Snuzzling with the grandparents

Grandma and Grandpa T came for a visit on Saturday. They just can't get enough of their first granddaughter/grandchild. Kyah even smiled for them while they were here and Grandpa got it on camera. What a shining moment.



It was nice having them here for many reasons - one of them being I got a break from diaper patrol. Grandma did a number of things around the house that I haven't had time to get to like sweep and mop the floors. And Grandpa helped me assemble my trailer for the Subaru, which took most of the day.

Grandma snuzzling with Kyah.


Abby and Grandma couldn't resist putting this hat on Kyah and taking her outside to enjoy the sunshine.


Worn out from a day full of snuzzling.

Many people have asked how Abby and I are doing. Seeing as how this is our first baby and we don't have another reference point, I think things are going quite well. It was a little rough at first because of the csection; Abby was extremely limited in what she could do. I was running around providing for both of my ladies... I didn't mind it during the day, but I will say it was pretty difficult at night. Now that Abby is moving around more and can help with a few more things, it seems to be getting easier. It also helps that Kyah has been eating and sleeping like a champ. Nine times out of 10, she goes right to sleep for a three-hour nap following feedings. That makes sleeping at night pretty easy. If I had to guess, I'd say we're amassing anywhere from six to eight hours of sleep a night. Mind you, that's amassing and not consecutive. I think we've been in bed for 11 hours the last couple nights. : ) All in all, we're truly enjoying being parents. God has blessed us immensely.

We sure made some memories together

It's sad but it's true; I sold my truck. It took me a few years to warm up to the idea of selling it, but I finally got there and sealed the deal two weeks ago. I sure loved that truck.



I know, it's just a truck... It was much more than just a truck to me, though. It was my first vehicle; it was my independence. I poured a lot of sweat and blood into it.

There are a lot of lessons to be learned in high school, and I learned many of them with the truck by my side. It's hard to recall all of them, but some of the great memories that come immediately to mind (and in no particular order) include:

- Day trips to the coast with my girlfriend and future wife. I proposed to her on one of those day trips - the rest is history.

- Night trips to the the Auburn drive-in movie theater with Abby.

- Sanding it down and getting it repainted.

- Skipping school on Abby's 18th birthday and taking her for a ride to Seattle via the ferry system.

- Driving with the sunroof and sliding rear windows open.

- Driving with Abby next to me on the bench seat.

- Our claim to fame: My truck and I were extras in the movie Ten Things I Hate About You.

- Driving away from our wedding and reception in the truck!

It wasn't the newest or the nicest vehicle out there, but I sure thought it was great. Together, we made a lot of memories. I'll miss you, my truck. May you go on to make more memories for others. Thank you!

Daddy's girl

Initially, there was some debate about who Kyah looked more like, me or Abby. It was clear to us who she looked more like when we opened my baby album. There are a lot of similarities between me and her when I was her age.

(I'm on the left and Kyah is on the right.)

Granted, I am a few weeks older in my photo than she is in her's, but I think it's still pretty clear that we look a lot a like. Would you agree?

Oh, and my hair was slightly tinted red when I was born. It turned blonde pretty quickly. Hers seems to be more red though. We'll see what color it ends up as.

Milk coma

This is what it looks like to be in a "milk coma."

I have to say that Kyah is a feeding and sleeping champion.

Videos - Sleeping and awake

I thought you might enjoy a change of pace from the pictures, so I've uploaded two short videos of Kyah.

Here she's awake...


And here she's making the cutest sleeping noise ever.


Instead of going back to sleep while Abby was feeding this morning at 4 a.m., I decided I'd stay up and post these videos. Enjoy.

The feeding is all done, and I've got both Abby and Kyah put down. It's my turn to shut my eyes! Nighty-night ya'll. (It's 5 a.m.)

More photos - I couldn't resist

Here are a few more photos of Kyah; she's just so cute that I couldn't resist sharing them. Thanks for indulging me.

One side note: We want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who has e-mailed, texted, called and/or visited us while we've been in the hospital. We really appreciate all the love and support we've received. As our neighbor Jenn said, "It takes a village." It's true.

She loves to pull one hand out of her wrap and put it either above her head or in her mouth. She's got her thumb in her mouth in this shot.




