Chad's band

Here's a link to an article about my (Lexi's) brother Chad's band:
http://newstreamz.com/2008/11/05/the-christophers-band-of-the-week

Pumpkin pictures

Here are some pics from a couple of trips to pumpkin patches

Naomi's first trip to Aggieland

We went to College Station to visit the family 1.5 weeks ago. Here are some cute pictures:

The winner is....

Shawna! Shawna was the only one to get all 3 correct on her first try! Picture 1 is Ella, picture 2 Naomi, picture 3 Ella. We'll play again sometime!

Which sister?

Here are some pictures of our girls. Let us know who you think is who...
Picture #1


Picture #2


Picture #3


I suspect this game will get more fun as we get sneaky and dress Naomi in Ella's hand-me-downs and copy her poses from 3 years ago. We'll post the answers for these pics soon...

Naomi is 7.5 weeks old!

The first pic is of Naomi with her cousin Connor who was born only 6 days after her. I had to post this one of the 2 of them in the exact same position - cute! He came to visit with his mommy, sister and Grandma and Grandpa Rinehart 1.5 weeks ago. There are alot more cute pictures on the Noynaerts' blog. Sorry I am too lazy to re-post more pics, but go see them on their blog (link on the left).

This is my current favorite: the first time we caught a Naomi smile on film!

Naomi's room.

Ella's room.

Thanks Grandma Rinehart for all of your hard work on Ella's curtains and pillow!

The pictures I promised...

Naomi with cousin Haley

Daddy with his girls

Ella's first day of school (this year)

first day (last year)

Ella with her teacher Patty and some classmates

5 weeks old and entertaining Ella-isms

Naomi Catherine is now 5 weeks old! Wow! She is doing well. More alert every day. At night she can go 4-5 hours between feedings, so Mommy and Daddy are getting closer and closer to a regular night's sleep.

Meanwhile, big sis Ella had her first day of school (MDO) for the year. This was much anticipated by Mommy and Ella because she gets a bit stir crazy staying home with a nursing mom and baby every day.

So, lately Ella has been "nursing" her baby doll. No need for the quotes around nursing, really. And has even been heard saying, "ok, now I need to go pump" when she's done!!!

And finally, yesterday we went to Sonic. Ella was very excited about the lady bringing the food to the car. As we were driving away she said, "I don't want to be a mommy when I grow up anymore. I want to be a restaurant lady that brings food to the cars".

Blogger isn't uploading my pictures, so those will be coming soon...

3 weeks old

Naomi Catherine is 3 weeks old as of Thursday. She is doing well. Gaining weight as she should be and just being cute! Ella is being a sweet big sis too. Here are some new pictures:







I like this last one. Naomi is in the cradle we have downstairs. She is often surrounded by her loud sister and friends. So, in this picture I imagine Naomi is pulling the covers over her head in hopes of drowning out the noise of the big kids!

A fun read

Did you enjoy the summer olympics? Check out the blog "Rescued Remnant" (link on the right). My old roommate Carrie got to attend some of the events and has some great stories and pictures on the blog!

Our new nephew has arrived!

Ella and Naomi are excited to announce that their newest cousin has arrived! Connor Paul Noynaert was born around 6:30pm today. Congratulations Rebecca, Nathaniel and Kaylie on your newest family member. We can't wait to get the new cousins together!

Updates and Slideshow

We now have a slideshow available to view pictures of our new girl. Click on the slideshow on the right to see a larger sized version.

Some history on the name. Naomi is my (Paul's) Grandmother's middle name. Catherine is my mom's middle name. Naomi, originating in Hebrew, means "pleasant". Catherine, originating in Greek, means "pure". We know this is a big name for such a little girl, but we love it.

So far, everything is going well and as of our appointment on Monday, Naomi is already gaining weight.

Arrival of Naomi Catherine Rinehart

Naomi Catherine Rinehart
Born 8/7/08, 12:28 P.M.
6 lbs, 6 oz.
Both mother and baby are doing great. We’ll add pictures to the blog in the near future when we have access to our home PC.

Details: We started the pitocin drip at 7:15 A.M. which sped up the contractions that Lexi was already having naturally. Lexi was already dilated at 3 cm when we arrived and they gave her an epidural and broke her water once she got to 5 cm. This sped things up quite a bit, so much so that the Doctor arrived after Naomi’s head was already peaking out. Lexi pushed twice (I kid you not) and the baby was out.

Naomi got to meet her grandparents, some of her aunts and uncles and of course her big sister, Ella. Ella has really enjoyed pushing all the buttons on every machine in the hospital and seems to like her sister pretty well too.

Waiting...

