Gabriel's Been Running

My sweet middle boy is always on the move. He has one speed FAST and one volume LOUD.  This past weekend we went down to the Med Center for a 5k and 1k race. This was Gabriel's very first race.

New shoes were purchased: He needed shoes that were super fast.

A race bib was pinned on:

After the race there were awards for the participants.

And of course a picture with little brother who wanted to run too.

Elijah's birth slideshow

KD Loftis Blog

This is the slide show of Elijah's birth.

Elijah David is Here! (It's long Sorry!)

I am writing this to the best of my memory. I am not 100% sure of some of the exact times.

Welcome to the World Elijah David

Elijah was born Sunday, February 27, 2011 via emergency c-section.

This Sunday started like any other Sunday. I got up, got the boys' breakfast and headed off to church. After church we went home, had lunch and Royal put the boys down for their nap. I was watching TV. A little while later I went to the restroom and noticed blood. I figured I needed to call my doctor. My doctor asked if I was having contraction, I was but not anything consistent. He told me to go to L&D just to get checked out, but he was pretty sure the bleeding was nothing. So I told Royal what was going on and he called his mom. We grabbed my bag (just in case although we really thought we would be coming home the same day) and headed to the hospital.

We got to the hospital around 3pm (this is were the times get sketchy, I wasn't wearing a watch and I didn't really take time to check very frequently). They put us in a triage bed and hooked me up to the fetal monitors and checked for dilation (I was right at 3cm). We got to listen to the heart beat and watch my sporadic contractions. I noticed that the heartbeat was very erratic. Then, after about 10 minutes I had a strong contraction, and the baby's heart rate dropped. The nurse came in and told me to lay on my left side. I rolled over and continued to lay there for an hour. During this time the nursed called my doctor who ordered some sort of biophysical U/S to figure out why the heart rate was dropping. The U/S was done, and we were told the baby was going to be about 8.5lbs but we didn't get much more info from her. A few minutes later the nurse came back and checked me again. I was now at 5cm and she wanted to call the doctor. She came back a few minutes later to let me know they were checking me in. They drew blood, started the IV and took me to a L&D room.

After we got the the L&D room we called our parents to let them know what was happening. I called my friend Kelley because she was going to photograph the birth. At this time Royal decided to take care of a few things and get himself some dinner. The nurse put my pitocin drip at the very lowest level since Royal was gone. Well, my contractions picked right up with the pitocin going from every 10 minutes to every 2 minutes, so she turned it off. Kelley got to the hospital before Royal got back, so I had someone to keep me company. Royal got back to the hospital and brough Jack in the Box with him. We had a good laugh over his food choice. Kelley continued to take pictures and Royal ate his dinner. I watched the Oscars. My only observation was that no one looked particularly good. (Sometime after Royal left and Kelley got to the hospital I had my epidural put in). It's important to know that I was good and numb.

I think this puts things right around 7:30. My doctor came in and checked me. I was right around 6cm. He let me know he was going to break my bag of water. Sounded good to me. He broke my water and told the nurse that he was going to the doctor's lounge. Royal left the room go to the bathroom and get a snack. He figured we had a lot of time. So did I. After the doctor left, my nurse checked me again. I didn't know what to make out of her next sentence, "I feel the baby's fingers..." Ummmm OK... She follows that with, "I am going to call the doctor." My doctor comes back in and confirms that there are fingers where the head should be. This is a problem...add to that the baby's heart rate is continuing to drop with contractions and rebounding very slowly. My doctor explains that what's happening is very dangerous and we will need to do a c-section. Kelley left the room to go find Royal and let him know. When he gets back to the room they are getting ready to wheel me off.

It's a very strange feeling to be wheeled down the hall of a hospital and actually hear people using the word STAT to describe you. When we got to the OR door the nurse realized I had ear rings in and a necklace on. All of it had to come off and we went into the OR. The room was 68*. I didn't take notice of time time, but I did see the temperature on the wall. They moved my bed next to the operating table lifted me up and told me to cross my arms over my chest. They rolled me from one side to the other. Not really sure what they were doing. Then they put my arms out to the side. I was there alone. Royal was getting dressed. I laid there and cried and prayed as they hooked me up to the heart monitor. It was a simple prayer, "Dear God, please take care of my baby and me." I just repeated it while tears ran down. Royal came in and it was time.

He held my hand. They put a curtain up and I was numb, so I really don't know what happened. I felt someone put all their weight on my belly and a minute later I heard a tiny cry followed by another and then they held Elijah over the curtain and he was perfect. Pink with lots of dark hair. They took him over to the warmer. They asked Royal if he wanted to take a picture...Crap we didn't have a camera...Royal had his iPhone! Elijah's first picture was taken with an iPhone.



