Pretty Darn Pathetic looking

So the last couple of days have been a bit rough for the Ohio based Knodels. It all started wed night / thurs morning when Kaiya throw up (like OMG WOW that was a lot of throw up throw up) twice in about a half hour. We took her to the pediatrician (for the rest of the post ped for short) and he felt that it was a stomach bug and said she should start to get over it in a couple of days. No worries. SO by Saturday our little K-Bear had added a very nasty cough and a slight fever 100ish to the mix. SO we called the ped again and explained what was up with her and they said to bring her in for a looksee. SO we did. The Ped said this time ok sounds like shes congested and has a cold. Again no worries she should start to get better in a day or so BUT if she runs a fever over 101 give us a call b/c she will need to come in again. SO we leave again and are like ok doke. Sunday comes and goes and she doesnt really seem like she is improving all that much and her coughing is getting much worse. SO after we get a temp of 101.6 we give the ped a call again and take her back on monday. The Ped says to take her to the Childrens ER to have them run some bloodwork and do a chest xray. SO lisa takes Kaiya to the ER and I meet them there shortly thereafter. The docs there do this vacu sinus suck thing on her and extract quite of bit of the "boogies" as they called it and tested it for RSV and flu. No to flu but yes to RSV with bronchitis. But again we get the No worries we will get you your own vacu suck machine and she will be fine in a jiffy but you have to see you ped tommorow for a follow up b/c she should show some improvement. Ok I gotta tell you I aint a doctor but after 3 visits to the ped and 1 ER visit I was getting tired of the no worries - shes gonna start to seem better in a day or so routine. SO here she is in the ER.



So on Tuesday we hit the ped's office and at this point we were really starting to get concerned about dehydration. We werent getting wet diaps from her anymore and she was having other issues as well as being real lethargic and just not herself. Plus she was eating about a 1/3 of what was normal with about 2/3rds the frequency. SO thats just not good at all. The ped started to say that she was on the real borderline cutoff of the seriousness of RSV. 3 months is the typical cut off of concern and she is just a few days shy. I expressed my concern and how I felt like at the current sitch was going to land us in the ER for dehydration in a couple of days and the ped was like "more like a day, I want her admitted right now" SO he called ahead and here we are on day two in the hospital. Below you can see Kaiya with her little arm board for her IV. She is getting lots of fluids now but shes still not eating as well as she should. Shes still running a fever over 101 but its less frequent and she is still really lethargic. And guess what "no worries she should start perking up in a day or so."


Cheers!

Pray for my friend

Please pray for my friend, Hannah. She is just two years old and was recently diagnosed with leukemia. She has on older sister and brother and a new baby coming this summer. Please pray for her healing and for her entire family.

I Shake My Little Tush on the Catwalk

At 10 weeks, Kaiya is ready for Vogue. Look at how stylin' she is! She's sporting the latest in Tarjay khakis, an Old Navy bodysuit and a sweater that Isaac Mizrahi wishes he designed. She's even practicing her runway walk.

Although she is a little chunkier than most models, she still wears a smaller size! It's the hours of exercise she does every day: the equivalent of 50 push ups during tummy time, all those crunches and bicycle kicks (you should really check our her six pack), leg and arm lifts... Plus, she's on an all liquid diet. (Take that South Beach!)

Can't Put My Arms Down

Last Sunday was absolutely frigid - high of only 10 degrees with a windchill of -25. Needless to say, we wanted to bundle Kaiya up for church. It was like a scene from A Christmas Story. Poor thing couldn't put her arms down!

All Smiles

After looking through Kaiya's posts, we realized we didn't have any photos of her smiling! Quite a shame, because her smile is so precious. Every time she was smiling and talking to us, we were enjoying the moment so much we never grabbed a camera. So, we decided it was time to share with you what we've been enjoying for weeks!

BTW, this outfit is from Gran Knodel. It has adorable little bear ears - now that's worth smiling about.

now with video!

ok not the most exciting clip but this is mostly just a test. But it doesnt really matter b/c Kaiya is so freaking cute even a boring clip is a treat. Enjoy!



cheers!

p.s. you tube compressed this video clip and doubled the speed. No Kaiya is not rocking that fast!

