Updated with Answers:
1) Hat from Cody and Kellie (made by Kellie)
Onesie was actually purchased by us at a store!
2) Pretty sure this was a garage sale find
3) This was her brothers (and Noah used it too)
4) This is Madison's
5) This is Chloe's
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Where Did My Clothes Come From?
3) This was her brothers (and Noah used it too)
4) This is Madison's
5) This is Chloe's
Pics of the...Day/Week/Month...
We'll have to see how often I actually update:)
The first preseason Viking game was Saturday-Go Vikes!Comparison Pics
Here are a few pics of Cayden and Karis. We went through some baby pics the other day and she looks exactly like my brother did in the hospital and how I looked at 1 month old. It'll be interesting to see how much our 1 month pics look alike. (I haven't been able to find any birth pics of me, which is helping to fuel my adolescent thoughts that I was adopted.) She also looks a lot like my mom in some of her younger pics. There are parts that look like Cayden, but I think she mostly looks like my brother, mother and I.
Karis
Cayden(I'm always happy when their eyes get stronger and they stop going cross-eyed!)
Karis
Cayden (They didn't give out cute hats when Cayden was born)
Going Home!
Karis' going home pic (birth weight 6lbs 5oz)
Cayden's going home pic (birth weight 7lbs 4 oz) 
Growing Family
Family of 4!
Last pic as a family of 3, (taken 56 minutes before we became a family of 4) :)Friday, August 13, 2010
Importance of Being Careful
After Cayden was jumping around the couch where Karis was laying:
Mommy: Cayden, you have to be careful with little babies. You can't jump on them or they can die. Do you remember Grandma Doris, how she died and now we don't get to see her anymore? (I fully intended to extend this example and help him understand, but he interrupted me)
Cayden: Oh, did somebody jump on Grandma Doris?
(P.S. I had some posts that were saved and have now been posted, but they are mixed in between posts that were already posted.)
Mommy: Cayden, you have to be careful with little babies. You can't jump on them or they can die. Do you remember Grandma Doris, how she died and now we don't get to see her anymore? (I fully intended to extend this example and help him understand, but he interrupted me)
Cayden: Oh, did somebody jump on Grandma Doris?
(P.S. I had some posts that were saved and have now been posted, but they are mixed in between posts that were already posted.)
Grandpa Alan and Grandpa Lyle
I've told Lyle that if anything ever happens to my dad he will have to step in and take his place, because not only do they look alike, but he probably knows my dad more than anyone else. They've spent so much time together I know he'll never run out of stories about my dad. Well, while my dad was in Arizona last April, for a month, Lyle told Cayden he'd be his grandpa. Cayden still calls him grandpa Lyle.
My dad and his brother, they tell people they are twins, 9 years a part.
Lyle and Karis (2 days old)
Lyle and Cayden (3 months old)When Cayden was 3 months old he was copying Lyle. Every time Lyle stuck his tongue out Cayden would copy. We were all shocked he could do that at such a young age. Lyle decided to start a little younger with Karis:)
Grandpa Alan and Karis
I am so thankful that the Lord did not take my dad home in May. It is such a joy to be able to look at these pictures of him and Karis together. My biggest fear, besides losing my dad, was that he wouldn't get to see my baby and that she would never know her grandpa. Karis' birth day could have been such a bitter sweet day. Thank you Lord, for letting us keep dad here!
(Even my Dr. commented about what a Miracle and Blessing it was that my dad was there to see her.)
Playing Dress Up (Part 1?)
Daddy's little Viking, already!
The hat they gave us at the hospital (plus, a look I remember seeing on Cayden)
Cayden's look
Here's one of Cayden with a bit more dramatic look, Karis has done this too, but I didn't catch it on camera.
