Holcomb Happenings

Learning Lots!

2012-02-12T14:33:00.004-05:00

Our camera is no longer working, so I don't have any new pictures or videos for this post!

It's amazing when toddlers start doing something you've asked them! I asked her today to bring me one of her little puppets and she did!

She's also learned the most important word to a toddler: mine! She hasn't quite said it in context and isn't saying it often, but it has been heard!

She can say each grandparent name now, which is cool! She seems to recogize each one's voices on the phone as well! It was cute today I gave her a calculator and she put it towards her ear and said "Hi." She loves real phones as well!

She can now point to her nose, ears, teeth, and hair when you ask her! She was good about her nose, but this week surprised me when I said, "Where's Hallie's ear?" and she touched her ear!

Something that's also funny about her is that she likes for people to jump out and scare her! She just laughs like it's the best thing! Jason does it alot at the house and yesterday, Paw-Paw did and she just squealed!

Here's another flashback picture from February 2011. Great pic for Valentine's Day!

Now and Then

2012-01-29T21:44:00.003-05:00

Hallie is very active! Some of our friends had a baby on January 14th and are struggling with the lack of sleep. I thought even though Jason and I thankfully get a full night's sleep now, we're still tired since we chase after her all the time! There's no sitting still with her!

Randomly, she did wake up around midnight early Friday morning. We thought it was her teeth and Jason went to go rock her. I fell asleep and then awoke to hear laughter. I went into the family room and she was playing! Jason said she was wide awake and kept crying in the crib....so why not play at midnight??? She did fall asleep about an hour later. Thankfully, this hasn't happened since (cross fingers).

She also loves to climb on the chairs and really enjoys sitting in the bar chairs, which sort of scares us a bit since they're very high! But she's good about not wiggling too much!

This week, Hallie has figured out how to walk her puppy toy! She also started carrying around her dolls and stuffed animals!

We went to Ruby Tuesdays on Saturday and she loved the black olives I got off the salad bar! Who knew! She still loves her bananas too! Here's a video from almost exactly a year ago of her eating some bananas!!!

Here's flashback video from a year ago! (It's labeled late February, but I don't remember it!)

I can't believe what chubby cheeks she had!

More Talking!

2012-01-16T21:27:00.005-05:00

Hallie has really started to say a lot more words lately and parrots a bit more!

She calls Elmo..Delmo!

She says puppy (more like buppy)
She says banana (more than manana)
She can say her name, but sometimes it sounds like "Howie" (which we think is so cute!)

She starting to recognize more animals, like cows and sheeps (which she calls "ba-ba")
During Christmas, she learned tree and Santa!

She even said "night-night" tonight!

She's bringing more books to us to read to her!

Jason had off today, so I took the afternoon off. It was a bit cold but we went to Winkler Park for awhile! She loves the slides!

Saturday, Nana and Papa came to celebrate Jason's birthday and Nana made some wonderful cupcakes! She definitely loves chocolate like Jason!

She likes Motown! Billy and Joyce got Jason a birthday card that sings "I heard it through the grapevine" and she loves it! She didn't want to stop listening to it!

New Year's Devotion

2011-12-30T17:13:00.004-05:00

When I worked at a camp one summer during college, I remember the camp director going over a list on a poster board with the first "rule": Expect the unexpected.

There were many times I just sneered when I saw that in the counselor's lounge! So many unexpected things happened during that summer: Some were good things, some were bad things.

One day, when things were not going as planned, I started reading the story of Jesus calming the storm in Matthew 8 during my break time. Two words stuck out to me that I had never noticed before: without warning.

Matthew says, "Without warning, a furious storm came and toppled the boat."

I'm the type of person that likes to feel prepared for things, so noticing these words didn't bring much comfort to me. I tend to react just like the disciples' did with fear and frustration.

Glance back to Mary's reaction when she got the news of her upcoming pregnancy, "without warning." I doubt Mary (and Joseph too) wanted or expected to be newlywed parents.

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." (Luke 2:38 NIV)

She hadn't had time to really even process what the angel said, but she clearly accepted it! Something I noticed is that the angel didn't give her any advice or assurance on breaking the news to Joseph and her family. I doubt they were prepared to hear this "good girl" say she's pregnant before marriage! What's interesting too that she had to tell them (not an angel).

There's a bit of excitement and a bit of fear with the start of a new year. Life gives us twists and turns that we never thought would happen!

I think it's no accident we celebrate Christ's birth days before the New Year.

Emmanuel- God is with us...

I wrote this and put in the women's newsletter I do. I got some good feedback, so I thought I'd share! I thought a lot about Liz when I wrote it, especially since the 28th was the day of her death. Last year at this time, we didn't feel alot of hope or excitement in beginning a new year.

We've thought about her many times this past month and have missed her, especially during the holidays! Last year, Deda had given me a cute little black purse that was Liz's and I took that with me to the Hurricanes game last night. I think she would have liked that!

Five Year Anniversary and Hockey!

2011-12-30T16:46:00.015-05:00

A few months ago, Jason and I decided we'd go to the Hurricanes hockey game on Dec. 29th in celebration of our anniversary! So, we left Hallie with my mom and dad and traveled to Raleigh!

The Canes haven't been doing well this year, so I was a bit nervous since Jason gets really frustrated when they're losing. Brandon Sutter scored the 1st goal and then the Maple Leaves scored. We were down by 2 goals in the second period. Then, in the third period, Eric Staal did a perfect breakaway and got the 2nd goal. A few minutes later, Dalpe got another goal, so it was tied!

I love when games are close and tied, but Jason doesn't! We went into overtime and got a power play with 2:30 left. Eric Staal got the game winning goal, which I got on video!

The game starting face off!

Action shot!

Jussi Jokinen in a face off!

Eric Staal and Cam Ward (goalie) in warm ups!

We were happy with our seats! The team did warm ups on our side!

Storm Squad girls...gotta love them!

Christmas 2011!

2011-12-28T22:15:00.013-05:00

We had a very busy, but great Christmas! There are so many pictures so I only put a few here!

We had Christmas Eve brunch with the Helms. This is in front of Liz's memorial tree

Hallie loved giving kisses to Arlo too!

Christmas Eve we went to Grandma and Grandpas!

She started playing peek a boo! She does get a bump at the end but she was okay!

She's also started dancing and responding to music more!

Christmas morning, went to my mom and dad's. She got her first computer! LOL!

Lesley hand made this for her! SO ADORABLE!

We went to Billy and Joyce's on Christmas Day too!

Nana with the grandkiddos!

Later that night to Dean and Karen's. Hallie seemed to like to climb the presents more than anything!

Hallie playing in her kitchen at our house!

Playing with Rockin Elmo!

New Things She's doing:

-She surprised me when I said something about peek a boo and she put her hands over her eyes and then slowly removed them while I said "where's Hallie?"

-She says "Saiah" when she sees pictures of herself! But she did point him out on the computer in this video!

- She loves to climb and turns around to go feet first in order to get down!

-I think she's starting to say "mommy" and "mama!" Soon, she won't stop saying it!

Having fun!

2011-12-19T21:13:00.011-05:00

Hallie had a great time on Saturday, when Nana, Papa, Will, Mandy, Aida, Athrun, and Lee came to hang out with us! Aida made her laugh by blowing on her belly!

She did well sharing her toys!

We had a doctor's appointment last week and she's around 32 1/2 inches long and about 19 lbs 10 oz. She didn't like being on the scale, so I'm not quite sure how accurate that is! But, it's probably close!

She's been saying a few more words, like "kitty" and what we think is "puppy" (sounds like "buppy"). She says "hi" and "hey" alot more; we're working on "bye". We thought she said "thank you" the other day at my parent's house when she was eating, but she hasn't said that again, so who knows if that was it!

She's loving banans and had tangerines tonight!

Here are some photos taken by Aida on Saturday! She did a good job!

Hallie loves being chased now! We can say "I'm gonna get you!" and she starts laughing and "running"! It's so cute!

Thanksgiving!

2011-11-28T20:11:00.016-05:00

We first went to Winston-Salem for the Garth family Thanksgiving! This a pic of cousins and moms!

Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa's that evening!

She loved Granny's food!

Kisses from Aunt Becca!

We enjoyed that Chris, Lesley, and Isaiah came to visit! Hallie surprised me by saying "Zayah" (short for Isaiah) and pointed towards him when she said it! She also gave him lots of kisses!

We strolled them one day!

We played in the leaves at our house!

Daddy and mini me!

We went up to Blowing Rock for shopping on Saturday. Isaiah was very tired but after his nap, we went to the Park! They loved the slides!

We got to Blowing Rock downtown right after the parade ended and when we parked, saw Santa still on his float! He was nice enough to hold Hallie, but she wasn't too thrilled about it! Maybe next year!

Playing in the Leaves!

2011-11-20T19:37:00.006-05:00

Hallie's been doing a lot better in her shoes and liking the grass/leaves! It used to be she would scream when you put her near the grass, but now she's better!

