tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87909889511477300132024-03-13T07:49:45.947-07:00The Albrecht FamilyWelcome to our blog spot! We created this site in hopes to keep everyone posted on what's going on at the Albrecht home. We hope you enjoy and we'd love to hear from you!Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.comBlogger155125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-90876805752520894502014-06-02T18:02:00.003-07:002014-06-02T18:02:38.186-07:0026 weeks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6DklPtctChk/U40Vw_sVXSI/AAAAAAAAAz0/R-u-JpleTmI/s1600/DSC_0184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6DklPtctChk/U40Vw_sVXSI/AAAAAAAAAz0/R-u-JpleTmI/s320/DSC_0184.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wkGTBHFoO3M/U40WH8ZvGfI/AAAAAAAAAz8/N2_nVmFq70s/s1600/DSC_0067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wkGTBHFoO3M/U40WH8ZvGfI/AAAAAAAAAz8/N2_nVmFq70s/s320/DSC_0067.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JV5yqCS86bY/U40WWUFdRoI/AAAAAAAAA0E/-me-2Afmj4k/s1600/DSC_0043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JV5yqCS86bY/U40WWUFdRoI/AAAAAAAAA0E/-me-2Afmj4k/s320/DSC_0043.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z8hZ4aGBFEw/U40Wmy82w4I/AAAAAAAAA0M/qnj6NHFfueM/s1600/DSC_0062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z8hZ4aGBFEw/U40Wmy82w4I/AAAAAAAAA0M/qnj6NHFfueM/s320/DSC_0062.JPG" /></a></div>
Whoops, took a little bit of a hiatus the past few weeks, sorry about that! The bump pic below is 22 weeks, I definitely feel and look a lot more pregnant now!
It's been a busy few weeks - we celebrated Kale's 4th birthday and Mother's Day, made two trips to IA to see family and friends and we've both been very busy with work. Derc has put over 2000 miles on his truck in the past two weeks with road trips to show properties, so needless to say, once the snow melts here people can't wait to get out of the house :)
We had a lot of family come up to help celebrate Kale turning 4 years old. He LOVES getting to see his cousins, aunts/uncles and grandparents so he had a blast. You can see that he got a bow for his birthday from Derc and I. Like father, like son. It's bigger than him so he will grow into it but Derc couldn't be more excited to encourage Kale to follow in his footsteps with his passion for hunting. This week Kale got to go with Derc to take pictures of a listing and Kale got to wear some camo and ride around on the 4 wheeler with Derc, which he thought was the coolest thing ever.
I'm doing my last round of travel for work in the next couple of weeks, so it's getting real that this baby is coming in 10 weeks! She is doing great, we have an appointment Wednesday afternoon for a growth ultrasound and they will do another check on her heart. It's looked good so far and week 26 marks the week that our chances of her developing Kale's heart condition go down significantly, so we are keeping our fingers crossed!!
We found out that we will be closing on the house we are building on 7/21 so we will be moving the week following, it will be a busy few weeks with baby A coming shortly after!!
I'll try to do a better job of keeping this updated from now on :)
Have a great week!
Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-86025065113588805052014-04-30T16:25:00.000-07:002014-04-30T16:25:05.248-07:0021 Weeks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FgCfExZoEFQ/U2GDnwn4ziI/AAAAAAAAAzM/Nk1FZ5Zgv1E/s1600/DSC_0058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FgCfExZoEFQ/U2GDnwn4ziI/AAAAAAAAAzM/Nk1FZ5Zgv1E/s320/DSC_0058.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gLyDcJvxKuc/U2GDnz-FL1I/AAAAAAAAAzQ/pc9QJXN6CMQ/s1600/DSC_0061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gLyDcJvxKuc/U2GDnz-FL1I/AAAAAAAAAzQ/pc9QJXN6CMQ/s320/DSC_0061.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zAdnQ0a-tfE/U2GDo1WNWuI/AAAAAAAAAzc/CpkqiaLEWyc/s1600/IMG_0229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zAdnQ0a-tfE/U2GDo1WNWuI/AAAAAAAAAzc/CpkqiaLEWyc/s320/IMG_0229.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-loCepkFz4q4/U2GDo5xFhlI/AAAAAAAAAzY/vaAtmSiFwuQ/s1600/IMG_0233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-loCepkFz4q4/U2GDo5xFhlI/AAAAAAAAAzY/vaAtmSiFwuQ/s320/IMG_0233.JPG" /></a></div>
Hello!
We had our 20 week appointment and ultrasound last week and all went well! Took lots of pictures of Baby A and she was a total squirm worm for the ultrasound tech....it's becoming a trend so I'm envisioning a little girl jumping off couches and following closely in her brother's footsteps :)
She measured about 12 ounces which was a bit big, but they seemed happy with it. Everything else checked out great, and we had a follow up today and her heart still looks good! If we make it to 26 weeks with no signs of the heart issue Kale has then the percentage of it developing outside of that window goes way down, so we hold our breath each week hoping she stays strong and she's proven she can do it so far. Next week marks our last weekly appointment, then we go to bi-weekly until we hit 26 weeks. I'm counting backwards now so 15 weeks left until Baby A makes her arrival!
Kale on the other hand has come down with a nasty cold so poor kiddo has been home from school the past few days, which I'm pretty sure he doesn't mind since he got to spend yesterday with nana and papa (Derc's parents).
My parents came up for Easter a couple of weekends ago and we had a blast! Derc's brother, Cory, also came for a night so it was great to see everyone! They helped us re-upholster our dining room chairs as they were driving me nuts so check that project off the list! We got to go to church with my extended family and Kale got to see a baby lamb (mom took him up front and said he was laughing at the noises), and after church got to spend the day with the family for a nice meal and caught up with everyone.
I think in my last post I mentioned that we are building a house in Blaine, MN and it will be ready in July. We have been checking in on the progress which has been exciting to see it go up (they move quick!). They are getting insulation in this week and all the electrical and plumbing is done which is impressive considering at the beginning of April they had just poured the foundation. Turns out they will be battling MN weather though which has consisted of more snow this week and a ton of rain, so hopefully that stops soon.
I have the next couple of days off so we're looking forward to spending some time together around the house and getting some stuff done! We will do a little relaxing as well :)
Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-74705625884841332022014-04-13T12:36:00.000-07:002014-04-13T12:36:27.449-07:00We're back in action!Hello!
After a 3 year hiatus from blogging, we decided to get the Albrecht Family Blog spot back up and running :) We've had a lot of fun changes in the past 8 months. In September of last year, we moved to MN for a promotion with Target which also allowed Derc to pursue his dream job of becoming an agent for Whitetail Properties selling hunting, farming and recreational land.
Most recently, as you can see below, is we're expecting baby number TWO! We're 18 weeks along, which for us, is the half way mark. Baby A's due date is 8/10/14 pending a healthy, no surprises pregnancy which we're praying for :) We have been highly monitored this prengancy with weekly appointments start a few weeks ago. Baby A has a 20% chance of developing the same heart condition Kale has, but it most often develops between 16-22 weeks, so we go for weekly ultrasounds during this time period to monitor it closely. So far, the first 3 appointments have gone well and they are not detecting anything, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that this continues. The only upside to the weekly appointments is we get to see our little one very frequently, and we also got to find out what we're having a bit earlier than normal. Kale's wish came true, and we're having a GIRL this time around, and she's proven to be a little acrobat for the ultrasound techs! They have to get very specific readings for the heart so a squiggly baby doesn't help that, but at our last appointment the tech stood up and did the 'Rocky' song after because she was proud of herself for getting the reading. The pregnancy has been smooth so far for the most part, so we're hoping that also continues.
