No bellybutton, Friends visit and a night home with just Dad

Well this morning it finally happened:? The bellybutton stub fell off. We knew it was getting close. Grace didn’t seem to care much one way or the other, but mom and dad are glad that the crusty nuisance is gone.

Later Kris and Barbara came by to take Kathryn to dinner. A nice break for mom. Pictures can be seen HERE(CLICKY)

Meanwhile Dad and Grace had a wonderful evening of stories, naps, eating and a good mix of silliness too.

Doctor’s appointment; Outing to the park… Hangin’ with Dad

Grace had another doctor’s appointment (March18) and scored another A+ grade. She gained 9oz or a bit over 1oz per day which is very good!  We’re all very impressed and proud, and the next doctor’s appointment is a full month away.

Then Grace had her first luncheon outing -with mom and dad at Claim Jumper’s restaurant.

Grace slept most of the time during her first luncheon.
Grace slept most of the time during her first luncheon.

Today (March20) Grace and mom took their fist solo outing (without dad), they went to the clinic to get blood drawn for the follow-up PKU test. This is the last poke until immunization shots which start in a month or two. Then they picked up Grandparents Rose and Ray and went to the park for a bit.

Pictures of the last days can be seen HERE(Clicky)

St. Patrick’s Day!!

First St. Patrick’s Day (10days old) was a quiet one home with Mom and Dad.

A great Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner for mom and dad and a nice evening. First time ever that Mom was home on her favorite holiday of all time.

St. Patrick's Day Festivities
St. Patrick's Day Festivities

More Pictures of St. Patrick’s Day can be seen HERE(Clicky)

Birthday -1week old and a nice weekend

Hard to believe, already one week old!! Things really do fly by.

Grace continues to do great, loving to sleep during the days and much more active at night.

In preparation for the birthday, Dad brought home a GIGANTIC chocolate cake.  This cake weighted twice as much as Grace. The cake came a few days ahead of the actual birthday and by the time the birthday rolled around, much of the cake was missing!!

Grace's first birthday cake; 1week old! ...uhh, and already some cake missing
Grace's first birthday cake; 1week old! ...uhh, and already some cake missing

Sunday was a nice day with visitors including Mom’s friend Barbara. Barbara saw Grace the day she was born but not hands-on. Here they finally get to meet face-to-face. Dad hopes this is the beginning of a long friendship, Barbara is the best!

Barbara and Grace
Barbara and Grace

And later we got some good pictures of Grace doing what she does best:? Being silly without even trying and keeping her parents full of pride and laughter

Sometimes Grace acts like an old man
Sometimes Grace acts like an old man

More Pictures of this weekend can be found here(CLICKY)

More good fun with Grace (+ more pictures)

Well the last few days have been fun and interesting.
For Starters: Grace seems to be getting better at sleeping during the night.  Uhhh, well, …..kind of. It seems every-other-night she sleeps.  And Uhhh,  -every-other-night she doesn’t. But overall there is no doubt that she’s getting a bit better at sleeping during the night.  -Certainly better than the first few days -But still lots of room for improvement. During the day she sleeps and sleeps and sleeps -nothing has changed there!

We’ve taken some pictures and videos and still trying to figure out the best way to share them all -without getting too crazy with them here on the blog -so we’ve created some mini pages -and we’ll see if this idea works.  Below are few examples:

Here(Clicky) is a video taken with Grandparents Ray/Rose and their friends from NY +Kris.  It is pretty funny. And a day or so later they were back(Clicky).

We’ve been staying busy with activity during the day …even though Grace sleeps through pretty much all of it! We all took walk in the neighborhood and end up at the nice park just down the street. Mom caught some video and pictures of dad and Grace on the swing!  It all can be seen Here(Clicky).

Today we learned it takes us a long time to get out of the house when we want to go somewhere! Today’s destination was the Sparks Marina where we got a GREAT walk in. Good for all of us -and an absolutely beautiful day here in Reno.  Certainly the best of the year so far. It can all be seen Here(Clicky)

Back home we had a nice dinner and then Ruth and Cindy stopped by with fun and nice presents for Grace –Here(Clicky).

Eventually time for everyone to go to sleep -but again Grace didn’t think that was a good idea …Here(Clicky) you’ll find pics of the bright-eyed grace as she soaks in the night-time fun!

