Finally. . .a new post!

From a Halloween post to a Christmas post, I know that I am behind on my blogging. I really have tried a couple of times to sit down and catch up, but I never seem to finish. Pierson is almost three months old today, and I cannot believe how quickly the the time has gone. We've all adjusted and now I can hardly remember what we did before he was here. He is a sweet baby, and much easier going than Ava was at this age! She has always been intense (like her mama), and it seems so far that Pierson may take after his laid back dad! The big developments are that he is starting to smile and chuckle, which pretty much makes me melt every time. It's been more fun this time around. . . maybe becuase I am more laid back since I've done this before, and maybe because I know how quickly each phase passes. I am trying to just soak up this time and it already seems to be going to fast. Pierson has captured my heart! There's just something about a little boy and his mama! It has been fun checking the blogs of several of my Fort Worth friends who are in the middle of what can only be described as a baby boom: Congratulations to Elizabeth, Jamie, Chesley, Shelly and Tara! What sweet babies. I will say that I am glad to see they have not been posting frequently either. I don't feel so bad. I will try to get back into the swing of things even if I only post photos, which is what most of my famiy wants to see anyway. Merry Christmas from The Walters!

Big Smiles

Our Christmas Photos at Jacob's Dream

Just Monkeyin' Around

Pierson Reed

My friend, Susan, was in town for ACU Homecoming and took some cute pictures of Pierson while she was at our house. She is in the process of starting up a photography business so you'll have to check out her website when it is up and running. She lives in Weatherford so if you're needing some photos, look her up!

The week in pictures

We've had an eventful week. Pierson turned one month old yesterday, we visited the Pumpkin Patch on the windiest of west Texas days, and I cut 10 inches off of my hair for Locks of Love! Here is the week in pictures:

I'm finally getting around to posting about the last two weeks. As many of you noticed and pointed out from my previous posts, I had some lofty goals for my week off, but Pierson decided to make his debut a little early, and I so I spent Monday, September 17th at the hospital instead of attending ACU's lectureship! The funny thing is that when I posted that late night blog on the 16th, I was having a lot of hard contractions the whole time I was typing. Little did I know I would be holding my son less than 12 hours later!

I use this blog as a journal of sorts, so I am going to post a little about Pierson's birth story. It was pretty exciting! I stayed up late on Sunday night blogging because I was pretty uncomfortable and having some hard contractions. I didn't wake Chad because I had been having pretty regular contractions for months and had even packed my bags and the car twice, but the contractions always stopped after a while. At about 1:00 AM, I finally laid down and fell asleep. At 5:00 AM, I woke up with even harder contractions, but continued to lay in bed while I timed them. They were only about 7-10 minutes apart so I wasn't too worried, and I was still convincing myself that this was not real labor. Finally, at 6:00 in the morning, I was so uncomfortable that I couldn't stay still so I got up to take a shower. Chad woke up and I told him I was having some contractions, but I thought they would go away so he could go back to sleep. About 5 minutes later as I was getting in the shower, my water broke. I stuck my head out of the bathroom door, and said, "Scratch that! This is it. Get up!" Chad lurched out of bed and started running around packing his bag and getting Ava up. I went ahead with my shower and got ready. My mom arrived at our house around 7:30 to take care of Ava while we went to the hospital. I still was in no huge hurry and figured it would be mid afternoon before we had a baby in our arms.

We got to the hospital around 8:00 AM to check in. My contractions were considerably harder at this point. The nurse let me know that there were so many women in labor that all of the delivery rooms were full! They put me in a small pre-op prep room and promised that I would have the next available delivery room. Several women were much farther along than I was and so they assured me I would have a room soon. Within the hour I progressed from 3 cm to 6 cm and got my epidural, which worked this time! What a HUGE difference from the epidural I got with Ava! I still felt a lot of intense pressure this time, but nothing near the pain I felt while delivering Ava. Friends and family arrived to visit and wish us well, and by 10:30 I was fully dilated and ready to push. I progressed so much more quickly than anyone expected that they ended up having to wheel my bed down the hall to the OR to deliver because there were still no rooms available. Just a few weeks before, I had been watching Father of the Bride II with Kate and made the comment that delivery is not as dramatic as in the movies since they don't actually push you down the hall while you're in labor anymore. I was wrong on that one! Chad was grabbing cameras, I was breathing deep and nurses wheeled me quickly to deliver. After about 30 minutes, Pierson Reed was born at 11:04. He was perfect, and healthy at 6 lbs 11 oz! I fell in love instantly.

