Shady Skate 280

 

 

Although the above picture needs some explaining, I must first brag on my sweet husband...

When we lived in Mobile, there was a skate center down the street from our house. I always begged him to take me, and tried to force our friends to go too. Not only did I want to go skate - I wanted a skating birthday party. Yes - you heard right... a skating birthday party. Well that never happened, and then I got pregnant and couldn't skate at all. I had since forgotten about my strong desire to go skating, since I had seen no skate centers in Birmingham.

So, on Saturday night - the day before my 26th birthday - Ben blindfolded me and said we were going to dinner. I got in the car, very excited but curious. (those of you who know me well, know that I LOVE surprises...) 20 minutes later, Ben helped me out of the car - my eyes watering from the blindfold, and I heard this loud thumping music in the distance. As we walked, the music got louder - until Ben opened the door and took off my blindfold. Several of my favorite friends jumped out and yelled surprise over the music of... SKATE 280 - Birmingham's premier skate center.

Finally, I got the skating party of my dreams - complete with all the skating, rap music, pizza, diet coke, and Zoe's chocolate cake my heart desired. Not only that - but they welcomed our party over the loudspeaker, we got to see Emily get plowed over by an overzealous speedskater (and no, it wasn't Ben), AND Auburn beat Florida! What a night...

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

So, first I should apologize for taking so long to get an update posted... and -this is my first official post! Ben has finally showed me how to navigate the blog, so I am taking the reigns because of his busy schedule...
This weekend my parents came up for my birthday, and today we took Campbell to the zoo for the first time. The weather was perfect - and we had a blast (other than parking forever away and having to take a shuttle - school bus - to the actual zoo, with baby, parents, grandparents, stroller, carseat, diaper bag, and baby bjorn all in tow!) Don't know just how many animals Campbell actually noticed - but she did hear the tiger roar (go auburn!) so that was good enough. :) Here are some pictures...

P.S. Parksies - for some strange reason, the Gators weren't out at their exhibit today - they must have had a rough weekend...

I Know, I Know, Its Been Forever . . .

This isn't much, but just a couple pictures until I can get a proper post together. We've been so busy moving in and starting residency these past 2 months, which is no excuse to not post on the blog, but still. Katie is doing a great job getting the house in shape and taking care of Campbell. Campbell is eating all kinds of fruits and vegetables now and loving them. I need to take some pictures of the house soon too, and post those. Hopefully soon. . .

 
 

Family Beach Vacation

Here are a bunch of pictures from the week long vacation we just took with my (Ben's) family. There were 13 of us total with all of my brothers and sisters and there kids, my parents, and my grandma. We had a lot of fun. This was Campbells first time in a bathing suit (it matched her cousins) and first dip in the pool. I think she liked it even though it was kind of a shock to her at first. I even saw a wild dolphin give birth as I was about 10 yards away in an ocean kayak (see photos). It was pretty awesome, I'll have to tell you the story. Anyway, enjoy.

Going Away Party

Tonight J.D. and Danielle Adams hosted a going away party for us at their house. I know its a little early but we are going to the beach for a week after this and won't have but a couple days left once we get back. It was mainly friends from church and stuff. We had a really good time and are very thankful to them for suggesting the idea. During the prayer before we ate, J.D. was praying and Katie got really sad and teary. That kinda made me sad thinking about leaving, but she fought it back and remained composed. I have to admit though, this Sunday at church thinking about it being one of our last, I started getting really sad. We had a rough time in Mobile when we first moved here at the beginning of school four years ago. We didn't know anyone, hadn't gotten plugged in to a church, etc. God really blessed us by allowing us to find Grace Community Church and all the wonderful, Godly friends he has allowed us to meet and with whom to cultivate meaningful friendships. We hate to leave because we love you all dearly and will always hold you near to our hearts and think of you fondly and often. May God continue to bless you all in the time to come. And we promise we will come visit as often as we can, hopefully my work schedule will allow it. We promise to keep in touch, seriously. We love you guys.

And So It Begins . . .

