Kolbe gets a Haircut and a Thanksgiving with certain parts that we hope to forget!

Not this past weekend, but the weekend before, Mark and I took Kolbe to get his first haircut! Kolbe certainly didn't have a head full of hair or anything, but it was definitely starting to fill in making his original baby hairs really long. Some of them would even stick over the collar of his shirt! We took him up to the Sports Clips by our house to get a little trim and he did great! He sat on Mark's lap and didn't mind the clippers at all! He was so adorable! We can't believe how much he's turning in to a little boy! Check out the pics below!

Get ready, Little Boy! Here comes the clippers!

Hey! This isn't too bad!

Check out my new do!

This year for Thanksgiving we stayed in Lubbock and celebrated Thanksgiving with Mark's family. Thank God we didn't plan a trip or anything because all three of us came down with the stomach bug! Kolbe had it Tuesday...luckily he never threw up...just diapie problems! He ate like normal, wasn't running a fever or even acting sick at all so we thought it might be teething. But oh....Wednesday! I had a sonogram that morning to check on little Reagan and managed to leave Tuesday night's dinner at the doctor's office. We stopped by the bank so I could get a few things from my desk and they received a special Laura gift in the parking lot too! It was absolutely horrible! Lets just say that being pregnant and having the throw up bug is not a good combination. If only I could have convinced Reagan to take a nap for the entire day!!! I woke up Thursday morning feeling fantastic though, just to turn over to see Mark doubled over in pain. He got to suffer through it on Thanksgiving day and didn't even get to partake in any of the yummy food served up at Miss Lora's! While we're glad that it's finally gone from our family, we still feel pretty much horrible because we managed to pass it on to a good five or six other friends and family members! Our sincerest apologies go out to Brian, Andy, Krista, Shelby, Miss Debbie, Brookston and any one else who got to share in the delight! Oops! We swear we didn't know it was coming!!! It was still a wonderful Thanksgiving. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with family and just relaxing! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Here's to better luck with our bellies next year!

Kolbe's First Birthday!

First of all, sorry for having two posts on one day! As I'm sure you can imagine, things have been hectic with a major surgery, a trip to Houston, and a first birthday all in the same week! I figured I'd knock out all our updates in one evening!

Our precious little boy, Kolbe, celebrated his first birthday on Sunday, November 9th! Mark and I cannot believe that an entire year has passed!

Kolbe, what a special, amazing, wonderful, joyful, perfect year it has been with you!!! You came in to the world under the strangest of circumstances and have continued on in extraordinary ways. We never could have imagined what a fighter, what a flirt, what a wild man, what a sweetheart, and what a best friend you would turn out to be. Just as we always sing to you, you truly do make us happy when skies are grey! Your precious little face has made every hour of work, every minute of studying, every sleepless night, and every crazy moment so worth while! You are every parent's dream come true! The little boy any father would hope to raise, the precious baby any mother would dream of holding. We couldn't imagine this world without you and we thank you for blessing us with your beautiful first year of life!

Since we were still in Houston recovering from Kolbe's surgery on his actual birthday, we didn't celebrate until this past weekend. We had a small group of family and friends over to celebrate with Mr. Kolbe. With as crazy as he typically is, we assumed he'd be ready to tear up his birthday cake! Instead, he was so fascinated by the crowd gathered around his booster chair that he could have cared less about the ice cream and cake in front of him! Oh well! Saved us the mess and left us with a perfectly good, undestroyed cake! We had a wonderful time and Kolbe got a ton of wonderful gifts! (way more than he needs!) Thanks to everyone who got to come and help us celebrate as well as all of you who wished us well and prayed for us from afar! Your love and support throughout this first year has made the journey so enjoyable and worthwhile!

Happy Birthday, Little Boy!!!

Yes! It's the morning of my birthday party!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

Check out my new prized possession! I love, love, LOVE my new red sport coupe! It's the BEST!

Kolbe's Second Surgery!

