The Fiedlers Rock!

2009 was a wonderful year for our family! We got pregnant, Kaylie started Kindergarten and Emily started 3rd grade, Travis was born, the list goes on and on! We are so thankful for such a wonderful year- much better than 2008- but we are excited about what 2010 holds in store for us!
We will be spending the day ice skating and eating while my mom watches Travis. Then spending the evening at home, playing board games, eating and watching Dick Clarks show!
We wish you a very Happy New Years from our family to yours... we love you all! See you in 2010!!!

We hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas! We will be spending the afternoon with family, going to Riverpointe Church (which we LOVE LOVE LOVE, esp at Christmas), and then coming home and making cookies and watching a Christmas movie. Kaylie is soooo excited that its Christmas- she keeps asking what time she needs to go to sleep so Santa can bring her presents. We can't wait for Emily to come tomorrow! It feels like forever since we've seen her but she will be here until after New Years! Lots of fun in store for us!
Have a wonderful Christmas - we love all of you!

My friend Ashley Allen came to the hospital on the SHORTEST notice to take pictures of Travis when he was born... I started thinking about it 2 days before and thought, you know, I hated all of the pics from when Kaylie was born. I was disgusting, I wasn't in any of them and I had none that I just really LOVED. So AShley said she could come and she did NOT disappoint! She did a FANTASTIC job... when I opened the images and started looking, I cried my eyes out. She captured everything! From the waiting room, to Steven walking down the hall the say our precious baby was here to the girls seeing him for the first time, to the first time I really got to hold him. Absolutely priceless memories that we have captured now thanks to her. I HIGHLY recommend this idea to those of you that are about to have a baby- nevermind that it might not be your first. I just wish I would have thought of it when I had Kaylie. But here are some of her pictures she took.
Ashley- thank you, thank you, thank you. I am forever in love with all of these pictures. Thank you for hanging out at the hospital with my crazy family for so very long and for thinking of every little detail- I love you girl!
http://www.ashleyallenphoto.net/

We got snow this past week in Houston! And boy did we get it... Kaylie was actually home from school that day because she had croup and I had laringitis- it was a ton of fun at our house! Kaylie did get to go out and play in it some only because part of her prescription from the doctor (and mine) was to go outside in the cold air and breathe it in. So that we did! Kaylie really enjoyed herself. I like to look at snow but don't like to be cold at all- I'm definitely a true Texan! Here are a few pics from that day!

I cannot believe Travis is already a month old! Where in the world has the time gone? He is such a sweet baby- it has been so fun to have a newborn in the house. You forget how fun it is to stare at a baby who sleeps or just stares back at you! Here are some things that Travis has "accomplished" in his first month:
1) He is really good about holding his head up! He's been good with it since he was born but he is getting really good at it. He's also good at headbutting you when you aren't paying attention.
2) The child CAN EAT!!! My goodness, he is already eating 5-6 ounces each feeding! I am still trying to breastfeed but I can't keep up with him! He's going to be a chunk!
3) He has his Daddy's chicken legs... we laugh all the time at how big he is but how thin his legs are.
4) He is already saying mama!! And I'm not kidding- anytime he gets hungry and fiesty and starts fussing, he screams out something that sounds like damama... even the nurses in the hospital and my lactation consultant agreed that he was saying mama! The boy already knows who is in charge.
5) He tries really hard to hold his own bottle and he can reach up and pull his pacifier out when he's done with it.
6) He smiles- but really only at 3am when his mom is trying to tell him to go night night.
7) His sisters LOVE LOVE LOVE this child. They are always fighting over who gets to hold him! I can already tell Kaylie is going to be very protective of him, just like I was with my younger brother Jimbo.
We love you Travis Cade- we are so blessed to have you in our family Little Big Man! You complete our little perfect family. Mommy and Daddy and your sisters love you so much!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving... I know we sure did. I must say, this has been a great last couple of weeks for me and my family- and I feel so incredibly blessed this time of year. We have a beautiful healthy son Travis that we prayed and waited for so long, he is just perfect in every way. We have 2 beautiful daughters- Kaylie and Emily- who continue to make us laugh and love like we never thought we could... we have amazing family who have been such a huge help to us over the last few weeks (I must say, a HUGE thank you to my mother in law Lisa who has helped me out more than she knows- and my mom for all that she has done as well). We have amazing friends, friendships with people that we can't imagine not having them to share everything with.
So we are thankful for all of that and more! We are thankful for all of YOU!
God Bless you and your sweet families.