I am Grateful to God for my wonderful doctor and all the wonderful people who took care of us.
My sweet baby boy was born February 27, 2011 @ 8:05pm. He weighed 8lbs 2.5oz and 20in long.

The Belly

If you are thinking about having a third baby beware the belly. It will show up without warning and become huge long before it should.
This was taken at 22.5 weeks. The baby has been consistently measuring a week ahead.

Name change

We found out we are expecting #3 back in June. Baby is due at the beginning of March. We found out last week that #3 is a boy. I am going to be greatly out numbered. In honor of this the blog needs a name change.

I am taking suggestions.

Baseball

Thanks to my friend Michele we went to the Astros game two weeks ago. This was the first game for both boys. Joshua loved the train and peanuts and Gabriel loved the hot dogs and popcorn. I loved that the tickets were free.


Daddy and boys

Trying to get a picture with three is hard work.

A week of firsts

Our first first was on Monday. The boys had their first trip to the dentist. Much to my relief this was an easy trip. J&G are notorious for screaming at the doctor's office so you can only imagine what I thought a trip to the dentist would be like. I took them to see a pediatric dentist, John Zummo, who was my dentist from the age of seven until some time in college. I picked him because I knew he would be gentle. They each had their teeth brushed and florided by the hygenist. Then the denist came and looked at thier teeth. They each got a clean bill of health. And much to Royal's chagrin the spaces between thier teeth are good. It means when the adult teeth come it they will have plenty of space.

Our second first was a trip down to the rodeo fair grounds. We didn't really have time to do everything (it is huge), so we hit some of the kiddie hilights. The first stop was the pony ride. Origanally Joshua wanted to ride an giraffe. I told him I didn't think that would be possible, but asked if he would like to ride a pony instead. His initional answer was "no," but then he saw the ponies. I paied, we waited, then it was his turn. He picked a horse named Sarah. I thought he would scream the instant they put him on. Nope not today, he sat there and did just what the man said. Then, I thought for sure he would freakout when the horse started moving. Not.a.peep. He loved it. He smiled and smiled. When the ride was over he declared, "I wanna do it again!" he rode for aa second time. I was almost in tears. My little boy is such a big guy.





And not to be left out the little man had his first trip to a petting zoo. He was a little nervous at first beacuse all of the animals were eye to eye with him. After about a minute he was down and harrassing the animals just like big brother.

Taking Over the World

Okay maybe not the world, but I did take over StrollerFit. I have been going to StollerFit for three years and when the opportunity to buy the franchise came up I jumped at it. March 1st was my take over day and very nicely landed on a Monday. I am going to be doing a lot of work to get new members.

13.1 Miles

It has been one week since I did my first half marathon and I thought I needed to write something down to remember for posterity's sake.

Jan. 14, 2010.

All the training came down to this one day. Unfortunately I came down with a crappy cold. I woke up the Wednesday before feeling like crud. I tried a few runs and had I hard time even getting through 2.5 miles. Royal asked if I was still going to despite feeling as badly as I did. My answer, "I spend the money and have been running for months there is no way I am not running."

Jan. 17 2010

The night before I set my alarm to get up earlier than I have in months. 4:30 am to be exact. Before the ass crack of dawn as Royal informed me. We were all set to have my in laws watch the kids. Royal and I went to bed around 10 and slept very soundly (Tylenol PM will do that). The next thing I know I am being shaken awake by Royal telling me that his parents were here. Oops I set my alarm for the PM not AM. We fly to get dressed and out the door. On the way into town we picked up my friend Michele who was also running the half marathon.

We got into down parked and walked over to the GRB where we were meeting my brother and mother. Anthony ran his first full marathon (Go Him!) By this time we had to potty and get to our corrals. Royal and my mom wished us luck and headed to find a place for breakfast. We walked out Anthony went to his start and Michele and I went to ours. I was in the second wave (slow runners) and Michele was in the first, but she decided to start with me. From where we were standing we couldn't here anything. Finially we heard the gun for the first wave and everyone cheered. We walked up to the start. Stood around for 10 minutes and waited for the second gun. It went off and it was actually another 5 minutes before we made it to the start line.

