theMores

Ten years ago to the day, I woke up and began to get ready for the biggest party of the decade… the ringing in of Y2K in a little place called Angels Camp.  The parents of my college best friend were throwing a down-home, backyard, in-the-middle-of-a-pasture New Year’s Eve Party in the hope of protecting their three cherished daughters from falling victim to the inevitable demise of the world when the computers failed to roll over into the new century.  Okay… so I’m exaggerating a bit… but Danny and Shannon threw one heck of a party that night complete with a ring of hay bales haloed with lights, troughs full of ice cold beer, and a tower of wood palates that would serve as the party’s “Time’s Square Ball Drop” when it was lit afire at midnight.  Little did I know, that my life would change forever that night.

My friend Kyle was the first to introduce us.  He casually introduced me to the friend of a friend and as I shook Erik’s hand to introduce myself, I experienced one of those sappy, sentitmental, “I just met my future husband” moments you only read about or see in a Meg Ryan movie.  But it was true.  I felt an immediate connection even with that first handshake.  I also remembered that he looked damned good in a low-slung baseball cap.  For the rest of the night, I kept bugging Kyle to casually “drop me off” near Erik any chance I got so I would have a reason to talk to him.  It must have worked because we ended up being each other’s New Year’s Eve kiss.  And I still remember exactly the way his hand felt when he held it for the first time that night – strong, worn, and safe.  To this day, I think our hearts knew we would eventually end up together, it just took our brains a few years to figure it out… his a little longer then mine.

After three years of friendship, two years of dating, and six months of engagement, we were married in a down-home, backyard, in-the-middle-of-a-field ceremony on my parents’ ranch.  There was no bonfire that night (unless you count the one our friends started in Tent City) but the trees were ringed with lights and there was still one heck of a party.  And I still remember the way my hands felt in his and we stood under an alter my little brother built and exchanged our vows – soft, loving, and safe.  The judge who married us that day talked about how we met, about how our friendship slowly blossomed into love, and in the spirit of our meeting, he wished that angels would always be camped out in our lives.  They are… one sleeps down the hall from us and the other at the foot of our bed.

This morning I woke up to the sweet wimpers of Jacoby, played catch with Colton and his new favorite OU football , and kissed Erik good-bye as he left to drop Colton at daycare and then go to work.  If you would have asked me ten years ago what my day would be like today, I’m not sure I would have known how to answer.  But  it is comforting to know how I will be celebrating each new decade fron here on out… and whose hand I will be holding.  I love you baby.

Happy New Year everyone!  May the next decade bring you all the love and happiness you deserve.

~Kristi

P.S. Thanks Danny and Shannon…

Many of you have asked us how we decided on Jacoby’s name.  Here’s the scoop:

Jacoby (Ja-Co-Bee)  - When I was pregnant with Colton, Erik suggested the name Jacoby after seeing Jacoby Ellsbury play in the World Series for the Red Sox.  I shot the name down almost immediately and despite Erik’s persistence, the name never made my top three list.  About half way through this pregnancy, Jacoby began to grow on me.  When we discussed using the nickname Coby, it pretty much sealed the deal for me and Jacoby quickly rose to the top.  We also contemplated the name Brandon and really didn’t make a final decision until about an hour after Jacoby was born.  Jacoby just seemed to fit him better… spunkier and spirited… a perfect fit for our “flipper.”

Thomas – I grew up at the base of a magnificant mountain in the High Sierras named Mt. Tom.  Our kids second names honor my history and since Erik and I both love the Owens Valley we wanted to incorporate it into Jacoby’s name.  Tom is a little bit awkward sounding as a middle name so we decided on the more formal Thomas.  (And no matter what Colton and Jacoby’s Uncle Tom says… we didn’t chose the name after him… even if Jacoby’s original due date was his uncle’s birthday.)

Kaleokani – Erik honors his Hawaiian heritage by chosing a Hawaiian name for each of our kids.  For Colton, the choice was easy as we used Erik’s Hawaiian name.  But this time, we got to start from fresh.  Erik really liked the name “Kaleo” which means “the voice.”  He asked his mom and cousins to help expand on that a bit and they suggested adding “kani” which means “joyful and sweet.”  Combined, Jacoby’s Hawaiian name translates to “the sweet, joyful voice”.  We’ll keep that in mind when he’s screaming at the top of his lungs in the middle of the night. 

More – That’s a given, isn’t it?

And that is how Munchkin got his name.