I saw on a blog that I follow this cute "Name Frame". You can put your child's name, birthdate and stats, a bible verse, whatever you want on there! So I decided to order one for Travis. I emailed the girl- her name is Emily- and she was super awesome to work with! I sent her pictures of Travis's room and told her exactly what I was looking for and I got the frame in the mail today! Let me just say- I ABSOLUTELY love it!! It is exactly what I was wanting- the colors, the fonts, the frame, everything about it was perfect! I have to recommend her to everyone- her blog is called Chocolate Blue... here is the address-
http://www.emilyschocolateblue.blogspot.com/
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE check her out! The frames range from $40-$46 and they are so personalized, I just love ours! Her email address and contact info are on the blog. If you do place an order, let her know that I sent you!!! I really think she deserves a million shout outs, I love supporting people who are great to work with and who care about what they do. When I opened the package, she had written me a note thanking me for my order- you can't get more personal than that!
Here are pictures of Travis's!!

Travis had the distinct pleasure of meeting his buddy Sydney Valentine yesterday... she was sooo sweet with him! She kept pointing at him and saying "Baby" and would smile and try and give him pretzels! It was too cute. I think Leslie will be A-ok with her second baby that is on its way (we find out next week if it will be a boy for Travis to run around with or a girl that he can marry :)).
Here are some pics!

My bestie Leslie holding Travis...

I love Sydney's smile!!! So sweet! :)

Travis is one week old! I can't believe its already been a full week since he was born! We are really enjoying him- even if its hard on our sleep pattern. Here are a few things we've learned about him in this first week:
*The boy LOVES to eat... we are already at 3, sometimes 3 1/2 ounces for each feeding.
*He finally latched on and we are able to breastfeed!!! YYYIIIPPPEEEE! Huge for me, because I struggled with it with Kaylie and really wanted to try it with him and its working! I was so relieved.
*He is extremely mellow- when he is awake, he's very alert and loves to stare at your face- maybe its the silly songs I sing to him but he's very mellow.
*He loves to be kissed all over- in fact, he really tries to kiss back. Steven, Kaylie and me will take turns kissing his mouth and he opens his mouth really big and moves his head from side to side like he's kissing us back. So sweet!
*Its so sweet to see Steven interact with him- and for all those that heard Steven say he was going to be tough on his baby boy- YEAH RIGHT- he loves on Travis and kisses him allover and talks baby talk to him- makes me fall in love with Steven all over again, he's such a good hands- on Daddy with all of his kids.
*We went to the doctor and he has lost weight- he's down to 9lbs, 14 ounces!!! Funny huh! We go back next week for another check up so we'll see if he's gained it back. My bet is YES- he eats so much!
*He is already getting on a schedule- his night feedings are around 10:30pm, 1:30am, and 5am. Which is nice- my body is also getting used to waking up at these times to feed him!
*He likes to sleep with his hands behind his head (just like Steven and Kaylie) and he likes to cross his feet- just like Kaylie!
*I'm in baby heaven right now... I forgot how sweet it is to have a newborn around and I've already cried a ton just thinking about me going back to work and having to leave him in January. The thought of missing anything makes me so sad.
Here are a few pictures from his first week!

Tried to get the pic of him cracking a smile- just looks like he passed gas! But it was an adorable smile!

