Frosty Christmas

Despite the fact that the house looks like a toy factory exploded (what will we do with TWO boys' gifts?), we had a lovely last Christmas as a family of three.

We continued our Christmas Eve tradition of going to church, although Miles refused to enter the sanctuary for a good 10 minutes until Pastor Mitch gave him a pep talk. He sat well through the children's sermon, but he got shipped off to the nursery before they broke out the fire for the candle-lighting. He's been rather two-year-old-ish lately. Not necessarily naughty, just rambunctious and only wants to do what he wants to, on his own time table. He can put on a deceptive disguise sometimes though:

On Christmas morning, Miles slept until a reasonable hour, thanks to his new alarm clock (thanks Aunt Kat!). Seriously, out of all the gifts he got, this was Mommy/Daddy's favorite. It turns green when it's ok for him to get up, and we've been able to get a good 45 minutes extra sleep every morning.

But I digress...you really care about SANTA! We checked the cookies we left out for him, and he ate them all but one little bite! The reindeer left some of their carrots, so Miles decided to feed the rest to Rudolph.



Santa did not disappoint and brought Miles his flute (although tiny and noiseless), just as Miles has been requesting since before Thanksgiving:



Miles has also been really into "big boy" games lately, so he was happy to get Chutes and Ladders and Cars Memory.



I also got Daddy and Miles a really big boy game - a Wii - for Christmas. Miles wasted no time getting the hang of it. His favorite game so far is baseball.



Grammy and Grandpa Ronald came over later that day for Christmas dinner, and, of course, more presents. Miles had lots of fun spending time with them. Unfortunately, the flash blew on our camera. Guess we'll have to wait for the pics from Gpa Ron - he's a much better photographer than I anyway.

And now, your Christmas Day entertainment:

I still haven't scanned in the Santa picture, but here's a blurry cell phone picture from when Miles met him at my work. Not the nice professional one as promised, but it'll do for now:

And a bonus non-Christmas picture. We took a trip the the Rhythm Center last week. Miles enjoyed it after getting over the initial shock. Note to the Percussion Society folks: ya might want to place the gigundo bass drum and gong towards the end of the exhibit...it might mean less little ones running screaming from your establishment. Anyway, Miles on a full drum set:

Happy New Year to everyone!!

Holidays, Birth-days, and Such

[Insert standard excuse verbiage for not updating the blog in XX days.]

A change for this blog entry - lots of pictures, (hopefully) little words. (Well, little for me.)

Thanksgiving at the Kolbs

Rubbermaid Tote fun with Cuz Lyla:

Balcony scene:

Miles also had fun checking out the Lexington Christmas parade, although it was so cold that he and Daddy only made it outside for a few minutes. They still outlasted the girls - we watched the whole thing from inside the restaurant!


Getting Ready for Christmas

Hamming it up for Christmas card pictures (instead of saying "cheese", his favorite phrase is "Ah-cha-cha-cha!"):

Fun making a Gingerbread House with Nana & Papa while Mommy and Daddy are having fun in Chicago:



A little snack before pre-Christmas dinner with Mommy's family:



Presents!

Miles also has really enjoyed seeing Santa (three times so far!). We'll post pics soon (maybe). He surprised us by not being scared at all! We saw him first at my work, and Miles was literally jumping up and down with excitement waiting to see him. He clammed up when it came time to tell Santa what he wanted, but he's been telling us that Santa is going to bring him a flute. He also saw Santa twice at the mall with Nana and Papa.


Baby Cousin is Born!

Gavin Andrew Kahl - 12/20/2010, 6 lbs 11 oz, 20 inches long.

Miles hasn't met Gavin yet, but he was so excited to hear all about him when Mommy and Daddy came home from their visit with him. He asks every couple of hours, "Where's Gavin?"

Baby Coney

For those of you (all two of you?) who haven't already heard via phone, text, word-of-mouth, or Facebook...

It's a BOY!!



Our 20-week ultrasound was yesterday, and all looks great! We have a healthy, laid-back boy on our hands. He wasn't quite as much of an acrobat as his big brother, but he definitely has the flexibility down. There were a couple of times we saw his foot almost up to his face. Here's a fun picture of his arm. At one point, he had one arm way up over his head and another arm sprawled out behind his back. Looks like he inherited his mommy's (non-pregnancy) sleeping position:




The baby is slightly bigger that average already, but, NO, I AM NOT HAVING TWINS. I'm not sure why people don't just use the phrase "You look big as a house already; how can you get any fatter?" instead. Maybe that's the reason I haven't taken any pictures of myself yet this pregnancy.

