Merry Christmas Family & Friends!!

We hope you all have a fun and safe Holiday!!!
Love the Shepherds!!
♥

Nursery is DONE

Kurtis was so proud about putting th decals on the light switch. :)

36 Weeks!! I can't believe how fast it has gone by!

What a week

This was my first week with no work. I was actually supposed to go back in on Tuesday to help out a bit moe but I woke up...throwing up! Yes. Isn't that just fantastic? I guess I got a stomach flu or something. Well NOTHING would stay down. So I called my OB and they had me come in. By 3:30pm I was in the hospital triage. Within about an hour they told me that I was being admitted. So it was going to be a LONG NIGHT!

Kyson and I both had had a high BP at my appointment and when we go to the hospital it was normal. They had a hard time putting in my IV because I was clearly VERY dehydrated. You couldn't see any of my veins and well typically they stick out like a sore thumb. I knew Kyson was ok because he had been active all day. Even though all I have was a piece of toast that didn't stay down. They gave me some medication for my nausa and then the ultrasound tech came in. She was probably there for 2 hours. Kyson wouldn't move around for her. He had scored 8/8 on his BBMI (i believe that is what it is called) on thursday but he was scoring dangerously low that night. Se kept telling me that she thought he was just sleeping since his heartrate was perfect. Well my OB wasn't on call that night soI talked to another one. She made my heart stop. After the tech left she came in and told me that if in a couple hours when the tech comes back and he doesn't start moving.....we are going to have to DELIVER! I was freaked! I was think we don't have a car seat yet...the room is a mess...none of his clothes are washed! I held in my tears as long as I could. I know that if he were to have come her would have bee fine but I was not ready to hear that. The next coupl of hours I was stressing that tonight was the night...and the tech came back in and he scored much higher. They wouldn't tell me the numbers though. I know I had woken him up by eating. So they said that they were going to do another ultra sound in the morning.

Poor Kurtis was so uncomfortable in that hospital. He stayed on a pullout couch. I was miserable as well. The room was so hot to me I kept asking them to turn it down. By morning Kurtis said he thought it was 17 degrees in there! lol. Poor thing. They kept coming in every couple of hours of course and giving me more meds or I would move and the baby monitor would move so a beeping would go off since they couldn't read the babies heartbeat anymore. It was definately a very comforting feeling to be able to listen to his heartbeat all night knowing that he was ok.

One thing was very funny to me. I am expecting to have HORRIBLE back labor..or hard contractions because I have horrible periods. My nurse came in one time and was like are you in any pain? I said no. She said you are having pretty steady contractions! I couldn't believe it. I am kinda sad they never checked my cerivx. I don't know what I am at. If I am having contractions I should have some progress right? Wether is be small or not...progress is PROGRESS! lol

So Wednesday morning they sent me home. Kyson finally scored an 8/8. They also told me to keep my OB appintment for the next day. Dr. Guzman couldn't believe what had happened. He walked in and gave me a hug and told me that my fluids still are going down. Only .5 but down. He says if it gets close to 5..which it was 6.5 on thursday...then he is going to induced me even if Kyson's lungs aren't fully developed. So now I am not going once a week...I am going twice a week which means I have another appointment on Tuesday. I don't know how that is going to go but I will definately keep you all posted.

35 Week Check Up

Todays Drs appointment went GREAT! Well it calmed my nerves and then it brought some things to our attention as well.

First...U/S..Kyson is HEAD DOWN! YAY! I guess not every woman will be able to tell when they flip. And a part of me thought me might have while I was sleeping one night. So yay!

Second...His size. Estimated...a whoping 6.5lbs! Yes. Big. He is measuring to be 3 weeks ahead now. He has a long torso and a bigger than normal head. So this means that I will most likely have to be enduced. He scheduled another u/s for me.
I am now in my once a week appointments. YAY! Its getting so close its crazy!

Third...they measured the fluid around Kyson. And I don't remember the exact numbers but normal is 8 or above. . . and we are at a 7. SO I have to DRINK DRINK DRINK...and he is going to measure it again next week. If it continues to go down it could mean....
1. Be admited into the hospital

2. Bed rest at home
3. Or being enduced much earlier

But for him to take the baby early would mean my level would have to drop to a 4 or below. Something like that. He didn't have a name for it...so I can't tell you anything beyond that. And I am retaining water really bad since yesterday so I think that might have something to do with it being low today. It could also mean that Kyson isn't peeing in the bag.

