Noah Tyson Lee

I lied. I didn't get pictures up yesterday, so I'm putting them up today. I started the day off on Tuesday by giving Kennedy breakfast and one last bath before heading to the hospital with my mom at 9:45. I checked in and got hooked up to all kinds of things while waiting for the doctor. The nurse went through my vein on the first try with the IV (which has resulted in a nasty bruise) so she had to try again on my right hand. Then came the epidural. Compared to last time it was a nightmare. The anesthetist kept pinching a nerve which sent a very painful electric shock down my right leg. Needless to say, I was getting very antsy to get this baby out!

The doctor was (of course, most doctors are) about 40 minutes later than expected, but that turned out to be a good thing because the epidural took way longer than it should have to take effect. The anesthetist kept pinching me, and until we got into the operating room, I could feel it every time. But eventually, I was laying on the table, the curtain was up, and I couldn't feel a thing. Then, at 1:03 pm on March 23, I heard the little screams of my son being born.

It is a weird sensation to have a baby pulled out of your tummy. I felt like everything from my lungs and below was being stretched and pulled out. But then again, Brett and I make big babies. Noah weighed in at 8 pounds 9 ounces and measured 21 inches long. He was even bigger than Kennedy was! He was (and is) extremely healthy and a very welcome addition to our family. He is so good natured and is a wonderful eater and sleeper.

Kennedy wasn't sure how to react at first, so she opted for ignoring me and Noah the first time she came to the hospital. She warmed up quickly though and now is the little helper I knew she would be. A special thank you to my parents: mom for staying with me in the operating room and in the hospital and dad for taking Kennedy while I was in the hospital for 3 days. Thankfully, the day I came home from the hospital was the same day that Brett graduated from boot camp and got to come home! Noah and I met him at the airport (don't worry, my dad drove) and he was able to get Kennedy out of bed this morning. We are all so happy that he is home! You'll have to excuse the bad picture, I am puffy from having a baby and being in the hospital, and it's painful for Brett to smile with his mouth open since the Coast Guard has been doing so much dental work on him.

The bad news is that Brett has to have more dental work done than expected. He opted to come home for a week, but on April 4 he has to go back to New Jersey for 2 weeks to finish up that dental work, so our moving plans are on hold. We don't know exactly when he'll be back, but it's pretty much guaranteed that he will have to miss everyone's birthday. The good thing is that he won't be in boot camp anymore, he will be a base employee, so he will be able to call us everyday. We'll be moving to Oregon as soon as he gets back.

We are so happy to have him home with us for this next week and I know that that 2 weeks will go by much faster than the last 8 have. We are looking forward to starting our adventure with the Coast Guard for real in a few weeks!

I Have Some Catching Up To Do

I'm sorry that I have been so bad about posting pictures lately. My camera situation, as I have said before, is slightly complicated. Once we get to Oregon and get settled though, the pictures should come more frequently. In any case, here are a bunch. First off, we went to the grocery store a few weeks ago and Kennedy absolutely refused to sit in the cart. While she was walking around, she found a nice place to sit. On a beer display.

It looked so funny that I had to take a picture. Then, I was on the computer one day and Kennedy was watching a show. I kept hearing her say, "Change a diaper!" which usually means that she needs me to change her. I walked over to her, and it turns out that Rosie, her bear, was the one that had pooped. She had gotten out a diaper and a few wipes and I sat and watched while she wiped Rosie and attempted to put the diaper on. I am sure that she will be wanting to try this with Noah.

She has found YouTube as well. She has some favorite videos that she wants to watch over, and over, and over again. One of those is a little animation that is set to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. She loves it and is obviously enthralled.

She has started singing it to herself too, which is way cute. Her rendition goes something like this: "Twinkle star. How I wonder. What you are. Up, up, up high. Like a diamond. Sky." I love it because she randomly sings it to herself, especially in the car.

Next up, a picture of me at about 37.5 weeks pregnant. I haven't changed too much since then, but this boy is definitely big!

Today I got a pre-baby pedicure and took one last run to Sprinkles Cupcakes since I won't be able to have one again for quite some time. If you've never had one, here's a taste of what you are missing.

