olive is sick

olive has gotten very sick over the weekend. she has the horrible coughing fits where it looks like she is unable to breathe. the first time it happened i (the certified first aid and cpr instructor) was in complete panic mode while jen was the cool, calm and in control mom (i love you jen).

jen took her to doctor arena today (we are becoming regulars) who said that olivia now has bronchitis as well. she prescribed a whole slew of meds and antibiotics to give to her. we are a bit wary of giving her the antibiotics as she is so young. plus - you never know the origin of the medicine from here.

i am on the couch each night struggling to sleep. olive is having crazy coughing and crying fits in bedroom. jen is getting run ragged trying to take care of both of us.

we are both pretty worried and scared about olive. this is her first time being sick and is really hard to see.

not a good time at the conover household.

embassy new years party

last night we went with shane/jen and nelson/lauren to an embassy new years party at a restaurant near our house. when i say "we" i really mean me as jennifer has come down with the runs (there are no secrets on this blog). also when i say "new years" please note that it is no where near new years and the kyrgyz don't celebrate some secret early new years... so i am not sure what is up with that. oh... and everyone was suppose to come dressed at their favorite fairy.

we showed up a little late. a combination of hoping that jennifer was feeling better and because i was having dress anxiety (ended up wearing dad's old leather jacket!).

lots of good food (whole chickens and mystery fish both still sorting the heads) and dancing. there was also a pretty amazing belly dancing who flew around the room gyrating and swinging a sword (the dream of every 13 year old boy and 39 year old man). there were also some really crazy fun cossack dancers with the fur hats and tall leather boots. pretty awesome.

i ended up leaving after an hour. i was worried about jen being sick plus olivia has a lingering cold and i wanted to get home to them. nina was at the house helping out (and making blini) but i still felt like i should be home. the whole "in sickness and in health" thing. the other reason i left was i had to run away from the vodka which was flowing freely. i have swore off the stuff ever since the marine ball incident!

i am glad i came home early and don't feel like i missed anything. i so love my girls.

roaming mothers

jen and i are thinking about going to rome for spring break.  we can get a good deal on tickets right now from bishkek.  we would leave on friday, march 19 and return march 28.  but we don't want to do spring break alone.  we are hoping to talk our mothers into joining us.  we really, REALLY want to see them both before the summer.  and we really want them to see olivia while she is still a sweat little infant before she changes into a independent ten month old.

so we are starting operation "roaming mother".  roaming as in traveling.  rome as in italy.  get it?!  a terrible pun i know but help us out anyway.  please leave a comment on this post to our moms helping us beg and cajole them to join us for spring break.

the idea would be for us to all share an rented room/apartment together somewhere in Trastevere or in Old Rome.  spend our days meandering around... lounging at sidewalk cafes... eating good food... seeing the sights... and hanging with the pope.

so moms... when you read this... know we are being serious.  this would be a once in a life time trip for all of us.  rome!

thinking about home

it is wednesday night around 1130pm and all three of us are sitting in quietly in the living room.  jenny is on the couch holding our little olive who is sleeping soundly.  boone is laying at my feet next to the computer.  the weather outside if cold.  the apartment is so nice and warm it just makes us want to cuddle.  i am playing dj and we are listening to christmas music.

althought we haven't said it out loud yet to each other... we are both missing family.  as much as we love being overseas - it is still really hard being away from everyone.  especially during the holidays.

to all our friends and family back home... i am sorry if we don't say it enough... be we are very thankful for all of you.

love,
david, jennifer and olive

now that we are parents...

now that we are parents... this is how we spend most nights.

home safe and sound

jen, olive, boone and april have arrived home safe and sound!  their plan landed around 520am in bishkek and about an anxious hour (on my part) later they strolled out of customs with two carts, to rolling bags, and a big crate carrying boone.  as much as i had been waiting for the moment and as many times as i had played it out in my mind... it was all a blur.  jen looking tired but happy.  april all wide eyed being swarmed by taxi drivers.  boone whining like crazy wanting out of his 32 hour prison.  after greeting april and jennifer i found myself panicked because i couldn't see olive. the thought actually crossed my mind for a second that they had last her! but jennifer had her snuggled safely across her chest in a sling.