Time for a change!

Ok so since I originally set up Kaiya's blog I did it if you remember before we even knew that she was going to be...well a she. SO when I did it I tried to pick something neutral that would work for either a boy or a girl. But now that Kaiya is here and she is very much a girlie girl Lisa and I decided it was time for to change the look and feel of this blog to better represent Kaiya and her personality. SO what do you think? I hope everyone likes the new look and I hope that Kaiya likes it too. Oh and if you have noticed an increase in the amount of updates on this blog as well as a dramatic improvement in the writting and content you can thank Lisa for that. I gave her a quick tutorial about a week ago on how to upload pics and text to this site and she's been a blogging fool ever since! SO thanks honey I know Kaiya will appreciate all your work when shes gets older!

cheers!

Game On

After two months, Daddy and Kaiya have finally perfected the best gaming posture. He can just strap her on and play - great for snuggling, too! Kaiya fell asleep, Daddy enjoyed the tummy-to-tummy time, and we all played Lego Star Wars! She'll be a gamer yet.

A Sad, Sad Day

Well, Monday was a big day for Kaiya. Not only did it mark her two month birthday, but it also was her first round of vaccinations :-(

Here is Kaiya right after they measured and weighed her (and before she knew what was coming): 10 lbs. 2.2 oz. and 22 3/4". That means she gained a little less than 3 pounds and grew a little more than 3 inches in just 2 months!

Kaiya was so pathetic. She was great at taking the oral vaccination, but she screamed when they gave her three shots (Mommy cried, too!). She was a bit fussy and didn't really want to eat for a couple days. Here she is with her badges of courage (nope, not red, just Snoopy and sparkles).

But it wasn't all bad. She got a new toy. She loves to swing, and we were getting tired of buying tons of D batteries. So, she's got a cooler swing that plugs in!

Two more months until we have to do it all again (sans swing).

First time out of state

Kaiya, at 8 weeks of age, is already a well traveled little baby. This past weekend we met up with friends from college and had a great time in Nashville. We visited this really cool resort called Gaylord Opryland. It's like a little city, complete with hotel rooms, restaurants, shops, a "river boat" ride, gardens and spa. Go check it out: http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylordopryland/


This waterfall is inside the resort. We spent Saturday walking around and catching up. It was a lot of fun, and Kaiya was perfect! The photo is pretty blurry, but from left: Kaiya (in stroller), Lisa, Kerry, Jenny (in stroller), and Chris W.

The weekend was also a host of firsts for our wee little girl.

Top 10 firsts on her trip to Nashville
1. Visit to McDonalds: no Happy Meals for Kaiya!
2. Trip out of state: she visited two, Tennessee and Kentucky.
3. Night in a hotel: she even got her own bed.
4. Road trip: Kaiya was such a trooper. She didn't fuss and didn't mind the time in her car seat. In fact, we only had to stop once on the way down and twice on the way back.
5. Meeting Aunt Kerry, Uncle Chris and Cousin Jenny (Cousin Lisa is on the way!): just wait until she realizes they aren't really related.
6. Irish pub: you should have seen her dancing on the tables!
7. Sleep in her travel bed: slept just as well as if it were her bassinet.
8. Worship in a mega-church: they are in the middle of a sanctuary construction program, and we had to sit in the overflow room, which was big enough for our whole congregation!
9. Diaper change on the sink of the men's bathroom: Daddy was tending to Kaiya, and there were no changing tables!!!
10. Souvenir t-shirt: unfortunately, the smallest size was 12 months (see below).


She traveled so well, I think we will have to do it again soon!

State count: 3
Country count: 1

Our Little Model

Isn't Kaiya cute snuggling with her daddy's teddy bear Mr. Beeps? Well, even though we are a little biased, she looks cute in every picture! We finally got Kaiya's first portraits, and she is so photogenic. Here is our little angel at about 5 weeks. Enjoy...

Notice the bear? Kaiya has her own Baby Beeps! Like father, like daughter :-)

Update Photos

These are photos we've been meaning to post. They are in order from newest to oldest.

