1 month old

I can't believe Haydn is a month old already! And at the same time it is hard to remember what it was like without him. Jeff and I can't believe what a good baby he is. I mean he's had like two bad days out of a month, I really can't complain about that. He is growing so much already! Jeff might not admit it, so I'll tell you the truth -
he got a little teary eyed the other night holding Haydn and reflecting on how much he has grown already. He used to fit perfectly in the palm of Jeff's hand and would just sit there and now he has outgrown it! I guess it really is true that your kids grow up too fast. Here's some pictures of Haydn's first month.


Here's Haydn in his first hour of life


Here we are hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's house


This was Haydn's first bath. He pretty much hated it, but by his fourth bath he barely cried. Maybe we will like bath time after all.



This is Haydn's first Thanksgiving outfit that he wore for about 2 hours before he spit up all over it.


We took some Christmas pictures with Haydn... this one is hilarious!

We are abundantly blessed and it has been so fun to parent with Jeff - he is pretty amazing, being a Daddy is so natural for him. Looking forward to the second month and all of the firsts it will hold.

Week One

Well, we made it through the first week of parenting without any major problems and it was a pretty great week. So far we've had:

- approximately 80 dirty diapers
- 1 4 AM 'HELP, what do we do?!' phone call (thanks again Karen)
- 238 kisses from Daddy
- 2 sponge baths
- 0 uncontrollable fits of crying
- what feels like at least 300 feedings
- like 7 loads of laundry already
- lots of visits from family and friends
- 2 doctors visits with good reports
- 1 simultaneous pooping, peeing, and spit up incident
- 2 very sleepy parents

Here are some pictures from Haydn's first week.


Coming home from the hospital. Thanks Aunt Elyse for all the decor!


This was the much hated sponge bath


Haydn was so happy his Abby Teyze came to visit!


This is Haydn's burpy face. I'm kind of in love with it.

Stay tuned. More adventures in parenting to come...

Haydn Walker Priour

Hello! Sorry for delayed pictures. We just got home from the hospital a little bit ago. Our stay lasted longer than we thought it would. Let's just say I should have packed an extra pair of socks. Here is my 2 cents for my friends who have not yet had kids to help out the dad. Pack extra socks, make sure you have a comfy jacket and aleeve for your back. Dads you stand a lot so the aleeve is for your back. Now here are the much awaited pictures...



Friends meet our son Haydn Walker Priour. Isn't he just the cutest? I know I am biased but the nurses said he was cute too. =)



This is our first family picture!



Once Haydn was born we got a little bit of family time before he had to go to the nursery. Once we were there I was with him for about 4 hours while he was being checked out and hooked up to some machines. He was breathing really fast so he had to stay in the nursery for a while. His breathing has returned to normal but now they will be looking at an ekg to let us know about his heart murmur.




This is me and Haydn, I just had to put a pic of us up here. He doesn't look like me but I am holding out that he will get my blue eyes.



Here is another family pic!



This is Aunt Elyse. The first time she held Haydn she said, "Haydn I will get you anything your mom and dad say no to."

Dearest Auntie Elyse,
Thanks for all the help you have been. I like being held by you and I am glad you keep an eye on Uncle Stephen when he holds me. You don't have to anymore though, he is doing a great job and I like sleeping on him. Tomorrow I want him to change my diaper with your help. Now, for the stuff mom and dad are going to say no to. I want a trampoline when I learn to jump. When I turn 16 I would like a new car probably a truck like my daddy. I can wait till I am 18 if the laws change. I am sure there will be more stuff along way so I will let you know what else pops up that I want. O yeah, I love all my clothes you gave me thank you. I will try not to poop, pee, or throw up on you but I make no guarantees.
Love Haydn



Haydn day 2.

Here are some stats on Haydn for those who like that sort of thing.
- Born on 11-5-09 @ 9:06 PM
- 7lbs 5oz
- 21 inches long
- Hair on his head
- 10 toes and fingers (I counted in the nursery when he was under his heat lamp - that was the warmest I ever was in the hospital)



My Momma Loves Me
As some of you know the week before I was born my momma was told she had gallstones. She had several gallstone attacks before I was born and she and daddy were hoping that once I came out there would not be any more attacks because I would not be pushing on all moms organs. Today mom stated having gallbladder attacks again. It looks like she is going to have to have her gallbladder removed. Daddy told me that while mom was in labor she did really well. Once momma started pushing the nurse yelled WAIT and I was like nooooooooo I am ready to come out. But then I heard all these voices and mom was pushing again and I was on my way out. In less than 15 minutes of pushing my mom welcomed me into the world. I took one look at her after about 35 minutes and thought she was the most beautiful mom ever. I know I have kept her up a lot at night but she has been really patient with me. Sometimes I get to snuggle with her on my boppy while she is in bed.

Erin did a great job throughout everything. Please pray for her to not have anymore gallbladder attacks and that things will work out for us to get it removed quickly.

Hope you enjoyed the post!

Testing 123

Hello Folks this is just a test run for me to figure out how to post pictures to the blog. Have a great day!



