Happy 1 month Chloe and Happy Holidays to all!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!



Time flies doesn't even begin to describe how fast this first month has gone! What a crazy, busy and fun month it was been too! Chloe is an adorable little baby and such a good girl! We went to her 1 month checkup and she is now 9 pounds and 15 ounces and has grown an inch and a half since she was born! She's in the 75 percentile for her age and overall is a healthy happy baby girl! She's a great little sleeper and such a laid back baby. While she doesn't sleep through the night yet she seems to really know when it's night time because she wakes up, eats, and then goes right back to sleep again. She loves to be held and cuddled and has been known to take people hostage once they get a hold of her. She's also quite a delicate little peach because she hates to be cold and loves to get all wrapped up and cuddly. And she's such a strong girl too! She holds up her head and pushes up looks around all the time!

Charlie has been such a great big brother too! Every time he sees Chloe he smiles all big and does these adorable little giggles it's so sweet!! Charlie is also doing great! He's talking a bit more now, sometimes words (his newest words have been, bye-bye, go, that, num-nums and a couple of times we've sworn Charlie has said "I got it"), and sometimes he has full conversations in some sort of Charlie language which cracks me up! Charlie's also been doing SO good in pre-school! He's making friends (he loves to give hugs to all of his buddies!) and learning new things, and following directions so well! He even participated in his school's holiday sing-a-long, and though he was nervous at first he stayed up there the whole time like such a good boy!

He's mastering how to use a big boy cup rather than a sippy cup (although we still use the sippy cup when we're in the car or he's running around, he hasn't mastered how not to spill yet hahaha), and just a couple days ago he showed us how he knows how to use the trash can to throw trash away! He still also loves to turn light switches on and off and his day can't begin without brushing his teeth. Charlie also knows his shapes, colors, and we were surprised to see that he even knows a couple of letters! Such a great little guy!

We had a great Christmas too! Charlie and Chloe must have been very good because Santa was good to them! Charlie got a bunch of Hot Wheel cars, and even a track to launch his cars (he was having so much fun with it he was screaming with laughter!) and a big truck to hold all his new cars, and some new clothes, and art supplies, and a Zhu zhu pet with a car, and an RC car, and candy, and I'm sure there's more that I'm not thinking of! Charlie was having so much fun because there were toys all over the place! Chloe got some adorable outfits, and shoes, and some fun hanging toys that jingle and vibrate (her favorite!). Even the Boy Bunny got some carrots from Santa!

The best present though was a gift we got from Charlie! An adorable hand print that Charlie made for us at pre-school :) We LOVE it!

Then later on we had Christmas dinner with Grandma Carol-Anne and Stephen who came up for a visit. And we were very proud to put on our very first Christmas dinner that we made ourselves!! And it all turned out great!! We tried a ham with gravy and apples recipe that we found online and it turned out SO good!!! How did I survive without ham gravy all my life?!? Then we had cranberry bars and apple pie that Carol-Anne made with that new sugar substitute stuff I think it's called Stevia, and it was really good! I am very sensitive to all those sugar substitutes but this one I couldn't tell the difference! Who would of thought? We even got to try out our new Kinnect that we got from Grandpa John and we had a great time jumping around the living room HAHAHA That thing really gets you moving! Charlie even got into the fun by coaching us and being our cheerleader :) It was raining most for Christmas but the next day it was beautiful and sunny so we headed to the park to try out Charlie's new tricycle that he got from Grandpa John and Charlie had a blast!

It was a very merry Christmas at the Drastals and now we're all tuckered out! We hope everyone had a great Christmas and has a happy New Year!!

Lots of love,

Karen, Bill, Charlie and Chloe

Welcome Chloe!!!

She's here!! Chloe has arrived! She came on November 22nd, at 11:46am and was 8 pounds, 20 inches long and just perfect! Everyone is home now and happy and healthy and doing great.


