March Date Night Challenge: MJV

Mike and I suffer from a severe case of laziness when it comes to planning dates. So, after we were inspired by a talk at our church's marriage conference (you can listen to them here) we decided to come up with a plan: One big date night a month, $50 budget, planned by one person for the other and using a creative challenge. We organized a date night swap with the other couples in our community group that have kids, so we know at least once a month we are going to have a sitter!

Here's what I planned for Mike for our March date!

Challenge: Plan a date that Mike would enjoy using his initials- MJV 

M= Mission:
Mike loves games and challenges, so I started off our date by handing him a card with 5 missions that he/we had to complete during our date. His reward was... married people fun- a PG way to put it on the blog ;)

J= Jump:
Mike is a very active guy and likes trying new things, so I decided to take him to an indoor trampoline park! We were surrounded by middle schoolers, but we still had a blast! We played trampoline basketball with each other and just acted like silly kids! It was so fun to do something so out of the ordinary and not have to act like responsible parents. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't go back again- unless it was with MK- but it was a fun adventure anyways!


V= Village Burger Bar
This is our favorite burger place and they have a fun outdoor patio. We got our usual Blue Burgers (blue cheese, bacon and avocado= AMAZING!) and sweet potato fries and yummy margaritas and just talked. Having dinner out without a two yr old and an infant is so amazing... although we love our kids, we also love our mommy-daddy time!

I was reminded during this date of how much fun we used to have when we were dating and how much I've missed that aspect of our relationship. Mike is my best friend and I love hanging out with him and making memories. We both remarked at the end of the date that we felt like we were back in college! Date night= success!!! :)

This fun date totally spurred us on to keep being intentional with each other, even if it's just at home without a sitter. We've been having "no screen" nights once a week where we turn off our phones, iPads and TV and just talk, study the word/pray together and play games! Its been such a great opportunity for us to connect.

I'm so thankful that I have a husband who I want LOVE to hang out with... who adores, cherishes and honors me so much.

Hoping this encourages you to be intentional with your sweetie today!
Love,
The Vog lovers

Khloe at 2 months!

I can't believe my sweet girl is two months old!

Eating: Khloe's eating every 3 hours during the day. She's still breastfeeding like a champ and if we give her a bottle (she gets one before we go to bed- her dream feed- and sometimes she gets one during the day with Mike if he's watching her while I'm at the gym) she eats 4-5oz! I'm slowly adding back dairy and caffeine since she's not spitting up as much anymore. I'm pumping only once or twice a day- always in the morning when she only eats on one side. I still have quite the stock pile of frozen breastmilk, more than 100 ounces... I'm researching how I can donate it to NICU babies since it's only good for 6 months and I'm not thinking I'll need it by then.

Sleeping: Khloe's been giving us an 8-9 hour stretch consistently for two weeks now. Sometimes she goes down at 7 to sleep and we have to wake her up at 10 to feed her, other times she's up and wanting to play until 9:30/10 and then falls asleep. Either way she sleeps until 6/6:30/7 which is WONDERFUL!!! During the day she has a couple cat naps after she eats and usually one long 2 hour nap in the afternoon. She's gotten much better about putting herself down to sleep without having to be held this month. I can give the Baby Whisperer book credit for that... it was my life saver with MK and it's proving to the be the same with Khloe! Khloe still likes to be swaddled to sleep and sleeps propped up on her side with a white noise sound machine blaring (a must with a noisy big sister around!).

Milestones: This month Khloe slept through the night (2/9/13) and rolled from her tummy to her back (2/19/13). She is lifting her head up really well during tummy time and definitely has control over that wobbly head when we're holding her! She's also been smiling up a storm. She is such a happy baby and loves when we talk to her... I think she's going to be my social girl!

What we've been up to this month: This month Khloe got to experience her first super bowl party at the Davis', spent the day with Aunt LaLa and big sister while mommy and daddy were at the Uncommon marriage conference at Watermark, and she went to the Dallas Zoo for the first time with mommy and big sister! She also got to snuggle with her Poppy and Gigi and meet her Opa this month... lucky girl!