Jennifer sent me this from this week at daycare!

Here's her playing! We're looking forward to Thanksgiving this week!

Walking Progress!

2011-11-07T19:23:00.002-05:00

Coming Soon (probably in the next few weeks).....running progress!

Baby Bumblebee!

2011-10-31T19:21:00.013-04:00

Her hat says "Bee Happy." Jason brought her to my work!

She hesitated to take candy, but ended up liking the wrappers!

Hallie was great as a bumblebee, but got alittle tired late in the evening!

Grumpy bee!

Halloween family pic!

With Daddy!

Hallie is talking a lot, like in the video! And she climbed in the bottom drawer of our kitchen last night (second video!) She took 5 steps at Will and Mandy's on Saturday (no video, but hopefully will have one soon of her walking!)

2011-10-20T19:48:00.012-04:00

Today, we were planning on going to Statley Springs with Dean, Karen, Lee, Grandma, Grandpa, Mitch, Erin, Michael and Brynn......but when we got there at 11:00, they wouldn't be able to seat us until 1:30 or 2:00! So, we ate at Bojangles, and then headed over to Boone to the Mass General Store.....not realizing it was Homecoming weekend at ASU and extremely crowded!

We then went to Blowing Rock to the park and ate some ice cream! Hallie loved the swing!

With Granny!

Here are some cute things she's been doing lately!

*She loves to jibber-jabber! She tells me about her day when I come home!

* She says "yeah" a lot! We really want her to say "yes", but it's so cute!

*She seems to think "daddy" (or more accurately, "dah-DEE") is a word for both me and Jason. She says it when I come home as well!

*She's discovered the fridge and gets a kick out of getting the salad dressing from the shelf!

*She loves to climb! We have the stool from the rocking chair near the bed in her room and she loves to climb on it, and then the bed.

*She loves drawers! She likes to put things in them and close them!

*She loves holding my mascara and concealer! I think she likes that tube shape!

*She loves to open an close doors as well!

Jennifer took this at Daycare saying it was Hallie's driving lesson!

Here's some vidoes!

Lazy 5 Ranch!

2011-10-05T20:11:00.015-04:00

Sorry, I just realized this didn't post!

We went to the Lazy 5 Ranch on Saturday, October 1st! Rebecca wanted this for her birthday! We did the wagon ride, which was lots of fun! Hallie was very quiet, taking everything in! She was really good! We all had a blast feeding the animals!

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Whoa!!!

Kitchen fun!

2011-09-29T19:08:00.004-04:00

Apparently, Hallie's found a new use for the dishwasher! We also let her explore the cabinets a bit! Below are some cute videos too!

She's been loving to open and close doors lately0 too! She loves the bedroom doors and also the front door! We think she's been teething a bit more and didn't feel good on Monday, but she's doing a bit better now! She's had trouble sleeping due to some congestion earlier this week as well.

Looking forward to this weekend!

Changes

2011-09-18T19:32:00.008-04:00

What a difference a year makes! My co worker was cleaning out old emails and found one that my boss had sent out after coming by to see Hallie at the hosiptal. Here's the picture my boss took! I had not seen it before! Look at those chubby cheeks!

She's starting to push things around more, but still hasn't taken any steps! She stands well on her own, but I don't think she realizes yet how to move her feet!

We went walking on the greenway again with the dogs this afternoon. This picture is from last week because I forgot my camera today! She had a great time!

Here's some videos from this afternoon!

It seems this weekend, Hallie's had a few "rants" with us. She's been very expressive when she doesn't like something we're doing (or maybe not doing) and has said "no" alot more! Maybe it's just because we're the parents! She did have a slight fever on Friday morning, so she may just not have felt well. And she didn't nap very long during the day. But most of the time we can get her to start laughing by blowing on her belly or distracting her with a toy!

We think she's singing!

2011-09-08T21:44:00.003-04:00

Either she's singing or practicng to be a scared girl in a horror film!

Birthday party!

2011-09-05T09:59:00.021-04:00

We had Hallie's birthday party on Sunday! Linda made the Minnie Mouse cake and Lesley's friend in Memphis made Hallie a Minnie Mouse shirt she wore! We had a great time!

Hallie didn't dig the cake, but loved the ice cream!

She seemed more interested in the bags!

Here are the Starnes cousins!

She kept wanting to climb on this present! I think she's going to be a big climber!

Isaiah and Hallie!

2011-09-05T09:45:00.008-04:00

Isaiah has been talking about Hallie lots in the last few weeks! He kept wanting to watch her videos online, so it was so cute to see them both together! They enjoyed playing together!

We went to Winkler park for awhile to swing! Isaiah loved the slide!

Isaish was cute because he would start crawling when he saw Hallie crawl!

They had some sort of conversation here!

Happy Birthday!

2011-09-01T20:25:00.013-04:00

Hallie wasn't quite sure about the cake at first, but later enjoyed the ice cream with daddy! I have a video but it's having trouble loading. Will post ASAP!

We had Chuck and Deda over for dinner tonight! She wasn't sure about the crown either!

Enjoying the ice cream!

Little Diva! (actually taken on Wednesday!)

This is alittle different from the pictures last year at this time! We can't believe it's been a year, but we've had so much fun with her! She's been so happy lately! I took today off to spend the day with her, but we did go by my work and Jason's work!

Fun in the Sun!

2011-08-29T21:11:00.009-04:00

This is Hallie from my perspective, hanging onto my leg! She likes to go underneath my long skirts to play peek-a-boo! I tried to get a video, but she had moved onto the something else!

We went to visit our friends Charles and Jennifer and their three boys on Saturday! They have an awesome backyard! Jason pushed her in the car thing! She obviously enjoyed it by clapping!

They had a baby swing and she loved that too!

Here's Hallie, Trevor, and Noah. They love the camera!

Here's the Inman boys...Noah, Trevor, and Connor

Hallie's been doing better sleeping. She seems to be playing hard during the day, so she's pretty worn out! She's been standing up on her own a lot lately, but doesn't seem to know to move her feet yet. We're not sure if we really want to show her or not!

Coming soon...Hallie's 1st birthday!!!

Grandma's Birthday!

2011-08-21T20:40:00.006-04:00

Grandma turned 80 on August 18th and we celebrated today!

Hallie is already practing being a diva with the Happy Birthday tiara!

She loved to watch Abram and Caleb (two other kids there)!

Hallie's still got the runny nose and alittle cough, but has been happy during the day! We hope those teeth come in real soon so we all can sleep through the night!!

Strawberry Girl!

2011-08-14T09:18:00.004-04:00

We had a "family date" on Friday night, going to Chick-fil-a for dinner, then a bit of shopping! We went to Once Upon a Child and found two cute zipper sleepers!

She's started to bang the doors a bit!

She's really not hanging in the air, she just didn't let go of the table!

She wants to help unload the dishwasher!

She's still been having teeth pain and Saturday, got a runny nose. Now she has a raspy type cough because we think the drainage is hurting her throat. We feel bad for her so we stayed home from church.

Move over mama!

2011-08-02T21:21:00.003-04:00

Hallie's found the kitchen! She loves to bang on the dishwasher and oven! She also can pull herself up using the drawer handles!

She also will pant like the dogs do when she sees them or hears them barking! She does it alittle in the video!

She usually crawls with a toy in her hand and is constantly following me and Jason down the hall. She also is realizing when we're chasing her and starts to laugh!

We had a rough time last week with her waking up 2-3 times each night. We think her top teeth are coming down. Thankfully, Jason and I alternated nights of getting up with her. Cross fingers that the last two nights, she's been okay!

Speedy!

2011-07-22T21:33:00.004-04:00

Hallie's been lots of fun! She's starting to follow us a bit more into the hallway and kitchen. She's discovered the stools we have at the bar and has tried to pull up! Jason and I are getting a bit more exercise since she's moving around so much!

Her favorite word now is "cat". Lilac is pretty brave around her and only runs when Hallie starts making lots of noise. Hallie has "petted" her a few times and gets excited when she see her! Twice this week, I've gone into Hallie's room in the morning and she'll start saying it! Hopefully, she knows that I am not the cat! LOL!

Pretty in Pink! (and with Pooh!)

2011-07-16T15:37:00.010-04:00

Linda took Hallie to Sears to get some pictures done yesterday! They had a great time!

She's been lots of fun lately, wanting to crawl everywhere! She's pretty good about staying near the toys we have in the family room, but she likes to touch the pergo floor lots and has had a few bumps when she's fallen over. :(

She seems like she's trying to stand up a bit and will with assistance. I'm just getting used to her crawling, so I hope that she won't walk for a few more months! It's an adjustment just to handle the crawling! LOL!

She's on the move now!

2011-07-04T19:41:00.009-04:00

Hallie's crawling! Jennifer (our daycare provider) told us this week she started to and we witnessed it ourselves on Friday night and Saturday!

The video below is from Saturday; she loves popsicyles!