It all started last Sunday night when I was trying to go to bed I started feeling all crampy. But I'd been feeling cramps for a few weeks before and the Dr. said it was no big deal so I just figured it was nothing and tried to go to sleep. But those stupid cramps wouldn't let me go to sleep. So at 1am I called the nurses line for my doctor and asked if I should be worried. They wanted to make sure it wasn't false labor and suggested that I take a hot shower, relax, and see if they get worse or go away and if the pain got worse then to come in. By this time everyone was sound asleep and I was wide awake. I tried the hot shower which felt very nice but didn't relieve the pain. I then lied down and watched TV a while, I tried to hold out until the morning so that Charlie could go to PreSchool while we went to the hospital but at 4am I couldn't take it anymore and I woke Bill up and told him I think it's time to go in. So we woke up poor Charlie and threw him in the car and drove to the hospital at 5am. Bill dropped me off and then headed home to get Charlie to school and then he'd come right back to the hospital. So I got all checked in and am trying to keep it together through all the pain and they find out that I'm dilated to about 3 or 4 and that I should stay. They then ask if I want any pain medication and I say "YES PLEASE!" It was then that the nurse said that she thinks I'll have a baby by noon that day. So I got all medicated up and was starting to feel MUCH better and then Bill calls and the nurse answers my phone for me and tells Bill that if he wants to be there for the birth then he better get to the hospital sooner rather than later! So Bill books it down to the hospital and gets there by about 8:30am. I then find out that he was taking his time to get to the hospital! He even let Charlie go back to bed when he got back home! He thought he had plenty of time before the baby would come because he was used to when Charlie was born and we had hours and hours to kill before anything started really happening. But this time things seemed to be going in fast forward!! So after many apologies everything was good. Bill was there, Charlie was happy in PreSchool and I was heavily medicated :)

Then at around 11ish or so I started feeling a bit funny. But not "haha" funny. So we get the nurse and she checks me out and come to find out it's show time!! Then it's chaos as the doctor comes in and they get all the bells and whistles and machines ready and before we know it Chloe is born at 11:46am!! And she immediately starts crying the most adorable little squeaky cry and Bill got to cut the cord :) And thus starts our adventures with an adorable little Chloe girl!



And she's such a good baby! Sweet and a good sleeper and a lover of pacifiers! Even when she cries it's a cute little cry that just melts our hearts. We just had her 1 week checkup and the Doctor said she's looking fantastic! She's regained her birth weight and is very strong. She's also a little snorter it's so cute! When she gets all riled up she starts snorting like crazy and it cracks us up :) She's also a fantastic little sleeper. She even gave me a break one night and slept from 12 - 4! Such a good
girl!



As for me I'm doing great! The labor went so smoothly and afterward I wasn't in nearly as much pain as I thought I was going to have! I'm still a bit achey and my feet are still a bit swollen but I'm slowly getting back to normal. I've got a ton of great help thanks to Grandma, and Grammie, and Great Aunt Carol all coming to help us out :)



And Charlie is being a great big brother! At first he was a bit shy when he saw Chloe but slowly he's warming up to her. He's even patted her head and touched her hands and he loves playing with her toys. He's even had a couple times when he gets concerned when she cries and comes to see what's wrong. Such a good big brother! :)



So we couldn't be happier with such great kiddos and such a great family coming to lend a hand! Thanks to everyone for your help and the well wishes!!




Lots of love,

Karen, Bill, Charlie and now Chloe! :)

Charlie's 2 year checkup and Chloe's 39th week!!

Hello all!