We're so happy to announce that Kolbe has officially made it through his second big surgery! Kolbe had his palate repair done on November 7th at the Shriner's Hospital in Houston. Just like his first surgery, it was quite the whirlwind experience. Kolbe and I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and spent the night with my parents. The next morning we headed to Shriner's for his pre-op appointment. They told us to be there by 10am and we arrived just in time to find out that his appointments didn't actually begin until 1pm. I was certainly a little peeved, but it gave my mom, my dad, and me a great opportunity to visit the brand new cathedral in down town Houston, visit a Catholic bookstore, and eat some good bar-b-que! Thursday evening we picked up Mark from the airport and spent another night at my parents.

The next morning we all arrived back at the hospital at 6am! We spent about an hour getting Kolbe ready and they took him back around 7am. Poor guy, he arrived all happy and cheerful and had no clue what he was about to go through! We were away from Kolbe for about three hours while the surgery took place. After everything was finished, Mark and I spent about an hour in the recovery room with Kolbe trying to wake him up and just comforting him. We were finally able to go back to our room around lunch time. The rest of the day and evening was spent just cuddling the poor little guy and trying to keep him comfortable. We received a special surprise visit from Uncle Mike and Aunt Casey who drove over from San Antonio! Kolbe even let Aunt Casey hold him and fell asleep on her shoulder which was rare for that day!

It was a LONG night in the hospital! Kolbe only wanted to be held by Mama....with one exception! The hospital had a big red wagon in the hall way that Kolbe LOVED! We piled it up with pillows and blankets and Mark spent hours (literally!) pulling him up and down the halls! We were released from the hospital the next morning around 10am and headed back to my parents. The first few days after the surgery were definitely tough as well. With Kolbe's first surgery, he couldn't put up much of a fight. This time around he had PLENTY to say concerning what we put him through! (actually, we tried our best to convince him that Uncle Pat did it and got away before he had a chance to see him! Ha ha!) Since Mark had to head back to Midland, my mom and dad did a fantastic job of helping me out with the little guy for a few days!

Now that we're back in Lubbock, Kolbe is doing great! It's amazing how quickly kids bounce back. He's back to eating all the foods he used to eat and is working on trying out his "new equipment." He definitely now has suction in his mouth although I don't think he knows exactly how to use it. He still tends to "chew" on his bottle to get the milk out instead of sucking. He'll get better at it though! The other big difference has been with his nose. Previously, any mucus would just go through his hole and down his throat. Now his entire breathing pattern is different. He's not liking it too much! I guess the hole had it's perks! BUT, on a positive note, we've all but abolished his giant collection of bibs! The uncontrollable drooling has vanished! Hallelujah! We're starting to work on his speech now too. His "voice" definitely sounds different now and I think it's just a matter of time before he starts experimenting with the sounds and words he's probably been wanting to say for months!

Speaking of speech, we also should see some additional improvement in the weeks to come as we begin preparing for his ear tubes surgery. We meet with the ENT on December 9th and then will probably move forward with the surgery around the beginning of January. (hopefully before Mark goes back to school!) This surgery should definitely help with the hearing and structural problems in his left ear. We'll keep you posted on how Surgery #3 is shaping up!

Thanks again to everyone for all of the prayers and support for our little fella! He came through with flying colors! Two major surgeries before even reaching his first birthday!!! What a trooper! Mark and I couldn't be prouder of the little guy we've been blessed with! As always, we find ourselves asking, "How did two goons like us get picked to be the parents of this AMAZING little boy!?!" We pray that each of you find yourself just as blessed!!!

Here are a few pictures from the surgery:



At the pre-op appointment, we took Kolbe out on the huge playground that they had out on the balcony. He had a BLAST!!! Note: his last day to rock his signature bib!!!

This was on the morning of the surgery just after getting him dressed in his hospital gown. Our usual happy little boy! Poor guy! He has no clue what's about to happen to him!!!