Well we've started packing (sniff...sniff, tear rolling down the cheek). We figured we needed to go ahead and get a move on cause we are leaving to go to the beach with my (Ben's) family for a week and will only have about 7 days to pack and be ready to drive off after that. I have rented a Uhaul and will be packing it myself all day Memorial Day(if anyone wants to help with the heavy stuff). We've actually done the entire downstairs already including the kitchen. Unfortunately last night we realized we were perhaps a little overzealous when we cooked dinner (on the grill, no pots) and had vegetables and realized we had already packed the salt away. Oops. Anyway, please keep one eye on the clock over there and hang out with us, QUICK!

Graduation/Baptism Weekend

Here are some photos from this weekend. One of Katie and I in New Orleans where she took me for a surprise getaway. The rest are from this weekend which included my Honors Convocation for school, Graduation on Saturday, and the Baptism of Campbell at Grace Community Church.

Sorry, I Know Its Been Awhile . . .

Somehow I have let the thrill of blogging pass me by this month of April. I apologize to those faithful blog trollers out there who I know troll these blogs and the links associated with them to check on whats new in the blogoshere. I am sure you muttled under your breath multiple times after clicking on the "Straight Outta Compton" link from someone elses page, "Friggin' Comptons, can't even post anything since Easter, lazy ol'..." as I know I have at other people in the past when I am bored and trolling the blogosphere. So to you I extend my most heartfelt apology.

That being said, let me give a quick run-down of whats happened of late the rest of the month:
1.) We offered much in the way of praise and adoration to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ when our first child, Campbell, surprised us one morning at about 8 weeks of age by allowing us to sleep completely through the night. This is now the norm, and it is pure gold... gold I tell you.
2.) We put a "For Sale By Owner" sign out in front of our townhouse and God sold that about a week and a half later for a sliver under the asking price, again praise God... although, WE actually don't own it, my parents do... can anyone say finders fee? anyone, anyone, Bueller, Bueller...
3.) One of my good friends in Birmingham's wife had there first child, we got to go up there an see him/them. His name is Thomas Winston Martin (calling him Winston I believe, there was some indecision for awhile).
4.) Jumping to the end of the month now, I will officially be a doctor in zero minus 6 days(May 5). Went by fast (I say now that its over).
5.) I am sure there was more, but I can't remember, but I hope to keep the promise of not letting as much time go by betwixt posts, again I apologize to the trollers among us.

Feel free to keep up with the amount of time we have left in Mobile by referring to the countdown to your right. I know, we are very sad too, but all the more reason to get some good hang out time in whilst we're here. Also, of course, hope to be putting some new pictures of Campbell up soon for the multitudes who only come here for the pics and not all this blah, blah, blah . . .

Happy Resurrection Day!

He is risen! Praise the Lord! Campbell was really excited about today too. She had a good time at the church Easter egg hunt on Saturday. Paige, daughter of our freinds Scott and Annie, was so sweet holding Campbell and showing her the ropes of the egg hunting process. Also, our good freinds John and Julia, who moved to Arkansas, were driving through Mobile and got to meet Campbell for the first time today. We love these pictures of Campbell, hope you enjoy them too.

Campbell's First Beach Trip Part 2: The Pictures

As promised, here are the pictures from the beach trip. Also, while we were there, Campbell "cooed" for the first time. Thats the first non-grunt, non-cry sound she has made. For all those who already have kids, shut up, we know its not a big deal, but we were excited. Its the little things you know . . .

Campbell's First Beach Trip

Sunday the three of us went to Panama City Beach to a friends beach house for a couple days. The pictures of Campbell are real cute, but unfortunately I won't have the camera to post pictures until Saturday. Stay tuned.

Home Sweet New Home

Since finding out Katie, Campbell, and I will be in Birmingham for at least the next three years we were anxious to get a place to live nailed down. So this past Wednesday we all went up to Auburn, then Thursday Katie and I left Campbell with Katie's mom Pam and went to look at houses in Birmingham with a realtor. We saw a lot of good stuff, some bad, but went back up on Friday to look more specifically at a starter home-type neighborhood. We wanted something newer, in our price range, and not too far from the hospitals at which I'll be working . . . which is a lot to ask in Birmingham.

But on Friday we loved a lot of the houses in that neighborhood and the Lord was gracious to us and drew us to one in particular. We made an offer on Saturday and after multiple counteroffers came to an agreement Sunday afternoon for what we feel is a very fair price. Katie and I are very excited about this house. It not too far from the hospitals and has all the things we've (Katie) always wanted: hardwood floors, double vanity and seperate tub and shower in the master bath, a good backyard for Bailey (which I will need to fence in), great kitchen, and three bedrooms so we will have an extra room for ALL of our friends from Mobile to come and visit!! And they better . . .

