The end of an era

It's officially time to end our blog here. We do hope that you have enjoyed reading about our family and keeping up with what we're up to. Of course, I can't imagine not blogging after doing it for 2 1/2 years or so!! I would miss showing off how much Kayleigh has grown and allowing those of you far away the ability to read and see what we're doing. So, since we are adding to our family, the URL no longer fits. We have officially moved to a new site. This one will remain on the internet--that way if you forget our new blog URL, or are too lazy to re-bookmark it, please click on the link to be re-directed to the updated Eikeland blog. http://eikelands.blogspot.com
The new blog is still in progress. I'll get it really up and running soon!

For Abuelo and Aunt Anne

Last night we had our friend, Erick, over for dinner while Amy is out of town. We got this picture and video of Kayleigh. The guys were laughing because Abuelo taught Kayleigh to show off her muscles. They (Erik and Erick) had to up the ante a little bit and told her to say, "Welcome to the gun show Abuelo". She had us cracking up!! She will probably be in therapy for years because of this video, but we have to post it.




Kayleigh showed off Mumble and friend to Erick, and wanted me to take a picture of her with them, so that's the special Aunt Anne photo for the day. Of course, they are huge compared to her when she's sitting down, but it's still a cute picture, don't you think?

And the name is.....

You'll have to watch Kayleigh on the video to hear baby brother's name.

This second video is just a cute one, I think. Kayleigh is enjoying having me shoot videos of her this morning and then watching them. She's talking about what we're doing today, and after answering the question about it being Grandma's birthday, she says something that I don't understand. If you think you understand her, let me know what she said! :)

Getting wet

While Kayleigh and I were at the mall with our friends, she wanted to play in the fountains that were there. I didn't think it was a good idea, so I told her that if she waited, we would play in the water at home. We were able to play outside for a long time after dinner tonight and Kayleigh LOVED it! She had more fun with me spraying her with the hose than running through the water in the sprinkler. I think she liked the hose because I would let her have it to run after me. Erik mowed the lawn while we played, and as soon as he was done he joined in on the fun. He helped dry her off while I got out of my wet clothes. He had her wrapped up in her towel and his, and it was so cute that I had to get a picture!


Completely random side note: We FINALLY got our digital camera back from Canon today!!! It works like it's brand new again!!! Woohoo!!

Post-carpet

I am giddy with excitement over the new carpet in our house! Of course, I could also go for a nap, so maybe that's part of it. Our slumber party with Kayleigh in the living room left us all wanting more sleep this morning. Kayleigh thought it was too cool to get to sleep out there with us and couldn't go to sleep. Luckily, tonight we'll be back to our regular routine. I'll post more pictures when the furniture is back in everyone's room, but that task might not be fully accomplished until this weekend. Obviously, I'm not help to Erik when it comes to the big stuff.
I do think Kayleigh's room is the prettiest out of all of the rooms because of her walls. I think the green goes really well with the carpeting.

Pre-carpet pictures

Tomorrow is the big day for us to FINALLY get our new carpet! We're all so excited about it, including Kayleigh. We've been talking about it for awhile, and I've wanted new carpet since we moved in over 5 years ago.
Thankfully, Jim and Shirley were willing to let us borrow their digital camera to take pictures. I called Canon at the end of last week, and they had to order a part for our broken camera. It's frustrating, but hopefully we'll have it by the end of this week or beginning of next. As long as it gets here before September 30th!
Hopefully these pictures will give you an idea of what the house looks like before we get our carpet. Erik and I have worked almost every day for a couple of weeks to get Kayleigh's butterflies and flowers painted on her walls. Tonight I hope to finish cleaning them up, and then we'll be all done with them. I hope this is the last time I have to paint something like that!
You will also see a picture of the carpet with a paint stain on it. After Erik and I moved in, Valerie came up to visit and help me paint what is now Kayleigh's big girl room. While I was gone that day, Valerie accidentally spilled part of the paint and left the ring that's on the carpet. I just admitted to Erik today what that stain was from. He never asked about it, so I always kept my mouth shut! :) You're welcome, Valerie! The stain has always been covered by either a dresser or a bed, so she spilled in the perfect spot! I do remember her telling me about the stain on my way home from my errand, and I had been so worried that it was in the middle of the room and would look awful! I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was something that could so easily be covered.
Erik has recently talked about buying a new bedroom set. If it had been a couple of years ago, I would have jumped at the chance. Now, I'm content with what we have, and don't feel like buying one, especially since we still have to buy furniture for the baby. I told him today that he has the chance to have new bedroom furniture for the night since our "bedroom" is the living room. He LOVES the big screen tv that is in his room!
Okay, enough with the stories. Enjoy the pictures, and I'll get some more up tomorrow of the carpet. I'm not sure when the house will be completely back to order, but I'll continue to take pictures along the way.