Well, no baby yet. I had an appointment Tuesday and the doctor wanted to schedule me to induce Monday. Luckily I spoke up and said I would rather not induce. He looked at my chart again and said that since everything has been looking so good (baby's growth and activity), he will see me Monday and "go from there".

I suspect that we will schedule an induction before I leave that day and even checked with the nurse and found out my doctor's schedule. If baby doesn't come on her own, induction will probably be next Wednesday or Thursday (b-day of 8/6 or 8/7).

After so many weeks of being in limbo, we are as ready as we can be, although we really hope she comes on her own rather than by induction. We do have a name in mind, but we have decided to announce it after she is born.

We have observed 2 phenomena in this process. One is the undeniable "nesting" process. I have cleaned out every closet, freezer, fridge, etc. Not to mention the work Paul has done in both girls' rooms (at my request!). The other is a change in behavior of a certain big sister. We are not completely convinced that it is related to the pending birth, but all compliance and potty skills seem to have gone out the window in the last 2 weeks. Oh well, at least we know she is capable of good behavior (not sure if that makes us feel better or worse!).

We are so blessed to have great family and friends supporting us in so many ways. Thank you for all of your prayers - it is by the grace of God that our daughter has reached full term and placenta previa is no longer an issue! Look for an update with big news soon!

6 more weeks to go!

As of today, I officially have 6 weeks left in the pregnancy. I am having weekly appoinments now and every other week there has been a nagging concern of some sort or another about the baby's measurements, fluid level, activity level, etc. However, so far further testing has been reassuring.

I have been feeling good, other than my back, and nesting like crazy. Paul's family came up yesterday. Here is a picture of my sis-in-law and I with our "matching bellies" she is due exactly one week after me.



My sister and nephews arrive tomorrow for 10 days. We are looking forward to the visit. My grandparents from Mississippi were scheduled to arrive tonight, but my grandma broke her hip late last week.

So, if you're the praying type, please be praying for my baby, my grandma and baby Aubrey, who was born to my friend Candace last week at only 28 weeks gestation.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Ella and Mommy love Dadddy very much! Here are some favorite pictures of Ella and Daddy together, set to our favorite song from this year. Just double click on the photo below. Enjoy!


I Love Daddy!

I get to push!

Hi all! I had my 28 wk appt today.... the placenta is out of the way! Yeah! Thank you so much for all of the prayers - God definitely answered them. The tech said it is WAY out of the way. So I get to do the work at delivery, just as we had hoped.

I also had my glucose test today. I don't know results yet, but aside from the taste of way too much sugar, I was not bothered, so I think it was fine. I have another appt in 2 weeks, and then another ultrasound in 4 weeks. They will check the baby's growth again then.

Thanks Aunt Jen for keeping Ella during my appt!

New Room

Well, the baby's room has been finished a while, so thought I would show some pictures of the process. The first three are inside the room:




And the last 2 are the other side of the wall. This area is now a small study loft/hallway:




All of our projects lately have really served as great lessons about family and community. We talk a lot in my women's small group about how we so often pull into our garages, close the door and forget that there is a world outside our own home. One of my friends pointed out that strong relationships are often built by asking for help and/or offering help.

While we were working on the room Lexi's dad and our pastor each spent an evening painting with Paul and sharing tons of painting supplies and tips. Then of course, Paul's mom hand made our new curtains. We have been so blessed by others sharing their time and talents with us.

More pictures

Back to the blog... Here are some more favorites from the last few months: Ella and Paul watching the Super Bowl, Ella eating cookies at her Valentines party (yes, she too is covered in frosting), visiting with my friend Ellen and her new baby Katy Ann, posing with her Mother's Day Out Teacher, and posing with her cousins at the Easter egg hunt in College Station.







And finally some pictures of our strawberry picking adventure at the beginning of the month, followed by Ella and her friends eating their very first s'mores on our camping trip 1.5 weeks ago.






We have had the opportunity to do lots of fun things lately, and one picture per event just doesn't really do justice to the fun we have had. On the other hand, I would never get them all posted if I tried. These were some of my favories... and now I am caught up!

Photo dump!

Wow, I did not realize how easy it is to add pictures. Sorry for so many at once, but I have to catch up!

First comes Ella helping build her sand box from Grandma and Grandpa, us with Chad and Shawna, Ella helping clean the grill, Ella with pigtails, and her first time in a helicopter.







And here are some pictures of the custom curtains Paul's mom made for us. They turned out really great! There are also some valances for the kitchen that we are hoping to hang this weekend.





Sorry for the sideways curtain picture, I'm still learning! OK, Blogger doesn't seem to want me to add more pictures right now, so I will take a break. More pictures later!