Pumpkin Patch Pictures
Apple Picking
Pumpkin Carving
and look who turned 5 months old today?
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Fun Fall Weekend
Monday, October 12, 2009
Apple PickingGrayden Robert, you are 5 months old
Grayden! You turned 5 months old today!
Your fourth month has been one of the most fun and also the most challenging stage so far! Your little personality is developing and you are so responsive to those around you. BUT, your sleeping schedule has disappeared. You were awake and crying more times during the night this past month than you ever were as a newborn! But its ok, we love you to pieces and know its just a stage :)
Here's what else you've been up too:
You started rice cereal and a few weeks later we added oatmeal too.
You eat 30 oz a day plus oatmeal with your breakfast and rice with your dinner.
Y0u weigh 16 lbs.
Alhough you've been "tri-poding" since 3.5 months you are officially sitting up since 4.5 months! We are so proud of you buddy!
You have become very vocal and love to squeal and yell. Daddy thinks you sound like a velociraptor and I would have to agree!
You've been very busy this month! We spent a few days in Detroit for Daddy and Grampie's work. And also to Mayo Clinic in MN while Mommy had a check-up! You are a great traveler! (other than night time!)
You went mini-golfing for the first time for daddy's work picnic
You wear mostly 3-6 months clothes and size 2 diapers.
You went to your first pumpkin patch and we also took you apple picking!
You don't like going in your car seat anymore so once we get you strapped in we hurry to get moving so you calm down!
We look forward to another exciting month with you sweet boy!
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How did this happen?
Sunday, October 11, 2009
{this is how I found Grayden one morning while I was getting ready}
{I have no idea how he mananged to get stuck there, he's not even crawling yet! At least I don't *think* he is!}
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winner! winner!!
Thanks to everyone who entered in the giveaway! It was so fun to read all the comments!
The winner is :
APRIL
who posted at
October 8, 2009 7:58 pm
Congrats April! Send me an email with your mailing address by Tuesday morning and I'll send you your new pendant!
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giveaway
Thursday, October 8, 2009
In celebration of Paco's birthday and as a thanks for all the prayers from you wonderful readers this past year I will be doing a bloggy giveaway!
Up for grabs is this BEAUTIFUL HANDCRAFTED "BELIEVE" SCRABBLE TILE PENDANT:
Up for grabs is this BEAUTIFUL HANDCRAFTED "BELIEVE" SCRABBLE TILE PENDANT:
I just love it and I hope one of you lucky readers will to!
~For one entry leave a comment in the comment section below.
~And for an addional chance to win become a follower/or if you already are one let me know that in an additional comment.
**I will be using a random generator so be sure to leave a seperate comments for each entry so you can be entered twice!**
Contest is open until Sunday, October 11th at 12:00 pm EST and I'll announce the winner shortly after that!
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Happy Birthday Paco!
Wow! Paco is 1 today! Can you believe it? Its crazy how much has changed in the past year. I just spent the last few minutes reading back through the posts from Oct 8, 2008 and it just amazed me once again how God had everything so perfectly planned!
**Thanking God today for His faithfulness!**
What has God done in your life this past year that you are thankful for?
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last day at the clinic
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Today was an easy day of wrapping up the tests at the clinic. At 8:00 I met with a dietitian and after that met back with the hypertension nurse to get the results of my 12 hour blood pressure monitor....just like I expected a little elevated during the last few innings of the Tigers game....seriously it was :) But otherwise it looked good.
(Grayden and Aunt Lisa waiting for Mommy)Then we had a few hours to spare so we headed to the TJMaxx there and shopped a little more. We stopped at Panera Bread for lunch and then headed back to the hotel to pack up and check out of our room.
My final appointment with the doctor was at 1:30. She too was a super bummed about the Tigers so she understood the b/p issues during that time :) But more importantly than the Tigers, she was pleased to report that Paco is doing great! Praise the Lord! All the tests looked great and she wasn't too concerned about the one that was 'invalid' so that was also great to hear! Thanks so much for your prayers.
We headed for home right after we left and arrived back to our home sweet home a little before 1:00 am.
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clinic day 2
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The start of day 2 at the clinic started at 7:30 am (well, actually much earlier than that, thanks to G's sleepless night :) for a renal clearance test...long story short...it didn't go well and ended up being labeled as "invalid" and the nurse wanted be to re-schedule the test. I've had issues with this 2 hour torture test before so I kindly told her I'd rather not and we're still waiting to hear if I will have to re-do it or not. So prayers for that would be great!
{the boys waiting for me to finish up with the test}
After that we got some breakfast at the cafeteria, their omelets are the best, I have been looking forward to them since I made these appointments a few months ago!