Trip to Jacksonville

Last weekend, Kayleigh and I went to Jacksonville to visit my sister and brother-in-law. My camera is still being fixed, so I didn't get to take any pictures. Luckily, Valerie's camera works, so she took a bunch for me! I didn't get the pictures from her camera, but click HERE to read more about our weekend and see what we did. I figure if you're going to her blog anyway, I'm not going to write the same thing she did. I'll use my time to do something else! :)
Did we have a good time? Yes. Did Kayleigh have a better time than I did? Yes. She LOVES her aunt Val, and I am pretty much ignored the entire time Valerie is around. Every time I would try to do something with Kayleigh, she would say, "No, aunt Val do it!" Thanks kid.

I love my daughter!!!

Kayleigh is the sweetest thing ever, and she just melted my heart twice today with the nice things she said. Here are excerpts from our conversations this afternoon and tonight.

Setting the scene: I was working on painting in Kayleigh's big girl room, and she was bringing toys in from the other room. She found an Easter egg that I had taped up last year (2008) with paper clips in it to make noise. She was into it last year, and the toy has stuck around.
Conversation #1:
Me: I made that egg for you last year. You liked playing with it.
Kayleigh: You made this for me?
Me: Yes
Kayleigh: Oh, thank you Mommy! I love it!
Isn't that amazing???

Setting the scene: As many of you know, we are changing the bathroom around upstairs to make it more unisex for Kayleigh to share with baby brother. I have kept the old bathroom stuff in the hopes of selling it one day. It's in good condition, but definitely too girly for a boy to use! I was trying to clean up a little bit and got the shower hooks down and was going to put them and the shower curtain in the matching garbage can to keep it all together. Kayleigh was looking at the shower curtain hooks.
Conversation #2:
Kayleigh: Are these my hooks?
Me: Yes, but they are your old ones. You got new bathroom stuff, remember?
Kayleigh: A new shower curtain from Grandma and Barbara. (or something to that effect)
Me: Well, Grandma and Barbara put your new shower curtain up, but it's actually from aunt Val
Kayleigh: That was nice! I like it!

Don't you just want to squish her for being so cute?!?!?!?! I love my kid!
Erik says that it sounds like I'm bragging, but I don't care. It was too sweet to not document and put out there for the whole world to see!

Ultrasound

Today I had another ultrasound to see how big this baby might be. I say might, because as you may know, the ultrasound can be off by a pound or two. I thought they would measure the baby's femur to tell the length, but they were just looking for weight. So, if you believe what I learned today, this baby already weighs about 5 lbs 11 oz. Whew! I am also measuring 35+ weeks, even though I'll just be 33 weeks tomorrow. His weight puts him in the 95th percentile. If he keeps growing like this, I think he'll run out of room in my stomach!
We also learned that we are still having a boy! That was the first shot we got today. According to the technician, his stuff "hasn't fallen off"! I said it was a good thing, because we'd have a lot of rearranging to do! Baby's heart rate was 138 bpm, meaning that he is nice and relaxed. Oh, and he has a head full of hair! You can see it in one of the ultrasound pictures that I've posted.
The doctor says that everything looks great. I've only gained 13 pounds, and my blood pressure is good, too. So, except for having an unnatural delivery, this pregnancy is text book perfect!







Profile











"Here's looking at you!"




















Back of his head and pointing to his hair

Here we go again...