So this morning Charlie had his 2 year old appointment and he was such a good boy! He loved all of the fun decorations at his new pediatricians office. I've never seen someone have so much fun in a doctor's office before! The doctor was very nice and fun with Charlie too. She made sure to show Charlie what she was going to do by demonstrating on Charlie's Olaf doll (Olaf as in Snoopy's chubby brother) before she'd do it on him. Charlie looked great all over and the doctor was even impressed by how well Charlie understood her and took directions :) By the end of the appointment Charlie was checking our throats with the tongue depressor and checking his own heart beat. He's a natural :) We did though sign up for a speech evaluation for Charlie because he's not really talking as many words as he could be at this age. It's free if he's under 3 so it wouldn't hurt and the Doctor is not worried about his speech at all because Charlie is so good at understanding us and all. She says it won't hurt and can only help and sometimes all kids this age need is just a little boost to get him jabbering it up. Also she said it's great that Charlie is starting preschool because sometimes just being around other kids his age will help get him to start talking it up. Yup you heard right Charlie is starting preschool! He starts tomorrow actually! He's all set with his very own lunch box and everything :) It's a great little school, Charlie even made a friend while we were taking a tour of the place so I know he'll have a great time :)

As for Chloe we're still waiting! Apparently she's a very happy baby but that doesn't mean I'm a comfortable mama :P I'm sooooo done! I want to meet this baby already! I'm doing weekly appointments now and so far nothing yet so who knows when we'll finally meet this little baby! I'm just hanging in there dealing with being super tired, having migraines, and being uncomfortable and all that fun stuff that comes with these last weeks that seem to go on forever! Keep your fingers crossed for soon because I'm officially done! Done done done!

~Karen

My little guy is already 2!!

Happy Birthday to Charlie!!!


I know I'm late with this update but I had to make a special post for Charlie! Yup, he turned the big 2 and boy was it a big weekend!!!

Let's see first there was Friday the 29th which was his actual birthday day. They were having a Halloween party at work so we got Charlie all dressed up as Robin (as in Batman and Robin) and we went and had a great time at the office! Seeing all the costumes and having all kinds of candy and treats. And Charlie enjoyed cruising around the office to see all the decorations and getting all kinds of attention.

Then we came home and had ice cream and cake and had a great time playing with all of his new toys! Our favorite being the awesome new art easel complete with chalk board! Awesome!!!

Charlie also loves his big truck tent that he got from Grammie and Grampie. He loves to climb in and then wave at us from the window. So cute!!!

So then on Saturday the 30th we headed to the San Francisco Zoo for their Halloween Party or "Boo at the Zoo" as they called it.

At first Charlie was more interested in the puddles left from the rain but after he got himself thoroughly soaked he was ready to check out the festivities! They had crafts, and candy, and special animal exhibits (I never knew an alligator could feel so soft!) and Charlie loved hanging out with Spencer (my friend Kim's son) and Charlie even learned how to tell knock knock jokes! He gets a kick out of them! And we never knew until Charlie busted up laughing while Bill and Spencer were telling some classic Knock Knocks :)

Charlie did so well that we ended up staying a lot longer then we thought we would and Charlie got to skip his nap (lucky boy!)

So then on Sunday it was Halloween!! We started the day off with some pumpkin painting and carving and last minute decorations.

Then we got Charlie in his costume and couldn't wait to take him out for his first time Trick or Treating!! So finally the sun went down and we headed out! Charlie had no idea what was going on at first, he was just excited to be heading outside so late in the day!!

We went to the first house and Charlie was all nervous. But with a little help from Daddy he saw how awesome Trick or Treating really is! He was so excited about the candy that after he would get some candy he'd want to stop and eat it :)

We went all over the neighborhood and when it started to get too chilly we headed on home to greet our own trick or treaters and it was SO much fun! Spooking the trick or treaters and seeing all of the fun costumes was great! It was a little slow at first but as the night went on (and once the Giants game was over) it started to pick up and we all had a great time!


So then by Monday we were all super tired from such a fun weekend :) Happy Birthday to my little guy!!! I can't believe it's been 2 years already!!!

A little side note on the news for Chloe....there's no news yet it's just me waiting and being uncomfortable and ready for her to come already!!

Until next time!