We did get a recovery room and stayed in the hospital one night. The last two weeks have been a blur of loving moments with our new family, as well as some emotional fall out from hormones, sleeplessness, and learning how to parent a 3 year old and a newborn. Ava has adjusted well overall, but has had several tantrums in the past couple of weeks. It's all I can do sometimes not to cry right along with her. We are all adjusting right now. She kisses and loves on Pierson, but has made the occasional comment about wanting him to go back in my tummy or to the hospital. It's hard for her since I spend so much time nursing, and I feel badly that I physically can't play with her the way I did before since I am still healing and am taking care of Pierson occupies so much of my time. I am sure that everything will smooth out in time as we figure out a new routine and hopefully start to get more sleep. Many of my friends have two, three and four kids and seem to have it under control, so I am thinking of you all as a reminder that I can and will figure this out! In the meantime, I am praying for peace and patience for each of us, and an extra degree of wisdom for me and Chad to be both consistent in our discipline as well as gracious and loving since Ava's world has changed!

Thank you for all of your prayers for Pierson's safe arrival! We are so thankful the miracle of this new little life. I am amazed and grateful every day. Enjoy some more photos:

Pierson Reed Walters

Welcome Pierson!

Summer and Chad went to the hospital at about 7:30 this morning, and just 3 1/2 hours later, Pierson Reed made his arrival at 11:04. He weighed 6 lbs. 10 oz. and was 18.5 inches long. He has a full head of dark hair. Summer, Chad, Ava, and Pierson are all doing well! She wanted me to post some pictures so friends and family in Ft. Worth could see him. I'm sure she'll have more to add later.
~Kate

10 days and counting. . .

Ava pretending to have a baby in her tummy!

I am up again way past bedtime reading random blogs because I can't sleep. I am ready to have this baby. Or I'm as ready as you can be, I guess. I am going to enjoy some down time this week. I took off from work, so maybe I can get a few last minute things done or clean, or I might just rent a good movie and put my feet up since it might be the last time for a while.

My friend, Becky Brooks, is speaking at Lectureship, and I am glad to be living in Abilene so I can take advantage of the great wisdom that will be pouring out of ACU the next few days. I hope to attend at least a few of the lectures. I look forward to hearing Becky speak about being transparent tomorrow; she is a great public speaker, and wise beyond her years.

Today, we passed by a homeless man who hangs out in a parking lot not far from our house. Chad has had a couple of conversations with him, and actually wrote a blog about him recently. As we passed by, Ava noticed him and asked what he was doing. We told her that he didn't have a house or a car, so he sleeps right there in the parking lot. She asked, "But does he have a pillow?" Chad explained that his name is Roland, and he has backpack he uses as a pillow, but sometimes he doesn't have food, so maybe we could bring him some lunch on the way home. We talked about Roland in the car for about the next 15 minutes. On the way home, she reminded us to get a snack for Roland, which she wanted to hold. She was very excited to give it to him. He thanked us and told us,"God is so good," before he sat back down on the side of the road. When we arrived home, Ava was still talking about Roland, and said, "I want to go sit by him." There is nothing sweeter than trying to teach Jesus' love to your 3 year old, and realizing that she is teaching you.

