March Madness

With Ryan out of town for the month, the house on the market, and myself on maternity leave, we had to find ways to occupy our time. Here is just what I managed to take pictures of.

Picture day in Gruene, TX. Movie night. Fast asleep after "tummy time." Brotherly love. This boy has no fear.

Knight cousins minus the St. Louis two.

Spring break at Gram's pool.

The thumb is just as good, if not better than the pacifier.

Visit from Grandpa.

North East Independent School District Art Show. Elizabeth was one of two students picked to represent her Kindergarten class. That is her bluebonnet drawing.

Super Elizabeth!

Awesome capes from Aunt Annie and Uncle Billy. There is one for Gabriel too.

Catching a nap, with a little lamb from Ryan's Aunt Janine and Uncle Dan.

He said it was a hat. Skipping school to go to the zoo.

Hockey Game

My company had organized family event at a San Antonio Rampage hockey game at the end of February. Even though it was set for the day before Ryan was leaving for North Carolina, I thought it would be a fun event for all of us to attend. Of course, I thought I would be attending with a one month old baby, not a one week old. I felt like Rafiki showing off baby Simba to all my coworkers. At least, I had lots of people offering to help with the baby.

We had a blast. Our seats were fantastic and the free food and drinks were a nice perk. Plus, the Rampage won in a penalty shot shootout. The kids loved it more than baseball.

Elizabeth loves cheering for her favorite teams.

Hanging out with my boss's daughter/our babysitter.

Gabriel slept through the most exciting part.

Yeah! The Rampage scored.

Good times!

P.S. Even a month later, Casey is asking to go to another hockey game.

Introductions

Casey could care less about a new baby brother.Ava playing mom and taking care of her baby. Pure love, she can't keep her hands off of him.

Ryan chilling with boy #2.

Grammy loving on grandson #4. She didn't count on getting to see him hot of the press.

The longest 4 days to 4 miraculous minutes

Well the time between Feb 14th and 18th seemed to drag on forever. As I mentioned previously, everyone expected me to be back in the hospital sometime on Monday, Feb 14th. Over the next few days, I wasn't in the mood for much of anything. My mom was due to fly in at the end of the week to help and Ryan was leaving in 10 days and there was still no baby. With each random contraction, I was praying for labor to start. His eviction notice was set for Wednesday, Feb 16th, but since I had waited this long I thought I would give him one more chance to come on his own terms. I changed my inducement date from Wednesday to Friday which was 42 weeks and the end of the road. Finally on Thursday afternoon as I was wrapping up a few things at work, I started having contractions about 7 minutes apart. By 7pm they were four minutes apart and we called in the neighbors again, so that we could head to the hospital. Since I still feeling pretty good and didn't feel like being hooked up to monitoring machines yet, we hung out in the waiting room watching Discovery channel until 10pm before officially checking in. I was at 6cm and contractions were 3 minutes apart. I got a great doctor who was willing to let me labor with minimal medical intervention, she just wanted to monitor me and the baby for 20 minutes before letting me wander the halls. However, right at the end of that 20 minutes things start to look bad. The next 20 minutes were a blur! (Ryan can provide medical terminology.) The baby's heart rate started to drop after contractions, a sign of stress. They had me change positions and gave me oxygen but that didn't help. Since, I was now at 9cm, they broke my water to see they they could speed up my labor and get the baby out. The baby had pooped in the water, another sign of stress. My contractions were becoming more intense. I had a six minute long contraction, which the baby did not tolerate well. They gave me medicine to halt my contractions but it didn't make a difference, so they took me to the operating room to perform a c-section. I was pretty worried and in a lot of pain at this point. There were so many doctors and nurses, Ryan couldn't be at my side. In the operating room, the baby's heart rate improved briefly, and the doctors seemed to stand around forever deciding what to do. Mind you, I didn't have an epidural or any other pain meds. Previously, all my pain was in my back, but it had now moved to my front. I told them I needed to push. They said don't! I was 10cm, but baby's head and shoulders were still not rotated into the normal position, he was still having heart rate issues and drinking poopy fluid, and with continuous lower abdominal pain they were really worried that my uterus was starting to tear. Ryan was kicked out the operating room and they put me under general anesthesia, and within 4 minutes Gabriel Victor Knight was born at 12:02am, 18 February 2011. He weighed 7lbs 7ozs and was 21 inches.