What a cute girl(We asked how they got the bow to stick and they said gel. We thought oh that would work, thinking, hair gel, and then she smiled kind of sheepishly and said, "no, cervical gel." Hmm, not quite the same cuteness now huh? :) )
Family of Four
My dad said, "lets get a picture of the four of you." Simple sentence, right? Man did it hit me that we were a family of four, that seems so official!My First Library Book
Cayden's first story, read by daddy (book given to us by the public library)
Karis' first story, read by Cayden (book given to us by the public library)Cayden saw the book and just started showing it to Karis all on his own.
Adjusting
Cayden and Karis gave each other gifts. Cayden wanted to sing Happy Birthday to Karis before he gave her, her gift. (a baby doll that says, "mama" and uses a pacifer and bottle to stop fussing)
Karis gave Cayden a train set and he loves it! He still plays with it continously! Many people brought gifts for Cayden too and that was so nice! My parents got him a bubble gun and he was at their house playing with it and when he stopped he said, "That sure was nice of my baby sister to buy me that train set." Mom was surprised, thinking he was going to comment about the gun, but he was thinking of his nice baby sister. :) As we were all leaving the hospital he was in his seat and she was in hers and he looked down and said, "Thank you Karis for my train set, that was so nice."
Proud Brother
Cayden was the first one to hold Karis and he loved it! 
"Look at her little nose"
"Here's your baby sister Karis"Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Karis Jo Odegard
(A very long, detailed, birth story, for my records, but feel free to read if you want)
Sunday, August 8th, 2010 (8-8-10) at 12:04pm Karis Jo arrived after pushing through 3 contractions for a total of 9 minutes. (Timing compliments of my mom) She was 6lbs 5oz and 18 1/2 inches long. I can't believe she was so little! For some reason I thought they were going to say she was over 8lbs. (maybe the pain of pushing gave me that idea? :) )
Saturday was a very busy day for me. I thought I was going to just go to a couple of garage sales and relax while Brandon was at DragonBoat races. However, the first garage sale I went to was a jackpot and we were there most of the day (at different times for different reasons). It's too long of a story, but it kept me hopping for a lot of the day. I missed Brandon's first race and called to see how the schedule was going for his second race and he was already heading out to the starting line. I grabbed my mom and Cayden, we rushed into town and I thought I was taking a shortcut. However, it was crazy days so the road was blocked off. Cayden and I jumped out of the car and ran 3 blocks to the races. (Actually I ran for a minute realized I should NOT be running and we fast walked the rest of the way.) That was the first moment I realized the baby was probably going to come that night. We made it to the race in time to see Brandon paddle to shore. (Bummer, but Cayden was satisfied)
After more errands I went to my moms and we jumped into the pool, it felt gorgeous! Then we went coupon shopping at Walgreens and did some things online. I was exhausted! I told mom the baby could not come that night b/c I was so tired and my house wasn't clean. I'd been keeping my legs shaved, house cleaned and was trying to be well rested. (That was the second moment I realized she was going to make her arrival that night) Finally at 11:00pm I went to bed, leaving my mom and Brandon still up finishing a movie. I tried to sleep, but I kept having contractions. Finally at 11:45 I got up and went into the living room and announced my contractions were 5-6 minutes a part. We timed them for over an hour and they were consistent. The nurse said I could come in or wait until it was painful. I was afraid to wait until it hurt b/c what if I missed my cervical block opportunity?! So around 1:30 am on Sunday we headed into the hospital. Mom was already at the house so that worked well for leaving Cayden. They checked me and hooked me up and after an hour or so decided I could go home or stay the night. We decided to stay the night b/c the insurance was already charged and I figured I'd sleep better not caring about timing the contractions. At 4am I woke up for about 4o min with uncomfortable contractions, but fell back asleep until 6am. At that point I told the nurse we could just go home and walk and try to get things going more. (The contractions were still consistent, but not closer or stronger.) She suggested we see what Skogerboe said. He wanted to check me on his way to church so we waited around until he got there. The nurse figured it was fine for me to go home and I was feeling frustrated that we just spent the night at the hospital for no reason. I mean really, it's not like it was a hotel!!
