Homecoming

Time to head home! I don't know why the checking out procedure always takes so long. We were in the hospital 2 1/2 days. The last 1/2 day was just waiting and waiting and waiting to get the OK to go home. Finally we made it though. We were happy to be back to our own bed, house, and beagles.

Danny was proud of his new shirt and new sister. Matt was convinced the hospital wouldn't let us go home sooner because we hadn't yet purchased anything from the gift shop. Sure enough, once he bought the big brother t-shirt, we got out of there really quick.A few thoughtful gifts welcomed us home. Thanks Billings and Grandma Maria for the beautiful bouquets!! Also, a huge thanks for the meals & goodies several people have brought by. Danny REALLY loved the cookie bouquet!!

Finally settling in . . . home sweet home.

Meeting Grandma and Grandpa Couch

Grandma and Grandpa Couch arrived July 5 and were able to meet Kaylee at the hospital. They helped welcome us home the next day and have been a huge help with Danny and adjusting to two. Grandpa was able to stay 1 week, but Grandma has been here over 2 weeks. It's been wonderful to have so much help! We were even able to go on a date last night to see Half Blood Prince while Grandma babysat!! I don't know what we'll do once all the help goes home. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Couch.

Hospital Moments

Except for an epidural that didn't ever seem to work (apparently because I progressed from a 5 to a 10 in one hour and by the time the epidural was administered it was time to push. . . . should have skipped the drugs all together!) our hospital experience was a good one. I guess when it's your second kid they don't bombard you as often with unsolicited advice. Overall we enjoyed a quiet two days. It's great to be home, but I also like the room service and lack of distractions in a hospital room. It was wonderful to just focus on Kaylee. Here's a few favorite shots from our stay.

Skyping with Grandma Hong

Getting to know each other better instead of napping.
Making faces at Dad.

Kaylee's first day

One of the best things about having a 4th of July baby is that the hospital has been SO quiet. Apparently most people don't schedule inductions or C-Sections around a holiday. With Danny's birth I have memories of nurses, doctors, salespeople (pictures), and NOISE constantly bombarding our room. However with Kaylee there's been lots of quiet uninterrupted time to just bond and enjoy her.

We did have a few visitors to make things interesting. Mindy, Uncle Rex, and Aunt Anne all dropped by. Sadly due to new security rules, only siblings are allowed to visit so Kaylee will have to wait to meet her Houston cousins. If you click on the picture of Anne and Kaylee you can get a good idea of what her hair looks like.












We thought it was pretty funny that she was toting a PAID sign around in her bassinet. I guess we'll be allowed to take her home after all.

I caught this video of Kaylee with hiccups. I know we're biased, but something about baby hiccups and yawns is pretty precious. I'm glad I got some good shots before today when she's managed to scratch her face up pretty good. Those cursed sharp baby nails!

It's so hard to believe we have a little baby again. We're already realizing that with two it's going to be a whole new dance, but we're looking forward to the adventure.

Big Brother

Danny was happy to come visit his new sister at the hospital. Truth be told, he was as excited about the chocolates we had for the nurses and the lake view as he was about the new baby though. Climbing up on mom's hospital bed and pushing buttons was very fun. However, Danny didn't really want to hold Kaylee upon first inspection. During a second visit, Aunt Anne was able to coach him through holding his new sister. He seemed a little more excited about it this time and was willing to give it a shot. You can tell he's still a little nervous about the whole thing though. He told Aunt Anne that Kaylee was "so cute" and "so tiny."
This morning Danny came to visit with Uncle Rex on their way to church. In addition to looking quite dapper, Danny was finally ready to hold his baby sister with confidence and pride.

She's Here!

Kaylee LaRue Hong was born at 3:34 AM on the 4th of July. She weighs 7 lbs 15 ounces and is 19.5 inches long. She has a small amount of blond hair (darker than Danny's was). Mom and baby are both healthy and doing well.



We are debating between Kaylee and Kailey as spellings for the first name. What's your vote?

Still Waiting . . .

Hospital bags are packed, our room is stocked with diapers, onesies, and a bassinet, and her room is all set for move in. Now we just need baby! Two weeks ago when I had started to progress my doctor made the mistake of telling me, "I don't think you'll make it to your due date." So now we've been more anxious than ever! This past Monday (a week before due date 7/6) I was still at a 2 with no changes, so I got a little bummed. I know she'll get here when she's ready. Danny arrived ON his due date, so maybe she'll be equally prompt. Here is the finished nursery. It is soooo much girlier than I ever could have imagined creating.
In the meantime we've been keeping busy with various house projects, church service, WORK (Matt's had a crazy few weeks), cooking, and Danny time. Here's a few shots of me teaching Danny about slow dancing . . . he already has the fast dancing down quite well. Not the most flattering shots of me . . . we had just finished doing some yard work and watering the flowers so I'm soaked. And trying to spin on your knees at 9 months pregnant is a little tough. Fun times, but I think Danny's more of a fast dance kind of guy.