You can see some pics below of how we told Kale he is having a baby sister, we let him open his box of cupcakes which had pink frosting, and he was confident he was having a sister the whole time so we think he's pretty excited! You'll also see that we've been able to get outside a couple of times so far this spring to enjoy the weather, last weekend we did some grilling, went for a wagon ride and played some T-Ball in the backyard.
We'll be moving into a house that we're building in Blaine in July or August, so this will prove to be a busy summer/fall for us! We'll keep the site updated with pictures of the progress with that as well.
That's it for now, more to come after our appointment this week!
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Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-54417317732663159752011-09-17T17:12:00.001-07:002011-09-17T17:12:07.556-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-27736969741548919292011-09-10T16:41:00.000-07:002011-09-10T16:41:55.094-07:00Hello!
It's been quite a while since our last post - hope everyone had a fun summer!! It went by way too fast for the Albrecht Family. Kale enjoyed his first summer outside of the NICU though. We got to spend days playing outside at the park, playing with our water toys, going for walks and we even snuck a trip to Okoboji in so Kale got to go on his first boat ride!
What's new.....
Kale is just a ball of energy these days! This summer we celebrated his first birthday which he enjoyed thoroughly. He is really close to walking, he walks around furniture, moves from toy to toy but hasn't quite gotten enough courage to actually take the leap of faith and let go of hands or furniture. He loves pushing his walker around so I'm sure it will be any day now that he takes his first solo steps and Derc and I are in for a rude awakening I'm sure! The biggest news with Kale recently is that he underwent eye surgery on 9/2 to correct his crossed eyes. The surgery went really well, it was incredibly nervewracking waiting for the surgery to be completed but luckily our parents came to keep us company while we waited anxiously. His eyes have been very red and bloodshot on the inner part of his eyes. You may be able to see some of the redness in the pictures below. It is going down quite a bit but is still there. They said to expect that for up to 6 weeks...at least they aren't bright red anymore. His eyes look great, it's crazy to see him look at you with both eyes straight, he seems like he has a new outlook on life! As far as other health updates, he had his last cardiologist appointment in May and they didn't want to see him back until December, so that is very promising that they are only wanting to see him every 6 months now. At his latest physical he was tipping the scales :) at 18 lbs. 10 oz. He was 29 inches long, so he is keeping up with his corrected age with height but he is still a few pounds underweight. He is getting there though! He is eating all sorts of food now, but he is still on bottles for calories. He has meals and snacks throughout the day and still takes a bottle in the morning, evening and he wakes up for one every night at 3am......we're hoping that is something we can stop soon!! Any weening tricks would be much appreciated. We're pretty sure when the day comes to sleep through the night he is going to throw a pretty big fit and I'm picturing projectile vomitting. Kale is going to daycare full time and he seems to love it.
Derc spent a lot of time down at his friend's land in Southern Iowa this summer. They are developing it for hunting land so there were countless hours spent with his friends mowing, spraying, burning grass, tilling, planting, etc. to get the land ready for hunting season. He's very excited that fall has arrived, he is in full UNI gear every Saturday for football and he is buying hunting gear to get ready for turkey/deer/pheasant seasons. If Kale were able to walk he would probably try and convince me he's ready to get his hunting license, he's pretty excited for that day to come!
I have thoroughly enjoyed not working weekends this summer with my job. I have been traveling quite a bit with work and Derc is usually flyin' solo with Kale anywhere between 1-3 nights/week. He is definitely a trooper!
We have a busy few months coming up - one of the coolest things is on September 24th we will be headed to the UNI football game where they will be doing a dedication to my dad before the game. After he passed away one of his great friends, Pat, helped get a flagpole installed at the new UNI track. They hadn't ever had a permanent flagpole so before every track meet they would wheel a small flag out for the National Anthem. Pretty cool that the flag pole is a dedication to him and there is a plaque with his name on it!!
Well, that's about it for now, hopefully you enjoy the pictures below from the summer!
Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-29474264361219083282011-09-10T16:20:00.001-07:002011-09-10T16:20:58.020-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-82792869408104538622011-09-10T16:17:00.001-07:002011-09-10T16:17:13.528-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-68750686227698495262011-09-10T16:11:00.001-07:002011-09-10T16:11:59.455-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-17333279745654097092011-09-10T16:08:00.001-07:002011-09-10T16:08:36.230-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-13924420598466291112011-05-01T15:25:00.000-07:002011-05-01T16:30:42.075-07:00Happy May Day!Hello all - <br /><br />Yes, we are back. Took a long break from blogging, not for any particular reason other than struggling to find time to do it. Lots of updates for you though!!<br /><br />New things Kale is doing:<br />-Eating baby food 3 times/day and also eating Puffs<br />-Sitting up on his own<br />-Drinking out of a sippy cup...errr trying to <br />-Getting on all 4's and rocking...so close to crawling!<br />-Standing up while holding onto the couch<br />-Making sounds, bababa and mamama are his favorite<br />-Being much more interactive and inquisitive<br />-Noticing family, friends and strangers<br />-Jumping all the time<br />-Pooping on his own (I know this sounds small but it's really nice not having to give him suppositories every 3 days)...thank God for Miralax :)<br />-Touching faces<br />-Being more mobile, standing up, rolling around, crawling on top of us<br />-Playing peek-a-boo<br />-Walking towards us while holding on to our hands<br /><br />Health wise he is doing well too. He is seeing Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy each once/week. The PT helps with gross motor skills, helping with the development for more physical steps like crawling, rolling over. The OT helps more with fine motor skills, for example right now they are working with him to try and have him grab individual puffs with his 'pincher' fingers and feed himself. He seems to enjoy both and each week we can see improvement.<br /><br />We have his 1 year checkup tomorrow, excited to see how he checks out! We think he is about 18 pounds and he is definitely longer as well. He is breathing well on his own, he hasn't had any episodes where he struggles or anything. His heart continues to slow down as far as beats/minute. His appointment in February had his low at 42 beats/min and average at 60 beats/minute. If his average gets between 50-55 then that's when we have to start considering pacemaker.<br /><br />This summer we're excited to have weekends free and have more time to spend with each other. I'm constantly surfing the internet for fun things to do in Des Moines so if you have any suggestions, let us know! <br /><br />We're making our first out of state family trip to Phoenix next week to see some of my family. We are going with Sarah, Justin and Jordan too. It will be Kale's first time on a plane...we're getting a little nervous for how it's going to go. If you have tips on taking a baby on plane the please let us know :)<br /><br />Derc and I are still enjoying our jobs. I'm finally getting the hang of my new job after a few months in position now. Derc is spending a lot of his free time in Southern Iowa at his friend's land. They are developing the land and also hunting it when possible. He created a website to track the progress if you want to check it out it's pretty cool! The address is www.spursandsheds.com, it's got some good stuff for hunting if that's up your ally.