Sorry OSU

It's Good To Be the Santa



Finally... A Real Bath (and she liked it, too)

Nuzzlin' Noses

Tummy Time

Should I be a reporter?

Kaiya is getting big and has a lot of tough decisions to make. Isn't it time she got a job? Mommy and Kaiya went out for her first career exploration visit. Here's Kaiya trying out being a reporter.

Power of the Press

My first interview

If I look clueless, she'll tell me more

Too much information!

7 week picture

First swim EVER!!! Ok this afternoon we took our little Kaiya bear to the YMCA for her first ever swim in the pool! It was sooo much fun and she is a total water baby. She was great and didnt cry at all and we stayed in the water for close to a half hour. SO it was pretty cool. Enjoy the pics!

All wrapped up and snug in her froggy towel!

Cheers!

So If I said I have been busy would you believe me?

Well tough because thats the truth and the biggest reason why I have not made a new post for Kaiya. Also I did try to make a new post about a week ago but blogger was down (again) and would not even let me sign on so today I finally switched to their new version which promises increased reliability so hopefully that will work in my favor. Ok well since all you crazy cats don't care to hear me type that much I will give you what you want. KAIYA PICS!!!!

Ok here we are (Lisa and me) at Kaiya's baptism. How cool was this! It was pretty amazing and also pretty humbling that we are in charge of the spiritual development of our little girl and that shes going to look to us to learn about God and salvation and all that other great stuff. Its a pretty big responsibility but I think we are up to the task.

And here Kaiya is getting sprinkled with the water. If you know me and my family than you are already picking up on something. If you don't then let me clue you in on something that was super duper uber cool. The crazy cat holding Kaiya and administering the baptism is none other than my dad. That just made everything so special and so cool all at the same time and I know it was really a special treat for my dad as well. Among all the other reasons that are cool about having a dad who is a pastor I will add that its pretty cool to be able to have your dad marry you and baptize your first child


Side note:
I also think that I am going to maybe try to take a picture of her in regular intervals but im not sure what is a good interval so I know people are out there and I have anonymous comments on. SO what do you think. A weekly pic? every other week? Monthly? The point will really be a way to look back and see how she's grown. SO let the masses come from out of the wood work and let me know what you think!

Cheers!

Kaiya's first bath!!! - with pics!.......well sort of.

Ok up until now we had just given Kaiya sponge baths in the sink and that type of thing but last saturday we decided it was time for out little girl to have her first real bath. SO we stripped her down. cleaned her up from her diaper and wrapped her up in a towel to keep her warm ( as seen above) SO while lisa was doing that I was charged with the task of setting up her little baby tub and filling it with nice baby friendly luke warm water - I love those little hot duckies!!!!! Ne way so I got the tub ready and Lisa brought her in. We were pretty excited to have bath time with her and hoped that it would be a fun time for her. Lisa gave me a quick warning before I set Kaiya in her little hammock - " if she doesnt like it pull her out" I was like ok ok whats not to like. Can you tell im foreshadowing??? ^_^

SOOOO I place my little girl in the tub and lay her down. She sits there for about hmmm a nanosecond - looks at me and just starts screaming at me! Which triggers lisa to start screaming at me "pick her up - pick her up!!!!!" SO I reach down and scoop her up and I realize she hasnt even gotten wet yet! And then it happens. She got me good. She just let loose and started peeing all over me and her tub but that was not it, oh no. Then she started pooping on her tub as well. Now if I can make an aside through my life I have heard different quandries about items meant to clean and if they can be dirty. Like can a bar of soap be dirty??? can dust exist in a vacuum cleaner??? Well I can safely tell you all that a baby tub can be disgustingly dirty.