Dr. Appointment notes: Khloe is weighing in at 12lb 2oz (80%) and measuring 23 1/4 inches (also 80%). Her head circumference is 15 1/2 inches (60%). She checked out great and we'll go back in 2 months for the next check up. Khloe got her 2 month shots today- Polio, HIB, pneumonia, hep B, DTap and Rotavirus... 3 injections and one oral vaccine. She wasn't a fan (who is?) and cried a whole lot :( The sweetest new grad from Baylor nursing school gave her her shots... I just love how our pedi still uses nurses in their office.

Our family is adjusting so well to our sweet new addition! She and MK have made this mommy of two thing so wonderful and a very easy transition. I love seeing miss K's little personality coming out already and how she's starting to interact with us! :)

Love y'all,

M, K, MK and KM Vog!

Maddie- 2.5yrs

Maddie is 2.5yrs old!

I can't believe my sweet Maddie is two and a half years old. Time is going way to fast... I keep asking it to slow down, but its not listening! I can't believe she is closer to being three than two... yikes!!!

At two and a half MK loves:
-Watching Dinosaur Train and Wild Kratz on PBS and Doc McStuffins on the Disney Jr. app.
-Watching Tangled and singing the "Flower gleam and grow" song while touching her hair.
-Reading the "Opps book" which is what she calls it but it's really Red Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton- we've read it so many times that she can actually "read" it now to us!
-Playing with puzzles
-Playdough and coloring with markers
-Her little sister, who she calls "my Khloe" or "baby sister"
-Poppy and Gigi- she asks me at least once a day "Poppy and Gigi coming back?"

-Picking up sticks and rocks on our walks to the pond
-Playing at the park
-Her best friends Mckinley, Lilleigh and Ava
-Pretending that she's a doctor, and holding our faces in her hands and saying "don't worry, I'm a doctor!"
-Going to "Donalds" (Mcdonalds) to play with mama, Khloe, Mckinley, Randi, Jessica and Jude and sharing a diet coke and fruit and walnut salad with mama.
-Singing "Jesus loves me" in the car to mama and Khloe and inserting our names in the song. She also likes to sing it loud, quiet, fast and slow! :)
-Eating applesauce, cheese sticks, raisins, broccoli and cheeseburgers

She loves her sister! 

At 2.5 MK dislikes: 
-Wearing shoes in the car
-Chicken- unless it's from chick-fil-a! :)
-Random things that she's liked the day before and will like again tomorrow...and she says "I don yike it!"

MK sleeps from 6:30/7pm to 7/7:30am and takes a 2-2.5hr nap in the afternoon.

She eats three meals a day and a snack in the mid-morning and after naptime.

MK is now officially 100% day time potty trained... we haven't had an accident in weeks!!!! She still wears pull-ups at nap time (usually dry after naps) and at night (usually wet in the morning). She was wearing cloth pull-ups, but they really weren't super absorbent and I was so sick and tired of washing her bed sheets!! 

MK's stats at 2.5 yrs:
Weight- 32lb 10oz
Height- 37 inches... still on track to be a tall tall girl!

Almost as tall as an emperor penguin! ;)

My Sweet Mk,
You are such a bundle of joy and your dad and I love watching you grow up! We pray continually that the Lord would keep revealing himself to you and that you would come to know Him at a young age and walking closely with Him. Dad and I are trying our hardest to shepherd your heart the way that the Lord calls us to, please forgive us when we fail to do that. We love you more than words could even describe. You have our hearts forever and we are so proud of you sweet girl.
Love you thiiiiiiiisssss much!
Mama and Dada

KMV's 1 month!

Khloe is 1 month old!

Eating: Khloe is eating every 2-3hrs during the day and between 4-6hrs at night. She's always been a very efficient breast feeder and usually takes only about 15-20 minutes to eat. We introduced the bottle to her at 2 weeks and she's had a couple. She's taken to it great and usually eats 3-4oz. 