However, when Skogerboe got there, just before 8am, he said I was dilated to 5cm and asked for the hook to break my water. I was like, "should I try and get things going on my own more?" and he said, "no, if you've dilated to 5cm without noticeable pain I'd rather not have you leaving, you're ready to have this baby." So he broke my water and I noticed an increase in labor pain, but not unbearable. At 9:30am the nurse checked and I was about 6cm. She wanted me to get up and walk around or sit in the chair, but I wasn't in unbearable pain so I wasn't real anxious to increase my pain. I finally got up and got in the chair and then after a bit my contractions were really starting to hurt. At about 10:45 I said I wanted the cervical block. She said they could try and check my progress again and I said, "yes and give me the block" (They like to wait until about 7cm) I was a 7 and was able to have the block, about 1 contraction too late, that last one was a bad one! However, after he gave it to me, man did I feel good!! I felt less pain/pressure than with my braxton hicks throughout the pregnancy! I got up and visited my parents, Cayden, and Peggy in the waiting room and we talked and I walked for awhile. Then I started to feel the contractions stronger and the nurse suggested checking me, it was about 11:30am and I was at 8cm. She suggested I walk a couple more times around. I wasn't too keen on that idea because I wasn't feeling as good as I had been, but she said it would help get the baby coming. I made it a few steps out the door and had to stop, then Brandon suggested we take a shortcut back to the room. Just after passing the birthing room I had to stop again and this time felt like pushing. My mom was just heading down the hall with Cayden to take him to the bathroom and I told her it was time. She said she'd be right back and I was like, no somebody else needs to take him potty, I need to push now. My mom and Brandon were both in the delivery room for this birth. I figured it was a little weird, but the miracle of birth my mom would get to experience outweighed the weirdness. It was pretty special. Especially being able to tell her that the baby's name was Karis Jo, named after her. We both got a little emotional:)
I got back in bed and Skogerboe suggested I have 5-6 more contractions and I said, "no, I mean I really have to push" so he said ok and got all scrubbed up. I looked at the clock and it was about 5 to 12:00pm. I thought to myself, I want to have this baby by noon. I didn't say anything, because I figured they'd scoff at me and that it was just wishful thinking. However, at 12:04 she was born. I considered that close enough to noon! I was hoping for another cervical block before I got that far along (because they only last about an hour), but I was too close to delivering. He did a pudendal block and that helped a little. I had a grade 2 tear, but nothing too bad I guess.
I think I asked if it really was a girl and had to look to make sure and she was! When I held her I was surprised that she didn't look like Cayden or any one of us. While they were weighing her and checking her I looked over at her and thought to myself, Karis Jo, and I just knew that's who she was. I looked over and Brandon and asked him to confirm and he said, "is that what you want?" (he said it exactly like he did with Cayden) and I said, "yes" so he said, "yeah" and smiled. We had talked about that being our favorite name, but it was still hard to really determine it until we saw her. I really liked Reagan the whole time, but Brandon didn't. We both really like Taylor since we were dating, but we didnt like the meaning of either of those names. Karis means grace and goes really well with Cayden. Also, I thought it was easy to spell and pronounce and with the hassles I've had with my name I didn't want to do that with my daughter. (I've found I was totally wrong, not many can pronounce it and it's already been spelled worng!) We figured it was the best name. The only problem was that I know a Karis (she's super cute and it's where I got the name) but it's really hard to picture my child with the name when I always picture our friends daughter. That first day I asked Brandon a couple of times if that's really the name we wanted because I was having a really hard time calling her that and believing it was really her name. However, Cayden would proudly announce, "Karis Jo" to everyone that asked and Brandon had no problem calling her by her name and after a few times trying to get her to nurse by calling her name it started to get more natural and I really liked it. Sometimes it still seems weird, but I know she will become her name soon enough. I didn't have this issue with Cayden because I knew I wanted him to be Cayden for the last few months of my pregnancy. I do remember thinking its so wierd that a baby is born and because I'm the mom I get to pick a name and for the rest of their life that's what they'll be known as!