SO to get back to the fun im now standing there my arms are covered in baby pee and lisa is just laughing at me. I of course cant move b/c my little bundle of perfect is covered in her own waste and the only thing I have to clean her with - her tub - she has rendered unusable. SO I finally get lisa calm and she helps me get kaiya cleaned up and we give her yet another sponge bath. Then I put a fresh diapy on her and some fresh clothes. Then and only then did I get to return to the scene of the crime and clean her tub. Now it would be all fine and dandy if the story ended there but it doesnt oh no. As Lisa and I laid down to go to sleep she just looks at me and as if trying to comfort me says

"you know if your going to get peed on you want it to be by a baby"

This really got me laughing b/c I know this little anecdote was meant to comfort me but ladies and gents I got to tell you. I dont want to be peed on and even if baby pee is the least toxic of all pee in the world I still dont wish to be showered by it! SO her comment missed the mark but I did get a good chuckle out of it!

Tune in for more adventures of Kaiya the super baby as she finds new and strange ways to torment and break her daddy!

FYI - on a serious note my little girl is becoming a little medicine cabinet. currently she is getting:
Px eye gel for clogged tear ducts
Px anti-bacterial mouth stuff for thrush.
anti-gas drops for gas (duh)
decitin butt cream for diaper rash

Well thats all for now
Cheers!

1st visit to the pediatrician. She made it a whole week!

Ok so last night we started to notice quite a bit of yellowish discharge around K-bears right eye. We did some googling and it seemed that it was probably a clogged tear duct which sounds a lot worse than it is. However being new parents and hyper sensitive to anything that might be wrong with k-bear we called the pediatrician and they gave us an appointment. We went in and we were right but we did get some antibiotic eye goop for her to make sure that no infection could set in. So this might not sound like that much fun but we were able to substitute this visit for our two week visit and they did all her measurements. SOOOO after 1 week of being alive Kaiya has grown 1/2 an inch so shes now 20" and went from 7lbs 4 oz to 7 lbs 11.8 oz!!! The doctor was very very pleased with her weight gain and growth and said "See you guys in two months!" Sigh kids grow so fast!

Cheers!

Ok now its my turn!

Ok so Lisa gave her side and that was all nice and well but now its my turn to give you all the Dad's eye view. Thats right my perspective but first let me warn you that not only will it be filled with sarcasm and humor but also poor grammer and little to no punctuation. SO yeah its going to be a bit different from my wife who is a perfect writer.

Tuesday Nov 28th:
I originally had a super big gut feeling that Kaiya was going to come two weekends before but no dice. She had still not given us any indication that she might even be coming. SO going to bed on tuesday night Lisa had me officially convinced that Kaiya would not be coming until at least the following week. As I laid down to go to sleep I can remember thinking "man I should probably pack the car in case Lisa goes into labor. I think I should do that tommorow" Well little did I know I would be doing it the next day.

Wed. Nov 29th:
At about 3:15 am lisa wakes me up. She tells me that I might not be going into work today and that we might want to start timing her contractions. Ok at this point im thinking. DUDE its quarter past 3 in the morning. First babies take forever. All the books say so. Also all the books say that if you wife says what mine just said to tell her that it was going to be awhile and to go back to sleep. Shes going to need her strength after all. SO I tell lisa that we should probably just try to get some sleep and she says shes going to run to the restroom but will be back and come to bed then. Im like "cool"

15 min later
She comes back and wakes me up again. Tells me we REALLY need to start timing. SO im like ok ok I can do this. SO I get my little timer and Im totally expecting mild contractions like 20-30 sec in duration that are like hmm I dunno 7-14 min apart. Something like that. Early labor. Its in all the books. SO Shes all "ok im having one" so I click start.....stop. Ok that was like a minute long not bad.....start......stop ok another one that is a min long but wait a sec. that was only like 3.5 min apart. Im thinking that cant be right...Gotta be a fluke or I screwed it up well no biggy I will get the next one right.....start.....stop hmm that was like 3 min. Ok im like dude this cant be right. All the books talk about the hours of early labor and how the whole thing takes FOREVER for a first birth. This totally cant be happening. Not yet at least. SO im sum up the next hour. CRAP! not only did the contractions get closer together but now they are like 1.5 - 2 min in length. SO its 4:30 and I call the hospital. They say they will call back. SO at this point the contractions have totally changed from what they were just an hour before. No longer are they these cute little things that lisa has to take a deep soothing breath to get through -- nuh unh. Now these are the OMG kick me in the goat butt and make me sit down contractions. Ive now realized something a bit startling.