I woke up awhile later in a lot of pain but with all my organs intact. However, my baby was in the NICU for not looking or breathing so well at birth. Ryan had a chance to be with him and take some pictures, but I didn't get to see him until about 12 hours later when I could get up and move. I couldn't allowed to hold him the first time I visited, which was probably best, because I was still very groggy and could barely keep my eyes open. It took everything out of me just to walk down the hall and back.

I was a surreal experience not to have my baby with me from the start. The NICU would call me and I would walk down the hall to feed him. Thank goodness, Gabriel's NICU stay only lasted 36 hours and then he was allowed to room with me. From there things started to get better.

Valentine's Day

Well we thought today might have been a double celebration. With contractions 4 minutes apart and other key signs, a trip to the hospital was warranted at 1am in the morning on February 14th. God bless our wonderful neighbors for coming over to watch the kids in the wee hours of the morning. However, after spending 90 minutes in the triage room, my contractions started to taper off. Since I was already past 41 weeks, they were ready to hook me up to pitocin and get my labor rolling again. However, I am not a fan of pitocin and I asked to be released to walk around the hospital to see if I could get my contractions going again. Ryan and I snuck out of the hospital briefly to grab some breakfast at Taco Cabana and then did some stairs and paced the halls of the hospital for another hour but to no avail. No contractions and no progression. Since, I had a Valentine's Day party to throw at Elizabeth's school and a birthday dinner planned for her, I asked to go home at 6am. Everyone thought I would be back before the end of the day, including myself. HA!

I took the day off work and raked and filled 25 bags of leaves before heading over to Elizabeth's school to conduct her class's Valentines Day party. Then, I went to daycare to attend Ava's and Casey's Valentines Day parties. My contractions continued throughout the day, but never became regular again. So, we invited our neighbors to celebrate Elizabeth's birthday with us at the Magic Time Machine. We figured it was the least we could do, since they watched our kids most of the night.

At this restaurant, the salad bar is in a car, the tables are all different themes, and the waiters dress as different characters, so the kids picked costumes also. Ava and our neighbor's daughter were princesses. Casey was a cowboy. Elizabeth was a rock star kitty cat. Don't ask where she comes up with these things. The kids enjoyed fuzzy potion drinks, fried goodness, and a brownie sundae. I enjoyed a margarita! Don't get me wrong, it was great to give Elizabeth her own special day, but it was frustrating not to have a baby today. (Once again my own fault, I could have taken the drugs and stayed.)

P.S. I have to mention that Elizabeth was a really good sport about not having a big birthday party this year due to the pending arrival of Baby Knight. Her response to our discussion was "Oh, I get it. I get to have a big birthday party every other year, so I will have a big party when I am 7."

Waiting on Baby

Birthday parties, Book club, Bible study, board meetings, and a baby shower pretty much wrap up most of January and month number 9 of my pregnancy. I continued to work full time, squeezing in doctors, dentist, and other appointments as to clear my calendar for February. My co-workers threw me a very nice baby shower and presented me with a Target gift card to ensure our baby boy didn't get all hand me downs. To help pass the time I took the kids to the children's theater and museum, arranged play dates, attended birthday parties, Sunday school, and Monster Jam. Ryan worked a lot because he front loaded his schedule to ensure that he had some time off around the baby's due date of 4 Feb.

Meanwhile, I was trying every trick in the book to have this baby in January. Being pregnant with #4 didn't make me any more patient. If anything I was more anxious for him to come out. I am not the type to savor pregnancy. Feeling him kick is cool, but waking up 6 times at night to pee is not so cool. Not to mention that I really miss wearing my regular clothes. Plus, our calendar is always full of activities and not knowing when you are having a baby can put a crimp in planning. Lets not forget the house is going on the market at the end of Feb. My personal wishes were to have some separation from Elizabeth's birthday, and I wanted Ryan to have some time with the baby before he headed off on his 10 weeks of residency rotations.

