The Falke Family

Stairs!

2010-05-06T15:19:00.000-05:00

So even though Grandma was totally unimpressed, I could hardly believe my eyes when Jane was going up the stairs on her own last night at Todd & Jen's house. She just shimmied right on up, so proud of herself the entire time. But, she couldn't control herself 100% of the time, so it was good that Doug was right behind her or else she would have taken a tumble!

Busy little bee

2010-05-06T15:06:00.000-05:00

Jane is certainly a busy little bee these days. She crawls VERY FAST and stands and walks along things. She take a step or two toward you and then fall forward and wait to be caught, silly thing. She already finds her way into other rooms and digs around in whatever she can find. She is adept at pulling all the toilet paper off the roll and eating cruddies wherever she can find them. She likes pulling laundry out of baskets and silverware out of the dishwasher. We have outlet covers in and kitchen cabinets locked. She loves to squirm when I change her diaper or try to read a book to her. I think when she does start walking that I will be worn out quickly!

Round Little Face

2010-05-06T14:56:00.000-05:00

Does everyone still think that Jane looks like Doug? Here and there I am starting to hear that she looks like me more and more. Such a sweet little round face regardless.

New Blog

2010-04-08T17:23:00.002-05:00

I have a new little blog that I've started - www.memoirsofmotherhood.wordpress.com. It's where I talk about the journey of motherhood and things that relate to it and to me. It only has like 2 readers at the moment, but if you have a hankerin' for more than cute pictures of Jane and snippets of our lives, head on over there sometimes.

Christmas in Cali part 3

2010-04-08T17:16:00.006-05:00

Christmas morning was such a fun event. Maybe not the getting up at 6:30 in the morning thing. But after I reconciled myself to being up, it was a great time! Christmas certainly is more exciting when there are a lot of younger people around. I'm sure Jane didn't really know what was going on - but she did like all the excitement and her gifts!

Sacked out after all the commotion, with a little hold on Becca's elephant car.
Uncle Neil's warm little hat. Very good for winter!

Ooooooo....pretty ribbons.....

Christmas in Cali part 2

2010-04-06T15:21:00.010-05:00

One of the great things we did while we were in California was take a day trip out to Monterrey. Oh, lovely ocean! It was great. I was brave enough to do cross some water to get out to a small island. At least I did NOT fall into the water, and Doug and his sure-footed siblings (Russell, Amy, Neil, and Hannah) carried Jane on the adventure.

See? Look at that craziness. It was COLD, too.
It is so beautiful. I guess we were actually in Pacific Grove, a place I would love to live. Can you imagine walking out your front door and seeing this? Temperatures between 40 and 70 all YEAR? I think of it as heaven on earth. It's just a little expensive though. And it's in California (no offense, but that's not a smart choice right now).

Jane with Amy and Hannah (it was bright; Amy doesn't just make strange faces).
Jane with Hannah.
Jane pulling Russell's hair.

And Neil with his starfish. It was crazy to see that as a living creature. I think I touched it but didn't hold it; I was too scared it would suck onto me or something.

Christmas in Cali part 1

2010-04-06T15:08:00.004-05:00

It occurs to me that I've never blogged about our Christmas in California! Shame on me! So, here are the highlights of our fun trip:

First of all, it was Jane's first trip on an airplane. She did a great job except for some necessary mid-flight diaper changes. She did a lot of sleeping and a lot of charming. We also flew on a little puddle-jumper between San Francisco (which is definitely the best airport to have a layover in because of all the great places to eat) and Modesto. Thank goodness for NO long drive to Turlock!

Pretty girl

2010-02-23T10:35:00.000-06:00

You might notice a little scratch on her face above. Stupid Cosmo. Our Great Dane jumped ont he bed when he was not supposed to. :( It is truly sad when they get little ouchies, but I am so grateful that nothing worse happened than a big scare and a scratch on the face!

Not going to be able to keep the windows open when she is around!

We found one thing that Jane will always chase down - my mom. We were at my parents' house this last weekend, and whenever my mom got up to go into the kitchen, Jane was soon crawling after her. It was so sweet!

That beautiful little blue outfit above is a size 18-months! Most of her normal clothes are 12-months now. At her six-month check-up, she weighed 21.3 lbs. and was 29 in. long - above the 95th percentile in both height and weight! She is a big, healthy girl, and we are so grateful.

Some fairly recent pictures

2010-02-23T10:29:00.000-06:00

I know, it's been a long time. But, here is an update on Jane with some recent pictures! My most recent crop, a nice bunch of like 60 pictures, got deleted from my camera card during a computer crash! Grrrrrrr! But, Jane being the only child and all, we have LOTS more to choose from. :) (C'mon, you know you did it too.)

So here is the scoop on Jane - as of Sunday she is now eight months old. Crazy! Time has really flown. She is now crawling everywhere and getting into everything, including not always sitting still for pictures (as you can see above)! This last weekend she also began to pull herself to standing, and now she does that all the time. I just hope she doesn't start walking soon! She is growing up too fast for me.

She has some lovely ashy blond hair now, not long enough to do much with so we stick with headbands and bows for accessories. However, no teeth have decided to show themselves yet.

She has discovered all the fun things she can do with her mouth and she makes wonderful little funny faces.

See, it's not because she didn't like her peas. She is eating baby food now, all kinds of fruits and vegetables with some rice cereal and oatmeal mixed in.

Goofy Dougy

2010-01-07T15:52:00.000-06:00

Some goofy shots

2010-01-07T15:49:00.000-06:00

We also have a lot of fun during the photo shoots with Chad. Unlike other photographers that force you into uncomfortable or cheesy poses, he's really easy to work with.

I was picturing seahorses and stuff...

Heisman winner?

Okay, so Jane doesn't *try* to be goofy, but it comes across that way sometimes.

A white backdrop is pretty cool

2010-01-06T18:04:00.000-06:00

We actually took the pictures in a church against a white backdrop - pretty cool, huh?

(Hello, we're in Texas...)

More pics from the shoot

2010-01-06T17:57:00.000-06:00

Chad's website is www.imagestudios.tv and his blog is http://chadwright.wordpress.com/ - he will travel for assignments!

The COOL pictures!