so amazing to have them back.

and of course it wouldn't be an official welcome home without having to pay off the traffic police. i had to pay 200soms ($5.00) to them as they were waiting by the car for us. for the record... i might have been parked illegally.

my friend sasha drove to the airport with me in another car to help carry all the stuff.  thanks sasha!

the girls made a valiant attempt to stay awake for a while but once olive zonked out... jen and april did too. boone is curled up on the couch snoring like he has lived in central asia all his life.

although i didn't sleep at all last night... i am too happy to sleep.

friday farewell dinner... sort of

my mom had us down on friday for a "farewell dinner" before i left for bishkek.  the trip down to her house was an adventure to say the least.  most of the time it takes us anywhere between 30 and 45 minutes depending on traffic.  but because i was driving the scooter (we are leaving it with deana and buddy for the year) we were forced to take backroads and the trip took an hour and a half.  that is a long time to be on a scooter!  plus we had to spot to feed olive a couple of times... so needless to say it was a long trip.

while it was nice for my mom to have us down... the whole evening was kind of strange.  no fanfare... no hurrah... no emotional parting.  we showed up late and by the time we arrived... everyone had pretty much eaten already and were busy doing their own thing.  it didn't feel like a special event and i guess it wasn't.

i love my family and this summer was great in getting to spend time with my mom, deana and company.  jen and i really appreciated the time and wouldn't have traded it for the world.  but the feeling i got during dinner was "ok... see you later".  i think i built the night up to be more than it really was or should have been.  i have spent most of my adult life living away from family.  to them... i am always on the way out the door.  so why should this time be any different?  the night was just another "he is leaving again" and i guess parting has lost it's significance. 

i am not slighting my family in any way.  they are amazing and showed jennifer, olive and myself so much kindness and generosity this summer.  what i am doing is realizing that if i want to "be closer" to my family... i need to make more of an effort to be closer.  both physically and emotionally.  otherwise to them it will always feel like i am always on my way out the door.

olive's first photo shoot

since christmas, when we first found out that we were with baby, my mom has been fanatical (in a wonderful grandmother kind of way) about buying her first granddaughter clothes, etc with the sole purpose of doing photo shoots with olive.  my mom is a wonderful photographer and very creative.  below are my videos and photos of my mom at work.  we will share her photos as soon as we get them.

for the record... olivia looked adorable!

colton's birthday party

on saturday we celebrated colton's ninth birthday at my sister's house in friendswood. a family affair with deana, buddy, colton and brayden, my mom and stepdad bob, my aunt judy, cousins amy, wes, julie with their kids. gloria and jen's mom. great family time. later in the night my mom's longtime family friend linda jenkins showed up with her two grandkids.  deana always does such an amazing job being a host.

the grandmas spent most of their time playing with olivia but i don't think colton minded to much as he was having fun playing in the pool all afternoon.

my mom was excited to take photos and spent time playing around with emma (julie and wes' daughter) before olive's photo shoot.

the last supper

my mom had us down for our last "life before olive" supper on sunday afternoon before we headed to the hospital. the dinner was crazy and rushed but lovely and great at the same time. my mom always out does herself... she is a modern day julia child. grilled pork chops. sweet potatoes. asparagus. good stuff. i am pretty sure she is the one responsible for my lack of weight loss (aka "weight gain") this summer. it was good family time as nancy, bobby, deana and buddy were there also. my mom also got me a small digital photo frame so i could take images of olive with me back to bishkek when i leave. sigh.

thanks for a great dinner mom.

three days

olive is three days overdue. we just returned from dr. woolfolk (jen, her mom and myself) and were told that the baby still isn't ready to come out. she looks "beautiful" in the words of the doctor but still "cooking".

jen had some false contractions last night for about an hour and a half and then one "real" contraction in the middle of the night... but that has been it so far. the doctor wanted to induce tonight since we are at 40 weeks plus but we scheduled for sunday night/monday morning instead as we really want to do all natural with minimal to no inductions. dr. woolfolk said she believe that olive will come before then but just to help things along... we should walk alot and have sex alot. that was fun to talk about in front of jen's mom. even more fun after we left the doctor's office and jen's mom came up with a schedule of when she would walk with jennifer and when i would "do her". good times!

waiting

a post from jen's blog...

