He's Here!!!!

We are pleased to announce that, 2 weeks earlier than expected, our newest addition to our family has arrived!! Ethan Andrew Dye was born November 15th, 2008 at 6:45am. He is 19 inches long and weighs 7.5 lbs!

What started out as slightly more uncomfortable contractions at 10:45 on November the 14th, led to 20 hours of labor! Cameron called Andrew at work on Friday to let him know that she was experiencing slightly uncomfortable contractions. Andrew was excited, but did not really expect her to really be in labor. He asked her to call the doctor's office to explain what was going on and see if there was any reason to be concerned. By divine appointment, we had an appointment with one of the midwives that day at 3:40. Andrew had already planned to get off a little early, so was able to attend the meeting with Cameron.

The midwife put Cameron on a monitor for about 20 minutes to see what was going on. Our midwife told us that it appeared that we were going into early labor and that we should go home for a few hours until the contractions got more uncomfortable and then go to the hospital. After about 2 or so hours at home, we decided to go to the hospital.

Though we expected that we would have Ethan out in no time at all, he decided to make us wait for an additional 12 hours. Cameron was in labor for a total of 20 hours!!! 2 of those hours were Cameron using up what little energy she had pushing! Andrew is so proud of Cameron and has a new found respect for women who have to go through labor. Andrew was, of course, a big baby and couldn't stop crying when Ethan came out. Andrew kept saying what a handsome young man Ethan was and how perfect he is. Cameron was so exhausted that a lot of her celebrating Ethan's birth came later when she could process it. The honor and responsibility of having a son is overwhelming!

We are now home after staying another night in the hospital. Cameron really enjoyed the "room service" (cafeteria food), but Andrew was anxious to go home and sleep in a real bed. Cameron covets any nap that she can get, but loves just holding Ethan and cuddling him. We have included some pics, so that you can enjoy him as well! We will continue to post entries on Ethan's progress and news in our lives. Thanks for praying for us and cheering us on! May the Lord bless you for that!

Dad with son minutes after birth

Nanna (Cam's mom) with grandson

Grandpa Rudy with yawning Ethan

Grandmother and Grandpa Dye with Ethan

The proud new parents with son

Ethan Andrew Dye Looking around

We Moved!

Praise the Lord! A lot has been going on since we last updated you all and we are excited to fill you in:)

First: We have moved and have officially cut the cord with our apartment! Moving Day was super smooth with the help of so many family and friends. Thanks to each of you that helped- what a blessing. Moving started at about 8:30am and we were done by noon with about 12 people moving along with several trucks, a trailer and dollies. We have never moved so quickly. It has now been about two and a half weeks since we have been in the new home and we are still trying to empty all the boxes. We know this is to be expected, but we are eager to get them all cleared out and to feel a "moved in."

Second: A room for the baby has started to take shape!:) With only about three and a half weeks left till the Due Date this has been a topic that made us feel a little anxious every time it was brought up - until now:) Not only is there enough space for the baby to have his own room in this house, but he also has a brand new crib to sleep in as of yesterday! Cameron's Dad had insisted on purchasing the crib and mattress every since he heard we were expecting and frequently reminded us that the offer was still there. We searched and searched and eventually settled on one from Babies R Us in El Paso, TX. It is super cute and took about 30 miutes to put together. We decided where the other furniture would go last night, rearranged some things and then Cameron put more work into it today. It really is a sweet and calming atmosphere and we think that Ethan will enjoy it. It is not finished yet, but it is gettting there! We hope that the baby will go till the Due Date not only for his health but also to give us more time to get things ready!

Cameron continues to grow and has started working part time this week (two 12 hour shifts instead of three, per week). She will stop working all togther starting November 14th (two weeks prior to the Due Date) and is looking forward to the time to rest. She has started taking iron suplements due to an iron defficient anemia that was found during her last blood test and is feeling a little more energized. The midwife suggested just increasing the amount of iron being consumed in her diet, but Cameron wanted a supplement just to make sure. So far the side effects have been minimal;)

Closing Time

Sorry that it has been so long since our last post. The last few weeks have been fairly busy with work and friends. Andrew preached a sermon at the Baptist Student Union two Thursday ago, which required a lot of time to prepare. Time well spent; Who wouldn't want an excuse to spend hours studying the Bible.

We also had a friend in town who will be going overseas for a couple years. While he was in town, he stayed at our apartment. When Andrew was cleaning the guest bedroom, to set up the bed (which had been propped against the wall), he felt like he was just moving boxes and junk around the room. It felt like those puzzles where you move the pieces around to make a picture. He had to move 3 boxes to the left to move the mattress 3 ft. Then move a cabinet out to move the desk over for the boxspring to rest on the ground. Needless to say, I think we are ready to move into our new home. :)

Speaking of homes, we close on Thursday of this month. Our realtor has given us instruction on what to do when we close. One suggestion that he gave us is to take everything the Title company offers us. Why you ask? Because we're paying for it! He told us that if they offer us a pen, take it. A bottle of water, take it. Even if we don't want it, take it!

