Karston just had his 1 month birthday on October 4th. It's been an awesome month with him in our lives. We love him very much even though he doesn't do anything aside from Eat. Sleep. Poop (It's a cycle)



He's an adorable little boy and very good at what he's learned how to do in his one month here on Earth. His most exciting accomplishment in our eyes is his little smile or his coos when he's falling asleep and happy. We love it when he actually looks at us, into our eyes. It's almost as if he's thinking: 'Hey, you guys aren't pros but you're all I've got for parents. Guess I gotta make the best of it!'



He absolutely loves his bath time, Valerie is ecstatic that since he was born, her Washington Redskins are undefeated and claims it's Karston's presence (while wearing his Redskins outfits).

This year for Halloween Valerie and I decided that Karston will dress up.... we bought an AWESOME!!! costume for him, which will remain a surprise until a post on Halloween day!

Stay tuned!

Labels: baby, family, Karston

Karston learns his body parts:

Labels: baby, family, Karston

Valerie and I are a bit biased but we think we have a cute baby. Tonight Karston had his first bath (thanks to Stephanie S. for providing him with all the bath supplies) and he didn't seem to mind. Valerie made the bathroom really steamy and warm so he wouldn't freak out when we undressed him and we gave him a little wash.

Labels: baby, family, Karston

My first frustrating night with Karston home wasn't all that frustrating and I'm sure every parent in the world has gone through the same type of situation.

Last night Karston was "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed." It was great to see him awake so much and BOTH of his eyes open at the same time (usually he prefers the Popeye look). However when it came to trying to get him to go to sleep around midnight he would have none of it!

I tried to console and rock him so that Valerie could get some sleep but he was having a tough time. He kept giving me mixed signals.

I have seen on various sights and have heard from various people that babies have different cries to tell you how they are feeling and what they need.

The Baby Corner has a great reference on infant communication. It lists the following as common types of infant cries:

• Basic - A rhythmic pattern formed by a cry, then a brief silence, then a short whistle higher in pitch than the main cry, then another quick rest before the next cry.


• Anger - A variation of the basic cry with more air forced through the vocal chords.


• Hunger - A low pitched cry that rises and falls with a rhythm. The baby will usually root, suck on his or her hands and can't be calmed down.


• Fatigue - A soft, rhythmic cry as the baby tries to pacify and go to sleep.


• Boredom - A fake cry that stops when picked up.


• Discomfort - A whiny sound like the fake cry, but doesn't stop when picked up. Baby usually needs a diaper change or is too hot or cold.


• Pain - Differs from the other types of cries, and it stimulated by high-intensity stimuli. It is characterized by both a sudden loud cry without moaning, and a long initial cry followed by a breathing period.

Last night Karston was making cries that told me he had to burp but it turned out that he was hungry.

It isn't an exact science but it's nice to know typical sounds an infant makes so that you can narrow down what he or she needs.

Labels: baby, family, Karston

This morning Valerie, Karston and I made a family trip to the pediatrician for the first time. Dr. Fleming was really great to work with - it helped that she's around our age - easy to relate to.

Karston had his first weigh-in and measured for length (height??). Dr. Fleming noticed he has a dimple on his sacrum so she suggested that we get it checked out at the hospital. She also didn't have records of his test for bilirubin so told us to do that as well while at the hospital. He doesn't look too yellow but it is slightly elevated more than where it should be.

I also forgot my cell phone charger in the recovery room and Val wanted to rent a breast pump until hers comes in the mail. So off to the hospital we went.

The ultrasound on his spine went very well and came back positive so there is nothing to worry about there. His bilirubin test results were supposed to go back to Dr. Fleming so we'll wait to see about that, but I don't think it will be anything serious.

We asked Dr. Fleming for sleeping advice since in his first two nights home Karston hasn't wanted to sleep on his back at all! He even wakes up and pitches a fit if you lay him down on his back. I'm sure it is something that he will get used to since he's been balled up and in an enclosed space for nine months so I'm sure that he prefers that still. Today we got him to sleep in his bouncy chair (thanks great-aunt Stephie!!) and right now is actually napping on his back on the couch between the two of us. So maybe there is hope. He just does not like to sleep in his bassinet. We're hoping to break that trend soon so we can get some much needed sleep!

