Our Baby Boy!

Kevin Jackson Carter

July 30, 2007, 8:40 am

7 lbs 14 oz, 20 inches

Kevin's birth story is definitely not what I anticipated... He was born 6 days early. We checked into the hospital at 9:15 p.m. on July 29 and pulled an all-nighter!! It's a cruel joke that people (including the doctors) tell you to expect your second labor to take half the time!! Kevin took 4 hours, 4 very long hours, longer than Ellie did to enter the world!

He is a beautiful, healthy baby boy. He did suffer some injury during his birth. He has a broken (or fractured) right clavicle. This injury usually only occurs during difficult deliveries, so the doctor and nurse were very shocked to hear the diagnosis. He was born with just 2 contractions after full dilation, and he didn't have a difficult delivery. So, we aren't sure how he broke his clavicle, but it doesn't seem to bother him much anyway! Other than that small item, he seems perfectly healthy and happy!

Ellie is excited about her new brother. We hope this excitement lasts after we bring him home tomorrow!!


We've had lots of friends and family come to visit us. We feel truly blessed. Thanks to everyone for your kinds words and prayers for our family!!

Our Final "Mommy and Ellie Only" Days

Ellie and I spent the last few weekdays before Kevin was born just enjoying our special time together. We bought new painting supplies, and Ellie listened to the baby with her toy stethoscope (Thanks Tim and Jodi! She LOVES playing with her doctor kit!). We also watched cartoons, played dress-up, and went to Gymboree Play THREE times in one week!

Eddie or ELLLL-ee?

No new photos, now. The camera is in my trunk waiting for the baby to arrive!! My mom and nephew came to visit on Tuesday, so hopefully she will share some photos with me soon so that I can share with you!

One story I have been wanting to tell... Last month, we started trying to teach Ellie how to say her name. When she said it, it always sounded like Eddie! So, we started teasing her by calling her Eddie. She would say, "Noooooo, I'm not Eddie. I'm Eddie (trying to say Ellie the second time but still sounding like Eddie)!" I wish I would have gotten it on camera. Oh well! So, we taught her to annunciate the "L" more. So, for a while, she said her name was "ELLLL - ee". Now, she just barely over annunciates the "El" sound. But I still smile every time she says it because it still reminds me of the "ELLLL - ee" days.

38 Weeks!

Here's the 38 weeks photo! My old habit of blinking came back! Chris refused to take any more pics, so we have a half-open pic! But it's not my face we're trying to show you anyway! We celebrated the evening with a nice, relaxing dinner date!

Sleepover with Cousins!

Ellie and her cousins, Molly and Catherine, had a sleepover at Granny's house on Friday night. In the two photos above, Chris was "trying on apparel at the store". Catherine was the belt. Molly and Ellie were the shoes! He has way more energy than I do these days!!

We celebrated Grandpa's birthday (sorry no pics to share)! Happy 74th!!

Ellie's Clothing Size: 0-3 months or 4T

Ellie decided to try on the baby's clothes today. I didn't think there was a chance they'd fit! But once we got them on, she didn't want to take them off!!

First Day of School...

Ellie went to Vacation Bible School today! I think it was really just play time, though, because VBS doesnt really start until you are around Kindergarten. But she will go all week this week. For some crazy reason, I volunteered to be a group leader for vacation bible school this week. At the time I volunteered, I didn't think about the fact that I would be at least 38 weeks pregnant by the time VBS is over!! Oh well! The fact that my niece, Molly, is coincidentally in my class makes it worth the effort!

Ellie didn't want to take this picture, as usual! She doesn't really like the camera! She wanted to wear her tennis shoes because I was wearing mine! So cute! Too bad she won't always want to be like me!

Twinkies!

Chris was wearing his "Stanford shirt" and Ellie wanted to match Daddy! Her shirt used to be mine. I got it at Admit Weekend with Chris last year, but mine shrunk so much that it has become Ellie's nightgown!!

Family Visits!

We had a full house last week with Mimi (Amy), Grandma, Jared, and Jessica visiting! We packed in lots of fun with Schlitterbahn, the Houston Zoo, Diego LIVE, and a visit to Katy to see Aunt Connie! I only have pics from the zoo, but hopefully Grandma will send me more soon so that I can share them on the blog!

