A Very Merry Un-Birthday to Ben!

We've reached Ben's 6th month half birthday. He's .5 years old! We've had a pretty eventful month. Now Ben can sit up on his own and stand up when he leans against something. It might be hard to tell, but he is growing hair like crazy. He talks and talks by rolling his tongue and blowing through his lips. He even makes farting on my arm and laughs about it--such a boy.

Uncle Casey and his girlfriend Brooke came down to LA for Thanksgiving. We all had a lot of fun playing together. Ben rode in a backpack while we took a walk through a botanical garden. He loved playing in the grass and laughing at his uncle.

Recently we went to a couple of Christmas parties and Ben was a hit with everyone. You can see that a couple of older ladies took a shine to Ben. Later he had a chance to play with 6 month old twins. The three of them had so much fun talking together and comparing fingers. When he tired of the twins Ben and I went to the bounce house. Obviously he isn't quite ready for that action. Maybe next year.

We'll post more in a month. Have a great Christmas and New Year!

5 Months!

Today marks Ben's fifth month with us. This past month has seen some of the most significant developmental jumps yet. He can roll over--and does so all the time. He can find a loose pacifier and bring it back to his mouth. He devours solid food. But most importantly, Ben is sturdier. He is heavier and stronger and likes to rough house to a degree.

Ben celebrated his first Halloween. We couldn't put him in just one costume, so we spread the holiday out over three days. Ben was a 1950s era Mousekateer at his day care parade. The next day he was Jake Blues of The Blues Brothers. On the actual holiday, Ben was my teddy bear. Kristina and I dressed in our PJs and he was our teddy bear. It was pretty cute.

Enjoy the pictures. We watched Sportscenter in our underwear, took head shots in the car seat, and cheered for the Broncos tonight.

1/3 of a Year

Ben has been with us for 4 months and it almost doesn't seem real. He has changed so much since we first met him and every day brings something new and exciting. He has become so much more responsive. He can smile and laugh with his whole body. He can play with toys, pull a blanket over his face and pull our faces together. As parents, we have worked into a nice routine. Kristina and I compliment one another well and it's really fun to watch us grow along with Ben.

Ben had a doctor's appointment recently and everything checked out without any problem. The big news, though, was that we can start feeding him rice cereal and even vegetables. We started on the rice cereal and it's pretty hilarious. When Kristina holds the spoon 3 inches from his mouth, he dive bombs onto it and inhales the whole thing. He loves food. Kristina said, "Well, he is your son!"

Tonight, he reached for his bottle and, after a couple of minutes of assisting, he held it on his own. He just held it and ate the rest of the thing. It made my life a bit easier and was completely freaking adorable.

I've included a few pictures from the past month. If you compare them to when he was first born, you won't be able to recognize him.

Ben's Baptism

Last weekend, Kristina and I had Benjamin baptized. We organized a late afternoon ceremony and reception at the school where Kristina teaches. Friends from LA joined our family from afar and the turnout truly humbled us. Our siblings--the same people we used to give wet willies and knuckle tacos to--honored us by being Benjamin's Godparents. The location was beautiful and Kristina did a wonderful job with the ceremony. A personal highlight had to be when everyone came forward and tied a ribbon of prayer to Benjamin's cross. The reception afterward was so special. I was so busy talking to friends and family that I hardly had a moment to eat.

I've included a link to the pictures of the evening. Feel free to look through all the pictures and marvel at what a beautiful child we've got on our hands. Through the website you can order prints sent to your house for a very reasonable price. You can also download them to your computer and email them to your entire contact list. You can find the pictures here.

I've included a few of our favorite pictures to enjoy now.

3 Months

In the last month, Ben has really grown! He continues to fill out--I didn't think that was possible--and get longer and longer. While he has physically changed quite a lot, his mental changes have been even more amazing. He can laugh and smile at our silliness. He can reach for things. He can even articulate noises. He mimics me and I mimic him and we can talk and talk all day. Here's a summary of today's conversation about the neighbors:

"zzzzzppptgaaah." Ben stated.

"zzzzzpppptgaaAH!" I exclaimed.

"WWWaaaaaHHHHH!" Ben wondered with his fist firmly in his mouth.

"glaaagleeeglobglob." I agreed.

This week Ben even started school. He goes to see Miss Beverly three times a week and seems to love the company. He talks all day and smiles with her also. Miss Beverly, however, doesn't believe that Ben is only three months old. She thinks he is too big to be just 13 weeks old. I keep telling him that it's all that old European blood and he should be proud. Here's a picture of him all dressed up and ready to go to his first day of school.

In the three months Ben's been to three weddings. He was so bored by the most recent one that he actually fell asleep. He's got another one in two weeks and requested a seersucker suit. We'll see. This weekend Ben was baptized. It was a beautiful evening with friends and family and we'll post those pictures as soon as we can. He really loved the cards he got in the mail from his great-grandma in Nebraska and great-aunt in Seattle.

Anyway, enjoy the video. It's just some silliness we recorded during the crazy heat wave and all we did was enjoy the air conditioning. Thanks for all your support and love. More next month!