<br /><br />Well, I'll do my best to keep the blog updated, but obviously I'm pretty terrible at it now so I'm not making any promises :)Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-20999315975311249432011-05-01T15:19:00.000-07:002011-05-01T15:24:55.024-07:00<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x_NkHqUupcc/Tb3div3MaCI/AAAAAAAAArE/GlHpPYI17QY/s1600/P1030383.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x_NkHqUupcc/Tb3div3MaCI/AAAAAAAAArE/GlHpPYI17QY/s320/P1030383.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601877100552022050" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XRxvEr6QAl8/Tb3diKEmK1I/AAAAAAAAAq8/9xTZPnlmeF0/s1600/P1030411.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XRxvEr6QAl8/Tb3diKEmK1I/AAAAAAAAAq8/9xTZPnlmeF0/s320/P1030411.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601877090407689042" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dbKct_wWOpA/Tb3dh_kcZSI/AAAAAAAAAq0/GgumV-2wko4/s1600/P1030457.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dbKct_wWOpA/Tb3dh_kcZSI/AAAAAAAAAq0/GgumV-2wko4/s320/P1030457.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601877087588476194" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GD5Zp5CN8ZU/Tb3dhSfjJxI/AAAAAAAAAqs/6ScRbOFWKLg/s1600/P1030474.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GD5Zp5CN8ZU/Tb3dhSfjJxI/AAAAAAAAAqs/6ScRbOFWKLg/s320/P1030474.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601877075488352018" /></a>Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-5756259122630011032011-05-01T15:15:00.000-07:002011-05-01T15:19:29.118-07:00<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzM0VrxmLSM/Tb3cY2D_H9I/AAAAAAAAAqk/L_aOnE3j2q8/s1600/P1030466.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzM0VrxmLSM/Tb3cY2D_H9I/AAAAAAAAAqk/L_aOnE3j2q8/s320/P1030466.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601875830905970642" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WRxVJ4TpXwc/Tb3cYrfmh5I/AAAAAAAAAqc/RfD5EydAru8/s1600/P1030436.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WRxVJ4TpXwc/Tb3cYrfmh5I/AAAAAAAAAqc/RfD5EydAru8/s320/P1030436.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601875828069009298" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qv3KsCGOeOk/Tb3cYQjpOGI/AAAAAAAAAqU/D3pKLgWJzgg/s1600/P1030407.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qv3KsCGOeOk/Tb3cYQjpOGI/AAAAAAAAAqU/D3pKLgWJzgg/s320/P1030407.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601875820838205538" /></a>Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-77046324704540091322011-05-01T15:12:00.000-07:002011-05-01T15:15:44.632-07:00Finally.....new pictures!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PM-fGGkgqbs/Tb3bgF_wotI/AAAAAAAAAqM/hYu5LebRXhI/s1600/P1030377.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PM-fGGkgqbs/Tb3bgF_wotI/AAAAAAAAAqM/hYu5LebRXhI/s320/P1030377.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601874855930667730" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ry8BMM-1FvM/Tb3bfrzdQPI/AAAAAAAAAqE/TUTIPQxkCF0/s1600/P1030386.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ry8BMM-1FvM/Tb3bfrzdQPI/AAAAAAAAAqE/TUTIPQxkCF0/s320/P1030386.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601874848899743986" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EO2N-G73THI/Tb3bfZmWDEI/AAAAAAAAAp8/DiBDYEu97Ko/s1600/P1030374.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EO2N-G73THI/Tb3bfZmWDEI/AAAAAAAAAp8/DiBDYEu97Ko/s320/P1030374.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601874844012907586" /></a>Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-67783921334872358712011-02-24T18:41:00.000-08:002011-02-24T18:45:43.943-08:00Smiles :)<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZN3okybNhmY/TWcXwmuyLAI/AAAAAAAAApM/4xHHGuWQLq4/s1600/P1030313.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZN3okybNhmY/TWcXwmuyLAI/AAAAAAAAApM/4xHHGuWQLq4/s320/P1030313.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577452787319581698" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nJzx0afXRcg/TWcXwZ1TC5I/AAAAAAAAApE/TfXnRlCOdME/s1600/P1030323.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nJzx0afXRcg/TWcXwZ1TC5I/AAAAAAAAApE/TfXnRlCOdME/s320/P1030323.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577452783857240978" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2FMVvTGWn3c/TWcXwJjZBrI/AAAAAAAAAo8/fli24myvYFc/s1600/P1030317.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2FMVvTGWn3c/TWcXwJjZBrI/AAAAAAAAAo8/fli24myvYFc/s320/P1030317.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577452779487168178" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_lvo247nUEU/TWcXvz3SfjI/AAAAAAAAAo0/-cCYFMZh434/s1600/P1030310.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_lvo247nUEU/TWcXvz3SfjI/AAAAAAAAAo0/-cCYFMZh434/s320/P1030310.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577452773665046066" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9wy2suAd7h4/TWcXvgxAUPI/AAAAAAAAAos/pSX19muFf18/s1600/P1030308.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9wy2suAd7h4/TWcXvgxAUPI/AAAAAAAAAos/pSX19muFf18/s320/P1030308.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577452768538415346" /></a>Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-64744716350937338772011-02-20T17:40:00.000-08:002011-02-20T18:14:14.284-08:00Random pics<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sb87fQvu0MA/TWHE_X1RTeI/AAAAAAAAAok/mW1wuVHlWc4/s1600/P1030307.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sb87fQvu0MA/TWHE_X1RTeI/AAAAAAAAAok/mW1wuVHlWc4/s320/P1030307.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575954406669635042" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B9a6Kk63ZZw/TWHE_HIJHHI/AAAAAAAAAoc/qED8MHaVUwE/s1600/P1030305.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B9a6Kk63ZZw/TWHE_HIJHHI/AAAAAAAAAoc/qED8MHaVUwE/s320/P1030305.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575954402185387122" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lxiULfWZZwU/TWHE-wrObrI/AAAAAAAAAoU/7EN7vhPiETY/s1600/P1030304.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lxiULfWZZwU/TWHE-wrObrI/AAAAAAAAAoU/7EN7vhPiETY/s320/P1030304.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575954396158521010" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rsTMu2ZD2XA/TWHE-ZWCBVI/AAAAAAAAAoM/Y7_R91pqFeU/s1600/P1030301.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rsTMu2ZD2XA/TWHE-ZWCBVI/AAAAAAAAAoM/Y7_R91pqFeU/s320/P1030301.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575954389895611730" /></a>Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-75380632312210442042011-02-13T17:52:00.001-08:002011-02-13T18:18:21.348-08:00Happy Valentine's Day!Hello there! <br /><br />Kale asked me to log in and wish everyone a 'Happy Valentine's Day'! We posted some pictures below, they show up in a few posts because the computer isn't cooperating for me tonight. <br /><br />Kale's been doing well, however he got his first ear infection a few weeks ago...not fun! He struggled with it for about 2 weeks because the first medication didn't work so we had to go back. He lost some weight since he wasn't eating well throughout that, but he's about back up to what he started at. As of last Thursday he was at 14 lbs. 5 oz. He hasn't had any other doctor appointments really since our last update. He has his 9 month check up in a few weeks so we'll see what they have to say but hopefully they feel like he's on track! He is now sitting up almost on his own, the only thing he struggles with is when he tips from side to side. He doesn't quite know to put his hands down to catch him if he's falling. He is grabbing objects now all the time, so it seems like his eye/hand coordination is improving. We're pretty sure he's close to teething, he's drooling like a madman. He could easily go through 5 bibs/day, we're doing a lot more laundry now. He's been eating baby food every few days to get the hang of it. He's a fan of sweet potatoes! <br /><br />As for Derc and I, we got to go on a valentine's day date last night. My parents came down from Cedar Rapids to watch Kale so we could have a night out. We went to a wonderful restaurant in DM called Irina's. While at dinner we were trying to decide what to do afterwards, and we decided to go roller skating!! It was awesome and hilarious. I was sure we would be the oldest ones there by at least 10 years. Turns out we weren't! I was pretty impressed with our skills. Neither of us fell, but I'm not gonna lie, I came real close once but pulled it off somehow. I also got a blue raspberry icee that was the size of a football. Yep, my mouth was bright blue as I was rollerskating around the rink with my hubby. Priceless :)<br /><br />Life has been a bit hectic the past few weeks for Derc and I. I have been traveling every week for week as I train for my new job so Derc has been Mr. Mom quite a bit, but he handles it very well. I am loving my new job though! Derc has been busy with work too, he has been training a few new team members on his team. <br /><br />The pictures below show Kale's baptism from a few weeks ago. We had family come in town from lots of places, Seattle, NY, MN, WI. For many of them it was the first time they got to meet Kale so it was really nice that he could meet his extended family! Pastor Perry baptised him and Kale slept through the whole thing, he did great!!