Happy 59th Anniversary!

To my sweet Grandma & Papa!!!

We love you & miss you from South Asia!

Happy Anniversary!

to Nana & Tata!

We love y'all and are so glad you got married all those years ago...

Happy Birthday Brad!

We love you very much and are so thankful for you in our lives...

as an amazing husband & father!
Plus... you make 32 look sooooo good :)

Happy Happy Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Tata!

We love you & miss you! 

We hope you birthday is rockin'!!!

On the slide

our big girl!

day trip to the local pool :)

our sweet Big Girl relaxing poolside

Daddy swimming alone for a quick minute!

(he is under the hat)

Cuteness I can't resist

BG enjoying pasta & sauce at Nana's house last month

us

Us from a wedding we attended yesterday!

(Baby Girl may have been more popular than the bride!)

Skypin'

With Nana & Grand-dad in AR :)

Baby Girl's 7th Month Photo Shoot

September 10th, 2013

Better late than never right?

Family

Thanks Nana & Grand-dad!!!!

Highlights as of late...

First....

package just for our Baby Girl!

Thank you so much Nana, Great Grandma & Great Aunt Shell!!!!

Beautiful 2 Months

April 10th, 2013

My sweet baby girl,    

Happy 2 month birthday!  You are growing into such a fun, sweet, beautiful girl!  Everyday we are praising the Lord that we are so blessed to get to be your parents!   

You are growing and eating all the time but your stats are as follows...

You eat all the time :)  You are one who enjoys fine dining & taking your time.  You like to nurse for an hour or more... but still would like to do so longer!  Currently you are nursing, enjoying expressed breast milk or formula.... depending on the moment... but nursing is everybody's favorite!  

You are growing out of the last few "NewBaby" diapers & small in size diapers but soon you will be sporting cloth diapers when we are at home!  

Most all of your clothes are now 0-3month size, there are very few newborn pieces that you can wear, but it seems that everyday now we are putting that size aside to wait for your future little brother/sister.

Up till a week ago you were sleeping through the night, from about 11pm or 12am to 7-9am.  But ever since we went to your first pediatrician appointment you no longer sleep through.  Since then you go down between 10:30-12am and sleep till about 5am.  You then get some freshly expressed milk and go back to sleep until 8-10am!  You love to eat & sleep... just like your Daddy!

At your appointment last week you were weighting in at 3.85 kgs and 54 cm long!  But you Daddy loves weighting and measuring you so you are now weighing in at 4.3 kgs!

This month has been fun for so many reasons... mainly that you got to spend it with your Nana & Grand-dad!  They are your Daddy's parents who live in Arkansas.  They came just to see you & love on you while they were here!  We had a very sweet time with them... Nana just about never left your side & while Grand-dad kept his camera always at his side incase you needed your picture taken at the spur of the moment :)   

While they were visiting you started noticing your toys more & playing with them, turning on your side and even smiling at us!  You love your bath time... just relaxing and kicking in the water most always makes you happy!  This month you also got to cook with Mommy & Nana in the kitchen for the first time & even went to the pool!  True... you didn't actually swim but you kept Nana company pool-side distracting all the hotel staff with your cuteness!

We love you sweet girl and are so very blessed to be your parents!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy                       

Baby Baby

Baby Girl- born February 10th, 2013

        Daddy- born July 17th, 1982                 Mommy- born August 27th, 1982

Our Birth Story

February 10th, 2013

Our lives changed forever... in the amazing sort of way :)

Here is our story:

(which is more of a record for us)

February 9th, Saturday, we made our way to our BigCity, since Brad was flying to Thailand for a meeting that very night.  We were planning to make our move there on Monday but just the week before he got invited to a meeting... anyhow...

I wake Saturday morning happy, dancing, & singing.  Which was a bit odd... since I had been so exhausted cleaning & prepping our home for us to be gone for a month to return with BabyB.  But, none the less, i felt great & we had a great trip to the BigCity.  Followed by lunch with friends & our first ever "Baby Class".  Which happened to be on labor & delivery (Thank God!).

That evening I was irrationally upset that Brad was leaving to Thailand.  He offered to stay but I told him to go, knowing that this meeting was very important.   The following morning about 6am I receive a text from him, telling me that he is safe & sound in Thailand & was actually able to get an earlier flight into his final destination!  :)  

I return to sleep only to be awoke 2 hours later by the gush of water that was unlike anything I had previously experienced!  

Hello!  My water broke!

My mind starts running...

Brad is in Thailand.

I am alone in our friend's apartment.

My water just broke!?!?

I am not packed for the hospital.

Brad is in Thailand.

Our birth plan was a figment of my imagination, planned to become reality during the following week.

I am not ready.

Brad is in Thailand.

My water just broke?!?!

Once I send Brad the, "call me asap" text I call two of our friends in our BigCity, both of whom happen to be American nurses (Praise GOD!).  Since BabyB's birth date was originally March 8th, I was defiantly given 100 questions... but it was a fact.  Baby was not coming on our timeline & was on his/her way.

