Updaticus Maximus...

Well, I'd like to thank those of you who have put up with my music posts.
Lately, it's what I've been motivated to write about, but I'm feeling guilty telling people that if they want to know what's actually going on in our lives, they need to check Sarah's blog.

Blogs go through phases, because the writers do. And this blog is going on 3 years... so it's seen some very different incarnations. For a long time, it was the emaciated refugees of my little brain... then it was a place to buy salmon... and for a long time, it was almost a Tom Waits fan site.

We seen some horribly painful times... we've seen some amazing things happen, and along the way, I have been so blessed to have all of you comment on what was said. Often times, I've enjoyed the comments section much more than the actual post. Especially when Erina posts.

So here's a bit on our lives right now. Kiah's started army crawling. It's really fun to watch, and we've been enjoying watching him explore the apartment. He loves going under the computer desk, and is especially fond of the metal trash can that we have under there. We have to keep our eyes open, but thankfully, he's still really slow, and grunts alot while he crawls. So he can't really "sneak" into anything.

Our friends Daniel and Lara have volunteered to start babysitting on Wednesdays now. So we can have a "date night" to look forward to. Last Wednesday, we stayed home and watched an entire show on tv without having to jump up, or change a diaper, or bounce Kiah to keep him from crying... it was nice. And then we went out for dessert at Chilis. It was really enjoyable. This Wed. I have an idea of a nice date... It's so nice to look forward to a set time to be together. What a gift!

Sarah's feeling under the weather today. Something with her throat that's been bothering her lately. She is at the doctor's office right now getting it checked out, and Kiah is taking his nap. Lately, Sarah's created a schedule for him, and it's starting to work. Last night, he gave me some trouble. Woke up around 11:00 and wanted to play. Finally got him back to sleep, and went to bed myself. But usually, he's been conforming. So that's really nice.

Oh, it was my mom's birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday mom! She's finally 39.

In work news, I got a raise. But we added Sarah to our health insurance, so my check was $2 less than normal... lol. That's the way it goes, huh? But you could look at it as we added Sarah to our insurance for only $2 a paycheck right? Otherwise, things are going splendidly. I've been enjoying accounting quite a bit. Unfortunately for me, they hired an assistant controller who is going to take my beautiful office. :( I love my office. And my non-sucky computer... but all good things must come to an end. I just wish that they would've hired her after I left the department at the end of the month...

I'm up for employee of the year. Statistically, I have a 1 in 11 shot. (January's team champion isn't at the hotel anymore...) But in reality, I think my odds are better. We'll see. If I do win, it's $500 buckaroos, and a nice little addition to the resumé. I'm on the committee that makes these decisions, but I couldn't vote for myself. It just didn't feel right. In other competitions, I can see doing it, but employee of the year seems like something I should leave to the other folks. If I'm good enough, it won't matter how I voted.

Sarah and I booked our flight to Chicago yesterday. So we should be out there in February, go to a wedding, and spend a few days with the family. Then head out to Ohia, and spend a couple days with the family out there. I am looking forward to it, but I'm still sad that our Ohia family hasn't seen Colorado yet. We gotta find a way...

Well, Kiah's waking up, so I'm gonna go get 'im. Later 'yall.

Jim

New phones, new years and new jobs.

Well folks, here's to the first post of 2007.
I hope it's as good a year as 2006, but with no getting fired or pregnancy.
(We've had all of those we can handle for awhile, even though both led to some of the best things of the year... so... hmmm)

We got our phones yesterday, for many of you, we'll email you the numbers if we haven't already. We have signed up with Tmobile. I was with them before, and very happy with everything. We reviewed all the deals out there, and were most satisfied with Tmobile's plans, phones and flexibility. Their coverage is excellent (identical to cingular's) and they had some wonderful deals. Because of their Fav 5 service, they are having to use some really good phones as their "free" with plan phones. While many services have a pretty pathetic line of free phones, The four-six phones under $50 on Tmobile's line-up were very impressive. Sarah and I opted for the Motorola Pebl. It debuted near the time of the Razr, but hasn't been anywhere near as popular. Its reviews however far excelled the Razr. It is VERY stylish and small. Has a very unique opening movement, has similar controls to that of the Razr, but has almost a rubber-like coating to the shell. It's bluetooth, has speakerphone, and is a quadband worldphone. All in all, a very cool phone. To top it off, it comes in black, green, orange or blue. (And in some parts of California for some reason... pink. No kidding.)
Sarah and I got the black models through a deal service she has online. Normally, we would've paid Tmobile $50 each, and received $50 rebates in the mail. But with this deal, an additional $50 was taken off at purchase, but we still get the rebates, so they paid us $100 to take the phones off their hands. Nice of us. Needless to say, we're stoked. Call us up. We'll chat.