Off we went! Now Michele had warned me that she would weeve in and out...well she did not disappoint. I had a hard time weeving and keeping her pace. I lost her after the first half mile or so. The first mile is up and over the aquducts which is very cool because you can see the sea of people ahead of you. It was so cool. I stayed with the pack and at mile 2 we merged with the full marathon people and we ran with them until mile nine. Around mile 4 I began to realize how much being sick had affected me. Normally by them I would have found a rytham and would be doing great. That day I was huffing and puffing and all I could think was "how do I still have 9 miles to go???CRAP!" I kept going. Then I saw Pecore and realized that I was in the Heights and needed to start looking for my friends. I spotted Viula out of the corner of my eye, but she was across the street, so I didn't get to say hi. This was around mile 5. I perked up because I remember Carrie said she would be at mile 6 with oranges. She did not dissapoint. They were deliscious. Then at mile 6.2 we sae the Conoco Phillips Biker Chicks with a sign that said if you were running the 10k you would be done by now. I wanted so badly to be done. I kept going. Around mile 8 we passed a donought shop and thought for sure there would be doughnuts being passed out. No such luck. Because I was running the half we u-turned around at mile 9, so I got to smell the doughnuts twice. Not Cool doughnut people! At mile 10 I called Royal to let him know were I was. He and my mom headed out to the finish line to watch for me.

This is where I hit a wall. I walked so much at the end. I finially reached the 1.5 to go mark and I honestly didn't think it would ever end. This is where the mental game comes it. unfortuanlly I gave up and gave into the pain. I walked quite a while. I picked it up at the last mile. I ran the last mile, but I was numb. I hurt! I couldn't hear anything and actually missed Royal and my mom at the end. I crossed the finish line at 2:41:06. Eleven minutes slower than my goal time. Oh well I did finish! I got my medal and finisher shirt. I met up with Michele and Royal and my mom and got congratulations from everyone. I am proud that I finished and next year I am going to run with my friend Sarah and hopefully not be sick!

New Camera

For Christmas this year I told Royal all I wanted was an SLR camera. Well ask and you shall receive. Last week a Nikon D3000 was delivered to the house. I have had a lot of fun figuring things out.

Here is some of what I captured.

The Month of November

November is a busy month in our house. We have three birthdays (10, 21, 29th) and Thanksgiving. This year Royal and I turned 29 and Joshua turned 3. This year we decided to have a big party for Joshua. We went to Monkey Bizness and invited all of his friends. A good time was had by all to say the very least.


Kicking the balls all over the place.




Joshua and his friends Michael and Callie




Joshua and Michael in the obstacle course.

Are you ready for some football???

About two weeks ago mt friend Sarah and I took our boys to their first football game. Joshua and Michael are best friends, so we figured they would have a great time together. We went to the Jersey Village homecoming game.




First arrival. They ran to the railing and just stared.

Pumpkin Patch

I have been begging Royal to take us to the pumpkin patch. This was the first year that my begging actually turned into doing. The boys had lunch and we headed to The Old Time Christmas Tree Farm. We are lucky that this place it right down the street from our house, maybe five minutes. We took some pictures and picked out a giant pumpkin. A good time was had by all.



Me and the boys.




Yep, it's a great place to rest.





Daddy and his boys.





Taking a bite.











"I like this one."





"No dad, I am going to do it."










Never mind. He would rather ride.

Houston we have a walker!

Gabriel is 12.5 months old and WALKING! He started right around his birthday, but I had trick him into doing it on his own. A week and a half ago he started walking (short distances) on his own without me tricking him. The little stinker finally cooperated and let me get it on tape. So here he is. (Sorry it is tiny, the big stinker got a hold of the camera and messes with the settings).

365 days later

September 11, 2001 was a national tragedy. Last year it became a wonderful day for us. Our second son Gabriel was born at 4:05 pm. Oh yeah, then hurricane Ike hit.

Gabriel's birth story:

Gabriel was born on a Thursday but his story starts on Tuesday September 9th. All the weather people had been talking about was Ike and that he was headed toward Houston. I headed to my weekly check up 39 weeks pregnant with the thoughts of Ike coming toward up. My doctor checked me out and I had progressed from 1 to 2 cm and was 90% effaced. I was happy to hear that there was some progress. Then my doctor starts discussing his plan of action. He tells me he would like to get me in tomorrow (Wednesday Sept 10) and asks the receptionist to call the hospital to see if they have an opening. They don't...go figure! I guess all of the other doctors had the same idea. "Get the babies out!" First choice wasn't an option, what's the other option? Dr. M says he wants me to come back first thing Thursday morning and they will check for more progress. If there is more then they will send me over to the hospital and tell them I am in "labor."

The rest of Tuesday passes with nothing and the same on Wednesday. Thursday morning rolls around. I get up and get Joshua ready to go over to my parent's house and get myself ready to see the doctor. Royal got dressed for work. He figured there would be no change and I was going to be sent home to ride out the storm pregnant.

We were the first appointment of the day and go figure Dr. M was running behind. They called me back, weighed me, took my BP and had me pee in a cup. Dr. M came in and checked me. Low and behold we had progress. I was now 4cm and 90%. While he was down there Dr. M stripped my membranes and said with a walk to the hospital I should start having contractions. Woohoo I was having a baby. They called the hospital to let them know I was on my way.

