He's finally here!

Miles Tyler entered the world at 11:04 pm on Friday, February the 13th, 2009 at 8 pounds, 2 ounces and 21 inches long. We feel so blessed to have welcomed him into our life and thankful he truly makes us a family (debatable if you count Duermo and Squirt as Miles older brothers). Here's the story. Wednesday morning we woke up at 5:00am counting contractions as we'd done almost every night this week. Nicole had a feeling that something was different and that maybe Wednesday could be the day. We went in that afternoon at 4pm to the birthing center because Nicole had some bleeding which ended up being whats known as bloody show - this is a sign of labor. We were both very surprised to learn that she was dialated to a 4. (We almost didn't go in to the appointment because Nicole was feeling alright that afternoon.) We went out for chinese, of course:) and then went for a walk in the park for a few minutes and headed back to the birthing center. Her midwife checked her and we were admitted that evening. She continued to progress, or so we thought.. Many of you recieved a text message that night letting you know that she was in labor, which was true - it just ended up being a different kind of labor than we'd expected. She was up on her feet and smiling and laughing all throughout the night, and only got 15 minutes of sleep. Her midwife checked on her in the morning and her cervix seemed to be still dialating slowly, it was just really far back. So she was hardly progressing at all. They sent us home to Galveston Thursday afternoon to get some rest (which is an hour & a half drive!) Of course on the way home she started having stronger and more frequent contractions. We got home and slept for about an hour and then Nicole's parents arrived. The four of us packed our stuff and went back up to the birthing center, at this time her contractions were a steady 2 minutes apart. Her midwife checked her and nothing had changed, her cervix was still posterior. She was in what they call padromal labor, and actually had been since the day before. So we went and got a hotel room since she was dialated to a 6 and we did not want to be an hour and a half away from the center. Nicole grew increasingly miserable as her contractions had picked up again evening and we could tell something had changed. We went back to the birthing center and finally her cervix was where it should've been. We were admitted back into the birthing center and had more of a restful night than the one before. Friday morning her contractions were still steady and intesifying, but her water had not broken yet. They ended up breaking her water at 3:30pm and she started completely pushing shortly thereafter. She pushed for a little over 6 hours straight and his head was showing, she just couldn't get him to the crowning stage. no matter how hard she pushed. Finally the midwives decided that everything they could possibly do had been done and we were transferred to a local hospital. The doctor ended up attaching a vaccuum to his little head that was just peeking out and Nicole gave about 3 good pushes and FINALLY Miles made his debut! He is beautiful and perfect and I just can't describe how it really does change you in an instant. Our apologies for not keeping you better informed, it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride there for a while and we weren't really sure what was going on ourselves. Thanks to all of you who've been checking in on us and for all the prayers you've prayed over the last couple of days. We hope to post some pictures here soon so you can see the amazing little guy.

New Paint & Progress...

It'll be four months since the storm this week but we're making progress...

It went from this,

to this...


to this in just a couple days!


This will be the office (just as it was before)

This will be the Colts nursery for Miles when he arrives (we're working diligently to ensure he can come home to his room)

Master bedroom (which now has it's own full bath off of it)

New shower in Master bath.

...and a late Merry Christmas from Duermo.

Doesn't he look like he's having fun.

We will have trim and new doors by the end of this week, flooring and the kitchen come shortly after that and if all goes as planned we should be close to finishing within two weeks. (Nicole says I'm too optimistic (unrealistic) but I say Miles is coming soon!) We continue to be thankful, grateful, and in awe of the support and encouragement we are receiving from our family and friends.

Miles has more clothes than us! (jk, but almost)

We already bought Miles his first pair of shoes, which match his Dad's (that still boggles my mind even as I type it)

Between what his Grandma's have already gotten him he should already have a full wardrobe for years to come.

We're excited to see them on him, which won't be too much longer!

Nicole and Miles!

Nicole is 31 weeks pregnant and Miles is nearly full length and now only has to just about double his weight. You can clearly feel him move and even see body parts move across her belly. He seems to really like fruit snacks, frozen confections, and his dad playing the bongos.

(you can click on each picture to view the full-size version)

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I made Nicole do a photo shoot.

Miles is a getting to be a big boy and Nicole says he must like his picture taken as much as she does because he was kicking her really hard the whole time.

My dad provided a prop for us to use.

...and then Nicole found her own props.

Snow, Electricity, and Coldplay...

Tuesday it was 75 degrees outside (which is not out of the ordinary) and then Wednesday night it SNOWED! This was the first time in 4 years. It only snowed for about an hour and it didn't stick overnight but it was a fun surprise.

Us and our friends Tim and Sarah on the beach... in the snow

We're imitating the dolphins

Palm tree in the snow

Our house... it's been awhile since we've updated but we got electricity about 3 weeks ago now, and the contractor has the plumbing, electricity, and furnace done so far. We should have walls next week and are planning on working on it ourselves over Christmas break.

We also got to go to a Coldplay concert in Houston.

They dropped thousands of butterfly shaped flyers during a couple songs... it was amazing.

Chris Martin is a great preformer.

This is a special set they do from the rear of the auditorium.

We hope to have more pictures of the house and pregnant Nicole soon and will try and post more frequently again. We've been really busy lately but it's encouraging to start seeing progress. Thank you for your continued support, thoughts, and prayers.

Hurricane Ike Relief Information

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Click here to download full-size, redistributable version

There is a crisis response ministry team here through our church (they are some amazing people, with an even more amazing God) who need volunteers to assist Galveston and the surrounding area in the rebuilding process. They are planning on staying for a minimum of a year at this point, so there is plenty of opportunity to serve (it stays above 50 degrees here all "winter" and hurricane season is just about over too (-; so come visit). Many of you have already contacted us and if you are interested in volunteering their contact information is below.

Katie Hooks
Volunteer Coordinator
704-305-3427
hurricanerelief@efca.org

You know things have changed when your neighbors are jealous because you live in a 1986 pop-up camper in your driveway

This is the camper we stayed in for two weeks until the demo at the house. We are now living with Tim and Sarah at their apartment which is working out very well.

Entry Way after the contractor removed all the tile.

(Previous) Fireplace in the living room

Looking into the kitchen

and here's the final outcome.

We're going to be drying out the house for a couple days and hope to start rebuilding soon.