Ava has been nothing but excited about being a big sister until today. It may have just been that she was so tired, but as I tried to put her down for a nap, she threw a fit, and let me know she didn't want a baby! I reminded her that it was going to be fun having a baby because she would get to be a big sister! She cried as loud and hard as I've heard her cry in a while saying that she did NOT want to be a big sister. She fell asleep curled up on my shoulder repeating that phrase over and over. It was actually pretty pitiful. I know that Pierson's arrival into our family will be such a blessing, but I am reminded that it may also be a difficult transition for Ava. After her nap, we spent some time at the Sheets' house and she loved getting to help take care of the twins, so I am hoping that her meltdown was more from exhaustion than real emotion. I think once he's here, she will be excited. . . at least for a while!

Hopefully the next time I post, I'll have some new pictures to share.

Ava turns 3!

On Saturday, we had Ava's 3rd Birthday Party! It was fun this year because she was so into every detail and had anticipated the party for weeks. She told every stranger we met, "When I turn 3, I'm going to have a Flip Flop Party with chocolate cake and a jump house." It was a big day! If you know Ava at all, you know her obsession with shoes, particularly flip flops. She picked the theme of her party this year! Here are some pictures of the day. Somehow I managed to get through the party with no photos of the jump house, which was the highlight of the party. We did get video footage though! I made it through the day without going to labor which was a plus also. Now we're just awaiting Pierson's birth day!


Showing how old she is...






















Playing her new pink guitar






















Blowing out candles on the flip flop cake


Opening presents


Lining up cars to make a "Sea World parking lot."


There are so many things that I love about my daughter at this age. Here are some things that I don't want to forget about Ava at age 3:
1.The way she rolls her eyes and nods her head when she says something she knows is funny or cute!
2. The way she sings all the time and when she is singing praise songs, she lifts her hands to God.
3.That she finds slapstick humor hilarious! Any one who is willing to fall on the floor, run into a door, or bump their head on her behalf becomes her new best friend!
4. She is so sweet with babies, talking in a high voice and trying to mother them.
5. Her favorite toy right now is matchbox cars. She loves to line them up in little "parking lots."
6. The way she likes to pretend shes the mama and fix my hair
7. Her giggle
8. She likes us to "scratch her back and tell stories" at bedtime.
9. Her interest in shoes, especially flip flops, shiny shoes, high heels, and "farkly" (sparkly) shoes
10. Her interest in Spanish because of Dora the Explorer. It cracks me up when she says something that sounds like jibberish and then tells me, "I'm just speaking in Spanish."
I could go on and on, but right now she is done with her bath and I need to go help with the bedtime routine!

If you would like something really worth reading today, read Chad's "journaling." I thought he was done as a blogger, but he has decided to make a comeback with a great entry about living out the gospel!

The 100 Things List

I don't know if I have 100 things, but I haven't been able to sleep lately so this is a good distraction in the wee hours of the night. Here goes. . .

1. I was appropriately named because the summer is my favorite time of year. I hate to be cold!

2. I wish I knew how to tap dance. When I'm really excited, I pretend like I do.

3. I have lived in Abilene, El Paso, Grapevine and Fort Worth. El Paso was not my favorite!

4. I am terrified of really deep water and swarms of fish. Scuba diving is my worst nightmare!

5. I am not afraid of heights.

6. Someday I'd like to sky dive!

7. Eating meat off of the bone kind of grosses me out. I have to force myself not to think about which part of the animal it was.

8. I like to make lists so I can draw a line through a task when it is completed. It's very satisfying.

9. Sometimes, if I do something not on my list, I add it just so I can cross through it.

10. I think that might make me obsessive compulsive.

11. I love to have a clean house, but I don't love to clean it.

12. I don't really like to cook.

13. I am clumsy in the kitchen. I spill things. I drop knives. Two weeks ago, I got a nasty second degree burn on my arm while cooking with grease. This is probably why I don't like to cook.

14. I do like to decorate and rearrange things in my house.

15. I decorate a lot better on a tight budget. A few times I have been asked to help people decorate with a fairly large budget, and it makes me nervous. I do better finding good deals and bringing stuff together that I find at garage sales and Target.

16. I wish I was better at sewing. My sister quilts and I think that's pretty impressive.

17. I have never met anyone famous. Kate met Matt Damon once while running an errand for me. I was very jealous for a long time, but I'm over it. Really, I'm over it.