This was taken just after getting back to his room at the hospital. The long black string coming out of his mouth was actually threaded through his tongue. (Yes, my son had his tongue pierced before his first birthday! Yikes!!!) Because of all the swelling in his mouth, this was done as a safety precaution so that if his oxygen level dropped and he was having trouble breathing, all they had to do was pull the string and it would draw his tongue out of his mouth, opening his airways. We were able to take it out by early evening the night of the surgery.

Thank God for the wagon and thank God for Daddy! This was our saving grace throughout the long first night with his new mouth. We definitely put some mileage on that wagon and Daddy definitely got his exercise!!!

Kolbe Picks a Pumpkin

This past Sunday after mass, Mark and I decided to stop by the United on our way home so Kolbe could pick out his very first pumpkin! It was VERY windy, but we managed to find not one, but two!, that were just too good to pass up. Kolbe was fascinated by the pumpkins and loved the hollow sound they made when he hit them. Of course, now that he walks EVERYWHERE, it was hilarious to see him trying to navigate his way around the pumpkins that came up to at least his thigh. Hopefully I will remember to get a picture or two when we carve them later this week.

Can I take them all?!?

Mama knows which pumpkin she wants to pick!

How do I get around here???

Hmmmm....maybe this is the one!

In a little bit of other news, we had another sonogram of little Reagan today (he's almost 22 weeks now!) and he looks great! He's almost one pound! Also, we were able to tell for sure that Reagan does not have any clefts or birth defects. Thanks to everyone for all of their prayers! With any luck for the fella, Little Reagan will be as handsome as his daddy and his big brother! : ) We leave for Kolbe's palate surgery a week from tomorrow. Please pray for both of our boys!

Monkey Business!!! (in various forms)

So I'm pretty sure that Kolbe Alexander has the cutest Halloween costume of all times!!! My ambitious mother decided to make his costume, and once we knew he would not be in the hospital on Halloween Day, we vetoed the doctor idea. She headed for the fabric store to peruse the costume patterns and happened upon a hilarious monkey costume. Several hours of sewing later, the following madness was produced!!!

"Who me? Cute?"

Mama says, "Pay no attention to the dirty room in the background! She swears the monkey did it!"

Pinkie did a FABULOUS job on Kolbe's suit! We're pretty sure he's going to get all the candy in Lubbock!

As for the other form of "monkey business," apparently Kolbe has recently felt compelled to live up to his Halloween costume. While I was getting ready for work the other day, I slipped back in to the "room" portion of our bedroom where my clothes were laid out on the bed. I decided to let Kolbe stay in the bathroom area knowing that I'd be right back in there in a matter of seconds. As I finally got that last arm through my shirt, I noticed a strange silence coming from the bathroom, which can never be a good thing with Mr. Kolbe. Luckily, the camera was near by to capture the culprit!

"Oh no! She caught me!"

"Quick! I've gotta make a break for it!"

Kolbe's "new" slide!!!

This afternoon when we got home from mass, Kolbe set up camp beside the kitchen window, staring out in to the backyard and watching the birds. Being the "all boy" that he is, we decided to take him out back to play. I then remembered that one of our good friends gave us a Little Tykes fort/slide of theirs before they moved away from Lubbock. This was over a year and half ago when I was on 12 weeks pregnant with Kolbe! Since then, the slide has been hiding in the shed in our backyard waiting until Kolbe was big enough to give it a go. Mark and I pulled it out of the shed (after Mark warned me that I might hurt Reagan from inhaling the fumes from the rat poo in the shed...ha ha!) and gave it a good bath with the water hose while Kolbe and Uncle Dave looked on. Since the yard (and the slide) were now drenched, we decided to strip Kolbe down to his diaper so he wouldn't ruin his church outfit. Kolbe LOVED it! His cheesy little grin said, "I'm the king of the yard!" He proudly stood atop the "fort" and surveyed his domain. The only scary part was the slide, of course! He had to have either Daddy or Mama push him down, but as soon as he made it to the bottom, he immediately wanted to climb back up and do it again! It was so much fun for us to watch him with his new slide! He's growing up so fast!

"Look at me, everybody!"