1.) Lisa really needs me to be with her to help her get through each contraction.
2.) The car is not packed
3.) The doctor still has not called
4.) I dont have any time between contractions to either A. pack the car or B. Make another call.

SO I make a decision and tell lisa that Im going to start packing the car between contractions. Lets just say that didnt go to well. IT went something like this. Run upstairs and grab a bag. Run back down stairs - drop bag at door and run to lisa to get through the next contraction. Once over run to front door - grab bag and run to car - run back in side and get back to Lisa to start it all over again. SO i sum up the next 30 min -- dr never called and I called the hospital and told them we were coming and I was just calling to give them notice. SO we get in the car and lisa is not saying anything. Ok now this is one of those rare moments in a man's life. How often do you actually have the excuse of "my wife is in labor officer thats why im speeding!" and plus if I did get pulled over 5 sec of looking at lisa and I would have gotten a police escort! SO needless to say we had a "spirited" drive to the hospital ^_^

Chapter 2 - The birth

Ok I will not get real graphic but things progressed very very quickly. Again shock is really not even the word. Lisa and I had been to family begginings a bunch of times before. Almost everytime we came a new couple came waltzing through the door on the way to delivery their new bundle of joy. It was the same thing each time. Man and Woman nonchalantly walking in. Their was nothing nonchalant about me wheeling lisa into the room. Their was heavy breathing, Their was confusion but most of all their was panic (well I was panicking) She later told me she was trying not to push since before we got in the car!!!! SO the birth team slowly started arriving and the tub started to get filled. Then the question came. "Chris are you getting in the tub?" Well if Lisa still wants me to do that then yes. Well she did and I got in. Ok nothing like what I expected. I have seen the birthing videos which are yes pretty gross and I have even thought about this a few times before it happened but it was not what I thought it would be like. The delivery was very intense and I spent most of my time applying counter pressure to lisa's back. Ok like I had my hand in a fist with my elbow jammed against my chest and leaning all my weight into Lisa's back. And the funny thing is she still kept asking me to push harder. Im like looking at my hand and how its dissapearing into lisa's body and im like DUDE if I push any harder my fist is going to enter your back and I dont think thats going to feel all that hot. SO what was cool about it??? Well the water makes a pregnant woman very very bouyant and lisa was just really having to focus on the contractions and the pushing and was having a lot of trouble moving into other positions. SO thats where I came in. I discovered it was really easy to move her however the mid wife or the doula asked her to be. SO they would ask. She would say she couldnt move and I would just get her there. IT was almost fun! SO ok staying on track about an hour later BING BANG BOOM Kaiya popped out and went straight to Lisa's chest. OMG I was like almost balling. IT was sooo amazing it was like WOW im a dad I have a daughter -- This is the coolest thing ever. Then the mid wife said "ok dad time to cut the cord" I had totally forgotten about this part and I have to say that when she handed me the scissors my first thoguht was CRAP SCISSORS! I hate scissors and I even hate them more when I am handed them to my right hand, which they were. But I managed to cut the cord just fine and i started thinking about how the cord cutting is almost like some kind of opening ceremony for a building but instead of a library this was the opening ceremony to the next stage of my life. He He He. Ok so that was all over and in a nice twist for me was that I got to hold kaiya while they were helping to get lisa all back together. SO for like the first half hour of kaiya's life I got to hold her and snuggle her and just have some nice daddy daughter time. SO thats my take on the whole thing. IT was amazing, scary, gross, and perfect all at the same time and it was absolutely worth it. SO I hope you enjoyed my side of things and I realize I wrote a book so this might knock some of the other posts off the front page. SO if you have not seen all her cute pictures or read lisa's story then check the previous posts!

Cheers!

I'm a cutie!

Here are some photos of our precious little girl. Enjoy!






Here is her hospital photo.

Say hello to Kaiya!

Ok this post is more or less a teaser till I have more time to upload a ton of photos. Also Lisa is going to make her first ever blog entry on Kaiya's site and write her birth story. But until then I will leave you with this.....

UPDATE------------SEE LISA'S POST BELOW------------------------------