2010-01-06T17:32:00.000-06:00

We have a great friend named Chad Wright who is a photographer and marketing dude. He is extremely talented and we are happy to have had a couple photo shoots with him. At the end of October we had a shoot as a family. I am going to put up a few posts with pictures.

We brought all the dogs for a few pictures. If you saw our Christmas card, you saw that we only featured Cosmo, our Great Dane, on it. Unfortunately (for us), the little dogs have gone to live with my parents for the time being. I say unfortunately for us because I think it is great for them (and for my parents). They need a lot of love and attention, and they can get that now. With a nice backyard without crummy St. Augustine grass to boot. It was strange to go visit my family last weekend and see them there, but it was good. And they keep my parents company now that we are here in Austin and my brother is back at college.

A new year and a big baby!

2010-01-06T17:15:00.000-06:00

Jane is getting soooooooo big and wonderful these days. Here are just a few pictures to start. She is now six months old, and I haven't gotten her to the pediatrician yet to see how she stacks up against the competition, but we're all pretty sure she's at the top of the charts, seeing as how she is transitioning from 9-month to 12-month clothes.

Happy little girl (most of the time).

She spends a lot of time screeching these days and she is using her voice to practice lovely little babbling sounds.

She is also very strong! She sits on her own, scoots herself backwards and rotates in a circle - thankfully no forward motion yet, although we can tell it is coming soon.

No teeth either - but yay for HAIR!

Oh my - a whole month!

2009-11-10T17:07:00.003-06:00

Ug! I can't believe I accidentally deleted everything I just wrote! Bleg! Oh well. Jane is now four months old. At her appointment, she weighed 16.2 lbs. and was 26 in. long. That put her in the 90th and 95th percentiles for weight and height, respectively. She is doing wonderfully! She comes to the office with me every day, and everyone loves to see her and talk to her. At least she is getting a lot of interaction with other people. Here are some pictures to enjoy!

Jane's SUPER specialty

2009-10-08T12:01:00.000-05:00

Being beautiful and sweet and the light of my life.

Jane's specialties 2

2009-10-08T11:58:00.000-05:00

Getting bigger! She weighs at least 15 pounds now...remember how big her blessing dress used to be on her? Now it's a perfect fit.

The hooded towel is getting a little small.

And she is filling out her bouncy chair as well as all her clothes. What am I going to do?!

Jane's specialties 1

2009-10-08T11:54:00.001-05:00

Chewing on her hands! At any one time, the odds are pretty good that some part of one or both of her hands are in her mouth.

Jane's tricks 4

2009-10-08T11:50:00.000-05:00

Hanging out on her tummy! She likes to hang over the boppy; she will stay there much longer than if she is just on her tummy. She even started trying to scoot this morning! Oh dear - she will be mobile before I know it!

Jane's tricks 3

2009-10-08T11:47:00.000-05:00

Okay, this one I've only seen three times - rolling over! Twice happened in quick succession when I was trying to take pictures of her on her tummy, like this one:

But then she started tipping...

And before we both knew it, she was on her back again.

Jane's tricks 2

2009-10-08T11:30:00.000-05:00

Jane also holds things! I don't really have many pictures of that because she just started doing it more recently. Here she is with a rattle, but her little chewing rings are also a hit as of last night and this morning - I don't know if she likes it when they are cold though.

Jane's tricks 1

2009-10-08T11:28:00.000-05:00

Jane is really growing up! I can't believe it! She now sits up pretty well with a little assistance. I think she really likes to be held so that she is sitting up, so she is getting lots of practice working those core muscles!

The boppy is a good place for her to sit usually. She needs the support around her sides or she just falls over.

Me & My Baby

2009-09-19T16:56:00.000-05:00

Three months

2009-09-19T16:32:00.003-05:00

Jane is almost three months old, so here are some cute pictures to celebrate!

Bunny Ears and Moose Antlers

2009-09-19T11:03:00.003-05:00

I love that Doug gives Jane her bath every night. However, when I am going to get her pj's and stuff, I usually hear him laughing because while undressing her, he has done something like this...

Big Smiles!

2009-09-15T09:46:00.005-05:00

Jane is quite the smiley baby! When she's not shrieking, of course (another recent development). Daddy and Grandpa get the biggest smiles. But they're also the funniest to look at. :) Jane is now around 12 lbs. and almost three months old. She drools, "talks", smiles and makes other faces, holds her blanket or burp rag or any other cloth near her, and as of this morning...(drumroll please)...rolls over! Doug says she's rolled over before, but this morning was the first time I had seen her kick herself from her tummy to her back. Watch out world! Here comes Jane!

Update

2009-08-26T08:01:00.002-05:00

Just an update...Jane is now two months old. She had her pediatrician's appointment on Monday, and she now weighs 10 lbs. 14 oz. and is 23.5 inches long! So, now she is up to the 50th percentile for weight and around the 75th for length. Not that that really matters, but I though I'd share. She sleeps for about six hours at night, then two or three more, then a couple more (If I am lucky, which today I am). I am still trying to figure out how to "put her down" for a nap, instead of letting her fall asleep whenever and whereever and for however long. But, that will come, and then maybe I will be more productive. I have many projects that I am working on, including some freelance writing, selling Juice Plus for Doug's office, working with a friend from our ward on a movie script and production group (editing and grantwriting and such), as well as sqeezing in my own fun things like quilting. It's a little overwhelming at times. We are getting there.

Faces

2009-08-26T07:53:00.000-05:00

Jane makes the most wonderful faces! She smiles and pouts and gets excited (I can't quite get that on camera because she does it when she is just about to eat), and well, lots of other faces! She is starting to interact more, and that has been a lot of fun.

Serenity

2009-08-26T07:51:00.000-05:00

Nothing like a sweet, calm baby to make you happy, huh?

Not for the faint of heart

2009-08-08T20:56:00.000-05:00

So, Jane has already had some diaper blow-outs. This one happened about three weeks ago, but it has by far been the most, um, spectacular. She was sitting in her bouncy chair on the table while we were eating dinner, and we watched it spread...

What the onesie revealed...

And right into the bath she went...

And she was not very happy afterwards...

I can (almost) hold my head up!

