Kristin's 32nd Birthday

Time goes by too fast!  Another birthday for me and this year was number 32!  I celebrated with a quiet weekend with family.  On Saturday, we had my parents and my in-laws over for dinner.  Nate made a yummy dinner of tri-tip, twice baked potatoes, asparagus, and salad.  He also made a gluten free chocolate cake with lavender colored cream cheese frosting!  All of my favorite things!  After dinner I opened presents and I was thrilled to see that Nate gave me a Cricut!  I can't wait to make lots of paper crafts!  I have so many ideas of things I want to make with it for Caitlyn's birthday party.  I also got a DSW gift card from my in-laws and a Nordstrom gift card from my parents.  I am a blessed girl to have such an amazing family and I loved celebrating my birthday with them!

On Sunday we went to church in the morning and then came home to have lunch and take naps!  We watched some Grey's Anatomy and just had some play time at home with Caitlyn.  For dinner we went to my favorite restaurant, PF Changs!

This birthday, was the first time that I realized that this is not just a special day for me but it's a special day for my parents too.  Being a mom made me realize this because I'm so excited to celebrate all of Caitlyn's birthday's because it's the day I became a mom.  Now I know the excitement that my parents must feel on my birthday too!  But really, I think February 5th was the best day for my Grandpa!  He finally had a granddaughter!

Little Miss Independent

My little newborn is becoming a girl with a mind of her own!  Not too long ago she was completely dependent on me but now she can do a  couple things for herself.  She has discovered that when she decides she's done sitting in her bumbo seat, she can get herself out all on her own!  She can even pull the tray off and play with it before she decides to flop out of the seat.   Putting her in the bumbo is no longer a safe place while I run into another room for 30 seconds.

She is so proud of herself!  She pulled the tray off, put it upside down and used it as a toy!

I sat her in her seat, with toys around her, and ran into the closet for less than a minute.  I came out to find her out of her bumbo and playing peak-a-boo with the curtains.  

She is also becoming a little  more independent because she is starting to eat a few finger foods.  She is still eating mostly pureed foods but I do give her about 1 thing a day that she can pick up on her own.  So far, she has picked up chicken pieces, gerber puffs, avocado (hated it!), rice noodles and cooked carrots. She is becoming an expert at using her pincer grasp!

Eating Gerber Puffs and picking them up on her own.  No need for Momma or Dada!  We just watch to make sure she is safe.  But, recently we learned that we need to switch to just plain cheerios.  Our pediatrician told us that the gerber puffs are just filled with "crap" and cheerios would be much better for our little Caitlyn.

Nate's 32nd Birthday

After our crazy, busy Christmas it was nice to have a quiet birthday for Nate and a quiet new years celebration.  I made Nate cinnamon french toast for breakfast and then we went to church.  In the afternoon we spent a little time with Jack and Kat.  Then, for dinner, we had the Boone's and the Zimmerman's over. I made a lasagna, gluten free ofcourse, and salad for dinner.  It was fun to get together with friends for the evening and to have a friend over for Caitlyn to play with.  Although, I think they mostly just looked at each other, and made noises.  Nate got some fun presents for his birthday.  His dad and Kat gave him his hunting and fishing license for the year.  So, the next weekend, they were out duck hunting and having some good father/son time.  I gave him a nail gun set, something he's been wanting since he borrows Chris' a lot.  My parents gave him a Sony media player since we decided to cancel our cable to save a little money.  He has been having fun with his new "toys".  He also got many cards in the mail and phone calls. He is definitely a very loved dad, husband, son, son-in-law, brother, brother-in-law, and friend.

The only sad part is that I forgot to take pictures.  :(  I was just too busy making his day special!

Christmas 2011

I originally had this great idea to start a blog to journal about Caitlyn.  When I began to blog, I thought of all the things that happened previous to her birth so I just had to blog about those events.  Well, I'm sure you can tell, I kept getting farther and farther behind on special events.  So today, I decided to just start blogging again about currents events.  Basically, we are skipping ahead to Caitlyn as a 7 month old because otherwise, I would never be caught up.

Christmas was quit the adventure for us this year and I'm actually glad that Caitlyn had no idea it was even Christmas!
December 22nd: Caitlyn starts vomiting.  By about 7:00p.m. we realize this is probably the flu and we better call the doctor to see what to do.  We ended up in the ER at Sacred Heart and went home later that night.  To top it all off, I also got sick.  Nate was a great dad and husband and took care of both of his girls.
December 23rd: Caitlyn and I were still sick but feeling a little better.  Caitlyn was on Pedialyte all day.  We went to Jack and Kat's for our "Oeming Christmas".  Nichole & Paul were in town and Erin & Steve came over also.  We had a great time opening presents, eating ham and just being with each other.
December 24th:  Christmas Eve All the Martens' came in the afternoon.  My mom made a great potato leek chowder for dinner and we also had crab and bread.  I was so thankful for family to help prepare for Christmas!  That evening we went to the Christmas Eve service at church.  Unfortunately, Caitlyn was still not acting up to par so she stayed home with Grandma.  Thank you, Mom!  I was sad that she had to stay at home and couldn't wear the dress to church that I picked out for her months ago.  But, at least she had no idea it was even Christmas.  Nate and I piled into the car with my dad, brother, and sister-in-law and went to church to remember why we even celebrate Christmas in the first place!  Jesus' Birthday!
December 25th: Christmas Day  We woke up and had a great breakfast cooked by Nate.  We had eggs, bacon, and yuumy breads that my mom made.  We opened a few presents and did our Martens' gift exchange.  Jeff and Sabrina then had to leave to head back to Hillsboro.  That afternoon, Susette and Dean came over and then Jack and Kat also came over.  It was great to have everyone here to celebrate Christmas and be with their little Caitlyn on her first Christmas.  We had ham that night and of course we all opened more presents.  Nate and I have talked a lot about making sure we teach Caitlyn the true meaning of Christmas.  We want her to know that Christmas isn't just about Santa and presents.  It is important to us that she knows that we celebrate Christmas because it is Jesus' birthday.  One way to teach this is to have cupcakes for Jesus' birthday, so Christmas night we ate cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.

