The Kears

36 weeks, We made it!

2012-01-29T15:09:00.001-06:00

36 Weeks!

Wow! We made it to 36 weeks. When we came into the hospital 26 days ago we were just hoping and praying to make 33 weeks, let alone 36. We are so thankful for the prayers and support. We are so blessed that our little girl has gotten to cook as long as she has.

The last 48 hours
The last few days has been OK. Friday night and Saturday morning were pretty quiet. Saturday afternoon things started to get going though. Tara had enough contractions that they had to give her an additional procadia to slow them down. It worked for a little bit. Then Saturday evening they got rolling again. The scary thing was that Emmaline's 'heartbeep' (as Crosby says) slowed when Tara would contract. Sometimes that happens as a fluke, maybe the baby rolled of the cord or something, but it can be a serious problem it persists for very long at all. Our nurse Carol, got serious real quick as soon as she saw the deceleration. They were able to get it back to normal by changing Tara's position an additional procardia to help stop the contractions. They also gave Tara a percocet to take the edge off of the pain, because she was hurting with the strong, intense contractions. It wasn't a fun afternoon and evening for Tara, but eventually it all calmed down and she got some rest. Sunday has been OK so far. Some uterine irritability and a few strong contractions, but nothing too major.

Shifting gears

Nurse Nancy

Since we hit our goal of 36 weeks we are shifting gears. Dr. Weidower got back in town from her ski trip yesterday and we'll see her tomorrow morning. Tara will get her last dose of procardia at midnight tonight, which is preventing her from contracting (well, it is supposed to at least). It will wear off around 6am on Monday. We are pretty confident that Tara will start contracting very regularly tomorrow morning when it wears off. The question will be how long it takes before she starts to progress further and actually move next door to a labor and delivery room.

So we think we'll have a baby Monday or Tuesday, but we'll just have to wait and see what God has in store for us. Would you join me in praying on Monday morning?

35 weeks 5 days

2012-01-27T16:28:00.002-06:00

Tara is getting ever so close to crossing that 36 week mark. She is still doing well. She is riding our daily roller coaster of what each day will bring. For the most part it has been a smooth couple of days. Still staying the course and planning to go off of the meds on Monday.

We've had the blessing of Crosby's visits two days in a row. It is good. I'm not sure if Tara or Crosby looks forward to them more.

Thanks for the prayers and support! Seriously, thank you. Here are a few pics.

35 weeks 3 days

2012-01-25T22:49:00.002-06:00

The last few days have been good. Nothing crazy, but not calm either. Tara is certainly contracting daily and at times they have to give her extra meds to get it to slow down, but we've just conceded it is an annoying and sometimes painful part of life for her the next few days. Tara is stil being a great sport and doing what is best for her baby girl.

We are going to try our very best to make it to Monday for 2 reasons. The first being that it will put us past the 36 week mark. The second being that our OB left Tuesday to go skiing in Colorado and won't be back until this weekend. Yes, the other OB's in her clinic are very good docs, but we would really like to have her deliver Emmaline.

We cannot say enough about the nurses and staff here at Baptist LR 2H. They are wonderful. They know their stuff when it comes to keeping babies cooking and they are just genuinely excellent caregivers. There are several of them that we don't just consider our nurses, but also our friends. We are very blessed.

We'll keep you posted if anything changes. In the mean time remember, no news is good news.

My wife, the barometer

2012-01-23T17:01:00.002-06:00

Tara had a fairly placid weekend, which was a nice break from the excitement of Thursday and Friday. That is it was placid until the storm front rolled through last night around 6pm. Then her barometer went off and she started contracting. Barometric changes are a powerful thing, especially on a uterus that is walking a fine line already.

Long story short she contracted at various intervals from 2 minutes to 9 minutes apart throughout the night...all night long. The poor girl got a little sleep thanks to ambien and additional procardia, but even then she was on the monitors and contracting. Needless to say she is tired and sore today. It has gotten to the point that Tara doesn't even request to get put on the contraction monitors unless she thinks that they are less than 3 minutes apart.

35 weeks!

We got to have another ultrasound today. It was great to get to see little Emmaline. Everything was good. We confirmed for the third time via ultrasound that she is indeed a girl. She measured 5 lbs 13oz. Of course they say that measurement is plus or minus 15 oz. So they are hedging their measurement by 16%. How would you like to have a 16% margin of error in your line of work. I can see it now. Sorry Elder Board, I know our budget was $923,000 but our expenses were $1,070,000 which is within the 16% allotted margin of error. So everything is cool right? What is $147,000 amongst friends?

Anyhow, I digress. We are getting pretty excited about meeting Emmaline soon. The question on our minds is will her hair be blonde or dark? What do you think?

My wife is still taking great care of our little girl and hanging in there. I am so thankful that I'm married to the most amazing woman that I know. Thanks for the prayers and support. Today marked 35 weeks and 1 day for Emmaline and day 21 of the hospital stay.

Today's jailbreak

35 weeks!

2012-01-22T11:44:00.001-06:00

Today marks 35 weeks for Emmaline! We are so thankful to have made it this far. Next Monday, January 30, they will take Tara off of the medications preventing the contractions and let whatever happens happen. So we'll try to make it 8 more days.

34 weeks and 6 days

2012-01-21T08:24:00.002-06:00

I'm going to try my best to not use the phrase 'still cooking' in this post since I think I've used it every post in the last 2 weeks. Tara had a good night last night, despite having had really strong contractions from 3:30-7:00pm early in the evening. They gave her an additional procardia and eventually the slowed down. Her body just really wants to contract, but there was still no further dilation. Marion is up with Tara for the weekend and I'm home with my main man Crosby.

Thanks for all the prayers and support. Hard to believe that tomorrow will be 35 weeks!

34 weeks 5 days and still cooking

2012-01-20T10:38:00.001-06:00

Today we are 34 weeks 5 days and still cooking. We are starting to get excited about the prospect of actually having a baby soon. We can't wait to meet Emmaline. It is a funny thing, with this preterm labor so much of our energy and prayers go into preventing the birth. We've been in the hospital for 17 days now. While we would love to make is 9 more days and hit the 36 week mark we are beginning to actually look forward to having this baby and holding our beautiful Emmaline whenever God decides it it the right time.

All kinds of excitement

2012-01-19T13:26:00.000-06:00

Well we've had all kinds of excitement this morning.

Excitement #1:
If Tara is going to have contractions they will normally get going after 3pm, except they started around 9am this morning. They got to where they were 2 minutes apart and painful. For about an hour we thought we might be heading down the hall to labor and delivery. She earned an extra procardia, drank water like crazy and they eventually started spacing out. By noon they got to about 10 minutes a part and she came off of the monitors. Apparently this is the roller coster that we are going to ride until the baby comes.

Excitement #2:
Some sweet ladies from Fellowship Conway and Jazzercize that couldn't make Tara's skype shower decided to come do a little shower for Tara here in her hospital room. Thankfully the contractions were starting to space out a little to when the ladies showed up. They brought a lot of joy and distraction for the chaos of the morning. Tara felt truly loved on and enjoyed their company.

We'll see how the rest of the day goes...

The last week in pics

2012-01-17T17:51:00.000-06:00

Sage, Dawson, Danner and Tara

34 weeks!

Tara, Jeremy, Neil, and baby on the wall

Playing trucks in mommy's hospital room

Lolly and Pop

Dozzie (before the Saints game on Saturday)

Snuggling

Crosby listening to Emmaline's 'heartbeep'

Kissing sister

This is where Crosby has been gladly sleeping at Dozzie's house. Much more fun and practical than a bed. :)

Still Cooking

2012-01-17T08:58:00.001-06:00

Well Tara was finally able to go to sleep around 11:30pm last night. The contractions finally spaced out enough to let get rest (with the help of an ambien). Dr. Wiedower should be by soon, but the basic game plan is just to stat the course in the hospital, on meds, on bed rest until 36 weeks.

If you haven't seen the pic on the contractions when they were going full force last night look at previous post. Glad we got that junk settled down. No more rocking the uterine boat!

The Experiment at 34 Weeks

2012-01-16T17:49:00.002-06:00

Well since Tara hit the 34 week mark yesterday Dr. Wiedower decided to take her off of the medicine (Procardia) that is preventing her from having contractions to see if Tara could go without it. We did the same thing with Crosby. (http://thekears.blogspot.com/2009/11/more-things-change-more-they-stay-same.html) Tara would have been due for a a procardia at noon, but she didn't get that dose. The first couple of hours were fine. We had a nice visit with Chris Rippy and Lauren Ramoly. Around 3pm Tara started having some contractions, which is when her contractions would normally start getting bad when she was at home.

They hooked Tara up to the monitors to watch/log the contractions. She had some pretty strong and close together contractions ever since 3pm. Dr. Wiedower came by around 5pm to check on things. She checked Tara and much to our surprise she had not dilated any further, despite some pretty intense contractions. After talking through things she decided to put Tara back on the procardia and just continue doing the same thing that we've done for the last 13 days. So looks like she'll just keep hanging out on hospital bedrest with medication until 36 weeks or when Emmaline goets too determined to show up. Now we are just waiting for the 5pm dose of procadia to kick in and get these contractions stopped.

Thanks for the prayers and support. I'll update more in a little bit... hopefully with news that the contractions are completely gone and my bride is resting peacefully.

Let me add that my wife is a real trooper. She hardly ever complains in the midst of this ordeal. She is amazing! She is being a good sport, but is ready for this pill to kick in and stop these contractions.

------
7:40pm UPDATE: The contractions are not completely gone, yet but they are finally getting a little better. Hopefully they will go on a way before it is time for Tara to go to sleep so she can get some rest. She was a good sport this afternoon, but I know it wasn't fun.

In talking to our nurse tonight, it seems that in other parts of the country it is normal to stop tocolytics (anti-contraction medications) at 34 weeks, which is what we tried to do today. It just didn't work for Tara to go without the meds. Pray for a calm uterus and a good night's rest for Tara and Emmaline.

------
8:40pm UPDATE: Well, Tara earned another pill. We thought these contractions were letting up, but the last hour they got cranking really frequent, regular, and strong. The OB gave the order for another procardia.

Join us in praying that these stupid contractions would just stop.

The game plan as of 33 weeks & 4 days

2012-01-12T10:15:00.001-06:00

Dr. Wiedower just stopped by on her morning rounds and we talked about a game plan for the next couple of weeks. Now we say game plan knowing fully that it may all change tomorrow. We would rather have a plan in our heads and adapt, improvise and overcome along the way. If nothing else it helps Tara as she lays in a hospital bed to feel like she knows a little of what will happen.