Me and Travis- I was extremely tired in this pic- we both passed out shortly after.

Kaylie loving on Travis- she comes home from school, changes clothes, washes her hands and BEGS to hold Travis, which we let her do. She just loves him so much. When he sneezes, which he does alot, Kaylie will copy what I say- and say, Oh My Goodness Travis, OH my goodness! She's so cute with him.

Daddy dressed him in a Texans onsie and gave him a mohawk after a wash down! Can't fully bathe him yet because his umbilical cord hasn't come off yet.

Kaylie gets to feed him in the mornings before school sometimes... this was one of those mornings.

We are so excited to announce that Travis Cade arrived a week ago, November 5th at 1:09pm- weighing in at 10 pounds 8 ounces, 21.5 inches long!!! Did you read that right? YES- I didn't write it backwards, he was REALLY that big! I had a scheduled C-section- here is a picture of me before the surgery...

I was a ball of nerves before the surgery. Once they started, I felt a TON of pressure- I kept telling Steven, Oh my God, they are going to break my ribs! They had to get another doctor in there to help get Travis out! When they pulled him out, all I heard was giggling and then OH MY GOD (but in a good way). Dr. S said, Jen, you have a huge baby! He's at least 10 pounds!!! At this point, I seriously thought I was having an out of body experience. Did she really just say 10 pounds? I'm 5ft 3 on a good day- how in the hell did a 10 pound baby fit inside of me? Oh thats right- he was in my ribs and sitting on my bladder! He took over my stomach!!! I didn't hear him crying at first and I started getting worried- and then all of a sudden, I hear this roar of a cry!!! I was like- thats a newborn? He sounded so deep and loud! I cried so hard- I can't believe my baby had FINALLY made his arrival. My angel that we had both prayed for and dreamed about. They brought him to me and I could barely hold him on my chest- but he was adorable. He instantly reminded me of Kaylie- the lips, the brow, his small faint strawberry on his forehead. He was perfect (and HEAVY).

I cannot believe that its finally here... I've been waiting all this time for this very special day and its almost here. It hasn't quite hit me yet that I'm having a baby- I know, that doesn't make sense when I've got this huge stomach, heartburn that could really kill someone, I go to the restroom every hour, and more ailments I don't need to share at this point! Its just hard to believe that I'm finally going to have that baby in my arms I've been wanting and waiting for over the past 2 years!
C section is scheduled for Thursday at 1pm... please keep Travis and myself in your prayers that everything goes smoothly, that we are both healthy and happy. Also pray for my wonderful Dr. Schroeder and her staff as she performs my surgery and they care for both Travis and myself.
Thats all for now folks... next time you hear from me, I'll be posting about my precious baby boy. I just can't wait to hold him and kiss him and tell him how I've been waiting to meet him my whole life. :)

I went in to the doctor this morning to get checked. Dr. S is out of town until tomorrow morning but another doctor in her practice saw me. Turns out that Travis is REALLY not ready to make an appearance, even though I've been having more and more contractions. Not dilated any further and he is still fairly high up there.
On a side note, the nurse didn't know me since I don't see that doctor regularly- she was going to check his heart rate and I lifted my shirt and she stopped dead in her tracks, looked at my belly and then at me- and said, "You're really just having one baby"? I cracked up because I had told Steven 2 nights ago that I thought there was more than 1 in there because it sticks sooo far out and then she said that. The funny thing is that I haven't gained any weight in 2 weeks but I can guarantee you that I've gotten bigger in my belly. Everything is hard to eat though because it gives me heartburn!
Anyways- Dr. S is back tomorrow so Travis listens well... if he comes after tomorrow, I'm ready!

