Road trip

Below are some picture from my first road trip. Mom, Dad and I went to some place called St Paul. Its a real nice place and I had lots of fun on my visit. Here is a picture of me at my first stay at a hotel. Mom said this is like a home away from home. And here is Dad, Mom and I next to some check named Dora. I have no idea who she: but she sure is biger that I am.

More to come as in a couple of weeks I turn 6 Months old. Where has all the time gone. It seems like yesterday that I was still in the womb.

Later friends. Hugs and kisses

Olivia

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

08/28/09 Mommy got my ears pierced...I realize it's the price we pay for beauty...but it may be over-rated! I was tired after!

08/25/09 I'm trying cereal for the first time...I think I did really good!

< this is me sitting on the deck with Mommy and Daddy

This was me getting ready for the state fair

Got more shots...

Well, I went to the doc today - I got my 4 month old shots. The Dr. said I'm perfect, as if we didn't already know :) I'm 13.3oz (49%) and 26 inches long! (90%) She said that I'm doing great on all my development milestones and she gave me lots of kisses! I think that Dr. Jen is pretty cool herself. I'm going to start eating cereal next month and I'm getting my ears pierced Saturday! They didn't have time today or we would have done it. I cried for a few minutes after my shot, but now I'm just chillin' in my swing...telling Mommy what to type of course. As you can see from my pic, I love to suck my thumb! Hope you all have a good evening...xoxo Olivia

I like my new daycare!

Well, I like my new daycare, it's pretty neat! My grandpa took this picture of me, Mommy and Daddy to put on my daycare crib...that way, all the other kids know to stay out of my crib! Right now, it's just me and my new friend Sophie in our class. Amelia joins us next week and then a couple of boys in September. Miss Sarah and Miss Elizabeth think I'm very pretty, I have them under my spell :) I'm getting ready to go to MN in September to see more of my family that I haven't met yet, I'm pretty excited. I hope you all are doing well!
Love, Olivia

Olivia and Adam...booted from daycare!

Well, I knew the day would come that I would have to say that Olivia and a friend got in trouble, just didn't think it would be at 14 weeks!!! Olivia and Adam (a friend from church) went to the same daycare...notice I said 'went'. They both got 'dear john' letters today, here's your two week notice. Seriously, our in-home daycare lady made excuses, but I just think she couldn't handle two babies and was afraid to be honest. Anyway, things work out for a reason and Olivia and Adam will continue to be friends, just not daycare buddies. Here are a couple of pics of Olivia and Adam today at Olivia's house. Olivia will stay with Aunt Lara for a couple of days, then start a new daycare...while Adam's grandpa will watch him until his mommy and daddy can find a new daycare. Wish us all luck and pray that the next choice is the best!
Have a good evening, from Olivia and Adam...aka Bonnie and Clyde :)

Guess What I Did??

Where to begin...there have been many 'firsts' happening with me...you know I'm a big girl now! I went to daycare for the first time and after three days I got my first cold. Went to the Dr. for my first cold and it was an upper respitory viral infection...so mommy has had many firsts too...first snot sucker, first temp check 'you know where' and first tylenol use. Ok, enough about mommy, back to me. I went to the airport for the first time, just checking it out...got my pic taken with Daddy there. I went to my first 'Ewing' function Sunday, Happy Anniversary to Uncle Mark and Aunt Mary Kay! I went to work with Mommy half day today - long story and as you might be able to tell in this picture, I suck my thumb now. Best of all...last night, I rolled over for the first time - twice! Mommy and Daddy were so proud, you should have heard them cheering me on - crazy people they are. Mommy even cried, she's silly! I'm a little backwards though, I'm rolling from back to tummy first...that tummy to back is kids stuff...lol Anyway, now the big people make me do it all the time, like I'm a circus act :) Got to go, thanks for reading and keeping up with me! Love you, Olivia

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

Happy 4th of July to everyone...I hope you had a good holiday. Mommy, Daddy and I just chilled out at home on the 4th and mommy and I listened to the fireworks from our beds...those things sure are loud. Who am I kidding, I think I heard maybe a couple of 'booms,' but they didn't keep me awake! Look at the pics on the side, I got a new chair Friday...I really like it a lot. It helps me look around and see everything...I am 'Miss nosey pants' you know. You'll also see some pics of me in my hat - it's great for blocking out the sun! Love, Olivia!!!