Tara is 33 weeks and 4 days as of today. On Monday we will be 34 weeks and 1 day. At that point they will do a fetal fibronectin test, which can serve as an indicator of her likelihood to NOT have a baby in the next two weeks if it is negative. A positive result doesn't mean much, but a negative is a good indicator that the bun will stay in the oven for a little while longer.

Dr. Wiedower also plans to take Tara off of the meds that are preventing the contractions on Monday and see what her body does. If she can get by without the meds that is a little better for Emmaline, but if we need to go right back on them we will. going off the meds at 34 weeks seems to be what Dr. Wiedower would do with most patients, but we've already learned Tara's body doesn't do labor like 'most patients'.

Since we tried the same thing at 34 weeks last go round with Crosby I went back to the older blog post to see how it went going of the meds that time. Here is an excerpt from that post on Nov. 25, 2009:

Tara's mom, Marion, spent the day hanging out with us today. Tara got a dose of her routine anti-contraction med at 7:30 this morning, then the doc gave the order to take her off of it for the rest of the day. Things were fine at first but by 3:00 pm Tara begun having contractions again. We watched them for a few minutes, but they persisted and the OB gave the order to give Tara an injection of med to stop them. That stopped them for about 45 minutes and then they came right back. Tara would tell you that they not only came back, but back with a vengeance. Dr. Wiedower decided to punt and go back to the routine doses every 4 hours to keep the contractions away. Tara was pretty uncomfortable when those contractions got rocking, but she was a real trooper! She is already being a great mom to Crosby.

Monday should be interesting. Tara is doing well and hanging in there. Thanks for the support and prayers. We are doing much better than we deserve.

Just hanging out

2012-01-11T20:22:00.001-06:00

We are 33 weeks and 3 days as of today.

The past few days have been somewhat smooth. Tara had some break through contractions on Monday after we got a tour of the NICU and earned some extra pills, nothing too serious though. At least not serious enough for me to reach for my catcher's mitt yet. (Tara seems to find zero assurance in the OB training that I revieved in my EMT course 9 years ago)

That being said she isn't looking to do anything other than be mostly horizontal in this hospital bed. When I asked her about trying to get a pass from Dr. Wiedower today to go outside in a wheelchair Tara replied that she would stay put and had no interest in rocking her uterine boat.

Thanks for the support and prayer. We are just going to stay the course for now... thankful for each day that we get to keep Emmaline cooking.

Tara's Virtual Baby Shower

2012-01-07T17:25:00.001-06:00

Tara's Virtual Baby Shower, a set on Flickr.

The girls in our Community Group threw Tara and great shower at church this morning. Since Tara couldn't come in person we did the next best thing... she skyped in. Thanks to everyone for their love and support.

Settling In

2012-01-06T11:07:00.004-06:00

Tara had a great visit from her parents and Crosby yesterday evening. She must have read 4 books with him in her bed. It was a much needed visit for both of them.

This morning Tara is doing well. They took her IV out so she feels free. The meds for the contractions are working great, so far (yes, I know this can change any minute) it is much more peaceful than our last time with Crosby. Praise the Lord! Maybe catching it a little sooner helped. I pray that our blog posts are not as drama filled as last time.

If you want drama then here is the first blog post from 'Camp Crosby'. Just start reading there and click 'newer posts' at the bottom to read through our last go round in 2H (antenatal unit) with Crosby.

A new day

2012-01-05T20:51:00.001-06:00

Tara woke up this morning a new person. The stomach bug was gone and it was obvious she felt 300% better. It was a good day.

She didn't have any serious contractions.

She wasn't sick anymore.

Her parents came to visit.

Crosby even got to come see mommy in the hospital for the first time.

Thanks for the prayers and love! It was a really good day.

Quick update, 28 hours into our stay

2012-01-04T23:12:00.000-06:00

In case you haven't heard me say it recently: Dr. Amy Wiedower is the best OB ever. We are so blessed to be in such good (& spunky) hands.

They did an ultrasound today and Emmaline measured exactly 32 weeks and 3 days, which is good since she is 32 weeks and 3 days old. The meds seem to be working very well at keeping Tara's contractions at bay and the stomach bug appears to be easing up on her. We are doing well.

Crosby got to facetime with mamma tonight. I'm not sure which one of them loved it more. Thanks for all the support and prayers. We are very much at peace.

The Eager Emmaline Story Begins

2012-01-04T11:08:00.001-06:00

Tara's contractions have been pretty regular and by Tuesday evening got to 2 minutes apart consistently and were more intense so we can to L&D at Baptist LR upon her doc's recommendation.

We thought we had gotten intervention in time and she had not progressed any upon checkin last night. We were hoping to get some on drugs be sent back home last night, but they wanted to monitor her. We were fine with the safe route.

Then the stomach bug that we thought she had avoided (Crosby and I have both had it this week) hit in the middle of the night. Which is actually good that we were in the hospital where they have things to lessen it's effect. Once she can shake the bug she'll feel much better.

[disclaimer: if OB numbers are going to bother you you may need to not read my updates for the next month]

We just saw Tara's OB and she has progressed to 2cm+ and 80% effaced from 1cm and thick yesterday evening. Tara is now officially staying in the hospital in the antennal unit (our old stomping ground) on meds and bedrest at least until we hit 34 weeks (currently 32 at weeks) if not longer. We will see how things look when we get there.

I'll get Tara settled in here and then make a plan for working etc. Currenty my mom has Crosby in Conway.

Crosby's Big News

2011-08-04T14:31:00.004-05:00

Yup, you read the t-shirt right, we expecting our 2nd little blessing on February 26, 2012!!! Woohoo!

June 2011

2011-06-28T10:37:00.024-05:00

It's been a fun, HOT, June around here. And once again, I'm way behind on blogging. Sorry for the very long, fit everything in for the whole month post again. :) I hope you enjoy some of our latest adventures via pictures...

Crosby enjoyed a swim date with Jules at the Sonshine pool.

Double Toss

Chris captured this priceless moment...I love that sweet boy.

Chris' Uncle Bob stopped through Conway for a quick visit a few weeks ago, and we had a great visit. Here we are after breakfast at Stoby's.

Chris surprised me the night before my 30th birthday with a night away at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock. He was so sneaky and even packed my bag for me...very impressive. :) Here we are riding the trolley across the AR River to eat dinner in North Little Rock.

They sang to me and graced me with this lovely hat at Benihana's.

We went to dinner with our parents at Michaelangelo's in Conway on my birthday.
Thank you, grandparents, for watching Crosby so we could have a night away!

Crosby helped me blow out the candle.

After dinner, we heard music and found a live band playing at the downtown stage. Crosby was all about the fountain. It was all we could do to keep him from climbing in.

It was a very happy birthday with my sweet family. Thanks guys!

Crosby and Daddy lounging in our backyard pool. He had to warm up to being in the pool after he took a nose dive right after getting in. It's much safer sitting on Daddy's lap.

Crosby is such a good sport about wearing his sun hat and sun glasses whenever we go outside. I'm a nazi about protecting that sweet, very fair baby skin.

Getting brave!

Mommy's wearing a hat, too. :)

I'm so glad I was able to capture this pose. This is how Crosby has started carrying around his "Taggie" that he sleeps with. It is the funniest thing to see him walk around with one arm raised. Gotta have that soft fuzzy side against his cheek. :)

Waiting with Taggie for Daddy to get his morning milk.

Crosby woke up on the wrong side of his crib one afternoon. To brighten up his mood, I took him with me to check the mail, so we both wore out sunglasses. Crosby pitched a big fit when I tried to take them off once we got back inside, so he ended up wearing them around the house for about an hour. He was probably wandering why it was so dark inside.

Silly boy

Andrew came over for a playdate in our backyard pool. These pictures are of the boys taking a break from the water to play on the slides.

Weeee!

Now Crosby's turn.

Crosby is such a big help on laundry days. Here he's emptying our hamper into the laundry basket. He'll push the basket to the laundry room and help me throw clothes into the washer or dryer, too. A lot of times he'll identify whose shirt or pants he sees by saying, "Daddy's" or "Mommy's." How does he remember our clothes?!

Having fun trying on Mama's cold weather ear warmer. He's really starting to interact with himself in the mirror...it's hilarious.

My sweet mom had knee replacement surgery a few weeks ago. Crosby and I made a couple of trips to LR to visit her in the hospital. When we arrived, Crosby loaned Lolly his boo boo cream (Neosporin) for her boo boo on her knee. Here he's handing it to her.

Crosby loves his Pop.

Pop and Crosby went for several walks around the hospital.

I think we were able to brighten her day a little.

Trying to keep Crosby occupied at McAlister's while we waited to meet Daddy for lunch.
He's sooo busy these days!

Here's picture of our 2nd visit to Lolly's hospital room. Crosby George has a lot in common with his friend Curious George, doesn't he? Such a little monkey.

For Father's Day weekend, Chris and I took Crosby to Wonder Place in Little Rock. Crosby had a blast. When we left, we commented that we have never seen him so quiet...he must not have said 2 words as he ran from one fun station to the next. Our little chatter box was a little overwhelmed, I think. :)

The sand table was his favorite.

The water table was fun, too. Thank goodness for the waterproof smocks!

Using the cash register at the "River Market."

Chris' brother, Josh, and his family (Rachael, Zion (5) & Glenn (2)) visited Dozzie and Grandpa's house for Father's Day weekend. It was great to see them, and Crosby had so much fun playing with his cousins.

Saturday afternoon was spent in their fun back yard.

All 6 Kear boys.
(when Zion arrived and saw the fun jungle gym in their backyard, he told Dozzie, "Your back yard is like an amusement park!!!" too cute.)

Glenn and Rachael

Love this pic of the boys in the sandbox.

Who needs toys when you can have so much fun with rocks?!

The icy water table.

I think he's a fan of ICE!

Bubbles, too, of course.

Dozzie got the coolest new umbrella, and it worked great!

Family pic after church on Sunday.

Happy Father's Day, Chris, you're the best Daddy ever!

Grandpa and his boys.

Crosby gave Daddy a brick with his hand and foot prints.

Crosby loves his Daddy.

(Their thing these days is to yell "Love you!" or "wuv ooo" and point at each other...precious)

Crosby and I made a trip down to Dumas to visit Lolly as she's recovering from surgery. Sage, Danner & Dawson came over one afternoon, and it was so fun to see them. Here Lolly is in her happy place holding Dawson. That lady was made to hold babies. :)

Sage and Danner

Pop using his new grill.

Crosby and Danner had fun in Lolly & Pop's pool.