Once we finished our omelets I headed to the next appointments, a bone density test, blood pressure consult (I'm hooked up to a portable blood pressure cuff and it will record my readings every 10 minutes for the next 12 hours), and lastly dermatology consult.
Once all my appointments were done we headed to the mall to do a little shopping and then went back to the hotel to watch the last few innings of the Tiger's game. It was a little weird to be rooting for the Tigers while they were playing the MN Twins but we definitely did it anyways!! It was such an exciting game, not the best time to be taking blood pressure readings :) Luckily it was mine being taken and not Robb's he got a little worked up towards the end ;) haha! 
{this was obviously taken before the Tiger's lost!}
So tomorrow is supposed to be our last day here and we'll get the results from all the tests in the afternoon. Thanks for your prayers!
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updates from MN
Monday, October 5, 2009
The four of us left yesterday morning at 9 am and arrived here safely in Minnesota around 4. The drive went great, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and Grayden enjoyed playing with Lisa in the backseat and watching his Baby Einstein video!
We headed to the clinic early this morning for blood work at 6 am! Grayden caught up on the current events while I was having my labs drawn.
(two pokes..not too thrilled about that)
I also met with the doctor, had an EKG, and a Chest X-ray all before10:00 am
After that we had a few hours to kill so Grayden emailed his family back home and we just relaxed for awhile.
I had my biopsy at 2:00 and was discharged a little after 5.
I had my biopsy at 2:00 and was discharged a little after 5.
We got some dinner (finally, I hadn't eaten anything since dinner Sunday night so I was famished) and now we are chilling out in the hotel room and recovering from such a busy day.
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how's Paco doing?
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Robb, Grayden and my sister Lisa are leaving with me to head to Mayo Clinic tomorrow morning to find out what's been going on with Paco. This will be my one year post transplant check-up. Can you believe its already been a year? Crazy!
I have been feeling GREAT so I am anxious to see how my test results turn out and what they find after all the procedures and stuff.
I have been feeling GREAT so I am anxious to see how my test results turn out and what they find after all the procedures and stuff.
I just realised how little I mention Paco these days. Life is so much more involved around Grayden these days that I barely even remember I had health issues at all (that's a good thing, I always looked forward to the day that I wouldn't be known as 'the girl with the kidney transplant' and more as Katie...just Katie).
So anyways, I'll fill you in on what's been happening kidney-wise over the past year.
When I got back home from the near month long stay in Rochester last year, I was going in for lab work here in town 3 times a week and having follow up appointments with my doctor in Grand Rapids every two weeks. As time went on the blood work has gone down to once a month and the doctors appointments are down to every 8 weeks. That's good!
There has been NO problems at all with my kidney function. A lot of times different drug levels will come back either a little low or a little high and so they have to adjust my meds but other than that Paco seems to be doing great.
A huge concern that I have mentioned before is my super low immune system and how dangerous it could be to me if I were to get sick. The meds I am on to keep Paco working well purposely weakens my immune system so that my body can't fight off Paco b/c its a foreign object. Because of that I can get sick very quickly and have a very difficult time recovering, it could lead to hospitalization. (So yes, the H1N1 virus could very likely be deadly for me and I (and everyone living with me) will be getting vaccinated if its offered). But thankfully I have only had a couple of minor colds, which is just AMAZING. Yeah God!
When I went back to Mayo with Mindy in January I had a biopsy done that showed there was no recurrent disease in the new kidney which is unbelievable and a huge answer to prayer!
Since that last visit in January I haven't had any further testing done (other than the blood work) to check the kidney's function in depth. So that's what this next visit will be. Lots of tests and procedures to get an even better look at the things blood work can't do.
We'd appreciate your prayers for favorable results and also safe travels, thanks so much! Have a great weekend everyone!
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Show us your life ~Baby Gear
Thursday, October 1, 2009
I've never had a chance (basically the time :) to participate in Kelly's Show Us Your Life blog carnival before but I thought this would be the time to do it. Mainly b/c I already did a post on most of it :) But I did add to it!
I am a sucker for all things baby! I want to get my hands on anything that would make my/Grayden's life easier or cuter! Here are some of our favorite products we've tried!
~the Wet Happened? wet bag. A saw a friend of mine pull one out of her diaper bag a few times when we were together and after she told me about it I had to have one! I ordered one up and it came the next day! They used to be sold at Target, which makes it even cooler I think! I love this bag! I carry it in my diaper bag all the time now! It's perfect for separating wet burp cloths, soiled clothes etc from the rest of your stuff in your bag. I have even used it for wet swimsuits in our overnight bag when we head home from the lake. One of my favorite things about the bag is that its machine washable so I can just throw the whole thing in the washing machine once we get home and its ready to re-use again! I love this thing!