Almost 11 weeks...Mommy going back to work soon

Sorry we haven't done a very good job of updating the blog...we have been very busy with Miss Olivia and enjoying our time together. Believe it or not, I go back to work next Wednesday (July 8th)...say lots of prayers for me because I'm not dealing well with it. I never dreamed I could be a stay at home mommy...but I sure with I could! Olivia was baptized on Sunday, June 14th...she was welcomed into the Catholic Community with open arms and hearts. These first 2 and a half months have been a blessing and I can't wait for what is in our future!
Enjoy the pics of a growing Olivia...I think she's about 12 lbs now and is 24 inches long...yes, she's tall like daddy!

The Star of the show

Olivia fun facts : She crys. ALOT!!!!! But I am told that is what baby's do. Tina and I have had to do alot of our own crying over the years so we are use to it. At her last doc visit she was 9LB 6OZ which means she has gained more then a pound since birth. She is almost 23 IN long. Girl has some height.

As many of you know I am a huge race fan and live for the Indy 500. All efforts failed to get Olivia to the track this year. Tina would have none of it. I had to settle for driving by 16Th and Georgetown. BUT there is always next year.

Here next appointment with the doc is for the 2 month follow-up which means many shots :)

Tina is doing fine and is a fantastic mom; who would have though different. She does a great job with Olivia and is the mom I always knew she would be. Well here are some other pictures too.

Olivia and her new Doctor at her first visit to the Pediatrician.

Hello, we wanted to share Olivia's 1 week birthday picture for all too see. She has gained back most of her birth weight and is now 8LB 1OZ. At what age does a girl stop telling everyone what her weight is?

We will add some more pictures for you to see also.

Details

Olivia Faith Carter
Born : 4/16/09 10:28AM
Community North Hospital
Weight : 8LB 3OZ
Length : 20 IN
Head : 13 IN

All who guessed 8 were real close.

Dad and Daughter in NICU to make sure Olivia's sugars were in order. Only there 2 hours instead of the 4 we thought we would be there for.

Olivia joins the world. Nurses have just finished cleaning her up and we were getting ready for the trip up to the NICU for the mandatory visit since Tina is diabetic.

Olivia Faith Carter was born on 4/16/2009 at 10:28 AM by cercarian section. This is a picture of Doctor Volkel and two nurses who helped deliver our loving daughter. Dr V did a great job and Tina has had little pain from the operation.

Tonights the night we'll make history......

To take a line from one of my favorite rock groups, STYX, 'Tonight's the night we'll make history.....'; that comes from their song 'Babe' which is kinda fitting since we are having a baby. I don't think Dennis DeYoung and the boys were singing about a baby but i will steal some lines from them anyway.

If there is one truth in my life that would be if Tina was not in it I would be lost. And now with Olivia coming another important piece for both of us is put into place. Tina's dad was such a strong man who raised a wonderful daughter and I only hope I can do as well. It was my honor and privilege to know him and I get a real kick when I see Tina say of do something like he would. I never got to meet Tina's mom which I deeply regret. She must have been very special for Tina to be the woman she is today. We feel both of them each day watching over us with our grandparents shaking their heads I am sure.

My Mom and Dad. What can I say about them? They are both very caring people. To know Carol is to love her and every one who knows her knows what I mean. My mom comes with all her own quirks that make her the wonderful person she is. If there is one thing I have learned from my parents it is sacrifice. They have given up more then anyone I know for their sons; be it time or their money. If an example of work ethic was ever needed then look no further than my dad. He has set a hard example to follow.

Tina and I will be moving into a new chapter in our lives. Pages not yet written; memories not yet made. Yet we are both products of our wonderful families and the love we bring Olivia into.

Tonight when you go to bed please say a prayer for us, Olivia, and the baby we lost as we become a family.