I really don't have much to report- other than the fact that I need a CRANE to move me anywhere. My stomach is huge- I have no clothes that fit me anymore so Steven likes to sing the song "Rocking the Beer Gut" to me as a joke everytime I put something on. Kaylie gets a kick out of that too.
This past weekend, Steven and I both had crazy dreams. I woke up Saturday night to go to the restroom for the 15th time that night and Steven was helping me get situated in bed and he says" I had a dream of what Travis looks like"... he said he had blonde hair, blue eyes and he was wearing a pumpkin outfit!!! WHAT????? Ok, so does that mean I should be ready for a Halloween baby? Why else would he be wearing pumpkins? Whats funny is, I had a dream, a continuous dream all night long that I was in labor and couldn't get to the hospital! Everytime I woke up, I'd be sweating and breathing hard, would go to the restroom, go back to sleep and start the dream where I left off. SO STRANGE!! I will not miss these dreams when I'm not pregnant anymore.
Leslie and I have been talking- since both of us have planned c sections- and Leslie's water broke the day before she was scheduled... that it would be easier on your mind for that to happen then wait until the day you were scheduled. As I am getting closer, I'm getting more and more anxious! I kind of wish it would just start happening on its own so I wouldn't have to play this waiting game!
I go to the doctor tomorrow morning- my doc is out of town until Friday but I'm getting checked by another one in her practice- I am thinking I've dilated to more than a 1 but will know more tomorrow morning.
STAY TUNED! :)

Most of you know, I'm not into jewelry... not into purses (I am but I get to sticking with one and don't switch them out like you should to "match"), not into shoes, clothes, blah, blah, blah.

What I AM into is technology (TVs, cameras, phones), furniture, trips and CARS! I'm kind of like a guy in this sense, probably from growing up living with my Dad who was into these same things!

Well, Steven surprised me with my "push present" (or should I say cut present)- a new 2009 Tahoe!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!

Let me preface this with the following- We had been having major issues with my Expedition- like it just breaking down and deciding to power off while I was driving 70 miles an hour! That happened twice, brakes went out twice, transmission issues, idling rough, etc.I have been nervous as hell to drive that car, especially thinking about the kids riding in it! Well it finally touched a nerve with Steven- so he traded in the Expo for a New Beautiful Hoe!!! HA! His Tahoe, even though its a 2003, has outlasted my Expedition that was 3 years old! So Tahoe it is. I couldn't have gotten a better push present- perfect for me! :)

And if you're wondering what color- you should know already... WHITE- thats the only color we both agree on. And its got a little ghetto in it, which is right up our alley, especially Steven's!

Thanks Babe- I love love love it!

Pics to come soon!

This past weekend, Kaylie had a soccer game... I didn't get to go because our wonderful car (I have to speak nicely about it in case it hears me from the driveway) decided it needed to have trouble for the millionth time this year- so I took it to the shop Saturday morning- and missed my Kaylie Bug score not ONE but TWO goals!!!! I was so bummed! This is technically her 3rd year to play and she has not liked it up to this point- but Steven makes her play- and now, she is finally into soccer! She came home all excited and told me she couldn't wait to play next year (we still have half of this season left so that might change again).

She has also been doing SOOO good in school- she loves to read and we've been practicing her sight words- she can spell Kaylie, Emily, Mom, Dad, blue, red, I, like, have, we, to, go, school, A, see, ball, she knows our home #, my cell # and her address!!! We've been adding words as we go! I bought her some books from her book fair and she can sound out alot of the words... really hard to believe that she is at this point in her life! But we are so proud of her. She has also made quite a few friends at school- she always tells me she doesn't have enough time to finish her lunch- well I went a little over a week ago, and I now know why. She talks to EVERYONE- teachers, parents, kids, kids that she has no idea who they are... she is so sociable. I had to tell her 10 times to sit down and eat! I got to read to her class that same day and all of her friends in class were obsessed with me being pregnant. Apparently, one of the little girls told Kaylie her mom was fat (thanks alot little girl) but Kaylie quickly put her in her place. This one little boy kept asking me to show him my baby under my shirt, like I was a kangaroo and could pull him out and put him back. It was funny!