~Kristi

Our good friend Megan Wilkinson is a photographer and spoils us with her talent in capturing great images of infants and children.  She came over to the house last Friday for Jacoby’s newborn photo shoot and clicked away at all his cuteness.  And despite a very excited Colton, she managed to get some great shots of the boys together.  Check out the teaser here… http://www.meganwilkinsonphotography.com/blog/ 

Thanks again, Megan!  We can’t wait to see the rest of the pictures.

~Kristi

P.S. For anyone who is local and considering children’s photography, we highly recommend Megan!  Not only does she do fantastic work, but she is extremely patient with the babies and kids which I think makes them comfortable enough to “perform” for her.  She also does weddings and senior portraits.

To say the least, Jacoby took us on a wild ride and provided us and the hospital staff with plenty of drama right up to the end.  After the doctor was able to flip him back around a second time, she actually said, “okay… I’m not sure what to do at this point.”  Any time she would take her hands off my belly, Jacoby would try to sneak back up.  Erik chimed in and said he could just hold him in place for the rest of the delivery.  Considering that I was only dilated to 4cm at that point, it would have been a pretty good work out for Erik.  Instead, Erik suggested that we roll a couple of towels up and wedge them into my belly with the pressure of the girdle thing.  The doc said, “I’m willing to try it… we’re pretty much out of the text books, now.”  Well, it worked and that’s how we kept him in place for the next 5 hours. 

At that point, all looked well and labor was crusing along at a nice pace.  But not to be outdone, Jacoby gave us a little bit more drama.  Shortly after the nurses told Erik and me to take a little nap, three of them walked into the room to announce they would ALL be taking care of us now.  Then they all just stood there and stared up at the screen monitoring my contractions and Jacoby’s heart rate.  The new nurse announced that she thought they should turn off the Pitocin (the contraction inducing drug I was on) and call the doctor.  Okay… not good, right?  Long story short, Jacoby’s heart rate was dropping and staying dropped during each of my contractions.  While it would pick back up after a contraction, the nurses and doctor were worried that the up-and-down pattern would wear his heart out.  They mentally prepped us for an emergency c-section and explained that if it came to that, a flurry of activity would result in a baby being delivered in a mere 2 minutes.  Yeah… that nap never happened.  Luckily, I progressed quickly and the doc declared that it was time to push even before I was the full 10 cm dilated.  I told one of the nurses that I didn’t care, I just wanted the baby out and breathing on its own.  She said, “we do too… we do too.”  After about three contractions and maybe 6 minutes of pushing, Jacoby was out and crying within seconds.  Yes… little boy, you took us on a wild ride, but it was well, well worth it!!!

After spending two nights in the hospital, Erik and I brought Jacoby home and we have attempted to settle in to our new life.  For the most part, Jacoby proves to be a very easy going baby… but we know it’s only been a week.   He took to breastfeeding like a champ and even allows us at least one 4 – 5 stretch of sleep at night.  We can’t complain about that, can we?  He is putting on weight and losing that “newborn” look.  We are pretty sure he wasn’t quite ready to be born yet… despite his antics at the end… so it’s good to see him fill out a bit more.

Colton has taken to his roll of big brother with much enthusiasm.  In fact, too much enthusiasm at times.  He welcomed his little brother home proudly by waving to us with Papa and Nana from the drive way.  He then made sure that Jacoby had his pacifier when we brought him into the house.  The gesture melted our hearts!  He is pretty excited about having a baby in the house and at times just stares at him as if he is anticipating all the fun they will have together.  Hopefully he will be patient enough to let Jacoby grow up a bit before the rough housing begins.  Right now, he doesn’t quite get how to “be gentle” and we have had to block Jacoby from a few overzealous head pattings from his big brother.  Oh… and he seems gigantic to Erik and me!!!  It’s amazing to think that the little bundle of joy we brought home a week ago will grow to be as big as Colton in just a short 21 months.

Jacoby’s first week was also filled with lots of love from Nana and Papa.  They both arrived early to watch Colton while we were in the hospital… one of the advantages of being “scheduled”… and left this morning.  But not before Tutu and Grampa could arrive to meet their second grandson and shower both the boys with love for the next week. 

Unfortunately, the gallery conveniently decided to break.  Yeah… perfect timing.  Erik has been working on it throughout the week but hasn’t been able to fully debug the issue.  Until then, we hope these shots of the boys tie you over…

Thank you everyone for the outpouring of love and support during and after Jacoby’s birth.  Hearing your comments kept us both going and makes us realize just how lucky we are to have such a strong network of friends and family.  Stay tuned for more updates on the lives of the More Boys.

~Kristi

Jacoby Thomas Kaleokani More

(Ja-Co-Bee)  /  (Ka-Lay-O-Ka-Nee)

I think I look a lot like my big brother, except with black hair. Gonna hunker down with mom and dad for the night. Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement. See you all soon!