Today, we went up to Chuck and Deda's mountain house in Linville. The community it's in has a golf cart parade! Here's her patriotic outfit! Mom said everyone was taking pictures of her, saying she was so cute!

Getting ready on the golf cart!

Yesterday, we went to Nana's and Papa's and she enjoyed being in the little pool! Daddy was nice enough to sit in there with her!

Videos from 2 weeks ago!

2011-07-02T09:51:00.003-04:00

These are some videos from the other week that I didn't have time to post then!

Fun in the Sun and Playing!

2011-06-26T20:43:00.009-04:00

Hallie in a pool for the first time! She wasn't happy at first, but started to enjoy it later!

We went inside and Hallie pulled herself up but I didn't get it on video! (Oh well!). She's still scooting more than crawling, which you can see in the next videos. We call it the "baby moonwalk" when she scoots backwards!

She can sit herself up now by getting on her tummy and pushing herself back on her bottom. This week, I went into her bedroom in the morning and she was sitting up in her bed! It freaked me out so we lowered the bed because I know pulling up in the crib is next!

She really likes when we hold her upside down now!

Father's Day!

2011-06-19T20:14:00.008-04:00

First Father's Day! Jason with his mini me!

Jason survived another graduation on the 10th and got to have Monday off! We actually put Hallie in daycare for the morning so he could mow and do a few errands! He's working four ten hour days now, so he got Friday off as well! He brought Hallie to my work so we could show her off to my co workers!

Hallie loves to play on the floor with her toys! She ends up sometimes spinning in a circle on the floor (since she refuses to crawl) but it's so much fun that she's able to sit up and really enjoys her toys! She wears herself out playing and has been going to bed around 7:30! She doesn't fight it when we put her down in her crib too! She just rolls over to her side and is down for the count!

We went to Statesville today to see the Holcomb side! Hallie thinks that the slobber look is in style!

"What you talking 'bout, mama!"

"Do you really think I don't know this is on my head! Come on!"

She gets into the crawl position, but usually has one leg not bent back. I've got some videos to describe more, but they wouldn't load tonight.

Don't you wish your baby was sweet like me!

2011-06-12T21:22:00.009-04:00

Hallie stood up today on her own using our coffee table, but we didn't get it on video! I'm sure it will happen again and we will!

She can sort of get in the crawling position, but ends up going backwards instead of forwards. We keep trying to put toys out of her reach to encourage her, but she usually will move on to something else!

I wanted to get a picture of the shirt, so I took a few pics in the attempt to do so! We really like that she can sit up now and play on the floor! She really likes too! She's figured out a lot of her toys that have buttons that make noise and talks/sings all the time! It will be interesting when everything becomes words we can understand!

Nine Months today!

2011-06-01T20:51:00.006-04:00

Hallie has been lots of fun the last few months! She has a very vocal, lively personality! She makes little screams and noises all the time! Daycare told me today that all morning she played and talked!

We went to Linda and Gary's this weekend and she loves the swing! Just to clarify, her shirt says "Sassy!"

She went to the doctor on May 24th and is 29 1/2 inches and 15.8 pounds. I just looked that up online and it's 95% height and between 25% and 50% for weight!

Jason got a new phone with a camera, so this was the first picture we took!

I've bee wanting to take a pic of her two bottom teeth! This was the best I could do! The top ones still haven't come through!

Hallie loves to bounce and we did NOT teach her this. She likes to lean forward and then throw herself back on the couch! Linda and Gary got her a camera toy and she's already figured out the button that makes it speak! I think she's engineering minded!

She also has a drum now (like Isaiah's) and loves to bang on it! She also likes to give kisses on the cheek, which are very wet and sloppy, but they're nice!

Playing!

2011-05-22T13:40:00.004-04:00

Hallie has been sitting up quite well for awhile! She did topple over twice after I took this picture, but she seems to catch herself well! She still doesn't really like to be on her stomach and won't get into the crawl position. But yesterday when we went into her room in the morning, she had flipped herself on her belly and wasn't crying! We were suprised!

This week, the weather was rainy and cold, so daycare went to the mall playground. They are nice enough to send me pictures sometimes from their phones! Here's her and Jada!

They went to Chuck-e-Cheese the next day. The last night, she cried the whole time, but she did much better that day! This expression definitely is a "Starnes" look. Mom says Chris and I both crinkled our nose when we were little and Isaiah has done it too!

Apparently, Chuck-e-Cheese got a bit boring, so she took a nap! LOL! She still puts one or both arms on her head when she sleeps!

She's not so afraid of the camera anymore!

Mother's Day!

2011-05-13T21:37:00.004-04:00

I decided to wear a shirt Hallie loves! It has a design on it that she likes to grab! She really likes my necklaces too!

She's been saying lots of "la -as" and "ba" and said "Ma!" the other night. Jason says he think he's heard "Da Da." She just jibber jabbers a lot so it will be interesting to find out what the words will be!

First Road Trip!

2011-05-03T19:10:00.012-04:00

We went to Atlanta last week, Thursday to Sunday to meet with Chris, Lesley and Isaiah. Hallie was very good on the car rides, mainly sleeping and playing with toys!

We stayed in a house together, which was fun! It also was helpful since Hallie did not sleep through the night and woke up crying a few times! I am sure if we had been in a hotel, we would have gotten some complaints!

We had a great time just being together! Isaiah is talking and loves to tell us what a duck says!

Thursday night, we headed to the famous Varsity restaurant for hot dogs and hamburgers!

On Saturday, we were a few blocks away from a ice cream shop, so we got chocolate with oreos and chocolate chips! Hallie loved it too!

Friday afternoon, we went to the Aquarium! Hallie was good there and we enjoyed strolling her around! I think she noticed the fish....

She only really screamed once and thankfully, I had a bottle, so we took a break!

Mom and Isaiah!

This time, Isaiah just patted her head instead of popping it like he did at Christmas!

He loved playing with the donuts!

Easter!

2011-04-24T19:16:00.024-04:00

Here's a toosh picture for Karen! Bow on the toosh!

Easter dress!

We had a great Easter weekend! I had off on Friday, so we went to eat lunch with Jason.

On Saturday, we went to Lexington for my cousin Jake's birthday at his house. The kids had an Easter egg hunt and played!

Hallie thought the Easter eggs were for eating! It's plastic!

Then, we headed to Statesville to celebrate Lee's birthday! Athrun is walking!

Aida hunted for eggs!

Today, we had Easter at Chuck and Deda's. Their dogs were worn out!

They sent me this from daycare this week! Eating at the park! The next day, they went to Chuck-e-Cheese and they said she cried the whole time!

Videos!

2011-04-24T19:06:00.003-04:00

Vidoes are Hallie sitting up on Friday morning, laughing with Becca, swinging at Jake and Kelly's house with Drake and Victoria.

Random Pictures from the weekend!

2011-04-19T21:01:00.014-04:00

Hallie's second tooth came through, so the first of last week was rough with her waking up at night, but towards the end, it got better!

Friday, we went down to Statesville to visit with Nana and got some cute picture with the flowers!

Saturday, Dean, Karen, McKenzie and Lee came up and gave her an Easter basket!

Saturday afternoon, we visited at Chuck and Deda's, where Arlo had come up for awhile!

I had to get some naked baby pictures because she has a "budda belly!"

New Food Pictures!

Jason gave her a bit of the vanilla of McFlurry on Friday! She loved it!

She chewed on a lemon at the Olive Garden on Saturday night!

Little Blue Eyes!

2011-04-12T07:10:00.006-04:00

Hallie loves her new dress that Paw Paw and Karen got her!

Hallie's been hurting a lot because of her teeth, especially during the night! We've had some rough nights, but hopefully, they'll pass soon!

She is starting to clap a bit, but mainly claps with her knuckles instead of her hands; but it's really cute! She loves playing in saucers and the jumperoo! She's playing at grandmom and grandad's house below!

Diva Baby!

2011-04-06T21:13:00.003-04:00

Our daycare provider showed us the picture above from Monday. She said Hallie really smiled when she had this wig on! Guess she's desperate for hair or likes being silly!

She's really started to like faces and touches ours alot! She's starting to cry when others hold her when we're around.

Jason and I feel like parenting brings more questions than answers, and I feel we're in the "I don't know" stage of parenting (or maybe you always are in that stage!).

Even though there aren't that many possibilities as to why she cries, much of the time, I just say, "I don't know." It could be hunger, teething, discomforted, tired...or a combo of those! I don't know! I'm trying to adjust to the reality that it's okay not to know!

Her hair is getting longer and I think she's looking like a chia pet!

Jumping!

2011-03-27T12:52:00.003-04:00

Hallie has discovered she can jump in the jumperoo and she loves it!
She's also enjoying the toys it has on it! You wouldn't know if from the video, but she's been a bit fussy lately, due to teething, we believe. We put a bit of oraljel on her gums before this video! She's been waking up at night screaming and I've had to sleep with her the last two nights, because she cried when I put her in her crib. :( The only thing that calmed her down was me holding her. I guess she just needs some mama love when she feels bad!