As for other family news... my younger brother Jimbo and his wife Carolyn welcomed their 2nd baby boy yesterday- Levi Joseph... he is just adorable! Carolyn was a week over her due date but was quite the trooper! I'm very excited to have a new nephew and a cousin that Travis will be so close to in age!

My last day at work is tomorrow... I'm excited but a little anxious as well. I have no idea what I will do with myself until I have him but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Thats it for now- no pics because my cameras are all packed, charged and waiting for November 5th... I know- control freak!!!

Well on Tuesday, Steven and I decided to meet for lunch- he had to get new tires and there was a Guadalajara right next door to Discount so I met him there when I left work. We were eating and I started feeling a really strong cramp in my lower right side- I tried stretching it out but then the contractions came on. I got up and walked around the restaurant but it wasn't helping- I couldn't eat so I went and sat in the car. Steven came out and it was still going on so I called Dr. S. They told me to go ahead and go to the hospital and check into Labor and Delivery. WHAT? Um, I don't have my bags with me, my cameras are at home, the baby book is at home... I'm ready but just not right at that moment! And then the vain part of me comes out- I need a haircut, highlights and a bikini wax, all of which I've been putting off as long as possible!!! This is not the best time for me! :)
We checked in and I put into a labor room- you know, the kind where you actually push a baby out. That freaked me out because, hello, I'm a c-section woman! I don't need that baby warmer or those stirrups- just an OR will work! I reminded the nurse at least 4 times that I was a repeat c-section.
Anyways- I was hooked up to all the machines and I was having the contractions... but they weren't close enough together and I was only dilated to a 1/2 cm (don't you just love when they have to go in there and "check" you?)
So after several hours of monitoring and watching TV and listening to Steven snore in the room, they sent me home.
Funny thing is that once we got on the road to go home, the cramping stopped. Travis was playing games with me!
I have an appt with Dr. Schroeder today so we'll see if anything else has progressed. Probably not but I can hope!

On a side note- Steven was invited to go on a hunting trip- he would leave next Tuesday and then drive back on Wednesday... I started thinking about it and I feel like I should let him go. Am I nuts? Its one night and his mom will come and stay with us in case anything happens. Should I let him go on this hunting trip he's been talking about for the last 3 months?

Well I'd love to give you guys an update on how Travis is doing- but our little man is following directions and is staying put for now! I am not dilated at all nor am I effaced at all either! Her exact words when she did my stomach measurements were, Wow, this is going to be a really big boy! Steven was all excited and thought we should stop at Academy and get him some shoulder pads! Really? He is convinced that Travis will come out a 13 year old... :)
Let me tell you though, this pregnancy was SOOOO different from Kaylie. I keep saying, well Kaylie is an extremely independent thinker and has her own agenda- she always has. Maybe this is Travis showing us that he's a mellow kid and goes with the flow? Or I'm just reading into this WAY too much! But by this point with Kaylie, she had decided it was HER time to make her debut and she was here already (born at 36 weeks and we had to fight to get to that point). So we will see... next appt- Next Thursday... Stay Tuned.

THE WALL LETTERS CAME IN!!! THANK GOODNESS! I was about to go crazy on the lady that made them... took about 3-4 weeks longer than she promised. But we got them and they are now hung!
My friend Suzanne took some pictures of us- some casual belly without the skin pictures of me, Steven and the girls- so once I get those in, I'll pretty much be done!
I go to the doctor on Thursday- this is my first weekly visit- I'm anxious to see if I'm dilated yet or anything! I've been feeling alot more pressure down there and I feel like he's dropped but I don't know.
Here are some pics of TMan's room... I think its turned out really cute- just the way we envisioned it. And I say WE because alot of you know how much input Steven had this time- he was ALL involved in every decision, even down to the baby book!! Its been fun and we've had fun picking on each other about things- we both just can't wait to meet our son and welcome him to our little loving family.

This is his shelf in his armoire...

