Life is Great

Paxton is kicking, swimming, punching, rolling, making himself comfortable in his warm little home once known as my stomach. Maddox is sleeping, soundly, on his belly, bottom in the air, Raffie on his head. Brad is snoring. Life is great!

A Small Bump in the Road

Well, it is definitely true that no two pregnancies are alike....and this statement becomes more and more clear almost everyday during this pregnancy with Paxton. For starters, I was not sick at all with Maddox, gained weight like crazy (probably because I was NOT sick and had an awesome appetite), no pre-term contractions...everything went as smoothly as you could hope with not even a tiny bump in the road. Well, this pregnancy I was sick for the entire first trimester and at least half of the second trimester with bouts of nausea still occurring every once and a while. I have not gained weight so easily (probably because I was sick so frequently) and was told to start "bulking" up and I have pre-term contractions almost all day everyday. Bringing me to TODAY. We had another adventure at labor and delivery this afternoon as we attempted to get the crazy contractions to stop. I started having them last night around 11pm and took the meds I am instructed to take...usually this stops the contractions pretty quickly; however, they never really went away. I got up this morning, took Maddox to the doctor (no ear infection..just fluid in his ear and given some cough meds to help him sleep better at night...yippee) and still was feeling the constant cramping/contracting. I put Maddox down for his nap, took another dose of the meds and attempted to lay down and get rid of the contractions. After an hour or so Brad and I decided it was best to follow Doctors orders and head back up to labor and delivery. After a couple of shots there, the contractions stopped and now I am resting here at the house. Thank you so much mom for watching Maddox for us this afternoon and feeding us dinner. You are such a huge help in all of this as we never know what each day will bring. We are so thankful that none of this has turned to anything more serious and we are going with the game plan that it will NEVER turn into anything more than just weird contractions.
Sorry to ramble on and on, but I would like to have this documented so Paxton and I can look back and remember the little bumps in the road during this pregnancy!! Once again, we are super thankful for a healthy, growing little baby boy and the help of modern medicine!!

Just Another Adventure

A day to remember. Today we had an "adventure" while cruising around Target. Maddox started choking on NOTHING and it made him throw up....yes, right in the middle of Target....ahhh..poor baby. But it did get worse for him...in the midst of the chaos, I was not able to get his beloved Raffie out of the line of fire; therefore, when we finally made it safely and a little messy to the house, Raffie needed a much needed bath. OH poor Maddox, was already not feeling great, and I had to put Raffie in the washer....Maddox lost it. He sobbed the entire time Raffie was being washed and dried...we even watched part of his Elmo movie that he loves so much (there is a part in the movie where Elmo has to wash his blanket) but that did not help the situation any. Thankfully, Raffie did not take long to dry and the Madd-man had his best friend back and everything was fine. Oh poor baby, what a traumatic morning for the little man!!

Oh so happy to have Raffie back, safe and sound!!

Update on Paxton

Update on Paxton James:
There is a little background info that I have not shared on this blog because I did not want to bring any unnecessary worries from family or friends but I have decided to share today because we have been given more guidance. Right after the New Year I started having contractions, alarming enough to Brad and I to go ahead and make a trip up to labor and delivery at the hospital. I was monitored and sure enough I was contracting, they made sure I was not dilating at all (which I was not), and did a fetal fibronectin test (a test which checks to see if a protein produced by fetal cells has leaked which can indicate pre-term labor) which was negative, meaning they were pretty certain I was not about to go into labor....sigh of relief. They gave me two shots of Terbutaline to stop the contractions and we were on our way! However, I continued to have more contractions a few days later and back to labor and delivery we went. The same tests were done with the same results: contractions, but no dilation and a false fetal fibronectin test...another sigh of relief, but a little nervous as to why I was continuing to have contractions. Our doctor came by to visit with us and she decided to send us home with a prescription for the Terbutaline to take when I started having the contractions. She also explained this was nothing to be too alarmed about, some women just have contractions during pregnancy and as long as I continued to not dilate and the fetal fibronectin tests were negative we were fine. So, today, we went to see the Doctor again for a check up and another ultrasound to make sure there was no sign of shortening to my cervix. Everything looked great...healthy, active boy weighing in at 1lb9oz and a great sounding heart beat! I am still having pretty consistent contractions, but the cervix looks great (huge news). They checked for a bacterial infection and this one came back positive, which is actually a good thing because I am now on an antibiotic and they think this bacteria could be the nasty little culprit for all of these contractions. We are so blessed to have such amazing technology and medicine along with an amazing Doctor who guides us through this entire process. We are blessed that the baby is looking healthy and pretty content to stay just where he is at for much much longer!!!