But they did that test what he called Macho Test today...meaning if he moved, if he flexed and so on. And he scored and 8 out of 8 so that means he isn't worried.

He also has me looking for signs of my amniotic fluid leaking..and its not. I am not bleeding or contracting either which made him think it could all be nothing but just low today. So that was my appointment! All in all I feel good about it...and I am SOOO Happy that he is head down. I know that I can atleast try to push him out

Six Weeks Left!!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! We went up north. Probably our last time to do so with no baby and all the belongings. :) We had tons and tons of food. Kyson of course limited my intake because he likes to limit how much food I can put in my stomach. But I did go back a few hours later. :) A few hours being after I discovered this fabulous recliner that apparently I was in such a deep sleep my mouth was wide open! ha ha ha. I never sleep like that. I was sooo comfortable I never even moved. I think every pregnant woman should own one! I know I want one.
Friday we had another baby shower that my Mother In Law through. It was for both Boys/Girls! We had a great time watching the boys find the poopy diaper and play games. I on the other hand tasted baby food for the first time...YUCK! How can we feed our children something that tastes so nasty!?
Today marks SIX WEEKS LEFT! I can't believe how time is flying. I have another ultra sound in one week which will give us some more answers on when to expect delivery if I am going to be enduced or have a c-section. If anyone has any grand ideas on how to move a baby from breech PLEASE tell me. I know I still have some time for him to move, but not if he is to big.

This week Kyson weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Last night Kurtis was so sweet and took me to see "Enchanted" I know that he was not looking forward to the chick flick but he did laugh once or tiwce! I on the other hand, LOVED IT! Very cute movie! McDreamy was a huge plus! he he he

Something fun for the Family!!

If you are ever out in our neck of the woods (Queen Creek) and you see this ball up in the air all lite up. GO THERE! We went to check it out...its someone that we used to go to church with that has totally decked out there house. They even tell you to tune your radio to a certain station and they have music and a Christmas message. WAY awesome!! I can give you directions if you want them.

Baby Shower

Saturday was the special day! My mom and sisterS set everything up

and did an absolutely AMAZING JOB!

The girls were all creative and decorated Onesies for me. Something I remember from my nephews shower 8 years ago and loved doing!

We played "Guess the UltraSound" and the fun "Diaper Game" when you guess what poop is inside! :) Also you couldn't say "Baby" all night. Which of course my little niece was more than willing to take my necklace as soon as she heard me say it. :)

My sister in law and her parents made this Toy Chest for us. They are going to paint it black. And Kyson will be able to use the top and front as a chalk board. Way cool! I saw this chest at Pottery Barn Kids and my sister-in-law made it. LOVE IT! :)

The Grandmas! I made them those shirts so they could be recognized.

Mikki-Doodle being her cute self

And precious Embry.

Thank you to EVERYONE who came. And those that couldn't make it, you were greatly missed!

32 Weeks Pictures

The Bedding

Still no chair rail...I'm told its coming! lol


The belly is certainly growing!

Not much longer, I can't wait!!

8 Weeks Left!

It just seems so crazy to me to think that in just a matter of 8 weeks our little son could be here! I am so excited, nervous, anxious. . .oh ALL of the above. It actually could be sooner depending on my 38 week appointment. The week of Christmas. Nice huh? My OB wants to do another ultra sound to check on his growth. If he is projecting to be to big...I will be induced. That means...Kyson could be here in SIX WEEKS! That just sounds so nuts to me. People have been saying it goes by so slow, not to me its not. I'm not in the "uncomfortable" stage yet either. I don't know why. I think I have small ribs. I mean don't get me wrong, days that I walk for a long time my back hurts and my feet always hurt. But my back pain isn't more than my normal pain that I had before being pregnant. I am probably just jinxing myself by saying this but oh well. The nursery still isn't done but we have time. We just need to put up the chair rail and then I can decorate and it will be done. My Baby Shower is this Saturday! I am sooo excited! The girls are so creative, I can't wait to see what they have planned.

Kyson has been a mover and a shaker these days. He loves to stick to my right side. Two nights ago he was stretching and I think I felt his head! Unless he has changed positions. (Which I hope he does soon, no breech babies please!) Last night he was moving and Kurtis wanted to see if he could hear his heartbeat. He had his head on my tummy for about 5secs when Kyson kicked him in the ear. It was rather funny! Kurtis says he is going to tell Kyson that when he gets older. No Dr appointments this week. We have our second to last birthing class tonight. They are two hours long. I'm not sure what tonights will be one. Last week we watched some pretty graphic movies. All I have to say, the human body..the WOMAN'S body..is absolutely amazing. Birth is definitely a miracle. I haven't done that yet but I can see how truly amazing it is going to be.