His clock- because every newborn needs to learn to tell time right away!

View from the door...

View of crib with wall letters...

The famous bookshelf that I HAD to have with the little labeled buckets- LOVE THIS! You can't see but on the shelf, I put a picture of Steven from when he was playing baseball in a baseball glove frame that Ashley and Trecy got for us- so sweet!

I looked today on the calendar to see how many weeks left until my C- section (I should know this, I get asked 200 times a day). Its 5 weeks from tomorrow!!! But considering that Kaylie came 4 weeks early, I'm already getting my stuff together. With Kaylie, I was totally unprepared- didn't even have a toothbrush at the hospital with me! I didn't even have a car seat!! This time, Momma is prepared!
I have already started packing my bag, Travis's bag is pretty much packed- everything is ready to go- all we need is a baby!
Keep you all posted...

For those that dont know, I'm a HUGE blog stalker- my friends at work (Amy and Jill) and myself always find these blogs and share with each other. Last week, Amy found one that I had to post about because it REALLY tugged at my heart. Its about this young adorable couple, who had to go through something so amazing and yet so tragic at the same time. The wife had found out that she had cancer and then found out that she was pregnant. Its their story, so I won't try and retell it... but get ready to read with tissue in hand. I just wanted to lift them up in prayer, as they are going through something that I hope I never have to endure. Please check out their blog and please keep them on your prayer list.
http://www.bandssullivan.blogspot.com/

One more blog that I came across a while back- a young couple who had been trying to deal with fertility issues for a very long time. They found out they were pregnant with sextuplets and she ended up delivering them extremely early- this is a local family and they actually delivered at Womens Hospital, where I will be delivering. Such a sad but amazing story as well- please pray for their remaining 3 baby girls who are fighting for their lives...
www.stanseljourney.com

I had an ultrasound this morning so that we could see if Travis was really measuring as big as my doctor was thinking- sure enough, he is! I'm measuring a week and a half further along than where I should be (and don't forget- I did fertility medication so I know EXACTLY when we conceived :) ) so he is a BIG boy! We got to see some 3D pics and he has the same brow as Kaylie and me and he had big feet and nice long arms, legs and fingers!!! I cannot wait to meet my new little man. He is weighing in at right under 6 pounds already with 6 weeks to go... Dr. S said thank God I'm having a C section!!! I was also put on a modified work schedule- working 4 hours a day for a while to give my body a break. She told me to get some rest and relax as much as possible- I have no idea how to do that!
Anyways- here are some pics from the ultrasound.

Mr. Barrett who LOVES all shoes, even 4 inch heals!

This is Mr. Jace... isn't he adorable?

Travis's new backpack

Kandace and me

My lovely hostesses... Sarah, Leslie, Stacy, me with the HUGE belly, Ashley and Maura- love these girls!

My dear friends through me a "sprinkle" yesterday at my friend Sarah's house. It was so much fun- let me just say that I am the luckiest girl in the world to have such amazing and supportive girlfriends and family to celebrate this very special time in my life. I felt so loved yesterday...
BIG thanks to Sarah Reckers, Leslie Valentine, Maura Houchard, Stacy McCarty and Ashley Aetonu for hosting the sprinkle. The food was amazing, the cake was adorable, and it was just a great day!
Travis got SOOOOO many wonderful gifts, we came home last night and had to get it all organized and Steven was floored at all the great things our friends got for us. Thanks to Maura, Lisa and Amanda for helping me do all this while I sat in a chair and watched! :)
Special thanks to 3 of my girls- Maura, Stephanie and Kandace for making the trip from Dallas to celebrate with me!
Here are a few pictures that my mother in law took of the day.

My sister in law Suzanne, my mom, me, my sister in law Carolyn, my grandmother- Emily and Kaylie

Emily and Aunt Amanda

Me and Stacy

The set up- all the food was delicious!

The cake- it was SOOOOO adorable!