We had spaghetti for supper one night, and this was Crosby's new look afterwards.

So proud of his mess.

Chris and James were the sweetest hubbies and let Amy and I have a Mom's night away in Little Rock last weekend. We met up for some shopping, yummy dinner at YaYa's, dessert at Cold Stone, and then a morning by the hotel pool. It was just what we both needed. We'll definitely have to do this again very soon!

May 2011

2011-05-27T13:30:00.027-05:00

Here are some pictures from the past month. Crosby is now 17 months old and so busy!

These first few pictures were from an amateur photo shoot we did of Crosby in his Daddy's sailor suit. Dozzie asked for a picture of Crosby in the sailor suit for Mother's Day, since she has a picture of Chris, his brother Josh, and Josh's 2 boys, Zion and Glenn all wearing this outfit at this age. Well, we didn't want Crosby to be Dozzie's first boy to miss out on this, so we rigged up a makeshift "studio" in our kitchen complete with a black sheet and Crosby strapped into his booster seat. We had to move our kitchen table over, and I only cracked my head on the light fixture that normally hangs over the table 6 times during this shoot. It was hilarious, and we pulled out all the tricks to capture the perfect smile. The first picture is the one we chose to frame for Dozzie, and the others are some of our other favorites. Ahoy! Enjoy!

The Framer

Silly boy!

Ooooo...

Ahhhh!

Yay!

Love those blue eyes!

Okay, I've had enough! Let me out!

Crosby's favorite kitchen gadget is our salad spinner...

we also got one for Lolly for Mother's Day.

I've finally given up control of Crosby's spoon. Crosby loves feeding himself his yogurt and oatmeal for breakfast, and the mess is not too bad. :)

Mother's Day 2011

I love you, sweet boy, and can't get enough of that good sugar!

Happy Mother's Day, Dozzie!

Chris and his Dad treated us moms to Mike's Place for lunch, and this is Chris trying to keep a busy Crosby occupied by reading to him as we wait for our check.

Crosby's first swim of the season...a great way to spend a hot Mother's Day afternoon.

Splash, splash, splash.

Crosby really enjoyed playing in buckets of water and his splash pad one morning while Daddy and I worked on our painting projects on the front of the house. He also had his own little paint brush for painting the sidewalk and steps with water. We took a "before" picture of the house, and I'll post it with an "after" picture as soon as we get some flowers planted.

Crosby and Daddy on the big inflatable slide at Fellowship on the River. Crosby did great until Chris' feet stuck to the slide at the bottom and they both face planted into the inflatable wall.

We've got to get a bean bag toss!

Our good friends from Arkadelphia, the Taylors, came up for Fellowship on the River. Amy is also a native to south Louisiana, and her dad was who Chris got the gulf shrimp from for the shrimp boil. It was so good to see these guys and let Crosby and Benjamin play. These pictures were taken in our back yard after the FOTR.

Cheese!

Meet our precious new nephew, Dawson Sage Loyd. He was born on May 15th. We were able to go down to meet him last weekend, and Chris took a few newborn pictures of the handsome little guy. Chris (Loyd) and Sage are doing great, and Danner is such a proud big brother.

Go Hogs!

After meeting Dawson, we stayed with Lolly & Pop, and

Crosby had so much fun playing in their back yard.

"Wawee" and "Bop"

Chris had his mountain bike with him (he rode Cane Creek St. Park's trails near Star City...who knew southeast AR had good mtn bike trails?), so he rigged this up to pull Crosby around the back yard. Crosby just thought it was ok at first, and then Chris picked up the speed, and Crosby LOVED going fast!

The other morning, Crosby brought this book in to me, so we plopped right down on the floor so we could cuddle while I read it to him. Chris snuck in and captured this sweet moment, and
I'm so glad he did.

I love reading to you, Crosby, and I love even more how much you love being read to.

Toad Suck Daze 2011

2011-04-30T21:51:00.006-05:00

Well, we are now officially Conway citizens--we attended our first Toad Suck Daze last weekend. We took Crosby when the festival first began on Friday afternoon, and we all (Chris, Dozzie, Crosby and I) had a great time. Here are some of the highlights via pictures...

Crosby did well starting off in the stroller, but once he tasted freedom...

he was hard to catch! He's such a busy boy these days.

Crosby went on his first pony ride. Crosby had fun saying "Neigh!" while watching the ponies before his ride, but I'm not sure that he liked the actual ride so much. After the first lap around, he said "Off" and "All done" while making the sign for 'all done.' Chris coaxed him into taking a couple more laps before taking him off. :)

Watching the chickens and other animals at the petting zoo.

"Thank you!" Crosby now says this whenever he gives or receives something...
such good manners.

Watching the kids magic show.

Still on the move.

The best view of Toad Suck!

He didn't actually race a toad this year, but I wouldn't be surprised if
there are a few toad races in this boy's future.

"I'm outta here!"

What a cute toad. :)

I just had to include this hilarious picture. Crosby is really into shoes these days. He got his "dressy" sandals out of his closet and was attempting to put them on over his footed pajamas, so I helped him out. It looks like an outfit Chris would have put him in! (See earlier blog post) :) Crosby also has fun trying to put on our big shoes now, too.

Easter Sunday 2011

2011-04-24T22:02:00.006-05:00

Today was a wonderful Resurrection Sunday. We were so blessed to be able to celebrate it with both sets of grandparents. After a really great worship service, we had lunch at our house and continued to fellowship with the family. Here are some pictures from our day.

"Hey, these are the same color as my outfit!"

"How-dy!"
Dozzie taught Crosby to say that when he puts on a cowboy hat, and now he says it when he wears any hat. His Easter basket sure did make a fun hat.

Waking up from his nap to find goodies in his Easter basket.

It works just like the salad spinner! (Crosby's favorite kitchen gadget.)

"See, Lolly!"

Springtime 2011

2011-04-23T15:53:00.019-05:00

Here are some pictures from the past couple of months...enjoy!

Welcoming Daddy home from his trip to Nicaragua to teach at the Bible Institute. Crosby and I spent the week in Dumas at Lolly & Pop's house. Crosby really started talking that week, and it was so fun for Chris to hear all of Crosby's new words when he got back home.

Having fun with his Cheerio book.

We went with some other couples and their babies from our community group out to Wye Mountain to take pictures in the daffodils. It made for some pretty cute springtime pictures.

The Group: Eric, Sarah & Austin Marsh; The Kears; Bubba, Mieke & Jules Corbitt;
Brinton, Lauren & Logan Ramoly

We had the privilege of meeting Neil, Lauren & London Greenhaw for lunch while they were in town a few weeks ago. We miss these guys so much, and Crosby is only 3 mths older than London.

First Date. One milkshake. Two straws. ;)

Our good friend, Russell, drove up to see us for a night while traveling in the area. It was sooo good to see him, and Crosby loved his big black truck!

"Hello?"

Not too sure about walking in this grass with bare feet!

Big Baby Boy!!!

Where did my 6 lb baby go so quickly?!

Cabin Getaway!
Chris arranged for us to get to stay (without Crosby) in a cabin for a weekend, and it was wonderful!!! Crosby has the best grandparents who were so sweet to watch him for us.

The wood-burning stove was awesome, especially on the first night & morning...it was freezing!

Sunset point at the retreat center

We met our good friends, the Coxes and the Taylors, for dinner in Little Rock one evening, and the 3 boys enjoyed their reunion over sippy cups of milk.

Playing with Andrew.

We attempted an Easter Egg hunt, but the boys weren't too interested.

While Chris was at a retreat last weekend, Crosby and I visited Lolly & Pop. Danner spent Friday night with us, and it was so much fun to watch the two cousins play so well together.

Crosby and I went to see a good childhood friend, Sarah Helen, and meet her 6 week old baby boy, Jackson. He was absolutely precious and seemed like such a good baby. They live in Richmond, Virginia, and were in Dumas for a wedding. It was so great to see them!

Crosby and Danner watching themselves in a flip video on Lolly's laptop.

Crosby and Danner were invited to an Easter Egg Hunt down the street at the Walt's house. Here Danner is stylin' in his sunglasses and hat.

Crosby actually stayed focused long enough to get 6 eggs!!! I was so impressed.

"Bubbles!!!"
The bubble machine was definitely Crosby's favorite thing at the Easter party...he also loved sticking his hands in the ice chest where the drinks were. His poor little hands were so red, but he didn't care that they were freezing!

Going to church. Crosby was actually able to sit through the entire church service with Lolly, Pop and me thanks to goldfish snacks, books, pop beads, and his paci, of course. He was in such a good mood and really turned on the charm before and after church by smiling and winking at everyone. He really is quite the social butterfly at 16 months.

We took Crosby out to the airport to see Pop's airplane and watch him take off. Pop even made a low pass flying in formation with another RV and turned the smoke on. Needless to say, Crosby has been looking up in the sky and saying, "Pop...airpane!" and making airplane sounds and gestures ever since. :)

We may have a future fighter pilot on our hands.

White Boys Can't Jump

2011-04-14T22:31:00.000-05:00

GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!

2011-04-14T22:28:00.002-05:00

Happy 15 Months, Crosby!

2011-03-09T14:41:00.014-06:00

Today Crosby turned 15 mths! That is really hard for me to believe. This has been a good month, but it felt like Crosby was sick for much of it. We had a string of illnesses that kept him feeling yucky and kept us cooped up in the house a lot. I guess it's just that time of year. Crosby did not eat well while he was sick, but lately he is eating like a HORSE!!! I don't know that he ever gets full. :) I'm assuming he's making up for losing a little weight during the sickness and getting ready for a big ole growth spurt! It's a good thing I shopped at Rhea Lana's Consignment sale last weekend. He's about grown out of all of his fall/winter clothes now. It's fun to watch this little guy learning new things every day and say new words. Some of his latest words are "out" (when he goes to the door wanting to go outside), "bubble," "bottle" (referring to mama's water bottle, of course...he wouldn't take a bottle!), "baby," and "cheese." Here are some pictures from this past month:

Crosby is really into wearing hats these days. Whenever he sees a hat, he touches his head. Here he is proud to be wearing Grandpa's hat. Notice you can see some of those new little top teeth in this picture.

Playing with daddy's hat and mommy's scarf.
If I pull the scarf along the floor, he makes a snake hissing noise.

Cousin Danner's 2nd Birthday Party
The theme was trains, and Sage did such a great job making his 2-tiered train cake!

Crosby is still obsessed with puppies, and it made his day to meet this tiny little chihuahua.

Our new child-proof gate for our fireplace. We've been really happy with it.