Bye Bye

Bye bye, adios, see ya later never again. That is right, we are offically saying bye bye to all things SOY and giving a fond welcome to all things dairy! Yippee...it looks as though Maddox has offically out grown his milk allergy and we are so grateful! He has had cooked dairy for a few weeks now, uncooked cheese for a few days, and this evening we let him have some ice cream....there has been NO reaction...yippee! The last time he ate any ice cream (close to a year ago) he immediately broke out in huge whelps and his throat began to close (super scary). While we know Maddox could have made it just fine his entire life using soy based products, it makes me feel relieved to know I do not have to worry about this specific issue as he gets older, eventually goes to school, has pizza and ice cream parties, etc.  Now, any bets on whether or not baby Paxton will have the same allergy???
For now we will say an official bye bye soy...hello whole milk!!!

Birthday Party

It has been just over a week since we celebrated the little man's 2nd birthday and boy do we have a lot of pictures to share!! We had a fish themed party with a few friends and family...the party was very laid back and just a simple celebration of another year with Maddox. I loved everything about the party and Maddox seemed to have a blast. I love having all 3 sets of grandparents together at one time and watching them all love on our sweet boy. Thank you all for celebrating with us and helping us create special memories to share with Maddox!!!
Dennis and Murlon...aka Grandma and PaPa Voda, drove down a few days before and Maddox LOVED playing cars and ANYTHING else he could get papa and grandmom to play with him....Murlon helped me make some awesome fish shaped cupcakes that turned out super cute!! Then Saturday, Aunt Kim and her boyfriend Austin drove in to celebrate as well. Thank you guys so much for driving the long and boring 6 hours to love on your little nephew...he still asks for "Kimmy" at random times throughout the day :)
Thanks mom for all your help decorating, baking cookies, getting all the snacks ready and all the other thousand things you did for us that day...especially letting us have the party at your beautiful home! What great memories that I know I will cherish for a life time!!!

And finally, here are the pictures. Thank you Sarah for taking the pictures (which I LOVE by the way); thus allowing me to focus on the birthday boy and not so worried about snapping a great picture! You are the greatest!!!

The Kalivoda's

Nanny, PopPop, and Uncle J (Aunt Kam and Mollie were unable to join us because Mollie was sick...we sure did miss you guys!!)

Me and CiCi

Me, Brad's arm, and the super cute cupcake Murlon and I made

Blowing out the candle (we did this about 15 or so times...he really enjoyed blowing out that candle!)

YUMMY

Maddox and his friend Spencer enjoying some cake

Gigi and her little man

Daddy and Maddox enjoying the fully automatic NERF dart gun from Uncle Brandon (I'm still not sure who enjoys this toy better, Brad or Maddox...so you see the smile on Brad's face....thanks Uncle Brandon, it is a huge hit)

Excited about his new dump truck

"Helping" PopPop get a toy out of a box

Pure excitement

Checking out the loot....this boy was spoiled rotten...thanks again everyone!

Riding his new scooter from PopPop and Nanny

"The first Kalivoda to dunk" Thanks Gigi and PaPa for the basketball goal...Maddox still gets super excited when he makes a basket!

So sweet

A man on a mission (Retrieving the darts for his gun)

Papa and Cici

Austin, Aunt Kim, Grandmom and Papa

Aunt Kim holding Maddox up so he can see his new fish take that we got him...we still have all 5 fish alive and well....so far at least :)

In Writing

I just have to get this in writing:
We were blessed with the opportunity to get away to Midland and hang out with our great friends, Dusty and Sarah while my Dad and Kelly kept the Madd-man for us. I am so proud of our little man and how well he behaved while we were away. My brother was ordained as an Elder at his church, so my Dad and Kelly took Maddox with them to the service. I was definitely a little concerned on how he would behave IN the church service (I mean, he is 2 ya know...AND his name is Maddox, the king of constant movement, chatter and the overall inability or lack of desire to sit still for very long at all) However, they said he did great....he loved the music (of course), sat and colored and eventually fell asleep. Did you read that....my 2 year old, spirited little man, sat still in church long enough to FALL ASLEEP. I am absolutely shocked and so proud of him. Thanks again Dad and Kelly for keeping Maddox for us, we definitely enjoyed the time away and Maddox had a blast...he continues to "tell" us about his fun weekend; however, we have no idea what he is saying...I do know he had a great time with his PopPop and Nanny!!