However, January 31 came and went, so did Ground Hog's Day. Now we have hit my due date and are going into overtime. We knew this would happen, I have always gone to at least 41 weeks with every baby. They just need more time to cook. Still, I was hoping just once that I could have a baby "on time" or even a little early. Oh well, it is my own fault for not scheduling an elective c-section at 39 weeks.

State of Emergency

Even with half a dozen days below freezing last year, we only saw a couple of flurries, and by a couple I really do mean two snow flakes. I was nothing like the mountains of snow that family received in the mid-Atlantic states. This year was shaping up to be similar. Lots of snow in the northeast and shorts and t-shirts in the middle of winter for Texas. Still, we had a few days below freezing and finally some moisture entered the air. Wallah! Snow! I have missed every time it has snow at our beach condo in North Carolina, but I did get to see snow in southern Texas. A whole .40 inches, as recorded at the airport a few miles from our house. All major highways were shut down for over 12 hours due to icy conditions. The airport closed for a few hours, and most airlines canceled San Antonio morning flights. We obviously don't have any plows or salt/cinder trucks here. Over 500 accidents were reported Friday morning, and it took Ryan over 2 hours to get home after working a night shift. The kids got a day off of school, but I only had a two hour delay. That became an issue because daycare was closed also, so I ended up taking a personal day to watch the kids. Elizabeth and Ava donned their warmest clothes and ventured into the dusting to jump on the trampoline and make snow balls. Thin blooded Casey deemed it too cold outside and quickly came back inside to enjoy a nice hot breakfast.

The snow play didn't last long, it was 60 degrees around lunch time.

Monster Jam

On the recommendation of Ryan's best friend and NASCAR buddy, Mark, we took the kids to Monster Jam here in San Antonio. We figured it would be a good outing for the kids, and it couldn't hurt to try it once. Casey has a thing for trucks, tractors, and motorcycles, and Elizabeth is usually a fan of sports, cars, and extreme sports. So, we shoved some ear plugs in our pockets and off to the arena we went. Casey loved all the noise and the action. It was way better than taking an afternoon nap. Elizabeth really got into the action. During the competition portion of the show, she would pick a favorite car during each elimination round and cheer him on while "booing" his competitor. One of her favorite cars was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle car. It was pretty amusing to watch her "pump a fist" or give a "thumbs down" to drivers. Who doesn't like to see the Air Force car fall apart? By the end of the show, most of of the cars were toast as were the kids. The afternoon was a success by all accounts, even I enjoyed the show. This may an event that is repeated. Good thing Monster Jam is big in North Carolina.

Olympics 2028

Watch out here he comes! Okay, maybe not the Olympics but I bet with some work he could compete at the collegiate level. Since the girls have all had a chance to try their hand at gymnastics and other sports, I thought it was only fair to give Casey a chance before we became overwhelmed with baby #4.

Casey started a mommy and me gymnastics program in the summer and continued with it through the fall and winter. It really wasn't mom and me. It was all Casey, I was just there to make sure he didn't seriously injure himself. He is really good for his age. He was in a class of 2-3 year olds and he was constantly performing at least 6 months ahead of of his peers. He may be a bit behind in his verbal development, but no one can say that his physical skills are lagging. Now his sisters are trying to out perform him.

We hope that once he turns three and we are settled in North Carolina that we can get him back into gymnastics. Ryan also thinks it will make him a better wrestler. Casey might be the runt of the litter but he is quick on his feet and has great agility.

2010 Christmas Letter

For those of you who didn't receive our letter in the mail (I probably don't have your address), or for those of you would like to re-read our yearly letter, here it is.