Conway got another good snow, but Crosby was sick and unable to play in it. We did get out of the house for a quick trip in Daddy's 4x4.

I love this picture of Crosby in Lolly's & Pop's back yard.
There is a sunbeam that seems to be shining down on his head. :)

Practicing his tee ball skills.

Crosby and I had so much fun strolling at the walking trail with 2 of the other moms and babies from our community group. We've found that the trail is a great place for Crosby to dog watch.
From left to right: Crosby - 14 mths, Julianna (Jules) - 5 mths, Logan - 7 mths.

Our first experience making "goop" from cornstarch and water. It had the craziest consistency!

Working on his talking animal puzzle.

Crosby's hair is getting longer, and more curly in the back. This day he walked around with the funniest single rooster tail curl in the back of his head. We were trying to get a side profile picture of it.

Crosby loves it when his buddy Kristin comes to visit!

Drawing in his high chair.

Our budding artist is so proud of himself.

Daddy made Crosby the coolest tunnel/fort out of a couple of boxes, complete with doors and windows. It has been fun to have around the past few weeks.

After I got Crosby out of his crib this morning, he went straight over to this red bandanna and proceeded to put it on his head and walk around the house wearing it. Too funny!

After Crosby and Andrew were both sick for much of February, they finally got well and were able to have a play date. Last week Andrew and Ashley came to our house, and the boys had a blast exploring in the back yard. It was so hot that we had to get the boys sun hats, water, and Crosby required sunscreen. I have a feeling these boys will be doing much more of this in the coming months.

Andrew flying high!

The boys had more fun with the bubbles!

Crosby trying to blow. :)

January 2011

2011-01-31T10:13:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures from this past month:

Wooooo Pig Soooie!

We watched the (sad) Sugar Bowl with our friends the Marshes and the Corbitts.
Here are our 3 little hog fans: Austin, Crosby, and Jules.

Dozzie and Grandpa came up for a quick visit, and we got to have our Christmas with them.

Crosby and I were snuggled up looking for snow in the back yard. The weather radar was showing that we were supposed to be getting snow...where is it?! :)

And it finally arrived!

After we brought Crosby in from playing in the snow he had fun eating
the little nuggets of snow that came off our shoes.

Crosby LOVED playing in the white stuff...he cried every time we would go back inside.

All was good until the face plant.

Going North. His favorite thing to do was to walk down our street,
but only in this one direction.

Whenever Chris lifts Crosby up, he always looks up and arches his back.
We call him Dolphin boy.

Playing drums in the dishwasher

All of this cold weather has kept us cooped up indoors too much! This afternoon a bowl and an assortment of spoons saved the day. Crosby had a blast "cooking."

I love those big blue eyes!

Chris got up with Crosby every morning for a week to help with the weaning process...they didn't stay awake long this morning. Such a sweet scene to wake up to.

Oakley Thomas Recktenwald arrived on January 14th! We made a trip up to meet the little cutie. You really forget how tiny these little guys are when they first arrive! He was so precious.

Crosby is really into playing with hats these days.
He also enjoys finding treasures in the drawers in mommy and daddy's bathroom.

Crosby loved the pasta and messy spaghetti sauce!

Thanks to the iphone 4, it is so easy to "Facetime" with Dozzie!

On Chris' birthday, we were able to meet up with our good friends the Taylors, from Arkadelphia, for dinner in Little Rock. Crosby had fun catching up with his buddy Benjamin.

A classic Crosby face that he makes when he says "what the puppy says."
(a high pitched arf, arf!)

This past weekend, we had the most amazing warm and sunny weather,
so we headed over to Cadron Settlement Park for a family hike.

I woke up from a nap Saturday morning to find Chris and Crosby in the front yard tinkering on Chris' mountain bike. I laughed so hard at Crosby's "outfit" and had to take some pictures of him in his striped sleeper, his shoe-socks (as we call them), his ball cap & pacifier. Surely anyone who drove by and saw him knew that Daddy was responsible for this outfit.

Daddy and Crosby tried out the bike trailer at Tucker Creek Trail, and Crosby loved it! They met Lance Oden, who also pulled his 2 boys in their bike trailer. I have a feeling this will become a regular Daddy/Crosby adventure.

Crosby loved being outside in this amazing weather so much that he cried every time we brought him inside. So, we decided to have snack time on the drive way while we watched Daddy work in the garage. Okay, now we're spoiled by our one weekend of 75 degree weather.
Sure hope that ground hog doesn't see his shadow!!!

December 2010

2011-01-30T23:17:00.005-06:00

This post is so overdue, I was almost too overwhelmed to start. I guess after Crosby turned 1, and Chris gave me a book of the blog for Christmas that covered every post from pregnancy through Crosby's first birthday, I've just been enjoying a little vacation from blogging. (The book turned out great, by the way, and if you are a blogger, I highly recommend you get a book(s) of your blog!) Instead of doing a lot of writing on this catch-up post, I thought I would just post some pictures (ok, there are a lot!) from December, including some of the highlights from our fun Christmas in Dumas. Enjoy...

Happy boy on his new Smart Trike

I helped throw a baby shower for my dear friend, Sara, and her little boy, Oakley, due Feb. 5th.

There was a great turn out of some good friends from our Ouachita days.

Chris, "Uncle" Clint, and George kept Crosby while we were at the shower.

Lolly and Crosby playing with ornaments on her Christmas tree.

Crosby is so excited to have ornaments within reach on Lolly & Pop's tree...our tree at home was only decorated on the top half and was secured to the wall. :)

Rob and Wilson

The musical airplane that went off every time you clapped or made a loud noise was a huge hit!

Crosby and Wilson looking out the front door.

Daddy's Little Helper got his very own tool box for Christmas.

Danner got a 4-wheeler!

Watch out younger cousins...Danner's coming through!

Crosby did not want to wear the cute antlers like everyone else.

Chris and Sage

A Slinky!

Rob, Yung & Wilson

Rub-a-dub-dub, 3 boys in a tub

3 Little One Year Olds: Danner (22 mths), Wilson (14 mths), & Crosby (12 mths)

Wow, Dad, my very own cell phone?!

Priceless

Thanks, Lolly & Pop, for my new fire truck!

After Christmas our good friends, Molly & Patrick Westerman, and their 2 precious
boys, Davis and Will, stopped by for a visit. Molly & Patrick were our best friends
when we lived in Conway before, and we so wish they still lived here!

Tug-a-war with Lovie

2010-12-29T10:01:00.003-06:00

Our dear friends Ben & Lindsey Cutrell drove up for a visit this week. They brought their dog Lovie with them. Crosby is obsessed with puppies right now. As soon as he sees a picture of a dog or his puppy bib or bath towel he starts yipping like a puppy. He loves having a puppy in his house. The 2 of them have been a blast to watch. Here is last night's tug-a-war match. (Note: Crosby is laughing not crying.)

Santa is not that Scary

2010-12-29T09:52:00.004-06:00

Crosby did pretty well with his first visit to Santa.

Peek-a-boo with George

2010-12-12T15:08:00.001-06:00

Happy 1st Birthday, Crosby!

2010-12-09T14:25:00.018-06:00

One year ago today, our lives were changed forever by the addition of a little blessing named Crosby George Kear! Crosby, you truly bring so much joy to our lives with your contagious smiles, hilarious quirks (he gets them all from his daddy), and fun personality. You really are a happy baby, and for that we are grateful.

We celebrated Crosby's 1st birthday with a family birthday party last Sunday afternoon at our house. All 4 of his grandparents, along with Uncle Chris, cousin Danner, and John & Cathy (aka: Uncle John and Aunt Cathy) were able to come. We missed the other aunts, uncles and cousins, but it was too long of a trip for them to make. Aunt Sage was so sweet to bake and decorate the Curious George cakes for the party, and Crosby even had his own little smash cake with George's face on it! You'll see in the pictures that Crosby LOVED the chocolate icing and had to be taken straight to the bath tub afterwards. His hands were in the cake before we could even finish singing to him. It was hilarious.

Crosby officially took his first consecutive steps last Friday, 12/3/10, and both Chris and I were able to witness the exciting event. To his daddy's delight, the bait that drew him away from holding onto the kitchen cabinet and toward those first independent steps was daddy's drill. Seriously! The love of power tools starts at a young age, I guess. :) Crosby could have probably taken steps several weeks ago, but he's been very thoughtful and cautious about walking. It was fun for everyone at the birthday party to get to see him take steps on his own, and he made several repeat performances with all of us counting the steps as he took them.

Here's what's going on with our 1 Year Old:
- Crosby is still best friends with George (his Curious George stuffed animal), and has to wave "night-night" to him before going down for naps and at night. Yesterday George was on the kitchen table next to Crosby, and Crosby was trying to feed him cheerios during snack time.
- He is really into pointing at everything
- He takes 2 naps a day and usually goes to bed around 8-8:30pm at night.
- Crosby has 4 bottom teeth. Still no top teeth yet, but you can see the outline of the front 4 uppers in his top gum waiting to make their appearance any day now. I've been trying to teach him to sing, "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth." :)
- When he gets tired, he starts to "waller around," as we call it. He puts his head down on the floor for us to help him do somersaults and rolls around with George or any soft blanket. He'll also get snugly and put his head on our shoulders...it's the best.
- Crosby gets so excited when Chris comes home from work! He will scream and crawl up to him yelling "Da-da!" with a huge smile on his face.
- He does not like being put in his car seat these days, which is no fun. Maybe when we turn that seat around to face forward (probably later today), that will change.
- He can wave "hi" and "bye-bye," and clap his hands now, and he enjoys putting little toys and balls "in" buckets and cups.
- Crosby has started holding toys or food out to us to show us what he has or give it to us.

Here are pictures from his first birthday party, as well as some recent random pics:

Aunt Sage did an amazing jobs on the Curious George cakes...thank you!

Crosby had fun opening his presents, or at least playing with the paper and bows.

John and Cathy got him a really cool "Smart Trike."

Dancing with the silly singing donkey, a gift from Lolly.

Danner was so funny and kept saying, "That's mine," about all of Crosby's gifts. :)

Pops showing Crosby how the to work the controls on his new Mickey Mouse airplane

Crosby wasn't too thrilled about wearing the cute birthday hat.

And here comes the cake...

"Mmmm, this chocolate icing is the best thing I've ever tasted!"

"You should really try some, too!"

"I've had enough"

This is going to take more than a few paper towels...

How about a quick, mid-party bath?!

The "bait" for Crosby's first steps

Crosby just being his normal, smiley self.

Crosby and Andrew swinging at the church play ground.