A little UpDate on Kurtis: He is definitely hard at work. It seems he just can't sit down long enough to relax these days. With having two employees and so many jobs all over it is tough some days. But he is amazing and he gets it all done in a timely fashion. He did manage to take two days off last week and go hunting. His dad was drawn for deer up near St. Johns. Sadly they had no success but he enjoyed every minute with his Dad(s) and brothers. The very next day he sent me beautiful pink roses to my work. They smell amazing and are currently on my kitchen table.

While Kurtis was gone I got a little case of "Nesting". One room especially that I tackled was his office. I don't think we have seen the carpet in there since before we moved in. :) I just love to open the door and stare. I just hope he can keep up with it. I did ALL the laundry so much that we ran out of hangers...so I went through OLD clothes and am going to either sell or donate them. Yes I hope to get to my pre pregnancy weight but hey I can just get new clothes! :) I hope to lose ALOT of weight because even before I was pregnant I needed to lose weight.

I was TAGGED!!

I was TAGGED by COARTNEY.....
A. The RULES of the GAME are posted in the beginning.
B. EACH player list 6 FACTS/HABITS about themselves.
C. At the END of the post, the player then TAGS 6 people and then post their names, then goes to their BLOG and leaves them a COMMENT, letting them know THEY have been TAGGED asking them to read your BLOG!

KARISSA SHEPHERDS LIFESTYLE

1. At night I have to check the garage and all the doors at least 5 times to make sure that we locked them. I don't know if Kurtis has gone out and I didn't notice so I will sometimes make him go and check when we both lay down for bed or if I am the last one up I HAVE to check.

2. I love RANCH! I could eat it with anything. Dip my sandwhich in it, chips, veggies you name it.

3. The toilet paper roll has to put on right. The paper needs to hang over not under, and it bugs me when people are to lazy to actually put the roll on the holder! Its not that hard people!

4. I have a certain order of things that I like placed in my house. I can walk into a room and see that something has been moved and I have to put it back to the way I like it. Move my candle and I will notice that its 1 inch over than it should be!!

5. I have to have a nail file with me at all times. A hang nail bugs the CRAP out of me!

6. I am ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE with Greys Anatomy. It is a unhealthy obsession I can admit to that. But I just can't help it. McDreamy is just so...DREAMY! :) The characters are great! I own seasons 1-3 and I have watched seasons 1 & 2 probably three times each. Season three just once since I have been busy this year. I own the board game and I have the calendar!

I have to say that this was pretty darn hard for me. I couldn't think!!

I TAG....Amy Johnson, Amy, Ashlee, Kirsi, Tenay, Brianna and Taytum

Our Little Man

Face Views






His Little Arms/Hands

Probably my favorite picture. :)

Side View of him: looks like he might be sucking his thumb or fingers..or just hiding!


And his little leggys!!


He is measuring at 3lbs already. So I might be in for a big baby! OH NO!!!

KYSON'S ROOM

Its not done yet. We still need to put up a border which will be either a white chair rail or a sports border.





Pillow Cases and a Coat Rack


Bedding



Daddy putting together the crib

Grandma and Me on the last wall!

Grandpa helped Kurtis


And last but not least........

The room all PAINTED!

28 Weeks and 4 Days

Daddy giving Kyson a kiss!


As your belly gets larger, that now-heavier-than-two-pound baby you've got hanging out in your uterus is stacking on the fat. What's more, they can sense light, blink (with their little eyelashes!) and move their head in response to bright light shone on your belly. You, on the other hand, are having more difficulty moving and would do well to sit down, put up your feet, and make sure you've got a good name for your little one.

27 Weeks Check Up

My appointment went great this morning. I am right on track with the belly growth. Baby is doing GREAT! Weight gain is not to my liking of course, lol but its right on too. Heartbeat was strong and my blood pressure was good. The diabetes drink, actually not so bad if you like orange popsicles or flat orange soda. I had to sit there for an hour and then they drew my blood. Kyson was being a little squirmy. They wouldn't let me leave because you can get sick or tired so I had to sit there. You'd think they would provide better reading material but no. An hour kinda felt like forever. But now, my appointments are every two weeks!! Nuts I know. October 25th at 9:10am is my next one and its a BIG ONE! U/S (regular) AND a 3-D!!!! I'm so excited! Then once I'm 35wks...its every week. Crazy!!