~Karen

Happy Birthday to Charlie (almost!)

Yup, can you believe it? Charlie is already just days away from being the big 2! How time flies!! And Charlie is such a big boy now too! He's still on that potty training road, far from accident free but he's making progress. We had a little snag when he suddenly wanted nothing to do with the potty, but with a little encouragement he's back in the saddle again (so to speak). Charlie also LOVES drawing now-a-days. He got into my art supplies boxes and loves to draw with everything he can get his hands on! He makes some pretty fun drawings too! I'll have to get some framed :) Charlie is also my big helper he's so good at helping me put away his toys and crayons. He's also found a new love for the show Blue's Clues! If it ever gets mentioned then you better be prepared to turn on an episode! HAHAHAHA It's such a cute show I don't mind at all watching it with him! So for his birthday we've planned to go to the Halloween party at the San Francisco Zoo! Charlie has his Robin costume (as in Batman and Robin) all ready to go! And we also have some fun presents waiting for him! But shhhh it's a secret :) I'll have to tell you what they are later ;)

As for Chloe news things are still going great! ....well not great great but overall good.....ok I'm miserable, she's good :) I've hit that not so fun last month like a brick wall! The migraines are back, and I'm SO tired but I can't get comfortable to sleep anymore! I think it's setup this way so that you really look forward to the baby getting here! Which I am SO ready!! I want to meet her already and be done with all these aches and pains and headaches! Blech! But through all the complaints my doctor says this is all normal and everything else health wise is absolutely wonderful so there's nothing wrong. I'm also still doing the weekly testing which monitors Chloe's heart rate and movement and all that and she's still doing so well that I'm in and out of there in 20 minutes! And they also do a quick ultrasound to check the fluid levels in there and usually it's just a quick look, nothing really special, until last week when without even trying the nurse got an AMAZING view of Chloe's face!! Even the nurse was surprised! She also said that she thinks Chloe already looks like me. Well she definitely has the chin! I think she looks like Charlie personally :) The pictures aren't nearly as clear as the screen was, but you can still get a good look!

if you still can't tell what you're looking at, it's just her face here in the picture, off to the left. And her mouth at the time was this adorable little pouty mouth, for some reason it came out as a big shadow on the picture. Really when I saw this my mind immediately said "Alright! She looks like a baby! I'm done! Let's get this over with!" But sadly no, I still have about another month to go! It'll be the longest (and shortest) month EVER I'm sure!

~Karen

Baby Shower and Reunion Fun!

Hello!!!

So last weekend was the much anticipated Baby Shower and Family Reunion in Reno!! It was put on by Fabulous Aunt Cathy and Uncle Paul and we had SO much fun!!! From gabbing it up with the family, to tasty food, and goofy nights gambling on Wheel of Fortune and Indiana Jones slot machines, to an RC car derby, HUGE bubbles, cake cake and more cake, adorable baby stuff, exploring Virginia City and it's crazy graveyard, and SO much more!! We had so much fun that I didn't want to come back to real life! Charlie also had so much fun that he was talking talking talking after we got home! I have no idea what he was saying but I'm sure it was all about how much fun he had in Reno. He was a little overwhelmed with all the new people when we first got there, and he had a couple of rough nights due to the elevation difference, but after a little time warming up to everyone then he couldn't get enough! He loves playing with his cousin (and second cousins, and third cousins, and second uncles once removed etc etc etc) Charlie was also a hugging machine, everyone got hugs :) It was adorable! He also showed off his skills saying "I'm Charlie" or something to that effect. He was a great little guy and he did great on the drive which was beautiful! A little creepy though when we went over Donner Pass (we'll have to stop and check it out next time we go out there). Overall we had an amazing weekend and we can't thank Aunt Cathy and Uncle Paul enough for putting on such a fun party!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!! And thanks to everyone that came out it was great to catch up with everyone, I just wish I had more time to talk with everyone individually. And the gifts were SO cute! Chloe will have the most adorable outfits (especially her feet!) and it looks like we're going with a ladybug theme for her room (adorable!) I can't say enough good things about the whole weekend!