We walked over to the hospital (still no contractions) and into L&D. They took me to get changed and then we went to my room. This was around 10am. They got all of my IVs in and got me strapped to the monitors and we were set to go. All of this was about 30-40 minutes of paper signing and poking and prodding. After I was settled Royal left to go home and change clothes and get lunch. No biggie I wasn't going anywhere. I watched the Ike coverage all day. The nurse came in every once in while to turn up the pitocin (sp). I could feel the contractions getting stronger but nothing too bad. At 1:15 pm Dr. M came in and checked me. I was now 5cm and 90%. There was progress but not much. He let me know that after lunch he was going to break my water and if I wanted to get the epidural I should get it now. I was having back labor again and opted for the epidural.

The nice epidural lady came in and started getting everything ready. She was in a bit of a hurry because they had an emergency c-section coming. Well, in her haste she messed up and instead of pressure I was getting stabbing pain in my spine. She took it out and did it again. Ahh, much better. Dr. M came back around 2pm and broke my water. Things really started progressing quickly after that.

TMI following

About an hour later I started really having the urge to pee. I tried to ignore it but it started getting worse the longer I sat there. At 3:30 I decided to call the nurse. When she got to my room I told her I thought something might be wrong because I really needed to pee. She said everything was working right. She decided to check me-sure enough I was 10cm and ready to go. They called the anesthesiologist back in and she gave me a second epidural. The first one was wearing off. Then the nurse called Dr. M to let them know it was time. He got to the room at 3:50. I started pushing and Gabriel Joseph was born at 4:05pm.

September 11, 2008



September 5, 2009 at his first birthday party.

Ready to Run

In the last almost three years a lot has changed about me. I had a baby, left my job, and had another baby. In between all of that I started something just for me. I started working out. My dad told me about this group called StrollerFit. For those of you who know me I am not a joiner. I sit back and watch but it takes a lot to get me involved. So much so that my dad told me about it in December and I didn't go until the end of March. I had to talk myself into it.

I joined this group and loved it. It was hard in the beginning and I HURT most days. After a while I started seeing changes. I firmed up and lost weight. I eventually dropped down to a smaller size than when I was in HS. Then a few months after I finally got to where I wanted to be I found out I was pregnant again. I was excited, but not looking forward to losing all the weight again. The good news was I was starting out smaller.

Well Gabriel is now 10.5 months old and I am still working on the last 10lbs, but I am nursing so I am not stressing about it. All of this to say I am proud of what I have done and am now setting forth with a new challenge.

A few months ago my brother approached me about running the Half Marathon with him. I thought and thought about it. I told Royal (the hubby) who quickly laughed it off as a hair brained idea. It stuck in the back of my mind for a month or so. Then the day to sign up came and I figured what's the worst that could happen and went for it.

On January 17, 2010 I will attempt my first half marathon.

Sleeping in the Nude

Joshua likes to sleep in nothing but his birthday suit.

It started when we started potty training. He started sleeping in an over night pull up. Pull ups open on the side to make it easy to get them off in case of an emergency. Joshua starting taking them off after we put him to bed. Every night I would go back in and redress him before I went to bed because I didn't want him to have an accident during the night. After a few weeks I noticed that he was waking up dry, but he was still taking the pull up off. I figured I should just let him sleep in his big boy underwear since he didn't seem to like to pull up. I also thought maybe he would leave these on. Well the first night I went to check on him and his naked bottom was sticking in the air. Not only that he took off his shirt too. Most nights when I go to check on him he is not fully nude and has happy as a clam.

Starting Over

It was my hope to have lost the last 10 lbs months ago but I have not. Then I told myself it was staying because I am still nursing. Well I think it really has a lot more to do with me not sticking to Weight Watchers as closely as I should. Starting now I am going to be very strict because I want my body back. In other news Gabriel is almost 10 months old and my plan is to start weening him at 11.5 months. I would like to have him completely weened right around the time he turns one. I can't believe that we will be celebrating another first birthday in just two months. We are planning on having a pool party.

Back among the living

We were all sick two weeks ago. Three of us had pretty decent fevers. We are all doing better and the little one has a new tooth to show for it.

We also had hosting duty for just about everything.

June 22 we had a strollerfit play date.
June 28 a baby shower for Brooke
June 29 Bunko

I don't think we will be inviting any more people over for a while.

Tiny Boy

Today I took Gabriel to the doctor for his nine month check up. He is perfectly healthy and hitting all of his milestones.

Weight: 17lbs 10oz (10%-up from 5% at his six month check up)
Height: 27in (10% down from 55%) (but I think at least 27.5 because he was worming and all scrunched up)
Head: somewhere between 50-75%.

We have been given the all clear to start table food just avoiding eggs, honey, fish, shellfish, and peanut butter until later. Shhh we already started last week with chicken. Last night he had chicken and green beans and loved it.