A little info on Kyson:

Your miniature baby isn't so teeny tiny anymore: weighing just under 2 pounds and measuring about 14 inches from head to foot. They're still collecting their baby fat, growing their brain, and generally getting bigger and better. As for you, you're heavier, more likely to experience back ache, and probably would benefit from a nice long foot rub right about now.

Two Years Down

Its offically Day One of Year Three. Happy Anniversary to Kurtis and I!! :)

Friday night started off frustrating. It took me two hours to get home so we missed our reservations. Bad car accident and it messed up everything out in Queen Creek. We stayed at The Pointe Hilton @ Squaw Peak in Glendale. It was REALLY nice. The room was like a mini condo. Seperate from the hotel. We had a yummy dinner and we had gotten our favorite candy from a gas station earlier. lol :) The next morning we slept in until 8am and went to breakfast and had yummy french toast. At 9am, we both were scheduled for a massage. Kurtis had a swedish and I had a fabulous maternity one. I actually got to LAY ON MY STOMACH! They laid down this pillow with a hole in it. It was prue heaven. I haven't been able to for over 3 months now. After that we went home and Kurtis had some running around to do. (Check on a paint color for a house, fix the backyard sprinklers, and help a friend pick up a refigerator)

We also went and got Klohe. We missed her and well she was out of water when we checked on her. To our utter surprise she did wonderful in the backyard. Didn't tear up anything! And she was a complete cuddly angel all weekend. The backyard isn't done yet so she had to go back this morning.

Sunday morning Kurtis made me breakfast in bed. A yummy cinnimon roll and his own personal egg mcmuffin. YUM! He didn't have any fresh flowers but he grabbed my dried roses and put them on the breakfast tray with a card. SO CUTE! Very sweet. It made me cry! :) Go figure right? Later that night I made him his favorite dish, lasagna. I set up the table with candles and our wedding china! We have NEVER used that before. It was fun! We even had sparkling cider. Yum! After that we watched our Wedding Videos. My how time flies.

All in all it was a fabulous weekend!

*PiCtUrEs*

Bedroom Furniture!!



Backyard!

Kurtis' hard work pays! :)

It's Almost Done!

IT's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To

Thats right hormones have set in and made even more appearences this week. I have had a few spells but not as bad as this week! Monday was my birthday and all I was doing was eating a bagel and I started to bawl! Poor Kurtis thought I was mad at him. I tried to tell him no but he has a hard time accepting the hormones. Anyways for my 22nd birthday I was more than a little spoiled by my wonderful man. Friday he took me out and we finally purchased our brand new bedroom furniture! We had been talking about it and looking everywhere and we finally got a GREAT deal. What was nice about the find, they delivered the very next day. So saturday was moving out the old and moving in the new. We got a very nice cherry finish set (2 night stands, 2 tall dressers and one long dresser) The tall dressers are different. One has a large cabinet on the side and the other has a hidden jewelry compartment on the top. Pictures will be posted soon I promise. The weekend before that he had also purchased us a new coffee table and 2 end tables. Those on the other hand wont be here until the 19th...bummer.
October 1st was a normal working day for me, but for Kurtis it was crazy. My birthday wasn't really ruined but he was so busy with work and other things that I didn't get to see him until that evening. We were woken up but our doorbell and found that without notice our landscaper decided that that was the day to start our backyard. Well Kurtis hadn't finished the pavers so they said they would do it. So he had to go pick up more pavers, take Klohe to his moms so she wouldn't be in the way, find time to actually go to work. Get his guys set up for painting my brothers home. It was nuts. All the while, me I went to work crying. :) My Father In Law sang "Yappity Birthday To You" on my cell phone and it just made me cry. How silly am I right? I was suprised that when the office sang to me that I didn't cry. Last night my In Laws took me out to dinner and the cards made me get really teary eyed, I was good and held it in.
Its day three today and they are doing the curbing, finishing the pavers and putting in the grill. Pictures will follow soon. The grass is in, all the plants and lights are in. We enjoyed the lighting last night.
I keep jumping around, anyways...Monday night (still my birthday) Kurtis took me out to dinner. We went to a resturant in Paradise Valley called Sanctuary. It was VERY fancy and romantic. The food, LOVED IT! We both had a salad and then I ordered steak and he had halibit. Fish= YUCK! The room was lite up by candles and we had a gorgeous veiw of the city lights. Thankfully no cry spells that night.
Its wednesday, almost the weekend. This weekend, Conference and Kurtis' and my 2nd Wedding Anniversary!! Kurtis has something planned for I believe Friday night...or maybe the weekend I am not entirely sure. He kinda has dropped hints. He will just have to wait and share.

