...and Iowa

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Ellis and Kyla Eating Dinner Together

Riding on Stella

Enjoying her first popsicle/ice lolly

After our stay at my dad's, we drove 4 hours west to Des Moines, Iowa to see our good friends The Gibbons.  We had so much fun hanging out with Dina and Darren, and Kyla loved playing with Ellis - especially bath time!  A big THANK YOU to them for letting us stay for 4 days with everything going on.  

p.s. Dina, you better post the other pictures from your camera since mine ran out of juice!  :)  

Nuchal Translucency Ultrasound

Thursday, June 19, 2008

We had our nuchal translucency ultrasound and genetic screening test done this Monday (12 weeks 6 days) and everything looks fantastic.  Because I'm over 35, the risk of the baby having Downs Syndrome or other deadly genetic diseases is greater than if I were in my 20's, so hence this procedure.  This test measures the fold/fluid behind the baby's neck during an ultrasound and matches that with hormone levels in my blood.  Basically they are looking for the normal range of the fold (less than 3cm) and a normal range of hormones as a predictor of the genetic health of the baby.  Since both tests came back perfect our risks dropped significantly!  Or as John would say "his wife has the body of a 24 year old!"

The best part of the whole thing is that we got to see Baby Scott #2 again.  He/She was a perfect angel and the tech was able to get the neck measurements in the first try.  It's so amazing to see how much the baby has grown in 4 weeks since the last scan.  The baby was waving its arms (arms up just like Kyla), kicking and turning.  Plus, we got a good look at the baby's profile, which I always love.  Sorry to say though - no guesses on the sex as the cord was between the legs. We have to wait another 6 weeks for the anatomy scan to check again.  

Water Squirters

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

On Tuesday we met our friend Mollie and her daughter Lily for lunch and playtime at the water squirters. Kyla had a great time playing with the other kids, but unfortunately Lily wasn't feeling well (strep throat and mono - yikes!, poor thing) and wasn't in the mood for water fun.



Kyla playing in the water
The water was splashing on her head

Playing with the older girls

Water Squirters in action

Mollie and Lily

Baby Scott #2

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Yes it's official, we're expecting Baby Scott #2 and Kyla is going to be a big sister!  We are all beyond thrilled and pray for another healthy happy baby.  I'm about 9-1/2 weeks along and due 12/23/08.  Here is a picture of our "little shrimpy" at 8 weeks.  Doctor says everything looks good and the heartbeat is strong.

Day At The Zoo

Kyla and I had our first trip to the Austin Zoo today.  It's not like your typical zoos - it's actually a wildlife refuge and rehabilitation center for abused, abandoned and neglected animals.  It also doesn't really look conventional zoos (as you can see) - it's more of a preserve with gravel/dirt paths following the hill country terrain to the next animal enclosure.  They actually have a lot of different animals and a petting zoo so Kyla was happy to be able to touch and feed the goats, sheep and deer.  She also loved watching the Bengal tigers play in the water.  

Hot, tired and ready to go home

Spider monkey

Baboon type monkey

Tortoise

Tigers playing in the water

Close-up of one of the tigers

Kyla looking at the tiger

Very exciting!

Jumping up and down for the tigers

Kyla, Mummy and the Tiger

Come here deer

You can see by her face how much she loved the deer

Cougar (poor thing looked so hot!)

Wallaby

Feeding the goats

Checking out the goats and sheep

I need more food for the goats

She wasn't afraid of the hog at all and kept trying to stick her hand in its mouth

Roosters roam the zoo

  

Paddling Pool

Sunday, May 18, 2008

The weather in Austin is beautiful today and since we're still getting the big pool ready for summer (few more vacuum's and solar cover days are needed), we got out the paddling pool Kyla got for her birthday. She had so much fun playing in the water and liked getting in and out of it!

Missing My Dad

John left on a 9 day business trip yesterday (Saturday) morning.  This morning after Kyla got dressed she found her "Me & My Dad" book and started carrying it around with her.  How sweet is that?

  

p.s. - yes, that's a bruise on her cheek.  Our new walker thinks she can run now and ended up falling into a chair, poor thing. 

Our Pix Made It In A Magazine

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Pictures of Kyla and I taken by our photographer Alison Eden (when Kyla was 5 weeks old) are featured in the May issue of "Austin Parent Wise" magazine.  We were so thrilled to be picked by the editors when they were choosing pictures from Alison!  It was their special Mother's Day issue and the article was titled "With This Kiss."  The pictures surround poetry and stories by various authors and aren't related to the pictures.  Here are a few pictures of the pages Kyla and I are featured.  The full page scans didn't turn out that well, but I was able to get the pictures in color.

View of the full page

Close-up of the picture

View of the other page we are featured

Close-up of the picture on that page

Happy Mother's Day

Sunday, May 11, 2008

I've had a wonderful 2nd Mother's Day that included cards this morning from Kyla, Nobu, the cats (Gimu and Lumpy) and John.  I also got a dozen red and white roses and "27 Dresses" DVD.  After Kyla's morning nap we headed out to brunch at Waterloo and then headed to the play-park right outside the restaurant.  The rest of the day (beautiful, sunny 82 degrees) was spent relaxing by the pool.

Mummy & Kyla

Trying a sausage patty she insisted on stealing off my plate

We didn't think she'd like it, but she ate quite a bit

Playing at the playpark

More playpark fun with Mum

Looking at mummy through the window

Silly girl sticking her tongue out

Kyla and Daddy

Dancing to the band outside the restaurant

Playing in the water "squirters" there as well

Why Does She Love Toilet Paper?

Friday, May 9, 2008

You won't find the toilet paper on the holder in our house anymore, because "someone" loves to get it.  It's especially fun to unwind the whole roll and then tear it into pieces (although not so fun for mummy and daddy to pick it up).  Here she found the last bit of the roll when we accidentally left it out.  She literally played with this for 1/2 an hour and then cried when we took it away when we had to leave for a party.  

Walking: 1 Week Later

Monday, May 5, 2008

Gosh, what a difference a week makes!  Kyla started with just a few steps last Friday and now she is walking across the room.  She's still a bit unstable at times and falls down, but she's become quite proficient and so proud of herself.  In this video, I accidentally left the pantry open and she found the latex gloves I use to protect my hands while making soap.  She loves to pull them all out of the box.