We've had lots of good friends dropping by and emailing/calling us to congratulate us. We appreciate all of you, especially those who have given us advice (Melissa, Jenny, Rachael, etc.)

Being parents is awesome! We love it! I really like this kid and think we'll keep him! I love bonding with him. When he gets fussy or extremely wiggly, I will put my lips on the side of his head and softly whisper calming words to him and give him soft kisses. It helps to put him to sleep. We think that he really likes me!

My next goal is to teach him to hold his own pacifier in!

Got to go change a diaper!!

Labels: baby, family, Karston

I feel really thankful. Over the past week I've been the beneficiary of some remarkable service. The first is my fabulous sister-in-law Rachael. I hate the term sister-in-law when I describe Rachael because I've known her for 16+ years. She's my sister and I look to her for advice on many levels-- most recently as my source of all things pregnancy, childbirth, and baby.

Rachael did the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. She cleaned our townhouse last week before we moved in. I'm not sure how many hours she spent there. It had to have been at least 10. She cleaned our kitchen, wiped out the cupboards, cleaned all the floors, and the bathrooms. She did everything. Considering she has a full-time gig as a corporate executive, a seven-year old and twins under the age of two, this means a lot to me.

I am also thankful to Mike N., Mike Y., Scott, Paul, Corey, my brother Brandon, and my niece Ellie for all their help with our move last Saturday. They started loading the truck at 10:00 a.m. and had delivered and unloaded everything at our new house by 12:30pm. It was amazingly fast. Brandon and Ellie came early and stayed late to help with organizing and cleaning too.

My thanks also goes out to Holly who threw a fabulous baby shower Wednesday night. The food, especially the cake, was out of this world. I appreciate all her planning, inviting, preparing, and cleaning-up. And thank you to my friends from the Capitol Hill Ward who came to celebrate. It was a perfect night!

Last but not least, thank you to Nathan for putting up with my whining, bending over to pick things up for me and rubbing my back for a few minutes every night now. He is the sweetest and sexiest man on earth!

--Val

Labels: baby, family, house, move, pregnancy, val

For the Fourth of July this year we hung out with family again in Virginia, including Valerie's cousin and her family, who recently moved out here from Utah. Every year it rains on the Fourth of July without fail, thunderstorms and all, and so why should this year be any different?

We got to watch a fireworks display nearby put on by the county but afterwords, when we were planning on lighting off our arsenal of buy one-get one free fireworks, the heavens opened up on us again and we were rained out. Ergo, this year we will be lighting off fireworks on the 5th of July!

Here are some thumbnails I took with my Nikon on a tripod. (Links open in flickr)

Labels: family, holiday

We spent the weekend with Valerie's brother and his family at Assateague State Park - a beach south of Ocean City, Maryland.

"Assateague State Park is Maryland's only ocean park. It is located on Assateague Island, a barrier island bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and on the west by Sinepuxent Bay. Two miles of ocean beaches offer swimming, beachcombing, sunbathing, surfing and fishing. The island's bayside offers visitors the chance to explore secluded coves by canoe or kayak. The marsh areas have a variety of wildlife, including deer, waterfowl and feral horses."

Here are a few photos I took this weekend. As always, they can be found on flickr.


Our little niece Shannon up close and personal


This is Valerie's brother and his family.







Some of the wild feral horses that live on Assateague Island. They enjoy actually playing in the surf - unfortunately I wasn't able to catch the horses actually in the surf but I got there just after they were done and were on their way back to wherever they came from.


When I took this picture it was extremely smoky due to a small marsh fire nearby and the sunset over Maryland wasn't very good but thanks to PhotoShop I was able to edit the sunset to look halfway decent.


On Saturday evening, Valerie and I were on our way to go find her some food (thanks to the pregnancy) and we saw these two feral horses just idly standing by the side of the road that leads off the island. I guess they thought they were some sort of horse celebrity or something.