So, this weekend, Erik and I were talking about the bedrooms upstairs. I was still being wishy washy with whether or not I wanted to change Kayleigh's room, so Erik said, "I've made the decision. She's moving." Whew! Thanks for taking the pressure off of me! So, in Kayleigh's big girl room, we have re-drawn the flowers and butterflies and are working on getting them repainted. We started painting last night, but we had to wait until Kayleigh was asleep to do any work. The butterflies take me 30 minutes each just to outline them in the paint, and then Erik would go back and fill in the rest of the paint. Her room is going to look really cute once it's all done!
We are also looking for new sheets for Kayleigh's big girl bed. We decided to not go with a theme, just plain ol' sheets. I don't even think we'll buy her a comforter yet. Kayleigh doesn't use a blanket much anymore, and she definitely doesn't use a comforter. She'd get lost in it!
I won't be able to get pictures up for awhile. The camera was shipped off on Friday because it was giving us a "lens error". We're mad at Canon because that's the second camera to do this to us, and this one is only a few months old. Hopefully they can get it fixed and shipped back to us soon.

Swimming lessons

For the last two weeks, I have been taking Kayleigh to swimming lessons. She definitely had fun for the most part, but would NOT put her head under water. It's frustrating because she was doing it consistently this summer, but decided to not do it at her swimming lessons. I think part of it was that she would see the other mother constantly dunking her kid under water, even though he would be coughing up water and not seem ready to go back under before she did it again. I even thought that she didn't realize how often his face would go under water when his back was to her and he would end up swallowing a lot without her knowing. But, I will say that he ended up not minding as much by the end of the lessons. Too bad I'm not one of those mothers who doesn't mind torturing her daughter! Even though Kayleigh won't tell you this, I think she can almost float on her back by herself. I would crouch down as low as I could in the water and she could pretty much stay afloat by herself. In all, I would say that the lessons were a good experience. I think with more practice and pool time, Kayleigh will be swimming on her own before we know it!
This video is a little long, but it's one of the songs that we would sing in the class. If you see Kayleigh reaching for her neck, that's her signal to only put her in that deep. We had many a conversation these last two weeks about how I wouldn't put her all the way under water unless she said it was okay. I want her to trust me when she's in the water. Watch the other little boy, too, and you'll see what I mean about his face going under when his mother doesn't realize it.

"I'm the big sister!"

Kayleigh has already gotten a t-shirt that says, "I'm GOING to be a big sister", but now my mom and dad have sent a shirt for her to wear when the baby is born that says, "I AM the big sister". I had to get pictures of her in her cute shirt, and then some of her holding her baby doll, getting a glimpse of what it's going to be like in just SEVEN WEEKS!!! I know the doll is much smaller than baby brother, but I thought it was a cute picture, and I think I'll have to have her practice holding a baby that way. Then she'll really be ready to hold her brother.

Fun at the beach

On Saturday, Erik and Kayleigh went to the beach for a wedding. It was for the couple that got married in Poland. They had to get married here in the States for the government to recognize their marriage. They had a small wedding on the beach with just family and a few friends. Since I had already been to one wedding and had made plans to go to Jenna's baby shower, I let the two of them have a day to themselves. It was fun for them, and really nice for me, since I got a lot of stuff done, including a two hour nap! Here are a couple of pictures of Kayleigh that were taken at the beach.

Get ready to meet our baby...

...on September 30th! It's official! I got it all cleared at the doctor's office yesterday. I'm scheduled for a c-section at 7:30 AM September 30th. I think it's cute because Kayleigh's birthday is May 30th, and this little one's birthday will also be on the 30th of the month. No names, but Kelli, remember we had to wait for Norah to be born to learn her name, too! Erik would like to have this little one named before he's born, but we have to decide that we've chosen one that we both like and think he will, too. We won't keep it a secret if we nail it down to one name, I promise!

Doctor's appointment

I had a doctor's appointment today, and I'm happy to report that everything is still going well. I have had some serious Braxton Hicks contractions these last couple of weeks. The doctor isn't concerned with them and says that it's normal for the second pregnancy. We tried to schedule the c-section, but the scheduling lady wasn't very helpful. I know the September calendar is up for the hospital, but she didn't really look at it. I'm not sure what happened, but if you are there to schedule surgery, and she's the person that does the scheduling, shouldn't she be able to do it right there??? She's supposed to call me back in the next day or so, so I'll keep you posted.
Yesterday, Kayleigh and I started her swimming lessons. She is enjoying the time in the pool, although wishes it lasted longer. The lessons will go until next Thursday. It's fun because it gives us something to do, and hopefully both of us will get more comfortable with her in the water. Erik will try to come out one day next week. If he does, I'll make sure he gets some pictures so that I can post them.