All our love and friendship

Patrick and Tina Carter
Proud Mom and Dad of Olivia Faith Carter and Baby Carter

LAUNCH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our last pre-inducement doctor visit was today. Ultrasound tech provided the
confirmation one last time that our baby is indeed a girl; tech saw her girl
parts ruling out any possibility of an Oscar.

Olivia's head and legs are measuring 1 1/2 weeks ahead, but her belly is 2 weeks
ahead which pushes her up into the 96% for her age. She passed her checks for
breathing and motion. Tina had her last non-stress test today and Olivia was
a real champ and everything was fine on that front too.

So the news everyone has been waiting for. DOCTOR HAS GIVEN THE GREEN LIGHT FOR TINA TO DELIVER NATURALLY. After all its only fair that Tina experience the joys of Labor. That said Doc V did remind us that C-section still may happen. Also she does not want Tina to labor for a long time so I think we will have Olivia one way or the other on Wednesday 4/15. Now this is just a first time dad's thoughts but that is what I think.

Also, before I go. Ultrasound tech reported more hair again and she used the term lots of hair. Who knows, but I bet she has black hair like her mom.

Have a happy Easter keep us in your thoughts and prayers for a fast and MOSTLY pain free birth. At least as pain free as it can be.

Dilated to meet you

At our last appointment Doctor advised that Tina has DILATED to 1 :) The doctor was real happy to see that and was very excited which was nice. Tina is working 1/2 days now to take it easy and help keep her blood pressure down. Although not on bed rest the doctor wanted Tina to take it easy.

We did not have any measurements last week, but Olivia did pass all the test for movement on the ultrasound. The tech said it looked like she was breathing shallow and wanted to know if we had see that on past test we said no and just then the tech passed her head and you could see her hand by her mouth balled into a fist with the thumb sticking out. Looks like she was sucking her thumb.

When we built our house we did not think about adding lights in the ceiling. Well this weekend thanks to our friends Michelle and Michael Newton Olivia has a very nice ceiling light.

We are in the process of putting together our diaper bag and we have packed our overnight bags for the hospital too. 1 week from tomorrow we will check in to Community North Hospital at 7 PM. The current plan is that they plan to give Tina a good nights sleep and start the inducement on 4/15 around 6 AM. This could change based on if the Doctor wants to do a C-section. Doctor has stated that she does not want to put Tina through a long labor or for that matter any labor if she does not feel that Olivia will fit. Our Doctor has been really good to us and we could not have had a better Doctor.

Better close for now. Feel free to vote on Olivia's weight; after all from this point on she will lie about her weight :)

The end is near

We had another doctor appointment this past Thursday and Olivia is measuring at 37 weeks. So she is 2 weeks ahead and in 93 % for her age. She still has long legs. Everything looks real good and on schedule for our 4/14 7:00 PM check in at the Hospital.

Tina is still doing the twice a week non-stress test and Olivia is doing fine on these too. In just over 2 weeks we will have the new addition to the family.

For now thank you for all your thoughs and prayers over the last few years. We are almost there; then we will ask for you continued prayers over the next 18 years :)

News from the baby front

Last week we had a ultrasound to check her activity and she passed
with flying colors. All signs are still pointing to a 4/14 inducement
date. The Ultrasound tech made Tina's day when she said she saw hair.

On the Nursery front we have made great strides:
Glider - done
Crib - done
Dresser 1 - done
Dresser 2 - done
Bassinet - done
Hutch - Still Missing in action, but the Direct Buy folks still report
it will be here any day.

More to come later this week as we will have new measurements and I will
try to get some pictures from the showers up too.

Till then thank you for reading.

Patrick

Our 3/8 Pit stop

Tina had been very sick over last weekend, so on Sunday I convinced her to call the doctor who just happen to be on call at the hospital last weekend. She asked us to come in so that Tina could be checked out and as we thought Tina was dehydrated due to being sick. So after 2 IV bags of fluids and a prescription for something to help her stomach we were able to go home.

