One Year Down!

Classes are over for the first year Dental students! Kevin will be an official 2nd year once he passes the boards this June, but we still felt like celebrating. Anna and I made a cake and we sang to Kevin the other night. Anna was a little confused and insisted on singing "Happy Birthday" so we did. This first years schedule wasn't as bad as we had been told it would be. I think this was mostly because prior to coming to dental school our schedules were pretty full with school, work, callings, coaching, and being a dad and husband. I think it was a relief to cast off a few of those hats and just be a student, dad, and husband. We can't believe how fast this first year has flown by.
These are some pictures of Audrey. My sister, Sonnet, was asking for more current pictures. Audrey has a sweet smile, but I have yet to capture it on camera. I've gotten a few close to a smile.


She also has a sweet pout.

Hope you enjoyed these Sonnet.

Audrey's One Month Visit

Audrey had her 1 month visit today and she did great! She is 23 inches long and weighs 11 lbs 1 oz. This puts her in the 95% for height and weight. She seems to be following in Jared's footsteps. He was my chunky baby and Anna was my petite baby. Audrey is far from petite. She wore this dress on Sunday.

Anna wore the same dress at 6 months. Here are some old pictures of Jared and Anna at one month.
Jared:
Anna:
Audrey:
What do you think? Who does she look like?

Happy Mother's Day

Thank you for all that you do and for your constant prayers on our behalf. Mostly thanks for being such fun Grandmas!

3 Weeks and 3 Days

Audrey changes so much so fast. Kevin and I both thought she looked a lot like Jared when she was first born everyone else thought she looked like Anna. 3 weeks later she is coming more into her own look. She has the Jenkins/Parks eyes and she has the Blake chin. I don't know, you be the judge. Every night is an adventure with her. We never know if she will sleep for 6 hours strait then another 3 or if she plans on sleeping for an hour at a time with a good 45 min. of awake time in between sleep. She is just starting to smile and we can't wait till she starts laughing. She is such a joy and is loved by her Mom, Dad, brother, and sister!

Weekend with Grandma AND Grandpa

After a short trip down to S. Carolina for my brothers boot camp graduation my Dad and Mom came back up to Maryland for a quick 24 hour visit. My Dad wanted to see the kids and we planned to bless Audrey since he would be in town. The kids played games and put on a circus with Grandma and Grandpa. Sunday we went to church and Audrey was blessed. She spit out her binky just as Kevin started and wasn't to happy about it, but it was still a beautiful blessing. She wore the same dress my mom and I made for Anna four years ago. After church we visited and played some more before it was time to take Grandma and Grandpa to the airport. The kids enjoyed their visit with them and cried as we pulled away from the airport. We will have to make plans to get back together soon!

For Those Interested

Yep this is an x-ray of Kevin's knee. The round disc next to the bone on top would be his knee cap and the blank space inbetween the two bones is where it should be. Poor guy.

Post Overload

We are all back at home now and out of surgeries and such. While we were out Easter came and went, school started again for Jared, and the sun decided to shine. The Easter Bunny came and the kids had fun tracking down something like 20 eggs a piece. Just like the Tooth Fairy at grandmas house the Easter Bunny pulls out all the stops in Grandmas presence. After church the kids came to the hospital to deliver Audrey's basket. Everyone looked so nice in their new Easter outfits.

Kevin had his reconstructive surgery on his knee yesterday and he is camped out in the living room. The doctor said his patella tendon was pretty much shredded, but was able to put him back together. At the moment he is in a brace that does not allow him to bend his knee at all. Every week the doctor will slowly add a little mobility to the brace, but for now he had to stay in bed. Before surgery. This is a picture of Kevin when he first got home after surgery. He is a little loopy. Thought this was funny. We have our own little pharmacy when you combine both Kevin and my meds.

Audrey is so sweet I've heard about those babies that hardly ever cry and are content to just lay around, but I've never experienced it first hand. She must have known before she came here that she was entering a home with some serious special need parents. Here are some pictures of her first few days.

Audrey's Birthday

The day in photo's...Tiffany and Kevin leaving at 4:15am


My darling wife before the news that Audrey was in distress...

Tiffany's Mom and myself as we prepare to enter the OR...

Audrey's first few seconds outside the womb...

Cutting the cord...

Beautiful Audrey in full pose...

Love this picture...So sweet!

Mom's first hug...

Nurses brought me a recliner on wheels, very thoughtful, but the Grandma and Tiffany couldn't believe I was being pampered after Tiffany was operated on just minutes before. We had to remind them that she was their patient and not me...

Grandma and Audrey, there few first minutes together...

Kids first moment with their new sister...

Anna and Jared holding Audrey...


Family picture...

Mom and Baby are doing well!

Here goes nothing...what a week! Despite my better judgment I decided to play church ball with some friends Wednesday night. A harmless thought, Right! The final game ended with my foot planted to the floor, and my knee hyperextended. After a trip to the ER that lasted six hours, this is what happened, my knee cap traveled about four to five inches up my thigh and I possibly tore my patellar tendon. We will know if surgery is required on Tuesday.

Now on to the most important update of the night...Tiffany and I woke up at 4 to get to the hospital by 5. We sat in the lobby for an hour and a half, then the hospital had another mix up with her pitocin drip. They finally were able to get her started on that around 7:45. By 12:30 she was at a 6, but her body seemed to stop progressing with the drip and with the ministering of her epidural. Our baby girl also seemed to be in distress with each contraction so at 2 our wonderful doctor and Tiffany decided to proceed with an urgent c-section. At 2:24 Audrey Ruth Parks joined her happy mother and father. She weighed 8lbs. 13.5 oz and is 21.5 inches long. She came out sucking her little fingers and hasn't stopped sucking on anything that she can get close to her mouth.

Tiffany's mom has been here and what a blessing it has been. She left around 3:30 to pick up the kids from our good friends, the Johnson's - we owe you big time, and returned with the kids at 7 with flowers, balloons, and drawings. Jared and Anna were so cute with their new little sister. Jared and Anna were both concerned with the IV still in Mom's arm, Anna sang to her and smothered her with kisses.

Jared and Anna loved holding their new baby sister, Audrey!




We paused to take a family picture....

There are better pictures and updates to follow when Tiffany comes home.
Thank you for all your well wishing!

40 Weeks and still going

Grandma is in town and we are having fun playing, resting, playing, walking, playing, eating, and playing while we wait for baby sister to come along. At the moment she is in the 90th percentile for size and has not dropped. This makes having a VBAC just about impossible. I've got about 2 more days to go into labor on my own before my scheduled c-section, but aren't hopeful..sigh. Oh well, que sera. At this point we are all just really anxious to met her and can't wait for her arrival. I'm sure we will have pictures and updates this weekend.