More pics!!!

Here are a few more pics from May/June that we've been up to! Zachary went to the Komen Race for the Cure with me the 1st weekend of June. My mom is a 5 year breast cancer survivor. During the walk, we ran into Ronald McDonald, so here is a pic with him! Zachary just stared at him - pretty funny. :)

Here is Zachary in the flamingo glasses and his Komen onesie that I made for him. He was a hit out there and everyone took his picture. These glasses are given to the survivors, so we had to put them on Zachary too!!! What a good sport he is. :)

Here is Les, Zachary and I at the Honey Grove Rodeo - I think this was the last weekend of May. We had a good time and Zachary was VERY observant for a good hour. He sat in my lap facing out and just looked around at EVERYTHING!!! He stayed awake for the whole rodeo and decided that he would eat his last bottle of the day during the bull-riding. He didn't fall asleep until after the rodeo and during the band.

Here is Zachary at the lake for trip #2. I bought him sunglasses to help protect his eyes - he looks so cute! He's not the fondest of his sunglasses, but he'll get used to them. :)

Here is a close-up picture of Zachary in his life jacket and blue sunglasses. Gosh, he's so cute! He has been so good with everything that we have taken him to do. He definitely doesn't want to miss out on any of the action, so, he'll stay awake; then take a nap when it's over.

Hope you enjoy all the pics!!!

Pic Update!!!

Here are a few things that we've been up to the last month or so!! Enjoy!!!!!!

This picture was taken on his 3 month birthday!!

Here is Christopher and Zachary. The 3 of us were at a party at the lake - we had a good time! We had fried chicken and all the fixins. :)

I think this is a really cute picture of Zachary and his daddy. They were not posing and just looking at me and I said," wait, let me grab my pic!!!"

Here is another picture of Zachary that was taken on his 3 month birthday!

Here is Zachary in his bumbo for the 1st time!!! My boy is getting so big!!

Here is Zachary in his bouncer for the 1st time. He looked so cute and just stared at this little sunshine that is bright and smiley!!

3 months today!!!

Our big boy is 3 months old today! On Monday, he weighed 12 lbs 1.6 ounces. I am not sure how long he was, but I know that he's getting big!!

He is down for a nap right now and before he went to sleep - I took some pictures of him with his 3 month old sign. :) I kept trying to get him to smile while I held the camera, but that was not successful. LOL As soon as I would turn the camera off and put it down and start playing and talking with him; then he would start to smile again. Crazy kid!!!!! I'll download the pictures that are currently on my camera b/c we've been very busy lately.

Things that we have been doing with Zachary:

• Rodeo in Honey Grove; which he LOVED!
• Met a few girlfriends for dinner at the Shops of Legacy
• 2nd boat trip with us, grammy, and poppy
• Komen Race for the Cure
• Sitting in a bumbo
• Trying to play in a bouncer

As you can tell, Zachary has been a very busy boy - he's such a big sport!!! Today we were going to go to a pool party, but it was moved inside. I ended up not being able to go b/c I got off work later than I had planned, but since we weren't swimming; then that was okay. I wish we could have gone to play with the other kids, but there is always next week's activity. We're going to be making Father's Day cards next week, so that will be fun!!! ;) I don't know how much Zachary will be able to color, glue, decorate, but we'll have fun doing it together and hopefully take some pictures along the way too. hahahahaha

Other news on the front - I started back to work yesterday. It's an adjustment, but overall, it'll be great once I get back in the swing of things. I am going to be working some in the office and some at home. I am excited b/c it's nice to stretch my brain again!! :)

I will try to upload the pictures this evening!!! :)

Kodi Update - 11 wks old now!

Kodi update! I believe that Kodi is now 11 wks old. I think that Zachary is 12 wks, so that would make her 11 wks........hahaha

Here is the day that we got her - she was 7 wks old in this picture - here is daddy and Kodi.
Here is Kodi and I at 7 wks - the same day as the picture above.
Okay, now the picture below is pretty funny. We had a kitten who was misplaced from her mother for a few days. I fed the kitty and Kodi enjoyed playing (tossing about, carrying her around, etc) with the kitty. The kitty wanted to play and that was the funny part. The kitten wouldn't let me touch her, but when I brought Kodi over to her, she immediately warmed up to Kodi and I. She followed me around like I was her mommy for 2 days or so. It was pretty funny!!!! Good news though, the kitty found her siblings and mommy! :)

Here is Kodi last week - you can see how big she's getting. We keep her during the day outside when it's nice. We have a stake that she's attached to and she just sits outside enjoying the weather. She's really becoming a very sweet dog!

Here is another picture of Kodi - Les put her in Zachary's swing and swung her. She wasn't quite sure what to think of it, but she just sat there and swung away for a few minutes. Then she figured out how to get out......hahahaha

Overall, Kodi is doing great! She's almost house-broken; which is great. She hasn't peed in her cage at night for several days now! When we get her up in the morning - she runs outside and pees like a good girl. Today I worked with her for a little while on sit. I couldn't wait to show Les when he got home her new trick. She's got it and it's so exciting!!! She's a smart girl and is eager to learn. We were also working on teaching her that her cage is her "home." We're going to start working on down next. She's getting it just a little bit - I worked with her for a few minutes this evening with that. She's very sweet and I'm glad that we have her - she's made a great addition to our family.

She doesn't replace our Kodiak, but she's been fun having her in the family. Her and Les, as I type, are running after each other through the house. She gets her own time with us both once Zachary goes down around 9 - 9:30 PM. Well, I'm going to head to bed now or at least get ready.

Goodnight everyone!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Praise the Lord!!!!!!

Here is our little angel sleeping tonight after his doctor appt; which turned out to have great news for us!!!


Today Zachary weighted 11 lbs and 5 ounces. He had his arm stuck and they drew about 5 cc's of blood. When the doc came in to see us, she was so excited to tell us that he was making his own red blood cells. He had not even gone down 1 point in 2 weeks and before he was making his own - he would drop at least 1 point a week, so he is improving significantly!!! They don't think that he will need anymore blood transfusions, so that was an answer to prayer. I give the Lord complete praise for this! The docs said that Zachary would start making his own red blood cells between 8 - 12 weeks and Zachary actually started making his own betwen 7 - 8 wks. They didn't want to do the 3rd transfusion, but he was just a little lower than they wanted.

Here is Zachary with his new toy from his cousins, the triplets!! He LOVES this toy and will really move his arms and legs around out of excitement. He loves the ball that is attached to it the most. I also clipped a frog onto it too and he loves that frog too. He'll always grab for it. :) Thank you, Craig and Amy, for giving me this new toy - I really am enjoying it.

Here is Zachary a few days ago just chilling out. He had been smiling, but I can't seem to catch him smiling on camera. He is smiling a ton the last few weeks and it is so much fun to see him smile. He just totally melts my heart!!!!

Here is a picture of him today just chilling out. He had been playing and I wanted to get a good picture of him. He had been looking at me right before I took the picture, but then he looked away at the last moment. I took about 4-5 pictures and he looked away almost every single picture...........hahahaha

Have a great week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1st Boat Trip!

We took Zachary out on the boat for the 1st time this past Monday. We got him his very own lifejacket that is made for infants. He did GREAT on the boat!!!

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!



Here is daddy in the back of the boat fishing. We ended up with 3 catfish. :)

Here is Zachary resting, but right after this picture he wanted his bottle to finish his dinner.










































Here is Zachary after his bottle and he was OUT! He slept basically the whole time while we were out on the water; which was about 2 - 2 1/2 hours, I think.

Here is Zachary and I while he was finishing his bottle.

ABC's of ME!!!

A - Age: 29
B - Bed size: Full
C - Chore you HATE: I would probably say dusting & cleaning the dog cage.
D - Dog's name: Kodi (she's 9 wks old today) & Bear
E - Essential start your day item: I would say breakfast - it gets me energized and ready to go, but I eat after I have fed the dog; then fed Zachary.
F - Favorite Color: Purple
G- Gold or Silver: Silver
H - Height: 5' 5" (almost 5'6")
I - Instrument: none, but I almost played the clarinet
J - Job Title: Mommy & Project Coordinator
K- Kids: 1 - he's 2 months old
L - Living Arrangements: Husband, baby, and 2 dogs
M - Mom's Name: Marsha
N - Nicknames: Kim, KK, etc
O - Overnight Stay at the Hospital other than when you where born: 6 nights when trying to have Zachary and after Zachary was born.
P- Pet Peeves: Many
Q- Quotes you like: I have several and can't think of either of them at the moment.....that's sad! hahaa
R- Right or Left handed: South-Paw
S- Siblings: 1 brother
T- Time you wake up for real: oh gosh, somewhere between 6:30 - 7 AM, but that's not including when Zachary wakes Les up for the EARLY morning feeding; which is usually around 4:30 AM or so. ;)
U- Underwear: comfy ones lol ( agree with you on that Beth!)
V- Vegetable you dislike: beets
W- Ways you run late: trying to feed Z, get him ready, get myself fed, and get me ready
X - X-rays you've had: Knee, shoulder, leg, ankle, etc. I'm sure there are others
Y- Yummy food you make: I think that I am a good cook!
Z- Zoo favorite: Tigers, Penguins

Excercise Anyone?!

Okay, so I totally want to do something similar to StrollerStrides, but I don't want to pay the $50 monthly rate. I was wondering if anyone would be interested in walking with me around different places around Allen. Allen is a growing city with alot of places to explore and I don't want to do it alone. Some places in Allen that we could walk is:
*Watters Creek (not sure of the name, but at Bethany/75)
*Allen Celebration Park (Malone/Angel)
*Historial dam near Exchange/75
*Various trails around Allen

Anyways, those are just a few suggestions, but I am hoping to find someone or many someone's (LOL) who would like to join me.

You can e-mail me or leave me a comment if you would like to do this with me!!! We can even try places in Plano & McKinney. I get bored with the same location over and over, so let's be creative and get fit!!! Also, anyone interested in going skating with me on Thursday mornings at Thunderbird Skating Rink in Plano - they have a stroller time for parents. It costs $4.00 from 9 - 12.

2 months old!!!

UPDATE:
Zachary received 3 shots today and is not in the best humor, but he's sleeping it off.
He weighed 10 1/2 lbs and is 22 inches long. My boy is getting so big!!!

I can't believe it - my baby is now 2 months old as of this morning at 12:03 AM. ;) Today he has his 2 month check-up at the doctor's office and I know that he is not going to be a very happy baby after he gets his shots. I'll update later with his stats, so stay tuned for an update.



Here are a few pictures of him:

This picture was taken just a few minutes ago, so here he is!!!

Here he is a few days ago having tummy time. He's doing great with holding his head up.

Zachary and I were playing on the floor; here he is just laying there after playing. :)

Here Zachary is smiling - you know, it's hard to get a snapshot of him smiling!!!! LOL

Here is daddy and Zachary with matching outfits - they're so cute!!!!

Twitter

hmmmmmmmmm.................okay, so I had to sign-up for twitter b/c I have heard so much about it and know NOTHING about it. There is even a commercial about it and how it talks about how 20% or something like that of people don't even know what twittering means, so I had to jump on the bandwagon and join. So, here I joined this afternoon and don't know a dern thing. I guess that I'll have to play with it for a while, but right now, nope, not going to play. I think that I'll take our puppy outside and play with her while my boys are napping. :)

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I cannot believe that I am a mother for this year's mother's day. I know this time last year we were just beginning to start trying to have a baby. Now, we have a baby who will be 2 months old tomorrow - WOW!!! I just love life with Zachary. Even though I don't have as much free time now; that's fine b/c he is totally worth it. Zachary is a good sport and will go along with whatever I want to do..........LOL I need to take advantage of that right now b/c when he's older he won't want to do as much. :)

Today we went to church and Sunday school; then we ate lunch with my side of the family and now we're home relaxing. Zachary and Kodi each got me a Mother's Day Card and had them "hidden" in their beds. It was very sweet of their daddy to help them each pick out a card. ;) I think that we're going to go and work on the shed later, so I am going to go and get off this computer and rest for a little while.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UPDATE from post below:

The doctor came in this morning and said that Zachary is beginning to make his own red blood cells, not much yet, but she could definitely see them in there. They are hoping that this will be the last transfusion, but maybe 1 more. Dr. Cavalier was SOOO happy to see the retics in there and they looked good. He hadn't broken down the red blood cells as quickly this round and his count was 7.3. Go Zachary Go!