Here is where the horses normally live/roam.


Driving home from the island, Valerie and I found this old barn that ivy had overgrown and had to take a picture.

Labels: family

Well the countdown has pretty much officially begun. Valerie and I have hit the "under 100 days" mark till our baby is due. It's pretty crazy. I guess I should begin reading baby books designed for dads. For those of you who know me, you know that I am the oldest of seven (now nine - two are adopted from China), so I have a pretty good idea about babies and raising kids.

I'm excited to meet this little guy and enjoy feeling him kick and move around inside his comfy little home. Supposedly he's up to around two pounds right now. I'm still praying that he'll be healthy and normal! At least ultrasounds can relieve some of the worry, but we'll see once he's born and growing up.

In the meantime, Valerie and I chillax (chill+relax, for those of you who didn't get it) with the nearby nieces and nephew.

Saturday we all went to the club pool and of course I took around my trusty camera. It's fun to watch the twins begin to really interact with each other and on occasion they will wrestle with their big sister. They generally are very happy kids.

Labels: family

Today Valerie and I got some more "baby prep" by watching the twins for her brother while he took the 7-year old to a piano recital. They were sweet and sour today - a bit of pills, whiners, hungry little scavengers but had fun playing in the backyard when the sun came out.



The twins love each other a lot and it's evident. It will be fun watching them grow up together. My prediction is that Korbin is a rough and tough kid who will protect his little sister Shannon, while she will be a sweet peacemaker who is Korbin's biggest fan but she'll always be able to be the one to 'get his goat' and get away with it, because she is so tender.

Labels: family

Recently Valerie and I were able to spend some time with her brother's family in Alexandria. It is wonderful to have family so close that we can hang out with. It would be nice to live around cousins once our little boy is born (I can't quite bring myself to say 'our son' yet for some reason - it just seems too odd).

I was able to take a few shots of the twins playing in the backyard - unfortunately I was not able to get too many good shots of Korbin but here are two good shots of Shannon. The kids love jumping on their trampoline and Shannon absolutely loves the Fisher-Price tree swing. It's so cute to see them bounce endlessly - they are so full of energy.

Labels: family, photography

Family, friends and random strangers who have accidentally stumbled onto this blog:

Valerie and I have been struggling to keep a dirty dark secret hidden from the world for 12 weeks now.

WE'RE HAVING A BABY IN SEPTEMBER!

Do not adjust the settings on your computer monitor. It's true. As the attached photo shows, we're due around September 20th.

We wanted to keep it a secret until April Fools' Day but that wouldn't be until week 16 and we couldn't hold out that long. But it would have been a great April Fools' Day announcement, most people, especially in our families, would notice that it was April 1st and suspect that since we have been married for 7 years that we were just joking.

Well, we are not.

We started the year with all these resolutions in mind and were looking forward to accomplishing all that we had planned out. Little did we know that when Valerie fell sick with an ear condition following a flight from DC to Florida that our life would change dramtically. In January Valerie was having serious ear pain and demanded that we go to the hospital in Aventura, Florida at 5 a.m. She (and I) both ended up having (OME) otitis media with effusion, which is essentially blockage of the eustachian tubes due to a cold and fluid building up in the middle ear, causing severe pain in the ear when flying.

When we got to the hospital the doctors of course wanted to do a pregnancy test just so they could see what they were able to give and not give her as far as medication. The little Asian nurse called me into the room "just in case." Then after the 2 minutes needed had expired, she looked down at the pregnancy test strip and excitedly wheeled around exclaiming, "IT'S POSITIVE!!" She must have been completely bewildered when she looked at our shocked faces, expecting us to jump up and down or something. Instead we stood there looking at each other and then smiled, trying to take the news that was just dropped on us.

Some of you might have suspected that Valerie was pregnant since I have been saying that she has been "sick and exhausted" for these past few weeks. Valerie has been extremely exhausted with work, traveling and of course having her body overrun by a parasite. In fact, that is currently the name of our baby: Paris Site Coffey (we are suspecting that it is a girl - thanks to the suspect Chinese Baby Gender Chart). Unfortunately her morning sickness has taken over her life, but fortunately, she isn't bed-ridden. We are hoping she is on the up-and-up shortly.