Baby shower

Yesterday, my friend Jenna threw an awesome baby shower for me! It was extra special since I wasn't expecting one. There was a good group of girls from church and other ladies who are always up for a celebration. As usual, Valerie took a ton of pictures, but I will only post a few. The baby and Kayleigh will have a fun new bathroom to share, and I think we got everything we need to complete the decor. For those of you who weren't able to make it, we missed you! For those of you who made it, thanks for coming and helping us celebrate the newest addition to our family!
Erik and I went to Lowes this morning and officially started the process of getting new carpet. We'll have someone come out and measure the bedrooms (the only rooms that have carpet), and then we'll order some from there. Once the carpet is installed, we'll get the nursery done. I think Erik and I may have decided to move Kayleigh out of her room and into the other bedroom. We'll keep her furniture with her, and buy new stuff for the baby. I might still change my mind on that one, so don't quote me on it!

Tuesday morning

Kayleigh and I ended up having a busy morning this morning. Originally, I wanted to take her to the park to play on the playground, but plans changed a bit. After breakfast, I was getting my shoes on to leave the house. The dogs started freaking out, thinking that they were going to get to go somewhere. Kayleigh feeds off of their excitement, so I asked her if she would like to go to the park, or take the dogs on a walk. She wanted to walk...
And by walk, she means that she wants to sit in the stroller while I push her and am semi-dragged by the dogs when we first leave. We were doing laps around the neighborhood when we came upon a house with a cement truck out front. Hopefully the guys that were working on installing a new driveway didn't mind working with an audience, because we probably sat there for 15 minutes watching them pour and smooth out concrete. We walked a little more after that before Kayleigh started to say, "I'm very hot." Oh yeah, and I'm cool as a cucumber! Back to the house we went.
We came inside and all of us drank some water before Kayleigh started to talk about going to the playground. I asked, "Why don't we play on your playground (AKA swingset)?" It sounded good to her, so she went on the swings, down the slide, and blew some bubbles before I convinced her to come inside for a little bit.
On the way inside, she said she wanted to eat some watermelon. I bought some at the store yesterday, so I cut it up and back outside we went to eat it. After she was done eating, I brought her inside and put her in the tub to rinse her off. What a mess watermelon can be!
Kayleigh is napping now, and it's raining outside, so we had a great morning and hopefully a quiet afternoon.

Dinner with friends

Last night, we went out to eat with our friends, Jenna, Craig and Jack. Kayleigh and Jack are best buds, and have been hanging out since about the time they were born. A two year friendship is a long one when you're their age!
Anyway, after dinner Jenna and I slipped outside with the kids while the boys paid the bills. At first, they enjoyed sitting on the chairs looking at the water (and the ugly road), but then we started posing them so that we could see their faces better. I don't know if you know this, but Kayleigh LOVES the camera, so looks at it and hams it up. Jack is a little more reserved and liked to look away as soon as the camera was about to click. Oh well. We got the biggest kick out of the "prom pose" because we did NOT pose them this way! We were telling Jack to put his arm around Kayleigh again, like the previous picture, and when he walked back over to her, he stood behind her like they were at the prom. I think they're growing up a little too quickly for me! :)

I love you

A while ago, Kayleigh and I were practicing sign language. She knows some signs from before, and she would use them before she could speak. She still does some of them now, and we were reviewing those, along with a couple of new ones. No, I am not trying to make her fluent in sign language, because I can't say that I am. But, it's fun to teach her some things, and it's good for her to know other languages, right? :) Anyway, one of the signs that we were practicing was "I love you". I would put her fingers in the correct position and they would stay for a couple of seconds. Today, I was sweeping in the dining room when she called me to come see her. I did, and was so excited to see her doing the "I love you" sign! Of course, I had to take her picture! I tried to get one of her without the cheesy face. I'm not sure how to get her to stop doing that! I think we're going to have a lot of crazy pictures until I can figure out how to get her to stop doing it. Any suggestions?

"Shake your booty!"

Erik has taught Kayleigh to shake her booty. I finally caught it on camera!



Since starting this post, I heard the following conversation between Erik and Kayleigh:
Kayleigh (looking at me): I want Daddy to wash my hands!
Me: Kayleigh, you need to ask Daddy, not me.
Kayleigh: Daddy, wash my hands.
Erik: Why do you always ask Mommy questions, not me? Is she my boss?
Kayleigh: Yeah
Gotta love it!