Thank you, God, for taking care of my baby and helping his body to start making these red blood cells. We continue to place our baby in Your hands.

I will leave you with a video from him playing with his rattle the other day. :)

Prayers Needed Today

I have appreciated all the prayers that have been lifted up for Zachary and for us too. THANK YOU!!! Today is Zachary's 3rd blood transfusion and hopefully his last. He has done so well with the last 2 and I pray that today goes just as well. He's definitely been a little trooper through the whole ordeal and I hope that it will be over for him very soon. I think that he knows when he's about to get his blood drawn b/c he starts crying when they go to grab his arm.

I hope that today won't be as long as the others b/c it normally takes 6 hours for the transfusion to be done; which definitely makes for a long time!!

Good news on the homefront...........tomorrow we're getting our puppy. Here is a picture of her from 2 wks ago when we first saw her. We have decided to name her Kodi Marie. Our beloved Kodiak's daddy fathered another litter of puppies. The owners called me and told me that there was a large long-haired female and wondered if we would like to have her. I immediately called Les and begged him (well, it actually didn't take much begging ;) ). So, we went over there a few days later to see her and meet her. She was 5 wks old at that time and now she is around 7 wks old. She was born on March 17th (Zachary's due date according to how much he was measuring). So, we're about to be VERY busy with an 8 wk old baby boy and 7 wk old puppy.

Relay for Life

This is our 2nd annual Relay for Life. My mom is a 2x cancer survivor (uterine and breast). She has been cancer free from uterine cancer for almost 10 yrs and cancer free from breast cancer for 5 yrs. God has been so good to take care of her during the various surgeries and treatments. My dad and I helped to take care of her through both of them. We love you, mom and so glad that God has blessed us with you for this much longer!!!!!


I made Zachary a onesie for him to wear for the walk. The front said," Relay for Life." There was a pink breast cancer ribbon on the front too. On the back it said," My Grammy is #1." This is the picture of me giving it to my mom - she teared up.

Here is the Chick-fil-a chicken and Zachary is just looking up at him and doesn't seem to be too scared. Of course, he probably can't quite tell what he is looking at either.......LOL

Here is a picture of Les, Zachary and I. I have a purple sash thing on that says," Caregiver" since I helped take care of my mom. This was after the caregiver lap with their survivors. It is such a meaning time and always makes me tear up b/c I know that I am blessed to still have my mom here.

Here is Zachary and his grammy. She wanted a picture with his onesie on him. He had a lot of fun at the walk and really enjoyed his time there. He stayed awake for the whole thing and then he CRASHED once we were leaving. I guess he knew it was over and he didn't want to miss anything; which I can't blame him for that!!! We were there for over 4 hours and I was surprised that he lasted the entire time. What a trooper he is!!

Pictures!!!

Here is Zachary's first fishing trip - he looks so excited, right?! He even has his little fishing hat on too. :)



Here he is after about 30 seconds after being hooked into his car seat - he was out! He was getting tired when I buckled him in and didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

Here is him in the bath tub last night. You can see his little belly that he is getting!!! He's so darn cute, but of course he's mine. ;)

Here is my best friend and I. She's the one who is getting married this weekend. Yay for Julie!

Here is daddy and Zachary playing on the floor last night. Les was telling Zachary that the bear was going to get his feet..........LOL

Pooping and Peeing

Oh my gosh, today was so funny. When I was feeding him earlier today I knew that he had pooped in his pants. So, after he finished eating; which was a few minutes later; then I put him in his swing for about 15 - 20 minutes to give him a chance to finish pooping. Well, I came back in and was holding him and thought that he was done, so I proceeded to change his diaper. Well, I had gotten the other diaper almost off and was wiping off his bottom when all of a sudden he started pushing again and next thing I knew there was poopy all over him again. Not only did he have poopy every where, but then he started peeing at about the same time and he got me!!! hahahaha I started laughing and was like," oh well!" So, I finished changing him and changed his clothes. Who would have thought that 15 - 20 minutes wouldn't have been long enough.......LOL

Tomorrow we're leaving for Austin for my best friends' wedding. She is getting married at Villa Antonia.