Knight 2010 Christmas Letter

“DONG. DONG. DONG. DONG. DONG. DONG.” A deep bell sound rolls down from the chapel, through Cadet area, across The Plain, moves to the Hudson, and disappears with a hint of sadness hanging in the air. Then in unison but monotone and dreary, “Six bells and all is well. Another week shot to hell. Another week in my little grey cell. Another week in which to excel. Oh hell.” In the old days, my plebe year at West Point (1997), we had formation every Sunday evening at 6 O’clock and if you weren’t in formation by the time the bells chimed you were late. The plebes marked another week down with this recitation. And now I mark another year down with this. I wish I had exciting stories to tell, or life lessons to reflect on, or humiliating experiences; I don’t. I have the daily drudge that is life with three children (from here forward to be referred to as “little monsters”). “DONG.” I started off the year leaving my wife to battle the little monsters while I spent the month in Houston on a pediatric rotation. With an odd schedule she was left doing the traveling and drove multiple times out to visit. This adventure consisted of convincing the girls that their room in the 1 bedroom apartment was the walk in closet. They each created their “beds” on the ground and loved it. At least we got to see some of the sites – I went to San Jacinto and we all hit up the Space Center and the natural history museum – otherwise known as an infomercial for “Big Oil” as it teaches all about the oil business and how great/clean it is. “DONG.” After a month home I again packed up and left Kristin with the little monsters for a pediatric rotation in Cincinnati. Being the longest time I’ve been in Cincy since moving away in 1997 I took full advantage. I got to catch up with family and friends and even made a guest appearance at a UC residency function. Joy (my best friend’s wife) is probably about now no longer sick of me. The highlight was Kristin and the little monsters coming to visit – Lizzy rode uncle Austin’s motorcycle with training wheels, Ava drove a Powerwheels Jeep endlessly, and CJ was in heaven with a real farm tractor. “DONG.” After briefly being a family again Kristin said her “Good-byes”, took off for Estonia for a month with the Marine Corps Reserves, and left me with the little monsters. It was fantastic. Kristin got to be a Marine again and I got to create two daddy’s girls and one daddy’s boy. “DONG.” I started as Chief Resident in June and this dominated my time through October. If I wasn’t working, I was working. We took some time to explore some of Texas by going through the state parks and hitting up the Hill Country. In October little CJ (barely 2½) completed a 6 mile hike through one of the parks. He may have whined, he may have tried to refuse, and he certainly needed bribing with food every ¼ mile but he made it and impressed me. Lizzy essentially ran the 6 miles and asked for more. We also found out that we would be welcoming a 4th to our crowd of little monsters - a brother for CJ. “DONG.” The fall was marked by Lizzy starting true Kindergarten at the local elementary school and Ava having to cope with the loss of Lizzy and her 1 friend going to different schools. This forced Ava to make friends and be sociable. Lizzy learned to ride a bike, is doing great with reading, and impresses the world with her fashion sense (yes, cowboy boots go with everything). “DONG.” The end of the year has ended with a flurry of activity after an overall boring year. It started with a rejection after a job interview. I’m pretty good at it by now – I applied to 7 medical schools and decorated my wall at West Point with 6 rejection letters. I love the standard lines – yadda, yadda, we chose to go with someone else, but please be ready in case something doesn’t work out because we’d still love to have you in the unit. In other words, you were, at best, second best and we are hoping everything works out so that we’re not stuck with you. My second interview went well enough and I accepted a position working at Ft. Bragg, NC. So, we are headed back to where everything started for us 10 years ago (it was 10 years ago that we found out I was going to Ft. Bragg and Kristin to Camp Lejeune). Immediately after getting back from my interview we flew out to Sedona, AZ for vacation with Kristin’s family. Opa (Kristin’s grandfather) celebrated #88 and we put some miles on the little monsters’ shoes. This included 1 mile into the Grand Canyon (and back – once again much whining by CJ) and many other trails. Now we’re back to the dredge and hoping the grey period doesn’t set in. As usual, we hope this finds everyone well. Maybe next year I can produce something humorous and entertaining for your bathroom reading pleasure. Until then, we hope to cross paths. Do you hear it? That’s the sound of the wind whisking the bells away down the Hudson.