Meet the Terps.


This is our last night in the hospital and then we're headed home tomorrow morning.Yah!

And voila, a baby is born

After nine months of hard work on Abby's part, our bundle of joy arrives. Watch the magic happen in this "flip book."

7 weeks


11 weeks


15 weeks


19 weeks


23 weeks


27 weeks


31 weeks


35 weeks


38 weeks


And after 39 full weeks, a miracle is born unto us. Wow - so precious!

New photos of Kyah

Day 2 in the hospital is going swimmingly. Kyah is feeding like a little piranha and Abby is recovering well. Kyah is much more vocal today too.



Who do you think she looks like more, Abby or me? I think she definitely has Abby's nose.






I tell you what, sleeping in the hospital is a real chore. Between the feedings, rockings and burpings, there isn't much time to sleep. I can see how coffee can become a lifeline.

Kyah Mae's birth day

Meet our beautiful daughter - Kyah Mae Terpening. She arrived August 21 at 8:34 a.m., weighing in at 7lbs 10oz and measuring 21 1/4 inches long. You might notice, she has RED hair. Where did that come from?

Beautiful baby-bump photos

There are a couple beautiful photos of Abby and her baby bump on the Taylor Swedberg Photography website. You've got to see them.

As part of their gift to us, Taylor and Mindy gave us two photo shoots with them - one in-utero (as Taylor described it) and one after Kyah is born.

More pictures to come soon.

Less than three days before Kyah arrives.

Hotter and Colder

Do you remember that childhood game Hotter and Colder? If you don't, the basic gist of it works like this: I hide an object and then you find it by me saying hotter (when you get closer to it) and colder (when you get farther from it).

I was playing the game with the neighbor boys last night, who are five and three years old, and one of them made a comment that I just have to share with you. I found it quite amusing. It's one of those kids-say-the-darndest-things moments.

I had hidden two sports balls in their backyard and they were looking for them. After three or four minutes of me giving lots of help with numerous Hotter, Burning, Scalding, Cold, Colder, Ice Cold and Freezing remarks and them still not finding them, five-year-old Anthony remarked with a pouty face, "I wish there were hints in Hotter and Colder."

The best part is, we've been playing this game for more than a month now and they always ask to play it. It was a priceless remark. One of the many things I look forward to with Kyah.

Jersey of Christ

Today, Abby and I were baptized! We have now officially donned the jersey of Christ and are proud to wear it.

We want to send out a big-huge-giant-enormous thank you to all our family and friends who helped make the day so special. Thank you for toughing out the 90-plus-degree weather and for bringing food to the bbq. We are blessed to have such supportive and encouraging family and friends.

In the following video, Abby's Dad and Pastor Dave baptize Abby first and then me at Lake Samish. It was pretty special to have our father baptize us. (Thanks for the video, Peter.)


In total, more than 170 people were baptized today. Pretty amazing stuff.

A scheduled delivery...

Well, we had a bit of a surprise this week. Abby had a routine checkup with her doctor this week and they discovered that Kyah is breeched. What is breeched? It means that Kyah is head up instead of head down. Since we're 38 weeks along, it would take a miracle for her to flip around into the correct position. There's just not a whole lot of room left in Abby's tummy for her to move around. In order to deliver her, we have to have a c-section.

To make a long story short... After a lot of prayer and a big decision, we're scheduled to meet our little girl for the first time ever at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 21.

We are and will continue to pray that God will work a miracle and flip her into the correct position by Saturday so we can skip the surgery and have her naturally. We'd love your continued prayers for a safe and healthy delivery.

God has given us a tremendous amount of peace about the c-section.

Here's Abby at 37 weeks. We're scheduled to have Kyah at exactly 39 weeks - one week early.

Directions to our baptism

If you'd like to see Abby and I get baptized this weekend, here are the details. Simply click on it to enlarge.


A total of 175 people are getting baptized on Sunday. They're asking that people please arrive early and carpool if possible. Also, bring your own lawn chair. It's supposed to be a scorcher this weekend, so don't forget your sunscreen either.

We're going to BBQ at our house afterwards, if you'd like to come on over.

Couples Baby Shower

Check out this post by Mindy about our recent couples shower this past weekend.