I have some recent shots of Zachary on my camera and now I need to get them on my computer before I leave. That way I make sure to have PLENTY of room for wedding, bachelorette party, lingerie party, sightseeing, etc.

If I get a chance before I go to bed tonight to do that; then I will try to post a few pics of Zachary.

Update!!!!

Today after my 6 wk check-up we went over to Zachary's pediatricans office to let them see them. Background - Zachary's pedi was MY pedi and my mom was his head nurse many years ago, so we know him and several office staff ladies very well. Anyways, while we were there they decided to weigh him to see how much he has grown. I put earlier today that I thought Zachary was weighing in at about 8 1/2 lbs, well, I was wrong, he weighs 9 1/2 lbs with is onesie on!!!!!!!!!!! Gosh our boy is getting big!! :) He has gained about 4 lbs from what he had dropped to after birth. The lowest he got to was 5 lbs and 8.2 ounces. He sure has come along way and he is currently going through a grow spurt and eating a lot!!!!!!

We have a new addition joining our family in about 2 weeks or less - I will post pictures later or you can get a sneak peek on my mom's blog at www.marshaminutes.blogspot.com.

Happy Weekend!!!

6 wks old!!!!!!!

Here are some pics that I took the other day - Zachary is now 6 wks old and loving life!! LOL He is starting to smile; which is just the cutest thing. He is weighing in at over 8 1/2 lbs and about 21 inches long (I did my best measuring him). He enjoys long walks with his mommy and daddy and playing in his swing.

Have a great day!!!

I'm sorry for the delay in posting, pictures, etc. I am working on a schedule and he seems to be taking to it pretty well. We have been only working on it though for about 2 days. He is sleeping right now and I am going to go and wake him up in 10 minutes. Poor little guy had a rough day. He went in for his blood work this morning and they stuck him in the arm and his blood clotted, so they had to stick him in the heal. He was so brave and did very well.

Zachary is now weighing in at about 8 1/2 lbs and thriving!!!!!!!! I can't believe how he is fattening up so nicely. :) I haven't taken any recent pictures, but after he eats his dinner and we're having our playtime; then I will do my best to take some pictures. :)

Know that I have NOT forgotten you all and I will post a picture when I get a chance.

Update

Hey Everyone,

It has been quite a while since I posted anything, but I have definitely had my hands full for a while.

Let's see, Zachary has turned 1 month old and that was exciting! He weighs in at around 8 lbs now. He has had his 1st transfusion and is in the process of having his 2nd transfusion today. He has been such a trooper and does so well!!!! He has a great temperament - he eats well, sleeps well, and pees and poops VERY well. The doctors are 99% sure that Zachary has this rare thalassemia trait (passed from his dad). It runs in the family on Les' side, but everything should be just fine once he starts making his own adult red blood cells; which could be a few more months. We were asking the doctor today how rare this particular trait is that he has and she said that she has never seen it before and more than likely will never see it again in her lifetime.

I wanted to let you know that you could also keep up with what is going on from my mom's blog at www.marshaminutes.blogspot.com or you can link to it from the right side of my blog where I have a list of blogs and it's called Grammy's Blog. I hope to put up some new pictures of him (they're on my camera), but I just haven't had time.

We appreciate all the prayers and know that I feel them. It is an emotional time for me, but I am doing good with the support of both my family and Les' family too.

We love y'all!!!!

Praise the Lord!

Here is a cute picture of Les and Zachary!!

Here is Grammy and Zachary - I think this was taken before his 1st bath at home.

I received a call a few hours ago from one of Zachary's neonatologist, Dr. Powell. She had exciting news to tell us! She received his newborn screening blood results back that are required by the state of Texas. The blood work tests for like 25 or so diseases and blood disorders. Zachary's results came back all negative; which is great news! She said," well, he doesn't have any of the scary things." I was very relieved to get the call as was Les.

Zachary is currently sleeping and doing really well. He has been sleeping very well, nursing well, and definitely peeing and pooping.........LOL I just love my little boy and I am really glad to be his mommy. Les is really learning a TON about taking care of babies and he is SOOO cute when he has Zachary all cuddled up to him on his chest.

I want to say THANK YOU to my mom who has been a huge help to me the last week. I don't know how I would have survived the first week at home without her. Mom, you'll never know how much you have meant to me - thank you for taking your time and spending it with us. :) I love you, mom!!!!!!!!!!