Grace’s First Doctor’s Appointment and our first ‘family outing’!

Hard to believe that already time for Grace’s first doctor appointment. This would also be our first outing since home from the hospital two days earlier.

We feel fortunate to have a great pediatrician:  Dr. Columbo.  He comes very highly recommended and is very nice …we call him “Mr. Rogers” because he reminds us of Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood.  Of course we don’t call him this to his face 🙂

Grace got an A+ on her visit!!! Everything checks out great.  She’s lost the usual few ounces of weight since birth, -and all is on track. Our next appointment is next week, and then she doesn’t have to go back for a month.

Before Leaving for the Doctor ....Dad and Grace
Before Leaving for the Doctor ....Dad and Grace
This is funny!  A few minutes before the appoinment, Mom starts some paperwork but soon Grace and Mom nod off for a moment.   Grace's first few days here on planet earth make everyone a bit tired!!
This is funny! A few minutes before the appointment, Mom starts some paperwork but soon both Grace and Mom fall off into an unscheduled nap in the waiting room chairs. Grace's first few days here on planet earth make everyone a bit tired!!
In the check-up room:  Dad and Grace wait a few minutes for the doctor
In the check-up room: Dad and Grace wait a few minutes for the doctor
Dr. Columbo gives Grace a thorogh and nice check-up ....And an A+ grade!
Dr. Columbo gives Grace a thorough and nice check-up ....And an A+ grade!

Baby Grace Comes Home!!

Well after 4days worth of hospital, mom and dad were ready to come home!  Grace was too. The long stay was due to the long birth.  But also the doctors were very overcautious on a few things.  We all sure got the VIP treatment at Renown Medical Center -and that was nice. Everyone there loves Kathy, and that love got instantly passed down to Grace in the form of very special attention.

We got home mid-afternoon on Monday (9March) and it is SOOO very nice to be home.  Grace is doing great but has a very strong self-imposed schedule!  -Unfortunately this schedule is:  Sleep all day and be a princess …and all night it is a different story -when the sun goes down, it seems nothing makes her happy. We cannot keep her awake during the day (yes even poking with sharp sticks doesn’t work), and nothing makes her comfortable/sleepy at night.

Hence, mom and dad are very tired. We’re now attempting to take shifts -so that we can each catch a few winks here-and-there. Also, if you are friend and/or family and want to come over and see Grace -Yep, you’re more than welcome and Grace is taking reservations -Starting at sundown and going all night until sunrise  -Pick your time and you are more than welcome to come over! 🙂

Sorry for the delay in the update, we’ve been busy and exhausted here.  We’ve got a lot of pictures and video that we’ll eventually get posted. Now that we’re home we know things will eventually get kind of normal.  (perhaps?)

BIG thanks for all the wonderful calls, emails, gifts, flowers, and the very fun/nice nice notes here on the blog. Grace is so very blessed to have such wonderful attention and we are all thankful to have all of you in Grace’s life.

Grace Moore Austin -comes into the world!

What a day -actually what an adventure the last few days have been!

We?ll update this post and the birth section soon, -with many pictures, videos and great stories. But meanwhile please know that mom and baby are both doing fantastic.

Grace Austin is really something and we have no doubt she?ll shine as Nevada?s latest adventure girl. 35hours worth of labor, umbilical cord wrapped around her neck 3times (of course we didn?t know until she was out!)

Grace came into this world with a strong and fun spirit and mom and dad could not be more proud. Grace and her mom really shined bright the last few days.

We?re exhausted, baby is sleeping and the pics and stories will have to wait to be shared

But THANK YOU to everyone for all of your wonderful thoughts and prayers. We certainly put them all to use in the last days and there is no doubt they really made the difference. Kathyrn and I are thrilled beyond belief. We are so truly blessed.

Please check back soon, as we’ll be posting many pictures, stories, videos and details.

Meanwhile, a few pics:

The first few seconds of Grace Austin, what an adventure girl!
The first few seconds of Grace Austin, what an adventure girl!
Grace relaxing -after a couple of big days
Grace relaxing ........

EDIT:? We’ve linked pictures and will continue to do updates on the “Graces Birth” page (link to your right under ‘Pages’ ..or click here

It seems things are happening!!!