2009-08-08T20:08:00.000-05:00

When someone is holding Jane over their shoulder, she keeps her head up! She can hold it up pretty well other times, but this is when she does it the best. Today when I put her on her tummy she pushed herself up on her forearms and turned her head from side to side. She is growing up too fast!

Pictures of my cute baby

2009-08-08T20:01:00.000-05:00

Need I say more?

Ergobaby

2009-08-08T19:56:00.000-05:00

One of our nice baby gifts was this Ergobaby carrier. It works as a front carrier, a back carrier, and even a hip carrier. Right now Jane sits facing sideways with some extra padding because she is small, but soon she will face toward mommy or daddy with her legs out the side. It is really great for walking around stores (and for going on walks outside, but we don't do that in summer around here because we don't want to melt). I highly recommend it!

PS - Isn't my hair getting long? I'm pretty sick of it, but if enough people tell me it looks good, I'll keep growing it out. :)

Daddy's girl

2009-08-08T19:53:00.000-05:00

Here is my little sweet pea with her daddy.

Blessing Dress

2009-07-25T11:02:00.000-05:00

While Doug's mom was visiting, she made a beautiful blessing dress for Jane (the bonnet from the ealier post goes with this). We didn't get any pictures of her wearing it on her actual blessing day - I know, but I was too scared she would poop on it or something to leave her in it for very long - so I took advantage of her good mood yesterday and put it on her again to get some pictures. The good news is that it is still pretty big on her, so when she's a little older she can wear it again to a special occasion (or just to get more pictures).

The hem of the dress is actually the edge of the fabric - it worked out really well.

My beautiful little sweet pea.

She makes the cutest faces sometimes! You can tell her little arms are flailing around in that bottom one - photo shoot mood over!

Bonnet time!

2009-07-17T14:53:00.000-05:00

Doug's mom made a beautiful blessing dress for Jane as well as this bonnet. Yes, I need to get her back in her dress and take some pictures of it. Will do that in the next photo shoot. However, I discovered an obsession with bonnets thanks to a pattern that I found at the fabric store. You may be wondering, "When are you going to have time to make bonnets?" I'll find it. They are way too adorable to let this baby time go by without them. So, I have to get Jane used to them (How would that be if I made them and she hated wearing them?), so we wear this one for a little while every day. It's a little big on her still.

Getting bigger

2009-07-16T14:12:00.002-05:00

Little Jane is getting bigger! I was obsessively worried about whether or not she was gaining weight. I'm nursing, so every time she goes through a period of wanting to eat and eat and eat, I worry that she is starving. When we took her to the pediatrician two days after she was born, she weighed 5 lbs. 13 oz., down from 6 lbs. 2 oz. at birth. Then, a week later when we took her back in, she weighed 6 lbs. 5 oz. - and the doctor was blown away! Anyway, thanks to some helpful advice on Facebook (thanks April!), I dropped by the doctor's office yesterday to weigh her again. She is now 7 lbs. 8 oz. - gaining over a pound in the last two weeks! So, I won't worry for another couple weeks. :)

Right now I am on day three of no parental help and doing alright! Sure, the kitchen is already not as clean as it has been for the last three weeks, but we're getting by. The vibrating bouncy chair and the swing we got from one of my father's former co-workers are great helps when I need to get some work done on the computer or around the house. She is sleeping in her swing now, listening to rain from an online radio station. I've discovered that she likes the sound of water.

Doug is super busy running his office, doing lots of marketing and screenings and the like, and now working a few nights a week from 10 pm - 7 am stocking. I am so grateful that he is working so hard to provide for our little family since we made the decision that I am not teaching again in the fall. And he is still a great help with the baby those few hours that he is home!

That's just a little update on how we are doing!

Catch of the day?

2009-07-15T11:47:00.000-05:00

Yes, Doug caught a largemouth bass almost bigger than his child. Crazy!

Another use for the Boppy

2009-07-15T11:44:00.000-05:00

So, I'm way too big to use the Boppy pillow around my waist. I read in the reviews to skip it if you're over a size 12, so I'm not totally surprised by it. So, it sat unused for a couple weeks, and then I remembered you can set the baby in it! It's great when Jane is content to sit next to me while I'm reading or whatever. Love my beautiful baby!

Dad playing the didgeridoo

2009-07-15T11:20:00.006-05:00

Doug once bought a didgeridoo to waste time with. It's rather annoying, and I'm usually tempted to hide it in the garage and hope he forgets about it. (You know, out of sight, out of mind...) Anyway, while Doug's wonderful parents were visiting, Dad decided to try it out. The results were, well, I'll let you be the judge. :)

Baby Jane!

2009-06-26T15:03:00.000-05:00

Here are some more pictures of baby Jane that we took yesterday - when she was four days old! She's already five days old! That's so crazy. We are doing well and somewhat falling into a routine. This little one is truly the light of my life and I love her so much. Okay, I can't go on (even though I could) because I will sit here and weep for joy rather than type (and typing time is limited)!

Since we left the hospital after 24 hours, we took her to the pediatrician the next day and everything checked out just fine! She is lovely and alert with those big blue eyes at times and she sleeps wonderfully sound at others. I am so grateful that my mom is here helping out. She is taking care of so much around the house while I rest and feed Jane, and Doug is of course wonderful with her. That won't come as a surprise to anyone that has seen him around children. He is already a great father - he got a good start by first being one on Father's Day! Best Father's Day gift ever!

This one is my favorite of the ones we took (thanks for the dress, Lyndsey!):

So tiny! And yes, there's an audience watching in the background. I think the dogs are getting used to her. Cosmo is indifferent, Sherman tried to lick her and can sit right next to her without a problem, and Maggie is, well, curious. Very curious. They have officially been demoted to "pets" in my mind and not babies.

Jane

2009-06-21T15:13:00.000-05:00

Here she is. 6 lbs 2 oz and 20.5" long. Jane Afton Falke!!! Way to go mom!!

Jane Afton Falke

2009-06-21T15:08:00.004-05:00

Gross, but here she is in all her glory!

Proud parents. Mom didn't use any drugs!!

itty bitty feet

deep blue eyes
6 lbs 2 oz 20.5 inches long

Sherman's dance

2009-06-16T20:47:00.003-05:00

So, maybe this will work. It always takes so stinkin' long to upload videos, and it's never worked before. Obviously the last test didn't work. Let's try again. This is, hopefully, a video of Sherman "dancing." Pretty darn cute!

just a test

2009-06-16T20:47:00.000-05:00

This is a test...will this post as a video? Is Emily smart enough to figure this out? We shall see...

