What’s Up Doc?

This is what has been going on lately with the Knepp household.   Owen has more and more often wanted to have friends over to play at his house.  So, the week before last he had Georgia over to play for a bit.  Tyler was still home on winter break from school so he got to stay home and watch the kids play.  Even Evie had fun watching and feeling included with the “big” kids.

Owen had the opportunity to go with his memaw and pepaw to the train show down at the State Fair Grounds, he is really loving trains right now.  He has his very own train track at home too.

Owen and Evie also got to spend some time together at home with their daddy while he was on winter break from school.  Owen’s new favorite show is Looney Tunes, he calls it “Bunny.”  And the best part is it is the old Bugs Bunny shows, the ones I remember watching when I was little so Tyler and I like to watch them too.

Here are some other cute pictures of Evie that I just had to share:

Finally, the highlight of this post is the arrival of a beautiful little gem.  Avery Rose England.  She was born January 11, at around 8:30.  She weighed 7lbs 6oz and measured in at 20.5 inches.  She is beautiful, both mommy and baby are very healthy and the whole family is now home and happy as can be.

 

Random

(Disclaimer: This post will be a random conglomeration of things that have been going on lately.  We are still adjusting to becoming a family of 4 and loving every minute of it)

My second week back to work is now coming to a close and it has been an easier transition than I thought.  I was able to come back and not stress about work that hadn’t gotten done, my co-workers were amazing and kept everything caught up for me!  (Thanks Melissa and Christa!!) On the other hand, getting back into gear in terms of getting ready in the morning is another story.  I didn’t realize how hard it would be to get ready when you are breastfeeding.  But I think after nearly two weeks I finally have the hang of it.   It is still hard to leave her in the morning because I miss waking up and spending the whole day with her and Owen, but I am sure that will pass with time.  I still get to cuddle with my babies after work :). 

I don’t know if it is because I am more experienced this time around or what, but I have found breastfeeding to be a lot easier with Evie.  She eats better than Owen did for one and she eats faster.  I can be done nursing in 15 minutes or less!  My goal for now is to at least breast feed until she is 6 months old, I am fairly certain I will be able to accomplish this which makes me a very happy mommy. 

Remember last year around this time? I was training to run my first half marathon, and I completed it mid-October in a time of 2 hrs and 45 minutes.  My wonderful cousins ran it with me, and by with me I mean miles ahead of me ;), but we were in it together.  Afterwards I informed everyone that I would never do that again and that it was a stupid idea in the first place.  But I did it and I was proud of myself.   As most of you know, things change…  I have forgotten what it feels like to torture your body for 13.1 miles straight, so I have signed up to run the Indy 500 Mini-Marathon in May. 

I am quite unsure why I did this, but I have decided that I am determined to beat my time and at least finish under 2 hrs and 30 minutes.  We shall see.  On a lighter note, all this running has helped me to lose all of my baby weight from Evie and a bit of the weight I had left over from Owen, although I still have some to go.  It’s funny how when you have children you realize more than ever how you need to keep in shape and take care of your body, more for them than you. 

Tyler has also set a fitness goal of sorts, he is getting ready to go through Phase Training to become a level 1 instructor at Krav Maga Indy.  Phase starts this Saturday and ends Friday, and it is an all day training.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with Krav check out the link above.  But in short it is a highly intense cardio workout similar to mma style fighting.  It not only gets you in shape but teaches you useful self-defense techniques with real-world scenarios.  I love working out there and the Krav instructors have become somewhat of an extended family for us.  I am very excited for Tyler because I know he loves training there and he is a great teacher, so this just seemed to fit.

Owen and Evie have also been doing very well since I returned to work.  Owen loves going to his grandma and grandpa’s house every morning and really likes it when the kids get home from school.  He can now carry on full conversations with you so when I ask him what he did he will go into detailed explanations that normally end with “Georgia is nice.”  He is also learning some new and interesting phrases.  For example, the other day I asked him to pick up his blocks so I could sweep.  He said, “Ok mommy,” then sat down to do just that.  After about a minute he looked up at me and said ‘Mommy, me lazy,” and stopped picking up his blocks.  I just looked at him for a minute while what he just said sunk in…I have no idea where he picked that one up.  I said you are not lazy, now pick up your blocks.  He sighed one of those if I have to sighs and finished picking them up.  Then when I asked if he wanted to go to grandpa’s house in the morning and see Brooks and Georgia he said “Um, Yeah! Excited!”  Don’t know where he got that one either but I like his enthusiasm.  🙂  Evie has been doing very well too, she is now past the 2 month mark and had her 2 month well baby check up.  She weighs 9 lbs 10 oz. and has grown to 21 1/2 inches long!! She is in the 25th percentile on both.  She is also a  very social baby.  She smiled and talked to the doctor the whole time we were in the office.  I love seeing her smile, is makes me teary eyed still.  She also loves to watch her big brother.  I will lay her on the floor and Owen will show her all her toys and she just follows him with her eyes the whole time.  Owen loves it when she looks at him too, he will jump up and say “Mommy! Evie look me!”  It is the sweetest thing.  I love my babies.