New Pictures of Campbell

Okay, here are a bunch of pictures without the usual boring text. Enjoy!

The Envelope Please . . .

...and the winner is, Baptist Health System, Birmingham, Alabama! That was my first choice so I am pretty happy. For the first time in my life I have a real job. Or at least a job that you have to have more than a high school education to get. Now comes the task of looking for a house in Birmingham. And not just a house, but a house in our price range, which is pretty low. Thanks for everyones prayers and encouragement about Match Day, and especially to our friends in Mobile who were torn between rooting for me to get my first choice and not wanting us to leave Mobile. I appreciate your objectivity.

Here are some photos from Match Day including my beautiful wife and daughter! Campbell looks really cute in her dress. I promise from now on more posts will be about Campbell and with more pictures too. Thats all anybody really wants to see anyway.

Beware The Ides of March . . .

William Shakespeare must have, at some point, been a fourth year medical student. As you may not be aware, March 15th is what, for me and tens of thousands of other fourth year medical students across the country, is known as Match Day. This is the day that the National Residency Match Program releases the results of where everyone will be doing their residency training. To sum up how it works, we as applicants apply and interview at various programs from about November to January. At the end of February we the applicants rank the programs we applied to from 1 down to however many you applied. The programs also rank all the kids that applied from whom they want the most on down. These rank lists go into a computer and through some algorithm and/or gorrilla math it spits out matches of students and programs. Obviously if you are a more competitive applicant, the likelihood of you getting your first choice is higher. If you're a big slacker, you might get your last choice or even not rank at all. If you do rank, you are contractually bound to fulfill that committment to wherever you matched.

Anyway, for me this is all revealed one week from tomorrow at a mini-ceremony for our class. Pray that I will readily accept wherever God has placed me. Hopefully my first choice, but God seems to like to do his own thing, so I kind of won't be surprised if its not. Either way, for fourth years, beware the Ides of March.

Falling Asleep On The Job

Yes, we're tired. Last night at some point (don't ask me the time) Katie and I got up to feed Campbell. I went to pick her up to stop her from crying and came back to our room while Katie was getting the rest of her things together to feed her. Well, as Proverbs 6:10 goes ,"A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest...", one thing leads to another, and its snoozeville. Katie amazingly had her wits about her at this wee hour and grabbed the camera and was able to snap this photo. These are the kind we'll enjoy many many years from now, say perhaps at Campbell's rehearsal dinner or something. A little Daddy/Daughter moment. I like it. No, I love it.

Uncle Gavin & Aunt Alissa Visited Me!

Sorry my mommy and daddy haven't updated this blog in a while, I'm keeping them kinda busy. I got a little sick and mommy is still getting better too. But guess what! My Uncle Gavin and Aunt Alissa came and visited me and we had lots of fun. They held me and played with me and tried to keep me awake after I ate. I think they mostly hung out with mommy and daddy, but I can't say for sure, I was sleeping most of the time they were here.

But I sure am glad they came! They love me a whole bunch and took some pictures of me. I think my daddy is sposed to be putting them on here for everybody to see. I get kinda embarrassed but you gotta give the people what they want I guess. Well, its time for me to go back to sleep, but I'll tell daddy to post more often, so don't get too mad at him, k? I love you guys and be sure to comment on how cute you think I am. Just kidding . . . okay, I'm not. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I put on my best Valentine's outfit and wanted to show everyone my best side! I love you guys and hope everyone has a Happy Valentine's Day! I'm pretty tired now, so I'm gonna go take a little nap...
Love, Campbell
P.S. XOXOXOX

Campbell Unplugged: Live from Mobile

Praise God!! Campbell's bilirubin yesterday was around 12 so the pediatrician said to keep her on the light until this afternoon and then we could stop. Katie and I are so thankful. It might not seem like that big of a deal, but now Campbell can finally sleep in her own crib in her own room. Up until now she has been sleeping in the Pack 'n Play downstairs so she can be close to the light. Its also so nice to not have to aggravate her by putting that light up her shirt every time you change her, which was every 2 hours; thats how often we were having to feed her around the clock. Its just one more step toward resuming a quasi-normal existance and we are very thankful.