<br /><br />I think that's about it for now, we'll keep you posted as Kale has his appointments over the next month. Hard to believe that he is already 9 months old!!! Three months from now we'll be celebrating his first birthday, it's absolutely crazy how fast it's gone.<br /><br />Have a happy Valentine's Day!!Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-12310848271996880372011-02-13T17:39:00.000-08:002011-02-13T17:51:28.661-08:00<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7oYMOiNR8Gc/TViKcKH3nWI/AAAAAAAAAoE/_N7U1F4R5HQ/s1600/P1030223.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7oYMOiNR8Gc/TViKcKH3nWI/AAAAAAAAAoE/_N7U1F4R5HQ/s320/P1030223.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573356755229318498" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--3eixxsoXOA/TViKbyj2q8I/AAAAAAAAAn8/3WkEzpKJkA8/s1600/P1030298.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 254px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--3eixxsoXOA/TViKbyj2q8I/AAAAAAAAAn8/3WkEzpKJkA8/s320/P1030298.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573356748904246210" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x7I7rq2boQY/TViKbVGKFpI/AAAAAAAAAn0/igsWAJ77rZE/s1600/P1030218.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x7I7rq2boQY/TViKbVGKFpI/AAAAAAAAAn0/igsWAJ77rZE/s320/P1030218.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573356740995061394" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SvdpN2gyykE/TViKauwNR9I/AAAAAAAAAns/Ib_9emTFXns/s1600/P1030228.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SvdpN2gyykE/TViKauwNR9I/AAAAAAAAAns/Ib_9emTFXns/s320/P1030228.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573356730702448594" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mH40sFfWVSU/TViKaCNJU2I/AAAAAAAAAnk/_GPBcb7i9ZA/s1600/P1030220.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mH40sFfWVSU/TViKaCNJU2I/AAAAAAAAAnk/_GPBcb7i9ZA/s320/P1030220.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573356718744228706" /></a>Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-49525078188820686632011-02-13T17:30:00.000-08:002011-02-13T17:38:05.703-08:00<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z6Q_MB7qwGY/TViHWtq_jcI/AAAAAAAAAnc/661vPbmv3qo/s1600/P1030273.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z6Q_MB7qwGY/TViHWtq_jcI/AAAAAAAAAnc/661vPbmv3qo/s320/P1030273.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573353363157781954" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TOSbi6s4Ido/TViHVmU3XXI/AAAAAAAAAnU/vnnMHUFe1fM/s1600/P1030260.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TOSbi6s4Ido/TViHVmU3XXI/AAAAAAAAAnU/vnnMHUFe1fM/s320/P1030260.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573353344006053234" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-07WvF9km34I/TViHVTUZQcI/AAAAAAAAAnM/Z4vidFveSB4/s1600/P1030290.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-07WvF9km34I/TViHVTUZQcI/AAAAAAAAAnM/Z4vidFveSB4/s320/P1030290.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573353338903806402" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bi7uoNsPgqo/TViHU-mZooI/AAAAAAAAAnE/aU-Ugs2TwRk/s1600/P1030286.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bi7uoNsPgqo/TViHU-mZooI/AAAAAAAAAnE/aU-Ugs2TwRk/s320/P1030286.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573353333342184066" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--zi2eZ93-SE/TViHUp4xRPI/AAAAAAAAAm8/ZKI4AcJJ-Cw/s1600/P1030281.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--zi2eZ93-SE/TViHUp4xRPI/AAAAAAAAAm8/ZKI4AcJJ-Cw/s320/P1030281.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573353327782085874" /></a>Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-55027857865618832752011-02-13T17:08:00.000-08:002011-02-13T17:29:49.787-08:00<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NT_Sx5fd7ig/TViDUFDjgrI/AAAAAAAAAm0/Xa5BAo372nU/s1600/125.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NT_Sx5fd7ig/TViDUFDjgrI/AAAAAAAAAm0/Xa5BAo372nU/s320/125.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573348919848698546" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2u2lodoX0pY/TViDTu1weOI/AAAAAAAAAms/m7L5eOKfCko/s1600/109.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2u2lodoX0pY/TViDTu1weOI/AAAAAAAAAms/m7L5eOKfCko/s320/109.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573348913885247714" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PjBS1p3tR60/TViDTCMfd_I/AAAAAAAAAmk/u8KW73Q3fIw/s1600/P1030247.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PjBS1p3tR60/TViDTCMfd_I/AAAAAAAAAmk/u8KW73Q3fIw/s320/P1030247.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573348901901006834" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rOWnp05Y5CE/TViDSgTBdcI/AAAAAAAAAmc/FyqubPc4xLw/s1600/P1030253.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rOWnp05Y5CE/TViDSgTBdcI/AAAAAAAAAmc/FyqubPc4xLw/s320/P1030253.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573348892801594818" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kvRRjoPL_qI/TViDSEc322I/AAAAAAAAAmU/Jprsq1NmwwQ/s1600/P1030251.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kvRRjoPL_qI/TViDSEc322I/AAAAAAAAAmU/Jprsq1NmwwQ/s320/P1030251.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573348885326715746" /></a>Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-31746143824691922542011-01-16T10:37:00.000-08:002011-01-16T11:35:43.910-08:00Eight months old!Hello there! <br /><br />Wanted to give you all a post to keep you updated on K-Man. He is still doing well, growing and developing more each day. Since our last post he has received another RSV shot (he's not a fan of those), gone to the pulmonologist, had blood drawn (or shall I say attempted a blood draw). At the pulmonologist he was turned down to 1/64th of a liter of oxygen. We've begun doing intervals of time where we take him off oxygen and it doesn't phase him at all. In fact, he seems to prefer it as he was never a fan of the tubes. When we went to that appointment he had to get blood drawn for a BMP (tests electrolyte levels) and a blood gas. Well...this was an experience to say the least. This time they started with the foot poke to get the blood gas. That one took about 5 minutes of squeezing his heel to get the blood to come out. Ouch :( but it was done and we moved on to the arm poke for the BMP. After switching the arm band thingie that stops the blood flow from his right arm to his left arm to his right wrist to his left wrist back to his right arm and so on and so on, we finally decided to do the right arm. <br /><br />Initiate crying, red face and not being able to breathe. And I'm not just talking about Kale...I didn't breathe either in anticipation of the next half hour of torture for the little man.