Baby Showers!

2009-06-16T17:22:00.000-05:00

I had a couple wonderful showers over the last couple months! These pictures are from a shower given by Tera, Jen, and Noel here in Leander. We played some really fun games - Noel put certain foods in diapers that resemble what I might soon find in Jane's diapers, and then we had to guess the food! It was disgusting and hilarious at the same time. I'm sure everyone would dislike me putting pictures of them on the blog, and you definitely don't need a million of me, so I will stick with the wonderful decorations! :)

Beautiful - and useful - diaper wreath made by Tera

Noel has an undiscovered talent - look at this gorgeous cake!

I ate a TON! And then I was glad that Jen took most the leftovers, because I went to her house the next day and ate more of it for lunch!

Happenings

2009-05-12T12:56:00.003-05:00

Okay people. So I haven't blogged in, like, a month and a half. Sorry about that to those few who follow the blog to see how we are doing. It's been crazy! A snapshot of where we are now: I have 3 and a half more weeks of school (16 days to be exact) and around 5 and a half more weeks of being pregnant (this is week 34). I am moving, sometimes merely dragging, along. Doug is busy building Live Oak Chiropractic and has picked up some extra work for one of Lowe's vendors. Together we have been talking, budgeting, planning, going to Bradley method classes, encouraging, and showing love to each other. He has been the most wonderful support throughout this entire pregnancy.

The last couple weeks have been especially rough. On Friday, May 1 my school closed for a week due to a possible swine flu occurance. That would have been REALLY nice, except that Friday night we went to the hospital because I was having kidney stone pain. (For those who don't know, I've passed three before; I know what it is when I feel it.) However, the tests came back negative, so I was sent home thinking maybe I had passed it already.

Nope. Saturday and Sunday gave me a lot of pain. I had difficulty keeping fluids down. Sunday night I was back with more pain. This time the tests showed that I was having kidney trouble and that my right kidney was completely blocked. The doctors didn't know if it was the baby or stones because we couldn't do a CAT scan, and we waited most of Monday until we could talk to a urologist who believed (like me) that it was a stone. He suggested surgery to remove it and put a stent in place for a week to help everything heal. That was a much better option than the nephrostomy tube (catheter from kidney, out through my back, to a bag I have to wear to collect my pee for two months), and I had the surgery done. Two stones were completely blocking my kidney.

After that was done, my mom and brother got into town to help out. I was so happy to see them. A huge thanks also to my friend Jen Parker who, let's see, cleaned the guest bedroom out, cleaned the kitchen, washed towels and sheets, and did who knows what else! I spent Monday night in the hospital and came home late Tuesday morning. Because I had my mom and brother, Doug could see his patients and that was a good thing. Tuesday was very laid back, and then Wednesday morning my mom helped me clean the house so it's more prepared for the baby. Yay! I am so grateful for all her help! They went home Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, I learned that we would be going back to school on Thursday. I was not up to that, but I did go on Friday. Yesterday I had the stent removed, and I feel like a new woman! Random week-long school closures and hospital trips are two things that are definitely NOT convenient, but I am truly grateful that they happened for me at the same time.

The other thing on my mind is how grateful I am that the Lord blessed the baby to be healthy through this. Being in severe abdominal/back pain at eight months had me more than a little scared that labor and an early birth could be involved in all this - with absolutely nothing ready at home for such a thing to happen. I was also so sorry that after months of trying to do everything right so we are prepared for a natural birth, here I was putting her through strong pain medicine/morphine, x-rays, general anesthesia, hours of fetal monitoring, etc. However, then I realized that if my goal is healthy mom/healthy baby, I did the things I needed to do to help that happen. If I was weak from pain and vomiting or allowed my kidney to be damaged from NOT doing those things, the two of us would be in much worse circumstances.

So that's THAT. I will soon put up pictures from my lovely baby shower here in Leander, the dogs, etc.

Sewing projects

2009-03-20T16:58:00.000-05:00

I have been having fun with different sewing projects to get ready for Jane's arrival. These were all done with my fabulous mom's help! Below is a "hooter hider"/nursing cover that we made from a pattern we found online. Here is the website with the instructions if you are interested: http://photojulia.com/2008/02/how-to-make-a-nursing-cover.

I have been working on a quilt from fabric that I bought in Boise over Christmas, and we finally got it tied and finished this week as well. It's just a quilt to lay on the ground for the baby to play on. I really loved the fabric. I realized this week that one thing I truly enjoy is picking out fabric for different sewing projects - quilts especially. I'm not so good at sewing them yet, but I'll get there.

My mom had to make the sling because I was too scared to make a mistake and have something come loose with the baby in it. Again, we found a free pattern with instructions online. Here is the website for that one: http://www.handmade-adelaide-baby.com/baby-sling-patterns.html. The sling is brown twill reversible with the beautiful floral fabric below (we wanted to see if it actually worked so we stuck Maggie in it).

And here's me at 26 weeks!

Hair cut for Sherman

2009-02-26T15:41:00.003-06:00

Our little Sherman is a long-haired dachshund. He has only been groomed once, and his hair was getting pretty long (especially the hair around his bum; he was bound to start getting dingleberries soon). He is always tracking around pieces of grass and leaves in his hair. Plus, it's going to get warm soon, and he'll be really hot. And, I wanted to see if he was really fat or if he was just poofy. So, I finally convinced Doug that he needed a hair cut. Doug tried to trim him with his clippers, and they quickly died. However, we got some animal clippers (which Doug will now use to cut his hair), and gave him a hair cut. Here is a "before" picture:

And here is an "after" picture. No, not the prettiest hair cut, and not what I was expecting. But it gets the job done! I don't know why Doug trimmed the hair on his back legs and not the hair on his front legs. He still needs some trimming. But he's still very soft and looks much smaller than he used to.
And here is the hair in the bath tub where Sherman patiently sat for his hair cut.

Update: 23 weeks

2009-02-24T17:39:00.001-06:00

Here I am at 23 weeks. I'm getting bigger and a little more achy. Need to exercise more. Plus, I'm quickly running out of pants - thanks to Mom and Grandma to the maternity clothes rescue! :)

We're going to have a....