As for an update on day to day life the weekly monitoring at my Dr's office has been going great!! Chloe has been moving and kicking like crazy which is what they're looking for. At one appointment they used a small buzzer like thing (like a back massager that buzzes) to wake her up and it worked like a charm! They buzzed my tummy once and she jumped like crazy and kept kicking! And last week they didn't have to do anything at all Chloe was a mover and a shaker and I was done in no time! Go Chloe go! This weekend we plan on going and getting the last of the baby stuff that we need and finally get Chloe's room setup (I hope!)

And Charlie is officially on the road to becoming a Big Boy! We've started planning for potty training and next weekend we're dedicating the whole weekend to potty training and get the whole process kicked off! We've already got the toddler potty and he does sit on it but he doesn't really know how to tell us before he goes, he just gets angry once he has gone so hopefully everything will click soon and he can start sporting his awesome super hero underpants!

Well that's all the updates for now! Here's some pictures from the Reno trip! If you have any I would LOVE to get some more!

32 Weeks! Woot woot!!

The baby train is coming down the tracks! Woot woooooot!!

Anyways, I had a Dr. appointment today and everything is great! My blood pressure is fantastic, and things are coming right along. After my regular appointment though I headed over to the hospital for a neonatal non stress test. Which basically means I got to hang out for 20 minutes while they recorded Chloe's heart beat to see how she's doing. And she did perfectly! I guess they wanted to see her heart rate spike 3 times within that 20 minutes which means she's moving around. At one point she was just hanging out and got quiet (they think she fell asleep! Cute!) so the nurse started yelling and clapping to "wake her up" I thought she was just being funny, but it worked! Chloe started moving and a shaking shortly after that! Who would of thought that even before she's born Chloe takes naps :) They also did a short ultrasound and found that her feet are in my ribs and her head is down by my bladder. Yeah that sounds about right by how I've been feeling lately. Those jabs in the ribs and head butts to my bladder make for some restless nights :P But overall things look great! I actually do one of these once a week for the next few weeks to keep tabs on everything.

As for me I'm feeling pretty gosh darn uncomfortable all around :P You know, the usual, tired, aches & pains, constantly hungry. I swear some days it feels like food just evaporates once it hits my stomach :) And the recent heat wave has not helped much. I've had some swelling in my ankles but nothing that bad. It's supposed to cool down tomorrow and I can't wait!!

In Charlie news he's getting bigger and cuter everyday! And recently he has made it quite clear how much he hates his diapers. So we've gotten him his very own pottys and we've started potty training! It's slow going, but so far he sits on the potty, but we just haven't gotten him to "go" in the potty yet. But we'll be patient and hopefully soon it'll all make sense to him. He's also graduated out of his cradle and into a toddler bed! He loves being able to hop in and out of his own bed! He even loves to just grab a book and hop up on his bed and hang out a while. He's only fallen out of his bed once where we found his sleeping on the floor, so he's taken right to the big boy bed! It's just been hard to get him to nap now because he can hop out of bed and play instead of sleep. He also points out every time a plane goes overhead, and I mean EVERY time a plane goes overhead HAHAHAHA His favorite things to do are color (he recently learned how to draw zig-zag lines and can't get enough!) and count things (even though he only counts to one which sounds more like an "oh") and kick the ball around outside.

We're also all super excited for the upcoming Family Reunion and Baby Shower in Reno!! I can't wait!! It'll be so nice to get away from it all and have some fun :) Thanks Aunt Cathy and Uncle Paul for being SO generous and putting this on for us!!!! You guys are amazing!!!

Until next time!!

~Karen

A little excitement

Hey all!