Big brother Miles came along for the fun and was a really good boy. He really only fussed after we'd be stuck in the tiny exam room for 15 minutes, after having been at the office for over an hour. He liked watching the baby on the TV and kept asking, "Mommy, what are you doing?" When we asked him to share his name choice with the ultrasound technician, he stayed consistent, answering, "Coney." At this point, he seems a little done with talking about his baby brother. Maybe he's saving his excitement for the arrival.

Speaking of arrivals, Baby Coney has a (likely) birth date! We asked the doctor about when she normally does planned C-sections, just trying to get an idea of whether it would be closer to the due date or closer to 39 weeks, so Jason could post a sub position for his leave. She answered by telling us that we could just schedule it! We got the date today - April 4th at Noon. Sorry Aunt Hilary and Uncle David...Miles' poor cousin is due on Christmas Eve, and they still won't let them schedule his birthday yet.

So, stay tuned and check back the evening of April 4 (and hopefully not sooner)!

School Pictures for Sale!

Miles' school has moved away from the pictures with cheesy fake backgrounds and straight into the 21st century. Although they also have 21st century prices, the lady does a pretty good job. Unfortunately, most of Miles' poses look a little, well, just weird. Here's a pretty cute one though:

We haven't decided yet if we are actually going to buy any, but take a look and let us know if you might like some - maybe we can combine packages. Or, you can just order some for yourself right online! Here's how can take a gander at all of them:

• Go to the website.
• Click "Proofing" in the lower right.
• Type the password "celebrate".
• Click "Next" until you see Miles - #62.
• Click on his cute face!
• Check out all of his poses: pensive, goofy, WTF, surprised, cute, droppin' a deuce, all the classics...
• You can order directly from the website or let us know if you want to combine forces. We need to order by November 15. We like the one I posted above or the one directly right of that.

Don't forget to cast a vote for Baby Kahl the Sequel at right! Nothing much is new in Baby's world, except he/she is starting to get a little bit feisty. I think I'm maybe-kinda-sorta starting to feel the baby move. I probably am, but it's light enough that sometimes I'm not quite sure if I felt a flutter or if it's my imagination. I'm sure he/she will be kicking me in the ribs in no time!

SuperKid!

Despite the giant pre-bedtime tantrum we just experienced, we really do have a super kid. (Bad parents - we wouldn't let Miles put on a dirty diaper and clothes back on after his bath.) Here's evidence!




Just a fun everyday example - tonight we were playing with Miles. He said, "I like playing cars with Mommy and Daddy! We're Best Buddies!" Sure, he can sometimes be a typical toddler, but he amazes me at other times with how great he can be.

This past week, Miles woke up in the middle of the night throwing up. He was really in pretty good spirits, other than the fact that he was concerned about getting puke on his sheets (and pillow, and Snuggy Bear, and surrogate Snuggy/bath dino, and blanket x 4, and jammies x 4). When I caught his bug (recovery time = 4 times longer than Miles), he was a very concerned boy and kept asking me, "You OK, Mommy? You're not sick now?"

Even at Halloween, I like to think that my good boy discovered the meaning of, "It's better to give than receive." OK, so he might have just had more fun handing out candy that avoiding scary costumes and pumpkins, but I like to think he's just learning to have a big heart.




Don't get me wrong though - he still loved Trick or Treat once he got the hang of it! We got lots of cute/adorable comments, even after we broke out the hat and mittens.



He made out like a bandit and had to line up all of his candy in a row once we finished. His OCD tendencies aren't too much of a surprise - after all, he was also totally disgusted by the idea of the pumpkin carving once he saw the guts inside it. This is about as close as he ever got to the pumpkin.




In baby news, I had an appointment last week, and all is looking good! Heartbeat was 152 bpm. We got blood test results back, and Jason has the dreaded "M" antigen as expected. No worries though - that just means that we better know what most likely caused this whole scenario. My bloodwork this month was very good, which means no anticipated complications in the near future. The only disappointment out of all of this is that the doc said we didn't need an extra ultrasound. That means we're back to Plan A - big ultrasound on November 22! Vote at right to cast your vote for Baby Boy or Baby Girl!

In the Year 2000 (and Ten)

Miles seems to be adjusting well to the idea of being a big brother. Although he changes his mind occasionally, he seems to think he'll be getting a baby brother. He'll sometimes spout out of nowhere, "My baby brother is coming to my house!" He's great at giving him/her kisses in Mommy's belly, and he even asks to say prayers for the baby at night. Once the baby arrives, I'm sure there will be some challenges, but Miles is taking the idea of sharing with his baby like a champ!