Growing!

2011-03-20T16:31:00.009-04:00

We celebrated Dean's birthday last night with dinner and hanging out at his house. Hallie wasn't good at the restaurant and it's been a theme lately that she's fussed at restaurants. She's usually not as bad when it's just us. We think she's starting to feel some teeth!

She's been trying to grab things lately, our faces and stuff when she's on the counter. She's also making a lot more noises and sounds! She really likes the jumperoo and seems to be able to entertain herself!

We had an appointment this week with the heart doctor, doing an EKG thing and Echo. She really got upset with the Echo and I could tell felt uncomfortable. They don't want to see us for another 6 months, so the murmur is still there, but we haven't noticed any scary signs, so we're trying not to worry about it!

She is 27 inches long and 13lbs 14oz, so she's grown in 3 weeks from the last check up doctor visit!

Videos-hopefully will work!

2011-03-19T08:36:00.003-04:00

Hopefully, these will post! One is of Hallie giggling and the other is her crying at the camera!

Camera Shy!

2011-03-13T12:08:00.002-04:00

I've been trying to post some vide0s, but it's not working! Hallie appears to be a bit camera shy! She notices the camera more and stares at it like a deer in headlights! I'm posting a video online where she started crying when she saw the camera! So funny! Hope to have the videos up soon!

Little Caniac!

2011-03-06T20:31:00.004-05:00

Friday night, we went over to the Mumfords to watch the Hurricanes hockey game! Jason bought Hallie this onesie and bib for the game! (Too bad, they lost)

Saturday, we went to Statesville to celebrate Grandpa's birthday, which was fun!

Today, we had her on the floor and SHE ROLLED OVER to her belly! I think it scared her a bit because she started crying!

This week has been better. Hallie doesn't have as much snot and has been sleeping through the night for the last 3 nights now! It's definitely helped me a bit!

We've enjoyed hanging out with her! She's starting to want to touch our faces and is grabbing her toys a bit better. She flings them a lot and drops them though! She's making a lot of noices and sometimes does a cute giggle!

Hallie's baptism! 2-20-11

2011-02-27T11:29:00.005-05:00

We got Hallie baptised/dedicated last week. She was good during the baptism, but afterwards, I had to take her out of church screaming and to the nursery. Classic parent moment!

Lots of our family came and then we had a brunch here afterwards. Unfortunately, Hallie was a bit grumpy during that time, so we spent most of our time then nursing in the bedroom.

Here is Hallie on the baptism blanket that a church member makes and in the white dress that was mine when I was a baby.

I had Monday off for President's Day and she had a doctor appointment. She is 26 inches long and 13lbs 12ozs! Jason and I thought she weighed more, but I think she's just solid! I took this picture...she sometimes sleeps like this in her crib!

This week has been really rough for me with work problems. I felt like I caught up on my work Thursday morning, then during lunch, got a call from the daycare that Hallie had a temperature of 101.3! So I didn't got back to work that afternoon and she was very pitiful! She hadn't slept well the night before, so I thought something was a bit wrong. We cuddled all afternoon; she actually wanted to sleep! Her temperature went down with the medicine I gave her. We think she just has another cold because she has a runny nose and a bit of congestion. :(

The next few nights have been a bit rough because she hasn't slept through the night like she has before. Hopefully, we'll be back to normal soon!

Eating apples and playing in the jumperoo!

2011-02-18T21:50:00.003-05:00

Hallie really loves to eat the apples baby food! She opens her mouth really wide! She's getting very alert and likes to play in the jumperoo too!

Both church nursery and daycare have said she's been a bit fussy, so we're not sure if she's just hungry or teething! Guess only time will tell!

Eating Banana and other pictures!

2011-02-07T21:28:00.003-05:00

One of the MANY Daddy Naps!

For February, we're wearing the heart hat with the funny stuff at the top!

Close up!

What in the world could she possibly be thinking about????

Videos!

2011-01-30T20:38:00.007-05:00

Here's a few videos! She loves to kick on the changing table, squeal, and knock over her keys!

Tummy time!

2011-01-26T20:27:00.005-05:00

Hallie finally starting to enjoy tummy time! She used to cry the moment we put her on her belly, but now she can stay on her tummy for 10 minutes at a time! It's been fun!

We've got her on rice cereal now. I had hoped it would help lessen the amount of milk I needed to provide for daycare, but it really hasn't. But, Jason really enjoys feeding her and she really enjoys eating! The days of non stinky poops are over! :(

She's found her voice a bit more and squeals and laughs. She's even starting to spit a bit (like blowing raspberries). Even though I only heard it, she had "Da" on Monday!

First Time in the Snow!

2011-01-20T20:04:00.006-05:00

No, we were not dressing up Hallie for tacky day! This is all we had for her "snow outfit!" Carolina Panthers outfit, polka dot mittens, and green/yellow hand made booties! She wasn't very interested in the snow!

It did snow on Jason's birthday and he got to come home early from work that day and Hallie had a daddy nap that afternoon! I'm sure it was the best way to spend his birthday!

Jason's 30th birthday celebration!

2011-01-09T18:50:00.006-05:00

We celebrated Jason's 30th birthday yesterday (it's tomorrow!)! We had pizza and all kinds of goodies at our house!

New Year's Eve wedding

2011-01-09T18:36:00.007-05:00

December 31st was a day of celebration, on two ends of the spectrum. First, we had Liz's memorial service. We cried, laughed, and recalled so many great memories of her independence and determination.

I'm going to miss seeing her, but there's so many things that me, her and Jason did together these last 5+ years. We ate out a lot, watched movies, and of course, sporting events! I think part of grieving is remembering, so I don't try to fight back tears when I feel like it. I'm glad to have so many great reminders of her everywhere in this city!

The second celebration was that Dean and Karen FINALLY got hitched (after 7 years, I might add!) The wedding was at this hunting lodge near Harmony and was lovely! They even danced down the aisle to "I feel good!" at the end (don't think anyone knew!)

Father/Daughter Picture

2011-01-07T12:38:00.002-05:00

This pretty much sums up how whipped Jason is!

Christmas and Isaiah's First Birthday Photos!

2010-12-30T19:52:00.025-05:00

Below are pictures from Isaiah's first birthday at mom and dad's on Christmas evening and then pictures from the four get togethers we had! It was busy, but we had a good time!

Talking!

2010-12-14T19:24:00.002-05:00

Hallie has been doing lots of talking lately! The first video is from today; the second was over Thanksgiving!

She also is sitting up well! We put her in the Bumbo this week! She seems to have a really people person personality! She smiles a lot still and we're enjoying starting to read to her. She likes when I sing to her too!

Santa Baby!

2010-12-03T20:49:00.009-05:00

Linda wanted some pictures done at Sears, so below are a few from that. We had a mad Santa Baby for one of them! I've showed alot of people this picture and they all LOVE it!

Hallie with her cousins, Aida and Athrun. It looks like she's hanging onto dear life!

Here's us with our tree!

Thanksgiving and visit to the Cook Farm!

2010-12-03T20:21:00.013-05:00

I just realized these pictures are a bit out of order from date, but below are some pictures from November 27th when we visited Larry and Marie's farm up in Meat Camp to get our Christmas tree and socialize!

Below is Caroline (their granddaughter) who loved Hallie! She has a 2 year old sister and another sibling on the way! She had great big sister skills!

We got to meet Arlo!

Hallie took a good nap on Allyson's lap!

With Larry

Caroline, Hallie, and Marie

We went to three Thanksgiving's this year! First to Concord at Matt and Rachel's house, then to the Raptor Center for my family, then to Statesville to Grandma and Grandpa's house

Lee, Gary, Hallie, and Linda

With Granny

With Karen

Dean, Karen, and Hallie

With Mike

Socializing!

2010-11-14T13:07:00.014-05:00

Hallie has been very expressive! She moves her eyebrows up when you talk to her alot and is cooing a bit more. She also is moving her tougue more!

Jason plays with her after he picks her up from daycare! He got to have her all day on Thursday because he was off for Veteran's Day! He went to Statesville to have breakfast with Grandma, Grandpa, and Lee, then we had lunch with my parents at Bo Peeps. She was tired there! Later, he stopped by CFA so my co workers could see her! She smiled a lot there!

We've had three walks at the Greenway. This picture was from the first one; then we took the dogs on the second one and she slept the whole time. Yesterday, we just took her again!

This past Wednesday, our bosses took the Customer Relations Agents (customer service) out for the day because we're always stuck in the office. We didn't know where we were going, except we figured out we were going up to the mountains. We stopped at Shoppes on the Parkway and they gave us money to shop!!!! It was a great surprise!

We ate at the Canyons Resturant and took this picture here! It was a gorgeous day! We walked around downtown for awhile after this!