It's not that we didn't ever want to have kids, but like I said earlier, we had just made all these resolutions and were making plans to carry them out. This year our motto was, "Whatever happens, happens." We just never imagined that it would happen this fast! We're excited and have had a hard time keeping this from family and close friends.

We went back to the doctor at week 6, this time an OB/GYN because Valerie wasn't able to keep anything down and had no appettite for over a week and we were a bit concerned about the baby's health due to the possible lack of vitamins. The OB/GYN had us take an ultrasound and I was amazed to see at week 6 that PARIS SITE was the size of a corn kernel and in the middle of this kernel was a tiny little blip, flickering on the screen: the smallest heartbeat that I have ever seen. Later did we learn that everything seems to be okay and the morning sickness and lack of appetitte, etc. points to a healthy pregnancy.

I have never been more nervous, as most dads-to-be must be, praying that everything works out and that the baby is healthy and without any complications of any kind.

We will definitely have updates as we go along all on this website!

Below is an image that I made as more or less an "announcement."

Labels: baby, family, pregnancy, val

I got an email from my mom tonight wondering what I was up to because this site hasn't been updated since April 30th!

I'm sorry. I just haven't been updating anything, kinda been busy and never thought about updating any progress in our rather mundane lives.

For starters, we are alive.

That's a good thing.

I am still with the Florida Marlins in Media Relations and love what I am doing. I am around baseball all the time, including the players and coaches and in and out of the locker rooms whenever the team is in town. Of course I have to work 14 hours days when there is a home game but I love it and it goes super fast. One of the best things about working in baseball is that when I am having a bad day at work or things just aren't going right I can always stop what I am doing, walk out of the office, down the tunnel and into the Marlins' dugout, sit on the bench in the dugout and look out at the field - enjoying the green grass and blue sky mixed with the unmistakable sight of the diamond.

Valerie is still commuting back and forth between DC and Florida. We are so used to it that it doesn't bother us at all. Her company is still paying for her flights and apartment in DC and we are very grateful for that. She still loves her job with Life Policy Dynamics and she does an excellent job there.

It's starting to get really hot here in Florida and there is always a threat of tropical storms (in fact we are expecting one here early this week). It rains hard then goes back to hot, sunny day. Florida is in the middle of a drought so they need all the rain they can get. I just hope that the rain storms come when the team is on the road because getting rained out means that we will have to make the game up later in the season, and that means a doubleheader. I already work 14 hours during home games, no need to extend that.

I started working out a lot more lately. We have a gym in our building and I frequent it two too three times a week. I've got myself a pretty good workout plan and am starting to explore the necessary components of diet and supplements (not illegal steroid type of supplements, just an extra boost of protein shakes and others that help repair and rebuild muscle quickly and faster than normal following a workout). Val and I are looking into getting a pass to Bally's gym nearby but that always seems like a girlie name to me, like it's main purpose is for aerobics and jazzercise.

Valerie has a college friend who is getting married in October out in Southern California so we are going to go out there to the wedding. We are excited for her. She used to date the guy, then they had a time apart and got back together and things worked out. We're looking forward to the wedding! Val is looking forward to the bachelorette party with all her college girlfriends!

So that's it, not much to tell. Life is good, just plugging away, too early to tell if there will be a real full-time job after this season - probably NOT with the Florida Marlins - but we will see. I have contacts elsewhere.

Labels: baseball, family, friends

Well it's happened. My little brother (by 18 months) and his wife are expecting their first kid in September! That is really cool. I'm happy for them.

It's kind of weird that my little sister has two and now my little brother will have one before Valerie and I have our first but guess that's the way it's gonna go down.

Being an uncle is awesome. This will be niece or nephew #7 for me! Although they live in the northwest corner of Arkansas and I doubt we will get to visit them that often.

Another little Joseph....hmmm, interesting!

Labels: family