2009-02-10T10:38:00.005-06:00

GIRL! Hah! I made you open the screen, all you Google Reader Blog followers.Yes, last Friday I had my 20-week appointment, and we found out in the sonogram that we are definitely having a girl. This was no surprise to either of us - I *knew* this baby was a girl, and I already know her name. Jane Afton Falke. I have strongly felt like being named for my maternal grandmother and Doug's paternal grandmother would be a blessing for this little girl. It was a very exciting appointment to say the least. Here are a couple of the sonogram pictures...
Okay, I know that sonogram pictures are pretty freaky and a lot of people would rather just think about the baby that will come out rather than how it looks right now. I'm one of those people too. But the lady doing the sonogram SWEARS the baby was "smiling", and I'll believe it.

And of course, Doug was very happy to see a nice, healthy spine. :)

Baby bump

2009-01-21T14:32:00.004-06:00

Pregnancy update: I am now 18 weeks and feeling great! (Well, today I am sick, but that is enabling me to be at home posting on the blog!) Plus, I am even showing! Here is a picture of the baby "bump" from over the weekend.We will find out what we are having on February 6 - and I am definitely finding out! For now, I am spending time scouting websites, reading my pregnancy book, and slowly but surely working on a baby quilt with fabric that I got in Idaho over the break. And eating! Yay for not being nauseous all the time!

The infamous BBQ building

2009-01-21T14:30:00.000-06:00

Who is that scary man with the blowtorch? That's Todd Parker, our wonderful friend of three blocks away. We are at their house at least three times a week I would say. He and Doug got the, how can I put this lightly, interesting idea of *building* their own BBQs out of scrap metal. Even though they have grills and smokers, now they will each have a half-ton monster of a wood smoking grill. Much time has been spent welding in Todd's backyard, and here are a few pictures of the progress. However much Jen (Todd's wife) and I rib and question them about this, I'm sure you will all be jealous one day of their fabulous bar-b-q creations.

Just to embarrass you!

2009-01-21T14:25:00.000-06:00

This is my lovely mother. We were trying to get a picture that she would approve for her facebook profile. Of course, my mother has no idea how lovely she is, and thus she spurned all attempts. But, I have to showcase her nonetheless. Mom, I am so grateful for all your loving encouragement recently! It really brightens my day to talk to you, and I wish I could see you more often!

Family pictures (in the freezing cold)

2009-01-21T14:23:00.000-06:00

The Falkes took on the task of family pictures over Christmas break. Smiles gleaming, cameras flashing, Doug poking everyone around him (the pest of an oldest child that he is)...it was definitely an adventure. But, we got some good ones.

(Becca! Why did you close your eyes?!)

Christmas in Idaho

2009-01-21T14:16:00.000-06:00

We spent Christmas in Boise with Doug's mom's parents. The whole fam-dam-ily was there and it was a lot of fun! Well, except for the traveling. Austin to Dallas, Dallas to Houston, Houston to SLC (flying), SLC to Provo, Provo to Pocatello, Pocatello to Boise...and then basically backwards coming home. I was ready to be in my own house and out of all that yucky SNOW! However, it was beautiful to look out the window Christmas morning and the softly-falling snow and admire the beauty of the God's world. Until I had to go outside.

Here is wonderful Hannah with Cindy, Doug's grandpa's 12-year-old pomeranian that bit me. I stopped trying to pet her after that.

I love my in-laws. Dorothy and Matt Falke are amazing people who have raised (and are still raising) an amazing family. I appreciate all their love and support through our time together!

Here I am with Becca, Russ, and Amy. It was fun to see Russell now that he is home from his mission to Australia! He's as crazy as ever. ;) And Becca, wonderful Becca, is now engaged to Rob Somers! Congratulations!!!!!

And Doug will continue to perfect the sweet potatoe-pecan pie. I have yet to try any of the three that he has made, I believe. Maybe next time.

Sonogram

2008-12-19T11:26:00.003-06:00

Okay, so this might not look very exciting, but it is the picture we got after my first sonogram was taken at week 7. The baby is the thing between the two stars at the bottom. It was soooooooo exciting to hear the heartbeat then, and to hear it at my last appointment as well. And it was just reassuring to see that I was really pregnant. As if all the morning sickness wasn't enough proof or something. :)

Of course things are really different in there now, but I won't have another sonogram until the beginning of February. Probably the most common question I've been asked is, "Are you going to find out the gender?" YES, definitely. I couldn't stand not knowing when I could; I don't know how other people do it. For now, I can rest assured that everything is as normal as we can tell.

Yep, that's positive!

2008-12-16T18:31:00.000-06:00

There it is people, the positive pregnancy test! Pretty crazy, huh? So after two years of trying to get pregnant, we finally gave up and decided to adopt. Lo and behold...I got pregnant! Yes, I've been told about that "relaxing and letting go" thing a million times, but I guess it really works! Now I am 13 weeks a long and due June 26!

Fuzzy animals

2008-12-16T18:29:00.000-06:00

We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast in NF, and they had a silky chicken in the backyard that was quite tame and used to attention.

I hadn't seen a fuzzy caterpiller for years! Finally, a bug that isn't scary (yes people, even butterflies have their scary moments)!

Foliage

2008-12-16T18:25:00.000-06:00

We went at a wonderful time of year - the foliage was gorgeous! I hope for a new autumn tradition - ditch the Texas heat for some pretty trees!

Maid of the Mist

2008-12-16T18:23:00.000-06:00

Why are we wearing these funny blue ponchos, you might ask. Well, the best thing we did in NF was to take a tour on the Maid of the Mist, a boat that takes you out along the base of the American Falls and then into the middle of the Horseshoe Falls (well, as far as you can get). No really, you get absolutely soaked (and it was cold...Canada in October)!

And, here is where we had to put the camera away because 1. it was getting wet, and 2. I was afraid I would drop it over the edge of the boat. No wonder Niagara Falls is one of the great natural wonders!

Okay people, enough already!