Last Friday, we saw Billy, Joyce, Rachel, Matthew, Adam, and Dani along with Linda and Lee. Linda gave Hallie to Adam unexpectantly! She liked him, and he did smile in the pictures!

Cutie!

2010-11-02T20:01:00.013-04:00

We have a great weekend of seeing lots of family! Dean came to visit on Friday and then we saw him again on Sunday with Karen. Saturday, we went to Lind and Gary's to celebrate Mandy's birthday!

In the last week, she really has smiled a lot more, especially when you talk to her! I've told her to really smile for the grandparents because they'll buy her lots of stuff if she does! :)
She's also making more cooing noises when you talk to her too!

I've been back to work now a week; it's been busy and she's doing good in daycare! That has helped out a lot! I think the older kids really like her since she's the youngest and a baby!

She's starting to eat lots more (even 5 oz at a time!). We went for her checkup last Thursday and she weights 10 pds 4 oz now and 23 1/2 inches long! She got four shots that day, which was tramatic! She's sleeping a bit better and really does like to cuddle!

Smiling!

2010-10-16T16:09:00.009-04:00

Hallie has started to smile a lot more! I got a really cute video of Jason making her smile, but the blog keeps saying an error when I try to process it. For those of you on facebook, I did put the video on it!

She seems to really like moving. When she's in the car, sometimes she cries when we're stopped. I strolled her up to the family daycare last week and when I stopped, she started crying also. She also seems to like the swing at mom's house!

In her rocking chair!

Below is a picture of me we found in my scrapbook! I actually can see that she looks like me in this picture!

In her Pooh hat!

Here's Jason feeding her for the first time on Thursday evening! Dad and I got to feed her a bottle when we were at Bo Peep's for lunch that day! She gave me a really confused look, but then started to feed really well with the bottle!

Aunt Peggy came and visited yesterday! She brought us this antique doll, that she thinks may have been her mom's!

One of my clients is Bill's Repair Shop that does sewing, etc. I went by work this week and had a gift from them with this blanket that they made and a stuffed lion animal. I took this picture so I could send to my client!

Little Pumpkin!

2010-10-12T19:10:00.012-04:00

We went to the pumpkin patch at St Lukes this afternoon and took these pictures!

Content pumpkin!

Sleepy pumpkin!

Grumpy pumpkin! :(

The St Lukes pastor's wife Susan made us the mouse in the picture below and gave us a book. She asked for us to take some pictures of us reading to Hallie and send to her, so I took these last week! They're so precious!

Things are going a bit better! We're starting to get somewhat of a schedule where she goes to bed around 11:00/11:30, wakes up around 2:00/2:30 and then around 6:00/6:30. She's getting more cranky and fuzzy when she's tired because she's fighting sleep a bit. (We think she's going to be a strong willed/stubborn child). But she's also smiling more and cooing a bit more too! She weighs over 9 pounds now and continues to be a good eater! She seems to enjoy music a bit too. When she cries around bedtime, I turn on some CDs, mainly for my own sanity!

We had a nice weekend celebrating Linda's birthday by going to Oktoberfest! She did really well, sleeping most of the time! We also took her to Sunday School this week which was nice! Finally getting back into a normal routine!

One month!

2010-10-05T20:22:00.006-04:00

One month photo of the new Holcomb family!

Hallie's gaining weight and not sleeping through the night! Guess that's pretty typical of one month olds! LOL!

She weighed 8 lbs 12 oz on September 30th and is 22 and 1/2 inches long now! She's starting to smile more and likes to sit up and look around! She can even stand a bit (of course, with assistance) when she wants too! She's also grabbing things more, like our shirts. I took the picture below in the car as we went to Aunt Rebecca's birthday dinner. She held onto the pacificer ribbon!

I brought her to our bedroom when I was about to take a shower, not realizing that the cats were there! I guess they're still alittle confused as to why the baby is still here....

On the other hand, the dogs seem to love her! I tried to put the video we took those a few weeks ago when we first introduced her to them, but it didn't work. :(

Our friends Tony and Karin gave us a dogwood tree in honor of Hallie's birth that we planted in the front yard!

Time with Chris, Lesley, and Isaiah

2010-09-23T18:19:00.012-04:00

We were so excited that Chris, Lesley, and Isaiah came to visit for a few days! Isaiah is about 9 months old, which is such a fun age! He babbles, smiles, and plays a lot. Plus, he's gotten so much bigger!

Here is a picture of the fam with all of the new members! We had a great dinner at Chuck, Deda, and Liz's house that Sunday!

Uncle Chris and Aunt Lesley!

We had lunch with Liz at Bojangles!

One of my favorite pictures!

Isaiah loves the camera! What a ham!

Hallie with Aunt Lesley! (another fav pic of mine!)

Mom and Isaiah!

Mom and Dad with the grandkids!

The cousins with Chris and Lesley!

Mom and I were at their house with Hallie while Chris and Lesley went out for awhile. Frankie hopped up into mom's lap unexpectantly! He needs lots of love too!

So far, things are still going pretty well. Sometimes, Hallie sleeps through the night, sometimes, we have some crying fits. I'm learning to be thankful no matter what type of night we have! I am glad to be able to nap a bit during the day and evening, which has been helpful!

We have taken her out a bit- shopping and to eat lunch with dad at Bo Peeps today and last Thursday! We've had lots of wonderful friends and family give us meals these last weeks, which has been great!

Getting to Know You!

2010-09-12T08:34:00.025-04:00

We've made it almost two weeks! All of us have learned so much about one another!

I asked Jason this week what his favorite part was in having Hallie and he said that it was that he has two people to look forward in coming home two instead of one. :)

My favorite is the funny facial expressions and quirks she has!

She loves to stretch, as seen below:

And she makes this little "o" look with her mouth, like below

In the last few days, she's been a lot more alert and moves her eyes alot!

Here are some good photos with family these past weeks!

With Grandmom

With Grandad

At the hospital

With Aunt Deda and Uncle Chuck

With Nana

With cousin Aida

With Paw Paw

With Karen

With Mike and Becca

With Uncle Lee

With Great Grandma!

So far, we've had more good days & nights than bad! Lately, I think she's had more indigestion, so we've had some long hours during the night. I've been sleeping in the nursery with her so that Jason can get a decent night's sleep. She can really wail loudly sometimes! Maybe she'll be a good sport's fan!

I've definitely feeling like the days have blurred together, but here are some highlights that I recall:

The first two nights, we were here by ourselves. She did well, only waking up about twice or so for feedings.

Saturday, mom stayed with us, which worked out well because Hallie had a bad tummy ache that night, so I was able to get some sleep.

Linda stayed with us this past week and was a great help for me!

Thursday we went to Statesville to eat at Ruby Tuesday for Gary's birthday, so it was our first offical eating out in public! She did well, except for a yucky #2. (thanks Linda for taking care of that for me!)

Friday, we showed her off at CFA and to Jason's co-workers! Then, the three of us made a evening run to CVS, which was nice!

Saturday, Hallie and I went over to mom and dad's while mom and Jason painted the hallway. Later that night, Jason and I went shopping at Kohls and Target, leaving Hallie with grandmom. As much as I'm enjoying being around her, it was nice to get away for awhile!

The only "bump" so far was that our doctor heard an extra heart beat at her appointment this week. He felt concerned, so we went Thursday morning back to the hospital for an echo/ultrasound. She kept me up that night, but it worked out because she slept through it!
The results concluded that there is a small valve that hasn't completely closed yet. Linda did research online that it's very common, especially in girls, and should resolve itself in a month. It was a relief that the doctor's were not alarmed at the problem!

Yesterday, mom helped me out and today, dad has come over too! It's been nice to have someone watch her for awhile so I don't have to worry!

Some Pictures of the first few days!

2010-09-06T06:34:00.012-04:00

Some Labor/Delivery/Post Delivery Memories

2010-09-04T19:52:00.010-04:00

Here are some memories before I forget!

*When we first go to the room, they asked if we would allow a male nursing student to help. I told them it was fine! He was really nice and is the one who asked me a bunch of the general admission questions with the help of the nurse at the moment. The nurse for that day was the woman who taught the Grandparents class that mom/dad and Linda/Gary went to! How ironic!

*When the night shift nurse said I went from 5cm to 9cm, she got Valerie (the midwife). When Val came into the room, I asked if we could delay pushing for alittle while. Jason's mom had left about an hour before that to go home to get a few things. Val looked at me and said she'd go get a cup of coffee and sip on it slowly before coming back! Even during the first bits of pushing, she would sip on her coffee, which I thought was a bit funny! Drinking coffee while delivering! Linda ended up getting there about 15 minutes after I started pushing, so it all worked out!

*I had asked if they could do a mirror so I could see what was going on during pushing. It did help a bit when I could see the head and tell myself that all the pushing wasn't in vain!

*Jason was great at supporting me during labor, he never left the room and helped me when the contractions got bad, and got me ice chips between pushing segments and

*Dad and Gary sat and talked in the hallway outside the room the whole time during pushing. I could occasionally hear them.

