

Thanksgiving day we spent the day in Cedar Falls, I was feeling really leery of going back to New Hampton because I just kind of had this feeling that I wasn't going to make it much longer. That night, back at home, we got the kids to bed and I went to bed myself. I started having some contractions but only five of them were consistently 10 minutes apart. I called the hospital and after talking with a nurse decided to give it more time. Ironically I didn't have another one after that conversation. I fell asleep and was awakened at 4am with a strong gush from my lower abdomen. I knew exactly what happened and got out of bed in time to save my sheets. Brian immediately called his mom and she came over. Shortly after 5am we were walking into the hospital. The entire drive down I didn't have a single strong contraction. I'm not even sure I had any actually. So the first thing the nurses wanted to confirm was that my water actually did break. The first test didn't confirm that so they said they would wait 15 minutes and retest and if it was negative also then they would have to send me home. I was not mistaken that it broke so I was feeling a little frustrated. However, the second test did confirm it had broke and the doctor approved me to be started on Pitocin to get the contractions going. (I must also add that the doctor that was on call from the office I visit was my favorite doctor in there. I was so thankful to hear she was going to be the delivering doctor! Isn't it funny how God works out the little things?) It was about 8am by the time they got the IV in and got it started. I didn't have consistent contractions for a long time. The doctor checked me around noon and I was only at 3-4 cm. I was checked again at 4:45pm and was still only 6 cm. The nurse told me she would check me again in another hour or two and I was really feeling like I may not be able to survive that much longer. The contractions were really strong and only about a minute apart. I felt like I didn't have any time to rest in between. I got up and tried to go to the bathroom but had so much pressure I couldn't go. I told the nurse I thought I was ready to push. She checked me again at 5pm to find that I was a full 10 cm and ready to push! The doctor said she just had this feeling she should come check on me so she was right there ready to go! Adah was born at 5:16pm. I will never forget this experience. I was so proud of myself for sticking it out and going naturally. It was hard, but worth it! Adah came out crying and passed the APGAR with flying colors. From the beginning she was a champ at latching on and nursing-taking up to an hour to get finished! I need to also add how horrible it may have been to labor for an entire day but tell you that I am not oblivious to why God worked it out that way...there were so many people praying for us and worried that we wouldn't make it to the hospital on time considering how fast Keziah came. My water breaking was just a little warning for me and God's way of making sure I was at the hospital! How blessed we are to have another beautiful, healthy baby to bring home!

I have added a video of our weekend at the hospital at the very bottom of this page.