Sleeping: She sleeps a lot during that day, usually for an hour or two after she eats during the day. Her long wakeful period is from 5-8 at night and then after she feeds at 9 she's down for the night and sleeps 5-6 hours until 3ish. After that feeding she's down until 6. Khloe has a hard time putting herself down to sleep and prefers to fall asleep being held, and I'm going to soak up those cuddles for a little while longer until I help teach her to fall asleep on her own. During the day she naps in the car seat or Ergo carrier if we're out or on the couch or swing if we are at the house. She's a very noisy sleeper and likes to grunt and squirm a lot, so we moved her out of the pack-n-play in our room and into the crib in her room at 3 weeks! 

Milestones: She's smiled a few times at us... and not the gassy smiles, but real smiles!
What we've been up to this month: Getting used to the routine of two little ones in the house, celebrating mommy's 26th birthday and getting loved on by friends at Khloe's sip and see!

Dr. Appointment notes: 

Khloe is 10lb 3oz and 22 1/2 inches long. She's in the 90th percentile for both height and weight- just like big sister! I'm gonna have beautiful tall girls! :)
At our 2 week appointment Dr. Hayes heard a systolic murmur and sent us to a cardiologist to get it checked out. Khloe had a EKG and echo done and was diagnosed with pulmonary artery stenosis and a PFO (fetal opening between the two atrium that's supposed to close after birth). She should grow out of it in year, and if not we'll re-evaluate at the cardiologist!

My brave girl getting her echo.

Mike and I can't believe our littlest is 1 month... we both were saying the other night that she doesn't even look like a newborn anymore!

Love,
The Vogs

Day One!

These are my girl... MY GIRLS! :)

 

I can't believe I've been a mom of two for over two weeks. It's been quite the transition, but we are adjusting slowly. We've had family in (my parents, sisters and twin) until yesterday, so I've had lots and lots of help with MK... but today I was flying solo... just me and the girls. It was hard and easy all at the same time. I'm trying to learn the balance of splitting my time between the needs of a newborn and a two year old... and right now I'm not sure which one is more needy! I've never been more thankful for a husband who works from home than today... He was a text or call away if I needed an extra hand if I was breastfeeding Khloe and MK needed to use the potty. We survived the day, even though mommy and Maddie both needed mid-day showers (MK had a #2 accident and mommy was in the path of an epic down the shirt spit up) and Khloe had rough gassy morning.

 

All and all, the transition from one to two has been much easier than zero to one. It's like riding a bike... having a newborn is familiar instead of totally strange and intimidating. I was also able to prepare my heart and have realistic expectations. My heart is much more peaceful and less anxious this time around. I think a lot of that has to do with focusing on how short of a time period infancy is... If I start to get overwhelmed, I just look at pictures of MK and realize that her first year flew by. I wish I lived more in the moment when MK was a baby, instead of focusing on the next best milestone. This time I'm savoring every moment because I know at some point I'll miss the midnight cuddles.

 

One day down... many more to come! :) "I can do all things through Christ..."

 

Love,

The Vog girls!

MK vs. KM

I thought it would be fun to do a little comparisson between my pregnancies/deliveries with Khloe and MK!

Getting pregnant:
Maddie: Mike and I got pregnant our first month of "trying"... which really was just not using protection. I didn't use OPKs or anything, just knew my body from a yr of natural family planning.
Khloe: 9 months of actively trying, using OPKs and finally getting diagnosed and treated for a luteal phase defect. After three months on progesterone and increasing my dose we got pregnant! It was a hard time for me, but God used it to grow me in my faith and trust in Him. And now,I am so thankful for that time of waiting. I wouldn't have my sweet Khloe, MK would be a different age... I totally know and can trust that God knew what He was doing.

Weight gain:
Maddie: Gained 40lb- 7lb in the last few weeks (mostly swelling). Lost it all and 5lb by 6months post partum
Khloe: Gained 26lb. Not sure how long it will take to loose! :) As of a week post partum, I've lost 16lb.

Morning sickness:
Maddie: Terrible morning sickness from week 7-10, I was working nights and threw up every day on the way home from work. I didn't take the meds cause I was to stubborn!
Khloe: Starting feeling nauseaus at 6 weeks and started taking 4mg Zofran at least every morning. Also made an effort to eat more protein and I think that helped at ton. Took Zofran before I got out of bed every morning until 11ish weeks.