A little update to fill you in on the excitement we had yesterday. Well I'd been feeling pretty cruddy (mainly a headache) for the past 3 days or so and yesterday we were all packed up and ready to spend a day at the Snoopy Museum for their 60 year anniversary celebration! But on our way I kept feeling worse and worse, until suddenly, I started throwing up. Which really put a damper in our day :P So we started to head back home and it happened again! Sheesh! So once we got home and I was thrown into bed Bill called the Dr. and they told us to come right in to get checked out. So after some last minute help from our awesome friend Johnny who came to watch Charlie for us we went in to the hospital which is also where the Dr. Office is and the maternity ward and all that. It's conveniently in one place (so handy!) They got me right in and it was pretty clear that it wasn't Preeclampsia (which is bad) which they thought it might be. My blood pressure is great, and the baby's heart beat is fantastic (the nurse saw the printout and said "now THAT'S a happy baby!") but after the urine test it became obvious that I was very dehydrated. So to make things go faster they hooked me up to an IV with some sugar water type stuff and I got to catch up on my magazine reading. Then after a while I was feeling MUCH better and I got to come home (hooray!) So I'm fine and the nurses told me that this happens a lot, especially to women that have young kiddos at home, and with all that's been going on with me lately it's no surprise at all. So things are good, baby is just fine, and I'm fine, just tired. But thank goodness I have an awesome hubby that took very good care of me all weekend :)

~Karen

29 Weeks! Are we there yet?

So things have been quite busy for the Drastal Family over the last few weeks. In a nutshell we have;
1. Become Google employees
2. Changed work offices
3. Moved

So busy is really an understatement for all that we've done in such a short time! But here's the long story for you;


First we heard the FABULOUS news that the company we work for got bought by Google! So we are now Google employees! Which is AWESOME! We get a ton of new perks including free breakfast and lunch (and the food amazing!) We also moved our offices into the San Francisco Google office which isn't that far away from where we were working. I really like our new office and me and Bill get to share a cubicle (they call them "pods") which comes complete with a huge bean bag! I still do the same schedule as I used to where I go into the office on Tuesdays but other than that I stay home with Charlie and work in the evening once Bill gets home. It works out really well for everyone. Although for a few days Charlie did have to go into daycare (which was free through Google, SCORE!) when we were doing Google orientations and Charlie LOVED it there! The first day when we came to pick him up he was sad to leave, and the second day he had a little buddy that was all excited that Charlie was there :) We thought about the idea of part time daycare for Charlie but it is quite expensive :P We only get a few free "drop in" days for daycare for free so it's not a regular thing. That's ok though because our usual schedule still works really well.




So during all this we got a weird notice posted to our front door saying that the house we were renting was in foreclosure and the bank was going to auction it off on Sept. 2. Well long story short we decided that that was motivation enough to get the heck out of dodge! We had options to see what the new owners, or the bank would do and wait until we got an eviction notice...or just move. So we moved. And the weekend we found out we went house hunting and found this great new place that we're now living in! It's not that far from our old place and it's in Daly City and it's literally down the street from the city of Brisbane, and San Francisco. So we didn't really move far at all. And there's FAR less fog! We can see the fog come rolling in and it goes right past us while we have blue skies! Yay!! It's also cheaper in rent than our old place, AND it has a yard! Charlie LOVES the yard he wants to go out there alllllll the time! We also have a small balcony upstairs that Charlie loves to hang out on. We really love it. And thanks to our awesome work friends, a Uhaul, and a couple of moving helpers we hired it was the easiest move we've ever done! Now we just have to unpack....ugh.


Then during everything I also had a Dr. appointment. And everything is wonderful! The Dr. says I'm as healthy as a horse and everything is normal! Chloe is kicking up a storm now-a-days and I'm now entering that crazy uncomfortable time again :P but the heartburn isn't nearly as bad as when I had Charlie, but she really loves to sit on my bladder which isn't so fun. And I think she's either got her feet or her arms by my ribs because she really kicks me far up there in my rib cage which is a crazy feeling. And I'm always tired. I feel like I can't sleep enough! But there's only 75 days to go!! Hooray!!! And right around the corner is the baby shower/family reunion is Reno!!! Can't wait!!!

