Fun in the B-lo

This summer, we were able to spend over 2 weeks in Buffalo with Meemaw and Peepaw.  We made some great memories.  Here are a few of the highlights.

Cora was baptized at Saint Gregory the Great Catholic Church in Williamsville, NY on Sunday, July 6, 2014.  Aunt Ashley is her God Mother, but as she wasn't able to attend the christening, Meemaw stepped in.  The Deacon pictured performed the ceremony, attended by Great Grandma, Peepaw and Meemaw, and brothers, Cade, Carter and Cooper.  

Cora had her 3 month birthday while in Buffalo this summer.

Peepaw took Cade and Carter on the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls for the first time.

Cade and Carter on the Maid of the Mist.

Meemaw and Cora

Great Grandma Herr with 4 of her great grandchildren.

Great Grandma Herr and Cora

Cade and Carter fishing behind Great Grandma's house

Cora all dressed up for her baptism

Our new favorite Buffalo restaurant

Enjoying a ride on Peepaw's boat

 

Captain Cade

Captain Carter

Captain Cooper

Peepaw and Cora

Handsome sailors

Cora's first boat ride

Putt Putt

Watching cartoons on the iPad

Cora in the pack and play

Lunch 

Picnic in the driveway

Chuck E Cheese

Buffalo Zoo

Cooper loves his sister!

May 2014 Highlights

Here are a few highlights from May 2014.

Cade and Carter say good bye to their beloved Platte River Academy Principal, Dr. Stueven, as he prepares to retire. 

Katherine, Zack and Cade build a fort in the park after a freak May snow storm that broke many branches from the trees.  

Cooper enjoys a day at Civic Green Park with Nanny and Papa.

Cooper and Papa

Cooper and Nanny

Cora's 2 Months Old Already???

My mind is completely blown that two months have passed since the birth of our baby girl.  Cora was born at 11:57am on Friday, April 11, 2014.  (What a cool birth date, huh?  4/11/14.  Three 1's flanked by 4's.)  She was 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 20 inches long.

We had a scheduled C-section with Dr. Levy and funny enough, I wasn't nervous this time around.  I thought I would be, for sure, as the more experience I've had with having C-sections, the more nervous I have become for the next one.  But, not this time.  I was totally ready and completely confident that everything would work out perfectly...primarily because Dr. Levy is just that amazing.  Surgery and recovery were also the easiest of all four C-sections.  Strange, I know.

Cora came out screaming.  And when I say screaming, I mean the kind of scream that conveys, in no uncertain terms, that she was completely furious about being removed from her warm, cozy home and brought into this cold, bright and not so cozy world.  She did not like being poked and prodded by the nurses.  She did not like being away from mama.  She was not happy at all.  As I laid on the operating table, listening to my baby screaming bloody murder, I heard several nurses make comments like "She sure has a set of lungs on her" and "Boy, she's a spunky one."  At first I was nervous, as it seemed that the nurses found her screaming unusual.  I quickly realized, though, that she's just vocal and she's not shy about telling you how she feels.  I like that in a person.  That kind of hutzpah will serve her well in her life.  Like mama, like daughter.  

Those first few days in the hospital with Cora were precious ones.  Daddy and I had the opportunity to get to know our baby girl and love on her all day long.  We had many visitors.  So many of our friends and family were over the moon excited to meet her.  First, we saw big brothers Cade, Carter and Cooper, along with Meemaw, Peepaw, Nanny and Papa.  Later, Aunt Ashley came to meet her new niece.  On Saturday, Anna Slater came to visit.  On Sunday, Alisa Becerra came to take newborn photos of little Cora and Uncle Mikey and Aunt Erika came later that afternoon to meet the only girl in our big combined crew of kiddos.  What a special weekend that was!  

On Monday, around lunch time, we left the hospital and headed back to the Ranch where Meemaw, Peepaw, Nanny, Papa and brothers watched us pull up the street and into the driveway.  I think Peepaw even got it all on video.  How wonderful it felt to have our whole family here to celebrate Cora's homecoming.  Beautiful, indeed.  

Our first nights home with Cora were simple.  Who says that about their first nights with a newborn?  It sounds so phony and impossible, but it's true.  Cora was, and still is, an easy baby.  As long as she's well fed and her diaper is fresh (she really doesn't like a dirty bum...who can blame her, right?), she's happy.  Thankfully, nursing has been the best ever with her.  My milk came in quickly and the supply is just perfect to satisfy her.  Amazingly enough, I don't have to pump at all.  Cora and I jet stick together and whenever she's hungry, I feed her.  It's quite simple, really.  I will be forever grateful for this opportunity and for the fact that my body has finally figured out how to produce enough milk for our baby.  I will never take that for granted.  

The past two months have flown by.  Cora has grown to 11lbs. 6 oz. and she already fits perfectly in 3 month clothing.  We will go tomorrow for her 2 month check up and shots, so I'll update with new stats afterward.  

I feel so lucky that I get to snuggle Cora every night before I put her down for the night.  Since she gets her last feeding around 11pm, we get several hours on the couch together after big brothers go to bed.  Those hours are so very precious to me.  I love rubbing her back while she's laying on my chest.    I love smelling her sweet baby smell.  I love feeling her breathe.  I love her little squeaks and squirms.  I love when she nuzzles her head on my chest.  These moments are gifts and I cherish every single one.  

As for me, I'm off to get some shut eye before my little angel wakes for her next feeding.  Thankfully, she only wakes up once in the middle of the night (she has done this since the first night home), so we're both fairly well rested in the morning.  Until next time...