December Round Up

After returning from Arizona, the hustle and bustle of our normal lives quickly returned. Elizabeth jumped back into school, and Ryan returned to work after almost a month off. The girls finished off their soccer and T-ball seasons. Casey continued to impress his speech therapist and gymnastics teacher. I caught up on work for my regular job, plus work for the BAMC Auxiliary, and threw a "Winter Party" for Elizabeth's Kindergarten class. Ava chickened out of our church's Christmas Pageant, but Elizabeth participated as an angel, waving at us in the audience the whole time she was on stage. Gifts were bought, wrapped, and shipped. Any hopes I had of finishing some sewing projects in time for Christmas quickly went out the window. At least, there is still hope of getting them done in time for birthdays and other holidays. I made a pathetic attempt at decorating the house for Christmas. The kids kept asking where our outside lights were, but at 8 months pregnant I really didn't feel like climbing a ladder to hang them. As part of our yearly tradition, we bought our tree at half off a few days before Christmas. The kids enjoyed doing the decorating this year. However, I wasn't sure if some of the branches were going to support the weight of a dozen ornaments, and nothing was hung above 44".

I think it looked great! No San Antonio tree would be complete without a "Go Spurs" sign. I almost forgot to mention that Elizabeth took Ryan to a Spurs game in December, since she had earned some free tickets for selling cookie dough as part of her school's fundraiser. She still loves the Bengals, but she is now a die hard Spurs fan. At least one team has a winning track record.

Ryan had to work on Christmas Day, so we woke the kids up at 5am to celebrate before he went to work. It didn't take long for the kids to rub the sleep out of their eyes, and behold all the goodies that Santa had brought. Ryan bought the family a video camera for Christmas, so we have lots of video of footage of the kids on Christmas morning, but we forgot to take any regular photos. You will have to take my word for it that there were lots of excited squeals, laughs, happy faces, and joy. Not to mention a mountain of paper and boxes all over the place. The Black Friday Powerwheels was a huge hit. Casey immediately claimed it as "his" and spent all of Christmas day loading and unloading "his" truck with all his new gifts. However, he isn't a very good driver, so at least he will let his sisters help out in that department. Ryan took off the week between Christmas and New Years and I worked half days. He and the kids made it to one of the missions here in San Antonio. Together, we took the kids to Sea World to see the holiday animal shows and the girls were big enough to ride a few rides. We also had a chance to get together with the Crittenden family who made the trek from DC to Austin for the holidays. It was great to hang out with my best friend, Crystal, and I always enjoy seeing our girls play together. New Year's Eve was a quiet celebration with neighbors, however heard it did get rowdier after I went to bed. At least I made it to midnight this year which was better than I did last year. Overall, I think we all survived the month of December without too much stress or strain. It really was a quiet and calm holiday season.

Sedona, AZ

In December after numerous trips where at least one family member was missing, we finally escaped San Antonio for a family vacation. We were invited to join in the celebration of my grandfather's 88th birthday. When you turn 88 you can have your birthday wherever you want, and he chose the beautifully red rocks of Sedona, AZ. Casey was very impressed with the massive rock formations on our drive in and appropriately "oohed and aahed." However, Elizabeth's response was "they are just rocks" along with an eye roll, such attitude from a 5 going on 6 year old. Our week in AZ gave us plenty of time to explore a lot of what Sedona had to offer. Not only are the red rock formations gorgeous, we also enjoyed exploring Sedona's majestic canyons.

The kids even got to experience a little ice and snow. Plus, Ryan managed to dunk Casey's leg in the freezing cold creek. During the week, Elizabeth did learn to appreciate the beauty of nature. While Casey, Ava, and I went with Grandpa and Miss Linda to an old mining town, Ryan took Elizabeth on a hike to the top of Cathedral Rock. It was a long and challenging hike for her, but the views were spectacular.One of the highlights of our time in AZ was visit to the Grand Canyon. I had been there as a teenager, but it was wonderful to return and share it with my own family. Tightly clasping children's hands, we ventured about a mile down into the canyon, but even from that vantage point it tough to grasp the magnitude of this wonder.

Overall, it was a wonderful week that brought together four generations of family for adventure, fellowship, and celebration.

The oldest, Opa (88), and the youngest, Casey (2).