Until next time!

~Karen

24 weeks going strong!

Hi all!!

So I just had a doctor's appointment and everything is great! My doctor refers to the baby's heart beat as a good "gallop" :) and things are progressing well! I've officially reached the comfortable (if you can call it that) part now so I'm relatively not that uncomfortable! I'm enjoying it while I can. I've also began feeling some pretty good kicking now! It started as small little kicks at about 18 weeks and now it's progressed to some good jabs :) And while with Charlie his kicks were mostly at night and fairly low, her kicks are all over the place and any time of day! The heartburn has subsided and I haven't had any headaches for a while now. Things are good :)

We just got back from a fun vacation down to San Diego for Comic Con! We all had a fantastic time! Charlie had a great time running around the floor and getting his very own badge! He also loved exploring a new place and having some good Grandma times :) The day we arrived he got to see both Grandma's and he got SO excited he could hardly contain himself!! It was adorable :) I also enjoyed the sunny warm weather which was GREAT! Except I found out that the heat also triggered my ankles to swell (boo!) but since we've returned to cold and foggy San Francisco my ankles have returned to normal. So I'm trying to see the bright side of a sun-free summer :P

Sadly though we brought back a cold from San Diego too :P But it's just a standard cold and we're all sniffly around here but otherwise doing good :) Hopefully soon the snotty noses will clear up and we can get back to having more adventures.
Charlie is really growing up fast and some of his favorite things to do are draw (he's even starting to hold crayons the right way like a big boy!) playing with his toys (he loves to figure out how things work!) and spinning around on his bouncy pony toy until he gets dizzy (it's so cute to see him get off the pony and try to keep his balance! I guess he thinks it's fun because he keeps doing it!) and he also loves to sing now too! Although he doesn't sing the words right he loves to try to do the motions to "Itsy bitsy spider" and other songs we sing at story time :) Sometimes he even enjoys "Charlie time" where he sits and plays in his room and doesn't want to be bugged. And when I call to him and ask "Are you ok?" He calls back with an "OK!" to let me know things are good :) I love it!!

So other than the collection of snot rags we have hanging out around here things are great!! Here's some pictures from our recent Comic Con trip!

Charlie being a big boy with his own Comic Con badge!


It's us :)

Charlie has discovered the amazing fun that comes with an empty box!

Charlie being a panda :)

Until next time!

~Karen, Bill and Charlie

Some more updates!

So after talking with some people I realize I haven't really updated everything :) So here we go, a little Q&A about how things are going on with Baby #2

Q. How do you feel about having a girl?
A. Excited! This will be a fun experience :) Both Bill and I are super excited to try things out with a girl this time. And we're sure that Charlie will be a GREAT big brother to a little sister :) And we have a ton of girl clothes from my sister when she had Maggie so either way we were set!

Q. How are you feeling?
A. MUCH better than I was! I'm so glad the morning sickness has passed! But now I'm hungry like crazy and SO tired, and my back hurts too!! It's either one extreme or another it seems. I have had some bouts with heartburn though, which isn't fun at all. But what is fun is that my ankles aren't swelling like they did with Charlie! Woohoo! But I know the swelling may come later. But I'm enjoying it for now :)

Q. Are you showing?
A. Not much really. Bill says I'm showing more than when I had Charlie. But I'm still at that stage where unless I'm wearing a maternity shirt then someone just looking at me wouldn't really know if I was pregnant or just ate a lot at lunch ;)

Q. How's Charlie doing?
A. GREAT! He's such a great little guy :) He loves to draw and to run around and kick or throw the ball around. But his biggest love is with books, either looking at them himself or having us reading to him he loves books of all kinds. He's also doing great with pointing to different things when we ask. We finally got all of his space stuff put up in his room and he loves to point out the planets and the rocket ship :) It's so much fun :)

So there you go! An update to an update :D

Until next time!