We are going to try and box up as much as we can before Saturday because Andrew's family is coming down from Santa Fe with some goodies. Andrew's very generous uncle and family are giving us their fridge. In addition we are getting a chest style freezer and recliner that belonged to Andrew's Grandma. Praise the Lord for those things!!! We are so grateful for the ways that He blesses us through others.

Cameron is getting a little anxious to get things moved in so that she can get the baby room ready. As she describes it, "The nesting phase is setting in". She also wants to have a bag ready for the moment when the hospital visit arrives. It's hard to imagine that in a month or so we will have a son. It's scary and exciting all at once!

Also this week we celebrated 2 birthdays. One for our friend, Chris, who was staying with us. And two, Amanda, Andrew's sister. For Chris we surprised him with dinner at Chili's, always good. For Amanda, she was surprised to receive a traditional British Tea Party at our apartment. The tea party consisted of 3 courses ranging from Asparagus and Ham sandwiches to Blueberry scones with lemon curd. Of course there was a different tea for every course. And as tradition holds, quotes about tea were read during the party. We think that Amanda had a good time and it was fun getting it together.

Cameron: TBA But we can tell she's getting bigger every day.

Andrew TBA But probably nothing since he hasn't worked out for a week :(

Getting close

Sorry that it has been so long since our last update. We've been fairly busy "becoming adults". Andrew's sister says that the only people in Las Cruces are college students and old married couples with kids. Andrew asked her, "Where does that put us?" We like to joke about what "growing up" means. Andrew used to think that "growing up" meant having kids and a home. But now he thinks that growing up is when you retire. I think that we are just nervous.

The last few weeks have been a rollercoaster as we have been trying to figure out where we would like to live. We have been shown dozens of homes and had narrowed it down to one specifically. We put in an offer and had to wait until the next day to hear back whether or not they accepted it. Andrew was having a lot of second thoughts and Cameron rode the fence. She would say "I just don't know". We found out the next day that they had countered the offer.

In some ways, because of our anxiety, we felt relieved so that we could turn down the home. But we were encouraged by our realtor to go back to the house, review the warranty and offer, and talk about it. We were glad that we did!! We decided that we really liked the home and put in another counter offer. It's almost like Deal or no Deal on television, as we slam down the cover on the button.

Turns out they accepted our offer on Friday and now begins the hectic process of obtaining a home mortgage loan, inspecting the property, getting it appraised, notifying our current landlord of the intent to vacate, and pulling our hair out. Are you taking notes? We feel as if we have become experts on various aspects of the home purchasing process. Speaking of home inspections, there are a lot of really flashy websites for home inspectors. We found one that you might like: http://www.mesillavalleyhomeinspections.com/. Or how about this one: http://propertyinspectionconnection.com/

In our spare time we have been registering for baby stuff, house sitting, and working. Cameron says that she looks tired in the picture we have posted. I think she is.

Cameron 17lbs +






















Andrew 13lbs -

Third Trimester here we come!

Hi everyone!

We are now into week 28 of growing a baby (the Third and Final Trimester!)and everything is going well:)

The house search is still on, but a few leads have come up. We are trying not to be too picky but want to make the best investment at the same time... it takes a lot of energy to buy a home! We are still hopeful that we will be somewhat settled into a home by the end of October- - -wouldn't that be great?

Last week Cameron was showing Andrew some maternity photographers' websites and mentioned that he could take some maternity photos just as well as they did. Andrew agreed that he would sometime and then said, "Hey the lighting looks good in the living room. Let's take some pictures right now." Here is a sample of some of Andrew's (spur of the moment) Maternity Gallery:

This past weekend we got to spend some time up in the Cloudcroft area with a group of college students that are a part of the Christian Challenge Ministry at NMSU. We were leaders over a small group for this weekend and are trusting the Lord that it went the way it was supposed to. Although we can't speak for the students in the small group we found that preparing for the retreat taught us a lot. The weather was beautiful and we were spoiled by how nice our accomadations were.

On Sunday our Sunday School class took a trip to Rudy's BBQ and Bob O's together. We had so much fun, but everyone left exhausted from the heat and activity. One of the fun things about being pregnant right now, is that there are two other couples in our class who are also pregnant. One gal is due around the same time Cameron is and the other gal is due at the end of January. Our Sunday School leader and his wife just had a baby as well as our friends Vanessa and Josh. Talk about something being in the water! It sure is nice to get to share pregnancy stories and learn from the experienced moms and dads in our class. Maybe our children will all be friends some day?