<br /><br />Three pokes in the right elbow....nothin'. Couldn't get the blood to come out. Pick him up, calm him down for 5 minutes. Lay him back down for the left arm. A new nurse comes in to try and poke him. Two pokes...nothin'. Pick him up, calm him down for 5 minutes. Ask nurse for puke bucket because he's so upset I'm pretty sure he's going to lose his lunch because he keeps choking and dry heaving. Awesome. Different nurse comes in to try and poke him. She asks me which arm they usually poke. I say I'm not sure, I guess that I haven't ever paid attention to which arm. She looks at me like I'm a terrible mother, how do I not know which arm they poke?! She actually asks me, "You don't pay attention to which arm?" Oh no she didn't. She is not giving me feedback on my parenting during the middle of a torture session. Before I can even try to stop the words they poor out of my mouth (ever seen the Christmas Story where the little kid drops the Bomb and immediately regrets it?).....Well I never pay attention because no one has ever had this much of an issue drawing blood. Of course this is in my snottiest of snotty tones. Crap, why was I mean to her? She's the next one in the line of needles. Try the right wrist. Nothin'. While trying the right wrist the first nurse comes back in and says that there was an air bubble in the blood gas (the first one from the heel poke) and says they have to re-do it. Oh no. No No No. Not happening, we're done, no blood draws today. Took Kale and we were outta there. Needless to say I had a migraine the rest of the day from holding my breath for about 45 minutes. <br /><br />Not cool!!!<br /><br />Other than that, he's had a pretty decent couple of weeks. He is becoming a boy with a personality! He is so interactive now, loves his bouncy seat and spins in circles in it playing with the toys. He is close to sitting on his own and has had a couple of tries with rice cereal. He doesn't like the taste, and hardly any of it goes down, most ends up on his bib or body. He has transitioned into sleeping in his own crib....finally!! <br /><br />We're heading back to CR this upcoming weekend to get Kale baptized. He was baptized the day after he was born, but we wanted to have an official ceremony so that should be good.<br /><br />In other news...Derc and I got to go on our first vacation sans baby since Kale came home. We went down to Rathbun Lake in southern Iowa for a nice quiet retreat. We had a blast and got the presidential suite for a free upgrade since there was a snowstorm and we had originally planned on staying in one of their cottages. Nice! We had a great time until the last day when we both got sick and had to cut the trip short and head back home. Kale had a blast staying with his Nana and Papa Albrecht.<br /><br />I've been on vacation from work for about a week and half, a nice chance to relax after the holiday season in retail. Always needed! When I go back tomorrow I'll be going to a different position in the company. I'll be working as a Human Resource Business Partner for the Des Moines and Omaha/Lincoln districts. I'm super excited for the new position, it will be a challenge but a great chance for me to learn more about the business. <br /><br />Derc took advantage of a few more weekends to hunt and poor Mack came out with some torn up paws from the snow. <br /><br />I think that's about all for now! Hopefully we'll have some pictures from his baptism next week to share.<br /><br />Have a great week!Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-3876790190679285272010-12-27T18:09:00.000-08:002010-12-27T19:27:05.911-08:00Merry Christmas!!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlQ9xrf2LI/AAAAAAAAAlo/_3iPNoYjSaI/s1600/P1030216.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555560637576239282" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlQ9xrf2LI/AAAAAAAAAlo/_3iPNoYjSaI/s320/P1030216.JPG" /></a> Kale's first Christmas!!<br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlQ9knYBBI/AAAAAAAAAlg/5NUaR15xkvg/s1600/P1030212.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555560634069287954" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlQ9knYBBI/AAAAAAAAAlg/5NUaR15xkvg/s320/P1030212.JPG" /></a> Quality time with Nana Albrecht<br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlQ9fDs8kI/AAAAAAAAAlY/iukQzToTieY/s1600/P1030208.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555560632577487426" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlQ9fDs8kI/AAAAAAAAAlY/iukQzToTieY/s320/P1030208.JPG" /></a> Nana and Papa Albrecht<br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlQ9K8UysI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/mxma-dfbOMg/s1600/P1030202.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555560627177835202" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlQ9K8UysI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/mxma-dfbOMg/s320/P1030202.JPG" /></a> My...what big EYES you have!<br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlN9FftC1I/AAAAAAAAAlI/KVyQ9dah3WQ/s1600/P1030197.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555557327180729170" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlN9FftC1I/AAAAAAAAAlI/KVyQ9dah3WQ/s320/P1030197.JPG" /></a> Uncle Cory and Aunt Laura<br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlN8szVi7I/AAAAAAAAAlA/Lgqwldg1AtA/s1600/P1030192.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555557320552188850" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlN8szVi7I/AAAAAAAAAlA/Lgqwldg1AtA/s320/P1030192.JPG" /></a> Hanging with cousin Jordan on Christmas eve!<br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlN8cgJXiI/AAAAAAAAAk4/OlOZexhSmBs/s1600/P1030191.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555557316176731682" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlN8cgJXiI/AAAAAAAAAk4/OlOZexhSmBs/s320/P1030191.JPG" /></a> Just the girls (and Kale!)<br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlN8F1uC2I/AAAAAAAAAkw/nOR0w2w6wJU/s1600/P1030188.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555557310093200226" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlN8F1uC2I/AAAAAAAAAkw/nOR0w2w6wJU/s320/P1030188.JPG" /></a> Grandma Rainbow with her grandsons!<br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlN77YaaYI/AAAAAAAAAko/1NVHnFdLtKc/s1600/P1030181.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555557307285924226" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlN77YaaYI/AAAAAAAAAko/1NVHnFdLtKc/s320/P1030181.JPG" /></a> Love it<br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlJMqPha6I/AAAAAAAAAkg/9V3OMwkS-N8/s1600/P1030176.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555552097184869282" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlJMqPha6I/AAAAAAAAAkg/9V3OMwkS-N8/s320/P1030176.JPG" /></a> Dressed and ready to go to Christmas Eve service!<br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlJMTPF9RI/AAAAAAAAAkY/swlifL_6Acc/s1600/P1030175.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555552091009053970" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlJMTPF9RI/AAAAAAAAAkY/swlifL_6Acc/s320/P1030175.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlJLkhELZI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/wbCQF41NLjQ/s1600/P1030166.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555552078467968402" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlJLkhELZI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/wbCQF41NLjQ/s320/P1030166.JPG" /></a> Family time!!<br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlJLZlrp7I/AAAAAAAAAkI/aIYINBQdHqk/s1600/P1030136.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555552075534542770" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlJLZlrp7I/AAAAAAAAAkI/aIYINBQdHqk/s320/P1030136.JPG" /></a> Naked time! This one's going on a graduation poster</div><div><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlJK0tKTSI/AAAAAAAAAkA/C1SVJeRRJWE/s1600/P1030103.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555552065633799458" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TRlJK0tKTSI/AAAAAAAAAkA/C1SVJeRRJWE/s320/P1030103.JPG" /></a> Laughing at Dad</div><div> </div><div>Well folks...Merry Christmas!!!! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, we certainly had a nice one and Kale seemed to enjoy his first Christmas. We traveled back to Cedar Rapids on Christmas eve then went to church with my parents and Sarah, Justin and Jordan. Kale wasn't a huge fan of church and spent most of the time out in the atrium with Derc since he was crying. We did get to go to the front of the church and accept a rose that the church gives out to new parents. Kale was introduced to the congregation and the pastor said a prayer for him. After church we drove through the cemetery to stop by Dad's site. It was dark and there was about a foot of snow, so we didn't get to get out of the car, but Kale wished Grandpa Tim a Merry Christmas. We spent the evening opening presents and eating dinner at my mom's house. The next morning we drove back to DM and had Christmas with the Albrecht side of the family. We had a wonderful dinner and gift exchange.</div><div> </div><div>We're happy to report that Kale is doing wonderfully. He didn't get weighed last week as the nurse had an emergency, but we think he's probably close to 13 lbs. now. He had his pediatrician appointment earlier in the month and he was 12.4 lbs. and 23.5 inches. He had a rough day that day as he had 4 shots and then another shot for RSV the next day. Needless to say, we had a very grumpy baby on our hands for a few days. His cardiology appointment went ok. He wore a monitor for 24 hours and his average heart rate was 69 with a low point of 52. This is lower than they would like to see and about 10 beats per minute slower thanthe last time he wore it, but the cardiologist is still thinking we can hold off on a pacemaker until we see that average HR be between 50-55. You wouldn't know that his HR is slow, his energy level is certainly not low. He is so interactive now, it's great. He is smiling and laughing. He's almost sitting up on his own, we work with him daily on that. He's grasping onto things and is close to reaching for things. He holds on to our fingers and stands up on his own as well. He can stand for a few minutes on his own, just needs help balancing. It's so great to see him develop! We have a NICU follow up visit next week, so hopefully they will tell us he is right on track. His pediatrician told us she was happy with his progress, so that was good to hear. We are going to try rice cereal in the next few weeks, which I'm sure will come with some stories. He is drooling a TON, so we're waiting for those first teeth to come soon. I'm on vacation for 10 days in the next few weeks, so the big project then is going to be to try and get him in his own crib. Yes....he still sleeps in our room. </div><div> </div><div>Just wanted to give everyone a quick update, will hopefully write more later in the week!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-79671716343087098522010-11-29T19:05:00.000-08:002010-11-29T20:01:45.997-08:00Happy Thanksgiving!!! (Belated)<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRxp4_rwyI/AAAAAAAAAj0/JZId3Qm9P4k/s1600/P1030064.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545182005687993122" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRxp4_rwyI/AAAAAAAAAj0/JZId3Qm9P4k/s320/P1030064.JPG" /></a> Well hello!<br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRxpv8SiWI/AAAAAAAAAjs/HDjM6XzzmGE/s1600/P1030062.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545182003257837922" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRxpv8SiWI/AAAAAAAAAjs/HDjM6XzzmGE/s320/P1030062.JPG" /></a> All dressed up<br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRxpGKNupI/AAAAAAAAAjk/x1BrEY5_C3k/s1600/P1030051.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545181992041953938" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRxpGKNupI/AAAAAAAAAjk/x1BrEY5_C3k/s320/P1030051.JPG" /></a> Happy face :)<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRxo5HOd3I/AAAAAAAAAjc/g5VOo3WiRyA/s1600/P1030046.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545181988539758450" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRxo5HOd3I/AAAAAAAAAjc/g5VOo3WiRyA/s320/P1030046.JPG" /></a> The three of us were exhausted after Black Friday....not really sure why Kale and Mack were tired...pretty sure they weren't awake at 2am that morning!<br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRxoTdFX3I/AAAAAAAAAjU/Hre8NQOmO2k/s1600/P1030045.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545181978430889842" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRxoTdFX3I/AAAAAAAAAjU/Hre8NQOmO2k/s320/P1030045.JPG" /></a> Sarah, Justin and Jordan on Thanksgiving!<br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRu9_elMDI/AAAAAAAAAjM/gG966LmlqwE/s1600/P1030044.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545179052490698802" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRu9_elMDI/AAAAAAAAAjM/gG966LmlqwE/s320/P1030044.JPG" /></a> Nana and Papa Albrecht<br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRu9qaG17I/AAAAAAAAAjE/qPHeVivDBs8/s1600/P1030026.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545179046834788274" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRu9qaG17I/AAAAAAAAAjE/qPHeVivDBs8/s320/P1030026.JPG" /></a> Family pic!<br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRu9Cc4-uI/AAAAAAAAAi8/comFgxJ-xgE/s1600/P1030041.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545179036109044450" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRu9Cc4-uI/AAAAAAAAAi8/comFgxJ-xgE/s320/P1030041.JPG" /></a> The Rainbow/Zimmerman/Albrecht clan (Mack included!)<br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRu5MlnQBI/AAAAAAAAAi0/M-d62adf1XU/s1600/P1030019.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545178970110509074" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRu5MlnQBI/AAAAAAAAAi0/M-d62adf1XU/s320/P1030019.JPG" /></a> Hanging out with mom<br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRu468EnHI/AAAAAAAAAis/TSvskyugV_0/s1600/P1030035.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545178965372869746" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRu468EnHI/AAAAAAAAAis/TSvskyugV_0/s320/P1030035.JPG" /></a> Kale's already looking up to his cousin, Jordan!<br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRskXyonDI/AAAAAAAAAik/E7W7tC3_76s/s1600/P1030001.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545176413317405746" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRskXyonDI/AAAAAAAAAik/E7W7tC3_76s/s320/P1030001.JPG" /></a> Dressed in his Thanksgiving best<br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRskJ5s63I/AAAAAAAAAic/UYmk6QDl9Bc/s1600/P1020999.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545176409588951922" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRskJ5s63I/AAAAAAAAAic/UYmk6QDl9Bc/s320/P1020999.JPG" /></a> Close up!<br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRsj5rk1VI/AAAAAAAAAiU/zTDsN9OGzLA/s1600/P1020991.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545176405234734418" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRsj5rk1VI/AAAAAAAAAiU/zTDsN9OGzLA/s320/P1020991.JPG" /></a> Happy Family!<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRsjpDdWtI/AAAAAAAAAiM/WMJ7DsosFTw/s1600/P1020986.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545176400771504850" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRsjpDdWtI/AAAAAAAAAiM/WMJ7DsosFTw/s320/P1020986.JPG" /></a> Smiles<br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRsjOCvtWI/AAAAAAAAAiE/7GsTZV42GNY/s1600/P1020967.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545176393520756066" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TPRsjOCvtWI/AAAAAAAAAiE/7GsTZV42GNY/s320/P1020967.JPG" /></a> They like to cuddle</div><div> </div><div>Hello again! It's been a while since our last update, but not a whole lot has changed here! Kale is doing great :) He continues to amaze us each and every day. He is up to 11 lbs. 4. oz for weight, and next week he has his 6 month check up so I'll be able to get his length too (and shots :( ). He has been SO much fun lately. He is really starting to interact with people. He is smiling, 'talking', getting active with his arms and legs, he is starting to giggle every once and a while when his dad plays peek-a-boo with him. Kale's physical therapist says that he is right on track and is doing things well and as expected. He is doing well with tummy time and has even rolled over a few times on his own. We're trying to get him to relax his hands and grab on to toys and his feet. He has definitely realized that if there isn't a pacifier in sight then he can put his fist in his mouth. Kale is really getting a personality too, we're learning his cries, fake cries included. He is still on oxygen, at 1/32nd of a liter...which is practically nothing. We have done some tests with him off oxygen while monitoring his pulse ox and he has done great, doesn't even know it's gone. He's sleeping really well for the most part. He usually goes to bed around 10pm and wakes up around 6 or so. There is usually only one night a week that he wakes up in the middle of the night. He has been waking up with nightmares, just wakes up screaming. We hope he's not remembering all the needles in the NICU. He will have another cardiology appointment in the next few weeks, so I'll make sure to put up an update with whatever comes from that.