Pictures of Zachary

Hello Everyone, Boy has it been a busy week and a half. :) My sister-in-law, Jill (http://www.jc-originals.blogspot.com/) came over on Wednesday when Zachary was 1 week old. He did so well, but like she said, he definitely made us work for the shots. :) LOL I think the pictures turned out awesome and couldn't be any happier with them. Please make sure to check out her blog to see the great work that she does.

Jill, THANK YOU for the awesome shots - we can't wait to see all of them when you're done. :)

Here is Les holding Zachary against his chest - so sweet!

Here is Zachary and mommy - so adorable!!

Here is a stuffed doggie of what we used to have, her name was Kodiak. We said that this picture looks like Kodiak is watching over Zachary. In case you don't know, we had to make the hardest decision back on December 26th to put her to sleep. She was going to be 5 yrs old on Valentine's day. We still love you, Kodiak, and will never forget you!!! :)

Here is Zachary sound asleep in a hat that Jill made for Zachary. He looks great in blue - definitely his color!! haha

Here is our perfect little angel sleeping soundly - he looks so angelic!

Zachary, we love you and can't wait to show you this giant world that we live in.
You're the apple of our eyes.

Introducing.............

Mr. Zachary Dwayne Cornelius!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zachary weighed 6 lbs and 2 ounces. He was 19 inches long. I ended up having a C-section on March 11, 2009 at 12:03 AM. We had a long 2 days before he got here, but he seems to have done well through it all. He did end up in the NICU on Wednesday because he went jaundice a little too quickly for babies who are only about 12 hours or so old. They were concernd about him, so they sent him from the newborn nursery to the NICU. It was rather scary, but he spent a few days there and did very well. They weren't going to feed him any formula just in case he needed a blood transfer. Well, at midnight, he would not stop screaming. They tried several things, but in the end he insisted on being fed. He has been feeding well ever since. I have been nursing him and he has been responding to that very well. This morning he came in from the nursery and he fed VERY well. I was very glad about that. He fell asleep in his daddy's arms and is now happily sleeping in his grammy's arms. :)

I hope to put more pictures up, but I have been very tired with everything going on. I am healing very well and trying to rest up too. I will try to post again soon!!

We all appreciate your prayers - they are truly working and we can see God working among us.

Zachary, we love you so much!!!!

What do YOU think?!

Okay, I completely forgot that I was going to do this!!!!!!!!! I said in one of my other blogs that I wanted to see what YOUR predictions were of when Baby C would arrive.

When I was e-mailing with my SIL, Amy, this morning, she told me her prediction of Baby C's due date. Then I thought," wait - I didn't do that blog that I wanted!"

So, this is your chance to make predictions and I will attempt to update this blog with your predictions, but NO PROMISES!!!!! hahahaha

My Prediction - March 10th (originally I put March 8th, but pushed it back a few days)

Les - March 7th

Amy - March 9th

Julie - March 5th

Christy - March 10th (originally she put the 7th)

Sarah - March 6th

Becky - March 3rd

Dori - March 9th

My mom, Marsha - March 9th

Kim - March 12th

Ailsha - March 20th

Terrie - March 17th

Marcy - March 13th (that's what you said, right?!) :)

Till later......................................:)


UPDATE #1:
Here is the latest picture of me - I don't have any make-up on, so just pay attention to the belly.......LOL

UPDATE #2:
My appt went great and I am very glad for that! She said that the bed rest is helping and she thinks that he'll hold put for possibly a few more weeks, but we'll just have to wait and see. My cervix is soft and if she said that if she did have to induce; then she thinks that I wouldn't have to have a c-section. She is keeping me on bed rest b/c he is staying in like she wants and my blood pressure is down and week #2 with no protein in my urine. YAY!!! She can tell that I've been doing like I am supposed to and she's happy with that. She did the litmus test today to make sure that I am not leaking any amniotic fluid and I would have to say that that is not the most comfortable thing - it actually hurt for a few seconds. My lower back is achey right now and a few mild cramps, but otherwise, I am doing good. I am glad to know that he will more than likely stay cooking in there a while longer, but I think that I might only change my estimations by a few days. :)