2008-12-16T18:20:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I've heard enough times and from enough people that I need to blog more! It hasn't been a great couple months, you'll see why soon. But first, here are some pictures from our trip to Cananda back in the middle of October. Doug has a conference in Toronto, and I took advantage of this to go with him. We had a really fun time, especially at Niagara Falls! Above is Doug with both the Horseshoe and American Falls behind him.

When I saw the American Falls, I thought that was it. They are truly beautiful, but they can't even compare to the Canadian (Horseshoe) Falls.

We weren't at a good spot to take pictures of the Horseshoe Falls, so you can't tell how big they are or even that they wrap around from this picture. But all that white stuff coming up from the middle? That's the mist from the churning at the bottom. It's incredible!

The worst attempt at plagarism EVER

2008-08-21T18:10:00.002-05:00

A couple days ago I assigned a poem to my students. They could follow a certain example format if they wished, they had to have similes and metaphors, etc. It's due tomorrow. The main thing is they are writing an extended metaphor comparing themselves to something else ("I am a mountain", "I am a shark", etc.).

I had a kid writing about a tiger. Great, except he tried to turn in "Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright" by William Blake today as his poem. My initial unsaid reaction was, "Do you think I'm STUPID?" We had to deal with it as a team, and he'll have three days of silent lunch with me over it and a lot of credit marked off his final project. Poor little 11-year-old kid was so upset when we talked to him as a team about it, but it got the point across.

Hopefully nothing like this will happen again. Well, of course it *will*, but hopefully nothing this obvious and terrible.

It's pretty hilarious now, and I hope you got a laugh out of it!

More office pictures

2008-08-19T18:09:00.004-05:00

Here are some more pictures from the office:
1. The traction table thingy
2. An example of a half-walled treatment room
3. The mural

And some dogs

2008-08-18T20:08:00.002-05:00

Okay, so this, as well as any other silly thing done to the dogs, was Doug's idea. No other comment necessary.
And the babies.

"Before"

2008-08-18T20:04:00.003-05:00

Ug. So I started MediFast two weeks ago to lose weight. Here is my official "before" picture - 190.4 lbs. on July 27, 2008. I'm already down about 11 lbs., and my goal is 50 by Thanksgiving. Wish me luck!
And Maggie is jumping because she's crazy.

New template

2008-08-18T20:02:00.001-05:00

Isn't my new template the coolest? I LOVE it! I don't feel like we have the most boring blog ever anymore.

It's Heeeerrrrre!

2008-08-18T19:49:00.011-05:00

Here we go people! Doug opened Live Oak Chiropractic last Tuesday. We appreciate all your prayers and patient referrals. :) Here are some pictures of how things turned out:

1. Our large iron-wrought branches, the hallway, and the treatment area (with a little of the mural)

2. The 8'x6.5' mural that *I* picked out (gorgeous, huh?) on the main wall (**I had to take this picture out because Doug was stressed that it was crooked, and now blogger doesn't want to let me upload any more pictures. I'll try again tomorrow.**)

3. The watermark vinyl tree on the outside (ignore the messiness inside) - the design from the business cards for those who have seen it (Thanks again to Aaron Canaday for designing the stuff.)

4. The painted mural in the kid's area, done by a local artist. It's a reprsentation of the TX Hill Country (beautiful place that it is) with bluebonnets, animals, hills, and the very cool barbed-wire fence

5. The waiting room as it looks now (we still need to get some end tables put in) - chairs and the rug

6. The sign lit up at night

It's a work in process, so there will be more in the future. But, it's clean, organized, with equipment and such, and ready to roll!

Stuff for the office

2008-07-30T21:06:00.005-05:00

Here is a close-up of the carpet that is in Doug's office.
Here is a close-up of the laminate that will go on the reception desk in the front.
Here are the chairs that will go in the waiting area. We bought them unfinished, and Doug stained them this beautiful spiced walnut color. There will be six of them.
This is one of our large wall pieces (the other is the 6 1/2' x 8' photographic mural). It is from a company called Uttermost that specializes in wrought iron decorative pieces. If you can't tell what it is exactly, it is a series of branches. It looks strange in person, but it's absolutely gorgeous.
Here is the rug that will go in the waiting area. We picked it because it had those natural, tree-ish themes, and its colors are accents to the cream, green, and brown wall colors. It is 5'x7' (I think).

San Antonio temple

2008-07-30T20:58:00.004-05:00

I have a new favorite temple! I love the San Antonio temple. It is about a two-hour drive away from us in Leander, and you have to make an appointment because it's a small temple, but it is well worth it. It is absolutely gorgeous inside.
The stained-glass widows are magnificent! Most of them depict scenes from the Texas Hill Country, and I could have stared for hours at the intricacies of color and shape in them.

San Gabriel River

2008-07-30T20:42:00.003-05:00

We took another trip out to the river a few weeks ago. We weren't out for a long time (it was hot), but we had some fun letting the dogs run a little wild. The trees were green this time, which is vastly different from the last time we went in February!
Sherman loves the water! He always goes straight for it, and he is the one who likes to swim the most. He makes a point to walk through the water every chance he gets. And that's great because he's the hardest one to keep dry!
There were all these tiny little frogs, too!

Corpus Christi - Texas State Aquarium

2008-07-05T18:52:00.009-05:00

One morning, we went to the Texas State Aquarium. It was a fun way to pass some time (especially because our innkeeper has a corporate pass that got us in for FREE), and we had a good time. Here are some of the highlights of the animals we saw there.Porcupine - huge! And, quills aside, very sweet-looking.

Some giant snake - I believe a python? Pretty gross.

The underside of some kind of ray when he swam up against the glass. There was also a touch pool where you could feel them as they swam by. Kinda slimy.

The dolphin show - more educational and showy, but very cute.

SEAHORSES!

Jellyfish - where you want to see them (enclosed in a glass case, not swimming next to you in the ocean).

We saw a very entertaining bird and wildlife show. The gal leading it was very funny, and it had a particularly funny part involving a child volunteer. She had someone come down who was "very brave", and then talked up the next animal like it had done some serious damage to the last volunteer. The kid, wearing big leather falconer gloves, goggle, and a construction helmet, was getting more and more worried the longer she talked. Finally, he threw done his gear and ran back to his seat. It was just a sloth! Very funny.

We saw right underneath the perch (precarious for Doug and the camera), and this hawk flew right above us!

