Welcome to the World!!!

We are happy to announce the safe and blessed arrival of our new little son, Dexter Aaron Kannel. He was born on Friday, March 25, 2011 at 10:08am. He weighed 8lbs exactly and was 19.25" long. He looked pretty chunky at first, but after many dirty diapers, lost over 1/2 lb before leaving the hospital. He is now skinny and bony, much like his older sister was at birth.

Olivia is doing well with the addition to the household. She likes to 'pet' his head, show him her toys, and pat his belly when he cries. Chris has been amazing since we've been home. He plays with Olivia when I am busy or sleeping, he helps care for Dexter in the night, he helped my mom do the dishes and put away groceries....he is a great husband and father. I am truly blessed to have him in my life.

Dexter is a little ball of cuteness! Of course, as his mother, I'm completely biased...but I at least wanted to throw my opinion out there! Below are some pictures for you: some from the hospital and some from home. For more pictures, check out my Picasa website. Enjoy!

Staying Busy...

I've been trying to stay busy to keep my mind off of the fact that I have no idea when this baby will arrive! I've been spending time outside with Olivia if the weather is permitting. Last week, we picked up sticks in Grandma and Grandpa's yard and then we went to Great Granny's yard to pick up sticks there too. Olivia likes the task and I didn't mind the exercise. Bending over became tougher after a while though! After we picked up sticks at both of those houses, we moved out to Great Grandma and Grandpa Kannel's house. Chris' Dad said sticks needed picked up in their yard too.....but they weren't really 'sticks.' :) When I started to pull the first one through the yard, Olivia said, "Mommy, that's a whole tree!" And she was absolutely right! We've seen trees smaller than that 'stick.' But, we took our time and got the job done. I didn't feel overworked, it was nice to get outside, and I thought the exercise might help bring Baby Kannel along. Guess not! It was still a lot of fun.

Here are some pics from the past few days:

40 weeks in and getting loved on by my toddler

Studies Show....

Studies show that babies in the womb can hear noises and distinguish different voices before they are ever born. I'm not writing an essay about this, so I don't have any quotes or sources. Just a personal experience....

Today my father-in-law was at our house helping us install the door and door frame into the laundry room (pictures to come later). I was sitting near them watching while they were doing the work. Chris used the nail gun, which has a pretty high powered sound if you aren't prepared for the noise that it will make. Well, he shot the gun and it startled me! I wasn't expecting it to make me react that way because I was watching him, I knew what he was going to do, and I knew the sound the gun would make. I was baffled about how much the sound made me jump and pondering why I reacted that way when he shot the gun three more times. It was only then that I realized it wasn't me reacting - it was the baby in my belly! Each time he shot it, the baby kicked and jumped as if he were startled. I then understood why it felt like I jumped the first time...because my insides literally leaped. While it wasn't me reacting, it was still something within my body. It was definitely weird not have my emotions (calm and knowing) match my body gestures (jumpy). But, it was very cool to know that this little guy has the ability to hear and react. Hopefully I'll meet him soon!

What's in a Name?

*You look miserable!
*You look great!
*I bet you're ready!
*You're carrying so high.
*You've dropped.
*Any day now?
*Two weeks left, right?

These comments have all come to me within the past 3 days. Granted, I'm 39 weeks 3 days pregnant - but why does everyone have to judge how I feel based upon how they think I look instead of asking me how I feel? I'm not offended by any of these comments - but rather baffled about some of the things people openly say!

I truly appreciate the people who have asked how I feel or asked how I feel I am carrying this baby before passing judgement - that shows me they care about me instead of making sure their opinion is heard. For now, I'll keep taking comments with a grain of salt!

When will I get to meet this little guy? Only God knows for sure - but I at least know the answer is SOON!

A Kannel Family Weekend

A few pictures from our weekend:

Walking to the covered bridge at the fairgrounds

The main man in her life

Her favorite pancake ever...see the fish on it? It was totally a coincidence, but Olivia was convinced that it was Nemo!

10 Days and Counting...

So, my due date is in 10 days...but I'm hanging in there!

