A West Texas Christmas

On Tuesday, December 22, Mom, Dad, Pete and I loaded up the car and headed out to visit Dee Dee and Popsy (still unsure of the spelling) in Ballinger! We got to enjoy 4 fabulous days with Dee Dee, Popsy, Mer, Auntie A, Aunt Leslie and Jeff - and our four legged family members: Jigger, Jidda, Mattie Blue, and Logan. Our first stop in Ballinger, unfortunately, was to the pet doctor. Pete hurt his leg playing frisbee with Dad the day before we left. His doctor gave him a shot and placed him on "4 weeks bed rest" after diagnosing him with a "sprained knee".

Dad spent Wednesday at the deer lease, while Aunt Leslie, Mom, and Dee Dee enjoyed some "girl time" :) We all had a wonderful surprise when we woke up to SNOW on Christmas Eve morning! It was beautiful! We celebrated Christmas Eve at Ballinger's First Presbyterian Church and then ate yummy Mexican food at Mer's house. Church was really special because Mom, Dad, Popsy, and Dee Dee participated in the scripture reading, devotional, and the lighting of the final advent candle. (Good thing I can't talk yet, because they would have probably made me say something too!!)

What a wonderful West Texas Christmas it was... tons of great food (Mom experienced some severe indigestion for the first time!) and family time! Again, I am already a "loved" little boy (Mom doesn't like the word "spoiled" hehe) as Aunt Leslie got me several goodies, including my first pair of shoes and Texas Tech beanie, Dee Dee and Popsy gave me my rocking chair, and Dad surprised Mom with my diaper bag! I can't wait to tell everyone "thank you" and give hugs and kisses! Just 12 more weeks!!

My big brother, Pete...

Here's my big brother, Pete! He can hardly wait for me to get here so he can have a play mate! Dad snagged a picture of him sleeping by the Christmas tree last night!

28 weeks and counting!

Here's Mom and I at 28 weeks! We had another great check-up this morning. Mom and I are both growing at the "normal" rate - although Mom is still worried I am going to come out the size of a 2 year old! ha! We've made it another mile marker - our monthly appointments have been upgraded to every 2 weeks! My arrival is getting closer! They tested Mom today for gestational diabetes (we get the results in a week)...after she drank the "glucose cocktail" (which tasted like a "flat sprite") I was a moving man! I experienced my first sugar high! (Well, not really - but Mom was hoping the doctor would think so!) Mom and I seem to "frequent" the candy jar a little more these days... Peanut M&M's sure hit the spot!!!

Christmas with the Dearmore's...Ho Ho Ho!

On Saturday, December 19th, we celebrated Christmas with the Dearmore's. We all traveled to "Grammy" and "Double's" house (aka Becky and David) to enjoy some much needed family time with excellent food and great company! GiGi and Granddaddy were there (Ted & Betty), my Great Aunt Ann and Uncle Tom, Aunt Amy and Jason, Uncle Josh and Aunt Jen, and of course the three of us!

I got my first "personalized" gifts from Aunt Ann and Aunt Jen, and Grammy and Double suprised Mom and Dad with my stroller - The Bob!!! They were so excited! That was the only "baby thing" Dad seemed to care about - He's let Mom pick out everything else. It seems I am already a very "loved" little guy even before I'm "officially" here! It was such a wonderful, fun-filled evening with lots of laughs and memories! I am already looking forward to next Christmas when I can really join in on all the excitement!!

Christmas is Here!

I apologize for the delay in "updates"... I'll try to get back on track! To catch you up to date. Mom, Dad, and I had a great time at the El Paso Company Christmas party! It was at the Houston Club, in downtown Houston...such a fun, fun night! Mom was a ROCK STAR and actually stayed awake well after her usual 10:00 bedtime!

I'm a growing boy!

This is me at my 20 week appointment! In these pictures I weighed 14 oz.... crazy to believe that now I have already doubled my weight! I weigh almost 2 lbs now! I was so excited to be getting my picture taken that I gave Mom and Dad a really good "wave"!! Mom and Dad are convinced that I inherited Mom's legs (specifically, her calves!)... what do you think?! :)

Let it Snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

Here's Mom, Pete,(and me!) enjoying the SNOW we had down here in Houston! Dad was deer hunting out west and missed out on the fun!

Mom's Christmas Cactus! Oops! Forgot to bring it inside...hope it survives!

Night at the ER...

So, on Tuesday, Dec. 1, the Sykes household had quite a scare! Mom started bleeding Tuesday evening and Dad had to rush her to the emergency room. Ofcourse, it occurred during rush hour traffic, but Dad managed to safely get them both to St. Lukes. They immediately took Mom to Labor and Delivery (which even hearing those words scared Mom because she knows I still need more time in the oven!) and began extensive examinations to make sure everything was ok with me and mi madre! My heart rate was a healthy 144 bpm and my life support (aka - placenta)looked fine as well. I was in no distress. The doc said "everything checked out fine" and sent Mom and Dad on their way after a nice 6 hours in the ER. Whew! What a night! To top it off, someone hit our car as Dad was trying to park at the ER! When it rains it pours!!

Gobble, Gobble!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving week we've had. We have so much to be thankful for! I had a blast celebrating Turkey Day with my family at the Gibbins' lake house in Livingston. I got to meet my cousin, Ty, (due 3 weeks before me!) and spend time with all of my family members on my mom's side! (We missed my Uncle Josh and Aunt Jen though - they were in Missouri for Thanksgiving!)

I am especially thankful that my Dad is a "handy man"! Dad worked hard putting my crib and dresser together, and they both look awesome! I am currently about 13.5 inches from head to toe and weight about 1.5 lbs! I am growing like a champ - and so is Mom! :)

0-24 weeks in a nut shell....

To catch you up to date I'll skip the nitty gritty of the daily details of my growing and developing. Although Mom would say she deserves an entire book after surviving the first 20 weeks - hopefully a few sentences will do... Let's just say she put the SICK in "morning sickness"!!! Poor Mom had a really rough run from week 6 - until week 20 (although she still has her "moments"). In fact, I've heard through the grapevine that for every week she was sick, I am grounded for that long when I join the family! Now, how is that fair lady!! :) I'm sure my "cuteness" will make her forget all about those "green days"! Mom and Dad are very thankful to have gotten wonderful reports from the doctor each visit. Mom and I are both growing at a healthy pace! Our 17 week visit was an extra special one. That's when the doctor revealed that I was a BOY!! I think the entire hospital could hear mom scream and cry with excitement...and I'm pretty sure I even saw Dad leak a tear or two :) They decided LUKE McCAIN was a fitting name for me, and put the "official stamp" on it following encouragement from family members who "needed" to know the name so they could get busy monogramming! (thanks Aunt Ann and Aunt Jen!)

Now that Mom has "perked" up, she has been busy, busy preparing for my arrival. She had my nursery painted today and has finally made a decision on my bedding (She'll post pictures soon!) Dad likes to point out that she's "nesting", but I think Mom feels like she has to make up for "lost time" spent sick on the couch during her first trimester and half of second! Once I reached 18 weeks, I was able to start hearing Mom and Dad's voices... they talk to me all the time and I love it! Dad makes playlists for me to listen to...the music makes me dance, dance, dance in Mom's belly!

Surprise! I'm on my way...

Now that I gave you the quick and dirty version of my family (which I should apologize for not introducing my four legged older brother, Pete)! Let's get to the reason this blog was created.... ME!!! Mom, being the planner that she is, always daydreamed of the creative ways she would share the news with Dad, family, and friends - but excitement got the best of her and that's not exactly how things went down! Mom immediately called Dad to come home from work the minute she took her first pregnancy test! After showing Dad the positive preggo test... what did the two decide to do?? Buy more tests! After successfully completing another 8 positive pregnancy tests... reality had set in! They were going to be parents!!! Mom was able to get into the doctor two days later, who confirmed the great news! (He also informed her that ONE positive test is all she needed!ha!)Mom awoke the next morning to find Dad wide awake on the couch, who admitted to "not sleeping a wink" and already worrying about being a Dad and the financial responsibility of raising a child, not to mention sending them to college. Do they not realize I'm going to be a genius!;)

How The Sykes came to be....

I should first begin by saying, if you know anything about my mom, you would know that she doesn't "do technology"; so, she is really stepping outside of the box with this "blogging thing" and asked that you bear with her! :)

Mom and Dad met their freshman year of college at Texas Tech University, but didn't officially start dating until their senior year. After 2 1/2 years of dating they tied the knot on June 16, 2007. Dad had already taken a job with El Paso in Houston, so that is how the two love birds settled in the Bayou City. They bought their first home in May 2008 and have loved making their house a home. Mom was pretty much ready for me to join the family not long after they married, but with Dad's recommendation... they decided to enjoy being married for a "couple" of years. Ironically, they celebrated their 2nd anniversary in June, and as you can see, my plane is scheduled to land exactly 9 months later! I've provided you with a few pics of the two.