2 Months!

In Ben's second month there have been many changes. He has grown so much! He's nearing 15 pounds, is much longer and is putting on chubby rolls all over the place. He can smile, reach for objects and even kind of sing along to songs he knows.

But the biggest event of his past month was his Midwest Tour. We visited friends, grandparents and great grandparents over the course of 2 and a half weeks. It looked a little like this:

LA>Denver, CO>Fremont, NE>Denver, CO>Chicago, IL>South Bend, IN>Grand Rapids, MI>Chicago, IL>Denver, CO>LA

or by time zone, it looked like this:

Pacific>Mountain>Central>Mountain>Central>Central -DST>Eastern>Central>Mountain>Pacific

So any routine that we had worked out with Ben has been thrown out the window.

The best part to come out of the trip was that Ben went on his first college visits. Our tour of the University of Colorado was shortened by rain, but the little guy seemed to like campus. Later we visited my alma mater, Lake Forest College, and he slept through my engaging tour. Lastly we visited Notre Dame and talked with an admissions counselor about Ben's admittance to the class of 2031.

Enjoy the pictures!

1 Month!

Please, enjoy the slide show. The music comes from our friend Justin and his children's band, The Okee Dokee Brothers. I get the feeling that they will provide much of Benjamin's soundtrack over the next few years.

Benjamin has been with us for 1 month! It's been a blast and we've learned a lot.

Thank you all so much for the continued love and support. Your love has helped us more than you will ever know.

More from the Hospital

We made a little video from our time at the hospital. We'll post a whole bunch of pictures later.

Enjoy!

Day 1

Allow me to take you through our past 3 days.

Monday at 7:30 we left the house for the hospital.  As you can imagine we were so jazzed up that we didn't get much sleep the night before.  After we checked in and moved into our room, they administered the Pitosin, the drug that causes induction.  At about noon Kristina had the epidural put in and she quickly felt pretty crappy.  She just didn't react very well to any of the drugs they gave her.  After a long nap, the doctor checked her and she was 1 cm dilated.  Kristina was in and out of sleep for the rest of the night, while her mother, my brother and I watched TV, read and drank 96 oz of coffee.   We finally called it a night at about 4:00am.  

Three hours later, everyone was up and the doctor came back to try to break Kristina's water.  She was still only 1 cm dilated and he couldn 't do it.  He came back at 10:15 to try again to break it.  Again he failed.  With great resignation, the doctor decided to send her in for a cesarian section.  It was amazing to see Kristina's attitude change quickly.  She was thrilled to see a light at the end of the long tunnel of pregnancy.  

At 11:20 the nurses wheeled Kristina into the operating room and I scrubbed in.  By 11:55 we had a bouncing baby boy.  Benjamin, his first name, was a name we both initially liked; I  because it starts with a "B" and she because it is bilingual.  Charles, his middle name, is a significant name for both of our families, so that was easily agreed upon.  It is important for us to include his Latino heritage in his name, so we included Ortega as a second middle name.  Of course we end with the powerful Lowdermilk.  

After they took him out, they told me I could take pictures.  While they finished stitching up Kristina, I followed Benjamin to the recovery room where a nurse measured (21 3/4 inches long), weighed (7.6 lbs.) and tested his joints.  I held the new addition while the new mom rested up .  We were a family.

Since then it's been a whirlwind.  Once my adrenaline wore off, I realized how tired I was.  We had some guests last night and Kristina gradually got more energy and spunk.  We all slept well last night, and if we hadn't work Benjamin up to eat, he would have slept through the night.  Today we've had more guests and more food.  The baby has been a treat to watch, despite the fact that he just eats and sleeps.  

A few interesting facts about Benjamin's auspicious birth date:

1. It's also the day Charles Dickins died (good riddance).

2. Secretariat won the Triple Crown.

3. Les Paul, Natalie Portman, Peter the Great, Dick Vitale, Michael J Fox and Johnny Depp all share a birthday with Benjamin Charles Ortega Lowdermilk.

Enjoy the pictures!

39 Weeks

Okay, it's official.  On June 8th--a Monday--at 8:00am, Kristina and I have an appointment to have a baby.  Set your clocks.  Ready your tear ducts.  Practice swaddling the dog.  Nemo's coming.

Of course we'll update the blog once we have the little guy or girl.  

38 Weeks

So we went to the doctor today and he backed down from June 3.  Now he seems pretty sure we'll induce on June 8.  We'll know for sure on June 2.  Kristina is 40cm.  Have a good day!

37 Weeks

A full term woman is 38 cm at 38 weeks.  At 36 weeks, Kristina was 39 cm.  We've got a big baby and the doctor wants to get him or her out.  

36 Weeks

Doctor says you can pencil in a June 3rd date for induction.  Get ready!

35 Weeks

As you've noticed, we've fallen behind in updating our blog.  We're really starting 36 weeks.  We've been pretty busy preparing for two big things.  First, obviously, the baby.  The baby's room is almost totally done.   Pictures hung, crib made up, diapers at the ready.  