This is the pic of a really large seagull I took in Turkey. They are bigger than the ones in Corpus!



Sometimes boys just need to get dirty!!

9 months later

Sorry we've been AWOL for a while. We're going to work on keeping up with the posting especially as baby makes his arrival in just a few weeks! Anyway, here are some pics to show the progression of the belly - which has by now reached massive proportions... I mean it just can't get any bigger... can it? Please say no.


This is the first belly picture at 9 weeks


And here is 12 weeks


Here I am at 16 weeks


Here is 19 weeks


22 weeks


This is me & fife in Thailand. I'm about 28 weeks here



And this is today, going on 37 weeks!

It has been quite the journey - I never knew 9 months could take so long, but just a few more weeks... probably a few more pounds, and we will finally get to meet baby! We're so excited - none more so than me!

Adventures in Thailand

We've been having a great time so far! Thought I'd post some pictures of what we've been up to.


This is from Jeff's trip up the side of a mountain on a 4 wheeler


Today we went to an elephant camp and saw a show and got to ride an elephant.


The elephants even played soccer!


Here we are on our elephant ride!

Unfortunately, the internet is not cooperating with me right now so I can't post any more pictures! But, I'll try again soon....there's some great ones of me getting put in a headlock by an elephant and Jeff looking really hardcore in his ATV gear.

Time in Turkey

We've had a really good time in Turkey so far, we've also had some unexpected time here, but more on that later.
We got to Istanbul on Tuesday and ate some delicious Burger King before we even left the airport. It was some kind of wonderful.


Haydn and I got to enjoy Burger King twice! We were supposed to fly to Bangkok last night but the airline canceled our tickets without notifying us so we were at the airport until 1 AM trying to get that sorted out. Now we are flying to Bangkok tonight instead. Kind of a bummer, but today has been relaxing and I did get some more BK.

On Wednesday we got to go to the hospital to see some of our kids who are still there after heart surgery. We got to go to cardiac ICU and see baby Daryan. They are hoping to be able to extubate soon but he is still in pretty critical condition, please keep praying. Here's Jeff next to the model of the hospital, I couldn't believe how nice this hospital was!


We had a great time taking Daryan's mom out for lunch and then for some time in the city away from the hospital. It was also pretty wonderful getting to go to McDonald's twice and get some ice cream! I'm not one to usually take pictures of my food...but I was just so excited to eat some American food. We even got some Starbucks last night while we waited at the airport.


Here are some pics of us from the roof of the house we were staying at. I almost forgot how beautiful Turkey is, we've really enjoyed our time here.

We had a good time on the roof playing with Emma & Micah.


And this is Jeff's new traveling shirt. One of his good friends bought this for him right before we left Iraq because he said that Jeff needed a new shirt for his trip. Isn't it something? =)

We've had a great time in Istanbul but are ready to move on to phase 2 of our trip. Inshallah, we will get on a plane tonight and then arrive at our final destination in Thailand tomorrow night just in time for all of the big events to kick off for the week. Please be praying for our health. Jeff is at the pharmacy right now trying to find some cold medicine for us. I just got rid of a parasite last week, then got an infection from the antibiotics, and now it seems we are both getting colds. I'm really ready to feel better - especially on vacation!

Paintings for Haydn

I've been working on painting some pictures for Haydn's room for a
couple weeks. Here is the finished product. His room will be done in
primary colors. Hopefully when we get back to Iraq we'll be able to
get the nursery more set up!

Banquet

Last Friday we had a big party for all of the kids who have received heart surgery this year. It was great to see these kids running and playing and having fun. It was also great to spend time with these families who we have gotten close to as we have spent time in their homes with them and their children. Here are some pictures of the occasion.


the girls next to me and Abby both had surgery this year and the girl on the end (to the right) was inoperable. Please join us in continuing to pray for her!


This is the family of Heran. She is the taller girl in the gold dress. She had surgery in May and is doing much better! Her family has really welcomed me into their home - in fact I can't go there without them feeding me, no matter what time of day it is!


Here are all the girls in our Cili Kurdis - this is the special Kurdish dresses that women wear for picnics, weddings and other special occasions.


Here is Jeff with the Dad of one of the kids we sent in February, his son Zana is doing great! Jeff plays soccer with him every time we go to their house.

1.5 years

I just looked at my ical today and realized that today is 18 months that we have been married. Doesn't it seem like WAY longer than that?! =) I can't believe that this year when we celebrate our 2 year anniversary we will have a baby! These last 6 months have been really difficult and really wonderful. I'm so glad that you chose me and I'm grateful for the husband that you are. I'm so excited for you to get to be a daddy soon. I love you honey and will never forget how fabulous this day was!

It's A ....

Well, we got a second opinion and a better look and the doctor confirmed that the baby is 100% A BOY! We're really excited and grateful that he is healthy and growing!


Here he is! That's his head to the left and his spine and arm to the right! Can't wait to meet you son!

Happy Father's Day!

Baby has some special messages for her Grandpas today




Grandpa Priour hasn't picked out his Grandpa name yet. He's going to let baby pick it out!

