1 Month Old!

I can't believe that Colin is one month old already! My how time flies! The days even seem to go by fast. I understand now when everyone says to enjoy these days when he is so little- they'll be gone before you know it! Colin continues to do well- he's 9 lbs. 5.5 oz! (I should correct my last post- he was 8 lbs. 13 oz, not 3 oz!) He's 22.5 inches as well, so he's getting bigger! His feet have also almost outgrown the space in his footed pajamas! He's holding his head up really well. All is good! Rodney and I continue to adjust, but I think we're getting the hang of things. We left Colin with our friend Sheree to go out on the 19th to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. We had a wonderful night, even though we talked about Colin for a lot of it! Rodney was also excited to celebrate his first Father's Day. Colin gave him a travel coffee mug with pictres of him and his daddy on it. This weekend is Colin's baptism and we're so excited for this event, and to have our families in town! Jason and his family from Missouri and Rodney's family from Las Vegas will be here. Here are some pictures of Colin this week. I love that he sleeps with his toes spread out and he eats with one set of toes spread and the other set of toes clenched together! :)

3 weeks

Colin is growing! Thank God! We had some issues with his weight - he didn't gain anything for about a week and a half. But, we've worked on getting him feeding better and he's up to 8 lbs. 3 oz. by now! We've adjusted more to being at home and getting into those routines. Unfortunately, my mom had to go home early to take care of my dad who broke his thigh bone. (He's recovering well- he came home today!) We were blessed by many kind people at church with meals and things so that helped out tremendously! We also went to church for the first time this Sunday. It was nice to be back and to see everyone. This Monday I went back to my old office and we had a nice visit with Phyllis and everyone else there. We're so looking forward to next week when the family and some friends will be coming in for Colin's baptism on the 28th!

First Bath and other adventures

Here is some additional pictures of little Colin with his family!

Last day at Hospital....First Day home!

Colin is taking his new life at home very well. Lizzy and I took Colin home at noon on Memorial Day, and of course he slept most of the day. Grandma Angie drove all the way from Las Vegas to see her new Grandson (video to come). Mommy is doing great, and we have both Grandma Crowder and Grandma Angie here to visit and help us out when needed. We are very blessed to have such a great family both in Las Vegas, and in St. Louis, maybe we can get some family to move out here to Arizona....just a little wishful thinking! Here are some pictures of his last day at the hospital and first day home.

Meet Colin Tevis Verner!!

Now that Rodney is holding Colin and he's all fed and changed I thought I would share his birth story. Friday was my last day of work and I was having contractions at work, but not bad and about 10-12 minutes apart. By the time I got home I was having more, and through the night they started waking me up- mostly because they hurt so much in my back! Rodney went to work Sat. morning and I knew I wouldn't be doing what I had planned- going grocery shopping and getting a pedicure! By noon they were 5-8 minutes apart and my back was hurting so bad I called the hospital. They said what I already knew, that they should be a steady 5 min. apart before coming in. So they told me to take a bath or shower to relax. I took a shower and boy did that speed things up! Soon after I got out Rodney came home early (thanks to his employees who covered for him!) and he started writing down my times- 2-3 minutes apart and lasting for a minute! Time to go to the hospital!We checked into triage and were glad to hear our Dr. was already there delivering other babies. So they checked me and I was 7 cm! I can't believe I went that far without drugs! So we got admitted and by the time we got to our regular room the anistesiologist (sp?) was already there to give me my epidural. What a relief! After just a couple of hours we were all hooked up, on our way. The dr. did have to break my water still, and then gave me some pitocin to make my contractions regular again since getting the epidural. They checked me again and I was 9 1/2 cm so the nurse had me do a couple "practice pushes". Just two of those and she said stop! The baby was right there and she had to go get the dr! I didn't have to push long, but it was the worst feeling having to stop with him half out- ouch! So, just 5 hours after we walked in the hospital doors he was born. He came out crying even before he was all the way out. We are so blessed that he's completely healthy and strong and doing so well. He weighed in at 8lbs. 6oz. and 21 1/2 inches long! He has a full head of black hair, and is such a handsome little baby. Thanks everyone for your prayers and well wishes during this whole pregnancy and his birth. It means so much to all 3 of us!!

Sorry we haven't updated the blog in a while. Everything's been just fine at our house. We spent most of the month just doing work and home things. The 14th-22nd we were in Missouri and had a great time. It was one of the most relaxing trips we've had I think. We were there for the sausage supper at Zion which was something new for Rodney. We spent a lot of time with my neice and nephew, Katie and Brendan, which was nice since we don't get to see them very often. My friends Stephanie and Allison and my sister-in-law Sarah threw me a great baby shower on the 21st. (Thanks guys!!) Other than that we just hung out with family or different friends and at mom and dad's. Just as Rodney gets used to being relaxed it was time to go home again. When we came back we had an ultrasound yesterday morning. They wanted to look at the rest of Colin's heart just to see the parts they couldn't see before. Everything is just perfect! All of his organs look great and they were able to see everything this time. He's definately a boy and weighs about 1 lb. 13 oz. He was folded up in half again with his feet touching his forehead! He must like to lay that way since he did that last time. We were thrilled too to get some 3-D pictures of him, even without asking for them! So, we can now see this human looking baby inside of me. He's so cute! We even got out the picture we have of Rodney as a baby and they look very similar! It just makes us even more excited for him to come out! It's less than 100 days now until my due date and we have a lot to get ready! We have our childbirth classes starting next week and all of the other things we want to get in order before he comes. But, we're leaving room for some fun- we have two trips to Vegas coming up in March and April! We hope you are all well and we'll try to give updates more frequently! (I'll post pictures tomorrow of Colin from work- it's not working right here at home.)

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Our last Christmas with just the two of us was very nice. Mom and Dad came out to spend a couple of weeks with us which is always so nice to have family with us. Rodney had a good holiday season, but is glad it's over! Last week we had our detailed ultrasound and found out that baby Verner is a BOY! We are so excited! His name will be Colin Tevis. Everything looked perfectly normal on him and he was so active during the exam. So much so that they couldn't see all of the parts of his heart that they wanted to so I have to have another ultrasound on Feb. 23. It's so amazing- they can even see little white specs in his eye sockets that are the beginnings of his lenses which indicates that he doesn't have genetic cataracts! Just how those technicians learn to see all of that while looking at a wiggling baby in black and white is beyond us. They also estimated his weight to be about 12 oz. He's almost a pound already! I haven't felt him move yet (that I know of anyway) but I'm sure I will soon. Pants are getting even tighter so it's time for maternity clothes! I bought a few things and have worn them a couple of times. We have a busy schedule coming up- a trip to Missouri and probably two trips to Vegas! Other than that we're trying to schedule our birthing classes, register, and clean out the extra rooms to make room for Colin!