Monday, December 28, 2009

Merry Christmas















We have been enjoying these last few weeks spending time with our families for the holidays! Here are a few family pictures we took before Christmas! Hope you all enjoyed a Merry Christmas and are as excited for the new year as I am!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Adria Grace

It has been two weeks since Adria was born and I think I can maybe write this now without crying! When I was home 2 weekends ago Melissa was pretty sure that she was going to be in labor sometime in the next 24 hours. Contractions were closer together and more painful - you know the drill. We got a call from my brother about midnight Sunday morning that they were in the hospital and we could come whenever we wanted. Mom and I got back out of bed (1 hour of sleep) got around and headed over. Melissa had already had the epidural and my brother was surprisingly happy to tell us that he had definitely passed out when they gave it to her. He has always been TERRIFIED of needles/shots and this is not the first time he has passed out because of one. We were all pretty entertained. Around 5:30 or 6 they decided it was time to move things along and started her on Pitocin. That sped things up and by 7:30ish the doctor was there and they had her start pushing. We were all sent to the family waiting room until we had a baby girl or a baby boy Jump. The anticipation was absolutely dreadful. We had been sitting in there for over a hour with no word about what was going on. Katie tried to ask at the nurses station but she got yelled at and when I went and asked Dr. Sanders they said everything was fine and they were just monitoring Melissa and the babies heart rate. As it turned out every time Melissa would try to push the baby's heart rate would sky rocket into the 170-180s range - which is not healthy. So they stopped the Pitocin and just had Melissa relax which made baby Jump relax so they decided to try again. But the same thing happened so Dr. Sanders decided to move forward with a C-section. This is where my day really began... We had known that the baby's heart rate was getting pretty high when she pushed but weren't overly concerned. My brother came in looking pretty somber and sat down to tell us that baby J's heart rate was getting too high when they push and so the doctor had decided to do a c-section. Kyle lost his composure at this point as he told us that he would not be able to go into the OR with her because of the hard time he has with needles - this was completely his choice and I think it was one of the hardest decisions he's had to make. Kyle asked Melissa's mom to be there with her when she went into surgery and he let us know that Melissa wasn't handling it very well either. He was worried about her, she was worried about the baby and scared about the c-section. It was eating him alive and I couldn't stand to see my little brother so anguished. I couldn't stop crying because he was crying so I had to leave for awhile until I could get it together. They wheeled her down shortly after 11 and came back for Kathy 10 minutes later. Sitting there waiting with Kyle was nothing short of torture - he did nothing but check his watch and fiddle with Melissa's hair ties. My brother is not much of an emotional person much less one to talk about his feelings but if there was ever any question about how much he loved and cared about her and the baby - question no more. Thankfully we didn't have very long to wait before they were bringing the baby up to the nursery. The nurses and Kathy were all grinning from ear to ear and immediately reassured Kyle that Melissa and the baby were fine. They asked us to guess if it was a boy or a girl - we had all been saying boy from the beginning but sure enough we were wrong. A little girl - they hadn't decided on a name yet so she was still baby Jump for awhile. :) But in that moment, when we got to see her for the first time and she was just looking around and curious about her new environment, I fell in love. It was one of most amazing moments in my life and I will never ever forget it. Then getting to see as they handed her to Kyle for the first time - I can only imagine how that must have felt for him since it was pretty overwhelming for me. It was even cute when she was screaming bloody murder. She is a whopper - 8 lbs 14.5 oz and 22 inches. (As of this last Thursday she is at an even 9lbs!) The whole day was amazing - when I finally got to hold her for the first time she was perfect and I already have dreams of all the great things we'll get to do as she gets older. I have some amazing Aunts in my life and I promised her then that I will always be there for her. I spent a lot of time with Melissa and Adria while they were in the hospital so my brother could get some rest - which I did not mind at all. Well until I had to change Adria's diaper one morning when she decided the minute I pulled the diaper out from under her was the perfect time to poop. Little stinker. But just to watch her sleep or to watch her watching everything is wonderful, it is probably my favorite thing to do now. I hope Kyle and Melissa don't get tired of me coming home whenever I can and stealing her from them to hold and love. :) She is a beautiful little girl and is the daughter of my best friend and my brother - there couldn't be anything more perfect. Who knew 4 years ago when we worked together that she would marry my brother and start a family? I never would have guessed but I could not be more happy about it! :)

Friday, September 4, 2009

I'm back!

I can't believe it's been over 3 months since I've posted anything. I have so much going on but for now am just going to share some pictures of the last 3 months!

This was at Michelle's baby shower! Last month she gave birth to Caleb!









Melissa's getting closer to her due date too (September 25th)!













Melissa and I hanging out with the cute lil Miss Hailey after watching the crazy Round Barn Festival Parade!













Less than a month to go til baby Kaden or Adrianna!


















This was at Princess Hailey's 1st birthday party... The question here is if the two in the background are laughing at me or with me?












It's hard to believe my little brother is going to be a dad in less than a month. He was giving it some practice here by holding Hailey (I'm pretty sure this is the first time he's ever held a baby - haha!)