It took awhile for any of us to see who she looked like. Then the next day my mom came up and was like, "oh my, I feel like I'm sitting in the hospital holding you again, she looks just like you!" (her looks changed so often in the beginning). I'm hoping my mom will find some pics of me and maybe I'll be able to scan them and post them, however, don't hold your breath!
Sunday, August 8th, 2010 (8-8-10) at 12:04pm Karis Jo arrived after pushing through 3 contractions for a total of 9 minutes. (Timing compliments of my mom) She was 6lbs 5oz and 18 1/2 inches long. I can't believe she was so little! For some reason I thought they were going to say she was over 8lbs. (maybe the pain of pushing gave me that idea? :) )
Saturday was a very busy day for me. I thought I was going to just go to a couple of garage sales and relax while Brandon was at DragonBoat races. However, the first garage sale I went to was a jackpot and we were there most of the day (at different times for different reasons). It's too long of a story, but it kept me hopping for a lot of the day. I missed Brandon's first race and called to see how the schedule was going for his second race and he was already heading out to the starting line. I grabbed my mom and Cayden, we rushed into town and I thought I was taking a shortcut. However, it was crazy days so the road was blocked off. Cayden and I jumped out of the car and ran 3 blocks to the races. (Actually I ran for a minute realized I should NOT be running and we fast walked the rest of the way.) That was the first moment I realized the baby was probably going to come that night. We made it to the race in time to see Brandon paddle to shore. (Bummer, but Cayden was satisfied)
After more errands I went to my moms and we jumped into the pool, it felt gorgeous! Then we went coupon shopping at Walgreens and did some things online. I was exhausted! I told mom the baby could not come that night b/c I was so tired and my house wasn't clean. I'd been keeping my legs shaved, house cleaned and was trying to be well rested. (That was the second moment I realized she was going to make her arrival that night) Finally at 11:00pm I went to bed, leaving my mom and Brandon still up finishing a movie. I tried to sleep, but I kept having contractions. Finally at 11:45 I got up and went into the living room and announced my contractions were 5-6 minutes a part. We timed them for over an hour and they were consistent. The nurse said I could come in or wait until it was painful. I was afraid to wait until it hurt b/c what if I missed my cervical block opportunity?! So around 1:30 am on Sunday we headed into the hospital. Mom was already at the house so that worked well for leaving Cayden. They checked me and hooked me up and after an hour or so decided I could go home or stay the night. We decided to stay the night b/c the insurance was already charged and I figured I'd sleep better not caring about timing the contractions. At 4am I woke up for about 4o min with uncomfortable contractions, but fell back asleep until 6am. At that point I told the nurse we could just go home and walk and try to get things going more. (The contractions were still consistent, but not closer or stronger.) She suggested we see what Skogerboe said. He wanted to check me on his way to church so we waited around until he got there. The nurse figured it was fine for me to go home and I was feeling frustrated that we just spent the night at the hospital for no reason. I mean really, it's not like it was a hotel!!