We loved everything about our Christmas this year, minus the sickness!  It was great to just stay at home with our daughter and not drive up and down I-5 visiting family.  We are thankful for all of our family and friends that spent time with us.  We are also thankful for the love and support that we are given with Caitlyn.  We are hoping that next Christmas can be a little more "low key" but we will see what happens.

On the hayride to find the perfect tree!

The Oeming Faaaamily Christmas Tree!

Caitlyn is hanging up her first ornament.

Caitlyn's first ornament - "Baby's First Christmas"

Family photo for our Christmas cards.

We tried to get a picture of Caitlyn holding the "Happy Holiday's" sign but it just didn't work out.  It was better as a toy or teether to her!

Our 7 month old baby girl!

Kisses from Teddy at The Campbell House

Welcome, Caitlyn Grace Oeming

My due date was Monday, May 2, 2011 and I went into labor on Tuesday, May 3 at about 2:00p.m.  We arrived to the hospital at about 3:00 and was checked in and settled into a room by about 5:00.  We called our family once I was admitted to tell them that Baby Oeming would be arriving soon.  It was a VERY long evening, night, and morning!  Thankfully, Nate was an amazing support to me through everything.  My mom and dad arrived Wednesday morning and I was still in labor so it was great to get a hug and encouragement from my momma.  At 12:01p.m. on Wednesday, May 4, 2011 Caitlyn Grace was finally welcomed into the world.  She was 7lb 2oz. and 20.5 inches long.  Yep, I was in labor for 22 hours!  I couldn't have done it without my husband and my friend epidural!  But, it was all worth it.  Below are some pictures of our adventures at Sacred Heart.

Nate, holding his daughter for the first time.

Our first family of 3 photo.

She woke up for a few minutes to say hi!

Grandma admiring her first granddaughter.  

All I could eat or drink for about 24 hours was ice chips.  Ugh!  

Nate loved watching the contractions on the monitor.  

You're never too old for hugs from your mom.  At this point, I needed it!  

My best friend that day, Mr. Epidural.  

The NICU team  was right there to suck out all the fluid so she could breath on her own.  

We really didn't think she would be that big.  

Sleeping Beauty  in her "tub".

Showered With Love - Part 2

On April 14, 2010 (3 weeks before arrival) I had a shower at work.  The ladies at Moffitt did a great job and really made me feel special.   My favorite part of the shower was the butterfly tea set that was on top of the cake!  It was perfect for Caitlyn's "Butterfly Tea Party" nursery.   We had snacks, cake, cheesecake, played games, and opened presents.  One of the games was to guess what we were going to name Baby Girl Oeming and one teacher actually guessed Caitlyn but spelled differently.  I was so surprised but of course I kept it quiet!  I also received many beautiful handmade quilts from a few of the teachers! Here are a few photos from the shower.

Maggie Chestnut (First Grade Teacher) 

Donna (Cook)

DeLois (Kindergarten Assistant)

Butterfly Tea Set

My mom gave me all the sweaters that my Grandma Martens had knit for me when I was a baby!  

Showered with Love

Sunday, March 19, 2011 was the day I had my first baby shower!  My best friend, Natasha, hosted a Tea Party Brunch themed shower.   It was held at her in-law's house in Oregon City.  I had a great group of women at my shower; friends from college, new friends, family friends, and family.  My grandma was even able to attend the shower through google video chat!  It was very special to be able to have her "there".  My dad and brother set up their computer next to my grandma's bed and she watched the entire time, smiling.

Natasha made some great food!  We had quiche, some crustless ofcourse! We also had fruit, and a potato casserole.  For dessert we had mini cheesecakes.  To drink we had tea and coffee.

Kelly put together some fun games of tasting baby food.  I'm surprised babies like that stuff since it looks so gross!  My friends and family also wrote notes to Caitlyn that were put into a book.   And for most of the time I opened presents and more presents!  Wow, I was so blessed with so many wonderful things for Caitlyn.  I even got gifts from people that weren't able to attend the shower.

Food Table

Coffee and Tea

Grandma Gayle and Aunt Sabrina

Gift Table and "Cousin" Sierra 

Grandma Susette and Aunt Nichole

Momma To Be and Grandma Gayle

Great Grandma Gretchen (We all love you and miss you but we know you're looking down on us from heaven!)

Natasha made me an amazing diaper bag!  

My Alpha Phi Friends - Amy, Becca, and Kelly

Friends - Jenni and Aubrey 

Natasha - The hostess and one of my best friends since junior high!

Natasha, Momma To Be, and Kelly

Thanks to all of my friends and family for making me feel so loved!  I had an amazing afternoon!