3:55pm – IT’S A BOY!!! 8 lb 7oz. 19.5 inches. Both mom and baby are doing great. Highlights to come!

3:30 – at 9cm. Probably start pushing within half hour. Next post prab after the birth.

2:15 – This is Kristi. I love modern medicine. I didn’t know just how sore I was from all the flipping until the good doc took it away. Head is still down but the nurses are leary of taking the girtle off. They’ve knock named this kid Flipper. Hunkering down for a nap now so there may be a break in posting. 5cm.

12:30 – head is still down. 4cm

11:15am – Munchkin flipped back . Tougher 2nd round of wrestling match but back in position now. Water is broke so the 24 hr clock is started.

Erik is not checking work email. Use ekmore14@gmail.com

10am – contractions starting to pick up a bit. Kristi is doing good so far. That white girdle is what’s holding the baby in place so Munchkin doesn’t flip again.

9am – contractions have started on the monitor but Kristi is barely feeling them. No info yet on dialation. Kristi is amazed at how good jello and broth can taste.

Looks like we are going to have the same nurse as we did with Colton. We really liked her so great news.

8am – the version was a success! Shew. Took about 5 mins and on pitocin now. Moving forward with the induction.

7am – at the hospital and met the nurses.

6:00am – Early morning but everyone is up, moving around and are getting pumped up for the big day.

It’s the night before and let’s review what we can expect for tomorrow. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00am but the length of the game is still up in the air. The first quarter will most likely keep the home team on edge as it is expected to set the course for the rest of the game. The second quarter could be quick with a speedy trip to the OR or it could drag on into a third quarter where the home team quarterback (the veteran Mom) will get very little breaks. But no matter which way the first half goes, the second half should be a little less eventful. We expect a new star to enter the game in the third quarter with the probable apperance of rookie big brother in the fourth. All in all, it should be a great game!

Tune in tomorrow for play-by-play action and highlights.

-Coach Dad

PS. The grandparents are hoping their is no overtime play

To say the least, this pregancy has been much more dramatic than Colton’s.  From the surprise of getting pregnant in the first place to the fainting and blacking out to the heart racing and palpitations issues and now a breech presentation.  That’s right… breech.  Mind you, Munchkin has been in the preferred, head-down position for months now.  But in the last week before his or her due date, the baby has decided to flip completely around and finish this ride right side up. 

I actually remember exactly when it happened.  It was last Wednesday night and I was lying in bed watching TV when a huge “kick” from the baby actually startled me.  I have said all along that this baby’s movements have differed from Colton’s.  Colton kicked… he kicked hard and he kicked often.  But Munchkin has always seemed to prefer full body movements.  So Wednesday night’s activities were not that unusual to me.  I thought Munchkin was just having a little fun or things were getting a little too tight for comfort.  At the time, I had no idea the baby had flipped around.  But in hindsight, it all makes sense now…. my belly changed shape, it became hard to bend down (a head in your ribs will do that), and I have progressively become more uncomfortable and sore each day… something I didn’t experience with Colton.

A week later (yesterday), we went in for our weekly check-up.  The doctor took her usual measurements and made the comment that she didn’t think the baby’s head was down any more.  After finding the heartbeat way up on my belly, her suspicions grew stronger.  We walked down the hall to the ultrasound room where she confirmed that the baby was indeed in the breech position.  Apparently, it is highly unusual for a baby to flip at 39 weeks gestation.  There usually just isn’t much room for them to do it.  We were especially surprised because our doctor has been telling us for the last month or so that she expects this baby to be a “good sized baby” and “comparable” to Colton’s size who weighed in at 9 lbs. 11 oz.  And before you start imaging just how big I am, let me clarify that I’ve gained the same amount of weight and my belly is measuring almost exactly the same as with Colton.  Who knows.  Maybe Munchkin is the next Michael Phelps and he was just trying to perfect his flip turn.  Or maybe she is in the next Shawn Johnson and was practicing a perfect dismount from the balance beam.  Either way, he or she has decided to be dramatic right up to the end… and we will have a great story to tell as parents of an Olympian.

So now what you ask?  After our doctor verified Munchkin’s new take on the world, she briefed us on the next steps.  I will be admitted to the hospital where they will attempt to flip the baby back to a head down position.  If they are successful, I will be induced right afterwards.  If they can’t get the baby to flip back, then I will deliver via a c-section.  The risk is letting me go into labor  naturally when the baby is still in the breech position.  With only four days left to my original due date, there’s a pretty good chance that I could.  We asked when.  She replied, “Will Friday work for you guys?” 