MUCH going on here!

At about 2:00a this morning Kathy woke up to a few strong contractions.  Through the night she rotated between warm showers, naps and more contractions -which came every few hours or so.

Through the day, the contractions progressed, getting more frequent, and a bit more in consistent.  We’ve had fun today relaxing and trying not to the the anticipation overwhelm us. Kathy who had been nauseous most of the day got a craving for McDonald’s –so we took a little road trip and got some.   Good Fun!

Now at 6:00 this evening, the contractions are coming at the pace of about every 15 to 20 minutes. We’re going to go to the hospital and check-in soon.  This is very exciting!!!  At this point it seems the baby is doing it’s own thing and (perhaps?) won’t need any encouragement -we’ll see

Wish us luck and fun!

OH, here is a video that Kathy made for Ciara very early this afteroon -you’ll see she’s doing GREAT -and continues to do so as we post this.

We had forgot about this picture ....and came across it after Grace's birth  -This picture was taken not many hours before Kathy's first contraction -It seems a little stroll under the Reno Arch may have played a part in getting things going!?
We had forgot about this picture ....and came across it after Grace's birth -This picture was taken not many hours before Kathy's first contraction -It seems a little stroll under the Reno Arch may have played a part in getting things going!?

“Re-Schedule” …uhhh, the wait continues

Well, today is the day that the induction was to start.

But after consultation with the doctor -and? factoring in many things including Kathy’s case of the common cold, the baby still not showing any signs that it is eager to come into the real world etc ……

We are now re-scheduled for Sunday (March8).   Like many of you, who thought this would be happening this evening, we are too a tad disappointed.  But we very much believe this choice is for the best. And who knows, perhaps the baby will make a move on it’s own in the next day(s?)

So, unless the baby makes it’s own schedule, the current plan is for us to check into the hospital on Sunday, with the induced birth and labor most likely on Monday. This will be 11 days past the original ‘due-date’ -but many are now questioning if the original date was maybe off by a bit(?)

stop-watch-clipart16The watch continues to tick, but mom and baby are both still doing great and nothing to do but enjoy life and wait!

41week Doctor Visit …..

Well, a week has gone by with still no indication that the baby is ready to be born without a bit of encouragement.

So, tomorrow evening we’ll check into the hospital where they’ll administer a drug to help soften and thin the cervix, …meanwhile they’ll have monitoring equipment etc on mom/baby. A simple process that alone might start the process, but more likely come Thursday they’ll induce labor. ? At this point, it looks like a Thursday birth for the new baby.

Mom and baby both are doing GREAT, -well except that Kathryn caught a simple case of the common cold from yours truly and of course I feel terrible for giving it to her.

Today was the last appointment with Doctor Omar at her office ….the next time we see her will be at the hospital to give birth!

Kathy relaxing in the Dr's office as they run charts on baby's heart rate and contractions.   Both were perfect.
Kathy relaxing in the Dr's office as they run charts on baby's heart rate and mom's contractions. Both were perfect.
John acting like Doctor smarty-pants reading the graphs
John acting like Doctor smarty-pants reading the graphs
Kathy impressionating a dead person ....gets checked out by our great doctor:  Dr. Omar
Kathy impressionating a dead person ....gets checked out by our great doctor: Dr. Omar

40week Doctor Visit ….when is the baby going to come out?

Another great doctor visit …just a couple days from due date and no sign that this baby is ready to bust loose. Instead, it seems that baby is content to stay where it is.

Next week will be 41weeks and at that time Dr. Omar will induce labor. In fact, everything is already in place with the hospital etc etc. Should the baby come before then, –>that would be great, but at this point nothing is suggesting that scenario.

So, from here we’re waiting for the baby to make the break-out move on it’s own.  If that doesn’t happen before a week from today (Tuesday March3) we meet with Dr. Omar again. And Wednesday evening we’ll go to the hospital where they’ll start to induce labor for a probably Thursday March 5th birth.

So, nothing to do but wait and see what happens!

40weeks -Dr. Omar says no sign that the baby is ready to break out
40weeks -Dr. Omar says no sign that the baby is ready to break-out.
.....Back Home a 40week Tummy Picture!
.....Back Home a 40week Tummy Picture!