Tina had done a kick count on Olivia at home and she was just fine, but the doctor had us do a non-stress test while we were there since Tina had on scheduled for Monday. As the nurse was working on Tina's computer I noticed that the date of birth was listed as 3/11/69 which is not our Tina's birthday. So I looked closely at the name and it read Tina Kay Carter. WRONG TINA!!!!!!!!!!! This was an hour into the non-stress test which had just become stressful. Even more so when we were told that none of the date that was collected on the stress test was usable since it had been logged under the wrong patient name.

We got the non-stress test done and Tina did not have to go back on Monday, YAHOO!

FOOTNOTE:
We have the following parts of the nursery together:
1 Crib - important but not to be used for the first 6 months
2 Glider - all the hardware got here and we got it together
3 Dresser 1 - put together
4 Dresser 2 - not assembled yet
5 Hutch - MIA missing in action although Direct Buy reports it is on the way

I spent 2 years at Purdue and my dad has a degree in engineering and we spent 5 hours putting together a crib and dresser. Thanks dad for all you help and if any of this ever falls or breaks I will make sure that Olivia knows you helped me put it together. After all is all for one and one for all RIGHT?

April 14 is around the corner

Time has flown by. It seems just last week we were working with Dr D. With April fast approaching and I wanted to tell you a story that is common in many a parents life.
We ordered a Glider for Tina and Olivia to sit in during feedings. It is a very nice Cherry colored Glider with 1 small (MAJOR) problem. None of the nuts and bolts were included. Like most of the stuff we buy in this country this was not made in the USA; in fact it was not made in North America it was made in China. So for a month the glider sat as we waited for the hardware to be sent to us. We got it last week and I stated to put the Glider together only to find out that we had but 2 Barrel nuts. Not a problem unless the directions call for 4!!!!!!! So today I will be making another call to get more hardware but I am also going to see if maybe Lowe's or Home Depot may have them. Cross your fingers and knock on wood for me.

If this has happen to the glider I really look forward to her first bike.

A special shout out to our nephew Brendan. He has been sick and under the weather the last few days and is a huge follower of our blog.

Dateline 2/26

Well today we completed our new parent classes. And I can say I have now changed 1 diaper and swaddled 1 doll. Olivia is doing fine our latest doctor visit was last week and she is now 4 LB 2 OZ which averages out to 1/2 a LB every week.

We are now having non-stress test 2 times a week but they are anything but non-stress. They monitor Olivia's heart rate for 20 min, but that is after it takes 20 min to find the heart beat. Then the girl goes and over achieves. For her age they only need to see her change her heart rate by 10 beats over 20 min. But not our girl OH NO she goes and changes her heart rate by 15 beats. Now we find out that since they know she can do it they now need her to do that again. 1 1/2 hour later and 2 slices of cheese later she does another 15. SO our 20 min visit turned into almost 2 hours.

April showers have started early this year. We have completed 2 of our 4 showers for Tina and Olivia. I will post some pictures over the up coming days but wanted to say we are truly blessed to have the family and friends that we have. You are each very special to us.

I better close for now. Hugs and Kisses from the Carter family.

2 months and 1 week till lift OFF

Well, we had another appointment last Thursday and Miss Olivia is back down in the 86% of her growth chart, she’s a good girl! She is 3 lbs. 2oz now and is still measuring a little ahead of schedule. She is still very active and started out looking at us during the ultra sound and by the end had completely flipped and snuggled in for a nap with both hands curled up around her head. She was hiding! Mom is doing good – tired, but feels good. (other than some feet swelling, how fun is that!) Blood pressure and sugars are good!