~ the Hotsling. I have 2! I love wearing Grayden and he loves to be worn! The thing I like about the Hotsling is that its so easy to put on and use, no snaps, ties or rings, its just on continual piece of fabric. It works great around the house and while shopping in close quartered stores where there is no room to push a stroller around and if you have no muscles (like me) the infant car seat gets SO heavy after awhile! Grayden loves to be held so this makes life so much easier!
I am a sucker for all things baby! I want to get my hands on anything that would make my/Grayden's life easier or cuter! Here are some of our favorite products we've tried!
~the Wet Happened? wet bag. A saw a friend of mine pull one out of her diaper bag a few times when we were together and after she told me about it I had to have one! I ordered one up and it came the next day! They used to be sold at Target, which makes it even cooler I think! I love this bag! I carry it in my diaper bag all the time now! It's perfect for separating wet burp cloths, soiled clothes etc from the rest of your stuff in your bag. I have even used it for wet swimsuits in our overnight bag when we head home from the lake. One of my favorite things about the bag is that its machine washable so I can just throw the whole thing in the washing machine once we get home and its ready to re-use again! I love this thing!
~ the Hotsling. I have 2! I love wearing Grayden and he loves to be worn! The thing I like about the Hotsling is that its so easy to put on and use, no snaps, ties or rings, its just on continual piece of fabric. It works great around the house and while shopping in close quartered stores where there is no room to push a stroller around and if you have no muscles (like me) the infant car seat gets SO heavy after awhile! Grayden loves to be held so this makes life so much easier!
~a "lovey". this is a must have for Grayden! He got it as a gift and loves it! I'm not sure what it is about this taggie blanket but he just loves to hold on to the tags and have the soft fabric near his face its so cute how it calms him right down if he's crying! You can get one just like it for your babies here.
~Moby Wrap. I just bought a Moby Wrap recently and already love it! There is a little more work involved to put it on but its feels more secure and is so versatile I can wear Grayden in lots of different holds. When I put him in it for the first time he was out like a light within minutes of putting him in it! He loves to be close to me and snuggle. I only wish I had one sooner!
~Miracle Blanket! This is a must for any new mom! We got two of these shortly after Grayden was born and from that day on he has slept like a champ and has NEVER broken out of his swaddle!
~Happiest Baby on the Block! Oh my goodness I can not say enough about this book/DVD. It teaches you about a baby's natural calming reflex and how to trigger it, we use all the techniques on Grayden and feel that its a huge part of why he is such a happy baby and can be soothed so well!
~BabyLegs! I'm too embarrassed to tell you how many pairs of babylegs I've collected since ever before Grayden existed but I just love them! Personally I think they are adorable but that's not the only reason we love them! They make diaper changes so much easier and there is always a pair of these and a onesie in my diaper bag in case of any diaper leaks that require a change of clothes, this takes up way less room in my bag than an entire extra outfit would. As Grayden gets older and learns to crawl (oh my!) it will save his knees from getting rug burns on the carpet as well!
~AngelCare Monitor! If there was one thing I could suggest to parents it would be this monitor! It's a sensor pad that you put under the crib mattress and if the sensor doesn't detect movement after 20 seconds an alarm beeps! It also acts as a regular sound monitor as well as the movement monitor! Robb and I sleep so much better at night knowing we can count on this monitor to let us know if anything was wrong with Grayden's breathing during the night
~Summer Infant Handheld Video Monitor~ Love Love Love this monitor as well! We use the cords to attach the monitor to our small TV we have in out bedroom and love to be able to see Grayden as he sleeps and if he cries we can just look at the screen to see if he spit out his paci or what the deal is. The handheld monitor is also battery powered and has a range up to 300 yards so we can still see Grayden in his crib no matter where we are in the house or outside! It even has night vision! Love it!
~ The First Years Night and Day Bottle Warmer-this thing was great to warm up Grayden's bottles safely and also keep pre-mixed bottles cool in the cooler compartment making middle of the night feedings super easy. He know takes him bottles room temp so we don't use it anymore but we loved having it when he did take them warm.
~Our travel system. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles but it works great and I have no complaints at all. It is a little heavy but what car seat isn't? We love the stroller as well, it folds up with one hand and I love the color scheme! Brown and Green of course!
And I also just have to say how much I love our nursery furniture. I absolutely adore it. Typically after having something for 2 years I get sick of it but not this. I love it just as much as the day we picked it out way back when I was pregnant with Brenham.
Now for the second part:
Baby Gear we don't like.....hmm so far we have liked almost everything we have tried for Grayden...I did A LOT of research ;)
There is ONE thing though that I skimped on to save money and wish I would have just splurged and got a good one. Its the play mat/gym we bought off etsy. The concept was awesome, its very portable and you can easily switch out the toys BUT its flimsy and small. G used it while he could and liked it a lot, I just wish we would have gotten a nicer one that he would have been able to use longer.
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