"Don't let go, Daddy!"

"I love my new fort! Yea!"

One quick addition, we're so happy to announce that Kolbe's surgery has been rescheduled! He will now be having his palate repaired on November 7th (just one week later than it was scheduled prior to the hurricane). It will be at Shriners in Houston instead of Galveston. Poor little Kolbe will be in the hospital for his first birthday (November 9th)! But we are just so happy to be having it done before Reagan gets here, and we'll gladly postpone his birthday celebration a week so he can get this done. Heck, having this surgery will be the best birthday gift EVER for this guy! It will truly be life changing and we are so thankful for the Shriners' efforts to accomodate us and take care of Kolbe. Please pray for him and us as his surgery approaches!

It's Official!

I had another sonogram last week, and yes, he's still a boy! After much thought and consideration, we have decided to name this little fellow Reagan Mark Asmussen. Reagan is a name that Mark and I have always liked, and Mark...well, heck...it's his Daddy and his Grandpa's name! How could we go wrong? He is growing really well and weighed 7 ounces at the sonogram. We didn't get any good pictures of his face because he was moving around so much and kept covering his face, but in the few glimpses we did see, it did not look like Reagan had any clefts. I'm sure we'll be able to get better pictures next time (October 28th). I'm definitely starting to feel him more and more each day! I'm now 19 weeks along! Just about half way there! Here are a few pics from the last sonogram:

Here's my profile shot! Nice round head just like my big bro!

Usually they say a Red Raider from birth...but I'm a Red Raider BEFORE birth!

Kolbe the Great is doing wonderful too! He is ELEVEN months old today! Can you believe it??? I certainly can't! What an amazing eleven months it has been! And it has certainly flown by. This little fellow has met and surpassed every goal we've ever place before him. We couldn't be prouder!

As (somewhat) expected, Kolbe's palate surgery has been cancelled for the time being. It was supposed to be at the end of the month (October 30th) in Galveston at the Shriner's Hospital; however, Shriners has apparently sustained quite a bit of damage from Hurricane Ike. (just like most of the Galveston area!) I spoke with a representative from the hospital and she told me that someone would be calling me back "in the future" to reschedule the surgery. I'm sure you're thinking what I'm thinking...what does "in the future" mean??? A few weeks? A few months? While the problems of those down in that area are certainly greater than ours, this whole predicament leaves us with an interesting situation. If they are unable to do the surgery by December, we will be unable to have it done until the beginning of May. (I won't be able to fly/travel during January or February and then Little Reagan will need at least 6-8 weeks before he can jump on a plane and go with us!) If we wait that long, Kolbe will be 18 months old. So right now we're still on standby for a while, but Mark and I actually have thought about possibly looking in to having it done here in Lubbock if they will be unable to do it in Galveston before the end of December. I'm planning to call them back again next week to see if there's any sort of timeline at all and I guess we'll go from there. I'd hate for Kolbe to have to wait till he's 18 months to get this surgery done. He's almost a year old and still unable to eat most foods babies his age eat, and most of all, he's having such a hard time talking. He has so much to say but the lack of pressure in his mouth makes the same sound come out over and over. Plus, the surgery was also when tubes would be placed in his ears, helping with chronic ear infections and his lack of hearing in his left ear. We definitely need to have that done soon! Poor fellow! After all is said and done, I know God will take care of Kolbe and this whole situation no matter when it takes place. Please pray for us and Kolbe's much needed surgery!

A few weeks ago, my parents flew up to Colorado Springs, CO to attend my Dad's 30 year reunion from The Air Force Academy. On their way back, they stopped in Lubbock for a few nights. Grandpa and Pinkie couldn't help but bring back a few goodies for Mr. Kolbe. Check out his Air Force jacket and new Air Force Academy Falcon's hat! Who knows? Maybe he'll be a cadet some day!!! (if not a Red Raider!)

Grandpa and Kolbe....the Falcons' biggest fans!!!


Check out that priceless smile for Pinkie! Isn't he a doll!?!