Someone adores his daddy...

6 months...

Well, we have a big boy on our hands. At his 6 month well-check, these were his stats:

weight: 20.1 lbs (95%)

height: 28 in (97%)

head: size of a 16 month old

His dumb mom also agreed to a flu shot for him on top of the cold he already had. All that did was give the poor little guy a 104.8 fever in addition to his congestion. He is much better and happier now, but it was a tough couple of days.

Other things he's doing:

rolling over and over

sitting up (maybe I should call it "leaning up")

eating veggies and fruits and cereal

screaming for fun

wearing 9 month or larger clothing

pursing his lips

blowing bubbles

babbling

clearing his throat all the time

smiling and giggling at his friend in the mirror

loving pictures of his family

adoring his daddy

laughing without being tickled

and overall, being a content and happy baby!

Ready for winter...

Mom dressed me (all about the warmth)...

An outtake...

I stink at this blog thing...

Since this is the first post since we brought Carter home from the hospital, here is a quick look at his life in pictures...

1 week

2 months

3 months

4 months

Almost 6 months

Life has brought so many changes and blessings the last 6 months. Carter arrived in June, and we moved back to New Mexico when he was 2 weeks old to join my family in the ranching business. Jeremy hit the ground running (with no previous agriculture experience) and is doing a fabulous job! While there have been many adjustments, we couldn't be more blessed! We're close to both families, we live in the country, and we're enjoying a much simpler life...one in which we can focus more on what's important. I am blessed to be able to stay home and raise Carter...I wouldn't have it any other way. I was recently trained in Natural Family Planning and am thrilled to be able to share a love for and openness to life with others. Jeremy is an incredible father, husband and supporter. This move has challenged us while bringing us closer.

In terms of Carter, he's an angel (what mother wouldn't think that of her child!). Right now, he's almost 6 months old, close to 20 lbs and is about 27 inches long (I think). He is eating solids (veggies and fruits), rolling over, using the potty (with my help), and talking up a storm (in baby language, of course). He loves to be held and is a great cuddler. He sleeps about 11 hours a night and still takes 4 naps. When he's awake he loves to be read to, and he loves talking to himself in the mirror (he's his best friend). He adores Jeremy and laughs at most of what he does. He rarely is fussy unless he's tired, scared or isn't being fed fast enough, ha ha. He has developed a fake smile for the camera that is precious.

He's also had a few little problems along the way. He spits up an insane amount...we can count on at lest 3-4 outfit changes a day. He gets a little motion sickness at times. He is allergic to something in milk. I think it's a mild protein allergy rather than a lactose intolerance, but who knows. And he went threw a good 8 weeks being constipated all the time, poor guy.

We can't find hats that will fit him...at 4 months, his head was the size of a 10 month old. He's in 9 month clothes and some of them are still too short. I think a tooth is bound to come out anytime, and he has a cold right now.

Carter brings a joy to our lives that we never imagined, and we hope we experience that again and again as our family grows. We have so much to be thankful for, and life is good.

Carter Thomas Fisk...

He has arrived, all 8 lbs, 5 oz of him. We are home, and everyone is great and so in love. Here's a picture of him coming home. More to come soon!

Catching up...AGAIN :)

Well, I've waited too long in between posts yet again, so it's time to play catch-up...

In April, after being on the market for six days, we sold our house in Norman! The best part of it is...the new owners were kind enough to let us live here until we move in July...so we can rest easy as we finish up things in Oklahoma and welcome our little boy into the world.

I am now 38.5 weeks pregnant and if he doesn't decide to come before, we'll have a baby in our arms on Friday, June 11th! We couldn't be happier (even with the touch of nervousness we both have). Out lives are about to change dramatically, but we've heard that things only get better :)

In terms of pregnancy stats...there is not much new to report. He is still measuring on track; I feel good and can still exercise; sleep is becoming more difficult and the bathroom trips more frequent, ha ha; but, I have been blessed with a very pleasant (for the most part) pregnancy, and I couldn't be more thankful! It helps to have such an amazing husband taking care of me :)

I caved and decided to have some maternity pictures taken at 33 weeks. Sometimes I feel a bit silly for doing so, but I'm sure I'll be thankful I did as time goes on. Here are a few of the shots done by Candi Coffman out of OKC...

Also in April and May, many sweet ladies hosted a few showers for us! We traveled to College Station and Clayton and then had a local shower in Norman. Everything was wonderful, and we are so thankful for the amazing friends we've been blessed with.