"Wallerin" and doing somersaults with mama

Crosby trying to feed George a Cheerio. He's such a sweet boy to share his favorite food. :)

Crosby's first taste of cow's milk...he's officially a 1 year old!

Fun Fall & 1st Thanksgiving

2010-12-06T15:01:00.012-06:00

We had a great Thanksgiving down at Chris' parents' house in Slidell. Chris' brother, Josh, and his family were there, and Crosby had a blast playing with his cousins, Zion and Glenn. Crosby did not have turkey and dressing, but he thoroughly enjoyed his green beans, sugar snap peas and banana chunks for his 1st Thanksgiving. Here are some pictures from our visit in Slidell, but first I included a few fun pictures from this fall and our visit at Lolly & Pop's during the first part of Thanksgiving week:

Crosby enjoying an apple core

These days we have to bundle up for our walks...I love his striped hat and mittens.

Crosby is now able to do some fun tricks like put things "in"...he really likes his shapes sorter.

Playing in his new jungle gym in the backyard.

Shireen, thanks so much for the precious embroidered helicopter t-shirt!

Bath time is fun at Lolly & Pop's house.

Lolly, Danner & Crosby

All of the Kears in Slidell
Go Saints, Gators & Razorbacks!

Who knew doing the dishes could be so much fun?!

Crosby loves Mrs. Faye

We were able to get together with some good friends, the Whitty girls, and their hubbies and their kiddos. This is Lauren and her precious little girl, Lucy.

Cousins enjoying breakfast together

Plastic and tupperware!

Watching the Saints defeat the Cowboys on Thanksgiving day

Tents are so much fun!

Fall pics by Grant

2010-12-03T13:56:00.000-06:00

We had our good friend Grant Harrison take some pictures of Crosby back in October when he was 10 months. Grant is a pastor at Epoch Church on Main Street in Little Rock in addition to being a professional photographer. He got some great shots...way to many to just choose one to share. Here are a few of our favorites:

Reflections of God's Provision One Year Ago

2010-11-17T21:26:00.002-06:00

Today marks the one year anniversary of when I went into pre-term labor with Crosby and began my 3 weeks of what we like to call "Camp Crosby" in the hospital. I have been reflecting on the events that occurred one year ago and am floored by how obviously the Lord guided my steps and protected Crosby and me that day. I had no clue that I was even having contractions, so it was a miracle that I ended up exactly where Crosby needed to be, the antenatal unit at Baptist Hospital in Little Rock. Here's what I remember of the events that led me to the hospital (sorry that this is so long):

Sunday (2 days before), I had some discomfort in my lower abdomen during church and during a service project that our community group did that afternoon. It was nothing too alarming, I just felt the need to lie down after church and sit for most of the service project. On Monday, I worked a long, hard day (as a home health O.T.) seeing a lot of patients as far away as Camden, and then Chris and I made a mad dash to Little Rock for our final child birthing class that evening (just in time, huh?!) It was a late night, and I remember having to stay up past midnight finishing up all of my documentation from work.

On Tuesday, Nov. 17th, I was off work and had a lazy morning getting ready to head to my 33 week OB checkup with Dr. Wiedower in LR. (Is it crazy that I can even remember what outfit I wore? haha) At this point in my pregnancy, Crosby was VERY active, but I noticed that he was not moving as much that morning as I got ready. I had a little bit of a funny feeling (must have been my first experience of mother's intuition), so I remember lying down after blow drying my hair to see if I could feel him kick...not much movement. But, I still wasn't overly concerned--he was probably just sleeping or something. Chris made the hour long trip to LR for most of my appointments, but he was not able to go this time because he had a meeting at work that afternoon. So, I headed up to LR and talked to my best friend, Abigail, on my way. I told her that I had not felt Crosby moving as much today, and she was adamant that I not worry about sounding silly, but to trust my instincts and tell my doctor at my appt. So I did.

When I told Dr. W., she said that it would be no problem to hook me up to the monitors to check on things. As I lay flat on my back with the 2 straps around my belly (which became all too familiar during the next 3 weeks), I felt my belly moving around, and I thought, okay, things are fine because he's moving around now. Dr. Wiedower came in to check the print out on the machine and said, you're having some contractions, and I said, "I am?" She said, "Yeah, Braxton Hicks." I thought that was cool. She was a little concerned about a small deceleration in Crosby's heart rate for a few seconds, but said that it was probably nothing...just him rolling over the umbilical cord or something. She told me to not be worried, but she wanted to send me over to labor and delivery for some more monitoring (the same thing, just for about an hour) to make sure that there were no more decelerations. I was trying to not freak out as I made the short trek from her office to the hospital. I did well until I had to talk to Chris and my mom on the phone, and my voice quivered pretty bad despite all of my efforts to sound calm.

When I got to L & D, I signed in, and a sweet nurse, LeAnn, got me set up in one of the antenatal rooms on the machine with the 2 straps. (Little did I know, I would not be able to leave that room for 3 weeks!) We chatted lightheartedly as she got me all hooked up and the monitor started taking readings. I asked her how long this would take, and she said probably just an hour, and if they saw no red flags, I could go on home. I called Chris, and he had left work already and was heading up to LR. We decided it would be best if he just started the drive, and then I could always call him and tell him to turn around if everything was okay and they were sending me home.

LeAnn was watching the readings on the computer screen and said, "Man, you're contracting." Again, I said, "I am?" I kid you not, I felt no pain, just some tightening that felt like he was moving around! She said that the baby's heart rate looked great, but called Dr. W about the contractions. Dr. W told her to check me, and I will never forget the look on LeAnn's face when she did and said, "Oh my gosh, you're 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced!" I said, "What?!" Then quickly, "Do I get to go home tonight?" LeAnn said, "Sweetie, I am so sorry, but you won't get to go home until this baby comes." Shock is not a strong enough word for what I was going through at that moment. Crosby was not due for 2 more months...the nursery was no where near completed, and Chris had just started demolishing our master bathroom 2 nights ago. Our master bath toilet was sitting in the hallway, just outside of the nursery!!! I called Chris and told him the crazy and scary news, and he said that he almost ran off the road as he was getting onto 430 in LR. He didn't tell me until later, but he drove the entire way from Arkadelphia with the gas warning light on in his truck.

Dr. Wiedower showed up soon after Chris arrived and was just as shocked as I was. She said that if I had really protested about having to go to the hospital for more monitoring, she would have probably let me go on back to Arkadelphia because she was not worried! She began giving orders for drugs I had never heard of (Mag and Brethane), but that the nurses told me they were sorry I would have to be on, and the rest of that evening was a blur. All of this excitement was happening during shift change, and sweet LeAnn stayed an extra hour to make sure I got properly hooked up to my IV for the Mag and other drugs. Just the beginning of some great nursing care. I told my mother to not worry, but she could not stand it. She and my dad drove up that night to be with us in the hospital.

The next 3 weeks were ones I will never forget. Through it all, the biggest praise was that Crosby's heart rate looked fabulous during all of the monitoring sessions (twice a day), and he was very active. The medications and bed rest worked, and we were able to let Crosby cook for 3 more critical weeks. When he finally did arrive on December 9th (at 36 weeks), he did not have to spend one minute in the NICU, praise the Lord!

The entire day of Nov. 17, 2009, I will always remember how I felt that God was holding my hand and guiding my steps to that safe room in the Baptist Antenatal unit where Crosby and I could get the timely care we needed. I think of all of the other, worse scenerios...what if I had headed back to Arkadelphia after my OB appt and ended up having Crosby there and him having to be med-flighted up to the NICU in LR? What if I had gone into pre-term labor while seeing patients 2 hrs away in Camden the day before? I had no clue what was happening that day, but God knew exactly what was going on and orchestrated every event. Thank you, Lord, for your provision! Thank you, Lord, for my sweet, healthy baby boy. Thank you, Lord, for the wonderful doctors and nurses who cared for us during our long hospital stay. And thank you, Lord, for my wonderful husband, who was the most amazing support for me through it all.

Dozzie and Crosby playing

2010-11-08T15:16:00.002-06:00

We have enjoyed Dozzie and Grandpa Kear's visit this week. Here is a short clip of Crosby and Dozzie having a good time.

Crosby's 1st Halloween

2010-11-02T13:34:00.006-05:00

Crosby was an OBU Tiger for his first Halloween. On Saturday, the 30th, we went as a family to help out with our church's Fall Festival at Conway's Housing Authority. Those kids had a blast with the games and food at the festival. Crosby did great and was passed from one favorite person to another (Melissa, Ethan, Jamika, & Cathy) while mom and dad helped with the games. Sunday afternoon, Lolly and Pop drove up from Dumas with Crosby's cousin, Danner, to play and go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. The Tiger (Crosby) and the Rock Star (Danner) were too cute riding together in the wagon to go get some candy that neither of them can really eat. (Danner could eat a dum dum sucker, but the couple of pieces that Crosby got were recycled into our own candy bowl to be passed out to kids later that night) It was a little too hot for the Tiger costume, but with a few breaks to cool off, Crosby did great! We stopped by Superman's (Andrew's) house on our way back home so Crosby could get a picture with his play date buddy. It was really a "treat" to get to see my parents and Danner on Halloween, and the cousins played so well together. Danner is going to be a GREAT big brother come May!

Lolly and the Rock Star

Say cheese!

A happy Tiger, despite the hot costume

Cousins had so much fun riding in the 2-seater wagon.

Ashley & Superman (Andrew), Tara & Tiger (Crosby)

"Cool ears, Crosby!"

Happy 1st Halloween, Crosby! We love our little Tiger.

The turkey call

2010-10-26T18:47:00.000-05:00

Burlap and Books

2010-10-16T11:02:00.001-05:00

Crosby really gets into his reading as you will see in this video.

Happy 10 Months, "Punkin!"

2010-10-13T09:47:00.007-05:00

Crosby turned 10 months old a few days ago, and here's what he's been up to lately:

- He's crawling all over the house and has started cruising on the furniture. He even gets brave and lets go at times, standing for a few secs. before sitting down.
- He loves tilting his head back and pointing up at ceiling fans and lights (a trick his Dozzie taught him during her recent visit)
- He's really close to clapping; when we clap and say "yay!" or sing "If you're happy & you know it..." he flaps his arms and hits his hands against his legs or on the table
- We're pretty sure he said his first word (and meant to say it) today, and of course, it was "Dada" as he saw Chris and screamed with excitement. We'll see if it was a just a coinsidence, or if he keeps saying it appropriately.
- His favorite food is cheerios (and I must say, as an O.T., that the boy has a phenomenal pincer grasp)
- He can throw a small ball, or any other object of his choosing, and crawl after it or play "catch" with someone else (Lolly taught him this fun game)
- He's sleeping great these days and takes 3 naps a day...my how far we have come! Praise the Lord.
- He still just has 2 teeth on the bottom, and I'm just fine with that! :)
- He LOVES hiking and being outside...definitely his daddy's son

Here are some pictures from the past month:

Crosby had so much fun playing with his Dozzie during her week-long visit in
September while Grandpa lead a geology field trip here in central Arkansas.