Movement:
Maddie: Didn't really feel her move until 18 weeks, she was a predictable mover- after meals and when I was sitting down. She gave me way more "no movement" scares than Khloe has... one time at a Rangers game when even a huge diet coke didn't get her moving! Then as we were about to call the dr, she started going crazy.
Khloe: Started feeling her little kicks at 13 weeks and she hasn't stopped since! She moves constantly, although her movements are slowing down now (at the end of pregnancy) and in more of a sleep/wake pattern. She is much more active than MK, especially at night!

Swelling:
Maddie: I swelled terribly with MK. I couldn't wear my engagement ring (the bigger of my two rings) from 8 months until delivery, my shoes didn't fit and after a day of work I had terrible pitting edema on my feet. My nose also swelled up and was super super wide at the end!
Khloe: My wedding ring has been off since 20 weeks (it's a size smaller than my wedding band), but my engagement ring slips on and off very easily still. No swelling in my feet and all of my shoes still fit- even my boots that are usually a little snug when I'm not preggo. My nose is a little wider, but not nearly as bad as with MK!

Last month:
Maddie: At my 40 weeks appointment I was 3cm and 50% and MK was very high. Even though I was huge, I wasn't super uncomfortable and never had false labor.
Khloe: K's always carried lower than MK, but the past few weeks she's gotten super low. I've had much more pain and pressure in my pelvis/pubic bone than with MK and I've had contractions on and off for the past week. At my 38 week appointment I was 3cm and 60%.

Birth:
Maddie: You can read about it here. She was 8lb 13oz and 21 3/4 inches long... my chunky long girl!  It was an easy labor and delivery, but due to post-partum hemorrhage that required two units of blood afterwards and a 3rd degree laceration, it was a rough recovery.
Khloe: You can read about it here. She was 7lb 11oz and 20 1/4 inches long... my tall and skinny girl! It was a very quick and not very painless labor and delivery, but no post partum hemorrhage and only a 2nd degree tear so it was a very quick and easy recovery.

Ok, that's the end of the MK and KM comparissons... Khloe is her own girl and I'm going to focus on her uniqueness as a baby! I'm going to try really hard not expect Khloe to reach her milestones when MK did.

Much love,
The Vogelaars

KM's birth, one week old update and big sister's reaction!

It all started at 8am on Friday December 28th when we arrived at BUMC for the induction. We'd been planning on inducing Khloe on the 28th for a couple weeks (although we were on the waiting list until the 26th so we didn't know for sure that the 28th was a go). We decided to induce for many reasons, the main ones were that my Dr. was only available to deliver K on the 28th or not until after her due date (and based on what happened last time, I really wanted her to be there) and Mike's PTO/time off conflict... our $3000 deductable and a tax credit also played a small part too!

Our nurse, Lori was super sweet and around 8:30am she started my IV and hooked me up to the pitocin (or so we thought... keep reading!). Dr. C came in a little after that to check my cervix and break my water. At that point I was 4cm dilated and 60% effaced. For the next two hours or so I was having contractions every 2 min apart, but not really painful at all. In fact (something I would regret later) I was telling Mike "these are nothing" and taunting them by saying "bring it on contractions!" Around 10am my nurse came to check on me and noticed that she had forgot to hook the pitocin to my IV... so for the past hr and a half my body was laboring on its own- triggered by Dr. C breaking my water. Stuff like that happens all the time, and as a nurse I totally understood and had grace with her!

Once the pitocin was actually running into my IV, my contractions immediately picked up in intensity and frequency. My goal was to make it to 5-6cm before getting my epidural because I didn't want it to slow down my labor. At around 11am, I was in a lot of pain with the contractions and asked Lori to check me. I was 5cm and 75% so I decided to get the epidural. The anesthesiologist came in 10 min later and started preping me for the epidural. This guy does all of his epidurals laying down, which I actually really liked cause it was alot easier to manage a contraction laying down verses sitting up hunched over. The epidural was in pretty painlessly in about 10 min and started taking the edge off of the contractions. Last time I had a spinal/epidural (that was just what that particular anethesiologist does) and it was immediate relief from the pain, this time with just an epidural the pain relief took about 30 minutes and I could still feel when I was having a contractions, they just weren't as painful. After I got my epidural, Lori said she thought we would be pushing around 1.