Go Astros Go!

Danny LOVES baseball. Last year he got to go to his first major league baseball game and he was amazed at how high and far they would hit the ball. I'm pretty sure I didn't go to my first major league game until I was out of high school, so he's one lucky guy. For Danny's 2nd birthday we got him a t-ball set and for Christmas his grandparents got him another baseball and bat. He's a lefty at bat and actually has some natural talent - he hits more pitches than I do

This year we've been spoiled to go to 3 Astros games already. Our friends Beth and Tim invited us to join them when Tim's boss gave him some tickets for doing a great job on a presentation. (Way to go Tim!) They were AMAZING seats right behind 3rd base. I didn't get a picture of the seats, or the game, but this is a pretty good picture of Tim and Danny. Besides a really fun evening, we also left the game with tickets to another game. Due to inclement weather the post-game fireworks show had to be cancelled. To make up for the loss (which Danny was happy about since he's afraid of fireworks these days) you could get free tickets to a future game.

For game 2 Tim and Beth couldn't go, so we ended up with all 4 tickets. We took Rex and Alex. This time the seats were nosebleeds, but had an amazing city view. Yeah, it's a pretty cool ball park. And thanks to T & B this meant 2 fun major league games for free!At game 2 Danny and his dad discovered the playland. Danny had fun trying to race the baseball player and hit the water with the bat. Again, he was better than his mom.

The 3rd game was not free, but was still a lot of fun. Matt had organized a team-building/social event for work. This time we had seats in the outfield just behind 1st base. Not as good as the first game, but a step up (or should I say down) from our nosebleeds at the last game. By now Danny had the routine down and could even cheer on his own.

He also made it quite apparent that he doesn't just like going to Minute Maid Park for the baseball.

If he can learn to run bases as fast as he can stuff his mouth with popcorn, he may just be playing for the Astros someday. :)

Baby Names

It is just over 2 weeks until my due date. By this time we were sure about Danny's name. However, despite several baby name books & late nights looking at names online, we are still at a loss. I'm sure we'll make a final decision when we see her, but here's some we're thinking of:

Madison Jane
Kailey
Kayla
Elizabeth (Lizzie)
Eliza
Hadley
Sophia
Sophie
Jessica

Did I miss any Matt? This could be risky, but we're open to opinions and suggestions. We just haven't unitedly fallen in love with any of the girl names yet.

Happy Birthday Matt!

This month is flying by too quickly! I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since we celebrated Matt's birthday!

Anyway, we had a fun birthday celebration. Billings came over for dinner and festivities on his real birthday.
We played croquet (one of his gifts).There was a treasure hunt where Matt had to call some family to get the next clues. The treasure was his favorite British candy - Smarties.
And the highlight for me was the birthday cake - Mud Pie. YUMMY!
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the recipe for the mud pie makes a TON! Matt and I enjoyed recelebrating his birthday all week. Obviously my pregnant belly is not all baby though . . . pretty sure there's some mud pie there!

Hooray for Matt - Happy, Happy Birthday!

Shower

Thanks to Anne and Mindy for a fun baby shower! They hosted a double shower for Sharon (Mindy's sister-in-law) and I because we have almost identical due dates. It's great having sisters close!
There was a beautiful cake made by Anne and lots of tasty brunch food made by Mindy and others. I was lucky enough to get a huge chunk of the leftover chocolate cake and it tasted equally delicious over the next few days!It was fun to just eat and chat with everyone. We also had a humorous game of "Family Feud" & "Who's the Mom?" where you had to name the mom for famous babies (ie. Rudy Huxtible & Renesmee). Thanks to so many friends for coming to celebrate with Sharon and I - sorry I didn't get pictures of everyone.
Opening gifts was fun - Sharon is having a boy, and I'm having a girl. Everyone convinced me that little girl dresses are pretty adorable, but I kept thinking Sharon's little boy clothes should be for me. I'm definitely getting in girl mode though (I did paint a pink room after all).Thanks again Anne & Mindy and all our friends who celebrated with us! Now it's a race to see whose baby will arrive first.