We met the first day we moved into the residence halls at Oregon State University in 1998. Andy likes to say that I was the second girl he met at college, and said "Meh, she'll do". We dated for five years, and then got married on July 19th, 2003. After completing our MS degrees for engineering, we relocated from Corvallis, Oregon to Tucson, Arizona, where we have lived for seven years now.
Four summers ago we welcomed our son, Lincoln, into the world on the evening of our 5th anniversary, July 19th, 2008. Our first daughter, named June, was born on St. Patrick's Day, March 17th, 2010. Our second daughter, named Rosalyn, was born on April 4th, 2011. Our third daughter, named Cora, arrived on September 8th, 2012. We are expecting the final little member of our family to join us, on or around, Halloween 2014!
1/12 - Whoa! We're pregnant! Due date Sep. 15th, 2012.
10/21/11- Broke ground on our house!
10/11- Roxy starts crawling! 8/11- Lincoln starts preschool! 4/4/11 - Roxy born! 8lbs & 20.5in! 2/26/11 - Lincoln starts the ketogenic diet. 2/11 - June starts walking! 11/10 - Level II ultrasound shows no problems & reveals a baby girl! 10/10 - CVS results show healthy baby! 09/10 - June starts crawling! 07/10 - Surprise! We're pregnant! Due date Apr. 13, 2011. 07/10 - Lincoln starts walking!!! 03/17/10 - June born! 6lbs 8.5oz & 18.5". 11/09 - Level II ultrasound shows no problems. 09/09 - CVS results say it's a healthy baby girl! 07/09 - Pregnant again! Due date Mar. 31st 2010. 06/09 - Lincoln starts crawling!! 04/30/09 - Miscarriage@ 4.5 weeks. 04/09 - Pregnant! Due date Jan 4th, 2010. 09/08 - Lincoln diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis and Infantile Spasms. 08/08 - First seizures appear. 07/19/08 - Lincoln born! 7lbs 8.5oz & 19.25" 03/08 - Ultrasound shows healthy baby boy! 02/08 - It's a boy! 11/07 - Pregnant again! Due date Aug. 4th, 2008. 09/07/07 - Miscarriage@ 18 weeks. Baby boy lost to ringed chromosome 18. 05/07 - Pregnant! Due date Feb. 4th, 2008. 09/06 - Tina starts at a real engineering job 04/06 - Our first house! 03/06 - Tina starts work at Civano 09/05 - Tina graduates and also moves to Tucson 08/05 - Andy graduates and starts his job in Tucson 09/03 - Start grad. school for MSs in engineering 07/19/03 - Married! 06/03 - Graduate with BSs in engineering 07/02 - Engaged! 01/99 - Start dating 09/98 - Andy & Tina meet freshman year of college
Its been awhile since I have done one of these. The house is currently in it's second week of dry walling now. They should be done with the taping/mud/plaster/texturing by the end of next week & we will be on to painting. Andy & I need to be picking out the interior paint color this weekend. We are thinking a cool neutral, either beige or gray. Hopefully we will find something that will go well with the floors & any decor we may choose someday.
After paint they will start moving on tiling the showers, landscape work & digging the sewer line. This weekend Andy & I should be pouring the very last of the concrete that needs to be done before we move into the house (master bathtub deck & shower bench top). After that Andy will disappear into the garage for weeks (in the evening & weekends) building our kitchen cabinets. It will be a huge weight off of our shoulders to have those completed & installed. :)
We are still on track to be completed by the end of May!
The CVS results came in on Wednesday. Most importantly the CVS test showed no problems with her chromosomes and no TSC.
Another little girl to add to our family. Poor Andy & Lincoln. They are so outnumbered, but they seem to love these little girlies so much, who could ask for a better daddy or big brother?
Now we just have to decide on a name. Ugh. I have no clue where we will end up on this one, we haven't agreed on any of the names we have talked about.
Roxy is eleven month old! And other than not walking yet, she no longer acts like a baby. She is running (crawling) around like a mini-June. She definitely lets her voice be heard when she thinks she isn't getting her way (even if it is because one of her older siblings won't let her steal their sippy cup). Silly girl! She is acting like a possessive toddler already. I guess she is learning from the best though.
She is still a mostly sweet & compliant little girl though. She eats very well & drinks milk from a sippy (my only kid who does)! I am so hoping that the bottle to sippy & formula to milk transitions will go smoothly over the next couple of months. Fingers crossed!