Monday, May 25, 2009

Allergies Shmallergies

If you think anything like my husband then you might agree that there is no one else with as many random medical issues as me. Which after 27 years of being me, I just might agree. If you get Kyle started he will tell you that he's been working out a deal with the IU med center to sell me as research. Apparently he figures they can do a lot more worthwhile testing while my body is still functioning. I say they can wait until I die.
Anyway. I have had some serious breathing problems these last few weeks. I can breathe and everything but it always feels like it's not enough - like my lungs are getting enough oxygen. Which makes me yawn constantly, which makes my jaw hurt because really I don't think it likes opening that wide anymore. Since the breathing issues have started my left side jaw has popped/cracked twice from all the yawning. It is painful and freaks me out because I'm terrified I will do something to mess up all of the work the dentists, orthodontist and surgeon have done (it would be my luck - seriously). And everytime it does that the surgeon instructs me to go on a soft diet (no chewing) for 3-4 days... Which makes me think that this causes him concern too. After the first week of this breathing weirdness that came out of nowhere and was causing me to be on the verge of breakdowns when it was really bad, I called the doctor. Went to see her and she immediately had me do a breathing test and then sad me down with a breathing treatment for 20 minutes. Then sat me down to talk about asthma... I had been told 3 years ago that I could possibly be slightly asthmatic after a specialist did some allergy testing. They gave me a rescue inhaler and I think I might have used it once in the last 3 years. Well apparently it is possible that my body has added a symptom to my allergies - asthma... Yay and I have a brand new inhaler to use regularly! "Sucks to your asthmar, Piggy." So I was told to make an appointment with a specialist again (ASAP) so they can do some more allergy and pulmonary testing. Joy. So I call said specialist on Friday and made an appt. for June 2nd. After we made the appt. the lovely secretary at the office says to me, now you will have to stop taking any and all allergy meds 5 days prior to the appointment so we can do the testing. WHAT?!??!!? It seems I forgot about that part... So in 2 days I cannot take any allergy products whatsoever for FIVE DAYS during the worst part of the year for me. I am pretty sure that Kyle can stop his negotiations for a live body...
As if that's not bad enough the memories of the testing are returning... Lots and lots of needle pricks to the back - I was allergic to 42 of the 50 last time - severely allergic to over 75% of those 42. Now they want to do it again... Lord help you if you see me between Thursday and Tuesday this next week and a half. :)

Monday, April 13, 2009

Susan G Komen Race for the Cure

I recently accepted the challenge to raise funds to support the Komen Indianapolis Race for the Cure on April 18, 2009 in the fight against breast cancer. One in eight women will be stricken with breast cancer in her lifetime and the more we raise, the more the Indianapolis Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure can give back to fund vital breast cancer education, screening, and treatment programs in our own community and support the national search for a cure.

With one out of every eight women being diagnosed with breast cancer there is a good chance that the fight against it means something personal to you. I know it does for me and this past week recently it became even more personal. Saturday March 14th was my Grandma Jump's 83rd birthday and she called me that morning to tell me that they had found a spot in her breast and it is cancer. As I lay on my bed listening to one of the most amazing women I know, a woman who has always been there for me, always knows the right thing to say and has just been a guiding light; I tried not to cry because I wanted to be as strong as she was being, but it was really hard. She lives in Florida on the beautiful Amelia Island and all I wanted at that moment was to be there to give her a hug and make sure she knows how much I love her and that I will be with her in spirit to help her fight! But you know what this wonderful grandmother of mine said to me; "Kira I wanted you to hear it from me because I need you to know that I am not afraid of this and I am going to get through it. And if I don't, I'm not afraid of that either." I heard so much strength and determination in her voice that I am sure she will fight it with every fiber of her being and she will win! All she asked was for my prayers (she will gladly take yours too) she will of course always have those but I knew as soon as she said it that I was dedicating my participation in this race to her. When I walked last year, it was my first time participating in the race and I was blown away by all of the people as well as the power and energy that came from everyone rallying together to say "Hey breast cancer, one day we are going to win!" So this year I'm walking for you, Gramma, in hopes that my contribution will one day help find a cure! Please help me reach my goal so we can help find a cure and hope that no more moms, grandmas, daughters, sisters, friends or anyone for that matter will have to fight this disease!

Please join me in the fight by pledging in support of my participation in the Race or contributing generously to Komen Indianapolis. Your tax-deductible contribution will fund innovative outreach and awareness programs for medically underserved communities in 21 central Indiana counties, and national breast cancer research. It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause - you can make a donation online by simply clicking on the link at the bottom of this message. If you would prefer, you can also send your tax-deductible contribution to to me directly. Whatever you can give will help! I truly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress.
Thank you so much for your time and support in the fight against breast cancer! Every step counts!
Komen Indianapolis
1099 N. Meridian St.Suite 111
Indianapolis, IN 46204-1075
Phone: 317/638-CURE (2873)
Fax: 317/634-4980
Click here to visit my personal page.If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:http://race.komenindy.org/site/TR/Race/General?px=1313241&pg=personal&fr_id=1060&et=a8pXoW2_axYTbMURkNdImA..&s_tafId=15022 Click here to view the team page for MENTOR MarvelsIf the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:http://race.komenindy.org/site/TR/Race/General?team_id=26660&pg=team&fr_id=1060&et=Fh5lSBKzWKDX0Wpb9bhvMw

Friday, April 10, 2009

Only in my world...