However, when Skogerboe got there, just before 8am, he said I was dilated to 5cm and asked for the hook to break my water. I was like, "should I try and get things going on my own more?" and he said, "no, if you've dilated to 5cm without noticeable pain I'd rather not have you leaving, you're ready to have this baby." So he broke my water and I noticed an increase in labor pain, but not unbearable. At 9:30am the nurse checked and I was about 6cm. She wanted me to get up and walk around or sit in the chair, but I wasn't in unbearable pain so I wasn't real anxious to increase my pain. I finally got up and got in the chair and then after a bit my contractions were really starting to hurt. At about 10:45 I said I wanted the cervical block. She said they could try and check my progress again and I said, "yes and give me the block" (They like to wait until about 7cm) I was a 7 and was able to have the block, about 1 contraction too late, that last one was a bad one! However, after he gave it to me, man did I feel good!! I felt less pain/pressure than with my braxton hicks throughout the pregnancy! I got up and visited my parents, Cayden, and Peggy in the waiting room and we talked and I walked for awhile. Then I started to feel the contractions stronger and the nurse suggested checking me, it was about 11:30am and I was at 8cm. She suggested I walk a couple more times around. I wasn't too keen on that idea because I wasn't feeling as good as I had been, but she said it would help get the baby coming. I made it a few steps out the door and had to stop, then Brandon suggested we take a shortcut back to the room. Just after passing the birthing room I had to stop again and this time felt like pushing. My mom was just heading down the hall with Cayden to take him to the bathroom and I told her it was time. She said she'd be right back and I was like, no somebody else needs to take him potty, I need to push now. My mom and Brandon were both in the delivery room for this birth. I figured it was a little weird, but the miracle of birth my mom would get to experience outweighed the weirdness. It was pretty special. Especially being able to tell her that the baby's name was Karis Jo, named after her. We both got a little emotional:)
I got back in bed and Skogerboe suggested I have 5-6 more contractions and I said, "no, I mean I really have to push" so he said ok and got all scrubbed up. I looked at the clock and it was about 5 to 12:00pm. I thought to myself, I want to have this baby by noon. I didn't say anything, because I figured they'd scoff at me and that it was just wishful thinking. However, at 12:04 she was born. I considered that close enough to noon! I was hoping for another cervical block before I got that far along (because they only last about an hour), but I was too close to delivering. He did a pudendal block and that helped a little. I had a grade 2 tear, but nothing too bad I guess.
I think I asked if it really was a girl and had to look to make sure and she was! When I held her I was surprised that she didn't look like Cayden or any one of us. While they were weighing her and checking her I looked over at her and thought to myself, Karis Jo, and I just knew that's who she was. I looked over and Brandon and asked him to confirm and he said, "is that what you want?" (he said it exactly like he did with Cayden) and I said, "yes" so he said, "yeah" and smiled. We had talked about that being our favorite name, but it was still hard to really determine it until we saw her. I really liked Reagan the whole time, but Brandon didn't. We both really like Taylor since we were dating, but we didnt like the meaning of either of those names. Karis means grace and goes really well with Cayden. Also, I thought it was easy to spell and pronounce and with the hassles I've had with my name I didn't want to do that with my daughter. (I've found I was totally wrong, not many can pronounce it and it's already been spelled worng!) We figured it was the best name. The only problem was that I know a Karis (she's super cute and it's where I got the name) but it's really hard to picture my child with the name when I always picture our friends daughter. That first day I asked Brandon a couple of times if that's really the name we wanted because I was having a really hard time calling her that and believing it was really her name. However, Cayden would proudly announce, "Karis Jo" to everyone that asked and Brandon had no problem calling her by her name and after a few times trying to get her to nurse by calling her name it started to get more natural and I really liked it. Sometimes it still seems weird, but I know she will become her name soon enough. I didn't have this issue with Cayden because I knew I wanted him to be Cayden for the last few months of my pregnancy. I do remember thinking its so wierd that a baby is born and because I'm the mom I get to pick a name and for the rest of their life that's what they'll be known as!
It took awhile for any of us to see who she looked like. Then the next day my mom came up and was like, "oh my, I feel like I'm sitting in the hospital holding you again, she looks just like you!" (her looks changed so often in the beginning). I'm hoping my mom will find some pics of me and maybe I'll be able to scan them and post them, however, don't hold your breath!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Ramone/Ramona
You know me and a good deal, well I had coupons for completely free items that expired July 31st. I went around town collecting my free items and one item was for a free tropical fish. Brandon and I decide it would be fun for Cayden, so we got Cayden a betta fish that he named Ramona. I said he could name the fish whatever he wanted, however, it's a boy fish and he would call the fish "she," so we said he had to name it Ramone b/c it was a he.