</div><div> </div><div>We had a great first Thanksgiving as a family! Derc and I hosted at our house and Derc's parents, my parents and Sarah, Justin and Jordan came to Ankeny to celebrate. Luckily they worked hard to get all the food together since I worked that morning I was out of commission for food preparation. Dinner was scrumptious!!! It was fun to get Jordan and Kale together, Jordan loves taking care of Kale, it's SO cute! </div><div> </div><div>We got to put our Christmas tree up this weekend which is just about my favorite activity to do! We're excited for Kale's first Christmas, we'll be able to introduce him to midnight service at church in CR...only he'll have to go without oxygen for that, the candlelight service offers too many open flames for people on oxygen....yeah, that wouldn't be good. We're trying to find a good time for him to meet Santa too...Derc keeps trying to take him to see Santa at Bass Pro Shop. Pretty sure that's just because he wants an excuse to go buy hunting stuff. </div><div> </div><div>I think that's about it for us in the Albrecht household!! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, we certainly have one miracle we're incredibly thankful for :)</div><div> </div><div><br /><br /><br /> </div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-75787487329749882682010-11-15T11:54:00.000-08:002010-11-15T14:44:19.068-08:00Still Truck'n AlongHi everyone, yep its the one and only blogmaster again! Steph has been out of town, and busy the last couple weeks, so i made the executive decision to update the Blog. Things are going pretty good. We found out that the lumps in Steph's neck are not cancerous so that was fantastic! But we still don't know whats causing them. So they are now getting her blood tests to a specialist. Kale is doing well, he is now down to 1/32 ltr on oxygen. The <span style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">lung doctor</span> is wanting to see some more improvement with his weight gain before taking him completely off the oxygen. To make sure his lungs aren't causing him to burn to many calories. Other than that he is growing well, and starting to smile and make noises. We think he kind of knows how to say HI now, i think he is just barely repeating it. Also, the Physical Therapist says he is developing as expected so that is great!<br /><br /><br /><br />The holidays are coming up so we are all looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas with family and friends. Hopefully we will get to see some of you soon!Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-44788693672709788822010-10-31T17:24:00.000-07:002010-10-31T18:38:46.391-07:00Happy Halloween!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4MlO7FoAI/AAAAAAAAAh8/SIbHMfms4xM/s1600/P1020892.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534374825885540354" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4MlO7FoAI/AAAAAAAAAh8/SIbHMfms4xM/s320/P1020892.JPG" /></a> Bath time!<br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4MkqJQx0I/AAAAAAAAAh0/bn1umSMjNfI/s1600/P1020889.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534374816012879682" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4MkqJQx0I/AAAAAAAAAh0/bn1umSMjNfI/s320/P1020889.JPG" /></a> Always looking up to dad :)<br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4MkSTeyJI/AAAAAAAAAhs/i-3AS35XbWI/s1600/P1020887.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534374809613289618" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4MkSTeyJI/AAAAAAAAAhs/i-3AS35XbWI/s320/P1020887.JPG" /></a> Mommy time!<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4MkEHNwHI/AAAAAAAAAhk/WUlYjaMbv4w/s1600/P1020918.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534374805803745394" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4MkEHNwHI/AAAAAAAAAhk/WUlYjaMbv4w/s320/P1020918.JPG" /></a>First Halloween!!! Cutest bat on the block!<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4MjgYLxoI/AAAAAAAAAhc/y_bcm6JdjEA/s1600/P1020924.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534374796211242626" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4MjgYLxoI/AAAAAAAAAhc/y_bcm6JdjEA/s320/P1020924.JPG" /></a> First Halloweens can be exhausting!<br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4K21O83jI/AAAAAAAAAhU/APJCTKys7sg/s1600/P1020881.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534372929203920434" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4K21O83jI/AAAAAAAAAhU/APJCTKys7sg/s320/P1020881.JPG" /></a> First Halloween is not complete without being put inside a pumpkin, right?! He wasn't a huge fan of this, but he was a trooper.</div><div><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4K2h_D66I/AAAAAAAAAhM/B2FJnNjSomQ/s1600/P1020882.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534372924037000098" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4K2h_D66I/AAAAAAAAAhM/B2FJnNjSomQ/s320/P1020882.JPG" /></a> Calmed down for one good picture :)<br /><br /></div><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4K2VeSQZI/AAAAAAAAAhE/eV461QejRt0/s1600/P1020946.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534372920678302098" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4K2VeSQZI/AAAAAAAAAhE/eV461QejRt0/s320/P1020946.JPG" /></a> Sarah, Justin and Jordan came to visit this weekend!! Jordan was Superman this year, what a stud!<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4K17Vqw5I/AAAAAAAAAg8/dhHAMUhR9ZU/s1600/P1020942.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534372913662837650" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4K17Vqw5I/AAAAAAAAAg8/dhHAMUhR9ZU/s320/P1020942.JPG" /></a> This is how Jordan fell asleep last night, coloring can be very tiring.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4K1uQeakI/AAAAAAAAAg0/QFTR_vXRfGg/s1600/P1020938.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534372910151395906" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TM4K1uQeakI/AAAAAAAAAg0/QFTR_vXRfGg/s320/P1020938.JPG" /></a> Cousins!!! Jordan's first time holding Kale. He has waited a long time for this! Kale looks completely calm...or terrified. Haha, it was great!</div><div> </div><div>Well, as you can see, Kale had a nice little weekend!! His first Halloween was a success. He was a bat this year, and a very cute bat at that :) This year we actually had trick-or-treaters at our house, it was SO fun seeing all the cute costumes! </div><div> </div><div>Kale also got to visit with his Aunt Sarah, Uncle Z and cousin Jordan. They came down Saturday and Jordan got to spend some quality time with Kale. It's so cute watching them together! Jordan was so busy playing with Kale and Mack that he missed his bedtime and fell asleep while coloring, so cute :)</div><div> </div><div>Kale had an eye exam on Friday and it went really well! His ROP is GONE! Retina have fully developed and he is in the clear for anymore detached retina concerns. She will see him again in 6 months. He is still at risk for vision problems but she said all preemies are, so she will continue to monitor him closely. </div><div> </div><div>So the goal this week is that we get Kale on a routine since I'm going back to work. Kale is sort of thinking that it's ok to stay up until 1am. Since I haven't been working full time we've been able to work with that....but I go back to work tomorrow full time and I need about 9 hours of sleep to function, so that's not gonna work out so well for us! </div><div> </div><div>This weekend was opening day for pheasant season, so Derc and Mack got to go hunting. They wait for this day all year and they had a lot of fun. Derc said Mack did well, so he must not be terribly out of shape, just slightly :) This week I'll have a biopsy for the lumps in my neck. The cat scan showed that they were swollen lymphnodes and since I don't have any symptoms that would indicate infection (like mono or something) she wants to do a biopsy and make sure that they aren't anything more serious. So, we're obviously crossing our fingers and saying our prayers that it's nothing more than some fluid buildup. We'll get you an update as soon as we know anything.