This past weekend Landon and Sylvia got married and it was a beautiful wedding.   Owen was the ringbearer and Georgia was one of the flower girls.  They both did great for 2 year olds and made it all the way down the aisle.  After the wedding we tried to get as many pictures as we could Owen in his tux and Georgia in her dress, here is what we managed.

These were good but then there was the diamond in the rough…this is the best picture of the bunch!!!  It belongs on a greeting card!!

 

Never Ceases To Amaze

Owen is really starting to grow up fast it seems, maybe its just me.  But he will use new words that I have never heard, nor do I remember saying.  Lately he will let you know he is hungry by saying “eat,” if he is only a little hungry, or normally right after a meal he will say “nack” for snack, because apparently this is what he should have after a meal. 🙂  Also, if there is something sweet he wants, for example chocolate, he will point to what he wants and say “peez, peez.”  I love that he is saying please a whole lot more now, but I hate it when I have to tell him no, although he is getting better at just taking no for an answer. 

Owen has also been doing a lot of really cute things lately, he always wants to watch “Buzz,” that is Toy Story for those of you who don’t know.  As soon as I put the movie in he says “Buzz! Buzz!”  Also, he has been somewhat interested in the baby, although I know he doesn’t fully understand just yet.  The other day I thought he was beginning to understand because I was laying on the couch and he came up to me and pointed to my tummy and said “Baby.”  I said yes there is a baby in there.  Then, completely on his own he leaned down and kissed my belly and have it a hug.  I almost started to cry it was so sweet!! So I thought well maybe he does understand that there is a baby in there.  But all hope for understanding was lost when yesterday he pointed to his own belly and said “baby.”  I’m not going to even pretend it is easy to explain to an almost 2-year-old boy that he doesn’t have a baby in his belly.

On another note, I had my first appointment with my new doctor yesterday.  It was pretty routine, and everything looked good!  I got to hear the baby’s heartbeat again and this time it was 167, a little slower than the 180 the first time.  I am almost 11 weeks, Sunday’s are my weekly markers so this coming Sunday I will be 11 weeks.  At my next appointment I will be scheduling the ultrasound to see if we are having a boy or a girl!!! I can’t believe that it has gone by so fast!  It may have helped that I didn’t tell my family until I was almost 9 weeks.  I have lost a little more weight since my last appointment, but not so much to be worried.  It is just because I have been so nauseous this pregnancy.  I am hoping that in a week or so I will be done with feeling icky and maybe even get my energy back.   I also found out at my appointment that I will be getting an extra ultrasound done at 36 weeks to try to determine the size of the baby, since my wonderful son was so big.  If this baby is even close to the same size I will have to schedule a c-section to avoid having some of the issues that we had with Owen.  I am hoping though that the baby will not be too big and I can try to go into labor naturally this time, however for those of you who are worry warts, I promise I will not do anything stupidly and if it is advised by my doctor to schedule the delivery I will do so.  I am not that hung up on having a natural birth. 

In other news, I will be starting a new job in a couple of weeks.  It’s not a promotion but it will be something different that will help me gain the experience I need to hopefully get a promotion.  This is a step in the right direction for me, it is the kind of work that I am really interested in and it can potentially lead to a job in an organization that I really want to work for.  Please keep me in your prayers as I make this transition, I am really looking forward to this job and what the future holds. 

Without further ado, here are some cute pictures of Owen and some of Georgia and Brooks too.

Manicure Anyone?

New Baby Washmuth

Congratulations to Kris and Lindsay!!! On Tuesday October 19th they had their second bundle of joy! A bouncing baby boy named Brooks Carter Washmuth!!!

Owen and Georgia

This weekend has been full of…well…almost surprises.  Let me explain; all day Saturday Lindsay was having contractions and they were about 5-7 minutes apart.  However, these contractions weren’t all very strong, so Lindsay continued to work Saturday morning until the bank closed.  Then the contractions stopped for a while.  After about 30 minutes they came back, this time about 4 minutes apart.  So, Lindsay and Kris dropped Georgia off at our place and headed to the hospital.  While we were eagerly anticipating the news on whether we would have a new nephew, Owen and Georgia had a good time at the park.  Here are some pictures of them playing together.

This is the first time that Georgia had ever gone to the park with Owen; I think she had a really good time.  She was having a blast climbing around the playset.

They took turns climbing up to the top of the playset and watching the other climb up to the top.

Owen liked going down the slide, but that wasn’t Georgia’s thing just yet.

Then they decided that it would be fun to climb on the park bench.  I thought this would make a perfect picture opportunity, apparently Georgia did too because she posed perfectly everytime.  Owen on the other hand just wouldn’t sit still.  Here are my attempts at trying to get a cute picture.

Here is just a cute picture of Owen.