Waiting.

This is such a strange feeling.

The Waiting.

Our doctor said that we could induce on Sunday but I really want to have the baby without inducing so we canceled the induction and are waiting it out.
Could today be the day?

Each day I think that it could be the day that would change our lives forever; seeing our little girl. With help, I finished the baby quilt tonight. Now she can come. Last night, I had about 10 contractions. I knew that they weren't painful and uncomfortable enough to be the "real thing" so I didn't even wake up David. Then today went by. I have had lots of Braxton Hicks contractions but nothing big enough to get us packing and rushing to the hospital. I can't make a call to my family members without the first question they ask being "Is she here yet?" or "Are you in labor?"

David went and did some errands today and I called a couple times. Each time he answered the phone in a panicked voice. After about the third time I told him I wouldn't call anymore unless I was in labor!

So, I think we have tried all of the recipes for jump-starting labor that I have heard of. I guess now she is just going to come when she is ready. And, really, that is just fine with us.

Anniversary Trip

from jen's blog...

Anniversary Trip

David and I ventured out far from home to celebrate our one year anniversary. We went to a little island (we had to take a ferry even) of Port Aransas here in Texas. Texas has an island? Yes. David's mom and stepdad, Bob, run a fishing tournament down there every year so that was great to see all of their work and how it all came together. There were huge boats and big fish.
David almost got into a fight with an old drunk fisherman. I had my camera ready.

We went to the beach on Saturday with David's mom, Janice. It was a great time (minus David's sunburn--he never lets me put sunscreen on him). When we got home on our real anniversary date David got bit by our neighbors dog so and couldn't walk around so we are going to celebrate our real anniversary today/tonight.

the car seat

jennifer and i have been dorks when it comes to getting ready for olive. my dad and gloria got us a really sweet stroller/car seat and we have been toting it around with a doll (which has an oversized head like our soon to be born daughter) buckled in. we took it/her over to my dad's and had fun playing with it and pretending olive was already here.

it was fun but sad at the same time... not knowing if olive would arrive before my dad dies.

"Heading" our way!

from Jen's blog Joy in the Journey...

I'm jumping ahead a little since I haven't posted about the 4th but we had a doctors appointment that doesn't require any photo downloads.

We had a big appointment on Monday. It was a radiology ultrasound that normally takes place around the 25th week. So, the radiologist was kind of spazzy but very thorough. She checked from her toes to her noggin. She has 10 little toes, fingers, organs are great, but the head...

is in the 95th percentile. The body is in the 30th.

I'm not too good at proportion ratios...and I still know that's not proportionate!

First thought: Ouch.
Second thought: Why? Then, the dr looks at David and pinpoints him as the cause. Normally, they would think that there might be fluid in the brain "but since Dad has a big head" they continued to say.

Anyway, all is well. No fluid in the brain. Just a big headed baby. Runs in both of our families. But, the good news is they grow into their heads like puppies grow into their feet. That's just fine with us. We are going to be those oblivious parents who have no idea their baby has a large head (even if we were told) because she will be the most perfect little human in our eyes. Just the way it should be.

At this point, and even since conception, we have both been in love with Olivia. Even if there was something wrong, we would still be her number one fans and advocates. We love our little, or not so little baby. We are so happy all is well with her (it's still so overwhelming to me that everything just works itself out most of the time and that most babies are born completely healthy when there are so many little things that could go awry.)

The ETA is still on track for mid-August to deliver. We'll see about that! I still have a baby quilt to finish before then! Time flies.

I have loved the little kicks this week. They are getting to be thunderous and shocking sometimes but it's such an amazing feeling.

This week:
(I loved the old list format with html that I used to do so I thought I would start that up again)
-Clean out laundry room
-ObGyn appt Wednesday to review ultrasound results and see if we still have to be on pelvic rest
-Go through paper mail we have accrued since Christmas
-Arrange room so there's some room for Olivia's bassinet
-Pick up Jenna at the airport on Friday
-Reward for completing list: buy a dress to wear at my Baby Shower on Saturday

Sunday, July 5, 2009

The Fourth

It was our nation's independence day and all I have to show for it is this stupid picture of a cake. Am I the only one that gets distracted on major holidays and forgets to take pictures?This one was actually taken on July 5th and the reason it is only of half the cake is because the other side was eaten off of.