Big Brother

Wow, I am amazed at how much I have to blog about and just can't find the ability to get my thoughts together enough to blog about it. I need to post about Grandma and Grandpa Voda visiting and Maddox 2nd birthday party....soon, I promise!!!
This week has been a great week...Maddox has done so well listening and minding. He has been so funny and lovey...I have truly cherished the time with my big boy this week. I wanted to get it written down so I can look back when I have a week that is not so great (I mean, it is bound to happen, I am pregnant and raising a 2 year old BOY...hhahah)
We are trying to get Maddox somewhat "used" to the idea of having a baby brother and it is so precious to watch him try to grasp on to what we are talking about. Every night when Brad puts Maddox to bed, they talk about how Maddox is sleeping in HIS big boy bed and the crib that is in the corner is baby Paxton's bed (oh yes, that is what this little guy's name is by the way Paxton James Kalivoda) SO, now Maddox will say "this Maddox bed" "there Paxton bed" oh it is so cute to hear it come out of that sweet innocent voice of his. Maddox also "knows" that Paxton is in Mommy's belly, but sometimes he forgets and thinks that he might be in Daddy's belly too..hahha! We cleaned out Maddox's closet to move baby toys to Paxton's room and make room for all the loot Maddox received at his birthday party...Maddox was such a big help and kept taking things to Paxton's room for me! And, every now and then out of no where Maddox will look at me and say "Big Brother" oh its too cute. I cannot wait to watch him transition into the big brother role, I know he will be a great one!
Well, I apologize for just going on and on, I just wanted to get some of this written down for our own memories!!!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday sweet sweet Maddox....you are now officially two years old and I can hardly believe it. This past year has flown by and I am so proud to watch the little boy you are becoming. You are learning to be polite and say "Please" "Thank You" "Excuse me, please" "Help please" and many more...on your own most of the time. You are super active and it does not take you very long to figure out how anything works. You love to use one of daddy's screw drivers to "fix" any toy you have that has a screw on it. You love to play cars, watch your fish movie, play with a ball, run through the house, spin in circles, sing songs and dance. We are learning more about your dairy allergy and this past week you have been able to eat foods that have cheese or milk cooked into them, which shows Mommy which protein you are allergic to....we are still hoping you out grow this, but this is a huge improvement and you were able to eat a piece of pizza on your 2nd birthday!!! Your big brown eyes are so handsome and they often "speak" for you....we can tell when you are happy, sad, frustrated, being ornery, and when you are being sweet simply by looking you in the eye. You love to play chase with daddy and could "get him" for hours!
You are super sweet and love to give mommy hugs...I am trying to soak all of this up because I know it is only a matter of years before you are too "cool" to do this. You will repeat EVERYTHING spoken around you. You love to laugh and make others laugh...you are pretty good at this too!!! You LOVE Jesus and I promise you could sit and let us read your Bible for hours...we continue to pray that you seek the Lord, accept Him as your Savior at a very young age and find your peace in Him.
Thank you sweet boy for blessing our lives everyday and always keeping Daddy and I on our toes. You are so smart, handsome, funny, polite and fun to be around. We love you more and more everyday and we are so excited to see what this "Terrific Two" year holds for us!!
We love you,
Mommy and Daddy

Bring on the BLUE

Watch out world...there is going to be another BOY Kalivoda entering the world in May. That is right, we had our ultrasound today and we are pleased to announce the Kalivoda family is adding another BOY to the mix! Our house is going to be full of testosterone and we are so excited, Maddox will have a little brother, a playmate, a friend (I am sure there will be plenty of opportunities for me to REMIND Maddox of this fun fact throughout his life...haha) Everything looks great with the little guy and we are full of peace, happiness and excitement as we prepare our house and our lives for another little boy Kalivoda!!!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!! We are eager to see what 2010 holds for our little family. 2009 was a great year with a lot of wonderful memories....lets take a look at a few

January our little man turned a year old, started facing forward in his car seat, and discovered a love for swings at the park

February we welcomed our sweet little niece Mollie Michelle Fellers into this world and Maddox had his first official haircut.

March Bradley turned the big 2-7, Maddox and I traveled to Denton to visit our precious cousins, and we took our first vacation as a family of 3 to Ruidoso, NM

April we celebrated Easter and began to welcome the warm weather, Grandma and Grandpa Voda came to visit from Oklahoma City

May Maddox had his first ear infection, we traveled to Oklahoma City to celebrate Mother's day with Brad's mom (it was the first time in almost 9 year Brad was home for that special day) and Maddox was the next American Idol

June I turned the big 2-6, Maddox perfected the art of using a pneumatic power tool, and the beloved paci transitioned for nap time and bed time only!

July we celebrated the 4th of July in Oklahoma City where Maddox discovered a love for fishing just like Grandpa Voda, Brad and I celebrated our 4th wedding Anniversary and we took our longest road trip yet to Pagosa Springs, CO for the Malone Family Reunion

August we just relaxed and attempted to stay cool in the hot hot sun by taking our first trip to the lake

September we found out our family would be growing from 3 to 4, our friend Sarah came to town and Uncle Brandon came to visit and joined us for a Tech football game

October Maddox experienced his first Texas Tech Football game, we traveled to Oklahoma City to visit the Vodas, Halloween came around Madd-man was a super tough Pirate, and Maddox had his first "house" made out of a box!

November we visited our dear friends Dusty and Sarah in Midland, I was a Groomsmaid in a wedding (aka, the best WO-Man), we celebrated Thanksgiving in Oklahoma City, Maddox counted to ten, my dear friend Anna and her husband Damon came to town from California and the stink eye was perfected!

December we traveled to Bethlehem to see Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, Maddox saw a Camel, Maddox started sleeping in his big boy bed, we traveled to the North Pole via the Polar Express, and we celebrated Christmas with all of our families.

Wow...what a wonderful year, and to think, this time next year I will be talking about all the new adventures in our lives with another little one in the mix!!!