She doesn't seem to be much closer to walking than she wasn't last month. Although she will take steps only holding on with only one hand now, so that is an improvement in balance & bravery. But she doesn't seem in any hurry to take steps independently. I am sure within the next few months she will be walking as well. She has started to climb though. She is able to get up into the toddler chair & also managed to climb onto my lap when I was sitting on the couch. She has a hard time figuring out how to get down though & no matter how often I have showed her that she needs to turn around & go feet first, she still trys & sometimes succeeds in getting down head first. I have a feeling that there will be some hard lessons learned before she figures it out though.
Roxy had her first (off the books) dentist visit earlier this month in order to file down her chipped tooth. She screamed through the entire thing. ;) Her tooth kinda looks crooked now, since it is slanted across the bottom, but at least it isn't sharp any more.
I was invited to a mommy & toddler trip to the Phoenix zoo by our friend Julia Pierce. I decided to take ONLY June; 1)for her birthday present and 2) because she would probably get the most out of it. She is loving any and all animals right now!
She had a blast & was a really good girl. She listened to me pretty well & didn't throw any big tantrums when we had to stop doing something that she liked. All in all, it was really really fun! And it was fun for me to be able to focus so much attention on just one of my very deserving kiddos for a whole day. Really, it was very very wonderful (for both of us)!
Here are some pictures of June having a good time today. :)
The CVS procedure went fine. Much quicker than with the girls. We should get some results within the month.
The OB appt today went fine. My doctor found the heartbeat with the Doppler no problem. My next appointment is in 4 weeks!
These are the pictures from the CVS on Monday! :)
When I first showed up, the baby was sleeping curled up in a little ball. We had to get him/her to wake up to get a good length measurement. Once he/she stretched out, he/she was measuring a day ahead, at 11wks 3days with an EDD of 9/14/12. His/her heartbeat was 163bpm! :)
Here is a front face shot with a wave. It is a little creepy how alien they look at this stage.
Here are a few profile shots. Once this baby woke up he/she was wiggling & flipping all over the place. I have an active little jumping bean in there!
Our baby is one year old and sweet as sweet can be. An excellent sleeper, and a patient and happy baby. So far, she is shaping up to be every mother's dream. :)
Cora Josephine
8.30.13
About Cora
Our sweet & social baby girl is 3 years old! She is walking, running & climbing like crazy. Her favorite things are puzzles, singing, dancing, and playing games with her sisters. She is certain that she is just as grown-up as her older sisters, and can do whatever they can do.
Cora has fit into our family seamlessly. I can't wait to see the little person she grows up to be, and yet I want to freeze time & keep her just like she is now.
Rosalyn Laine
9.23.13
About Roxy
Our little preschooler is 4 years old, and not so little anymore! She has no problems keeping up with June. The girls spend all their time playing together and they all really seem to enjoy it. They also do a lot of fighting, as is to be expected with sisters so close in age.
She is a little bit like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. She can be the nicest, sweetest little girl, and then bam, she is throwing a fit. We really love her blossoming personality, and she is wicked smart. We couldn't be luckier to have her in our family.
June Elizabeth
9.30.13
About June
Our 5 year old kindergartner is a princess and pest all wrapped up in a cute little package. She is a real bundle of energy, so curious and into everything, and constantly in motion. She continues to adore her big brother and little sisters, and distributes both kisses and shoves liberally about the house.
She loves learning new things & repeating everything we say back to us. She is constantly talking & asking questions. It is a real joy watching her learn and discover the world around her. She tries so hard to please everyone, to help mom & dad as the "oldest" child, but sometimes her mischievous nature takes her for a ride. And as always she is the life of the party and the game master for her siblings and friends!
Lincoln Christopher
9.28.13
About Lincoln
Lincoln is our 7 year old, walking, running & climbing 2nd Grader! He is very sweet, displays quite the sense of humor, and has a huge capacity for love. We love that he is developing his own sense of himself and his personality. Thanks to the Ketogenic diet & several anti-convulsants, he has shown great progress with seizure control and social emotional development. He shares a very special friendship with June, plays with Roxy, and is beginning to show some curiosity about Cora. He gives hugs, snuggles, and pinches freely to anyone within proximity. We continue to celebrate every little moment and milestone that we have with our little man.
When he was 2 months old he was diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex and Infantile Spasms/Epilepsy. This results in multiple daily seizures of various shapes and sizes, as well as medications, restrictive diets, developmental delays, therapists, doctors, and hospital procedures. Despite all of this, he remains one of the best sons a family could ever hope for. We are so proud of him, and lucky to have him in our lives. He is our brave strong son; our little miracle.