Bath Time, plus

We gave Campbell a bath today. Thought I'd share some cute pictures with everybody. A couple aren't of bath time, but I thought they were good too. I love to see her yawn! On the bilirubin front, we are waiting to hear what it is today, but from Friday to Saturday it went from 19 to 17, so hopefully today it will be around 13-14 and maybe she can come off the light by tomorrow or Wednesday. We are all doing pretty well otherwise, just trying to get the hang of this, but I think things are going pretty well... enjoy the pics.

Home and adjusting...

Well, we are all home now. Campbell's bilirubin* was a little high when we got discharged from the hospital, which is not uncommon. So, she has to have this UV light thing that slips under her back to help breakdown that bilirubin. She has to have it on as much as possible, which is kind of unwieldy but not too bad.

Katie is doing much better and is up and around wonderfully. Last night was pretty sleepless, which I'm sure will be the norm, not the exception. Campbell is starting to do really well feeding, and I am so proud of Katie's patience. Bailey (our dog) is doing great with Campbell as well, being really gentle and sniffing her to figure things out. Here's a new slide show with some more pictures. Keep checking back for new ones! For now . . . its nap time.

*a bile pigment from breakdown of red blood cells, causes the yellow color of jaundice

Finally OUTTA Compton!!

Our precious baby girl Campbell Grace was born unexpectedly yesterday at 2:12pm and weighed in at 7lbs. 12.5oz. and measured 20 inches. Both mom and baby are doing great! Katie did so well! Here is a smattering of pictures for those of you chomping at the bit...

No Joke

Oops! Katies in labor. Stay tuned . . .

Twelve Days and Counting . . .

Katie's apponitment today with the OB went very well. Per ultrasound, baby Campbell is 7 lbs. 11 ounces. We were very happy about only a 1/2 pound gain! Katie is now 36 weeks and 2 days, and this visit was the first time that the OB wanted to check her cervix. We were praying for her to have progressed, and she had just a bit. He said her cervix is softening, and almost 1 cm. Thats by no means a disappointment, considering she is still 4 weeks from her original due date. He was happy about her not getting too big and does think we can try for a regular deliver instead of a C-section. We were thankful for that as well. We are scheduled for induction on Feb 12, but will go in the hospital the night before.

As an aside, I confirmed with Dr. Plessala about me getting to deliver Campbell, barring any adverse events. I am pumped to get to be the first one to hold our child and get to hand her to my wife who will have worked and has worked so hard to get her here. Nothing like keeping it in the family, huh? I guess there are some perks to being in medical school and having delivered babies before. I figured if I've delivered other peoples babies, why not my own. I'm glad her OB agreed.

Got Milk?

This post is to officially announce that Katie and I have decided that Campbell will be exclusively breastfed until she begins junior highschool. Breast milk really is best, so why not forever. Okay, okay, maybe we won't do it that long, but after going to the breast feeding class at the hospital on Monday, I wouldn't be surprised if there are some odd folks out there who come close. The class was actually pretty good and not that hard-core about it. We were glad. But, they did show this video that was somewhat odd in its praise of breastfeeding, and almost made Katie want to exclusively formula feed just to spite those weird people on the video. She was like, "Why do those people have to be such freaks about it! Why can't you just breastfeed your child and thats it?" In her defense, those people were definately weird. Despite that, we will still breastfeed Campbell, but not for an inordinate amount of time. I say we, but I think I might have to let Katie do most of that. I guess I'll burp her or something. . .

Best 3 Ounces I Ever Saw

As promised, the weigh-in was today and, praise the Lord, Campbell only gained 3 ounces. By way of reminder, last week she gained 1/2 a pound from the previous week, and the week before that a whopping whole pound. So we are definately trending in the right direction. Thanks to all you light thinkers and prayers out there. Included in todays post is one of the most recent pictures of Campbell. For those of you not deft in the intricacies of ultrasonographic interpretation, I tried to zoom in on the most salient aspect of the shot: her cute button nose and giant squishy butt-like cheek!!

Hee Hee Hee Whooooo . . .