                                  

29 Weeks and Growing

It's hard to believe that I am now 29 weeks pregnant.  29 weeks!!!  Where did the past 7 1/2 months go?  I have had so many good intentions to document my pregnancy and somehow 29 weeks have flown by without a blog entry.  So, here's my attempt at summing up this time.

For the first 11 weeks or so, I felt tired and had that same horrible metallic taste in my mouth that I had with all the boys.  I imagine that this was the taste of hormones.  Ick!  The good news is, I made it through that phase and by 12 weeks, I was feeling really well.

Since then, I have been growing and growing at a steady clip.  I'm hungrier than usual, but I'm certainly not as hungry as I was with Cooper.  This little girl is going to eat more like me.  I can tell already.  She loves honey!  Oh, and she really doesn't like Chipotle or Qdoba mexican food.  Now, she'll tolerate more authentic mexican food, but not the Americanized types.  Isn't that hilarious?  What a strange phenomenon that a mother knows prior to her baby's birth what s/he likes and doesn't like to eat.

I have been taking thyroid meds since the beginning of this pregnancy.  Dr. Levy has consistently increased my dosage, as he has a target thyroid function number in mind and I am not yet there.  I don't really have any symptoms of an under-functioning thyroid, so I'm grateful for that.  Hopefully, our sweet baby will be fine despite my thyroid issue.

I tried for as long as I could to squeeze into non-maternity clothes, but by week 25, I had no other choice than to convert to maternity pants.  I only have 4 pair, so I have to be pretty creative with outfits for school.

Along those lines, I have been teaching French at ThunderRidge High School throughout my pregnancy.  It has been a real blessing!  My students are adorable and they have been so sweet about my ever expanding waist line.  And they seem pretty excited about the arrival of our baby girl to boot!  I can't see myself having time to teach next year, so I'm going to enjoy these last 8 weeks of teaching before my maternity leave begins.

I am actively working on setting up a baby girl nursery!  PINK!!!!!!!  I can't believe I get to buy PINK!!!!!!  I never thought we'd have a girl to buy pink for, but here we are.  We're so excited to embark on this new phase of our life journey with a baby girl in the mix.  So fun!

We have been thinking of names for our baby girl and there are a few in the mix.  There is one front runner, though, that has been sticking with us since we found out we are having a girl.  Cora Louise.  Cora is from "corazon," the Spanish word for "heart."  Louise is a tribute to my Grandma Herr who will be 94 years old this summer.  This is, by far, Keith's favorite name.  I'm trying to keep an open mind, though, as I can never really decide until I see our baby's precious little face at birth.  The other name that has been sticking with me is Karly Ann.  Karly is a tribute to my late brother Karl, who died at birth on Valentine's Day 1974.  Ann is a tribute to my mom, Annette.  So, I suppose we'll see at birth which name strikes a chord with us.  Either way, we can't go wrong.

Hopefully, I'll be able to blog more before our little girl's birth, but if I don't, be on the look out for some sweet pictures of our newborn in early April.  =)

Some Fall 2013 Memoriess

Carter was a GI Joe Ninja for Halloween.  This is him sitting at his desk in Mrs. Kaze's first grade class. 

Cade was a Power Ranger for Halloween.  This is him at Mrs. Gambill's second grade Halloween Party.

This is my belly and how I announced to everyone that we're having a girl.

I changed my profile picture on Facebook to this picture and that's how we announced to our Facebook friends that we are having a baby girl.  Cooper is in this one too, dressed up as a football player.  He was so excited when he found this costume.  He wanted to dress up to be just like his big brothers.  So sweet!

Last week, Cooper and Carter had fun in the bath together.  It has been awhile since the big boys have taken a bath.  They now usually take showers all by themselves.  We just can't believe how time flies and how fast our boys are growing up.  

Carter often scores 100% on his Kumon books.  Here he is holding up one of his 100% books and the $10 Kumon bucks that he earned for it.  Proud boy!

Cade also often scores 100% on his Kumon books.  Here he is posting his 100% book on the board at the Kumon center.  Another proud boy!

Last Tuesday, the Platte River PTO organized a community skating event at Skate City.  Cooper was interested in getting out onto the floor, so we strapped on the skates and off he went.  He didn't hesitate and didn't even hold Daddy's hand the whole time.  What a brave little boy we have!

Brave Cooper!  Skating all by himself.  

In first grade, Carter is learning about ancient Egypt.  This is his mummy.  He has decided that when he goes to heaven, he wants to take Lola, a football, his green blankie, a book, his Kumon work and his iPad.  Haha!!!  This just cracks me up.  

Exciting News

On August 25, 2013, we learned that we were being blessed with a fourth baby Kaminski!  We felt, and still do feel, overwhelmed by the grace of God and we are so very grateful for the opportunity to raise another child in His name.

Our baby is growing well, as per our two visits to the doctor.  We were lucky enough to get to see our baby's sweet body in an ultrasound at 8 weeks that made Keith and I marvel yet again at the beauty of life.  S/he was completely formed...arms with hands and fingers, legs with feet and toes.  Our baby was very small, but fully human.  What an amazing and beautiful sight!

At 12 weeks, I took a blood test called Maternity 21.  This test is able to isolate the baby's DNA from a sample of my blood, therefore indicating genetics and gender.  I received the call today from Dr. Levy, assuring me that we have a genetically healthy baby........GIRL!!!!!!  What?!?!?!  A girl?????  Now, that was a shock.  I asked the doctor if he was sure and he said, "I'm sitting here holding the results in my hands and there is no indication of a Y chromosome.  So, there is no doubt that you have a GIRL!!!"  Consider our minds officially blown!!!!!

We await, with much excitement and anticipation, the birth of our baby girl on Friday, April 11, 2014 (if things go as planned).  XOXO