Ellie Sending an Email

Ellie loves her computer. It teaches her the ABCs, and she loves to "send emails". Here, she wanted me to move my computer from it's typical spot so that she could put hers in it's place. Then she started to "send emails"!

35.5 weeks

Still growing!!

A Night Away...

A night at the hospital 4.5 weeks before her due date isn't exactly what a pregnant woman would call a welcome night away! Monday night, we went to the hospital for some complications. We were able to get everything under control, and I was released Tuesday morning! But I'm sad to miss our trip to Tahoe for Tim and Jodi's wedding. Eat some cake for me! Chocolate is my favorite!

Sleeping Beauty

Cooking with Granny

Ellie helped Granny make some Amish Friendship Bread last week. As usual, Ellie loved helping and loved eating flour!

She also spent plenty of time looking for Midnight - Granny and Grandpa's dog!

Ellie and Jessica wanted to be lions at the Children's Museum. They both loved the grocery store and catching ducks in the pond.

Pump It Up and Build-A-Bear

We went to Pump It Up with Jessica and Grandma. Jessica loved the slides, but Ellie as afraid of them! Ellie was drinking from the water fountain and got a little water on her dress. I was turned around looking at something else, and within seconds, Ellie had gotten completely naked. I laughed and said to put her clothes on. She said, "No, I want to be 'maked'," and went running as fast as she could all around the place. Everyone was laughing. I finally caught her and put her clothes back on!

Later, we went to Build-A-Bear. Here, you can see my big belly! About one month to go!!

Taking Care of Our "Summer Home"...

I'm sure Chris will kill me for this photo, but I couldn't resist!! We are responsible for mowing the lawn at our sublease this summer, so Chris was quick to spring into action! I don't think I've ever seen him mow the lawn before since we've always lived at an apartment! Jessica, my 4-year-old niece, came to visit the next day and said, "This grass needs to be cut!" I guess she wasn't impressed, but I thought he did a great job!

Bath Time at Build-A-Bear

We went to Build-A-Bear with Grandma and Jessica. Ellie made a horse, and Jessica made a purple hippo! Ellie insisted that her horse be "maked" (naked). I guess that's ok, because afterall, horses are supposed to be naked!

FRECKLES!!!

Ellie has about three freckles on her nose! One is pretty dark. I'm still hoping they will wash off because I'm feeling a little guilty - like I haven't used enough sunscreen for her! This picture shows the dark one on her nose between her eyes. Chris and I both have freckles on our nose, so I guess it was bound to happen - sunscreen or not!

Songs about the Rain...

The pool pics are from the only day it didn't rain! It hasn't rained all day, every day. But it has rained at least a little every day except for one! And even when it's not raining, the dampness in the air means you still feel wet anytime you're outside! I had to include this picture for my CA friends who may have forgotten what a rainy day looks like! There's definitely no drought in store for the Houston Rainforest!

So, Ellie has started to request the rain songs when it rains. You know the list, I'm sure...

"It's raining it's pouring..."

"Rain, rain, go away..."

"I'm only happy when it rains..."

"Rain drops keep falling on my head..."

etc.

Ellie's Pool

We had a great first week in Texas visiting with friends and family! Ellie didn't have one day where she didn't have a playmate! We got a new pool for her, and she seems to enjoy it! We don't even have to warm up the water here! In CA, the water was often too cold for the kids to swim in if it all came straight from the hose!!

Happy Hollow Park and Zoo with Dad

We all went to Happy Hollow Park and Zoo after Ellie's first haircut! She had a lot of fun, and Chris enjoyed visiting a place that Ellie and I love to go. She had a great time on the carousel!

She rode on the cars for the first time. She enjoyed the first few minutes, but they had to stop the ride early because she got really scared and was trying to get out! The cars were going around in their very slow circle path, and Ellie was smiling and turning the wheel. For a minute, I thought, "That's really great that she's not scared anymore. Look how much fun she is having." But then all of the sudden she got scared. She kept passing us by, buckled in her car, jumping up and down, and holding out her arms as he car approached us. We watched from the fence, telling her she was fine and to keep her hands in the car! They stopped the ride, she got off and later said she had "fun" on the cars!