So I woke up yesterday morning to my mouth feeling a little odd. So naturally I started opening and closing and talking to myself when sure enough my jaw cracked back in the left joint... WHAT?!! I thought this was all behind me, so at that point I figured that I was dreaming. Which is a common occurence for me to have extremely real-like dreams - so back to sleep I went. I continued to wake up every 20 or 30 minutes with an increasing amount of discomfort around the joint... So I decided to get up and go to the bathroom to make sure that it doesn't look weird or anything which of course it did not. But everytime I opened my mouth it popped or cracked in a very painful manner. So I sat by the phone until it was 8:00am to call the surgeon. The results - do not chew and talk as little as possible until Monday. Ice it as much as possible and take as much tylenol or ibuprofen as my stomach can handle over the weekend. AWESOME! haha. Something like this would only happen in my world - unexplainable symptoms for no good reason! So now I cannot chew or eat any of the Easter yummies that I'm sure my family will make! Boo Hiss! It already feels better today so I'm sure it's nothing, but still...
The doggies and I are making the trek to Rochester to spend the weekend with my mom, I'm excited but nervous at how they will handle a weekend in a different place. Should be fun either way! Plus I get to spend more time with my mom which is truly amazing because I have missed her soo darn much. I will not get in to details but as you might know she got married February 15th. After they got married it seemed like she was nonexistant or maybe I felt like I was non-existent to her anymore, either way it has been some of the hardest times emotionally for many reasons. Regardless, she left him last week due to some very horrible things and the last week and a half have been nothing but worry and chaos. Well I take that back it has been more than that. I went home last weekend as well and to see her laughing and being goofy again does more for my soul than I can even begin to explain. Just to be able to talk to her again about real life is a god-send. Anyway. I'm looking forward to spending the Easter weekend at home with the family! I hope you all have a terrific weekend celebrating Easter in whatever way you and yours choose to do so.
Oh if I may - please keep my gramma J in your thoughts! She had breast cancer surgery on Tuesday and while my dad says she is a trooper and doing well - I imagine it is not quite so easy.
Happy Easter!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Thursday Thirteen

This list is to help me get through the anger that I feel toward the weather here in Indiana as of late. 3 weeks ago we had the snow storm of the year that dropped a lovely foot of snow and shut down the city. It melted off a little bit and then last week we got about another 4 inches of snow. As for this week Monday and Tuesday it was in the 60s and now today we are under flood and wind warnings and it looks and feels like a hurricane outside. I just don't get it. So because the weather makes me mad and the fake spring weather gave me a false sense of hope this is my list of why I like Indiana to help me remember why I still live here.

1. The Colts. This is partly because we live in Indianapolis home of the Colts. It was fun being a fan and not living here, but it is so much more intense living so close to the action!
2. IU, Purdue, Notre Dame and Ball State. How many other states can boast that many powerhouse schools - both academic and athletic
3. Speaking of which we are a state that revolves around basketball and football. High school life revolves around Friday night football. College life in the fall revolves around Saturday afternoon games and tailgating. Then the winter is all about the basketball.
4. Hoosiers. What other states have cool names like that for the residents of their state? There could be other cool names but can you really match a Hoosier? Plus there are so many important aspects of Indiana associated with this name. For one the movie; it is the essence of how we here feel about basketball. Hoosiers are also of course those who attend I.U. and no one can tell me that when you see the word hoosier Bobby Knight isn't one of the first things that come to mind.
5. You know those emails that are all like "you know you're from _____ when..." I love reading the one about being from Indiana and the first time I saw it I was astounded to see how many of them I knew and made me laugh. My favorite is still "if you know what knee high by the 4th of July means" ok and the one that says something about not laughing when you talk about the town of French Lick.
6. I don't personally care or get into it but it is so entertaining to watch those who go nuts over Nascar. Hello brickyard 400...
7. As much as I complain about the weather I do love Indiana in the spring and fall. Both are beautiful especially the fall, so many pretty colors!
8. Home is where the heart is. My heart is here and so is my family - this is where I belong.
9. The Indy Children's Museum
10. ok ok. Sometimes I like the winter too. But really only at Christmas when there is snow on the ground. We used to spend every other Christmas in Florida with my dad and while I loved being with him on the holiday it just wasn't right to be outside playing horseshoes on Christmas day... PLUS we have the town of Santa Claus!
11. That hoosier hospitality
12. How about some famous hoosiers (at one point) we can all be proud of? Larry Bird was sort of a big deal and is also from that funny French Lick place... Like popcorn? How about Orville Redenbacher's? Maybe you like to laugh a little bit? David Letterman is from Indy. John Cougar Mellencamp who was born in a small town and his parents live in the same small town (Seymour).
13. Miss America is from Indiana!