Pictured here are the Cinnamon Sugar (my new favorite), Pumpkin, Lemon Coconut, and a mess of crumbs that used to be a Dark Chocolate. That Dark Chocolate was eaten within minutes of getting into the car by the one who requested the "chocolate muffin."

She scarfed that thing faster than I've seen her scarf anything. She also tried calamari today at dinner and couldn't get enough of it! She kept asking for more, even after it was all gone. And on the note of cute things Kennedy does, she has been trying to say her name more correctly lately. She used to say "Kendy", but lately she has been trying to add the third syllable in there and it has turned out something like "Kendedy". Yesterday we were going to play at Gymboree and she got so excited (as she always does) that she was walking around saying, "Gym-bo-bree Kendedy!" It was so cute!

We are really coming up on starting this adventure of ours for real! Since I am posting this late, as of Saturday morning Noah will be here in 3 days, Brett will be home in 6, and we will be moving to Oregon in 10. Crazy! I will probably post one more time on Monday and then I will do my best to have pictures of Noah up on the blog on Friday! And check out the cooking blog for some delicious cookies.

Shiny Shoes

Brett's letter today said that his company is considered the sharpest there because they have the sharpest uniforms, shiniest shoes and know their required knowledge better than any other company. He said that he was told that at our station he will pretty much only be doing search and rescue in really rough waters. Of course, he's thrilled about that, especially since some people got sent to places where they will be cutting grass and painting parking lots. He is still having a great time and has done a lot to earn the respect and trust of his lead company commander. Our life events have come down to a matter of days.

Noah comes - 12 days

Brett comes home - 15 days

We move to Oregon - about 18 days

And within all of that we will all (including Lucy) have our birthdays!

Lucy - March 15 - 3 years old

Noah - March 23 - 0 years old

Ashley - April 5 - 25 years old

Brett - April 13 - 28 years old

Kennedy - April 17 - 2 years old

We have decided that the months of March and April are going to get really expensive for us in a few years! That's a lot of birthday cake to eat in a month's time!

If You're Happy and You Know It

It is a beautiful day here in Plano - 70 and sunny. Kennedy and I went outside and played with sidewalk chalk for about 45 minutes. I had my second to last baby appointment and everything is going well. 2 weeks until baby! Brett's company posted a journal today that you can read here. 2.5 weeks until Brett comes home! Today has been a good day. And it will only get better! Lost is on tonight, and I have a pot luck at church to go to, which I made some delicious cookies for. My cross stitch is really coming along. Pretty much, my life is amazing. I am so happy today and I just thought I would share that with all of you.

Stuff from Me and Stuff from Brett

Here's an overview of today:

• As of today, Brett has been gone for 3 weeks. So far, no gigantic breakdowns, just some small ones. And only 4 1/2 weeks until he comes home!
• Kennedy has been a NIGHTMARE the past few days. Today has been the worst. I am definitely learning to be more patient. I think the poor thing has allergies because her face has been leaking all day and she's starting to cough because of all the stuff in her throat. I think that Brett being gone is starting to get to her a little bit too, since she has been hitting me like crazy.
• Today is the 35 week mark for Noah, which means that there are only 4 weeks until we get to meet him finally!
• I made some Lemon Poppyseed muffins that turned out pretty well, but I wish that Brett was here to taste them.

Also, from Brett's last letter, here is a funny story that anybody who knows Brett will appreciate. Plus, it really lets you know that he's having a good time amid all the hard stuff. :)

"By the way, while our company was doing an exercise we find ourselves in quite often of holding our guns straight out for a half hour straight, my lead company commander yelled out, "Where's Lee at?"

"Lee aye," I replied.

He said, "Lee, did you know I have been emailing back and forth with your wife?"

"No, sir."

"You have a baby due on the 23rd, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Ashley is her name, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"She seems like a very nice girl."

"Oh, she is, sir."

He was doing it to show to the company that although we might feel he was being a jerk for having us hold the gun straight out while telling us all of this, and we being in pain and tired already from the workout, that he has our best interests in mind and that he knows what he is doing; and he does. Later we were shining our boots as a company (but silently) and he cracked some really sarcastic joke, that got me smiling (which we are at no point allowed to be caught doing (imagine how hard that is for me)) and he turned to me and said, "Lee, Ashley must have terrible eyesight if that's what you look like when you smile." I replied, "Actually Chief Ruchser, she does." Everyone busted up laughing, and he yelled, "Lock it up!" which means shut up and quit smiling, because everyone was laughing. He went out of sight so he could have a chuckle, without letting people see. Everyone thought it was pretty hilarious."