18. I would like to be funnier. Most of the time, my jokes are pretty lame. Even Ava says, "Daddy is sillier than mommy."

19. I love to travel. One of the best summer's ever was the summer I did study abroad in Oxford and visited France, Switzerland and Ireland.

20. That was also the summer I made a pact not to date for 6 months in order to clear my head and not have any distractions.

21. I broke the pact and started dating Chad. I think he was worth it.

22. I was a camper and counselor at Camp Blue Haven for about 10 years. I still miss it every June!

23. I wish that they had camp for grown ups. I could still use a week away in the mountains to rest, reflect, and rejuvenate!

24. In my heart of hearts, I feel like I'm more bohemian than I appear. I now shop at The Gap like everyone else, but when I was younger and had time, I loved to buy most of my clothes at thrift shops! I wish I still had my favorite torn jeans and crochet top!

25. I think I would have liked to have been a hippie. . .minus the drugs!

26. My first car was a copper Honda hatchback with a slightly different color door. My friends called it, "The Penny Incher" because it was so slow.

27. At ACU, we once piled as many people into as we could and drove it from the intramural fields to Nelson dorm. It looked like a clown car with so many people getting out. I wish I could remember exactly how many fit-- it was a lot!

28. My sister is my best friend. She is four years younger, but I think she is wiser in a lot of ways. . . more grounded and stable. I am sometimes too emotional and impulsive!

29. People always think she's the older one. I used to hate it, but now that I'm 30, I'm starting to enjoy it!

30. I turned 30 this week, but so far I feel no different.

31. I love being a mom!

32. I thought I knew what to expect before I had a child, but it is more exhausting and more rewarding than I could have ever imagined.

33. I have a tattoo on my foot of my name in Japanese.

34. I am 1/4 Japanese, and have visited Japan when my parents lived there in 2001.

35. I am growing my hair out for Locks of Love. I will be cutting 10 inches off in November!

36. I was an Art Major for a while at ACU, then switched to English/ Education, but I now I work in Children's Ministry!

37. I taught 7th grade English for 3 years before I realized that middle school is not my thing.

38. I love to read great literature, but rarely have time to start and finish a good book these days.

39. One of my favorite books is The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, because it taught me a lot about my Asian heritage and my relationship with my mom and grandma.

40. When I get together with 2 of my best friends, we spend a lot of time analyzing ourselves. It's very interesting. . . at least to us!

41. The first time I ever rode on an airplane was the summer after my freshman year of college.

42. The first time I ever got a pedicure was the week I got married.

43. My dad is one of the most unique people I know. What I used to find a little embarrassing in Middle School, I now find endearing!

44. Several of my boyfriends in high school and college stayed in touch with and/or hung out with my dad even after we had broken up. I don't what that says about me, but at least they thought HE was cool!

45. I love just about anything chocolate. . .

46. if I have a tall glass of cold milk to go with it.

47. My middle name is Kei (pronounced Kay) and is a from a common Japanese name, Keiko.

48. My mom used to call me Keiko chon when I was little, which means "adored one." My other childhood nicknames were Summer Sunshine and Happy Feet. (See #2 about tap dancing.)

49. I loved taking art classes in college. It was therapeutic for me.

50. I miss pottery. I would love to have a potter's wheel in my house as an outlet for stress.

51. I am pretty neat and organized, except when I am painting or creating. . .then I become a complete mess! I used to come home with paint from head to toe and clay in my hair. I cannot explain this.

52. Chad is actually a much better artist than I am.

53. For my 30th birthday, he drew a BEAUTIFUL drawing of Ava. It looks just like her. I cannot capture a likeness in a portrait!

54. My favorite color is green.

55. I am a night owl, but have a hard time getting up early.

56. If I watch TV, it's almost always HGTV or TLC.

57. I have a love/hate relationship with the show, "Lost," because I can't stop watching it, but I am frustrated after almost every show!