I have the next two days off. Which will be awesome, as we will spend them with Mami. We plan on going to Garden of the gods at some point... we've been to Denver this morning to get her luggage. (a story I chose NOT to tell. Baggage handlers are the devil) And we'll probably go shopping. (Japan's national past-time.) When I return to work, I will be working in the accounting department. I'm a bit scared, but all in all, I think I'll do ridiculously well. I seem to be ok when I really apply myself. So here's to that.

Well, I'm gonna get a snack and head to bed. I'm gettin' old.

Peace, love and happy new year!

Merry Christmas!

Well then...

Ok, so the family was out here for the larger part of last week and into this week. Sarah's grandma Marge, her parents Jeff & Linda, and her sisters Kaitlin and Jessica. Here are some pictures from Glen Eyrie, the castle outside of town.







It's just been a very busy past few weeks. Thanks to everyone for your patience, and for even coming back to check the site. We'll get things going again, now that they've quieted down.

Kiah is smiling alot now, and mimicking our voices. He's 14 lbs. now... The nurse giving him his vacines the other day couldn't hold his little legs down without help. I'm so proud.

We had Kiah dedicated to the Lord at church last Sunday. Dedications are a vow to raise him in a way that's pleasing to God. I was dedicated in Sarasota, Florida at a little church called Grace Fellowship, and Sarah was dedicated at Moraine Valley Church in Palos Heights, IL. We've been waiting till Sarah's family was out before we had it done.

This next week, I am not at the front desk, but back in the Reservations department. It will be alot of fun, and hopefully a great learning experience. Yesterday, I was in there for 8 hours, and it was well spent.

Sarah's back to tutoring and Halie has been playing alot of catch up on work that's been missed due to the olympics.

My good friend Jim V. (the guy that always keeps me in check here on the blog) and his wife Paula have been going through some terrible medical struggles over the last few months. Please join Sarah and I in praying for a swift and complete recovery for Paula, and peace for Jim as he holds her hand through this season.

Garden of the Gods... and Kaitlin

Sarah's sister Kaitlin has been visiting us this past week or so. She'll be here for another couple weeks, which is cool... we're stoked to have family around.

Things have been good. Busy, but good. Work has been fun, and a good learning experience. I will be moving partially to reservations for the next few weeks, but I'll still keep my momentum at the front desk.

I'm staying home today because Kiah didn't sleep much last night and Sarah was beat this morninng. I didn't get July 4th off, but I got the PTO day, so I took it today. I took a few pics out of our buiding collection to share with you, so here we are...
Here's Kiah and me. We look like some goofy sort of gang.


Here's Sarah and Kaitlin at the Garden of the Gods. Kiah's in the stroller, and the mexican lady posing in the background has such a happy look on her face, I didn't want to crop her out...


Here's a pic of Kait, Kiah and I. We're so happy from a distance, but zoom in and...


Here's a pic of Kiah and I at the visitors center. I like the way it turned out.



And finally, here's a pic of Kait and Kiah. They're so cute!

My brain is hanging upside down...

Last week, Cheney and Rumsfeld go into the oval office to brief the president on the day's affairs. Upon entering, and after the normal niceties, Bush turns to Rumsfeld and asks "So what happened yesterday in Iraq?"

"Well Mr. President" Rumsfeld says while looking down at his feet "Three Brazilian officers were killed in heavy combat yesterday."

The president clutches his heart. Reels for a second and then plops into his chair, obviously shaken with the news and says "Oh my God Donald... Just how many is a Brazillion?"

So it's been awhile.

Even as I write this, I do so with one hand. I'm currently feeding the son his "brazillionth" bottle today. He's a pooping, eating, pooping machine. With a side of sleep.

I have been wanting to write more, and I keep trying, I just have so much on my plate right now. But I promise to find the time in this next week. It's amazing how fast time flies. Kiah is a month old today! How crazy is that? In his four short weeks of life, he has been to my hotel twice, church three times, a shower, the mall, a bunch of stores, and the highest suspension bridge in the world! He's gonna be so cool, we won't know what to do with him. He fell asleep during the Cubs beating today. Too bad they can only lose once today, otherwise, we'd appreciate the other nap.