We are so excited that Chris' parents will soon be calling Conway home!

We were blessed to get to see our good friends, Russ & Shireen, and their 2 precious sons,
Rhys (19 mths) and Caleb (7 wks). They spent the night with us while traveling back
home to Birmingham from Missouri. They are adjusting to life with 2 boys amazingly
well! We love you guys and can't wait to see you again...hopefully real soon.

I love this happy boy!

Crosby with one of his favorite chew toys, his "chicken," as we call it. He chews on the little chicken shaped bead on this ring. It is hilarious when he holds something in his mouth and crawls around like a puppy with a bone in his mouth.

Crosby fell in love with a big piece of crust from a French baguette at the new Panera
Bread Co. in town. It was great entertainment for him while we ate, but we experienced
his first real fit when we tried to take it away from him when it got too mushy.

Meet Crosby's best friend, George. :) George usually sits up high on a shelf in
Crosby's room, but we constantly catch him looking up, pointing and talking to George.
It's so cute to watch him light up when we take George off the shelf for him to play with.
Thanks Sara for the Curious George doll...obviously Crosby loves it.

Looks at the sweet face that I usually see when I go in to get him after naps. It melts my heart.

Crosby had a play date with little Clarka (3 mths younger than Crosby) from the Czech Republic. She and her parents are staying with our teaching pastor, Ken, and his family this month on holiday. Crosby was so much more gentle and sweet with Clarka than he usually is when he plays with other little boys, to my relief. It's like he knew she was a dainty little girl. :)

Crosby is so proud of his new trick...pulling up on the side of Mommy & Daddy's bath tub and turning the water off and on. It is the hot water that he can reach, of course, so Chris has now removed the knob. :)

We took Crosby for his first hike at Petit Jean State Park...

and he absolutely LOVED it!!!

I have a feeling that this is just the first of many outdoor adventures that these two will go on.

These are more pictures from our trip to the Pumpkin Patch in Greenbrier.

"I wonder if this plywood pumpkin tastes good???"

"This is my favorite! Let's take it home."

Crosby and Daddy in their Nicaraguan "guavate" shirts.

"Where's the light, Crosby?"
They are pointing up at the outdoor light on the front porch.

Happy 9 Months & 1st Road Trip

2010-09-19T20:38:00.018-05:00

It has been an eventful past few weeks for our family. We finally got the courage to take Crosby on his first long road trip. We drove down to visit Chris' parents at their home in Slidell. Crosby was a such a trooper. We tried to do most of our driving at night so that Crosby could sleep better, and that seemed to work well. But he sure was ready to get out of his car seat when we got back home. While in Slidell, we had fun venturing into New Orleans for an afternoon, swimming in their pool, playing with some of Daddy & Uncle Josh's toys, and watching the Saints beat the Vikings. Dozzie got Crosby the cutest Saints sleeper for him to wear while we watched the game at their house with their good friends, the Dedeauxs and the Harrises. We had such a wonderful visit to Dozzie and Grandpa's house, and we are so excited that their home will soon be much closer. That's right, we recently found out that they will be moving to Conway! It will be such a blessing to have grandparents live so close.

While in Slidell, Crosby turned 9 months old. Happy 9 months, Sweet Boy! Crosby is growing and developing so fast. He is now a really good crawler and is enjoying exploring his environment. Just the other day, it was so funny to watch him as he discovered that he could crawl from room to room in our house. We have fun playing hide and seek behind the furniture, and he squeals with delight when he finds us! Crosby is also very good at pulling up into standing. Man, I feel like just yesterday he was rolling over for the first time...where has the time gone?! Here are some pictures from the past month or so...

Crosby can already read upside down!

Here's a picture from one of Crosby's play dates with Andrew from down the street. We get together with Andrew and his mom, Ashley, once a week so the little guys can "play" (or at least look at one another and poke each other in the eye) and us moms can enjoy some good adult conversation. Andrew is 6 weeks younger than Crosby.

We enjoyed a visit from Clint and Sara. So good to hang out with them as always.

Crosby had to wear overalls for a few days when he first started crawling to protect his sore knees. I love a baby wearing only overalls...truly an Arkansan. :)

I love playing with Daddy when he gets home from work!

Crosby loved meeting his Great Aunt Nena at Dozzie & Grandpa's house.

Lunch at Commander's Palace in New Orleans.
Chris' good friend, Ryan Couvillion, stopped by and joined us for dessert, which was amazing!

Crosby did great at such a fancy restaurant. He did not even cry when the bananas foster flamed up. Our waiter was so sweet and brought him his very own chef's hat. Watch out Emeril!

We really enjoyed Dozzie and Grandpa's pool!

Crosby's new Saints sleeper

We made a quick stop on our way through Madison, MS, to visit Chris' cousin,
Vincent, his wife, Theresa, and their precious little girl, Sydney. Crosby is
about a week older than Sydney, and the two of them were so cute playing.

"Oh boy! Look what I found, my toys' secret hiding place!"

Who needs toys when cardboard boxes are so much fun?!

1st Baseball Game and Little Laundry Helper

2010-08-20T16:01:00.003-05:00

Last week we took Crosby to his first baseball game. Well, we never actually sat in our seats, but we were there, none the less. Ouachita had alumni and friends night at an Arkansas Travelers game, so we went before the game for hamburgers, hot dogs and socializing. It was our first time in the new Dickey-Stephens Park, and we got to see some college friends and some of the wonderful people that Chris worked with at OBU. It was so hot that we decided to leave before actually making our way to our seats so that Crosby could cool down and go to bed...but not before we got a family picture to prove that we were there. :)

The other day I was folding Crosby's laundry when he decided to "help" out. He came over to the basket and proceeded to flip it over and chew on a few of the articles he found. The basket proved to be much more fun than its contents. I thought this sequence of pictures was too cute not to share. He's definitely getting into everything and loves to explore with his new found mobility. The final 2 pictures are of Crosby's new favorite chew toy, the wool rug in our living room. Yuck! I mean, we used to sterilize his pacifier each time it hit the floor, and now he eats the floor!!! I've given up trying to keep the rug out of his mouth. Hopefully he'll move on to a new, cleaner, favorite chew toy real soon.

Peek-a-boo!

Yum, yum!

"What, Mom?! I don't see anything wrong with eating the rug."

Army Crawling Crosby

2010-08-09T18:24:00.002-05:00

Crosby is getting really close to actually crawling. This is a video of him doing his army crawl that Tara took last week. Enjoy...I'm going to go start baby proofing a house.

Happy 8 Months, Crosby!

2010-08-09T10:56:00.010-05:00

Today is Crosby's 8 month birthday. It is unbelievable how fast babies grow and change and develop! The biggest change with Crosby is his new found mobility. Call it army crawling, or creeping, or wallering...whatever it is that he is doing, he can really cover some ground, and I think he will be crawling really soon. It's past time to baby proof! Ahhh!

Chris just returned from a week of teaching at the annual Bible Institute in Rivas, Nicaragua. The Institute went so well, and Chris was encouraged by how much the Nica pastors and church leaders seemed to soak up all of the material and were eager to share it with their churches. Crosby and I went to Dumas to stay with my parents for the week, which was such a blessing! We had a great time with Lolly & Pop, and Crosby is thoroughly spoiled now, as he should be. :) Crosby was sooo glad to see his daddy at the airport (see pic to the left) when he returned on Saturday, which was also our 6 year anniversary. Happy Anniversary, Sweetie! I love being married to you!

There are so many fun pictures of Crosby from this summer that I thought I would just try to put a bunch of them on this post. Enjoy!

Crosby loves it when Daddy throws him up in the air...
here is a great grin on the way down.

Crosby riding on the baby fire engine while visiting Cathy one afternoon.

Swimming in Lake Norfork...Crosby is such a water baby!

We visited our friends, Clint & Sara Recktenwald back in June,
and here we are riding in a boat on Lake Norfork.

My parents' house got visited by the Methodist Youth group's
flock of pink flamingos while we were visiting on the 4th of July.
I started that fundraiser 10 yrs. ago when I was a summer youth
director. It was great to see the flamingos still flying strong. :)

Swimming at the pool in Dumas

Ready in his Sunday best to go hear daddy preach at my parents' church.

Crosby and his good buddy Nathaniel back in Arkadelphia.

Our sweet church threw us a "Pounding," and Crosby
played in an exersaucer in the middle of everyone.

Daddy and Crosby reading Crosby's Bible before bed.

Mommy & me having fun on the floor!

Grinning with Pop

It was so hot during last week's visit at Lolly & Pop's.
We had fun cooling off in a little pool in the backyard while Pop grilled.

Lolly feeding Crosby in mommy's old high chair.

I love my farm toy that Dozzie gave me!

Such a good little sitter these days

Leaving for our 6th Anniversary date...
thanks so much for babysitting, Lolly!

Our Little Sweet Potato

2010-08-03T17:06:00.007-05:00

I am happy to report that Crosby is now eating solid foods (or at least mushy baby foods)! It has been frustrating for the past month and a half to try to get Crosby to eat baby food from a spoon. First I tried rice cereal, then warm rice cereal, then oatmeal, then apples, pears, and bananas, but Crosby remained tight-lipped every time that spoon approached! He was like a locked vault. Finally, last week I decided to give sweet potatoes a try, but thought why would Crosby go for sweet potatoes when he didn't like the sweet fruits? Well, I almost cried when that cute little mouth opened up for MORE after that first bite! Yay!!! He's so messy and likes to put his fingers in his mouth right after each bite. He's also enjoyed eating prunes mixed with cereal (which helps his little digestive system adjust to all of these new solid foods).

Summer Time Fun, Family & Teeth!

2010-07-13T20:33:00.010-05:00

Crosby is now 7 months old, and I really am amazed at how much he changes from one week to the next! Our biggest milestone in the past few weeks has been that he cut his first two teeth! It wasn't terrible, just several days of a very whiny, fussy baby. We LOVE teething tablets, Tylenol, and Motrin! :) He actually cut his first tooth while we were up in Gassville, AR, visiting our great friends, Clint and Sara Recktenwald (who I'm pleased to announce are newly expecting their first baby in February! Yay!). I was actually very surprised and relieved when I felt his bottom gum and felt that little sharp point coming through. I had been really frustrated that Crosby was acting so fussy at our friends' house. If I had only known--teething!!! Well, we immediately starting giving him "feel good" stuff, and we had a much happier baby after that. Crosby cut his second tooth the next week while we were visiting my family down in Dumas.