58. I HATE scary movies and haunted houses.

59. The scariest movie I have ever seen is, "Watcher in the Woods." It's a Disney movie, but it really is scary. Don't mock it until you've seen it!

60. I have peed my pants as an adult. To my credit, I was pregnant at the time.

61. I still like to color.

62. I enjoy helping others, but find it hard to ask for help when I need it.

63. I have a major guilt complex. I feel guilty about things over which I have no control.

64. Awkward situations make me laugh hard.

65. I struggle with God's plan for our finances-- giving generously and living humbly versus saving and investing for the future.

66. I am also conflicted about poverty worldwide and nations that are suffering. Again, these are things I feel guilty about but have no control over.

67. I have started recycling and using canvas bags at the grocery store in an effort to be more green. When I run out of cleaning products, I am going to switch over to organic. (I told you I would have liked to have been a hippie.)

68. If I could see any band in concert, it would be U2!

69. I would like to be more up on the music scene, but I listen to too much kid music right now to feel cool at all.

70. Our next car will probably be a minivan for economic and functional reasons, and I'm okay with that.

71. Someday I'd like to drive a jeep!

72. I don't speak any other languages. I wish I did.

73. I feel blessed to have a lot of good friends.

74. I don't handle adversity well. If someone has a problem, I lay awake at night thinking about it until the situation is settled.

75. I try to stay out of "drama" between girls. It wears me out. I am thankful that my closest girlfriends are self confident and don't get their feelings hurt easily.

76. I do not return phone calls very well.

77. I have broken one bone in my life.

78. I had a brief episode of seizures once in El Paso.

79. I have herniated a disc in my back several times, which is by far the most painful thing I have ever experienced, including labor!

80. I usually buy cheap drugstore makeup, but I spend money on good soap and cleansers.

81. I rode the bus in middle and some of high school.

82. I hate to drive, especially in a big city.

83. I would almost always rather be a passenger.

84. I have NO sense of direction.

85. I have been in 2 car accidents, both when I was 16.

86. I am not very athletic at all.

87. I always wanted to be.

88. In High School, I was in Theater, Art and Student Council.

89. I was also a pep squad leader for a brief time.

90. That was not my proudest moment. My dad still likes to bring it up.

91. I was the co-lead in our One Act Play my senior year, which made it to Regionals. We have the play on video, but I've never watched it because it makes me cringe to watch myself act on stage.

92. I am not very good at math in general, but I do our budget and pay our bills.

93. Sometimes if you tell a really great detailed story, I will retell it as if I was there. This is not an intentional lie. I just remember it with such detail that I honestly think I was a part of it.

94. I have been having contractions for weeks, but still have 4 weeks until my due date.

95. I love to go to my grandparents Lake House, ride the boat, play games and hang out with family.

96. I have 9 cousins on one side.

97. 4 of them attend ACU right now.

98. When I married Chad, I became an aunt. One of my nephews is also at ACU.

99. I liked being a student, and I studied pretty hard.

100. I find it annoying when people make jokes about my name and expect me to laugh like I have never heard them before. In my yearbooks, there are probably 100 places where people wrote, "Have a nice summer, Summer! Ha Ha!" as if they were being original.

If you actually read all of this, I am sorry. It did help me pass some time with late night contractions!

Pierson's Nursery & My Abilene Shower

Here are some pictures of Pierson's Nursery. I think it's just about ready for him!










Last weekend, some of my sweet friends threw me a shower here in Abilene. We had a great time, and I enjoyed opening lots of little boy things! I think he's going to be set. . .


We have so many milestones in our family this month, it's almost overwhelming to think about! I turned 30 today which seems impossible, because I still think of myself as about 24! That's where I stopped counting mentally. Ava will start back to preschool next week, and then she turns 3 and we're having her birthday party at our house the next weekend. And we're expecting Pierson Reed to arrive sometime in the next month! Lately, I've been having alot of contractions, so I am preparing myself and trying to make sure we're ready before my actual due date just in case, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Alot will be happening around our house in the coming weeks! Stay tuned. . .