Sarah's been sleeping for awhile. She's needed the rest so badly, and when I can be home, I want to make sure I relieve her of her baby duties. It's nice that he's partially bottle-fed, which means that I can wake up with him at night, and babysit for extended periods. I did two nights ago, and Sarah went for a haircut. It's adorable. Real short. I'll post some pics of her soon.

Oh! Kaitlin, Sarah's youngest sister, is coming out on Wednesday to stay for a couple weeks! We're real excited about it, and are looking forward to Kiah spending some quality time with his aunt. There's still no word on when anyone from my family will be able to come, but Sarah's parents and sister Jessica will be coming out to pick Kait up and drive back home. Its so nice to have family around.

In other family news, my sister Tammy had her baby, Eowyn Jeane. She's pretty cute, for a girl... just kidding, she's adorable. Kid has a ton of dark hair... My mom went out to be with her for a week or so, and my brothers are going to stay with her while my parents go to Africa for a few weeks. They are specing out the city in Tanzania they are going to, and will get to see Tammy, Josh and the baby before they head out. Wish we could go, but it's not to be. At least not now.

Well, I gotta go. Looks like he's going to sleep, and I don't want to wake him.

Peace

Tired but happy...

Well I've been wiped lately. The schedule is nice, but I am at work ALL THE TIME. It's hard to get up and leave the baby and my baby every morning, but I am so happy to have a job that's paying off, I know it's the right thing.

In more pressing news, my sister Tammy had her baby yesterday morning. Her name is Eowyn Jeanne. I think I spelled that right. She was only 7 pounds 11 ounces, but she was 20.75" long. Pretty nice sized baby. I'm sure she's adorable, but we haven't been able to see her yet. If you read Tammy's blog, or know her... be sure to send congratulations. Her husbands name is Josh.

The family is pretty excited. My mom is headed out to NY to be with them during the first few weeks, much like Sarah's mom has done with us.

Oh! In other news, I was awarded "Team champion of the month" for May. It's basically "Employee of the month", but has a different name. It's still an honor, and can't hurt my reputation. I've been doing much better with the employees under me lately. I try not to think of them as "under"... I know that came out wrong. But in this case, you really have to assert yourself, or they'll run all over you. I had to confront someone the other day for the way she spoke to me. I did it privately of course, but since then, she's been friendlier and much more comfortable in our relationship. I just needed to tell her where I stood, and that was that.

I've really put my nose to the grindstone, especially in the area of valet/bellmen. I care about them, and I want to make things better. Now I'm in the position to do just that. We have a department meeting for them on Friday, and I'll lay out our new gameplan that I've developed then.

Pardon the dullness of my writing if it has been. I feel as though my artistic, interesting side has really been under strain lately. Probably due to lack of sleep. I will close with this adorable pic of our son. In true colors.

Updates on Kiah and Sarah

Hi everyone. Thanks for being patient. We've had a crazy couple days, and I'll go over in part, what's going on now, and a bit of what the delivery was like.

Sarah had some contractions last Wednesday night. We went to the mall, and walked around a little bit, and after we got home, I went to take a nap in case we were going to go into labor that night. I woke up around 10:30 and Sarah was pretty serious about the contractions. I updated the blog, and did a few other things and slept for another hour. She tried to sleep, but didn't, and woke me up at 1:30 with the news that we needed to leave NOW. We did, and we arrived at the hospital around 2:00. We walked to the check in, and at her first checkup, Sarah was 5cm dialated already. She was 10cm by 6am, so 5cm in 4 hours was pretty impressive. The nurses wheeled a baby warmer in, and Sarah started pushing. Her doctor arrived about an hour later and after taking a look at Sarah, let us know that she shouldn't be pushing yet. That there was still some cervix left to dialate, and that we were just bruising the baby. So we did some more contraction handling, and were soon at the pushing stage officially. Now for the uninitiated, dialation of the cervix requires breathing through contractions. You're not pushing, you're simply surviving. Once they let you push, as I understand it, it is alot more gratifying. And shorter. Generally. According to a book we have, the pushing phase of childbirth should last 1 push to 2 hours. Sarah pushed for 3. With no pain medication. No local anisthetic, no epideral. Nothing. She's like a legend now. Doctors were gathering outside the room to see the girl with no pain medication. One of them told me it's one in a hundred, but probably more than a hundred...