This Saturday Katie and I went to a childbirth class at Providence Hospital (where Katie will deliver). I was glad to find out that it was not one of those classes that makes you feel bad for having an epidural or taking pain meds. It was mainly informative about various things like the stages of labor and other logistics, like what you'll do when you come to the hospital. The best part though was when we practiced the breathing to get through the contractions. Don't think at all that I am discounting this approach to deal with pain, I know it works, but Katie and I were cracking up practicing in a room full of couples and non in-labor women. You just feel kinda stupid counting so intently and actually saying, "Hee Hee Whooo." Somehow I thought that was only on TV and that no one really said those exact words. I stand corrected. More than one time whilst utilizing my most intent and serious face and counting for Katie, she had to stifle her guffaws for fear of making the teacher think we were making fun; which we were sort of, but only because no one was really in labor.

By the way, going to the doctor tomorrow, so an update on the weight of Campbell will be forthcoming . . . think light.

Back When I Was In Med School . . .

Yep, thats right. I unofficially finished medical school today. I don't graduate until May 5, 2007, but I only have two more rotations left, the one I'm on now (Anesthesiology), which requires me to be at the hospital about 2 hours each morning, and one more after this which requires one hour a WEEK. You read that right, one hour a week. Needless to say, I am home a lot, which was the plan because Katie isn't working anymore and she's due in about 3 weeks. Campbell measured 7 lbs. today too by the way, only gaining 1/2 a lb., which was great! We're praying for her to be under 9lbs. come 38 weeks. That way we can have a regular delivery instead of a C-section. Anyway, now I can tell stories about when I was in med school. Nice.

"Some" Assembly Required

Sorry if this is a bit of a personal rant, but for any of you guys who've put together baby furniture, indulge me if you will.

So I have already put togther the crib and armoire. Now for the changing table. No big deal. Last thing. Get it out of the box, check. Take the pieces out and lay them in groups that look like they go together, check. Grab the giant bag of metal labeled "Various and Sundry Nuts, Bolts, Screws, and other assorted shards you've never seen before", check. Get assembly instructions out, che... wait a sec. Where are those included assembly instructions? Left in the box? Nope. Still in the box? You wish. Okay, so they forgot the instructions in the box, great. Hey maybe they are on the manufacturer's web site. Oddly enough they have online instructions for every piece they sell but yours. Classic.

So I say to myself, "Self, you graduated from college, surely you can put together a child's changing table. Its not like you're fixing the Hubble Telescope or something". So alas I begin putting the thing together, envisioning how I figure it ought, and placing screws and round shards in what looks to be there designated homes. Eventually, short story long, I started running out of pieces and the darn thing started to take shape. And being the college grad I was (Auburn too I might add, so no slouch) got the blasted thing into four main pieces that even a monkey could put together. So all in all not so bad. What began as what I thought would be impossible, actually wasn't that hard after all. Still probably faster with the instructions though, but actually the last thing I put together before this didn't even have words on it. Hmm . . . maybe a monkey could do it . . .

You Wouldn't Even Know She's Pregnant from the Back

My wife is awesome by the way. Someone asked for a picture of her belly on the blog so here she is. How 'bout my little girl too! Check out that giant chubby cheek!! I'm gonna eat her face! Anyway, things are going well and Katie and Cambell are both progressing. Campbell a little faster than Katie, in size anyway. Katie meanwhile, is progressing at home. She has gotten all the baby clothes/gifts we've recieved cataloged and inventoried for any duplicates and seperated out by age (0-3 mo., 6-9mo., etc). She's awesome.Oh, and as case in point of her organizational prowess and acumen this is a quote, "Hey Ben, in case I go out of my mind soon, I just wanted to let you know that I already bought, wrapped, and labeled birthday presents for any family, friends, or friends kids having a birthday in the month of February and put them here in the closet so you can find them; in case I forget to tell you later." Need I say more?

Just Found Out

This picture is from the parking lot when we found out we were pregnant the Friday before Father's Day in June of 2006. This blog is for our families and friends to keep up with the progress of our daughter Campbell Grace who will be arriving around Feb. 12, 2007. We only have about 5 more weeks but I thought this picture would be a good one to start off the blog.

(And for mom, I'll explain to you what a blog is later, in the meantime just keep checking here every once in a while for more postings, and especially in the future for recent pictures of your newest grandchild.)