We had a fabulous, non-traditional time. David and I went to his dad's house in Brazoria--a small town who holds the current record of the best fireworks show both David and I have EVER seen. It's like every burst is the finale...but then it keeps going and going. The Baptist Church holds a huge show in their lot complete with a stage, live music, and all the works.

David and I brought stuff over to the house to make pizza. We did. People ate. Not John. We chatted. We watched a huge Aretha Franklin sing (when did that happen?) and we heard fireworks from the house but did not see them. We played a word scramble game on the tv which got everyone involved. John had his eyes closed some of the time and still made word suggestions sporadically, which made us laugh. This time, he was doing a lot better than he has been. He was sitting up and pulling himself up. He had a new sense of autonomy with the burst of energy he was feeling.

We headed for Houston at about 10 before the party people stopped over-hydrating and caught some of the fireworks show on the way home.

monday

last night we went down to brazoria to be with my dad who has taken another turn for the worse. he asked gloria to call my sister and me and have us come be by his side. when we arrived about an hour and a half later (it is a bit of a drive from houston to brazoria) dad wasn't doing well. throwing up blood and bile... moaning in pain... not able to keep down his pain medicine.

dad and gloria had already made the decision that he was going to die at home and not prolong his suffering by going to the hospital. jen and i are really stuck in an uncomfortable position as we want to advocate him going to the emergency room as they can hook him up to an iv and give him nourishment and medicine that way (he has barely eaten or had anything to drink in three weeks). they say it will just prolong the inevitable where as we think it will help him die with less pain and more grace. but it doesn't seem like it is something we can push without upsetting them. at the same time it is impossible to sit in the same room with dad and see him suffering so much without wanting to do something.

we spent the night here last night and are planning on staying again tonight... and for as long as we need to. boone is here with us. gloria's sisters and family have come down to visit today.

so at least my dad is surrounded by people who love him.

family time

a post from jen's blog about saturday night at my mom's house...

I nearly cried when I saw this little tutu that Grandma Janice got for Olivia. The waist size is so small and the tutu is so frilly and cute. It is so fun thinking about our little baby and anticipating what she will look like.

These little guys played 'Uncle Buck says' and laughed as they ran around the house and played. Brayden is now 4 and is still such a little guy. Colton does quite an impressive Pterodactyl impression. As always, the food was excellent and we had a good time catching up with everyone!

father's day

we spent father's day with my sister, my dad and gloria in brazoria. my dad was having a good day which was a blessing.

dad update

it has been a while since i have provide a dad update. since august he has been fighting lung cancer that has quietly spread to both lungs and then his hip. on top of that he has a disease called MDS which is a rare blood disease which limits his body's ability to produce white and red blood cells.

all that said... he (along with the never ending strength and support of my step-mom gloria) has been putting up a good fight and doing really well... until the last month or so.

his weight is down to 162 pounds and he is extremely weak and low energy. hospice has recently come out to their house to offer support and care.

if you know me that well... you know that i have serious struggles at with the idea of a "higher being", etc. that said... i am asking you to send your prayers and positive energy to my dad, gloria and my family.

starting to nest

yesterday jen had a breakdown about our situation. by situation i mean having the baby in houston and having to turn around and move to bishkek. she was worried (comes with the territory of impending motherhood) about where the baby was going to sleep in houston... if the baby would have everything she needed, etc. i think the direct quote was "i feel like a mamma bird without a nest". sounds really cute right now but when jen said it... she really was feeling sad and worried.

along comes mom. half a world away and no idea of how jen was feeling... she sent us the following email this morning:

I hope you both don't mind, but I bought this bassinet for Olivia. It should be fine for the short time you will be here. What do you think? Feminine enough?

Love you,
Mom

the timing couldn't be any better. it was like she knew exactly what jen needed. thanks mom for being you and for being so intuitive.

she attached a photo of the bassinet and i have included it below. it is perfect! and so pink!