</div><div> </div><div>Kale doesn't have a check-up until Thursday this week so we are hoping for a big weight gain this week! We're also hoping that we can try no oxygen sometime this week, so we will let you know if we get the go ahead for that!</div><div> </div><div>Have a great week!<br /></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790988951147730013.post-84239526921486674662010-10-26T10:00:00.000-07:002010-10-26T10:44:18.456-07:00Growing like a weed!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TMcKxihoWUI/AAAAAAAAAgs/X0a_6LVaDDg/s1600/P1020857.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532402513445673282" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TMcKxihoWUI/AAAAAAAAAgs/X0a_6LVaDDg/s320/P1020857.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TMcKxArH2eI/AAAAAAAAAgk/zKXB4oUzssM/s1600/P1020855.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532402504358681058" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TMcKxArH2eI/AAAAAAAAAgk/zKXB4oUzssM/s320/P1020855.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TMcKw6smPrI/AAAAAAAAAgc/hvWwRCWIcHU/s1600/P1020854.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532402502754254514" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TMcKw6smPrI/AAAAAAAAAgc/hvWwRCWIcHU/s320/P1020854.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TMcKwZlCWnI/AAAAAAAAAgU/AfIcg4wl4T8/s1600/P1020845.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532402493864172146" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TMcKwZlCWnI/AAAAAAAAAgU/AfIcg4wl4T8/s320/P1020845.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TMcKwMjN2bI/AAAAAAAAAgM/3utU3fyxd8I/s1600/P1020841.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532402490366876082" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pTc68risYCg/TMcKwMjN2bI/AAAAAAAAAgM/3utU3fyxd8I/s320/P1020841.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>That's our boy! Above you can see that Kale has been giving the boppy seat a try recently. Mack of course is always there to offer his moral support. I think Kale is mesmerized by the large nose that is sniffing his face in the picture, hense the terrified eyes :) So, I know it's been a couple of weeks since we have updated you on our lives...so if Kale looks chubbier, it's because HE IS! He is up to 10 lbs. 5.5 oz now!!! That means that he has gained about a pound in 2 weeks. What a porker. We switched the nipples on his bottle to a Level 3 and it made all the difference. He's also spitting up/throwing up a lot less so that always helps him tip the scales. </div><div> </div><div>He is down to 1/16th of a liter of oxygen now, which is GREAT!! We thought he would come off of it this last round, but I think the Dr. wants to play it safe and give him one more week on this. We are supposed to call her and let her know how he is doing and then I'm hoping she'll tell us to do a test run with no oxygen......we can hardly wait! </div><div> </div><div>He has an eye exam later this week.....hopefully the last one for a while (I know, I know, we say that every time). His eyes seem to be tracking things better so we're hoping that means his eyes are developing.</div><div> </div><div>Kale has really started to get a personality recently. It's SO fun to watch. He is becoming more and more interactive. We think he has purposefully smiled at us a few times. He loves his Grandpa Doug's beard so we sometimes get smiles out of him that way. He is also proving how strong he is. He headbutts us a lot, lifts his head up, kicks his legs and flails his arms and yesterday, he literally stood up. I'm not kidding. He was sitting on my lap and just jumped up and next thing I know he was standing on my lap. Scared the crap out of me. Of course as soon as he made it up on his feet he started falling over so I grabbed him. He seems to be having a little bit of colic around 8pm. The last few nights has has just wailed for 3 hours straight. It's so sad/frustrating because it just seems like there is nothing we can do to help him. Funny how Mike (our roommate) seems to get 'tired' and goes to bed when it starts. Haha! Last week we were over at our friends, Ben and Kyli's house, and Kale had his first literal blow out. It was awesome. Luckily they have a beautiful baby girl who is 6 days older than Kale so they fully understand baby messes. Derc immediately handed him over and I got to change him. About 10 diaper wipes later, I was almost done cleaning him up and of course, right when we're about done, he starts peeing on himself. I'm not proud of this, but it was all over his outfit, his hair, face....and I'm pretty sure he got a drink too. Ben and Kyli got some humor out of this since Brynna doesn't give them unexpected showers like the boys can. Just lovely. Oh well, he was WAY more content afterwards :)</div><div> </div><div>Other than those things, not a whole lot new going on with Kale. Derc has started his new job within Wells Fargo and he is loving it. I'm back to full time at work next week, just in time for 4th quarter! Kale is really excited for Halloween this weekend. He is going to be a bat. We will also be pumpkin carving and I've got to find one big enough for him to fit into. My sister called today and baited me with the excitement that they might come down this weekend. Then we could get some pictures of our bat and our nephew Jordan who will be rocking the superman look this year! Speaking of Jordan...I'm proud to announce that our nephew is a big boy now and no longer needs his pacifiers. Sarah and Justin cleverly used our son as leverage in negotiating the end of pacifier use. They have been trying to clear the hurdle of no paci's for a few months now, and turns out Jordan is on board once he decided to mail all of his paci's to his cousin Kale. He decided he no longer needed them and wanted Baby Kale to have them. Jordan and Sarah called us one night to let us know this, and it was the cutest voicemail ever. So, I called Sarah the next day to thank her for the paci's (that I thought were in the mail) and she laughed and said that Jordan did in fact seal them in an envelope for Baby Kale but she would be crazy to actually mail them in case they needed to cave in one day and give him one, so they are hidden in the closet :) Sneaky...</div><div> </div><div>Over the past few weeks I've had quite a few tests run to see if the Drs. can figure out if there is anything going on with me with the whole antibody ordeal. Turns out I have a few antibodies, the SSA, SSB and AntiSmith. I haven't done much research on them yet. I've gone to the Rhuematologist and he doesn't seem to think that I have Lupus or arthritis at this time, but those antibodies are precursors for those diseases so he said they can still develop. I'm having a cat scan today because I have some lumps on my neck. The Drs. weren't sure if this is related to whatever else is going on, so they want to see if they can figure out what they are.....we're hoping they are nothing and are just some calcium deposits or something....I'll keep you posted!</div><div> </div><div>On another note, Derc and I want to send our thoughts and prayers to Phoenix where my Aunt Sue passed away this morning. She has been fighting some health ailments for a while now and has been in hospice the past month or so. We are very hopeful that she is now at peace and is in no pain. We also are hopeful that she had a handsome angel named Tim waiting for her to welcome her to heaven. She was very brave during her fight and kept such a positive attitude. We love you Aunt Sue and hope that you can rest peacefully!</div><div> </div><div>Until next time....thanks for checking in!</div></div></div></div></div>Derc & Stephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17843075811924934145noreply@blogger.com1