Look at that! Two whales! :)

Corpus Christi - the sea

2008-07-05T18:44:00.006-05:00

The first thing we did after checking in and getting some food was drive out to the water line. When you get there, the salty sea breeze just washes over you and assaults your nose, and you hear the water crashing against the edge of the port, and it's so relaxing. I love being near the water.We also went to the beach while we were there. Granted, this is not a nice, soft, white sands Florida beach, and there were rocks and dirty water and jellyfish, but it's not too bad. If you are craving the beach, and you live in Texas, it's a good place to go.

Corpus Christi trip - Blucher House

2008-07-05T18:37:00.004-05:00

We took a little vacation to Corpus Christi last week. It was just our last little time to get away since I am leaving for my Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture three-week-long class tomorrow, and when I get back school will be starting and Doug's clinic will be about open. Corpus Christi, for those who don't know, is on the Gulf Coast, about a four-hour drive away from us. It was nice to take a long drive that we haven't already memorized (like the I-35 between Austin and Dallas).We stayed at this lovely bed and breakfast called The Blucher House. It is the restored home of an influential Corpus family, and each of the guest rooms are dedicated to one of the Blucher children. Our innkeeper was wonderful, and she served the most beautiful breakfasts we had seen in a long time! It is very affordable compared to most bed and breakfasts, but one of our favorites.

Mo-Mo, Memo, or Horsey

2008-06-24T20:22:00.006-05:00

I've had some requests for more pictures of Cosmo (Doug calls him Mo mo and I tend to call him Memo. Why? I don't know.) Here he is! I think these pictures show off just how huge he is better than the other ones we have of him on the blog so far.
He really is very sweet and lovable. Just about everyone who has met him so far thinks he's the coolest dog.
He is definitely a daddy's boy, though.

Coming Along

2008-06-24T20:14:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures of how the office is coming along. The top ones are the latest pictures. This is of the frame for the drop ceiling that will hang over the reception and waiting area with some fancy lights.This shows the hallway and the two sides of rooms (starting behind the waiting/reception area and the PT bay). On the left are two treatment/exam rooms, a consultation room, and the Xray room in the back. On the right of the picture you see the kid's area and two treatment rooms (with the half walls separating them).
This is taken from the waiting room. You can see the PT bay on the left side before the full rooms start.
This is how it looked after the first couple days of construction - just some wall frames. As you can see from the other pictures, it is coming along really well! Plumbing and electricity are in now, but it doesn't look a lot different from the other pictures as far as structure is concerned.
So, it's pretty hard to understand what everything will look like from just pictures, because angles are weird and stuff. So, you'll all just have to come down and see it for yourself sometime! :)

Derek and the dogs

2008-06-12T21:47:00.004-05:00

My brother, Derek, got home from the Baltimore, Maryland Spanish-speaking mission about a month ago. Here we are at the temple in Dallas. He is working at home for the summer, and then he will be back at BYU for the fall, continuing studying chemical engineering. Ladies, let me know if you want some contact info! :)
And what would a posting session be without including some pictures of the puppies?

Live Oak is (almost) alive!

2008-06-12T21:41:00.003-05:00

Things are happening for the business! The sign got put up yesterday, doesn't it look fabulous! Doug is pretty happy about it.
This is the inside of the practice as it stands. Build-out should start any day because the permit has been pulled and materials have been ordered. Very exciting times!

End of School

2008-06-12T21:32:00.009-05:00

Here are some pictures of my students from last year! Most of these were taken the day of the 8th grade awards assembly, so they are all dressed up. What little cuties! I sure am going to miss them. Next year I will be teaching 6th grade at Not Your Ordinary School charter school in north Austin. I am very excited for a new challenge, but I was very sad to leave Travis Middle School behind!

More Pedernales Falls

2008-03-30T11:39:00.011-05:00

Pedernales Falls

2008-03-30T11:31:00.005-05:00

We also went to Pedernales Falls State Park while I was in town. It's gorgeous - there are these waterfalls surrounded by flat rocks that you can hike all around. There are lots of little pools and caves also. Of course, I didn't realize there wouldn't be any shade, so we both got sunburned. It was easy to get carried away and stay out for a long time.

Little Bug in a sunny spot

2008-03-30T11:26:00.004-05:00

Just had to share a few sweet pictures of Maggie...Isn't she adorable?

She loves to find the sunny spot to lay in. Like the saying goes, "Happiness is a warm puppy."

AMOA

2008-03-30T11:17:00.004-05:00

We went to the Austin Museum of Art at Laguna Gloria while I was in town for Spring Break. It was so beautiful! The museum is in Clara Driscoll Sevier's house, a patron of the arts who also organized the effort to save the Alamo from being torn down. There is also a community art school on the grounds, and all the artwork in the museum is from people who have taught at the art school. PLUS, there are 12 acres of grounds surrounding a beautiful lagoon that feeds into Lake Austin that you can walk through. It's quite lovely.

Sillies

2008-03-30T11:13:00.006-05:00

My mom would have loved these photo ops....The statues are from the grounds of the museum. Very fun! This is Jeremy and Lyndsey, our friends from Irving who came to visit us for the weekend. Jeremy is also going to chiropractic school, and Lyndsey is in the massage therapy program at Parker.

Capitol in bloom

2008-03-30T11:11:00.002-05:00

Our friends Jeremy and Lyndsey came to visit us from Irving, and Doug took them downtown to the Capitol and the History of Texas Museum. Spring sure is beautiful, huh?

Quote

2008-03-20T17:15:00.002-05:00

Here is a wonderful quote that makes MY life seem easier to take a lot of days...just wanted to share it with you!
~e

Now we must ask why the Savior, why came to show us the perfect example of holiness and submission to the Father, would want us to know that this suffering caused "even God, the greatest of all to tremble because of pain...and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink..."(D&C 19:18). There are at least three reasons he wanted us to know of his desire for escape, and they have a lot to do with honesty in our own prayers. To begin with, when our mortal weaknesses cause us to waver in our duties, to shrink form our responsibilities and wish we could find an easier way, we can remember that Christ also had those same feelings.Jesus wants us to understand that there is neither shame nor disgrace in feeling tired or wanting to quit or hoping to escape the challenges we encounter. Not as long, that is, as we endure to the end and continue to pray, in spite of our feelings, "nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done."