He's also been helpful at giving advice about baby names. We started by asking him about what he thought his baby cousin would be named. He wouldn't answer for a while, until recently, when he definitively determined that baby boy cousin shall be named "Boy". I guess he must have wanted to put in a lot of thought before making his determination. He's taken a slightly more creative bent with his own sibling - he says the baby should be named "Butter" if it's a girl and "Conan" if it's a boy. Yes, he and his friend Butter hang out every morning with her buddy Toast, but I have no idea where he got the idea for Conan. Jason and I are casual fans of Conan O'Brien, but I can't recall a time that we've ever uttered that name in front of Miles. Maybe I watched too many episodes of Late Night while Miles was in utero.

Miles has also been spending some time going to marching band contests this fall. We're so proud of Daddy for his great season this year! He still has one more contest at BOA in a couple of weeks, but we're going to start enjoying a little more time with him starting soon. Miles loves going to marching band contests and pretending to be one of Daddy's big kids. At home, he likes to play color guard with the race flag he got from Grandpa and Granny. Very graceful young man! He also likes to use Daddy's trumpet mute and march around the living room like a good little junior bando. A duet:



And solo!

And serving as the band mascot, with this year's Seniors. Why yes, that is the head of a 40 yard long dragon behind them.

Big Brother

Because it's never official until it hits the internet...Miles is going to be a big brother!

Baby Kahl, the Sequel, is due April 10. We are so pleased (and terrified) to welcome a new member to the family! And now updates on:

The Babe - Baby is doing so well! We've seen his/her picture twice already, once at 8 weeks and again at 11 weeks. He/she was wiggling all over the place already - it never ceases to amaze me how quickly the little bean can become a little person. Heartbeat has been great - in the 150s and 160s. We opted for the earlier first trimester "quadmarker" screening, and the baby did fabulously. Here's my favorite pic from the last ultrasound:





The Mom - Things are much better lately. Just like I experienced with Miles, I never barfed...just felt like I wanted to about 16 hours a day for 3-4 weeks. Luckily, that has mostly passed, and I'm feeling a renewed sense of energy. I passed my 8-week gestational diabetes test, so I've been savoring sweets in moderation until I take another test at 28 weeks. Other than the usual pains here and there, I've been able to sleep relatively well. With Miles, I had strange bits of insomnia, but there's been nothing like that with this baby so far. Does that just mean I'm more exhausted as the parent of a 2-year old, or is there hope that this baby will let me sleep better at night once he/she arrives?

The Dad - Daddy is cool, calm, and collected about taking on the challenge of another little person, but is nevertheless excited about the new arrival. While I tend to freak out a bit about how difficult things are going to be, he's great at reminding me that less-prepared people have managed to raise throngs of children throughout history. He had to take a little bit of the pregnancy pains for the team recently by getting his blood drawn. (Boo hoo.) No, the blood test was not to determine paternity! ;-) The genetic science of the whole thing really put a strain on my mental capacities to understand, but here's the quick lowdown. Jason probably has the "M" antigen in his genetic code (what the test is seeking to find), which I do not have. Miles probably inherited the M from Jason. My blood and Miles' blood likely mixed during childbirth, and my body saw that "M" as a foreign body, so I started making antibodies against it. If the new baby has the "M" (50/50 chance), my antibody may work against it, which could cause some complications. This is all very rare - only a 1 in 15,000 chance that the antibody would be activated in the first place (compared to a 1 in 30 or so chance of getting gestational diabetes, for example). From what little I can find, it's also very rare that complications will develop. In any case, the docs will be keeping a close eye on me and the baby, which means extra ultrasounds (hurray!) and blood tests (boo!).

The Big Brother - Miles acts so proud that he's going to be a big brother! Of course, he doesn't understand most of it yet, but we see glimpses of recognition every once in a while. The other day, he said out of the blue, "My baby brother is coming to my house!" His answer changes, but he seems to be leaning more toward baby brother vs. baby sister lately. We'll be finding that out again, either November 8 or November 22. We're hoping to bring Miles with us to see the baby on the big screen. Occasionally, he'll ask to see my belly. He had some fun tickling the baby the other day. It'll be really fun to see how he reacts as my belly gets bigger!

And now, here are some long overdue pictures of the big brother:

When the helicopter came to visit his school:








Little monkeys jumpin' on the bed with friend Janelle:

So happy to be a Big Brother!