*Jason said "she just kept coming out" once she delivered. When I first saw her, I couldn't believe how big and long she was!

*I thought I would cry when she FINALLY came out because I do get a bit teary eyed when I've watched birthing shows. But, I think I was so exhausted, I had no energy left! Jason did cry a bit though!

*She got a 9 out of 10 on the Apgar test!

*We got to announce the name with all sets of grandparents there. (Linda/Gary (or Nana and Papa), Dean/Karen (or Paw-Paw and Karen) and Carl/Ginger (or Grandmom and Grandad)

*In the morning, Jason and Hallie were both sleeping and they slept the same way! Both their mouths curve down a bit.

*The day nurse on Wednesday came in and told me "Maybe the next one will look like you." She said that Hallie definitely looked like her daddy! Later, mom said Hallie does not look like my baby photos. Linda brought Jason's baby book and we had the proof of how much she does look like him! But sometimes, I do see some Starnes in her!

*We did let her sleep in the nursery that night.

*Vistors at the hospital: All grandparents, Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Lee, Emily, TK & Maverick, Chuck, Deda, & Liz, Abigail & little Lincoln, Kelly & little Mitchell, Tony & Angela, Lori, Karen's sister Chris, her husband, and their granddaughter Danielle

It's Offically a Holcomb GIRL!

2010-09-01T14:08:00.011-04:00

Well, we didn't expect her to come this early, but once again, it's proof we are no longer in control of the Holcomb house! Here's us today!

Hallie Virginia Holcomb, born at 4:55 a.m. September 1st, 2010. She weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces and is 22 inches long. I really can't believe she fit in me!

We named her Hallie because it means "Praise the Lord" (like Hallelujah). At the end of February for the ultrasound in Charlotte, the doctor had said he thought it was a girl. Jason started looking for names on babynames.com. I don't remember how we actually found it, but we looked up the name and really thought the meaning symbolized our journey in the pregnancy.

Here's us right after delivery! I definitely praised the Lord after 2 1/2 hours of pushing!

Here's her under the heat light after doing some of the newborn tests! She is very healthy!

Already a daddy's girl!

Here's the background to the story!

Last Friday, my appointment had revealed slightly high blood pressure and protein in the urine, which are signs of the pre eclampsia. My swelling wasn't getting any better either. I went back Monday after having to rest easy and do a 24 hour urine collection on Saturday/Sunday.

My blood pressure was slightly higher and still protein in the urine, so the midwife said she should have results of the lab by that evening. I did not get a call, so I thought things might be okay.

Tuesday, I got a call around 10:00ish and I though the midwife said I had a level of 188. The safe level is nothing above 300. Then, she told me "how would you like to have a baby today or tomorrow?"

I was alittle confused because I thought my levels were okay; she said no, level was 688!

Total shock hit me and I asked if I could call her back after processing this! I hung up the phone and started crying because I still had things I wanted to get done at work before I left. After a few minutes, I called the midwife back and the hospital could admit me at 12:30. I called Jason, who was very calm and fixing the air conditioner in my mom's school room, so I told her to go ahead and tell her what was going on, but that there was no game plan yet.

They started the induction that afternoon and the midwife broke my water around 7:00. I labored until about 1:00 when I got an epidural. She had told me since I showed pre eclampsia signs, that the epidural would be benefical because it helps bring blood pressure down. So, I didn't totally chicken out, the midwife made me do the epidural! But, by midnight, I had very strong contractions and with getting tired, couldn't take it much longer.

After the epidural, the nurse evaluated me and said that I had gone from 5cm to 9cm! Suprising it itself! So, I started pushing around 2:15. It wasn't bad until about the last hour because I could feel so much pressure, but she wouldn't come! I was getting so tired too!

I had great support with the nurse and midwife along with my mom and mother in law, and of course Jason!

Full Term Now!

2010-08-22T16:58:00.003-04:00

I became full term on Friday, the 20th! I could offically blow at any moment now! My doctor said on Thursday that I'm starting to efface and am slightly dilated, so the beginning of the beginning has begun!

I've been feeling a bit more activity, especially on the right side near my ribs. It must be a foot, I guess. It seems have be head down most of the time, so I think I feel the hands/arms around my belly button too. My calves look like Arnold Schwarzenegger (again I'll spare a picture) and hurt a bit more now. That's really the most uncomfortable thing, but it's pretty tolerable!

This week I had a bit of congestion making it hard to breathe a bit at night, but the last few nights haven't been bad! I've had to wake up and eat during the night, so maybe it's going through a growth spurt!

We've had a nice weekend: life group about God loving us unconditionally and yesterday, went shopping for a few more things, then to Grandma's birthday at Cracker Barrell. Then, some yummy cake at their house afterwards! Today, we just relaxed after church, then mom and Deda brought us the rocking chair that the hostesses from last week's shower and Chris & Lesley got for us! It should put the finishing touches on the nursery!

Baby Shower 8-14 at Deda's House

2010-08-22T16:47:00.007-04:00

We had a great baby shower last weekend at my aunt Deda's! I think we've gotten everything we need now and are very thankful!

One more month.....potentially!

2010-08-10T20:57:00.002-04:00

It's one month until the estimated time of arrival!

35 Weeks Now!

2010-08-06T15:15:00.010-04:00

So far, so good! Had a doctor's appointment yesterday and my blood pressure, weight, and measuring seem to be good, as well as a heartbeat that's 140-150 bpm

Only minor discomforts:

It's harder to get up and down
My legs are a bit tighter/stiffer
I have really bad monster feet (I'll spare a picture) and my legs are bigger too

As you can see below in the other postings, we've had some great baby showers! The nursery is not organized, but here are some updated pics! Lots of stuff is in drawers!

The past few weeks have been good; only bump was the last week of July, Jason got sick with a fever that Monday. I took him to the doctor and he had some baterial infection. He slept in the bed in the nursery for two nights and took antibotics the rest of the week. Thankfully, I did not get sick! I did have a bit more congestion around the same time, but never a fever.

In other news, our garden spider Charlotte is back! (or the spawn of Charlotte, who knows!) She's in the corner of the dog lot now near the the sunroom!

We're ready for a relaxing weekend!

Baby Shower 8-1-10 Corinth Friends

2010-08-03T19:01:00.007-04:00

We had a shower of our Corinth friends on Sunday at Wes and Tiffany's house! It was in the evening as a dessert shower! We played the game where each person (but me) takes ribbon and cuts off the length of what they think the size of my baby bump is! Most did too big (including Jason- should I be insulted???) but a few were very close!

Baby Shower 7-31-10 at Amy Hayes' house

2010-08-03T18:42:00.009-04:00

We had a great shower serving a tasty lunch at Amy's house. A lot of people showed up and I didn't realize how many gifts were actually there until I turned around and saw it all!

Amy made this adorable diaper cake!

Linda gave us this which was in Jason's nursery!

The Holcomb men (and my friend Wendy's husband Corey) came at the end of the shower. I have no idea how the gifts made it to our house, but somehow they did!

St Lukes Baby Shower 7-25-10

2010-08-03T18:29:00.006-04:00

For our last Sunday working at St Luke's nursery, Cindy threw us a shower during church and Sunday school time. People just dropped in and I was surprised at the gifts we got! Liz hung out with us too! The next Wednesday was out last night with the Hispanic kids, who made a cute poster for us!

CFA Baby Shower 7-23-10

2010-08-03T18:22:00.005-04:00

On Friday, July 23rd, my work had a baby shower for us at the Catawba Country Club for lunch! We really enjoyed all the gifts. I'm still waiting on a few pictures from my co worker, since I didn't realize my camera battery had died until I got there! We got some clothes, rattles, onesies, and below is a burp cloth that my co worker Mitize cross stitched for us!

The cake had little pink booties and blue booties on it! They did lots of table decorations too!

A little vacation!

2010-07-20T21:46:00.013-04:00

I have some nursery pics below this posting, so check those out too!

Last week, we got to go to Florida for a few days! We got to the beach on Wednesday afternoon and later that evening, Jason, Dean, Karen, and Lee went on a kayak trip near Merritt Island. The chemicals in the water make it glow! They also saw some dolphins!

Thursday, Melissa's friend Wendy met us at the beach condo and we hung out at the beach for awhile. Jason and Lee did swim a bit in the ocean, but I just waded in the water. There was an ice cream social at the pool after lunch, then after a nap, we headed to Outback for dinner! Later, me, Jason and Wendy took a walk on the beach near sunset.

Friday, we had to leave the beach and me, Jason, and Wendy headed to Kennedy Space Center and did the bus tour.

This is one of the launch pads. The kakhi looking road is actually gravel for how they transport the shuttles to the launch pad. It takes 8 hours, as the crawler goes one mile an hour!