Vote For The Name

What Questions

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
- Well I was 11. So I going to Burk Elementary and counting down the days until my birthday. lol

2. What was I doing 5 years ago?
- I was 16, so I had been driving. Kurtis and I were dating. I was a Sophomore in High School.

3. What was I doing 1 year ago today?
- I was so excited to have our One Year Anniversary. We were getting ready to go to California for an amazing trip Kurtis had planned.

4. What was I doing yesterday?
- Woke up, noticed Klohe had finally ruined all Kurtis' hard work in the backyard, went to work, tried to look busy, ate, went to Micheals with my mom, came home, helped Kurtis fix Klohes mess a bit then played with her to get her out of his way. Then some friends came over, I cut their little boys hair and we went to dinner.

5. What are 5 snacks I enjoy eating?
- Carrots, chips, pickles, oreos, apples.

6. What I would do with $100 million dollars?
- Kurtis and I have discussed this. We would build our dream home, go on a few vacations, set his Grandma up in a nice home, Kurtis would want a really nice car so he would get to choose anyone he wanted. Oh lots and then of course save.

7. What are 5 bad habits that I have?
1. I don't workout like I should
2. I snack to much
3. I always think I'm right
4. I don't clean the house as much as I should
5. My mouth can get me into trouble

8. 5 things I like to do(this is not in order of importance)
1. Be with my wonderful Husband
2. Go on Vacation
3. Play with Klohe
4. Scrapbook
5. Watch me some Greys Anatomy

9. 5 TV shows that I watch
1. Greys Anatomy
2. House
3. One Tree Hill
4. Law & Order SVU
5. The OC when it was on

10. 5 biggest joys right now.
1. Kurtis
2. The Holidays
3. The cooler weather
4. Being pregnant
5. Our new friendships

I tag: Ashlee, Amy Juhasz ,Taytum

Almost Time For Another Weekend

One of my friends found a site that makes these and I am becoming obsessed! I love them! They make such cute little accents to any site.

So whats new with us, nothing really. Kurtis and I are trying to clear out the Nursery. It is alot harder than we thought. We have so much stuff in it that we have to either sell it or find a new place for it. One thing I know we wont be getting rid of is my Hope Chest. But we have a bed and a dresser...I would like to keep the bed because then friends/family can use it when they come over ya know? But to put it in the office...that will make it cluttered which brings us to selling my Radio Tower and a desk. We have two desks right now. One for me and one for Kurtis. Which I love it that way. Scarpbooking on mine and blah work on his. So later on I will either be posting what we are selling..or telling you we will be having a garage sale. I might post things on Craigs List...that way I might get more for what we are selling but we haven't decided yet. Hopefully soon that room will be cleared out though because my baby furniture is on its way. :)



WIFE VS. HUSBAND
A couple drove down a
country road for several miles, not saying a word.
An earlier discussion had led to an argument and
neither of them wanted to concede their position.
As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs,
the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?"
"Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."


W O R D S

A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a
day...

30,000 to a man's 15,000. The wife replied, "The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men...The husband then turned to his wife and asked, "What?"


CREATION

A man said to his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be
so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time.
" The wife responded, "Allow me to explain.
God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me;
God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!


WHO DOES WHAT

A man and his wife were having an argument about who
should brew the coffee each morning.
The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up first,
and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee."
The husband said, " You are in charge of cooking around here and
you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my
coffee."
Wife replies, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible
that the man should do the coffee."
Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me."
So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament
and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed
says.........."HEBREWS"



The Silent Treatment

A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving
each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next
day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning
business flight.
Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on
a piece of paper,"Please wake me at 5:00 AM ." He left it where he knew she would find it.
The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM
and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and
see why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by
the bed. The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM . Wake up."
Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.



God may have created man before woman,
but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece.

SEND THIS TO SMART WOMEN WHO NEED A LAUGH AND TO MEN YOU THINK CAN HANDLE IT