My older brother, Rob, just returned from serving in Iraq for a year, and we were able to get together with he, his wife, Yung, his son, Wilson, as well as see my other brother, Chris, his wife, Sage, and their son, Danner. It was a great 4th of July to be able to celebrate Rob's safe return. Thank you for your service and for your huge sacrifices this past year, Rob & Yung. I cannot even imagine. Wilson loves his Daddy and is so glad to have him home.
Here are some recent pictures of our little man...I hope you enjoy!

My family from left to right: Pops, Rob, Yung, Wilson,
Chris L., Sage, Danner, Chris K., me, Crosby, & Lolly

Crosby & Lolly

Family Picture

Mommies & Baby Boys

Crosby in his Baby Einstein activity center...gotta love that smile!

My hilarious attempt to take a picture of Crosby's 1st two teeth...
he hates for me to stick my finger in his mouth and was trying to pull my hand away.

Bath time fun!

Crosby and his girlfriend, Sydney Greer, posing with their daddies.
This will be a great picture for their rehearsal dinner slide show. :)

Six Months Old--fun, fun, fun

2010-06-21T21:06:00.010-05:00

Crosby is now a half a year old! Where did the last 6 months go? I am loving this age with his budding personality, and he is not crawling around, tearing the house apart yet. Crosby is creeping on his belly. He pushes himself backwards and gets so frustrated when he leaves his toys behind. He is now even doing push ups where he lifts himself up on his hands and toes, usually in frustration. Forward motion will be so exciting. :)

We are getting settled in our new home, and Crosby is enjoying having a nursery again and sleeping in a real crib--he slept in his pack and play for 3 months during our transition. I started him on cereal when he turned 6 months, and I wish I could say that he loves it...but he doesn't. I'm just trying to be patient and persistent with feeding him cereal once a day. We started on rice cereal and have switched to baby oatmeal, and now I'm warming it. He just purses his lips together when he sees the spoon coming, unless we can get him to smile and slip the spoon in his mouth when he's not looking. :) Here is a picture from the first day that we fed him rice cereal. The looks on his face when he eats are hilarious.

Crosby may not like cereal YET, but he LOVES swimming. Here are a couple of pictures from the first time we took him to our friends' pool a couple of weeks ago. He and Chris were so cute in their matching sunglasses. Crosby loves being outside, but with the temps in the upper 90's the past few weeks, we have had to stay indoors a lot--not fun when he gets fussy. We take Crosby for a walk every evening before bed, and he loves to lay back and "chillax" in his stroller.

A Great First Father's Day

2010-06-21T09:13:00.006-05:00

I have had a great first Father's Day.

Tara and Crosby brought me a hot cup of french press coffee and some breakfast bars on a platter (I'm not a big breakfast guy) as I was getting ready for church. After church we watched some of the Brazil vs. Ivory Coast World Cup match via Univision's website since KATV completely failed us buy opting to show a crappy infomercial instead of the World Cup for the second weekend in a row. We got to skype with Josh and Rachael. It was really good to get to see them as we talked.

We went swimming at our friend's the Patterson's house later in the afternoon and had a lot of fun. Squirt discovered how to splash the water. Never mind the fact that he was splashing it right into his own face...he didn't seem to care.

My Father's day present is coming from our friend Steve in Cupertino, CA. He says that it should show up at my house on Thursday. I'm just a little excited about it. Tara and Crosby hit a home run with this present!

It was a great first Father's Day. Thanks to Tara and Crosby for a special day.

Laughable

2010-06-04T13:42:00.007-05:00

I have an issue with Crosby. ;) He has caused me to waste some precious time this morning searching for some of my old (high school days) CDs. Mainly my old favorite Cowboy Mouth from south Louisiana. You see Cowboy Mouth has a song titled Laughable. I could not help but hear that song in my head as I watched this video that Tara shot of Crosby laughing as he played with Dozzie the other day. The title of the song is about the extent of the connection between this video and the Cowboy Mouth song about dealing with the loss of a lover.

None-the-less now I'm craving a shrimp po-boy from Check-in Check-out and Cowboy Mouth.

Thanks for granting me a diatribe, now enjoy this video with pure joy coming from the mouth of my son. In case you didn't figure it out... I got over my 'issue' with Squirt in about 2 seconds.

A Very Special Day

2010-05-10T12:25:00.005-05:00

Yesterday (5/9/10) was such a wonderful day. Not only was it my first Mother's Day, but it was also Crosby's baby dedication and his 5 month birthday! All 4 proud grandparents (Dozzie, Grandpa, Lolly & Pop) were able to come up for the big day, which made it that much more special.

Chris was so sweet, as usual, and woke up early to make me breakfast in bed. He even had to go down and use Cathy's kitchen since we don't have a kitchen up in the apartment. I got the sweetest cards and a wonderful new Bible. Thank you for such a special first Mother's Day, Sweetie! I am overwhelmed by the joy and blessing that it is to be a new mother.

Crosby behaved so well during the dedication (he only fussed a little during Ken's prayer), and he even fell asleep in my arms during church! It was the sweetest thing. So, I didn't take him to the nursery until he woke up toward the end of the service and made his presence known. :) There were so many boys dedicated yesterday. I think there was only one little girl and 7 boys during the 2nd service. This must have been the year for boys because it was the same way back in Arkadelphia...so many of our friends had boys down there, too! Who will all of these boys marry?! haha.

After the service, we had a very long (I think the kitchen lost our order) but enjoyable lunch at Mike's Place. It made Lolly's day for Crosby to sleep almost the entire time in her arms. Of course we got a lot of great pictures of Crosby on his big day, and I hope you enjoy. Chris was a good sport and let me dress Crosby in "fancy" baby clothes for the dedication. I must say, Crosby looked absolutely precious.

One Blessed Mommy

Daddy and Crosby demonstrating their
new "trick" while we nervously watch.
Those are mommy's hands "spotting" off to the side.

Crosby's Baby Dedication

Ken gave such a special prayer

Mother's Day/Baby Dedication Lunch
From left: Grandpa, Dozzie, Lolly & Pop; Chris, Crosby & Tara

Crosby discovered his shoes, while seated on the table at Mike's Place

Daddy gets grins when taking Crosby out of his car seat.

The highlight of my first Mother's Day.
There's nothing in the world better than some cuddle time with Crosby.

Rollie Pollie

2010-04-27T23:42:00.002-05:00

Crosby rolled over for the first time on his own last Friday, and he did it a few random times over the weekend. Yesterday afternoon, he mastered the skill and started rolling over and over during tummy time. I was able to set the flip camera up on its little tripod and record him in action. I hope you enjoy the video. (I really wanted to get him to smile at the end, but I think he was too intrigued by the video camera.) Now, how do I keep him on his stomach for tummy time?! haha.

Happy 4 Months, Crosby!

2010-04-21T11:09:00.011-05:00

Crosby is now 4 months old, and he is so much fun. I am happy to report that he got over his sore throat, and after stopping cooing for about a week, he is back to his talkative self again. :) The best feeling in the world is when he sees you and smiles so big that his nose crinkles! Crosby's latest, and by far best, milestone to master is sleeping through the night! He was a very quick learner, and we only had to endure one long night of sleep training before he slept through the night. Also, he is getting so much better at pushing up on his forearms and hands during tummy time, and I know that he will be rolling over real soon (we practice rolling over every day). He still hates tummy time, but it works, and he's getting so much stronger. A funny trait that Chris seems to have passed on to our poor son is a sneeze reflex whenever the sun hits his eyes. It is the funniest thing, and a guarantee that Crosby will sneeze when we go outside if he is not in the shade.

God is good, and we have closed on the sell of our home in Arkadelphia! We are still staying in a garage apartment that belongs to a wonderful couple in our church, but it looks like we may be moving into a great little home in about a month, assuming all goes smoothly until we close. The Lees have been such a blessing to us with their hospitality and generosity, and we truly will miss them when this season is over and we move out. We eat dinner with them almost every night, and Crosby has really enjoyed being able to get out and enjoy this amazing springtime weather on their beautiful property. I pray that we will have their same spirit of hospitality when we get settled into a home of our own.

Here are some pictures of Crosby's first Easter and some others we've taken since the last blog post. Notice Chris and Crosby's sun induced sneezing that we were able to capture. :) I hope you enjoy.

Easter Sunday

Achoo!

Achoo, too!

Crosby at the Dumas Easter Egg Hunt

Playgroup at our house in Arkadelphia: Tara & Crosby, Nancy H. & Henry, Nancy E. & Everett

Crosby likes to coo while Mommy reads to him

Bath time in his puppy towel

Cathy took this picture while we were on a walk out in their pasture.

Squicky Squirt

2010-03-27T17:00:00.004-05:00

Crosby, or Squirt as I call him 50% of the time, has a little bit of a sore throat right now and isn't feeling top notch. It is nothing serious just a little virus causing a sore throat. When he tries to coo or cry he sounds both pitiful and hilarious at the same time as you will see in the video below.

Smiling and Cooing

2010-03-03T08:05:00.003-06:00

I cannot believe that our little Crosby is 12 weeks old today! He is now officially melting his parents' hearts through lots of smiles and cooing. We think he would make great seal and whale sound effects for a cartoon. We've been able to capture that precious smile in a few pictures, but not nearly enough. I tried to attach a video of him smiling, but it would not work. Hopefully, I can figure that out and post it soon. Enjoy these pictures from the past few weeks.

Wow, look at my airplane mobile!

Chris and Crosby celebrating the Saints' Super Bowl win!

Crosby and his friend, Benjamin, are making their parents proud in their Saints onesies.

Move 'em on, head 'em up, Head 'em up, move 'em out

2010-02-08T16:35:00.005-06:00

Movin, movin, movin, yep the Kears are movin.

Arkadelphia has been our home for over 3 and half years (this time around) and it has been a great place to call home. I happen to be one of those that believes what he reads on water towers. The theme of our life these days is transition.

Crosby is transitioning out of the womb.
We are transitioning to having a kiddo.
Tara is transitioning out of the workplace.

And most recently...

I'm transitioning jobs.
We are transition communities.
We are transitioning homes.
We are transitioning churches.