Secondly, Jesus was not denied the help for which he asked. An angel appeared , "strengthening him," helping him to remain steadfast and true to his covenants (see Luke 22:43). We should realize that when fear, discouragement or weariness is pulling us away from our duties we too can pray and receive divine assistance to remain faithful to our callings and duties. Joseph Smith counseled us to abandon our pride in those times of wavering or weakness, admit our needs and ask for help to stay faithful: "Help thy servants to say, with thy grace assisting them: thy will be done, O Lord and not ours" (D&C 109:44). We must remember that Jesus Christ had to call to his Father for help, that there is no reason for us to feel ashamed when we follow that perfect, divine example.

And finally, a third message of this sacred account is that we must be totally honest with God in our prayers. The Savior did not try to fake the garden experience. He was in agony with unfamiliar feelings of shame and guilt and punishment for sins he did not commit. To his great alarm, he found himself afraid and shrinking from his duty, looking for a way to escape (D&C 19:18). But he was honest and humble enough to tell his Father exactly how he felt. He certainly did not want to waver, so he asked for help. When a person is hurting and his commitment is weakening, he should say so in prayer. Urgent prayer. Immediate prayer. We must not allow foolish pride to try and hide our feelings from God. He already knows how we feel- and he understands. He did not condemn Jesus, nor count his wavering as sin. Rather he sent sent help to strengthen his son's resolve and keep him in the line of duty, and that is exactly what he will do for us when we are honest and submissive in prayer. Satan cannot defeat us on this battleground as long as we trust Heavenly Father enough to be open and honest in our prayers. Putting on the Armor of God Stephen A Cramer pg 76

First Hair Cut

2008-03-17T14:31:00.001-05:00

Sherman got groomed for the first time today! Now his feet are trimmed and his belly and bum have less hair to get caught in stuff. And he's very soft!

South San Gabriel River

2008-03-17T14:27:00.003-05:00

This river is pretty close to our house in Leander. It is really fun to go there with the dogs and let them run around. Sherman is a pretty good swimmer! There are also some dinosaur tracks in the riverbed.
Here are pictures of us!

Big Dog

2008-03-17T14:18:00.004-05:00

Here is Cosmo! We got him three weeks ago from a farm in Buda, south of Austin. They had found him wandering the highway last summer, so they took care of him. Unfortunately, with their other big dogs it was too much, and they had to find a new home for him. He gets along really well with Sherman and Maggie, and is very gentle and sweet. We sure do love him already!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-29T19:04:00.000-06:00

Here is our Christmas picture this year, taken by Dora Gollaher. We hope you had a Merry Christmas and that 2008 brings you blessings and peace!

Puppies for Christmas

2007-12-29T19:03:00.000-06:00

My mom confessed that she was hoping she would get Sherman for Christmas, but no such luck. They got some pretty sweet new toys and treats from Santa, though.

Little girl tuckered out with her #1 fan.

The hat

2007-12-29T19:01:00.000-06:00

Derek sent us some great presents from Baltimore, where he is serving his mission. Among them was this hat for my dad. It was too big for EVERYONE (well, not too big for my dad with it on sideways), and words fail me on describing the front.

This is the best picture from Christmas, hands-down.

A picture that's actually *decent* of me. That's a miracle. :)

My wonderful family

2007-12-29T18:56:00.000-06:00

Here are some snapshots of my wonderful family from Christmas. Above is my beautiful mom, who hates getting her picture taken because she has no idea how photogenic she is!

And my sweet grandma, in town for two weeks at Thanksgiving and two weeks at Christmas. We took them to the airport to go back home to Phoenix today, but they'll be back at the end of March!

I wish I could have been quicker with the camera trigger, because my grandpa made the funniest face ever at me when I tried to take his picture. Oh well...I'll get it one day!

My dad chose to hold a frying pan up over his face when I took an earlier picture, so he gets the candid Christmas shot, this time as he is opening our gift to him, a book on quotations from Nobel Laureates.

I have been so blessed to live by my family since I came home from BYU almost five years ago. I am going to miss them so much when we leave for Leander soon!

Graduation

2007-12-29T18:49:00.000-06:00

I accidentally posted the pictures below before I could write about them. They are from Doug's graduation ceremony on 12/15/07 at Irving Bible Church. Mama D was in town for the weekend, and we had a lot of fun with her. So below is Doug, Doug and his mom, and then the back of his gown after it was "unfurled." It was a fun ceremony, full of good moments and a hilarious commencement speaker, and a great time for Doug to celebrate his accomplishment with the friends he's been through so much with. If I can get the thing to work I'll post the video of Doug going across the stage.

2007-12-29T18:47:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving

2007-12-29T18:43:00.000-06:00

Doug's cooking adventures led him to make chipotle sweet potatoes, and a sweet potatoe pie. Nanny Falke is standing behind him holding up the Indians, which were beautiful. Cute!

Wendy and Annie, who is actually a month younger than Sherman. She is a fun puppy, and we hope that she is getting better from the worms that made her sick before the trip.

"The girls" - Wendy, Becca, Kylie, Molly, Hannah, Me (cute picture, huh? bleck.) and then in front we have Abby, Jennie, Macy, and Amy. We all watched "Bride and Prejudice" together during the trip, and it was a blast. The Falke women are truly amazing.

Prettiness at La Grange

2007-12-29T18:39:00.000-06:00

This is a beautiful place. I hope I get to go next year!

The oft-spoken of dam, which was a very funny joke in the family.

La Grange

2007-12-29T18:36:00.000-06:00

I missed out on the trip to La Grange because I was too sick to venture out that day. But Doug (and Sherman) had fun hiking around!

The intrepid climber, Sherman.

Cute Jennie! We drove up to the top of the Sierra Nevada mountains to take some pictures, have a fire and cook some yummy hot dogs and popcorn (and eat Dad's wonderful CHILI), and Jennie was always at the edge of the cliff! I was scared she would fall off. She's a brave girl (and a good basketball player, too :)).

Beautiful sight

2007-12-25T22:12:00.000-06:00

Doug took this somewhere (I was too sick to go out that day, so I don't know where this is), and I think this is one of the prettiest pictures I have ever seen.