The next stop was the Apollo/Saturn V Center, where the Saturn V moon rocket is displayed. There also was a video about the Apollo 11 mission (first walk on the moon in case you didn't know your history! LOL!) Basically, when Armstrong and Aldran were on the "eagle" going to the moon, they lost contact with mission control, the landing site was off by 3 miles, so the mission was close to being called off. I didn't realize so much had gone wrong, but then things went right when they landed on the moon!

The last stop was the international space station, where we could look at actual workers building sections that will eventually go to the space station. Totally amazing!

The vistor's complex where you come into a first has a bunch of IMAX shows and other exhibits. We were so tired after doing the bus tour that we just saw one show about the moon missions.

On Saturday, we rested in the morning, then Wendy and Corey's apartment complex had a cookout at their pool, so we ate our lunch there! Then, we headed to Sea World! We saw two killer whale shows. They were basically the same, but one was called "Shamu Rocks" and just played rock music while the whales did their show!

We got to see a baby sea lion nurse on its mother in that exhibit!

We saw an artistic show with ballet and circus type stuff and also a sea lion/otter show that made fun of some of the other shows at Sea World. At one point, it had a sea lion pulling a string in the water that was attached to a banner saying, "Shamu, can you do this?"

This is the picture where they were pretending to be on the rollercoaster ride and would move side to side. The sea lion even did a scream!

We're so glad we got to go!

Nursery progress!

2010-07-20T21:26:00.007-04:00

Mom and Jason finished painting the nursery! Then, we got to see my roomate from college Genie and Sandra (her mom) on July They gave us a cute outfit and Sandra made this adorable Winnie the Pooh blanket! It's so perfect!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T21:07:00.014-04:00

Here's my latest baby bump picture, taken today!

I believe I'm about 145 now. I went to the doctor today and when she heard the heart beat, she said "wild child." No one can deny the kid's a Holcomb! :) LOL!

Monday, we both had the day off and went with mom and dad to Gaffney. Jason found some shorts he needed and we enjoyed walking around. I had to rest a few times!

We're actually in Hickory for the 4th! We've been on vacation the years before, so it's different! We've just rested for the 4th, but Jason went fishing with Lee.

July 3rd, we went to the Blowing Rock parade! It thankfully was not terribly hot and afterwards, we went to Shops on the Parkway and ate ice cream from Kilwins! Here's some pictures I took as we waited for the parade.

Friday, the 2nd, mom and Jason painted most of the nursery! I'll post a picture once it's completed! We chose dusty yellow! I was suppose to have half day off, but ended up getting all day off, so I stayed in the den and they closed the door. I couldn't smell the pain except when I went in the hallway. I felt a bit weird that I couldn't help, but it's okay! Jason and Dean also put a fan in our den because we've been getting hot lately. It's totally wonderful to have a breeze of air now!

We've finished up our marriage book in life group and some couples are feeling leadings to possible start new life groups. So far, Jason and I don't know what we're suppose to be involved in, because we won't be doing nursery anymore after July, which leaves open Wednesday nights for a bible study and also finding a Sunday school class. We'll just have to see what happens!

I've been feeling more movements lately and I am no longer wearing my engagement ring or my opal ring because they got a bit tight. I'm not taking my wedding band off because it's settled into my finger now!

My doctor's visit on June 23rd went well, but I'm a bit low on iron, so I'm now taking a vitamin for that. I had to do the gestional diabetes test and didn't think the drink was too bad! It tasted like a very sweet orange crush! So far, no phone call, so I hope all is good!

We started our Lamaze classes and it's been very helpful! It's really more like labor education, going through the stages and what to expect. I do not know what I want to do as far as no drugs, or epidural, but it's nice to know all the options. We've done different labor techniques to help with contraction pain (like putting tennis balls in a sock to rub my back and sitting on the "birthing ball."). I know Jason will be a good labor support coach!

Start of Summer!

2010-06-20T21:46:00.017-04:00

We are sorry to not have posted sooner. Our internet hasn't been working well at home!

Here is a picture from 6-14-10, 27 weeks:

New things going on:

My feet are swelling a bit. Just puffing up more than out so my shoes still fit!

About the time of the picture, I saw my stomach do this involuntary twitching/spasm thing. It reminded me of the movie scene where the alien comes out of the guy's stomach. It was a bit creepy, but cool!

We're starting to feel "hard areas" on my stomach, which we assume is some type of limb or hand or foot. Again, cool, but creepy!

We've had some fun events lately. Friday, June 4th, we did not have life group, so we had our friends Kelly and Sam come over for dinner with their 9 month old Mitchell. It was fun watching him play around our den and we watched the Stanley Cup hockey game. The next week, Jason and I enjoyed watching the games together and stayed up late the Wednesday night that the Blackhawks won!

That Sunday, I went to a baby shower in Statesville and then we had a cookout at Karen's, which was nice. The pool was open, so they swam a bit!

June 11th was high school graduation night, so Jason was gone until late in the evening. He did come by in the afternoon to see me at work that day, which was nice!

We got to see our friends Bill and Carrie with their son Caleb for lunch that Saturday (yum, Mexican!). They got to come to our house, which was great! Here's me and Carrie!

Later that night, we went to Matt and Melissa's wedding at a hunting lodge. It was beautiful, decorated with red roses! We were close to Linda and Gary's so we headed up there and got to see our nephew Athrun! He was having a rough night, but so cute! We also got to see the cool sandbox Gary built!

Sunday, we went to a birthday party for Dave Hammer, who lives at the lake. A rain storm came through first, but it really cooled things off! I ate two hamburgers (within a few hour time spread!) It was fun to see all the kids enjoy playing in the water.

We got to see Linda again on Tuesday, as she was getting her car serviced. We went to Chick-fil-a and then I had to babysit at church. After a trip to Babies R Us with Linda, Jason headed to our friend's Kelly and Sam's house to babysit for their son, since it was their anniversary. I came a bit later after the church babysitting was done and then we had a nice evening talking with them!

This Friday, we met with a family daycare that is right around the corner of our house! I really liked her and she'll have a 5 year old and three 2 year old in the Fall, so our baby would be the only one! We're just praying for wisdom right now!

We didn't have life group, but went on the Blanchard's boat on Lake Hickory. It was great not to feel sick at all!

Saturday, we had another wedding in Blowing Rock, my second cousin Ben. We rode with mom and dad. It was a nice day up there and the preacher did a great talk about how marriage represents Christ and the church and the sacrifice it takes for both to treat each other as so. It was neat to hear, especially since we've been reading the marriage book! Afterwards, the reception was at the country club and we got to talk to lots of people from mom's side of the family. I wanted to dance, but felt a bit uncomfortable since I can't move like I want to!

Sunday, we met Jason's dad, Karen, and Lee at Olive Garden with my parents. Then, we hung out at our house for awhile. TNT bible study was on doubt, focusing on Peter and when he walked on water. It hit me how distracted I've been lately about money, daycare, what to do about insurance, regarding the baby. I've decided to focus more on the exciting things and not worry so much about the other stuff. Having upcoming baby showers should help!

Baby Bump- week 25

2010-06-02T20:59:00.002-04:00

Here's a photo taken June 1st! I had a doctor's appointment that day and I now weigh 137!

Memorial Day weekend in Memphis!

2010-05-31T14:25:00.011-04:00

We headed to Memphis on Thursday, both of us needing a break with work. The ride there wasn't as bad as I thought since I sat on a pillow the whole time.

When we got there, Isaiah was having a rough day. Mom, dad, Jason, and I kept him while Chris & Lesley were at a dinner for her medical school graduation. He got a bit fuzzy at times when he was tired, so he took two little naps. Uncle Mike came over too after he got off work, which was nice! We ate some pizza.

Here the first video of mom feeding him sweet potatoes that evening. He doesn't like green beans very much, but loves sweet potatoes!

Friday was Lesley's graduation ceremonies. The first one was just the medical school at a church. The most interesting thing I learned was that a German intern in 1929 performed the first human heart catherization on himself! He did it to prove that it could be done safely on humans and much of the modern heart knowledge stems from this guy. The point that the speaker made was that even as interns/residents, one person can make a difference.

After that, we went to this cute restaurant downtown to eat lunch. We got to spend time with Lesley's side of the which was great! The ceremony in the afternoon had the medical, pharmacy, dentistry, physical therapy, nursing, and allied health all together, so it was a long ceremony, but good! Isaiah sat with mom in the afternoon and he didn't make any crying or noisy sounds during the ceremony!

We got to walk up Beale street after that on our way back to the car, so Jason got to see all the excitement of that! That evening, everyone headed to Chris and Lesley's for bbq and then we had a men vs. women trivial pursuit. The men ended up winning, but we had a nice time with everyone!

Here is a video of Isaiah playing in him jumper; Jason made him smile!

Saturday, we went mid morning to Chris and Lesley's, then mom, dad, Jason, and I went to eat lunch at the Neelys restaurant. We all cleaned our plates, as it was one of the best restaurants I think we've been to in Memphis! We'll definitely have to go back!