~Karen

IT'S A GIRL!!

That's right! We found out that Charlie is going to have a little sister!! We're so excited! And our appointment today makes for a pretty good story :)

So we get to the place where they do the ultrasounds and I'm an anxious wreck. Not nervous but the kind of anxious where you know something exciting is coming and you don't like to wait. Like on Christmas Eve or the night before going to Disneyland. Well they take us back and the technician starts doing his thing looking at the baby, measuring the head and taking different pictures and all that standard stuff. The whole time I'm trying to get a look and see if there's any "goods" or not :) And no dice. She's being shy. Apparently she was all curled up in a corner with her legs crossed and her arms over her face. The technician tried different angles and gives it a few goes and he says he has no idea because she's just too curled up. So he says he'll show the Doctor his pictures and then maybe the Dr. will give it a go and see if he can find out. So we wait....what felt like an eternity....and the Doctor came in and said everything health and size wise on the baby looks great and he says he'll try to see the gender. I've already given up on finding out this visit and in my mind I'm planning one of those 4D ultrasounds because I'm finding out dang it!! Well low and behold he turns on the machine and he says "Oop! You ready to find out?" And I do everything I can not to explode "YES!!! TELL ME ALREADY!" And he says we're having a girl! And then I did explode because I finally knew! And for the rest of the day we've been soaking the news in. And the more we think about it the more excited we get because we think Charlie is going to be a great big brother to a little sister :) Good times are ahead for sure!!! As for names we're throwing around some possibilities but our favorite so far is Chloe Elizabeth. Here's some ultrasound pictures to check out;


Thumbs up!

Crazy view of her skull and hand

Her leg!

Until next time!!

~Karen, Bill & Charlie

Almost 16 weeks. Chugging right along!

Hey all,

So things are still moving right along. I had a doctor appointment about a week ago. Everything looks great! The heart rate sounds perfect although when the doctor was trying to listen the baby rolled over which made it like a scavenger hunt to find the heart beat again. Such a shy baby :) As for me I've been feeling better than I was before, but still not great :P During the day I feel pretty good but at night I get all tired and gross feeling and usually camp out on the couch. But I can eat more now and don't feel as nauseous as before. Hooray! And for more exciting news we have the ultrasound scheduled to find out if we're having a boy or a girl! We couldn't wait, we want to find out :) So stay tuned because on June 29th we'll find out!

As for Charlie he's such a great little buddy :) He's really getting good at pointing things out when we ask, I was especially surprised when we asked "where's the ceiling?" And he pointed right up! Such a smart boy! :)


Until next time!

~Karen, Bill and Charlie

Ultrasound take 2!

So since we were off with the due date at the first time around, they wanted to take a look again 2 weeks later when the baby was bigger. So this morning we got even more ultrasound pictures! Yay! And it's crazy how much bigger the baby has gotten in only a couple of weeks! From 1.5 inches to 4 inches! And the baby was bouncing around and moving and it even swallowed! Bill thinks the baby already looks like me and he thinks he or she might have the signature big bottom lip :) As for the baby everything looks wonderful! Things are formed like they should and nothing looks out of the ordinary at all! We'll get another ultrasound around 20 weeks or so (and I think that's when we find out if it's a boy or a girl!)

Hello baby Drastal! Look at those tiny arms and legs!


A tiny little foot!

They even took a 3D picture! The head is on the top there at a 3/4 view. And you can see the torso and arms!

The due date is still at November 19th for now! And I'm still feeling pretty sick a lot. It seems like every evening I feel awful and I even still have whole days when I feel gross :P I won't miss this stage at all!!

Well I have a doctor's appointment in a couple of weeks so I'll be sure to update you then!!

~Karen