But we're also preparing for another big event.  On Wednesday, I'm going into surgery for my jaw. 

Because of the long recovery from the surgery, it's going to be hard to update the blog for the next couple of weeks.  Of course, if we receive any information about when the doctor's might want to induce Kristina, we'll let everyone know.  

In the meantime, enjoy this picture of Kristina from last weekend.

34 Weeks

Lowdermilk's are bigger than Ortega's. Kristina had a doctor's appointment yesterday and the only interesting news is that the doctor believes he might have to induce our little bundle of joy. By his estimation the baby already has the feet of Grandpa Bloom (size 14), the wingspan of Brady (6'6") and, to the chagrin of Kristina, the head size of Casey (38" inches around). Kristina, whose Mexican heritage isn't known for it's gargantuan-ness, just wasn't built for that strong German, Irish, Sweedish and Russian blood. So, Lowdermilk's are bigger than Ortega's.

He suggested that if Nemo continues to grow at this rate, he will set a date for induction in early June--as early as the 1st of June.

Kristina and I are thrilled at this prospect for a few reasons. First, she won't have to be miserably huge in the crazy heat that we've been experiencing out here for too much longer. Also, as soon as they give her the drug to induce, they also give her pain medication, so she could concieveably not even feel contractions. I like the idea of induction because it takes the guess work and surprise out of the whole process. I won't have to break land speed records to get to the hospital. I won't inevateably forget something when we rush off to the hospital. Also our families can be more prepared and ready at the hospital. Most importantly, we can get down to the fun part of pregnancy--a baby.

If the baby has Lowdermilk size, what will Nemo take from the Ortega/LaRue side? Perfect skin? A penache for word play? An olive shaped face? A cantkerous attitude towards people in charge? We'll just have to see. Only 6 weeks left--at most!

We'll update the baby sign language in a couple of days.  Hope all is well.

33 Weeks

As I've said before, pregnancy is boring.  Aside from the biweekly doctor's visits, we don't have much to report.  Kristina continues to grow--and be  constantly tired and uncomfortable.  The baby's room is coming along nicely, however.  We've got a crib, a glider chair, a changing table, some wall hangings, and a slowly growing collection of clothes, blankets, and diapers.  Kristina and I have settled into a nice routine in the evenings.  We take a leisurely walk around the neighborhood at dusk, do the dishes, make dinner, watch House or Law and Order reruns and fall asleep.  I know that these quiet moments will become few and far between, so I cherish them now.  

Another week, another new set of words to learn.  This week Kristina will teach us "ouch," "help" and "change."  I realize that "ouch" is straight out of E.T.  It will take everything I have to not say "Elliot" and giggle every time the baby makes the sign to tell me he or she is in pain.  I can also admit that the sign for "change" cracks me up for some reason.  Anybody able to tell me why that sign is hilarious?  

21 days until maternity leave!!

32 Weeks

Kristina had a doctor's appointment this week.  These bi-weekly appointments have become anti-climatic.  She goes in, pees in a cup, gets weighed and, unless she has questions, leaves.  15 minutes tops.  We did find out that the baby's head is currently down and his or her booty is pressing up against Kristina's lungs/liver on her right side and causing great pain.  On the positive side, the pain will only get worse.  Other than that, no news is good news.  

As we've gone through the pregnancy process, Kristina and I have researched many different ways to make Nemo's life easier.  One such way that we became very excited about is baby sign language.  All the research indicates that it will help our baby express his or her needs long before speaking.  

However, for this to work, we need your help.  With that in mind, we have decided to include video examples of different signs in each week's blog update.  We'd ask that you study these and, when Nemo comes to your house, you use them.  In theory by the time he or she is 6 months old, the baby will have incorporated the signs and be able to communicate with you.

This week's signs are "more," "eat" and "milk."  I realize that "eat" and "milk" are one in the same for several months, but someday they might mean different things.  Enjoy! 

31 Weeks

Some of you may remember training to be a lifeguard.  When you are taught first aid, you learn that there is an artery in the upper leg that can help slow the bleeding to a wound in the leg.  In lifeguard training you press on this artery of your partner and they do the same on you.  I pressed on Lindsey Robinson's leg and she told me to press as hard as possible until her toes lost feeling.  It took about 45 seconds.  

When Kristina is seated and leans forward even slightly to eat or grab something off a table, her stomach presses against the artery in her legs and can cause her toes to lose feeling.

We traveled to San Francisco over the weekend and had a great time with my brother, his girlfriend and Auntie Sara's boyfriend.  We had a wonderful time in the City--Brooke turned 21, we slept well for the first time in 4 months, hugged giant Sequoia and Redwood trees, had a great Easter Sunday, and finally came home on Monday.  The pictures below are from our trip.

Today Kristina went to a book signing with Kate Gosslin from the TLC show "Jon and Kate Plus 8."  It is a reality show that follows the children--a set of twins and a set of sextuplets--of Jon and Kate.  She watches it with a maniac's regularity and has also read her book.  Anyway, the bookstore was craziness--I thought Obama was in the house.  

Hope all is well with you and we love your continued support and love.  More next week.