That afternoon, we just chilled at their house. Mom got him this UNC t-shirt that we put him in for awhile. For dinner, everyone came over to eat some Chinese takeout! Then, we headed to our hotel near Nashville, so the ride home was not as long! Here he is with Jason!

We have the crib!

2010-05-24T20:30:00.010-04:00

24 weeks (I think now). Been feeling more movements, I think. It seems each ultrasound that the kid is pretty much content staying still so maybe it's started to see the benefits to moving.

Our crib came in and we've got it set up in the room now! We put the bed on the other side of the room. The blanket from our jungle thing is drapped on the bed.

Work's been a blur for us both this past week. Thursday, we had a cookout at some of our friend's house with some other young couples. The only bad thing about it is that I think I sat too much and my left sciatic nerve really hurt the next two days. It started about 2 weeks ago and co mes on and off. I guess I'll just have to deal with it!

Friday, Jason went to a men's retreat and I went to our friend's Abigail & Greg's house for their son's one year old birthday party. They dropped a bomb on everyone announcing that they are having twins! I guess God really dropped the bomb on them! But it was fun and quite surreal to see how their parents reacted and also how shocked they are still! It was weird too because when I sat beside Abigail when we got there, I thought: "I wonder if she's pregnant." I don't normally think that about people, so I blew it off as a crazy thought!

Saturday, I worked on the online newsletter for the women's ministry all morning and helped Liz bake some cookies in the afternoon. I got a cute picture of the cats sitting on a chair in the sunroom. I've never seen them sit in the same chair before; they're usually in the same room together, but have their space.

That night, when Jason got back, we went with Liz to the Crawdads game. It was a nice evening, but we were very tired.

Sunday, I went with mom, Abigail and Kelly to see "South Pacific". It worked out that mom's neighbor gave her their season tickets so we all got in for free! Then, we headed to Wes & Tiffany's for another cookout!

Busy Two Weeks!

2010-05-17T09:06:00.007-04:00

Here's my 22/23 week baby bump picture!

We've had a very busy last 2 weeks! Last week (3rd to 7th) we both had hard days at work: Jason with air conditioning problems and Melissa with just an overwhelming work load. Thankfully we weren't monsters to one another, even though I felt like one!

Last Tuesday evening (4th), we got to see my college friends Jen and Charles, who had their third son early that morning! We were glad to see them!

Last Thursday, we went to our friend Emily's pinning ceremony for nursing. Thursday had been the worst day for me and they had a good speaker who talked about the harms of complaining and critizing.

Last Friday, our chapter in the marriage book was realizing that your spouse cannot make you happy and even facing the disappointments in your marriage. We realized how important it is for us to communicate our feelings, especially when we've had those hard days at work! Otherwise, we might take something personally when it has nothing to do with us!

Last Saturday, we had dinner with the Holcomb side for Mother's Day. Rebecca commented that I ate a lot (which I did)

Last Sunday, we had lunch with Linda, Gary, Lee, and Aida. We ordered Village Inn pizza and enjoyed the entertainment from Aida. She pretended to fish off of Lee's boat (in the driveway). We had a nice TNT discussion with Wes & Tiffany, finishing up the lesson on forgiveness.

Monday, we had dinner with my mom at Donatos. Then, we headed to Babies R Us to order our crib and began our registry! It's not got too much stuff on it yet, but we're working on it! Our nursery theme is a Jungle theme, so we're rearranged the first bedroom to prepare for the new furniture!

Tuesday, we had nothing to do thankfully (except watch "Lost" which was an annoying episode...)

Thursday, we visited Grandma in the hospital because she had gotten sick and they figured out it was her galbladder. She had it taken out on Friday and is now recovering.

Friday, we had life group on finding a mission for your marriage and also making sure it has an adventure quality to it, by finding things in common to do, etc. It really has made us think a lot about what we want to accomplish together as a couple, a part from raising kids. The chapter did make a great point that raising kids is an adventure and mission of it's own, but it shouldn't be the sole purpose of the marriage, since kids will eventually go. I heard someone say once, "Kids will leave, spouses will stay."

Saturday, we had a date day! We went shopping in the afternoon: to Kohls, Lowes to pick out paint samples for the nursery, and Goodwill for me to get more clothes! They're starting to get tigher! Then, we made breakfast for dinner (eggs and bacon), eating on the sunroom, and made chocolate chip cookies for the church picnic the next day! It was fun for us to work together and really hard for me NOT to eat the raw cookie dough!

Sunday, we had a church picnic for lunch that the Women's Ministry did (which I'm a part of since I do the electronic newsletter). We profiled two non profits and had the kids decorate these paper sacks with goodies for children that are sick. I got some good pictures to put in the June newsletter!

Then, we headed to Statesville and while Jason hung out with his dad and grandparents at the hospital, I went to a bridal shower for Karen's future daughter in law! It was at Karen's house with a Hawaii theme! I had a great time talking to Melissa (not myself, the future bride's name is Melissa too) since we never have gotten a chance to talk before! We're looking forward to their wedding in June!

After that, we went to Lonestar since Karen's birthday was the 15th. I was completely stuffed from munching on all the good bridal shower food (fruit, cake, and these awesome sausage balls!)

We were so tired last night we went to bed early!

Gender mystery!

2010-04-30T18:28:00.006-04:00

Well, we had the big ultrasound today to check anatomy and find out the gender....but apparently we have a stubborn and/or shy baby! It would not turn the right way for the tech to see the "special area" and when it got close to being in the right place, the cord or a hand was in the way! I almost felt like it was teasing us! This tech believed it was a girl (as did the doctor back in February), but she didn't felt confident enough to be sure.

We felt a bit disappointed, but once that wore off, I started to think it was funny! I came back to work to tell and we had alittle social, making a toast to "Baby Shim".

I took pictures of the pictures, so quality isn't that good.

This one is of the feet (at the top):

It has the mouth open in this one! (at the top, near the middle). Either it's yawning or saying: "I ain't telling!"

20 weeks

2010-04-25T20:11:00.003-04:00

There's not too much change, but a lot more people are saying I've got more of a baby bump! I think I'm feeling more flutters and still getting hungier, so those should be good signs! This Friday is the big appointment, where they do the anatomy scan and we can find out if it's a boy or girl. I'm a bit nervous and excited!

It's been an interesting week, starting with on Monday evening, Jason finding a broken sewer pipe in our backyard. He was in the woods, looking for places to put his new trees and found it. (Yuck!) So, we ended up talking to our neighbor Miles, who said he had a similar problem a few years ago and it's most likely a tree root damaging the pipe. Since he works for the city, he called and it ended up we found out that when the city put in the new sewer pipe in the creek in our backyard, they forgot to hook our line in. Saturday morning, two workers and Jason replaced the pipe and it was FREE since it was the city's fault for not hooking us in! Such a great God thing!

Friday night, I got to hang out with some girlfriends and Jason went with our friend Richard to see his son's high school friends play at a local Christian coffee house. Saturday, we had family birthdays for myself and Lee in Statesville.

Jason was worn out today from working so hard yesterday, so we've just rested!

We're working on finding a daycare, which is a lot more stressful than I thought! I get a bit freaked out when there's a bunch of choices to make and worry a bit that there won't be anything available when we need it. But, I know God will work it out somehow, I'm just not sure yet. Pray for us as we search to find the right place!

Happy Birthday Melissa!

2010-04-18T17:44:00.003-04:00

Today, I'm 31! We've had a good day! We went to Kobe's for lunch with Linda and Gary. Dad had a seminar in Greensboro, so we saw them alittle later this afternoon.

Here's another baby bump picture! 19 weeks now!

Yesterday, we went to my second cousin Elana's wedding in Charlotte. It was nice to see that side of the family and a very pretty day! I enjoyed the food, which was pasta with chicken, peppers, and mushrooms!

Friday we started our marriage book in life group! We read the book and the workbook during the week and then watch a video and discuss at group time. This week, it was about expectations in marriage and it being harder then we think. It was interesting to hear the stories of how things were different from dating to marriage with all of us.

This past week, Jason had lots of air conditioning problems so he was very worn out. It didn't help that our toliets starting not flushing during the week and Friday evening, we had to call Roto Rooter and spend $400 to get it fixed! But, God is good and since I got paid this week, we had the money in the account!

My co worker/roommate Rosemary has been on vacation this week, and it was pretty quiet with work. We had a birthday cake for me on Friday which was nice!

The prior weekend, I had to go buy a few more pants since the ones I have aren't fitting well! I am a Goodwill freak, so I found some there! So far, I think most of my skirts and shirts for work will be okay since they are long and stretchy. But, we'll see!

I still sometimes get a little sick feeling in the evenings, but it's not at the level as the last few months. I also have a snack in the morning and afternoons because I get SO HUNGRY! I'm being good though and eating fruit, even though a week ago, I did find some Vanilla Wafers and eat those for a few days! Guess one week doesn't hurt!