We love you Dad's and hope you have a great day! And of course, Happy First Father's Day to my wonderful husband! You are going to be the greatest Daddy ever!

My trip to the Salon

It wasn’t my first time to get my hair cut here, but it was the first time I’ve had enough language and knowledge of the culture to really understand and appreciate the whole experience. The salon is in the same building that our office is in. Just to give you a picture of what the ‘salon’ is like, it is a room with a mirror, a counter, a couch, and one salon chair. I guess since there is only one lady who works there it makes sense to only have one chair. The lady who runs this place is fully covered. She covers her head and wears the long shirts to her knees. The first time I went to get my haircut she left me in the salon by myself for about 20 minutes so that she could go to her house and pray because it was time for afternoon prayers.
So, when I showed up yesterday there was quite a crowd… I wish I could have taken a picture of the women there, but it would have been pretty rude! The first woman was dressed from head to toe in sparkly red. She had the traditional Kurdish clothing on and was going to a wedding that evening. She was getting her makeup and hair done for the occasion. Women here REALLY like their makeup, especially for special occasions. The women also think it is beautiful to have really light skin, not their naturally really dark skin (I know, the grass is always greener huh?). So, she only has one shade of powder and it is really light. It requires much caking of the powder to conceal the women’s actual skin coloring. There is also nothing sanitary about make up application. There are no separate wands, or brushes, or cloths. After the make up she did this lady’s hair. They really like big hair here, I mean like 1984. The finishing touches were a can of hairspray and some glitter in her hair. I guess it’s a little bit like getting ready for prom, only with way more sparkles and gold jewelry.
The next lady came in to get her face flossed. I don’t know what you call it actually. You know those people in the mall who do people’s eyebrows with the string. They do that here too, but they don’t stop at the brows, they do the ENTIRE face. I mean cheeks, forehead, chin, lip, and sideburns. I felt pretty bad for this lady as she was grimacing in pain and kept having to wipe tears from her face. I’ve never done the face floss myself, but this lady’s face was bright red afterwards. It pretty much deterred me from ever wanting to experience it though.
So, then it was my turn. They don’t wash your hair here when you get it cut; they just spray it with a bottle. After I explained what I wanted, or tried to anyway, she got right to work. When she wasn’t using the comb to brush my hair she stuck it in her own hair and when she needed to pin up my hair she took the clip out of her own hair to use it in mine. I just had to smile and think about what it would be like if a hairdresser in the states did that. She insisted on drying my hair afterwards and giving me her own style. She is a really good hairdresser and I’ve liked my hair both times she has cut it. I’m not a big fan of her styling, but I never liked how they fixed my hair in the states either. See below for a picture of the finished product. After she was finished the other ladies in the salon exclaimed ‘She looks Kurdish! Now she must speak better Kurdish.’ I couldn’t agree more.

Bump!

I thought I would show you guys my ever expanding abdomen. I took this picture yesterday because it was the first time that I actually looked pregnant. I haven't totally grown out of my clothes yet, so that's encouraging. I actually haven't gained any weight yet. I lost about 5 pounds due to morning sickness and had already lost a few pounds since moving here, so I still have a few pounds to go before I'm at the weight I was at when we moved here. I'm feeling considerably better than I was and my appetite has returned - not full force yet, but I'm sure it is only a matter of time. Here's the first belly picture I took at 9 weeks



And 2.5 weeks later, here's the bump again



My mom just sent me some maternity clothes... and I'm not going to lie, they kind of scare me. I'm holding them up thinking....this is going to fit me?!

A day in the life of...

I was tagged by Kasey and now I'm gonna tell you what my typical day looks like. Take note that my typical day did not look much like this before I became so closely acquainted with constant nausea.

My day doesn't start with an alarm clock, but I couldn't think of a better picture. My day starts around 2 AM when I wake up hungry and have to eat something


So, I roll over and grab whatever I can find to eat...yes, I sleep with food in my bed now.


Then I wake up again around 4:30 because I'm hungry again.

munch.munch.munch. back to sleep

Then I finally wake up around 6:30 and usually try to wait until 7:00 to wake up my sweet husband so that he can bring me breakfast. I eat grapefruit every morning and see what I can manage to eat after that.

Roll over, back to sleep.

Then I finally wake up around 11 AM and make myself get out of bed.

And head to the kitchen to make myself some lunch.


This is about the only thing I can almost always eat no matter how bad I am feeling. Fortunately, my wonderful family sent me many boxes of this soup!

Then I usually spend some time studying Kurdish or meeting with my language helper

This is Sorani, the language we are learning. Nope, I don't know what this says. I can read some of the letters, but that's about it.

Then I usually head to the office to get some work done. Here's a pic of our office


Then its time to go home and start dinner. I've just regained the ability to spend time in the kitchen without being sick. So, that's an improvement. Fortunately, my sweet husband is a great help in the kitchen.


After dinner we usually watch a movie or some DVD on TV or hang out with some of our teammates. I will probably eat a few more snacks before actually going to bed.

Then we start winding down for the night and read in bed.


Then it's lights out sometime around 11ish and then it starts all over again.