Although it's hard to roll over in bed at night and it takes me longer than usual to get up off the floor, I'm not completely miserable! I truly enjoy being pregnant. Today while Olivia was taking a bath, I decided to use the step ladder to touch up the paint where the ceiling and the walls meet in the bathroom. Why not kill two birds with one stone, right? Well, I carefully climbed up on the ladder, was enjoying painting, and Olivia said to me, "careful Mommy, don't break the ladder!" My feelings weren't too hurt because I know she wasn't implying that I'm a behemoth! Later when we were reading stories together she pointed to the mommy elephant in the zoo book and said, "this is you, Mommy!" I know deep down that she wasn't insulting me - but it seems like I can't catch a break. Even last night when I put on a regular/non-maternity t-shirt and climbed into bed, Chris said, "careful, don't rip the shirt!" Despite all of these silly and crazy comments from the two people I love most in the world...I still enjoy being pregnant!

This thought has been on my heart and mind a lot lately, and I'm feeling the need to get it out by writing about it. Being pregnant truly is a blessing. I've always wanted to be pregnant and always wanted to be a Mommy. I truly feel blessed that God has allowed me both of those gifts. My heart truly goes out to those women who won't be able to experience the miracle of being pregnant and/or won't get the chance to be a mother...especially if these are things they truly desire.

In fact, I have a good friend whom I used with joke with about being the carrier of her baby for her if it ever turned out that she wouldn't be able to do this herself. See, she has a health condition that may cause her body to fail at carrying a pregnancy to full-term. So, we always said, "don't worry...Michelle will be pregnant for you." Although we half-way said this in a joking manner in the past...I now know that I truly was serious about this. I haven't talked to this friend about this particular topic in quite a while and this thought was weighing so heavily on my heart last week, so I decided to send her a message. I wanted her to know that I truly am serious about this offer and that if she can conceive but not carry her own children, I'm willing to do it for her. Does that sound crazy? Me carrying around my friend's fertilized egg inside my womb? Kind of!

But, maybe that means I'm crazy! (My husband says it means I'm 'sick and twisted.') I want this friend to be able to experience motherhood if she can, even though her body wouldn't be able to handle the pregnancy. If it turns out she is healthy enough to do this, then I guess I'm off the hook! (Either that or I open up the offer to some other friend!)

For me, being pregnant is a blessing - and despite the aches and pains, painful kicks from within and the frequent trips to the bathroom...I would love to do it again! I'm giving all the glory to God in this situation and praising him for allowing me to be pregnant.

Which brings me to a reality that will definitely be happening soon....not being pregnant anymore! I'm 10 days away from my due date, so technically this little guy could come at any time. I'm not anxious or nervous about giving birth or having a second child in the home - I'm just curious to meet him! And, I'm curious about the process. Some second labors go quicker than the first, some take longer. Will my labor start in the middle of the night like it did with Olivia, or will it happen while Chris is at work? What will he look like? Will he be healthy? Is Olivia ready for this? Is Chris ready for this? So many questions are swirling through my mind...and the only word I have to describe myself is curious.

Well...I'm off to go be curious some more now...

A Proud Wife

Perhaps I shouldn't be posting this because it's not my news to post...but I'm going to anyway!

I'm very proud of Chris and won't say much...except link you to a few things of his.

His Blog explaining a recent published Magazine cover/article.

A link to the magazine's website where you can read the article online. (Westchester Cottages & Gardens Magazine)

The image gallery with more pictures of the beautiful architecture and interior renovation.

If you have comments, don't leave them here - please leave them on his blog.

Many Many Things

I’ve been meaning to write for a few days…and just haven’t done it. It’s not that I’ve been lazy, I’ve been busy. The bathroom is complete upstairs (well, as complete as it will get for quite a while), and I have to admit that it looks great. My father-in-law even came over to our house over the weekend to finish putting the final coat of polyurethane on the floor for us while we were out of town. It looks amazing!

New bathroom floor (don't mind the blue painter's tape - we just haven't taken it off yet.)

Olivia has been doing well with potty training and I’m really glad we decided to tackle that before the baby arrived. I'm expecting a little regression after her brother comes, but that's normal. Otherwise, it's been great scratch diapers off the grocery list!

Olivia is also doing well with her scripture memorization. She now knows Philippians 4:13 and Colossians 3:20. The best part of her learning the Colossians verse is that she is learning it in context and can tell me what is means when she is struggling to listen to Mommy or Daddy. She is slowly learning how God wants her to behave - and that her listening is not just because we are asking her to be a good girl.