Weight Watchers for this week:

Cameron's weight gain: 13.5 lbs

Andrew's weight loss: 13 lbs

Sickness!

We are starting in on week 27! And are sorry that we are a week behind keeping you up to speed on this growing family!

No matter how many times you wash your hands...
Andrew caught some sort of stomach bug last Friday and was out of commission for the rest of the day and night. He got nauseous after walking into Pepe's Chicken and it smelled like sewage:/ yuck! After that there was no turning back and no holding down anything until about 4am the next day. Cameron slept on the couch that night because every time he would wake up and move he would throw up. Poor guy! He was also running a low grade temp, but not high enough to take action against. By Saturday he was feeling much better and started holding down water, then crackers, then Gatorade and lastly soup. His stomach muscles ached for days after being used over and over! Cameron disinfected the toilet, sinks, light switches, handles/knobs, cell phones and remotes. All linens were washed that Andrew used and the throw up bucket Lysoled down after what turned out to be the last use. Cameron washed her hands as frequently as you know she would, but it was no match for getting sick herself...
Although Cameron didn't catch what Andrew had, while at work on Monday she started to feel achy all over, nauseous, loss of appetite (which hasn't happened for 16 weeks), and over-all sick. She was instructed by very caring co-workers to stay home the next day and rest. She slept all that night and most of the next day. On Wednesday she returned to work feeling well rested but her stomach still was "off." She was sent home a few hours early because her whole abdomen began to cramp and it radiated to her back. The pain was different from anything else she had felt during the pregnancy and made her want to double over at times. The pain lasted for about 30 minutes before she called her midwife. After taking a Tylenol and lying down at work, the midwife called back and instructed her to go home. Staff has been tight at work and it really bothers Cameron to leave her co-workers even more short staffed. But they were all very insistent on her going home and so she left. The baby is very active in her belly and the heart beat is normal. Cameron continues to ache, but is feeling much better when she is just resting. Better safe than sorry.
In other news we are still looking for a new home and will be out with our realtor again tomorrow (Lord willing). I think we are going to find one soon! I can feel it;) Or maybe that is just the baby pushing harder and harder against my insides!
Our siblings (Amanda, Stephen and Leigh) are all moved in a settled for the most part and we really like having them so close. School is getting into full swing and we look forward to getting to see them more often as they get used to there new schedules and surroundings.

And the scale says:

Andrew has lost a total of 12 pounds:)


























Cameron has gained a total of 13.5 pounds (she lost a half a pound over the past couple of weeks)

And the beat goes on

Howdy and welcome to week 25 of Baby Dye and his family:)

Andrew and I spent the past week traveling with his family to Colorado and had a great time:) We went up to Santa Fe on September 8th, drove to Greely, Colorado on the 9th, spent a couple of days in Denver, Colorado and then got back today (Sept 14th). We got to visit a number of the Dye Aunts, Uncles and Cousins as well as several very good friends! While in Colorado we went to the famous Casa Bonita, the Denver Mint, the Celestial Seasonings Factory, the Capitol Building in Denver, Garden of the Gods, and watched a Rockies game from some great seats (thanks Aunt Cathy!) to name a few. While in Denver we also got to see a precious new life come to join our dear friends Mark and Sarah Mayfield. What a blessing to get to feel that little baby girl inside Sarah's belly and then get to hold her a couple of days later! What a gift:) Maybe little baby Dye and Hannah Mayfield will hit it off in the future??

Us at the Garden of the Gods

Us holding little Hannah Joy Mayfield :)

On our way back to Cruces, we got to eat breakfast with our good friends Juli and Roque in Albuquerque. It was a good time of catching up and just hanging out with friends who are planning a move soon:(

We had another baby appointment this afternoon and again the midwife felt that everything was going just as it should:) We heard the heartbeat sound off loud and clear and although the baby wasn't very active during the trip from Santa Fe to Colorado and back again, once we started back to Las Cruces he wouldn't stop dancing in there! Thank the Lord!

The search continues for a home and we will be going out on a tour of more homes in the morning with our realtor:) We will also be helping my Mom, Amanda and Stephen with a little bit of moving to their new homes tomorrow as well. It is going to be a busy day!:) My little sister is going to be joining the NMSU legacy this Fall and we will be helping move her into the dorms Sunday:) We look forward to having so many family members near by!

Weight Watchers Reports:

Cameron has gained a total of: 14lbs!!

Andrew has lost a total of: 12lbs, but may have gained a few over the vacation!!