need i say more?

michael: 22 months.
ellie: 52 months.
grayson: 34 months.
mama/aunt "rarah": 8+ months (pregnant).

my (stinky) pics from yesterday.

these are my two camera phone pics that wouldn't come through last night in time for initial post. they showed up at 3:32 a.m...just 30 minutes before i got up to head back to san angelo from boerne for 8 a.m. work.

delana has great pics from a real camera on her blog. go check them out. she'll be there for two weeks so i'm sure the pictures will continue to flow.

also, it has been confirmed that bundle of joy has been named michael david jules kotze. perfect!

(is anyone else disgusted that the woman can labor for 12 hours, have a drama-filled emergency c-section delivering a 9-pound-plus baby and still have perfect eye liner? she had her dangly earrings on would've worn those through birth except that she ended up in the OR. they wouldn't let her keep them. any time i've given birth, i've looked like death warmed over. and that's generous. some people. geez.)

happy BIRTHday, baby kotze!

he's here! he's here! he's here!

my nephew is here!

i can't post long because i have to be up in like, oh, 4 hours to make the drive back to san angelo, but baby boy kotze is here!

after a long labor, kylah tried pushing, and, much to everyone's dismay, the baby's heartrate went into a pattern of dropping too low for comfort. after 12 hours and a few trial pushes, the doctor ordered an emergency c-section.

we were all heartbroken and waited impatiently outside the OR doors (which you aren't technically supposed to do) until kylah's sweet nurse (she cried!) came out to tell us the news.

a 9 pound 1 ounce baby boy!! twenty-one-and-a-half inches long, he came out screaming and crying. they ordered the c-section because of his heartrate, and, after seeing him, the doctor said it would've probably happened even if kylah had tried to push for longer because of how big he was.

i don't have a camera (boo!) and the stupid sprint network won't even send the couple of subpar camera phone photos i have. but take it from me...he is GORGEOUS perfection! he looks like michael with broad shoulders and big hands and feet like the henry side. because of all the drama, i didn't get to hold him for more than a few minutes and only saw him for 20 minutes tops.

but soon, baby boy! soon you will come home to your beautiful new house with your wonderful parents, and i will come visit again. and for the rest of my life, i will cherish you. you, who made me an aunt and you, who made my best friend a mother. i love you a million times a million!

(p.s. i THINK his name is michael...but nothing is set in stone!)

showers: 2 down, 1 to go. (etc. etc.)

phew! last night, i returned home from nine days in the dallas area for various activities. i'm hoping to get more photos, but i don't know for sure. my camera has officially died so i've only got my cell phone and other people's willingness to share at this point.

laura's bridal shower at the art centre of plano was last saturday (the 6th), and i think it turned out great. kelly (scott's wife), becky (scott's mil) and i put it together. kelly and i fleshed out our email- and gmail chat-born vision quite well!

this past saturday (the 13th) was laura's lingerie shower and bachelorette party. the photo above is from that glorious shindig. kelly planned it all on her own, and we had a blast at the iron cactus in downtown dallas. we had dinner first and then moved upstairs to hangout on the rooftop patio until the wee hours of the morning. as you can see from our shiny, happy faces, it was quite warm. we were happy to endure it, however. (oh! and i totally saw my old friend curtis from the people newspaper days. cra-zy!)

in between there was a great district council during which landon, the kids and i mangaged to sleep pretty darn well in one hotel room. i think it's because i prayed. that situation could have been miserable, but it really was not. the key: run the kids to exhaustion before trying to make them sleep in pack-n-plays in the same room. works like a charm. God REALLY showed up on tuesday night for an awesome, awesome service. there were wonderful pieces of inspiration and information strewn throughout the entire week, and i'm feeling motivated to truly allow God to grow the dreams He has placed in my heart.

grayson also turned 10 months while we were gone so i have that post to catch up with. it'll include the news that i believe is pretty miraculous regarding the delicate situation i posted about before we left town. we'll be getting confirmation that all is well at an appointment with his pediatritian early tomorrow morning. keep praying!

this week, i'm working with rhonda to finish my bridesmaid dress for laura's wedding. really, rhonda is skillfully creating a custom dress while i attempt to sew darts, rip them out 'cause they're terrible and just resign myself to visiting with her while she makes it right. i told her i'd fold her laundry or something. she wouldn't let me.

also this week, we are finishing up all we need to have kylah's baby shower on saturday! woohoo! it's going to be a bit different from other baby showers we've thrown, and i'm very excited. being in dallas with my newphew on my mind proved very good for his closet and very bad for my purse. let's just say i am staying true to henry-kotze-piland aunt status with the rather tall stack of tiny-baby-clothes goodness folded lovingly in my closet. yay!!

finally, a post is coming in which i put words to my mounting excitement and anxiety over the fact that I WILL BE TEACHING IN THE FALL. i've recently been made aware that i get to pick my ela AND journalism textbooks as well as all the novels we'll be reading in my 6th grade classes. that combined with the fact that i have several workshops to attend and a classroom (or 2?) to outfit on like, half a shoestring budget, and i'm a tad overwhelmed at the moment. i'll enumerate on all that in the next couple days. i'll be looking for some tips from all you creative peeps out there. now, is NOT the time to hold out on me. i'll need everything you've got.

who said teachers don't work in the summer?!!?

sweet, sweet nephew.

today, kylah found out she's having a boy. i'm gonna have a nephew! i can't even believe it. i can't wait to meet and hold him. congratulations, sister and michael. you are already such great parents.

i'm an aunt!! yay!!

(as you can see, the shopping has already commenced. hehe.)