At around 12:15ish I started feeling intense pressure and it was unbearably painful. I called my nurse and she checked me and said it was baby time. She also told me that Dr. C was just going into a c-section and that we would have wait a little while to push. I told her I didn't think I could handle the pressure that long and she went out to talk to Dr. C. While she was gone Mike was eating lunch and I told him "you need to finish that up right now, we are having a baby now!!!" At 12:30 Lori and Dr. C came in and we started pushing. It felt so good to push through the intense pressure and I was very motivated to get Miss Khloe out of me! She came into the world after 3 rounds of pushing (we pushed 4 times with each contractions) at 12:43pm!

She was brought right to my chest and both Mike and I started crying! She was on my chest for several minutes and then they took her to the warmer. She had to be suctioned a couple times because she wasn't in the birth canal for very long and had some fluids and secretions in her lungs. She also got her vitamin K shot and eye antibiotics. She weighed in at 7lb 11oz and was 20 1/4inches long.

Dr. C and Lori were watching me closely to make sure my uterus contracted and my bleeding stayed under control. After the placenta came out, they gave me pitocin (normal after a vaginal deliver) and started massaging my belly to help my uterus contract (super painful by the way!). I also got sewed up from a 2nd degree tear... not nearly as bad as last time! As a precaution, I got a shot of Methergan and took a Methergan pill every 8 hours, 3 times to prevent any bleeding. Once Miss Khloe was all wrapped up and checked out, I got to feed her and she latched on right away.

After we were all cleaned up and checked out, Maddie, Larissa and Jay came in to meet Khloe. Maddie was very concerned about me and my IV and not that interested in Khloe. When Larissa showed MK a picture of Khloe on thier way down to the hospital, MK said "that's my Khloe!" She held Khloe for a little bit with me and wanted to point out all of her features- her eyes, nose and hair!

My recovery has been so much better this time! I was up and walking around an hour after Khloe was born, and took a shower shortly afterwards. We had some sweet visitors from our community group and church on friday afternoon and saturday and MK was with us for a couple hours each day too to hang out with her new sister.

We were discharged on Saturday at 3 and it was so nice to be at home in our own environment and in our own beds! Our sweet friends, the Combs brought us dinner and some groceries and it was such a blessing!

We had her two day post-discharge check up with Dr. Hayes on Monday and she weighed in at 7lb 6oz... which is totally normal to loose a little weight. My milk had just come in on Sunday night/Monday morning, so we weren't concerned about it. We go back next Friday for her two week check up and we'll see if she's gained any weight then. Mom and Dad both think she's gained weight, they think her little cheeks are filling out. She did have a little jaundice that we and her pediatrician have been watching closely, but it looks like that is resolving.

I can't believe sweet Khloe is a week old already! She has been a pretty easy baby- she's eating every two to three hours (sometimes 3.5/4 at night!) and sleeping in between. She has a few wakeful times during the day and she makes the cutest little faces during those times! She loves the swing and moby wrap and isn't a huge fan of having her arms swaddled. Big sister is taking to Khloe very well. She's had lots of fun playmates around (my dad and my two little sisters) to keep her occupied. But, whenever she sees me without Khloe she asks me "where's Khloe?" and she's already been nursing her baby dolls... from her belly button! :) She likes to hold Khloe, but only for a couples minutes. Khloe's umbilical cord fell off today, but before it did and MK was helping me with a diaper change, she would say "I can't see that" when I lifted up her shirt! She really wasn't a fan of the umbilical stump!

We've got my parents here for a few more days and then my twin sister will come stay with us for a about a week. And then we are on our own! I've tried to take it one day at a time and not get too overwhelmed with the thought of me taking care of my two girls on my own during the day.

Our hearts are full and we feel so blessed. We are truely feeling the joy decribed in Psalms 127: 4-5- "Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warriors hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!"

Much love,
The Vogs
M,K,MK & KM

*My silly computer isn't letting me upload pics, but you can check them out on my facebook or follow me on instagram: katyvog