If we get to have her naturally, we have a date! April 14th is currently the inducement date. If we have to go with a c-section, we are looking at 4/15 or 4/16…so either way, only 9 weeks left!!! Mommy and Daddy are both so excited and can’t wait for the big day! Aunt Lara is guessing 4/15 at 10:40am…get it, tax day 1040 EZ…lol

Next appointment is 2/17 for our first non-stress test…stay tuned!
Tina

Our latest check-up

Hello everyone! Well we had another ultrasound yesterday and Miss Olivia is thriving to say the least. She is now 2lbs and 8oz...and in the upper 92% of her development. Needless to say, she's probably going to bypass the 'newborn' stage. She is moving around a lot these days, in fact I like to say she's learned the art of gymnastics! She's moving so much that Patrick actually got to feel her for the first time last week, that was very exciting. We didn't expect that for a few more weeks! We finally got her nursery furniture ordered, that kind of made it all 'real.' (like is wasn't already) It's just so amazing to think this beautiful baby is going to be here in just a few months for all of us to love...spoil...hug...kiss...ok, I could go on and on...but I'll spare you all. Anyway, we are now at the point where we start doctor visits/ultrasounds evey two weeks so you'll probably see more info from us regularly. It's such an exciting new time in our lives and thank you all for sharing in our joy!

To : You From : Olivia

If you look in the upper right hand corner you will see links
to the 4 places my mom and dad have registered for me. I must
say I do not know them too well yet, but my Dad has good taste.

I mean he did marry my mom. Well if you click on the store name
you will be taken to that stores registry site where you just need
to provide things like my mom's name and our state, Indiana I think
or is it Vienna? My mom and dad have been playing classical music
for me. Some sites may ask for our city which I am told is Fishers.

I am sure you will have to agree I have some killer typing skills for
a -4 month old. Well I will try and add a post from time to time.

Now if I can just get that texting down. OMG..... UR FUNNY :)

Olivia Faith Carter

Mom to be drops a note

We had our final high risk ultrasound today with the Riley Cardiologist, now where to begin...

She totally was uncooperative – the Riley specialist actually just kept calling her obstinate! At first, I was a little offended by that, but then thought about who her parents are…ok, so she’s stubborn – I get that. Lol They totally confirmed without a doubt, she’s a she! (Thank God, she already has about 7 pink outfits…not kidding! I never imagined an unborn child could have such a good Christmas) The cardiologist was finally able to see what he needed to and confirmed that there are no obvious heart defects…he said all four chambers and valves all look good, no holes (except the one that is suppose to be there right now), and blood flow in and out is good. There’s always a small unknown risk, but that’s no different at this point than any other pregnancy…we just had the opportunity to check it out now where normal pregnancies don’t.

The Dr. said she is VERY active…loves to move A LOT! She is measuring about a week to a week in a half ahead of schedule…she’s 1lb and 12 oz now…her is a big girl J She is in the upper 85% of her group right now…again, does that really surprise me? NOT! They said nothing to worry about, she’s fine and looks very good at this point! Actually, we graduated today…no more visits to the high risk Dr…just our normal OB visits from here on out.

Another prayer answered!

Have a great day!

Tina

New dad rant

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. 2009 will be a big year for the Carters. The plan is to try and catch up with the Dugger’s. They already have 18 kids so we have some catching up to do. No way!!!! Tina would have me fixed one way or another before we got anywhere close to 18.

Olivia is doing fine. Our next Doc visit is 1/7 to take a good look at her heart. That is the last major ultrasound we will have. After that all the others will be just to keep an eye on her to make sure she does not get too big. After all Tina does not what to have a baby girl like that 14 pound baby delivered last month. So far all systems are go for a early to mid April birth. With that in mind please feel free to leave your due date and time guess as a comment and I will track them. Whoever is closes we will try and work out some kind of surprise for them.

We are all signed up to take our new parents classes from the doctor/hospital. A 12 hour crash course on how to care for a newborn. I don’t mind saying that I spent more time learning about battles of World War II to earn my History degree. I must say that fact scares me! I think they must have some misconception that I know ANYTHING about babies. Are they out of their minds; where is the owners manual? I know ladies your all saying why does he need that MEN DON’T READ THEM ANYWAY!!!!!!!

Don’t tell the other guys but the reason we like to know where the manual is that it gives us peace of mind. It allows us to sleep knowing that if things get screwed up we can look it up.

Not with a baby. No Manual here. Dr Spock, please. If the tire falls off my bike I the manual will tell me how to fix it. Now if a baby cries; that can mean a 100 different things. WHERE IS MY MANUAL.

And that my friends is why new parents don’t sleep.