Anyway, during the labor, our doctor, a very smart lady, tried to use a vaccuum to help extract the baby while Sarah pushed. But, it was unsuccessful. They only try 3-4 times, because there's just too much risk of hurting the baby. I forgot to mention, that for the doctor to even attempt to use the vaccuum (the modern alternative to forceps) she would have to be able to see Kiah's head. Which we could! Sarah had been pushing so hard, that he was crowning. Almost there. But stuck. It was so hard to see him so close, only to go through contraction after contraction, pushing and pushing, with no forward movement. I asked doctor Schwietzer what she thought, and she said that after a few more pushes, we might have to move to a c-section. She gave Sarah the benefit of the doubt, and waited until even Sarah had given up hope of pushing him out. She said it later, but I'll say it now, the doctor believed that it was the right decision because it was made at a point when Kiah still had a strong heartbeat, and wasn't in too much distress. If we had kept trying, the results could have been very bad.

We moved Sarah to the operating room, while she tried to control her contractions. Go back to breathing... try not to push... It was really hard on her. They had me get into operating clothes, and let me bring my camera. I had to wait outside the room for 10-15 minutes while they prepped her, and got her epideral in place. They called me in, and I sat next to her head while Dr. Schwietzer and another doctor operated. Several nurses, and a pediatrician for Kiah assisted. After a little while of talking to eachother quietly, Sarah heard a squeek over at the pediatrician's table. Then a cry. She said "Is that him?" and I looked to see, and yes it was. They had extracted him a few moments before, and were cleaning him off and giving him oxygen. He was blue, and squished, and looked bruised all over. It turned out that the worst of his bruising was on his face. He had been sunny side up, or facing the wrong way, and would never have come out. We made the right decision and just in time.

The hard part was then going with the baby to the Infant ward where they treat distressed babies, and leaving Sarah behind. But they had to stitch her up and get her to recovery. While I waited with Kiah, they got some saleen going through his system to boost his circulation, and gave him a little oxygen. I took pictures and a video or two, so that Sarah could see him, and when I was comfortable with how he was doing, I went to find her. I found her recovering, and I changed clothes back to my street clothes after showing her the pics and video. She was happy to see him doing well, but wanted to be with him. I ran back and forth between them for awhile, until we all got to be up in the mother/baby ward, where she still is now.

Sarah got to hold the baby for about 20 minutes before I had to take him back to the nursery for them to check his vitals. It was fast though, and I got him back to her in minutes. Her mom arrived soon after that from her flight and shuttle ride from Chicago. That's where most of the pics that you've seen have come from. That period of time.

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Since then, Kiah has been trying to nurse, but hasn't done real well yet. He'll have to get it, and hasn't been peaceful enough to. The first deal was his blood sugar level, so they poked and prodded, and fed him formula. Now he has jaundice, so the poke and prod him and make us feed him formula. We chose a soy formula so that he won't have any bad reactions. Sarah couldn't eat formula as a baby, and we don't want to chance it. The jaundice is pretty bad, so they have him under this crazy blue light. He has to wear these little eye covers, and is away from us all the time. They bring Sarah to him so that she can try and feed him, but he's so comforted by her holding him that he falls asleep instantly when she holds him. He's so stressed and worn. So is she. She misses him, and so do I for that matter, but I've been in the nursery with him alot, making sure that they don't neglect him, or let him scream, or forget to feed him... Every time we just "trust" them, it hasn't worked out, so I ride them like a bull. Every nurse has a different opinion, different info, different levels of interest in our well being. One will say that the baby should never have water, the other will list it has her first suggestion. One will say that she'll wake Sarah up to feed and forget, while another will bust into the room, give Sarah a time limit, and demand she feed him that instant. They're really not bad as a hospital goes, but they try our patience.

At this point, Kiah is still under the lights. Sarah tries to breastfeed every few hours, I feed him soy after she's done. She doesn't want Kiah associating her smell with bottle feeding. It gives us both bonding time, but we miss him. I hope he'll come back to the room with us tomorrow.

Sarah's mom has been awesome. We've gotten to spend some fun time together, and with Sarah. Trying to be supportive.

Well, I am bushed. I'm off to bed. Love you all, hope the update was good. More pics to come!

Hezekiah Immanuel Miller

Hezekiah Immanuel Miller
Born: May 25, 2006 @ 10:53 am
Weight: 8 pounds, 13 ounces
Length: 21 inches
He was delivered emergency c-section after a ton of natural labor.

Here's an early picture of me and the boy after the surgery.

Another early pic.


The new mommy.


Kiah and his giant red hat. He was happier than he looks... really.


Sarah's mom flew out to help out in our early weeks with the baby.


Giving eachother funny looks...



Well. That's it for now. I just wanted to run home for a couple minutes to update you all.
I'll write about the whole labor later.