After connecting with Brad we were able to Skype about what was happening & his plans to return.  The only bummer (beside that he was in Thailand), was that there is only one flight a day to our BigCity from Bangkok.  So no matter how fast he got to the airport he could only get back to me on that flight, which lands about 12:30am every morning.

By 10 or 11am both of our friends & one of their families had come to help me & get me to the hospital. I am checked out and admitted... with nothing happening.  Well... of course things were happening.  My water had broke & I was having the easy-going cramp like contractions every 4 or 5 minutes... but my body had not told my cervix that anything was happening... zero activity there!

Brad is told, "No worries, you will be back in plenty of time."

I am admitted things gradually increase in intensity... but I am still not expecting much.  I am checked again around 2pm and low & behold am somewhere between 2 & 3 centimeters dilated.  

Progress = Good!

By 4pm things had changed.

Not in a bad way.  I am in labor, i am experiencing the pain of contractions.  This is know... but the day before in our "Baby Class" I learned how you get "breaks" in between your contractions to rest.  I wasn't getting those resting breaks.  I had, in several ways, hit the "I can't do this." wall.  

During this time, Brad is on the phone, waiting for his flight, with our friend in the waiting area... and is told, "Just kidding, your not gonna make it in time for the birth."

I ask for an epidural. 

That was an experience in itself.  Just before the epidural I started having those "My body is pushing on it's own." type of contractions, even though I knew i shouldn't be pushing at that point.  

Somewhere during this timeframe I am checked again by the doctor on call...

nearing in on 7 centimeters dilated.  

So as soon as the epidural was finished we waited.  I waited for the relief.  They waited for me to change.  But... it didn't take.  Some relief but not a ton. Then before I know it... I walked, after receiving an epidural, to the wheelchair as I was taken to the delivery room around 5pm.

There are a lot of blurry memories in this time frame.  

They prep me for delivery... as my one of my nurse friends insisted she would be my "acting husband" until Brad arrived.  Especially since they kept trying to make her leave!  Praise the Lord she didn't budge from my side :)

The contractions keep coming.  Sometime I was then told to start pushing!  Which I have heard is the best part... well I can't say that, but I pushed anyway!

I pushed... and pushed... and pushed...

Then... I am told the baby has crowned but isn't making enough progress forward.

So I pushed harder (was that possible?)...

Then I am told... the baby's heart rate has dropped.  

"Push Krystal and I am taking her." says my doctor.

Then... I pushed again and our sweet Baby was pulled at the same moment from my body. 

Whoa.

6:23pm

A small purple fresh baby is laid upon me...

purple because the babe was not breathing.  All of my focus shifts... was he/she okay?  

It was several minutes before I even knew who the babe was... everything changed.  

It took 5 rescue breaths & a bit of work for my baby to breath.  Then finally cry.

Finally I am told we have a Baby Girl and once she is cleaned up & breathing on her own 

she is laid on my chest!  

Oh my!  Our Baby Girl!!!

Thankfully... Brad was on Skype with my friend & was able to see her... even before me!

                  

After a bit we are finally released to our room so that I could calm down & cool down (it was seriously 95 degrees in the delivery room, on purpose!) and got to really be with our Baby Girl.

The wonderful ladies in the orange & brown are my nurse friends... both of whom God used in amazing ways that day!

Since Baby Girl decide to come almost a month early she needed help breathing so after only 1 1/2 hours with her she was moved to the NICU.   After 3 or 4 more hours Brad arrives!  And we made our way to the NICU for him to meet our Baby Girl!

The days following our Baby Girl's birth were tough... 

days in & out of the NICU... 

 a several days in & out of the hospital.

Our first picture as a family of three :)

But finally we were released with everybody in good health and made our way back to our friend's apartment.

A KY Shower of Blessings!

With us and my sweet sister & brother-in-law also expecting her first child we were blessed to attend, via Skype, our very first baby shower this weekend!  

Goodness.... we are so thankful for Skype!

Tiff working on baby Olivia's gifts!

Since we were there via computer screen my grandmothers stepped in to help with the opening of BabyB's goodies!

An amazing personalized gift from my Aunt Shell!

Another amazing one... BabyB's handmade quilt from his/her Aunt Tiffany!

Two of my sweet grandparents & other friends who we got to see!

It was so good to get to see some of the folks we haven't got to see in a year!

We really were blessed!

Hopefully soon I will get to share some pics with all of us together & bump comparisons!  Ha!

Thank you to all of our friends & family who made this special time possible for us, for my sister & 

our Little One's... who are soon on their way!!!

Favs from Thailand

Sunrise

Busy tiny crabs

the bump :)

Brad... gearing up to kayak

us :)

Brad headed to the islands

Brad's first-ever massage!

(I promise he was happy & smiling I just missed the picture :)

Right next to the ocean!