We are continuing our weekly Bible study with a group from a church in a nearby community. This study has been a very in-depth look at the prophecy in the book of Daniel. It's been very deep, but eye-opening at the same time. On top of this study, Chris continues to meet with a group of 6 men on Saturday mornings and I'm meeting with a group of 6 ladies on Thursday evenings. These separate Bible studies have really helped us to learn and grow in God's words...as well as provided us with an outlet for communication with other young Christians. We also started going to church on Wednesday nights and it's possible that Chris will begin to teach a young-adults (our age) class at church on Sunday evenings. We have a lot on our plates, but feel that we are growing closer to the Lord through all of these commitments.

On top of all of the above named things in our schedule, Chris is also staying busy with some community projects. He is working on a park shelter for the Montpelier Rotary Club, he's mildly involved in the Montpelier Investment Corporation to help brainstorm a possible new business within the community, he's a new member of the Montpelier Planning Commission, he's involved with the new building design for the Westchester Church of Christ (church we attended in New York), he's doing some side architecture for a client in Wasseon, he's working on another not-public-yet project that requires computer/architecture time in the evenings, and he's still working at the office, meddling in insurance, storage and real estate. He's a busy guy! Please pray for him that he will be able to manage his time appropriately and not overwork himself. He has a tendency to over commit and stress himself out - and that's just not healthy for him at all. (Not to mention that we have a newborn coming soon and that might add a few more things into his schedule!)

Speaking of the newborn, I had a doctor's appointment last Tuesday (March 1st). The doctor said everything seemed healthy and on target so far. My due date is still somewhere between March 19th and 21st, and I was already dilated 1cm at that point. He estimated that I wouldn't go past my due date, but that was just a guess. Women have stayed at 1cm for a while before beginning the official labor process. I was even at 2cm for a week before labor began with Olivia. So, I'm not holding my breath. I'm just waiting patiently on the little guy to get the sign from God that it's time to come and meet me! I go to the doctor again this Tuesday, so I'll keep you posted if anything new develops.

We spent the weekend with my family in Covington. My sister-in-law turns 30 soon and my brother threw her a surprise party to celebrate. She was completely overwhelmed and surprised, so it was good to see them in that setting! We spent some down time with them on Sunday, which was much needed. We usually have a schedule while we visit, between us being there, them working, us leaving, etc...so we don't get much time to just sit and enjoy each other's company. This weekend was a welcomed change!

Plus, we started talking about my crazy Mexican food cravings that I've been having throughout my pregnancy. My brother and sister-in-law agreed with me that the taco pizzas we were served in high school were delicious and it's a shame we haven't been able to find them anywhere. Chris rolled his eyes at this entire conversation! Well, thanks to Angie (my sister-in-law) taking initiative, searching online and making a phone call...we found them! The good thing: the store was on the way home from my parents' house. The not so great thing: we had to buy them in quantities of 96...that's right, 96! :) Too bad I'm so far along in my pregnancy...those could have really come in handy about 3 months ago. But, none-the-less, my eye-rolling husband stopped at the store and we bought a case. We're going to split the case with my brother, but that means we still have 48 taco pizzas at our house! You know I don't need to eat them all, so if anyone wants some...we paid about $0.65 per pizza...so let me know how many you want!

Taco pizzas overtaking the bottom shelf of our deep-freezer.

I feel like I'm constantly trying to make sure the house is ready for us to have a baby. My parents will most likely come up and stay at our house while we're in the hospital, so I want to make sure the place is clean and ready for them. Olivia will stay with Chris' parents, so I want to make sure that her bag is packed and ready to go as well. My bag is definitely packed and ready to go - except for a few last minute things like the camera & video camera. I just have this feeling of....I'm not sure exactly what it is. I'm not anxious, I'm not nervous, I really want to meet this little guy, and I have no idea when labor will start! It's just a perpetual feeling of...wait...I guess. Is that a feeling? :)

I'm off to go 'wait' some more now! Here's the latest picture of me, taken today after lunch. I'm 38 weeks along today, so we'll see if I make it to next Monday to take another picture! I'll keep you posted!

38 weeks