He has done a good job of remembering to feed him and seems to really enjoy his fish. They say Betta fish can live a few years so I figured it would probably be awhile before I have to worry about dealing with the death of a pet. I shouldn't have been worried:
Daddy: I think if we leave Ramone on the table he'll cook and die (from the sun shining in)
Cayden: So we can eat him? For dinner?
He has done a good job of remembering to feed him and seems to really enjoy his fish. They say Betta fish can live a few years so I figured it would probably be awhile before I have to worry about dealing with the death of a pet. I shouldn't have been worried:
Daddy: I think if we leave Ramone on the table he'll cook and die (from the sun shining in)
Cayden: So we can eat him? For dinner?
Could it be time?
UPDATE: After almost 2 hours of timing them, I guess I just needed water. After I drank a glass they pretty much stopped, well they're very sporadic again. I don't mind though because I was able to go get Huggies wipes for less than $1 and free Digornio pizza, plus some other great couponing deals! Plus, Brandon and I got some stuff done around the house that we needed to, nothing like false contractions to motivate Brandon :)
Well, I'm timing contractions. I'm pretty sure I've been losing my mucus plus the last two days and I've had about 7 contractions or so in the last 45 minutes. It could mean nothing, so I'm not anxious or doing anything about it. In fact I'm posting on my blog and couponing:) Once I get my coupon list nice and organized (so my mom can do it if I go into labor) I'll go for a walk, eat supper, and take a shower just in case it turns into more. I've had lots of contractions, but they've been very sporadic, this is the first time I've had them this often and consistant. I'll try and keep you posted:)
Also, today I made baby food for the first time! My baby will have green beans as long as he/she needs! It was so fun, thanks so much Sarah for all your work and motiviation. Can't wait to tackle another vegetable with you:)
Well, I'm timing contractions. I'm pretty sure I've been losing my mucus plus the last two days and I've had about 7 contractions or so in the last 45 minutes. It could mean nothing, so I'm not anxious or doing anything about it. In fact I'm posting on my blog and couponing:) Once I get my coupon list nice and organized (so my mom can do it if I go into labor) I'll go for a walk, eat supper, and take a shower just in case it turns into more. I've had lots of contractions, but they've been very sporadic, this is the first time I've had them this often and consistant. I'll try and keep you posted:)
Also, today I made baby food for the first time! My baby will have green beans as long as he/she needs! It was so fun, thanks so much Sarah for all your work and motiviation. Can't wait to tackle another vegetable with you:)
Monday, August 2, 2010
37 week update
I have never, in my life, been this pregnant. Small yet interesting thought for me:) All comparison of weight and size with Cayden's pregnancy has come to end, b/c at this point I was already home from the hospital with him and lacking sleep :)
I had another Drs appt today, with my regular Dr, and he said it could be anyday and that would be just fine (I'm off all restrictions). But if he had to guess, he thinks I'll make it to my next appointment, next Monday. So my sights are now set at least a week out. It helps my anxiousness to have a further date instead of "anytime now." Everything was the same except I'm dilated to 3 now. Brandon's co-worker mentioned something that I thought would be cool. If the baby is born next Monday the birthdate will be 8-9-10. So I figured the delivery time should be 11:12. :)
(Every day/night for the last week I've been ready for this baby to come, except for tonight. I ate beans for supper-please don't let it be tonight! :) )
I had another Drs appt today, with my regular Dr, and he said it could be anyday and that would be just fine (I'm off all restrictions). But if he had to guess, he thinks I'll make it to my next appointment, next Monday. So my sights are now set at least a week out. It helps my anxiousness to have a further date instead of "anytime now." Everything was the same except I'm dilated to 3 now. Brandon's co-worker mentioned something that I thought would be cool. If the baby is born next Monday the birthdate will be 8-9-10. So I figured the delivery time should be 11:12. :)
(Every day/night for the last week I've been ready for this baby to come, except for tonight. I ate beans for supper-please don't let it be tonight! :) )
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