Later that day, Lindsay wanted to try to get her contractions to come back stronger because they had stopped again.  So we decided to take the babies for a walk.  While we were walking Owen and Georgia kept sticking their hands out so they could hold each others hands during the walk.  It was sooooo cute! So of course I had to get a picture of it.  Here is said picture.

In unison now…Awwwwwwwww!

OH! P.S. Lindsay did not go into labor so no baby yet….but hopefully soon!!

Owen and Georgia

On Saturday we (we being Lindsay, Landon, Tyler and I) took Ken and Anita out for a joint birthday dinner.  Of course the babies were there too, who wouldn’t want their company!  Here a just a couple of cute pictures I took of them.

Hmm, it looks like maybe Owen will be a dentist when he grows up… what do you think?

Santa

This was Owen’s first Christmas! More information on that to come.  But for now the story of when Owen met Santa.  Christmas would not be complete for your child until they had the chance to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what they are wishing for.  Well, Owen isn’t quite old enough to do the later, but he was able to sit on Santa’s lap.  Now allow me to set the scene.  It is 8 o’clock at night, in a rather busy mall.  Owen is normally asleep at 8 o’clock at night and he doesn’t fair very well with people he doesn’t know very well.  So this was bound to be a beautiful meeting.  Georgia went first.  Lindsay took her up there and sat her very calmly on Santa’s lap. Lindsay stood just far enough away that she was out of the shot but Georgia would still be ok sitting there on her own.  It was quite funny, after the picture was taken we realized that she was apparently threatening Santa!! I am guessing she was saying “I’ll sit quietly but don’t you try anything you.” All while holding her fist at his face.

Then it was Owen’s turn, I didn’t think that it would work very well since one he was tired, and two Santa was a complete stranger.  But we decided to try anyway.  The lady who was taking the pictures was very calm and good with them.  But she had these jingle bells that she would shake to try to get the babies to look at her.  Apparently Owen, who was already looking at her, thought it a bit much and leaned forward widened his eyes and sarcastically stared at her as if to say ” I am looking lady!”

Well, since Owen wasn’t crying yet I thought I would push my luck and see if we could get a picture with Owen and Georgia together.  No such luck…

So I promptly went and scooped him up and comforted him trying to get him to calm down.  Once I was successful we tried one last time to get a group picture.  Not to shabby if you ask me:

So, that was our experience with Santa for the first time.  It was worth it if only just for the memories.  I will post how Owen enjoyed Christmas soon!!

Picture Fun

I don’t have any real updates on Owen, but I have some really cute pictures of Owen and Georgia that I thought I would share with you…enjoy.

Such cute kids, dontcha think?

Cousins

Owen and Georgia have been spending a lot of time together since both Tyler and Lindsay have gone back to work.  They both go over to grandma and grandpa’s for the day.  Well, they had their first fight today.  I don’t know if you could really call it a fight, since I don’t think they knew what was going on, but Georgia had a little rattle bracelet on, and Owen wanted it.  So he just grabbed it and tryed to get it away from Georgia, but of course it was velcroed to her wrist; so it wasn’t going anywhere.  Well, she just wasn’t having that, so she started to fuss and scream, and Owen still wanted the rattle toy, so he too started to fuss and scream.  So, grandma Anita got him his own rattle, and the rest is history. If this is the worst they will ever have to face as cousins, then I think we are in for a very easy and fun 18 or so years. 🙂

Pure Cuteness

This is just a quick little update on how Owen and Georgia are doing.  I know this may not come as a big surprise to most of you who know Owen, but he is a pro at eating cereal.  Yes, we have started him on baby cereal.  He opens right up for the spoon and everything.  He still only eats just a little bit, but boy does he have it down pat!  He will then proceed to eat a 5 or 6 oz bottle.  And this is why Owen is a healthy big little guy ;).  He is even sleeping better!  Just look at how peaceful he is.

I am getting really excited about taking Owen to Florida.  We leave Monday night, and since he loves to take a bath I am thinking that he is going to love the pool.  As long as it is warm that is.  I will be sure to take lots of pictures for you so that I can post them here for your viewing pleasure.  Oh, and just because he is so darn cute, here is another picture for you.

And now onto Georgia.  She is beginning to be more and more alert!  And I just can’t get over how much she looks like her daddy!

By the way, for those of you who read my blog but don’t know, Kris (Georgia’s Daddy) is currently in Kuwait awaiting deployment from there to Iraq.  Georgia was born on Thursday June 28th, and the following Monday Kris had to return to his unit for combat training.  He was able to see her for a second time over the Fourth of July weekend, but the Monday after he left again and the following Wednesday shipped out overseas.  Kris will be gone for a 12 to 18 month deployment, though he has only physically seen his daughter twice he does get to see her frequently via internet video.  Please keep them in your prayers. 

On a lighter note, Georgia is growing up so fast!  She is an absolutely beautiful little girl.  But don’t just take my word for it, look for yourself!