So… Friday it is.  As you will see from Erik’s previous post, he has tested the iphone’s ability to post updates to this website from the hospital.  As we did with Colton, we plan to post quick notes to let you all know how things are going.  So stay tuned, it looks like tomorrow is going to be an exciting day for the More family.

To Munchkin… our little M&M… while your true identity still remains a mystery to us, we did get to see a glimpse of you yesterday.  You’ve got chubby cheeks and your big brother’s nose.  Your face is all I will think about tomorrow.  And remember when I said we were ready for you and you could come at any time?  I guess you had already made the first move.  We’ll see you tomorrow!

~Kristi

Just double checking that I am able to post via my iPhone. I have never had the discipline to plan early and as usual have waited to a few days (maybe less hint hint) before M&M arrival date. Not a long post here and instead will spend some time sorting some pictures of Colton to get posted (a long overdue activity).

UPDATE: Well I got some work to do. As you may have noticed, the gallery is broken good. Unfortunately right now, I have some other more important things to do before Friday than to spend hours trying to figure what’s wrong. Don’t you hate when things just randomly break?

Sorry…was hoping to have some new pics for ya’ll to browse while waiting.

Expecting a second child is simply different.  I spoke a little bit of how this pregnancy has differed for me physically, but it is also been differently emotionally… for both Erik and me.  When I was pregnant with Colton, every week was an adventure because we simply had no idea what to expect.  Our excitement was based on nerves and fear of the unkown.  This time, we know what to expect.  We know how my body will respond to pregnancy (genearlly at least), we know what to expect from labor (again, genearlly), and most importantly, we know we will be good parents when it is all said and done (at least we hope.)

As we have moved through this pregnancy, our excitement has rested more in wonderment then in anxiousness.  We purposely decided not to find out the sex just to keep things interesting… to allow our imaginations to wander as we daydreamed about baby blue and baby pink.  I will admit there have been times over the last nine months where I really, really wanted to know if we are having a girl or a boy, but after making it this far, I’m looking forward to hearing Erik or the doctor announce… “It’s a girl!  or It’s a boy!”  Plus, it has made it fun to analyze all my symptoms and place our respective guesses… as well as hear all the theories from our friends and families.  But more than anything, the second time around, you know exactly how much love and joy you will feel the instant that little bundle of joy is handed over to you.  And that is what excites us the most.

Over the last few years, I have watched friends and family move through their second pregnancies.  As I imagined my second pregnancy, I always looked forward to experiencing it with an older sibling at home.  When I got pregnant with Munchkin, I wondered if Colton, at his young age, would ever understand there was a baby in mommy’s belly.  Would he ever point at my belly and say “baby”?  Would he put his little hand on my belly and wait for the baby to kick him?  Would he excitedly welcome his little baby sister or brother home from the hospital?  For the most part, my growing belly has left him unphased… despite our best efforts of preparing him.  About six weeks ago, he was cuddling with us in bed and layed his head on my belly.  The baby gave him a big kick right on his cheek.  He popped his little head up and looked at my belly as if to say “What the heck?”  Until recently, that has been his only real recognition of the baby in mommy’s belly… or babies at all.  As I recalled all the special moments my friends and family experienced with their second pregnancies, I was left disappointment and felt I was missing out on so many memories.

And then Colton surprised us.   Just over the last two weeks, the little “big brother” light has seemed to go off in his head.  He started pointing at babies and saying “bay”.  If you ask him where mommy’s baby is, he’ll lift up my shirt and point to my “butt” (his word for belly button).  And last night, he actually gave the baby a hug and kiss with an exclamation point of a loud “mmmmuh-uh!”.  But the most heart melting big-brother-to-be moment occurred on Saturday night.  We were at a friend’s house and three-month-old Baby Karli was there.  Karli had fallen asleep in her carrier and was resting on the floor.  She woke up and was contently watching the activities.  Colton saw her and pretty much fell in love on the spot.  He knelt in front of her carrier, smiled at her, patted her, and got right up into her face to simply stare at her.  It was down-right adorable and if I hadn’t been surrounded by about 20 friends, I would have broken down in tears right there.  Apparently, he is more ready to be a big brother than we thought. 

So… we are ready, Munchkin.  Your bag is packed.  Mommy’s bag is packed.  Daddy’s waiting to announce your arrival.  And your big brother can’t wait to simply stare at you.  We know your arrival date is still a week away, but it’s okay, you can come any time now. 

~Kristi

P.S. We want to welcome Colton and Munchkin’s newest little cousin to the world… Stella Jean!  We hope to meet you soon!