I've had the privilege to work at my beloved alma matter the last 3 and half years, but God has been working on my heart and steadily calling us to work in a church. We didn't know what that would look like until this fall when I ran into our former pastor from our church in Conway, Ken Wilson. Ken mentioned to me that Fellowship Bible Church Conway was looking for an Executive Pastor and after describing the gig asked if I was interested, and I told him that I was. Long story short it looks like a perfect fit. So after much prayer and discussion with the staff and elders we signed on to join the team at Fellowship Bible Church Conway. This is my last week as a Ouachita employee, and I will begin work up there next Monday, Feb. 15.

So, that also means that there is a beautiful hilltop home in Ouachita Hills for sale. You can check out all the pics and specs of the house at http://990carter.com . If you know of anyone in the Arkadelphia area that is or might be looking for new home please pass the word that we have a great one available.

We will certainly miss our friends and our church here in Arkadelphia greatly but are also very excited to get back to Conway and Fellowship Bible Church. We'll keep you posted on the next few months of transition.

The Adventures of Snow Puppy

2010-01-30T08:21:00.012-06:00

Our good friends in northern Arkansas are going on 9 + inches of snow. Down here in Arkadelphia I think we got 0.5 inches. Some might call it a dusting. None the less, when it is your son's first snow you have to take pictures. We went out after the first AM feeding to capture the event on film, well memory card but that doesn't sound as nostalgic. Now mama is back in bed, rightly so, and I'm chillin with Snow Puppy.

Of course thanks to Clint, Sara, and Genuine Care Pharmacy Crosby was equipped with the right gear to go out in the cold and show us just how good life is.

Anyone see a smile?

This is the house last night.

Here is the house this morning.

Happy 1st Month, Crosby!

2010-01-12T16:19:00.004-06:00

This weekend marked Crosby's 1 month birthday. Last week we also celebrated 4 weeks and happy due date day. haha. I cannot believe how fast this first month has flown by, and how much Crosby has grown. He graduated to size 1 diapers yesterday, as well. Crosby still screams at most diaper changes, but we actually made it through a bath without him crying a couple of days ago...a real milestone! He is eating and sleeping really well, and he loves going places in the car seat or stroller. He is the funniest thing to watch wake up from his naps, too. Crosby is a noisy little guy, making all sorts of grunting and squeaking noises. He is so precious!

I (Tara) am enjoying being home with Crosby and watching him grow and develop each day. It is so fun to see Chris light up when he gets home from work and sees Crosby. He is such a wonderful dad already. Here are some pictures that we have taken of Crosby and friends in the past few weeks.

Crosby's first Christmas

2010-01-01T17:03:00.008-06:00

It is amazing how much our blogging has slowed down now that we are home with an infant. We are doing well. Mainly adjusting to a whole new world, true for both Crosby and Tara and I. As we celebrated Christmas for the first time with Crosby we had a living object lesson of how crazy it was for our God to redeem his people by sending an infant. I found myself just holding my little 6 something pound son and just in awe that the Lord himself indwelt flesh in a little body just like Crosby's. We are very blessed to have Crosby healthy and home with us this holiday, but even more blessed that Christ took on flesh in the shape of a babe so that we might be redeemed and restored to fellowship with our Father.

We stayed put here on top of our hill in Arkadelphia for most of the holiday with the exception of a quick day trip to Dumas to get all three of the Loyd grandsons together at last.

Once again I think that pictures will sum it up better than my rambling...

Batting Cleanup

2009-12-17T14:03:00.017-06:00

As I have sifted through our pictures and compiled images from grandmother's cameras I have come across some images that were too good to be left off of the blog. In the midst of live blogging from my iPhone (which is captured in one of the images) and the hustle of the hospital I didn't post these originally and so now I've called in this blog post to bat cleanup for me. Enjoy...

All 3 Kears are home...and loving it.

2009-12-15T11:07:00.007-06:00

You may have noticed that I am not posting as frequently as I was when we were just sitting around a hospital room waiting. It is as if there is something/someone occupying our attention. We came home from the hospital on Friday. Dozzie and Grandpa Kear got the house cleaned up and ready for us to come home to in addition to all the work that Grandpa and my cousin Tuck did in the master bath. We are so thankful for them. Lolly (Marion) and Tara flanked Crosby in the back seat of the Honda as we drove home. Tara commented that there were more potholes and large trucks on the interstate than ever before.

We are doing great now that we are home. Crosby is feeding well and Tara is working hard to figure this little guy out. Our days have consisted of feeding, sleeping (a little bit that is), diapers, and ogling...exactly as they should for new parents right? We took Crosby for his first checkup with our friend Dr. Aaron Ward (of pursuing pineapple fame). Crosby checked out just fine. His Billy Ruben count was slightly elevated, but nothing that a little bit of indirect sunlight can't help resolve. Crosby's birth weight was 6 lbs. 4 oz. His discharge weight when we left the hospital on Friday was 5 lbs. 13 oz. We were please to see him weigh in at 6 lbs. 2 oz at Dr. Ward's office, almost back to his birth weight after 5 days.

Pictures convey a lot more than words...so I'll use pictures to fill you in on the last few days.

Here is a link to an photo album from Crosby's first bath at home: http://picasaweb.google.com/chris.kear/CrosbySFirstBath#

Crosby's coming home outfit.

Our first day with Crosby

2009-12-10T18:33:00.011-06:00

We spent our first day with Crosby today and it was wonderful. Thank y'all for the words of support, encouragement, love and congratulations over the last few days. We are doing well. We are just adjusting to Crosby and him to us. Lord willing, we will get to take Crosby home on Friday.

One of our biggest prayers has been that Crosby would not have to spend much, if any, time in the NICU once he was born. We are so blessed that Crosby did not have to spend 1 second in the NICU, thank the Lord!

I probably haven't said it enough in the last few days, but my wife is amazing! Crosby is so fortunate to have her for a mama. Our family and friends are pretty amazing too. Thank y'all for everything!

Here are a few pics of the newest Kear.

Crosby is doing great

2009-12-09T14:41:00.001-06:00

Crosby is in the room with us hanging out under his warmer. His little cries are beautiful. Tara is doing well.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Crosby is here!

2009-12-09T14:08:00.001-06:00

Crosby George Kear is here!!!

6lbs 4oz. 19.5" born at 1:19 pm on December 9, 2009. Tara did amazing! They are both doing great. We are truly blessed and thankful for this gift from God.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Progress

2009-12-09T12:52:00.001-06:00

Tara is completely dialated and 100% effaced. She is doing great!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

We are in labor and delivery

2009-12-09T10:23:00.001-06:00

I made it to labor and delivery. Tara's water hasn't broken yet and she is doing well.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Moving to labor and delivery

2009-12-09T09:21:00.000-06:00

Tara is 6-7 cm dialated and they are moving her to labor and delivery. We are having a baby!!!! More info to come. I'm hauling tail to little rock.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

We made it to 36 weeks!

2009-12-08T14:24:00.003-06:00

Praise the Lord, today marks 36 weeks, and 3 weeks of being in the hospital on bedrest. Thank you all for the prayers and support. I (Tara) feel like this is a huge milestone, and I feel so blessed that Crosby has been able to stay put and mature this long. We've definitely noticed that he is getting bigger, just by looking at my side profile these days. :) Dr. Wiedower came by this morning and told me that we are still planning to stay on the medication for 1 more week, until we reach 37 weeks, which is considered full-term. I honestly expect Crosby to arrive that day, but he may have something else in mind and keep his parents guessing a little longer. If he does not come by the time I am 38 weeks, I will be induced. Today, the doctor also told me that I am now allowed to sit up in a chair for a little while each day and increase my walking some to help me gain some strength before Crosby arrives. It is amazing how quickly you lose strength and endurance from lying in a hospital bed. I am wondering how I will be able to manage our stairs at home. Here is a picture of my wonderful visit from Amy and Gretta, who drove up from OBU yesterday afternoon. Amy learned to knit over her Thanksgiving break and knitted this amazing blanket for Crosby. I'll also put a picture of one of my favorite nurses here, Nancy, as she hooks me up to the monitors...part of our daily routine here on the antenatal unit. I am really going to miss the sweet nurses that have been taking such great care of us these past few weeks.

35 weeks and 6 days

2009-12-07T08:06:00.008-06:00

A quick update... Crosby is still cooking. Tara and Crosby be are both doing. We had a pretty quiet, non-eventful weekend, which is good. We are looking forward to talking with Dr. Wiedower this morning and confirming the game plan for the next week or two.

Thanks for the prayers and support. God continues to take care of us and has given us a wonderful community. Y'all are amazing.

UPDATE:
Dr. Wiedower was very pleased with how Tara was doing and the fact that we were almost at 36 weeks. She plans to leave Tara on the Brethine until she hits 37 weeks, then take her off of that and let whatever happens happen.

35 weeks and 5 days

2009-12-06T09:29:00.010-06:00

We are 35 weeks and 5 days as of this morning. Tara and Crosby are doing well. It is a beautiful Sunday morning and despite my doubts the sun still rose this morning in spite of last night's SEC championship games. Imagine that.

If you've checked the blog in the last few days and not seen any updates, I'm sorry. Remind yourself that no news is good news.

We have a had a couple light rounds of contractions (that is just going to happen), but nothing like Wednesday evening. Crosby is still active, head down, raring to go. Tara is doing well. Her attitude is much better than mine would be if I was going on day 19 of hospital bed rest. Please pray for her mental fortitude and joy as we continue stay the course...and she stays in bed. As of now the game plan is still to stay on the Brethine medicine until 37 weeks (December 15). So in the meantime we continue to wait.

My mom, Roz or Dozzie as her grandsons know her, picked up a Christmas tree for the room this week. It was fun to decorate and bring some of the holiday season into our gray walled hospital room. I wonder if I can convince Tara to forgo our standard 8 foot tree and go with a 2.5 foot tree every year. Yeah right!

The blue and brown ornaments were a favor from a shower that Tara's college buddies threw for her. Sara Recktenwald added the custom Crosby rhyming reminder note to each one. They are especially appropriate for our hospital tree.

Yesterday enjoyed a visit from Tara's long time Pastor, Bro. Buddy and his wife Ms. Terry. Bro. Buddy was one of the ministers that married us and is the epitome of true pastoral care. It was so good to see them and visit.

My wife rocks

2009-12-02T20:28:00.002-06:00

I called Tara as I was leaving work Wednesday evening to check in and learned she was having some contractions just like Monday evening.

The main contractions lasted from 5 to 10 or 11 pm when they eventually spaced out enough to not be concern. The good news is that when the nurse checked there was no progression, still 5 cm. My wife is a real trooper.

Tara was a little sore this morning but in good spirits and enjoying her apple when I left.