On our way to the shower in Clayton, we stopped in Amarillo for a final ultrasound (thanks to my mother-in-law). We got to see the baby in 4D and it was amazing -- so lifelike! With every ultrasound, the fact that we're about to be a family of three has become more real. While they said he was measuring large and could come as early as May 29th, he's still inside :)



And yes, we did finally decide on a name...Carter Thomas Fisk. Carter...obviously my maiden name (as I have my mom's maiden name). Thomas...after Saints Thomas More and Aquinas (patron saints of the parishes where Jeremy and I have grown in our faith together and excellent models of lives lived for Christ). We wanted both a family name and a biblical/faith-based name, so Carter Thomas it is!

As Friday draws near, it's difficult to imagine how much our lives will change. The emotions that come with adding a new life to our family, fueled by "the unknown," span the spectrum...yet, we are are extremely grateful for the blessing of a child and pray that parenthood only makes our love for each other and for others grow deeper. Next post....Baby Carter!

30 Weeks...

We had our 30 week appointment this week. Now they'll continue every two weeks until week 36 when we'll start having appointments once a week. The Dr. says we've got a "wild man" on our hands. He never stops moving, but that's fine by me...at least he's healthy!

Other stats:

Heartbeat: 157
Measuring right were he should be.
Weight gain: 14 lbs.
And he is head down (praying he stays that way)!

That's all I've got.

Who Only Updates Their Blog Every 7 Months? That Would Be Me.

As you can clearly see, I’m not so great at keeping up with this blog…maybe a more fitting word to describe my lack of updating is “horrible.” An update every 7 months…I should do better than that. The problem is that I never know what to write or what anyone will care about reading. So, I’ve decided that I’ll keep the blog more as a little journal of the day to day happenings in our life, hoping to someday have enough entries to serve as a sort of “history of us.” Also, it will be a way to keep in touch with family and friends who are so close to our hearts but father away physically than we would like.

So, I’ll try to do a little recap of the last seven months:

In October, Jeremy and I found out that we are expecting a child…due June 17^th! We couldn’t be happier to add a member to the family, and the past few months have definitely been centered on preparing for the baby and making some major life decisions accordingly.

At almost 17 weeks:

We were able to make a trip to San Antonio right after we got the news to celebrate my college roomate Stephanie's beautiful marriage to Jarrett.

In December, we were told that the little one is a boy! How much fun it will be to have a little guy running around the house…and hopefully a big brother to a sister someday. December was also the last month of my short tenure at Mary Abbott Children’s House. While a wonderful organization that is so desperately needed, it wasn’t the best fit for me emotionally. So, with the support of an amazing husband, I retired early (VERY early).

Our first Christmas tree as a married couple:

Eggnog might become a Christmas tradition:

First Christmas together:

In January, we took an early “babymoon.” In the middle of what seemed to be the coldest winter for us in a long time, we went to sunny Scottsdale, AZ for a few days. While there we managed to get a round of golf in (Jeremy playing, me keeping score), cheer the Horned Frogs on in the Fiesta Bowl, go on daily hikes, shop a little, and just relax in our beautiful surroundings.

I also got to spend a girls weekend in Dallas with two of my best friends from college (Lindsay and Erin) who are also pregnant!!

Since then, Jeremy has been hard at work on his thesis in a geophysics master’s program, and I have been a stay-at-home-mom in waiting. What a blessing it has been to have this time to see Jeremy more and to be able to do little things here and there to support him through this busy time with school. He will complete his master’s degree sometime between May and August of this year.

In March, Jeremy and I made a decision that will shape our future together. Rather than continue with a PhD in geophysics here at OU, we have decided to move back to where I was raised (Clayton, NM) and join my dad, mom and brother in the ranching business. It will be a big change for both of us, being that I haven’t lived there since high school, and Jeremy hasn’t lived in the country before. But we think it will be a wonderful place to raise a family and grow even closer as husband and wife. We’ll be working together daily and enjoying the closeness to our Creator that a life in agriculture can bring. Plus, we’ll be so much closer to both sides of our family – such a huge blessing for us! Moving plans aren’t finalized, but we hope to be in New Mexico by the first of August.

Finally, we’ve put our house on the market here and hope to have a buyer before we leave.

Attached are some progression pics of the pregnancy. If I can keep this up, expect posts of our final appointments with the baby doctor and updates on our move. Again, this will be more of a memory book for us than anything else, so hopefully I can do a better job . Love and blessings!

18 weeks:

24 weeks

28 weeks: