We're Here!
Well, after lots of travelling, we have finally arrived in KY. The drive from TX took 14 hours, so that was pretty good. We arrived in Terre Haute at 4:00 in the morning. We had to stop every 3 hours or so to feed Jacob, but it went well overall. We tried out the DVD player in our van for the first time and Nathan was fascinated with that.

Our Christmas went well. We first were in Terre Haute for the Hunter Christmas then on to Nashville, IN, for the Weir Christmas then on to Scottsburg, IN, for my mom's side and then to Louisville for the Lloyd Christmas. Needless to say, we made a haul.

We are living in a 2 bedroom suite at a hotel. It is really nice and will work well for a few months. It is right next to the church where Daryl works, so that is convenient. We get to go there for the first time this Sunday, so we are looking forward to that and seeing what it is like and where we can get plugged in.

We are getting settled in and look forward to looking at housing to see what we can afford in the area. We'll keep you informed.

Doctor's Appointment
Jacob went to the doctor this morning and he weighed 10.5 pounds!!! That means in the past 10 days he has gained 2 pounds. Crazy! Well, I guess he is eating pretty well.


Labor Story
I guess I never really explained how Jacob's birth went. Here goes. It is a little long.

I woke up on November 18th with a few contractions. Nothing too serious so I just started watching them for a while. They were pretty sporatic at that point. I told Daryl after a little while and we were waiting. That night at dinner I told my mom and they started to get a little closer together and stronger. We finally decided to go to the hospital that night.

When we got there I was still 3 centimeters and my contractions had gotten sporatic again. They watched me for an hour and there wasn't much of a change. The nurse said that the doctor would probably have me go home and continue to watch them. She called the doctor on call and he instead decided to admit me. If there wasn't any change by the morning he wanted to induce. I was a little hesitant, but we went to the labor and delivery floor anyway.

The nurses there were getting me prepped and we told them we had a birth plan to be able to walk around and not be stuck in the bed the whole time. Well, they said the doctor on call doesn't do that. So, we decided to sign the Against Medical Advice papers and go home to labor more comfortably.

We got home and laid on the couch. Before long the contractions were getting really strong and close together. We decided to go back to the hospital after a couple hours. When we got there I was a 7! So, we went back upstairs and got hooked up. They wouldn't let me get out of the bed, so that stunk. Things went really slowly from then on. I think that is because I couldn't walk around. We cleared all this with our doctor, but I guess the doctor on call is a little old school in his methods. A new doctor came on call and I had him break my water at 9 centimeters.

Finally a while later I was ready to push. It only took like 10 minutes for Jacob William to arrive. We thought he was so small and probably like 6 pounds or something but he turned out to be bigger than Nathan at birth. That was funny.

I was able to go natural again this time without the use of drugs. The fact that it was a slower labor made it harder than Nathan's birth, but it still went well. Next time I might see if I can find a midwife to deliver so that there won't be any confusion like this time.

A few new pictures to enjoy...

SOLD!
Well, looks like we have sold our house already. We received 2 offers this past Tuesday and enacted one of them today. The offer is from an 80-year-old couple. They are paying cash and actually offered more than our asking price. Both people that put in an offer really wanted the house and were pleading their case to our agent. It was a good scenario for us.

So now this means we will be leaving on the 22nd of this month. The moving company will be coming around that time to get us packed up and we will head out. I can't believe that is only 2 weeks away!

2 Weeks Old
Jacob went in for a checkup today at the doctor. He now weighs 8 pounds, 12 ounces! He got down to 6 lbs, 3 oz at a few days old, so he is packing on the pounds now. Nathan was 8 lbs, 6 oz at 2 weeks, so Jacob has a few ounces on him. He is doing well over all.

Here are a few new pictures from the last few weeks of the boys.






Moving
Well, I guess we haven't officially announced our plans for the next month. Daryl has accepted a new position at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. He will be a network guy again. His last day at work here is December 22. We wanted to get back closer to family and it has worked out. Our house is now on the market. We have had several people come look and a couple people have come back for a second look. No offers yet, but we'll see. So, there is a lot of stuff going on in the next few weeks. We'll keep you updated.

Here is a picture of Nathan and Jacob at approximately the same age. Pretty different looking we think.

Things are going well here. We met with a Realtor today to get our home on the market. That should happen tomorrow.

Well, Jacob is almost a week old. He is doing well. Still working out the evening schedule of feeding and eating and letting mommy get some sleep as well. I (Jenny) had to go to the doctor yesterday because I had a sore throat and fever. Turns out I have strep throat. I am on some meds and am feeling better today.

Nathan is doing better at acknowledging Jacob. He has touched him now and even gave him a kiss once. He likes to look at him and thinks he is kind of funny.

I'm having a problem uploading pictures and videos tonight.

Maybe I'm tired.

Here are two videos from today... One of Nathan... One of Jacob...

Here's a ZIP file containing several pictures I was *going* to upload before blogger decided to not play nice with me.

Maybe tomorrow.

G'nite

Well, here are a few more pictures to show you. Big brother Nathan came again with Mamaw Lloyd to see Jacob today. He has a cool backpack to carry around his "essentials." For instance, he said clearly - who needs a baby brother when I have maracas!!!

So, enjoy the pics. Also, if you'd like the first videos of baby Jacob then here's one when he is just minutes old, and here's one when he's about an hour old.

We go home tomorrow!

Baby 2.0 is here!!!

It's a boy!

Name: Jacob William Hunter
Born: 9:44am 11/19/2006
Weight: 7lbs 10oz
Length: 20 1/4 inches

Everyone is well albeit tired.

Here are a few pics for now. More to come in the next few days.

38.5 Weeks
I had my doctor's appointment today and all is well. I am now dilated to 3 cm. It is good to know that things are moving in the right direction. My next appointment is scheduled for next Tuesday.

Here is a funny picture we took last night of my big belly and Nathan...

37.5 Weeks
I had my weekly doctor's appointment today and all looked well. I am 2 cm dilated and 60% effaced, so some progress there. I go back in next Monday for my next appointment. Here is the ticker for my countdown...

Happy Halloween!
Tonight we went to church for their Festival 31. Nathan got to see some farm animals, ride a pony, take a little tractor for a spin, go on a hayride, have his first sucker, and have his picture made. Here are some pictures of the event...

36.5 Weeks!
We are moving right along! My doctor's appointments now come once a week, usually on Mondays. Things went well this week and all looks good as far as measurements and such are concerned. The baby is staying very active and likes to use my bladder as a squeeze toy. :)

A Few New Tricks
Nathan has two more videos of what he is learning recently. The first is animal noises and the second is him with the doggie. Enjoy!

Week 33
It is getting closer now. I have a doctor's appointment this week. Here is what is happening right now with little one...

This week of pregnancy, your baby is about 19 inches in length and weighs about 4 1/3 pounds. By about this point, the volume of amniotic fluid has reached it’s maximum. As your baby grows, there will be less fluid and more baby, which makes movements feel more frequent and vigorous. As fat accumulates under your baby’s skin, your baby’s skin color changes from dark red and transparent to pinkish and translucent.

We went out today and got a girl and boy coming home outfit. Here is what we got:

When we asked Nathan which one we would use, he pointed to the blue one, so I guess that is his prediction.

Nathan Update
He is doing well, active as ever. Here are two new videos for your entertainment. The first is of him doing a dance and the second is him doing a flip. He gets it right every once in a while.

Kitchen
We are also getting some things updated in our kitchen this next week. We are getting our countertops resurfaced. It is basically a process where they spray on an epoxy coating. When it is done it is supposed to look like stone. I'll let you know how that turns out. We also have a new stovetop and oven to put in. We are updating our harvest gold models. We already replaced the vent hood. It should be nice when it is all over.

Playing with Daddy
Yesterday Nathan had some fun with daddy. First he went outside and played in the rain and then later he had a pillowfight.

The Results are In
So here are the predictions that I have gotten with the online survey:

BOY 75%
GIRL 25%

7lb,3oz - 7lb,13oz - 7lb,3oz - 7lb,11oz - 6lb,12oz - 9lb,7oz -7lb,12oz - 7lb,3oz

Nov 20, Nov 23 (5 times), Nov 25, Dec 17!

Hannah, Evelyn, Sarah, Matthew, Noah, Lindsay, Matthew, Geoffrey, Theodore, Jonathan, Thomas, Jacob Matthew, Michael Andrew, Hortence

Thanks for your entries!

Nathan Updates
So he is now getting in his 9th tooth. 3 new ones have come in in the last couple weeks. I think it has caused his grumpiness. At least I hope that is the cause! :)

Here are a few pictures taken recently:





Here is a blurry picture of Nathan's bad run-in with the entertainment center the other day. Poor little guy:

30 Weeks
I am now in my 30th week of pregnancy. Here is what is going on now: Your baby now weighs around 3 pounds and is about 17 inches from head to toe. An ultrasound image may show your baby yawning or even sucking its thumb, and you may also notice that your baby does not move at all during your Braxton Hicks contractions. This is because your muscles tighten and constrict his or her movement. I have my next doctor's appointment next week and we are also taking a hospital tour then as well.

28 Weeks
This is my 28th week of pregnancy. Things are still going really well. I had an appointment today and my weight gain was going well and the heartrate was in the 150s. I passed the glucose tolerance test, so I don't have to worry about that.

This is what baby is up to now... Your baby weighs approximately 2.4 pounds and is about 10 inches from crown to rump, or a little under 16 inches from head to toe. He or she has been gaining weight steadily during the past 27 weeks as its stem cells develop into organs, blood and immune systems, and bones. However, from this point forward, your baby's weight gain will be due to increasing amounts of body fat.

My next appointment is in 3 weeks and then they start happening each 2 weeks until the end when they come every 1 week. What are your thoughts on the baby's gender/weight/arrival date? Let me know here. Thanks!

Weddles Visit
This past weekend, our friends Chris & Angie came down to visit for the weekend. They have a son that is a few weeks older than Nathan. They loved to play together just like back when they were in childcare together. Here are some pictures...

New Car
Well, we are now officially minivan owners. We went last night to look at a van we had seen online and decided it was a good deal. It is a 2006 Chrysler Town & Country LX. It has some fun options like Stow-n-Go and a DVD player! Now I just need to learn to back up. Here are some pictures of it...

I have a few new videos that I uploaded this morning. If you are ever having a bad day and need someone to laugh with, check this one out. Another video is the progress that Nathan has made with The Spoon. He is doing pretty good with it. The last is his attempt at swimming. Enjoy!

Nathan is doing well. He turns 16 months in a few days. He can now point to his hair, nose, ears, belly, knees, and toes if you ask him. It is neat to see him learning new words.

Baby 2.0 is doing well also. It is very active. We had a doctor's appointment this past week and all seemed great. I go in in two weeks for a glucose and blood test. Then another appointment in 4 weeks.

Thanks for the continued prayers for my dad. His first round of treatment went well with no real side effects. He goes in next Tuesday to start his chemo and also another round of what he had this past week.

There are two new videos available. I tried to take one this morning of Nathan feeding himself. He didn't do it too much, but he was making some funny faces I thought you all would enjoy. Here it is. I also took a video of him on his new slide. It is a little dark, so sorry for that. Here it is.

He had his 15 month check-up earlier this week. He got 3 shots which he didn't enjoy that much.

I have my next baby doctor appointment tomorrow. That will be fun. I am now in my 24th week.

If you all could keep my dad in your prayers, that would be great. He starts his chemo tomorrow. His official diagnosis is stage 4 lymphoma. Thanks.

Due to a special request, Nathan's dancing video is now available! There is also an older climbing video available. They are pretty cute, so enjoy! He is doing well and is everywhere! He has a chest cold right now we are trying to get cleared up. He is also a drool machine, so hopefully he will be getting some new teeth soon to make that worth it.

New Baby Pics
We went in today for our 20 week sonogram and of course we left with several new shots of our new one. On each of the pictures there will be a word to the left and above telling what body part you are looking at. We are waiting to find out the gender as we did with Nathan. We thought the doctor was going to give it away, but he did well. The baby weighs in at a whopping 12 ounces. Here you go...

New Project
The newest project I have undertaken is to redo our dining table. Originally it was pretty small. It fit 4 people, but it was tight. So, I removed the top, extended the length, and I am now in the process of making the tabletop. The top is actually made out of a door. I trimmed around the edges with some wood. It is looking pretty good so far. When it is all done it should fit 6 comfortably. Here is a picture of the progress so far...

Bathroom Update
Things are coming along in our master bath. In the past few days we have been able to prime the walls, install the new electrical outlets, get the new wiring ready for our recessed lighting, and Daryl is working on installing a new vent in the ceiling. We are ready for it to get done.

Prayer Request
I ask for you to lift up my dad in prayer. He found out this past week that he has cancer in a few areas. He is hoping to get in to see a really good doctor this next week to get some more advice and find out what the next steps will be. Thanks so much.

Walking Machine!
Well, Nathan has almost perfected the art of walking. He still crawls to get up and down steps but not much more. It is pretty fun to watch. He is really fast though! Here is a video to see for yourself.

Bathroom Update
The past couple evenings we have been able to get some more done on our bathroom. We have the new drywall up and patched and then last night we installed the new vanity and sinktop. We have running water again! :) It looks nice, at least that part. We ran into a couple issues. The biggest one being that the old plumbing coming from the wall was in the way of two drawers on the left side. So, we will have to make those fake drawers. I think that will make it look the best. The next step in line will be to prime the walls and then do the texturing and painting. We will be doing wainscotting on the bottom half like we did at our old house. Here is what it looks like now. The right picture is of Daryl's beautiful plumbing job... that saved us $500!


Nathan's Boo Boo
Well, Nathan fell last night and had his first boo boo with actual blood. He busted his lip a little bit. It wasn't very bad. He sucked on some ice and felt much better.

18 Weeks!
I am now starting my 18th week of pregnancy. I have a doctor's appointment on July 6th and my sonogram on July 5th. Here is what the little one is up to now... Your baby weighs about 5.25 ounces and is 5-1/2 inches long from crown to rump, or about the size of a large pickle. I have started to feel the little pickle move around. That is fun.

Bathroom Remodel
Well, this past Sunday we decided to rip out our bathroom and redo it like we like. Originally it had a long vanity but only had one sink. Our end goal is to have two sinks as well as other upgrades. Here is a before picture:

We have now removed the vanity, sink top, the drywall behind the vanity, flooring, wallpaper (3 layers plus paint!), and mirror. What we have been able to get accomplished so far is to buy all our new parts and install two new power outlets. Most of the work we have done is to figure out how to get the plumbing for two sinks to work out. I think we are good to go now though. Right now it is ready for the new drywall behind the vanity and then to install the vanity and sinktop. Here is our progress now...

Beautiful, huh? :) We'll keep you updated!

Sorry for the long delay in posting. The last month has been crazy!!! Since then we have moved into our new house, taken a weeklong fun trip to North Carolina, taken a weeklong business trip to St. Louis, replaced our water heater, had a doctor's appointment, and obviously not updated the blog!

Bald Head Island Trip
The week around Memorial Day we took a trip to Bald Head Island. That is an island off the coast of North Carolina. We met up with my mom, step-dad, brother, sister-in-law, and cousin. We had a great time. There are no gas cars on the island and only golf carts to ride around in. Nathan liked that a lot! He also loved anything that had to do with the water. I have posted some of my mom's and my pictures online. It will ask for a password. Just put in our last name. You should check them out. I am trying yet another new way to post photos online. Let me know what you think of this method.

New House
We are in our new house and we are liking it a lot. There are so many little projects we want to do though so we don't quite feel fully settled in yet. A big thing we need to figure out is what to do in our bathroom. Right now there is a single sink and we want to put in double sinks. The question is whether to do a long vanity with the sinks or to do two pedestel sinks and a tall cabinet to the right for storage. Thoughts anyone?

St. Louis
Two weeks ago Nathan and I went to St. Louis with Daryl. He had a conference to go to there and we got to tag along. We had a good time. I was able to sneak away for a few days and visit the three sets of parents. It was good to see everyone. The last day we took a trip to see Daryl's sister's family. They just had a new baby and it was great to visit with them, even if it was just for a couple hours.

17 Weeks!
I am on day 119 and 17 weeks pregnant today. I am 42.5% of the way there. Only 161 days left until my due date. We had a doctor's appointment last week. It was mostly paperwork and was with the nurse. My next appointment is July 6th with the OB. It will be good to meet her. I will have my ultrasound around then as well. That is fun. I am just starting to feel movement right now. It is very faint though. This is what the web says about the baby's development right now: Your baby is approximately 4.8 inches long and weighs about 3.5 ounces, and he or she should weigh more than the placenta from this point on. Since your baby's hearing has become more finely tuned, he or she may respond to loud noises and you may feel movement at the sound of large trucks passing or a slamming door. Epidermal (skin) and fatty tissue are developing all over your baby's body to protect it after it is born and a substance called vernix is beginning to form on the skin tissue to protect it from the long exposure to amniotic fluid. Pretty cool!

Nathan
He is doing really well right now. Walking is getting easier for him each day. He walks a little more than he crawls now I think. We ended up buying a little blowup pool for him and he is loving that. He is doing well napping and sleeping and we have settled into a pretty good routine so far since being back at home.

Well, I think that is all I can think of for right now. I still have some photos to upload and I will do that as time allows. Hope all is well with you and thanks for reading my novel!

Well, we had a busy weekend. We went to Atlanta to visit with my brother, his wife, their son, my mom and step-dad. It was good to see them and meet our new nephew. They are also in the transition of moving into a new house. It is nice and we got a tour. Their house is actually right inside Alabama.

We only have two more days here in Texas at the hotel until we go back to OK to close on our houses and pack up. It is getting closer!

Nathan got his first pair of shoes that he is actually going to wear this past week. Here is a picture of him:


We looked at several places before finding that Payless sells baby shoes in wide sizes. He is wearing a 4W now. He doesn't know what to think of them. He doesn't walk too much in them. He acts like his feet weigh 100 pounds each!

Well the past week has gone pretty well down in TX. We are staying in a 1 bedroom suite with a kitchen. Nathan is sleeping in the living room area, so that is nice that he has his own space. He had done well sleeping, so that is a good thing.

We have kept ourselves occupied by going to the mall playground, the Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, IKEA, the hotel playground and just driving around the area. You can see some new pictures of those things as well as some other random things here. Let me know if you have problems seeing the pictures. I know some had some difficulty with the previous design.

Daryl is getting into the groove at his job already making lots of good changes for them. He is enjoying what he is doing and those he works with.

We are back in OK right now getting some things done on the house that we need to do before the closing. It has actually been raining nonstop the past day, we have needed that for sure.

Talk to you later!

Things are looking like they are working out well on our houses. We had the inspection on the OK house last night and there were just a few things found. The inspection on the house down in TX went just as well. We are heading down south on Sunday so Daryl can work next week then we will be back on the weekends. This is definitely a time of transition.

Nathan is doing well. He has 4 teeth coming in and 2 more are almost through. He will have a mouthful soon! He eats all tablefoods now, no more babyfood. That makes it a little more interesting trying to figure out what to feed him sometimes, but it works out well.

Daryl has one last paper to do for the class he is in. He is off finishing that right now. When that is over he will only have 2 more classes to take. He will be able to be on main campus for those.

That's all for now!

Well, the update from OK is that it looks like things are working out well for our new place. We have inspections today, so that will be a big step. Daryl is down there now working for a few days. From what I hear he is keeping busy.

I worked things out at childcare so that Nathan can stay one more week. That allows me to work this week. That is nice to be able to get things finished up a little more. We may go to the zoo tomorrow with a friend. It is supposed to be cooler. Yesterday it was like 98 and our power was off for like 4 hours! Ugh. It didn't get too hot in the house though.

More posts later!

The past few days have been pretty busy. On Monday Nathan had his one-year checkup. All looked good. He got 3 shots which didn't make him very happy, but he is doing fine now. He weighed 25 lbs, 9 oz and was 29 3/4 inches. He is a chunk! :)

Tuesday I had my first Prenatal appointment. All went well with that. I actually had a sonogram to determine due date. It turns out the official day is November 24th. We saw the little bean and its heartbeat. Below is a picture we got:

On Tuesday we also sold our house. It worked out well because we ended up with two offers, so they kind of competed with each other. We are happy with what we ended up with and it turns out the profit we make will be just what we need to close on our new house with our desired down payment. It's cool how God worked that out.

We are in the process of getting all the paperwork and checks where they need to go for the house we want in Arlington. I think we are close to getting that wrapped up. It looks like the closing date for each will be May 12th.

That's about all here with us right now. Lots of changes, but they are good ones.

We finally have some new info about housing. We did receive an offer last Friday on our house. It was a little low, so we countered. We are supposed to hear back their answer today. Last night someone came to look at our house and they also put an offer on our home. We have yet to hear the details though. We are excited about the activity on it.

This past weekend was great. Nathan had his party and my mom and step-dad were in town visiting. Nathan got his pictures taken for his birthday. We get those back in two weeks. For his birthday he got a walker, ball popper, clothes, books, a Veggie Tales DVD, toys, and a bike seat among other things. You can see new photos that I have posted online. There are week 50, week 51, week 52, and week 53. I have not yet posted the videos that I have. Enjoy!

We heard back today from our realtor in Texas. The couple that own the house we made an offer on accepted all of our terms, but will not sign the contract until we have an offer on our house. So please pray for that. Someone did come today to take a look. We didn't hear anything back after that, so I guess that didn't work out.

Well, this past Saturday we went to Arlington to look for houses. We toured about 15 houses... very tiring! We saw a couple we liked and made an offer on one of them. There are more details here. It is a cute house, hopefully things will work out with it. We haven't heard back from the owners about our offer yet.

Welcome to the new Hunterfam.net blog! We will use this site to keep our family up-to-date on our ever-changing lives. Hope all is well with everyone. Here is what is new with us:

1. Nathan will turn 1 on April 7th. The year has flown by it seems!
2. We are pregnant with baby #2. It will be due around Thanksgiving. I go to my first doctor's appointment on April 11th. Here is a ticker to track my progress:

3. Daryl has accepted a new position in Arlington, Texas. We are moving back. It is at Fielder Road Baptist Church, that is the church I worked at when we lived there. He will be the Director of IT and will be on the lead team of the church. We hope to get moved down there the beginning of May.

I think that is enough change for now! Will post again later.