You Wanna See My Driver's License? or The Joys of Governmental Bureaucracy

First off, bonus points to anyone who can tell me what movie the first half of the title came from. Since Brett and I have decided to become a military family, I guess that we are going to have to get used to dealing with the annoying red tape and long lines that come with it. Thankfully the people in Cape May (USCG boot camp) are very nice and willing to work with us. Somehow they found out that I'm going to be having a baby before Brett comes home and were working with him to get me on military insurance before that happens. First, you have to be entered into DEERS (the military dependent database). That part was easy because Brett took care of it there at boot camp before he called me to give me more info.

Second, get a military dependent ID card. Slightly more difficult. I had to drive all the way to Fort Worth (about an hour away) at 6:30 in the morning, pay $5 to park downtown, and then find out that I had the wrong address. So then I had to drive to the Naval Airbase, which took me an hour when it should have taken me 20 minutes because my directions were wrong - twice. The first time they got me lost in downtown Fort Worth, what with all the one way streets and such. The second time they took me to the east entrance of the base instead of the front entrance, which I wasn't allowed to enter. I finally got there by following some very sketchy directions given to me by a guy at the ID office. I thought there would for sure be a huge line and I would have to wait for hours since I had gotten there an hour after opening. Thankfully there was absolutely no one in line and the people at Cape May were very quick about faxing the paperwork that I needed over. We got all the info entered into the computer, and then the guy told me to switch chairs so he could take my picture. I was sitting in the chair for 60-90 seconds, and I was wondering what was taking him so long and started to wonder whether or not I should ask him if I should smile. Apparently not, because after a while he said, "We're all done." What? Mug shot anyone?

I was slightly miffed at not being told that the picture was being taken, but my sister and sister-in-law had the same experience. Their pictures weren't much better. Then I got stuck in horrendous traffic on the way home. But the point is that I came away with my ID.

Third, fill out and fax in Tricare paperwork. Done. Since I got it all faxed yesterday I will be on military insurance before Noah is born, which means he's free! Yay!

Also, I finally got a letter from Brett yesterday! He said that nothing could have prepared him for what it is like, and that it is worse than the movies, but that he loves it! He said he's doing really well, he loves his company commanders, and that he is enjoying himself. If you're interested in seeing what boot camp is like and watching his actual company commander yell at people, go to YouTube and type in "It's Just Eight Weeks."

Just When You Think You're Safe

Remember that incident I recently told you about in which Kennedy found chocolates and ate them while I was in the shower? Well, after the second morning in a row of that happening I put the chocolates on a high shelf so she wouldn't be able to get at them. A good choice, because the next morning she did not find the chocolates again. However, she did happen to find a tube of lipstick that I didn't even know I had.

Yeah, that's lipstick all over the desk and wall. You can't see it on the desktop or the chair, and I didn't get a picture of her face, hands and shirt, but believe me, it was everywhere. This morning I woke up early so I got out of bed and took a shower so I wouldn't have another incident today.

Also, just when you think your safe and comfy with how your daughter is, she decides to grow up and change some more. How about this grown up haircut?

If you don't remember, it was several inches longer than this and had little curls at the bottom. Now it just curls under and makes her look that much older. She also started Gymboree Play & Learn classes with her cousin Wyatt and is now learning to do all sorts of new things, including but not limited to: rocking, jumping, climbing and rolling balls down slides.

She has also gotten a little ahead of herself and decided that she needs to be the one driving the car. She climbed in that seat all by herself and started steering the wheel. I think I would need to be a little more worried if her feet were closer to the pedals.

She really is growing up so fast! Next week she will be 22 months old. That's only 2 months away from 2 years old! Time has certainly flown with her. I'm excited to have another little one, even though I know he'll only be little for a while. Still no letter from Brett, but I've heard that sometimes they will hold their mail for a week. If they didn't, then it's possible that bad weather on the east coast and here in Dallas could have delayed it. I will be sure to post how he's doing as soon as I know! Also, a quick shout out to my brother, Blake, who is graduating from Army basic training tomorrow! Good job!